Investigating
God #12
Finding Faith In A Fallen World
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTTION:
A. Ted Turner is the founder of such media empires as CNN, TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies. He
is the largest land-owner in the United States, a former owner of the Atlanta Braves
and has a net worth of 2.2 billion dollars. Several years ago the New York Times ran
an article describing how Turner, who once thought about going into ministry, lost
his faith after his sister died of a painful disease. Turner said, “I was taught that God
was love and God was powerful, and I couldn’t understand how someone so innocent
should be made to suffer so.”
1. Perhaps you have known someone like Ted Turner who once believed in God but
lost faith because of a tragic event.
2. Maybe you are struggling with your faith. Maybe there are questions you have not
been able to answer or situations you do not understand.
3. You may be like a growing number of people who have no interest in God and
think that church is a waste of time. According to a Pew Forum survey, 34% of
millennials identify themselves as atheists or having no particular faith.
B. Is it possible to find faith in a fallen world?
1. To answer this question I want to examine the life of a man who experienced good
times and bad times.
2. The man’s name was Job. Even though the book of Job is found in the section of
The Old Testament known as poetry (along with Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,
and Song of Solomon) it’s likely that Job lived during the time depicted in the
book of Genesis. There is no mention in the book of Job about Israel or the law of
Moses which suggests that this man lived prior to that time.
3. Job lived in a land called “Uz.” We do not know the exact location of this country in
ancient times but it was in the east beyond the Jordan River, perhaps as far north
as modern-day Syria or as far south as modern-day Iraq or Iran.
4. The time and place of his life are not important. The message of his life is
important.
C. May I introduce you to Job?
1. Consider his character. Job 1:2 says he was blameless, righteous, feared God and
turned away from evil.
2. Consider his content. According to verse 3, he had, “7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels,
500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was
the greatest of all the men of the east.”
3. Consider his children. Verse 2 says that Job had seven sons and three daughters.
These children had a good relationship with one another. They would come
together regularly for a time of celebration.
4. Notice his commendation. On an occasion when the sons of God (angels) came
before the Lord (verse 6) Satan came before God from roaming about on the earth
(verse 7; cf. 1 Peter 5:8). In verse 8 God said, “Have you considered my servant
Job? I have no one like him, blameless and upright.” God thought highly of Job.
D. The name “Satan” means, “accuser.” Notice the accusation Satan makes against
Job. To paraphrase, “The reason Job has faith is because you have sheltered him. If
you take away his blessings he will deny you in a split-second.”
1. What did Job do? Did he lose his faith? Did he deny God?
2. The answer can be found in just one verse tucked away in the first half of this
book. In Job 13:15, after being bombarded by tragedy Job said, “Though He slay
me, I will hope in Him.” This was a bold declaration of faith.
3. Let’s consider the type of faith Job possessed.
I. FAITH IN TIMES OF SUFFERING
A. God responded to Satan’s accusation by allowing him to afflict Job. Initially, God
did not allow Satan to harm Job physically.
1. Have you ever experienced a day when the normal suddenly ceased and
everything became chaos. In the 1990’s I was selected as one of the first group
of chaplains for the Arkansas State Police. One of my responsibilities was to
accompany troopers to notify next of kin when someone had died or been killed.
I have seen people react stoically while others fell to the ground in grief.
2. On one of these days, Job’s life was turned upside down. He received word that
all of his flocks of sheep, camels and oxen has been wiped out. Nearly all of his
servants were gone. He went from being wealthy to having no assets.
3. Then there came the devastating news that a violent storm had destroyed the
house where his children had gathered for dinner. All of them had been killed.
4. His finances were gone. His family was gone. What about his faith?
5. In spite of everything that Satan threw at him, Job remained devoted to God.
a. Notice verses 20-21, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head,
and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 He said, “Naked I came from my
mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord
has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
b. Verse 22 of chapter 1 is particularly noteworthy, “Through all of this Job did
not sin nor did He blame God.”
B. As if the events of chapter 1 were not enough, chapter 2 reveals how Satan
came before God a second time to accuse Job. This time to afflict Job by
physically.
1. God told Satan how Job, “still holds fast his integrity.” Satan challenged God to
allow him to afflict Job personally. God agreed on the condition that Job’s life
was to be spared.
2. Job was covered with painful, disfiguring boils from the crown of his head to the
soles of his feet. They were so bad that, according to verse 12 Job’s friends did
not recognize him. Job was miserable. He took broken pieces of pottery to lance
and scape the infection that covered his body.
C. In all of this agony Job’s faith did not falter.
1. Though he was laid low by grief and his body was ravaged with pain Job relied
on the principles by which he lived his life.
2. Job maintained his integrity. When his wife urged him to curse God and die, Job
said (in 2:1) “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed
accept good from God and not accept adversity?”
D. You and I live in a fallen world. Satan is still at work.
1. Paul wrote that the course of the world is “according to the prince of the power
of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience”
(Ephesians 2:2).
2. He urged Christians to “put on the full armor of God, “For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the
world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the
heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:”12).
3. Peter warned, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil,
prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
4. It is possible to find faith in a fallen world.
II. FAITH IN TIMES OF SCORN
A. Notice Job 19:14-15, “My relatives have failed, And my intimate friends have
forgotten me.15 “Those who live in my house and my maids consider me a stranger.
I am a foreigner in their sight.”
1. In the midst of his suffering, Job had three friends come to help him. Their
names were Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.
2. They took turns talking to Job. The longer they talked you wonder if they were
friends or enemies. They accused Job of sinning. After all, they reasoned, why
was he being punished?
B. Have you ever had someone say something about you that was not true?
1. In Job 4:7-8 Eliphaz said, “Remember now, whoever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright destroyed? 8 “According to what I have seen, those
who plow iniquity And those who sow trouble harvest it.”
2. In other words, “Job, you must have sinned.” This was the common theology of
the day.
C. It’s one thing to have your friends accuse you but what happens when people
closest to you hurt you. Even Job’s wife told him to “curse God and die.”
D. When you are trying to live right there will always be someone who is going to
criticize you. They may make fun of you, ridicule you, mock you, lie about you and
persecute you.
1. Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest associates. He was denied by the very
man who told him he would die with him.
2. Paul was forsaken by Demas (2 Timothy 4:10).
3. Job did not allow his faith in God to be destroyed because of the actions of
others.
III. FAITH IN TIMES OF SEARCHING
A. Do you ever ask, “Why?” Don’t think that Job did not ask this question. He
certainly did.
1. Job was not aware of the discussion between God and Satan.
2. Job had never read the book of Job.
B. Notice Job 23:3-5, ““Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to
His seat! 4 “I would present my case before Him And fill my mouth with arguments.
5 “I would learn the words which He would answer, And perceive what He would
say to me.”
1. Job was searching for answers. He wanted to sit down and have a conversation
with God.
2. Yet, according to verses 8-9, he searched for God but could not find Him.
a. Have you ever wondered, “Where is God?”
b. Have you ever asked, “Where is God?”
C. In the midst of his suffering and scorn Job did not give up on God. He kept
searching and kept asking. God heard.
1. In chapter 38:4-6, God said, ““Where were you when I laid the foundation of the
earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, 5 Who set its measurements? Since
you know. Or who stretched the line on it?6 “On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone?”
2. God was saying, “Job, I am sovereign.”
D. A close friend of mine was diagnosed with lymphoma. In the midst of his
treatments as his body was ransacked with illness he told me, “For me the
question is not ‘why’ but ‘what.’ What can I learn from this experience to make me
into a better man and a better disciple of Jesus Christ?
CONCLUSION:
A. Are you going through struggles that are causing you to question your faith in God?
1. Are you or someone you love experiencing suffering or scorn?
2. Are you searching for answers that you cannot seem to find?
B. The message of Job is that God has not forgotten you. He is aware of the larger
scene of eternity. Like Job, you can put your hope and trust in Him.
C. Will you come to Christ today by confessing your faith in Him, turning away from sin
and being baptized (immersed in water) into His death, burial and resurrection? We
welcome you.
