WHERE COULD I GO BUT TO THE LORD
Steve W. Reeves
stevereevesoutlines.blogspot.com
INTRODUCTION:
A. In
1940 a Missouri song writer named J.B. Coats wrote the song, “Where Could I Go
But to The Lord.” The inspiration for the
song had come to Coats years earlier as
he sat at the bedside of a dying friend who
uttered these words.
1. The first verse of the song expresses
the isolation, frustration and futility many
people feel in their lives. “Living
below in this old sinful world, hardly a comfort can
afford. Striving alone to face
temptations sore. “Where could I go but to the Lord?’”
Another verse says, “Life here is
grand, with friends I love so dear. Comfort I get
from God’s own word. Yet when I face
the chilling hand of death, “Where could I go
but to the Lord?’”
2. If there has ever been a person for whom
these words were applicable, it was Job.
Although once a vigorous, wealthy,
healthy and powerful family man, Job’s life had
been reduced to ruins and rubble.
a. Occasionally this happens to people
as a consequence of their own foolish
actions. A person may squander
their wealth through recklessness like the
prodigal son in Luke 15. I once
knew a young man who had become addicted to
on-line gambling and foolishly lost
everything he owned.
b. Sometimes people lose their health
as a consequence of their actions. One of
my high school teachers died from
emphysema at the age of 49 after years of
being a heavy chain-smoker.
c. Families are sometimes fractured
because of abuse or neglect.
3. Job, through absolutely no fault of his
own, lost everything.
a. In Job 1 he lost his wealth, his
servants and his children.
b. In chapter 2 he lost his health and
was urged by his wife to “curse God and die.”
c. Where could Job go but “to the Lord”?
B. Where do you go when your life has turned upside down?
1. Over twenty years ago I was in my study
one winter’s morning. The church
secretary was a woman named Sue. We had
adjoining offices so I heard the panic
in her voice after she had taken a
call. She told me that the daycare her
granddaughter
attended was on fire. I told Sue to get in my car and we sped to the
scene. More than a mile away we could
see the black smoke billowing into the
grey sky. We arrived to find the entire
structure engulfed in flames. I drove up to a
check point set up by the police and
inquired about the children. “They’re all safe
and have been taken to a house down the
street.” Sue and I drove to the house
where parents were gathering. One of
the teachers was taking count of the
students when her face turned pale. She
was one short. The missing child was a
one-and-a-half-year-old boy named Tyler
whose father was one of the
firemen battling the blaze. I was asked
to break the news to Tyler’s dad, Tommy.
His fellow firefighters had to restrain
him from rushing into the inferno when was
completely out of control. The
structure burned completely to the ground. Several
hours later search dogs located Tyler’s
little body that had been shielded from the
flames by a bookcase that had fallen. I
conducted the funeral a few days later.
2. Where can you go when such a tragedy
occurs?
C. There
are two qualities in Job’s life that emerge in chapter two. They are the
qualities of endurance and trust.
I.
ENDURANCE
A. The events of chapter one happened in
quick succession.
1. According to 1:16-17, no sooner had
Job learned of the theft of his oxen and donkeys, then he heard of the
destruction of his sheep. In verse 18, he, then, learns of the theft of his
camels by the Chaldeans. Then, in verse 18-19, Job immediately learned of the
deaths of his seven sons and three daughters.
2. Can you imagine suffering such
horrible losses one after another?
B. We do not know how much time passed
between the events of Job 1 and Job 2. The second chapter begins with the
statement, “Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself
before the Lord.” The scene is almost identical to the one described in 1:6-12.
1. Satan was asked where he had been.
Did not God know? Yes – this is included
so, we would know of Satan’s
presence in the world and this constant pursuit of
prey.
2.
Once again God mentioned Job – blameless, upright, fearing God and turning
away from evil.
3. In verse 3, God adds, “And he still
holds firm to his integrity, although you incited
Me against him to ruin him without
cause.”
B. Notice God’s commendation of Job. ”He
still holds firm to his integrity.”
1. Satan wants each of us to lose our
integrity and turn away from God. His greatest desire is for the hardships of
life to make you bitter towards God.
2. In the Disney movie, “The Jungle
Book” there is a climactic scene in which
Mowgli, the young boy, and his
friend, Baloo the Bear, encounter a ferocious
tiger named Shere Kahn. As the
tiger attacks, Baloo grabs him by the tail.
Someone yells, “Let go!” He
replies, “Are you kidding, there are teeth in the
other end.”
3. Before you let go of God you need to
do some serious thinking about the
alternative.
C. When confronted with Job’s integrity,
Satan, “ups the ante” in verses 4-5, “Skin
for skin! Yes, all that a man has, he will
give for his life. 5 However, reach out
with Your hand now, and touch his
bone and his flesh; he will curse You to
Your
face!”
1.This is a good place to be reminded of the sovereignty of God. He
controls everything for His purposes. This includes evil.
2. Lamentation
3:38 – “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That both adversity and good proceed?”
3.
Isaiah 45:7 – “The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing well-being and creating disaster; am the Lord who does all these
Things.”
3.
Colossians 1:15-17 – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of
all creation: 16 for by Him all things were created, both in
the heavens and
on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or
rulers, or
authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17
He
is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
4.
Hebrews 1:1-3- “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers
in the
prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in
these last days has
spoken to us in His Son,
whom He appointed heir of all things, through
whom He also made the world. 3 And He
is the radiance of His glory and
the exact representation of His
nature, and upholds all things by the word
of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat
down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high,”
5.
God is still in control. There is no violence, no disease, no political agendas
and no enemy over which He is not sovereign and which He cannot use to
accomplish His will.
D. God
allowed Satan to strike at Job by afflicting him with sores (boils) from the
top of his head to the soles of his feet. These were painful, putrid sores
filled with infection and corruption. When I was in high school I had a boil develop
on the side of my right knee. I still remember how painful it was and how gross
it was when it was lanced. For years I had a scar on my knee. Can you imagine
having such an affliction all over your body. What a pathetic sight it must
have been to see Job sitting there using broken pieces of potter to scrape the
sores and provide some type of relief.
1. When
God allowed Satan to strike Job, He knew how much Job could tolerate. In 1
Corinthians 10:13 Paul wrote, “No temptation has overtaken you except something
common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able.”
2. There
are no surprises with God. If He allows you to be led to it, He can lead you
through it.
II. JOB’S
TRUST
A. What
do you say to a person who is suffering?
1.
Perhaps it is a person who has lost their spouse or their child. Perhaps it is
someone suffering from a painful disease and nearing death.
2.
Sometimes we say things that are so inappropriate. “Everything will be okay.”
“It will work out eventually.” “My uncle died from the same thing.”
B. At
this point in Job’s story, we find the only appearance in the book of Job’s
wife.
1.
There is so much about her we do not know. Nor can we fully understand what
was meant by the words she spoke.
2.
Time does not allow me to present a full exposition of verse 9. It is apparent
that
her words are not very encouraging. “Then his wife said to him, “Do you
still hold
firm your integrity? Curse God and die!’”
3. Compare her words with what Job said
in verse 10, “But he said to her, “You are
speaking as one of the foolish
women speaks. Shall we actually accept good
from God but not accept adversity?”
Despite all this, Job did not sin with his
lips.”
4. Here was the person who was closer
to Job than anyone and yet Job could find
no comfort, or hope in what she
said.
C. Where could Job go but to the Lord.
1. In Job 13:15, Job’s faith prompted
him to exclaim, “Though He slay me yet will I
trust Him.”
2. In Job 19, Job said, “For I know
that my Redeemer lives.”
3. In Job 23:10, Job continued, He knows my paths and when He has tested me,
I
will come forth as gold.”
4. All of these statements convey the
same message. “Trust God – no matter what
happens.”
CONCLUSION
A.
“Where could I go? Oh, where could I go? Seeking a refuge for my soul. Needing
a
friend to save me in the end. Where could
I go but to the Lord.”
B How
many of you are in-need-of a Redeemer in whom you can believe in good times
