Job - chapters 1-2

Return to Main Page

Opening Comments

• John Calvin preached 159 sermons on Job!
• James 5:11 is the point of Job - "As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."
• William Barclay's view on suffering is atrocious.....Barclay said "pain and suffering are never the will of God for his children......"
• Open Theism is the most contemporary challenge these days....
• Open theists - Clark Pinnick, John Sanders, Greg Boyd
• Open Theism - - - John Sanders in his book The God Who Risks "God does not have a specific divine purpose for each and every occurrence of evil.. When a 2 month old child contracts a painful and incurable bone cancer that means suffering and death - it is a pointless evil......The holocaust is a pointless evil......The rape and dismemberment of a young girl is a pointless evil....the accident that caused my brothers death was a tragedy - God does not have a specific purpose in mind for these occurrences"..... (Piper thinks this is wrong)
• Open Theism - - - Greg Boyd - Letters from a Skeptic - "When an individual inflicts pain on another individual, I do not think we can go looking for the purpose of God in the event. I know Christians frequently speak about the purpose of God in the midst of tragedy caused by someone else, but this I regard to simply be a piously confused way of thinking." (Piper thinks this is wrong)
• Open Theism - - - Greg Boyd - God at War - Neither Jesus or his disciples assumed there had to be a divine purpose behind all events in history. The bible does not assume that every particular evil has a particularly Godly purpose behind it. (Piper thinks this is wrong)
• Whoever desires to live a godly life will be persecuted." It is coming, it is coming, it is coming.....
• So many people are mad at God and so many pastors say it's ok......It is never ok to be mad at God.......but if you are mad at God, don't be a hypocrite...admit it........The only way not to be mad at God is to have your faith in his sovereign goodness so massively grounded, that when the waves break over you, you have categories in your mind and affections in your heart that can handle that.......

The Book of Job - Notes on chapters 1 and 2

• the author, timing and background of Job aren't known because it's universal, and, therefore, is for each one of us today.
• On the resurrection of Lazarus - - - John 11 - - Jesus waits 2 more days after being informed Lazarus is very sick - - - and Lazarus dies.....When questioned about why Jesus let him die - Jesus replied because of your faith............Jesus would rather have Lazarus dead if it would produce more faith, then alive if it produced less faith.
• Christ's priorities of what he wants for you is so different than your priorities, that if you don't begin to get your mind saturated with Jesus' way of thinking, then you won't be able to make sense out of the pain in your life. You tend to get angrier and angrier - because your priorities are, "if he loved me then....."and you provide a list of all your demands..... and its not his list, it's not the way Jesus thinks, because what he values are hearts that are so enamored with him; hearts that shine more clearly when everything we were leaning on is gone.
• We ought to celebrate the positive glorious gifts of God, but the worth of God shines in a powerful way to the world when in the midst of suffering we still don't curse God but say "the Lord gave and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord."
• Satan's aim is to destroy our joy and trust and delight in God, and to make God look worthless in the world's eyes. Everytime someone forsakes God for the world, gets angry at God when part of the world is taken away from them, they highlight the world as valuable....and everytime someone stays with God, when the world is taken away, and praises God, they highlight the value and glory of God
• There are 2 ways Satan assaults the glory of God in their lives: pleasure and pain...he uses pain to make us feel that God is powerless and hostile ......and he uses pleasure to make us feel that God is unnecessary.........(from the parable of the sower of the seed - - "the pleasures of the world choke the word of God")...Do you have pleasure or pain in your life today??? Satan is after you and God is after you...........Gods purpose for pleasure is gratitude, and God's purpose for pain is trusting in him in spite of it so that he shines and is more valuable to you than what you lost. God's and Satan's design in pain and pleasure is opposite! ......and life is war........when things are going well and when things are going badly......which is the harder war? when things are bad - its harder physically......when things are going well - its harder in terms of spiritual vitality.........far more kids are destroyed by pleasure than pain.....Piper would rather have a dead kid who believes than a live kid who does not........
• God aims to magnify his worth in the lives of his people who treasure him above everything else. This is the reason you were created, this is the reason the universe was created. Sometimes this is seen when people are living lives of gratitude in prosperity, you can see it even more clearly when living lives of joy in suffering. Rejoice in suffering (Romans 5)
• God grants to Satan limited power to cause pain. Our God is not frustrated by the power and subtlety of Satan. Satan cant make 1 move without the permission of God almighty! There are not 2 great powers in the universe - and they are vying for me - and I hope God wins! Job teaches 1 power - - he teaches God is supreme - "the Lord has given and the Lord takes away - blessed be the name of the Lord."
• "How are you doing?" - - - better than I deserve.........."
• Americans are so "rights" driven....I HAVE RIGHTS!......and we transfer it to God as if He owes us anything......little piece of news for you.........God owes you nothing.....Your life is a gift.....you have it on loan from God......you are trustees of every breath you take, every movement of a healthy muscle.....you are a trustee while you have it......and you will not have it much longer.....and you don't deserve to have it at all......and if God takes it, He is doing you no wrong!.........
• personal implications -
• 1. let us join with Job and affirm the absolute sovereignty of God in our suffering.........(our God is in heaven and He does as He pleases)
• 2. Let your tears flow freely when calamity comes (weep with those who weep; joy and weeping can exist in the same heart! there are all kinds of reasons to have deep unshakable joy when weeping, heaving sobs.......Learn to cry much, especially with others)........
• 3. Trust the goodness of God and let Him be your treasure and joy.....(the steadfast love of the Lord is better than life - psalm 63:3)

Return to Main Page