Victors, Never Victims Part 3: Story of Job :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: July 21, 2021 by RR7

Job 1-2, 42; Job 1: 13-22

“Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; ¹⁴ and a messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, ¹⁵ when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’

¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’

¹⁸ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’

²⁰ Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. ²¹And he said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ ²²In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.”

Last week, we looked at the life of Joseph as we explore the life of victory that we are promised in Jesus. When we began 2 weeks ago, we looked at 2 Corinthians 2:12-17. In verse 14 of that text, the apostle writes that God ALWAYS gives us the Triumph in Jesus. The Triumph he was referring to, according to many scholars, was the processional that a conquering General would have received as he came back from some decisive victory on behalf of the kingdom of Rome. This processional would include the whole city, Senators and political leaders leading the way, loud and boisterous shouts along the way, and eventually, the General hoisted up was brought in and celebrated.

Maybe you can recall the scene in the movie Gladiator where the crowd is chanting, ‘Maximus! Maximus!’ as Russel Crowe’s character becomes more and more popular. Imagine that being the whole city, not just a coliseum.

Paul is telling us that, in Jesus, God will give us the Triumph. Jesus is the victor, but we are a part of the processional; we are there walking behind the victor, enjoying the great victory that was had.

In the last lesson, we looked at victory even when your family is your greatest enemy and how Joseph’s own brothers plotted to kill him. Yet God protected him, walked with him, and eventually promoted him so he, Joseph, could rescue the very brothers that tried to kill him. He described his life in Genesis 50:20, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” Today, we are going to look at Job and what happens when you are deliberately attacked by Satan himself. Can God still bring the Triumph from that?

Satan Attacks Your Family and Money, Job 1:13-22

Satan, a son of God, simply meaning an angel, a created being that was among the angels who came to report to God. God called him out and asked if he knew Job? Of course, he did. Job was wealthy, he had 10 children, and he was secure. Most importantly, Job served God faithfully and loved the Lord. God makes this assessment of Job in verse 1,

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.”

God makes this same assessment another time in chapter 2. There is no doubt about Job and the kind of godly man he was. Yet, God allowed Satan to attack him. This time around, Satan was allowed to kill his kids and take his wealth. Satan wasted no time attacking Job. He did it all in one day; Job lost all his kids and the vast majority of his wealth in one day. In the last few verses of chapter 1, we see Job’s reaction; he understood that God did not owe him anything. God was not under any obligation to make him wealthy nor to keep his kids from harm.

All too often today, there is a sense of entitlement in the Lord’s churches. There is this idea that the Lord owes me. How far from the truth that is? We deserve death (Romans 6:23), BUT the gift of God is eternal life. Even salvation is more than we deserve. We have it because God is good, not us. Job understood that God had the right to give and take away. And, we are told that Job did not sin in all this as far as charging God with wrong. Job knew he was a sinner, but in that case and in this circumstance, he did not sin.

Satan attacks your health, Job 2:1-10

We do not know how long the break was between chapters 1 and 2, but Satan is back again reporting to God, and God asks about Job. Satan is bewildered that Job has stood steadfast, and he asks for a bit more leeway to attack Job. God grants it. This is a very important lesson to learn; nothing can happen to a saved person that God has not permitted. That includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. We are God’s children (1 John 3:1), and He oversees all that comes our way.

Another important lesson to learn is that Satan cannot see the future. He was astonished at Job’s reaction, and if he had known the inspiration that Job would become to the world for the past 4,000 years, Satan would probably have left him alone, and no one would know who Job was. Nonetheless, Satan is given permission to attack Job’s health, and he wastes no time. Immediately, Job is struck with boils from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, and he is in agony. He uses a broken piece of pottery to scrape his body, then he covers himself in ashes, both as a sign of mourning and also as a salve for the itch on his body.

Job’s wife gives up. She did not say anything when the kids died and the money was gone. But seeing her husband in agony was too much, and she lashed out, ‘just curse God and die.’ Accept the fact that God has turned on you, Job. He is not on your side any longer. But Job maintains his integrity and does not curse God. He tells his wife to stop behaving like a ‘foolish woman.’ She knew better, but the sorrow and the grief got the better of her.

We can all get there, and eventually, Job would get there as well. He did break and began to question God, and in chapters 38-41, God begins to ask Job some rhetorical questions to simply confirm the fact of who is God and who is not. But in all of this up to the end of chapter 2, Job did not sin. He kept the faith and did not speak rashly about God or call into question God’s character.

Satan attacks your character, Job chapters 3-37

If Satan did not send these friends, he probably wished he did. These men, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, came to comfort Job, or so we thought. We do not truly understand the kind of destruction that was done to Job by Satan until they arrive, and they are so astonished that they could not speak for 7 days. They simply sat in silence.

I am a preacher and a talker; I have never been silent for 7 straight days. What kind of damage was done to Job that none could even speak for a week? Most of us have never been through this kind of suffering.

But they did begin to speak. In the case of Job’s wife, she gave up on God, saying, “Curse God and die.” She knew her husband and his character, but it was God who had abandoned Job. These three men who came to Job attacked his character (for the next 43 chapters). The basic premise is this: ‘bad things only happen to bad people.’ You are bad, Job, because bad things are happening to you no matter what you say. They accuse him of pride, of speaking hot air, of perverting justice, and on and on. Job, you are a bad, bad man. But God said this of him repeatedly,

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.”

This was not Job’s assessment of himself; this was God’s assessment of Job. These friends were relentless; they attacked and attacked and hit Job below the belt often. Let us not fool ourselves; this same mentality happens and is prevalent among the Lord’s people even today – ‘bad things only happen to bad people,’ thus you are bad if bad things happen.

In Psalm 73, we find Asaph, David’s chief musician, asking why good things happened to bad people. God, he pleaded, they have money, their kids are well, they live to ripe old ages and never have any cares. It was not until he went to the house of God that he understood their end; their wealth was useless in the next life.

I have known and know of many of the Lord’s people who are very ill. I have a dear brother who is suffering from old age, needs dialysis 3-4 times a week to live, is often tired, and it seems that every mission field he and his family have been on has been fraught with lies, betrayals, and the like. Yet, he is faithful and the first one to shout out God’s praises. I have another dear brother who is suffering from cancer yet finds the time and energy to be out in front of abortion clinics offering alternative solutions to murder, even leading some of these young ladies to Jesus. Some days after chemo, he is tired and hurting, but he is out there, and he praises God for the opportunities. I can go on and on, but Job has been an inspiration to millions of broken souls throughout the years.

God provides the ‘after,’ Job 42

No matter how long Satan attacks you, there will always be an ‘after.’ Whether we die and go to heaven where there is no pain, no suffering, no loss, and no Satan – or if by God’s grace, the pain is stopped on this side and we get to live a better life until we see Jesus – there is ALWAYS an ‘after.’ Satan is temporary, and God is eternal. Satan is limited and God unlimited.

One of the hardest things to learn and accept as a child of God is that we are bought with a price, and we are not our own. God has the right to allow both good and bad in our lives, and we need to accept that. But what He does also guarantee is that there will always be the ‘after.’ God gave back to Job 10 kids, and it is stated that his daughters were the most beautiful women in the area. He doubled his wealth, and more importantly, God stood up for Job to his friends.

No matter what you are going through, God knows you, and He will bring you through. Can you imagine the millions of people who have met Job in heaven, knew his life and testimony, and gave God the glory because of it? What about you and me? Last week we talked about how Joseph’s legacy lasted for 400+ years, but Job’s has been more than that. What legacy to Jesus are you and I leaving? Is it a life of Triumph in Jesus or a life of quitting on God? The choice is ours to make.

Remember, Job did not go through these things because he was bad, BUT because God trusted him with hard times. God trusted his testimony and boasted about him. Can God trust us with hard times and suffering? Will we live as victims or victors in Jesus?

“And he said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.”

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding

Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch

Online: https://www.mississaugamissionarybaptistchurch.com/ (under construction)

Email: missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

Victors, Never Victims Pt 2: Story of Joseph :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: July 18, 2021 by RR7

Genesis, Chapters 37–50

Genesis 37:1-11 “Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a [a]stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also, he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, ‘Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed, your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.’ 8 And his brothers said to him, ‘Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?’ So, they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, ‘Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.’ 10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, ‘What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?’ 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.“

Last week we began to look at a series about Triumph in Jesus. The text we considered in 2 Corinthians 2: 12-17 gave us some perspective on how Paul saw his life in Jesus. A man who was often imprisoned, often beaten, hated by many, he spent many lonely nights in diverse places, and he went from being a Pharisee and being wealthy to being an Apostle and, for the most part, was poor. Yet, Paul tells us that God brings us Triumph in Jesus ALWAYS.

The Triumph he was referencing was the grand parade that Rome would host for a returning and conquering General. This parade was a spectacle with the General paraded down the capital, surrounded by hordes of people chanting his name and throwing flowers and the like; there would be music and dancers and just a loud and joyous procession. Paul imagined himself in this parade, as Jesus is heralded, our great and conquering General. We would be in the procession enjoying the Triumph with Him.

Our modern world has created no shortage of victims. Everyone has been wronged by someone, and they have the right to accept failure and blame all of the tragedies of life on someone else. Sadly, this mentality has begun to creep into the Lord’s churches.

Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at the lives of some Bible characters that would offer them the reason to turn their backs on God, throw up their hands and quit. The life that God led them into would have offered them the opportunity to live godless lives and a life of victimhood. But they trusted God and saw His hand in their lives, and by His grace and in His time, God caused them to Triumph. I pray that we will learn and apply these lessons and principles to our lives.

We are entering a time as we approach the end where we will be hated more and more. God’s truths and those that bear them will be despised, and we may even be imprisoned and killed. What will our attitude be? Will we live in such a way that even our enemies leave knowing that there is a God in Heaven and that He is real?

In the story of Joseph that we are focusing on today, we will see that this young man, just 17 when we meet him here, was surrounded by serious issues in his family. If you have read the story, you know that this is one mixed-up family.

Jacob, the dad, has 4 women – 2 his wives, and 2 his concubines (kind of like wives but without the ceremony) with whom he has 12 children (he will have a 13th child). Joseph is the son of Rachel, the wife he loved first and was cheated out of by his father-in-law. He loves Joseph and adores him above all the other kids, and they do not like it (Genesis 37:3). We will explore all the reasons that Joseph had to turn his back on God and to hate his brothers, but we will also see that God never left this young man, and in His time (some 13 years), made his life glorious and brought about a great Triumph.

Hatred and Jealousy: A recipe for Murder – verses 4-11

I don’t know about you, but I do not think that my siblings ever hated me to the point of murder. I certainly did not think of killing any of them. But this was one messed-up home. Dad has a favorite kid; he was very open about it, and the rest of the sons hated their little brother. Hated him. They did not dislike him; they were not indifferent to him; they hated him. The evidence of this hatred is found in verse 18. Joseph was sent by his dad to check on his brothers and the flocks, and when they saw him coming, they plotted to murder him.

If you read in the life of Jesus in John 7: 1-3, Jesus’ own brothers encouraged him to go to Jerusalem when they knew that the Jews plotted to kill him. Jesus also was hated by his family. We know He has 4 brothers and at least 2 sisters (Matthew 13:55). His brothers James and Jude, New Testament writers, were saved and served Him, but we do not know what became of the other brothers. But, at this time in John 7, all of his brothers hated him and encouraged him to go where he could be killed. They did not want to do it, but they knew who could.

In verse 6, Jesus confirms their motive by telling them His time was ‘not yet.’ What time? His time to die, but He reminds them that their time is always ready. God could strike you dead at any time. Jesus knows what it is like to grow up in a toxic environment and still see the glory and Triumph of God. In the book of Hebrews 4:14-18, he tells us that He knows every situation, including temptation, that you will ever face, and He is there to help in the time of need.

Back to Joseph, his brothers plot to kill him, but God intervenes and provides them an out, and they sell him to a passing caravan as a slave. Off to Egypt he goes, from free to being a slave, from being preferred to being nothing, and off to a country where he knew no one and did not speak the language.

The Lord was with Him, Genesis 39:3-4, verses 21-23

If God is for you, who can be against you (Romans 8:31). God was with Joseph. He made all he touched to prosper even in captivity, and people saw that he was different, and they knew it was the Lord who was doing it. We are called to give God 100% all the time, no matter the circumstances. We are not to use our circumstances to hurt others or to cause shame to the Lord’s good name. We are not to be slackers in the place that God has put us. If you and I are children of God, we will find ourselves where God wants us to be even if we get there because of the malice of others.

God used the hatred of his brothers to get Joseph to Egypt. But make no mistake, it was God who wanted him there. Joseph trusted God, and even in the harshest of circumstances, he served God faithfully. In both cases, as a servant in Potiphar’s home and as a prisoner, God made all he did to prosper, and God made sure that the right people saw him and promoted him.

In God’s time, Genesis 41

We live in an instant world. We want everything faster. Fast food, condensed books, shortened emojis to use for conversations. We text in tiny boxes with limited characters, and waiting has come to be the worst thing one can do. Even Amazon will get you your box in 24 hours or less, and if we have to wait at a store, we give them a bad review and say nasty things.

But God is the God of waiting. By the time we get to Genesis 41, Joseph is about 30 years old. It has been 13 years of patiently waiting on God. God had a plan; God had the timing, and God controlled all the circumstances. God allowed him to be sold into slavery, then bought by Potiphar, knowing that his wife would falsely accuse Joseph of rape, ending with him being imprisoned. This was so he could meet the 2 servants of Pharoah and have one of them survive to tell Pharoah about Joseph. This way, Joseph could be promoted to Second in Command in Egypt and rescue the men who plotted to murder him and sold him into slavery. But it all happened in God’s time and at His pace, for His glory and for our benefit.

God is not rushed; God is not running out of time, and He is not cheating you. If you are a child of God, serve Him where He allows you to be. Give Him 100%, and let God worry about the next step. God’s plan is better and greater than yours. And, unlike God, you don’t know the end.

Patience is one of the most important traits of a mature Christian. In Galatians 5:22-23, we see that one of the fruits of the Spirit is patience. This is a supernatural gift that we get from God, but it is not a popular gift in the modern church. We are not big on patience. One of the most important things to learn as we grow in Jesus is that God is not rushed, He will do what He wants when He wants, and He is not easily moved by our complaining. When we get ‘ahead’ of God, it is always to our detriment and our loss. Wait on God, trust Him; He cannot fail you, ever.

The Big Picture, Genesis 50:20

Once Jacob was dead, the brothers feared that, with Dad gone, Joseph would try to enact revenge on them and kill them. But Joseph was way past that. He had forgiven them and moved on. He promised them that he would care for them and their children for as long as he could.

Genesis 50: 19-21 “Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.’ And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”

God meant it for good. God was in control all of the time, and He never left me. When we read Exodus 1, we see that Joseph’s legacy and influence lasted for about 400 years, even to the Pharaohs of Egypt. What kind of legacy will you leave your children, your nation, your family, and your friends? Will it be a legacy that points them to Jesus? Joseph had a life of Triumph in God because he trusted Him in all the circumstances of life and refused to use his past, his family, and even his present as an excuse not to serve God wholeheartedly. Oh, that we would be the same today. We are promised in 2 Corinthians 2:14 a great Triumph in Jesus.