Why?, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ, which is seven days and seven nights. No one speaking a word is always pain in the never said a word, by the way, this part of the Russian. Very seems to be separated Word worse rewrites this with me, says the best way to help people were hurting is just to be with them, saying little or nothing, and letting them know you care. Don't try to explain everything, explanations never heal. Nothing to say for joining us today on this additional fellowship in the work of Pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word. Our world word it demands a response excruciating the resetting of the bone was excruciating. You can feel it. That word by the way, comes from the word crucible and which comes from the Latin word crux which comes to the English word cross excruciating Job was in the crucible and it was excruciating. The last time as we went through this story how excruciating it was for him. We were also proud of Job. I mean as you read through those Scriptures early on in this book are so proud of Job. He lost his possessions.

He lost the servants, he lost his 10 children, he lost his own health. Any loss the respect of his wife and we read in that section. Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God for Job looks like he is doing great and if that's all we know about the story of Job, we would simply say that Job is the perfect example of how a believer should suffer, and that we should follow Job's example. But the story and Job continues and it reveals a lot of new information that we need to see open your Bible is the Job chapter 2 and verse 11 were introduced to one of the themes of the book of Job and something it really does apply to our own lives. We see what's introduced here is this having friends is a wonderful thing but not always. That's old and learning. Job having friends is a wonderful thing but not always. It says now when Job's three friends heard of all the adversity that had come upon him. They came each one from their own place three friends and please understand something here. If there's a word it's meaningless in our culture. It's that work. The Hebrew word for friend. The Hebrew concept of a friend is extremely different than ours. Solomon wrote in Proverbs. There is a friend who stays closer than a brother that's a friend. Unfortunately for us we defined friends as how many we have on Facebook. Those are our friends, they are not. If you ever need a kidney. You'll know why that's not what friend is these are friends. These are people bound to him, and noticed something about how various friends we don't know.

It could be because he had done such great business and that part of the world and these are three other significant men and what was interesting. The friends heard of this adversity, and they came to a great distance because that's what a friend us friend is and has to be asked to come someone's once will adversity a friend comes and that's exactly what they did these friend show up in their introduced Eliphaz egg, night Eliphaz attend the night. That's an important town and Edom in that part of the world and in Jeremiah 49 verse seven it said it was known for its wisdom that even Jeremiah the prophet coming up much later said that places always been known for wisdom and that's where Eliphaz comes from and Bildad who is a sure white.

It comes in the land of Shula and so far the name of fight comes from name, he said, and they made an appointment together to come and notice all they want to do is exactly what a friend should do. They want to come and sympathize with him and to comfort him. They have pure motives. They want to sympathizing comfort him, but as the story unveils itself, they cause Job more suffering than Satan did himself because of their worldly advice to him. They attack his relationship with God over and over again they become a tool of the enemy.

Applying worldly wisdom. It said when they lifted up their eyes at a distance they did not recognize him and unimaginable site is outside the city.

He's on the dump and he scraping all the sores off of his body. It's been excruciating for him. Have you ever seen somebody who is been suffering that you hadn't seen for a long time suffering stage IV cancer and the chemo he finally visited him in the hospital and you almost don't recognize them.

You see, with the toll of suffering is and that's what happens to them.

It's an unimaginable site. It's as they raise their voices and and they wept that word is got Kia got Kia in Hebrew. It means it means to weep and a sense bitterly and quietly not wailing or just sobbing and crying not receive Josie's epic there just sitting with them in her sobbing and crying and assessing each of them tore his robe, the grieving you tell your robes at the funeral. The trainer robe. They know that these are wise men they've seen people die before they tear the robe and then it says and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky again.

A funeral idea back to the ashes to ashes and dust to dust is a dying man right here in front of us with interesting about that too is it it then says that they they sat down on the ground with him for seven days.

They see a dead man sitting in a just sit down with them and it says seven days and seven nights. No one speaking a word to him the sellers pain was very great.

It was excruciating. They never said a word, by the way, this part of their action is very very good.

If you have someone you love and their suffering in this way, what seems to be at this stage of life. This is a great example to follow. When orders rewrites this with me, says the best way to help people who are hurting is just to be with them, saying little or nothing, and letting them know you care.

Don't try to explain everything. Explanations never heal a broken heart is nothing to say here and they don't but they started and it becomes very bad. Just imagine the scene. These three men come choke and perceive them. He suffering immeasurably need to sit down beside him.

They sit there for seven days. No one says a word.

That's an amazing scene when you think about it, but I want you to think of something else about Job, that in the silence. How lonely is the suffering. By the way you notice that whenever you really really suffer suffer alone. We all do you suffer. There's a loneliness to suffering. Thomas Wolf wrote a book called the anatomy of loneliness and he says the most tragic, sublime and beautiful expression of loneliness which I have ever read on suffering is in the book of Job suffered along Matthew 26 says. And then Jesus said to them, my soul was deeply grieved to the point of death remain here and keep watch with me. Anyone little beyond them. He fell on his face and he prayed. He said my father. If it's possible let this cup pass from me. Yet not my will be done, but yours is alone. He suffering alone little picks up on the story and says and being in agony, excruciating, and being in agony he was praying fervently in a sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

If you remember, even when he came back from that. What with the disciples doing sleeping on the cross, my God, my God delay Laura Lamas about sitting my God, my God, why have you forsaken me is alone when you have excruciating suffering in your life.

Just like with Jesus or Job you do it alone.

Having friends is a wonderful thing but will see later. Not always, but then something happens in chapter 3, and the theme of chapter 3. To me, is this what extreme suffering can do to even the best of us. What extreme suffering can do even to the best of us is easily the darkest chapter in the book of Job. It's an incredibly dark chapter. You get Job reveals his heart to us in this chapter he is speaking for himself clinic in a sense he speaking to himself. There is a pain so deep that we can't see the light that we can't find the relief and that we can't grasp any hope, and it can affect the very best of us is said afterward.

Job opened his mouth and he cursed the day of his birth. He put a curse on the day of his birth. I wish I was never born in this excruciating agony hold you place your this isn't that unusual look at Jeremiah chapter 20 Jeremiah 20 and will come back to Job verse 14. By the way, what's the story of Jeremiah is a prophet what was he known as the weeping prophet. Why is he weeping because no one listens to in his life stinks.

He suffering notice were Jeremiah the prophet says in verse 14 curse would be the day when I was born.

Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me curse would be the man who brought the news to my father saying a baby boy is been born to you and made him very happy, but let that man be like the cities, watch a said the cities which the Lord overthrew without relenting and let him hear an outcry in the morning and a shot of alarm at noon because he did not kill me before birth, so that my mother would have a said would have been my grave, and he said in her womb. He said ever pregnant.

Why did I ever come forth from the womb to local in trouble and sorrow so that he said my days will be spent in shame that Jeremiah extreme suffering can affect even the very best of us all of us turn with me back to Psalm 88. The psalmist Psalm 88 and this when I want to look at the inscription it's pretty important. The inscription says a song, a Psalm of the sons of Cora for the choir director noticing this business, something we gotta put the music is what he writes.

Oh Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried out my day and the night before you let my prayer come before you incline your ear to my cry for my soul has had enough troubles in my life is drawn near to she'll I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit. I have become like a man without strength forsaken among the dead. Like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more.

And they are cut off from your hand, you have put me in the lowest pit in the darkest places and in the depths. Your wrath has rested upon me and you afflicted me with all your waves in NC law, which is because that's the first verse let's sing that together. My life stinks and I find a way out. You see why does God tell us this, because it's reality is true we can suffer is such an excruciating depth that the perspective that we have only not suffering is not something we can always carry through the deep pain we feel. Now back to Job you know when I think about this whole week when preparation and out. I am amazed over all these years how many people I know this church of suffered from my point of view in an unimaginable way. Just terrible horrific suffering scene.

If you haven't that's fortunate. But for almost all of us. This kind of suffering can visit us and it can visit the best of us and visits Jeremiah and visits Job visit Jesus. It can happen to anybody. I get so angry when I hear what I would call so-called teachers, especially on television telling people that if there faithful people will never suffer greatly at all the never find themselves in a dark place that will always be victorious.

That's a lie. There's no truth in that at all to me that is just a shallow try Christianity.

Job then begins to speak here and Job said, and right there. The whole book changes right up till now, everything in the book is been pros. It's a historic narrative depicts that backup in chapter 42 and now it becomes a poem the rest of the way its Hebrew poetry, everything now and the rest from here through chapter 42 is it written in poetry. See have been interpreted in a sense politically, but Job start speaking, and he speaks in the sense, through his poem, he said, let the day perish on which I was born in the night which said a boy is conceived. I don't even want the day that I was born to exist and I don't want the night I was conceived to exist, I don't. I have never been conceived and certainly never been born.

What is he say that the pain unbelievable pain, he said, may that day be darkness. He said let not got above care for it, nor light shine on it, that's what this chapter is all about darkness. Job loves this term in all the way through Scripture. You see, the idea of darkness and light.

When God created in Genesis and he created lightly said it is good. Jesus said on the light of the world. There's darkness and Job says I'm in a very, very, very dark place.

He said let darkness and black gloom. Claimant let a cloud settle on it. Let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night. Let darkness seize it, let it not be rejoice among the days of the year. Let it not come into the number in case this into the number of the months behold but the night be barren. Let no joyful shout, enter it, how the day I was born. He said just wish it never existed. Please understand that the despair of his suffering. We read it and we go all that's terrible, but understand what is happening. It's not just that he lost all of his possessions and all the servants he lost his families. He had 10 children and that the submitting world.

His legacy is extremely important to him. He has no legacy. He has no respect.

He has no possessions and he does not have a relationship with his wife at this time and he sitting out on the city dump. How could he not feel this way. Why was I ever born.

What's the point noticed Job doesn't curse God in this he doesn't curse God that's great and he doesn't talk about the present, because he believes that's up that's not up to Job but he knows he believes in his own mind.

I don't think I have a future.

So all I can do is go back to the past when I wish I was never born.

That's what I wish he says in verse eight let those curse it who curse the day who are prepared to rouse the Leviathan. Now the idea of rousing Leviathan Leviathan is the this sea monster of chaos and those who rouse Leviathan are known in that culture as the enemies of God in every once a while they would rouse Leviathan and Leviathan would cause chaos so is just using a poetic picture here of what's happening he's expressing his own lament here and how he sees it, he said, let the stars of its twilight be darkened, let it wait for light, but have none, he said, neither let it see the breaking Dawn, he said, because it did not shut the opening of my mother's womb or hide trouble from my eyes.

How hurting you have to be you see what I mean if we only had one last time with us and what a great example Job is to us. He just took it like a man on the necessary use taken see excruciating pain and suffering have an enormous effect on the very best Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever missed one of our broadcasting or maybe you just like to listen to the message one more time. Remember that you can Google a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online event website you will find on today's broadcast. Also, many of our previous audio programs as well at Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help his radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting a monthly fourth is the one time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is of the sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible church visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC and LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds pastor Bill sermon you can browse through our sermon archives defined sensors are looking for. You can search by title. Once you find the message you're looking for. You can listen online or if you prefer, you can download the sermon on listening and remembering all this absolutely free of charge. Once again our website is FVC Nola.org for pastor Bill Gebhardt and Jason Denhardt.

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