Order of Service

Job 1:22

In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Introduction

There are many ways to approach the book of Job.  Some focus on the theme of innocent suffering. Some see it as addressing theodicy, which is the study of the problem of evil. Some see it as a challenge to keep the faith.

As we celebrate the twenty-one years we have worshipped in this beautiful sanctuary, and to be relevant to the children and the youth who are worshiping with the adults today, let’s approach it as a bet or wager the devil made with God.

Allow me to take some theological or poetic license. In the seminary they call it “homiletical augmentation.” In the Black preaching tradition, it is called “telling the story” or “making it plain.” Please read the Bible for yourself. I know you will!

Satan appeared before God and was arrogantly bragging about how he had been throughout the earth causing chaos, division, and influencing people to sin. “I have caused neighbors to argue about the property line between their fields. I have caused young married couples to break up shortly after the honeymoon. I have caused religious leaders to stop speaking because of minor doctrinal disputes. I have caused children to disobey and dishonor their parents. I have caused grown children to argue and go to court about their deceased parents’ property - which wasn’t worth much in the first place.  I have caused people of different ethnic groups to hate each other. I have caused nations to go to war. I have been on a roll. I am the king of chaos. I am the master of disaster.”

God replied, “You may brag all you want to about your past conquests, but you have not yet met your match. You have not met my servant, Job. You can’t make Job sin or stop worshipping me. Job is different. I have complete confidence in my servant, Job.”

Satan replied, “He is just worshipping you because you have blessed him so richly. I can make him sin and curse you if you allow me to remove all of his blessings. Take all of his stuff, and he will curse you to your face. He doesn’t love you; he loves the stuff you have given him. Take his stuff, and he will behave like everybody else.”

God replied, “Not my Job! He goes to Antioch-Lithonia Missionary Baptist Church!” (Ok, I may have crossed the line with that last statement. Please read the Bible for yourself!)

So, the bet or wager was on. Now, all bets do not involve money. In one sense, to bet is to believe something will or will not happen, which is in your favor, preference, or interest. Instead of money, sometimes you are betting your reputation, competence, or credibility.

So, Satan sought to prove that Job would deny his faith if sufficient pressure was applied. First, Job’s material possession, his livestock, was taken. Secondly, his children were killed. Then, Job’s physical health was attacked. Most of us know how it ended – God won the bet. Job became frustrated, but he did not sin or abandon God.

Satan is always betting against people of faith. Sometimes, he expresses this bet through naysayers. Satan bet that Antioch would never build a new edifice, but we have worshipped in it for twenty-one years. He is betting right now that our children and young people will leave the church when they get older. He is betting that college students will party too much and will not graduate. Please emulate Job, and make the devil lose his bet. This goes on ad infinitum.  Let’s see how Job managed to make Satan lose his bet.

Exposition

1. Job Endured Hardships And Overcame Monumental Challenges.

2. Job Did Not Embrace Foolish Talk And Kept His Standards High.

3. Job Worshipped God For The Right Reason And Waited For His Change To Come.

Closing Thoughts

The devil lost this bet because Job made the right choices. Life really comes down to the choices we make. Our decisions determine our destiny. This reminds me of a peak in the Alpine Mountains of Switzerland. From this particular peak a traveler can throw a piece of wood in one direction, and it will float into the Danube River and on to the Black Sea. Another piece of wood thrown in another direction, from this same peak, will travel into the Rhine River and on into the North Sea.  Yet another piece of wood thrown from the same place, in another direction, will travel to the Rhone River and will float to the Mediterranean Sea. Although these three pieces of wood are thrown from the same place, they eventually reach three different seas.

Several people can have the same challenges, the same blessings, or start from the same station in life, but how they handle them will determine the final outcome. It can be positive or negative. Like the wood thrown from the same peak but in different directions, which produced varying outcomes, so we must continue to trust God and make the right choices. When we make the right choices, the devil will lose his bet every time.

Give God Glory! Give God All the Glory!

Related Scriptures

Job 1:1-22; Job 2:1-10.

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