The Great God of Restoration

Well, there is a movie that you might know, Pixar produced a movie named Cars. I remember watching this movie with my kids and shortly before this movie there was a short film of sorts called The One Man Band. And in this movie of the One Man Band, there's a man who's playing the drums and he's playing the accordion, he's playing all these different things. And I have to be honest, when I'm here without my team and without my support, I feel as though I'm juggling a thousand different things and we thank you for your gracious patience. But I tell you, it's really good to be back home after a weekend of a conference.

We love those mount top moments when we see brothers and sisters from all around the world, but we are so thankful for our hometown and what the Lord has done here. I heard testimony from saints of God and from missionaries and from pastors who are in a tiny town in some corner of the world. It could be South Africa, it could be Africa, it could be Poland, it could be South America or Peru and in many of these places a congregation may consist of 10 to 13 people. They may be disregarded. Some of them have been preaching for 15 to 20 years and still have small congregations and they're still struggling.

These pastors and these brothers encounter difficulty sometimes within their own congregations, within their own context of their community. And when I look at your face, knowing that many of those on our leadership team are still in Alabama and I look out and I see a beautiful church, beautiful people on all three rows, you don't understand how blessed my heart is to see you knowing that your lives are touched by the work and it really is, it's nothing that Brother Chris and I have done.

We simply labored for 10 years, 25 minute drive from town and almost 11 years later the Lord has produced a thriving body and many of us from the church can be gone and you still are here and I can't tell you how exciting this is. There are many that would love to have the warmth and the fellowship that we have here. So the story of God's great restoration in the life of Job and the abundant wealth of Job's life, it cannot be taken out of context if we were only to read this last, one of the last verses in the book of Job, Job 42.10, I'll read it again, "And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends." We could read this out of context.

Job is a book of abundant provision and it's a book of abundant sorrow but it is a book of great joy because God's sovereign care is right in the middle of Job throughout every turn of his great tragedy. The book of Job actually even speaks to the church. You may not see that the book of Job is a book about the local church. See Job was a man like no other, a man of devour prayer, faith. His ten children and their families would have been a part of this local body. His wife would have been a part of this local fellowship and his three friends would have been a part of this fellowship. They gathered to him.

They spoke of the Lord and we would see that this is clearly representative of a local church. And although I cannot provide thorough explanation of the whole book, right, to be faithful with our text this morning, we will have to reference many passages through the book of Job in order to get context to God's word. So if you'd like to turn to Job chapter one, we will sort of skip through the book and I will be mindful of our time. We see that Job's restoration begins with great loss. If you're following along, our first major truth in our message this morning is restoration begins with great loss.

If you're taking notes, the first major truth today is Job's restoration begins with great loss. Job's abundant fortune is easily overlooked. We can see that his vast wealth was a metaphor of sorts for his immense spiritual blessing. Let's read in Job chapter one verse two. "There was born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east." So he wasn't just the greatest of all the people of the east, monetarily speaking.

He was abundant in monetary wealth. Even the number of his children would have been representative of great blessing. Seven, as you may know, is often represented in scripture of perfection and three would be representative of completion. So seven sons and three daughters, he had a perfectly and complete family. And look at his investment portfolio, if you will. One thousand sheep and camels. These animals were important in the ancient world for wealth building. There was no stock market. There was no mutual funds. But to have sheeps and camels would have been one's ability to produce wealth.

A thousand oxen and donkeys, these would be beasts of burden. So this would tell us that his agricultural finance was in abundance. In fact, it's not only complete and perfect, it would have been outside of the norm. He would have been a millionaire, to say the least. But we have to see this monetary abundance correctly. This is only metaphorical for his spiritual standing with the Lord. We would say that the Lord blessed him monetarily because the Lord had already blessed him spiritually. Let's take a look at his devout prayer life. He had abundant piety. Job 1, 4-5. His sons used to go and hold a fast in the house of each on his day.

They would have birthday parties. They would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them. He would rise early in the morning and offer burnt sacrifices according to the number of them all. For Job said, "It may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Job carried with him a burden for his children. If you think a large feast for each of his children, they would have had many of these feasts. He was constantly in prayer for them.

But his abundant wealth and his devout prayer life would eventually lead to intense despair. Job 1, 6. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also among them. And the Lord said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down in it." He is a roaring lion indeed seeking who he can devour.

In verse 8, "And the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job?' And there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil." Then Satan answered the Lord and said, "Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house in all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land.

But stretch out your hand and touch all he has and he will curse you to your face." And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all he has is in your hand, only against him do not stretch out your hand." So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. And what happened next in his life ought to produce great sympathy and empathy for us. And not just this character, but for any in our midst and in our church and our community who go through great trial. He was struck with great loss. All of his oxen and donkeys were taken through a raid by the Sabeans in Job 1.13. In Job 1.16 we see all of his sheep and the shepherds were consumed by fire.

And this fire is said to be from the Lord. The Chaldeans took his camels and killed his servants in Job 1.17. And worst of all, all of his 10 children died as the house in which they were in collapsed in verses 18 and 19. In verse 20 and 22 we see the heart of a man, we see why the Lord said there was no one like him in the face of the earth. Look at verse 20. "Then Job arose and tore his robe. He shaved his head and he fell on the ground and worshipped. And he said, 'Neket I came from my mother's womb and neket shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.'" Want you to see that Job had a certain hope. Verse 22 says that in all of this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Never did he accuse God of wrongdoing. In fact he said the Lord had given him this great blessing and the Lord had taken it away. A lot of the spiritual dynamics though he was not privy to. We see even in heaven we see the counsel of the Lord, the conversation between the Lord and Satan. And would you know, dearest friend, that no loss comes across your life unless the Lord has allowed this. And if he has allowed it then he has a purpose for it. And God's purposes are always kind.

Think of the great hymn that whatever my God ordains is right. And whatever difficulty you go through please know that the Lord has a great purpose for it. And so we see Job faithfully endured the first test. But lo and behold in Job chapter 2 Satan returns to God and asks permission to strike Job's health. Please keep in mind that God is sovereign over the entire process and God is intentioning if I can use that word. God intends this work for great good. In verse 7 of Job chapter 2 and I'll read. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in ashes. Throughout this terrible experience Job never turned from God and though he stumbled he never fell. I want you to see that Job had a certain hope and we have this same hope dear church. First Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13. No temptation has overtaken you except that which is common to man. God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. Now the way of escape from your trial is actually a way of endurance.

God may not always provide a way out of the trial. He will always provide a way through it and rest assured that he will be with you and he will even carry you through it. And you may thank dear brethren and sisters that you have been tried. If I can read the words of Charles Spurgeon. We have a tendency to think that we are the only one who is going through this. We have a tendency to think that no one understands. We may even think that no one even fully sympathizes with us and Job will share that feeling. Let's be encouraged by the words of Charles Spurgeon.

You may think my dear brethren and sisters that you have been tried more than others. But it is only your want of knowledge of the trials of others which leads you to imagine that you are your own and are unique. There are many others besides yourself in the furnace and in quite a hot part of it is that in which you are now placed. Charles Spurgeon also says in another work, "Your trials are not infinite. Knowing that God has no limits but your trial has been marked.

There is a day in which the Lord has ordained its beginning and the Lord has ordained its end." So please be encouraged with us dear saints that when you are in the midst of a fiery trial the Lord has marked an end to that day and He has also granted you sufficient strength for that and His grace is sufficient. You know, Satan may intend your experience for harm but God intends it for your holiness. We learned this weekend in a message by Dr. Tom Nettles, a well-renowned scholar, just a brilliant man. I found it quite providential as I was planning to preach on this.

He talked about the role of trial to produce holiness in the believer and in the church. Look at what 2 Corinthians 4, 8 through 9 says. We are afflicted in every way but not crushed. We are perplexed but not driven to despair. We are persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. If there is one word that best describes Job's internal state throughout the vast majority of this book from chapters 4, we would say from chapters 2 all the way to Job chapter 38 to 40. The better part of this book, the one word that would sum it up the best, perplexed.

Job was perplexed and the core thesis of his conversation with his three friends, this dialogue, is Job being perplexed? Have you been perplexed in the middle of a trial? Lord, why? Why me? Why now? Why this? Perhaps Job is wrestling most because of his isolation. Now he had his wife and he had three friends. I may refer to them as three and a half friends because there's actually four people that talk to Job but the Lord only says that he's got three friends. So there is another person who jumps into the conversation and we'll speak more of this.

But Job was isolated from his wife, Job 2 verses 7 through 9, after they lose their ten children. His wife says, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die." But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women. Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Dear friends, you know you will either curse God and die or you will bless God and live. Please write that down. You will either curse God and die, as Job's wife suggested, or you will bless God and live. And there are days when it's hard to bless God.

There are days when we are isolated, even from those in our family perhaps. Job was isolated from his wife and he would soon be alienated from his three friends when they attacked him spiritually. First we see that restoration, the work of the Lord, restoration begins with great loss, but restoration endures with prayer. Job's children needed prayer, he prayed for them. Early in the morning Job's wife needed prayer and he prayed for her, we suspect. Job's friends needed prayer. Here I will turn my attention to what really had confused me for the better part of two decades that I have been studying this book. I first read Job in college.

And I would say that the discourse between Job and his friends oftentimes left me puzzling. It's hard to really get your mind around what they're saying. So I took some time to study these three friends and I have their names and I have the references if you want to go back and study this. But the first friend, Eliphaz, he charged Job with weakness and faint heartedness. Job 4 verses 4 through 6, listen to what Eliphaz says. "Your words have upheld he who was stumbling and you have made firm the feeble knees. But now sorrow has come to you and you are impatient.

It touches you and you are dismayed." Now if you catch this accusation, it sounds a lot like those who were crucifying Jesus who said he healed others, let him heal himself. It seems as though Eliphaz is saying you strengthened others and you taught others, why not take some of your own medicine? Beware dear church, when you go to your brother and sister in Christ who is suffering and your words of comfort actually become words of accusation. It can happen. This word is for you Grace Lyper Kavan.

Let's be especially compassionate and kind to those in our midst but let's also be careful not to spiritually attack them and spiritually abuse them. Now you may not see Job as a great theological book or a doctrinal book but it is extremely theological. I would see it as a storehouse on the doctrine of suffering or the doctrine of sovereignty. When Satan has to ask God permission to touch you with calamity and God allows difficulty in your life, you may not fully embrace the beauty of God's orchestration. God even orchestrated Job's best friends to attack him spiritually.

Matthew Henry says it is, "Job was not merely touched by sorrow." Listen to the words of his friend, "Now sorrow touches you and you can't bear it." I think it's safe to say that Job's friend minimized the scope of his loss. He didn't understand how badly Job was hurting. Secondly we have the friend Bildad. Bildad justified God's work of judgment and he reproved Job for his defending himself against Eliphaz. If you look in Job 8 verses 5-7 and this may take some more study from you later this week, Job 8, 5-7, Bildad even suggests that it was Job's fault there was sin in his life and therefore that's why his children were taken.

They must have been guilty of great wickedness. If he were upright indeed they wouldn't have been taken. Can you imagine someone losing 10 children and someone in the church suggesting that they had sin in their life? Please be warned. Be warned Grace Life Church when your brother or sisters go through fiery trials that you not become an instrument of Satan to make their trial even worse. This requires great gospel humility, great compassion. Thirdly we see Zophar. Zophar referred to Job's defending of himself as "Babble." He described Job's speech as mocking and he attacked Job's spiritual stature.

He essentially says your doctrine isn't pure. We have to wonder if perhaps there was some jealousy in these three friends that was hidden. And we don't know all their motivations but here you have the leading member of the community and possibly the region, a leading member in the community of faith and now all of his great wealth is gone and all of his blessing has seemed to turn into a curse. Perhaps someone wants to supplant them and supplant Job on the chairman of the Deacon committee. Now that sounds petty of individuals. But didn't this happen for Satan?

Was it not pride that crept up in Satan that he desired a greater position in heaven? Even the two disciples, the sons of Zebedee who asked the Lord if they could sit on his right and left hand in his kingdom. Be leery of coveting someone else's spiritual gifts or their spiritual blessings in the church or someone's monetary possessions. And we don't know Zophar's motivations but here this respected, godly man who the Lord said was blameless, Zophar who was counted to be a friend says your doctrine isn't pure. You weren't as spiritual as you thought and you weren't as spiritual as we thought, Job.

Lord please help us at Grace Life Church at Brookhaven that the body here would never become part of Satan's arm to accuse one another. Now does this mean we cannot lovingly correct sin in each other's life and we should? If we have concerns for one another spiritually we are commanded to address this but this is not that. Eliphaz and Bildad and Zophar were actually part of Satan's chief attack on Job's character. You know that Paul described the thorn in his flesh as a messenger from Satan. Grace Life Brookhaven may we never be messengers of Satan. And don't think just because you're in the church house that you can't.

The Lord corrects these men. Perhaps it is because they knew him. And perhaps they had not had the compassion. Perhaps they had not had the heart the Lord desired. And when the Lord corrected Job he corrected these men. This debacle of an intervention actually becomes spiritual grandstanding, posturing. Your doctrine really wasn't all that great in the first place. Can you imagine the intense emotional and psychological and spiritual agony this man went through.

Not only does he lose his 10 children, not only does he lose all of his wealth, all of his standing in the community, but his three best friends and his wife all tell him, "Cursed God and I." And you really weren't all that in the first place. Thirdly, we need to see that restoration is completed with Christ. I want to read Psalms 14.7 and take a break from Job just for a minute. "O that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion, when the Lord restores the fortunes of his people. Let Jacob rejoice and let Israel be glad." Dear friend, your fortunes are restored in Christ. Some of you here today need restoration.

Some of you here today have never been born again. Dear friends, if you've never met the Savior, you have no hope for restoration apart from him. It may seem that you live in abundance, and though it seems you have much, you lack it all if you've never met Christ savingly. Are you in Christ this morning? I would encourage you to meet the one who restores and see Christ's work on the cross as sufficient for you for salvation. Fourth, and finally this morning, we see restoration builds the local church. Aren't you glad that God lovingly rebukes Job? Again I hate that I can't read the whole book this morning, but let me just read this one part.

The Lord visits Job and speaks audibly, and he spends several chapters simply stating his excellency. God simply says how awesome he is. That's all. And it produces humility in Job. And Job says this, "And Job answered the Lord and said, 'I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me.'" You need to see that God lovingly rebukes his child, and then God lovingly rebukes his church.

When the Lord had spoken these to Job, then the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My anger burns against you and against your two friends. You have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has." Dear friends, your vindication will come from the Lord. If and when people in the church are not kind, they don't support you like you feel you need to. Just be patient. Be patient with them. Be patient and actually see them as part of the work of God. When someone even in the church is not as kind or as considerate or they don't have the empathy that you feel you deserve, that in and itself is part of the work of God.

There is something the Lord is correcting in you and in time he will correct us, the church. Can I encourage you with this? Trials are not God's plan B. Do you know that God, before the foundations of the earth, because he's outside of time, right? He is infinite and he's omniscient. He knows all things. God knows every difficult time that you will ever go through in your life. And he is planning and orchestrating these events, although they be intended by Satan for your harm, they are purposed by the Lord for your good. I believe every church should have restoration in the following areas in conclusion. Number one, forgiveness.

I think restoration will fully come to you when you forgive others for not ministering to you the way you feel you deserve. Do you know this? That the Lord is so gracious. He will use sometimes foolish statements. Job called his friends miserable comforters. He said miserable comforters you are. Some help you are. But praise the Lord they were part of his church. They were part of his community. He needed them. They weren't there for them. But even that, God was sovereign. The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends. You can't really pray till you forgive. Secondly, intercession.

For 25 to 30 chapters of the Bible we see these people simply just attacking Job. We don't see or hear them praying for Job. We don't see them really ministering. Now they did sit with him for a long period of time in silence. They wept for him and they put ashes on their heads. They mourned with him. So perhaps they get commended for just visiting him and spending time with him. But your friends and your family need prayer. We see Job interceding for them more than we see them interceding for Job. We need restoration in forgiveness, intercession and worship. Job got this right.

He worshiped even at the very beginning hearing his children were taken from him. What does James tell us? Is anyone among you suffering let him pray? Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. We need a restoration of forgiveness, intercession, worship and joy. Psalm 4-7. "You have put more joy in my heart than they when their grain and their wine abound." We need restoration of intimacy with God. You know when we pray in the fullness of our character, this is Wayne Grudem we're teaching our youth this on Wednesday nights. When we pray in the fullness of our character we meet God in the fullness of his character.

When you pour your life out in your heart to God in prayer, the triune God meets you in that moment with the fullness of who he is. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit groans within us. There are times when you will not know what to pray when you are going through trial. And there are times when you just may sit before the Lord and you may weep. Know that Jesus interprets the Holy Spirit's sighing and groaning within you and he intercedes to the Father. And church, we need to have these tears for our brothers and sisters when they are going through trial.

When you don't know how to pray for your brothers and sisters who are going through difficulty, let tears and let weeping and let Holy Spirit's sighing and groaning come from your life. Spend time with them. Sit with them. Weep with them. Pray with them. Do not accuse. Do not be overly spiritual. Don't give what you don't have to give. We need restoration of intimacy with God and we need restoration with fellowship by the Holy Spirit. Listen to Romans 8, 26 and 27. "Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

He who searches hearts knows what is the mind, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." And finally, we need a restoration of fellowship with each other. May the Lord use your trial to produce fellowship for the brothers and sisters of Christ. I know this has been true in my life, for my wife and I. We went through a trial back in our old NOLA days and we committed that trial to the church. We saw how the church poured out their hearts for us and how they had broken hearts with us. And I'll leave you with this. Satan intends to rip the church apart through trial.

But the loving Father intends to bind His body together through each difficulty. So dear friend, what Satan would use to rip us apart, God will use to bind us together. Let us collectively commit our entire lives to Him, to Kingdom work. Good, bad, ugly, knowing that He will do this. Let's pray together.