Hopewell Baptist Church Napa, CA Sermon Podcast

Below is an excerpt from the sermon...

Let’s open our Bibles if you would. Please. We’re in the book of John. John Chapter 11 tonight. Tonight’s Bible study will be the sequence of events before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. I just want to give these to you in order. And they have a significant meaning. So, John Chapter 11, and we’re going to look at several passages where Jesus is actually giving His last advice before He leaves Earth.

I got to thinking, just the thing of last talks. Last talks. It’s kind of like that last talk that parents give their kids before they head off to college. “Don’t forget to do this. And don’t forget to wash your clothes like I told you. And don’t…” It’s that last talk as they’re going out the door. I’m sure Olympic coaches have a last talk. Little last words before they go out to do their performance or competition. I’m sure that the person in charge of a battle before his soldiers or his troops go into battle. That last little meeting, those words have got to be so, so important. I was thinking about a boxing match this week. A guy in the corner and the coach for the boxer, his last words right before he goes into the ring. And so that’s what Jesus is doing here.

These last chapters in the Book of John. It’s going to be His last night with his disciples, and soon He’s going to be awaiting trial, and then He’s going to be crucified. So, this is their last time together. And so, I just want you to kind of see the importance of this because we have these talks. We have important talks with people. Notice here, please, just in sequence—John, Chapter 11—and notice this is before he’s even arrested. Notice all the hints Jesus is giving about the crucifixion.

Notice John 11:25: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” He is speaking that even before he was crucified, He is prophesying and saying, “Don’t forget, I will rise from the dead. I am the resurrection.” And so, Calvary was not an afterthought. And the empty tomb was not an afterthought. He gave them all kinds of hints about this.

And then if you look in John Chapter 12 for a moment. John Chapter 12. And He is anointed by Mary with the sweet smelling incense. John 12:7—notice what He says: “Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.” And so again He’s referring to “I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna rise.” And so, He’s giving them all these hints.

Let’s pray, and then I’m going to give you about 13 right in a row. 13 of these last talks that He’s having with them. Father, Bless now the reading of the Word. Help us as we tiptoe through this very sacred Scripture, something that takes up just about half the Book of John. Half of the book deals with the last week of His life. How important. I pray that we would see the truths that we need in our life here as we as we head toward this Sunday. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

We see #1—if you’re filling in the blanks—Anointed. He was anointed. Notice John 12:1:

“Then Jesus six days before the passover…” The Passover is when He will have the Lord’s Supper. So this is like a full week before He’s betrayed. “…came to Bethany…” Bethany is really important. That is the town that was six miles from Jerusalem, where three of his good friends lived: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Anytime he was in Bethany, he was eating at their house. Thank God for people that invited Jesus over, and He felt welcomed. They were hospitable.

And then it says, John 12:2–4 “There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. 4. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,” And then we read in verse John 12:7: “Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying…”

Here’s what I’m thinking about this: She had to be a mercy person. Yeah, she had to be someone thinking, “Jesus, this is your last week of life. This is it. You’ve come into town, and we know You’re going to be crucified. I mean, this is the time.” Thank God for people that feel deeply. She anointed Him. Someone had been listening. Remember Simon Peter said, “Lord, don’t talk about Your dying and all that.” But Mary had been listening. Someone had listened. He had said the Son of man will die and be buried, rise from the dead. He said it many times. She listened. And so sometimes the difference and people’s response to the Gospel—some listen and others did not.

So, she anointed him. Thank the Lord for people who do special things for other people. Someone said, all the needs are handled by the offering. Sometimes, it needs to go to individuals. You give you a tithe, you give an offering, and then sometimes God will impress you to encourage someone somehow. And this was what she did. It was very costly, worth a lot of money.

And then #2, we see that Jesus comes into town. We call it Palm Sunday.

I was out soul winning today. I was in Fairfield and almost every door had one of those Catholic poems on it, and one of them it even had a Jesus stapled to it. I guess they sell them in mass. I mean, He was stapled! And they were on every door. So where does that come from? Look down, if you will, please. In John 12:12. “On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,”

Below is a transcription of the sermon...

We’re in the book of 1 Kings. 1 Kings 17, if you will. 1 Kings 17. And we started a series a couple of weeks ago just on the subject of people that finished strong. People that finished strong. And that’s who we want to be. We want to be Christians that do not just start well, but we finish well. Great finishers are the famous ones in the Bible. Great finishers.

And tonight, the character that will be studying for just a little while is that of Elijah. Let’s say his name together. You’re ready? “Elijah.” In fact, we got a couple in our church, I think, and so that’s good. And he had a successor, the one he trained, called Elisha. So, two different names there.

Elijah. And just a little background on him: the Jews believe—and this is a tradition and a legend—that Elijah shows up in Israel in the house of everyone when they circumcise their son. And so it was this mysterious thing. They always just said, Elijah shows up at this point because this is when a leader is beginning.

When Jesus was on the cross, you ever remember when he said “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani”? He said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” People said they didn’t hear him clearly. They said, “He calleth for Elias,” and they were referring to Elijah. They said, “Hey, on the cross, that Man on the cross is calling for Elijah.” They didn’t hear him right, But that’s what they thought. Kind of interesting. Someone said, “Who is Jesus?” And they said, “Well, He reminds me of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet.” Someone else in the Bible said, “He reminds us of Elijah.” Why a great man of prayer, and so what a compliment for Jesus to be commented about—for someone to say, Elijah reminds me of Jesus and Jesus reminds me of Elijah. And I thought, you know, that’s a wonderful thing.

Now why is this man so important? Elijah is the one the one of two men that appeared on the mountain with Jesus—Moses and Elijah. That was him. Some people believe he’s going to be one of the two witnesses. The Bible doesn’t say in Revelation. There’ll be two witnesses after we leave and the tribulation takes place. Many think it will be Moses and Elijah because of the miracles that they’re doing. So that’s just a little of the background here.

With that said, look down please, in 1 Kings 17, and we’ll just begin. It says, “and Elisha the Tishbite…” and that refers to where he was from, this place called Tish. “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

Let’s pray, and then we’ll just jump in here. Father, bless now the time we have. Thank You for the Bible. Thank You for all these rich lessons to help us with life. And I pray that some things that are said tonight… We’re not here to entertain or just teach facts or places or what names mean. We’re here to draw closer to Thee and see how are we to live our lives. I pray that You would help us finish strong like this man did. Please. In Jesus’ name we ask, Amen.

So here it is Chapter 17. He appears out of nowhere. It doesn’t say anything about where he was born. Doesn’t say anything about his parents. Doesn’t say anything about his childhood, his teenage life. It just said, “And Elijah Tishbite…” He just kind of appears. He’s much like the Old Testament version of John the Baptist. John the Baptist had that coat of camel’s hair. He had a grasshopper sticking out of his mouth. He just shows up. He’s preaching, “Repent!” That was a lot like Elijah.

Elijah was one who preached very boldly. He’s the one that stuck his finger at Ahab’s nose and said, “You’re the trouble with Israel, not me.” He was just very, very bold. Also, he was the one that pronounced judgment several times. He said he said that Jezebel is going to be eaten by the dogs. He’s quite the guy.

So, he just shows up and pronounces this. But here’s a key phrase in verse one: “before whom I stand.” And that phrase is repeated several times in the description of his life. He simply says, on a regular basis, “I stand before God and I spend time with God. Before whom I stand.”

And someone said, Well, if you kneel before God, you’ll stand before men. And so, if we’ll spend time with God, will have no trouble standing up for right. And so, we see this repeated “before whom I stand.” He’s bold. And at the beginning of his life, God ends up teaching him many lessons, teaching him many lessons before he does great things, and it’s interesting because it says here… notice down at 1 Kings 17:2–3 “And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 3. Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.”

So, for three years, God says, “Go hide yourself.” He said, “There’s a certain place I want you to go, and you’ll just kind of be in hiding. No one’s going to see you. You won’t have a public ministry. It’ll all be private.” Kind of interesting. See, sometimes we want God to show us to others. And God says, “No, I need you to hide yourself.” We’re not talking about hiding from people or hiding from wrong. I’m just saying any time God used someone, he kind of put them in the back 40 for a while, kind of unseen as He worked on them before He ever revealed or showed them. Get this: Moses, forty years in the wilderness than forty years leading. Jesus—thirty years before He ever did a miracle, before He ever preached the sermon–preparatory years, and then a three year ministry. Joseph—thirteen years before he ever became the prime minister, and so forth.

He says, “Hide yourself, then show yourself.” That’s what Bible college is. For a young person, it’s a place. “Hey, go hide yourself for four years, and learn what you believe, and figure it out. Get prepared before you have anything to say.” And so, He says, “Go hide thyself.”

Below is an excerpt of the sermon...

If you have your Bibles, open them please to the book of Matthew, the first of the Gospels. Matthew Chapter 27. And, of course, it’s one week before Easter. Some people have named this Palm Sunday because this is the day they commemorate Jesus riding on the back of the donkey into Jerusalem, where they laid down the palms and they cried out, “Hosann! Hosanna to the king!” And so, that’s where we are.

And let me just do a little numbers thing for just a second as you find that. So Jesus was crucified. He was in the grave three days and three nights. That’s what the Scripture says, right? Three days, three nights. Okay, so many religions teach that He was crucified on a Friday. If that was so, He had been the grave Friday, Friday night, Saturday, Saturday night, Sunday, Sunday night. He rose again on Monday, so you can’t get the three days and three nights in there if He was crucified on Friday. He was crucified on Thursday. That’s what I believe. He was in the grave part of Thursday and Thursday night, Friday and Friday night, Saturday, and Saturday night. Tomb is empty Sunday morning, and so if I refer to Thursday, it’s because many, many scholars believe that’s the day He was crucified on instead of Friday. I wouldn’t argue with you at all. When you get to Heaven, ask Him. Okay, but don’t say Pastor is messed up. Pastor missed it. It’s good Friday. No, it’s really good Thursday. If you add it up, you can’t get three days and three nights if He was crucified on Friday. You know, you just can’t get that. And so anyway, all right, you’re welcome. Alright, man, I’ve done messed everybody up. Oh, man.

And so, let’s notice, please. We’re going to look down in just one verse in Matthew 26 then we’re going look at Matthew Chapter 27. And again, thank you for being faithful in the house of God, and thank you for those that are listening online. Faithful. I know some of you are either ill or out of town. Some are quarantining. It’s just all sorts of things. And so, thank you that you love the Word of God. Thank you. That’s the best you can do. You’re listening to God’s Word today, and God will bless you for that.

And so here we are in Matthew 26:67: “Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands.” Then if you look down to Matthew 27:26 Matthew 27:26–44 “Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

27. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. 28. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. 29. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! 30. And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. 31. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. 32. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

33. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, 34. They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. 35. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. 36. And sitting down they watched him there; 37. And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

39. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, 40. And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, 42. He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. 43. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. 44. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.”

And let’s pray. Let’s please make sure our cell phones are off to at this time. Heavenly father, we ask your blessings upon the reading of these very serious Scriptures. Help us never to discount or lightly esteem the great price that was paid for our salvation. The empty tomb we celebrate. But there must be a cross before there’s an empty tomb. I pray that You would fine tune us today and speak to our hearts, help our hearts to be tender and help us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

All the world religions have a founder. They talked much about their life and their words, little about their death. By the way, all world religions except Christianity, their founder is dead. Christianity speaks much of Jesus’ words, actions, much of his death, and much of his resurrection. The death of Christ saturates the Bible because it saturates the mind of Christ and the mind of God. The Bible says in Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Jesus in his earthly ministry many times reminded His disciples the Son of Man would be betrayed into the sinful hands of men and be crucified and three days later, rise from the dead.

Below is an excerpt from the sermon...

Alright. Proverbs 16: 32. Proverbs 16:32 says he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty And he that rule with his spirit than he that take the city.

And we’re also going to read Proverbs 25:28. I can go ahead and read it for you if you like. Um, he did have no rule over. His spirit is like a city that has broken down and without walls.

And then, the last little verse we’re going to read is in 1 Thessalonians 5:19. It’s only four words: "Quench not the spirit."

Let’s pray, Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you, Lord, for always being so good. Thank you for the excitement that lies ahead. No matter, no matter what, comes our way. We know that Heaven’s our home and that we’re in a battle and we’re on the winning side. And, Lord, I’m just thankful, Lord, that we have Your Word and Your Spirit to guide us. And, Lord, I need both of those things tonight. I pray, Lord, that You would help me to speak on things that are uncomfortable for me. Tonight I know, Lord, that, this is what You would have me to speak on. I pray, Lord, that You would just do the speaking tonight. I love you. Thank you. And ask this in Your precious name. Amen.

Well, I’ll be honest with you. I’m not really sharing a message with you tonight. I’m sharing a meditation, and it’s something that that I’ve had to chew on a lot. And, just being real transparent with you, it’s something that I struggle with, but I figure that if I struggle with it, then there might be some other people struggling with it. So I’m just gonna, if it’s all right with you, straighten this guy out. And if it helps you, well, then, Amen.

Yeah, it feels like we’re living in a hurricane these days with everything that is swirling around us. No schoolwork, no work quarantine, no church quarantine, no church but on livestream. Everything’s just buzzing around us. We’ve got what’s going on politically in our country. We got what’s going on personally in our own lives. It just seems like there’s a hurricane going around, and even though the winds are invisible to our eyes, I still see the effects, and I still feel the effects of the wind. I feel it hammering me.

And so in honor of our pastor, I just want to bring out an illustration. And I want to basically, illustrate this little truth here. And that’s this: When you strike a match, if you don’t protect it… Okay. So what? I want to say tonight is this: the flame needs protection when you strike a match. Hope I don’t set the sprinklers off. What you gotta do is cupping. You’ve got to protect it and guard it. Why? Because the winds are strong. The you got to protect it from the rain. You got to protect it from the elements. A flame needs protection if it’s gonna stay lit, if it’s gonna stay burning, a flame needs encouragement.

Did you know that a flame will not burn unless there’s oxygen? And it needs fuel as well. There’s gotta be something to burn, whether it’s this candle right here. It’s burning because there’s paraffin in wax and, there’s fuel there. There’s oxygen there so the flame can burn. But if the wind comes up, that’s what it does.

And I just want to say this: the miracle of our salvation is knowing God, knowing full well who we are and what we are and how we are. It is a total miracle that He would want to save us at all. It’s an even bigger miracle that God would want us to end well. But He does. The Holy Spirit moves into our heart at salvation. He quickens our dead spirit, which makes it come alive. He’s, He’s like a lit fire for God in our heart.

And the work of the Holy Spirit… His name means “Paraclete,” which means alongside of. He comforts us. He teaches us. He leads us. He convicts us. He directs us. He corrects us. He empowers us. He illuminates us. He points us to Jesus, and He gives all the credit to Jesus. He is so important in our lives.

We need the Holy Spirit working in our lives, especially in this day when the winds are blowing so hard and so heavy trying to extinguish it.

Okay, well, if the Holy Spirit does all those things in our lives—leads us, teaches us, empowers us, and points us to Jesus—if He does all those things in our lives, then I got a question: How come there’s times in my life when I feel so alone? How come there’s times in my life when I feel so lost? Not eternally lost, but times when I feel like what in the world happened to me today? I started out so good. Where did He go? I know He said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. And that is the truth. You know I don’t get it. See, I started out right. I started over here in the morning early, reading my Bible and spending time with the Lord, and in my little heart—I’ll tell you what—It was on fire when I left this morning. But as I got out there getting somewhere along the way of my day, right? What happened?

You know what. I’m in the word every day. I’m just telling you, I can count on my hands the days I have not spent time with the Lord in the morning. Every day. And I get in there in the morning. I love it. My little heart gets on fire, and then I take off and go about my day. [blows out the candle] You ever feel like that? I know. I’m the only one. I’m the only one. Why is that? Because his flame needs protection from the elements. The wind, the outside pressure of this world swirling around us. The rain, the negative circumstances that dampen our spirit and put the flame out and stop it from burning.

Below is an excerpt from the sermon...

We'll be in the book of Daniel tonight. Daniel 1. We started a series I think it was last Sunday night, and we called it “Those that Finished Strong.” Those that finished their Christian life strong.

Many in the Bible began, but they did not all finish. And the thing I love about Daniel is this not only did one of the archangels, (there's three—Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer) Michael actually appeared to Daniel on more than one occasion. So one of the top three angels came and spoke to him, actually answered his prayer. And that's when Michael said 21 days ago, when you prayed, I had the answer and I was coming. But I got tied up in spiritual warfare with the King of Persia. I mean, it's an amazing story, so the angels were present in his life, and that's what I love about Daniel. What a guy. Plus, he's the only Old Testament character called Beloved, just like John, the beloved disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. That's what Daniel’s called in the Old Testament. One character is called that. Amazing.

Many people in the Bible serve God in their adult years but wasted their youth. Some people serve God during their youth but wasted their adult years. A few of them serve God from youth all the way through their adult years. Just a few. Daniel is one of them. That's why I love Daniel. You can't find one negative on him. I'm sure there were some, but not in the Bible. God did not list one thing he ever did wrong. What a guy. I love this guy.

So, let's notice as we look down in Daniel 1 for just a moment, and then we'll pray in just a second. We'll give you this background. Daniel 1:1-2 says, “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 2. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.”

Notice Nebuchadnezzar was an idol worshipper, and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. And then it talks about in Daniel 1:4…notice who they captured during this time—"Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom” What's that mean? They could do algebra. Skillful. They knew pie are round. They knew all that stuff, “…and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.”

So, they ended up taking the best of the kids. The best of the young people, people they thought they could teach a new language, people who are apt at science and apt at math and things like that. Daniel was taken. And so, we'll just stop there.

Let's pray and then we'll jump into the message here. Father, would you bless now this brief time that we have. Show us something in this life. You've given us twelve chapters about Daniel. Help us not see just him, but see you working in him. What a life, Lord. Only you could help some kid like Daniel get through all of this. I have no idea how he made it, except for you. Would you please help us now? In Jesus name, Amen.

So quickly, we've covered this a lot. Here's the background of the story. It takes place during the Babylonian captivity God had judged Israel. He releases his hand of safety. Nebuchadnezzar comes. He surrounds Jerusalem first starves them out. It's called a siege. So, they cut off the water source. They cut off all the food source.

Think for a moment. What if somehow they had troops surround Napa. In fact, I think they're doing this Tuesday. But the troops surround Napa, and they don't let any trucks come in. No groceries, no canned foods, no meat, no bottled water. Nothing is allowed to come into the city. How long could you live? How much food do you have stockpiled Y2K at your house? How many of you have a big garden, besides like one tomato plant, one string bean, maybe one little pepper plant? Most of us are not able to sustain ourselves like that.

So, he cuts off the food supply. Soon there's no food. Jeremiah depicts part of this. They started eating the horses. They start eating the cattle. They eat all the animals. Soon the church goldfish is gone. Even the pumpkin from pumpkin Sunday is gone. Now neighbors are looking at neighbors. Yeah, cannibalism starts taking place. It talks about it in Scripture. It got that bad. Nebuchadnezzar said. I don't even have to kill you guys. I'll just starve you out.

Zedekiah, who was the governor or the mayor of the city tried to escape out of a wall. They caught him. Nebuchadnezzar set up portable court. He says, “You're the problem with this town.” And they said, “Take his sons, kill them in front of him.” And then they burned his eyes out so the last thing he would ever see where his own sons killed in front of him. That's the Nebuchadnezzar that took over. That's the guy.

So he attacks three different times. He ends up taking out Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They renamed them. They gave them a new language, new dietary laws, new customs, and tried to give him a new religion, a new idol to worship. That's the Nebuchadnezzar. That's the day in which Daniel lived

Think for a moment about when they took the captives. Here's the city burning. He's leaving. He's either chained or in ropes. Probably stripped naked, walking barefoot through the hot sun, 600 miles to Babylon. He has no security. His temples is gone. His parents are gone. His leaders are gone. Any security that he's ever had in nation's history. And now he finally arrives in Babylon. That's Daniel. How would you feel? And it's interesting. He never got to go back. The story never ends “and happily ever after.” He never got to go back. They rebuilt the city. But he never got to go home. That's this Daniel. And he finished the Christian life. He comes to Babylon. He didn't have a pastor. They don't have a Christian school. He comes to Babylon. He didn't have parents. He didn't have anybody to look up to religiously. But he had God. And so when he left Jerusalem, he didn't leave God and God never left him.

And so what did he do? What are some actions that we can? Maybe a follow that helped him finish strong? I want to give them to you tonight…

Below is an excerpt from the sermon.

We’ve talked about foundations in life, foundations in the family, foundations in marriage, foundations with kids, rebuilding the foundations of our nation, and today we're going to give one more of those foundations, and that's the foundation of character. And the word character is simply the subconscious doing of right. It’s what you would do if no one ever found out. It is what you are when no one's around. Character. That's what our nation was built on. That's what a Christian family has got to be based on.

If we live just on our feelings, we're going to have a real hard life. We'll talk about that a little bit today. In second Kings 2. I'm going to jump around a little bit, not on the platform, but I mean in Scripture. But in 2 Kings 2:1—and this is starring the two famous prophets that were preaching in a very wicked nation of Israel at the time, Elijah and Elijah—

2 Kings 2:1–14: And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. 3. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 4. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. 5. And the sons of the prophets that wereat Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 6. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. 7. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. 8. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. 9. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 10. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I amtaken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. 11. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. 13. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; 14. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

The text is in 2 Kings 2:10, “Thou hast asked a hard thing.”

I want to speak this morning on this subject. Do the hard thing. Do the hard thing. Father bless now the brief time we have and Thy word. Take this truth and put it in the youngest child to the oldest teenager to every adult in this room. Help the person that's been avoiding it and has been walking away from it. Show them what the hard thing is and their life that they need to accomplish. Help them in Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

Our nature is prone to take the easy route. When families split and there's child custody issues, it is natural for the child to choose the parent with the least amount of rules because it's the easy road. It is the easy road for the student to say which teacher is the easiest in a subject.

David Livingstone, the missionary to Africa, got a letter. Someone said, “We would like to come to Africa to help you, Mr. Livingstone. Can you tell us where the easiest road is to find you, and we will come.” He wrote back. He said, “There is no road, much less easy road. And if you're looking for an easy road, I don't want you to come help me.” No wonder he died alone! What a character! Doing the hard thing.

Life is not always easy. Jason Brockman this morning, who pastors in Colorado, he understands. His wife was in a car wreck less than 10 years ago, three children, broke her back. She's paralyzed from a little below the neck down. Does not have use of her hands, she's in a wheelchair, someone has to help her and her children get ready every morning, someone has to do her makeup in her hair. She's a pastor's wife. He wheeled her into the church this morning…as he got ready to preach and he tries to finish his building program.

Mary Esposito understands. Her husband is a pastor at a large church in Long Beach, California. On the way back from his missions’ conference, he said, “My head!” And he had a massive aneurysm. He still cannot speak clearly. He's been in a wheelchair for over seven years. I preached there just about every year. Joe Esposito, he's sitting in church now in his wheelchair kind of leaned back. His eyes aren't quite right. His mind will never be right. She has had to do the hard thing.

Margaret Stringer, our missionary last year in the ladies’ conference. 40 years she served as a missionary to the cannibals, a single lady never married. She went to a hard place, did the hard thing.

Our military has done the hard thing. They have left home. They've survived boot camp. They put their lives in danger. They were way underpaid. They saw horrific things happen. They saw deaths of loved ones. Ofttimes they were wounded. Sometimes they were captured and tortured and put into concentration camps. They did the hard thing so we could have an easy life.

It was the settlers who said, “Go west, young man,” and they came from coast to coast to establish these states. The Lewis and Clark's. It never was easy under attack, under the elements, under the lack of food, under traveling conditions. But they did the hard thing because they had something called character.

Here is a larger-than-life prophet. He's done eight miracles. He's trying to steer Israel back to God. He's about to go to heaven in a whirlwind. And his successor, Elisha, says, I” want a double portion of what you have, Elijah.” He said, “You have asked for a hard thing.”

Below is an excerpt from the sermon...

Let's take our Bibles. Let's go to the Book of Acts. I think this is going to be a good time tonight. I'm looking forward to this. I found out a little while ago that we're going to be able to have the chance to preach here tonight. So I'm really, really excited about this. So let's go to the Book of Acts 27. One of the best, well-written stories ever is here in Acts 27.

All the details and all the different words that it uses to describe what's going on. It's a really, really neat thing. So let's get over there all the way to the Book of Acts 27, and I'll read you a few different things. We're not going to read one place in the Bible today. We're not going to read just one verse. We're going to read the story highlight some things out of the verses.

So, let's go. Acts 27:1 I'll read it here. It says, “And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy…”

So, what's going on here? Just to get the setting in the story, Paul has made an appeal to Caesar. He was unjustly judged in his own country. And he said, “You know what, forget this. I'm a Roman. I'm going all the way to Caesar. He will hear my case just so that you guys will not be able to do to me anything that you want to do to me unlawfully.” So, he appeals to Caesar and gets out of there. But it wasn't just like an online appointment with the judge. You have to go. Don't ask me how. I know there's online appointments with judges, but back then you had to go all the way to where the judge or to Caesar was. That was in Italy. He is not in Italy at the time. He is in Israel. So, he has to make this trip. But it's not on the first plane. You have to wait for the right weather. And it's just a long, long time.

So that's the setting here. He's going to Italy. “…they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band.” Acts 27:4: And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus…” This is an island out there. I think Cyprus is the football of the boot of Italy. If I've got it correct, I might be wrong. I'm not a geography person, but somewhere over there. “because the winds were contrary.’’

Acts 27:7: “And when we had sailed slowly many days…” I hate that feeling when you're driving down the road and you have to go slowly. We were driving across the country over to Florida. And when we were going through Texas, remember that in the news there was a storm about Texas. We were there in the middle of the storm. We were driving very slowly. In places our car would go like this and it would get off this way and then skid off this way over here. We were the only car on the highway. Can you imagine this? In Austin and San Antonio, Texas. And Houston, Texas. There are no other cars on the highway. They would not let us get off of the highway. All the exits were closed. All the entrances were closed. It was it was a bad story. Anyway, we were going very slowly, many days. Good thing it wasn't that many days! “…the wind not suffering us…”

They couldn't go fast. They couldn't go the speed they wanted to because the wind wouldn't allow it. Acts 27:13: “And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.” Acts 27:14-15: “But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. [15] And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.”

And that's just a bad situation right there too. You let her drive. Oh, this is bad. This is really bad. Oh no, not good. Acts 27:16: the end of the verse: “we had much work to come by the boat.” It's just not going the way they want it to go. Acts 27:17 “…they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.”

Can you imagine being on that boat, being exceedingly tossed? Is anyone here a boat person? You like boats? God bless you all. I don't like boats. I like being where the ground doesn't move. It's really, really nice in the boat. It's just not! It's not my thing. “And the next day they lightened the ship.” It was so bad they've been tossed back and forth by the winds. They said this is not good.

We have to get rid of all this stuff. Now, it wasn't a prisoner ship. If you read the context—I'm skipping verses—but if you read the context, it was a merchant ship. It was going to Italy to sell goods and the captain Julius came up and kind of commandeered it and says, “I'm going.” He uses this ship. “You can continue carrying your goods, but we are taking this ship and you're taking us as your merchandise and the prisoners all the way to Italy. Now they're lightening the ship.

They threw all the merchandise overboard. It was what they took, all their money, basically everything they had invested in this in this ship and threw it all overboard trying to lighten the ship. Let's keep on going. Acts 27:19 “…and the third day…” Now after three days of this… thirty minutes is too much for me. Three minutes is too much for me. Three days and you're sleeping in your little hammock thing or you're like the apostle Paul. You're chained to other people here and here, and you're sleeping, and you're moving, and you're rocking. And it's just not a good situation. I'm so glad that I was not on that voyage. And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. Now, this is a whole different level when you're throwing out that stuff, when you're throwing out the stuff that the boat needs to be able to make a successful voyage. No, we don't need that steering wheel—throw it overboard. This is not a good situation.

Acts 27:20 “And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” I hate that feeling. You've been there too. Sometimes it's just not a fun place to be.

We’re in Job Chapter 1. I want to talk about one of my favorite characters tonight in the Bible. And, of course, it’s Job. As you read it, it’s not just him going through his trial. It’s his friends talking. There’s a lot of reference to Jesus Christ: Job 19:25 says, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, And that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:” He’s talking about Jesus coming back one day. Job was the great sufferer of the Old Testament. Jesus, the great sufferer of all sufferers not only suffered physically but suffered spiritually, died, suffered our hell for us.

Job. What a story! What a story! Let’s look at just some highlights, please. Job 1:1: “There was a man in the land of Uz…” and I always think of Oz when I read that. How many people are who are kinda like me? Okay, Disney people here. The Wizard of Oz—no, that’s not it. Job 1:1 “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect…” “Perfect” means mature, upright. That meant that he was straight in his living. He was not a crook, “…and one that feared…” That means deeply respected God. “…and eschewed…” or kept a distance from “…evil. And there were born unto him…”He must have been pro family. I saw a billboard yesterday when I was in Wisconsin, and it said, “Smile, your mother was pro-life.” Oh, I thought that was pretty good right there.

And so, “…there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters, [3] his substance…” So that meant he had some things. The government didn’t just give it to him. I guess they didn’t know how to run the government back then. You had to work for what you got, and you probably appreciated it. “…his substance also was seven thousand sheep.” That meant he had a textile company because sheep wool would be spun for the clothing industry. “…three thousand camels…” You could say he had a limousine service. You could order one humper or two humper limo. “…and five hundred yoke of oxen…” That would basically equate to tractors. He had farm equipment “…and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east…” He was a businessman. He worked hard, and so he had a lot.

Let me just say this. Capitalism is a good thing. America has always rewarded the person that works hard. You can come here to the land of opportunity, have nothing, work hard, climb the ladder, and with God’s blessings, you can have some things. It’s not the government’s place to extra tax you out of that Job you worked hard for. So here it is. Now, if you make a lot of money, we’re gonna tax 80% or 60%. Hey, take it even 10% off everybody and call it even. Don’t tax someone and penalize them for working hard and being blessed. It’s just a different day. Well, this person has nothing. Well, maybe he didn’t work. He has nothing, so let’s take all the money that the rich people have made and give it to the people who decided not to work or may be or lazy or may be were not as innovative. That’s that is not Bible. That’s not Bible. And that’s why we’re in the mess that we’re in.

So, here’s Job. He worked hard. He had some things. Never be ashamed that your Heavenly Father has spoiled you as His child. If you drive a nice car, praise God for that. Never be ashamed. You inherit something and you’re pulling into church with a new car—maybe a 2003 or something like that. That doesn’t leak. Hey, thank God for the old cars. That’s the only thing keeping our parking lot going right now. The oil just kind of keeps it going.

So, here’s Job. He is pro-work. He’s a hard worker. He’s a businessman. He is pro-life. His children are alive. He is committed. He got married He’s got a wife, and he’s a good man. He’s a good example. God looks at him and says he’s straight, he’s honest. he’s mature, he’s got a lot of things going.

And it says in Job 1:4: “And his sons went and feasted in their houses…” Feasts meant that they knew how to celebrate. They knew how to get along. The boys got along. They were not fighting and feuding and distant, and none of this, “We haven’t spoke, we’re never speaking to you again.” They “feasted in their houses, every one his day…” that refers to their birthday. So they were a family that celebrated. And let me encourage you: Every family ought to make a big of their kids birthdays, their mom and dad’s birthday. Whether it’s an anniversary, make big of that. And kids, if you’re living at home, encourage and make big of your parents’ birthdays. Birthdays are not just a time for kids to get presents. It’s a time for kids to get presents to their parents, too. So you say, Where would you be without your parents? you wouldn’t be here.

Job 1:5: “And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them…” And of course, he prays for them. Job 1:6: “It may be that my sons have sinned…” He says it may be it just maybe my kids are not perfect. Uh huh. It just may be. “Not my kid. My kid would never do that.” Job thought may be my kids did. Maybe my kids will. Maybe my kids are doing well, but maybe in their heart, they’re not. He says, “Maybe they’ve cursed God in their hearts.” “Thus did Job continually.” What a guy. What a man.

Job 1:6 “Now there was a day…” and quickly, you know, the sons of God and devil shows up. There’s this conference and he’s talking to God. And God brags on Job. It’s one thing for people to brag on you; It’s another thing for God Who knows everything to brag on you. Here’s what God said to Satan. Job 1:8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job…” So, Job did not just serve money. He did not spend his life just making money to buy things. Somehow in there, he also served God. Job 1:8: “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth…” That put him at number one position on planet Earth. “…a perfect and upright man, one that fears God and escheweth evil.” Job 1:9: “Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast thou not made a hedge about him?”

You know the story. Look at the last phrase of verse 10, “and thou hast blessed…” There it is again, “…the work of his hands.” God blesses his work. Let me encourage you. You’re a young person here tonight, “Man. I wish I had a nice bicycle.” Work for it. Buy one. “I wish I had these new Kaepernick shoes. They kneel every time you put…” No, no, no. “The new Air Jordans or…” I need the work for it. Don’t always ask your parents. There’s jobs to do. Get a lawn mower. Go through the neighborhood. Pick some weeds. And so it says “he blessed the work of his hands.”

Verse 11: “But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.” By the way, it’s always been a contest of Satan against God. Satan hates you and me because we remind him of God. God is Father, Son. Holy Ghost—a trinity. We’re body, soul, spirit. We’re made in the image of God. We’re not animals. Were not a porpoise. We’re not a spotted owl. We’re not a monkey. We’re not an ape. We have a living soul that will live forever. No animal has that. How do I know if your dog gonna be up in Heaven? Is your cat going to Heaven? Mine won’t be none of mine. None of mine. Maybe yours. None of mine. If you just got around mine you would know they’re not going to Heaven.

“And so he had blessed him.” So, here’s Satan. He says, “I want to take him down so You get less glory.” That’s what it’s all about. Any time Satan wrecks a Christian’s life it’s so now, “God, that’s your child. What kind of God are you? Look at how they live.” And that’s why God deserves glory from our life. We have got to be sold out to God. We’ve got a God that’s a creator Who loves us, Who is consistent, Who is faithful. He is our peace. He’s our joy. He’s everything to us. We need to give Him that glory. And that’s what Job did.

You know the story. Satan attacks him. So it says in verse 6: “There was a day…” Satan speaks to God. Verse 13: “There was a day…” It all happened in one day, and you know the story. Look down in Job 1:14. And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: 15. And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away…” In other words, you lost everything you had you lost at the stock market. You lost your 401K. You lost your inheritance. You lost your retirement. You lost it all. The last phrase of verse 15: “…and I only am escaped to tell thee.” Now that happens three times. It’s always one servant that escapes to tell Job. Let me encourage you. Don’t be that person. Don’t be the person who is joyful being the one to share the bad news every time. Job hurt. Now you lost your businesses. Now you lost your children. They’ve all been killed in an accident. Now this happens. It was always one left to tell him. Don’t be that person. Sometimes we have to share bad news with someone. Maybe the death of a loved one. But we ought to never be looking for that.

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep…” Stop! How did he know it was God that dropped that fire and the tribulation? Satan is going to be able to use the antichrist to drop fire. How come God got blamed for this? You haven’t noticed? In our nation, our nation says there is no God. There is no God. We evolved. Then 9/11 happens. “Let’s have a day of prayer to God for our nation.” How hypocritical Or, they say, “Where was God when this happened? Where was God when this tragedy took place?” So, God gets blamed right here. Let me encourage you during the times of trials. Don’t blame God. Don’t blame God. You may not know why the trial happened. You may not know why you’re going through this, but God has a reason. God has a reason. Trials make us bitter or they make us better.

Verse 16: “…escaped alone to tell thee.” Verse 17, last phrase, …”I only am escaped alone to tell thee.” Verse 19, last phrase, “I only am escaped to tell thee.”

Let’s pray, and then I want to talk about those who finish strong. Father bless now the brief time we have. Thank you for putting this great story in the Bible. Sorry Job went through it, but it sure has helped me. Just knowing about it. I pray You take these truths and help us practically in our lives. In Jesus’ name, we ask. Amen.

We use the term, “Look at all they went through.” Now the key word is “through.” They didn’t go “to.” They went “through.” Look at all Job went through.

Paul uses this term, “Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” There are two types of trials: There are trials that come, and then a lot of time passes and then another trial comes. That’s the kind if I’m having trials, that’s what I want. Give me some space…like every 75 years. You know, Lord, I can handle it every 75 years. But the rapid-fire trials… this happened. Oh, guess what? And then this happens the next day, and then it’s this week, and then this month, and then another, and another. That’s what Job went through—what we would call rapid-fire trials. And he made it. And that’s the worst type. It’s like getting punched in the stomach. Then you turn around and take a deep breath and you get punched in the head. Then you turn around. You punched in the stomach. It’s just it doesn’t stop. Some of you know what I’m talking about. You have been through some rapid-fire trials in times in your life. Others, you’ve gone through those slow trials where, boy, you kind of recouped from it, get some strength and learning from the lesson and then it goes away. And then it’s another trap. They never stop.

I hate to tell you about the time you say, “This is probably the biggest trial in my life,” get ready. Get ready. We say things like this: “It’s never going to end. I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.” So, we have Job here. How do we know really what he was like? Here’s how. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” So as we see Job’s words, we find out who he really was.

I call him the Matthew 7 wise man that built his house upon the rock. He built his life way before the trials came. He had to walk with the Lord. He was close to God. So, when the trials came, his house stood. And what an example for us.

So how did he do this? How did he finish strong? I’m gonna give you several facts about his life tonight. If you’d like to turn to the verses, I’ll give them to you. And some will be a statement or maybe an illustration. But look down, if you will in Job 1:5: “And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about…” Look at the end. “…Thus did Job continually.”

Number 1, He was a continuer before the trial came. Folks, that’s why it’s important as parents that we make our kids finish projects. They start, they’re gonna put a puzzle together—finish it. They’re gonna put a model of car together. Finish it. They got a remodel something. Finish it. Quitters don’t make it through their trials—people that are used to quit. And when things get tough and you take a hard subject in school, finish it. So, he was a continuer before the trial came. The Bible says he prayed for his kids. “Thus did Job continually.” He already continued. Then the trial came. No wonder he just kept continuing. Someone says if at first you don’t succeed, destroy the evidence you ever tried!

Number 2: He knew how to worship. He knew how to worship. Looking down in Job 1:20. Notice what he does when something major takes place in our life. The first thing we do, our first response reveals a lot about us. Do we call the psychiatrist? Do we go online? Or do we go to the Lord? Notice what he did. He finds out his children have all died. He’s lost his businesses, everything he had. It’s gone. Job 1:20: “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle…” That’s how the Jews did. “…shaved his head, and fell upon the ground…” And I know what a lot of Baptists would have done…and cursed God. No, it didn’t say that. “…and worshipped.” What did Job do when he lost it all? He lays prostrate on the ground and says, “Lord, here I am.” He goes to the Lord. That’s what we need to do. When trials take place, worship. Show Him He’s worth something. He’s still in charge now. How did he know how to worship? He was worshiping a long time before this trial ever took place. Someone said, if you don’t go to your prayer closet often, you’ll forget where it is. Why did he go to the Lord? Because he was just used to doing that.

Number 3. How did Job finish strong? I like this a lot. Look down in Job 2:7. He cut out negative comments. He cut out negative comments. Let me encourage you, As you go through something major in your life, you’re gonna feel weak. And if you’ve been through some things, you know what I’m talking about. I mean, you’re weak and the least little comment can tip you one way or the other. I mean, you’re doing good to just stand. And notice what Job does here, in Job 2:10. His wife speaks. And let’s not be too hard on her. She buried 10 kids, too you know. We always say, “Look at that. What kind of wife was she?” A normal one. A normal one. Job 2:9-10: But he said in verse nine, when his wife said to him, “…Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” What did he do? He cut out negative comments. He corrected negative things that people said to him.

You go through a tough time, and people are gonna have their opinion. You need to stand up and correct what people are saying. Job says, “That’s a foolish statement. Mom, don’t say that. God sometimes let’s bad things happen to us. Do we really think we would only have good things in our life? Are you kidding me? Every family has good and they have bad.” That comes birth and there comes death. There comes health, and then there comes disease. There comes blessings, and then there comes debt. Everyone has this. Why would we be the exception? And so, he kind of straightened out some things she was saying. Sometimes you have to do that with a friend. Sometimes you may have to do that with a child. Sometimes you may have to do that with a buddy, and so that’s what he did. No wonder he finished. He wasn’t going to hang around negative comments that were false.

Next, look down in Job 1:21. In his heart and in his life, he practiced stewardship. So again, he’s buried his children. 1:21: He said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return thither: The LORD gave…” What’s he talking about? The Lord gave us these camels, these sheep, these donkeys. He gave us all these things. He gave us these oxen. He gave me my business. He gave us these ten kids, and the Lord has taken away. “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Let me see. I need someone to help me. Just for a second. Levi, can you help me? Just for a second. Come on up here. I appreciate you all dressed up sharp. You look nice. So here it is. We’ve done this before. Here’s God. He says, “Do you have any money on you? Okay, so you have nothing to start with.” Baptists, Baptists. “Okay, so can you just hold that for me? Thanks.” “Can I have that back? That’s life.” Everything that you and I have, God has loaned it to us. It’s His. And then we’re prone to get upset when he wants it back? “Hey, Nicole, you got Andy all these years? I need him up in Heaven now.” “Hey, you’ve had your Job for 20 years. Looks like you’re about to retire? You know, you’re not gonna be able to. They’re going to lay off.” God gives us things and relationships, and sometimes He takes them back.

How do we respond? That’s stewardship: He owns, I possess. He’s the owner; I’m the manager. He gives it for a while, then he takes it away. Good health. I had pretty good health till I was 60. It’s in that book, Look What God Did for Me. There’s a whole chapter—it needs to be ripped out. Good health. Never been in the hospital. Now a fall down the stairs falling. Torn rotator cuff surgery. Blood clots to the lungs. In the hospital. Guess what God did? He said, “Good health? Okay, I’ll take that back.” It’s okay. Anything better than hell is still bonus.

Look at this one here quickly—Job 2:11. How did he finish strong? Maybe only one of these thoughts will be of help to you finishing. And it says, “Now when Job’s three friends heard…” Guess what? He had friends, not a friend. Friends. He had more than one friend. He wasn’t possessive. He had friends. He was not a lone ranger. Ecclesiastes says, “Two are better than one, for if the one fall down, the other will be there. (I’m paraphrasing) to pick him up.” The reason why sometimes people quit is they have separated from being close to anybody. They’re not friendly. They don’t have friends. So, when they get discouraged and fall, no one even knows. No one’s around. No one calls. Why? No one notices because they pulled out so much. And they’ve just been kind of a loner. We all need friends. We need friends to sharpen us. We need friends to encourage us. Friends need us to build them up. We need some friends to build us up. We gotta have time with people who are weaker than us to pull them up and time with those stronger than us to pull us up. We all need friends. Yeah, and I know Job’s friends…we kind of bash them, and they said some things they shouldn’t. But they did come. They did weep, and they were there. They made an appointment. They took time out of their schedules to come. Now Job worked on those friendships. And that’s why they were there.

What else? Quickly. Why did he finish strong? Look at this—Job 2:13: “So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.” He didn’t speak. They didn’t speak. What did Job do? He spent some time thinking. It’s kind of a new thing, kind of a new doctrine. Think before you speak. Job just sat there and, I don’t know what he was thinking. “Lord, I wonder what I did. Is there anything I did to cause this? How are we gonna get through this? Is my wife ever going to get her mind back? When will the sting ever leave? How we gonna avoid being in the homeless shelter?” Seven days he’s thinking before he ever opened his mouth. It’s amazing he spent some time thinking.

Why did Job finish strong? Quickly. Look at this one in Job 13:15. If you’re not going through a trial now, either you’re probably just coming out of something or you’re just going into something. If you’ve never had a major trial in your life, I hate to tell you it’s coming. It’s coming. Because the older you get, the older everybody else gets. And pretty soon you’re saying goodbye to loved ones. I’ve got three pastors that are in Heaven right now. Three that were my pastors. Notice down here in Job 13:15 and it says, “though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” Job said, “I’ll just keep trusting my Lord as a walk along.” I just keep trusting. If I could trust Him to save me, I can trust him through the trial. If I can trust him to keep His word, I can trust Him to get me through this. He just kept trusting. “Well, I don’t see it.” Sometimes you may never see it. He just kept trusting.

Next, look over here for a moment. He knew it would end. And I want to say this to you tonight to someone who may be facing a trial. Maybe health, maybe marriage, maybe with a wayward child. Someone told me—I sent one of those Israel rocks to a pastor friend, and it said, “May you always face and fight the giants of your life.” And he was struggling with one of his children just right on the edge of the world and just didn’t know if he was gonna make it—that pastor said I kept that rock on my desk for several years. Every day I looked at it. Just, “Okay, Lord, we’re just gonna stay after this thing.” The trial ended. Yours will too. Will this ever end, this temptation of addiction? This pain? It will get better.

Notice what Job says who’s been through more than any of us in Job 23:10. “But he knoweth the way that I take: When he hath tried me…” “Tried” is past tense. When he’s tried. When the trial is over. Job said, “It’s going to end. It’s gonna end. It won’t always be this way.” Not only that but in that same verse, he knew he would be better. Look down in Job 23:10: “…I shall come forth as gold.” There’s that Patch the Pirate song right there. “I’ll come forth as gold.” Gold has to be purified and is put in a fire. It’s no fun. It’s hot. I’m sure it’s uncomfortable. And then it pulls out, and then it’s done.

What else? How did Job get through these trials? About two more. Here we go. Job 23:12, he says, “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”Okay, let’s find out here. Can I need a teenager to just volunteer? Just need to ask you out loud. Okay, on average how many meals a day would you eat? Breakfast? Lunch, Supper? Three or four? Several teenage guys say three or four. You ask a teenage girl: “I don’t know, maybe a pop tart in the morning and, I don’t know, maybe supper at home.” Okay, so four meals. It takes a lot to keep a teenage guy going. Here’s what Job said. He said, “When I went through this trial, I ate more of [the Bible] than I did food.” There comes a time where mealtime is less than Bible time. And we live in a wonderful day. It can be on a phone app. You can listen to the Word of God. You don’t always have to read. You can listen to it while you’re working. You can listen to it during your commute. 72 hours and the whole Bible is going through your mind. You may not remember at all, but the Bible is like a net. It’s like a sieve. You get enough water to go through it, and the mind is pretty clean. Job said, “That’s how I made it.” He said, “A lot of the Bible,” not just hearing preaching sermons, but a lot of the Bible. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” That’s how Job made it—extra Bible. Here’s what the average Baptist does: They go through a trial. They get disappointed in someone. So, they quit church. “You let me down,” Everybody? Everybody? Everybody in China? Everybody in Indonesia? Everybody let me down? Everybody in Vietnam let you down? Everybody in Cambodia let you down? You don’t even know him. Everybody in Jason Russell’s Papua New Guinea Islands? “They all let me down.” I’m quitting the Bible. Quitting church. Quit my ministries. Quitting praying. You’re not going to finish strong doing that. You need extra Bible. That’s what he says right here, “esteemed his words more than my necessary food.”

Look at this one here. Quickly. We’re on the end. Here we are Chapter 40. To look at this, he realized he didn’t have all the facts. You know, sometimes we can look at a trial and say I know what the Lord is doing, but a lot of times we can say I have no idea what He’s doing. I just don’t see it. What was it someone told me? Has nothing to do with anything. “What kind of what do you call a deer that has no eyes?” “I have no ideer.” Oh, brother. So, sometimes you’re just not gonna see it. Notice what Job says. Job 42:3: “Who is he that hideth counsel Without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not; Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.”

Job did not see Satan and God speaking and there being a contest to see if Job was gonna snap or not. He never saw that. All he knew was that his 10 kids died. He lost his business, lost his health. His wife got angry. That’s all he knew about. He didn’t know all the story. Sometimes we may not know till we get up in glory. Why did God allow the COVID? I have no idea. Why did God allow this person to get elected? Hadn’t figured it out yet. Why did this happen? Why? Why these deaths and why this? Why did church members in our church die—four either members or related our church in the last 10 days? Why? Why? Why? I don’t know. But God does. God does. Here’s Job, who said, “I don’t know it all.”

And then look down at this. Job 42:6. We’re almost here. Hang on just for a second. He says, “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent In dust and ashes.” Now what does this mean? Job was the greatest Christian in the world. So that means most of us will only come in second. Oh, brother. So, Job was the greatest in the world. God said it. None like him. And guess what he does? In Chapter 42, he repents. That meant he realized he had sinned. He had done something wrong, and he asked God to forgive him. So, what’s that mean during the trials? It wouldn’t hurt us to say, “Lord, during this time, did I cause any of this? Did I either cause some of it or respond incorrectly? Have I said something during the trial I shouldn’t? Have I complained? Have I murmured? What is it I need to make right with You during this time?” He repented.

And then I love this, and we’re done. Look over here, please. Job 42:10. Here’s how it ends. And I love this. “…and the Lord turned the captivity of Job.” That meant it ended “…when he prayed for his friends.” When did it end? When he prayed for his friends. How long is the trial going to go Pastor? As long as I’ve got my eyes on me. And that’s how major trials are. You get hit with a major trial and you cannot help but think, “I am hurting. Why is this happening?” And it’s all about you for a while. And when Job said, “You know what? I need to stop worrying about how I feel. I got three friends, that—they’re all messed up in their advice. I’m gonna pray for them.” And when he got his eyes on other people, his trial didn’t seem near as hard now. It didn’t bring back his 10 kids, but somehow his relatives, who never gave him anything—this is weird—his relatives who never showed up to listen to him or weep for him, who never gave him anything, who never gave him any money—a year later, they said, “Here’s some money.” And he’s back in business. Twice as much as he had before.

What’s that mean? This thing is soul winning is so important. Do you know what it does? It gets your eyes off you. I wish you could have been with me about two months ago. I felt led to just go down the middle of downtown Vallejo. It’s not a real safe place that area in the daytime, much less in the nighttime. I didn’t have a partner that day, and I’m hitting little apartments kind of here, in the alleys, and this and that. Someone opened the door, and there it was. All they had was a mattress on the floor. That was their apartment—a one room apartment, a mattress, a little shelf with their food, Mom in bed with baby, two other kids, and a husband. One room. When I looked there, I said, “I’m doing pretty good. I’m doing real good.” Then when the mama got saved, I said, “This is real good.” And when they showed up at church, I said, “This is real, real good.” That’s why we got to get the buses back. We’ve got to reach the poor. Our trials may take a while to end, but if we get our eyes on other people that need us, it sure helps us make it through.

And then noticed just by way of conclusion. We’re finished. Look over here in Job 42:16. I love the book of Job. I could read it every day of my life every day. Job 42:16. “After this live Job an hundred and forty years..” After what? After the trial. And by the way, the book of Job has 42 chapters. It just lasted one year. All this took place in one year. The trial lasted a whole year, and then it was gone. What’s that mean? There is life after a divorce. There is more life after a funeral. There is life after a broken heart. There is life after shattered dreams. There is life after hospitalization and the bills that come. 140 years. Job said, “I’m done.” God says, “No. 140 more good years.” He got to raise 10 more kids, got to build the business back up, got the respect back. He wasn’t done, because he was a finisher.

And I think maybe some of these things we’ve talked about tonight will help us finish strong, because the Lord is coming back. We don’t know when the trumpet’s blowing. I still think it’s any day now. I could be wrong, but I want to be ready. I just want to cross the finish line. Hope you do, too. If you’re listening online right now, there’s two videos I hope you’ll click on. If you’ve never seen them, they’re about being saved. There’s a cartoon. There’s a video. I hope you’ll watch those.

Father, Bless now this time we have. Thank you for the Bible…