JOB: A Matter Of Trust

IT’S NOT OVER - How God Turns Setbacks into Comebacks – Part 2

SETBACK: A loss of progress, a defeat of a plan, or a reversal of good fortune. Anything that sets you back.

JOB: Wealthiest, Powerful, Famous, Important, Influential

5 Tragedies ONE DAY: 1) 1K Livestock Stolen All Workers Killed By Raiders… 2) 3K Camels Stolen and All Workers Killed… 3) 7K Sheep & Workers Burned... 4) 7 Sons 3 Daughters Wind Storm… 5) Incurable & Extremely Painful Disease 

Job 30:26-27

HOW DO I TRUST GOD FOR A COMEBACK WHEN MY SETBACK SEEMS IRREVERSIBLE?     T.R.U.S.T. God Like Job Did!  

“I’m never getting out of this?  I’m Never Coming Back From This?”
 TRUST God & DO 5 Things.

TELL GOD EXACTLY HOW I FEEL   Start By Unloading All Your Emotions On God. Learn To Ventilate Vertically!

 Job 1:20 (GW) 

  4 Emotions 1) SHOCK: What’s Going On?  2) GRIEF: What Have I Lost?  3) ANGER: Why Did This Happen To Me?  4) FEAR: What Happen Next?

Little Secret… God Can Handle Any Emotion You’ve Got.      KNOW WHY?      He Gave Them To You!      Emotional God… Made In His Image!

 Job 7:11(TEV)

Lamentations 2:19 (NCV)    

JEREMIAH: “Deceived Me, Lied To Me. Turned Out Like You Told Me - Angry”  

NAOMI: “Call Me BITTER, Because God Has Made My Life BITTER.”

DAVID: “Lord, I’ve taken the worst from you and I’ve taken all that you can give and I’m fed up. I’ve had it.”  

GOD Says, “Hey, You’re a man after my own heart”

Fear, Frustrations, Doubts, “I’m still trusting you Lord, even though I don’t understand going on, but I’m going to do exactly you’re telling me.”

 Psalm 116:10 (NCV) 

REFUSE TO BECOME BITTER    

Job 1:21-22 (LB) 

The antidote to bitterness is gratitude for God’s goodness

Job 5:11
Hebrews 12:15
Habakkuk 3:17-18 (TEV)

UNITE WITH PEOPLE WHO’LL HELP ME FOCUS ON GOD

Natural Tendency Withdraw, Walls, Barriers, ISOLATE…    No One Close, Deep Pain… Not Be Seen.

(Elihu) “Don’t let your anger and the pain you endured make you sneer at God. Reputation and riches cannot protect you from distress, nor can you find safety in the dark world below. Don’t turn to evil as a way of escape. God’s power is unlimited… 

Job 36:18-24 (CEV)
Job 12:13 (MSG)
1 Chronicles 16:11 (TEV)
Psalm 69:32 (TEV)
Psalm 63:2 (MSG)
Philippians 1:19 (NCV) 
Job 2:9-10 (NLT) 
Job 13:15   
Matthew 6:32a (CEV)  

TRUST JESUS FOR EVERY DETAIL OF MY COMEBACK

John 16:33 (MSG)   
Psalm 75:6-7

JOB’S COMEBACK

Job 42:10 

Pray through T.R.U.S.T.

MEET ROWDY JESUS 

Rowdy Spiritual Passion Is A Gift From God.  It’s Not About Anger; But Energy, Action, And Change! 

The First Cleansing Of The Temple - John 2:13-17 (NASB) 

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 16and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” 17His disciples remembered that it was written, 

“ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”   

When Should I Get Rowdy?

When I Need To Break Free From My Normal Way Of Doing Things To Take A Stand In The Name Of My God! 

The Second Cleansing Of The Temple - Matthew 21:12-14

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”  14And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 

Getting Rowdy Comes BEFORE Getting Healed.  

Get Rowdy to Get Healed.

Healing happened AFTER He turned over the Tables, Not before.  Your Tables.  

When I Come To Worship, Jesus Wants Me To Decide Whether I Am Here For My Business Or God’s Business.

JESUS is COMING!!! This Week.   The Cross is OUR Passover.  One Spotless Lamb.  Blood.  

CHOOSE THE WRONG CROWD 

“I Don’t Convert People. Only God Converts People. I Enjoy People, God Converts People.”

Matthew 9:9-13 (NASB) (Matthew)

     HOW TO ENJOY PEOPLE FAR FROM GOD?

     Don’t Be Offended                               Do Life Together  
     Don’t Be Angered                                 Do Pray For Them  
     Don’t be Afraid                                       Do Believe In Them
     Don’t Expect Anything                       Do Include Them
     Don’t Have A Timetable                    Do Respect Them
     Don’t Overwhelm Them                   Do Be Happy To See Them
     Don’t Give Up                                          Do Spend Time With Them
     Don’t Argue                                              Do Invest In Them
     Don’t Only Talk About Jesus          Do Listen To Them
                                                                              Do Be Patient With Them
                                                                              Do See Jesus In Them

Who You Are, In Your Identity As A Son Or Daughter, Is More Valuable Than Anything You Could Ever Do Or Not Do. 
 
Matthew 25:34-40 (NASB)

THE STAND -  Ephesians Series

TAP THE SOURCE OF STRENGTH
Ephesians 6:10 - 13
1 Samuel 30:6

IDENTIFY THE ENEMY
Ephesians 6:12

“Evil rarely looks evil until it accomplishes it’s goal; it gains entrance by appearing attractive, desirable, and perfectly legitimate. It is a baited and camouflage trap.” 
Kyle Snodgrass

ENEMY TACTICS:

• Interjecting an image into our minds of something enticing, but sinful (Matt 4:8-10, Luke 4:5-8)
• Exploiting a sinful tendency, such as anger, and causing it to flare out of control. (Eph. 4:27)
• Inspiring others to create a principle, teaching, or idea that sounds plausible, but is wrong and dangerous to our souls.                                                                                                                    (2 Cor. 12:7)

1. BELT OF TRUTH
Ephesians 6:14a

• Surrounded by "honesty," "truthfulness," "integrity," and "sincerity"
• Tools  /  Held the soldier's robe together, TRIPPED UP.  /  
• ‘Hit Below the belt.”  PROTECT Vulnerable!  Devil doesn't play by ANY rules.

2. BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Ephesians 6:14b

• Practical Righteousness Vs. Positional Righteousness. ~  His Righteousness Is Already IN you, Now It Just Has To Be ON you.  
• Right Doing Problem Vs. Right Believing Problem.   

Matthew 5:6

3. SHOES OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE
Ephesians 6:15

• 1ST , Our Peace With God Through Christ
• 2ND, Gospel… Win Personal War Against The Devil… So That Peace To The World.  

 Luke 4:18

Verbs: “To Be” Constant State Of Being / “To Take” Use On As Needed Basis

4. SHIELD OF FAITH
Ephesians 6:16

• GUARD AND PROTECT AGAINST THE ENEMY OF DOUBT.
• Recount God’s Past Victories In Your Life.  
• Take Time To Remember The Promises Of God.
  • He will never forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6).
  • He will meet all your needs (Phil 4:19).
  • Call on Him and He will answer (Jeremiah 33:3).
  • He will direct your path (Proverbs 3:5-6).
• A Soldier’s Shield Was Strongest When Linked Together.
• Your Feet Reveal Your Faith.  
  • God Waits For Your Movement Before He Moves. 
  • You Might Be Waiting On God While God Is Waiting On You

5. HELMET OF SALVATION   
Ephesians 6:17a

• Can’t live without Head.  SALVATION.  
• MIND: Bring your Thinking UP - RICHES SALVATION.  

6. SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
Ephesians 6:17b

• God’s word is our sword. The only weapon of offense. We must use it regularly in order to become proficient users.
• Knowing the word is insufficient. Must know how to use it.  
• Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3  
• “It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” 

PRAY IN THE SPIRIT   
Ephesians 6:18   
THE ARMOR IS USED THROUGH PRAYER.  
WHAT IS PRAYER? PRAYER IS EARTHLY PERMISSION FOR HEAVENLY INTERVENTION.  

"GROW UP"  Week 4 Ephesians

GROWN UP WALK

1Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called 2be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love, 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  

• THEREFORE - True Wealth - Sought, Saved, Sent - THAT Prayer - Power, Love, Filled Full…
• You Are Saved By Grace Through Faith, But Your Walk Is By Obedience.  

GROWN UP WORK

11And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 

Apostles - One who is sent and breaks new ground.  Focusing is on starting new ministries and new churches.   

Prophets - Foretelling or Forth-telling God’s message to people. Focusing on communicating truth.   

Evangelists - The ability to recognize ripe fruit. Focusing on people outside the Church.    

Pastors - Caring for spiritual, emotional, and physical needs.  Focusing on the body of Christ.    

Teachers - Transferring knowledge. Focusing on educating the Church.     

14As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ, 16from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. 

“THAT” PRAYER - Ephesians Week 3 

THAT expresses purpose, in this case the purpose for which he is bowing and interceding.

Ephesians 3:14-21

STRENGTHENED WITH POWER

16that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].

• STRENGTHENED  Passive voice - Be Strengthened.  Given Strength.  Made Mighty    
  • That which is on the inside of you to get on the outside of you.
  • Ability you didn’t have before. 
  • Dunamis - Dynamite - Dynamo. 

2 Timothy 3:5 “having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”

• 1934 Pastor Martin Niemoller…GUARD Proverbs 18:10 - “The name of the Lord is a Strong Tower. The righteous run in and are safe.”
  • Niemoller’s fear fell away, and the power of that verse sustained him through his trial and his years in Nazi Concentration camp.  
• “INNER MAN” You Are a Tripartite Being.  

1 Thessalonians 5:23 

2 Corinthians 4:16 

ROOTED IN LOVE   

17and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, 

• ROOTED… GROUNDED   
• FARMING…   BUILDING   
• Psalm 1
• Parable Soils Mark 4 - Path - Birds, Rocky - Shallow Soil, Thorns - Choked, Good Soil - 30, 60, 100.  
• Roots of tree the same size as limbs. Just as deep as is high.  
• GROUNDED… Building Foundation.  
• Parable Builders Matthew 7 -  Rock - Sand
• Temple Mount In Israel Foundation Stones...12’ high  14’ deep  Bigger Bus ~ 600 Tons, 200 Elephants - 2 Jumbo Jets ~ Titus General ILLUS.

1 Peter 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

• Earthquake Storms - Trials… Destroy… 
• Both Greek Perfect Tense Verbs - a completed action which produced results which are still in effect all the way up to the present.  
• LOVE  

Your love is...Deeper than my view of grace…Higher than this worldly place…Longer than this road I've traveled...Wider than the gap you fill.

• AGAPE…   DO vs DONE
• How Know Love Surpasses Knowledge?  ALL THE SAINTS…   
• EX: LOVED… BAPTISM

that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.  20Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.  

God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him. - John Piper.  

Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live again.  

John 4:14 

Sought, Saved and Sent

Ephesians 2:1-10
Ezekiel 37
Isaiah 6:1-4

TRUE WEALTH ~ EPHESIANS 1

Spring 52 AD > Paul’s 2nd Missionary Journey > Acts 19 > Priscilla & Aquilla > Apollos

54 AD > 3rd Missionary Journey > 3 Years > Synagogue & School of Tyranus > Jerusalem > Arrested > Rome

AD 61 Paul Writes To Ephesus While In Prison > 6 Chapters, 155 Verses, 3,039 Words

WHAT WE HAVE

You Aren’t Wealthy Until You Have Something Money Can’t Buy.  - Garth Brooks 

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 

4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us. 

“In Christ”

WHO WE ARE

With all wisdom and understanding, 9he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.  11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

WHO WE KNOW. 

15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the knowledge of Him. 18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.   

Bottom Line: But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Revelation 2:4

ALTAR DAY "My One Word" 

2 Kings 13:14-20  

WHAT IS A “ONE WORD” ALTAR? 

I. THE ARROW THAT PREDICTS MY FUTURE.  The best way to predict your future is to create it. 

2 Kings 13:14-17

When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17And he said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. And he said, “The LORD’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you shall defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them.” 

The Predictive Principles Of “My One Word.”

#1: Do SOMETHING About ONE THING Instead Of NOTHING About Everything.  

#2: My One Word is a LENS through which you will SEE, not a PROMISE which you must keep.

#3: Keep Your “Word From God” In FRONT of you so you won’t FORGET God’s Voice.

#4: Every Story Of Transformation Begins With A Word From God.

“My One Word” is the point at which LOGOS becomes RHEMAH in your life.   

II. THE POINT I KEEP STRIKING THE GROUND.   ( “Complete Victory”)  

2 Kings 13:18-20

Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. 19So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”  20And Elisha died, and they buried him. 

THE BEAUTY OF ONE WORD! 

A Single Word Can Reveal The Voice Of God. | A Single Word Focuses On Your Inner Character.

III. THE PLOW AND OXEN I BURN.   (Cortez, Point Of Plow?)  

1 Kings 19:19, 21

So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him. 21So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

Altars and Idols
Keep Your “Word From God” In FRONT of you so you won’t FORGET God’s Voice.

“Beware lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; lest, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart becomes proud, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
Deuteronomy 8:11-14

“And it shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God, and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you shall surely perish. “Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God.”
Deuteronomy 8:19&20

“These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Deuteronomy 6:6-9

“I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind“
Romans 12:1&2

Keep Your “Word From God” In FRONT of you so you won’t FORGET God’s Voice.