April 4, 2021

BECAUSE OUR REDEEMER LIVES

April 04. 2021

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

If, years ago, you had been shown one snapshot from your life today, would it have given you hope or a wakeup call at a time when you needed it? Can you share?

Resurrection Sunday! What a blessed time each Easter as Christians celebrate the Risen Savior. He is alive, without a doubt! Do you know there’s a sermon about the resurrection in Job? As we continued reading through the Bible this past week, we read of Job’s sufferings at the hand of Satan. One of the most beloved church hymns is from Job 19:25, as he exclaimed in his pain and loss, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth.” What a picture of hope from a man who had lost everything yet held on to his trust in his Savior. What a great book to study, with much to encourage us when we are enduring trials.

Focal Passages: The Book of Job; Psalm 16:9-11; Acts 2:29-33,36-38; Mark 1:14-15.

            There is hope in our loss

  • What were some of the tragedies that happened to Job in the first few chapters? He is accused by his three “friends” of committing secret sin; how do you know this was not the case?
  • Read Job 19:23-26. Do you remember any specific accusations that Job had to listen to? How could he still proclaim his faith in verses 25-26?
  • What is the original meaning of the word “Redeemer”? How does it tie in with today’s “hocking” or pawning something, or going to jail?
  • How could Job, David, and others be able to face their losses, but still maintain their faith in God’s protection, provision, and salvation? Are you able to do that?

There is hope in our heartache

  • Can anyone share a time when you endured a tragedy and felt all hope was destroyed, yet God brought you through it and gave you a new hope?
  • Read Psalm 16:9-11. What were some of the trials David had been through in his life? Read Psalm 16:8; can his profound statement here be the anchor for his life? How?
  • The world—particularly in this day and time—will come down on us, and it will hurt. Can you explain how something like that can occur? Can we keep it from happening? How can we control our reaction?
  • Often, our trials are not the result of our mistakes (as Job’s were not); why does that make them so much harder to bear than if we “deserved” them?

There is hope for our eternity

  • Read Acts 2:29-33. Does anyone remember the circumstances under which Peter was preaching this sermon in Acts? What had recently occurred? In verse 32, what does he say they had all witnessed? Why did Peter say that Jesus—who had been raised from the dead—was now a source of hope?
  • Read verses 36-38. What did the men cry out when they heard Peter accuse them of crucifying the Messiah? How did Peter respond?
  • Read Mark 1:14-15. What does this verse mean to you?
  • Have you reached a time in your life when you needed to confess that your sin will keep you from eternal life in heaven unless you throw yourself on God’s mercy? (Reflect). Are there those in your family that may not have eternal life unless they cry out for God to save them? Are you praying fervently for their salvation?

Close

Have you ever noticed how our tragic circumstances can bog us down in hopelessness or depression, until we talk with someone who seems to be going through even more than their fair share of disastrous times? It doesn’t take long before we are saying to ourselves, “I thought my life is bad right now, but theirs is so much worse!” As we read the book of Job, we see a man who had everything he could have wanted, then lost it all. His sufferings weren’t the result of a sinful lifestyle, and they make anything we are going through pale in comparison.

Few of us would be willing to trade the things that are bad in our lives for anything that Job had to endure, isn’t that right? And does it serve to remind you of times in your life when you may have asked a friend if their adverse situation could be the result of sin? If so, hopefully you did not pound it in the ground as Job’s “friends” did!

Most of us would come away from the book of Job begging God to not allow Satan permission to make us to suffer as Job did. But even if that happened, would we have the perseverance to hold fast to our faith? Consider carefully if terrible affliction would cause you to deny your God, for the coming years may definitely see the powers of Hell unleashed on the earth, and Scripture tells us repeatedly that it is those who will endure to the end who will be saved. The lesson we can learn from Job, David, and others, is that our walk with God has got to be a daily, close relationship. As David wrote in Psalm 16:8a, “I have set the Lord always before me.” David didn’t start walking with God when the going got rough—he began as a young boy. In the same way, we must be sure each day is spent with our hand tightly held by the hand of the Lord.

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