to continue our heart -to -heart talk that we
began the last time that i was in your home and
i want to refresh your memory by reading that
glorious portion of the word of god a promise
one of the greatest assurances that the lord
god has given to his own isaiah the fiftieth
chapter the tenth verse who is among you that
feareth the lord that obeyeth the voice of his
servant that walketh in darkness and hath no
light let him trust in the name of the lord and
stay upon his god you will remember that i made
a very definite statement the last time that
i was in your home and that is that sooner or
later trouble sorrow will come to every one of
us you are no exception how true is it we're
guilty of saying but it can't happen to me it
couldn't possibly happen to our family it could
never come into my life and yet it can not one
of us is immune from sickness from sorrow sooner
or later death will touch your life come into
your family Your family is not immune to death.
You are not immune to this darkness that Jesus
is talking about. But remember something. These
words that he has just spoken are for those who
fear the Lord, whose confidence is in him. And
then comes the question, why the sorrow? Why
does affliction, why does trouble come to God's
children? And that's a great big question. That's
a mighty big question. And you will remember
that I left you yesterday. by giving you that
wonderful promise whom the lord loveth he chasteneth
as many as i love i rebuke and chasten in the
world jesus said ye shall have tribulation not
only trouble up until now maybe all that you've
had is just trouble but he said There's going
to come a time when you're going to have more
than trouble. There'll be tribulation. And like
the little old Scotch lady got up in the testimony
meeting and she said, Jesus said I'd have tribulation,
and believe me, I sure am tribulating. But, he
said, don't feel as though that... it's because
my wrath has come upon thee or because of any
sin in that life of yours no and the cruellest
thing that any one can do is to sit on the seat
of judgment and look at another and point that
accusing finger at that one and say that trouble
has come upon that family because there's sin
are pointing an accusing finger at some individual
who is having trouble and sorrow and affliction
and say that's because of sin that's the cruellest
thing that any one can ever do or ever say i
want you to see something we are raising the
question why do the friends of god pass down
the veil of suffering and darkness and tears
there are some partial answers and i say partial
because even as i am talking to you now i cannot
give you the answer in full i have things that
have happened in my own life that i have not
been able to fully understand Years ago, I felt
that definitely it was because someplace, somewhere
I'd gotten out of the will of God. And now, years
later, I'm wondering whether or not it was part
of God's plan to stabilize me. It was part of
God's plan in educating me, in training me. at
the time i thought sure it was going to kill
me i look back now and i thank my god it happened
i am stronger i am bigger i am more sympathetic
now because of it than if that thing had never
happened to me yes ma 'am so i say there are
only partial answers that can come the full orbit
and the complete answer we must wait for until
we read it yonder in the golden glow of the land
and life above and we hear it from his own lips
but there are partial answers as to why troubles
and sorrows and tears and suffering and darkness
come again and again to god's precious children
right here in this world in this life for one
thing i want you to see something trouble if
rightly used enables us to honor god be careful
how you act when trouble comes be careful what
you do with that thing when it comes into that
life of yours Sorrow is rightly used. If that
trouble is rightly used, it will enable us to
honor God. Trouble, then, is a trust. And we're
so to receive it. Receive it as a trust. We understand
about other things being trusts. There's the
man of education. he must answer for those superior
attainments there is the one who can sing so
that hearts are enchanted by the music there
are those who can play the great organ and the
music blesses those who hear the music it's a
trust great musician the other day when i was
complimenting him on his playing he said you
know i never look at it as being a talent but
a trust something that god has loaned to me there's
the one who can sing so that hearts are enchanted
by the music that singer must answer for that
gift there's the man with money and the man of
money must answer for it. There are the men who
must answer for that capacity that they have
for earning money. There are some folk who do
not have the capacity to earn it, but those to
whom God has entrusted that capacity for earning
money. must give an answer to him one day. It's
a trust. And whatever our gifts, whatever our
capabilities, all of them are to be received
as trusts from God and to be used in His name
to help humanity. Now, along with other trusts,
comes trouble. Trouble is to be received however
it comes or in what form. as a trust and we're
to bear it we are to meet it we're to go through
it we are to face it like we ought as a trust
from god to be used for the glory of his great
name it's not the matter of what happens to you
that's so important is what you do with that
thing after it happens to you after it comes
into your life when it comes into your home that
determines the result you recall job's fiery
trials oh who doesn't there are folk who may
not know one thing about the word of god they
cannot quote a single portion of god's word and
yet they know that job is there and they know
all about job's boils they may not know one thing
about scripture and yet they know there was a
man in the word of god that had boils and had
troubles galore all right but see something now
first of all bear in mind job had not sinned
you folk were always judging people when troubles
come into their lives and saying it's a judgment
from god and it's because of sin the bible clearly
teaches that Job was a man who, in the sight
of God, was perfect. He was upright. He hated
evil. He loved God, and God loved him. One day,
Satan said to God, If you give me a chance at
your man Job, I'll shake his religion right out
of him. I'll shake his faith in you, I'll shake
his confidence in you, and I'll make him deny
you. Yes, sir, he said, you know, God, your man
Job is serving you because of sheer selfishness.
He knows, in the crude saying of the world, which
side his bread is buttered, and therefore he's
serving you because... of your goodness to him
give me a chance said satan and i'll make him
deny you yeah all right god says i'll give you
a chance at him you can do anything you want
to with him but you can't kill him go as far
as you want to anything you want to but you dare
not kill him. I'm telling you something. You
talk about us having faith in God and thousands
of sermons are being preached on our faith in
God. Turn that thing around and look at God's
faith in us. Can God have such faith in you that
he can turn to Satan and say, all right, Satan,
you can do anything you want to to her but don't
kill her i have such trust i have such confidence
in her i have such confidence in that child of
mine i know she'll not deny me she'll go through
victorious i tell you something that's faith
can god have that kind of faith in you can he
trust you to that extent he had that faith in
job anything you want to but don't kill him and
god says he'll still come through trusting me
so here it starts job didn't know about this
conversation between satan and god didn't know
one thing about it not a thing there was job
all unacquainted with this conversation between
satan and god happy and prosperous in all of
his surroundings and then it started there came
a dark -robed messenger which took from all of
his property i tell you when you strike a man
in his property you've dealt him a staggering
blow and some men some women seem never to recover
from such a blow what a pity that it's so but
it is then there came another messenger saying
that this trouble had come to job and his servants
were all taken away then there came another messenger
telling him the awful tidings that his children
all and each had gone down into death stricken
and beaten to the very dust though that precious
father was he simply made answer through the
darkness and this is what he said the lord gave
and the lord taketh away blessed be the name
of the lord that's trust that's faith was that
all no then there came another black -robed messenger
and job was thickened in his own body his own
health was attacked so that from the crown of
his head to the very soles of his feet his body
was one festering mass of affection and suffering
did that stop him no ma 'am no ma 'am oh beloved
that's that's honouring god that's honouring
god and god brought job out of all those troubles
and made the latter days of his life more glorious
than his former and you and i should learn this
great lesson from job god bless you