Title: Our Only Lasting Possession
Text: Job 1: 21
Date: October 19, 2014
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Turn in
your Bibles and let’s read the first two chapters of Job. (Job 1: 1-22; 2: 1-10)
Note Job 1: 21 and Job 2: 10.
Job was
the greatest man in the east. He was very wealthy. Yet, he had more than worldy
possessions, even more than family. He
had a fear of God in his heart. Therefore, before God, his dealings with God
and men, was full of integrity, “perfect and upright.” He “eschewed evil.” He
abstained from the appearance of evil. If he even remotely suspected God or men
might look upon his actions as sinful, Job avoided it. Job had been a very great father. Job was not
concerned his children might sin in word or deed, only in heart. It shows that
Job taught his family well. All this was because Job “feared God.” He reverenced
God in his heart. His true riches were his union with God, in Spirit and Truth
in Christ! The chief lesson we learn from Job is that true life and true riches
is having Christ Jesus, God our Savior, not temporal possessions. Christ is “Our
Only Lasting Possession.” So God gave Satan permission to take his temporal
possession, later even his health. But when news came to Job this is what he
said,
Job 1: 20: Then Job arose, and rent his
mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21:
And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return
thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of
the LORD. 22: In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
MATERIAL THINGS ARE NOT LASTING THINGS
First,
learn that material things are not lasting things. Job said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s
womb and naked shall I return thither.” We came from our mothers’ womb naked: physically,
materially, and spiritually naked.
We were
born not only wearing nothing, but unable to do one thing for ourselves, totally
dependent on others. We were born materially
naked, owning nothing; someone clothed you and fed you. Also, we were born spiritually naked: without
righteousness or holiness, without God and without hope; guilty sinners with a
vile sin-nature
Job
said, “and naked shall I return thither:” We all will certainly return to the
dust physically and materially naked.
Ecclesiates 5:15:…[man] shall take nothing of his labour,
which he may carry away in his hand….12:7: Then shall the dust return to the
earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it
The
prince and the pauper may never be treated equal in this life. But they will leave
equal. They both shall leave this world naked. So shall you and I. So what is
the purpose of life? What ought to be our primary concern, our ultimate goal? What
possession should be preeminently consuming our time throughout this life?
It
should not be to seek power, position, and possessions or a name or applause. God
never teaches men to seek those things. Only the world teaches that. Imagine if you didn’t have the world teaching
you; you only had God teaching you in the heart. Are we be better off heeding
God or the world? God never once teaches us to seek the things this world
teaches us to seek. God says those things pierce us with arrows. God teaches us
that our purpose is to use the time we have so that we, personally, do not
leave this life spiritually naked. Learn not to seek or be overly attached to temporal
possession; Christ is the only lasting possession of his people; God’s word is
forever; eternal life is forever! Seek Christ!
Maude
Crawford was a lady in Camden, Arkansas who disappeared in 1950’s; her case
never solved. It appears she was killed
over an inheritance. The suspect received that inheritance. But he spent his life covering his tracks, giving
bribes, payoffs. Then the man died with nothing and met God who saw everything.
Our life will be just as wasted if we spend it rising to some lofty position or
even doing good for humanity, yet we meet God without Christ. “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb,
and naked shall I return thither.” Will
you use the time wisely? Will you obtain the one thing needful? Christ is the
one thing needful—the only lasting possession!
GOD GIVES AND GOD TAKES AWAY
Secondly,
learn that God gives and God takes away as God will. Job said, “The LORD gave
and the LORD hath taken away.”
Everything
between our naked birth and our naked death is the gift of God. We like to boast that we are to praise for
earning the things we possess and we tend to blame someone else or second
causes when we lose our possessions.
I
watched an interview of people who lost their money when the stock market crashed.
They said, “We spent hours of hard work earning all that money. It was ours!”
Then they blamed investors, the President, and corporations for causing them to
lose it. Job had more and lost more than they all. He simply said, “The LORD gave
and the LORD hath taken away.”
Whatever you and I have in this life, the
LORD gave it. “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be
given him from heaven.” (Jn 3: 27) “For
who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst
not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if
thou hadst not received it?” (1 Cor 4: 7)
When we were conceived of corrupt seed—God gave
us our temporal life, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me
in my mother’s womb.” (Ps 139: 13) A faithful wife is a gift of God, “A
virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as
rottenness in his bones.” (Pro 12: 4) Children are a gift from God, “Lo,
children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
(Ps 127: 3) Riches, wealth, even the ability to enjoy those things, is the gift
of God, “Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath
given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his
labour; this is the gift of God.” (Ecc 5: 19) But if those things is all God
every gives you then God is fattening you for the slaughter.
Therefore,
especially, all spiritual blessings are the gift of God. God’s mercy is
particular to his people, even while we were infants, “By thee have I been
holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my
praise shall be continually of thee.” (Ps 71: 6) God told Jeremiah, “Before I
formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the
womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jer
1: 5)
Grace
is the gift of God given to whomsoever God chooses, “unto every one of us is given
grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” (Eph 4: 7) “Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and
whom he will he hardeneth.” (Rom 9: 18)
The Holy Spirit is the gift of God, “on the
Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 10: 45) By the
Holy Spirit—by the Holy Spirit himself dwelling in our hearts—God has given his
people the gift of a guarantee of our salvation, “Who hath also sealed us, and given
the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” (2 Cor 1: 22) And it is by the gift
of the Holy Spirit himself that we know all these other things which God has
freely given to us as his gift, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the
world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely
given to us of God.” (1 Cor 2: 12)
Faith is a gift of God. No sinner musters up
faith in himself of his own will. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man
should boast.” (Eph 2: 8-9)
We must have the righteousness of God to be
accepted of God. Yet, in our flesh there is none righteous, no not one. Therefore, righteousness is the free gift of
God! And this gift is given by one, Christ Jesus, “But not as the offence, so
also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much
more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus
Christ, hath abounded unto many…For if by one man’s offence death reigned by
one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” (Ro 5: 15, 17)
Even this ministry whereby we hear the gospel
preached is the gift of God, “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us
to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation.” (2 Cor 5: 18)
Every spiritual blessing by which God
enriches us, from the gospel being made effectual in our hearts, even our
preservation unto the end, is all the gift of God. Paul said to Corinthian
believers, “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is
given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance,
and in all knowledge; 6: Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So
that ye come behind in no gift;
waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you
unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1
Cor 1: 4-8)
Most of all, all these blessing are in Christ
himself, God’s unspeakable gift (2 Cor 9: 15) “Jesus answered and said unto
her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me
to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living
water.” (Jn 4: 10) And Christ gave himself for his people, “And he took bread,
and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body
which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” (Lu 22: 19)
Therefore, seeing all spiritual blessings are the gift of
God in Christ Jesus, who is, himself, God’s unspeakable gift, even so, eternal
life is the gift of God, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom 6: 23)
Brethren, rejoice in God! We have no room to
boast of ourselves! All spiritual blessings are the gift of God. These spiritual
gifts are gifts that shall never be taken away. “Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with
whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (Ja 1: 17) Jesus Christ
and all spiritual blessings in him is our only lasting possession.
But Job also recognized that it was God who takes
away material things and even our health. Job did not blame second causes, though all
this evil came from second causes. Satan, the Sabeans, the Chaldeans, fire from
heaven and a tornado were used. Yet, Job glorified God, saying, “the LORD hath
taken away.”
Job
knew the LORD is the first cause of all things; every secondary cause,
including Satan, is under the dominion of God.
1 Samuel 2: 6: The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth
down to the grave, and bringeth up. 7: The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich:
he bringeth low, and lifteth up. 8: He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and
lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make
them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S,
and he hath set the world upon them. 9: He will keep the feet of his saints,
and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man
prevail.
When good comes, men say, “I am so
blessed.” But when evil comes, men say,
“God did not do this! God was not in this!”
Would you rather Satan be in control or God? God said, “I form the
light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all
these things.” (Is 45: 7) “Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not
done it?” (Am 3: 6)
Since,
everything we have is the gift of God, God can take away his temporal gifts
when he will. And when God takes away it is good, “Is it not lawful for me to
do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” (Mt 20:
15) Job said that very thing. In the
second chapter, “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine
integrity? curse God, and die. 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?” And to assure us this was not charging God with
sin, the Holy Spirit said, “In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” (Job 2:
9-10)
The worst evil ever committed was when God
used Satan and wicked men to crucify the Son of God, the Lord Jesus. Did that happen by accident? Was Satan in
control or God? “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast
anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel,
were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel
determined before to be done.” (Acts 4: 27-28)
Brethren, we rejoice! Since God is absolutely sovereign to do as he
will, God shall bring to pass the salvation of his people, “Remember the former
things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is
none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the
things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all
my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my
counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to
pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” (Is 46: 9-11)
Spurgeon told this story. A gardener was servant to a great
master. The servant’s job was to tend to
the roses. The servant took great care of those roses. He guarded them and
protected them. But one day he discovered someone had clipped roses off one of
his rose bushes. He was angry. The
servant went about asking who cut the roses.
Finally, someone said, “The Master cut the roses.” The servant said, “Then it is alright. He is
the Master, this is his house, those are his roses and I am his servant.”
Brethren, God is the Master and we are his servants. God gave us the roses and
God can cut the roses when he will.
Brethren, the more we understand that God is the first
cause, that God gives, that God takes away, the more it will help us cease
blaming secondary causes, stop our murmuring against God, and rest in the comfort
of know God gave and God has taken away. Therefore, it is right.
CHRIST IS OUR ONLY LASTING POSSESSION
Lastly, learn to thank God at all times
because Christ is our only lasting possession. Job said, “Blessed be the name
of the LORD.”
Satan
made the accusation that the only reason Job worshipped God is because of what
God gave him.
Job 1: 10: Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and
about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed
the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11: But put
forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy
face.
But it
was not merely what God gave that made Job worship the Lord. It was the Lord
himself! Job worshipped God because of God, not because of what God gave him.
He said, “Bless be the name of the Lord.”
Those who
rejoice in God, because he is God, will continue to thank and worship God even when
temporal blessings are removed. They worship the Lord himself, not for what they
can get out of God. Mercenaries do that! They want streets of gold rather than
Christ! Do we praise God the same when he takes away as when he gives? It ought to be our aim. We ought to thank God when he takes away
health, the same as when he gives it; when he takes gain, same as when he gives;
when he stops success, or gives success; when God takes life, or spares life. Why
this is so?
First, blessed be the name of the LORD because
God is bringing glory to his name in the evil same as the good. Look to the
cross! When God used wicked hands to nail Christ to the cross, God declared his
righteousness! He declared God is just—he
will by no means clear the guilty—he spared not his own Son when he stood in
our place! He declared God is the Justifier—God was in Christ reconciling the
world of his elect unto himself—God justified all his people in his Son, Christ
Jesus when Christ cried, “It is finished!”
Secondly, blessed the name of the LORD
because God is working good for his people even in the evil which God brings to
pass. Again look to the cross! Satan meant it for evil, but God worked good by obtaining
our eternal redemption. So all lesser evils work our good, too!
Romans 8: 28: And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose. 29: For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30: Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called,
them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31: What
shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32:
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he
not with him also freely give us all things?
Also, blessed be the name of the LORD because
it is a gift of God for us to suffer for Christ’s sake, “For unto you it is given
in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his
sake.” (Php 1: 29) What a gift! What a reason to bless God!
1 Peter 4: 12: Beloved, think it not strange concerning
the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto
you: 13: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings;
that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
14: If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of
glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on
your part he is glorified….16:…if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be
ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
Furthermore, bless be the name of our Lord because
when God gives us thorns (as he did Job) allowing Satan to buffet us, God teaches
us Christ is our only Strength. Those he loves, as sons, he chastens, lest we
become puffed up and turn from Christ. Paul said,
2 Corinthians 12:7: And lest I should be exalted above
measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn
in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted
above measure….9: And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my
strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory
[thank God for] in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10:…for
when I am weak, then am I strong.
Believer, no suffering is easy or enjoyable.
It is a knee-jerk reaction to want to be free from all suffering. Right now,
while things are good it is easy to say yes to these things for us who believe.
But when the suffering comes, God will give more grace so that we can
stand. So remember, whatever we suffer,
that very suffering is the will of God for you. Therefore, “In everything give
thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thess
5: 18) Therefore, let us say with Eli, “It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth
him good.” (1 Sam 3: 18)
Let me
end by reminding you, first, no matter what we accumulate throughout our days,
the bookends of our life declare what comes from our hand the whole way through—nakedness.
We came in and leave with nothing. Likewise, we contribute nothing. Salvation
is of the LORD
Secondly,
true life is not in having and having not. Life is to live upon Christ the
Bread from heaven rather than the bread of this earth; to be clothed in Christ’s
righteousness rather than earthly linen; to be the sheep of Christ’s pasture
rather than counting sheep in your own pasture. God our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ is the
believers only lasting possession!
Lastly,
if you do not have Christ, what do you possess?
Nothing. You are naked. If you
leave this world without Christ, no matter how rich you were in this life, you
used your time to accumulate nothing. Job was wealthy. But he had something worth
more to him than all that; something he could never lose. So when all was taken
away, he could stay, “Bless be the name of the LORD.” When you have the LORD
himself you know, “It shall be well with the righteous!” The believer’s only
lasting possession is Christ Jesus, the Lord God! So when all other blessings
are gone, Christ shall remain—we shall continue to have our “All and in All!” Therefore,
when we leave all temporal things behind, having Christ, we shall be able say,
“Blessed be the name of the Lord!”
Amen!