we'll take your Bibles and turn to the book of Job the book of Job and tonight we're going to talk about praying with a broken heart there's a lot of people that go through life with a broken heart I was just talking even tonight in this room with two men who four years ago one to this day lost their wives and the other one lost his wife about four years ago also a lot of people in this room right now that have a broken heart perhaps you've gone through a divorce you know I've never met anybody who went through a divorce that liked it it breaks your heart there are people in this room who have lost a loved one perhaps even a child maybe you've lost your spouse like those two men I was talking about whatever it might be there are a lot of ways that we can have a broken heart I can remember when I was in seminary I was in Believe It or Not theological German class and I got a tap on the shoulder while the professor was lecturing and said come with me I thought what in the world has happened I walked out I was about 28 years old and our minister of music at our church where I was serving he and his wife worked outside the home and they had a babysitter and the babysitter had taken their three children on a trip and a drunk driver had hit the car they had twin little twin boys and an older sister and they were all three hurt but one of the twins was thrown out of the back windshield and was in critical condition I drove immediately to Tarrant County Hospital there in Fort Worth and a few hours later that little boy died one of the reasons I am such a stickler about beer and wine and all of that you can argue all you want to about it's okay Jesus drank wine it's okay to have a beer I can just tell you when you're driving if you drink one or two beers you drive differently even if you don't think you do you drive differently than you would if you hadn't had those beers and I also know that if you drink at least just one beer and you go out and you have a wreck and you kill somebody you're in a lot of trouble with the law but not just with the law with the family and the drunk guy walked away didn't hurt him a bit and I did the funeral for that little boy to this day when I see my former minister of music he is a state music director for one of our Baptist Convention's I can still tell he waltz with a limp in his heart if anybody ever had a broken heart it was job I told you today that there was only one man that was close to Jesus in being wise and of course that was Solomon Solomon the wisest man in the world Jesus alone was wiser and tonight I can say to you that job suffered more than any man ever to live except Jesus Christ the only one that knows the fullness of a broken heart like Jobe would be Jesus and the thing about it was Jobe was a holy man he was a wealthy man he was a significant important man he was even a family man and yet he went through very difficult times of trial on earth he was so good God bragged about him do you know anybody that you think maybe God brags about God even said to the devil have you considered my servant job he said it twice chapter 1 verse 8 chapter 2 verse 3 Satan asked if he could harass Jobe he said the only reason he serves you is because you give him so much and you protect him so much God allowed Satan to harass Joe but he would not let him kill him now that's amazing to me God allows even his godly obedient children to suffer adversity some of you may say if I'll just be good enough God will make sure that I never have a hard time listen to me the only person that was ever better than Jobe was Jesus and both Jobe and Jesus suffered immensely if you're gonna be like Jesus you can't just be like Jesus in the areas you want to be like Jesus if you act like Jesus think like Jesus he said the world will hate you even as it is 8 is me the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:14 that God creates the day of adversity as well as the day of prosperity we live in a day some of it has waned but some of the remnant is still around when there was a prosperity gospel it deal just given up if you'll just pray enough if you'll just be good enough God will prosper you and you'll never have a problem look at me Jesus had problems and he was perfect Paul had problems Moses had problems and on and on I could go and job whom God bragged on had problems he had adversity Jesus said right after he said seek first the kingdom of God he said each day has enough trouble of its own how many of you know that's true amen somebody else said that's my life's verse brother Steve each day has enough trouble of its own what's your favorite song gloom despair and agony on me deep dark depression excessive misery but aren't you glad that just like God did with Jobe God puts a limit on it he will not let you suffer without giving you the way of escape he won't allow your suffering to go beyond his ability to give you grace to handle it the first time God told the devil he could attack job jobs possessions and his family were at stake but he told him you cannot attack him personally we read in John 1:12 then the Lord said that Satan behold all that he has is in your power only do not put forth your hand on him so Satan departed from the presence of Lord and by the way and I don't know if anybody here tonight is a Wiccan or a Satanist sometimes those people come to churches like Bellevue I just want to say to you one thing or two things God loves you he doesn't love your sin but he loves you if you're a Satanist or you're a Wiccan or you're any kind of in the occult I just want you to know God loves you I'm not talking about the devil I'm talking about the one who is way above the devil he loves you but I want you to know that God is in charge even over the devil this is not the devil against God and they're on the same level the devil is way down there and God is way up there not even close God limited the devil and I just want to say to you if you're worshiping the devil you're worshiping a loser second time God told the devil he could attack job's body but couldn't kill him job two verse six so the Lord said to Satan behold he's in your power but spare his life job suffered more than anyone besides Jesus but job learned lessons that you can't learn in the school of prosperity some lessons you have to learn in the school of adversity if adversity has slain its thousands prosperity has slain its tens of thousands we read in job 1:21 after his children died he lost all his crops all of his cattle all of his possessions here's what job said naked I came from my mother's womb naked I shall return there the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away say it with me blessed be the name of the Lord let's lift our hands and say that together blessed be the name of the Lord amen he gives he takes away and don't you ever forget you came into this world with nothing you're leaving with nothing dr. Rogers said most people die on a borrowed bed wearing borrowed clothes that's called a hospital room that's a good lesson job thank you sorry you had to go through what you went through but we have been blessed by that scripture what about job 2 verse 10 when he looked at his wife and she had said curse God and die job learned a lesson gave her a lesson he said you speak as one of the foolish women speaks shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity now I can almost hear somebody said I don't receive death that's not of God that's in the Bible you better back up a little bit on that one I'm not gonna confess that you confess whatever you want to you can call a squirrel a horse all you want to but it's still a squirrel that's why you need to buy your cat you speak as one of the foolish women speaks shall we accept good from God and not accept adversity in all of this job did not sin with his lips do you sin with your lips do you sin with your speech death and life are in the power of the tongue thank you Joe help us not to speak as foolish people speak help us not to sin with our lips and then there's another lesson how about Joe thirteen fifty fifteen let's let's say this one together pick up Melissa all say this together everybody out loud though he slay me I will hope in him though he slay me yet will I trust him thank you Joe job 19:25 as for me I know my redeemer lives and at the last he will take his stand on the earth he didn't know the full meaning of that God gave that to him by inspiration he was talking about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ put that back on the screen just for a second as for me I know that my redeemer lives and at the last when it's all said and done when the Devils done all he can do man's done all he will do God says his Savior Jesus will still take his stand on the earth Buddha won't take his stand Mohammed won't take his stand all I won't take his stand Jesus will take his stand history is his story he'll outlive us all and then job 23:10 but he knows the way I take when he has tried me when he has tested me when he has put me through the fire I shall come forth as gold yes I've never heard that kind of wisdom in my life I preached out of wisdom literature this morning I'm preaching out of wisdom literature tonight job Psalms proverbs Ecclesiastes wisdom literature why because that is real wisdom that's wisdom that comes from God he learned a lot through suffering and at the very end of it all God restored his life what can you learn from a man like Jobe you can look at his prayer life number one he prayed humbly he prayed humbly look at verse 1 then job answered the Lord and said I know that you can do all things he's talking to God and no purpose of yours can be thwarted well that's a great verse you don't hang on to that one no purpose of God can be thwarted aren't you glad that God is not looking down at the chaos we've got in Washington DC aren't you glad he's not looking down and saying what am I gonna do now I didn't even know they were gonna do that when I you can either look at all that stuff and get worried or you can look at God and say with Joe I know that you can do all things and no purpose of yours will be for or can be thwarted who is this it hides counsel without knowledge therefore I have declared that which I didn't understand God I'm sorry that I've complained I'm sorry that I have griped about suffering I have declared that which I did not understand I have things to wonderful for me which I did not know here now and I will speak I will ask you you instruct me now here's here's the most important verse in all of the book of Job verse five and probably verse six - but verse five for sure I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear but now my eye sees you Lord it was not when I was rich it was not when I had all my kids it was not when I had all my health I didn't really know you that deeply back then I thought I did I have heard of you by the hearing of their but now now that I have gone through all this stuff all this suffering after I've gone through all this pain now my eye sees you I know it's not a sermon you want to say he meant - because you don't want to go through suffering and I don't either I get it but he prayed awfully humbly did he not and then he ended with in verse 6 therefore I retract that is I repent in dust and ashes Jobin been asking God why why why did I lose my children why God did I lose my health why Lord I was trying to live for you Oh God why why why and basically when you look at the chapters right before this God says Joe I love you but you wouldn't understand it if I told you you're just gonna have to trust me as they might heard a sermon recently on trusting God eventually God came to Joe showed him his power and his glory told him some great things that were beyond human comprehension such as why the righteous suffer and all of it was beyond human comprehension that's what God said and so Jobe just said I humbled myself that's what chapter 42 is about I just humbled myself I've heard of you by the hearing of the ear now my eye sees you therefore I retract I repent in dust and ashes Jesus taught us to pray humbly did he not Jesus said in Luke 18 verses 10 and following two men went up into the temple to pray one a Pharisee the other tax collector the Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself god I thank you that I'm not like other people swindlers unjust adulterers adulterers or even like this tax collector he was doing that pointing at the tax collector that was right over there he said God I fast twice a week I pay my tithes of all that I get I was their own proved the tithe Sonny and I did my job but notice the contrast of the tax collector but the tax collector standing some distance away he didn't even think he was worthy to be around this Pharisee was even unwilling to lift his eyes to heaven this other man was saying Lord I'm glad this other man was like Lord I'm not worthy to be here and he was beating his breast saying God be merciful to me the sinner not a sinner Thiessen I'm the worst you've got god I need mercy I need mercy what does Jesus say in verse 14 he said I tell you this man the one who wanted mercy the one who wouldn't even look up to God the one who was beating his breast the one who was standing distance away I tell you this man went to his house justified rather than the other for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled but He Who humbles himself will be exalted and exalted by who by God you can't strut and pray can't do it our junior he'll say one time he said I know some people that can strut sitting down you got to humble yourself first Peter 5 says humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God he will exalt you at the proper time casting all your anxiety that's prayer on him because he cares for you number one thing we learn about job and prayer is pray humbly number to pray graciously how many of you got anybody that doesn't like you raise your hand well some of y'all just aren't aware of the fact that some people don't like you Oh me help us thou us Lord verse 7 came about after the Lord had spoken these words to job that the Lord said to Elif as the temanite my wrath is kindled against you that's the last thing you want God saying to you my wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends because you have not spoken to me what is right as my servant Joe has these three friends came to him and they set quiet for a few days and that's the best ministry they gave to him sometimes the best thing you can do is just give them the Ministry of presence you don't have to have some wisely well I don't want to go see him because I don't know what to say listen you just go see them and be quiet and that will say a whole lot and that's the best thing that it was when they opened their mouth up that's when things went bad because what they told him was well Joe look this is the way God is the reason you are suffering is you obviously have sin in your life you're either trying to pull the wool over our eyes or trying to fake God off but somehow you've got something in your life that brought this on you God doesn't they were thinking God doesn't allow the righteous to suffer God only allows the wicked to suffer so you're suffering and so we deduced by that that you are wicked you're just not telling it and God says you haven't spoken about me in a right way how many of you know that it's not just the wicked that suffer but even the righteous suffer does anybody know that yeah you better know it now therefore take for yourself seven bulls seven Rams go to my servant job offer up a burnt offering for yourselves and my servant job we'll pray for you for I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly because you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant job has so elif as the temanite and bildad the shuhite and zophar the namath I went and did as the Lord told them and the Lord accepted job he accepted job's prayer these friends had been cruel to job but God rebuked them and as always job was gracious and he prayed for them and God healed them they didn't deserve it but job forgave his enemies what did Jesus say in the Beatitudes he said in Matthew 5:7 read it with me off the screen good and strong here we go blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy what did Jesus say in the Lord's Prayer we had it a week or two ago here it is two weeks ago here's what he said in Matthew 6:14 and 15 three weeks ago actually here it goes read it with me for if you forgive others for their transgressions your heavenly Father will also forgive you but if you do not forgive others then your father will not forgive your transgressions and what did Jesus brother James say about all of this in James chapter 2 verse 13 read it with me please for judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy mercy triumphs over judgment you've got to be full of mercy if you won't mercy I don't want judgment I want mercy and you will reap what you sow if you sow judgment you'll get judgment if you sow mercy you'll receive mercy pray graciously can't you hear him on the cross Father forgive them they don't know what they're doing and then finally pray effectively he prayed through I can remember somebody talking about that when I was a young Christian they said Steve learned how to pray through I said what do you mean pray through pray when your prayer is a struggle pray through pray until now I don't know how to say it except to say it this way pray until you have that release in your heart that God has heard your prayer you know sometimes we pray so little and we pray so shallowly and we pray in such a quick way that we don't linger with God God is not our little boy that fetches things for us God is our Heavenly Father God is God God is Almighty God deserves our time and sometimes you just need to stay on your knees I don't know how to say it until you know that you have connected with God and I can't tell you how you'll know I'll just tell you this you'll know when you know it doesn't mean that right then everything's going to be exactly right but it does mean you know somehow you prayed through somehow you got to God somehow in Jesus name there was a breakthrough there was a something in you there was a release in your spirit and you have cast your burden upon the Lord and now it's with him if you haven't reached that that's where you got to get in prayer that's deep prayer that's not little piddling around prayer that's going after God prayer I will not let you go God until you bless me and it may not be exactly the what you asked for but you know it you'll know it I'm telling you it's just something you have to experience you have to pray effectively that means you got to pray through look at verse 10 the Lord restored the fortunes of job when he had prayed for his friends don't ever forget that they he called them friends what did Jesus call Judas he said friend have you come to betray me look at your enemies and call them friend and pray for them and God will bless watch this and the Lord increased all the job had to fold then all his brothers and his sisters and all who had known him before came him you know what that means they had left him you know what you'll find out who your friends are when you go through tough times even his family had left him Oh job was back back to normal let's go see him you should have gone to see him earlier if you're down in my Bible then all his brothers and his sisters and all who had known him before came to him they ate bread with him in his house they consoled him they comforted him all for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him you said no no it was the devil listen to me the devil is God's little pawn he's God's little servant boy he can't do anything that God doesn't allow him to do each one of them gave him one piece of money each a ring of gold the gold the Lord blessed the latter days of job more than his beginning he had 14,000 sheep what did he start off with 7,000 if you go back and look in Chapter 1 in chapter 2 6,000 camels how many camels they had before 3,000 and I'm gonna tell you something you've never smelled anything nastier than a camel alright 1,000 yoke of oxen what did he have before 500 100 female donkeys how many had before 500 and he had seven sons and three daughters now wait a minute that's what he had to begin with now I learned this from my wife I was talking to her one night about this I said maybe I don't understand why God said he was going to give him double he gave him double on the camels double own everything s double on that but he gave him the same amount of children did not give him double she don't wait a minute he he got double ten in heaven and ten on earth Amen that Amen is for Donna alright I said thank you and name the first one I love this Jemima I don't act like you don't know what Jemima is I guess she ran a Waffle House I don't know what she ran that's the pancake woman right there at least where I came from name the first one Jemima second k'sia the third one whatever Karen topic how'd you like that who'd you go out with Karen her book how was it well Jemima makes better food all right in all the land no woman no women were found so far as jobs daughters and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers that means there was more money than anybody thought they'd ever have after this job lived 140 years saw his sons and his grandsons for generations read the last verse with me please off the screen and Jobe died an old man and full of days he prayed through now look at me and I'll be finished if you're in a place of an adverse adversary if you're an adverse place pray through pray through pray graciously pray effectively pray humbly even if you have a broken heart it's not over until God says it's over and God will have the final say don't you take it back in your hands don't you try to fix it you just pray and do what God says God is a more exacting judge than you will ever be vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord if someone has hurt you leave it with God pray for your friends and the Lord will bless you Eve maybe even like Joe maybe he might even give you twice what you had before the adversity let's thank God for job tonight can we do that let's thank the Lord for him there's only one person that suffered more than Jobe and that's Jesus and do you know why Jesus suffered he suffered for your sins and for mine Jesus born of a virgin free from a sinful nature tempted in all ways like we are never sinned went to the cross died the death that you and I deserve paid a debt he did not owe we owe to debt we could not pay and Jesus died for you he suffered and on the cross what did he do he prayed he prayed Father forgive them they know not what they do he prayed my God my God why have you forsaken me and then he prayed right before he gave up his spirit into thy hands I commit my spirit he prayed humbly he prayed for us he prayed that a righteous God would see him through and guess what anybody in here tonight who is saved you're saved because a man who was going through great sorrow the man of sorrows himself Jesus Christ prayed for you on that cross and died for you on that cross and made it through he could not even go through the cross he couldn't even endure the cross without praying and asking God's help when you go through adversity prayer is your greatest resource and God is your greatest advocate don't turn against God don't let the devil make you bitter toward God don't let adversity push you away from God let adversity push you into God don't turn from the Lord and God it's one thing to love God when the money's coming in everything's right in the family your health is doing good anybody can serve God then but it's another thing to serve God with a broken heart and the one whose heart was broken more than any will reward you if you'll stick it out with him and let him pull you through he will make a way like we said this morning he'll make a way when there seems to be no way and he will bless you if you'll just persevere and sometimes all you can do is just refuse to give up sometimes you can't even hardly look up but please under God don't give up trust the Lord and the Lord hears your heart sometimes you can't even open your mouth you're hurting so hard and the Lord sees your heart and that heart is a heart prayer to God some of you have never gone through adversity but there are people in this room that have gone through some of the things that Joe went through and every one of them who has made it through would say pray through pray through keep praying it's hard but God will help you how many of you know that God will help us when we're going through hard times amen let's bow our heads in prayer how many of you would say brother Steve I'm going through a tough time may not be tough for somebody else but it's tough for me I'm going through a tough time I'm not gonna make you come up here just raise your hand anybody out there all over this room father in the name of Jesus thank you for these precious people or god I just thank you for them Oh Heavenly Father you're the god of job you're the God who bragged on your children God touched them right now undergird them just like you did with Jobe and I pray that they would come to the point where they would say though he slay me yet will I trust him I pray that they would come to the point where they could say naked I came into this world naked I shall return blessed be the name of the Lord I pray that they'll come to the point where they say though I go through the fire I shall come forth as gold oh god bless these sweet people in Jesus name and if you agree with that prayer say Amen
