"The Chastening of The Lord: Part 2" Kathryn Kuhlman The Example of Job (The Lord's Discipline)

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