that music was apropo because no matter what you're going through no matter what the Day brings we who are believers still have a reason not only do we have a reason but we have a responsibility to praise the Lord yes sir I'm praising the Lord as I make this announcement to you this morning I want to uh give you this personal announcement and I still want you to be praising God yes sir I've been going through a series of tests and doctor's appointments and I have been diagnosed with prostate cancer but I'm feeling good I'm looking good ain't I I'm I'm feeling well I'm going to have surgery on next month for the removal of the cancer but in the meantime this is what I'm going to do come on herec Job chapter 13 verse 15 though he slay me yet will I trust even so I will defend my own ways before him thank you you may be seated [Applause] the grass withers and the flower Fades but the word of our God shall stand forever yes sir I believe it would be a matter of pastoral malpractice if I did not demonstrate for you this morning how to walk through pain with a loving God though he's slay me though he slay [Applause] me yet will I trust [Applause] him the Book of Job grapples with one of the great problems that many people grapple with even today yes sir especially people who love God people who go to church people who have devoted themselves to God's glory yet experience suffering sickness setbacks disappointments believers who struggle with illness debilitating chronic pain yes sir one day you're up and the next day you're down one day the sun is shining and the next day the skies have darkened because if you live long enough life will turn on you situations will become adverse days will get long and nights will get dreary because job raises The Perennial question of every serious Christian why why am I going through this why now the Sun is bright The Horizon is in the distance I can almost see the way and then disaster strikes yeah yeah hardship comes sickness debilitates why the great heart of the book Book of Job is dramatic poetry but the first three chapters are a prologue in Pros they show us the the the the Earthly and Heavenly battle that's going on between Satan and God for Satan presents himself with the sons of God and God says to him since you since you don't have anything to do since you are going to and fro have you have you considered my servant Joe I wish I had a Bible reader Satan said I I thought about him he ran across my mind and I would get at him but you have a hedge around you you are protecting him move the Hedge and I'll make Job Curse you to your face and God gave Satan permission somebody ought to help me preaching what happens to me what happens to you yeah Satan may bring it but God sent it and if God sent it it must be for your good and for his glory I am thine oh Lord I've heard your voice and it told your love to me and I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to thee consecrate me now to thy service Lord by the power of Grace Divine let my soul look up with a steadfast hope and my will be lost in thine draw me nearer and sometimes in order for God to draw us nearer he's got to send us through some season of sickness some time of Despair some days when you're about yourself and it's just you and God and you know if God be for I wish I had somebody who's been through something I need two or three Witnesses here who can help me testify that in your midnight hours God will show up and give you strength just when you need it the [Music] most he lost [Applause] everything his cattle his camels his sheep all his children and then Satan goes back to God and says you've taken some things from him but let me touch his body and he'll curse you to your face and God again gave Satan permission touch his body but there's something in him that you can't touch no depression can touch that no sickness can touch that no surgery no hospital no no TR no financial situation no enemy can touch that his soul belongs to me and he touched job in his body it out with puss oozing sordes from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet job shaved his head tore his clothes off as a sign of great grief fell down on the ground and here is what job did and here is what I'm going to do next naked came I from my mother's womb and naked I shall return here it is the lord gave and the Lord takes away blessed be the name of the Lord when job knew that God was not going to move it he worshiped and what I came here to do this morning it's not only you to tell you what's going on with me physically but let you know what's going on with me spiritually I came here this morning not to complain not looking for sympathy I came here this morning to [Applause] worship thank you for what you've already done thank you for healing you've already sent thank you for doors you've already opened do do do you know do you know how to tell if you have real faith here's how you tell if you have real [Applause] Faith you turn your hurts into a Hy you turn your adversity into an advantage you turn opposition into an opportunity because often times what happens to you it's not for you and so I've asked God to use my pain use my sickness to get glory for your name and to let somebody else know if God can come to his rescue God can come to my rescue if God did it before he can do it again and I'm asking him this morning Lord do it again I was sick one time and couldn't get well and here I am this morning preaching the gospel Lord do it again I Came To Worship cuz worship is not about your circumstance worship is not about what you're going through worship is about God and I can see God when I can't see my way I can trust God when I get a bad doctor's report BL be the name of the Lord and the problem with many of us who call ourselves Christian is that we can praise God when everything is blessed we can praise God when he gives but why is your Hallelujah when he takes it away I wish I had somebody to help me here God has given me some good years but now God is taking some things from me and I'm still here this morning in my right mind to tell God thank you I'm not mad with you I'm not upset with you I'm not whining about anything I came here this morning to worship sir and then Mrs Joe [Applause] looked at job's condition after his friends had sat with him seven days and started accusing him foolishly and in all this the Bible said je job never accused God falsely or blasphemed God's name cuz God bragged on him I want you to hear this God said he was blameless and upright blameless does not mean sinless blameless means sincere even when he went wrong he was sincere an upright had something to do with his Integrity blameless is character upright is conduct and when your character and your conduct line up listen when your character and your conduct line up you are a candidate for a testing because you don't have to do wrong to be tested you can just be trying to do what's right and be tested I I want you to see something that just came to me this week U when when the doctor gave me my my report I was some days before I told my family and my sister said you didn't fall all on the floor and she said that had been me did it still be picking me up off the floor and and I thought about this in HISD University of Houston Texas Southern the teacher disseminates the subject [Music] material and then administers the [Applause] test God sends the [Music] test then he teaches the lesson yeah teachers in here teach the lesson then they give the test but in the school of faith God sends the test then he teaches the lesson and you can't learn the lesson till you been through the test I wish I had one or two two more witnesses here we trying to figure it all out and we trying to know all it is that God is doing God said no first pass the test then I'll tell you what the lesson is so right now I'm going through the test when I figure out the lesson I'm going come back and let you know but in the meantime I'm a worship oh yes I am I'm I'm I'm I'm going tell God thank you I'mma open my mouth to the Lord and give him glory I'm going to lift my hands and it don't even have to be Sunday morning I'm going to sing my hym I'm going to pray my prayer I'm going to preach to myself cuz David says sometimes you just got to encourage yourself I'mma Pat myself on the back I'm going to give myself encouragement and ask God whatever the lesson is I can wait on that just help me pass the test anybody can handle it when the Lord gives but the true test is when the Lord takes away I'm going to do what job did job worshiped then the second thing job did is what I'm going to do he [Applause] witnessed his friends came and sat with him and after some days they said job now now tell us the truth you ain't you ain't you ain't all [Applause] that because for what you going [Music] through you must have done something cuz God wouldn't let you be going through what you going through if you hadn't done something and the fainthearted the the the 90 lb Christian the weak followers associate sickness with sin come on but sickness is not always a sign of sin sickness may be an opportunity for God to prove himself and God may just want to prove how much Faith you have when I'm physically absent see how quiet you got right there cuz if your shouting is just on my preaching you got some growing up to do if you just come to church when I'm here you got some growing up to do are y'all listening to me as a witness they came at job from every direction elaz came at it Bild dad came in zofar came in they railed on job they tried to figure it out they tried to unearth some answer from him that he didn't have they tried to bring up some stuff that they thought would elicit an angry response from him they probably asked some other people y'all know some stuff about job that I don't know cuz I heard Jo must have had some black friends they say come on you know how we talk the people say my mama said no woman is going to carry a baby 9 months and name it to [Applause] people that's you talking trying to find out something that ain't none of your business they was trying to find out all job had done all what was going on in his life and after a while it began to aggravate job and we talk often about the patience of Job but job was anything but patient because job said all you are saying about me is not true and then job got so upset he said I knew if I knew where God was I'd bring my case before him all that I knew where I could find him I'm I'm not afraid of him I just don't know where he is if I knew where he is I would bring my case before him and job said my witness is in heaven and my record is on high my character has not always been Sterling my conduct has not always been evident of my calling but I've been sincere in my walk with God and in my sincerity God has sent setbacks because there's a cosmic battle going on that job knew nothing about and a cosmic battle going on in my life that I know nothing about I'm the Battleground for God and Satan and I'm here to witness this morning that I'm already an overcomer because I have an overcomer through the blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ came and died for my sins and Rose for my justification and I thank God this morning that my witness is in heaven thank you Lord thank and my record is on high though he slay me I said though he though he slay me yet I like that word in spite of what I'm going through despite what the devil is trying to make me feel [Applause] despite circumstances in my life not all the way lining up the way I would like in spite of sickness and age coming on me in spite of me seeing my way almost through yet will I trust it and so I came here to worship I came came here to witness and finally I came here to tell you Lily Grove I'm a wait I'm through that's my little story job said it like this all the days of my appointed time I'mma wait until my change come waiting does not mean doing nothing waiting is just watching for God's hand to move waiting is watching for God to do what only God can do I thank God for my oncologist I thank God for the nurses who will be attending to me I thank God for the hospital who is skilled at what it is that they do they have needles and scans and medicine but God got the power and so I'mma wait until my change come you going to help me close this little sermon won't you the elders down in Louisiana where I'm from said he may not come when you want him yes but he's always on time I need somebody who's been through some storms in your life I I need somebody who has already been through some dark days in your own personal situation to help me worship God this morning help me thank God for his goodness it may not always feel good it may not always look good but it is good because God is good I said God is good and I've learned to praise God in the good times and praise God in the bad times I've learned how to praise God when I'm up I've learned how to give God glory when I'm down I've learned how to shout when I'm broke I've learned how to yell when my back is against the wall I've learned how to sing when the nights are long and cold is there anybody else here who will join me in worshiping this morning thank you for your mercy thank you for your goodness thank you for your healing I'm not going to wait till my surgery is over I'm going give God glory right now I'm going thank God in advance for the healing of my body I'm going to give God glory in advance because he's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that I can even ask or imagine is there anybody here feel like worshiping this morning well then I need a witness who can help me testify he will bring you through he will open a door he will let the sunshine in your life he will make a way out of nowhere he will put food on your table clothes on your back money in your pocket if you seen him do it and you're not ashamed to testify if you watched them work it out come on help me testify come on be a witness and I need somebody here to worship I I need somebody who can witness but I need somebody who knows how to wait H has thou not known hast thou not heard that the Everlasting God the Father the creator of the ends of the Earth there's no searching of his understanding he giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increases their strength even the youth shall faint and grow weary and the young men shall utterly fall come on help me preach it if you can but they they that wait they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall Mount up with wings like eagles they shall run and not get weary they shall walk and not faint won't he do it won't he do it why don't you grab somebody why don't you tell somebody he will work it out he will turn it around he will make a way he's all right he's a doctor in a sick room he's a lawyer in a courtroom he's a friend when you're friendless rad when you're hungry y'all know him don't you he's a rock in a weary land a shelter in a time of storm one Friday he died on an Old Rugged Cross but bright early Sunday morning he got up didn't he get up with all power all power I trust him today I wait on him today thank you Jesus I know he's all right [Music] all