June 18, 2000, SM: The Measure of a Man

June 18th, 2000, Father's Day Sunday Morning

"The Measure of a Man"
part 1

Job - the example father

OPENING: Job 1:1,8, KJV

The measure of a man is in his character and his conduct.

Character determines your flow of conduct. Character is what separates you from everyone else. It determines how you react to events. Often times we blame others but we should look to blaming ourselves and being accountable.

We want to correct our character first.

James 5:11: Job. Not the definition of working to make money but the name of a man, pronounced <joe-b>. Job was a husband so God-fearing and obedient, God found fit to make him an example by making a book of the bible called, "Job." This verse specifies Job as patient. This is very important in that patience is a derivative of other traits that husbands and all men should be. Read on.

Job 1:7: This is one thing that's amazing about God. While He knows everything about everyone about where they're been (Satan, in this case), He STILL asks Satan where he's been just to remind Satan, "Hey, buster! I know everywhere you've been but I want YOU to tell ME, anyway."
Job 1:7-8: Satan's been walking around the earth basically saying, "all these humans are weak! is there no match for me?" (Wouldn't you like to say you're one who could follow God to the letter 'T' and say Satan is no match for you?) So God challenges Satan by saying how good a follower Job is.
Job 1:8-12: Satan argues that Job is only being protected from the elements by God and that if God took everything away from Job, Job would curse God to His face. So God allowed Satan to test Job by doing everything bad to Job short of harming Job's body.
Job 1:13-19: Imagine everything that happened to Job is these verses occurred within the period of an hour. Today, it would be comparable to finding that your entire stock market portfolio dropped to ZERO and that all of your children had died. Just one of those two is enough grief for one man but much more than that happened to Job.
Job 13:15: Even to lose everything he ever had and that was dear to him, Job will not curse God. In fact, he says he will trust in God to his death. Complete and total 100% trust! Could you?
Job 19:25,27: Job had patience in God--patience being hope and confidence. Job believed that God could bring the dead back to life again. Job felt this even after Job 1:13-19!! This is what your wife and children must see in you. Even if your financial estate crumbles and everything you do doesn't work out, the worst thing you could do is to whimper and curse God and shake your fist at him--especially in the sight of your family.
Job 2:3: Job maintained his integrity throughout this entire ordeal and God gloats in Satan's face about this. So now God allows Satan to inflict all pain upon Job short of death.
Job 2:9: Any loving wife wouldn't want to see their husband in pain. Sometimes, women do get emotional and speak from the heart. In this case, Job's wife tells him that he should curse God before he dies.
Job 2:10: Yet Job does not speak sin from his lips but tells his wife they must receive good as well as bad. Would you have been able to last this long without feeling any hatred toward God?
More proof Job retained his faith and integrity to God throughout the worst situation a husband could be in:
- Job 27:5
- Job 31:6
Today, most men don't care about integrity. They lie without caring.
Job 1:5: Job was a man of great prayer. In this verse we see Job is concerned with his family.
Nowadays, man comes home from work and goes right for the newspaper on the easy chair while it's the mom who is helping the children with their homework assignments.
Fathers need to be involved in every aspect of their children's life. Job didn't say, "well they're all grown-up. Goodbye." Job did continuous intercessory prayer for all his seven sons and three daughters and made a burnt offering sacrifice for each of them.
It ought to be a blessing for in-house brothers and sisters to come together in fellowship and not to fight.
Job 42:12: ...And in the end, we find that Job gets twice of everything back that was taken from him because he passed the test. In addition, God gave him seven sons and three daughters. Now you ask--what's the blessing in that? That doesn't replace his original seven sons and three daughters! Not true. Job's original seven sons and three daughters were saved and when your children are saved (because you had to help them be saved--like Job did), they are never lost!

James 5:10,11: If we are to have good character, we need to have patience with God. Job is the perfect example (Job 1:8) because he trusted God when all his friends hated him, when all his property was taken from him, and when all his children were killed. You, too, need patience when being a husband.

Patience as a husband means paddling your children, being a man of prayer, and to never put your integrity up for sale. The bible says to have a good name is worth more than gold and when you're seen in the supermarket or on the street or in church, wouldn't you want people to look at you with favor?

CLOSER

Job 35:1: While God says Job was perfect (but didn't say Job was without sin and being worthy of hell), Job had a pride problem. Because Job had integrity, prayer, and patience, he believed what he achieved was on his own. He believed to be more righteous than God. For that, this test of God confronted Job's pride and "put him back in his place."

Let's not forget that pride causeth you not to listen to your wife or other counsel.

Job 38:1-2 and 42:1: God confronts Job and says to the effect, "why are you asking advice not from Me? Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth, anyway?" And of course, Job felt with his face to the dust admitting guilt.

Today, men (husbands in particular) and mocked at and made fun of. They are not seen as the king of their castle (their home) and if a husband can't be the king of his castle, then what did God charge of him? Yet while a husband is to be the head of house, the wife was put there to keep her husband in check.

A man must have patience and swallow pride sometimes to admit he is wrong and correct himself. Husbands--and all men--look into your character because it will determine your conduct.