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[0:00] This morning we've asked our brother Ben Carlson to preach for us and he's asked me to read Job chapter 1.! We'll be reading the first five verses.

[0:10] Job chapter 1 verse 1. In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job.

[0:23] This man was blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. And he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 donkeys, and a large number of servants.

[0:43] He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes. And they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

[0:57] When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.

[1:15] This was Job's regular custom. You can keep your Bibles open to Job chapter 1 if you would like.

[1:27] Well, it's good to be here. I'm very thankful for Pastor John and Jason's confidence in me to preach to you this morning. I'm grateful for this opportunity, and hopefully you all will be blessed and edified from looking at Job as an example of fatherly love to his children.

[1:47] I've entitled this sermon, A Father's Restless Heart for His Children. Now, dads are usually their children's heroes, aren't they?

[1:59] Children, who are your greatest heroes of all? We look up to our fathers greatly. Because dads will do almost anything to save their children from physical harm.

[2:11] Almost anything. There's a story three years ago of a family who went on a quick hike together in a mountain trail in Colorado. And they just went to enjoy the sunshine as the sun went down.

[2:25] But all of a sudden, tragedy struck. A rock slide occurred. And a hundred ton boulders as big as cars tumbled down the mountain and rolled over this family.

[2:37] Now, every one of those family members died except one little girl. And the entire reason that that one little girl did not die was because her dad saved her life.

[2:49] Her dad used his own body to shield her from the rock slide. And at those, she suffered a broken leg. She was fine, and she's doing well today. And so here's this father doing absolutely everything he can to save his child from danger.

[3:05] That's a wonderful thing. And a father like that should be praised who gave his life for his very own children. But I want to look at a father today who did even more than that.

[3:17] He wanted to save his children from something greater than a rock slide. He wanted to save his children from their sins. And so the question I want to ask fathers, mothers, anyone who has spiritual authority over their children, what are you willing to do to save your children's soul from spiritual danger?

[3:42] We'll look at that today in the first five verses. I have three points. We'll see Job as a morally blameless man in verse 1.

[3:54] We'll see Job as a materially blessed man in verses 2 through 3. And then we'll see Job as a spiritually burdened man in verses 4 through 5.

[4:07] That's kind of where I want to camp. We'll draw some applications from that. But then I want to give everybody encouragement as we look to Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of Job, who is the greater than Job, who has the greatest concern for all for his spiritual children.

[4:22] So let me pray very quickly and we'll get into the text. Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. What would we do without him?

[4:32] Lord, fathers, mothers, any of us, what would we do without Christ? We thank you for him, not only his example, but what he came to do upon this earth to save sinners.

[4:43] Please, O Lord, open our eyes to the wondrous things contained in the scriptures this morning. And help us all to leave this place better than before. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

[4:57] So please look with me at verse 1. We'll notice first that Job was a morally blameless man. He was a righteous man. Job was the most righteous man on earth during his lifetime.

[5:12] Verse 1, there was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. And that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil.

[5:25] Job was righteous. We know this just simply from the entire purpose of this book. The book of Job is to explain to us why the righteous suffer in a sin-cursed world.

[5:37] We know that Job is the suffering servant of the Lord in this book. And we know ultimately Job is pointing to Jesus Christ, who is the suffering servant of God.

[5:49] And we know that Job is righteous from other places in scripture as well. In Ezekiel chapter 14, Job's righteousness is compared to Noah and to Daniel's righteousness.

[6:01] In James 5.11, James gives us an example of perseverance and suffering in the midst of trial. And he points to Job and says, look how Job suffered and look how Job endured with patience.

[6:16] But we know that Job is righteous because of the statements in this book. I just read verse 1. If you look at verse 8, the Lord says a similar thing to Satan.

[6:26] Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on all the earth. A blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.

[6:37] And also in chapter 2, verse 3. The Lord said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on all the earth. A blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.

[6:50] Three times this statement occurs in two chapters. And so we know he's a righteous man. But what does that mean? Well, first he's a man of integrity.

[7:02] He's blameless and he's upright. First, he's blameless. This speaks of Job's character in an all-comprehensive way. The roundness of his character. He's blameless. There's no inconsistencies in Job's life.

[7:15] There's nothing lacking in his life. Now, of course, he's not sinlessly perfect. Nobody is. And Job even admits to this in Job 11.20. He says, if he said of himself, if he was righteous and blameless, his own mouth would condemn him and God would declare him guilty as well.

[7:33] But there is an overall consistency in his obedience. Job was also upright, which speaks of his straightness of character. He walked on the narrow way, the straight way.

[7:46] He did not follow after paths of sinfulness or unrighteousness. But he walked in the path of God. And he wasn't just a man of integrity. He was a man of devout faith.

[7:57] He feared the Lord and he turned away from evil. We know that fearing God is the beginning of all true knowledge. It's the foundation of knowledge. It's what everything is built up off of.

[8:09] And so he lived ever before the very face of God. This is how he feared the Lord. He loved the Lord. He cared about the Lord. He acknowledged God in his life. And he knew that the all-seeing eye of God was upon him at all times.

[8:24] And so he turned away from evil. He practiced repentance on a daily basis. He daily fled from sin to God. And so both Scripture, the Lord himself as well, testified to Job's moral excellence.

[8:40] He was a morally blameless man. But notice secondly that Job was a materially blessed man in verses 2 through 3. He was rich. He was very rich.

[8:52] Because of Job's righteousness, the Lord blessed him with many riches. Even Satan himself has to admit that the Lord mightily blessed his servant Job.

[9:04] In verse 10 of chapter 1, Satan says, Have you not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

[9:18] So Satan himself admits that Job has been blessed by God. In what ways has Job been blessed by God? Well, in his family, he was a father and a husband.

[9:30] He was a father to seven sons and three daughters. A very large family. His quiver was full of children. In his riches and his fortunes, he was a very wealthy businessman in his country.

[9:47] He had pockets full of money. And this money is seen in how many possessions he owned. In verse 3, he had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants.

[10:06] He did a giant business in the country where he had to employ many, many servants to work for him and had many, many animals at his disposal. It reminds us of people like Abraham, who owned very many things.

[10:20] And he was also very influential as a leader in his community. At the end of verse 3, He was great.

[10:32] In the scriptures, Abraham and Moses and David and even Mordecai are called great. They're famous. They're well-known.

[10:43] They're well-respected in the place that they reside. He had governance even as a judge, as we read in Job chapter 29. He was given the respect of a chief and of a king.

[10:57] And even princes held their hands to their mouths when Job would speak. He was a very respected person. And so we see here in the first three verses that Job was wealthy, and he was wise, and he was well-known.

[11:13] But Job was much more than that. Job was a busy man. And many of us are busy people as well. He owned many possessions.

[11:24] He had a family business that was very large. He was very influential in his community. He acted as a judge in certain cases. And he was a very holy man, a very pious man before the Lord.

[11:36] Many responsibilities Job had. But he didn't forget about his family. And that's what I want to focus on here in verses 4 through 5. Let's notice lastly that Job was a spiritually burdened man.

[11:51] He was a restless man. Job's righteousness is seen in the way that he treated his children. Let me read verses 4 through 5 again.

[12:03] His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day. And they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all.

[12:25] For Job said, Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did continually. We see here that Job's righteousness, his riches, and his responsibilities did not interfere with his restless heart for his children.

[12:47] In fact, his wisdom and wealth caused him to be ever watchful over his children's souls. So how was Job burdened? Well, what was the occasion that brought upon this burden in Job's heart?

[13:03] What was the celebration of his son's birthday parties? I think in the NIV it might even say birthday parties. This is what his sons got together for. Sons and daughters getting together for their sons' birthday parties or these feasts, each on their own day.

[13:19] What would they do at these feasts? Well, they were eating and they were drinking. Most likely alcohol was involved in these parties.

[13:32] And these were legitimate parties. Think of these parties like family celebrations, where you get a big family reunion together. Your uncles and your aunts and your cousins and your brothers and your sisters and your sons and your daughters come together and celebrate.

[13:49] Well, this is somewhat like what was going on here in Job's day. But it was the sons and the daughters getting together, celebrating, laughing, having a great and wonderful time together.

[14:02] But it wasn't to say that these people, the sons and daughters of Job, were committing sin or debauchery when they got together.

[14:13] Job was a righteous and a holy and a blameless man. Remember this. He wouldn't allow his sons and his daughters to get together and get drunk. He loved his family.

[14:23] He cared about his family. He looked after their family. But the reason why Job was so concerned for his family, because he tells us in verse 5, perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.

[14:39] It was a heart issue that Job was concerned about. These were legitimate, lawful, proper parties that Job's sons and daughters were going to. But Job was concerned about their hearts.

[14:51] He knew that somehow, some way, they could make these parties something that they should not be. That they could fill up their glasses with wine and not fill up their hearts with the joy of the Lord.

[15:03] That their eyes and their hearts could be fixed on something else and could be drawn away from worshiping the true and living God. And so Job was concerned about their spiritual welfare.

[15:15] He was concerned about their relationship with the Lord. And so what did Job do about it? Well, first he acts almost like a priest to his kids.

[15:29] He sins for his children. He has his servants gather them up. He has them consecrated. Or he has them set apart. He has them cleansed in order for them to enter into the worship of God.

[15:40] For religious duties, Job calls his children together after these feasts, after these birthday parties were over with. And Job would rise early to do this.

[15:54] And then as he rose early, he would offer burnt offerings for each one of his children. Now these burnt offerings were an atoning sacrifice. As you read Leviticus chapter 1, the regulations were set for burnt offerings.

[16:09] Whether it be of cattle or whether it be of sheep or whether it be of birds. These burnt offerings would be given up to the Lord as an atoning sacrifice. And so Job knew from after the fall, he knew what he had to do to atone for the sins of his family.

[16:28] Now these sacrifices were not atoning in and of themselves, but they were appointing to the one great atonement made by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But these were the appointed ways of having his son's sins forgiven.

[16:45] This is what God had commanded them to do. Job, if you want your son's sins forgiven, you must offer these burnt offerings up unto the Lord. And so Job took that very seriously.

[16:57] This was his responsibility as a parent. To make this sacrifice for his kids early in the morning, consistently, and all the time.

[17:09] We see this consistency in verse 5. Job did this continually. He did it eagerly. He did it persistently. He did it urgently.

[17:21] Knowing that this was vital for his kids' relationship with God. So though Job was righteous and rich, Job was supremely concerned for the spiritual welfare of his children.

[17:37] So that's the text. I'd like to get to some applications now. First, every father and husband, according to this text, every father and husband must make it a priority to be a spiritual leader in his home.

[17:58] Now, I say all these things with humility because I know many of you have been fathers a lot longer than I've been alive. And so first and foremost, I want to say this.

[18:09] I'm up here with humility and respect to all of you fathers who have done wonderful jobs with your kids. And which I can see the fruit of it from the kids even being here in church.

[18:21] But from this text and from the word of God, as we look at the example of Job, we see Job's restless heart for his children. And we have to ask, what is the condition of our heart for our own kids?

[18:33] But Job made it a priority to be a spiritual leader within his home. He saw it as his responsibility. He saw it as his duty. He saw it as his privilege.

[18:46] Remember, Job rose early to make these sacrifices. Job did this continually after these birthday parties had ended. Job took time to gather together his children.

[18:59] Job took time to make the sacrifice. Think of all the time that it took for Job to make this sacrifice. He had to get the animal and he had to bring it to him. And he had to slay the animal.

[19:10] And he had to light a fire. And he had to put the animal on the fire. And all the time he had to get his children to come and participate in this religious observance. This took a lot of time to do.

[19:23] But Job saw it as a priority. As I said, many of us fathers are busy, busy people. We've got jobs that we have to work.

[19:36] We've got responsibilities elsewhere outside of the home. But we cannot be too busy to be concerned about our kids. We can't be too busy or too holy or too pious to be concerned about our children's souls.

[19:55] Many times we can fall into that trap. Think of some of the common excuses that all of us make as fathers when it comes to raising our kids and the discipline and the instruction of the Lord.

[20:11] Some of the common excuses. My wife is my helper. It's my wife's job to do that. Or I'm too busy. Or I'm too tired. Or if my kids are going to sin, what in the world can I do about it?

[20:24] Or that's what the church is there for. And these are common excuses that we can all make as fathers. But Job didn't make these excuses.

[20:35] He stepped up and he was a man. He stepped up and he did what he had to do to see his sons made right with God. He knew it would take a lot of sacrifice, a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of early mornings to do this.

[20:53] But he did it because he loved his kids and he wanted to see them saved. And so let us thank fathers. Where in our lives can we see ourselves drifting away from our responsibilities?

[21:10] Is there a certain hobby that we love so much that we're not willing to give it up in order to teach our children about the Lord? Is there something, something in our lives that's causing us or hindering us from being like a Job?

[21:31] Secondly, fathers, we've got to make time to know the spiritual state of our children. Job knew the weaknesses of his children. He knew their hearts. He knew their inclinations to sin.

[21:44] He had good reason to suppose that his children actually did sin during these birthday parties. He knew their hearts. And how well do we know our children's hearts?

[21:58] Do we know our children's weaknesses? Do we know their proneness to wander in certain areas? Are there things in their lives that they love more than the Lord? And are we willing to step before those things and to teach them rightly?

[22:16] Thirdly, fathers, we need to have a holy suspicion of our children's hearts. We see this also in Job. Job knew that his kids could sin while doing right and legitimate things.

[22:31] Right? These birthday parties, these were good things. These were good celebrations. There wasn't inherent sin involved in what the children were doing.

[22:41] But it could certainly lead to sin very fast, very quickly. And so Job had a reason to suspect that his children had sinned during these parties.

[22:53] As we think about our own children and some of the legitimate things that they do on a daily or weekly basis, do we know that they might have a proneness to sin in those areas?

[23:07] I think of myself. And as I grew up and I played sports. Sports are a legitimate thing to do, a proper thing to do. But I made sports my God.

[23:19] This is what I worshipped. I had no control over myself. And so here's a legitimate thing that I was doing, a good activity, and I made it something wrong.

[23:31] I made it a God. I made it my idol. And so fathers, are we willing to see these things in our kids? To examine and know their hearts and have a holy suspicion about everything that they do?

[23:42] Not to constantly be over them and constantly be watching them, but just to think, the things that my kids love, are there ways that they could sin in doing those things?

[24:00] Fourth, fathers, we are to promote true holiness in our children's lives. Job wanted his children to be made right with God, but at the same time, he didn't even participate in these parties.

[24:14] Maybe it wasn't his thing. Maybe his preference was not to go to these parties for whatever reason. But he allowed them to do these things. But what he was truly concerned about was their holiness.

[24:26] Not about making spitting images of his kids. He didn't want to make images of himself and his children. And many times, fathers, we can do that. I want Liam and Luther to be just like me.

[24:39] I shouldn't want that at all. I should be concerned about their holiness before the Lord. There are legitimate things that he might do that I don't like. But all in all, I should want them to be right with God.

[24:57] Fifthly, fathers, we need to use the appointed means of grace for your children. This is what Job did. The appointed means of grace in Job's time was to offer these sacrifices for his kids.

[25:12] He listened. He obeyed God. God said, do this and I will bless you. And this is what Job did. We fathers have to do this as well. We have appointed means of grace in the new covenant.

[25:24] We can bring our children to church. We can pray for our kids. We can read the Bible to our kids. We can talk to them about their sin. We can talk to them about the greatness of our Savior.

[25:37] Are we doing that? Are we exhausting the means? All these avenues of blessing that God tells us to go by. And if we go by those roads, we will be blessed. Are we doing these things with our kids?

[25:50] Job was. You may think, I don't have children in my home anymore. They're all grown up and gone. And I can't do these things anymore.

[26:02] Well, you can still pray for your kids. There's still things that you can do, fathers. You can call your child up and ask them how their spiritual state is. There's still options available to all who have children.

[26:20] Now I'm going to talk to mothers very briefly. This isn't just a Father's Day sermon. But mothers or wives, support the husbands or the fathers' spiritual leadership in the home.

[26:38] support their desire and their efforts to see their children be made right with God. Many times, wives can become overly critical of their husbands and the work that they're trying to do to see their children grow up the right way, grow up in the ways of God.

[26:59] And so mothers, please, support, encourage, offer advice, offer help when the father needs it. I'd like to say that Job's wife did this always, but we know what Job's wife said after God allowed Satan to attack Job, curse God and die.

[27:19] So mothers, be supportive of the work of the father and the home. But more than that, children, children, appreciate what your fathers are doing to raise you in the right way.

[27:33] Job had a holy and a happy family. They got together. They loved each other. There's happiness we read in these first five verses.

[27:43] The tragedy is that these children are killed almost immediately after this. But before that, there was happiness in the home. They loved to follow the orders of Job.

[27:55] And when Job sent out the servants to gather them up for the sacrifice, they came. They didn't rebel. They didn't resent what Job had to say and what Job had to do. They listened.

[28:07] And so, children, it's easy to become resentful of what your parents are doing. Why do you got to bring me to church? Why do you got to read the Bible to me? Why do I have to go to family worship every day?

[28:18] Because your parents are concerned about you. They love you. They want you to be saved. Who else loves you like your parents love you? Who carries this burden around in their heart every single day of their lives to see you made right with God?

[28:37] Certainly, your friends don't carry this burden around. Certainly, if you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, they don't carry that burden around. Even yourself, you don't carry that burden around.

[28:47] But your parents do. And I wish every child could sit back and watch on a screen the days and the months and the years of the burden that their parents carry for them.

[29:00] The restless nights. Not sleeping because their kids are off doing this and that and another thing. And the early mornings of waking up and agonizing over their children's souls.

[29:12] Their time of prayer. Their time of meditation. Their time and effort poured into their children's lives. Children, do not waste these things.

[29:25] Listen to your parents. They have your best interests in mind and appreciate what they're doing for you. When's the last time, children, you thanked your fathers or your mothers for praying for you?

[29:38] For taking you to church? For loving you rightly? Many children don't have that privilege. I hope you all know that.

[29:48] Many children don't have the privilege that many of you children have today. Parents who love you. Parents who don't want to see you sin. That's the greatest parent of all.

[30:00] That's a dad who is truly a hero. And so, children, don't squander this opportunity. See the goodness of God in your parents' lives.

[30:12] And that should cause you to repent. That should cause you to turn back to God and thank Him for having these sort of parents in your life. Especially fathers.

[30:25] Now, you may be unmarried. You may not have children. You say, Ben, how does this sermon apply to me? Well, for unmarried women, what type of man are you looking for in your future spouse?

[30:44] You may want them to be good-looking. You may want them to have lots of money. You may want them to have many possessions like Job and a secure job. But do you want a spiritual leader?

[30:56] Do you want a Job? Do you want a man who is willing to wake up early and pray for his children? This is what should be first and foremost on your mind.

[31:11] Unmarried men seeking a spouse yourself. Are you ready for the duty of spiritually leading your family? This is a big responsibility. This is a big duty.

[31:22] This is a big burden to carry around the rest of your life. Are you ready for that? If the Lord blesses you with a wife and children, are you ready to carry this burden around your entire life?

[31:34] A good brother told me last week that things change when you have kids. I think every father and mother can say amen to that. Things change. Life is no longer about yourself anymore.

[31:49] As you get a wife, now it's about her. As you get children, now it's about them. And so, are you ready for this? Are you ready to take this duty on? Because this is what your life will consist of.

[32:03] Carrying around a restless heart for your kids. And maybe you're not seeking marriage.

[32:13] Maybe you're single. Maybe you're a widow. And you think, what does this mean for me? Well, there's always somebody in your life that you have authority over. If you're a grandmother, you may have grandkids.

[32:26] Or you have kids yourselves. And you can be burdened for their hearts as well. You can pray for them. You can call them up. You can be concerned about their souls.

[32:38] We can all act as Job in every situation that we find ourselves in. So there's the challenge. Fathers, mothers, children.

[32:51] It's a lot to bear. It's a big burden to be like Job. To carry around a restless heart day in and day out for your kids. How in the world can I do this? Well, as we look to Jesus Christ, we can find comfort and we can find encouragement for help.

[33:11] I know the Lord Jesus Christ isn't the person of the Father. But the Lord Jesus Christ has a fatherly concern, a fatherly care for all of His people.

[33:22] He cares greatly for those that the Father had given Him. And in that sense, He acts like a father. Acts like a father to all of us.

[33:34] He's been given a children, a spiritual children to take care of, to watch, to preserve, and to keep to the very end. And we see that Jesus Christ is greater than Job in many ways as we look to this passage.

[33:49] Jesus Christ is greater than Job in His own character. He's got a greater character than Job. Job was blameless and righteous. He feared God and turned away from evil.

[34:00] Well, look at the Lord Jesus Christ. Job wasn't sinlessly perfect, but our Savior is. He's totally and fully perfect. He truly feared God.

[34:11] He truly turned away from evil. The Lord Jesus Christ was given more possessions than Job. The Lord Jesus Christ owns all of heaven and earth.

[34:24] He owns all the cattle. He owns all the sheep. He owns all the camels. He owns all of us as His servants. He was given a perfect number of spiritual children.

[34:35] Job was given seven sons and three daughters. Well, Jesus Christ has given a great multitude to care over. Job was the greatest man in the East.

[34:46] Jesus Christ is the greatest man in the whole world. Amen. No one has or ever will surpass the greatness of Jesus Christ. But Jesus is also greater than Job and his concern for his spiritual children.

[35:08] Jesus knew that not that perhaps we would sin and curse God in our hearts. Jesus knew we sinned and cursed God in our hearts, didn't he? It wasn't an assumption.

[35:21] It wasn't, he didn't get to that by reasoning, but he knew our hearts and he knew we had sinned against God and he knew that we had cursed God in our hearts. And so what did Jesus Christ do about it?

[35:32] He came into this world. He took on human flesh. He lived a perfect life. And he brought a sacrifice to God the Father. A burnt offering of himself.

[35:45] He was roasted on that cross for our sins. And because of that we can be consecrated. And because of that we can be made holy and set apart. For that we can be made right with God.

[36:00] Jesus made that one and ultimate sacrifice for us. The burnt offerings that Job made was pointing to the one great sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

[36:11] He ultimately showed concern for every one of us that had been given to him. But Jesus also shows his concern not in just the sacrifice but what is Jesus Christ doing right now in heaven?

[36:25] He intercedes for us. He ever lives to make intercession for his people. That one and final sacrifice has been made and now he takes that sacrifice and he presents it before the very presence of God the Father pleading and begging that the Father would look on that sacrifice and not our own sinfulness.

[36:47] And so every time we sin Christ continually offers that sacrifice on our behalf. Every time. Christ doesn't just rise up early like Job did.

[36:58] He never sleeps. The sacrifice is always before the eyes of God. God. That blood always cries out for us.

[37:13] I like the hymn Arise My Soul Arise. We love that hymn. Talking about Jesus Christ's blood how it cries out forgive him oh forgive this blood cries.

[37:30] Do not let that ransom sinner die. It's the blood of Christ that cries out. And so we see Jesus' concern for us. He's the truly righteous one.

[37:42] He's the truly blessed one. And he is the truly concerned one for our souls. And so people of God fathers especially look at Christ's burden for us.

[37:55] His spiritual children. Look what it caused him to do leaving the glories of heaven and entering into this cursed world in order to die for us in order to become a curse for us in order to be treated by God his father as the worst sinner of all.

[38:14] And since Christ continues to act as our great high priest in heaven and prays for us in heaven constantly both day and night how can we not share that same burden to our kids?

[38:26] How can we not reflect that same burden of Christ? the burden that Christ has for us? He was willing to die for us and now he prays for us constantly. How can we not share that burden to our very own children?

[38:39] How can't we mirror that to our kids? So please in Christ find forgiveness for your shortcomings. We've all fallen short of being a good father to our kids.

[38:51] There's hypocrisy in every one of our hearts and thank God that it's not up to us to save our kids. But that doesn't give us an excuse to be lazy.

[39:02] It doesn't give us an excuse to do whatever we want. But we can find forgiveness in Christ. Forgiveness of our sins of not being the fathers we are called to be.

[39:13] But we can also find motivation in Christ. Encouragement to be that father. To be like Job. And ultimately to be like Jesus Christ to our kids. And so fathers those who are in Christ you've been given the mind of Christ.

[39:27] Think about what he did for you and what he continually does for you. And then ask yourself the question what can I do for my loved ones in return?

[39:40] Let us pray. Heavenly Father we do thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you that he is greater than Job. Thank you that he is more righteous than Job.

[39:51] Thank you that he was given more possessions than Job. Thank you that he made a greater sacrifice than Job ever made. Lord please forgive us our sins for not being the fathers we ought to be and cause us oh God to be encouraged and motivated to carry more of a burden upon our hearts and souls for those you have given us.

[40:12] As the Lord Jesus Christ has that burden reigning and ruling in heaven now who cares for us so much that he prays for us constantly as our high priest. Lord help us to pray for our kids.

[40:24] Help us Lord to do everything we possibly can to exhaust the means of grace to see our children come to know the Lord. We do depend solely upon you oh God for we cannot save our kids there is not one ounce one iota of anything that we do is meritorious in your sight.

[40:47] We need you to save our kids and we need you to give us this burden that will carry us day in and day out to cry out to you for salvation. We ask these things in Jesus name amen.