CFTN | Week of February 19th | www.cftn.com | Dr. Michael Maiden

Job 42:10-17 10 And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then all his brothers, all his sis-ters, and all those who had been his acquaintances be-fore, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of sil-ver and each a ring of gold. 12 Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thou-sand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Hap-puch. 15 In all the land were found no women so beauti-

ful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. 17 So Job died, old and full of days.

Jemimah – “Beautiful day, handsome as the day”Keziah – “Sweet fragrance” Keren-Happuch – “Colorful vision”

Zechariah 9:11-12 11 “As for you also, Be-cause of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12 Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will re-store double to you.

Isaiah 61:7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Ever-lasting joy shall be theirs.

I. Bad things happen to good people because we live in a fallen world that’s been broken by sin and the fall of man and ravaged by the activity of the enemy.

Job 1:20-22 20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” 22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

Job 2:9-10 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

James 1:12-18 12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has prom-ised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be de-ceived, my beloved breth-ren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

DON’T BLAME GOD! If it’s not GOOD, it’s not GOD.

II. Pray for your “friends”— when we forgive the people who’ve hurt us, God anoints

us to forget the pain they’ve caused us.

Genesis 41:51-52 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me for-get all my toil and all my fa-ther’s house.” 52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Matthew 5:43-45 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your en-emy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Matthew 6:14-15 14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heav-enly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not for-give men their trespasses, neither will your Father for-give your trespasses.

III. Don’t give up! Don’t give up! Don’t give up!

Ecclesiastes 7:8-10 8 The end of a thing is bet-ter than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be an-gry, For anger rests in the bo-som of fools. 10 Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely con-cerning this.

CFTN | Week of February 19th | www.cftn.com

James 5:7-11 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting pa-tiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Estab-lish your hearts, for the com-ing of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and pa-tience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perse-verance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compas-sionate and merciful.

Hebrews 12:1-3 1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, de-spising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For con-sider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Hebrews 10:35-39 35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may re-ceive the promise: 37 “For

yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. 38 Now the just shall live by faith; But if any-one draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

Endurance (hypomone): Perseverance, bearing up, patience, to remain in one’s spot, to keep a position, to resolve to maintain some territory that had been gained. (This is my spot and I’m not moving!) Used for soldiers to stand their ground and defend what had been gained no matter how hard or difficult the as-signment. One who’s under a heavy load but refuses to bend, break, or surrender because he is convinced that the territory, promise, or principle under assault rightfully belongs to him. A refusal to give up. The early church called endurance “The Queen of Virtues.”

Micah 7:7-8 7 Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. 8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The Lord will be a light to me.

Proverbs 24:16 16 For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

Psalms 37:23-25 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with

His hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants beg-ging bread.

Romans 5:3-5 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation pro-duces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

James 1:3-4 3 knowing that the test-ing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and com-plete, lacking nothing.

Luke 8:15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with pa-tience.

Romans 15:4-5 4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,

The best is yet to come in your life!

It’s not over till God says “It’s Good!”

The fingerprints of God are never on the evil of this world—if its not GOOD, it’s

not God.

The quicker we worship, the quicker our hearts heal.

Forgiveness releases us from the prison cell of pain.

Our lives will always have the necessary amount of endurance to run in the race before us.

The temptation to quit will always be the greatest when the victory is the closest.

Someday in your future, someone will express their great gratitude that you didn’t quit today.

A champion isn’t someone who’s never been kicked down. Its someone who refused to stay down.

The sweetest of victories are always fruit of the greatest battles.

God always uses journey to prepare us for the destination.

When we can’t, God can.

Our lives will ultimately be defined by the size and strength of the giants we conquer or are conquered by (Saul has killed his thousands, David his ten thousands)

Heroes are ordinary people who have persevered through extraordinary adversity.

When we forget how far we’ve already come, we become discouraged by how far we have to go.