On Joe, please. And often has been said where a preacher has been occupied with through the weeks. This might be why he like to preach on, on a conference. Our brother has been speaking about having a passion about certain things. I was just thinking about so many of us, we can look back in our life, and we had a passion. And I remember in mine days, there was a passion for someone, and I married her, and that's forty two years ago. And it's a good thing to mention that this afternoon in the days that we are living in, especially for young people, when you look for a partner, to look for someone, if the Lord isn't come, that you might be sharing your life together, not just for a few days or weeks, but if the Lord tarries, for the rest of your lifetime. And I thank God that's what we have been enjoying. The book of Job, please, in chapter one. Now, I don't want to read this because we have gone through some problems in the weeks gone by. We thank God for the way he has provided and the strength he has given. But I thought about this because, like our brother has been speaking, there is only one life to live. Life soon be over, no matter how young we are or how old. And we've often heard only what's done for Christ will last. And every conference that we have, we always think about young people and older people and middle-aged people. But for everyone, every day that we live, we should try to live it as unto the Lord. Now, the book of Job, chapter one and verse one: There was a man in the land of us whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, a one that feared God, and he showed evil. And there were sons born unto him, there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. Verse six. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. The Lord said unto Satan, whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro into the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feared God and showed evil? Then said Satan, or Satan answered the Lord and said, does Job fear God for naught? Hast not thou made an hedge about him and about his house and about all that he had on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thy hand now and touch all that he had, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, behold, all that he had is in thy power only upon himself, put not forth thy hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Now please turn to the end, chapter one and verse nineteen. And behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead, and I only am escaped along to tell thee. This was what I was thinking of. Then Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshiped and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave, the Lord had taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Now, chapter two, please. And verse one. And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord said unto Satan, from whence comest thou? And Satan answered and said, from going to and fro in the earth. And so on. And then verse three, and the Lord said unto Satan for the second time, hast thou considered my servant Job? And there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feared God and showed evil. And still he holded fast his integrity, although thou moved me against him to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the Lord and said, skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. And then we read in verse seven, so went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot onto the crown. And that was Job, he took him a potsherd and scraped himself off his arm, and he sat down among the ashes. Then said his wife unto him, dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What, shall I we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? And again, this statement, in all this did Job sin, did not Job sin with his lips. Chapter three, please. And here's Job in his sadness, and he says in verse three: let the day perish wherein I was born, and in the night which I was said that is a man shall conceive, that's how much a sorrow was. Let that day be darkness, and let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Now please turn to chapter three and the last part there in verse, verse twenty. He says that wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, a life unto the bitter in soul, which long for death, but it cometh not, and they dig for it more than for hid treasure, which rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they can find the grave. Why is light given to a man whose way is hid and whom God had hedged in? For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like waters. For the things which I greatly feared has come upon me, and that which I was afraid of has come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet, yet trouble came. Now, just for the sake of time, turn to chapter twenty three, please. We just like to read from verse ten. And this is Job speaking, but he said, but he knoweth the way that I take, when he had tried me, I shall comfort as gold. Now turn to chapter forty, please. And verse three. Then Job answered the Lord and said, Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will my, I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will not answer, yea, twice, but I will proceed no further. Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind and said, gird up thy loins now like a man. I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. Now the last chapter, please, for the sake of time, and we read from verse one, chapter forty two, verse one. Then again Job answered the Lord and said, I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholding from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Here I beseech thee, and I will speak, I will demand of thee, and I declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see thee. Wherefore I bore myself, I repent in dust and ashes. And then later on in that chapter, we can read about the blessings that came later on to Job. Now, just for the sake of time, we just want to mention a few things that I have been enjoying and been thinking of in the weeks gone by. First of all, I thought about what happens in heaven without the knowledge of God. There was this day when the sons of man came to present themselves before God, and we read that Satan came amongst them. And then this question that was asked by the Lord himself, and he says, hast thou considered my servant Job? Now, before we read this, already the Lord had given an account of Job, who he really was. God said he was a man who was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and assured evil. And our brother was talking about living for Christ, and I thought about Job. And because Job wanted to live that godly life, no wonder that he assured evil. If a man wants to have a living Christian life, there is a world to turn away from and the righteousness of God to seek in his life. But what spoke to me, I thought like this, that he was God that spoke to Satan, and he says, hast thou seen my servant? And I ask the question, if Satan would be in heaven today, could God, what would God say and ask of the Satan, have thou seen my servant and call your own name? What would Satan say? What would be his answer? Well, of course, we know that Satan says to God, no wonder that, uh, that Job fears God because look what he has. Within the words what Job was saying, well, look, he is fearing God because the things that he has. You see, because of the blessings that are involved. And therefore God said, okay, go ahead and try it out. You know, it's a sad thing in the days that we're living in. Uh, there's a lot of people, we hear that kind of teaching. You know, if you have be- if you become Christians, then it seems like there is a world opening up for you. There's a m- a world of blessings, and there's a world of, you know, everything will come your way. And of course, it is contradicting the word of God because we know that there is a narrow gate and a narrow path to travel. I've often spoke to young Christians and said, you know, before I was saved, uh, you know, it seems like when I heard the gospel that I thought if I get saved, then all my problems would be over. And we all know very well that, uh, yes, there's certain problems that will be dealt with, and certain problems will be over. Thank God the sin question is settled. But that doesn't mean, especially for young Christians and older ones, we're all included, that, you know, the path after we get saved is not always an easy path. We have the promise we will be safely landing one day in heaven, but that journey between the day we are saved and the day when we shall be it maybe by the coming of the Lord or be it by that we have to pass through that, that journey is not always easy. We might as well be honest about it. When we preach the gospel, you might as well be telling the young Christians or those that are going to be saved, you know, yes, thank God, when it comes to salvation, yes, that problem of sin, the sin question is dealt with. Christ died for the ungodly, and the moment I trust in him, thank God, that sin has been cleansed away. And we thank God that we also have the promise that there is one who will come in and live with him, go with, goes with us, and we will travel together the rest of the journey. But that journey is not always easy. You know, like someone has said at one time, and I spoke somewhere before, not so long ago, you know, when I was in Europe, they had the Tour de France, and I saw those bicycle racers, you know, going up those hills. And you know that sometimes you think, well, if they come around that corner, you know, that might be easier going, and sometimes it was, and sometimes it wasn't. And I thought, you know, that's just about like a Christian life. You know, there are times that, you know, it seems that everything seems to go your, your way, and everything seems to go right. But, you know, on the other hand, we have to be prepared. There's a hill that maybe comes around the corner. There are, we are still living in the valley of tears. We're still living in a time when, if it is not now, there can be times coming of sorrow, difficulties, problems, but the only thing that we have now as Christians that we never had before is we got one that is within us. We got one that comes along with us wherever we go. You know, we were talking about the coming of the Lord, and you know, I was sitting there and I remember, you know, thinking about it, how nice it would be, like in a conference like this. Uh, maybe for some that are sitting here, he said, well, I hope not, but say for the next moment, maybe five minutes from now, the Lord would come. Would that be something? You know, I was talking to, uh, not so long ago to two brethren, and we were mentioning about a man who had figured it out, and he thought that the, the Lord was going to come this year. And he said, very likely it will be in September or October. Now, we don't believe in putting down dates, and, uh, we should not do it either. But, you know, I said to those, the brothers, I said, let us take it, say, for example, if this was true. You know, one brother spoke up, and he looked for a while. He said, so I hope not. You know, in other words, you know, yes, we like to talk about the coming of the Lord, but the reality of it, say if he would come in the next five minutes, wouldn't it be something that maybe the whole audience would be just gone in a moment of time? Would that be something? Or if you're not saved, maybe you, you see all those empty seats, and let me give this warning at the same time, it will be too late for you. That's a very sad thought, isn't it? Therefore, I think there's always good, even if the ministry of the Word of God, that we can warn the unsaved. Look, you've got a great privilege. Maybe some have a praying father and mother. You know, you might know the way how to be saved. But if you're not, if you're sitting here and you're not saved, this could happen at any time, and this is not just something that's sensational, but it could happen that, and I believe any time God can come, as be it by taking a man away by death, or it might be by the coming of the Lord. And what would it be if you were to be left behind? Isn't that something? Just think of it. I just pass this on at this moment. But he was Job, a righteous man. And Satan said, no wonder that Job feared God, because look all what he has. Now I thank God when I got saved, we didn't have anything. But I thank God for the man that used to tell me, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all the other things shall be added unto thee. And he said, you know, those things that men are putting their whole life in for is, they're God calls it only things. You know, no matter what you got. You might have a big house, you might have a big car, you might have a good job, and whatever it might be, you know, those are only things. Now, I, I believe that I'm a great believer in anyone that's married to provide for the family, but you know, first of all, I think the greatest provision that a man can make for his family is to raise his family in the fear of God. That's very important. And I remember the day that I got saved, I thank God that that man came in my life. That warned me that all the things of this world is only for a short time. You can have it one moment, and maybe in about next moment it can be gone. You know, when I was in Europe not so long ago, I spoke in a meeting. After the meeting, we had a farewell meeting, and, uh, there was another brother there, and he was standing there, and he collapsed, and he, in about two minutes, he was in eternity. That can happen. It was a very sad farewell as far as the brother are concerned, but thank God he was saved. You know, it is good to know the Lord Jesus as your own personal savior. He was a man, he did not only knew God, but he feared God, and he lived for God. And brothers and sisters, we got, we need men today, and we can never compare to Job. I know it, we cannot do it. But I do believe that we have to be very careful. The world, as it's often been said, are not reading their Bible, but they're watching the Christians. I got one son, David. David is not saved. He's the only one in the family that never made a profession. Why is it that it is so difficult for him to get saved? I'll be honest. He used to have some friends, and those friends were Christians. They professed to be Christian. I believe they are. I'm not a judge, but you see, those young men did a lot of things that were not right. My son was not saved, and all he can say, you know, if I only knew, and if you only knew, and he can pick out all the bad things. Sad, isn't it? No, he was a man, and God said he was a, a God-fearing man, perfect and upright. And you know what is so nice? That even Satan could not find fault with Job as far as that was concerned. I'm afraid if, if that was me, Satan could say, well, I know how he is. You know, sometimes Satan comes to a Christian, he says, you know, are you really saved? Look what you have done and what you're doing. You're lying, you do this and this and this. You know, but thank God we know that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanses from all sin. Now, that doesn't mean that we can sin easy, but we do sin, and that's what John says, if any man says he sinned not, he deceives himself. But we have that joy to know that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. Job was a righteous man, and so the next moment that we read about him, you know, everything was taken away as far as possessions were concerned. But you know what's so wonderful, after all it says, then said Job, naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked I shall return thither. The Lord gave, the Lord had taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. And then that last sentence, you know, that's wonderful. In his all, in in everything, in all this, Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly. You know, that's a, that's a wonderful statement. That's a good statement when we read about naked came I into this world, and brother and sister, naked we are going to leave it. As far as we used to have been singing about, we came to this world, we had nothing. And when the end comes, thank God for the spiritual blessings we have, but all the riches and all we have one day will be left behind. You know, thank God I did not get saved to get rich. I thank God for what we received. But you know, at a moment when I was that moment I was not saved, if I would have had, I don't know what, I would have gladly given it for salvation. We sometimes take the world, but give me Jesus. All its joy is but a name. And I believe firmly that that's all it should be as far as we're concerned. We have it today, just like with Job, but might be gone tomorrow. No, thank God, we didn't get saved because of promises of riches, but because of eternal life. To know Christ, whom to know is life eternal. That's the reason we are saved today. That's the comfort we have. But I want to hurry on because time goes fast. But this statement, in this all, Job sinned not. And again, for the second time, Job was tried. And again, for the second time, Job did not sin. While even everything was taken away, Job still praised God. You know, there was one thing that we can learn, and I was thinking about it right through the life of Job. You know, there was one thing that Job never lost, that was his faith. Oh yes, at times it was very thin. At times he might even curse the day that he was born. But at the other time, there was a day he said, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and one day I'm gonna see him. And we like be reading about it, he said, the one thing he said, I will come forth as gold. You see, in everything he knew that God was righteous. And even after his own wife told Job, he said, curse God and die. He said, you're like talking like a foolish woman. That's why I said at the beginning of the meeting, you know, it's great, great to be s- to to have a wife and to be saved, and I thank God for it. Because, you know, I look back in my life, and if, uh, before I was saved, I prayed because I came out of the army, and I said, Lord, and I didn't even know what I was really praying, I think, because I wasn't even saved. But I want to have a woman that could be a real help to me. A Christian woman I prayed for, imagine. I wasn't even saved. And I didn't even know what it meant to be a real Christian, because when my wife professed that she got saved, and I said it once before, I thought, oh no, there goes all the joy of my life. I had the idea of a Christian that you walked around with a long face, can't do this, you can't do that, you can't go here. But you know, I thank God I found a Christian woman. It's wonderful. You know, and a woman that was a help to me, that, you know, when I sometimes, you know, uh, criticized, she didn't help me to criticize, she maybe just warned me. Or when decisions have to be made. I, you know, I was listening to a brother this morning, he gave a little word after the meeting, how he came to the assembly, and he got saved in the morning meeting. You know, I was saved before I came to the gospel hall. I never heard a ga- I was never in a gospel meeting. I read my Bible, and that's how I got saved. But, you know, when I came for the s- for the first time to the Gospel Hall, I- I'll be honest, I didn't see what he saw. He saw there something that, you know, that was direct, as it were, led by the Spirit of God. I thought this was strange. I had been in big churches. I heard choirs. I had a big organ. When I came to the assembly, there was only nine people in Langley, where I came to the, to the morning meeting. You know, I thought, oh man, you'll never see me here. You see, but when I started to read the word of God and I saw what God wanted me to be, to be gathered to his name, I went back the next time. I, like that brother said, I thought it was heaven on earth. You see, there I saw something that was from God himself. And I thank God when I came into the assembly, I did not come to please mom and dad. I did not come in the assembly because I wanted to please some brother and sister because I didn't know anybody. You know, the only reason I came to the assembly is because I saw God was there. I was gathered to his name. That was a great difference. And I've often said, you know, even through all the problems and difficulties, when there were sometimes there are where we were low. But, you know, where could I go? You know, God had brought me there. That's what my brother was speaking about yesterday. You know, I believe that God brings us in a place, and we have to be very careful to walk away from it. That's what we're professing, you know, where two or three have been gathered together. God brought you in the assembly. God brought you into a place, and it is just, by the way, you know, I think is, you have to realize, we talk so often about moving away and make sure there's an assembly. You know, when you change assemblies, brother, be sure that it's the will of God. I'm s- I think, you know, when God brings you to a place, it might not be easy going, but, you know, it's good to stay there and to be in help wherever you can. But you see, coming back to Job, and I see the time is just about gone. He was Job, and he was tempted even by his wife. Later on, his friends came, and they were no help to him. And I've been thinking about a lot about that lately. You know, we have to be so careful, brothers and sisters. You know, really, when it comes to Job, we don't know very much about his background. You don't know where he came from. You know, in the forty chapters that we have, you know, you're amazed how little we know about Job. We know about his sufferings, about his temptations, about his problems. Job is an outstanding man, not because he, uh, reaches a great things in life. He had that when in the past, when it came to the world, but you see he was not a man, a great leader. But we all know that Job was a great sufferer. When it comes to Job, you know, we all look to Job, we said, boy, that man had to go through deep waters. You know, I have also thought about some Christians that have to suffer in sick beds, go through problems, difficulties, and I'm gonna say this, thank God for all the prayers and the kindness and the love that we experienced in the weeks gone by. You know, it has strengthened us, and I'm, I'm, I thank the Christians for it. You know, I am a str- I am a strong believer in prayer. We feel it. Like I said, I got one son that's not saved, and wherever I go, and he is a great audience, I always say, pray for my son David and his wife that he gets saved. Pray for Diane that she might be restored, because we can do nothing when it comes to spiritual things, but we can pray. Uh, brother and sister, let's not forget there's one great tool that God has given to us in the assemblies, is that we have prayer meetings and we can pray. And not so long ago, a brother said, you know, our prayer meetings are very dull. I said, how are you praying? Well, he never prayed. You see, that's the problem. But you see, the thing is we should be always exercised, not just at the prayer meeting with our, like our brother was mentioning, even when we go home, let's not forget to pray. And I'm talking to myself. You know, I've been in conferences that you come home and you're here and you pray the prayer meeting, you know, for different ones that need help, and about two weeks later, maybe even two days later, you forgot all about it. Is that right? How often do we take the burden of prayer home and pray? I know there are some brethren that do. I've said it before, and I say it again. I know, brethren, that I remember, and I know, like I spoke one time to a brother, not so long ago. He said, I always pray for you. Well, I said, I'm glad I hear that. I pray for you every day. I said, it's even better. But you know, I said, I pray sometimes more than once a day. Well, I said, that's a great blessing. I remember going from door to door sometimes, and, uh, you know, I was discouraged because some brother had promised to come, and they didn't come, and here I was all by myself on a Saturday morning. I will never forget it. It was a rainy day, and I was going from door to door, and I thought, oh boy, those brothers, they promised everything, and the devil really got to me. And I thought there was not a good brother left in the whole assembly. You know, that's what happens. And then here came a little bus, and a lot of them JWs came out of it, and they went from door to door behind me, about ten or eleven. I thought, you know, those brothers, then look at what those do in the flesh, and our brethren, they do nothing. They got no time, and they're too tired, and, you know, if the couple of drops of rain, they say, oh boy, it's gonna rain, we can't go today. Doesn't take very much to get away from that. But, you know, then on the other hand, I thought, hey, just a minute. Why am I doing this? Why am I preaching? Why am I going from door to door? To please the brethren? Thank God if I can, that's fine. But you know, we got one in heaven. He's looking on. God says, have you seen my servant Job? Yes, Satan said, he does it for a reason. Do I do my service to please brethren? Or am I pleasing God? Isn't it that when we preach the gospel or we minister the word of God, there is one power, there's one God in heaven that's looking down? Am I just here to please man, or am I here to please God? You know, this is what Job had in all those things, and, and we have to carry on, you know, Job held tight on the f- faith on God. God did not change. But you know, there was one thing that spoke to me. On the end in chapter, the last chapter is chapter forty two. there's one statement. He says, you know, I've heard from thee with the ear, but now I've seen thee with my eye. You know what? It came to me like this. You know, sometimes we have a God in our life, and you, you pardon me, you know, like I, I just skip over everything because we have no time. Because we have no time. But I just like to give you a few things that I really, for myself, enjoyed here. You know, we thank God, this God in heaven. And we pray to a God who is a Pharaoh. Job knew God, he was there, and he feared God. But you know what Job needed more than anything was a God that is near. All right? God, uh, Job needed a God when he was sitting on the ashes. He needed a God that was near when his wife turned on him. Even when his friends came to accuse him. That's what he needed. You know, brother and sister, we need a God, not only God who gave his son to die for us. Thank God he did. We thank God there is one in heaven who is our advocate, pleading with the Father, and he is, thank God. But you know what gives me the greatest joy? That God is right here in me. God was near to Job all the time. He didn't maybe realize it before, but now there came a time and Job started to realize, hey, God was never that far away. God is near, and I want to pass this on, and this is in, in great comfort. You might go through times of sorrows like we did. Not easy. We have shed many tears. Not easy. But you know there's a great strength when you know that God is near. God in heaven? Yes. But to know there is one that is so near, that is moved with our infirmities. He knows our weaknesses, and he says, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Fear not. You know, that scripture is often be my strength as far as preaching and everything. For I am with thee, be thou not dismayed. Listen, for I am thy God. Yea, I will help thee, yea, I will strengthen thee. And that's the God we need in our lives today, brother and sister. Not only that Christ died for me, that's great. Not only there is a God in heaven, we know that. But thank God, God is so near that he's right beside us, with us, every moment of the day. May the Lord bless his work.