April 16, 2025 • 56 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome into the Wednesday Bible Study. We're excited to once
again have a chance to open the Holy Word of God.
We are in the Book of Job. If you want
to go ahead and turn where we are today. We
are in Job chapter nine. If you've missed any of
this study, or really any study over the last ten
years that we've been holding this Wednesday Bible Study, that's
(00:21):
when we do it live. You can go find those archives.
You can go to the Manchurch dot Com. You'll see
a drop down menu. Look for the media button if
you'll click on that, and then you can go to
the Manchurch dot Com. Use that media button. You can
watch and listen to years of Bible studies, and you
can also catch up on this one. As you can
imagine the study of Job. It's a provocative book and
(00:44):
today we'll see why even more as we work our
way through it. The Manchurch dot Com is a men's
discipleship strategy. If you go to that website, you'll see
all the resources that are available for you to I mean,
if you decided today, because by the time you decided,
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(01:07):
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(01:50):
be found at the manchurch dot com, including if you're
listening to this, you know, and before May the thirteenth,
May the thirteenth, a brand new resource we'll launch. I
wrote a book called Men Don't Run in the Rain
and these are her stories about a true original my dad,
(02:11):
and the hardcover comes out on May the thirteenth. It'll
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the manchurch dot com. Starting on May the thirteenth. There'll
be an audio book version, and there'll be an e
book version. All that comes out on May the thirteenth,
if you want to make a note of that. So
let's open up in a word of prayer and let's
(02:32):
jump right into job chapter nine. Lord, Thank you, Thank
you for the gathering today in this room. Thank you
for these men always, I mean just so loyal to
sitting down and saying let's unpack the Holy Word of God.
It's clearly a priority in their lives. Thank You for
the blessing they are to me. Thank You for Chris
Adler and all the hard work Lord that he does
(02:53):
producing these and has done for ten years, and all
the other stuff curricula, and all the things that he
puts together and makes available and has been being used
by you to help people grow all over the world.
So today, Lord, take our efforts, and may that advance
your kingdom and give us a more clear understanding as
(03:14):
you reveal yourself to us in bites that we can handle.
And your holy name, we pray on this wonderful Holy
week when we remember your grace and your mercy, when
you took on human flesh and you poured your wrath
out on your own son. So those who are willing
to repent and be redeemed by the fully righteousness of
your son, the wrath of God has already been poured
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out and satisfied. And the peace of knowing because of Jesus,
everything really is going to be all right. And it's
in his name we pray Amen. All right. So we
in nine. You know, Bill Dad, the beutle, I mean,
Bill Dad, the brutal, has just taken on Job. And
this is gonna be Job's response. And I have been
(04:00):
so intrigued by what we're discovering in this part of
the book of Job, and all the way up to
Job's encounter with God himself, is that the theology of
the day, whenever this was, there's all kinds of debate
to when this was the theology of Job's day was flawed.
(04:20):
They did not understand God's sovereignty over allowing sufferings sometimes
even for the righteous, and they don't have a concept
of that. And so you're going to see the dilemma
because He's heard what Eliphaz and Bill Dad have said,
(04:41):
and he knows why they're saying it. And Bill Dad
touched on this last week because this is what they
all had been taught. And Job knows this. I mean,
certainly there's the moments where both of them could have
been more tactful, but they're really coming from Hey, Job,
this is what we we all supposedly believe. So what's
(05:02):
going on here? So here's Job's dilemma. He's not aware
of any sin in his life, and since he continues
to undergo suffering, the problem must not lie with him
because because he can't find what should be there under
their theology. Yet God, you're gonna see him deal with
(05:26):
this today. Is perfect. God is wise, God is loving,
So the problem can't be with God. So this seems
to be unsolvable because man has no way to examine
and debate God. Imagine imagine how how that must feel,
(05:50):
because he doesn't know the things that we know. Uh.
And so Job is now speaking. You see that in
the first verse. That's all that is uh. In nine,
then Job answered and said, now let's get into two
and three. Two and three says this, truly, I know
that it is so Bill, Dad, you're right, But how
(06:13):
can a man be in the right before God? Verse three?
If one wished to contend with him, One could not
answer him once in a thousand times. So Job says,
I think all of our theology, Bill Dad elephas, I
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think all of our theology is inadequate. Man is sinful
in general. So are we saying that God can be
questioned by us? He's perfect, we're not. Our wisdom is flawed.
The only real wisdom we have is what he provides.
So he's not going to be questioned by us. We
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have no standing. So where do we find out what's
going on? This seems to be and there's no way
to solve it. So then he's going to go through
verses four through ten, and he's going to remind Bill
Dad in Lafas, and we're going to be reminded of
this that really God cannot be debated. So let's look
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at verse four. He is wise in heart and mighty
in strength, who has hardened himself against him and succeeded?
Has anyone ever took on God and won? Of course
we know the answer to that is no. One. Five
and six. He who removes mountains, and they know it
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not when he overturns them in his anger, who shakes
the earth out of its place and its pillars tremble.
So here he is pointing that you know this part,
and I want to be clear, he really isn't here
trying to give God glory. He's just setting up a
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backdrop to really his own feeling of hopelessness and helplessness.
God may be great, and he's acknowledging that. But you
know what else he's saying, But where is he? I
know how powerful he is. All I see in my
life right now is wrath. And if God knows what
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he's doing, why is he doing this to me? I
can't figure it out. And I know he's perfectly capable
of explaining this to me. It wouldn't be a big
deal for him to simply tell me what he's doing.
I mean, look at all the things he can do
that seem like nothing to him. But really he's thinking
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where is he? And then he gives it more images
of wrath in six and seven? Look at seven? Who
commands the sun and it does not rise? Who seals
up the stars? Here he's talking about eclipses and overcast
days and cloudy nights, And you know what he's saying,
whatever type of experience I'm having in the heavens, my goodness,
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that's his call. He decides this kind of stuff. You know.
He tells the sun to rise and the sun to set,
and it just does it till he tells it not to.
You know, if we have an eclipse and the moon
and the sun line up, he sets that up. He's
put that in motion. If the day is sunny, he
did that. If the day's cloudy, he did that. And
then he says in eight, who alone stretched out the
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heavens and trampled the waves of the sea. He's all
of this is showing God's control. God has control over everything.
He's just given examples of that. He stretched out the heavens.
He's the one that laid out the stars. He's the
one that causes the waves of the sea to ru
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He could trample on them like it was nothing. They
would have no hope against him. Look at nine, who
made the bear, and Orion, and ple eightes, and the
chambers of the south. These are, of course that he
arranged the stars. These are all constellations. And he said,
even the constellations that we can see, he must have
had some sort of knowledge of this. I know that
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God arranged those. All of this is saying that God
is in control and has created everything, and He's arranged everything.
God can do anything. So why in the world is
this happening? Why doesn't he explain himself? And here's what
I'm also setting up. I'm and you're gonna see this later.
I don't think I'm in any position to take him
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to court. What kind of case am I going to
make against this kind of power? We're nothing compared to him.
And then you look at verse ten. Who does great
things beyond searching out and marvelous things beyond number. Now
remember these words should seem familiar to you if you've
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been taking notes, because these come from Eliphas in chapter five,
verse nine, when he talks about the great things and
wonders that cannot be fathomed. Uh, And you know he
talks about God's signs and wonders. Elafas talks about all this.
And then in eleven, behold he passes by me and
(11:24):
I see him not he moves on, But dude, I
do not perceive him. Now see now, now, now we're
getting a little getting a little debbie down or now
job goes on a little a little negative here, a
little pity party. Where is God? He may be mighty.
He may be wonder working, he is creator. He may
(11:44):
be sovereign, he may be all powerful, he may be
all knowing, he may be all present. But how about this?
To me, he's invisible. I don't sense his presence. And
I acknowledges all these things, but I don't see it.
Have you ever been there? Have you ever been so
(12:04):
down and and so distraught and you're really confused about
the situation and you're in and you begin to I remember,
of course it went a different way, because I know
things that Job doesn't know yet. And some of you
remember me, remember me saying this, But it reminded me
of this when I was studying this, the song, Lord
You're Holy. Uh, in this and in this beautiful song,
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Lord You're Holy. And it was in a time of
just distraught darkness that that we were going through. Uh.
And this one was the trial of of the death
of our son, the earthly death of our son. And
I remember hearing the choir at church and they were
just and they were doing every what what Job is
doing here? And it's that resume And Lord, You're holy,
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and you know you're you're omnipotent, You're omniscient. You're omni present,
You're you're this, and you're that, and you're holy and
and his resume was just being sung to me in
congregation by these powerful voices, and it just and it
really overwhelmed me because as I heard his resume, it
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broke me down. And I remember looking at my wife
and I said, I can't believe I've ever sinned against him?
How dare me sin against this? Now? You're gonna see
Job get there at the end of all this. But
right now he's that same song is playing for Job
and it's not taking him there. It's making him mad,
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it's upsetting him, it's making him lonely. If I know
you are these things, but right now I'm not feeling it.
You're invisible to me. I don't feel your presence at all.
So that's heartbreaking and it but those are powerful words
right there. And if you've ever been there, you understand.
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Behold he snatches away, who can turn him back? Who
will say to him? What are you doing? This? This
gets intense now because right here, right here, if we
were allowed to see in real time, Lucifer about right now, Lucifer,
you have you ever been anticipating something's about to happen.
(14:12):
You be old here it is, and you start getting ready,
and you get us almost see Lucifer going here we go.
He's about to curse God. It's about to happen. He's
getting really close. We're close boys, and he gets pretty close.
Right here. He's on the border of calling God a thief,
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a bandit. He snatches away. This verb is only used
here in the scripture. We don't see this. What we're
translating here is snatches away. We don't see it anywhere
else in scripture. Behold, he snatches away. Uh, that's that's
a powerful term there. God does what he pleases, and
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at times he gives you things, but at times he
just snatches it right away from me. You know what
he's talking about right here, his his wealth and his children,
and he gets intense. He this this word. Really, if
you go to the original Hebrew here, I mean we're
we're talking bandit, we're talking thief. But really, Uh. The
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reason why it doesn't cross a line here and Lucifer
doesn't get his victory is we know the Lord gives
and the Lord takes away. Has already said that earlier,
you know, so, so God knows his heart even though
he's upset and but but this is the other point
though that he turns and it goes a little more
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not positive, But it is something we need to understand.
But you know what Job is also saying, who will
say to him? What are you doing? I may not
like it, I may not understand it, and I don't
like how you snatch things away just like you give them.
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But who are any of us to question him? And
hang on to this? Many weeks from now, Lord willing,
God's gonna ask him? Who's questioning me? By the way,
that's a big day for Job. I think one of
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the most terrifying moments in scripture is when we get
to it later in Job and God answered, you ever
been having your little hissy fit with God? What if
all of a sudden you heard a voice say, oh, load,
I'll take you on on that one. I understand you've
decided to question me today. That'd be a big sit
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back down, wouldn't it. So? In verse thirteen, God will
not turn back his anger beneath him bowed the helpers
of Rahab. Now be careful with this. First time I
saw it, I'm like the rest of you. I thought,
Hi in the world. This may tell me something about
the timeline. Is this Rahab the prostitute. It is not
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all bad things happen because of God's anger. Again, go
back in and you can find this earlier in verse five.
God always punishes evil even when the wrong can't be identified. Now,
when you see Rayhab here, this is not this does
not go back to Jericho. This is actually a mythical
(17:23):
creature that that was well known to them. It's a
it's a mythical sea monster. And and the word actually,
how the word spelled, means proud, boisterous. Uh. Sometimes that
Egypt was even called this uh. But you know, specifically
specifically the Nile River, a crocodile in the Nile also
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was called this. It's not the heartlet of Jericho at all.
So what he's saying is this mythical sea creature that
we all we all think so big and bad. Now
God will put a sea creature on his resume down
the road, too. So here is job saying. This thing's
supposed to be so big, this thing's supposed to be
so bad. But when it faces God, and any of
those that were worshiping Rayhab or were helpers of Rahab,
(18:11):
they all they bowed down. They bowed under the power
of God's anger. So what chance do I have? And
then he moves into a rant, now saying, the innocent
have no access to God. Even though I'm innocent, I
make my case to whom. I'm going to stand before court,
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and I'm going to put perfection on trial. So he says,
how can I get a fair trial? Now? Remember we
know where we are in time, and many before us
and hopefully many after us who decide to read the
word of God the reader. We all know that Job
is innocent. Job was also quite sure of his innocence,
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but he said, even though I know I'm innocent, how
do I make my case to God? Who am I
to declare? I don't think I'm getting a fair trial.
I don't you're punishing me, and I think you're punishing
me wrongly. If punishment is retribution because I've been defiant
(19:17):
against you, then I shouldn't be This shouldn't be happening
to me. But if I want to go figure this out,
where do I go with my case? So listen, He'll
start this in verse fourteen, and he'll continue for a
little while. How then can I answer him? Choosing my
words with him. Look if Rayhab and his helpers coward
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at his feet, what chance do I have to win
an argument with God? Fifteen? Though I am in the right,
i'd underline that I cannot answer him. I must appeal.
Here it comes foreshadowing. I must have peal for mercy,
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mercy to my accuser. Foreshadow foreshadow. That's a foreshadowing because
even though Job is saying that he is innocent, does
not mean that Job is sinless. Remember early when we
first started, just because he was blameless and upright did
not mean he was sinless. It doesn't mean that at all.
And you see God is using Job in this moment
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in time. He's beginning to teach new things about himself.
Remember we said that when we're in difficulty. There's the
plans that Lucifer has for us and the demons, and
there's the plans God has for us. God's plan is,
y'all's theology about me is flawed. You ever had your
theology cleared up by God? I have, certainly. And so
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he's saying, I want to teach you something different. Now.
Job can't figure that out yet. But what he does
know the kinds of things that we thought drew God's anger.
I haven't done anything those things as best as I can.
I'm living my life. But look at this foreshadowing. I
know that I cannot stand before God because of his perfection.
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So I'm gonna have to appeal for mercy. That's a
foreshadowing to the New Covenant, because we all come to
the conclusion, I got to uppeal for mercy. I got
appeal for your grace because your perfection. I cannot achieve
your holiness. I can't achieve you can't look upon sins.
I gotta have mercy. I gotta have grace. That's a
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foreshadowing to it right here. And look at sixteen if
I'm innocent yet, or fifteen if I'm innocent yet, I
have to plead for mercy. But you know why he says,
I gotta plead for mercy. This is the thing I
don't think we understand sometimes some of you, this is
going to hit you. You go, you know that's right. You
know what job's coming to the realization of It's one
thing to go into the court and the judge and
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the prosecutor are two different people. But when you go
into the court and the prosecutor and the judge are
the same person. You got problems. God just appeals to himself,
and himself says, yes, I know we're right because we're perfect. Okay,
So he says, what kind of setup do I have here?
So I just got to ask for mercy? Right? We
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still have that today. I have to just throw myself
on the mercy of the judge. I'm guilty, and I
hope you'll be merciful with me. I hope my sentence
will be mild. So verse sixteen. You can tell I've
had to say that before. If I summoned him and
he answered me, I would not believe that he was
listening to my voice. I don't think that, he says.
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If I even if I even ask for a hearing,
I do not think i'd be granted one. You know,
I really, even if he heard me and he heard
me ask for it, which I don't know if he
can hear me or not. If he hears me, I'm
not gonna be granted this trial anyway. Seventeen. He doesn't
know though something like that is coming. Be careful what
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you pray for, because God may answer it. Seventeen For
he crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds
without calls. I'd underline that he said, I may be
punished forever for even asking. I may get cursed without
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the trial of a jury. He wounds for no reason. Now,
this wound right here, he's obviously talking about the skin
miss that he's got. Can't you know right there he
just looks down at all these sores that are festering
and the misery that he's in, and he thinks for him,
So he thinks right here, he wounds for no reason.
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Now we all know that that's a miss that's a misspeak.
Let me say this again, brothers in the room, and
brothers and sisters all over the world. God doesn't wound
for no reason. There's always a reason, and in time
you may see it. You may not see it immediately,
but I can tell you we got to get to
the point that if we're being wounded right now and
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God's allowing it or causing it, one thing we know
for sure is it's not for no reason. That we
know we have to work to find the reason. But
one thing we can take off the table is this
has no reason, gotter, this is just out of control.
That is not true. Now right now, Job thinks that
may be a possibility because he can't quite understand it. Eighteen.
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He will not let me get my breath, but fills
me with bitterness. Now, this is Job showing that he understands,
going all the way back to creation, he understands that
he's the giver of breath. Have you ever thought about that.
It's one of the things you've heard me say many
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times that the late Steve Ferrara taught me, don't be
so concern with people that God has to allow to breathe.
But from creation who breathed life into Adam. God. It's
God's breath that brought life. And he says, but even
though he's the giver of breath, he's not letting me
get a breath. He fills me with bitterness. How about
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this me breathing is being denied to me and the
very breath that God should be giving me. And at
one time he gave me this wonderful breath where I
breathed easy, I was full of life. He's now replaced
the breath of God with the breath of bitterness. That's
what I breed now. So he's upset, and you can
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understand that nineteen. If it is a contest of strength, behold,
he is mighty. If it is a matter of justice,
who can summon him? No matter what, God will overwhelm me.
I am no match for him. Now, I think that
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some of us haven't learned that yet. You're not gonna win. Okay,
none of us are going to defeat God. So go
ahead and submit to his authority, because we're either going
to be under his authority and be blessed by His
all mighty perfection and wisdom and knowledge, are we're gonna
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face his wrath and be destroyed. There is no in between.
And either way we come under his authority, either his
wrath or his blessing. But if you think you're going
to stand there and wave your finger in God's face
and tell him a thing or two, that's not gonna happen.
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You've ever been around these people that think we get
some big Q and a in heaven. I got a
few things I want to ask God. You're not going
to be asking God anything, Adrian Rogers said, it may
be a thousand years before you lift your head up
and stop saying Holy. Let me tell you something. None
of us have stepped in the presence of God, we
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have no chance. And Job knows this, and he says,
no matter what I try to do. Let's say I
try to go to war with him, well, he's going
to overwhelm me. I'm no match for him. Verse twenty.
Though I am in the right, I'd underline that again.
Do you see Job thinks he's he thinks this is
this isn't fair. There's something wrong here. Though I'm in
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the right, my own mouth would condemn me. And I say,
that's interesting. Right there, he said, I know I am innocent.
I think I'm still a blameless man. But because God
is doing this, there's something I don't know. If I
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went in, he does know enough about God. If I
went in and I would try to make some case
of my innocence, because of who I'm making the case
to prosecutor and judge, I'm still gonna end up condemned
and guilty. My own mouth will end up condemning me. Somewhere.
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I'm gonna run off course because He's perfect and I'm not.
So if I go mouthing off, eventually, I'm just gonna
condemn myself. That's where this is gonna go. God seems
seems distant God seems unconcerned. This is where he gets
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in the next few verses twenty one through twenty four.
Job is angry and he's bitter here and under and
get ready for this, because this is really where we
need to really lean in and think about what Lucier
is trying to get him to do. Right here, Job
is more angry and bitter than anywhere else in the
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book of Job. He really goes downhill right here. I'm blameless.
I regard not myself. I loathe my life. See once
again he comes pretty close. Here again he comes pretty
close to charging God with what injustice? God will remember
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this one, you know, I think about in the Oh,
what bunch was it? I don't know why I do
these things if I'm not gonna include them, And I
think I'm gonna I'm gonna sit here and riff a
little bit because I can't remember. It was one of
the bunch. They were always harassing Israel, one of the Iights.
And you remember that Moses needed passage through where they
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were and they wouldn't give him passage, and they made
the trip harder when they were trying to get to Canaan,
and they harassed them and all of that, and Scripture said,
and God took note of that, and if you remember,
it goes all the way to David, and he comes
back to Dave and he says, I'm gonna pay them
back for what they did to Moses. He took a note.
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Now he didn't do it immediately, y'all go to destroy them.
Now it's payback. And so what's happening here is this
little fit that Job's pitching right here. When God answers
later in Job, God's gonna deal with this. So Job's
gonna get his moment, and he's gonna wish he never
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brought it up. I'm blameless. I regard not myself. I
loathe my life. And in the second line here where
he says I loathe my I regard not myself, it
really it really means if you look at the word deeper,
I do not know my soul, you know what is
(30:39):
our soul. Our souls are awardeness of who we are.
And Job is at the point going, I'm blameless, I'm
being punished. I don't I don't I don't know myself.
I don't know my I don't know my own soul.
And he's unsure of himself, and then I loathe me?
(31:00):
Is what that translates. I loathed my life. And this
may this may support exactly what he's saying, is there's
something about me I must not understand. If I've caused this,
then I loathe myself. But I don't know. Why have
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you ever gotten to the point where you're you're you're
you're in your life and you're you're like, what is
wrong with me? Why am I acting the way I'm acting?
Why did I respond that way? I thought I knew
myself well enough to know how I would handle every situation,
and I just got in a situation that I did
something I didn't expect. I realized I don't really know
myself that well. I need to know myself better than that.
(31:44):
And uh, and I will say this, and job is
figuring this out too, even though God has a bigger plan.
This is why you've got to have accountability in your life.
If anybody in this room, including the teacher, thinks you
know yourself your delusion, and you're certain of the way
you come across and you're certain of how everybody sees you,
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you're wrong. We're all delusional to some degree. Now, some
people are more delusional than others, but we're all delusional
to a degree. You truly don't know yourself, and that's
the reason why you got to have other people that
you give permission to speak into your life. How many
times have you had a person you trusted say hey,
that really and you're in your mind going, did it
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come across that way? Oh? Yes, I didn't see it.
I missed it. I'm so sorry. I need to go
clear that up. Yeah, I think you do, so, I really, really, honestly,
I didn't handle that right. I don't think you did.
And then, and of course they have to make the case.
They can't just say it. But if they go, when
you did said this or did that and whatever, and
they make the case, have you ever had friends do
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that too? You and you went, I'll mess that up? Yeah,
I could have handled that better. So twenty two the
problem is right now, the three guys that should be
holding job accountable, they can't really point to what he did.
They just know he did something. See now that's not helpful.
You got to be able to point it out. So
twenty two it is all one. Therefore, I say, he
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destroys both the blameless and the wicked. Now here we go.
Now we're starting to see the theology change that Job
is going to be taunt now these two. Job presents
these two as opposites, that is, the blameless and the wicked.
But what he's thinking in his mind right now, I
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see those two as being opposites. Does God see them
as one? Is it possible that God would actually allow
both the wicked and the innocent to suffer? You see
he's starting to He's starting to get it now and
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answers yes. Job hasn't figured this out yet. This is
not the theology of his day. See, he doesn't have
Jesus talking about you know, the two men that one
built on the rock and one built on the sand.
And the one who heard what I say but didn't
do what I said is like the one who built
his house on the sand. The one who hears my
words and does them is like the wise man who
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built his house upon the rock. And the storms came
and beat against both houses. One stood, one didn't, but
neither one of them were exempt from the storm. Now,
Job doesn't know all this, but he's learning because he's
starting to reason this out in his mind. Now, so
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it's all one to him, he destroys both the blameless
and the wicked. He's starting to think this out, so
punished the wicked. All four of us would agree with that,
But job In the four of these men, stands alone
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on his own island when he's suggesting that maybe, for
whatever reason, he might at times treat both groups alike
when it comes to difficulty, not when it comes to justification,
but difficulty. Now keep in mind, that's not going to
go over with these other three guys. They don't buy
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this at all. So twenty three, when disaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. Now see
the word mock here. Mack is just a Hebrew for
he's uncertain, But it means death comes for both groups
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just because you are innocent. Put that in quotes. When
calamity comes something God does not deliver. Sometimes God does
not deliver even the innocent from the earthly results. He
says of this falling creation, neither group is certain that
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they can escape death. Apparently both groups die. Now where
he's a little off is we know that Scripture tells
us in Psalm one thirty four that God is actually
near to the broken hearted that God, we had Jesus
weeping over Jerusalem. We had Jesus weeping with Lazarus family.
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So no, when calamity comes to the innocent and we're
being used to advance the Kingdom of God or being
used for us to be refined, just like any parent,
the discipline may be out of love, and the discipline
may be necessary, and it may be exactly what we need.
But in no circumstance do we see God not sharing
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and caring about us and the difficulty we're going through.
He does care. He may still allow it or even
call it for our own good. I don't know if
you have children. I discimined my children. I didn't enjoy it,
but I did do it because I loved it. But
it was I didn't sit there and mocked them and
you know, not care about them or be aloof about
it that it bothered them or it broke their little
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spirit or it you know, it hurt their little heinee
or anything like that. I did care about that, and
I didn't enjoy doing it. I did it because I
knew that was the best thing. And he's trying to
say that God not only allows it. I think at
time he just mocks us. But that is that's we
know that part's not true. So so anyway, twenty four
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the earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges. If it is
not he, who then is it Job? Almost cursed God
again but not quite Wicked people, Job says, seem to
get away with stuff. It appears to me, why why
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in the world would God let the wicked get away
with things? He isn't charging God with wrong. But what
he is doing is he's asking a question. That's different.
He's not declaring it. He's just asking a question, and
he's saying that life is brief. And it looks like
to me, the innocent can't win. The earth seems to
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be run by the wicked. It seems like when they
need to be punished, sometimes God hides the faces of
the judges and they get away with it. Well, I mean,
let's talk about the world that we're living in. I've
seen people get away with murder. Now, They're not going
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to get away with it if they if they don't repent,
and they're not justified in eternity. But they got away
with it here. They never went to jail for it.
They never got punished for it. We see we could
people get away with stuff all the time. And and
Joe's looking at this and he's like, so here I
am innocent. I'm going through all this. I know people
that are as wicked and dark as they can be,
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They're not in a situation I'm in. I just don't
know that here on this falling creation, if there's anything
for the innocent, we don't really seem to be set
up in a really good way here. Now he's conveniently
forgetting all of his years where God was blessing him
and giving him an easy life, and he's forgetting all that.
That's how we do, don't We We get into difficulty
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and suddenly we start forgetting everything that God's done for us.
And all we're thinking about is this moment. Where is
he right here? Have you? Have you ever had somebody
that forgot that you were kind of kind to them
and treated them well because you did one thing they
didn't like, and suddenly everything you ever did is thrown away,
and that's all there is now. Human beings tend to
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do that next twenty five. Through the rest of this chapter,
life is passing quickly. Job is going to say, with
no hint of improvement, and even though I'm innocent, God's
just going to declare me guilty. Anyway, I got no hope.
He says, My days are swifter than a runner. They
flee away. They see no good here. The analogies a
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runner meaning his days are short and miserable. What is
he forgetting? They haven't always been this way, but now
he's just acting like his whole lives this way. Another thing,
These are just more analogies. They go by like skiffs
of a reed, like an eagle swooping on the prey.
Both of the both of these just mean that life
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is it is short, and it just it just God,
he just swoops down on you like it's nothing. It's
it's a quick process. Our lives are short and they're miserable,
just like an eagle coming down on the prey, like
one of these reeds bending over twenty seven. If I
say I will forget my complaint, I will put off
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my sad face and be of good cheer. So now
he's saying, now, if I decided to have a batter
at attitude about all this, let's say I decided to
do that and be of good cheer. Let's say, I
stop all this wine, and I stop all this accusation.
Y'all want me just put on a happy face with
my festering wounds and my dead children, and I've lost everything,
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and I'm sitting here miserable. My body's just hanging on.
I was when y'all saw me. I'm so sick and
I'm so miserable. You didn't even recognize me. It shocked
you to see me this way. So I'll just take
all this and put it aside, and I'll put on
a happy face and I'll stop all this. What is
it going to change? It won't change anything. He's in
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a bad place right here. What good will it do?
Twenty eight? I become afraid of all my suffering, for
I know you will not hold me innocent. And who's
he talking to? He's talking to God. You are going
to find me guilty anyway. So you tell me what
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good it is for me to decide to grin and
bear it. The end result is going to be the same,
grinning and bearing it, putting on a happy face. That's
not gonna make you all of a sudden decide I'm innocent.
I won't be found guilty either way. Twenty nine. I
shall be condemned. Why then do I labor in vain?
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Why bother? It's a parent I'm condemned. Well, let's don't
ever let ourselves get there? Why bother? No, what we
need to do? Of course we know things. Joe doesn't
know what we need to do when we're going through
these difficulties, and we understand that because of God, who
is He's allowing it or causing it. How you get
(42:53):
through these things you keep searching for is don't let
me miss what you're teaching me. No, it does matter
what we do. It does matter how we respond. It
will change. Let me say the one thing it will change.
It'll change whether we pass the test or not. Job
seems to not be concerned about that at all, because
he doesn't know he's being tested. See, if we understand
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the testing, you go, my attitude is me passing the test.
Me learning? Is me passing the test. Me not denouncing
God is me passing the test. Me using my difficulty
to glorify God and to point people to God. That's
me passing the test. So yes, how our respond to suffering,
it actually does matter quite a bit. It does matter
(43:38):
because that's what the test is all about. There is
no platform, and I don't wish it on anybody, But
there is no platform that's more powerful that for a
man or a woman, or a man and a woman
to stand glorifying God, resolute, praising his holy name while
they suffer. I don't like it, I don't wish it,
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and I don't want to have to do it again.
But I cannot argue, as my wife said, with the
results of suffering, they're always there Verse thirty. If I
wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lie,
no effort on my part can make me clean in
your eyes. Oh there it is again. Here comes another
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foreshadowing underline that fellas, don't let them get by ladies
out there. That's a foreshadowing right there. You know what
job saying, I can't make myself clean. We sure can't.
Can we think about it? Think how far removed we
are from being able to stand in front of a
holy God and him see us as sinless. All the
(44:47):
soap in the world cannot make us fully righteous before God.
It's a foreshadowing of the New Covenant when we finally
read everything Jesus is teaching you remember when Jesus was
telling everybody. Can you imagine the day he said that
you must be perfect? Is my father is perfect? What
do he say? He said we had to be perfect? What?
(45:12):
Who's perfect? None of us? What is he talking about?
So the standard is perfection? Yes it is. My father
is perfect, So you must be perfect? But what's Jesus
doing there? He's setting up while we need him. He's
now setting up saying this is the standard, but only
I can get you to the standard. Well, you see
(45:32):
job starting to think right now, I can't do anything
to make myself right with God, not perfection thirty one
Yet you will plunge me into a pit, and my
own clothes will abhor me, dirty pit, slime pot. I'll
just be dead, and I'll be rotting in my rotting
(45:54):
dead body that you've thrown in the pit, and will
just become repulsive to my lothing, my clothes. Wondn't even
want to be on such a nasty body. What's not
a happy scene, is it? And then he finishes out
and says, and then we'll get into ten one. Then
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leave it because ten one kind of finishes this thought.
Negotiation is impossible. I can't negotiate myself out of this,
for he is not a man as I am, that
I might answer him that we should come to trial together.
God can't be brought to arbitration. We're never gonna take
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you know, you ever signed these things like when you
buy a car, whatever, there's all kinds of deals you
get in. If you look at the fine print, you've
agreed to arbitration. You know, if you're upset, then we
all agree we're going to an arbitrator. You know what
Job is saying, we're gonna take God to an arbitrator.
I'm I'm gonna take him to the table and we're
gonna work out some deal. He said, I can't do that.
(46:57):
I can't take him to court thirty three. There is
no arbitrator between us who might lay his hand on
us both. Ooh, foreshadow again. There's another big foreshadow underline
that one too. You know what Job saying I need
an arbitrator. I need an arbitrator that would actually pass
(47:19):
the test to be able to stand between me and God,
stand between me and God and actually work this thing
out for me. Where's that arbitrator? What's his name? Jesus?
And you know what job saying we need an arbitrator.
You know what we would say if you were presenting
the Gospel to a little child or you in some
(47:39):
third world country. How many you've ever drawn the diagram
the chasm between sinful man and holy God? You ever
drawn that diagram? And then the cross becomes the bridge
across the chasm to make us right with God and
usher us into the presence of God under the blood
of Jesus, making us fully righteous. You know what that is,
don't you. That is a perfect holy arbitrator. He makes
(48:00):
the case when God looks down and say says, well,
I'll tell you one thing. Burde has done this and that,
and what have we heard it? Jesus looks to the
Holy Father and says, he's with me. I'll make his case,
and God accepts us. And here is job realizing if
I just had an arbitrator between me and God, who
(48:22):
might lay his hand on us both? Who is that?
What is the God man? And he is to come
underline that one. That's a big foreshadow right there. I
need an arbitrator. I need an advocate who can remove
God's rod and terror from me. What does Paul tell
(48:46):
us the redeemed will not face the wrath of God.
We will not face the wrath of God. We might
face difficulty here in a falling creation, but when it
comes to the wrath of God being poured out on
all those that he rejects, not the redeemed. Just to
just picture of God's wrath being like a tidal wave,
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and standing between us and the tidal wave of God's
holy wrath is Jesus, and it hits him, and he
just takes it in his chest and not even a
drop of water hits us. He took the wrath of God.
He is the perfect advocate. He is the perfect arbitrator. Hey,
out there in here, do you have the arbitrator? Have
you been redeemed by Jesus? This is man, This is
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the week he did it. I mean we're literally in
the middle when this Bible study was done live. I
know a lot of you here at different times. This
is Holy Week. I mean, we're looking to the arbitrator
who went to the cross this coming Friday, who went
to that cross. And again, everything that Jesus went through
(49:50):
he had to go through to pay the price for
sinful man. Okay, don't try to take any of that out.
When he's in the garden and he's stressed to his
cap pilarias are bursting and sweat mixed with blood. Let
this cup pass, do not. You got to understand what's
in that cup. And if you don't know, I'll tell you.
What's in that cup is the wrath of God. That's
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the cup. And Jesus saying, is there another way for
your wrath to be diverted without it coming on me?
And of course the Father gave no other option than
the Son was resolute to the cross. But don't ever
get the gospel wrong and start thinking that God's wrath
was put in some account and he did not pour
(50:33):
out his wrath. And the wrath of God was not
poured out. Yes, it was poured out. It was even
poured out for the Redeemed. It was just poured out
on Jesus, not the Redeemed, but it was poured out.
That's why everything Jesus went through was so awful. That's
how much God hates sin. And the Son took that
on for you, and he took it on for me.
(50:55):
So how about a little gratitude, How about a life
of gratitude? And you see job searching for that advocate
and that arbitrator that we have. Praise God for that
thirty four. I need that arbitrator. Let him take his
rod away from me, and let not dread of him
(51:16):
terrify me. There it is, That's it. The wrath of
God will not be poured out on the redeemed. And
you see Job, he's searching for that thirty five. Then
I would speak without fear of him, for I'm not
so in myself. If I just had the arbitrator, if
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I just had the advocate, then I would live my
life without fear, because I would know that God's accusation
of me had been satisfied. I'd live my life different
if I had that kind of hope. I'd live my
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life different if I could just have that kind of peace.
And here we are on the other side of the
New Covenant, and we've got access to everything Job was
looking for. Ten to one and then we'll be done.
I loathe my life. I will give free utterance to
(52:20):
my complaint. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
I've complained that sets up next week. I've complained to
my friends, that's what we've heard. Now I'm going to
complain to God directly. Well, job still got to work
(52:47):
some stuff out, and we'll hear the rest of that,
Lord willing if we get back together next week, and
I look forward to that. But you're going to see
him now, go from this case you just heard today,
he's kind of talking about God, but he's talking to
his friends, and then he says, so I've made that complaint.
I'm still bitter. So now I'm going directly to God
and tell him what I think about it, and we'll
(53:10):
talk about that when we come back next week. But
I think our takeaway this week. Do you realize I
just want you to think about that. Do you realize
that these Bible studies, like I tell people all the time,
anytime I have the opportunity to speak at a gathering
or an event, because I know this to be true
about God, I will tell every person in the room.
(53:31):
If you think that you're here today by happenstance, you're
completely wrong. You were going to be sitting in this
room at this moment when God wove you together in
your mother's womb. Now I don't know why He has
you here, but I hope by the time we're done today,
you'll know well. I will tell you this. Y'all know
me that those of you know me well enough, you
(53:53):
know that I do not organize these things. And me
and I'm savvy enough to go. I tell what I'm
going to do. I'm going to design this thing laid
out so that we do job chapter nine on the
week that we the crucifixion of the resurrection. That'd be neat.
I just sit there and threw this thing out. And
I've been going one week after another, and this realization
(54:13):
of job fell on the exact week that Jesus redeemed
the world. I didn't have anything to do with that.
And I don't know who needed to be reminded of that.
We all need to be reminded of it. But somebody somewhere,
this is your day. I get excited when I know
(54:35):
it's somebody's day. This is your day. And if you're
out there and you're thinking, gosh, I know exactly how
job feels. I feel hopeless. I wish I had an advocate.
I wish I have an arbitrator. I feel like God's
distant from me. I don't know how to talk to God.
I wish someone would plead my case to God. I
want to be forgiven, I want to be right with God. Well,
(54:57):
his name is Jesus. And this is the very weak
in world history that he offered that redemption to anyone
who's willing to repent and turn from your sin, and say,
I'm a sinner and I need an advocate. I can't
get across the chasm between me and a holy God,
(55:18):
and I need somebody to provide that bridge. Well, Jesus
has provided it. The son of God. When he went
to the cross, he paid the price that you and
I we all deserved. And if you're willing to repent
and turn from your sin, if you're willing to leave
faith in yourself and place your faith in Jesus, if
you're willing to confess him as your lord, your new authority,
(55:40):
and just say, Jesus, change me, make me right with
your Father, make me right, make me righteous, forgive me.
And I know that only you can do it. Only
you have the power to do that. And I trust
and place my faith and only you. If you've done
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that for the first time, or maybe the first time
you've ever meant it or understood it, then the angels
are celebrating your redemption and you now have an arbitrator
who will plead your case with the one and only
living God, who is holy, Holy, Holy, and you will
be found innocent. If I can help you in any way,
just reach out to me Rick at Burgessmistries dot com.
(56:25):
Let's pray, Lord, thank you for today, Thank you for
this message of the gospel found in Job. May we
apply it to our lives today and may we never
be the same. In your holy name, we pray Amen.
Welcome into the Wednesday Bible Study. We're excited to once
again have a chance to open the Holy Word of God.
We are in the Book of Job. If you want
to go ahead and turn where we are today. We
are in Job chapter nine. If you've missed any of
this study, or really any study over the last ten
years that we've been holding this Wednesday Bible Study, that's
(00:21):
when we do it live. You can go find those archives.
You can go to the Manchurch dot Com. You'll see
a drop down menu. Look for the media button if
you'll click on that, and then you can go to
the Manchurch dot Com. Use that media button. You can
watch and listen to years of Bible studies, and you
can also catch up on this one. As you can
imagine the study of Job. It's a provocative book and
(00:44):
today we'll see why even more as we work our
way through it. The Manchurch dot Com is a men's
discipleship strategy. If you go to that website, you'll see
all the resources that are available for you to I mean,
if you decided today, because by the time you decided,
we've got our number six of the forty week curricula
that we have put together is coming out this fall,
(01:07):
So you could if you were leading your men's ministry,
or you're a pastor and a minister you wanted to
implement this for your men's ministry, you could turn the
key and be ready to go for six years. So
so reaching in the form of, you know, gatherings in
high challenge, you know, we can send you speakers to that.
(01:28):
Then these gatherings or events, then you move out of
those events into the high equipping and that's into these
forty week curriculum that go on now for six years.
Also we do conferences. We'll be announcing pretty pretty soon
the twenty twenty six conferences. So we usually do two
maximum three of those a year. So all that can
(01:50):
be found at the manchurch dot com, including if you're
listening to this, you know, and before May the thirteenth,
May the thirteenth, a brand new resource we'll launch. I
wrote a book called Men Don't Run in the Rain
and these are her stories about a true original my dad,
(02:11):
and the hardcover comes out on May the thirteenth. It'll
be in hardcover and it'll be wherever books are available.
You can get a signed copy for Father's Day at
the manchurch dot com. Starting on May the thirteenth. There'll
be an audio book version, and there'll be an e
book version. All that comes out on May the thirteenth,
if you want to make a note of that. So
let's open up in a word of prayer and let's
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jump right into job chapter nine. Lord, Thank you, Thank
you for the gathering today in this room. Thank you
for these men always, I mean just so loyal to
sitting down and saying let's unpack the Holy Word of God.
It's clearly a priority in their lives. Thank You for
the blessing they are to me. Thank You for Chris
Adler and all the hard work Lord that he does
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producing these and has done for ten years, and all
the other stuff curricula, and all the things that he
puts together and makes available and has been being used
by you to help people grow all over the world.
So today, Lord, take our efforts, and may that advance
your kingdom and give us a more clear understanding as
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you reveal yourself to us in bites that we can handle.
And your holy name, we pray on this wonderful Holy
week when we remember your grace and your mercy, when
you took on human flesh and you poured your wrath
out on your own son. So those who are willing
to repent and be redeemed by the fully righteousness of
your son, the wrath of God has already been poured
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out and satisfied. And the peace of knowing because of Jesus,
everything really is going to be all right. And it's
in his name we pray Amen. All right. So we
in nine. You know, Bill Dad, the beutle, I mean,
Bill Dad, the brutal, has just taken on Job. And
this is gonna be Job's response. And I have been
(04:00):
so intrigued by what we're discovering in this part of
the book of Job, and all the way up to
Job's encounter with God himself, is that the theology of
the day, whenever this was, there's all kinds of debate
to when this was the theology of Job's day was flawed.
(04:20):
They did not understand God's sovereignty over allowing sufferings sometimes
even for the righteous, and they don't have a concept
of that. And so you're going to see the dilemma
because He's heard what Eliphaz and Bill Dad have said,
(04:41):
and he knows why they're saying it. And Bill Dad
touched on this last week because this is what they
all had been taught. And Job knows this. I mean,
certainly there's the moments where both of them could have
been more tactful, but they're really coming from Hey, Job,
this is what we we all supposedly believe. So what's
(05:02):
going on here? So here's Job's dilemma. He's not aware
of any sin in his life, and since he continues
to undergo suffering, the problem must not lie with him
because because he can't find what should be there under
their theology. Yet God, you're gonna see him deal with
(05:26):
this today. Is perfect. God is wise, God is loving,
So the problem can't be with God. So this seems
to be unsolvable because man has no way to examine
and debate God. Imagine imagine how how that must feel,
(05:50):
because he doesn't know the things that we know. Uh.
And so Job is now speaking. You see that in
the first verse. That's all that is uh. In nine,
then Job answered and said, now let's get into two
and three. Two and three says this, truly, I know
that it is so Bill, Dad, you're right, But how
(06:13):
can a man be in the right before God? Verse three?
If one wished to contend with him, One could not
answer him once in a thousand times. So Job says,
I think all of our theology, Bill Dad elephas, I
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think all of our theology is inadequate. Man is sinful
in general. So are we saying that God can be
questioned by us? He's perfect, we're not. Our wisdom is flawed.
The only real wisdom we have is what he provides.
So he's not going to be questioned by us. We
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have no standing. So where do we find out what's
going on? This seems to be and there's no way
to solve it. So then he's going to go through
verses four through ten, and he's going to remind Bill
Dad in Lafas, and we're going to be reminded of
this that really God cannot be debated. So let's look
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at verse four. He is wise in heart and mighty
in strength, who has hardened himself against him and succeeded?
Has anyone ever took on God and won? Of course
we know the answer to that is no. One. Five
and six. He who removes mountains, and they know it
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not when he overturns them in his anger, who shakes
the earth out of its place and its pillars tremble.
So here he is pointing that you know this part,
and I want to be clear, he really isn't here
trying to give God glory. He's just setting up a
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backdrop to really his own feeling of hopelessness and helplessness.
God may be great, and he's acknowledging that. But you
know what else he's saying, But where is he? I
know how powerful he is. All I see in my
life right now is wrath. And if God knows what
(08:27):
he's doing, why is he doing this to me? I
can't figure it out. And I know he's perfectly capable
of explaining this to me. It wouldn't be a big
deal for him to simply tell me what he's doing.
I mean, look at all the things he can do
that seem like nothing to him. But really he's thinking
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where is he? And then he gives it more images
of wrath in six and seven? Look at seven? Who
commands the sun and it does not rise? Who seals
up the stars? Here he's talking about eclipses and overcast
days and cloudy nights, And you know what he's saying,
whatever type of experience I'm having in the heavens, my goodness,
(09:13):
that's his call. He decides this kind of stuff. You know.
He tells the sun to rise and the sun to set,
and it just does it till he tells it not to.
You know, if we have an eclipse and the moon
and the sun line up, he sets that up. He's
put that in motion. If the day is sunny, he
did that. If the day's cloudy, he did that. And
then he says in eight, who alone stretched out the
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heavens and trampled the waves of the sea. He's all
of this is showing God's control. God has control over everything.
He's just given examples of that. He stretched out the heavens.
He's the one that laid out the stars. He's the
one that causes the waves of the sea to ru
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He could trample on them like it was nothing. They
would have no hope against him. Look at nine, who
made the bear, and Orion, and ple eightes, and the
chambers of the south. These are, of course that he
arranged the stars. These are all constellations. And he said,
even the constellations that we can see, he must have
had some sort of knowledge of this. I know that
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God arranged those. All of this is saying that God
is in control and has created everything, and He's arranged everything.
God can do anything. So why in the world is
this happening? Why doesn't he explain himself? And here's what
I'm also setting up. I'm and you're gonna see this later.
I don't think I'm in any position to take him
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to court. What kind of case am I going to
make against this kind of power? We're nothing compared to him.
And then you look at verse ten. Who does great
things beyond searching out and marvelous things beyond number. Now
remember these words should seem familiar to you if you've
(11:02):
been taking notes, because these come from Eliphas in chapter five,
verse nine, when he talks about the great things and
wonders that cannot be fathomed. Uh, And you know he
talks about God's signs and wonders. Elafas talks about all this.
And then in eleven, behold he passes by me and
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I see him not he moves on, But dude, I
do not perceive him. Now see now, now, now we're
getting a little getting a little debbie down or now
job goes on a little a little negative here, a
little pity party. Where is God? He may be mighty.
He may be wonder working, he is creator. He may
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be sovereign, he may be all powerful, he may be
all knowing, he may be all present. But how about this?
To me, he's invisible. I don't sense his presence. And
I acknowledges all these things, but I don't see it.
Have you ever been there? Have you ever been so
(12:04):
down and and so distraught and you're really confused about
the situation and you're in and you begin to I remember,
of course it went a different way, because I know
things that Job doesn't know yet. And some of you
remember me, remember me saying this, But it reminded me
of this when I was studying this, the song, Lord
You're Holy. Uh, in this and in this beautiful song,
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Lord You're Holy. And it was in a time of
just distraught darkness that that we were going through. Uh.
And this one was the trial of of the death
of our son, the earthly death of our son. And
I remember hearing the choir at church and they were
just and they were doing every what what Job is
doing here? And it's that resume And Lord, You're holy,
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and you know you're you're omnipotent, You're omniscient. You're omni present,
You're you're this, and you're that, and you're holy and
and his resume was just being sung to me in
congregation by these powerful voices, and it just and it
really overwhelmed me because as I heard his resume, it
(13:09):
broke me down. And I remember looking at my wife
and I said, I can't believe I've ever sinned against him?
How dare me sin against this? Now? You're gonna see
Job get there at the end of all this. But
right now he's that same song is playing for Job
and it's not taking him there. It's making him mad,
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it's upsetting him, it's making him lonely. If I know
you are these things, but right now I'm not feeling it.
You're invisible to me. I don't feel your presence at all.
So that's heartbreaking and it but those are powerful words
right there. And if you've ever been there, you understand.
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Behold he snatches away, who can turn him back? Who
will say to him? What are you doing? This? This
gets intense now because right here, right here, if we
were allowed to see in real time, Lucifer about right now, Lucifer,
you have you ever been anticipating something's about to happen.
(14:12):
You be old here it is, and you start getting ready,
and you get us almost see Lucifer going here we go.
He's about to curse God. It's about to happen. He's
getting really close. We're close boys, and he gets pretty close.
Right here. He's on the border of calling God a thief,
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a bandit. He snatches away. This verb is only used
here in the scripture. We don't see this. What we're
translating here is snatches away. We don't see it anywhere
else in scripture. Behold, he snatches away. Uh, that's that's
a powerful term there. God does what he pleases, and
(14:55):
at times he gives you things, but at times he
just snatches it right away from me. You know what
he's talking about right here, his his wealth and his children,
and he gets intense. He this this word. Really, if
you go to the original Hebrew here, I mean we're
we're talking bandit, we're talking thief. But really, Uh. The
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reason why it doesn't cross a line here and Lucifer
doesn't get his victory is we know the Lord gives
and the Lord takes away. Has already said that earlier,
you know, so, so God knows his heart even though
he's upset and but but this is the other point
though that he turns and it goes a little more
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not positive, But it is something we need to understand.
But you know what Job is also saying, who will
say to him? What are you doing? I may not
like it, I may not understand it, and I don't
like how you snatch things away just like you give them.
(16:00):
But who are any of us to question him? And
hang on to this? Many weeks from now, Lord willing,
God's gonna ask him? Who's questioning me? By the way,
that's a big day for Job. I think one of
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the most terrifying moments in scripture is when we get
to it later in Job and God answered, you ever
been having your little hissy fit with God? What if
all of a sudden you heard a voice say, oh, load,
I'll take you on on that one. I understand you've
decided to question me today. That'd be a big sit
(16:42):
back down, wouldn't it. So? In verse thirteen, God will
not turn back his anger beneath him bowed the helpers
of Rahab. Now be careful with this. First time I
saw it, I'm like the rest of you. I thought,
Hi in the world. This may tell me something about
the timeline. Is this Rahab the prostitute. It is not
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all bad things happen because of God's anger. Again, go
back in and you can find this earlier in verse five.
God always punishes evil even when the wrong can't be identified. Now,
when you see Rayhab here, this is not this does
not go back to Jericho. This is actually a mythical
(17:23):
creature that that was well known to them. It's a
it's a mythical sea monster. And and the word actually,
how the word spelled, means proud, boisterous. Uh. Sometimes that
Egypt was even called this uh. But you know, specifically
specifically the Nile River, a crocodile in the Nile also
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was called this. It's not the heartlet of Jericho at all.
So what he's saying is this mythical sea creature that
we all we all think so big and bad. Now
God will put a sea creature on his resume down
the road, too. So here is job saying. This thing's
supposed to be so big, this thing's supposed to be
so bad. But when it faces God, and any of
those that were worshiping Rayhab or were helpers of Rahab,
(18:11):
they all they bowed down. They bowed under the power
of God's anger. So what chance do I have? And
then he moves into a rant, now saying, the innocent
have no access to God. Even though I'm innocent, I
make my case to whom. I'm going to stand before court,
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and I'm going to put perfection on trial. So he says,
how can I get a fair trial? Now? Remember we
know where we are in time, and many before us
and hopefully many after us who decide to read the
word of God the reader. We all know that Job
is innocent. Job was also quite sure of his innocence,
(18:57):
but he said, even though I know I'm innocent, how
do I make my case to God? Who am I
to declare? I don't think I'm getting a fair trial.
I don't you're punishing me, and I think you're punishing
me wrongly. If punishment is retribution because I've been defiant
(19:17):
against you, then I shouldn't be This shouldn't be happening
to me. But if I want to go figure this out,
where do I go with my case? So listen, He'll
start this in verse fourteen, and he'll continue for a
little while. How then can I answer him? Choosing my
words with him. Look if Rayhab and his helpers coward
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at his feet, what chance do I have to win
an argument with God? Fifteen? Though I am in the right,
i'd underline that I cannot answer him. I must appeal.
Here it comes foreshadowing. I must have peal for mercy,
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mercy to my accuser. Foreshadow foreshadow. That's a foreshadowing because
even though Job is saying that he is innocent, does
not mean that Job is sinless. Remember early when we
first started, just because he was blameless and upright did
not mean he was sinless. It doesn't mean that at all.
And you see God is using Job in this moment
(20:25):
in time. He's beginning to teach new things about himself.
Remember we said that when we're in difficulty. There's the
plans that Lucifer has for us and the demons, and
there's the plans God has for us. God's plan is,
y'all's theology about me is flawed. You ever had your
theology cleared up by God? I have, certainly. And so
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he's saying, I want to teach you something different. Now.
Job can't figure that out yet. But what he does
know the kinds of things that we thought drew God's anger.
I haven't done anything those things as best as I can.
I'm living my life. But look at this foreshadowing. I
know that I cannot stand before God because of his perfection.
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So I'm gonna have to appeal for mercy. That's a
foreshadowing to the New Covenant, because we all come to
the conclusion, I got to uppeal for mercy. I got
appeal for your grace because your perfection. I cannot achieve
your holiness. I can't achieve you can't look upon sins.
I gotta have mercy. I gotta have grace. That's a
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foreshadowing to it right here. And look at sixteen if
I'm innocent yet, or fifteen if I'm innocent yet, I
have to plead for mercy. But you know why he says,
I gotta plead for mercy. This is the thing I
don't think we understand sometimes some of you, this is
going to hit you. You go, you know that's right. You
know what job's coming to the realization of It's one
thing to go into the court and the judge and
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the prosecutor are two different people. But when you go
into the court and the prosecutor and the judge are
the same person. You got problems. God just appeals to himself,
and himself says, yes, I know we're right because we're perfect. Okay,
So he says, what kind of setup do I have here?
So I just got to ask for mercy? Right? We
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still have that today. I have to just throw myself
on the mercy of the judge. I'm guilty, and I
hope you'll be merciful with me. I hope my sentence
will be mild. So verse sixteen. You can tell I've
had to say that before. If I summoned him and
he answered me, I would not believe that he was
listening to my voice. I don't think that, he says.
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If I even if I even ask for a hearing,
I do not think i'd be granted one. You know,
I really, even if he heard me and he heard
me ask for it, which I don't know if he
can hear me or not. If he hears me, I'm
not gonna be granted this trial anyway. Seventeen. He doesn't
know though something like that is coming. Be careful what
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you pray for, because God may answer it. Seventeen For
he crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds
without calls. I'd underline that he said, I may be
punished forever for even asking. I may get cursed without
(23:20):
the trial of a jury. He wounds for no reason. Now,
this wound right here, he's obviously talking about the skin
miss that he's got. Can't you know right there he
just looks down at all these sores that are festering
and the misery that he's in, and he thinks for him,
So he thinks right here, he wounds for no reason.
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Now we all know that that's a miss that's a misspeak.
Let me say this again, brothers in the room, and
brothers and sisters all over the world. God doesn't wound
for no reason. There's always a reason, and in time
you may see it. You may not see it immediately,
but I can tell you we got to get to
the point that if we're being wounded right now and
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God's allowing it or causing it, one thing we know
for sure is it's not for no reason. That we
know we have to work to find the reason. But
one thing we can take off the table is this
has no reason, gotter, this is just out of control.
That is not true. Now right now, Job thinks that
may be a possibility because he can't quite understand it. Eighteen.
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He will not let me get my breath, but fills
me with bitterness. Now, this is Job showing that he understands,
going all the way back to creation, he understands that
he's the giver of breath. Have you ever thought about that.
It's one of the things you've heard me say many
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times that the late Steve Ferrara taught me, don't be
so concern with people that God has to allow to breathe.
But from creation who breathed life into Adam. God. It's
God's breath that brought life. And he says, but even
though he's the giver of breath, he's not letting me
get a breath. He fills me with bitterness. How about
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this me breathing is being denied to me and the
very breath that God should be giving me. And at
one time he gave me this wonderful breath where I
breathed easy, I was full of life. He's now replaced
the breath of God with the breath of bitterness. That's
what I breed now. So he's upset, and you can
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understand that nineteen. If it is a contest of strength, behold,
he is mighty. If it is a matter of justice,
who can summon him? No matter what, God will overwhelm me.
I am no match for him. Now, I think that
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some of us haven't learned that yet. You're not gonna win. Okay,
none of us are going to defeat God. So go
ahead and submit to his authority, because we're either going
to be under his authority and be blessed by His
all mighty perfection and wisdom and knowledge, are we're gonna
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face his wrath and be destroyed. There is no in between.
And either way we come under his authority, either his
wrath or his blessing. But if you think you're going
to stand there and wave your finger in God's face
and tell him a thing or two, that's not gonna happen.
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You've ever been around these people that think we get
some big Q and a in heaven. I got a
few things I want to ask God. You're not going
to be asking God anything, Adrian Rogers said, it may
be a thousand years before you lift your head up
and stop saying Holy. Let me tell you something. None
of us have stepped in the presence of God, we
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have no chance. And Job knows this, and he says,
no matter what I try to do. Let's say I
try to go to war with him, well, he's going
to overwhelm me. I'm no match for him. Verse twenty.
Though I am in the right, I'd underline that again.
Do you see Job thinks he's he thinks this is
this isn't fair. There's something wrong here. Though I'm in
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the right, my own mouth would condemn me. And I say,
that's interesting. Right there, he said, I know I am innocent.
I think I'm still a blameless man. But because God
is doing this, there's something I don't know. If I
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went in, he does know enough about God. If I
went in and I would try to make some case
of my innocence, because of who I'm making the case
to prosecutor and judge, I'm still gonna end up condemned
and guilty. My own mouth will end up condemning me. Somewhere.
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I'm gonna run off course because He's perfect and I'm not.
So if I go mouthing off, eventually, I'm just gonna
condemn myself. That's where this is gonna go. God seems
seems distant God seems unconcerned. This is where he gets
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in the next few verses twenty one through twenty four.
Job is angry and he's bitter here and under and
get ready for this, because this is really where we
need to really lean in and think about what Lucier
is trying to get him to do. Right here, Job
is more angry and bitter than anywhere else in the
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book of Job. He really goes downhill right here. I'm blameless.
I regard not myself. I loathe my life. See once
again he comes pretty close. Here again he comes pretty
close to charging God with what injustice? God will remember
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this one, you know, I think about in the Oh,
what bunch was it? I don't know why I do
these things if I'm not gonna include them, And I
think I'm gonna I'm gonna sit here and riff a
little bit because I can't remember. It was one of
the bunch. They were always harassing Israel, one of the Iights.
And you remember that Moses needed passage through where they
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were and they wouldn't give him passage, and they made
the trip harder when they were trying to get to Canaan,
and they harassed them and all of that, and Scripture said,
and God took note of that, and if you remember,
it goes all the way to David, and he comes
back to Dave and he says, I'm gonna pay them
back for what they did to Moses. He took a note.
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Now he didn't do it immediately, y'all go to destroy them.
Now it's payback. And so what's happening here is this
little fit that Job's pitching right here. When God answers
later in Job, God's gonna deal with this. So Job's
gonna get his moment, and he's gonna wish he never
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brought it up. I'm blameless. I regard not myself. I
loathe my life. And in the second line here where
he says I loathe my I regard not myself, it
really it really means if you look at the word deeper,
I do not know my soul, you know what is
(30:39):
our soul. Our souls are awardeness of who we are.
And Job is at the point going, I'm blameless, I'm
being punished. I don't I don't I don't know myself.
I don't know my I don't know my own soul.
And he's unsure of himself, and then I loathe me?
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Is what that translates. I loathed my life. And this
may this may support exactly what he's saying, is there's
something about me I must not understand. If I've caused this,
then I loathe myself. But I don't know. Why have
(31:21):
you ever gotten to the point where you're you're you're
you're in your life and you're you're like, what is
wrong with me? Why am I acting the way I'm acting?
Why did I respond that way? I thought I knew
myself well enough to know how I would handle every situation,
and I just got in a situation that I did
something I didn't expect. I realized I don't really know
myself that well. I need to know myself better than that.
(31:44):
And uh, and I will say this, and job is
figuring this out too, even though God has a bigger plan.
This is why you've got to have accountability in your life.
If anybody in this room, including the teacher, thinks you
know yourself your delusion, and you're certain of the way
you come across and you're certain of how everybody sees you,
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you're wrong. We're all delusional to some degree. Now, some
people are more delusional than others, but we're all delusional
to a degree. You truly don't know yourself, and that's
the reason why you got to have other people that
you give permission to speak into your life. How many
times have you had a person you trusted say hey,
that really and you're in your mind going, did it
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come across that way? Oh? Yes, I didn't see it.
I missed it. I'm so sorry. I need to go
clear that up. Yeah, I think you do, so, I really, really, honestly,
I didn't handle that right. I don't think you did.
And then, and of course they have to make the case.
They can't just say it. But if they go, when
you did said this or did that and whatever, and
they make the case, have you ever had friends do
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that too? You and you went, I'll mess that up? Yeah,
I could have handled that better. So twenty two the
problem is right now, the three guys that should be
holding job accountable, they can't really point to what he did.
They just know he did something. See now that's not helpful.
You got to be able to point it out. So
twenty two it is all one. Therefore, I say, he
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destroys both the blameless and the wicked. Now here we go.
Now we're starting to see the theology change that Job
is going to be taunt now these two. Job presents
these two as opposites, that is, the blameless and the wicked.
But what he's thinking in his mind right now, I
(33:37):
see those two as being opposites. Does God see them
as one? Is it possible that God would actually allow
both the wicked and the innocent to suffer? You see
he's starting to He's starting to get it now and
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answers yes. Job hasn't figured this out yet. This is
not the theology of his day. See, he doesn't have
Jesus talking about you know, the two men that one
built on the rock and one built on the sand.
And the one who heard what I say but didn't
do what I said is like the one who built
his house on the sand. The one who hears my
words and does them is like the wise man who
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built his house upon the rock. And the storms came
and beat against both houses. One stood, one didn't, but
neither one of them were exempt from the storm. Now,
Job doesn't know all this, but he's learning because he's
starting to reason this out in his mind. Now, so
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it's all one to him, he destroys both the blameless
and the wicked. He's starting to think this out, so
punished the wicked. All four of us would agree with that,
But job In the four of these men, stands alone
(35:01):
on his own island when he's suggesting that maybe, for
whatever reason, he might at times treat both groups alike
when it comes to difficulty, not when it comes to justification,
but difficulty. Now keep in mind, that's not going to
go over with these other three guys. They don't buy
(35:23):
this at all. So twenty three, when disaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. Now see
the word mock here. Mack is just a Hebrew for
he's uncertain, But it means death comes for both groups
(35:46):
just because you are innocent. Put that in quotes. When
calamity comes something God does not deliver. Sometimes God does
not deliver even the innocent from the earthly results. He
says of this falling creation, neither group is certain that
(36:07):
they can escape death. Apparently both groups die. Now where
he's a little off is we know that Scripture tells
us in Psalm one thirty four that God is actually
near to the broken hearted that God, we had Jesus
weeping over Jerusalem. We had Jesus weeping with Lazarus family.
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So no, when calamity comes to the innocent and we're
being used to advance the Kingdom of God or being
used for us to be refined, just like any parent,
the discipline may be out of love, and the discipline
may be necessary, and it may be exactly what we need.
But in no circumstance do we see God not sharing
(36:54):
and caring about us and the difficulty we're going through.
He does care. He may still allow it or even
call it for our own good. I don't know if
you have children. I discimined my children. I didn't enjoy it,
but I did do it because I loved it. But
it was I didn't sit there and mocked them and
you know, not care about them or be aloof about
it that it bothered them or it broke their little
(37:15):
spirit or it you know, it hurt their little heinee
or anything like that. I did care about that, and
I didn't enjoy doing it. I did it because I
knew that was the best thing. And he's trying to
say that God not only allows it. I think at
time he just mocks us. But that is that's we
know that part's not true. So so anyway, twenty four
(37:37):
the earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges. If it is
not he, who then is it Job? Almost cursed God
again but not quite Wicked people, Job says, seem to
get away with stuff. It appears to me, why why
(37:58):
in the world would God let the wicked get away
with things? He isn't charging God with wrong. But what
he is doing is he's asking a question. That's different.
He's not declaring it. He's just asking a question, and
he's saying that life is brief. And it looks like
to me, the innocent can't win. The earth seems to
(38:23):
be run by the wicked. It seems like when they
need to be punished, sometimes God hides the faces of
the judges and they get away with it. Well, I mean,
let's talk about the world that we're living in. I've
seen people get away with murder. Now, They're not going
(38:45):
to get away with it if they if they don't repent,
and they're not justified in eternity. But they got away
with it here. They never went to jail for it.
They never got punished for it. We see we could
people get away with stuff all the time. And and
Joe's looking at this and he's like, so here I
am innocent. I'm going through all this. I know people
that are as wicked and dark as they can be,
(39:06):
They're not in a situation I'm in. I just don't
know that here on this falling creation, if there's anything
for the innocent, we don't really seem to be set
up in a really good way here. Now he's conveniently
forgetting all of his years where God was blessing him
and giving him an easy life, and he's forgetting all that.
That's how we do, don't We We get into difficulty
(39:26):
and suddenly we start forgetting everything that God's done for us.
And all we're thinking about is this moment. Where is
he right here? Have you? Have you ever had somebody
that forgot that you were kind of kind to them
and treated them well because you did one thing they
didn't like, and suddenly everything you ever did is thrown away,
and that's all there is now. Human beings tend to
(39:49):
do that next twenty five. Through the rest of this chapter,
life is passing quickly. Job is going to say, with
no hint of improvement, and even though I'm innocent, God's
just going to declare me guilty. Anyway, I got no hope.
He says, My days are swifter than a runner. They
flee away. They see no good here. The analogies a
(40:12):
runner meaning his days are short and miserable. What is
he forgetting? They haven't always been this way, but now
he's just acting like his whole lives this way. Another thing,
These are just more analogies. They go by like skiffs
of a reed, like an eagle swooping on the prey.
Both of the both of these just mean that life
(40:34):
is it is short, and it just it just God,
he just swoops down on you like it's nothing. It's
it's a quick process. Our lives are short and they're miserable,
just like an eagle coming down on the prey, like
one of these reeds bending over twenty seven. If I
say I will forget my complaint, I will put off
(40:58):
my sad face and be of good cheer. So now
he's saying, now, if I decided to have a batter
at attitude about all this, let's say I decided to
do that and be of good cheer. Let's say, I
stop all this wine, and I stop all this accusation.
Y'all want me just put on a happy face with
my festering wounds and my dead children, and I've lost everything,
(41:21):
and I'm sitting here miserable. My body's just hanging on.
I was when y'all saw me. I'm so sick and
I'm so miserable. You didn't even recognize me. It shocked
you to see me this way. So I'll just take
all this and put it aside, and I'll put on
a happy face and I'll stop all this. What is
it going to change? It won't change anything. He's in
(41:46):
a bad place right here. What good will it do?
Twenty eight? I become afraid of all my suffering, for
I know you will not hold me innocent. And who's
he talking to? He's talking to God. You are going
to find me guilty anyway. So you tell me what
(42:08):
good it is for me to decide to grin and
bear it. The end result is going to be the same,
grinning and bearing it, putting on a happy face. That's
not gonna make you all of a sudden decide I'm innocent.
I won't be found guilty either way. Twenty nine. I
shall be condemned. Why then do I labor in vain?
(42:31):
Why bother? It's a parent I'm condemned. Well, let's don't
ever let ourselves get there? Why bother? No, what we
need to do? Of course we know things. Joe doesn't
know what we need to do when we're going through
these difficulties, and we understand that because of God, who
is He's allowing it or causing it. How you get
(42:53):
through these things you keep searching for is don't let
me miss what you're teaching me. No, it does matter
what we do. It does matter how we respond. It
will change. Let me say the one thing it will change.
It'll change whether we pass the test or not. Job
seems to not be concerned about that at all, because
he doesn't know he's being tested. See, if we understand
(43:14):
the testing, you go, my attitude is me passing the test.
Me learning? Is me passing the test. Me not denouncing
God is me passing the test. Me using my difficulty
to glorify God and to point people to God. That's
me passing the test. So yes, how our respond to suffering,
it actually does matter quite a bit. It does matter
(43:38):
because that's what the test is all about. There is
no platform, and I don't wish it on anybody, But
there is no platform that's more powerful that for a
man or a woman, or a man and a woman
to stand glorifying God, resolute, praising his holy name while
they suffer. I don't like it, I don't wish it,
(44:01):
and I don't want to have to do it again.
But I cannot argue, as my wife said, with the
results of suffering, they're always there Verse thirty. If I
wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lie,
no effort on my part can make me clean in
your eyes. Oh there it is again. Here comes another
(44:22):
foreshadowing underline that fellas, don't let them get by ladies
out there. That's a foreshadowing right there. You know what
job saying, I can't make myself clean. We sure can't.
Can we think about it? Think how far removed we
are from being able to stand in front of a
holy God and him see us as sinless. All the
(44:47):
soap in the world cannot make us fully righteous before God.
It's a foreshadowing of the New Covenant when we finally
read everything Jesus is teaching you remember when Jesus was
telling everybody. Can you imagine the day he said that
you must be perfect? Is my father is perfect? What
do he say? He said we had to be perfect? What?
(45:12):
Who's perfect? None of us? What is he talking about?
So the standard is perfection? Yes it is. My father
is perfect, So you must be perfect? But what's Jesus
doing there? He's setting up while we need him. He's
now setting up saying this is the standard, but only
I can get you to the standard. Well, you see
(45:32):
job starting to think right now, I can't do anything
to make myself right with God, not perfection thirty one
Yet you will plunge me into a pit, and my
own clothes will abhor me, dirty pit, slime pot. I'll
just be dead, and I'll be rotting in my rotting
(45:54):
dead body that you've thrown in the pit, and will
just become repulsive to my lothing, my clothes. Wondn't even
want to be on such a nasty body. What's not
a happy scene, is it? And then he finishes out
and says, and then we'll get into ten one. Then
(46:14):
leave it because ten one kind of finishes this thought.
Negotiation is impossible. I can't negotiate myself out of this,
for he is not a man as I am, that
I might answer him that we should come to trial together.
God can't be brought to arbitration. We're never gonna take
(46:36):
you know, you ever signed these things like when you
buy a car, whatever, there's all kinds of deals you
get in. If you look at the fine print, you've
agreed to arbitration. You know, if you're upset, then we
all agree we're going to an arbitrator. You know what
Job is saying, we're gonna take God to an arbitrator.
I'm I'm gonna take him to the table and we're
gonna work out some deal. He said, I can't do that.
(46:57):
I can't take him to court thirty three. There is
no arbitrator between us who might lay his hand on
us both. Ooh, foreshadow again. There's another big foreshadow underline
that one too. You know what Job saying I need
an arbitrator. I need an arbitrator that would actually pass
(47:19):
the test to be able to stand between me and God,
stand between me and God and actually work this thing
out for me. Where's that arbitrator? What's his name? Jesus?
And you know what job saying we need an arbitrator.
You know what we would say if you were presenting
the Gospel to a little child or you in some
(47:39):
third world country. How many you've ever drawn the diagram
the chasm between sinful man and holy God? You ever
drawn that diagram? And then the cross becomes the bridge
across the chasm to make us right with God and
usher us into the presence of God under the blood
of Jesus, making us fully righteous. You know what that is,
don't you. That is a perfect holy arbitrator. He makes
(48:00):
the case when God looks down and say says, well,
I'll tell you one thing. Burde has done this and that,
and what have we heard it? Jesus looks to the
Holy Father and says, he's with me. I'll make his case,
and God accepts us. And here is job realizing if
I just had an arbitrator between me and God, who
(48:22):
might lay his hand on us both? Who is that?
What is the God man? And he is to come
underline that one. That's a big foreshadow right there. I
need an arbitrator. I need an advocate who can remove
God's rod and terror from me. What does Paul tell
(48:46):
us the redeemed will not face the wrath of God.
We will not face the wrath of God. We might
face difficulty here in a falling creation, but when it
comes to the wrath of God being poured out on
all those that he rejects, not the redeemed. Just to
just picture of God's wrath being like a tidal wave,
(49:06):
and standing between us and the tidal wave of God's
holy wrath is Jesus, and it hits him, and he
just takes it in his chest and not even a
drop of water hits us. He took the wrath of God.
He is the perfect advocate. He is the perfect arbitrator. Hey,
out there in here, do you have the arbitrator? Have
you been redeemed by Jesus? This is man, This is
(49:29):
the week he did it. I mean we're literally in
the middle when this Bible study was done live. I
know a lot of you here at different times. This
is Holy Week. I mean, we're looking to the arbitrator
who went to the cross this coming Friday, who went
to that cross. And again, everything that Jesus went through
(49:50):
he had to go through to pay the price for
sinful man. Okay, don't try to take any of that out.
When he's in the garden and he's stressed to his
cap pilarias are bursting and sweat mixed with blood. Let
this cup pass, do not. You got to understand what's
in that cup. And if you don't know, I'll tell you.
What's in that cup is the wrath of God. That's
(50:13):
the cup. And Jesus saying, is there another way for
your wrath to be diverted without it coming on me?
And of course the Father gave no other option than
the Son was resolute to the cross. But don't ever
get the gospel wrong and start thinking that God's wrath
was put in some account and he did not pour
(50:33):
out his wrath. And the wrath of God was not
poured out. Yes, it was poured out. It was even
poured out for the Redeemed. It was just poured out
on Jesus, not the Redeemed, but it was poured out.
That's why everything Jesus went through was so awful. That's
how much God hates sin. And the Son took that
on for you, and he took it on for me.
(50:55):
So how about a little gratitude, How about a life
of gratitude? And you see job searching for that advocate
and that arbitrator that we have. Praise God for that
thirty four. I need that arbitrator. Let him take his
rod away from me, and let not dread of him
(51:16):
terrify me. There it is, That's it. The wrath of
God will not be poured out on the redeemed. And
you see Job, he's searching for that thirty five. Then
I would speak without fear of him, for I'm not
so in myself. If I just had the arbitrator, if
(51:39):
I just had the advocate, then I would live my
life without fear, because I would know that God's accusation
of me had been satisfied. I'd live my life different
if I had that kind of hope. I'd live my
(52:00):
life different if I could just have that kind of peace.
And here we are on the other side of the
New Covenant, and we've got access to everything Job was
looking for. Ten to one and then we'll be done.
I loathe my life. I will give free utterance to
(52:20):
my complaint. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
I've complained that sets up next week. I've complained to
my friends, that's what we've heard. Now I'm going to
complain to God directly. Well, job still got to work
(52:47):
some stuff out, and we'll hear the rest of that,
Lord willing if we get back together next week, and
I look forward to that. But you're going to see
him now, go from this case you just heard today,
he's kind of talking about God, but he's talking to
his friends, and then he says, so I've made that complaint.
I'm still bitter. So now I'm going directly to God
and tell him what I think about it, and we'll
(53:10):
talk about that when we come back next week. But
I think our takeaway this week. Do you realize I
just want you to think about that. Do you realize
that these Bible studies, like I tell people all the time,
anytime I have the opportunity to speak at a gathering
or an event, because I know this to be true
about God, I will tell every person in the room.
(53:31):
If you think that you're here today by happenstance, you're
completely wrong. You were going to be sitting in this
room at this moment when God wove you together in
your mother's womb. Now I don't know why He has
you here, but I hope by the time we're done today,
you'll know well. I will tell you this. Y'all know
me that those of you know me well enough, you
(53:53):
know that I do not organize these things. And me
and I'm savvy enough to go. I tell what I'm
going to do. I'm going to design this thing laid
out so that we do job chapter nine on the
week that we the crucifixion of the resurrection. That'd be neat.
I just sit there and threw this thing out. And
I've been going one week after another, and this realization
(54:13):
of job fell on the exact week that Jesus redeemed
the world. I didn't have anything to do with that.
And I don't know who needed to be reminded of that.
We all need to be reminded of it. But somebody somewhere,
this is your day. I get excited when I know
(54:35):
it's somebody's day. This is your day. And if you're
out there and you're thinking, gosh, I know exactly how
job feels. I feel hopeless. I wish I had an advocate.
I wish I have an arbitrator. I feel like God's
distant from me. I don't know how to talk to God.
I wish someone would plead my case to God. I
want to be forgiven, I want to be right with God. Well,
(54:57):
his name is Jesus. And this is the very weak
in world history that he offered that redemption to anyone
who's willing to repent and turn from your sin, and say,
I'm a sinner and I need an advocate. I can't
get across the chasm between me and a holy God,
(55:18):
and I need somebody to provide that bridge. Well, Jesus
has provided it. The son of God. When he went
to the cross, he paid the price that you and
I we all deserved. And if you're willing to repent
and turn from your sin, if you're willing to leave
faith in yourself and place your faith in Jesus, if
you're willing to confess him as your lord, your new authority,
(55:40):
and just say, Jesus, change me, make me right with
your Father, make me right, make me righteous, forgive me.
And I know that only you can do it. Only
you have the power to do that. And I trust
and place my faith and only you. If you've done
(56:02):
that for the first time, or maybe the first time
you've ever meant it or understood it, then the angels
are celebrating your redemption and you now have an arbitrator
who will plead your case with the one and only
living God, who is holy, Holy, Holy, and you will
be found innocent. If I can help you in any way,
just reach out to me Rick at Burgessmistries dot com.
(56:25):
Let's pray, Lord, thank you for today, Thank you for
this message of the gospel found in Job. May we
apply it to our lives today and may we never
be the same. In your holy name, we pray Amen.
Host
Rick Burgess
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