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Bro. Ben Mitchell
Morning everybody. How are y 'all doing? It's good to be back doing this again. This is a lot of fun. We're going to be just picking up right where we left off about seven months ago. The last time I was up here it was January and I started a study I was doing already at that time where I was essentially just trying to kind of piece together the idea of having peace like the ability for us as believers to have peace even in the toughest times.
So I started a study that I was calling peace and tribulation and so I did the first part of that again back in January and you know that was great. Filled the spot for that day and then here we are today so I'm just gonna again pick up where we left off but don't worry because I will do a little bit of review there just to get us all back on track including myself and then we'll move on to the next section of that study but I'm gonna go ahead and pray really quick first.
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you so much for this wonderful day that you've blessed us with. Thanks for bringing us all together once again and just the time that we get to have this time every week to fellowship with each other, strengthen each other, and just edify each other.
It's such a wonderful special time for all of us. I could certainly speak for myself and just ask you to be with all of us today. I ask you to please allow this lesson to be edifying for everybody and again just to be with us throughout the day.
We ask all these things in your name. Amen. Alrighty so again I'm gonna do just a quick, well I say quick, I'm gonna do a recap of what we covered back in January and the first couple of sections or I'll just start with the first section that we covered was essentially okay so like we experience hard times and there can be kind of a kind of a sequence to what we go through when those times start coming up and often you know the first thing that can take place is depending on the level of tribulation we're talking about when I use the word tribulation I'm using it pretty broadly it could be anything that is just it's kind of throwing a wrench in things if you will I mean it could be anything from getting a flat tire on the side of the highway on any given day to the toughest times you can imagine, toughest times imaginable, toughest things that you could go through as an individual or as a family as a church family whatever it may be and oftentimes the the first thing that you can that you would encounter when going through anything a little bit tough is the mourning aspect of tribulation the lamenting if you will and so the first section that we looked at last time was examples of Old Testament saints the patriarch patriarchs of our faith lamenting through the tough times that they went through and so you know again it all kind of the premise of the whole study is the fact that it can be possible to have peace even in those tough times but it's it's still a very dynamic thing to go through there's a lot of different things to be experienced there and it normally starts again with kind of the mourning aspect of what you're going through and again it can depend on the severity of the thing but it's still a very natural thing.
We see a lot of examples especially in the Old Testament as we looked at last time of saints that were going through various forms of tribulation usually pretty severe and they're lamenting or mourning during that time and displaying is and we'll review a little bit of this but we looked at it in a lot of detail come back in January where they were displaying just very very transparent emotions even discourse directly with the Lord just not really holding anything back in terms of how they were feeling about what they were going through.
So we have that we have a lot of examples of it we'll look at a couple of them in a minute. But we also as we also covered last time we also have this higher standard especially for all of us in this specific age in the church age on this side of the cross and we have a higher standard that we have before us.
It is okay to lament or to mourn when we're going through really tough times uh as we kind of uh yeah as we kind of you know discussed and concluded last time it is okay uh and it is okay to take our sorrows to the Lord when we have them.
But we also have again on this side of the cross a very specific Christian you know mandate if you will um to be joyful in everything that occurs. And of course Philippians 4 .4 is the first place the mind goes when you are thinking about that thinking about the fact that we do have this unique ability that you know maybe the Old Testament saints had to some degree uh certainly the world around us does not have and that is kind of a superpower in terms of being able to have peace to be joyful even when the worst things imaginable are happening around us.
So it's okay to lament but thankfully that doesn't have to be the end game. As we kind of concluded last time we do have that higher standard to shoot for um as Christians in the Old Testament I'm sorry in the New Testament as we see many examples of we are promised persecution as followers of Christ that is innate uh to our position in him.
We are going to have persecution. There's a lot of passages Galatians 4 .29 1st Thessalonians 3 .3. We looked at all these last time 1st Peter 4 but we're promised that persecution. We're promised tribulation.
And uh you know we're all aware that we can have a really tough life. That or how tough I should say that that life can be. Not that we have a tough life but how tough uh it can be. Um so we know all that and all of again all of that is is promised in the New Testament.
I mean the apostles um went through the brunt of it. Um and yet as as we'll see uh as we've seen already but we'll see again later they were they remain joyful. Uh we're commanded to live life joyfully again.
Philippians 4 .4 is just is just the go-to place for that. It's a very dynamic thing to try to navigate the tribulation. Um you know maintaining that peace maintaining any amount of joyfulness through every season of life it's not an easy task.
And it's not necessarily supposed to be an easy task either though. It's supposed to be something that draws us near to the Lord. Uh there's a purpose and everything. And this will be a big part of today's lesson.
Um is there's obviously a reason for it. We may not understand the reason for it but one thing that is pretty certain is that by the end of it or hopefully even through it throughout the tribulation we may be going through is our relationship with the Lord is going to be getting stronger.
I mean if that was the only information we had that in and of itself gives us enough reason to be joyful even in the tough times. It can be hard because of our human nature but it is an amazing thing.
And uh and so that's something that'll happen is uh we'll go through it but we'll get closer to him now last time to kind of set the tone for that first section talking about kind of the the lamentations aspect of tribulation the mourning aspect of it.
We started just uh you don't have to go here because I'm just going to hit a couple of verses in these spots before we get into today's lesson. But we started with Ecclesiastes um 3 1 it's it starts with to everything.
There is a season there's a time for every purpose under the heaven and then down in verse 4 specifically I mean it gives a whole list of of just contrasts you know time to be born time to die time to plant time to pluck all of these different contrasts.
And then you get down to verse 4 and it says there's a time to weep and a time to laugh a time to mourn and a time to dance. So we know that again part of the whole design of this this whole um you know dynamic season that you know we would refer to as a season of tribulation.
Perhaps there's a lot of moving parts to it and oftentimes it begins with a time to mourn. Um then what we did was we moved on to the lamentations jeremiah. So we went to the book of lamentations which is a really really awesome uh book and obviously it makes sense to go there uh on that kind of subtopic of lamenting in the tough times.
The context of the whole book of lamentations was judah at that time that it was being written it was being attacked and driven in judah's uh being driven into the babylonian exile. Now obviously jeremiah had a lot of things to be upset about to to be mournful about and obviously that would be a kind of a textbook example of a time of tribulation.
I mean that again the people of judah are being driven into exile a lot of them are dying. And it's through that lens that of jeremiah writing and lamentations that we start seeing what it can look like to be in a time of mourning that's caused by tribulation.
We're actually given an example of you know i don't know if you could say of how to mourn. I don't think we need to know how to mourn. It's kind of a of a thing the a natural part of humanity uh is a is a reaction to the tough things going on.
But we're certainly giving an example of what it looked like for an old testament saint to mourn. And we looked extensively at lamentations uh three i'm gonna hit just a couple of verses really quick it starts.
This is jeremiah the prophet jeremiah we're talking about. And in lamentations three which is really interesting chapter right in the middle of that little book it starts with i am the man that have seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
So he immediately sets the tone by pointing out his understanding that what's happening is from the lord might not understand the reason just yet. And later on in that same chapter he kind of starts pointing out that he he does understand.
But in this moment he again he's just letting the emotions fly. He's just letting that time of mourning begin. In verse 12 it says he hath bent his bow and set me as a mark for the arrow. He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
That's lamentations 3 12 and 13. So at that point in that chapter starting around verse 12 it's really interesting because jeremiah he starts shifting a little bit kind of the focus a bit and away from just the tribulation of judah.
And he really starts singling himself out and his own afflictions is just a person within that larger group of people that's going through really really tough tribulations. He starts singling himself out his own afflictions and the kind of uh metaphor that he's using here he's it's he says it's he's feeling as if god was pouring out all of his vengeance on him alone as if it wasn't for the collective people that were sinning against him and doing many evils against him.
He feels as if though he's being singled out by god himself. And that jeremiah felt as if he was just being uh used as god's target practice that all of his wrath that was happening around him all of the judgment was being unleashed on jeremiah himself.
He had bent his bow and set me as the mark for his arrow. So he's sitting there feeling like god is just shooting his arrows of wrath directly at jeremiah who was other otherwise a faithful prophet and had gone.
He had sacrificed his whole life uh to be a prophet of the lord. And now this is what he's feeling. Um he had a close relationship with the lord and yet he still felt like all of the lord's wrath that was actually being poured out on the collective people of judah for their sins.
As later jeremiah kind of realizes and starts pointing out he felt like he was nothing more than target practice for the lord. In verse 17 of that same chapter he says and now has removed my soul far off from peace.
There's some contrast to our topic here. So the topic is talking about this concept that we at present time can have peace in tribulation. Jeremiah is telling us that because of his tribulation peace is a far off.
He doesn't have peace at all. He says i forget prosperity. And i said in verse 18 my strength and my hope is perished from the lord. Now what's really interesting. Obviously again this is an old testament example and we were looking at these these old testament examples of the times of mourning because they're very explicit and they give us again a great idea of of the human nature component of going through tribulation.
One thing that jeremiah will eventually get to is that the affliction that he was experiencing all of the wrath that he was experiencing the the mourning that he was experiencing um everything was happening because of god's sovereignty.
He points this out himself in the same chapter that he's saying all these other things again we looked at all the first 18 verses of this chapter last time um and i don't have time to go through all of them again.
But he goes through all of this very explicit you know uh descriptions metaphors of the devastation he was feeling as an individual. Um but then later in that same chapter in verses 37 to 38 he points out that he understands it's because of god's sovereignty not out nothing that was happening to him was outside of the bounds of the lord's will.
And obviously that him pointing that out is super important but it's super important in this entire study for us to keep that in mind as well and we'll we'll kind of look at that in detail as we get into today's material here in just a minute now.
Then we moved on to jobe and this is important because we're going to be looking at jobe again today. But jobe obviously left us with a pretty uh detailed um very colorful lamentation himself in jobe chapter 3.
Jobe chapter 3 1 after everything had happened to him after he had spent the seven days in silence with his friends because he was so devastated um he began. He opens his mouth for the first time after the second round of attacks from the devil occurred or happened to him uh and chapter 3 opens with him saying after this jobe opened his mouth and cursed his day.
And that's essentially talking about the the day of his birth you know him wishing that he had never been born as you go as you start reading through the verses from verses about 1 all the way through 19 of jobe 3 he basically lays out what he wished had happened to him in a number of different again kind of colorful ways he'd wished that he had never been conceived first of all.
And he specifically talks about uh the night that he was conceived and wishing that it hadn't happened that had that that had not been fulfilled. He then because that did happen. He then shifts to the day of his birth where he then describes his wish to have just been stillborn so he was conceived but now I wish I had just died as an infant but that didn't happen.
So then he moves on um and he you know talks about how he could have just been gone to the grave with the kings and counselors of the earth he would have been far better off than where he is now rather than experiencing the troubles.
Then he wished that his mother because he wasn't stillborn had just not nursed him had just not given him the sustenance and the care that he needed as a baby so that he would have died and again in infancy.
Um and he described how death would have been his collective resting place for uh well it how death is the collective resting place for all the people who had gone before him and that they are no longer experiencing their trouble and that he wishes he had just been with them.
So he continues on throughout chapter 3 and gives again a very a very explicit lamentation. And then in verse 25 and this is a verse that bothers me because it's me all the time especially being a dad it's it's actually it's a really tough verse job 325 for the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me and that which I was afraid of is coming to me.
So fear of stuff that hadn't even happened to him yet played a big part in his attitude when all this stuff started playing out I catch myself in that that fearful place all the time. So I try to work on that.
Um so we got to remember that the point of this whole topic is discovering how even when you're going through the toughest times you can imagine having that peace is possible. But it's also to discover that dynamic of combining the feelings the emotions that we experience in tough times they're giving there they are.
The times are given to us by the lord and we can experience them. We can experience a time of warning as we go through those. But the standard set before us by the apostles later on are our ultimate standard that we're shooting for.
So then this is still review by the way. So then we moved on to the second section which was living up to a higher standard. So we talked about the times of mourning and lamenting and the fact that it's okay in detail we looked at all those passages there we looked at some psalms that were david was mourning.
We looked at all of lamentations. Well the first 18 verses of lamentations 3 all of lament uh job 3. So then we moved on to the second section which was living up to a higher standard. So the whole point of the first section was to show us examples of mourning lamenting uh sharing our feelings with the lord even when they were very strong feelings as we saw with jeremiah joe david again they were not holding back what they were they were feeling.
They were not worried in that moment of what the lord or the people reading later were going to think um about they were feeling. And it's really interesting to consider that those lamentations were written under the inspiration of the holy spirit.
So those were there for us to read about and learn and and learn that it's a very natural thing to do to go through those times of mourning. But um it's important to understand that while that's okay to experience times of mourning like jeremiah did joe david many others um and again it was all uh it was all under the inspiration of the holy spirit as well.
We have to ask are those the only examples we have on how to deal with the tough times. Uh or uh the toughest times we can imagine. It's perfectly fine to have those feelings to share them with the lord.
Times of despair times of tribulation. Um but uh again it's not quite the end game for us there. The first place the mind immediately goes to when it comes to that higher standard like i mentioned at the top is paul.
He's chained to a prison wall for crying out loud. And then he pens this. You know one of the most well-known passages ever philippians 4 4 through 7 he says rejoice in the lord all way. And again i say rejoice let your moderation be known unto all men.
Your self-control be known unto all men the lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing. Don't be anxious. Don't have anxiety. I'm look at me. I'm chained to a prison wall and i'm doing just fine. Don't be anxious but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto god.
So obviously going through the tough times for us present day it would also be pretty natural for us to lay our requests out there and just ask the lord to be with us. Give us the strength to get through us.
Maybe if it be as will take the tribulation away. That is really putting it uh you know uh putting a damper on our lives or whatever it may be. Let her request be known made known unto god. And then verse seven of course is the key and it's the exact it's it's the big contrast between what jeremiah was saying in that this tribulation has taken my peace from me.
In verse seven of philippians four. In the peace of god which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through christ jesus. So i mean that right. There sums up that whole section the higher standard that we can shoot for in the fact that we have the ability to shoot for it is just an amazing thing.
I mean paul was a great example of having joy and a peace of mind in the tough times. Um for sure he gave us that higher standard in many of his uh letters. Another he gave us another example in acts uh 1625 he says the verse says.
And at midnight paul and silas prayed and sang praises unto god and the prisoners heard them again. They're in prison and they're singing praises unto god. In second corinthians 6 10 paul says as sorrowful yet always rejoicing as poor yet making many rich is having nothing and yet possessing all things.
His attitude was always that abundance attitude that brother myron talks about so often even when he's in prison. Um and then we ended last time with first peter chapter 4 and this is pretty awesome if y 'all want to go there it's just a couple of verses but it's it's really great stuff.
First peter 4 starting in 12. First peter 4 12 it says um it says beloved. Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you. So peter is kind of like setting us straight and he's like you know i understand this is how i i kind of picture it uh reading between the lines i understand that you're going through a tough time and that you're mourning and that's fine but don't get to the point where you think you ask the question why.
And that you think it's strange concerning this fiery trial that you're going through now. Of course in this context he's talking specifically about the trials that we'll face just because we're followers of jesus.
So that's kind of a specific thing but it's it's actually kind of broad the more that i think about it but think about it think of it not strange concerning the fiery trial and then verse 13. But rejoice in as much as you are partakers of christ sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
Now this is kind of crazy brother paul because you you did kind of a an intro to first peter in sunday school day which was awesome. By the way the last time i did this lesson which was again january 9th brother bill was finishing first peter.
The reason i remember that is because i stole some of his notes here. Um he had done. He was doing first peter for that same the same day that i had this just really quick passage to finish this section.
So he was obviously talking about this verse. We just read he's talking about and he was talking about the tribulations that we go through the fiery trials that we'll go through. And brother bill kind of laid out just some bullet points on how to think of it um putting the emotions aside and just thinking about it as a person that a person of faith that is aware that there has to be a reason for it happening.
And he said the first thing when you're going through times like this is you have to accept it because we understand that um there is a reason for it even though we might not have all the information for why it's happening to us just yet we need to accept it and realize the lord is bringing us through this for a greater purpose that we don't yet understand.
The second thing when you accept it and you have to do i imagine you'd have to do this in order because it makes the other things a little bit tough if you don't accept it. But if you accept that it's happening for a reason then you can rejoice in it as paul did chain of the prison wall rejoice in the in the fiery trials you're going through the tribulations you're going through.
Number three is evaluate the reason why it's happening. And then brother bill went into some some examples and we're actually going to do some of that later today as well. Of you know could these trials be happening.
Maybe because i am straying away from the word a little too much. I'm not walking hand in hand with the lord enough and i'm falling prey to the world around me. And therefore that influence is affecting me in causing these tribulations.
Maybe that's not what's happening. Maybe what's happening is simple the simple fact that we will have persecution because we're a follower of jesus in which case that is an honor to endure those tribulations.
So evaluate the reason why it may be happening. Because that can of course affect your prayer life surrounding the situation as well. And then the last one which of course is the most important with it is entrusted to god and just again let him help you navigate what you're going through.
Um and so those were brother bill's points on that same passage we just read in first peter which he talked about on that same day. So we're given you know a lot of very potent reminders that joyfulness and peace and tribulation is possible by our standing position in what we have in jesus.
And uh he finished peter finishes chapter four uh by saying wherefore let them that suffer. This is the key part again according to the will of god. So this is after he said thank it not strange that you're going through these fiery trials.
He ends it by saying wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of god commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing as into a faithful creator it's huge. So we concluded uh that lesson last time by again we're giving these awesome examples of the saints in the old testament what it's like to mourn during perilous times.
We are we through that we can understand it is okay for us to do the same. Uh we can even in in those examples as well. It's not just about the mourning not just about the lamentations but we also can see an intimacy that those men of the faith had with the lord.
It allowed them that allowed them to share their emotions and to consider why these things may have been happening to them in faith. And it can reassure us that you know we can share our our moments similar moments that we go through with the lord ourselves as well even when we hit the tough points.
Um and essentially just our mere humanity starts to play a role in those things. That is the time of mourning. But and thankfully so we're also presented with that new higher standard when it comes to being capable of handling those scenarios it is possible to remain joyful even and even experience peace within those times of tribulation because of our position in christ.
So that was a super quick version believe it or not of what we talked about last time just to give you all some context because again it has been seven months if there's ever a good justification for doing some review i'd say it's a seven month lapse in time in between lessons.
So with that being said we'll jump into today's material. I think we're okay on time we'll see all right. So the following section of this study again we're the whole overarching study. We have some sub points but the whole overarching overarching study is peace in tribulation.
How that's possible. So the following section we're going to be doing this study is going to be totally focused on how having true peace is even possible. But more importantly than that not only understanding how it's possible but how we can kind of quote tap into the peace uh at our lowest points.
So you know we now know it's okay to mourn. We also know we have this greater higher standard to shoot for. So how can we give ourselves a little bit of help what is the what are some things that the bible can give us in terms of helping us get there and actually reaching that higher standard.
That's what today's sub point is all about today's section. So peace during tribulation i mean oddly enough. Uh we can we can hear that and we can think okay. Yeah sure. And again it's because of our position in christ that we can do the rest of the world though it's it's an oxymoron.
I mean they peace and tribulation do not go together. It's a it's a it's a paradox that cannot be accomplished for the rest of the world. It can only be accomplished with the supernatural indwelling of the holy spirit the faith trust and knowledge and relationship that comes with that indwelling.
That's the only reason it's possible. And that's why we can hear that phrase and not think it sounds crazy. It's not an oxymoron for us for believers for followers of the lord. We already know based on our last section all the review we just did that we're given that higher standard to live up to when it comes to facing our trials a time of mourning is more than appropriate.
But it doesn't have to be the end game. As i said a couple of times to the tribulations we may face. We looked at philippians 4 4 verse peter 4 12. Those are some great passages that talk about that higher standard.
So now let's give ourselves kind of a foundation from which we can rise from those lowest points of tribulation and experience again a supernatural god-given peace. Not necessarily when the tribulation is over but even during the tribulation.
So this section is called being lifted by god's greatness and and the whole focus is on god's greatness alone. And we'll and you'll see why that comes into play when it in terms of our individual tribulations that we may face.
So we're going to start this section in the most obvious place similarly to that first section it was about mourning. So we went to lamentations in this section which is about god's greatness. We're going to be going to job.
Uh we're going to be going back to job job 38 if y 'all want to go ahead and turn there. Um we looked at an important portion of job in the first section of this study that we just reviewed a minute ago when job gives his lamentation following the tribulation he was experiencing.
That was job 3. What's interesting about the book of job is it's book ended by that tribulation. I'm sorry that uh lamentation about the tribulation that job is going through that's how it starts. And the latter end of the book the other book end if you will um is obviously god's response to what job was going through the things that were said all in the middle of the book.
And of course god pointing out his greatness and his power. So very contrasting. Uh a very contrasting beginning and end of the book. For sure the way that god's discourse with job starts gets straight to one of the main points that makes it difficult for us or any human when we go through our present day trials um is to understand why they're going through uh or to understand why they're going through it in the first place.
The opening verse of 38 or the opening couple of verses rather it says then the lord answered job out of the whirlwind and said who is that that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge. So again right off the bat we're given a main point in terms of trying to understand why are we going through this in the first place.
Well the lord kind of clears it up right off the bat. Who is it that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge. One of the first things to try to get in perspective when we find ourselves going through a time that seems so tough that we're not even going to be able to get through it.
It's a battle. We're not going to be able to win. Um how are we going to be able to bear this burden if you will. And and of course it always comes back to the question why in the first place am i going through this.
One of the first things to get in perspective um it may be a confusing time of tribulation is to remember that in that moment more often than not if not every time we don't yet have all the information.
Pretty important component to trying to understand why it might be happening to you is gathering the information. But oftentimes we jump to conclusions or maybe not conclusions but rather just immediately go to why me why is this happening to me.
And yet you don't even have all the information yet we don't yet have all the knowledge needed to fully understand the situation we're in. And in job's case not only was it true for him he didn't have all the information he didn't have all the knowledge.
But it was true of the council as we learn in verse two that he was receiving from his friends. Who is it that darkeneth council by words without knowledge they're trying to give you like they're trying to help you figure out the reason behind what's happening to you.
And they don't even have the knowledge to begin to help you in this area let alone you having the knowledge yourself. Job. This is how the lord starts it. And then before he begins the long passage passage passage that we're about to read that starts just amplifying the greatness of god.
He says in verse three. Gird up now thy loin is like a man for i will demand of thee and answer thou me. So it's worth noting here before stepping into this the the rest of the of the passage in 38 it's it's worth noting and it's one of the main points of this particular section of the study is that god's answers to job are far from what job was expecting or even asking for.
Because in earlier chapters of the book we saw that job was wanting answers. He was wanting the almighty to step in and tell him what was going on. And the lord does that eventually but not quite in the way that job was expecting or perhaps even wanting.
Um job wanted to know why he was being unjustly attacked in so many ways he wanted god himself to address why he is in god. What we're doing was doing these things to job. Instead what happens is god asks job a bunch of questions.
God doesn't explain the evil that was surrounding job. He doesn't answer the why as to why me and why why are these evil things happening to me. He doesn't even address the evil that was surrounding job.
What he does is he takes his focus job's focus totally off of that off of the evil and puts job's focus on him as in god. And then after doing so we're in the midst of doing so he rebukes job a little bit for being presumptuous enough to question god's ways in the first place.
And of course we know and when we're going through these times that his ways are not our own anyway. I mean that's isaiah 55 8 9 we we cross-reference that one pretty often his ways are not our ways his thoughts are not our thoughts.
I feel like job probably had enough knowledge to know that that was the case. And yet he still was presumptuous enough to question god's ways. So he's rebuked for that. Now as job is about to endure as we're going to read a total barrage of unanswerable questions that had to have left him feeling just totally totally dumbfounded.
There was a very important aspect of this conversation that's important for us to remember too that ended up being exactly what job needed even though the way that god was approaching his answers to him may not have been what he wanted.
One aspect of it that he needed was the fact that during this conversation we're about to read is he was face to face with his creator. And he could understand possibly for the first time and i don't know how much time went into all of the conversations he had with his friends after the seven days of silence.
But he understood for the first time in a long time that he wasn't alone. And that's a reality of course that we're going to revisit later because that's reality that we need to remember big time as we go through similar situations well maybe not similar situations to job but times of tribulation.
It's also through god's response to job that we're reminded over and over again of what we learned back in verse 2 that god himself has all the information all the knowledge all the power and control.
He never leaves us even when we feel alone. And even when we don't have all the information he has it. So we can rest in that if we are willing to put our focus on that rather than the terribleness of what's going on.
Of course all of that is displayed by the greatness of god which if we put our focus on that rather than tribulation itself that can be the very catalyst that lifts us from the tribulations that we're going through just a shift of the focus in god's greatness.
It seems at least to us that it's not even directly related. I mean of course it's not related to the tribulations we're going through. And that's what makes uh god's responses to job so crazy cool is because like he's not going to answer the evil he's not going to address the evil that's happening to job.
He's not going to answer job's questions. Instead he's simply going to talk about himself and how awesome he is. And of course that gives us this template of how we can get out of our times of mourning that we may start with at the beginning of the tribulation and move to that higher standard simply by refocusing on god's greatness.
If we put our focus on that that can be what gives us peace. Uh even before the tribulation is over. It's also worth pointing out that job got what he was asking for though not in the way expected i kind of already alluded to that.
But in job 3135 he says oh that one would hear me. Behold my desire is that the almighty would answer me. And that mine adversary had written a book he got what he was asking for. The almighty answered him.
It may not have. It may not have been the way he was asking though. And it again it's it's important for us to remember that it's not necessarily wrong perhaps for us to ask for an answer either if we're going through a hard time to have thoughts of you know lord why am i going through this.
But if we ask that question and if we depending how how far into that question we go we need to be prepared to be humble even more when we receive the answer to the question because it's not necessarily going to be in the way we want the question to be answered.
It may be like job where he's fallen on his face and again is totally dumbfounded by what's about to happen. So as we continue with what we're about to read here i just want let's just try our best to either put ourselves in joe's shoes for a second that is try to picture ourselves being totally surrounded by the tribulation that he just experienced which of course is totally is terrible putting it lightly or you know we can consider tribulations that we may be dealing with ourselves and remember that.
But while considering those things let the greatness of god that we're about to hear directly from him kind of lift our spirits a bit. So whether you put yourself in job's shoes or you consider any tribulation that you may be going through right now those tribulations are not going to be addressed specifically or in any way actually rather we're just going to hear god talk about himself a little bit.
So again job 38 starting at verse 4. And i'm going to do kind of a quick paced uh reading of quite a bit here this is right after he said gird up your loins like a man because i'm going to demand of thee and you will answer me.
Verse 4. Where was thou when i laid the foundations of the earth. Declare if thou hast understanding who have laid the measures thereof if thou knowest or who hath stretched the line upon it whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened.
Or who laid the cornerstone thereof when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of god shouted for joy. Or who shut up the sea with doors when it break forth as if it had been issued out of the womb when i made the cloud the garment thereof in thick darkness a swaddling band for it and break up for it my decreed place and set bars and doors and said hitherto shall thou come but no further.
And here shall thy proud waves be stayed as thou commanded the morning since thy days and caused the day spring to know his place. That it might take hold of the ends of the earth that the wicked might be shaken out of it is turned as clay to the seal and they stand as a garment and from the wicked their light is withholding in the high arm shall be broken.
Has thou entered into the springs of the sea. Or has thou walked in search of the depth. Have the gates of death been opened unto thee. Or has thou seen the doors of the shadow of death. Has thou perceived the breadth of the earth.
Declare if thou knowest at all where is the way where light dwelleth. And as for darkness where is the place thereof. That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof. And that thou shouldest known the paths to the house thereof.
Knowest thou it because thou was then born. Or because the number of thy days is great. Has thou entered into the treasures of the snow. Or has thou seen the treasures of the hail which i have reserved against the time of trouble against the day of battle and war.
That's actually an interesting verse. Uh if you could try to put a pin in that because we're going to be looking at a passage later that talks about what he just said. The fact that god can have has seen the treasures of the hail and preserves it for the day of battle and war.
So just if you can put a pin in that that's great. I just noticed that that's something we're going to revisit later. Verse 24. By what way is the light parted which scattereth the east wind upon the earth.
Who have divided a water course for the overflowing of waters. Or a way for the lightning of thunder to cause it to rain on the earth where no man is on the wilderness wherein there is no man to satisfy the desolate in waste ground.
And to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth hath the reign of father. Or who hath begotten the drops of dew. Out of whose womb came the ice in the hoary frost of heaven. Who hath gendered it.
The waters are hid is with the stone in the face of the deep is frozen. Kiss thou bind the sweet influences of pleiades. Or loose the bands of orion. Canst thou bring forth maseroth in his season. Or canst thou let's see arcturus with his sons.
Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven. Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth. Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds. And abundance of waters may cover thee. Canst thou send lightnings that they may go and say into into thee here we are.
Or who hath put wisdom in the inward parts. Or who hath given understanding to the heart. Who can number the clouds in wisdom. Or who can stay the bottles of heaven. When the dust groweth into the heart into hardness and the clods cleave fast together.
Will thou hunt the prey for the lion. Or fill the appetite of the young lions when they couch in their dens and abide in the covert to lie in wait. Who provideth for the raven his food. When his young ones cry into god they wonder for lack of meat.
Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth. Or canst thou mark when the hinds do do calve. Canst thou number the months that they fulfill. Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth.
They bow themselves. They bring forth their young ones. They cast out their sorrows. Their young ones are in good liking. They grow up with corn. They go forth and return not into them. Who hath sent out the wild ass free.
Or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass. Whose house i have made the wilderness in the barren land his dwellings. He scorneth the multitude of the city. Neither regardeth he the crying of the driver.
The range of the mountains is his pasture and he searcheth after every green thing. Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee or abide by thy crib. Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow.
Or will he harrow the valleys after thee. Will thou trust him because his strength is great. Or will thou leave thy labor to him. Will thou believe him and he will bring home thy seed and gather it into thy barn.
Gavest thou the goodly the goodly wings into the peacocks or wings that the feathers under the ostrich which leaveth her eggs in the earth and warmeth them in the dust and forgetteth that the foot may crush them or that the wild beast may break them.
She is hardened against her young ones as though they were not hers. Her labor is in vain without fear because god hath depraved her of wisdom. Neither hath he imparted to her understanding what time she lifted up herself on high.
She scorneth the horse and his rider. Hast thou given the horse strength. Has thou clothed the neck with thunder. Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper. The glory of his nostrils is terrible. He pawth in the valley and rejoiceth in his strength.
He goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear and is not a frightened. Neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with the spirit with fierceness and with rage.
Neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He sayeth among the trumpets ha ha. And he smelleth the battle afar off in the thunder of the captains in the shouting that the hawk fly by thy wisdom and stretch her wings toward the south.
That the eagle mount up at thy command and make her nest on high. She dwelleth and abideth on the rock upon the crag of the rock and upon the strong place. From thence she shaketh the prey and her eyes behold afar off.
Her young ones also suck up blood. And where the slain are there is she. Moreover the lord answered job and said shall he that contended with the almighty instruct him. He that reprove with god let him answer.
So i mean first of all i apologize for the terrible job in reading that you can get really caught up in the words sometimes. But and again i was going at a faster pace. We could that information alone.
How much how much time could you spend on everything that was just covered there. It's the most that god talks directly that we have in writing of any other point in the bible. So much information we can glean from just uh uh about his greatness about his power from god just in those couple of chapters there.
And of course he finishes it with. You know shall he that contended with the almighty instruct him after again receiving that barrage of questions that of course job isn't going to be able to answer totally 100 humbled.
But again what was the purpose of all. That god was shifting his focus away from the tribulations and onto his greatness. So if we can do the same thing in the midst of our toughest times the toughest times imaginable forget about the tribulation altogether god doesn't even address that.
All he did was start talking about his ultimate power not only over job's life but he i think he makes a point to not single out job as if he was that special but rather talk about the entire universe.
So he's i mean big picture here right. The problem in quotes of evil and suffering as mankind likes to put it and debates it all the time is dealt with pretty sternly in the passages that we just read there.
However it's not quite dealt with satisfactorily at least for the secular person or even a believer that's simply grappling with the concept that evil things can happen. To quote good people much like job was grappling with the same thing throughout his lengthy discourse leading up to what we just read.
But upon closer look the way that god dealt with these questions of why evil happens even to the most upright people is actually as satisfying as it could possibly be. Because through his responses and questions to job we're reminded that our relationship with him is not based on some reward system built on how well we perform at life or at worship or at anything of the sort i mean that should be um that should be like a huge relief to everybody.
The fact that job is going through this despite the fact that he was a perfect and upright man as we know in the first verses of job at least gives us enough information understand our relationship with the lord is not based on how well we do.
And that's a good thing. And job understands that that's a good thing at this point as well. But it's certainly important for us to remember that so rather our relationship with him as we are reminded of and what we just read is built on our trust in him our rejoicing in him even in tribulation.
And to rely on him even when his plan for our lives is not yet understood. Tribulation itself does not mean that he has forsaken us. What it means is that he has plans for our lives that we get to look forward to actually like it.
If you put it if you think big picture you and you can escape the moment that you're in where total despair you might feel total despair or you're sinking in the mire as david put it in in a number of places.
If you can pull yourself out of that micro moment and think big picture of the fact that what really is happening right now is that you are taking huge massive not steps but leaps toward something amazing in your life that we are kind of refined in the fire.
So to speak of those tribulations that we experience that can be very uplifting that can help us you know shoot for that higher standard and realize we actually do have something to rejoice about and to be thankful for and as a result of that have peace in the middle of the tribulation.
So by the very end of the book of job we discovered that job never received an explicit explanation for his suffering. Rather his focus was shifted by god himself to the greatness of god that lifted job out of his suffering.
It gave him a far greater perspective on the lord's love for him including a deeper sense of trust in the lord even when he didn't understand his ways prior to and maybe even after everything that just happened now uh just a couple there's just three verses.
But if you want to go to romans 11 for a second paul now is about to address kind of kind of uh this aspect of we're not going to have all the information. We're not going to have all the knowledge. But god has it.
And so because of that we're going to be okay. Romans 11 33 and verse 33 begins with oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of god. So right off the bat yes we're never going to have all the information never have all the knowledge in this life.
I at least suspect that'll be the case. There may be some situations where we can look back and we can see clearly what happened what was happening and why it was happening. But i could say you could also argue that you'll you might not ever know all the information.
I have all the information until we're with him. You can learn from him in person someday but doesn't matter. Like that is a moot point really because god does have all the knowledge oh the depths of the riches of both his wisdom and knowledge.
He has all of it. He knows what's happening why it's happening. And therefore we can rest easy. We can rest in peace in the middle of all the craziness. Because he knows what's going on how unsearchable are his judgments in his ways past finding out that's just reaffirming isaiah 55 8.
I believe is that passage his ways are not our ways. His ways are past finding out. Oh verse 34 in romans 11. There for who hath known the mind of the lord again. That's something you could read really quick and just go you know keep going.
But who who hath known the mind of the lord. It's a it's reaffirming or not even reaffirming it's it's he's basically just asking the same exact question again that god just finished asking job over here.
Who hath known the mind of the lord or who hath been his counselor. It's exact it's almost exactly what we just read. Job from the lord himself. Except now we're getting it from paul verse 35. Or who have first given to him.
And it shall be recompensed unto him again. Nobody. For of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. I mean again you could wrap it up right there. And that little passage could give us all of all of the just energy that we need to lift up from our lowest points and just keep trucking on.
If you are a believer if you are one of the lords we have that unique ability that other people don't have. That passage right there can give us a lot of peace even in the midst of really really tough times.
We're reminded often throughout scripture that though we experience tribulation now in this lifetime all throughout our lifetimes now and that we eagerly await the lord's ultimate victory over the evils of the world.
Of course we cannot wait for that day. That day will come and we will rejoice in his salvation at that time. This kind of time i mean this this certainly plays into his greatness but it's also giving us a picture a far prophecy of the day in which our tribulations will be no more for the rest of eternity.
This is isaiah 25. If y 'all want to go there we're going to be in a couple of different chapters in isaiah. So y 'all can turn there if you'd like. Um goodness gracious. The time flies. Um let me see here let me see how much i have left.
I feel like it's been just a couple of minutes since the last time i looked at my watch. Well i'll try to find a good stopping point here in the next couple minutes. Um isaiah 25 starting in verse 8. So again keeping in mind that it's god's greatness that if we can keep our focus on it can lift us out of our tribulation.
But not only lift us out that really the most important part of the study is not post-tribulation but peace during tribulation. And again i'm using it broadly it could be any tough time you can imagine yourself being in um it's peace even in those moments.
And our focus right now is we're trying to focus on god's greatness. And this certainly touches on that as well as a couple of other things. Verse 8 of isaiah 25. He will swallow up death and victory again.
This is the ultimate victory that we're all waiting for. And that will come someday and that we need to remember will come someday. And the lord god will wipe away tears from off all faces. So think about the tears of the saints that we were reading about earlier jeremiah david job so many others during those times of mourning.
Think about the tears that we experience in our times of mourning because of those tough times of tribulation those perilous times that we may experience or have experienced in the past or will experience in the future.
The lord god will wipe away tears from all faces. He will rebuke. I'm sorry. And the rebuke of his people shall be taken away from off all the earth. The persecution the persecution from those around us simply because of the fact that we are following the lord.
The rebuke of us will be taken away uh from off all the earth for the lord hath spoken it. So again we don't know in the from the human viewpoint in our linear time scale when this day will come. But the point is it's actually already happened like the victory has already taken place.
Going back to some of dave's recent sunday school lessons the victory is ours. I mean the heathen may be raging. The kings of the earth may be coming together to plot whatever it doesn't matter because the lord in heaven is actually laughing at their attempts.
Because not just because he's all powerful not just because he could strike them down at any moment. It's actually even better than that. He laughs because the victory was won before those people were even a thought before they were even born before they ever could think up whatever meaningless plots that they were plotting against god and his people.
That day is coming for the lord hath spoken it. The victory is already there. Verse nine. And it shall be said in this is our god we have waited for him. So think about the yearning the waiting the eagerness behind those especially during those times of tribulation that we have imagine.
Like i think about how much more i yearn for that the day of his uh coming when you know you're going through tougher times we have waited for him and he will save us. This is the lord. We have waited for him we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
And that hebrew word for waited there um i don't know if i'm pronouncing it right kava it literally just means to wait or look for eagerly. So like there it's not just sitting around waiting it is there's it's a very active there's a very active eagerness behind it like we just want to jump out of our skin jump through the roof in our anticipation of when this when this comes.
So it's a very a very active form of waiting um that we all experience for him to come that eagerness which is of course a wonderful thing that we have that eagerness even though it can make us feel a little bit jumpy sometimes.
And like when will we get to experience that day. Um it's certainly made stronger that eagerness is made much stronger through the tribulations that we face have faced and that we will face in the future.
So every time we go through a time of tribulation that eagerness increases. It's taken up another notch now next a little bit later in isaiah if you want to flip over to isaiah 46. Now a little later in isaiah we're shown a glimpse of god's greatness through his sovereignty.
From the beginning everything is in his control even the things that we don't yet understand again. That goes back to how we started the section for today this counsel without understanding we don't have all the information.
Even when we don't understand it yet we can really put things into perspective through these passages. So isaiah 46 starting in verse 9 it says. Remember the former things of old. So god is reminding us here how great he is and again shifting our focus to his greatness.
Remember the former things of old for i am god and there is none else i am god and there is none like me declaring the end from the beginning. This is very reminiscent of his conversation with joe declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and i will do all my pleasure calling a ravenous bird from the east.
The man that executeth my counsel from a far country. Yea i have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it something very key for us to remember. I will also do it. Hearken unto me ye stout-hearted that are far from righteousness.
I bring near my righteousness. It shall not be far off. And my salvation shall not tarry. Which is a very interesting thing because obviously in the lord's time scale you know it's all. It's all perfect ever you know.
And he doesn't tarry from our human perspective. And of course knowing that he does have a long-suffering spirit again. Sometimes that yearning can overtake us a little bit. And we're like you're not doing it quickly enough but he doesn't tarry.
It's a true it's a fact. And so again we don't need to question certain things. And i'm speaking to myself by the way i'm not lecturing anybody here we we don't. I don't need to question certain things like job did and as he was rebuked for because the lord isn't going to tarry so we may wait eagerly.
There may be an an anxious spirit behind our waiting. We may be anxiously anticipating us to get through the tribulation we're experiencing in that moment. But also the ultimate victory which is his second coming as well.
But he's not going to tarry. So don't let that get the bet the better of you. It's okay to eagerly wait for him but not to the point where you are questioning his timetable. I will not tarry. Um let's see here.
Where was that was that verse. Okay middle of verse 13. I will not tarry. And i will place salvation in zion for israel. My glory. So super awesome passage there. Jeremiah reaffirms the greatness of god from which we can be lifted during our times of tribulation.
Let me see how long this passage. Passage is here. Um okay two. What. Let's do this passage. And then we'll we'll end it and i'll finish this another time. Um jeremiah 32. Verse 17. So jeremiah is again just reaffirming the greatness of god similarly uh to the passages that we've already looked at jeremiah 32 17.
Ah lord god behold thou hast made the heaven in the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm. I love that phrase. That phrase is used all throughout the old testament. And it starts that when that first then when that phrase first starts popping up is in exodus when he is when he is plaguing the the pagans and his power is just on full display as he's about to bring his people out of egypt which of course is referenced looked back on throughout the rest of of jewish history.
And of course we look back on it today that his stretched out arm that phrase is just uh again uh just an example of the power that he was exhibiting at this time by that great power and stretched out arm.
And there is nothing too hard for thee. Thou showest loving kindness unto thousands and recompense the iniquity of thy fathers into the bosom of their children after them. The great in my i'm sorry the great the mighty god the lord of hosts is his name again his greatness here is on full display.
Great in counsel and mighty in work for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. There's a lot you can take from right there as well because there is a uh an aspect to this which i think is later in the notes.
I don't think we'll get to it today but the reality of that you reap what you sow. Remember brother uh brother bill's note in that you know you need to accept the tribulation you're in but you need to evaluate it as well.
That's something we touch on a little bit later as well but it's touched on here. Um let's see what verse was that uh was it 19 upon the ways of the sons of men to give everyone according to his ways according to the fruit of his doings.
It's that concept of you reap what you sow right there. Verse 20. Which hath set signs and wonders in the land of egypt even into this day and in israel and among other men. And has made thee a name as at this day.
And has brought forth thy people israel out of the land of egypt with signs and with wonders and with a strong hand with a stretched out arm with great terror and has given them this land which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them a land flowing with milk and honey.
Now up to this point in this passage we're shown another glimpse of god's greatness which again is kind of the main theme of this section. But what follows here and again we're ending with this passage.
This is the same exact passage starting at the next verse. What follows is we are seeing we're given a glimpse of the proclivity of god's people which can certainly include us if we're not careful to not follow his commandments despite his great works and the results of doing so.
In other words the results of us not following his commands or just if you want to bring a little bit closer to home to us to for us today obviously keeping his commands or his imperatives the very things that we were just learning in romans 15 with dad it's you know obviously we need to keep those for sure.
But there can also be times where we just let the greatness of god slip out of our minds and then we can fall into you know just left questioning everything um in an inappropriate way. And so the very next verse it you know verse 22 says.
He's given him the land flowing with milk and honey. Verse 23 and they came in and they possessed it but they obeyed not his voice neither walked in thy way. They have done nothing of all that thou commandest them to do.
Therefore thou has caused all this evil to come upon them. Behold the mounts they are come unto the city to take it in the city is given in land of the chaldeans that fight against it because of the sword and of the famine and of the pestilence.
And what thou has spoken has come to pass and behold thou seest it. So again the lord is sovereign. He's great he sees everything that's happening. He has all the information we don't. And there are times when even when his greatness is on full display we forget it and in this case the people of israel are totally falling away from him and he's actually causing the evil that is about to occur to them.
Uh because of that. But it's just really important to remember that you know there are times of tribulations that we're going to experience where and this goes back to what i was saying a minute ago kind of the concept of you reap what you sow.
There may be times where the tribulation we're experiencing just like in this example we got is just the simple cause and effect of our you know falling short of the imperatives that we have been learning ourselves like i said the second ago in romans 15 the israelites had the commandments of the lord.
We in the new testament age have these imperatives that we've been studying um in romans um and if we just totally ignore those there are there are consequences to that. Now unlike job so job was a perfect and upright man but for god's purposes endured great tribulation.
That may be us or unlike job the israelites they were actually doing something they did commit evils against the lord and therefore they experienced tribulation as a result of that. In other words they were reaping what they sowed um and god responded by causing all this evil to come upon them.
So um it that's just that's just something to consider kind of going back to brother bill's note that we were looking at earlier uh is that you know evaluate what's going on. I don't. That's not necessarily that's not necessarily the note i want to end on but i also don't think that that's necessarily the case for anyone here.
It's just a reality that's kind of baked into this concept of there are various um causes to the tribulations we may face. So we need to evaluate it sometimes maybe it's not an explicit like uh intentional moving away of god's imperatives or losing focus on his greatness or just slipping away and having our focus on the world or whatever it may be.
It may not be intentional but it can certainly happen because of our human nature. And so when we go through certain times of tribulation it's good to evaluate and just if anything even if you know it's not like it's meant to be a guilt trip it's simply meant to bring you back to him.
That's the point. Um and so when we experience our times of tribulation whether it is caused by maybe we are moving away from him a little bit too much. Of course the case of the israelites in the end of that passage they were like way too much.
But maybe it's because we're moving away from it a little bit. Or maybe it's for no other reason than we're being persecuted because we're a christian or a third option is that we are simply going through a time of tribulation just like job did to get us to a better place on the other side of it.
So we can come out of it stronger for no other reason other than the that the lord willed for that to happen. It was part of his plan so that we could become the person we were meant to be as dad says when we see him for the first time face to face so i'll end it there.
Um that's about half of well no it's a little more than half of what i had planned covered for today. But we can finish this off uh seven months from now. So with that being said i will go ahead and close as a prayer and i appreciate y 'all uh giving me so much time.
Dear heavenly father lord thank you for this wonderful day that you blessed us with. Thank you again for allowing me this opportunity to just get to share some things that have been on my heart for a long time at this point but are still certainly at the forefront of my mind.
And i just pray lord that um going through this material was um edifying to everyone else as it has been for me. And i thank you so much for just your direction in leading all of us in our personal studies in the men that teach so many amazing things in this church from dad to dave to brother paul and everyone brother ron everyone that has stepped forward and have been the vessel that you used to share um what you wanted to be shared for our specific church family and everyone listening as well.
So we're just so thankful for that we're thankful for your hand being on this church and bringing us all together each week. And we ask that if it be your will you bring us together again next week we ask you to be with us this afternoon please bless the food we're about to have and we ask all these things in your amen.