Job 22-23 "Fiery Darts of Vain Theology"

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Please start making your way there this morning. As you're turning there, I will go ahead and offer a prayer as we make our minds and our hearts ready to receive what
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God has put here for us today in his inspired word. Let us go ahead and pray. Lord God, I would ask
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God that each one of us, Lord, that you would bow our knee, Lord, that you would cause our minds to be humble in thought, in meditation, that we'd be intentional about handling your word here today in our own ways of thinking,
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Lord. God, I would ask that you would be continually kind with us as you already have been,
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Lord, and shape our dealings, our application of this text in a way that would cause us to live a life that is faithful to you,
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Lord. God, I ask that you would be glorified today, that for us of those who are seeking you,
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Lord, that we would find you even in this text of Job, something that took place so many years ago. God, be glorified.
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Let us rejoice in knowing you. Lord, may we sing hallelujah that you have rose from the grave.
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And we ask this in your name, Jesus Christ, amen. Job chapter 22 through 23 is where we are at this morning.
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To remind us of where we've come from again is this is all in the tornado, the whirlwind of conversation with Job and his friends, his supposed friends.
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There seems to be somewhat a questioning that I think we could ask.
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Are these really friends? Is this really individuals that are seeking the well -being of Job in this text?
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We've seen Job speak to Zophar last week. This is actually going to be the last time that Job spoke to Zophar.
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That was the last time that we saw him. And this is the last time Job is going to be speaking to Elias in this text.
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And so this is Elias' third time as we come to chapter 22. If yours has headings in it, you'll see that it's
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Elias' sentiment of some kind statement to Job. And this is the last time
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Elias will talk. Elias seems to be the representative of the three friends here.
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He seems to be the one that he's, he's the rallying voice of these three friends. He's the one that first spoke.
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He's the one that God rebukes in the end and says, your other two friends that were with Elias. So it seems that Elias is the one heading up this conversation here with Job.
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And so this is the third time that Elias speaks. It's all in one conversation.
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It's not like this is a day by day conversation that's happening. This is all, again, this, this beratement against Job that is coming up on amongst him with these three friends.
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We'll see here that Billadab here in the coming text, he'll be giving his short words in response to what
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Job even says here today. And following this, Elihu, this fourth friend that we haven't been introduced to yet, he will have some remarks for us as well in coming weeks.
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Now let's look here at chapter 22, verses one through nine, and we're going to go through all the way to chapter 23 by the end of the day.
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But before we even look and read this text, I want to remind us that the title that I've given today's message, the study that we're going to be looking at today is
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Fiery Darts of Vain Theology. Satan is throwing arrows that are eating away at the flesh of Job, with boils, with the death of his family.
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And now we see what bad theology looks like coming from the mouth of Elias. This bad theology that's going to hurt
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Job. And inside of this theology, Eliaphus is going to offer even a vain philosophy.
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And why do I call it vain? If we have any sort of outlook on life, how do we define philosophy?
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It's the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. If those things aren't rooted in Scripture and in God and God himself, do you think that they're going to actually help the individual that listens to them?
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The ones that form their life around these kinds of philosophies, this kind of theology? No, it's vanity.
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It's idolatry if it's not rooted in God's Word. So we're going to see here in a moment that Eliaphus, he might say things, and he has said things that sound good at first, but when we look and we dive deeper into them, we see that they are just vanity.
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They shouldn't be heeded to. They're not rooted in Scripture. And the reason I bring this about is that in my workplace, even in the fire station for myself, and even for you in your workplaces, in whatever atmosphere and situation that you are in, you're going to hear secular reasoning and thought taught to you from TV, from the
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YouTube, from Facebook, from Twitter, all these types of places that you're going to see secular reasoning.
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And sometimes it's going to sound really good. But if it's not rooted in God's Word, should it be applied in your life or should it be seen as vanity?
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Something that is not ultimately truth, not ultimately something that you should be applying in your daily living.
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I would argue for the latter rather than the prior. Let's go ahead and look here at these verses.
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It says, Then Eliaphus the Temanite answered and said, Can a mighty man be of use to God, or an insightful man be useful to himself?
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Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous, or profit if you make your ways perfect?
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I want to pause here and think about this here. What has Eliaphus just said?
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Is it true that no one can stand before God and be justified on their own?
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No, you can't. This is true. This is a true statement from Eliaphus. Is it true that we ought not to think of ourselves so boldly and pridefully to think
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God needs me? I'm of use to God. Without me,
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God would be incomplete. Is that right thinking? No, that is not the right thinking. This seems to be good sentiment from Eliaphus right here.
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A prideful man is not useful to God. But we would see all throughout history, especially when we consider the entirety of God's word, does
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God use vessels to further his kingdom? Yes, he does.
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Does God cause growth in the individual's life to be pleasing unto himself? Yes, he does.
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Can a man be justified before Yahweh? Yes, he can if Yahweh has died for him.
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If Jesus has stood in his place, yes, he can. And so the question again, as especially that we've looked at last week, did
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Zophar in his sentiment towards Job, was it with good reasoning? Was it with good emphasis, a good intention for why he was saying the things he said to Job last week?
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No, he had a heart of anger, a heart that was trying to seek to destroy Job. Do you think
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Eliaphus is saying these things to build Job up, or is he trying to continually destroy him? He's trying to continually destroy him.
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Again, good sentiments with bad intention. Do you think it's going to actually build up Job?
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No, it's not. And we're going to see this play out here in the following verses in 4 all the way to 9.
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I want to pause and think, how is Eliaphus trying to hurt Job in this text?
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And then put yourself in Job's shoes and think, after hearing the tornado, this whirlwind from the friends that are continually tearing away at Job, how would you feel in this situation?
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That mic is going to bug me. I'm going to turn it off. I'm going to come over here and grab this one. How would you feel if you were in that same situation?
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Would you be able to stand against these attacks from these friends? Would you be able to withstand them?
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Would you be able to give biblical reason for why you disagree where your faith is found? Let's look here at verse 4.
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It says, is it because of your reverent fear that he approves you, that he enters into judgment against you?
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What has Eliaphus undermined in the life of Job in this text? His reverent fear.
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He undermines the faith of Job. He says, do you even really have faith? Do you really think that the judgment that God has brought about against you shows that you actually have had true fear in Yahweh this whole time,
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Job? Let's look at verse 5. Ask yourself, could I withstand these attacks?
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Verse 5. Is not your evil great and your iniquities without end?
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You put yourself again here in Hagerman in the year of 2024. You have all the town talking about you and now everyone in this town and these three supposed friends, what do they say about you?
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You're evil. Could you withstand a man that's undermining your character? Because that's what
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Eliaphus has sought out to do against Job here. You're not worth anything,
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Job. You're evil. Let's look at verse 6. For you have taken pledges of your brothers and without cause and stripped the clothing of the naked.
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This is Eliaphus appealing to his authority over to Job as to why he must be listened to.
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Almost like he's saying, I'm your boss. If you were an employee, I'm your boss. You should listen to me.
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You're undermining my authority over your life because I'm older than you, Job. I have more wisdom.
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I have more gray hair. I've had a lot more life experience and yet you're refusing to listen to what
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I've said before and my other two diatribes against you. So there's an appeal to authority over Job.
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Verse 7. To the weary you have given no water to drink and from the hungry you have withheld bread.
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When has Job been reported of doing this? This never happened.
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And what is this friend doing? He's making a faceless, false accusation against Job.
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Does Eliaphus lay out a name in this text? Does he say you did this to Jim Job down the road?
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Did you do this to him? No, it's not a real accusation.
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Listen, brothers and sisters, if somebody comes to you and says this individual did this and they can't give you a name, they can't give you any source to be able to seek out the truth, you think you should actually listen to that accusation?
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No. That's an anonymous accusation. Do not listen to anonymous accusations.
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They're garbage. They should be thrown out. Don't actually listen. Imagine you go before a judge and you're claiming murder against somebody and you say, ah judge,
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I wouldn't actually, I'm not going to tell you he actually murdered. I'm not going to tell you actually the weapon he used.
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I'm not going to tell you the names of the witnesses. But he did it. Would a judge listen to those claims?
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You shouldn't either. Faceless accusation should be ignored.
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They should be ignored by Job and they should be ignored by you. Verse 8, but the earth belongs to the mighty man and the highly respected man inhabits it.
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This is an attack to Job's respect in the world. Remember, where has
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Job fallen from? This great prosperous place in life where he had seven sons and three daughters.
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He was well known and Elias is saying to Job, the earth doesn't belong to you.
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It belongs to the other men that haven't fallen. Verse 8, verse 9 now, excuse me.
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You have sent widows away empty and the might of the orphans have been crushed. Now listen to this.
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It's almost like I can't prove to you that you did anything to the widows.
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I can't prove to you that you've done anything to the needy. So I'm just going to now pile on more accusations.
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Brothers and sisters, if somebody in any situation in your workplace or whatever it is, what tends to happen when somebody's making a false accusation against someone?
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They tend to pile on more accusations. He wasn't nice to me a year ago.
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He wasn't nice to me five years ago. I saw him once kick a homeless man. I saw him once do this just to justify the false accusation that was made before.
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That should be a red alarm for each one of us. If we are stewards and we are seeking out truth, does that sound like somebody that's actually seeking truth or somebody that's actually telling the whole story?
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It doesn't sound like it. Again, we have a bigger picture of Job, but when has Job ever done any of these things that Elias just said?
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Never. Never has he done these things. Never has it been reported for us.
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Would you be a fool to listen to the words of Elias? You'd be a fool to listen to him.
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What does everybody according to Zophar from the east to the west believe? They have apparently heeded and listened to the words of gossip and slander.
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This must be avoided in our lives. Would you be able to withstand these accusations, these underminings of your faith?
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Would you be able to stand firm upon Christ, your foundation, that this is what was being said to you in the midst of the most severe mourning and grief you've ever felt in your life?
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Be strengthened today in Christ and be ready for these type of moments that might come upon you one day.
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Sanctify Christ in your heart as Lord, as God, as Savior, that he has died for you today.
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I know many of us might even hear the prayers offered by my son Shepherd and say, oh, I bet he's going to say
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Jesus died for us and rose again today. That's the type of attitude that we should have in every aspect of our life.
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You can say what you want about me, supposed friend, you can throw the accusations against me, but my foundation is
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God died for my sins and he rose again. Upon that rock
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I stand, upon that rock that I will die upon. Let's look here at verse 10 now.
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Therefore snares surround you, and sudden dread terrifies you, or darkness so that you cannot see, and an abundance of water covers you.
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Again, this is now giving way into what the theology of Elias appears to be.
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Job, you are in darkness, you are in drought, you are in this fallen stature that we see as a man, sudden darkness, it's around you,
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Job. So therefore, everything I've just made a claim against you about widows, the needy that you have failed to care for,
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Job, it must be true. I can't think of an occasion that you've actually done this,
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Job, but it must be true because God would not do this to you unless what I just said is true. This is a terrible type of theology.
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If we have this type, if this is how God works, we would look at some of the biggest wolves behind pulpits today like Joel Osteen, like these other prosperity gospel preachers, and we would look at them and we'd say, man, this guy is a mighty, rich man that God has prospered.
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He is teaching the truth if we had the type of theology that Elias has. We would look at some of the most dearest true saints of the faith today, those that we would love to meet, the giants that live among us today that are dying for the faith, and we look at their suffering, we look at their reality, their condition that they're in, and we would say, you are wrong.
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Obviously, you have sinned against God and God has brought this against you. This is the challenge.
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This is the worry that I have for anyone that has a type of theology like Elias has, this karma type theology.
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Run away from this kind of thinking. Let's look here at verse 12 through 20 here now as we consider these things.
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Is not God in the height of heaven? Look also at the distant stars, how high they are.
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You say, what does God know? Can he judge through the dense gloom?
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Clouds are a hiding place for him so that he cannot see, and he walks on the vault of heaven.
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Will you keep to the ancient path which wicked men have trod, who were snatched away before their time, whose foundation were washed away by a river?
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They said to God, depart from us, and what can the almighty do to them? Yet he filled their house with good things, but the counsel of the wicked is far from him.
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The righteous seen are glad, and the innocent mock them, saying, truly those who rise against us are wiped out, and their abundance the fire has consumed.
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Elias is saying in here that this is why Job is in the situation that he's in.
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Job, your reasoning on God is wrong. I'm right, obviously, because I'm in a proper place.
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I'm prospering right now. I have the children in the field that are alive. I have the livestock that are still in the fields.
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They haven't been stolen from me, so therefore you are the wicked man,
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Job. Think about this for a moment.
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What does Elias say here early on in these verses? Here in verse 13, you say, what does
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God know? Can he judge through the dense gloom? Clouds are a hiding place for him so that he cannot see, and he walks on the vault of heaven.
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Let me say this again. You say, what is Elias saying that Job himself is saying?
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That God can't see his misbehavior? When has Job ever said this?
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When has Job ever said that God is hiding in the clouds and that he cannot see the actions that Job does?
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When has Job ever said this? Job hasn't said this. Job has admitted earlier that Yahweh gives,
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Yahweh takes, blessed be the name of Yahweh. He has said earlier that it is Yahweh that has put him in the situation that he's at.
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Has Job ever confessed or supposedly reported that Yahweh, God, cannot see his actions?
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I just find this interesting. Again, the prior verses that we just saw, Elias is falsely accusing
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Job of doing certain things. And now, what is he falsely accusing Job of doing? Saying certain things that he has never, ever said.
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This needs to be rejected when it comes to any of us in life. If there's somebody that's saying that you've said something when you have never said the sort, that's wrong.
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If it can't be substantiated, if it cannot be sought out and seen as true, it is wrong.
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Elias, though his children live, though his flock feeds out in the field, they haven't been stolen.
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Is he in the wrong here? Yes, he is. Again, do not look at somebody's life and say, well, he's prospering, so he must be right, and this person's falling, so he must be wrong.
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That's not the way that we approach to seek out truth. Let's look here at verses 21 all the way to the end of this chapter in verse 30.
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And this portion, I want to explain some things before we read this.
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Elias is going to do something, I think, tremendous in his day. He's going to say something very interesting in his day, and it's something that I think we see in our day very, very thoroughly.
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There's two types of view when it comes to salvation in Christianity, when it comes to orthodoxy,
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I would say. I think there's two forms of soteriology, the order of salutists that we would say that are prominent in today's world, meaning the ways that we come to have faith in Christ, the ways and the means that we are actually saved in Christ.
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There is the Arminian view or the Calvinistic view. I hold very much the latter, but in the
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Arminian view, this name that comes about in the 15th and 16th centuries, or the 16th and the 17th centuries, this theological term is something that I think we see here in this text, and so this needs to be talked a little bit about.
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Arminianism is the teaching that we are neutral in our disposition to choosing
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God, that we have a conditional election based off of God learning and foreseeing that we would have faith, therefore we are elected.
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It's the view that there is a limited atonement regarding the power and the effect that the atonement might have.
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It's the view that grace can be denied upon an individual whom God has called, and it is the ability to lose your salvation.
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That's what the Arminian view would hold to in some shape, form, or fashion. Now, when we look at an
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Arminianist and a Calvinist, the Calvinist denies those things and actually argues for the opposite of those things, as the doctrines of grace would.
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I would always still look at an Arminianist brother and say that they hold to the essentials of the Christian faith. So maybe today you cannot fully heartily say that I hold to the doctrines of grace, that's fine.
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I would disagree with you as they are secondary in nature, but as long as you have the essentials of the
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Christian faith, I look at, I would say, you are saved, you are a Christian, you are a brother and sister in the faith.
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Do you believe Jesus is God in flesh? Do you believe that he died for your sins? Do you believe that you've been born again?
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Do you believe that there's one God from all eternity to return? That's, you are a Christian based off your trust and faith in those essentials.
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Arminianism and Calvinism is the seeking and trying to explain the way that someone comes to have faith in those things.
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So there's disagreements and there's debate on these things. Well, let me just say this, that I think
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Elias in this text is the very first Arminianist in history that I can put my finger on.
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Let's look here and consider verse 21 through 23. Immediately after he said this to Job, he's now going into verse 21 saying, yield now and be at peace with him.
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Thereby good will come to you. Please receive instruction from his mouth and set his words in your heart.
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If you return to the almighty, you will be restored.
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If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents. I'll pause here and just say what
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Elias is teaching in this is that he sees Job in this fallen stature.
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It's almost like he sees Job as having lost his salvation, lost his ways.
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And that because Job and Elias, his mind has the ability to turn on and off his faith on and off a true reverence in Yahweh.
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Then it is up to Job and Job alone to turn back to God and for that to be the reason why
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God would then therefore have favor to him. Turn back, listen to what he says again, yield now and peace will be with you.
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This is very, very much appearing to be an
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Arminianist view that we see here from Elias. Let's go ahead and continue to look through this, but that's going to be my charge.
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I think if I could say anything that's prominent in our world today between Arminianisms and this doctrines of grace that we talk about,
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I would say it appears that Elias is arguing that Job has lost his salvation and is ultimately up for Job to generate in his own ability the want and desire for him to have faith in God.
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Let's look at verse 24 through 30. We'll make mention of this later on, but verse 24 through 30 and put your gold in the dust and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
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Then the almighty will be your gold and choice silver to you. For then you will delight in the almighty and lift up your face to God.
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You will entreat him and he will hear you and you will pay your vows.
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You will also decree a thing and it will be established for you and light will shine on your ways.
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When some are cast down, you will speak with confidence and the humble person he will save.
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He will provide escape for one who is not innocent and will escape through the cleanliness of your hands.
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You might have just listened to what I said there in verses 21 through 23 and you might think, I've never heard anybody say something like that.
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I have actually heard people in the midst of mourning be told things very similar to what Elias is saying, what an
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Arminianist would argue. You were in this position because you've lost your salvation, friend.
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You must be the one to turn back to God. You must do this and then
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God will reward you. You need to take your gold and bury it.
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Cast your silver out and you must put God as gold and silver in your life.
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Now, in some of these ways, is it true that we should flee from idolatry? Should we take our gold and cast it away in the sense of, of, of admiring
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God as who he is? Yeah. First Corinthians 10, 14, it says, therefore my beloved flee from idolatry.
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It is true that we should flee from idolatry, but why is the reason that Elias has said this to Joe?
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It's not because we sin against God in our idolatry. Excuse me.
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It's not because we, we want to abandon the gold and the silver to do this.
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It's because we recognize that God has done something that we cannot, excuse me, in that, that we recognize that God has done something that we cannot, that he has died for our sins, that he is holy, holy, holy, that he is infinite in his being here, that he's eternal in his nature.
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It's because of who God is that we should cast those things away. It's not because of what we might receive as Elias has said, if you do this,
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Joe, then your situation will be better. No, no, no. I would tell the person that is having a terrible situation, glorify
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God as he is. I would tell a person that's in a good situation, glorify God as he is. Why?
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Because God is God and he deserves to be glorified. Not because you deserve to have better in your life.
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It's because God is good that you should want those things. But Elias is saying, cast these things away.
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So then therefore you will be better. Listen to the therefores in that text in the prior that we've read. Now, listen, listen to this from verses, uh, chapter 23 and consider that again,
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Arminianism and Calvinism. How do these things play out in the life of Job and how does
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Job reconcile his hope? Even here in this text verse one and two, it says, then
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Job answered and said, even today, my musing is rebellion. His hand is heavy despite my groaning.
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Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come to his seat. Listen, Job knows that he is ultimately a sinner before God.
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Job knows this, but he knows, and he is unwavering in his, this tornado of accusation that's being thrown against Job.
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He's unwavering in saying this, that God is sovereign in his life.
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And he is sovereign in history. He's unwavering about that. God's hand is heavy against me,
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Elias. God is the one that has brought this. It's not as though this has just come about from random cause or in karma, but God is doing this against me.
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Let's look here and continue to go on in Job's now admitting in verse three, he's admitting, where should
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I go and seek God at? Should I go back to the house that has fallen? Where, where might I find him? I would arrange my case for justice before him and fill my mouth with arguments.
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I would know the words which he would answer and discern what he would say to me.
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Would he contend with me by the greatness of his power? No, surely he would pay no attention to me.
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No, surely he would pay attention to me. There the upright would argue with him and I would have escaped forever from my judge.
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Acts 7 46 through 50 says this, David found favor in the sight of God and asked that he might find a dwelling place for God, the
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God of Jacob. But Solomon built a house for him. However, the most high does not dwell in houses made by human hands.
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As the prophet says, heaven is my throne and earth is the footstool of my feet. What kind of house would you build?
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Will you build for me, says the Lord, or what place is there for my rest? Was it not my hand, which made all these things?
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Job is admitting in here, Elias, it is not as if God is residing over here in this household and I can go and see him over there.
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It's not as if I can go and plead my case before him in person like this. God does not dwell in a house made with hands is what, uh, acts would confess for us there in that chapter.
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That's what job is admitting here. There's no where that I could go to describe this to him. Let's go ahead and keep on reading here, but he knows the way
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I take when he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
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What has Elias has told Joe, this are many in this type of view that that Elias has just told
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Joe, you, you make God the vessel of gold.
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Job, you, you elevate God, but listen to what job responds.
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He knows my ways when he has tested me. I shall come forth as gold.
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Job is not the one to form God into a vessel of silver or gold, but it is only the sovereign who has molded his creation, who is molding his creation.
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Those he has full authority over and sustains. God, Yahweh will mold and form job.
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You and I has elect into gold and glory. It is his hand that holds the clay.
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It is his hand that shapens the handles. It is his fingers that carves the designs. It is his foot that works the pedestal and it is his will that is done and none can thwart it.
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Can job put God on the pedestal and form God into the vessel of gold?
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No, he cannot. Job recognizes in this doctrines of grace type of thinking that it is
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God himself that is molding us as creation into either vessels of glory or vessels of wrath.
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Let's turn real fast to Romans nine, 15 through 23. And after that, we will read the rest of Job 23, 11 through 17
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Romans chapter nine, verse 15 through 23, verse 15 through 23.
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It says this, for he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.
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And I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it does not depend on the one who wills or to the one who runs, but on God, who has mercy for the scripture says to Pharaoh for this very purpose,
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I raise you up in order to demonstrate my power in you. And in order that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.
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So then he has mercy on whom he desires and he hardens whom he desires.
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So will you say to me then, why does he still find fault for who resists his will on the contrary?
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Who are you old man who answers back to God? Will the thing molded say to the molder, why did you make me like this?
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Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump, one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use.
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And what if God wanting to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known endured with much patience, vessels of wrath that he'd been prepared for destruction.
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And in order that he might make known the riches of his glory upon the vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he called not among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.
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Let's look back here at Job chapter 23, life is you make
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God gold. Job says, God is bringing me forth as gold.
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A man who is suffering the loss of his family, a man that is being argued against this entire day by these friends, the friends that are telling him,
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Job, you have sinned. Job, you have done wrong. Job, God wouldn't do this against you if you had been faithful to him.
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Job says, no, I am being tested and being refined.
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I'm being disciplined by my father. And when I come through this,
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I will be as gold. What is Job being shapened into by God?
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A vessel for honorable use. Can any of us look at God and say, why did you do this to Job with a thing that is molded?
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Say to the molder, why has thou made me like this? God is the one who has compassion.
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God is the one who's bringing this about. God is the one who has a holy wise will in all, even in the life of Job.
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And Job is confessing this. He might not know why or how or what is the reason why he's going through this, but he is sure of one thing.
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God is bringing me as gold. Listen to those words here, here in verse 11 and on.
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Consider that from Romans nine, my foot has held fast to his path.
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I have kept his way and not turn aside. I have not departed from command of his lips.
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I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food, but he is unique and who can turn him and what his soul desires and that he does for.
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He performs what is a portion for me and many such decrees are with him.
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Therefore I would be dismayed at his presence. I carefully consider, and I am in dread of him.
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It is God who has made my heart faint and the almighty who has dismayed me, but I am not silenced by the darkness nor thick darkness, which covers me.
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Job is saying, I don't know why God is molding me in this. I don't know why God has brought me, but I am sure that God is the one that has done it.
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I'm sure that I'm being refined and I'm being tested. I'm being disciplined. It's not because I had hidden sin,
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Elias, because it's God's will that this would be done. And I'm going to be brought forth as gold.
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Brothers and sisters, weave this language, weave this idea into your minds today.
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You might not know why you are in drought. You might not know why you are in the gloom of darkness, but if you are a believer in Yahweh and Jesus Christ, admit and confess,
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God is testing me and refining me as gold. I don't know why, but I will come forth as gold, as a vessel for his honorable use, not my honorable use, his honorable use.
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Be ready to defend against bad theology, that which tears away at you, that which is vain, that which actually does not glorify
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God. Be ready for this. Is it going to be easy? Do you think
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Job is admitting this with tears in his eyes or with dryness on his face? There is no doubt that as he is saying these things, he is shedding tear after tear after tear, but this is the word of God.
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Let us pray. Lord, I thank you again for this text, Lord. I thank you for the difficulty, the hardness that it is that we have here, that the things,
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Lord, that we look at and we don't know how we could weather without you, that I'm sure that if Job did not have a faith in you, did not have a foundation in you,
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Lord, that he would have cursed your name, that he would have died, Lord. God, you are the one that rises men up.
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You are the one that cuts them down, Lord. God, may you continue to refine your vessels of glory,
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Lord. May you bring them forth as gold, Lord. May your will be done. Lord, we ask that we would glorify you this week, that we would be quick to deny that theology,
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Lord, that we would be quick to run to your word that has confessed the truths of who you are,
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Lord. May we hold quick to the essentials, Lord.
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May we hold to that which saves us, Lord. God, help us love you more and more this week.
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God, I would just ask that you would bless the rest of this day. May we think and consider these things as we take communion with you,
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Lord. We ask this in your name, Jesus Christ. Amen. Brothers and sisters,
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I would ask you to please stand as we get ready to do communion. Again, this is the last week that we're going to be doing both wine and grape juice, and so please, if there is questions, if there's struggle, if there's a fight that is going on in your conscience over these things, please come talk to Rick and I about these things.
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We don't want you to just go to sleep about these things and put them to rest. We want people to be convicted and pricked by Scripture itself, and so please stand up and be ready to take communion this morning, or this evening now.