Job 36-37 "Words Without Words"

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Brothers and sisters, it's a it's a great day to worship the Lord today It's a great day to celebrate the resurrection as we do every single
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Lord's Day Even though next week will be the particular day that as a nation as a community of Christians We typically focus more on the resurrection, but that's what we do every single
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Sunday. We are Rejoicing over the fact that we have a newness of life found in Christ Jesus and that's whom we're worshiping a day.
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We're gonna be again in Job chapter 36 through chapter 37 we're continuing on in the book of Job so if you want to start making your way there
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That would be a great idea a great blessing to read the Word of God with each one of us today
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So let's go ahead and pray as we are making our way there Lord Jesus we would ask today
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That we would glorify you that we would see and Seek your will in all things
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Lord God I would ask today that as we are going to discuss and as we're going to see
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Or that we would we would strive we would seek we would long not over a prideful indulgence, but out of a humility and Respectfulness of having a correct theology
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To have a correct understanding of you that this would produce within us
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Lord a love and a desire To be more and more like your son who died for us
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Lord God may may we avoid wrongful speculation may we avoid
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Theology that is incorrect Lord that we would we would love your word here that you have for us even in the book of Job in the
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Considerations from Psalm Sunday poem Sunday, excuse me Lord, I would ask that we would rejoice over the work of Jesus Christ and in that name
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Jesus We say and ask these things to be done Amen, we are in Job chapter 36 through 37 and You might be thinking to yourself typically there as many churches that would look today and do a topical message
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And they have a correct reason for doing so they they would look at today as Palm Sunday And they would expect you might be expecting to have a message from Palm Sunday today
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I think we can tie these things that we're gonna see into the life of Eli who and what he says about Joe in To what we would even see in what takes place in the
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Palm Sunday with Jesus entering into Jerusalem So you might ask the question. Why are we in Joe?
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Why are we here today in light of it being Palm? Sunday Brothers and sisters,
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I hope The applications that we are seeing with Eli who?
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Is that we are recognizing? That bad theology hurts Bad theology is destructive on Palm Sunday those same people that we read the call to worship from today
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Who said Hosanna Hosanna? We beseech the O Lord to save us which is a quotation from Psalm chapter 118 and is known as the
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Hallel Psalms of 113 to 118 Those same people who that day were crying out
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In welcoming a king would be some of the same exact people that a week later would say crucify
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Crucify bad theology Will one day welcome the king but on the day when it also matters it will be the same type of theology that will say
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Crucify crucify. This is the importance of how we read the genre and the entire book of Job We recognize that he lied through this brother in the faith of Job Says some really good things
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But when it matters He's rejecting the theology that is according to how we should have it according to God's Word And so this is my encouragement from you today for you today as we look through this this book
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Consider today how you were going to apply your own theology The type of theology that loves
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Jesus that would follow him to his cross that would celebrate the resurrection that would go into the world
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Pronouncing the gospel of Jesus Christ or is it the type of theology? That would actually seek to crucify
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Jesus That would only welcome him when he's riding into the city
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Are you gonna be the type of theologian the type of Christian that says Hosanna Hosanna and then shouts out crucify crucify
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Are you gonna be the type of Christian that sits and follows Jesus day in and day out ready to argue against the bad?
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attacks From even potentially Christians as we've seen in the context of the entire life of Job so far in this whole book of Job We see that we have these secular three friends who turn against Job in the day of darkness for Job they turn against him and Then you have this supposed brother in the faith who also turns against Job and and doesn't actually listen and Doesn't actually consider the entirety of the good that Job has done in his life
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I'm sure that each one of us in this room today can think through things that we have gone through things that you yourself have gone through and you can think about those secular friends that turned against you in the day of darkness for Yourself and maybe you have even experienced and I'm so sad to even say this
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Maybe you too have experienced the day of darkness When your Christian brothers and sisters in the faith turned against you look to Jesus Christ as the example in this
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Where were the Apostles when Christ was crucified? Like sheep they had all been scattered good theology is so important as bad theology will hurt you it'll hurt others
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Avoid this at all costs brothers and sisters. So again, this is a large text that we are looking at Next week.
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We're gonna see eventually how God responds to the words of Eli who he says these are words without knowledge and It is also the very means that darkens the counsel of Job is what we're gonna see there in chapter 38 the very opening statement of God Last week we saw
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Eli who in chapters 34 to 35 He again, he considers himself a brother in the faith
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Joe, but he misquotes Joe over and over and over again But when it comes to the malicious friends who are attacking
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Joe He correctly quotes them the very friends that are going to be rebuked at the end of the book The applications that we saw last week,
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I think are plenty and I think they stand by themselves as last week But I do want to echo them again
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Do not misrepresent people do not misquote people Seek truth in all things
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Especially in hard matters, especially when accusations are being thrown against somebody and I think there's two things that I Would take away about this character of Eli who especially in the text that we're gonna be reading today
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One since since Eli who is considering himself a brother of Joe Meaning that he's one that said
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I fear God I fear the same Lord that you do Joe We should expect that Eli whose theology is much better than the friends.
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We should expect that We should expect that Eli who says things that are somewhat good here and there it's sprinkled in but we should also see
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That this language of Eli who in several cases is not correct. This is the second thing
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I would ask you to consider about the life of Eli we would see that Eli whose words are laced with poison
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What do I mean went by that at the fire department? I go on Overdoses all the time and many of these overdoses are from people that were doing recreational drugs such as marijuana
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And this is not us getting into the minutiae of marijuana today But the point of this is is that there's individuals who think that they are doing no harm to themselves and others
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By going out and buying marijuana But little do they know the drug dealer who is so oh so trustable in their life
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That has laced it with fentanyl They smoke it thinking that again, they're not harming anyone else, but little do they know they're poisoning themselves
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And they're going to be dead in a few moments. This is What Eli whose words are in this text?
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Something that he thinks is correct something that he has received from the friends is Actually the very lacing of fentanyl to the life of Joe Do not let this type of theology
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Be planted into your mind the words of slander and vain philosophy that the three friends utter is now part of that fentanyl laced in the words of Eli who here and They would be destructive to you today.
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If you were to take them 100 % as truth We must come to this text today seeking the face of God and that which is consistent with his nature and that is promoted and Pronounced in the rest of the
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Word of God So let's look here at verses 1 through 2 of chapter 36 and we'll continue to consider these things
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Then Eli who continued and said wait for me a little while Or wait for me a little and I will show you that there is yet more to be said in God's behalf these kind of verses is
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Why many people today would look at the words of Eli who and say he spoke for God Everything he said was correct let me ask you this how many times in our lives do
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Supposed brothers and sisters in the faith come to us and say I'm speaking for God. I had a vision last week
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Where I'm a prophet God spoke to me Just because someone claims this do we take those claims seriously as a church?
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Look, I can say example after example Occasion after occasion while doing evangelism
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It almost is guaranteed that if you go out and promote the gospel in the public square You're going to have someone come up and tell you
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I am a prophet I had a vision or I know something special and secret about God that you cannot discover
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This is a an everyday occurrence if you have ever preached the gospel in the public square, which
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I would promote you to do and The thing I like to respond back to them is what did
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God say? And why would I ask that to them? because you'll find out with their words as they continue to talk that they prove themselves to be outside of Orthodoxy and actually deniers of the
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Word of God itself There has not been an ever an occasion where somebody has said something like that That does not actually reveal the true nature of God It just doesn't it never meets up with sweat scripture has to reveal and these claims of divine revelation
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Always fall short the measuring rod of scripture that sufficiently reveals the character of God that we look at today
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Let the Word of God speak Do not listen to those people that say I receive something from God that you cannot receive
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Do not listen to these kind of people again If we were to look at the words of Elihu right here and say you see he claims to speak for God And so therefore everything he says is true.
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I would tell you that you are a fool For doing the same thing that I would call you a fool today for doing if you heard that on the street corner
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Elihu says good things, but he says very wrong things that we can easily identify Let's look here at verses 3 through 10 now
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I will take my knowledge from afar and I will ascribe righteousness to my maker For truly my words are not a lie one who is perfect in knowledge with you behold
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God is mighty, but that does not reject. He is mighty in power of his heart He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives justice to the afflicted
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He does not withdraw his eyes from righteous, but the Kings on the throne He has seated them forever and they are exalted and if they are bound in fetters and are caught in the cords of affliction
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Then he declares to them their work and their transgressions that they have magnified themselves
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He opens their ear to discipline and says that they return from wickedness
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Elihu is essentially saying in this text That whatever is good in life is to be attributed to God giving it to us
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But when hardship comes It's because you sinned this is almost word -for -word what the three friends the three secular friends are saying to Joe God works in this karma type of scale balance and Just on face value brothers and sisters we know that this is wrong
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Think of all the Kings in the world even today Would we look to Biden who's sat upon his throne for the last four years and say ah you see
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This is because he's a good good person. He's never sinned against are you know? No, that's not how we would ever look at anything
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What Eliah when I was reading over this text for what Eli who's saying in here I him came to my mind and It's maybe a him that you really like and I think the theology that's behind this him is actually not very good
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I'm not telling you not to sing this later today to the glory of God But how many of us in this room have heard the song count your blessings?
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Let's read just the the pair of the first Wordings of this song when upon life's billows you are tempest -tossed when you were discouraged thinking all is lost
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Count your many blessings name them one by one and it'll surprise you what the Lord hath done
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Count your blessings name them one by one count your blessings. See what God hath done
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Elihu and even the song of this hymn is telling us when you were in the middle of Hardship, you should think back in prior days when
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God was blessing you. That's how you are to be encouraged in this hardship Is that how
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Job is treating his hardship right now? No, he's saying the
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Lord gives the Lord takes God has put arrows within me right now He has slayed me and I'm going to bless his name regardless of it.
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He doesn't say count what God has done in the past and Ignore what God is doing right now
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No He says God is doing it all and I'm being shaped as the vessel for his glory While in your mind you may think that this hymn is good theology and it echoes the very words of Elihu and those three friends
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Oh how I wish you would consider the words of our Savior Jesus Christ a Few days after that Palm Sunday.
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He is found in a garden praying He's praying and regarding to that cutting of the covenant of grace that has redeemed us
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Matthew 26 39 through 43 He says this and he went a little beyond them and fell on his face and prayed.
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This is Jesus saying My father if it is possible, let this cup pass from you
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Yet not as I will but as you will and he came to the disciples and found them sleeping and said
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Peter So you men could not keep watch with me for one hour Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation.
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The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak He went away again a second time and prayed saying my father if this cannot pass away
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Unless I drink it your will be done And again, he came and found them sleeping for their eyes were heavy
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Beloved church to deny the sovereign will of the Father and all things including our hardships Is the equivalent of sleeping on the work of God For in Christ's drinking of that bitter cup
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For you and I that he drank fully We see both the greatest evil of man and the greatest good to man yet all according to the predetermined plan of God So if you today are suffering if you today have
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Received loss in something if you today and I think about even some things that I've gone through this week if you are having a hard time
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Do not think that God's plan is absent in your life Though you may not see it though.
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You may not taste it. I promise you that God is doing something through it May his will be done and not ours
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Because of this kind of theology that Job is teaching and what God is even going to pronounce to these people that are there that day here in chapters 38 to 41
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I Believe that Job would utter a quite different hymn than count your blessings
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He would probably say something to the attune of this and this is a new hymn that I just wrote as of the other day
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It probably doesn't work completely But one of the qualities that I have which might not be great is sometimes when
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I get my mind attached to something I just Go a hundred percent and get it done. And that is something I did here This is what
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I would call Job's hymn to the same exact tomb of count your blessings. I will not sing it for you today
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I would rather have us not go home deaf But the song is in God's sovereignty
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There is no mistake for the Lord does give and take Sing his praises for Jesus is our rest.
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No, he slay me. He alone I will bless count your blessings trust the Eternal Son count your losses and see what
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God has done Are you heavy burden with a load of care? No your sin debt was
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Christ's to bear Sovereign is the king whose will shall be done trust. His victory has already won
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Look not at others with their land and gold Think how Christ was pierced for the fold
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Count his sufferings and know it's a cord trust his word and his promised
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Sword so amid this conflict whether great or small do not be discouraged for God is overall
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Rebuke all others with a mighty shine and pray today that God's will be done count your blessings
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Trust the Eternal Son Be conformed to him or he has One I title that again
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Job's hymn Let's continue to consider that kind of thinking of Job versus what
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Eli who says here in the the next text he opens their ear to discipline and He says that they return from wickedness if they hear and serve him
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They will end their days and prosperity and their years and pleasures But if they do not hear they shall pass away by a weapon and they will breathe their last without knowledge
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But the good but the godless in heart will lay up anger They do not cry for help when he binds them they die in youth and their life perishes among the cult prostitutes he delivers the afflicted in their affliction and Opens their ear in time of oppression then
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Indeed he entices you from the mouth of the stress and instead of it a broad place
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With no constraint and the comfort of your table full of fatness But you are full of judgment on the wicked
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Judgment and justice take hold of you Beware less wrath entice you to scoffing and do not let the greatness of the
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Atonement turn you aside Will your cries keep you from distress? Or all forces of your power do not long for the night when people vanish in their place again,
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Eli who is equating the Equating God's justice that same place the three friends have in this text.
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There's many things in this text I would say an ultimate sense is true If we follow him will there be a day that we will be with him forever and have great pleasures in our life for eternity
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This is ultimately true in that sense, but that's not how Eli who's talking right now He's saying that Joe because you used to be this great man
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And since God has obviously brought you to this place It's obviously because you see that is not the right kind of thinking brothers and sisters
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Imagine trying to place that same type of thinking upon the King of Kings and the Lords of Lords Who suffered for you and I?
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Did Christ go to the cross? Because he sinned No Avoid this kind of temptation of thinking this is how
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God works. Be careful. Do not turn to wickedness
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For you have chosen this to affliction Is it true that we should not turn to wickedness today?
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Yes, but this is not what Job has chosen Eli who is presenting this in a way of saying because you chose sin in the state of Prosperity Joe, this is the affliction that you have chosen
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No No The words of God should echo in our mind a blameless man who's upright who fears
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Yahweh Let's read all the way to the end of this chapter
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Who has appointed him his way and who has said you have worked out unrighteousness? Remember that you should exalt his work of which men have sung
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All men have beheld it man looks from afar Behold God is exalted and we do not know him
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The number of his years is unsearchable for he draws up the drops of water They distill rain for its stream which the clouds pour down They drip upon man abundantly
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Can anyone discern the spreading of the clouds the thundering of his pavilion behold?
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He spreads his lightning about him and he covers the depths of the sea
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For by these he judges people he gives food in abundance He covers his hand with the lightning commands it to strike the mark
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It's thundering declares about him the cattle also concerning what is coming up This again, there's several things
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I can go back and forth in this text and say amen to this is true And then other things I'm saying I lie who you're saying this in a very inappropriate and wrong way about Job we could go back and forth, but I think you as the
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Stewards of God's word day and have seen this life of Job so far We can start seeing these areas where Eli who's wrong and Eli who is correct.
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I In fact, I think this is one of the reasons why God in the following text explains himself and his sovereignty exhaustively amongst creation
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Amongst the the animals and and nature itself is because of what Eli who is saying you're right in this text
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We're gonna see here in a moment in coming weeks. God describes himself saying Do you know where the goat gives birth on the side of the mountain?
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Do you know where the line has been marked for the water to come up to in the waves and no further
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God essentially answers these friends saying Friends Eli who
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Job I Am sovereign over all these things. What makes you think I'm not sovereign over the destruction and the destitution of Job himself
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And why would I say that because they're right after that text it says that God then grants Job's the twofold of everything that he lost
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It's God who's sovereign in this a case. It's God who's shaping Job. It's God who's shaping the friends
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Again brothers and sisters today if if you are suffering and you have gone through some hardship
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Do not think that God is absent Ask yourself same not my will be done, but your will be done in this situation.
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I I'm reminded of that Romans 9 text where it says do not say
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Why has you made how why have you made me like this God? I think that stature of what
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Paul is painting there in Romans 9 is the man shaking his fist against God and sin saying how
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Dare you make me like this? It's not inappropriate to say God. What is your will in this?
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What is your purpose in this? I don't know in a humble stature out of faith and Desire for God's will to be done in the situation.
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That's an appropriate thing to approach the throne of grace with me Let's read all of chapter 37 as we see the final words of Eli who take place
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At this also my heart trembles and leaps from its place Listen closely to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that goes out of his mouth
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Under the whole heaven. He lets it loose and he was lightning to the ends of the earth after it a voice roars
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He thunders with his majestic voice and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard
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God thunders With his voice marvelously Doing great things which we do not know for to the snow
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He says fall on the earth and to the downpour of rain and the downpour of rains be strong He seals the hand of every man
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That all men may know his work then the beast goes into its lair and dwells in its den
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Out of the south comes the storm and out of the north the cold from the breath of God ice is made
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And the expanse of the waters is frozen Also the moisture he loathes the thick cloud
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He scatters the cloud of his lightning it changes direction Turning around by his guidance that it may not do whatever he commands it on the face of the inhabited earth whether for Correction or for his word of or for loving -kindness.
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He causes it to happen Give ear to this Oh Job stand and carefully consider the wondrous deeds of God Do not do you know how
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God establishes them? And makes the lightning of his clouds to shine
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Do you know how about the layers of the thick clouds the wonders of one perfect in knowledge?
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You whose garments are hot When the land is quiet because of the south wind can you with him spread out the skies?
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strong as a molten near Make us know what we shall say to him.
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We cannot arrange our case before because of darkness Shall it be recounted to him that I would speak?
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If a man says a word will he indeed be swallowed up? So now men do not see the light which is bright in the skies, but the wind has passed and feared him
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Out of the north comes gold and splendor around God is fearsome Majesty the
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Almighty we cannot find him He is exalted in power and he will not afflict justice and abundant righteousness
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Therefore men will fear him He does not know and he does not regard any who are wise of heart
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Yeah, this is the type of words that Eli who says that gives validation to the rest of what he says
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Several things that Joe that Eli who says in this text are true Is God exalted?
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Yeah Is God the one that causes the storms? Yes Is God the one that you can look at and say that this is because it's according to God's will yes
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But Eli who is is stretching that canvas of God's sovereignty, but not finishing the stretching of it
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He's not placing it over the current life of Joe we would read in the book of Hebrews that when a
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Christian when a brother in the faith a sister in the faith is Suffering that it's often should be seen as the discipline of the father
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And that should tell us that they're a son or a daughter of God Eli who's almost treating that as not the case in this text
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But this is the issue with Eli who that I personally I know that I've seen this even in person today
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I've met people who have taken part of the poison that Eli who is spouting even in this
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They look at it and they read it And they say
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I know this is a quotation that I I'm telling you right now of what I've heard you see
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God is not sovereign Because Eli who who speaks for God says all this good stuff and Says also that God does not bring about distress for those that are righteous
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That is not the way we are to read the book of Job that is letting the very poison that has
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Corrupted The words of Eli who take place in our own heart if you saw me pouring bleach into a cup of water
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Would you take a sip from that water when you were thirsty? No You say
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Brady put bleach in there. There is bleach in this text.
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There is poison in this text Do not have the type of theology that Eli who is having.
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This is the type of theology that would be Cause us to suffer in our distresses rather than glorify
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God in our morning bad Theology hurts people brothers and sisters bad theology is what crucified our
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Lord bad theology is what rejected Jesus is God in flesh If you today think that theology doesn't matter that a correct understanding of God doesn't matter brothers and sisters.
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I Fear for you How can you be any better than those that said
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Hosanna at the coming of Christ and yet also cried out crucify? Are we going to trust the words of God in this upcoming chapters here in chapter 38 to 41?
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Are we going to trust that which is contradictive to the words of God and trust in the words of Eli?
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These are the issues with the church today they lack a fear of The sovereign
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Lord who rules and reigns from his glorious throne and brothers and sisters
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We ought to fear that Lord whom we pray and ask that his will be done and not ours
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Echo the theology of Christ Jesus himself and look to our sovereign God. Let us pray Lord we thank you so much
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Lord for the opportunity to look through a individual who claims to know you this
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Individual named Eli God I would ask that we would take that from the text.
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That is true. That is good That you are upon your throne that you are exalted in power, but that we would leave behind that which is bad
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Lord That we would echo the things that Job would even say and recognize that Job did not sin on his lips when he spoke about you
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God Lord may we all stand before your throne one day and say and hear those kind of same words
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Lord is that's what we should be Seeking to want to have as Christians Lord is something that accurately represents you
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That our words would not add to your word That our words would not contradict your word.
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Oh, nor would our words lessen to what your word has said God I would ask that today you would plant within us a renewal of the fear of the
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Lord God That we would seek and recognize that this fear is what should drive us to go out to the world because we want to be obedient to our
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Father Lord, let us tell them let us tell the people in this world a theology.
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That is Glorious a theology that is representative of you
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That would call people and and seek people to be born again that they would repent and believe in the gospel
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Lord That they too would refine their own theology today Lord, I ask this in your holy name