And it's so good to be with you
once again. We're going to make a little diversion this morning.
We're going to the Book of Job. The Book of Job. In fact, we're
going to go through 42 chapters of Job this morning. We're going
to have a round robin of reading. There is no guarantee that this
group will ever meet again. It's not my plan to leave and
pass on while I'm gone. But if I did, I want it to be
said his last message was preaching the gospel. And I want to go
to the book of Job because the book of Job shares a great deal
about the gospel. Job to me is a picture of every one of God's lost sheep
that have ever been saved by his grace. He gives us a trail
to follow in the book of Job that shares with us what happens
to God's lost sheep in this world. We heard a message, a part of
the message in the Bible class this morning there in the book
of, I believe it was Isaiah, but it talks about the husbandman
planting and in waiting for all the fruit to come in. And that's
just another statement that the Lord will not return until the
very last lost sheep is found, saved, and then this is going
to be wrapped up. In the book of Job, there's a
striking similarities between the message of the book of Job
and Christ to his church Their account began in the world so
much like we find here in the book of Job. There is just a
path, it seems, that everybody travels. that God intended to
say before the foundation of the world, there's a path they
all travel, that we all travel. There is so many similarities
that are brought out here, and it's brought out here in the
book of Job. Job begins, and I'm not going to talk about all
the problems he had. I had written down in a notebook
one time, why do God's people suffer? I can't answer that question.
But I do know this, it is not out of punishment for sin, because
that fell on Christ on the cross. Why do God's people suffer? Well,
a whole lot of it, I know this, were just part of the fall and
God did not save our flesh. So that part is in a constant
state of decay. But when we read in the book
of Job, we find out here that in chapter 1, verses 2 and 3,
Job was in a very fine financial, very fine political, very fine
condition before some things fell apart in his life. It brings
me back to the book of Genesis and our father Adam. I was thinking
last night as I was preparing for this about what Adam saw
when he saw God visit him in the garden and I'm just about
to come to the conclusion it's the same thing those disciples
saw on the Mount of Transfiguration. They saw him in his glory and
the only way that Adam could stand before him in those visits
is that he had an awe struck about him. And that's what really
signified the fall. He no longer had that brightness
about him. He had fallen into darkness,
not only physically, but spiritually. Well, here in the book of Job
chapter 1, verses 2 and 3, it says, and there were born unto
him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was 7,000
sheep. That's a flock. And then it goes on to tell us,
and 3,000 camels, and 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 she-asses, and
a very great household, so that this man was the greatest of
all men of the East. A description we could almost
give about Adam. A greater person had never lived
on the face of the earth. He had a position there. He had
a presence there. He had a visit there that we
cannot comprehend. And this man Job, it tells us
there in verse one, that he was a perfect and upright and one
that feared God and eschewed evil. Well, we know that he could
only have that in the perfect righteousness of Christ. But
from a standpoint of where every person began, began in Adam,
there was a position that we had that we cannot comprehend
because of the fall. And then we find that Job fell
from that high and lofty place. Now, a lot of things happened
to cause this, but it was in one day. He lost his children. He lost all of his possessions. He lost eventually his health. Things just went apart so quickly
for him and we find over there in the book of Genesis that things
fell apart very quickly. Upon Adam's eating of that forbidden
fruit, things fell apart instantaneously. There was a moment that they
were in fellowship and a next moment they're out of fellowship
with Almighty God. And they were so careful to cover
themselves with their own righteousness, which cannot even attain, cannot
even be part of the righteousness of Christ. Fig leaves and the
righteousness of Christ. There is no comparison. Well,
we find here that as Job is so far down, notice with me in chapter
two of the book of Job verse 11, chapter two, Verse 11 now
one nice thing about today. I'm not going to ask you to go
to any other book We're going to be in the book of Job So if
you found it stay there in the book of Job chapter 2 verse 11
now when Job's three friends Heard of all this all this evil
that had was come upon him They came every one of them from his
own place Eliphaz the Timonite Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the
Naamanite, for they had made an appointment together to come
to mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up
their eyes afar off, they knew him not. They lifted up their
voice and wept, and they rent everyone his mantle and sprinkled
dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with
him upon the earth seven days and seven nights, and none spake
a word unto him, for they saw that his grief was very great. Now from chapter 3 over into
chapter 22, excuse me, chapter 25, we're going to have conversations
between these three men and Job. They're going to bring up a subject
and he is going to spend some time dealing with that subject.
Now, it was so interesting to me to find out what these names
mean. You know, I've shared many times that if you have an E-L-I
in a word, it has something to do with God. But this guy by
the name of Eliphaz, his name means my God is gold. Now, we find in these three guys,
they represent religion coming to Job. They represent a person
in the depths, in the very throes of the fall, and here, just as
natural and normal as you and I are born. We are given some
kind of religion. Now, I've been around people
that say they're atheists, but you know, that's just a religion.
A person that says, well, after I die, nothing happens. That's
just a religion. We have a religion. We're born
with it. Now, we may come along and be
given some accepted religion. You know, that's the accepted
religions. Then we have the unacceptable
religions. And then we have the religions
that are not religions by anybody else but by themselves. And we
have, but everybody is religious. And everybody is going to have
some advice from these religions. The second person, Bildad, his
name means confusing love. And you know there's nothing
like that except when we're here in religion. God loves everybody,
but a whole bunch of people he loved didn't make it. That's
confusing love. I love you, but we can't have
friendship. That's confusing love. And religion
is filled with that. We have the religion of gold
is my God, support me and you'll make it. We have the religion
that it's confusing love. And then we have Zophar. His
name means departing as a sparrow. What happens is when trouble
comes along, I'm leaving you. Well, for all of these chapters,
chapters 4 through chapter 25, we have these three guys talking
and Job responding to their conversation. Now, I'm thankful that we don't
end up with the book of Job like that because we're going to have
a fourth guy come along. And this fourth guy is very important
in every believer's life. This fourth guy that comes along
and he's just gonna wait it out until the people are sick and
tired of religion. That's just what it points out
here. Now there's a man, turn with me if you would to chapter
32 of the book of Job. Chapter 32. Chapter 32 in verse one.
All of this time spent Giving legal advice, giving religious
advice, giving the advice that if you hadn't done such a bad
thing, you wouldn't be here to begin with. Giving the advice
if you hadn't walked out on God, if you had enough faith, if you
had enough of everything. It just spars between Job and
these three religious people that come along and try to give
him some support, but they have nothing to give him. They sit
there for seven days and can't say a word because things are
worse than they thought. Then the sparring that goes on. But notice with me here in Job
chapter 32 and verse 1. So these three men, the best
thing they could have done, ceased To answer Job because he was
righteous in his own eyes What's that mean they just couldn't
handle him They ceased what a glorious day
it is when this advice ceases Well, we just get involved and
we find out in chapter 32 and verse 2. Then was kindled the
wrath of Elihu, the son of Barakiel, the Buzite of the kindred of
Ram. Against Job was his wrath kindled
because he justified himself rather than God. Also against
his three friends was his wrath kindled because they had found
no answer, and yet had condemned Job. Now Elihu had waited till
Job had spoken, because they were elder than he. And when
Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men,
then his wrath was kindled. And Elihu the son of Barakiel
the Buzite answered and said, I am young and ye are very old
wherefore I was afraid and darest not show you my opinion. Now
we're going to hear some words from a person who knows something.
The other three don't know a thing about how to help this man Job
out. He is in a pitiful condition.
He's lost his family, he's lost his wealth, he's lost his health,
and when they come up they don't even recognize him for the pitiful
state he's in. and they try their very best
to give all the religious advice that they can and they can't
help him one whit. It's a gracious day when God
brings along someone who can share something about who can
help people. I love what that old preacher
said, I'm trying to tell everybody about somebody who can save anybody. Now here he is, this man has
some information and you know what he starts with? He starts
with the greatness of God. Chapter 33, would you look there
with me in chapter 33 of the book of Job? Elihu declares the
gospel. Now the gospel never starts with
a God that can't accomplish anything or a God that's trying to do
something but it depends upon you or I to get the job done. The gospel never starts if Our
hands are God's hands. The gospel never starts if our
eyes are His eyes. The gospel never starts at our
mouth as His mouth, or our legs are His legs. That's not where
the gospel starts. The gospel starts with a great,
almighty, all-powerful, sovereign God. This is a God that can save
His people from their sins. The other day I was asked, what
is the gospel, Norm? And I said, The gospel is the
best news you could ever hear and that is that Jesus Christ
is a savior that actually saves his people from their sins. Now
that was a news that I didn't want to hear when it was brought
to me, but when I was born again, that news was the greatest news
I'd ever heard. A savior that actually saves
and doesn't depend upon someone else to help him get the job
done. Well, that's what this Elihu begins to share with Job,
and he spends several chapters doing this. He's going to share
the most blessed truth about God that he is a God that can
save. Turn with me to Job 33 and verse
4. In Job 33 and verse 4, the Spirit
of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given
me life. What news? The Spirit of God
hath made me. Now, we're not made that by natural
birth. It's not by our will. It's not
by the will of men. It's not by the will, our will,
but it's of God that we're born again. And he says there, The
breath of the Almighty hath given me life. That takes us again
right back to the book of Genesis where Adam was created of the
dust of the ground and God breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life and he became a living soul. We have someone who knows
something because God has done a work for this man. The other
three are just religion that we run in from day one of our
life. I was probably less than a week
old before I was taken to a Baptist church, and that's where I grew
up. And yet, in retrospect, the pastors that they had, and none
of them ever stayed over five years. The pastors that I had
didn't know the first thing about the gospel. They didn't know
about a great and a mighty God. I remember one of the pastors
saying God is sovereign if you love him. That's kind of a shaky
sovereignty of God if you ask me. But this Elihu, he had some
knowledge about God and he's going to share that with Job.
Job and him have a conversation, but now he has someone that's
not going to back up on this. He is going to share the gospel.
He's going to share the gospel. It's about a God that can save.
There in the book of Job chapter 33 and verse 12, the scriptures
share this with us. It says, Behold, in this thou
art not just, I will answer thee that God is greater than man. Don't treat him like a man. He's
not a man. He is greater than men. And that
gives him the ability of saving them. And in verse 23 through
24 of that same chapter, If there be a messenger with
him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man
his uprightness, then he is gracious unto him. He saith, Deliver him
from going down into the pit. I have found a ransom. His flesh
shall be fresher than a child. He shall return to the days of
his youth. What does Job, what does he hear
from this man? God can do the impossible. God can give us a new birth. God can raise us from the dead.
God can make it all things new. And you know, religion can't
do that. Those three other guys that came
along, when they finally shut their mouth, they could have
saved us a lot of time in the book of Job. But Elihu knew something. And he knew the gospel. And in
chapter 34, verse 10, chapter 34 and verse 10, it says, therefore,
hearken unto me, ye men of understanding. Far be it from God that he should
do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should commit iniquity.
For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every
man to find according to his ways. Yea, surely God will not
do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment. That's
not going to work, Job, for you to stand before him and say,
if my good works outweigh my bad works, then I'll be OK, because
he does not pervert judgment. He doesn't give in. He has a standard to keep. He
has a flat surface and a plumb line, and the righteousness of
Christ is the only thing that meets that standard. He will
not pervert justice. Justice will be served. Now it
will be served upon you, or it will be served upon Christ. All
right, as we follow this through, turn with me to chapter 36, verse
1 through 5. As Elihu continues, he's been
given the floor. Job is listening. Elihu has something
to say about the Almighty. He has something to say about
the one who will not pervert justice, the one that does not
sin, the righteousness of Christ. And here in chapter 36 verses
1 through 5, Elihu also proceeded and said, suffer me a little
and I will show thee that I have yet to speak on God's behalf. He is only a reporter. A preacher of righteousness is
only a reporter. They don't make up the news. There's all of this written down.
It's all written down for us and all we have to do is report
what's written down. And you know what? That makes
men angry enough. Report the report. Chapter 36
verse to suffer me a little, and I'll show thee that I have
yet to speak on God's behalf. I will fetch my knowledge from
afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker." This guy has a
handle on something. There's the Creator God, not
only created in the first creation, but a Creator God that must create
the second creation. He is my righteousness. There
in verse Verse four, for truly my word shall not be false. He
that is perfect in knowledge is with me. Behold, God is mighty,
and despiseth not any. He is mighty in strength and
wisdom. He preserveth not the life of
the wicked, but giveth right to the poor. This is the God. You know what? This God has discrepancies. Not discrepancies. This God has
differences, and it's fair for him to make a difference. It's
fair for him to make a choice. It's fair for Him to put up the
standard. It is fair for Him to say that
I have loved the people before the foundation of the world.
And it is fair for Him to say, and I did not choose everybody.
It's fair for Him to say, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, went
to the cross to save His people from their sins. And it is fair
for Him to say that the Holy Spirit will go out and bring
the gospel to every one of those lost sheep, and they shall be
saved. in the day of his power. Turn
me and I shall be turned. Give me faith and I shall have
faith. Give me repentance and I shall
have repentance. All of these very special, precious
gifts of God are only from God and he only gives them to his
people. Well, Elihu knew some of this and he brought it, but
he understood that there was not going to be any part of any
of his conversation and the best argument that he could lay down
would not convince Job of one thing. His best argument was not going
to convince Job of one thing, but he was faithful as Isaiah
was faithful. God said, who shall go for me? And Isaiah said, I will. And
you're going to go preach to a people that will not hear. And you know what Isaiah asked?
How long will I do it? As long as I ask you to. So Elihu
is bringing the truth to Job like he'd never heard it. Now,
I am convinced that he is like Jonah. Did you know that Jonah
was a type of Christ? Jesus said that very thing. Jonah
went through all of that to give us that he's a type of Christ.
I'm not doubting that Job was saved. I'm just saying he's a
beautiful picture that we can look at and say, this is how
God deals with all of his lost sheep. They were born in creation
in a state that is so far above the state that we're in right
now. They fell, all fell in Adam. We're ruined, our family is ruined,
all our possessions, everything this world has to give us is
ruined in the fall. And then we're going to have
some religious acquaintance. It may be our own self, being
our own professor about religion. We've come up with the way that
things should be and how God should accept me, or we simply
say, there is no God, so I'm just going to be like a dog.
I don't know how many people have told me that. There's nothing
after this life. We'll be just buried like a dog.
Well, about a split second after passing from this life to the
next, they found out the difference. But you can't convince them.
God must do that. And then we have someone come
along after all this religion. Now, it may have been early in
our life. It may have been midway through
our life. It may have been moments before we died, just like the
thief on the cross. But someone has to come along
with the gospel. It's absolutely essential. This
man came along, he kept his mouth shut, he didn't interfere, he
didn't try to argue with those folks, he didn't try to debate
those folks, he didn't try to say you're wrong. He just bided
his time and God opened the door and he came in with something
that Job needed to hear, the gospel. And then in chapter 37
and verse 14, chapter 37 and verse 14, hearken unto this,
O Job, Stand still and consider the
wondrous works of God. Get yourself out of the way.
Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. And chapter
37 and verse 23, touching the almighty, we cannot find him
out. He is excellent in power, in
judgment, and in plenty of justice. He will not afflict. will never ever. Now, religion
has God figured out because their God is just like
they are. It's brought out in the book
of Isaiah that many will worship a piece of wood or a stone, and
they have carved into that piece of wood or that stone lips that
cannot speak, eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear, hands
that can't do anything, and feet that can't do anything, And so
is everyone that worships them. They have the same problem before
God. They can't hear, they can't see.
Well, chapter 38 and verse 1. And this is so good. Oh, we just
pray. As the gospel goes out, this
will happen. This is our prayer. All that Elihu has had to say
has been a general call. Job, I'm talking to you. Job,
I'm talking to you. Job, I'm talking to you about
an almighty God. I'm talking to you about a just
God. I'm talking to you about a God
that loves his people. I'm talking to you about this.
But nothing can convince one person of anything that the gospel
has to hold to. But we wait for this day. This
is the all-important time. we pray that this is your state. Then the Lord answered Job out
of the whirlwind and said, this isn't Alihu, even though he knows
a lot, he knows the gospel, He knows how people are saved. They're
saved by God. They're saved by His grace. They're
saved through the preaching of the gospel. They're saved through
the new birth. They're saved out of religion.
He knows that. But He can't move them from this
place to this place. He cannot take them from the
kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son. Can't be done. We can't move across the line.
But there is someone that we trust to do that very thing. And it's found in Job chapter
38 and verse 1. Then the Lord answered Job. Oh, how glorious
it is that the Almighty would get involved. Job chapter 40. Would you look with me in Job
chapter 40 in verse 1 and 2? Job chapter 40, verses 1 and
2. You know, as I think about Job's
condition, it said he had boils from the top of his head to the
bottom of his feet. Reminded me of that passage over
there in the book of Isaiah, chapter 6, isn't it, where it
said, from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet, bruises,
putrefying sores that have not been mollified. That's just a
picture of natural man in his natural condition without the
grace of God. And here in the book of Job chapter
40 and verse 1, moreover, the Lord answered Job and said, shall
he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him He that reproveth
God, let him answer it. Are you going to tell me how
to save my people from their sins? Are you going to come up
with a religious way to do that? It's not going to work, Job.
Never has, never will. The gospel never allows our input. The gospel is from God, and it's
on the behalf of his people. And he will bring it to our knowledge,
but there will be no Let's add mine to it. I have this understanding
about God. He's all-loving. Jacob have I
loved. Yes, hallelujah. But Esau have
I hated. Job chapter 40 and verse 2 it
says, shall he that contended with the Almighty instruct him? Job chapter 40 verse 3, then
Job answered the Lord and said, behold. Oh my goodness, something's
happened. Job has a view of himself he's
never been able to have on his own. Oh yeah, I'm a sinner. The
priest told me that. The preacher told me that. And
if I just pay enough, if I just do enough, I can get this taken
care of. Well, we find out that as Job
goes on here, as it shares with us, Job chapter 40 in verse 3,
then Job answered the Lord and said, behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will
lay my hand upon my mouth. I want to shut up before God.
I'm vile. What do we find when people really
get to see God in salvation? What is their feeling about themselves? I'm vile. I am unrighteous. I have nothing in myself to offer,
just as I am without one plea. But that thy blood was shed for
me. Behold, I am vile. Verse 5, once
have I spoken, but I will not answer. Yea, twice, but I will
proceed no further. I'm going to stop right here.
This salvation that God brings as he speaks to Job, as the God
of heaven speaks to him. He heard through the preaching
of the preacher Elihu, didn't hear a thing in how many chapters? 30 chapters, didn't hear a thing
from those three supposed friends that came to comfort him. He
had all kinds of casseroles brought to him. But he never heard a thing from
them. Job chapter 41. The Lord speaks
to Job about his all mightiness. Canst thou draw out leviathan
with a hook? Now I don't know exactly what
a leviathan is, but I know this is something you and I can't
contend with and God can. Can you deal with sin? No, I can't. God has. God has dealt with it. Job chapter 41, canst thou put
a hook in his nose, or bore his jaw through with a thorn? Will
he make many supplications with thee? Will he speak soft words
unto thee? As this conversation goes on,
let's go over to Job chapter 42, verse 1. Then Job answered
the Lord and said, I know that thou canst do everything, and
no thought can be withholden from thee. How did he come to
this? By revelation. What did Peter say about the
Lord Jesus Christ when asked, who do you say that I am? And
Peter answered that, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. And Jesus Christ was quick to
come in there with the answer and say, flesh and blood did
not reveal this unto you, but my Father, which is in heaven.
Don't take credit for that, Peter. Well, Peter didn't take credit
for it, but he understood. And here we find Job making the
same confession. Verse 3, who is he that hideth
counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that
I understood not things too wonderful for me, which I knew not." Do
you think that Job, at the conclusion of this whole book, would say,
I wish I hadn't had to go through all that mess? You know what he's going to say?
I'm thankful to God that he took me through that whole mess, that
I could know him like this. Here I beseech thee, and I will
speak. I will demand of thee, and declare
unto me. Verse 5, I have heard of thee
by the hearing of the ear. Well, that's grace. If you ever
got to hear with the hearing of your ear, the gospel, that's
grace. But what does he go on to say? But now mine eye seeth
thee. How glorious. is this which Job
got to see, my eye seeth thee. Chapter 42 and verse 7, and it
was so that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job the
Lord said unto, I'm glad we get this taken care of, Eliphaz the
Timonite, my wrath is kindled against thee and against thy
two friends for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right
as my servant Job hath. In a short confession, I heard of you with the hearing
of the ear, but now my eye seeth you. And God's wrath is turned
against those three religious guys. And he asks them in verse
8 to make an offering that his wrath turn away. And then in
Job chapter 42 and verse 12, so the Lord blessed. the latter end of Job more than
his beginning. He had it great. He was wonderfully rich, blessed
by a large family, had everything that he could hope to have. And
then when it was all removed in the fall, he was a pitiful state. that even his religious friends
could not recognize him for such a pitiful state he was in. For
the chapters he went back and forth with those religious people
and finally someone, Elihu by name, came along and said, I
have a message for you. I have good news for you. I have
good news about an almighty God. I have good news about a God
who can do exceedingly exceedingly above all that we ask or think.
I have that God. He preached unto him the gospel
of a savior that can save, a redeemer that can redeem, a Holy Spirit
that can raise from the dead. This God, he preached that message
unto him. How glorious a message it is.
In fact, it was so glorious that this man Job said, I've heard
about you. That's religion. I can say, I
knew about Christ, but I didn't know him. Elihu, his name means he is my
God. The other guy with the Eli in
his name meant my God is gold. I'm religious on purpose. It's
going to make me rich. Anyway, the Lord blessed the
latter. And let's read that last 12th
verse. So the Lord blessed the latter
end of Job more than his beginning, for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000
camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, 1,000 she-asses. He had also seven
sons and three daughters. And then he gives us the names.
And verse 7. And Job died being old and full
of years. We are thankful that somebody
came along and brought the message to Job
about a savior that can save, an almighty God. King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. And a God that would come directly
to Job, appear to Job, bring him to saving knowledge of Christ. And Job could say, make confession,
doesn't take much. You know what? He never said
in that confession, I was the worst sinner in the world. He
just said, I've heard of you with the hearing of the ears,
but now my eye seeth you. I am vile. Brother Mike.