begin our worship of God this
evening with prayer. Almighty God, King of Kings and
Lord of Lords, we come aside again for a little while to worship
Thee, our Creator. We thank Thee, Lord, for this
day that has been given to us and for our life, and we thank
Thee for the desire that is within our hearts to be found here this
evening. We acknowledge, Lord, it is of
thy mercies that we are not consumed. We acknowledge that it is of
thy grace that we have any desire to look unto the Lord and to
be saved. And we pray that as we are gathered
around thy word this evening, that thou draw near unto us,
that thy face may shine upon us, that we may know the blessing
of the Lord. Do remember those who are unable
to meet with us this night. Do bless them, we pray. And those who may listen in online,
Lord, we ask that thou go forth and bless them in their souls
and each may know what it is to grow in grace and the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray, Lord, for thy favour
and blessing to rest upon each aspect of our worship this night
as we sing thy praises, as we come to thee in prayer, we ask
that thou teach us how to pray. As we read from thy holy word,
we pray that it may go forth with power into our hearts and
bear a seed down into that good ground. Lord, that it may bring
forth that fruit for thy honour and for thy glory. Do forgive
us then we pray of our many sins and do make up where we fail
as we ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. May the Lord help us as we sing
our first hymn from Gatsby's 695 to the tune 478 695 Blessed Comforter, appear to
thy waiting children here. Bless us with a solemn frame.
Magnify the Saviour's name. 695. to appear, to thy waiting children
give. Bless us with a solemn prayer,
magnify the Savior's name. Raise our souls from earth and
sea, fill thy pow'r with faith. Make the vict'ries of repentance,
punctuously served, ? Dry me dry, O from that hour
? ? Shower all things from above ? ? Fill our souls with heavenly
love ? ? May we mutually agree ? Let's turn together in God's
holy word to the book of Job, reading chapter 22 and 23. Job 22 and 23. Then Eliphaz the
Tenemite answered and said, Can a man be profitable unto God,
as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is it any pleasure
to the Almighty that thou art righteous? Or is it gain to him
that thou makest thy ways perfect? Will he reprove thee for fear
of thee? Will he enter with thee into
judgment? Is not thy wickedness great,
and thine iniquities infinite? For thou hast taken a pledge
from thy brother for naught, and stripped the naked of their
clothing. Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,
and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. But as for the
mighty man, he had the earth, and the honourable man dwelt
in it. Thou hast set widows away empty,
and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. Therefore snares
are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee, or darkness
that thou canst not see, and abundance of waters cover thee.
is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the
stars, how high they are! And thou sayest, How doth God
know? Can he judge through the dark
cloud? Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not, and
he walketh in the circuit of heaven. hast thou marked the
old way which wicked men have trodden, which were cut down
out of time, whose foundation was overflown with the flood,
which said unto God, Depart from us, and what can the Almighty
do for them? Yet he filled their houses with
good things. But the counsel of the wicked
is far from me. The righteous see it and are
glad, and the innocent laugh them to scorn. Whereas our substance
is not cut down, but the remnant of them that the fire consumeth. Acquaint now thyself with him,
and be at peace. Thereby good shall come unto
thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law
from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou
return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt
put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou
lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Uthra as the stones of
the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy
defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. For then shalt
thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy
face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto
him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto
thee, and the light shall shine upon thy ways. When men are cast
down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up, and he shall save
the humble person. He shall deliver the island of
the innocent, and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands. Then Job answered and said, even
today is my complaint bitter. My stroke is heavier than my
groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might
find him, that I might come even to his seat. I would order my
cause before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would
know the words which he would answer me and understand what
he would say unto me. Will he plead against me with
his great power? No, but he would put strength
in me. There the righteous might dispute
with him. So should I be delivered forever
from my judge. Behold, I go forward, but he
is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him. On the
left hand, where doth he work? But I cannot behold him. He hideth
himself on the right hand, but I cannot see him. But he knoweth
the way that I take. And when he hath tried me, I
shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps,
his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone
back from the commandment of his lips, and have esteemed the
words of his mouth more than my necessary food. But he is
in one mind, and who can turn him? And what his soul desireth,
even that he doth. For he performeth the thing that
disappointed for me, and many such things are with him. Therefore
I am troubled at his presence, when I consider I am afraid of
him. For God maketh my heart soft,
and the Almighty troubleth me. Because I was not cut off before
the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my
face. May the Lord add to us the blessing
of his word, and maybe help once again to continue in prayer. Great God of heaven, we come
before Thee once again by Thy Son and through Thy Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee that He ever lives
to intercede for us. We thank Thee for His perfect
life, His perfect sacrifice, His resurrection and ascension
up into glory. We thank Thee that we can come
boldly to the throne of grace. We thank Thee for the new and
living way. We thank Thee for the entering
in to the Holy of Holies by Thy Son. And we thank Thee that we
can commune with Thee, our Creator, the Holy, Holy, Holy God. We
thank Thee, Lord, that we can come unto one who with Thee nothing
should be called impossible. We thank Thee that Thine ear
is open unto the cry of the righteous. We thank Thee that Thou art able
to speak and apply Thy holy word to our lives and it may bring
us comfort. We thank Thee, Lord, that we
can see Thy hand guiding and directing us in providence, that
we can see crooked things made straight and rough places made
plain. We thank Thee we can trust Thee
for all our daily needs and provisions. We thank Thee that we can trust
Thee for our salvation, that our souls can be redeemed by
the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. and that we can
find security and eternal life in thy son and we pray lord that
thou increase our faith, increase our faith to trust in thy word,
to trust in thy promises, to trust in thy guiding hand and
thy all-prevailing hand and to rest in thy word and lord as
we look around and see so much turmoil and confusion as we see
so many threats being thrown this way and that way and so
much seems to be up in the air and so much anger and hatred
and wars and rumours of wars seems to be covering the news
at this time. We thank thee that there is peace
and safety with thee. We acknowledge, Lord, that thou
art still on the throne. We acknowledge that men's thrones
will come and go. Their power is but for a moment
a fleeting existence. Yet we thank thee that we come
to thee, the eternal God, with no beginning and no end. We thank thee, Lord, that there
is no limit to thy power. We acknowledge, Lord, that even
the small details of our life are under thy control and the
great events that take place throughout this earth are subject
to thy will. And Lord, we pray that we may
fall under thy mighty hand and acknowledge that thou art God
and there is none else. We thank Thee, Lord, that through
Thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, we can have that relationship
with Thee as our Father, that art in heaven. We thank Thee,
Lord, that we have been invited to the throne of grace. We thank
Thee that we can come unto Thee and it is revealed to us. that
thou dost know the things that we have need of before we even
ask of thee. We thank thee Lord that thou
hast woven into thy providential plan that thy people should come
to the throne of grace that we may witness the answers to our
requests that we may be encouraged and that our faith may grow as
we witness thy hand dealing intimately with us in our lives. And we
thank thee Lord that thou art a God that is near at hand. And
we thank thee that through Christ we have a friend who sticks closer
than a brother. And we pray, Lord, as we have
come aside for a little while to worship thee this night, we
come, Lord, to seek thy face. We ask that thou look with favour
upon us, that we may know the blessing of the Lord, that we
may know that, Lord, that thy face is for us and not against
us. that we may experience the burning
of our hearts, that thy word may have an effect upon us, that
we may be touched by thy spirit, and that thy word may be planted
deep within, that it may grow in thy time away, to bear fruit
for thy honour and for thy glory. We pray, Lord, that Satan may
be kept at bay, that the word will not be snatched from our
minds, Lord, but it may take deep root within, that it may
be able to stand the storms and trials of this life that we walk. We pray for each one, Lord, that
has gathered this evening. We ask that thou bless and comfort
and uphold, let us know the pathway of each, the concerns that they
may hold in their hearts. And Lord, we pray that they may
know the comfort and help of thy spirit. We thank thee for
the Lord Jesus Christ that revealed to us that he is full of compassion,
that he was compassionate to the needs of the people that
were around about him in the time when he was upon earth.
And we thank thee that even today we have the good shepherd who
knows his sheep, and he is concerned for their welfare, concerned
for their struggles, and we thank thee that we have thy comforter,
the Holy Spirit, and we pray, Lord, then, that those who have
come this evening, discouraged and downhearted, may know an
uplifting, that they may be blessed with spiritual food, spiritual
nourishment, to enable them to continue to press on in the remaining
days of this week. Pray, Lord, for those who are
struggling in the mind. Lord, we pray that thou be with
them, uphold them and strengthen them, grant them a peace which
is beyond our understanding, the peace of thy Holy Spirit,
a calming of the storm, a slowing down of the mind. Help us, Lord,
we pray, to look and to lay hold of the promises of thy Holy Word,
to take comfort and help uh in them we pray lord for those who
labor daily under the weakness of body to be with them we pray
we pray for keith lord that they'll uphold him and help him grant
him that strength needed as he prepares for sunday to preach
in Halsham, to grant him the strength of body, mind and spirit
as he seeks to lay forth thy word to the friends there. And Lord, we pray for Jesse also,
labouring under the weakness of flesh, to be with him, we
pray, and help him, and help him, Lord, in his studies. And
we pray that keep him and do watch over him we pray lord we
ask that thou bless those unable to be with us those laid aside
through sickness do draw near to them uphold them and lay thy
healing hand upon them we continue to pray for Elsie's sister Hannah
and her ongoing recovery. Lord, we acknowledge that it
has been a difficult road and many ups and downs, Lord, but
we pray that all of these things may work together for good for
her never dying soul. We pray that thou lay thy healing
hand upon her. grant her that continued submission
to thy holy will and we pray that it may draw others to the
throne of grace, it may draw others to see their need of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We ask that it may have a great
sanctifying effect upon many and a drawing effect also, Lord,
we ask. We pray, Lord, for our our nation. Do, Lord, remember those who
rule over us. Have mercy, Lord, upon them.
We pray for the unrest that is being broadcast and the different
people who are protesting against various things. Lord, we ask
that they may come to know the peace of God, the peace of thy
spirit. They may look to the Lord Jesus
Christ and rest in him. Pray, Lord, for the church in
England, the one true church. Do, Lord, continue to provide
and bless and build her up and establish her in the truth. We pray, Lord, for where there
are divisions, Lord, we ask that those walls may be broken down
that we pray Lord where there is that a few in number that
there may be a building up we pray for those places with out
pastors elders Lord we ask that thou provide them with such that
they may be a true New Testament Church Lord we ask that thou
raise up men to minister to thy people men who will settle in
the churches and Lord do to feed, to under shepherd and to feed
thy dear people. We pray that there may be thy
blessing upon the children and young people. Do watch over them,
especially at this time of year as they holiday, as they go to
various camps. Lord, we pray for thy blessing
and thy help to be granted. We think of the teachers of the
various camps and Lord we pray that they may be helped and to
know the power of thy Holy Spirit as they minister thy word. Do
bless all endeavours that are done in thy name for thy honour
and for thy glory that there may be that moving of thy spirit
amongst the amongst the little ones. We pray for our Sunday
school teachers to help them Lord as they rest for a little
season and we pray that they may be strengthened and up up
up held as they hope to begin in the next month. Lord, we pray
that thou would go before them and bless the endeavours of the
Sunday School. We ask that thou work in the
surrounding area, that there may be that drawing in. We thank
thee for those who come now and we pray for thy blessing, Lord,
to be upon them also. And we thank thee, Lord, for
this church and for this congregation and we pray that we may continue
to know thy presence and help as we meet together Lord, we
pray that thy spirit may work amongst us, that the believers
in the Lord Jesus may be established in the truth and that those who
are seeking the salvation of their soul, they may lay hold
of the Lord Jesus Christ and know that cleansing from his
precious blood. We pray for those who come out
of persuasion from their parents or maybe of Tradition, O Lord,
we ask that they may be granted that true hunger and thirst,
that true seeking after the things of God. We ask then, Lord, that,
remember David, we thank thee for him being here this evening.
Do be with them as they take care of the grandchildren. Lord
we pray thou go before him in preparations for the Lord's day
and do uphold him in the ministry of the word and may he see the
the fruit of his labors and encourage him Lord we ask in the ministry
of the word do then Lord we pray Come once again and enable me
to speak. Open up my understanding to thy
word and pour in that I might be able to pour out. That Lord
we may feed and be blessed as we ask it with the forgiveness
of our sins. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Our second hymn is from Hymns
for Worship 103. to the tune 144, 103. Great is the Lord, and greatly
he is to be praised still within the city of our God, upon his
holy hill. 103 from hymns for worship. The city of the mighty King On
an old site of stone O come, O come, O come, O come,
O come, When Judas brought us joyfully,
our judgment set. ? At every step of the way ? So once again the help of the
Lord would like us to turn together to the second chapter that we
read together at Job 23 and the text you'll find in verse 10.
But he knoweth the way that I take and when he hath tried me I shall
come forth as gold. As we look at the life of Job,
we see that the Lord chose him to walk through a path of great
affliction, a path of great sadness and difficulty and confusion. Although it is easy for us to
read the beginning and to know all that took place and the reasons
why that had to happen. Yet Job was just like us, walking
a day at a time. One day everything seemingly
going fine, the next day everything seems to fall to bits and how
it is even in our own lives, everything seems to be going
smoothly and then things take a turn. And things change. Things alter. And we sometimes
are completely unaware as to the reasons why those things
come or why they take place. It's like they come out of nowhere. It would have been the same with
Job. The trial that he entered came out of nowhere, unexpected. His life was a life of prosperity. He had an abundance of things,
yet in a moment it was all taken away from him. And for him, he
wouldn't have known and he didn't know the reason why the Lord
did it. And as we read through the book
we see that his friends come and seek to offer him some comfort
but they seem to make the matters worse. They try to look for the
reasons why the Lord brought this thing into his life, the
reason why God would have afflicted him in such a way. And so they
tried to bring the answers to Job. And in chapter 22, they
accuse him of committing sin. having no basis for their accusations,
but when they look at the situation that he is in, they can only
be brought to this conclusion, that Job has done something seriously
wrong for God to afflict him in such a harsh and a difficult
way. So they accuse him of great wickedness,
that his iniquities are infinite. The Bible tells us that Job was
an upright man and he eschewed evil. Though his nature was sinful,
his heart, like all hearts, deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked and no doubt he had committed an abundance of sin, that was
not the reason for the Lord dealing with him. As the Lord looked
upon Job he saw him as a righteous and an upright man. As he maybe saw him in Christ as Job had
that faith to declare that one day his Redeemer would stand
upon the earth. And that Job trusted and loved
and worshipped God. And so for him to be accused
of wickedness and iniquity, external wickedness and iniquity was wrong. And often we can look at other
people's lives and we can try and pinpoint the reason why something
may have happened. And often we can get the wrong
end of the stick because our mind is not the mind of God.
God knows the reason why he does things. He knows the reasons
why he brings things into people's lives. and why he turned Job's
life upside down was because he was testing his servant to
prove to Satan that Job loved God not because of the material
things that he had that Job would still hold his integrity he would
still love God even if everything that he had was stripped away
from him. And we see that in all this Job
sinned not with his lips and acknowledged that naked he came
forth from his mother's womb and naked he will depart from
this earth. Job 1 it says, And Job arose
and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the
ground and worshipped and said, Naked I came out of my mother's
womb and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave and the
Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not nor
charged God foolishly. And so as I said, as his friends
come and they begin to reason and to try and work out what
Job had done and accuse him here of sin, abusing the poor, not
giving a drink to the weary, withholding bread from the hungry,
not giving to those in need. And so Job answers their request. His situation we could say was
dire. It was a situation that none
of us would ever want to enter into. A situation that I would
think none of us have actually passed through to such a depth
as this man went. and he says that my stroke is
heavier than my groaning. The situation that he is in is
hard. Then the situation is made even
harder by his friends. It's like having a wound and
then somebody coming and pressing that wound adding more pain. It's painful anyway yet they
come and they press it and they press it and they press it. But
worse than all of that was his feeling of a distant God. A feeling that God had abandoned
him. He says, oh that I knew where
I might find him. that I might come even to his
seat. His friend Eliphaz had told Job,
you've sinned. These are the sins that you've
done. But if you turn to him, if you return to the Almighty,
then he will return to you. He will build you back up. You
will have everything that you had again. And the advice was
good. to turn to God in repentance
and trust, and God would turn again to him and to make his
prayer unto him. But Job says, oh, that I knew
where I might find him. I might even come to his seat.
His friend's telling him, you pray. And he's saying, I've been
praying. I've been laboring at the throne
of grace. I've been unburdening my case
before the Lord, but it seems like the Lord's ear is deaf unto
my cry. He's not speaking to me. He's
not moving on my behalf. His ear is deaf to me. If I could find him, I would
find him. I would lay it all out before
him. Then I know that he would answer
me. And I would understand what he would say unto me. I would
plead against his, I would plead with him and that he would put
strength into me. Says I go forward but he's not
there. Backward but I cannot perceive
him. On the left hand where doth he
work? But I cannot behold him. He hideth
himself on the right hand and I cannot see him. I don't know if you've ever been
in a situation like that. You know the things of life are
falling apart. There's nobody to comfort you. Miserable comforters are ye,
you say. And then you're crying to God.
And God seems to be silent. The Bible seems to be closed. Just words on a page offering
you no comfort, offering you no help, offering you no peace. It's like the Lord's mouth is
closed. His ears are closed. Providentially
it seems like his face is against you, his hand has gone out against
you. And you're in the darkness. and
you can't understand why or what is happening. Job is there. A miserable, lonely, cold, isolated
place for a believer to be. But then he comforts himself
with this. I don't know where he is. But
he knows where I am. He knows the way that I take. I don't know what he is doing.
I can't work out the end from the beginning. I can't get any
comfort from his word. He seems to be deaf to my cry. I don't know is our cry. But then what he does know, he
knows that God knows. but he knows the way that I take. How often we forget that God
knows. There is nothing God could ever
forget, especially his beloved people who he placed in Christ
Jesus. Could never forget them. He knows exactly where they are. exactly what they are doing,
exactly where they are going, exactly what they are passing
through. Of course he knows about Job
and of course he knows about you and your situation. God is
all-knowing. He possesses complete understanding
of past, present and future events. and the intimate details of every
life of one of his children. He knows. And so Job comforts himself with
this statement of faith in the nature, the character
of God. It's a difficult situation, made
worse by his friends, made worse by the seemingly an absent God. Yet he took comfort from the
fact that God knows and that God was causing him to pass through
this thing for a specific reason. For he says, he knows the way
that I take. and when he has tried me when
he has tested me I shall come forth as gold. In Isaiah chapter 30 verse 18. And therefore will the Lord wait
that he may be gracious unto you therefore will he exalt that
he may have mercy upon you for the Lord is a God of judgment
blessed are they that wait for him. Job was able to continue
in his present situation by the knowledge that God knew. Not
only that God knew, but that God had a purpose in the trial
that he was passing through to bring him forth as gold. He was
able to view by faith the end of the trial, knowing that it
would have a specific benefit and effect upon his life. And so he is able to wait for
God. Blessed are they that wait for
him. The Lord waits that he may be
gracious. The purpose of the trial, the
elongating of the trial is to enable Job, we could say, to
grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, to
grow in his own understanding of himself and the greatness
of his God. Isn't it the same with us? The
longer you wait for something, when that thing happens the greater
the rejoicing it is. Through an elongated trial the
desperation that we may feel for that thing to finish As we
wait patiently for when that time comes for that deliverance
great is the rejoicing. Forty years the children of Israel
wandered through the wilderness before the Lord took them over
into the promised land to humble them and to prove them to know
what was in their heart whether they loved the Lord their God
or not. It's been often said, hasn't
it, that anyone can say that they love God when everything
is going smooth. And just as Satan came to test
or came to accuse Job of loving God because of the material things
that he had, God sought to test him and to reveal to the kingdom
of darkness that Job was not in love with the material things
that he had that his love for God was it was far greater than
the love for the material things and so he could take it all away
even his health and Job was still able to confess he knows the
way that I take and when he has tried me I shall come forth as
gold he's able to say the way He knows the way because God
is all-knowing. Of course, he knows the way. He knows the way that Job takes
because he put Job on the way. He knows the difficulty that
Job is passing through because he put him into that difficulty. He knows the way that he takes. in Psalm 107 and verse 6 it says, they cried unto the
Lord in their trouble and he delivered them out of their distresses
and he led them forth by the right way that they might go
to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the
Lord for his goodness and his wonderful works to the children
of men. the Lord is all-knowing, knows
the end from the beginning as he leads his people on the pathway
of life, that narrow way that leads to life, he leads them
forth forward in a right way. Job although a difficult way
and a hard way and a sad way and a perplexing way a mysterious
way yet it was still the right way. It was right because God
led him on it and he's able to confess that God knows the way
that he is on. As I was thinking of God knowing
God knowing everything. I was reminded of some other
texts which speak about the Lord knowing. In Psalm 103, sorry. It tells us there in verse 13,
like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth
them that fear him, for he knoweth our frame. He remembereth that
we are dust. For as a man, his days are as
grass, as a flower in the field, so he flourisheth. for the wind
passes over it and it is done and the place thereof shall know
it no more. He knoweth our frame. He remembereth
that we are dust as a father pities his children. The Lord
understands the weakness and frailty of the human body. He
understands the frailty of the human mind and the perplexities
which we feel. He understands that we can't
work out the way that he is leading us, that we cannot see the end
from the beginning. He understands the limited nature
of our minds. And he remembers that we are
but the dust of this earth. You know that God is spirit.
He knows no bounds, no limits. If we go to the tops of the mountains,
there he is. If we go down into the depths
of the earth, there he is. There is nowhere that we can
not be from the presence of Almighty God. He knows our frame and remembers
we are but the dust. But in more detail, in a more intimate way he knows us in Christ
Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ put on
flesh that he was made a little lower than the angels for the
suffering of death. And so though we may look at
God the Father and see that he doesn't understand the weaknesses
of the flesh, the frailty of the mind, that we are made from
the dust of the earth, yet through Christ Jesus, we have this great
high priest who is touched by our weakness and our infirmity. because he has been housed in
a body like unto our body yet without sin. He understands what
it is to be persecuted, to be hurt, to be tired, to be weary,
to be buffeted by Satan, to be tempted in the wilderness. He
understands our frame completely and so when we come to the throne
of grace as Job, as he seeks for God, he comes to him trying
to find him, we come to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 4 is where it tells
us there about our high priest, seeing then We have this great
High Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of
God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an High Priest
which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. And so through Christ God the
Father understands that we are but the dust of this earth and
the human frailty and weakness that we have, who can understand
the mind of the Lord. His ways are far higher and greater
than our ways. But Job rested on that, that
although I don't know, although I am frail and weak and but the
dust of this earth, limited knowledge, limited understanding, limited
ability, yet he rested on the fact that God knew. I don't know,
but God knows and he knows exactly where I am. He knows exactly
the way that I am taking because he has led me down that path. He has brought me into this present
situation that I'm in. Although it is extremely difficult,
it is a dire situation, yet the Lord knows. And because Christ has ascended
up into glory, he has given to us his spirit, the Holy Spirit,
the Comforter, to help us on our way, to bring us to that
throne of grace, to offer up that prayer with groanings that
cannot be uttered, that our prayer will enter into the ears of the
Heavenly Father, although he delays his answer, Yet he sustains
in the trial and when that time comes that his purposes are fulfilled
in that trial only then will he deliver as Job experiences
at the end of the book that great deliverance and that great blessing
as he waited for the Lord and the Lord then appears unto him. So he remembers our frame, he
knoweth, he knows our frame. because he knows our frame. He
created Adam from the dust of the ground. David says, I was
knit together in my mother's womb. Every single one of us
has been made by God. He knows our character. He knows
the things that we struggle with. He knows the things that are
perplexing and difficult to us right now. But the Bible goes even closer
with the relationship that the believer has with God the Father
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only does God know what is
going through our minds and the present situation that we are
in and that when we come to him in prayer we are not revealing
to him things that he doesn't know. We are merely pouring out our soul to a father
that is in heaven who knows the things that we have need of before
we even ask him. But the Bible tells us, Matthew
6 verse 8, Be ye not therefore like unto them for your father knoweth. Your father knows what things
you have need of before ye ask him. God the Father has chosen
to weave prayer into his will for the benefit of his dear people. He knows what we need. He made
us. He knows the necessities of the
body. He knows the necessities of our
souls and yet he has chosen to use
the means of prayer in his will to encourage us. He's chosen to weave sinful man
into his own perfect will to bring about his own purposes. so that we can be encouraged
in our faith that we as a sinful person dropped to our knees and
pleaded with our Father in heaven about something that's concerning
to us and then we witnessed the answer to that request. that
God already knew exactly what we needed and he prompted us
by his spirit to pray for that thing and then we witness the
answer to that thing and our weak faith is encouraged to press
on and we say praise the Lord he answered my request. Do not
deserve the least of his mercies but he inclined his ear unto
me and he heard my cry and he answered my prayer. What a mercy
it is to experience the answers to our prayers that this holy,
holy, holy God would even listen to us. We said recently the children
don't listen sometimes to us. Sometimes you're speaking to
adults and it's obvious that they're not listening. They start
looking around King Charles would never listen to any of us. Why
would he be interested in what we have to say? Yet our Father
in heaven delights to hear the cries of his people. He has told
them, come boldly to the throne of grace through my beloved son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. I know your frame. I remember
you are but dust of the earth. I see your weaknesses, but come
to me. I'll burden your heart and I
will hear in heaven my dwelling place and I'll forgive your sin
and I'll work on your behalf in your life to bring about my
purposes for my own glory, just as Job. He knoweth the way that
I take and when he has tried me, when he has tested me, then
I will come forth as gold. True faith, living faith, genuine
faith must be tested, must be proved in the furnace of affliction
and even if we come into situations that we cannot understand Circumstances
that are beyond our limited understanding yet our faith lays hold of the
truth that God knows. That when we don't know God knows. The scriptures tell
us many are the afflictions of the righteous. but the Lord delivers him out
of them all. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Jesus tells
us in the world you will have trouble, tribulation. I'll be
of good cheer, I have overcome the world. And if we understand
that those trials are working for a specific purpose it helps
us as we pass through them. That God has not just decided
randomly to bring this thing into our life but he has appointed
it for a particular purpose. Maybe it is because we have drifted
off into some sin that he brings it in as a discipline but then
it is still done in love. It is still done with a purpose
not to destroy you but to bring you back to himself as a heavenly
father deals with his children. He brings that discipline, that
correction, that trial into their lives for restoration not for
destruction. It has a purpose. Ultimately
it is for our growing in grace and to being conformed into the
image and likeness of Christ. That sanctifying effect that
trials should have in the lives of believers. I said to you before
of a sculptor. As they begin work on a rock
no one can see any likeness in it. But as he chisels away day
by day by day, slowly a shape begins to appear. He's making
it into something, a likeness of something, a person. And so
it is with each of the Lord's people, the Lord, God the Father,
is conforming them to the image of his Son, working on them day
by day by day, bringing trials into their lives, sanctifying
them. causing them to grow as a seed
of the word is planted into their hearts it brings forth fruit
for the honour and glory of God the Father and so there is a
specific reason for Job's trial and there is a specific reason
for your trial so that you may come forth as gold. Gold in scripture portrays holiness
You see in the temple, the gold that was there. God is making
you holy. He is putting you in the fire,
turning up the heat so that the dross, that sin, comes to the
surface and then cleans it off. Yes, we will never be perfect
this side of the grave, but he works and works and works upon
his people. as he did with Job, I shall come
forth as God. So although we don't know, but
we do know what the purpose is. And if we can hold the purpose
of the trial in our minds, that God is not afflicting us willingly,
but he has a purpose to bring whatever it is into our life,
to shape us and to mould us, whether it is correction or whether
it is for his own glory, that we may glorify him in the trial
that we are passing through. The end result is God. And as we pass through that last
trial, that last enemy death, then we enter into that sinless
state. We wait for our bodies to be
redeemed, to be resurrected on that great day, a body like unto
his body, a body without sin, a body that can stand in the
presence of a holy God for all eternity. Then we will be as
pure gold, holy, before the Lord. Peter says, so the trial of your
faith is much more precious than gold that perishes though it
be tried with fire. So as God knew exactly what Job
needed the Lord knows exactly what we need and although we
pass through various varied situations in life. God brings each one
through a distinct pathway and brings various trials into the
lives of each of his people. But he does so for a specific
reason. My trials are not your trials.
Your trials are not my trials. God deals with us as individuals
knowing our character, our nature, what we need. As the heavenly
physician he provides the treatment necessary for individual people
to cause them to grow in grace and to be conformed to the likeness
of his son. And Job says, though I can't
find him I can't see him. I'm not being spoken to. It's as though the Lord is not
listening to my cry. I'm in the darkness. But one
thing I do know, I don't know where he is, but I know that
he knows where I am. And I know that he knows what
he is doing in my life to bring about his purposes and that end
of that purpose. is that I may be conformed to
the image of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For he knoweth
the way that I take, and when he has tried me, tested me, I
shall come forth as gold. And the Lord add his blessing.
Amen. May the Lord help us as we sing
our final hymn from Gatsby's 461 to the tune 671. Lord dismiss us with thy blessing,
fill our hearts with joy and peace, let us each, thy love
possessing, triumph in redeeming grace, O refresh us, O refresh
us, travelling through this wilderness. 461. Let us eat the Lord's food. Heart with fresh hearts, love
with fresh hearts, gambling through this wilderness. Limbs we give an adoration, for
thy gospel's joyful sound. May the fruits of thy salvation
in our hearts and minds be found. May thy presence, may thy presence
with us evermore May we read Thee, May we read
Thee, And now may the grace of God
and the love of the, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God, the fellowship and the communion of the Holy
Spirit to be with us each now and for evermore. Amen. Amen.