Stand up and bless the Lord,
the Lord, the God of all. Stand up and bless His glory
and may His love forevermore. Okay, you may be seated. All right, let's open our Bibles
now to Job chapter 19. Job chapter 19. I don't suppose there's anybody
in here that's not familiar with the life and trials of Job. I'm
sure you've read them and you've heard them preached. But there's
one verse of scripture in this nineteenth chapter of Job. One
statement made by Job which explains this book. One statement that explains this
man. His past, his present, his future. And that is verse 21. Job says, Have pity upon me,
have pity upon me, O ye my friends, for the hand of God hath touched
me. The hand of God has touched me. Now Job was wealthy, fabulously
wealthy. and Ike broke. He has nothing,
absolutely nothing. All of his earthly treasures
and possessions are destroyed. Job was a man with a large family. He had ten children, seven boys and three girls, and
they're all dead. He was a man of great popularity,
influence, power, Turn over to Job chapter 1, and
let me read something about him here. It says in Job chapter 1, verse
3, His substance was seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels,
five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses, a very great
household, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of
the East. That's Joe. Powerful, popular, influential. And now he doesn't have a friend.
He's totally deserted. He was a man of good health and
good looks and strength. And now he's totally broken and
hell. In fact, when his three friends
came to comfort him over his losses, they didn't recognize
him. Didn't even know who he was.
He looked so bad. And he explains it all with this
one statement. He said, The hand of God has
touched me. The hand of God? has touched
me." Now, this is a mystery that the natural world does not understand. Only those whom God has touched,
they can enter into what he just said. Now, if he had said, Satan has
come against me, the world would understand that. The religious
world would And the natural man would agree
that bad things that happen to good people are not of God, they're
Satan. But Satan clears that up himself. Turn to Job chapter one again.
We'll let Satan himself tell us the impossibility of his touching
anyone who belongs to God or anything that belongs to him.
Listen to this. In Job 1, verse 8, the Lord said
to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, my servant, and
none like him in the earth? A perfect, that is, mature, upright
man, one who fears God and hates sin. Hates And Satan answered
the Lord and said, Does Job fear you for nothing? Have you not made a hedge about
him, guardian angels to protect him, about his house, everything
that belongs to him, and all that he hath? Isn't that what
I just said? Satan can't touch anything that belongs to him. You bless the work of his hands,
and his substance is increased in the land. Now put forth your
hand, and that's the only hand that can be put forth and touch
a believer, God's hand. Satan will clear that matter
up immediately. I would tell all these Armenian
preachers, Satan doesn't have the power you think he has. Let
him tell you. He's the devil, but he's God's Put forth your hand and touch
all that he hath, and he'll curse you to your face." And God put
forth his hand. He uses second and third and
fourth causes. He uses means, but it's God who
ordains everything in your life. All things work together for
good to them who love him, to them who are called according
to his purpose and for his glory. And this is the way of grace.
This is God's method of grace. Our Lord told his disciples,
in this world you shall have tribulation. Paul wrote to the
Thessalonians, he said, these trials and troubles were appointed
thereunto. When we first met Job here in
chapter one, let me tell you some things about him. When we
first met him, he was God's servant. People were running around arguing
about whether Job was saved or not. We let God answer that.
He said, he's my servant. He's my servant. What did God
say about Job? He said, he's my servant. He
said, he's a mature man. He's an upright man. He's an
honest man. He fears me. And he hates evil. And there's none like him. This
man's a saved man. He's a child of God. Don't you
ever put a question mark on Job's relationship with God. I'd be
totally deliriously happy if God said this morning about me,
he's my servant. He fears me. And that thing God
said about Job, he speaks the things that are right about me.
Now boy, I'd like that to be said. Write it down. He loves
God, he fears God, he hates evil, he's God's servant, and he tells
the truth about God. But Job, successful, prosperous,
God's servant, but self-righteous. You say, that's awful. You've
got some in you too. Yeah, a whole lot of it we have.
Self-righteous. He's proud. He's a proud man. That's right. He's a self-confident
man. Let's read that. I'll let you
read it. In Job chapter thirty-two. Job, slave man, a believer, child
of God, loves the Lord, but he has a whole lot of flesh in him.
A whole lot of it. Self-righteousness and pride
and arrogance and self-confidence. Look at Job 32, verse 1. These
three fellows, they just ceased to answer Job because he was
righteous in his own eyes. That's the impression he gave
them. He was righteous in his own eyes.
And then this young man that the Lord raised up to speak to
all four of them, named Elihu, then was kindled the wrath of
Elihu, the son of Bereika, the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram,
against Job. This young man, this young servant
of God, this young preacher of God, was mad at Job. Mad at him. God brought this young man, he
raised him up. Why? Because he justified himself
rather than God. And I'll tell you a little speech
he made. Turn to Job 33. This man speaking by the power
of the Spirit. He was God's representative to
these Job and his three friends. I want you to listen in Job 33
verse 8 what he said about Job. and what he said to him. Surely
thou hast spoken in my hearing, Job thirty-three eight. I've
heard the voice of your words. I've sat here and listened to
you, and you said I'm clean. I'm without transgression. Now
Job was defending himself. These three fellows had come
up there, and here Job had lost all of his children, all his
possessions, and his health, and he's sitting there on the
ash heap, scraping ballhouse on his flesh. And they said,
What have you done to bring all this judgment in your life? They
were accusing him of some awful, gross sin. What have you done,
Job, to make God treat you this way? Job said, Not me. I haven't
done anything. And he lied. You've got no idea
about that. Job was trying to defend himself against the charges
of these men. He said, I've heard you've said
I'm innocent. Neither is there any iniquity
in me. Now, behold, he findeth occasion
against me. He counted me for his enemy.
He's talking about God. Job's talking about God. He put
my feet in the stocks. He marketh all my paths. Behold
in this, Job, you're not just in this now. And I'm going to
answer you. God's greater than me. Why do you strive against
God? He giveth no account of any of
his matters. God speaketh once, yet twice,
yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the
night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, and slumberings upon
the bed, then he openeth the ears of men,
and sealeth their instructions, that he may withdraw man from
his purpose, his work, and hide pride from man. God does these
things deliberately. Now then, that's the way we met
Joe. A servant of God, a saved man,
a godly man, an honest man, a man of great integrity, but a man
with pride and self-righteousness and self-confidence. Now when
all this trial is over, And we encountered Job years
later. After all this is over, he's
a different man. Now I want you to turn to Job
40, and let's read about the Job that emerged after these
trials were over. After these trials were over.
I don't know how much longer. Weeks? Months? I don't know.
Maybe right along this time. But the Lord spoke to him in
Job 40 verse 1. Oh, the Lord answered Job and
said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?
He that reproveth God, let him answer him. Job answered the
Lord and said, Behold, I am bowed. That's a different Job. That's not the same person that
says, I'm innocent. He says, I'm bowed. What shall
I answer thee? He's been answering him. He's
been popping off, you know, about the things that he didn't desire. I'm going to lay my hand on my
mouth. Once have I spoken, but I'll
not answer. Twice, but I'll go on. I perceive
no father. Got nothing to say. Put my hand
on my mouth. And then look at Job 42. Here
he is again. In Job 42, verse 1. Then Job answered the Lord and
said, I know that thou canst do everything, and no thought
can be withholding from thee. You said to me, this is Job quoting
the Lord, Job speaking, he's quoting the Lord. You said to
me, who is he that hieth as counsel without knowledge? Therefore
have I uttered that I understood not. Things too wonderful for
me, things which I knew not. You said also to me, Here I beseech
thee, and I'll speak, I'll demand of thee, and declare thine own
to me. Now, Lord, I've heard of thee by the hearing of the
ear, but now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I hate myself, I hate
myself, I abhor myself, I repent, and sackcloth and ashes." Job
saved those loves God, fears God, child of God, but proud,
maybe worldly, a little touch of worldliness and success and
self-confidence. After God's hand touched him,
the hand of God touched me, powerfully laid upon his life and everything
he had, Job emerges a different person. broken, humbled, crushed, silent,
willing to listen. That's God's method of grace.
You see, my friends, salvation's instant. The new birth is instant. The thief on the cross, faith
on the spot, child of God. Lydia, heard Paul preach one
sermon down to the riverside, and came to the knowledge of
Christ. The eunuch, he was in transition from one
place to another, riding in a chariot, and heard the gospel of God's
grace and passed from death unto life. Abraham, seventy-five years
old, worshipper of idols, met the living God, and he believed. to him right there as righteousness,
as a child of God. The apostle Peter, whom do you
say that I am? I am the Christ, the Son of the
living God. Blessed are you. Blessed are
you. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that to you, but my Father. But, oh, how Christ worked on
worked on putting through the mill. You see, conversion is
instantaneous. I mean, salvation is instantaneous. Conversion takes a little longer. Conversion takes a little longer,
a real lot longer sometimes, a whole lifetime sometimes. That's
the reason the Lord said to this man Peter, when you're converted,
I hear people say, well, he wasn't saved. Yes, he was. He that believeth
on the Son of God saved. Whoso shall confess that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God is born of God. He that heareth my word
believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life. But he
said, Peter, when you're converted, when God has put you through
these things, you're going to come out a strength and a pillar
and a rock. and encourage your brethren.
You see, Satan said to the Lord, he said, now if you'll touch
Job, you reach out and touch him, he'll crush you to your
face. And a lot of people will. And
a lot of people do. But not a believer. Not a believer. A believer realizes that God's
moving in his life and working on his heart, working on him
to bring him to maturity. You see, to be exalted,
we've just got to be a base. There's no shortcuts. To live eternally, we've got
to die. Our Lord said he that would save
his life going to lose it. Talk about save his reputation
and his position and his comforts and his health and his progression
and save his life. He'll lose it. But he that loses
his life for my sake, he'll find it. To be strong, he's got to
be Nowhere around this now. The
religious world's trying to get around it, but it can't be done.
To be wise, you've got to be a fool. For Christ's sake. All your natural
wisdom, you've got to regard it as foolishness. That's right. Education, intellectualism. But
I've got a master's degree. It won't do you any good. except
to make more money here on the earth, you won't have to quit
God. Your master's degree is a degree
of fools. It's man's wisdom. You've got
to forget all that. It's got to be buried and burned,
and see Christ as the wisdom of God. To be full and complete, you've
got to be emptied. God called Abraham out of his
father's house. He said, I'm going to take you
to the land, I'll show you. And Abraham knew God, he believed
God. But God had to work him over.
Oh, the trials of Abraham. Somebody tells me there's seven
or eight trials of Abraham that are just indescribable somehow. He never owned a foot of land.
God promised him this, but he never—he dwelt in tents and tabernacles
with Jacob and—Isaac and Jacob, the Scriptures say. And then
he had a son that God promised him, handsome lad. He'd already put Ishmael and
Hagar out, and that cut his heart out to do that. Had to. That had to be one of the most
severe trials that a man could possibly face. Ishmael had been
his son for years and years and years. He taught him to hunt
and fish and climb mountains with him and hiked with him and
loved him. And God said, get him out of
here. Get him out of here. The bond, son of the bondwoman
can't be the heir with a, with a miracle son. Get him out of
here. And then when he thought everything was peaceful and happy
and going his way, and old Isaac, He kind of, he kept in touch
with Ishmael. But he's gone now, and the time
had helped heal a lot of the hurt. But here was Isaac, so
handsome and strong and big, big young man, probably in his
late teens, early twenties. And Abraham could sleep at night
a little bit now. He was lying one night, and God
came to him and said, Abraham, carry him out. Take your son. the only son whom you love. To the mountain I'll show you
him, and quarter him, and burn him on an altar as a sacrifice
to me." Abraham loved God. He believed
God. We found that out, didn't we?
But he had to be—it had to be revealed to him. It had to be—he
had to be—he had to be tried. Moses. Moses. Moses was God's
servant from the time that Mama put him in that basket or before.
Before he was ever born, he was God's servant. God's child. God's
deliverer. God's prophet. But he—God raised him in Pharaoh's
home and made him the a precision, well-toned, talented, statesman,
fighter, soldier, leader, captain, forty years old, had the world
by the tail on a downhill pole, ready to deliver it out of Egypt,
cocky as they come. He believed God, but he sure
was a—he sure was a bull in a county out there and kill that Egyptian
that day, you know. He's going to be the deliverer.
And then these two Israelites got in a fight, and he divided
them. They said, You going to kill us like you did that Egyptian?
He said, I better get out of here. And he left and stayed
gone forty years. Forty years on the back side
of the desert. Forty years as a humble shepherd
of sheep. Forty years now. out of Pharaoh's
palace, away from the count of the treasures of Egypt. There's
nothing compared to the riches of Christ. But God worked him
over, and let me read you something over here in Numbers 12. Numbers
chapter 12, verse 3. Numbers 12, verse 3. And this
was after all this, a God worked him over severely, severely. He's eighty years old now. And he says here in verse three
of Numbers 12, Now the man Moses was very meek about all the men
on the face of the earth. That's a whole lot different
person than was down there in left Egypt. Converted. Converted. Converted. way back, John. When was I saved?
Fourth foundation of the world. When was I saved? When Christ
died on the cross. When was I saved? When He called
me by His grace. But I'm being saved now. Being converted. That's, that's
just so Moses. Take the apostle Paul. He said,
God chose me from my mother's reveal His Son in me. But I tell
you, he was nearly forty years old before the Lord brought him
to knowledge of the gospel, and then he had to lose everything
he had. Look at Philippians 3. Listen
to this, Philippians chapter 3, beginning with verse 7. And this man was an educated
man. This man, in fact, one of the
kings said to him, you've studied so much, you've lost your mind.
Much learning's made you mad. This man was, he was known in
the palace, he was known in Jerusalem, the capital of religion, he was
known everywhere. He was somebody. Like Job, he
was somebody. Somebody great. But he said,
verse 7, what things were gained to me, I counted loss for Christ. Gave doubtless, I count all things
but loss, all things, all things but loss, for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I suffered
the loss of all things. I do count them but dumb that
I may win Christ's conversion." Conversion. and be found in him, not having
mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith." I'll tell you this. Turn back to Job 19. I'll
tell you this. One way you can know that what's
going on in your life which you call salvation which we call salvation, believe
in the gospel. One way you can know that it's
real and genuine, if the hand of God touches you. If the hand of God touches you
and keeps on touching you, and keeps on touching you, and keeps
on to continue, because he's bringing you to that point where
he's everything to you. Now here's what Job said. Let's
look at it. In Job chapter 19, Job describes
what the Lord's doing and done for him and to him. Verse 6,
Job 19, 6. Talking to his friends there,
know now that God's overthrown me. He's dethroned me. He's dethroned me and enthroned
Christ. That's what God's done. He's
dethroned me. He's compassed me with a net.
I get the picture there of a fisherman in a boat. He throws out that
net and gets a school of fish and he pulls them to himself.
Pulls them to himself. Draw me. He's encircled me with
his net. He's touching me. He dethrones
me. He's knocked me off the throne.
Enthroned, crowned. They draw me to him. And I cry
out of wrong. I complain against the wrong
that's been done to me and the way I've been treated, but I'm
not hurt. He's not listening to my complaints and my murmuring
and grumbling. I'm not hurt. I cry a lot, but
there's no judgment. The wicked still prosper. David
had a battle with that in Psalm 73, you know, about the prosperity
of everybody that didn't do right and the misfortunes upon those
that do right. I've not heard. I complain that
I've not heard. He's fenced up my way, and I
can't pass. My way's not his way. I've got
this thing planned, what I'm going to do, and what my family's
going to do, and what my children are going to do, and what my
future's going to be. I've got this way all planned,
and he's just fenced it out, and I can't go that way. Every
time I turn that way, it's blocked some way, and he says here that
my way, my way is darkness. He has said, darkness in my path.
This is the way I think we ought to do it, and the way we ought
to go, but it's just as dark as pitch out there. Dark as pitch. He fixed up my way and my purpose, That has to be done. Barnard said one time, I know,
you tell me your Savior, I know who your Savior is, who's your
Lord? Who's your Lord? Who's Lord of
your life? You've got a Savior, but who's
the Lord? Well, He's not your Savior if He's not your Lord.
And He's going to be Lord now. He's going to take the crown
off your head. He's going to dethrone you. He's going to strip
you, break you. He has to. And let me show you
what he did to this man Job. I wrote something down here,
and I listened to him. Let me just give it to you the way I
wrote it. All that Job had, all that Job
was, to distinguish him and make him different and special among
men, God destroyed. everything. God stripped him,
stripped him, to reveal to Job. Nobody else saw it, but Job did,
finally. God stripped him to reveal to
him that all these personal distinctions in which he took pride were nothing
but clothing and covering for a failed mass of fallen flesh
which depends on God for its next breath. That's all we are. Depends on God for your next
breath, because if you don't get that one, we bury you next
week. And when God, when Almighty God
determines to take a city, he's going to take it. Read about Jericho. When he determines
to take one, he's going to take it. And that's what Job says
here in these next verses. It's an all-out war. God's troops
are engaged to conquer, not to console. To conquer and occupy
and pull down the flag of human flesh and raise the banner of
Jehovah He says in verse 10, he's destroyed
me on every side, I'm gone. My hope hath he removed like
a tree cut down. He's kindled his wrath against
me, that's what it appeared. He counted me unto him as one
of his enemies, that's what it looks like, doesn't it? Now he's
one of his dearest, most beloved children, but he's got to take
Job out of Job, so Christ will be in Job. And this old man dies so hard. He cakes and struggles and fights
and fumes. Looks like, I mean, his troops
come together and raise up their way against me, and encamp right
about my cupboard. I could have had him where I
live, his hand to God. And you know, his friends didn't
understand this. None of them did. His family,
nobody understood. His wife said, won't you curse
God and die? How long are you going to maintain
your integrity? Listen to what he says. Here's
the way people acted. He's put my brethren far from
me, my acquaintance severely estranged from me, my kinfolks
have failed, my familiar friends have forgotten me. They that
dwell in my house and my maids count me for a stranger. I'm
an alien in their sight. I call them a servant, he ain't
paying attention to me. I'm treating them with my mouth,
but my breath is strange to my wife. I'm treating her for the
children's sake of my own body. Yeah, young children despise
me. I rose and they, they, they spake against me. All my inward
friends abhorred me, and they whom I loved turned against me,
and my bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I must greet
with the skin of my teeth." And he looks at these three friends
and he says in verse 21, have pity on me. Have pity on me. For my friends, the hand of God's
touched me." Job tries to explain to them,
this is the hand of God. When God's pleased to reveal
his power and his wisdom and his grace, when he's pleased
to call a man to himself, when he's pleased to conquer a sinner,
when he's pleased to reign in our lives, it's awesome! It's an awesome experience. which
calls for understanding and pity and compassion, and those whom
the Lord hath touched, they understand. They understand. I know what's
happening. I've been there. I know what's
happening. God's going to make something
out of you, a trophy of His grace. God's going to move in. Stronger
than he's got to come upon you. You see, when a man's arm kinks
his palace, he defends it, but one stronger than he comes upon
him spoils his good. Takes away all these trinkets.
Breaks his hand, his fingers if he has to, to make him turn
them loose. He'll break your finger. But when he sets out to conquer a
heart, he conquers it. To reign in a life, he reigns. And that's what Job was saying
to them there. He says, but don't expect anybody
to understand. Don't expect them to understand. Don't do it. And then he says
to them in verse 22, he said to these religious fellows, why
do you persecute me as God, and you're not satisfied with my
physical sufferings? One of the old writers said this
is what he's saying to them. Why do you judge me? Why do you
persecute me as if you were God and not just men? Why do you
judge me as if you had the same infinite knowledge of Almighty
God? You ever heard somebody say, oh, he's just not saved?
Now come on, now, wait a minute now. Are you God? You know who's
saved and who's not saved? It sounds like you don't know
what salvation is. That's what he's saying to them.
Why do you judge me like God? You're not God, you're men. You
can't see my heart. God can do what he will with
me because he's God. But it belongs not to those who
are but men to judge the hearts of another. And he says, you're
not satisfied with my flesh. You gotta, you gotta judge my
spirit. That's what he meant when he
said, judge not that you be not judged. Don't start judging the
work of God in another man's life and heart. But then he says,
let me go on record. Let me go on record here, you
fellas. Oh, that my words were now written
in a book. And, Joe, they will be, and they
were. Oh, that my words were printed in a book. Oh, verse
24, that they might engrave them with an iron pen and lay it on
my tombstone. This is… Oh, writing in a book. I'm going to tell you something
here now. Writing in a book. This is my confession. This is
who I am and what I am and where I am. Writing in a book, Engrave
it on my tombstone. There's an old preacher named
M.T. Martin who's buried down in Mississippi
somewhere. They don't even have his name
on his tombstone. They've got one statement, a
bond slave of Jesus Christ. No name. But the greatest thing
that can be said about it, amen. Now you write this on my tombstone.
Here's where it is. I know that my Redeemer liveth.
I know that. And you know what he's saying
when he says Redeemer? He's saying Kinsman Redeemer. And there is
no name, listen to me, there's no name given the Messiah that's
more significant, more comprehensive, more enduring than Kinsman Redeemer. The whole book of Ruth is about
the Kinsman Redeemer. The one who has the right to
redeem, and the only one. The one who has the price to
redeem, and the only one. The one who has the love and
the will to redeem, and the only one. My redeemer. I, my redeemer. I have a redeemer, he said. Adam
and Eve, God told them about the redeemer. Abraham knew about
the redeemer. Christ said, he saw my day. He
rejoiced to see my day. Moses wrote about the Redeemer.
Jacob, he says, shallows to me. And the scepter won't depart
from Judah till he comes. My Redeemer! These people of
God knew the Redeemer. I know my Redeemer. And he lives. Now notice he didn't say Jesus
is alive. He said he lives. He is alive. Life is in him. Life is in him. He said, I am
he that liveth. And I was dead. Behold, I'm alive
forevermore. He lives. Somebody told me one
time, you ever gonna learn to speak a foreign language? I've
always wanted to speak Spanish, but the hour is too late now.
I can't hear that long speech. But certainly you have to learn
to think in that language. If you're going to talk that
language, is that right, Harry? You've got to learn to think
in that language. Don't think, what is water? Agua. What is good
morning? Buenos Dias. No, you've got to
think, Buenos Dias. That is good morning. That is
it. Agua is water. You've got to think in that language.
If you're going to talk the language of God, you've got to think in
that language. And this religious world doesn't. They tell me God's
a God of love. That's not so. I'll preach it. No, it's not so. God is love.
There ain't no love apart from God. He is love. They say, Jesus is alive and
doing well. No, no, no, no, that's blasphemy.
I'll preach it. No, sir, that's blasphemy. He
is life. Christ is life. There ain't anything
out there wiggling that he didn't give life to. not a tree grown
that he didn't give fat to it and life to it. He just loved
it. Life was in him. They say God's
a God of holiness. No, he's not either. He's only
holiness there is. You don't have any unless you're
in him. He is holy. Holy is his name. He's the mighty
name of liberty. And listen to this. And he's
going to stand on this earth. He shall stand at the latter
day on this earth. You see, Job knew this, that
sin and death and judgment came by a man on this earth who didn't
stand. He fell. Adam. We were in him. That man, by
one man, sin entered the world, death by sin. By one man's disobedience
we were made sinners. didn't stand. But my Redeemer
is going to stand. He'll meet Satan, and Satan hadn't
found nothing in him, in agreement. He stood. And as in Adam we die,
in Christ I'll be made alive. And old Gerald didn't expect
to get well. He said in verse 26, the wrath
to my skin, worms destroy this body, but in my flesh I'm going
to see God. Not in this old corrupted, putrid
flesh, but in glorified flesh like my Lord had my kinsman,
Redeemer, when he arose. Perfect flesh. There's several
kinds of flesh. There's a flesh of foolish, and
there's a flesh of foul, and there's a flesh of beast, and
there's a flesh of man. And then there's a flesh, Christ
said, I have flesh and bones. Glorified flesh. And we're going
to be in his likeness. In my flesh, in my due, incorruptible,
immortal, glorified flesh, I'm going to see my Redeemer, who
is God. He's God. My Redeemer is God. I'm going to see my God. Whom
I shall see for myself. This is what the pastor is telling
us. I'm going to be myself. But vastly imprivileged. We're
going to be ourselves. Whom I shall see for myself,
and my Lord, my God, shall be holy, not another, not another
Jesus, not another Savior, not another human, the only one,
and not another man, me. I'm going to see you. And although
my reins be consumed within me. What's he saying there? He's
saying, my reins within me. That's our inner being. That's
who we really are. The Bible talks about reins.
That's our spirit and soul, our bowels, our innermost being. So one of the old writers said
it used kidneys. Yeah, you don't live without
your kidneys. That's my being. My reins within me are consumed
with this earnest desire for that thing. That's what he's
saying, man. My reins within me are literally
consumed with a desire So what you fellas ought to say, verse
28, you ought to come to this conclusion, why persecute we
him? You know these fellas could never
admit this, never could, but the one God loved is the one
sitting there suffering. Not these three fellas that rode
in town, first class passage. The one God loves, the one God—the
world doesn't even remember these fellas' names. You couldn't name
a one of them, I bet you. But you know Joe. The hand of God hadn't touched
them. He told Joe to pray for him. He told them, you go ask
Joe to pray for you. The one God loved is the one
sitting there. Now, you fellas, you ought not
persecute me seeing the root of the matters found in me. This
is the root of the matter. I know my Redeemer liveth, and
you stand on this earth. And though after my skin worms
destroy this body and my flesh, I'm going to see my God. And
I'm going to see him for myself and not another. Well, you know,
Job got well. It wouldn't have mattered if
he hadn't. He's still got a child, he's still in glory, and the
best is yet to come. But he got well, and God blessed
him with twice what he had before. He lived a lot of years. He had
ten more children. Let me read about that in Job
42, and I'll quit. Job 42. Listen to this. Job came through this. And in
Job 42, verse 12. Look at verse 12. Job 42, verse
12. This is the rest of the story,
and it is beautiful. Listen. So the Lord blessed the
latter end of Job more than his beginning. He had 14,000 sheep. Before, he just had 7,000. Now
he's got 6,000 camels. He had Now he's got a thousand yoke
of oxen. He had five hundred. He has a thousand sea ashes.
He has that five hundred. He has seven sons and three daughters.
Now, preacher, he didn't double them. Yes, he did. The other
ten were living somewhere else, in Glory, and he had ten more
here. That's right. He doubled his
family. He had fourteen boys and six girls. And he said his
girls Tell them to read you about his girls, verse 14. He called
the name of the first Jemima, and the second Kizah, and the
third Kurnatuk. Don't, y'all don't name your
children this now. And in all the land were found
no women so fair as the daughters of Job, and their father gave
them inheritance among their brethren. And this, after this
Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons and his
sons' sons even four generations, he died being old and full of
pain. And every day after that, he
gave thanks for those horrible days. But we have to get on this side
of it to have to be converted. I tell you, and you quote me,
salvation is instantaneous. And it takes the mighty, trying,
afflicting hand of God to convert us. Our Father, thank you for this
beautiful, wonderful example of your method of grace in dealing
with sons whom you love. disciplined, chastened, afflicted,
but it's good for us that we might learn thy statutes. And
Lord, I pray, I pray that you would continue
to deal with us as sons. Deal with us in the way that
seems good in your sight. Enable us to say with old Eli,
it's the Lord. Let him do what he will. with
our blessed servant Job, the Lord gave, and the Lord had taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord. For Christ's sake I pray. Amen. I think this is a fitting hymn,
number 290, Green Book. I was thinking that if we don't
need that message now, if you're a believer, you will need it. So, may the Lord bless that now. Let's stand and sing the first
and last verses. On my side, there patiently, that was suffering
the pain, little by little, And for that, in every change,
His faithfulness remains. in the holy way, this spiritual
way. He still must go