I looked at this passage of Scripture,
Job chapter fourteen. Job chapter fourteen. This is
the reason I've said so often that most of our afflictions are very
light. The common afflictions of the
body and temporary inconveniences that we go through in this They're
very light. This, what I just told you about,
is indescribable grief and pain and trouble. Deep waters. Deep waters. Great ships. God's
people go through deep waters. His comfort. There's only one
place. I was so glad that I drove down
there. It was so worth the eight-hour
round trip. I had just returned by car and
was tired, but it was like I hadn't even made the trip. It was so
worth it. As I heard the gospel, the believer's
comfort expounded once again. And there's only one place to
turn for comfort in a time like that. Only one place you can
go for any answers at all, and that is God's Word. Because the
lot, our lot in life, man's lot in life, especially
the believer, is nothing but trouble. It's what we get. The world, let's look at it here
in Job 14. He says in verse 1, man that
is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. Full of trouble. Now all mankind experiences some
sort of trouble, but turn with me to Psalm 73. Keep your place
there in Job 14. We'll come back to that and do
a verse-by-verse study there. But in Psalm 73, David, the psalmist,
describes the difference, or Asaph, describes the difference
between the troubles that the world experiences and the troubles
of God's people. There's a difference. All mankind
experiences some sort of trouble. They're just different kinds.
Now all unbelievers are in trouble with God. Scriptures plainly
declare that anyone who does not love the Lord Jesus Christ
who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ who does not bow to. Submit to believe me and trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ is under the wrath and the condemnation
of God Almighty and that's trouble such as man has never known when
men finally see that wrath of God fully unleashed in the day
of judgment then they'll know trouble such as never has been
known before. That's a time when the scriptures
describe that they'll be calling upon rocks and hills to kill
them, but yet the worm will die not, to hide them from the face
of this one. All unbelievers are in trouble
with God, though they may not be in trouble in this world. All people don't have the same
troubles. that God's people did. This is what David says here
in Psalm 73, look at verse 5. David was lamenting his own problems
and troubles. He said, but the wicked, the
worldlings, the richlings, verse 5, they're not in trouble as
other men. And you see the world out there
that's rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing
while you struggle. Neither are they plagued like
other men. They're not in trouble as others.
Verse 9, they set their mouth against the heavens, their tongue
walketh through the earth. Proud, Paul talked about it in
1 Timothy, proud boasters, lovers of pleasure more than lovers
of God. They make their boasts against God and anything that
has to do with God. Behold, these are the ungodly
prosper in the world. They increase in riches. But I tell you what, they might
not be in trouble now. But verse 18 says, God set them
in slippery places. They've got one foot on a banana
peel. God set them in slippery places,
and thou castest them down into destruction. It is appointed
unto man once to die, and here's the scary part after that. The men don't consider, do they?
The psalmist says, oh, that they were wise, and they would consider
the latter end. What's the latter end? After
that. They were all going to one place, and then after that.
is a long after that. But God's people now, David said
in verse ten, God's people, believers, his people, verse ten, his people
return hither and waters of a full cup of trouble, that is, trial,
affliction, are wrung out to them. Our dear brother whom I
just mentioned, I cannot even begin to tell you the troubles
that he's been through. Job, he's a modern Job. If I related some of the troubles
and things that happened in his life, you would sit there and
just weep. Yet he sat there in the course
of that message, the death of his darling daughter, just shaking
his head, smiling in full agreement, resting in comfort. But God's people are in trouble.
That doesn't mean that they don't cry. It doesn't mean that they're
not full of sorrow and in trouble. Why do God... Do you know that
God blesses people with trials and trouble? He blesses His people
with that, with trouble. The world doesn't understand
anything about this. You know why God gives his people trouble
in this world and lets those that don't believe him, that
don't rest in Christ, let them have a big old time and enjoy
themselves? You know why? The Scripture says that we might
not find anything after us, so that we won't find anything here
to hold on to, so that we won't enjoy ourselves here too much. Understand what I'm saying? Some
of you understand. It's God's way of weaning his people from
this planet. Why? Because here we have no
continuing city. We don't have a home here. We're
strangers and pilgrims, sojourners. We look for a city whose builder
and maker is God. We have an eternal dwelling place
with God in the heaven. This is not our home, and God's
going to make certain that you know that. And I say this to myself. Brother Scott Richardson said
this. Pray that God doesn't have to break your fingers to make
you let go of something. God in mercy and grace won't
let his children hang on to this. They don't find their comfort,
their enjoyment, their happiness here. Oh, He gives them some
means of happiness, else they would despair all the time. But He doesn't let them find
permanent, lasting fulfillment and enjoyment and happiness here.
No, He lets us see how fleeting it is, how quickly it can be
gone. Don't set your affection on things
below, because those are temporal. Set them on things above, things
that are not seen are eternal, things that will never be taken
away from you. Christ said, My joy, no man can take from My
peace. Now, back in the text of Job
14, He says, Man that is born of a woman is a few days, few
days. For some of you, your years,
I've turned the days, haven't you? Some of you elderly people, your
years are days now. You're not going to count years
anymore. You better wake up every morning
and thank God for the day, that day. For that matter, none of
us know. So there are days to each of
us really. We don't know if we've got a
year. We don't know if we've got six months. We don't know if we have
a month. All we know is we've got today. That's the reason
today is a day of salvation. Don't boast yourself of tomorrow.
You don't know what tomorrow might bring. You might. Who knows? few days and are full of trouble
on every side." Paul said it, we're troubled on every side
in 2 Corinthians 4. Everywhere you look. He says
in verse 2, man comes forth like a flower. That little Lauren Elizabeth
thing. and Jonathan, and these little
babies, you know, they look like precious, tender little rosebuds,
little crocuses coming out of the ground, aren't they? So vibrant
and full of life. And Anna, just full of life,
rosy cheek, you know, like a flower. Just full of life, you know. The cutest baby girl in the world
will soon be a wrinkled old woman. The cutest baby boy you ever
laid eyes on is going to be an ugly, decrepit old man that's
spitting fire. Right? Listen to these verses of Scripture.
See, it says, man comes forth like a flower and he's cut down.
He's cut down. He flees also as a shadow and
continueth not. Listen to these verses of Scripture
and see if you can hear the key phrase here. Adam lived 930 years,
and he died. Seth lived 912 years, and he
died. Enos lived 905 years, and he died. Canaan lived 910 years,
and he died. Jared lived 962 years, and he died. Methuselah
lived 969 years, and he died. And Lamech lived 777 years and
he died. Did you catch the phrase in there? And he died. No matter how long
a man lives, this is going to be written at the end. And he
died. And now it's down to 70 years. If by reason of strength, God-given
strength, there'd be four score, eighty, it's going to be written,
and she died. A shadow. You know how fleeting
a shadow is, don't you? Verse three, and dost thou, look
at this, in consideration of such a frail and finite, fallible,
failing, poor, insignificant creature? He said, Dost thou open thine
eyes upon such a one? Man is such a finite and failing,
poor little insignificant creature. Then there's God, who lives and
abides forever. God said that. He said, I lift
up my hand and I say, I live forever. I'm God. I'm God, I'm
the creator, ruler, controller, I'm life, I live forever. What about man? Puff of smoke, an infinitesimal
speck in the universe. Does the holy, sovereign God
that the heavens cannot contain him? Does this one, the Scripture
says, he asked this, Job asked this, does he look on such a
creature as this man? Does God look at you? There was a time when man was
a notable creature. There was a time when man was
a worthy creature worthy of God's notice. God made him. He was
the first man. His name was Adam. God created
him in his own image. And God looked at him, Sammy,
and said, There's a good thing. He's good. He's worthy. He's
notable. Look at him. Even God admired
him. Yet that man rebelled against
God. Nothing make a man more ugly
than sin, or woman. He rebelled and fell into sin
and depravity, and now he is no longer, mankind is no longer
a beautiful creature in the image of God. Our Lord said, another father
took over, the devil. And now man is a broken, vile,
wretched, miserable excuse for a creature, a poor, pathetic
excuse for the creature that God created. No? You don't believe
that? Have you looked around you lately?
Have you looked at the newspaper? Have you just read the headlines?
Have you turned on the TV for five minutes? Don't you see what
a despicable creature this thing called man is? Well, he can't
even be decent to his own kind, can he? Despicable creature man
is. Man is worse than a beast. The
beasts aren't so brutal and bestial to their own kind. The beasts
don't pollute their own environment. The beasts don't kill their young.
Beasts don't do the things that men do to men, right? Men are worse than beasts. God
said it. He said it a long time ago. Romans
1, he said in verse 29, he said, being filled with all unrighteousness,
fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy,
murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters
of God, despiteful, proud, boaster, inventor of evil things, disobedient
to Paris, without understanding, covenant breaker, without natural
affection, implacable, unmovable, unmerciful. That's man. Now consider this question in
light of this despicable creature. Does God even look on such a
wand as this? Look over Job 15 with me if you're
there. Job 15. Does God open his eyes
on such a despicable creature as this? Look at verse 15. Job
15. Well, he doesn't put any trust in his saints or that is
his angels beside him. They fell, didn't they? Remember
his angels? They rebelled against him. Verse
15, yet the heavens are not clean in his sight. That's the reason
he's going to destroy them and make new ones someday. The heavens
aren't even pure. It's got sin in it now. The angels
floated in it. Verse 16, how much more abominable
and filthy is man which drinketh iniquity like the water, who
goes to bed thinking about it, who wakes up thinking about it,
and spends his whole day doing it. Plotting, planning, pursuing,
doing. evil, malicious, malignant rebellion. Look at chapter 25. Look at Job
chapter 25. Does God look on such a creature
as this? Huh? Look at verse 5, Job 25. The moon it shineth not. Yea, the stars are not pure in
God's sight. How much less man that is a what? And the translation there, John,
is maggot that lives on dead things. Isn't that a description
of mankind living on dead things? This world is dying, and men
are totally consumed with it, sucking the life out of it. This is the language of men of
God. This is the language of the scriptures
concerning man. That's not the language of men
today. Men like Robert Shuler, you know,
will talk about your worth and your dignity. And how that God
is. Indeed, you and so forth, that's
not the language of the scriptures. That's not the description God
gives a man, the language of the scriptures and the knowledge
of wise men like Job. And wise men like David, they
know something about the holy God and the worthlessness of
man. And they clearly define it in no uncertain terms, very
plainly. David said, What is man that
thou art mindful of him? David knew something about man's
despicable nature. He saw it in himself, that that
would cause a man to have another Man, another woman's, or a woman's
husband killed so he could have her. This despicable nature that's
within us. All of God's people know this.
And they say with Job, they say with David, what is man? that
God is mindful that God should even think upon such a one is
that in our text back in Job fourteen he says do you look
on such a one and the verse three will he bring me into judgment. You see that and bring us to
me into judgment with with the. I thought about the why should
God bother. Sherry, why should God bother
to parade this troop of despicable creatures before Him and pronounce
judgment on them? Why doesn't He just snuff them
out and get them out of His way? Why does He even bother? But
the question of all questions, yes, God does look upon men. He beholds His eyelids try, the
Scripture says, the sons of men. Thou, Lord, seest me, the Scripture
says. But does He bring me into judgment
with Him? Now, this is concerning a believer because God will,
Isaiah chapter one says, he will reason with us and not in a way
that we think, not try to convince us. He will convince us. He says
in Proverbs one, I will set things in order before your eye. You
will see who I am. And that's salvation, Joe, seeing
who he is now, and bowing to him now, and repenting now, and
believing Christ now, not then. Everybody's going to bow then.
Everybody's going to repent then. Everybody's going to see who
Christ is then. Everybody's going to cry unto him then. Now is
the time of salvation. But will God—this is an illustration. This is like a great vast landowner. plantation owner who owns hundreds
of thousands of acres and all of the things that go with tending
to that vast amount of property. Can you imagine this? A great
landowner, plantation owner who employs thousands of servants
and has all of these things to consider, the workings and so
forth, the goings-on of his vast holdings, and all of a sudden
somebody comes up to him one day. and says, there's an anthill
over here. There's an anthill over here
on the backside of your property under a stump, and those ants
are crawling around there, and they ought not to be there. And
this plantation owner says, hold everything. Stop. Quit. He stops
what he's doing, and he goes to see about those ants. He gets
down on his knees. Well, yeah, there they are. Well,
I don't want to kill them all. I don't want to kill them all. I'll save this one. I'll take this one, too. I'll
save him. What's he doing that for? And
they've got more important things to do. Will God look on such
a worm and a creature and an ant as man? A speck in the universe? Doesn't he have better things
to do? And this is the language of scriptures. What is man, when
I consider the stars, the heavens, the work of your fingers, what
is man? Why would God stop what he was
doing and get down on the planet Earth, down on his knees, and
wash the feet of an ant? If you can figure that out, you
can figure something of the glory of God, the love of Well, he says in verse 4, we're
all as an unclean thing. Worse still, he says we're unclean. Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean thing? Now, somebody in here was just
in on the birth of the child. A couple of people. Several of you have seen it very
recently. Is a newborn baby, now come on mothers, is a newborn
baby cute? Huh? I mean the minute it comes
out of that womb. Is it pretty? Does it smell good,
you know? Does it look good? What makes
you want to hold it? Love. Love's the only thing that
makes you want to hold that. Why? It comes out of the womb. It's this despicable sight in
it. Blood and mucous and afterbirth and all of that sort of thing.
The only reason you can see beauty in it is because you can see
the hand of God in it. But you've got to wash it up, clean it up.
That's man. He comes out a suspicable vile,
polluted in his own blood. And the scriptures go on to describe
us coming forth from the womb speaking truth, pleasant things,
loving its mama and daddy with all its... lies. Shapen in iniquity. Mom and dad
got together, and they were full of sin. And they got together,
conceived in iniquity, and the baby brought forth in filth.
And that's man, isn't it? A despicable creature. Who can
bring a clean thing out of an unclean? And the uncleanness
is on the inside. It's not just skin deep. It's
on the inside. Does this offend you? I thought
about old David when he was dancing before the ark coming into town.
And his wife, Michael, she got offended, didn't she, Jerry?
She got offended. And she started making fun of him. And David
said, Does this offend you? He said, What was his answer?
Anybody remember his answer to his wife that day? He said, I
did this unto the Lord. This is what the Lord told me
to do. And this is what the Lord says about man. And David went
on to say, he said, I'll yet be more vile, didn't he? And
he said, I will loathe myself in mine own mind. And any man
who's a child of God sees himself in that. And he loathes himself. And you can't get too descriptive,
too graphic about his sinful nature, right? He agreed. What we say, Terry, what a child
of God says is, God hadn't told the half of it about me. Yeah,
I'm a worm. A dog. Does it offend you calling
you a dog? You know, God only say, you know,
all dogs go to heaven. You know, there's a movie out not
too long ago, and it spoke the truth. All dogs go to heaven.
Yeah, they do. I know one. My filby chef said,
I'm a dog. He went to heaven. Canaanite
woman, she said, I'm a dog. She went to heaven. All dogs
go to heaven. Caleb, you know what his name
means? Faithful dog. Caleb and Joshua
were the only ones over 20 that went into Canaan. All that see
themselves as no good dogs go to heaven. Because a dog is Christ's
best friend, is the Son of Man's best friend. And ain't no pure
pedigrees here either. I mean, they're high in 57s. They're pound dogs. I didn't
mean to get on this, but they found them down at the pound
ready to die, ready to be put into euthanasia. It's been death,
condemnation, judgment. Found this at the pound where
God found this old dog. Does that offend you? Oh, I like
that. Pat, you know what worshipped
man? You know when that woman came, that woman came that called
herself a dog? No, the leper that came and said
he worshipped God, worshipped the Lord. He worshipped him,
fell at his feet and worshipped him, the leper. I looked that
word up one time and it said, like a dog licking its master's
hand. Like a dog licking its master's
hand. That's worship. You know? Mary was the clearest form of
worship in all the scriptures. Where was she found? All the
time. Like a dog at the master's feet. You know what he does to
dogs though? I leave my text, I don't care.
You know what he does to dogs? He leashes them, puts a leash
on them, draws them with cords of love, brings them to his feet,
pets them a little bit. But in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, he changes that old dog. While he's on this earth,
Henry, he ain't going to be nothing but a dog, right? Nothing but
a dog. And he better stay at the feet
of the master. But in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, he's
going to turn that dog into a son. Just like Christ. No more dog. He's going to say, your name's
no more man, Joe. Your name's no more common, Joe.
Your name's Christ. Prince with God. Not Jacob anymore. Cheat, supplanter. Not Caleb
anymore. Dog. It's Christian. Prince. Christ's son of God. That's what
he does with dogs. Well, man is an unclean thing. Verse 5, he said, see, and his
days are determined. Your days are determined. The
number of your months are with God. Thou hast appointed his
bounds that he cannot pass. Everybody read Job 14.5? Do you
see that? Huh? Is that fatalism? No, that's
God's Word, isn't it? You believe that you've got an
appointed time and you can't pass it? All you do is you believe
God's Word, don't you, Sherry? Job 14.5. It's not fatalism. It's the Word of God. It's not
fatalism. It's sovereign providence. He
says our days are numbered, and even the hairs of our head are
numbered. Why? Because God is God. God's God. And He's numbered
our days, and the God in whose hand our breath is, we're in
His hands. We must be in His hands, or He's
not God. He's not in our hands. Now, Job considered all this. In consideration of all this,
who he was and who God was, here's what he says in verse 6. He says,
Turn from him, or me. He's talking about himself. Turn
from him that he may rest. Lord, just let me die. In light
of all of his troubles and all, let me die until I find a resting
place. Lord, just let me die." Well, now he gives an analogy
of the death of a tree compared with a man. Let's read 7 through
9. He says, And there is hope of
a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, that the
tender branch thereof will not cease, though the root thereof
wax old in the earth, though it has been lying in the earth
a long time, the stalk thereof die, the trunk die in the ground. Through the scent of water it
will bud and bring forth boughs like a plant. Y'all ever been
out in the woods and seen a big trunk of a tree laid on the ground
or an old dead stump there and a green shoot coming out of it?
I've been out in the woods and seen whole logs of trees laying
there, and a full-grown tree coming out of what was the midst
of just an old dead trunk. Well, that's the analogy he's
given here. Even a sprout will grow out of a dead tree in the
ground, a dead tree. But he says in verse 10, But
man dieth, and wasteth away. His body rots, and it's nowhere.
Yea, man giveth up the ghost. Where is he? Has anybody ever
seen a finger come out of a grave? We were just in an old grave. We were just in a grave over
in Williamsburg with 200, 300-year-old, 200-year-old graves. Anyway,
I didn't see one hand or arm coming up. Of course, I had. I'd have cut out that way. Well, where is it? A tree does that. There's life in it, huh? A tree
does that. The man dies, where is he? Look
at verse 11. He's talking about the sea here,
the dissimilitude of the sea and the flood here. The waters
fail from the sea. In other words, the sea comes
up on the shore and it goes back. The tide goes back into the ocean
and the sand dries up and it comes back again. See, the flood decayeth and dryeth
up, and what he's saying here is it comes back and forth and
back and forth. But man lieth down, verse 12,
and riseth not till the heavens be no more. They shall not awake,
nor be raised out of their sleep. Or will they? Now, Job, this
is the reason in Job 42, Ed, this is the reason God came to
him and he said, Who's doing all this talking here? He said,
who is this who darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? And he said to old Job, gird
up your loins, I've got some things to say to you. But Job,
before this, he said, what about man? Where is he? Where does he go when he dies?
Huh? Where is he? Well, I'll tell
you what Scripture says. He's with God. The soul, a man after he dies,
the soul goes back to the God who gave it. You see, man is
a soul. He just happens to have a body. Man is a living spirit or soul. He has a body. He dwells in a
body. Right? It's like us living in
houses. That house is not us. That's
where the Mahan family is. You drive by a house and you
see it and say, that's where the Mahans are. The house has
nothing to do with it. Right? It's just where we live.
We're the Mahans. And I am whatever is within this
body. You lay it down, I go somewhere.
Right? I go somewhere. Where do I go?
To God. And then, God says, there's one
of two places to go from there. He said, to one, go unto resurrection,
unto life. Enter thou, my beloved, into
the blessed kingdom prepared for you. Life, eternal life. And others, he said, on the left
hand, condemnation and judgment and wrath. Wrath. Look at verse, he says, the wrath
of God, verse 13. Oh, that thou wouldest hide me
in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret until thy wrath
be passed. Thy wrath, that you would appoint
me a set time and then remember me. Keep me in the grave until
your wrath be passed over. The wrath of God. The wrath of
God against sin. You know what that's like? The
wrath of God. Some of us may experience it.
Ask Adam, the first man. Ask him. He'll tell you what
the wrath of God is like. Ask Cain. When he said, My punishment
is greater than I can bear, he'll tell you something about what
the wrath of God is like. Ask Noah as he peeps out that
window at the floods, washing away the planet. Ask Esau. Ask Lot's wife. Ask the Sodomites. Ask the sons of Korah who fell
in a pit. But above all, just go to Calvary
and ask the Son of God what the wrath of God is like. It's called
separation from God. That's when Christ, who is God,
who took our place was hanging on that cross and when that moment
when he said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And if we could have heard that
cry, we would have heard the screams of people in hell with
their cry, my God. You see, everything that is Everything
that is merciful, everything that is sweet, everything that
is precious, everything we enjoy has something to do with its
roots in God. You see, God's hand is on the
planet. God's mercy is on the planet. His rain falls and the
flowers grow. His mercy, He's gracious in a
sense to all men, giving all things necessary for life and
government. One of these days He's going to say, and remove
it. And this thing's going to dry
up and shrivel up and cast men aside, and there's not going
to be any mercy, any grace, any goodness, any sweetness, nothing
but the evil multiplied beyond understanding. And that's when men are going
to be crying, Where's God? We need God! We need to cry that now. When
we look at this planet that we're living in, we see all the evil,
we need to cry out now, I need God. And that's what Job's saying
here, oh, hide me, when your wrath comes over. Hide me. If a man die, verse 14 here,
if a man die, shall he live again? Shall he? Lord, I want an answer. Lord, I want to know the truth. If a man die, will he live again? It's hope of a tree. Is there
hope for men? Look at John 11 with me. John
chapter 11. You want an answer to this question,
huh? Are you concerned about it? Are you interested? John
11. John chapter 11. God Almighty walked this planet.
I can't say it any plainer. God took a body and got down
here on this earth and walked around. And He took some people
to the side and He told them some things, didn't He? He confided
in them. He let them know a mystery, Joe.
He kept hid from the foundation of the world. Job didn't know
it. He found out later on, chapter 19, didn't he? He said, I know,
I found out. But God walked this earth and
he took some few people under his arm, under his wing, and
he explained some things to them. Well, if a man die, will he live
again? Well, one of his friends died.
Lazarus. The Lord loved him dearly. And
he came down to the gravesite that day. Came down to the funeral
and everybody was weeping and wailing and crying like people
do at funerals and so forth. He came down here and he came
up to, look at verse 21, came up to the man's sister and Martha
said unto Jesus, Lord if thou hadst not been here my brother
had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever
you ask of God, God will give it to you." Christ said unto
him, My brother shall rise again. Well, Martha said, I know he'll
rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to
her, I am the resurrection and the life. He's living right now. He's not dead. He said that to
his disciples, didn't he, Terry, earlier? He said, he's sleeping. The disciples said, well, let's
leave him alone. If he sleeps, he'll do better. He said, he's
dead, but he's not dead, he's sleeping. They couldn't understand
it. Poor ignorant earthlings. They
couldn't understand it. Even his disciples couldn't understand
that. And he said unto this woman, he said, I am the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, Yet he's alive. Verse 26, Whosoever liveth and
believeth in me shall never die. Do you believe this? That's what
eternal life is. Do you believe that? Now turn
back to Job 14, and let's look at these questions in light of
that, of Christ here. Let's look at all these questions
Job asked very quickly. in light of what Christ just
said. Christ said, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And he said, furthermore, you'll
never die in me. You can't kill God nor anybody
that's in his Now, let's ask these questions.
Back in Job 14, look at verse 3. Does God open his eyes on
such a despicable creature? He said the sun is not pure in
God's eyes. S-U-N, but the S-O-N is. The Son of God is, though. How
can a holy God look on us? only in Christ only in Christ
he can look at me if I'm in Christ by faith if all is simple It's
the gift of God. It takes the miraculous work
of God to give this faith, but it's simple in its concept that
I trust Christ. I look to Christ. I say, He's
my all and end all. He's my hope of acceptance with
God. He's my standing with God. He's my righteousness. He's my
substitute. He's my ... He satisfied the
justice of God. He's my salvation. If I'm going
to get to God, Christ's going to have to take me there. That
sums it all up in a sentence. If I'm going to get to this holy
God, Christ is going to have to take me there. He is my salvation. And it's wrapping your arms around
and say, take me. Daddy, carry me home. And God can look at me like that,
Joe, and say, good, that's a good man. I like that boy. That's the only way. We're all
first scampering around by ourselves, Henry, trying to work up a righteousness
or in religion, this and that and the other, outside of Christ.
God says, put that one out of here. That's a stray dog. Well, will he bring me into judgment
with him? I like it. Will he bring me into judgment
with him? Well, I'll go into judgment, all right, but I'll
be with somebody. And when God calls my name, Paul
Mayhem, John, I'm going to put my name, let's say, here. Salvation is going to be Christ
saying, here, I'm Paul Mayhem. I suffered the wrath of God for
his sake. I took his sins on me. I switched
which place of them. He's righteous now because of
what I did. I am he. I suffered. Oh boy, who can bring
a clean thing out of an unclean? That's a question of all questions.
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? How can man that's
born a woman be ever clean? Boy, there was one, wasn't there?
Huh? There's only one ever born that
was clean. Now, I don't mean on the outside
necessarily. I mean, to look at. We see him, we just see him
as a man like anybody else, but on the inside. Son of God. How'd he do that, Joe? How can
you bring a clean thing, son of God, out of a body of a woman? Take the seed of man out of it.
Born of a virgin. Take the seed of God and dwell
in there. Well, how can God make me clean? How can he bring, how
can God be just and justify this old ungodly sinner? How? Through
the blood and the righteousness of Jesus Christ. By Christ making
me what he is and making himself what I am. Right? Verse 14, he asked another question.
Well, if a man dies, shall he live again? Christ answered that,
didn't he? He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live again. And not the life of the
world, but eternal life. Eternal life. And Job knew all this, but in
the time of trouble, he needed to be reminded of it, didn't
he? Huh? He needed to remind himself of it. Later on in chapter
19 is when Job said, I've been talking like a fool. He said,
I know my Redeemer liveth, and I'll see Him. With these eyes,
I'm going to see. If a man die, will he live again?
Job says, well, all the days of my appointed time, I'm going
to wait. Wait on what, Job? Wait on Him. Wait on the Lord.
I'll wait. Till what? What's going to happen?
My change is going to come. I'm going to be conformed to
His blessed image. Verse 15, He's going to call. Thou shalt
call, and I'll answer." See, he called the first time by the
gospel, and by his grace I answered. He called me by his gospel, called
me by his grace, and someday he's going to call me home to
glory. It's time. Are we going to kick and fight? No, we're going to answer. I am coming, Lord. Oh, my, he says all that he would
desire. have a desire to the work of
thine hands, that he would look at the work of Christ and then
desire me to be with him." And he says, now he's numbered my
steps in closing. Verse 16, he's numbered my steps.
He's watching over me. Does he watch over my sin? He
puts it away. Takes care of every one of them.
My transgression, Henry, is sealed up in a bag. Where's the bag?
God threw it away. Behind his back. You want to
find my sins? Find out where God's back is.
He sewed them up. Sealed. His Holy Spirit sealed
up my iniquity. It's covered in the blood. It's
got pitch on it. Atonement over it. Propitiation. Ah, but he doesn't promise us
a bed of roses here, though. He said, even though all these
things are good and glorious, and yet he says, man is born
a woman. He's full of trouble, full of
trouble. And he's going to live all his
days mostly in trouble and trial and affliction because he's a
child of God. And he's going to die. He's going
to go to the grave. He may live to a ripe old age, may not. He
may be a young person. No telling what's going to happen
to him. God only knows. But he's going to go down to
the grave. He's going to die. We're going to put everybody's
body, if I live long enough, put everybody's body right down
here in front of this pulpit. Everybody's going to walk by
and, where is he? If a man dies, will he live again?
Christ said, he that believeth in me, though he were dead. Yes, he'll live again. Why? Let's sing this song, Jeanette,
509, in closing.