Alright, let's go to Job chapter
38. Well, we've come now to the last
section, the last division of the book of Job. Continuing on
here to chapter 42. The title of the message tonight
is, God Exalted, Man Brought Down. God exalted, man brought
down. We've heard from Job's three
friends throughout this study, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. They've had their say, haven't
they? We know that they promoted their false gospel of salvation
and preservation and blessing by the works of men. We've even
heard Job speak in his defense, sometimes speaking the truth
as it is in God, and sometimes going too far, even as far as
accusing God of being unjust and unfair. Job was a righteous
man, righteous by the grace of God in Christ. No doubt about
that. God said it. That's God's testimony. Job was a man of faith. He never
forsook the Lord. He questioned the Lord. He didn't
understand. We're going to see tonight that
he spoke words without knowledge, as God said. We often do that,
especially in times of trial, especially in times of severe
trial. But we've heard from Job. He's spoken. And then we heard
from Elihu, the young man who, by God's grace and God's revelation,
had spoken to Job about the chastisements of the Lord. That's how God treats
his children in his love and his preserving grace. He chastises
us. He corrects us. Not necessarily
for anything specifically we've done in our lives or not done,
but out of his wisdom and his goodness. And that's what we're
going to look at tonight. So now we come to chapter 38
where it says, then the Lord answered Job, verse one. And
he answered Job out of the whirlwind. Now the Lord here speaks to Job. This is the Lord God of grace,
the Lord God of heaven. And it says he speaks to Job.
Some people believe that he actually appeared to Job in what we know
to be one of the pre-incarnate appearances of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And that's certainly possible
over in chapter 42 and verse 5, Job makes this statement.
He says, he says, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the
ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. Now that could either refer to
Job seeing him with the eye of faith. obviously as he trusts
the Lord God Jehovah trusting Christ and learning more of him
as he's being taught here or who teaches like that but it
could also refer to actually seeing him with the eye as Moses
saw Christ in the burning bush as Jacob wrestled with the angel
which was a pre-incarnate visitation of Christ in the Old Testament
there are many of those But Christ has appeared to his people, and
he brings them the knowledge of God with him. In John chapter
1, let me just read this to you, verse 15, it spoke of John the
Baptist bearing witness of him, bearing witness of Christ. And
John said as he preached, he cried out saying, this was he
of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before
me, for he was before me. He's talking about Jesus Christ,
the Lamb of God. And of His fullness have all
we received, and grace for grace, the fullness of Christ, believing
in Him and resting in Him for all salvation, all righteousness,
all forgiveness, all glory. And it says in verse 17, For
the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. And listen to what John writes
here in verse 18. He says, No man hath seen God
at any time. Now Job just said, I've heard
of thee by the hearing of the ear, now mine eyes seeth thee.
Here God appears or answers Job out of the whirlwind. And as
I said, this could be a pre-incarnate appearance. But it says, No man
hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." What's John
saying there? He's simply saying this. He's
saying that if anybody's going to have a view, a saving view
of God Almighty, it must come through the Lord Jesus Christ,
the revelation of God. The Lord told His disciples,
He mentioned to Philip, He said, if you've seen Me, you've seen
the Father. Back in the Old Testament, the
Israelites knew they could not see God or even hear from God
and live. Twice when Moses came to deliver
the law to them, they stood in fear knowing that they couldn't
hear from or see God and live. And I'll tell you, it's an amazing
thing. Over in the book of Genesis,
let me just read this to you, chapter 32. You remember when
Jacob wrestled with the angel? As I said, which I believe, and
I believe there's sufficient evidence to prove this, that
was a pre-incarnate visitation of Christ. It says here in Genesis
chapter 32 and verse 30, it said, after he'd finished, Jacob called
the name of the place Peniel, or Peniel, however you want to
pronounce it, which means the face of God. That's what Peniel
means. And he says, and here's the reason
he called it Pentium. Jacob said this, he said, for
I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved. That's
an amazing thing, you see. We kind of take it for granted
that no man has seen God and lived. You can't see God. God
is spirit and His glory. He must reveal Himself to men
by and through Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus. But here's Job standing before
God. And I want you to notice something
else here. Don't let this get by you in verse 1 of chapter
38 of Job. It says, then the Lord, again,
that's Jehovah. That's God's covenant name revealed
in redemption and salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ. This name,
the Lord, in the book of Job has not been used except in the
first two chapters and then beginning right here. It was used back
in chapters 1 and 2 when Job was introduced and his relationship
with God was revealed. That Job was a servant of God,
a child of God, a sinner saved by the grace of God, a sinner
who stood righteous in Christ and forgiven. But from Job chapter
3 all the way up to Job chapter 37, this name Lord, Jehovah,
Yahweh in the Old Testament Hebrew was not used. The name of God
was El Shaddai, which is God the Almighty, God the Powerful
One, it was used. And I think what is being taught
here is that when men, like Job's three friends and Job himself,
when they reason from the ground up and discuss God, they don't
know God. They reveal so much ignorance
of God. But God reveals himself as the
God of the covenant, Jehovah. Then the Lord, Jehovah, answers
him. And so here's a fresh revelation
of God, the God of all grace, to his child, Job, of God saving
and preserving grace through Christ. Well, from this chapter,
from chapter 38 on to the end of the book, we see God's sovereign
power and grace in rescuing Job, bringing his child to repentance,
So that that peaceable fruit of righteousness that Hebrews
chapter 12 spoke of, that all true children of God are brought
to as God brings us through these trials of chastisement. And Job's
going to come to that. Notice here it says that the
Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind. What's that? That's
the storm. Out of the storm. You know, it seems like in man's
history, that the times that people in general, even the heathen,
begin to talk about God, God's judgment, or God's wrath is when
some great weather disaster comes along, a whirlwind, a twister,
a hurricane, an earthquake, a tsunami, or whatever. That's kind of like
when God providentially gets their attention for a little
while. And so what's being said here, well, God's going to get
Job's attention here, out of the whirlwind, out of the storm.
Look at verse two, he says, who is this that darkeneth counsel
by words without knowledge? Now, as I said, when men reason
from the ground up and try to figure out God, this is always
the case, words without knowledge. You can't figure out God or see
God or understand God by looking within or looking at each other. Elihu spoke of this. He said
that Job spoke without knowledge. And Job himself admits it over
in chapter 42 when he's brought down and comes to this repentance
that God's going to bring him to. Job admits it himself. He
says in verse 3, when Job, when he talks about his In his repentance,
he says in Job 42, 3, who is he that hideth counsel without
knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that
I understood not. I've spoken things I didn't understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. So even Job
admits it, words without knowledge. And you know what? Nowhere is
that ignorance, that natural ignorance of man seen more than
in man's contrived ways of religion and salvation. It's always by
his works, isn't it? Why? Because they don't know
God. Why won't sinners by nature submit to Christ and His righteousness
as the only ground of salvation and justification before a holy
God? It's because they're ignorant
of God's righteousness. And so every time a sinner preaches
or teaches salvation by the works or the will of men, what are
they doing? They're uttering words without
knowledge. Well, we know Job knew the way
of salvation, but he was ignorant in this matter of providence
and chastisement and why the righteous suffer. So God's going
to answer him right here. Look at verse 3. He says, gird
up now thy loins like a man, for I will demand of thee, and
answer thou me. Listen to what he's doing here.
Job's finally getting what he desired. He talked about it.
He wanted an audience with God. He'd said it several times. So
here it is. But when God speaks to Job, things
are going to be a whole lot different from what Job has been expecting.
And I want you to notice one thing here at the outset. God's
dealings with Job here is a matter of grace. And that's the way
God always deals with his children. Even in our chastisements, it's
a matter of grace. Notice here that God does not
deal with Job in judgment. There are no charges brought
against Job here. Not in one thing that God says
does he charge Job with sin. Had Job sinned? Yes he had. He
had charged God with being unjust and unfair. God doesn't bring
it up. And it kind of reminds me of how in Christ we stand
complete and perfect with no charges brought against us. Who
shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that
justifies. Who can condemn us? It's Christ
that died. Yea, rather, is risen again and
is seated at the right hand of God, ever living to make intercession
for us. There's no detailed response
here to Job's charges against God. You remember Job essentially
had a list of questions for God. But in fact, in this answer that
God gives him, there's no explanation given to Job of God's workings
in Providence. You know what there is this whole
thing is about? It's not an explanation of God's
workings in Providence. He who works all things after
the counsel of his own will. It's simply a revelation of God
himself. Let me tell you about who God
is. Now there's the umbrella. There's the context of life itself. It's only more revelation of
God. That's it. God presents Job here
in these chapters with a series of questions. One commentator,
I think, I don't know why guys sit around and count these things,
but he said there's 77 questions here that he presents Job. And
what are they designed to do? Well, they're designed to teach
Job. But they're also designed to humble Job and teach him the
true essence of wisdom and grace. This is all about grace. Here's
God Almighty. speaking out of the whirlwind,
condescending to answer Job. And he answers him with these
questions. And in the end, Job not only will be wiser, but he'll
be humbled. And that's what we all need every
day. We need to be humble. At the same time, he's humbled,
he's assured of God's favor toward him in Christ. There's an assurance
of grace here. There's the humbling of grace
and there's the assurance of grace, even in the midst of his
trial by ordeal, which thankfully comes to an end. Well, this first
section goes from chapter 38 all the way over to chapter 40
and ends about verse 2. And it's God's first challenge
to Job. And I'm not going to read all these verses to you.
I'm going to let you do that on your own. They're pretty much
self-explanatory. But I want to hit some highlights
here at the first and then a couple of other verses and then get
over to chapter 40. But here's God's first challenge
to Job. And here's what he's teaching.
Only God is eternal. Man is not eternal. God is. And
only God is powerful enough to create and determine the ways
of this physical universe. And listen to what he says in
chapter 38. He says in verse 4, he says,
Job, where were you? Where was thou when I laid the
foundations of the earth? Declare if thou hast understanding. Were you there? Were you in the
councils of eternity? He says, verse 5, who hath laid
the measures thereof if thou knowest or who hath stretched
the line upon it? Who's put the boundaries, the
dimensions of it all? He says in verse 6, whereupon
are the foundations thereof fastened? Dig down the foundations or who
laid the cornerstone thereof? That's creation. You can see
a type of Christ there, can't you? Christ is the foundation
of the church. Christ is the chief cornerstone
of the church. God laid that foundation. God
set that cornerstone. God sent forth his son made of
a woman. made under the law to redeem
them who were under the law that we might receive the adoption
of sons. Verse 7, when the morning stars
sang together and all the sons of God shouted for glory, the
sons of God there are the angels from eternity past who viewed
this creation. Christ is the morning star of
the church. He says, and what is he talking
about here? Well, this whole thing, here
in these first verses, he's talking about the creation of the world.
The land, the mass of land, the earth, and the sea. Goes down
to verse 11, look here, he says, and said, hitherto shalt thou
come, but no further, and here shall thy proud ways be stayed.
Like the sea, who's the one who determined the boundaries for
the waves that come in? Stop. Go back. Stop. God did. You see, he's precise
here. And then from verses 12 to 21,
he talks about the creation of light, the night and the day,
the limitations of nature. He even talks about death. Look
over at verse 21. He says, Knowest thou it because
thou wast then born, or because the number of thy days is great?
Job, how long have you been here on this earth? When God spoke
light into existence, let there be light. Verse 17, he talks
about the gates of death have been opened up to them. See,
Job is a man just like us. And this body is dead because
of sin and there's a day appointed and determined of his death.
Who did that? God did. And all of this by God's
divine sovereign appointment. From verse 22, all the way to
verse 38 of this chapter. He speaks of the storms. He speaks
of the heaven. He talks about the snow and the
rain, how God has put all of this in motion, uses it for His
glory and for the good of His people. He talks about the stars. Look at verse 31. He says, canst
thou bind the sweet influence of the Pleiades? That's a mass
of seven stars. Or loose the bands of Orion?
Orion the hunter. There's the constellations. Canst
thou bring forth Maseroth in his season? Maseroth, if you
have a concordance, it might say something like 12 signs.
And some say, well, that's the 12 signs of the zodiac. You see,
the Bible recognizes that men see these things and name these
things. It's not involved with the mythology. and the sorcery
of it, not at all, but they are there and God put them in that
place. Each star. He goes on to talk
about Arcturus, that's the great bear which forms part of the
Big Dipper. Arcturus and his cubs. He says in verse 33, knowest
thou the ordinances of heaven, that is the commandments that
set all these things in place, the sun, the moon, the stars,
the constellations, everything. God did it. Verse 34, canst thou
lift up thy voice to the clouds? The abundance of waters may cover
thee. Canst thou send lightnings that they may go and say unto
thee, here we are. In other words, can you call
lightning to a council at your command to where lightning shows
up and says, well, here we are. What do you want us to do? No,
God can. That's the sovereignty of God.
God's exalted here. Look at verse 36. He says, Who
hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding
to the heart? You see, God set the order of
things in nature. He begins talking about the animals
later on, the animal kingdom. You know, the animals are interesting
to study because of their instincts. How they know what to do, where
to go, how to act, all of that. Well, who did that? That's the
way of the natural order. It wasn't Mother Nature. It's
God Almighty who did that. And what is he showing Job? He's
showing Job that we are totally dependent upon God for all things
in life and eternity. Now, only God gives wisdom. Who
hath put wisdom in the inward parts? What are the inward parts?
Well, he says it's the heart. It's the Spirit. It's the inner
man. Who does that? God does. Only
God can give wisdom. And only God can certainly give
wisdom unto salvation in Christ over in 1 Corinthians chapter
1. The Apostle Paul spoke of that
quite abundantly here when he spoke of the preaching of the
cross. Now who would have ever thought? Who would have ever
come up with the idea That one hanging upon a cross who is both
God and man would be the salvation of his people. To man, that's
foolishness. Look at it, verse 18 of 1 Corinthians
1, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, or literally
them who are perishing, foolishness. But unto us which are saved or
are being saved, it is the power of God. What's God speaking to
Job about? His power. My friend, when we
think about all the great power that's displayed of God in this
universe, in this natural world, there's nothing to compare with
His power in Christ on that cross. The death, burial, and resurrection
of Christ. Verse 19 of 1 Corinthians 1,
He says, For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Who gives wisdom in the inward parts? Who gives understanding
to the heart? Where is the wise, he says in
verse 20? Where is the scribe? Where is
the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. That is by natural wisdom.
It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. The Jews require sign, the Greeks they seek after wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified. Under the Jews a stumbling block,
under the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called,
called of God, taught of God, those who are redeemed of the
Lord, to us which are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of
God. Let him that glorieth glory in
this, that he knows God. That's the issue. 1st John 5
20 listen to this and we know that the Son of God has come
and had given us understanding that we may know him that is
true that we are in him that is true even in his son Jesus
Christ this is the true God and eternal life that's who gives
wisdom in the inward parts that's who gives understanding to the
heart the wisdom of God in Christ. John 17, 3, listen, and this
is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. And you know salvation,
the revelation of God in salvation is often in the Bible connected
with creation. 2 Corinthians 4, 6, For God,
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, that's the God
that's answering Job, hath shined in our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Considered this question his
friends considered this question. How can a man be just with God? Where's that wisdom going to
come from? Where's that understanding going to be it only comes from
God in Christ? That God can be just to justify
sinners like us through his beloved son the God man and by his death
on a cross as the substitute of His people, making Him to
be sin for us who knew no sin, Christ who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Over here, back in Job 38, beginning at verse 39 and all
the way through chapter 39, He talks about the animal kingdom,
talks about lions, ravens, how they get their food, their instincts. Verse 1 of chapter 39, look at
it. Knowest thou the time when the
wild goats of the rock bring forth when they have their offspring? Verse 2, canst thou number the
months that they fulfill, however many months it takes for them
to do that? All of this. It says here that
That he talks about the goats, he talks about the wild asses. Let me deal with one verse here,
verse nine. Look at verse nine because this
is one of those verses that many unbelievers try to use to discredit
the Bible. And it's because you'll see the
term there mentioned, the unicorn. Will the unicorn, verse nine
of chapter 39, will the unicorn be willing to serve thee or abide
by thy crib? Can thou bind the unicorn with
his band in the furrow, or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because
his strength is great? Or wilt thou leave thy labor
to him? Wilt thou believe in him, that he will bring home
thy seed and gather it into the mountain? What he's talking about
is, can you capture the wild unicorn and use it to plow your
fields, like the ox, which is a servant? And then it says unicorn there.
And you know, the unicorn is a myth, a mythical beast. And is the Bible teaching mythology?
Well, here's a place where you've got to be careful with the translation
of words. And the original word here, I
don't know why the King James translators translated it unicorn. The original word here, they
really don't know exactly what animal refers to. The closest
they can come to is a wild buffalo or a wild ox that is strong and
cannot be tamed. In fact, I think it's back in
the book of Numbers. There's another reference to
unicorns. You know, unicorn, they say is
the beast that had one horn. Well, back in the book of Numbers,
I think it is, they mention a unicorn that has more than one horn.
It's talking about this same word here. It's not talking about
a myth or some kind of a fable of a beast, but it's just the
translation didn't make it right. They didn't get it right. You
know, he's just talking about a wild beast that cannot be tamed. And
what he's saying is that God set it in order this and you
can't undo God's work. God, you can't get this beast
and tame it and make it a plow horse or a plow animal. God set
that in its heart and you can't change it. Some translators say
it's talking about a rhinoceros. I don't know. So it could be.
But it's a wild animal that cannot be tamed. You cannot undo what
God has done. Well, all of this, when he goes
down through here, he talks about the animals, he talks about the
birds, the eagle, all of that. And he talks about an ostrich
here. He talks about an ostrich, how
weird an ostrich is. Think about it. It can't fly.
It lays its eggs on the top of the ground and leaves it, but
it can run faster than a horse. It's a weird setup, isn't it?
God's the one who put these things in motion. He talks about the
war horses here, how the war horses act, all of this. But
here's the key. Go over to chapter 40. He says in verse 1, Moreover
the Lord answered Job and said, Shall he that contendeth with
the Almighty instruct him? He that reproveth God let him
answer. God in his sovereign creative
work has made things in such a complex yet such a simple way
that man just cannot figure it out. He can observe it. He can
name it. You know, before the fall, Adam
had dominion over the animal kingdom, over the natural world,
but he lost that. And now he's in ignorance and
darkness. Well, listen to Job's response. Verse 3. Then Job answered the
Lord and said, Behold, I am vile, worthless. What shall I answer
thee? I will lay mine hand upon my
mouth. He says, once I've spoken, but
I will not answer, yea, twice, but I will proceed no further. Man brought down. That's exactly
what it is. You see, the purpose of God in
all this is not simply to show man that God is bigger than man. We know that. You know anything
about God. He's bigger than us. That's obvious. God's purpose here is not to
bully Job, but his purpose here is to humble
Job and to humble us so that we know that our only hope of
salvation and eternal life is in God and not in ourselves. The answers to these questions
of eternal life and eternal glory are not in us, they're in God.
This is where God brings His people so that we're made wise
unto salvation. Right here. He brings us down.
Look over at Romans chapter 3. God bringing us down. And this
is the essence of what's being taught here. Man spends his life
trying to lift himself up, trying to improve himself, trying to
make himself righteous by his works, his religion, his ceremonies,
his intentions. And all that does is get him
farther and farther away from God. So where does God bring
his children like Job to? And not just one time, but continually. And here it is in verse 10 of
Romans 3, as it is written, There's none righteous, no, not one. Now, Job is a righteous man in Christ. You see? In Christ, who is the express
image of God. Job is not righteous in himself.
He's a man of faith. His faith is in Christ. There's
none that understandeth. There's none that seeketh after
God. Job understood the way of salvation. He didn't understand
the ways of providence. Job sought after God, but what's
he talking about? He's describing man by nature
on his own here. You see, God doesn't need us,
but we need Him. Verse 12, they are all gone out
of the way. They're all together become unprofitable. There's
none that doeth good, no, not one. That's man without God. That's man dead in trespasses
and sins, fallen, ruined, and Adam. Verse 19, he says in Romans
3, Now we know that what thing soever the law saith, it saith
to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped.
Job had to stop his mouth again, didn't he? There's a lot of times
in our lives we find that that's the best thing we can do, put
our hand over our mouth and just shut up about it. Aren't you
glad that God brought you to a place where you stopped justifying
yourself and started looking to Christ? for forgiveness, for
righteousness, for life, that every mouth may be stopped, and
all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by deeds
of law shall no flesh be justified in God's sight, for by the law
is the knowledge of sin. Well, where's wisdom? Where's
understanding? Well, verse 21. But now the righteousness
of God without the laws manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, there's
no difference of sin that comes short of the glory of God, being
justified freely, unconditionally, without a cause, by His grace. This is Jehovah God. This is
Christ the Lord. Through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus. Redemption requires a price.
You don't have it. I don't have it. Christ does
and did. His blood. Redemption that is
in Christ Jesus. All of this for the glory of
God. Now, back over here in Job 40. I want you to notice something.
Job says in verse 4, Behold I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I've got nothing to say. I lay
my hand upon my mouth. I've spoken once, I'll not answer
twice, but I'll proceed no further. You know what this is? Job, God's
exalted. Where were you when I hung the
stars in space? Job's brought down. This is Job's
victory. Right here. Doesn't sound much
like a victory, does it? I'm vile. Watch out, I've got
nothing else to say. Put my hand over my... This is
Job's victory. You know what it is? It's the
grace of God. Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn. Blessed
are the meek. Job himself is a work of God's
divine sovereign grace and by that God challenges Satan. Remember he said in chapter 1,
he told Satan, he said, see my righteous servant Job, there's
no one else like him on earth. He's a child of God. He's a sinner
saved by grace. God's challenge to Job to consider
his wondrous works is the means by which God's work of redemption
will be realized in Job. Job's a trophy of God's grace
and power. You see, our victory over sin
and over self And over Satan begins in realizing that we're
nothing and Christ is all. We're vile and He's holiness. We're guilty and He's righteousness. Listen to this. Remember we read
in our scripture reading 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9 when Paul talked about
his thorn in the flesh. People spend a lot of time speculating
over what that is. We don't know. But it was painful. It was something that really
bothered him. And what did God say to Paul in verse 9? He said,
My grace is sufficient for thee. That's what he's saying to Job.
My grace is sufficient for you, Job. Christ is sufficient for
you. His blood washes away all my
sins. Is that sufficient? Does he leave
any stain? in the books of God's law? Absolutely
not. His righteousness gives me a
complete, eternal, unchangeable, right standing before God, accepted
in the beloved. Is that sufficient? He's given
me life from the dead. He raised me from the dead by
the power of His Spirit. Is that sufficient? He keeps
me and preserves me even in the trials of chastisement. Is that
sufficient? He's going to bring me to glory.
And I'll be satisfied when I awaken His likeness. I'll be like Him.
I'll see Him as, is that sufficient? You bet it is. And that's why
Paul said, well now in that, my strength is made perfect in
weakness. He says, I glory in my infirmities
that the power of Christ may rest upon me. It's in my weaknesses,
in my vileness that I look to him more, rest in him more, trust
him more, follow him more, cling to him more, love him more. Therefore,
I take pleasure in infirmities. I'm satisfied. in reproaches,
in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake.
For when I'm weak, I'm strong. Christ is my strength. And when
I'm weak, I see more and more of His strength. Job, or Elihu,
back in Job 36, verse 22, made this statement. He said, Behold,
God, exalted by His power, who teaches like Him. Christ is the
power and wisdom of God. Our Lord said in Luke 14, 11,
For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted. It takes the grace of God to
humble sinners like us. Remember that old publican, the
Pharisee and the publican, Luke 18? He said, God, be merciful
to me, the sinner. I've got no right or claim upon
you. I'm a sinner. Please be merciful
to me. Be propitious toward me. Christ
made this state. That publicum was brought down,
you see. He was humbled. Here is what
Christ said of him in verse 14. I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified. He is exalted in Christ. And that's when he said, rather
than the other, rather than the Pharisee, for everyone that exalteth
himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall
be exalted. Submitted to Christ and His righteousness. Salvation involves what Paul
wrote in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 5, casting down
imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against
the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ. Let me just conclude the message
with John the Baptist, as I always like to go to him. Christ must
increase, I must decrease. Alright.