Who Then is Able to Stand Before Me?

Q: What does the Bible say about suffering and trials?

The Bible teaches that suffering and trials can be acts of God's mercy, designed to draw us closer to Him and reveal our need for Christ. The narrative of Job illustrates that suffering can be a means through which God speaks to us, revealing His greatness and our need for redemption. In Job's case, despite his immense suffering, he ultimately recognizes that true understanding comes through encountering God. Trials may feel overwhelming, but if they are orchestrated by God, they serve a purpose in bringing blessing and deeper faith. Job’s journey exemplifies how trials, as difficult as they may be, can lead to profound spiritual insight and a closer relationship with the Lord.

Q: How do we know that Christ is our Redeemer?

We know Christ is our Redeemer through scripture that testifies to His sacrificial work and the personal conviction of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The doctrine of Redemption is central to the Gospel, emphasizing that Christ, through His suffering and sacrifice, bore the sins of humanity and provided a way to reconcile us with God. Job expresses his confidence in a Redeemer, stating, 'I know that my Redeemer liveth' (Job 19:25). This assurance is mirrored throughout the New Testament, where Jesus' work on the cross fulfills the requirements for our salvation. The Holy Spirit also bears witness to our hearts, affirming that Christ stands in our place, offering us forgiveness and intercession before the Father. Our knowledge of Christ as our Redeemer rests on both scripture and personal experience with God's grace.

Q: Why is humility important for Christians?

Humility is crucial for Christians because it allows us to fully rely on God's grace and recognize our need for Christ. Humility is depicted vividly in the story of Job, who, after being confronted by God, comes to understand his own insignificance in comparison to the Creator's majesty. Job's proclamation of his own vileness and his repentance signify true humility. In the same way, Christians are called to recognize that apart from Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5). It is through humility that we acknowledge our need for God's mercy and grace. This attitude aligns us with the heart of the Gospel, where we understand that Christ's righteousness is our only hope of standing before a holy God. True humility invites us to draw nearer to God, trusting in His strength rather than our own.

Q: What does it mean to be saved by grace?

Being saved by grace means that we receive God's unmerited favor through faith in Christ, not by our own works. Salvation by grace is foundational to the Reformed understanding of the Gospel. Ephesians 2:8-9 states that we are saved by grace through faith, and not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. This means our works cannot earn or contribute to our salvation. Instead, it is God's grace that redeems us, highlighting His love and mercy towards us despite our sinfulness. Grace transforms our relationship with God, allowing us to approach Him not as servants under obligation but as beloved children. Recognizing that we are saved by grace instills deep gratitude and leads us to live in light of that grace, striving to glorify God in our lives.

Q: Why should Christians be confident in God's sovereignty?

Christians can be confident in God's sovereignty because He is all-powerful and His plans are perfect, working all things for our good. God's sovereignty is a central theme in scripture, reflecting His absolute authority over creation and His active role in guiding events according to His divine purpose. In Job's experience, although he faced profound suffering, it was through that suffering that he encountered God's profound grace and sovereignty. Romans 8:28 assures us that God works all things together for good for those who love Him. This means that nothing escapes God's sovereign plan, and even in our darkest moments, we can trust that He is in control, bringing about His ultimate glory and our benefit. Recognizing God's sovereignty fosters deep peace and assurance for believers, as we navigate life's challenges, resting in the truth that our lives are held securely in His hands.

If you turn back to the passage we read back to Job chapter 40 through to Job 42 we read here of The Lord's fervour answer unto Job out of the whirlwind, in 40 verse 6 we read, Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins now like a man, I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? Hast thou an arm like God, or canst thou thunder with a voice like Him? Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency, and array thyself with glory and beauty. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath, and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low, and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together, and bind their faces in secret. Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.

Job 42. Job answers and says, I know that thou canst do everything and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideeth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not, things too wonderful for me which I knew not. Here I beseech thee and I will speak, I will demand of thee and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.

And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee and against thy two friends for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right as my servant Job hath. Here the Lord continues to speak unto Job out of the whirlwind. Out of the storm that the Lord had brought upon him, God spake. Job was broken, cast down, having lost all things. He could not understand why the Lord was dealing with him as he was. At points we see the faith of Job rising up through the circumstance. But at other times we see the despair of his fleshly heart cast down and broken.

And yet, in the storm, out of the whirlwind, the Lord speaks. He speaks. And no matter what storm the Lord may send upon you, believer, no matter what trial you may be brought into, no matter how hard the circumstances, no matter how broken you may feel, no matter how cast down you may be, no matter how far off the Lord may seem at times, No matter how great the fire, or how deep the waters, or how many tears you may shed, if the Lord has sent the storm, if the Lord is in the midst, He will speak unto you out of the whirlwind. He will speak, for this is of Him.

In every great trial that the Lord does send, there is great, great blessing. Every trial He sends our way, though it may not seem it at the time, is an act of God's mercy, an act of God's grace. Throughout this entire account of Job, Despite the depths he's brought into, despite how he's tormented by his so-called friends, despite all that he lost and all that he suffered, the Lord blessed him mightily. The Lord dealt with him graciously. The Lord loved him with an everlasting love. and here the Lord speaks unto him out of the whirlwind and in the end Job hears and sees by faith and the Lord restores him.

Has he put you in a whirlwind? Has he brought you into the midst of a storm? Has he brought you into trial? Are you broken, brought to tears, cast down? Are you in a storm? Have you heard his voice in the midst of the storm? speaking unto you out of the whirlwind concerning his son who suffered in a storm greater than any that we're brought into, who endured the loss of all things, who was cast down, beaten, bruised, broken, rejected, cast out by all men, He came unto his own, his own rejected him.

All men cast him out. They cried out, crucify him, crucify him. He was nailed to the tree. Every man deserted him, even his own, his disciples. He was nailed to that tree by the sins of his own. a people he loved, who hated him. And the fury and the judgment of God was poured down upon his own son, his own son, who as he suffered in the darkness, who as he bore the sins of his own and the wrath and judgment of God against them, said that his tears were his meat day and night. Oh, the sorrow that he endured, as the Lord spoken out of the whirlwind to you and said, behold, my beloved son. This is my beloved son. Hear ye him.

For that's what God was showing Job in the midst of his suffering. Yes, God spoke unto Job out of the whirlwind. And through it he pointed him to Christ, his Redeemer. And he gave Job that faith to rise up and say, I know, I know that my Redeemer liveth.

At times we see Job rebuked, but at times we see the faith of Job come to the fore. And here, as the Lord concludes his speech unto Job, in chapter 42 he addresses Job's friends, and said unto Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee and against thy two friends for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right as my servant Job hath. When did Job speak that which was right? So often we see him cast down and yet throughout He says many things that are right.

He knew that though he was a sinner, that this trial that came upon him was not common to others. And therein lay his puzzle. He knew that he loved his God. And he knew by faith. that God would redeem him. When Job spoke by the Spirit, with faith in Christ alone, we see him as he is in Christ. In chapters 38 to 39, when God began to speak unto Job out of the whirlwind, We see him rebuked for speaking without wisdom. We see, as it were, Job in the flesh, and the rebuke of God against what he was in the flesh. But Job was also in Christ.

And when he spoke by faith, we see what he is. as one washed in the blood of the Lamb, as one brought to see his Saviour, as one loved by the Saviour, as one for whom the Saviour gave all. And to know something of what Christ suffered for him, God brought Job into this trial. He'd been stripped of all his family, his wealth, his health, the sympathy of his friends, his reputation, everything was brought down, he'd lost everything, he'd lost all, in order that he might know Christ.

And that is where God must bring us. That is where you and I must be brought. We must be brought there to know Him. If we trust in ourselves, if we trust in man, if we trust in family, friends, if we trust in our wealth, our health, our strength, our reputation, if we have something to trust in, we'll lean there.

But God must show us that we've nothing. That all these things are nothing. He must show us that we have nothing, we have no strength, we have no wisdom, we have no ability. We need to be emptied. We need to have no strength. We need to have nothing in order. that we might know Christ. We need to have nothing but a need of mercy, nothing but a need of Christ, nothing but a need of salvation.

We need to be brought where Job was brought to cry out, behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee, O Lord? I'm vile, I'm nothing. At the end he says, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eyes see of thee. Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. I'm vile, I'm nothing. Oh what a mercy, what a blessing that the Lord brought Job there. And what a blessing if he brings you there.

And me there, if we have something we can cling on to, we will. Man in religion will cling on to his free will, his works, his righteousness, something in man that he can take confidence in, something in self that he can take some pride in. We're so proud by nature, there's always something that we lean on, something we think we've done well. Something that we seek applause in. Oh how we love to be thought well of. Oh how keen we are that others will look upon us rightly, in our own eyes. That they'll look upon us and have, look upon us in favour. How proud we are.

And yet how God brings down the pride of man. How he brings us to nothing. to say behold I am vile. As the Lord continues to speak unto Job out of the whirlwind he shows his great power his great power and how small man is compared to him. Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? Job, wilt thou condemn me that thou mayest be righteous? Are you questioning my dealings with you, Job? That God is not fair. Why am I brought into such a place like it's not fair? Who art you?

Hast thou an arm like God? Or canst thou thunder with a voice like Him? He suggests that Job decks himself with majesty and excellency, arrays himself with glory and beauty, casts aside his rage, casts down all the proud, rises up above them in his own beauty and excellency. And if he could do this, God would say unto him, then will I confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee. But it's not true, is it, Job?

You know it's not. You know that in you there dwelleth no good thing. You know you're vile. You know that in man there's no beauty, there's no excellency. We're sinners. Man's a sinner before a holy God, and the Lord does all things well. In this we see the excellency, the glory, the majesty, the beauty of God himself. In contrast with the proud pride, the proud heart of man, his own foolishness before a righteous God. The Lord goes on to show Job how great he is. by illustrating this with the picture of Behemoth and Leviathan. If Job is so small compared to these creatures that God created, what is God before man? How great is God?

Behemoth This mighty creature, this ancient creature, one of the great dinosaurs in ancient times. What is Job before such a beast who moves his tail like a cedar? whose stones are like pieces of brass bars of iron man is so small compared to him and Leviathan this great creature who as it were breathes fire out of his mouth go burning lamps and sparks of fire leap out Out of his nostrils goeth smoke as out of a sieve in pot or cauldron. His breath kindleth coals and a flame goeth out of his mouth. In his neck remaineth strength and sorrow is turned into joy before him.

Upon earth there is not his like who is made without fear. This creature Leviathan fears no one. He's so great, so powerful. Men come up unto him with swords and spears, and they're nothing. Darts are counted as stubble. He laugheth at the shaking of a spear. Sharp stones are under him. He spreadeth sharp-pointed things upon the mire. They're nothing. What fear this creature brings into man! He beholdeth all high things. He is a king over all the children of pride. The greatest, the strongest of men, fear Leviathan. This dragon-like creature.

Then if you cannot stand before him, Job, what of me, the Lord says. We are nothing. We're but dust, like ants scuttling around on the surface of the earth, nothing. nothing but full of pride oh if you look down upon the ants they could be puffed up with pride but they're nothing you can tread on them and squash them such are we before a holy God so puffed up in our arrogance and our pride so full of our own understanding our own thoughts and yet nothing before him nothing before him Who can stand before me? Who can stand before me? How can we stand before a holy God when we're so small, so weak, so vile and so full of sin?

Well Job was brought to see how. not in himself, not in his own strength or his own wisdom, not in his own understanding, not by his own knowledge, not by his own deeds and not by his own will. He was brought to see he could stand in only one other in his Redeemer.

He needed one to take his place. He needed one to stand on his behalf before God. He needed one to take away his sin. He needed one to wash him clean. He needed one to intercede before God for him. He could only stand before Almighty God in Christ. Only in that one who interceded for him, only in his substitute. There's only one man that can stand before God. Only one man that is righteous before a holy God. Only one man that can intercede for sinners and that's God's own Son. his dearly beloved son, the one who came into the world on behalf of sinners like Job, sinners like Paul, sinners like us.

Job was brought to suffer the loss of all things. that he might see Christ. The Apostle Paul was brought to the same place. He said he was brought to suffer the loss of all things, that he might know the excellency that is in Christ Jesus, that he might know Christ. He counted all things as done. He lost everything. but he was brought to know Christ his Saviour.

In the whirlwind, God spake to Saul, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? In the whirlwind, God spake to Job and pointed him to his son. And if you're ever to know Christ, He'll send you a storm. He'll bring you to be nothing. And He'll speak unto you out of the whirlwind. And say, Behold, my son. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. This is my dearly beloved son. Hear ye Him.

He'll point you to the substitute. He'll point you to the Saviour. He'll point you to the only one that can stand before a holy God. Who then is able to stand before me? Christ. And Christ alone. And those who are in Christ. We can only stand before God in Christ our Saviour. And we'll only know what it is to be in Christ when He breaks us, bruises us, casts us down, destroys our pride and brings us to nothing.

Leviathan is described as a king over all the children of pride. All the children of pride, what are we but the children of pride? Oh what an enemy that is. What a haughty monster, what an enemy that is within us all, pride. That we think we can stand before God. That we think we can stand up in front of others as being better than they are. Takes a lot for God to bring someone to where Job was. Why? Because we are all so proud, so self-assured, so confident of what we think, of what we believe, of what we know, of what we've done, of what we say. So desirous that others would think well of us, so proud. And until God breaks that pride, and cast us down as nothing before him, we won't cry out for mercy. Whilst we have a measure of strength to rest in, we'll rest in that strength.

But God took it all away in Job, in the storm, through the whirlwind. Has he taken it all away in you? In the end, Job cried out, I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not things too wonderful for me which I knew not. Here I beseech thee and I will speak I will demand of thee and declare thou unto me I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eyes see of thee wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes I've heard of thee with the hearing of the ear but now mine eyes see of thee He's brought to confess he's nothing.

In losing everything, Job is brought to see just what his Saviour, his Redeemer did for him. Just who his God is, and just what his God did to save him. There was an end in sight for the trial that God sent to Job. And that was to bring him to Christ. That was to bring him to Christ, to see the depths of his Saviour's suffering. I know that my Redeemer liveth. To see how low his Saviour was brought Job lost his family. Job lost his friends. Job lost his wealth and his health. Job lost his reputation. Job lost everything. And yet he's brought to see that that was nothing. Nothing compared to what Christ lost. in order to save him. Christ gave up all the glory he had with the Father. He humbled himself to be made a man a little lower than the angels.

He came into the wicked darkness of this world. He suffered the scorn of man, the rejection of man. He suffered our hatred towards him. He suffered our mockery of Him, our despising of Him, our disinterest in Him. He suffered this from sinners, He suffered it from you, He suffered it from me.

Every time we sought our own things, we despised Him and went another way. Every time we had no time for the Gospel, no time for Christ, He felt our heart, the hardness of our heart, the hatred of our heart towards him. Every time we went another way, our sins took a hammer and nailed him to the cross. Every time we complained that the circumstances we were brought into, as Job did, It pierced the heart of Christ through with rejection.

Why have you done this to me God? When God himself in Christ was suffering the loss of all things to deliver us from our sins. When he was paying a price greater than we could ever imagine, ever understand, we complained bitterly. how we have complained against God and all that he's done for us when everything he's done is in love and mercy and care for our souls Christ gave himself for Job whom he loved with an everlasting love his tears were his daily meat he sorrowed for Job And yet Job complained at where he was brought which was nothing compared to where Christ was. And yet God's mercy to Job and his mercy to Paul and his mercy to you if you know him is that if he brings you into such a place he will show you his son and what he suffered to deliver sinners such as you. Has the Lord brought you to where he brought Job in some measure?

Has he brought you down to show you that you're nothing and to show you your need of Christ? Has he shown you your poverty your spiritual poverty, your weakness, your sin, your guilt. Has he shown you that you're nothing before him? Has he caused you to hear? The Lord spake out of the whirlwind. unto Job in the storm in the trial have you heard the voice of Jesus Christ the voice of the Son of God as you lie in the grave has the voice of the Son of God come unto you in the gospel in power has he spoken unto you in the grave and said unto you like he said to Lazarus come forth have you heard I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eyes seeeth thee. Have you heard? Has he brought you to hear, to really hear? And has He brought you to see? Has He given you the eyes of faith to see Him? To see His Son? To see His love for sinners? To see Christ in the Gospel? To see Him as your substitute who took your place?

Who bore your sins? Who bore the wrath of God against those sins? Was He your substitute upon the cross? When your unbelief nailed him to the tree, when your hatred nailed him to the tree, was that a hatred which will damn you? Or was it a hatred the guilt of which Christ bore?

And was his blood shed to wash that sin away? has he brought you to see him in your place particularly has he stripped you of all brought you like Job to nothing has he brought you to cry out Lord be merciful to me a sinner and has he in the gospel given you that faith to see Christ as your Redeemer. Did He pay the price upon the cross for you? Has He set you free? Are you looking unto Christ alone for righteousness, for peace with God, for your hope of eternal glory? Is Christ your all in all? Has God taken away everything and given you Christ?

If He has, like He did with Job, like He did with Paul, you will rejoice in Christ your Saviour. You will rejoice to have lost all for Him, because you will know that there is nothing, nothing like Christ. and his salvation. Yea, doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. and do count them but done that I may win Christ, 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, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings be in may conformable unto his death if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead is that your desire that you may know him that you may know him I know that my redeemer liveth

Who Then is Able to Stand Before Me?

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about suffering and trials?

How do we know that Christ is our Redeemer?

Why is humility important for Christians?

What does it mean to be saved by grace?

Why should Christians be confident in God's sovereignty?

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Who Then is Able to Stand Before Me?

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about suffering and trials?

How do we know that Christ is our Redeemer?

Why is humility important for Christians?

What does it mean to be saved by grace?

Why should Christians be confident in God's sovereignty?

Sermon Transcript

About Ian Potts

Comments

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