I hope you'll be prepared tonight
to use your Bibles. I'm going to do more teaching
than preaching this evening. On the subject, have you seen
the Lord? Now, we're not here to discuss
whether or not Job was saved. The Lord hasn't given us insight
into those matters. It's impossible for you or anybody
else to determine the salvation of any man. God has not allowed
us to look on the Lamb's Book of Life. But I'm not here to
say that Job was saved or wasn't saved. I'm going to just present
something that I believe God has revealed to me. I think most
religious people have never been saved. It may be that they're
candidates for salvation, it may be that one day they will
come to know the Lord, but I'm convinced that most religion
is in the strength and energy of the flesh. In John chapter
6 verse 40, now let me establish first of all the importance of
getting a sight of the Lord, seeing the Lord, seeing the Lord. It says in John 6 verse 40, and
this is the will of him that sent me, our Lord Jesus is speaking,
that everyone that seeth the Son, different people have been
blessed by different scriptures. Charles Spurgeon came to knowledge
of Christ when he heard a message on Isaiah 45, 22, look unto me,
look unto me, look unto me. That's the sight of Christ. Dr. Magruder, whom we love very much
and hold in high esteem, said that when God was pleased to
reveal Christ to him, it was hearing a message on this verse
right here. John 6, 40, and this is the will
of him that sent me that everyone that seeth the sun. I'm not talking
about with natural eyes. I wouldn't give you two cents
for every vision that anybody in this world has ever seen.
at the foot of the bed or during an operation or under anesthesia
or something like that. Wouldn't give it two cents for
it. But we're talking here about a vision of faith, seeing the
Lord. We're going to see this in a
moment. And believeth on him. You got to see him to believe
on him. Can't believe on him whom you've never seen. You can
believe what somebody says about him. You can believe what somebody
preached about him. You can believe what the other
man saw. But I'm talking about you can't believe for yourself
until you see for yourself. Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved, but how shall they call on him in
whom they've never believed, and how shall they believe in
him whom they've never heard or seen? Can't do it. You can
believe what Mama believed and what Daddy believed. You can
believe what the Baptists believed, or the Methodists, or however
you're brought up, and that's what most people believe. But this
thing of seeing the Son for oneself, vital and important. Turn to
John 12. Let me show you another scripture.
John chapter 12. It says in verse 41, These things
said Isaiah. Isaiah had something to say.
but only after he had walked, when he saw his glory. That's
when Isaiah had something to say. These things said Isaiah
when he saw His glory and spake of Him. He had something to say. All right, let's go to the book
of Job now. I'm taking too long on that, but I want to introduce
you to some things here that I feel decidedly and definitely
that the Lord has revealed to me and shown to me and impressed
me to speak on tonight. Now, whatever you say about Job,
whatever you say about Job, there was something missing. Something
missing. Something vital. Something sensitive. Something of the most critical
importance. And that something is revealed
in the text I read a while ago. He said, I've heard of God. I've
heard of God. But now I see it. There's something
missing. Now, let me tell you this about
Job. First of all, I know he was a man of righteousness and
integrity. His own righteousness. He was
a man of righteousness and integrity. Look at verse 8. The Lord said
that. The Lord said unto Satan, Job 1.8, Have you considered,
or have you set your heart on My servant Job? There's none
like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that fears
God and avoids or runs from evil. That's what God said about him.
He was an upright man. He was an honest man. He was
a man of integrity. And a man who knew about God
and who feared God, had the fear of God in his heart, and a man
who literally ran from evil, avoided evil. All right, let's
notice another thing about Job. The Lord sent great trials and
judgment upon him, and instead of complaining and murmuring
against God, it says in verse 20, Job 1, that Job arose, rent
his mantle, shaved his head, fell down on the ground and worshiped
God. And he said, naked I came out of my mother's womb, naked
shall I return thither. The Lord gave, the Lord hath
taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. And in all of this,
Job did not charge God with foolishness. In other words, the Bible doesn't
deny that Job was a man of patience. But you can have patience without
salvation. Take those fellows that lie on those beds of spikes
in India, they're pretty patient. People that walk on hot coals
are pretty patient, but they're not saved. You don't know God. People that play with snakes
have some kind of faith. I don't know what it is. I've
never had faith like that. Never have. Don't expect to have. Job was a man of reverence and
a man of dedication. I'm telling you this, this is
so. He was a man of integrity, uprightness, a man of patience
and integrity and reverence and dedication. And not only that,
but Job 13, turn over here. He was a man who had faith. He
was a man who had faith. Faith in what he'd heard. Faith
in what he'd been taught. Faith in what he'd been told.
In Job chapter 13, verse 15. Job 13, 15. Listen to it. Though
he slay me, yet will I trust him. Trust in him. Though he
slay me, yet will I trust in him. But I will maintain my own
ways before him. He also shall be my salvation
for a hypocrite shall not come before him. God was his hope. He was a man of great faith and
a man of great perseverance. And he was a man of sound theology.
Turn to Job 19. A man of sound theology. Listen
to this in Job 19 verse 25. First of all, in verse 23, he
said, Oh, that my words were now written, that they were printed
in a book, that they were graven with an iron pen in the rock
with lead forever. Verse 25, I know that my Redeemer
liveth, that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth,
and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my
flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes
shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within
me. That's a man of dedication and
sound theology. No question about it. I'm not
establishing any point in regard to his salvation, when it occurred
or if it had occurred. But I'm simply stating the thing
like it is. Just like it is. And this thing
can apply to some of us. Men of honesty, integrity, uprightness,
morality, righteousness. Men of great patience, dedication,
reverence, dedicated to what we believe. Me in a faith, though
he slay me, I'll trust him. I will persevere in what I believe. And me in a sound theology, we
believe God elected a people, Christ died for them, rose again,
intercedes. This is where Job was, and I
want you to listen. This is where Job was. This is
where I am. This is where some of you are.
But according to his own words, turn to Job 42, according to
his own words, According to his own words, here, right here,
in our text, Bill, he had an experience he'd never had before.
That's exactly right. He said in Job 42 verse 5, I've
heard of thee by the hearing of the ear. I've heard of God.
I've heard. They claim that Job is the oldest
book in the Bible. I do not know, but we have a
possibility that Job rubbed shoulders with some of the fellas who knew
Adam. You see, Adam and then Methuselah
knew Adam, and Noah knew Methuselah, you know. And here between Adam
and the flood was only two men, Adam and Methuselah, or the other
men. But these men, this man Methuselah knew Adam. There's
a great possibility that Job talked to Noah. He said, I've
heard of God. I've heard of God creating, I've
heard of God forming the world, I've heard of God making the
heavens, I've talked to one who talked to Adam. That's right. And he said, I knew these things.
But now he said something to, I see the Lord. I see the Lord. Now the way this
came about, and I'm going to give you just a running picture
here. I've been reading the whole book
of Job and got the amplified translation and read the whole
book of Job again and looked at these things. Let me just
give you a start and then let you read it later. We won't have
time to read the whole book of Job this evening. But you know
all the trials that came upon Job, great and severe trials,
heavy trials. And then these three men came,
his three friends came, and this is why they came. They came to
inquire of him concerning the evil that he had done in order
to bring such trials upon them. That was their mission. That's
why they came, three friends came. And Job was a wealthy,
influential, powerful figure, had the blessings of God it seemed
upon him as much or more than anybody. And here he was, his
family was all dead, his money was all gone, his cattle and
camels and goats and sheep were all gone. He didn't have a plug
nickel. He didn't have any influence
left. Everybody turned against him. His health was gone. He
was broke out with boils all over. He was sitting on a scrap
heap, scraping his skin, probably had lost all his weight down
to 110 or 115 pounds, a pitiful looking sight. You wouldn't even
recognize him. And these men got together and
they said, let's go find out what he did. He's bound to have
done something. God wouldn't let this happen to him if he
hadn't done something wrong. And that's why they came. Look
at Job 2. Verse 11. Job 2 verse 11. Now that's why
they came. In Job 2 verse 11. Now when Job's
three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him,
they came every one from his own place. Eliphaz and the Tiamat
and Bildad and Zophar. For they had made an appointment
together. They talked it over to come to
mourn with him and to comfort him. Small comfort these fellows. And verse 12 says, when they
lifted up their eyes afar off, and they knew him not. They didn't
recognize him. They lifted up their voices and
cried. And they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust
upon their heads toward heaven. And they sat down with him on
the ground seven days and seven nights, and didn't say a word. For they saw that his grief was
very great. That's the picture. Here they
are sitting around. All right, one of them speaks. We'll look
at, if you will, at chapter 4, chapter 4, verse 1 through 7. Then Elaphus, the Temanite, answered
and said, If we assay to commune with you, will you be grieved?
That is, if we speak to you, Job, who can withhold himself
from speaking? Behold, Job, you've instructed
many people. You've strengthened the weak
hands of other people. Your words have upholden those
that have fallen, and you've strengthened the feeble knee.
But now it's come upon you, and you think it touches you and
your trouble. Is not this your fear, your confidence,
your hope, and the uprightness of your ways? Remember, I pray
you, whoever perished being innocent, Where were the righteous ever
cut off? When did this ever happen to anybody that was righteous?
That's what he's saying, isn't he? Even as I have seen, remember
I pray thee, whoever perished being innocent or were, where
were the righteous cut off? Now here's another one in Job
8, another one speaks. Job 8, verse 1 through 6. Job 8, 1 through 6. Then answered
Bildad the Shuhite. And said, how long will you speak
these things? So Job, in answering them, he
began to defend himself. I don't believe Job was as much
lifting up his righteousness before God as he was before these
men. He was so troubled by their accusations that he just flat
defended himself on everything. He said, I haven't done anything.
I haven't said anything. I haven't done anything. I'm
righteous and so forth. And that's when Bildad said,
verse 2, Job 8, how long are you going to talk this way? How
long are the words of your mouth going to be like a strong wind?
Does God pervert judgment? Does the Almighty pervert judgment?
If your children sinned against Him and He's cast them away for
their transgression, if you'd seek to God and make your supplication
to the Almighty, if you were pure and upright, surely now
He'd awake for you and make the habitation of your righteousness
prosperous, surely God would. All right, let's look at Job
32. Job 32, I do want you to turn to these now, and you can
go back now and you can read what these men had to say. So
finally, they just kept saying this, kept insisting, well, if
your children sin and they're dead because of it, if this,
if that, the other, if you just look to God, maybe He'll prosper
you again. Job kept maintaining his righteousness. So in verse 1 of chapter 32,
so these three men ceased to answer Job, Because he was righteous
in his own eyes. He was righteous in his own eyes.
He was righteous in his own eyes. Listen to what he said in chapter
33, verse 9. Chapter 33, verse 9. I am clean
without transgression. I am innocent, neither is there
iniquity in me. That's what Job said. I am clean,
without transgression or innocence, neither is there iniquity in
me." There's the picture. They had an impasse. They had
a Mexican standoff job. Job said, I'm clean. And they
said, we've talked to you, we're not saying anything else. So
a young man came along, son of God, whose name was Elihu. Now
let's find out what he had to say. Turn to Job 32. A young
man called Elihu. Verse 2, he was listening in.
He was a young man. He told him, he said, now I've
kept quiet while you fellows are talking because you're older
than me. I've kept my mouth shut. But he said, I'm bursting like
new wine in a bottle. My heart is so full because both
of you are wrong. Chapter 32, verse 1. Then was
Kindle, the wrath of Elihu, the son of Bereichel, the Buzite
of the kindred of Ram, against Job was his wrath, Kindle. He
was mad at Job because Job justified himself rather than God. And
he was angry against the three friends, his wrath was kindled,
because they had found no answer and yet they condemned Job. They
hadn't had any reason at all to condemn him. They hadn't found
any evidence, but they condemned him anyhow. So he was mad at
both of them. He was filled with wrath at both
of them. Now Elihu, verse 4, had waited
until Job was spoken because he was elder, he was older than
he. But when Elihu saw there was no answer in the mouth of
these three friends, then was his wrath kindled, and he had
something to say. Let's see what he had to say.
Let's go to Job 33, verse 12 and 13. Now I'm just giving you
the high points in this man's speech, but I want you to listen
to him as he talks to Job and these three men. In Job 33, verse
12 and 13. Behold, in this you're not just. I'll answer you, God is greater
than man. Why do you strive against God?
He giveth not account of any of his matters. I want you to
listen to this man, how he magnifies God, how he exalts the Lord God,
how he lifts Him up, how he exalts His person and glory and power
and majesty. Verse 27 of Job 33. He looketh
upon men, and if any man will say, I have sinned, I have sinned
and perverted that which is right, and it profiteth me not, God
will deliver his soul from going down into the pit and his life,
and his life shall see the light. Lo, all these things worketh
God, oftentimes with man, to bring back his soul from the
pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living. All right,
let's try another passage now, Job 34, Job 34, verse 10. Look at this now, this is still
Elihu speaking. Now he says, hearken unto me,
ye men of understanding. Far be it from God that he should
do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should commit iniquity.
For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every
man to find according to his ways. Yea, surely God will not
do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment. That's
what I was talking about this morning. Shall not the judge
of the earth do right? Just take the Word of God and the true
and righteous judgments of God and receive them, whatever they
are. Don't answer them or question them. Just receive them. Bow
to them. He'll do right. Who hath given
him a charge over the earth? Or who hath disposed the whole
world? If he set his heart upon man,
if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh
shall perish together and man shall turn again unto dust. If
now thou hast understanding, hear this, hearken to the words
of my voice. Shall even he that hateth right
govern? And wilt thou condemn him that
is most just? Is it fit to say to a king, Thou
art wicked, and to princes, you are ungodly? How much less to
him that accepteth not the person of princes, nor regardeth the
rich more than the poor, for they are all They all are the
work of His hand. He's just magnifying God. He's
exalting the Lord God in His power and greatness and glory,
in His right to do with His own what He will. God will do with
it. This is the great sin of this
generation. They're just so righteous and
moral and churchy and pious and full of theology and fundamentalism
and all these things, but they don't ascribe to God any glory.
They don't see the majesty and the glory and the power of God.
I never hear anybody talking about the greatness and glory
of God. They talk a lot about the dignity of the flesh and
how much God needs man. God has no eyes but your eyes,
no feet but your feet, no hand but your hand. Poor God, He needs
you, He will and He can if you let Him, all this sort of thing.
And yet they're so fundamental, so religious, so pious, so full
of faith, as sure for heaven as if they're already there,
so full of sound theology, that they just haven't ever seen God.
And that's what this man Elihu is saying. He's saying God gives
no account of His matters to men. If He's hungry, He wouldn't
ask you. If He needed anything, He wouldn't
ask you. God's independent of men. He's almighty and sovereign. He doesn't need us. We need Him. Listen, if you will, to Job 36.
Job 36. Let's read Job 34. Let me see
if I read this one here. Verse 34. Job 34, verse 34. Listen to this. Let men of understanding
tell me, and let a wise man hearken unto me. Job hath spoken without
knowledge. Oh, that's sharp words for a
young man, isn't it? His words are without wisdom. My desire
is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his answers
for wicked men. For he addeth rebellion to his
sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words
against God. Elihu spake moreover, and said,
Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidest, My righteousness
is more than God's? For you said, What advantage
will it be unto thee, and what profit shall I have if I be cleansed
from my sins? I'll answer thee, I'll answer
thee, and your companions with you. You look unto heaven, and
say, and behold the clouds which are higher than you." What he's
doing, he's putting men down and putting God up. He's exalting
and magnifying God Almighty and putting man in the dust where
he belongs. He says, if you sin, or if you
stole a watermelon, or if you broke in a store and robbed a
hardware store, what dost thou against God? If your transgressions
be multiplied, what do you do to God? What impact have you
made on God, you little insignificant worm? If you'd be righteous,
what have you given to God? What does He receive of your
hands? Now your wickedness may hurt a man as you are, and your
righteousness may profit the Son of Man, but what do you add
to God or take away from God? You're not near as important
as you thought you were. Not near as important. By reason
of the multitude of oppressions, they make the oppressed to cry.
Yes, they do. They cry out by reason of the
arm of the mighty, but none saith, Where is God, my Maker, who giveth
songs in the night?" Oh, I tell you, we're just so involved with
our little games that we play, and so unaware of the majesty
and greatness and power of Him upon whom we depend, our Maker,
our Master. He said, you fellas sitting around
here arguing about what Job did or didn't do, suppose he did
something. What's he done to God? He hadn't
moved the throne. He hadn't taken the nick out
of the throne. Or if he, Job's talking about his righteousness
and all. He said, what have you added to God, Job? What have
you added to God? I'm telling you what this is
saying. You read it for yourself. Job, let's look at Job 36 now. Job 36, verse 1 through 3. Elihu proceeded and said, suffer
me a little, and I'll show you that I have yet to speak on God's
behalf. I will fetch my knowledge from
afar, and I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker, to nobody else. I will ascribe righteousness
to my Maker. For truly my words shall not
be false. He that is perfect in knowledge
is with me. God is mighty, and despiseth
not any. He is mighty in strength and
wisdom. He preserveth not the life of the wicked, but giveth
right to the poor. He just keeps on talking about
God's majesty. Now, verse chapter 37, let's
look at this. This is Eli Houston speaking.
At this also my heart trembles, and is moved out of place. Hear
attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth
out of his mouth. He directeth it unto the whole
heaven, Job 37 verse 3, and his lightning unto the ends of the
earth. After it a voice roareth, he
thundereth with the voice of his excellency. He will not stay
them when his voice is heard. God thundereth marvelously with
his voice. Great things doeth he which we
cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, be
thou on the earth. Likewise to the small rain, and
to the great rain of his strength." Either one, just a little shower
or a cloud soaker. He sealeth up the hand of every
man that all men may know his work. This is what this man is
saying Do you know when God disposed them? And caused the light of
his cloud to shine verse 15 Verse 16 chapter 30 said do you know
the balancing of the clouds the wondrous works of God which is
perfect in knowledge? You know how your garments are
warm when he quieteth the earth with the south wind Hast thou
with him spread out the sky which is strong as a molten looking
glass? Teach us what we shall say unto him. We cannot order
our speech by reason of darkness. Shall it be told him that I speak?
Does God have to have somebody tell him I'm speaking? If a man
speaks, surely he shall be swallowed up. And now men see not the bright
light which is in the clouds, but the wind passes and cleanses
them. Fair weather come out of the north with God his terrible
majesty. Touching the Almighty, we can't
find him out. He's excellent in power and in
judgment and in plenty of justice he will not afflict. Men do therefore
fear him, he respecteth not any that are wise of heart. This
man, and here's what he's come to do. Job was sitting there
under this affliction and trial and all these things, and his
three friends, very religious fellows, came to get to the bottom
of it, to find out all about it. And they sat there and had
that little argument, you know. Job justified himself, acclaimed
his faithfulness and honesty and integrity and theology and
all these, I know my Redeemer living, know His slavery, I'll
trust Him, stood by His faith, persevered and all these things.
And they just finally shut up. Job kept talking, and this man
in life, he came and said, you fellows are looking in the wrong
direction. Job's looking within, and you're looking at him. And
every one of you need to look to him. And I'm going to tell
you who he is. The sovereign, almighty, eternal
God, who giveth no account of his matters, who ruleth in the
heavens, in the earth, over the armies of men, the inhabitants
of the earth, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And all of
your piety doesn't impress him, and all your sins don't move
him. He's God Almighty. That's what he said. So then
God took it up. That's exactly what we have in
chapter 38. God took it up. And then the
Lord answered Job by the whirlwind, and he said, Who is this that
darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins
like a man. I'm going to ask you some things,
and you answer me. Where were you? I laid the foundations
of the earth. Declare if you've got some understanding.
Who hath laid the measures thereof, if you know? Who hath stretched
the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations
thereof fastened? Who laid the cornerstone thereof?
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted
for joy, who shut up the sea with doors when it break forth
as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud,
the garment thereof, and the thick darkness a swaddling band
for it, and break up For it my decreed place, and set bars and
doors, and ascent to the sea, hitherto shalt thou come, and
no further, and here shall your proud ways be stayed." Have you
commanded the morning since your days? Have you caused the day
spring to know his place? Verse 17, have the gates of death
been opened to you? You see what I'm saying there?
God is magnifying his person, his power, his wisdom, his glory. Here is a man whom God Himself
said, that's one of the most upright men on the earth. That's
one of the most religious, upright men on the earth. That's one
of the most, that man of standing. He turned that man over to Satan.
And Satan tried him, and tried him, and tried him. And Satan
finally came back, and I said, tell you why Job, why Job believes
in you is because you put a fence around him. God said, do anything
you want to, don't kill him. Well, here God challenging that
man. He's coming to me and He's coming
to you. We need to look this thing in the face. Who is God?
Have I seen the Lord? We've got some conception of
God as being some granddaddy up there with a white beard that
Michelangelo painted, reaching down, touching the finger of
Adam. You seen that picture? God is light. God is life. In Him we live and move and have
our being. God is terrible, awesome. God
is holy. God is majestic. God is sovereign. God does as He will, when He
will, with whom He will. Have you seen the Lord? This
is what God is saying to Job, verse 17. Have the gates of death
been opened to you? They have to God. He said, I
kill and I make alive. If you die, God will kill you.
If you're healed, God will make you well. That's exactly right. Have you seen the doors of the
shadow of death? Have you perceived the breath
of the earth? Declare it, if you know it. Oh boy, I wish,
how I wish God had come to some of these fundamentalist Armenian
free will preachers and put them against a wall in a corner like
that and say, tell me. If you entered into these things,
tell me about it, you know it all. You talk about God as if
he's some little peanut, something up there in heaven that wanted
to do something, couldn't do it. Oh, there's no way any man
can speak of the majesty and greatness of God and do it justice. Look at verse 33 of Job 38. Do
you know the ordinances of heaven? Can you set the dominion thereof
in the earth? Can you lift up your voice to
the clouds? That abundance of water may cover
you, can you? You may get rain. Can you send
lightning that they may go and say to thee, here we are. You
talk about Talk about this little God that's being preached today.
It's so pitiful My God says to the lightning Lightning they
said here. We are where you want us to hear
That's right. I'm telling you so that's what
he said. They said here we are Here we are Who has put wisdom
in the inward part you got some wisdom who gave it to you? Who's
given understanding to the heart who can number the clouds in
wisdom who can stay the bottles of heaven? When the dust groweth
into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together, will you
hunt to pray for the lion? Will you fill the appetite of
the young lion? Huh? Verse 41, who provideth the raven
his food when the young ones cry to God? They wonder for lack
of meat. Who feeds the birds? Oh, I love this. Look at Job
39. My God is real. My God is great. Look at Job 39, verse 13. Did you give the goodly wings
to the peacock? Did you ever see a peacock? Incidentally,
a male is always prettier, you know. Open his feathers like that. God said, did you paint those
feathers? I did. Wings and feathers to the ostrich,
leaves her eggs in the earth and warmeth them in the dust
and forgets that the foot may crush them. Verse 16, she's hardened
against her own young as though they were not hers. Her labor
is in vain without fear, because God hath deprived her of wisdom,
neither hath He imparted to her understanding." My God is in
charge of every minute detail of this creation. If my voice
is blessed tonight to somebody's understanding, He'll bless it.
If men are saved, He'll save them. That's exactly right. Look at verse 19. Have you given
the horse strength? Have you closed his neck with
thunder? This is God speaking to that religious fellow, Job.
Can you make him afraid of a grasshopper? The glory of his nostrils is
terrible. He poureth in the valley and rejoiceth in his strength
and goeth out to meet the army. And he mocks at fear and is not
affrighted, neither turneth he back from the sword. Verse 26. Does the hawk fly by your wisdom?
Stretch your wings towards the south. Who makes the birds go
south in the winter? You do that, you can't cure a
toothache. You can't even stop a hangnail. And yet God Almighty, by His
wisdom, has taught all of His little birds to migrate towards
the warm weather. They know right where to go,
don't they? Never get off course. They'll be back next summer.
Looks like to me they'd need an Exxon roadmap, wouldn't they?
They know. They know how to build a nest.
They know how to feed their young. God said, I taught them all that.
I taught them all that. Verse 27 of Job 39, Does the
eagle mount up at your command, make her nest on high, and dwell
and abide on the rock? Upon the crag of the rock and
the strong place, from thence she seeketh her prey. The eagle
eye, she sees her prey afar off. God gave her those eyes. God
said, I gave her those eyes to see that little mouse down there
in the weeds. And she's up here on the side
of a cliff, swoop down and picks it up. God made her that way. Her young ones also suck up blood. And where the slain are, there
she is. There she is. Boy, let me tell
you. First chapter 40, now here's where we come to this. Moreover,
the Lord answered Job, and here's the place we need to be brought.
I do, thinking for myself as well as you. Moreover, the Lord
answered Job and said, Now shall he that contendeth with the Almighty
instruct him? He that reproveth God let him
answer. And Job answered, he was brought to the end of himself,
and he said, I am vile, I'm a sinner, what shall I answer thee? Tell
you what I'm going to do, I'm going to put my hand on my mouth. I'm going to put my hand on my
mouth. Oh God, once have I spoken, I will not answer. All these
little peanuts everywhere up and down the country who are
talking about God's inability, poor God, defeated God, frustrated
God, disappointed God, disillusioned God. Jesus is up there walking
around in heaven wringing his hands because folks won't let
him have his way. I tell you, some hands need to
be put on some mouths. We need to tremble at the presence
of the living God. And then in chapter 42, chapter
42, Job answered the Lord and said this, verse 5, I've heard
of you by the hearing of the ear. That's just what I'm saying.
And brethren, I've been here For all the years of my youth,
I learned to sing, Jesus loves me, when I was just a little
child. I learned to say, now lay me down to sleep, I pray
the Lord my soul to keep. I've been taught Jesus was my
buddy, God was my co-pilot, and all these things. Raised in the
church, and raised in religion, and raised in theology, and went
to Bible school, and pastored a church, and did all these things,
but somehow in these last years, I've been able to get somewhat
of a glimpse of his majesty and his glory and his greatness.
His greatness, his glory, his sovereignty. Lord, if it please
thee, you can do for us mighty things. If it pleases God, I
believe that. Salvations of the Lord, the salvation
of the righteousness of the Lord. I think there are a lot of men
who've heard of God. Actually, there are few men on earth who
haven't heard of God. God speaks, as I said this morning,
in creation. God speaks in the law, both on
the tables of stone and the law written in the heart. God speaks
by his prophet. He said, God, who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake to our fathers by the prophets,
hath in these last days spoken to us by his son. God speaks
through the preached word. The Word of God is preached today,
some places in sincerity, some in insincerity, some in truth,
and some in error, and some in contention, and some in unity.
God's Word is preached by some who know Him and some who don't,
but it's preached. And we've heard of God. We've
heard of God. But I think we need to come to
this place where God brought Job. I've heard of you, but now
mine eyes see it. And I see it there. I think most
religion, I'll be honest with you, people are playing religious
games. I believe they're playing religious
games and they're salving their conscience and they're building
for themselves refuges of lies and they're talking about a God
who doesn't exist. I want to know the living God.
I want to pray to the living God. I want to worship the living
God. I want to walk with the living God. I want to have fellowship
with the living God. in reality, don't you? That's
what happened to Job. It happened to some more people
too. Simeon saw him. He lifted his eyes to heaven
and said, I'm ready to die now. I've seen thy salvation. John
the Baptist saw him. He said, that's the Lamb of God.
Peter saw him. Peter said, die at the cross.
Thomas saw him. He fell on his face. He said,
my Lord and my God. The thief on the cross saw him.
I don't know what that man knew. I just know this is what he said. He was hanging on the cross beside
Christ and he listened and looked and he came to this conclusion.
He said, I'm getting what I deserve. I'm getting exactly what I deserve.
This man had done nothing amiss. Lord, he said, you're not going
to stay dead. You're coming into a kingdom.
He saw the Lordship of Christ. Even in our Lord's weakest moment,
even when the world considered him defeated, even when he was
hanging helplessly physically nailed to a cross, even when
he was forsaken of all men, yea, of the Father in heaven, and
darkness was over the face of the earth, this man saw his glory. And he cried, Lord, remember
me when you come into your kingdom. And our Lord turned to him and
said, today you'll be with me in paradise. He didn't come to
an altar and wail and weep and mourn. He didn't come to the
front of the church and shake a preacher's hand. He didn't
come into a baptismal pool or to a sacrament. He didn't make
a lot of professions or decisions. He saw the Lord. He saw the Lord
in his glory. He saw the Lord. All right, what's
this? Now we're not talking about, and I'll try to be brief, we're
not talking about seeing God with the natural eye. We're talking
about seeing God with the eyes of faith. What is it? It's to
see God in His majesty and sovereignty. Now God can be no less than He
is. He can be no less than he is. If we're going to worship
God, if we're going to believe God, we've got to worship him
and believe him as he is. Love him as he is. Like a man
said to Brother Barnard one time, he listened to Barnard preach
about sovereignty. and God electing a people, and
God predestinating people to be conformed to the image of
his son, and God sending his son to die for those people,
and God calling them miraculously, God passing by the angels, choosing
men, and passing by the Philistine, and choosing the Israelites,
doing as he will, with whom he will. And he looked at Barnard
and said, your God's a monster. Well, how are you going to handle
that? Well, Roth looked at him and
he said, then you get ready to meet a monster, because that's
the God of the Bible. Can you handle that? Well, not
so. Whatever your idea is about it,
God must be known and must be preached and must be worshipped,
not as you think He ought to be, not as you think He is, not
as your little sissy preachers have always said He is, but God
must be recognized and owned and believed and worshipped as
He is. That's right. I'm trying to tell
you who God is. God's boss. Now that's all there
is to it. He's boss. He's sovereign dictator of this
universe. And he's Lord of all flesh. And
he'll give eternal life to whom he will. He said, Moses, I'll
be merciful to whom I will. I'll be gracious to whom I will.
Can I not do with my own what I will? He took Jeremiah. He
said, I want to show you something. Come on down here. That's his
prophet. Prophets don't know everything. They think they do.
He took him down there to the potter's house. He said, you
see that potter? See that potter? He takes the
clay and he puts it on the wheel and he mows it just like he wants
to. And he makes of one, the same
lump, a vessel unto honor and a dishonor. In other words, out
of the same lump, he'll make a vase to hold beautiful flowers,
and he'll make a piece of tile for a cesspool out of the same
lump. By whose orders? His. Now he
said, I'm the potter, you're the clay. You know what he said?
He said, sit there, boy, and learn something. I'm the potter.
The clay is helpless in the potter's hand. I'll do what I will with
my own. You say, I don't like that. Like
it or not, that's the way it is. But that's God. The word
God means God. If there's any power greater
than God, then it's God. Or whoever he is, he's God. The
devil is God's devil, according to the scripture. The devil can't
bat his eyelash without God's permission. Did you know that?
He's got him on a chain. That's what he said. The devil
came up there, and he said, what about Job? He said, well, he
just served you because you blessed him. The Lord said, I'll let
you have this jurisdiction over Job. Go no further. Isn't that
what he said? And that's all he could do. He came back the
second time. And God said, all right, you
can go a little further. He went a little further. Do you know
what he said to Peter? Satan hath desired thee that he may
sift thee. Who do you have to get permission from? That's exactly
right. God Almighty. That's just so.
It's to see God in His majesty. It's to see God in His holiness.
That's what Isaiah saw. Turn to Isaiah 6. Isaiah chapter
6. And here's something for you
to study. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord.
When did Job see the Lord? In great affliction. When God
took everything away. He missed three frames, everything
away. That's what he saw. You study
sometime who King Uzziah was, you can find it if you want to
in 2 Chronicles 26, 1 through 21. That old boy was 16 years
old when he took over as king, and he reigned 52 years. And
he was one of the greatest, mightiest, most respected, honorable, fightingest
soldiers who ever governed Israel. And Isaiah admired him. Old Uzziah
was somebody. God blessed him, God used him,
he did the will of God, but he was a proud fellow. And you know
what he did? He went down to the temple one
day, and Ahaziah, the priest, told him, he went in there to
offer a sacrifice, didn't he, Chuck? And the priest told him
to get out of there, that wasn't his business. You don't approach
God without a suitable sacrifice in the hands of a suitable priest.
He said, I'll do it like I want to. And God turned him into a
leper, and he died. And Isaiah said, when my idol
died, I saw the Lord. That's right. When King Uzziah
died, Isaiah said, I saw the Lord. Here was that mighty man,
that great man, that great strong leader. And God Almighty, because
of one violation of his substitutionary work and sacrifice and redemption,
Wiped him out. Turned him into a leper. And that Isaiah saw God. God's holiness. That's what I'm
talking about. God will not tolerate put up
with sin. God Almighty is holy. I saw the
Lord. Holy! That's what Isaiah saw. And when he saw that, he began
to speak of God. That's what you call it. Alright,
it's to see God in his redemptive work. Turn to Isaiah 53. I've got to hurry, but this is
what I'm talking. Have we really seen the Lord
in His greatness and majesty and sovereignty? Have we ever
seen God in His holiness, in His righteousness? Oh, if we
ever do. You know what we'll say? Woe is me. I'm a man of
unclean lips. I'll tell you, if we ever see
the perfect, pure, infinite, immaculate, unchangeable holiness
of God, we'll see sin in every breath we draw. We'll see sin
in everything man is and does. Even his righteousness will be
filthy rags. That's right. Because of the
awesome holiness of God. And then we see God in his redemptive
work. Isaiah 53. Oh, he hath borne
our griefs, verse 4, and carried our sorrows. Verse 5, he was
wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes
we're healed. But you know, this was all in the good pleasure
and providence of God, purpose of God. Verse 10 said, it pleased
the Lord to bruise him. Well, I thought those Roman soldiers
nailed him to the cross. They did. I thought those Jews
delivered him into the hands of the Romans to be crucified.
They did. But they did what God determined before to be done.
They did what God decreed. They carried out God's orders.
It pleased God to bruise him. He put him to grieve. But I'll
tell you this, when he shall make his soul an offering for
sin, he'll see his seed, he'll prolong his day, and the pleasure
of the Lord will prosper in his hands. He'll do what God sent
him to do. And when he cried on that cross
the last words, what did he say? It's finished. What's finished? What God gave him to do. Our
Lord didn't come down here to try to do anything. I hear these
preachers say, God's trying to save you. No, He's not either. What He tries to do, He does.
When He attacks the walls of Jericho, they come down. When
God Almighty splits the sea, He splits it. When God Almighty
delivers His people out of Egypt, He delivers every one of them,
not a hoof or a hair is left behind. That's exactly right. See his glory. See his mediatorial
office. Old Stephen as a Stonehenge said,
I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And when he said
that, he fell asleep. Well, when Job saw the Lord,
I'll show you one thing and I'll quit. Turn back to Job 42. When
he saw the Lord. when he saw the Lord, oh, I wish
we could see him in his majesty, in his glory, in his greatness,
in his holiness, in his redemptive work. Just seek God. I tell you, if we ever do, we'll
worship him. Won't have to be begged to worship.
You'll pray, you don't have to be begged to pray, not if you
know who God is. You'll find humility, you'll
find faith, all these things. You'll be shut up to his mercy.
Shut up to his mercy. It says here in Job 42, I heard
of you, now I see you, therefore I hate myself. I hate myself
and I repent. His power reveals my weakness
and makes me dependent upon him. His holiness reveals my sin and
makes me look to Him for righteousness. His love reveals my hate. His
grace reveals my greed. His mercy reveals my malice.
To see God in His holiness is to see myself shut up to His
grace. And brother, that's when a man
cries, Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner. I want to die preaching
the greatness of God, the glory of God, the glory of God. And I believe this. I believe
if we see it. I'm not talking about a vision.
Like I said, I wouldn't give you a nickel for it. I don't
want any visions. I'm not talking about a feeling.
I'm just talking about the spirit of the living God opening the
eye of the heart and the understanding to behold God. And I hesitate
to look up, but that's just our leanings, our characteristics.
We look up, but God's everywhere. God's everywhere. And in all
things. And in absolute control. Absolute
control. Our great God, teach us to pray. Our great God, teach us to call
upon Thee out of humility, out of sincerity, out of our weakness
and inability. Oh Lord, teach us to look to
Thee. Thou art God. Beside Thee, there's none else.
Lord, you kill and you make alive. You lift it up and bring it down.
You give life and bring me into the grave. All things are in
your hands. Reveal that to every heart. Thou
art the great God of sovereign and majesty and power and wisdom.
But we thank you and praise you that you're the God of salvation.
That with thee there's mercy. Thou art plenteous in mercy.
Thou art love and grace. And you give to men not what
they deserve. Lord, if you should mark iniquity,
who would stand? But there's forgiveness with
thee, that thou mayest be feared. That thou mayest be feared. And
we want your grace and your favor. We want your mercy. And we sue
you for mercy in the name of and for the sake of and through
the righteousness of and for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's our claim. He's our refuge. He's our hope. And we call upon
thee, O Lord. Minister to us for Christ's sake.
Strike fear in our hearts and reverence and awe before thee.
At all times, thy praise shall continually be in our mouths.
We pray these things for Christ's sake. Amen. Mike, come and lead
us in a hymn if you will. I wish you would. Take the book
of Job. I believe I've dealt faithfully
with it tonight. I really believe I have. It's
not because I haven't wanted to. If there's an error in this
message, it's an error of head and not of heart. I'm persuaded
of this. And I want you to take that book
of Job, and from the foundation I've laid tonight, read it for
yourself. And read what Job said, what these men said, and what
Elihu said, and what God said to them. And I'll tell you this.
I'll tell you, I believe it'll do for you what it did for me.
is shut my mouth and turn my eyes to him. He's God. And I believe this, I promise
you, I believe this, I really do. If a man will glorify God
as he is, and honor God as he is, and bow to God as he is,
God will bless him. I just really believe that. God
will bless him, eternally bless him, give him more life, mightily
so.