I believe that you will find
the message this morning to be interesting, and I hope edifying
and informative. I'm speaking from the book of
Job, chapter 33, verses 24. Will you open your Bible to the
book of Job, chapter 33? Now, my subject is taken from
that 24th verse. God says, I found a ransom. Found
a ransom. This is such an important declaration
It is so important to me and I trust important to you. God
says I've found a ransom Deliver him from going down into the
pit. I've found the ransom Let's look at the scripture Job 33
verse 24. Then God is gracious God is gracious
unto him and God says deliver him release him set him free
From going down into the pit I have found a ransom." Now look
at verse 27, God looks upon me and if any say I have sinned
and I have perverted that which is right and it profiteth me
not, I'm not happy with it, I'm very sad, it hasn't profited
me. God will deliver his soul from
going into the pit and his life shall see the light. And my friends,
this book of Job is no simple narrative. When any man thinks
that he can simplify it and he can arrive at conclusions about
this man Job, when he was saved or whether he was saved or whether
he was righteous or self-righteous or what he was, if you think
you can simplify this book of Job, you will find yourself at
the end thoroughly confused. Now let me show you what I mean.
If you try to simplify it, just let the book say what it says
and leave it there. Let it teach what it teaches.
But if you try to simplify it, if you try to come to conclusions,
you're going to be thoroughly confused when you get to the
end of the book. And here's the reason. Number one, when everything
Job possessed was taken away, even his whole family, everything,
he was a wealthy man. He was a family man. He was a
leader in his community. And God was pleased to allow
Satan to take everything Job had away from him. And when this
happened, I want you to listen to what Job says in Job chapter
1 verse 20. When all this happened, when
he lost everything he had, even his help, Job fell down to the
ground and worshiped God. And he said, naked I came out
of my mother's womb and naked shall I return. The Lord gave
and the Lord has taken away. be the name of the Lord. And
in all this, in all this tribulation and traumatic experience, Job
didn't charge God with foolishness. What an example. Now that's one
view of Job. Now let's look at another one.
Well, even his wife came to him. All of his familiar friends deserted
him. Everybody found fault with him. His three friends came and
sat and looked at him without saying a word for about seven
days. And then they began to accuse him of sin. And finally
his wife came to him and said, How long are you going to claim
to be innocent? Why don't you curse God and die?
Now, let's see what Job replied to her. In Job 2, verses 9 and
10, he said, What? Shall we receive good at the
hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this, Job
did not sin with his lips. In all this, even when his wife
came and said, Why don't you just curse God and die?" Even
at that time, he didn't sin with his lips. What an example. All right, let's look at it again.
Something else in Job 9. And Job talked about man's sin
and guilt before God. He said in Job 9, 1 and 2, how
can a man be just with God? How can he be clean that's born
of a woman? He wanted to know. He said, if
I justify myself, my own mouth would condemn me. Job was looking
for a way to be sanctified, to be justified before God. And
that's the reason he asked this question. How is it possible
that a sinful human being can be righteous and holy and just
in the sight of a holy God, immaculate, immutable, infinitely holy God?
All right, let's look at something else. He talked of trusting God
at all times, all the time, no matter when it was. He said in
Job 13.5, Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. It doesn't
matter what God does with me. He may slay me, but I'll trust
him. Not many of us can say that, can we? So if we're going to
criticize this man, we need to be very careful. And then in
Job 19, he spoke of the redeemed. I like this chapter, verse 25,
Job 19. He said, I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and on this earth he shall stand. And though worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh I'm going to see the Lord,
whom I shall see for myself and not another. He had assurance
and confidence of his relationship with God. He says the Redeemer,
my Redeemer, my Savior, is going to stand on this earth, and I'm
going to see it. But then on the other side, now
you won't believe some of the things I'm going to read to you
from the book of Job about this dear man, but that's what I'm
saying. You can't simplify this book.
It's not a simple narrative. You can't come to conclusions.
You just have to let it speak for itself and say what it says.
We're shocked to hear some of the things Job says in other
verses, which seem to indicate that he did in fact justify himself,
that he did in fact claim a personal righteousness before God. Now
let me show you that first of all in Job 27, verse 6. This
is Job speaking, chapter 27, verse 6. He says, My righteousness
I hold fast. I will not let it go. My righteousness
My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live. I will not
be convicted by my heart or reproached or reproved or rebuked as long
as I live. That doesn't sound like the same
man, does it? And then in the whole 31st chapter
of Job, if you'll read that whole 31st chapter, write that down
and read it later, that whole chapter is an account of his
good works. He talks about how good he treated
his neighbor, how good he treated his servant. how nice he was
to his family, how much he'd given to the poor, how he fed
the beggars, the whole chapter. He gives an account of all of
his good deeds, all of his life. And then in Job 32.1, finally,
the three men who had come to speak to him, it says in Job
32.1, they ceased to answer, they ceased to talk to him. Why?
Because Job was righteous in his own eyes. Now, my friends,
some may say that Job was not justifying himself before God,
but he was justifying himself before his friends, and that
may be true, because he was trying to convince these people that
God was not punishing him for some great wrong, for some great
sin, for some great act of transgression. He was trying to convince them
that he had not committed some great, grievous sin against God
and was being punished, but he went too far. He went too far. He could have said, yes, I am
a sinful man, and yes, I am an evil person, and yes, I have
guilt in my soul, but I have done nothing in particular for
God to bring this woe upon me. But that's not what he said.
He went too far. He actually justified himself
before God. He actually claimed that innocence
and righteousness, and he revealed a spirit of self-righteousness. And God won't tolerate self-righteousness. God will not put up with self-righteousness. This is perhaps why God brought
him so low. You see, God knew what needed
to be done for Job. God hates self-righteousness,
and he'll deal with it, especially if it's found in the hearts of
his children. That's right. Especially will
God deal with self-righteousness if it's found in the hearts of
his children. Well, God sent a young man to
speak to Job and these three friends. And this young man's
name was Elihu. And he came to speak. Actually,
he came to speak for God. We have an account of this. Look
at Job 36, 1 and 2. Elihu said, I have yet to speak
on God's behalf. Now, it seems that he had been
sitting there for a while, and he hadn't had anything to say.
He was a young man, and he had been present for a while. He
had been listening to Job, and he had been listening to Job's
three friends, and he just sat there, and he hadn't said anything.
God sent him. God appointed him. God anointed
him. We found that out later. God put him on the scene. God
sent him there to speak for God. And he didn't say anything for
a long time. And here are three reasons why he didn't say anything.
You'll find this in the book of Job there. First, he was much
younger than these other men. That's the reason he didn't say
anything. He kept silent because he was so much younger than they
were. And then secondly, he kept silent because he said older
men ought to teach wisdom. They ought to. with gray hair
should come experience and wisdom and understanding. And he sat
there listening and waiting, waited for these older men to
speak some wisdom, to speak for God. But he listened in vain
because no wisdom was forthcoming. He didn't hear any wisdom, not
from Job and not from the three friends. And so he determined
to speak. He said, I have yet to speak
for God. I've got something to say on
behalf of God. I come here to speak for God."
And here are three reasons why he decides to speak. First of
all, he says, I'm going to speak because Job is righteous in his
own eyes. I've got something to say to
you, Job, because you are righteous in your own eyes. It's true that
God says you are his servant. It's true that God says you are
a righteous man that hates and abhors evil, but you're righteous
in your own eyes. And I've got something to say.
And then he says, I've got something to say because the three friends
didn't have anything to say. They didn't have an answer for
Job's predicament. They didn't have an answer for
Job's charges. And so this man Elihu was going
to speak because the three friends had not, they hadn't spoken that
which was wise. And the third reason why God
sent him is because God had filled him full of truth and God had
filled him with his spirit. And he says, I must speak. I
must speak. Now I want you to see, I want
you to listen to his sermon. You get your Bible there and
let's look first of all, the life you spoke for God, we're
sure of that, because it says he came to speak for God. And
God's words are always the same. So his sermon is to you and to
me. If he speaks to Job for God, he's speaking to me for God,
because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God says
I've changed now. And if he speaks to Job's three friends for God,
he speaks to my friends. So let's listen to this man,
Elihu, and let's see what he says. All right, first of all,
he says this, Job 33, verse 14. He said, God speaks, but men
won't listen. Is that true? Is that true of
you? Can that charge be laid at your
door? God actually speaks to you, and you won't hear him?
You won't hear him? Is that true? That's what Elihu
said, speaking for God. Listen to him in Job 33, 14.
He said, God speaks once, Yea, twice, and yet men do not listen,
yet men will not hear." What a serious charge to be laid at
our door. Paul said in Hebrews 1, God,
who at sundry times, that is, various times, in divers manners
or in different ways, spake to our fathers with a prophet, hath
in these last days spoken to us. to men by the prophets and
preachers and evangelists and apostles, and God speaks to men
by his own Son, and men won't hear." That's what he's saying.
God speaks once by the prophets, God speaks twice by the voice
of his own Son. He said, this is my beloved Son,
hear ye him. You listen to him, he said. This
generation, listen to my Son. Men won't hear. Christ said,
I've come in my Father's name, and you receive me not. Let another
come in his own name, preaching his own message. In him you will
believe. In him you will believe. My friends,
everybody listening to my voice today who continues in rebellion
against God, who continues in unbelief, who continues in sin,
is doing so in spite of being warned by God, being invited
by God, and being instructed by God. That's right. God speaks. God has spoken. God
is speaking. And God will speak, and God has
not left himself without a witness. He speaks, but men won't hear. Christ said they've got eyes,
but they don't see. He said they have ears, they're
blessed with ears, they hear your words, but they do not hear
them. And they have hearts, they have
consciences, they have some intelligence, some understanding, but they
do not comprehend. This is what he's saying here,
this is what Elihu is saying, God speaks. But he can't get
man's ear. Man won't listen. Man won't listen. God speaks once, God speaks twice,
but men will not hear. Modern man is listening to everybody
but God. One of the most popular things
on television today is the talk show. And people, millions of
people, listen to men. They listen to people exchanging
ideas and arguing and debating. quarreling and disputing and
presenting their ideas and philosophies. They listen to men, but they
won't listen to God. They won't hear. They're listening
to everybody's voice, but God's voice. The Bible, there are more
Bibles than any other book in this world. The Bible has been
translated into nearly a thousand languages, but it's not read. I guess it's the least read book
there is on the continent. People won't listen. God speaks.
There's no doubt about that. This is what He likes you to
sing. God speaks. God has spoken once, twice. But men won't hear
it. But now here's good news. Look
at verse 16. Somebody's going to hear it.
God promises that. He says, Then He opens the ears
of men. God opens somebody's ears. That's right. There'll be some
who'll hear Him. There'll be some who'll listen
to Him. There will be some who will hold their ears and prick
them up and say, God speak, your servant hear it. I'm listening.
I'll be somewhere listening. I'll be somewhere listening.
I'll be somewhere listening for my name. Somebody's going to
hear it. That's what Elihu said. He said,
God will open somebody's ears. God will give them understanding.
God will give them instruction. Yes, he was in the world and
the world knew him not, but some knew him. Simeon knew him. He
lifted his eyes to heaven when he looked into the face of the
Lord Jesus, and he said, Father, Lord, let your servant die in
peace. I've seen your salvation. Some
people knew him. Some people knew him. He was
in the world, and the world knew him not, but some people knew
him. He came to his own nation, and his own nation received him
not, but some received him. And as many as received him,
to them gave he the right, the privilege to become sons of God.
Some people received him. And the scripture says that he
was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. But somebody loved him. Peter said, Lord, you know I
love you. You know all things. You know
every man's heart. You know I love you. He was the
object of hatred. But some loved him. And then
many of his followers in John 6, it says they departed and
walked no more with him. But some walked with him. For
some of them said, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words
of eternal life. And we believe and assure that
thou art the Christ, the Son of God. My friends, if you look
at 1 Corinthians 2, verse 9 and 10, you'll read these words.
Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered
the heart of men, the things that God prepared for them that
love him, but he hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. No,
the natural mind. can't comprehend it, nor the
natural eye behold it, nor the natural ear hear it. But some
will. That's what Elihu's saying. God
speaks. God speaks. He says, Job and Bildad and you
other two fellows, God speaks. Men won't listen. But somebody's
going to hear. Somebody's going to hear. Why?
Well, here's the reason. Verse 23. God will send his messenger. He'll send his messenger, the
Holy Spirit. It says, if there be a messenger, and interpreters,
one among a thousand, to show man God's righteousness. We've got to have some help,
haven't we? Our natural eyes can't see, and our natural ears
can't hear, and our natural hearts can't comprehend, and we don't
have the intelligence or the wisdom to comprehend the mysteries
of godliness and redemption. But somebody's got to help us,
and that's this messenger that God sends, the Holy Spirit. And
the Holy Spirit reveals God's righteousness. He starts out
by revealing our unrighteousness. And then he reveals God's righteousness,
and he reveals this. Look at verse 24. He reveals
that God is gracious. That's the text I read a moment
ago, the first verse. In Job 33, 24, he says, God is
gracious. And God says of that sinner,
deliver him, set him free. Deliver him from going down into
the pits. I found a ransom. That's not because man is worthy.
It's because God is gracious. It's not because we deserve it.
It's because God is gracious. It says God is gracious. God
is merciful. Deliver him from going down into
the pit because God is gracious. What is this deliver him? Well,
deliver him, set him free, release him, God says to the law. The
law has been satisfied and it therefore it has no more claim,
no further claim on me. It's been satisfied. Release
him, deliver him, set him free, law of God. You have no claim
on him. Your claims have been satisfied.
Release him, deliver him, set him free, justice of God. You
have no claim on him because your claims have been satisfied.
The ransom has been found. The Redeemer has died. The payment
has been made. The debt is cancelled. Release
him, let him go. All who claim, have a claim on
him. Let him go. Christ Jesus has set him free.
If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. That's
what Paul is talking about in Romans 8. Now listen to this,
Romans 8, verse 29. Paul said, For whom he did foreknow,
he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. And
whom he did predestinate, he called. And whom he called, he
justified. And whom he justified, he glorified. Now what shall we say to these
things? Here's what we say. If God be for us, who can be
against us? Not the law, not justice, not
the angels, not Satan, not anyone in heaven, earth, or hell can
be against us if God's for us. For he that spared not his own
son, but delivered him up for us all, shall he not freely with
him give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's election? Who is he that condemns? Is it
Christ that died? Yea, that rather that is risen
again who is even at the right hand of God who also make it
make his intersection for us who can separate us from the
love of Christ tribulation That's what he's saying his delivery
God is gracious anybody listening God said he's spoken, but you
won't eat it, but somebody will hear and what will I hear they'll
hear good news They'll hear a gospel message. They'll hear God say
I'm gracious. I'll be gracious to whom I will
be gracious I'll be merciful to whom I will be merciful. And
that good news is release him, deliver him, let him go. And
the law says on what basis? And justice says on what foundation?
And God says on this foundation, I found the ransom. I found the
redeemer. Don't look for the ransom among
the angels. The angels cannot satisfy God's
holy love. Don't look for a ransom among
the sons of men. The sons of men cannot satisfy
and honor God's justice. Don't look for a ransom in the
law. The law can only condemn, it cannot save. God looked to
his right hand, to his well-beloved, to his only begotten son, who
said, Lo, I come. In the volume of the book, it
is written of me. I delight to do thy will. Oh,
my God. That's where God looked. He looked
to his right hand, and there he found a ransom. That ransom
was the blood of Christ. That ransom was the perfect obedience
of the Son of God. God says, anybody listening?
I have a message, I have good news. God is gracious. God is
merciful. And God says to the law, God
says to justice, God says to every adversary, turn him loose. Set him free. Deliver him. I
found the ransom. I found an atonement. I found
a redemption price. I found all that my justice required. Now listen to this. Now the Lord
God will hear all who call upon him for mercy. Look at verse
27. So he says, he looks on me. God
speaks once, twice. Anybody listening? God's got
a message. He said, I'm gracious. I found
a ransom. Now watch this. As he says in
verse 27, he says, if any man will say, I have sinned. And
I have perverted that which is right, and it has not profited
me. If any man shall say, I have
sinned, I have perverted that which is right, and it profiteth
me not, God will deliver his soul from going into the pit,
and his life shall see the light. Do I hear anybody, is there a
man out there who will say, I am a sinner, who will confess his
sins? John said, if we confess our
sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. Do I hear anyone say I am a sinner? I am a self-confessed. I am a
bonafide. I am a genuine sinner against
God. Any man will say I have sinned.
I have sinned. Is there out there a man who
will call for mercy like the publican did in the temple? God
be merciful to me. And that's a definite article
there. Be sinner. The biggest sinner. the chief
of sinners. The Lord may be the only sinner,
but if no other man's a sinner, I am, and I want mercy. Is there
any man out there who will believe the word of God? This is the
record. God has given us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son of God hath
life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. Is there any man who will say,
I have sinned, I cry for mercy through the merit and the blood
of God's Son? Is there any man out there who
will confess the Lord as his Savior and Redeemer? For the
Scripture says in Romans 10, verse 9 and 10, If thou shalt
confess with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, and believe in thine
heart God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with
the mouth confession is made to salvation. God speaks. He's spoken this morning, yea,
once, twice, but man perceiveth it not. But some will hear, for
God will send his messenger, and God will give them ears to
hear and eyes to see, and God will declare to them that effectual
good news, I have found the ransom. And they're going to lift their
eyes to glory, and they're going to say, Lord, let thy blood be
propitiation for me on the mercy seat. Let that ransom for my
soul be applied.