Calvary
Chapel Bible College
March
30, 2022
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Homework
There was NO memory verse for today…
Memorize Job 19:25-26 (in NKJV)
(Job 19:25–26 NKJV)
—25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall
stand at last on the earth; 26 And after my skin is destroyed, this
I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,
Having chewed on this, is there something you’ve learned?
Was everyone able to get their “Pericope Project #1” done?
Introduction
Job is going through the worst time anyone could imagine.
He’s lost all his possessions.
His children have died.
His health has failed.
What makes all this even more confusing is that Job is a good guy.
God has decided to allow Job to go through this difficulty because He is
proud of Job, not mad at him.
God wants to show the world what a godly man will do when he is going
through a difficult time.
Keep a couple of things in mind as we study Job:
Sometimes Job is wrong in his conclusions.
Sometimes Job’s friends are also wrong.
They can even say things that are true, but they are just not true about
Job.
Be careful about building doctrine upon some of the things said in the book
of Job.
Neither Job’s words nor those of his friends are meant to build doctrinal
truths on.
They simply show us how people respond to difficulty.
We are finishing up the last arguments in the three round
of debates.
25:1-6 Bildad: Man can’t be just
:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
:1 Bildad the Shuhite
This is the smallest of Job’s friends (shoe-height)
He will be the last of Job’s three friends to speak.
Zophar won’t speak during this third round.
:2 “Dominion and fear belong to Him; He makes peace in His high
places.
:3 Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light not rise?
:3 Is there any number to His armies?
Bildad is talking about God.
God is awesome. God is mighty.
Another title for God is “Lord Sabaoth” (not “Sabbath”, though Jesus is the
“Lord of the Sabbath”), or “Lord of Hosts”, or “Lord of heaven’s armies”.
:4 How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who
is born of a woman?
:4 how can he be pure who is born of a woman?
Job has been insisting that he’s a righteous man, and that the problems
he’s been having can’t be because of sin.
Bildad states that nobody can be right with God.
Lesson
Getting right with God
There is some truth to what Bildad says, but there are also some problems.
Truth
Man on his own cannot be just before God.
Man is born a sinner. David wrote,
(Psalm
51:5 NKJV) Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my
mother conceived me.
We are all sinners. Paul writes,
(Romans
3:23 NKJV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Problems
1. We can be right with God.
Jesus came to preach the “gospel”, the “good news” that
man can become right with God.
Jesus came to make us right with God.
He was the only human to have ever been born without sin
and He lived His life without sinning.
This made Him the perfect candidate to be a perfect
sacrifice, someone who would die in our place and pay for our sins.
Because He was God in human flesh, He was able to lay down
an infinite life, and pay for the sins of the world, not just one person.
Paul wrote,
(2
Corinthians 5:17–21 NLT) —17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has
become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18 And all of
this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God
has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was
in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins
against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are
Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ
when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our
sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
We are made right with God when we decide to trust in
Jesus, to believe that He and He alone has taken care of our sins by dying on
the cross.
2. Those “born of a woman” comments.
Jesus was the only person ever born who was righteous
before God.
He was born of a woman.
3. Bildad is in the same boat.
He too is a sinner, just like Joab.
If Bildad, Zophar, and Eliphaz are in the same category as
Job, and bad things happen to sinful people, then why aren’t they going through
difficult times as well?
:5 If even the moon does not shine, And the stars are not pure in His
sight,
(Job 25:5 NLT) God is more
glorious than the moon; he shines brighter than the stars.
:6 How much less man, who is a maggot, And
a son of man, who is a worm?”
:6 son of man, who is a worm
maggot – rimmah – maggot, worm (as cause and sign of
decay)
worm – towla‘– worm; the dye made from the dried body of the female of
the worm “coccus ilicis”
When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her
young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so
firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited
beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to
enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her
body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet
worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted. What a picture
this gives of Christ, dying on the tree, shedding his precious blood that he
might “bring many sons unto glory”
(from page 73, “Biblical Basis for
Modern Science”, 1985, Baker Book House, by Henry Morris)
It’s also interesting to note that David used the same word in that great
prophetic Psalm about the Messiah on the cross:
(Psalm 22:6 NKJV) But I am
a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
This was the Psalm that Jesus quoted on the cross, in
other words that Jesus was claiming to be a “worm”.
And it almost seems as if David is quoting Bildad here…
Lesson
Truth in interesting places
We’ve mentioned it before, but here again we see that someone that God will
rebuke is speaking a nugget of truth.
Bildad says something very interesting here, especially in that he says
that it’s a “son of man which is a
worm”
Jesus, the Son of Man, would be that “towla” for us, dying for us,
covering us with that red stain, giving us life.
There may be people around you who are way off the mark,
but be careful that you don’t just dismiss everything they say.
26:1-4 Job’s rebuke
:1 But Job answered and said:
:2 “How have you helped him who is without power? How have
you saved the arm that has no strength?
:2 How have you helped
Lesson
Lousy help
Sometimes we may have the best of intentions, but our help falls far short.
This video gives you a taste of what it’s like to be in Job’s shoes, and receiving lots of “advice” from friends.
I hope you all will be able to read the cards this gal puts in front of the
camera...
We want to give help and hope to people are suffering, but sometimes the
way we respond just doesn’t help, it only hurts.
She said it was okay to not say anything.
She said it was okay to pray … but be sure you really pray.
Do any of you know someone who is struggling with a huge problem? Maybe a health issue? Maybe a job or financial issue?
:3 How have you counseled one who has no wisdom? And how have
you declared sound advice to many?
:4 To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit came from you?
:4 whose spirit came from you?
(Job 26:4 NLT) Where have
you gotten all these wise sayings? Whose spirit speaks through you?
There is a measure of sarcasm in Job’s words.
Lesson
Who’s speaking?
Sometimes as Christians, we get a little confused as to what influences our
thoughts and actions.
(Luke 9:51–56 NKJV)
—51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received
up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent
messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the
Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for
the journey to Jerusalem.
Jesus made a choice to travel through the land of Samaria rather than go
around it and travel along the Jordan River.
On the way He encountered Samaritans.
They weren’t kind to Him.
It was offensive to the Samaritans that Jesus was heading to Jerusalem
because they did not worship in Jerusalem.
They had their own twisted form of Judaism that told them to worship on
Mount Gerazim, not in Jerusalem.
54 And when His
disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to
command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
Elijah called fire down on his enemies when they tried to capture him (2Ki.
1). James and John like the idea of
getting to do this to these mean people of Samaria.
We think this might have been the incident that earned James and John their
nickname, “Boanerges” or, “Sons of Thunder”. (Mark 3:17) (I have always thought
that “Sons of Thunder” would make a great name for a biker gang)
(Mark
3:17 NKJV) —17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to
whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”;
55 But He
turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit
you are of. 56 For the Son
of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they
went to another village.
James and John were zealous for the Lord, but they were not being led by
the Holy Spirit. They were most likely
being led by their own human spirit.
They were concerned about defending Jesus, but
weren’t concerned for the people that Jesus was concerned for. In their zeal, they wanted to destroy people.
Just like Bildad and his friends.
It’s pretty cool that God would give John another
chance to call down “fire” upon the Samaritans, but in another way altogether.
Philip the evangelist went north to Samaria to preach the gospel and many
Samaritans were getting saved.
(Acts 8:14–17 NKJV)
—14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when
they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
John got to pray the “fire” of the Holy Spirit upon them.
How gracious of God to give John a chance to do it right!
26:5-14 Job: God’s Greatness
:5 “The dead tremble, Those under the waters and
those inhabiting them.
:6 Sheol is naked before Him, And Destruction has no covering.
:6 Sheol is naked before Him
Sheol is the place where all the dead went during Old Testament times.
There were two compartments in sheol,
the place for the righteous (“Abraham’s bosom” or “paradise”) and “hell”, the
place for the wicked.
David wrote,
(Psalm 139:7–8
NKJV) —7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your
presence? 8 If I ascend
into heaven, You are there; If I make my
bed in hell, behold, You are there.
God is everywhere.
Nobody hides from God, not even in Sheol.
:7 He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth
on nothing.
:7 He hangs the earth on nothing
An interesting idea about the earth being in space, and it was written
around 2000 BC.
:8 He binds up the water in His thick clouds, Yet
the clouds are not broken under it.
:8 binds up the water in His thick clouds
God puts the rain in the rainclouds.
:9 He covers the face of His throne, And
spreads His cloud over it.
:10 He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary
of light and darkness.
:11 The pillars of heaven tremble, And are
astonished at His rebuke.
:12 He stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks
up the storm.
:12 He breaks up the storm
storm – rahab – storm, arrogance; mythical sea monster
Video: Star Wars – Always a
bigger fish
Job is going to talk about animals that we would call dinosaurs. Could it be that he’s talking about a giant
sea creature (dinosaur)?
:13 By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing
serpent.
:13 By His Spirit He adorned the heavens
Job challenged Bildad in 26:4 about the “spirit” that he is speaking from
so critically.
In contrast, God’s “Spirit” adorns the heavens.
:14 Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And
how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can
understand?”
:14 whisper … thunder
God communicates in different ways.
He might speak softly like a whisper.
He may speak loudly like thunder.
When Elijah was running from Jezebel, a small whisper was all he needed.
(1 Kings 19:11–18
NKJV) —11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong
wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and
after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord
was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and
after the fire a still small voice. 13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in
his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice
came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 And he said,
“I have been very zealous for the Lord
God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn
down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and
they seek to take my life.” 15 Then the Lord said to
him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you
arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu the son
of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel
Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17 It shall be that
whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the
sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have
not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
I think sometimes we would do well to pay attention to the whispers of God
and stop expecting the thunder.
27:1-6 Job: I am innocent
:1 Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said:
:1 Job continued his discourse
This would be the time when the third friend, Zophar, would speak up.
Apparently Zophar doesn’t want to speak anymore,
so Job continues.
:2 “As God lives, who has taken away my justice, And the
Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
:2 God … has taken away my justice
Lesson
Blaming God
Though Job never curses God, he does have some things wrong.
He’s concluded that God is infinitely unfair. He’s concluded that God is out to destroy
him.
We do this today as well. What do
insurance companies call earthquakes and tornadoes? Acts of God.
Sometimes we are simply blaming the wrong person.
The problem with Job is he doesn’t see the bigger picture.
He doesn’t know that God is showing Satan that Job will follow God even
when life gets tough.
He doesn’t know that it’s Satan that has caused all these calamities, not
God.
God will one day speak up:
(Job 38:1–2 NLT) —1
Then
the Lord answered Job from the
whirlwind: 2 “Who is this
that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
God will be saying to Job, “Pal, you don’t know what
you’re talking about.”
Be careful about blaming God for all your problems. It’s possible that you don’t see everything
that’s going on.
:3 As long as my breath is in me, And the breath of God in my
nostrils,
:4 My lips will not speak wickedness, Nor my tongue utter deceit.
:5 Far be it from me That I should say you are right; Till I die I will not
put away my integrity from me.
:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let
it go; My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.
:6 My righteousness I hold fast
Lesson
Stop your sin hunting
Some Christians are always looking to find something wrong in their life.
Sometimes it is because preachers like me are so good at making people feel
guilty.
Sometimes we are going through a difficult time like Job, and we are
looking for the cause for our trouble.
If you are indeed guilty of sin, there is a remedy for it.
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If you are doing things that are not pleasing to God, you
need to turn from those things and ask God for forgiveness.
But after you’ve done that, you need to receive God’s
forgiveness and thank God for forgiving you.
And when a preacher like me is talking about sin, guilt,
and condemnation – then you should understand that for the moment he’s not
talking about you.
Does this mean you’ll never sin or need forgiveness again?
Not at all.
But when you have asked God to forgive you, you need to drop the
condemnation and shame and humbly walk in God’s forgiveness.
I think that we ought to learn from Job that when we’ve been living
correctly, we don’t need to apologize for it or pretend that we’re not living a
godly life.
27:7-10 Job: Wicked Enemy
:7 “May my enemy be like the wicked, And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous.
:8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, Though
he may gain much, If God takes away his life?
:9 Will God hear his cry When trouble comes upon him?
:10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God?
:7 May my enemy be like the wicked
Is Job talking about his friends? It might be.
It’s also possible that a crowd has gathered to listen to these debates and
there are people cheering for Job’s friends.
27:11-23 Job: Judgment for wicked
:11 “I will teach you about the hand of God; What is with the
Almighty I will not conceal.
:12 Surely all of you have seen it; Why then do you behave with
complete nonsense?
:13 “This is the portion of a wicked man with God, And the heritage of
oppressors, received from the Almighty:
:13 the portion of a wicked man with God
Job is going to remind his listeners what they actually
already know.
He’s going to talk a bit about the final end of a
person who rejects God.
Keep in mind, this is what Job’s friends have been talking about, but
they’ve been saying that Job was wicked and that what he’s going through now is
God’s judgment.
There is truth in what Job is saying, but it’s about the ultimate, final
judgment of the wicked before God – not necessarily what is going to happen in
their own lifetime.
:14 If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword; And his
offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
:15 Those who survive him shall be buried in death, And
their widows shall not weep,
:16 Though he heaps up silver like dust, And piles
up clothing like clay—
:17 He may pile it up, but the just will wear it, And the
innocent will divide the silver.
:17 He may pile it up
The wicked person may indeed live in prosperity on the earth, but there
will be a day when their wealth will be given to those who walk with God.
:18 He builds his house like a moth, Like a booth which
a watchman makes.
(Job 27:18 NLT) The wicked
build houses as fragile as a spider’s web, as flimsy as a shelter made of
branches.
:19 The rich man will lie down, But not be
gathered up; He opens his eyes, And he is
no more.
:20 Terrors overtake him like a flood; A tempest steals him away in the
night.
:21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; It sweeps him out of
his place.
:22 It hurls against him and does not spare; He flees desperately from its
power.
:23 Men shall clap their hands at him, And
shall hiss him out of his place.
:23 shall hiss him out of his place
Lesson
Caution in judging
We need to be careful when we, like Job’s friends, find ourselves judging
and condemning those in difficult times.
The same words we use to criticize will often come back to haunt us. We will be judged by the same principals we
judge others with.
Jesus said,
(Matthew 7:1–5
NKJV) —1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge,
you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to
you. 3 And why do
you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in
your own eye? 4 Or how can
you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a
plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you
will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Jesus didn’t say we could never make judgment calls about people – but we’d
better look first in the mirror to be sure we aren’t really talking about
ourselves.
Video: Dear Kitten: Impersona-cat
Sometimes the things we criticize about others are actually the things that we struggle with.
I get concerned about preachers who are always talking
about one particular sin. Is this something they struggle with?
I know I am extra sensitive towards sins that I struggle
with.
Break?
28:1-13 Job: Where is wisdom
:1 “Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place
where gold is refined.
Job is going to talk about how valuable things are found.
:2 Iron is taken from the earth, And copper is
smelted from ore.
:3 Man puts an end to darkness, And
searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the
shadow of death.
:4 He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by
feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro.
(Job 28:3–4 NLT) —3
They
know how to shine light in the darkness and explore the farthest regions of the
earth as they search in the dark for ore. 4 They sink a mine shaft into the earth far from where anyone lives.
They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth.
:5 As for the earth, from it comes bread, But
underneath it is turned up as by fire;
:6 Its stones are the source of sapphires, And
it contains gold dust.
:7 That path no bird knows, Nor has the
falcon’s eye seen it.
:8 The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has
the fierce lion passed over it.
Wild animals don’t know how to get these precious gems.
:9 He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots.
Men know how to overturn mountains to get to precious metals and stones.
:10 He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye
sees every precious thing.
:11 He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings
forth to light.
:12 “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of
understanding?
:13 Man does not know its value, Nor is it found
in the land of the living.
:12 where can wisdom be found?
Man seems to struggle when it comes to finding wisdom. He doesn’t know how valuable it is.
Lesson
True Treasure
Sometimes we get confused when it comes to how much something is worth.
Illustration
CLOTHING SALE?
The sign in the window said: Suits $5.00 each; shirts $2.00 each; trousers
$2.50 per pair. Bubba says to his pal, “Clevis, Look! We could buy a whole lot
of those, and when we get back home, we could make a fortune. Now when we go
into the shop, you be quiet, okay? Just let me do all the talking cause if they
hear our accent, they might not be nice to us. I’ll speak in my best Texas
drawl.” They go in and Bubba says, “I’ll take 50 suits at $5.00 each, 100
shirts at $2.00 each, and 50 pairs of trousers at $2.50 each. I’ll back up my
pickup and .....” The owner of the shop interrupts,
“You’re not from here are you?” “Well...yes,” says a
surprised Bubba. “How come you know that?” The owner says, “This is a
dry-cleaners.”
Some of us will work hard to save a few bucks here and there and get the
best price for something before we buy it.
We might visit several stores, check out the internet, and wait for a
great deal. Yet there’s something we
ought to be more concerned about than getting some kind of new “stuff” for
cheap.
God is concerned that we acquire wisdom.
There’s a story from the end of King David’s reign when a man named Sheba
rose up in rebellion against David’s government.
This man stirred up trouble and the nation began to turn on King David.
David sent Joab and the army to find this man and end the rebellion.
They finally tracked the man to the city of Abel. Joab’s army laid siege to the city and
threatened to destroy it.
(2 Samuel 20:16 NKJV) Then a wise woman cried out from the
city, “Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, ‘Come nearby, that
I may speak with you.’ ”
Joab and the “wise woman” have a conversation about Sheba, and she promises
to help…
(2 Samuel 20:22 NKJV) Then the woman in her wisdom went to
all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a
trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at
Jerusalem.
Now that’s a pretty graphic, violent story, but this
woman’s wisdom delivered the city of Abel from Joab’s army.
An entire city rescued by one woman’s wisdom.
I wonder if we really understand the value of wisdom.
28:14-19 Job: Wisdom’s value
:14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is
not with me.’
:15 It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can
silver be weighed for its price.
:16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx or sapphire.
:17 Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.
:18 No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is
above rubies.
:19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can
it be valued in pure gold.
:19 Nor can it be valued in pure gold
You can’t buy wisdom. You can’t
write a check or use a credit care to buy it.
Nothing can compare with the value of real wisdom.
Solomon wrote,
(Proverbs 16:16
NKJV) How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get
understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
28:20-28 Job: The source of wisdom
:20 “From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of
understanding?
You can’t dig wisdom out of the ground like gold.
:21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And
concealed from the birds of the air.
:22 Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our
ears.’
:23 God understands its way, And He knows its place.
God is the only one who knows where to find wisdom.
:24 For He looks to the ends of the earth, And
sees under the whole heavens,
:25 To establish a weight for the wind, And
apportion the waters by measure.
:26 When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt,
:27 Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He
searched it out.
:28 And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is
wisdom, And to depart from evil is
understanding.’ ”
:28 the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom
Job is the one who said it first, but this principle is picked up over and
over in Scriptures.
The Psalmist:
(Psalm 111:10 NKJV)
The
fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise
endures forever.
Solomon, the wisest man wrote:
(Proverbs 1:7 NKJV)
The
fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge, But fools
despise wisdom and instruction.
(Proverbs 15:33
NKJV) The fear of the Lord is
the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility.
(Proverbs 9:10
NKJV) “The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Lesson
Finding wisdom
It starts with a healthy respect of God.
We call it a “fear” of God.
Wisdom comes from God and without having a proper attitude toward God,
you’re not going to find it.
But note … both David and Solomon said that this was just the “beginning”
of wisdom. There’s more to it…
Solomon also wrote,
(Proverbs 4:5 NKJV)
Get
wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
(Proverbs 4:7 NKJV)
Wisdom
is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all
your getting, get understanding.
(Proverbs 19:8
NKJV) He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps
understanding will find good.
We spend so much of our lives looking for things that don’t really matter
in the long run.
Wisdom matters.
Let’s do a test. Can you tell which
of these sayings is wise?
Before attempting to remove stubborn stains from a garment always circle
the stain in permanent pen so that when you remove the garment from the washing
machine you can easily locate the area of the stain and check that it has gone.
Not wise.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad
judgment.
Wise (from Will Rogers)
For X File fans. Create the effect of being abducted be
aliens by drinking two bottles of vodka. You'll invariably wake up in a strange
place the following morning, having had your memory mysteriously 'erased'.
Not wise.
The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in
your pocket.
Wise (from Will Rogers)
High blood pressure sufferers. Simply cut yourself and bleed for awhile, thus reducing the pressure in your veins.
Not wise.
Lettin' the cat outta
the bag is a whole lot easier 'n putting' it back in.
Wise (from Will Rogers)
James also tells us about how to acquire wisdom.
(James 1:2–8 NKJV)
—2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that
the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its
perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of
you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without
reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is
like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not
that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
James says to ask God for wisdom, and He will answer that
prayer.
He also says it is important to have “faith”, to trust God
to give you wisdom when you ask.
I also think it’s important to think of wisdom in the
context of verses 2-4 – enduring trials.
Much wisdom comes when we endure trials.
Will Rogers said,
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that
comes from bad judgment.
Job is going to be gaining some wisdom.
James gives us a description of wisdom, to know if we’ve gotten it or not.
(James 3:17 NKJV) But the
wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to
yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
If you are trying to make a decision
based on wisdom, try running your choices through this verse.
Pericope Project
How would you title chapter 25?
Bildad questions God
Jesus
How would you title chapter 26?
Has your advice been tested
The wondrous God
How would you title chapter 27?
Job holds fast
Truth Wins
How would you title chapter 28?
Can’t buy brains
Mars Hill
Listen to episode #8 of “The
Rise And Fall Of Mars Hill”
“Demon Hunting”
Notes:
The story about the fairies – 1917 Cottingly
England, girls come home wet and blame the “fairies”.
I’ve got a copy of the “photo”
1927 Arthur Conan Doyle talked about it.
He believed it too.
1985, Elsie admits it was all a fake.
Francis said it was all a bit of fun.
People wanted to be taken in.
“People wanted to believe”
Does this apply to Mars Hill? People
“wanting” to believe and not paying attention to what was not good?
Mark talking about the supernatural.
Was it real? Was it
manipulated? Christians believe in
miracles – starting with the resurrection.
(me: Be
careful you don’t let this make you jaded toward the supernatural)
2007 Summer
Jen Smith – pastor’s wife, struggling with how women were portrayed – to be
quiet, submissive. Struggling as if she
didn’t fit the mold.
Struggling with the shame of her own promiscuous past. Culture of shame.
How do you free people from shame?
Mark getting into her car and talking as if he saw into her soul.
“Demon Trial”
Christians can’t be possessed, but they can be affected by demons. “footholds”
Some old school Pentecostals have it behind the scenes, how people are
prayed for, healing and exorcisms.
The Exorcist (1973) affected the church.
1960 Church in Van Nuys.
1986 “This Present Darkness” by Frank Perreti. Fictional book that affected many.
We want to believe – we want someone to heal our pain – this
opened folks up to the “demon trial”.
Not all the pastors embraced the “demon trials”.
Unique emphases –
Much driven by stories, most stories are about women.
Driscoll dealt more with women than men, had some scripture references
about women being “weak”.
1Tim 5:11-15 – (after firings and people having left) – issues like
gossip.
Women having difficulty like fear about husband having an affair – woman
diagnosed with bipolar and multiple personality – Mark telling her to repent
and that she needed to believe the truth and not the lie.
Psychiatric diagnoses – not openly admitting people are sent to
psychiatrists.
“It blurs the lines between sin and suffering that sets those up who are
suffering for significant harm” (31:08) (that’s what we’re seeing in Job)
Mark making it sound as if “he” will fix the
problem.
Mark wanting to hear “everything”, needing to hear everything (Danger Will
Robinson)
“Don’t speak directly to the demon”, rules on how a “trial” takes place.
Mark wanting to “speak to the demon afflicting a person” (Jen Smith)
Wanting to know the name of the demon so it can be confronted.
Visions during these events.
Mark seeing “visions”, mostly pornographic.
Saying he “saw everything”.
Does the Holy Spirit inspire pornographic visions?
Church history is filled with Christians having visions, authority, etc.
Where’s the line between the hand of God and the charisma of a gifted
leader?
Sam Storms – Kansas City pastor, scholar
Encounters with demon possessed person, smell, darkness
Demons cast out with a word
Was attracted to Mark because of his reformed theology and gifts of the
Spirit.
Are women more open to demons?
Sam finds it ridiculous
He thinks women might have difficulty but only when abused by their husands.
Mark always the hero in his stories
If no one else can help, Mark can
Azusa Street revival
William Seymour – black man at the center of the revival
He would put a shoebox over his head in a corner to keep from being
identified as the one doing it all.
Demon Trials
Trauma typically takes two years to be able to talk about.
The “trials” were pressured into talking right away.
Jen Smith had her story put in a book without her permission.
Monastics vs. hype of some churches
Question: Do you
understand why I’m asking you to listen to this for a class studying the book
of Job?
How you treat people in conflict is important.
Job’s friends don’t do this well.
Neither did Mark Driscoll.
Homework
For this coming week:
Read Job 25-30 in NKJV
Memorize Job 28:28 (in NKJV)
(Job 28:28 NKJV) And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart
from evil is understanding.’ ”
Be ready to recite it in class next week.
Memorize it soon so you can chew on it during the week.
Go to our class’ “test” section
I’d like you to share a prayer request
There will be a quick quiz for you.
Listen to episode #9 of “The Rise And
Fall Of Mars Hill”
“The Bobby Knight Problem” (if you want to listen to “Question the Origin
Myth”, you can, but that’s just 15 minutes and we will be focusing our
discussion on the longer episode 9.
Be careful about what episode you are listening to. The numbering on the website is a little
wonky.
There are also going to be “bonus episodes” that we WON’T listen to (like
“I Kissed Christianity Goodbye”)
Write a short paragraph summarizing the episode and how it has affected
your spiritual walk.
Keywords
What was the first “keyword” …
a.
Getting Right With
God
b.
Finding inner peace
c.
Eternally condemned
What was the second “keyword” …
a.
Finding Wisdom
b.
Finding Hope
c.
Finding Nemo
Was there something from today’s lesson that you can apply to your life
TODAY?