Calvary
Chapel Bible College
April
27, 2022
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Homework
Memorize Job 34:12 (in NKJV)
(Job 34:12 NKJV) Surely God will never do wickedly, Nor will the Almighty pervert
justice.
Having chewed on this, is there something you’ve learned?
Has it come back to your remembrance at all this week when you might have
been tempted?
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.
Job and his three friends have been debating back and forth for quite a
while, trying to figure out why Job has had so much trouble.
Last time we were introduced to a fourth “friend”, a younger man named
Elihu.
Elihu is mad at Job’s friends for accusing Job of things they couldn’t
prove.
Elihu is also mad at Job for accusing God of being unfair.
Elihu has suggested that perhaps God has allowed Job to go through this
difficulty in order to keep him from some sin.
We’ve got three more chapters of Elihu.
35:1-8 Don’t overestimate yourself
:1 Moreover Elihu answered and said:
:2 “Do you think this is right? Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than
God’s’?
(Job 35:2 NLT) “Do you
think it is right for you to claim, ‘I am righteous before God’?
:3 For you say, ‘What advantage will it be to You? What profit shall I
have, more than if I had sinned?’
:4 “I will answer you, And your companions with you.
:5 Look to the heavens and see; And behold the clouds— They are higher than
you.
:5 Look to the heavens and see
I have this suspicion that as Elihu and Job are talking, there are some
tall storm clouds gathering. We’ll see more glimpses of this through the next
couple of chapters.
Elihu encourages Job to look up and grasp the greatness and majesty of God.
Lesson
Look up
(keyword)
This is a good idea to do every once in a while.
Jesus said that when we began to see the signs of the Second Coming
occurring, we ought to “look up”.
(Luke 21:25–28
NKJV) —25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars;
and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves
roaring; 26 men’s hearts
failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on
the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they
will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when
these things begin to happen, look up and lift up
your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
Looking up implies putting our eyes on God.
It speaks of reminding ourselves of the greatness of God.
Do you think that is needed in today’s world? With fears of the pandemic and the war in
Ukraine?
God spoke through Isaiah to encourage the people. God reminded the people of His great power in
creating the heavens and the earth, then He said,
(Isaiah 40:26–31
NKJV) —26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has
created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls
them all by name,
By
the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is
missing.
About five years ago, one of the big things in the news was about the
new information coming from the (former) planet Pluto. The New Horizons spacecraft had been launched
in January 2006, and spent nearly ten years travelling
to the furthest object in our solar system to photograph it and its moons.
Video: USA Today – NASA reveals new
detailed image of Pluto
It’s amazing that we can see and study something that’s
4.6 billion miles away from us.
Our Solar System is just a small speck in our galaxy, the
Milky Way Galaxy.
Video: Francis Chan Pancake
Illustration
(Psalm
8:1–4 NKJV) —1 O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is
Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the
heavens! 2 Out of the
mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I
consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You
have ordained, 4
What
is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
God made the heavens and the earth. When you see things like the Pluto pictures,
think of how big God is.
And this God cares for you.
Refresh your mind with the greatness of God.
27 Why do you
say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just
claim is passed over by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator
of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His
understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might
He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the
young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their
strength; They shall
mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk
and not faint.
Sometimes we need to get our eyes off of
our problems and simply look up for awhile.
:6 If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? Or, if your
transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?
:6 If you sin, what do you accomplish
Lesson
Sin hurts me
Not God.
I think there is a sense in which our sin breaks God’s heart.
Yet on the other hand, God is not any less or any weaker because we sin.
Sometimes when I get mad at someone, I want to do something to hurt them.
It can happen in a friendship when a person hurts your feelings, you want
to hurt them back.
It can happen in a marriage when you feel like you deserve to do something
bad because you are disappointed.
Some people will carry this idea over to their relationship with God. If they have this idea that God was
responsible for some tragedy in their life, they are now going to get even with
God and break every commandment in the Bible.
When we do this, we’re not hurting God, we’re hurting
ourselves.
God’s commandments aren’t so He’ll feel better, they’re for our sake – so
we’ll live longer and better. For
example:
(Exodus 20:12 NKJV)
“Honor
your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the
Lord your God is giving you.
:7 If you are righteous, what do you give Him? Or what does He receive from
your hand?
:7 If you are righteous, what do you give
(Job 35:7 NLT) If you are
good, is this some great gift to him? What could you possibly give him?
Our value doesn’t come from what we have to offer God.
Our value comes from God placing value in us.
Lesson
Don’t overestimate yourself
God isn’t impressed with the gifts we give trying to impress Him.
(Psalm 50:7–15 NLT)
—7 “O my people, listen as I speak. Here are my charges against you, O
Israel: I am God, your God! 8 I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings
you constantly offer. 9 But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your
pens. 10 For all the
animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every
bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. 12 If I were
hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it. 13 Do I eat the
meat of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats? 14 Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most
High. 15 Then call on
me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
He doesn’t need our money or our sacrifices. He isn’t impressed by us.
What He wants most of all is for us to be right with Him,
that that comes when we trust Him.
(Hebrews
11:6 NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for
he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder
of those who diligently seek Him.
He wants a heart that is broken of its pride
(Psalm
51:16–17 NKJV) —16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not
delight in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and
a contrite heart—
These,
O God, You will not despise.
Does this mean that we don’t give anything to the Lord?
No, we give out of a response of gratitude and love, but not out of a sense
of trying to “bribe” God.
:8 Your wickedness affects a man such as you, And your righteousness a son
of man.
:8 Your wickedness affects a man
Your sin doesn’t hurt God. It hurts
other people. It hurts you.
Lesson
Get right with people
Sometimes a person has this notion that if they’ve done some sort of sin
that all they need to do is to confess their sin to God and that’s it.
But the problem comes when my sin has affected another person. If I’m really sincere
about making things right with God, I need to make things right first with the
person I’ve offended.
Jesus said,
(Matthew 5:23–24
NKJV) —23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember
that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the
altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and
offer your gift.
35:9-13 Only praying when hurt
:9 “Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry out for
help because of the arm of the mighty.
Oppressed people cry out when bullies hurt them.
:10 But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who
gives songs in the night,
:10 Who gives songs in the night
Lesson
Night Songs
People will cry and complain when times get tough, but it’s a rare person
who will turn to God and ask God for strength in their trial.
God gives us “songs in the night” if we will turn to Him.
Illustration
British preacher Charles Spurgeon once vacationed at an isolated spot in
England because he had been told that many nightingales lived there. To his great disappointment, however, it
started to rain just as he arrived at the hotel. The weather turned unseasonably cold and
Spurgeon feared that the primary purpose of his trip had been spoiled. But as
he sat by his open window, he suddenly heard a delightful melody -- a nightingale
perched on a branch outside. The only
light was a dim lamp burning at the entrance to the hotel. The nightingale, oblivious to the rain and
cold, was exulting in that tiny bit of light.
Spurgeon wrote of his experience, "I do not expect to listen to
anything so sweet and thrilling again until I hear the angels sing in
glory. The God of that nightingale is
the same loving Savior I serve. In spite
of darkness, storm, or thorns, He always provides some ray of light and gives a
song in the night."
Jesus had a “song in the night” before He went to the cross.
(Matthew 26:30
NKJV) And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of
Olives.
Paul and Silas had songs in the night after they had been beaten and thrown
into prison.
(Acts 16:25 NKJV) But at
midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the
prisoners were listening to them.
Ask God for your night song.
The other day I was digging into a verse in “armor of God” passage in
Ephesians 6 –
(Ephesians
6:18 NKJV) praying always with all prayer and supplication
in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and
supplication for all the saints—
The word translated “watchful” (agrupneo)
speaks of being “awake”, even “sleepless”.
Old men like me rarely sleep through the entire
night. I will usually wake up at least
once, anywhere from 2am to 4am. I’ve
been challenged by this verse in Ephesians to use some of that “sleepless” time
to pray. Perhaps I should also think
about songs to sing (though not out loud lest I wake my wife!).
:11 Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And
makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’
:12 There they cry out, but He does not answer, Because of the pride of
evil men.
:13 Surely God will not listen to empty talk, Nor will the Almighty
regard it.
:13 God will not listen to empty talk
God does not answer people because of their pride
35:14-16 Why would God answer you?
:14 Although you say you do not see Him, Yet
justice is before Him, and you must wait for Him.
:15 And now, because He has not punished in His anger, Nor
taken much notice of folly,
:16 Therefore Job opens his mouth in vain; He multiplies words without
knowledge.”
(Job 35:14–15 The
Message) —14 So why would he notice you just because you say you’re tired of waiting to be heard, 15 Or waiting
for him to get good and angry and do something about the world’s problems?
:16 multiplies words without knowledge
God will say this same thing to Job,
(Job 38:2 NKJV) “Who is
this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
You will be memorizing this verse this week.
Job is talking about stuff that he doesn’t know about.
36:1-4 Speaking for God
:1 Elihu also proceeded and said:
:2 “Bear with me a little, and I will show you That there are yet
words to speak on God’s behalf.
:2 words to speak on God’s behalf
Elihu is going to claim to be speaking for God.
I think that most of us long to hear things from God.
We would want nothing more than for God to speak directly to us, to answer
our questions, to answer our prayers.
Though God does indeed speak at times through people, we need to be careful
to not just accept everything that people claim is from God.
Even good, well-meaning people can make mistakes.
Jeremiah lived during the time just prior to the Babylonian captivity, when
God was going to have the nation of Judah taken away in judgment. There were
false prophets in Jeremiah’s day who were claiming to speak for God and telling
people that everything was okay…
(Jeremiah 8:11
NKJV) For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people
slightly, Saying,
‘Peace, peace!’ When there
is no peace.
They were telling the people what they wanted to hear, but
they weren’t telling them the truth.
People’s wounds aren’t going to be healed if they don’t
know the truth.
If you have skin cancer and the doctor says it really
isn’t a problem and doesn’t remove it, you are going to have problems.
Over the years I’ve seen people affected in various ways over the concept
of personal prophecy.
I’m afraid that sometimes I wonder if there can be a sense of power that is
felt by the one giving the “prophecy”.
Sometimes it’s easier for people to accept your opinions if you say “thus
sayeth the Lord” than it is to simply express your idea.
We do need to be careful when someone is claiming to have a word from
God. It might be true, but it might not
be.
Some of what Elihu has said is true, but not all of it.
We are responsible to “test” the things that people claim are from God.
(1 John 4:1 NKJV) Beloved, do
not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the
world.
:3 I will fetch my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe righteousness to my
Maker.
:4 For truly my words are not false; One
who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
:4 One who is perfect in knowledge is with you
(Job 36:4 NLT) I am telling
you nothing but the truth, for I am a man of great knowledge.
Do you detect a hint of pride?
36:5-14 God’s correction
:5 “Behold, God is mighty, but despises no one; He is
mighty in strength of understanding.
:5 God is mighty, but despises no one
Lesson
Powerful and Good
God is indeed powerful, but He is also good.
Illustration
C.S. Lewis wrote a wonderful series of children’s books called The Chronicles of Narnia. The first book
of the series is called The Lion, The
Witch, and the Wardrobe.
In the story four children find themselves in a mythical land called
“Narnia” that is ruled by a lion named Aslan.
Aslan is a picture of Jesus Christ. When the children meet up with a family
of friendly beavers, they hear about Aslan for the first time, who is going to
come and take care of the evil White Witch.
But when they are told that Aslan is a lion, one of the girls, Lucy,
asks, “Is He safe?” Mr. Beaver replies, “Oh He’s not safe. But He’s good.”
God is powerful. He can do whatever He wants. And He will come one day and
deal with His enemies. He isn’t safe. But He is also good. He will never do
something that would be wrong or evil.
Remember this verse??
(Job 34:12 NKJV) Surely God will never do wickedly, Nor will the Almighty pervert
justice.
:6 He does not preserve the life of the wicked, But
gives justice to the oppressed.
:7 He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; But they are on
the throne with kings, For He has seated them forever, And
they are exalted.
:7 on the throne with kings
Elihu is saying that God will put the righteous on thrones along with
kings.
These thrones are not a game.
Peter wrote,
(1 Peter 2:9a NKJV)
But
you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood…
(Revelation 20:4
NKJV) —4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed
to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their
witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or
his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their
hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
C.S. Lewis painted this picture in his Narnia book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when the four children helped
Aslan defeat the White Witch, and they ruled as kings and queens.
Video: Narnia – Thrones
John recorded that after Jesus comes back and sets up His 1,000 year kingdom, we will rule with Him (Rev. 20:4)
:8 And if they are bound in fetters, Held in the cords of
affliction,
:9 Then He tells them their work and their transgressions— That they have
acted defiantly.
:9 He tells them their work and their transgressions
When the righteous blow it, they can expect to get caught and confronted by
God.
Lesson
God disciplines His children
(Hebrews 12:5–11
NKJV) —5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to
sons: “My son, do
not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be
discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the
Lord loves He chastens, And scourges
every son whom He receives.”
We’ve already seen these words, a quote from Eliphaz (Job 5:17)
(Job 5:17 NKJV) “Behold, happy is the man
whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the
chastening of the Almighty.
God is a good father who corrects His children.
He does because He loves us.
7 If you
endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom
a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become
partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
If you jump into the deep end of sin and never get caught or face rebuke,
it’s possible that you’re not God’s child.
9 Furthermore,
we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them
respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of
spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best
to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His
holiness. 11 Now no
chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless,
afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been
trained by it.
It’s not fun to be “chastened” or spanked by God. But when we learn the lessons
we’re supposed to learn, we are much better off.
These are great lessons for us, though they might not really be applicable
to Job.
Some of this is just like Job’s other friends – speaking truth but maybe
not the right “truth” for Job.
:10 He also opens their ear to instruction, And
commands that they turn from iniquity.
:11 If they obey and serve Him, They shall
spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures.
:12 But if they do not obey, They shall perish by
the sword, And they shall die without knowledge.
:13 “But the hypocrites in heart store up wrath; They do not cry for help
when He binds them.
:14 They die in youth, And their life ends
among the perverted persons.
:13 the hypocrites in heart store up wrath
A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be something that they are not.
In contrast to the hypocrite, the mature Christian is the person who is
learning to uncover things more and more in their life. No “secrets” in the life of the growing
Christian.
Paul wrote,
(Ephesians 4:15
NKJV) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him
who is the head—Christ—
The Greek word for “truth” means literally “not hidden”.
36:15-23 Repent and restoration
:15 He delivers the poor in their affliction, And
opens their ears in oppression.
:16 “Indeed He would have brought you out of dire distress, Into a broad place where there is no
restraint; And what is set on your table would be full of richness.
:16 He would have brought you out
Elihu is doing the same thing that the other “friends” did, saying that if
Job would only repent, then God would restore him.
He’s assuming that Job is a hypocrite and needs to repent.
Job will indeed repent (42:6), but it will be from his wrong ideas about
God, about blaming God and assuming that God was unjust, not because of some
sin or hypocrisy.
:17 But you are filled with the judgment due the wicked; Judgment and
justice take hold of you.
:18 Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with
one blow; For a large ransom would not help you avoid it.
:19 Will your riches, Or all the mighty forces,
Keep you from distress?
:18 a large ransom would not help you
Lesson
Money doesn’t fix everything
I think that sometimes I get to thinking that if I just had a little more
money, that my problems would be over.
Some people think that with enough money, they can fix anything.
Illustration
I recall a story where a mobster named Freddie died. He was famous all around
town as a gangster. Freddie’s brother,
Gino, went to a local church and asked the pastor if he would perform Freddie’s
funeral. He said to the pastor, “Pastor,
I will donate a million dollars to the your building
fund if you perform my brother’s funeral.
I only have one request, that during the funeral you tell everyone what
a saint my brother was.” The pastor
didn’t know what to do. He knew the
church could sure use the money for their building fund, but he also knew that
the whole town knew what a crook Freddie was.
On the day of the funeral, there was Gino sitting in the front row of
pews, holding a large briefcase full of money.
The pastor struggled, but got up and began to
preach about the consequences of sin and the need to repent. He went on to tell
about what a crook Freddie was, and that he was the perfect example of a
wretched sinner. Gino was beginning to
get very upset. The pastor went on, “We
all know what a horrible person Freddie was.
He was drunk all the time, he cheated on his wife, he stole from his
friends, but compared to his brother, Freddie was a saint!”
The Wall Street Journal said it
best: “Money is an article which may be used as a universal passport to
everywhere except heaven, and as a universal provider for everything except
happiness.”
Lots of money can’t buy you a good name, a good reputation.
(Proverbs 22:1
NKJV) A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor
rather than silver and gold.
:20 Do not desire the night, When people are cut
off in their place.
:21 Take heed, do not turn to iniquity, For you
have chosen this rather than affliction.
:22 “Behold, God is exalted by His power; Who teaches like Him?
:23 Who has assigned Him His way, Or who has said,
‘You have done wrong’?
:23 You have done wrong
Nobody can tell God He’s done wrong.
Lesson
God doesn’t make mistakes
Sometimes we have a hard time accepting how things are. Sometimes we might even venture into thinking
that perhaps God made a mistake or didn’t catch something.
When God called Moses to be the one to deliver the Israelites from their
slavery in Egypt, Moses thought God had made a mistake.
(Exodus 4:10–12
NKJV) —10 Then Moses said to the Lord,
“O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken
to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11 So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s
mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have
not I, the Lord? 12 Now
therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
God was saying to Moses, “Hey pal, I don’t make
mistakes. I didn’t make a mistake when I
made you. You’re the one I’ve chosen,
just the way you are.”
We may think that our “flaws” should keep us from serving the Lord, yet I
wonder if somehow God doesn’t want to use us as we are, cracked vessels, so
that He can be the one to get the credit.
36:24-33 God in the storm
:24 “Remember to magnify His work, Of which men
have sung.
:25 Everyone has seen it; Man looks on it from afar.
:26 “Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; Nor can
the number of His years be discovered.
:26 the number of His years
God is eternal. He’s always been
alive.
Have you ever tried to think about eternity?
Think about eternity past – we can look back in our own lives and think
about how long it’s been since we’ve been kids.
We can think about history – whether it’s things we’ve learned in
history classes or watching the History Channel. Some of us can be fascinated by trying to
understand life 200 hundred years ago.
Maybe even thinking about life 2,000 years ago. But millions of years ago? Billions of years ago? Eternity past? Wow.
God has always been…
:27 For He draws up drops of water, Which distill
as rain from the mist,
:28 Which the clouds drop down And pour
abundantly on man.
:27 rain from the mist
As I mentioned back in 35:5, it’s possible that storm clouds have been
gathering.
It’s possible that as Elihu is speaking, an actual rainstorm is developing,
and we will see references to through chapter 37.
When God actually speaks in Job 38, the storm
language continues:
(Job 38:1 NKJV) Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind…
God mentions snow and hail (Job 38:22)
(Job 38:22 NKJV)
—22 “Have you entered the treasury of snow, Or have you
seen the treasury of hail,
God mentions lightning and rain (Job 38:25-26)
(Job 38:25–26 NKJV)
—25 “Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, Or a path for
the thunderbolt,
26 To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, A wilderness
in which there is no man;
:29 Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, The
thunder from His canopy?
:30 Look, He scatters His light upon it, And
covers the depths of the sea.
:30 He scatters His light upon it
Probably referring to lightning.
:31 For by these He judges the peoples; He gives food in abundance.
:32 He covers His hands with lightning, And
commands it to strike.
:33 His thunder declares it, The cattle also,
concerning the rising storm.
Break
37:1-5 God’s voice of thunder
:1 “At this also my heart trembles, And leaps from its place.
:2 Hear attentively the thunder of His voice, And the rumbling that
comes from His mouth.
Again, perhaps another thunder clap.
:3 He sends it forth under the whole heaven, His lightning to the ends of
the earth.
:4 After it a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, And He does
not restrain them when His voice is heard.
:4 After it a voice roars
Another flash of lightning (vs. 3) followed by thunder.
Illustration
“Thunder Storms”
When a mother saw a thunderstorm forming in mid-afternoon, she worried
about her seven-year-old daughter who would be walking the three blocks from
school to home. Deciding to meet her, the mother saw her walking nonchalantly
along, stopping to put a big smile on her face whenever lightning flashed.
Spotting her mother, the little girl ran up to her. When the mother asked about
the big smile every time the lightening flashed, the daughter explained
enthusiastically, “All the way home, God’s been taking my picture!”
While Elihu is talking, God continues taking pictures…
:5 God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we
cannot comprehend.
:5 God thunders marvelously with His voice
Lesson
Powerful Words
The writers of Scripture often talk about God’s voice in terms of
thunder. Listen to the storm David
describes …
(Psalm 29:3-5 NKJV)
—3 The voice of the Lord
is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is
over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord
is powerful; The voice of the Lord
is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the Lord
breaks the cedars, Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
We might look at this simply as the power of God in a
storm, but I think it goes deeper.
God’s Word itself is powerful.
(Hebrews 4:12 NLT) For the word
of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword,
cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our
innermost thoughts and desires.
(2 Timothy 3:16–17
NLT) —16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is
true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we
are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his
people to do every good work.
37:6-13 Snow storm
:6 For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’; Likewise
to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength.
:6 He says to the snow
Perhaps the temperature is dropping.
:7 He seals the hand of every man, That all men
may know His work.
(Job 37:7 NLT) Then
everyone stops working so they can watch his power.
:8 The beasts go into dens, And remain in their
lairs.
:9 From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind, And cold from
the scattering winds of the north.
:10 By the breath of God ice is given, And the broad waters are frozen.
:11 Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds; He scatters His
bright clouds.
:12 And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance, That
they may do whatever He commands them On the face of
the whole earth.
:13 He causes it to come, Whether for correction, Or for His land, Or for
mercy.
:13 correction … mercy
Lesson
Good and Bad
Sometimes rain is good, sometimes it’s bad.
If rain comes at harvest time, it’s bad because it can destroy the crop
before it can be harvested. Then the
farmer stops and thinks about whether he’s got his life together or not.
If rain comes in the springtime, when the seed has been planted, it’s seen
as mercy. God waters the seeds and a
crop grows.
I wonder if we could see trials like rain.
Sometimes the trial comes as a correction, as a way of getting our
attention.
Sometimes a trial could come as mercy - God could be rescuing us from
something.
37:14-20 Do you understand God?
:14 “Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and consider the wondrous works of
God.
:15 Do you know when God dispatches them, And
causes the light of His cloud to shine?
:16 Do you know how the clouds are balanced, Those
wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?
God Himself will challenge Job like this, asking Job just how much he
understands about the universe around him.
:17 Why are your garments hot, When He quiets the earth by the south
wind?
:18 With Him, have you spread out the skies, Strong as a cast metal mirror?
(Job 37:17–18 NLT)
—17 When you are sweltering in your clothes and the south wind dies
down and everything is still, 18 he makes the skies reflect the heat like a bronze mirror. Can you
do that?
:19 “Teach us what we should say to Him, For
we can prepare nothing because of the darkness.
:20 Should He be told that I wish to speak? If a man were to speak, surely he would be swallowed up.
:19 Teach us what we should say
Elihu is being a little sarcastic here, “Job, if you know so much, then
tell us how to speak to God.”
37:21-24 We cannot approach God
:21 Even now men cannot look at the light when it is bright
in the skies, When the wind has passed and cleared them.
:21 men cannot look at the light
(Job 37:21 The
Message) No one in his right mind stares straight at the sun on a clear
and cloudless day.
Elihu is talking about how God is so bright we can’t approach Him.
Paul describes God as the One …
(1 Timothy 6:16
NKJV) who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light…
:22 He comes from the north as golden splendor; With God is
awesome majesty.
:23 As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent
in power, In judgment and abundant justice; He
does not oppress.
:24 Therefore men fear Him; He shows no partiality to any who are
wise of heart.”
(Job 37:23–24 The
Message) —23 “Mighty God! Far beyond our reach! Unsurpassable in power and justice! It’s
unthinkable that he’d treat anyone unfairly. 24 So bow to him in deep reverence, one
and all! If you’re
wise, you’ll most certainly worship him.”
:24 Therefore men fear Him
Lesson
Fear God
(keyword)
I wonder if, like this kitten, we’re afraid of the wrong things sometimes
Jesus said,
(Matthew 10:28
NKJV) And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell.
He’s talking about fearing God.
When we correctly look at who God is and what He’s like, we ought to
respond in fear – in reverent awe.
Look at some of the things Elihu has pointed out:
He is both powerful and good. (36:5)
He disciplines His children (36:9)
He sees through the hypocrites (36:13)
He doesn’t make mistakes (36:23)
God is eternal (36:26)
We see His work in the rain (36:27)
We hear His voice in the thunder (37:5)
He dwells in pure light (37:21)
Though we rejoice in the love that God has for us, we need to balance our
“familiarity” with God with a sincere reverence and awe of God.
Pericope Project
How would you title chapter 35?
How would you title chapter 36?
How would you title chapter 37?
Mars Hill
Listen to episode #11 (1/2)
of “The Rise And Fall Of Mars
Hill”
“The Tempest”
Notes:
Towards the end of the church, the sole focus seemed to be all about
growing and growing.
“Real Marriage”
Warned that he would be known as the “sex guy”. (Nick Bogardus)
Warned it was a mistake.
Lots of negative reviews.
Seems to blame his wife Grace for a lot of their early marital problems.
2011-2012
Relaunched six campuses
Easter at Quest Field
James MacDonald “The Elephant Room”
T.D. Jakes (prosperity, bad theology) share the stage
Sutton looks at finances, raises a flag, running up expenses and then
expecting a “hail Mary” in November & December.
Executive team tells Sutton to make changes.
Driscoll resigns from Gospel Coalition and Acts 29
Sutton tries to reorganize the board, looking for accountability for Mark.
Mark doesn’t want to be accountable to anyone with a smaller church.
Gifts to leaders – hard hat, lunch pail, megaphone
The leaders are going to be insulating Mark from criticism.
Jen Smith – lots of pastors/friends are getting fired or leaving.
Shares with Sutton her fears for the church.
She is relieved of her ministry, Mark suggests she get a psych eval.
When she is told she can write for the website again, she asks for a
meeting.
Mark won’t speak to her, but only her husband. Mark rebukes husband (Phil)
for telling her about the psych eval.
Mike Anderson (director of “Resurgence”)
As if Mark spoke for God.
Praise/rebuke
Makes folks want to give up or leave
Jesse
Mark hired Sutton to be the bad guy so Mark didn’t
have to do any hard confrontations.
Angry at Sutton.
Mark tells Jesse to publicly support Sutton.
Tells the story of Hagia Sophia – emperor wants to put a statue of wife in
the church. The congregation burned the
church to the ground rather than do that.
Jesse resigns. Sutton takes his keys and computer the next day.
No one talks to Jesse for a year.
Jesse had a two week old baby at the time.
During the bankruptcy sale, they wouldn’t let him in the building to buy
back his equipment.
Tim Gatos
Brian Zug
Mars Hill downtown – most like original church
Tim Gatos planted church in 2008
Story of the gal who had been a prostitute, trafficking.
Jen Zug
Tim was good at building community.
The desire for the churches to be like “Starbucks”, all being the same.
The downtown church didn’t like that.
Tim would cut off some video feed during announcements, pressure to give.
Tim asked about Mark’s comments – Tim said “we all say dumb things from
time to time” – Mark isn’t happy about what was printed in the paper.
Mark says, “Who church do you think this is?”
Mark wanted to hear him say that it was “Mark’s church”.
Tim decided it was time to think about leaving.
2013 – launch of new building. Mark
preaching live there. Mark was not happy that Tim’s assistant was on a
honeymoon. Mark tells Tim to fire the
guy.
Mark tells him that if he leaves, he has to leave
the state of Washington.
Dave Bruskus asks him how he is going to respond to Mark’s order to leave
Washington? Big meeting set up. Non-disclosure, non-compete agreements tied to severance
package (and insurance coverage for upcoming baby). Tim doesn’t sign it.
Mark tells people that if Tim plants a church, Mark will tear it down.
They eventually allow him a severance.
Many left over what happened.
Tim works at Union Gospel Mission.
Then started a church in Seattle.
May 10, 2013
Dave Craft files formal charges of disqualification against Mark –
domineering, quick tempered
Sutton is concerned about how things are going.
Nick Bogardus leaves
Had moved to Orange County
One of his first jobs was to remove all mention of previous pastors who had
left.
He submits resignation, asked to stick around for a month while they figure
out how to replace him.
Nick finds all his articles have now been deleted as well.
2012 – 2014 – the church has 85% turnover
“Strange Fire” conference
Aaron Gray, pastoral resident
Late 2013
Mark had a new book “Call to Resurgence” coming out.
“Act Like Men” conference (Long Beach)
James MacDonald, Matt Chandler, Greg Laurie, LeCrae
“Strange Fire” conference (MacArthur) going on at same time, promoting
MacArthur’s new book.
Mark suggests that he will drop in on MacArthur’s conference.
MacArthur had long been critical of Driscoll.
James MacDonald joins Driscoll and others to do this.
Mark tweets that he will be giving away his new book at the “Strange Fire”
conference.
Mark’s books are confiscated.
Video surfaces. Mark is arguing with
security. Mark is trying to cause an
online controversy to promote the sales of his new book.
Janet Mefford – radio interview
She reads the book (“Call to Resurgence”) and realizes he has plagarized from Dr. Peter Jones. She tells Peter about it. Peter is gracious about it. She finds another passage that plagarized even more.
Nov. 21, 2013 she interviews Driscoll on radio
show.
He says he was going to pick up his son at the airport (not true).
She confronts Driscoll about plagiarizing Jones.
Driscoll pleads ignorance. Argumentative.
She gets all sorts of pushback for her interview.
Tyndale (publisher) pushes back.
People say she was rude. She
eventually apologizes for her tone (but not content).
Her network requires her to take down all her material on this.
(end listening at 1:12)
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
Read Job 31-36 in NIV
Memorize Job 38:2 (in NKJV)
(Job 38:2 NKJV) “Who is this who darkens counsel By words
without knowledge?
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 #11 (finish it – the second half) of “The
Rise And Fall Of Mars Hill”
“The Tempest”
Write a short paragraph summarizing the episode and how it has affected
your spiritual walk.
How’s the “Mercy Ministry” project going?
Your paper telling me about it is due May 11 – in two weeks.
Keywords
What was the first “keyword” …
a.
Look Up
b.
Look Inward
c.
Look Outward
What was the second “keyword” …
a.
Fear God
b.
Fear Apples
c.
Fear Tomorrow
Was there something from today’s lesson that you can apply to your life
TODAY?