Introduction:
Job 1:22 - In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Job 2:10 - In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Job 7:20 - “Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you?”
Job 13:3 - “But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.”
See: Job 23:2-6
Questions to Ask Myself When I Question God (Job 38-39):
- Am I qualified to evaluate the One who Supervises Me ? (Job 38:1-3)
Circle the correct answer: - Yes or No
- Am I able to know more than the One who Created Everything ? (Job 38:4-21)
Circle the correct answer: - Yes or No
Psalm 115:3 - Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.
Galatians 6:7 - Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows that will He also reap.
- Am I wise enough to give advice to the One who Directs What I Cannot Control ? (Job 38:22-39:30)
Circle the correct answer: - Yes or No
Romans 11:34-35 - “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?”
1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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01:12-01:14
Return your Bibles to Job chapter 38.
01:15-01:18
Job chapter 38.
01:19-01:30
As some of you already know, I am one of the few non-sports fans in a city that's absolutely rabid for the Steelers and the Pirates, well, kind of, sort of the Pirates, and the Penguins, right?
01:31-01:42
I may not love to watch three-hour long games on Sunday afternoons or nights or weeknights, but I do love to watch the responses that people have to these games.
01:42-01:52
I find it to be an endlessly fascinating social experiment to see these guys come out of the woodwork to question the calls of coaches who know way more about football than they ever will.
01:53-01:58
You know, once a game is over, they will just question every single call, say, "I could do better.
01:58-02:00
"If only I had the head set.
02:00-02:22
"If only I had the clipboard and the sidelines, "I could have won that game." Or they question the calls of professional athletes who have endlessly trained at our peak physical specimens, but somehow they could do better, even though these schlubs are watching the game, laying on their couch, stuffing their face with Doritos, Oreos, Mountain Dew, while having naps in between games, right?
02:23-02:24
But somehow they could do better.
02:24-02:26
Oh, if only I had a shot at that dunk.
02:26-02:29
If only I could go up to the plate against that fastball.
02:29-02:31
If only I could get on the ice for a few shifts.
02:33-02:34
You know what would happen?
02:34-02:37
They would just go out there and publicly embarrass themselves.
02:38-02:40
They would strike out every single time.
02:40-02:42
As soon as they got on the ice, they'd fall flat on their face.
02:43-02:47
When they tried to take the dunk, a six foot giant would just completely demolish them, right?
02:49-03:00
These delusional guys would benefit from taking an honest assessment of themselves and their own abilities and questioning themselves as they questioned the calls of professionals.
03:01-03:04
Yeah, would I really have done any better in their shoes?
03:05-03:05
Fine, probably not.
03:06-03:15
Would I really have done any better in my prime or even right now in my current physical shape, which is much different than it used to be?
03:15-03:16
Okay, no, probably not.
03:18-03:20
But it's really easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, isn't it?
03:22-03:24
It's very easy to be a backseat driver.
03:25-03:33
It's very easy to question the call of those who are higher in authority and talent than you.
03:35-03:38
On a much more serious note, it's very easy to question God, isn't it?
03:40-03:49
It's tempting to question his divine calls, to critique his performance, or evaluate his plans for our lives or this world.
03:49-03:54
We can point a finger at God and blame him for our suffering.
03:55-04:00
We've all done it in the past and we're all gonna do it at many points in the future.
04:01-04:04
We've all thought things like, what in the world is God doing?
04:04-04:09
How could he possibly think that something like this is a good idea?
04:09-04:15
Or if I was in charge, if I was the God of the universe, I would do things much differently.
04:18-04:22
Well, we're in good company because do you know who else questioned God during his suffering?
04:23-04:23
Job.
04:25-04:26
And you may be thinking, hold on a minute.
04:26-04:40
Last Sunday, Pastor Jeff said that Job sinned in response to his suffering, and now you're saying that Job questioned God, but we were told at the end of chapter one in verse 22 that in all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
04:41-04:45
In chapter two, verse 10, in all this, Job did not sin with his lips.
04:46-04:47
Well, that is all right and true.
04:48-04:51
At that point in the story, Job did not question God.
04:52-05:01
But his questioning came during chapters three to 31, which most people totally skip or heavily skim as they read the book of Job.
05:02-05:12
As a recap, these chapters record a back and forth conversation between Job and his three quote unquote friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.
05:13-05:27
These friends, or the three stooges as I call them, are convinced that Job must have done something to deserve such suffering, while Job is equally convinced that he did nothing to warrant such misfortune.
05:29-05:35
We studied these 29 chapters two weeks ago, but we focused on the Three Stooges side of the conversation.
05:36-05:43
As you read Job's response to his friends, you will come across a lot of good and right things that he says about God.
05:44-05:48
But you will also come across a lot of him questioning God.
05:51-05:59
A fourth friend named Eli who then shows up on the scene to call Job out for his irreverent speaking about God, which Pastor Jeff preached about last week.
06:00-06:03
Here are a few examples of Job questioning God.
06:03-06:04
Chapter seven, verse 20.
06:04-06:06
Why have you made me your mark?
06:06-06:09
Why have I become a burden to you?
06:09-06:11
Chapter 13, verse three.
06:11-06:16
But I would speak to the Almighty and I desire to argue my case with God.
06:17-06:19
Chapter 23, verse two through six.
06:19-06:22
Today also my complaint is bitter.
06:23-06:25
My hand is heavy on account of my groaning.
06:25-06:27
Oh, that I knew where I might find God.
06:27-06:29
I might even come to his seat.
06:29-06:33
I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.
06:33-06:37
I would know what he would answer me and understand what he would say to me.
06:37-06:40
Would he contend with me and the greatness of his power?
06:40-06:44
No, he would pay attention to me.
06:46-06:49
To be clear, Job never curses God.
06:50-06:54
Job never gives up on his faith or walks away from the Lord.
06:55-07:04
Job is just at the end of his rope, and he desperately wants to know why so much bad has fallen upon him.
07:06-07:10
In his mind, some kind of heavenly accounting error must have been made.
07:10-07:16
If only he could talk to God, if only he could explain his side of the story, then maybe all these things could be straightened out.
07:16-07:21
Everything could be cleared up like the wrong order at the Chick-fil-A drive-thru.
07:24-07:29
Isn't it refreshing to see that Job looks a lot more like us than we originally thought?
07:30-07:32
Job doesn't worship perfectly.
07:33-07:36
Job struggles with the why questions.
07:36-07:39
Like the rest of us, Job wants an explanation from God.
07:40-07:43
He wants to know what God is up to and why.
07:44-07:48
Like every single one of us in this room, Job questions God.
07:52-07:57
After many chapters of Job asking the questions, God has some questions for Job.
07:58-08:04
In chapters 38 through 39, God asked Job 41 questions.
08:06-08:11
As Pastor Jeff said a few weeks ago, when God asks questions, he isn't looking for information.
08:12-08:16
He's instead looking for confession, repentance, and transformation.
08:18-08:29
So for the rest of this message, I want each of us to take an honest assessment of ourselves in our own limited ability in light of God and his infinite ability.
08:30-08:36
I want us to evaluate the questions we must ask ourselves whenever we question God.
08:38-08:47
It has been my prayer all week that these questions from God would lead to our personal confession, repentance, and transformation.
08:49-08:50
I want to stop to pray.
08:50-08:51
Please pray for me.
08:52-08:58
I will faithfully preach the truth of God's word, and I will pray for you, that you will faithfully receive and submit to the truth of God's word.
09:00-09:06
Father, we all come into this room in a week when we're supposed to be really thankful and happy.
09:07-09:09
I'm sure that many of us don't feel that way right now.
09:12-09:15
I'm sure there's a lot of people in this room with a lot of questions.
09:17-09:20
with some anger and frustration.
09:22-09:32
Lord, I pray that you'd meet us where we're at and you'd minister to us through your word and that your glory would shine through the darkness that we're experiencing.
09:33-09:35
We ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen.
09:37-09:40
My question is to ask myself when I question God.
09:40-09:46
First question on your outline, am I qualified to evaluate the one who supervises me?
09:48-09:59
"Am I qualified to evaluate the one who supervises me?" Let's read verses one through three of chapter 38.
09:59-10:00
You can follow along in your Bibles.
10:01-10:08
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, "Who is this that darkens counsel by words "without knowledge, dressed for action like a man?
10:08-10:20
"I will question you, and you make it known to me." The Lord speaks to Job out of a whirlwind which shows off his glory, his awesomeness, his majesty.
10:21-10:31
You know, world leaders and billionaires may ride in fancy jets and fancy cars, but God puts them all to shame by rolling up to the scene in a storm.
10:32-10:36
And God sets up this intense round of questioning with a doozy of an opener.
10:37-10:40
Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
10:41-10:45
In other words, Job, but do you really think you're qualified to question me?
10:46-10:50
You, the guy who has no idea what's happening behind the curtain.
10:52-11:00
Job has said a lot of wise things about God, but like every single one of us, Job has said a lot of foolish things about God as well.
11:02-11:05
Check out verse three again, as God lays out the rules of this interrogation.
11:06-11:10
Dress for action like a man, I will question you and you will make it known to me.
11:12-11:12
These are fighting words.
11:13-11:17
Dress for action like a man can also be translated as gird up your loins.
11:18-11:19
When was the last time you said that?
11:19-11:21
That doesn't really mean very much to us in 2024.
11:22-11:25
Another way of saying this is, man up and get your big boy pants on.
11:25-11:28
Let's get ready to rumble 'cause we're going to the mat on this one.
11:28-11:29
You think you're so smart.
11:29-11:30
You think you know so much.
11:31-11:33
How about you tell me what's what?
11:35-11:46
'Cause at times throughout chapters three to 31, Job tries to reverse roles and act as if he's God's supervisor, when the exact opposite is actually true.
11:46-11:51
God is Job's supervisor, which is about to become crystal clear.
11:53-12:00
We live in a culture that is obsessed with rating other people, places, and experiences.
12:00-12:01
I mean, just think about it.
12:02-12:15
Before you shell out a small fortune to go to a movie, I imagine the craze you would have to pay a lot of money You go to the movies with your whole entire family and you pay for a $50 box of popcorn that'll probably make you a little bit sick later on.
12:15-12:15
What do you do?
12:16-12:24
You go on Rotten Tomatoes, look at the audience and critic score, right, to see if it's worth the investment before you go to a nice, fancy restaurant you've never been to before.
12:24-12:24
What do you do?
12:25-12:30
You go on Yelp, TripAdvisor to see if it's great or gross.
12:31-12:34
You have a bad experience at an Airbnb or an Uber ride.
12:34-12:36
What do you do immediately after?
12:37-12:40
you review vomit on their app in anger, right?
12:42-12:51
We watch reality competition shows that include number ratings, one star to five stars, red Xs, green Xs, thumbs up, thumbs down, a turned chair, a cold shoulder.
12:51-13:00
We love, we get a rush out of evaluating other people, especially giving them a bad review, especially giving a bad rating.
13:00-13:06
Go on Google reviews and the most passion ratings aren't the one thing, it was great, it was one thing, it was terrible.
13:06-13:09
People feel special and important doing that.
13:12-13:16
We must realize that we're not in a position to evaluate God in this way.
13:17-13:20
We are not his employer who we do quarterly reviews for.
13:20-13:23
He is not a product on Amazon for us to rate.
13:23-13:27
He is not a waiter that we can complain about to the manager.
13:27-13:31
In any way, God's rating is fixed and unchanging.
13:32-13:42
It is impossible for God to get less a 10 out of 10, an A plus, two thumbs way up, whatever ratings for how he is working in your life, my life, in this world.
13:45-13:49
Even when it seems like God is failing, he is always succeeding.
13:51-13:58
Whenever it seems like his plans have stalled out, they're always perfectly moving forward exactly on schedule.
14:00-14:08
When you're frustrated in the dark about what God is up to and what's going on, The light of his glory is always shining in every circumstance.
14:11-14:16
So in light of verses one through two, circle the right answer to the first question on your outline.
14:17-14:21
Am I qualified to evaluate the one who supervises me?
14:21-14:28
And don't you have anyone else, don't look at anybody else's paper 'cause we're all gonna compare notes at the end of the sermon.
14:29-14:30
Circle the right answer.
14:32-14:38
Second question to ask myself when I question God, am I able to know more than the one who created everything?
14:39-14:42
Am I able to know more than the one who created everything?
14:45-14:48
Raise your hand if you know about the five love languages.
14:49-14:55
If you are married or you've been in a relationship of any kind at some point, you've come across the five love languages.
14:56-15:00
In last service, I asked people and they didn't say anything, you know, they also, they heard about it.
15:00-15:03
So I'm just gonna read them all for you to avoid that awkward encounter again.
15:03-15:09
Words of affirmation, physical touch, acts of service, gift giving, and quality time.
15:11-15:17
If it was up to me, I would add a sixth one to that list, and that would be one that my wife and I share, and that is sarcasm.
15:19-15:21
Raise your hand if you would say you're a sarcastic person.
15:24-15:25
Raise your hand if you hate sarcasm.
15:27-15:29
All right, great, we're all mean together, awesome.
15:29-15:31
all sarcastic people.
15:31-15:33
We're the least well adjusted people in Pittsburgh.
15:35-15:39
You know, sarcasm can be fun, but it can also be really hurtful, right?
15:40-15:41
It can be destructive.
15:42-15:43
It can ruin relationships.
15:44-15:52
But in the hands of God Almighty, sarcasm is a powerful tool, which we see all throughout his questioning of Job.
15:53-16:01
God sarcastically pretends to elevate Job to a position of prominence that he does not and cannot possibly have.
16:01-16:07
God sarcastically pretends that Job knows everything to show that Job knows next to nothing.
16:08-16:13
He does this to humble Job and show off how glorious he really is.
16:15-16:19
God starts at the very beginning in chapter 38, verses four through five.
16:19-16:20
Follow along with me in your Bibles.
16:22-16:24
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
16:25-16:26
Tell me if you have understanding.
16:27-16:29
Who determined its measurements?
16:29-16:33
Surely you know, or who stretched the line upon it?
16:33-16:36
You'd have to not pay attention to Mr. Sarcasm here.
16:37-16:40
Job, where were you when I created everything?
16:40-16:42
Oh wait, that's right, you didn't even exist yet.
16:43-16:44
No one else did besides me.
16:46-16:52
Surely you know who took a big measuring stick to lay out how big, deep, and wide the earth would be.
16:53-16:56
Well surely Job knows it wasn't him who did it.
16:57-17:02
And God continues to unveil Job's lack of knowledge in verses six through 11.
17:03-17:04
On what were its bases sunk?
17:04-17:06
Or who laid its cornerstone?
17:06-17:10
When the morning stars sang together, all the sons of God shouted for joy.
17:10-17:12
Or who shot in the sea with doors?
17:12-17:14
When it burst out from the womb.
17:14-17:17
When I made clouds its garments and thick darkness its swaddling band.
17:18-17:21
And I prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors.
17:21-17:23
And said, thus far you shall come and no farther.
17:24-17:26
and here shall your proud waves be stayed.
17:28-17:34
God then moves past the six days of creation to zero in on what he has actually created.
17:35-17:46
We are so stuck in our own limited location in POV that we fail to truly think about the true mystery of the planet we live on.
17:46-17:51
The mystery of the universe we are all small, itty bitty parts of.
17:52-18:01
We're all like small bits of dust that barely register on the scale in comparison to the oceans, the mountains, and the galaxies.
18:02-18:05
I mean, just think about our planet for a minute.
18:05-18:12
God asked Job in 38, 16, have you entered into the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
18:13-18:20
Hey, Job, did you swim through every single inch of all the oceans that cover 71% of the earth?
18:21-18:28
Have you gone down to the very bottom of the Challenger Trench, over 35,000 feet, to touch the bottom and swim back up?
18:28-18:29
And what's the answer?
18:30-18:33
You're all gonna need to learn to shout no a lot louder.
18:33-18:34
I'm gonna ask you many more times.
18:37-18:40
3818, have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
18:41-18:48
Job, have you exhaustively traveled every single path, explored every jungle, traversed every desert?
18:48-18:55
Have you covered the 197 million square miles that make up this planet?
18:55-18:58
And the answer is, much better.
18:59-19:02
Let's shoot into space for a minute to see how much Job knows about what's going on up there.
19:03-19:05
38 verses 31 through 33.
19:07-19:10
Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion?
19:11-19:15
Can you lead forth the Maseroth and their seed or can you guide the bear with its children?
19:16-19:18
Do you know the ordinances of heaven?
19:18-19:21
Can you establish their rule on the earth?
19:22-19:26
Job, are you the one who holds the constellations together?
19:26-19:33
Are you the one who placed all 200 billion trillion stars in the sky and keeps them from scattering and falling?
19:34-19:41
Answer, with question after question after question, God keeps drilling down this one main point.
19:42-19:44
He is the creator, not Job.
19:46-19:48
He is the source of life, not Job.
19:49-19:52
He is the sustainer, not Job.
19:54-19:57
When you create something, you have ownership of it.
19:59-20:01
Which means that God is the one who owns the world.
20:01-20:11
Not you, not me, not Job, not anyone else in the entire world, no matter who they are, what title they have, or how much money is in their bank account.
20:11-20:14
God owns it all because he made it all.
20:15-20:17
Because God owns it all, He knows what is best.
20:18-20:21
Because God owns it all, He can do whatever He wants to do.
20:22-20:31
And because God is holy and perfect, whatever He wants to do is right and good even when we don't agree with Him.
20:33-20:43
As we're told in Psalm 115.3, "Our God is in the heavens, He does all that He pleases." Do you like that verse?
20:45-20:46
How does that verse strike you?
20:48-20:51
It's not exactly a verse you see on bumper stickers or coffee mugs, right?
20:52-20:56
And we live in a culture that spits in the face of that verse.
20:57-21:03
The motto of our culture is God is nowhere to be seen, so I'm gonna do everything that pleases me.
21:05-21:12
Turn on the news, open up social media, and it won't take long to come across content that screams I know better than God.
21:14-21:16
Let's go through some of the list.
21:16-21:22
Gender is just a societal construct that we force upon kids against their will at birth.
21:23-21:26
You can move up and down the gender spectrum as much as you want.
21:28-21:30
Marriage isn't just between a man or a woman.
21:31-21:40
And speaking of marriage, as long as you're feeling happy and fulfilled, stay in that marriage, but if you're not feeling happy and fulfilled, look for your happiness elsewhere.
21:42-21:44
where life doesn't begin at conception.
21:45-21:47
That fetus is just a clump of cells.
21:48-21:49
It's not an actual person.
21:51-21:59
And you may be nodding your head right now, amening in your heart, but please know that you and I are not exempt from this I know better than God mentality.
22:00-22:00
None of us are.
22:00-22:02
We are all guilty of this.
22:04-22:14
Your I know it all list may not be as blatantly obvious as the examples I just listed, but it still dishonors God and damages your soul.
22:16-22:23
You know that you're expected to spend time with God every day in his word and in prayer, but you don't.
22:26-22:34
You say things like, "Well, work is just too hectic "right now, I wake up exhausted and I go to bed "even more exhausted to show for my kids "around all their activities.
22:34-22:35
"Life is just too busy right now.
22:36-22:43
"I have more pressing things to do." You know what God's word definitively says, but you act as if you know better.
22:45-22:50
You know what is expected, but you create your own list of expectations to push down the conviction that you feel.
22:53-22:58
You know, there are men in this room who are leading lives of secret lust behind closed doors.
22:59-23:01
And no one knows except for you and God.
23:04-23:09
You try to justify this sexually inappropriate behavior by convincing yourself it's not a big deal.
23:09-23:16
I mean, yeah, sometimes I visit those websites, but it's only because my wife doesn't meet my physical needs like she used to.
23:16-23:18
I'm not addicted, I can stop any time I want.
23:20-23:23
I mean, sure, I fantasize about other women, but I would never act on those fantasies.
23:24-23:27
It's just a release whenever I'm stressed.
23:29-23:34
Again, you know what God's word has to say about sexual sin, but you're the exception to the rule.
23:35-23:41
God created sex and he knows how it works best, Well, you're doing just fine cuddling outside the lines.
23:42-23:47
Or maybe you're wound very tight and you blow up at people at work.
23:47-23:49
You blow up at your spouse, you blow up at your kids.
23:51-23:57
You know that the Bible says the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God, but hey, it's not your fault, right?
23:58-24:01
Taylor, you don't understand how dysfunctional my workplace is.
24:01-24:03
I have to yell to get guys in line.
24:03-24:08
Or my kids just constantly get under my skin to make me so angry.
24:10-24:13
My spouse knows how to push my buttons, what else am I supposed to do?
24:16-24:22
There it is again, the I know better than God mindset in a very, very subtle way.
24:25-24:27
Or maybe abusing alcohol is a big issue for you.
24:28-24:32
Beer, liquor, wine is the finish line you wanna reach by the end of the day.
24:33-24:36
It is your constant reward for enduring the hardships of life.
24:38-24:41
You keep making lines in the sand, you keep crossing.
24:42-24:45
I'm just gonna drink on the weekends, but then you find yourself drinking every single night of the week.
24:47-24:50
I'm just gonna have one, but then you have many, many, many more.
24:52-24:55
When you go out with your friends, you drink way more than you should.
24:57-25:04
You know what the Bible says about drunkenness and being controlled by anything or anyone besides the Holy Spirit, but you have your excuses.
25:07-25:08
Once again, you know better than God.
25:11-25:20
And maybe none of the examples I just listed relate to you, but again, I want to remind all of us that you are not exempt and I am not exempt.
25:21-25:28
And I hope and pray that the Holy Spirit is convicting all of us of the ways we try to trick ourselves into believing we can outsmart God.
25:30-25:34
How much longer will you try to believe your own lies?
25:35-25:39
How much longer will you travel down this destructive path of self-justification?
25:41-25:47
What will you have to lose before you realize that your pride will catch up to you?
25:50-25:55
Paul offers this loving yet stern warning in Galatians 6-7, "Do not be deceived.
25:55-25:57
"God is not mocked.
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"For whatever one sows, that he will also reap." For whatever you're going through, whatever you're struggling with right now, the grace of God is offered to you.
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By God's grace, choose to repent now rather than be caught later.
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By the grace of God, choose to willingly humble yourself now rather than be forcibly humbled later.
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Choose to change now rather than be ashamed later.
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You choose to take God at His word rather than trust your own opinions, which are very often misguided and wrong.
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So let's return to the second question that we must ask ourselves when we question God.
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Am I able to know more than the one who created everything?
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Circle the right answer on your outline.
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Final question to ask myself when I question God.
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Am I wise enough to give advice to the one who directs what I cannot control?
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Am I wise enough to give advice to the one who directs what I cannot control?
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I don't wanna harp on this point too much because that is gonna be the major focus of Pastor Jeff's message next week, I don't wanna step on his toes too much, but I do want to give you a sneak preview of the total control of God in contrast to Job's utter lack of control.
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Let's check out a few more questions from God.
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3834, can you lift up your voice to the clouds that a flood of waters may cover you?
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Job, are you able to boss the clouds around and make them rain?
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What's the answer?
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3835, can you send forth the lightning that they may go and say to you, here we are.
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Job, does the lightning report to you for duty?
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Are you the lightning traffic controller?
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What's the answer?
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We could be here all morning going through every single question, but I wanna wrap up focusing on a few questions that are about God's control of the creatures he has made.
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Chapter 38, verses 39 through 41.
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Can you hunt the prey for the lion or satisfy the appetite of the young lions when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in the thicket?
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Who provides the ravenous prey when its young ones cry to God for help and wander about for lack of food?
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Chapter 39, verses 19 through 20.
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Do you give the horse his might?
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Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
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Do you make him leap like the locust?
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His majestic snorting is terrifying.
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39, 26 through 27, is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings towards the south?
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Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high?
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You know, these questions from God about the animal kingdom remind me of a question I've been asking myself as I walked my dog Murdoch around the neighborhood recently.
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Recently I was walking my dog up and down our street and I noticed these signs on every single stop sign and utility pole.
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Apparently there's a lost parent on the loose in Shale named Shio and I have to be on the lookout for it.
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Before I continue on, has anyone seen this bird?
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Anybody, please, somebody.
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Oh, okay, I want to do my neighborly duty at least to ask.
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And I could swear that I heard across from my house, I could have heard him saying, "Hey, hey." But it could have been me making it up, I have no idea.
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But every single time I see this sign, I ask myself the same exact question.
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What would I possibly do if I found this parrot?
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Am I capable of controlling this parrot and making it come to me?
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As I walk Murdoch, I think of all these different scenarios of what I could do.
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I look up parrot calls on YouTube, all walking around with a butterfly net.
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I carry around saltine crackers and sprinkle them on my shoulder, hopefully a little perch there, and run back to my house before it flies away again.
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With each scenario I came up with, I came up short, to be honest.
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The answer to the question of am I capable of controlling this parrot and making it come to me became obvious, no.
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And the same answer goes for God's questions about Job's ability to control all the animals around the world.
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I am not a Pittsburgh aviary worker.
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I am not the parrot whisperer.
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And Job cannot keep every single hungry lion fed.
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He cannot make sure that every single bird is taken care of.
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He can't groom every single horse.
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He can't make sure that every single hawk and eagle can fly.
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In the grand scheme of things, Job cannot do very much.
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His contributions to making the earth function is so negligible that it's laughable.
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It's truly astounding to consider how much God directs and how little we actually control.
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But it's equally shocking how much we try to advise God and give him suggestions.
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Does anyone else ever try to give God advice when they pray?
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All right, me and Candace, we definitely do that.
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Nobody else, I guess.
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Well, me and Cain's will listen to this verse, it'll be really helpful for us.
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Romans 11, 34 to 35.
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For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?
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Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?
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So we're clear on the fact that God does not want or need a counselor.
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So the scenario I'm about to lay out for you is far-fetched, it would never happen, but just use your imaginations, okay?
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Can you all just humor me for a bit?
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Imagine if, if I was God's counselor and key advice giver.
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How would I do at that job?
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Be honest, come on, we're in church, be honest, okay, I'm getting a thumbs down, okay, calm down, okay, I do bad, but. (laughs) I would do horrible, right?
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I would make a mess out of everything.
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When I look at the Bible and see all of God's plans and decisions, I would have advised him in the complete opposite direction.
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God, are you sure you want to let Satan pick on poor Job so much?
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Come on, you know that he loves you.
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Why do you let him go through all this?
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God, leading the Israelites out of Egypt with Moses?
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Really?
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He's a stuttering murderer.
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There has to be a better choice than him.
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Or David as the next king of Israel?
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How about one of his brothers?
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A little bit more impressive.
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How about this one?
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You wanna send your own son to come to this earth to be executed and hung on a cross.
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There has to be another way to save sinners, right?
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Wrong.
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I would be wrong in all accounts, especially when it comes to the death of Jesus Christ.
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To the fleshly and human mind, the crucifixion of the Son of God makes no sense.
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to thank the Lord that he does things so much differently than we do.
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Praise God in heaven that he keeps his own counsel and does not seek advice from anyone.
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Paul echoes this in 1 Corinthians 1:18, "For the word of the cross is folly "to those who are perishing, "but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God." God does things in ways that seem foolish to us to show off his wisdom.
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God allowed his son to suffer and die in the way of human weakness so that he could rise again in power.
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Jesus willingly laid down his own life so that we could live forever and ever and ever.
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Harvest, if God was right about that which seemed the most foolish to our puny brains, let's trust that God doesn't need our suggestions or advice about the seemingly foolish ways that he is handling our current sufferings.
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If God could bring the greatest possible good out of the evilest event in human history, we can rest secure that he will bring blessing out of our difficult circumstances that seem like curses right now.
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So let's circle the answer to the final question or outline this morning.
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Am I wise enough to give advice to the one who directs what I cannot control?
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Circle the right answer.
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All right, pens and pencils down.
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Test is over.
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Let's share our answers that we circled throughout the message.
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Question is to ask myself when I question God.
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First up, am I qualified to evaluate the one who supervises me?
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What's the answer?
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Am I able to know more than the one who created everything?
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Finally, am I wise enough to give advice to the one who directs what I cannot control?
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Congratulations, you got every answer right.
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It's so easy to circle the right answer on a piece of paper, isn't it?
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It's so easy to shout it out with passion during a worship service, but it's so hard to believe these are the right answers when you're out in the real world getting punched in the face by life.
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It's hard to remind ourselves of these answers in the heat of frustration and the fog of confusion and the darkness of the grief that we experience.
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Instead of trying to get God to submit to our questions, let us instead submit to God who has all the right answers to our questions, even though he doesn't often share them with us.
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As the worship team comes back, please quiet your minds, close your eyes, and bow your heads.
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You know, every single one of us in this room is questioning God about something or someone.
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Maybe it's an issue at work, a relational strain, a health issue, a sudden loss of someone you really cared about.
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Bring that issue to God and lay it before his throne.
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Worship him for who he is.
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Thank him for what he is doing.
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And ask for his help to submit to his plans, no matter what.
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Take a minute or two to be with the Lord.
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Father, we all have so many questions.
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And you have all the answers.
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But again, you don't always share them with us.
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You tell us what we need to know.
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Lord, we've seen what we need to know in your word this morning, that you are sovereign, that you are in control, that you know exactly what you're doing.
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That you're on the throne of this universe and you are ruling and you are reigning.
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We lift up every single person in this room who is suffering right now.
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I pray you'd comfort them with the truth of your word.
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I pray they would stop believing the lies that they tricked themselves into believing.
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I pray for those of us in this room who don't have a relationship with Christ.
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May today be the day of salvation.
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May today be the day where they finally lay their sins before you and confess Jesus as Savior and Lord to be forgiven of all their sins.
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Lord, you are good.
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All that you do is right.
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Help us to truly believe that.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
Small Group Discussion
Covering Job 38-39
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
What does it look like to question God? How do you see yourself questioning God right now?
Go around and share things that you cannot possibly know about this life, this world, and this universe. How should these things that we do not know affect our view of God and ourselves?
Can you think of a time when you tried to advise/counsel God but His plans ended up being way better than your own?
Breakout (men and women separate):
Share how you struggle with a “I know better than God” mentality right now and pray for one another.