Introduction:
How to Make Sense of Suffering: Four Questions You Must Answer (Job 40:1-42:6):
- Have I Humbled myself? (Job 40:1-5)
- Do I think I can do Better than God? (Job 40:6-14)
- Do I have any Power over evil? (Job 40:15-41:34)
- Will my suffering draw me Closer to God? (Job 42:1-6)
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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01:13-01:16
Open up those Bibles to Job chapter 40.
01:19-01:25
When I was a youth pastor, this was very early in my days of ministry.
01:25-01:27
I would have been in my 20s.
01:27-01:32
But I took our youth group at the time to this other church who was having one of these overnight retreats.
01:34-01:36
And they had some ground rules for the kids.
01:36-01:43
And one of them was, they said, "Hey, nobody can go outside unless you're with an adult." All right?
01:45-01:56
So some time had passed in the retreat and a bunch of the boys in my youth group came up and they said, "Pastor Jeff, can we go outside?" I said, "Yeah, I'll take you outside." They wanted to shoot some hoops, so we went outside.
01:56-01:58
We're playing some basketball.
01:58-02:02
Well, the pastor of the church came out and kind of laid into the kids.
02:03-02:09
And he goes, "I thought I told you you couldn't be outside without an adult." Get ahead of me.
02:15-02:37
I was feeling my big boy pants on and I stepped up and I said, "Hey, it's okay, I'm out here with them." And the pastor said, "Oh, are you the adult?" And I said, "Me, me, me, me, me, me." No, I didn't say that.
02:42-02:56
But that's sort of the issue here that God is confronting Job with, to say, "Job, you haven't recognized who I am.
02:58-03:02
You have been quite irreverent in your suffering.
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You wanted answers from me.
03:07-03:08
I want answers from you.
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And these chapters we're looking at today, really, it's the climax of the whole book.
03:18-03:29
And if you get this exchange right here, I promise you, on the authority of the Word of God, it will change your life.
03:31-03:41
I'm not saying that you're not going to suffer, because you will, but you will never see it the same way again.
03:44-03:58
So this power has been asked, you please pray for me to be faithful, to clearly communicate God's word, and I will pray for you to receive this life-changing message that God has for us today.
04:08-04:28
Father, I know everyone in this room, everyone that will be in this room in the next service, everyone who is watching this online or going to be listening to a podcast or watching this video later, we're all struggling with something.
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And we're all suffering with something.
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I'm just asking, Father, that we would really tune in because what you said to Job hasn't changed, and it has just as much significance for us today.
04:53-04:58
I just pray, Father, you give us eyes to see it.
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Father, that by the power of your Holy Spirit, you would give us a mind to understand it because these things are only spiritually discerned.
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Father, do a work in all of us through this.
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We pray in Jesus' name.
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And all of God's people said, amen.
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I want you to jot some things down on your outline, how to make sense of suffering.
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You suffering right now?
05:26-05:27
If not, you will be soon.
05:29-05:31
How do you make sense of suffering?
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Well, there's four questions that you must answer.
05:36-05:39
The first question is this, have I humbled myself?
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Do you really wanna make sense of suffering?
05:44-05:49
Or do you wanna walk around complaining as Job was earlier?
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Do you wanna walk around complaining?
05:51-05:52
Why is it happening to me?
05:52-05:53
Why is God so unfair?
05:53-05:55
Do you really wanna make sense of suffering?
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I mean, really.
05:58-06:00
Okay, well, here's where it starts.
06:01-06:03
Ask yourself this, have I humbled myself?
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Look at the first two verses.
06:05-06:10
The Lord said to Job, "Shall a fault finder contend with the Almighty?
06:11-06:23
He who argues with God, let him answer it." I remember Pastor Taylor preached last week regarding chapters 38 and 39.
06:23-06:30
God's answer to Job's suffering is this, I'm creator, I'm sustainer, I'm in control.
06:33-06:41
And here in these first two verses in chapter 40, God says, okay, so you don't approve with how I'm running the world.
06:43-06:44
You wanna argue with me?
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Let's hear it.
06:50-06:58
Look at Job's response, verses 3-5, "Job answered the Lord and said, 'Behold, I am of small account.
06:58-06:59
What shall I answer you?
07:00-07:02
I lay my hand on my mouth.
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I have spoken once and I will not answer twice, but I will proceed no further.'" Oh, Job, Job, Job, Job.
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for so many chapters, he was so self-justified and verbose.
07:19-07:28
And now, after the Lord speaks to him in the passages Taylor preached last week, Job says, "I'm nothing.
07:30-07:47
"I'll shut up now." Listen, if you're suffering with anything right now, anything, and you refuse to humble yourself, you're never going to hear from God.
07:50-07:51
You have blocked him out.
07:52-07:55
And that was Job's issue for all those chapters.
07:57-07:58
He wasn't humble enough to hear.
08:00-08:02
But finally, Job was humbled.
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Finally, he rightly saw himself.
08:05-08:06
But that's not enough.
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God wanted Job to rightly see Him.
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So let's address the elephant in the room.
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What about all that suffering that Job experienced?
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What about that?
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You know, it's funny.
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I mean, we do it all the time.
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We say, "Praise the Lord," when something good happens, right?
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born. Praise the Lord! Somebody gets a promotion at work. Oh, praise the Lord!
08:44-09:49
It seems like we only think that God is great and sovereign over the good things. We have to address the reality that not everything is good. There's so much pain in the world and there's so much sorrow and there's so much that we can point to that we say that just doesn't seem right. That doesn't seem fair. Job certainly felt that and I've shared with you previously seasons in my life where I've struggled with that because of some family health issues. So we respond when, like Job, evil shows up and it results in suffering? And maybe worst of all, God disappoints us because God didn't prevent it and He's not fixing it.
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Well, this is exactly what the Lord addresses here, and He does it in the most profound way if you will have ears to hear it.
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So you have to start here, have I humbled myself?
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If you're not willing to do that, it doesn't matter anything else that's said, right?
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But number two, write this down.
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Do I think I can do better than God?
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I'll read you verse six.
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It says, "Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind "and said, 'Dress for action like a man.
10:27-10:30
"'I will question you, and you will make it known to me.
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"'Will you even put me in the wrong?
10:33-10:38
"'Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?'" God says, "Okay, you want to accuse me?
10:39-10:46
"'Job, you're on this crusade to try to prove me wrong "'so that you can justify yourself?
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"Billy, is that what we're doing here, Job?" Put on your helmet.
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Look at verse nine.
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The Lord continues, "Have you an arm like God?
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"And can you thunder with a voice like His?
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"Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity.
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"Clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
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"Pour out the overflowings of your anger "and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
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"Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand.
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Hide them in the dust together, bind their faces in the world below.
11:24-11:38
Then I will acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you." God says, "Job, do you think you can judge the world?
11:41-11:42
Apparently you think you can do better.
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You know what, Job?
11:44-11:45
Go for it.
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Here's all you gotta do.
11:47-11:51
Put on your majesty, put on your glory and get to work.
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Go out, judge the wicked, all right?
11:53-11:54
Go for it.
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And Job, when you're able to do that, God says, I'll acknowledge that you're something special.
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Now, listen, don't misunderstand.
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In this statement, the Lord is not saying, "Oh, come on, Job. I'm trying my best.
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Sometimes I mess up like in your case, but overall I'm doing pretty good.
12:19-12:21
Come on, man, you try it.
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It's not as easy as it looks." That's not what he's saying at all.
12:27-12:33
What he is saying is, "Job, you don't have any idea what you're talking about.
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You don't know what it takes to conquer and subdue evil.
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You do not know what you are talking about.
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Well, God is governing the entire world.
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Every proud person, he mentions here, all of the wicked.
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God is saying, you know what, Job?
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I am overseeing all of it.
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Can you do that?
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I couldn't do it when this church was 20 people.
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I feel so much more helpless in doing it now at the size of the church is.
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Do you know how many people are in the world right now?
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I had to look this up.
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Do you know how many?
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8.2 billion.
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God, listen, is righteously and perfectly at work in every single life.
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God knows every single action.
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He hears every word.
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He hears every thought at the same time.
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Would you like to take a shift?
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How would you do?
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Better than God?
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That's how the Lord challenges Job.
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You don't know what you're talking about.
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You think you can do better?
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Third question you have to ask yourself is this, do I have any power over evil?
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And this is where things take the most fascinating turn.
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Because God here, he gives two illustrations.
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We're gonna read through all of this.
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We're gonna read through this quickly, but we can't just skim over this.
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We're gonna miss the whole point.
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But God gives two illustrations and he gives no explanation for these illustrations.
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And the first one has to do with a creature called Behemoth.
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Pick up in verse 15.
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God says, "Behold, Behemoth, "which I made as I made you.
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"He eats grass like an ox.
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"Behold, his strength in his loins "and his power in the muscles of his belly.
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"He makes his tail stiff like a cedar.
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"The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
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"His bones are tubes of bronze, "his limbs like bars of iron.
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"He is the first in the works of God.
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"Let him who made him bring near his sword." Mark that part of the verse, all right?
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Underline it, put a star, whatever.
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That's really important.
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"Let him who made him bring near his sword." He goes on.
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"For the mountains yield food for him, "where all the wild beasts play.
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"Under the lotus plants he lies, "in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.
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"For his shade, the lotus trees cover him.
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"The willows of the brook surround him.
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"Behold, if the river is turbulent, he is not frightened.
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"He is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
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"Can one take him by the eyes "or pierce his nose with a snare?" So he talks about this behemoth.
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He talks about his origin.
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He talks about his diet and he talks about his strength.
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Again, key verse.
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The second part of verse 19, God says, "Listen, Job, regarding behemoth, "only the one who made him has any power over him." Right?
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So just mark that because now we get to chapter 41 and God's not done.
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He talks about Leviathan.
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and what we see is another description of a terrible creature.
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Look at the questions he fires at Job.
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Chapter 41, "Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish hook or press on his tongue with a cord?
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Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?
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Will he make many pleas to you?
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Will he speak to you soft words?
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Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever?
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Will you play with him as with a bird put him on a leash for your girls?
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Will traders bargain over him?
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Will they divide him up among the merchants?
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Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?
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So God just fires questions at Job about Leviathan.
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He goes, "Hey, hey, you know, Leviathan, can you go fishing for him?
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Can you tame him?
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Can you make him your pet?
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You gonna sell him at the marketplace?" Obvious answers, right?
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Verse eight, "Lay your hands on him.
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Remember the battle.
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You will not do it again.
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Behold, the hope of man is false.
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He has laid low even at the sight of him.
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No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up." Oh, mark this next part here.
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"Who then is he who can stand before me?" Again, key verse, put a star by that one.
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Again, verse 11, "Who has given to me that I should repay him?
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Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine." Notice that God's describing this terrible creature and then he interjects and says, "Okay, that creature's terrible.
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Who can stand before me?" If you think Leviathan is scary, Job, What do you think it's like to stand in the presence of Leviathan's God?
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And in verse 11, God says, "By the way, Job, "I don't owe anyone anything." Like, how can that be?
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"Because I own everything, that's how." Well, he goes back to the terrifying creature.
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Pick up in verse 12, God goes right on.
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He says, "I will not keep silence concerning his limbs.
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There is mighty strength, there is goodly frame.
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Who can strip off his outer garment?
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Who would come near him with a bridle?
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Who can open the doors of his face?
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Around his teeth is terror.
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His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal.
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One is so near to another that no air can come between them.
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They are joined one to another.
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They clasp each other and cannot be separated.
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His sneethings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
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Out of his mouth go flaming torches.
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Sparks of fire leap forth.
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Out of his nostrils come forth smoke as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
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His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth, and his neck abides strength, and terror dances before him.
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the folds of his flesh stick together, firmly cast on him and immovable.
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His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the lower millstone.
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When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid that the crashing, they are beside themselves.
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Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail nor the spear, the dart or the javelin.
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He counts iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood.
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The arrow cannot make him flee.
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For him, sling stones are turned into stubble.
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Clubs are counted as stubble.
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He laughs at the rattle of javelins.
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His underparts are like sharp potsherds.
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He spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
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He makes the deep boil like a pot.
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He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
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Behind him, he leaves a shining wake.
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One would think the deep to be white haired.
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What is this thing?
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Is this a real creature?
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You know, a lot of commentaries that I've read say this is a crocodile.
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And I would respectfully suggest that there's a lot of commentators seen a crocodile. So what are we dealing with here, people? Is this a real animal? Is it a metaphor? What is this? And why is God talking about it? I want you to look very closely with these last two verses.
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God says, "On earth, "there is not his like, a creature without fear.
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"He sees everything that is high." Oh, look at this last phrase.
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"He is king over all the sons of pride." These verses, these last two verses tell me The Lord is talking about more than just some weird fish.
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Much more.
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And these last two verses, especially this last phrase, tells me that this is a metaphor for Satan.
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They're like, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
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"Wait, hang on, Pastor Jeff.
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"How in the world can a scary reptile represent Satan?" Well, in Genesis, Satan is described as what?
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A serpent, right?
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And in Revelation, Satan is described as a dragon.
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And when you read the book of Job, we see Satan at work in the beginning, and here at At the end, Satan is personified as a monster.
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Look, you have to see this, that these two beasts represent so much more than wildlife.
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Because if this was just about animals, I mean, if this was just about animals, what would be the point?
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If this was just about animals, basically, here's how the exchange goes.
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Job's like, "God, I want answers for my suffering!" And God's like, "Well, dinosaurs are pretty big." And Job's like, "I guess.
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"You know, God, I'm sorry about the things I said when I was scratching my loathsome sores.
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There's something more going on here.
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God wanted Job, listen to this, this is so key.
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You gotta see this people.
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God wanted Job to feel something about Satan and evil.
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And what God wanted Job to feel was small and terrified and powerless.
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That's the point.
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That's the point.
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Job's asking about suffering and evil.
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He's been all that time talking about suffering and evil.
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And how impactful would it have been if the Lord's answer was just pulling out a theology book?
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Like, "Well, you want some answers about suffering and evil, Job?
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Well, okay, I have H. Orton Wiley's Christian theology book here, Job.
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Let me read an excerpt for you.
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Okay, Job, "The evil spirit as Satan is the, quote, "adversary, the accuser, and the deceiver.
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"As the devil, he is the slanderer, the columniator." Have you ever heard that word?
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Okay, "And the destroyer of peace as Belial, "he is the low, the unworthy, and the abject, "Well, as a polyg...
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Would that be very effective?
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If God just gives Job some stale, like, let me give you the definition of evil and Satan and see if that placates you, little buddy." Now, you know what God is doing here?
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He's saying, "Listen, Job, Job, hey, hey.
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Monsters exist that are exponentially more powerful than you.
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They are unstoppable.
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They are untamable.
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They are unbeatable.
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They are ferocious and they are violent and you don't stand a chance against them.
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No one does.
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Like, wait, wait, wait, hang on, hang on, Pastor Jeff.
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Why would God want Job to feel small and terrified and powerless?
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Because God wants to tell Job as he wants to tell us, listen, suffering isn't just bad luck.
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Sometimes that's what we wanna reduce it to.
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Somebody's suffering as Job did.
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You know, Job lost family members and he lost his wealth, he was robbed.
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The people violently attacked his servants and murdered his servants and Job lost his health.
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And we look at these things, and we look at things like that happen in people's lives today.
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Like, oh boy, that guy sure has bad luck.
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Went for bad luck, he wouldn't have any luck.
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Oh boy, that guy sure has bad luck.
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And God's wanting Job to see, no, no, suffering isn't bad luck.
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Suffering is directly tied into evil.
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You know that, right?
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Evil is the source of suffering.
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God is not in heaven looking down saying, "Hmm, who can I hurt today?" That's not from God.
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And we saw in the beginning of Job, that's from Satan.
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So these horrifying creatures bring the only response that we should have about Satan and the suffering that Satan would want for us.
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We don't see evil and suffering for what it really is.
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We don't.
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And that's why when we suffer, we direct our accusations towards God.
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You see back in chapters one and two, we got the peak behind the curtain.
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He cares what's really going on.
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And you see here, this is Job's peak behind the curtain.
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God says, "Job, let me tell you something that's really going on.
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You live in an evil world.
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and evil, Satan is mighty, he's vicious, and he's relentless.
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Oh, and by the way, you are powerless against him.
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How to make sense of suffering, four questions you must answer.
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Number four, will my suffering draw me closer to God?
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Will my suffering draw me closer to God?
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We got to look at Job's response to this.
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Then Job answered the Lord and said, "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
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Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?
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Therefore, I have uttered, but I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
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Hear, and I will speak.
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I will question you, and you will make it known to me.
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Job says, I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.
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Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.
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Total turnaround for Job, huh?
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Job says, "I repent.
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"You know, I talked about things that I didn't understand.
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"And God, I get that now." Job says, "God, you can do anything, And nothing can stop you.
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I love this verse here.
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Job says, "Yeah, I'm paraphrasing.
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God, I heard about you.
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Now I see you.
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I knew about you.
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Now I know you." What just happened?
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Okay, so the book of Job, like he's horribly afflicted, he struggles with his faith.
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God describes two monsters and Job's like, "I'm sorry, I'm okay now." You're like, "Is that the message of Job?" Like Job didn't have a vision here, like Jacob's ladder or anything.
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I mean, he heard from God, obviously, but there was no appearance of God that I can see. And Job certainly didn't have a change in his circumstances to this point, but as he heard God, he saw some things with a clarity that he never had before. See, suffering has a way of drawing us close to God like nothing else can. You see, when you suffer and you draw near to God, suddenly God's not just like the subject of a sermon. God's not just a name that we use in a song that we sing at church." Suddenly God is alive and he's personal, and he's involved in every area of my life like a loving heavenly Father. Like, what was it that made Job repent here?
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And I was really racking my brain for how do I explain this?
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And then it hit me, it was actually, it was one of my earliest memories.
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I can't remember much of my life before this event.
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But this event was a perfect illustration to me of what Job experienced here.
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When I was just a little squirt, my father took me to see live pro wrestling.
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And it was back in the days, it wasn't like a PPG arena or whatever they call it this week.
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It was back in the days of like, "Johnstown at the war memorial." It was back in those days, and so there were smaller venues.
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And so we had good seats because it was a smaller venue, and no seat was very far from the ring.
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There was this one wrestler, Iron Mike Sharp, Canada's greatest athlete.
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He was this huge, like hairy, loud, nasty, evil.
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I mean, this guy was so terrifying to me.
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as a kid, just watching him on TV, right?
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Like he was just, he was like a real life cartoon character.
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Right?
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Don't Google him now, later.
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Later.
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But so the big taunt against him is he didn't like to be called Wimp, which nobody does, but that was something that really got under his skin for some reason.
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So, you know, like a real wrestling fan, We made the big sign, you know, you make the big posters, make the big sign.
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We made a giant sign that says WIMP.
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Yeah, buddy.
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So he comes to the ring and I get my sign out, WIMP!
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And he gets in the ring and he plays his part.
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He's, everybody's saying it, but I'm really saying it, WIMP!
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And he gets in the ring and he's covering his ears and he's kicking the rope and he's (yells) That's actually the sound he made.
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He's kicking the rope and he is like furious.
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And I leaned up to my dad and I said, "Dad, do you think he saw my sign?" And dad said, "I'm sure he saw your sign." And I get to tell you, in that moment, I felt the most fear I've ever felt in my life.
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I'm not even kidding.
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That's why I think this is my earliest memory.
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I was absolutely terrified.
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This monster is screaming and thrashing and kicking.
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And I was convinced that he was gonna jump over the ropes and come after me.
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And I will never forget this as long as I live.
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Dad says, "Yeah, I'm sure he saw your sign." and I just, I felt so terrified and helpless.
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I was standing on my dad's left.
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I just remember grabbing his hand with my right hand and wrapping my arm around his wrist and stepping in real close.
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And I will never forget that feeling.
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To say I felt safe is like the ultimate understatement.
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I felt like there wasn't a force on earth that was going to touch me in that moment.
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And you see, that's exactly where Job landed.
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He saw the terrifying images of evil and he realized I better hold on to the one who loves me and the one who can protect me.
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the one who is infinitely more powerful than even the thing that comes from my worst nightmare.
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Like, man, that was a game changer for me, and I think, in essence, that's what made did a game changer for Job.
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And if you're still at this point saying, okay, Pastor Jeff, I get that, awesome.
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But why doesn't God do something about evil?
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I would sell you three things about that.
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First of all, I would say he did.
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You realize we'll be celebrating how he did a couple of weeks.
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Jesus Christ came to the earth to defeat Satan through his death on the cross.
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Yeah, terrifying.
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Yes, also defeated.
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So why doesn't God do something about evil?
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He did.
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Why doesn't God do something about evil?
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He is.
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Though defeated, the Bible says, "Satan is still prowling around like a lion, looking for someone to devour, right?
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But he's also still on God's leash.
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Make no mistake, Satan can't wipe his nose without God's permission.
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So there's nothing that I'm going to face that God didn't sign off on.
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Like, what if you face something that kills you?
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Like, you can't threaten me with heaven.
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So why doesn't God do something about evil?
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He did.
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Oh, and he is.
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Oh, oh, just one more thing.
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He will.
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The day of Satan's destruction is coming when Jesus makes all things new.
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In the meantime, is our suffering going to push us away from God?
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or are we going to grab his hand and wrap our other arm around his wrist to stay close to our Heavenly Father?
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For worship team to make their way up, I want you to please bow your heads.
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Just bow your heads and close your eyes for a moment.
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Are you suffering with something right now that you've really been struggling for answers?
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I've been struggling for a long time.
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Maybe you're dealing with a health issue.
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Maybe you're dealing with a, maybe there's a broken relationship in your life.
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Maybe it's a financial concern.
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Whatever it is, Is there something you're suffering with that you're just like, "I just wish that I had answers"?
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Well, you'll get your answers if you're willing to ask yourself these four questions, and ask them honestly.
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I just want you to take a moment now to consider, have you really humbled yourself to prepare yourself to receive an answer? If you've been angry or disappointed or frustrated with God, let me ask you, do you think you can do better than God? You think somehow you have information He doesn't, or maybe it's the other way around. Maybe God has information you don't. Maybe if you took a crack at overseeing the universe, maybe you wouldn't do as good of a job as he is.
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Third question you have to ask yourself is, do you have any power over evil?
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You don't.
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I'll answer that one for you.
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You don't, but you have to acknowledge that you don't.
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You're not some spiritual authority that's personally subduing the devil.
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You don't have that kind of power.
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Only God does.
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And that's why the fourth question is, will your suffering draw you closer to God?
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Father in heaven, I felt this week like I've been taken to the woodshed on some sinful attitudes that I've struggled with and my own frustration at understanding suffering.
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Father, I imagine there's a lot of people here that need to be taken, just as you did, Joe.
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And I pray, Father, again, that you would open our eyes and our minds and our hearts to see the heart behind the answer that you gave Job and that we would understand why you communicated as you did so that we could have the same response that Job had.
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Father, in the face of such terrifying evil, draw us closer to you we pray in Jesus name amen.
Small Group Discussion
Covering Job 40-42:6
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Read Job 40:33-34. Why do these verses seem to indicate that God isn’t just talking about an animal? What is Leviathan a symbol of?
What exactly was God’s point in describing Behemoth and Leviathan as He did? How is this an answer for Job’s questions?
What exactly from God’s Behemoth and Leviathan descriptions made Job repent? How would you paraphrase this lesson to teach someone who is suffering?
Breakout:
Pray for one another.