Participants: Doug Batchelor
Series Code: EG
Program Code: EG021621A
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00:01 Doug Batchelor: I love the quote,
00:02 "The greatest want of the world is the want of men, 00:05 men who will stand for the right, 00:06 though the heavens fall." 00:08 Yet studies are showing for several years now 00:11 that secular media and culture have sought to portray men 00:14 as the family idiots. 00:17 Sadly, respect for the role of fathers and husbands 00:20 has reached an all-time low. 00:23 So, now, as the dispirited men abandon their roles of godly 00:26 leadership, it's not surprising that we're experiencing 00:29 a moral free-fall in our country. 00:32 That's why starting September 30, 00:34 I'll be presenting a new program called "Mighty Men of God." 00:38 Using biblical principles, this encouraging four-part series 00:42 will address how to be a loving father, faithful husband, and 00:45 all-around man of God in the family, church, and nation. 00:49 Please plan now to join me for this live event, and learn 00:52 from the Word how to live courageously for the king. 01:00 [music] 01:15 Doug: I'm glad you're here today. 01:17 I'm going to be starting a series on the book of Job. 01:23 And I really--you know, whenever we open the Word of God, 01:27 we're treading on holy ground. 01:29 But in a special sense, this is a remarkable book. 01:33 And I've never wanted to rush through it because there's 01:37 so much power in the book. 01:39 It's such a profound book that I thought I'm going to take my 01:43 time, and we're going to spend some time talking 01:45 about the book of Job. 01:47 The book of Job was not written for people living long ago. 01:49 The book of Job was written for today. 01:53 And it is very much a book for every people in every age. 01:57 It talks about heaven and hell. 02:00 It talks about God and Satan, 02:02 talks about blessing and cursing. 02:04 It talks about family and friends. 02:07 It talks about betrayal of friends. 02:09 Talks about patience, and victory, and defeat, and just 02:13 all of the great themes of life can be found somehow, somewhere. 02:17 Talks about the Second Coming of Jesus and the resurrection. 02:19 It's in the book of Job. 02:22 And so, we're going to give some time and attention to that. 02:25 And I, of course, appreciate your prayers as we do. 02:29 Now, in our discussion about Job, sometimes as a pastor, 02:37 you know, I look out there and I see some of you 02:39 have been Christians all of your life. 02:41 Some of you have grey hair or no hair, 02:44 and you have been studying it. 02:46 And you know, I can speak to you about the meat of the Word. 02:48 Then we have children and teenagers out there, 02:50 and you have never read the book of Job, 02:52 and you have no background in it. 02:54 Matter of fact, you thought it was the book of Job, 02:57 and until I said that. 02:59 And so, you know, I try to find a balance where I can say 03:03 something that everybody can relate to, but this is a book 03:05 where I'm hoping I can get into the meat of the Word and do some 03:09 serious study with you because there's just so much here 03:12 that we can learn from. 03:14 An overview of the book of Job quickly we'll just give you. 03:18 There's 42 chapters, 1,070 verses, 10,102 words. 03:25 In the Septuagint, the book of Job is calculated to be 03:29 among the books of poetry. 03:31 And you might even find it placed 03:33 between Psalms and Proverbs. 03:35 Some of the different Hebrew texts put the book 03:38 of Job in different places. 03:40 It's none of the most mysterious books in the Bible because 03:43 there's quite a bit of debate about, you know, who he was, 03:46 and where he lived, and when he lived, 03:48 and why all this happened, and was it real. 03:51 And we'll be getting into these things along the way. 03:54 I heard somebody quote Ernest Hemingway, 03:57 the famous author. 03:59 They said that Ernest Hemingway said that the book of Job is, 04:03 "The most magnificent and sublime of any book 04:06 in the Bible." 04:08 And when I heard them quoting Ernest Hemingway, I kind of 04:11 smiled because actually, they didn't know Ernest Hemingway 04:14 was quoting Martin Luther. 04:17 Martin Luther said in his commentary--that's good that 04:19 Hemingway was reading that. 04:21 Martin Luther said, "The book of Job is more magnificent 04:25 and sublime than any other book of Scripture." 04:29 Now, you realize Martin Luther translated the whole Bible, and 04:32 he spoke several languages, and understood the Hebrew languages. 04:35 And for a guy who's one of the founders of the Protestant 04:38 movement to say that, not only did he say that, but you can 04:43 find where Matthew Henry, John Wesley, and many of 04:48 the great reformers say--Spurgeon, they believe 04:51 one of the most majestic books in the Bible 04:54 is the book of Job. 04:56 So, I hope you come to appreciate it that way. 04:58 I remember when I was just a baby Christian, and I knew 05:01 nothing about the Bible, and knew very little. 05:05 And I just decided one day to open the book of Job 05:08 and start reading it. 05:10 And I'll admit I didn't understand everything I read, 05:12 but something attracted me to it. 05:15 It was--it was, to me, so deep that it was awesome. 05:21 And I remember reading through the whole book and just going, 05:24 "Wow, this is inspired. 05:26 I've never heard words like this before." 05:28 Now, you hear four or five characters speaking 05:31 in the book of Job. 05:33 You've got the words of Job, and you've got Job's three friends. 05:35 And this mysterious fourth friend, Elihu, appears at the 05:39 32nd chapter in the book. 05:41 You got God speaking. You've got the devil speaking. 05:45 And it's considered to be, from chapter 2 on, there's quite 05:51 a bit of poetry or just some incredible* Hebrew rhythmic 05:57 parallelisms that are being shared there. 06:01 First thing I might want to make clear is that the book of Job 06:05 is a real book. 06:07 Some people hear about, you know, talking about what's 06:09 happening on earth, and this man is blessed, 06:11 and the numbers that it gives. 06:13 Got 7 sons, 3 daughters, and 7,000 of this, and 12,000-- 06:17 and it all seems so exact. 06:19 And for 7 days, they sat down. 06:21 And they said it's a parable. Job never lived. 06:23 It's somebody wrote it to tell a story. 06:26 You can't take it serious. 06:28 I mean, it talks about that God is in heaven, and there's 06:30 a meeting in heaven, and God's talking to the devil, 06:31 and the devil's talking to God. 06:33 And it's obviously a parable. 06:35 But I'd respectfully disagree. 06:37 For one thing, because the other New and Old Testament writers 06:39 speak of Job as an actual event. 06:43 And Jesus addresses it that way. 06:46 We just read a quote from the book of James referring to Job. 06:50 If you look in Ezekiel--now, we're going to look at this 06:53 verse more than once. 06:55 And I'm going to give you a lot of Scripture, 06:56 so you might take notes. 06:58 And they won't all be on the screen. 07:00 Ezekiel 14:14. 07:02 In one of his prophesies, Ezekiel says, "Though these 07:04 three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it," meaning 07:08 in the land, "they will deliver neither--they'll deliver 07:11 but their own souls by their righteousness, 07:14 says the Lord God." 07:15 Now, did Noah really live? 07:18 Did Daniel really live? 07:20 So, when Ezekiel adds in Job, why would we suddenly think that 07:23 he's talking about the righteousness of Daniel and 07:25 Noah, and then he mentions Job, and Job's just a parable, 07:29 he's a fairy tale? 07:31 The prophet Ezekiel speaks of him as a real character 07:34 who was a righteous man, who had a soul to deliver. 07:37 And only his own soul would be delivered by his righteousness. 07:41 By the way, Ezekiel says something very similar 07:43 to that twice. 07:45 Who wrote the book of Job? 07:47 Somewhat a mystery. 07:50 Most of the scholars that I've read believe that Moses 07:53 is responsible for the book. 07:55 It dates as far back as we can find Hebrew literature, 07:58 the book of Job is there. 08:01 It predates the writings of David. 08:04 When you look at the time, and I'll get to that in just 08:06 a minute, it seems like it was written already 08:09 by the time of Moses. 08:12 It is possible that this fourth person--you've got the three 08:16 friends of Job, and then chapter 32 this fourth person, 08:19 Elihu, appears. 08:21 And he begins to speak. 08:23 He starts to speak for the first time in first person, 08:26 saying, "I, I, I, I." 08:29 And we've wondered if he was the one who kind of was a bystander, 08:32 listening to everything, writing it all down, 08:34 and finally he thought, "I'm going to speak." 08:37 And Moses took his writings and codified it, 08:41 or it may have been passed on orally. 08:44 But we believe Moses was--the language also. 08:47 You read the language in Genesis and the language in Job, 08:50 and there's a lot of similarities there. 08:53 God is referred to more times as Shaddai, you've heard 08:57 of El Shaddai, the Almighty, in the book of Job 09:01 more than any other book in the Bible. 09:03 He's the all supplying one. 09:06 And it's a real story. 09:08 Talks about the Chaldeans coming in, and the Sabeans fighting. 09:13 I mean, if it was an allegory, why wouldn't you just say 09:15 some robbers came and stole his stuff? 09:17 Why would you specifically mention a real nation back then 09:19 that were known for robbing? 09:22 So, they mentioned real places and real things. 09:24 Tell you what, what I'd like to do with you is go 09:26 to the book of Job. 09:28 And just so you all know, you know, people don't pretend 09:31 you don't ever watch the clock. 09:33 You're going to want to know, "Is he going to go 09:35 to chapter 30 today? 09:36 How far is he going to go?" 09:38 So, I thought I'll just tell you I'm just doing 12 verses. 09:40 Now, you might think, does that mean 42 chapters, 09:42 we're going to be studying Job until 2019? 09:47 No, because once you get into the poetry, 09:49 we'll be talking about themes. 09:50 It's going to go much quicker. 09:52 But the introduction is very important. 09:54 And so, we're just going to read the first 12 verses, 09:56 and that's what we'll cover today, God willing. 09:59 "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that 10:06 man was blameless and upright, one who feared God 10:10 and shunned evil." 10:13 Your King James would say eschewed, same word. 10:15 It means to avoid. 10:17 "And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 10:21 Also, his possessions were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 10:26 500 yoke of oxen." 10:28 A yoke, of course, is 2, so 500 yoke is 1,000 oxen. 10:32 "Five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, 10:36 so that this man was the greatest of all 10:39 the people of the east." 10:42 Again, it's giving a real place. 10:44 "And his sons would go and feast in their houses, 10:46 each one on his appointed day." 10:49 I believe that means birthday. 10:51 "And would send and invite their three sisters to eat 10:53 and to drink with them. 10:56 And so it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, 10:59 that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in 11:03 the morning and offer burnt offerings according 11:05 to the number of them all. 11:07 For Job said, 'It may be that my sons have sinned 11:09 and cursed God in their hearts.' 11:12 Thus Job did regularly." 11:14 Now, the scene changes. 11:16 It starts out with a scene on earth in this place called Uz, 11:20 and it tells us about the faith of Job, tells us about the 11:24 fortune of Job, and it tells us about the family of Job. 11:29 It just sets the stage for this battle so you'll understand what 11:32 kind of man is about to go through a trial that is hard 11:35 for us to imagine. 11:38 "Now there was a day." 11:40 It's interesting it starts out, "Now there was a man." 11:42 And verse 6, "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to 11:45 present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came among them. 11:51 And the Lord said to Satan, 'From where do you come?' 11:54 So Satan answered the Lord and said, 'From going to and fro 11:57 on the earth, and from walking-- from walking 12:00 back and forth on it.' 12:02 And the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant 12:05 Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless 12:09 and an upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?' 12:13 So Satan answered the Lord and said, 12:16 'Does Job fear God for nothing? 12:18 Have you not made a hedge about him and about his household, 12:21 and around all that he has on every side? 12:24 You've blessed the work of his hands and his possessions, 12:26 and have increased in the land. 12:28 But now stretch out your hand, and touch all that he has, 12:32 and he will surely curse you to your face.' 12:35 And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in 12:38 your power, only do not lay a hand on his person.' 12:43 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord." 12:46 All right, that's what we're going to look at. 12:49 Well, we gave you a little overview of Job. 12:51 And I'll be sharing more as we proceed. 12:54 One of the first things we might talk about is 12:56 when did this happen. 12:58 What is the time for Job? 13:01 Well, there's some mystery to it. 13:03 I'm not going to pretend I can fix an exact date, but as near 13:06 as we can tell, it was somewhere between--Job lived sometime 13:09 between the age of 1700 BC and 1900 BC. 13:16 He lived during the time of some of the patriarchs. 13:18 Now, one of the reasons for that, and I'll give you some of 13:21 the evidence, at the end of the book of Job, after this terrible 13:24 trial that he goes through, it says, Job lived 100-- 13:28 it says, "After this," after the trial, "Job lived 140 years, 13:34 and he saw his children's children and grandchildren 13:37 to 4 generations." 13:39 So, he lived long enough after his trials to have another 13:43 7 some and 3 daughters, and to see their offspring 13:46 to the fourth generation. 13:49 He must have been at least--well, the Septuagint 13:53 says that he was 70 years old. 13:57 It must have been 50 if you've got 10 kids. 13:59 And back then, they didn't start as early as we do today. 14:03 You know, Isaac didn't even start looking for a wife 14:06 till he was 40. 14:09 And Jacob got married at 70. 14:11 And so, because of the way they did things back then, you know, 14:14 Septuagint is probably pretty close, which means 14:17 he lived about 210 years. 14:19 And Bible is remarking that that was old even for that era. 14:26 Now, based on the land and the names that are used, these names 14:31 of some of these characters do appear other places 14:33 in the Bible. 14:35 And because of when they lived, we think we know he lived 14:38 during the time of Esau's descendants. 14:41 You can look, for instance, in Genesis 22:20, "Now it came 14:46 to pass after these things it was told Abraham, saying, 14:49 'Indeed Milcah has also borne children 14:52 to your brother Nahor.'" 14:54 Milcah was the wife of Nahor. "Uz his firstborn." 14:58 What was his name? Uz. 15:01 Job lived in the land of Uz. We'll get to it in a minute. 15:04 "Buz his brother." 15:06 Can you imagine having two kids, Uz and Buz? 15:07 Wouldn't you get that mixed up? 15:09 I mean, if you got a David and a Daniel, 15:11 you'll always mix them up. 15:13 Could you imagine Uz and Buz, and getting mad 15:15 trying to call them? 15:17 What were they thinking? 15:19 And then how would they get-- 15:20 wouldn't they get teased at school? 15:22 Uz and Buz, it's like, you know--yeah, anyway. 15:27 Okay, "Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Amram." 15:29 So, the land of Uz may have been partially named out of this. 15:33 You know, they often named territories and regions 15:36 out of some of them. 15:38 And so, you've got Uz as a nephew of Abraham 15:41 by his brother--not like Lot, this is by his brother Nahor. 15:46 And then if you look in Genesis 36:10 and 11, 15:49 "These are the names of Esau's sons, Eliphaz the son of Adah." 15:55 And you go down to verse 11, "The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, 15:59 Omar, Zepho, and Gatam." 16:02 Well, one of the friends of Esau was Eliphaz the Temanite. 16:07 And then it tells us that Job was one of the greatest 16:09 of the men of the what territory? 16:13 The east. 16:14 Now, when I say the east, you'd be thinking maybe about China. 16:17 But here, we're talking about east of the Jordan River. 16:20 They had--the descendants of Abraham, some settled 16:24 on the west, and that would be Abraham and Jacob. 16:26 Some settled on the east. 16:29 And the children of the east were often the Arabs. 16:32 And the children that Abraham had by Ishmael, and you know 16:36 he had another litter of kids with Keturah. 16:40 And so, some of the friends of Job were from Keturah. 16:44 And so, you're talking about the time Jacob lived, 147 years. 16:49 Who knows how long his father lived, Isaac? 16:53 A hundred and eighty years. It's quite a difference. 16:56 Matter of fact, Jacob, when he meets with the pharaoh, 16:58 is complaining. 17:01 He says, "The ages of my days is not equaling 17:03 the age of my fathers." 17:05 He said, "I've worn myself out." 17:07 You know, and all the time he spent out in the fields 17:09 and having four wives, it just cut his life short. 17:12 But he was bemoaning that he wasn't living as long as some 17:15 of the others evidently around then. 17:17 And so, it's not unusual that Job would live that long. 17:21 Who knows who the last longest living person was? 17:26 Moses lived 120 years, Aaron about 123. 17:31 Do you know who just broke--he just broke the mold is way after 17:35 King David said, "Our days of our years will be three score 17:38 and ten," which is how much? 17:40 "And if by reason of strength we make it to 80, 17:43 there's aches and pains." 17:45 That's a rough paraphrase. 17:47 But there was a high priest who watched over King Joash 17:51 named Jehoiada, lived 130 years. 17:56 How many of you heard in the news this week that the last 18:01 American, as far as they know, the last American 18:06 who was born in the 1890s died, 116 years old? 18:12 There's only one person they know of in the world today 18:15 that can say that they lived over 3 centuries. 18:18 In other words, their lives touched the 1800s, 18:22 the 1900s, and the 2000s. 18:24 There's very few people--I used to know people, a lot of people 18:26 that were born in the 1800s, and they're all gone. 18:30 So, then you're finding fewer and fewer people that can 18:32 tell you about World War II that are left. 18:34 You know what I'm saying? 18:37 Well, now they got one lady in Italy, she's 117, 18:40 I think, that's still alive. 18:42 And they showed a picture of her, and she doesn't look like 18:44 she'll be around much longer. 18:46 Sorry, I hope that wasn't unkind, just from the picture. 18:49 But every now and then, someone comes along. 18:53 And so, the Bible comments about how long Job lived. 18:56 Based on the relatives, it seems like that he lived 19:01 during the time of Esau's descendants. 19:04 Like I said, because he lived 200 years, 19:07 you got to give him 200 years. 19:09 So, from 1900 BC to 1700 BC. 19:12 Moses didn't come around for another 100 years, 19:14 so he lived back during that age range. 19:17 That means if Moses wrote the first book in the Bible, 19:20 technically what is the first book in the Bible? 19:23 It's the book of Job. 19:26 I was reading one commentary where they were saying that 19:29 anybody that thinks that the book of Job is just the work of 19:33 someone who wrote a parable doesn't know what they're 19:36 talking about because he said the genius of insight in the 19:42 statements of Job could not come from one author. 19:46 You've got some very bright men. 19:49 Job is a very successful, wealthy man. 19:52 His friends that come are leaders. 19:54 And these are just the chieftains of the region that 19:57 have come, and there's just incredible wisdom there. 20:01 So, this is when we think Job lived. 20:04 Now, where was Uz? Not Oz, Uz. 20:11 Genesis 10, verse 22. 20:13 It's interesting, again, you read the commentary, some says, 20:16 "Well, nobody knows where it was." 20:18 Well, you can actually know relatively close where it was. 20:20 It says, "The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, 20:23 Arphaxad, Lud, Aram. 20:25 The sons of Aram were Uz." 20:28 This is now the second person named Uz. 20:30 You notice I'm doing Genesis 10 now. 20:32 "Hul, Gether, and Mash." 20:35 It tells us Uz was also a nephew of Abraham that lived 20:38 in Arabia about 1900 BC. 20:41 Josephus says Uz was--he, Uz, the person Uz founded 20:47 Trachanitus and Damascus. 20:50 Damascus is one of the oldest cities of antiquity, 20:53 but that's further north. 20:56 The land of Uz was--it tells us really in the Bible. 20:59 Jeremiah 25, verse 20, "All the mixed people of all the kings of 21:04 the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines, 21:08 namely Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod." 21:14 Jeremiah is talking about the kingdoms that are neighboring 21:17 the south and the east of Israel in that statement. 21:20 So, we're narrowing it down. 21:23 And then if you look in Lamentations, 21:25 this sort of seals it. 21:27 Lamentations 4:21, "Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, 21:30 you who dwell in the land of Uz." 21:34 So, I've got a little map on the screen. 21:36 You'll see that in the land that's to the east 21:39 of the Jordan, that territory, it was a big region. 21:42 By the way, if you've got, you know, 7,000 sheep and all these 21:45 animals, you got a big pasture land. 21:48 But when you're reading the book of Job, you'll also see book 21:52 of Job talks about when I sat in the city gates. 21:54 So, it's not just a man who lived out in the country. 21:57 And it says his sons each went in their house, not their tent. 22:01 And so, there was a big civilization. 22:03 There to the east of the Jordan valley, the climate 22:09 was very different then than it is now. 22:12 The land of Israel was called the land flowing 22:14 with milk and honey. 22:16 Do you know if you go to the Sahara Desert, they've got 22:21 valleys you drive for just hours, maybe even days off 22:24 into the Sahara, and you'll find just a lake, 22:27 dry lakebeds full of whale bones. 22:30 You'll find rocks that have ancient petroglyph carvings that 22:37 the tribes carved in the rock. 22:40 And they've got hippopotamus and giraffes. 22:43 Well, you got hippos, you have to have water. 22:46 It was a land that used to have a lot more water. 22:48 And so, not only has there been desertification of North Africa, 22:52 but this region changed. 22:54 Used to have a lot more vegetation. 22:56 It was a lot more lush. 22:58 And so, there's a lot more going on now. 23:01 Now, you go to that desert around they call it Mount Seir, 23:05 the Edomites, they were the descendants of Esau. 23:11 Now, it's just desert in that country out there. 23:15 So, that's where Uz was. That's probably where Job lived. 23:18 Now, who was Job? 23:20 The name "Job" signifies sorrowful, or he that weeps. 23:25 You know, one of the things that strikes me, friends, 23:28 is just the very first words of the book, "There was a man." 23:33 The very fact you got a 42 chapter book that begins with, 23:36 "There was a man." 23:38 You know why it says that? 23:40 Because it doesn't say there were men, it says there was 23:43 a man, meaning this is an unusual man. 23:48 This is a man that stands out. 23:50 This is a man who is just one among thousands. 23:54 And made me think of some other places in the Bible. 23:56 You know, in the book of Daniel, when nobody could interpret the 24:00 king's dream, Daniel 2:25, "Then Arioch quickly brought 24:04 Daniel before the king. 24:06 He said, 'I found a man. I found a man.'" 24:09 There is a man. 24:11 You go to Daniel 5, nobody could interpret the handwriting 24:14 on the wall. 24:15 The queen talks to the king. She says, "There is a man." 24:21 But not that many. 24:23 And you find as you read the story of Job 24:25 that Job stands out. 24:27 "There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit 24:29 of the Holy God. 24:31 He can tell you what that writing says." 24:33 Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:28, 24:36 "Which my soul still seeks, but I cannot find one man 24:42 among a thousand I have found." 24:46 The Gospel of John, it says, "There was a man sent from God 24:49 whose name was John." 24:51 Something else we find out about Job, it says, "In the land of Uz 24:56 was this man who was perfect and blameless." 24:59 Well, right there you can say that's an unusual man, 25:02 perfect and upright. 25:05 Now, what does that mean? 25:06 First of all, let me just make sure, take a breath, 25:09 look at me, okay? 25:11 We're going to talk about how perfect a Christian is supposed 25:13 to be for just a moment. 25:15 That makes everyone nervous, including me. 25:17 But I just want to read you what the Bible says, then we'll talk 25:19 about what that means, okay? 25:21 But God wants us to be holy, you know that. 25:25 Yes, he wants to bless you, and we all think about God 25:27 wanting us to be happy. 25:29 But even more than your happiness, God's interested 25:31 in your holiness. 25:32 And is it possible--let me read some verses to you. 25:36 Genesis 6:9, "Noah was a just man, perfect 25:40 in his generations." 25:43 Godly man. 25:45 And did God do something unusual through him? 25:48 Ezekiel 14:14, "Though these three men," I told you I'd read 25:52 it again, "Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the land. 25:55 They'll deliver their own souls by their righteousness, 25:57 says the Lord." 25:59 That tells us Noah was a righteous man, 26:01 Daniel was a righteous man, Job was a righteous man. 26:05 But don't forget they're human. 26:07 And so, when you hear about Elijah being a righteous man, 26:11 there you got a man too. 26:13 Boy, 1 on the mountain against 800. 26:15 God had a man. 26:17 When you read in the New Testament and James says, "These 26:20 were men," speaking of Elijah, "subject to the same passions as 26:23 you and me, and yet God declares about them what he wants to 26:27 declare about you," that we fear God and hate evil, 26:34 and that we are walking and living upright lives. 26:38 If Noah did it, if Job did it, if Daniel did it, 26:43 if Elijah did it, then God says, 26:46 "The same way they did it, you can do it." 26:50 God is calling us to be that. 26:52 And you almost never hear that in the church anymore, that it's 26:54 not just about our getting together with our friends. 26:57 The whole purpose of the church is training for holiness to have 27:00 an impact of light and life in a perishing world. 27:05 Job was that kind of person. 27:07 But it's all through the Bible that God is calling believers, 27:10 Old and New Testament, to be like Job, to love the Lord 27:15 and to hate evil, and to walk and be upright. 27:18 Now, what does that mean, to fear God and to hate evil? 27:23 Matthew 6:13, to hate evil means to eschew evil, to avoid it, 27:28 to run the other direction. 27:31 Is there evil in the world? 27:34 Jesus in our Lord's prayer, he said we should pray, "Lead us 27:37 not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." 27:42 The yearning desire we ought to be praying about every day is, 27:45 "Lord, deliver me from evil." 27:48 We don't want to be around evil. 27:50 And I'm not talking about the evil that chases you down. 27:54 You can't always control that. 27:56 You know, you see things or you happen to be the witness 27:59 of something that you weren't planning. 28:01 But when we pursue it, that's not good. 28:04 Isaiah 33:15, "He who walks righteously and speaks 28:08 uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressors, who gestures with 28:12 his hand refusing bribes," going no, "who stops his ears 28:17 from hearing bloodshed." 28:19 This is where it gets interesting. 28:21 "Stops his ears from hearing of violence." 28:23 You know, one of the characteristics in the days 28:25 of Noah before the world was destroyed, 28:27 the thoughts of men's hearts were only evil continually, 28:29 and there was violence filled the land. 28:31 Do we have that today? 28:33 We may not have the kind of gore and bloodshed 28:34 that you see on battlefronts. 28:38 Instead, where we have it in our country is in our entertainment, 28:43 kind of like the Roman coliseums, except it's called 28:45 a television or a computer monitor today. 28:48 And when it talks about stopping our ears from hearing 28:52 of bloodshed, and shutting our eyes. 28:55 I'm in Isaiah 33:15, "Shutting our eyes from seeing evil, 29:01 he will dwell on high." 29:03 But if we're going out of our way to behold these things 29:07 and to hear these things, a lot of the music today is violent. 29:12 A lot of the programming is violent. 29:15 And I'm probably like a lot of other men out there, boy, 29:20 a good cowboy Indian fight--can you say that anymore? 29:23 Is that politically incorrect? 29:26 No, I can't say that anymore. Cowboy and Native American. 29:28 I'm sorry, I don't mean to be unkind. 29:30 I'm just telling you how crazy it is. 29:32 But who as a kid didn't-- anyone here have a cap gun 29:34 when they were a kid? 29:36 Come on, fess up, you guys. 29:38 I know you're worried that the pacifists around you are 29:40 going to--yeah, just there was just-- 29:43 something about that appeals. 29:44 You know, God makes men where you want to go out and conquer. 29:46 And so, to be entertained by it, whether it's boxing, or football 29:53 is almost equally as violent. 29:56 Guys have to dress up like, you know, they're going to space 30:00 because they get hit so hard. 30:04 Not to mention all the guns, and the shooting, and--but if we 30:09 want to have the experience of Job and the relationship with 30:11 Job, who stops his ears from hearing bloodshed and shuts 30:14 his eyes from seeing evil, he will dwell on high. 30:18 His place will be the defense, the fortress of rocks. 30:21 Bread will be given him, and water will be sure. 30:23 I've heard a lot of Christians quote that verse, speaking 30:25 of the last days if we've got to flee for our faith. 30:28 God says our bread will be given to us, 30:30 and our water will be sure. 30:32 It says, yeah, if you plug your ears from hearing of bloodshed 30:35 and shut your eyes from seeing evil. 30:38 Do we hate evil like Job did? 30:42 Psalm 119, verse 37, "Turn away my eyes." 30:46 This is something that would make a good prayer for us all. 30:48 "Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, 30:52 and revive me in your way." 30:54 How much time is spent looking at goofy, worthless things? 31:00 Ezekiel 12:13, "Let's hear the conclusion of the whole matter. 31:04 Fear God and keep his commandments, 31:07 for this is man's entire duty. 31:09 For God will bring every work into judgment." 31:11 Job was a man that feared God. 31:13 Now, when we say fearing God, I've often heard people say, 31:17 "Well, that doesn't mean-- 31:19 we're not supposed to be afraid of God." 31:20 And I actually have caught myself saying that 31:22 because some people just live in constant fear. 31:24 But you know, as I study that and as I compare it with other 31:27 verses in the Bible, I've had to correct myself. 31:30 It is talking about an awesome reverence, 31:35 but there's a terror connected with it. 31:39 When it says to fear God, if we know how powerful, 31:43 how--yes, he's your father. 31:45 Yes, he's your friend. Yes, he loves you. 31:48 He loves you more than anybody. But he's also a powerful God. 31:53 And he has eternity, he has your eternity in his hands. 31:56 And he can be offended through sin. 31:59 And in that sense, we should hate evil and fear God. 32:04 I think it was Wesley that said, "If I could have 100 men who 32:09 feared nothing but God, I could change the world." 32:11 Someone once said if you don't fear God, 32:13 you'll fear everything else. 32:15 If you do fear God, you fear nothing else. 32:18 And the Lord wants us to have that kind of fear, where really 32:22 we live in his sight, and we do everything in that perspective. 32:28 What's the message for today? 32:31 Revelation 14:6, "I saw another angel flying in the midst of 32:34 heaven with the everlasting gospel to preach to those 32:37 who dwell on the earth, every tribe, tongue, and people." 32:40 This is the last book of the Bible, last message that goes. 32:43 Revelation 14 pictures Jesus coming in the clouds. 32:46 What's the message that is to go to the world before 32:48 the return of Christ? 32:50 And it says, "With a loud voice," 32:52 megaphone is what that means, 32:54 "fear God and give glory to him, 32:57 for the hour of his judgment has come." 33:00 So, obviously you're fearing because this is 33:02 a judgment day coming. 33:04 "Fear God and give glory to him, 33:06 the hour of his judgment has come in. 33:08 Worship him who made the heaven and the earth, and the sea, 33:10 and the springs of waters." 33:12 This is not only talking about a revival of reverence and a holy 33:15 fear of God because there's an impending judgment. 33:19 It says and a revival of genuine worship too. 33:23 Real worship is going to be a God fearing worship. 33:27 God fearing worship will involve reverence in worship. 33:31 You go into a church where it just looks like a hootenanny, 33:34 and everyone's running around, there's no respect, 33:36 there's no reverence, there's no decorum, 33:39 that's a place that doesn't fear God. 33:41 If God could suddenly appear, you would see 33:43 a big change of attitude. 33:46 "The Lord is in his holy temple." 33:48 This is a message that goes to the world. 33:49 It's a message of the experience of Job having this holiness. 33:54 Did Job go through a great trial? 33:56 Is there going to be a time of trouble such as there never 33:59 has been before Jesus comes? 34:02 It's relevant for us then to be studying Job, amen? 34:06 And you can read in Job 1:3, it says, 34:09 "This man was the greatest of all the people of the east." 34:14 Well, you know, that probably segues well into the next verse, 34:19 "Job is a rich man." 34:23 And he founded the computer company, and the Facebook, 34:29 and he was the Rockefeller of his age. 34:32 He was not just a little rich, he was the richest man. 34:37 Some of you would like to get a blank check that said 34:39 Bill Gates on it, or Warren Buffett, 34:43 or one of these guys. 34:45 Back then, if you had a check that said Job on it-- 34:48 I don't know his last name. 34:50 It's just Job Job was his name. You'd be very happy. 34:53 You'd love to get a job from Job, wouldn't you? 34:57 He was a very wealthy man. But what a strange combination. 35:01 You know, Jesus said after the rich young ruler walked away, 35:05 "It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle 35:09 than for a rich man to get into the kingdom." 35:11 Do you expect Job to be in the kingdom? 35:14 And yet, he wasn't just a little rich, he was fabulously wealthy. 35:20 Someone once said, "In adversity, Job could possess 35:25 his soul in patience because, in prosperity, 35:29 he had not lost his riches." 35:32 He was not possessed by his riches. 35:35 He possessed them. 35:38 Bunyan, John Bunyan, who wrote "Pilgrim's Progress," 35:40 he said, "Gold in the gospel seldom agree. 35:44 Religion always sides with poverty." 35:48 It's not that it never happens, but it's not frequently. 35:52 But it is worthy of mention that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 35:57 the great patriarchs, were greatly blessed 36:01 and were very prosperous. 36:03 Now, I want to read something to you in Deuteronomy. 36:09 Job is greatly blessed, and he's blessed because, 36:12 well, the devil's partly right. 36:14 Don't quote me on that. 36:17 He said, "You've put a hedge about Job. 36:20 You've protected all that he has," meaning, 36:22 "He's blessed because you've kept me 36:25 from cursing his stuff." 36:27 And the Lord does say--I want to read Deuteronomy 28. 36:31 I'll read a few verses here. 36:32 I won't read the whole chapter, this is the chapter where God 36:34 talks about the blessing and the cursing. 36:36 How many of you want to be blessed? 36:38 You want to be blessed like Job was blessed, 36:41 including the sufferings of Job? 36:44 If that's what it takes. 36:46 Keep in mind--no, I'll save that for later. 36:49 I don't want to say everything first day. 36:52 Deuteronomy 28, "Now it will come to pass that if you will 36:56 diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God to observe 37:00 carefully all of his commandments that I command you 37:04 today that the Lord your God will set you high above 37:07 the nations of the earth. 37:09 And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you 37:13 because you obey the voice of the Lord your God." 37:16 There are certain natural blessings that seem to come 37:18 in the wake of obedience. 37:21 You know, if you disobey and you do dumb things, 37:23 bad things happen. 37:27 And here's what he said. 37:29 "These blessings will overtake you." 37:31 You know what that makes it sound like? 37:33 They'll catch up to you. You can't escape them. 37:36 If you obey the Lord. 37:38 How many of you want to be overtaken by blessings? 37:40 "Blessed you will be in the city, and blessed you will be 37:43 in the country." 37:45 The book of Job talks about both. 37:47 "Blessed will be the fruit of your body." 37:49 He was blessed in his family. 37:50 "The produce of your ground and the increase of your herds." 37:54 All these blessings came to Job. 37:56 "The increase of your cattle, the offspring of your flocks. 37:59 Blessed will be your basket and your kneading bowl. 38:02 Blessed you will be when you come in. 38:04 Blessed will you be when you go out. 38:06 The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be 38:08 defeated before your face. 38:10 They will come out against you one way, 38:12 and flee before you seven ways. 38:14 The Lord will command the blessing on your storehouse, 38:16 to which you set your hand. 38:18 He'll bless you in the land which the Lord 38:20 your God has given you. 38:22 The Lord will establish you as a holy people to himself." 38:24 Now, notice it starts out obedience, established 38:28 as a holy people, blessing sandwiched in between. 38:32 That doesn't mean--this is a promise that does speak 38:35 in general terms here. 38:37 That doesn't mean that people who are obedient are always 38:40 blessed in material abundance because sometimes I think 38:45 the devil blesses people with abundance. 38:49 Does that make sense? 38:51 I remember reading the devil will sometimes cast prosperity 38:55 in a person's path to ruin them. 38:59 Just Karen was telling me yesterday on the news, 39:02 somebody won a $400 million jackpot. 39:07 And they said they got a dream that they were supposed 39:09 to pick the numbers. 39:11 I guess in this lottery--I don't play, so I'm not sure, 39:13 but I guess you pick the numbers, I don't know. 39:16 But she was shown the numbers in a dream. 39:17 And I said, "I wonder if the Lord showed her those numbers." 39:19 Karen said, "No, the Lord would never do that." 39:21 And she's probably right. 39:24 Kind of in quiet moments, you wish the Lord would show you 39:27 those numbers, I might to buy a ticket, $400 million, right? 39:30 No, no, no, don't quote me on that either. 39:34 Probably the devil. 39:36 And you know what often happens in those families that suddenly 39:39 come into a great, sudden inheritance? 39:42 Not everybody, but many of them, their lives unravel. 39:46 Sometimes they end up in jail. Some have been murdered. 39:49 I mean, it doesn't end well. 39:51 An inheritance hastily gotten doesn't always bring 39:53 a blessing in its train. 39:55 But Job was able to manage it because his possessions 39:58 did not possess him. 40:01 That's why Jesus said, "A man's life does not consist 40:03 in the abundance of the things he possesses." 40:07 You can become a slave to your possessions. 40:09 The more stuff you have, the more you have to insure, 40:11 the more you have to guard. 40:13 And pretty soon, you can't go anywhere because you 40:15 got to watch your stuff. 40:17 That's why Jesus, when he called people to follow him, he says, 40:19 "You're going to have a life of being an itinerant teacher." 40:23 They walked away from their nets, they walked away from 40:25 their cash registers because your stuff will tie you down. 40:32 All right, back to Job. 40:35 I don't want to overwhelm you today. 40:37 So, he's a wealthy man. 40:40 1 Timothy 6:17, the Bible tells us in the early church, 40:44 they had some people that were rich. 40:47 "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be 40:49 haughty, not to trust in uncertain riches, 40:52 but in the living God." 40:54 The Bible doesn't say money is the root of all evil, 40:56 the love of money. 40:58 Don't trust in it because you can lose everything all at once, 41:00 did you know that? 41:02 Did Job? Overnight, he lost it all. 41:06 Don't trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who richly 41:09 gives us all things to enjoy. 41:11 Let them do good. 41:13 "They that be rich, be rich in good works, 41:15 willing to give, willing to share." 41:18 He's not condemning them for richness. 41:19 He's condemning them for hoarding the riches. 41:22 Now, we're going to go off--the scene changes now. 41:24 We talked about Job, we talked about where he was, 41:27 and when he was, and who he was. 41:30 We learned something about the faith of job, 41:33 and the fortune of job, and the family of Job. 41:35 And then suddenly, it says there was a day. 41:37 The scene changes. 41:39 Now, we're going from the earth to heaven. 41:43 And it says there was a day when the sons of God came to present 41:46 themselves before the Lord, and Satan came among them. 41:49 First of all, who are these sons of God that come to present 41:53 themselves before the Lord? 41:56 You can read in Job 38:7, when the--speaking of the creation, 42:00 "When the morning stars sang together, 42:03 and all the sons of God shouted for joy." 42:07 Well, God's creating the world, so they're not humans. 42:11 God uses the word "angels" for angels. 42:14 But it talks about the sons of God. 42:17 If you read in the Luke-- in the Gospel of Luke, 42:19 the genealogy of Jesus, it goes back to Adam. 42:24 And you'll notice it says in Luke chapter 3:37, 42:27 "Which was the son of Methuselah, 42:30 which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, 42:33 which was the son of Mahalalel, 42:36 which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Enosh, 42:39 which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, 42:43 which was the son of God." 42:47 All of us are born. 42:49 Adam was not born; he was created. 42:51 Adam was given dominion of the world. 42:53 That's what it says in Genesis. 42:56 Adam was the son of God who was the leader 42:58 and representative of our planet. 43:01 But Adam lost it because whoever you obey, 43:04 you become the servant, Romans 6. 43:06 You're the servant to the one you obey. 43:08 And Adam lost his dominion, and Eve, of the planet. 43:12 And the devil claimed the planet. 43:14 So, the sons of God are the representatives of the unfallen 43:18 worlds that God has out there in space. 43:21 By the way, there's a great quote in the book 43:23 "Desire of Ages," 834, "The sons of God are the representatives 43:27 of the unfallen worlds." 43:30 And I tend to agree with the author there. 43:33 If you look, you'll see that our planet is not the only planet 43:36 that God has made. 43:38 It says in Colossians 1:16, "For by him were all things created 43:43 in heaven and in earth." 43:44 He's created things in heaven. 43:46 Hebrews 1:2, "In these last days, God has spoken to us by 43:49 his Son, who he has appointed heir of all things, 43:52 through whom he made the," plural, "worlds." 43:55 Not just one. He's got other unfallen worlds. 43:58 You know the parable of the man who's got how many sheep 44:01 and he loses one? 44:03 Ninety-nine sheep. 44:05 Loses one, he leaves the 99 to go find the 1 lost sheep. 44:09 Well, the other ones aren't lost. 44:11 Everybody in this world, how many have sinned in this world? 44:14 Everybody. 44:16 And so, he goes then to look for that one. 44:20 All the unfallen worlds, Jesus left them safely and came 44:23 to this world to get this lost sheep. 44:26 Revelation 5:13, "And every creature in heaven 44:29 and on earth." 44:31 These days, he's spoken to us by his Son. 44:33 And so, and you read in Revelation 4, "Around the throne 44:36 of God were 24 seats, and upon these seats I saw 44:41 24 elders sitting clothed in white raiment, 44:45 and on their head crowns of God." 44:47 Why have they got crowns? 44:49 They're the leaders of unfallen worlds. 44:51 Now, there's probably a lot more than just 24. 44:53 Twenty-four are mentioned in Revelation, 44:55 but God has many unfallen worlds. 44:58 And then Satan comes to this meeting because he says, 45:01 "I represent the world." 45:03 One of the things before Satan speaks, God says, 45:05 "Where did you come from?" 45:07 He says, "I came from the earth." 45:09 You notice the devil doesn't say, "I came from hell." 45:11 He doesn't say, "I came from Hades." 45:14 He says, "I came from earth." 45:16 He could have said, "I came from Sacramento." 45:20 He could have--I mean, he's somewhere on the planet. 45:23 Because he says, "Look, you've got the representatives 45:25 of the other worlds. 45:28 Earth needs a representative. 45:29 I have dominion, so I'm coming to represent them." 45:33 But God speaks first, and he says to the devil, "Have you 45:36 considered my servant Job?" 45:39 Now, that's wonderful to me that God is bragging in heaven 45:45 about someone on earth. 45:47 For me, this is the best part of today's message, that God-- 45:51 not only God because God knows everything. 45:54 God knows the good and bad. 45:56 But the angels are hearing the name of the victorious 45:59 on earth in heaven. 46:01 Did Jesus tell us that's the case? 46:04 Look in Matthew 10:32. 46:06 "Therefore whoever confesses me before men, 46:09 I will confess before my Father who is in heaven." 46:13 He says it a little bit differently in Luke 12:8, 46:17 "Also I say whoever confesses me before men, 46:19 the son of man will confess before the angels. 46:22 Before my Father," he says, "and before the angels." 46:25 Wouldn't you like to have your name brought up 46:28 in a positive way in heaven? 46:31 Wouldn't you like to be able to have God say, 46:33 "Have you considered my servant? 46:36 He's down there, but he's not your servant, Satan. 46:38 He's my servant. 46:39 You say that all the men belong to you. 46:41 Not all of them. 46:43 Job serves me." 46:44 And wouldn't you like the Lord to be able to point down 46:46 and say, "Doug serves me"? 46:49 Insert your name there. 46:52 The whole universe is watching what's happening in this world. 46:55 The Bible says what's going on on our planet, 46:57 it's a theater of the universe. 47:00 1 Corinthians 4:9, "For I think that God has displayed us, 47:04 the apostles, last as men condemned to death. 47:08 For we have been made a spectacle to the world, 47:11 both to angels and to men." 47:14 Do we have guardian angels that we can't see? 47:17 So, are angels watching what's happening here on earth? 47:21 They are. They see what goes on. 47:24 That's why, you know, I love that verse in the Bible. 47:27 Sorry, 2 Chronicles 16:9, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and 47:32 fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf 47:36 of those whose heart is loyal to him." 47:39 God is just scanning through the world, saying, 47:42 "Someone down there, believe in me and I will 47:45 show mighty things through you." 47:47 That's why it says there was a man in the land of Uz. 47:49 God said, "Ah." 47:51 Yet God doesn't say, "Have you considered my servants." 47:54 Isn't that sad? 47:56 God said, "Have you considered my servant?" 47:59 Unfortunately, those who serve God down here 48:02 are not the majority. 48:04 Don't you and I want to give God more names to cite in heaven? 48:10 That's my goal for my life, and as a pastor for your life. 48:15 Jesus said, "Many will come to me in that day saying, 48:17 'Lord, Lord,'" 48:19 and he'll say, "I don't know you." 48:21 But did God know Job? 48:24 Hebrews 4:13, "There is no creature hidden from his sight, 48:28 but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him with 48:32 whom we must give an account." 48:34 Heaven's watching it all. 48:35 Now, final point and I'm almost done. 48:37 After God says, "Have you seen my servant Job," 48:40 well, the devil, he says, "I've come from earth. 48:43 It's my dominion." 48:45 Satan is called the prince of this world. 48:47 And you look around, you can just see, 48:49 even though there's a lot of beauty in the world that God, 48:51 the residue of his creation can be seen. 48:54 Satan has kind of claimed the world. 48:56 Even Jesus said, John 12:31, "Now is the judgment of this 49:00 world, and the ruler of this world will be cast out." 49:03 Who's he talking about? 49:05 "Satan is coming, the ruler of this world, 49:07 and he has nothing in me." 49:09 The prince of this world will be cast out. 49:13 Does the devil still have access to heaven? 49:17 Before Jesus came, the devil evidently could--you know, 49:21 he was kicked out of heaven, but he wasn't kicked 49:24 out of wherever this meeting was. 49:25 We don't know where this meeting was. 49:27 It says, "There was a meeting." 49:29 You can carefully deduce the meeting is not on earth 49:31 because Satan says, "I've come from the earth." 49:32 So, in order for Satan to say, "I came from the earth," 49:34 the meeting isn't on the earth. 49:36 But I don't think the meeting's in heaven either 49:39 because Satan was cast out of heaven. 49:44 He can't go back in. 49:46 Does the Lord go visit his different creatures? 49:49 Did God come down to earth to walk and talk 49:51 with Adam and Eve when he made them? 49:54 Sure, the Lord goes throughout his domain. 49:57 And so, wherever this meeting was, 49:59 he called the representatives. 50:01 They're giving reports on wonderful things happening 50:02 in their various realms. 50:04 And Satan comes, and you could just hear-- 50:07 you could hear the murmuring among all the other sons of God, 50:09 "Oh, now look who's here." 50:11 Did they all know who Satan is? 50:13 Yeah. 50:15 And he's coming, and he's not doing or saying good things. 50:17 Satan claims to be the leader. 50:20 And then Satan says, "Do you know my servant--" 50:24 Or God says, "Have you considered my servant Job?" 50:26 Here's a question. 50:28 Did the devil know who Job was? 50:31 Now, is the devil omniscient? 50:34 God knows all things, he's omniscient. 50:36 No. 50:38 Is the devil omnipresent? 50:39 No. He's not omnipotent. 50:43 No, only God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. 50:47 He knows everything, he can be everywhere, he sees everything, 50:50 he has all power. 50:53 Why--and does the devil operate through his fallen angels? 50:58 So, sometimes when you and I say the devil's tempting me, 51:00 the devil doesn't even know who you are probably. 51:03 He doesn't know every name of all 7 billion people 51:06 on the planet. 51:08 Most of them he's not worried about. 51:09 I mean, if Jesus could say, "I know you not," to the lost, 51:12 then certainly there's some the devil's going to say, 51:14 "I know you not." 51:16 Matter of fact, I got a quote that proves that. 51:18 These seven sons were trying to cast out a devil in Acts 19:15. 51:24 And the devil speaks through the man. 51:27 They didn't know the Lord. 51:29 They're just claiming the name of Jesus. 51:31 And they said, "In the name of Jesus who Paul preaches, 51:33 come out." 51:36 And the devil answered, listened to what he said, 51:38 "Jesus I know." 51:40 I remember him before I was cast out of heaven. 51:43 "And Paul I know." 51:45 I know Paul. 51:47 I put a thorn in his side, and he is a thorn in my side. 51:51 I know Paul. "But who are you?" 51:57 Now, here's the question. 52:00 Do you want the devil to know who you are? 52:05 Don't you want to live the kind of life where you're a thorn 52:10 in the devil's side? 52:13 Now, you don't want to raise your hand, and shout, and jump 52:16 up and down, "Yes, yes, I want the devil to know who I am," 52:19 because when you do that, you know, the Bible says 52:24 all that live godly will suffer persecution. 52:26 And everyone in here want to suffer persecution? 52:30 I don't want persecution, but I want to please the Lord, 52:33 and I want to be godly, and that may bring persecution. 52:37 So, the question is, do you want the devil to know who you are? 52:41 Do you want to live a life so that God says, 52:43 "Have you considered my servant," and name your name? 52:48 This is one of the wonderful things about the book of Job, 52:50 "There was a man." 52:52 And there was a man back then that went through a great trial, 52:55 and God ends up blessing him. 52:56 He brings him through his trial. 52:59 But God had somebody he could point to on earth 53:01 that was proving the devil wrong. 53:03 You know why this is such an important message? 53:06 It's about the great controversy. 53:08 The devil says, "God cannot be obeyed, God is not fair. 53:11 It's impossible for people to serve God. 53:14 He expects too much." 53:16 And God says, "Job is a happy man, he's a blessed man. 53:21 And it's possible for any man to have that relationship." 53:26 And Job disproves the devil's claims. 53:31 And God wants you and I-- before Jesus comes back, 53:35 he wants a church, a glorified church without spot 53:38 or wrinkle to be living the kind of lives that Job lived. 53:41 Don't you want that experience? 53:44 Well, God can help you have that experience 53:46 because he is faithful. 53:48 And what he did for Job, he can do for us. 53:50 We just need that kind of love. 53:52 Doug: I love the quote, "The greatest want of the world 53:55 is the want of men, men who will stand for the right, 53:58 though the heavens fall." 54:00 Yet studies are showing for several years now that secular 54:03 media and culture have sought to portray men 54:06 as the family idiots. 54:09 Sadly, respect for the role of fathers and husbands 54:12 has reached an all-time low. 54:14 So now, as the dispirited men abandon their roles of godly 54:18 leadership, it's not surprising that we're experiencing 54:21 a moral free-fall in our country. 54:23 That's why, starting September 30, 54:25 I'll be presenting a new program called "Mighty Men of God." 54:30 Using biblical principles, this encouraging four-part series 54:34 will address how to be a loving father, faithful husband, 54:37 and all-around man of God in the family, 54:39 church, and nation. 54:41 Please plan now to join me for this live event, and learn 54:44 from the Word how to live courageously for the king. 54:53 male announcer: Did you know this boat could share the gospel 54:55 with 20,000 people, or a car like this one could reach 54:59 10,000 souls seeking hope in Jesus? 55:03 If you have a vehicle you're not using and would like to reach 55:05 hearts for the kingdom of God, prayerfully consider donating 55:09 your vehicle to Amazing Facts today. 55:12 It's easy to turn your unneeded car, boat, RV, 55:15 motorcycle, even ATVs and jet skis 55:18 into a soul-winning vehicle for Christ, 55:21 and get a tax deduction. 55:23 Amazing Facts will arrange to pick up your vehicle 55:26 and provide you with a tax deductible receipt. 55:29 The proceeds from the resale will be used to share 55:31 God's truth with millions of people around the world. 55:35 Don't leave your vehicle in the garage collecting dust. 55:38 Use it to transform lives through Amazing Facts. 55:42 Contact us today, and let us help turn your car, boat, RV, 55:46 or motorcycle into lives saved for Christ. 55:51 [music] 56:02 Doug: Hello, friends. 56:03 We're here in the Philippines overlooking the Taal volcano 56:07 and lake, which is one of the most interesting pieces 56:09 of geography in the whole world. 56:12 For one thing, this great caldera was once 56:14 the biggest volcano in the world. 56:17 And now, it holds a lake that holds another volcano, 56:20 that has another little lake in it, 56:23 that has another little island in it. 56:26 This volcano has erupted six times in a major way 56:29 since the 1500s. 56:31 and even in 1911, there was an eruption where over 56:34 1,300 people died, killed by the smoke and the ash 56:38 that covered the community. 56:40 There were tsunamis that came from the lake and destroyed 56:43 the villages that surrounded the borders of the lake. 56:45 In fact, this is one of the most carefully monitored 56:48 seismic places in the Philippines. 56:51 This volcano is being watched all the time. 56:53 And they've noticed as of 2006 that it appears 56:56 that the water temperatures are going up. 56:59 There's increased seismic activity. 57:01 In other words, they know that this volcano 57:04 is a ticking time bomb prepared to blow. 57:07 And it's very interesting because this place 57:09 is a place of great seismic activity. 57:12 But in spite of the fact that volcanologists know 57:14 this is going to blow again someday, 57:16 it is a popular tourist destination. 57:18 They're fighting for the real estate. 57:20 They're building like mad, and sit on the edge of disaster. 57:23 It makes us think about how God has given us so many warnings in 57:27 his Word that the world is going to end, that Jesus is going to 57:30 come, that the heavens will dissolve with a great noise, 57:33 and the elements will melt with fervent heat. 57:36 Seeing then that all these things will be dissolved, 57:39 what kind of people should we be in all holy conversation 57:42 and godliness? 57:44 Friends, are you becoming distracted with the tranquil 57:46 views of the world, or are you preparing for the next world? 57:50 Are you getting ready for the big bang? 57:53 [music] 57:58 [music] 58:13 [music] |
Revised 2016-09-15