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>>John Bradshaw:
This is It Is Written.
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I'm John Bradshaw.
Thanks for joining me.
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For many people it's a
troubling book of the Bible.
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It's twice as long
as the Gospel of John
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and almost as long as
Ezekiel at 42 chapters.
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In 41 of those chapters,
98 percent of the book,
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the main character
of the book suffers,
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so much so that he
wishes he'd never been born.
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His losses begin mounting up
just 15 verses into the book.
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Yet reading the book of Job
is like climbing a mountain;
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you get to the end, and
you're standing on the summit;
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you see the view
that God wants you to see.
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You get the point.
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You understand what
the book is all about.
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Maybe that's why one scholar
described the book of Job
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as "the Matterhorn
of the Old Testament."
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The book of Job has
challenged a lot of people,
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but it was
written to encourage you.
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It answers a lot
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of Christianity's
toughest questions,
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in reality some of
life's toughest questions.
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And it helps you
understand the character of God
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like almost no
other book in the Bible.
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The book of Job is a must read.
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We're continuing
our ongoing series
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"Great Characters of the Bible."
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There's no doubt
Job is one of those.
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So who was Job exactly?
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Well, not a lot is known about
him. He wasn't an Israelite,
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and he lived in an
Arabian desert setting.
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After that,
specifics are hard to come by.
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It's likely Job was the first
book of the Bible to be written,
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and many scholars
believe it was written by Moses.
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Moses lived for four decades in
Midian in northwestern Arabia,
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so he understood the culture.
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The book of Job
emphasizes God as Creator.
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And Moses wrote
Genesis and the Creation story.
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There are words in the
book of Job that are used
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in the book of
Genesis and nowhere else.
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So, it's reasonable, then,
to believe that Moses wrote Job.
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The oldest book of the
Bible helps us understand
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one of the
oldest stories of all:
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the story of the
battle between good and evil,
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the story of
tragedy in this world,
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of why pain and hardship happen.
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And it's a how-to book.
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It shows us how we can
survive the severe challenges
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we often have to face.
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Everyone has witnessed
suffering and asked, "Why?"
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A child dies in a
drive-by shooting.
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Teenager gets cancer.
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A drunk driver
takes the lives of parents
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who leave
little children behind.
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Someone's diagnosed with early
onset dementia--cruel stuff.
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And the question that gets
asked is, "Why? Why, Lord?"
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That's the question.
Well, Job tells you why.
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How do you deal
with those things, and,
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and how do you relate to a God
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who surely could
have prevented them?
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What the book of Job does is
it takes you behind the scenes
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like no other book of the Bible.
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It gives you the best
possible understanding
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of the cause of
sin and suffering.
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In literary terms, the
book of Job is a book of poetry,
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and the poem, well, that is,
the book, starts by saying this:
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"There was a man in the
land of Uz, whose name was Job;
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"and that man was
blameless and upright,
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and one who feared
God and shunned evil."
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We learn he had 10 children,
seven sons and three daughters.
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He owned thousands of animals:
7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels,
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hundreds of oxen and donkeys.
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The Bible says Job was
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"the greatest of all
the people of the East."
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He took an active interest
in the spiritual welfare
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of his children.
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But here's where it
gets really interesting.
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"The Lord said to Satan, 'Have
you considered my servant Job,
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"'that there is none like
him on the earth, a blameless
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"and upright man, one who
fears God and shuns evil?'
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"...Satan
answered the Lord and said,
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'Does Job fear
God for nothing?'"
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The devil suggested
that if Job were to suffer,
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he would curse God to His face.
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He was saying, "Job is a
hypocrite and only serves God
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because of what God gives him."
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Now, let's pause for a moment.
That's worth thinking about.
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I wonder if it's true
today, people following God
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only because of what they
think they're going to get,
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like those in Jesus'
time who followed Him
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for the loaves and fishes.
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If your motivation for following
God is what you hope to get,
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Christianity has, for you,
become a selfish enterprise.
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Faith isn't about what God
gives us in the here and now,
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but really about what He
has done for us in Jesus.
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Christ died for you.
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That's what attracts
us to the God of heaven.
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How did God respond
to Satan's accusations?
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Well, He did so in a way
that troubles a lot of people.
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"And the Lord said to
Satan, 'Behold, all that he has
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"is in your power; only do
not lay a hand on his person.'
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"So Satan went out from
the presence of the Lord.
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"Now there was a day
when his sons and daughters
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"were eating and drinking wine
in their oldest brother's house;
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"and a messenger came to Job
and said, 'The oxen were plowing
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"'and the donkeys feeding
beside them, when the Sabeans
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"'raided them and took them
away--indeed they have killed
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"'the servants with
the edge of the sword;
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and I alone have
escaped to tell you!'"
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What a disaster. Job's
oxen, donkeys, and the servants
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who managed them
were all taken by raiders.
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But no sooner had Job heard this
then there was more bad news.
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In a separate incident
his sheep were destroyed
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along with more of his servants.
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And while Job was
reeling from that news,
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he was informed his
camels had been taken
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and more servants were killed.
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Thousands of animals
and many servants--all gone.
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And it got worse, much worse.
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"While he was still speaking,
another also came and said,
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"'Your sons and daughters
were eating and drinking wine
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"'in their oldest brother's
house, and suddenly a great wind
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"'came from across
the wilderness and struck
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"'the four corners of the house,
and it fell on the young people,
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and they are dead; and I alone
have escaped to tell you!'"
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His livelihood, his servants,
and now...his children--gone.
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And how did he respond?
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Well, he "arose, tore his
robe, and shaved his head;
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"and he fell to the
ground and worshiped.
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"And he said: 'Naked I
came from my mother's womb,
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"'and naked shall I
return there. The Lord gave,
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"'and the Lord has taken away;
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blessed be the
name of the Lord.'"
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Moses wrote,
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"In all this Job did not
sin nor charge God with wrong."
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What a response,
what a depth of character!
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What spiritual
maturity, what equanimity.
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Now, you might
say, "Well, at least now
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it can't get worse
for poor Job." But it did.
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His toughest test lay ahead.
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Back with that in just a moment.
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¤[music swells, then ends]¤¤
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>>John Bradshaw: Thanks for
joining me on It Is Written.
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We're looking at Job
in our ongoing series
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"Great Characters of the Bible."
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The book of Job is
raw; it's gritty; it's real.
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It's not sugarcoated.
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Satan claims that
Job is faithful to God
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only because of the
blessings he receives.
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God allowed
Satan to afflict Job,
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and what you think of God
doing that might be related
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to how well you understand
how this whole thing works.
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So let's look. Job 2, verse 5:
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"'Stretch out Your hand now, and
touch his bone and his flesh,
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"and he will surely
curse You to Your face!'
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"And the Lord said to Satan,
'Behold, he is in your hand,
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"but spare his life.' So
Satan went out from the presence
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"of the Lord, and
struck Job with painful boils
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from the sole of his foot
to the crown of his head."
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Job's suffering was intense.
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"He took for himself a potsherd
with which to scrape himself
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while he sat in the
midst of the ashes."
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To make matters worse, his wife,
the only family he had left,
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added to his anguish
by telling her husband to
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"'Curse God and
die!' But he said to her,
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"'...Shall we indeed
accept good from God,
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and shall we not
accept adversity?'"
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Job understood what
a lot of people don't,
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and that is, it's
important to trust God
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even when things
aren't going well.
00:10:00.96\00:10:03.33
Job lost everything.
00:10:03.37\00:10:04.63
It looked like he was
going to lose his life.
00:10:04.67\00:10:07.00
But his trust in
God was still strong.
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We can learn from that.
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But then...three of
Job's friends came to visit.
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At first they
didn't even recognize him,
00:10:16.54\00:10:18.41
such was Job's affliction.
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And it's when these "friends"
arrive that we get to the crux
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of the issue in the book of
Job. The first to speak was Job:
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"Why did I not die at birth?
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"Why did I not perish
when I came from the womb? ...
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"Or why was I not
hidden like a stillborn child,
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like infants who
never saw light?"
00:10:40.54\00:10:43.04
That's in Job, chapter 3.
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What follows is 35 or so
chapters of back and forth,
00:10:45.11\00:10:49.14
Job and his three friends--
and eventually a fourth--
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discussing the
reasons for Job's suffering.
00:10:51.71\00:10:55.08
Job couldn't understand it,
00:10:55.12\00:10:56.99
but his friends could--
at least in their minds.
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Job was, they believed,
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suffering because
of his sinfulness.
00:11:01.92\00:11:04.03
And they were going to tell him.
00:11:04.06\00:11:07.00
"Remember now, who ever
perished being innocent?
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"Or where were the
upright ever cut off? ...
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"Behold, happy is the
man whom God corrects;
00:11:14.14\00:11:17.81
therefore do not despise
the chastening of the Almighty."
00:11:17.84\00:11:21.34
"Job," Eliphaz was saying,
00:11:21.38\00:11:23.48
"You're suffering
because of your sins."
00:11:23.51\00:11:26.92
Bildad said, "How long
will you speak these [words],
00:11:26.95\00:11:29.48
"and the words of your
mouth be like a strong wind? ...
00:11:29.52\00:11:32.75
"If you would earnestly seek
God and make your supplication
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"to the Almighty, if
you were pure and upright,
00:11:35.22\00:11:38.76
"surely now He
would awake for you,
00:11:38.79\00:11:40.96
and prosper your
rightful dwelling place."
00:11:40.96\00:11:45.00
The message is clear:
"Job, this is on you."
00:11:45.03\00:11:50.61
And this is the question
that gets batted back and forth
00:11:50.64\00:11:53.11
throughout the book of Job.
00:11:53.14\00:11:54.78
The thing is,
both sides are right,
00:11:54.81\00:11:57.58
and both sides
are very, very wrong.
00:11:57.61\00:12:01.28
Job says, "I've
done nothing wrong."
00:12:01.32\00:12:03.45
God Himself said that Job
was "perfect" and "upright,"
00:12:03.49\00:12:06.15
which can be translated
"complete and straight."
00:12:06.19\00:12:09.72
In fact, God said that
twice. Job handled himself
00:12:09.76\00:12:13.60
with integrity when he
lost everything he had,
00:12:13.63\00:12:16.26
and he finds himself suffering,
evidently without cause.
00:12:16.30\00:12:20.30
He, he's right, kind of. He
hasn't been wallowing in sin.
00:12:20.34\00:12:25.01
He has lived with
integrity before God.
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But he forgets something.
00:12:28.28\00:12:30.01
He lives in a sinful
world, and he's a sinner.
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Things happen, even to people
we think don't deserve it.
00:12:34.35\00:12:37.55
And in Job we find out why.
00:12:37.59\00:12:40.89
Job's friends say,
"You must have sinned.
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"This doesn't
happen to righteous people.
00:12:44.26\00:12:46.19
You've offended God, and you're
getting what you deserve."
00:12:46.23\00:12:49.16
Well, yes,
00:12:49.20\00:12:50.33
"All have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God."
00:12:50.37\00:12:52.87
Romans 3, verse
23 tells us that.
00:12:52.90\00:12:55.50
But they're forgetting
that bad things do happen
00:12:55.54\00:12:57.57
to what we might
term "good people."
00:12:57.61\00:13:01.01
Jesus spoke of some people from
Galilee that Pilate had killed,
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saying, "Do you
suppose that these Galileans
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"were worse sinners
than all other Galileans,
00:13:07.38\00:13:09.72
because they suffered
such things? I tell you, no."
00:13:09.75\00:13:13.99
Then He mentioned 18 people who
died when a tower fell on them:
00:13:14.02\00:13:17.96
"Do you think that they were
worse sinners than all other men
00:13:17.99\00:13:20.76
who dwelt in Jerusalem?"
Jesus asked. "I tell you, no."
00:13:20.80\00:13:26.07
And this is where we wrestle.
00:13:26.10\00:13:28.00
AIDS and COVID and
cancer and Alzheimer's
00:13:28.04\00:13:31.01
and cardiovascular
disease and, and tornadoes--
00:13:31.04\00:13:34.44
they happen, and the knee-jerk
reaction is often to look to God
00:13:34.48\00:13:38.28
and say, "Why?" Especially
if we think it's unjust.
00:13:38.31\00:13:42.65
A child dies. That teenager
dying in a car accident,
00:13:42.68\00:13:45.92
a child seriously injured
in a playground accident, say.
00:13:45.95\00:13:49.79
Freshman college student
goes away to college to pursue
00:13:49.82\00:13:52.39
her dreams and loses her life.
00:13:52.43\00:13:54.30
You hear these
heartbreaking stories,
00:13:54.30\00:13:56.87
and there's no good answer,
until you read the book of Job.
00:13:56.90\00:14:01.94
Job lets you see behind
the scenes and shows you
00:14:02.94\00:14:06.71
that the devil is behind the
sin and suffering in this world.
00:14:06.74\00:14:11.25
He afflicted Job,
00:14:11.28\00:14:12.35
and he took away Job's
possessions and Job's family.
00:14:12.38\00:14:16.48
Now, there are
times people manufacture
00:14:16.52\00:14:18.45
their own misfortune, true.
00:14:18.49\00:14:20.59
You smoke, and the likelihood of
getting lung cancer skyrockets.
00:14:20.62\00:14:24.99
It's hard to blame God for that.
00:14:25.03\00:14:27.03
Same with drinking
alcohol-- you can't fault God
00:14:27.10\00:14:29.73
when someone gets drunk and
loses control of their vehicle.
00:14:29.76\00:14:33.34
But, of course,
Satan is behind that, too.
00:14:33.37\00:14:35.77
In the parable of
the wheat and the tares,
00:14:35.80\00:14:37.64
a man whose field is sown
with destructive weeds says,
00:14:37.67\00:14:41.01
"An enemy has done this."
00:14:41.04\00:14:44.51
An enemy caused Job's suffering.
00:14:44.55\00:14:47.42
It's the same enemy who brings
pain and sadness and suffering
00:14:47.45\00:14:51.19
and illness and
grief to people today.
00:14:51.22\00:14:53.99
The devil is trying to
destroy every marriage,
00:14:54.02\00:14:56.49
break up every
home, ruin every life.
00:14:56.52\00:15:01.06
It's interesting that Job
and his friends don't mention
00:15:01.10\00:15:03.67
the devil, who doesn't appear
in the book after chapter 2.
00:15:03.70\00:15:06.50
The Bible writer establishes
that the devil is the cause
00:15:06.53\00:15:09.87
of misery and suffering, but
this behind-the-scenes battle
00:15:09.90\00:15:14.04
wasn't a concept
they readily understood.
00:15:14.08\00:15:16.14
Their question was, what
do people do to deserve it?
00:15:16.18\00:15:19.18
And where is God
when people suffer?
00:15:19.21\00:15:22.18
The book of Job rises
to a dramatic crescendo
00:15:22.22\00:15:24.62
and, in doing so, helps us
make sense of the big questions
00:15:24.65\00:15:28.76
everyone's going to
wrestle with at some stage.
00:15:28.79\00:15:32.29
We'll answer
them straight ahead.
00:15:32.33\00:15:35.06
¤[music swells, then ends]¤¤
00:15:35.10\00:15:42.10
>>Announcer: Life often
seems to be full of obstacles,
00:15:43.81\00:15:46.54
challenges, difficulties,
but with God on your side,
00:15:46.57\00:15:49.91
you can turn
obstacles into victories.
00:15:49.94\00:15:52.25
And today's free
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00:15:52.28\00:15:54.22
To receive "Turning
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00:15:54.25\00:15:56.45
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00:16:01.46\00:16:03.79
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00:16:11.33\00:16:13.67
>>John Bradshaw: He spent
32 years in prison for a crime
00:16:14.40\00:16:17.11
he did not commit, more
than half his life behind bars,
00:16:17.14\00:16:20.68
even though he
was an innocent man.
00:16:20.71\00:16:23.18
Junk science, false testimony,
and shoddy investigative work
00:16:23.21\00:16:27.28
came together to
send a man to prison
00:16:27.32\00:16:29.88
for more than three decades.
00:16:29.92\00:16:31.92
Join me for "Not Guilty," where
you'll hear from the people
00:16:31.95\00:16:35.06
at the center of the
exoneration of an innocent man.
00:16:35.09\00:16:38.59
We'll look not only at
innocent people being freed
00:16:38.63\00:16:41.33
but at the phenomenon of
guilty people being pardoned--
00:16:41.36\00:16:44.40
people who committed the
offense, who broke the law,
00:16:44.43\00:16:47.07
and yet were set
free by God Himself.
00:16:47.10\00:16:50.17
Every person alive has
"sinned, and come short
00:16:50.21\00:16:52.34
of the glory of God,"
and yet God offers pardon
00:16:52.37\00:16:54.91
and forgiveness to
all, absolutely free.
00:16:54.94\00:16:58.01
Don't miss "Not
Guilty," where you'll learn
00:16:58.05\00:17:00.55
that no matter your
past, no matter your present,
00:17:00.58\00:17:03.15
you can face the future
with confidence, without fear,
00:17:03.18\00:17:06.62
and with absolute hope.
00:17:06.65\00:17:08.59
"Not Guilty,"
00:17:08.62\00:17:09.69
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:17:09.72\00:17:12.79
>>John Bradshaw: The book of Job
isn't all suffering and gloom.
00:17:15.06\00:17:18.20
The point of the book
is to answer the question
00:17:18.23\00:17:20.00
of human suffering and to
explain to us that there's
00:17:20.04\00:17:22.94
a vast spiritual battle
going on behind the scenes.
00:17:22.97\00:17:26.98
The death and war and
disease and catastrophic loss
00:17:27.01\00:17:30.25
we see today tell us
we're in a spiritual battle.
00:17:30.28\00:17:35.02
Paul wrote in Ephesians 6
that "we wrestle not against
00:17:35.05\00:17:38.92
"flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers,
00:17:38.95\00:17:43.46
"against the rulers of
the darkness of this world,
00:17:43.49\00:17:46.39
against spiritual
wickedness in high places."
00:17:46.43\00:17:49.30
Ephesians 6, verse 12.
00:17:49.33\00:17:51.13
There's a spiritual battle
going on that we can't see,
00:17:51.17\00:17:55.44
but we can and do
experience its effects.
00:17:55.47\00:17:59.44
Sitting on a village
dust heap, his friends adding
00:17:59.47\00:18:02.28
to his anguish, Job can't
make sense of his situation.
00:18:02.31\00:18:06.85
His friends tell him
the cause of his desperation
00:18:06.88\00:18:09.45
is sin that he's
not admitting to.
00:18:09.48\00:18:12.75
He lashes out at his accusers:
00:18:12.79\00:18:14.52
"No doubt you are
the people," he says,
00:18:14.56\00:18:16.52
"and wisdom will die with you!"
00:18:16.56\00:18:18.63
He calls them
"worthless physicians"
00:18:18.66\00:18:20.66
and "miserable comforters"
who speak "windy words."
00:18:20.70\00:18:24.77
But his friends were relentless.
"This is your fault, Job."
00:18:24.80\00:18:29.24
Job responds by saying, "How
long will you torment my soul,
00:18:29.27\00:18:32.94
and break me in
pieces with words?"
00:18:32.97\00:18:35.94
Now, on our way
to the mountaintop--
00:18:35.98\00:18:37.68
and we're getting there--Job
gives us some magnificent views.
00:18:37.71\00:18:42.38
He says in Job 13:15,
00:18:42.42\00:18:44.52
"Though He slay me,
yet will I trust in Him."
00:18:44.55\00:18:48.82
Powerful!
00:18:48.86\00:18:49.96
"The fear of the
Lord, that is wisdom,
00:18:49.99\00:18:52.29
and to depart from
evil is understanding."
00:18:52.33\00:18:54.56
Job 28:28.
00:18:54.56\00:18:56.16
As you read chapter 19, you can
hear Handel's Messiah playing.
00:18:56.20\00:18:59.23
"I know that my Redeemer liveth,
00:18:59.27\00:19:02.30
"and that He shall stand at
the latter day upon the earth:
00:19:02.34\00:19:05.31
"and though after my
skin worms destroy this body,
00:19:05.34\00:19:08.68
yet in my flesh
I shall see God."
00:19:08.71\00:19:12.65
Job lived in the hope of
the advent of the Messiah.
00:19:12.68\00:19:18.15
People have
commented about the book of Job
00:19:18.19\00:19:19.89
and said it tends
to get repetitive.
00:19:19.92\00:19:22.42
Well, sure.
00:19:22.46\00:19:23.69
Job's descent into misery
starts in the first chapter,
00:19:23.73\00:19:26.93
and for almost 40 chapters
he deals with people telling him
00:19:26.96\00:19:30.67
it's all his own fault. But
that might just be the point.
00:19:30.70\00:19:35.20
Job's so-called friends
wouldn't let go of their idea
00:19:35.24\00:19:38.31
that bad things
happen to bad people,
00:19:38.34\00:19:41.41
none of them aware of the
behind-the-scenes maneuvering
00:19:41.44\00:19:44.15
that was taking place.
00:19:44.18\00:19:45.65
There's another
place we see that.
00:19:45.68\00:19:47.75
After three weeks
of prayer and fasting,
00:19:47.78\00:19:49.68
Daniel is visited by
an angel who says to him,
00:19:49.72\00:19:52.82
"The prince of the
kingdom of Persia withstood me
00:19:52.85\00:19:55.19
"twenty-one days;
and behold, Michael,
00:19:55.22\00:19:58.43
"one of the chief
princes, came to help me,
00:19:58.46\00:20:01.00
for I had been left alone
there with the kings of Persia."
00:20:01.03\00:20:03.80
That's Daniel 10:13.
00:20:03.83\00:20:05.70
What Daniel couldn't
see was that there was
00:20:05.73\00:20:07.50
a spiritual conflict taking
place unseen to the human eye,
00:20:07.54\00:20:11.24
but as real as anything visible.
00:20:11.27\00:20:14.84
But after almost 40 chapters
of back and forth between Job
00:20:14.88\00:20:18.01
and his visitors with absolutely
nothing resolved, God speaks.
00:20:18.05\00:20:23.49
And what He says
settles it all for Job.
00:20:23.52\00:20:27.99
"Then the Lord answered Job
out of the whirlwind, and said:
00:20:28.02\00:20:32.16
'Who is this who darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?'"
00:20:32.19\00:20:36.03
In other words, "You don't
know what you're talking about."
00:20:36.06\00:20:40.94
God says to Job,
00:20:40.97\00:20:42.10
"Now prepare yourself like
a man; I will question you,
00:20:42.14\00:20:45.51
and you shall answer me."
00:20:45.54\00:20:47.14
And then God begins what might
be the most remarkable speech
00:20:47.18\00:20:51.58
of the entire Bible:
00:20:51.61\00:20:53.75
"Where were you when I laid
the foundations of the earth?
00:20:53.78\00:20:57.75
"Tell me, if you
have understanding.
00:20:57.79\00:21:00.09
"Who determined its
measurements? Surely you know!
00:21:00.12\00:21:03.79
"Or who stretched
the line upon it?"
00:21:03.83\00:21:06.43
How do you answer
that? Job couldn't.
00:21:06.46\00:21:09.86
"Or who shut in
the sea with doors,
00:21:09.90\00:21:11.90
"when it burst forth and
issued from the womb? ...
00:21:11.93\00:21:15.00
"When I said, 'This far
you may come, but no farther,
00:21:15.04\00:21:18.41
"and here your
proud waves must stop!'
00:21:18.44\00:21:21.31
"Have you commanded the
morning since your days began,
00:21:21.34\00:21:23.75
"and caused the dawn
to know its place? ...
00:21:23.78\00:21:28.02
"Have you entered
the springs of the sea?
00:21:28.05\00:21:30.65
"Or have you walked
in search of the depths?
00:21:30.69\00:21:33.32
"Have the gates of
death been revealed to you?
00:21:33.36\00:21:35.96
"Or have you seen the
doors of the shadow of death?
00:21:35.99\00:21:38.93
"Have you comprehended
the breadth of the earth?
00:21:38.96\00:21:41.80
Tell me, if you know all this."
00:21:41.83\00:21:45.27
God is helping Job and his
friends understand something,
00:21:45.30\00:21:48.74
something that if we understand
will change everything.
00:21:48.77\00:21:54.08
"Can you lift up
your voice to the clouds,
00:21:54.11\00:21:56.21
"that an abundance
of water may cover you?
00:21:56.24\00:21:58.81
"Can you send out
lightnings, that they may go,
00:21:58.85\00:22:01.22
"and say to you,
'Here we are!'? ...
00:22:01.25\00:22:03.62
"Can you hunt the
prey for the lion,
00:22:03.65\00:22:06.05
or satisfy the
appetite of the young lions?"
00:22:06.09\00:22:09.46
These are statements to
which Job has no response.
00:22:09.49\00:22:12.29
In fact, he says, "I
lay my hand over my mouth,"
00:22:12.33\00:22:16.83
in Job 40 in verse 4.
00:22:16.87\00:22:19.13
For almost 125
verses across four chapters,
00:22:19.17\00:22:24.34
God speaks to Job.
00:22:24.37\00:22:27.01
And finally...Job gets it:
00:22:27.04\00:22:31.75
God is God.
00:22:31.78\00:22:35.42
Here's that high point I said
the book was building towards.
00:22:35.45\00:22:38.02
It's Job 42, Job speaking:
00:22:38.05\00:22:41.09
"I know that You
can do everything,
00:22:41.12\00:22:42.92
"and that no purpose of
Yours can be withheld from You.
00:22:42.96\00:22:46.73
"You asked, 'Who is
this who hides counsel
00:22:46.76\00:22:49.66
"without knowledge?'
Therefore I have uttered
00:22:49.70\00:22:52.27
"what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me,
00:22:52.30\00:22:56.44
which I did not know."
00:22:56.47\00:22:58.07
Now, don't miss this. Job says,
00:22:58.11\00:23:01.31
"I have heard of You
by the hearing of the ear,
00:23:01.34\00:23:05.01
but now my eye sees You."
00:23:05.05\00:23:09.72
That statement, it'll make sense
of everything, if you let it.
00:23:09.75\00:23:14.49
"I've heard of You by
the hearing of the ear,
00:23:14.52\00:23:16.59
but now my eye sees You."
00:23:16.62\00:23:18.13
I'd heard about
You, but now I know You.
00:23:18.16\00:23:23.03
What changed everything for Job
was a simple potent realization.
00:23:23.06\00:23:29.20
God is God. There are
things that we don't know.
00:23:29.24\00:23:34.14
Job admitted to that.
00:23:34.18\00:23:35.61
But he came to a
realization: God is God.
00:23:35.64\00:23:38.81
We don't always understand, but
we can trust. You may suffer,
00:23:38.85\00:23:44.05
but there's no reason to
think God has abandoned you
00:23:44.09\00:23:47.92
or that God doesn't
exist or that God is unfair.
00:23:47.96\00:23:52.19
Nothing could be
further from the truth.
00:23:52.23\00:23:55.13
This is a sinful
world we live in.
00:23:55.16\00:23:56.93
And with the
devil on the attack,
00:23:56.97\00:23:59.33
people go
through stuff--everyone.
00:23:59.37\00:24:02.50
Death comes to all. Grief
and loss affect everybody.
00:24:02.54\00:24:08.41
But what doesn't
change is that God is God.
00:24:08.44\00:24:12.51
He's not the
architect of pain and misery.
00:24:12.55\00:24:15.55
He's the One whose
mercies are "new every morning,"
00:24:15.58\00:24:18.19
according to the
book of Lamentations.
00:24:18.22\00:24:20.42
Yes, of course, it's
human to wonder why God allowed
00:24:20.46\00:24:22.82
some, some, some desperately
difficult experience.
00:24:22.86\00:24:26.73
God hurts when you
hurt. He feels your pain.
00:24:26.76\00:24:30.30
He bears our griefs
and carries our sorrows.
00:24:30.33\00:24:33.70
Can you trust Him even
when things aren't good?
00:24:33.74\00:24:37.57
That's the question.
00:24:37.61\00:24:38.94
The book of Job
says, yes, you can.
00:24:38.97\00:24:42.11
And what became of Job?
00:24:43.45\00:24:45.75
"The Lord blessed
the latter days of Job
00:24:45.78\00:24:47.92
"more than his beginning; for
he had fourteen thousand sheep,
00:24:47.95\00:24:52.45
"six thousand camels,
one thousand yoke of oxen,
00:24:52.49\00:24:56.52
"and one
thousand female donkeys.
00:24:56.56\00:24:59.46
He also had seven
sons and three daughters."
00:24:59.49\00:25:03.40
¤[soft piano music]¤
00:25:03.43\00:25:04.60
Does that mean that if you
go through hardship and loss,
00:25:04.63\00:25:06.87
you'll get it all back?
00:25:06.90\00:25:09.00
It does.
00:25:09.04\00:25:10.37
If not in this world, then
definitely in the world to come.
00:25:10.41\00:25:16.48
Life is
challenging. Things go awry.
00:25:16.51\00:25:20.25
But you can choose to trust God.
00:25:20.28\00:25:24.35
Are you in a situation
now, some, some difficult place
00:25:24.39\00:25:27.82
that doesn't make sense to you?
00:25:27.86\00:25:29.82
If not, you can
remember when you were.
00:25:29.86\00:25:33.16
Well, where was God?
00:25:33.19\00:25:35.63
He was with you, right there,
upholding you, sustaining you,
00:25:35.66\00:25:40.74
and clearly, God
doesn't allow a person to endure
00:25:40.77\00:25:44.91
more than they can bear.
00:25:44.94\00:25:46.98
He took a risk, didn't He,
allowing Job to be taken so low.
00:25:47.01\00:25:50.98
But He was confident Job
would maintain his faith,
00:25:51.01\00:25:54.02
even if he didn't
have all the answers.
00:25:54.05\00:25:56.45
The only one with
the answers is God,
00:25:56.48\00:26:00.19
and if you choose to trust
Him, He'll see you through.
00:26:00.22\00:26:03.76
¤[music ends]¤¤
00:26:03.79\00:26:04.79
>>John: Thank you for
remembering that It Is Written
00:26:05.23\00:26:07.03
exists because of the kindness
of people just like you.
00:26:07.10\00:26:10.47
To support this international
life-changing ministry,
00:26:10.50\00:26:13.70
please call us
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00:26:13.74\00:26:17.91
You can send your
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00:26:17.94\00:26:19.44
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00:26:19.47\00:26:20.91
or you can visit us
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00:26:20.94\00:26:24.75
Thank you for your prayers
and for your financial support.
00:26:24.78\00:26:27.58
Our number
again is 800-253-3000,
00:26:27.62\00:26:31.65
or you can visit us
online at itiswritten.com.
00:26:31.69\00:26:34.69
>>John: Let me pray for
you now. Let's pray together.
00:26:35.69\00:26:37.49
¤[soft music]¤
00:26:37.53\00:26:38.36
Our Father in
heaven, what a story.
00:26:38.39\00:26:40.56
Thank You for showing
us what the story reveals
00:26:40.60\00:26:43.37
about a loving God.
00:26:43.40\00:26:45.00
Thank You for
helping us to understand that
00:26:45.03\00:26:46.70
behind the scenes,
away from our view,
00:26:46.74\00:26:50.14
there rages a spiritual battle,
00:26:50.17\00:26:52.57
where an ugly, malicious
enemy seeks to distract us,
00:26:52.61\00:26:56.78
to discourage us, to lead
us out of the pathway of faith.
00:26:56.81\00:27:00.88
And, Lord, You
know it's a challenge.
00:27:00.92\00:27:03.05
When life
presents its difficulties,
00:27:03.08\00:27:05.52
we find it so hard
sometimes to bear the weight.
00:27:05.55\00:27:10.03
This is where we need You, Lord.
00:27:10.06\00:27:11.36
We need faith, and
we need Your Presence.
00:27:11.39\00:27:14.60
We need a firm grip on Jesus,
00:27:14.63\00:27:17.30
and we need Your
Spirit upholding us.
00:27:17.33\00:27:19.90
Friend, can you choose to
trust the God of heaven today?
00:27:19.93\00:27:23.41
Can you say now,
"Lord God, I will trust You.
00:27:23.44\00:27:26.61
I yield to You. I
believe that You are"?
00:27:26.64\00:27:29.34
Lord, that's our
prayer today: You are.
00:27:29.38\00:27:31.35
We know. We believe.
00:27:31.38\00:27:33.85
Lord, take us
and never let us go,
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and give us Your grace so
that we would never let You go.
00:27:35.82\00:27:39.35
We thank You, and
we pray in Jesus' name,
00:27:39.39\00:27:43.59
amen.
00:27:43.63\00:27:45.13
Thanks so much for joining me.
00:27:45.16\00:27:46.29
I'm looking forward to
seeing you again next time.
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Until then, remember:
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"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
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but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:27:54.37\00:27:58.54
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