Come and Meet the Promise Maker

Title: "Come And Meet The Promise Maker... | Pastor Brian Doell (Sunday Service)" URL: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6pbY-yUkwM" Transcript: "(00:02) Well, good morning, West Valley. >> Good morning. >> I hope you're having a good day, good week. Thank you for letting me be so involved in the last couple of months here. It's really been a blast for me to be here. Certainly an honor to be able to dig into this series with you all. I really hope that this series has helped us to see some really eternal truths about God's character, that God's character is unchanging, and that it's enduringly trustworthy. (00:31) And because we can trust everything he tells us, that means that the promises that he makes us are real and they're eternal and they all point to a God that no matter what else is happening in life or in the world around us, is always on the throne. And that's something worth celebrating. That's something worth worshipping him for. (00:54) Psalm 145:13 says exactly this. It says, "For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps his promises. He is gracious in all he does." And by that, we mean that there is nothing that's outside the scope of his authority and his reach. There is no person, there's no group, there's no idea, there's no situation, there's no circumstance that's greater than God, nor will any of that ever be greater than God. (01:30) Not even itself can bind God. And knowing that's true, knowing the character of the God we serve, means we then have a foundation for whole different, a whole new kind of life. Not just a different destination once this life is over, but a God who cares and wants to be involved in the details at every step of the life that we're in the middle of now. (01:56) And so, as we wrap this series up, I want to tell you a story this morning that I think illustrates God's character in a really incredible way. And it's the story of a man named Job. Maybe you've heard of this story before. It's found in the Old Testament in the book of Job. It's actually one of the oldest books of the Bible, even though it's roughly in the middle of the sequence of the Old Testament, and it's a really well-known book, even influential outside the church. (02:26) And if you haven't read it, no doubt you've heard it referenced before. Because Job and his story have become an almost universal symbol of tragedy and suffering. There's a lot that people read this story and resonate with, and the name Job and elements of life or his life have really seeped into popular culture. (02:51) And no doubt you've heard phrases like this person has the patience of Job or something similar. Job has really made his way into culture. It's made his way into countless other stories and examples over the years. And when we start the story of the book of Job, the story starts by introducing who Job is. (03:10) And I'm going to as I tell the story, I'm going to reference a lot of scripture here. I'm going to read it verbatim, but you won't see it on the screen. So, just hear the story. There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless, a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. Well, that's quite a thing to have said of you, that you're a person of complete integrity and that you're blameless. (03:37) I think I maybe once had a Tuesday morning where maybe I was a little bit better than usual. By blameless, I don't know about that. And then we learn a little bit more about Job and his life. It says he had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. (04:01) He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area. So, he's undoubtedly a well-known guy, right? Because other people would take note of things that the richest guy in the area does and says. But, it seems like unlike many people of influence, he's not about advancing his own name. On the contrary, he's a real follower of God. (04:28) And it goes on to say that his righteousness extended beyond himself, and that his faith impacted his family as well. In fact, we read that a regular practice of of Job's was to get on his knees and offer burnt offerings on behalf of his kids. Because Job says to himself, "Well, maybe my kids have sinned in some way. (04:48) Maybe they've strayed from God. Maybe they're not honoring God in their hearts." And so, he intercedes for them before God. He doesn't just want to honor God himself. He wants his whole family and everything he's about to point to God. This is how he lives his life. Excuse me. [clears throat] And so, everything's going along pretty smoothly this way. (05:11) And then, as all great stories, there's a twist. A fascinating thing happens. We read that one day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before God, and the accuser, Satan, came with them. And God asks him, as though he didn't know, "Where did you come from?" And Satan answered God, "I've been patrolling the earth, watching everything that's going on. (05:43) Just an innocent bystander, really. I'm just watching. I'm not really up to anything in particular. And then God does something pretty interesting. He draws Satan's attention to Job specifically. And listen to how he describes him. The Lord asked Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. (06:03) He is blameless, a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil." Verbatim, that's what the writer or the documenter of the story said. This is from God's mouth. Now, you know right away that this is not just business as usual. Job is not your everyday guy. When God himself says that you're blameless and a man of complete integrity, you know you've got a special case on your hands. (06:31) And this is how Satan responds to God. "Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. Because you've always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You've made him pro- prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is. But reach out and take away everything he has and he will surely curse you to your face. (06:57) " So, you get a glimpse into how Satan's thinking here because there's no room in his mind for anything pure or good. He can't understand the motives of somebody like Job. He's convinced that it's all just a product of success. And don't you know that, God? I mean, you gave him a lot so he loves you. But you take it away and you're going to see last. (07:21) And God, knowing a lot more than Satan does, says, "Okay. I'll call your bluff." And we read that Satan says or that the Lord says to Satan, "All right. You may test him. Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don't harm him physically. So, Satan leaves the Lord's presence, no doubt thinking that he's really accomplished something here. (07:50) Ha, I'm going to show him, right? Never mind that he had to get God's permission to do it in the first place. And that God gave him a restriction on what he could It's really the classic mark of self-delusion. I'm winning, right? No, you're not. But, he goes off and he schemes a little scheme, and I will give him an A for effort because what he puts together is a Hall of Fame kind of bad day for Job. (08:17) Over the course of one single day, Job gets four messages. All more or less at once. First, he hears that a neighboring group of people steal all of his oxen and donkeys and killed all the farmhands that were working with them. And the messenger turns out to be the only person who managed to escape. And while that messenger's there telling him this bad news, another messenger shows up. (08:42) Well, you're not going to believe this, boss, but fire from heaven came down and burned up all your sheep and all your shepherds. And I'm the only one who escaped. And while Job's hearing this crazy story, another messenger shows up. Uh Job, three groups of raiders just showed up and stole every last one of your camels and killed all of your servants. (09:06) And I'm the only one that got away. And then, as if all of that is not horrible enough, the worst news of all shows up. Somebody comes and says, "I I hate to tell you this, Job, but you know how all of your kids were together having a meal in your oldest boy's house? Well, this incredible wind just came out of nowhere and destroyed the house, and it killed everybody in it. (09:35) " Now, hearing a story like this is one thing. Many of us in this room have undoubtedly experienced some truly difficult things in life. So, we might have an inkling of what parts of this might feel like. But, this kind of a story really borders on the unimaginable, doesn't it? I mean, in the space of probably less than an hour, Job hears that his whole estate, his thousands of animals, every last source of income he had, everything he had spent years building up, every last person he employed besides the four messengers, (10:09) all gone in the blink of an eye, and all of his children, whom he loved and prayed for daily, are gone. Now, there are probably many different ways I could imagine myself reacting to this. But, the way Job responds is probably not one of them. Cuz here's how Job responds. It says, "Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head, and then he fell to the ground and worshiped and said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. (10:44) The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.' And in all of this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. >> [snorts] >> That's kind of a wow statement. And in case we were tempted to think that maybe the description of Job at the beginning was maybe a little bit hyperbole, we see this really is a man who follows God just a little bit differently than most of us. (11:13) And then we see this become even more evident because Satan sees how Job responds, and he decides that maybe he just didn't make his day a bad enough. So, he goes back to God once again, and once again God points out to Satan that Job is still the finest man around, and we read to him or we read that he says to him, "And he has maintained his integrity even though you wanted him harmed without cause. (11:37) " And Satan answers him, "Skin for skin. A man will give up everything he has to save his life, but you reach out and take away his health, and he will surely curse you to his face or to your face." So, once again, God says, "Okay, you can do it, but spare his life." And so, once again, Satan strikes, and this time he gives Job a terrible skin disease from head to foot. (12:08) It's a really grim, really painful scenario. It's got to be awful to deal with, and it's also visible and obvious to other people. So, it's probably the kind of thing that's not necessarily the kind of thing that other people really want to be near. So, after a lifetime of living a blessed life, and one that, by the way, we read later in the book is not just one where he basked in the satisfaction of everything that he had, and looked out only for himself and his family. (12:37) And we read that he was devoted to the poor, and the homeless, and seeking justice for the oppressed, and housing orphans and widows. And he went from all of that to pure misery in a heartbeat. Now, one person he didn't lose was his wife. Satan doesn't take her, but like most of us who aren't Job, she really doesn't get his response to what's happening. (13:06) She sees how he reacts, and she says to him, "Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die." But Job replied, "You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad?" In all this, Job said nothing wrong. Now, sometimes we hear this story and we hear his wife presented as a bit of a villain, like what a terrible lady this must be. (13:37) Come on, curse God and die. Can't you be a little bit more like Job? But the reality is that Job was a unique person, just like somebody like him would be unique now. I think Job's wife is kind of the normal one. She's pretty representative of how us normal people might react. I mean, she just lost everything as well, right? She lost her children. (14:00) Now, she's watching her husband deal with a horrible sickness on top of everything. She doesn't know what to do, she doesn't know what to say, and she makes the mistake that many of us make, which is to conclude that when things go sour, maybe God is not who we thought he was. And as we're going to find out, Job has a lot to learn about God, but he still understood this right from the beginning. (14:24) God does not owe us anything. And as he tries to reckon with everything that's just happened, he starts with this idea. Now, the story moves on and then it introduces three characters to the story. Three friends of Job's show up. They've heard about what happened and they travel from wherever they've been to try to comfort him. (14:48) Three guys named Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. And the text says that when they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief. Then they sat on the ground with him for 7 days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words. (15:14) Now, just like Job's wife, these guys get ridiculed a bit when we tell the story because we're going to see in a little bit that there's a lot that they don't understand. In fact, they make a pretty profound theological mistake and because of that they end up giving Job some terrible advice. And it's advice that God himself reprimands them for. (15:38) But I actually kind of have a little bit of a soft spot for these guys. They didn't lose everything. But they gave up everything in their own lives to travel to come be with Job. To sit with him for 7 days and nights. Just to be with him. They knew they couldn't make it better, so they just sat with him. Let's just sit here and share in your misery. (16:05) You could kind of imagine that there's probably a lot of sighing. Maybe a lot of kicking rocks. Like wish I could help, Job. But at the very least, despite their shortcomings, it's a picture of how three good friends showed up. They cared about him. They showed it. But after 7 days, the silence is over. And the friends try to do something about it. (16:39) And it's at this point that a remarkable thing happens in the book. So, the book of Job is 42 chapters long. And the part of the story that we've just heard just takes the first two chapters. Well, for the next 36 chapters, and some of these are pretty long chapters, Job and his friends have one of the most intense conversations ever recorded. (17:00) For 36 chapters. There's no action. There's no movement in the plot. Just an epic dialogue. Really an argument between a distraught guy and his distraught friends. And it starts with Job finally cracking a bit. And he curses the day of his birth. And he wishes he had never been born. And so his buddy Eliphaz then speaks up and says some interesting things. (17:26) He says, "Hey, in the past you have encouraged many people. You strengthened those who were weak. Your words have supported those who were failing. You encouraged those with shaky knees, but now when trouble strikes you lose heart. You're terrified when it touches you. Doesn't your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn't your life of integrity give you hope?" Now, this kind of seems like some good advice to start with, right? It's kind of positive. (17:55) It's pretty good so far. He reminds Job that he's been the voice of encouragement in the past and now that he seems to be losing heart, God, you you got to remember who God is. Let that give you confidence. But then he takes kind of a hard turn and says the following, "Stop and think. Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed? My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same. (18:28) " And it's here that he makes his big mistake. And his other friends end up joining him in making the same one. "You must have done something wrong." he says. "Or you would not be experiencing what you're experiencing. I mean, after all, do the innocent just die? When have the upright ever just been destroyed?" Now, he asks those as rhetorical questions like it's a given that they're true. (18:59) The reality, Eliphaz, is those things happen all the time. Eliphaz is confusing his limited experience with a picture of who God is. Now, those things happen all the time. Maybe not always as awful and obvious as what happened to Job, but Eliphaz is operating with what I call the vending machine perspective of God. And we still struggle with this all the time. (19:24) If I put something good in, I want to get something good out. I put my dollar in, I want my drink. God, I obeyed, now I want something good back. I obeyed, now you hold up your end of the bargain. The agreement is only good things back for anything good I do. And it's a pretty neat and clean way to look at things because I know then that when something goes wrong, I brought it on myself. (19:57) It's really easy to understand life this way. Ultimately, it's not a very accurate understanding of who God is. And Eliphaz and his friends end up hanging their hats pretty completely on this idea that anything bad that happens must be God disciplining you, and terrible things only happen because you sinned. Job, you must have sinned. (20:23) And over the next 36 chapters, they hammer this point home. They repeatedly chime in with the same idea. And Job tries to answer them with a bunch of different times and in a bunch of different ways, and at one point he says, "Stop assuming my guilt. I have done no wrong. Do you think I'm lying? Don't I know the difference between right and wrong?" And then, is not all human life a struggle? And they're not convinced. (20:53) They lose patience with Job. Job, you just don't get it. Job, you you're believing your own press here. You say you haven't sinned, but you must have. That's the only reason this could be happening. And Job keeps trying to reason with them, "God's operating on a different level than we are, guys. And he keeps coming back to this idea that God is greater than we are. (21:14) And this concept of human fairness in how life turns out, that's not really a God concept. In fact, he says of God, you guided my conception and you formed me in the womb. You clothed me with skin and flesh. And you knit my bones and sinews together. You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love. My life was preserved by your care. (21:37) I understand, God, that as much as I'm struggling right now, you showed me goodness I didn't deserve. So, it doesn't seem like you operate the way my friends are telling me that you do. And then Zophar jumps in, not content to let Eliphaz have all the fun here, and doubles down on the idea. And he's not very kind about it. (22:02) Cuz he says to Job, "Should I remain silent while you babble on?" "You claim my beliefs are pure and I'm clean in the sight of God. If only God would speak. If only he would tell you what he thinks. Listen, God is doubtless doubtless punishing you far less than you deserve." "Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the almighty? Such knowledge is higher than the heavens and who are you?" So, again, anything bad is you getting what you deserve. (22:35) And it's interesting in verses like this, he admits that there's a mystery to God. And he admits that such knowledge is higher than the heavens and who can know it. But then he presumes to speak for God. And to let Job know what God really thinks. Such a human conversation. I don't actually know anything, but let me tell you how much I know. (22:56) And it keeps going back and forth like this, page after page after page. Job losing his patience with them. He says at one point, you people really know everything, don't you? And then he says, well, I know a few things myself and you're no better than I am. And in the middle of this, he says a few words that have become one of the most famous passages from the book of Job. (23:18) Simple sentence. Though he slays me, yet I will hope in him. Even though he might kill me, my hope is in him. Even though he might take my actual life, my hope in him is not going to waver. He's wrestling with all why all of this is happening. He's trying to refute his friends. He's trying to understand his God. (23:43) And he makes this incredible claim. I might not understand everything and the worst might still happen, but I will still hope in him. And even though his friends remain unconvinced and keep telling him he has no clue, and then they make it personal and probably lose a little bit of the goodwill that they built up with that seven days and seven nights hanging out with them. (24:03) Job sticks with it. And he makes another statement that has become famous. But as for me, I know that my redeemer lives. And he will stand upon the earth at last. And then he makes a pretty clear argument that the way that they're thinking about this is wrong. We read that he asks them, why do the wicked prosper, growing old and powerful? They spend their days in prosperity, then go down to the grave in peace. And yet they say to God, go away. (24:37) We want no part of you and your ways. They think their prosperity is of their own doing, but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking. One person dies in prosperity, completely comfortable and secure, the picture of good health, vigorous and fit. Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life, but both are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same maggots. (25:03) Pretty picture. And then, a guy named Elihu jumps in. Not one of the original three. We don't really know much about him. He wasn't mentioned as part of the group that sat with Job at the beginning. But somewhere along the line, he joined the chat. And he's mad at Job because he also thinks that Job doesn't understand. (25:25) He's also mad at the other three because he thinks they're not doing a very good job of convincing Job. And so, he gives them all a piece of his mind, and he ends up by telling Job that, "Quote, you deserve the maximum penalty for the wicked way you've talked." The wicked way you've talked. Pretty harsh words. (25:49) And then, 38 verses into this whole story, on the heels of that statement, God shows up and speaks. And he addresses Job, and he says, "Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man because I have some questions for you. And you must answer them. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? And then, just in case you ever wondered where sarcasm comes from, >> [snorts] >> comes from here. (26:33) He says to Job, "Tell me if you know so much. But of course, you know all this, for you were born before it was and you are so very experienced." And then, for a couple of chapters, he outlines for Job how powerful he is. And since he created it all, he has the right to do with it all as he sees fit. And then we read that after all of this, the Lord said to Job, "Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?" Now, put yourself in that spot for a second. I'm not sure how you would (27:19) answer that. I have no idea how I would. But I think Job's answer is just about right. Says, "Then Job replied to the Lord, I am nothing. How could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I've got nothing more to say." And then God reiterates the points he just made very poetically, very powerfully about how powerful he, God, is just so it can really sink in. (27:52) And he again asks for Job to answer him. And Job responds and gives one of the all-time greatest responses, I think, in the history of a person being officially humbled I've ever heard. Then Job replied to the Lord, "I know that you can do anything and no one can stop you. You asked, 'Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?' It is I. (28:18) And I was talking about things I knew nothing about. Things far too wonderful for me. I had only heard about you before. Now, I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said. And I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance." I like how Eugene Peterson paraphrases this particular passage in the message. (28:46) Says, "You asked, 'Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?' I admit it, I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, about wonders way over my head. I'm sorry, forgive me. I'll never do that again. I promise." And then after all this has happened, God addresses Eliphaz and in one sentence refutes every bit of bad theology that Eliphaz and his buddies insisted was true. (29:18) He says to them, "I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me as my servant Job has. I will not treat you as you deserve. For you have not spoken accurately about me, but my servant Job has." And he tells Eliphaz and his friends, "Go make a burnt offering. (29:39) " And then he asks Job to pray for them, and they do that, and the Lord accepts Job's prayer, and he forgives them all. And then after he prays, God restores Job. And not just a little bit, but completely. He heals them. He gives them everything he had before and more. In fact, twice as much. And he restores his family. He gives him seven more sons and three more daughters. (30:10) And we read at the end of the book that Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life. I'll say. That's a pretty amazing story. And we could spend a lot of time analyzing it and discussing it and pulling out different themes from it, and that's all worth doing. (30:36) But let's just highlight a couple of things from this this book that really underscore the character of God because often we read the story and we focus on Job and Job's faith and Job's endurance. And we kind of forget that in this amazing, powerful, tragic story, we see some really powerful truths about the nature and the character of God. (31:01) And understanding those things about his nature are really critical to understanding how the promises of God work. And start with this and it's the thing that Job maintained right from the beginning and argued with his friends about and it might seem like an obvious thing and that is that God does not always behave the way we think God should act. (31:23) God's ways are by nature taking into account of you of the world that we do not have. It's beyond human understanding. And as God, he does not owe us any different. And in particular, we often confuse God's justice with this somewhat situational human concept of human fairness. And when we do that, we often make the mistake of reading God's promises at promises that should turn out the way we want them to. (32:00) Or at least should never offend our sense of fairness. And this story illustrates this so well. Job's friends are the perfect example of how we as humans approach ideas like this. By contrast, when Job refuses to buy into their thought process and he defends his innocence, rather than not being self-aware or being arrogant, he's actually drawing a far more complete and accurate picture of who God is than his friends are because what he's doing is exposing the fallacy that God's goodness depends on or And that any troubles we encounter must (32:41) be tied to us sinning. Now, that is not to say that there aren't sometimes real and tangible consequences to disobeying God and making terrible decisions, acting badly in general. But to truly understand the greatness of God, we need to understand that our concept of fairness, of having everything readily explained, our really a pathological need to have everything readily explained, is not how God works. (33:14) If everything that God did was easily understandable to us, and if we could always clearly draw a line from this action to that result, God would, and I really mean this literally, not be God. He would be like us. Even Elihu, when he shows up in the story, he starts off by trying to convince Job that he's wrong, and he ends up by just admitting that God is too amazing for him to understand. (33:45) And as obvious as that might seem, it's a critical truth to understand. Let's go back to what Job says at the end of this just horrible ordeal. This is Job 42: 2 and 3. I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, "Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance? It is I, and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. (34:16) You know what that is? That's the fear of the Lord. Now, in case you're not familiar with that phrase, or it seems a little bit archaic, or you wonder what it means, it doesn't mean we have to cower in fear from a vengeful God. It means we have an understanding of who we are in relation to God. You are God. I am not. (34:40) Please do your thing. And thank you for letting me be a part of it. And Psalm 111 verse 10 says, "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom." All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever. >> [snorts] >> Now, there's a second part to this truth, and that is that we don't always know why he does what he does, but we do have the promise that shows us that no matter what he's doing, he is always God, his plans can't be thwarted, and his character stays the same. (35:18) Always has and always will. So, even though we don't know why he's doing what he's doing, we know what his motivations are. Colossians 1:15-17 says, "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation. For through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. (35:44) He made the things we can see and the things we can't see, such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together." Now, I read you that to show you that this God is timeless. And that any power and authority is subject to him. (36:06) And go back to Psalm 145:13. We started the morning off with it. For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps his promises. He is gracious in all he does. So, as great as he is, and as inscrutable as what he sometimes does is and as much as we don't always understand it, what is it that underscores everything that he does? The grace of God. (36:42) That's a game-changing promise. And in case it seems unlikely to you that this kind of all-powerful God would actually care about and be gracious to that extent to each one of us, listen to what the psalmist says in Psalm 118. This is 118:6-9. The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me, he will help me. (37:16) I will look in triumph at those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. This sovereign God, this God whose plan can never be altered by any earthly thing or by any force, even Satan himself, is always acting graciously and is always for me. He was for Job. (37:47) He is for you. He is for me. That's some awesome news. God is greater than anything that I might think is greater than this world, and that God is actually in my corner. And as troubling as the story of Job is, it's ultimately the story of that loving and gracious God. Now, to make that a little a little more personal to us, everything that happens to us in life, God wants to then use in his grace, whether we think it's good or not, he wants to use it ultimately for his purposes. (38:21) And his purposes are always good. In his grace, he invites us to share in that goodness. If you were here last week, we looked at James 1:2-4. And it says, "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So, let it grow. (38:46) For when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." Bad things happen, God says. Job said, we know, we agree with. Bad things happen. Let's make something good from it, God says. In my grace and goodness, let's use it to develop you into the person that you can be. Look at how Job's story plays out. (39:18) He starts off being described as a man of uncommon integrity, someone who was truly following God, and then something remarkable happens even with him. His faith is tested. His endurance then had a chance to grow, even from where it was. When all was said and done, his faith was stronger than it had been before. (39:38) His understanding of God was deeper than it had ever been. And though our reaction as people is generally to bemoan our situation, if we look at Job's story, even the best of us have a hard time with that. Job certainly did. God worked through his life anyway. In fact, later in the book of James, James refers to Job. James 5:10. He says, "For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. (40:07) You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy." No matter what else is happening, what drives this God whose character never changes? It's tenderness, His mercy, His love and grace. 1 Peter 5:10, "In His kindness, God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. (40:29) So, after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you and He will place you on a firm foundation. All power to Him forever. Amen." And 2 Corinthians 12:9 backs this up, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So, now I'm glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. (40:53) God's character never changes with our circumstances. Goodness and grace and love drive everything He does. And because that's true, He wants to use everything in life to draw us closer to Him. Now, I'm going to wrap up 10 second here and there's one thing I want to highlight as we wrap up that I think is also a powerful promise. (41:18) And that's actually found in the format of the story that we just read. Because the vast majority of the story we just read is a conversation. First between Job and His friends and then between God and Job. Think about that for a second. We're going to pray here in a minute and think about that as we pray. The vast majority of this story was a conversation. (41:52) This God who created everything that every physical and spiritual force is subject to had a conversation with Job. He didn't have to. But this is the kind of God He is. And even though He might not speak to us the same way. His character hasn't changed. Some weeks ago we read a passage from Hebrews 4 4:16. (42:22) It says, "So, let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Let us come boldly to the throne." What does God do with Job in the story? Welcomes him coming boldly to him. He was wrong in some of the things he was saying. His friends were wrong. (42:46) He welcomed them anyway. He corrected them. He welcomed the conversation anyway. There were things to forgive. He invited the conversation anyway. Notice that he doesn't rebuke them at any point for reaching out to God. He has the conversation. He welcomes the conversation. He will be found. Jeremiah 29:12-14. In those days when you pray, I will listen. (43:13) If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you, says the Lord. This is a God who loves you. This is a God whose grace and mercy underscores everything He does. This is a God who can change every situation and every circumstance in your life into something even better. This is a God who invites you to come before Him. (43:39) No matter what the situation is, no matter what the circumstances, no matter whether you've been good, no matter whether you've been bad. This is who God is.