I'm seeking to continue to guide you and to be guided by the idea of ordering our lives. How vital it is that we do that, that we bring our lives under the watchful care of God's Word, which is what we looked at earlier in the summer, but that we also respond to God's Word in prayer. that God's Word becomes something that not only we think about, but that it becomes a means by which we are constantly made aware of who He is throughout the course of any given day. Over the course of a number of weeks, months, and years, our lives will start to take shape accordingly. Our series is called Daring to Draw Near. I have a book in my library by that title by John White, Psychiatrist, I think he's passed away now, but he's wrote about 25 books on the Christian life. He was practicing medicine in Canada. A few more of our studies to consider before we move on to the next series for the rest of the fall. And here we're gonna consider a close encounter with God as we have been seeking to observe them. And I wanna notice just the verse that we're gonna read in a minute. from Job 42. Job 42 verse 5 says, I knew of you then only by report, but now I see you with my own eyes. That's the way one version will translate that verse. In our version, in the ESV, it says, I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear. Job had heard of the Lord. He had heard a report of him in some fashion, And it was enough to convert him, it was enough to set him on the course that he was on that we will see in a minute. But he believed in the Lord, he set his heart to obey and order his life accordingly, but he had never actually met God in a personal way. That is until this portion of scripture that we're gonna consider today. Let me read our verses, they're in your bulletin. beginning in verse one, Job 38 verse one. Then the Lord said to Job out of the whirlwind and said, who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man, I will question you and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. Who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk? And who laid its cornerstone? When the morning stars sang together, all the sons of God shouted for joy." And then chapter 40. The Lord said to Job, shall a fault finder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it. And then Job answered the Lord and said, behold, I am a small account, and what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have once spoken, and I will answer twice, but I will proceed no further. The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, dressed for action like a man, I will question you, and you make it known to me. Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me? that you may be in the right? Have you an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like his? And then in the last chapter of the book of Job, beginning in verse one, then Job answered the Lord and said, I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore, I have uttered what I Very, very famous encounter with God. And what does it mean to have an encounter with God? You know, when you think about having an encounter with God, you know, movies have depicted an encounter with God. If you ever watched a Hallmark movie, they have kind of a Christian sentiment to it, you know, where, you know, in the end, you know, everything kind of resolves itself and there's tears and hugging and you come away, at least you're impressed with the idea that that must be what it means to, encounter God and even more explicitly is in the TV series, Touched by an Angel. You see this, what does it mean to be touched by some angelic intermediary and at the end of the show everyone, I see and I'm sorry and all that sort of thing. That must be what it means to be touched. Well, when Jacob was touched by God, we looked at him, God broke his hip. When Moses encountered God, he came within a hair's breadth of being killed. He said, show me your glory and said, I'm not doing that. No one can see my face and live. I'll let you see this other portion of me, maybe reflected in the crag of the rock. But that's all I'll let you because to see any more, it will consume you. But it did change his face forever. And we consider this particular passage, Job is going to meet God face to face in the whirlwind. And Job is going to be made to keep his voice, to keep his mouth. He is going to be made to be put in his place. A real encounter with God is disruptive, and at times it hurts. But a real encounter with God also heals, as we're going to consider that today. What I'm going to do, just in terms of our study, you have an outline in front of you. I'm not going to get to it just yet. But I'm going to give you kind of an overview of the book of Job, and at the end of the overview, we'll look at these three points dealing with prayer and draw out some lessons for us all. So let me begin by just doing an overview of the book of Job. Job, of course, is 42 chapters. In the first chapter, it starts with God somehow summoning the angelic court, and the devil also tags along in this in this meeting with God and the angels, and God calls out to the devil and says, if you consider my servant Job, and we consider Job there, and Job is first described there as a man who feared God and shunned evil, a man who is upright, full of integrity, devout, and he's a man who is extremely wealthy. And as a test, God permits the devil to attack Job, and he ends up attacking Job twice. The devil first probably suggests a few things, and God says, no, not that, but you can do this. A second time, he comes to the Lord, and the devil also suggests maybe something. Let me try that. He goes, no, not that, but you can do this. So let's look at this just briefly. Satan, of course, comes to Job in chapter 1, and this is how it plays out. A first messenger comes up and says to Job, I was keeping all your cattle, and plunderers came in and took literally everything and killed all your servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you. And a moment later, Another servant walks up and says, I was with your sheep and lightning came out of the sky and destroyed literally every single one of your sheep and all the servants. But I alone escaped to tell you. And then a third servant came up shortly after that and said the same thing about the camels of Job. And this, of course, means that Job is now economically wiped out. He has gone through an economic catastrophe. Whereas he was perhaps the wealthiest man in that entire region, now he is reduced to absolute poverty. But to make matters worse, a third messenger comes in and says, I was in the home of your children. And they were celebrating there, and a wind came and knocked the house over. And all of them were killed and all the servants and I alone have escaped to tell you these things. And then, of course, you remember the very famous statement, where Job says, naked I came into the world and naked I shall return. The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. One of the most famous of all statements ever, ever spoken by anyone. And as we have had occasion periodically to have suffered a loss. Those verses are very, very comforting as they were spoken and meant by Job. And Job is in effect saying that I came into the world with nothing. Literally everything that I've ever have had has been on loan. And that's just by way of a segue, that's just a very good and helpful reminder. Everything that we have is on loan. You know, our marriages are on loan, our families are on loan, our children are on loan, our health is on loan. The prospect of a future that we are mapping out for ourselves is on loan. Nothing is absolutely guaranteed in this earthly life, and we have to take it as the way that God wants us all to live our lives. That was the first strike Satan against resumes, and he in this second attack on Job. He does two things. He attacks Job's health. And of course you remember the description of Job's health. He was given sores all over his body and so from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. So he couldn't stand without standing on something that was sore. He couldn't sit without sitting on something that was sore. He couldn't lie down or be on one side or the other, his back or his front. He couldn't scratch anywhere on his body without feeling he's touching something, and of course it's a very, very disturbing thing. He was practically unrecognizable. But a second thing he did in this second day was, and perhaps it was of the devil that this happened, certainly it was of the Lord that it happened, that Job received four counselors. One was his wife, And the other three were his three alleged friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. And each of these counselors were saying something different. Well, Job's wife was saying one thing, and the three counselors were saying a different thing. Job's wife, on the one hand, her counsel was to Job to curse God and die. Not the most encouraging thing to say to somebody who was suffering. The other three, in effect, say, Job, you need to say this, curse yourself. On the one hand, his wife says, get up and tell God to his face, I hate you for what you've done to me. The other three say to Job, you need to sit up and own it. You need to curse yourself. You need to realize you are at fault here. Very different approaches. She says to Job, say to God that He's failed you. Say to God that He has betrayed you. Say to God that He has forgotten you and left you to fend for yourself. That was her counsel to him. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar instructed him to blame himself. Eliphaz says in one of his early speeches to Job, says, I have never seen an innocent man suffer the way you're suffering. And the implication is, you therefore must not be innocent. You've gotta come clean. You know, Job, that you're hiding something. There's no other way to account for this thing than to say, God has found you out, and this is his decision upon you. Well, the rest of the book of Job, and these are really the rest of Job's speeches throughout the rest of the book of Job, is Job defending his innocence and critiquing these these points of view. And in the process of his speeches, something else ekes out, something else seeps out. And it's Job's, underneath his breath, he begins to speak with a certain kind of entitlement. He in effect says on the one hand, while I don't understand it, I am an innocent sufferer here. And he goes on to explain in Job chapter 29, 30 and 31, he reveals what his life has been. He talks about his own social righteousness. He talks about his own marital righteousness. He talks about his personal righteousness. He talks about his relationship righteousness. It's a beautiful account of his life. But then he says, I'm innocent. Surely this is wrong. This happening to me ought not to have happened. And then the next thing that seeps out is, while I don't know why, God, he won't talk to me. He's cut me off. He says in chapter 23, if only I knew where to find him. If only I knew where I could go, where his dwelling is, I would state my case before him. I would fill my mouth with arguments before him. I would find out what he would answer me. I would consider what he would say. Well, those are the two things he says. I'm an innocent sufferer and God has abandoned me. And then God shows up in chapter 38. That's the survey of the book of Job. Now, what are the lessons that he has for us for prayer? It is a series on prayer, and the more we contemplate the importance of prayer, and the more we fill our minds appropriately with God's word, and God's ideas, and God's perspective, we are helped to pray in such a way as it becomes all the more meaningful to us, all the more edifying to us. So let's look at these one point at a time, prayer and limitations. Let me first observe limitations on the devil, on Satan. Satan figures into the first two chapters and never shows up again. My suspicion is that God banished him from the courtroom of his presence. After having already done his damaging work, now the rest of the book of Job deals with God and Job. It is now going to be a conversation. between God and Job, and underneath all the speeches between Job and his counselors, Job is reckoning with God, and that's what the book of Job is about. Satan is a real character, is a real being. He's referred to in the New Testament as the prince of the power of the air, of that spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, Ephesians chapter 2. Satan's influence is alive and active in the world, and that might rub some modern people the wrong way. And for us as Christian people, as 21st century educated people, to continue to believe in such nonsense is the way moderns would think of Christians today for believing in the devil. Well, if we believe the Bible to be God's inspired word, then we must be prepared to take it on the chin. You know, the devil, the world is always gonna accuse us of something that the Bible holds. And so we just gotta be prepared to know that we're gonna take it on the chin for something. And we can't capitulate, even though some of the things that the modern world doesn't believe, or they scorn, or they ridicule us for holding, is just a part of what it means to be a Christian disciple. And the devil, the believing in the devil is one of them. But the important lesson I want us to observe here is that on the one hand, nothing comes into Job's life or your own life. Now that is not a part of God's plan, including satanic activity. That God has in fact orchestrated all the things that happens in your life. And even if we may not be able to discern whether such a thing over here or that thing over there is some sort of Satan activity, we have to know that it's all under God's purview. Nothing escapes God's activity, that all of the things that befall us are the handiwork of God under His control. And the other hand, we want to observe that Satan too is under the control of God. God keeps Satan under His control. Satan is limited Satan is hemmed in. Satan does not have a free reign over the things that he would like to do. He is not an absolute source of influence. It is very clear that God and that suffering and evil are not a part of God's design. And on the other hand, it is absolutely, he is absolutely in control of everything. And so we gotta realize that. We have to realize that, that nothing befalls us that God is not controlling. But a second thing I want to observe here is that the limitations of Job himself. And this is going to take the most of this sermon here. Let me observe here that God gives no explanation to Job at all about any of the things that happen in his life. Now we may have a lot of ideas about why God is doing what he's doing here. And the important thing to know is that all throughout, God does have a purpose for these things in the life of Job. We know that God is enriching Job. We know that God is honing him, is deepening him, conforming him more and more to the image of the Son of God, making him more useful in his kingdom. But he mentions not a single solitary thing to Job. Job has been asking throughout the early chapters. He wants to get an answer. And God has said nothing. One other thing that I want to observe as well is that, you know, even in all of this, God gives no comfort to Job whatsoever. In fact, in our text, it is clear that he relentlessly goes after Job. God seems to be saying over and over again, and Job asked him in a word, you know, who are you? And God then flips it around and says, well, Job, that's the question I wanna ask you. Who are you? And that's a question that is important that we be asked. You know, for example, God says in Job 38 verse four, I'm gonna paraphrase, Job, where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Where were you when I gave orders to the morning and set the dawn in its place? Surely you were there, Job. Where were you when I set the doors and bars on the vast oceans and said to them, go here, but not there. Surely you were there, Job, weren't you? You're so old, dear Job, you're so wise. Surely the lightning bolts report to you. Surely they come to you and say, because they do that to me, where can I go next? Surely, Job, you know the answer to that question, do you not? And that's just chapter 38. He resumes it in chapter 39, and then in chapter 40, Job says, I cover my mouth, I have nothing to say, I don't know how to answer you, and then the Lord interrupts Job and says, I am not finished. He says in verse, in chapter 40, you say that I'm unjust? Must I be condemned so that you're justified? Try your own hand at justice, Job. Look at every proud man and bring him low. That's what I do. Crush the wicked where they stand. That's what I do. Bury them in the dust, Job. Surely you know how to go about doing that, don't you? No explanation and certainly no comfort. Just verse after verse of blunt, And yet one of the most astonishing things about this passage is that Job is utterly changed by this long speech to him. See, what does Job say? Job says, you asked, who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge? Surely I have spoken and did not understand things too wonderful for me to know. You said, listen now, and I will speak. I will question you, and you shall answer me. And Job then replies, my ears have heard you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. And from this point, Job's joy has begun to be restored. The turbulence that was in the heart of Job all throughout these chapters is put to rest. Job's growing anger is quelled. The pride that was beginning to seep out is humbled. And Job has changed. But more than that, Job is satisfied. Now it seems to me Over the course of my 22 years being the pastor, and years before, before I was in the ministry, I had a chance to counsel people. I don't remember myself ever saying something like this to anybody. I don't know if I ever would. And so as I am about to say something, I'm saying this with a degree of profound fear and respect. I don't think I would ever say it. I'm wondering whether or not this is, you know, advice for counselors to to speak to people this way. But how is it that Job was restored in the first place? He was restored because he realized that he was a man who had limitations. Even though Job was blameless and it was spoken early and it was actually proven all throughout, even though Job was a man who did right and shunned evil, that did not make Job omniscient. And nor did it give Job the right to put God on the stand. But this is very strong medicine, isn't it? There's no neutrality here. Because either you and I are competent to put God on the stand and pass judgment on his dealings in the world, or God alone is competent. And he is qualified to pass judgment on the world and on ourselves. Even though Job was one of the earliest books, probably the oldest book of the Bible, no mention is mentioned in Job of Abraham. No mention is made of the covenant. No mention is made of the Exodus. So this might very likely have taken place before any of that. Very old book of the Bible, yet it reveals a very modern spirit, a very 21st century spirit. C.S. Lewis put it this way long ago. He said that the ancients, the ancient teachers, approach God or the gods as the accused approach the judge. But for moderns today, the roles are reversed. Today, the modern mind takes the position of passing judgment on God. That God is the accused. God is on the dock. That's the language of the Brits for somebody who stands in the accused box. The modern mindset is to pass judgment on him. The modern mindset is to say, I am prepared to pass judgment on God. I'm even prepared to acquit God if he can prove to me How it's reasonable for him to allow poverty and war and disease in his world. I might be able to be persuaded that God could be acquitted if he can satisfy me. Well, what C.S. Lewis is saying and what Job, the book of Job, is trying to show is that if you want to be miserable, then go ahead and put God on trial. If you want to be miserable, then put God in the chair of the accused. There is something that always happens to a soul who puts God on trial. And when somebody puts God on trial, it is as if he shoots a bullet at the heart of God, and it ricochets, and it hits him, and it hits an artery, and you start to bleed out. Or when you accuse God, it's like taking small sips of poison. It becomes ruinous to you. I want to remind you, this is hard medicine. This is a tough word. And if you're ever sitting in my office and you were crying and trying to make sense of it, I would do my best to comfort you. But I would get around to recommending considering Job and maybe giving you a homework assignment to read the book of Job and give you the homework assignment that you should do this to yourself. You need to come to yourself and come to God in prayer and to confess your own limitations and open up your heart to him, to admit that all the while your bitterness and your anger and your resentment and your frustration might have a rationale deep down at the very bottom that says, you know, I really am putting myself in the position of being God's accuser. And I think we've all done that from time to time. And I think we've also seen the results of our doing that as well. That we don't have the capacity because that is not who we are. We are, in fact, creatures. And He is the Creator. And that really leads us to the next point, prayer and servanthood. There's a reason why throughout the book of Job, God refers to Job as my servant. Going back to the beginning of the story when Satan first accuses Job or intimates that he is serving God with ulterior motives, he says to God, of course, why wouldn't he serve you? Look at all the stuff you give him. I mean, anybody would serve God under these circumstances. And so God says, okay, take it all away. So what does Job the servant accomplish? Well the answer is Job the servant accomplishes a defeat of evil by his faithful suffering. Job defeats the devil as a faithful suffering servant of the Lord. Now he's not a perfect sufferer. In the beginning Job is declared to be the Lord's servant In the end, he's proven to be the Lord's servant. And so there is a sense in which Satan is partly right. See, when suffering comes upon us, there's always the issue that's raised. Why am I serving the Lord at all? It's easy to serve the Lord when things are going really well. Who wouldn't? Ministries are growing, the budget is big, and people are being reached. It's when all it stops, and hardship befalls you, that you discover, why am I doing this at all? And God is giving you the opportunity to discern what your real motives are. Are you a servant of the Lord? Or is your serving a design to get God to be your servant? So until suffering comes, I don't know if we really fully understand what our motives are for serving Him. To some degree, we're all actually trying to get God to serve us, even when we serve the things that he loves. We attach ourselves to those things that he himself loves, but when we attach ourselves too much to them, and then for whatever reason, God takes them away, we begin to think we have a right to accuse him. It's not until we are denied those things that we discover what are those things that we actually love. Do we love the things, or do we love him? Every piece of suffering, every experience of suffering is about servanthood. Every piece of suffering is God defeating Satan and evil by getting you to get to the place where you say to God in prayer, you are the creator and I am your servant. When you can get to the point where you say, it's all yours. Naked I came into the world. and naked I shall leave. Under all circumstances, blessed be the name of the Lord. So that's what Job now understands at the end of verse six. I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you, therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. And right then, Job's joy has started to return. Job's perspective. Job finally achieves rest. His circumstances haven't changed at the end of verse six, but he has changed. Lastly, point number three, very quickly, prayer in the whirlwind. Prayer in the face of an unrelenting whirlwind. Remember when Job said it kind of seeped out. I am the innocent sufferer. It further seeped out. I am the one who has been cut off from God. Well, no, Job, you are not the innocent sufferer because there is one who would later come who is the innocent sufferer. No, Job, you aren't the one who has been cut off. In fact, God has been present with you all along. You have not been cut off at all even though you have not been able to reach him in the way you wanted. But there is one who was cut off, and out of his mouth on the cross, he said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? See, we know that there is one who was an innocent sufferer, and we know one who was cut off. We can know this, that the hardship and the unrelenting whirlwind in which we now find ourselves is not God's judgment, any more than it wasn't God's judgment for Job either. But Job helps us to do one thing, and that is, Always to turn in to the Lord in the face of our world. Turn in to Him. When things are going poorly, turn in to Him. When things are coming apart at the seams, turn in to Him. When the wheels are falling off, turn in to Him. Don't turn away. Turn in. Turn toward. Approach Him. Stick with Him. Don't give up on Him. And you'll find yourself to be You'll find in many ways that you had heard about Him with the hearing of the ear, but now your eye sees Him. Your eyes sees Him. The opening chorus that we sang was very meaningful to me. Both services, I was so delighted to sing it, but here is another chorus that is also helpful to sing. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take. The clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head. Turn into him. Don't give up. Pursue him in the midst of your whirlwind and you'll find that you'll see him. Let's pray. Great and gracious God we thank you for this dear saint. Centuries ago his message still speaks to us today. And we without On everybody knowing it, we might very well be in a whirlwind, a spiral downward, and it appears that it's getting darker and darker and darker. Lord, I would pray that as the voice of the Lord is coming through the book of Job, there might be an occasion for you to see it differently, that we can see it differently, that we can see that actually in the midst of a whirlwind, there's light, In the midst of a whirlwind, there is a place to stand. In the midst of a whirlwind, there is a solid footing. And there is actually more. There is a hand on my shoulder. There is a hand under my feet. There are arms that embrace me in Jesus Christ. Lord, thank you that we are able to face every imaginable difficulty with the knowledge that to turn into you is our life. and to confess that you are our God and our Creator and our Redeemer is our joy. And so as we transition now to partake of the Lord's Supper, having heard of the word read, having heard of the word preached, and now we shall hold the visible word of God. Would you enable us to receive it for the sake of your great name and for the sake of our restored joy. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. well we are