Tonight we're going to be looking at chapters 22 through 24, lesson 11. And so I want to begin this tonight and we're going to get into it. A part of this title, Where is God When You Need Him? We're going to look at some scripture from Psalms 139 that helps us get a little bit better glance at the fact that Although it might seem that God's voice is silent, his presence is always there. So, can we go ahead and this key thought tonight is in this lesson we observe Job as he struggles with not hearing from nor understanding God. So, Together, I want us all to read this scripture together from Psalms 139, seven through 12. You've got it there on your sheet. Can we read it good and loud, please? Because I think it can minister to you. Where can I go from your spirit and where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast. And if I say, surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me. Even the darkness will not be dark to you. The night will shine like the day for darkness is as light to you." Boy, that's an encouragement from David as he wrote these words, going from cave to cave and running for his life from Saul. And so there's probably nothing worse than being unjustly accused of a crime. In fact, I hear people all the time say I'm innocent, right? Some might be. Some might be. The point is, it's extremely hard, and there's nothing as bad as this as when you're accused of something falsely. There's something even worse than a false accusation. Imagine having no one to rectify the truth, no one to defend you, no one to stand up for you. Only you and God and even then it seems that he is silent well Going on here That's the reality of Job continues to face his friends persist in attacking him the only one who can defend him is God and God is silent and The reality is Job is suffering physically, mentally, and emotionally, and now more than ever, he's suffering spiritually, thinking, where is God? Well, I wanna look real quickly at these two terms that are gonna be a part of this study tonight, because Eliphaz, Slanders, Job, as well as, quite frankly, the other two friends, And at the end of the book, of course, Job is taken care of where the other three are told by God, you have spoke falsely, you have spoke falsely about me. Well, slander is a false report that's maliciously uttered. That means done in, obviously not love, but done almost in the sense of tearing the other person down. Maliciously uttered, intending to injure the reputation of another. Real quickly, I've turned to 2 Corinthians 12. If you want to real quickly, you can too. 2 Corinthians 12, verse 20 says this. It says, For I fear that perhaps when I come, I may find you not as I wish and that you may find me not as you wish. That perhaps there may be quarreling and jealousy, anger and hostility, slander, gossip, conceit and disorder. I fear that when I come again, my God may humble me before you and I may have to mourn over many of those who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity and the sexual immorality and the sensuality that have been practiced. In Corinthians, that's how Corinthians starts. Paul had started a church there, had left, and then basically sexual immorality arose to the where the church body accepted it rather than dealing with it with discipline. And Paul is talking about this, but he's also talking about the fact that he could possibly come back to Corinth and find that the body of Christ has become extremely carnal rather than spiritual. Does that make sense? That perhaps there may be quarreling among you or jealousy or anger or hostility or slander or gossip. Again, we have to be aware that the church isn't innocent or isn't going to be necessarily protected against people coming into it that are extremely fleshly or carnal and doing these things that the world does that should not be a part of the church, but slander. The second term there that I wanted to share with you is gossip. It's when someone betrays a confidence, Proverbs 11, 13, an idle taddler or a newsmonger, and that's again the definition, but Proverbs 11, verse 13 says this, real quickly, I'm sorry I didn't have it where I could read it quickly, but here it is. Proverbs 11, 13 says this. Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered. Oftentimes the church is notorious for taking prayer requests of an individual that he or she is sharing in confidence and then they end up sharing it with others instead of keeping it before God and themselves and that individual. And so it's always good when you find out things from people if they want it held in confidence or not because that's something that we should not be doing in betraying people's confidence when it might be something that they don't want shared. But it's not a great way for us to go about sharing all this information so that we become a gossip with that. Well, we're going to be picking up here with Eliphaz. Again, we're going to be looking at the charges against Job. And this is chapter 22, 1 through verse 30. And in the 22nd chapter of the book of Job, Eliphaz levels three charges against Job. And he says that Job is a horrible sinner, a hypocritical sinner, and a hardened sinner. And Eliphaz cannot resist shooting a sarcastic barb at Job when he says in verse four, in verse four, he says, is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you? And so, He assimilates that the courts don't, he insinuates that the courts don't try people who are righteous, they try people who are lawless. And since God has sent him trouble, then Job must be guilty of sin. This is his logic here and his reasoning. So we move on to the fact that Job is a horrible sinner, and that's verses one through 11. But keying in on verse five, it says, is not your wickedness great and your iniquity without end? According to Eliphaz, Job's wickedness is so abundant that it is apparent to others. And like any effective attorney, Eliphaz comes with three arguments to charge Job with this blatant sin that he has because he's a horrible sinner. I don't know about you, but have you thought, as we go through this study, all of the presumption on the part of these three friends, all that they keep saying or thinking about Job, when I think, for the most part, I think they really didn't listen to his heart, nor did they listen to his life. Are you with me on listening to someone's life? In other words, you can be a part of someone's life and watch them live and listen to how they've lived and know that he or she is not what we assume when things are going wrong. Isn't it interesting when we watched Stephen be martyred, it was almost as though their intensity grew greater as blood was starting to come forth. Isn't it interesting that we are, instead of a hospital, sometimes churches can be a war zone. In other words, we got our guns out and we're shooting each other when we're supposed to building each other up. Amen? And we're supposed to be here for each other when we're going through hard times, not assume that there's certain things going on because really you don't know unless someone really shares with you what's happening. The Bible says to bear one another's burdens and it's really hard to bear a burden if you don't share the burden with someone else. And I just really believe that the church is a place where we're to share our burdens one with another so that we can get the encouragement we need or that we can get the direction that we need to get back on track, especially if we're stuck in something that's going on in our lives that we don't understand, that's just hard. That's just hard. And so here's the first charge, along with the horrible sinner. First of all, Eliphaz charges Job with this fact, that he charges him with cockiness, cockiness. C-O-C-K-I-N-E-S-S, cockiness. And that's one through three of verse 22. If I can read that real quick. Then Eliphaz the Tenemite replied, can a man be a benefit to God? Can even a wise man benefit him? "'What pleasure would it give the Almighty "'if you were righteous? "'What would it gain if your ways were blameless?' Isn't that interesting? He is both those things, is he not? And then it says, "'Is it for your piety that he rebukes you "'and brings charges against you?' Do you see what he's saying there? I went one verse beyond, but I'm just saying that he considered Job cocky. and arrogant, do you see that? You might wanna circle that arrogance because that's what he's saying that Job has. And as he sits there scraping those boils, it's sort of hard to think that he was cocky. And of course, Eliphaz is bringing up his past and his life prior to all of these things that have come upon him so that the reason for where he's at is because of how he lived and he lived a cocky, arrogant life. Number two, Eliphaz doesn't stop with you're cocky or arrogant, Job. Now he goes to the second charge and he says that you are a covetor. You charged him with covetousness, okay? Covetousness. So in verse six, in verse six, he accuses Job of being greedy. abusing people or persons so that he could acquire his wealth by vicious means. He says that Job had taken security from his brothers. Even none was needed and was even let people naked because he took away their clothes until they would pay back their debts. He said all these things about Job. And I just want you to see in verse six, you demanded security from your brothers for no reason. You strip men of their clothing, leaving them naked. "'You gave no water to the weary "'and you withheld food for the hungry. "'Anyway, though you were a powerful man "'and you owned all this land, "'you were honored man living on it.'" And anyway, he goes on to describe all these things. It's incredible that he has told him or said to him that you, are involved in coveting. So I wanted to define coveting because a lot of times we can read terms, and I know what coveting is, but I wanted to just basically bring this out because I think that we can fall prey to these things without necessarily knowing that we're trapped in those attitudes or mindsets. But coveting is to desire to long for especially something belonging to another person. Have you guys ever struggled with people that drive into the parking lot here at church and you just get out of your car and your car is a little rusty or it's a mess or you had a hard time with starting it and getting it here and then someone drives by in this really nice, pretty, beautiful car? Have you ever thought, man, I wish that was me or anything like that. Well, anyway, you guys are all so pure that maybe you don't struggle with any of those things. How about houses? Do you ever look at your neighbor's house and see the things that they have or any of that? Anyway, we're just talking here. Coveting is wanting someone else's things. But at the other hand, Coveting is another word for envy as well. It's begrudging others for who and what they are and have. Coveting wants someone's things. Envy is wanting to be like them. I'll tell you, we don't need 10,000 Bill Eisenhowers out there, we just need one. I mean, God only made one of each of us, right? That's enough, that's enough. And so we don't need to be like someone, we just need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit as the person, man or woman that God has created us and to be effective for him in the way that he's gifted us and we should all Thank God that we are different instead of the same. Number three, he charges him with callousness, callousness. In other words, he has a hardened heart or a cold heart. He paints this godly man as a cold hearted, uncaring, cruel person, as if he was on the level with the worst tyrants of history. Isn't that interesting? Verse seven, you gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry. I mean, part of what Job regularly did was to give to the poor and he took care of the poor. He wasn't about just serving himself. So here, Eliphaz then attacks Job in verse seven, as I just read. Here, Eliphaz charges Job with callous sins against the needy. He paints this godly man as a cold-hearted, uncaring, cruel person. He also pictures Job the way many people picture wealthy people, without ever knowing them. They assume that they have gotten their wealth in an improper way by stepping on other people. This may be true of some people, but the reality was that Job had one time been the richest man of the East and at the same time had been and still was a man of integrity, who loved God and shunned evil. Eliphaz finishes his first accusation by reminding Job that it is because of his horrible sin that he has experienced such suffering. Therefore, snares are all around you, and sudden fear troubles you, or darkness so that you cannot see, and abundance of water covers you. That's chapter 22, 10 and 11. So have you guys ever found yourself assuming certain things because people are wealthy? I think, and I'm not trying to pick sides or anything, but I think our former president was slandered greatly, and it seemed it was every day, and people bought into it. And I just, if you don't like him, that's your business. But it's not right to slander someone that we don't know if it's true, even if the media has produced it. And if you don't agree with that, then you've closed your eyes to the importance of protecting someone's integrity, no matter what you think. Job is a hypocritical sinner, is the next statement that, that Eliphaz goes to. And so we are looking here at Eliphaz accuses Job of hiding his sins, of hiding his sins. In other words, Job is just a big hypocrite. This is not all new because all three counselors have leveled this charge against Job, all three of them. Bildad did this in Job 8.13. Can you go look at that real quickly with me, please? Job 8.13. It says, and the hope of the hypocrite shall perish. That's Job 8.13. This was by Bildad. The next one was Eliphaz, and that's Job 15.34. And it says, for the company of hypocrites will be barren. Isn't that interesting? Then Sovar also states this, Job 20, verse five, the joy of a hypocrite is but for a moment. And so all three have hit Job hard with this whole thought that your life is simply one of hypocrisy. So all three men think Job is faking his devotion to God, that he is a hypocrite. A hypocrite is a person who doesn't even try to live righteously, but tries to make people think that he is living righteously. So the definition of a hypocrite is a profession of some belief, but the practice never meets up with their profession. Are you with me on this? And so, It's something that we need to keep in mind because God wants sincerity and genuineness out of all of us so that what you see is what you get, right? What you see is what you get. There are a lot of folks who claim to be Christians who don't walk the talk, but the problem with that speech in regard to Job is that it wasn't true. Job wasn't a hypocrite, he was a righteous man. who did not fake his devotion to God. Everything that we see in Job is who he truly is. When he is angry with God, he speaks out against God. He does not hide anything. Job is a man of absolute integrity. But Eliphaz doesn't think so. So he asked Job in verses 15 through 16, and here's what he says. Oh my goodness. Eliphaz doesn't give up. Eliphaz tells Job that hypocrites are made bold by telling themselves that God cannot see what they are doing, that they can hide their sins from Him. But he reminds Job that God will surely see his sin and ultimately both he and his sin will be judged. It is interesting, though, that people do, I think, unconsciously keep sinning and thinking God doesn't see it. Or if they do it in private or in secret, then God doesn't really see it. But obviously, God is seeing all our actions and deeds and will judge us for those things that we say and do at some point. But isn't that interesting how our minds conceive the thought that we can hide our actions or even our thoughts from God? How foolish are we? But that's how deceptive sin can be, can it not? Where we actually think we're hiding and no one can see it at all. No wonder Adam and Eve hid. It's the same old story for all of us as humanity, that when we sin, we want to find a place that we think we can hide from everyone, including God. So Job is a hardened sinner, a hardened sinner. This is verses 21 through 30. Eliphaz now charges Job with being unrepentant. He tells Job that he would be healed and restored if he would just repent. Isn't that something? So, we're looking at these key verses in verse 21. Verse 21 says, submit to God and be at peace with Him. In this way, prosperity will come to you. Look at the next verse, 23. If you return to the Almighty, again, return and to submit are terms in relationship to repentance. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. If you remove wickedness far from your tent, Eliphaz is continuing unrelentlessly after Job to repent. You will pray to him and he will hear you and you will fulfill your vows if you just repent. So, Job is hit square with this thought from Eliphaz that you're a sinner and you need to repent. And yet Eliphaz says some excellent things in this appeal, but he says them to the wrong man. When you get to the end of this book, we will discover that Eliphaz and his two friends, they're the ones that are out of fellowship with God. Ironically, it is Job's friends who are in need of repentance. And they will need Job to intercede for them so that they will be restored. How ironic that they attack this man and hit this man in a forgiving, loving way, then praise for them so that God restores them through their repentance. Amazing. Well, the complaints against God is the next section we'll look at. The complaints against God Now Job is going to make an appeal to these arguments. Interesting, as we head into this third round of speeches, by the way, isn't that interesting that we found Job to be that way, that it's repetition on basically these speeches that they give Job, and then Job responds, and so it's a repetitious kind of thing that's going on. that they're interacting with each other, the friends are, in taking turns at attacking this man. And Job, again, responds to each of their arguments, as he will today in this section that we're looking at. It's interesting here that as we get along here in these speeches, the accusers, their speeches get shorter and shorter while Job's responses get longer and longer to his defense. It's interesting because to me, Job surely should be wearing thin or wearing out, but I think he's energized by his own character that he wants to make sure that he defends his own honor in a sense. Have you guys ever found yourself finding yourself in sin and how it weakens you? as you're in it because it's taking over you and you're not finding yourself strong at all to fight it or to resist it. Maybe none of you have had that issue. But when I'm working with people that confess these things to me that they're in, they are battling for the strength to just keep carrying on. And I quite frankly think, even though you all are saints, that you battle with this as well. When you give yourself over to something, it doesn't just want to take a little, it wants to take all of you. And as you get into it deeper and deeper, you find yourself weaker and weaker. Now, why did I build that up? Because I wanna go to the next, and that is if you are building yourself up in Christ, You will find yourself getting stronger and stronger to resist the things that you should and be able to resist those who are attacking you because there will always be people who will attack you if you're trying to live for Christ. Can you say amen? It's just the way it is. And sometimes those that are attacking you should not be the church, but the church is that place that we find people attacking us. And so I've always told folks that I've talked with, counseled with, that that when we're out into the world, my guard is up. Is your guard up? I'm filtering what I'm hearing and what I'm seeing and what's coming at me to make sure it's honoring to the Lord. But when I come to church oftentimes, or I had in the past, I let my guard down. And so all of a sudden, I'm really vulnerable to people who maybe are carnal or having a hard time with their own lives in sin. They're coming to church, carrying their baggage, and that's not wrong, I'm not saying that's wrong, but they infiltrate their weaknesses or their values at that point on others. Because again, when we're weak, we can also weaken others. When we're strong, we can strengthen others. Does that make sense? In fact, you should maybe write that down because that's really key. That's why I spend time with Jesus every day, so that I'm bolstering myself up, not myself, but my spirit, my soul, so that I have that which I can then pass on to others to bolster their soul and their spirit, because we don't know what someone else might have. What's so encouraging to me is when I go into the jail often and I have these monitor visits, Many times they are so bolstered up in the word of God more so than others because they have time and they spend time in the word that they are just like shoving at me all of this power and they end up praying for me and I'm just incredibly blessed. And it's because they've prepared themselves or equipped themselves for life. And what I mean by that is their moment by moment experience. Isn't God good that he can help us grow and help others grow because we are spending time with him? Well, let's go on here. So he says Job has a hardened heart. He's a hardened sinner. Then he says that there's, then there's the complaints against God. Now this is the section that Job begins to respond. Now, Job is going to make his appeal to these arguments interesting as we head into the third round of speeches. Again, theirs is shorter, his is longer. But the very first point that Job goes to is this. Let me back up a minute and share this thought. While he is surely angry with Eliphaz and would desire to answer his accusation, Job ignores him and speaks about the Lord. Well, that's a good thing, isn't it? He just ignores him and then talks about the Lord. And it goes on to say, Job has already made it clear that his dispute is not with men, but with God. He doesn't understand why all of this is happening, so he complains about God. So, God flees from me is this first segment that Job brings up, and this is verses 1 through 12. It seems as though God has ran away from him. He's fleed from Job. Once again, Job cries out for an audience with God. From his standpoint, Job thinks God is hiding from him. God might seem distant or quiet, but He's always present. We know that from Psalm 139. Job only knew it from experience. Are you with me on this? Because he had fellowship with God every day or he wouldn't have got to be the man that he was. Are you with me? And so as he fellowshiped with God and as he spent time with God, his life was bolstered in his relationship that was so intimate with God. Wouldn't that all of us have that kind of intimacy with God, amen? And oftentimes with us, it takes tragedy or loss or trials or affliction to get there, is it not? It's amazing. I don't know about you, but in the Beatitudes, Jesus said, blessed are they who are Broken or of contrite spirit. Do you know that he's talking about us? spiritually being broken all the time Not because of circumstances but because of a choice in our hearts that we want to be broken Before him so that he can assemble us as he desires throughout the day. Does that make sense? He wants us to be clay in his hands And Job was, but Job missed his father's hands. Does that make sense? But Job didn't know that in this fiery furnace of affliction, God was there. He was the audience of one, amen? And it was for his glory that this was going on. I think God's glory is extremely important to you. In fact, Jesus lived to glorify his father, everything he did. Now we, I think, say that, but Jesus lived it. And I think God's glory is extremely important to our father in heaven. Well, God seems to flee from him. Look at this, number one, God knows the path that I take. Job 23, 8, 10a, let me read it real quickly, can I please? And it says this, it says, but if I go to the east, he is not there. If I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him. When he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. but he knows the way that I take. When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." Isn't that beautiful? So here's the thing. God knows our path and our way. and we're foolish to set ourselves out on our own journeys without continually asking God, show me the way. Does that make sense, everyone? Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Now he's saying that he's the road to God, the Father, but beyond that, You have to be foolish as a believer to not think that Jesus is in charge of our path, that Jesus is our way. Amen? And as I journey through this life going to the next, which is the promised land, In a sense, I'm on a journey with Christ and He is going to show me where to go and where to be at any given time. That's why I have divine appointments all the time, because Jesus is leading me on this path. Does that make sense, everyone? Y'all looking like deer in the headlights, amen. This ought to fire up revival in this place, amen. And if you're not in the light of the path of the righteous, then the light is out in a sense because it says that the light, the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter. Amen. As I'm walking with Jesus, my pathway is lit up. I can see where I need to go. But if you ask me in the morning, what's going to happen today, I have no clue. But guess who? He knows where I'm going and who I'm gonna meet and what I'm gonna do because he's my way. I just think that that's holy to me that God is all about my life and leading me on my way. I don't know. So it's interesting that Job understands this. He knows the path I take. The next thing, number two, God knows the person I'm becoming. This is huge. Before I was born, God knew every day of my life. He knew the moment I would experience Him and He knew the moments that I would continue to experience Him day by day and moment by moment. God has my days planned, but a part of those days are taking Jerry out and replacing Jerry with Jesus. Galatians 2.20. I am crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. In the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And if you insert your name in there, that's exactly what Jesus is trying to do in all of our lives. Now, we can either be cooperative, cooperative children, or we can be rebellious children. And I don't know about you, but I went to the woodshed enough in my early years with the Lord that I don't like those woodsheds, they hurt. So I'm trying to be a compliant follower of Christ, amen? And I hope you are too. Because Jesus has your best interest in mind when you are less of who you are and you're more of who he is in your life. because he just wants Jesus to be predominant in our lives. That's why I'm his child, so that I can look like my father. I can act like him. We will all spend some time in the furnace if we are to be refined by his fire. Gold never fears the fire. Isn't that interesting? The fire can only make the gold more pure and brighter. The fire refines our faith, it purifies us, and it makes us shine even brighter with the light of God's glory. In other words, it's like the sun. It comes up in all of its radiance every day, and all night long, it reflects off the moon because the moon is an object that has no brightness or light, but because it's willing to reflect the light of the sun, it shines so bright at night. That's us, is it not? And so God wants us to shine bright for the glory of God. In other words, being more like Christ, I shine the brightest. He's learned the source of strength in tough times. That's the whole point. Job hadn't just been tested when he lost all these things. You all are crazy to think that this just happened for the very first time in this man's life and that it was a cream puff life prior to that. That there was no trials, no furnace, no nothing, no testing. He just got rich and he had a lot of things. You've missed the whole point. God only entrusts things to people who've been faithful with little, amen? He who is faithful with little will be faithful with much. And Job was faithful in the beginning and all the way through. And that's why God gave him all those things, because he put him first. Well, God knows the principles. God knows the principles. Look at this tremendous passage here that talks about this. And it's incredible, verses 11 and 12. And this is in chapter 23. It says, my feet have closely followed his steps. I've kept to his way without turning aside. I've not departed from the commands of his lips. And I have treasured the words of his mouth more than daily bread. Now, can I share something with you? And you guys can carry me out on a rail, I don't care. But have you ever thought about the fact that, and pastors brought this up, he doesn't have the written word of God. He probably has stories that historically are about the Lord and God. You follow what I'm saying? From others who've passed those down. But have you ever thought about the fact that Job just simply had conversations with God? It says Enoch walked with God for 365 years and then he was and he was not because God took him to heaven. So what did Enoch have? Enoch had a relationship with God. Do you know what I think Job's all about, the book of Job? It's all about having a relationship with God so that when everything is gone or when everything is taken or when you're put in a furnace or when you are going through affliction or suffering or testing, that you can see that God is trying to make you shine brighter than you ever have because he wants you to come out at the other end more like Jesus than you ever have. And the point of the matter here is that Job, I believe Job heard from God. Now, I've taught experiencing God for a long time, and to me, some of the most priceless things in that study is that God speaks. God speaks, he speaks in four ways. He speaks by the Holy Spirit, first of all, by the way. Without the Holy Spirit, God's not gonna speak. Are you with me? You gotta have the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, God doesn't speak. And so God speaks in four ways dynamically and tremendously, and that is number one, through his word, through the word of God, he speaks. But he also speaks when I pray. I'm praying, but I'm also listening. So I'm listening as I pray for God to speak to me about some area of my own life or some area in someone else's life so I might intercede or that I might do anything I can for him while I pray. Does that make sense? God speaks through his word. God speaks through prayer. God speaks through circumstances. God speaks through circumstances. In other words, we can't orchestrate circumstances, but God surely can, and he orchestrates them to come along our path, and those are called sometimes divine appointments, or for us to recognize that God's at work in these areas, and I need to join him in those things. So God speaks through his word, God speaks through prayer, God speaks through circumstances, and last of all, God speaks through you. I've come to church many times and I've heard God speak through you to me because you either confront me about something by your sharing about your own personal life and you don't even know you're confronting me or you're rebuking me based on what you experienced in your own life. I'm listening to God speak whenever I'm around believers because I'm wanting to hear what God said to them because it might be for me. Does that make sense, everyone? We need to extend our relationships with each other to the point where we're looking for God to speak into our lives. I sure hope you have ears to hear, because it was interesting, Stephen said, you hardened hearts, you have killed the prophets. I mean, the Pharisees, knowing all of this stuff, didn't give them any advantage at all. They had hardened hearts. So we look at Job knowing the person. Well, now we know that God, or that Job also shares God knows the principles I am following. He knows that God has, God esteems God's word more than anything. Job esteems God's word more than anything, excuse me for that, but God's words are more important than bread and water. We can understand more about Job's endurance. He has learned the source of strength for tough times, and that's an intimate relationship with God. You know, the interesting thing about our relationship with God, we can go as deep as we want to or stay as shallow as we want to. Isn't that amazing? And I can't make you do either one, but only you can choose to love God with all your heart. But that's where it starts. Well, B, God frightens me. God frightens me. Job honestly believes Job honestly reveals his fear of God in verses 16 and 17. Let me look at it real quickly here with you. It says, this is in chapter 23, 16 and 17, God has made my heart faint. The Almighty has terrified me, yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face. Do you understand what Job is saying? Even though his life is so darkened, he's still crying out to God with all that he had, with all that he had. Have you ever cried out to God with all that you have because things are so desperate? You know, I just think that we need to be desperate for God. That's all I can say. I'm just desperate for God. Not because I'm an addict, not because I'm an alcoholic, not because I'm in sin, but because I love Him. Does that make sense? We just need to be desperate for God. See, God frustrates me. Now, this is where Job looks around at the world, like many, many people do, whether they're believers or unbelievers, and it frustrates them. Now, look at this. This is 1 through 17, but we're not gonna cover all that. But first of all, in this section, we see Job. Chapter 24 focuses on the injustices that Job sees in the way that God deals with men. Job begins by expressing his frustration that God does not schedule time for people like him in the court of heaven. Job felt like I don't have any defense at all in heaven. Why not? Why not? Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, why do those who know him see not his days? Job says in verse one of 24, you see it there, it says, why does the Almighty not set time for judgment? In other words, why can't he defend me now when I need him most? Again, God was silent because of the, of the, principle of God's glory at stake. Is everyone with me on this? Satan said, this man will not worship you nor love you if you do all this to him. So the first point that he sees is the injustice in the country, in the country. And this verse is two through 11. So Job does what we do sometimes when we're going through hard times and are not being treated the way we think we should be. He starts to look around at what is going on in the world. And that's what we do as well. When things aren't good, what we do is we have too much time on our hands and we start to look around at the world, and then we start to make perceptive thoughts about, or perceptions about what God is doing or isn't doing. And all you have to do is find unbelievers. They'll fill you in on what they think are injustices. But first of all, he notices that all the injustices that surround him in the countryside, especially those concerning the poor, And I don't know about you, but the very first thing that he talks here about is the injustices of the poor, verses five through 11. They give one of the most graphic pictures of the poor found anywhere in the Bible. Isn't that interesting? This is verse six. Look at it. It says, they look for food in the fields like animals. This is talking about poor people. By the way, it's hard to find poor people in America. Amen? If you don't think so, just talk to me. They could get jobs, but they don't get jobs, and then our government takes care of them. We're talking about poor people that don't have anything. They don't have anything. Even the poorest in America can get checks from the government, for the most part. Or they choose to live in a tent, and then that's their own choice. I'm sorry, I actually grind on that. Verse six, they look for food in the fields like animals. Second, they freeze in the cold because they have no clothes. That sounds like a homeless person. And I understand that there are some who are in their circumstances like that. Number three is they are drenched in rain because they have no houses. Verse eight, their children, verse nine, are snatched from their arms until they pay their debts. The fifth one, they are forced to work for the rich and not allowed to eat any of the food that they harvest. Verse 10. They work for the wine press and yet go thirsty, verse 11. So Job describes what a real poor person might look like in his day. And there are poor people in the world. Trust me, I've been to the Philippines. Those folks are poor. And I'm not saying all, but a lot are. But they make the best of what they have. when they live in that condition. Job's question is simply this, why does God not deal with these injustices? If he has time to harass me, Job's thinking, why does he not take care of these things? Then number two, he goes from verses 12 through 17, and he starts to talk about injustices in the city. So he goes from the country where the poor people are at to the city, and in his day, the city was typically where people were interacting with each other in close proximity, where out in the country, they were more isolated, if you can follow what I'm saying there. And so Job has talked about the injustice in the country. Now he's in verses 12 through 17, he talks about the injustice in the city. He talks about the murder of the innocent. Isn't that interesting? He talks about the adulterer and the rape that go on. And the premeditated robbery. And Job's major complaint is found in verse 12. The dying groan in the city and souls of the wounded cry out. Yet God does not charge them with wrong, these people that commit these crimes. He just lets them go, seemingly in Job's mind. And Job says this, why, why, why, why God? One thing we've learned from this book is Job is that questions, is that it is all right to ask questions of God. It's not wrong to ask questions of God. Job is a godly man who is asking some difficult questions, and he wants to know why God does not deal with all these things that are wrong in the world. How many of us have centered around the table and hashed over those thoughts? Well, the next thing that Job moves towards is God fails me. God fails me. Job is angry at God's seemingly not doing nothing to these evil men to pay for their crimes. Since God has failed to do his job, Job will do it for him. Isn't that interesting? Job will do it for him. So Job basically vents his anger with God over these injustices. In the midst of all the anguish and pain this poor man is suffering, the one truth that keeps coming through to us is this, and that is that he knows that his Redeemer lives, and he knows that he has an advocate between God and man, but God has put him in a place where he is And though he doesn't understand any of the other things that are going on, this he knows that God knows he is. God knows that he is going through what he's going through, and he's struggling with that. Because the question is, why, when things seem to not be right in that? Well, God is obviously many times quiet, but he's not ever not present in our lives. And he's working for us in our best behalf. It's interesting to me that Stephen loved God and that he spoke up for God, but yet he was martyred for God. Do you think that in his death, he brought glory to God? Yes or no? Yes. Tremendous glory to God. I think we need to understand, like the psalmist, and I wanna read just a few of them real quickly. Psalms 34, Psalms 34, verse three, it says this. Glorify the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together. Psalms 86, 17 says again, 68, 17, 86, 17 says this. Give me a sign, excuse me, 86, 12, excuse me. It says, I will praise you, O Lord, my God, with all my heart. I will glorify your name forever. John, Jesus talks about bringing glory to the Father. And I want to read it real quickly as we close. John 13. John 13. Verse 32. It says this. When he was gone, Jesus said, now is the son of man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the son in himself and will glorify him at once. We don't really understand this, but oftentimes God's glory is most important to our father in heaven, amen? After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed, Father, the time has come. Glorify your son that your son may glorify you. I think to God, there's not one life that's not expendable for his glory. Does that make sense? Because if you think about the apostles, the only one that wasn't martyred was John. He died of old age. But God's sovereign plan and will was in each one of those men in their death, just like Stephen. God was glorified.