Hopefully that was good to you to watch Jesus raise someone from the dead. We're gonna read tonight in the book of Job that that's what Job prophesied that his Redeemer would live, that he would live beyond the grave. I thought that would be really an application to all of us tonight to see the author of life bring life, amen. And I showed you that for two reasons. Please listen, two reasons. Number one, that you might see that Jesus waited. That you might see that Jesus waited. As we've been going through the book of Job, none of us know how long Job suffered, none of us know. But God waited. God waited because of the second reason I wanted to show you that clip. And the second reason is, if you go to the book of John, the Gospel of John, in that text it says that this is being done for the glory of God. And the reason what we read, the climax or the importance of the book of Job is from the very beginning. The reason why God was allowing Job to go through what he was going through was for one reason, to bring glory to God. The reason why he saved you and I is to bring the glory from our fallen nature to a new nature and bring glory to God, amen? By being new, by being something new, by being like Lazarus, raised from the dead, so that we're new in Christ and we live a different life, amen? If we don't, then we're not really representing the one who saved us and is changing us. So those are the two reasons I wanted to show you that. Number one, that God waited. Jesus waited. He waited specifically for a reason. Number two, that his waiting was for the glory of God. And that's what's going on in heaven with Satan accusing God that this Job would not last. And so he sent the arsenal. Isn't that ironic that we're going through Job on Wednesday nights and then we're going through the armor of God on Sunday mornings, that we have to understand if we don't suit up, then all of those fiery missiles, all of those things that Satan tries to throw at us to destroy us, or the flesh or the world, are all aimed to destroy us from glorifying God by how we respond. Does that make sense, everyone? That's why it's so important that Paul said, in everything and in all circumstances, give thanks. That brings glory to God instantly, because it says, God, I trust you that no matter what I'm going through, you're in charge, and there's nothing, nothing that I can't go through that you will bring glory to yourself through my life. So, tonight we're gonna look at Job, chapters... 18 and 19, but boy are they loaded and as you can see with your sheets there that we've got a lot to cover so Let's let's just dive right into it. All right, and and and I again think that was so powerful by the way that that clip is from the gospel of John and it's It's the story of Jesus Christ and it's verse by verse through the book of John. So it's one of the most accurate video Series, I show it to the inmates all the time is very powerful because it's all scripture and It's all scripture. So the key thought is you look on your sheet there tonight. Key thought is Job gives us to one of the most triumphant declarations of faith found in all of the Bible. We're going to look at that. It's from verses 23 through 29, but specifically in chapter 19, it says, I know my redeemer lives and he shall stand at the last. at last on the earth. How about that for a prophetic poem, in a sense, that Jesus would come, whom he did not know, but he knew that God would come and redeem us by coming to the earth. It's an amazing, amazing thought. Can I share something with you that's profoundly interesting to me that I studied, or I have looked at the Bible for years and years and years, and I don't know when it occurred to me, but when I read the book of Psalms, I kept thinking David's a king, David is a shepherd, and David is a leader, David is a warrior, but I just didn't wrap around my mind that he was a prophet. David was a prophet. God used him to proclaim God's word. And so as we look through the book of Job, I hope you recognize that Job is a prophet. Job is maybe the first prophet that came to tell us about God's redemptive plan, because obviously it's the oldest book in the Bible. So we don't know, Pastor was talking about when it would be fitted into that, but obviously Moses did, the first five books of the Bible, and I believe that Job lived before that. So anyway, it's just something ironic to me that God spoke through Job and then allowed Job to actually write down all of what took place, and that was by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So can we read out loud this key verse with you, please? Could we do that? So the sisters sent word to Jesus, Lord, the one who you love is sick. When he heard this, Jesus said, this sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's son may be glorified through it. John 11, three through four. Just wanted to emphasize what I just had shared with you from scripture. So, more often than not, the greatest athletic performances come when everything is on the line, when backs are against the wall. Our times of great pressure and anxiety can come moments of great beauty and wonder. Now, not just athletic, but even in our own lives, correct? When our backs are against the wall and we don't know what to do. There's great pressure, there's anxiety. Oftentimes, great things can come out of that if we trust in God, right? If we trust in God. This very thing happens in the 19th chapter of Job. In a moment when he is overwhelmed with the misery of his life, Job utters a powerful and moving statement that speaks of his Redeemer, Jesus Christ. And we just read that above, that he will declare that I know my Redeemer lives. Now look at this, redemption. I wanna share with you just in a few seconds here that redemption, I wanna talk to you about the redemption center. Can you fill in that first blank for me please? Can you fill in that first blank for me? Redemption center, redemption center. I'm gonna confess to you that I pick up cans and bottles, praise God. It's the only way Patty will give me any money is if I find some cans and bottles. So it's a tough life out there. She gets the cash and I get cans and bottles. But I wanna explain to you real quickly that I'm not ashamed of picking up cans and bottles because every time I do, I keep thinking about the redemption center of God. Now, follow along with me, please. These are worth nothing unless you find a redemption center, amen? And that's why a lot of you are fools. You just keep throwing them away for Jerry, and I appreciate it so much, because to them, they're like inmates. People just throw them away and throw the key away because they've made mistakes. Well, these haven't made mistakes. What they've been is used. Aren't all of us used and used up? but especially those in jail and prison. They're used up because Satan has had their way. He's almost destroyed their lives. So I just, I relate a lot to the redemption center of Jesus Christ, to what I get to do every day. I pick up cans and bottles along the road, but at the same time, there's cans and bottles all over the place in the jail who need redemption, amen. So if I find a redemption center, these things are worth some money, and if it's piled up together, it can accumulate to quite a bit of money. At least it pleases me, amen? And so the point of the matter is the redemption center is what our lives are all about, is taking people thrown away to the redemption center. Can we say amen? Are you doing that? Are you finding those that are thrown away and taking them to the redemption center? It's a blessing when you do, because you get to see the redemptor at the redemption center change their lives. Like he changed you, right? Like he changed you. Well, that's enough of my illustration. But here, redemption means an act of redeeming, a state of being redeemed, it's a ransom. It's deliverance, it's reclaimed. And that's what cans and bottles are, they're reclaimed correctly from their value extrinsically in the beginning, now their value even as you return them because they're reused. And the point of the matter is deliverance from bondage and consequences of sin is through Christ atonement. That means his substitutionary work. That Jesus became sin for you and I. That the wrath of God was poured out on him. Can you see all this illustration in the book of Job in that God poured, in a sense, a lot on Job because Job entrusted him with giving him glory like the sun, amen? What a picture. Well, the metaphors of death is what we read here as we get into this, because last week it was Eliphaz who criticized Job. This week it's Bildad begins his assault on Job, concluding there is no way to reason with Job. By the way, the metaphors of death, that would be the next blank. No matter what they said, they could not seem to get through to Job. It's interesting because they all, these friends, wanted to have him admit what wasn't true. I don't know about you, but sometimes people put pressure on us to admit things that aren't true. Why? So it can satisfy them and not necessarily God. Well, going on, no matter what they said, they could not seem to get through to Job. Bildad begins the 18th chapter by saying in verse two, look at it real quickly with me, will you please? I hope you're there. Job 18, when will you end these speeches? Be sensible and then we can talk. That's what he stated from the beginning. Then in verse three, Bildad continues with sarcasm by saying, are we regarded as cattle and considered stupid in your sight? And so they just went on and on with the fact that they continued with their sarcasm. These are two men of odds with each other. Job is not going to swallow Bildad's illogic. So Bildad decides on another approach. He is going to try to frighten Job instead. Have you ever been around people that just love to scare you? The reason I'm bringing up do you know people like this is because we need to identify our friends and our foes, they invented that. We need to be careful of people who wanna use scare tactics to get us to do what we need to do or to get us to do what they want us to do, correct? So we move on here. And we read, Bildad is convinced that Job is going to die the death of a wicked person. So he uses four metaphors to try to intimidate Job. Here are the four metaphors. First of all, the extinguishing of a light. Extinguishing of a light. In the Bible, light is associated with life, of course. And isn't it ironic that Jesus told his disciples in John that you do the work of God in the light, you don't do the work of God in darkness. And I think that's a picture of the fact that you can't do the work of God when you're in sin, amen? You can't do the work of God when you're carnal. You can't do the work of God when you're bitter or angry or resentful towards others or towards God. So Jesus is saying, walk in the light, be of the light. In other words, abide in me. Now this darkness is associated with death, of course. Death is darkness. Since God is the author of life, he alone can light our lamp. And so in this particular passage, actually, there's a picture here of a tent, and in the tent is a hanging lamp, and the lamp is oiled so that it can burn all night. or that they blow out the light and bring down the oil. The point of the matter is, isn't it ironic that as Jesus is coming for his church, he's saying that all of those in that parable of the virgins, that they must equip themselves with oil in their lamps. Isn't that ironic? In other words, be walking in the light, right? And so, And so we go on here and we get to the place where the next point is the entrapment of the traveler, the entrapment of the traveler. Before we get to that, I wanna bring up two more verses, verses five and six of 18, where it says, the lamp of the wicked indeed goes out and the flame of his fire does not shine. Do you see it? The light is dark in his tent and his lamp beside him is put out. And so in the Bible, the light is associated with life, of course, and all of that, and the darkness is associated with death. The picture here is that the lamp hanging in a tent is the fire smoldering a fire pot. The lamp represents his life going out, as far as Bildad's illustration, resulting in darkness, total disorientation and darkness. The Bible tells us this is what's happening to a wicked man. The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out, Proverbs 13, 9. This resonated in Job 21, 17. How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? See, he states that in the chapters ahead. Job actually agrees with Bildad's insight into the death of the wicked, but it is also immaterial because Job does not consider himself to be in that category. So that's why it fell to the ground, his words. The second one is the entrapment of a traveler. In verses 7 through 10, Bildad uses four different words to describe the dangers people face when they try to run away from death. Isn't that interesting? Number one, a net. It's spread across, fill in the blank, it's a net spread across the path to catch him. So in this illustration that he's using here of death, he's talking about the way that birds specifically are trapped or netted, sometimes animals as well, but a net is spread across the path to catch him. A snare is the second illustration that he uses, a snare. It's branches covering a deep pit so that someone who's walking on the path and all of a sudden walks on these sticks or limbs or bushes or whatever is spread across this hole and they fall in. All of these are descriptions of the wicked because they live life like this. They live life like they're a bird going to be caught. They live like a snare that's in their path. And then the second one is a trap. It's a noose that springs when someone steps upon it so that they are captive and are caught. And then the fourth one is a robber. It's another pitfall because robbers are caught most generally and then have to pay for what they've stolen. So a robber, another pitfall. So we move on here to see the establishing of a criminal. A criminal, that's the next blank. It's verse 11. Bildad likens Job to a criminal whose terrors frighten him on every side and drive him to his feet. In other words, drive him to his feet means to run, to run away. And so we've got a situation here where Bildad is illustrating a criminal who's running for his life for the terror of being caught. Is everyone with me on this? I'm working with people all the time who are in jail because they finally got caught. They were on the run from the law enforcement and they're gonna get caught. They know it, so they run and they run and they run. Lots of them will come to jail and say, I am so thankful I'm in jail and that I got caught because I was always looking behind my back. and I couldn't trust anyone. Do you understand that that's sort of a description of lost people? They're always looking behind their back and they're always running and they don't know why that they run. So the important part here is that Bildad is trying to, again, assault Job with the fact that he is like a criminal on the run, and yet obviously he's in the ash pit doing his rubbing of all these boils and sores. So he's not literally running, but he's running from God in Bildad's mind. Does that make sense, everyone? Because he won't face up to his own sin, which the boys, I'm gonna call them the boys, they're friends, Job's friends, were trying to establish in Job's life that he had given way to sin and that's why he was experiencing all of this. It's interesting, the frightened criminal gets weaker and weaker but still tries to keep going. If he goes back to his tent to hide, the pursuers find him and arrest him, drag him out, and take him to the king of terrors, just as Sodom and Gomorrah in a sense. So it will be for the wicked, you understand. The extinction of a family. Here's the cruelest part of the metaphors. Bildad likens Job's coming to death to the extinction of his family. How low a blow is that? which he has already endured, Bildad cleverly presents his case by using a tree as a metaphor. These guys are incredible. A tree, well, his roots had dried out below and his branches now wither above. That's the whole illustration in verse 16. Do you see it there? In 16, Bildad is trying to say, listen, if you were a tree, your branches are all dead and your roots are drying up. There's no life in you at all. And so he goes on to illustrate the fact that he's really talking about his family. Listen to this. The death of a tree illustrates the extinction of a family, a family tree. Not only is the wicked man himself cut down, but all the branches are cut down too. He leaves no descendants to carry on his name. In the East, during the time of Job, the extinction of a family was viewed as a great tragedy. because the name was what to be carried on, right? With no name, no carrying on the traditions or the values of that family. And so while Bildad's picture of death do not apply to those who are followers of Christ, his metaphors do remind us that death is certain and it can be sudden. It should not be taken lightly. The New Testament refers to it as the last enemy. The last enemy that will destroy is death. 1 Corinthians 15, 26. So we have to understand that there's great urgency on our part because people are dying all around us, amen? Especially with this COVID thing going on. And we need to be those who sound the alarm that the time of salvation is now, amen? It's now. Have you engaged in a conversation with a lost person? at all recently. I know that Josh McDowell's son is coming and he's gonna be sharing with us how to share with lost people. Often you'll find if you read the scriptures and the gospels, Jesus always asked questions. That's how I'm able to share the gospel most every day is I ask questions. If they ask me questions, I turn around and ask them a question. I'll give you an example. I had a gal ask me, what does God think of lesbians or homosexuality? How about that question? Well, I said, well, what do you think God's word says about it? You know what she said? That God hates it. And do you know what she said then? Because I shut up and I'm just letting her talk because I asked a question. And she said, she said, well, what do you think that means, chaplain? I said, well, what do you think it means? Well, he must not like it very well. I said, I think it's a little stronger than that. He uses the word abomination. He uses the word abomination, and you might not know what that means, but that means he strongly hates it. It's interesting to me that she's the one that brought it up, but she's the one that gave definition to what she was asking. A lot of people will give definition to their lives and where they're at if you just ask questions. Jesus did that. We can learn a lot from Jesus, amen, of how he handled people, how he loved them, but brought them out so that they could see what they couldn't see by their dialogue, by their talking. Does that make sense, everybody? Am I losing you? Come to jail with me, amen. I just love for you to sit there because here's the thing. People asking questions means God's at work in their lives. And for her to ask me that question was like, boom, baby, we're on in this conversation, because God's at work in your life, because you're asking a huge question, because you're disturbed about what you're doing. Does that make sense, everybody? Lost people shouldn't disturb us, should they? But I think that's why people don't share, is because, what do I do? Well, First of all, you're asking God for wisdom, and second of all, you're just asking questions, amen? And then you're listening, and then you'll hear all kinds of things that will come out of them, because most people know what's right and what's wrong. Can you say amen? Amen. Didn't you when you were sinning? I sure did. I knew it was wrong, but I liked it. Only until God convicted me did I not like it. And I knew I had a need. Make sense? Sorry, I got off on that trail. But you get talking about jail and I just have to go there. So anyway, so D, the extension of a family. Again, the family tree was what he attacked. In other words, you have nothing. You've lost everything. You've lost your family. You've lost everything but your wife. You have nothing. This is what your sin has caused, Job. Now, the next part is part two, the miseries of life, the miseries of life. Now we have Job responding here in a sense because Job fires back at Bildad. Job is gonna show his friends that he does not have to die to experience the terrors because his life is full of them. Can you relate to that? So he unfolds his concept of the trials of his life. He unfolds that, and that's verses two through four of chapter 19. Are you there? Two through four of 19. Thanks, Carol, I know you're with me, girl. Two through four, it says this. How long will you torment my soul and break me in pieces with words? These 10 times you've reproached me. Now, isn't that ironic? Job is suffering greatly, but he kept count. This guy is on the top of his game in the midst of his suffering. Isn't that amazing to you? It's amazing to me. 10 times you have reproached me. You're not ashamed that you have wronged me. You are not ashamed that you have wronged me and indeed I have erred. My error remains with me. Job describes his treatment in the use of four words. Tormented, do you see them listed there on your sheet? Tormented, broken, reproached, and wronged. Reproached and wronged. He says that even if I had erred, it was none of their business. This was something he would work out with God. And he did not need their help. They should all leave him alone. Can I share something with you real quickly from Matthew chapter seven? Have you guys ever shared your faith with anyone and almost on a regular basis, unbelievers will say, you're judging me. You're judging me. And most generally, we didn't even tell them they're sinners. They just know that they're sinners, and so they're really saying, you've told me what I already know, but you're judging me. Does that make sense, everyone? And so the amazing thing is Jesus in Matthew 7, one through five talks about, and let me read it real quickly to you, please. Can I do that? Sure, thank you. All right, Matthew 7. Matthew 7, verses one through five. I'm gonna read it real quick. Do not judge. or you too, let me see, do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck in your, the sawdust in your brother's eye, and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, buddy, when all the time there's a huge plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your own brother's eye. I wanted to bring up this point because when Jesus is talking about judge not lest you be judged, do you understand when we judge others, we're actually telling them what we think they're thinking? And I don't know about you, but I don't know what you're thinking. I don't know what anyone's thinking. Can you say amen to that? So Jesus is really saying, don't judge or don't tell people what they're thinking. And look at what Job's friends were doing. They were telling Job exactly what they thought he should be thinking. And I think they thought Job was thinking these things but hiding from the truth. And so the point of the matter is, is that we're not judging anybody by talking to them about Jesus or sharing our faith. What we're doing is sharing with them the fact that there's a separation between God and man and that's due to sin and that they need a savior to reconcile them back. It has nothing to do with the patterns of their living, because I don't know what they've done. I don't care what they've done. I only care where they're going. Does that make sense? Boy, this warm weather's really got people tired and sleepy tonight, Pastor. All right. So, let's move on. So, the picture of Job's frustration. This is chapter 19, one through 12. Bildad gave Job four pictures of death. Job counters with seven illustrations of the trials of his life. Are you ready to write it down? You write it down here. First of all, there's a desperate animal. There's a desperate animal. Verse six is where it talks about this. It tells his friends, Job tells his friends to know then that God has wronged me and has surrounded me with his net. Job feels like he has been caught in God's trap and he has not been running away from God and he does not have any idea why God would catch him in his net, but that is what he feels is happening. Is everyone with me on that? Number two, a defenseless criminal. So Job, in a sense, is reacting to these metaphors that Bildad is using by creating his own metaphors, but there's seven instead of the four that were there previously. So the second one is the defense of the criminal, and that's chapter 19, verse seven, and it says, though I cry, I've been wronged, I get no response, though I call for help, there is no justice. So there's no justice for Job. So that's how he feels like he's a defenseless criminal. There's nobody to defend him. Like pastor went into earlier, we all need a defense attorney, amen. And we need Jesus Christ to defend us. continually because Satan is busy accusing us of our sins and having us fall out of grace with God. Of course, Jesus stands up and says, no, she's mine, he's mine, leave him alone because my blood has covered them. So the next one is a detained traveler, a detained traveler. Now this one, speaking of God, is in verse eight, verse eight. He has blocked my way, Job says, so I cannot pass. He has shrouded my paths with darkness. That's how he feels. He feels like he's been fenced in. so that he cannot pass this whole predicament that God has allowed in his life. Does that make sense? Have you guys ever felt like you're at a dead end and there's no passing through where you're at? It's almost like it's not gonna get good. It's only gonna get worse. It's only gonna just continue to smolder like a fire. It just keeps burning. but it's already consumed. And Job feels consumed, but the burning still goes on. Is everyone with me on this, on that? So he speaks of the traveler who's been fenced in and cannot pass. He said, in the darkness in my path, Job could not see what was ahead because God had walled him in and darkness had been sent to devour him. Again, a lot of Job just continually reminds me of the cross, does it not? Jesus not hearing a word from his father as the wrath of God was poured out on him. My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? And then all of the surrounding area becomes as dark as night. because it was all picturesque of what Jesus was going through for us. Does that make sense? There's not gonna be any greater darkness than the darkness of hell. Do you understand, everyone? The darkness of hell will be so dark that you won't be able to see your hand before your face. Have you ever been in a cave? I have. You cannot even see, you can't see anything, that's hell. Do you understand? as well as other things that describe hell as a place. But that's exactly how Job had felt. The fourth one is a dethroned king. A dethroned king. He follows in verse nine saying this, he has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. This wasn't an egotistical thing Job was saying. Job was just declaring, I was doing well in my life and I had honor and I had dignity. and I had prestige, I had the things, not that the world would offer me, but that God bestowed upon me. Do you understand Job gave God glory for what he had received. So we're not talking about a braggart or anything, but he knew that he had come off that throne of authority and influence. Do you understand? Nobody wanted to be with Job, nobody. Nobody wanted to be with Jesus when he was hanging on the cross, nobody. All of his disciples had abandoned him. So now we look at the damaged structure, verse 10a. He tears me down on every side till I am gone. Do you see it? The damaged structure. He breaks me down on every side, I am gone. Everything about Job had once been strong, I can't imagine. Have you ever been around somebody that was extremely in good health and physically fit and all of a sudden a disease or something hit them and they became a wreck? And it was like, what happened to this person? That's exactly what was going on with Job. His structure was damaged and in his mind beyond repair. Well, Everything that Job had once had been strong. He had a strong family, a strong standing in the community, a strong financial position, a strong faith, but now everything that was strong has been broken down into weakness. Like a broken building, Job felt ruined. The next part is the dislodged tree, verse 10b. He says, he uproots my hope like a tree. Job's hope is like a tree with no root system and there is nothing to hold it together. Do you know a tree is really based not from above the ground, but what's below the ground. And to a certain degree, I don't know about you, but that's where God's at work. God's at work in the root structure of each of our lives, not on the branches that are hanging out here. That's the after effect of our root structure, amen? And if your roots are shallow, guys and gals, you are not going to be any bearing fruit tree for Jesus Christ. It's interesting, in Psalms, David just pictured this by saying, you're a tree planted by streams of living water. Isn't that beautiful? And that they bear their fruit often. Isn't that what's deplection of our lives? That we should be bearing fruit often? Like all the time? Like all the time? And so Job is referring to his life feeling like a tree with no roots. This guy's in despair, as you can imagine. So is Jesus, by the way. A defeated city, Job concludes by saying in verses 11 and 12, look at this, a defeated city. Verses 11 and 12 says this. His anger burns against me. He counts me among his enemies. His troops advance in force. They build a siege ramp against me and they encamp around my tent. Job concludes by saying, these verses 11 and 12, once again, Job expresses the feelings that God has decided to be his enemy, like an army encamped against him. He feels surrounded by his enemies. Job cannot understand why God has sent so much suffering into his life. Bildad tries to scare Job with morbid and frightening images, but Job proved here that nothing was more dark and forbidden than the reality of his own life. Wow. Well, here's the picture of Job's family and friends. These are the next two blanks, family and friends. This is found in 13 through 22. Job's experience has taken its toll on him personally. We see in verses 13 and 14 the impact of his suffering it has had on his family. It's removed his brothers far from me, my acquaintances are completely estranged from me, and my relatives have failed and my close friends have forgotten me. I mean, you can't feel more dejection than that. almost like a leper in the days of the gospels when they were removed from everyone and put in the unclean areas of the cities or towns out in the most parts of the city where nobody could come around and they have lost all contact with anyone that meant anything to them at all. I mean, Job's wife never even visited him. Job's wife didn't care to visit him. I don't think she was ashamed of him. I just think she didn't know what to think of the whole thing. I just, I think she was, she was just blown away and probably grieving greatly over 10 children, don't you think? Well, notice the order of things and how his emotions are generated. Look at these emotions that are evoked by Job in these verses 13 through 22. I just wanna read them real quickly. It says, he has alienated me. Do you see it there as one of the words? He's his brothers from me, alienated my brothers from me. My acquaintances are completely estranged from me. My kinsmen have gone away. My friends have forgotten me. My guests and my maidservants count me as a stranger. They look upon me as an alien." In other words, they couldn't even identify his appearance because he was so laid down and these sores all over his body. They lost recognition of him. Though I beg him with my own mouth, my breath is offensive to my wife. I am loathsome to my own brothers. Even the little boys scorn me. When I appear, they ridicule me. All my intimate friends, they detest me. Those I love have turned against me. I am nothing but skin and bones. I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth. Which brings up the whole chapter that we're looking at. Did you notice that at the beginning? The title of this 18 and 19 was this very phrase, the skin of my teeth. And so in that statement, Job is stating some certain things that I wanna bring out just real quickly, because it's interesting that he said, by the skin of his teeth, which can just be sort of a metaphor, or not a metaphor, but a way of describing something that took place. Job has suffered and suffered and suffered and he does not know what to do next but to look to God to keep him going moment by moment because his day seemed so long and his night seemed so long. Sleep had left him. So he was literally hanging on by the skin of his teeth. It's difficult to be around people who have suffered or are suffering. And so the excuse of Job's publicity made life easier for everyone around him. In other words, he agreed with everyone that that's who I am. After showing Bildad all these pictures of his life, Job makes one final plea for mercy and he says in verse 21, have pity on me, have pity on me, you are my friends. For the hand of God has struck me. It is truly sad to see Job's friends unmoved by his cries for sympathy and love. You know, before we move on to this last section, chapter 19, 23 through 29, I just want to make mention of this. That as We look at this expression that old is, as Job, and yet a part of our everyday language, that I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. Here's the point I was gonna make. Nobody seems to know for sure what Job meant by this statement. Some have said it meant that he was so far gone that all had left was his gums. Others say, boy, that's all dental work, isn't it, amen? Ever since I brought that up, many of you have gone to the dentist. Thank you so much for filling in the void. That's such good friends, I appreciate that. But others say he meant that it was the skin of his teeth that is how close he was to death. or that his body was so emasculated that all he had left was skin on his teeth. In other words, his body was so raw from all of this sores and boils. However, you want to explain this expression, it meant that Job was at the very end of desperate condition. He is about as low as you can get. Now, isn't that ironic? There's 40, what, 42 chapters, isn't there, Pastor, 42 chapters? And here we are sort of midway and he's at the end of what he thinks he can tolerate. I just want you guys to get the picture of how often that's where God takes us because he wants us broken to be open, to be changed, amen? And he waits. and he waits for the very perfect time to come to our aid, as we will see in the book of Job. Well, the last one is the picture of Job's faith. This is the climax of the book, or of this section. In the midst of such terrible suffering, Job offers up truly stunning words. Oh, that my words Verses 23 through 27. Oh, that my words were written. Oh, that they were inscribed in a book. How ironic. Job's saying, I just want to write all this stuff down. Well, why do you think? To help others. Don't you agree? Why else would he want to do it? Because I think that's the kind of man Job was. He wanted to help people and he was helpless at this point. and that they were engraved on a rock with an iron pin and a lead forever. For I know that my Redeemer lives and he shall stand the last on the earth. And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God. Whom shall I see for myself? My eyes shall behold and not another. How my heart yearns within me for that moment. Kim's mom, how about that? That's what your mom is seeing. My Redeemer lives and we shall see Him face to face. The question is, are you ready? Are you ready and do you know Him? I don't care if you've gone to church, I don't care if you've been a member, I don't care what you've done, I don't care if you got baptized, I don't care, I don't care. Do you know Jesus Christ? I don't care if you've been in this church 35 years, because there are a lot of people hiding behind the wrong things. They need Jesus Christ, because there's not a lot of fruit being seen from their lives. It says you shall know them by their fruit, amen? Amen? Looking back at it today, Job's speech seems strange. He longed for his words to be etched into granite so that people throughout time could read them and his thoughts would not be forgotten. I'm sure he could not have dreamed that his words would not only survive him but actually live from that moment to this very day and beyond. Now that's why I brought up the fact, isn't it ironic that he was a prophet and God wrote down every word for us for our encouragement, for our exhortation, for our challenge, for us to learn and grow. This isn't just about you coming to Job on Wednesday night, feeling sorry for yourself. If you are suffering, and a lot of you are, this is for you to see your suffering for the glory of God as you wait on Him for that glorious moment when we will all see Him face to face. But in the meantime, using your testimony to make a difference for others, amen? Look at this application. Establish oneself in Christ and your relationship with Him daily can help prepare you for the times of trouble and suffering. Listen, you can't get your relationship going when you're not going at all because of your suffering and trials. You need to be building up yourself in Christ for that battle that will begin, amen? You can't wait till the last minute. Job had a history of living what he believed, not just knowing some facts. The thing about church for me is not getting more information, but getting transformation, amen? I don't need more knowledge. I just need Jesus. I need practice in this race or I get fat spiritually, amen? A lot of fat believers around, amen? I'm offending everybody tonight, Pastor. We got so much knowledge, so much knowledge. You can turn the radio on and listen to about a hundred pastors during the week, all week long, get all kinds of stuff, but it's your living out your faith that counts the most, amen? And as you exercise what Jesus puts in, you'll actually get stronger and stronger for him. Did you hear what I just said? If you exercise every day, your faith, spiritual fruit before the Lord and others by bearing Jesus, then he'll get you stronger and stronger to use you more and more in other people's lives, amen? We just need some fortified soldiers out there on the trail, leading people to Jesus. Here's the last thing I wanna share, that you're writing the history of Acts 29. Have you ever thought about that? The book of Acts. The actual Acts of the apostles or the Acts of the Holy Spirit, it could be either one. But here's the thing. I'm thinking all the time, Holy Spirit, You write a whole section with my life in it that shows how you did the work and I stood back and watched you do what I could never do for Jesus Christ because the Holy Spirit wants to work, amen? Amen? He wants to use you. And here's the point, God is developing you for a purpose, your character. And if your character is what God can use and he can build on something new every day because you spend time building this relationship with you, there's a whole lot of people who need to hear what you've been learning in your life, amen? And we need to ask questions and we need to care. This chapter tells you more than ever that these three friends were heartless. They were brutal. They weren't helpful at all. Remember the chapter we talked about being helpful believers instead of hurtful believers. Which one are you? Are you building people up? Are you looking to tear them down so it makes you feel better? I think that was a part of the boys. I'll call them the boys. I think they wanted to tear Job down so that they could feel better. Those aren't good friends. Find people that will help you get better. And if you're struggling with some areas in your life that you need to get better because there's bitterness or anger or resentment or sin, then get better tonight, amen? Sit there for a little while and think about it.