What a joy it is to see everyone back together again, the assembly gathered back together once more. And so we thank God for his graciousness in that. As we continue to pray and as we're told by Paul and Romans to mourn with those who mourn in this continuing time of trial for many outside of our assembly and many in a part of our assembly. One of the challenges after going through something like what Houston has just gone through is to have too much of an inward view of ourselves. making it too much about the task at hand, making it too much about work that needs to be done. And before we know it, we've forgotten all too much the lesson that God has sent us through this storm. The church is called through times like this, through another time of refinement, both as individual believers and as an assembly itself. God has a purpose in this. He was not caught off guard. He is Lord and sovereign of all things. And so with that challenge today, we've taken a little bit of a sidetrack from the book of Acts, and we'll actually be in the book of Job today in the 23rd chapter. Let's pray. Father, we come to you, this assembly of your church. First and foremost, as every Sunday, it is the best of our ability to come together corporately as a body in celebration of our union with Christ and our shared union in the Spirit. We come to offer our meager worship to You. We're brought face to face with Your power and Your glory and the awesomeness of what You've done on the cross with Christ. We pray that as we come together are in this difficult time in these last couple of weeks, that all of that takes a back seat as we endeavor to hear you through your word. Your spirit would guide us in understanding of it and give us new understanding and even greater awe and love of who you are. Lord, so I pray for this congregation and myself included, that we would be brought face to face with you through the Spirit and your Word today, and it would change us. Pray for those here who do not know you, who are not part of the church, do not have the Spirit. Lord, I pray that today your Spirit would move on them. that this is the time you've appointed for them to come to a saving knowledge of Christ through the preaching of your word and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And if not that, we pray that this is a seed that is planted, that they'll remember this time, not because of the words spoken, because out of my mouth, but your word as we read it from the book of Job and the Holy Spirit. God, we do pray for Houston, we pray for the devastation and all of the suffering happening because of it. We pray that God, you would use it to bring glory to your name. And in something like this, there are mysteries that we cannot fully comprehend. But God, that we know that you as sovereign Lord and creator and sustainer of all things, that you can be made glorious through this by the works of your people, by the recognition of people of who really has power, and who's the only name they can call on for hope in times of need in Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray for the church universal as it meets in many places where it's illegal to meet. Christians will suffer and die. They will be in prison. They will be taxed unfairly. Their possessions will be taken. Living a life as a true refugee or a true sojourner alien. Being brought every day with the recognition that this is not their home. Lord, I pray that we would feel some of that now. That our hope is always to be on Christ and His finished work on the cross. that we would praise today you, Father, Son, and Spirit, through this time of worship. In Jesus' name, amen. In the midst of everything in Houston, we might miss some of the other things going on in the world. As I mentioned, being focused When tragedy hits us close to home, as wildfires rage, as earthquakes hit, as monsoon season strikes, as death spots across the world kill people outright, as ethnic cleansing happens this week in three different continents, There's all of this, whether it be through nature, whether it be through the acts of man, just the unrest of all things is a mark, again, that there is something not quite right. And that, of course, is sin. As sin entered the world, so did these things, death and violence. As man, sin entered the world, was told to multiply and spread, and rather than that, built cities and armies. Does the Christian church have answers to the question about suffering? And that's what we're in the midst of. That's what I pray you're given the opportunity to engage people in. As the world around us is predominantly unchristian, what is our answer to things like suffering? What is our answering for things like natural disaster? Do we have one? Are we calloused? God is sovereign. He brought the storm. You're sinners. Deal with it. Or do we have a little more heart? Do we have a little more compassion of mourning with those who simply don't understand because they can't? And in gentleness and kindness, as Peter reminds us, point out to them the hope that we have, even in the midst of tragedy, and especially in the midst of tragedy. God has called a people and set them apart and refines them through their life to look more and more and more like the sun. Job is a strange place to turn for this for many of you might think, but I think it's an appropriate place. There is literature in the Bible that deals with this. Ecclesiastes talks about what is the recognition that the author that Solomon is trying to communicate? What is the phrase that he uses over and over again? It's that this life is a vapor. It's like this. And so I've seen all these things under the sun and guess what? All of it is futile because why? Because life dissipates like a vapor. Lamentations is a book recording the fall of Jerusalem and the horrors that come with being in the middle of a city that is under siege and starving to death. And as Jeremiah records those events in that still, he looks forward to redemption. Job, the story's set. It's a wisdom literature book that's set in the time of the patriarchs, particularly in the time of Abraham in the old Babylonian empire in the land of Uz. There are all the good names. And Job is one who is set aside in this poetic tale of God setting Job aside and pointing him out to Satan. As God points Job out and says, look at this righteous one, he will not curse my name. And he allows Job to suffer. And Job has worthless friends that come to him and tell him why he just needs to repent. He has a wife that tells him to just curse God and die. All of these things go on. What is the lesson in such a book of this long engaged suffering? Today we're in chapter 23. Job is going to be responding to one of those particularly unwise friends. And in Job's response, you're going to see this question that you're going to hear and you should be able to address. Where is God? Where is he? This is what Job responds in 23. Job answered and said, today also my complaint is bitter. My hand is heavy on account of my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat. I would lay my case before him. and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know that He would answer me and understand what He would say to me. Would He contend with me in the greatness of His power? No. He would pay attention to me. There an upright man could argue with Him, and I would be acquitted forever by my judge. Behold, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive Him. On the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him. He turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. But he knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to his steps. I have kept his way and have not turned aside. Job is asking the question back, or the book itself is asking the question about suffering and about righteousness. In this kind of false belief that those that are righteous, those that are in God's favor, they don't suffer. There is no suffering for them. And Job is this tale of a man whose whole entire life is ripped away from him, children taken. possessions, money, everything is gone, and he's put through this trial. And then even those he believes are closest to him come and tell him, you obviously have sinned in some way. Will you just repent and admit what you've done? The mystery that Job doesn't understand is that he knows those things, that he was righteous, that he followed God, that he gave the proper offerings to him even in a land that was not known for the worship of Yahweh. But look at some of the accounts that he gives, and this will hopefully come, bring to mind our own thoughts this past week, and the thoughts of people that we will be prayerfully engaging. When he says, my complaint is bitter, that word actually kind of is a word play on the word rebellion. And we talked about groaning, this idea of the spirit within him is not at ease. And so he even accounts his own thoughts as almost rebellion to ask these questions about God. My hand is heavy on account of my groaning. He's talking about everything that's happening to him, which had to do with all of his possessions being taken, physical illness, kind of gross physical things that happened to him. And he's like, I am groaning and my complaint is rebellious. Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat. Job asked the question, and I think that if we're honest, and why this week was so difficult for me in preparing the sermon, is that when trials come on, heavy trials, suffering, things that bring on this feeling of hopelessness, and as you sat and watched the rain for days and days and days, if you're honest, maybe some of you, it wasn't this case, there was a recognition of just how helpless you are before such things. There's no planning around it, there's no defeating it, There's nothing that you can do. The power before you as it rains and rains and storms or whatever it might be, makes us all as infants. Job acknowledges that. And he also acknowledges that his thoughts were bitter. And those of us who have the Spirit, those who are in the Christian church, some of us were affected far greater than others. And our thoughts became bitter. Why is this happening? I've been praying. I've been tithing. Or giving, depending if maybe you go to a Baptist church or not. I've been doing, reading my Bible. My house has been washed away. I no longer have any cars. I don't know when I'll go back to work. I don't know where my kids are going to go to school. This isn't right, because I've done all of these things. I think that the church in the United States of America has been, unfortunately, taught incorrectly for decades now on what we should expect out of the Christian life. And what we should expect, even in the midst of the security of all the infrastructure and everything that we have as a nation, is that when things hit like this, we haven't equipped our people as a church, as a universal church at large, with this idea that this isn't extraordinary. This is ordinary. This type of suffering happens and has been happening since the dawn of man. So what do we do? What do we take from Job if we acknowledge in our own hearts just how this thought of bitterness and, God, that's not right, sets in our own hearts? He continues, oh, that I knew where I might find him. That I may even come to his seat, meaning that he would be able to go before the throne, the throne imagery happening in the first couple of chapters, I would lay my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments, and I would know that He would answer me and understand what He would say to me. He's making a legal argument here. He's saying, I'm going before the throne room of God and I'm going to try my case before Him. I've had all of my children have been killed. All of my possessions have been taken. I was the richest man in the land. Everyone knew I was blessed and I was wise. And now everything that I had is gone. And then even my body, my flesh itself is failing. But if I was able to go before the throne of God and try my case for my own righteousness, is what he's saying, God would acquit me. I would fill my mouth. The imagery is pretty funny in that actually, just like the idea of stuffing a mouth beyond filling. That's how many arguments he has for himself and for his own righteousness. And I would already know what he would say to me. He wouldn't contend with me with the greatness of his power. No, he would pay attention to me. There an upright man could argue with him. And I would be acquitted forever by my judge. Job has a bad theology through most of this. Job is accounting his works and accounting his own, in his own way, his own personal devotion to God. That is my righteousness. And because of my righteousness, because of what I've done, drawing to the parallel that I've used of being a good Christian or being a good citizen, these things ought not to happen to me. This suffering ought not to happen to me. Job learns at the end of the book where his righteousness lies. This life, our possessions, our health, Even our children are not our own. They're God's belongings. We're supposed to account all of these things as less than God. And in our lives of plenty, I think if we're honest with ourselves, we've made many of those things equal in our adoration. whether it be our job, our houses, some of you guys, your yards, our children's accomplishments, our children's themselves. We get caught up in this dream and we lose sight of where does our hope lie? Who is our righteousness found in? Job's wrong in his argument, but even in being wrong in his argument, there's this beautiful statement that comes afterwards, I go forward, and he's not there, and backward, and I do not perceive him. On the left hand, wherein he is working, I do not behold him. He turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. He's talking about, I know God's at work. I know he's the sustainer of all things. Even though while this is happening to me, I know he's there, but I can't see him. I can't point to him. I don't know where to look. I don't know where he is. And in the midst of all of that, That has to resonate with us a little bit when looking about what's happened here. When you think about war, when you think about, when I talk about ethnic cleansing, when you think about something like the monsoon where close to 1500 people have died in the same time that this flood has hit Houston. When you see things like that, where is he? Is he there? Is he present? Is he silent? The Scriptures would say no. Job's answer is that, as I said, he knows he's there. He can't see him. He wishes he could. He wishes he could talk to him and make his case. And I think that's where many people are right now. I wish God would hear me. We're surrounded by unbelievers, whether you've grown up in the South your whole life and everyone you see is Christian, they're not. You live in a kind of a Christian society and a post-Christian culture where for the first time in the history of the nation, many people and most people that are 15 years and up into that 15 to 25 year range are happy to admit that they either don't believe in a God or the God they believe in doesn't exist. even resemble the God of the Bible, even though they might steep it in that language. What do we do when they say, where is He? I don't see Him. And the reality is, it's because they don't see Him, because they want Him to be that cosmic gumball machine that they pull the lever on and get their favorite flavor every time they want something. We're not used to the idea of physical loss. We're not used to the idea of suffering. We're not used to the idea of any of these things that we've seen. And in all of it, there's this great loss. It's a loss of what we're supposed to put our hope in. Our hope isn't found in the niceties of nature towards us. It never has been. Our hope isn't found in being able to get used to our routine, where our comforts become this highest level of what we adhere to, like I'm gonna go home, and this is the time I watch this show, and my favorite chair is there, and then I'm gonna have my food here and my drink there, and then I go to bed at this time, and I repeat that for the rest of my life until I die. And then the idea of somehow a world that doesn't fit to that comfort. bringing us face-to-face with this reality that we live in a sin-drenched world, and it affects everything. And the Christian man and woman and young man and woman and child is supposed to have the Spirit, and they're supposed to be people of the Word. And when these things come upon them, they're supposed to be able to stop and say, as the psalmist says, you are my rock. You are my comfort. In you alone do I have hope. And while my life and everything else may fail me, you will not." And we also have to get past the idea that suffering is something that we shouldn't expect. In one of Votie Bauckham's books, Expository Apologetics, a fairly new book, He has an excerpt from what I believe is one of his sermons where he talks about comfort. And he has this great way of saying it that I'm imagining him, you know, hearing him say it, at least. As he talks about, you think God wants you to be comfortable. Let me get that straight. And by the way, I brought the wrong notebook this morning, so I had this all written down word for word, so this is more of a paraphrase. And so, let me get this straight. you believe God owes you comfort. So Jesus Christ, who it gave God pleasure to put him on the cross. It gave God pleasure to ruin him as he died for the sins of his people. And that act brought God glory, the suffering and death of Christ. And do you think God is concerned about your level of comfort? He's concerned about your level of worship. Look what Job writes towards the end of this. As he's acknowledging God is around, but he can't see Him. In verse 10, he writes, but He knows the way I take. When He has tried me, I shall come out as gold. It's that imagery that's often used in the Old Testament of a refining fire. It's the idea that these metals, these precious metals, had to go through much refining before they became in a state where you could sell them, or they were valuable, or they were moldable into some type of precious jewelry. And to take this piece of Job's wisdom that goes on throughout the book, these kind of small areas where Job or even some of the worthless friends come along and say things about God that are so true, is in the midst of this, Job says, when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. God's people throughout the history of the people represented in the Old Testament all the way to the church, are a people that are set apart, and a people that are set apart for a purpose of looking more and more like the image of the sun, and that takes refining. And we're to take suffering, and we're to take Things like natural disasters, death in the family, horrific things that are coming from the effect of sin. And that is supposed to make us cling to Him more. Where is this? What is it doing to me? Why is this? Why me? Me, me, me. No. Him. Him, Him. God, You've taken this from me. You've taken it from me, and I don't know why. It's a mystery to me, but I am going to hope in You, and my hope in You is going to produce character, and that character is going to be something that I can use in my Christian life, as long as You give it to me. to tell others about who you are, to show others who you are through this refining fire of this life you've put me through. Thinking of suffering, we've been in the book of Acts. Think of Paul. Paul, we haven't gotten there yet in Acts 26, is going to have a shipwreck. And he's gonna be at sea for a few days. And as Paul seemed to be, his life was either being beaten, chased out of town, beaten again, put in prison, chased out of town, beaten again, shipwrecked three times. In this particular shipwreck, he's at sea, he gets shipwrecked, he's in the waters for a while, they find land, they build a fire, he gets bit by a poisonous snake. Now, if you think you've had a bad day, You finally are warming up to the fire and a poisonous snake bites you. That's a bad day. Of course, we know Paul just takes the snake and throws it off and doesn't think it's a big deal. But where we come face to face with the New Testament from these acts of the old and the idea of suffering is that that was something that the Christian is supposed to expect. These trials that some of you are going through more than others right now, God is using to refine you. God is using it to produce in you that formation that we see in Romans 12, not being conformed to the world outwardly as a clay maker, as the world seeks to form us in its image, but being transformed inwardly by the Spirit. These trials are transforming you more and more into the image of the Son, if you lean and depend on Him. What about the answers for suffering for the unbelieving world around us? Suffering is here for one reason only. Suffering is here because of sin. And sin has infected the world. The creation groans. The world rages. Flood, famine, disease, war, sin. That's why. And guess what? You're a sinner. And your sin brings despair to you. And there is one hope, and only one hope. And that is in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The hope in the midst of suffering is only in Christ. Our only hope is the understanding that as this fallen world rages and will continue to, there is another world to come, a new creation, a new heavens, a new earth, a new Jerusalem for those who would dwell with Christ in eternity. What is the message we have for the people out there that we're helping? Rebuilding houses, giving of finances, of cars, of time. If we end it with just that, without letting them know, look, when they ask you, why do you keep helping me? Because I have this great hope in Christ. And you are an image bearer of the Father. And in that you have inherent value. and you're suffering. But let me tell you this, if you leave only with, we've built you a new home, I have not done my job. You are lost without Christ. This world is lost without Christ. We cannot lose sight of that message. I'm going to turn to 1 Peter 1, kind of close things out. A book much about suffering. Starting in verse 18, chapter 1. Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot, He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God. This is the Gospel message. In the midst of suffering, in the midst of anguish, what do we hold on to? We hold on to this precious blood of Christ, the Lamb without blemish. Understanding that His crucifixion, His work on the cross was something that was established before Genesis 1. It was made manifest for the sake of those who believe in Him. We can't lose sight of the only hope that the world has, even in the midst of what many would call incredible suffering and unheard of destruction. A few things to think about in terms of what happens in the times of suffering has become a great equalizer. This is more just application for us here. Becomes a great equalizer of socioeconomic and cultural boundaries. As many of us have seen or been a part of, is when destruction comes, it gives the opportunity to go and meet and give hope to people that you never would before because when that destruction comes, everyone realizes we're all equal. It also gives, in terms of application, it gives us the opportunity to see the church universal in ways that we don't on Sunday and in calmness and in times of peace. Where churches that you might think because they are maybe doctrinally deficient in some ways, you see them working shoulder to shoulder with people who are trying to bring hope to others. People have been able to experience that this week. Most importantly, Paul, in the book of Philippians, writing about suffering, writes that the purpose of it, ultimately, even in the mystery behind it, is to bring glory to God. How the Christian church responds in such times is what brings glory to God. How we hope in Him, how we teach others about Him, how we keep our joy in the midst of terrible loss, It brings glory to God. Let's pray. Father, I pray that in the weeks and the months and years to come, that this event wouldn't define our church. We would look back on what an amazing time. What a refining time. as God brought us out as gold, refined us as we leaned on Him and His Spirit and we turned to His Word and we learned to fellowship and love one another better, to represent Christ in all that we did and in all who we engaged. Lord, that we would look back on this as What a thing God did. Lord, I pray now as we enter into a time of taking the Lord's Supper, that we would rejoice in just this, the finished work of Christ on the cross, the hope of the cross, and the future hope of His return. In Jesus' name, Amen. We're now going to come into a time of the Lord's Supper. We do ask a few things. If you are not a believer in Christ, you do not have the Spirit, this is something for the church. We do ask that you would not partake of the elements. We do ask instead that you would consider the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. The one true Son of God who died on the cross, was buried, rose again, and went back to the throne of the Father will return one day in glory. When I ask the men to come forward in a moment, I would just ask that for us as a congregation, we take that time of the passing of the elements to consider our own walk, that we would take the supper, as Paul writes, in a manner worthy If you have broken relationships with someone in this assembly, we would ask that you do not partake. Ask that if you are in unrepentant sin, that you would not partake. Men can come forward. Please take this time to reflect. you you you you you Lord's Supper is one of two ordinances given to the church of Jesus Christ, and first being baptism, and this we celebrate now, the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is both a remembrance of the works of Christ, a looking forward and in hope of his coming, and it's also a renewal ceremony for the church as we take the elements Through union in the Spirit, we share with the church universal in these adorations of Christ. On the night that Christ was betrayed, he inaugurated the Lord's Supper, forever abolishing the Passover. as He, the one true Passover Lamb, with which the Passover was always a shadow of, would make the necessity of that sacrifice yearly never necessary again. And as He inaugurated this meal, He met with His disciples, reading from 1 Corinthians 11, starting in verse 23, For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner, he also took up the cup after the supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Father, we rejoice In who you are and what you've done, we rejoice looking back on the works of the cross. We rejoice and mourn. For that day, that terrible and beautiful day. We are in awe. of what was done on the cross. And we look forward in anticipation and in equal awe of your return. And when you come again in glory and power, resurrection of the dead, the judgment, the ushering in of the new heavens and new earth and the new Jerusalem. Every time we take the supper, we would be reminded of these things. We give thanks to election of the saints and the Father before the foundation of the world, the works on the cross of the Son, death, burial, resurrection, the sealing and the indwelling and the empowering of the Spirit. We praise you, Father, Son, and Spirit. In Jesus' name, amen.