1 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:10,920 We welcome you to the Via Zayan Sermon podcast. 2 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:13,600 We are a church based in Chennai, India. 3 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,640 We are so happy that you tuned in today and hope that as you 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:22,080 listen in, you will be inspired, strengthened and empowered to 5 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:27,080 live for Jesus everyday. As we enter 2026, we believe 6 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:29,560 that this is the year of a divine takeover. 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,160 We believe that when we surrender our lives to Him, He 8 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:37,080 will take over every aspect and bring breakthrough and blessing 9 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,680 like only He can. Today we look at how we hand 10 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,720 over the details of our lives before He takes over. 11 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:48,240 Would you keep your eyes, ears, and hearts tuned into God today 12 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:52,480 and every day of this year? Would your hands and feet be 13 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:56,560 strong to do what you have been called and created to do? 14 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:00,800 So as you know, we're doing a divine takeover. 15 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,200 We're doing this whole theme centered around divine takeover. 16 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,320 And you know, the essential, we realized the primary essential 17 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:10,440 that God was highlighting to us was the fear of God. 18 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:15,200 And many times in today's world, we feel it's kind of a wimpish 19 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:17,280 to have a fear of God. You know, we are like, you know 20 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,320 what? I'm made in the image of God and 21 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:21,720 probably like God in so many ways. 22 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,080 I'm the righteousness of God and therefore the fear of God has 23 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:28,000 diminished sometimes. And I believe God is calling us 24 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,720 into a fresh season of experiencing what it's like to 25 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:34,760 live in this awe and reverent fear of him. 26 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:37,640 And last week we looked at this book, at the book of Ezekiel and 27 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,560 how Ezekiel talks to the people and says, this is what God says, 28 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,440 that if these three men, Noah, Job, and Daniel, are in this 29 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,920 place still, I will not relent and take away the punishment. 30 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:50,800 And today we're going to be looking at Job. 31 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,080 And I can tell you this, I was dreading reading it because I 32 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,840 just felt like I would leave with more answers than 33 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,000 questions. And was I write the book of Job 34 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:05,040 is what, 42 chapters? It is a poetic masterpiece. 35 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:10,039 And yet there is so much that it leaves in in in a blurry state 36 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:12,720 that when I went in with questions, I came out with more. 37 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,280 I, I thought I understood some parts of it and I came out 38 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:18,080 wondering if I really did understand it. 39 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:22,160 And so I want to ask you this. How comfortable are you with 40 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:25,080 mystery? How comfortable are you with 41 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,560 just not knowing everything there is to know about a 42 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,640 particular topic? And I believe suffering is one 43 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:34,720 such topic. Every Christian can trust that 44 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:37,360 God has their back, that God is fighting for them. 45 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:41,440 But The thing is, every believer, just like every human 46 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:44,760 on the planet and every believer in Jesus, is going to face 47 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:46,680 suffering at some point of their life. 48 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:48,800 The question is, how do we suffer? 49 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,480 Do we suffer well or do we suffer in such a way that His 50 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,760 glory is not made evident? We suffer in such a way that 51 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,200 people wonder who our trust and faith is in. 52 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,640 And so we're going to with this idea in mind, how comfortable 53 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:03,960 are you with mystery? We're going to get into the book 54 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,040 of Job. I'm reading from Job chapter 1, 55 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,720 verses 1 to 12. This is what it says. 56 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,400 In the land of earth there lived a man whose name was Job. 57 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:13,840 This man was blameless and upright. 58 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:18,200 He feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three 59 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:23,920 daughters and and he owned 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of 60 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:28,360 oxen and 500 donkeys, and had a large number of servants. 61 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:32,000 He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. 62 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,440 His sons used to hold feasts in their home on their birthdays, 63 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:39,440 and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink 64 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,040 with them. When a period of feasting had 65 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,440 run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be 66 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:49,080 purified early in the morning. He would sacrifice a burnt 67 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,880 offering for each of them, thinking perhaps my children 68 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:53,880 have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. 69 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:58,240 This was Job's regular custom. One day the angels came to 70 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:00,960 present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with 71 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,400 them. The Lord said to Satan, Where 72 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:05,960 have you come from? Satan answered the Lord From 73 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:09,760 roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it, and 74 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:14,360 the Lord said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? 75 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:16,240 There is no one on earth like him. 76 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:20,079 He is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns 77 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:23,720 evil. Does Job fear God for nothing? 78 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:28,000 Satan replied, Have you not put a hedge around him and his 79 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,840 household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his 80 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:34,760 hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the 81 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:38,720 land, but now stretch out your hand and strike everything he 82 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,320 has, and he will surely curse you to your face. 83 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,920 The Lord said to Satan, very well, everything he has in your 84 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:50,200 is in your power, but on the man himself, do not lay a finger. 85 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:54,000 Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. 86 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:59,600 Wow, when you look at this what ensues is just literally havoc. 87 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,320 It's like chaos bursts on job and his wifes life. 88 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,520 He loses everything, he loses his children, he loses his 89 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:11,120 properties, he loses his servants, he loses his cackle, 90 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:16,240 his livestock, everything. This is his response in Job 1 91 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,880 verses 20 to 22. He says as this Job got up, tore 92 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:22,800 his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in 93 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,560 worship and said naked, I came from my mother's womb and naked 94 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,240 I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has 95 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:31,840 taken away. May the name of the Lord be 96 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:36,680 praised in all this. Job did not sin by charging God 97 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:38,920 with wrongdoing. Wow. 98 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,360 You know, sometimes when we read the book of Job, because we know 99 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,360 the end from the beginning, we don't actually get into the 100 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,800 depth of what he lost. But as a mum, as a wife, as 101 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:54,960 someone who is in in the lives of people, as a pastor, as as a 102 00:05:54,960 --> 00:06:00,400 leader in in our company, I can imagine the depth of grief to 103 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:03,960 lose everything that you know to be very close and dear to you. 104 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:09,280 Later on chapters, what happens is Satan again comes to God and 105 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:12,040 God gives him permission to lay his hands on Job. 106 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:16,240 And Job is covered from head to toe with painful sores. 107 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:21,360 So he rips his clothing, sits in the ashes and scrapes himself 108 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:22,920 with pottery. I'm guessing the skin was 109 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,880 festering and itchy. And that's when his wife, him 110 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:28,840 herself, says, what are you doing? 111 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:30,480 Are you still maintaining your integrity? 112 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,000 Curse God and die. And he says, are you a crazy 113 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,640 woman? Will we accept good from God and 114 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,200 not bad? What faith? 115 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:43,560 What tremendous trust in the God who had blessed him with all 116 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:47,520 that he had. What an understanding of what we 117 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:50,840 receive from God and when you there's a reason why Job was 118 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:52,920 mentioned. There's a reason why his 119 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:57,800 righteousness is made note of and when we look here a couple 120 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,760 of things that really irked me. First thing was why would God 121 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:05,480 highlight a good person to Satan's view? 122 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:08,240 You don't want him highlight God had put a hedge around him like 123 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:10,320 Satan had said. Why would he highlight him to 124 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:12,360 Satan? And my, my thought on this is 125 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,080 God was so proud of him. God was so proud of him and the 126 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:18,200 way he lived and he was highlighting this man to the 127 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:21,480 enemy to say, look at how this guy lives in the midst of 128 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:26,960 perversity and depravity. But does God actually listen to 129 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:28,560 Satan? Satan says, you know what, take 130 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:30,200 the hedge off, let's destroy him. 131 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:32,600 Does God actually listen to Satan? 132 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,240 So what's actually happening there, I believe is that God is 133 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:40,640 not destroying him directly. He's giving permission to Satan 134 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:45,200 to do what he needs to do. But the whole time, God is 135 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:49,640 sovereign, right? God seems to have so much trust 136 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,520 in Joe, in his integrity, that he knows no matter what Satan 137 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:58,120 does to him, he will uphold God. He will not sin against God. 138 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,760 What confidence? When you and I fear God, He can 139 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,520 entrust us with huge assignments. 140 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,240 But in the meantime, with those huge assignments will come huge 141 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:12,600 burdens, huge trials. Can God trust you and me to 142 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,520 carry the burden, to carry it with integrity, To not curse 143 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:19,600 God, but to trust Him? And, you know, the most 144 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,240 disturbing narrative, which comes from his friends and from 145 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,880 Job a couple of times, is how it feels like the wicked are 146 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:27,520 prospering. They get to have, you know, 147 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:29,040 safety. Their children are well, their 148 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,520 feels are good. But somehow the good, you know, 149 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,159 people who are good suffer. And I've heard this a lot in my 150 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:37,760 time as ministers. We hear this a lot. 151 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:40,360 Lot of people turn away from God because they say, you know what? 152 00:08:40,799 --> 00:08:44,039 I turned away from God because some bad things have happened to 153 00:08:44,039 --> 00:08:46,000 good people. But I want to read this quote 154 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:50,440 for you which undid me. RC Sproul says why do bad things 155 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:54,440 happen to good people? That only happened once and he 156 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,680 volunteered. Jesus is the only one who 157 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:02,800 entirely defines the word good. None of us, none of us, the best 158 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,960 of us, the most, the person with most integrity, the most with 159 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:10,120 greatest fidelity. None of us come close to good 160 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:13,840 like the way Jesus. Jesus epitomized good, and 161 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,240 therefore he was the only one who was a good man who suffered 162 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:20,960 and died. So we need to come to a place. 163 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:24,120 You know, when I was reading this, I read the whole book 164 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,080 multiple times this week, feel a bit tired. 165 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:30,960 But what really stood out to me was that I have to come to this 166 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:33,200 place where I cannot explain away suffering. 167 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:35,440 I don't have trite answers for it. 168 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:38,320 When I go and sit in the hospital with someone, I try as 169 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:42,040 far as possible to shut up because I don't know what landed 170 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:45,120 them there. I don't have any wise answers as 171 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,320 to whether they're going to come out, how it's going to look, why 172 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:50,240 this happened. I don't step into that. 173 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:53,200 Neither does any of our leaders because you know what? 174 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:57,800 Suffering is so complex, and yet suffering is ordained by God. 175 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:00,320 It's not something that happens when God was looking away from 176 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:01,960 us. It's not something that just 177 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:04,760 kind of snuck under when God was not paying attention. 178 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,360 God is watching over us the whole time and if something has 179 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,720 touched us, something has come into our life, something that 180 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:15,960 has caused tremendous suffering, it is under His watchful eyes. 181 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,480 God has not left. God is not distracted. 182 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:20,960 God has not washed his hands away. 183 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:24,080 And that I think is something that we can take consolation in. 184 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:27,200 Another thing that I have to say is, is suffering enjoyable? 185 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:29,400 A lot of people say, oh, God's glory is evident in our 186 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:31,600 suffering. When we suffer well, it brings 187 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:35,160 Him joy. All of that said and done, I 188 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:37,000 believe that suffering is not fun. 189 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:39,000 It's not something that we look forward to. 190 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,160 But I believe that when we do go through suffering, we are really 191 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,600 and truly united in Christ and that should be the source of our 192 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,000 joy that we are closest to Him. Like CS Lewis says that, you 193 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:53,320 know, pain and suffering is God's megaphone to a world. 194 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:58,520 You know, He is close. He's close in beauty and times 195 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:01,560 of of enjoyment, but he is shouting in our pain. 196 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:04,280 God is getting our attention. And so when we go through 197 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:08,560 seasons of suffering, it's not for not, it's not for nothing. 198 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:13,840 And in the context of the New Testament, there is a reason why 199 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,120 we go through suffering. Those who fear the Lord go 200 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:18,720 through suffering. And it might sound like an 201 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:20,680 oxymoron. How can someone who fears the 202 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:22,840 Lord go through suffering? Well, that's just the way it is. 203 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:27,240 There are two reasons why the apostles write about it in the 204 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:28,920 book of James and in the book of Peter. 205 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:31,720 One Peter chapter 1, verses six to seven, says this. 206 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:35,840 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while 207 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:39,440 you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 208 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:42,640 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith 209 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:45,640 of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though 210 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:50,040 refined by fire, may result in praise, glory and honor when 211 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,320 Jesus is revealed. He's saying, though you have had 212 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:57,440 to suffer, this has happened so that the genuineness of your 213 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:01,000 faith is tested. Is my faith genuine that is 214 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,320 tested in the midst of suffering, in the refining fire 215 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,640 of suffering. Suffering is when God is 216 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,640 closest, when his voice is clearest, his love is the 217 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:13,600 greatest. Smith Wigglesworth says this. 218 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,520 If you knew the value of trials, you would praise God for them 219 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:21,000 more than anything. So the first thing that you know 220 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:24,840 suffering actually does for us, for us, is it tests the quality 221 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:27,000 of our faith. If you're going through a season 222 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,520 of suffering, I want to want to be encouraging you right now 223 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,520 that your faith's quality is being tested. 224 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:35,680 It's a quality check. God is checking, hey, you say 225 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:38,480 you believe me, you say you trust me, you say you love me. 226 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:41,720 We're going to test that now because anything that is tested 227 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:44,720 is proven. Things that are not tested 228 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:47,400 aren't proven. You look at any theorem in math, 229 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:50,840 you know, I used to love writing, hence proved at the end 230 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:52,200 of these theorems. And there's the sense of 231 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:55,240 satisfaction when you get that equal to sign with the two sides 232 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:57,240 of the equation fitting perfectly. 233 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,920 And that's what it looks like when faith is tested and tried. 234 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:06,400 It is true, and that's what God does during suffering. 235 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,560 The second thing that God does with suffering is he tests the 236 00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:12,400 quantity of our endurance. He tests the quality of our 237 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,840 faith. He also tests the quantity of 238 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,480 our endurance. James chapter 1 verses 2 to 4 239 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:21,520 says, consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever 240 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,480 you face trials of many kinds because you know that the 241 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:27,000 testing of your faith produces perseverance. 242 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,320 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and 243 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:36,480 complete, not lacking anything. God's desire is for each of us 244 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,280 to move from being baby Christians to mature Christians, 245 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,520 Christians who have been there done that, but are moving 246 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:45,520 towards a greater goal of knowing Christ in greater 247 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:48,240 capacity. And for that the giants only get 248 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:50,000 bigger. We're in the season when we say 249 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,680 divine takeover, and our thoughts have been towards 250 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:54,720 possessing the promise that God has kept. 251 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:57,440 But, you know, possessing the promise means you face the giant 252 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:00,760 that have already, you know, infiltrated the land and the 253 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:02,800 giants are bigger than in the previous season. 254 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:05,760 And so you need to have endurance to pray and push 255 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,640 through every set back that comes at you. 256 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:14,400 You develop this ability to push through suffering. 257 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:16,240 Test the quantity of your endurance. 258 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:18,640 What is your endurance? If you've been a believer for 259 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:21,840 any length of time, is your endurance today greater than it 260 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:25,040 was when you started out? If it is, it means maturing is 261 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:26,920 happening. You're growing in maturity. 262 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:30,880 Brother Yoon says this. We shouldn't pray for a lighter 263 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,040 load to carry, but an stronger back to endure. 264 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:37,840 Then the world will see that God is with us, empowering us to 265 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:41,240 live in a way that reflects His love and power. 266 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:42,640 How many times have we been praying? 267 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:46,640 Lord, take away this this obstacle, this load is too 268 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:48,520 heavy. But God doesn't exactly let 269 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:50,240 lighten the Lord. He strengthens us. 270 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,680 He puts muscle into our spiritual being. 271 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,400 And I pray that you will not give up in times of suffering, 272 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,240 that you will allow God to test the quality of your faith and 273 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,720 test the quantity of your endurance. 274 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:05,080 But why do these two qualities matter? 275 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:08,080 You might ask me what is the use of testing the quality of my 276 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:09,840 faith? It's not like I'm in a factory 277 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:11,800 setup where you know, you need to get the quality check. 278 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:13,520 That's it's not important. Why do I need it? 279 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,800 Well, in the Book of Revelation chapter 14 verses 12 to 13, I 280 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,040 periodically read Revelation just to keep me. 281 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,680 It's like a reality check. This is our future. 282 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:25,800 This is where we are heading. And 14 says this. 283 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:29,560 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God 284 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:33,360 who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. 285 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:36,720 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, write this. 286 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,160 Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. 287 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,360 Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labor, for their 288 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:45,080 deeds will follow them. What is he looking for? 289 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,240 People who have endured and people who have stayed faithful 290 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,960 to God. Hence quality checks 291 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:53,800 periodically in this life are important. 292 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,480 Hence, checking the quantity of our endurance is so important 293 00:15:57,480 --> 00:15:59,880 because at the end, eternity is all that counts. 294 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:02,320 At the end, this is what we're going to be weighed on. 295 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:07,600 But coming back to the book of Job, coming back to the life of 296 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:10,720 Job, few things that I saw. This is a man who feared God. 297 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,120 And if you and I want to allow this divine takeover in our 298 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,880 lives, there is going to come seasons of suffering. 299 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:18,640 There is going to come seasons of hardship. 300 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:20,680 Maybe you're still in a season like that. 301 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,400 And I want to encourage you from Job's life because there are 302 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:25,320 three things that I found in Job's life. 303 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:27,480 There are so many things actually that we could go into, 304 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,240 but I just wanted to narrow it down to three things that I 305 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:34,000 found very intricate, intricately beautiful about 306 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,000 Job's life. The first thing is he kept his 307 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,920 gaze on God. Think about it. 308 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:44,360 He had his wife and then she just got utterly devastated with 309 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,760 the losses. She's not mentioned again until 310 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,440 the very end. And then he had four friends, 311 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,120 Three friends old, as old as him. 312 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:54,680 One young friend. They come over, they're quiet 313 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:56,720 for a week and then they start talking and you wish they 314 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:00,080 stopped. He had so many people who used 315 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:02,160 to be around him which are no longer, who are no longer with 316 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:03,200 him. He talks about that. 317 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:05,800 He says, my wife considers my breath loathsome. 318 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:10,040 My friends don't talk sense, My siblings are not coming to see 319 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:13,800 me. And yet the whole time his 320 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:18,040 discourse is targeted at God. He keeps addressing God, Who am 321 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:20,359 I that you are mindful of me? Why are you picking on me? 322 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,280 Lord Almighty, I can feel your Spears in me. 323 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:30,680 Why has God done this to me? Every other sentence is directed 324 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,240 at God. You can see that He kept his 325 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:37,040 gaze on God even in the depths of his wrestle. 326 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,240 Most of the chapters where he writes is almost like a lament. 327 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:44,040 And lamenting is such a good thing because at the center of 328 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:47,840 your lament is Jesus. Many times when we are ranting, 329 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,280 at the center of that rant is usually ourselves or someone 330 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:54,280 that we are ranting to, who we want Pity from Oregon, sympathy 331 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,520 from. When I lament, I'm lamenting 332 00:17:57,520 --> 00:17:59,600 before God. He is the focus. 333 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,280 Lord, you see what I'm going through. 334 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,040 Lord you, you can see the reality of the situation. 335 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:07,920 This is not what I expected and it all comes back to God and me 336 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:10,680 and that's the beauty of what Job did. 337 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:16,080 Job chapter 19 verses 26 to 27. He says, For I know that my 338 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:19,800 Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth 339 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:22,520 after my skin has been thus destroyed. 340 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:27,240 Yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and 341 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,160 my eyes shall behold and not another. 342 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:33,240 My heart faints within me. This is literally like a 343 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,800 psalmist saying that like the deer pants for water. 344 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,360 So my soul longs after you, Job saying I long to see him. 345 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:42,720 Basically he's saying I'm not afraid of death. 346 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,880 At this point. The quicker I go home, I get to 347 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,280 meet my Redeemer. He calls this God his Redeemer, 348 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:51,680 even though he has not yet redeemed his situation. 349 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,280 He has not yet seen restoration. And yet Joe, because his eyes 350 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,920 are on him, is able to see him for who he is. 351 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:03,600 Whom you wrestle with matters. If you're in the process of 352 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:07,120 deconstructing your faith, who you are deconstructing it with 353 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:09,160 matters. Who the deconstruction is 354 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,120 targeted at matters. If you're deconstructing it with 355 00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:15,200 you in the mirror, it's a problem because you will pick 356 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:17,680 what works for you. But if you deconstructed with 357 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:19,320 Jesus at the center, you're safe. 358 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,160 Who you're wrestling with, you know, matters of faith. 359 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,240 I have a couple of friends we wrestle with matters of faith. 360 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:28,720 We talk to each other and invariably there's always this 361 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:32,480 moment when God steps into that relationship, into that 362 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:35,240 conversation and says this is what is happening. 363 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:37,240 He explains it through the mouth of a friend. 364 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:41,520 Make sure you're wrestling with those who love God more than 365 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:43,680 you. Make sure you're wrestling with 366 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,600 those who have journeyed longer than you with Jesus to hold you 367 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:49,440 accountable in the midst of your wrestle. 368 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:55,600 The side you choose to camp out on during suffering matters 369 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,680 because if you choose the side where you say God is against me, 370 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,440 I don't want any of this. It's a dangerous slope. 371 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:05,240 But when you sit with God in the suffering because he meets you 372 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,080 there, God doesn't say you come out of the suffering, I'll meet 373 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:11,320 you at the other end. He walks with us in the 374 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:15,720 suffering. The first thing is he kept his 375 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:20,040 gaze on Jesus. He kept his gaze on God, who you 376 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:22,840 behold. What you behold is what you 377 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:25,760 become. If you behold Jesus, you become 378 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,720 more like Him. You behold yourself and your 379 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:33,160 needs and your ambitions and your expectations less like 380 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:34,360 Jesus. You become. 381 00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:38,800 The second thing is he knew God's ways because he knew God's 382 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,040 heart. You know, many times because 383 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:45,160 maybe we've not read enough of the Word or we haven't meditated 384 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,720 on it, we haven't actually sat in a dialogue style prayer with 385 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:51,640 God, we don't seem to know God's heart for us. 386 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:55,600 But if you read the Word of God from start to finish, God's 387 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:57,880 heart has been spilt on the pages. 388 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,800 As a writer, when I write a book, the minute the book comes 389 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,840 into print version, I always get emotional with the two books and 390 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,280 our third book which I'm working on the IT is such a vulnerable 391 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:12,640 thing when I give my book to someone because I have spilt my 392 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,920 heart on the pages and God has done that and more in the Bible. 393 00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:20,760 He has spilt his heart on the book so that when you open it, 394 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:24,880 it's his love letter to you. And so the more you're reading 395 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,320 it, the more you're sitting in dialogue style prayer with him 396 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:29,200 when you're speaking and letting him speak back. 397 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,200 You begin to know his heart. You begin to understand what he 398 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:36,680 desires for you. You begin to see his hopes, his 399 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:40,720 dreams, his desires for you. You begin to slowly understand 400 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:44,120 his ways. Tim Keller says this. 401 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:46,880 Tim Keller wrote this. He said suffering is unbearable 402 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:51,400 if you aren't certain that God is for you and with you. 403 00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:53,920 I remember the season in my life. 404 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:56,640 I had walked through trauma counselling. 405 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:00,760 I just come through it. I had just, my brain had kind of 406 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:03,720 exposed the fact that I'd walked through trauma when I was a 407 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:05,840 child. And so I went in for counseling 408 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,320 for two years. I spent time wrestling with so 409 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:09,960 many questions. I realized I had so many 410 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,520 faith-based questions, most of the questions, where was God 411 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:15,280 then? Why didn't God protect me and 412 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,720 things like that? So my counselor walked me 413 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,840 through that space of healing my relationship with God again. 414 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:24,720 And so at the end of it, I'd come to this place of believing 415 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:28,840 that, you know, when by his stripes we were healed was 416 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:32,000 literally the stripes that he endured covered my trauma as 417 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:33,560 well. So I came to this place of 418 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,920 believing that God understood what I went through. 419 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,800 He never left me. He never abandoned me. 420 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:41,320 And so I came to this stronger place of faith. 421 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:44,520 And thank God I did because soon after that I had a brain 422 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:46,200 aneurysm and was in the hospital. 423 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:51,040 And when I was there, not for a minute, not for a minute did I 424 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,400 doubt God's intentions for me. Had I not walked through two 425 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,720 years of trauma therapy, had I not gone back to understanding 426 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:01,400 God's heart for me when I lay in the hospital with three kids, at 427 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,920 home with my husband, and in the hospital waiting for surgery, I 428 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,400 would have absolutely doubted God's goodness for me. 429 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:08,360 I would have thought, you know what? 430 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:10,360 God's just left me. God hates me. 431 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:14,920 He has it out for me. But not for a second did I doubt 432 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:16,840 God's heart because I kept remembering this. 433 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:19,360 Lord, I believe I still have so much work to get done. 434 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,840 I believe we're just starting. I believe that You're for me. 435 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:25,840 I believe that you love me and You have knit me together and 436 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:29,240 that this too shall pass. That was what I held onto. 437 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:35,080 And so it's so important to understand God's heart so that 438 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,200 you know God's ways, so that many times God's ways is not 439 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:42,000 what we want Him to do. Because like the prophet Isaiah 440 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,200 says, his ways are higher, his thoughts are higher. 441 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:47,120 So I want him to give me the promotion in this way. 442 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:51,320 But God does it like this, still a promotion, but the process is 443 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,000 different because it's God's way. 444 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,320 I want to have a child in this method. 445 00:23:56,440 --> 00:24:00,640 But God does all over the place. You know, that is our God. 446 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,480 He loves variety. He loves to surprise us, and so 447 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,160 if I know God's heart for me, His desire is to bless me. 448 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,800 His desire is to heal me. His desire is to enlarge my 449 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:14,720 territory. If this is my God, I can trust 450 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:19,560 His ways. Job chapter 23, verses 8 to 10. 451 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:23,920 Behold, I go forward, but he's not there and backward, but I do 452 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:26,040 not perceive him on the left hand. 453 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:27,920 When he's working, I do not behold him. 454 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:32,440 He turns to the right hand, but I do not see him, but he knows 455 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:36,480 the way that I take. When he has tried me, I shall 456 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:43,320 come out as gold. Job knew that God was trying 457 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:48,120 him, that what looked like desolation and absolute chaos 458 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:52,720 was actually God trying him almost in a refiner's fire so 459 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:57,280 that he will emerge as gold. Can you believe that this comes 460 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:02,200 from someone who knew God? In another chapter he says that 461 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:06,680 my delight has been God's word. His words are like honey to my 462 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:09,000 mouth. This is how he delighted in God 463 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,680 and therefore he knew God's heart and he could identify 464 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,920 God's ways. Let me ask you this. 465 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,800 When you see things happen, you feel like chaos has just 466 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,960 exploded over you. You feel like none of your plans 467 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:23,720 are working, but something else is happening. 468 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:27,560 Are you able to identify God in the process? 469 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,880 Are you able to see God's ways? Because if you know his heart, 470 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:38,040 you will start to know his ways. The third thing is, first thing 471 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:43,280 was he kept his gaze on God. Secondly, he knew God's ways 472 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,520 because he knew God's heart. And the third thing was he 473 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:50,080 killed his pride. He killed his pride and 474 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:55,200 entitlement. What does that mean throughout 475 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:58,400 the book? One thing is very obvious, that 476 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,720 we can talk a big game about what we know about God. 477 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:04,040 Or you know what? He's this, He's magnificent, 478 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,240 He's awesome. We don't understand his ways. 479 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,640 He does miracles beyond number. We can say all of these things, 480 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:11,880 but in reality, we know so little. 481 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:17,320 We know so little and Job kept justifying himself towards the 482 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:21,160 end in chapter 30 and up, he keeps talking about, you know 483 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,320 what I have done. I live right, I do right. 484 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:26,640 I'm kind to the widow, I'm kind to the orphan. 485 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,160 I do right by people. Why did this happen to me? 486 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,400 I don't deserve this. And you intend there's a small 487 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:36,000 moment when entitlement has creeped and he is justifying 488 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:37,520 himself. So God, when he starts talking, 489 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,000 he says, stop justifying yourself. 490 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,840 What is it to justify ourselves? Many times in an argument 491 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:46,080 between Geshom and me, I'll usually tell Geshom, stop 492 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:49,160 justifying yourself. Just say, sorry, I don't know if 493 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:53,480 it's the best parent, you know, marital advice, but it's a human 494 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:56,000 tendency to say, hey, I don't deserve this. 495 00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:59,040 I don't deserve this accusation. I don't deserve this treatment 496 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,520 because I didn't behave in such a way to get it because you know 497 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:04,480 the the way we all think is cause and effect. 498 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,160 If I did this wrong, I deserve this punishment. 499 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,440 But here job rightfully so, saying I've not done anything 500 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:12,360 wrong. Why would you punish me like 501 00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:13,920 this? Why would you take out, you 502 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,040 know, wrath on me and just drop fireballs on me? 503 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:20,920 What's going on? And he kept saying he was 504 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,720 blameless, he was pure. And inevitably this little bit 505 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:27,360 of entitlement creeps in. And I think all of us have that 506 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:30,240 where we say, Lord, I go to church, I read your word, I 507 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,880 pray, I'm kind to people, I tithe, I give, you know, arms to 508 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:36,040 the beggars. I'm trying to do everything 509 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:37,600 right, Lord. But why this? 510 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,960 Why this nagging ailment? Why this suffering, Lord? 511 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:44,680 Why this relationship crisis? Because we somehow think if I do 512 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:47,840 these things right, I'll have a cushy life, I'll have a pain 513 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:52,880 free existence. When God finally speaks, I think 514 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:59,640 it's in chapter 40, Chapter 38, God starts by saying, who is 515 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,200 this? That darkens my counsel with 516 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:06,760 words without knowledge. He only addresses Job. 517 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,560 He's not talking to his friends at this point, but he's asking 518 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,800 Job. You have darkened my counsel by 519 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:16,960 speaking without knowledge, and it's interesting because Job 520 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:20,920 will eventually tell him, I will clap my hand over my mouth. 521 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,080 I am going to keep quiet. I don't know anything. 522 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:26,320 Job chapter 42 verses one to six. 523 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:28,640 He says this. Then Job answered the Lord and 524 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,840 said, I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of 525 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:35,080 yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel 526 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:38,200 without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered that 527 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:41,960 what I did not understand things too wonderful for me, which I 528 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:44,400 did not know here, and I will speak. 529 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:46,640 I will question you, and you make it known to me. 530 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:50,120 I had heard of you by the hearing of the year, but now my 531 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:54,040 eye sees you. Therefore I despise myself and 532 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:58,920 repent in dust and ashes. I want you to repeat this after 533 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,840 me. I know nothing now. 534 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:04,360 This is not putting ourselves down. 535 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:07,960 This is not saying I'm useless. No, I want us to remember this, 536 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:11,240 that we truly don't know everything about everyone. 537 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:13,880 We truly don't know everything about everything. 538 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,120 You know, on my family, my side of the family, we are very 539 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:21,240 confident about certain topics when it comes to politics or 540 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,520 health or this or that. My husband's side, they are very 541 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,520 confident about certain topics. And the way we all debate and 542 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:30,320 talk will be loud, will be opinionated. 543 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:34,480 But I'm sure if someone was recording us, the general theme 544 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:38,320 would be people with a lot of knowledge and also can have a 545 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,240 hashtag attached of quacks. Because we have a theory on 546 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,040 everything. Not necessary that the theory 547 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:46,320 carries weight, that it is true. It is scientifically proven. 548 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:49,960 No, And I wonder how many of us actually go through life 549 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:51,880 thinking that we know everything. 550 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:53,640 Oh, I know so much in the text space. 551 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:57,120 Oh, I'm incredible in my space of knowledge, my space of 552 00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:01,040 expertise. But I believe that there's a 553 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:05,200 time when we have to kill pride in its place, where we keep it 554 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,640 in its place. Pride for a believer, for a 555 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:13,120 follower of Jesus prevents us from living in the fear of God. 556 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,400 Because with pride comes in entitlement where it says, you 557 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:17,920 know what? I don't deserve to suffer. 558 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:22,680 I, I'm too good for this. I, I do everything right. 559 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,640 Why did this happen to me? The first thing we need to do in 560 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,800 a more in a season of suffering, in a season of hardship is to 561 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,240 lay it down before God and say, you know what, Lord, here I am. 562 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:35,160 I am no one. I am nothing without you. 563 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:39,280 I am nothing without your Spirit breathing wisdom into my mind. 564 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:43,360 I know nothing. It's good to come to a place 565 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:46,280 where we lay our pride down. It's time to kill pride. 566 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:50,200 Without him, our lives are useless. 567 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:54,320 Our lives are frail. But with Christ we can do all 568 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:57,560 things, you know. And sometimes we presume that we 569 00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:00,960 know everything about our health, about our future, about 570 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:03,160 our desires, our dreams, how we're going to accomplish it, 571 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:06,080 how, you know, how our career path has to go, how we need to 572 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,960 get married and when we should have kids and buy that house and 573 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:11,320 a car. And we have these things planned 574 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:13,360 because, you know, we have knowledge of the of our 575 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:15,640 financials, we have knowledge of our health. 576 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,240 We have knowledge of our family genetic makeup. 577 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:23,960 But here's the thing, none of it compares to the majestic wisdom 578 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:28,120 of a sovereign God because pride has to be laid down so that the 579 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:32,960 sovereignty of God can come in. We have to lay down and say, 580 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,040 Lord, do as you will surprise me. 581 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:42,080 I was recently listening to a story of a person who was just 582 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:43,960 sharing how she had her children. 583 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:47,480 She had cervical cancer when she was young and doctor said you 584 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:48,640 will not be able to have children. 585 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:51,520 And so she decided, well, it's fine. 586 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:53,800 You know, I'll travel the globe, I'll do my own thing. 587 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:56,600 I don't need kids. Inevit inevitably she found 588 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:58,840 someone. She got married and she told her 589 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,080 husband, hey, you know what? Our children won't be on the 590 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:03,760 table for me because I have had this health issue. 591 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:06,640 And he said, that's fine. Let's travel the world. 592 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:08,680 Let's do the things that you know we desire to do. 593 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:13,320 They were saved. They came to Jesus and she asked 594 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:18,320 God to heal her womb. And imagine her surprise when 595 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:20,200 she got pregnant a few years later. 596 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:21,720 And she didn't end up pregnant with just one. 597 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,440 She even eventually went on to have 4 kids. 598 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,560 This is our God. Doctors limit us with their 599 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,280 knowledge. Our theories limit us. 600 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:33,280 We think we know how things should go. 601 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:37,480 But the beauty is we have a God who can completely circumvent 602 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:39,280 our plans because of his sovereignty. 603 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:43,960 A God who can trump every, every plan and process we have with 604 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:48,840 the divine process that he has. And so I want to ask you this, 605 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:51,080 will you be ready to kill your pride? 606 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:53,360 Maybe you think you know everything there is to know 607 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:56,160 about your marriage to make it work, but obviously it's not 608 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:59,280 working. What if it's time to bring it to 609 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,200 the one who actually brought you together in marriage? 610 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,680 Maybe you're saying, I know what, how to bring up my kids. 611 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:06,760 You don't need to give me advice. 612 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:09,200 Nobody needs to give me advice. Lord, I've got this. 613 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:13,560 But what if God is saying, Hey, I gave you those kids, I'll help 614 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:15,720 you. What if we need to lay down our 615 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:19,240 pride in our degrees, in our achievements, in our income and 616 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:23,480 say, Lord, I invite you in, come in, take over. 617 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:27,120 So even as I begin to wrap up, I just want to give you a side 618 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:31,720 note about the friendships that happen that sometimes end during 619 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:36,800 suffering or begin Job had these friends who I think I can call 620 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:39,160 them Fairweather friends. Some of the accusations they 621 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:42,720 throw at Job towards the middle of the book are are appalling. 622 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:46,280 One of them actually says, you know what, you lent money with 623 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:49,880 interest, you extorted things and this is not who Job was. 624 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,920 Why did this man think he could say those things to Job in his 625 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:58,360 worst moment? How can someone judge someone at 626 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:01,000 that level? And as I was reading, I took 627 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,360 time to make a note of what every friend said. 628 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:05,440 Elifa has said a bunch of things. 629 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:08,000 Bildad said a couple of things so far, said a couple of things. 630 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:13,280 And it felt so unfair. They had not lost ten children, 631 00:34:13,679 --> 00:34:17,520 They had not lost health, they had not lost cattle and 632 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:21,159 livestock in houses. They were coming in as 633 00:34:21,159 --> 00:34:23,800 spectators. Their best gift would have been 634 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:27,040 silence and justice presence. Yet they decided to open their 635 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:31,159 mouths and puffed up. They were puffed up with self 636 00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:34,120 righteousness. And I want to ask us this, what 637 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:36,000 kind of friends are we during suffering? 638 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:40,800 What kind of friends are we? Do we puff up with self 639 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:43,639 righteousness instead of just quietly journeying with those 640 00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:46,960 who are going through hardship? Do we amplify their sins, their 641 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:50,400 mistakes, the stuff that you think they're messed up? 642 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,560 Are you waiting for them to trip up so that you can point out 643 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:58,440 just how wrong they've been? My question is, can we journey 644 00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:02,280 with people in silence and justice, intercession if need 645 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:07,160 be? It's interesting because Job 646 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:09,400 maintained his integrity before God. 647 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:15,680 And the beautiful thing is at the end in chapter 42, God says 648 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:20,440 this beautiful thing He says, he says to Eliphaz, I am angry with 649 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:22,960 you and your two friends because you are not spoken of me. 650 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:27,400 What is right as my servant Job has for these three men. 651 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:28,920 They thought they knew God better. 652 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:32,400 They felt they could point out Job's sins in this moment, in 653 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:35,680 his darkest moments. And yet God says, you don't 654 00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:38,760 speak right about me. How many of us have been giving 655 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:42,720 God a bad rap with what we speak about him to others in their 656 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:47,600 moment of utter desolation? I want to turn that around. 657 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:51,160 How many of you actually lost faith in God because of those 658 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:53,320 fair weather friends? How many of you have actually 659 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,160 said, you know what, God, I don't want this Christian 660 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:58,520 journey because the people in that church, that Christian 661 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:03,560 friend denounced me so much. That friend looked down at me. 662 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:07,200 That friend said all kinds of things which could have been 663 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:09,480 true, but I didn't need to hear it at that point. 664 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:12,720 And therefore I didn't want your community. 665 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:14,120 I didn't want fellowship with you. 666 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:17,160 Maybe you've turned away from God because of certain 667 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:20,920 friendships, but I want to bring it back to this. 668 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:25,840 This is what God says to Job. He says you need to pray for 669 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:29,120 them. My servant sacrifices, burnt 670 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:31,920 offering, He's telling Eliphaz go to him. 671 00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:35,440 He will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal 672 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:37,000 with you according to your folly. 673 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:39,760 Verse 10. After Job had prayed for his 674 00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:42,400 friends, the Lord made him prosperous again. 675 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:46,840 I want to stop there. After Job prayed for his 676 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:48,800 friends. Why did Job have to pray? 677 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:53,120 Job was modelling to us what Jesus taught us in forgiving our 678 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:59,560 transgressors of their sins. And some of the hardest things 679 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:02,360 sometimes what people put us through, what people do to us. 680 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:06,000 It is so difficult to forgive because, you know, you feel like 681 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:07,760 I didn't do anything deserving that. 682 00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:10,680 I didn't deserve that kind of betrayal. 683 00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:12,480 I didn't deserve that kind of statement. 684 00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:14,600 I didn't deserve that kind of hate. 685 00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:16,880 But this is what CS Lewis writes. 686 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:20,920 He said to be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable 687 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:24,680 because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. 688 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:27,800 So when you forgive, it doesn't mean you know, one of the 689 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:30,680 reasons I oftentimes withhold forgiveness is because I think, 690 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:33,800 oh Lord, the minute I forgive, that person will want everything 691 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:37,120 to go back to normal. It doesn't work that way because 692 00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:40,280 forgiveness is such an internal process more than a physical 693 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:41,720 access. Sometimes God asks you to 694 00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:45,000 forgive them verbally, but I have found most often it is a 695 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:49,440 private conversation in a prayer closet between you and God where 696 00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:53,240 you actually lift that person from that hole they've created 697 00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:56,000 in your heart and say, Lord, I forgive them. 698 00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:58,480 I bless them, I release them to you. 699 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:03,640 Because unforgiveness digs a deep hole in our soul. 700 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:08,400 It darkens us internally. It makes us suspicious. 701 00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:12,920 It makes us untrusting. It makes us faithless many times 702 00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:18,200 and I think it's important that we begin to forgive people. 703 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:22,400 Jesus. Jesus spoke to his disciples and 704 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:26,840 says forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass 705 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:28,720 against us. If I want the Father's 706 00:38:28,720 --> 00:38:33,920 forgiveness, it begins with me consistently 70 * 7 forgiving 707 00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:36,480 those who've transgressed against me. 708 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:41,800 When you look at Job's life in the midst of his suffering, he 709 00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:45,440 hadn't yet got his restoration. In the midst of his suffering, 710 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:51,880 he had to forgive his friends and pray for them, right? 711 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:56,920 How does one have the ability to forgive when you yourself are at 712 00:38:56,920 --> 00:38:59,920 your wits end, when you yourself are exhausted from the trials 713 00:38:59,920 --> 00:39:02,240 that you walked through? It's possible. 714 00:39:02,240 --> 00:39:05,560 And you know, not just because of Job, because of Jesus. 715 00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:10,000 Jesus on the cross. He looked at the ones who had 716 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:14,280 stripped him, who had beaten him, who had spat on him, who 717 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:18,480 had nailed him to the cross, and said, Father, forgive them, for 718 00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:19,880 they know not what they are doing. 719 00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:23,240 If Jesus did that, who was sinless and pure? 720 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:26,640 Who am I to withhold forgiveness from anyone? 721 00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:31,000 And even as I was preparing this, I made a list of people 722 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:36,080 that I've had to forgive because I felt entitled to not forgive 723 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:39,240 because of the magnitude of the things they have done and 724 00:39:39,240 --> 00:39:42,600 because I felt I didn't do something to deserve what they 725 00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:46,000 meted out to me. But God reminded me, if I have 726 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:50,560 forgiven you, you have no business to withhold forgiveness 727 00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:54,280 from another. Forgiveness does not mean that 728 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:55,840 you have to invite those people back in. 729 00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,320 If there has been toxicity, if there's been evil, there's been 730 00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:01,200 malicious talk. You don't let them back in, but 731 00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:03,560 you do release them into God's hands for safety. 732 00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:06,280 You bless them, you bless their family, you bless the work of 733 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:09,240 their hands, and God does a work in you. 734 00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:16,400 God does a work in you. Jesus led the way in praying for 735 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:18,960 those who hurt him, praying for his persecutors. 736 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:24,640 So I want us today as we begin to close up, that I'm going to 737 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:27,120 pray for you, that you're going to, you know, be able to forgive 738 00:40:27,120 --> 00:40:31,480 whoever it is that injured you and hurt you beyond words can 739 00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:34,400 say. I'm also going to pray that like 740 00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:38,040 Job, in the midst of suffering, you will keep your gaze on 741 00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:42,480 Jesus, that you will know God's ways because you know God's 742 00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:47,200 heart, and that you would kill your pride and your entitlement 743 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:50,640 and surrender yourself to his sovereignty. 744 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:53,040 And this is what I want to end on. 745 00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:56,200 I want to leave this message of hope with you because it can get 746 00:40:56,200 --> 00:41:00,320 so dark listening to this. But Job 42 verse 10, it says 747 00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:03,680 after Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him 748 00:41:03,680 --> 00:41:08,400 prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had had 749 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:10,680 before. All his brothers and sisters and 750 00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:13,120 everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in 751 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:15,880 his house. They comforted and consoled him 752 00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:18,880 over all the trouble the Lord brought upon him, and each one 753 00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:22,240 gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. 754 00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:27,280 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the 755 00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:30,160 first. And then it goes on to describe 756 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:35,280 how he got He had 10 more children, and he had double the 757 00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:37,720 amount of sheep and oxen and goats and all of that. 758 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:41,400 A season of restoration is coming. 759 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:43,360 We've probably already entered it. 760 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:48,520 Would you take the first step of in forgiveness, releasing those 761 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:52,320 who have hurt you, releasing those who owe a debt, a great 762 00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:54,600 debt against you. Would you release them because 763 00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:58,080 one Peter chapter 5 verse 10 says and the God of all grace 764 00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:01,880 who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you've 765 00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:05,960 suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you 766 00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:10,840 strong, firm and steadfast. What an amazing promise. 767 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:15,720 Suffering does not last forever. Restoration is coming. 768 00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:22,440 Would you stand in obedience in the fear of the Lord and keep 769 00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:24,760 your eyes on Jesus? Can I just pray for you? 770 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:27,720 Father, we just thank you for Your word. 771 00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:30,240 We thank you for the life of Job. 772 00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:34,560 We thank you Lord, for all that the gold we got from his life. 773 00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:37,280 And God, I just pray for each of us right now. 774 00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:40,000 The Lord, we would freely forgive. 775 00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:44,080 You have forgiven us of such unspeakable things, Lord. 776 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:48,600 So we freely forgive people, we release your forgiveness towards 777 00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:52,800 those that have hurt us, backstabbed us, maligned us, and 778 00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:55,720 we bless them in Jesus name. We bless those who have stolen 779 00:42:55,720 --> 00:42:58,240 from us. We bless those who have, Lord, 780 00:42:58,520 --> 00:43:01,440 taken away our peace, our joy, our prosperity. 781 00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:06,560 We bless them in Jesus name. We pray that Lord, you will care 782 00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:09,560 for them. You will look after them, remove 783 00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:12,920 every brokenness that has come because of our unforgiveness, 784 00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:16,280 Lord, cleanse our hearts, cleanse our minds, renew our 785 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:18,280 thinking, Lord, every time we think of them. 786 00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:21,160 May forgiveness be the anthem of our soul. 787 00:43:22,560 --> 00:43:25,520 Lord, I just pray for anyone who's right now walking through 788 00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:28,600 suffering that they would keep their gaze on you, Jesus. 789 00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:32,160 They will wrestle faithfully, they will lament, but you will 790 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:34,920 be front and center. I pray that, Lord, they will 791 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:38,720 know your heart so that they will recognize your ways. 792 00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:43,360 And I pray, O Father, that any pride will be killed so that 793 00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:46,520 they can lay down in complete surrender and allow your 794 00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:50,280 sovereignty to rule their lives. We thank you, God, for we can 795 00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:53,560 trust you with our lives. We thank you, Lord, that you are 796 00:43:53,560 --> 00:43:56,280 sovereign over evil. You are sovereign over 797 00:43:56,280 --> 00:43:57,960 suffering. You are sovereign over 798 00:43:57,960 --> 00:44:00,280 brokenness, That, Lord, you are a Redeemer. 799 00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:04,000 When you are done with us, we will emerge as gold. 800 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:07,080 We thank you for that. We thank you Jesus, for you are 801 00:44:07,080 --> 00:44:10,280 our mediator. You stand in the gap interceding 802 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:12,440 for us to the Father. We praise you for that. 803 00:44:12,760 --> 00:44:17,360 We thank you God, We pray that you will lead us, You will guide 804 00:44:17,360 --> 00:44:19,560 us, you will go before us. We love you Lord. 805 00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:22,800 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 806 00:44:23,240 --> 00:44:24,960 Amen. I just want to encourage you 807 00:44:24,960 --> 00:44:27,840 even as you get into this week that you would recognize that 808 00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:30,880 God is sovereign over the most harmful things that have touched 809 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:33,520 your life. Nothing is out of the realm of 810 00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:35,840 his control. When you read the chapters 811 00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:38,720 about, you know, where God is describing the leviathan and the 812 00:44:38,720 --> 00:44:41,600 behemoth. I think the deeper meaning on 813 00:44:41,600 --> 00:44:45,800 that is that these huge creatures which he created 814 00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:50,240 symbolic of chaos, you know, in in mythological, the 815 00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:53,440 mythological sides, they're actually beasts of chaos. 816 00:44:54,320 --> 00:44:57,360 And even when our life looks chaotic, out of control, God 817 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,080 keeps everything under his control. 818 00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:01,880 And I want you to be encouraged about that. 819 00:45:02,120 --> 00:45:04,640 Nothing in your life is beyond his control. 820 00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:07,480 So even as you go into this week, that is what I pray for 821 00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:11,040 you, that you will trust God with the chaos, with the madness 822 00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:12,680 that he is with you in all of it. 823 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:17,240 Remember this, that whoever finds Jesus finds life. 824 00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:19,440 God bless you. Have an amazing week. 825 00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:22,640 Thanks for listening to this message. 826 00:45:23,120 --> 00:45:26,480 We hope you were blessed to hear more messages like this. 827 00:45:26,760 --> 00:45:30,840 Make sure to subscribe and check out our podcast channel for past 828 00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:33,160 episodes. If you like what you are 829 00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:37,720 hearing, consider rating us, subscribing and even sharing it 830 00:45:37,720 --> 00:45:40,280 with friends. That would really help us. 831 00:45:40,960 --> 00:45:45,600 For more content from Via Zion and to connect with us, go to 832 00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:50,760 Via Zion dot in. Remember, whoever finds Jesus 833 00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:51,800 finds life.