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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters
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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Job chapter twelve,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the English Standard version. Then
Speaker 1: Job answered and said, no doubt, you are the people,
Speaker 1: and wisdom will die with you. But I have understanding
Speaker 1: as well as you. I am not inferior to you,
Speaker 1: who does not know such things as these. I am
Speaker 1: a laughing stock to my friends. I who called to
Speaker 1: God and he answered me a just and blameless man,
Speaker 1: am a laughing stock. In the thought of one who
Speaker 1: is at ease. There is contempt for misfortune. It is
Speaker 1: ready for those whose feet slip. The tents of robbers
Speaker 1: are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure,
Speaker 1: who bring their God in their hand. But ask the
Speaker 1: beasts and they will teach you. The birds of the
Speaker 1: heavens and they will tell you. Or the bushes of
Speaker 1: the earth and they will teach you. And the fish
Speaker 1: of the sea will declare to you. Who among all
Speaker 1: these does not know that the hand of the Lord
Speaker 1: has done this. In his hand is the life of
Speaker 1: every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. Does
Speaker 1: not the ear test words as the palate tastes food.
Speaker 1: Wisdom is with the aged and understanding in length of days,
Speaker 1: with God our wisdom and might, he has counsel and understanding.
Speaker 1: If he tears down, none can rebuild. If he shuts
Speaker 1: a man in, none can open. If he withholds the waters,
Speaker 1: they dry up. If he sends them out, they overwhelm
Speaker 1: the land. With him our strength and sound will, wisdom.
Speaker 1: The deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors
Speaker 1: away stripped and judges, He makes fools. He looses the
Speaker 1: bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
Speaker 1: He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty. He
Speaker 1: deprives of speech those who are trusted, and takes away
Speaker 1: the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on princes
Speaker 1: and loosens the belt of the strong. He uncovers the
Speaker 1: deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light.
Speaker 1: He makes nations great, and he destroys them. He enlarges
Speaker 1: nations and leads them away. He takes away understanding from
Speaker 1: the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes
Speaker 1: them wander in a trackless waste. They grow up in
Speaker 1: the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like
Speaker 1: a drunken man. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for
Speaker 1: your word, and we thank you for the privilege of
Speaker 1: being able to look at it together today. And Lord,
Speaker 1: as we look at this portion of scripture today, we
Speaker 1: recognize that you are God and we are not. That
Speaker 1: we should come before you with humility, recognizing that compared
Speaker 1: to you, we don't stack up in and of ourselves. Lord,
Speaker 1: we are insufficient. But Lord, by your grace, you raise
Speaker 1: people up and you humble them. And Lord, we know
Speaker 1: that in the midst of the season that job was
Speaker 1: going through, he certainly felt humbled. At this point. He
Speaker 1: didn't understand why he was going through all of this.
Speaker 1: Later he would, but at this point he did not.
Speaker 1: But one thing he did understand is that you are
Speaker 1: great and mighty and worthy of our praise and worship. Lord,
Speaker 1: we pray that that would be a mindset that we
Speaker 1: would cultivate as well, that you would foster within us,
Speaker 1: that we would recognize that we need to come before
Speaker 1: you with humility. We're not perfect your son Jesus Christ,
Speaker 1: is perfect. But we're not not in and of ourselves,
Speaker 1: but you look at us as if we are, because
Speaker 1: Christ lives within all who trust in him. So Lord,
Speaker 1: we're grateful for the fact that you look at us
Speaker 1: and you see holiness and you see righteousness. But it's
Speaker 1: not righteousness or holiness that comes from our flesh. It's
Speaker 1: righteousness and holiness that's been given to our account through
Speaker 1: your son Jesus Christ, as a gift that he paid
Speaker 1: for and we could never earn. So Lord, we're grateful
Speaker 1: for these things. And we pray that we would continually
Speaker 1: come before you, but that as we do so, that
Speaker 1: we would do so with humility, recognizing that every good
Speaker 1: thing we have is a gift from your hands. We
Speaker 1: love you, Lord, We thank you for all of these things,
Speaker 1: and we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.