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Speaker 1: Welcome into the Wednesday Bible Study. My name is Rick Burgess,

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Speaker 1: and if this is your first time with us, we

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Speaker 1: are working through the Book of Job. So if you

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Speaker 1: want to go ahead and turn, where we're going to

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Speaker 1: be today, we're going to be in Job chapter four.

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Speaker 1: So in Job chapter four, things are going to change

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Speaker 1: because now Job's friends that have arrived with him are

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Speaker 1: now going to start speaking into his life. So we'll

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Speaker 1: jump into that today. But let's open up with a

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Speaker 1: word of prayer. Lord, thank you for today. I pray

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Speaker 1: Lord that you will be glorified, that you will help

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Speaker 1: us to glean from your holy scripture. Is everything that

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Speaker 1: you intend today. Lord, And as we read this very

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Speaker 1: ancient book, we're also reminded that, as Solomon told us,

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Speaker 1: there's really nothing new under the sun, a lot of

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Speaker 1: the same things we're going to see today are as

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Speaker 1: alive and well today as they were then. So I

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Speaker 1: pray the Lord that you help us to deal with

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Speaker 1: it in a way that is pleasing to you, and

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Speaker 1: to see ourselves not just as Job that's the part

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Speaker 1: that we tend to do, but to also see ourselves

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Speaker 1: as his friends. And your name, we pray Amen. So

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Speaker 1: this Bible study is brought to you by the Manchurch

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Speaker 1: dot com. Themanchurch dot Com. We are a completely comprehensive

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Speaker 1: resource for men's ministry. If you at your church, or

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Speaker 1: maybe you in your community you would love to start

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Speaker 1: men's ministry, or maybe you'd like to have a more

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Speaker 1: healthy men's ministry, we're here to help. We have all

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Speaker 1: of individual devotionals for men. We also have forty week

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Speaker 1: curricula for small groups and we have a five of those,

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Speaker 1: number six coming out this fall. As a matter of fact,

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Speaker 1: Adler and I we got what one more session baby,

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Speaker 1: and as far as the videos will be done with

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Speaker 1: baby will be ready to go coming up this fall.

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Speaker 1: So all of that's there. We also can send you speakers.

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Speaker 1: If you're having your own gathering, we could just say, hey,

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Speaker 1: we'll send you a speaker, We'll send you the curriculum,

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Speaker 1: and you're ready to go. If we can help you

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Speaker 1: with speakers too. We also do conferences. Our twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: five conferences have all been complete this year. But if

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Speaker 1: you'd like to get ready for twenty twenty six. As

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Speaker 1: soon as we have those dates and cities, we'll start

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Speaker 1: making those available to you as well. So if we

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Speaker 1: can help you in any way, shape or form, you

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Speaker 1: can go to the Maanchurch dot com and just shop around,

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Speaker 1: click around, look at our strategy, and then contact us

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Speaker 1: and we're happy to help you, and you can join

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Speaker 1: the over twenty three hundred and fifty some odd churches

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Speaker 1: that are now doing all of our strategy are part

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Speaker 1: of our strategy all over the country and even in

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Speaker 1: other places around the world. So as we go to

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Speaker 1: Job chapter four, Job Chapter four, as I'm in now,

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Speaker 1: the friends will begin to speak. What we have up

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Speaker 1: to this point is we have the very clear picture

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Speaker 1: of God's interactions with the angels, both with him and

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Speaker 1: the one fallen angel, Lucifer. We don't know whether the

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Speaker 1: others that went with Lucifer get to appear before him

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Speaker 1: as well. I assume they must if Lucifer can. But

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Speaker 1: there's this ongoing conversation and test with God and Satan.

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Speaker 1: Satan is saying to God, if you will just let

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Speaker 1: Job suffer, he'll turn on you. So far that has

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Speaker 1: not happened. And Satan has thrown everything at Job that

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Speaker 1: he's allowed to throw and who allowed him God himself.

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Speaker 1: He has thrown the death of his children, He has

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Speaker 1: thrown the removal of his wealth. He weaponized his own

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Speaker 1: wife against him. And now Job has lamented his birth,

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Speaker 1: preferring death over what he's going through now. But in

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Speaker 1: that process, he still never sinned. He did not blame

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Speaker 1: God for any of his woe. He blamed himself. What

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Speaker 1: is that that's wrong with me? That I should have

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Speaker 1: ever even been born? So now we have the friends

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Speaker 1: that have been sitting in silence. They've heard this lament

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Speaker 1: from Job, and you're going to find out pretty quick

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Speaker 1: that the very flawed theology. Now Eliphaz is going to

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Speaker 1: be much more subtle than some of the others. The

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Speaker 1: others are going to be much more blunt. Elifaz is

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Speaker 1: kind of an eloquent speaker. He kind of beats around

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Speaker 1: the bush a little bit. He's not all that direct,

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Speaker 1: but he still is going to eventually get there. But

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Speaker 1: you're going to see that the health, wealth, and prosperity

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Speaker 1: flawed theology apparently has been around for a very very

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Speaker 1: long time. I have laughed and laughed at the number

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Speaker 1: of you that are watching this Bible stuff here listening

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Speaker 1: around the world, and even some of the friends that

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Speaker 1: keep sending me the meme of the big giant wrestler

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Speaker 1: coming off the top ring rope and then a smaller

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Speaker 1: opponent laying on the mat. And it says, the Book

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Speaker 1: of Job is the big guy and the little person

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Speaker 1: on the mat is the health, Wealth and prosperity gospel.

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Speaker 1: And here comes the Book of Job. I guess the book.

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Speaker 1: I guess. If you believe in the health, wealth and

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Speaker 1: prosperity garbage, you just skipped the Book of Job, I guess,

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Speaker 1: And you also skip a lot of other parts of

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Speaker 1: the Bible as well. So let's start with the elephas.

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Speaker 1: In verse one, it says that then elf As the

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Speaker 1: Timidite answered and said, now Timanite, there can also be

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Speaker 1: the eloquent. It's another word for that as well, because

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Speaker 1: he is very eloquent and smooth. Likely he's the oldest

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Speaker 1: of these friends that are sitting with Job. But this

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Speaker 1: is just telling us in scripture, there's a chain just speaker.

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Speaker 1: Now we're not hearing from God, We're not hearing from

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Speaker 1: from Lucifer. We're not hearing from job. We're now hearing

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Speaker 1: from another person, and this is going to be Elafaz.

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Speaker 1: And here's what Elifaz says in verse two. If one

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Speaker 1: ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? Yet?

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Speaker 1: Who can keep from speaking? He's doing the if you

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Speaker 1: ever had these people that'll come up to you and

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Speaker 1: they'll go and they won't tell you what they want

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Speaker 1: to say, but they're almost kind of laying out, kind

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Speaker 1: of testing the water. You problems not to get mad

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Speaker 1: at me. I can't make that promise until I hear

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Speaker 1: what you have to say. I can't. Maybe what you

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Speaker 1: are about to say is going to make me quite mad.

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Speaker 1: The other one I love is and I no offense. Well,

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Speaker 1: that doesn't mean it's not going to be offensive. I mean,

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Speaker 1: you know, we've seen all these different weird things we

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Speaker 1: do socially. Elifas is kind of doing this version. He's like,

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Speaker 1: you know, if if I decide to say what I

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Speaker 1: need to say, are you gonna be patient with me?

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Speaker 1: Are you gonna you're gonna get upset? Uh? But he's

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Speaker 1: he's doing these rhetorical questions and two questions he's asking

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Speaker 1: job is basically, uh that that if I'm gonna say

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Speaker 1: something you don't want to hear. How are you going

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Speaker 1: to react? But at the same time, is there really

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Speaker 1: anyone that can keep me from saying what I want

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Speaker 1: to say? And of course those answers are number one.

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Speaker 1: I don't know whether I'm gonna be patient with you

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Speaker 1: or not because I don't know what you're gonna say.

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Speaker 1: But no, I even if I said no, I don't

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Speaker 1: want to hear what you're gonna say, You're gonna say

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Speaker 1: it anyway. Uh So, so that's kind of the setup

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Speaker 1: that you get from lafaz here. And so now he's

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Speaker 1: gonna start reminding Job of how many people he's instructed,

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Speaker 1: uh basically preparing Job to say, you know, all the

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Speaker 1: things you've told other people, you might want to apply

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Speaker 1: that to yourself. Uh So, So here here you go

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Speaker 1: in verses three through six. Behold, you have instructed many,

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Speaker 1: and you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words have

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Speaker 1: upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm

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Speaker 1: the feeble needs. But now it has come to you,

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Speaker 1: and you are impatient. It touches you and you are dismayed.

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Speaker 1: Is not your fear of God, your confidence and the

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Speaker 1: integrity of your ways, your hope. So he's just heard

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Speaker 1: this lament from Job, and he's kind of indirectly saying,

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Speaker 1: this doesn't sound like what you tell everybody when they're struggling.

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Speaker 1: Apparently Job was a man of you, as we know,

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Speaker 1: that was blameless and upright, and I think he probably

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Speaker 1: counseled a lot of people. And Eliphaz is reminding him

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Speaker 1: of all the people he counseled and all the things

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Speaker 1: he's said, and he's kind of saying that this last

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Speaker 1: lament we heard there was a little bit of poor, poor,

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Speaker 1: pitiful me in there. Now, what we're seeing Elafaz is

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Speaker 1: showing us a lot of things here. You're going to

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Speaker 1: see in a minute that the health, wealth and prosperity

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Speaker 1: bad theology was alive and well then, but you're also

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Speaker 1: noticing something else. Passive aggressive is not a new invention.

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Speaker 1: Elafas is very passive aggressive. He's trying to be blunt

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Speaker 1: with Joe without being blunt with Joe. He's trying to

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Speaker 1: say something that's not going to be all that wonderful

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Speaker 1: to hear, but he's really trying to go you heard

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Speaker 1: this again, all the way around the fence, and then

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Speaker 1: hen coming around this way and of course probably. I

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Speaker 1: don't know if y'all are like me. I prefer the

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Speaker 1: direct approach. Let's get to what you want to say.

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Speaker 1: And I have this happening all the time. We have

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Speaker 1: this text option now when I do the radio show

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Speaker 1: that I do for a living, And it's so funny

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Speaker 1: how even on tech people won't be directed anymore. They'll

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Speaker 1: throw some rhetorical question out there, and I'm just like this,

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Speaker 1: ask me, which you want to ask me? Just say

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Speaker 1: what you want to say, come to me directly. And

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Speaker 1: you also find out that people honestly have a really

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Speaker 1: hard time being direct. People are much bolder if they

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Speaker 1: can hide behind social media under some weird handle where

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Speaker 1: you don't know who they are. The problem we have

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Speaker 1: on the text option here or they do. They don't

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Speaker 1: know that I can see their phone number. So what

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Speaker 1: I do is if someone texts me something that goes

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Speaker 1: after my integrity or my character, after the show's over,

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Speaker 1: I just go call them. And I can tell you

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Speaker 1: when I call them that nine out of ten of

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Speaker 1: them will not take the call once they know that

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Speaker 1: they have to speak to me directly. They want some

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Speaker 1: do I had one today that actually had a conversation

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Speaker 1: with me, and it went well because we got to

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Speaker 1: talk directly. But most people in most settings would rather

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Speaker 1: not be direct. Passive aggressive has become kind of the norm.

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Speaker 1: Now I'm going to say something about you. I'm gona

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Speaker 1: make a little comment here. I'm gonna do a little

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Speaker 1: comment here. I'm not gonna directly say anything. I'm just

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Speaker 1: gonna throw little things out there and hope you kind

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Speaker 1: of figure out what I'm trying to say without me

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Speaker 1: ever really saying it. So Elafaz has got a little

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Speaker 1: bit of that in him, and so he has said

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Speaker 1: to job in three through six, why don't you follow

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Speaker 1: your own advice, you know, react the way you have

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Speaker 1: taught others that they should react. And then he starts

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Speaker 1: getting down to the point that he's really trying to

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Speaker 1: make if you are so innocent in all of this,

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Speaker 1: the whine did you seem to feel so bad? Shouldn't

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Speaker 1: there be confidence in your innocence? You know full well

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Speaker 1: that sometimes the truth hurts, is what he's saying, because

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Speaker 1: we've heard you say that before. So he's starting already

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Speaker 1: to kind of I'm trying to insinuate you claim that

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Speaker 1: you're you're innocent. You don't know why all this is happening.

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Speaker 1: But this lament we just heard didn't sound like anybody

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Speaker 1: that's confident that they're innocent. You know, if you have

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Speaker 1: this relationship with God that you claim to have and

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Speaker 1: you know that you're innocent before him, what we just

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Speaker 1: heard doesn't seem to reflect that. So he's starting to

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Speaker 1: can I chipping away at it a little bit. Now,

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Speaker 1: let's look at seven to eleven. Remember who that was

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Speaker 1: innocent ever perished? Who was innocent ever perished? Or where

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Speaker 1: were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those

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Speaker 1: who plow iniquity and soul trouble reap the same. By

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Speaker 1: the breath of God they perish, and by the blast

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Speaker 1: of His anger they are consumed. The roar of the lion,

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Speaker 1: the voice of a fierce lion, the teeth of the

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Speaker 1: young lions are broken, the strong lion perishing for lack

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Speaker 1: of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

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Speaker 1: Now Joe is a better man than me, because I'll

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Speaker 1: be like, hey, get to the point. You're talking around everything.

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Speaker 1: Say what you want to have to say. Let's get

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Speaker 1: to it, you know. And I don't think any of

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Speaker 1: us like having difficult conversations. I just think that some

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Speaker 1: of us are willing to do it, but I don't

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Speaker 1: think it's enjoyable for any of us. I don't like

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Speaker 1: having tough conversations, and I don't like confrontations, and I

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Speaker 1: don't like having to make hard decisions. I'm just willing

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Speaker 1: to do them because you have to at some point.

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Speaker 1: And so now let's look at all the things that

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Speaker 1: the beautiful speaking Elafas beating around the bush is saying.

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Speaker 1: He does now kind of go onto the state of

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Speaker 1: Job's problem. As he sees it, These verses will get Elifaz.

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Speaker 1: This is his view, Elfas saying, now what I'm watching,

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Speaker 1: here's what I see Now he still beats around the bush,

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Speaker 1: using all kinds of passive aggressive things, and and he says,

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Speaker 1: he's basically saying to Job without saying it directly, what

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Speaker 1: are you hiding? What are you not telling us? And

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Speaker 1: he's saying, do innocent people perish? Now when he's talking

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Speaker 1: about perish here, Uh, people were dying in those days,

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Speaker 1: and not everybody who died was guilty of anything. Perish

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Speaker 1: means do they do they go to hell? Or do

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Speaker 1: they do? Innocent people? Are they at odds with God

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Speaker 1: is what he's really talking about. He's not talking about

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Speaker 1: that you would die in earthly death and your perish

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Speaker 1: means you die in eternal damnation. And uh, and he says,

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Speaker 1: are the upright cut off from God? Looks like God's

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Speaker 1: abandon you. So if you were upright, would God abandon you?

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Speaker 1: This is that just how I see it. This is

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Speaker 1: how I see it. And you just wish at one

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Speaker 1: point he would go, I got a feeling there's some

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Speaker 1: great sin in your life and God's punishing you for it.

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Speaker 1: Am I right about that? But he I mean that'd

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Speaker 1: be two verses, okay, But now he wants to go

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Speaker 1: all the way around all this, and he said, this

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Speaker 1: is just what I'm observing. And I tell you, what up?

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Speaker 1: What else I've noticed. I've noticed that we pretty much

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Speaker 1: read what we saw. That's what I've noticed. Now we

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Speaker 1: know forward foreshadowing that Jesus does take on that issue,

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Speaker 1: and he does say what Jesus says, though you can

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Speaker 1: be completely forgiven, which you're not going to see a

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Speaker 1: lot of grace and mercy in this. Jesus is saying,

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Speaker 1: all of you have fallen short, all of you is sin.

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Speaker 1: None of you meet this standard to stand in the

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Speaker 1: presence of a holy God. And really, what Jesus is

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Speaker 1: saying is how we've interpreted it and talked about it

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Speaker 1: in our family, and Cherry talked about this with our kids,

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Speaker 1: and it's why that we wrote the devotional by the

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Speaker 1: same title. Yes, you can be forgiven, but sin always matters.

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Speaker 1: It does. There's repercussions for sin. Even when Jesus forgives you,

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Speaker 1: if you repent, the earthly repercussion still stands. You know.

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Speaker 1: A great example of that is what I call the

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Speaker 1: sin that keeps on giving, the sin of divorce. It

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Speaker 1: can be forgiven, but even when you're forgiven until you're dead,

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Speaker 1: that divorce haunts you the rest of the time you're

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Speaker 1: on this planet, especially if you have children with the

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Speaker 1: person that you then didn't remain married to. That's never

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Speaker 1: going away, not on this side. Now, you can make

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Speaker 1: the best situation of it. But that Jesus didn't take

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Speaker 1: away the repercussion of that sin. He didn't suddenly say, okay,

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Speaker 1: you send against me with your marriage and I have

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Speaker 1: forgiven you. Now let me go clean up all the mess,

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Speaker 1: and everybody get along and nobody have any drama at

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Speaker 1: a birthday party, and it's not gonna mess up the holidays,

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Speaker 1: and your kids aren't gonna resent you, and they're not

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Speaker 1: gonna play you against each other. So he doesn't take

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Speaker 1: any of that away, and anytime you cry about that,

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Speaker 1: he goes, well, now that was on you. You're reaping

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Speaker 1: what you sold. Well, what they're saying here is a

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Speaker 1: little bit different what Eliphaz is saying, because we're not

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Speaker 1: in the New Covenant. Here, he is saying that this

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Speaker 1: is an indication that God is against you. See we

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Speaker 1: can see repercussions for our earthly sin in the New Covenant.

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Speaker 1: And say, now I'm still forgiven. I'm still right with God.

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Speaker 1: This is just the mess I made with my sin.

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Speaker 1: But God has forgiven me of this. You may not have,

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Speaker 1: but God has. Well, they don't really have that yet.

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Speaker 1: So what they're thinking is if God's not with someone,

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Speaker 1: it's because this person has been abandoned by God because

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Speaker 1: of some evil thing they're doing that we don't know about.

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Speaker 1: That's what he means by reaping what you sew. So

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Speaker 1: then he goes into this bizarre poetic thing about lions,

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Speaker 1: and what he is really taking on here is remember

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Speaker 1: what scripture says about Job. In the very beginning, Job

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Speaker 1: was highly respected, was a powerful man, and was blameless

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Speaker 1: and upright like a lion. And so he's bringing this

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Speaker 1: analogy in Job's the lion, and he's like, you know,

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Speaker 1: but even lions they've met their match when they try

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Speaker 1: to go against God. Those teeth get broken and they're

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Speaker 1: not real scary at all. And don't you know, and

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Speaker 1: this is just the wicked part of human beings. You

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Speaker 1: got to think at some point that Eliphaz and all

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Speaker 1: the others grew weary of just how wonderful Job was,

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Speaker 1: and now's their chance to say, mister all powerful and

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Speaker 1: mister blameless and upright is obviously done something not so blameless,

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Speaker 1: not so upright and not so powerful now. And you know,

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Speaker 1: if you if you've ever seen that in people, and

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Speaker 1: and they're what they're really thinking right now is thank

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Speaker 1: Goodness's life at one time used to really convict us,

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Speaker 1: and now we're finding out he no better than we will.

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Speaker 1: Instead of them trying to rise to the standard, most

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Speaker 1: people just like to tear down people that seem to

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Speaker 1: be right with God to make themselves feel better about

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Speaker 1: their bad relationship with God. So anyway, here we go.

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Speaker 1: Instead of people being sometimes inspired by devout followers of

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Speaker 1: Christ and the New Covenant, they want to tear that

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Speaker 1: person down so they don't feel convicted by it. That's

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Speaker 1: where you get sanctimonious, self righteous, holier than thou. Sometimes

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Speaker 1: these labels are put on people. They're just the real deal.

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Speaker 1: And I can speak from experience. I love my grandmother

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Speaker 1: and always did, but I remember thinking it was she's

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Speaker 1: a little over at the top, and you know, that's

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Speaker 1: the classic in Dean and Sarah writes about this beautifully

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Speaker 1: in The Unsaved Christian, and he preached about it at

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Speaker 1: one of our conferences. He says, cultural Christians always think

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Speaker 1: they're just as much a Christian as the most devout,

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Speaker 1: But the most devout is just another kind of Christian

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Speaker 1: that's really into it. They won't accept that. It may

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Speaker 1: be that that's transformation and what I'm doing is fake.

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Speaker 1: It's always no, We're We're all in the same boat.

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Speaker 1: You're just a little more radical than me. And that's

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Speaker 1: the way I saw my grandmother. But once I became redeemed,

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Speaker 1: I realized that in our family, as much as we

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Speaker 1: made jokes about how over the top she was and

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Speaker 1: how radical she was, only to come to the conclusion, No,

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Speaker 1: that's just what redemption really looks like. She was actually

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Speaker 1: the real deal, and we were all a bunch of fakes.

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Speaker 1: That's how it really was. And so in this case

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Speaker 1: he was talking about the difficulty. Now don't miss the

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Speaker 1: arrogance of his friends throughout these next several chapters. Does

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Speaker 1: anybody really think that Eliphaz has never had anything bad

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Speaker 1: happen in his life? I don't know that anybody comes

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Speaker 1: through life and the falling creation and nothing bad ever happens,

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Speaker 1: not one thing. And I laughed out loud. I didn't

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Speaker 1: know this happened. But there was this Christian magazine back

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Speaker 1: during the height of the Billy Graham crusades, and Billy

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Speaker 1: Graham was just being used by God and these wonderful

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Speaker 1: things were going on. Well, the magazine, instead of being

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Speaker 1: happy and promoting Billy Graham, apparently the editor and the

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Speaker 1: writer of the article had some distain for Billy Graham,

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Speaker 1: and Billy Graham got really sick. I don't remember what

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Speaker 1: time this was, whether what decade this was in, but

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Speaker 1: he got really sick. Well, this person goes into the

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Speaker 1: so called Christian magazine and pulls an elephants, Well, the

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Speaker 1: reason why Billy Graham's sick is he's got some kind

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Speaker 1: of sin. And he says, I've noticed some of the

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Speaker 1: people who've been hanging around some things he's been doing politically,

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Speaker 1: some of this. And see he's left, and now God's

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Speaker 1: punishing because Billy Graham is doing something he shouldn't be doing,

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Speaker 1: or he wouldn't be sick. Well, God has a wonderful,

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Speaker 1: wonderful sense of humor. The same person that wrote the

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Speaker 1: article about Billy Graham fell down a flight of steps

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Speaker 1: and got injured, real bad. Do you know what he

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Speaker 1: wrote about his own suffering attack from Satan. This is

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Speaker 1: Satan in the adversary trying to knock me out because

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Speaker 1: of my impact for the Kingdom of God. Billy Graham

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Speaker 1: was sick because he was doing something wrong. I'm injured

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Speaker 1: because I'm doing everything right. So you can see where

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Speaker 1: the mindset in this just becomes as a cordon who's

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Speaker 1: talking if it's true that if something bad happens to you,

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Speaker 1: you've done something wrong. I see bad things happening to

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Speaker 1: just about everybody I know to some degree. Okay, So

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Speaker 1: Eliphaz is completely forgetting about that and uh, and so

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Speaker 1: elafhas kind of had the attitude this magazine guy had.

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Speaker 1: Suffering of other people equals sin in their life. Suffering

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Speaker 1: for me is because how righteous and important I am,

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Speaker 1: and I'm an enemy of the adversary, I must be

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Speaker 1: taken out. I remember dealing with that was and I've

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Speaker 1: seen it both ways. I had a guy who was

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Speaker 1: nearly killed and that was his take on everything, is

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Speaker 1: that he was so important and he was such an influence,

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Speaker 1: and he was even out preaching and showing uh, the

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Speaker 1: the flaws in Islam and standing up for the Christian faith.

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Speaker 1: He was he was basically martyred nearly that the adversary, Satan,

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Speaker 1: sent demons to nearly kill him, and they nearly and

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Speaker 1: he nearly was killed. But one thing he left out,

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Speaker 1: though that can be the case, It certainly can found

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Speaker 1: out later that there was major deceit and sin in

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Speaker 1: his life, that it was not a stumble, perpetual and ongoing.

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Speaker 1: And as he was going around now being the voice

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Speaker 1: of suffering, he had left out that he was sinning

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Speaker 1: against God privately in a major way. That kind of

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Speaker 1: changed our look at the near death experience. For our friend,

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Speaker 1: it might have been God trying to give him his

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Speaker 1: best shot at repenting, but in his eyes it was

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Speaker 1: because of how important he was to the kingdom. But

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Speaker 1: he left out the deliberate, perpetual sin that was going

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Speaker 1: on secretly in his life. But of course, as God

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Speaker 1: always does, he loves us enough to bring it out

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Speaker 1: into the light. But anyway, so the bottom line is

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Speaker 1: suffering and bad things happening to people really isn't an

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Speaker 1: indication of anyth Only God knows what's going on here.

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Speaker 1: But what a lot of people like to say is

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Speaker 1: it only means one thing, and that's just not true.

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Speaker 1: It could mean multiple things, and some of it you

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Speaker 1: may know and some of you may not know. You

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Speaker 1: just stay faithful. But suffering is part of our lives.

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Speaker 1: But Elafaz is saying, in this case it has to

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Speaker 1: be because his friend is hiding something. So then comes

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Speaker 1: this disturbing vision. And if you don't think that Elifaz

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Speaker 1: is the problem here watch this. Here comes who he

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Speaker 1: is really working for. Remember, his wife has already been

427
00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:40,440
Speaker 1: weaponized by Satan, and you're going to pick up pretty

428
00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:43,920
Speaker 1: quick his friends are being weaponized as well. So here

429
00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:47,080
Speaker 1: we go. Remember we know what's going on because we

430
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,280
Speaker 1: have the Bible. Job and his friends don't know what's

431
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:55,280
Speaker 1: going on. Okay, but listen to this now. Elifaz is

432
00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:57,480
Speaker 1: going to say, you really need to listen to me

433
00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:01,760
Speaker 1: because I'm so important. God came to see me in

434
00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:06,200
Speaker 1: a vision. The only problem is we're going to discover

435
00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,360
Speaker 1: I don't think it was God. So here we go,

436
00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:12,440
Speaker 1: he says. Now a word was brought to me. Watch out,

437
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,040
Speaker 1: I got a word. I got a word. Just because

438
00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:17,880
Speaker 1: somebody says they have a word, don't mean it from God.

439
00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:19,720
Speaker 1: I just want you to know that vet these things

440
00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:22,600
Speaker 1: out got a word for you. Sometimes it is one

441
00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:24,960
Speaker 1: and you say thank you, that's a great whatever, But

442
00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:28,480
Speaker 1: sometimes it's not. Just because somebody's got a word doesn't

443
00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,159
Speaker 1: mean it came from God. So that's why you always

444
00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:34,880
Speaker 1: want to know how to vet out a word from somebody.

445
00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:38,840
Speaker 1: Now a word was brought to me stealthily. My ear

446
00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:43,960
Speaker 1: received the whisper of it. Amid thoughts from visions of

447
00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,520
Speaker 1: the night when deep sleep falls on the man. Dread

448
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:51,840
Speaker 1: came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.

449
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:57,280
Speaker 1: A spirit I would underline that glided past my face.

450
00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,479
Speaker 1: The hair of my flesh. It up. There's no Hebrew

451
00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:07,960
Speaker 1: word for goosebumps. It stood still, but I could not

452
00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:12,960
Speaker 1: discern its appearance, A form underline that was before my eyes,

453
00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:18,520
Speaker 1: and there was silence. Then I heard a voice. Can

454
00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:23,879
Speaker 1: mortal man be in the right before God? Can a

455
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:30,280
Speaker 1: man be pure before his Maker? It's a very very

456
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:38,399
Speaker 1: disturbing vision. And Elaphast is trying to say, I tell you,

457
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:40,040
Speaker 1: I was told you need to fear God and confess

458
00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:43,800
Speaker 1: your sin. Well, he says he was visited in the

459
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,600
Speaker 1: middle of the night by spirit. Notice he says that

460
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:49,639
Speaker 1: it was not a dream. He even says that he

461
00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:53,720
Speaker 1: was awakened from the dream state. He didn't say that

462
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,680
Speaker 1: this was in a dream, but that it interrupted his

463
00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:01,520
Speaker 1: dreams and awakened him from a very deep sleep. And

464
00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:05,720
Speaker 1: it seems that when he was awakened that this spirit

465
00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:11,000
Speaker 1: was terrifying and scary. And then the question the spirit asked,

466
00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:16,360
Speaker 1: can mortals be more righteous than God? Can a man

467
00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:21,000
Speaker 1: be pure? More pure than his Maker? Now here's where

468
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,879
Speaker 1: eliph has not really well versed in the ways of

469
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:29,040
Speaker 1: angels and demons. He says, it's a spirit. But here's

470
00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:31,560
Speaker 1: the problem, and you know, you know, I told y'all,

471
00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,399
Speaker 1: I think several Bible studies back and I had a

472
00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:37,080
Speaker 1: meeting about it yesterday, and we are going to do it.

473
00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:40,000
Speaker 1: We're going to start in April a podcast that's all

474
00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:43,760
Speaker 1: about spiritual warfare, because I think it's so crucial that

475
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,719
Speaker 1: we be educated on demons and angels and discerning and

476
00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:49,920
Speaker 1: knowing what's going on, and so we are going to

477
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:52,680
Speaker 1: do a podcast that's about nothing but spiritual warfare. I

478
00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:56,400
Speaker 1: think it's avoided in the Western Church. We shouldn't obsess

479
00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:58,920
Speaker 1: over it or anything like that, but it's avoided to

480
00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:02,360
Speaker 1: the point that we're sending people out into his spiritual

481
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:05,440
Speaker 1: battle that's there, but we're not preparing them to fight it.

482
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,960
Speaker 1: And it's very dangerous. So here's some things to look for.

483
00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:13,240
Speaker 1: Never in scripture where you see an angel not identified himself.

484
00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:17,960
Speaker 1: If this was an angel, Elafast would have been told,

485
00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:20,880
Speaker 1: I'm an angel from the Lord, and I have a

486
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,280
Speaker 1: message from God for you. This spirit doesn't do that.

487
00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,720
Speaker 1: He didn't say where he's from, okay, and then he

488
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:33,440
Speaker 1: also never mentions God. The spirit never mentions God as

489
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:35,120
Speaker 1: far as a message from God, and he's gonna use

490
00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:37,760
Speaker 1: God in an analogy, but he never says he's from God.

491
00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,560
Speaker 1: Angels always do. And when you're terrified of an angel,

492
00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:44,160
Speaker 1: what does the angel always tell you? Don't be afraid.

493
00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,520
Speaker 1: I'm not here to spook you. I'm not here to

494
00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:49,440
Speaker 1: scare you. Let me let all of you know something.

495
00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:51,880
Speaker 1: If your mam ma's come into the foot of your bed,

496
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:57,360
Speaker 1: it ain't your mama, okay. And walking around your house,

497
00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:01,920
Speaker 1: that's not your mama. Okay, that's a demon portraying himself

498
00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:07,000
Speaker 1: as your mama. The angels are not here to come

499
00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:10,080
Speaker 1: in and be spooks and scary and all this kind

500
00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:14,000
Speaker 1: of stuff. An angel's presence may cause you to be terrified.

501
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,040
Speaker 1: We see this in scripture, but the angel immediately starts

502
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:21,440
Speaker 1: doing what. Don't worship me, don't be afraid. I have

503
00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:24,720
Speaker 1: a message from God. This is who I am. They

504
00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:28,360
Speaker 1: always identify themselves, and they always appear to look to

505
00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:34,800
Speaker 1: everybody in scripture something recognizable, recognizable, a powerful man, a

506
00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,760
Speaker 1: glowing man. Never do you hear anyone go some sort

507
00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:41,320
Speaker 1: of spiritual blob or something. I don't know what this is.

508
00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:46,160
Speaker 1: It's nothing you'd see on Ghostbusters. Okay. It's always something

509
00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:49,960
Speaker 1: you can identify, and there's never chaos there's never attempted

510
00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:53,800
Speaker 1: to spook you. Their presence again may draw a righteous fear,

511
00:30:54,160 --> 00:31:00,360
Speaker 1: but the calming always starts and clarity is always there. Demons,

512
00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:05,480
Speaker 1: on the other hand, terrifying with no explanation, chaos, destruction

513
00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:12,640
Speaker 1: of you know, weirdness, no clarity. That that's demons it is.

514
00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:16,640
Speaker 1: It is most likely, and most scholars believe Ela Fast

515
00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:20,000
Speaker 1: is just being weaponized by Satan. He's just sent a

516
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,920
Speaker 1: demon to confuse Elafaz, saying, hey, you needed you need

517
00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:27,440
Speaker 1: to ask Job some hard questions. Because what does Lucifer,

518
00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:30,239
Speaker 1: Satan the devil, want Job to do. He wants him

519
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:33,280
Speaker 1: to curse God. He wants so what he wants to do?

520
00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:36,200
Speaker 1: You go in there and demoralize him. Have you ever

521
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:37,840
Speaker 1: had people come to you when you were down and

522
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:41,520
Speaker 1: you think that person wasn't sent by God? That was

523
00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:45,080
Speaker 1: no help. Thank you for the big pep talk today.

524
00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:49,280
Speaker 1: So what we so there was no identification, He can't

525
00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:52,840
Speaker 1: really tell what it is. They're never sent for the

526
00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:57,880
Speaker 1: purpose of terrifying people. Only This spirit is likely and

527
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,120
Speaker 1: most believe. And I am in the camp because of

528
00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:04,520
Speaker 1: all the things I just mentioned, this is not from God.

529
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:09,160
Speaker 1: Now Eliaphas wants a job to think because you know

530
00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:12,560
Speaker 1: how these spiritual special people are. God contacted me directly,

531
00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:15,480
Speaker 1: came to me in the vision. I've had a vision,

532
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,880
Speaker 1: and I have a word from the Lord of all

533
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:22,000
Speaker 1: the people on the planet. The Lord has chosen me.

534
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:27,880
Speaker 1: But really, what's happening here likely is no demons have

535
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:33,120
Speaker 1: tricked you. And this message is not something that an

536
00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:37,520
Speaker 1: angel would say. I mean, you really would not hear.

537
00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:41,680
Speaker 1: Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can

538
00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:46,320
Speaker 1: a man be pure before his Maker? He's certainly not

539
00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:48,680
Speaker 1: going to say that to someone God's trying to use,

540
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:51,520
Speaker 1: because usually when the angels go to someone God's trying

541
00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:55,960
Speaker 1: to use, they usually were encouraged that God found favor

542
00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:58,840
Speaker 1: with them, and we wanted to give them a word

543
00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:01,960
Speaker 1: of encouragement, wanted to give direction. And this is just

544
00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:06,560
Speaker 1: some hey, go ask Job this. So you think the

545
00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:10,120
Speaker 1: demons don't know elafhas is headed to see Job and

546
00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:12,560
Speaker 1: what they're trying to do is weaponize his friends, just

547
00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:16,120
Speaker 1: like they've done his wife and and uh and before that.

548
00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:20,120
Speaker 1: So so now Elphas hears that and goes, well, I

549
00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:23,280
Speaker 1: tell you what, that's a sign from God that I

550
00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:28,160
Speaker 1: need to uh, I need to set job straight. So

551
00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:31,120
Speaker 1: think about like I said in the past, angels usually

552
00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:34,040
Speaker 1: look like some sort of human. They're sometimes very large.

553
00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:39,840
Speaker 1: It's very very glorious. Uh, but this doesn't this doesn't

554
00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:44,520
Speaker 1: seem very eternal at all. Okay, So so listen what

555
00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:50,120
Speaker 1: happens after this? And uh and and he says even

556
00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:55,880
Speaker 1: his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he

557
00:33:56,080 --> 00:34:00,840
Speaker 1: charges with error. Now this, this is good. This is

558
00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:08,239
Speaker 1: a real, real important point here, Okay, because when you

559
00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:14,880
Speaker 1: hear that about the angels, God charged angels with sin.

560
00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:18,680
Speaker 1: Now that's almost like this demon's letting a little bit.

561
00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:23,160
Speaker 1: He's kind of showing his hand. Now, well, God didn't

562
00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:26,160
Speaker 1: charge the ones that stayed with him with sin. This

563
00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:32,200
Speaker 1: is almost a complaint from this demon. He charged us

564
00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:35,279
Speaker 1: with sin and offered us no redemption. The fact that

565
00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:37,920
Speaker 1: this will be brought up an angel of God wouldn't

566
00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:40,839
Speaker 1: be bringing that up. This is being brought up like, well, look,

567
00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,359
Speaker 1: if he charged us with sin, you don't think he'll

568
00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:49,399
Speaker 1: charge some mortal with sin. And how much less are

569
00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:54,120
Speaker 1: you worth? And the message that this demon is trying

570
00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:58,160
Speaker 1: to say, look at this in nineteen how much more

571
00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:02,759
Speaker 1: those who dwell in how Clay whose foundation is in

572
00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:08,840
Speaker 1: the dust. Who are crushed like a moth between morning

573
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:12,200
Speaker 1: and evening. They are beaten to pieces. They perish forever

574
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:16,640
Speaker 1: without anyone regarding it. Now, keep in mind this demon,

575
00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:20,440
Speaker 1: and I absolutely believe that's what this is. He is

576
00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:25,319
Speaker 1: trying to convince eliphas to now tell job. When it

577
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:30,840
Speaker 1: comes to human beings, God's indifferent. I mean, he charged

578
00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:35,160
Speaker 1: angels with sin. You think that he's got the time

579
00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:40,880
Speaker 1: to even care about human beings, y'all don't mean anything

580
00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:46,120
Speaker 1: to him. He's indifferent to you. You're nothing. You were

581
00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:48,920
Speaker 1: made from dust. That's all you're ever going to be

582
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:54,120
Speaker 1: is dust. But see, if you don't know scripture, a

583
00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:57,200
Speaker 1: demon can make you think that God doesn't care about you.

584
00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:01,719
Speaker 1: But see, if you know scripture, you start thinking if

585
00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:05,280
Speaker 1: you hear this kind of garbage from a person working

586
00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:09,240
Speaker 1: for Satan or a demon. What's one thing that popped

587
00:36:09,239 --> 00:36:12,120
Speaker 1: into my mind pretty quick is that Jesus said that

588
00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:16,480
Speaker 1: God knows the number of the hairs on my head. Well,

589
00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:20,000
Speaker 1: my goodness, that's not indifferent. That sounds like he's very

590
00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:24,360
Speaker 1: aware of all of us, not just me, all human beings.

591
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:28,000
Speaker 1: Then we know that he took on human flesh and

592
00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:32,000
Speaker 1: then he went to the cross to offer redemption to

593
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:37,560
Speaker 1: these human beings that didn't deserve that option at all. See,

594
00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:42,760
Speaker 1: we would know that all of the encounters we see

595
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:45,680
Speaker 1: even in the Old Testament with God with David, and

596
00:36:45,719 --> 00:36:49,680
Speaker 1: God with Abraham, and God with Jacob, and you know

597
00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:53,360
Speaker 1: the fact that he's even wrestling with Jacob, there's nothing

598
00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:57,080
Speaker 1: in anywhere in scripture God's interaction with the human beings

599
00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:58,960
Speaker 1: from the very beginning, when he walked with him in

600
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:02,120
Speaker 1: the cool of the day. We should know that God

601
00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:06,120
Speaker 1: is on record that he does not see human beings

602
00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:11,520
Speaker 1: as a throwaway. Now, he doesn't worship us, as some

603
00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:13,960
Speaker 1: of the modern churches may convince you in some of

604
00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:17,759
Speaker 1: the modern pray songs. He didn't worship us. He's not

605
00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:21,759
Speaker 1: our life coach, he's not our homeboy. He is the

606
00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:24,120
Speaker 1: one and only living God. He is the beginning and

607
00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:28,080
Speaker 1: the end. He did create us, and he did breathe

608
00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:31,759
Speaker 1: his life into us when we were nothing. And yes,

609
00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:34,959
Speaker 1: our bodies will return to us because of our sin,

610
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:39,160
Speaker 1: not because he's indifferent to us. And what this demon

611
00:37:39,239 --> 00:37:42,720
Speaker 1: is trying to convince Eliphast to tell job is God

612
00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:47,440
Speaker 1: doesn't care about you. Why do you keep holding on

613
00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:51,160
Speaker 1: to your integrity to this God that doesn't care about you.

614
00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:54,400
Speaker 1: And see now you're saying, Rick, how does that apply

615
00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:57,359
Speaker 1: to me? I'm gonna tell you how. And I mentioned

616
00:37:57,400 --> 00:37:59,719
Speaker 1: it before, but I'm gonna tell you again. How many

617
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:03,760
Speaker 1: of you in this room believe in a sovereign God? Okay,

618
00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:08,600
Speaker 1: how many of you believe that God is fully in control?

619
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:13,959
Speaker 1: Right now? Be careful because if you get a bad

620
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:18,600
Speaker 1: report from the doctor, are you bearing one of your children?

621
00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:25,440
Speaker 1: The old Demon's gonna show up and say, well, so

622
00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:29,879
Speaker 1: God did this to you. He'll take the very things

623
00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,920
Speaker 1: you know about God. He'll also use those against you.

624
00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:36,440
Speaker 1: So God could have stopped this, Yes he could? Well,

625
00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:39,200
Speaker 1: I guess God cares so little about you. He's put

626
00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:44,319
Speaker 1: cancer on you. God put that cancer on you. What, well,

627
00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:49,799
Speaker 1: he could have stopped it, couldn't he. Yeah? Wow? So

628
00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:54,239
Speaker 1: your loved one died and you prayed to him for

629
00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:57,400
Speaker 1: that person to live. You prayed for that to go away.

630
00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:01,919
Speaker 1: And you know what God said to you, No, because

631
00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:06,239
Speaker 1: he really just doesn't care. That's where you got to

632
00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:11,480
Speaker 1: know what to say back to it. You gotta I

633
00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:13,600
Speaker 1: was I was just I was in a situation and

634
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:17,000
Speaker 1: I'll deal with it here in a little while, until

635
00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:20,880
Speaker 1: anytime somebody I know is in duress. I'm talking about biggies,

636
00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:24,200
Speaker 1: the big stuff, the little stuff too. He cares about

637
00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:26,080
Speaker 1: all of it, but I'm talking about these biggies where

638
00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:28,280
Speaker 1: you like, I hope this person can hold it together

639
00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:31,279
Speaker 1: until I can get to them. This is what I

640
00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:35,320
Speaker 1: always say to them, if they are a member of

641
00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:38,920
Speaker 1: the church, if they are redeemed, I say, until I

642
00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:42,400
Speaker 1: can get to you, you keep repeating and hang on

643
00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:46,160
Speaker 1: to the promises of God that you know. You keep

644
00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:51,680
Speaker 1: remembering the promises of God until I get there and

645
00:39:51,719 --> 00:39:53,560
Speaker 1: we need to I mean to me, that's that's the

646
00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:56,799
Speaker 1: life preserver until they get you in the boat. Right

647
00:39:57,360 --> 00:39:59,919
Speaker 1: here comes the life to preserver. They're coming to get me. Well,

648
00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:02,920
Speaker 1: you're floating in the water. You float on the promises

649
00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:06,359
Speaker 1: of God. Don't you forget what you know about God.

650
00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:09,520
Speaker 1: Don't let the adversary, don't let your sin nature, don't

651
00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:12,440
Speaker 1: you let those demons say things about God that you

652
00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:17,640
Speaker 1: know aren't true. And so that's what's going on right now,

653
00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:19,799
Speaker 1: and it's what Job is going to have to hang

654
00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:24,239
Speaker 1: on to because what he's hearing from what supposedly would

655
00:40:24,239 --> 00:40:27,760
Speaker 1: be a friend. Is that he is saying to God

656
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:32,120
Speaker 1: you're worthless and God has turned his back on you

657
00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:36,680
Speaker 1: and he's abandoned you. Now, Eliphas thinks he's saying this

658
00:40:37,239 --> 00:40:41,759
Speaker 1: so that job will repent, but the demons and Lucifer

659
00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:44,200
Speaker 1: are saying no, tell him that so he'll give up

660
00:40:44,239 --> 00:40:47,440
Speaker 1: on God, so he'll turn on God. See, we can

661
00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:50,040
Speaker 1: even be having the best of intentions. That's why we

662
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:52,120
Speaker 1: got to know even when we're the friend. See, everybody

663
00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:54,360
Speaker 1: sees ourselves as job right now, be careful we're not

664
00:40:54,440 --> 00:40:58,520
Speaker 1: elafas well. We come in there thinking we're doing all

665
00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:01,239
Speaker 1: this good to try to call somebody to conviction. Nothing

666
00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:06,760
Speaker 1: wrong with that, but time and place. Be sure before

667
00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:11,319
Speaker 1: you're calling somebody out that you're not being used by

668
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:13,920
Speaker 1: demons to try to crush them, that they'll give up

669
00:41:15,680 --> 00:41:19,719
Speaker 1: and they reject God. We got to know how to

670
00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:23,240
Speaker 1: handle that too, because I think that Eliphas actually thinks

671
00:41:23,239 --> 00:41:27,919
Speaker 1: he's doing joke some good, but he's deceived because he's

672
00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:32,080
Speaker 1: had this vision that he thinks is from God and

673
00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:37,520
Speaker 1: it's from the devil. It's like I remember Adrian Rodgers

674
00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:40,799
Speaker 1: talking about that, saying be careful being these signs and

675
00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:45,600
Speaker 1: wondrous people, because Lucifer can do signs and wonders too,

676
00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:48,920
Speaker 1: And he said, and he'd tell it was just a

677
00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:52,320
Speaker 1: he was saying, he was given this as an example

678
00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:54,680
Speaker 1: of something that could happen. Not it didn't happen, but

679
00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:57,240
Speaker 1: something that could happen. He said. You could be standing

680
00:41:57,239 --> 00:41:59,400
Speaker 1: out there in the middle of a field and you

681
00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:01,960
Speaker 1: could say, I just don't believe in you. God, give

682
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:05,000
Speaker 1: me a sign right now, give me a bolt of lightning,

683
00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:07,040
Speaker 1: he goes, and you might get a bolt to lightning.

684
00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:10,440
Speaker 1: And he said, then all of a sudden, you start

685
00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:13,040
Speaker 1: going down this road of really bad theology, all based

686
00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:15,479
Speaker 1: on that bolt of light and lightning. You stand before

687
00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:18,120
Speaker 1: the White Throne judgment. He looks down. Your name's not

688
00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:20,319
Speaker 1: in the Book of Life. And you screamed out to him,

689
00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:22,360
Speaker 1: what about when you gave me that bolt of lighting?

690
00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:24,319
Speaker 1: And the Lord God Almady said, I didn't give you

691
00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:28,880
Speaker 1: a boat to lightning that didn't come from me. And

692
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:30,720
Speaker 1: then you look over there and then you see Satan

693
00:42:30,800 --> 00:42:35,839
Speaker 1: going that one was mine. I fooled you. So our

694
00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:39,359
Speaker 1: faith can't be based on signs and wonders. We may

695
00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:42,239
Speaker 1: see them email aois and them very well may be

696
00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:45,919
Speaker 1: above God. I've seen some pretty miraculous things, but I've

697
00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:49,239
Speaker 1: also seen demons after me too, and I've watched them

698
00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:52,319
Speaker 1: work and they're pretty good too. They're not God, but

699
00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:57,759
Speaker 1: they can do things I can't do. I mean, I

700
00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:00,879
Speaker 1: watched demons one time take a friend of mind and

701
00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:05,759
Speaker 1: for a moment, render him completely blind. He was crying out,

702
00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:09,600
Speaker 1: I can't see. I've been blinded as we were trying

703
00:43:09,600 --> 00:43:12,520
Speaker 1: to walk some demons out of a place, and it

704
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:17,080
Speaker 1: was ugly and it was scary. Now, he that was

705
00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:19,960
Speaker 1: with us was stronger than what we were facing. But

706
00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:22,319
Speaker 1: for a moment, it was a pretty scary moment. But

707
00:43:22,360 --> 00:43:27,640
Speaker 1: they sure could do it. So this is the situation

708
00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:31,880
Speaker 1: not to fall victim to what you're hearing, even in

709
00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:37,120
Speaker 1: spiritual warfare, that God has abandoned you. God couldn't care

710
00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:41,920
Speaker 1: less about you. God is punishing you, and I'll tell

711
00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:44,080
Speaker 1: you why he's punishing you. Job. This is what Elf

712
00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:48,200
Speaker 1: has is saying. God is punishing you because unlike what

713
00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:51,759
Speaker 1: you have been portraying to everybody where you're blameless and

714
00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:55,360
Speaker 1: upright and you big powerful man. At the end of

715
00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:58,480
Speaker 1: it all, what God is showing us is you're nothing

716
00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:03,000
Speaker 1: but a worthless sinner that's been abandoned by God. There's

717
00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:09,240
Speaker 1: a big pick me up speech. And what you find

718
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:13,760
Speaker 1: in there, see, is where the adversary can be so cunning.

719
00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:15,880
Speaker 1: And I bring no glory to him because he's defeated

720
00:44:15,880 --> 00:44:18,200
Speaker 1: by our Lord and Savior of Jesus Christ, and you

721
00:44:18,239 --> 00:44:23,879
Speaker 1: are defeated forever. But he knows enough scripture to give

722
00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:26,680
Speaker 1: you a little bit of truth and then dilute it

723
00:44:26,719 --> 00:44:29,560
Speaker 1: with a lot of error. Is it true that we

724
00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:32,680
Speaker 1: are sinners in need of mercy? That is true. Are

725
00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:35,120
Speaker 1: we sinners? You better believe we are. But is it

726
00:44:35,160 --> 00:44:38,160
Speaker 1: true that God has abandoned us? That is not true,

727
00:44:39,560 --> 00:44:41,720
Speaker 1: Because you go, well, I am a sinner. That is true.

728
00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:46,279
Speaker 1: But what's not true is him going. God's abandoned you,

729
00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:49,359
Speaker 1: and there's no hope for you. Now. All we have

730
00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:54,160
Speaker 1: to do is repent. And there's times where the difficulty

731
00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:56,319
Speaker 1: you are in and I'm in, has nothing to do

732
00:44:56,400 --> 00:45:00,360
Speaker 1: with sin. It's to refine you, to strengthen you, to

733
00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:04,320
Speaker 1: give you steadfastness. You count it all joy in this

734
00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:07,240
Speaker 1: you rejoice for a little while if necessary. The testing

735
00:45:07,280 --> 00:45:09,879
Speaker 1: of your faith, the refining of your faith, the strengthening

736
00:45:10,200 --> 00:45:12,400
Speaker 1: of your faith, how many of you have had difficulty

737
00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:18,160
Speaker 1: actually strengthen your faith. Yeah, so then we get to

738
00:45:17,840 --> 00:45:22,080
Speaker 1: the end, and then we'll wrap up for today. Lafask

739
00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:25,719
Speaker 1: goes on with this very uplifting message that people are

740
00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:31,800
Speaker 1: soon forgotten. Now you're just gonna be forgotten between morning

741
00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:34,759
Speaker 1: and evening. They're beaten to pieces. They perish forever without

742
00:45:34,800 --> 00:45:38,919
Speaker 1: anyone regarding it is not their tent chord plucked up

743
00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:46,040
Speaker 1: within them, do they not die? And that without wisdom.

744
00:45:47,400 --> 00:45:50,399
Speaker 1: He is saying, people are soon forgotten. They're just like tents.

745
00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:52,920
Speaker 1: When you're done with the tent, you just pull the

746
00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:59,680
Speaker 1: tent chords up, and people die. Without wisdom, people die

747
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:04,279
Speaker 1: ignorant compared to how wonderful God is. Now, keep in

748
00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:08,520
Speaker 1: mind the problem with this is what Eliphas is doing

749
00:46:08,680 --> 00:46:13,120
Speaker 1: is portraying God is not just hating the wicked, which

750
00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:18,880
Speaker 1: he does, but he ultimately hates human beings in general,

751
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:27,600
Speaker 1: and then the ultimate dagger who cares about you job

752
00:46:29,160 --> 00:46:36,759
Speaker 1: certainly not God. Yeah, I could feel that land on

753
00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:41,000
Speaker 1: the room. Can you imagine hearing that? Can you imagine

754
00:46:41,040 --> 00:46:46,120
Speaker 1: being just at the end of it all, wishing that

755
00:46:46,160 --> 00:46:49,840
Speaker 1: you'd never even been born, thinking, man, I must be

756
00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:55,000
Speaker 1: so at odds. It'd been better if I was still born.

757
00:46:56,840 --> 00:46:58,440
Speaker 1: Curse it is the day that I was born. No

758
00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:01,160
Speaker 1: baby should have been born that was born. See, Job's

759
00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:04,600
Speaker 1: already got this message that some that he there's something

760
00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:08,920
Speaker 1: he does feel like God may have abandoned him. But

761
00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:12,400
Speaker 1: what see you know you would be wonderful here is

762
00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:16,040
Speaker 1: if his friends would show up and say no, no, no, no.

763
00:47:17,400 --> 00:47:20,640
Speaker 1: Suffering does not always mean that you're at odds with God.

764
00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:24,400
Speaker 1: There are many times that suffering is about being allowed

765
00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:27,399
Speaker 1: by God so that you're going to glorify him. Don't

766
00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:31,960
Speaker 1: let God down, Job, what about that speech? Now, God's

767
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:35,840
Speaker 1: with you in all this. He's proving to the world

768
00:47:36,200 --> 00:47:39,200
Speaker 1: that you're faithful to him, not because of your wealth,

769
00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:44,840
Speaker 1: not because of your family, not because of anything other

770
00:47:44,880 --> 00:47:50,080
Speaker 1: than He is enough. Oswald Chambers today is Jim Ever.

771
00:47:50,320 --> 00:47:52,960
Speaker 1: I hope all of you have read Oswald Chambers my

772
00:47:53,120 --> 00:47:55,879
Speaker 1: utmost first highest. I read it about every other year.

773
00:47:56,760 --> 00:48:02,239
Speaker 1: It is the most challenging canting messages, and all these

774
00:48:02,239 --> 00:48:04,640
Speaker 1: were his messages that he preached, and his wife's put

775
00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:07,360
Speaker 1: them all together. And what is now been a devotion

776
00:48:07,600 --> 00:48:10,440
Speaker 1: for a long long time. If you haven't read it,

777
00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:15,040
Speaker 1: do it. And today was the conviction today, and it

778
00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:17,200
Speaker 1: changed my prayer even today, even though I know this,

779
00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:21,880
Speaker 1: but it was it was so convicting. I needed to

780
00:48:21,880 --> 00:48:27,960
Speaker 1: be reminded of it. And Oswald was reminding me that

781
00:48:28,080 --> 00:48:34,080
Speaker 1: even if your whole pursuit of God is for the

782
00:48:34,120 --> 00:48:41,440
Speaker 1: benefits to you, you're off. Yeah, redemption is something that

783
00:48:41,560 --> 00:48:43,680
Speaker 1: can bring you peace. But I hope that wasn't your

784
00:48:43,719 --> 00:48:47,839
Speaker 1: only pursuit of God. Yeah. God can can use you,

785
00:48:47,920 --> 00:48:51,680
Speaker 1: and he can bless you, and he can there's all

786
00:48:51,800 --> 00:48:56,680
Speaker 1: kinds of things that God does that we benefit from.

787
00:48:56,719 --> 00:49:00,480
Speaker 1: But he says that can't be the motivation if you

788
00:49:00,560 --> 00:49:07,239
Speaker 1: want to truly experience God. Our desire for God is

789
00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:14,000
Speaker 1: for God himself. I just want to know God. I

790
00:49:14,080 --> 00:49:17,319
Speaker 1: want all the God that he'll allow me to have.

791
00:49:19,640 --> 00:49:22,799
Speaker 1: Not I'm pursuing God because I don't want to go

792
00:49:22,840 --> 00:49:24,759
Speaker 1: to Hell, and I'm hoping he'll forgive me so I

793
00:49:24,760 --> 00:49:26,560
Speaker 1: can then go and live my life and ignore him.

794
00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:30,799
Speaker 1: I don't. I'm after God because I understand if I

795
00:49:30,800 --> 00:49:32,960
Speaker 1: get right with God, it's possible that He might bless

796
00:49:33,040 --> 00:49:34,480
Speaker 1: me with this and blessed me that might heal me

797
00:49:34,520 --> 00:49:36,719
Speaker 1: of this, might do that, might do this. All those

798
00:49:36,760 --> 00:49:39,719
Speaker 1: things are. You can be thankful for those things, but

799
00:49:39,800 --> 00:49:41,959
Speaker 1: Oswall says, but that can't be the reason you're looking

800
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:45,600
Speaker 1: for him. You need to be seeking him because he

801
00:49:46,280 --> 00:49:52,360
Speaker 1: is everything. I just want God, not I want God. Plus.

802
00:49:52,719 --> 00:49:55,520
Speaker 1: I want God for my redemption. I want God for

803
00:49:55,600 --> 00:49:58,439
Speaker 1: my blessings. I want God for my children. I want

804
00:49:58,440 --> 00:50:01,760
Speaker 1: God for my marriage. I want God. All those things

805
00:50:01,800 --> 00:50:05,400
Speaker 1: you can certainly pray to him about, but be careful

806
00:50:05,440 --> 00:50:08,960
Speaker 1: that that's not your motivation. All those things are part

807
00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:12,239
Speaker 1: of the experience, but they can't be the motivation. The

808
00:50:12,320 --> 00:50:16,839
Speaker 1: motivation means I want God because he's God. I just

809
00:50:17,280 --> 00:50:23,320
Speaker 1: want you and that's enough for me. And it changed

810
00:50:23,320 --> 00:50:25,440
Speaker 1: my whole prayer. I said, I said, right now, Lord said,

811
00:50:25,480 --> 00:50:27,040
Speaker 1: that's exactly what you and I going to talk about

812
00:50:27,120 --> 00:50:30,560
Speaker 1: right now. It's Hey, it is three thirty in the morning,

813
00:50:30,680 --> 00:50:34,239
Speaker 1: and Oswald has been used by you again to say,

814
00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:37,440
Speaker 1: you know, and that's that fine tuning stuff that's getting

815
00:50:37,480 --> 00:50:41,439
Speaker 1: into the marrow of the bone. Are you redeemed? I am.

816
00:50:42,560 --> 00:50:46,440
Speaker 1: Are you being sanctified? I am? Well, one day you

817
00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:50,040
Speaker 1: be glorified? Yes? Are you doing what you think God

818
00:50:50,080 --> 00:50:53,520
Speaker 1: wants you to do? Yeah? But are you starting to

819
00:50:53,520 --> 00:51:03,480
Speaker 1: forget that the true gift is God himself. Maybe, so

820
00:51:03,560 --> 00:51:07,520
Speaker 1: let me correct that right now, he said. Even even

821
00:51:07,560 --> 00:51:11,239
Speaker 1: be careful about service, service is it's gonna flow from it,

822
00:51:11,280 --> 00:51:13,000
Speaker 1: and it's certainly something you can do, but that can't

823
00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:19,640
Speaker 1: be your whole motivation. You know, maybe maybe today you

824
00:51:19,719 --> 00:51:22,920
Speaker 1: just should say God, no matter the situation I'm in,

825
00:51:23,040 --> 00:51:25,360
Speaker 1: You're still God. And that's all I ever wanted anyway.

826
00:51:26,440 --> 00:51:31,000
Speaker 1: I just wanted you and I have you. You know,

827
00:51:31,200 --> 00:51:32,880
Speaker 1: what is that song? I can't remember the artist's name,

828
00:51:32,920 --> 00:51:35,279
Speaker 1: but it's just I just want you, And in this way,

829
00:51:35,320 --> 00:51:37,239
Speaker 1: it's an artist that's being convicted. He said. I think

830
00:51:37,239 --> 00:51:39,359
Speaker 1: I've gotten to the point even though I sing these

831
00:51:39,360 --> 00:51:42,000
Speaker 1: worship songs about you, I think I think I've even

832
00:51:42,040 --> 00:51:45,480
Speaker 1: lost why I even want to do that. Today. I'm

833
00:51:45,480 --> 00:51:47,840
Speaker 1: not gonna bring all my garbage to you. I'm not

834
00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:50,080
Speaker 1: even going to try to sing these songs for you.

835
00:51:50,560 --> 00:51:56,279
Speaker 1: I just want you, and that's enough. Forgive me for

836
00:51:56,440 --> 00:52:02,960
Speaker 1: my motivations being wrong, even the best motivations. So, Rick,

837
00:52:03,040 --> 00:52:04,880
Speaker 1: what is it that you that you want to be

838
00:52:04,880 --> 00:52:10,120
Speaker 1: remembered for my service? For God? Now? Why don't people

839
00:52:10,160 --> 00:52:17,279
Speaker 1: just remember God? Why don't they just why why don't

840
00:52:17,320 --> 00:52:21,480
Speaker 1: we just want God and see, in this particular case,

841
00:52:21,920 --> 00:52:25,000
Speaker 1: if somebody had come to job and said, no, matter

842
00:52:25,040 --> 00:52:28,000
Speaker 1: what's going on right now, God has not abandoned you.

843
00:52:30,160 --> 00:52:35,120
Speaker 1: God is driving this whole thing. Let's get together with

844
00:52:35,200 --> 00:52:37,399
Speaker 1: you and see if we can't find the good in it,

845
00:52:38,719 --> 00:52:43,319
Speaker 1: and let's not waste your suffering because God is the

846
00:52:43,360 --> 00:52:47,840
Speaker 1: opposite of abandoning you. Right now. God is actually right

847
00:52:47,960 --> 00:52:51,120
Speaker 1: in the middle and in control of this. And let's

848
00:52:51,400 --> 00:52:56,400
Speaker 1: just sit here and be thankful that God is God

849
00:52:57,440 --> 00:53:06,080
Speaker 1: and whatever he's doing, he is right. Let's pray Lord,

850
00:53:06,120 --> 00:53:10,719
Speaker 1: thank you for today, thank you for that reminder. Thank

851
00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:17,880
Speaker 1: you for the hardest thing today was not to be job. Frankly,

852
00:53:18,000 --> 00:53:23,200
Speaker 1: it was to be elephants. Help us not to be elephants.

853
00:53:25,719 --> 00:53:28,279
Speaker 1: Sometimes I think we all look at job and go, well,

854
00:53:29,320 --> 00:53:31,480
Speaker 1: that's difficult, it's horrible, and I don't want that suffering.

855
00:53:31,480 --> 00:53:36,680
Speaker 1: I don't want that misery. But everything he's doing is

856
00:53:36,719 --> 00:53:41,040
Speaker 1: supernatural and it's in you. But there's so many times,

857
00:53:41,239 --> 00:53:46,360
Speaker 1: just like we look at these incredible moments in biblical history,

858
00:53:46,400 --> 00:53:48,920
Speaker 1: and we sometimes we put ourselves in the wrong place

859
00:53:51,480 --> 00:53:57,320
Speaker 1: every time until recently in my life and David and Goliath.

860
00:53:57,360 --> 00:54:01,080
Speaker 1: I'm always David, and really most of my life I've

861
00:54:01,120 --> 00:54:07,160
Speaker 1: been Goliath, and you had to destroy that version of me.

862
00:54:08,719 --> 00:54:13,279
Speaker 1: You're actually David in order. I just pray that you

863
00:54:13,320 --> 00:54:17,799
Speaker 1: continue to mold us into the people that only you can.

864
00:54:19,120 --> 00:54:21,400
Speaker 1: And today I think all of us are in agreement,

865
00:54:22,960 --> 00:54:26,080
Speaker 1: and I hope we can stay this way. You're enough,

866
00:54:27,560 --> 00:54:33,480
Speaker 1: you are enough, you are wonderful. You are sustaining no

867
00:54:33,560 --> 00:54:40,280
Speaker 1: matter my situation because you are you. And that's steady,

868
00:54:41,600 --> 00:54:45,120
Speaker 1: and that is unchanging, and it's the only thing, frankly,

869
00:54:45,560 --> 00:54:50,560
Speaker 1: that we can, one hundred percent with zero hesitation, be

870
00:54:50,680 --> 00:54:54,080
Speaker 1: sure of. And it's in your holy name, we pray Amen.

871
00:54:54,680 --> 00:54:55,399
Speaker 1: Thank you very much,