[0:00] Let me just pause and pray. Father, as we open your word,!
[0:30] Lord, the hope of eternal life. And we look forward, as we were singing, of spending eternity with our treasure, our Savior, Jesus.
[0:42] Thank you for leaving us your word. It is full. It is rich. It is your thought on how we should live.
[0:53] It's your desire. It expresses your very character. As we look at this text this morning, help us to not only have a deeper knowledge, but a commitment to obey you and to love you.
[1:08] There are those among us who are suffering. Those who are challenged by physical challenge, financial challenges, relationship challenges.
[1:21] God, would your word today meet them where they're at. I pray that your spirit would bring comfort and bring direction into their lives.
[1:33] We want to do this for the praise and sake of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Amen. Well, at this point in our study, in Job chapter 12 now, we are at the end of the first of three rounds of, I guess, so-called encouragement that the friends of Job are going to be bringing to him.
[1:53] We've heard from the theologian Eliphaz, who based his counsel on a vision of God's greatness. He argued that suffering is a consequence of sin.
[2:06] And therefore, in his human wisdom, Eliphaz concluded that Job must have sinned and he needed to confess and repent. And then we've heard from the traditionalist, Bildad.
[2:19] He based his counsel on time-honored concepts of justice, arguing that God is just and he does not pervert justice. And therefore, in his human wisdom, Bildad concluded that because Job was suffering and experienced great loss, it must be because of the consequence of great sin.
[2:41] And therefore, Job must repent to be restored to prosperity. And the third friend, Zophar, he was the moralist who based his counsel on a consensus of human wisdom, arguing that God is infinitely transcendent.
[2:58] He is above our thoughts. God is also righteous in his judgments. And in his human wisdom, Zophar concluded that Job absolutely deserved everything that he got.
[3:15] And not only that, he deserved more. Job, therefore, must confess and repent. Well, Zophar was the most direct.
[3:25] He was the harshest with his accusations. He lacked any empathy for Job's distress. I guess you could say he was the worst counselor, Zophar.
[3:36] Sorry. That didn't go over very well in the first group. Well, we come to Job chapter 12. It's the longest reply of Job to his three friends.
[3:48] And I'm going to start with his direct defense to his friends. First of all, Job's stinging criticism of his friends. There in chapter 12, verse 1. And again, I don't mean to make light, but as I thought about this text a lot, I kept hearing in my mind the voice of Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride.
[4:06] And he kept saying, I can hear Job saying, you keep using that word, the word wisdom. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. And so we see A, to his friends, you are not what you think.
[4:24] There in chapter 12, verse 1. With no little sarcasm, Job replied, doubtless, you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you.
[4:39] He's saying, oh, you're the experts. And when you die, I guess wisdom's going to be gone. This wisdom that Job refers to is what Pastor Andrew introduced several weeks ago called retributive justice.
[4:54] It just means that good deeds are rewarded always, and bad deeds are punished always. We'll see next week that that's not true. And Job says to them, this is the world's best wisdom that you're offering me.
[5:08] And guys, I already know it. It's wrong. You are not what you think. You believe you are a comforter. Look at verse 5.
[5:19] But your words are cruel and contemptuous. Those who are at ease, Job says, have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
[5:33] You know, when you compare their responses to Job with what James says is true wisdom in James chapter 3, you read this. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits.
[5:51] It's impartial and sincere. This was not the spirit of his friends to Job. This was not wisdom from on high. In fact, you might make an argument that this was wisdom from below.
[6:05] You are not what you think. Look at verse 2 of chapter 13. You believe you're superior to me. I am not inferior to you.
[6:20] You believe you are not what you think. You believe you speak truth that will heal my suffering. But you are heartless liars and worthless quacks.
[6:31] 13 verse 4. He says, you, however, smear me with lies. You are worthless physicians, all of you. You are not what you think.
[6:42] In chapter 13 verse 7. You believe you're arguing for God's, on his behalf, but you are false and deceitful counselors. You are not what you think.
[6:56] In chapter 13 verse 8. You believe that you can get in tight with God somehow and show him partiality, but his majesty would terrify you and his dread would drown you.
[7:10] In verse 8, it says, will you show him partiality? Will you agree or will you argue the case for God? And then in verse 10. He will surely call you to account if you secretly showed partiality.
[7:23] And 11, would not his splendor terrify you? Would not the dread of him fall on you? You are not what you think, Job says to his friends.
[7:35] Look at verse 12 of chapter 13. You believe you have all the perfect answers and solid defenses, but your maxims are proverbs of ashes and your defenses are defenses of clay.
[7:50] They are nothing. You are not what you think. And then go back up a little bit to verse 9. Job says to them, would it turn out well if he examined you?
[8:05] Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal? In other words, how will it go with you if when he searches you out, just as he has searched me out, you measure your own circumstances by these same faulty standards?
[8:23] Sounds a little bit like Jesus saying, whoever is without sin may cast the first stone. And then chapter 13, verse 5, Job is just fed up. And he says this, guys, just shut up your mouths.
[8:38] Be quiet. Be silent. Your silence would be your wisdom. It reminds me of Proverbs chapter 17, verse 28. In Proverbs 7, 28, even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise.
[8:53] And when he closes his lips, he's deemed intelligent. And so we see Job in his defense has discredited his accusers. Their accusations are invalid.
[9:06] You are not what you think. And then he says, I am not what you think. Go back to chapter 12, verses 3 and 4. I am a man of understanding and wisdom.
[9:19] There in verse 3. But I have a mind as well as you. I'm not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things? I am not what you think. I am no fool as you say.
[9:33] I'm not what you think. Verse 4, the very first part of this. I am one who routinely called on God and God answered me.
[9:46] I have become a laughing stock to my friends. This is 12, 4a. Though I called on God and he answered me.
[9:57] This phrase, this verb called on, this participle points to Job's regular practice of calling on God and having God answer him. Job's saying to his friends, you think you know what God is thinking?
[10:12] I regularly talked with him. We were challenged in the very first message on Job to get Christopher Ash's commentary on the book of Job.
[10:22] And frequently, Ash shines the light on how Jesus comes into view through Job's life and circumstances. as we sang, and thank you, John, and worship team for pointing us to the Lord Jesus.
[10:34] Because as we sang, the Lord Jesus, the innocent one, he was blameless and yet he was mocked by his brethren too. They said things like, remember, he trusted in God.
[10:49] Let him deliver him now if he will save him. I am not what you think, Job says to his friends. The second part of that, verse four, a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless, Job says, I am blameless.
[11:07] I am righteous. Interestingly, isn't it, that this is the exact wording of what God said about Job in chapter one. And Job didn't even know that.
[11:18] Job knew that his life was blameless. He even said so back in Job chapter nine, verses 15 and 20, where he says, I am in the right.
[11:29] I am innocent. I'm not what you think. Chapter 13, verse three. I am suffering, guys, but not for the reasons that you suppose.
[11:42] And I will plead my case before God. Verse three says, I desire to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God. You drop down to 13, verses 15 through 19.
[11:56] Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him. I will surely defend my ways to his face. Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless person would dare come before him.
[12:09] Job understood God is holy. Coming before him, it means something. And only an innocent man could come before him.
[12:21] And Job supposed he was innocent and that he would be able to argue his case before God. And then he says in verse 17, listen carefully to what I say. Let my words ring in your ears.
[12:32] Now that I've prepared my case, I know I will be vindicated. You are not what you think. I am not what you think. And then he says, God is not what you think.
[12:46] In chapter 12, going back to chapter 12, verses 6 through 10, God mocks your worldly wisdom, this retributive justice, by allowing robbers to be at peace and provokers of God to rest securely.
[13:02] I won't spend a lot of time on this. Again, I think we're covering that next week. But listen, aren't you glad that God doesn't judge sin immediately and as harshly as he justly should?
[13:17] He is patient with us. He is long-suffering. God is not what you think. In verses 7 through 10, just as the beasts and birds and bushes of the earth and the fish of the sea they will teach you.
[13:34] They will tell you. They will teach you. The sea will declare to you. And then in verse 9, Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
[13:48] In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. They'll teach you that he is the creator. He is the sovereign one over all creation.
[14:01] And he has allowed this suffering though I am innocent. God is not what you think. God will not fit neatly into your tiny little domestic box of thinking.
[14:18] He will not be tamed by your faulty view of him. He is terrifyingly sovereign and often acts in ways opposite what we imagine.
[14:31] In chapter 12 verses 14 and 15, if he tears down, none can rebuild. If he shuts a man in, none can open. If he withholds the waters, they dry up.
[14:44] If he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. And then you have this section from verses 17 through 25 where God almost intentionally, it's as if he delights in doing the opposite of what you would expect.
[15:01] Like in verse 17, judges, we count judges as wise, right? Well, what does God do? He makes them fools. In verse 18, or verse, yeah, verse 18, kings are the ones who command prisoners to be bound.
[15:15] What does God do? He looses those bonds of kings. Verse 19, the mighty, God overthrows. Verse 20, elders, you expect elders to have discernment and wisdom.
[15:29] What does God do? He takes it away. Verse 21, princes, which are noble, God pours contempt on them. Verse 22, God uncovers the deeps out of darkness, the things that are hidden.
[15:47] God uncovers. He brings deep darkness to light. And you could read the rest of those verses. God, he's doing the opposite. He does not fit into our little mold.
[16:01] It reminds me of what the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 55, verses 8 and 9. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
[16:13] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, there's a scene in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, and Lucy asks a question regarding Aslan, the lion, the king of the beasts.
[16:33] When hearing about him for the very first time, she asks, is he safe? Mr. Beaver replies, who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't safe, but he is good.
[16:47] He's the king, I tell you. Well, after discrediting his accusers, we begin to see a glimpse of Job stirring faith and his steadfast hope, but it's just a glimpse, mind you.
[17:03] In chapter 12, verses 13, starting at verse 13, Job's confronting his friends. I want you to note his affirmation of who God is and his desire to plead his innocence before him.
[17:17] 12, 13, and there's three different wisdom words here and one power word. With God, our wisdom and might, he has counsel and understanding.
[17:30] And what Job is declaring is, this is the God that I believe in. He is a God that is all-wise. He is a God who is powerful. If you drop down to verse 16, with him our strength and sound wisdom.
[17:48] The deceived and the deceiver are his. All are under his authority and no one is pulling anything over his eyes. And then move over to chapter 13, look at verse 3.
[17:59] Job says, but I would speak to the Almighty. Note this term for God, this Hebrew word Shaddai describes God's position and power and sovereignty over all his creation.
[18:12] It's used 31 times in the book of Job. And interestingly, this is how God introduced himself to Abraham in Genesis 17, 1.
[18:23] We read here, if I could, there it is. When Abraham was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am God Almighty. I am El Shaddai.
[18:35] Walk before me and be blameless. What does the Lord require of Abraham?
[18:48] To walk before him and be what? Blameless. Does that sound familiar? Job uses this term for God again in chapter 37, verse 23.
[18:59] The Almighty, we cannot find him. He is great in power, justice, and abundant righteousness he will not violate. And guys, this is the very crux of the book of Job.
[19:13] God's integrity, not Job's, is at stake. Under intense, unbearable suffering, in the midst of confusion and chaos, Job anchors his faith on the Almighty.
[19:26] He declares, he is omnipotent. He is just. He is righteous. And he is my hope. As the clouds of despair just briefly part, we see such stirring faith and steadfast hope.
[19:45] Well, we move from Job's direct defense to his friends to Job's desired defense to his God. In chapter 13, verse 20, as we read earlier, Job desired to take his case before God, to argue his case.
[20:01] And he starts to do that here in verse 20 of chapter 13. However, Job understands that coming to God is not a light thing. And he asked God for two favors.
[20:12] In verse 20, only grant me two things, and then I will not hide myself from your face. Verse 21, withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me.
[20:23] Job's saying, God, give me some space. You overwhelm me. Verse 22, then call, and I will answer, or let me speak, and you reply to me.
[20:35] See, Job recognized that the root of all his suffering, the root of all the pain, was sin. And so we're going to talk about sin addressed. In verse 23 there of chapter 13, Job's going to use four words for sin, one of them twice.
[20:51] And then he's going to ask God, why are you turning your face away from me? Why are you counting me as your enemy? Verse 23, how many are my iniquities and my sins?
[21:06] Make me to know my transgression and my sin. Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy? does that not sound like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
[21:21] Quoting Psalm 22, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Verse 25, will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?
[21:34] For you write bitter things against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. You put my feet in the stocks and watch my paths. You set a limit on the soles of my feet. Well, Job mistakes God's treatment against him as judgment against the sins of his youth.
[21:50] He doesn't understand why God is treating him as a guilty sinner when he carefully, when he lovingly, when he worshipfully sacrificed to God there as we read in chapter 1 for himself but also for the sins of his family.
[22:07] And this is what's so hard, I believe, for Job. Lord, I love you. I have obeyed you. I trust you.
[22:20] So why am I still suffering? Sometimes, the innocent suffer too. Aren't you grateful for Jesus?
[22:33] The innocent one who suffered the judgment for our sin? He experienced the full wrath of God against all of our sin? He experienced the abandonment of his heavenly Father for you and for me.
[22:52] Paul, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, overwhelmed by grace, says this in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. For our sake, he made him, Jesus, to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
[23:10] Well, the weight of sin for Job was heavy and so was the fact that sin leads to mortality. And that's our next point, mortality addressed.
[23:21] There in verse 28, Job says this, Man wastes away like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten. Chapter 14, verse 1, Man who is born of woman is few of days and full of trouble.
[23:35] He comes out like a flower and withers. He flees like a shadow and continues not. And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
[23:49] There is not one. And since his days are determined and the number of his months is with you and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass, look away from him.
[24:01] Leave him alone that he may enjoy like a hired hand his day. What Job is describing here is the frailty of man as one whose life wastes away and is full of trouble.
[24:16] Life is fleeting like a withering flower. Man who hasn't a few of us bought flowers for our wives and a week later we're going like well that was fast.
[24:31] Life flees like a shadow. I came to Maranatha when I was 23 years old guys. Look at me. It just happens just like that.
[24:45] And sin is causing this decay. Matthew Henry in connecting verse 4 with verse 1 comments on the inherent sinfulness of humanity stating that clean children cannot come from unclean parents any more than pure streams come from an impure spring or grapes from thorns.
[25:07] This is the teaching of total depravity. There is none righteous, no, not one. and no one has any inherent ability to save themselves.
[25:20] And Job is saying God you who are eternal you're pure you're great you see that I am the rotting one I am the moth eaten garment the fading flower and the fleeing shadow look away from me withdraw your hand of judgment Lord have mercy on me.
[25:44] And then we see death addressed there in chapter 14 verses 7 through 12 we read this for there's hope for a tree if it be cut down that it will sprout again and that its shoots will not cease though its root grows old in the earth and its stump die in the soil yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out its branches like a young plant but a man dies and is laid low man breathes his last and where is he as waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up so a man lies down and rises not again till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep.
[26:30] In the Bible knowledge commentary John Wolvard and Roy Zuck state that this does not teach annihilation it simply means that a man cannot relive his entire life in the same physical body death is final the question at the end of verse 10 if a man dies where is he is a rhetorical one the answer being he's in Sheol he's dead I believe as Job thought about it it just seems so unfair why should a tree have a better hope of resurrection than a man his conclusion in verse 12 which says so a man lies down and rises not again it reflects his uncertain and his incomplete understanding of the afterlife it reminds us of a principle in the New Testament from 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 10 listen to this and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our
[27:40] Savior Christ Jesus who abolished death and he brought life and immortality to light through the gospel Job did not know this verse his view was incomplete street it appears that actually his view of the afterlife was cloudy and dark clouds at best note that later God challenged him and corrected Job's assertations regarding the afterlife reminding Job that he did not in fact know what life after death was like in Job chapter 38 verse 2 we read this who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge Job you just don't know you're speaking about things that you're ignorant of verse 17 have the gates of death been revealed to you or have you seen the gates of deep darkness verse 19 where is the way to the dwelling of light and where is the place of darkness that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home we continue to see this cloudiness back in chapter 14 verses 13 through 17 where Job asked for some relief longing for the grave to end his suffering and hoping for something beyond and that brings us to our fourth point relief addressed there in chapter 14 verse 13 oh that you would hide me in shield that you would conceal me until your wrath be passed that you would point me a set time and remember me if a man dies shall he live again all the days of my service
[29:28] I would wait till my renewal should come you would call and I would answer you you would long for the work of your hands for then you would number my steps you would not keep watch over my sin my transgression would be sealed up in a bag and you would cover over my iniquity Job thought perhaps even hoped that death was better than his current misery and then he asks a tremendous question in verse 14 if a man dies shall he live again G. Campbell Morgan says the question of Job was answered by Jesus amen Jesus says this in John chapter 11 verses 25 to 26 I am the resurrection and the life whoever believes in me though he were dead yet shall he live and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die do you believe this and I ask you do you believe this coming back to Job 14 14
[30:40] Job says that he would wait till his renewal should come the word renewal here it's a military term it just means changing of the guard or relief from duty it was also used to describe after when a servant had worked all day that the next shift came in to replace him Job hoped death would be that next shift bringing some kind of relief from his present agony and then we come to verse 15 I would have loved to heard what the connect group said about this this morning because I could use some help here twice last week Daniel said he wrestled with the text I don't know where you're at Daniel but I know what it means to wrestle with the text I really wrestled with this verse it appears that Job is backpedaling and hoping for a restoration of relationship with God after death since he is no longer really hoping for any restoration of life during his time on earth we see again the tension and this confusion in Job regarding the afterlife look at verse 15 to say you would call and I would answer you you would long for the work of your hands is much more hopeful and positive than his previous statements there is this glimpse of the former personal relationship that he had with
[32:12] God 19th century Bible scholar Adam Clark commenting on this phrase you would long for the work of your hands says this man is one of the noblest works of God he has exhibited him as a masterpiece of his creative skill power and goodness nothing less than the strongest call upon his justice could have induced him thus to destroy the work of his hands no wonder he has an earnest desire towards it even even God is represented as earnestly longing for the ultimate revivescence it's just the ability to revive of the sleeping dust he cannot he will not forget the work of his hands Job seems to believe God desires that relationship as well it's worth noting that at this point in his reply to his friends Job is actually praying out loud he's talking to the almighty and he's saying this in the ears of his friends at least
[33:17] Zophers hearing and he says verses 16 and 17 look at 16 and 17 for then you would number my steps you would not keep watch over my sin my transgression would be sealed up in a bag and you would cover over my iniquity Job prayed these words not only because he desperately wanted God not to judge him according to the full measure of his sins but because he also wanted Zophers and the others to hear that Job did in fact know that he was a sinner and not perfect as Zophers accused in chapter 11 verse 4 Zophers says oh for you say my doctrine is pure and I am clean in God's eyes well we move on to point five here destruction and pain addressed destruction and pain addressed verses 18 through 22 we see Job swirling back into misery concluding his poem in despair we read this but the mountain falls and crumbles away and the rock is removed from its place the waters wear away the stones the torrents wash away the soil of the earth so you destroy the hope of man you prevail against him and he passes you change his countenance and send him away his sons come to honor and he does not know it they are brought low and he perceives it not he only feels the pain of his own body and he mourns only for himself in his poetic outpouring we see
[34:46] Job crying out to God that God sweeps away the hopes of man just like the torrents sweep away the soil of the earth Job believes when God sets himself against a man there is nothing that the man can do God will prevail against him and I'll just confess this is also where I struggled you see in chapter 14 verses 7 through 12 we get this glimpse of Job not a glimpse it's there Job's despair and then in chapter 14 verses 13 through 17 just a glimpse of Job's hope and then at the end of this chapter verses 18 through 22 we're back at Job's despair and I'm thinking to myself how can Job leave this conversation so hopeless!
[35:38] There are godly men on both sides of this I've read them both I want you to consider the words of an Australian biblical Hebrew scholar his name is Francis Ian Anderson he just passed away at the beginning of COVID but here's what he says we should not be those expecting Job to use western logic in constructing his discourse so that an argument is followed through step by step until the result is reached at the end what he's saying is guys Job was not a western man here in the west we typically think our logic is often linear it just boom boom and then boom but not necessarily so in eastern and middle eastern cultures and so he continues!
[36:25] the author to author to the author to author may be stated in the middle of a poem flanked before and after by contrasting opinions which he rejects verses 14 through 17 then constitute the high point of the speech and reaffirm the faith already expressed in chapter 13 especially in verse 15 where he says though he slay me I will hope in him Anderson is suggesting then that Job is not leaving this conversation in deep dark despair and that misery is not the final word for this reply to his friends Job was in misery Job was in despair but the focus on this glimmer of hope that shines through the gloomy clouds this hope is his God this is his faith this is one who is innocent before his God trusting that his
[37:25] God is going to do what's just and right even if it kills him I want to conclude with some thoughts that are not part of this Job 12 13 14 section and try to answer this question how is the Job suffering so badly broken and crushed was able to move forward in this struggle and so we come to letter C Job's determined defense to his God and there in chapter 17 verse 9 this first point the righteous holds fast to his way and is strengthened listen to verse 9 yet the righteous holds to his way and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger Job speaking in the singular and referencing himself holds fast to his convictions note the focus of care on character here righteous and clean hands how will you make it through brokenness and heartache just as we sang you look to the righteous one you look to
[38:40] Jesus and his word you believe and hold his conviction that this is the way worth following grasp whole of it you will be strengthened you will know endurance doesn't this sound like psalm one the life rooted in the word and is nourished and strengthened like the tree by the waters and then secondly the righteous holds fast to his way his way God's way and is purified there in chapter 23 verses 4 7 and 10 and 11 just listen Job again says I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments there an upright man could argue with him and I would be acquitted forever by my judge Job says I am that innocent man I am the upright man I could come before him and then he says this but he knows the way that
[39:40] I take when he has tried me I shall come out as gold my foot has held fast to his steps I have kept his way and have not turned aside I have not departed from the commandments of his lips I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food here we see Job aligning his own way to God's way and trusting and treasuring God's words only in this way only in this way can one continue forward this is the way of faith the way of dependency the way of purity listen to Spurgeon's comments on this verse about coming forth as gold he says stoke the furnace as much as you may let the blast be as strong as you will thrust the ingot into the very center of the white heat let it lie in the very heart of the flame pile on more fuel let another blast torment the coals until they become most vehement with heat yet the gold is losing nothing it may even be gaining!
[40:57] What Satan meant for evil God meant for good the father loves you nothing that comes your way passes without his careful scrutiny and love and purpose trust in and treasure in his word hold fast to his way and I'll leave you with this third point the righteous holds fast to his faith and is obedient and I've referenced chapter 31 we do not have time to look at this passage it's in your July study guide with the highlighted emphases on where Job was committed to the Lord where he said I will obey and this is how I'm conforming my life to him it reminds me of what Jesus said if you love me you will keep!
[41:53] what? my commandments some of you brothers and sisters know what this uprooted and crushed hope feels like how do you respond in the middle of suffering at the risk of sounding like Job's friends I appeal to you on the authority of God's word look to Jesus he is our good and he is our loving shepherd commit your way to him trust also in him obey out of love for your Lord and then you'll find strength purity and demonstrate love for your savior he will give you hope and strengthen your faith if you'd allow me I want to close with these scripture verses from 1st Peter chapter 2 they'll be up here on the screen would you stand please and let's read these together 1st Peter 2 19 through 25 for this is a gracious thing when mindful of
[42:57] God one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly but if when you do good and suffer for it you endure this is a gracious thing in the sight of God for to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps he committed no sin neither was deceit found in his mouth when he was reviled he did not revile in return when he suffered he did not threaten he continued trusting himself to him who judges justly he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might lie to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds you have been healed for you were straying like sheep but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls thank you may the
[44:04] Lord bless you this week you're dismissed you Thank you.