WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.100 I've got this theme that's been given to me for this week that we're focusing on being older and 00:00:06.100 --> 00:00:13.019 wiser and listening to the young and here in the midst of our reading of our Old Testament reading 00:00:13.019 --> 00:00:21.219 of Elihu and we aren't told how young he is but he speaks out in the midst of what is a very very 00:00:21.219 --> 00:00:28.359 complex situation. Now some people here may be sceptical about listening to young people especially 00:00:28.359 --> 00:00:34.140 if you've brought up teenagers. Perhaps these slides might resonate with you. 00:00:37.379 --> 00:00:43.259 When your children are teenagers it's important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy 00:00:43.259 --> 00:00:54.299 to see you. Maybe this next one as well. Teenagers, tired of being harassed by your parents? Act now, 00:00:54.299 --> 00:00:59.219 move out, get a job, pay your own way while you still know everything. 00:01:01.140 --> 00:01:06.479 Slide three. I don't need Google. My teenager knows everything. 00:01:08.019 --> 00:01:15.400 But this thing where we can be sceptical maybe about wisdom being the right thing. Remember we 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:25.680 too we're teenagers and some of us in the 70s dress like this. I hate to say some of us still do. 00:01:28.340 --> 00:01:36.240 A theme in this series is listening to the young and Elihu is it's not only the old who are wise, 00:01:36.240 --> 00:01:44.100 not only the aged who understand what is right. Therefore, I say, listen to me because I too 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:53.039 will tell you what I know. In 1997 it was Steve Jobs who headed up Apple Corporation, 00:01:53.659 --> 00:02:00.879 decided to narrate a very iconic advert which really grabbed not only my attention but maybe 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:09.539 grabbed a generation of the world and in so many ways reflected his view on wisdom. 00:02:09.539 --> 00:02:17.079 Let's just catch a bit of what he said. They pushed the human race forward and while some may see them 00:02:17.079 --> 00:02:25.500 as crazy, we see genius because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world 00:02:25.500 --> 00:02:36.799 are the ones that do. Steve spoke from a place of wisdom because in 19...yeah, it was in the early days 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:43.660 of his career while he was still at college. He went to Atari and with his friend Steve he went along 00:02:43.660 --> 00:02:50.060 with what was shaping the first Apple computer and they said to them, can you take what we have 00:02:50.060 --> 00:02:57.700 and use it? In fact, we've even used some of your parts. And they looked at them and they said, 00:02:57.699 --> 00:03:05.299 no. They then went to Hewlett Packard and said, actually, would you like this? And they said, 00:03:05.359 --> 00:03:12.599 no, we're not interested because you're still at college. There's issues here where we see that in 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:21.359 1977, Ken Olson, a guy later in years who was heading up the Digital Equipment Corporation in the US, 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:29.180 said this, there is no reason that anyone would want a computer in their home. 1977. 00:03:31.580 --> 00:03:36.500 As Russ said last week, isn't it great that as we get older and wiser that we get wisdom? 00:03:37.720 --> 00:03:44.180 I'm not so sure in my own case. But wisdom is not the automatic accompaniment. It doesn't come 00:03:44.180 --> 00:03:51.800 with a calendar. It's not because of a number on our birthday cards. Wisdom in our reading this morning. 00:03:52.020 --> 00:03:59.460 Job, the one book that we all flip over really quickly because we can't even believe why God 00:03:59.460 --> 00:04:08.120 wouldn't step in and sort things out. And yet here in verse 32 this morning, we have what is this 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:17.000 young person speaking into this situation. But first of all, we've got his three friends. 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:25.639 His three friends that have tried to give him a solution from their wisdom. And as I read that thing, 00:04:25.720 --> 00:04:32.360 I thought, they're the sort of people who maybe shake your hand when they come out from a funeral and say, 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:41.139 time's a great healer. Very helpful. They're the sort of people who when your heart has been broken 00:04:41.139 --> 00:04:46.560 in your first teenage romance, the person who you thought you were going to spend the rest of your 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:56.020 life with at 14, tells you that there's plenty more fish in the sea. There's the person who looks 00:04:56.019 --> 00:05:02.060 over at you when you're managing that six foot fencing panel, trying to get it on your own saying, 00:05:02.599 --> 00:05:04.879 do you know what? I'd have got somebody else to help you with that. 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:14.939 It's great how people are ready to give you their wisdom. But here it is. Here in this reading is this 00:05:14.939 --> 00:05:22.899 young people, this young person who's going to step forward and give Job some really, really good 00:05:22.899 --> 00:05:28.859 advice. You see, these three people are reading it, described as Job's friends, but they hadn't 00:05:28.859 --> 00:05:34.319 really grasped the situation. They were trying to say to Job, do you know what? This is all because 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:39.779 you've done something in your past. This is all because of past sin. That wasn't the case. Job knew 00:05:39.779 --> 00:05:45.339 that wasn't the case because Job was a man who had clean hands and a pure heart who had lived with God. 00:05:45.339 --> 00:05:55.000 And so he knew about that. And here we have this young person who is listening in on the conversation. 00:05:55.459 --> 00:06:02.279 Now, I don't know about you, we think that young people don't listen. Believe you me, they do. 00:06:03.479 --> 00:06:09.000 And if ever you've raised young people, you will know that they can be doing something totally 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:17.639 different and yet will tell you every word that you've said in the last sentence. And Elihu, which is 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:24.000 what makes gospel come real and alive for us today in the Old Testament, is there. He's listening in. 00:06:24.220 --> 00:06:29.500 It's burning up in him. He's saying, this isn't the right advice. You're not listening. And so he brings 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:38.439 in this new perspective. It sparks into the situation. And he said to him, if I was Job, I think, 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:46.219 he says, Job, this isn't because of past sin. This is actually what's happening now. I think you're 00:06:46.219 --> 00:06:51.839 feeling a bit sorry for yourself. Now, if I was Job, I think I would be feeling a bit sorry for myself. 00:06:52.459 --> 00:06:57.459 I think I'd be in that situation. But here is Elihu. He comes with this new perspective. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:05.199 And he brings a new thing into the conversation. He looks at Job's situation and says, 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:13.019 actually takes a far higher spiritual plane. He recognized the truth that God was the only source 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:19.500 of true wisdom. He saw the potential of light in the middle of his situation. And as you read in 00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:28.339 chapter 35 later on, he's calling him now as a friend. And he's beginning to speak into that. He's 00:07:28.339 --> 00:07:35.839 saying he reminds Job of God's power. He reminds Job in 37 of stop and consider the wonderful miracles 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:41.699 of God. And then when we get to the next chapter, it's even to the point as Elihu draws breath, 00:07:42.359 --> 00:07:47.979 because he's got this thing that he wants to pour out this wisdom, then God speaks to Job. 00:07:49.719 --> 00:07:53.839 And reminds him of the blessing and challenge that's been there for him. 00:07:53.839 --> 00:08:02.259 Where is God's wisdom with us this morning? Perhaps through someone else, perhaps somebody 00:08:02.259 --> 00:08:08.759 through younger that has spoken to you, perhaps a situation where you need wisdom today. Where 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:20.939 will you find that wisdom? Where will you seek it? It was in 1996. I was on Explorer Youth Camp. 00:08:20.939 --> 00:08:26.980 We were, Mandy and I had gone along with our own children. I'd been given that wonderful 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:36.159 opportunity, be full of evangelical zeal to get to the bit where you actually make that response. 00:08:36.259 --> 00:08:42.399 And you say to young people, and now are you going to give your life to Christ? There they were. 00:08:42.860 --> 00:08:48.899 The prayer team were ready. Everybody was ready there. We were expectant of what God was going to do. 00:08:48.899 --> 00:08:56.240 Little did they know that most of the people in there, that inside I was absolutely in turmoil. 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:02.399 I knew that God was calling me to ordained ministry. I knew that was it. But in my heart, 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:08.939 I could find 101 reasons why I shouldn't do it. How was I going to afford it? What was I going to do? 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:14.399 Why should I do this? Why should I do that? I was there. I'd heard all of this stuff. I knew. 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:21.779 But was I responding? No, I wasn't. But there I was, handing out this message, handing out wisdom 00:09:21.779 --> 00:09:30.899 to young people. There's a lad, we'll call him Chris. He was age 10. And he sat there. And I see 00:09:30.899 --> 00:09:38.279 him sat there. And he's riveted. He's got like this eyes on me all the way through. And I'm thinking, 00:09:38.279 --> 00:09:44.620 whoa, when we get to that response, he's going to be the first one that's up and moving over there. 00:09:46.539 --> 00:09:52.500 And I said, if you'd like to give your life to Christ, just move over. Chris was up there. 00:09:53.139 --> 00:09:58.399 No hanging about. But he didn't go to the prayer ministry team. He came straight to me. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:07.799 And he said some very, very wise words. He looked at me directly and no hesitation. And he said, 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:12.840 you've just said, if you're going to give your life to Christ, you give everything. Is that right, 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:18.579 Clive? And I said, that's absolutely right, Chris. That is absolutely right. You give everything. 00:10:19.500 --> 00:10:24.579 And he said to me, so that's everything, isn't it? I said, yeah, that's right, Chris. 00:10:24.580 --> 00:10:32.500 And he said, but are you ready, Clive, to give everything to Christ the way he's asking you? 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:41.800 You know those thin places where you meet with Jesus? Those thin places where the Holy Spirit 00:10:41.800 --> 00:10:50.720 breaks in? Those places where wisdom comes? That is really special if we listen to our young people. 00:10:50.720 --> 00:11:01.220 I'm meeting with somebody at the moment who can vividly remember the day that he spoke wisdom 00:11:01.220 --> 00:11:07.960 or tried to speak wisdom into his father's life. In fact, he held on to the bottom of his leg 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:14.860 while his father was dragging him towards the door and his son was begging him not to leave 00:11:14.860 --> 00:11:25.860 him and his mum and his younger brother. He says now, 40 years later, that my dad now knows of that wisdom 00:11:25.860 --> 00:11:34.500 because he never, ever found peace in the whole of his life. Sometimes we need to listen to our younger 00:11:34.500 --> 00:11:43.360 people. Many churches don't have the blessing that we have. They don't have young people as we have. 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:48.720 They don't have the connections during the week. They don't have the opportunity to listen to the 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:54.060 wisdom that young people will bring to us if we take the time to listen. 00:11:54.059 --> 00:12:05.339 I love that when you look through the Bible at all those people, all those young people that spoke wisdom. 00:12:07.199 --> 00:12:15.759 And Mary, a young woman, really took up that sense of hearing God and speaking wisdom and hearing that 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:22.500 wisdom being spoken into her life and speaking wisdom into the lives of others. I love that call of David as 00:12:22.500 --> 00:12:29.940 well. That's when Samuel comes along to Jesse's sons. And it's almost, I think it's a bit like Britain's 00:12:29.940 --> 00:12:37.019 Got Talent, you know. You know, Jesse lines up all his sons one at a time, you know. Oh, this must be the one. 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:42.639 This must be the one. This must be the one. All go through it. Samuel looks at him and says, 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:51.720 no, it's not any of these, mate. Is there any more? And he said, oh yeah, it's David, but he's only out 00:12:51.720 --> 00:13:01.419 looking after the sheep. And he said, yeah, that's the one. And David spoke wisdom into, was truly a man 00:13:01.419 --> 00:13:03.179 of God with all his flaws. 00:13:06.099 --> 00:13:07.399 I don't know about you. 00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:10.259 Here we've got this story. 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:11.279 And 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:15.539 this story that we've heard 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:18.339 today, it sounds to me very much like Jesus. 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:21.379 In fact, a great story of Jesus when 00:13:21.379 --> 00:13:24.719 he went to Jerusalem and his parents lost him for three days. 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:28.899 Can you imagine losing him for three days? No, no, maybe I wanted to lose a teenager for three days. 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:32.860 But, no, he lost his teenager for three days. 00:13:33.800 --> 00:13:34.240 And 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:36.060 found him 00:13:36.060 --> 00:13:37.740 speaking wisdom 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:39.660 to the leaders at the time. 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:42.980 I think we've got a lot to learn. 00:13:44.680 --> 00:13:45.779 I hope we listen 00:13:45.779 --> 00:13:47.639 as a church of all ages and stages 00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:50.120 to what our young people have to say. 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:51.740 And sometimes as adults 00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:53.240 our wisdom is blinded. 00:13:53.240 --> 00:13:55.659 And wisdom gets narrowed down. 00:13:56.139 --> 00:13:57.600 Certainly that's been my experience. 00:13:57.720 --> 00:13:58.659 Gets narrowed down. 00:13:58.940 --> 00:14:00.879 We get too hung up on minor issues. 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:03.680 We get too hung up on politics, 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:04.840 on church politics. 00:14:05.299 --> 00:14:07.840 And actually the wisdom of God has to speak through people 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:08.980 like Elio to say, 00:14:09.340 --> 00:14:11.000 look, I am doing a new thing. 00:14:12.100 --> 00:14:13.820 And that's certainly been my experience. 00:14:14.659 --> 00:14:15.820 That's been my experience 00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:17.180 to listen to young people 00:14:17.180 --> 00:14:19.500 and see the new thing that God is doing 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:20.560 and wants to do 00:14:20.560 --> 00:14:22.220 for this generation. 00:14:23.240 --> 00:14:30.659 In case you've been away on another planet 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:32.399 for the last few years, 00:14:32.539 --> 00:14:33.360 for the last year, 00:14:33.680 --> 00:14:34.899 you might have missed 00:14:34.899 --> 00:14:37.180 a girl called Greta. 00:14:38.680 --> 00:14:41.500 Greta is an amazing girl. 00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:44.220 She's 16 year olds now. 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:45.259 She's from Sweden. 00:14:45.460 --> 00:14:47.480 She's become world famous now. 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:51.019 And in August 2018, 00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:54.320 she launched a solitary school strike 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:55.659 through the Swedish, 00:14:55.860 --> 00:14:57.639 outside the Swedish parliament building. 00:14:57.920 --> 00:15:00.220 She was on her own a year ago. 00:15:01.100 --> 00:15:02.740 And she stood outside there 00:15:02.740 --> 00:15:05.800 with a sign calling for urgent action 00:15:05.800 --> 00:15:07.480 against climate change. 00:15:08.180 --> 00:15:09.019 From the beginning, 00:15:09.139 --> 00:15:11.560 her argument was both full of wisdom 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:14.139 and yet was single 00:15:14.139 --> 00:15:16.439 and it was compelling. 00:15:17.719 --> 00:15:20.219 The adults who are destroying the planet 00:15:20.219 --> 00:15:22.459 are forcing her generation 00:15:22.459 --> 00:15:25.559 to face an existential threat 00:15:25.559 --> 00:15:28.139 to human life and the natural world. 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:32.579 Something must be done right now. 00:15:33.299 --> 00:15:34.500 That was her call. 00:15:35.199 --> 00:15:36.199 That was her wisdom. 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:39.400 Listen, millions of young people 00:15:39.400 --> 00:15:41.480 have captured that message. 00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:44.220 Captured that message 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:45.640 about God's world 00:15:45.640 --> 00:15:47.879 and saw that she was passionate 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:48.800 about this world, 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:50.620 passionate about her future 00:15:50.620 --> 00:15:52.620 and they joined in with her 00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:54.140 across this globe, 00:15:54.680 --> 00:15:56.100 seized in their attention. 00:15:56.460 --> 00:15:57.879 Can you think of anybody else 00:15:57.879 --> 00:15:58.600 that did that? 00:16:00.020 --> 00:16:01.700 What an amazing message. 00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:04.840 And because of that, 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:07.480 many adults have tried to dismiss her. 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:09.139 And in fact, 00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:10.480 a right-wing British MP 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:11.340 dismissed her 00:16:11.340 --> 00:16:13.660 as the Justin Bieber of ecology. 00:16:14.620 --> 00:16:16.600 A guy in Australia, 00:16:16.800 --> 00:16:18.200 a blogger named Andrew Bolt, 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:19.840 took a veiled swipe 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:22.540 and said that her mental health 00:16:22.540 --> 00:16:24.759 describing her as deeply disturbed. 00:16:25.740 --> 00:16:26.620 This young woman, 00:16:27.060 --> 00:16:28.060 in her wisdom, 00:16:28.280 --> 00:16:29.440 came straight back 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:31.280 and told the world 00:16:31.280 --> 00:16:32.900 about how she was 00:16:32.900 --> 00:16:34.200 on the autistic spectrum 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:35.460 and how actually 00:16:35.460 --> 00:16:36.879 she suffered 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:38.700 from Asperger's syndrome, 00:16:39.460 --> 00:16:40.759 which in many ways 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:42.080 is a blessing to her 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:44.160 to be able to speak out in truth. 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:48.420 Greta loves the world so much. 00:16:50.040 --> 00:16:50.640 Do we, 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:51.879 as Christian adults, 00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:52.720 do that as well? 00:16:53.800 --> 00:16:55.900 Does God love the world so much? 00:16:56.160 --> 00:16:57.200 I believe he did 00:16:57.200 --> 00:16:58.540 because he sent Jesus. 00:16:58.539 --> 00:17:02.639 And here we have an opportunity 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:03.759 because her gift 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:05.000 lies in her wisdom 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:05.599 and ability 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:07.059 to sum up issues 00:17:07.059 --> 00:17:08.299 in one thing. 00:17:08.379 --> 00:17:08.700 She said, 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:10.139 climate crisis, 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:11.879 climate crisis 00:17:11.879 --> 00:17:13.639 is due 00:17:13.639 --> 00:17:15.299 because we have to stop 00:17:15.299 --> 00:17:16.019 emissions 00:17:16.019 --> 00:17:17.279 and greenhouse gases. 00:17:17.639 --> 00:17:18.839 It's a simple message 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:20.259 and the world caught it. 00:17:20.879 --> 00:17:21.579 If we too, 00:17:21.659 --> 00:17:22.519 if we wish to see 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:23.359 this world change, 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:24.859 maybe we need to listen 00:17:24.859 --> 00:17:25.819 to our young people 00:17:25.819 --> 00:17:27.659 because I believe 00:17:27.659 --> 00:17:28.599 there's a fundamental 00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:30.099 gospel message in here 00:17:30.099 --> 00:17:31.319 that our young people 00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:32.659 will connect with our faith 00:17:32.659 --> 00:17:34.419 because God so loved the world 00:17:34.419 --> 00:17:35.559 and so do they. 00:17:37.179 --> 00:17:38.659 And we're at our peril 00:17:38.659 --> 00:17:39.819 if we don't listen 00:17:39.819 --> 00:17:41.019 to that message 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:42.720 and engage where they are. 00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:44.119 And maybe it needs 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:45.200 a quantum shift 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:46.879 in our church culture 00:17:46.879 --> 00:17:49.200 to actually understand 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:50.480 and join in 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:51.179 with what they're doing. 00:17:51.180 --> 00:18:06.360 Thank you.