 Job. We're in Job chapter 19. And we'll begin reading together. Job 19 will begin reading at verse one. We'll read verses one through six and we'll get into our study. Job chapter 19 verses one through six. Verse one, Job answered and said, How long will you torment my soul and break me in pieces with words? These ten times you have reproached me. You are not ashamed that you've wronged me. And if indeed I have aired, my error remains with me. If indeed you exalt yourselves against me and plead my disgrace against me, know then that God has wronged me and has surrounded me with his net. So we were looking at the fact that one of Job's friends, one of his quote-unquote miserable comforters, one of his friends, Bill Dad, had been speaking to him and had irritated him because Job had said something or said several things really that had caused him to be irritated. And so because Job has said things that have caused Bill Dad to be irritated, he has been correcting him. He was bothered because as we've seen, Job, he believes, has been rejecting their advice. So in response to Job's rejection of their advice, Bill Dad began to actually insult Job. That's the best way to encourage somebody who's hurting, by the way, just insult them. You know, that's very kind. But that's what they were doing. And what he did is he had said to him that he said, Job, basically he said, you're long-winded. You ought to stop arguing. He had said to Job, gain understanding before you open your mouth. Because if you were to do that, it would do you good. You see, he was angry. He was angry because Job regarded him and his friends as basically a stupid. He said, you're treating us like we're simply animals. So as far as Bill Dad could see, Job was blaming God instead of taking the responsibility upon himself. Bill Dad felt that the actual fact was that that Job had actually brought this all on himself. And he had even closed in his words in chapter 18, he even closed by inferring that Job was responsible for the death of his own children. In verse 19 of chapter 18, he said this, speaking of this sinner, he said, he has neither son nor posterity among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. In essence, he is saying, you are responsible for the death of your own children. And so chapter 19 opens with Job responding to what Bill Dad has been saying. Obviously, Job is unmoved by the things that Bill Dad has been saying to him and is unmoved by his condemnation. And so Job in verse one answered and said, how long will you torment my soul and break me in pieces with words? And so he begins by saying, you haven't comforted me, you're actually harming me, you've hurt me. He's been saying this since they began giving their counsel. All the way back in chapter six, verse 14, Job had said to him who was afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. Somebody who's hurting ought to be shown kindness, but you haven't done that. You see, the fact is, even if Job were in the wrong, the better approach to correct him and bring him to that which is right would have been kindness, love, caring, compassion. Now he's speaking long before the New Testament was written, but in the New Testament book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul in chapter six verses one and two gave us insight into how to bring a correction. He said in Galatians six, one and two, dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you're going to bring correction, if you're going to help somebody to find the right path, do so with gentleness. Don't bring words of condemnation. Don't be telling them all the wrong that they've done. Chances are they already know how much wrong they've done. And in today's society, it's a wise thing if you should actually bring a word of correction that you do so with compassion and love. You do so with gentleness and understanding, considering yourself, because you yourself could also be tempted. But here instead of bringing comfort, he's saying your words have brought me pain. These words broke him. It was like a hammer breaking rocks is what he's saying. They broke him in pieces with their words, and they caused him anguish. He says in verse three, these 10 times you have reproached me. You are not ashamed that you've wronged me. 10 times is not the exact number. It simply means you've been saying numerous things. And you're not ashamed. You're not ashamed that you wronged me. When he says you are not ashamed that you have wronged me, literally he's saying you have hardened yourselves against me, and you have stunned me with repeated blows. And you've made yourselves like strangers to me as if you didn't know me and how I've lived in the things of my past as if you hadn't known the way that God had blessed me and all of those things. You're acting like you're strangers. You're acting as if you never saw those things, he said, and that's caused me great pain. In verse four, and if indeed I have erred, my error remains with me. If I've sinned, instead of being my accusers, you should have brought comfort to me. I would deserve your compassion. I desire even your pity. He says in verse five, if indeed you exalt yourselves against me and plead my disgrace against me, know then that God has wronged me. He's the one who has surrounded me with his net. It seems that you have set yourselves up as superior to me. I guess it's because you're not suffering like I am. So you think that because you're not hurting like me, that you're better than me. You think that because you're not suffering like I am, that you can judge me. And you're using as your evidence my suffering and my pain. Remember back in chapter four, verses seven and eight, Alaphis had said this. Remember now, whoever perished be an innocent. Or where were the upright ever cut off? Even as I've seen those who plow iniquity and so trouble reap the same. So they're saying, basically you're only reaping what you've sown. The reason you're suffering is because you're a sinner. The reason that you're suffering is because you've walked away from the things of the Lord and God is punishing you for doing so. And so you've been trapped basically in your own snare. He says in verse six again, know then that God has wronged me and has surrounded me with his net. So he's saying, I want to do something. You need to know this. You need to know that the Lord is working against me. He surrounded me. So let me appeal to your compassion by clearly stating that God has unjustly plagued me. Bill, that I haven't been trapped by my own snare. I've been ensnared by God. You see in Job chapter 18, verse eight, Bill dead said that he had been ensnared in and Job insists that God has personally been against him. He says in verse seven, if I cry out concerning wrong, I'm not heard. If I cry aloud, there's no justice. Now when he says, if I cry out concerning wrong, the word wrong is a word that is also translated violence. What he's basically saying is God has dealt with me severely. God has dealt with me in a violent way. I've cried out for help, but God hasn't brought relief. And there's no justice because God has not removed my affliction. So there's an appearance of me sinning. But my friends, you know the way that I used to live. You know how my life has been and you haven't vouched for me. He says in verse eight, he has fenced up my way so that I cannot pass. And he has said darkness in my paths. He's fenced up my way. I was moving along the path of life. I was actually happy, but he blocked my path. Now I'm trapped. I'm trapped and I'm trapped in darkness. And because I'm trapped and trapped in darkness, I don't know which way I can go. In Psalm 119 verse 105, the psalmist said, your lamp, your word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path. I need direction. I need light because the world that I live in is dark. That's why Psalm 1828 says you will light my lamp. The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. I was moving happily, living in a blessed way. But God has basically blocked me in. And now it feels like I'm walking in darkness, but I need his word and I need his spirit to bring me into the light. So God's word and spirit will give us light because we live in a sin, darkened world. But the reality is, though we have advantages of the word and his spirit, we still experience dark times. Dark times are possible as we know for believers. And we go through them quite often, I'd say. I think the average Christian who's wanting to live for Jesus, I think that the more you want to live for Jesus, the more it seems that that you sometimes feel hemmed in. And even sometimes even wonder how come these things are taking place of the one who wants to do right before the Lord. Dark times are still possible. We have to endure those things. You know, I was just thinking, as we were about to begin our study, as I walked up here and stood here behind this platform, on this platform behind this pulpit, I was thinking that we're going on a year, a year of this COVID and all of these things. And there are quite a number of people who feel hemmed in. There are quite a number of people who feel like their way has been blocked. There are quite a number of people who are having very difficult times in this, all of this. And we know some, and you know, some perhaps you're going through these things yourself. It's just hard, isn't it? I mean, there was a time when you were walking happily. I mean, you get up in the morning, it's a Saturday or whenever, and you say to your wife, if you're a guy, you say, let's get a cup of coffee, let's go to the restaurant, let's get a breakfast. You know, I don't want to eat your food anymore. You know, that kind of thing. Let's go eat something you didn't cook. So you want to go, you want to go out and enjoy yourself. You want to have a good time. And maybe that was your routine. Maybe you did that. Maybe that was part of what you did all the time. That was what you could do. And it was pleasurable. It was fun. You walked happily, you enjoyed life. But now you can't. You know, there have been so many restrictions, so many things that have come down governmentally upon us and all of that. And fear people are feeling. And some of it, I understand, I do understand. And other things I don't understand. I still, I've said this several times, I'll say it again. I still don't understand people who are by themselves in the car, driving around with the mask on. I just don't get that. But when they put it on their dogs, then they've gone a little bit too far. My wife and I have our routines. And those of you who have grown a little older, you know how routines become your life? That's kind of what you do. What is it that we're going to do today? Okay, we're going to take 15 minutes to try and get out of bed. After we do that, let's go get coffee. And so you have your routines, right? I have my routine. I have routines. And I've set them up, right? And it helps me to keep my life in order, because I've got a very busy life. There are a lot of things that I personally do, a lot of opportunities. I have a lot of meetings that I have a lot of things. So I've had to orchestrate my life into small bits of what I do. I do this. Now I do this. And now all of that's kind of shattered. You know, when the COVID things came upon us, and Marie and I were in, we were in Israel and we had returned from Israel. And when we returned from Israel, I think within two weeks, everything was shut down. And what a lot of people went through, we went through. And what some people don't realize is for Marie and me, for us as a family, every Sunday for 39 years, every Sunday for 39 years, I had some place to go. I came to church every Sunday. And when I wasn't here because I'm infrequently gone, but you know, even so, I was teaching somewhere else most of the time, because Marie has been saying to me for years, we really need to take a vacation sometime. Because when I do, I go someplace and I know a pastor in a church and you'll say, well, you're here. You want to do my Sunday? And sure, why not? That's my routine. That's what I do. And now I'm being told. And now we're being told, you can't do that. You can't do that. And so it threw everybody's routine off, everybody, people who had called this church their home, it threw the routine off. They weren't able to be here. But from the beginning, I told my wife, and I didn't, I said it for myself and said, maybe I'm going to go to church. I'm going to be there. I've been doing this for all these years. I'm going to do this on Sunday. There may be somebody who needs to talk, somebody who needs prayer. So we came. We came every week. I didn't advertise it. I didn't put it. Oh, guess what we're doing. I didn't put on Facebook pictures of me praying, you know, I didn't do that. I mean, there are guys who do that kind of thing. And you know that I do too. But we didn't. We just came. And after a while, after two, three, four weeks or so, people began to find out that we were here. And so what they did is they came in the first time we had this caravan, these people coming in honking. It was really beautiful. They were driving by and I was there with a bucket taken off. The David Vacation Fund, you know, so Hawaii or bust, you know, that kind of thing. But so they came and then they parked. And there was a good amount, I forget how many, about 150 people who were in the parking lot. And it's hot. And so I look at my wife and I look at our chapel and I look at John and some of the guys and I say, let's open the doors. So I don't want them out here standing in the heat. So they went in. Now they're all sitting in there and it's kind of cool. And I'm thinking it's Sunday. So I told Jared, you know, Jared sing a couple songs. Jared leads some worship. I gave a devotional without advertising because I didn't want to look like Mr. Rebel, you know, and because people will read you wrong sometimes, they think, oh, he's, you know, he hates the government. I'm a shepherd. I want to take care of my sheep. That's what God called me to do. And I don't want my sheep to not be taught God's word. That's why I did what I did. Forgive me. I don't even know why the emotion. Okay, offering time. No. So that's what we did. But our routines have been thrown off. And a lot of people have been affected by that. A lot of people have gotten depressed and children have gone through so much, so much pain. Children especially need fellowship. They need their friends. They need to play. They need to be outside. They need to be living and everything was shutting down. Everything was shutting down. And the small things that Marie and I were used to do, used to doing, which is to get a cup of coffee together, spend time visiting. Now all of the shops are closing down. And you all know what I mean. I mean, you've been going through it too. We've all gone through it. It was hard. So you can feel enclosed sometimes. You can feel closed in. Job was feeling closed in. But he said it's the Lord who has closed me in. I used to go out. I used to walk freely. I used to live with joy. But the Lord is the one who's put me in an encampment of some sort. And I'm having tough time because I'm going through tough times. And it's been very difficult for me. It's been very hard. Again, in verse 8, he said that he had said darkness in my paths. God has closed me in. He's fenced me up. I can't pass. And so even though we have God's Word and God's Spirit, we can still go through times when we feel like we're closed in. And yet we find ways. We find ways to actually to live with hope because that's what has been with Marie, my wife and me, is we have decided that rather than living with despair, we're going to live with hope because my God is my hope. And believers walk by faith and not by sight. And we hold tightly to His promises. And we trust Him. And we know that our God will bring us through. And we have His light. But even though we have His light, yes, we do encounter times of darkness, times when we don't see clearly, times when we do feel anxious. One of the passages that encourages me about this is found in Mark. It's found in Mark chapter 4, verses 36 through 41. There it reads on the same day when evening had come, he, Jesus said to them, let us cross over to the other side. Now, when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was. And other little boats were also with him. And a great windstorm arose. And the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. But he was in the stern asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we're perishing? He arose and rebuked the wind. He said to the sea, peace, be still. The wind ceased. And there was a great calm. But he said to them, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And they feared exceedingly and said to one another, who can this be that even the wind in the sea obey him? And then in chapter 5, verse 1, it says they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the gatherings. And that's one of my favorite portions of Scripture. I'm not going to give you a whole study on that because it's one of my favorite places in the Word of God. But there are some things that I really, really, I don't know what I'm really taken by, because one, he said to them, let us cross over to the other side. Let us cross over to the other side. And so God is doing that in our lives. He has said, we're going to cross over to the other side. You're going to make it. No weapon formed against you shall prosper. In Christ, you are more than conquerors because of what he's done. If he overcame the grave, he can overcome anything. And he'll work that in your life. We know that. We know that. And yet, and yet when we enter into a storm, and he seems to be not even caring, he was asleep, his body was tired, he needed to rest. He's got these men who are saying, oh my goodness, we're going to go down. We're in a storm. And so what do they do? They wake up Jesus and they ask him a question. And this is one of those things that has really ministered to my heart. And they asked him, don't you care that we're perishing? Have you ever said that to the Lord? And have you thought that maybe even recently? Lord, look what's going on. Has this left your vision? Do you not see these things? Don't you care? But it's not simply, don't you care? Don't you care that we are perishing? Don't you care about us? Believers do that to the Lord all the time. And what does Jesus do? He stands up and he literally in the original language, muzzles the wind in the storm. He says, shut up, be a muzzled. That's enough. So like a dog barking, your dog in the back. And you open up the screen and say, shut up. The dog shuts up. Peace be still. And what happens to his men? Who is this? That even the winds and the waves obey? Who is this? He's more than what we thought. And the thing that I love about that, he speaks to them says, where's your faith? What happened to you? Well, what do you mean? Where's my faith? I've been in the middle of a storm. But he began when it said, let us cross over. He had made it very clear they were going to make it. And that's why I include verse one of chapter five, because it says they came to the other side. Because if the Lord says you're going to make it, you're going to make it. Nothing will stop you. If God's in control, you will make it. You will make it. But here's the fun part of that. He went to the gatherings and they had a welcoming party there. Two demon possessed men who came running out of the tombs. So just because you don't get shipwrecked in the middle of an ocean doesn't mean some demon ain't going to chase you when you land safely. I always know that. See, when you read your Bible, always realize that he takes you from one thing into another. Why? So that he can show you he is the God of every situation. And if he said, you are going to make it, you will make it. And that's what gives me hope. And that's what gives me peace, because my God is able. My God is capable. And my God has promised. And I know my God will deliver on his promises. So yes, yes, amen. We walk through darkness. We do. We will encounter these things. We can feel fenced in. We can feel trapped. We can feel like we're in the darkness. But what we do in the midst of all of that is the wisest thing. He said, let's go to the other side. We will make it to the other side. And so what do we do? Well, what we do is we seek him. We seek him, I think, with more desire because some things have been peeled away from us. Because we know that he's the one who turns darkness into light. Later on, when we get to chapter 35, let's see, we're in chapter 19. In two years, when we get to chapter 35, verse 10, Elihu says something that has spoken to my heart for a long time. Elihu says, no one says, where is God my maker? Listen, who gives songs in the night. What a beautiful. And I look forward to sharing some things with you there, but he makes us to sing in the middle of the night. He gives songs in the middle of the night. The apostle Paul in Acts chapter 16 has been put in jail. He's been beaten in Philippi and they've placed him. They've beaten him. But the Bible says that at midnight he was singing and the prisoners heard him and he was able to minister. Even in the midst of the deepest pain and sorrow, God gives you songs in the night. He gives you the ability to sing in the midst of all of that. Why? Because we're just passing through. Our God is on the throne. He's going to supply our need. We're going to make it and we're going to give him glory after we get through. And we'll say, oh God, I was wondering where you were, but you were with me every moment. Oh God, thank you for bringing me through the storm. Thank you for doing what you do. And that's part of being a Christian, guys. That's part of what it means to be a believer. So we seek him. And when things are stripped away, we seek him even with greater desire. But in this particular passage, as Job is speaking, he feels abandoned. He feels that God hasn't answered him and yet he still trusts him. He says in verse nine, he has stripped me of my glory, taken the crown from my head, stripped me of glory and my crown. Everything that brought me honor and respectability has been taken away. When he speaks of the crown, the crown represents honor. It represents dignity. He's saying, God has taken everything. He's removed all of this. He says in verse 10, he breaks me down on every side and I'm gone. My hope, he has uprooted like a tree. He breaks me down. Everything that meant something to me has been destroyed. My respect, my family, my possessions, everything has been taken and I'm gone. I'm near death. I cannot recover. My hope has been uprooted like a tree. My hope has gone. A tree that has been uprooted does not grow again. My hope that I had in this life is gone because God has taken even that from me. He has, verse 11, also kindled his wrath against me. He counts me as one of his enemies. His anger burns hot towards me. He looks at me like I'm in opposition to him. Instead of being that close friend, God treats me like I'm his enemy. Now he'd already said that in chapter 13, verse 24, when he said, why do you hide your face and regard me as your enemy? In chapter 16, verse nine, he had said, he tears me in his wrath. He hates me. He gnashes at me with his teeth. My adversary sharpens his gaze on me. Verse 12, his troops come together and build up their road against me. They encamp all around my tent. My afflictions are his troops and his troops are clearing out debris. The debris out of the road is what they're saying in order that they can get to me. They have surrounded me these afflictions so that they can attack me from all sides. In verse 13, he has removed my brothers far from me. My acquaintances are completely estranged from me. My relatives have failed. My close friends have forgotten me. I look for help. I look for pity. I look to my relatives. I look to my friends. The ones who should have been there, the ones that should have helped me, the ones that should have come to my aid. But they abandoned me. In Psalm 88, verse 8, you have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I'm confined. I cannot escape. He's removed my brothers and my friends. I'm alone. I have nothing. My relatives have failed. My close friends have forgotten me. 15, those who dwell in my house and my maid servants count me as a stranger. I'm an alien in their sight. I call my servant, but he gives no answer. I beg him with my mouth. Those who dwell in my house can be spoken of as those who are guests in the home, if you will. They may be people who are sojourning, they're staying with him. And he speaks of his maid servants, and he says, my maid servants count me as a stranger. Maid servants are the ones who should have been there to care for him. That's what they're there for, but they avoid him. They act as if they don't know him. In verse 16, when he says, I call my servant, he gives no answer. I beg him with my mouth. It was a time in his life when he would only have to look. The servants were trained, especially in the more dignified households. The servants were trained to watch the face of their master, and all the master really had to do is look in a direction. And when he looked in that direction, the servant was reading him and would know that the master wanted this. So without words, he would actually command. He could just look, which gives you some insight, because God says that he guides us with his eye. What does that mean? Well, if you're looking into the face of the Lord and you see where he's looking, that's the way he can guide you. You say, how's that work? How's that really practical? And how did that work with Job? And in my household, when I grew up, my mom, my mom taught me to do that from the time I was a little boy. My mom would say this, watch me when I'm talking to this person. And watch my eyes. My mom taught me to do that. Watch my eyes. And my mom would actually command me with her look, with her eyes. So if she was talking to somebody and she needed something, I was looking at my mom. And my mom would look at me and then she just looked somewhere for a second and looked back. And I had to look where she looked and I'd say, oh, she needs this. And I'd get up and I'd go get it for her. That's just the way I was raised. And some people think that's kind of a crazy way to be raised. And maybe it is. I don't know. Maybe your mom used the Junkla. Mine used my eyes, her eyes. But you know what they helped me to do? As a minister, it taught me to look at people when I talk to them, to read their faces when I talk to them. Because sometimes something will pass in their face that they don't even know is going on. And I'm watching them. And I'm beginning to pick up on where they're going, what's going on in their life. My mom taught me to do that. My mom taught me to do that. And so there's this thing where he would look to his servant. And all he had to do was just look. And the servant would go get what he needed because the servant knew him. But now the servant won't listen and doesn't look at him. And that's why he says, I call my servant. When he says I call my servant, he doesn't answer. He never really had to call him before. Now he's raising this sick voice and the servant is pretending he's not even there. And it bothers him terribly. And so I call him, he doesn't answer. I even beg. I have to raise my voice and ask. And he still ignores me. He doesn't want to come near me. He used to look at him, give him a nod, and he would respond. But now I have to beg. And he pretends that he doesn't hear me. And my wife likes this verse, my breath is offensive to my wife. And I am repulsive to the children of my own body. There's a couple ways to look at that when he says my breath is offensive to my wife. Well, one thing could mean, and remember, this man is filled with sores. And he smells terribly. And he has many commentators believe he has what is called elephantiasis, which can affect his breath, can become very rancid. It's like, it's just horrible and all of that. So on one hand, it just simply speaks concerning the fact that, that he has a foul odor. It also could mean that my wife just doesn't want to come near me. She doesn't want to be near me. So because in order for her to smell his breath, she'd have to be fairly close. It could be another way for him simply saying, she wants nothing to do with me. My wife, who was, was, was so, is so important to me, doesn't want anything to do with me. And not only that, but I'm repulsive to the children of my own body. Now, when he says I'm repulsive to the children of my own body, you have to think for a moment. Now, wait a minute. He had children who died. Did he have other children? And there are those as I went through several commentators about this. There are those who say that he may have had younger children who were not present in the home when it was knocked down and all the people died. So there's some commentators who say he may have had younger children. Others are saying, no, he's, he's really speaking of grandchildren. And others think he's speaking of simply speaking to his wife saying, show me pity on behalf of the memory of my children. But to be honest with you, there's no, no commentators agree that what exactly that means. So I'll just leave that alone and give you those, those suggestions in verse 19. All my close friends are poor me. And those whom I love have turned against me. All of my close friends. I forgot 18 young children despise me. I rise. They speak against me young children. I'll touch that young children in the past would have shown me great respect. Even the young children would show great respect to me. But they don't anymore. Now, when I try to get to my feet and he's so weak and feeble, and and he's taking weak steps, the children see him in such, such weakness. And they, he says, they mock me. And then my close friends of army and the those whom I love have turned against me. I've been completely abandoned. Everybody that should have been there has abandoned me. And so why is it? Well, verse 20, my bone clings to my skin and to my flesh. I've escaped by the skin of my teeth. So that's where that phrase comes from. He escaped by the skin of his teeth. It comes there out of the book of Job chapter 19 verse 20. I'm little more than skin and bones. I've wasted away this disease. I'm homeless. I'm almost there's nothing. And the only thing that hasn't withered away are my teeth. He says in verse 21, so have pity on me. Have pity on me. Oh, you, my friends, for the hand of God has struck me. Why do you persecute me, as God does, and are not satisfied with my flesh? You are once my dearest friends. Won't you have even a little pity? Can't you have even a small amount of sympathy for me? Why have you turned your back on me, even as my God has done? In this time of pain, he's saying, I need a friend's sympathy. I would say that every one of us have gone through very difficult times. Some have gone through more difficult times than others. And there have been times in your life, I'm sure, that you have been in such pain that you didn't even know how to speak it. I'm not saying every person has already, perhaps you may never. But there are quite a number of people who've gone through pain, who've gone through things that other people wouldn't understand, loss, physical pain. And you know what really helps, and what has helped me, and I'm sure it's helped all of us, has been when I've had somebody who doesn't want to give me a lot of advice, because sometimes I'm not ready to receive it, not that I shouldn't. But sometimes they're just not ready. Sometimes your heart's not open. So you just kind of like feel alone. And one of the scriptures that the Lord gave to me a long time ago about this is in Romans 12.15, where it simply says, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Weep with those who weep. I've said this, but it's true. The best thing that these men had done for Job was when they just sat next to him for 10 days without saying a word. Sometimes, sometimes the answer is a friend who is just there. It doesn't have to give you advice. Thank God for scripture that brings healing, but has the wisdom to know when to administer scripture. And sometimes the ways that I've been brought out of painful circumstances has been when a friend has simply put their hand on my shoulder and just said, you know what? I'm with you. If you need something, let me know. I'm here. That means everything to me. Because I'll say, listen, I don't know how to even explain what I'm going through. Forgive me. Right now, I'm just kind of dealing with it. But God knows I appreciate you doing that. And thank you for being there. We need each other. We need each other. We really do. We need each other. And Job is saying, I don't have anybody who helped me, who can help me. I don't have anyone who's bearing my burden with me and fulfilling it as the New Testament would say in fulfilling the law of Christ. They're not there carrying this with me. I'm by myself. So take this into consideration, he tells his friend. Have compassion on me. Try to understand me. Can't you understand? Can't you see? Can't you see who has lost what I have lost? Everything. I mean, I used to be the one that walked into a room and the people would whisper, there's Joe. He's a godly man. He's got a great family. He's been so blessed by God. I was that guy. I would walk into the room. He'd say, and the men would stand up. The minute I walked into the room, show me respect. I was used to that. The children, even the children would rise and show respect. Because the parents said, when you see that man, Job, you give him respect because he's worthy. Now they mock me when I tried to stand up and my friends have all abandoned me. Don't you understand? Why can't you pity me? Verse 21, have pity on me. Have pity on me, O you, my friends. Where's your compassion? Where's your heart? Please, please. Then he says, oh, that, verse 23, oh, that my words were written. Oh, that they were inscribed in a book. That they were engraved on a rock with an iron pen and lead forever. Oh, that they were written by, but they have been. These words were written. These words were inscribed. These words were basically engraved. These words in other words are permanent. So the things that he's saying, we do have a record of. And then he goes on and says, the most powerful thing, verse 25. After all of this, for I know that my Redeemer lives, and he shall stand at last on the earth. And after my skin is destroyed, this I know that in my flesh, I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me. I am not guilty of the sin that you think I have committed. And I have one thing that I am certain about. My Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives. And I shall see him. I know that. You see, Bill had in chapter 18, verse 17, had said the memory of the wicked one perishes from the earth. But Job is countering and he's saying, no, I know that my Redeemer lives. I don't expect to be restored to my former prosperity. I don't know that I'll ever have my health back. But one thing I know, as a dying man, I trust in a living Redeemer. And by faith I have trusted him. And I know him. And I know that in the end, when all of this is done, I will be with him. I know that. And no matter what it is that I go through, I am not alone. My Redeemer lives. And I shall stand with him. Even after my skin is destroyed, my flesh in my flesh, I shall see God. Now that is something for every believer in this room to grab hold of. Oh death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin. But Jesus Christ has given us victory in His resurrection. We don't have to have a fear of death. We don't. Death is an enemy. It's the last enemy. But Jesus Christ in His resurrection has given us victory over death. Now as we know, he's been crying out. He had cried out in chapter 9 verse 32. He had cried out for a mediator. Remember, he said in Job 932, he's not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, delay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God's rod from me so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him. But as it now stands with me, I cannot. I wish I had a mediator. Then he said, I wish I had a witness and an advocate in Job 1619. He said, even now my witness is in heaven. My advocate is on high. He said in verse 21 of chapter 16, on behalf of man, he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend. I need a witness. I need this advocate. And I know that God can be that for me. But now he cries out, I know my Redeemer lives. The psalmist said that the redemption of a soul is costly. No one can give God a ransom. Psalm 49.15 says, but God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for he shall receive me. Job knew that his Redeemer lives. He knew that his advocate was on high. This is something that he had a certain knowledge of. He knew that the Lord was on his side. Now at that time, he didn't know the name of his advocate, but we know his Redeemer is Jesus Christ. And his faith is that he'll see his Redeemer. His faith is that he will be resurrected. His faith is that he will see God. So the Redeemer that he speaks of is Jesus Christ. In Titus chapter 2 verses 13 and 14 in the New Testament, Paul said it like this. He says, we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. In Galatians 4 verses 4 and 5, he said, when the time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law that we might receive the full rights of sons. The redemption is a purchase. He purchases us, purchased us. We were in the marketplace of sin, but he paid for us and brought us out and set us free. And that price that he paid was the life of Christ. It was his blood. In Ephesians chapter 1 verse 7, it says it like this, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace. And so God has done that for us. God has given to us that hope through Jesus Christ. I hope you live that way every day, by the way. I hope you do. I hope you do. I hope you're prepared. I hope that you're aware of the fact that your Redeemer lives and Jesus Christ has bought you out of the marketplace of sin. You were a slave to sin. Paul makes it very clear when you study through the book of Ephesians, we were in the marketplace of sin. But God, through Jesus Christ, paid the ransom, paid the price, redeemed us, the blood of Christ, which is more precious than gold, silver or precious stones. He purchased us and we belong to him. I just remembered an old story. I'm going to say it. Pastor Chuck said this about the man who had the gingerbread. You guys remember the story of the gingerbread boy? Some of you might have heard it. This old man baked a gingerbread man and the gingerbread boy decided to get up and ran out of the house. And as he ran down the house, out of the house, a wolf got him. You know? Well, Chuck changed it. I give him permission. And Chuck's version of it in his illustration was that the little gingerbread boy, gingerbread man, ran out and a baker saw him. So unusual, he brought him into his shop and put him in the window to sell him. And here's this old man who had baked this little gingerbread boy and he's looking through the town and he finally comes to the window of the baker and he looks in and there's the gingerbread boy. And so Chuck says, so he goes in and he speaks to the man and he says, I want that's mine. That gingerbread boy is mine. And the baker said, well, no, he ran away from you apparently, but he's now mine. And in order for you to have him, you're going to have to pay for him. And so how much is it going to be? He said, this is an unusual little gingerbread thing. It runs around. It's got a life of its own. So it's going to cost you a lot. And so the man sold all that he had and he bought his little gingerbread boy. So as Chuck tells it, it always ends in a wonderful way where the man looks at him, looks at his little gingerbread boy and he says, you know, I made you. I lost you. I bought you back. Now you're mine. And Chuck is, but I like to say I made you. I bought you. Now I'm going to eat you, but that's not really, that's not how Chuck said it. But I've always liked the way he endeared that story to my heart. I made you. You left me. I found you. I paid for you. And now you're mine. Oh, that's redemption, right? That's redemption. He made us. We ran from him. He sought us. He paid for us. He owns us. That simple. My redeemer lives. And I will see him. Verse 27, I will see for myself my eyes shall behold, not another. And listen how my heart yearns within me. I long for that. And then finally, if you should say, how shall we persecut him since the root of the matter is found in me? Be afraid of the sword for yourself. For wrath brings the punishment of the sword that you may know there is a judgment. Ultimately, there is a judgment and it'll take place. But as for myself, I trust the Lord and he has redeemed me.