 With that said, here we are in Job and we're going to be looking at chapter 39 and I'm going to read the first four verses to you and give you a little bit of a background reminder and then move into the 39th chapter, we'll be looking at it today. And so I'll begin reading at verse 1, Job chapter 39, read to verse 4 and we'll get into our study. Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Can you mark when the deer gives birth? Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they bear young? They bow down, they bring forth their young, they deliver their offspring, their young ones are healthy, they grow strong with grain, they depart and do not return to them. And so as we've been going through the book of Job, we've seen that there has been an ongoing argument. As we began the study, Job suffered the loss of everything that he valued. We saw how he lost his material blessings, he lost his children, he even lost his physical health. He was once the greatest man in the East, but he'd been reduced to a shadow of what he once was. His body is racked with pain, it's swollen, completely covered with boils from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. He's been sitting there in ashes, he's been scraping his open wounds with broken shards of pottery. And as we saw this in the introduction to the book of Job, we saw how he had friends. He had friends who came and they just simply at first sat there in silence alongside of him. They had agreed to come together and to mourn alongside of their dear, dear friend Job. Now the Bible tells us when they saw him from afar, they didn't even recognize him, but when they recognized him, when they knew it was him, the Bible says that they lifted up their voices and they wept and they tore their clothing and they threw dust in the air, sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. And no one spoke a word, seeing that his grief was so unbelievable. And then as we've been reading through and going through Job, we saw how Job finally broke the silence and the first things he began to speak about was the fact that he was cursing the day of his birth and he began to bear his soul. He began to openly and honestly question aloud, why did this happen? He was saying, my pain pours out of me like water. I have no rest because trouble comes. And that which I feared most has come upon me. What I dreaded, he says, has happened to me. While as sometimes happens a pain that he was enduring wasn't understood by his friends, they began to fear for him and were at first even confused at his emotional explosion. And one by one, his friends, Alaphaz and Zophar and Vildad, began rebuking and began reprimanding him. You see, each one of them felt that he was dangerously close to blaspheming God by his complaining. Job, they said, you're the one who gave advice so freely, but now you suffer and are weary of it. What makes you think that you're above such things in your life? Who are you, they were saying, to complain against God? So as we've seen, Job didn't understand how they could speak to him like that. He began to question them, he questioned their kindness, he questioned their compassion. He even rebuked them for being harsh. In Job 6, verse 14, he said to him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. Why are you treating me the way that you are? Why are you saying the things that you're saying? You see, it's easy for you. You're healthy. It's easy to rebuke the one who isn't. It's easy to rebuke the one who's hurting so deeply when you yourself are without pain. He said in chapter 7, verse 5, my flesh is caked with worms and dust. My skin is cracked and breaks afresh. And as we went through all of the chapters of Job up to this point, on and on the argument went each one of his friends attempting to convince him of sin and none of them was able to do it. And because of that, another joined into the argument. Remember by the name of Elihu. Now he admits that he was young in years and what he had done is he had sat there listening for some time waiting for the elders to convince him of his sin, but they had failed. And because they had failed, he added his opinion to the situation. He was convinced that Job was self-righteous and he was convinced that Job needed to be humbled and he couldn't understand how Job could contend with God. He said in chapter 34, verse 10, far be it from God to do wickedness and from the Almighty to pervert justice. You see Job in the end, you're getting less than you actually deserve. So Elihu closed his rebuke of Job by beginning to extol how great God is. He spoke of how great the Lord is. He said that he's the Almighty. He's beyond our finding out. He's excellent in power and judgment. He's abundant in justice. Elihu said he doesn't oppress. He shows no partiality. And so he closed basically by saying, Job, you need to return to the fear of the Lord. You see when Elihu concluded his reprimand of Job, God spoke out. And as we saw, he spoke out of the whirlwind and God revealed himself to Job and he began answering his questions and his concerns. And as we looked at this and it speaks concerning the Lord, speaking out of the whirlwind. As I mentioned to you, the whirlwind is an image that is as much like the confusion that Job was suffering. It seems that there are times when God breaks into our confusion. And that's what he was doing. He was breaking into Job's confusion and he was bringing answers. You see, Job had silenced his friends, but he hadn't convinced them of his innocence. Elihu had presented his case, but Job never had a chance to respond in the midst of the confusion and in the midst of the stress God had broken in and God began to settle the problem. He said to him, your questions don't bring light. They increase the darkness. Your questions and complaints, well, they don't help anyone. They've even brought more confusion to your friends and you've been questioning me. So God said, so now I'm going to begin to question you. Did you want to argue your case with me and get ready? We're going to have a debate. And so we went through chapter 38 and as we went through chapter 38, we saw how God began by asking questions about creation. And as we went through the chapter, he spoke of the earth, he spoke of the heavens, he spoke of the seas, he even spoke of the weather. And he began to ask him, well, where were you when I determined how to create and sustain all things? And so he began to show Joe how small he is in comparison to how great God himself is. And he had closed chapter 38, as we saw by speaking of nature. He spoke of lions and and he spoke of ravens. And in chapter 39, he continues this line of questioning. And that's what we'll see as we pick up here in chapter 39 at verse one, where he says, God is speaking, he says, do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young or can you mark when the deer gives birth? So now he begins to speak to him concerning natural life creation. Have you ever climbed the mountains, Job, to find out when wild mountain goats bear their young? Are you personally aware of the seasons that they give birth? You see, in Job's time, more than likely, nobody really cared about these kinds of things unlike today. To observe and to chronicle these kinds of things wasn't something that people did. It would have been more difficult than it was worth. But God begins to ask these questions because Job didn't know. So God is letting them know. I know their habits. I know that they are in inaccessible cliffs, but there are no obstacles to me is what he's saying. You see, domesticated sheep and goats have a shepherd who cares for them in such times, but not so with wild mountain goats. You see, the domesticated sheep have a shepherd. Jesus spoke of that many times. He spoke of himself as being their shepherd. You see, Jesus speaking of himself being the shepherd to the sheep in the New Testament, you see God being referred to as the shepherd of the sheep in the Old. The Lord is my what? He's my shepherd. I shall not want. And so that illustration of the shepherd caring for the sheep is found in the old as well as the New Testament. And so a shepherd during that day would have been very familiar with all of these things related to the sheep and when they conceived and when they bear. They would know that. Why? Because the sheep were there with them. And so they would know their habits and they know these kinds of things. And that's what shepherds do. So God is saying to him, listen, there may be a reality of the fact that the domesticated sheep have shepherds who are aware of everything, Job. But the wild ones, these wild animals, these wild mountain goats. Well, nobody's watching over them, Job. Who's watching over them? Can you tell me these things? The shepherd would know this, God, in other words, being the shepherd. Wild mountain goats are not the same as domesticated. And therefore God is saying, I'm the shepherd to the wild goat. And when they most need attention, he's saying, I'm there with them. When they're bearing their young, I'm there with them. He says in verse two, can you number the months that they fulfill? Do you know the time when they bear young? They bow down, they bring forth their young, they deliver their offspring. Their young ones are healthy. They grow strong with grain. They depart and do not return to them. So he's speaking of nature. He's speaking of the things that a shepherd would be aware of. And he's speaking concerning the mountain goats. But he also begins to speak of other things in just a moment. Because as he's speaking, he's making it very clear that he's the one who's involved with all of these things. He's aware of these things, even of the deer. Notice in verse one, can you mark when the deer gives birth? Not only am I aware, God is saying, and you're not, of the mountain goats. I'm aware of even natural life like the deer. I'm aware of them and everything that they're doing. And by the way, Joe, you need to remember something about deer. And in the in the most part, they're they're gentle and defenseless. Now, I wouldn't want to get a deer mad at me. But he's saying, you know, they need to be cared for, too. And and God is saying, and I care for him. And so he's beginning to break that down for him. So he speaks down in verse five and and he says this. Who said this is interesting and I hope I can make it interesting for you. If not, who cares? Who set the wild donkey free? Who loose the bonds of the onager? Whose home I have made the wilderness and the barren land, his dwelling. He scorns the tumult of the of the city. He he does not heed the shouts of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture and he searches after every green thing. And so now he begins to speak concerning the wild donkey, the wild donkey. And he asks, who loose the bonds of the the the the onager? The word onager, I thought, what is that? Right. I was the last time you said, you know, I was I saw an onager the other day. I mean, when's the last time you said that the last time I said that was just now. What is an onager? An onager is just another word for a wild donkey. That's all it is. It's a synonym. And so when he said, who gave the onager, who gave the wild donkey, what he's saying is who gave the wild donkey the disposition of hating and rejecting and resisting domestication. Who created him in such a way that he is unmanageable? And that's what he's speaking about. The wild donkey, who set the wild donkey free? Who put within him the instinct to reject being domesticated? Who did that? Who created him in such a way that he is so unmanageable? He says, whose home I've made. I have made the wilderness and the barren land his dwelling. He likes to live in the wild. He scorns for seven. The tumult of the city does not he the shots of the driver. So he makes his home far from the noisy city. He doesn't want to be in the city. He prefers the freedom that he that he has in the wilderness. He rejects the directions. He says, given by those driving donkey driven carts. Now, again, we here in the United States, perhaps we haven't seen too many of those, if any at all. I mean, you can find a small pony driven cart or a horse driven cart in the United States, obviously, you know, go to. I don't know if there's any around here. I haven't seen any, but perhaps there they are. I don't know. Go to New York, go to Central Park, and they have the horses and all of that. And the horses are domesticated. You can climb on the little thing that they carry you in that little carriage. And they'll take you through the park and and and you have to sell your child to afford it. But it's you can do that. But in these these wild donkeys, he's simply saying he's talking about their nature and how God knows him and Job does. And that's the whole point of the questions. He says, listen, you know that they don't like to go into the city. You know that they reject the directions of those who drive the carts. In other words, he prefers living away from man and man's control. And so how did he get that way? Is the question God is asking. And again, Job wouldn't have the answer. So he goes on in verse nine. Will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he bed by your manger? Can you bind the wild ox and the furrow with ropes? Or will he plow the valleys behind you? Will you trust him because his strength is great? Or will you leave your labor to him? Will you trust him to bring home your grain and gather it to your threshing floor? Now, some of you perhaps have in that verse that I just read verse nine, perhaps you have the word unicorn. Does anybody here have that out of curiosity to raise your hand so I know if there's. So yeah, the word unicorn is found in there. Let's look at that for a minute. Unicorn. Okay, why is it called a unicorn? I'm going to give you a little bit of tidbit of information that some of you might find interesting. And others just be patient. But let me share some things because this is an interesting portion of scripture. The King James uses the word unicorn. There may be other translations. I know for certain that King James does that. Unicorn simply means one horn. That's what the word means. We all know that. But the unicorn here is speaking really of a wild ox. The wild ox was known for its strength and its ferocity as well as its power. Why would it be called a unicorn in the King James? Well, the word unicorn in Hebrew is Reim, R-E, apostrophe E-M, Reim. So that's the Hebrew word that is translated here. But the Latin word is where we get the word unicorn from. The Latin word is unicornus. And that's how the word found its way into the King James Version Bible. That's how it found its way in. And one of my commentators said, and that is an unfortunate translation. Why is that? Because when the word is used in various passages in the New Testament, unicorns had at least two horns. And yet we have come to know it as a single horned beast. But unicorns had at least two horns. In Deuteronomy, for example, in the Old Testament chapter 33 verse 17, it reads, his glory is like the firstling of his bullock. And his horns are like the horns of unicorns. And Psalm 2221, save me from the lion's mouth, for you have saved me from the horns of the unicorn. The unicorn actually is a wild ox. And it had two horns. Now, here's something else that you're going to find boring. This particular animal that is being spoken of here is extinct. It is identified with what the Romans called the Auroch or the Urus. It was a black European wild ox and it was huge. So Caesar, when he was invading France, described the animal in this way. This is what Caesar said concerning this unicorn that is being used here as an example. Caesar said, great is their strength and great their speed. Nor do they spare man nor beast when once they have caught sight of him. Even when they are young, they cannot be habituated. They can't be tamed by man. They cannot be easily managed. Listen, the size and the shape of their horns are very different from our own oxen. They were huge. They were known to have been not just the size of some of the animals that we are familiar with. No, these were huge wild oxen. That's what the Lord is speaking about. And that's why he says in verse 9, will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he bed by your manger? You see, domesticated. Can you domesticate something like that? Can you tame him? Can you make him willing to obey your commands like other oxen? The answer is no. Can you confine him at night? Can you make him work in the day? Can you do any of that? Well, obviously he's saying no. Well, when he says in verse 11, will you trust him because his strength is great? Will you leave your labor to him? Will you trust him to bring home your grain and gather it to your threshing for? The answer is no, why? Because you can't domesticate him. So, once again, all the Lord is doing is asking questions that he has answers for and that Job does. And he's just showing Job that he doesn't know as much as he thinks he does. Well, he goes on. Verse 13, the wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are her wings and pinions like the kindly storks? For she leaves her eggs on the ground and warms them in the dust. She forgets that a foot may crush them or that a wild beast may break them. She treats her young harshly as though they were not hers. Her labor is in vain without concern because God deprived her of wisdom and did not endow her with understanding. When she lifts herself on high, she scorns the horse and it's right. Again, he's speaking concerning the proud ostrich. Again, as I was reading this, I was thinking, Lord God, why would you want to talk about ostriches? Well, he's simply saying this. What do you know about this giant bird? It has beautiful plumage, but it can't fly. Its wings are useless and the female ostrich lacks maternal awareness. She's not a good mama is what he's saying. She's not aware of her eggs. She lets the warm sun incubate them. The only time the ostrich will be on the egg is at night when it's cold, but she leaves them. She leaves her babies or her eggs unattended and often her eggs will be crushed by people walking and not seeing them and they step on them and break the egg. Did you know I didn't know this? She can lay as many as 30 eggs and one commentator said that ostriches can lay as many as 50 and those eggs are big. You could use them to play basketball. That's why you need 50 of them. They're huge. And so these big old things, big pile of eggs and yet people out in the wilderness walking can step on them and crush them because they're buried in the warm dirt and because of the neglect, less than a quarter of them are ever hatched and because they're not protected, wild beasts find them and devour them. And notice verse 16, she treats her young harshly as though they are not hers. The labor's in vain. You see, you can see this and I didn't get a lot of examples of this. I just have seen it so of you of how other animals actually protect their young. Other animals will protect the young. I've seen wildlife shows in this and that. When I was a kid, my dad used to like to watch them and so even to this day, I might on occasion watch something related to wildlife and so very often it'll show a little teeny animal and then a larger one is coming to try and eat the young and this little teeny animal, whatever it is, you know it tries to make itself look bigger and it tries to look fierce and all of that. Why? To protect its young. But an ostrich doesn't do that. Ostriches don't care. You know, I had 50, I can have 50 more. I mean that's kind of how they think. And if she hears a noise, if she hears a noise, she'll wander away to see what that noise is and the predators will find her eggs and devour them because she's not protecting them. And on many occasions ostrich chicks have been found by wanderers. They've been found as they're just kind of moving around in the desert and they'll say in these little chicks, well they're not that little but these chicks are moaning and they're starving because the mother ostrich has no concern. She actually abandons them early. And here's something else. Because of this ostriches are considered to be cruel. In Lamentations in the Old Testament, Lamentations chapter 4 verse 3, it says even the jackals feed their young but not my people Israel. They ignore their children's cries like ostriches in the desert. My children, the Israelis he was saying in that day, they ignore the cries of their own children, just like an ostrich. When Paul was speaking to young Timothy concerning ministry and all, he was speaking concerning how the, in his case, how the father was to care for the children and the family that was Christian was to raise the children and the knowledge and the nurture of the Lord. And he said the one who doesn't provide for his own household, what does he say? He said they are worse than an infidel. They're like an ostrich. If a father or a mother, whatever the case may be, is not caring for their children's spiritual life, they're neglecting their children. They're like ostriches. They're cruel. They're not aware. They let the child spiritually starve while they're distracted by things that draw their attention. And if that's not happening right now in the United States, I don't know what is. Where things are distracting parents from the first things. What does it matter if you gain the whole world on a personal level and then I'll just adjust it for this way and lose the soul of your children? If you get everything you wanted, if you worked hard, you worked overtime, you're able to afford the things that you'd really like to have. And you may even have a good reason for wanting those things. And who's arguing and saying that it's bad to have? I would never say it's bad to have that. But what happens when you neglect your children for the desires you have for the other things? Because in the end, if you're trying to give to your children memories, which a lot of parents do, or we'll put them in that, and they'll be busy here or whatever, and there's so many distractions in the world. Let me just speak to you honestly and say it this way and this quickly. Your children appreciate the vacations you can give them. Maybe somebody watching right now, maybe you need to be reminded of this. Your children appreciate the vacations you give them and the memories you make together. But those memories are not going to save their souls. Not going to save their souls. And what they're doing is they're learning what you value. And they don't interpret the reason you're doing it the way you do. All they remember is that you spend a lot of time working so you could go to Hawaii. Yes, that's right. So you could go to Hawaii or you could take them to other places. That's all they know. And so you may have good reason but the problem is with the kid is they don't know your reasons. So a long time ago, a long time ago, is it over there? It's in the other room. It's a musician who did that. Ooh. This is an ostrich. Pour into your children. Pour into your children if you're a parent. Pour into your children. Because the only thing that matters in the end is whether they got saved and went to heaven when they died. It does. I don't know how to say this. I'm looking at the ostrich and she's a bad mom. That's what God's saying. As a matter of fact, we'll see some more about her in just a moment. But she's just a bad mom. She didn't take care of her kids. But in a spiritual sense, she's always saying, I take care of you and Job, do you not understand that? But also as a Christian father and I can speak for my wife who is a Christian mother, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt the most important thing to us has always been that our children fear the Lord. That has always been that they know Jesus because that's all that matters in the end. And if you can't afford some things, guess what? A lot of people can't either in the original vacations we had. We still laugh about it because we would get with my four kids we would get the one room with actually queen size bed and we would put my baby Anna who is our littlest one. We would get a dresser drawer and open it up and we would put a blanket in it and just drop her in it. And then the boys would share you know a little cot. We'd have them roll in another one. We had six people in the one room in the least expensive thing we could find. We would drive at night I'd get them up at like three or four in the morning bundle them up, put them in the back seat of the car and take off so we could save one night a hotel or motel we didn't have to pay for it because the kids were asleep we would take them to a burger king and that was their treat they got a treat a burger king they got it but guess what they remember they remember being with us they remember spending time with us or going places with us they didn't know that we couldn't afford a lot of things that maybe other people took for granted they didn't know that all they knew is we took them places we spent time with them but Murray and I knew that we did it on a shoestring budget and guess what that's okay because the thing that mattered wasn't where they slept it's who they were with and what they were doing and so a good parent is going to care for the children in every way the ostrich isn't any good she treats her young harshly verse 16 as though they weren't even hers think about that for a minute her labor is in vain without concern why verse 17 because God deprived her of wisdom and did not endow her with understanding God is taking credit for this I have deprived her of wisdom is not by human arrangement it certainly isn't because she evolved that way it's by design you see the fact that they survive at all is a testimony that I care for them now in verse 17 when it speaks in this way God deprived her of wisdom didn't endow her with understanding there's an old Arab proverb and they'll say that that guy is as foolish or as stupid as an ostrich I mean her dumbness is proverbial why did they say it well I was reading about ostriches because I'm just so interested I was reading about them well they eat stones that's pretty stupid they'll eat iron they've been they go and eat leadon bullets bullets that have been fired they eat broken glass they even eat hot coals they're dumb and someone said well they have small heads because they have small brains you know and that's probably true so he's speaking concerning that they're just dumb and he said and deprived of wisdom in verse 18 though when she lifts herself on high when she rises after being down she scorns the horse and it's right I didn't write these down as quotes but I was reading three or four different authors who were speaking concerning the fact that the Arabs in the wilderness have spoken over the years they have said that you can see an ostrich and you'll be on the fastest horse you have but you can never catch them they run between 30 and 50 miles an hour they're huge birds they're an average of around 7 feet tall and one author was saying from you know in the 1800s I use old authors it's been said if they're not dead they're not red I use older authors and so this particular author said that in this particular zoo of his day that there were ostriches there who head stood 10 feet tall so they're huge birds as a point and so they've got these long legs and they can really run so if she's afraid or she's being pursued she runs at incredible speed and that's what he's saying when he says she scorns the horse and it's right so this thing can really, really move so in verse 19 have you given the horse strength he continues on have you clothed his neck with thunder can you frighten him like a locust his majestic snorting strikes terror he paused in the valley he rejoices in his strength he gallops into the clash of arms he mocks at fear and is not frightened nor does he turn back from the sword the quiver rattles against him the glittering spear and javelin he devours the distance with fierceness and rage nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet is sounded at the blast of the trumpet he says aha he smells the battle from afar the thunder of captains and shouting so he now speaks of the war horse do you give the horse confidence and courage Job know where did he get it from from me did you clothe his neck with thunder when he says clothe his neck with thunder one author says it's main he's speaking of its main and even the muscles that quiver in his neck is the picture in verse 20 can you frighten him like a locust now by your mere presence can you cause a war horse to leap in fear when he's in battle his snorting reveals ferocity and frightens warriors verses 21 through 23 he's intimidating he sends fear into opposing warriors and you can imagine you're on the ground and here comes this huge war horse and it's in battle gear and it sends fear into these these ancient warriors and in verse 24 and 25 he devours the distance with fierceness and rage he doesn't come to a halt I took a direct quote from an ancient and older author he said we do not believe that a body of infantry ever existed that with the bayonet alone unsupported by fire could have checked the determined charge of good horsemen the horse would run directly into the warriors even if they had spears and even if they had swords the horses had no fear they were covered with armor and when they would charge the line the people who were there with the spear trying to take the horse down could not in any way provoke that that horse to fear and that's the point he's making it says in verse 25 at the blast of the trumpet he says aha he smells the battle from afar the thunder of captains and shouting and he gets really pumped up and it goes to war that's what he's saying do you know how come Job would have to say no I don't and then finally does the hawk fly by your wisdom spread its wings toward the south does the eagle mount up at your command and make its nest on high on the rock it dwells and resides on the crag of the rock and the stronghold from there it spies out the prey its eyes observe from afar its young ones suck up blood and where the slain are there it is concerning these birds a hawk and an eagle which are carrion they eat the bodies of that which is dead so did you create the hawk did you give the hawk its strength its stamina did you give the hawk the instinct that when it begins to be cold in the winter that it flies to the south to a warmer climate did you do that no he says in verse 27 does the eagle mount up at your command did you put into the eagle the ability to fly high and make her nest in the highest rocks you see the rocks will provide protection for her from her enemies but it also gives her a vantage point where she can see her prey and she also feeds on the carcasses of the slain dead animals and sometimes in remember Jesus said in Matthew 24 28 wherever there is a carcass there the vultures will gather the vulture is another way of speaking of an eagle and so they were well known for this they devour the dead so he is asking do you understand that so what is he saying here he is saying God is in control he is saying God has all the answers and Job you don't all he is saying question after question after question he is asking him to reveal to him that he doesn't know all that he thinks he knows and you have to once again and I will close with this thought you have to go back to how Job was saying I wish that I had an opportunity to argue my case with God now those of us I have been there some of you perhaps have also where I have said God I want to talk to you about your judgments I would like to know why you did this I wouldn't have done it I know none of you have ever said anything like that to the Lord maybe you have God why did you do this Pastor David wouldn't have done that maybe you have said that I don't know let me close with one thought and then we are going to celebrate communion God is asking questions because man can't answer them God knows everything that man does not know God provides man with the information he desires so you have the apostle Peter and Jesus is speaking to him and as Jesus is speaking to the apostle Peter paraphrasing he says to Peter you know when you were young you remember how you would dress yourself and go where you wanted to go well let me tell you something Peter when you are old you are going to be dressed and taken to where you don't want to go thus he spoke concerning the death that Peter would glorify the Lord and he was speaking of his martyrdom when you were young you decided where you wanted to go but let me tell you how it is going to end you are going to be taken where you don't want to go here is the thing I want to close with before we have communion you know what Peter did at that point one of the reasons I like him and some of you perhaps do too is because he's got a big mouth and he says things sometimes that you say how could you how could you how could you say that Peter but thank you for saying it because I'm wondering too so you know what he says it says in John the gospel of John says Peter saw the one whom Jesus loved you speaking of John he saw John and after Jesus said to him this is where you are going to go and Peter understood he was speaking of the way he would glorify God in his martyrdom you know what Peter did what a lot of people do he saw John over there and he said what about him remember that and remember what Jesus said he was with you you follow me if we could grab that one we'll be okay but if we are always wondering why God does this with him and how did he get away with it and how did she do that a lot of us are that way how come and you know what the Lord taught me he said what does he got to do with you you follow me and that tells me that the Lord has each one of our lives in mind and he knows the best way to work with me put me in the place where he can bless me the greatest and if it takes a lifetime until I finally learn so this is what it's all about Lord I finally see it that's when I die he can ask you questions that you can't answer but he always has the answer and we get that Father we bless you and we thank you for your goodness to us Lord we would ask that we would also learn that you have all the answers and you can ask the questions that none of us can answer and so I'm asking Father that you would work in each one of our lives to the point where we have learned to just rest in you even as John hit on your chest and just hear your heart beat and hear you breathe and know that everything's okay because he's with you I pray that I might learn that same lesson and Father when you ask the hard questions it helps us simply to know only you have the answer so as we go through these final verses of Job I just pray that you help us to come to the same conclusion he does and so speak to us and continue to do so as we go through these passages Lord and mold us into your image and even as our eyes are closed our heads are bowed there may be some right now in this room we need to get right with the Lord and you know it maybe you've had a whole list of questions you've been asking God lately and he's simply saying you need to just hold on and trust me but if you need prayer you need to be right with him before we go a step further we're about to have communion and you want your heart right with him then as our eyes are closed our heads are bowed if you need prayer would you raise your hand let me pray for you right where you're at Father you see these hands you see them going up I ask in Jesus name that you would reach down and touch each person whose hand is raised to you and Father where there's areas of sin that you would forgive as they say God be merciful if there's areas of weakness that you would remind them that you are the one who makes them strong and Father I just ask that you would just right now fill them with your presence and as they prepare their heart to meet you in communion Father that you would just even right now just help them to be to be settled so we lift this to you we lift ourselves to you we receive those things from you and we bless you and we praise you thank you Lord you can put your hands down and Lord please just keep moving even as we're about to take up this supper in Jesus name Amen