“The LORD Answers Job” - Job 38:1-14

“The Lord Answers Job” - Job 38:1-14 (ESV)

GREETING

Good Evening,

It is so good to be back with you guys. I missed you all because we did not meet last week and I am incredibly thankful to get to hang out with you guys this week.

I hope you are all doing well, thank you for being here.

PHYSICAL COPY OF BIBLE:

Oh I hope you brought a physical copy of your Bible with you this evening…

I want your Bible to be what you cherish most…

And I want the voice that you value most to be God’s voice…

And what I have found out over time is that if I am not in God’s Word then I do not really care about what he has to say…

Or some students struggle to understand what God is like… yet they do not read his Word…

The problem is not that God struggles to communicate to you… the problem is that you struggle to listen to what he has to say…

Friends… fall in love with his Word… and if you are not familiar with his voice… what voice are you listening to?

PRAYER:

Oh Lord… thank you so much for this youth group. I am excited and pumped to preaching your Word because I get to see and hear what you have to say - the one true God…

I get to hear and see what the God of universe is like… Lord you are full of love, mercy, kindness, grace, gentleness, compassion, companionship, friendship, joy, peace, understanding, wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and good judgment…

Lord you are King of Kings and Lord of Lords… thank you for providing a savior - Jesus Christ… for paying the sin debt that we could never pay back and for loving us the same yesterday, today, and forever more…

God you are good… help us to understand your Word this evening and what we are to pull from our last serious in Job. In your Son Jesus name I pray these things - AMEN.

iNTRO PASSAGE - PSALM:

*** Stand in honor of reading God’s Word for Intro passage only ***

Psalm 119:133 (ESV)

Keep steady my steps according to your promise,

and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

STEADY = To Establish or Set Up

In other words, Psalm 119 is saying… Oh Lord, Direct, Set up, Guide, and Establish my path and align my steps to walk on your path and promises…

DOMINION = “To cause to rule - to exercise authority over”

*** SLOW DOWN - HOOK ***

If we allow sin to survive it will begin to subdue and rule our lives…

Sin never stays small

Sin sinks in and soaks every aspect and area of your heart

Sin feels sensational at first… But the longer you let it linger the sensation turns into shame and shackles

Sin will make you feel like a puppet on a string… and a slave to what it sprints after

This is why I make a big deal out of bringing your Bible to Youth Group - diving into it - highlighting it - cherishing it - so that you would know the will and path of the Lord and so that you do not become a slave to sin and a puppet pin a string…

Allow the Lord to guide your every step… and do not allow sin to sway and steer your every step…

JOB RECAP - TWO WEEKS AGO:

- How we RESPOND to God reveals the kind of RELATIONSHIP we have with GOD

- WE CAN EXPRESS OUR EMOTIONS AND INNER MOST THOUGHTS TO GOD

You can see throughout Scripture the people of God calling out to God and being honest about what they are thinking, feeling, and experiencing…

God wants a relationship with you were you can go to him about all things - not just some things… And we respond to him reveals what Kind of relationship we have with him…

TRANSITION - MAIN PASSAGE - THIS WEEK:

Job 38:1–14 (ESV)

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

Dress for action like a man;

I will question you, and you make it known to me.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

when the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

“Or who shut in the sea with doors

when it burst out from the womb,

when I made clouds its garment

and thick darkness its swaddling band,

and prescribed limits for it

and set bars and doors,

and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,

and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

“Have you commanded the morning since your days began,

and caused the dawn to know its place,

that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,

and the wicked be shaken out of it?

It is changed like clay under the seal,

and its features stand out like a garment.

POINT #1: IF YOU ASK GOD A QUESTION - BE PREPARED FOR THE ANSWER - EVEN IF ITS NOT THE ANSWER YOU WERE LOOKING FOR

If you were to read the book of Job you would see that Job expresses to his friends that he wants to know why this happened to him…

He wants to know why this things have happened to him…

Job 31:5–8 (ESV)

“If I have walked with falsehood

and my foot has hastened to deceit;

(Let me be weighed in a just balance,

and let God know my integrity!)

if my step has turned aside from the way

and my heart has gone after my eyes,

and if any spot has stuck to my hands,

then let me sow, and another eat,

and let what grows for me be rooted out.

In other words, Job is saying… Look at my life Lord… I have done nothing wrong and I not deserve what has happened… in fact, lets look at my actions - I have not done evil - I am good. Put me on trial and I will provide a just case…

Friends… I want to make sure you get this… Many people read the book of Job and think that Job did not get a direct answer as to why the Lord allowed Job to experience what he experienced…

But the Lord directly answers Job by saying… I am God… you are not… you do not possess the understanding or know all that I have planned in and through what is happening or taking place…

In other words, Job got an answer to his question - it just wasn't the one he was looking for…

Job was looking for God to say to see that he was a good and just man, no error, and that this was a mistake…

And God responds with - Job - I am God - I do not make mistakes - You can not see all that I am doing in and through this - I am God

I think sometimes we do not go to God in prayer or ask God something not because we do not believe that he is Good or will have the answer… I think we don’t go to him at times because we may have to be faced with the reality that his answer… what he has planned… is different than what we have planned or what we think we deserve…

You see following God with your entire heart requires HUMILITY…

What Job experienced with God was a moment of Humility…

James 4:10 ESV

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

HUMBLE = to be or become reduced in status, rank, and character

In other words, Humility is recognizing your position and place before God

Job wanted an answer… the Lord’s answer was I am God… you are man… You need to recognize, your status, rank, character, position, and place…

FRESHMAN YEAR OF SOCCER STORY - COACH SAID YOU NEED TO STOP TALKING