The Sovereignty of God

Coming up next on Renewing Your Mind the painful reality of trials in our life to break the stove and break us down computer because feel utterly helpless without any rights that any privileges that we are but dust in the hands of a sovereign omnipotent Almighty God. If you experience trials lately were through the middle of one right now. You can probably relate to what Dr. Gary Thomas is describing their trials break us down, they make us feel utterly helpless certainly how Job felt in the midst of incredible suffering and pain with Job learn one essential truth that brought him through his trials truth that we can apply to our circumstances. Now we are in chapters 32 to 37 of the book of Job, and were introduced to a brand-new character ally who some people say Ellie, who I think I sent ally who some of it thought about same person. The three friends of the first buildout, and so far I've exited stage left and brand-new younger men enter see as being there is always to be missing to the contribution of the three friends that were told in chapter 32 that the three men three friends ceased to answer Job because he was righteous in his own eyes, and then ally who the son of Bono held the both sides of the family of RAM burned with anger. He burned with anger at Joel because he justified himself rather than God and he burned with anger. Also, Job 3 friends because they found no answer is a lot of anger here and anger is probably not the best place to be in counseling somebody like Job, so there is that issue to bear in mind now. What does Elihu have to say commentators have been deeply divided about Elihu as some have dismissed them altogether. Some of said that it's the same old same old is a lot of bluster becomes in using the three friends of mine failed to say anything and he feels the same thing himself. This is the repetition of the same point of view that suffering is punishment that suffering is reaping what you have sown no more, no less. Other commentators have come in and said Elihu is in fact saying something brand-new. There are those John Calvin would be an example I think John Calvin saw in Elihu, the answer to the problem of suffering we could put it like this that John Calvin was Elihu in the way that he understood the book of Job. He understood it through the perspective of Elihu, aversive, held a middle position that that Elihu begins well and ends badly and I think that's where I am.

I think he begins well the ends badly, is indeed ends by repeating the same old same old point of view of Job's three friends of the six chapters, chapters 32 to 37 contain four speeches start. Elihu makes and that they are in the sentence. A summary of Elihu's contribution to the problem of Job's suffering. I want us to think through what it is that Elihu has to say. There's a key verse or two in it, and if the father single of 111 verse from Elihu's contributions.

It would be chapter 34 in verse 12 where he says of the truth. God will not do wickedly in the Almighty will not pervert justice. Whatever the answer to the problem of pain-and-suffering is it cannot be an answer at the expense of the character of God.

The company at the expense of the injustice of God, of the integrity of God and the righteousness of God is not is not in the universe, or for that matter himself out of shape just to comply with Job's particular case. Job must fit into the character of God. So this is a truth it's an uncompromised truth. It's a truth that, in any shape way all form be altered in order to understand what's happening to Job of the truth. God will not do wickedly. So there's the character of God. But there's also the love of God here within that character.

God will not do wickedly.

The answer to the problem. Suffering is not the Islamic cancer. God is sovereign but not good, not necessarily good, but to the heart of Islam. God is sovereign will of Alonso but goodness is a commodity that is subservient to that sovereignty is sovereign, but is not necessarily good. Know God will not do wickedly outcome of sin. Everything that God does. He does have a principle of the character of his goodness. But he will also do justly, Almighty will not pervert justice everything he does is just now. If we were to ask ourselves the question what is it that Elihu contributes to the problem of suffering. The problem of pain and I would suggest to this two things in both of them are subsumed under the principal thing, namely Elihu sees suffering as instructive, educative the part of the reason for suffering part of the reason why God permits pain in our lives is because he wants to teach us something though. We've already been given by God and assessment of Job's character is about doing that shunned evil he was in every way a model believe her daughter said that we can't undo that.

We can't halfway through the narrative as it were, cave-in to the argument of Job's three friends that the reason for Job's suffering is because well printer he deserved it is reaping what he or so minutes is an expression of the justice and judgment to an end wrath of God because of sin cave-in to that argument. When we got to maintain that argument all the way through because God says so in the prologue. That doesn't mean to say the Job has been sinless throughout the course of the book we have sympathy with Job. When when we read him in the opening chapters but halfway through the book, we may be losing sympathy with Job Ophelia in Hamlet, Shakespeare's Hamlet of this protest too much, in others it protested people make. They justify themselves and then after while enough already protest too much and maybe maybe there's an element in Job, in which he is protesting, or just a little bit too much and it's it's not the arguments the trumpets away, but he's doing it and has begun to question his began to assert his rights as an expectation of the guard to the answer is every question and his expectations of beyond the limits of that which a disciple of Christ should expect that he may be sinless in the sense that he has an argument of innocence that holds up to us. Goddess told us that, but in the course of the suffering itself something is emerged something of Job sinful character has emerged is capable of saying things that perhaps at the beginning of the book, you wouldn't have even thought were possible, is capable of thinking things is capable of reactions and responses to paint the broad types. Job's character in a way that is flattering to him suffering can lead us to see something of ourselves as a relative to Elihu permanent suffering can lead us to appreciate God's mercy that is picked up in chapter 33 chapter 32 is just a long-winded introduction on the part of Elihu and the justification for why he is saying the things that he saying in a swipe or two at the three friends this beginning in chapter 3, but now hear my speech will Job and listen to all my words behold open my mouth, the tongue in my mouth speaks the words, declare the uprightness of my heart and what my lips know they speak. Sincerely, the spirit of God has made me the breath of the Almighty gives me life is long-winded to answer me if you can set your words in order before me.

Take your stand. Behold, I am toward God. As you are right to install from a piece of clay behold no fear of me need to terrify you my pressure will not be heavy upon you if surely you have spoken in my ears have heard the sound of your words you say I'm pure without transgressing them clean. There is no iniquity in me, behold, he finds occasions against me he counts me as his enemy. He puts my feet in the stocks and watches all iPods, behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you from God is greater than man, why do you contend against him, saying he will answer. None of man's words for God speaks in one leg and into the man does not perceive it in a dream and the vision of the night went deep sleep falls on men while they slumber in their beds. Then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings that he may turn the man aside from his deed and concealed pride from a man sought not if you quickly over the chapter 36 and verse 15.

He repeats this thought and he talks about he delivers the afflicted by their affliction (their ER by adversity that in verse 16 of chapter 33.

He opens the ears of men in chapter 36 in verse 1513 (their ER by adversity that what is Elihu's .12, to be sure he takes a long time to make it very long-winded use of is a man who is a little too sure about himself doesn't come across to me as her was a humble man is full of himself is young, brash is aggressive and what you say, pulling all of that aside for a second what is he sick he saying that suffering can open your ears and teacher thinks about yourself and teach you things about while what you really are, what you're capable of.

There may be no immediate connection between sin and suffering. As to the costs of the suffering in Job's case, the innocent case that Job is making many valid I'm not sure if Elihu believes that but it's let's take that for granted from second what is saying is that in the course of the trial. In your response to suffering that can bring to can manifest what things about you that you didn't but you didn't know that you didn't believe for possible you're capable of saying things here capable of drawing certain conclusions that you would have perhaps denied before the trial came sin can manifest itself in the course of the trial, even if they want the cost of the trial while we know that when trouble comes, difficulty comes in. The response isn't always a good one. We respond with perhaps an unjust anger. We respond with accusation suite question God's witness.

We question God's right, we believe we have rights. We expect to be treated in a certain way. We forget that we are is pictures to mold and shape and duress places him where to take up our cross and follow the Lord Jesus is the 20 said that Caesarea Philippi. You take up your cross and follow take up an instrument of execution. What does that mean participant to take up a cross to deny yourself to deny yourself, your rights to deny yourself, your privileges to deny yourself, your status if that is God's will and to follow Christ to follow him.

I think that's what Elihu is hinting at here the trials or trials teach you trials bring to life the lessons that you otherwise would not have learned. Remember in Hebrews chapter 12, for example, the author talks about the discipline aspect of trials consider verse three of Hebrews 12 consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted in your struggle against since you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood of the forgotten exhortation that addresses you are sons than this in quotation verse seven it is for discipline that you have to endure this teaching your sons doesn't punishing you as though you are unbelievers, so as though your mere pawns in our vast machine of the cosmos where there is no rhyme nor reason why this this this in no sense God is treating her like sons. Yes, it is it is painful it hurts but God is discipline because your children are his children because he loves you, but I think that something about his being brought out hereby. Elihu God is leading us. Perhaps, to appreciate something of his mercy. Verse 16 of chapter 34 if you have understanding here this. Listen to what I say show one who hates justice govern when you condemn him who is righteous in my dealer says torquing worthless one and two nobles. Wicked men who shows no partiality to princes nor regards the rich more than the poor forbear all the work of his hands in the moment they die at midnight.

The people are shaken possibly the mighty are taken away by no human hand but his eyes are on the ways of a man that he sees all the steps.

There is no boom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves for God is no need to consider a man, further, that he should go before God in judgment shatters the mighty without investigation sets others in their place. Thus, knowing that works. He overturns them in the night and they are crushed in and saw this is more what is this, this is more teaching of the sovereignty and the power of God what is Elihu suggesting here Elihu suggesting that Job is protesting too much with this is easier been opened to self-justification where we are, as it were, hard wired you and I to self-justification to justify ourselves with sinners by nature that's an endemic strain that dwells within each one of us, and Elihu is safe. Maybe that's what this trial is about to teach you a fresh who God is what God is like the teacher refresh of what your human heart is capable of the trials actually do that the suffering actually do that revealed how to break us down, and break us down completely because feel utterly helpless without any rights that any privileges that we are but dust in the hands of a sovereign omnipotent Almighty God noted. Chapter 36 in verse 26 behold God is great and we know him not the number of his years is unsearchable.

He draws up the drops of water they distill his misting rain which the skies for the drop on unkind abundantly. Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thunderings of his pavilion behold discusses his lightning about Tim and covers the roots of the seat she doing here in the morning to chapter 37 and you talk about to thunderstorms, son, and so on snow orange slacker lesson in meteorology.

I remember one time the in Belfast. We were planning a Sunday school party for the summer.

For the for the children to the beach Northern Ireland in the summer the temperatures could be unpredictable, and no any given week in the summer and you might have two sunny days and five rainy days and critically have seven rainy days. So whatever you made up plan to go on a trip somewhere you'd have to have two parents one if it was fine and wonderful drink you'd have to have a whole book just in case of rain because with regular duties children food pouring down with Ralph Street have to book a hall somewhere. I plan B and was the midweek meeting and will pray for the sender. Selecting should be that we can do that Saturday the weather forecast predicted rain until there was a retired minister and was given to being a little eccentric than during the prayer he began to pray for the Sunday school at Godwin provide good weather and so on. Many submitter members forecast and brought set in the middle of his prayer under these weather forecasters think that they are well of course they were merely engaging in the world of science, we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, knowing it is God who works in us both willing to do of his good pleasure zone so there's a perfectly laudable science of weather forecasting there increasingly more and more accurate and sort this dismisses us lost the plot entirely and decided that the weather comes from God and who is this by the forecasted predict anything other than the fine weather, that he that he wished well. God is sovereign God is sovereign God is powerful and you don't believe that of Christian belief that the point of the implications of sovereignty means that you don't have a right to have all of the answers. He is sovereign and his disposition of knowledge in his granting of knowledge to you the things that happened that well that you may not understand that you may not fathom Elihu begins well, I think, in the course of his interjection is blustering. I find him brash, trying to a little a little too much but he does teacher something something new. I think the pain can be educated. The pain can instruct pain can bring a fresh realization of who God is a fresh realization of what life this new member in the previous lesson in Job chapter 28. The question that Job asked where can wisdom be found. Wisdom can be found in God submitting to God and submitting to his waist.

So what can Whatcom trials teach us his ways are not always with his thoughts are not our thoughts. It's not the profoundest lesson in the book of Job and Elihu doesn't express it. Perhaps, I think in the profoundest of waste doses it will bring us to the turning point in the book of Job, a turning point were Joe begins to submit to God's ways in this story helps us realize that we don't have to understand why we suffer, we just need to understand that in God's perfect plan are suffering is not without purpose. James tells us that our trials produce endurance and that endurance makes us complete, lacking nothing.

God somberly and kindly works on our behalf through her pain. Glad you joined us today for Renewing Your Mind as we wrap up our highlights of the series by Dr. Derek Thomas and he is one of our ligand or teaching fellows and his series on the book of Job provides us with great insight into God's good purposes for suffering would like to send you this for 12 part series, you can request the two DVD set for your donation of any amount to look at your ministries. There are couple of ways you can reach us. What is by phone at 800-435-4343 but you can also make a request online and Renewing Your Mind.war. We are always quick to say here with regular ministries that we are not here to replace the local church. Our desire is to come alongside the church even undergird the church with the kinds of resources that we produce and publish with that in mind if you are going through a challenging time in life.

Maybe you've received a devastating diagnosis or you've lost a loved one. We hope and trust that you're part of a local congregation.

There where you live. It is there where we find the support needed to go through the trials of life, and we trust that the even now here on Friday.

As we approach the Lord's day. I trust that you're preparing your heart for worship. Again, thank you for being with us for Renewing Your Mind today and I hope you'll join us next week for a series from our founder Dr. RC Sproul will take a practical, pastoral look at the most intimate of human relationships, marriage choice, if we follow God's principles. Marriage can be one of life's great delights. So please join us Monday for Renewing Your Mind