Stop Complaining, God is Great!
Job 33:1-33
March 6, 2016

Well, as you know we are now examining
THE FINAL SERMON of the book of Job.

We’ve heard extensively from Job,
And we’ve heard a couple of times from Job’s infamous 3 friends.

However, those conversations fell flat.
Job’s friends were unable to handle Job’s logic
And Job has entered a bit of a pity-party.

TO THIS ELIHU HAS RISEN TO THE CHALLENGE.
It may not seem like it, but Elihu actually has more to say in this book than any of Job’s other friends.

And his purpose and point are pretty clear.
He is preaching to defend God and to correct Job.

We actually spent a couple of weeks examining THE CREDENTIALS that Elihu had which make him a qualified counselor.
• Holy Zeal
• Spiritual Wisdom
• Genuine Humility
• Deep Conviction
• Absolute Impartiality

Elihu was the right man for this job.
TONIGHT we begin to listen to exactly what he has to say.

You can rather easily break Elihu’s sermon down into 4 basic points.
Each of those points confront an area of Job’s complaining
And defend an area where God has been attacked.

Elihu is in this thing to defend God and silence Job’s complaining.

And so at the outset of these messages
It is probably important to set a sort of benchmark here
About complaining or grumbling.

I don’t know if it is our “freedom of speech” mentality in America or our fascination with social media and the need to comment on things, or what.

But what is apparent is that we as humans
Don’t seem to have any problem airing our opinions.

Coupled with that is a comfort in complaining
When we don’t like the way things are going.

• Complain about your boss…
• Complain about your parents…
• Complain about your friends…
• Complain about the president…

Basically anyone who makes decisions that appear to mess up my life or my plans seems to become fair game to a little grumbling.
I should remind you that such a mindset is not Christian, nor is it ok.

The classic example here would be the children of Israel.
You will remember them as the 40 year grumblers.
• They didn’t have water
• They didn’t have food
• They didn’t like the Promised Land
• They didn’t like manna
• They didn’t like Moses telling them what to do

It was about them that the writer of Hebrews wrote:
Hebrews 3:7-12 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. “THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.'” Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”

Paul chimed in on the warning:
1 Corinthians 10:1-10 “For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.” Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.”

It’s really easy to peg that generation of people
As a people who were dissatisfied with God.

• They were dissatisfied with God so they worshiped idols
• They were dissatisfied with God’s commands so they acted immorally
• They were dissatisfied with God’s provision so they grumbled

And we are adamantly warned not to be like them.

The Bible in fact gives a separate and exact opposite command.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
A very important part of living a life of faith
Is demonstrating gratitude instead of grumbling
In the middle of life’s most difficult challenges.

• Gratitude says God is sufficient even in the midst of hardship.
• Grumbling says God is insufficient in the midst of hardship.

Our culture may say that it is ok to complain,
But rest assured Scripture does not.

So it is understandable that Elihu devotes a great deal of his sermon
To addressing Job’s complaints.
Tonight we are going to examine the first leg of Elihu’s sermon.

REBUKE JOB’S COMPLAINING AND DEFEND GOD’S GREATNESS.

To grumble about God is to say that He is anything but great.
And as we said Elihu’s holy zeal would not stand by
And allow God to be portrayed as anything but great.

#1 THE ENGAGEMENT
Job 33:1-12

What you have here is similar to the opening statement made by Elihu.
He is explaining once again why he is speaking.

These verses read like is almost like one army lining up against another.
Elihu is literally squaring up for battle.

And has he does so those QUALIFICATIONS we talked about the last two weeks will once again become APPARENT.

In the first three verses you once again see his DEEP CONVICTION and his ABSOLUTE IMPARTIALITY.

(1-3) “However now, Job, please hear my speech, And listen to all my words. “Behold now, I open my mouth, My tongue in my mouth speaks. “My words are from the uprightness of my heart, And my lips speak knowledge sincerely.”

We see that he is not seeking flattery or partiality,
But is instead speaking “from the uprightness” of his heart.

We see that deep conviction as those words he spoke of previously which were about to make his belly burst are about to come out in the form of his “knowledge”

He knows what to say and he is not afraid to say it.

We see his SPIRITUAL WISDOM
(4) “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”

Once again giving reference to where his knowledge comes from.

We see his HOLY ZEAL
(5) “Refute me if you can; array yourselves before me, take your stand.”

Spoken like a general ready for battle.
He is not about to back down.
God has been challenged and he must speak.

And we see his GENUINE HUMILITY
(6-7) “Behold, I belong to God like you; I too have been formed out of the clay. “Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.”

Elihu is definitely the right man for the job.

Listening to what he says here actually reminds me of David standing before Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:45-47 “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. “This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands.”

David’s strength was in God, not in himself,
But David was also full of holy zeal
That was not about to see God maligned.

You can feel that same conviction dripping out of Elihu.
• He is angry
• He is ready for battle
• He knows the truth
• And He stands to present it

He is operating in the role of a herald.

So first the engagement
#2 THE EVIDENCE
Job 33:8-12

He said earlier:
Job 32:11-12 “Behold, I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings, While you pondered what to say. “I even paid close attention to you; Indeed, there was no one who refuted Job, Not one of you who answered his words.”
Elihu wasn’t rash in his speech.
He wasn’t an arrogant man who just wanted to hear himself talk.

Elihu listened.
He listened to those who were preaching to Job and he listened to Job.

Obviously listening is important to anyone
Who is going to step into the role of a counselor.

And we know Elihu listened,
Because he hear begins quoting what Job said back to Job.

(8-9a) “Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the sound of your words: ‘I am pure…”

Remember the words of Job?
Job 12:4 “I am a joke to my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke.”

• Job definitely claimed to be “pure”.

• Elihu also recounted that Job claimed to be “without transgression;”

Job 23:11 “My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside.”

• He heard Job claim to be “innocent and there is no guilt in me.”

Job 9:20-21 “Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me; Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty. “I am guiltless; I do not take notice of myself; I despise my life.”

Job 10:7 “’According to Your knowledge I am indeed not guilty, Yet there is no deliverance from Your hand.”

Job 27:6 “I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart does not reproach any of my days.”

It is clear that Elihu had been listening.
Job had indeed said all those things many times over.

What is apparent (which you will see in a minute)
Is that Elihu seemed to be latching on to one statement of Job
More than any other.

Job had already been engaged in the battle with two of his friends regarding his suffering.

The third friend to speak was Zophar
Who had by far the harshest statement for Job up to that point.

Job 11:4-6 “For you have said, ‘My teaching is pure, And I am innocent in your eyes.’ “But would that God might speak, And open His lips against you, And show you the secrets of wisdom! For sound wisdom has two sides. Know then that God forgets a part of your iniquity.”

• Zophar wouldn’t hear this “innocent” talk from Job.
• Zophar was convinced that Job had so much sin that God even forgot
part of it.

This harsh rebuked prompted a very definite response from Job
He began to address God and said:
Job 13:22-28 “Then call, and I will answer; Or let me speak, then reply to me. “How many are my iniquities and sins? Make known to me my rebellion and my sin. “Why do You hide Your face And consider me Your enemy? “Will You cause a driven leaf to tremble? Or will You pursue the dry chaff? “For You write bitter things against me And make me to inherit the iniquities of my youth. “You put my feet in the stocks And watch all my paths; You set a limit for the soles of my feet, While I am decaying like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.”

Job actually began to challenge God’s treatment of him.
• Job challenged God to tell him his sin.
• Job challenged God to expose his iniquity.
• Job accused God of writing bitter things against him
• And Job accused God of punishing for those things God invented.

It seems that Elihu never forgot that statement
For he is reminding Job of it here.

(10-11) “’Behold, He invents pretexts against me; He counts me as His enemy. ‘He puts my feet in the stocks; He watches all my paths.’”

Sometimes people need to hear what their words sound like,
And that is what Elihu does here for Job.

Job you said:
• I am innocent
• God invents evil against me
• Then God punishes me for evil I didn’t do

The implication there is obvious.
I am doing right and God is doing wrong

I’m not saying Job really felt that way, but when his words were spoken back to him, it is obvious how they sounded.

And Elihu is quick to take that evidence, lay it at Job’s feet
And quickly correct him.

(12) “Behold, let me tell you, you are not right in this, For God is greater than man.”

There is the first distinction between the rebuke of Elihu
And the other three friends.

The other three argued with Job too, but they always said, “You are not right, for we know you are a sinner”

Elihu has a different reason for rebuking Job,
And it is that “God is greater than man.”

What does he mean by that?
Well, let’s look at the third point.

The Engagement, The Evidence
#3 THE EXPLANATION
Job 33:13-33

Here Elihu summarizes Job’s basic complaint before God.

(13) “Why do you complain against Him that He does not give an account of all His doings?”

That was precisely Job’s complaint. (chapter 13)
• “How many are my iniquities and sins?”
• “Make known to me my rebellion and my sin.”
• “Why do you hide Your face..?”

Elihu understands what Job is getting at.
Job wants an explanation.
Job wants God to answer for what He is doing.

And Elihu is quick to point out that complaining in such a way to God
Is unwarranted for God is greater than man.

Furthermore Elihu wants Job to know that God has not been silent.
In fact, God does speak to humanity.

(now please understand that Job is most likely the oldest book in the Bible.

Ever since Moses and certainly in the New Testament, we appeal to Scripture as the place where God speaks, but that wasn’t an option in Job’s day.

But Elihu wants Job to know that God is not silent.
God does speak and God has spoken

In fact Elihu will show Job that God speaks in two ways.
1) HE SPEAKS THROUGH DREAMS (15-18)
(15-18) “In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction, That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride; He keeps back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over into Sheol.”

Elihu says that one of the ways in which God communicates
Is through dreams when man sleeps.

During those dreams God will “open the ears of men”
And God uses those dreams for one main purpose.

“That He may turn man aside from his conduct, and keep man from his pride; He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from passing over into Sheol.”

Elihu says that God uses dreams to warn men
And to change the conduct of men
So that they will not follow a path of destruction.

Why is this relevant to Job?
Job 7:11-15 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. “Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me? “If I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’ Then You frighten me with dreams And terrify me by visions; So that my soul would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pains.”

Elihu brings this up to Job because Job had already stated that even when he tried to sleep he was bothered by dreams and visions that terrified him.

Could it be that God was already addressing the complaining and grumbling and bitterness of Job?

Elihu certainly thinks so.

He is speaking through dreams
2) HE SPEAKS THROUG PAIN (19-22)
(19-22) “Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with unceasing complaint in his bones; So that his life loathes bread, And his soul favorite food. “His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones which were not seen stick out. “Then his soul draws near to the pit, And his life to those who bring death.”

In addition to dreams Elihu says that God speaks through pain.
• God brings hardship on to the life of man.
• Pain that will cause his soul to draw near to the pit.
• Pain that will cause him to draw near to death.

One would ask: HOW DOES THIS HELP?
That is what Elihu explains next.
(23-28) “If there is an angel as mediator for him, One out of a thousand, To remind a man what is right for him, Then let him be gracious to him, and say, ‘Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom’; Let his flesh become fresher than in youth, Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor; Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, That he may see His face with joy, And He may restore His righteousness to man. “He will sing to men and say, ‘I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me. ‘He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit, And my life shall see the light.’”

According to Elihu, God brings pain into the life of man
Which causes him to cry out in prayer.

His affliction and prayer motivates the angels to intercede on his behalf
The result of this prayer and intercession
IS THAT MAN WILL REPENT AND GOD WILL RESTORE.

See verse 26:
“Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, That he may see His face with joy, and He may restore His righteousness to man.”

From this point man will actually begin to be an evangelist of sorts
As he will go and express to other men how he had sinned, but God redeemed him from the pit of death and placed him on the path of light.

So Elihu simply points out that Job’s pain
Was also a way for God to speak to him.
That through his pain God was purifying him.

Now this is one of those statements
(as I told you would occur at the beginning)
That make it hard to know if we agree with Elihu or not.

• After all, it is clear at the beginning of this book that Job was a righteous man who feared God and turned away from evil.

• And yet we have decided that since God doesn’t correct what Elihu has to say, that he must be correct in his assessments.

That means here that Elihu
Is not rebuking Job for any sin he committed prior to his pain,
But rather for the bitterness and complaining
That Job had in the midst of it.

According to Elihu Job’s response to his pain
Revealed pride that Job had hidden in his heart.

• It was pride and arrogance on Job’s part that would cause him to respond to affliction the way he did.

• It was pride and arrogance on Job’s part that would cause him to think that God was wronging him.
• It was pride and arrogance on Job’s part that would give him the audacity to approach God and demand that God give an account of what He was doing.

This pride and arrogance were not readily noticeable during Job’s life of ease and prosperity, but certainly became apparent during his affliction.

According to Elihu, one of God’s purposes for Job
Was to bring about this affliction to purify him of this pride.

That is precisely what Elihu brought up in verse 17
“That He man turn man aside from his conduct, and keep man from pride.”

So according to Elihu, God has not been silent with Job.
• God has spoken through those dreams that terrified him.
• God has spoken through that pain that was meant to crush his pride.

And then Elihu brings some PERSPECTIVE to the situation:
(29-33) “Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men, To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life. “Pay attention, O Job, listen to me; Keep silent, and let me speak. “Then if you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you. “If not, listen to me; Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Here is what Elihu meant when he said previously that Job should not say such things because “God is greater than man.”

God often times does this peculiar work of
Terrifying dreams and terrible pain.
And He does it for one reason.

IT IS NOT TO HARM MAN, IT IS TO SAVE HIM.
“To bring back his soul from the pit”

In short,
• All that God is doing…
• All that God is allowing…
• IS FOR THE PURPOSE OF REDEMPTION NOT CONDEMNATION

WHY?
Because God is greater than man!

• When men terrify other men, it is typically for selfish reasons…
• When men inflict pain on other men, it is typically done out of cruelty…
BUT GOD IS NOT LIKE MEN
GOD IS GREATER THAN MAN.
God uses things like this to actually make us better, to purify us, and to save us from the pit of destruction.

It isn’t destructive, it is redemptive

And Elihu wants Job to know that
This is the explanation for what is happening in Job’s life.

And he wants Job to get it.
(31-32) “Pay attention, O Job, listen to me; keep silent, and let me speak. Then if you have anything to say, answer me; speak, for I desire to justify you.”

That is, I desire for you to be justified.
I desire for God’s purposes to be completed in your life.

And doesn’t that sound just like John the Baptist?
• John was preaching a message of judgment and condemnation, but not because John wanted people to be condemned.
• John preached judgment so that people would repent and find justification.

Elihu, like John, is a herald.

SO WHAT DO WE TAKE AWAY FROM THIS OPENING COUNSEL FROM ELIHU?

1) That suffering is not an excuse to turn on God because suffering is not an indicator that God has turned on you.

In fact suffering may be the greatest indicator
That God is working for you.

We have this human inclination wired in to us that if you love someone you will make their life as easy as possible.
• You won’t resist them
• You won’t rebuke them
• You won’t hold them back
• You won’t punish them

This is the popular mindset of how to raise children today,
And we can all see how that is working out.

Our society actually says that all children need is total acceptance and love when you raise them.

I’m certainly for giving a child love, but even I understand that sometimes love has to come in the form of a paddle to the butt.

What does Scripture say?
Hebrews 12:4-11 “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

Suffering is not an indicator that God has turned on you.
It is an indicator that God is working on you.
Therefore suffering is not a reason for you to turn on God.

That is why Elihu was quick to tell Job that
He was not right to challenge God the way he had.

The next thing we should learn
2) God is always working for your good, even if His methods seems strange to you.

God most certainly isn’t working for your harm.
God most certainly isn’t working for your destruction.
God is working for your good.

Now, as we said, His methods sometimes seem strange to us,
But if we were as great as God, then we’d understand.

That is where faith comes in.
Job didn’t know what God was doing,
But at the very least he should have known what God wasn’t doing.
God was not seeking to destroy him.

We talked about it with Joseph back in Genesis when we were talking about God’s PROVIDENCE.

We talked about how trusting God’s providence is believing that the worst possible circumstances can actually produce the most amazing good.

It doesn’t always look that way, but we know that is what God is doing.
Sometimes God uses pain and resistance
To produce the results that are required.

Athletes know about this.
• They know that you have to train your body to perform.
• They know that a little pain is required if your body is going to produce.

Should we expect any less for the soul?

Paul wrote to Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:7-10 “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.”

If the body must be disciplined to perform, so must the soul.
The difference is that where bodily discipline has only a little profit, soul discipline is highly valuable because it produces godliness.

You and I both know people who are workout fanatics.
There is certainly nothing wrong with that. (I’m just not one of them)

But we know people who are committed to pushing their body and working out.
I saw a friend on facebook the other day who was scrawny in high school and apparently has been working out because he’s huge now.

I can only imagine the pain and discipline he had to endure
To get his body in that kind of shape.

But you know he understood that pain was going to be part of it.
I doubt he woke up the next morning sore after a hard workout
And thought God must be mad at him.

He knew what was happening.

WELL THAT IS TRUE SPIRITUALLY AS WELL.

Didn’t we learn it from James?
James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

This little bit of pain is necessary, God is using it to perfect you.

That is precisely Elihu just told Job.
• God terrified you with dreams and brought pain into your life so that He might purify you. More specifically so that He might crush your pride.

And Job wasn’t the only one God ever did that to.
But look at Paul.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

Do you realize that God did the exact same thing
To Paul that He did to Job?
Pain for the sake of crushing pride.

But the point is that it wasn’t to harm Paul or Job.
It was for their own good.

That being the case, Elihu tells Job to quit complaining
Because God is a great God
Who is doing great things on his behalf.

That’s his first piece of instruction.
We’ll move on next time.

The Perfecter of Faith
Hebrews 12:1-2
March 6, 2013

As you know we are working our way through Hebrews
And most recently we just worked our way through the faith chapter.
The writer gave us 40 verses of some great examples of faith.

He knew that the recipients of this letter were struggling with endurance.
He knew they were contemplating falling away from the faith.
So he sought to inspire them with some great examples.

We saw THE REWARD OF FAITH
Abel, Enoch, Noah

We saw THE FOCUS OF FAITH
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph

We saw THE COURAGE OF FAITH
Amram, Jochabed, Moses, Israelites, Rahab

We saw THE ENDURANCE OF FAITH
Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, Samson, David, Samuel and others

These were great examples of faith,
And they should most certainly inspire us as the writer will say here.

But NONE of these men or women were the BEST example of faith.

Each of these people exhibited great faith at points in their lives
And yet each of these people also had moments of failure.

Not all of them have their failures listed in Scripture, but most of them do.
• We are familiar with Noah’s drunkenness
• We are familiar with Abraham’s affair
• We are familiar with Isaac’s bad fathering
• We are familiar with Jacob’s lying
• We are familiar with Moses’ murder
• We are familiar with the Israelites grumbling
• We are familiar with Rahab’s prostitution
• We are familiar with Gideon’s tests
• We are familiar with Samson’s lust
• We are familiar with David’s affair

And we certainly are under no misconception that
Men like Abel, Enoch, or Joseph were always perfect.

They were great people who exhibited great faith,
And they should motivate us.

BUT NONE OF THEM IS THE CHIEF EXAMPLE OF FAITH.
That person isn’t even listed in Hebrews 11.
That person doesn’t get listed until Hebrews 12.

Of this person the writer reminds us that
He and He alone absolutely perfected faith.

That is to say that no one ever did it better.

So while we have MANY EXAMPLES, we only have ONE LEADER
And of course you know by now that it is Jesus Christ.
The others should inspire us, but only One warrants our total devotion.

And so having looked at some vitally important aspects of faith,
THIS MORNING we look at “The Perfecter of Faith”

Now before we get to Him and what He did, the writer does have some strong words of encouragement to us that we must not miss.

I feel certain that you are familiar with these verses as they are some of the most popular quoted verses in our world.

The whole objective of the writer is simple.
• Having expressed the need for faith in chapter 10
• Having explained faith in chapter 11
• The writer now expects faith in chapter 12

So let’s begin looking at these wonderful verses.

3 things
#1 THE MOTIVATION
Hebrews 21:1a
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,”

You are familiar with the fact that the writer here
Is using the analogy of a race to express his desires.

One might entitle this section: “APPROACHING THE TRACK”

And here we are talking about all that
The runner might be thinking about as motivation.

The writer mentions that “great cloud of witnesses”

Now, this DOES NOT suggest that these witnesses are sitting in the stands watching us run and we must be careful not to disappoint them.

“witnesses” hear DOES NOT mean “those who are watching”

The word “witnesses” translates MARTYS in the Greek.
It’s where we get our word for martyr.
These were people who sacrificially lived their lives for God,
Not people who just watched other people live it.
These people are not spectators, they are examples.

These are the people who we just studied in the previous chapter.

Don’t picture the runner entering the coliseum looking at the fans,
Picture him walking through the hall of fame,
Looking at the statues of those who ran before.

The writer is not asking to run to please them,
He is asking to run like they did in order to please God.

And so literally in chapter 11 we just walked through the hall of fame.

WE BEGAN IN THE HALL OF LEGENDS
• We saw the statue of Abel and remember how his faith cost him his life, but his faith also earned God’s favor.

• We saw the statue of Noah and wondered what it must have felt like to spend 100 years building a boat.

NEXT WE TOURED THE HALL OF PATRIARCHS
• We saw the tent Abraham lived in, we saw Isaac’s baby shoes, and the taxidermied head of that ram caught in a thicket.

• We saw the staff where Jacob leaned when he blessed his boys.

• On the back wall hung Joseph’s torn up and bloody coat that his brothers used to convince their father that he was dead. We were reminded how he never lost the faith.

• Over to the right you’ll see the basket where Moses was hidden as a baby, and we marveled at the faith it took for his parents to defy a king.

• To the left we saw that scarlet threat that Rahab hung out the window to make sure she wouldn’t be destroyed during the fall of Jericho.

WE WALKED THROUGH THE HALL OF WARRIORS.
• We saw the life-size cardboard cutout of Goliath, and there sat the sling that David used to bring him down.

• There on a table was Gideon’s fleece right next to his broken pot and his trumpet.

WE WALKED THROUGH THE HALL OF MARTYRS.
• It was a sacred and quiet march as we contemplated the pains and agonies of living through such peril for your faith.

THEN WE WALKED INTO THE FINAL ROOM OF THE HALL OF FAME.
• On the wall stood a single plaque which read, “And all these having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

And now we make our way toward the exit,
And we see that the tour guide is
Passing out a souvenir to everyone who visited.

He is handing them a baton and he is saying, “Therefore, since we have been surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”

And now you understand the motivation.
They should inspire you to get back up and run.

The Motivation
#2 THE MANDATE
Hebrews 12:1b

“let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”

If the first part of this verse could be called “Approaching the Track” then this part should be called “LOOSENING UP”

If you’ve ever watched Olympic runners you are well aware that most of them run in as little as possible.
• They don’t want anything bulky
• They don’t want anything heavy
• They don’t want anything that restricts movement

They want to be as free as they possibly can to run.

That is precisely what the writer is talking about here.
And if you’ll notice there are TWO THINGS
That he knows that must be cast aside.

“let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us,”

One of the things on that list you expected to see.
“sin”, and we will get to that one in a minute.

But FIRST the writer says to “lay aside every encumbrance”.
Obviously if he mentions “sin” in a moment
Then he isn’t talking about sin here.

He is just talking about things that hinder you from running.

“encumbrance” comes from a Greek word that simply means “a bulk or mass”

You’ve probably seen the Olympics,
But you’ve probably never seen a sprinter run
With a sack of feed on their shoulder.

He is not necessarily talking about sinful things here,
Just things that get in the way.

This is where we often find that list of “doubtful” things.
Is it a sin to go to such and such party?
No, but will it hinder or help your Christian walk?

Is it a sin to listen to country music?
Possibly not, but will it hinder or help your Christian walk?

You already know the classic Baptist one. “Is it ok to drink a bear as long as I don’t get drunk?”
And you already know that the answer is “no”.
But we should ask if it helps or hinders your Christian walk.

You get the idea.

What is the goal?
• If your goal is to have fun, then the party fits the bill.
• If your goal is to cry, then listen to that country music song.
• If your goal is to satisfy the flesh, then drink that beer.

But if your goal is to win the race and live a Christian life,
Then it might change your habits.

• There is nothing wrong with eating donuts and drinking chocolate milk, but you won’t find many distance runners making a habit of it, because it is counterproductive to the goal.

• I’m sure many of those female sprinters also enjoy wearing designer shoes and nice dresses, but you won’t find them wearing them while running the race.

You understand the point of the writer.
You are supposed to be running so throw off what hinders.

I talked to a young man about this, this week.
He loves track, in fact, he told me he is the fastest sprinter in the school, but his grades aren’t good enough to let him participate.

My wife will tell you that I am no role model for the importance of getting good grades, but if bad grades are hindering you from running, then you have a problem.

We’re talking about removing the things that are holding you back.

We’ve talked about this before, regarding participation in ministry.
• We can’t go on a mission trip because we already allocated our time.
• We can’t give our money because we’re already committed through debt.
We place things in our life that hinder us
From running the race to the best of our ability.

Not only that, but you should also “lay aside…the sin which so easily entangles.”

Now here we have to use some of that grammar we learned back in school and see that the writer here used the definite article regarding “sin”

He used the word “the” which implies he is thinking of a specific sin.

Certainly all sin should be laid aside,
But here he mentions “the sin which so easily entangles us,”

No, he doesn’t mention specifically what it is,
But in light of what he’s been talking about throughout this letter and especially the last chapter, it stands to reason that he is talking about the sin of UNBELIEF

He actually introduced it early on.
Hebrews 4:1-2 “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”

Certainly any sin can entangle you and keep you from running,
But none so easily as unbelief.

A sprinter may disqualify himself for
Using illegal substances or for an illegal start,
But a runner that doesn’t believe he can win
Isn’t likely to show up at all.

The writer here is asking the Hebrews to “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us,”

And then of course – TO RUN
“and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”

The “race” here that is mentioned is the Greek word AGON,
It’s where we get our word for “agony”.

This is a marathon
This is a hard race
BUT IT IS OUR RACE.

You didn’t choose when you would be born.
You didn’t choose where you would be born.
Your race was “set before” you by God.
And all there is for you to do is “run with endurance”

• No runner ever won anything by being sluggish of the blocks.
• No runner ever won anything by quitting halfway around the track.

I’m not saying your race is easy, but it is your race.

In 2008 the NFC championship game between the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers was played in Green Bay. The temperature was -4 degrees, the wind chill was -24 degrees. Obviously no sane human wants to endure that.

But Michael Strahan began a chant on the New York Giant’s sideline. “We’re in it. We might as well win it.” And they did. The win sent the Giants to the superbowl and Brett Favre to Minnesota.

Your race may not be pleasant, but it is your race.
So throw off the things that hinder and the things that entangle AND RUN.

THAT IS THE MOTIVATION AND THE MANDATE

#3 THE MODEL
Hebrews 12:2

Like I told you at the beginning; all those people in chapter 11 can be very inspiring, but they can also be used negatively if you are willing to.

I can go to you and say – RUN LIKE NOAH
And you could say, “You mean get drunk and pass out in my tent?”

I could say – RUN LIKE JACOB
And you could say, “You mean cheat my brother and flee the country?”

I could say – RUN LIKE DAVID
And you could say, “You mean have an affair and kill the woman’s husband?”

That is why those in chapter 11 can only motivate us so far.
THERE IS BUT ONE PERFECT EXAMPLE.

The writer said that we should be “fixing our eyes on Jesus”
The writer calls Him “the author and perfecter of faith”

“author” translates ARCHEGOS (ar-kay-gos)
It means “one who takes the lead in”

He was the leader in faith
He pioneered the trail
Others showed us glimpses of it, He did it right.

In fact He was the “perfecter of faith”
“perfecter” translates TELEOIOTES (ti-la-oh-tace)
It means “perfectly accomplishing”

He did it better than anyone.

So obviously there is one example to end them all.
We are motivated by all of those in chapter 11,
But we emulate the one listed here in chapter 12.

Let’s look at His race
1) HIS OBSTACLE
“the cross”

I know this isn’t the first thing mentioned in the verse,
But clearly this was the race that was set before Him.

You are familiar with how the cross worked – (SUFFOCATION)
The cross was Rome’s way of crushing rebellion

CONSIDER THE PAIN
Isaiah 52:13-14 “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.”

Psalms 22:6-8 “But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, “Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”

Psalms 22:14-18 “I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.”

There is no doubt that the cross was a horrific place to die.
• It is no wonder Jesus prayed in the garden “let this cup pass from Me”

CONSIDER THE SPIRITUAL ANGUISH
Psalms 22:1 “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.”

We are all familiar with Jesus question from the cross.

Scripture is clear what was occurring:
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

This wasn’t just about physical pain,
This was about the spiritual judgment of holy God.

CONSIDER THE WEIGHT OF HIS MISSION
Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

Everything that is hard about this sin cursed life, Jesus bore.
There has never been a race so difficult as His.
There has never been a weight so heavy as His.

So, how did He do in this race?
2) HIS RESPONSE
“endured the cross, despising the shame”

“endured” translates HUPOMENO (hoo-pa-man-o)
MENO = “abide” like in John 15:4 “abide in Me”
HUPO intensifies it – “to bear up courageously”
So it literally means “to abide under”

JESUS DID
• Even when faced with crucifixion
• Even when they dared Him to come down

Matthew 27:42 “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.”

Imagine if while running your difficult race, everyone around you was begging you to quit? How much harder would that make it?

Jesus determined to stay on the cross.
• He could have bowed out.
• He could have come down
• He could have called 10,000 angels, but He chose to run His race.

The Bible also says “despising the shame”

“despising” translates KATAPHRONEO
Literally – “to think down”

1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”

Romans 2:4 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

Matthew 18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”

It doesn’t mean He hated the shame.
It means He didn’t think the shame was any big deal.

We have trouble enduring because we think too highly of our self.
• We don’t think we deserve such hardship…
• We don’t think we deserve such ridicule…
• Jesus didn’t let either of those things bother Him.

He “thought little” of it.

GIVES NEW MEANING TO:
1 Corinthians 3:18 “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.”

Jesus faced the hardest challenge any man has ever faced
And He handled it perfectly.

3) HIS MOTIVE
“for the joy set before Him”

HE SAW THE CROSS AS AN OPPORTUNITY.
• To save sinners
• To glorify His name

He embodied everything the writer spoke of in chapter 11,
About people who had the right kind of focus.

Jesus looked past the pain and the shame of the cross
To “the joy set before Him”
He kept an eye to eternity.

And that is why HE COULDN’T BE SIDETRACKED
In Matthew 4 Satan offered Him the world:
Matthew 4:8-9 “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”

In John 6 the crowds offered Him a throne:
John 6:15 “So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”

In Matthew 26, Peter offered Him escape:
Matthew 26:51 “And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.”

In John 19, Pilate offered Him a pardon:
John 19:9-11 “and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
HE WAS FOCUSED
It is tremendous perspective that can look past the present pain
To see the future result.
• Jesus wasn’t trying to have His best life now.
• Jesus wasn’t trying to find comfort
• Jesus wasn’t looking for earthly fame

JESUS WAS RUNNING THE RACE THAT WAS ASSIGNED TO HIM.

4) HIS RESULT
“and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Many times in the book of Hebrews we have read that fact
And seen Jesus as the High Priest,
But there is much more here than just “Jesus the Intercessor”.

This verse speaks of Him in terms of victory.

TURN TO: ACTS 2:22-36

Acts 5:29-31 “But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”

Ephesians 1:19b-23 “These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

• Jesus ran the most difficult race ever attempted.
• He threw off the things that hindered and ran with endurance
• He could not be sidetracked
• He faced those hardships because He was looking to the reward
AND AS A RESULT HE WAS GREATLY REWARDED

The point of the writer is becoming pretty clear isn’t it?

Can I ask you a question?
IS THERE ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIVING A LIFE THAT IS PLEASING TO GOD?

• I know we are in an election season and who you vote for is pretty important.
• I know many of us have families and providing is important.
• We are told to take care of our retirement…
• We are told to take care of our health…

• We’re about to start Little League Baseball and we all know how important that is.

There are all sorts of things in life that we do, but honestly, are any of them as important as living a life that is pleasing to God?
So the idea is that if anything in life is keeping you from obeying God, then obviously it has to be tossed aside.

It would be like a sprinter who spends a ton of time planning his wardrobe, fixing his hair, and making his traveling plans to get to the track, but who never prepares himself to run.

Don’t lose sight of what is the most important thing here.

Paul said:
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

• God didn’t place me here to play golf
• God didn’t place me here to run Little League
• God didn’t place me here to build furniture

He placed me here to run my leg of the race as faithfully as possible.
Regardless of what my leg of the race may look like.

I don’t know what you’re facing
I don’t know what you fill face
But I do know you were appointed for this race – RUN IT!

Run it like Jesus ran it.

In fact, we’ll look at this verse next time, but look at verse 3.
Hebrews 12:3-4 “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;”

That’s the real issue isn’t it?
That we might “grow weary and lose heart”

That is the issue facing the Hebrews.
• They were being maligned
• Their property was stolen
• They were being thrown in prison

The solution to a better life was easy…get rid of Jesus.
The writer says, NO!

Jesus didn’t give up on you, don’t you give up on Jesus.

I don’t know what you face, but I know you were appointed to face it.
It is your race, so run it.

• Throw off the things that are keeping you from living for Christ.
• Throw off the sin of unbelief that causes you to be stagnant.
• Step up to the line and run!

And the whole time you run, keep your eyes focused on Jesus,
Who is your chief example.

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The Sermon of Elihu – part 2
Job 32-37 (32:11-22)
February 28, 2016

Very early on in the story of redemption
We run into two brothers who are at odds with one another.

• One has pleased the Lord, one has not.
• The one was displeasing rose up and killed the one who was.

To that surviving brother, the Lord asked, where his brother was.
To that Cain asked, “am I my brother’s keeper?”

It’s a really good question.
Do I hold any responsibility at all for my brother?

And Scripture answers that question with a resounding “YES!”
We are all in this thing together.

That is why Paul told Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:2 “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

Paul told the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Paul told the Galatians:
Galatians 6:1-2 “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

He wrote to the Romans:
Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

Even Jesus spoke of the intense responsibility
We have toward our brother.

• He wrote in Matthew 18 that if your brother sins you have the responsibility to go and confront your brother and do everything within your power to pull that brother out of sin.

• In Matthew 7 He said that when you go you had better examine yourself first simply so that you will be able to see clearly when you try to remove that speck from your brother’s eye.

We are responsible for our brother.

That means that as the body of Christ
We often find ourselves in this role of counselor/encourager.
As we said this morning life is hard.
Sin has wrecked everything.

Now sickness and tragedy and disease and death
Are real issues that people face.

We all know several people struggling with life right now.
• People who need an encouraging word…
• People who need a reminder of hope…
• People who need a compass of direction…
• People who need some Biblical perspective in their pain…

BEYOND THAT
• Our world lies in the power of the evil one whose sole objective in life is
to “steal, kill, and destroy”

• Peter tells us that our enemy the devil “prowls around like a roaring lion
seeking whom he may devour”

And his temptations are everywhere.
Especially in our day of smartphones and internet.

Temptation is real and that only increases the need
For Christian accountability and encouragement.

I am prone to temptation, you are prone to temptation.
And the only way either of us survive this thing
Is when we have the continual encouragement of a brother.

• One who is not afraid to “reprove, rebuke, and exhort”
• One who is not afraid to “go to a sinning brother”
• One who is not afraid to “find that straying sheep and bring them home”

We find ourselves in this role continually.
We find ourselves in need of this role continually.

Now certainly it is possible to look at this thing
Only through the eyes of sovereignty.

We can say,
• “Hey, God has to change the heart” (and that’s true)
• “Hey, God has to convict the soul” (and that’s true)
• “Hey, God has to open the heart” (and that’s true)
• “Hey, God has to call them out” (and that’s true)

But we can never lose sight of the fact that
God uses His church to accomplish these divine purposes.

• He saves sinners and yet He sends evangelists to do it.
• He comforts those who mourn and He sends the compassionate to do it.
• He confronts those who stray and He sends a brother to do it.
Failure to embrace this important role
Is a failure to understand how God seeks to use His church.

You may remember what God had to say to Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 34:1-6 “Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.”‘”

The Lord condemned the wicked leaders of Israel
Because they failed to understand how important it was
For them to shepherd God’s flock.

To this God promised to send a “Good Shepherd” who would gather this flock back together, and Jesus did that very thing.

And certainly we are not ignoring that God does appoint men to
Literally “shepherd” His flock as overseers or pastors.

But there is also a continual reminder that
This is the responsibility of the entire church.
WE ARE IN FACT OUR BROTHER’S KEEPER.

That being the case this life is going to present you with
Plenty of opportunities to be a comforter or encourager or exhorter
Or even a confronter of your brother.

If that is true, then you must certainly understand how to do it well.

And that is where we are here in the book of Job.
We literally suffered through 31 chapters of
Some of the worst counseling that has ever been given.

Job suffered like no man had suffered and instead of giving genuine Biblical encouragement to Job, his friends sought only to condemn him.

• They spoke no words of comfort…
• They spoke no words of encouragement…
• They only went on a witch hunt to find sin they couldn’t prove.
• And even though they had absolutely no evidence of any sin on Job’s part, they chose to condemn him anyway.

It was the worst counseling job in the history of the world.

Instead of producing peace and hope and faith in Job,
All they managed to do was push Job towards arrogance, self-pity,
And confusion regarding the plans of God.

By the time we came to the end of chapter 31
The whole situation was in a mess.

Job is walking in the pinnacle of arrogance.
He has actually begun to take his righteousness, compare it to God’s righteousness, and is coming to the conclusion that he has been more just than God.

Job’s friends are sitting off to the side
Having been utterly defeated by Job’s logic and now have nothing else to say.

What is worse, God is on His way,
And the whole situation is about to get REAL!

IN STEPS ELIHU
We don’t know where he came from, we don’t know when he showed up,
BUT HIS ROLE BECOMES CLEAR TO US.

He has come as a herald to make straight the way of the Lord.
God is on his way and Elihu is trying to clean up some of the mess before He arrives.

What we are finding in Elihu is what a true counselor must be.

Over the course of the next 6 chapters
We are going to look at how Elihu carries himself and what he has to say
And learn a great deal about how to be the right kind of counselor or encourager
To our brother in the midst of his trial.

Last week we started looking at the first major point:
#1 HIS CREDENTIALS
Job 32:1-22

This first chapter of the section doesn’t record any of Elihu’s counsel.
It is merely a chapter devoted to why he is speaking.

And as we said this is very important.
Many of us are often caught in that very dilemma.
• Do I speak?
• Do I remain silent?
• Do I answer?
• Do I overlook?
• Who am I to step and offer my two cents?
• Who am I to step up and give advice?
• Who am I to step up and rebuke?

We’ve all been there.
I do hear the statement a lot from a lot of different people.
“I just don’t like confrontation”

Look, if you DO like confrontation then you are sinful.
• Galatians 5 says that “enmities, strife, disputes, dissensions, and
factions” are all deeds of the flesh.

• Titus 3:10-11 “Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing
that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.”

No Spirit-filled individual who is seeking to do God’s will
Is looking for confrontation.

Paul even told us to pray that it won’t have to happen.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

It would be great if we never had to do it.

And that means that I can’t think of a time when the need arises
That there won’t some internal question regarding
“Should I?” or “Shouldn’t I?”

That confusion and internal struggle is going to be there.

What we want to know is: How do I know if I’m the one qualified to handle this situation?

So we are looking at THE CREDENTIALS
We started working through it last week, we saw the first 3 that Elihu had.

1) HOLY ZEAL (1-5)

The phrase is repeated 4 times.
Elihu had BURNING ANGER

The reason was because
• God was being MISREPRESENTED BY JOB’S FRIENDS who sought to condemn a man with no proof.
• And God was being MALIGNED BY JOB who chose to justify himself while accusing God of injustice.

And this reality provoked anger in Elihu.
We likened it to Jesus clearing the temple
Because “Zeal” for God’s house and consumed Him.

Jesus was a meek individual.
• We read passages about how a bruised reed He won’t break or a smoldering wick He wouldn’t snuff out.

And yet He had a fire and burning anger for the hypocrisy of the Pharisees
And for the corruption of the worship they instituted in God’s house.

And we are reminded that a person who does not have
A holy zeal for God makes a terrible counselor.

If you’re only hope is that people will like you better,
Please don’t step into the circle.

We call those types of counselors – ENABLERS
They’ll tell anybody what they want to hear because it makes them more popular.

Elihu had holy zeal
2) SPIRITUAL WISDOM (6-10)

Here we were reminded of perhaps the most important truth of all.

We learned that Elihu actually felt under-qualified to speak up.
The reason was because he was younger than the others.

But then he realized what it is that actually qualifies a person to speak
And that is the indwelling of God’s Spirit.

(8) “But it is the spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.”

• It is not your education that makes you a good counselor
• It is not your experience that makes you a good counselor
• It is not a degree in social psychology that makes you a good counselor

THERE HAS ONLY EVER BEEN ONE COUNSELOR
That is the Holy Spirit

John 14:16-17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

He is the PARACLETOS – “one who comes beside to help”
• NASB translates it “Helper”
• KJV translates it “Comforter”
• NIV translates it “Counselor”

However you slice it, the job of comforting and counseling
And confronting is the job of the Holy Spirit.

That means that the only truly qualified people to counsel
Are those who are filled with the Spirit of God.
Only they have the divine perception and spiritual discernment
To rightly divide the truth and accurately address the situation.
You may be young
You may be inexperienced
But it is the Spirit of God that qualifies a person
To step into the role of counselor.

We saw his Holy Zeal, We saw his Spiritual Wisdom
3) GENUINE HUMILITY (11-14)

And this of course is the most necessary balance
To the holy zeal we talked about.

• Elihu was right to have that burning anger, after all God was being maligned.
• Elihu was right to know that he had every right to speak up.

And yet we initially find him sitting in patience,
Attentiveness, discernment and humility.

“I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings…I even paid close attention to you”

In other words Elihu wasn’t so arrogant as to assume that
He was the only person qualified to speak.

He was humble enough to sit by in silence and give way to those
Who should have been good counselors.

The problem was that they were not good counselors
And this thrust Elihu into action.

BUT WE DID LEARN THAT HUMILITY IS IMPORTANT.

One thing WE DIDN’T MENTION that I would also add tonight
Is the importance of humility as it pertains to obedience to God’s plan.

God is clear about things like going to your brother, encouraging your brother, exhorting your brother, even disciplining your brother.

Those who refuse to do that (even under the banner of just being compassionate) are actually revealing arrogance.

Let me give you an example:
• 1 Corinthians 5 tells us about that sinning brother who was sleeping with his
father’s wife.

1 Corinthians 5:1-2 “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.”

Paul said their refusal to address the situation was actually arrogance.
WHY?
It was arrogant to think that they could handle the situation
Apart from God’s divine instruction.

Paul assured them that this little bit of leaven would leaven the whole lump
And they would not be able to contain it.

The point is, humility is vitally important in this role of counselor.
• There must be enough humility to understand that God can use whomever,
however He likes.
• And there must be enough humility to realize that God’s plan must take
precedent over human plans.

So we saw the first three credentials of Elihu.
Holy Zeal, Spiritual Wisdom, Genuine Humility
4) DEEP CONVICTION (15-20)

This actually runs very similar to the holy zeal we saw earlier.

WITH ONE DIFFERENCE.
• Holy Zeal implies the anger in regard to how God is treated.
• Deep Conviction implies knowing the truth regarding how to address it.

If you have zeal, but no wisdom or conviction
You still find yourself in a difficult scenario.

There must be zeal, but there must also be a conviction of
WHAT IS RIGHT, WHY IT’S RIGHT, and WHAT TO SAY.

Elihu certainly had that.
(15-20) “They are dismayed, they no longer answer; Words have failed them. “Shall I wait, because they do not speak, Because they stop and no longer answer? “I too will answer my share, I also will tell my opinion. “For I am full of words; The spirit within me constrains me. “Behold, my belly is like unvented wine, Like new wineskins it is about to burst. “Let me speak that I may get relief; Let me open my lips and answer.”

Not only did Elihu have a burning desire to speak,
But he knew exactly what to say.

He was “full of words”
And he had to speak the truth.

We have seen this mentality before from a very famous prophet.
Jeremiah 20:8-9 “For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I proclaim violence and destruction, Because for me the word of the LORD has resulted In reproach and derision all day long. But if I say, “I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name,” Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.”

Every time Jeremiah opened his mouth it caused more trouble for him.
This reality caused him to decide to quit speaking.

But there was a problem.
He had “the word of the LORD”

That is to say, he knew what was right, he knew what to say.
And when he tried to sit quiet he sounded just like Elihu.
That truth burned a hole in my heart and forced its way out of my mouth.

Amos said:
Amos 3:7-8 “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?”

And that was Elihu.
It was more than just a fire, it was a conviction.

He knew the truth, he had studied the truth,
And he knew that what he was hearing from Job and his friends
Was not the truth.

HE HAD TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT.

And this is why it is so important that you and I have a knowledge of the truth before we step into the role of counselor.
ZEAL is good, COMPASSION is good, HUMILITY is good,
But if you don’t know the truth how can you possible give the right kind of encouragement?

1 Timothy 4:7-10 “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.”

2 Timothy 2:14-18 “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.”

And again:
2 Timothy 3:14-17 “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Have the zeal, have the compassion, have the humility,
But you had better also have the truth.

How do you expect to give Godly counsel without it?

It is a necessary credential, and one that Elihu had.

Holy Zeal, Spiritual Wisdom, Genuine Humility, Deep Conviction
5) ABSOLUTE IMPARTIALITY (21-22)

Elihu lets it be known right from the outset
That he has NO ULTERIOR MOTIVE HERE.

“Let me now be partial to no one, nor flatter any man. For I do not know how to flatter, else my Maker would soon take me away.”

What Elihu is talking about is the human inclination
To bend the truth or the counsel based on the recipient.

If you will remember James came down very heavy on this issue.
James 2:1-4 “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?”

James spoke of having “evil motives”

• It is naturally easy for us to come down hard on people we don’t value or don’t like or who can’t do anything to us in return.

• Conversely it is much more difficult to come down hard on people we do like, or do value, or who can make life much more difficult for us.

It is called favoritism and those who have it
Cannot be effective counselors.

Think of John the Baptist here.
It made no difference to John who you were.

Chief priest, Roman Centurion, or common Jew didn’t matter.
John addressed them all with the absolute same counsel.

Luke 3:10-14 “And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

Later in the chapter he reprimands Herod the tetrarch for his immorality.

He was impartial, and he should have been.

Romans 2:11 “For there is no partiality with God.”

The question at its core is:
WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO PLEASE?

Those who flatter and show partiality do so in order to please themselves.
Flattery is a means of deception intended to make you like me more.

Those who refuse flattery and partiality do so in order to please God.
It may make them hate you, but that is not the primary concern.

If you seek to be an effective counselor who is usable to others in their life
Then partiality cannot be a part of your makeup.
It wasn’t for Elihu.

So there you have the first real point to being a counselor.
We look at the CREDENTIALS

Counselors are sorely needed in our world,
But they must meet a certain criteria.

They must have HOLY ZEAL (a love for God)
They must have SPIRITUAL WISDOM (be filled with God’s Spirit)
They must have GENUINE HUMILITY (to allow God to work in His way)
They must have DEEP CONVICTION (a knowledge of God’s truth)
They must have ABSOLUTE IMPARTIALITY (with a desire only for God to be pleased)

If that is you, then please, by all means step up to the plate
This world is in need of people who will reach out
And step into their situation with them.

• The sickly need to be strengthened
• The diseased need to be healed
• The broken need to be bound up
• The scattered need to be brought back
• The lost need to be sought
• The unruly need to be confronted

The ministry of the Lord requires counselors who will do such things.
If these qualities are not yours then I encourage you to take the necessary steps to become qualified.

And the main fix is that you fill yourself with the word of God.

• This is the means of being filled with the Spirit,
• Which will also change your passions
• And gives you a zeal for truth.
• It will create humility in you
• As well as drive you away from flattery.

Fill yourself with God’s word so that you may be useable in all situations.
There are the credentials, when we come together next time
We’ll begin to listen to exactly what Elihu has to say.

The Endurance of Faith (Overlooking Life’s Hardships)
Hebrews 11:32-40
February 28, 2016

Well this morning we come to final leg of
This famous 11th chapter of Hebrews.

The writer has been carrying his readers on a very important journey.
He has been stressing the importance of faith.

And with good reason…
These Hebrews were contemplating losing faith
And shrinking back from Jesus.

The writer has been imploring them
To be people of faith; not people of fear.

We saw THE REWARD OF FAITH
Abel, Enoch, Noah all earned God’s approval and received righteousness because of their faith.

We saw THE FOCUS OF FAITH
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph all stayed focused on God’s promise even though none of them received it this life.

We saw THE COURAGE OF FAITH
Amram, Jochabed, Moses, Israel, and Rahab all demonstrated the courage it takes to face life’s scariest moments and push through anyway.

This morning we come to final point
And the examples come even more rapidly.

This morning we see THE ENDURANCE OF FAITH
And the importance of Overlooking Life’s Hardships

LET’S FACE IT, LIFE IS HARD.
Ever since the fall in the garden
Man has been subject to a life of extreme difficulty.

God told Adam
Genesis 3:17-19 “…Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”

God told Eve
Genesis 3:16 “To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”

And that is just the basic expectation for all humanity.

I’m always reminded of Jacob’s estimation of life when he stood before Pharaoh.
Genesis 47:9 “So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.”

Or the sunny outlook of the writer of Ecclesiastes:
Ecclesiastes 9:3 “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.”

Life is hard.
It doesn’t come easy for anyone.

In addition to that we have the promise that this world
Will pursue a life of sensual lust and pleasure
And will hate anyone who challenges that desire.

If you try to live this life in a manner that convicts the world
Then you can expect to have persecution added to your list of difficulties.

Jesus said:
Matthew 10:24-25 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”

I think you get the point – LIFE IS HARD

You literally hear it at every stage.

It’s hard to be kid
Too little to do what you want, families are guaranteed anymore

It’s hard to be a teenager
Temptation at every corner, busyness, the pressure to succeed

It’s hard to be a young adult
Out in the world for the first time, find a job, who are you going to marry?

Marriage is hard
It takes two people being unselfish; meeting one another’s needs

Having a baby is hard
You don’t sleep, They’re needy

Raising a teenager is hard
Rebellious, demanding, ungrateful

Letting your children leave the nest is hard
Turning them loose on the world, hoping they make good decisions

Getting old is hard
The body doesn’t respond or heal like it used to, doctor’s visits, medication
THERE IS NOT AN EASY PHASE OF LIFE – IT’S JUST LIFE

And one thing you’ll have to learn if you are going to participate is ENDURANCE

James said:
James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

The writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 10:36 “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”

This is such an important point to have driven into our brains.
There is no way to live this life, especially for God
Without faith and the endurance it produces.

Adrian Rogers said:
“Men are like rivers, they grow crooked by following the path of least resistance.”
• You can’t just always take the easy way out.
• You can’t just always run.
• We are called to endure, to push through, to face the difficulty.

And it requires faith to do that.

Well that type of faith is what seems to be on display
Here in the final section of this faith chapter.
(Only here the writer speeds up even more.)

1) THE MIGHTY WARRIORS
2) THE MIGHTY MARTYRS
#1 THE MIGHTY WARRIORS
Hebrews 11:32-34

Obviously everyone on this list filled that “mighty warrior” role.
They represent some of our favorite victory stories from the Bible.

“Gideon” was a judge in Israel.
• During his days the Midianites oppressed Israel
• Midian was said to be like locusts…innumerable
• Because of the Midianites, the Israelites had actually abandoned their homes and begun living in caves and holes in the side of the hills.
• Midian would come in and destroy all the produce.

And God raised Gideon up to face these Midianites and be a deliverer.

Judges 6:11-16 “Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior.” Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” The LORD looked at him and said, ” Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” But the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.”

He is most famous for the whole “lay out a fleece” concept.

Judges 6:36-40 “Then Gideon said to God, “If You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken, behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken.” And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. Then Gideon said to God, ” Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.” God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.”

My whole life people have been using that as a “good example”,
But Gideon wasn’t walking by faith there.
Gideon wanted proof (twice)

Now granted God obliged Gideon’s request and calmed his fears,
But God did not let Gideon escape the necessity of faith.
You may remember that God forced him
To whittle his army down to nearly nothing.

Judges 7:1-8 “Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. The LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’ “Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘ Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.'” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained. Then the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.” Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. The LORD said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home.” So the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.”

God may have answered the fleece request, but God still required faith.
Gideon gave it and God used him to defeat the Midianites.

“Barak” was a military man in Israel.
• Deborah was the judge.
• In their day Israel was oppressed by Sisera, the king of Canaan who had an enormous army containing 900 chariots.
• For 20 years Sisera had oppressed Israel.

Until God decided to deliver and bring that deliverance through Barak.

Barak gathered 10,000 men and God used this warrior
To defeat Sisera and deliver Israel.

Most of you are familiar with “Samson”
• Samson was a judge of Israel when Israel was oppressed by the Philistines.
• God had given Samson incredible strength.
• Samson basically went around picking fights and then finishing them and thus through Samson God was delivering Israel.

Samson did have some hiccups in his life,
But primarily he is seen as a man who trusted that God would deliver through him and thus Samson typically fought alone.

“Jephthah” was also a Judge in the days that the Ammorites afflicted Israel.

• Jephthah trusted that God had given this land to Israel and by faith in God he defeated the Ammorites.

Jephthah is probably most remembered for promising to sacrifice to God
The first thing that walked out of his house when he got home
(many wonder if he came home yelling the name of his mother-in-law)
It was his daughter and Jephthah carried out his vow.

None the less, Jephthah walked by faith in defeating the Ammorites.

The stories of “David” are everywhere.
• Most notable was his confrontation with the giant Goliath in which David boldly defeated this unthinkable foe with nothing but faith a sling and a stone.

David famously saying:
1 Samuel 17:45-47 “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. “This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands.”

It was a victory of faith.
David would go on to be king and subdue many nations which surrounded Israel.

“Samuel” was the last judge and the first prophet.
• It was Samuel who anointed both Saul and David.
• Samuel was a man with an intense view to obedience and holiness.
• He is remembered as the man who “hacked Agag to pieces” after Saul had disobediently spared his life.

And the common threat is that
All of these men faced mighty battles in the name of the Lord.
• They faced giant opponents
• They faced innumerable armies
• They faced terrifying opponents
• But they faced them in faith and God gave victory.

Of them and people like them, the writer says:
(33-34) “who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.”

They are remembered because their faith
Produced some of the greatest victories in all the Bible.

• Certainly Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah “conquered kingdoms”
• Samuel “performed acts of righteousness” like hacking Agag to pieces
• David no doubt “obtained promises” that God had made him regarding his reign as king.

Implied by the list would also be people like:
• Daniel who “shut the mouths of lions”
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego who “quenched the power of fire”
• Esther who “from weakness [was] made strong”

It is a list filled with the most amazing victories
From the most amazing warriors.

The common thread is that every one of them had faith.

They are the types of victories that teach us to look at our OBSTACLES
As tremendous OPPORTUNITIES for God to do something amazing.

We wouldn’t remember any of those stories if the odds hadn’t looked overwhelming.
• If Gideon’s army had numbered 1 million…
• If Barak’s enemy had only had 20 chariots instead of 900…
• If Goliath had only been 5’ 6”
• Of if Daniel had only been threatened with a night in solitary confinement.

Those stories remind us that there is no enemy too big for our God.
And that with God anything is possible.
From them we learn to view the most difficult moments of our lives
As opportunities to express faith and see God do great things.

They are the Mighty Warriors

But they aren’t the only ones listed here.
#2 THE MIGHTY MARTYRS
Hebrews 11:35-38

While the first segment was one victory after another,
This segment is a little more sobering.
This segment represents one tragedy after another.

It is true that the first one ends well
“Women received back their dead by resurrection”
• We are reminded of the Shunamite woman whose child died
• And Elisha raised him from the dead.
• That one did end well, but the woman still had to endure the agony of losing a child.

But in this list, that is the only one that seems to end well.

“others were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;”

These were people who could have been free
Had they only denied the LORD, and yet they refused to do it.

They stood through horrific circumstances but would not deny the faith.
They were looking at the next life, not this one.

“and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment.”
• Who could forget the type of ridicule that Jeremiah endured at the hands of Israel? And Jeremiah never saw relief.

“They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.”

These are much less popular stories.
1 Kings 18:1-4 “Now it happened after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.” So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly; for when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.)”
It’s just a foot-note in Scripture.

How many prophets lost their lives under the wicked reign of Jezebel?
• 400 survived and were forced to flee to caves.

They aren’t the glamorous stories
They aren’t the stories we read in our children’s Bible story books
They are the ones that look like tragedies
AND YET THE STORIES ARE TRUE AND GENUINE AND REAL.

These are the Mighty Martyrs of Scripture.
• Multitudes of people who faced opposition just as terrifying as
those in the first part of this list,
• But people who were not delivered in this life.

It would be like:
• Gideon battling the Midianites and losing…
• Or Barak or Samson or Jephthah not being granted victory…
• It would be like Goliath killing David…
• Or the Hebrew boys perishing in the fiery furnace…

The outcome would not have changed the fact that
Their faith was genuine.

In fact, do you remember those Hebrew boys?
Daniel 3:16-18 “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

I’m sure they were grateful for the favorable outcome,
But their faith was there regardless.

How many more had faith just as strong and yet weren’t delivered?

Many times I’ve heard people mention the apostle Paul as
“The greatest Christian who ever lived.”

(and certainly I’ve got no complaint against Paul,
nor would I even come close to measuring up)

But what about Stephen?
• A man with just as much faith
• A man with just as much boldness

Both were stoned, God just delivered one.
But both had faith.

And where we look at that First Group of people as a reminder that our greatest obstacles could be great opportunities for God to deliver…

We look at this Second Group and remember that
Faith is just as necessary when things aren’t going as we hoped.

The charismatic movement today has tried to teach people that
Faith is only real if it ends in miraculous victory.

After all, if the healing doesn’t come or the miracle doesn’t happen,
Then the problem must have been that your faith was too weak.

Try telling that to the people represented by this list.
Their faith was so real their deeds were mentioned in the faith hall of fame
And yet they didn’t get the great deliverance.

BUT THE POINT TO BOTH OF THESE LISTS IS THE SAME:
LIFE REQUIRES FAITH

In life you face all sorts of situations.
• Hard things
• Painful things
• Scary things
• Unexpected things
• Unexplained things

There is no way to live this Christian life apart from exercising faith.
• There are promises to believe
• There are dangers to face
• There are hardships to endure
• There are decisions to be made

If you think you can skate through life as a Christian
And never have to walk by faith
YOU ARE SORELY MISTAKEN.

That is the point that the writer is making to these Hebrews.
• Where they in a tight spot? Yes
• Was it hard? Yes
• Was it unexpected? Most likely

But this was their time and this was their battle.
It was time to endure; it was time to have faith.

CAN I ENCOURAGE YOU HERE AS WELL?
• Do you suppose that your life or the struggles you face is some sort of mistake?

Listen to the sovereignty of God:
Psalms 139:16 “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”

Acts 17:26 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”

When you live and where you live and what you face
Is not some sort of accident.

You are a modern day Esther
Esther 4:14 “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

God knows what He is doing.
He knows all about the things you will face.
He is asking for faith in the midst of it.

That is the message to these struggling Hebrews.
• Do you suppose your situation is any harder than Gideon’s?
• Do you suppose you are any more afraid than David before the giant?
• Do you suppose your struggle is any greater than those who were sawn
in two?

They didn’t shrink back, they didn’t give up, they had faith…
And that is what God wants from you.

He wants THE ENDURANCE OF FAITH

Then the writer brings out his most powerful point of the chapter.

(39-40) “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

The “all these” here does not just refer to those most previously listed.
The “all these” refers to the entire chapter, going all the way back to Abel.

Every person listed in Hebrews 11 have two main things in common.
• Every one of them “gained approval through their faith”
• Every one of them “did not receive what was promised”

You won’t find a single person in the history of the world
Who ever pleased God apart from giving Him faith.
It is the universal requirement for pleasing God.

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Every person on this list gave God faith.
Some of them had some pretty significant hiccups in life too,
But God wasn’t measuring them by their failures,
He was measuring them by their faith.

The other thing is that not one of them received “what was promised”
• But didn’t Noah see the flood and survive?
• Didn’t Moses see deliverance from Egypt?
• Didn’t Joshua get the land?
• Didn’t Jericho fall?
• Didn’t David kill the giant?

Some of them received the promise didn’t they?

SOME OF THEM DID HAVE GREAT VICTORIES,
BUT NONE OF THEM RECEIVED THE MAIN THING.

The writer alludes to the promise he is referring to
By telling you the outcome of the main promise.

At the end of verse 40 he tells you what the main promise does. He is talking about God’s promise that would make everyone “perfect”.

He wasn’t talking about land or descendants or a victory in battle.
God had a promise of how He would make His people perfect.
God had a promise of how He would justify His people.

That promise was of total salvation.

And if you’ll remember that promise was never fulfilled in the O.T.

Do you remember earlier in the book of Hebrews?
Hebrews 10:1 “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”

Hebrews 10:4 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

All of these people had faith,
But none of them were ever made perfect before God.
That was a future promise that none of them received in their life.

Not one “received what was promised”

And here is why.
“because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

GOD KNEW SOMETHING BETTTER WAS COMING

Peter said it like this:
1 Peter 1:10-12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look.”

God wasn’t about to let any of those people settle
For land or descendants or victories.
If those where the rewards then God sure blessed some and overlooked others,
For they didn’t all receive those things.

God’s view was always to “something better”
• Something the Spirit indicated
• Something prophets searched for
• Something angels were mesmerized by

God had the ultimate prize still to come.
There was “something better” on the way.

Even Jesus said:
Matthew 13:16-17 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. “For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

God was asking those saints of old to trust Him and to believe that
One day they would see why it was worth it.

Of course that “something better” was Jesus
And His atonement on the cross.

On the cross Jesus provided the perfection
That Old Testament saints trusted God for and had not yet received.

To a certain extent their faith had not paid off until the day when Christ died,
And all of a sudden it was all worth it.

BUT HERE IS THE WRITER’S POINT.
• We are here on the backside of the cross.
• We know exactly what benefit we receive from trusting God.
• We know that we are declared righteous
• We know that we are forgiven
FAITH SHOULD BE EASIER FOR US

If the people in this chapter could offer God such great faith,
Then certainly you and I can.
BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN THE BENEFIT
We know what the Hebrews were facing
(prison, poverty, persecution)
But surely they could trust God
Because they could see what they received in return.

They could see Jesus, they could see what He accomplished.
• The One greater than the prophets
• The One greater than the angels
• The One greater than Moses
• The One greater than Joshua
• The One greater than Aaron
• The One who was a sufficient sacrifice
• The One who brought a new covenant

If David can face a giant without knowing who Jesus was,
Then surely we can face our struggles having known who He is.

The implication then is huge.
You have received the greatest promise God ever made,
And now you are contemplating walking away from it.

(The saints of old certainly never did that)

• By all means stand firm…
• By all means have faith…
• By all means cling to Jesus…
DON’T WALK AWAY FROM HIM

It reinforces what he said to end chapter 10.
Hebrews 10:36-39 “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”

Be a person of faith.

The Sermon of Elihu – part 1
Job 32-37 (32:1-10)
February 21, 2016

Tonight we enter a difficult section of the book of Job.
We begin looking at the sermon of Elihu.

Let me tell you what makes this section difficult,
And then we’ll begin looking at it.

There are a couple of things:
1) WE DON’T KNOW WHERE HE CAME FROM

If you will remember Job’s friends were introduced early on.
Job 2:11-13 “Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him. When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky. Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.”

We saw Job’s three friends arrive, and yet all of a sudden Elihu starts speaking and we didn’t even know he was present.

2) NO JUDGMENT IS GIVEN REGARDING HIS ADVICE

We know what God has to say to Job’s friends at the end of this letter.

Job 42:7-9 “It came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. “Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job.”

God clearly states that Job’s three friends were wrong.
But Elihu is not mentioned in this list.
God neither endorses nor condemns what Elihu has to say.

We are sort of forced to read what he says
And discern whether or not we agree with him.

Regardless of what you think of Elihu
There will be passages that give you trouble.

If you think he is right, there will be passages that you won’t agree with.
If you think he’s wrong, you will have the same trouble.
And if you think it is somehow a mixture of both, then you’ll have trouble finding any authoritative consensus on what you should take and what you should keep.

In short we have to determine if he speaks truth or error
So that we know what to do with him. And this is not easy.

Part of this I chalk up to the difficult nature of Job.
We all know by now that much of the book is written in a sort of poetic form which leaves a lot of our understanding up to sort of reading between the lines.

Because of that there are in almost every chapter
A few verses that give us a bit of trouble
(they do me anyway) (and honestly they do most of the commentaries I read too)

And the statements of Elihu are no different.

That being said, it is best to read Elihu as though he is right on target.
• Because his words are recorded in Scripture
• Because God does not specifically identify them as incorrect,
We believe he speaks truth.

So let me tell you what to do with Elihu.
ELIHU IS OPERATING IN THE ROLE OF A HERALD.

He is like a John the Baptist who was preaching that people had better “make straight the way of the Lord”

Elihu is coming to announce God’s presence.

In fact it is almost a theatrical scene that begins in chapter 36.
• In Job 36:27, Elihu starts talking about rain
• In Job 36:29 he speaks of the spreading of the clouds and the thunder
• In Job 36:30 he speaks of the lightning
• In Job 36:33 he speaks of the movement of the cattle who sense a storm
• In Job 37:2 he says, “listen closely to the thunder of His voice”
• He begins speaking of the thunder and the lightning
• In Job 37:8 he mentions the animals running for cover
• In Job 37:9 he almost points at a storm coming from the south
• He talks of a vicious storm cloud moving about, hurling out lightning, rain, thunder, even ice and snow.
• In Job 37:14 he says, “Listen to this, O Job, stand and consider the wonders of God.”

It almost paints the picture of a prophet calling up a mighty storm,
It is really an awesome display.

And then:
Job 38:1-2 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”

We find then that Elihu is literally setting the stage for the arrival of God.
He comes and pleads with Job
To drop the attitude before God shows up.

It is a very similar roll to that of John the Baptist who said things like:
Luke 3:7-9 “So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Now let me give you some facts about Elihu’s preaching
Before we start working through it,
Perhaps this will help you as you read through on your own.

1) HIS INSPIRATION IS DIFFERENT FROM JOB’S OTHER FRIENDS.

Job’s other friends routinely referred to history, old age, and experience as their credential for offering advice. Elihu does not.

Elihu says that his credential is the Spirit of God within him.

Job 32:8-10 “But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. “The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice. “So I say, ‘Listen to me, I too will tell what I think.’”

Job 33:1-5 “However now, Job, please hear my speech, And listen to all my words. “Behold now, I open my mouth, My tongue in my mouth speaks. “My words are from the uprightness of my heart, And my lips speak knowledge sincerely. “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life. “Refute me if you can; Array yourselves before me, take your stand.”

2) HIS PURPOSE IS DIFFERENT FROM JOB’S OTHER FRIENDS.

It became clear very early on what the desire of Job’s friends was.
They wanted to find out Job’s sin so they could protect themselves.

Every time Job denied having sinned they actually treated him
Like a sick man who wanted to infect everyone around him.

They were angry at Job and attacked and condemned.

This is NOT Elihu’s purpose. In fact Elihu is angry at them for this.
Elihu’s purpose is to defend God.

Job 36:1-3 “Then Elihu continued and said, “Wait for me a little, and I will show you That there is yet more to be said in God’s behalf. “I will fetch my knowledge from afar, And I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.”

Elihu is not angry at Job for
Refusing to acknowledge some sin in front of his friends.
Elihu is angry at Job because he has taken his righteousness, compared it to God’s, and has accused God of being the one who is unjust.

Job 32:2-3 “But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God. And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.”

3) HIS DESIRE IS DIFFERENT FROM JOB’S OTHER FRIENDS

Job’s friends sought only to condemn Job.
They wanted to expose his sin and nail him to the wall with it.

This is not the desire of Elihu.
In fact, we never once heard Job’s friends even call him by name,
Elihu does on several occasions.
It paints the image of one who is intimate and truly concerned.

ELIHU’S DESIRE FOR JOB IS TWO-FOLD.

1) He desires to justify him before his friends:
Job 33:7 “Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.”

Job 33:32 “Then if you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you.”

2) Elihu’s other desire is to persuade Job to stop this horrific pity-party he is throwing.

Job 33:8-12 “Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words: ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent and there is no guilt in me. ‘Behold, He invents pretexts against me; He counts me as His enemy. ‘He puts my feet in the stocks; He watches all my paths.’ “Behold, let me tell you, you are not right in this, For God is greater than man.”

It is obvious Elihu is upset with Job,
But it is not as though he wishes to see Job condemned.

4) HIS EXPLANATION IS DIFFERENT FROM JOB’S OTHER FRIENDS

Job’s 3 friends all held firmly that suffering
Was a form of punishment for the wicked.
(we’ve been all through it)

Elihu’s explanation is that suffering is NOT for the purpose of punishment, but rather for the purpose of purification.

He holds that God uses affliction to lead men away from sin
And thus to save their soul from death.

Job 33:29-30 “Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men, To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.”

So Elihu DOES hold that suffering is in part God’s answer to sin.
Only Elihu says suffering is meant to prevent it and purify,
Not just as a means of punishment against it.

5) HIS JUDGMENT IS DIFFERENT FROM JOB’S OTHER FRIENDS

Job’s 3 friends certainly held firm to their belief that Job was a sinner.
At times they even took shots in the dark
To try and name what they thought those sins were.

Elihu however passes judgment on Job’s sin
And he names it as the sin of pride.

Now, that is a bit difficult for us since
God was very clear at the beginning of this book in saying that Job was a righteous and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil.

And so we do want to be careful in how we examine the life of Job.

However it is also true that
God is about to lower the boom on Job for precisely this issue.

God will not blast Job for immorality or greed or idolatry or some other deed,
But God will blast Job for his pride.

And so, it would seem that Elihu is right on target here in this sermon.

Now, as I said, there will be verses that are still difficult to handle,
But when looking at the sermon over all
There is a strong indication that Elihu arises here as God’s spokesman.

SO…
HOW DO WE READ ELIHU?
Elihu finally provides us with the example that we’ve been so desperately looking for.

Thus far we have had to read all of the discussion of Job’s friends
With sort of a backward mentality.
“See what they do and do the opposite”

BUT FROM ELIHU WE ARE GOING TO GET A POSITIVE EXAMPLE.
And that is good since if you put all the sermons of Job’s friends together, none of them has more to say than Elihu. His message outdistances them all.

• In him we find a heart for God
• In him we find a heart of compassion and yet conviction
• In him we find a definite desire for Job to reconcile
There is gentle correction and there is honest confrontation

It may very well be that Elihu represents
Exactly what type of counselor we are to be
When we deal with those in affliction.

So let’s begin working on this sermon of Elihu.
What we are going to do is identify the key attitudes or convictions
That Elihu carries that make him a successful counselor for God.

#1 HIS CREDENTIALS
Job 32

This first chapter doesn’t really get in to Elihu’s counsel yet,
It is a chapter devoted to explaining why he has stepped up on stage.
We see why he was hesitant to do so and why he finally felt compelled.

And this is very good information for us
Because many times we have found ourselves
Caught in that very same circumstance.

Do I speak or do I stay silent?
• We see something…
• We hear something…
• It may even be counsel from someone else

And we wonder should I step up and speak up?

This was Elihu’s exact dilemma,
Tonight we look at this first chapter and see what drove him to speak
And why he was more than qualified to do so.

We are going to look at HIS CREDENTIALS.

We can divide this down into 5 attitudes he had which made him qualified.
1) HOLY ZEAL (1-5)

As we said we have already seen that Job has silenced his friends.
• Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad could not match wits with Job.
• They could not answer his wisdom.
• They could not refute his logic.

They in effect were forced to throw up their hands in defeat.

Job had won the argument regarding the reality of suffering,
But in doing so Job had made some pretty severe accusations about God.

Job all but accused God of being unfair, unjust, and uncaring.

And Elihu has been listening to all of this.
And these first 5 verses merely carry us inside the heart of Elihu.
He says nothing here,
The writer is just allowing you to see what is taking place internally.

And I think the writer makes it abundantly clear what Elihu is feeling:
BURNING ANGER

4 times in these 5 verses the writer mentions it.
(2-4) “But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God. And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he.”

It is safe to say that Elihu is hot.

Two main reasons are given.
1) Job “justified himself before God”
2) Job’s friends “found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.”

In short, Elihu absolutely hates the injustice that he sees.

• You have three men who are ready to pass out condemnation on a person when they have absolutely no clue what he has done wrong.

• And you have a suffering man who is beginning to maintain that he and not God is the righteous one.

Both of these positions do a tremendous disservice to God.
One misrepresents God, the other maligns Him.

And therein lies the anger of Elihu.
HE CANNOT STAND IT ANY LONGER
TO WATCH GOD BE SO MISREPRESENTED AND MALIGNED.

And because of this Elihu’s “anger burned”

Now this is not to say that only angry people should be counselors.
Certainly not.

Anger can get you in trouble many times and in many ways.
James said:
James 1:19-20 “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”

But anger is not always bad.
Paul said:
Ephesians 4:26 “BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger,”
It is not the anger that is in itself bad.
There are many verses in the Bible that speak of God in fact being angry.

The issue of course is the MOTIVE behind it and the REACTION to it.
• If you are angry for the wrong reason (like Jonah who was upset over the plant and because Ninevah wasn’t being destroyed)
• Or if you have proper anger, but respond poorly (like James and John wanting to call down fire on the Samaritans)

Obviously then the anger is wrong.

But honestly, any time we see God being misrepresented or maligned it ought to produce a holy anger inside of us.

There ought to be a fire that burns with zeal for God.

John 2:13-17 “The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”

This was the holy zeal of Jesus,
And it is clear that the same fire is burning in Elihu.

HIS PRIMARY CONCERN IS THE EXALTATION OF GOD.
• It is not that he may be respected
• It is not that he may win the argument
• It is not that he may gain popularity

This motivation must be on point before we rise to speak for God.

The first credential – holy zeal
2) SPIRITUAL WISDOM (6-10)

We already saw it in verse 4 that Elihu didn’t want to speak because he was the youngest, here he actually voices that issue.

(6-7) “So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said, “I am young in years and you are old; Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think. “I thought age should speak, And increased years should teach wisdom.”

Elihu had a bit of a complex about speaking,
And it wasn’t totally misguided.

• There is nothing in the world wrong with giving precedent to the older and more experienced.
• There is nothing wrong with giving way to someone who should know more about the issue than you.
• There is nothing wrong with yielding to someone who has done this sort of thing more than you have.

THAT IS WHAT ELIHU WAS DOING.

The problem was that these so-called “experts” were way off the mark
And no truth was being proclaimed.

This (coupled with Elihu’s zeal) was threatening to
Force Elihu into the argument, and initially he didn’t want to.

“I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think. I thought age should speak, and increased years should teach wisdom.”

If you’ve ever been in one of those situations where you didn’t feel qualified to speak on a subject even though you knew what you were hearing was wrong, then you understand exactly where Elihu is.

So what do you do?

You must at this point understand what makes a person truly qualified.
• It is not age
• It is not experience
• It is not charisma

It is the indwelling of the Spirit of God and thus true spiritual wisdom.

(8-10) “But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. “The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice. “So I say, ‘Listen to me, I too will tell what I think.’”

We are looking for wisdom
(which Job already reminded us comes only from fear of the Lord)
Not experience.

THAT IS THE CHIEF QUALIFICATION.

Jesus taught us about the Holy Spirit in John 16.
• It is the Holy Spirit who comes to “convict” the world.
• It is the Holy Spirit who comes to “guide” into all the truth.
• It is the Holy Spirit who comes to “glorify” Jesus.

So obviously anyone who seeks to convict sinners
Or explain truth or glorify Jesus without the indwelling Holy Spirit
Is an absolute lost cause.

This means that only those who are filled with God’s Spirit
Are truly qualified counselors.
1 John 2:26-27 “These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”

If you are filled with Him, then you are in fact qualified.
It doesn’t matter what your other limitations are.

Elihu was young, but that did not disqualify him.

The psalmist said:
Psalms 119:97-104 “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”

Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:12-16 “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

Timothy had the truth
Timothy had the spiritual gift
Timothy had the charge

It did not mean that his age would not be an issue,
Paul just told him it wasn’t a relevant one.

You understand then what makes a person qualified.
If he has a holy zeal and spiritual wisdom these go a long way.

3) GENUINE HUMILITY (11-14)

This is such an important balance here.

It is really easy to be so full of fire and venom…
It is really easy to have spiritual conviction dripping out of you…
THAT YOU THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE LIKE THAT

Honestly, this is a lesson that
God has had to teach me on several occasions.

There was a time in my life (particularly after all the battles at my previous church) where I began to feel like Elijah.
Remember his complaint to the Lord?
1 Kings 19:14 “Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

There was a time when I really felt like no one else was going to stand, no one else was going to fight, I was the only one who would.

And that sort of thinking can quickly lead to spiritual arrogance.
It can quickly lead you to think that every situation requires your input.

God used some very difficult issues in my life
To teach me that I wasn’t the only person who loved God;
And that I wasn’t the only person who would stand on the truth.

I actually was reminded of this at youth camp this past summer.
The band was terrible, (doctrinally) and were really spewing some things that I couldn’t handle. I had that burning anger thing going on, and I wasn’t alone.

So I started praying about how to handle it. Should I interrupt the service? Should I march our youth out?

And I felt a real encouragement from the Lord to just pray.
And when the preacher got up, he did a great job, he even very humbly refuted much of what the band leader had said, and God worked.

In short, God didn’t need me busting up the camp,
He had it all under control.

The zeal in Peter to protect Jesus was correct,
Taking the sword and swinging for the guy’s head was out of line.

You get the idea.

And Elihu seems to have a real grasp of this.
(11-12) “Behold, I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings, While you pondered what to say. “I even paid close attention to you; Indeed, there was no one who refuted Job, Not one of you who answered his words.”

Elihu wasn’t quick to want to jump in there
And add his “two cents” to the argument.

He was just as content to sit in the prayer room
As he was to stand behind the pulpit.
That is a very good attitude to have.

You may remember that this was actually the problem with
The church at Corinth.
They had a lack of love and as a bi-product; an enormous amount of ego and arrogance.
They all wanted the microphone.

1 Corinthians 14:26-33 “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”

Paul was asking who would be willing to sit down and take a back seat?

Now granted there are plenty of people in the church who have no fire and no conviction and no courage who are more than willing to sit idly by,
THAT IS NOT WHAT WE ARE PROMOTING.
(we’ve already seen how they probably aren’t going to be good counselors)

What we are learning however is that for those who do have that fire and that conviction, to make sure and balance it with humility.

So Elihu waited.

(12-14) “I even paid close attention to you; Indeed, there was no one who refuted Job, Not one of you who answered his words. “Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom; God will rout him, not man.’ “For he has not arranged his words against me, Nor will I reply to him with your arguments.”

These so-called wise men had no wisdom for Job.
They could not refute him.

So Elihu told them, “Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;”

And this reality literally thrust Elihu behind the pulpit.
It was fire mixed with humility
It was conviction mixed with meekness

And this is required for those who would be effective counselors.

That’s all the time we have tonight, We’ll go further next week,
But hopefully you are seeing what God is requiring.

Holy Zeal
Spiritual Wisdom
Genuine Humility