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[0:00] Good evening. In the Old Testament this evening, the book of Job, chapter 2.

[0:12] ! I'm sure we're all somewhat familiar with the book of Job.! Job in chapter 1, described as a perfect man, an upright man, one that shunned or eschewed evil, turned away from evil.

[0:28] And we know about the heavenly council that took place there, where the sons of God presented themselves to God, and Satan come in their midst and presented himself as well.

[0:42] And of course, the devil makes an accusation after the Lord says, Hast thou considered my servant Job? Which he says that in chapter 2, we'll be reading that in just a little while, but he says, ask the same question in chapter 1.

[0:57] And he gives a description of Job and commends Job in his description of him. And Satan makes accusation, basically saying that the only reason Job worships you, the only reason that Job serves you, is because you've blessed Job the way that you have.

[1:17] But you take away all his blessing and he'll curse you to your face. And we should be familiar with the account. We know that Job had all kinds of donkeys. He had all kinds of camels.

[1:28] He had all kinds of livestock. He had seven boys. He had three girls. And all that was taken from him. And just one sequence of events. One servant would come running and give him the news that the Sabians came.

[1:45] This fire fell from heaven and devoured all the sheep. And I don't remember what all happened there right off the top of my head. But I know it was one servant right after the other.

[1:56] And I do know that the servant that came while one was yet speaking, each one of them came while the other one was yet speaking, said there was a wind that came from the wilderness. And it smoked the four corners of the house that the sons and daughters were gathered in.

[2:10] They were gathered in the eldest brother's house. And all of his children were killed then. It says that Job rent his mantle, which was a sign of mourning.

[2:21] But Job did not curse God in all of that. It says that Job fell down and he worshipped. He fell down and he worshipped. He didn't come through with what Satan said that he would.

[2:35] Satan said that he would curse God to his face. And Job did not do that. It says that he fell down and worshipped. This is where the famous line that all of us have heard time after time after time. Where Job said, The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away.

[2:47] Blessed be the name of the Lord. And it says that he did not curse God in all of that. That brings us to chapter 2. Chapter 2 isn't a whole lot different than chapter 1 is.

[3:03] But it does get a little bit deeper into some things. So all that being said, with a real quick nutshell format of chapter 1. Job in chapter 2 beginning at verse 1 says, Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also among them to present himself before the Lord.

[3:25] And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil?

[3:46] And still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movest me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the Lord and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

[4:01] But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life.

[4:14] So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore bulls, from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal, and he sat down among the ashes.

[4:28] Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh.

[4:40] What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? And all this did not Job sin with his lips. Back to verse 1, in Job chapter 2, says again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

[5:02] Verse 2, And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said from going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down in it. Again, here we have this council that's taking place in the heavens.

[5:16] But folks, this council, I don't want you to get the idea in your head, as some people do, that God uses us as chess pieces of some kind, or as checkers in the game against Satan.

[5:30] That is not what is going on here. That's not what's going on at all. That's not what goes on in your life. And it's not what goes on in my life. Again, the Bible says, Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

[5:48] Folks, Satan is required to present himself before God. Satan is not his own entity. Satan is not even an entity. Satan is a created being.

[5:59] Satan is not omnipresent, such as God is. We read here in verse 2, And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

[6:13] Folks, this verse alone proves that Satan is not omnipresent in this world. He is a created being, and he has to answer to Almighty God.

[6:24] Folks, this should give us, as Christians, this should give us, as believers, great comfort in knowing that whatever affliction may come our way, whatever circumstances may come our way, whether it be black, whether it be financial problems, whether it be health problems, no matter what the case is, that yes, Satan is on a leash, but that leash has a firm hold on it by the Almighty Creator, Jehovah God, and Satan cannot do anything more to us than what God will allow.

[6:53] That should bring a great deal of comfort to us. If you're suffering affliction now, that should bring you comfort. If you suffer affliction at some point in the future, think back on these verses here, and know that Satan is limited.

[7:05] He is restrained by Almighty God, by the very Savior of your soul. He is constrained by God as to what He can do in your life.

[7:17] Now, it says, And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? Folks, I have heard preachers say that when Satan says that he has been walking to and fro in the earth, when he's been doing this thing, that means that he is walking to and fro in each and every individual because we are made of earth.

[7:35] There is nothing further from the truth. Again, folks, that would imply, that would imply that Satan is omnipresent. That he can go home with you, and he can go home with me.

[7:46] Folks, Satan is not omnipresent. That is attributing something to our enemy that belongs wholly and solely unto God. God. Get it in your head that Satan is not everywhere at all times.

[8:00] Only God has that capability. Keep that in your head, Christians. Now, Satan has a lot of little minions running around. Satan has a lot of the fallen angels running around.

[8:12] Demons, nymphs, whatever you want to call them. But they are colleagues of Satan. And yes, they tempt us. And yes, they try us. And yes, they do this. And yes, they do that. But Satan himself.

[8:24] Folks, I dare say, I dare say that never once in my life have I had Satan on my track because I am not that important. But I can tell you one that has.

[8:35] That's Jesus Christ. We read about the temptation. The temptation of Christ in the Gospel accounts. But not only that, folks, I don't believe that was the only three times that Jesus Christ was ever tempted. I believe that He was tempted from the time He was a child to the very time that He was hanging upon the tree.

[8:51] I believe that Jesus Christ was tempted of Satan. But I myself, I'm not that important. I'm not that significant. Now, have demons bothered me? Have demons tempted me?

[9:03] Have demons troubled me? Absolutely. Just as they have you. But I dare say no one sitting in this sanctuary right now has ever had Satan himself on your trail.

[9:14] Keep that in mind, dear Christians. Verse 3, And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? that there is none like him in the earth. A perfect and upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil.

[9:28] Notice, all that's in the form of a question. And God knows the answer. God already knows. God is calling Satan out here. He knows that Satan has been watching Job. He knows that for no other reason from chapter 1.

[9:42] And Job's response to everything that happened to him in chapter 1. But God knows all. God is omniscient. God is omnipresent. God is all of these things. He knows everything.

[9:54] He knows everything that Satan does. Folks, one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther from back in the Reformed era, one of my favorite quotes from that man, he said, even the devil is God's devil.

[10:05] The devil belongs to God. He cannot do anything outside of God's permission. He cannot do anything outside of the will of God. Luther also called the devil God's ape because the devil is constantly mimicking what God does.

[10:22] I like Martin Luther. I like some of his quotes. I like some of the things the man said. But here, the Lord asked Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? My goodness. If this were to happen to you, if this were to happen, if this were to happen, period, never mind whether it's to you or not, but, what God say about you or what God say about me, hast thou considered my servant Spencer?

[10:49] Or am I that upright? Am I that perfect? And when we're talking about perfect, we're not talking about sinless. Do I walk that closely with God?

[11:00] Do I serve God with that type of fortitude that Job did? You read over in chapter 1 where his sons and his daughters, they would go to feast and they would drink wine and Job would go and offer burnt sacrifices for each one of them.

[11:15] And the Bible says he'd done that in case they had sinned against God. Just in case. Job's looking out for his children. Could I say that I do that?

[11:29] Could I say that I walk that uprightly? That Satan himself, one, would be after me and that God would name me directly to Satan saying, have you ever considered my servant so and so?

[11:44] Folks, we need to walk more uprightly. And we need to serve God better. We need to serve God more fervently. We need to stay prayed up with God as Brother Mike preached so wonderfully about this morning.

[11:56] We need to stay prayed up with God. Folks, that is communion with our Creator. What a blessing that is to have communion with Him and to know that He wants to commune with us.

[12:08] To know that He wants us to talk with Him and He wants to talk with us. Hallelujah. What a blessing that is. But, unfortunately, prayer is the most useful tool that we have at our disposal and it's also the most neglected tool that we have at our disposal.

[12:28] I'm going to dare say that Job was a prayed up man. I'm going to dare say that he was. But here the Lord names him and asks Satan. He says, have you considered this my servant?

[12:38] He says, and He still, and still He holdeth fast His integrity. He holdeth fast His integrity. Still holds fast.

[12:49] Folks, if this were to happen to you, if you went home to see Him and everything that you had had been taken away from you, your family had been taken away from you, your house is burned to the ground, any assets that you have are up in smoke, the stock market is crashed and you have nothing, would you still keep your integrity?

[13:11] Would I still keep my integrity? Would I still fall upon my face and worship the God that saved my soul? That is the question for the church. That is the question for you and it's the question for me.

[13:24] Here God says that He still held fast to His integrity. He still served me. He still worshiped me. Would we do that?

[13:36] If everything that we had was taken away, would we do that? Would we be like Job? And could God say about us, He still holdeth fast His integrity.

[13:47] Although thou movest me against Him to destroy Him without a cause. To destroy Him without a cause. Folks, this dismantles the notion that Job was suffering because of sin.

[14:01] That's what His three buddies that come along here in the next couple of chapters try to convince Him of. They try to convince Him, Hey, you've sinned. You've offended the Creator. You've offended God.

[14:12] You've transgressed. You have iniquity. If you just repent of these things, then all will be well. And God will lift this curse up off of you. That's what they try to convince Job of.

[14:24] But God here Himself says, Thou movest me against Him to destroy Him without cause. Without cause.

[14:34] Folks, this tells me and this assures me that not everything that comes into my life is because of some personal sin that is in my life. Not everything that comes my way, not the negativity that comes my way, not the health problems, none of these things are necessarily because of a personal sin that I have.

[14:56] But folks, we have an adversary. We have an adversary. His name is the devil and he has millions upon millions of helpers running around this planet with him that we refer to as demons.

[15:08] And they will bring these things against us. Folks, God does no evil, but God allows bad things to happen. God allows evil things to occur.

[15:21] God allows these things to happen, but when it comes in your life as a born-again believer, when tragedy strikes in your life, folks, it is not to destroy you, but it is to deepen your relationship with your Savior.

[15:37] Keep that in mind. Next time tragedy comes your way, next time heartache comes your way, next time these things happen, you keep in mind this story of Job, this account of Job that we have here in the Old Testament.

[15:49] And you remember that Satan moved God against him. Now, that doesn't mean Satan convinced God. That doesn't mean that he persuaded God or he coerced God.

[16:01] But you remember that it says Satan moved God against Job without cause. I can think of another one in the New Testament. I can think of one that Pontius Pilate himself said, I find no fault in this man.

[16:14] Amen. And folks, he suffered, he suffered not as a test like Job is doing here. He suffered not as a test, but he suffered as a substitute in your place and in my place.

[16:25] These are the reasons that Christ suffered. He suffered to do the will of the Father to reconcile us back unto him. Hallelujah. And I thank God that he did.

[16:36] He took my place, he took my shame, he took my guilt, and took my sin upon himself. And he, he had no sin of his own.

[16:47] He was without fault. He was without fault. And here, God says about Job, although thou movest me against him to destroy him without cause.

[16:58] Folks, the Romans, the Gentiles, moved to destroy Christ without cause. The Jews moved to destroy Christ without cause. Everyone knew that the man had committed no sin, that he had committed no transgression against anyone at any time.

[17:17] Yet they moved to destroy him. Amen. Amen. Satan and his demons know that we are God. Know that we are God.

[17:27] And one day, folks, not here in this life, not here, we will not live perfectly, but one day, according to what I read in the very last couple of verses of the book of Jude, we will be presented faultless and we will be presented blameless to our Father.

[17:44] we will be presented faultless and blameless to our Savior. So, Satan and his demons trying to destroy us.

[17:56] But folks, they have no means to do so. If I belong to God, they have no means to do so. If death comes, that's fine. It's because God allowed it to happen.

[18:07] If sickness comes, that's fine because God allowed it to happen. Now, I say that, I say that standing here in decently good health. I say if sickness comes, so be it.

[18:19] God allowed it. Let me get down on my health a little while. Come and ask me about it. Come and ask me if I have that, folks. That is integrity. That is integrity. You ever been so sick?

[18:31] You ever been so down in your health that you thought you was going to die and you was afraid that you wouldn't? I've been there. I've been to that state. But my faith didn't not wavering.

[18:42] I'm not bragging on me. But folks, I know that He saved my soul. And I know that if He saved my soul, He can make me whole in this body once again.

[18:55] He can restore my health. I know these things are possible. If He can save me out of the clutches of hell, He can restore my physical health.

[19:06] And if He doesn't, and I die anyway, I know where I'm going, and I know who I'll be with. Praise God. Verse 4, And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, and all that a man hath will he give for his life.

[19:23] But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. So here's Satan, once again, talking with God.

[19:35] And God already knew what Satan was going to say. Again, God is omniscient. He knows it all. He knows it before it happens. He knows the end from the beginning, and the beginning from the end. He knows it all.

[19:46] So he knew what Satan was going to say here, but Satan says, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. Folks, it is impossible for Satan to understand, or to conceive, or perceive, I should say, to perceive a love of God that transcends self-preservation.

[20:11] And that's what he is getting at here. Job, he says, you touch his health, you touch his body, you've taken away the external things, you've taken his family, you've taken his livestock, you've taken his livelihood, you've taken his wealth, you've taken all of these things, but you touch his body, you get down personal with him, and he will curse you to your face.

[20:32] These are the words that Satan was telling God. He says, you touch his body, and he will curse you to your face. Verse 6, and the Lord said unto Satan, behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life.

[20:46] You can do with him whatever you want to, Satan, except for kill him. You cannot have his life, you cannot take his life. Again, it says, and the Lord said unto Satan, behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life.

[21:01] Again, folks, Satan, may be allowed to bring evil into your life. He may be allowed to bring bad circumstances all around the world in different places to different people at different times, him and his demons, but he is on a leash.

[21:21] He is on a leash that God holds, and he cannot go any further than what God tells him to. And this verse here affirms that you do whatever you like, but save his life.

[21:34] You cannot take his life. Make him as sick as you want to. Cause whatever to come upon him that you want to, but you cannot kill him.

[21:45] Amen. Folks, that should bring us comfort. It says, so Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord and smoked Job with sore bowls from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

[21:56] And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with all, and he sat down among the ashes. Satan went forth from God with whose permission?

[22:07] With God's permission. Satan went forth from God with God's permission. And it says that he smoked Job with sore bowls from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

[22:19] So here's a man. You picture this, folks. The man's already suffering mentally. He's had his entire family save his wife. Had his entire family taken away from him.

[22:34] And now he's sitting here. And he's got bowls from head to toe. Or if you want to go in the order of Scripture, from toe to head. He's got bowls from one end of his body to the other.

[22:48] He's got open sores all over him. A man that is already suffering mentally is now suffering physically. He is suffering with pain.

[22:59] He is suffering with sorrow. He is suffering with depression. Folks, if you think that he wasn't also suffering somewhat spiritually, think again. You and I are in the same boat many times.

[23:13] Everything will be going right. Everything will be going good. Then suddenly tragedy happens. Suddenly catastrophe happens. Suddenly health problems happen. Suddenly death happens in the family.

[23:26] And that does a blow to our spirituality, does it not? Yes, it does. Yes, it does. You tell me it doesn't, I'll call you a liar to your face. And it does it to all of us.

[23:39] I'm not saying it causes us to lose faith. I'm not saying that at all. I'm not saying that we're ready to snub our nose at the Savior. But it does cause us to question, where are you God?

[23:51] Where are you? I have to wonder, I have to wonder. If Job didn't think, you know, just a couple of days ago, I had all my camels. I had all my oxen. I had all my asses.

[24:02] I had all my children. I had all these things. And now here I am. And I have nothing. Not even my health. What would that do to you spiritually?

[24:15] And what would that do to me spiritually? God help us. God help us to stay strong. God help us to keep our integrity. As God said about Job a couple of verses ago.

[24:27] So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord and smoked Job with sore balls from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with all, and he sat down among the ashes.

[24:40] What a humbling picture this is. This man, again, who had it all. He had wealth. He had honor. He was an honorable man. There in the land of earth, we had no reason to think otherwise.

[24:55] He had wealth. He had family. He had it all going for him. And now he's sitting here in a pile of ashes. But folks, this gives us great comfort.

[25:06] This gives us great confidence. Hallelujah. That no matter what comes your way, no matter what sickness, no matter what death, no matter who it happens to, or when it happens, we can sit down in a pile of ashes with nothing more than a broken piece of pottery to scrape our open sores with hope.

[25:26] Because we have a Savior. We can do the exact same thing and have the same hope that Job had. Folks, this is humbling.

[25:38] There was another one that condescended even more so than Job. The heavenly Creator condescended from heaven, a place where there is no sin, a place where there is no not, a place where there is no darkness, a place where there is no evil.

[25:59] And he condescended to this place, to earth, to a sinful world that was full of sinful men that wanted to kill him. And God himself condescended in form of the Son.

[26:16] To do what? To seek and to save that which was lost. He condescended from upon high.

[26:28] He condescended from beyond the galaxies and came here to us to dwell among us, to tabernacle among his people, that he could give his life a ransom for many, that he could give the Holy Ghost, that he could live within us.

[26:46] Hallelujah! That's condescension. Now, what happened to Job here is condescension as well, but not nearly the magnitude of what Christ our Savior done for us.

[27:01] Not nearly that type of magnitude. Verse 9, Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? My goodness, what a contrast from what God said.

[27:14] Folks, this, in my opinion, this was the biggest blow to Job. Not his children being taken away.

[27:25] That was a blow, yes. Not his wealth being taken away. And not being covered from head to toe in sores. And not sitting here in an ash heap.

[27:37] But his own wife. Someone that was close to him. Uttering. Her voice carried the exact temptation that Satan predicted that Job would say.

[27:53] Curse God and die. What a blow to Job that was. But folks, many times, your temptation and my temptation will come from those who are closest to us.

[28:05] And it is scriptural. It began in the garden. Eve first saw the fruit on the tree. She saw that it was good for food. She saw that it was good to eat. She took of it. And what did she do?

[28:16] She tempted her husband with it. It has ever been that way. And it ever will be that way. Now, that doesn't mean husbands, you turn your back on your wives, it doesn't mean wives, you turn your back on your husbands.

[28:29] That's not what I'm saying. But just because we are born again children of God, just because we've been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, does not mean that some demon can't whisper some lie into your ear and use you against your spouse, use you against your children, use you against your parents, use you against your grandchildren, or your grandparents, or anyone else.

[28:54] It comes from those that are closest to us many times. And this, what happened here, had to have been the biggest blow to Job.

[29:06] His own wife, the one that should have been there supporting him, the one that should have said, honey, what do you need? What can I get you? What can I do for you? What happened?

[29:17] She said, do you still hang on to your integrity? In other words, folks, what she was essentially saying here was, God is not worth it. That's what she was saying.

[29:28] It says, then said his wife unto him, dost thou still retain thine integrity? Are you still holding on to God? Are you still holding on to His promises?

[29:41] She's saying God is not worth it. Curse God and die. And some people will turn this into, she was just wanting Job to be out of his misery. No, that is not what was happening here.

[29:54] And you don't read anything else about this woman throughout the rest of the pages of the book of Job. Now, at the end of the book of Job, I understand his children were multiplied. I get that.

[30:05] And that very well could have been with the same wife. Amen. But I think this is Spencer's thought. Again, not Scripture, but considering chapter 1 and considering what we've read here in chapter 2, Job lost it all.

[30:21] And I think that included his wife. Because we read nothing else about her throughout the entire book of Job. Again, I understand that he had kids.

[30:32] I understand that his kids were multiplied. I understand that. You know what? Abraham also had kids by another woman named Keturah. Everybody knows about Abraham and Sarah.

[30:46] But he also had children by a woman named Keturah. You read about that in the book of Genesis though. But folks, Satan had permission from God to take everything and to smite Job however he wanted to, but he could not take his life.

[31:10] Why would Satan not take his wife to? The last beam of support that the man might have had, why would he not have taken that?

[31:22] Verse 10, but he said unto her, this is glorious, what Job says here. Right after his wife says, curse God and die, it says, but he said unto her, thou speakest as one of the foolish women speak.

[31:38] What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God? And shall we not receive evil? in all this did not Job sin with his lips. How did Job answer his wife?

[31:52] He said, thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. Folks, he doesn't rebuke her directly. Catch what the scripture says here.

[32:03] Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. He rebukes the foolishness of what she said, but he doesn't down her.

[32:15] He doesn't curse her. He doesn't say anything derogatory about his wife, but he curses and he rebukes the foolishness that she spoke.

[32:26] Hey, husbands, we can learn a lot from what Job did right here. Wives, we can learn a lot from what Job did right here. He didn't rebuke her personally, but he rebuked the foolishness.

[32:38] But how did he go about doing that? He says, you speak as one of the foolish women speak. What? Shall we not receive good? Shall we receive good at the hand of God? And shall we not receive evil?

[32:50] How does he answer her? With the sovereignty of God. And folks, that should be our focus. Any trial that comes your way, any temptation that comes your way.

[33:06] Praise God for James chapter 1 in verse 2 it says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

[33:17] But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations.

[33:29] Count it all joy when you fall into sickness. Count it all joy when these things happen. Why? Because the scripture commands us as children of God to do so.

[33:42] That's why. He rebukes her, or not her, but what she said. And then he answers her with the sovereignty of God. This is Job here.

[33:53] When he says this, when he says, what shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil? Shall we receive good and nothing bad?

[34:04] what Job is essentially telling his wife here is regardless of my present circumstances, regardless of if I'm sitting here in an ash heap, scraping open sores with a broken piece of pottery, regardless if I have my children, regardless if I have my wealth, that does not negate the goodness of Almighty God.

[34:28] That's what Job is telling his wife here. And he is saying God is sovereign over all of this. If God chooses to give me good, if God chooses to give me blessing, so be it.

[34:39] If God chooses to take my blessings, my material blessings that he has given me over the course of years away from me, so be it. Praise God for Job chapter 13 when Job says, though he slay me, yet will I trust him.

[34:54] Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. No matter what comes in your life, Christians, it is governed by God. Keep that in mind.

[35:05] Keep that in mind. No matter what it is, no matter what depression may hit you, no matter what sadness may hit you, no matter what ailment may come your way, it is under the direct sovereignty and the governance of an Almighty God that loves you and that saves your soul.

[35:24] Hallelujah. Whenever the demons whisper lies in your ears, you answer them with the sovereignty of God. God, God, the very maker of the universe, has ruled over every demon that tear, has ruled over Satan himself.

[35:43] Anytime they whisper the lies, you remind them they are governed by God. They can do nothing more to you than what Almighty God allows and whatever God allows into your life.

[35:54] It is for your good. It is for your growing. And it is for his glory. Hallelujah. Shall we not receive good? Or shall we receive good at the hand of God?

[36:06] And shall we not receive evil? Folks, it makes perfect sense. I think I've said it here before. I know I have with other congregations.

[36:18] We have no right, no right whatsoever to look up at the sky and to say, why me God? When affliction comes our way, without asking God, why have you blessed me the way that you have?

[36:35] Why do I have the family that I have? Why do I have the salvation that I have? We have no right. We have no right to question God.

[36:47] He is sovereign creator. He is sovereign ruler and he governs everything that happens in your life and in mine. And I thank God for that. I thank God for that.

[36:58] That no matter what I suffer or when I suffer it, God knows about it. And it is ultimately for my good. And all this did not Job sin with his lips.

[37:10] Again, we can learn from Job with this. Too often we want to blame God. Too often when heartache comes, when problems come, why are you allowing this God?

[37:27] I'll tell you why. Because he's God and he can. That's why. And he doesn't need your permission to do so. He doesn't need your permission.

[37:39] He doesn't need your signature. He doesn't need your cooperation. None of those things. He is God. But when these things happen, folks, don't sin against God.

[37:50] Don't curse God. You answer. You answer the problems. You answer the demons. You answer whatever is coming your way with the sovereignty of God.

[38:04] And say, God has got control of this situation. Folks, the greatest evil known to mankind happened under the sovereignty of God.

[38:17] God. It happened with His foreknowledge. It happened with His governance. God knew all about the crucifixion long before it happened. But we can read about it all throughout the Old Testament that it was going to happen.

[38:29] Jesus crossed Himself in the Gospels said it was going to happen and God knew all about it. He knew that the Gentiles wanted Him dead. He knew that the Jews wanted Him dead.

[38:42] He knew all these things. And yet He suffered not again as a test but as a substitutionary sacrifice on your behalf and on mine.

[38:55]  That's this evening's message. God bless y'all. I appreciate your attention this evening.