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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Job 31: Promise Yourself
What does it truly mean to trust God's wisdom amidst suffering? Join us as we unpack this profound question by exploring the unwavering integrity of Job in chapter 31. Through Job's steadfast commitment to righteousness even in the face of immense hardship, we uncover essential lessons on the power of personal spiritual growth and the significance of making personal commitments in our faith journey. Hear insights on how to start this transformative path and become part of a community dedicated to spiritual development.
Choosing integrity during life's toughest moments can often feel impossible. However, Job's story demonstrates that God's faithfulness provides a way through every temptation and challenge. We delve into the concept of making a covenant with ourselves to trust God over succumbing to sin, especially in trying times. Reflecting on Job's journey, we find hope and encouragement to hold on through suffering, trusting that there is a remarkable outcome waiting. Our discussion culminates in a heartfelt prayer, inspired by Job 1:21, expressing gratitude and reaffirming our trust in God's unwavering presence. Tune in for a message of hope and a reminder of the extraordinary strength found in trusting God's wisdom.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today. Job, chapter 31. Today's title is Promise Yourself. Promise Yourself.
Speaker 1:I've talked to people along the way as we all go through different things, different valleys, different circumstances, and one of the number one things that I have heard from people who have really gone through a lot of things is, at some point they realize that they have to make sure that they are recovering, they're getting better, they're getting closer to God, not for their spouse, not for their boyfriend or girlfriend, not for their kids, but for themselves. Like I want to pursue God because I want to know God more. Or I'm not going to stop growing because it's important, because the thing is is, if you do something for other people, that's great, but when you do it because you know you need it, there's really lasting power there. We're going to talk about how Job really talks about this today, and it's pretty powerful. We're going to get into all that in just a second and while you're getting out your Bibles with me to Job, chapter 31,. I want to make sure to let you know that we would love for you to let us know how you are engaging with God's word, and you can do that by either leaving us a five-star review on the podcast or like sharing and subscribing to the YouTube channel. Please make sure you are leaving us your comments on the YouTube channel. I love interacting and engaging with all of you and gather with us at the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook.
Speaker 1:The more we dig, the more we find, and I've talked to people who have said you know, pastor, what is a good jumping off point, like if somebody wants to kind of get involved but they don't know really where to start. Where do we go? One of the things I would suggest to you to tell them is to go to the website. We're working on thebiblebreakdowncom Right now. What is happening is we are collecting all the different episodes there, but one of the things we want to do with that website over time is we want to create a platform with it where we can just dive deeper into every chapter in God's Word and also provide a launching pad for Knowing God More and let them know hey, here's where you can go to the podcast, here's where you can go to the YouTube channel. This is where you can go to all the things, and so take them there and start looking around and I would love your suggestions as you go to thebiblebreakdowncom website. Let me know, hey, I'd love to see this, I'd love to do some of this, and just let's interact together and create a resource for people to know God more by knowing his word, and I look forward to growing in that together.
Speaker 1:Well, as we've been saying over the past several chapters, the overall theme of Job, chapter 31, is trusting God's wisdom in suffering, and that's so very important because we know that difficult times are going to come, but how you go through them has so much to do with your trust in the Lord. And so, as we've been walking through this, we know that Job is going through something difficult and God is at work in all of it, even though he can't see it, and he has these three friends who are so hard. But he is working through it and God is actually showing us how to trust him by watching this dynamic between he and his three friends. And right now, job is in the middle, over the past few chapters, of just talking through some of the difficulties he's going through. But what I love is what he's going to say in the very first verse. We're going to read the whole chapter. We're going to finish off coming back to the first verse. But even in the difficulty of what he's going through, he's still saying even when I'm struggling, I am going to continue to do the right thing. I'm going to continue to make sure that I promise myself not to let myself get off into sin just because things aren't going my way. And that's so hard to do, isn't it? So let's dive into God's word and see what it would say to us today. You ready, here we go.
Speaker 1:Job 31, verse 1. Right off the bat it says this I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman. For what has God above chosen for us? What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high? Isn't it calamity for the wicked and misfortune to those who do evil on high? Isn't it calamity for the wicked and misfortune to those who do evil? Doesn't he see everything I do and every step I take? Have I lied to anyone or deceived anyone? Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity.
Speaker 1:If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin. Let someone else eat the crops I have planted. Let all that I have planted be uprooted. If my heart has been seduced by a woman or if I have lusted after my neighbor's wife, then let my wife serve another man. Let other men sleep with her. Lord, help us, for lust is a shameful sin and a crime that should be punished. It is a fire that burns all the way to hell. It would wipe out everything I own.
Speaker 1:And if I have been unfair with my male or female servants when they brought their complaints to me, how could I face God? What could I say when he questioned me? For God created me and my servants. He created us both in the womb. Have I refused to help the poor or crush the hopes of widows? Have I been stingy with my food or refused to share it with orphans? No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father, and all my life I have cared for widows. Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes and the needy with nothing to wear, did they not praise me for providing wool clothing to keep them warm? If I raised my hand against an orphan, knowing the judges would take my side, let my shoulder be wrenched out of place. Let my arm be torn from its socket.
Speaker 1:Goodness, that would be better than facing God's judgment, for if majesty, if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there? Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold? Have I gloated about my wealth and all that I own? Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies or the moon walking down its silver pathway and have been secretly enticing in my heart to throw kisses at them in worship? If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven. Have you ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies? Have I ever done that when disaster struck my enemies, or become excited when harm came their way? No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone or by asking for revenge. My servants have never said he let others go hungry. I have never turned away a stranger, but have opened my doors to everyone. Have I tried to hide my sins like others do? He said me Look, I will sign my name to my defense. Let the Almighty answer me. Let my accuser write out the charges against me. I would face the accusations proudly. I would wear it like a crown, for I would tell them exactly what I have done and I would come before him like a prince. If my land accuses me and all its furrows cry out together, or if I have stolen its crops or murdered its owners, then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley. And then Job's words are ended.
Speaker 1:Now what he was saying is is he was saying listen, I have done the best I could. I have been fair, I have been just. I have done the best I could. I have been fair, I have been just, I have done the best I could. And I made a covenant with myself. I was going to have integrity, though Nobody else did, no matter all the opportunities and temptations I had. I made a covenant with myself I'm going to do the right thing. And he said now that I'm going through all this, this, this hard stuff, I can hold my head up because I've done everything I know to do.
Speaker 1:And can I tell you many times and we talked about this throughout the book of Job many times it's not always so easy to just put in one basket or the other the different problems and situations we go through. Sometimes we go through difficult situations because of things we brought on ourself. You know that and that's just honest. You know, if we we've been using this throughout the book of Job if we rob a bank, we're going to go to jail, and we can't blame God for going to jail. We are the one that robbed the bank, right? And so there's times we do bad things and we reap the benefits of those bad things. We don't study for a test, we get an F, and we reap the benefits of those bad things. We don't study for a test, we get an F. We can't say why would a loving God give me an F? He didn't give us an F. He gave us a good brain that we didn't use. You know what I mean. And so sometimes, when we go through bad things, we have to sit and say well, lord, I'm sorry and I know that your forgiveness is here, the other side, there are times when bad things happen to good people. Jesus himself said that. He said it rains on the just and the unjust alike, and there's a thousand good reasons for that, but the reality still ends up the same.
Speaker 1:I've talked to people before who you know they want to talk about. Why do bad things happen to good people. The theological, apologetic, philosophical discussion is called the problem of evil. How do we deal with the fact there's evil in the world? Well, first of all, we realize that there's actually not evil. There is the corruption of good. That's what evil is. Evil is a corruption of good. What God made was good and then bad people turned it evil. God didn't create evil, he created good that we corrupted. Right. But that creates a whole other thing. And what I've noticed is, no matter how good your argument and an argument that explains why God does something is called a theodicy no matter how good your theodicy is, the bottom line is it still hurts. That's just the way it is.
Speaker 1:What do you do when you didn't bring this upon yourself, like, yes, I was born into sin. Yes, I'm not perfect, but I didn't do this one. I was showing up at work every single day and I was doing the very best I could and they still lied on me and I still lost my job. Or how about this one? I was being as faithful as I could be to my spouse and they still cheated on me. That hurts. What do you do when that happens? You know what Job said. Job said I made a covenant with my eyes that even when it's easy, even when no one's looking, even when everybody would excuse you know my behavior and be like hey, you know he's going through a lot, let's give him a break. He said no, no, I made a covenant with myself. He's going through a lot, let's give him a break. He said no, no, I made a covenant with myself I will not use this as an excuse for sin. I will not look with lust at a young woman. And that's just one of many sins.
Speaker 1:And I want to tell you, when times are tough, it's very easy to want to self-medicate. That's what a lot of times, that's what sin is. It is a way for us to try to live independently of God, a way to self-medicate the pain that we have on the inside. And nobody looks for self-medication when they're not sick. You know, you know what I mean. They do when they're sick. They do when they're hurting.
Speaker 1:And so when you're at church on Sunday morning and everything is going great, you're not looking to go sin. Most likely it is on Thursday afternoon, when you had a hard day at work. And then you come home and it's a hard day at home and you just need a break. What do you do when that happens? You make a covenant with yourself before God. You say God, even when it's hard, I'm going to choose to trust you, because I trust you even in the suffering. And God's word actually promises. Do you know that God's word doesn't promise that we won't have bad days? As a matter of fact, he says we will have bad days, but in every temptation he will always give us a way of escape. And so you make a covenant with yourself to say you know what, even when I'm going through a hard time, I'm not going to let it be an excuse to sin, but instead I'm going to make a covenant, a promise with myself that I'm going to show integrity. And if you do good, things are on the way, because if we hold on, it's going to be a few more chapters.
Speaker 1:We get to see an amazing finale to the story of Job, and I truly believe, if you hold on and not give up, god has an amazing finale for you too. Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today, thank you for your word, thank you, god, that we can trust you in suffering and that you are with us in more ways than we can imagine and you're doing more than we can imagine. Just because we can't see, it means nothing. We trust you in all things. In Jesus name, we, we pray amen. Amen. Job 1, verse 21 says I came naked from my mother's womb and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord. Job is saying everything I have is his. That's why I trust him with everything. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Job, chapter 32.
