Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Jun 22nd Speaking On God’s Behalf

Today’s Passage – Job 34 – 36

Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee that I have yet to speak on God’s behalf. (Job 36:2)

In our reading we have been listening to a long speech (chapters 32 – 37) given by a man named Elihu, who claims to be speaking on behalf of God.  I am still trying to figure Elihu out.  At first, I included him with Job’s other three friends who were condemning Job.  However, at second glance, it does not appear that Elihu’s purpose is to condemn Job.  It seems to be the aim of Elihu to justify God.  It is interesting that at the end of the book God does not rebuke Elihu as he does the other three men.  Elihu seems to be defending God’s right as the God of the universe to do whatever He wants; and that everything He does is right.  Elihu further seems to be inferring that Job’s grumbling about his present distress is really a grumbling against God.  I can’t find fault in much of what Elihu has to say , particularly what he says about God.

What I really wanted to talk about, however, is the little phrase in verse 2 of chapter 6, “…I have yet to speak on God’s behalf”.  And then in verse 3 he says, “…I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker”.  That’s some good stuff right there.  Elihu says that he has a lot left to say about the righteousness of God.

Christian, you and I have a lot to say on behalf of God as well.  Paul told the church at Corinth that they were ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ.  We have the awesome privilege and responsibility of representing the Lord on this earth; and the people of this world have a lot to learn about the Lord.  Take full advantage of every opportunity that you get to ascribe righteousness to the Lord, and to speak on His behalf.  This world needs to hear about their Creator; but how shall they hear if His children are clamming up.

Jun 21st Oh Be Careful Little Eyes What You See

Today’s Passage – Job 31 – 33

I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? (Job 31:1)

In our reading we have been following the conversation between Job and his friends.  Job has been declaring hi innocence: not that he claims sinlessness; but he does contend that his sins were open and confessed to God, and that he was not living a double life.  His friends, however, are sure that Job must have some heinous secret sin in his life.  In this chapter Job seems to be answering a charge regarding his fidelity.  Perhaps the underlying accusation was that Job was an adulterer.  Job’s answer in chapter 31 is that he had been faithful, not only in not touching that which is forbidden, but in not looking on another woman besides his wife.

In our culture the accepted instruction is, “you can look, but you just can’t touch”.  Funny, my wife never bought into that line of reasoning.  The fact of the matter is that looking might just lead to touching.  Job said that he made a covenant, a commitment to himself and his eyes not to think (let alone look) upon a maid.  David said something similar when he said that he would set no wicked thing before his eyes.

Men, we need to do the same thing regarding the opposite sex.  We need to determine to keep our eyes and our minds on that which is pleasing to the Lord.  Turn off the TV if you have to; get rid of the internet if you must, but do what you have to do to keep yourself from sinning against your God and your wife.  It is wise to know your limitations and put up some fences to protect yourself.  A little accountability will go a long way.  And ladies, your not exempt from this either.  Your lusting may not be for the opposite sex per say, but I am sure you have your weak areas as well.  Maybe with you the struggle involves seeing things at the mall that you can’t afford.  We all need to make this same covenant that Job made to keep us from seeing and thinking about the things that we know are not part of God’s perfect will for our lives.

Jun 20th Where Can I Find Wisdom?

Today’s Passage – Job 28 – 30

But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? (Job 28:12)

And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. (Job 28:28)

In today’s reading we have seen a continuation of what we have been reading for the past several days.  Job is debating with his three friends regarding his calamity: they are claiming that Job is responsible; and Job is declaring his innocence.  However, in the middle of this discussion is a passage dealing with wisdom.  At first glance i wondered why God would put this teaching right in the middle of the discourse between Job and his friends regarding Job’s suffering; but then I remembered a similar teaching from the New Testament regarding trials and testing from the epistle penned by James.  Remember that James admonished us to “count it all joy” in the trials; but then he added some instruction regarding wisdom:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5)

Apparently there is an association between enduring trials and wisdom.  God doesn’t hold back wisdom to those who fear him and depart from evil.  Job had the wisdom of God.  We know this to be true because later on when God enters into the discussion He states that Job spoke of Him the thing that is right.

If you are going through a time of testing, don’t seek the world and its counselors for wisdom: go to God.  If you fear Him and are seeking to do that which is right, God will give you the wisdom that you need to see your way through the trial.  In order for you to get to the other side you will need God’s wisdom, coupled with God’s grace.  It is apparent that Job had both of these attributes.

Jun 18th Did You Have Your Breakfast This Morning?

Today’s Passage – Job 23 – 25

Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. (Job 23:12)

Nutritionists tell us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that is probably true; and many of us, no matter how busy we might be, take the time to grab a little bit of nourishment in the morning.  However, how many of God’s people begin their day with some nourishment from the Word of God?  Job said here that he considered the time spent in God’s Word to be the most important meal of the day.  I want to give you a few thoughts as to why we should start our day with the Word of God:

1  For most of us, the morning is the quietest time of the day, especially if you are disciplined enough to get out of bed before the rest of the house gets up. When it is quiet you can hear the voice of God.  There are less distractions that will cause your mind to wander.  Many doctors believe that the early hours of our day are the times that we are the most alert and have the most energy.

2  We should also spend time with God before we spend time with men.  God wants to brief us via His Word regarding the issues we are going to face each day.  He prepares us ahead of time with wisdom for the battles that lie ahead. When we go into our day without having spent time with God, we go unprepared; and often will fail in the battle.

3  Without the Word of God we will lack the strength that we need to endure the battle.  We have all seen what happens to people who fail to fuel their bodies for the day; but Christians desperately need spiritual fuel from God’s Word in order to have the strength to make it through the day in the will of God.

Job endured one of the worst trials that God had ever given a man to face.  God says that He will not give a man more than he can handle.  Job could handle this great test in life because he was prepared for it; he was strengthened ahead of time through his time spent in the Word of God.

How about you?  Did you have your spiritual breakfast this morning?  Are you prepared for what lies ahead of you today?  Will you come forth as gold in the trial that is lying in your path today?  Why not stop what you are doing and take a few minutes to refuel your spirit before the battle begins today.

Jun 17th The Tongue – The Deadliest Weapon Known To Man

Today’s Passage – Job 19 – 21

Then Job answered and said, How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words? (Job 19:1 & 2)

I did not have to read that long this morning to find the truth from God that I needed.  Job is in the middle of the discourse with his three ‘friends’ who are accusing him of all kinds of wickedness; adding sorrow on top of sorrows.  He is already as low as he can go, but these guys continue to beat him and kick him when he is down; and their weapons are their tongues.

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. … But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:6, 8 )

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (Ephesians 4:29)

The Bible has so much to say about the deadly nature of the tongue. Why are we so quick to run our mouths when God tells us very plainly that we are to be slow to speak. We all could avoid much of our problems with our mouth by simply not saying anything unless it is absolutely necessary.  If we have to speak at all maybe it would be best if we paused and prayed about what would be the best thing to say.

Job’s friends were not helping him at all; they were making him worse. Remember, the purpose for their visit was to ‘comfort’ him.  Maybe they should have just listened to him; even let him vent a little. Maybe, I should try the same thing.  As a pastor I need to learn to listen more; pray before speaking; and, as much as possible, tell people what God said instead of what I think.

Lord, help me not to kill or maim any more people with my tongue.

Jun 15th Yet Will I Trust In Him

Today,s Passage – Job 13 – 15

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. (Job 13:15)

In this statement we see Job’s declaration of faith in God.  Though Job certainly has not figured out why God has allowed all of this tragedy to come into his life, he plainly declares here that no matter what God does to him (or allows to be done to him), he will continue to trust Him.  When you and I read this book of the Bible it is easy for us, from the perspective of history, to identify with what Job has stated here.  But think for a minute with me.  If that were you or me going through what Job went through, how would we be feeling about God.  If God were to allow us to lose everything all at once; and then to have excruciating physical pain be placed on top of it all, how would we react?  Could we say, truthfully, “yet will I trust in Him”.

Last year I watched a movie/documentary called Amish Grace about the Nickle Mines tragedy in Lancaster, PA a few years ago.  The movie recounts the true story of a troubled man who went into an Amish school house, shooting 10 little girls and killing 5 of them.  The amazing thing is that the Amish people chose to trust  God’s wisdom in allowing what happened. Though it was very painful; though it took a little time for all of them to come to this decision: they chose to forgive the man that shot their children.  This was certainly a modern day picture of the what Job went through.  These Amish folks did not understand why God had allowed it to happened, yet they continued to keep their trust in the Lord.

Most of the time I feel that my faith is so weak, I doubt whether it could stand up to such intense suffering.  I guess it will have to be the grace of God that will sustain me through those dark days.  I know that difficult days lie ahead.  I want to prepare for them now by getting so close to God that it will be easier to trust Him when it doesn’t seem like He is even there.

Jun 14th Better Than I Deserve

Today’s Passage – Job 10 -12

Whenever I ask Evangelist Bob Hamblen how he is doing, he always replies, “better than I deserve”.  He, of course is right because all of us are doing better than we deserve since we all deserve to be burning in Hell because of our sin.  In today’s passage we are listening in on the conversation between Job and his three “friends”. Job is explaining his innocence and the friends are all pointing the finger of accusation against him.  They, with one accord, believe that Job is somehow reaping what he had sowed.

In the middle of this conversation, however, was a statement made by Zophar which caught my attention.  He said, “Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth”. Now I fully understand, in context, that Zophar was stating this to prove to Job that he was guilty, and that he really deserved more judgment than he had received.  However, the statement itself is very true for all of us.  We do receive less from God than our iniquity deserves.  We are doing “better than we deserve”.

The next time that you start feeling that life is giving you an unfair break, remember that things could get a whole lot worse.  And even if God allowed things to get as bad for you as it did for Job, you are still doing better than you deserve.