We are in a creation that groans. There is a groaning in us because the devil and the monsters that are busy in our lives and world. But God works all of the stuff together according to His purpose and He sheds love abroad in us. Our Redeemer lives and we shall see Him. (Romans 8:21-39; Job 40:1-4)
Job, Leviathan and How All Things Work Together
Speaker(s): Pastor Thomas Schaller
Sermon 11768
7:00 PM on 10/16/2019
#Hope
#The Finished Work
#good
#hope
#job
P. Schaller –
Praise God! Halleluiah! Great to be together tonight and sing. Praise God (prayer). Tomorrow we drive
up to New York. We have a pastor’s retreat Thursday to Sat. morning. P. Ken Fryers is here and
Keith and Jesse. P Stan is up from Argentina. P. Shane is here from Hungary. Who else do we
got? P. Ron De Louis. It’s amazing. I’m asking the Body in the Lord to pray for this. We’ll do it
right now for a few minutes.
Pastors will be and fill in the blanks. They will be encouraged, refreshed, motivated, encouraged, anointed. They will be corrected. That’s a big one. Renewed, informed, inspired, enlightened. They will be motivated, purpose driven, quickened, encouraged, forgiven. They will go back into the battle iron sharpen iron. The word sharpened
up good. Motivated in prayer and love and forgiveness and motivation and our churches would
double in number and the Spirit would do it.
Not by might, not by power but by my Spirit saith the Lord. That can happen. Not only the pastors on the retreat but right here in your life. Anyone want that stuff? Pour it on. Make little groups around you and have prayer for a few
minutes. Many of us are very familiar with this verse in the book of Romans. Our concept of
God is very important. I had an idea of a little sketch. We as people have this concept of life and
then we have a concept of God. Here’s me.
My concept of life and then it happens to me this way. I have a concept of God and then I find out God is something like this. Not exactly the same. And that’s good. Can you admit this in your life? That you don’t know everything. Tell
your neighbor that. They need to hear it. Job. 1, how many of you know the first chapter really
well? Seriously. A lot of you should read Job 1 every day for a couple weeks. Everyone should
know Job 1. What is it about?
Job is an upright man and he has a concept of life and he has ten children. He sacrifices for his children because he has the idea if I would sacrifice, maybe my children in their heart have cursed God. I will sacrifice for them to be a covering so nothing bad happens. What happens? They all die. Who did it? Satan and God. Both answers are correct. How many have read Job 1? Now the hands are tripled. Now you take me seriously. The fire
came down. The thieves came.
These catastrophic events happened, and he lost all his children.
His concept of life has to get adjusted. He has to realize there is something more here. Even
more is his concept of God. In the world of evangelical churches and Bible teaching including
this church, it’s possible to have the wrong concept of God. I think about it often. I believe I do
in a measure, but we are all learning and growing.
I’d love to know God is kind, loving, gracious, mighty and there is something about life that is a mystery. It’s these two areas. This one about life and this one about God. Life as it’s supposed to be and life as it is. There are concept
adjustments to these two things. Why does a young man die early of cancer? Why is a child
stillborn? Why is a precious family struggling to keep their family together? Why do I have
diabetes? Why was I in a car accident?
Why do people go away from me when I love them? Who can talk to me about my life? When we are born again, the Spirit of God comes in and he teaches you. Rom 12:2 we get to know who God is. Go to the end of Job. Did God explain that it was Satan that came to him and God allowed Satan and turned him lose on Job. Did God ever
tell that to Job? No, he didn’t. What did he tell him at the end of the book in chapter 41 and 42?
This is for later, but I want you to see there are two monsters that God shares with Job. Job
40:15 Behemoth maybe we could say he is a hippo. He is a big, strong, powerful animal. There
is another one. 41:1 He’s called leviathan. You can’t tangle with him. He’s the monster in the
sea. He’s the king of pride, of all the children of pride. 41:34, that’s a good question. Who is the
children of pride and who is the king of all the children of pride? Could we say that is Satan?
God doesn’t call this creature Satan. He calls him leviathan. He says don’t make an agreement
with him. 41:4, Don’t play with him.
Don’t play with the devil. Don’t play with leviathan. He is a monster. He will have the power over you. He is a huge monster. The problem with Job and his suffering is Satan. God at the end of the story says to Job, it’s me. I am God. I want to tell you Job. There is something about life you don’t have the power over. You don’t have power over
Leviathan. You can’t play with him. I can destroy him. I also think of leviathan as the forces of
nature. A tsunami. A wildfire. An earthquake.
A forest fire in California. You can’t control it. Many natural catastrophic things that can happen. God is saying remember your place and relate to me. I’m the one responsible for the whole thing. You’re not going to let me die are you God? Leviathan death. You don’t have power over death. I do. You don’t have power over a
wild animal in the jungle, but I do. You don’t have power over drowning in the ocean. That
would be a fierce powerful thing to happen.
People can’t play with leviathan. They don’t have
power over leviathan. Don’t touch leviathan. Vs. 8. Vs. 12. This introduces my theme tonight.
It’s Romans 8. It’s great to be out to church. Thank you for being here. The Holy Spirit is our
teaching tonight. We want to look at something here. Martin Luther said this letter is the most
important piece in the New Testament not only to memorize it but occupy himself with it daily
as if it is the daily bread of the soul.
Impossible to meditate or read this letter too much or too well. This letter speaks to us about the most important things in life. We are sinners, lost, – nobody can find their way. We are all lost. We are sinners in a sinful way. Romans 4 we are all justified by faith. Romans 7 and 8 we are forgiven of our sins. Romans 5 and then we have victory in our personal lives over the power of sin. Have you felt it? Have you experienced your victory
over the power of sin in life?
I hope you can say yes. If not, continue in the faith and you will.
It’s guaranteed. You died with Christ and raised with him and you have a new life. Rom 7 it talks
about the word “I” 31 times. It’s a struggle with ourselves. One time it says “Spirit.” Rom 8 it
says 19 times “Spirit.” What’s the difference between 7 and 8? Seven is about me and eight is
about God and what the Spirit says and what the Spirit does in our life.
God wants us to see that all things work together for good for the believer. That’s in vs 28. Go to chapter 8:19. We
are waiting the creation, the earth groaning with earthquakes and movements as it is spinning
on its axis…The earth is personified as a person groaning. Vs. 20-22. There is something the
earth, the planet knows or understands how things are out of order. It was to be married to
God but there was a rebellion on the earth.
A sense of vanity and something missing. A sense of leviathan being here. A sense of disorder, a monster, a powerful beast. A powerful monster at work in creation. Vs. 23. What kind of groaning do we do? Job’s kind of groaning. A groaning of a family with a car accident and the death of a child. Groaning of losing a job for the fifth time or getting a cancer report from a doctor. Groaning of a sinner who has fallen again and again
and again and he’s a Christian.
He’s fallen again and again. There is a groaning in him. The earth
is groaning. I’m groaning and Job is groaning. God said to Job this is bigger than you. You got to
stay little and listen to me because I’m God. I didn’t make you to feel and live in vanity. I madeyou to be part of the glory of my work and calling. I made you so you would be glorified. I made
you to be like me.
I made you so you wouldn’t be a sinner. You’d be redeemed. I made you to
be like a saint, an angel. I made you not to be suffering all the time in life. I made you in the
Spirit. I sent the Holy Spirit. Vs. 23. There is another groaning, the groaning of the Holy Spirit.
Vs. 24. Hope is now for us now. We can’t see where it is going. We have a spirit. We have an
optimism. We have an anticipation.
You are at the bus stop. Is it coming? I hope so. What does
it mean? It always comes. It might be a minute late but it’s coming. How is it going to turn out? I
don’t know. I hope it will be okay. I can’t see but I have hope. We’re going to go to a couple
verses further. Vs. 25-26. That’s why it’s so important to be Spirit filled. The Spirit will help your
infirmity.
That’s why we come and drink the same spirit because he will help me in my infirmity.
Hey, Job. How are you doing? it’s been terrible. The worst time of my life. Horrible. But is it
totally a disaster? Yes, but I know my redeemer liveth. I know in the latter day I will stand in my
flesh. Though worms destroy my body yet in my flesh I will stand in the latter day and see him
in Job 19.
There is a Spirit that will not fail to minister to you. When your concept of life – you
know how people say I didn’t sign up for this. I never knew there was a sign-up sheet for
anything. That’s why we are telling each other. I don’t know what I’m going to be part of. I
don’t know how that box will look at the end of my life. I don’t know what will happen to me in
this thing called life.
I don’t know where I end up. I don’t know what it will be like. I sympathize
with people when they expected a good life and find themselves in a disaster. There is a good
part of the message coming. I’m just saying if you are spending your time sitting in this church
and you are spending your time reading this book and are serious to bring stuff to the table, I’m
not sure. Here it is.
I got to tell you, you didn’t know about this before but there is a creature
called leviathan and he’s a monster. You can’t control him or play with him. He’s out of your
control. You can’t do it. But you got me. I sent my Holy Spirit into your life and he will be your
comforter and he will pray for you. The Holy Spirit will make groanings for you. Vs. 26. I don’t
know what I should pray for.
I don’t know what I should pray for. Should I pray for the good life? I don’t know about that. It’s not a wrong thing. I’m just saying there is something in life we are all learning that has a lot to do with the Almighty God fulfilling his purposes. He says the Holy Spirit will do the praying. We know not how we should pray as we ought to. Was it
somebody that broke their leg and missed a meeting and said that’s too bad he missed the
meeting. He missed an important thing going on.
Maybe it was a good thing. As it turned out,
the other people were in a terrible car accident. How can you tell a broken leg is a bad thing?
How do you know finding a pile of money is a good thing? I don’t know if that’s a good thing or
bad. How do we know? Vs. 26-27. He that searches the hearts knows the mind of the Spirit
because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. vs. 28. Know is not
speculation.
It is a full and assured knowledge. I know my redeemer liveth. I Jn. 5 these things
are written so we may know. This is an assured knowledge. We know all things. How many? All
things. How many? All things work together. How do we know that? Because I don’t believe
that leviathan is the winner. I don’t believe God put us in a world where the devil would have
this kind of authority without us being the winners.
If we belong to Christ, I am sure and guaranteed he is under our feet. Leviathan. Yes, I could die but I overcome. It says that in this text. I am persuaded neither death or life or…..shall separate us from the love of God. I am
persuaded. I know that everything happens in my life will work together for good. We will be
conformed to the image of Christ in vs. 29. This is amazing. This is beautiful. This is a lot of fun
to think about. To have the spirit of it in our hearts.
Sometimes we use it as a cliché. I know all things work together for good and we continue in our trouble and sorrow. I’d like to challenge all of us. This is not a cliché, a hopeful thing or probably, maybe it works for P. Love but not me.
It works for every one of us. To those that are called. To those that love God and called
according to his purpose. Everyone who is born again fits in that category. I don’t love God. He
loved me first. He saved me.
Left to myself, I don’t love God 100% of the time. So I would be disqualified. That’s how you interpret the verse. Vs. 28. Well, P. Love loves God. Even his name by the word “love.” P. Scibelli loves God, but what about me? I don’t know if I love God. What about me? Then you missed the first seven chapters of Romans. Romans is saying we have been justified and called by his grace. We have died with Christ and raised with Christ and called
according to his purpose.
We are indwelt by the Spirit of God and God is saying, Job, leviathan has done a job on you. I want you to know I am above him. I am God and have decided in my wisdom and my way and you cannot see this clearly in everything in your life. I want to give you the guarantee everything that has happened in your life because you belong to me, it is all working together for good. Vs. 29. That’s it. That’s amazing. I don’t know. I just want to feed on
it for a while and think about it and get happy about it and crazy about it.
Look at life without regrets but rejoicing. I want to interpret life a certain way. I want the Spirit of God to teach me.
You get rid of your kind of notions or ideas or the way you feel life should be and you live in the
Spirit of God that defines your life. How did I get Spirit filled? How did I get so happy? So
thankful? The Spirit taught you. The Spirit showed you. What about God? I put him in my box
but I’m starting to understand something about God, and I love him.
I didn’t make you to hurt you and destroy you. I made you so you would know me, grow in me and get to know me. You are relating to me and loving me and worshiping me. I’m doing things in your life that you
would blow your mind if you knew where this whole thing is going. I will not be put down. You
can’t put me in a box. I am the very all-knowing Father, the way, the truth, the life, the answer,
the door, the way, the foundation, the slice of bread you are looking for.
I am the one that satisfies. Leviathan is there and…we are saying Lord I’m not going to care so much about him.
You have your way with him. I will set my eyes on you and live by your promise. He’ll be under
our feet and we will see more clearly than ever. Though he slays me, thou that enemy slays me,
I am more than a conqueror. Christ dealt with that enemy. No contest with him. We are in him,
lifted up and high and in a good place with great promises.
Amen.
Please enjoy these sermon notes from the messages preached at Greater Grace Church in Baltimore. These notes are provided to aid in your study and understanding of the Word. Note that these notes do not represent complete, word-for-word transcriptions. Also, they may contain omissions as well as some errors in spelling and structure, etc., as we attempt to provide them as soon as possible. Our hope is that these notes serve as a way to help you search and connect with messages on related subjects and passages. Thank you for your interest in the ministry of Greater Grace.
Sermon Podcast
