LIVE: "Him That Reproves God, Let Him Answer" (Job 39), Part 3/4

The most dangerous sentence in a spiritual conversation might be “God wouldn’t do that.” We say it when we’re hurt, when we’re confused, or when the Bible won’t fit inside our idea of fairness. But Job 40 forces a different question: if we want to contend with the Almighty, are we actually prepared to answer back when God speaks?

We walk through the weight of God’s holiness and sovereignty and why that isn’t a cold doctrine, it’s the only solid ground for joy, peace, and endurance. We talk plainly about what we contribute to salvation (nothing but sin) and why grace alone isn’t a religious slogan, it’s the only way anyone is saved. Along the way we confront the urge to “instruct” God, the danger of careless talk about Scripture, and why humility often looks like silence when we don’t know what we’re talking about.

The conversation also turns practical: what discipleship should look like, why new believers need patient guidance, and how creation itself exposes our limits and our craving for control. If you’ve been searching for a deeper Bible study on the Book of Job, Job 40 explained, God’s sovereignty, or salvation by grace through faith, this is a sobering but hopeful listen.

Subscribe for more, share this with someone who loves Job or struggles with doubt, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. What’s the hardest part for you about surrendering control to God?

Transcript

Nothing Without Christ

SPEAKER_04 0:00

But when we shut down this live, when you shut down your eyes and rest tonight, when you wake up tomorrow morning, you should wake up with a fresh perspective on the fact that God is the one who is sovereign over all things that pertain to our blessedness, to our joy, to our completeness. And when you wake up in the morning, you should live throughout the day meditating on that. And when you are having your engagement with others, you should be meditating on this: the holiness of God and the sovereignty of God in all things and the knowledge that we can do nothing without Him. As Christ says, without me, you can do nothing. And I'll take it a step further. Without Christ, we are nothing. You and I are nothing without Christ. He doesn't save us because we have intellectual capacity to dominate people in arguments and debates. He didn't select us because we were good looking or tall or smart or intelligent or wealthy. He didn't pick any of us for that. No. Who did he pick? The weakest, the dumbest, the most reluctant. That's what sheep are. It is his choice of us that makes us wise and that ensures that we are wise toward him. Everyone here was illuminated by the Holy Spirit of God and effectually called to believe these truths about our Savior and what he came here to do. There's an exchange. There is nothing else that you or I brought to the table other than sin. We didn't bring wisdom, we didn't bring righteousness, we did not bring intellect, we did not bring beauty. We add nothing to God. We were wretched sinners whom God stepped in to redeem strictly and solely because of his own mercy and compassion, that he is able to wield at will without any obligation on the part of the one who is the beneficiary of his grace. If these things you don't believe, it's because you don't know Christ, or you just you just been born again two minutes ago. Salvation is by grace and grace alone. And that means that man, in order to necessitate having this grace, the necessitation of this grace is the fact that we are incapable of doing what is required for salvation. We're incapable. Because tomorrow we we start with Job answering, so I don't want to I don't want to break into that yet. So verses one and two of chapter 40. Moreover, the Lord answered Job and he said, Shall he that contends with the Almighty, meaning Job, you Job, shall you contend with the Almighty? And instruct him? He that reproves God, let him answer. He said to Job, You want to reprove me? You want to question my judgment? Then give me your plan. Give me your answer. How are you going to do this? What give me some instruction, Job? Tell me. You want it, you think you know it all, then tell me. Respond to me. Answer me. But he's speaking to Job as a father instructing his son. The Lord continues speaking, and he brings the matter directly to Job, and he brings it to the point. And the question is whether a man is fit to contend with God or to correct God. But as Paul says, Nay, but old man, who are you to reply against God? Shall the thing formed speak to the one who formed him? This is God telling Job, you are clay. Like we talked about last Sunday. You, we are the clay. God is the potter. We have no right to demand fairness as we see it from the standpoint of the potter, what he should be doing. We as the clay don't confer with God and come to an agreement of terms as to how we should be molded by him. And yet, this is how men behave. God, I will let you mold me this way. I will give you permission on how I should be molded. You are not fair in making me this way. So I'm going to continue to go on my path until you show me justice and equity based on my turn of justice and equity. This is the dilemma with mankind. The purpose here is not merely for God to silence Job, but to humble Job. We should be silent before the Most High. And we should be humbled before the Most High. If a man speaks as though his hit as though God's ways are wrong, like Job did at certain times, then he must be able to answer God's questions and justify his own words. And this is what I always tell everybody in our groups when we when we gather together, when you say something about the word of God, you better be right or keep your mouth shut. Because this is not about me giving some lecture on how to behave. This is about having respect and reverence for the word of God. Because some of us forgot that these words are actually his words that we are entrusted to handle effectively and appropriately. And God is telling Job, if you don't know what you're talking about and you don't, stand silent and humble yourself before me. God is telling Job, I'm speaking now. If you know something that I don't know, let me hear it. Let me hear it. And this is a lesson for us all. So much bitterness and so many distractions can be quelled when the people who don't know what they're talking about keep their mouth shut. Which means that every time there's an argument, the best part of the debate should be arguing over who stays silent the longest. This shows the great presumption of what it means to dispute with God without having the fullness of the knowledge that we ought to have about Him. And Job is learning this right now. He's learning this right now, and we get the benefit of learning it as well. Sister Lisa, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

And it's it's really difficult when you when I hear somebody say, oh, well, God wouldn't do that, or uh, you know, for instance, election. He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't create somebody just to send them, to, you know, send them to hell. And and without having to sit and say, well, it's not him that sends them, it's their sin that sends them.

SPEAKER_03 9:34

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

They are so bold, though, to even make that statement. You know, I really want to just say sometimes, you make sure you tell him that when you see him, because I'll be interested to hear what he says to you.

SPEAKER_04 9:47

Right. You know. Right, right. But see, sister, that's right, because only man argues about God's fairness. But what God is pointing out to Job is that we're no different than the animals. You know, that he's saying that just he's pointing out to Job, you're no different than them. You see what I mean? You're no different. But with you, I have desired to establish a particular type of relationship that goes against what is deserved. We don't deserve what we have with God. We don't deserve it. Sister Shine, Pat, Candy, Rodney, none of us. We do not deserve what we have in Christ. We don't deserve to be given the ability to repent, let alone believe and have faith. These are gifts. This is supernatural, a supernatural work of God on us that causes us to believe, that gives us the ability to appreciate the magnitude and the glory of so great and awesome a God that we have. He revealed himself to us just like he's doing to Job in this particular narrative. Job now knows. And his story was left behind for us to benefit from and to understand that apart from God, we are nothing more than a beast of the field. And those who reject Christ and die in that rejecting state, that state of rejection, they are no different than the animals of the field who just function and move based on the dictates of their nature. And man's nature is sinful, and he only knows how to operate within that mode. And so it requires a sovereign work of God on the soul of a sinful person in order to change him and make him a new creation, meaning that the old heart is removed and a new heart of flesh has been given. And it is the new heart that then chooses to worship this holy God, that chooses to repent and chooses to obey. But that only comes when God has given you a change of heart, a new nature. You become a new creation, as Paul tells us. A new creation. And with that, we are with that creation, we are created in Christ as his workmanship to produce works that are the works of God in and through us, works that are his, even though we get the great fortune of being blessed within being presented by us as if we done it. We were the vessel, we were the instrument. But it was all a work of God who works in us both to do and to will of his good pleasure. Not my will, but your will be done. I must decrease that you must, so that you increase. All that we had in Christ was given to us in Christ. We were made, made the righteousness of God in Christ. Made. Not offered, not teased, not asked. We were made the righteousness of God in Christ. Why were we made? Because if He didn't do it, it would never get done.

SPEAKER_03 13:59

It would never get done.

SPEAKER_04 14:03

So with that, I will go around and give everybody their last words for tonight. And Sister Vanessa, I want to start with you. I know you you had your hand up last, so I'll start with you. Your last words and whatever it is you wanted to say.

SPEAKER_06 14:19

Well, I was just thinking about, you know, in Jeremiah, where God's talking and and he's telling him he says, the terribleness, it's Jeremiah 16, or 49, 16, sorry. The terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the cliffs of the rock, yeah that holdest the highest of the hill, thou, though thou shouldst make thy nest as high as an eagle, I will bring thee down from fence, saith the Lord. He is so sovereign that you know, even people don't understand. The old testament is the same thing. You know, it's it tells us exactly what God is telling Job about the animals. We don't know anything, we have no knowledge of what God does.

unknown 15:13

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 15:17

Go ahead. You keep telling it. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_06 15:19

I just you know, I just get so irritated with people, and I shouldn't. I try I pray about it, but I get irritated with people because they don't understand, they just don't want to understand, no matter what they do or what people tell them. I'm talking about the Christians that don't know who God really is, and it just really bothers me in my heart that people cannot see who the Lord is.

SPEAKER_03 15:48

Amen.

SPEAKER_06 15:48

And it anyways, that's my peace for tonight.

SPEAKER_04 15:52

I appreciate it. I appreciate you, sister. Thanks for that word. Sister Candy, last word for tonight.

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Sister Candy, you there? All right, last word.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

All I'm saying is we are God's creation, just like the animals, and he's using the animals to show us that he created them the way he created them for the reasons he created them for. He made what he made for creation. It was all good. They turned away the good, so therefore, he created all the rest that we will endure. And I don't know if anybody's checked on the goats and the rock of goats that it talks about. But the way he created those goats to have the suction cup to help them climb that rock is amazing. So to look at some of the animals that he used in here and resort to scriptures that support other scriptures that that give an example of what it was used for and how they were used is so amazing. So actually, when somebody says to stand in awe and wonder, that is no just outside of the neck phrase. It's literally an awe and wonder of his mind and how great it is above ours.

SPEAKER_03 17:21

Amen. Amen, sister. Good word, Sister Meg, last word.

SPEAKER_00 17:33

I just wanted to say that this is good. I think it really brings you to a point where you get humbled and yet again, like we absolutely should in God's word. What more can you say when the Lord speaks? And I think that all of us have kind of, you know, we differed in opinions in some areas when it came into Job, but when the Lord speaks, there's nothing to talk about. He says what he says, and that's it. And I think that's just beautiful too. I love to be humbled in God's word. Just because we none of us deserve it.

SPEAKER_03 18:10

Right.

SPEAKER_00 18:11

None of us deserve to know when we know, but I think also from what Vanessa says, she says, I don't understand why people don't know. You know, one of the commandments that the Lord gave us was to go make disciples, right? And I think that in the church body today there lacks so much discipleship. I think that if people, if everybody who does know just takes a person by the hand and and take a hold of them and help them to grow, you know, none of us grew by ourselves. I know I didn't. I I, you know, but I think it's wonderful to see once we get people by discipling them, gets them into a place where they can go out and they can disciple other people and they can be bold and stand on God's word, you know, when they understand and know the truth. So I am all for discipleship, and I think the Lord has blessed a lot of us here on this platform to simply just take those new believers by the hand and help them, you know.

SPEAKER_03 19:07

Right. Amen. Excellent. Brother Rodney, last word.

SPEAKER_07 19:14

So this is good tonight. The interesting part is just realizing that creation trusts God more naturally than humans do. Simply understand, because they fly south for the winter and they do what they need to do, right? They hibernate, and we steadily sitting out here trying to warm up in the wintertime, thinking man, I don't need a coat. I'm alright, I ain't gonna get sick. It's not about that. You know, the weather is there for a reason. You know, it's all that. But it is like God chose Joe Creations. Like, that's really all it is. I just wrapped it all up in that. It's just that I think I don't want to go too much into that. It's just that we just don't understand what we're doing. I'll say Jesus wept because I say this. I'm trying to enter this. We know how to be good people. I've been saying this all week, even at work, that job that I work at, right? We know how to be good people, we know what we need to do. And maybe I was watching the shows in this weekend, and when he stood on the roof of Jerusalem and he looked down and he saw the people, and he he just was like so hurt because it's like, Jerusalem, what are we doing? You know, like I feel in my heart, I know how to be a good person, right? I may get bored with boredom sometimes, and I may want to pinch myself, right? But I just gotta stop, you know, and I take that into the world. Like, we know how to do what we need to do. I just can't figure out at 38 what is the goal of trying to see why we don't do what we need to do. So it's just to make sure I agree with you a little bit. Meg, I agree with you, you know. I think we just forgotten the plot, you know, as we were given, hand it over to us, hand over fish, you know. We just so I'm still trying to figure out what I'm gonna be saying at 48, you know, like now. I'm worried now, like what's going on, you know. But yeah, that's all I got. So all right, no problem. Thank you for that, brother.

SPEAKER_04 21:15

Mr. Shine, last word for tonight.

SPEAKER_09 21:25

So just reading about talking about animals and reading this, I think about the scripture about the eagle and um Isaiah 40 and 31. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be wary, they shall walk and not faint. So I would say that Red Bull.

The Unbridgeable Gap Without Grace

SPEAKER_02 22:00

doesn't give you wings but but gotcha sorry that was a little cooly but go ahead sister that was all that was all right the red bull doesn't give us wings i get that now i i understand it now that's for sure sister lisa last word well this is excellent i would just say the main takeaway of this and i think we all just need a reminder sometimes is the lord is sovereign and we're in a place to know it and be grateful for it and surrender to it the biggest thing that we you know the biggest hurdle man faces is you know trying to do it his way and if we just lay it down honestly and and and you know like brother rod just said I wonder what I'll say when I'm 48 you know what just say God knows what he's doing you know what I mean just let him do it yep let him do it be led by that it's like what we do what we think we're what we want to do is is is just it's not acceptable except through God. You know our works alone are filthy in front of him so let's be led by him just know he's sovereign accept what he says accept it and be grateful for it you know what I mean I think I'm just learning the more and more I lay it down that's where we always want to try to hold on to control I want to control this I want to control that we just got to get out of our own way and let get out of God's way quit trying to be in the way you know let him do it be as little children I think that's the best thing be as little children you know totally dependent totally reliant and and see what happens I mean in anything even in the worst case scenario you have the peace of the Lord when you do that his peace covers you so you know what it's all good it is good you missed this absolutely thank you for that brother far you got some last words for us brother I certainly hope so brother I'm sorry I'm I'm chiming out this is my you know bedtime but I'm I'm coming in and out here and y'all all I can say is what is there for a God to do he then did everything he can do I mean he did everything he can do he even came down here and suffered for what more can a God do you know what you feel me what more can he do right just trust that's it amen brother I appreciate it man and thank you for being here far I really appreciate you brother I really do I really do sincerely brother Pat last word and if you would mind closing this out that'd be great absolutely yeah I I guess this chapter to me some things that stick out is I think about how do I view Job I view him as a by the grace of God he's a righteous man I view him as a careful man.

SPEAKER_05 25:38

I I he has so many honorable traits and yet even he speaking about God is above his pay grade right it it just occurs to me God when man stands before God it you could be the best man. It reminds me of Isaiah you know what you know what part I'm talking about where he goes be he's taken up before the throne of God the holiest man of Israel and he's a man of unclean lips he's destroyed by the holiness of God even the most righteous man in all of Israel he's nowhere close this gap between God and man and so when we use terms this is what I want to say Jonathan we say things like God is sovereign what I worry about that about when we use terms about God is that we compartmentalize God and we don't talk about how sovereign. There's no way to bridge this gap. And so when you see humans come up with theology that they are going to bridge that gap somehow through something in their own sinful flesh God is saying this is absurdity you don't know what you are and you obviously don't know who I am right there's a reason why spiritual things are only spiritually discerned there's a reason why the flesh can avail nothing there's a reason why flesh and blood can in no wise inherit the kingdom of God that gap cannot be bridged by your decisions by your choices by your emotions or anything else it requires the grace of God and that's all I want to say about this chapter.

Closing Prayer For Strength And Suffering

SPEAKER_04 28:03

That's enough brother that's plenty to say great great great words there great words there really really good words and and you know it's it's been it's it's it's it's sobering for us all to read these words because sometimes I know I know that I have read these words of Job many many many many times and but the things that I have I have gone through in this book of Job with all of you has been so much more profound than all the times that I have read in the before but you had to I had to have had that what limited understanding that I had before in order to have that have these truths become more illustrious to me today. And so I'm glad and I appreciate that we get to share these things together as we get coming closer and closer to closing up this book. It's a monumental task and and we are almost at the end of it. But it means that we have to understand when we see this like what you're saying Paul that infinite distance between man's righteousness and God's righteousness and his holiness it's a it's a it's it it it can't be bridged without this wonderful savior that we have as our mediator our advocate and our intercessor so everybody this is a great conversation. So Brother Pat if you would close out please brother let's join in prayer.

SPEAKER_05 29:43

Dear Heavenly Father we thank you for another wonderful evening of coming to your word Lord and searching out the things of you Lord we thank you for your spirit that indwells us and teaches us Lord we can we pray that we are continue to be taught not by ourselves but by you Lord for surely if left to our own devices we will misinterpret this word 100 times out of 100 Lord so we pray that your spirit continues to guide us in our learning and in our growth Lord I pray for each and every one of the brothers and sisters here that you meet their needs in their life Lord everything that they need in this physical world and I pray for them all spiritually Lord that they will grow in you and that we all finish this race strong that we're running Lord. God I pray for the things that are going on in the world Lord we are not of this world but we're in it and Lord there's a lot of suffering and a lot of injustice going on Lord and so we pray for the brothers and sisters not just where we're at but all over that are in real tough situations and sometimes dire situations, Lord. We pray that you be with them in their time of suffering Lord. We pray all these things Lord in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

SPEAKER_04 31:08

Amen thank you brother Pat and thank you everybody who was on on our live thank you far for being here brother it's the first time you hung with us hung with us like this and I appreciate you being here and and you guys are just a just a lovely bunch of people and I'm I could not be more blessed to be around such people who have such a hunger for God's truth and and we can sit around and talk about it in a meaningful way and get to these things. So God bless you all Mr. Mariah she's gone uh oh she was gone so anyway we'll end it there as I always say be provoked and be persuaded and I look forward to our next gathering together tomorrow evening Lord willing so God bless you guys God bless you all and have a great night until night y'all bless the