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Welcome to Thru the Bible, our five-year journey through the entire Word of God continues as we begin in Ezekiel chapter 28 at verse 25. Now you'll notice immediately that Dr. McGee sounds excited. And that's because this passage contains what he calls over and over a remarkable prophecy.
So stay tuned. I think you're going to be fascinated by what he has to say. I'm Steve Shwetz.
And as you hop aboard the Bible bus and find your seat, here are a few letters from some of our fellow passengers who are frequent travelers with us. The first one comes from James. I am over two years into my first Bible bus journey.
I have listened daily since the beginning of Revelation and look forward to staying on the Bible bus for years to come. Please pray for my daughters that they would come to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I am truly blessed to have found you and will continue to listen as a babe in Christ.
I will also be providing a yearly gift to help the word reach the whole world. So as you go about your day, would you remember to pray for James and for his daughters? I know the burden for loved ones to come to faith in Jesus Christ is something that many of us carry, including many on our staff at Thru the Bible.
So let's pray for each other. Just know that God knows the names of our family and friends who we pray for. The next letter comes from David in Louisiana.
I am a 65 year old surgeon in Louisiana, David writes. I have been listening since November 1984, and will continue to listen as long as you and I are here. I learn new things all the time.
Thank you to all who keep this ministry going. Let's get the whole word to the whole world. All glory to God who watches over and guards his word.
Yes, all glory to God. Thanks for that note, David. Our last letter comes from Robert, who picks up the Bible Bus in Reston, Virginia, and he writes.
I lived in sin with the mother of my children for seven years before we got married, but my job became my God, and after 13 years, she asked for a divorce. I was crushed and took it out on her physically. She got a restraining order and I had to leave.
My family was falling apart before my eyes. I took a different position at work with fewer hours and started working beside a godly man who told me about Jesus. On July 13th, 2001, I was saved, and today my wife and three sons are as well.
My journey on the Bible Bus began in 2001, and I haven't stopped listening since. I had passed Dr. McGee's voice on the radio before, but kept turning the dial. But praise the Lord, God kept on pursuing me.
Well, thanks so much for writing to us, Robert. And thanks also for reminding us how God will pursue us and restore us even when we make a mess of things if we turn to him and ask. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for pursuing us, and thank you for not giving up on those who refuse your saving grace. Now as we listen to your word taught, Lord, open our hearts and then show us something about yourself. In Jesus' name, amen.
Let's open to Ezekiel 27 as we travel through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
Now, friends, we do need to think clearly. We are coming to another very wonderful prophecy, and we are in the section here of Ezekiel, where we have the glory of the Lord and the judgment of surrounding nations and we've already had Ammon and Moab and Edom and Philistia and Tyre and Sidon. And it was quite interesting that Tyre, the more prominent city, the great city, the capital city, it was to be destroyed, scraped like a rock, never to be rebuilt.
And that's literally fulfilled. Now Sidon, up next to it, just a few miles, I guess 15, I've been there, but I didn't notice the exact distance, but I think it's 15 miles up the coast from Tyre. Well Sidon, no word about it being destroyed, did say the enemy would take it.
But that city and you find there, that old fortress right out on the rocks at the edge of the water, that's been there from the early days and that city is stood, it was never destroyed, it's there today and it's the place where the oil is brought in from the Near East and it comes by pipeline and put on ship. There's Sidon as a thriving port right now, whereas down the coast, you have the city of Tyre, the great city, it's destroyed and there's no city there. It's a fishing village, but there's nothing where old Tyre was.
God says it will never be rebuilt and I take it that he knows what he's talking about and after 2500 years, wouldn't you go along and say that apparently somebody knew what they were talking about. Now we concluded that section because in the darkest moment of the history of these people, you find the light breaking through and never is it so bright and he sees a future regathering of Israel. In verse 25 of chapter 28, he'd said, thus saith the Lord God, when I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the nations.
Now God makes it very clear. He's not through with the nation Israel. One of the reasons that there are so many theologians that get by by saying God is through with the nation Israel is because God's people are not acquainted with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the minor prophets.
The theme song of these prophets was God's not through with the nation Israel. It sounds like a stuck record when you go through these prophecies and they should be steady because of that fact, it will throw absolutely new light on the word of God and it will no longer be a jigsaw puzzle, but everything begins to fall into place. Now, we come in Chapter 29 to Egypt, the last nation here in 29, 30, 31, and 32, it's all about Egypt.
Now, there are many commentators that take the position, and these are conservative men, that the prophecies here concerning Egypt are of more interest than the one concerning Tyre. Now, I must confess, I do not concur in that. I think that prophecy concerning Tyre is remarkable, but we are going to find here a very remarkable prophecy, and one of these prophecies is that Egypt was to be destroyed.
Now, Egypt was a great nation, and had not been destroyed. It had maintained its integrity down through the centuries. One of the most ancient nations actually did not need to put up a wall of defense.
After all, that desert was a pretty good defense, and there was only one entrance in there, and that was through the Nile River Valley. And frankly, all they had to do was to put up a good defense there, and you will find the cities of Egypt were not walled cities. Wasn't necessary to wall them at all.
Now, God says, though, they're going in the captivity for 40 years. Now, will you notice here, and this is a remarkable prophecy, and I do not want to be tedious with it, but I would like to call attention to just a few things. We have here, in the 10th year, in the 10th month, in the 12th day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me saying, Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh, King of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.
Now, God here takes a very definite position against this land of Egypt that had put his people in the brickyards, had introduced them to idolatry, and had been a thorn in their flesh for years. And Israel was constantly running to Egypt for help. They seemed to lean upon it.
Now, God says, I'm against Egypt, and Egypt is to be destroyed. Verse three, speak and say, thus saith the Lord God, behold, I'm against the Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great monster that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, my river is mine own, and I've made it for myself. Now, the crocodile apparently is the sea monster here, and Pharaoh's likened unto a sea monster.
And like the crocodile says, this is my river. And the very interesting thing is that Egypt worshiped all manner of birds and beasts and bugs, the scarab, you know. And if you'll notice, the plagues of Egypt were leveled against actually the gods of Egypt that they worshiped.
I think that in spite of the terribleness of the plagues, that they also revealed God had a sense of humor. Imagine, friends, worshiping Hicca, the frog-headed god, and then waking up one morning and frogs are all in your bedroom. What are you going to do?
Start killing off the gods? I think the Lord must have got, you know, smiled at that anyway. Now will you notice the pharaoh that's mentioned here is Pharaoh Hophra, and he's called in Greek, Aparis.
He was the grandson of Pharaoh Niko, who had defeated King Josiah, that Megiddo. In fact, Josiah was slain there. And King Zedekiah, and also we find the other rulers, even before him, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, they turned to Pharaoh Hophra when Jerusalem was besieged.
This Egyptian army came up and came through Phoenicia and forced the Chaldeans to raise the siege of Jerusalem. You remember, we looked at that in Jeremiah. Now, the prophet Jeremiah, he announced the doom of Hophra also.
And we had it in Jeremiah, thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra, King of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies, to the hand of them that seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah, King of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life. The critic here has found fault, and I'm not going into detail here, but I would like to recommend to many folk who listen to this that our Bible students, and they like to go into something. The critic has come along here and made the statement that this prophecy was not fulfilled at that time.
It was fulfilled 17 years later. But the interesting thing is, if you read it carefully, God made it very clear it wasn't gonna be fulfilled then, but the prophecy was given then that later it would be destroyed. That is, Egypt was.
Now, what would happen to Egypt? I dropped down to verse 13 and I must hit high points now. Yet, thus saith the Lord God, at the end of 40 years will I gather the Egyptians from the people among whom they were scattered.
Now, 17 years later, to be exact, the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar came, and he took the Egyptians into captivity at that time. And they were in captivity 40 years, not 70, like Israel. And we are told here, from among the people among whom they were scattered.
Now, I read on, verse 14 of chapter 29 of Ezekiel. I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and I will cause them to return into the land of Pathras, into the land of their habitation, and they shall be there a base kingdom. Now, I wouldn't have you miss this for anything in the world.
Notice what he says now, in verse 15. It shall be the basis of the kingdoms, neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations, for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. Now, Egypt had been the great power of the ancient world.
They come out of the dawn of history as a great nation, and the monuments there and the tombs there reveal the fact that they had a civilization that was actually second to none. And it's believed today by many historians that the Greeks got a great deal of their information from the Egyptians. It was a great civilization, and it was a great nation of the ancient world.
Now, at this time, God says, I'm going to let Nebuchadnezzar take you. And not only that, you're going to return in 40 years, and when you do, you're going to be a base kingdom. You'll never rule over the nations, and you're going to be the basis of kingdoms.
May I say to you, we and our tours visit many lands in the Near East. You don't get any lower than Egypt, I can assure you that. No one can go to Cairo without your heart being sick.
And you see the poverty there, and the low level to which the people have come. You know, the Lord was accurate, friends, if you just listen to him. Now he goes on in this particular chapter to talk about that there would be a judgment on Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, but he was going to come.
He'll cause this army to serve a great service against Tyre. That's verse 18. You see, he'll take Egypt, he'll take Tyre, and we read here verse 19.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, behold, I will give the land of Egypt under Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. And now you find out that not only Tyre, not only Egypt, but the nation Israel will all be given over to Babylon, actually the first great world empire. Now in chapter 30 here, we have what I have actually labeled a lamentation.
You have here a lamentation. And he speaks here of the desolation of Egypt. And that is a very desolate country, by the way, very desolate nation.
Chapter 30 verse one. And again, here we go. This has been repeated.
I really do not know how many times, but I'm sure there's already been several hundred times that we've had this expression, the word of the Lord came again unto me saying, son of man prophesy and say, thus saith the Lord God, wail ye, alas for the day, at time of morning, you see, this is the lamentation, for the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near. A cloudy day, it shall be the time of the nations. And that was unusual.
You don't have many clouds in the land of Egypt because they have less than an inch of rain in that section. They depend upon the river Nile. And by the way, they worship the crocodile of the Nile as well as everything else in the animal world, in the bird world, in the bug world.
Beasts, birds, bugs. And they worship them all in the land of Egypt. Now we go on here, and it shall be the time of the nations.
And we're living actually in that time today, the nations are really stirring throughout the world. Now he goes on to say here, and the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away our multitude, and our foundations shall be broken down. I won't go into that today, but we will be referring to Ethiopia again.
There was quite an alliance between Egypt and Ethiopia. Although, we do not consider it very much in studying the Bible, but there was a great deal of enmity and warfare between Egypt and Ethiopia. It's believed by many conservative scholars that Moses, when he was Pharaoh's daughter's son, and would been the next Pharaoh, that he actually led an expedition against Ethiopia.
Now, we read here verse 5, Ethiopia and Putt are Libya and Ludd, and that's Lydia, Libya and Lydia now, and all the Mingal peoples and Cub and Putt, Ludd and Cub. And the man of the land that's in league shall fall with them by the sword. So that at this time, there was an alliance and they would all go down and be subject to Nebuchadnezzar.
You can see he was actually a world ruler. In fact, he is the head of gold in the four great world kingdoms. Now, we read here verse 6.
Thus saith the Lord, they all sow that uphold Egypt shall fall. You see, not only Israel had looked to Egypt for help, but these other nations had. And they're going down just as Israel would go down in judgment.
Now, I want to drop down here and look at another remarkable prophecy that's here in this 30th chapter. He says here, verse 12, I will make the rivers dry. Now, the rivers, as we've seen before, are actually those different branches down in the delta of the Nile.
And there were many of them. And there were canals down there. That was the rich area, by the way.
It's right near there, the land of Goshen, a very rich section that the children of Israel were in. I'll make the rivers dry, God says, and I'll sell the land into the hand of the wicked, and I'll make the land waste and all that's in it by the hand of foreigners. I, the Lord, are strangers.
I, the Lord, have spoken. Now, that fell, as you know, later on. Actually, Alexander the Great took Egypt later on.
And when he died, his generals took over. Cleopatra actually was not an Egyptian. She was a Greek, but she ruled over Egypt.
And this country came in under the control of the other nations. Foreigners, strangers, control this very rich section, but it's filled up. And I'm told today, although I've never gotten into that particular section, but a friend of mine that had just come from there that I met in Cairo, he told me, oh, that's really a swamp down in that section.
God says that is what would happen. Now, here is something, another remarkable prophecy. Thus saith the Lord God, this is verse 13, I will also destroy the idols, and I'll cause their images to cease from Memphis.
And that's the name of this place here. And there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt, and I'll put a fear in the land of Egypt. Now, that's quite interesting.
This has been literally fulfilled. Now, Memphis at that time was the great city in Egypt. That was a city that probably had more idols in it than any other, and it was a very wealthy city.
And along the streets, one idol right after another, that was the decoration, up and down both sides of every street. No place would ever have as many as that. Now, God says here, I'm going to make the images, the idols, to cease from Memphis.
I'll get rid of them. Now, I've walked over what is supposed to be the ruins of Memphis. In fact, it's been cleaned out so that today, they're not even quite sure.
And the only one there is that great big statue of Ramesses that lies on its back there and its house. Now, in fact, the house is built around it. That's the only thing that's there.
God did exactly what He said. I'll make the idols to cease, and there'd be no prince in the land Egypt. There's no royal line there anymore.
I don't think you could call Nasser a Sadat or any of the ones that had been in the past. You couldn't say they were a royal line. And they've never been great rulers.
They've had to look to other nations today, and they do at the present moment. Now, God goes on to say here that this is the thing that would happen. I will pour out my fury upon sin.
And also, he mentioned, no, no is Thebes, by the way, and cut off the multitude of no. Thebes in the upper Nile, great city. Ruins of that, it's disappeared.
The greatness is all gone. And God goes on to speak along that line concerning these great cities of Egypt that have now disappeared all together. Now, God says that Babylon will have a victory over Egypt.
And he's repeating this. He's already said it once. But just as he said concerning Jerusalem, he's making it clear here.
And it came to pass in the 11th year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me saying, son of man, I've broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, you know, the king holds the scepter. And if you'll notice these pictures of the rulers in Egypt, they always got something in the hand. That says, I'll break their arm.
That's a token of their power. I'll break it. It shall not be bound up or be healed to put a bandage to bind it, to make strong, to hold it.
In other words, Babylon will take Egypt. Now, may I say that that was literally fulfilled. And now, you come in chapter 31 to something that I think is quite remarkable.
Here is a chapter and we won't have time to get into it. But this was such a great kingdom that God is reluctant to let it go. And he speaks of the Pharaoh as being here, a great tree and Egypt being a great tree.
And then we have in this chapter, the fall of the tree. And then there is a lamentation throughout the ancient world because of the fall of Egypt. We'll see that next time.
Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
Isn't the Book of Ezekiel intriguing? You can listen to these messages again and share them with a friend online at ttb.org or by downloading our app. You can also access all of Dr. McGee's five-year study messages, more than 100 of his booklets, and his notes and outlines for each of our studies by purchasing our Bible Bus flash drive.
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This ministry continues through the prayer and financial support of faithful friends and listeners. To give a gift or to find out more, you can call 1-800-65-BIBLE or visit ttb.org/give. And if you've been touched by our studies in this wild and wonderful book of Ezekiel, then we'd like to hear from you.
Tell us what God's doing in your life by writing us at box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109, in Canada box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C, 6B1. Or you can always share your story by email at BibleBus at ttb.org. Now join me this weekend for Dr. McGee's Sunday sermon.
This week's message is out of Ezekiel 40-42 and it's The Millennial Temple, Why the Sacrifices. Listen by app or online at ttb.org. Or if we can help you find a local station that carries a Sunday sermon, call 1-800-65-BIBLE.
I'm Steve Shwetz and as we break for the weekend, I pray that the Lord blesses you as you seek him in his word. Until we meet again next time.
We're grateful for the faithful and generous support of Thru the Bible's partners, whom God uses to take the . A whole word to the whole world.
Pastor Rick teaches that, from the beginning, God’s plan has been to make you like his Son, Jesus—this is your destiny. The Bible describes Jesus as “the exact likeness of God,” “the visible image of the invisible God,” and “the exact representation of his being” (2 Corinthians 4:4 GNT, Colossians 1:15 NLT, Hebrews 1:3 NIV).
SPEAKER 01 :
Hey there, everybody, and welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. And whether today is your first time tuning in or if you're a regular listener, we're really excited that you're here. Well, today, Pastor Rick is continuing his series called Discover Your Destiny. So get ready to explore the practical steps to grow in all areas of your life. spirit, mind, body, relationships, and even your career. So stick with us as we uncover God's incredible plan for your future. And here's Rick with the final part of a message called, How Can I Know My Destiny?
SPEAKER 03 :
Number three. Now the third thing that Esther did, she not only got disturbed, and she not only looked at what God had given her, but you've got to take the time to hear God's call on my life. I must take the time to hear God's call on my life. You need a retreat. You need a getaway. You need to get away for at least a day, maybe two or three days, where you sit down and you listen to God. You sit down, you shut up, you be quiet, and you pray and you plan and you think about the next 10 years of your life. And you think, what does God want me to do, given my gifts and given my passions and the needs I see around me? What does God want me to do? And you're not gonna do this on your own. So you gotta have like a little retreat time. Now notice this, Mordecai, who's her adopted father, they all know about this plot to kill all of the Jewish people. And in verse 13 and 14 of Esther 4, it says, Mordecai sent this word to Esther. Do not think because you're in the king's house that you alone of all Jews will escape. For if you remain silent, and he said, you can't remain silent. If you remain silent at this time, he said, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place. In other words, Mordecai said, I've got faith in God. He's not gonna let this God's chosen people be eliminated from the face of the earth. He's not gonna happen. So God will provide, but he says, if you don't do anything about it, you and your father's family will perish. Besides, he says, who knows? but that you have come to this position for such a time as this. Now remember, Esther is a 20 year old, in her 20s, young, poor, orphaned, Jewish girl. And she's now the queen of Persia. And Mordecai's going, Esther, you think this is by accident? I don't think so. Do you not think that God puts you in this position for such a time as this? This is no accident. And don't just think you can ignore these disturbing trends out there in society. You cannot remain silent. You gotta do something about it. Now I wanna tell you, that's not just true of Esther. It's true of you. Some of you young women, you're exactly where God put you for the reason he put you there. Some of you young guys, you're exactly where God put you. It doesn't matter what your age is. You are where you are for such a time as this. And God brought you to Saddleback Church not to sit, soak, and sour, but to make a difference with your life. He has a destiny for your life. God says, I brought you to this place, and I brought you to this time, and I want you to hear my call. Now you gotta take the time to hear God's call on my life. Now God has called everyone. We've talked about this before. A lot of people think God only calls preachers and missionaries and nuns and priests. Those are the called people. No, everybody is called. Your calling is your vocation. As I told you, it's this Latin word, voce, which means vocal. Your vocation is your call, your voice. Everybody has a vocation. Everybody has a calling of God. God has called every one of you to make a difference with your life. Some of you are not picking up the phone. Now here's the point. You don't call God. He calls you. You don't just go, what would I like to do with my life? Sorry, you don't get that option. Unless you don't want any blessing. God says, no, no, I created you for a purpose. I have a vision and values and I have a purpose, plan and a destiny for your life. And God calls you and you gotta pick up the phone. I wish what we were doing were just a matter of life and death. That'd be easy, but it's not. It's more important than life or death because eternity is in the balance, heaven and hell. Jesus talked more about hell than he did about heaven. They're real. We're not just talking about helping people now. We're talking about their eternal destinies. It's bigger than life or death. And God has brought you to this place just like he brought Esther to her place, including the good and the bad that happened. I'm sure it was no fun going and having sex with a king you didn't even love. and knowing that the night before and the night after you, it's gonna be somebody else. But God said, you know what, I can even use that. I can even use date rape. I can bring good out of anything. Esther 4, verse 15. Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai. Go and gather together all the Jews who are in Susa. They're the capital. and fast for me. Said, I want you to find everybody you can, get everybody who's Jewish, and I get everybody to fast for me, because I'm gonna have to go confront the king. And I know that this is a scary thing. She's going, you know what? First place, it's against the law for me to go to him. You only go to the king if he invites you. It's against the law for me to take the initiative and go to the king. If you read the story, she said, in fact, he hadn't called for me in 30 days, so I haven't had any contact with him in a month. So I don't know if he still loves me or what. And number two, I'm gonna have to reveal that I'm Jewish, which means I'm gonna keep it a secret from my husband. And number three, I'm gonna ask him to publicly renounce a decree he's already signed and he's gonna look foolish. to reverse a command. So I'm gonna probably die for this. I'm gonna probably lose my life for this. I'm taking my life in my own hands. So she says, you go gather all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me. And do not eat or drink for three days or night or day. And I and my maids will fast as you do. And when this is done, Then I'll go to the king. She's saying, before I initiate any confrontation with the king, which is no light matter and can cost me my life, I'm gonna have to have a little retreat. And I'm gonna need to get off by myself and I'm gonna fast and I'm gonna pray and I'm gonna think and I'm gonna plan out my words and I'm gonna give some serious time to my destiny. Now, Esther does two things that you're going to need for your destiny in the next 10 years. Number one, just like Esther, you're going to need all the support you can get. She said, go get everybody you can to pray for me. That's why you must be in a small group. Because you cannot fulfill your destiny on your own. We get well in community, we serve in community, we share in community. God meant for us to be in community. The very first thing God said to man, it is not good for men to be alone. Whether you marry or not is irrelevant. You have to be in a family. You have to be connected. You have to be in community. She says, get everybody praying for me. You're going to need that. And the second thing Esther did, and you're going to need to, you're going to need some time alone. You're going to need to go on a retreat, at least an overnighter, where you get alone. Because if I tell you, go home and make these lists of all the things that you're gifted in and make a list of all the things you care about, you know what? You're not going to do it. You're gonna walk out of here and you're gonna forget it and you're not gonna do it and you're gonna come back next week and it still won't be done. So I'm going to force you to do it. And in the next three years, I want everybody in this church to take a retreat. a life planning retreat to plan goals in all the key areas of your life. What are my goals financially? What are my goals for my family? What are my goals for my personal life? What are my goals for my health? What are my goals in learning? And I'm gonna help you. Nothing becomes dynamic till it becomes specific. Now, number four, one last thing. The fourth thing you have to do is what Esther did is that is you must make a faith commitment. You must make a faith commitment. The Bible says without faith it's impossible to please God. The Bible says according to your faith it will be done unto you. The Bible says the just shall live by faith. The Bible says all things are possible to him who believes. Now Esther says I know this is scary and I know it's a big risk and I'm scared to death to take this initiative to go to the king and tell him I'm Jewish and ask him to rescind a stupid decree that a bad guy got him to approve. But It's the right thing to do, so I'm gonna do it. She's an amazing woman. Now in Esther 4.16, she makes this faith commitment to do the thing that she's most afraid of. She says, and when this is done, you know, my three-day retreat, we've all prayed, we've all fasted, and I've thought through where I'm going. When this is done, I will go, that's a faith commitment, I will go to the king, even though it's against the law. And if I perish, I perish.
SPEAKER 02 :
What a woman. What a woman. What an amazing woman. If I perish, I perish.
SPEAKER 03 :
But I'm gonna die doing the right thing. Friend, you're not ready to live till you know what you're ready to die for. You cannot live until you have qualified and clarified in your heart what you're willing to die for. You're not ready to live the next 10 years. If you don't know what you're willing to die for, you're not living, you're just existing. Not knowing what's worth dying for makes life motion without meaning. You gotta know what's worth giving your life for. On the other hand, when you understand your destiny and you really get it, it grabs you. That calling grabs you and you go after it with total abandonment. And you say, if it takes my life, it takes my life. And if I perish, I perish. But I'm gonna die doing what God tells me to do. Now I want you to write this sentence down. I can only manage what I measure. Would you write that down? I can only manage what I measure. If you don't have measurable goals, it's just a wish, it's a dream, it's a hope, but it's not a real goal. And if you don't set some measurable goals for the next three years, in phase one of Decade of Destiny, to measure, that you can measure, you're not gonna be any different in three years, much less in 10 years. And so I'm gonna help you set some spiritual goals and I want them to be specific. And I'm telling you right now that on the last Sunday of this two month campaign, I'm going to ask you, I'm gonna challenge you to make four faith commitments. You don't have to write these down. But you'll say, four faith commitments. Number one, what do I wanna learn in the next four years, in the next three years? My goal for you is that you'll be smarter, as I said, smarter and sharper, and you'll be more skilled and more successful. What do I wanna learn? What am I gonna commit to become in the next three years? What am I gonna commit to contribute in the next three years? What am I gonna commit to do with my life in the next three years? These three year faith commitments come up in another month, because all the messages are worthless. If we don't make it measurable, I don't need it, you need it. It's not for me, it's for your benefit. So you can measure your progress over the three years. Jesus said it like this on the screen. According to your faith, it will be done to you. You know, every morning, I sit on the side of my bed and I pray a prayer. And that prayer, I pray the same prayer every day. It's a little prayer I've just written and memorized. And then I say the words to a song. I don't sing it because I can't sing, especially in the morning. But I say this as I'm sitting on the bed. I don't even get out of bed until I've done this. I say, Lord, Lord, I offer my life to you. Everything I've been through, use it for your glory. Lord, I offer my days to you. Lift up my praise to you as a living sacrifice. Lord, I offer you my life. I say it every day before I get out of bed. I think this is the attitude Esther had when she knew that going to her husband, the King of Persia would likely mean her head would be cut off because first she did admit she's Jewish. And second, she's asking him to reverse a decree that would make him seem foolish. But Esther says, Lord, I offer my life to you. Everything I've been through. My parents died. I was in the cattle call of a harem. Everything I've been through, use it for your glory. Lord, I offer my days to you. Lift up my praise to you as a living sacrifice. Lord, I offer you my life. And if I perish... I perish. And because she was willing to lay it on the line for the destiny God had planned for her, the Jewish nation was saved. You see, you wouldn't be saved without Esther. Because if the Jews had been annihilated, there would be no Jesus the Messiah. And you would be hopeless. That's the impact of Esther. Let's bow our heads. Would you pray this prayer in your heart? Dear God, I want the rest of my life to be the best of my life, I want my life to count. I don't wanna live for myself, I wanna live for you and for the destiny you've created for me. Help me to recognize the gifts that you've put in my life. Not just the assets, but even the liabilities, the limitations, the handicaps. even the hurts, and to realize that even those are part of the plan to get me where you want me to be in the time and place and what you want me to do with my life. Help me to identify the needs that stir my heart. To realize that when I see something, I go, that's wrong. That needs to be corrected. Somebody ought to do something about that. That you're speaking to me. Help me to take time to hear your call, to be quiet, to settle down. Lord, without even knowing when I'm gonna do it, I commit right now to going on retreat. And in the weeks ahead, help me to consider what faith commitments you want me to make in the key areas of my life. If you've never opened your life to Jesus Christ, regardless of your religious background, say, Jesus Christ, please make yourself real to me. I don't understand it all, but if you're real, I open up my life to you. I want to know you. I want to learn to trust you and love you. I open up my life to your plan and purpose, dear God. I want to fulfill your destiny that you have for me. In your name I pray. Amen. Hi, everybody. This is Rick, and I hope you enjoyed today's broadcast. You know, if you just prayed that prayer for the very first time or you just recommitted your life to Jesus again today, would you let me know about it? There's something real about sharing your commitment. So write me, Rick, at PastorRick.com and say, Rick, I prayed that prayer of commitment. I gave my life to Christ, and I'll send you some material that'll help you on your journey with Jesus, and I'll also pray for you. God bless you.
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What a life-giving message from Pastor Rick. Now let's join Rick with today's offer. Thanks for listening today.
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You know, honestly, I never paid much attention to my health until I had a little epiphany a few years back when I baptized over 800 people in a single day by immersion. Now looking at myself and everybody that I was baptizing, it was real clear that we all needed to get healthy. So I put together a team of nationally known doctors to help me develop a program for our church. I called it the Daniel Plan, based on the passage in the book of Daniel, where Daniel has a contest with King Nebuchadnezzar on who can be the healthiest. The Daniel Plan is centered on five essentials that will help you become healthier. faith, food, fitness, focus, and friends. There are a lot of diet plans out there that deal with food and fitness, but the secret sauce in the Daniel plan is focus, learning to have your mind renewed, friends, learning to grow in community, and faith, trusting God's power rather than willpower. You know, we found that when individuals addressed health issues in each of these key areas, they are transformed. In fact, in the first year of the Daniel Plan, over 15,000 people from 190 countries participated, and the results were life-changing. In fact, our own church, Saddleback Church, lost over a quarter of a million pounds in one year. Can you imagine that? What did it do for our church? It increased our energy. We started sleeping better. It reduced our need for medication. The whole church was healthier. Now, the Daniel Plan has recently been released in a book format, and I want you to have a copy of this book today so you can start getting healthier now. And I'll send you a hardcover copy of the Daniel Plan book as a very special thank you for your gift to this ministry.
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Just go to PastorRick.com to get your copy of this great resource. That's PastorRick.com. Or you can just text the word HOPE to 70309. That's the word HOPE to 70309. And thank you so much for your support. Your gift to Daily Hope really helps us share the hope of Christ with people all over the world. Be sure to join us next time as we look into God's Word for our Daily Hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.
In this episode of Through the Bible, we delve into the powerful teachings of the book of Hosea as Dr. J. Vernon McGee guides us through the trials of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Ignoring God's word not only led to spiritual adultery but also brought about God's judgment in a dramatic and prophetic transition. As we reflect on the message shared by the evangelist D.L. Moody and stories from Dr. McGee's own ministry, we're prompted to consider the essential role of scripture in our everyday lives. Throughout Hosea chapter 4, we witness the consequences that befell Israel when they neglected their sacred texts. Dr. McGee draws parallels to modern times, illustrating how turning our backs on divine guidance can lead to moral decay and personal dissatisfaction. Whether through personal anecdotes or deep scriptural insights, this episode calls listeners to introspection and a return to God’s word. Join us as we uncover the inhibitors to spiritual fulfillment and the inevitable consequences of idolatry and sin. Whether you are a long-time believer, a part of our World Prayer Team, or someone in search of spiritual clarity, this study provides profound insights. Prepare to embark on this enlightening journey through Scripture with renewed understanding.
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The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
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The evangelist D.L. Moody was right when he said, The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible. Listening to and obeying God's Word is a protection over our lives. And that's one reason that I'm so glad that you're here at Through the Bible, ready to get into God's Word with Dr. J. Verna McGee. And as you know, we're in the book of Hosea on our five-year journey through the whole word. And in this study, we're going to learn how the northern kingdom of Israel turned away from God because they forgot his word. Well, not only did they forget it, they wanted nothing to do with it. They completely turned their backs on God's ways. And you know, that's when God's man Hosea stepped up and said, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge of God's word. And then he relayed God's chilling consequence. Because you forgot the law of your God, I will also forget your children. I will change your glory into shame. Wow. I don't know about you, but that sobering pronouncement makes me sit up and listen. We're in Hosea chapter four. So as you open your Bible, let's listen to Dr. McGee's introduction on why God will judge his people.
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Now God says that he must judge the nation. And he says that he will change their glory into shame. Now the glory of Israel was actually the temple with the Shekinah glory upon it and his visible presence with the nation and his definite leading of them. And they're witness to the world of that day of monotheism. In a world of polytheism, they worship the living and the true God. That was their glory. It brought the Queen of Sheba from the ends of the earth. Now what is happening is this. God says, I will remove my glory from you. I'll remove my blessing from you. And I will judge you. I'll let the enemy come in upon you and take you away. And of course, the enemy is going to be able to say, look, they said they were God's chosen people. And look what's happening to them. And apparently their God's not a very strong God. Friends, we're seeing today in this land of ours something very similar to that. God is judging many churches and he's closing many doors today. You can look about you in this land of ours and see that God is still judging. And we are inclined to say, isn't it a shame to see a decline in a certain church? Well, maybe God closed the door. We need to recognize that only God today can afford to judge his own people, and he does that.
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Before jumping into our study, I invite you to join our World Prayer Team. Together we pray for listeners like Nora in the Philippines who writes this. I heard your message and want to know if you will really be forgiven. I have sinned in the past and I have thought that I am unforgivable. I got involved with another man and our entire village knows. I'm hurting and crying right now, but your words in my language of Locano comfort me and give me hope. For the first time, I feel as if God might accept me as I am. Please tell me what to do next. Please tell me more about Jesus and how I can be redeemed. Are you ready to join us for the journey? Well, hop aboard as we pray for millions of listeners like this one all over the world by signing up at ttb.org forward slash pray. And let's do that now. Thank you, Heavenly Father. Thank you for the privilege of hearing your word. Help us to turn what distracts us and do what pleases you. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of sharing your word with the world. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're off to Hosea 4 on Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
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Now, we got down last time through the sixth verse of the fourth chapter of Hosea. And again, I'd like to say that this sixth verse here of this fourth chapter is considered one of the most familiar verses that we have. It's one that is quoted a great deal. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. And that's the way it opens. I went through it last time, and I'll not go any farther than that. But it was a lack of the knowledge of the Word of God that was the background of the sin of these people. The minute that Christian friend, you get away from the Word of God, you could not live a triumphant Christian life by any means. You could not live well-pleasing to the Lord. And I do not care how many of these method conferences you go to that have all these little gimmicks that if you do this and do that and do the other thing, that things are going to work all right for you in your home and in your place of business and in your social life, and everything will work out right. My friend, the Word of God makes it very clear that That's not by these little gimmicks, these little methods. It's by a knowledge of the Word of God. Now, that is as clear as the noonday sun in this book and certainly in other places. Now, will you notice as God continues to bring against the northern kingdom his judgment upon them, that is, he hands down a decision. He's going to judge them. And he has now proven that To them, his case, they broken the Ten Commandments. He went down the list and they had broken them. Now he says, as they were, verse 7, as they were increased, so they sinned against me. In other words, as the nation increased, God had promised to bless them by multiplying them. He told Abraham that. But all it did was just bring another sinner into the world. And after all, that's what happened when I came into the world. Just another sinner came into the world. But thank God, the grace of God reached down and somebody gave me the Word of God. And I was able to trust Christ as my Savior. But these people, they have an ignorance. They have no knowledge of the word of God. As they were increased, so they sinned against me. Therefore, will I change their glory into shame. God says, I'm going to turn your glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people. They set their heart on their iniquity. They not only sin, but they like to brag about it. As a young fellow, ran with a pretty fast crowd in the bank I worked in. And we always like, especially on Monday morning, to brag about our weekend, what we did. And you know what it was, either to get drunk or... some adultery or something like that. That's what you brag about. And they not only sinned, they bragged about it. And there, verse 9 now, chapter 4 of Hosea, and there shall be like people, like priests. The unfortunate thing is that the priesthood had sunk down to the level of the congregation. Now, I have always believed, and as you've heard me say, that I started out in the ministry. I wore a Prince Albert coat and a wing collar. I look like a mule looking over a whitewash fence. But I soon gave that up. I dress just like the man sitting out in the pew. And I'm no different than that man in the pew. But I want to say this, that I want in the pulpit to give out the word of God so that I don't sink down to the level of that which is the man of the world. And today there are many ministers. They're the good guys. one man boasted to me he says you know he says my preacher says you know he says he comes out to our golf club he plays golf and i'm for that i do that i think it's great to mix with folk like that says after the game says he goes in the bar room with us has a drink with us says you know said he's just one of the fellas says i sure do like him well I wonder what God thinks about him. Like people, like priests. And I'll punish them for their ways and reward them for their doings, for they shall eat and not have enough. In other words, famine is coming to the land. And who would ever have believed that this great land of ours, just last year, a few years ago, that there would be no scarcity. Whoever heard of it, that you couldn't buy meat at the meat market, you couldn't buy bread, that there would be a scarcity of anything. May I say to you, I'm not sure. I think God judged us in the dust bowl many years ago. That's when I entered the ministry. And nobody listened to God then. Then we had to fight World War II. God judged us. And we didn't come back to God even World War II. So we've been fighting somewhere ever since. Just can't give it up. They shall eat, not have enough. They shall commit harlotry and shall not increase. You know, there's one thing, friends, about adultery. And I know today that I'm talking to a great many people that have had this in their mind and their heart because we're living in this day. And you can take it from a fellow that one time in his life before he's saved, you can never, never enjoy in a way in which God really wants you to until you can enjoy it in marriage. And when you can put your arms around the woman that you have been loving and you can say to her, I love you. above everything else in the world. Now, I say when you can say that, my friend, then there'll be an increase. And it'll be wonderful. Oh, they were committing adultery then, and they're doing it today. But actually, there's really no satisfaction in it. It's just a sort of a temporary release. And you hate yourself after that. And I know that. And some of you know that, my friend. And God knows that because that's what he's saying here. God's spelling it out for you. They shall eat and not have enough. They shall commit harlotry, adultery, and they shall not increase because they have ceased to take heed to the Lord. Harlotry and wine and new wine take away the heart. Last time we gave you all these statistics about liquor in this country today. And nobody, and I mean nobody today, is lifting a voice against this. And I don't think I've said very much about it. But I sure have said a whole lot the past couple of days. And from time to time, we do mention it. Arlatrin wine and new wine take away the heart, my friends. And part of our problem in Washington today are these two sins, harlotry, adultery, and liquor. They're the two problems in our government today. That's the reason that men lie. That's the reason that men will do crooked things. And that is not confined to one party or just one group. The whole crowd is guilty today. One writer said that in Washington, you don't know who to trust. May I say to you, what a sad commentary on our nation today. Don't tell me the new morality is working. It didn't work for Israel. They got away from the word of God and they said, we try something new. And they went in for it. The northern kingdom, you see, they had sin galore. They put up two golden calves. And with that worship of Baal, I was connected with it, the grossest forms of idolatry and the Verse 12, my people ask counsel of their idols, and their staff declareth unto them, for the spirit of harlotry hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot departing from under their God. Now he's speaking here of the harlotry, spiritual adultery, which is turning from God. They went to inquire of idols. And today, we find people running after the gurus of India. Well, they haven't done much for India, by the way. But yet, we've had a crowd running after them. And someone has said that one of them that came over here, he said that very candidly, he came for the money. And that it was nothing in the world but a religious racket as far as he was concerned. Yet people went after him. People are going off into this type of thing today. And there's actually the worship of Satan today. I have here a clipping that comes from Daytona Beach, Florida. A group of Satan cultists tortured and beat a 17-year-old youth to death, believing he was an undercover narcotics agent, police said Wednesday. May I say to you that worship of Satan today is certainly not helping morality by any means. And these people going into idolatry, idolatry was leading them into gross immorality. Now, let me keep reading here. And They sacrifice, this is verse 13 now, chapter 4. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains and burn incense upon the hills under oaks and poplars and elms because the shadow of them is good. That's where they put their idols, was on top of a hill under a grove. And you hear a great deal in scripture. And they found out today, archaeologists, that the center of worship of idolatry was in these groves. It was cool there, nice place to go. Therefore, your daughters shall commit harlotry and your spouses shall commit adultery. You see, the worship of idols, and we today have turned to idolatry, covetousness, All of this today, the greed of this country today has caused many a family to try to get on in the world. They want to move to a better neighborhood. They want a swimming pool. They want a boat to take down. And they say we're doing this for their children. And then all of a sudden their children take off and there are thousands. Thousands of young people today that are wandering up and down this country and all over the world. I saw them in Hawaiian Islands. I talked to three young people in Constitution Square in Athens, Greece. Two young men and a young lady. And I'm sure that none of them were beyond their teens. One of them could have been 20. And there they sat, and they were then under the influence of drugs. I tried to talk with them, and I tried to find out who they were. And they said, we're nobody. We don't count. We've dropped out. What's happened today, friends? What's taking place today? Why, the problem is back there in the home. We're idolaters. We're worshiping the almighty dollar. We've forgotten God. We've turned away from the living and true God, and we no longer worship him. And we've not turned to a savior that can redeem us and help us. Now, verse 14. He says, I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your spouses when they commit adultery, for they themselves are separated with harlots, and they sacrifice with harlots. Therefore, the people that doth not understand shall fall. God says ignorance, so the law excuses no one. And because these people have gone on, I'm not going to judge them for the sin they're committing right now. I'm going to judge them because they've turned from the living and true God and from his way. My friend, as I said to a man, and I met him on a golf course, by the way, and he said, joined our foursome he soon left us when he found out we were three preachers and this man made a statement well he said that he guessed that he was a sinner he'd done this that and the other said yes I guess I'll go to hell and I said brother you know you're not going to hell because you commit these sins he says what do you mean I'm not going to hell because I thought that's what you preachers said I said this preacher never said that I said you're going to hell because you've rejected Jesus Christ These people were being judged not because they had become harlots. They were judged because they've turned from the living and true God. Now, will you notice he says here, though thou Israel play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-Avon or swear the Lord liveth. God says, I'm going to hold Judah back. I'll not judge Judah yet. And Judah, don't come up and worship these calves that they put up here. Now we come to something that's quite interesting. Verse 16. For Israel slideth back like a backsliding heifer. Now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place. Now, friends, let's look at what really backsliding is. A great many people think backsliding means that you have become a Christian, joined the church, and then you drop back into sin, and that's backsliding. Now, may I say to you, that's not backsliding the way it's used here. And God illustrates it so you can't miss it. For Israel slideth back like a backsliding heifer. Now, I'm very happy the fact that as a boy, I had the privilege of living in the country and in a little town. And I think I've mentioned this before. There's a live next door to us in southern Oklahoma in a little town. We lived in a rancher. He had a big ranch and he had two boys and they were both about my age. And we three played together. We used to ride these heifers out in the lot and they would, you know, tie a rope around. As we said in that day, a belly band we'd put on them. We'd hold on to that. And then they'd buck us off. Now, every now and then, this rancher would load up. This was in the days before the automobile. In a wagon, he would load up these heifers to take them to market or take them out to the ranch. And he had a great big board. That is, it was a thing constructed out of boards that he put up at the back end of the wagon. It was a runway that you just try to run the heifer up back. Well, what they'd do, you'd put a rope around the heifer, and then you'd push her from the back. And as you'd get the heifer up, she'd go a part of the way, then she'd stiffen those front feet. She'd just put them out stiff. And you know what would happen? You couldn't pull her. She'd start sliding backwards. That's what backsliding is. Backsliding heifer. They were stiffening their front feet. And instead of being led of God, they were slipping backward all the time. And backsliding means when you turn your back on God and you step on that little neck of yours and that little mind of yours and you say, I'll have nothing to do with God. You're backsliding when you do that. You see, when you refuse to go the way God wants to lead you. Now he calls Israel here a backsliding heifer. There are a lot of backsliding heifers today and bulls also, by the way. Now, let me read the next verse. Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. Now, we come to another word here. The word backsliding is mentioned three times in this book, and you'll recall it's only Jeremiah and Hosea, and they spoke to a nation ready to go into captivity, accused them of doing this, refusing to be led of God, refusing to come to God. Now, Ephraim, that name occurs 36 times. He picks out one of the tribes of the 10 tribes in the north and applies it to all 10 of the tribes. And I frankly have never been able to figure out just how God uses that term. Is he using it in a way that is the term of endearment or is it a term of ridicule? Now, this time through Hosea, I've come to the conclusion that it's a term of endearment. It's a pet name. You see, Israel in the north had really no name as a nation. Judah in the south was really the nation. And these 10 tribes had revolted, you see. And now God gives them, I think, a pet name. And you'll find all the way through, it'll occur 36 times, Ephraim. And he says this in, I would say, a longing sort of way, but with a note of finality. He says here, Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. God says there comes a day in a man's life that if he keeps on being in a backslidden condition, refusing to listen to God, there'll come a day when God no longer can speak to that man. Now he says to them, your drink is sour. You'll become an alcoholic if you keep at it, brother. And it's not a disease. It's a sin. Their drink is sour. They have committed harlotry continually. Her rulers love shame more than glory. And the sad thing today is that we have men in government in high places instead of using a language that is clean. And chase. They love to cuss. And they love to drink. They love the shame more than glory. The wind hath bound her up in its wing. They're carried away by every wind of doctrine. And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices. God says, I'm going to make them ashamed before it's over with. Well, that brings us to the conclusion of chapter 4. Begin chapter 5 next time. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
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Well, Dr. McGee convinced me of the joy and peace found in living a quiet, righteous life before the Lord. How about you? We're midway through our study in Hosea now, so if you'd like to share these studies with a family member or friend, they're available on our app or at ttb.org. Or to purchase our Bible bus flash drive that conveniently holds all of Dr. McGee's five-year messages and also includes all of his notes and outlines for our studies and more than 100 of his booklets, you Shop our online store at ttb.org or call us at 1-865-BIBLE. And while you're at ttb.org, check out our new softcover Bible companions for the New Testament. Again, that's ttb.org or 1-865-BIBLE. And when you call us, please tell us how you listen. Is it by app or online? Is it YouTube, your local Christian radio station? There are so many different options. And you know, by sharing this little bit of information, you help us to be good stewards of the resources that God has so graciously provided through faithful listeners like you. Now, as we break for the weekend, join me for Dr. McGee's Sunday sermon. You can listen by app, online, or look at our radio station listing at ttb.org. I'm Steve Schwetz, and I'll meet you right back here next time as we continue to make our way through the Bible.
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We're grateful for the faithful and generous support of Through the Bible's partners, whom God uses to take the whole word to the whole world.
Join us as we delve into Job 42, the final chapter that wraps up our 30-day venture through the compelling story of Job. Witness the restoration of Job's fortune and the renewal of his life after unspeakable trials. Job's sparking repentance and acknowledgment of God's sovereignty serve as eternal lessons for us to remain steadfast in our own life challenges. As we explore reflections from over three decades of journaling, gain valuable insights into maintaining faith and trust in the divine, even when life's trials feel insurmountable.
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Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Alan J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
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Today we reach Job chapter 42, the last chapter of the book of Job, and the last of our 30-day adventure through this book. We'll see Job respond to God one more time, we'll see God speak, and we'll see God restore everything to Job. Let's listen in to the last chapter of the book of Job, chapter 42. Job 42
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Then Job answered the Lord and said, I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me which I did not know. Hear and I will speak. I will question you and you make it known to me. I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.
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After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite,
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My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly." for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has.
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So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them. And the Lord accepted Job's prayer. And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first daughter, Jemima, and the name of the second, Keziah, and the name of the third, Karenhapik. And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. And after this Job lived 140 years and saw his sons and his sons' sons four generations. And Job died an old man and full of days.
SPEAKER 02 :
We'll take a look for the last time at those journals I've been using through the book of Job. We'll begin with 1984 as I finished the book of Job with chapters 41 and 42. And I wrote, Job repents. God restores him. 41.11 says, Who has given to me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. And 42.2 says, I know that thou can do all things. Thirteen years later, in 1997, I finished the book of Job. With chapters 35 through 42 on the last day, I wrote, God speaks to Job and his friends. Prepare yourself like a man. I will question you and you shall answer me. God puts Job in perspective. He never ever addresses Job's issues but declares his sovereignty. Everything under heaven is mine. When Job has a chance to answer, he laid his hand over his mouth. I will not answer. There is no answer or question to God. He simply repented for ever questioning God. Lord, forgive me for whining or ever questioning you. Give me strength to live in your sovereignty. And 18 years later, in 2015, I finished the book of Job by reading chapters 40 through 42 on the same day. And I wrote, God calls those who question him fault finders. Job desired, waited for the opportunity to present his case before God. He now has the chance to do so and he says nothing. We are so small before God, our articulation is babbling. Doubtful if any of us are going to question God or present our futile case before him. God never answers Job. He never explains what happened to Job. He reminds Job of how big he is. Job responds, God restores the fortunes of Job. after he prayed for his friends. Job lives 140 years, so his suffering may have been a very short trial in his life. How am I handling my trials? In this last chapter of the book of Job, Job does speak to God. Let's go back and see what he had to say. In verse 2, I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. In verse 3, he says, Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. Job never argues his case before God, does he? Nor will we. Job understands he has no case before God, nor do we. So Job never does understand what happened back in chapter 1, in the book that carries his own name. God does not need to explain himself. After Job successfully faces his trial, this test from God Almighty, Then the Lord restores everything back to Job. Verse 10, And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Verse 12, And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. Verse 16, And after this Job lived 140 years. And verse 17, And Job died an old man and full of days. Notice too, the restoration of Job only came after he was restored to his friends. He had to pray for them, and God said he would hear that prayer from Job. How do you feel after completing the book of Job? Do you feel a little let down that God never tells Job what really happened? Do you feel challenged by your own personal trials and how Job was handled his and he remained faithful? And are you questioning whether you can remain faithful during the trial that God has you in? Or do you feel like you're on the way out of a trial and that you will be restored? Has Job helped build your faith and trust in God? Do you feel sorry for your questioning of God through your life? And do you feel like repenting? Like Job did. Again, look at verse 6. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. Job repented. Do you need to? When we started Job, we said the theme of Job is can God be trusted? It responds to our heart's desire to question God, to wonder about our faith in a sovereign God when things don't appear to be going right. We said Job questioned God, but while demonstrating unshakable faith... Has our journey through Job given you unshakable faith? Let's close out our journey through the book of Job in prayer. Father, we thank you for this book, a book of despair, a book of trial, a book of trouble, a recap of a life much like our own. Job suffered. He lost it all, but his faith never wavered. As you put us through the tests of life, may we be like Job. May our faith never waver. Thank you for strengthening us through this book. Thank you for reminding us the trials will come in our lives. Thank you for reminding us of who you are. You're bigger than any trial we will ever face. And thank you for the promise of restoration. You restored Job. May you restore us as well. Thank you for the lessons of life in the book of Job. Holy Spirit, apply them to each of our journeys. as we continue our sojourn on the earth. Job had many more years to live after this trial. We may too. So thank you for the promise of restoring us. We give you all the praise and the glory. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. Our radio programming is set for 2025. We will cover 44 of the 66 books of the Bible using the Ezra Project day by day through the Bible 11 book series. We start at January 1 with the writings of the Old Testament historical books beginning with Job. We will cover seven more historical books until spring when we jump into the New Testament writings of Mark, Peter, James, Jude, and Hebrews. By summer, we will go back to the Old Testament writings of all 13 of the minor prophets. We'll finish 2025 with the writings of Paul. Maybe you don't want to follow the Ad Bible Radio programming in your daily quiet time. Okay, I offer you an alternative plan. Read the Bible chronologically starting any day you want. The Bible is not organized the way things occurred. You can order an Ezra Project Chronological Bible Reading Journal and experience an amazing journey through the Bible in the order things actually occurred. The first time I read the Bible chronologically, it was an aha experience. While reading Kings and Chronicles, I read the prophets who were alive at the time. In the New Testament, you read about a miracle or a parable by all four gospel writers on the same day. It was a very educational and inspiring way to read the Bible. One user said this about our chronological Bible reading journal. Some years ago, I used a couple of spiral notebooks for my journaling. I've attached pictures of the book, the first edition of the Ezra Project Bible Reading Chronological Journal. That was the picture he sent. I live in Phoenix now, and I cannot find any place that has this type of journal. I've used many types of journals recently, but this seems to work the best for my needs. Please let me know if these are still available. Yes, they are. In fact, it is our number one best-selling product of all time. Visit azureproject.net and order a chronological Bible reading journal today and start your chronological journey through the Bible. 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