Come Sojourn with Us
This is where you will find sermons and updates for our church. Our mission is to preach expository sermons focusing on the gospel of Christ. We are a church that is tied to the reformed tradition and seeks to submit to the scriptures so we walk in the Lord’s wisdom rather than our own.
We would love to have you join us on our Christian sojourn if you are in the Belgrade, MT area. If you are not in area then join us by listening to our bi weekly free sermon podcast.
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Zechariah sees a woman in a basket and then two women carrying her away to the land of Shinar. This is a vision of the Lord removing wickedness from the midst of his people in his holy land. Those who desire to worship other gods or being rebellion against God will be carried over to he Babelite community
Christ’s disciples will face trials, struggles, and hardships. Christ has already mentioned the hardships that await us. However, Christ goes on to speak of other problems that tempt us beyond just the comforts of this world. Christ tells us that we might have to walk away from family to be incorporated into the kingdom of God. How can Christ talk about disrupting the family? Why would we want to give up these earthly comforts for Christ?
We might think that we know the Gospel and we know the Gospel well. So, why would we think that we need to continually hear the Gospel preached if we know the Gospel message? Is there a point in our Christians lives when we move beyond the Gospel message? What wisdom can be gleaned from church history that would shed some light on this issue of Gospel preaching?
Prior to Job 32 there have been a lot of words, speeches, and exchanges about suffering. The speeches are frustrating because there is no resolution on the horizon. The counselors and Job are finally finished with their bantering, but the book is not resolved. Job is the last one to speak, but his words are not all that God glorifying. Is there another man who can step up and offer some wisdom, offer some insight, or maybe a different perspective? We meet Elihu. Who is this man, and why has he been silent for so long?
We can interview numerous people, we can comb the Scriptures, we can dig into the earth, but where is wisdom? This is a rather profound question that Job seeks to answer. The answer to the question may not be as simple as just reading some Scriptures, or interviewing some people. So, what is the answer? Is Job ready to embrace the answer as he feels it being pressed upon him?
The counselors have been very clear that you reap exactly what you sow and there is nothing more and nothing less that is present. Job wants to know if the counselors have surveyed anyone with this claim or if this is just what they believe and think. Job invites the counselors to interact with the common person on the street to see what such a person might say about the wicked receiving instant justice. What wisdom has Job gleaned through his experience?
The book Job progresses into the second cycle of speeches. Job and the counselors have had a few interactions regarding Job’s trial. You would hope that they would start to think about this life and suffering in light of the Gospel rather than whether or not Job is righteous enough for God to love him. So, as we start the second cycle do they actually start talking about a cross shaped logic/wisdom or do they just shout louder?
Job has tried to reason with the men who have come to encourage him. However, in Job’s mind he is not gaining any traction. The counselors are still convinced that Job has unconfessed sin or a specific sin that warrants God’s punishment. The irony is that Job and the counselors are not in complete disagreement, but Job has been trying to tell the counselors that there is something wrong with the world as they know it. What is Job going to say to the Lord? What is the basis of Job’s trial?
We can learn a lot from tradition and from many who have gone before us. We can learn because they are people who have had struggles, setbacks, and experienced success like we have. We can learn how to cope in each of these situations from the generations before us. However, Job does not seem that persuaded by the generations who have gone before him. In fact, Job pretty much rebukes the counselors for listening to wisdom that is traditional for them. What is Job’s problem? Why does Job seem to doubt the credibility of wisdom and those who have gone before him?
Men have scheduled their time to meet with Job and encourage him. We have heard two of the counselors and now we have the opportunity to hear from a third counselor. The counselors have not successfully encouraged Job in the Gospel. Job is one who has claimed his own self-righteousness before the Lord claiming that he can hold God accountable. Is this new counselor going to be the voice of reason who lays out the gospel? Is there going to be someone who understands that Job is not fighting against God? Will this speech help Job understand that God is not His enemy, but the very strength of his life?
Job’s friends came together with the purpose to rally around him and encourage him. Eliphaz has not done a great job of helping Job as Eliphaz implied that Job deserved this suffering. Now, it is time for the second counselor to try. Will Bildad encourage Job? Is there something we can glean from Bildad as he tries to encourage Job?
Job’s friends, the counselors, are now beginning to interact with Job. They grieved with Job, they failed to recognize their friend, and Eliphaz has interacted with Job’s speech or attitude. Job questioned the wisdom of God, and Eliphaz questioned whether Job really understands God. How will Job respond? We noted that the counselor was not consistent with the Lord’s wisdom. Will Job finally see through this trial and clearly see the Lord?
The story of Job opens with a man who is righteous, fears God, and turns from evil. This is a man who lives out the wisdom of the gospel as he even sacrifices a burn offering in case one of his children cursed God in their heart. This is a man who is worthy of blessing and a man who deserve blessing from the hand of God. So, what sort of wisdom is being communicated to us when Job receives the exact opposite of what he deserves? What is the driving force of Job’s suffering? Does Job really love God because of who God is or does Job love God because of what God can do for Job?
Jacob is an elderly man on his death bed. His favored son Joseph makes it easy for Jacob to bless his grand children by arranging them in their proper place. Joseph knows that the older is to receive the greater blessing and the younger is to receive the inferior blessing. Jacob, a supplanter schemer, places his right hand on the younger and his left on the older. Why does this offend Joseph? What does this communicate about Jacob’s heart condition?
We can be very frustrated at times because it seems like the Lord is not hearing our prayers. We might be asking for something that we desire, but the Lord might not be giving us what we want. Why would the Lord withhold good things from his children? How can we find contentment in times of want? How can we have an attitude before the Lord that is pleasing and honorable to Him?
t is easy to claim that one is wise provided that we do not ground wisdom to a proper and good standard. So, how do we know if we are really wise? Where do we learn and discern wisdom?
We might think that we are in control of our tongues and able to be very disciplined in what we say. We might also think that maybe a few careless words are not that serious in the grand scheme of things. We might think this, but James would not agree. Why are a few careless words so serious?
One of the challenges of the Christian life is not allowing our earthly perspective to get in the way of our heavenly perspective. We are people called to arrive at heaven. We are people called to have the orientation of heaven ever before us as we sojourn through this age. So, how is this worked out? On the one hand we are struggling sinners called to honor the Lord and on the other hand we are called by a perfect God. So, how are we to live our the righteous requirements of the law in light of our sinful struggle?
Micah has warned the people of God that they are sinning against the Lord, and there is a serious consequence that is coming their way. They have worshiped false gods and they find their comforts in the gifts of the Lord rather than the Lord Himself. In other words, they enjoy their elite blessings, but they have missed the Lord who gives them the blessings that they enjoy. So, what is the ultimate consequence of their action? Is the Lord being cruel in promising or bringing about such punishment? What do we as a people learn from their experience and what exhortations come to bear upon us?
I am sure that you have heard before that if we hold out the gospel too much then people will not seek to honor the Lord because they will not be afraid of Him. In other words, if we do not really show the justice or the judgement of God then we will have a people that just live in rebellion. What does Micah teach about the real issue or the real problem that confronts us? What is the real issue that is before us, and what is the message that is to be proclaimed?
We are a bible believing church in the Belgrade, MT. We are a Reformed Protestant church who desire to build one another up in love as we sojourn under the sun.
