Shine, God Hasn’t Forgotten You
Text: Job 8:3-22
Opening thoughts from Job:
The book of Job reminds us that life is Short life in Job 7:6-7, 9; 8:9
“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope. Oh, remember that my life is a breath! As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up. For we were born yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days on earth are a shadow.”
Not only does this remind us that our time here is limited and that we must settle our relationship with God, but others too must have that opportunity. In the middle of the chaos of life, We must be people of compassion, helping those honestly trapped or lost and not adding to their distress without giving them the possibility of hope in God. Our words must promote healing and not despair.
Job 6:14, 15, 18, “To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend, Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. My brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook, Like the streams of the brooks that pass away, The paths of their way turn aside, They go nowhere and perish.”
Summary
Although Bildad is totally wrong because he misapplies truths, he does at least state 3 truths that we can look at and when we WILL apply them properly, we will grow in our faith and shine effectively.
1) Forsake God and Perish
2) Repent and God will restore
3) God doesn’t reject the righteous and WILL restore after the testing is done.
1) Forsake God and perish
“Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh? Can the reeds flourish without water? While it is yet green and not cut down, It withers before any other plant. So are the paths of all who forget God; And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish, Whose confidence shall be cut off, And whose trust is a spider’s web. He leans on his house, but it does not stand. He holds it fast, but it does not endure.” Job 8:11-15
He describes two different groups of people, but both have the same end because both have the same heart.
Those Who Forget God – leave Him behind and reject Him, ignore Him, hope He will go away.
They do not care about righteousness. Right and wrong serve their purposes and are defined by their desires at the time. Whether they knew Him and lost sight of the truth or whether they have simply heard and not paid attention, it is the fool who said in his heart – “there is no God”. All will give an account.
The Hypocrite – They are similar in that they want to be seen as righteous and good but don’t want it to truly make any demands on their lifestyle.
They are like chameleons who try to fit into the surroundings without really being anything different. They hide who they really are, but God sees and knows the heart. As 1 Samuel 16:7 says, Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.”
Neither group cares about God. They both care for themselves. When you boil it down neither wants to give up their will to God and have Him be in charge of their lives and so both will perish. Their hopes and lives are like a spider web – looks great until you try to hold something in it.
That is the fate of those who reject. The good news however is that if anyone will
2) Repent, God Will Restore. Job 8:3-6
Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice? He calls us to look to God’s character – God is JUST and will do what is right
Those who have sinned against Him, He will cast away. That is the first part that he wants to be clear – each one has to give an account. The beauty is that there is a perfect way for us to give an account for our transgressions and NOT be cast away. It is found in the following verses.
5 If you would earnestly seek God And make your supplication to the Almighty,
This is a good statement and reflects what we read in Romans 10:13, “For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” Just before that Paul tells us: “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
We need to recognize our sin as He shows it to us and not try to hide it or justify it. Confess it and with His help turn from it.
It’s all about the attitude of our heart. Do we want to be Right with God or do we want our own thing, our own way, in our own time.
People who truly want to have a right relationship with God say what we find in Psalms 141:5
“Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it.”
They want to move forward with God and they are the one to whom God will, “Surely awake for you, And prosper your rightful dwelling place.”
He gets it wrong when he accuses Job of wrongdoing. He tells Job that he ISN’T righteous and THAT is why he is suffering. This is NOT a principle of God. Although God CAN use suffering to get our attention and motivate change in our lives, it does not mean that EVERY time there is a hardship there is sin in our lives. Chapters 1 & 2 of this book make that abundantly clear. Job was in right standing with God, so much so that God bragged on him to Satan.
3) God Doesn’t Reject The Righteous And WILL Restore After The Testing Is Done.
8:20 Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, Nor will He uphold the evildoers.
Although this is true, we must understand that there is a difference between not casting away and allowing a sifting and testing in the way Jesus said to Peter the devil wants to sift you “like wheat”.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, And your lips with rejoicing.
There will be a time of restoration as we come through the time of testing and ultimately at our reward in heaven.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, And the dwelling place of the wicked will come to nothing.”
There is a near future fulfillment of this that is mentioned in 1 Peter 3:15-16, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.”
The ultimate fulfillment is that in the end, if they do not repent, they will loose everything they have placed their trust and hope in with an eternal separation from God, and you will gain heaven. This same thought occurred to David during his times of distress, suffering as a righteous follower of God. In Psalm 73 , we see he took comfort as he pondered the end results of both himself and his false accusers.
Summary:
1) Forsake God and Perish
2) Repent and God will restore
3) God doesn’t reject the righteous and WILL restore after the testing is done.
It’s Time To Shine!
Blessings,
Pastor Brent.
He is Risen!
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