Today, I want us to look at two accounts in the Bible. The first one I want to look at is the story of Job. I want us to look back to when Job was struck by Satan with disaster and when his three friends heard about it, they came to offer their input on the matter. The second account is the parable Jesus told about the wheat and the tares. I want to look at these accounts because they connect with what I want to teach on today.
How many of you have had a situation in your life that wasn't in your favor and people started coming to you to give you their opinions on the matter? How many of you have had someone say to you, "Let me give you a friendly piece of advice"? Many, if not all of us, at some point in time have had situations in our lives that were not good and family, friends, and others have offered a "friendly piece of advice". We've had times when we were going through something, that someone just had to put their proverbial "two cents worth" into the matter.
I want us to look at these two accounts in the Bible because the scripture I really want to drive home with you today will open your eyes to something you may or may not have considered before. And when I show you this scripture and what God has to say about accounts like these, I believe most, if not all of you, will be utterly shocked! What God has laid on my heart for this time and this hour I believe is divine revelation! Many of us today are going through hard times right now. We're struggling with our marriages, our jobs, our finances, and our very state of mind right now because of everything that is happening in the world today.
Israel is under attack from the Hamas. Our government leaders are squabbling over things that should be easily resolved. Inflation is running rampid in our economy right now. Gas prices are rising. The cost of groceries is at an all-time high! People are having trouble making ends meet simply because the cost of living is totally out of control. But God sent me here today to give you a word that will open your eyes to a realization that is a must see!
Job 2:11-13, "Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him. And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. So, they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great."
Heavenly Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Bless the reading of Your Word and the teaching of it. Let every heart and every soul be touched by the grace of the living God. In Jesus Holy Name, we pray. Amen!
At first, Job's friends came to grieve with him. The Bible says that when they were afar off from him, they did not recognize him. Why? Because of all the sores on his body. And in chapter one, when he had heard that his family were killed, that his livestock and his wealth had been destroyed, he shaved his head, tore his robe, and said, "Naked I came into this world! And naked I will leave this world! The Lord has given and has taken away! Blessed be the Name of the Lord!"
So, when his friends came to be with their friend to grieve with him and seemingly to comfort him, they didn't recognize him because of the sores, the Bible calls them "painful boils". And because he shaved his head. They didn't expect to see that! They came thinking they were going to find their friend just as they remembered him. They didn't expect to see a man bald headed, cover in boils, looking like death warmed over in a waffle iron! But that's what they saw. And again, at first, they came to comfort him and grieve with him over the loss, mainly, of his family. But as we read on, their tune quickly changed into something else. But not before Job cursed the day he was born!
Job 3:1-26, "After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job spoke, and said:
“May the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’
May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it. May darkness and the shadow of death claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, may darkness seize it; May it not rejoice among the days of the year, may it not come into the number of the months. Oh, may that night be barren! May no joyful shout come into it! May those curse it who curse the day, those who are ready to arouse Leviathan. May the stars of its morning be dark.
May it look for light, but have none, and not see the dawning of the day; Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hide sorrow from my eyes. “Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? For now, I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest. With kings and counselors of the earth, who built ruins for themselves, or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver; Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, like infants who never saw light? There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there,
And the servant is free from his master. “Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, who long for death, but it does not come, and search for it more than hidden treasures; Who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they can find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in? For my sighing comes before I eat, and my groanings pour out like water. For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes.”
Now, wait a minute. First, he praises God in spite of his hard ships, now he's cursing the day he was born? Job changed his mood quick! But now, his friends are about to chime in! Now, his buddies are going to give him THEIR opinion, starting with Eliphaz.
Job 4:1-9, "Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: “If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary? But who can withhold himself from speaking? Surely you have instructed many, and you have strengthened weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have strengthened the feeble knees; But now it comes upon you, and you are weary; It touches you, and you are troubled. Is not your reverence your confidence? And the integrity of your ways your hope?
Remember now, whoever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the blast of God they perish,
And by the breath of His anger, they are consumed."
So, Eliphaz is accusing Job of sin. He's asking him, "Whoever perished and were innocent? When were the upright ever cut off?" Eliphaz is calling Job, his friend. His close friend, a sinner. Basically, what Eliphaz is saying here is, "If you were truly innocent and upright before God, none of this would be happening! You'd still have your land, your cattle and your family. Your wife wouldn't be telling you to curse God and die! But, based on what I HAVE seen, there has to be sin in your life. Why else would God be punishing you like this?" Oh, how easy it is for OTHERS to form an opinion of what is going on in YOUR life!
It seems so easy for OTHERS to tell us where we went wrong, but it's WHEN we listen to these people that we TRULY HAVE gone wrong! How many people have whispered in your ear about something you're dealing with? How many people have come to you and told you, "You shouldn't marry that man. You shouldn't marry that woman. They'll only break your heart." How many people have told you to quit that job! "They don't appreciate you. All they do is USE you! They sucking you dry!" It's so easy to tell OTHERS what they should do about the situation they're in, but what about when YOU are the one in the situation? Do you go to God, or do you go to others?
But Job doesn't just have that ONE friend to throw his two cents into the kitty! He has three. Now, it's Bildad's turn to offer Job a "friendly piece of advice".
Job 8:1-7, "Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: “How long will you speak these things, And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind? Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice? If your sons have sinned against Him, He has cast them away for their transgression. If you would earnestly seek God and make your supplication to the Almighty, if you were pure and upright,
Surely now He would awake for you and prosper your rightful dwelling place. Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly."
"If you were a REAL Christian!" How many times have we heard that before? "If you were REALLY on God's good side, this wouldn't be happening." "If God REALLY hears you, why are you going through this?" How many times have we heard someone say something just like what Bildad is saying to Job here? How many times have we heard people tell us that God is doing this because of some kind of sin in our life? How do you know what's going on in my life anyway?! You don't know what I'm dealing with! You don't know what's going on here! And all of a sudden, YOU are an EXPERT in such matters? Since when?
Most of the time, when people come to us and start running their mouth about what's going on with us and why we're going through what we're going through, it's to take the attention off of THEIR faults and failures and shine that proverbial light on US! Can I tell you that most of the people in your life that try to tell you why this is happening, that's happening, you shouldn't marry this one or that one, are only telling you this to take the heat off of them?! They can be whispering in your ear, all the while, they're sweeping their own mess under the rug when they think nobody's looking! So, now Zophar is going to speak up and tell his buddies and Job what HE thinks the problem is. This oughta be good, right?
Job 11:1-6, Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: “Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be vindicated? Should your empty talk make men hold their peace? And when you mock, should no one rebuke you? For you have said, ‘My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in your eyes.’ But oh, that God would speak, and open His lips against you, That He would show you the secrets of wisdom! For they would double your prudence. Know therefore that God exacts from you Less than your iniquity deserves."
Job 11:13-17, “If you would prepare your heart, and stretch out your hands toward Him; If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away, And would not let wickedness dwell in your tents; Then surely you could lift up your face without spot; Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear; Because you would forget your misery, And remember it as waters that have passed away, And your life would be brighter than noonday."
All three of these so-called friends of Job are accusing him of sin! They all believe Job has sinned against God, his sons sinned against God, somebody in the family had to sin against God! Otherwise, none of this would be happening to Job! That's what they believe! Do you know what that is? That is a religious spirit! And a religious spirit will pull you away from God! That's legalistic mentality! That's hypocritical thinking! THAT'S NOT GOD!!!!
All three of Job's friends are literally and proverbially kicking their friend when he's down. They're begging him to confess to sin he never committed. All three of these guys, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, all believe that the only reason God has chosen to strip Job of his family and his wealth is because he sinned against the Lord. That is hypocritical, narrow minded, religious, stinking thinking at best!
None of these friends of Job are true friends. None of these guys have Job's best interest at heart. None of them here show any TRUE friendship to Job. All of them do nothing but accuse and insinuate. All of them point their fingers, either at Job or his kids. None of them offer Job what he TRULY needs at this point in his life. Prayer, intercession, guidance, wisdom, revelation. None of them pray for Job. None of them lay hands on Job and rebuke the enemy! None of them go to the Lord for the answer! They all believe they have the answer already. But they don't even know. They don't even know what's REALLY happening here.
What IS happening here? There is a spiritual battle ongoing for Job. God and Satan are engaged in combat and Job is the prize. God and Satan are having their own WrestleMania, and Job is the championship up for grabs. Job is the title belt they're vying for! But instead of praying for their friend and lifting him up to the Lord in intercession, all they do is point out what THEY think the problem is. That reminds me of the expression, "With friends like you, who needs an enemy?"
We've all had someone like Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in our lives offer us a "friendly piece of advice". We've all had people like this in our lives that just have to throw their two cents worth into the proverbial kitty. We've all had someone in our life whisper in our ear and point that accusatory finger in our face and say, "You're being punished for something you did. You shouldn't do this or do that. You shouldn't marry that person! They're only going to break your heart."
You know? I hate that! I hate it when people, family and friends come to someone who's engaged to be married and tell them, "Don't marry them! They're only going to hurt you." How do YOU know that person's going to hurt them? You don't even know that person! How do you know they shouldn't marry them? Is the ring on your finger? How many times have you been married? How many times have you been divorced? What makes you such an expert on anything to do with marriage? Hypocrite!
Now, like I said, we've all had someone like this in our lives at some point. I was going to go to the parable of the wheat and the tares next, but the Lord wants me to go to my point scripture instead. And believe me, a lot of eyes are going to be opened to something here!
Normally, I don't just put a few words of scripture in my messages. I believe in looking at the big picture. That's why I include so much of the Word in these messages. Because I believe that in order to understand the key point of the scripture, we need to look at the verses before and after it. But, in this case, it's more relevant to just look at a couple of verses in this passage.
Proverbs 6:16 says, "These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him:" As most of you know, I've taught that an abomination is an open act of defiance to God. When we commit an abomination in the eyes of God, it runs much deeper than sin. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." All of us sin all the time. Most times, we don't even realize that we have sinned. Other times, we catch it right off. But when you commit an abomination, you sin KNOWING that what you're doing is sin. You know what God's Word says about that and you do it anyway. That's abomination. That's why I teach that an abomination is an OPEN ACT of defiance in the very face of God.
Proverbs 6:16 says, "These six things the Lord hates." And, "seven are an abomination to Him." We've all read this passage and focused on the part that says, "Hands that shed innocent blood". But what I want to point out is the second half of verse 19 that says, "one who sows DISCORD among brethren." The word, "discord", means "disagreement". Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” So, if there is discord, there is disagreement. And if there is disagreement, then Jesus is not in the midst of you. And the Bible says here that God HATES one who SOWS discord among the brethren.
So, when someone comes to you and tells you something like, "Don't marry them. They'll only hurt you." Or, "Don't pay your tithes when you're behind on your rent. Pay your rent and worry about tithes later." That is one who sows DISCORD among the brethren. "How are they sowing discord?" Because they are telling you to DISAGREE with God's Word. For example, Malachi 3:10 says, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house." Or Proverbs 18:22, "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord."
What business does anyone have telling you who not to marry? They don't know that person. In most cases, that is the truth of the matter. They don't know your fiancé! They don't know that person you intend to marry. So, who are they to tell you not to marry them? And who are they to tell you to go against God's Word and neglect the tithe, take your faith and your trust OUT of God and pay your rent? I'll show you who. I'll show you who the Bible calls such a person.
Matthew 13:24-30, "Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So, the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn.”.
He said, "AN ENEMY has done this"! When people like Job's friends come into your life and start telling you things like, "Don't marry that person!" "Don't pay your tithe!" "Well, you must have sin in your life somewhere! Why else would God be punishing you like this?" The Bible says THEY...ARE...YOUR...ENEMY!!! They're no friend to you! They're no family to you! THEY...ARE...THE...ENEMY!!! They're sowing discord in your life! And God's Word says He HATES people who do that!
They may think they're helping you. They may think they're protecting you. They may think they know what they're talking about. But the Bible calls them YOUR...ENEMY!!! Why? Because they are not speaking the Word of God over your life! They're being like Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. They're voicing their OWN opinion about what's going on in YOUR life! And who are they to do that? Are they there with you 24/7? Are they with you everywhere you go? Are they listening in on your phone calls? Are they literally and physically in your mind knowing every thought and every wonder you have? NO! So, again I ask you, who are they to tell you anything about your walk with God or who you marry?
Look at the conversation between Jesus and Peter when Jesus foretold His betrayal and crucifixion. Mark 8:31-33, "And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Peter pulls Jesus aside and begins to rebuke Him for saying that He will be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and be executed. But Jesus turns things around and rebukes Peter! "GET BEHIND ME, SATAN!", He said. "You are NOT mindful of the things of God, but of men!" Peter was reacting the way the WORLD would react to someone they love predicting their betrayal and execution! Peter was only reacting the way the WORLD would react. But Jesus said, "Get behind Me, SATAN." He wasn't talking to Peter, He was talking to the Devil! The Devil is the one who put that thought in his head about refusing to let them kill His Messiah.
Can I tell you this? The enemy will ALWAYS do WHATEVER he feels is necessary to disrupt God's plans. The enemy will ALWAYS use those closest to you to throw you off track in your walk with God. The enemy will ALWAYS try to use people in your life to get you to look at things through worldly eyes. Why? Because if he can get you to look through WORLDLY eyes, he knows you won't be looking at things through GOD'S eyes.
I'm here to tell you there are people in your life who you have known for years, people who you have loved for years, people that have been with you through thick and thin that the enemy is using to throw you off track and sow tares in your harvest! PULL THE WEEDS OUT AND CAST THE TARES INTO THE FIRE! GOD HAS A HARVEST FOR YOU!!!
Stop listening to this jacked up, messed up world that would tell you, "Don't marry that person!" "Don't pay your tithes!" "Don't listen to that preacher!" "Don't go to that church!" "Don't read that Bible!" "Don't go to that campmeeting!" GOD HAS A HARVEST FOR YOU AND THE ENEMY IS OUT FOR NOTHING BUT TO SOW TARES INTO YOUR BLESSING! REBUKE THAT SERPENT OF OLD, THE DEVIL! REBUKE THAT SERPENT THAT'S WHISPERING IN YOUR EAR TO TAKE OF THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT! REBUKE THAT SERPENT OF OLD WHO WOULD TELL YOU, "DON'T DO THAT! DO THIS! DON'T LISTEN TO THAT RUBBISH ABOUT BLESSING YOUR ENEMIES OR TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK! IF SOMEONE SLAPS YOU UPSIDE THE HEAD, SLAP EM BACK!" REBUKE THAT MENTALITY! STORM THE ENEMIES CAMP AND TAKE BACK WHAT HE STOLE FROM YOU! DO I HAVE A WITNESS IN HERE?!!!!
1 Peter 5:5-11, "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in DUE time, casting ALL your cares upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a ROARING lion, seeking whom he MAY devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the SAME SUFFERINGS are experienced by your brethren in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To HIM be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
There's two things I want to point out about this passage before I close. First, notice the Bible refers to the enemy as a ROARING lion? I highlighted the word, "roaring", for a reason. Any zoologist will tell you that it's not the ROARING lions you need to worry about. It's the quiet ones. Why is that? Because a ROARING lion is old and feeble. He has no strength. So, he roars. He roars loudly and viciously so he can paralyze you with fear. A roaring lion wants to make you freeze in place. He wants to scare you stiff. Because, while you're standing there, frozen in fear, that roaring lion is dragging that old, feeble carcass of his closer and closer to you. As long as you are froze with fear and you're too scared to even move, he can take his time dragging himself to where you are to catch you and start gnawing and eating on you.
You see, but the QUIET ones. The lions who make no noise. The ones who just sit there as if they don't even notice you, are the ones that are stalking you and waiting to make their move on you. They don't need to make any noise to scare you. You see, it's the quiet lions that are the young lions. The QUIET lions are the YOUNG lions. They don't need to roar their head off at you to catch you. They'll sneak up on you. They'll crawl up to you on their bellies. They'll hide themselves within the trees and the shrubs so you won't see them. And when they're close enough to you, before you even know it, they've got you! They'll spring up on you literally out of nowhere and take you down, and take you down hard!
So, when the Bible refers to the devil as a ROARING lion, God is telling you, "This old boy don't even have the physical strength to even take a swing at you! He has to scream his head off at you in the hopes that you'll freeze in place and be paralyzed with fear! He wants to scare you so bad that you won't be able to move. And if he does that, he's got you." But notice the Bible ALSO says he is seeking those whom he MAY devour? God wants you to know, the devil can't lay A HAND on you if you don't let him."
Secondly, "humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in DUE time. KNOW that the SAME SUFFERINGS are experienced by your brethren in the world. But may the God of ALL grace, Who called us to HIS eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you." God is telling you that you will suffer some stuff. You're going to go through some stuff. You're going to have good days, and bad days. But AFTER, the Bible says, AFTER you have suffered a while, the God of ALL Grace is going to perfect you, establish you, strengthen you, and settle you.
2 Chronicles 20:20 says, "Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "To everything there IS a season, a time for every purpose under heaven."
I want you to know today that God sees everything about you. The good, the bad, and even the ugly. And He STILL loves you and is making a way for you. But there are weeds in your life that have to be PLUCKED OUT by the root! They could be habits. They could be situations. They could even be people in your life who you hold dear and close to you. Look at Job. His three friends who came from a long way off to grieve with him, ended up pointing fingers at him and his children.
THE MAN JUST LOST HIS FAMILY!!! His sons, his daughters, his sons in law, his daughters in law. Grandchildren. EVEN HIS OWN WIFE told him to curse God and die! His own family! Lost! Gone! And his friends and his wife try to sow DISCORD in his faith. They tried to sow TARES in the harvest God had for him. "CURSE GOD AND DIE!" "HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE INNOCENT BE PUNISHED LIKE THIS?" "REPENT! YOU'VE OBVIOUSLY SINNED AGAINST GOD! THAT'S WHY THIS IS HAPPENING!"
Can you imagine your own family and closest friends coming to you in your time of sorrow and pointing their accusatory fingers at you like that? And Job, Job could honestly have said the same thing the sower said in Matthew 13. "AN ENEMY HAS DONE THIS!" IT WAS AN ENEMY that took my livestock! AN ENEMY has killed my family! "AN ENEMY HAS DONE THIS! And one thing I DO know, GOD is NOT my enemy."
How many of you have had people who said they love you and care for you talk to you the way these 3 "friends" talked to Job? How many of you have had your spouse talk to you the way Job's did? AN ENEMY HAS DONE THIS! Pull the weeds out. "GET BEHIND ME, SATAN! YOU ARE NOT MINDFUL OF GODLY THINGS, BUT THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD!" Pull the weeds out. The enemy is ALWAYS looking to sow tares into your harvest if not destroy the harvest entirely. Pull the weeds out.
Even Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who calls me, "Lord", will enter the Kingdom of God. But the ONE who does the will of My Father." Whose will are you doing today? God's? Or man's? Pull the weeds out. Whose word are you going to believe today?! God's? Or man's? Pull the weeds out. ARE YOU GOING TO BE LIKE THE FIVE WISE VIRGINS AND HAVE OIL FOR YOUR LAMP WHEN THE BRIDEGROOM COMES? Or will you be like the foolish and go with the oil you got? Pull the weeds out.
Father God, in the Name of OUR Lord, Jesus Christ. Touch every heart and every mind here today. Open their eyes to the Word of the living God today. Show them Your Glory, Father! Expose the weeds and the tares in their lives today! Pluck them out and cast them into the fire today! In Jesus Name we pray. Amen and Amen!!! Thank you and God bless you and yours.
