Job Chapter 29-30:ALL

Welcome to Cross the Bridge But right now, open your Bible to the Old Testament Book of Job and follow along for today's teaching. In this series of special weekend edition programs, Pastor David has been teaching lessons from the life of Job. Job is one of the oldest books in the Bible. We are finding out that what needed to be learned back then still needs to be learned by us today as we continue studying chapters 29 and 30.

Now here's Pastor David. On to Job, verse 1, it says, Job further continues his discourse and said, When my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me. When I went out to the gate by the city, when I took my seat in the open square, and the young men saw me and hid, and the agent arose and stood. The princes refrained from talking and put their hand on their mouth.

The voice of nobles was hushed, and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. When the ear heard, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw, then it approved me. Because I delivered the poor who cried out, the fatherless, and the one who had no helper.

Verse 13. The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me. My justice was like a robe in a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame.

I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth. And then I said, I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand. My root is spread out to the waters, and the dew lies all night on my branch. My glory is fresh within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand.

Verse 21. Men listened to me, and waited, and kept silence for my counsel. After my words they did not speak again, and my speech settled on them as due. They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.

If I mocked at them, they did not believe it. And the light of my countenance they did not cast down. I chose the way for them, and sat as chief. So I dwelt as a king in the army, as one who comforts mourners.

So Job is recalling good days and good times, which is a good thing to do. The Bible encourages us to think about good things, and pure things, and true things, and to fix our thoughts on those things. Chapter 30, verse 1. But now they mock at me, men younger than I, whose fathers I disdain to put with the dogs of my flock. Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me? Their vigour has perished. They are gaunt from wanton famine, fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate in waste, who pluck mallow by the bushes, and broom-tree roots for their food.

This is the food of the very, very poor. They were driven out from among men. They shouted at them as at a thief. They had to live in the clefts of the valleys or the rocks, or in caves or holes of the earth and the rocks. Among the bushes they braid.

Under the nettles they nestled. They were sons of fools, yes, sons of vile men. They were scourged from the land. And now I am their taunting song. Yes, I am their by-word. They abhor me. They keep far from me.

And do not hesitate to spit in my face, because he's loosed my bowstring and afflicted me. They have cut off restraint before me. At my right hand the rabble rises. They push away my feet, and they raise against me their ways of destruction. They break up my path. They promote my calamity. They have no helper.

They come as broad breakers under the ruinous storm they roll along. All these people who thought well of Joe before think really poorly of him now. But the real question is, does that tell us anything about Joe? No, other than that he had a lot and now he doesn't. Does it reveal anything about the people? Yeah, they respected him just because he had money.

He's the same guy, same person, maybe a little bit smarter, less definitely poorer for the moment, but they treat him bad. Just read some more. Verse 15. Terrors are turned upon me. They pursue my honor as the wind, and my prosperity has passed like a cloud. And now my soul is poured out because of my plight. The days of affliction take hold of me. My bones are pierced in me at night, and my gnawing pains take no rest. By great force my garment is disfigured.

It bounds me about as the collar of my coat. He has cast me into the mire, and I've become like dust and ashes. I cry out to you, but you do not answer me. I stand up and you regard me, but you have become cruel to me. With the strength of your hand you oppose me.

Now he's talking to God. You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride in it, and you spoil my success. For I know that you will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living.

Surely he would not stretch out his hand against a heap of ruins if they cry out when he destroys it. Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor? But when I looked for good, evil came to me. And when I waited for light, then came darkness. My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest. Days of affliction confront me. I go about mourning but not in the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help. I am a brother of jackals and a companion of ostriches. My skin grows black and falls from me.

My bones burn with fever. My heart is turned to mourning and my flute to the voice of those who weep. Let me ask you, when did Satan attack Job? Or when was Satan attacking Job?

He still is. In this chapter Job is wrong and part of why he's wrong is he's being blinded by the enemy and he's blaming God for something the enemy did. And through these things that the enemy throws at him, he's trying to tell what God is speaking to him, setting up for all kinds of trouble. First of all, he's focused on his righteousness and what's wrong with God.

That's a big clue. Anytime you're thinking about all the good things that you've done for God and all the times that he's let you down, that is satanic self-pity and it's not going to gain you anything. It's going to steal your peace from you. What do you do when something's wrong? There's earth and then there's heaven. This is not heaven. Don't expect things to go perfectly.

I mean, I've had expectations and walking excellence, but things are going to happen. And as a matter of fact, in our case with what we're doing, we're in a battle. So the battle, we think, oh, we had this skirmish in this relationship. This guy said this, or this lady said this, and oh, there's a little battle going on. Oh, something's wrong.

No. If there wasn't a battle, something would be wrong. Here's a life lesson. Don't assume something is wrong because there's a battle. A battle means things are going well and that God is at work doing something the enemy doesn't like.

Amen? So don't assume something's wrong because there's a battle. A battle means things are going well and that God is at work doing something the enemy doesn't like. Let me read you some verses. Matthew 18, chapter 18, verse 18. This is important for us to understand because the enemy, he's out running around with his minions and the unbelievers. And surely I say to you, this is Jesus in red letters, and surely I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven or in the spiritual, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven or the spiritual realm. So if you bind the enemy in Jesus' name, he's bound. He's bound in the spiritual.

That's what this is saying. And it says together with some other scriptures, and it says again, I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything, if two of you agree on anything, what do we know the enemy doesn't want to happen now? He doesn't want two of us to agree on anything.

Why? Because when we agree on anything, look at what happens. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them. Praise God. Praise God.

So the enemy doesn't want you gathering with other believers. He's not going to outright say that. He's going to say, whatever, it's too loud, it's too cold, it's too long, it's too this, it's too far, it's too close, it's da da da da da.

And none of that should matter. And understand the enemy does not want you to hear the message. And he'll do anything to get you away from the word. In Daniel, we see that the angel is coming with a message to Daniel and got in a battle for three weeks. Daniel chapter 10 verse 12. Then he said to me, do not fear Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard.

When you prayed, you were heard, and I've come because of your words, because of your prayers. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia, that's not the earthly prince. He's going to have some things that are super.

Look at what it says. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes. Michael, one of the chief princes of what? Of the kingdom of heaven. Michael the archangel.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me, for I had been there left alone with the kings, plural, of Persia. Now I've come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to the many days yet to come. Here the angel's coming with this important message for Daniel and gets in a battle for three weeks. And Daniel's thinking, well, God, why aren't you answering my prayer? God heard him for the first time and sent somebody with a message. And then there's this battle.

Why did it take three weeks? Well, I don't know who was praying. Our prayers are powerful. Psalm 91, we have angels that we are in charge of, basically.

And if you don't tell them what to do, you've got unemployed angels. God said, God, protect with angels my kids. God, protect with angels my home.

Pray according to the word of God. Now, Matthew 13, the parable of the sower, reminds us of this battle. Listen, Matthew 13, 18. Therefore, hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is who received the seed by the wayside, but he who received the seed on stunning places, this is who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but only endures, only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. We've seen it. It's sad.

It's heartbreaking. Verse 22. Now he who received the seed among the thorns is who hears the word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces some 100-fold, some 60, and some 30.

Praise God. You're created to spiritually reproduce, and that seed helps you reproduce, and the enemy is after that seed. He doesn't want that seed sown in your life, and then he doesn't want us sowing the seed all around the world globally that we sow. He don't want it going forth, so he wants to weaken the body so that we got to pull everything. Oh, we can't do cross the bridge anymore. Oh, we can't do the fridge house. Oh, we can't support missionaries. That's what the enemy wants to do.

He wants to weaken the foundation and weaken the base so the word doesn't go forth. Pastor David will be back in less than one minute as he continues teaching in the book of Job. A great way to start out each day is with a practical email devotional every morning from Pastor David.

Visit crossthebridge.com to start receiving yours for free. If you have a cell phone, you can also text the word ENCOURAGE to 94253. That's 94253 to receive a short encouraging text from us each day. And now, back to the teaching. Here's it put in the life of us. The enemy does not want the seed, the word of God, the message of God going forth.

The word of God, the message of God goes forth from this fellowship around the world constantly. Amen. Amen. Praise God, man. So why did somebody get upset Sunday or last week or two weeks ago? I'm telling you, nobody is ever going to say, look, I was listening to the devil and he was telling me that I needed to come mess with you and disturb you because in a few moments you're about to read a verse that's really going to help you and so I got to distract you for the next few hours.

Help me. That's not God they're listening to. That's not God. Romans 13, 11 says this, And do this, knowing the time, that it now is high time to awake out of sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust. The New Living Translation, that one says, This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is.

Time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone, the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes and put on the shining armor of right living because we belong to the day.

We must live decent lives for all to see. Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness or in sexual promiscuity or immoral living or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. Ephesians 4.25 says, Therefore, putting away lying, let each of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Now, if you couldn't give place to the devil, Paul would not tell you not to give place to the devil.

So the fact he says don't do it means you can, so don't do it. Amen? Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands with his good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth.

That is so confusing. Let's read it again. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. That last verse, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. The living translation says, get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Verse 32, instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Now I've just got more verses. Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. The whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the walls of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, against the person you're talking to, or the person you're having trouble with. That's not who the real issue is with.

Who's it with? Well, it tells us we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places. That's four things, four classifications. A big, great study.

We don't have time, but put some side work in there to pay off. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. And then 1 John chapter 3, verse 10. These verses right here, so help you to figure out where two people are coming from.

If you're trying to figure out, well, who do I listen to? Listen, in this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. This is how you can figure out which of which. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. If you've got two people, and one is trash talking the other, and you're trying to figure out if it's true, you don't have to worry about it anymore, because this one's wrong. As a matter of fact, these verses here, says not only wrong, he's of the devil, or she's of the devil, depending on who's yapping. But that's how you figure it out. If somebody's yapping, dogging somebody out, that's not a God. If somebody wants to speak correction, there's ways and processes for that.

We have those in place. But it says, for this is the message that you've heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain, who was of the wicked one, and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil, and his brother is righteous. He got mad about needing to give an offering.

Go back and read it, is what it says. Do not marvel, my brethren, the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

Whoever hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding him. James 4, 7 says, submit to God, resist the devil, he'll flee from you. And remember, Matthew 18, 18, says that whatever you bind is bound. You have authority as a believer to bind things.

Not in your name, in his name, in the name of Jesus. And have discernment. When people are doing certain things, saying certain things, look what the scriptures say.

When somebody's not walking in righteousness, and somebody's not loving the brethren, not loving the body of Christ, it doesn't take much discernment to figure out who's wrong. In 1 John 4, 4, you are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because he who is in you, that's the Holy Spirit, is greater than he who is in the world. Amen? Praise God, absolutely. And here's, and here's, and I don't know, close with the scripture, but Hebrews chapter 10, verse 23, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, the getting together, as the manner of some, but exhorting one another, encouraging one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. So as the day approaches, you'll be tempted more and more not to fellowship.

That's what that verse is saying. As you get closer to the day of the coming of the Lord, be sure that you're in fellowship, because you'll be tempted not to be. And when you're in fellowship, many things happen. First of all, where two or three are gathered, there's power in the unity. And then we get together and we encourage one another. We challenge one another. Sometimes the friction rubs off the flesh of one another. Why is it hard?

Why is it hurt? Well, we're not in heaven yet. And you know, Jacob worked seven years, and he got Leah. He wanted Rachel. He got Leah. And then he had to work another seven years for Rachel.

He needed to have the time of Leah to get the bride Rachel. When Jesus was at a wedding and he turned the water to wine, I said, usually people serve the best wine first, but you have saved the best for last. That's us. He has saved the best for last. We're not at the best part. We're in the middle part. We're in the hard part.

The best is yet to come. And here's the thing. Here's the life lesson. We will carry the cross and we will receive our crown.

Amen. Don't bail. Keep holding on. Because if you endure the cross, you receive the crown. But if you bail, if you drop off, so many times the word says, to those who endure till the end, to those who endure, to those who persevere over and over. God brought you here. Endure.

Hold on. Follow God. And love the brethren and the sisters.

This is the body of Christ. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for the word tonight. Thank you for your word, your written word. Lord, thank you also for the Rima word, that inspired word of God. Lord, thank you for tonight. Thank you for the things that we've seen. Thank you for the things that you've cleared up.

Where the enemy had blown clouds and confusion and fear into some lives here. God, thank you for your Holy Spirit blowing tonight. You've been listening to Pastor David McGee on Cross the Bridge Weekend Edition.

Tune in again next Saturday afternoon at 4.30 Eastern and 1.30 Pacific Time as Pastor David continues teaching lessons from the life of Job on most radio stations. Friends, God loves you and wants you to experience his peace, forgiveness and life. The Bible says, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. How do you receive this gift of everlasting life from God? First, acknowledge you're a sinner in need of forgiveness. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died for you on the cross, taking your sin upon himself to provide forgiveness for you.

Then ask for him to enter your heart and life, turning away from your sins, that is your own selfish desires, and then open your heart to follow God's plan for your life. You can start your new life by praying something like this from your heart. Dear Jesus, I believe that you died for me, that I could be forgiven. I believe you are resurrected, that I could have a new life. Lord, I have done wrong things and I am sorry.

Please forgive me for all of those things and please give me the power to live for you the rest of my life. In Jesus' name, amen. My friend, if you prayed that prayer today for the first time, or are coming back to God after wandering away, please let us know. Email PastorDavid at CrossTheBridge.com and share your good news. That's a great first step to growing in your new faith. We'd love to email you back some more ways to continue in this wonderful adventure of faith. Remember that you are not alone and you are loved. Also, don't forget to visit CrossTheBridge.com to discover more resources provided at no charge to help you learn more about the Bible. If you'd like to help us share God's word with others, please click on the donate button and support this program with your regular gifts and tune into Cross The Bridge weekend editions each Saturday and Sunday on this station or on the CrossTheBridge.com website. God bless you and have a great day.