Job 2:11-13, Just to be there..

Psalm 16:8 “I have set the Lord always before me: Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”

Introduction...

after a troublesome day, it feels good to know that when i get home someone will be there if i just need to talk...

and if i do not want to talk it is good to know that someone is still there...

it is good to know that i have friends that if i needed to call, that they will lend a ear or shoulder if they can...

i understand they may go thru some trials and tribulations and i hope they know that if i can i am here...

it is good to know that i have a church family that i feel if i needed to talk they would be there if at all possible..

and of course it works both ways...as a Pastor, i can be there....

and as we will see in a few moments, its not always about what you say or do...sometimes it’s just your presence...

Job’s friends presence was a blessing until they started talking but that is whole different lesson..

but as followers and true believers in Christ, we must hold on and know that even though HE might be performing miracles all of the time, Jesus is there with us...

The presence of Jesus in the daily lives of believers is a central theme in Christian theology, emphasizing the intimate and ongoing relationship between Christ and His followers. This presence is both a source of comfort and a call to live according to His teachings.

The Apostle Paul frequently writes about the believer's union with Christ, a mystical and spiritual connection that signifies Jesus' presence in the life of a Christian.

Prayer is a vital practice through which believers experience the presence of Jesus. 

The Lord's Supper, or Communion, is another profound expression of Jesus' presence. 

The presence of Jesus in the daily lives of believers is a profound and transformative reality. Through the Holy Spirit, prayer, communion, and faithful living, Christians experience and manifest the presence of their Savior, impacting their own lives and the world around them.

So we as the body of Christ, need to understand that we represent Christ, while we are on our mission. So when we are there with someone in need they should Christ all over us and feel His peace.

That is why is as Christians, it is good JUST TO BE THERE...

Jesus was there for those in need then, now and until He comes back...

If i come to you, i am not coming as Marcellus or not just because I am your Pastor, friend..

I am coming as a representative of Christ and i will just be there for you....

and Job’s friends give us a good example of just being there for their friend...

let’s look at the story once again....

Story/Text....

Once again chapters 1 and 2 are full heart break and despair for Job.

(RECAP)....talk, preach...tell the story...

but thru it all Job sinned not…

but here at the end of chapter 2, the news has spread and we Job’s friends coming to him.. When Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place: This passage introduces three remarkable friends of Job. Their names were Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. These men came to Job in his hour of need..

once again they came with good intentions it wasn’t until they started talking and call themselves helping did they add more pressure upon Job...but that is a whole different lesson...

but they started off the right way...

LOOK AT THE TEXT… Job 2:11–13 “Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.”

even though this was old testament, this has Jesus all over it...

These instances highlight Jesus' deep emotional connection to human suffering and His empathy towards others. 

Matthew 9:36 “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”

Luke 19:41 “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,”

Galatians 6:2 “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”

TALK, PREACH........

the bottom line is that his friends were there for Him in his time of need and despair...

as Jesus is always there for us in all our times, good and bad...

and from what the bible shows and teaches us thru the life of Job, it should help us today.

help us be clear, that as the church, we should have sympathy, empathy, apathy on those around us...

from our house, the church house, the community....sometimes we should JUST BE THERE....

and be there letting our light shine, in the name of Jesus....

Let’s go deeper into the text and see how Job’s friends help us...

Points...

they came every one from his own place;

to be there, you have to deny yourself....

Luke 9:23 “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

This teaching calls Christians to prioritize their spiritual journey over personal desires and comforts, reflecting a deep commitment to living according to Jesus' teachings.

Job D. Satan’s Persecution (2:7–13)

his three friends set out from their homes from various regions around Uz to support Job in his pain. His three friends met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him, all with the aim of bringing comfort to Job.

TALK, PREACH....

for they had made an appointment together ...

to be there, you have to have a mind to serve...

Their intended goal was good and noble. They came to be with him (to come), to share his sorrow (and mourn with him), and to bring some relief to Job (and to comfort him).

the friends heard the news and came together and had a made up mind to be there for their friend....

the problem with the world and the church today, no one wants to get involved....but everyone has something to say...TALK, PREACH.......

they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.”

one body, one pain....but be there....

This was a wonderful display of comfort and common cause with Job. They shared in his afflicted state, acting as if they were similarly afflicted. They offered no statement except for their compassionate presence.

Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament Chapters 1–3

they sat in sympathetic silence for a week after weeping with him and joining in his acts of humiliation.

no one can help anyone without becoming involved, without entering with his or her whole person into the painful situation.

one body, one pain, but be there...

thru Christ, work it out together...