9/27/25 - Another Sermon on the Wicked - Job 20
Notes
Transcript
I was in Cary this weekend
I had a conference on Thursday
And then we celebrated my mother-in-laws 90th birthday
Also, while we were there
Shannon was helping to pack up their home
As they are in the process of selling their house
And moving here to live with us.
All very exciting news that has nothing to do with what we are speaking about tonight.
Because of the conference on Thursday
That is my normal time to study at a coffee shop in town
so I moved it to Friday
and looked for a place to study in Cary.
I figured I could find a place
that roasted their own coffee
and perhaps could get some fresh roasted coffee beans
being the coffee snob that I am
This place was very busy.
I hate that because I want to spend time looking over what I want
And there’s a line of people behind me
So I rushed an order through and went to find a place to sit
There was none, inside.
There were a couple of tables outside
so I put my stuff down at a table outside
And began to drink my hot coffee
Outside, in the 80 degree heat
And tried to concentrate to write the message for this evening.
There were a few things that were interesting to me
first, I wanted to find a coffee shop that roasted their own beans.
Because dried up, commercial coffee isn’t worth the effort.
I could also try some of their coffee and if I liked it
I could bring some whole beans home.
Of course that dream was crushed at the crowded lines in the shop.
When I realized where I was
I was in the Korean section of Cary.
right around the corner was the largest Korean grocery store called H-Mart
I was surrounded by non Koreans at this coffee shop
But I love to go into the H-Mart to get Asian groceries when I’m there.
This section of Cary is just outside of Morrisville.
I was about 1 mile from the Hindu temple.
Surrounded by all sorts of ethne
Koreans, South Asians, you name it.
The third interesting thing was
I had been busy all week working on my doctoral paper
I was expecting that from the conference I was at
I would get a spark to share with you all tonight
I got more than a spark,
but it’s more for implementation rather than exhortation.
Doing more than preaching.
So I was at the coffee shop fully expecting to begin writing about
Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists
after all that made sense where I was
and who I was surrounded by
The Lord had other plans
and wouldn’t let me write about any of that.
So I went back to what we had been talking about in Job.
But I didn’t really want to go to Job
because I knew what the next set of verses was about
and I just mentally didn’t want to go there.
here I am, frustrated, this large white Yankee
Sipping 900 degree coffee in 80 degree heat
Studying about Zohar’s speech to Job
Which spoke all about judgment and metaphors to Hell.
I had a mild idea of what he was talking about.
As I was sweating through my experience.
Luke said this morning that the Word of God isn’t boring.
that it could be dry, but never boring.
I’m not sure that at times I agree with that.
When you feel like you are reading the same thing over and over again,
It feels a little boring
not because it is
but because I either don’t understand it
or I don’t understand why it’s there.
I was frustrated because
I am going to read another speech from Job’s friends
they aren’t going to say anything different
How many times do I need to hear about the judgment of Job?
I mentioned that this past week I was trying to keep plugging away at doctoral work.
I have three different verses
all of these to be the backbone of a strategy to
build biblical intake into the lives of students
one of the verses I am studying is 2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,
17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Paul’s letter to Timothy to help mentor him and to help with
all the heresy that was going on in the Ephesians church
And all the persecutions and suffering that Paul was going through
Paul encourages Timothy to hang in there
And remember the teachers he had
Paul, his mother, and his grandmother
And remember what they taught about the Word of God
Then Paul delivers this line
Hear the irony in all this
I’m designing a strategy to
develop the spiritual discipline of
biblical intake in the lives of students.
and I’m having a hard time reading the verse from Job
because I think they are repetitive
and one of the verses I’m studying is
a verse that says all scripture is profitable.
So I said to the Lord,
I get that all scripture is profitable
But why are we repeating this over and over again?
I got it the first two times we went through this
Why are we learning about Job’s tormentors
And how they are trying to be unmerciful
And don’t understand grace
I don’t get why it takes someone three times
to get something you said Lord.
It was at that moment, I was reminded of two things
the first was the passage of scripture where Jesus speaks to Peter at the end of John.
Here’s the set up
Peter was fishing, and catching nothing
Jesus shows up on the beach and cooks a meal
He tells them to throw the nets on the other side
And suddenly they catch a ton of fish
And that’s when Peter realizes who it is.
After swimming back to shore
Peter sits on the beach with Jesus
And Jesus asks Peter three times, do you love me?
Now there’s a whole sermon in this passage
But the short version is
Jesus asks Pater twice with the same word for love, Philos
And then asks him a third time with the word Agape
He asks him three times because that’s how many times Peter denies Jesus
It then hit me
Job will have three rounds of speeches with his friends
And one last round with someone else
Before God intervenes and sets things straight.
It took Peter three times to hear What Jesus was saying
Peter had to be reinstated after denying Jesus, three times
He needed to hear the forgiveness three times
Probably because only once wouldn’t have been sufficient enough.
By three times, Peter was like
I got it already!
Apparently he didn’t
because when Jesus goes to talk to John
Peter has to butt in and ask
Lord what about him?
Jesus patiently tells him to mind his own business.
As I was looking around at all the people
God subtly reminded me where I was
And who I was surrounded by
The need for the gospel in the area I was
And the need for the gospel in all parts of the world
And if it was going to take another reminder from Job
Than so be it.
And if it was going to take another 3 times to hear about it.
Then 2 Timothy still rings true
All Scripture is profitable.
So part of my strategy includes repetition.
How many times have we read the Bible
read the same words over again
and suddenly they hit different?
Nothing has changed
nothing is new
except there is a lot new to who we are when we read it.
Our context has changed
maybe we’ve matured spiritually a little
the next time we read that passage of scripture.
what is going on in our lives have changed
maybe our health situation has changed
what is going on in the world has changed
people we know have changed
At the very least,
We have aged between the last time we read the story.
So even though the Bible hasn’t changed,
we most likely have
All being said,
tonight will be nothing really new
tonight we hear from the youngest, Zophar
Zophar reminds me of the guy in the background
That waits for someone to lay out their insults and accusations
And then he comes along and simply says, yeah, what he said
So with no real originality of his own.
That about sums up what Zophar says.
Yeah.
Zophar begins by sharing why he is so upset
Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2 This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer, because I am upset!
3 I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding makes me reply.
Apparently Zophar is upset because
he has been insulted
That is probably true because if we remember Job’s comments
23 I wish that my words were written down, that they were recorded on a scroll
24 or were inscribed in stone forever by an iron stylus and lead!
25 But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the end he will stand on the dust.
26 Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh.
27 I will see him myself; my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me.
28 If you say, “How will we pursue him, since the root of the problem lies with him?”
29 then be afraid of the sword, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.
So Job makes the accusation that they will know the judgment of God
that’ll about do it for insults
And so Zophar is going to answer Job with “his own understanding.”
Can I pause here for a moment
and let’s apply just a little bit of caution
As people come to me for my advice, counsel, opinion
my character, my submission to God
As the king of the universe
Tends to prevent me from answering with my own understanding
Because I’ve found in the past
That my own understanding gets me into trouble
I can justify anything
but God’s word says in 1 Corinthians 6:12
“Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything builds up.
That prohibits me from giving advice from my own understanding
When PAul writes to Timothy and shares the verse we read earlier
notice Paul doesn’t say that his word has any merit.
Matter of fact, Paul says before any of this
While the Corinthians church was arguing over who they were going to follow
1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom.
2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
I realize that this being an ancient book
they did not have access to God’s Word
But Zophar didn’t even make an attempt
To go to ancient writings, or anything of the sort
He went to his own understanding
That’s a dangerous place to be
4 Don’t you know that ever since antiquity, from the time a human was placed on earth,
5 the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment?
6 Though his arrogance reaches heaven, and his head touches the clouds,
7 he will vanish forever like his own dung. Those who know him will ask, “Where is he?”
8 He will fly away like a dream and never be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.
9 The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his household will no longer see him.
10 His children will beg from the poor, for his own hands must give back his wealth.
11 His frame may be full of youthful vigor, but it will lie down with him in dust.
So bottom line is Zophar believes
that the wicked will be forgotten
And they will be punished for their arrogance
And his children will suffer because of it as well.
That was harsh considering all that happened to Job’s kids.
What else does he have to say?
12 Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,
13 though he cherishes it and will not let it go but keeps it in his mouth,
14 yet the food in his stomach turns into cobras’ venom inside him.
15 He swallows wealth but must vomit it up; God will force it from his stomach.
16 He will suck the poison of cobras; a viper’s fangs will kill him.
17 He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and curds.
18 He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he doesn’t enjoy the profits from his trading.
19 For he oppressed and abandoned the poor; he seized a house he did not build.
Zophar now compares evil to wealth
and turns wealth into venom
And says the wealth comes from oppression and
Abandoning the poor.
Let’s examine this for a moment
wealth is not evil
Wealth is amoral, much like anything else is
However, the love of money has the ability to
Have someone depend on their own effort.
Jesus said the love of money is the root of all evil
not the money itself
Jesus spent more time speaking about money
Almost any other subject
Because the human heart wants something to worship
And if that’s what helps makes things more comfortable in the world
It’s an easy idol to bow down to.
I heard a husband and wife once tell me
they wanted to go into the ministry
They had been itinerant evangelists
And they were looking for a place to serve as a pastor
I tried to tell him he was working outside of his giftedness
But his wife kept insisting
They were tired of living hand to mouth
My comment to them was
so you are telling me you are tired of relying on God.
That didn’t sit well with them
But it’s the truth.
I am grateful for the congregation at Riley’s Creek
And how they take care of their staff as well as you do.
I am constantly reminded that
I am constantly relying on God for what I do.
I don’t work for you,
I work for the Lord.
He has just assigned me here to lead and disciple you.
By keeping me here and reliant completely on Him
I have the best job in the universe
Because I get to do what I love
And what I’m called to do
But it also keeps me reliant on the Lord
Everyone that follows Jesus is in the same boat though.
you may not be preaching every week from a pulpit in a church building
But everyone is called to share the gospel of the Lord
And everyone is reliant on the gifts of God.
Which is why when your job becomes more important
Than the assignments that God has given you as
A husband, father, wife, mother, child of God
Then you have just bowed down to the idol of the world and money
And have given up on the calling that God has for your life.
In that respect, I agree with Zophar.
Truly you have swallowed the evil
And rather than letting it go
We can swirl it around in our mouth and swallow it
Causing the conviction of the Lord to hurt our stomach
Until we give it up.
Here’s what Zophar says will happen
20 Because his appetite is never satisfied, he does not let anything he desires escape.
21 Nothing is left for him to consume; therefore, his prosperity will not last.
22 At the height of his success distress will come to him; the full weight of misery will crush him.
23 When he fills his stomach, God will send his burning anger against him, raining it down on him while he is eating.
24 If he flees from an iron weapon, an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him.
25 He pulls it out of his back, the flashing tip out of his liver. Terrors come over him.
26 Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned by human hands will consume him; it will feed on what is left in his tent.
27 The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.
28 The possessions in his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s anger.
29 This is the wicked person’s lot from God, the inheritance God ordained for him.
The unrighteous experience.
this is the life of the greedy
This is the life of those that worship the world, the dollar, the job
Instead of doing what God has called them to do
And following the assignments that God has placed them in.
It’s so easy to be addicted to something
I’ve mentioned that all addiction is
Is misplaced worship.
We think about addiction as drugs, alcohol, something illegal and illecit
Did you know that you can be addicted to food?
it’s called gluttony and is the leading cause of type 2 diabetes
You can also be addicted to stuff
That’s called materialism
And it will force a person to work more hours
And sacrifice their family to
Pay for their addiction just like a Meth addict.
The same thing with power, popularity, self esteem
all of these things if not filtered by the Word of God
Can have negative effects
And cause worldly addictions to come about
The search for power will cause a person to
constantly be seeking the next position
Even at the cost of their own morality
A person with low self esteem
Will cause a person to seek love and attention
Through improper relationships
Violating God’s Word in not having sex before marriage
All of these are not bad on their own
but used for worldly gain
Will separate a person from God
And have them begin to walk down the road of the prodigal
Until they get to the bottom and realize
They have nothing left to spend
And have violated all their morals
The only choice is then to return to the Lord.
That’s the thing that is missing from all three of Job’s friends speeches
is a sense of hope, repentance, and grace.
That only comes through the person of Jesus Christ
Which at this point in the story of God
Has not yet occurred.
Since beginning to write this message
I had to move three different times.
The first time was to get out of the heat and the crowds
They both made me uncomfortable
I moved to a Bojangles across the street
Because I thought
Christian music and air conditioning.
Unfortunately, the Bojangles had no air conditioning
and my phone kept ringing even while Iwas in the parking lot
I decided to grab lunch at this point
And I went to the only place in the universe
With consistent food and WiFi, McDonalds.
A McDonalds in a rich, Indian area is interesting
considering they don’t eat meat
It was also a McDonalds.
Not the highest of restaurant quality
And even in a rich area, there weren’t the same clientele
As in a corner coffee cafe.
Yet, the people in this shop were still the same
still in need of the gospel
Still in need of the life giving story of Jesus.
And so after three moves
I was reminded again, what I was called to do
And the message I was called to share.
