28/1/18 – Job 8, Job 9, Job 10 Matthew 19:16-30 Proverbs 3:11-20

Job 8:4-6 – If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation.

So next up are the comments of Bildad. Man, these guys wont me up. I’m sure they mean well, but this is literally textbook bad advice.

Bildad’s advice was this must be Job’s fault – he needs to repent because God is clearly punishing him for a reason. Just reading through his comments – you could take any of this, quote it out of context and end up with such heresy…

You need to plead with God! You need to get yourself sorted and upright! Then God will forgive you and heal you! Bildad links health and prosperity to our behaviour.

The sad thing is… sometimes the church sounds like Bildad. In Job 9 Job responds to this with despair – mournful that there things are so bad – he wants someone to intercede to God on his behalf… That’s what Bildad should have been doing instead of chastising him. Even if Biladad had been right – the better course would have been to pray with Job not scold him. Although he wasn’t right anyway.

We can learn a big lesson from that.

Mat 19:21-22 – Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

What is it that you don’t want to give up. That’s the thing preventing you from following Jesus as you should. There are many who respond to the gospel – put their hand up and never move any further than that… why? Because there’s things they are not willing to give up. There are people who go for years without growing in God? Why? Because there is something they don’t want to give up.

If that thing is blocking your relationship with Jesus, I tell you it’s not worth it. You don’t have to be rich to struggle with this – you just have to be more attached to something in this world than you are to Him.

Give it all up. He’s worth it.