LIVE DISCUSSION: "Shall Any Teach God" - (Job 21:22-27), Part 2/4

You can watch someone thrive and assume God approves. You can watch someone suffer and assume God is angry. Job refuses both shortcuts, and that refusal forces a more honest kind of faith.

We start with the reality that God cannot be taught knowledge and that every soul has an appointed time. That sobers how we talk about hell, grace, and salvation, and it reshapes how we share the gospel. We reflect on Jesus calling out blind guides, speaking the truth without begging for a response, and trusting the Spirit to bring in every sheep the Father gives. From there we read Psalm 73 and sit with the uncomfortable honesty of envy when the wicked prosper, then follow the psalm into the sanctuary where the end finally comes into focus.

The heart of the conversation centers on Job 21: one person dies full, another dies bitter, and neither storyline gives outsiders the right to play judge. “Death is no respecter of persons” becomes a mirror for our priorities, our striving, and our assumptions. We talk stewardship, discouragement in ministry, and the quiet ways Christians can tear each other down by judging tattoos, clothes, habits, or demeanor. Job’s pushback against his friends’ indirect accusations challenges us to be more forthright, more humble, and a lot quicker to encourage.

If you’ve ever confused circumstances with God’s verdict, you’ll feel this one. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs courage, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you’re walking away with.

Transcript

God’s Knowledge And Appointed Death

SPEAKER_06 0:00

Or, you know, making the top ten on the list. And so um that just came to my mind for whatever reason. Um, but I do love that it says that shall any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judged those that are high. Yes, and and and it's like you could be what you would consider the wisest man on earth, you know. Um, but no one has the knowledge of of that God contains. Right. And he is the one that ultimately has made an appointment with uh to check in with you on a certain day at a certain time, right?

SPEAKER_05 0:41

Right, that's right. The appointed time is coming. Absolutely, sister. Sister Mig, what do you think?

Gospel Work Without Begging

SPEAKER_07 0:50

I just did two laps around my house. Um and what you were saying, but you know, I think the realization of hell too, for us that are believers on this side of grace, it it humbles you. And you truly understand how big and humongous the gift of salvation is, and uh it's real. And you know, I was in in I think it's Matthew chapter 15, verse 4, when Jesus was speaking of the blind guides, he said, Let them be. Right? Right, and and when he said that, I I was doing a study last week in places where I saw Jesus teaching, and when people walked away, he never came behind them. He never begged anybody, he was about his father's business, he told the truth, and he kept it moving. If you believed, you were his sheep. If you didn't, it wasn't for you to believe because you weren't his sheep. Right. And so I think that's really important in how we spread the gospel today. And I think so many times we spend so much time begging and pleading, not understanding that the Holy Spirit is who he says he is, and he will do the work um that needs to be done. And I trust, Jonathan, that he will not lose, no not one that the Father has given him. As a matter of fact, he can't. The only thing we can do is spread the gospel, brother. That's it.

SPEAKER_05 2:24

That's it. That's it, super. Brother Eric, Mr. Montoya, how you doing, brother? Glad to have you up here. What are your thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Blessed, praise the Lord. Uh, just want to read Psalm 73. And this is kind of what came into my heart when you were speaking. Uh, for there are no pain, um, Psalm 73, I'll start at verse 1. Uh, truly God is good to Israel, to such as pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore, pride serves as their necklace, violence covers them like a garment, their eyes bold with abundance, they have more than a heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression, they speak lawfully, they set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore his pride return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, How does God know? And is there knowledge in the most high? Behold, these are the ungodly who are always at ease, they increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued and chastened every morning. If I had said, I will speak thus, behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of your children. When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their end. Surely you set them in slippery places, you cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation as in a moment. They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awakes, so Lord, when you awake, you shall despise their image. Thus my heart was breathed, and I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant, I was like a beast before you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You hold me by my right hand, you guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me the glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside you. My flesh and heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forevermore. For indeed those who are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who desert you for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God. I have put my trust in the Lord God that I may declare all your works.

SPEAKER_05 5:01

Amen, brother. My favorite psalm in the entire book of Psalms. That's my favorite one, brother.

Contentment Under God’s Sovereignty

SPEAKER_01 5:06

Amen. That's powerful. It really just goes, it really just goes to show, you know, I I think um I'm I'm reminded of Paul when he's he's having to defend his apostleship. I believe it's to the Corinthians, and he's like, you know, I know what it's like to have much, and I know what it's like to have nothing.

SPEAKER_03 5:26

Right.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

I know what it's like to have, you know, to have an abundance of stuff, but to have nothing. And he's like, but I've learned to be, this is it, right? This is everything. I've learned godliness with contentment is great gain. Even when we see the wicked prosper, whether it's false teachers, false doctrines, and all that, bro, because you know, we're seeing God in his sovereignty. And I've learned, Jonathan, and I'll end the plane here. Like when you throw a rock in water, bro, and you see the ripples and the waves, that's my father, our father's sovereignty.

SPEAKER_04 6:00

Right.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

When you see, when you see the wind breeze through the trees, bro, on a 20-am hour, uh, 20-hour hour day, and the those leaves are just rustling in the wind, and you can hear their sound. That's Abba's sovereignty. And so I've I've learned no matter what I see, whether it's government, whether it's, you know, like Apostle Paul said, some proclaim Christ out of sincerity and truth, and others proclaim Christ out of falsehood and pretense. He said, Nevertheless, I rejoice because Christ is proclaimed. And at the end of the day, in his sovereignty, what did he say? He's gonna sort it out.

SPEAKER_05 6:38

Sort it out. He's gonna sort it out. Amen, brother. Thanks for that. Good word, really good word. Uh, Sister Candy, anything you want to add? Candy, you there?

SPEAKER_02 6:53

Nothing. Sorry. People coming in to work here. Uh nothing other than, like I said yesterday, all souls belong to him. And everyone is, is it in Hebrew? Is it Hebrews 9 27 or is it chapter 2? Where it talks about the uh every all men are appointed unto one death at least, so all men are gonna experience it. But it's that resurrection. What are you rising to? You rising to eternal life with the Lord and Savior, or are you return rising to the eternal damnation? Amen, sister where everything will be burned up and a stubble, no branch, no root, or nothing. So, again, God's word is uh like I said yesterday, man, it it is so so good. He is so good, and he is so intentional with it. So don't not take it for what he's saying. He is serious. How serious are we about him and his word, about our father's business?

Job’s Picture Of Bitter Living

Death Is No Respecter

Glorify God And Stay Steadfast

Stop Judging By The Outside

SPEAKER_05 7:57

Amen, sister. Good word. So now, verse 25, Job begins to give a different description than the first one we just heard. Now we're talking about a different kind of a person. And he says in verse 25, another person dies in the bitterness of his soul and never eats with pleasure. So, in contrast to the first example, we have another person who lives and dies in misery. Another example. This individual's life is characterized by continual sorrow, depression, perhaps loneliness, isolation, any number of things. But this person has a bitter life. And it says here that he dies in the bitterness of soul. And so this is just inward grief and distress, and the kind that comes along with him, that he's had with him all of his life. All of his life. His experiences, they're filled with hardship and full of disappointment. And uh, my brother Joseph says, the unregenerate. But see, here's the thing: this is what what what Job is talking about is not even just about him being regenerate. What he's saying is that a person can have this outcome and be regenerate or be unregenerate. A person can be wealthy and be regenerate or unregenerate and have this different outcome. So the whole idea is that there's no way for us to look at it and see a reason why things are happening to them in a certain way based on what we see on the outside. If you see somebody who's constantly full of the bitterness of his soul, I mean, think about it. Think how many people that we've that we have all seen pass away that have been wealthy and famous, and their lives are just cut short. You know, we we always we we look at celebrities because they're sort of like, you know, when they l when they are popular in our era, it it they become sort of like a living timetable of things happening. So when you see some of these people that we have grown up watching or listening to or whatever, on the movies or listen to music or whatever, we see these people and they're cut off at like 20 years old, 20 years old, 30 years old, young. Some live to be super old. The whole point that Job is making is that there is not a formula that man has been made privy to. God has his dealings with every one of us on different ways, and different, on different, um, different ways, and we don't know, we don't know what it is. We don't always know what it is. This person's experiences were all filled with hardship and disappointment. And so the verse also adds that he never eats with pleasure. So even the basic ordinary comforts of life, they bring him very little satisfaction. Very little. You would think that a basic thing like eating would bring joy. If you're hungry, food satisfies. But to this type of person that's been described here, even when he's hungry, food he can't enjoy with pleasure. This is what he's talking about. So even the ordinary comforts of this life, they don't they don't do anything for him, they do nothing for him. His days are marked and full of anxiety and fear and sorrow and affliction. And so you could also have a person who the first half of the life is full of prosperity and the second half is full of bitterness. You can have the same thing flip around the other way. And so the issue that we need to glean from this is that there is no way that us as outsiders can look at someone and make an assumption about why this is happening to them. And Job is making this case in defense of himself, because this is what his friends are saying. We know, based on what we see, why this happened to you. Job, you are in sin. Just admit it, confess it. You're being hypocritical to withhold your sin, and then to pretend that you are righteous. And this is what his friends were accusing him of. So you got these two different lives, both of them placed side by side, one filled with ease and prosperity, the other burdened with suffering, grief, and anxiety. But all men deal with the same fate: death. God has allotted the appointed time for every single soul, and every single soul will die and will reconcile with God. Retribution, whether it's retribution or whether it is eternal bliss, joy in the Lord forevermore. Verse 26. Job says, now he includes both of them. So he spoke about the one who has prosperity and wealth and health. He dealt with the person who was downcast and full of bitterness of soul, and now he deals with both of them. Here's the sum of it all. Verse 26 They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. And what does this tell us? Death is no respecter of persons. Death is no respecter of persons. Despite the great difference in the lives of these two individuals, both of them share the same earthly end. They will lie down alike in the death, in that in the in the dust. They shall lie down, that's what it says. They will lie down alike in the dust. Death brings both prosperous and the afflicted to the exact same place. So it makes you wonder. You know, we consider about how much we work towards having stuff in this life, stuff and things and things that we consider to bring comfort and security to us. We work so hard, and there are certain people who work so little. Who work so little. Some people love to dwell in bitterness. Some people love to dwell in the a low estate. Some people love to bask in anxiety and do little to come out of that, do little to find joy in life. But at the end of the day, for both types of people, death is no respecter of persons. It comes upon one and it comes upon all alike. All alike. So what is our goal? What is our goal? Solomon tells us that after all that he came to understand with all the wisdom that God had given him, all the experience, all the wealth, everything that he had been given, he came to the conclusion that the whole matter should be described as this man is here to glorify God. We are here to glorify him. Listen, this is what all, this is why everything created exists, and that is to glorify God. Angels, men, and the beasts of the field, they are all here to glorify him. So all that we have, or everything that we have is a constituent component to that which God has entrusted to us to operate as faithful stewards over our substance, over all that his given us, even our own health. He's given us everything to glorify him. If you have a mouth, speak to his glory. If you have hands, put yourself to work on his behalf. If you have feet, go and minister. All these things God has given us, he's given to us to glorify him. And this is what people have to give an account for. How did we use what it is he gave us to use? And I'll tell you something. You are gonna have, if you are gonna be a faithful servant of the Lord, as many here, well, everybody here who I know that I know you are, I gotta tell you, someone is always going to try to get in your way. Someone is gonna always try to be discouraging. Someone is always gonna try to tell you how you need to do it. I'm gonna tell you what your disposition and what your demeanor should be. Do not be discouraged. You keep doing what God has called you to do and what he's moving you to do, and let him use you in the way that he sees fit. He will deal with your rough edges, he will deal with that. But you keep doing what he has called you to do and let no one discourage you. Let no one discourage you ever. Like Floyd says, stay steadfast and follow in obedience to that call because there is always going to be someone who is going to try to discourage you. They're gonna tell you you're too soft, they're gonna tell you you're too hard. They're gonna tell you you're not being doctrinal enough. They're gonna tell you you're not being practical enough in how you assess scriptures, they're gonna tell you you shouldn't go into that neighborhood to preach. It's dangerous. They're gonna tell you all kinds of things. They're gonna tell you you're not equipped this way. You haven't learned enough, you haven't studied enough. When God is moving you to move toward his, to do that which is pleasing to him and that which glorifies him. Continue to march on, soldier, and don't let anyone discourage you. More often than not, the ones who are the loudest about discouraging you are the ones who are doing nothing. And they don't like that you are confident and bold in your faithfulness, and they will do anything to discourage you so that they can keep them, so that they can have company, so that they can have a companion in their own weakness and misery. Be zealous for the things of God at all times. Let no one discourage you from that. Job's friends were trying to discourage him, they were trying to tear down this man's faith without knowing what's in his heart. And people will tell you things not knowing what's in your heart as well. And and don't give them, do not give them the time of day. Keep it moving. Keep it moving. And so he says here that the worms shall cover them, emphasizing the universality of death and decay is gonna happen to us all, regardless of all that we have in this life. Wealth, health, misery, whatever it may be, death is the outcome, and we're all gonna be fed to the worms eventually. That's a fact. So Job's observation here, it challenges the attempt of his friends to judge God's justice simply by looking at Job's outward circumstances. And people will judge you. Oh, you look like this. You know, you know, I can't, I can tell you, and I know many of you can. Um, in my life, there's been many times where people have made the comment when they found out that I was a Christian because they heard me talking about something or whatever, the Lord, and they'll say, I never would have thought you were a Christian. You know? And I'm sure that everybody has had that. When you speak up, people are all often surprised that you're a believer, that you're both. You know, they'll see you with tattoos. Oh, you must be wicked. Got tattoos. They saw you walking down the street smoking a cigarette. Oh. Wicked man. Simple. You might have cancer, but that had nothing to do with you being a Christian. You know, oh, this person, he he he got he's got piercings on his nose, or in his heat, or in his ears, or in his tongue, or whatever, or her tongue, or her ears, whatever. Christians don't wear haircuts like that. Christians don't talk like that, they don't walk like that, they don't wear pants and clothes like that, they don't dress like that. Christians don't come to church wearing these kind of shoes and flip-flops and and all this kind of stuff. Everybody is always looking at the outside, and unfortunately, it's a plague that plagues Christians too. We judge. And we have no idea that we might be tearing a good soul down. Just because someone is not your cup of tea, based on how they look, because you have been brought up thinking that you have been granted this ivory tower that gives you the credential to condescend. You know, this is how people think. You're destroying souls. And don't think that because you didn't say it out loud, that you're not doing it. People know. Like brother Jeffrey. He he he talks about encouraging people. He talks about encouraging people. I listen to his meditations in the morning.

SPEAKER_04 22:43

And I can tell you, I could use I could use it to be a little more, a little bit more like my brother Jeffrey. My brother Eric.

SPEAKER_05 22:56

I could use a little bit more of what Eric has. I could use that. So we need to recognize that we are all brothers and sisters, and instead of condemning what we think is subversive or deviant from what they ought to be, we should be getting to know them and so that we can encourage them, and we just might find out that we might be the ones that end up getting the encouragement. Anybody bored?

SPEAKER_07 23:37

I'm never bored with the word of God, brother.

Job Exposes Hidden Accusations

SPEAKER_05 23:42

Never amen, brother. See, this this is what this is what like link believe me, this is one of those kind of talks where it really, it really, like I'm I'm talking for sure, but I'm also on the panel and in the chat having to listen to this. You know? So we Christians, we need each other. We need each other. And we need to benefit from each other's strength, and we need to augment the weaknesses of others. So when you see another brother or sister flailing in a situation, instead of hiding and shunning them, you should be coming to their aid. And so this is what we're supposed to, we're we're it's like when I when I grew up, when I was growing up, and I won't dwell on this too long. I don't like talking about my own personal life, but what I'm saying is when you have, when you're when you're when you're growing up, you loved having that family. Especially if you had older cousins and and brothers and sisters. Because when things got bad out there in the street, what would you do? You go home and you go get backup. That's what we need to be to each other. Each other's backup. Make ourselves available to one another so that we can foster that encouragement that Brother Jeffrey always talks about. Foster that encouragement and give people that that that that push to keep moving and to keep doing the Lord's work. So I want to encourage everybody to take this to heart, to really take this to heart, because it's a it's a good it's a good thing to do. So this passage shows that the playing field is level. So now we get into verse 27. We get into verse 27. And Job says, Behold, he tells his friends, he's Behold, I know your thoughts and the devices which you wrongfully imagined against me. This is this is really a powerful statement on the part of Job. This is a powerful statement. Let me read it again. He tells his friends, he says, he goes, Listen, I know what you're thinking. I know what you're thinking, and I understand the devices which you wrongfully imagine against me. He's telling them, I know what your reasoning is. I've heard you, I've evaluated, and I've concluded. I understand what you're doing, and you're not being tricky, you're not out foxing me. I get what's happening. This is what Job is saying. I know your thoughts, and I understand your devices that you're using against me. I get it. I see it. And though they, because see, here's what's happening. Job's friends, all the way up till now, they have been speaking in these broad generalities, right? They've been speaking broadly. They never just came out and said, Job, you this, you're this. This is not what they're doing. They speak in this broad, these broad, general terms about the fate of the wicked. So they don't, they, they're they're they're talking about the wicked, but they're not specifically saying, you, Job. They're speaking in broad terms about the general wickedness of the generality of wicked persons. So they're being sort of, they're, they're, they're sort of being tricky. And this is what he means by their devices. He's saying, oh, I know what you're saying. You think that you're being crafty in the way you are are drafting your language, but I know what you're doing. Like people say today, Job was saying to them, I see you. I see you. I know what you're doing. You're not pulling one over on me. I understand the trickery and the craft and the subtlety in your approach to me. You're talking about broad things that happen to broadly wicked people, but you refuse to just admit it. You refuse to just tell me what you want to say to me. Job gets deep here. He doesn't hold back. And so he knows that there's implications behind their words. They're just not being forthright about it. And this is how the devil deals with people. This is how he deals, this is how he does things. So Job is telling them, he goes, listen, your arguments, you got you're making all these arguments to me. Tell me about these broad generalities of things that are assigned and are annexed to the wicked. But you try to present yourself as coming off as theoretical. These are just, you're just making some theoretical, ideological assessments. Just theoretical discussion. They're sitting there going, like, Job, we're not talking about you. We're just talking in general terms. But Job is going, no, I get what you're saying. I know exactly what you're trying to, what you're trying to do. I know the the tactics that you're using. And so, and so, by insisting that great suffering must be the result of great wickedness, they indirectly charge him with hidden crimes. But see, they never accuse him of anything. They speak in these broad ways, and they think that somehow Job is gonna go, oh, yep, you know what? You're talking about me. But Job is saying, you're not talking about me. And that fuels their frustration because they think they have been morally profound. And so many people are like that. So many Christians are like that. So many Christians are like this. They believe that they're that they have the moral high ground all the time. How they view a circumstance, a circumstance is always right. And they're always they always seem to be right about everyone else but themselves. I can be very adamant and very heavy on this discussion because I've been there.

SPEAKER_04 30:21

I've been guilty. This is why we can talk about this.

SPEAKER_05 30:30

I know what it feels like to be that person. People today, Christians, we don't generally exercise the one of the strongest blessings that we have. That's the ability to recognize sin, to confess it, and to deal with it, and to use it to be an encouragement to one another. This is what I'm trying to tell you. I understand from both angles what Joe is talking about. You know, sometimes you don't want to just tell somebody, you don't want to just tell somebody the straight up reality. You start getting real creative about making your case rather than just being forthright about it. And this is what happens often. So, like I said, they weren't just being theoretical. They were they they they used this type of an approach, this device, as Job calls it, they use this as a means to accuse Job without actually accusing him. They're expecting him to self-accuse by presenting theoretical arguments. This is what the wicked do. This is what happens to the wicked. But they're talking about Job. Brother Paul, go ahead. You wanted to say something. I saw your hand up. And welcome, brother. How are you doing this evening?

SPEAKER_04 31:57

Paul Gutierrez. All right, I'll move on.

SPEAKER_05 32:04

All right, so Joe goes on and he says, I know your thoughts. I know your thoughts.

Are We On God’s Side

SPEAKER_03 32:15

Brother Jeffrey, go ahead. Jonathan, how many times have we been guilty of having the thought that suggests God is on our side, or God is on my side, when the question should really be, are we on his side? Right. Are we walking with him instead of him coming after us? Are we desiring him? And I ask that question, Jonathan, of myself because I'm guilty of it. I've done it. God has had to call me out and say, okay, who is on whose side here, Jeffrey? Okay. Who's the God? Who's the servant here? We have to get reminded of even that basic thing sometimes. And it's okay, Lord, here am I, use me. I think a lot of times we can be careful or have to be careful, Jonathan. We can get caught up in that if we're not careful.

SPEAKER_05 33:22

That's right. Amen, brother. Sister Grace, what do you think? What are your thoughts?

SPEAKER_00 33:30

Um, a lot of good stuff I'm hearing tonight. Um, you know, like don't let, you know, don't let people um you know, discourage you from your calling and what the Lord wants you to do. And I'm just so thankful that the Lord reminds, like, humbles me every single day, like just by fellowshipping with other people, or just you know, he it's just I I just love how he reminds me every day that you know it and he humbles me and just reminds me like how much I truly need him every day. Like it's really humbling, like sometimes it even hurts. Like he he shows me things that like hey Savannah, like you really like you really need to work on this, like like you said, like um, like people judge other people just by surface appearances, you know, and it's not just surface appearances, sometimes it could be like uh their demeanor, you know, or their behavior. Like I've been guilty of uh wrongly judging people. So I mean, yeah, it's it's a really good reminder, and um thank you.

SPEAKER_05 34:50

No problem, sister. No problem. It's good to see when when our when our sisters and brothers, you know, you know, we get to watch each other grow, and and I and I love it. And um you get to watch me grow, I get to watch you grow, and we all grow together. It's just a beautiful thing. Um, Sister Meg, what do you think?

SPEAKER_07 35:10

I think that we just grow like the wheat we are.

SPEAKER_05 35:14

Mm-hmm. Amen.

SPEAKER_07 35:16

Well, yeah, I just I I like conversations like this. Um, you know, I think that when we start growing in our journey even more, we become more humble in the word of God. And um I think that with understanding and stuff that we've been learning, I I agree. I think it's the same thing of just watching each other grow and um in the knowledge of the Lord, and it's it's very humbling. And um I think that as we see the Lord, as we see God bigger, we become smaller. And and it and it just rings true with John the Baptist when he says, I must decrease so he can increase.

Their Case Rests On Suspicion

SPEAKER_05 35:59

Amen, sister. Brother Paul, you want to get another shot? You want to come up and say something? All right, he had his hand up. Are you there, Paul? All right. All right, so we can move on then. All right. So Paul said, or Paul, so um, Job says, I know your thoughts. So what Job is is is telling them, he says, listen, you've been spewing out all of these speeches, and all it's doing is revealing to me is that you have calculated or formulated, I should say, all these judgments, and that they're leveled against me. And he's like, Why don't you just say it? I know what you're saying, and I know you're being tactical and you're going around just coming out with it, but but I he says, I get it. I see what you're doing. You're not, it's not hidden from me. They had constructed explanations of Job's afflictions that rested on what they that rested on just their suspicions. Not nothing that they knew, nothing they could point to, nothing that they heard.