Responding Wisely When Falsely Accused │ Msg 11/22

0:01 I'll just let you look over the 20th and 21st chapters of Job and see if you can make anything out of it. And I'll do my best in a little bit. It does have to do with that final encounter that Job had with a man named Zophar. as he gets the lecture once again from someone who's convinced that Job is wicked and getting what he deserves, and Job answers him in chapter 21 in no uncertain terms, having been falsely accused.

0:40 But for these moments, I'd like us to simply bow for a time of prayer. Let's go to the Lord. this is a place where you are accepted and where you have an opportunity to be quiet and to learn and listen and participate and grow and get your mind clear from all the clutter of the past week and even, of all things, participate in God's eternal program by believing with your whole heart and even as we shall in a moment, giving from your treasure.

1:26 Lord, if it's not a place like that, then we don't want to be here. We've had enough of clicks and gimmicks and legalism and selfishness and showboating. We just like to come around you, Lord, and to hear from you how grateful we are for a family. All of us from different backgrounds, with different names, different stories, different areas of guilt and even some shame. And how greatly we rejoice in your grace. for it's in this place that shame and grace can meet and grace wins.

2:24 This is a place, Lord, where we don't have to put on airs or try to be someone we're not or fit into a system that requires 15 things before we're accepted. We come just as we are. And we talk to you. And we lean hard on you. Some of us in this body are hurting and they're up against it physically. Some are even in hospitals and places removed from this comfortable spot. And we remember them today. Some are brokenhearted, too depressed to show up, downcast and discouraged. Some have had some awful things said about them, and they're reeling from those lies.

3:20 We all come with our scars, and we all come with a memory of things that have been done wrong against us, and even some things that we've done wrong and said wrong against others. And here again is this place where we're able to confess our sins, where we're able to find reason to go on. Since ancient days, your people have suffered. You've always worked through a remnant, and you've always blessed those who bless you. But it doesn't always happen in this lifetime. Sometimes the rewards are saved till later. So this is no fantasy world we're entering. This is a real world where life gets tough. and people are harsh.

4:13 And we come to this place with our hands open and our hearts clean. We ask you to say some things to us today that need to be heard. And now, Lord, we want to also remember those in dangerous and difficult places who serve our country and believe in its cause. those who would take away our joy and liberty and freedom or it seems just around the corner. And we need those men and women in those tough spots. So bless them for their sacrifice today.

4:57 It's a joy, Lord, to be able to work, to earn a living, and even to be able today to write out a check and to give it to your work. We pray that all of these gifts will come from the right motive, not to earn something from you, but to express something to you, the worship of our hearts. And so, Lord, as life makes up its mind in some ways today, in these moments that follow, I pray that you will minister even now as we sit in quietness and reflect. And give. To your work. We do it. Gratefully and. And we do it generously and joyfully. In the name of Jesus.

5:50 We pray. And everyone said. Amen. There's no more treacherous enemy. In the church. Than the tongue. the tongue. What we say often cuts far deeper than any sword, any knife.

6:16 Scripture sometimes presents the tongue as a sword that thrusts its way into others' lives and brings hurt. We're not surprised to read that in the list of the Ten Commandments one of them includes you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. When God led Solomon to write the Proverbs, he included the seven things that he hates. Among them, a false witness that speaks lies.

6:55 I can't speak for you. I can speak for a few whom I know. but for most of you, I have no idea what you are living with as it relates to someone else's tongue. But if you have been spoken against unfairly, unjustly, if you have been falsely accused, you understand real pain. Often you find yourself at a loss to know how to defend yourself. you try, but frequently false witnesses aren't there to listen. They're just busy talking and spreading the venom, which has a way of poisoning not only a few people, but can even poison a church.

7:48 There was this young pastor who went to a church that had been split apart in so many ways, but especially by a loose tongue that had been allowed, and the church had pretty well reduced to just a bare survival, and this young man arrived and decided to open his Bible and just preach truth. And he did that. Slowly but surely, the church began to grow, and before long, it was in a growth spurt, and finally it was bulging at the seams, and they went to multiple services, and it was obvious that they needed to build. well the new worship center was going to cost a million dollars and they didn't have a lot of money though they certainly needed the building it so happened that in this church were two brothers and they were real rascals they were just sort of sorry individuals the problem is they were rich one of them died the surviving brother came to the pastor in his study one day and he said here i have something for you it's a million dollar check to pay for the new building but when you preach my brother's funeral all i ask you to do is to tell people that he was a saint that's all i'm asking you to do pastor thought for a moment and said okay took the check deposited it don't forget that's part of the story Funeral came in about four or five days and pastor stood up and coffin was here and Pastor begins to address the subject of the man who has died and he says this man was a reprobate He was unfaithful to his family. He was dishonest in his business He was not a man that you could trust He was part of the reason that this church could not get off the ground for a number of years

9:55 But compared to his brother he was a saint There are several ways to tell the truth and He chose that way. I was surprised to find how often false accusations appear through the scriptures.

10:25 When you study the Bible, as many of us do, you often don't track certain subjects through it. It's always enlightening when you do. I found, for example, that a man as pure as Joseph, who had learned a new language and earned his way in Potiphar's house to a place of real responsibility as the man over all of Potiphar's belongings. Joseph, at the height of his career, was falsely accused of rape by Potiphar's wife and wound up in jail. How unfair.

11:03 Moses, who was faithful even at the age of 80, to obey God's call and to take the call from the burning bush back to Egypt and deliver the people from bondage. And in the middle of the wilderness, the people he had delivered turned on him and falsely accused him of bringing them into the wilderness to die. How unfair.

11:27 David, after killing the giant and truly showing himself a man of courage and integrity, is falsely accused of trying to dethrone Saul by Saul himself. And David is on the run for a dozen or more years, falsely accused of something that was not at all true.

11:53 Nehemiah, who builds the wall around broken Jerusalem, and God uses him to incite the people to work, and after the wall is almost finished, the word is spread around by his enemies that really Nehemiah has an ulterior motive. He's building the wall so that he can get behind the wall and become the new king of the Jews. Something that was not true at all. How unfair for that to be said of Nehemiah. Peter and John were accused of preaching of a false Christ, and it was a false accusation, and they were beaten for it.

12:37 Paul, accused of being a phony convert, the apostles wouldn't even let him in their circle because they were convinced that he was not genuinely born again, and then accused of causing a dissension among all the Jews around the whole world. How exaggerated can you get?

12:58 Accused by Festus, the governor, of being insane because of his much learning. How false that accusation was. Few men ever who believed in the Lord Jesus more brilliant than Paul. and then who could ever overlook Jesus, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and many false accusations. I don't know if you've stopped to think about it, but from his earliest years, he was accused of being of illegitimate birth. They had words for it then, too. and accused of being an evildoer, accused of being a drunkard because he spent time with sinners, accused of being demon-possessed and satanic in origin as he healed people, accused of breaking the Sabbath.

13:53 In fact, he went to the cross, falsely accused of being guilty of tyranny, of leading the people against the Roman ruler, Caesar. not guilty of any of it. We're not surprised when he preaches his great sermon on the mount that he includes words like this. Blessed are you when people insult you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you for your reward in heaven is great. I don't know where you are, as I said earlier, but if you are being falsely accused, there's your promise. your reward will be great. Your reward someday will be great. But let me add, your misery for now will be enormous.

14:49 You will find that frequently you are unable to sufficiently defend yourself. A mind made up is a hard thing to persuade. and people who are false accusers are awfully persuasive. Before I go any further, let me just add here, be awfully careful about what you say of other people. Be awfully careful, especially if it's negative. I was reading one of my favorite authors this week and he said that he has a friend who prays every day, Lord, help me not add to anyone else's burdens. Isn't that a good prayer? Help me not make life harder for anyone else.

15:42 Well, we shouldn't be surprised in the middle of our study on Job. And isn't this getting to be fun? Where we are, in the middle of Job, and we've come to false accusations. I mean, what else is there? The guys lost everything. Home, ranch, cattle, the ability to earn a living, all ten children. He's sitting in the garbage dump of the land of Uz, and he is with shaved head and losing his appetite, raging with a fever, covered with sores, And along come these three clowns that left for the purpose of comforting him, but a week after staring at him and not believing their eyes, they decided nobody who suffers like this can be anything but wicked.

16:37 So every one of them has the same thesis. sin leads to suffering suffering proves sinfulness you are suffering a lot it means you are one wicked man you are one bad dude if you weren't you wouldn't be suffering like this by the way um there are some people who still have that same idea maybe not that severe or brash But they think that. They think everybody ought to be well. That it's God's will that everybody be well. That every sickness be healed. That's why they line up in healing lines. That's part of the reason that they follow people who claim to be healers. Because your sickness need not be. and I'm here to say that there are times sickness is so clearly sent from God and permitted by him it almost takes my breath away we are not all promised healing please do not live a disillusioned life thinking if you pray hard enough or if you give enough money or if you are sincere enough then your loved one is going to get well.

17:56 Your loved one will get well by the sovereign grace of God or your loved one may die by the sovereign plan of God. Suffering does not mean sinfulness. Well, I wish Zophar were here to hear this message. He's the man we're having to endure for the 20th chapter here in the book of Job. He is not a happy camper. Okay? This is in the dialogue section of the book, Act 2, Scene 3. Eliphaz has spoken, Bildad has spoken, then Zophar spoke. That's Act 1. Scene 1 of Act 2, Eliphaz speaks and Bildad speaks, and now we're to Zophar again. It's kind of like a tag team match, three against one.

18:48 And one is very sick. And the longer he's with these three men, the sicker he gets. So Zophar says verse 2 he is disquieted Verse 2 last word he is agitated verse 3 he is insulted Now I don't find anything that's disquieting agitating or insulting by what job has said except he disagrees with him By the way that that is uh, i've got a lot of by the ways this morning, don't I? I'm gonna put it another way on the other hand . People who have a message to deliver, but they don't want to learn, are often disquieted, agitated, and insulted when you stand against them. They don't want to hear, they want to tell. They don't want to learn, they want to instruct and usually lecture.

19:43 Zophar has three things he wants to say to Job, and he says them in an exaggerated manner. Number one, the wicked do not live long. Verses 4 to 11, the wicked don't live long. Second, the pleasures of the wicked are temporal. The pleasures of wickedness are temporal, 12 to 19, and then the last, 20 to 29, God's judgment always falls hard on the wicked. There's only one problem with those three points. They're all wrong. When you take them as Zophar says them. you see understand the way zophar is delivering his talk he's he's coloring by the numbers his numbers and everything is a very clear distinction everything is very simplistically stated so that zophar would add always to his comments the wicked don't live long and he says this in 4 through 11. The pleasures of wickedness are temporary, 12 to 19. God's judgment always falls hard on the wicked, 20 to 29. That's not necessarily true, as Job is going to point out. But just a few minutes, let's kind of work our way through this vomit. Look at verse 4. Do you know this from of old, from the establishment of man on earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short. The joy of the godless is momentary. I want you to think, by the way, men and women, I don't want you to just say, because it's in there, I'm going to believe it.

21:23 Job doesn't do that. This is Zophar's opinion. And he's been waiting his turn to set Job straight. He sees Job as wicked, and he is here to tell him that he's not going to live very long. In fact, he says, verse 7, he perishes forever like his refuse.

21:48 Those who have seen him will realize quickly he's gone. Where is he? They will ask. He flies away like a dream. They can't find him. Like a vision in the night, he is chased away. It's gone. That's the way it is sometime at night. I said to Cynthia this morning I dreamed all night and I cannot tell you what I dreamed She said isn't that good? And I I said it is it is the problem is you often remember your dreams and they are They're really wild. I mean they don't make picasso look like uh First grade I mean you've got ears on a nose and you've got people flying and you've got some teacher You had in the third grade who's coming back like a bat and she's Biting you and you know, you have weird dreams like that. So I dreamed all night and they're all gone Poof and she's right. I'm glad I don't even remember them. They're they're wild He's saying your life is like that It's twisted up. It's strange. It's weird and poof you're gone people can't find you because you're wicked. You're gonna die soon Verse 11 closes, it lies down with him in the dust.

23:02 That youthful vigor is gone. Now he's not talking about natural causes. He's talking about God's judgment. Because you've lived like you've lived, because you've kept the secrets from us, and because we all thought you were righteous, but you're so sick, it's obvious that you're suffering. It's obvious that you're sinful, and you're going to die. Boy, that's a nice hospital visit, isn't it? You're standing there by a guy that's just miserable, and you're there to say, you're going to die sooner than you think. Look at verses 12 to 19. the pleasures of wickedness are very temporal evil is sweet in his mouth he hides it under his tongue though he desires it will not let it go holds it in his mouth and then he uses the analogy of of food and of eating food in his stomach is changed to the venom of cobras within him he swallows riches but will vomit them up god will expel them from his belly he sucks the poison of cobras the viper's tongue slays him he cannot swallow this food verse 18 and and uh look at look at the accusation in verse 19 he is really meaning job he has oppressed and forsaken the poor he has seized a house which he has not built he decides to throw that in for for extra measure he's looking at down his nose at joe because of his wealth and he that must be one of the secrets you've kept you've oppressed the poor and you've you've uh pushed people out of their houses and you you've taken advantage of them your pleasures are over your wickedness has caught up with you i mean how severe a tongue is this and god's judgment falls hard uh 20 through 29 26 says complete darkness is held in reserve and unfanned fire will devour him it will consume the survivor in his tent heavens will reveal his iniquity the earth will rise up against him

25:13 verse 29 this is the wicked man's portion you could put job's name there that's who Zophar has in mind. This is your portion from God, even the heritage decreed to you by God. Well, these are the final words of Zophar. One of my commentators that I checked said, this is the last time we hear from Zophar and we will not miss him. Well, that's a pretty good way to put it. Some people, the best thing they do is leave when they've made your life so miserable. They're gone and you go, good riddance. It's the way we feel about Zophar. All of this is not ancient history. This kind of stuff goes on. I don't have any one of you in mind. If I did, I'd talk to you personally rather than say it publicly, but some of you have awfully sharp tongues.

26:13 You say things and you couch them in words that sound as nice as Zophar. I mean, this is poetry. This is tough Hebrew, this Hebrew poetry of chapter 20. It sounds even religious at times. But we should pray for so-and-so. And then you dump this garbage that's not really founded. You don't know it to be true. But evil report is always more interesting than a good report. That's why the news is full of it. That's why the skies are always partly cloudy, not, for the most part, clear. They never say that. It's always, well, there's a cloud coming. It should be here by a month and a half from now. It's coming from the west. bad hurricane out there. Oh, really? And we're on the edge of our seat. We're on tiptoes listening to bad news about somebody. You need to learn to say, by the way, how do you know that? Who told you? What's your source?

27:16 Prove that to me. Challenge the people who come at you with their forked and sharp tongues that start spreading stuff that doesn't sound right. You've got a good brain. You've got sense. Job doesn't just take this on the chin. He says, wait a minute. Hold on here, eye pockets. I'm not going with you on this. This is not where we're going. I was reading this past week of a minister whose congregation refused to accept his message. True story. He wanted to lead the flock into the truth of the scripture. He wanted to preach the word. He wanted to stand for what was right. They didn't want to be led that way. So happened that his choir, with so many of their habitual ungodly practices, brought things to a head and position became so unbearable for him, he invited the choir to resign.

28:19 the choir not only resigned i'm reading this but persuaded the congregation to desist from taking part in the singing on the following sunday okay everybody we're not going to sing so the result was that whatever singing was done had to be done alone by this minister while the other people stood around and enjoyed his embarrassment. The state of things continued for some time, and the minister was greatly depressed and perplexed at the turn the events had taken. He was at wit's end when God spoke in an unusual way to him. One day he was sitting alone on a bench in a park, and he saw a newspaper blow by, and he picked up a torn piece from the paper and it bore a message which was exactly what he needed to read.

29:19 It read, No man is ever fully accepted until he has, first of all, been utterly rejected. he took that to heart. He needed nothing more. He had been utterly rejected for Christ's sake. And his recognition of the fact was the beginning of a most fruitful ministry. Though utterly rejected by man, he had been fully accepted by God. Let me tell you, And Job is listening to what my mother used to call a lot of palaver, just a lot of lip banging from Zophar. He's talking, but it's nonsense.

30:05 It isn't true, even though he says it poetically and beautifully and even convincingly. Job doesn't take it on the chin. Now some of those that I checked said no matter what when false accusations are made you just you just sit quietly and say nothing and God will defend you. Well, sometime I'm sure that's appropriate. Not always. I kind of believe in the American Revolution motto, trust in God, but keep your powder dry. I think if your reputation is being ruined, if your company is going down a tube, if your church is being assaulted and it's because of false stuff being said, some things need to be said in answer to the falsehood.

31:05 Truth has a way of vindicating wrong. And I think Job turns to it when he answers Zophar. I don't think it's always appropriate that you just sit silently and get beat up by the the tongue of liars Job doesn't I mean you don't read then Job answered whatever it's not that's not there you don't see that okay Shoot. No, Job answers him. Listen to what Job says. You got to admire the guy's covered with boils.

31:51 I mean, he's sick. He's fevered. He's swollen. He's hurting. He's grieved. He says to Zophar, look at these. Verse 2, listen carefully to my speech. So you listen for a change. I added that for a change. Okay, that's just a little addition there. you listen in fact I like the way you put it let this be your way of consolation since words aren't maybe silence will be you listen so listen up secondly bear with me that suggests patience by the way there it is again by the way uh people who are spread lies against you aren't good listeners and they aren't patient. And Job knows that. And he says, I want you to do something different. I want you to listen. And I want you to be patient as you reason your way through what I want to tell you. That I may speak. Then after I have spoken, you may mock. Isn't that good?

32:53 One of my sources said he called this a sarcastic imperative in the Hebrew. That's a good way to put it. Go ahead and mock after, but at least give me my day. Give me my moment in court. You listen and you patiently work this through and reason your way through this. And then you can mock on.

33:15 As for me, is my complaint to man or why should I not be impatient? And why should I not be impatient? Look at me and be astonished. There's the third command. Look at me. Listen, patiently bear with me and look, look in my eyes, look at my face. In fact, look at how he says it. Put your hand over your mouth. I think by now they're sort of lecturing into space. They're not wanting to look at him. Job says, you look at me. You say what you have to say to my face. which false accusers don't do. They go around us. They go behind our back. They go to people who are weak and gullible and willing to listen to lies and then they infect them with their verbal germs.

34:14 And Job says, you've talked, now listen. You reason with me, you look at me. you look at me. Now, what's Job going to say to him? He's going to answer all three points. Listen carefully. First, he's going to say, often the wicked do live long lives. Just because a person doesn't know God doesn't mean they die in their 20s or doesn't mean they're they go through some horrible suffering because they're wicked and he and he gives examples of that we'll get there second he says their pleasures are not always temporary listen some who are lost get great jobs earn a gob of dough have multiple homes and And many women or many men have luxurious cars and sleep around and live wild and don't die till they're 90.

35:24 I mean, their pleasures are not always temporary. So where do you get off saying that, Zophar? That's not true. and death comes to everybody and it doesn't always fall hard on the wicked. Some die in a pretty good state of mind. Now, what follows is awful. But in life, the point is, in life, the things you're saying so far don't square with fact. so let me let me spit this out in a hurry here uh look at verse 7 why do the wicked still live and continue on also become very powerful see he's building his case so far you say that the wicked don't live long well how do you explain those that continue and become in fact powerful. And talk about their lifestyle. Look at that. He describes it. Their descendants are established with them in their sight, their offspring before their eyes, their houses are safe from fear. Neither is the rod of God on them. Look outside. Even the ox mates without fail and cows calve and they don't abort. They send forth their little ones like the flock. Their children skip about. They sing to the timbrel and the harp. They rejoice at the sound of the flute.

36:56 They spend their days in prosperity. It doesn't look grim to me. In fact, you may wonder if they really don't know God. Don't doubt it. Verse 14, they say to God, depart from us. We do not even desire the knowledge of your ways.

37:17 And I want you to know so far, look at the end of verse 16, the counsel of the wicked is far from me. I'm not in that category. I'm sick. Nobody knows why I'm sick, but I'm sick. And it's a mystery, but I'm not wicked.

37:39 And furthermore, the wicked don't necessarily die young. just because there's God, they don't have God in their lives, doesn't mean that they go to an early grave. And now that we're on the second, where's proof that they suffer calamity, that they always suffer calamity?

38:00 Verse 17, how often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their calamity fall on them? See how he's reasoning? Does God apportion destruction in his anger? Are they a straw before the wind, a chaff which the storm carries away? This is poetry, remember. You say God stores away a man's iniquity for his sons. Let God repay him so that he may know it. Verse 22, can anyone teach God knowledge in that he judged those on high? One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and satisfied. and he's not eaten up with disease his sides are filled out with fat isn't that interesting way to put it the marrow of his bones is moist and then on the other hand there are people who die who are bitter of soul and never taste anything good together they lie down in the dust Job is saying to Zophar, your argument doesn't hold water.

39:07 There are examples on the other side. let me show you a verse you may have never seen before. Look at Ecclesiastes 8, 11. I learned this verse years ago, and it often comes to mind when I get to subjects like this. Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. It's a hard book to find. Just before Song of Solomon.

39:40 just after Proverbs. Okay, Ecclesiastes 8, 11. Look at this verse. it's in the old testament in case some of you are not right there because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly look at that because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil well what does that mean it means because every time a person does wrong he's not judged or a victim of calamity he decides i can do that again i can do more of that and the heart of the sons of men meaning those without the lord are fully given to do evil and you just do more of it you steal 10 bucks and get away you're tempted then to steal 20 and you steal 20, you're tempted then to go into full-on fraud.

40:48 And you get away with fraud. You don't see much wrong with being a member of the mafia. And by the way, the mafia don't always die poor. They may die in jail, but there's a crowd around them and people applauding them. And although a sinner, verse 12, does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God who fear him openly. I mean here's a guy that does it a hundred times lengthens his life. We need to get out of our mind the stereotype picture of the lost person. So too many Christians have the idea that because the person is lost he's dumb. So you have to you know spell out real simple the gospel so that they can get it.

41:47 Some of the lost are brilliant. Some of the lost are more brilliant than many of us will ever dream of being. Some of the lost live better than many of us could imagine and they die better than any of us could imagine. Because they're lost doesn't mean they're therefore in this life finished or in a calamitous journey. That comes after life. That comes in the ultimate. I read this past week of a pastor and a deacon at the church who made plans to do some visiting of the lost in their congregation. One particularly notorious unbeliever had visited their church the previous Sunday, well known in the community. And they decided to drop by and talk about the gospel. So the two of them drove up together in the car and they sat and wound their way in the driveway.

42:42 They came to this lovely, lovely home. The lawn was thick and manicured. Kids were playing hopscotch out in the driveway and back in the back was a beautiful pool with a fountain. There were three cars, all of them new and luxurious and tucked away in the fourth garage was a new Ferrari. And they looked over in the study and they saw the man of the house and he was sitting there laughing with his friends and having the greatest time. and munching on a meal. And the deacon leaned over and said to the pastor, now tell me again, what kind of good news do we have for this guy? Our good news is about life beyond. It does not mean you believe in Christ and suddenly you're affluent. Or ipso facto, suddenly you've lost everything.

43:36 We have it mixed up. We got our theology sort of screwed up around our lifestyle or our preference or our prejudices as if the wealthy can never be godly or the poor can never be wicked. That's Zophar's problem. I mean, look at you, Job. Look at the condition you're in. Obviously, you've got sin in your life. You just haven't told us.

44:07 Because the wicked live suffering and Job says, wait a minute. It's not true. there are times that the wicked live very prosperously he describes it when he talks about death.

44:27 Verse 30, for the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity. They will be led forth in the day of fury. That's the ultimate. Who will confront him with his actions? Who will repay him for what he has done? Now, watch the funeral service of the wicked. While he's carried to the grave, men will keep watch over his tomb. The clods of the valley will gently cover him. moreover all men will follow after him while countless ones go before him listen the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases that have you ever asked world travelers how they see this have you not listened to their stories of evil men and women who got off scot-free who never had to pay for their wickedness did anyone ever confront them with their crimes did Did they ever have to face the music? Not likely. They're given fancy funerals with all the trimmings, gently lowered into expensive graves, with everyone telling lies about how wonderful they were.

45:27 You've seen it. So far, you've missed it with me. I'm not in that category. You've got it simplified to the point of being simplistic. wicked or righteous, some die well-healed, some die bitterly and in anguish. And look at his final summation of Zophar's counsel, verse 34, how then will you vainly comfort me? Your answers remain full of falsehood. You see, that's called, that's saying it straight. and I'm suggesting that kind of truth needs to be said to people who are poor in falsehood in our heads. The word falsehood, by the way, in the Hebrew means treachery or fraud. Your answers remain full of treachery.

46:22 They can't be counted on. It's not as you have falsely accused me of being. You need truth and you're not hearing it and you're not saying it. Now, you've so patiently sat through this. Well, most of you. You have sat patiently through this and you have listened to Zophar and you've listened to Job's answer. Now I want to talk with you. I want to offer you four lingering principles you can live by when you're falsely accused. Okay? Now you're talking. Some of you are saying, where is that pen and paper? And that's good because you will need this when, not if, but when people accuse you falsely of things. Here's some guidelines that I learned from Job. There are four.

47:18 And following each principle is a little two-word suggestion. Here's the first principle. Listen to what is being said. considering the character of the critic. Listen to what is being said, considering the character of the critic. and the two-word counsel on this right after parenthesis, stay calm.

47:51 You'll be tempted to jump in and rashly say things that you'll later regret. Stay calm. Listen. Listen to what is being said, considering the character of the critic.

48:11 Stay calm. Second, respond with true facts. knowing the nature of your accuser. Respond with true facts, knowing the nature of your accuser. Frankly, it may be a former husband, former wife. It may be a former boss. It may be a former employee. It may be a neighbor.

48:42 It may be a pastor. It doesn't matter who it is. The point is, if you are being accused, you need to have true facts. So my two-word counsel here is speak truth. Don't just react or you'll come off just like the accuser. Speak truth. David prayed in Psalm 26, vindicate me, O Lord, according to my integrity. Abraham Lincoln was told that he needed to fire the postmaster general back in July 8 the letter he wrote was dated July 18 1864 and so he writes Secretary Stanton this letter saying he's not going to do it because it's based on hearsay and then he makes this statement truth is generally the best vindication against slander. Isn't that good?

49:35 Truth is generally the best vindication against slander. Stay with truth. Don't exaggerate it. Don't pad it. Don't hesitate. Respond with true facts, accurate information. Number three, use examples that represent reality and balance. Use examples that represent reality and balance That's what Job did Trusting your defense to the Lord Use examples that represent reality and balance Trusting your defense to the Lord Parenthesis, lean hard I understand I have been accused of things. It has kept me awake. It has made my stomach churn.

50:28 It has taken away my appetite. I have found myself at times thinking I'm not going to pay any attention to it, and that's all I can talk about. I'm not going to pay any attention to what's being written, and I memorize it. I'm not going to worry about it, and I pass it on to somebody else. I am not leaning hard. I need examples that represent reality and balance, and then I need to lean on God to see me through it. If truth is truth, and it is, then he will honor it, and ultimately truth will win out.

51:06 Four, refuse to let the accusations discourage and derail you. Refuse to let the accusations discourage and derail you Remembering they are nonsense and lies They are nonsense and lies Parenthesis, get tough Remember that old line from the Revolutionary War Trust in God, but keep your powder dry I mean, you lock your door at night You trust God, but you turn on your alarm You get in your car, you lock your doors, don't you? You roll up your windows, don't you? If you don't, you're dumb You're playing with fire I'm going to trust God, but I'm going to Ride around this back alley in a convertible Yeah A lot of folks are like that it's got to be balance here. Don't be afraid of harsh examples. Job uses some. Don't be afraid of very specific, strongly stated examples. I read this past week of a physician father who is in Paraguay. Several years ago, he stood against the military regime there that was corrupt, which was also interwoven with the law enforcement, and he spoke on human rights abuse.

52:40 And he spoke openly, and he exposed it. Listen to what happened. The local police took their revenge on him by arresting his teenage son, torturing him to death. Enraged, the townsfolk wanted to turn the boys' funeral into a huge protest march. The doctor father said, no, we'll do something else to protest. At the funeral, true story, the father displayed the son's body as he had found it in the jail for all to see, naked, scarred from the electric shocks, cigarette burns, beatings, and stabbings. All the villagers filed past the corpse, which lay not in a coffin, but on a blood-soaked mattress from the prison, exactly where he found the boy.

53:43 It was the strongest protest imaginable. it put injustice on grotesque display that's exactly what god did with christ at the cross that's exactly what he did he didn't put a white bed sheet around him and said no no it's too hard for you to look at that he didn't he didn't have him crucified in a basement somewhere so people wouldn't see. He was on a hill, hanging there, dying, finally limp, gray, dead.

54:20 And it was impacting, and that cross is still impacting all who will look and live because he used a very harsh, realistic example. to convey his message. Look at it. In your mind, picture it.

54:46 Any other kind of information is empty and full of nonsense. Let me say to you who are going through a time of false accusation, may God strengthen you in it. May God hold you close through it. May God give you wisdom in responding to it. May he become real and personal to you, even giving you songs in the night and quiet rest as he defends you. And let me say to you who are spreading rumors and lies and slander on someone else, there is nothing more treacherous you could be doing in the family of God than that nothing you hurt the body you diseased the church you ruin you ruin the testimony of Christ there's nothing the lost world loves to hear and see more than infighting in the family and before we cluck our tongues at Zophar and Bildad and Eliphaz we better do some soul searching search me oh God says David try me know my thoughts see if there be any the Hebrew says any way of pain within me not good any way of pain my bringing pain to someone and then lead me in the way everlasting let's bow together So searching time in this old book, Job may be old, but he's certainly relevant.

56:40 For you who have been crippled by false information and hurt and sometimes even humiliated, may God give you strength from this message. For you who don't know Christ, may the message of the cross minister to you personally. right where you're sitting you can turn your life over to the Savior by faith putting your hand in him taking his life in place of your shame and sin and failure you can know what it is to be forgiven fully fully redeemed thank you Father that this is a place where shame and grace can meet thank you for the cross it's still that old message that sets the captive free thank you for a man who would record from his journal even things as personal as this such insulting comments such humiliating words thank you for his his storied endurance his courage his strength of character.

58:01 Thank you that he didn't just sit back and let the lies run on, but he became your spokesman, which guides us even as late as the 21st century in time. Now, Lord, may we be dismissed with a reminder that you are for us and therefore who can be against us? He who spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things we exult in this your grace in the name of Jesus our Lord and powerful master and Savior we pray everyone said