It's difficult to know what to
preach in a setting like this and just a standalone message. And normally, I would bring a
message of more just general encouragement to your Christian
life. But a couple of weeks ago, I
picked up an old sermon that I had preached quite some time
back and preached it in our church, and there was just so much thunder
in that passage of Scripture. that I have preached it some
in the last several weeks. I preached it in Russia to several
churches in Russia and preached it in several churches in Ireland
as I was with Dr. MacArthur there. And it just
has...it has a grip on my heart. And so, I'll be preaching it
for Crossroads in the next hour after this. And I realize that
as I bring this, it's a rather intense message. out of Job chapter
1. And as I was driving in this
morning, I happened to remember I was able to speak at one of
your retreats about five years ago and I brought five messages
from the book of Job, so you may think I don't have any other
sermons. And the truth, that's probably true, that's why I stay
on the road a lot and five sermons and five suits and you just stay
on the move. Since that time I was with you,
I've written a commentary on the book of Job and just a verse-by-verse
exposition of the book of Job and have just re-familiarized
myself and I am just drawn like the proverbial moth to the flame
to this book and it is the message of the sovereignty of God but
it's in a real life context and anyway, God uses it to just... as a check for my own heart and
to test my own faith where I am as I am trusting the Lord. So,
I would invite you to take God's Word and turn with me to the
book of Job, to Job chapter 1...Job chapter 1. And I'm going to have
to use my time very well because this is about a two-hour message,
so I'm going to have to really whittle this down fast. So, Job
chapter 1, I want to begin reading in verse 6 and I want to just
set the text back in front of you. And I know also that Dan
has preached on the book of Job since we had our retreat. So,
you probably have Job coming out of your ears right now. But
I think that it would be good for us this morning to look at
this. So, Job chapter 1 verse 6, now there was a day when the
sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord. And Satan also
came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, From
where do you come? Then Satan answered the Lord
and said, From roaming about on the earth and walking around
on it. The Lord said to Satan, Have
you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him
on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and
turning away from evil. Then Satan answered the Lord
Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge about
him and his house and all that he has on every side? You have
blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased
in the land. But put forth your hand now and
touch all that he has, and he will surely curse you to his
face." Then the Lord said to Satan, Behold, all that he has
is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him. So
Satan departed from the presence of the Lord." I want to talk
to you this morning about seven truths about Satan. Seven truths about Satan that
every believer needs to know. This morning, I want to expose
our adversary and reveal who he is and how he operates. And
the fact of the matter is, you and I have a very real and formidable
foe whose name is Satan. And while many today would deny
the existence of Satan, I want to remind us all that he is clearly
taught in seven of the Old Testament books and by every New Testament
writer. It was a subject that every New
Testament writer addressed, none more so than Jesus Christ Himself
in the gospel accounts. The devil is very real and not
a mere figment of someone's imagination. In the Bible, he is called Satan,
the devil, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Belial, the evil one, the tempter,
the ruler of this world, the god of this age. the prince of
the power of the air, the accuser of the brethren, the old serpent,
the great dragon, the roaring lion, Apollyon, etc., etc. Quite simply, he is the evil
one. And I want you to know that for
all of us this morning as believers, there is no state of neutrality. None of us are allowed to go
spiritually AWOL and escape this war. Each and every one of us
has a real foe in Satan and he has untold hosts at his disposal
and we find ourselves in the midst of spiritual warfare. And I believe that it would be
good for us this morning to be reminded of how supernatural
and how strong and how scheming the devil is. The Bible says,
put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand
firm against the schemes of the devil. And I think that when
we get to heaven and for whatever added perspective we will receive
in our glorified state, I believe one thing that will amaze us
is for us to have the veil pulled back on our understanding and
to see how much opposition we actually face at the hand of
Satan, that we merely put off as mere circumstantial or mere
something of lesser state. But in fact, so many times we
wrestle against a formidable foe, a real devil. So, this morning as we look at
this passage, I want to give you seven truths about Satan
And beginning in verse 6 and running through this chapter,
I want to bring to your attention just an overview of a theology
of Satan. Number 1 in verse 6, Satan is
a fallen angelic being. I want you to look at verse 6
again. Nether was a day. Stop right there. When he says
a day, the implication is this is just a routine day in heaven.
This is a day like any other day in heaven and we are left
to assume that this is a routine day in heaven. This scene played
out over and over and over again. Now there was a day in heaven
when the sons of God came to present themselves before the
Lord. The sons of God here refer to
angelic beings and within the same book of Job, Job thirty-eight
verse seven, It identifies the sons of God as the angelic beings
who were with God as God created the world and they sang God's
praises as they beheld the glory of the handiwork of the Lord. And in Genesis 6, too, we see
the same. So, these angelic beings came
to present themselves before the Lord. And we know that the
angels are supernatural spirits created by God to serve Him and
to serve the saints. They are lower than God but superior
to man in their strength and in their intelligence. And as the sons of God came to
present themselves to the Lord, the idea here is they have been
out carrying out their assignments. And having completed them and
now in a sense of accountability to God, they appear back before
the throne of God and look who shows up in verse 6. And Satan also came among them. The reason that Satan came among
them is that Satan is one of them. Satan was originally created
as an angelic being. In fact, once the highest archangel
before he rebelled. And he possesses all of the characteristics
of an angelic being. And he was created the most gifted
by God, the anointed cherub. He possesses a mind in motion
and a will. He is not just a figment of someone's
imagination, but He possesses all the attributes of personality. And so, here is Satan. And you may ask the question,
which I'm often asked, Pastor, you've told us that God is a
holy God and that God dwells in unapproachable light whom
no man has seen or can see. Lucifer was cast out of heaven
because there was iniquity that was found in him. How is it now
that this foul fiend, Satan, is allowed day after day after
day to come into the very presence of Almighty God? And the answer
is, I do not know. That is a mystery that escapes
me and you. Now God in His sovereignty would
allow this serpent to slither back into His presence again
and again, but here he is with the other sons of God. Not only is Satan a fallen angelic
being, but number two, I want you to note, Satan has direct
access to God. We've already talked about that,
but in verse 6 we see that He came to present...or the sons
of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also
came with them. Strange as it sounds, Satan still
has direct access to God's throne and the question is, what is
he doing there? Well, the answer is found in
His name. The name Satan means the accuser. It means the slanderer. It means
the attacker. The name Satan represents an
adversary such as an opponent in court, one who acts as a prosecuting
attorney to bring criminal charges against a plaintiff. And that
is what Satan is doing as he comes before the throne of God. And while you and I are carrying
out our day-to-day activities here upon the earth, while we
are going to our picnics and going to our houses and going
to work, unknown to us on the other side of the veil, there
is a prosecuting attorney. who is bringing criminal charges
against you before the throne of God above." Revelation 12
verse 10 says that He is the accuser of the brethren who accuses
them before our God, listen to this, day and night. I don't know how this all plays
out, but I do know that Satan is the accuser of the And he
stands in the presence of God and he brings railing accusation
against us day and night and brings to the attention of God
our sins. And it reminds us of how desperately
we need one who will represent us while we are on earth in the
very presence of God and that one is our great advocate. the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
at the right hand of God the Father and He ever lives to make
intercession for us. Hebrews 7 and verse 25, and while
Satan is saying, look God, here's Steve Lawson, do you see where
he disobeyed? Do you see where his priorities
were wrong? Do you see how easily it was
that I seduced him into this sin? The Lord Jesus Christ stands
at the right hand of God the Father. And My name and your
name, if you are one of the Lord's, is written in His hand and upon
the ephod of His heart. And He represents us and pleads
His blood and His righteousness." 1 John 2 verse 1 says, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. This morning, if you're here
without Christ and you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal
Lord and Savior, I want you to know you desperately need someone
to represent you before God because your sin is being exposed before
the presence of a holy God and the wages of sin is death and
how you need one to plead on your behalf His own blood and
righteousness and that one is Jesus Christ. I want you to know
He has never lost a case and no one who has ever put their
faith and their trust in Him, having repented of their sins,
will ever come under the condemnation of a holy judge in heaven." So,
we see Satan is a fallen angelic being. Second, he has direct
access to God. And you and I, no doubt, are
being mentioned before the throne of God above today. Third, I want you to note in
verse 7, Satan stalks the earth for prey. Satan is like a roaring
lion who prowls about this earth. He is on the aggressive. He takes
the initiative. and he is looking for those whom
he may devour." Look at verse 7. The Lord said to Satan, from
where do you come? That's an interesting question
because God knows everything. So, therefore, the question is
not being raised for God to derive information from the devil. The
devil has not now become the teacher of the Lord. Now the
question is raised so that God will elicit a confession and
a testimony from the devil himself. So the Lord said to Satan, from
where do you come so that the devil will have to answer and
enter into the public record of heaven the answer? Then Satan answered the Lord
and said, now watch this, from roaming about on the earth and
walking around on it." The devil is going to hell, but he's not
there yet. The devil is alive and well on
planet earth and he is represented here as a lion that is roaming
and stalking and is hunting, 1 Peter 5 verse It says that
the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone
to devour. If you knew there was a lion
loose in your neighborhood today, you would not let your kids go
out and play until you knew for sure they were in safety and
out of harm's way. Something far more dangerous
than a physical lion is loose in your neighborhood and it is
loose in your schools and in your family and he's loose wherever
you are, there is a real personal devil. And I would remind you,
he is the ruler of this world and the God of this age and he
is roaming about on the earth and walking around on it. And
what is he doing here upon the earth? Time does not really permit
an extensive answer of this, but he's blinding minds and stealing
God's Word. and he is opposing God's work,
and he is dividing families, and he is tempting into immorality,
and he is sowing snares among the brethren, and he is attacking
God's Word, and he is spreading false doctrine, and he is deceiving
the nations, and he is attacking faith, and he is persecuting
believers. No, Satan is roaming on this
earth. And he is vicious and he is on
the prowl. Number four, not only is Satan
stalking the earth for prey, and I would remind you that he
has the scent of your trail today. And the more you step to the
forefront to take a stand for the Lord Jesus Christ, I can
promise you, you're going to meet the devil head on. Martin
Luther said, I'll tell you why I believe in a personal devil,
because I do wrestle with him every day. The more you stand
up and are counted on the front lines for the Lord Jesus Christ,
the more you will be a target of the devil. But let me encourage
you with this fourth point. As we look at verse 8, number
4, Satan is limited. Satan is limited by God's sovereignty. While Satan is very powerful,
he nevertheless remains under the absolute sovereignty and
supreme authority of God Almighty. And what is being played out
in our lives is not a struggle between two equals, a tug-of-war
between God and Satan. There is only one sovereign and
that is God Almighty. So, look at verse 8. I want you
to see this. The Lord said to Satan, have you considered My
servant Job? Would you please note who initiates
this involvement of Job into this warfare? Would you please
note who throws Job's name into the ring? It's not the devil. It is God who takes the sovereign
initiative in this. It is God who issues the challenge
to the devil and says, have you considered my servant Job? And why does he say Job? He gives us the answer in verse
8. 4, which introduces an explanation. For there is no one like him
on the earth." Meaning, he is the most exemplary believer on
planet earth. There is no one like him on the
earth, and this is God's estimation of Job. And he now gives a fourfold
description of what sets Job apart as the most mature believer
on the earth. Number one, a blameless and upright
man. Those are the first two. Blameless
means beyond reproach. in his personal character and
conduct. In other words, he is like what
the elder is to be in 1 Timothy 3 verse 1, beyond reproach. He is a blameless man. There
is not a charge that can be pinned on Job. There is no area in his
spiritual life that is out of balance or is dysfunctional.
He says, an upright man, which means literally straight. In
other words, he walks the straight path. He does not deviate from
the narrow path and fearing God. Down in the depths of his soul,
this is a man who took God very seriously. There was a reverence
for God. He has this respect for God. He is filled with awe for God. And God marks this out as what
distinguishes him. When you lift up the hood of
his heart, down in the engine, there is the oil of the fear
of God And the more we grow in the grace and knowledge of the
Lord, the more we grow in the fear of the Lord. Not only is it the beginning
of wisdom, but Solomon said at the end of the book of Ecclesiastes,
this is the bottom line, fear God and keep His commandments. Now, Job is not being singled
out in this because there is something wrong in his life.
Job is being singled out in this because there is everything right
about his spiritual life. It's not because he's lukewarm
in his faith, it's because he fears God. That God moves his
name to the forefront and says, well, have you considered my
servant Job? I wonder how many times as God
sees us in our Christian lives, begin to advance and go to the
next level and become on fire for God and deepen in our passion
for the Lord and become more consistent in spiritual disciplines,
that our name is brought up by God. Have you considered my servant
Dan? Have you considered my servant
Susan? Well, we must hasten. But before
I move on, Satan is limited by God's sovereignty. I John 4 verse
1 says, greater is He who is in you than he who is in the
world. I don't want anyone to leave
here today fearing Satan, I want you fearing God. And God is sovereign
and God is upon His throne and God will use the devil to accomplish
His purposes in our lives. And God can take a crooked stick
and draw a straight line as He uses the devil in our lives. Martin Luther himself, Dan, you
remember when you preached that message in chapel on the three
things that will make you a great theologian? The last of which
is persecution and tribulation. Do you remember that? I looked
up that some more in Luther's sermons on Psalm 119. And Luther
gave testimony to the fact that it was the devil himself that
drove him deeper and deeper and deeper into a study of the Word
of God. And Luther thanked God for providentially
using the devil to make him a champion of the faith. There's a fifth
truth that I want you to note. As we continue to walk through
this, beginning in verse 9, not only is Satan limited by God's
sovereignty, but number 5, Satan is shrewd and cunning...shrewd
and cunning. Now I want you to see the diabolical
genius of the devil. I want you to know he was created
by God as an angel of light. with a brilliant mind. Verse
9, then Satan answered the Lord and no doubt Satan has been waiting
for this opportunity. There have been so many times
I have been engaged in a conversation with someone and it wouldn't
be until I walk away and get in my car that I think I wish
I had said this. The devil is a genius. The devil
is brilliant. And as soon as God puts the volley
into play, the devil doesn't wait one second to return serve
and the ball's back in God's court in this discussion. The
devil in verse 9, Satan answered the Lord, this is so shrewd,
there is a rock in this snowball that is being hurled. There is
poison in this drink. Does Job fear God for nothing? There is so much in that question.
In this question, the devil is indicting both God and Job. He indicts Job. by insinuating that Job will
only serve God in good times, that Job will only praise God
when everything is going great. And the indictment against God
is, this is what's on the table, you are having to buy worshipers. in the marketplace of prosperity." If you weren't so good to Job,
he wouldn't show up at church. He wouldn't praise you. You've
bought him. So, in verse 10, notice what
he says. This is so cunning. Have you not made a hedge about
him? in his house and all that he
has on every side. And the reason the devil says
that is the devil has been trying to crawl down his chimney day
after day, has been trying to break in the back door from every
side. Satan has been trying to crack
this wall of protection that God has built around Job. As the invisible hand of God
has providentially protected Job from the attacks of Satan,
and who is to say this morning all of the protection that God
has already provided you this day from the attacks of Satan
against your faith and against your family? Have you not made
a hedge about Him? and his house, and that would
include his sons and his daughters, and all that he has, that would
include his possessions, his work, and all that he has saved,
and all that he has invested, and all that he has accumulated. You have blessed the work of
his hands, he says in verse 10, and his possessions have increased
in the land. Here's the problem, God. You're
too good to him. I want to tell you how brilliant
the devil is. The last time we heard Satan
talk was in Genesis chapter 3. And when he came to Eve to seduce
her, the devil said, you know what the problem is? God's not
good to you. God's holding out. I thought
God loved you. I thought God would bless you.
See this tree over here? If God was a good God, He would
let you eat from this tree. The tree of the knowledge of
good and evil and how good it was of God to say, don't eat
from this tree. How good it is to be naive of
sin and evil. He says to Eve, God's not good
to you. And you know the devil will do
that to you as well. He will bless you from stem to
stern and there will be something that you still yet need or he'll
draw your attention to some one thing. And if we just had this
or if we just had that and the blessing of God, Eve was living
in paradise. And the devil is so good at pointing
out the one thing that you don't have and saying, so I thought
God loved you. Now he comes to Job and says
the very opposite. He comes to God and says, you're
too good to him. So what the devil is doing is
playing both ends into the middle. He says to man, God's not good
to you. He says to God, you're too good
to them and then takes a step back hoping to pick God against
man and man against God and the devil never even has to lift
a finger. The devil is a very good salesman.
He convinced a third of the angels who were in the very presence
of God before the throne of God. to rebel against God in the very
presence of God and come follow Me." He's a very good recruiter. He can make us think black is
white and white is black if we do not have the mind of Christ. So, verse 11, the devil now goes
for the juggler. The devil now gives the invitation. but put forth your hand now and
touch all that he has and he will surely curse you to his
face." How brilliantly satanic this is, how shrewdly diabolical
this ploy is as the devil now says to God, if you'll remove
this hedge and if you will curse him, He will curse you to His
face. There are many times in our Christian
lives when we are put to the test,
where is our faith? When the legs are knocked out
from under us and when the rug is pulled out from under us and
when the clouds cover the sun, of God's compassion. The issue
on the table is, will I whine or will I worship God? Look at verse 12. Truth number
6, Satan has great power over circumstances. And the Lord said
to Satan, behold, all that he has is in your power. That's
quite A statement. All that he has is in your power
only, do not put forth your hand on him. And under the sovereignty
of God, Satan is delegated this much power and authority to act
in Job's life. He draws a line in the sand and
says, and you can go no further. So at the end of verse 12, Satan
departed from the presence of the Lord. He winged his flight
down through the universe. He knows exactly where Job is.
He hones in on the land of us. He comes directly to his part
of that place. And verse 13, now it happened
on the day that his sons and his daughters were eating and
drinking wine in their oldest brother's house. A messenger
came, you know what's coming. the oxen were plowing, and the
donkeys feeding, and the Sabaeans attacked and took them. And it
was Satan who implanted unholy rage and fury in the hearts of
the Sabaeans and whipped them up so that they would now come
and commit murder against the servants of Job. And all of this
under the furious influence of Satan. I wonder if we knew this
morning in the Middle East conflict how much hatred it is that Satan
is infusing into unconverted, unregenerate hearts as the God
of this age. So verse 16, while he was still
speaking, you think that just happened, just a coincidence?
These messengers start stacking up at the front door to bring
their message. No, Satan has extraordinary power
under the sovereignty of God. And while he was still speaking,
verse 16, the fire of God, this would be like a lightning bolt
from above that would come down and ignite the dry tinder of
the grass, fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants
and consumed them. And I alone have escaped to tell
you. You think that was just a coincidence
that everyone died and everything was burned up except one messenger? that was spared by the devil's
rage to come give this report and to drive a stake into the
heart of Job. And then in verse 17, while he
was still speaking, the words are still in the air. The Chaldeans
formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and
slew the servants with the edge of the sword. And it is the devil
himself who is pushing this. and filling the hearts with hatred,
and I alone have escaped to tell you." My friend, this is not
fiction. This is not Christian fiction.
This is more real to life than today. So, verse 18, while he
was still speaking, Another also came and said, your sons and
daughters, and I'm sure at this point Job does not even want
to hear the rest of the sentence, your sons and your daughters.
For those of you here today who have sons and daughters, you
can understand the pit in his stomach that would begin to swell
up as if, oh no, God, not this. Your sons and your daughters
were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house
in a great wind. Some type of twister came from
across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the earth
and it fell on the young people and they died and I alone have
escaped to tell you." Martin Luther got it right when he said,
"'For still our ancient foe does seek to work us woe. His craft
and power are great and armed with cruel hate. On earth is not His equal." There's a seventh truth and I
can hear the Chaldeans outside being filled with their rage
as they one will burst into the room and I alone have escaped
to tell you that you must go to the gym." I'm so glad to give you this
last point and one good thing about being a guest speaker is
who cares about what time it is. So, look at verse 20. Satan is defeated by our faith. Did you get that? Satan is defeated
by our faith. Then Job arose and took his robe
and shaved his head and fell to the ground And the devil now
strains his ear to hear the anticipated cursing of God's name, because
when he has played this card before, he hears the name of
God blasphemed. He hears the name of God used
as a foul curse word with damn it named after it. And as the
devil now strains to hear what will come out of the mouth of
Job, he Here's this, naked I came from my mother's
womb and naked I shall return. The Lord gives and the Lord takes
away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Instead of maligning God's name,
He magnifies God's name. Instead of assaulting God's name,
He adores God's name. And in an act of worship, when
and where it really counts, in the tough times of life, when
things aren't going your way, when things have been stripped
from your life, it is the greatest platform and the greatest stage
and the greatest opportunity for you to say, blessed be the
name of the Lord. And I want you to know the most
powerful sermons you will ever preach is when your spouse and
your children and your in-laws and your friends, what they hear
come from your mouth when you are in the flame of adversity
and difficulty. Anyone can praise God in good
times. The test of our faith is when
the bark has been stripped from the tree of our life. Will we
worship God? And so, in verse 22, he wraps
up this scene, through all this, Job did not sin nor blame God. I think the lesson for us today
is what Habakkuk said, "'Though the fig tree should not blossom
and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the
olives should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock
be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will exalt in the Lord I will rejoice in the God of
my salvation, the Lord is my strength." May God use these
verses in my heart and in your heart to remind us, no matter
what, I shall praise the Lord and put my trust in Him. Let
us pray. Thank You that You are totally
in control and that You are so sovereign over all the circumstances
of our lives. We bless You when You give to
us and we bless You when You take from us, knowing that all
of Your ways are perfect. Lord, I pray that as we are tested
in the crucible of life, that we will be found faithful to
render our praise to you and that we will be resilient and
that there will be an indomitable spirit within us that will worship
you even when we have suffered great and personal loss. We thank
you for the sufficiency of your grace and the sufficiency of
your favor upon us And we pledge that we will be found to be Your
worshipers in all circumstances of life. We pray this in Jesus'
name. Amen.