Now let me read a couple of verses
from that passage which John Chapman read a moment ago, Ephesians
chapter 6. I'm speaking tonight on the subject,
the voice of the devil. The voice of the devil. Here in Ephesians 6, verse 11,
it says, put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand
against the wiles, the trickery, magic, deceit of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood. This is no battle between men. This is no battle in the carnal
arena. But this battle is against principalities. You know what principalities
are? That's a territory having to
do with a principal or being reigned over by a prince, by
a king. Principalities, that's a territory
reigned over by some mighty power or person. against powers, not
weaklings now, but powers. Against the rulers, the what?
Rulers of the darkness of this world. Prince of the power there, the
God of this world. Rulers. Against spiritual wickedness
or wicked spirits where? In heavenly places. I'm talking
about high places, heavenly places. Now listen to me. And most everybody here knows
very little about this subject. I don't know a great deal either,
but I know more today than I knew last week. The voice of the devil. Now there are people who deny
the very existence of the devil, of Satan. They ridicule the thought
of evil spirits and demons. But if you'll follow me, and
what I did this morning was read every scripture in this Bible
that had anything to do with the devil. And before you decide
anything, you do the same thing. Don't just read one verse that
you heard Mama quote. I mean, read the whole thing.
Every verse having to do with Satan. Seeing that the word of
God is so plain on this subject, it's foolish, foolish, foolish,
foolish for a man to deny the existence of the devil, of Satan,
of evil spirits, of demon spirits. Let me just show you a few. Turn
to the book of Zechariah. Zechariah chapter 3. Zechariah
chapter 3, verse 1, and two. Zechariah 3, 1 and 2. Listen to this now. And he showed
me Joshua. That's the Old Testament name
for Jesus. Joshua, the high priest, standing
before the angel of the Lord, standing before God, and Satan
standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said
to Satan, The Lord rebuked thee, Satan. Even the Lord that hath
chosen Jerusalem rebuked thee. Is not this a brand fluffed out
of the fire?" And you needn't turn to this one, because it's
one with which you're quite familiar. But in Luke 10, 18, our Lord
said, Christ said this, I saw Satan, I saw Satan fall from
where? Heaven. as lightning. Christ
said that. In Luke 22, verse 31, now listen
to this. Here's our Lord speaking to Simon
Peter, one of the chosen twelve. And he says to him in Luke 22,
31, the Lord said, Simon, Simon. Simon, Simon. Behold, Satan,
Satan hath desired to have you. he's requested you, that he might
sift you as wheat." And then John chapter eight.
In the eighth chapter of John, our Master speaking again concerning
this one named Satan, the devil. He's called in the scriptures
by many names. He's called the accuser of the
brethren. He accuses them night and day. He is called the adversary. Your
adversary goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He's called the enemy. He's called
the devil. He's called Satan. He's called
the father of lies. He was a liar from the beginning,
and he's the father of liars. He's a murderer. That's what
he's called in the Word of God. He's called the prince of this
world. He's called the Prince of the Power of the Air. He's
called a Serpent. He's called a Spirit. He's called
the Tempter. He's called the God of this world. And He's called the Wicked One.
Now look at John 8, verse 38, Christ our Lord speaking again. John 8, 38. I speak that which
I have seen with my father, and you do that which you have seen
with your father.' They answered him and said unto him, Abraham
is our father. Jesus said unto them, If you
were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
But now you seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the
truth which I have heard of God. This did not Abraham. You do
the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be
not born of fornication, we have one father, even God. And Jesus
said unto them, If God were your father, you would love me, for
I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of myself,
but he sent me. Why do you not understand my
speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. You are of your
father the devil, and the lust of your father you will do. He
was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because
there's no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks
of his own, for he's a liar and the father of it." Now, that's
just part of the scripture. I just chose a few passages which
emphatically teach the very power of the devil, the person of the
devil. Let's look at some of Paul's
writings. Turn to Romans 16.20. Those were the words of the Lord
Jesus. Now turn to Romans 16.20. Listen
to Paul talk about it. He says in Romans 16.20, And
the God of peace shall brew Satan under your feet shortly. Satan. Let me just turn to some
of these and read them quickly. I want to move along. But if
you're taking notes, jot this down. 2 Corinthians 2.11, listen
to this. Paul said, lest Satan, lest Satan
should get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his
devices. Paul wasn't ignorant of Satan's
presence and power and devices. And then over in chapter 11,
he says this, 2 Corinthians 11.14, he said, no marvel. He said, the messengers of Satan
come as ministers of righteousness, and that's no marvel, for even
Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. And then
in 1 Thessalonians 2.18, listen to Paul here, 1 Thessalonians
2.18, Paul says this about Satan, Wherefore we would have come
to you, even our power once and again. But Satan hindered us. Satan hindered us. Listen to
1 Timothy 3, Paul writing again, 1 Timothy 3, 6 and 7. Listen. Now he's talking about when you
select someone to preach, to lead God's people. He talks about
the different things that ought to be true of this man who is
the leader of God's people. But especially, don't select
a novice. one who's newly come to the faith.
Lest, being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation
of the devil, of the devil. Moreover, he must have a good
report of them that are without, folks in the community, lest
he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Listen to
Hebrews 2.14. I believe Paul's the writer of
Hebrews. He said, for as much then as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood, Christ also himself likewise took part of
the same, that through death he might destroy him that hath
the power of death, that is, the devil. And then Jude wrote
in Jude, verse 9, and said this, As far as I know, there are only
three angels named in the scripture, Gabriel, Michael, and one who
failed, Lucifer. I don't know what any others
are named, but Michael is a very significant, important servant
of the Most High God, Michael the archangel. It says here,
yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil, contending
with He disputed about the body of
Moses. But Michael did not bring against
the devil a railing accusation, but he said the Lord rebuketh
him. Now what makes Jude talk about that? Well, look at the
verse before it. He's talking about people who speak evil of
dignitaries, people who despise dominion and resist authority. He said in verse 8, likewise
also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion,
and speak evil of dignities, powers, rulers. And yet Michael, the archangel,
when he was disputing with the devil, he didn't bring any judgment
or accusation against Satan, he turned it over to the one
who was supposed to be turned over to, and it's the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of Rebukement. Isn't that what I started with?
You see, I ended up right where I started, in Zechariah. He said, I saw Joshua standing,
the high priest, and Satan standing at his right hand, and the Lord
said, The Lord rebuke thee. And when I come down here to
the last passage I read, Michael the archangel said, The Lord
rebuke thee. Now, that brings me to my second point. And under
the first heading, people who deny the existence of Satan are
foolish unbelievers. I don't care whether they're
in the pulpit or the pew. But yet, there are those who take Satan
lightly, and they underestimate his power, they underestimate
his dominion, they underestimate his strength, they underestimate
his person. And this, too, is dangerous.
It's dangerous. An old, old preacher said to
me years ago, don't deny the existence of Satan, the devil,
or any of his followers, evil spirit, but don't investigate
it. Don't get curious. Don't get
to inquiring into these areas, because you've got no business
there. And when I was a child, just a young boy in my teens,
I remember my pastor brought an evangelist to town in what
he called a child evangelism crusade under a big tent. He
brought in a man, I forget his name, McGarrihan or something
like that, but his specialty was children's evangelism. And I know that the whole two
weeks he was there, they made fun of Satan. They hired a big
wrestler from Birmingham and brought him over to Fairfield,
dressed him up in a red suit with horns and with cloven hooks
and a tail with a point on the end of it, and had him come up
on the platform and the children came down the aisles and their
daddies gave them a dollar to take a poke at the devil. He'd
stand there and all these little kids would come up and poke him
in the stomach. And I felt even then, I didn't
know a great deal about this subject, but I felt there was
something wrong here. And then a few days later, they
had a parade. They were going to run the devil
out of Fairfield. And so they got this same rasta
dressed up in his red suit, big man, six, three or four, two
hundred and fifty pounds, And all these little imps dressed
in their little red suits with their tails, and the preacher
and all the folks ran the devil out of my town. And people thought
that was so funny, you know, and so religious. But I turned
my television on here in Ashton, Kentucky. Night before last. Channel 61. And I was watching. And one of
the prominent pastors in this city, Baptist pastors, and the
man that owns the station, were both of them standing in front
of the screen with a microphone, and they had over here on the
board some balloons, all blown up with helium or something.
And they were raising money for that television station. And they said, now every time
you send so much money, we're going to bust a balloon. And
this prominent Baptist pastor, it came out of his own mouth,
I was listening, and he said, and we'll let the air out of
the devil. And I thought, I'm not hearing
what I'm hearing. And so they got some money, and the owner
went over, and he said, now, and they had the face of the
devil drawn on the bloom. Folks, I'm telling you about
Ashland, Kentucky, and the preachers in this town right here. What
did he look like, preacher? Just like the pictures. They
had drawn his picture on that balloon. He had horns, and he
had the face, and the owner of that station took a pen and let
the air out of the devil personally. And one of the balloons fell
on the floor, and this prominent Baptist preacher, with all of
his dignity, said, stomp the devil. And this man I couldn't
believe it. This dignitary, this owner of
the station, went over and stomped the devil. Now, he said, this
is what he said. He said, we're going to keep
raising money till we run the devil out of Ashland, lest he
get you. And he realized what he had said.
He said, well, I'll not talk like that, should we? No, you've
already said it, boy. And how the heart, the mouth
speaketh. They had a puppet show Martha
told me about the other day on this. This is not Christian television. And I know folks call me ornery
and this church a bunch of mavericks and rebels, but I'm going to
stay a rebel. They had a bunch of puppets dressed
like cowboys. Was it cowboys and Indians? Just
cowboys. Cowboys. And they heard something coming
and one of them said, here comes the devil. These poems are for
your children. Now be sure and get your children
to watch this. They'll be as ignorant as those folks. Here
comes the devil. Let's run the devil away. So
they all raise their hands. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord! Devil's gone. That's all there
is to it, Tom. My friend, now you listen to
me. Do you have any idea Do you have any idea at all of the character
and the power, the power and the influence and the dominion
of this person we're talking about today? Now, let me tell
you some stories. Here is God's garden, the Garden
of Eden. God made this garden. In six
days, He made the Word, and after He made each thing, He said,
it's good. God said it's good. The living God, the eternal God,
made that garden. And then God made a man, put
him in that garden, gave him dominion over all things, the
birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the
air. That's a pretty powerful man. A genius, a king who named
all the animals, made in the image of God. He thought it wasn't
good that that man live alone, so he made a woman. A brilliant,
beautiful helpmate. And there they are in God's garden.
You know who else is in that garden? Satan. Satan's in that garden. And he
got there by his power and personage and influence. He's there. Now you're dealing
with someone, if you're dealing with him, talking about him,
who can make his way into a lot of places. Let me give you another
illustration. Here's the very presence of God,
the awesome, holy presence of God. And the sons of God have
come, the scripture says, to do what, Charlie? Present themselves
before the Lord. Who's there? Satan's there. What did he say? David said,
and Satan came among them. What? Yes, sir. That's the fellow
you stomped for the bloom. That's that little funny mug
shot you drew on the bloom. That's the one that the cowboys
hear coming, and they ran off by saying some words, like the
vampires of old with the crocs. He's powerful. He's powerful. I wish I could describe to you
how powerful he is. Wait a minute. Here's David,
man after God's own heart, reigning over Israel. Lifted up, the man
whom God raised on high, the sweet psalmist of Israel, reigning
in a nation of glory and splendor. Who's that? 1 Chronicles 21.1
said, And Satan moved David to number Israel. Gettin' along real good, wasn't
he? You stronger than David? How about Job? How about Peter? They all fell before his onslaught. They just wilted. Wait a minute, I'm not through.
Here's the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, who has come to
this earth, born of a woman. Perfect God, perfect man. in
Him dwelt no iniquity whatsoever. I read Jesus Christ enters His
public ministry. Here is that which has been purposed
from the foundation of the world. Here is God's greatest glory,
God's redemptive glory. Here is the Son of God who, by
the will of God in God's own time, in the fullness of time,
has come into this world, and He has now entered His public
ministry. And He goes there to the wilderness
at the beginning of that ministry, and and praise. And you know
who walks in the garden to tackle him? Satan. That's right, toe-to-toe with
the Son of God. How'd he get in there? Well,
when you find out, you'll know a little bit about him. Wait a minute. Here's the Lord's
table. run the last Passover. Our Lord
has found an upper room to meet just Him and His disciples. This
is a holy time. This is an awesome time. This
is that time when the Lord Jesus, from chapter 13, 14, 15, 16 of
John, is instructing His own in these things. He washed their
He instructed them in humility. He instructed them in redemption.
He instructed them in love for one another. He instructed them
in their ministry. And he took the wine and the
bread and instituted the Lord's table. Guess who was there? That's right. Yes, he was. Because it says, And Satan entered
the heart of Judas, and he got up and went out the door. This is a fearful subject. Paul talked about the wiles of
the devil, that's tricks. And here's what people don't
understand, they just can't understand. That the very thing they're putting
on with their pins and balloons and their puppet shows, talking
about running the devil out, it's under his sponsorship they're
putting it on. They're promoting the very bird
they're talking about running after. I'm telling you the truth. He's a tricky rascal. You don't
draw first. The good guys do that, Richard.
They wait for you to draw first, but he draws first. Paul says,
I know something about his wows, the tricks. Paul talked about
his subtlety. What is subtlety? Clever. Skillful. Ingenious. Paul talks about his
devices. He said, I'm not ignorant of
his devices. They're schemes. Devices are
schemes, underhanded work. Our Lord called him a liar from
the beginning. He's always been a liar. He can't
tell the truth. Nothing about him is true. He's
never abode in the truth. He's a liar from the beginning.
Whatever he says is a lie. It's based and built on a lie. In our text I read to you a while
ago, he talks about him being principalities, ruling in principalities,
and Webster says principalities is that state or quality of a
principal, a high rank. It's a territory ruled over by
a prince. Then it said they're rulers of
the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in heavenly
places. Does that sound like the devil
that's described from the average pulpit? Now, you think about
it. Principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness, spiritual wickedness,
evil beings in heavenly places. That doesn't sound like this
little peanut devil that they keep talking about running out
of town. Running out of town. But my friends, there's one greater
than he, and that's your only hope. That's my only hope. Our Lord taught his disciples,
when he taught them to pray, in that very short prayer, one
sentence is dedicated to deliver us from the evil one. Did you
know that? Protect me from Satan. There's
one greater. There's only one greater. Did
you know that? Greater is he that's in you than
he that's in this world. Greater is he that reigns than
he that's the prince of this world. God said way back in the
beginning, He said, you'll bruise his heel as he'll crush your
head. This one greater than you. When
a strong man, armed, keeps his palace, his goods in peace, who
do you think that is? That's Satan. And he says, I'll
go out. And he goes out and roams around.
He says, I'll come back to my palace. And he comes back when
he wants to. He finds it empty and swept and
decorated. Well, he says, I'll get me seven
more demons and bring them in. And the last state of the man
is worse than the first. That's a false religious profession. And that's what they're doing,
too. They're getting people to run the devil out and clean the
house up, make it religious, sweep it, not wash it, sweep
it. empty. Christ doesn't dwell there.
The house is not empty where Christ dwells. And decorated. They're decorated with all kind
of pictures and crosses and symbols and all these things, and Satan
comes back. But here's true conversion. When
a stronger than he comes upon him, stronger than he, he drives
him out. Satan doesn't walk out voluntarily.
God drives him out. And the Lord Jesus dwells in
that house, runs his instant her banner up on the flagpole
and said, I reign here now. And Satan can't come back. And
it's just one reason, David, why he can't. It's not you either. It's the one who dwells there.
That's right. I want you to look at these brief
scriptures in John 12. Look over here and let you read
this. John chapter 12, verse 27. John 12, 27. I'm telling you
the truth. John 12, 27. Listen to this. Now the Lord Jesus said, Is my
soul troubled? And what shall I say? Father,
save me from this hour. But to this cause came I unto
this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then
came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified
it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore that stood
by heard it, and said, It thundered. Others said, An angel spake to
him. But Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of
me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out." By whom? By our great prince and king
and savior. Now John 14, listen to him again. See, the Lord Jesus had a lot
to say about Satan. A lot to say. John 14, 30, listen. He said to his disciples, hereafter
I'll not talk much with you, for the prince of this world
cometh and hath nothing in me, can find nothing in me that agrees
with him. If he comes to you or me, he
finds a whole lot in agreement with him. He finds a whole lot
of which to accuse us, he finds a whole lot in agreement. He
can find an ally in you and me somewhere. But when he came to
Christ, he found nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing in Christ that
had anything to do with him, or in association with him, or
in any part of him. Nothing. That's our salvation.
That's our hope. He came to the golf man. He came
to our representative, the Lord Jesus, and he didn't find anything.
If he had found one spot, he'd have come in right there. he'd
establish his kingdom right there. One spot. One compromise. One leaning. It had him right
there. One more verse. John 16. Listen
to this. John 16, 10 and 11. Holy Spirit's gonna come, convince
the world. Verse 10, of righteousness. Because
I go to my Father and you see me no more. Of judgment. Because
the prince of this world I don't hear these fellas talking
about Satan that way. The prince of this world is judged.
Judged. But now let me tell you this,
because of the greatness of our Lord, because of the absolute,
indisputable, unchangeable, infinite greatness of our God, above all
names and principalities and powers and rulers or whatever,
Satan cannot touch, cannot afflict, cannot have anything to do with
one of God's children without God's permission. Now, you remember
that. He can't do it. There's no way
possible. Now, you see, he works in the
children of disobedience. You see, he says that in Ephesians
2. He said in Ephesians 2, let me read you that over here. in
Ephesians chapter 2, he said, "'Way in times past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh, worketh,
worketh in the children of disobedience,' you see. Christ said to those
religious Pharisees, "'You are of your father, the devil. He's
your father, he's your daddy. You all are a family. He works
in you, moves among you. He has his way with you. But the sons of God, the children
of God, Satan cannot touch them. He cannot afflict them. He cannot
badger them. He could not sift Peter without
what? God's permission. Our Lord said,
Peter, Satan hath desired you. Desired you of whom? Of me. He's asked permission. He's asked
permission. And for reasons known only to
our Lord, he gave that permission. That's right. Joe, Satan came
before the Lord in the presence of the Lord with the sons of
God when they came to present themselves, and the Lord said
to Satan, now let me tell you something. Here's a conversation that's
interesting. God said to Satan, have you considered my servant
Job? Yeah, he'd considered him. He knew him quite well. Couldn't
touch him. Job was one of the most godly, righteous, God-loving
men in the world. He loved God. He knew God. He
walked with God. And Satan couldn't touch him.
And he said, and we'll get into this in a minute, have you considered
Job? He said, yeah, and I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why.
He believes on you because you've hedged him about and you won't
let me touch him. And then God said, touch him.
I give you permission. Now that's what you don't want.
That's what you don't want. But I tell you, and I say to
you, he can't do it. But I tell you something else,
and you hold on to your seat now, because I believe this. There's not much you can do with
him either. God can. Christ can. And he'll
have to do it. The Lord rebuked him. He's too
tough for us, I'm telling you that. He's too... You see, he
knows more about human nature than anybody but God. He's been
in the business of deceiving people for 6,000 years. He's a master at his trade. And
you ain't no match for him, and I'm not either. So don't try
to do any exorcism, okay? Because if some fellas tried
that in Acts 19, I want you to turn over there a minute. In
Acts chapter 19, now, our Lord Jesus Christ could handle him,
and he commissioned and gave the apostle Paul some gifts and
powers to handle him. Paul did, was able to. But you don't want to fool with
this. You just don't want to get into this. You don't want
to touch it. In Acts 19.13, then certain of the vagabond Jews,
exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil
spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure thee
by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one
Saba, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. These
were pretty prominent boys. And the evil spirits answered
and said, Jesus, I know. And Paul, I know, but who are
you? Don't, don't get into that position. Paul was known in hell. The Lord
Jesus is known in hell. They said, we know who you are.
You're the Holy One of Israel. Have you come to torment us before
our time? And so what happened? and the man in whom the evil
spirit was leaped on them, overcame them, prevailed against them,
and they fled out of the house naked and wounded." Now, in closing this message,
I want you to think about three things. As far as the Holy Scriptures
are concerned, as far as I can find anywhere in this book, and
I think I can safely say it's not there, Just not there any
more than three times. Satan spoke three times. Only three times. I know he's
spoken many times. I know he's spoken many times
and will continue. But in the recorded scriptures,
it's just three times that Satan's voice is heard. Only three times. And it's very enlightening, these
three times that he spoke. Turn to Genesis 3, here's the
first one. Genesis chapter 3. Here's the
first time Satan speaks. He's not in chapter 1 or 2, in
chapter 3. The first time that he speaks,
and this is the heading here, the first time that he speaks,
he speaks to man about God. That's the first time he speaks.
The first time his voice is heard, the first time it's recorded,
he speaks to man and accuses God. That's what he does. Now here we go in Genesis 3.
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which
the Lord God had made. And I say to you, this is all
by God's permission. Now listen, don't discount anything
because you can't explain it. You say, well, why did God permit
him there? I can't answer that. God knowing his power and subtlety
and craftiness and deceitfulness, why did he allow him to get along
with Eve? I don't know. But I believe God. And this,
and the very thing, the very fact that you're fooling with
that is satanic influence. Because I want to show you the
man, when he came to man to accuse God, that's one of the things
he did, he said, God lied. It's not true. All right, listen
to it. And he said to the woman, here he's speaking now, yea,
hath God said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Let me paraphrase. Is it true? Eve, is it true that God will
not allow you to enjoy every tree in the garden? That's what
he's asking her. Has God said that you could eat
of every tree in the garden? Is it true that God's withholding
from you something that's good? Is God withholding from you something
that you would enjoy? Won't God allow you to eat all
the trees of the garden? He's questioning the goodness
of God. It's not right or fair for God to keep you from something
that you want, and something that you would enjoy, and something
that's interesting. Oh, she said, God said we could
eat of any of the trees of the garden but one. Oh, that's true. God said you couldn't eat of
every tree of the garden. He questioned the goodness of
God. And then secondly, he questioned the Word of God. Read on. And
she said in verse three, of the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden, God said you shall not eat of it.
Now she added a little something here, neither shall you touch
it. God didn't say that. He said don't eat of it. And
neither shall you touch it. He's got her talking like him
now, hasn't he? Lest you die. Now here's the
second thing he said. That's not true. You shall not
die. First of all, he questioned the
goodness of God. He said, God's keeping something
from you that you want. God's keeping something from
you that you'd enjoy. God won't let you have free will
and full reign. There's a tree you can't eat
of. Oh, God said if we ate that tree, we'd die. You won't die. Now, don't tell me there's a
hell. Don't tell me that God will actually
send a man to hell. You don't believe that, do you? Oh, come on. You mean an eternal hell? No. Now, don't tell me that the cross
is the only way a man can be saved. That's narrow. That's
not true. He that believeth not on the
Son shall perish." You shall not perish. He questions the
Word of God. Always put a question mark on
the Word of God. And then the third thing he questioned
was the motive of God. And he said this in verse 5,
"...for God doth know." God knows something He hasn't told you.
that in the day you eat thereof, your eyes are going to be open,
and you're going to be like God. God's not dealing straight with
you. God's hiding the truth from you,
and God knows if you eat of the trade, you're going to be like
Him. God's motive's all bad. All bad. This is Satan's way. He'll put a question mark on
the goodness of God. And secondly, he'll put a question
mark on the Word of God, and then he'll put a question mark
on the motive of God. The eternal God's motive is His
glory and your good. And let me tell you this, your
good cannot be realized without His glory. Now put that down. You can never enjoy any good
without God. Forget it. God is goodness, God
is love, God is life, and God is light, and there can be no
enjoyment of any kind without Him. We've got to find God, and
believe God, and love God, and rest in God, whatever He says. We just must not submit God's
Word to our thoughts and wisdom. Let's just believe it. Eve just
woke up. Woke up! When he says, this is
not true, just sad to want to hear that. I believe God. I believe God. All right, quickly,
Job 1. Job chapter 1. This is interesting. Here's the second time he speaks.
The first time he speaks to man, and he accuses God. God's a liar. God's not telling the truth.
God's motive's wrong. God's not good. God's withholding. God's wrong. Well, the next time
he speaks, he comes before God, and he accuses men. That bird's
a phony. Job, he's a phony. That's what
he said. He told Mary and God was a phony.
And he had his way, too, didn't he? He fooled us. Yeah, he trapped us, but he's
not going to fool God. He comes before God in chapter
1. It says in verse 6, there was a day when the sons of God
came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came
among them. The Lord said, Satan, whence
comest thou? Satan answered the Lord, from
going to and fro in the earth, walking up and down in it. Oh,
he's still doing that? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. One time he'll quit when he's
put in hell. And the Lord said to Satan, have
you considered? Have you set your heart on my
servant Job? There's none like him. He's a
perfect and upright man, one that fears God and takes evil,
avoids evil. Now, Job wasn't perfect in himself. Job was a man in whose heart
God had done a work. Now don't you forget that. Job
was a man in whom the Lord knoweth them that are his, My servant
Job, My child Job, Mine. You see, God set His love on
him from eternity, His affections on him, and God had done a work
in Job, and Job did fear God, and Job did love God, and Job
did hate evil, and Job did avoid evil. So Satan begins to accuse
him, and Satan says, answers the Lord and says, Oh, does Job
fear God for nothing? Has not Have you not put a hedge
about him? You've brought a wall of china
around him. Nobody can touch him. You've got a wall around
his house. You've got a wall about everything
that he hath on every side. You've blessed the work of his
hands. His substance is increased in the land. Put forth your hand
now, and touch all that he hath, and he'll curse you to your face."
There he comes, the accuser of the brethren. He does the same thing, Mike. to
God about you. That'd make you tremble in your
bed, wouldn't it? If you didn't have Christ. I'll send my preacher
to take care of him. Don't send me. No, don't send me. Because he's
had a few things to say about me, I'm sure. Here he is, here's
Joe and Satan standing in heavenly places. talking about that man
to God. And you think this is a small
thing? And you're going to run him out of Ashland? He's in heaven,
boy. Talking about Ashland. He's higher
than this little cold hand. When he speaks, the first time
the whole business was slandering God. And then he takes one of
God's own children and slanders him before the throne of God. Satan contended that the only
reason, is this the reason you worship God? Is that why you're
here tonight? Is that why you give your money
to church? Is that why you say your prayers? That's what Satan
said. That's what he said. why you made that profession?
So you'd get that hedge around you? Uh, I'm gonna, yeah, I'd be afraid
to miss church. God might make my baby sick.
Really? I'd be afraid not to give my
offerings. Might lose my job. Really? That's what Satan said. You reckon he's right? He wasn't about Job. Is he right about you? See, that's
what he contends. He contends that no man loves
God for himself. He contends that no man loves
Christ just for Christ's sake. He contends we're all phonies.
He contends everybody in here is a hypocrite. That's what he
says. That's what he tells God. He said, they're a bunch of hypocrites.
You take away their health and they'll crush you to your face.
Take away their babies, and they'll crush you to your face. Take
that hedge out from around them so I can get to them. I'll show
you what they really are. I'll show you what they really
are. But the Lord knoweth them that
are His, and it may please Him to move the hedge, and in this
case it did. And Satan came down upon Job
all how he came down upon Job. And yet Job said, at his darkest moment, in his
heaviest trial, when everything was gone but God, he said, I
know my Redeemer liveth. And though worms are destroying
this flesh, yet in my flesh I must see God. The root is in me. Ain't
a leap on my tree, is not a fig on a branch. I don't have a thing
left, but the root's in me. And that root is my Lord of glory,
Jesus Christ. Many do fall, and many will fall. And like Satan said, there are
many phonies. But I'm telling you, he can wage
his attack before the very throne of God, and it'll do no good.
Don't worry. It'll do no good if you're His. If you're not, that's another
story, but if you're His, you'll never win that battle. God knows
them that are His. That ought to be comforting.
That's the only comfort we have in respect to this gentleman. All right, number three. He spoke
again, one more time, Matthew 4. You know who he attacked this
time, don't you? First time he spoke, he went
to man about God and challenged him. He slandered God. Next time, he walked right into
the presence of the Most High God and challenged and slandered
one of his children. But the next time, and I really
think that he was compelled to do this, Charlie, I don't think
he had any thought of success. He challenged the God-man. I
don't think this old boy had any thought of success. I really
don't. But I believe in doing this,
in challenging, in meeting our Lord, our representative. Now,
he's not up in heaven now. He's on this earth. And he's
not before the throne. He's before the God-man, a man
born of woman, another man. He challenged the first Adam
and got him. Now he's got the second Adam
in front of him. But the first Adam was of the earth perfect,
and the second Adam is the Lord from heaven. And in that first
Adam I stood and I fell before his onslaught. And I'm in that
second Adam now, and everything I've got's riding on him. Everything I hope to have's riding
on him. Did you know that? Everything
I'll ever be is riding on him. Lord, win this battle. That old
boy whipped me good and proper in the Garden of Eden. Would
you take care of him? Let's see. Matthew chapter 4. Then was Jesus led, verse 1,
of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And
he was fasting 40 days. Now he's at his weakest state.
Here's man. in the flesh at his weakest possible
moment. If it can be said he had a weak
moment. In the flesh he was. In this time he was hungry, weary,
faint. By himself. And a tempter came and said,
if thou art the Son of God, command these stones to be made into
bread. Now get this, there are three
areas where Satan attacked. There are three areas this temptation
touched. First, the physical. Secondly,
the spiritual. And then the occupation or vocation
or direction. Now what's the physical? Our
Lord was hungry. weary, faint, have needs, where
shall these needs be met? Isn't that us? What am I going
to eat? What am I going to wear? Who's
going to feed my babies? How am I going to make the rent
payments and the lights, gas, and water? How am I going to
get a job? What am I going to do? You're out in the United
States going to go bankrupt, and we're going to lose everything,
and the communists are coming, and the atom bombs are going
to blow up. What are we going to do? We'll make these stones
bread. That's all you've got to do.
Our Lord looked at him, and he said, Verse 4, Man shall not live by
bread alone. I'm speaking here in my master. I'm not going to submit to you
in this area, Satan. I'm not going to bow. I'm not
going to question God. I won't trust Him. Man will live
by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. My God will
supply all my needs according to His riches and glory through
Christ Jesus. The Lord is my shepherd, and
I shall not walk. You may be hungry now, but I've
never seen His seed begging bread. Well, let's try another angle.
Let's try the spiritual. Verse 5, Then the devil took
him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of
the temple. And he said, Now, if thou be
the Son of God, cast thyself down. And you know, Satan's a
great one to quote scripture, for it is written, it is written
He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their
hands they shall bear thee up, lest in any time thou shalt dash
thy foot against the stone." Are you really a child of God?
Are you really a son of God? Are you really the Son of God?
Are all these things so? Why don't you try God? Why don't
you make God prove right now that you're His child? Why don't
you make God give you a sign other than His Word? And if you're
really a child of God, He won't let anything happen to you. Try
God! And our Lord Jesus said, you
don't try God, you trust God. Listen. And the Lord Jesus said
here in verse 7, It's written, thou shalt not tempt or try or
test the Lord thy God. You trust Him. You follow me? Trust Him. Don't try Him. Don't tempt Him. Trust Him. Believe Him. So he came with
the physical, and he was thwarted. And then he came with the spiritual.
If you're a child of God, you want some confirmation, you want
some assurance, if you're really the son of God, do something
drastic, do something unusual. He'll take care of you. He said
that in his Word. Don't tempt God. Trust Him. Wait
on the Lord. All right, what's this now? Let's
take a shortcut to success. Boy, there are lots of preachers
who want to do this. The devil has taken him up into exceeding
high mountains and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and the glory of them. And he said, all these will I
give you. Isn't this what it's all about? Reigning? Isn't this
what it's all about? Ruling? Isn't this what it's
all about? Isn't this the final plan and
purpose that every knee should bow and every tongue should confess?
That your Lord, worship me. I'll have them acclaim you. I'll have them praise you. I'll
give the whole kingdoms of this world and the glory of those
kingdoms to you. Take a shortcut. Take the convenient
way. No need to wait on God. No need
to follow His prescribed way. You can have it now. Worship
me. Worship my world and my way. Worship the convenience. Worship
the mammon of this world, the riches, the God of this world.
Worship the ways of this world. Bow to me. Give in to me. Give
in to me. I'll put food on your table,
and bread on your table, and clothes on your back. I'll put
money in the bank, and a car in the driveway, and a house
to live in. I can do all these things for you. But you just
got to worship mammon. You just got to bow at that terrible
altar of riches, greed, the fashion of this world. Go ahead. And
you'll make it. You'll make it big. You'll be
somebody. Everybody will know your name. Boy, he lives in that
big house. Oh, I know him. He's the president.
That's all you got to do. I'll give it to you. Isn't that
what you want? Our Lord answered him, and he
said unto him, verse 10, Get thee hence, Satan. It is written. This is what you don't read.
This is what you don't quote. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
God, and him only shalt thou serve. No man can serve two masters. Him only shalt thou serve.