Job (02) - 1. Introduction:

Transcription

1 Job (02) - 1 Introduction: 1. Last week, we looked at Job and the kind of person that he was. a. He was perfect (walking in the light). b. He was upright (in his dealings with other people). c. He had a healthy fear and respect for God. d. He eschewed (avoided) evil. 2. This week, we will be looking at Satan as described in the first two chapters of Job. a. Satan s claim of universal influence. b. The extent of Satan s power and influence. c. The reaction of the godly to Satan s actions. 3. Satan only appears in the first two chapters of the book. a. In those two chapters, he affects Job terribly. b. First, Satan affects Job s possessions and family. c. Secondly, Satan affects Job s physical body. d. The rest of the book shows how Job dealt with it. I. Satan s bold claims of universal influence and power. a. Twice Satan claimed to have influence over everyone on earth (1:7, 2:2). i. God basically asked Satan where he had been. 1. He said whence cometh thou? ii. Each time, Satan answered the same way, From going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it (1:7, 2:2). 1. Satan was saying, I go wherever I want to go, I have influence everywhere over everyone. 2. He basically said that the earth was his domain and he was the one with the true power and influence there. b. Both times that Satan approached God in this book, he did it while among the sons of God (1:6, 2:1). i. The sons of God are not angels, as some people like to claim. 1. Instead, the sons of God are just like the children of God today. 2. They are people who follow God s commands. ii. Since Satan was among them, it means that Satan was having an influence even over the people who were trying to follow God. 1. Nowhere does the book of Job suggest that he was the only faithful person living at this time. a. But Satan was finding success influencing these other sons of God. b. Even today, try as we might, we still give in to Satan s temptations from time to time.

2 Job (02) - 2 II. 2. Even when the people were worshipping God, Satan was still having an influence. a. One of the ways Satan tries to influence the children of God while they are worshipping is simply to plant other ideas in their heads while they are worshipping. b. It doesn t even have to be a sinful idea (where to eat after services?), but just enough to take our minds off of worshipping the Father. c. The more we allow ourselves to get distracted during worship, the easier it becomes for him to do it again and again until we finally get to the point where we are completely going through the motions and not focusing on anything in the worship! iii. This should help us realize an important point. 1. Satan focuses his energy on trying to influence those who are trying to follow God. 2. Satan already has the rest of the world, but he is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8) to the Christian. 3. Today, it is Christians whom he is most after, and he will never stop trying to overtake us. c. Satan claims to have influence over everyone everywhere in the earth. i. He is called the god of this world (II Corinthians 4:4). ii. He is called the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). iii. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). iv. Since Paul (an inspired writer) says everyone has sinned (thus giving in to the influence of Satan at some point), does that mean Satan was right when he claimed universal influence and power? The limitations of Satan s power and influence. a. Each time Satan made this claim before God, God responded. i. God did not get in an argument about it. ii. Instead, He simply pointed to the evidence which proved Satan wrong. iii. He said, have you considered My servant Job? iv. He then continued both times by describing Job as perfect, upright, one who feareth God and escheweth evil (Job 1:8, 2:3). v. Basically, God said, you do not have that influence on Job. b. Since God used Job as an example of one who was not giving in to the influence of Satan, what does that tell us about Satan s claims? i. Satan s claim was that he had constant, consistent influence over people. 1. More than that, his claim was that all people constantly gave in to his influence instead of following God. ii. It is possible to reject Satan s influence (Job did). 1. We are told to resist the devil, and he will flee from us (James 4:7).

3 Job (02) We are able to resist Satan s influence when we put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11). 3. We are told not to give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). c. Satan admitted that he did not have that influence over Job. i. But, he made excuses for it. 1. He accused God of basically buying off Job, blessing him. a. Obviously, if everything is going great for you because of God s blessings, then there is no reason to give in to Satan. b. Many times, the opposite is true. i. God reminded the northern kingdom of Israel that he was the one that gave them their great abundance, but they still ignored Him. ii. Today, how many wealthy people give God the glory and are humble enough to follow His commands? 2. How many of us try to make excuses for things? a. We may have done something wrong, but instead of owning up to it as something wrong, we try to make excuses for why we did it. b. Many times, there are valid reasons for what we did, and if understood in the context, what was done was not wrong. c. But quite frequently that is not the case. d. Instead, quite frequently, people try to lie, make excuses, or (as in the case of Satan here) place the blame on someone else (in Satan s case, God). ii. Job did not live his life never sinlessly, but he did not allow himself to continue in it. 1. We know Job sinned, because all have sinned (Romans 3:23). a. Jesus Christ is the only one who ever lived a sinless life. b. Job did not make a habit of sinning. 2. We today are told to be like Job. a. One who is born of God (a Christian) cannot continue in sin (Romans 6:1-2). b. A child of God with the word of God in his heart cannot continue to sin (I John 3:9). i. This is not saying it is impossible to sin. ii. Instead, John is telling them, you can t be doing that if you are a child of God. c. We must continue to fight against Satan. d. Satan can only influence us if we allow him to do it. i. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ii. He does not have the power to MAKE you do anything.

4 Job (02) - 4 III. d. Regardless of what happens in our lives, Satan cannot tempt us to the point where we have no power to resist. i. God is faithful and will not allow us to be tempted above that which we are able (I Corinthians 10:13). 1. This applies both to temptation from Satan as well as testing of our faith. 2. Job was tempted by Satan to curse God for his predicament. 3. Job was also having his faith tested. ii. When we have difficult times and enduring great temptations, we need to remember something. 1. God believes in us. 2. God has confidence in us that we CAN overcome those temptations. 3. God has confidence in us that we can endure the trials and testing of our faith, and that when we do we will come out better in the end (James 1:5). 4. God has more faith in our abilities that even we do. 5. The problem is not with God, but with US! e. Satan does not have unhindered influence in this world. i. He was not permitted to touch Job s possessions without God s explicit permission. ii. Later, after Job still did not give in to Satan s ploy, Satan again had to get God s permission to affect his physical body. iii. He asked God for permission to directly influence and tempt the apostles (Luke 22:31). iv. Basically, as some have put it, Satan is like a dog on a leash. 1. He cannot go beyond what God has allowed him to do. 2. Satan cannot directly tempt anyone, but instead he influences us through other means. a. Lust of the eyes. b. Lust of the flesh. c. Pride of life. 3. Satan cannot kill us. 4. Satan cannot directly harm our physical body. How does a godly person react to Satan s attempts? a. As we look at the example of Job (spiritually mature, upright, feared God, avoided evil), we can see how a godly person will respond to the temptings and testings from Satan. i. After losing all of his possessions and all of his children, Job s reaction was to be sad, but to still worship the God of heaven (Job 1:20-22). 1. Job mourned the loss of his children. 2. Job mourned the loss of his servants. 3. Job mourned the loss of his animals, livestock. 4. But, he also worshipped God.

5 Job (02) - 5 IV. ii. Notice that Job did not play the blame game. 1. He did not rail against the Chaldeans or the Sabeans. 2. He did not chalk it up to some random quark of fate. 3. Job did not blame God for all that came upon him. 4. Instead, he knew that whatever happened was permitted by God. 5. Job understood that he could get through any ordeal if he continued to place his faith and trust in God. iii. Job worshipped God when he was blessed, and he worshipped Him when he was down and out. 1. Many people don t turn to God until things are at their worst. 2. And still other people only worship God when things are good, but turn on Him when things aren t so good (this is what Satan was counting on with Job). iv. Job understood that the testing our faith creates patience (James 1:5, 4:17). 1. Job is described as a man of great patience by James. 2. He was that way because he endured testing and temptation. b. We should respond to temptations and testing in the same way. i. When bad things happen to us, realize God is still in control and worship Him. ii. Understand that God has faith in our ability to overcome the temptation or testing of our faith. iii. Don t attack others, but continue to put your faith in God. iv. Realize that you will come out of the ordeal as a better person. Why does God allow Satan to tempt mankind? a. This is one of the great questions of this life. i. It ties in with another great question: why are we here? What is our purpose in life? b. As you look through the first two chapters of Job, you see Satan and God waging a battle against each other. i. They do not fight physically, but instead their battle is fought on the battlefield of human hearts. 1. Satan was claiming that he was winning every battle. 2. God said that Satan was losing when it came to Job. 3. Satan then ramped up his efforts to sway Job to his side. ii. We, as humans, are the battlefield on which God and Satan are fighting. iii. The most amazing thing about it is that neither God nor Satan can force the victory; we choose who wins. 1. If we choose to ignore God s commands, then we have sided with Satan and given him the victory over God in our lives. 2. If we choose to follow God, then we have given Him the victory over Satan in our lives. iv. We are the tools by which God defeats Satan!

6 Job (02) This is why Solomon said that the conclusion of the matter is that we are to fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13). 2. It is the reason we are here. v. Now, imagine that you have a tool that does not do what it is supposed to do. 1. What would you do with that tool? 2. No, imagine that tool has the ability to do what it is designed to do, but staunchly refuses to do it. 3. What would you do with that tool? vi. What will God do to those people who were created to walk in good works, but who refuse to do so? 1. He will burn them forever in hell! c. God allows Satan to tempt us because we must have the choice to follow Him or not follow Him. i. There is no victory when there is no battle. ii. We are given free will so that we can choose to serve and follow God. iii. Satan has the permission to tempt us so that we can make that choice to follow God or to give in to Satan. Conclusion: 1. While Satan has influence everywhere, and is subtle as a serpent, his power is not as great as some would have you believe. a. We, mere humans, can defeat him and send him running just by saying NO to his temptations. b. We, mere humans, can give God the victory over Satan in our lives by resisting the devil. c. Satan cannot force you to sin. d. Satan cannot tempt you beyond what God knows you can handle. 2. Just because the majority of people have given their lives to Satan, that does not mean you have to do the same. a. Job was faithful, even when most of the people were not. b. The majority is not always right! 3. We need to learn to respond to temptation and testing of our faith in the same way that Job did. a. Know God has faith in us and our ability to overcome. b. Know that WE determine who wins the battle in our lives. c. Know that God is still in control. d. Know that we can send Satan packing by refusing to give in to his temptations. 4. How do you respond to temptation and difficult times? a. It can be hard, in fact it can be extremely difficult sometimes to see these things, but we must work at it. b. The best way to do this is to study the Scriptures and lean on your brethren for support.