When Satan Accuses

Job chapter 1, Job chapter 1 verses 6 to 12. Satan accuses and abuses. It's important to understand that unfortunately we have a misconception about Satan. More of most of us have been taught more by John Milton's Paradise Lost in his view of Satan. Than we have of scripture and scriptures view of Satan. He is not a evil looking person with horns and dressed out in red with fire all around him with a pitchfork in his hand. In fact, he's quite the opposite. He was the most beautiful of all the angels created.

He was the sun of the dawn. He was Lucifer, the bright and morning star. He was a beautiful created being. And he disguises himself as an angel of light. And that's why he is so unrecognizable by so many people because we don't see him that way. Tonight and next week and the following week, hopefully we can open your eyes to help you understand a little bit about Satan and satanic warfare and what God's called us to do and how that plays a major part in Job's life as well as ours. But you need to know that Job is an accuser.

I mean, I'm sorry, Satan is an accuser. Not just in the book of Job, but all throughout the scripture. He's a slanderer. Revelation 12.10 says that he is the accuser of the brethren and he accuses them day and night. That's why we need an advocate, a defense attorney. And that's who Jesus Christ is. He is our defense attorney. But we began last week by looking at Job, every man's example, simply because the book begins that there was a man. And you need to understand this because this man was blameless, upright, God-fearing, and turning away from evil.

This man, because of his character, helps us understand when devastation comes, how to handle it. If you are not blameless, upright, God-fearing, and turning away from evil, when disaster comes, it's gonna crush you. It's gonna be overwhelming to you. For most of us are blameful instead of blameless. We are not righteous, we are more unrighteous. We don't necessarily fear God. We fear man more than we fear God. And unfortunately, we run to evil and start turning away from evil. And then we wonder when adversity comes and disaster strikes, why we can't handle the pressure.

Well, Job sets the tone. You need to understand the man to understand the day of adversity that comes his way. You need to follow his example. There was a man who was the greatest man in the East. The Lord says he was the greatest man on the planet. Think about that, the greatest man on the planet. I mean, what a commendation Job has from the living God. And so in order for us to understand verses six and following through the rest of the book, you must understand the first five verses.

You must understand the character and nature of Job because he is the example for every single person. And if we are going to withstand, bear up, endure hardship, affliction, persecution, rejection, loss, devastation, we must be blameless, upright, God-fearing, turning away from evil. Even at that, it's not gonna be easy. And Job testifies to that as well, right? But at least God had prepared him for what was about to take place in his life. So the Bible begins in Job one, verse number one, there was a man.

But you come to verse number six, it says, now there was a day, a day unlike any other day. It's almost as if you're watching a play, right? And the scenes are changing. The first scene was a happy scene.

The first scene was a glorious scene. And all of a sudden now the curtain begins to lift. As the curtain lifts, the scene changes. It changes from the natural to the supernatural. It changes from the familiar to the unfamiliar. It changes from that which is seen to that which is unseen or that which is visible to that which is invisible. The whole scene changes. And what the Lord does is give us a glimpse into what takes place in the heavenly realm. It's the only place in scripture something like this is recorded.

Nowhere else in scripture will you find something like this. And so as the curtain begins to lift on this new day, there was a man, but this man did not know about what was gonna happen on this day. But because of the way the man was following the Lord and honoring the Lord, what would happen on this day? He would be able to face, not curse God, and live a life of trusting obedience. And so the Bible tells us these words. 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 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, he will surely curse you to your 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. Satan is going to attack the character of Job, for if he attacks the character of Job, he never will attack the character of God and he understands that. And so as the curtain lifts, we're able to see something that is kind of hard to believe. And if it wasn't for the spirit of God teaching us this, we would never understand it. Job never saw this scene.

Job would never see this, he would never read about it, he'd never understand it because he never is given an explanation as to why things went the way they did. But you and me, we can read about it. We can see it, God wants us to understand what's happening because you see, if Job would have known this, okay, the trial would not have been as valid as it was. If Job would have known what was taking place in the heavenly realm, he would be able to sit back and say, well, I know what's going on now, I understand this, I can endure this.

But he did not know and he was never told. But you and me, we are able to read it. So we're gonna look, number one, at the location of Satan's accusation.

And then we're gonna look at the question behind Satan's accusation. Then we're gonna look at the discussion concerning Satan's accusation.

Then the proposition in Satan's accusation. And then, Lord willing, some conclusions. From Satan's accusation. First of all, the location.

The location. As the curtain lifts, we're able to see a glimpse of the invisible realm. What is taking place in the heavenly? The Bible says, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord.

Now think about that. Satan is with them. We think that Satan is hell's king. Hell's ruler. He's not. That hell was created for Satan and his demons, the Bible tells us in the book of Matthew. So we know that. But Satan is not in hell. He will be bound for 1,000 years and he will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire in Revelation chapter 20. But he's not there. No. He roams the earth. Actually, he spends most of his time in heaven. Because Revelation 12.10 says that he accuses the brethren day and night.

He's before the throne of God accusing the brethren day and night. So if you wanna know where Satan is, he's in heaven. Now I know people have questions about that. How can that possibly be? How can God, who is holy, pure, and true, allow evil into his presence? Why is it on this day, the sons of God, both good angels and fallen angels, because Job 38.7 tells us that the sons of God are angels and they were there when the earth was created. Go back to Genesis chapter six and you realize that the sons of God cohabitated with the sons of men, or the daughters of men, to produce some kind of demon hybrid race.

And that's why, one of the reasons is the Lord destroyed the earth with a flood. And that's why some of those demons are kept under chains according to the book of Jude. That's a lot of information for you real quick there, but I just wanna let you know what's going on. But the sons of God are angels, fallen and holy angels. And Satan is with them. And yet we have a hard time. If Habakkuk 1.13 says that God is of pure eyes and to behold evil, and Satan embodies evil, why is it Satan is in heaven?

Why is he before the throne of God? How can that possibly be? Well, let me tell you something. Satan doesn't want to be there. He doesn't wanna be there. He'd rather be anywhere else, but he has to be there. Why? Because he has to present himself before the throne of God. This is accountability day. Satan's accountable to the Lord God of the universe. Think about this. He has to be there. He doesn't wanna be there, but he's gotta be there because God has commissioned him to come. And when God says you gotta be here, guess what?

You gotta be there. So all the fallen angels, all the holy angels, they're there to give an account to the living God. And Satan, the great tempter, the dragon, the serpent of old, right? He's called Apollyon, Abaddon, the destroyer. That's who he is. And God calls him into his presence. He's not there for fellowship, right? Right? This is not a fellowship between God and Satan, right? Our Lord is light. And because he is light, it accentuates his purity and his holiness. And so what fellowship hath light with darkness?

There is no fellowship between God and Satan, right? This is all about an accounting. This is all about Satan having to be there. He doesn't wanna be there, but he has to be. Why? Because God's in charge. Satan can't do anything without permission. He can't say anything without permission. He has to follow the directions of God. Listen, Satan is the ultimate rebellious one, right? He revolted against God, Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28. We'll look at that here in a moment.

But he revolted against God, right? He's rebellious at nature, but he cannot rebel unless God lets him rebel. Because you see, if he could kill Job, he would kill him. But God says, you can't touch him.

You can touch his property, you can touch his possessions, but you can't touch him. Well, if I'm Satan and I'm a rebellious person by nature, I'm gonna kill Job. I don't care what God says, but he can't.

Because God said you can't. You understand this? You understand that God is completely in charge of everything. He rules over all. Satan has to ask permission to do anything. And so the location of the accusation is in the heavenly realm. And although Satan is a fallen angel, he is not on his own. He must give an account. By the way, in the Hebrew, he's called the Satan. Not just Satan, but the Satan, the adversary, the resistant one. That's who he is. He is a sinner from the beginning. He's a liar, he's a murderer.

He's a roaring lion. He's a dragon, he's Lucifer, he's an angel of light. But he is the accuser, the slanderer of the brethren. And God says, it's time for you guys to come.

Present yourself before me. And we'll go from there. It's interesting that 1 Peter 5 tells us that he goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. You know, lions don't roar while they're on the prowl. They can't, or they shouldn't. Because if they did, you'd know they were coming. When do lions roar? When their prey is cornered. Then they roar. When they're in the process of devouring their prey, now they roar. They don't walk about roaring because everyone would know they were coming.

So when Satan roars like a lion, it's because he's got his prey cornered. And so here is this one who is the accuser of the brethren day and night. He has to present himself before God. The book of Ezekiel sheds so much light on the situation with Satan. And it's all about the king of Tyre. Isaiah 14 is about the king of Babylon. There are two kings who exemplify Satan's conduct. And so in describing these kings, the writer in Ezekiel, the writer in Isaiah is describing the character of Satan that has prompted their evilness.

So he says, son of man, take up lamentation over the king of Tyre, verse 12 of Ezekiel 28, and say to him, thus says the Lord God, you had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. The king of Tyre was not in Eden. The king of Tyre was not in the garden of God, okay? But Satan was in the garden of God. He was in Eden. He goes on and talks about the beauty of him. Every precious stone was, you're covering the ruby, the topaz, and the diamond, the barrel, the onyx, and the jasper, the lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald, and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets was in you.

On the day you were created, they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked in the midst of stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways. From the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade, you were internally filled with violence and you sinned. Therefore, I've cast you as profane from the mountain of God. Now, Ezekiel 28 just unfolds for us all kinds of wisdom.

Why? Because the phrase mountain of God, okay, is a phrase used 18 times in the Old Testament. 18 times. 16 of the 18 times, the mountain of God refers to Mount Moriah, okay, in the city of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, okay? 16 of the 18 times, the mountain of God refers specifically to Mount Moriah. Are you ready for this? The other two times, the phrase mountain of God is used, it refers to another location, the Garden of Eden. So when you look at that, you begin to understand that Moriah in Jerusalem is the original Garden of Eden.

It's unmistakable when you take the phraseology of Scripture and begin to put it together. And I've preached on this before because I want you to know, we know where the Garden of Eden is. It's Mount Moriah, because it was in the Garden of Eden that God said what? He, Satan, will bruise your heel, but you're gonna crush his head, right? Genesis 3.15. In Genesis chapter 22, the great substitutionary atonement passage in the Old Testament, it was on that mountain, Mount Moriah, the mountain of God, where Abraham would offer up Isaac, but that was the mountain foreseen by God because what was foreseen there?

God would make the ultimate provision of a substitute on Mount Moriah. So when you come to Mount Moriah in the city of Jerusalem, you realize that what began in the Garden of Eden, when Christ came back to earth, where did he come back to? Israel. He didn't come back to America, didn't come back to Germany, didn't come back to Switzerland. Where did he go to? Israel, why? Because that's the Garden of Eden, that's the mountain of God, because that's where he would be crucified on Mount Moriah. So what cast the first Adam out of the garden?

Because the second Adam, man's allowed back into the garden. Oh, I'm way ahead of myself, but there's just so much information there. All that to say is that he is saying to the king of Tyre who embodies Satan's attitude, is that look, man, you were in Eden, you had everything, but you were cast out. He would take a third of the angels with him, right?

They're called demons today, fallen angels. But on this day, there was a day in which the sons of God had to present themselves before the throne of God. This was not optional, it was essential. So you move from the location of Satan's accusation to the question behind the accusation. I love it when the Lord asks questions, right? God never asks questions for information, okay? There's nothing God doesn't know, right? God knows everything. So when he asks a question, he's not trying to gain information from you because there's something he doesn't know.

When God asks a question, it's for illumination. He's going to illuminate the reader as to what's happening. And so the question comes, the Lord said to Satan, or the Lord said to the Satan. Martin Luther called him God's Satan, and he is. The Lord said to Satan, from where do you come? Where you been? Where'd you go? Now the Lord knows, he's omnipresent, he's omniscient. There's nothing he doesn't know, right? He knows how many hair you have on your head, all by number. And it's not because he counted them either.

He doesn't have to count the hairs on your head to know the number of the hair on your head. He just knows. That's what omniscience is, you just know. So he asked Satan, where you been? What have you been doing? Where'd you go? Peter talks about the fact that he goes to and fro throughout the earth, extensive wandering, repeated wandering, careful observation. Satan is not omnipresent. He can only be in one place at one time. He's not omniscient, he doesn't know everything that's going on. He doesn't even know your name, unless someone tells him your name.

And so God asks a question, tell me about your activity. Where you been? Satan answered, well, from roaming about the earth and walking around on it. Then comes part two of the question. Have you considered my servant Job? Now, why would he do that? Why would the Lord do that? Have you considered my servant Job? Notice what he says, my servant.

What a statement. Job is a servant of the living God. He says, he's my servant. Have you considered my servant? What a statement, why? And then he says, my servant Job. You see, God knows him by name. My sheep hear my voice, they know me. Job 10 three, and the good shepherd calls his sheep by name. You see, you're just not a number in the kingdom of God. He knows your name. There's intimacy that's there. God knows your name. Have you considered my servant Job? What dignity, what honor, what supremacy that Job has in God's kingdom.

Part of the identity of the believers wrapped up in the fact that we are servants in God's kingdom. We've been bought with a price. We are no longer our own. We serve the true and living God. Our Lord embodies servanthood. The son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many, right? The book of Mark speaks about the fact that our Lord is the ultimate servant. That's why when you read the book of Mark, there's a big emphasis on the hands of the Messiah. Why? He reaches out and touches.

He reaches out and picks up. Why does he do that? Because a servant is always using his hands. And so Job is considered God's servant. Wow. And so the Lord asks Satan, hey, have you considered my servant Job? Have you seen him? When you were wandering around, did you happen to notice what was going on with his own life?

He goes on and says these words about him. There was no one like him on the earth. Nobody else on the planet like Job. A blameless and upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. See, God characterizes him exactly as he was characterized earlier in chapter one, because that's how the man was known. And so God says to Satan, have you considered my servant Job?

So you move from the question to the discussion. Then Satan answered the Lord. Does Job fear God for nothing? I'm sure he fears you. Of course he does. Of course he fears you. Why? Have you not made a hedge about him in his house and all that he has on every side? Of course he fears you. He has divine favor. You're protecting him. You're watching over him. You're looking out for him. Of course he's going to fear you. Anybody who is protected and as prosperous as Job would fear you. They're not gonna fear anything else.

You're his protector. Of course he's gonna be that way. And it is true that God is our shield, right? That God is our protector. He is our rampart. He is our bulwark. Read Psalm 191 verses one to four. It all speaks about the protective power of God who is our shield, right? We're under his pinions. We are completely protected by God. In other words, you are so protected by God that Satan can't even smell you, let alone touch you unless God lets him. That's how protected you are. That's how protected Job is.

But things are gonna change. They're gonna change drastically. And so there comes this discussion. He says in verse 10, you have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth your hand now.

Touch all that he has. He will curse you. This is the proposition of Satan's accusation. I'll tell you what. You touch him. You afflict him. He'll curse you. Now that's not going to happen. Satan thinks it's going to happen because Satan's not omniscient, right? He thinks that if Job is tested to such a degree that he's afflicted and loses everything, he will curse God. But see, he doesn't know everything. Although he thinks he does, he doesn't because Job isn't like Satan. He's not self-willed. He's not egocentric.

He doesn't sit on his own throne as Satan does or thinks he does. He's completely different. But Satan is a liar. He's a murderer from the beginning, but he's a liar. In fact, he lives on lies. He's the father of lies, right? That's who he is. He wants you to think that if you sin, you'll be satisfied, you'll be happy. Just compromise God's word and everything will be okay. Marry the unbeliever. It's going to turn out okay. Don't worry about it. It's okay. He's a liar from the very beginning. What did he say to Adam and Eve?

Don't worry about it. He doesn't want you to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil because you'll become like God. He doesn't want you to become like him. He lied. His whole life is a lie. He is so deceptive, he's deceived his own self thinking that in the end he can win. That's how deceived Satan is. He is so deceived he thinks he can still win at the very end, but he can't. Even though he can read the book of Revelation, he knows he's not going to win. I can just read the book, but he still thinks he can't.

That's how deceived he is. He's self-deceived. So he makes this proposition. Inflict him, touch him, he'll curse you. But he's wrong. See, he ultimately wants to dishonor God. By inflicting Job and Job cursing God, he's going to dishonor God. And he wants God to be dishonored. Doesn't want God to be honored. So what's God do? Gives him permission. Gives him permission. The Lord said to Satan, behold, all that he has is in your power. Wow. He gives him permission. Only do not put forth your hand on him.

You can't touch him. Touch all that he has. You never want to, the power's yours. But you cannot touch the man. And that's going to change, right? You know the story. He won't curse God. Satan will come back and say, well, if you let me touch him, he'll curse you.

But again, he doesn't, see? Because Satan doesn't know everything. So what do we conclude from all this? Let me give you four principles, okay?

Four principles that I think that are so incredibly enlightening. All right, number one is this. We have an adversary. We have an adversary. He is real. He is real and he is relentless. You need to understand that. We have an adversary. He is real and he is relentless. First Peter 5.8, your adversary, the devil, the slanderer, the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

We need to understand that every day we're involved in a war. But the war is only by permission. You ever known two people going to war but they have to ask permission to go to war? The Bible tells us over in the book of Ephesians, the sixth chapter, the 12th verse, these words, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of the darkness, against the spiritual forces of weakness in the heavenly places. And Paul is outlining to us that listen, there is a battle that's going on.

It's a real battle. And the warfare that you face every day, when you get up in the morning, you are going to war. And the war is not with your boss at work. And the war is not with your boyfriend or girlfriend. The war is not with your husband or your wife or your coach or your teacher or your doctor. The war is with spiritual forces of wickedness. That's the battle. You think it's your spouse. It's not. That's why the Bible says, Ephesians chapter four, verse number 25 and 26.

Remember what Paul says? He says this. He says, be angry, verse 26, and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give the devil an opportunity. In other words, you can be angry. Just don't sin while you're angry. You can have a righteous indignation against evil, but don't come to a point where you are angry because of your own sin and don't let the sun go down upon that wrath. Why? Because you see, Satan is a master at revenge. He's a master at bitterness and holding grudges.

And when you go to bed angry, not reconciled with the one that you're angry with, bitterness sets in, the anger becomes deeper, the resentfulness becomes huge. And those are all vulnerabilities that allow Satan to have an opportunity to take a foothold in your life. You gotta be careful about that. You gotta be very careful about that because Satan is a master destroyer. He's a master deceiver. The Bible says in 1 John 5, 19, the whole world lies in the sway of the wicked one.

John 12, 31, he's called the ruler of this world. Ephesians 2, 2, he's the prince and power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. And all my all millennial friends say, Satan is bound. What? That's not bound. Oh no, he's free to roam wherever he wants to go. He's not bound, he will be bound. Revelation 20, but right now he's free to go wherever he wants to go because he's the prince of the power of the air. The Bible says that this war that we have before our enemy is a war that must be sought by permission by the evil one, the adversary.

The Bible says he seeks to destroy, devour, discourage, divide, divert our attention away from God, demean the name of God through our lives.

He seeks to defame God's name in our lives. We have an adversary. He is real, he is relentless. Job 1 tells us he wanders the earth. Peter tells us he goes to and fro throughout the earth. Seeking the ones he would choose to devour. But number two is this, not only do we have an adversary, but we have an armor that is protective and powerful.

We have an armor, it's called the armor of God. It's called the belt of truth, right? The shield of faith. It's called the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit. You have to realize that the breastplate of righteousness and the armor that God grants us in Ephesians 6 is an armor that fits us for battle every day. It's what you put on every day before you go to work. It's what you put on every day before you engage with your family. It's the outfit that you put on before you ever put on your clothes in the morning.

You outfit yourself because you know you're going to war. And everything about the day is a battle because the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly. 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse number four, right? They're spiritual. And spiritual battles can only be won by spiritual means. See, Job didn't have the sword of the spirit. Didn't have it. You do. He didn't have it. He didn't understand the shield of faith, the belt of truth, the truth that he knew was so minimal compared to what you and I know. But that's what makes Job so remarkable because he was able to go to war and withstand the pressure and endure to the end.

And you and I have this full outfit that we can put on every single day and go to war, yet we don't. And we succumb to temptation and then we succumb to discouragement and we fall by the wayside. We succumb to depression because Satan just wants to ravage our lives. Oh, we have an adversary. He is real. He is relentless. But we have an armor that is protective and is absolutely powerful. Understand that the Bible says in James 4, verse number seven, resist the devil and he will flee.

First Peter five, resist him steadfast in the faith. Now listen to me very carefully. Nowhere in the Bible are you to rebuke Satan. Nowhere in the Bible are you to exorcise Satan. Nowhere in the Bible are you to cast out Satan. You have one command, resist him steadfast in the faith and he will flee. He goes about like a roaring lion seeking him to be devoured. So when he's roaring, he's got his prey right where he wants them. But you are to resist him steadfast in the faith. When you resist him steadfast in the faith, the Bible says he will flee.

Why? Because he can't penetrate the armor of God. He cannot penetrate the breastplate of righteousness. He cannot penetrate the helmet of salvation. He cannot penetrate the belt of truth, the shoes that are fitted with the gospel of peace. He cannot do anything because you are on solid foundation because you have received the gospel and you are at peace with God. You are reconciled to God. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Resist him and he will flee. That's what God's called us to do, that's it.

Interesting that Paul was given a thorn in the flesh from a messenger of Satan. Remember that? 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse seven. But he never rebuked Satan. Never cast out Satan. If anybody could do it, it'd be the apostle Paul, right? He was the guy, he was the man. What'd he do? He prayed that it would be removed three times. And God said no. God said no. In the context, he's been caught up to the third heaven.

He has seen the heavenlies. He has seen them, but notice he didn't tell us anything about them. No, he doesn't write a book about being caught up into the third heaven.

He didn't do that. But what he does is say because of that opportunity to keep myself or to keep me humble, I was afflicted by a messenger of Satan, a thorn in the flesh. And no one knows what that is. Oh, we can speculate. We know what Job's difficulty was. We know what Job's hardship was. We know what Job's pain was. It's all in the pages of Scripture. But for the apostle Paul, we do not know. What is that thorn in his side? What is it? It says it was given to buffet his body. It means to strike with a blow.

That means he was in pain because of the thorn, whatever the thorn was. And we don't know. And God doesn't want you to know because you would compare your thorn to his thorn. And you would say, well, Paul didn't have it like I have it. That's exactly what you would say. And God said, no, no, you're not gonna let you do that. But Paul prayed three times it'd be removed and it did not. It was not removed. Why? What did God say? He said, my grace is sufficient for you. You have an adversary. He is real and relentless.

You have an armor. It's protective and powerful. And you have an authority, an authority that is essential and effective. What's that authority? God's holy word, God's holy word. So in Matthew chapter four, when Christ was tempted by Satan, what did he do? He could have stood on his own authority. He could have said whatever he wanted to say, but he didn't, what did he do? He went back and quoted the scriptures from the book of Deuteronomy because he wanted to show you that he had an authority. Psalm 130 verse number two, thy word, O Lord, is magnified even as thy very name.

Isaiah one, one and two, the Lord has spoken. Hear O heaven, hear O earth. God speaks, when he speaks, he speaks with authority. Not only do we have an armor, we have an authority and that authority is the holy word of God by which we live in obedience to. And that authority is absolutely essential to your life every single day. It's absolutely effective. That's why 1 Thessalonians 2 13 says that God's word effectively works in those who believe. It doesn't work in those who don't believe. It only works in those who do believe.

God's word is so powerful that when you read the word of God, it works. When you memorize the word of God, it works. When you study the word of God, it works. How does it work? Effectively, powerfully in the life of an individual like nothing else does. Nothing is more authoritative and more powerful than the word of God. That's why Paul said, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

What is gonna translate you from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son? Only one thing, the authoritative word of the living God. That's it, nothing else does. So Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. All I gotta do is preach it. And when God saves a soul, he uproots him from Satan's kingdom, puts him in his kingdom, takes him from being a slave to Satan, makes him a slave to the living God so God can say, you're my servant and I know you by name. So God does. So we have an adversary, he is real and relentless.

We have an armor, it's protective and powerful. We have an authority, it's essential and effective. But we also have the almighty who is sovereign and sufficient, the almighty God, he is sovereign. He rules over everything. And so when he tells Paul, my grace is sufficient for you, Paul, he says, I will sustain you. I will walk you through your pain. I will walk you through your thorn. I'm not gonna remove it though. It's gonna stay. To show you that my grace will be sufficient for you. Paul was that great New Testament example of faithfulness and truthfulness.

A man of God who loved his God and served his God. Our Lord is called El Shaddai, which is the almighty God. He's called El Elyon, the most high God. He's called El Gabor, the mighty God. In the New Testament, he's called the Pantocrator, the almighty, used 10 times in the New Testament, nine times in the book of Revelation alone, because that's where he demonstrates the quality of his power, unlike any other time. He's our God, we have the almighty. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

And so Peter says in 1 Peter chapter one, these words, 1 Peter one, verse number six, in this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. So that the proof of your faith being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Oh, you have a trial, and if need be, and it is necessary, evidently, because you have it. But it's all about the praise and glory of God.

Everything is about God. Why do you suffer the way you suffer? Why do you go through what you go through? For the praise and glory and honor of God. God is at work in your heart. God is at work in your life. That's why Romans 11, 36 is so important. All things are from him, through him, and back to him again. To him be the dominion, both now and forevermore. Why? Because everything in the world comes from him. Everything in the world has to go through him so that it ultimately comes back again to him, that he might receive all the glory and all the honor and all the praise.

So at the end of Peter, in 1 Peter chapter five, Peter says, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ would himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you to him be dominion both now and forever, amen. After you have suffered for a little while, what's gonna happen is that the God of all grace, the grace that saves you is the grace that's going to sustain you. The grace that saves you and sustains you is the grace that sanctifies you.

It sets you apart. And that grace is going to perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. It's gonna make you solid as granite. It's gonna make you firm. It's the kind of grace that only God can give. People say to me all the time, yeah, but I don't see perfection in my life. I don't see stability in my life. I don't see that which is lacking supply to my life. You're telling me that the God of all grace does these things, but I'm not experiencing these things. How can that possibly be? If God makes a promise, he says it's gonna happen, why is it not happening to me?

There's a simple answer to that one. It's up earlier in the chapter. It says, God is opposed to the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. You haven't received those things because of your arrogance and your pride. God opposes pride, but he does give grace to the humble. So when you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, when you follow exactly what he's doing and what he says, and you pray and you say, Lord, remove the pain, remove the hardship, remove the difficulty, and God says, no, no, my grace is sufficient for you.

You say, okay, then Lord, I need you to perfect and sustain and to supply in my life that which I need because I can't do it myself. And God says, I can do that.

I can do that. And this is what God wants to do in all of our lives. See, the book of Job just opens up to us such an incredible plethora of theological truth. It can't be contained in one sermon. It can't be contained in a series of sermons because there's so much here. And we're just scratching the surface in Job one verses one to 12. Wait to get to verse 13 next week, right? And disaster strikes in Job's life on this day. And yet he doesn't curse God, unlike Satan thought he would do. But you see the child of God, when tested, only digs his roots down deeper into the son of God.

Doesn't fall by the wayside, doesn't defrock the faith, doesn't give up, oh no. No, they just wrap themselves around God all the more. They trust him all the more. They cling to him all the more because they have nothing else to cling to, nothing else. Because he is their everything. He is their almighty king. He is their authority. He has given them the armor to face our adversary. And for that we rejoice. Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank you Lord for today, all that you do. There are people in the room tonight that are really struggling, and I understand that. And our prayers are with them. And Lord, they would see the hand of God, the sovereign God who is sufficient over all things to provide and protect them. We know Lord that Satan cannot touch us without your permission. Nothing happens to us unless you allow it to happen. We can rest in the sovereign grace of almighty God knowing that you are the one who knows us by name.

We are your servants. We're here to serve you Lord, not ourselves. To serve the true and living God. And you know all of our names because as your sheep, you call us by name. And because we are your sheep, we hear your voice and we follow. Because Lord, where else are we going to go? As Peter said, you have the words of eternal life. Where else will we go? Because there is no place else to go but to follow our great God and savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. We thank you in Jesus name, amen.