Our Cunning Adversary

Introduction

>>>Turn to Job 1 – reading verses 6-12

Title of the sermon: Our Cunning Adversary

PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!

In continuing to look at the local church, I thought it would be appropriate to commit a Sunday morning to our great adversary, Satan.

As a local church, we can expect the evil one to constantly be at war against the churches of God. In our own lives, we must expect varying degrees of spiritual warfare.

Hence, the urgency to preach about our adversary this morning.

Satan attempts to get into any crack he can to disrupt the local church. It is his great desire to see the church crumble, to see there be factions in the church, to see the church carry on her business in an ununified way, and to be distracted and not fulfill the Great Commission given by our Lord.

Some questions come to mind. How do we know that Satan is against this church? What are we to look for? Is it just corporately? How much does our personal lives matter in this?

Or why would God allow this all to occur? Why doesn’t He stop it right now with all His might and not give the adversary any more space to operate? Why does God tarry?

These are all questions that can come from our text. And by God’s grace we will see through this text the answers to these questions.

I want to ask you something before we move on. How often do you consider the enemy’s work against you and your Christian Walk? Do you recognize when temptation is coming your way? He is the great tempter, but he is also a deceiver. Can you tell the difference?

To help us work through these things, there are a few things we must understand, and this will be the roadmap for where we are headed.

1. Satan seeks to destroy (vv.6-7)

2. Blameless living will bring forth attack (vv.8-10)

3. All that we go through is in the hands of God (vv.11-12)

I. Satan seeks to destroy (vv.6-7)

There is one common thread that is found throughout the entire set of passages, that is Yahweh is in enacting absolute authority.

This ‘day’ is nothing more than an appointed day that the angels were to come before Yahweh, Satan included. Now this day and the day that is written about in 2:1 are noteworthy because of the exchange between Yahweh and Satan. There were/are other appointed days where the ‘sons of God’ come to stand before Yahweh, so these two days are not chance occurrences.

The question is asked, why does God allow an evil person in His presence? Isn’t He all good abhorring evil? Yes, this is true. God allows evil people in His presence for the glorification of His name.

Think about it, He permitted to have Adam in His presence, Yahweh spoke to wicked Cain, and the list of sinners that He converses with goes on.

The question of why God would permit the afflictions that Job endures through is to the same end, the glory of God. This is true of Job and his friends by Job 42.

You and I must understand this truth. ‘Yahweh uses EVERY means necessary to glorify His name and that includes our adversary as well.’

Consider this, the pre-appointed gathering of angels including Satan is for the good of Job as he is tested by fire and as his faithfulness is recorded, here we are thousands of years later, the church tested and tried, sometimes by fire, persevering as Job did! The purposes of God far outweigh and outlast any thought of man. We could not conceive of such a thing!

We see this same back and forth today between Satan and believers, both corporately as the church and individually. Satan’s aim is the same. To destroy Christians and the church!

Just this week one of my personal heroes fell into sin and is now disqualified from the ministry. Satan’s greatest desire is to prove God a liar by the blaspheming and sin of His people. This was true in the garden, and it is now.

Paul tells us that this struggle remains in Ephesians 6:12… therefore as Satan comes to seek out those whom he would desire to destroy, may you and I be all the more fervent in taking up the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:13).

Enter: The Dialogue

The dialogue between Yahweh and Satan is almost identical in both instances that we are told of here and in chapter 2. One thing to know about our adversary is that he is persistent.

The dialogue begins with Yahweh directing His attention to Satan with an intentional question. This is not a dumbfounded clueless question. For “Our adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Yahweh knew where Satan was, but for our knowledge He permits him to respond. Job never understood the purpose for his suffering, he didn’t understand the dialogue between Yahweh and Satan. But in the kindness of God, He has given us this dialogue to remind us of the spiritual battle that ensues, Satan’s ongoing desire to destroy believers and to inflict harm upon them, and to see that all these things are in Yahweh’s control.

Consider the privilege it is that you have the very Word of God in your hands at this moment. You have much more understanding in front of you than those of old who longed to look into these things, even angels (1 Peter 1:10-12).

Roaming and seeking

Satan’s response in the Hebrew language means to walk around without direction. However, Satan does walk around with a purpose in mind. He doesn’t have specific targets because he is not omnipresent, he cannot be everywhere all the time.

But there are times where he is successful against the people of God. For example, he opposes Israel in 1 Chronicles 21, and David under the guise of sin orders a census to be taken which would displease God. The census was so distasteful that even Joab abhorred such a thing.

Although Satan is unable to be all places at all times, his influence is all over. It doesn’t take much for us to see this. Look at the worship of abortion and other cultural issues of our day.

But his influence is not only in cultures, but it is carried out in intense persecution. Satan is hunting down Christians today. Here are a few numbers from opendoors.org, a persecution watch ministry.

“Attacks on churches and Christian properties sky-rocketed in 2023, as more Christians than ever recorded faced violent attacks. Most Christians murdered for their faith in 2023 were killed in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria accounted for nine out of 10 religiously-motivated murders. Many more Christians have also been forced from their homes. Of 34.5 million displaced people across Sub-Saharan Africa, around 16.2 million are Christians. More than 14,700 churches or Christian properties such as schools and hospitals were targeted in 2023. It marked a six-fold increase compared with attacks recorded the previous year.

In China, at least 10,000 churches were closed. In India, Christian properties were raided by violent mobs. And in Algeria, where there were 47 official Protestant churches, only four remain open and they are now under intense pressure.”

Don’t be fooled, just because we do not experience this in America does not mean that it is not happening. It is happening by hate filled militant groups and it is happening by the biblically empty churches, even in our country.

Satan seeks destroy and he will use any and every means at his disposal.

II. Blameless living will bring forth attack (vv.8-10)

I must begin our second point by saying that God does not put His people forth, those who live blameless and upright lives in a spirit of cruelty. For, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

This precedent must be set forth. ‘As you and I live faithful lives unto Christ we will face trial and persecution.’ This is a guarantee. At some point in your Christian life, you will face it. That does not mean that you will face it in extreme forms every time.

Job was chosen to suffer in this way as Paul would be chosen to suffer thousands of years later. “But the Lord said to him, “Go for he is a chosen instrument of Mine…for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name” (Acts 9:15-16).

I want you to note that both Job and Paul were not being punished for a sin that they had committed. This was not payback or revenge for an iniquity that was committed.

Job preceded Christ and Paul followed Christ in suffering. Christ is our model for suffering, for that is what He ultimately came here for.

From the very beginning, Jesus was under suffering having not eaten for 40 days and nights, and who comes to rub that in? The evil one (Matthew 4:2-3). And as you know, our Lord would suffer in various ways and degrees throughout His earthly life.

If Satan was this ruthless to the Son of God, surely, he will be toward us as Christ promised in Matthew 10:16-23.

A General description of Christian living

Job is described generally and then, in four specific ways. There are four Hebrew words to describe him.

I want to suggest that what is generally said about Job must be said about each one of us. You could say, ‘there is no one upon the earth like the followers of Jesus Christ.’ This is how much Job stood out and I believe we should be like this as well!

I must ask you this. Does this describe your life? Would this be said of you? The people that both know you best and those who do not. Would they come together and say, ‘look at that person, he/she is like those other Christ followers.’

I don’t believe this to be far-fetched. Believer, you are set apart for kingdom work as a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Your life must be markedly different from those around you.

Four specific descriptions

The 4 descriptions are, blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning from evil. Before you think this is too hard or maybe it isn’t worth it, listen to Psalm 84:11-12…

Job is blameless which means that he is above reproach. In other words, no one could bring a case upon him. He was not willingly living in sin, yes, he sinned, but it did not dominate him.

This is what was read for us in Psalm 18 as David spoke to Yahweh. This blamelessness is an active and living blamelessness, not just a bestowed upon title (Job 23:11-12).

One who is blameless will also be upright. These two go hand in hand. Being upright is being a man of moral character. This goes beyond a common moral good. This is an uprightness, a morality that is bathed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is also seen in Noah (Genesis 6:9). He was blameless and upright when the rest of the world sought immorality and gross iniquity. Sound familiar? Brothers, this is our calling as slaves of Jesus Christ!

The Hebrew issues a sense of innocence with this upright living. You could say that, as a human being, Job was the closest to the standard of true innocence as it came. Now, he was not innocent before God for he still sinned as do all men (Romans 3:23).

Having the fear of God leads to a turning from evil. This is not being scared of God but having a keen awareness of the holiness of God and His absolute hatred of sin. And because this exists in those who follow God, we live in reverence and holy fear in a hatred of our sin because He hates it that much more!

In other words, the fear of God and a turning of sin must point us in the minority when the majority delves into sin as was the case in Nehemiah 5:15 when the governors before him were stealing from the people.

Listen to Proverbs 8:13 which combines the fear of God and the hatred of evil. “The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the mouth of perverted words, I hate.”

Even the final moments of the thief on the cross, he feared God and forsook evil (Luke 23:41-42, Isaiah 1:16, Psalm 34:14, 37:27). You might say, he was dying, so what did he have to lose? How many people have we heard of or know of that have been given the gospel before they died, and they still chose death?!

Satan brings an excuse

A similar excuse we hear today is one that Satan brings before Yahweh in verses 9 and 10. He says, doesn’t Job have a reason to live this way? It is easy to live as a Christian when life is easy. That could be said about anyone at any time.

Let this be a warning for all of us! Satan will use this in efforts to take advantage of you!

You may have heard this question, ‘how can you live as a Christian and not suffer?’ Job would say just because you have money does not mean you do not suffer in other ways. Just because we have many possessions doesn’t mean we don’t have difficulties and trials.

Imagine Satan having asked this of Abraham. Was Abraham wealthy? Yes! Did Abraham suffer? Yes! He suffered for decades with not having an heir. All Abraham wanted was a son. He sought Yahweh time and time again nearly 100 years, imploring Him for a son, and Yahweh did not grant his request.

Then after Abraham’s son is born, Yahweh demands that he take his son and offer him up as a sacrifice. Imagine the pain and suffering going through Abraham at that moment. What a tease! He gets to have his son for a number of years after waiting far longer, then he is told to offer him up!

But since Abraham had so much money, he didn’t suffer at all. This is absurd! The same is true for people today who still suffer although they possess so much. It is not about possessions. It is about the life you live. Satan goes after those who live upright and holy lives whether you are rich or poor, whether you have hedge of protection around you are not as Job did.

You can be assured of this truth. The more you live in holiness according to Jesus, the more the adversary will come after you. May we not take this as a fearful or dreadful thing, but as our marching orders to live our lives for Christ!

III. All that we go through is in the hands of God (vv.11-12)

Verses 11 and 12 points to one main theme, that is God is in control of every situation. What we need to remember is that God is control of everyone and everything, including Satan, our adversary.

To show this point, you could say that Satan is asking God for permission to act in a certain way. Satan is not compelling God to afflict Job. God is granting Satan’s request that God would get the glory when Satan’s claim of blasphemy is proven false.

The desire that Satan has here is to afflict Job as a means of punishment. This is in step with Satan’s nature, as he desires nothing but revenge on anyone that is of Yahweh God.

A verse that relates is found in Exodus 9:2-3. Yahweh rightly punishes Egypt for not adhering to His command to let the Israelites go. Satan wants Yahweh God to punish Job because Job is a sinner and because he is a sinner he must be punished.

No longer condemned

This is a tactic that Satan uses against you and me. How many times have you wrongly feared God because of punishment, and not because you have actually transgressed His law? See, Satan wants us to look at what happens to us and not how it affects God. Satan wants God to go against Himself. David says in Psalm 103:9-10 that Yahweh does not punish us according to our sinful deeds and that He does not hold them against us.

And Satan’s mouth is closed with the familiar verse of Romans 8:1 which tells us that we are no longer condemned in Christ Jesus.

The same is true with Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth. All the affliction she had gone through with losing her husband and her two sons was not because she was being punished for sin, but because her faith in Yahweh God was being tested (Ruth 1:13).

Afflictions throughout history

The affliction that Job suffered was not a once and done thing. In fact, much of the NT is centralized on the topic of affliction and suffering.

For example, before suffering occurs Jesus promises the disciples that they will suffer affliction (Luke 22:31). Why? Because from age to age, Satan hates when believers in Christ actually live like followers of Christ.

The goal in mind for Satan according to verse 11 is to have Job prove God a liar that he will curse God to His face. Since Satan is the father of lies it is no surprise to us that he would want others to follow down this same path.

Notice how Satan tells this to Yahweh God. Satan is overtly confident. He says to Yahweh that Job will surely succumb. Why does this matter? Because this is Satan’s attack toward every believer in Christ. It is though Satan is saying, if you press and push a little further your people will turn their back on you.

To much disgrace, some of those giant figures have fallen in a multitude of ways. And yet at the same time, the restoration of such a one who falls is a powerful testimony to the work of God toward man!

Do not be deceived, if you are living the Christian life, you are fair game for the adversary to come and strike you down.

The significance of to curse or ‘blaspheme’

Satan’s objective in wanting Job to make God a liar is to prove that if the goings get tough Job would blaspheme God. This is what it means to curse God.

The Hebrew OT, or the Tanakh, is the only version I found that uses the word ‘blaspheme’ instead of curse. The Tanakh points to the severity of such a deed. Job 1:5, 11, and 2:5 all use the same Hebrew word that means blaspheme. Further, it emphasizes the blamelessness by which Job lived.

Think of where our adversary is coming from at this juncture. Satan fell greatly from heaven when he sinned. Satan is spoken of in Isaiah 14:12 as the “star of the morning, son of the dawn.” If Satan could fall, then Job could too.

The protective hand of God

However, when you get to Job 42 the consummation of Yahweh’s protective hand upon Job comes full circle with a great blessing. What you and I can be encouraged with is this. Those who are believers in Christ WILL persevere through trial, no matter how severe, even if it ends in death.

How do we know this? Consider when great trial and hardship comes upon unbelieving people in Revelation 16:4-11, 21. What is said in each of these verses is that when the trial came? They “blasphemed the God of heaven…and they did not repent of their deeds.”

Clearly, we see those who have the protective hand of God persevere and those who do not blaspheme God’s name.

The limited granting of the request

There is no clearer verse in our text than verse 12 to show that Yahweh God is sovereign over all things. And He is dominant over Satan. He proves this again in Job 2:6.

This means that we can have complete trust and confidence in God that everything that Satan does is under God’s oversight and kept in check. Satan can never go outside of the boundaries that God puts around him.

So, why would Yahweh grant Satan’s request? Do you want a reason to believe God’s sovereignty? Here it is! Yahweh grants Satan’s request already knowing that Job will persevere, Job will not prove Yahweh a liar, and Job will glorify the name of Yahweh. This is the means to the end of Job’s suffering.

A recent example of affliction under God’s sovereignty

Job is not the only one. I don’t know if any of you are familiar with Watchman Nee, but his affliction is clearly under the hand of God.

“Watchman Nee endured much suffering for the sake of the New Testament ministry. Due to his absoluteness in following the Lord and his faithfulness in fulfilling the Lord’s commission, he underwent frequent mistreatment as well as lifelong hardships. As he fought the battle for the Lord’s move, he was under constant attack from God’s enemy, Satan. At the same time, he was also under God’s sovereign hand. He recognized the sovereign arrangements of God in his environment not merely as a divinely apportioned “thorn in the flesh” but, more importantly, as a means by which God was able to deal with him. Due to both Satan’s attacks and God’s faithful environmental dealings, Watchman Nee lived a life of suffering. The majority of his sufferings came from five sources: poverty, ill health, denominational opposition, dissenting brothers and sisters in the local churches, and imprisonment.” He died in confinement on May 30, 1972. Humanly speaking, he died in misery and humiliation. Not one relative or brother or sister in the Lord was with him. There was no proper notification of his death and no funeral” (watchmannee.org).

As little or grand the affliction and suffering we may face, you and I must remember that it is all under the direction and counsel of God.

Conclusion

Take heart this morning, for God has promised His protective and all-powerful hand upon you. In light of this comforting truth, here are a few things that you can take home as you continue to stand in the fight.

Ø Satan will seek to tear you down and discourage you as long as you live on this earth. It can be easy to hear this and feel a sense of sadness and discouragement. No one looks forward to hearing this bleak picture. Yet in one way, this is a measuring stick for you and me. If you are not being attacked by the evil one, what is causing him to keep his distance? Are you conforming to the world? Maybe you have softened some on your convictions? This doesn’t mean that we run to be persecuted, but affliction and suffering can sometimes be a measure of where we are as Christians. Let us not run to an overexuberant amount of affliction but embrace it when it comes with the full armor of God.

Ø Do you desire to live a blameless and upright life? If you do, and you carry on with it then you can guarantee that the evil one is coming after you. The more we live our lives like Christ, the more that Satan is abhorred by us! Again, he hates it when Christians live like Christians. Brothers do not fret at living a blameless and upright life for the sake of Satan coming after but see it as a privilege that you can walk through them knowing that God ALWAYS has His hand upon you.

Ø Everything that you experience whether good, what we perceive as bad, or an attack from the adversary is all given to you by God. It is given by God within the limitations and boundaries that He has set forth. You will never experience something that God does not have control of. In those moments when we don’t know why we are suffering, may we not run to God complaining about our circumstance, but be reminded that God knows better than any one of us does. Brothers, we would all say that our eternal hope lies in God. But I challenge you to apply that to your current circumstance. God has given you affliction and suffering, sometimes at the hand of Satan for your good. Therefore, go forth in boldness and courage, full of faith, for the boundaries are set and God will see you through every difficulty in this life.

Let’s pray!

Benediction

Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand, therefore, go forth boasting in the hope and glory of God” (my rendition).