God’s Plans for the Saved

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

God did not save you to leave you hanging in the wind. God knows what He has in store for you in this life.

God knows that everything that comes your way is going to work out for the good according to His purpose for you. God has a purpose for you.

If you are saved, God has a place He wants you to get to in your spiritual journey. There is a level of spiritual growth that He wants you to experience, and God knows what it is going to take to get you to that point.

James 1:2–4 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

Romans 5:3–4 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:” I do not know many who want jump up and down and volunteer for temptations and tribulations. Am I right? Is there any here this morning who would like to volunteer for some tribulation in your life?

Now, God knows you better than you know you, and He knows what He has to allow to get you where He wants to get you.

I want everyone here to know this truth.

God loved you so much that He has either already saved you, or He loves you so much that He is wanting to save you.

God saved you so He could grow you spiritually. Your salvation brings glory to God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

He knows what it is going to take in your life to get you from point A to point B, and He has established a course for you in this life. It is not a short-track race. It is a marathon. Along the way, you are going to encounter trials and tribulations.

The purpose of trials and tribulations is for God to complete His work in you.

Notice what James says again.

James 1:3–4 “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

That is not talking physical wants. It is talking about total satisfaction in Jesus Christ. When you and I get to the point that we are totally satisfied with Jesus Christ in whatever situation that pops up, we are growing spiritually, progressing along on our spiritual journey.

You must understand this if you want to grow spiritually. There are things that are going to come into your life, and God will use those things to perfect His work in you.

Let’s look at three truths this morning that are incredibly important for you to understand.

1. You have a real enemy.

Too many Christians think our enemies are our culture, our government, and our societal immorality.

Admittedly, those things are not very good, but they are not your enemies.

A Christian should never have an enemy that is flesh and blood.

Matthew 5:43–45 “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Now, I am not the author. I am just the spokesman.

Jesus says that we prove who our Father is when we bless them that curse us, when we do good to those who hate us, and when we pray for those who persecute us.

We are to be like Stephen.

Acts 7:59–60 “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

Let me ask you a serious question.

Did Jesus, in Matthew Chap 5, condone making enemies out of any human beings?

Jesus said the opposite. We prove who our Father is when we love those who hate us.

What does the Golden Rule tell us?

Matthew 22:37–39 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Notice the conditional statement in this passage.

Loving God with all our being is the First Commandment.

Loving our neighbors as ourselves is the Second Commandment.

The Second Commandment is impossible to obey is you do not obey the First Commandment. Now, you might not believe this, and that is okay. I will let you take that up with God. If you harbor hard feelings toward someone, the reason you do is because you are obeying the First Commandment.

Therefore, if mankind is not our enemy, who is our enemy? Our enemy is Satan.

Our greatest enemy and really our only enemy is not of flesh and blood.

Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

Satan and his demons are after you this morning. Satan and most of the fallen angels are not in “hell” proper today. They are roaming the earth looking for Christians to devour.

Job 1:6–7 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

Job 2:2 “And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

Revelation 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

Satan is searching for you to accuse you before God. Your enemy is not the world, but you better believe your enemy is in the world, and that enemy is Satan, and he is real and dangerous.

2. God allows Satan to attack the saved.

Job 1:8–12 “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.”

I want to point out a couple of things here.

A. God has a protecting hedge around His people.

Satan says to God, “I cannot get to Job because you have a hedge around him.”

God was protecting Job, and He is protecting you.

Ephesians 4:30 “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

2 Kings 6:15–17 “And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots.

And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

Elisha was further along in his spiritual journey than was Gehazi. Elisha had the faith to know God was protecting him, but Gehazi needed the proof. Regardless, the point is that God was protecting them as He was protecting Job.

I am telling you dear friend with no ounce of doubt, Satan can only do to you what God allows. If you are obedient to the Holy Spirit, Satan has no authority to do anything to you unless God allows it, and the reason God allows it is to perfect His work in you.

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

We open ourselves to our enemy when we are not obedient and not submissive. Many of the things that happen to Christians do not have to happen, but we give, through disobedience, Satan permission to penetrate God’s hedge of protection.

B. Satan can only do what God allows.

Job 1:12 “And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.”

Job 2:6 “And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.”

Revelation 11:7 “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.”

Satan can only do to you what God allows. Only God is sovereign in this entire universe.

Lucifer, who became Satan, is a created being. All created beings must submit to God’s authority.

Satan has no authority outside of what God allows him to exercise.

Let me show you something that I learned this week or noticed for the first time this week.

We talk all the time about how each of us will have to give an account of ourselves before God. Well, evidently, Satan has to do that too.

Job 1:6–7 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?

Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

Job 2:1–2 “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

Even though Satan is stalking you, he does not have complete authority to do what he wants to you. He can only do what God allows, and what God allows is for a purpose.

Take Peter as an example.

Luke 22:31–32 “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

Evidently, like with Job, Satan had sought permission to go after Peter, and God allowed it for the purpose of Peter strengthening his Christian brothers and sisters. That’s all I am going to say about that now because I want to talk about this again.

God had a purpose for allowing Satan to attack Peter, and it was for Peter’s spiritual growth. The same was the case with Job.

Satan took everything from Job but Job’s life. He could not take Job’s life because God would not allow him to take it. God even allowed Satan to use nature in attacking Job. (THE TORNADO)

The point is this.

Satan can only do to you what God allows, and God allows it because He knows the plans He has for you.

3. God wants you to finish the course to claim your prize.

I cannot stress this enough, but God uses the trials and tribulations in this life to strengthen our faith and to grow us spiritually.

James 1:3–4 “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

The attacks of Satan against you are used by God to strengthen you and to complete your faith.

Do you remember this verse?

Romans 1:17 “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

In each situation, we are to live by faith. As we do that more and more, in each situation, our faith in what God is doing will reveal more and more of God’s righteousness. It is really incredible when you think about it.

Have you ever seen an older Christian that seemed so faithful and content?

Do you know why? Through the trials of that person’s life, the faith of that person was strengthened, and at this point in his or her life, he or she absolutely realizes that the grace of God is sufficient to see him or her through any situation.

2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

The Bible says that our trials, our weaknesses, our infirmities, our tribulations reveal the power of Christ in us.

God has given every Christian some incredible promises.

Whatever you face, God has promised to give you peace in that situation.

Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Whatever the situation, you do anything in Christ.

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Whatever the situation, nothing will ever separate you from the love of God.

Romans 8:35 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”

Romans 8:38–39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Dear friend, God is going to make it possible for you to finish the race. You might have many obstacles put in your way by Satan, and on occasion, you may take some unneeded detours, but God will always get you back on course so you can claim the ultimate prize.

Do you know what the ultimate prize for you is?

Romans 8:29–30 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

The grand prize is that one of these days you are going to be conformed to the image of Christ which means one day you are going to be glorified as Christ is glorified. At that point, you will be free from sin and Satan.

If you are saved, there is nothing Satan can do to you to keep you from being glorified, and when you get to the finish line, you can say as Paul said.

2 Timothy 4:6–8 “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,

which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

Satan is going to attack God’s people, and God is going to allow it, but He allows it for a reason, and that reason is because God knows the blessings He has in store for each of His children.