The Invisible War - Steve Lawson

he would take God's Word and turn with me to the book of Job job chapter 1 I want to bring you a message entitled the Invisible War I want to begin reading in verse six I will conclude in verse twelve during our time here today we will cover the entire chapter I want to begin by setting this text this passage in front of your eyes and in front of your hearts if the Lord might work this into your soul now 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 and he will surely curse you to his foot 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 it has been well said that before God uses a man greatly he must first break him greatly God works best through broken vessels who have been crushed by the hammer blows of the devil the more we desire to be used by God the greater must be our willingness to suffer for him there are no easy pass in ministry every assignment is a killing place all of this involves spiritual warfare and the closer we draw to the frontlines in ministry the more we find ourselves in the crossfire between God and Satan the taller we stand for the Lord the more we stand out for the Lord and the more we will draw the fire of the devil it has always been this way the prophets of the Old Testament were a battered band of preachers RC sprawl writes the Prophet in Old Testament Israel was a lonely man he was a rugged individualist singled out by God for a painful task the record of the lives of the prophets reads like a history of martyrs their history sounds like a casualty report in the third division in World War two the life expectancy of a prophet was that of a Marine Sergeant in combat the prophets curse was solitude his home was often a cave the desert was his traditional meeting place with God nakedness was his wardrobe a wooden stock his necktie his songs were composed with tears close quote the more we advance to the frontlines of ministry for the Lord Jesus Christ the more we will find ourselves exposed and in a crushing place it was so with the Apostles as eleven of the twelve reportedly died a martyr's death and the other John served hard time on Patmos the greatest preacher who ever walked this earth the god man the Lord Jesus Christ was despised and rejected a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief in the end he was publicly crucified while only in his 30s and it was a horrific death a public execution by crucifixion and Jesus looked into the eyes of his disciples and said if the world hates you since the world hates you you know that it has hated me before it hated you if you were of the world the world would love its own but because you are not of the world but I chose you out of the world because of this the world hates you remember the word that I said to you a slave is not greater than his master if they persecuted me they will also persecute you Jesus went on to say in swirl you shall have tribulation as the early church grew and developed the words of Tertullian came to pass the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church the early church leaders had names like Justin Martyr they became famous and remembered for what they said when tied to a stake it would be this way throughout history Paul said all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution Peter said beloved do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for the testing of your faith this is why I'm drawn to the book of Job and why I'm drawn to this opening chapter for our time that we will spend together in this hour because there is a note of reality for us here in this text of what it is like and what it means to stand tall for the Lord in gospel ministry and to draw the fire of the evil one every one of us finds ourselves living in the midst of spiritual warfare and all of the calamities that come with it that this war is not a visible war this war is an invisible war this invisible war involves unseen conflict between God and Satan between heaven and hell between good and and evil and there is no middle ground there are no fence sitters there are no conscientious objectors there are no draft dodgers there is no exempt status there is no neutrality and the taller we stand for the Lord Jesus Christ and the more faithfully we preach the Word of God and the more we will draw the enemies I want us to look now at job chapter one and to know that this is God's message for this hour to our hearts I want you to note first beginning in verse 1 the unlikely candidate we are immediately introduced to job who is presented to us as the epitome of godliness what we would say to be the least likely candidate for a disaster at the book of Job begins there was a man in the land of us literally the ordering of the words begins with man man there was the entire emphasis is emphatic upon job there was a man in the land of us that that's northern Arabia a job is presented to us as a real man living in a real place his name was Jobe and that man was blameless upright fearing God and turning away from evil at the very outset we are introduced to the sterling spiritual quality and character of this man it says that he is blameless and meaning without moral blemish not that he is sinless and not that he is perfect but that he is beyond reproach in his character and in his conduct and he is marked by personal integrity and honesty and and fidelity and no one could just libre CH r j-- against this man's life there was a holistic balance about his spiritual walk with the lord it says that he is upright literally the word means straight he was without deviation from the lord's holy standard he lived a separated life if you will and not plagued by world this not courting the spirit of this age he was upright sent apart to God walking the straight and narrow he was a straight arrow morally and rightly so it says that he feared God his heart was filled with holy awe and reverence for the Lord to put it in the vernacular he took God very seriously there was a weightiness a gravitas about his life no superficiality with Jobe and turning away from evil he was not trying to get as close to evil as he possibly could without being singed or burned he was turning away from it he knew what it was to resist temptation and to restrain his tongue in his feet he guarded his heart he shielded his eyes and noticed the blessing of God upon his life in verse two seven sons three daughters that the goodness of God the abundance of his blessing has been showered upon upon Jobe and in verse 3 we see his fortune his possessions were seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels in five hundred yoke of oxen and all of these were used for clothing and transportation and buying and selling in the marketplace this is a very successful businessman who is deeply godly this is a rare combination someone who has a fear of God and yet he is eminently successful in the things of the world without selling out his soul to this world and at the end of verse three here we read and this man that man was the greatest of all of the men of the earth certainly greatest in wealth greatest in reputation greatest in it's greatest in plout even greatest in in godliness verse 4 his sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day this would be something like a birthday we're not entirely certain what this is but all of the children it's a it's a picture of harmony and of love and a camaraderie and the children get along with one another they love one another and in one time a year on each of their day they meet in the house of that one whose day it is and it is a time for laughter and a time for love and in time for them to hug and to embrace and the blessing of God is just being poured out the Lord has opened the windows of heaven to pour out his blessing upon Joe the goodness of God is just dripping out of heaven upon job's life and we read in verse 5 that job was the spiritual leader of his home we believe that this is in the patriarchal period it predates the giving of the law and job functions as as a sort of priest in his own home before the priesthood was established and we read in verse 5 that he would bring offerings burnt offerings and offer them to the Lord as a as a temporary covering for the sin of his children Jobe is the least likely candidate for a disaster that we could possibly find in the record of Scripture his blameless he is upright his fearing God he is turning away from evil he is a spiritual leader he is a business leader he towers over his community over his Reed he is the mightiest of the men of the East and job will be marked out to suffer not because there is anything wrong in his life there will be no disciplinary action against job in chapter 1 in fact job is being singled out by the sovereignty of God to suffer because God deems him worthy to suffer for his namesake what job is like job is like the tallest tree in the forest that tree that rises higher up to the skies above higher than all of the other trees and when the electrical storm gathers and when the lightning bolts come flashing down it will strike the tallest tree in the forest Jobe is rooted and grounded in the fertile soil of saving grace he knows God he fears God he walks with God he loves God he serves God he obeys God he glorifies God and because of that he is the godliest man in his generation he is the fulfillment of Jonathan Edwards 63rd resolution that he would be the most godly man in his day and as he stands tall for God in the land of us we will see that he is the tallest tree in the forest who will draw the fire of the enemy we would want this to be said of any one of us here today but with great godliness comes great ex closure to the enemy I want you to know second not only the unlikely candidate but I want you to see the the unseen challenge in verse six this is one of those rare passages of scripture in which the veil is pulled back and heaven is made transparent before our eyes and we are allowed to see into the throne room of God we are allowed to hear God speak we are allowed to hear Satan speak and job has no idea of what we are about to look at that this is even transpiring this is a rare insight into the unseen world above and note verse 6 now there was a day stop right there this is a day like any day this is a routine day in heaven this is a day like Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday in heaven this is not presented to us as a as a day that comes only once every thousand years now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord we know who the sons of God are they are the angelic hosts of heaven later in chapter 38 verse 7 they are mentioned to us as the sons of God and these are the angels of heaven reporting back to the throne of God they have no doubt been discharged with divine assignments and have been sent out by God to carry out Duty and work for the sovereign upon his throne and they are now seen as coming back God with accountability to receive more orders and to give account of himself to God and we read at the end of verse 6 and Satan also came among them I know what you're thinking that's what I think you tell me God is holy and no sin can dwell in the presence of a holy God and there is no way that unholy man can access holy God is the message of Leviticus that the only way that sinful man can approach holy God is by the prescribed means of a sacrifice and atonement that God has prescribed and yet here we see Satan himself coming before God in the courts of heaven and you asked me how can this be and my answer is I do not know but here is Satan once the highest of the angelic order of the order of the cherubim the one who had closest access to God in heaven and the one who led a coup a revolt against God think about how persuasive Satan is to be able to manipulate a third of the angels who are standing in the very presence of God to turn to Him and follow Lucifer while they're standing in the presence of God in heaven that is how good that is how shrewd that is how cunning the devil is and here now is Satan coming back before the throne of God something that he does again and again and again many today we try to deny the exists tensa of satan and say he's a figment of a medieval imagination i would remind us all here today that the existence of a real personal devil is taught in seven Old Testament books by every New Testament writer and by Christ himself and the Bible he is presented as Satan the devil Lucifer Beelzebub Belial the evil one the tempter the ruler of this world the god of this age the Prince of the power of the air the accuser of the Brethren the old serpent the great dragon a roaring lion apollyon the devil is identified as a murderer as a liar a sinner a tempter a pervert er a counterfeiter he is quite simply the evil one and we ask ourselves in verse six what is Satan here to do and the answer is found in his name his name is derived from a word which means to attack or to accuse or to slander it speaks of an adversary or an appoint an opponent in court one who acts as a prosecuting attorney to bring criminal accusations against a plaintiff and so what is Satan here in heaven doing he appears as a prosecuting attorney to bring criminal charges against the people of God revelation 12 verse 10 he is the accuser of the Brethren Zechariah 3:1 Satan standing at God's right hand to accuse Joshua the high priest this is the avowed purpose of the devil it is to indict the people of God in the high court of heaven with their sins before the holy one satan is as CS lewis once said he is a gravedigger who digs up dirt in all of our lives and to press charges against us before God in heaven and let me tell you you and I need someone to take up our case on our behalf in heaven we need an advocate at the right hand of God the Father and all who put their trust in him I want you to know he's never lost a case as he pleads the merit of his own life and death on behalf of his chosen ones and so we read in verse 7 the Lord said to Satan please note the initiative is with God God puts the ball into play the devil will have to return serve the Lord said to Satan from where do you come the purpose of the question is not for God to come by information that he does not presently possess for God knows everything that there is to know immediately instantly comprehensive comprehensive ly eternally from eternity past now the purpose of the question is for the devil to enter into the court of heaven his evidence regarding his sinister nature from where do you come then Satan answered the Lord and said from roaming about on the earth and walking around on it please note the devil is not in Hell the devil is upon the earth roaming the earth creating extraordinary destruction and appearing before the throne of God to bring accusation against the elect of God the pictures of a lion stalking his prey here upon the earth first Peter 5 verse 8 says be of sober spirit be on the alert your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour now the devil is on this earth the devil has picked up your scent the devil is stalking your path the devil is after you if you are one of God's people he and his minions from hell he is the ruler of this world he is the god of this age he is the Prince of the power of the air and there are those who say that Satan is presently bound by a great chain and cast into the abyss already and if that is so he is on a mighty long chain Martin Luther said I believe in the devil because I did battle with him this morning so what is Satan doing here on the earth as he prowls about as a roaring lion he is blinding minds he is stealing God's Word he is opposing God's work he is inflicting disease he is tempting into immorality he is sowing tares among the wheat he is attacking God's Word he is causing persecution against the church he is spreading false doctrine he is deceiving the nation's the devil never takes a day off the devil is busy and in verse 8 the Lord said to Satan please note this is not Satan speaking to the Lord this is the Lord speaking to Satan have you considered my servant job please note it is God who initiates the involvement of job in what is to follow it is God who tosses job's name into the ring a job will be drawn into the disasters that he will experience by divine pointment and by divine sovereignty it is God who issues this challenge if the universe is being run off of God's agenda not the devil's agenda Martin Luther was right the devil is God's devil and God will use the devil for his own holy purposes God will draw a straight line with a crooked stick the divine script is being followed have you considered my servant job have you considered my servant John MacArthur have you considered my servant Rick Holland have you considered my servant al Mohler this scene is being repeated in heaven again and again and again and note why God singles out job before the devil at the universe eight for there is no one like him he's in a category by himself he's in a class by himself it's not just that he's at the head of the line there is no one like him he has so distinguished himself in his day his hour his generation and this is God's estimation he is blameless and upright fearing God and turning away from evil would you not want God to say that about your life for this to be the appraisal job is the most righteous man on the face of the earth and what he will suffer he will suffer not because there is anything wrong about his life but because there is everything right about his life and when applied to us there are times there are seasons there are storms when we will suffer in ministry and in this world because we are preaching the Word of God because we are Shep shepherding the flock because we are a spiritual leader at home because we are upright and turning away from evil because we are god-fearing and blameless there are times that we suffer because of our sin there are times that we suffer because of other people's sin and there are times that we suffer because we live in a fallen world but there are times that we suffer for the glory of God because God has appointed it for us in a challenge in heaven between God and between Satan does God think highly enough of your spiritual walk to say to the devil have you considered William have you considered Robert there is no one like him on the earth does God see you as blameless god-fearing upright turning away from evil it is a badge of honor that God pins upon the man who is faithful to the Word of God and to the person of God to be appointed to suffer for the sake of righteousness jesus said blessed are you when men persecute you and revile you and say all manner of evil against you falsely on account of my name sake rejoice for great is your reward in heaven I want you to note the unholy counter in verse nine house eight encounters this I would remind us all here today that Satan is stunningly brilliant he could think circles around the smartest smartest of us here today notice how Satan responds verse nine then Satan answered the Lord the Lord's words are in the air and before those words can even fall upon the floor of heaven Satan immediately answers and says this back to God it speaks to the diabolical genius of the devil does job fear God for nothing that is so sinister that is a frontal attack on the glory of God and upon the integrity of Jobe the devil here accuses job of serving God for selfish reasons for what he can get out of God like God is an ATM machine and I put in a little prayer I put in some worship I put in some consecration and out will come blessing for me that is the indictment that is brought by Satan to God against Jobe and it is an indictment against God as well that well no one would worship you God for the beauty of your holiness no one would worship you for who you are you have to by worshipers on the open market and it is by your blessings that you are just lavishing upon your people you have seduced them into worshipping you does job fear God for nothing this is a rhetorical question that screams a negative answer joke does not fear God for nothing job has every reason to fear god verse 2 verse 3 he's already told us seven sons three daughters she camels oxen servants donkeys the greatest of all the men of the east the indictment is that is why job serves you because you're so good to him because you indulge him because you lavish your gifts upon him you've spoiled him so he says in verse 10 have you not built a hedge around him and his house and all that he has on every side God and His goodness had set a wall of protection around job the invisible hand of God's providence the devil is tightening the screws now at this point and the clear implication is the devil does know because the devil has been trying to crack the code to get against Joe for quite some time front door back door side door the devil has been trying to climb down the chimney anything to get into job's life and ruin and destroy Joe and it has been the providential hand of God around job that has presented and prevented and forted the devil from being able to come against Jobe oh the devil knows very well who job is when God said have you considered my servant Joe the devil has been centering Joe for quite some time he is well-known by the devil I like that Martin Luther said would to God I would be as well-known in hell as I am in heaven we want the devil to know who we are and where we are and that our life has had impact we're not hiding behind the skirts of the choir have you considered my servant job notice what he goes on to say you have blessed the work of his hand verse 10 as if the devil is pointing a finger at God you have blessed the work of his hands that's the UH that's the charge that's the indictment you have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land God here's the problem you've been way too good to Jobe now I want you to understand something there's only three places in the Bible where we hear the actual voice of Satan recorded the first is in Genesis 3 as Satan comes slithering onto the stage of human history and he says to Eve God's not being good to you now think about this Eve lives in paradise she actually has a perfect husband the thought just came to me came to my wife a long time ago but where was I paradise Thank You Sheila she lived in Paradise she had everything she had the planet perfect world there was one tree from which she could not eat and it was the goodness of God this said do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because you don't want to know evil it'll pollute it will corrupt it will pervert your mind your soul but the devil said God's not being good to you God's holding out on you he's withholding his blessing God must not love you he won't let you eat from this tree now the second time we hear the voice of God the devil is right here in Genesis 3 the devil is talking to Eve about God now the devil is talking to God about job in Genesis 3 he said you're too good excuse me God is not good enough to you now in job 1 the devil says you're too good to them the devil says to Eve God is withholding goodness from you and then in job 1 god you're just too good to him the third time we hear the voice of the devil is in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 and the temptation of Christ in the wilderness and the devil's temptation is if you'll worship Me I'll be better to you than God will be to you I will give you the kingdoms of this world do you see how shrewd and how scheming and how subtle the devil is so verse 11 here is the hammer blow the devil says but put forth your hand now and touch all that he has and he will surely curse you to your face Satan challenges God to stretch out his hand and to strike everything that Jobe had again how diabolical are the ways of the devil and this challenge between God and Satan is really this challenge as it relates to each one of us will we worship God in tough times will we bless the name of the Lord when we are thrown into the fire of affliction and when we're met with difficulty and when we're met in challenges in our ministry and our family in our own personal life are we going to fold up our tent and are we going to go home are we going to curse God are we going to walk away from it all or will we say I will worship the Lord that is the challenge and that is the challenge for each and every one of us here today and the more we advance to the frontlines of serving the Lord the more we will be faced with this dilemma so I want you to notice in verse 12 the unrelinquished control I want you to please note that God is totally sovereign in this entire encounter and in verse 12 we read then the Lord said to Satan behold all that he has is in your power only do not put forth your hand on him God is absolutely totally completely in control all he is sovereign over the devil spiritual warfare is not a cosmic tug-of-war between two equals greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world everything is unfolding top-down God to Satan and God is defining what the devil can do and God is using the devil for the higher purposes of the glory of his own name this is what the Lord is doing with the devil even right now God is using Satan as an instrument in his hand even as he would come roaring against our lives to bring about his higher purposes in our lives we are to resist the devil we are to flee we are to hold our ground we are to put on the full armor of God but nevertheless we must understand that in the sovereignty of God God has purposes in the midst of our suffering so we read at the end of verse 12 so Satan departed from the presence of the Lord armed now with divine permission the Evil One departed from God's throne and descended down from the throne above he winged his flight through the the outer atmosphere and came down to this earth came to the Middle East came to the land of us found the land of job and has job now in his crosshairs the hedge is now removed but I want you to know there is no panic in heaven only plans for the glory of God's name so in verse 13 I want you to see the Unleashed catastrophe what follows now is a devastating attack by the devil upon juggs life here is the fury of hell Unleashed here is hell breaking loose around one is in verse 13 now it happened on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house here is job's 10 children together at the oldest brother's house again is the picture of love and harmony and unity this is as it should be verse 14 that a messenger came to Jobe just burst into his house all but through the door down as he came sprinting in and he said the oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them and the sabaeans attacked and took them they also slew the servants with the edge of the sword say do you think that just happened I think that's a coincidence a band of terrorizing robbers from Arabia and Sheba descended upon job's property and stole all 500 oxen in all 500 donkeys and killed all of his servants but one in a moment in time and in reality it was Satan behind this seeing the devil manipulating the sabaeans like pawns on a chessboard filling their hearts with unholy rage and inciting their hearts to kill job servants and to steal his animals just like he filled the heart of Ananias and Sapphira and I alone have escaped to tell you round 2 verse 16 while he was still speaking another also came and said the fire of God fell from heaven that would be like a lightning bolt that has come down and kindled the struck the ground and kindled fire and burned up the sheep and the servants and consume them all seven thousand sheep were burned up all of juggs servants who took care of the sheep were killed except for one and we read and alone have escaped to tell you do you think that just happened around 3 verse 17 and this is happening in rapid-fire succession in staccato fashion verse 17 while he was still speaking these messengers are beginning to stack up at the door at job's house while he was still speaking another also came and said the Chaldeans now that is a nomadic group of people who were in the Arabian desert they were war mongers the Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword what did Jesus say in John 8 verse 44 that the devil is a murderer and a liar and I alone have escaped to tell you then in verse 18 while he was still speaking another came and said your sons and your daughters and at that point we turn our head away we don't even want to hear the rest of this oh no not sons NOT daughters you can rebuild your business you can try to recoup your losses but don't take my sons don't take my daughters your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine and their oldest brother's house and behold a great wind that would be like a desert whirlwind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house and it fell on the young people and they died and I alone have escaped to tell you rightly did Martin Luther write for still our ancient foe does seek to work us whoa his craft and power are great and our with cruel hate on earth is not his equal you and I find yourselves in the very same spiritual warfare our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the powers against the world Force's of this darkness against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places men the taller you stand and your faith for the Lord Jesus Christ the more you and I will be singled out in spiritual warfare by the devil under the sovereignty of God it will not always work out with such catastrophic results as this but the devil is armed with cruel hate and on earth is not his equal I want you to see finally the unshakable confidence in verse 20 in this last scene we see job's standing over 10 fresh graves on a barren hillside his world has come to a screeching halt think of a shock think of his grief think of his pain in verse 20 then job arose which implies he may have already been crushed under the weight and staggered under the weight of this report it which crushed him to the ground and rose and tore his robe and shaved his head which are all signs and evidences of deep grief and extreme sorrow and he fell to the ground staggering under the weight of this trial that has been dropped upon his head and the devil now strains his ear to hear what he always hears when he brings his affliction upon people like this he is waiting to hear the cursing of God the blaspheming of God's name he is waiting to hear the shrieks and the cries of one who has no desire for life who spews that is their venom upon God what is it caught what has it brought me to worship God or to serve God he is used to hearing someone who is angry with God who is bitter with God but instead Satan sees and hears this and worshiped shahe which means to prostrate oneself especially before a superior to ascribe worship to another of great importance job's first response was to humble himself and to lower himself before the throne of God and to worship God and to ascribe honor and glory to God who is infinitely holy who's all of his ways are perfect who can only do what is right who can only do what is pure towards me and he worships God and makes this staggering statement in verse 21 naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return there the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away job recognizes the absolute sovereignty of God over all of the affairs of his life he understands something of the truth of divine providence that God gives and God withholds and it is all under the purview of the sovereignty of God you see job who cannot see into heaven and to know of this challenge he just knows that ultimately above it all that God rules and reigns in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases there is primary causality with God and there is secondary causality through the devil and through whether and through the sabaeans and through the Chaldeans and through the fire and through the whirlwind but ultimately there is only one primary causality and that chief primary cause is God in heaven and so he says I came into this world with nothing and I shall leave this world with nothing God by his throne rights has given and God by his throne rights has taken away and this is the divine prerogative of God listen job does not have to understand why all job needs to understand is who he just needs to know God and then he said blessed be the name of the Lord Joe blessed the name of the Lord Joe tote job chose not to malign the name of God but to magnify his name not to blasts God but to bless him not to revolt against God but to reverence the name of God this is the choice that you and I must make again and again and again as we are slammed to the canvas in the contest of faith in this world when we find ourselves in the midst of spiritual warfare and difficulty coming against us and it is above us and it is stronger than us and there are times when we are thrown into the deep end of the pool and we are in over our head and our trials are overwhelming and the affliction is is painful and we must make the choice to say blessed be the name of the Lord verse 22 through all of this through all of this adversity through all of this personal loss through all of this painful ordeal through all of this Jo did not sin nor did he blame God job is held before us as a positive example of how a man how a woman should live in the midst of difficulty and how he or she should respond to the trials of life that's Calvin said on his deathbed I kiss the rod that smites me the Prophet Habakkuk wrote the the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines though the yield of the olives should fail and the fields produce no food and though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there'd be no cattle in the stalls yet I will exalt in the Lord I will rejoice in the God of my salvation the Lord is my strength and he has made my feet like Hinds feet and makes me walk on a high place at this point in the ballgame it is God one job excuse me the devil zero how do you respond how do I respond how do all of us respond when we find ourselves in a difficult part of the Lord's vineyard when we find ourselves in the midst of ministry in which we are plowing rocky soil when the storm is gathering when the difficulty has come when there is the sweat on the brow how will we respond when tough times come in our ministries and in our lives we must respond as job responded we must worship we must say the Lord has given the Lord has taken blessed be the name of the Lord we must ascribe honor and glory to God we must recognize the sovereignty of God over all of the circumstances of our lives that God causes all things to work together for our good that what others mean for evil God intends for our good that God who is the great author of Providence and the great executor of Providence God who has a perfect plan for each and every one of our lives that there are no maverick molecules here in the in the universe and that God is totally under control of even the devil and even the forces of evil that would come against our lives how we must as Spurgeon said make the sovereignty of God the pillow upon which I rest my head at night in 1670 250 miles northwest of London in the little town of Bedford John Bunyan was released from 12 years of imprisonment when he was put into the prison inside that prison he was to write pilgrims progress Spurgeon said that the the smell of the prison is on every page of pilgrims progress with a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ he would not be intimidated he would not be turned away from preaching the free mercy and the free grace of Christ in Salvation and because of that he was thrown into the prison cell his wife had just died earlier he had remarried a second time and when he was put into prison his wife was pregnant and she was so distraught with her preacher husband put into prison she suffered miscarriage and the child died in the womb they never locked but they never locked the door of Bunyan he could walk out of the prison at any time just say you will not preach the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in the cross John Bunyan remained in that prison for 12 years he had a blind daughter named Mary he could have rationalized in his mind my family needs me I will just say I will not preach the gospel I will I will simply look for common ground Bunyan would not back from his call to preach the gospel and remained in prison when he was released he sat down in wrote a book called advice to sufferers and in this book Bunyan writes this it is not what enemies will nor what they are resolved upon but what God wills and what God appoints that shall be done no enemy can bring suffering upon a man when the will of God is otherwise so no man can save himself out of their hands when God will deliver him up for his glory that must be our bedrock confidence as we serve the Lord as we suffer as we face the devil head-on that God is God that he is sovereign he is over it all and that he has appointed an ordained my trials and it is God who will preserve me in the midst of the flames several years ago I was approached by a Christian publisher to write a commentary on job I agreed to write a commentary on job I had just written one on Psalms and so I sat down and looked at the book of Job I saw there are 42 chapters I said I will preach 42 sermons 3 job and I will use that manuscript as a foundation for writing a commentary I preach job 1 I preached job 2 and as I prepared to preach job 3 all hell broke loose in my life and ministry someone broke into the church that I pastored and secured the membership list and went and bought a p.o box and wrote a four-page letter in dining me and charging me with being one who believes in the sovereignty of God and salvation a ballot was in that letter and you were to check one of two boxes either you are a Baptist are you a Calvinist they released it to the television stations they released it to the newspaper and as I continued to preach job 3 and job for as all hell was breaking loose when I came to job 5 I felt they would honor God to resign I stepped down from a pulpit which I preached on white marble an oriental rug a building that held 4,000 people and the next Sunday preached in a warehouse I then went up over my garage where my study is and for the next year sat down and wrote the commentary for job alone by myself without even able to preach the series and I thought how wise of God if I'm to write a commentary on job then I must sit in the ashes with job and to hurt with job and to cry with job how wise of God it is for him to bring adversity into your life and trials and storms and lightning flashes and dark nights of the soul and difficulty in ministry and and antagonistic elders and rebellious deacons and unconverted church members and shrinking church budget how wise of God to bring all of these storms of affliction so that you and I would be broken vessels so that we would walk with a limp so that we would identify with hurting people whom we serve so that we would be weaned off of this world so that we would minister with an eternal perspective so that our faith would grow stronger so that we would be more humble so that we would be more christ-like for his ways are not our ways as high as the heavens are above the earth so are his ways beyond our ways it was George Whitfield who said happy when we can look back and say thus I have been enabled to glorify God in the fire happy you who have got into Christ's fire happy you who have found his fire in your soul may you glorify God in the midst of the suffering of ministry and may you know that the most righteous man on the face of the earth is the one who many years ago is the one whom God said have you considered my servant job may you and I glorify God in the midst of our suffering and trials as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ in this world you

Channel: I'll Be Honest

Views: 223,889

Keywords: steve, lawson, macarthur, shepherds, conference, pastor, preacher, war, life, endure, christ

Id: UDVWvOQvlK8

Length: 73min 9sec (4389 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 19 2010