When Satan Stands Up

good morning my name is Erica on today's program pastor Charles will be presenting a message entitled when Satan stands up let's listen I want to lay with a message this morning simply when Satan stands when Satan stands the word serendipity is one of the most difficult English words to define what exactly is a serendipity it's a fortunate accident a fortuitous happenstance a pleasant surprise the term was coined in the 18th century by a man named horace walpole in 1754 he wrote to a friend Horace Mann explaining the reasoning behind his coining of the term he had read a novel entitled to three princes of Serendip the story was about the heroes who along their journey continued to find things they were not looking for reading this Horace Walpole began to use the word serendipity and it has stuck over the centuries what we have in 1st chronicles chapter 21 is a biblical serendipity the story in this chapter is paralleled in 2nd Samuel chapter 24 but the parallel stories are in different context 2nd samuel chapter 24 the story is told there as a part of the Appendix of the book we see in the clothing of second Samuel in this story another illustration of how the people of Israel suffered because of the sin of one of their kings the context is different here in 1 chronicles chapter 21 the writer here tells the story to give us understanding of how david quote-unquote found the land upon which the temple of God would be built David's heart was not satisfied with the presence of God dwelling in a tabernacle tabernacle was basically an elaborate tent he he felt God ought to have his own house in which to meet with his people God consented but would not allow David to build that house because David was a man of war with bloody hands but God did allow David at the end of 1 chronicles his final act was to raise the offering that would provide the funds for the building of the temple but here in chapter 21 the writer tells us that David is also the one who selected the land upon which the temple would be built it was a biblical serendipity it was a fortuitous happenstance it was a pleasant surprise use more theological language David selecting of the land upon which the temple would be built was sovereign Authority wise Providence and redemptive purpose of God at work David went down the wrong path and ended up at the right destination only God can orchestrate that this chapter records a great sin of David and this sin brought context winces they brought consequences for Israel pestilence in the land and seventy seven thousand men were killed and angels of the Lord hovered over Jerusalem preparing to slay even more people of Israel but God relented showing mercy he says I will stay my hand David if you offer me a sacrifice and David went to the house of Oran and an axe for Orleans land to have to use his threshing floor to make an offering of sacrifice to God ordnungs said you're the king whatever is mine is yours David says no you got to make me pay a price for the threshing floor because I can't offer to the Lord that which doesn't cost me anything David made the sacrifice God stayed his hand the angel of the Lord departed but David who was a worshipper did not go to the tabernacle to make further sacrifice he was concerned it may be the angel of the Lord had gone to the tabernacle to wait for him to show up there so Dave stayed right there at Orleans threshing floor and continued to offer sacrifice to God he got there because he went down the wrong path but somehow the wrong path led him to the right destination look at the first verse of chapter 22 the next chapter tells us that David at that threshing floor said here shall be the house of the Lord God and here the altar of burnt-offering for Israel David went the wrong way and landed at the right place choosing this land as a place where the temple of God and the altar of God would be built it would be in that temple centuries later that one of David's descendants who scripture calls David's son would be drug in Chains to be tried by the religious authorities they would condemn him to death and then drag him to the outskirts of the city and let Roman soldiers nail him to the cross and in the process all God was doing was setting up on that mountain a greater altar so that you and I could find free forgiveness miraculous conversion and eternal life this is a biblical serendipity David went the wrong way and ended up at the right place how did that happen story begins in the beginning of chapter 21 David is an old wise and seasoned king but here David will make what I believe is the greatest mistake of his life and reign David is known for his sin with Bathsheba but I contend brothers and sisters that even greater than his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah is the sin david commits in this chapter before us he in his youthfulness can became prey to the passions of his flesh and sin with Bathsheba but now as an old wise experienced godly man he made his greatest mistake when he numbered the people of Israel this is a warning church children are often foolish but so are adults young people can fall prey to the flesh the world and the devil but so can old people immature people make big mistakes but the most mature person in this room is still capable of making big mistakes here David now an old and wise and godly man made the greatest mistake of his life the text begins the story by telling us in first chronicles 21 verse 1 then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel Satan was behind this this is one of the three direct references in the Old Testament to an appearance of Satan he doesn't show up much in the Old Testament he shows up in Joel chapter 1 and 2 where he goes before God ask him for permission to afflict Joel he shows up in Zechariah chapter 3 verses 1 & 2 where before the heavenly Court he accuses before God the high priest of Israel whose name was Joshua and now the Texas Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel the parallel passage 2nd Samuel chapter 24 tells us the God's anger was aroused against Israel and God put it in David's heart to number Israel this is the mystery of God's exhaustive sovereignty James 1 tells us in verse 13 of James 1 that God never attempts any man but getting Matthew 6 verse 12 Jesus teaches us to pray and lead us not into temptation this is the mystery of the exhaustive sovereignty of God God is not the source of evil but God is so in control that he can use a bad thing to produce a good result here we see a mystery of God in His sovereignty permitting Satan to do evil and David sins and is held responsible for his own actions Satan says the text stood against Israel I was just gripped by that terminology when I first read it then that kind of blow you away Satan listen to the anthropomorphic language he stood do you imagine that Satan standing up the suggestion there is both bad news and good news the good news here is that the text suggests that Satan cannot do what he desires if God doesn't permit him to stand up we say the devil is busy but maybe he ain't as busy as we think he is have you ever thought about the day the world could be so much worse if the devil really had his way but we've been protected from some things that the devil wanted to do because God literally says you better sit down devil God makes the devil sit down that's the good news but bad news is there are times when God permits Satan to stand up I don't know about your experience but seems to me he can do enough trouble sitting down what is it like when Satan stands up concentrates all of his effort and attention and forces against the people of God this is what we find in the text when did Satan stand up against Israel and David the first word of verse 21 says then that ties chapter 21 to verses 18 through 20 where there is one battle after another David faces but God gives them victory in every one in fact at the end of chapter 20 there is a battle against the age-old nemesis of Israel the Philistines who are being led by the brother and descendants of the giant Goliath that's why you better not celebrate too much after a victory because as soon as you get through fighting one battle another battle is on the way and don't get too comfortable when you have slayed a giant in your life because you that giant you may kill him but he may God brothers you'll meet again down the road when battle after another rose against David but David had victory over them all then when no man could stand in David's way verse 1 says then Satan stood up we count on man it displeases God but there's a second consequence still in verse 7 God struck Israel I'm getting to the end of this look at verse well it's a it's a reference back to verse three because Joe I've told them if you do that you're gonna bring guilt on Israel and that's what happened and then it's pointing forward to verse 14 because verse 14 says that the Lord sent pestilence on Israel and when God sent pestilence like that seventy thousand men fell dead y'all are not listening David sins because he starts counting on his people God sends pestilence and in a flash takes out more than 70,000 of them as a warning about counting oh man because why you adding up God knows how to subtract to let you know you ain't as big and as bold and as bad as you think you are and God wasn't done the Bible says look at the very next verse verse 15 then God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it but as he was about to destroy it God said you countin folk let me let me take the folk out and see who you gonna count on man while he was about to destroy it the Lord saw and he relented from the calamity God says you count no man I'm gonna take man out and see what you do then but right before the angel of the Lord wiped out Jerusalem the City of David the Bible says the Lord saw saw what age be glad you axe the text doesn't tell us I have a guest though I can't prove it you can't disprove it so just play along with me for just a minute I think God saw David the same one that provoked God's anger provoked God's mercy David was a man after God's own heart that doesn't mean David was perfect it just means he had a godly heart and there were times when David would mess up for and make David a man after God's own heart is that when David messed up he didn't do like we do he didn't hide and cover and pretend and wear a mask and put on the show and play it off and and be a hypocrite pretending to be in front of people what we know we are not in front of God you don't you don't get free from guilt by running from God the only way you get free from guilt is by running to God this is what David did look at verse 8 David said to God I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing but now please take away the iniquity of your servant for I have acted very foolishly Lord hold my mind for just a few more moments listen to what David says David says when God got mad he didn't blame nobody hearing point the finger he said Lauren look it was me I did it I was I was a fool and lot I'm just asking that you have mercy God sent the rest of that paragraph says God sent GAD to seer that's the second prophet that minister to David Nathan and GAD where personal ministers to David GAD came from the Lord with a message there's no message like this in all of the Bible give me just a moment to explain it to you because you'll never see anything like this anywhere in Scripture God is about to punish David for your sin but God never does this anywhere else but here he sends the Prophet to David it says God is gonna punish you for what you did and he sent me to tell you that he's gonna let you choose your own punishment look at verse 12 you got three choices you have three years famine three months the devastation of your folds while the sword of your enemies overtake you or you have three days the sword of the Lord with pestilence in the land and the angel of the Lord destroying the territory of Israel you got three choices three years of famine three months of your enemies prevailing over you with their swords or three days suffering at the sword of the Lord you got three choices tell me which one you won't so I can go back and report it to the one that sent me but now David has learned how to count right mmm-hmm you don't learn how to count now because David never picks one of the three options I'm finished cuz my heart is getting happy just thinking about this listen to what he does this is what he says I got three options this ain't simple math he's doing some some hard arithmetic now he didn't figure this thing I listened when I said I got three choices but he said imma put the three choices in two categories three choices but two categories I can fall in the hands of man or I can fall in the hands of God and in verse 13 I'm gonna let you alone David says I'm in great distress I'm in a tight situation I'm caught between a rock and a hard place all three of these choices sound bad I don't know which to choose but let me just let me just change the category go back and tell the Lord wherever he gonna do don't let me fall into the hands of man let me fall into the hands of the Lord why you want to be in the hands of the Lord because in the Lord's hand he says that's not just my city there's great mercy have I got a witness when you fall in the hands of man they'll never let you out live what you did wrong but I'm glad to tell you in the hands of the Lord there is mercy I was a generally good kid I tried to stay out of trouble but if I did get in trouble I would much prefer to be whipped by my dad then my mom some of y'all looking to fuse you young people I'm gonna say what I mean if we messed up we got whipped I ain't about no timeout I ain't talking about no taking away your iPhone I ain't even talked about no spanking I only ain't never had a spanking I got whipped I can't tell you how bad I got whipped my mama old woman I don't want them coming after my mama trying to rest my mama for what she did my mama's a little woman I didn't want to be whipped by my mama my mama being a little woman would find the biggest thing she could whip us with to compensate for her being a little woman I didn't want to be worked by my mama my mama was one of those historical whip us she she didn't she didn't just whip you for what you just did she whipped you for what you did last month and that thing last week you should have got a whipping for and I let you off the hook we gonna get that to in this one I didn't want to be whipped by my mama because my mama was one of those talking whip us now pick one let fuss at me or with me but don't do both don't give me a long speech and then coordinate the whipping wit the speech didn't I tell you not to do that I'm through I want my mom a little woman but I don't want to be whipped by my I remember the worst whipping I ever got my daddy had to pull my mama off of me say Ellen that's enough my daddy was a strong man he rarely had to work me because I was just scared of my daddy and that's a good thing I ain't in jail today cuz I was scared of my daddy I know that's right I went to school with 3000 kids in LA hi I'm trying to quit I don't mean to be going here I went to LA high with 3,000 students there they had to teach us strike and they kept the school open and all the kids ditched and it was ten students showed up in one class and I was one of them sitting right there I wasn't going come on HBO uh yeah I gotta go home to my daddy you don't know my daddy my daddy was a strong man when my daddy would whip me it would be very severe but I prefer my daddy to whip me because no matter how bad it was if I cried loud enough if I told him I'm sorry and I won't do it anymore he'd go easy on me can you hear David saying I got three options but I really only got two choices Lord don't leave me in mother nature's hands and Lord don't leave me in man's hand but leave me in the hands of the Lord thank you for listening I hope you were blessed if you are in the Jacksonville area please join us for worship Sunday at 7:45 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. service

Channel: Cutting It Straight with H.B. Charles Jr.

Views: 10,293

Rating: 4.9636364 out of 5

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Id: qs555Msnpv0

Length: 28min 32sec (1712 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 26 2015