Harvest Pointe Christian Church, Milford Ohio is a non-denominational Christian Church (Church of Christ) on the Eastside of Cincinnati OH

His Devious Intent | Series: Terrorist Alert! | 11-01-09

His Devious Intent
Series:  Terrorist Alert!:  Knowing the Enemy
Job 1-2

  I. Satan intends to distract me with the temporary.
 II. Satan intends to destroy me with suffering.
         A. Satan uses nature.
         B. Satan uses people.
         C. Satan uses sickness.
III. Satan intends to discourage me with accusations.

Full Text 

For some reason, we don't talk a lot about Satan.  Josh is great about choosing songs for our services.  But did you notice that he didn't come up with a single song about Satan?  Maybe he needs to go Heavy Metal.  Can't you see Josh in a Ky. Blue and White Mohawk?  Maybe then he could lead some songs about Satan!

Have you noticed that Satan has begun a serious persecution of our Church?  Last Sunday the Bengals scheduled a game during our Trunk-or-Treat!  And to rub salt into the wound, the offense scored 43 points and the defense only gave up 1 touch down and that was at the end of the game when the 5th string was in!  Pure evil!

And then Wednesday Evening, UK scheduled the annual Blue and White game during our small group!  It has to be a sinister plot to frustrate us!

Seriously, we're in a series about the ultimate terrorist, Satan.  We don't talk about him very often.  It makes many people uncomfortable.  And when they do talk about him, people often go to one extreme or the other.

C. S. Lewis, one of the great thinkers of the last century, wrote, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence; the other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both error and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight."

So we want to be careful this morning that we don't give Satan too much attention.  There is a danger in turning the spotlight on him because evil and darkness can have an unhealthy attraction.  Satan would like nothing more than for us to come to church and walk out thinking more of him than he really is.

Do you know what Satan wants?  He wants us to think of him as God's counterpart, as God's evil equal.  So, just a reminder from the beginning:  These 2 are not even in the same league.

I don't think most of us fall into the category of excessive interest when it comes to Satan and his demons.  Instead, we probably would be what CS Lewis calls a materialist.  In other words, we're so caught up in what is seen, the material, that we live naively unaware of the unseen, supernatural forces that are all around us.  And most people prefer to stay that way.  Should we really be talking about Satan?  Aren't there better topics to spend our time on?  What if Satan doesn't like it?

George Barna is a well-known pollster.  He says that while over-whelmingly Americans believe in the existence of God, 60% of Americans would say that Satan is not a real being, that he is just like a symbol for evil.

If that's how you feel about Satan, he is happy with that.  Because if you're not going to make the mistake of overestimating his power-and that would be a mistake-then he would prefer you just live unaware of his strategies and how he's at work around you.  So, we want to keep a balance in all we do here.

There is a verse of Scripture that is very popular.  I like to use it a lot myself.  It's John 10:10.  "… I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  I love this verse.  It tells us that Jesus didn't come to take the fun out of life.  He came to give us a full, rich life.

But it always appears like you see it on the screen.  Did you notice those 3 dots before the words begin?  Do you know what they mean?  They represent something that was left out.  Yes, sometimes people do that so they can twist or deceive.  But by and far most of the time a part is left out because it is not necessary for the meaning of the text.  Sermons can be too long any way!  In this case, you can understand this part of the verse without the first part.

But the first part is still important.  We used it last week with the dots after.  It looked like this:  John 10:10.  "The thief [Satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy…."  This is the disturbing part.

This verse is a contrast between Satan and Jesus.  John 10:10 in its entirety says, "The thief [Satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." 

Now, you can see why these 2 clauses are often separated.  If you are talking about Satan, Jesus bringing a full life usually isn't part of the thought.  If you are talking about a full life in Jesus, Satan stealing, killing, and destroying usually doesn't apply.

So, the good news is Jesus came so we could live an abundant life.  But the reality is, Satan is trying to steal that life from us and destroy us.

Did you catch the order of what Satan wants to do to you?  He wants to steal that full life from you.  He wants to kill you.  Yes, he wants to see you die physically.  But then it gets worse.  He wants to destroy you.  He wants you in Hell with him forever.  Aren't you glad Jesus came to thwart his plan?

We're calling this series, Terrorist Alert!:  Knowing the Enemy.  As we come to know the enemy better, let's keep it balanced.  Don't obsess over Satan, but don't pretend he doesn't exist, either.  Don't focus so much on what he can do to you and forget about what the more powerful Jesus does for you.

Turn in your Bibles to the book of Job.  The book of Job is a good place to go when you are suffering.  Job experienced a lot of heartache all at once.  But the book of Job also gives some insight into the source of our pain:  The ultimate terrorist, Satan.

Let's begin by seeing what type of man Job was.  Job 1:1.  "In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil."

Job is a God-fearing man who walked his talk.  You couldn't find a better person.  And not only was he a good, righteous man he had a lot of other things going for him.

Verse 2.  "2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East."

Here is a family man who was rich and powerful.  Job has 11,000 animals to graze.  That means his holdings spread over one huge hunk of land.  He was the Bill Gates of his time.

But here's the question:  Does any of this bother Satan?  Does Satan not like it when we are financially prosperous and living a carefree lifestyle?

Actually, that doesn't bother him at all.  We usually think of wealth and health as blessings from God…which they are…  But make no mistake about it, they can also be some of Satan's most potent weapons.

First of all,
I. Satan intends to distract me with the temporary.

If I am caught up with the temporary then I will have no time for the eternal.  If all my needs are being met, then I don't need to be dependent on God.

CS Lewis wrote a really neat book entitled The Screwtape Letters.  In this book he imagines a demon named Screwtape mentoring another demon named Wormwood.  He writes this book as if it were
letters between these two demons.

In the very first chapter of the book, Screwtape is advising Wormwood on the importance of distracting his man, which they refer to as a patient.

Listen to what Screwtape writes to Wormwood.  "I once had a patient, a sound atheist, and one day he sat reading something that was going to turn his mind in the wrong direction. The enemy (meaning an angel of God) was at his elbow in a moment and before I knew it I saw my twenty years of work beginning to totter." The demon writes, "I struck instantly at the part of the man which I had best under my control, and I suggested that it was about time he had some lunch." And he goes on to advise Wormwood that if his patient…if his man should enter a church, the best thing to do is to distract him with a squeaky boot, with a double chin, or the odd clothing of the person sitting next to him.

That's Satan's intention, to turn our focus towards what is urgent, what is temporary, what is trivial.  If he can distract us then he has us.

And a lot of us have bought into this.  We've bought into thinking that life is really about meeting a deadline, finishing a job, or not missing the latest episode of Monk, or not missing the next Bengal's game.  Satan seeks to distract us.

Have you ever sat down to pray and you're determined to talk to God for awhile?  So you begin and you say, "Dear Lord, thank you for this beautiful day that you've given us.  It's a beautiful time of year.  The leaves are falling to the ground.  In fact, they're all over the ground.  My yard is covered.  My neighbors have all raked their leaves.  I'm the only one who hasn't.  With the time change the sun is setting so much earlier.  If I don't go out and rake them right now they won't get raked."

And you don't even know what happens, but the next thing you're aware of you're outside raking leaves and you're not even praying while you do it!  How did it happen?  Satan distracted you.

Or you're driving along in your car and you begin to pray.  The radio is barely on.  You start to pray and the next thing you know the radio is cranked up and you're singing, "God of Wonders" at the top of your lungs.  How did it happen?  Satan distracted you.

You're sitting in your house.  You decide you're going to read your Bible, and in the other room there's a game on television.  It's not a big game.  It's just a game…but it's a game.  So you think, "I can read this later."

Or you're in church.  The Communion emblems are passed - the bread and the juice.  It gets you thinking, "Where should we eat after church this morning?  Why can't they make these a little bit bigger because I'm hungry about now!"

Or maybe you're sitting in church and you're listening to the sermon and you're trying to focus and you look over and you notice for the first time… "My husband's beard is getting gray!"

Satan.  He wants to distract us with things that are unimportant.  The Bible talks about the Word of God being "choked out by the pleasures of this world."

I've read that the Chinese Church, which is very persecuted, prays for the Churches in America.  Do you know what they pray for?  They pray that we will experience persecution.  They understand how deadly distractions can be.  I wish they'd stop praying like that  It very well may be coming!

Philip Yancy points this out in his book, A Hunger for God:   "The greatest enemy of a hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It's not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven but the endless nibbling at the table of the world. It's not the X-rated video but the prime time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, his most deadly weapons are not the poison of evil but the simple pleasures of earth. They are your basic meat and potatoes, coffee and gardening, reading and decorating, traveling, investing, TV watching, internet surfing, shopping, exercising and collecting…"

All of these things can be deadly weapons in the hands of Satan.  You see, Satan does not have to convince you that there is no God or there is no Heaven or no Hell, if he can just convince you that there is no hurry.  He knows distractions can lead to your ultimate destruction.

Job was different.  Job had not let the worldly wealth or success distract him.  Instead, we read of Job that he was blameless and pure.  He feared God.  He shunned evil.

Then in verse 8 his life takes a turn as we read about this conversation between God and Satan that takes place in the heavenly realms.  Beginning with Verse 8 we read,
"8 Then the LORD said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.'
9 'Does Job fear God for nothing?' Satan replied. 10 'Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
12 The LORD said to Satan, 'Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.'
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD."

Next we are going to see how
II. Satan intends to destroy me with suffering.

If Satan can't distract me, then he's going to try and destroy me with suffering.  The book of Job reveals a few ways he does this.

Job 1:13-19. "13 One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, 'The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!'
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, 'The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!'
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, 'The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off.  They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!'
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, 'Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!'"

Tragedy upon tragedy.  Job loses it all.  His wealth and power are gone.  But worst of all, his children are gone.

Did you catch how Job's children were killed?  A powerful wind.  A tornado strikes.  And how were the sheep destroyed?  Fire from the sky.  Was it lightning?  Orwas it like Sodom and Gomorrah?

Either way, we see that
A. Satan uses nature.

Satan uses nature to make us suffer.  That shouldn't surprise us. I John 5:19 says, "the whole world is under the control of the evil one."

We need to be careful when we talk about Satan being in control of nature because if we're not careful we'll start to see the Devil behind every disaster and we'll think he is behind every sneeze.  But on the other hand we had better not be naïve about the things he does.

When there is a tornado, or hurricane, or flood, or earthquake, or a lightning strike, or whatever, what is it called by the insurance companies, the media, the lawyers, and the government?  An "act of God."  God is blamed.

And how many times have you heard someone questioning, "Why did God do this to me?"  Maybe you've questioned that yourself.  We tend to blame God.

And other people are more sensible.  They point out we live in a fallen world that has been ruined by sin.  It just happens.

But how often have you heard someone blame Satan?  All 3 of these reasons for natural disasters are valid possibilities.  But, why is it we never think to blame Satan?  Without him it would never have happened, no matter which cause is true.

Now, there's something else Satan uses to cause suffering.
B. Satan uses people.

How did Job lose all his donkeys, oxen, and camels?  Remember, it was raiding parties.  They were stolen by people.  Satan used some wicked people to wipe out Job's great wealth.

Even though wicked men robbed Job blind,
the real enemy behind it all was not flesh and blood.  The raiders were simply tools in Satan's hands.

Remember last week when we looked at Ephesians 6:12?  "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against [what?] … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

There will be people that Satan will use to oppose you and try to destroy you, but remember who the real enemy is.  Your real enemy is not your unbelieving spouse who refuses to come to church with you.  Your real enemy is not your teacher who belittles your faith. Your real enemy is not the person your child is dating.  Your real enemy is not your co-worker who stabs you in the back.  It is not the relative who gossips about you.  It's not your ex-wife who was unfaithful or your ex-husband who was abusive.  Satan would love to fill your heart with hatred and bitterness towards them, but , in Matthew 5:44, Jesus told us to "… Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

The Church has an enemy but our real enemy is not the judge who tries to rid the country of all things Christian.  Our real enemy is not the Muslim extremist.  Our real enemy is not the owner of the adult bookstore.  Our real enemy is not the talk-show host who openly mocks our faith.  Satan would love for the Church to be filled with bitterness and hatred and for us to make war on them instead of showing them the love of Jesus which they so desperately need.  May we never forget who the real enemy is.

Another tool in his arsenal.
C. Satan uses sickness.

In Job chapter 2 Satan again goes before God.  This time he wants to hurt Job himself.  Again God grants the testing.

Verse 7.  "7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes."

Job is now in great pain.  But he still holds on to his faith in God.  That can be hard to do.  I've watched people suffer physically.  It can really wear them down.  Satan will do everything he can to make you suffer and turn from God.

One last thing.  If Satan can't distract me with the temporary or destroy me with suffering,
III. Satan intends to discourage me with accusations.

One of Satan's names in Scripture is the Accuser.  In Revelation 12:10 he is called, "… the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night…"  He's constantly accusing us with no basis.  He just keeps throwing out accusation after accusation.

He'll say, "Look at what you've done.  Why should God listen to your prayers?"
He'll whisper, "How many times do you think you can ask for forgiveness for that sin?  Maybe this was one too many.
"You can't share your faith with that person, not with a past like yours."

And Satan even accuses God.  "If God really loved you, He wouldn't let something like this happen."
"Why do you keep praying?  God's not listening.  God doesn't really care about you or your problems."
"After all you've done for God, and this is the way he treats you?"

And Satan even accuses God of not being any more powerful than he is.  He wants us to think of him as God's counterpart, as God's evil equal.  But Satan isn't even close to being in God's league.  Did you notice that Satan has to keep getting permission from God?  God is the one who is all-powerful.  Satan is not.

Here is another often asked question.  "Why would God grant permission to allow Satan to attack a good person?"  That's a difficult question to answer, but in a nutshell, in Job's case, it was to prove Job's faithfulness and his love for God.  It has also brought comfort to millions as they go through suffering.  We just trust that God will bring good from our suffering.

We began by talking about balance.

We looked at John 10:10.  "The thief [Satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy; [but in the greatest contrast] I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Satan intends to distract me with the temporary and Jesus intends to focus me on what's eternal.   Satan intends to destroy me with suffering, and Jesus intends to strengthen me with suffering.  Satan intends to discourage me with accusations and Jesus intends to encourage me with grace and truth.  Which will you follow?  The choice is yours.

Just as we have an Accuser, we also have an Advocate.  I John 2:1-2 gives us some wonderful news.  "1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

If you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your  Lord and Savior, this would be a great morning to do it.  When we sing, just come forward.  We'll help you confess your faith and be baptized into Christ.  Or maybe you're ready to make this your church home.  Come forward as we sing.

Based on an 11/6/2005 Kyle Idleman of South East Christian Church , Louisville, Kentucky sermon