I'm going to ask you this evening to turn to the book of Job. It has been a little while since we've been in this book. Since the beginning of December, I think. And we looked at the first five verses. I want to read the first twelve verses so that we can lay hold of the context And I want to begin by giving you a warning. We are going to be delving into some mystery tonight. There are several mysteries in the Bible. Most of them are bound up with the sovereignty of the God that we love and serve. You can think of mysteries of human responsibility and God's sovereignty, two things that are both taught in the Bible. I was saying to Steve before the evening service, those are wonderful truths to delve into. And I said, my mind is very simple. I delve into it a little bit and then I just leave it with the Lord. He is an awesome and holy God. The mystery that we are going to delve into tonight is God's sovereignty in sin. And our God is a powerful God, so much so that in His providence, He even uses sin for His glory. That does not mean He is the cause of sin. That does not mean we can lay sin at His feet. That just means He is so great in His sovereignty that the sins that we commit And the persecution that we sometimes endure at the hands of Satan is all under his sovereign control and he is working out everything for our good and his glory. Isn't he awesome? He's an awesome God. Well, before we read this passage of Scripture, and I hope it is an encouragement to you this evening, I intend it to be that, let's just turn to our God in prayer. Heavenly Father, we confess that we need Your mind this night. We need the mind of Christ. We need the mind of the Holy Spirit. We want to thank You for leaving Your Holy Spirit with us to indwell us and also to be our teacher. May we listen to Him well this evening. And may He do that wonderful work of taking Your Word and penetrating our hearts with it. And we ask these things that Jesus Christ might be glorified in lives that are lived to Him. Amen. 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. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning, he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. This was Job's regular custom. One day, the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, where have you come from? Satan answered the Lord from roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it. Then the Lord said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? There was no one on earth like him. He is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 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, but stretch out your hand and strike everything he has and he will surely curse you to your face. 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. Fascinating passage, isn't it? I can't tell you how much it bugs me when I hear people giving simplistic answers which are often cliché and dogmatic to the difficult questions of this life. It's one of my pet peeves. It really gets under my skin. I want you to take, for example, the following scenario. There is a believing woman dying of an incurable disease. And like any human being, she wonders why this trial has come upon her. Naturally, her pastor, being the good pastor that he is, visits her. And in the course of their conversation, she poses a couple of really difficult questions out of the anguish of her heart. Who is behind my troubles? Who is to blame for what I'm going through? How would you answer those questions? What should this particular pastor say? You know, I've heard a couple of common answers that really bug me to this question. The first answer is this. You are the one who is behind your troubles. The reason for your suffering is because you have unconfessed sin in your life. Now, that may be true. However, the answer is too simplistic and it does not take into account all the biblical data that relates to human suffering, does it? Or you can hear this answer, it's Satan. Satan is the one that is behind your troubles. This is a spiritual battle that you are enduring. This is not God's will for you. The deceiver is persecuting you because of your faith. That may be true too. If God's will, the pastor means by that, the will of His desire, and not the will of His decree, However, again, the answer there, it is too simplistic and does not take into account all of the biblical data regarding human suffering, does it? And my friends, giving simplistic answers to difficult questions simply will not do. This is not being true to the whole counsel of God. A biblically faithful answer to such a difficult question like that woman posed should start something like this. I don't know why this is happening to you. I really don't. It may be because of some sin in your life. It may be because Satan is persecuting you. I don't know what the immediate cause of your trouble is, but I do know this." Can you finish it? We're going to finish it tonight. I do know this. And the rest of that counsel brings with it such solid comfort to the believer in Jesus Christ. It will become apparent in just a moment. But while simplistic answers are always bad counsel, let me say this. Simple answers are not. I want us to consider the question again. Who is behind our troubles? And I want us to attempt to answer it simply. Can you? Who is behind our troubles? Well, let me say this. God is behind our troubles. Do you believe it? He is a sovereign God. He is in control of all things. That is not to say that we can lay sin at His feet. I'm speaking here in an ultimate sense. Do we believe that He is a sovereign God working out all things for the good of the church and for His glory? He is. He is. Isaiah 45, verse 7, we read, I form the light and create darkness. I bring prosperity and create disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things. What an amazing statement that is. Can you plumb the depths of that statement and understand it and preserve God in His goodness and in His holiness? I can't. But He is. He's good. He's holy and He's in control of everything, of all things. He is the sovereign God. And if there is one truth above all else that this text teaches us, it is this particular truth. This text is a primer on the sovereignty of Almighty God. It tells us that He is the Lord. We do not live in some sort of dualistic cosmos with the dark force battling the force of light. God is God and there is no one else like Him. He does all that He pleases. He works all His holy will. This passage declares to us that God is in control. What comfort there is in that. And brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, we need to grab ahold of this truth and really embrace it in our hearts. The reason I say this is because I've seen too many who profess to believe in this, but as soon as troubles come their way, they toss their belief in the sovereignty of God right out the window. Gone in an instant. But if we truly possess this doctrine, we will be those who continue to worship God, come what may, no matter what troubles come, knowing again that He has our best interests at heart and His glory in view. I want us to look at this passage under the following headings. The presentation of the angels. The premise of the accuser and the permission of the Almighty. And we're going to glean some lessons as we go along the way. The presentation of the angels we find in verses 6 and 7. Interesting passage of Scripture. One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord. And Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, where have you come from? Satan answered the Lord, from roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it. You will notice, and this is why I read from verse 1, that we've switched scenes. We've gone from the earth, the material realm, into the spiritual realm. And the transition here is very important. It reminds us that we are caught up in the grand drama of redemptive history. And what we experience here as individuals on this earth, it is not separated from what is going on in the spiritual realms. There's a great battle going on in the spiritual realms. The book of Revelation speaks to us. An entire section, one of the seven, speaks to this. And this is critically important for us to understand and to remember as we go through the many trials and the many troubles that come our way. Something is happening behind the scenes. There is a battle going on in the spiritual realms. I also want us to notice throughout this scene that God is in the driver's seat. He is the one that is on the offensive. He is the one that is in control. He is the one that is taking the initiative. It's assembly day in heaven. The angels, literally the sons of God, are summoned before their master to give an account of their whereabouts and what they've been up to and to receive new commands. Satan, literally the accuser, He's also been summoned. Now, you'll recall, he was once an angel. But eventually, he exchanged love of God for love of what? Love of self. Oh, he was proud. And though only present by invite, I picture him as storming in among them as if he owned the place. Can you picture him like that? He's like a Judas among Jesus' disciples or a Malagant among King Arthur's knights. Well, you're not familiar with the Arthurian legend, are you? Malagant was the first knight, the strongest of all those knights, but eventually he got fed up with the law of Camelot and Camelot's King Arthur, and eventually he wanted to live his life and go his own way. But occasionally, Arthur would invite him back. Well, that's what Satan's like. Now, a dialogue here between God and Satan begins. And it is very apparent that they know each other all too well. They are the bitterest of enemies. And the exchange between them, it's not just shooting the breeze. Honor is at stake here. That's the point of the discussion. And if we examine the dialogue closely, we will recognize that claims are being made of who really is the king of the world. God has a question. Where have you come from? Does God know Satan's whereabouts? I'm asking the question. Yes, I see some heads nodding. Yes, he does. He knows exactly where he's been and what he's been up to. His question is meant to bait the accuser and point him to the fact that though man fell into sin, there are already evidences in the world that the reversal of the fall and the reign of God's grace has begun. Where have you come from? So he asks, where have you been? What have you been up to? Have you found anyone worthy of your attention? Satan's answer is equally interesting and informative from roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it. Satan is conveying the idea here that he's just generally racing around the earth without finding anyone whom he can set his attention on. Nobody's worth his time. It is a challenge to God. And he demonstrates in that challenge his immense pride and huge ego. I haven't been anywhere in particular, God. I haven't been up to anything in particular. I haven't found a single soul worthy of my attention. I've just been making a general nuisance of myself. Yeah? Things are going on in the world exactly like I like them to be going. Of course, God has not let this go, as we shall see. And we will pick up where we left off in a few moments. But may I remind you of something for your encouragement. This entire scene. What we witness here in this exchange between Satan and God, it no longer occurs. It doesn't occur any longer. That was then. This is now. Listen closely. Christ's birth. His life. His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His coronation and His reign for us means that Satan's work has been destroyed in principle. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 1 John 3, verse 8. And part of that destruction is Satan's banishment from the throne room of heaven. He no longer has access to God. Oh, I'm repeating a truth that I preached about when we went through Revelation, I know. But let me remind you about it for your encouragement. When Jesus lived on this earth, He anticipated this. Turn in your Bibles to Luke 10, verses 17-20. Luke 10, 17-20. The 72 return with joy and said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name. He replied, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I believe that is prophetic vision there. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions. Interesting is wording, isn't it? And to overcome all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the Spirit submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. And when Jesus was crowned in heaven, my friends, that is when Satan fell. He no longer has access to God. Jesus Christ saw this. Turn in your Bibles to Revelation 12, verses 7-9. Revelation 12, verses 7-9. This is after Jesus Christ, the Son, was caught up to the glory. who is crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And then we read the narrative. And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was not strong enough and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down. That ancient serpent called the devil or Satan who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth and his angels with him. You see, as far as the history of the angels and particularly the demons are concerned, there are two parts to that history. There is a dividing line. The German commentator Kiel put it this way, the realm of spirits must have a history which is divided into two eras by Christ's triumph. The theological significance of this is that the accuser of our souls can no longer accuse us legitimately. Do we understand that? He can no longer accuse us legitimately. Jesus Christ has paid it all. Oh, He loves to accuse us. He's still the accuser. But when He accuses us as believers in Jesus Christ, He is doing so falsely. And yes, sometimes we listen to Him. But we need to look to Jesus Christ when He does that. And we need to picture in our mind's eye that One who is sitting at the right hand of God, crowned in the glory, the victorious King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the one who conquered Satan. Christ has for sin atonement made. What a wonderful Saviour. We are redeemed. The price is paid. What a wonderful Saviour. Though we do fall, let us always rest secure in the completed work of our blessed Saviour, Jesus Christ. The presentation of the angels. Well, we see the premise of the accuser here. The premise of Satan in verses 8-11. 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. Does Job fear God for nothing? Satan replied. 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. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." A duel is happening here. It is continuing. We need to back up for a second and see where we left off. Satan had said from roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it, that arrogant, angelic being. And now we need to witness God's thrust here. Have you considered My servant, Joe? Remember, the battle is about who has dominion in the world. Again, we need to notice here how it is God who takes the initiative. It is God who is on the offensive. And here what He does is He points to evidence of His reign of grace in the earth. Lucifer. That's what you used to be called. Angel of light. You missed someone obvious. Job. Why haven't you considered Him? Why not set your heart on Him? You will find that He is proof positive that I am gradually and increasingly reversing the effects of the fall, and in the end, I am going to consummate my glory in the earth. Have you looked at Job lately? As an aside, don't you find it amazing how God describes Job? It's a repeat of what we have seen in the narration earlier. A man who is blameless and upright, one who fears God and shuns evil. Yet this is the Almighty God speaking now. And to me, that is so wonderful. Because if we are believers in Jesus Christ, He says that of us. Have you considered so-and-so? That believer? He is blameless and upright. He fears God and shuns evil. Does that amaze you? That God looks at us in that way? Mike Mason, who wrote a book, The Gospel According to Job, wrote these words. They're very touching. Is there not something shocking about this statement of God? Something almost flatly unacceptable? That the holy and awesome Creator of the universe should declare of a mere man, a man obviously flawed, that he finds not the slightest fault in Him? And that the same God should then deliberately set out to defend this man against any and all detractors? Yet right here lies the unsearchable mystery of the gospel, my friends. For this same condition of imputed, impeccable righteousness is not only humanly possible, but is an established fact for every believer in the Messiah of God. Amen. Well, that's God's thrust. Have you considered my servant Job? No one like him in the earth. Look at Satan's parry. Imagine it like fencing, like a duel. Does Job fear God for nothing? Satan says. You see, Satan here is emboldened with the ease through which he caused Adam and Eve to fall. And so he challenges God. And what he is doing here is he is denying that any true piety exists in the earth whatsoever. He insists that God is mistaken. Job, huh, he doesn't count. His faith has cost him nothing. The only reason he fears you and shuns me is because you're protecting him. You've given him a wife and ten beautiful children, seven boys, three girls. You've given him material prosperity like nobody else in the world. You've given him good health. You take any of these things away from him and you'll see who owns this man's soul. That's Satan's challenge. You'll see you have no influence on the earth. He will curse you to your face and he will say adios. So long. That is what it means to curse God. Now, let's give Satan's challenge a little bit of a holiday flavor. I know we're past Christmas. Originally, I was supposed to preach this before Christmas, but I believe the illustration still holds. Dr. Seuss's classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Well, where's the illustration in that, Pastor? Do you remember the Grinch's premise in the story? Who has read The Grinch? Some of you will not admit it. Shame on you. Well, what was his premise in the story? It was this. You take away all the goodies, all the food, and all the presents from the Who's down in the Whoville, and the spirit of Christmas will be no more. That's exactly what he did. And then he waited up on Mount Crumpit to see what would happen. Do you remember the story? Let me read some of it for you. They're finding out now, this is the Grinch speaking, that no Christmas is coming. They're just waking up. I know just what they'll do. Their mouths will hang open a minute or two. Then the Who's down in Whoville will all cry, Boo! Hoo! So he paused. And the Grinch put a hand to his ear and he did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in loathe and it started to grow. But the sound wasn't sad. Why, the sound, it sounded glad. Every who down in Whoville, though tall and the small, was singing without any presence at all. He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming. It came somehow or other. It came just the same. And the Grinch, with his Grinch feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling. How could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. Satan was going to find this out too. That once God locks hold on someone's heart, he can never, ever be wrested from the Savior's hand. But in the meantime, we see his premise is exactly like the Grinch. You take away Job's hedge. You take away all those bells and all those whistles. And his faith in you will be shown to be a sham. You know, I thought about this for a little bit. I thought about Job's situation and our situation, and Satan does make a very good point, doesn't he? What if, what if, in this current economic crisis, everything was taken away from us? What if we had nothing? I said to my kids, what if we had to live out in a cardboard box on the street and just depend on charity? What if it was like that? What if, God forbid, one of our loved ones died, or perhaps our entire family was taken away from us? How would we relate to God then? We need to ask ourselves the questions, dear believers in Christ, do I only fear God because He has prospered me? And He has prospered us, make no mistake. Is that the only reason I fear Him? Do I serve God with pure motives or am I in it only as long as the blessings flow?" Heart-searching question. Well, we know if we are truly His, we will worship Him come what may. The premise of the accuser. The permission of the Almighty comes in v. 12. This is very important. We need to understand this. 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. God knows his man, doesn't he? Job is among the redeemed whose faith cannot ultimately fail. And so God jumps at the opportunity to glorify himself through this man. We don't see that in the NIV translation very well then. Sounds like a little bit of a concession, doesn't it? Sounds like Satan has somehow tricked God into this trial upon Job. But remember, God has been initiating this all the way along. And the word there really is full of excitement on the part of God. It's elsewhere translated, behold, behold. Here He is. He's all yours, Satan. I've placed everything He has with the exception of His person under your power. And we will see who is right. We will see who is vindicated in the end. God permits the test. Everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself, do not lay a finger. And Satan, of course, is delighted at God's permission. He quickly exits the scene like a man on a mission determined to prove his point. But he is self-deceived and he will be sadly disappointed. But again, I want us to notice here, dear friends, that our God is in control of everything. Nothing falls outside His divine power or His sovereign will. Even Satan and sin, all those activities, they fall under the sway of God's awesome sovereignty. Job understood this himself. Although, I don't think he knew there was a personal force behind the troubles he was facing. Do you believe it? This is not an isolated text, my friends. You find it throughout the Scriptures. I want us to turn to 1 Kings 22. 1 Kings 22. We're going to read verses 19 to 23. But to set the scene, we've got that wicked King Ahab contemplating a battle. He's got on the horn and he's called down to Jehoshaphat. He's sort of that wishy-washy good king. Always makes these unwise alliances and says, your people are as my people. So, he goes up and he joins Ahab. And they are contemplating attacking a kingdom in the east. So, of course, Ahab gathers around him those prophets that say exactly what he wants to hear. And they all say, go and be victorious, O king. You're going to gore the Arameans. No problem. And Jehoshaphat, who does show wisdom from time to time, isn't there not a prophet of the Lord here? And Ahab says, oh, I don't like him very much. He always prophesies what's bad about me. We'll summon him anyway. And Micaiah comes. And after he's coaxed a little bit, he finally does prophesy in the name of the Lord. He says, you will be struck, Ahab. The sheep around you will be scattered. And Ahab is angry. See, I told you so. He never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad. And Micaiah, he continues in verse 19, Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne with all the hosts of heaven standing around Him on His right and on His left." Another assembly day here. And the Lord said, who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there? One suggested this and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, I will entice him. By what means, the Lord asked. I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets, he said. You will succeed in enticing him, said the Lord. Go and do it. What does Micaiah say? So now the Lord The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you. He's sovereign. Again, we do not lay the charge of sin at His feet. That would be incorrect. Biblically, theologically incorrect. But He's an awesome God and He uses sin for His own purposes. Satan had to ask for permission in the New Testament too. Do you remember what Jesus said to Peter? Peter, that staunch disciple, always saying that he would stand up for Jesus, and Jesus turned to him and He said, Simon, Simon, Satan has what? Asked to sift you like wheat. And don't we not only see God's sovereignty in those instances, but God's sovereignty miraculously displayed at that pivotal point in human history, the cross of Jesus Christ. Who put Him to death there, my friends? Oh yes, the Roman soldiers did. Oh yes, the Sanhedrin did. Oh yes, the Jews did. Peter preached at Pentecost, you with the help of wicked men put Him to death. But ultimately, who was it? God. God put His Son to death. God put His Son to death for the sake of sinners like us. Peter in that Pentecost sermon said, by God's set purpose and foreknowledge, Same sermon. And what did those people do at the end of the sermon? Did they say to Peter, well, why does God hold us to account? He's sovereign and in control of everything. No, they said, what must we do to be saved? They understood their responsibility. They didn't play the two against them. They are both truths. We hold them both dear. Friend, have you repented? Have you sought the Lord while He may be found? Oh, put your faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Back to the point. Our God is sovereign. Sovereign over even Satan's activities. Sovereign over even sin. Now, you may be asking yourself, because this text is really scary, isn't it? You think about us as believers, and you put yourself in Job's shoes. It is scary. And the question may have occurred to you, but Pastor, why does this battle over who is really king have to take place in the sphere of men? Why do God and Satan have to duke it out in this sphere? Can't they choose some other sphere? Can't we be left out of it? Mike Mason, that author that I mentioned, answers the question in this way. The theater of conflict must be one that is appropriate to the display of purely moral qualities. Good and evil. And the only theater that that can happen is in the world and through a redeemed humanity. You see, dear friend, in Jesus Christ, you are caught up in this grand drama of redemption. The question is, how will you and how will I respond? That is really the question for us this evening. I want to remind you of that point again, beloved in Christ. We are caught up in that grand drama. What we experience as individuals here on earth is not separated from what is going on in the spiritual realms. And therefore, my friends, when trouble comes, we need to see it as part of that great conflict between the seed of the woman and the serpent. We need to remember that what God designs to show through us as we endure those trials is that the serpent is doomed. His doom is sure. and that every victory we win in the power of the Spirit is just a pointer to the truth that one day Satan will be ultimately thrown into the lake of fire and the earth will be filled with the glory of God. A passage like this causes us to ask, am I ready to promote God's glory through the troubles He may permit to come into my life? Ask yourself that question. Remember this as well, that though troubles will come and though we will be used in ways that are often mysterious to us for His glory, no temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13. Wonderful promise. And may we respond when troubles do come, simply with trust and obedience as Mary did. Do you remember her response? I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said, or in our case, may it be to me as your providence has decreed. Let's pray. O Lord, these are deep and mysterious passages of Scripture. Deep and mysterious truths. We pray that we would lay hold of them. We pray that we would be comforted in the knowledge that you are sovereign and in control of all things. And, O Almighty God, we do not lay sin at your feet. How could we? We read in your Word that you are three times holy, that you are that good and faithful God. We recognize that you are sovereign enough that even sin and Satan's plans are under your sway. And they can be used for our good. and for Your glory. Lord, strengthen us as a people when we go through the troubles that You bring our way. Help us to be strong. Help us to take that way out when it comes that You provide each and every time. May we never curse You to Your face. May we never say goodbye. But may we hold fast to You, trusting You as Mary did. Trusting in Your providence. Trusting in Your goodness and grace. And Lord, we see through a glass darkly now, and one day we will see this tapestry that you have been weaving, as it ought to be, something glorious. O Lord, help us to live in light of that day. May that thought lift us up in our trials as well. Strengthen us by your Holy Spirit, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.