Sunday Worship 11.00 am and 6.30 pm Minister: Dr William (Bill) J M Parker
7. Wiles of Devil (4) – Job 1-2:13 (Ephesians 6:10-11) – Suffering – 25/2/18 (am)
Spiritual Warfare
Sermon Date: 25 February 2018 (am)
The Devil's Schemes (4) Suffering -
Ephesians 6:10-13 & Job 1:1 - 2:13
Main Teaching Point:
The Devil may attack us when we suffer, or to cause us to suffer, but we must trust God and worship Him.
There are three main causes of suffering: the devil, living in a sinful world in a decaying body, self. If the devil does not cause our suffering, he may attack us when we suffer. How should we respond? Job has much to teach us.
The Suffering of Job—Background (1:1-5)
• Job was a Godly man (1:1).
• Job was a loving father (1:2, 4-5).
• Job was a wealthy man (1:3).
The Suffering of Job—Satan’s First Attack and Job’s Response (1:6-22)
God boasted about Job to the Satan [adversary]
who responded with a sly challenge (1:8-11). The Lord gave him permission to attack
… and Job lost oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, farmworkers, children. Traumatic! How did Job respond? He worshipped God (1:21).
The Suffering of Job—Satan’s Second Attack and Job’s Response (2:1-10)
With God’s permission the Satan attacked Job’s body. How did Job respond? Without sin (2:9-10).
The Suffering of Job—The Rest of the Story (3-42)
- Job speaks and comforters arrive
(3-31).
Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar believed Job suffered because of his sin. They were wrong!
- Answers to Job (32-41). Elihu believed God was instructing Job (32-37). The Lord rebuked Job for entertaining the idea that God was unjust (38-41).
- Job repents and is blessed (42)
The Suffering of Job—Lessons
1. The Devil may attack Christians
(Ephesians 6:11-12; 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Corinthians 12:7). But always with God’s permission! Satan is God’s Satan
(Martin Luther). If God is good, and He is, and if He permits Satan to attack Christians, and He may, then there must be some good reason behind what He allows (see Romans 8:28).
2. In suffering, Christians must recognise the sovereignty of God and worship Him.
We all experience personal loss, illness, ill-treatment. How should a Christian respond? In faith and worship. (Job 1:20-22; 2:10b; 13:15). As we do we are saying that God is worthy of worship because He is God, not because of blessings He gives. This attitude: shuts Satan’s mouth (1:9-11; 2:4-5); brings glory to God; proves our faith genuine (1 Peter 1:6-7).
3. In suffering Christians should unload emotional pain onto God
(Job 3). Call out to Him.
4. In suffering Christians may speak empty words without knowledge
(38:1-2). We need grace to guard against this.
5. Christians may never discover the reason for their suffering. Like Job.
The Glory of God in our Suffering
The glory of God is more important than our comfort. Puritan John Owen outlived his 11 children. After the death of 10 he wrote, a due contemplation of the glory of Christ will restore and compose the mind … [it] will lift the minds and hearts of believers above all the troubles of this life, and is the sovereign antidote that will expel all the poison that is in them: which otherwise might perplex and enslave their souls.
God is sovereign in our suffering! So we trust Him, worship Him, rely on Him to end our suffering or supply grace to cope. As we do our own mind is composed and we bring glory to Jesus. We defeat this scheme of the devil!
© Dr Bill Parker, 2018