Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
I. What man may consider of temporal things
A. There is no certainty in wealth.
All men must surely know by now that during the enterprise of life money can certainly make itself wings and flee quickly from us. Markets may rise or fall, and life is filled with unexpectancies. Money may become the strength of some men and the lack thereof the weakness of others. Yet in the day of wrath, dollars cannot provide loving protection as the Heavenly Father can! Why would we base the purpose of our lives solely on wealth? Certainly Job had no certainty in wealth.
B. There is no certainty in health.
And as so many have experienced, life is but a fragile thread. There are many natural causes that brings a man to death and certainly when accidents are taken into account, we see life is not guaranteeing itself to any man. Strong health is not a promise in the physical but in the spiritual. We see as well that Job had no certainty in health.
C. There is no certainty in loved ones.
They may turn astray from us, from God, and from what they know. Every man is commissioned to make free choices of free will. May our choices honor God! Loved ones may be taken from us in great tragedy. There is no certainty in loved ones. Even the wife of Job turned on him. His friends brought him only scorn and ridicule. May we be wary of thinking there is an absolute in loved ones.
D. Satan walks to and fro (1:7).
He is seeking permission to devour the saints of God. His chief motive is to wear out the saints of God, so if he cannot have their soul, he will try to have their testimony. We can be sure satan will tempt us with temporal things. If there lies a price tag on the heart of man, think not that satan will defer to pay that price. To ruin the testimony of a saint is his mission.
May we praise God now for the preservation He has bestowed on us! Else in the ebb and flow of life, we would be washed away into the oblivion of unimportance! Thank the Savior (even now! as we speak!) that He has covered all the transgressions of the saints, and made us to sit at God's royal table. A feast it is, served by the girded Master, offering all the splendors of sonship to us- even now- at a table reserved for the sons of God!
II. What satan may consider of the saints
A. No consideration of well-being
He hates us, for we remind him of Christ. He has no consideration of our well-being but rather longs for our ruin. The Spirit of the Savior dwells in us, forming us into His image! And oh how blessed it is, that God forms us into His image! For if this work was not of God, we could never progress in our Christian life. So then, the more we become like Christ, the more satan hates us.
B. Consideration of God-given grace over sin
1. Forgiveness
Satan wonders, "How can such a foul being as a human, bring God to earth to die for them? Why would such a righteous and holy God forgive such a despicable and rebellious creature? Why should they glory in the hope of eternal bliss and not I?".
2. Happiness
He sees we are a happy people. A people indwelled with the Spirit of Christ. If we be sons, we have the Spirit of God in us, or else we be not sons of God. Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. This is a joy that was once in man at the garden of Eden. As sons of God we have it back being regenerated by the Spirit! Now this joy may seem tainted because of our flesh, yet in a soon-coming day its graces will shine pure and perfectly through all eternity.
When man is passed from death unto life his spirit is resurrected by the same power that brought Christ from the grave! So we see with such a salvation we are a happy people if living at the feet of the Savior! Satan considers this and hates us for it.
3. Faith
We trust God- or so we should. If our faith wavers, it may be because our relationship with the Holy Word has wavered. Satan considers how we trust God still when we perhaps have been ravaged by the circumstances of life; and yet still cling to the Father; as Job our example did.
4. Praise
It is certain we should praise or Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Father who sent Him. "Why should man praise God?" you may ask. Time would fail us to list the innumerable reasons why. Satan sees this praise in which he desires to have for himself, and again, he hates us for it.
C. Flaws to be detected for accusation
We may be sure that since the tempter hates us so, he wishes to accuse us before the throne of God. And if he will accuse us to God, think not that he will not bring it to your mind. Yet to a blood-bought child of God, redeemed in Christ, this accusation is in vain for our sins our washed and covered, not to be remembered by God anymore! "And what if I remember them?" you ask. Not to fear, for God only convicts His sons of unconfessed sin. Believers who live in guilt of sin which they have confessed and forsaken are living under satanic accusation, not Holy Spirit conviction. We may be brought to tears by the loving stir of the Spirit over our corrupt desires and nature, but God repents of judgment when you repent of sin. Let go of your past! God can forgive you justly because of what Christ has done on the cross! He can blot out sin from your remembrance and from the remembrance of others! God needs not to ask of any permission to do this! He may do this as He desires, justly, for Christ has taken our guilt and bought our pardon!
III. What satan may consider for temptation
A. The ebb of effectiveness due to transgression against God
Our influence and effectiveness will greatly decrease if we live in sin so satan may consider how to make sin. In this, if satan causes us to stumble, we have tossed the holy power of God to the swine. If we live in sin, what then? Shall we then try to continue in the power of self? If we try to live in the power of the flesh (which is no power) rather than the power of God then we have manufactured an awful setback in God's work. Satan shall consider how ineffective an unholy believer is in the work of God.
B. The Uniqueness of his approach for each individual (Jm 1:14)
1. Heating of one’s desire as a smith's metal-working
The plan of satan to tempt us will vary from saint to saint for we all have points of temptation that differ one from another. One may fall at one point, where another may think to himself, "How is it that he fell to that particular sin?". We are all drawn away from our own lusts, and satan has studied them. He knows what tempts us. And work our desires he will, heating them. He does this as a blacksmith works his metal to make it bend to his will. The blacksmith heats the metal first, then when it is heated enough, he shapes it. If we are not under the hand of God and submitted to His word, we may be certain our passions may become so inflamed that we fall. Heating our sinful desires with temptation is a tactic used of the devil to make us bend to his sinful will. Oh resist the devil, saint of God! Submit yourself to the Word of God so you may become tempered by this fire and not sinful by it!
2. The plan of isolation or congregation
If you are alone, satan may use this as a way to provoke you. If you are in a crowd, this may be a means of worldly influence to temp you. We must be sober, watchful and pray that God would not lead us into temptation.
3. The type of mood that promotes sinful behavior
If anger shall make you abound is transgression, then satan will do his diligence to trigger this in you. If passion is the emotion that triggers your sinful desires, then beware. The moods that trigger sinful behavior should be resisted, as this too is a method of temptation.
4. The industrially lax man
For the lazy man who has nothing to do, satan will find him something to do. You can be sure that it will not be a godly thing brought before him. To be busy is God's plan. While we must all come apart for a while to rest, we must not be habitually lazy. Idle hands often breed terrible thoughts.
5. Objects of our affection, diverse for all
What you may like, immoral or amoral, satan may use these against us. If it can draw our heart from God, then it may be used as a tool of temptation. And it will be different for us all, because we are all diverse.
IV. What God considers for saints in times of temptation
A. To pray for the brethren (1 Thess 5:25)
We must pray for strength for our brethren! Who knows what temptation they may face today? May we wrap them in holy strength through our prayers. May our prayers cause the breath of God to blow on the flames of their heart, to stoke them to a passion for righteousness this day!
B. Individually, corporately be sober, be vigilant (1 Pet 5:8)
Be aware, for the most subtle of things may be a means in which the deceiver tries to lure us into sin. Be watchful and filled with the Spirit so that God may warn us of impending danger!
C. Be submissive to God, resistant to satan (James 4:7)
If we are to defeat temptation we must put ourselves under the authority of the Holy Scripture. It is so true that if we are living them we cannot live sinfully. Oh Christian, resist the pull of satan to drag you out from under the umbrella of righteousness found in the Scripture. For in a while, satan will flee. As God's people, beloved of Him, we must resist, knowing that this too will pass though it may feel as an eternity.
D. Know this, it is never too much (1 Cor 10:13) We have victory!
Our Heavenly Father loves us too much to ask us to pass a temptation that we could not pass! It will never be a weight too heavy or too strong! He will withold from us what would be too much!
E. Schedule the Holy Scripture for reading and reciting (Lk 4).
We see Jesus, our perfect example. His example to us in the moment of temptation is the effectual working of God's weapon given to His people for the battle. This weapon is the sword of the Spirit. Child of God, we must know the scripture. We must use the scripture!
F. The passing of a test always makes a stronger Christian ,
A crown is given to those who endure well. Experience is the reward of those who pass this test. Strength is gained to all those who experience victory by the grace of God. May we not fail! And if we do, confess it to God! He will heal and forgive you! Then the love of our Savior will pick you up, and set you on your feet again. May we resist temptation! Only beware, for if we think we stand, then it is we may be most apt to fall.
