Turned over to Satan

Well, very good, fellows.

We're back in 1 Timothy. In our last lesson, Paul spoke of the Christians' battle in this world.! It is a battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

And in that regard, he gave a command to Timothy, his son in the faith, as follows. This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may fight the good fight, keeping the faith and a good conscience.

That is 1 Timothy 1, verses 18 and the first part of 19. Now, when we completed our lesson last time, we actually ended in mid-verse.

The passage I just read to you ends not with a period, but with a comma. So tonight, we pick it up, and we're going to allow Paul to finish the sentence.

He said, you know, fight the good fight, keeping the faith and a good conscience, comma, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

Sitting here in the 21st century, this may sound amazing, but there are times when people in the church are turned over to Satan.

They may be turned over by church leadership. They may be turned over by God himself. In the 18th chapter of Matthew, the Lord Jesus taught that at times, certain church members who continue to sin and refuse to repent are excommunicated and turned over to Satan.

This is exactly what Paul was referring to in his 1 Corinthians letter. This is chapter 5, verses 4 and 5. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled and I with you in spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Now, Paul did this to two false teachers that were in leadership in the Ephesian church, and he invites Timothy to do the same.

You know, Paul's going to leave, and he wants Timothy to do the same. The word deliver there is interesting, and we need to consider it. To deliver someone to Satan implies that they are not fully within the power of the evil one.

That's why they're having to be delivered. John gives us a very instructive verse to those who belong to Satan in his first epistle, chapter 5, verse 19.

We know that we are of God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And Paul also made this comment in Ephesians 2, 2.

Unbelievers walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Those who end up being delivered to Satan in some manner are still under the protection of the church.

Unbelievers within the church do receive a type of protection just because they are associated with the community of Christ's followers.

So they do receive some minor umbrella of protection. Now a great physical example of this spiritual truth was the nation of Israel.

The Bible is clear that not all who descend from Israel are Israel. But even unredeemed Jews, and there were millions of them in 1600 years of Old Testament history, even the unredeemed Jews received a level of abundant blessing that God was pouring out on the nation.

And let me just give you a few of those blessings. They shared in the inheritance of the promised land. They were protected at times by God from the enemies that surrounded them.

They derived benefit from the priesthood, and they lived under the sacrificial system. And so they still derived benefit, although they were unredeemed.

And many of those who received benefits were not true sons of Israel. The same can be said concerning the church. There are unbelievers who receive blessings by virtue of their association with the church.

And again, I appeal to Paul in 1 Corinthians 7, 4. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband.

For otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. So you see this unevenly yoked relationship, but the unsaved person is receiving a benefit of grace from the saved person in the home.

It's a very powerful verse. Unbelievers in a family receive blessings and benefits from God as he pours out his blessing on the believing family member.

And let's be honest. We have that situation in this church right now. We've always had that situation for as long as I can remember, probably in every church. There is a shelter provided for God's people to protect them from Satan's fury.

Unbelievers that hang around can receive some of the same protection. Consider this thoughts. Unbelieving Jews were better off than unbelieving Gentiles who existed outside of the covenant community.

Because the unbelieving Jews were still receiving benefits of the covenant community. Unbelievers associated with the church today, often through a spouse, are better off than those outside the church.

Well, how do they possibly benefit? They benefit by God's grace provided to believing family members. But when an unbeliever in the church is delivered to Satan, God removes the insulation and his protective hand that was afforded through association with the church.

There are also times, believe it or not, when true believers are turned over to Satan. And this occurs within the sovereign plan of God.

And in the end, it is always for positive purposes. And one of the great illustrations, and certainly the greatest illustration in the Old Testament of this, was Job.

Remember Job? Job was an individual that for all practical purposes had it all. He was a man of extreme wealth. He had a large family, wisdom, honor.

He possessed true godliness. Let's read a little introduction in the first chapter, first verse. There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. And that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil.

Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants.

And that man was the greatest of all men in the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all.

For Job said, Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. And the scriptures say, This Job did continually.

Again, by that association with Job, they were receiving benefits, the benefit of prayer, of intercession. It is obvious that Job was a man who possessed righteousness and the proper fear of God.

And by fear, as I said yesterday morning in my prayer at church, it is awe and reverence. He was in awe of God and of his holiness.

He reverenced God for his person. And an event took place that Job was totally unaware of that turned his world completely upside down.

Beginning in verse 6. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.

The Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it. The Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job?

For there was no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. Then Satan answered the Lord, Does Job fear God for nothing?

Have you not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth your hand now and touch all that he has.

He will surely curse you to your face. Then the Lord said to Satan, Behold all that he has in your power. Only do not put forth your hand on him.

So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord. This was an effort to criticize and destroy God's work. Satan was implying that Job only served God for selfish reasons.

God made him wealthy. God gave him sons and daughters, gave him cattle, gave him land. God had made Job to prosper, and Satan's argument was, If that disappears, Job will no longer follow the Lord.

Now to prove just how false Satan was, God turned Job over to him. Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine, in their oldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabaeans attacked and took them.

They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. And this is so poignant. While he was still speaking, another servant came and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

And while he was still speaking, another also came and said, The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels, and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

That's three servants. While he was still speaking, another came and said, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house.

And behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground, and listen to this, and worshipped. Golly, is that not amazing?

He fell to the ground, and worshipped. Wow. He said, Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. And then the Holy Spirit tells us, Through all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God.

Powerful. Job's actions proved God to be right and Satan to be wrong. That's the bottom line.

God was right. Satan was wrong. God is always right. Satan is always wrong. From Job, we learn that true saving faith is permanent.

Please mark this thought down. True saving faith is permanent and does not depend on our circumstances being positive or even favorable.

regardless of the circumstance you find yourself in, you who are one with Christ, your faith is permanent.

It doesn't go away. Job's love for God was not based upon what he had received from God. It wasn't based on that.

The book of Job is really a work about the strength of genuine faith. We think all these other things about Job, you know, and he had his three friends and of course his wonderful wife who said, curse God and die.

I heard Alistair Beggs this week talk, or yesterday talking about that very passage and he said, you know, that was nice. I would have said, here, take some money and go shopping for the rest of your life. You know, just leave, go somewhere.

This is a book about faith, about genuine faith, about faith that can worship God in the most horrible of circumstances.

And let's be blunt, heck with the camels and all that, we're talking about his sons and daughters are dead. His servants are dead. Now Job, at this point, seems to have everything going against him.

his wealth has evaporated and I know how that is. His health failed. His friends gave him horrible advice and the best his wife can come up with is, why don't you curse God and die?

You know, boys that you're single in here, be slow. Be slow. Be slow when you're picking a lady here. Just go slow. My dad always said, check their teeth.

You don't want any big dental bills when you first, that was my dad, only advice my dad gave me. Check, check her teeth. Want me to check Diane's teeth. I was up for trying, bit the fire out of me.

She points out she has better teeth than I do. I don't think anyone wants to be married to Mrs. Job. You know, Job's response to all this was, though he slay me, I will hope in him.

And what's the hope of a believer? It's settled. It's a settled hope. It's going to happen because God promised. Now, Job, this is real interesting and I never really thought about this until I plagiarized all this.

Job never did find out, at least on earth, why all of this calamity fell upon him. God never told him.

And God may not have told him in heaven. I don't know. You know, I love people who say, boy, I got a lot of questions for God. No, you don't. You're going to be in awe. You're going to be on your face like John falling at his feet as if dead.

You're not going to have any questions. Job never found out why this happened to me. Yeah, I'm reminded of, golly, just died.

LG Beard. His son Larry, you know, in a car wreck and quadriplegic. Rest of his life. Can't feed himself. And LG told me one time, he not one time has said, why me?

It's been 40 years ago. Still in the wheelchair, teaching school. He has never said, why me? Why did this happen to me? And I don't think Job did, you know.

God never told him if he did. Job did have some questions and that's normal. That's very normal. We all have questions.

I mean, my big question is, why did you save me? You know? And the answer is unmerited, undeserved. But God's answers were to remind Job that he was absolutely sovereign and that as God, he has a right to do as he pleases.

God is sovereign and he has a right to do as he pleases. And Job accepted this with these words. In Job 42, verses 1 to 6.

Then Job answered the Lord and said, I know that you can do all things. Wow. Good way to start. You going to be praying tonight, fellas?

That's a good, there's a clue. God, I know you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?

Therefore, I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me which I did not know. Hear now and I will speak. I will ask you and you instruct me.

I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see you. Therefore, I retract and I repent in dust and ashes. None of those questions mattered.

None of them mattered. All that mattered is he was in the presence of God and worshipped. That's all that mattered. In this instance, Job was delivered to Satan to learn to glorify God.

To come to the point in his life when he could say, I retract everything I've said and I repent. I turn the other way in dust and ashes.

And Job learned to glorify God. God, he learned to give God great honor. Now, Job was a true child of God.

A true child of God. Blood bought, although the blood hadn't been shed yet. But he looked forward to the cross as we look back. He looked forward to the cross. Yet, as a son of God, he was delivered to Satan to learn obedience, to learn to glorify and honor God in all circumstances.

There's a New Testament example of this. It might shock you a little bit. It's the first 11 verses of Matthew 4. Then Jesus, you've heard of him, right?

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

The same one that went after Job. And after he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, I love what this says, at least in English, he then became hungry.

Man, I'd been hungry after breakfast. But he then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, you know, I was going to check with Don, he's not here, and Shane, maybe you know, but it says, the scriptures say, if you are the Son of God, and I think that in the Greek that could be since you are the Son of God.

I've heard that anyway, whether it's true or not. But we'll go with what our translation says. If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.

But he answered and said, it is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Then the devil took him into the holy city and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, that's Jerusalem, and said to him, if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, he will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Jesus said to him, on the other hand it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. And again the devil took him to a very high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world, I'm sure past, present, and future, and all their glory, and he said to him, to Jesus, all these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship me.

By the way, that implies he had the power to give him those kingdoms. Then Jesus said to him, go Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only.

And at that command, of course, the devil left him, and behold, angels came and began to minister to him. God put Job into the hands of Satan for a specific purpose.

Here, the father turns his son over to Satan. Now, there is a deep inner Trinitarian purpose here, I'm sure most of which we will never comprehend in this life or probably the one to come.

And I'm quite sure we will tonight grasp all the purpose in meaning here, but this encounter served to prove the character of Christ and gave graphic evidence that he was the perfect and sinless God-man.

Did Jesus need to be taught that? No, we did. We did. That's why we have Matthew 4 to study, verses 1-11. Jesus, I mean, picture all this, he's in a weakened condition, he has been fasting for 40 days, and he's been in isolation, been all alone out there.

And in spite of this, he resisted all temptation to rebel against his father. And what Christ did brought glory to God the father.

It brought glory to him. When we resist temptation, it brings glory to God the father. When we fail and know we fail and confess a genuine confession, 1 John 1-9, it brings glory to the father.

So we have the example of Job. We have the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me give you a third example. Again, we appeal to Paul in the second letter to the Corinthian church.

And actually this is in chapter 12 verses 1-2. You know, it's amazing. I have a really long lesson tonight. And I'm going so fast. I mean, I'm about to finish and we've been here 25 minutes.

I may have to repeat it. Third example. Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable. But I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

This is Paul speaking. I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body I do not know or out of the body I do not know, God knows, such a man was caught up to the third heaven.

There's no fourth heaven, guys. That's as high as it gets. And I know how such a man, whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows, was caught up into paradise.

Of course, you know he's talking about himself, don't you? And heard inexpressible words which a man is not permitted to speak.

Now, I'm going to add a parenthesis here. I don't mean to offend anybody. I'm not challenging the veracity of anybody. But all these books are coming out by people who've been to heaven. Paul went there and he couldn't talk about it.

He couldn't talk about it. When John, the beloved disciple, the disciple whom Jesus loved, appeared before the glorified Christ, he fell at his feet as if dead.

He couldn't talk. It was inexpressible. That's enough on that. I heard inexpressible words which a man is not permitted to speak.

On behalf of such a man, I will boast. But on my own behalf, I will not boast except in regard to my weaknesses. For if I do wish to boast, I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth.

But I refrain from this, refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, Paul got all this truth directly from Jesus.

And he says, for this reason, because I got all this directly from the Lord, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh.

Paul had a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from exalting myself.

Concerning this, I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.

Got any weak brothers here? Don't raise your hand. Don't raise your hand. Power is perfected in weakness. Your power? No, the spirit of God's power that lives in the spirit of Christ.

Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong.

And let's settle something now. There have been volumes written on what the thorn was. Do you know what the thorn was? I don't know. And neither does anyone else. And if they tell you they know, they don't know.

Okay? They don't know. We don't know what it was. But I will say this. Of all men, Paul had the greatest reasons to boast.

I mean, you look at that guy. Heading to Damascus, going to kill Christians, take them into custody, bring them back to the high priests in Jerusalem. They're going to die. They're going to die. He's already participated in the murder of Stephen.

God just sovereignly saves him. And I used to say knock him off a horse, but there's no horse in the story. So I don't know. He just knocked him down, blinded him.

And he gets marvelously saved. And he's got all these great reasons to boast with the way God was working in his life. And yet we see how God prevented that.

He gave him a thorn. There was something about Paul. And I've heard he had a speech impediment. I've heard his eyesight was bad. There's all these things. But he did, we do know that God in sovereignty, and that's an important concept fellas, allowed Paul to be tormented by a messenger of Satan.

And remember Satan has messengers, doesn't he? And they can even appear as angels of light. Sometimes they knock on your door, ring your doorbell, angels of light, messengers of Satan.

Wow, that's three marvelous examples. Are there any more? Yeah. Fourth example. Luke 22, verse 31. Simon, this is Jesus talking.

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.

And you, he didn't say, you're not going to be sifted. you're not going to be tempted. Jesus says, and you, when once you have turned again.

Isn't that interesting? You're going to be sifted, Peter. In fact, Peter's going to deny knowing the Lord three times, isn't he? Pretty amazing.

Pretty amazing. And, you know, Judas betrayed him and went to hell. Peter denied him and went to heaven. And you, once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.

Because they're going to be sifted too. Hey, guys, you know, we all get sifted. And we need to depend on each other to strengthen us. I've said this before. This is why every believer in this room needs an accountability partner.

Someone you can talk to, someone you can have lunch with, someone you can do a book study with, someone you can confide in, and it's not going to be on Facebook. You know?

Or your wife's not going to get a phone call. I remember the speech I gave at VOM after I'd come back from overseas, and the question was, this lady said, have you ever been arrested for your faith or jailed for your faith?

I said, no, but I married a German-Scottish woman. It's about the same thing. Three women called her before I got home. She met me at the front door. stern looks. He wouldn't give it out any bouquets that night.

Peter learned the futility of relying on his own strength. Are you relying on your own strength? It's futile. This is one of the arguments I have with my dear, good, charismatic friends, but you don't begin in the spirit and finish in the flesh.

You can't do it, guys. The flesh is too weak. What you begin in the spirit, you complete in the spirit. You stay in the spirit, in the spirit of the Lord.

Peter learned the futility of relying on his own strength, and we need to learn that lesson as well. Well, that's four great examples. Tremendous examples, really.

I'm going to give you a fifth one, and that's our final one. And the interesting thing about this, it hasn't occurred yet, but it is going to occur exactly as the Lord said, it will occur.

Precisely. After these things, I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation, and all tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands, and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.

And all the angels were standing around the throne, and around the elders, and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne, and worshipped God.

Man, we're going to see that. We're going to participate in that. And they fell on their faces before the throne, and worshipped God saying, Amen, blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might be to our God forever and ever.

You ever get dry in your prayer life? There's a good one right there. Pray the scriptures. To God is all blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might to be our God forever and ever.

Amen. Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, these who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?

I said to him, my Lord, you know, that Lord there, by the way, is a small L, because he's not talking to a divine person. and he said to me, these are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.

For this reason, they are before the throne of God, and they serve him night and day, actually the scriptures say day and night, in his temple, and he who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them.

That's a tent. He's going to put his tent over them. You've got to come into my tent. Marvelous, marvelous language there. An entire generation of believers will be exposed to the wrath of Satan during the tribulation.

They will learn to praise God as no other generation on earth has before, and they will be richly rewarded by God. In 1980, I went to the Kansas City Festival of Evangelism, Mike Stark and I, and we heard some powerful preaching, and one was Harold Jackson Sr., Black Baptist, National Baptist Church out of Maryland.

I think he's dead now, and his son, Harold Jr., is the pastor, but I always remember he said, he was talking, there were 8,000 of us, and he said, who are we?

And he said, we are those who have dipped their robes in the blood of the Lamb. And then he finished by saying, worthy is the Lamb of God, and he repeated it, worthy.

He walked away from the microphone, and he came back, and he said, worthy is the Lamb of God. He said it a second time, just chills going up and down. We were standing on our seats. It was amazing.

Well, it's been 40 minutes, and this is how you cover one and a half verses in Scripture. That's what we covered tonight in our study of 1 Timothy.

Scripture and a half. The topic, though, is inexhaustible.