God really does know what He is doing. 

[You might want to ‘buckle up’ for this one; especially if you are new to reading here.] 

Seriously....He really does have a handle on it all. I mean, He is God after all. 

In fact, He’d like to make known more of His mysteries to us, but we tend to get a bit distracted with more ‘important’ things in this world, do we not? Or even worse, we think we have it all figured out and end up being wise in our own eyes and secure with man-made teachings that lure us into a spiritual sleep. (Matt. 13:10-15; Luke 10:21; Matt. 22:1-5; Mark 4:19). And the Lord is trying to wake us up. (Matt. 25:5-6; Rom. 13:11; Eph. 5:14-16) 

There were a couple of churches that Jesus addressed there in Revelation 3 that thought they really had it going on...and then heard some sobering rebukes from the Lord that suggested otherwise. (Rev. 3:1-3, 14-18) 

Can we connect a few dots here today from these passages in Rev. 3?  Please note what He told the church there at Sardis how He did not find their ‘works perfect or complete before God’. (2) I bet that is one of those verses that we just fly right over too. But now they are being prompted to repent, or else...Jesus says He ‘will come upon them as a ‘thief’, and they will not know what hour.” (3) 

Do you recall from John 10:10 what a ‘thief’ comes to do? You might go look that up if you forgot. Now take a quick peek at Rev.16:15 and read again, how Jesus makes it known in what manner He is coming, and what will the one who is blessed be doing then? -Watching. 

Would you please now flip back to Matt. 24:42-44 and take in what Jesus is explaining there regarding the manner in which He will be returning. Any interesting connections taking place here for you yet? 

Now back to Revelation 3:14- where He is rebuking the church at Laodicea and lets them know in plain language what He thinks of their current condition. But notice in vs. 19 what He reminds them of...how those whom He loves, He rebukes and He chastens. This would seem to fall in line with what the writer in Hebrews taught us regarding how God chastens those whom He loves and that indeed, it is not pleasurable at all, but actually painful. (12:6-11). But he also goes on expressing the hope that afterward, this painful rebuke and chastening yields the fruit of righteousness’. (As in- doing what is right in God’s eyes- 1 John 3:7; Rom. 10:2-3) 

Ok...lots of verses here today, I know, but we are heading somewhere that we need to see and have a good foundation for understanding; so hang with me. 

Do you recall how Paul advised the church at Corinth to deal with a particular man in the body there who was involved in a sinful relationship and everyone seemed rather indifferent to it? I mean...sinners are gonna sin, right? And nobody is perfect, so who are we to judge? They actually got a bit puffed up thinking they had the right approach and Paul quickly set them straight. They were to tolerate no sin, reminding them what a ‘little leaven does to the whole loaf’. He told them their ‘glorying was not good’. (1 Cor. 5:6). But it is in verse 5 that he instructs them to ‘hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh...with the hopes he will be brought to repentance and his spirit may be saved’. And this was not one isolated case- (1 Tim. 1:20) 

Now...turn with me to Acts 13. Please note the warning Paul gives in vs. 40 saying “Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you.” He then quotes a line from the minor prophet, Habakkuk, for reference. I think this would be a good time to actually go look up that text Paul is referring to since it is a warning to us as well. You’ll find it sandwiched in-between Nahum and Zephaniah if that is any help. ;-) 

Just for some historical context here, you should be aware that throughout OT history, when God’s people, (the nation of Israel) fell away and sinned or rebelled against God, who did God use to carry out His wrath and punishment and judgments? God always used their enemies, be it the Assyrians, the Philistines, and Chaldeans, or other Canaanite nations. This was a given and the OT is filled with documented cases of this. 

You might also be reminded that so much of the OT was/is a ‘blueprint’ of God’s ultimate plan of redemption for mankind where as many of these ‘natural’ events were a foreshadow of how things would play out ‘spiritually’ in the NT era. I’ll try to point out a few examples here shortly. But take a moment and read vs. 5-12 there in Hab. 1. This is where that passage is found that Paul cited as warning to us in Acts 13:40-41. 

God is announcing impending judgement. You’ll notice in vs. 6 that He is ‘raising up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation’... and go ahead and read the rest of that verse that gives us a taste to what they are known for doing. They ‘possess dwelling places that are not theirs’. If you are still following this stream of thought here, hold your place there and turn back a few books to Joel 2. Once again, an alarm of coming judgement is being sounded and an ‘army’ of sorts is coming to the land to wreak havoc. It is “the Day of the Lord’ and we read how people writhe in pain and their faces are drained of color’. (Joel 2:6). This ‘army’ comes to invade and look what they do as indicated in vs. 8-9. They ‘break into houses and enter the windows like a...thief’. 

Are you familiar with how Paul explained to the Thessalonians in his first letter to them as to how or what the ‘Day of the Lord’ would come and be like? (5:2) Go read that now. 

What did Jesus tell us unclean spirits do when they go out of a man and after seeking another place to inhabit, they return where and do what? (Matt. 12:43-45) 

So if the OT is a foreshadow or blue print of things to come, and God used the physical enemies of His people back then to carry out His wrath and judgements, please answer me this: Who is our ‘enemy’ today, according to 1 Peter 5:8? And does Paul not remind us that our struggle is not against ‘flesh and blood’...but what? (Eph. 6:12). And that we better give no place to who? (Eph. 4:27) 

Now look at Habakkuk 1:12 and read aloud what God uses this ‘enemy’ for. My bible seems to suggest that God uses them for ‘judgement’ and ‘correction’ (chastisement). 

Whew. Let me give you a moment to let all that sink in. You are going to need it because we are about to go visit the book of Job. (Oh, one other thing...if jumping back to all these OT books concerns you, you might read what Peter had to say regarding this in Acts 3:24-26 and 2 Peter 3:1-2) 

So here’s the short version, for starters, to look over. I am of the persuasion that Job was a ‘type of Christ’ as others we read about were as well. (i.e. Moses, etc). You don’t have to agree with this assessment but I only share this because like Jesus, Job suffered ‘undeservedly’ for our benefit. Was God’s wrath not poured out on Jesus for our good? And God does make it known that He was “incited to destroy him (Job) without cause”. (Job 2:3). We are also told in the opening chapter that Job was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and shunned evil...and was the greatest of all the people of the East.” (1:1-3) 

So what ‘benefit’ was made available to us in these first two chapters? It seems clear to me...God is giving us insight to how He uses and/or allows Satan to fulfill His purposes. 

Did God not remind Satan that Job was His servant and that “there was none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil?” (1:8) (sounds sort of like Jesus, does it not?). And what does Satan whine about regarding not being able to touch him? He tells God: “You have a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side.” (1:9-10) 

I think we know what a ‘hedge’ is, yes? It’s a ‘protective barrier or wall’. You would usually see these erected around vineyards at one time to keep out ‘critters’ and such. 

What did that man set around his vineyard in Matt. 21:33?  What did God remove from His vineyard in Isaiah 5:4-7, and why? Who did God say that ‘vineyard’ represented? And is the ‘house of Israel not a ‘type of the church’? 

What does John remind us of that we are ‘supposed to know’ there in 1 John 5:18? 

Were you aware that Jesus stated that the ruler of this world (the wicked one) ‘has nothing in Him’ and seems to make the connection with the fact He (Jesus) loves the Father and does what He commands Him to do.” 

There is more...and we’ll pick up tomorrow with this. But one last thing I need to point out here: We really need to be convinced and assured of this fact: Satan, along with his minions...the powers of darkness who ‘roam about like lions seeking to devour’ (1 Pet. 5:8) can do NOTHING...without God’s permission. God could eradicate every unclean, demonic spirit in half a heartbeat...IF He so chose to do. But He has not. They are...the ‘instruments of His wrath and indignation. (Ps. 78:49-50; Isa. 13:4-5; Jer. 50:25; Matt. 18:34-35) And He has a future place reserved for every last one of them. (Matt. 25:41) 

I don’t want to sound snarky here, but you might want to turn off some of those other distractions we get lost in...and open your bible up to do a bit more studying. This gets even more serious. (Acts 17:11). Join me tomorrow?