My Sheep Know My Voice – 3

My Sheep Know My Voice – 3

Subject: Discernment About God’s Voice and Will

by Rick Welborne

John 10:1-5 (NKJV) ¹  "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ²  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." 

Job 2:113 (NIV) 

1 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 

2 And 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." 

3 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. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason." 

4 "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. 

5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face." 

6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life." 

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 

8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. 

9 His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" 

10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. 

11 When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 

12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 

13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was. 

–Last week we saw Job going from being the wealthiest and blessed man in all the east...to losing all that he had in a matter of moments.

–Not only did he lose his worldly possessions but he lost 10 children whom he loved very much all in a single tragedy...broken hearted.

–We saw how there was this incredible event in heaven where angels have to report to God and give an account of what they have been doing.

–Because of Who God is (omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent) Satan also had to report to God what he had been up to...

–I can’t tell you what that does for me to know that Satan has to answer to God for everything he does and that he understands Who God is!  We are on the right side!

–Job was tested beyond what most of us could imagine…yet:

Job 1:2022 (NIV) 

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 

21 and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." 

22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. 

–I had not really considered the significance of these verses as strongly as I should have. Satan was trying so hard to take away from Job his desire, his passion, his hunger, his yearning to worship God.  

–Job made the comment that I came into this world with nothing and when I leave I won’t take anything with me...the Lord has given me all my blessings and He has chosen to take them away...but I am a worshiper so Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Psalm 34:1 (NKJV) 

1 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 

–I will bless the Lord at all times...even if He is allowing this present test or trial.

–Satan wants to take away our worship...economy goes south, our bodies get sick, our loved ones are attacked, relationships are strained, feelings get hurt, offenses come, cars and appliances break down...all of this is an attempt at taking away our worship.

–Satan thinks, destroy our worship and he destroys our joy, our service, our witness, our growth, our peace, our prosperity...

–The former worship leader of heaven knows the power of worship and knows if he can stop us from worshiping God that he has us in his talons. 

Ezek 28:1215 (NKJV)

12 "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:  "You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 

13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. 

14 "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 

15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.  

–You have been in Eden the garden of God"  no king of Tyre has been in the Garden of Eden! “Every precious stone was thy covering"  can you imagine what a beautiful creature he was! 

J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible - “The workmanship of thy timbrels and of thy pipes was prepared in you." Not only could he sing, he was a band; he was music itself.  Satan was the "anointed cherub that covers"  that is, he protected the throne of God.  This is not the Eden which was on earth, but apparently is a picture of heaven itself. Satan had access to heaven, of course.  Satan protected God's throne. He had the highest position a created being could have. What was it that brought him down?

–His pride and his “I wills!” His goal is not only to stop us from worshiping God but also to get us to curse God to His face...remember this when you are questioning “Is it God or is it Satan causing me all this misery?”

–Remember the next time you are tempted to curse God or you are angry with Him where it is coming from.

Let us look at our text tonight and see what God is saying to us:

1. It is a big deal that the angels and Satan have to report to God but there will also come a time that people (believers and non-believers) will have to report to God.

Job 2:113 (NIV) 

1 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 

–You and I are going to have to report to God someday. Remember that the Christian is going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:1011 (NKJV) 

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 

11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. 

–As believers we will not stand at the Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20:1115, which is where the unbeliever must give his account. All the creatures of God must come to make their report to Him.

2. Again we see God bragging on His servant Job and defending him.

Job 2:2-3 (NIV) 

2 And 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." 

3 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. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason." 

J. Vernon McGee - Now this shows us clearly that what the Lord allowed Satan to do with Job was done without a cause in Job. People are always saying, "Why does God let this happen to me?" Perhaps the answer from the Lord is, "There is no reason for it in you. I am not spanking you. I am not punishing you. I just want to bring you closer to Me." That is what He did with Job. It was without a cause in Job. Sometimes we point our finger at some believer and say that God is whipping him, which may not be true at all. It may be that God is testing him in a way He cannot test you or me, because He couldn't trust us with that much trouble. Very frankly, I would never want to go through what Job had to suffer! 

--He still maintains to his integrity. Job shows us that adversity or unexpected circumstances are never an excuse to compromise our integrity...we always want to excuse ourselves and blame someone else.

Deuteronomy 29:19 (NIV) ¹⁹  When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, "I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way." This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.

–Your trial may be such that you have to literally hold your integrity...effort and discipline on your part...you have to hold tightly to your integrity. There is no excuse to go your own way. 

3. Satan is angered that his first attempt at Job failed, and now, he is determined to step it up a notch...attack his body.

Job 2:4-6 (NIV) 

4 "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. 

5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face." 

6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life." 

–He lost his property and he lost his children...painful but...these are all external losses but let it happen to him personally. 

Matthew Henry Unabridged - Why, truly, he has this to say, Skin for skin, and all that a man has, will he give for his life. Something of truth there is in this, that selflove and selfpreservation are very powerful commanding principles in the hearts of men.  

–Self-love and self-preservation have caused a great many to compromise their integrity only to realize their pit just becomes deeper.

–God promises us that we will never be tempted above that which we are able to endure but physical pain and anguish can push us to that edge.

–God gave Satan permission with limitations...God has a chain on Satan because if not he would destroy us all. Where is this attack coming from?

2 Corinthians 12:710 (NKJV) 

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 

8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 

9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

Job 2:78 (NKJV)

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 

8 And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.   4. With God’s permission...Satan strikes Job with painful boils from head to toe.

--One boil would be plenty but to be covered with them...almost unbearable...Especially without all the medical helps we have now. We would have to believe Isa.55:8-9:

Isaiah 55:89 (NKJV)

8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. 

9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 

  

--A father whips little Stephanie and says “This hurts me more than it does you.” But she replies, Yeah, but not in the same place!

--There would come a day that Job would understand all the good God was up to but at first he had no clue.

--Not only was it for the good of Job, but it was for the glory of God. Remember that God’s character had been questioned by Satan and all of heaven must have shuttered when he did it.

--He was saying...You are not worthy to be loved...you have to pay Job to love you and serve you!  Does God always have to do good to us before we love Him?

--Listen to the depth of the charge...you only have paid lovers! Our love is truly tested in the middle of a trial...not when blessings are flowing!

--God has not promised an easy life to any of His children. On the contrary, we are told that the way will be rough. If we suffer with Him we will reign with Him.