The Devil is Walking About

The Devil is Walking About

 

Job 1:1-2  "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.  And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.”

 

Job 1:6-12  "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.  And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.  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?  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.” 

 

Job 2:1-3   "Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.   And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job?”

 

 

Yes, my friends, the devil is walking about, going to and fro, walking up and down your street (road), may even come into your house, go to your job, go to school, looking for you!  God asked Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job?”  Well, let’s replace Job’s name with your name.  Have you considered my servant Billy, or Mary Ann, or Hazel, or Jeff, or Jimmy?  I will answer this question for you – the answer is yes!  These listed and all the rest of you as well.  He will do all he can to snare us away from God.  He is the one who plants the thoughts in your mind as not going to church this morning or tonight, or don’t go to church on Wednesday night.  What good will it do for you to attend all the services of the church?  No one cares whether you are there or not.  Do not allow the Devil to place these thoughts in your mind.  As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should ALL care if one does not come, but more importantly God cares.  Only with the love of the brethren and the love of God can we defeat the evil one!  Remember what Peter said in 1 Peter 5:8   "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”  I promise you that the devil will do all he can to "devour” you and cause your soul to be lost eternally.

 

Let’s look at a couple of Bible examples in addition to Job:

 

Eve in the Garden of Eden

Genesis 3:1-6   "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?   And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

 

Judas Iscariot

  Mark 14:10   "And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them.”  The devil deceived Judas because of his greed, which lead to the betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.  Matthew 26:15 "And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.”  What was the result of this betrayal?    Matthew 27:5   "And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”

 

Simon Peter - 

Luke 22:54  "Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off.”  The devil placed fear in the mind of Peter and caused him to deny Christ three times before the cock crowed twice. (Mark 14:30)   Matthew 26:75  "And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.”

 

There are other references that I could have sited, but I think you get the point.  The devil went after Job, Eve, Judas, and Peter.  Now tell me that you don’t think that he will come after you!  Draw near unto God and He will draw near unto you.  When the devil gets his way with you, you lose and possibly eternally.  Just remember what Paul wrote unto the church at Ephesus in Ephesians 6:11  "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  Notice he said the whole armor of God, not just part of it!  If you were able to ask the Devil, "Where have you been Satan?”  He might possibly answer you in the following manner, " I have been walking up and down waiting for you!”
 
Jimmy
Antioch church of Christ
09/05/10  PM