Delivered to Satan, Part 1

There comes a time when God will reward the faithful person, but for the time markets the Lord in his sovereign purpose may choose to turn one of his own over to Satan for his own purposes so that the world see people God gives. But who is their continuance and preservation in purity order and holiness of the church and sometimes that discipline has to get extreme rebellious church member receives the maximum punishment. The Bible calls it being delivered to Satan.

You could also call that the saddest aspect of spiritual warfare having to deal with an apparent enemy of God in the midst of your own church today on grace to you. John MacArthur helps you understand what it means to be delivered to Satan and why churches sometimes have to take that final step. It's part of John's continuing study titled spiritual warfare and out. Follow along as John starts the message want to open your Bible to first Timothy chapter 1 verses 18 through 20. Let me read these three verses to you and then get into what it is that the Lord has given us for today. First Timothy 118 this command I commit unto the son Timothy, according to the prophecies which pointed to the that thou by them. I wore a good warfare holding faith and good conscience, which some, having put away have made shipwreck concerning the fate of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander whom I have delivered him to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme another word deliver in verse 20 paradigm he means to hand over to give over to commit for the best translation to get the sense here to abandon. To abandon hands-off is the idea to remove protection and abandon someone to Satan. First Corinthians chapter 5 speaks of a person who is guilty of a form of incest in the church and it says in verse five of this person. This person living with his father's wife in a fornication relationship. Verse five enjoins the church at Corinth to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Those two places. First Timothy 1/21 Corinthians 5. Five are the two places in the New Testament where we have the idea of abandoning someone to Satan explicitly stated in that way. Now listen carefully to what I say because it's essential that you understand there are some people who go around today and say there are no conditions under which any Christian should ever be subject to Satan.

I hear that from charismatic people continually, and that is not what the Scripture teaches the Scripture clearly teaches that not only is it a possibility to be handed over to Satan, but it is a ministry of the church to do that. There are times and places and circumstances. Under the plan of God in which individuals are definitely to be turned over to Satan and there are times and occasions when God himself does that very thing. Now listen carefully as we analyze this biblical being turned over to Satan in both of these references that I have mentioned to you has the idea of being put out of the church of being this fellowship.

During the old terminology excommunicated.

It has the idea of being cut off from any further association with the Saints of God and the Lord's table. It would be in the terms of Matthew 18 to take one who has my continual sin been put out of the church and treat them like an unbeliever is to say, then, that to turn someone over to seek means that prior to that they were not fully in his power, else there could be no turning over there could be no committing and no abandoning to Satan if they were already in his power not first John 519 says the whole world lies in the lap of the wicked one. The world is already in his hands. The world is already been delivered to him by sin, the instruction to the church to turn someone over to Satan means that that someone is not at that time fully in Satan's control. So we must therefore be talking about people who are in one way or another. Under the umbrella of protection provided by the church and there is in the church, the insulation and the protection and the care and the love and the blessing of God. So we're talking here about people who are under the care of the church or within the community of redeemed people under the protection of God, a part of the pouring out of his blessing who are at some point in time put out of that protection and left fully exposed to Satan. Now this could be true of believers or unbelievers is a house so because there are unbelievers in the church as there were unbelievers within the community of the redeemed in Israel who by virtue of their association with the people of God were therefore under certain amount of protection and by virtue of a splash effect. People who are around those who are receiving the showers of blessing are also going to get wet, and so God has given, even to an unbeliever by virtue of his proximity to, or his involvement with the redeemed community a certain amount of protection.

A certain amount of blessing the church has unbelievers in it who by virtue of just being in the church visibly by attending and associating are, therefore, the recipient of the blessing that the Lord pours out on the church in a secondary sense now. It is important to note that that for someone to be delivered over to Satan means that they are put out the insulation and protection of that believing community and they are given over fully to Satan, God withdrawing all of his hand of Prof. protection which they to whatever degree have enjoyed. Now I want you to understand how this works so I want to go back to the Old Testament and I want you to see, as well as the New Testament that God has listen carefully for his own reasons personally put people out from under the protection of the believing community and in two Satan's control, God himself is done. Let's go back to the book of Job, and this is where we begin the book of Job in Job chapter 1, we are introduced to this man who was perfect and upright and feared God and shunned evil describes him as a man who had 10 children, 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 GS is a great household. This man was the greatest of all the men of the East. His sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day and sent and called for their three sisters. We drink with them and when the days of their feasting were finished, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. This man was so spiritually conscientious that he not only kept his heart right before God, but he offered sacrifices for his children on just the presumption that they may have thought something in their heart that was wrong and he wanted to be sure that sin was covered. This is a good man the best of men, as well as the most prosperous man in the East. Now in verse six. There is a day when the sons of God that refers to angels came to present themselves before the Lord and we don't know what there was, we don't know what the occasion was we don't know what the circumstances were. That's as much as we know that angelic beings came before the Lord, and Satan came with key being that fallen one Lucifer.

He came in.

The Lord said Satan what you come from, and Satan answered the Lord is sent from going to and fro in the in the earth and from walking up and down in it which tells us where he spends his time in the Lord said to Satan, if you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil you considered my servant EC. Satan is always wanting to diminish the work of God always wanted to destroy the work of God, always wanting to show God and I'm sure he was there to make some accusation against God before all the rest of the angelic beings that were there. He wanted to make God look bad.

That's his desire, and so God says if you looked at my servant Job, and what a good man he is.

And Satan answered the Lord says, does Job fear God for nothing. You think he loves you and trust you and believes in you.

The way he does for nothing you think is does it just because it's it is hard to do that why you made a hedge around and around his house and around all that he has every side and you bless the work of his hands and his substance is increased in the land where, why do you think you worship you because he's a pragmatist. He knows who is delivering the goods. I have simple he knows how open the floodgates.

He does his thing for you and you unload on them all the blessings of course is good, but not for nothing, put forth your hand. Now Satan says in verse 11. Touch all that he has the curse you to your face take away his staff and you curse your face and the Lord said to Satan, follow this. Behold, all that he has is in your power underline that behold, all that he has is in your power, God turned Job over to Satan. The question about God turned Job over the site.

I was a divine act by the sovereignty of God. Only upon himself. Don't put your hand you can do anything you want to stuff but don't touch it. So Satan went out of the presence of the Lord.

He was turned over to Satan and there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, there came a messenger to Job and said the oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them in the Sabeans fell upon them, took them away. They have slain the servants with the edge of the sword and I only am escaped alone to tell you what it was yet speaking, there came also another, and said the fire of God is fallen from heaven, and is burned up the sheep and the servants and consume them, and I'm only escaped to tell you, Satan did several things he got inside and infused hatred in the Sabeans. They came and wiped out some of his animals. Satan got some people to start a fire burned up all his crops and all of the sheep, the Chaldeans came he motivated the Chaldea DC Satan moves upon all kinds of human agencies fell on the camels carried them away slew the service of the edge of the sword lost it all.

Verse 19, there came a great wind from the wilderness mode. The four corners of the house where everybody was having a banquet. It fell on the young man their deadline. The only one escaped just wiped them out just wiped him out all of his crops. All of his animals. All of the sons Job tors metal shaved his head, fell on the ground and cursed God else's phone the ground. What worshiped said, naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there.

The Lord gave the Lord is taken away. Listen to this line. What blessed be the name of the Lord, and in all this Job did not say nor charge God was some kind of folly. So what's the point. The point is this God made a point to the devil and to the whole world of people who never read that account, and the point is this, the true saving faith is not dependent on positive circumstances. That's the point.

What a point see the devil thought, wow, these people follow you because you give them all the staff and what the Lord is saying is I'll tell you this that when I redeem a life and when I transform a life and when a soul is converted and when a man truly loves me that love is not built on circumstance and in a sense Job is just almost superfluous to the point here God is making a point was Satan and to make the point uses Job and the point is to show the strength and the continuity and the unwavering character of true saving faith. True love for God tremendous I hear all the time of the book of Job, that Job is to teach us how to deal with suffering. Job the whole point of Job is to show the character of a godly man in the character of a godly man is that he loves God and worships God not because of what God has done in giving him things, but because of a pure devotion alone. They trusted God. Satan came back another time. There were there was a meeting in chapter 2, and Satan goes to the same conversation. God says if you considered my servant Job, and he says let me out of him again and so in verse six, chapter 2, the Lord said to Satan, behold, is in your hand. This time you can hit him, but you can't kill them beget children, Satan went right out of the presence of the Lord and smoke Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to his crown market folks Satan can bring disease. Satan can bring disease and here's Job with a broken piece of pottery scraping off the scabs and boils as he sits in the ash pile and that was a symbol of his morning and his sadness and is very helpful. Wife was not a Proverbs 31 woman comes up and says curse God and die. He said to her, your foolish woman.

So we receive good at the hand of God and not receive evil and all this did not Job sin with his lips since his incredible and was God is making a monumental point about the nature of true salvation about the nature of true godliness about the nature of of a really upright heart.

The person who really loves God is not the person who loves God because of Waddy Gantz the print but the person who loves God because of who he is. That's the point when you say will that wasn't very fair to make Job the illustration just to make a point. Oh you got to see beyond just the life of one individual to the fact that God was making a point for all eternity. He has the sovereign right to do that will you know how the rest of the story goes he has a bunch of well-meaning friends to come over and give them a bunch of baloney from chapter 4, chapter 37 that's 33 or 34 chapters of doubletalk in the middle of it all, Job is sad and is heartbroken. Chapters 3 through chapter 10 Chronicle Job sorrow and he's really hurting. He's in pain all that my grief were thoroughly weighed in my calamity laid in the balances chapter 6 verse two. Chapter 10 he says my soul is weary of life and he says in verse two of chapter 10 God do not condemn me.

Show me why you're contending with me, what are you doing to me. I just want to know what's going on. I can't understand that I can't explain it. I've lost my my crops my animals my sons my home. I I've lost my hell.

Got left as a wife.

The dog really like to trade in for a few the other things that I love and in all of this. I don't have any clue about why this is going on. Why are you doing this there's no answer.

The heavens are vaulted are absolutely silent and in the vacuum of the silence of God, come all these other people with their wrong answers. Finally, wonderfully, in chapter 38, God speaks and it says then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind. You know what the Lord said the Lord and say will look Job Norte about this and here's why I'm doing the seat. First of all, Satan came up there one day and he said listen Joe didn't know that until he up you read this book later. What you probably never did didn't know he didn't know what was going on.

Chapter 12 happened in heaven. He didn't know that.

And when the Lord comes the Lord is telling the Lord just says, in effect, why are you asking those kind of questions. Where were you when I made the world. Where were you when I laid out the foundation. Where were you when I created mountains and seas. Where were you when the morning stars.

The angels sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy at the creation what you know about like what you know about that. In other words, what he saying is out exactly what I want. Who are you? And he just reveals himself his omnipotence is character, and finally Job gets the message in chapter 42 Job answer Gordon Sinha I see I get it you can do everything and no thought can be withheld from you and who's ever going to hide counsel without knowledge, therefore have I uttered that which I understood not things too wonderful for me, which I knew not know what he says God I understand God, your cyber you can do anything you know everything you have all the privileges I'm a fool for even opening my mouth.

I apologize I been talking about things far beyond my understanding, which I knew not too awesome for me to understand so hear me, Lord, hear me, and this is what I want you to hear. I had heard of you with a hearing of mine here. But now my eye see if you was me, but I knew about you only from hearing. Now I know about you from personal experience, I've seen you in action. And I hate myself and repent in dust and ashes. This dear man showed his godliness.

Get the right response.

Oh God, he said the sin in all of this is my sin for not recognizing your sovereign right to give and take away what I said in the beginning is true.

The Lord gave the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord who was I to ever question God, you had every right to do what you did listen, the whole point of this book is to show the character of genuine godliness is to show that the on breakable reality of a redeemed soul that under no pressure will he abandon his God. Under no pressure will he deny his God under the loss of everything he stands true. If nothing else, it demonstrates the character of true conversion of true love for God and it led Job from a limited understanding of God to even greater understanding for God and of course God poured out blessing starting in verse seven giving back more than he had to begin with, God blessed with tremendous abundance and he died, but not until he was old and full of days.

Verse 17 says he had the most beautiful daughters God gave him the most handsome sons God gave him the finest crops. Yes, there comes a time when God will reward the faithful person, but for the time markets the Lord in his sovereign purpose may choose to turn one of his own over to Satan for his own purposes. If for nothing else than to demonstrate to a watching world. The strength and character of genuine conversion so that the world will see people who love God, not for what he gives.

But for who is in our week insipid shallow pop theology of today is ignorant of that Job was used by God to prove the character of true love for God. True devotion to God what and it was not without great benefit to him because he learned about God's sovereignty and he learned a deeper love of God, he found in himself, some sins he didn't know he had and he understood the necessity submitting of the submitting himself to divine rule. No matter what it involved a true believer that can be given over to St. to bring greater glory to God but Satan has limits to what he can do right first got so dim you can't touch him. Second time around.

You could touch him but you can't what you get killed. There's always a restraint even when one is turned over to say, do not be surprised beloved, if within the church of Jesus Christ.

There are some who unable to find any reasons why end up in a situation where it looks like God has totally removed his hand of protection blessing and they are in the same quizzical confusion of the Joe they cannot understand why it happened. They cannot humanly explain why it happened and the answer is somewhere on the divine level which may or may not become known to us, but God has his holy purpose in his grace. There will, restoration at a time. Great blessing. This is grace to you with John MacArthur.

Thanks for being with us. John is a pastor, a prolific author and Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary. He's titled his current study spiritual warfare John to date you spoke about that active turning people over to Satan the church that actually diss fellowships.

One of his members excommunication for some listeners that's a concept that is foreign to their thinking they might even think it's borderline fanatical our churches today. Supposed to be handing people over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Hello, that's what Scripture says. In fact, if you go back to the gospel of Matthew. The first thing the Lord ever said about the life of the church was in Matthew 18 when he said if someone sins go to him and confront him and if he repents you gained your brother. If he doesn't repent. Go get to other people.

So the two or three of you can confront him and if he repents you gained your brother and if he doesn't repent. Go tell the whole church.

So you tell the church and the church goes after him and if he still doesn't repent. Do you publicly denounce him as if he were an infidel, and you put them out of the church so that that is from the lips of our Lord and interestingly enough, to me, that is the first instruction given directly to the church.

Tell that you're the first thing the church ever hears from Jesus is if someone won't repent held the church that is because sin has to be exposed to be dealt with. While you know that's not what churches do. Typically that's what all churches should do and you know when we why was committed to that from beginning of ministry because it was so clearly revealed in Scripture, it does result in turning someone over to Satan. When you put them out of the church and that's what Paul is talking but you put them out of the church, and you might say what's a terrible thing though because you don't want that sinning person in the church because it's like 11 leavening the whole lump Lord wants a pure church so you confront sin.

People who don't repent, you put them out of the church for the sake of the purity of the church and for the discipline that is then brought on that sinning person hopefully to bring that person to real repentance. But doing that was so alien. People said you limped to the church just the opposite is happened to Grace Church because people who are converted want holiness they want to fulfill their love to the Lord by obedience and that kind of expectation that you could be confronted lovingly about your sin is a safe place for true Christians. Not a safe place for false Christians. But we see the Lord bless that we are our brother's keeper.

We are our brother's keeper, but let me just say at the end of this little discussion that the teaching on Matthew 18 is available to you on a download call my brother's keeper, you can go to the website and get it that way.

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