Page 41 - Reading Job to Know God
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what happened. You will say: “What in the world happened?” What did I
do? What did I say to make this great division? Satan uses Christian
friends against each other.
THE POWERS OF SATAN
Now here are more amazing things. Satan has power over armies. When
you hear about all these thunder storms and terrible earthquakes we are
tempted to say that it’s from God. Look what God is doing over there. The
Bible says Satan has power over the weather also.
Editors Note: In Mark chapter 4 it says “a great storm of
wind” came and the disciples thinking they were about
to perish woke Jesus up. Verse 39 says: “And He arose,
and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, ‘peace,
be still’.” He would not have rebuked something that
was from His Father. He scolded the work of Satan.
And then our bodies. He touched Job’s body. In the New Testament we
read about Satan’s power over the flesh. He was able to quench sight, and
close the hearing of men. He was able to fetter the tongue and paralyze
the limbs. He was able to distort the body, possess it and madden the
brain. Satan had all that power. Then we find that he was able to take life.
He actually took the life of Job’s ten children. Some people say: “Well,
God will let him touch your life, but He will not let him take it”. Satan
had power to take a life. He took Job’s ten children.
Now we are creatures of extremes, you know. We give Satan credit if we
have some petty little annoyance that keeps bothering us. We say, “Oh,
that is Satan! The devil made me do that”, you see. Or, if there is
extensive injury, then we will give Satan credit for that. Hitler and Stalin,
the abuse of communism or the awful corruption in our society. We give
Satan credit for that. But somehow, we seem to shun as a silly fable or
superstition, that Satan is constantly and systematically busying himself
with our concerns. That he is involved in our thoughts, in our words, and
in our deeds. That, by artful suggestion, through his unnumbered hosts, he
is causing us to be tempted every day.
Satan’s work is to resist Jesus Christ. Now if that means to start a national
movement against Christ or if it means to take a child and turn his steps
from the path of righteousness, Satan is against Christ. He does not have
the prerogatives of God. He does not have foreknowledge. He does not
have omnipresence. But he has thousands of years of experience with
men. He has a perfect acquaintance with all the knowledge that is
attainable to created intelligence. He knows anything anybody knows. He
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