Page 46 - Reading Job to Know God

one,” and people preach about the idea – number your blessings. Do not
count sheep going over the fence when you are trying to sleep! Count
your blessings. Did you ever hear anything like that? I think if you went
to the most instructed group of Christians, those most trained in the Word,
and asked them to list their blessings; I don’t think you will find Satan on
their list. But perhaps he should be at the top. Think about it for a
moment. I would. I think one of the greatest blessings of my life is Satan.
I really do. I could not say that in many places and I wouldn’t say it
without and explanation. Would you be a better Christian if there were no
personal devil? Truth is, you would not. Proverbs 17:3 “The crucible
for silver and the furnace for gold: But the Lord tries the heart.”

If you can receive this, listen. I believe the greatest soul winner that ever
lived was Satan. I really believe that, because of Genesis 50 and verse
20 “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” Satan means it for
evil. He is going out trying to destroy. And everything he does, God turns
around for good. Thousands of people have come to Christ because Satan
meant them evil and God turned it to good. Satan is working night and
day in the service of the Lord.
Someone says, well, if he is as wise as you say he is, then why doesn’t he
know that it is turning out that way? The only answer I can come up with
is because he is proud, and pride blinds. He is compelled by his hatred
for God to blindly lash out. But this is what the Bible teaches. Satan has
limited authority; God has unlimited authority, and the reason he does
everything is to accomplish God’s purposes.
The final question is: How can I overcome Satan? Now we are going to
spend a lot of time on that. I will just give you the shell. The first part of
the answer is, I cannot. There is no way I can overcome Satan. The
distinctive title of God in the book of Job is “El Shaddai”, the God who is
more than enough. Now there is victory in El Shaddai, in God. Thousands
study Satan in a Satan-centered way. Everything the Bible says about
Satan is designed to turn your eyes to God, to the Lord.

I remember when I was a student at Columbia Bible College there was a
great man of God who was the president of the college. His name was Dr.
Allen Fleece. Once he preached a sermon entitled, “The Wonders of
Jesus.” Oh, what a sermon it was! Someone came up to him after the
sermon and said “It seemed to me like you belittled Satan in your sermon.
You almost made nothing of him”. The whole idea was, look to Jesus,
look to Jesus, do not worry about the devil, look to Jesus. And someone
came to him and gave him a warning, and said: “I think for every ten
looks at Jesus you ought to give one look to the devil. What do you
46