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The Holy Spirit does it all 3of4

6/29/2024

Hi all,

Last week I shared 2 examples of how the Word and Spirit must be in agreement, for it is the Spirit that actually does the work. Let's pick it up there.

Hebrews 1:1-3 is my favorite passage in the whole Bible.
"God (Father) in times past spoke in many ways and many parts to the fathers through prophets. But in these last days He has spoken to us in His Son, whom He (Father) appointed heir of all things, and by whom also, He (Father) made the ages."

"Who (the Son) is the brightness of His (Father's) glory, the impressed image of His (Father's) being (nature, character), and Who upholds all things by the Word of His (Father's) power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty (Father) on high."

When learning this, the Lord pointed out to me: "Notice, I uphold all things by the word of the Father's power. I AM; the Word of the Father's power. He has the power, I AM the Word of that power."

A real-life example might be a father who owns a business, and he brings his son up to be 2nd in charge of the business. But the father still runs it. The father then sends his son to a convention, authorizing him to conduct business in the Father's name.

The son is doing the business, but he is functioning in the father's power. The son then, is the word of the father's power, the father's will. He is the image of the father's character, and upholds his father's will by his word - but it is the father's power that runs the company.

This exchange changed everything for me.
In a moment of time I went from thinking the power was in the Word, (but confused as to why it didn't always work), to understanding it is the Word of the Father's power. That unless the Father (Spirit) and Son (Word) are working together to do the Father's will, nothing will happen no matter how many times I command in the name of Jesus.

It gave me great relief concerning the 'name it claim it' stream of the faith, that morphed into the general charismatic practice of 'speaking life/healing/blessing over' and 'declare and decree' stream of the faith.

As that sunk in for a few moments, my mind's gears spinning full speed as what He said resonated in my spirit but it took a minute for my head to sort it out, the Lord then referred me to Matthew 6:7 to underscore His point, and I was surprised by His directness. That verse says:

"And when you pray don't use vain repetitions like the pagans (unbelievers) do. They think they will be heard by their much speaking." I felt within myself ever so briefly, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, because I had been guilty of that very think - the 'positive confession', the weekly congregational recitation of a page of positive confessions and declarations, and so on. "Sorry Lord" "It's okay."

The Greek word translated 'vain repetitions' is 'battalogesete', and means ''speaking without thinking, mechanically repeating words (Vine's), using empty words." We have an example in I Kings 18:26 when Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal. "Then they called out the name of Baal from morning until noon..." in a repetitive, formula-based effort to try to get Baal to move on their behalf.

He said many of His people have fallen into this, on the one hand He seemed saddened and disappointed so many had done so, while at the same time: "But I do what I can for them, for often their hearts are right, they are just ignorant of the ways of the Father. You must teach them His ways."

That changed my life as I said, like a weight off my shoulders, lifting the feeling I had betrayed and dishonored all I thought I knew about faith. I realized what He was teaching me resonated, and was what I always knew, somehow, down in my spirit. My head was just trained wrong.

I often now say, "Revelation is something you already (or always) knew, but never realized."
That's when something resonates in your spirit, you feel that excitement of the witness of the Spirit with your spirit, even if your head is spinning as it rearranges previous understandings.

The Word of God, the ink on the page I'm talking about, has no power by itself. There are many ministers, pastors, and reverends in hell because they knew the page but not the Person who IS the Word. It is from the Person who is the Word that the ink on the page is derived.

Noah received a revelation about the flood - that was grace.
Faith was his response. He built a boat. Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Joshua - all listed in Hebrews 11 'the hall of faith', and every one of them first received a revelation from the Father - via the Holy Spirit - and faith was their response. Abraham and Sarah made a baby, Moses returned to Egypt, Joshua circled the city - each one having first received the grace, the revelation, to do so. Faith was their response to the revelation.

Paul and Barnabas
In Acts 13: 46-47 Paul and Barnabas face great opposition by unbelieving Jews, while many Gentiles listening to them (non-Jews) believed. Paul told them they were stopping efforts to speak to the Jews, "For this is what the Lord commanded us: "I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the ends of the earth."

Paul quoted Isaiah 49:6 which has multiple meanings for Isaiah, Israel and the Messiah. Yet Paul said that verse was used by the Lord to direct their ministry to the Gentiles. Paul didn't just flip through Isaiah and wherever his eyes landed decide to 'stand on' that verse. NO! He said the Lord spoke to them that it was for them too. The Spirit revealed it to them, and then they moved on that revelation.

Faith feels like peace.
Why is that? Because faith is a response to a revelation (grace) from heaven. There is peace in a revelation from heaven, and faith is born of that, so faith feels like peace.

Think back in your walk with the Lord. Have you had a revelation about something? That you knew before you were hired you had that job? That you had a peace about renting this place to live, or about going to that school? When it has 'worked' for you, you had that peace. When it didn't work, is when you tried to force 'faith' by speaking and declaring and forcing things to work.

James 3:17-18 is true, the wisdom of the Lord is pure and peaceful. That's what faith feels like, because it is based on a revelation (grace) from the Father and Lord.

Next week, living by personal revelation from the Holy Spirit. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org
Email me at [email protected]

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The Holy Spirit does it all, 2of4

6/22/2024

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Hi all,

Last week I shared from my heart about our lives dealing with what we believed of the Lord in Word of Faith (WOF) versus the reality of our handicapped son.

I shared how I fasted for 15 days water only, but in my spirit there was no life there, no witness in my spirit about doing so. I ended the fast once I made that honest assessment there was no life in what I was doing.

I realized the Word and Spirit are always in agreement. No matter what the verse says, it is the Spirit that gives life. (John 6:63) If the Holy Spirit isn't involved when I speak a verse, nothing will happen.

So this is why the title of this 4-part teaching is 'The Holy Spirit does it all.'
When Jesus was casting out a demon in Matthew 12:22-32, the religious leaders said He did it by the power of the devil.

Jesus responded that wasn't even logical, for if demons cast out demons, Satan's kingdom will fall. Then He said: "But if I cast them out by the Spirit of God, the kingdom of God has come to you."

Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) He, the Son of God, cast demons out by the Holy Spirit. Let that sink in. We are Him in this earth. His body. What He did then He does now, through us.

IF we think God wants to do something just because we know a verse that applies, BUT the Holy Spirit is not involved, then nothing will happen.

For example
A pastor I knew received the diagnosis of thyroid cancer in about 1989, but was Word of Faith (WOF) and chose to call it an infection. He refused to have it treated. Thyroid cancer is slow growing and only fatal if left untreated for years.

I knew nothing of his diagnosis in 1999 when the Lord told me he has cancer, and that he needs to deal with it or it will kill him. I gave that word and was soundly rebuked, told I was thinking of it wrong, that it was just an infection. I left certain what the Lord had told me, but shocked I was rejected.

About 8 years later he realized he was losing the battle, and began seeking treatment. In the last months of his life he let his congregation know he had cancer. The whole church began praying, some fasting, for his healing. When he died weeks later, many were in shock, questioning all they had believed - they spoke the Word, they proclaimed the Word, but he died.

It wasn't until after his death that his wife shared he had been diagnosed those many years earlier. You see, he did it to himself by not doing what was within his authority to do. There was no miracle healing for him as a result. The sin of presumption is thinking that something is God's responsibility, when in fact it is our responsibility. You can speak the Word, command, declare all you want, but if you are in presumption, the Holy Spirit isn't in all your efforts - there will be no life to them.

Thousands of people were 'speaking the Word over him', but the Spirit was not present. Jesus the Word, and the Spirit, were not in agreement to heal him because he ignored common sense and refused to do what was within his power to do.

Deaf girl, Fedra
I was in Saltillo, Mexico for about a week of meetings, helping a missionary our church supported. Two women came to the ministry house to ask if I would come and 'pray over' a 7 year old girl who was born deaf, and had never spoken. I excused myself while the missionary and his wife and the women continued to visit.

Back in my room, I told the Father I wasn't going to go unless He would heal or deliver her, whatever was needed. For it did no good to proclaim the Word if the Spirit wasn't going to do the deliverance from a deaf and dumb spirit, or heal her - whichever was needed, I didn't know. Immediately He said: "Go, for I will heal her."

I came back to them and told them I would go. In the morning the 11 Americans in our group, plus the missionary and the two women, drove to the little village where the girl lived, and then into her home. Her parents and family spoke no English, the 11 of us spoke very little Spanish.

They set the very scared little girl in a chair facing all of we Americans, with her family lined up behind her. We were roughly a dozen people on each side standing, facing one another in an uncomfortable silence, while this little girl sat in the chair, staring with saucer sized eyes at what was going on.

Finally, the missionary explained to the family what was going to happen as I explained what I was going to do, and the parents made gestures and stood next to their daughter giving her assuring pats on her shoulders.

I stepped forward, put my fingertips in her ears saying, "I command the deaf and dumb spirit to leave, and little girl, I say you, be healed in the name of Jesus." (I didn't know if a spirit was involved, I had no leading, no discernment, no idea at all - I knew the Father said He would heal her, but at that point in 1988, I wanted to cover every possibility, so 'when in doubt, cast it out'. But I think it was a healing.

I had the scripture of course 'by His stripes we were healed'. And I had scripture that said we have authority to use the name of Jesus to lay hands on the sick. But it was the Father - by the Spirit - who said "Go, for I will heal her." I had the Word AND the Spirit in agreement, so she was healed.

At first she started looking around the room with a startled look in her eyes, then one with us, a nurse, noticed her eyes were following whoever was talking....suddenly she realized what had happened and she jumped up and started jumping and making noises, not speech, but noises of extreme joy for the first time in her life...

She literally jumped into my arms and pointed to outside....we went and stood just outside her door, and a bird was in the tree overhead, chirping. She smiled this huge smile and look straight up and pointed to the bird. Soon more than a dozen children came running and she scrambled to have me set her down.

In the excited circle of children they began calling out her name: "Fedra" and she would turn and point to which child said that. After a few seconds of this game, she turned and saw one of the mini-vans we had come in, and pushed her way through the kids, running to the van. She pounded on the door and someone opened it for her. She scrambled into the driver's seat and started pounding on the steering wheel, finally hitting the horn, which caused her to jump back in astonishment. It occurred to us she had seen people drive into the village pounding their horns, but she had never until that moment understood why they did that -

The Word and Spirit MUST be in agreement.
Today, many people have been taught it is the Word that is the power. Just declare, just speak over a person or situation; they've been taught there is power in that. What Jesus made clear, is that He the Word, works via the Holy Spirit.

We will pick it up there next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
http://www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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The Holy Spirit does it all, 1 of 4

6/15/2024

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Hi all,

A widow of less than a year said to me: "I was believing so hard for my husband to be healed, but he wasn't, and I don't understand why. I believed, and I declared the Word."

I didn't have the heart to tell her she completely misunderstood what faith is.

I was where she was, once upon a time.
Most of you know our oldest son Chris. He was born by emergency C-section with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, resulting in brain damage. As I write this Chris is 44 years old, but mentally about 4 years old.

He was at home the first 24 years of his life, but in a group home the last 20+. When not traveling I pick him up on Friday morning and return him Saturday afternoon. Friday is errand day with dad. Chris gets to pick where he wants to have lunch, and we are known by many store clerks and local restaurants. All greet Chris like a long lost friend when we roll through the stores or come for lunch.

Friday night Barb cooks a favorite meal for him, and Saturday morning he can sleep in. We nearly always do a big breakfast. At the group home they tell them when to get up and when to go to bed - all parts of life are on a schedule - medicines, meals, day program activities. When he is home he can relax and set the pace.

He loves the Lord and talks of going to heaven...
...where he won't need a wheelchair, and is quite content to wait until then. When we see an ambulance or firetruck race by, he grabs my hand saying: "We better pray." (So we do) He has never met a stranger, nor a dog he didn't like.

The Lord promised him something when he was about 21. He came crawling down the hall, pulling himself along the floor like an army man staying low, pulling himself by his elbows.

"Dad! Know what Jesus told me? He said He's going to walk through the mountains with me, yep, that's what He said, yahoo! He's going to walk through the mountains with me. That's what Jesus said to me."

Having that word from the Lord directly to him, Chris is not looking for healing. Barb and I are, but we have no word from the Lord about Chris being healed this side of heaven. Does our 'faith' count for anything? Is what we have faith? Or is it hope for his healing?

People, strangers, well meaning all - well, most of them - on the Internet and by email and to our faces, have offered links to everything from cures or treatments for brain damage, to finding fault with Barb and I for not believing, not doing more to see him healed.

When we fell away from the Word of Faith (WOF)
There was a point in our young lives that people from WOF concluded Chris must have a demon. To our great shame we let them try to cast a demon out of him - there was no demon, and it scared Chris so we stopped it. A brain injury is not a demon. Injury is not demonic. Others suggested that we have a secret sin. Some thought we didn't have enough faith for healing.

We were ostracized from the very ones we fellowshipped with each Sunday morning. We felt all alone. Word of Faith with this this son who wasn't healed - what was wrong with the Fenn's people wondered? Had we failed God or failed Chris? We questioned all we believed about faith.

In those early days we consulted an attorney to sue the hospital and doctor. They told us directly, that there was such negligence 'it would be a 7 figure settlement'. (In the millions of dollars) You see, Chris was born December 23. The doctor was home waiting for his son to arrive for Christmas, so when he was told Chris was in fetal distress at 2pm (14.00), he still didn't arrive at the hospital until 7:25pm (19.25).

He immediately determined to do an emergency C-section
But then the hospital could not find the pediatrician on call which was required to be present for an emergency C-section. Chris therefore wasn't born until 8:50pm (20.50). Yes, millions of dollars worth of negligence by all involved.

But what we would have to go through to bring a lawsuit was too much emotionally for Barb, and we declined after great struggles emotionally and spiritually, choosing to trust the Father - for better or worse, right or wrong, that just how it was back then when Chris was young.

The turmoil of reliving all that pain was just too much for us, and we just couldn't do it. We walked away, forgave, and gave up the idea of justice and vengeance and anger and all those emotions, to trust the Father and Lord for healing and provision for Chris' future needs.

It was in those days...
...of working through us not fitting in to Word of Faith, to deciding not to sue but to trust and believe, that the Lord first visited me. To this day I wonder if our turmoil and wrestling with that had anything to do with His great grace in what has become regular visitations.

The first was April of 1986. Then came the Lord's first teaching visitation, October 1, 1986. And so began several years of visitations as we left vengeance and man's provision aside, in the midst of our crisis with WOF, that He came so very often to our almost nightly times of worship. He has been visiting me ever since, several times a year.

Many of the earliest visitations I had with the Lord reshaped my understanding of Him, of scripture, of faith, and are recorded in the book Pursuing the Seasons of God. The sequel: Knowing the Ways of God is about those times too, but that is more about my 'tour' of heaven. (Email me at [email protected] and I'll send you the PDF)

We started to look into scripture to find what faith really is, and where it comes from. It was in that time I fasted water-only for 15 days, telling the Father I wouldn't eat until Chris was healed. But I knew enough that when I shifted attention to my spirit, there was no revelation, no peace about Him moving to heal Chris. I learned fasting doesn't move God, but it sure helped my sensitivity to His realm. There was no life in my spirit for what I was doing, no Holy Spirit witness, so I ended it.

So I know what I'm talking about.
All of that transparency, all me sharing the great pain we have gone through, is to let the reader know this is not theory to me. Barb and I have lived through the process of giving up nearly all we ever believed about the Lord. We've had our motives purified - not to walk with Him for what He might do or could do for us or our son, but to just love the Father and Lord with all our hearts in purity, to love others transparently and purely.

We know what grace is. We know what hope is. We know what faith is. We want nothing more of the Father than to know Him. That is what was worked in us in those early days. They brought us back to our teen years when we were all about loving the Father, loving the Lord, with no ulterior motives, no thought of what He might do for us.

When Jesus was accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan, He said He did so by the Holy Spirit. That's where we will pick it up next week. For it is not just the Word by Himself or by itself, it is by the Holy Spirit, and His presence brings the kingdom to any situation.

Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
http://www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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Does Satan get permission from God? 4/4

6/8/2024

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Hi all,

If God acts only to restrain and limit Satan's efforts to steal, kill, and destroy us, how do we open the door for the attacks? We won't answer all questions by any means, but I can offer some chapter and verse on how we open ourselves to the enemy's attacks.

Sins against the body
In I Corinthians 6:18 Paul states that fornication is a sin against the body. He says there are sins outside the body, and sins like fornication that are against the body. The basics of what he said is that sins against the body are manifest in the body.

In his day fornication (s*x outside of marriage, including with pagan temple prostitutes) would have seen emotional turmoil, s*xually transmitted disease, and so on. The sins against the body stay in the body.

The larger principle is seen in such things as smoking, over or under eating, working too much or too little, and other sins against the body. There are no miraculous healings in most cases as the person did it to him or herself. God will walk with them in treatment for the condition or disease they brought on themselves by sinning against their body, but rarely have I seen a miracle healing.

I believe it won't be until the age to come that we will learn the sins against the body we have inflicted upon ourselves by all our chemically enhanced foods.

Many today would blame the devil for what are really sins against the body. My mom died of emphysema from smoking 50 years. She loved the Lord, and it wasn't the devil that was doing it to her, she did it to herself.

The same could be said of the person 100 pounds overweight (45k) and their sore joints or feet - there is no healing for that which they did to themselves, making their joints and feet ache. God is just, rendering to each person what they deserve - what you sow is what you reap - that is only fair and just. He will walk with us through efforts to stop the sinning against the body, or walk with us through treatments, but He won't step in to heal instantly that which we've purposely done to our own body.

Prejudice - I Corinthians 11:17-34
The church at Corinth started in Acts 18 with Jews, Greeks, and Romans all under one roof, meeting in the home of the Roman, Justus. Many had racial and social prejudices they held on to, to the point some would not have the communal meal with the others.

Paul asked if they despised the body of Christ? He told them how Jesus bled and was broken for us all, and "many are weak and sickly among you, and some have died early, not discerning the Lord's body. If we judge ourselves we won't be judged. But if we are judged it is of the Lord, so that we won't be condemned with the world." 11:28-32

These people developed what we might call 'weakened immune systems' to cause them to be 'weak and sickly' as Paul stated. He linked it to their prejudicial attitudes towards others. Again, this was to the point they would fellowship with each other, but not eat together. So their prejudice was front and center for all to see. This made them weak and sickly, and many had died as a result.

Strife - II Tim 2:23-26
He told Timothy not to engage in foolish questions, speculations and such knowing they stir up strife. He said those in strife 'oppose themselves' and that 'God may give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth'. Note that in repentance it is also required that one acknowledges the truth - they were wrong in their attitude, opinion, and actions. For Paul wrote:"they are taken captive by Satan at his will." That's huge. A person in strife is captive of Satan and played with at his will.

Forgiveness - II Corinthians 2:10-11:"....for your sakes I forgave it lest Satan take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices." (Devices:'thoughts, purposes, mind')

Married relations - I Corinthians 7:5:Husbands and wives are not to refrain from s*xual union except for certain agreed to designated times, "lest Satan take advantage of your lack of self-control." (Greek:'akrasia'. From 'a', not, and 'kratos', prevail. (ie; lack of ability to prevail against your desires.)

Complicated faith - II Corinthians 11:3-4:"I'm afraid that Satan would deceive you away from the simplicity that is faith in Christ, that you would receive another gospel, another Jesus, another spirit."

If your faith has become complicated by formulas and information that if you do x God will do y, just stop. Return to the simplicity of your faith, give up the complicated gospel, the complicated Jesus, the complicated Spirit.

The reason for listing some of these passages is to show that more often than not we, not God, but we, open the doors for the devil to enter our lives. People get off on a path worried about God granting permission to Satan to test us, when New Testament reality shows more often than not, we are the ones who give Satan permission to enter into our lives.

Satan left Him for a season - Luke 4:13
A final thought is this. Jesus was perfect in character, but was tempted body (turn stones into bread), soul (prove you are God's son by jumping off this tower), and spirit (worship me and I'll give you the world). We are just given the summary of the categories of His temptation, but He was 'tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin.'

Satan left the Perfect Man for a season - it means Satan doesn't need a reason to attack you, he just hates you for you are God's child. A demon can stir someone at work to be against you. The same for church or family. He does random attacks just because he hates us.

Even when the unprovoked attack comes, it is our good and loving Father who limits what Satan can do. When we perceive a demon is stirring someone against us, it is up to us to take authority over that spirit and its attack:"I command the spirit working through ____ to stop attacking me in the name of Jesus. I cast you out of this situation! Now heavenly Father, I ask you to put a buffer between us, send angels according to your will to protect me, and if possible with them, heal the relationship, thanks you, in Jesus' name...." and things like that - use your authority to use the name!

"If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." John 14:9. He never brought evil to try to 'teach' someone...

New subject next week! Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
http://www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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Does Satan get permission from God? Job 3/4

6/1/2024

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Hi all,

We've established the truths of I Corinthians 10:13 and James 1:13:God will not let us be tempted/tested/tried above what we are able to handle. He also limits Satan AND makes a way of escape. God is not tempted with evil, so He does not tempt/test/try anyone with evil. This brings us to the man named Job.

Remember, we interpret the Old Testament through the eyes of the New Testament. Why? Because the NT is a higher revelation of the Father God. Paul wrote of this in I Corinthians 10:6 & 11, twice saying the things that happened to Israel in the OT were for examples for us. So we look at the Old through the eyes of the New.

When you were a child you saw specific events in your life through a child's eyes. But when you became an adult you saw those same events as an adult. That perspective causes a reinterpretation from when you were a child. Same with OT/NT. We see the OT through Jesus to those events.

God, Satan, and Job
Job lived after Noah but before Abraham. We understand this due to his long life - after his trial he lived another 140 years. There was no priesthood, he made his own sacrifices to God. And the Lord appeared to him supernaturally, out of a whirlwind.

The book of Job is Hebrew poetry and is the oldest book in the Bible, therefore placed 1st with Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. Moses wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy about 1400BC. Job is older than that, most believe it was written around 1800BC - 400 years older than Genesis was written. It's style of writing is that of similar Babylonian writings of that same time.

We are told in Job 1:1-3 he was the wealthiest man in the east.
He had thousands of sheep, cattle, camels, donkeys and many employees. Camels were for desert caravans/import/export. Donkeys were city and short haul trucks (lorries.) He also had sheep (food/wool), cattle (meat/leather), crops and several other business interests.

In 29:1-17 we learn Job was a nobleman and their chief (v25), sitting at the gate of the city to govern. He was so esteemed young men ran from him, other nobles stood to their feet and became silent as he approached. He was in his own words, 'eyes to the blind and feet for the lame'. In 31:1 he said he had made a covenant with his eyes that he would not look on another woman. In that chapter he also says he invited the poor and hungry to eat with him, and clothed those in need with clothing of his own wool. He was a very good, wise, and generous man.

Fearful for his children's salvation
Job 1:4-5 reveals he was so worried about his children's spiritual life, that he regularly made sacrifices to God on their behalf. This would be like a mom or dad so worried about their children's salvation they attended services regularly on their behalf, or gave money in the hope God would see and bring them to Him. He worried continually about their walk with God.

Job's emotional, mental, and physical conditions
In 3:24-26 Job reveals:"My distress and crying has become my daily food. My groans pour out of me like water. The thing that I greatly feared has happened to me, and what I was afraid of happened. I have had no peace, no safety, I could not sleep, and turmoil has happened to me."

We know Job developed a skin condition, and we can see though he was very wealthy, he was a man of fear, worry, and stress. What if you are a modern doctor and Mr. Job comes to see you. He tells you his duties as Mayor, his wayward children and fears for them and his many businesses. He can't sleep, he is always in fear and worry, and he has what may be eczema, shingles, psoriasis, rosacea, boils, and/or other skin and stress related conditions.

As his doctor we would prescribe medicine for stress and sleep, and tell him to take time off, see a counselor to deal with the stresses and fears of life. That's what was going on in the natural.

Spiritually speaking:Satan sees his fears and stress, which are open doors to attack him.
With all that in the natural, behind the scenes Job 1:6 tells us Satan came before the Father, and that he had been wandering the earth. (v7). The terminology, 'presented themselves before the Lord', could suggest physically coming before Him.

In our day we often say, 'Let's go to the Lord in prayer' or 'Let's bring our burdens to the Lord', but no one believes we physically come before Him. So in this poetry, it is unclear whether this was literally a situation after Noah's flood where Satan was given access to the Father, or if it is like we say 'we are going before the Father'. We do know that since the cross Satan has no access to heaven - as per Ephesians 1:20-23, Colossians 2:14-16, Hebrews 9:11-15, 23-25 and so on.

Satan was walking on the earth seeking whom he may devour.
In Job 1:7 he admits this, which is consistent with I Peter 5:8 which states Satan wanders like a roaring lion looking for whom he may devour. Then the discussion turns to Job, and with each opportunity to kill Job, the Lord steps in to place limitations.

This is consistent with I Corinthians 10:13 that says when the test comes, he will limit that test AND make a way of escape. God is not tempted with evil, so this was purely an act of our good Father limiting what Satan did to Job. Job's way of escape was presented to him many times, even in his sleep the Lord tried to reach him. Finally, repentance became his way of escape.

Proverbs 26:2 says; "...A curse does not come without a cause."
Satan had open doors into Job's life - his children weren't walking with God so they were wide open to attack. Job could have suffered a heart attack due to stress and fear. There was a reason Satan attacked Job and his family, God's part was to limit what could be done to him.

Without going into further detail, 3 of Job's friends accused him of secret sin, but a 4th, Elihu, spoke rightly of God and Job. He said God had been trying to reach Job for some time, even in his sleep, but Job wouldn't listen. Job 33:14-30 and 36:1-12.

Elihu also told Job that God did not do this to him, in 37:23:"Concerning the Almighty, He is beyond our reach and mighty in power and judgement. He will not afflict."

Elihu spoke rightly of God and Job
He was the only one in the whole story God did not required to repent. Starting in chapter 38 of Job God demands Job repent:"Who is this who darkens counsel with foolish words? Stand like a man and I will demand of you!" The Lord asks Job if he was there at creation, did he create the eyes of an eagle to see so far off, and many other questions about nature and Job's presence or knowledge.

In Job 40:2 God asks:"...does Job instruct Me? Let him who accuses Me answer Me!" Job wisely repents, saying in v4:"I am vile. Who will answer you? I will lay my hand on my mouth." But God continues to demand of Job in v7:"Get dressed and face me like a man! Do you discredit my justice? Do you blame me to justify yourself?"

Finally, when the Lord is done, Job answers in 42:1-6:
"Who was it who spoke in ignorance? It was me. I abhor myself... I spoke of things I do not understand, foolishly, things beyond my knowledge, yet I spoke as though I knew... I've heard of you, but now I've seen you. I despise myself in sack cloth and ashes. (repentance)"

The final thought concerns 42:11, where his friends comforted Job for 'all the things the Lord brought upon Job.' The Hebrew word 'hebi' from the root 'bo', is in the permissive rather than causative. It says things the Lord allowed to happen to Job, not that He was the source of it, but allowed it. This is consistent again with the NT which says God doesn't test man with evil, and when the enemy comes in He places limits and makes a way of escape.

As Elihu told Job in so many words; 'God didn't do this to you, and He has tried to reach you even in your sleep, but you ignored him.' Job did repent, and his life was restored and blessed.

Next week how we open the door for the devil and how he uses our authority against us. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
http://www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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