Satan Never Rests

In the book of Job we’re told by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that on a certain day the sons of God came to present themselves before Him:

Job 1:6-7 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. ⁷And 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.”

As if to emphasize this fact, this record is repeated in Job 2:1-2. Satan was spending his time wandering the earth, making trouble for mankind. Under God’s covenant with mankind today the Holy Spirit through the pen of the Apostle Peter provides us with this warning:

I Peter 5:8 “⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

We can be assured that the influence of the devil is alive and well in this world today. In fact we can be absolutely certain of the fact that Satan never rests.

So should it surprise us that our world is in the condition that it is in? During my lifetime and the lifetimes of most of those here in this assembly we fought a world war and traded Nazism and Fascism for Communism. Subsequently many of the communistic governments of the world have fallen due to internal rot and decay and communism has been replaced by an even greater danger to peace and harmony in today’s world. I speak of the religion of Mohammad or Islam, a religion that is centered on conquering, converting or subverting all people to its precepts. The only alternative they offer is death and destruction. This has been true since its very beginning. Its body of teaching or doctrine requires that any who oppose or refuse to convert to it are to be hated with a hatred that is so deep that most people cannot comprehend it. Satan Never Rests.

So should it be a surprise that the moral fiber of our own country is being destroyed? All we have to do is look around us to see the sin and degradation that has resulted from man’s unrestrained lusts. We don’t have to look very far even in this very city; to find the entire list of the “WORKS OF THE FLESH” that the Holy Spirit gave us through Paul:

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like:…” Galatians 5:19-21

And more that Paul does not name specifically. Satan Never Rests.

Is it any wonder that we can even look within the Lord’s church itself and find troubles that Satan and his followers have generated? Should it be a surprise to us that there are men and congregations that were once faithful that have abandoned that body of doctrine, the faith that was “ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS” (Jude 1:3) all over this country. It is hard to travel to any region of the United States any more and be assured of finding a sound congregation of God’s people with which to worship. And if that weren’t enough, if you read very many of the journals published by our brethren, you will find factions, disagreements, strife and trouble even among those who have not bowed their knees to liberal doctrines, denominational thinking and man’s wisdom. They seem to have found things over which they chose to wrangle, argue and even withdraw fellowship. Some of these disagreements are over legitimate problems, some are over perceived problems that may or not be real, some, I fear, are driven by party politics where that problem should never exist. It has even been necessary that the elders of the Sunset congregation deal with problems here among our own number. Satan Never Rests

The Apostle Peter again:

I Peter 5:8 “⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

What is a person to do? How do we protect ourselves? How do we keep from becoming a victim of this danger? First the words of Jesus:

Mark 14:38 “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”

Watch and pray, watch yourself, be on guard constantly against this adversary who would devour us. What did Paul say:

I Corinthians 9:27 “but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

I Thessalonians 5:6 “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”

You say “but that’s hard brother”, and it is but we have help:

I John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

I John 2:1-3 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: ²And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. ³And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

I Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

And even though Satan never rests, even though he wanders the earth devouring all that he can we’re also told that:

Read James 4:7-10