Then the Lord said to Satan Have you

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him, to destroy him without just cause. – Job 2: 3

What does a person of perfect integrity look like? Integrity – the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness; 2) the state of being whole and undivided; the state of being unified, unimpaired or sound in construction. (Oxford Dictionaries)

What does a person of perfect integrity look like? What is ‘moral uprightness’ to God? • One who fears God and turns away from evil.

What does a person of perfect integrity look like? Satan has no power over persons of perfect integrity.

What does a person of perfect integrity look like? Satan has no power over persons of perfect integrity. Satan can do nothing apart from God’s permission, knowledge and consent.

What does a person of perfect integrity look like? Satan has no power over persons of perfect integrity. Satan can do nothing apart from God’s permission, knowledge and consent. Do I fear God and turn away from evil?

God allowed Satan to afflict a man of perfect integrity to prove a point: 1. Job feared God and turned away from evil because he actually believed in God.

God allowed Satan to afflict a man of perfect integrity to prove a point: 1. Job feared God and turned away from evil because he actually believed in God. 2. Job’s integrity was not based on what God gave, but on who God is.

God allowed Satan to afflict a man of perfect integrity to prove a point: 1. Job feared God and turned away from evil because he actually believed in God. 2. Job’s integrity was not based on what God gave, but on who God is. 3. Job understood God’s position and his.

God allowed Satan to afflict a man of perfect integrity to prove a point: 1. Job feared God and turned away from evil because he actually believed in God. 2. Job’s integrity was not based on what God gave, but on who God is. 3. Job understood God’s position and his. 4. Job submitted to and accepted God’s way.

God allowed Satan to afflict a man of perfect integrity to prove a point: 1. Job feared God and turned away from evil because he actually believed in God. 2. Job’s integrity was not based on what God gave, but on who God is. 3. Job understood God’s position and his. 4. Job submitted to and accepted God’s way. 5. Job understood his integrity was everything.

What issue? Does a person love God for who God is or for what He promises and gives?

What issue? Does a person love God for who God is or for what He promises and gives? Will a person freely love God regardless of personal reward?

What issue? Satan wanted to prove, his accusation, that Job’s love was selfish and conditional, based upon what he would receive in return.

What issue? Satan wanted to prove, his accusation, that Job’s love was selfish and conditional, based upon what he would receive in return. Is my love for God conditional, based on what he gives me in return?

What issue? Satan wanted to prove, his accusation, that man love’s his life more than he loves God. “Skin for skin!” Satan answered the LORD. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. But stretch out Your hand strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face. ” –Job 2: 4 -5

What issue? Satan wanted to prove, his accusation, that man love’s his life more than he loves God. His wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!” –Job 2: 9

What issue? Satan wanted to prove, his accusation, that man love’s his life more than he loves God. His wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!” –Job 2: 9 “You speak as a foolish woman speaks, ” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity? ” –Job 2: 10

What issue? Satan wanted to prove, his accusation, that man love’s his life more than he loves God. If we are going to accept the good things in life from God, are we willing to accept the hardships as well?

What issue? Satan wanted to prove, his accusation, that man love’s his life more than he loves God. If we are going to accept the good things in life from God, are we willing to accept the hardships as well? Do we love our own lives more than God?

What issue? Satan wanted to prove, his accusation, and suggestion, that God bribed people to love Him. “Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven’t You placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions are spread out in the land. But stretch out Your hand strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face. ” –Job 1: 9 -11

Job’s suffering spotlights gives an answer to some puzzling questions… • Why do bad things happen to good people? • Why do the righteous often suffer while the wicked thrive? • Can people truly believe the LORD and follow Him if He does not bless or prosper them? • Can a believer afflicted with catastrophic suffering still remain faithful and bear witness for the LORD?

What can we learn from Job’s suffering? • Satan gets to the heart of people’s motives for believing and worshiping the Lord. • Satan is an accuser; justified in it or not. • Spiritual conflict influences the physical world. • Suffering may not be about you. • God is in full control of both the spiritual and physical world. • Suffering does not happen without God’s consent. • God has a higher purpose for everything that happens in people’s lives

God’s promises in suffering… • 1 Cor. 10: 13 “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it. ” • Psalm 34: 19 “Many adversities come to the one who is righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all. ”

God’s promises in suffering… • Isaiah 43: 2 “I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and [when you pass] through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk though the fire, and the flame will not burn you. ” • James 1: 12 “Blessed is the man who endures trials, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that He has promised to those who love Him. ”

God’s promises in suffering… • Romans 8: 28 “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: thosw who are called according to His purpose. ”

The integrity of Job should cause us to reflect… Do I love God for who God is or for what He promises and gives? Am I a person of integrity who fears God and turns away from evil? Do I value my life more than I love God?