Permission From God

Permission from God

Today's message is permission from God. We will meditate on three important scripture passages from Luke, Job, & 1 Kings. Shall we ask ourselves: Do we ever believe that God gives permission to Satan to come against us or to take us into bondage? We are also going to answer the question: Does God ever grant Satan permission to come against us? Let us think for a moment from God's people's life in both Old and New Testament. God's people were sinning, and God was granting the enemy permission to take His people into bondage. Then His people cried out to Him, and He released them from bondage. Psalm 107:6 tells us “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; and He delivered them out of their distresses.” What does that mean? Well, we have talked about Satan as a thief. Jesus said he is always looking for a way to come in. Joel said 2:9, “they run to and fro at the city, they enter at the windows like a thief, or they can come in through an open door.” Today, I want to tell you about not one open door, but three. Three definitions of it.

The first open door is when believers, even mature believers, open a door to Satan. This is the area of PRIDE. Now it is amazing to us when we talk about pride. Many people are proud that they don't have pride.

I. Pride is trusting in your own strength:

Pride is trusting in your own strength. Now look at Luke 22:31-32. In verse 31, the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; when you have returned me, strengthen your brethren.” This is an amazing passage of Scripture. The New American Standard says, “Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat”. In other words this could be translated Satan asked and received permission to sift you like wheat. Satan is always touching on your weakness. He will touch your pride, your selfish attitude, that is called your open door.

There was an open door in Simon’s life. We can say that he trusted in his own strength. He leaned on his own way. He had pride in himself that “I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” (33). But in Mark 14:27-31, “then Jesus said to them, ‘all of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: I will strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.’(Zea.13:7) 29 Peter said to him even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be. 30 Jesus said to him assuredly I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. But he spoke more vehemently, “if I have to die with you, I will not deny you.” Now Jesus was trying to say to Peter, “What part of ‘all’ do you not understand? All of you will deny me.” But Peter argued, “Not me. Maybe the other disciples might, but not me.” So Jesus said, “you're going to do it tonight three times.” Jesus is telling the disciples, there is a scripture in the Old Testament that says that His sheep will scatter. But Peter’s pride refuses because he believes he could do no wrong.

Let me show you a little more pride in Matthew 16:21-23 “from that time Jesus began to show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and scribes. He would be killed and raised on the third day. 22 Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from you Lord this shall not happen to you!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “get behind me, Satan. You are an offense to me for you're not mindful of the things of God the things of men.”

Jesus was addressing Satan in Peter. Dear brothers and sisters, we have to deal with the scriptures. Because of his pride of trusting in his own strength, Jesus said to Peter, “get behind me Satan.”

But because of this, Jesus said to him, Satan is coming. And he is coming because you have opened the door to him. And because of this, Peter does something totally out of character for himself. He was a strong disciple, and he was willing to take off a whole troop of soldiers but turns around and denies Jesus that same night. He even curses and swears. He starts using curse words saying, ‘I don't know him. I don't know the man.’