Permission Granted

Welcome to Worship in the Word with Pastor Robert Morris. We are working our way through a series called Free Indeed where Pastor Robert talks about the schemes of the enemy, the doors we leave open to him, and what Jesus meant when he said, we shall be free indeed. Well, today Pastor Robert is sharing about one of the biggest doors we can leave open to the enemy, which is pride. This is an incredible message, so let's join Pastor Robert now. We're in a series called Free Indeed.

The title of today's message is Permission Granted. Do we ever, as believers, grant Satan permission to come against us, or to take us bondage in an area? But we're also going to answer the question of this message, does God ever grant Satan permission to take us bondage in an area?

And I want you to think about for a moment the whole Old Testament of God's people sinning and God granting the enemy permission to take his people into bondage and his people then crying out to him and him releasing them from that bondage, but teaching them through it. All right? So I see some raised eyebrows as you're thinking about that. What does that mean? Okay, well, we'll look at the word and see what it means.

All right? We've talked about that Satan is a thief, and Jesus said he's always looking to come in some other way. Joel said he comes in through windows, or he comes in through an open door. I want to tell you, and we're going to deal with this one open door, but three definitions of it in this message, but the number one open door that I've seen believers, even mature believers, open a door to Satan in this area is the area of pride.

So here's number one. Pride is trusting in your own strength. Now look at Luke chapter 22, beginning of verse 31, Luke 22 verse 31. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, indeed Satan has asked for you, we'll come back to the word asked, that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail.

See, it sounds like when you go through the sifting, and when you have returned, that would obviously indicate that he would fall away. When you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren. Now this is an amazing passage of scripture. New Testament, Jesus saying to a believer, Satan has asked permission to sift you like wheat, but I tell you what, I prayed for you.

And when you come back, strengthen your brothers. This word asked means to ask for something and to receive what one asked for. To ask for it with success. To ask and receive. In other words, this could be translated, Satan asked and received permission to sift you like wheat. In other words, he has a right. He has a right in your life. There's an open door in your life, Simon.

And what would that open door be? I personally think it was that he trusted in his own strength. I personally think that he had pride. And the reason I think that is because of the conversation that takes place right before us. Mark chapter 14 verse 27 says, then Jesus said to them, all of you, all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night. For it is written, now he's going to quote scripture to say this, it's already been written, so this is going to happen. I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. But after I've been raised, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter said to him, even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be. 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, arrogantly. If I have to die with you, I will not deny you. That's pride.

Let me show you a little more pride. Matthew 16 verse 21. 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 and be killed and be raised the third day. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. You have to be feeling pretty good about yourself to rebuke Jesus. Saying far be it from you, Lord, this shall not happen to you. But he, watch this carefully in your Bible, turned to and said to Peter, said to Peter, get behind me, Satan.

You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. Now, if that doesn't help open our eyes to something, Jesus looked right at a man and said to a man, get behind me, Satan. He addressed Satan in the man.

He addressed him. Whatever you want to be, earth, theology, whether he was on him, in him, around him, behind him, whatever. Jesus, you're going to have to deal with this scripture. Jesus said to him, get behind me, Satan.

But it's arrogance, it's pride, and it's trusting his own strength. Do you realize when they came to arrest him, one of the disciples cut off a soldier's ear. Want to take a guess who it was? Peter. Peter. Peter, do you know why he cut his ear off?

Because he missed his head. There could have been a hundred soldiers there. And Peter is going to take them all on with one sword. Let's trust in your own strength. But because of this, Jesus said to him, listen, Satan's got, he's got a right. He's coming, he's coming because you've opened up a door to him. And then Peter does something like we talked about in the first message, under the influence, totally out of character for himself. He did not, this strong disciple that's willing to take on a whole garrison of soldiers, turns around and denies Jesus to the teenage waitress. Many mature believers fall into this trap. They've walked with the Lord a long time and they begin to trust in their own strength to resist temptation. So number one, pride is trusting in your own strength. By the way, first Corinthians 10, 12 says, therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Okay. So number two, pride is trusting in your own righteousness. Pride is trusting in your own righteousness. Now flip back to Job chapter one. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, from where do you come? So Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth and from walking back and forth on it.

This is like we said last week. It goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Then the Lord said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? So Satan answered the Lord and said, well, does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge around him, around his household and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land, but now stretch out your hand and touch all that he has and he will surely curse you to your face. And the Lord said to Satan, behold, all that he has is in your power.

I would say that's granting permission. Only do not lay a hand on his person. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. That's a very difficult passage to understand, but it's really not that difficult when you read the rest of the book. For 32 chapters, 31, Job, he has three friends that show up to try to comfort him. You don't want these friends by the way. But in essence, they do speak a lot of truth. They say to him over and over and over again, Job, are you sure there's not an open door in your life?

Are you sure there's no cause that the enemy was able to use against you? And Job says, nope, nope, nope, nope. I have not done these things and I have done these things. And he lists the things that he hasn't done and he lists the things that he has done. And he says, no, no, no, no. In chapter 32, there's a young man named Elihu that's been sitting there the whole time listening.

And we'll pick it up at that. Job chapter 32 verse one. So these three men ceased answering Job. Now watch, here's the answer to the whole book. Because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of a hard word person, of something else, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job. His wrath was aroused, now watch careful again, because he justified himself rather than God. He justified himself rather than God.

He goes on for several chapters, chapter 33 verses eight, nine. He says, surely you have spoken in my hearing and I have heard the sound of your words. He said, I heard this come out of your mouth, saying, I am pure without transgression.

I am innocent and there is no iniquity in me. Okay, he would have had to be Jesus for that to be true. And then he concludes this, in part of his conclusion, he says in Job 36 verse three, I, this is Elihu the young man talking, I will ascribe righteousness to my maker. Here's the sin.

Here was the open door in Job's life. He was righteous because of what he did, not because of who he knew. Hear me again, mature believers fall prey to pride in this area. Because when we get saved, I want you to think about this. When we get saved, we know that our righteousness comes from God because we weren't righteous. We are not righteous because of what we do. We're righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ, the son alone. It's the only reason we're righteous. And when you begin to believe and trust in your own righteousness, that's pride. So here's what Jesus said. Jesus said, well, it's kind of like the Pharisee and he was in church praying and a sinner came in and this was his prayer. God, thank you that I'm not like others.

Thank you, Lord. He compared himself. That's what Job does for 31 chapters. He says, compare me to anybody. Watch what God, just a few things that God said to Job.

See if you would have wanted to be in Job's shoes that day. Job 38 verse one, then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Let me put that in a simpler version for you.

Just paraphrase it. God said, what idiot is talking right now? Now prepare yourself like a man and I will question you and you shall answer me.

Watch this. Watch what God says. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

How would you like God to ask you that? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements?

And then listen to the sarcasm. Surely you know. Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened?

Who laid its cornerstone? Verse 12, have you commanded the morning since your days began and caused the dawn to know its place? One version says, have you ever told the sun when to come up? Verse 22, have you ever entered the treasury of snow? You know where I keep the snow?

Have you seen the treasury of hell? Verse 24, here's a good one for God to ask you, by what way is light diffused? Verse 34, can you lift up your voice to the clouds that an abundance of water may cover you? Can you tell it when to rain?

Because I can. Can you send out lightnings that they may go and say to you, here we are? One version says, does lightning come to your throne and ask where to strike? Verse 26, does the hawk fly by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south?

Does the eagle mount up at your command and make its nest on high? And then God ends it with this statement. Job chapter 40, verse eight. Would you condemn me that you may be justified? Can you imagine God asking that? Would you condemn me that you may be justified? And of course, Job repents. Please hear me. I've seen a lot of mature believers begin to trust in their own righteousness.

And here's the point. A lot of them really are righteous as far as their living. And I believe in righteous living.

Please hear me. Because unrighteous living opens the door to the demonic. So I believe in living righteously. But living righteously doesn't make us righteous.

Only the blood of Jesus does. So pride is trusting your own strength. Pride is trusting your own righteousness.

Here's number three. Pride is trusting in your own wisdom. 1 Kings chapter 22. This will be one of the most amazing passages you ever see in your Bible.

Ever. This is talking about Ahab when he was king of Israel. Remember Ahab married Jezebel. Jezebel had 850 prophets, but they lost their heads to Elijah would be one way to say that.

Elijah showed up and called fire down on Mount Carmel. She took care of them. They were on her payroll. Ahab had 400 prophets on his payroll. He took care of them, fed them, took them real good so that they would prophesy good things. It's very important to understand this.

Listen to me carefully. Because there are a lot of leaders that keep people around them that won't tell them no. And those are not wise leaders. So Ahab is the king of Israel. He asked Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, to come visit him. Jehoshaphat was a good king. Ahab was a very bad king.

Very, very, very bad. Very wicked. And Ahab says in this conversation, hey, let's go attack the king of Syria and get back Ramoth Gilead, this city that should be ours. And King Jehoshaphat says, let's ask a prophet. And so Ahab calls his 400 prophets that are on his payroll and they said, yes, go, yeah, yeah, God will be with you. And Jehoshaphat says, any other prophets?

And let me, we'll pick it up at that. First Kings 22 verses 7 to 8. And Jehoshaphat said, is there not still a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him? So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there's still one man, Micaiah, this is not Micah that wrote the book. This is a different prophet and his name is Micaiah, not Micah. Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord.

Now watch this. But I hate him because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. So he said, well, let's call him anyway. And they have to bring him out of prison. Ahab had put him in prison three years earlier because he'd already told him, you're going to die. You know, you make God mad, so you're going to die.

And so Ahab put him in jail for that. Verse 15, then he came to the king and the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead or shall we refrain? And he answered him, go and prosper for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. So the king said to him, how many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?

In other words, basically he's saying you're going to do it anyway. It doesn't matter what I say. And then he said, so here's the truth now. I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd. Remember when they have no shepherd, the wolf attacks them. And the Lord said, these have no master. Let each return to his house in peace. In other words, don't go to war with this king because you won't come back.

You need to go home. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. Then Micaiah said, therefore hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne and all the host of heaven standing by on his right hand and on his left. Now let's stop just for a minute because I know the host of heaven refers to angels, but what many people don't realize is there are sometimes it refers to the fallen angels also. Notice that they're standing on the Lord's right hand and on his left. Remember Jesus said, when the son of man comes in his kingdom, he'll put sheep on his right and goats on his left. Notice the host of heaven now is on his right and on his left. Let me show you one more scripture about the host of heaven.

Stay where you are, but let me read you another one so you understand that sometimes the host of heaven represents the fallen angels as well. Second Kings 21 verse one, Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king and he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hefzibah and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. According to all the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed. He raised up altars for Baal.

He made a wooden image as Ahab, that's the worst king that Israel ever had by the way, as Ahab king of Israel had done. And he worshiped all the hosts of heaven and served them. He worshiped angels. He also built altars in the house of the Lord of which the Lord had said in Jerusalem, I will put my name. And he built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. Also, he made his son pass through the fire, practiced sousa, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He worshiped demons.

That's what he did. Okay, so remember Micaiah said, I saw the Lord sitting on his throne and the host of heaven was standing on his right and on his left. It's important to understand that there were some fallen angels there because of what you're about to see. Remember, we just read in Job where Satan was standing in front of the throat of God and God gave him permission to go do something, all right? So watch verse 20 now. 1 Kings 22, verse 20. And the Lord said, who will persuade Ahab to go up that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?

So one spoke in this manner, another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit, I wonder what kind of spirit this is, came forward and stood before the Lord and said, I will persuade him. Then the Lord said to him, in what way? So he said, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. That's not a good holy spirit, by the way. That's an evil spirit, a lying spirit. And the Lord said, you shall persuade him and also prevail. Now watch this, God's about to give orders to a demon.

Go out and do so. Therefore, look, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours and the Lord has declared disaster against you. And this is an amazing passage. A couple of things I want you to understand. First of all, I want you to understand who's in control. There's not a battle between God and the devil. The devil is a created being.

God is the creator. God is in charge. And God will use the enemy to fulfill his purposes sometimes. And God is completely and totally in charge of everything. And here you have the Lord sitting on his throne and a lying spirit talking to him and God giving him orders.

God's in control. And when you open the door, because you trust in your own wisdom that you're smart enough and you don't listen to people who say, stop, stop, stop, you're in trouble. This wisdom, by the way, James 3 talks about it. James 3 verse 14 says, but if you have bitter envy and self seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.

Now watch carefully. This wisdom does not descend from above, but he's earthly, sensual, demonic. Let me put it to you another way. There's a demon talking to you and you think it's God because you trust in your own wisdom and not in the Lord.

No one can correct you. You're smarter than everybody else. When you're smarter than everyone else, you have pride. When you have pride, you have an open door.

When you have an open door, the wolf's coming in. There's no doubt about it. So would God ever grant permission for Satan to attack a believer?

Absolutely. We just saw it with Peter. He said, Satan asked and he was given permission. He asked for Job. And then you've got Ahab, but hear me very carefully. Why would God do that? Listen to me very carefully. It's always, it's always, it's always, always for your good.

Would a parent ever spank a child? Sure. For his good.

Because you don't want him going the wrong way. Proverbs 16, 18. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Okay. How is this scripture normally quoted? You know, the Bible says pride goes before a fall.

No, it didn't say that. It said a haughty spirit goes before a fall. It said pride goes before destruction. So when you have pride in your life, what's going to happen? You're going to be destroyed. So what does God do? In his grace, he sends the enemy so that you go into bondage so that in that bondage you cry out and say, God set me free. And God sets you free if you cry out to him. But if you continue in your pride, you'll be destroyed. We need to, it's like pushing someone out of the way of an oncoming bus. They're going to fall down on the pavement.

They're going to get scratched up, may even break a bone, but they didn't get killed. It's exactly what God would do. God would say, I don't want you to be destroyed.

Think about this. Peter and Job had Satan come against him, but they repented. Peter became one of the preeminent apostles in the New Testament church. Job had everything Satan stole restored by twice as much, but Ahab didn't repent. But watch this scripture, 1 Kings 22 verse 34. Now a certain man drew a bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor.

And Ahab died. But God warned him in God's grace. He told him, it's going to happen if you don't listen to me, but let me say this. I want you to remember pride is trusting your own strength, your own righteousness, your own wisdom. Listen, pride is a trap that the strong, the righteous and the wise fall into many times.

If you don't trust in the Lord's strength, the Lord's righteousness and the Lord's wisdom. We want you to just take a moment to think about what Pastor Robert shared today and listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. If you want to connect with us or check out some of Pastor Robert's other messages, please visit pastorrobert.com. And if you haven't already, go follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, so we can be a part of your community. Thank you again for joining us today. Next time, Pastor Robert will discuss some other doors that believers open to the enemy and the way to freedom. We hope you have a peaceful and blessed week.