Sermon Tone Analysis

I want to label the message this morning, When Satan stands up.

There is a word that most of us don’t use in our world today.

That word is Serendipity.

it is one of the most difficult words to describe.

What exactly is a serendipity?

I have never used the word so I really wanted to know.

It is fortunate accident, a pleasant suprise.

The term was coined in the 18th century by a man named Horace Worpol. in 1754 he wrote to a friend named Horace Mann explaining the reason why he made the word up.

He had read a book entitled the three princes of serendip.

The story was about the heroes who along their journey continued to find things they were not looking for....

Reading this Horace Worpol began using the word serendipity and it stuck and has even made it throughout many centuries as a word that is a part of the English language.

What we have in is a Biblical serendipity.

The story in this chapter is parallelled in 2 Samuel chapter 24 but the stories are slightly different.

the story is told of how the people of Israel suffered because of the sin of one of their kings.

But the story in is different because in this story the writer tells the story to teach us how David “found” the land upon which the Temple of God would be built.

Davids heart was not satisfied with the presence of God dwelling inside of a tabernacle, a tabernacle was basically an elaborate tent.

David wasnt satisfied with God living in a modified tent.

He felt God deserved a building in which to meet with His people.

God agreed but wouldnt allow David to build that house because David was a man of war with bloody hands.

But God did allow David at the end of this book to raise the offering that would fund the building of the house of God but here in chapter 21 the writer tells us that David is also the one who chose the land upon which the house of God would be built.

It was a biblical serendipity.

It was a pleasant surprise.

David went down the wrong path and ended up at the right destination, this is a picture of God’s soverign hand at work.

Only god can do that.

This chapter tells us about a great sin of David, this sin brought consequences, it brought consequences for Israel.

Pestilence hit the land and 77thousand men were killed and the angel of the Lord hovered over Jerusalem preparing to kill even more people of Israel but God relented and showed mercy.

He told David that the judgment would stop if David would offer Him a sacrifice.

David went to the house of Ornan and asked for a man named Ornans land to use his threshing floor to make an offering of sacrifice to God.

Ornan said David you da king so whatever is mine is yours, David said NO you gotta make me pay a price for the threshing floor.

Because I cant offer to the Lord something that did not cost me anything.

David made the sacrifice and God stopped the judgment.

The Angle of the Lord left.

But David who was a worshipful man did not go to the tabernacle to make anymore sacrifices he got there because he went down the wrong path but somehow the wrong path lead him to the right destination.

He was there at Ornans threshing floor David says

1 Chronicles

David went the wrong way and landed at the right place.

Choosing this land as the place where the Temple of God and the alter of God would be built, it would be in that Temple centuries later that one of Davids descendant which the Bible calls Davids son would be drug in chains to be tried by religious authorities.

They would condemn Him to death, and then drag Him to the outskirts of the city and let Roman soldiers NAIL Him to the cross and in the process all God was doing was setting up a greater alter so that you and I could find free forgiveness and conversion and eternal life.

This is a Biblical serendi[ity David went the wrong way and ended up at the right place.

How did this happen?

The story begins at the beginning of chapter 21

David is an old wise and seasoned king but here David would make one of the biggest mistakes of his life and reign as king.

David is known for his sin with Bathsheba but I tell you that this sin was even greater than his sin with her and his murder of her husband Uriah.

In his youthfulness he became tempted by the lusts of his flesh and sinned with Bathsheba, but now as an old wise experienced Godly man, He made his greatest mistake when he numbered the people of Israel.

This is a warning church, children are often foolish, but so are adults.

young people can fall to the world the flesh and the devil but so can older people.

Immature people make mistakes but even the most mature person in this room is stll capable of making big mistakes.

Here David now an old and wise and Godly man, made the greatest mistake of his life.

The passage begins by telling us in

Satan was behind this, this was one of the three direct references of the OT to an appearance of Satan he doesnt show up much in the OT he shows up in and 2 where he goes before God asking for permission to afflict Job.

He shows up in Zecheriah 3:1-2 before the HEavenly court he accuses before God the High priest whose name was Joshua and now the text says

SATAN STOOD UP AGAINST ISRAEL AND INCITED DAVID TO NUMBER ISRAEL

The other scripture I mentioned at the beginning tells us that God’s anger was stirred up against Israel and God put it in Davids heart to number Israel.

This is the mystery of Gods total control.

tells us in verse 13 that God never tempts any man.

But in Jesus teaches us to pray and lead us not into temptation.

This is the mystery of the exhaustive soverignty of God.

God is not the source of evil but God is so in control, that He can use a bad thing to produce a good result.

Here we see a mystery of God in His soverignty permitting Satan to do evil, and David sins and is held responsible for his own actions.

Satan stood against Israel.

I was just kind of shocked by this when I first read it.

Doesnt that kind of blow you away.

Satan stood … can you imagine that?

Satan standin up.

The idea here is both bad news and good news, the good news here is that the text suggests that Satan cannot do what He desires if God doesnt permit him to stand up.

We say the devil is busy but maybe he aint as busy as we think he is.

Have you ever thought about the fact that the world could be so much worse than it is right now.

IF the devil really had his way, but we have been protected from somethings that the devil wanted to do because God literally looked over at him and said you better sit your hind end down devil...

God makes the devil SIT DOWN

Thats the good news, but heres the bad news.

There are times when God allows Satan to stand up; I dont know about you but it seems to me he can do enough trouble sitting down.

...

But what is it like when Satan stands up?

He concentrates all of his attention and forces against the people of God.

This is what we find in the text, when did Satan stand up against Israel and David?

The first word of verse 21 is this: THEN

When?

This ties chapter 21 to chapters 18-20, where there is one battle after another that David faces but God gives him victory in every one.

In fact at the end of chapter 20 there is a battle against the age old enemy of Israel the Philistines who are being lead by the brother and relatives of the Giant Goliath.

Thats why you better not celebrate too much after a victory.

Because as soon as you get through fighting one battle another one is on the way.

Don’t get too comfortable when you have slain a Giant in your life, because that Giant.... you may kill him but he may got brothers that you dont know about, that you’ll meet again.

One battle rose after another against David… Have you ever felt like this?

You win one battle but then as soon as its over another struggle has showed up in its place.

One battle after another came after David but David had victory over them all.

When NO MAN COULD STAND IN DAVIDS WAY, VERSE 1 SAYS THEN SATAN STOOD UP…

When we count on man it displeases God but theres a second consequence God struck them.

I am getting to the end of this.

When we lean on our own understanding we fall to our own foolishness.

I mean what is so wrong with numbering the people of Israel?

it seems wise doesnt it?

count them all find out how many people you have in order that you can tax them or ask them to contribute to the building of a new Temple?

Find out how many men you have to fight battles when they arise?

it sounds wise there was just one problem, God explicitly told David NOT to do it, he sent a man named Joab to come and tell David not to do it and he did ti anyway.

You know sometimes God will send a friend, sometimes God will send a preacher, a sunday school teacher, heck he even sent a donkey to talk to someone.

God will send people into the lives of his people to tell them what needs to happen.

But you know whats funny, were often looking for worldly wisdom rather than listening to those whom God may have appointed to tell us exactly what we need to do.

As a result of his disobedience God sent pestilence on the land, and 77 thousand fell dead.

David sins because he starts counting on his people, God sends pestilence and in the blink of an eye, he takes out more than 77 thousand at one time, as a warning about counting on man, because while you adding up God knows how to subtract.....

We cannot rely on the things that make us comfortable, because God will take those things away to let you know that you aint as big and bad as you think you are.

God wasnt done, the Bible says