Satan and sifting
Job 1 and 2 – Satan asked permission to sift Job (to see what he was made of).Matthew 3:11-12 – “and his winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean his threshing floor” (wheat from chaff)Amos 9:9 – “shake the house of Israel as grain is shaken in a sieve”Acts 5:3 – Satan filled Ananias’ heart to lieLuke 22:3; John 13:2, 27 – Satan entered Judas’ heart“Has requested permission”
Satan was not content with Judas alone (John 13:2, 27)Mark 5:1-15 – Jesus has control over demons.Acts 19:10-19 – Paul had power over demons also.II Corinthians 2:11 – “We are not ignorant…”We like to think that we don’t have control over our errors because of fear, stress, emotions, etc.Peter’s basic personality and demeanor
Extremely self-confident and often not as smart or tough as he thought it was.Very motivated, to the point of appearing arrogant at times.Always the first to speak and relay his plan to all.“To sift you like wheat”
Some of Peter’s sifting:Luke 22:54-61; Mark 16:7 – humiliationPeter realized he was not as smart or as tough as he thought he was. Would Peter be excited to see Jesus again after His resurrection?John 21:15-23 – not enough faithActs 4:3-11; 5:18; 12:4-11 – prisonPeter had quickly gone from somewhat of a coward to a man that would loudly proclaim Jesus without fear of death.Peter was sleeping in prison the night before he was to be put to death!Galatians 2:11-14 – publicly condemned by PaulPeter was caught up in hypocrisy. He still needed sifting. This is no doubt something Paul did not want to do.\I Peter 1:6-12; 4:1-2, 12-16As you grow older, has your personality and understanding of God changed?The testing of your faith makes you a different person.Sifting and testing are the same thing. Peter is no longer concerned about death. He is concerned about having his name written in the book of life.How does God prepare us for His service?
By gifting us – Romans 12:6-12; I Peter 4:10; Matthew 25:29This process allows us to grow talents we have and acquire new ones.By sifting us – I Peter 4:12-19This process helps me to eliminate the bad thing in me and enhances the good.Remember
God always totally controls the sifting process.Job 1-2Job was being sifted, but he had no clue about it!Philippians 1:19-21I Corinthians 10:11-13Two responses to the sifting process
Anger, rebellion, depression, etc. – That leads to eternal death and destruction.Romans 1:24-32Repentance and confession of wrong attitudes and actions – That leads to godlinessJames 4:13-17; I Peter 5:6-7How much of our anxiety can we hand to God? All of it!Eventually, we all repent!
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