How To Withstand A Pawn of Satan

[0:00] So I will be reading Psalm 10, and once I am done, I will say, this is the word of the Lord, and you can say with me, thanks be to God. Psalm 10.

[0:30] He forgave, curses, and renounces the Lord. In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek him. All his thoughts are, there is no God.

[0:40] His ways prosper at all times. Your judgments are on high, out of his sight. As for all of his foes, he puffs at them. He says in his heart, I shall not be moved.

[0:53] Throughout all generations, I shall not meet adversity. His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression. Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

[1:06] He sits in ambush in the villages. In hiding places, he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless. He lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket.

[1:19] He lurks that he may seize the poor. He seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. The helpless are crushed, sing down, and fall by his might. He says in his heart, God has forgotten.

[1:32] He has hidden his face. He will never see it. Arise, O Lord, O God. Lift up your hand. Forget not the afflicted. Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, You will not call to account?

[1:47] But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, That you may take it into your hands. To you the helpless commits himself.

[1:59] You have been the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer. Call his wickedness to account till you find none. The Lord is king forever and ever, ever.

[2:11] The nations perish from his land. O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted. You will strengthen their heart. You will incline your ear.

[2:21] To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed. So that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated.

[2:37] The grass withers and the flower fades, But the word of the Lord endures forever. Let's pray.

[2:50] O God, creator of all, judge over all the earth.

[3:02] Thank you that we can come to you, That you hear the desire of our heart. We can lament the pain and the wickedness we suffer in this world.

[3:13] And you draw us in like a loving father. Thank you for who you've revealed yourself to be in this psalm. Help us to see you in your splendor, in your glory. Once again today we ask, By the power of your spirit, For the good of these precious souls, This body we ask.

[3:30] Amen. Well, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, I see in Psalm 10, An encouragement to Christians, And to believers, That you can withstand, A wicked man.

[3:51] We could call this wicked man a pawn of Satan. Satan is playing the chessboard, But he uses real men and women, Which the Bible calls the wicked.

[4:04] And Satan uses those people as his expendable pieces. Think of the book of Acts. We read of one wicked man after another, Rising up from within the church, From outside of the church, Bringing persecution, Acting as a pawn of Satan, To oppose the advance of God's kingdom.

[4:23] Satan loads the gun, He sets up the crime scene, And then the wicked pull the trigger under his spell. Verse 8 says, They murder the innocent, They crush the helpless.

[4:36] Verse 10. See what's going on in this life, In this world? We walk daily by faith, Trusting the Lord. And behind our normal daily activities, There's Satan as a mastermind.

[4:52] And the wicked mind the devil, As their master. Satan is using pawns on earth. And these pawns of Satan cause real damage.

[5:03] They inflict real suffering on real people. So how can you, Christian, Withstand a pawn of Satan? We need to be equipped today.

[5:16] First thing I see here in Psalm 10 Is how Satan grooms a person Into becoming his pawn. How a person becomes a pawn of Satan. Who is it that Satan goes after?

[5:30] According to verse 2, It's the arrogant. Satan baits the arrogant To do his dirty work. Verse 2 says, It's in arrogance That the wicked hotly pursue the poor.

[5:44] Satan goes after the arrogant, The proud. Those who have a puffed up view of themselves. And who is it that Satan seeks to destroy? It's the poor.

[5:54] Remember, My uncle sent a picture of a slum in Brazil In a favela. And everyone there is poor. They live in a slum. But even within the slum, There's oppression.

[6:07] There are drug lords with machine guns Sitting on top of buildings. And then there are these fatherless children On the streets. Satan is using these pawns Even inside of a slum To oppress those who are even poorer than them.

[6:21] In a spiritual sense, These are the, All who are Christians are poor. John Gill commented, The poor, It's the good and gracious soul Who commonly is poor In the things of this world, But is also sensibly poor in spirit.

[6:39] Sensibly, He is aware of his spiritual poverty. That's who Satan wants to destroy And attack. Because those are the poor To whom the kingdom of Christ belongs. So Satan baits the arrogant.

[6:52] And then Satan makes the arrogant Addicted to the evil desires of his heart. Look at verse 3. The wicked boasts of the desires of his soul.

[7:04] The lust inside the heart of the wicked Makes them a pawn in Satan's hand That gets more and more greedy for gain. And once you are Satan's pawn, He makes you obsess about something.

[7:20] Look at verse 4. What is it that the wicked obsess about? You're a pawn of Satan. He makes you obsess about silencing And searing your own conscience.

[7:32] It says the greedy one, The greedy for gain, He curses and renounces the Lord. In verse 3. In verse 4. In the pride of his face, The wicked does not see God.

[7:43] All his thoughts are, There is no God. Do you see this wicked person As a pawn of Satan? Obsessing to appease their own conscience That what they're doing to the poor is okay.

[7:57] There's no God. There's no judgment coming. The thoughts of the wicked Are so full of evil schemes. He makes no room for God In his meditations.

[8:07] Think about what a wicked person You and I would be If we didn't spend our thoughts on God. Without a thought of God, The wicked man brushes off accountability.

[8:20] He convinces himself That he can do whatever he wishes now Without fearing a judgment of God later. And Satan makes his pawns believe Their worldly prosperity cannot be threatened.

[8:35] Look at verse 5. His ways prosper at all times. And as for his foes, He puffs at them. He sneers. He snorts.

[8:46] He scoffs. At the thought of anyone Threatening his prosperity. The wicked views themselves As the top of the food chain. Nothing will threaten me.

[8:58] In a farm in Brazil, There was a 30 foot anaconda snake. So that basketball hoop is 10 feet, 30 feet, Three times that height.

[9:11] And it would go in and out of the little lake there. And the chickens of this farmer started disappearing. But one time the farmer came up. And this is how you kill an anaconda.

[9:24] And it's not very exciting. All he had to do, The anaconda was laying in the sun With the chicken halfway in its mouth. He got a 22 gun. Not very big gun.

[9:34] Not much power. Walked up to the anaconda. Laid it on that snake's head. And pulled the trigger. The anaconda is the top of the food chain. He knows no predators. He didn't think this man is a threat.

[9:47] He thought, My prosperity, Eating as many chickens as I want, It will never come to an end. And just like that, Justice was done. Never more did that snake eat a chicken. That's how a person becomes a pawn of Satan.

[10:02] Takes the arrogant. Feeds their desires. Puffs them up. And thinks they can never be defeated. Now, the next verses here, 6 through 11, Really create a portrait for us.

[10:15] It portrays a pawn of Satan. Martin Luther made this comment, There is not in my judgment a psalm Which describes the mind, The manners, The works, The words, The feelings, And the fate Of the ungodly With so much propriety, Fullness, And light As Psalm 10.

[10:36] So here's the portrait. Of this pawn of Satan. Notice how there's a bookends here. There's an inclusio. Verse 6, The wicked says in his heart something.

[10:47] And then again, Verse 11, He says in his heart. We're going to focus on the portrait Described inside of that. Verse 6, A pawn of Satan Has a grandiose Love For himself.

[11:00] He says in verse 6, In his heart, I shall not be moved. Nothing shall ever shake me. I'm solid. Throughout all generations, I shall not meet adversity.

[11:12] In his heart, He loves himself. He's puffed up. A pawn of Satan Can also be known By his words. So listen carefully To the wicked And you'll be able to tell.

[11:25] In verse 7, We're told, His mouth is filled with cursing And deceit. Oppression and threats Are under his tongue. Mischief and iniquity. Harm and injustice.

[11:37] Trouble and malice. That's what he's spewing From his words. A pawn of Satan Can also be known By his positioning. Where does he place himself?

[11:50] Verse 8 says, He secretly sits In ambush In the villages. He lurks Like a lion. He lies in wait In hiding places. Always positioning To murder His next prey.

[12:03] Which he always goes after. It's the innocent. And you can also tell A pawn of Satan By his focus. Look at verse 8 and 9. His eyes Stealthily watch For the helpless.

[12:17] Looking for a weak prey. He crouches in ambush Like a lion In his thicket. He lurks That he may seize the poor. Not only does he position himself And have that as his focus.

[12:30] He actually strikes. You can tell A pawn of Satan By his actions. In verse 9, He seizes the poor. When he draws him Into his net.

[12:40] He traps him And drags him away. Verse 10, The helpless are crushed. They sink down. They fall By his might. Well, Verse 6 said The desire And what he says In his heart Is a puffed up view Of himself.

[12:58] Look at verse 11. What else does he say In his heart? He says, God has forgotten. He has hidden his face. He will never See it. So not only Does he have a grandiose Love for himself He also Has a minuscule Regard For God And that's a recipe To be a pawn Of Satan.

[13:21] You go about your life Thinking God Does not notice. God does not care. There is no one Higher than me. I can live However I please. Can you see this Portrait Of a pawn Of Satan?

[13:35] He says For one generation To the next No one will Threaten my greatness. During World War II The fascist leader Of Italy Benito Mussolini He allied His whole country To Hitler.

[13:52] And on top Of all the atrocities Of the Nazi party Mussolini Is directly responsible For the death Of over a million Innocent people. And Mussolini Was a pawn Of Satan.

[14:05] There are not only World leaders There are common People walking The streets That are pawns Of Satan But the same Attitude Will be present. Mussolini said The bullet Has not yet been Made That can take My life.

[14:18] No one Will kill me. No one Can threaten me. Now I mentioned How this psalm It's a psalm Of lament. Lament is To cry out To the Lord To weep.

[14:31] The Old Testament Believers Would sit In sackcloth You know Poor Rough Material They would Put ashes Over their head And their hair They would Wail and cry Out to God And lament The reason Psalm 10 Is a psalm Of lament Is because The wicked Ponds of Satan They inflict Real damage In getting to Know our congregation There are stories From every single Household and family Of real wickedness Real evil That has touched Your family In one way Or the other So we can As Christians We must Lament The real damage That Satan's Ponds Inflict On God's people In this life We must lament I'm encouraged By Psalm 10 Because it shows us God welcomes that Look at verse 1 God welcomes you To tell him Honestly How you feel

[15:32] Do you have That type of Relationship With God The creator Where you can Honestly tell him How you are feeling In verse 1 The psalmist Cries out Why oh Lord Do you stand Far away Why do you Hide yourself In times of trouble That's how it feels To the psalmist God also welcomes You to ask Honestly For the vengeance You want To see I don't make A practice Of doing that But I need To learn To pray More biblically To pray Like the psalms Look at what He prays In verse 2 He says Let the wicked Be caught In the schemes That they have Devised Pray honestly For the vengeance You want God To bring God also welcomes You to tell him What the problem Seems to be From your perspective And I think Verse 5 Gives us The greatest Insight Verse 5 Says Your judgments God Are on high And that's a problem

[16:32] He says They are out Of the sight Of men From his perspective The problem Is that It's not that God is unjust It's that God's justice Is so high That to the wicked Of the earth It seems like God does nothing They're out Of the sight Of man And that seems To be a problem That's why These wicked Don't fear you God And God Welcomes you To tell him Honestly The psalmist Teaches us That God Also welcomes You to call On him Directly Ask God To act He says this Very clearly In verse 12 Arise Oh Lord Oh God Lift up your hand To take action Forget not The afflicted God If you see this Which I know You do If you hear These laments Won't you Move with action Bring your hand To this earth So the wicked Can see You are present You do care There is accountability

[17:33] Before you And God Also welcomes You to tell him How bad It really is How bad This wicked Oppression is Look at verse 13 Why does the wicked Renounce God And say in his heart You will not Call to account God the wicked Are mocking you They are saying You are not Going to do anything It is bad Show yourself Arise Lord God welcomes you To put all Your specific Expectations For justice In God's Hands Verse 15 He prays Very specifically Break the arm Of the wicked And evildoer Break his arm Lord The arm Represents power Make the wicked Unable To inflict Damage anymore Make the wicked Unable And powerless To hurt The innocent God Call his wickedness To account Expose it Until you find None So lament

[18:36] The real damage That Satan's Pawns inflict Lament that To God Bring it Directly to him And as you pray Trust that God Truly does Hear your desires Look at this promise In verse 17 Oh Lord You hear The desire Of the afflicted Are you feeling Afflicted today Is there something Which you are lamenting In your soul God hears Your desire Pray to the Lord Lament Bring it to him He welcomes you To do that Well the title Of the sermon Is how to withstand A pawn of Satan And that's what I want To walk us through Next How do you and I Do this We feel the oppression We suffer under it What can I do I believe this psalm

[19:37] Teaches us to do Two things Number one Preach to yourself And number two Pray So number one Preach the truth About God To yourself When you're facing A pawn of Satan When you're facing Oppression in this world When you are suffering When you feel helpless When you are being persecuted Preach to yourself Say oh suffering self Verse 14 God does see God notes the evil And he sees the scheming And he takes He takes account of this Into his own hands Preach that to yourself Oh helpless self I commit myself again to God He has always been The helper of the fatherless I can give myself to God And he will be My helper now Preach this truth to yourself Oh persecuted self Verse 16 The Lord is king

[20:38] Forever and ever The nations perish From his land Preach to yourself The truth from God's own word And the second thing Is to pray R.C. Sproul commented All of our warfare And all of our activity Must Take place In the context Of constant Unceasing prayer Just as a soldier On the battle line Has to keep in Constant communication With his general headquarters And his commanding officer So the Christian Who is on the battle line Must be in constant Communication With his Lord He might be fully Equipped With all the armor But if he is cut off From personal communication With his own commander Then he will be isolated And vulnerable That's the end of Sproul's quote Do you see why we must pray?

[21:36] We must be in communication With our Lord And we can pray Verses 17 and 18 Oh Lord I am afflicted You promise To hear my heart's desires My inner being is weak You promise To strengthen my heart I'm oppressed I'm terror stricken And I feel like I have no protection No advocate No safe house On earth But you promise To be my father To incline your ear To do justice Verse 18 So that no man On earth Can strike terror Anymore You can pray Oh Lord Be true to your word Show me again You are Who you say you are Show me how you've Proven yourself Faithful in the past Remind me of your faithfulness Remind me Of how you've been Faithful in the person And work of Jesus Christ Ultimately

[22:36] And how you will Help me now You can pray Lord You know my desires You know my needs And I ask all of this To you as my loving father Yet not my will But your will be done And I ask this For your glory And my good Isn't it wonderful How the Psalms Teach us to pray Our Lord Jesus Christ When he took on the flesh He identifies with us In our suffering And according to his human nature Jesus learned to pray And how to lament I was thinking of when One of the lowest moments In the life of Christ On earth When John the Baptist His cousin Was beheaded We're told that Jesus Withdrew to a solitary place We don't get many other insights But our Lord had the scriptures Memorized In the Psalms

[23:37] Psalms of lament Crying out to the Lord In this way This would have been The prayer of Jesus In those moments Where according to his human nature The Father is teaching him faith And to trust him All of this plan Is for my purpose And you're good Though you can't see it now And our Lord Jesus In his faithfulness He transforms a Psalm Of lament Like Psalm 10 Into an anthem Of victory The last thing I hope We can do together Is to celebrate How our Lord Jesus Christ Fulfills Psalm 10 And transforms it Notice the tone of this Psalm In verse 1 Why oh Lord Do you stand far away?

[24:23] The Psalmist says I can't stand the wicked Anymore On this earth And you God Why are you so far away? Why are you hidden In times of trouble?

[24:35] Well our Lord Jesus Christ He proves that God Does not stand far away In the person and work Of Jesus God himself Came to earth To dwell With you and me John 1 And God does not stand far off He stands with you And by his strength You can withstand Our Lord Jesus Christ On this earth He entered Satan's house So to speak This present evil age Mark 3 27 He took down That strong man Satan We could say Jesus put Satan In a spiritual half Nelson If you know your wrestling moves And on top of that He broke that arm He bound Satan He bound him up And plundered his goods He took back those souls That belonged to Satan He did not hide himself In times of trouble He showed the disciples this The storm is raging

[25:36] They think they're gonna die These are terror stricken men And he is present with them He's not hidden What's more He took the trouble He took the wrath Of God's justice on the cross In order to give peace To all who would look at him He brought the judgments of God From on high To this earth And his spirit is applying His justice To your life and to mine now He's applying the grace The glory The peace of heaven To us in real time He's not far away He's not hiding himself He arose From the dead As God's Strong right arm Jesus holds All power And authority He is the king Who sits enthroned Forever And ever There is no room For Satan Or Satan's pawns In the kingdom of God He drives them out of his land He pushes them

[26:37] Far away He does not Forget his people He does not leave Christians As orphans In this world But instead He sent His Holy Spirit And he draws you To be part of his family He intercedes for you Even when you're groaning And lamenting The Holy Spirit Takes that And he turns it Into an Abba Father That the Lord hears With mercy And he promises That he is With you Always Even to the very end Of the world He has conquered sin And Satan Worldliness And wolves He has defeated Death So that you His people Must never live In the fear Of terror Again The wicked Will not prosper Forever They will perish So the pawns of Satan Dear brothers and sisters They do inflict Real damage But our Lord Jesus Christ

[27:38] He is the King of Kings He is the Lord Of Lords And he has made you One with him It is his strength Inside of you He has made you A knight In his army He has taken All the armor That you need From heaven And he puts it on you Ephesians 6 3 He commands you To take what he's given Therefore Put on the full armor Of God So that when the day Of evil comes You may be able To stand Your ground And having done all To stand This is how we withstand The pawn of Satan In this world And this is how The Lord transforms The psalm of lament Into our anthem cry Of victory Let's spend some time Praising him And thanking him For his great work That we can belong to him Thank youCause God bless you Rome