Keion Henderson - This Attack Has Limits

This attack has limits; that’s what I want to talk about. I want you to shout it before you sit down and say, «This attack has limits.» You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Say it again: «This attack has limits.» The life of Job has been well documented throughout history. Even if you are not an avid re-reader of the scripture, you know at least a small modicum or portion of this most prolific biblical narrative. Job was, in his day, the richest man in the land. He was Jeff Bezos before there was a Jeff Bezos; he was Warren Buffett before there was a Warren Buffett; he was Henry Ford before there was a Henry Ford. He was a wealthy man. He had so much money that he could not count it; he had so many animals that only the scripture could number them. The only thing that we can definitively count without any mistake was the number of children he had: ten. And even for a man to have ten children and have all of them with him makes him a wealthy man. Up until this time, he has a dedicated and devoted wife. He has a reputation, and who knows what kinds of businesses and affairs this man enjoyed throughout his life? None of it mattered when COVID showed up, because when sickness comes, it doesn’t actually care what your net worth is. When sickness comes, when cancer comes, it doesn’t ask you how many hallelujahs you have uttered. When it arrives, it doesn’t ask you how many times you’ve tithed on Sunday. When sickness comes, it beats the door down, doesn’t ask for entry, pays no respect, and pays no toll for crossing the bridge. When sickness decides to come in, it invades your space like a nighttime robber. Sickness doesn’t say, «We’re going to be sick next week» or «next month.» Sometimes, you don’t find out you’re sick until you’ve already been sick. In the midst of having everything Job had, having everything that bore his name, it matters not now because the only thing that matters is his health. We can spend so much time in our lives trying to make sure we have the right wardrobe, the right house, expensive pillows, mattresses, sheets, shoes, and clothes. But let me tell you something: when you get sick, you can have a car with no place to go. If you get the right sickness in your body, you can have the best mattress and still not get any sleep. If you get sick enough, you can have a house but can’t stay in it because you’re in someone else’s hospital bed. It’s one of those things where you should learn to appreciate the things that money cannot buy. I remember reading a story when Steve Jobs was on his way to his last moment in life; he was sick. He was once a vibrant man, and we saw him standing on the stage of Apple, releasing new products—only a shadow of his former self. He had become emaciated and thin, and in his last days, he said, «I’m a wealthy man, but one thing I learned while I was sick: either eat your food for medicine, or you will eat your medicine for food.» Job is sick. The reason why I went through the litany of expressing all that has befallen him from a physical dimension is that, most of the time in my life since I entered the faith, I’ve heard people speak about Job’s affliction. But for the next few moments, if you will indulge me, I would like to ignore the affliction and focus on the permission. I mean, the Bible says, «Man born of a woman is of a few days, and those few days are filled with trouble.» We understand that people get sick. «Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord shall deliver us from them all.» So we all know the conversation about affliction. But I wonder what it was about Job that made God give His permission. You understand that none of us can be afflicted by the enemy without God’s say-so. There is nothing that you are going through that Satan didn’t have to ask God’s permission for before he afflicted you. So what was it about Job that made God grant the enemy permission? What is God trying to accomplish by allowing Satan to kick your front door in without announcing himself? What is it that God is trying to do in your family by allowing you, your sister, your mother, or your cousin to go through what they are experiencing? What is God’s ultimate plan? I want to examine the permission because when you seek permission, you are actually asking for consent. If you are married—anybody married in here today? —or in a serious relationship, here’s the deal about a serious relationship: everybody here will attest to this. When you are confronted with an expensive purchase or an expensive proposition—most couples have this—you don’t just go and make the expensive purchase without consulting your spouse. If it’s a woman and you see something you want, you’ll say, «Let me call my husband and see if that’s okay,» or «Let me run that by my wife.» Now, you don’t call home and say, «Hey baby, I want to know if I can buy a bag of Flamin' Hots.» You don’t call home.