I love that song. When you think of the history and where that was couched in, it is amazing. It is just amazing. Well, tonight we’re going to come back to this same passage, only we’re going to broaden it up just a little bit and see some more of the immediate context, because you have to do that to find out what our response is going to be to the roaring lion who walks about seeking who he may devour.

And so, in a real sense, I once again want to, as it were, bring us into the reality of the spiritual warfare that we are involved in. and to, as it were, either raise the curtain or drop the curtain, as it were, for us to see behind the scenes. When Eileen, we hadn’t been here too long, a couple years, and Eileen was in high school, and I would take her to Harrison School of the Arts uptown on the other side of Lake Hollingsworth, and she was getting her education there. And as parents of a Harrison student, we were, I don’t know if it was a requirement, probably was, but anyways, they would have us be involved in certain things that the School of Arts was putting on. We really weren’t that active in the PTA, though we knew stuff like that was going on and that kind of thing. And I was given the opportunity, as part of my volunteerism, to go to a play. not my real cup of tea, but I went.

And yet it was something that I have thought on and about several times. I don’t know what the play was about or whatever, but it was basically my job as a parent to be behind the scenes, behind the curtains, and to be behind there and to see everybody working together.

And I have to confess that I was amazed. I was amazed at the professionalism of those teenagers. And they had this one young lady that she was a real, she was drama. She was unbelievable in her acting and performance and everything. And she was having kind of like a double role. And so she was out there, and I couldn’t see it because I was behind the scene. And she was out there all involved in things.

And then she would come back. And there would be a bunch of students, several students, not a bunch, but several students around, standing in a circle. And she would immediately come back, run over, get in the middle of those students, and they would all reach down, and they would pull up a sheet. And it was high.

And I thought, well, that’s odd. And then it was nothing but just a moment, and then they just let the sheet drop, and she was completely different. I mean, completely changed. And I was amazed at the cooperation and how that could really change. But when you were back there and you could see it, and then she would go out and be another person in the play.

Well, we tend to go along in our Christian life, and we know, as what Adam preached this morning, about sin, very good, and we battle that. And he approached it that way, and then, towards the end, he got to the point, which I was glad he stopped preaching, because now it comes into my part. You know, there’s a lot of things behind the scene.

We have a problem sinning, because we are redeemed sinners as believers. And there’s enough of the stench of the old flesh that keeps on raising its head. That what I don’t wanna do, I do, and that what I wanna do, I don’t do. There’s a law principle here, and it’s the law of sin and of death. But praise be unto God, Jesus gives us the victory. And that’s all surface out in front of the stage. But behind the scenes, There’s a lot of other things going on.

The Apostle Paul wrote about it in Ephesians, and he took a military view of the whole thing, where we read, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles or the deceitful strategies, the strategium. of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts and wickedness in heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil day. Having done all to stand, stand therefore. having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful in this end with all perseverance and supplication with all the saints. And he goes on and talks about pray for me and so forth that even he was battling Satan. And he took a military view on the whole thing about being prepared and we wrestle not against flesh and blood.

However, over in 1st Peter, you can turn there with me if you would, in 1st Peter, in Peter we have him taking a biology or an animal illustration, and he’s gonna use this thing of a lion. And he’s gonna use another animal, picture there when he says, and we considered this last week, be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, and we spent last Sunday night looking at the adversary. There was an adversary, legal, and one who proclaims our mess ups to God and so forth. Our adversary, the devil, the deceiver, he walks about like, and he uses the illustration of a roaring lion, and seeking whom he may devour.

He doesn’t just want you to mess up, he wants to destroy you. This world tends to lighten this backdrop, behind the scenes spiritual warfare. Flip Wilson, the devil made me do it. Well, it may be true, but we laugh at it. Yeah, that’s not something. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. That should be a bit of a scary verse to us. He comes as an angel of light.

When Jesus preached, he let him have it. You are of your father, the devil. You speak lies and the father of lies is the devil and it’s family. And so then the remainder part of that message, I just went through and looked at some of the Satan’s roars in the Bible. Satan roars and Eve corrupts the word of God and eats. Adam eats with her and we’re all in big trouble. Satan roars in the life of Job. and the destruction of his wealth, family, everything, even his health. But it was all under the direction of God. Satan roars, and we saw how that Satan was for the destruction of Israel.

It talks about that in the book of the Revelation where he’s there ready to devour the child when it is born and the woman gives birth to the child. But not only that, when the Magi show up and they say, where’s he born King of the Jews? And find out it’s in Bethlehem and Pilate said, oh, let me know so I could come and worship him too.

Liar, liar, pants on fire. He was lying after Satan. And then when he finds out he was mocked, what does he do? Satan roars and a bunch of dead baby boys populate Israel and their blood runs into the soil. You had Jesus in the temptation, right after his baptism, driven out there. 40 days, no food, fasting, praying. The roar of the Satan comes. You got to be hungry. You know, you can take these stones. And he roars and you can make bread and have your belly full. He roared. But Jesus did not succumb to the temptation three times. But then there was another one who had walked with Jesus three years, Judas, and Satan entered him. And he roared and with a kiss, the roar of a kiss.

Satan gets what he thinks he wants. And ultimately, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then after that. You have, well, I guess it was before that, but then Peter, in the midst of all of that, Jesus says, Peter, Satan has desired you, but I prayed for you.

He’s gonna sift you like wheat. So we get these roars of Satan, and then within the history of the roars of Satan against believers, he can roar and we can fear. He can roar, we can be confused in doctrine. He can roar and believers gossip. He gets us to sin, sexual temptations. He can roar and there is persecution.

So that is our adversary. And that’s all that we really had time to do last week. But the passage just doesn’t tell us about our adversary. He tells us what can help us in the midst of this. And it was interesting, as we sang the song again, A Mighty Fortress is Our Guide, how many of those things are found within that particular song. And it isn’t that that’s just by chance. It’s because you have a man of God who knows his scriptures. And he knew the principles, and he put it and couched it into that kind of a relationship.

So tonight, what I want us to do is I would like to, well, as it were, drop the sheet and have fully exposed this person who is one thing sometimes in public, can be one thing in what we think of, but yet is fully something else. I want us to look at and to be reminded once again, we wrestle not against flesh and blood. but that we are involved in a spiritual battle for our lives.

Six important words to silence the roaring lion. And the first one is a little bit surprising, actually. You know, I know Larry, when Larry would sing like the love of God and he’s a boy, I wish I would have written those words, you know, and that was a big thing to him. Well, When it comes to scripture, if I would have been writing, I would not have come up with this one. Because this one’s almost like against it. When we see, okay, we wrestle not against, we wrestle, that means hand-to-hand, you know, blood, sweat, and tears. A roaring lion. So what is the first word? Well, in context, this starts up at verse five of 1 Peter chapter five.

Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves unto your elders, lest all of you be submissive, yes, all of you be submissive one to another, and to be clothed with humility. Interesting. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.” Humility. Humility.

He doesn’t start off with, buck up, be a man. You can take him on, rah, rah, rah. I’ve never played football, never aspired to play football. There isn’t a football team anywhere, even in the minor leagues or in the cubbies, that they would ever want me to play football. So I don’t really know what they say in a huddle. It is a huddle, right? They huddle before.

But I have a feeling that when they do, they all go in there and say, OK, you’re going to do this, and you’re going to do this, and don’t drop the ball. Don’t blow it. And he’s doing this thing. But then one of those things that they usually, I would assume, say, now, go out there and kill them. We’re going to pump up the guys. If nothing else. Trash talk them. Just go out there. You guys are going down. You are so out of this league and all that kind of stuff. Ah, but we wrestle not against flesh and blood. And we cannot do this ourselves. The arm of flesh will always fail you.

You see, that’s why we have other verses like, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Well, who’s the he that is in the world? Well, he’s a lion and he’s a spirit being that shoots fiery darts at us. Don’t be saying, well, I’m a pretty good shot. One of the pietisms that you haven’t heard for years, now you can hear it.

That kind of trash talk to Satan should gag a maggot off a gut wagon. That should be putrefying to our thinking. We are supposed to be people of humility, even in the battle, especially when we’re fighting and going up against the roaring lion. Now, I find it interesting that humility is mentioned several times here, but it’s found and couched in a couple of different ways.

First of all, verse five. Well, let me just say that the term elders just doesn’t mean older people because notice chapter five, verse one. The elders who are among you, I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ also partake of the glory will be revealed. That this is the elders, the pastors of the local assemblies of the church that are there. And this is what he says. Likewise, you younger people, And it’s addressing Christians. You younger Christians submit yourselves to your elders. These are qualified spiritual men that have been involved in the battle. But why would that become here?

And it’s out close to the end of the book. We got to understand what the book was about. If you remember a couple of things to remember, this is that Wicked Nero was ruler in Rome. He was upset at the slow development of his kingdom and said, we believe, most believe, that he burned down Rome. A lot of culture, a lot of things were done.

He was hated. This man was a nasty dude. He would throw a party and put people, kill them or even leave them alive, impale them, set them on fire to light his Buffy and Tad parties with other leaders. This guy’s a reprobate on steroids. He is wicked. And that’s couched in the historical thing, and he needed an out. So he started blaming the Christians for doing it.

And then the Christians were under tremendous persecution. So Peter. one of the 12, a dearly beloved one, that he, not John, who was the beloved one, but he was loved of the Lord Jesus in the top four. And he was very bold, but he was also an elder, recognized as being an elder. And Christians were being terribly, terribly persecuted.

Just to see the kind of the spirit of the book itself, turn with me. to chapter one, verses six and seven. First Peter, chapter one, verse six. And in this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being of much more precious than of gold, that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to the praise, honor, and glory to the revelation of Jesus Christ. Chapter two, verse 12. Another one, having your conscience honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak evil of you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Then drop down to verse 19.

For this is commendable if, because of conscience towards God, one endures grief, sufferings wrongfully. For what credit is it when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently. But when you do good and suffer, you take it patiently. This is commendable before God. For to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow in his steps. Chapter three and verse 13. And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of that which is good?

But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats nor troubled, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts always, ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you of the reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”

Humility. And he just said, you’re suffering, you’re gonna be beaten. We share in the sufferings of Christ. And he does, and he keeps on that on down. Verse 16, having a good conscience that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, for it is better if it is the will of God to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. And then chapter four and verse one, therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind. So the whole book is a preparation charge for suffering.

And as he’s wrapping it up, what does he say? Now, young guys, the ones who probably want to go out and start, you know, eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and, you know, we’re going to limb for a limb and you hit me, I’m going to hit you more. And the idea of fighting it.

No. Submit yourselves. Have humility. Submit yourselves unto your spiritual leadership. But not only that. Notice what he says as he continues on. Submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive one to another. Be clothed with humility. Why? Because God is noticing. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves.

Now the humility, the ultimate humility was unto God. Submit yourselves under the mighty hand of God. Realize the battle is of the Lord. You know, in that song when some people don’t know how to say the Lord’s Sabbath oath in a song of in a mighty fortress, that is the God of hosts. Submit yourselves unto God, the God of hosts, the one who has all of of the angelic a host that can fight for him.

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time. When you are suffering, when you are persecuted, when you are tempted, when you’re battling, when you’re staring the lion in the face, cast all your care upon him for he, God, cares for you.

Job, how did Job handle all of that? Yet in all these things he did not sin because he was concerned about and looking at and casting all of his life upon God and not upon his circumstances. He understood it all, he was experiencing it all, but it was an act of humility.

I bear the brand marks of Jesus in my body, Paul would say. And that would be the mark of identity. Don’t suffer for evil. But if you suffer for doing good, if Satan is really after you, there must be a good reason. Now, don’t get proud about that, but be honored by that.

So we have the word humility that is here. It is submission to the spiritual leadership. It is submission to God, verses six through seven. Humility means a low-mindedness, that you’re not too good to serve others and the recognition that you are a servant to another. As Adam said this morning, you’re either a slave of sin or a slave to God.

In a real sense, that’s all two. It was the word to be tied to, having your mind, a low-mindedness, but it’s tied to something else. It would even be a word for an apron, to guard and to protect, but it doesn’t really stop anything because you’re relying upon another. Well, that is the couch context. That would be the backdrop. of these others that are more specific. Because in chapter five, verse eight of 1 Peter, we now have two particular words that are in the immediate context of what he tells us.

And the first is this, be sober, another, be vigilant, and then he tells us why, explanatory phrase, because your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. So we have two things specifically. that we are told to have two important words to be involved in our resistance in silencing the tiger or the lion.

The first one is be sober. The term to be sober can be taken in one of two ways. It can be taken in a physical sense or in a metaphorical sense. I liked what one person said to me, and it was very helpful. We usually use the term sobriety or to be sober in relation to alcohol.

And we say, oh, well, he’s not talking about alcohol here. That’s true. There is some key idea to that, and it does can be used in that particular way. It means don’t be drunk. You know, we have that don’t be drunk with wine, which is an excess. It has the idea of to be sober, not to be drunk, or to be in self-control. It deals with issues of the mind, the thoughts.

Don’t be flighty or flippant. The Flip Wilson comment. People have that kind of a concept when it comes to the spiritual battle. Be careful of making light of darkness, because darkness, spiritually speaking, is extremely powerful and foreboding. And we have that in the secular world all over.

I don’t think I used the reference just because, because, but I took that idea of the roaring, it’s in the text, but back in the 70s, Helen Reddy, popular singer back then, secular, had a song and it became the song of feminism. I am woman. Hear me roar. Now, I don’t know that they took that from this, but it wouldn’t surprise me. And that was recognized as their national anthem. And people go, well, it’s only a song.

Be careful. We need to be sober, not under the control of a substance. We need to exercise self-control. But in the metaphorical sense, it is used in having balance in life issues, being able to think correctly about some things that are good, being careful not to be lured in of something that is good, but then it is used for terrible means.

Losing your ability to think clearly about an issue that is really clear. I wrote down two things that kind of illustrate this. Number one, and that would be sports betting. You know, Al Mohler has had a lot on the briefing about this, but the sports betting is ruining sports. It’s ruining lives. Is our sports evil? No. But is sports betting? It is taking money away. They’re talking about how long before a person will drop a ball or when something will happen. And they’ll do whatever they can. The roar of sports betting.

When something, people cannot think correctly. May I dare use a political reference? The whole thing of what is called TDS, Trump Derangement Syndrome. Now I am not gonna say that I am for everything or this is, I’m making a political thing to support him. But there are people out there that have lost their ability to think and to even see the good that he might do. Even to the point when people are being murdered and that falls on, I keep thinking about when God judges previous people and administrations in that for what has happened.

And then they said, oh, the border’s closed. That is a lie. Where did that come from? The father of lies. It’s all part of the spiritual battle. And Christians can get caught up in the political fighting of it. When they forget, do you think that there might be a roaring lion walking about seeking him may devour? And he’s devoured families where families can’t even get along because of a man who doesn’t even take a salary, who doesn’t need the job.

And for whatever reason, you see, there are a lot of people that are drunk or let me just put it another way, not sober thinking And yet we can do the same thing with respect to Satan. So be sober, balanced, disciplined in mind, body, and life, unspoiled by the world.

It’s not the first time Peter even uses the word, go back, and the concept. Go back to chapter one, verse 13. And I find it interesting because the book is all about suffering and the persecution that they’re having because the lion is roaring, And he refers to sober thinking so many times. Chapter three, I’m sorry, chapter one, verse 13.

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance. but as he who hath called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written, be ye holy for I am holy. Look at chapter two and verse 11. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from freshly lust which war against the soul. Is that where I want to be, two? 11, yes. I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims to abstain.

Think correctly about what’s going on. These things war against your soul. Look at chapter four and verse seven. but the end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious, that’s the word, sober. Be serious and watchful in your prayers, and above all things, have fervent love one to another, for love will cover a multitude of sin. Be serious. So the first thing he says before he gets to the thing, you’re adversary of the devil, is to be sober. And sober-minded. The second word that he uses is to be vigilant, be sober, be vigilant. Now there’s a lot of overlap here, but the term to be vigilant means to be alert, to be watchful, to hold in view a fierce and relentless spiritual enemy. You stay wide awake.

Jesus kept referring to this about those, about keeping your lamps ready for the coming of the Lord. Matthew 26 verse 41 talks about if you knew when the thief was going to come, you would be prepared, you’d stay awake. Well, we don’t know when he’s coming. And he uses that in reference of Jesus coming, so you stay awake, you’re alerted, keep close attention to what is going on. What’s interesting is, is that this can, this is couched in the illustration of your Enemy, the one you’re fighting, preparing against and fighting against and standing against is a roaring lion.

You know, it’s one thing to walk out in your backyard. It’d be another thing to be walking out in the backyard if you knew that you had, and it had been told to you that there were six rattlesnakes. and nobody has caught them, they’re not removed, and now it’s dark, and you wanna go out and check the tomatoes. Yeah, you may go out, but you’re having all the lights on. You’re going out with big boots on. You’re going out prepared. So be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary’s out there ready to pounce on you. We need to be watchful.

When we were in Ohio, not this time, but the time before when my brother-in-law passed away, they had a lot of clouds. Nothing new for Ohio. They hardly see the sun. So a lot of clouds. But then the storms came, and then we heard this alarm. My sister lives fairly close to a small, airport, and the alarm went off. All of a sudden, you hear that, and you perk up a little bit. OK, the trees are moving a little bit more. What’s going on? Because that means that it’s an alarm, not just a watch. It’s an alarm. You become more vigilant. You sober up, but you become vigilant.

And that’s where this one comes into play. Stay awake. Don’t take everything you hear and see verbatim and that it’s all OK if it’s on Christian TV. Or if it’s on Christian radio. You need to be vigilant if you’re going to take that into your spiritual diet.

Just because a person is nice. I had to go through that several times in Ohio. And just recently this week in talking to someone that was not a Christian, and they were just saying, well, they were such a nice person. And I shocked him and said, you know, there’s a lot of nice people in hell. And there will be a lot of nice people in hell. That’s not the criteria. Keep vigilant. I think that’s also what was in the mind of Peter when he said to submit to your elders.

One of the things that was a major influence on me, I don’t know how I want to put this, because I didn’t do the selection of Ryan to become the senior pastor. However, any influence or anything that I could have, he is in tune and vigilant when it comes to newer Christian books that are being written. newer theologians that are writing.

One of the things, you know, back in the day when the whole DEI thing was going on, we were just preaching. I was just preaching. We were having a good time here. And all that stuff about DEI and all this thing about justice and all that junk that was going on in the culture.

I was not in tune. I went to a conference to one and I was amazed. But all of this stuff and how, you know, the, I won’t say matriarchy, I think it’s called patriarchy, but you know, all of that. And I thought, wow, I have missed it. I wasn’t as vigilant as I should have been.

And then when he came and then we were talking about schools and where that comes, I appreciate a pastor who is vigilant. I was going to say I appreciate a pastor who is sober. We’d have a good laugh at that. But who is vigilant on the contemporary scene of what’s going on. You know, that’s extremely important on college campuses. debating to know what’s going on in our culture. Well, we got to quickly go on.

So the word humility, the word to be sober, the word to be vigilant, the word in verse 9 then comes now, resist him. Resist him. And there’s no profound word or discussion on that. That means to stand up against. Be firm. hard, unbending. In the flesh, I want to say, well, that’s not easy. And that’s when the humility goes out, because that means I’m trying to do it myself. Of course, it’s not easy. But you know, it’s funny in the scriptures, it says, resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Yeah, I’ve got, you know, but when we’re told how to do that, it isn’t us doing it. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. We lean upon the Holy Spirit. You just don’t budge. What’s interesting is, is that’s what the next word then talks about, resist him.

Just say no. The problem when we’re tempted to sin and then when we fall to sin, we may want to blame, you know, the devil. We’ll try to get at my weakness of the flesh and that. No, it’s just because you did not exercise fortitude and just say, no, I will not do that. No, I will not get rid of. I don’t know.

And I have thought about, you know, sometimes the temptations that a phone gives, maybe we should go back to flip phones. You’re not the only one who thinks that, buddy. But there’s times when you get rid of the app, get rid of cable TV. We had visitors this morning, they kept saying, well, I’m starting to lose, you know, it’s a good sermon on sin, but I gotta change all of the shows that I’m watching. Well, pretty soon you might as well get rid of the TV. Now, that sounds like we’re living back in the, what, 60s, 70s, 80s, you know, back in the day. Can’t watch TV, can’t go to the movies.

But the problem is, is that we don’t resist or when we change the channel. Well, I want to see how it ends. Be vigilant, resist. Number nine, it goes on. Resist him steadfast in the faith. Know your doctrine. Know who it is that you’re battling. Stand for truth. Be willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake. Peter said it. We’ve already read those verses. To suffer for righteousness’ sake. To stand against the current means for steadfast. Without cowardice. pause to use this illustration because I don’t want you to do this and it not turn out well.

But in the animal world, and last week I talked a lot about the tiger that was intimidating, and I work with an African lion, and they’re just terribly intimidating and everything, and they are extremely dangerous. And if one gets out or if something happens, what you never do, never, don’t run. And I was kind of encouraged, wow, it’s even Bible. When the roaring lion comes at you, what do you do? You don’t run, you stand fast in the faith. There are those that say that if you’re in the jungle and a lion is stalking you, you stop and stare him down. Now that takes real fortitude. And then you’ll probably pass out if they’re growling.

I took Susan once a long time to some friends where they had some lions and tigers up in Dade City. And she was walking along the cage, and she was stalked by a lion. Or I think it was a tiger there. And she was being stalked. And she said, I am so uncomfortable. And she wanted to kind of hide behind. I said, you just stand still. And you stare at it. And part of it’s a bluff. Now, if he’s really hungry, he doesn’t care about your bluff, because you’re too small. But that’s when you puff up and you just stare.

And so we resist, in the faith, Satan. Stand fast, not wavering. I also find it interesting that when Paul was arguing this in Ephesians, stand therefore, having done all to stand, stand. Now, you see, we can be, and a lot of our charismatic, more Pentecostal friends, they kind of get on that and say, I can command Satan.

Yeah, now you need to remember the context of humility, because you’ve lost that. And that’s one reason why you can fall, because the arm of flesh will fail you. But to resist, and he will flee from us. But that’s not all that he says. Notice what it says. Stand fast in the faith, knowing. So this is now, it gets down to there’s some things you need to know. And with this, we can close tonight. Knowledge, the number six. So we’ve seen humility, be sober, be vigilant, resist, steadfast, and now knowledge. And the knowledge is in verse nine. It says stand fast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world, in the world.

You’re not in this alone. You’re not the first one to go up against Satan. But may the God of all grace, who called us into his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, he not denying you’re gonna suffer, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. Now there’s another whole sermon there. And then the doxology, to him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. There’s the knowledge. There are three things that you need to know. Number one, the commonness with the brethren. This is not new. It happens today. It’s happened in every previous generation.

It will happen until he is placed into the bottomless pit. Now, may I just say that there are some theologians with other eschatological positions than mine who believe that either Satan is now in the bottomless pit, or he’s chained and he just has a long chain. I don’t think any of that justifies with the verses that we have seen, both in Ephesians and in 1 Peter. We have a formidable enemy, and he’s walking about and doing all kinds of damage. And he did it to the brethren in the past, the book of Acts, He did it in the early church. He did it through the time of the Reformation and since that time. Knowing that the same sufferings that are experienced by the Brotherhood in the world, it’s common to suffer. Not only that, you are not alone. You need that knowledge.

It is true that we have the indwelling ministry of the Spirit of God. and he will convict us of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. He will empower us into the life of holiness and godliness for his glory. We’re not in this alone, God is with us. But may the God of all grace, who called us into his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered for a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose, even enduring the roar of Satan. Whether it be sickness, personal or within the family, it is all about, I’m not in this alone, other brethren have suffered and it’s all for the glory of God. To him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

First Corinthians chapter 16, verse 13 says, watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. First Thessalonians as well as, a very interesting passage that talks about this. Let’s go there. I wrote it down, so I’m going to read it, and then we’ve got one final passage to just close with. In 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5. I’ll pick up the reading quickly at verse 4.

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief in the night. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as others who do, but let us watch. Be sober for those who sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet of the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us that whether we Awake or asleep, we should live together with him.

Therefore, comfort each other and edify one another just as you also are doing. Brethren, we’re in a fight. We’ve kind of pulled away the sheet and we can see that truly we are in a battle. It is vicious. Our enemy is unbelievable, however, greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world, and we can be comforted that it is all ultimately for God’s glory.

I wanna conclude to see how this just fleshes out in 2 Kings 6. 2 Kings 6, it’s an Old Testament story that we don’t really hear a lot about, I taught third grade boys in Sunday school, and I don’t know that it ever came across. But in 2 Kings 6, it’s about the Syrians, and I’ll pick it up at verse 8. Second Kings 6 verse 8.

Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel and he consulted with his servants saying my camp will be in such and such a place. And the man of God sent to the king of Israel saying beware that you do not pass this place for the Syrians are coming down there. And the king of Israel sent someone to the place which the man of God had told him. and thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice. Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing, and he called the servants and said to them, Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of the servants said, None, my lord, O king, but Elisha the prophet, who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.

In other words, This prophet, he knows all that’s going on. So he said, go and see where he is that I may send and get him. And it was told him saying, surely he is in Dothan. Therefore, he sent horses and chariots and many of the army there. And they came by night, surrounded the city. And when the servant of the man of God arose when early out, there was an army surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servants said to him, alas, my master, what shall we do?

Wah, wavering. Who are we against such a mass of an army like that? Holy schmo, wowie zowie, we’re going down. I love this. So he answered, Elisha answers his servant. Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And then Elisha prayed and said, Lord. I pray, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots and fire all around Elisha. So when the Syrians came down, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, strike the people. And I pray with blindness. And he struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Now Elisha said, this is not the way or this is not the city.

Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. but he led them to Samaria, and then you know the account. They let him in there, and it was a major oops. But the idea is, you get the response. We’ve talked about a roaring lion. We talk about demons and Satan himself, and we wrestle against him. We’ve seen what he’s been able to do, as bad as in the book of Job, to everything else.

Fear not, believer. Remain steadfast. Be sober. Think correctly. Resist the devil. And know that the brethren have gone through this before. And with humility, trust Christ, who gave us the victory. And we can trust him. Now, when you couch that in the history of the book of First Peter, you may die for it. But it’s better to die for righteousness’ sake than to succumb to sin and to die in shame.

Because what are those words that we want to hear? We want to hear, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Remember, Adam and Eve heard the roar and they folded. Jesus heard the roar and he fulfilled all righteousness with the word of God. May we be found faithful in standing against the lion and he can be silenced with these words. Would you stand with me tonight as we close? Our father in heaven, we ask for your protection.

Even those who would be on a big game hunt And we’re hunting for a lion to kill as a trophy. And all they have is a gun. Oh, it can be a big gun. It can be a high caliber gun. It can have the best of a sight. But even guns can fail. Father, when we stand against this roaring lion, we have the word of God. which is powerful. It’s a sword, but it never misses its mark. Father, may we be a people of the book and children of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Give us victory in our silencing the lion this week for your glory, for we pray this in Jesus’ name.