WALKING WISELY WHILE THE LION PROWLS

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 1, 2023 under 2023 |

Bethany Bible Church New Year’s Sunday Sermon Message; January 1, 2023 from 1 Peter 5:8-9

Theme: Because we are under the threat of a powerful spiritual enemy, we need to walk wisely.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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Every New Year’s Sunday, I seek a word of encouragement to offer you for the coming year. And for this coming new year, I’ve been drawn to a very serious passage at the end of 1 Peter 5.

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I love this wonderful letter of 1 Peter. In preparing for our time today, I read through this letter a couple of times. And I’m amazed at the rich encouragement it contains.

It was a letter that the apostle Peter wrote to a group of Jewish believers who were suffering severe persecution for their faith in Jesus. They had been driven from their homeland. Many of them had lost their homes, livelihoods, and families and friends. Some among them had even lost their lives. And yet, Peter’s letter to them is filled with the joyful promise of the eternal glory that will come after their trials. They were destined—without fail—to share eternal glory with the Lord Jesus for whom they faithfully suffered.

Over and over in this wonderful letter, Peter reminded them of what was ahead for them in Christ. And so, in several places in the letter, Peter encouraged them to hold on to their faith in Jesus and not let go. In 1 Peter 4:19, he told them;

Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:19).

I believe that sums up Peter’s message to these persecuted believers—and to us. Don’t give up! Don’t quit! Keep hold of your faith and trust in Jesus, and don’t ever let it go. In times of persecution and trial, suffer for the Lord Jesus faithfully by committing yourself to Him in faithfulness and obedience. He Himself is faithful. And so, just remember that, on the other side of it all, glory awaits!

I believe that the message of this wonderful letter is a message that you and I need today. We live in a time when it seems as if things are sliding down one ‘slippery slope’ after another. Everything around us—all the things of this world that we used to be able to count on, seem to be descending into disorder and destruction. And we shouldn’t be surprised by it; because it’s the natural result of a culture that has rejected God. The only thing that will turn things around is a spiritual revival. And we, of course, pray for that. But for you and me, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the future is bright. If we will cling faithfully to the Lord Jesus Christ in these times, hang on tightly to our faith in Him, and suffer willingly for His cause during these hard times, then these can be some of the most exciting times to be alive. We have the message of hope that the people of this world desperately need.

My wife pointed my attention to a recent article in Christianity Today.¹ According to the American Bible Society, the number of Americans who read the Bible—even if it’s only at least three times a year—went down from 50% to 39% in 2022. Currently, according to this article, 69% of Americans don’t read the Bible at all. In other words, in the midst of all of the terrible troubles we’ve gone through in the past couple of years, and the things we’re currently facing in this country and in our place in the world, 26 million Americans have simply stopped reading God’s word.

And yet, the same article also said that more than half of Americans expressed that they wished they read the Bible more. Many of them are young people. And this gives us, as followers of Jesus, the wonderful opportunity to invite individual friends and neighbors to engage in the Bible in deeper ways. Think, dear brothers and sisters, of how you and I can invite people to come to church, or attend a mid-week Bible study. Or just think of how we can even invite them to read the Bible with us—or even read the Bible to them—and hear more about the Savior!

If we think about it as we should, these really are exciting times. 2023 could be a hard year in many ways; but for us as Jesus’ followers, it can be a thrilling opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ with others around us—if we will keep faithful and not let go of our faith in Him. That’s what 1 Peter encourages us to do.

But near the end of this wonderful, encouraging letter comes a very serious warning. Those early Christians were under a threat of danger—just as we also are. If we don’t pay attention to this threat, we could lose many of the opportunities that God is giving us; and we could also suffer spiritual loss ourselves.

In 1 Peter 5:8-9, Peter wrote;

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world (1 Peter 5:8-9).

And dear brothers and sisters in Christ; this serious warning is what I’d like to offer to you as an encouragement and challenge for the coming year. Because we are under the threat of a very real, very powerful spiritual enemy, we need to walk wisely as Jesus’ followers in 2023.

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Now; we live in a time when many people think that believing in the existence of this being known as the devil is silly, or old-fashioned, ‘unscientific’, or just hopelessly ignorant. They think that the concept of ‘the devil’ is something created long ago by religious leaders to keep people in line, or to scare them into making donations to the church.

But the Lord Jesus Himself clearly believed quite literally in the devil. Our Lord experienced literal encounters with him. The Bible tells us—in three of the four Gospels—that, before He began His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness for forty days. He spoke to the devil as if he was a real entity; and He defeated the devil’s temptations by speaking the Scriptures to him. Later on, we’re told that the devil entered into Judas and led him to betray the Lord Jesus to the death on the cross. So; in spite of the fact that many people deny his existence today, the Lord Jesus Himself believed in the devil and spoke of him as real.

Other people, however, go to the other extreme. They are attracted to the devil and actually worship him. They believe that giving themselves over to Satan is simply another alternative to giving themselves over to God—thinking that the devil will love them and reward them for their service to him. But the Lord Jesus Himself clearly warned us that the devil was a murderer and a liar from the very beginning—that he doesn’t come to do anything but steal, kill, and destroy. The devil has no love for humanity whatsoever. He, in fact, was the one who, in the form of a serpent, tempted our first mother Eve in the garden. She and her husband Adam disobeyed God; and thus, the devil has been bringing untold misery and destruction on humanity and on planet earth ever since.

The Bible teaches us that the devil is someone who was created by God—an angelic being of great power, honor, and beauty. But in pride, he rebelled against God his Maker; and as a result of his rebellion, he lost his position of glory and honor. He is destined for the lake of fire. And he especially hates humanity; because God has promised that the Seed of the woman Eve would crush the head of the serpent. God has chosen to redeem fallen human beings through faith in that promised Seed—Jesus; the Son of God in human flesh. And redeemed human beings are the ones who are destined to be the judges of the devil. He viciously hates humanity, and would quickly destroy it if he could. And he especially hates the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by which human beings are saved. The Gospel is the means of his doom.

So, just think of it! This created being—among the most powerful spiritual beings that God has ever created—has fallen in sin and is now a psychopathic murderer who is dead set on killing the human race. People either foolishly worship the devil, or foolishly deny his existence altogether. And either of those deceptions is fine with him … just so long as we don’t respond to him in the way that this passage in 1 Peter 5 describes.

And so; we need to pay careful attention to what the apostle Peter tells us; and to live wisely and prudently in the coming year—being on careful guard against the devil.

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Now; consider first that …

1. WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHO IT IS THAT PROWLS.

In verse 8, Peter wrote, “… your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” And here, we find four things told to us about this dreadful enemy of ours. The first two things are told to us in the form of descriptive names. The third thing concerns what he does, and the fourth thing concerns what he is like as he does it.

First, we’re told that he is our ‘adversary’. This is a term that is taken from out of the world of the court of law. He is an opponent who has set himself against us. And as would be the case with an opponent in a court of law, he is committed to making us lose—and making himself win. And second, we’re told that he is ‘the devil’. And in the original language, that’s a word that basically means ‘an accuser’ or ‘a slanderer’. In Revelation 12:10, he is called “the accuser of our brethren”. And that’s what he does. He seeks continually to bring accusations against those who follow Jesus Christ. As our adversary, he continually seeks to cause us to stumble and fall into sin. And, as our slanderer, he continually brings charges against us before God because of the sins he tempts us to fall into; saying, “Look! How can you love them? How can you give glory and power and authority to them? Look at how they disobey You! Look at how they fail You! They deserve Your wrath! They deserve judgment in the Lake of Fire! If You love them and honor them and give them glory; then You are an unjust Judge!”

I’m glad that the Lord Jesus died on the cross for our sins; aren’t you? He Himself pleads our case before the heavenly Father—pointing to His own blood as the redeeming payment for our sins. But that doesn’t stop the devil from continually accusing us and slandering us.

So; those are two names that describe him—our adversary; and ‘the devil’ our slanderer. And then, Peter goes on to describe what he does. We’re told that he ‘walks about’ on this earth. He has been cast down from heaven to this earth in judgment; and he roams around upon it. In the Book of Job, we’re told that he appeared before God. God asked him where he had come from; and he said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it” (Job 1:7). So; the devil is not ‘omnipresent’; like our Creator God is. He can only be in one place at a time. But he roams around throughout the whole earth; bringing his wicked influence to bear—strategically—everywhere he goes. He literally ‘prowls’ on the earth; in such a way, in fact, that the Bible says that “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19).

So; that’s what this wicked adversary and accuser does. He’s not distant and far away; but rather continually roams around presently on this earth. And what is he like as he does so? We’re told that he prowls around “like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Have you ever heard a lion roar? Many years ago, I was at the zoo with my wife and my kids. And as many other families were walking around enjoying the place, a lion let out a loud roar. It was startling; and everyone looked around at each other and smiled. The kids all loved it. It was exciting to hear a real roar from a real lion. But when these early Christians who first read Peter’s words heard his mention of a roaring lion, they weren’t thinking about the zoo. They were thinking about the Colosseum; where many of their brothers and sisters laid down their lives for Christ at the mouth of a lion. To them, that roar meant a horrible and bloody death.

Why does a lion roar? The experts say that they roar as a way of identifying their territory, or as a way of protecting their community. But here, we’re not talking about a lion that is doing either of those things. This lion seeks to devour his prey. And in that case, a lion’s deafening and horrifying roar is a way to strike complete terror in a victim; and to utterly paralyze that potential victim with fear. And I believe that’s why the devil is presented as a roaring lion. He roars at us in an effort to frighten us and to throw us into panic—so much so, in fact, that we would abandon our faith and turn away from a wholehearted trust in the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus alone is able to defeat the devil. And so, the devil tries—with all his might—to cause us to panic and abandon our faith in our Savior. Sadly, in the case of many, he has succeeded.

So; here’s what we’re told about the one who threatens us. He is our adversary. He is our slanderer. He prowls on the earth. And he is like a roaring lion who seeks whom he may devour. He is dangerous and deadly. We need to make sure we are realistic about him and understand who he is.

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And that leads us to another thing that we learn from this passage …

2. WE NEED TO HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE BECAUSE OF HIM.

Peter begins these two verses by saying, “Be sober, be vigilant …”

Now let me ask you. If I were to come running into the church building today to tell you that I just saw a lion on the church grounds—prowling around amidst the cars in the parking lot—what would you do? I don’t think you’d say, “Well; that’s it for me. I’m going home;” and then head out to get into your car. I don’t think you’d say, “I’ve always wanted to take a good look at one of those. Good thing I have my smartphone!” No! The first thing you’d do is check to see where your loved ones are. Are the children all safe? Is everyone inside? Can the lion get in? Are the doors all shut? Who do we call for help?” You wouldn’t step out the door until you knew it was alright to do so—and that the animal had been captured and was secured. You would operate on heightened alert. You’d keep a sharp eye out. Every noise would cause your ears to perk up.

Well; Peter is telling us that this dreadful enemy is on the prowl. He is immeasurably more dangerous than any literal lion could be. And these two words tell us how to respond. We’re not to ignore him, or disbelieve in him. We’re to be sober, and be vigilant.

That first word “sober” basically means to be circumspect. You’re to have your eyes wide open and know what’s going on. And that second word “vigilant” means to be watchful and alert. And I believe that these two words are meant to go together. They both appear in 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6; where the apostle Paul wrote to tell his brothers and sisters not to be caught by surprise by the end times. He wrote;

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6).

“Watch and be sober.” “Be sober, be vigilant …” Because of the nature of this powerful enemy of ours, that’s what our attitude of mind should be. We must not ignore him. We must not pretend that he isn’t a serious and dangerous threat. We must keep our eyes and ears open, and keep sharp of mind—paying careful attention to what’s going on around us—knowing who it is that we’re dealing with.

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So; we need to understand the nature of who it is that prowls around us—how truly dangerous he is. And we also need to pay attention to our own attitude of mind—that, because of him we keep sober and vigilant. And that leads us to one more thing we see in this passage …

3. WE NEED TO RESPOND CORRECTLY TO HIS THREATS.

We respond correctly by two things: first by resisting him, and then by knowing about how other believers are resisting him. Peter writes in verse 9; “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

Now; it’s interesting to me that nowhere in the Bible—at least not anywhere that I can remember—are we told to flee from the devil. (That’s, of course, not the case with a literal lion. Go ahead and flee from one of those.) But in the case of the devil, we’re not told to flee. Instead, Peter writes that we’re to resist. But we’re not to resist him by verbally defying him—and certainly never in our own power.

You know; it has always bothered me whenever I hear preachers “binding Satan”. They boldly talk right to him, and say, “I bind you in this or that!” When preachers try to “bind” Satan in that way, they’re taking their attention off the Lord Jesus and placing it on themselves. In and of ourselves, we don’t have any power against the devil. He’ll let us draw further and further from a trust in the Lord Jesus in that way—letting us think that we can “bind” him; and then, just at the right time, strike us down. But I don’t think we should ever say a single word to him. Instead, I believe we should turn to Jesus and keep ourselves steadfast in our faith in Him. He was the only one who was ever able to defeat the devil. It is He who will crush Satan under His feet as we keep our trust in God. We’re told the correct order of things in James 4:7;

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7).

When we feel the attack of the enemy of our souls, we should turn to the Lord Jesus in prayer and say, “Lord Jesus; I thank You that you are with me. I trust in You. I surrender to You. I submit myself to You and to Your commands and promises and instructions in the Scriptures. I cling to Your cross as my salvation. I cling to Your shed blood as the forgiveness of my sins. I trust in the enabling power of Your Holy Spirit in me.”

The devil will throw all that he can at you to prevent you from staying steadfast in your faith. But don’t let go. Cling to the Lord Jesus faithfully—without ever quitting—and the devil will flee. That’s how you resist the devil ‘steadfast in the faith’.

But Peter also told us that, whenever we suffer the attacks from the devil, we need to respond by “knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” I love that Peter called other believers in the world our ‘brotherhood’. And remembering that our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world also suffer the attacks of the devil encourages us with the knowledge that we’re not alone. The attacks we experience from the devil—coming to us as it does in the form of trials and persecutions and insults and ridicules—is not some strange thing. We are all together in our suffering; and if we cling to Jesus faithfully, and encourage one another to be steadfast in our faith, we will also be together in the glory.

When I think of this, I think of what we’re told in Hebrews 13:3; where we’re told,

Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also (Hebrews 13:3).

What Peter is telling us is almost the same thing—except in the other direction. When it’s we who are cast into prison—when it’s we who are chained—when it’s we who are suffering the attacks of the devil as he tempts us to abandon our faith—we should remember our brothers and sisters who are likewise suffering his attacks. We should be encouraged and instructed by their faithfulness. We should imitate their steadfastness. We should remember that we are not alone in our faithful stand for the Lord.

But there’s one more possibility with respect to what Peter wrote. In the original language—when Peter mentioned “the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world”—the word he used for “experienced” was an unusual one. It appears only here in the New Testament; and it means ‘to complete upon’ or ‘to finish upon’ a thing. And it may be that what Peter was saying was that we need to think about the suffering of our brothers and sisters in a certain way. They are ‘completing’ and ‘finishing-off’ the sufferings of Christ—and so are we along with them.

When the Lord Jesus died on the cross for us, He suffered on our behalf. He purchased a complete salvation for us. But because we belong to Him in a hostile world, there’s a sense in which some of His suffering still remains; and we—through our suffering in this world for His sake—share in that suffering and complete it. The apostle Paul wrote about this and said;

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church … (Colossians 1:24).

And this would mean that when we experience the attacks of the devil—and when we remember the sufferings that our brothers and sisters also experience from him in the world—that it’s all purposeful. In the sovereign plan of God, we are together sharing in and completing what remains of the suffering of our Lord in this world. And if we suffer with Him, we will also reign with Him!

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So then; what specifically does this coming year hold for us? We don’t know. But we know this: We live in a world in which a very dangerous spiritual enemy roams about. He seeks to destroy us. And we also know that the Lord Jesus holds us in His hand; and that He has a glorious future for us if we will stay true and faithful to Him—enduring in the faith to the very end.

So; in the coming year, let’s heed these words of warning from the apostle Peter. He knew a thing or two about the attacks of the devil. He said;

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

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¹1″Take and Read.” Christianity Today, January/February 2023, p. 17.

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