By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett – Asbury Free Methodist
August 25th, 2024 – 1 Peter 5:8-14
It is hard to believe that this is the last Sunday in August. The summer seems to have flown by, as has our series in 1 Peter. Today, we look at the last part of the book. Peter wants to give some final warnings, exhortations, and greetings.
In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the church in North America went through this real phase of emphasis on spiritual warfare. Books were written on it. Some of you might remember Frank Peretti’s “This Present Darkness.” Seminars were given on spiritual warfare. It affected the way that we prayed and the way that we looked at life.
The church seems to go through phases like that. I think God allows those things to happen to equip his church and put more tools in our toolbox. But that phase that swept through the church was almost 40 years ago. Lately, I haven’t heard much about spiritual warfare or Satan except from my ultra-charismatic friends.
But the fact that we haven’t talked about Satan much makes him no less real. Satan would have made an excellent football coach because he is great at strategy. In parts of the world where I have travelled, his strategy is to make himself appear strong to cause people to fear him. I have been in parts of Africa where the witch doctor is the most feared person in the community because if he curses you, life will be really bad.
I have heard stories of what happened to cursed people. There is no question that the communities these witch doctors are in believe them to be powerful. Satan’s strategy in those places is to try to get people to cower in fear.
He has a different strategy for North America. His strategy here is to cause people to believe that he doesn’t exist. In our current culture, Satan seems to get his fair share of screen time. But he is lumped into the same category as Werewolves and Vampires. They make for great supernatural storylines, but they are not real.
You see, if Satan can get you to believe that he only exists in fairytales, then he has an unincumbered playing field to do his work without being noticed.
Listen to what Peter has to say,
1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
You understand that what you believe to be true does not affect what is true. Whether or not you believe that the devil is looking for someone to devour does not change the reality of what Satan is doing.
One of my favourite C.S. Lewis books is “The Screwtape Letters.” It is a little dated, but it is a great story full of wisdom. It is the story of a senior devil mentoring a junior devil on how to work on a particular Christian. I like it because it exposes how our attitudes and thinking can be nudged into ineffectiveness or even destructiveness. All the while, we are unaware of how we are being manipulated.
So, the question is – If Satan is going around looking for someone to devour, what would it look like to be “devoured” in our context?
The metaphor of how Satan is at work in this world is so vivid that it is easy to miss what it would look like in our context. We all have probably seen pictures of lions stalking their prey, taking them down and eating them. That is a really stark picture. But what does that look like in our world?
If we were in some of the countries that I have talked about with witch doctors – being devoured would look like a curse that caused you to wither away and die. But I don’t think that is what it looks like in our country.
Let’s start with what we know about Satan. He is powerful, but not all-powerful like God. He is not everywhere present like God. Paul calls him “the ruler of the kingdom of the air.”
Ephesians 2:1–2 (NIV)
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
Paul tells us that Satan has his dominion here on earth. He is at work in those who are disobedient. Now, because Satan is not everywhere present – he has his demons to carry out his will. You will notice all the way through the gospel that Jesus dealt with the demonic. Only in his temptation did he deal with Satan himself.
If Satan is going to devour you, it will be done through his minions, the demons – otherwise known as fallen angels. So, how does the demonic work? They can cause bad things to happen, but not all bad things happen because of them. They can be the cause of temptation, but not all temptation comes because of them.
One of the spiritual gifts is discernment. Part of that gift allows us to discern what is from God and what is not and what is from Satan and what is not and what is just part of being human and what is not. If you have questions about something bad that has happened in your life then ask God to give you discernment about whatever that is.
Listen to what Jesus has to say about Satan. He is talking to religious leaders who refuse to believe in him. This is what he says,
John 8:42–44 (NIV)
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Jesus was pointing out that the devil had desires that were contrary to God’s desires. He made these religious leaders unable to hear what Jesus was saying. But the primary characteristic of Satan that Jesus points to is that he is a liar.
When he lies, he speaks his native language. He is the father of lies. He started by lying in the garden. He has been lying ever since. The way Satan primarily gets his work done is by lying.
***
So, how does one devour someone by lying to them?
I see it way too often. I see it in people who grew up not getting the good they should have received or having bad done to them that should not have happened.
If someone is abused as a kid, Satan will often use those opportunities to implant a lie. The lie is tailor-made for that person. It might be something like, “You are worthless, and you are only made to be used.” Or the lie might be that you are wicked and you deserve all that you get. Or the lie might be your only value is in your sensuality.
What happens is that you build your life on the foundation of that lie. You believe that you are valueless, so you live that way. You believe that you are wicked, so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those kinds of lives inevitably become shipwrecked.
Jesus can replace those lies with the truth and redeem those lives. But unless something happens, those people will be devoured.
****
We live in a world where people believe that there is no such thing as right and wrong. Some people believe that there is no such thing as good and evil. Good is what one can get away with. But lives get really messy when you call good evil and evil good. People like that tend to be devoured.
****
We live in a world that takes little thought of God. We believe that people are the highest value. Many people believe that the world revolves around them. Taking God out of the equation is the ultimate lie from Satan.
If this world is all that there is, then the only meaning in life is the meaning that you give to it. People cast around looking for meaning. Some find meaning in their favourite sports team. Others find meaning in their work. Others find meaning in talents or hobbies. If there is no God, you have to find and make your own meaning. That is why so many people live lives of quiet desperation.
I am convinced that this is a prime reason for many people’s challenges with mental health. They can’t see much meaning to their lives. Lives that are devoured.
This, of course, gets compounded by the fact that if you built the meaning of your life on something that is transitory, it can come crashing down in a moment. If you build your life on family, or work, or hobbies, or friends, or money – disasters can happen. Lives that are devoured.
So, what are we called to do?
1 Peter 5:8–9 (NIV)
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Remember, Peter is writing to Christians. He is telling them that it is not just the world that can be devoured. He is saying, Christian, Satan is looking to devour you too.
I have heard of more people renouncing their faith in Christ in the last five years than I have in the previous 50. I have heard of pastors, influencers, worship leaders and a plethora of common folk renouncing their faith. They basically say I don’t believe in Jesus anymore.
I get it. Dealing with doubt has always been part of the faith journey. From the man who came to Jesus to heal his child. Jesus told him, “I can if you believe.” The man answered, “I believe, help my unbelief.” – to now where people have to work through faith’s relationship with science. Doubt has always been part of the journey.
But our discipleship has been lacking. Many discipleship programs have discipled people to become functioning members of a church rather than followers of Jesus. As we have seen far too often over the last number of years that the church is often dysfunctional. A dysfunctional church undermines a flourishing faith. People are devoured.
So, what does Peter say? Verse 8. Be alert and sober-minded. Verse 9. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.
If Satan is going to devour us with lies, what does it mean to be alert? What does it mean to be sober-minded? What does it mean to stand firm?
We have so much information coming across our path every day that it is hard to spot the lies. Be alert.
I am not talking about the lies that the media will tell you. I am not talking about the scams that will try to take you in. Although you need to be alert for them. I am talking about deeper issues.
The lies I am talking about are the ones that go contrary to a Christian worldview. You can watch television shows after the Netflix show, and the lives that are portrayed act as if God doesn’t exist. This does not mean that you can’t watch those shows, but you can see the lies.
We live in a world that is ruled by science. Good science tells us how things work. Faith answers the question of why. It is great to investigate how things work. Watch for the lies when people start to answer the question of why without God.
That is the big picture. But if you buy into the big picture lie it makes the personal lies easier to swallow. Why not cheat if I can get away with it? Everybody is doing it. Why not steal or be unfaithful? – and the list can go on.
Whenever we buy into the big lie, it is much easier to buy into the smaller lies. When we do that, we are at risk of getting devoured. Be alert.
1 Peter 5:9 (NIV)
9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
In spiritual warfare, the Bible consistently urges us to resist Satan and stand firm.
Resisting means that you feel the tug of the lie. You can feel the desire to do what Satan wants. But in spite of the pull, you resist. You say, no, I am not going to go that way. Standing firm means when you are getting hit from every side. Satan wants to move you off your foundation. You choose to stand firm and not be moveable.
Notice it says to stand firm in the faith. Peter has already articulated the faith in this letter. It is all about Jesus. When you are being tempted, push into your relationship with Jesus. When doubts and fears assail you, push into your relationship with Jesus. When you feel the tug of temptation, and you are trying to resist, push into your relationship with Jesus.
Some of you know what it means to pull on a rope when something is pulling against you. If it is a heavy pull, it is hard to resist. But if you wrap that rope around a good-sized tree, the pull isn’t nearly as heavy. That tree is the cross. That tree is Jesus.
Jesus can handle your doubts. He can handle your fears. He can handle your confusion. He can even handle your failure. If you keep pushing into him, even when life is confusing, even when you are surrounded by lies, even when you are bombarded by temptation, even when you are being pulled by ungodly desires, you will find him lightening the load.
Peter, in writing his second letter, said this
2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Stand firm in the faith. You do that by pushing into Jesus.
Look what it says,
1 Peter 5:9 (NIV)
9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
I know that many of you have personal struggles where you feel all alone. But I know, having worked with Christians all my life, that your struggles and your temptations are not unique to you. The people of God all around the world are in this same fight. Stand firm.
And look at God’s promise to you.
1 Peter 5:10 (NIV)
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
When you have been through the battle, and you are feeling pretty beat up – that same grace that called you into the family of God will restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
I have noticed that life happens in seasons. There are seasons of smooth sailing, and there are seasons of rough water. There are seasons of green pastures and seasons where my soul is stuck in winter. There are seasons of joy and seasons of sorrow. There are seasons of battle and seasons of peace.
Don’t mistake the dark season that you are in for all of life. This, too, will pass.
1 Peter 5:10 (NIV)
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
You can trust him. But you have to abide in him. You can’t stand firm apart from him. You have to stay connected to him because it is from him that you will get your strength. There is an enemy of your soul that is looking to devour you. Be alert. Stand firm.
Pray