The text that I want to preach on this morning is 1 Peter 5, verses 8 and 9. And the subject that I want to preach about from our text is the believer's ferocious enemy. The believer's ferocious enemy. 1 Peter 5, verses 8 and 9. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, whom resists steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. And you will notice that these God-inspired words written by Peter are among his concluding words in this particular epistle. Having given these suffering believers reassuring doctrinal truths to comfort their hearts and straightforward practical exhortations that will help them live in agreement with God's will, In the consideration of verses 8 and 9, we find Peter arousing the hearts of his readers to reflect upon one final truth about the Christian life. And that one final truth is the unquestionable certainty that these believers Peter is writing to are in a war. In fact, this war that Peter is referring to is the same war that the Apostle Paul refers to in Ephesians 6, verses 11 and 12. Paul says in Ephesians 6, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. This is the war. The war that Paul mentions in Ephesians 6 and Peter is now speaking of in 1 Peter 5 is the invisible spiritual war that is alluded to in the entirety of God's word. The war is a war between God and Satan. It is a battle between truth and error, which inevitably is a matter of living in submission to God's word or living in rebellion toward God's word. This war that Peter is writing about in 1 Peter 5 is a fierce battle that involves the entire being of the believer. It involves the believer's heart, it involves the believer's mind, the believer's soul, the believer's emotions, the believer's actions, and the believer's relationship with God. Before Peter puts down his pen, and signs off, so to speak. We find that he is moved of the Lord to remind us of several fundamental truths about the war God's people are in. And the first truth that Peter highlights in our text about the war we are in centers around the enemy that we have. If you're taking notes this morning, my first main point is who our enemy is. In this text about spiritual war we are engaged in, I want to begin expositing our text by taking careful notice of who our enemy is. And Peter says very plainly that the enemy within the war we are engaged in is the devil. Notice it, be sober. Be vigilant because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Who is our spiritual enemy in the spiritual war? Peter says it is the devil. He is Satan. This is the evil one, the subtle serpent who tempted our first parents. This is our enemy. The enemy of our soul is the accuser of the brethren, who is described by Jesus as the father of lies, who is a deceiver, thief, and murderer. Who is the enemy of God's people? It's the prince of the power of the air, the God of this world, the lawless one described as a dragon in the book of Revelation. The devil is the enemy of God and the enemy of God's people who is doing all that he can to keep us from knowing, worshiping, obeying, and living for Christ. And you'll notice in our text that Peter, by many attention-grabbing, illustrative terms, gives us a thorough understanding of what our enemy is like. Peter says first that the devil, our enemy, is strong. How do we know that he is strong? Peter describes him as a lion. Now keep in mind that at the beginning of 1 Peter 5, Peter has already described God's people as sheep. Who is the enemy that believers are engaged in within this spiritual battle? The enemy is someone who has the strength to rip God's sheep apart spiritually. And not only do we find that the devil is strong, We find also that the devil is fierce. Peter says that our enemy, the devil, is likened not just to a lion, but to a roaring lion, meaning that he is loud and full of rage. Some commentators note that such a roaring is due to the fact that he is roused with hunger. Who is our enemy? First, he is a lion which speaks of his strength. Second, he is a roaring lion which speaks of his fierceness. And then third, Peter says that the devil, our enemy, is as a roaring lion who is walking about which speaks to his liveliness. The text declares that our enemy is strong, our enemy is fierce, and our enemy is active. Unlike some lions at the zoo who are continuously sleeping in some corner, Peter says that our enemy is busy walking about, walking about our homes, walking about our communities, walking about our churches, lifting up his voice. Peter describing the enemy as one who walks about is likening this lion to one who has access to us. This means he's watching us, he sees us, he studies us, and he's waiting. Waiting for what? He's waiting to attack. Which then leads us to the fourth illustrative point that Peter uses to describe our enemy. Notice it. Our enemy is strong. He's as a lion. He is fierce. He's as a roaring lion. He is active. He's a roaring lion walking about and he is on a mission. And what is his mission? His mission is not merely to scare you. but to devour you. Peter says, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. What is it that the devil wants? He wants to sift you as wheat. He wants to kill your relationship with God. He wants to destroy your faith in Christ. He wants to decimate your confidence in God's word. He wants to diminish your hope, your joy, your peace. He wants to distract you from seeking first the kingdom of God and Christ's righteousness. The devil wants you to believe his lies. He wants you to question God's goodness. Are you listening? The devil hates you, he hates your family, and he hates this church. The devil is doing everything he can to tempt you to sin, to live a life of hypocrisy, and to turn you into a God-professing, self-righteous Pharisee. The devil would love nothing more than for you to tune this sermon out this morning. The devil would love nothing more than for you to fall asleep as the pastor is trying to warn you of his attacks. Who is our enemy? He is one who is on a mission to destroy. He is active and he is ruthless in his mission. And by the way, he doesn't care how much pain or suffering you're currently dealing with in life. In fact, this is why Peter is striving to arouse the minds of God's people to the enemy's ways in the midst of their suffering. These believers are suffering. Remember, they've been scattered throughout the ancient world because of persecution. They are dealing with various losses and heartaches. They are doing their best to humbly respond to the injustices of men. They are endeavoring to be Christ-like witnesses toward those who are accusing them of wrongdoing. It's vital that we read this exhortation in the context of what Peter has been saying throughout the whole epistle. Peter is saying in this exhortation, listen, Satan doesn't care if you're struggling in life. Satan doesn't take consideration of how many losses you've had to deal with recently. On the contrary, our adversary, the devil as a roaring lion is walking about. doing everything he can to break you down spiritually, to make you weak and susceptible to his attack so that he might devour you. Peter is saying to these believers, you are where you are circumstantially because of the evil one. Listen, church, this is our enemy. Our enemy is as a roaring lion, he is strong. He is as a roaring lion, he is fierce. He is as a roaring lion walking about, he is active. He is as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, he is on a mission to kill. And if we want to be victorious in the spiritual battle that we are in against our enemy, we must first recognize who he is. We must understand that we have an enemy. We must with healthy fear approach him in the battle. Now turning now to my second main point, I want you to notice from Peter's words how we can avoid the enemy's temptations and attacks. In 1 Peter 5, 8 and 9, Peter not only gives us a description of our enemy, he also gives us several directives on how God's people can avoid the enemy's temptations and attacks. So having considered who our enemy is, the natural question that arises is, how is it that we are to respond to our enemy? What must we do to avoid becoming His prey. In verses eight and nine, Peter gives us five practical suggestions. And the first suggestion, which is presented to us by way of implication is, be aware. Be aware. Listen, if you and I are to be victorious over the enemy's attacks, we must first recognize the reality of the spiritual war we are in. We must humbly accept the fact that we have such an enemy. We must know who the devil is and how the devil operates. And I'm going to poke a bubble among our modern Christian philosophy. Being naive to the enemy and his ways are not going to help you. Now, this is not to say that you need to continually reflect upon our enemy, living in a continuous state of fear and terror, believing that Satan is behind every bush, but this is to say that you must, you must, you must take the devil seriously. The devil is not a joke. He is not some fairytale figure. He is not make believe. He is just as real as you are and just as real as God is. So I'm asserting in our response toward the enemy that you must not Be like some Christians who foolishly and flippantly go around walking with their hands in their pockets with this clownish behavior, living like, ha ha, yeah, I know we have an enemy, I know the devil exists, but I don't have to worry about him, he'll never get me. If that's your view of the devil, he already has you pinned. If you treat the Christian life, which is nothing short of a spiritual war, lightly and jokingly, you are going to be among the list of casualties. If we're going to be victorious soldiers of Jesus Christ, listen, we must view this world as a battlefield, not a playground. We must view ourselves as spiritual soldiers, not spiritual civilians. We must view the church as a command post, not as a community center. The first thing that is needed in the war against the evil one is an awareness. The second thing that is needed is an attitude of soberness. Soberness. So command number one is be aware. Command number two is be sober. Peter begins his exhortation in verse eight with, be sober. And it's interesting to know that he gave this same command to these believers back in chapter one, verse 13. Back in chapter one, verse 13, Peter calls Christian soldiers to gird up. the loins of their mind and be sober. These are the two bookends of his epistle. In chapter one, he calls on Christian soldiers in the midst of the war to be sober then, and at the end of his letter, he calls on Christian soldiers to be sober now. And the meaning of this particular exhortation is that God's people would refrain from being captivated by influences that would lead them from sound judgment. This call of soberness speaks of being self-controlled, serious, and temperate in behavior. Peter's calling them to be clear-headed, to keep their hearts from becoming drunk with the cares of this life. And this specific exhortation ties in with what he just said in verse number seven. Remember, regarding cares, regarding anxieties, regarding burdens and worries, remember that cares actually is translated from a word that means distraction. If we're going to be victorious in the fight of the good fight of faith against our enemy, we must keep from being distracted. And I fear this little device we call a smartphone is keeping us from doing that which Peter's commanding us to do here. I truly believe that our cell phones, our technological Devices are one of the primary tools hindering Christian soldiers from becoming sober minded. This stupid little smartphone that is continually attached to our hand and our hip and our pocket is causing believers to become drunk with sinful distraction rather than soberness. The device is a world of distraction. It tempts us to fill our minds and our hearts and our emotions with anything and everything except for God. Come on, let's be honest. We're talking about war, we're talking about our enemy doing everything he can to take us down. What is it, listen, what is it that keeps the believer from praying as they should? What is it that keeps the believer from meditating in the law of the Lord day and night? What is it that keeps us walking in purity and being drawn to looks of lust. What is it that tempts you to waste time like nothing else? What is it that breeds division, divisiveness, spiritual immaturity, and stirs your emotions in an unholy way? I submit to you more than any one source, it is our phones. Our phones are not helping us to be sober-minded. I'm preaching to myself here. Don't get mad at me, I'm trying to help you. It's high time we examine those things which are not sinfully inherent in and of themselves, but they do cause us to stumble and trip up in the war. Am I saying you need to get rid of your phones altogether? No. But I am saying some of you need to honestly recognize what it is doing to your spiritual life. Oh, but pastor, I read the Bible on my phone. Give me a break. Five minutes. While it's dinging and ringing. Well, I listen to sermons. Great, wonderful. But how's your quiet time? When's the last time you went 30 minutes without it just to think about the Lord? I'm calling on us to honestly recognize how it's keeping us from being sober minded. How do you expect to overcome the devil's temptations if you don't get a handle on these idols? If we're going to avoid being taken down by our enemy, we must be sober-minded. We must keep ourselves from being drawn into the intoxicating cares of this world, and this phone draws us in into the intoxicating cares of the world. Fight it. Fight it. Recognize you have a problem with it and fight it. Turn it off. Put it away. The first thing that is needed in the war against the evil one is an awareness. The second thing that is needed is soberness. The third thing that is needed, notice it is vigilance. Be sober, be vigilant. In this word vigilant is the word watchful. The idea is to keep awake or to exercise careful caution. And this is what Jesus told his disciples to do in the garden. You remember Jesus said to his disciples, watch. In other words, be vigilant and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And do you know what happened to Peter after such a warning in the garden? He fell asleep. He did the opposite of what Jesus called him to do. And Peter fell asleep not only physically, but spiritually. Jesus told Peter to be watchful, to keep awake, to pray so that he does not enter into the enemy's temptation. And rather than doing so, he gave way to snoozing physically and spiritually, and then he became aroused from his physical snoozing. Christ's enemies came, Peter took out his sword, wanting to take out his enemy's head. He wasn't in a proper state of mind to deal with his circumstances because he wasn't vigilant. The call to vigilance is the call to watchfulness, which is the call to stay awake. Far too many sleeping Christians out there these days, sleepwalking in their spiritual life, numb to the realities of God. This call is a call to recognize that there's no time for spiritual vacations. There may be seasons of physical rest, but there's no time to take a break from God. There's no time for putting down our sword. There's no time of taking off our armor. If we are to be victorious in the fight, we must be watchful over our hearts at all times. Otherwise the enemy is going to lure us into his evil ways. Be watchful. What did the Proverbs say? Be diligent over the state of your heart because out of it are the issues of life. Guard your heart like you would a castle whose enemies want to take it down. And then command number four is to be persistently resistant. Persistently resistant. Peter says, whom, speaking of the devil, resists dead fast in the faith. Here's what being aware, sober, and vigilant ought to lead to. It doesn't lead us into confronting the devil in our own power and strength. Listen, it doesn't lead us into praying silly little so-called warfare prayers that will bind the enemy. The secret of fighting the enemy is to be simple, steadfast in our resistance of him. And practically speaking, we resist the devil by submitting to God and remaining faithful and doing his will. And this is precisely what the Apostle James tells us in James four, verse seven. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Peter's just spoken the same truth just above this exhortation. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord. Submit yourself under his care. Cast your burdens upon the Lord and he shall sustain you. How is it that we respond to the enemy? We stand up to him by submitting to God. As the devil tempts us, we don't engage in face-to-face combat with him. No, rather, we run to God and we ask God, who is our refuge, to fight our battles for us. How is it that we are to respond to our enemy? We respond by running away from him, not seeing how close we can get to him without getting harmed. Did you hear what I just said? I said the way to be safe from the enemy's attacks, from this lion who wants to devour us, is by distancing ourselves far from where the lion is. Yet for some reason, Christians want to passionately argue how they have liberty in Christ to cuddle up with this ferocious lion by listening to the world's music, watching the world's programs, accepting the world's man-centered philosophies, and closely associating with the world's people. They're dwelling in the lion's den. It's no wonder that Christians are struggling in the fight. The devil is not some pretty little house cat that you can snuggle with. The devil's as a roaring lion, he wants to put his mouth around your head. Peter says in this text, stay away from the lion. And we often say, well, I think I can get a selfie with this lion for my Facebook account because I mean everybody else is doing it. I mean, God will protect me, right? Listen, while God in His grace sometimes protects spiritual fools who willfully get close to the lion, at other times, God allows them to see how harmful it is to tempt the Lord by learning things the hard way. Don't see how close you can get to the lion and not get hurt. Distance yourself as much as you can from the lion's temptations. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Do we need to walk the pews and talk about people who used to be here? Do we need to trace the scriptures and see strong Christians who started compromising here and compromising there, getting close to the lion, trying to pet it? They left with scars. Do you want to avoid being attacked by this raging lion? You need to be aware of him. You need to be sober. You need to be watchful. You need to resist him. And then directive number five, Peter says, you need to be encouraged. You need to be encouraged. Look at it. You need to be mindful of the fact that you are not alone in the fight. Not only is God with you and for you, but others who are in Christ are with you and for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing, calling to mind that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. In other words, as you are warring this good warfare, striving to press toward the mark, you can take great comfort in the fact that other Christians are fighting alongside of you. So keep fighting, and as you're fighting, be mindful of their battles and be prayerful for them as they're praying for you. Isn't this a real way that we're strengthened in the fight? Many times we're strengthened in the fight when we come to take time and acknowledge that the brotherhood, the body of Christ is engaged in the same war we are in. The war is not particular to us. The war is the war all believers are engaged in. This enemy, is not just seeking to devour us individually, it's seeking to devour all who are in Christ collectively. These are the five directives Peter presents in overcoming the enemy's attacks. If we are to maintain our testimony for Christ, if we are to avoid falling prey to the enemy's temptations, we must be aware, we must be sober, we must be watchful, we must resist him, and we must be mindful of the fact that we are not fighting the fight alone. And then finally, in my third point, I wanted to draw to a conclusion by contemplating two powerful lessons to be learned from the life of the one speaking these exhortations to us. Peter is giving us practical lessons through his writing, through his words in this letter preserved for us by God. But stepping back from that, Peter through his life teaches us two practical encouraging lessons regarding the enemy and the war that we are in. And the first lesson to be considered is the fact that Peter is not speaking these truths to us in theory, Peter is speaking them in truth. Peter is not speaking this truth to us as one who is a sinless, self-righteous Pharisee who has never fallen prey to the devil's attacks. No, Peter is speaking these words to us as a wounded warrior. In fact, as I read this text, I picture Peter as a soldier who is sincerely warning us to take heed to what he is saying by pointing to the specific scars he has on his body from the enemy. See it as such. I see Peter saying these words while also saying, see this scar? I got this when I was minding the things of men more than the things of God. I got this when I dared to rebuke Christ when Christ said he needs to go to Jerusalem and be crucified. And Christ said, get behind me, Satan. See this scratch the enemy left? This one came at the time when I told Christ no when he wanted to wash my feet. As I read this letter, I picture Peter as a humble soldier saying, listen, you can take it from me. I can tell you of the time that I fell asleep in the garden when Jesus commanded me to pray. I can tell you of the time that I tried to take off the head of the servant of the high priest. I can tell you of the instance where I shamefully denied Christ three times when others knew that I was his disciples. I can tell you of the time I was discouraged and hopeless. I went back to my old profession as a fisherman. I can tell you of the time that the Apostle Paul rebuked me to the face because I was being hypocritical in my actions. If anyone knows what it is to be attacked by the evil one, it's me. This is the first truth that we need to learn from Peter's life. Peter knows about the attacks of the enemy in a very real way. Peter is not speaking this truth in theory. He's speaking it in reality. And then the second truth we need to learn from Peter's life is the fact that Peter, in a very real way, knows something about God's forgiving, strengthening, restoring, preserving grace. Though Peter writes to them as a wounded warrior, he also writes to them as one who has experienced God's undeserved grace. Do you see that? As we think of the many ways Peter has been attacked by the devil, we can also think of the many ways that God picked him up, God corrected him, God forgave him, God strengthened him and restored him and used him in ministry. If there's one lesson we learn from Peter's life as it relates to the spiritual war, it is the truth that where Peter's sin abounds, God's grace does much more abound. This truth is not only true of Peter, but of Abraham, and of Isaac, and Jacob, and Israel, and Samson, and David, and Jonah, and all of us. The just man falls prey to the enemy's attacks seven times. but he can get up again and fight on only because God has promised that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Listen, the same can be true in our life if, and here's the condition, if we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and confess and forsake our sin. Listen, our failures do not have to define us. Failure is not final. Though the devil attacks and brings us to places we've never intended to go as we submit ourselves to the will of God, as we go back to the good shepherd again, by his grace and his grace alone, he is able to restore us back into the fold, back into relationship with him. And this is the greatest message of scripture. Have you fallen prey to the enemy's attacks this week? In thought, in word, in deed, by committing sins of omission or sins of commission? Are you spiritually asleep? Are you intoxicated with the cares of this life? Have you let down your guard? The answer is this morning, run to Christ. Run to Him. In your heart at this moment, confess your faults unto the one whoever loves and cares for his own. Believe that he is able to receive you again as you run to his place of refuge. And then resolve by the power of God's spirit to put back on your armor provided for you by God and get back on the track. Get back in the fight. This should be a daily practice for the believer. In our failings, in our giving way to the enemy's temptations, what do we do? We don't give in to it. We acknowledge it and run back to our Savior who forgives us 70 times seven times 70 million times a billion. Don't let the devil whisper in your ear saying, Christ cannot forgive. Christ cannot forgive you. We have the promise of God that if we cast our care, our burden, our distractions upon the Lord, he cares for us. And then let me ask, are you here this morning still a child of the devil? Still a slave to his will? What you need is the saving power of the gospel. What you need is to be free from sin's power over your life. Some of you are living in constant spiritual defeat because you are living without Christ. Some of you are trying to do Christian things, but you're not a Christian. You'll never be able to overcome the enemy if God has never called you to himself. You'll never be able to have victory over sin if you don't first acknowledge that you are a great sinner in need of a great savior. Is that you this morning? Do you need to repent and believe the gospel? If so, I command you by the authority of God's word, I urge you under the influences of the spirit to call upon the name of the Lord. I implore you to believe on the name of Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul. Today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. You cannot translate yourself from darkness to light. You cannot forgive. Your sins. You cannot make yourself right with God, but God through Christ can. Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he can do for you what you cannot do for yourself. With men, the work of salvation is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. So at this moment, cry out. Like the publican, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. You're constantly hunted by the devil, constantly taken captive at his will. It may be that you are still his child and you need a new heart. You need a new nature. You need a new life. Call upon him and be saved. I close with the words of Jesus from John chapter 10. Jesus says, verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.