Turn in your Bibles, 1 Peter chapter 5. I guess hearing Jonathan doing all these commercials down there, I'm in the mode. Public service announcements. 1 Peter chapter 5. We're nearing the end of the chapter and our study of this really wonderful book. When we first started, 1 Peter was a little Anxious about it? I know, be anxious for nothing, he even talks about that. There's a little, okay, there's some difficult passages in here, but I really love preaching through this. I think it stretched me. And what I thought would be difficult actually turned to be pretty easy when you put it back in the proper context. Now my plan is after we finish 1 Peter, we're gonna eventually get to the book of Revelation. However, In order to stand the book of Revelation, you need to understand the Old Testament prophecies that deal with end times. So we're going to go through Daniel before we get to Revelation and then some prophecies and Ezekiel and some of the others. I was just going to hit just the prophecies in Daniel because I preached through this back in 2011. But there are chapters in there that are so encouraging of standing firm in the midst of suffering and persecution that I think it's also a perfect follow-up to dealing with 1 Peter. Very practical. These were young men who, and even throughout their lives, they stood firm and they watched God at work. So Daniel will start in two weeks. Now the first four chapters of 1 Peter cover the reason for the letter, writing to believers in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, and explaining their current suffering and how to be properly prepared for the persecution that was coming. And they needed to understand then clearly their identity in Christ and God's sovereignty in order to trust Him and then be able to live in the present full lives in hope of Christ's return despite their circumstances. God keeps all His promises, and that's a theme that keeps going through 1 Peter. 1 Peter 5 is a change of theme, yet it's more general, and yet it ties directly into the same overall theme, being prepared for persecution. Verses 1 through 4 cover Peter's instructions to the elders. If the elders are not doing what they should be doing properly, you make it harder in the congregation. If they have a proper desire, if they have proper motivations, if they're demonstrating a proper manner of ministry by being godly examples, you encourage the congregation to do likewise. And so it actually does have a tie, but it's really important section two for what elders are supposed to do and their responsibilities. If you look at the qualifications that Paul describes in Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3, you can see the character of those who be in leadership in a church is extremely important because that's the example that's set. And no matter what you teach, how intellectual you are, how good you are with your oratory skills, means nothing if your life doesn't set the example. And so that's an important thing for pastors to have, is you should match these character qualities. I know in talking with friends in other churches, their pastor retires or moves away, goes to the mission field, whatever, and they're trying to find a new one. They have a very difficult time finding men who are qualified according to those character qualities. Now, I'm gonna throw one more thing in here. This is just my strong opinion. is that those who are in leadership in para-church ministries or intra-church ministries really need to have the same qualifications if it's anything related to teaching the scriptures. Because if you're teaching the scriptures without having that affected your own life, you're just being intellectual. You're making it academic, and you're actually destroying what should be there. Life needs to match what you're teaching. That doesn't mean you're perfect, but it means you're being affected by it. You're growing. Hence, the next several verses that Peter gets to tie directly in, humility. It's absolutely necessary. If you are not humble, you're not going to be saved. Why? Because God gives grace to the humble, and he opposes the proud. The proud person is not going to listen to God. God is going to give his grace to the humble, and without God's grace, you're not getting saved. In addition, humility is absolutely essential for living the Christian life. All aspects of it. How are you going to grow if you don't have the humility to come and submit yourself to God? to let Him be the one working in you. If you think you know more than God, you have a problem and you're not going to grow. Humility is the grease that keeps the friction that would otherwise be there in human relationships moving smoothly. Because I have a humility brought to me by God, because I understand I'm a sinner, and he's changing me, I can deal with other people likewise. I don't expect them to be perfect. I expect they're going to fail. I expect they're still gonna sin. And I wanna treat them the same way. I want to be forgiven. I want to be forgiving to them. We are in this together, helping each other grow in Christ so that as we all mature, we present to Christ something that's glorious, that's to his praise and glory. Sinners being conformed to the image of Christ. And that's all we are as a church, isn't it? If anybody thinks they have it all together, you're in the wrong place. Okay? You should already be in heaven. You don't need to deal with anything, right? The rest of us, well, we need to help each other. And so we encourage each other, all our gifts working together to help produce that kind of maturity. So humility is essential. And as I have that humility, I'm trusting God, I get to know him more. My experiences are now viewed in terms of what God is doing, not just through my own eyesight. And God keeps changing me. I then can understand what he's done for me, he's saved me, regardless of my sinfulness, Christ died while I was a sinner, to save me from that sin, I can learn to trust him, and the more I trust him, the more, no matter my circumstances, I know he holds me in his hand. The future belongs to him, and so I humbly and joyfully yield to his will, regardless of my circumstances, whatever they may be, whatever they may be. And they may be difficult, but I know my God is still in control. We have seen that as we've studied through 1 Peter. Today we're looking at verses eight and nine. And this is Peter's warning instruction concerning our adversary. Known by many names, the name he's given here in this text is the devil. He is behind much of the suffering and persecution of Christians that we experience. Peter's gonna give three commands in these two verses. And that's going to be our focus. I want to read through verse 11, though, because that completes Peter's thought in this section. 1 Peter 5, 8. Be of sober spirit. Be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. But resist him firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be dominion forever and ever. Amen." Now Peter's first command here is to be sober. The meaning of the Greek term here, nepho, It arises actually as a negative to intoxication. It is the opposite of being drunk. And from that arose figurative uses, meaning like self-control, restraint, awake, sober-minded, the opposite of what you would see in someone who is drunk. It is to be in control of how you think as opposed to losing control and becoming irrational. And how you think determines how you act, so it also then includes being calm, being collected in spirit, being temperate, dispassionate, circumspect. Philo had a discussion of this word, and I thought it was very interesting here. He included, said it's the antithesis to all kinds of mental fuzziness. That intrigued me. Then he went on, he said, it rests ultimately on the fact that in some form it sets the creaturely, the human ego, in the place which belongs to God alone. So a person who's drunk, They're mentally very fuzzy, aren't they? They can't think straight. The sober man also recognizes that the evil that is wrought when he's intoxicated is evil. So he has a clear mind, he's thinking correctly. And certainly that's part of what is in becoming a Christian. I recognize what I was. I'm a sinner in need of God's grace, and now I'm a redeemed sinner, and he's continually changing me. I can think clearly and rightly assess the truth. So sober. Now Peter gave the same command earlier in 1 Peter 4, 7, the end of all things is near, therefore be of sound judgment and sober spirit, there's the word, for the purpose of prayer. Using the similar context and looking forward to the end times, 1 Peter 1, 13, therefore prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul does the same thing in 1 Thessalonians 5, 6, and 8. He ties it to looking forward to Christ's return. Be awake, be sober in view of that coming return of Christ and all the events that surround it. Paul includes it in 2 Timothy 4, 5 as part of the charge of Timothy to faithfully minister God's word to people who may turn away from the truth and cause him hardship. If I know what the end goal is, I can think more clearly. And if I'm looking forward to Christ's return, I know how I should live currently. Now in the context here, 1 Peter 5, 8, the commandment to be sober is part of what is needed to be able to endure suffering in a godly manner and then withstand the dangers that come from our adversary, the devil. We'll see that in a few minutes. Those who do not think clearly according to God's word will be led astray by the temptations of their own desires. James 1.14 talks about that. And the pressures that this world will place upon you. 1 John 2.15 and 17. The things of the world, the lusts of the world. Now that's an obvious problem in secular and liberal Christian circles who trade the truth of God for the musings of men a long time ago. But it's also a grave danger, even in conservative Christian circles, as the winds of aberrant and false doctrine blow through. Unless you are thinking clearly with self-control, it's easy for both emotion and persuasive argument to lead you astray from the truth. And that is why so many things that we have seen in our study of 1 Peter, that should be obvious in living the Christian life, almost seem foreign to professing Christians. We've seen that in the last few weeks, the necessity of humility. How many Christians are actually humble? Especially when you get into leadership. Pride seems to go with it. That's wrong. The instructions to elders. If the Christian life really is about the glory of Christ and walking in trust of them, then we do have to ask, why are so many Christian leaders motivated by material gain and positions of power and seeking glory for themselves instead of the opposite, as Peter has pointed out? Why are manifestations of pride more prevalent than lives of humility and seeking righteousness? And what is best for the kingdom of Christ and the good of other believers? Instead it goes to selfishness. You see, being sober in spirit and mind is a major step to correcting those problems and being prepared for spiritual warfare. I have to have a clear mind to think correctly according to what God has said and not be persuaded by those around me, especially our society, but even within church, those who are actually not walking with Christ as they ought. Now, the second command here is be alert. Greek word here. Gregoretto, is to be continuously ready, alertness, to be awake, to be watchful, to be vigilant. Jesus used the word in Matthew 24, 42 and 25, 13, in conjunction with his parables, dealing with being ready for his coming, because you don't know when it's gonna be. Are you ready? If he came right now, are you ready? You can't risk being complacent or you could be caught unaware and you will suffer the consequences of that. Paul includes it in 1 Corinthians 16, 13 as part of the general commands in the conclusion of his letter. Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong, let all that you do be done in love. Be alert. This is to be a general character trait of all Christians. Matthew 26, 41, Jesus ties this to the manner in which prayer is to be pursued. Since, let's face it, the spirit can be willing, but our flesh often is weak, just like the disciples. Or am I the only one that's fallen asleep while praying? Okay, spirit's willing, but I have to be alert. Paul does the same thing, Colossians 4.2, giving the command, devote yourself to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. It means it takes some work, takes some effort, takes some planning. Now the command to be alert complements the command to be sober. Paul uses both of them in 1 Thessalonians 5.6, just like Peter does here. Be alert, be sober-minded. The command to be alert reveals the effort that's going to need to be made as well as the urgency and application and the reason to be sober, linked here immediately to you have an adversary, the devil, and he's dangerous. Paul links the need to be alert with prayer and spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6.18, so it's a similar context. Be alert, you're in a war. With so many commands to be spiritually alert, then why are so many professing Christians complacent, or even just plain lazy? Revelation 3, 2, and 3, Jesus even has to warn the church at Sardis, saying this, wake up! Strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die. For I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of my God. So remember what you have received and heard and keep it and repent. Therefore, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Now certainly part of the reason for complacency is that the imminent danger is not recognized even though ample warnings are given over and over again. That actually just seems to be human nature. Growing up in California, you constantly get these warnings. Be prepared, an earthquake will come. Do you have your emergency kit?" Yeah, Amy's smiling. Of course, you should have your kit, right? Because it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. It will come. Are you ready for it? Very few people are ready for it. Now, here on the East Coast, you have advance warning to terrible things that could happen to you. hurricanes and up here farther north, nor'easters, right? And we get these announcements all the time. Are you prepared? A hurricane is coming, a nor'easter may be coming. Do you have a kit together for emergency? What are you going to do if electricity goes out? What happens if you can't get water like you normally do? What happens if your area is going to be flooded? Should you flee? And yet, Even though hurricanes, nor'easters, are given much more warning than an earthquake, which is, bang, there it is, how many people are prepared for it? Looking back, I find Hurricane Sandy and Katrina classic examples of human nature. Warnings given over and over again, days in advance, this is coming. And a lot of people did the opposite of what they were warned to do. What's with you? That just seems to be part of human nature. They didn't protect themselves or other property, and they suffered terribly. Now personally, I find it is a good thing to do to help people who have suffered tragedy. On the other side, I do get personally irritated when I see my tax funds going to people who are suffering because of their own, well, you add in whatever word you want there, okay? Irresponsibility, foolishness. Now you want me to pay for it. Why are we this way? It just seemed to be part of human nature. The warning Peter is giving here is along those lines. Be sober. Be alert. Why? Because there is a danger at your door that's a lot worse than any natural disaster. your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Now I've spoken about spiritual warfare many times in the years that I've been here. I've had a whole sermon series just devoted to that. So go to the website, you can even on this sermon you'll find the links to go back to that and there's sermon after sermon dealing with all the detail of it. So I'm not going to get into all that otherwise I'll let you out next week. It's just gonna take that long. There's so much detail that can be given here. I wanna give what Peter's giving here. This is a warning, you need to be prepared. Be sober, be alert. Now we are dealing with an evil entity. His personal name is Satan, comes from the Hebrew. That's who Peter is talking about here. That name, Satan, occurs 54 times in scriptures from Job to Revelation. According to Ezekiel 28, 11 through 19, Satan was created full of wisdom and was perfect in beauty at creation, verse 12. He was in the Garden of Eden adorned by precious stones, verse 13. He was the anointed cherub who covers and was on the holy mountain of God, verse 14. He was blameless until unrighteousness was found in him, verse 16. And then he was internally filled with violence and so was cast from the mountain of God. The corruption of Satan's wisdom has caused him to be proud about his beauty and so he was cast down, verse 17. Isaiah 14, 3 through 15 reveals the boasting of his pride. There are five I will statements there. Summarizing them, one, here's what Satan said, I will ascend to heaven. Two, I will raise my throne above the stars of God. Three, I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. Four, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. And five, I will make myself like the Most High. This evil being wants to usurp God and thinks that somehow he's going to be able to accomplish it. That's our adversary. Now he's known by many names, each one giving another facet of who he is, his character, and the danger that he poses. The first name Peter uses here is adversary. Antidikas, meaning an opponent at law. It's used that way literally in the Septuagint, Proverbs 18, 17. The first to plead his case, it's a law setting, seems right until another comes and examines him. The legal sense is used in Revelation 12.10 where Satan is called the accuser of the brethren. That describes him, an opponent at law who is taking the position of the prosecuting attorney. Now that's a contrast to 1 John 2.1 in which Jesus is called an advocate with the Father. The scene set by that is a courtroom. God the Father is on the bench. He's the judge. You are the defendant. Satan is the prosecuting attorney and Jesus is your defense lawyer. See, here's where it's really good to have a Jewish lawyer as a friend. Now the second name Peter uses is the devil, Diabolos. means slander, refers to someone who makes false charges or misrepresentations in order to defame and damage somebody else's reputation. In John 8, 44, Jesus said the devil is a liar and the fathers of lies, and slander is simply a particular type of lying. Jesus warned that the devil will slander the righteous. That's in Matthew 5. But the devil's main target isn't you. His slander is mostly against God. Slander God's character, his nature, what he's promised. To get you to believe something opposite of what he is, or at least perverted away from it. We see that beginning in Genesis 3. That's where the pattern is set as the devil slanders God to Eve. He begins by misquoting God's command. He then directly contradicts God's command, and then finally he accuses God of not wanting what is best for Eve, and then enticing her with her natural desires for food, beauty, and wisdom. There's nothing wrong with desiring any of those things unless it's perverted to get them satisfied the wrong way, which is exactly what Satan does. You see, people do not believe and trust God because they end up believing the devil's slanders against him, which then fit in with their own corrupt desires. Not only Peter's letter here, but a large part of the epistles are working trying to get you to not believe Satan's lies, but instead, here's what the truth is. Here is what you need to believe. This is the antidote to the slander the devil makes against God because truth is the antidote for lies. Now people who are already suffering could easily be persuaded that God did not love or care for them unless they were told and reminded about the truth of what God has done. We're subject to that. Things don't go the way you'd like. You're suffering in some way and does God love me? I don't know. Things aren't going well. Why are all these bad things happening? Why did someone steal my stuff? Why did I get in a car accident? Why am I injured? Why do I have a terrible disease? All the things are just part of living a corrupt world. Then we start challenging because we start believing Satan's lies. God doesn't love you. See how the bad things are happening to you? And that's why you need to be reminded over and over again. Here's the truth. What has God done about bringing about your salvation? While you're an enemy of his, shaking your fist at him, Christ died for you. In the present, Peter goes over all the commands that God gives and why they're better for you than going your own way. His commands are better for us. And then there's all this promise that's occurring in the future. Are you looking forward to heaven? Is it something that's real in your life? Or is it something so distant that I don't even think about it? We need to live in light of the promise of Jesus' return. I live in the present fully, but I have a goal that's farther out that determines why I will live the way I am. The better you know the truth and God, the more you will trust and obey Him. So make sure you are diligent in searching for the truth. Never be afraid of that. It exposes and it counteracts the slander that the devil makes against God. Now other names given to this evil being include the following, he's the prince of this world, the prince of the power of the air, he is the god of this age. All those titles tell us his domain is here on the earth. Satan's also called Beelzebul, translates as being lord of the flies or prince of demons. He's an army that does his bidding, we'll see that in Ephesians 6.12 in a few moments. In Isaiah 14, 12, he's called Lucifer, the shining one. It's a reference to his original state as the cherub that covers. The name Satan itself comes from the Hebrew and means adversary or opposer because he opposes God and his people. He is called the old serpent in Revelation 12, 9. That refers to Genesis 3 and his role in causing the downfall of man. In Revelation 12, he is called the great dragon, the great red dragon. as he seeks to destroy Christ and devastate God's people. The name Apollyon, used in Revelation 9-11, signifies him as the destroyer, for he's one who seeks to destroy both spiritual and physical life. Most fitting of his character is the name used in 1 John 5-18. It simply calls him the evil one. The evil one. Other names indicate his activity. He's the tempter, the accuser, the deceiver. He's the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience. Satan is also described as a murderer, a liar, a confirmed and practicing sinner, and the opposer of the righteous. How dangerous is Satan? Well, I think these names and titles for him certainly indicate a lot of that, don't they? He's very dangerous. But Peter's graphic description here makes that danger easily understandable to those to whom he was writing. He prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Now even those that have never seen a lion would understand what's being described because lions and lion-like creatures are so common in the stories, fables, and mythology that are eventually recorded in ancient Greek and Middle Eastern literature. We're familiar with that ourselves from reading things about that. You don't have to have seen one to know their dangers just from what everything that's been written about them. Lions are animals of strength and violence and they're roaring a cause of terror. In fact, Amos 3, 8 puts it plainly, a lion has roared, who will not fear? The roaring of a lion is often associated with the lion being hungry, such as Psalm 104.21. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God. And so they prowl around in search for food. Peter uses that imagery here of Satan prowling around like a lion. Job 1.7 describes Satan roaming about on the earth and walking around on it. That's not aimless wandering. Satan is like a lion searching for food. He is prowling to find a victim to devour, to swallow up, to destroy. C.S. Lewis, in his book, The Screwtaped Letters, makes a suggestion within the dialogue that there are two major mistakes that Christians make in dealing with Satan. The first is to ignore him or act as if he is of no consequence. That's the reason that people make jokes about Satan. Trying to laugh at it. That's nothing to joke about. Peter is shouting out here, wake up! Pay attention! You are involved in a spiritual battle with a very dangerous adversary. So don't fall for the first major mistake. Ignoring him or thinking of his no consequence. He's real. The other major mistake is the opposite. It is a focus that is so much on Satan, as if he's the cause of all calamity, that your focus moves off of Christ. And he becomes what you're, battling him is your life. No, that's not what we're supposed to do. Peter gives a very direct command on how to deal with Satan properly in the very next verse. He is very dangerous, especially so for the non-Christian. The God has equipped the Christian to deal with him simply and effectively. So I should have a healthy respect, but I don't need to be terrorized by him. I don't need to fear him. I need to be aware of him and be prepared properly. Look at verse 9. "...but resist him firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world." The command here is to resist. It encompasses the idea of both refusing to yield to pressure, that is, to withstand something, to be set against something, but it also includes an act of pushing back, as in opposing something or even fighting back against something. Two examples, Amos 6 and 7, the word is used to describe those arguing, Acts 6 and 7, those who are arguing with Stephen in the synagogue. And it states that they were not able to resist in the sense of withstanding the wisdom and the spirit of Stephen as he was speaking. And so they had to devise some other way of getting rid of him. And so they conspired together to make false accusations to eliminate him, the danger he posed to their system of false beliefs. In 2 Timothy 3, 8, the word is used in the sense of an act of opposition. It describes Janus and Jambres, the two Egyptian magicians that opposed Moses. They were examples of those who have depraved minds. those who oppose the truth. There's an activity that they are doing in opposing it. Satan is an adversary that you must actively withstand and oppose. He is seeking to devour and he will eat those who are passive. Now how do you resist the devil? Well, Peter ties the command to resist with a firm faith. Firm here, steriles, is used for object materials that are stiff, hard, rigid and of inner dispositions of belief and attitude that are firm, true, stubborn, maybe even obstinate. It's something that's very resistant to being changed. Now the word here for faith actually has the article with it. So the LSB, the New King James actually translates it a little better. Firm in the faith, not firm in your faith. They're going to go together, but you have to have an object that first for your faith that's strong. And that's that faith. The faith of believers in Christ and all that he has taught. That's what is firm. What Jesus has taught is, and the apostles, is firm. It is unchanging. And even if your faith remains weak, that remains strong. Your part is to be firm by aligning yourself with what you believe about God and what He has done in His will with truth of those things. And that includes what Peter's been teaching. So hold fast to them. Do not be swayed by the devil's slanders such as sufferings that you're experiencing as proof that God doesn't love or care about you. Again, the proof of God's love was demonstrated by Christ at Calvary. And God doesn't have to do anything else to prove his love beyond that, does he? That's an absolute declaration. And yet God does. His love is poured out and causing you to be born again, giving you a purpose in life that transcends the current to something that is also eternal. It's something that transcends the temporal and all the many promise related to Christ's return that we can hold fast to. That is the goodness of God that demonstrates His love for us. Yeah, he loves you just the way you are, but much too much to let you stay that way, doesn't he? He's going to continue to conform you to Christ. That's part of his love, like a good parent. He is going to even bring correction to help you become what you need to be for your own good. Now, should we know that James 4, 7 gives the exact same command to resist the devil? And it also is following a reminder, just like Peter did, of God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. And instructions to submit to God. Resisting the devil begins with being humble and in submission to God. That is also the proper balance in understanding what is important in spiritual warfare. The devil is recognized as real, as a dangerous adversary, but God is the proper focus in being able to live a life of righteousness. The ability of a plowman to plow a straight furrow is to keep his eye ahead and not look to the right or left or behind him. He just plows straight ahead. It didn't take me long to figure that out in my garden out here. One is, if I want a straight line, It's better for me just to keep my eye out there and go straight than even putting a line in. That can be pretty radical. The San Fernando Valley where I grew up is some 20 miles long. And it was divided north and south by a guy at one end looking at a hill at the other end of the valley and just setting a plow and just went straight forward. That's Roscoe Boulevard. It's straight. I live just off of Roscoe. What are you looking at? Where is the focus of your attention? That's needed here. The ability of the phallum is the same that you have to have here. Or is your focus on Christ? So the proper balance is you don't have to worry about Satan or everything that he's doing. Keep your focus on Christ. He will keep you where you need to be. Don't let him become a distraction. He's dangerous. And he can roar all he wants. But my focus is going to be on Christ. In fact, what James 4, 7 here reveals the devil's response as you submit to God and resist him. What does he do? He flees from you. So he in all his roaring, he can roar as much as he wants, but when I'm in submission to God and resist him, he's a scared cat. Okay? Now, if you're not in submission to God and resisting Satan, then he is a very dangerous lion and you should be scared. Now, Ephesians 6, 10 through 18, and you can flip over that passage, Paul gives additional instructions on resisting the devil. And I want to go quickly through this passage and point out several things along the way as we look at what's in here. I did a whole sermon series on this. I actually did it twice. There's a link on the webpage for it. Verse 10, finally be strong in the Lord in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God so you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. I know first the spiritual warfare is fought in the strength of the Lord, not your own. That is why submission to God must come before resisting the devil. And second, God has provided you an armament to be able to stand firm against the devil's schemes. That's his various methods of deception. But in order for that to do you any good, you have to put it on. Doesn't do any good sitting over in the corner. Verse 12, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world force of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. It is important to remember who your real enemy is. It's Satan and his demonic horde that follows him. People, even those who are pawns of Satan, are the mission field. This verse also reveals Satan's forces are organized to influence even the highest levels of human government. You want to understand what's going on in our nation? It's right here. It is evil. And because men and women have allowed themselves to be influenced by Satan to that degree, that evil is multiplying rapidly. But those people who are doing that are still the mission field. I hope you continue to pray for their salvation. Pray that God would get a hold of their hearts and bring them to a conviction of sin. Nothing changes until that happens. Verse 13, therefore take up the full armor of God's that you will be able to resist in the evil day and having done everything to stand firm. Now when something is repeated in the scriptures, it's important. When it's presented as a reason for an action, it's even more important. And that's what's in this verse. Paul repeats both his instruction to put on the full armor of God and his instruction to resist the devil, but here he makes that resistance the reason for putting on the full armor of God. Put that on so you can resist the devil's schemes. In the very next verse, he repeats resisting the devil, or standing firm rather, for the third time, except there it's a command. That's followed by six pieces of equipment that make up the full armor of God, followed by a related action. Let me quickly comment on each one. Verse 14, stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth. The belt holds the breastplate in place and provides a place to hang the sword. The belt of truth is essential in the Christian life and in spiritual warfare. There's a reason that's listed first. Consider this. God the Father is the God of all truth. Psalm 31 5. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. John 14, 6. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth, John 15, 26. And God's word is truth, John 17, 17. So I know if you're going to seek for truth, I know where you're going to find it. I know where you end up. And truth is the counteraction, the antidote for all of Satan's lies and slander. Do you know the truth? It's essential in the Christian life. And second part of the verse, having put on the breastplate of righteousness. Now the breastplate protected all the vital organs in the abdomen. The will is equated with the heart and the gut with emotions. Righteousness is the means by which you protect those vital organs. The will decides what is and what is not important and it sets the direction of your life. That's what makes us different than animals. We have a will. And we can set it to go the direction we want. Uncontrolled emotions can destroy you. But when righteousness controls and guides your emotions, they become great blessings, even the negative ones, because you learn from them. So righteousness is important to us. That is going to protect our will and our emotions. Both need to be in subjection to God's standards of righteousness. 15, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Now Roman soldiers' shoes had hob knobs on them. That helped his feet grip the ground so he doesn't slip. You don't want to be wearing, you know, you don't want to wear leather smooth shoes on a grassy field that's wet. Because you're not standing and you're easy prey for the enemy. Instead you've got hobnobs in it so that it grips into the ground. And that way you're stable to be able to fight. The gospel of peace enables us to keep from slipping when the tribulations of life cause uncertainty and therefore fear and turmoil in us. The gospel gives us a solid foundation, that we can grip truth. Paul begins his discussion in Romans 5 with a statement that, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He then explains how we can exalt in tribulation, knowing they bring about perseverance, proven character, hope, and a sure grounding in the love of God, proven in Jesus Christ at Calvary. So the gospel is essential for us. When I'm wondering, I just go back to that truth. I know God loves me. I know he wants what's best for me. It's proven at Calvary. And because I know he loves me, that's where the gospel lives as a gospel of peace and everything else flows out of that. So even in tribulation, my God is still in control. And he can direct me and I can follow him. Verse 16. In addition to all, in other words, get all this stuff on and now take up the shield of faith. With which one will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Now the devil is certainly going to shoot his fiery darts of lies and slander toward you. But having a solid faith in God protects you from all of them. The greater your faith, the greater the effectiveness of your shield. That's why it's important you need to learn God's Word for yourself. So you know what his promises are, you know what he's done for you, so you can trust him. And with that trust, that faith, no matter what the devil slings at you, it's counteractive. It extinguishes them. So you need to grow in your knowledge of him and increase your faith. The devil throws out whatever sly, but it is opposite. Even if I'm not sure, I trust God, even when I'm not sure what the truth is yet. I trust God to keep me going to figure it out. I'll give you an example of that. You're listening to somebody, and they say something, and it's like, something's just not quite right there, right? It sounds sort of good, but something doesn't seem right. Well, that's the Holy Spirit working in you. Now your faith is going to be based in the Holy Spirit and in God and you want to find out what he says. And so you back up and say, even though I don't know what exactly is true right here, I'm gonna trust God and I'm gonna find out what's true by studying his word. Therefore the things I don't understand are not going to be a cause of confusion for me. I will still trust God in the midst of those things. And the longer I study the scriptures, the more solid that faith is. There are still things in scripture I don't understand, but you know what, it's okay. It's all the ones I understand that give me faith that God understands it. He'll let me know in due time how it's all gonna work out. And I can rest in that. I hope you can too. When's Jesus gonna return? He didn't say. Is he gonna return? Absolutely. Should I be looking forward to it? Absolutely. I don't have to know all the details, do I? Because my faith in God can overcome any of the slander that the devil throws against us. 17, in the helmet of salvation, The helmet protected the head and all within it and on it, which would be your brain and your sensory organs of eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Salvation by God's grace through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ converts you into new creation in Him. 2 Corinthians 5. You are transformed as your mind is renewed. Romans 12, 2, and then every thought is taken captive to obedience to Christ, 1 Corinthians 10, 5. So whatever you were, God is making you into something completely different, radically different, and that's why the idea of being dead and now made alive is fitting. It's that radically different. You're different than what you were. Salvation, then, results in both you thinking differently, but also perceiving the world differently, because you have a different outlook on life. That's why if you were in a discussion with a non-Christian, you're often talking past each other, because they don't even understand what you're talking about. It just doesn't make sense to them. But it makes sense to us, because we now have a faith in God. He's changed us. He radically changed us. I'm not looking for my own kingdom, and how am I going to manipulate things to get what I want? I'm going to trust God, that as long as I serve him, seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, he's going to provide for me. So I don't need to be worried, do I? That's a different way of thinking. But salvation brings that kind of change. He continues on, verse 17, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Now the Bible is both an offensive and defensive weapon. The psalmist said he hid God's word in his heart that he might not sin against God. So there's a defensiveness there. Whatever lies are out there, whatever enticements out there, I can know the word of God, that's defense to parry the blow of a lie. At the same time, it's also an offensive weapon because it will expose who you are, what you're believing, so they can be changed. Hebrews 4.12 describes the Word of God as a living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. That's why we use the Scriptures when we're witnessing to people. We're not trying to have an intellectual challenge with them, persuade them to a religious philosophy. We're using the Word of God because that's what changes them. That's what brings them conviction. I don't have to manipulate anybody. I just need to let them know the truth. Here's what God has said. The Holy Spirit is going to do the rest. So offensive to bring others to Christ, defensive to protect yourself against lies. Verse 18 is the manner in which the armor of God is to be put on. Often, this verse is not included when people are doing spiritual warfare. It's essential to spiritual warfare. Verse 18, with all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit. With this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. A fitting and concluding reminder that spiritual warfare is fought in the strength of the Lord and not your own. Paul even goes on in that passage in the next verses, pray for me that Paul would have boldness in sharing the gospel. Paul needs boldness? Yeah, he does! And he wants other people to pray about it. We need to put on each piece of armor in prayer. We need to be praying for each other in spiritual warfare. We don't go out alone. We go out with other believers prepared well with others supporting us. Now Peter concludes his command to resist the devil, firm in faith, or firm in the faith, with a reminder that what they were experiencing and his exhortations to them are nothing new, nothing unique to them. Knowing the same experience of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren in the world. Now, in hearing the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ to begin with, they would have heard about the sufferings of Christ. Peter has mentioned that several times throughout the book. Chapter 2, verse 21. Chapter 4, verse 13, very specifically. Christ suffered. They also would have been aware of the sufferings already being experienced by some in their midst, some of them among them. Chapter 1, verse 6. They also would have known, or at least should have known, about the sufferings of the early church that caused the gospel to be spread even to where they are. The strong reaction of the pagans against the Christians in Ephesus, as recorded in Acts 19, would have occurred perhaps 10 years earlier or even less. That was actually in the area in which these people were living. They would have known about that. They would have known those who suffered for the cause of Christ and walking in righteousness. Now there's no comfort in knowing other people are suffering since basic Christian compassion creates a sympathy for such people. That's supposed to be what we're like. We weep with those who weep. And so when we hear stories of other believers suffering, there's a compassion that goes out and we empathize with them. We have a sympathy for them. But at the same time, there is a comfort in knowing that others have successfully gone through similar experiences to what you're going through. And that's what Peter's marked out here. You are having similar experiences what they've already gone through. It's one of the reasons Jesus pointed out in Matthew 5, 10 through 12 that there can be a blessing in suffering for the sake of righteousness. The prophets were persecuted the same way before you. So I can look at the prophets as an encouragement that what I'm going through can be survived. Not just survived, I can flourish in the midst of it, just like those who've gone before me have. I can take heart in that. That is the comfort that Peter's giving here. Other believers have been through this. Look to them, they can be an encouragement to you. So concluding then, summarizing it all, all people need to be clear in their thinking. They need to be alert because Satan is a very dangerous adversary for all humanity. He's called the devil because he's a slanderer against God which is the major influence that gets people to reject God and pursue sin. And as the father of lies he also slanders people especially those who strive to walk in righteousness as a means of destroying them. Christians who are in submission to God don't need to fear the devil. because what we need to do is submit to God, resist Him, and He will flee. Yet, we also need to be clear in our thinking, sober, and we need to be alert lest we let down our guard and we fall for one of Satan's many schemes. And he is a schemer. He has many ways he will try to deceive you. So be sure that you are putting on the whole armor of God, that it's set correctly, and then stand firm by doing that. Those who are not in submission to God, this is the warning. You are subject to Satan's trickery and being devoured by him. Because what he will do is simply lead you farther and farther astray from the truth, and righteousness into a downward path of sin. And you don't have to be very old to have seen that happen to all sorts of people around you. Repentance from sin and faith and personal work of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only solution and the only protection against Satan. Father, thank you for the truth again of your word. Thank you for what we have looked at today. And Father, the balance that Peter gives that we, even as Christians, need to be aware, we need to be sober, we need to be alert. Our adversary, the devil, is dangerous. But at the same time, you've given us exactly what we need to do in order to stand firm against him. And that's to resist him by being submission to you, walking in humility with you, that our trust in you continues to grow. So that Father, even when lies and slander are made against you, we don't believe them because we search for the truth. When they're made against us, we find they're of little consequence because we know you know the truth, and our goal is to please you. Period. Father, enable us to be those who would be strong warriors in these battles. Those that would be able to help others who stumble or are weak. that they too may be strengthened and in being strengthened that we go forward as your people, your army in a spiritual war that we know the victory is already set. For it's recorded in the back of the book and you win in Jesus name. Amen.