Avoiding Satan's Snares
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Avoiding Satan’s Snares
Text: 1 Peter 5:8
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Introduction
Introduction
At the time the Apostle Peter wrote these lines, no one knew better about the prowling’s of Satan. We see in scripture that Jesus warns Peter several times that Satan was seeking to influence him, but Peter failed to heed Jesus’ warning.
I’m sure you recall the night of Passover, just before Jesus was crucified. He had asked the disciples to stay and watch while he prayed:
37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Today, many Christians have failed to be watchful, they have gone to sleep, opening the way for Satan to go to work.
Today I want to give you three points to help prevent you from the prowling’s of Satan.
The first is:
Don’t Stray
Don’t Stray
Psalm 119:67 (ESV)
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.
There are many ways a Christians can go astray. As you sit there and contemplate this idea you are probably thinking something along the lines of:
A Christian might go astray by giving in to alcohol or drugs, abusing substances that can destroy your body, destroy your family and destroy your career.
Or perhaps you’re thinking a Christian might go astray by pursing the lusts of the flesh. involving themselves in an inappropriate relationship or becoming involved in pornography, giving in to the baser desires of the human nature.
You may be thinking a Christian might go astray by taking advantage of a business partner or committing petty theft from an employer, or maybe something as simple as not informing someone of all the inconvenient details as you sell them a used car.
Granted a Christian can go astray in these ways and multitude of others, but I think it begins with something that you probably haven’t even thought of yet.
The most common way that a Christian begins to go astray is to neglect their prayer life and fail to study God’s work.
If you neglect your prayer life you are cutting yourself off from that vital communication with God. Communication is a very important aspect in any relationship. When a marriage goes astray, it is usually because communication has broken down. It very well may be attributed to any number of other issues, but the root issue is that communication has broken down. If we cut off our communication with God, then our relationship with Him will go astray. In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, it says:
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
And the Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians:
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Often when we start to neglect our prayer life, then we also start to neglect the study of God’s word.
Imagine you just paid a lot of money to see a popular play, a Broadway production that is being brought to your local area. You enter the theater and take your seat. Pretty soon the curtain rises as your anticipation rises, but something is wrong.
The actors seem to have forgotten their lines and they are talking over each other. Their movements seem unsure, and they are running into each other. The backdrop behind the actors has nothing to do with the scene that is supposed to be playing out. And you’re wondering, “what in the world is going on, what has gone wrong?”
The problem is none of the actors have studied the script. They have no idea which way to go because they are standing on the stage at a loss as to what their next line or next move is to be.
You see God’s Word is His script-ure. He is committed to the script. Studying scripture is digging into the Word, it’s getting an understanding of what is written so we can know God and do what God wants us to do in the way He wants us to do it.
The Psalmist says in 119:162:
I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.
This verse says, as you study, and God opens up His Word, it’s like finding treasure. I bet you never thought of the Bible as a treasure map.
So, what happens when we don’t study? We end up just like those actors in that Broadway play. We don’t know just where to go, or just what to do, and things will just end up all wrong.
The famous Christian writer Corrie Ten Boom said:
“When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy.”
The Apostle Paul told us:
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
You cannot be a complete man of God without studying scripture.
The next step in avoiding Satan’s snares after Don’t Stray is:
Don’t Strut
Don’t Strut
Proverbs 16:18 says:
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
Some Christian lack humility. They desire the praise and honor of people, rather than the approval of God.
John 12:43 (ESV)
43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
Here John is talking about people who had heard the call of God, believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, but they would not confess the name of Jesus. And the reason they would not is because they did not wish to lose their coveted position in the synagogue. They had too much pride in their position to give that up.
Isaiah 2:12 (ESV)
12 For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
There is an account in the 26th chapter of Acts where Paul is telling King Agrippa about his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. Afterward, Kind Agrippa says:
Acts 26:28 (ESV)
28 (And Agrippa said to Paul), “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?”
Agrippa was almost ready to accept Jesus, but his position just would not allow him to do so.
Today we have much the same situation. There are a great many people who have a certain spiritual sensitivity to the message of Jesus Christ but they are just not ready to commit themselves to Jesus because of the social price they would have to pay.
You need to have an awareness of people who are in this situation. You probably have had people in your life who were on the edge of making that decision for Jesus, but because of pride of life, they just couldn’t do it. Your task, in this case, is to ensure them that they are not alone in dealing with this. They need to see that they have some support from someone.
God places these people in our paths for a reason. You are there to show them love, and answer their questions and assure them that they are not alone as they travel this path.
No one had more reason to be prideful than Jesus, but we never see Jesus being prideful in scripture. Instead, we see the humbleness in Jesus.
If you think of a king on one hand, and a servant in the other, you probably will not see too many things in common with each other. Jesus left a throne in heaven to be servant on earth.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Jesus was also humble in regard to His father who sent Him.
28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.
We must be humble too. We avoid Satan’s snares by doing those things that are pleasing to God and by giving Him first place in our lives.
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
And the last point after don’t Stray and don’t Strut is:
Don’t Stop
Don’t Stop
Life is full of examples of people who have stopped. They have stopped going to church. They have stopped reading the Bible. They have stopped praying. They have stopped witnessing to others about Christ. They have just stopped.
Covid presented a wonderful excuse for people to stop, but people have always found reasons to stop. “I can’t go to church anymore, it’s just too full of hypocrites.” Sure, the church has its share of hypocrites, just like every segment of life. Have you ever heard anyone say they quit that job because the workplace held too many hypocrites?
If we want to stop, we can always find excuses, but there are really no excuses that justify us stopping in growing our relationship with God.
Look at the congregation of any of our local churches these days. We see lots of empty pews. The pews are empty because many people have just stopped. They have stopped fellowship with fellow believers, they have stopped attending the church services, and as a result they have stopped growing in the Lord. The definition of something that does not grow is to be something that is dead.
In a certain way, it is understandable. It is not always easy to be a Christian. It is not easy to be separated from certain segments of society because of our beliefs. It is not easy to take a stand for Christian principles while the world has moved further and further away from those same principles.
I think it is our tendency to think that no one has had to face this same kind of pressure that we face. But let’s look at:
Matthew 10:22
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”
19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
Some people make a good start but come to a bad stop in the Christian life. When we stop, we play right into Satan’s plan. Satan attracts, distracts, and attacks those who have fallen away from the faith.
If a great white shark stops, it dies. They must be continually moving through the water so that the sea water passed through their gill plates and oxygenates their body. If they stop, they get no oxygen and they die.
If we stop our spiritual life dies. If we stop fellow shipping with other Christians, if we stop praying, if we stop studying scripture, our spiritual life dies.
No problem is too difficult, no trial is too severe, no burden is too heavy for the Christian, because God’s help and grace are sufficient.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
God is more than a match for Satan, and we are more than conquerors through Him.
Conclusion
Conclusion
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So to recap; how do we avoid the snares of the devil:
Don’t Stray
Don’t Strut
Don’t Stop