1 Peter: Roaring Lions vs. Resurrection Power

This will be our last message in Peter’s 1st epistle. Though I mentioned verses eight and nine in my last message, I thought I need to back-track to these verses and treat them in more detail. Peter reminds the Christians he is addressing that Satan is a devious, wicked, and a ruthless enemy. In tonight’s passage, Peter compares Satan to a roaring lion who desires to devour its prey. I got on line this week and asked Goggle, “Why do lions roar?” Goggle told me that lions roar for a number of reasons, but the #1 reason they roar is to signal “This is my territory. Enter it at your own risk.” In essence a lion’s roar is an act of intimidation. In these verses Peter gives us a threefold insight into Satan ...

Recognize Your Enemy

Respect Your Enemy

Resist Your Enemy

Tonight I’d like to preach about that roaring lion and use Martin Luther’s hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God as an outline.

I. RECOGNIZE YOUR ENEMY

ILLUS. In the early 1970's a popular black comedian named Flip Wilson, entertained his audiences with his imitation of a loud, rowdy, socialite named Geraldine. She wasn’t really bad, but she always seemed to find herself in questionable circumstances. As she recounted her escapades to the audience there would be that slight pause, then she would smile and sing out in that high-pitched voice, “The devil made me do it!” It always got a laugh.

1. well, you need to know that the devil can’t make you do anything

2. but Satan is the power behind evil spiritual forces that war against our soul, and our mind, and our emotions, and our bodies

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11–12, ESV)

a. this is a reference to Satan, his demonic allies, and Earthly centers of evil that includes both men and institutions

1) these powers are our great enemy ... spiritual forces of evil and worldly forces of evil

b. but too many believers go through life unaware who their enemy is let alone that they are engaged in spiritual warfare

ILLUS. One of my favorite stories from history took place in the early days of WWI. At the outbreak of the war, the British Colonial Office despatched a coded message to all it’s British Colonies in Africa. The message said, “War declared. Arrest all enemy aliens in your district.” The Colonial Office received a prompt reply from the governor of one remote colonial capital. It read, “Have arrested ten Germans, six Dutch, four French, two Italians, three Austrians, and an American. Please advise immediately who we’re at war with.”

3. Christians are in a state of spiritual war, but many do not know or understand who the enemy truly is

A. SATAN IS REAL

1. we need to start with the obvious — there is a Devil and he is the great antagonist of your life ... you are in the midst of spiritual warfare with him

a. Peter writes, “Your enemy the Devil ... “

b. in the Bible, the terms used for the Devil are terrifying

1) roaring lion

2) great seven-headed red dragon

3) strong man

4) god of this world

5) prince of the power of the air

6) the accuser of the brethren

c. these are all meant to picture Satan as a supernatural being, and a force of tremendous evil and power

2.His master plan, and supreme effort is to get control of the Church, not to destroy its organization, but to diminish, and pervert its Divine ends

ILLUS. Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, and philosopher. He wrote that there are, “Four kinds of persons: those who have zeal without knowledge; those who have knowledge without zeal; those who have neither knowledge nor zeal; and those who have both zeal and knowledge.” The last is the kind of person the Church needs more of.

a. Satan diminishes and perverts the Church by encouraging a zeal for worship and praise, devoid of a knowledge of the Scriptures

1) the result has led to all kinds of worship excesses — of worshiping in the flesh and in error rather than worshiping in spirit and in truth

2) zeal without knowledge is dangerous because we can be deeply and sincerely passionate and completely misguided because we don’t know the truth, or we aren’t submitting to the truth

ILLUS. Speaking of his Jewish kinfolk, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” (Romans 10:2, ESV)

a) this was the kind of zeal Paul had when, as was Saul, he persecuted the church.

b. Satan also diminishes and perverts the Church by encouraging a knowledge of the doctrine and theology that is devoid of zeal in worship and Christian living

1) we can become scholastic bookworms who seek to know more and more about God without knowing Him, who seek to win arguments without winning souls, who are puffed up with knowledge but lacking in love, who know the Word but fail to do what it says

c. Satan also diminishes and perverts the Church by encouraging sin and scandal among God’s people (sadly the Church is rarely without sin and scandal)

3. when Peter speaks of the Devil as a roaring lion, he speaks of that which he knows

a. in the Gospel of Luke, at one point Jesus is blunt with Peter

1) at the Lord’s Supper Jesus tells him ““Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”” (Luke 22:31–32, ESV)

a) this is reminiscent of Satan coming after Job, who demanded that God give him a crack at the Patriarch

b) the Devil wished to shake Peter’s faith so forcefully that he would fall, proving that God’s faithful servant was lacking

b. and to some degree Satan was temporarily successful with Peter

1) in the Garden of Gethsemane we find Peter falling asleep while Jesus is praying

2) during Jesus’ trial before the Jewish High Priest we find Peter denying he even knew Jesus

3) at the crucifixion, Peter is no where to be seen

4) in Galilee, rather then prayerfully waiting for Jesus as instructed, Peter returns to his old trade of fishing

c. but in the last chapter of John’s Gospel we witness the restoration of Peter who finally begins to live up to his name ... Rock!

1) it was on the shores of Lake Galilee that Peter turned again and became the spiritual leader of the Apostles

4. Satan is real

B. SATAN IS IN REBELLION AGAINST GOD

1. he was once called Lucifer, son of the morning star

2. the prophet Ezekiel describes his glory and his pride which resulted in his fall

“ ... Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. 16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.” (Ezekiel 28:12–17, ESV)

3. Lucifer was created, as were all angels, for the purpose of glorifying God

a. but there came a point where Lucifer desired glorify for himself rather than giving glory to God

“ “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” (Isaiah 14:12–14, ESV)

1) do you hear all the I will statements in that passage?

b. Satan’s pride willed him right out of heaven and into perdition

c. and Jesus witnessed it

ILLUS. In Luke’s Gospel we have the story of Jesus sending out 70 of his disciples to various villages of Galilee to prepare the people to hear from Jesus, himself. After completing their assignment these disciples returned to Jesus so excited, telling Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.” Jesus’ response — without any explanation — is, “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven.” Wait. What? Well that’s a little bombshell.

1) at the dawn of creation, when Satan led angels in rebellion against God the Father, Jesus was part of the Godhead in heaven who banished Satan to this earthly realm

4. since Satan remains in rebellion against God, he has a deep hatred for the things of God and the people of God, and Christ’s church

a. we are at spiritual war with Satan, his demons and the world-system that is readily yields to his influence

C. SATAN IS AT WAR WITH CHRIST’S CHURCH

1. the last thing Satan wants to see happen is our Lord’s Church succeed

2. we live in a perpetual battlefield of titanic unseen spiritual struggles

a. the wars between earthly nations and peoples are mere popgun affairs compared to the fierceness of battle in the spiritual world

b. this invisible spiritual conflict is waged around us incessantly and unremittingly

c. the Body of Christ is right in the middle of it

3. where the Lord is at work, Satan’s forces seek to hinder

4. where God’s angels carry out their divine directives, the devils rage

a. all this comes about because the powers of darkness press their counterattack to recapture the ground held for the glory of God

5. when there are problems in a church or animosities between the people of God, you can bet that Satan is the author of those difficulties

a. we must be on guard in the Church

b. forgiveness must be quickly sought and pardons quickly granted or Satan will quickly grab the high ground in the battle for the local church

D. SATAN IS ON THE PROWL AGAINST GOD’S PEOPLE

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, ESV)

1. temptation is an ever-present problem for God’s people and Satan is always the author of temptation

a. even Jesus was tempted

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15, ESV)

1) unlike Jesus we cannot claim to be without sin

b. it is in the fourth chapter of Matthew’s gospel that we find the story of that temptation

2. the devil used the same techniques with Jesus that he uses against us

a. 1st, he will entice you by tempting your body

“And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”” (Matthew 4:2–3, ESV)

b. he will entice you by tempting your spirit

“Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”” (Matthew 4:5–6, ESV)

1) Satan knows you well

2) he’ll appeal to your sense of pride

3) or he ll appeal to your self-effacement

4) he knows what works best against you, and that’s what he uses

c. he will entice you by tempting your mind

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”” (Matthew 4:8–9, ESV)

1) it is through the mind that we covet power and wealth and the splendor of the world

3. Satan is always the source of our temptation, but we bear the responsibility for desiring what he puts before us

“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:14–15, ESV)

4. the Scriptures make it clear that when you or I do sin we have no one to blame but ourselves

a. the devil tempts us because he is in rebellions against God, hates our Lord’s church and seeks to hamper our Christian walk and negate our spiritual effectiveness

b. but only you and I can sin and we are responsible for that sin

ILLUS. Pastor Tony Evans tells of a church-going family vacationing in Daytona Beach, Florida. As they walked along the beech, two young coed women, wearing “itsy bitsy yellow polka dot bikinis” passed by. The father remarked, "How disgusting!" His wife retorted, "If it is so disgusting, why do you look?" The 12-year-old son, without knowing it, spoke deep theological truth when he said, "I think Dad likes being disgusted."

5. that leads me to the second point ...

II. RESPECT YOUR ENEMY

1. the most significant battles which men have waged in this world have not been fought on any Earthly battlefield, but in the deep recesses of their souls

2. in Ephesians 6:11, the apostle Paul tells believers to put on the whole armor of God

a. why must we put on this spiritual armor?

b. because the devil wants you for lunch!

A. SATAN IS A MASTER STRATEGIST WHO PLOTS DESTRUCTION FOR THE LOST AND DEMORALIZATION FOR THE SAINT

1. in his warfare against God, Satan uses the human race

2. when Paul tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms he is reminding us that the evil spiritual powers of Satan are behind the institutional powers that control the agendas of the world’s nations

3. his goal is to destroy our faith in God’s goodness and grace

B. OUR SPIRITUAL BATTLES COME IN THE CAMOUFLAGE OF CHOICES

1. you and I face choices significant choices each and every day

a. Abraham was faced with the terrible decision of choosing between obedience to God and love for his only son

b. Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego were faced with the choice of serving an Earthly king or their God

c. the apostle Paul had the choice of living a life of ease, power and influence by remaining loyal to the traditions of the Jews, or following Christ

d. our own Lottie Moon had the choice of the comforts of Virginia aristocracy or the privation of the mission field in China

2. these men and women were all faced with choices

a. choices that would affect their lives and the lives of others from that moment onward

3. whether they knew it or not, each of those choices represented a spiritual battle

a. choices frequently initiate conflict within our soul

1) we can choose to ally our self with the forces of Heaven and the power of God

2) or, we can walk into the enemy s camp, lay our armor down, and capitulate

4. it’s often the minor skirmishes that bring us down rather than the major battles

ILLUS. Our spiritual battles can be illustrated by the overweight man who always stopped by the bakery on his way to work in the morning to pick up some goodies for himself and the staff at coffee break. It seems he finally decided to go on a diet and in order to avoid the temptation he devised a different route to work so he didn't have to go by the bakery and be tempted. All the office staff was aware of his new plan and they encouraged him in his diet. One day, however, he had to run an errand in the neighborhood where the bakery was. As he approached the old bakery he said to himself, "Maybe God wants me to stop by the bakery this morning and pick up some goodies for the office staff.” So he prayed, "Lord, if you want me to stop at the bakery this morning make a parking spot available right in front of the bakery so there is no question in my mind." And, sure enough, on his eighth trip around the block, there it was, a parking spot, right in front of the bakery.

5. there have been times in my life when I have wondered if I’ll ever win the battles, let alone the war

a. but there is good news — the war has been won!

III. RESIST YOUR ENEMY

1. in our battle with evil and temptation we must remember that the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” (2 Corinthians 10:3–5, ESV)

b. spiritual disciplines are the weapons of our warfare against spiritual powers

A. SPIRITUAL WEAPONS AT THE BELIEVER’S DISPOSAL

1. Spiritual Weapon #1 - Obedience to Christ

a. when we are obedient, we are invincible

“The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways,” (Deuteronomy 28:7, ESV)

2. Spiritual Weapon #2 - the Whole Armor of God

a. no soldier would think of going into battle unarmed and untrained

b. but how many believers face each day and the choices the day brings without preparation for the spiritual battles that are sure to come their way?

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” (Ephesians 6:13–17, ESV)

3. Spiritual Weapon #3 - Spiritual Courage

“Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” (1 Peter 5:9, ESV)

ILLUS. Adrian Rogers, long-time pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN, tells the story about a proud lion who wanted everyone to understand that he was King of the Jungle. He came up to a little rabbit, and he said to the rabbit, "Roarrrrrr, who is the king of the jungle?" The little rabbit trembled and said, "You are, O mighty lion. You are." The old lion shook his mane, swished his tail, and walked off. A little later he came to a monkey. "Roarrrrrr," he said, "who is the king of the jungle, the mightiest beast in the jungle?" The little monkey trembled and said, "O mighty lion, you are. You are the king of the jungle." The old lion shook the dust from his mane and went on 'til he came to a bull elephant about sixteen feet tall with four-foot long tusks. "Roarrrrr, who is the king of the jungle?" With that, the old bull elephant looked down at that lion, wrapped his trunk around the lion, thrashed him on the ground several times, then lifted the lion up over his head, and threw him against a tree. The old lion slid down to the base of that tree and crumpled into a bruised and bloody pile. He looked up at the bull elephant and said, "Well, just 'cause you don't know the answer, you don't have to get sore about it."

a. the devil is a roaring lion, however, there's someone mightier than he is — the Lion of Judah!

1) at the beginning of this message, I told you that the #1 reasons lions roar is to announce “This is my territory. Enter it at your own risk”

a) in essence a lion’s roar is an act of intimidation

2) the good news is that Christians have a bigger lion with a louder roar!

b. our lion has said, "All power and all authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth." (Matthew 28:18, ESV)

c. Peter tells us "resist Satan steadfast in the faith, and he will flee from us." (1 Peter 5:9)

1) that's good news for us.

God has given us Himself to dwell within our hearts. The Living Word is there with a full command of the Written Word. When we let Him meet the temptation in our behalf we shall know the joy of positive victory.

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