Be Sober, Be Vigilant; Because …

Intro:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because ...”

We all can probably finish the verse!

“Because your ADVERSARY the devil walks about like a ROARING LION, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8)

That is my subject I’ve been asked to speak about this evening.

And my task this evening is to remind all of us that Satan is still on the PROWL.

As we begin this evening, let me take you to an Old Testament passage that perhaps it’s been a while since we’ve studied it, but it’s an important one!

Zechariah 13:1-3:

This is an interesting place to start a sermon on watching out for the Devil, huh?

Why start here?

Well, we want to start by pointing out that certain elements of Satan’s power are now severely limited, and have been since shortly after the time of Christ.

(Read Zech. 13:1-3).

V. 1 - “In that day a fountain shall be opened” — clearly, this is talking about the fountain of the water of everlasting life (spoken of in John 4:14 and other places).

You can picture Jesus on the cross when they pierced Him in His side, and out came forth “blood and water” (John 19:34).

So Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy, here, in Zechariah 13:1 — The fountain that would be opened up for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness (the REMISSION of sins/uncleanness) would be the blood of Jesus Christ.

And we even sometimes sing, “There’s a fountain free, tis for you and me, let us haste, oh, haste to it’s brink! Tis a fount of love from the Source above and He bids us all freely drink!”

We also sing, “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains!”

Now — Has that fountain been opened today? (Yes! Almost 2000 years ago when Jesus died for us!)

So has verse 1 been fulfilled? (Yes)

V. 2 - Notice also “in THAT day,” that is, in that same day — about 2000 years ago — in the time of Christ — “I will cut off the names of the idols … I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.”

What’s he prophesying of here?

Casting out demons?

Well, demons were cast out!

But he’s saying that the prophets will be caused to depart, the unclean spirits (demons) will, too!

And there would come a day when they were gone for good! (Well, not able to possess people, anymore, we should say).

Because notice what we’re going to see in verse 3 …

V. 3 - In other words, there would come a time when prophecy ceased — and if anybody still claimed to be a prophet, what would happen to them? (They would get the death penatly for prophesying lies!)

When did that occur?

Fairly soon after the time of Christ!

Of course, hopefully we remember that during the infancy of the church, there were miraculous gifts that acted as a sort of “scaffolding” as the church was being built from the foundation up.

And one of the miraculous gifts available at the time was? (Prophecy! See 1 Cor. 12:10)

Well, 1 Corinthians chapter 13 tells us that when that which is perfect would come, then that which is IN PART would be done away — (Miracles, the scaffolding until the written Word was complete!)

THEREFORE …

Therefore, there are no longer any true PROPHETS today (a lot of FALSE prophets, but no true prophets) …

And ALSO therefore … there is no longer any demon possession today either, according to Zechariah 13:1-3, which means that the way that Satan works … is not that same way!

I say all that to say this as we begin — Just because demon POSSESSION is no longer a thing today (and I’m thankful for that — Could you imagine people truly being possessed with no one to cast the demons out?!) — But just because demon possession is not happening today, does that mean that the Devil is no longer working?

Well, of course it doesn’t mean that — The Devil still IS on the prowl — And you know what? People aren’t literally and physically possessed by demons anymore, but they sure still can ACT LIKE IT sometimes!

We just have to look around at the madness all around us during Pride Month, for example, and that becomes clear!

So … In what ways is Satan actively on the Prowl today?

Yall ready? (It’s quite the list!)

Let’s start with the powers that be:

(Read Eph. 6:10-13, KJV).

“10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 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 (Nkjv says “heavenly places”). 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Brethren, may we never forget that the Christians in the first century (and for that matter, most centuries thereafter) faced INTENSE persecution from both the government, as well as the Jews, and no doubt the Devil used it to his advantage.

I think about Paul’s teachings in 1 Cor. ch. 7, how in that particular situation it was probably best not to marry.

Why? There was a “present distress” (1 Cor. 7:26) which was an intense persecution in the area.

What did Paul understand? (He understood that those with families — wives and children — would face even more difficult pressure to conform).

Now you think about what Jesus says in Matt. 10:32-33 - “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

And then think about the following “what if?” (What if someone puts a gun to your head and says, “Do you believe in Jesus, because if you do, I’m going to shoot you!”) (Talk about intense pressure to conform!)

Christians, of course the Bible teaches that we are to obey the civil government/the powers that be are ordained of God — Rom 13.

But sometimes the will of the powers that be CONFLICTS with the will of God!

Just read the book of Daniel!

In that case, we ought to obey God rather than men — Acts 5:29.

When I compare the mindset of Daniel and his three friends — Shadrack, Meshak, & Abednego — to our mindset TODAY, I have to wonder if the church as a whole is going to truly stand when the persecution comes (because we ain’t seen nothing yet)!

Hollywood:

Brethren, we’ve come a LONG way (in the wrong direction) from the days when it was SCANDALOUS for there to be ONE CURSE WORD in “Gone With the Wind.”

When they couldn’t even show husband and wife Ricky and Lucy in the same bed together on “I Love Lucy,” so they each had their own separate twin bed.

If you fast forward in the decades since, the question becomes: How did the Devil do it?

One step at a time! (He operates INCREMENTALLY, doesn’t he? He DESENSITIZES us!)

Brethren, the Bible says in Psa. 101:3-4 - “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.” (That’s David — Did he ever set a wicked thing before his eyes? Yes! So I think he’s having to remind himself here — And we need to as well).

Rom. 1:32 (after listing a WHOLE LOT of sinful things that are being celebrated by Hollywood and society at large today, says, “who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also APPROVE of those who practice them.”

I looked at just three of the most recent movies in theaters right now at Pluggedin.com (Good resource by the way before you head to the movie theater):

Here’s what I found, looking at the following films:

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

The Boogeyman

& Fast X (all rated PG-13, so not even an “R rating”).

Findings:

A character named “Unicron” is referred to as a “dark god,” and another character “Scourge” has seemingly “sold his soul … in exchange for power.”

It is implied that characters called “Maximals” were the objects of worship, similar to the Egyptian god Horus.

Magic Crystals are used (which has connections with sorcery/paganism).

Movie goers hear about 10 “s - words,” and a handful of uses of the “a - word,” the “d - word,” and the “h - word,” along with taking the Lord’s name in vain twice.

That’s just the first movie. (Only gets worse from here).

In the Boogeyman, a woman watches Youtube videos to learn how to commune with the dead.

The woman is told in the Youtube video to light a candle, and the departed loved one, when near, will bend the flame.

The film’s title character is a horrific monster that causes chaotic violent events throughout the movie, including violence to children.

One “f - word,” 10 “s - words,” the “b - word,” the “h - word,” the “d -word,” and 4 instances of taking the Lord’s name in vain.

One crude sexual reference, and usage of marijuana by young people.

Fast X (Fast Ten):

Lot’s of Catholic references in the film, with Catholic depictions of Hell, Purgatory, and “Sainthood.”

One character nonchalantly proclaims: “I met the devil tonight. Honestly, I always thought it (the Devil) was me, so it was kind of dissapointing.” (Just taking the Devil very unseriously — the Point of this sermon is to get us to TAKE him seriously).

Numerous sexually suggestive camera shots of people dancing in revealing clothing, and several sexual situations.

In terms of violent content, I’ll just read the quote from Plugged-in: “We could fill up the entire internet with this section.” (Yikes)

Other Entertainment (Music, television, for instance):

Obviously movies from Hollywood just barely scrape the surface.

Just take a look at what’s on television these days, or in the music we listen to.

The top 3 songs according to Billboard.com this week — (Includes the genres pop & country):

I actually could make a case that this might be even more damaging than the movies!

The reason being — Music has a way of sticking with you! The way our brains work, setting words to music makes you remember it — It makes the words become a part of you.

I watched a video one time of a professional hypnotist out in California (a medical hypnotist) and he said the following about hypnotism (paraphrasing): “Our goal is to bypass the thinking/logical/analytic side of your brain, and go straight to the EMOTIONAL side of the brain, and invoke a response in your actions.”

Music does the same thing! It hypnotizes us, essentially, bypasses our ability to THINK about right and wrong, and it DOES affect our belief systems.

Anyways, 2 of the top 3 songs on Billboard.com this week: (one actually mostly pretty clean)

5 references to alcohol, approximately 30 sexual references, and 3 occurences of the “s - word.”

Again, Satan loves to DESENSITIZE us — and music lulls into a spiritual sleep faster than anything, in my opinion!

Let’s talk …

Social Media:

Just a brief point here.

Brethren, if we are going to have social media (social media is a neutral thing — can be used for good or bad) …

Then we need to use it responsibly.

That means:

Being responsible with our TIME spent on social media.

Being responsible with the influences we allow to affect our worldview through social media — (What kind of podcasts am I listening to?)

(Who are my friends on Facebook? [Some might need to be “unfollowed” if they are constantly posting immodest beach pictures and what not]).

(What worldview philosophies are all these Tik Toker’s trying to teach me, and my kids?!)

1 Cor. 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: Evil companionship corrupt good morals!”

And we need to be responsible what we SHARE on social media.

Sometimes, brethren, I see Christians sharing (aforementioned) immodest pictures on Facebook and other social media.

I’ve seen Christians post pictures of family outings on Sunday when they were forsaking the assembly.

I’ve seen Christians post memes and maybe the meme might have been fine itself, but the page that shared the meme had curse words in the title of the page, or an immodest/ sexually-charged picture! (And so when you share that meme, people see that!)

There are inappropriate Facebook GROUPS that Christians shouldn’t be joining.

And sadly I must even say that there are PREACHER groups that have liberal preachers in there sharing all KINDS of false doctrine, and the few sound preachers in the group try to stand for the truth and they get ganged up on by all the liberals!

(There are even Christians “ladies Facebook pages” with seemed unwritten rules that they don’t really want Christian ladies’ husbands seeing what they are talking about in there — And you can see where that leads!)

Brethren, we have to be careful!

Politics:

Politics is an idol in some peoples lives, so we have to watch out for that.

But in the realm of Christian liberty, I believe it is wise and good for Christians to vote and to participate.

We need to try to preserve what little of Christian morals this nation has left as long as we can, and this can include using politics appropriately.

But it really amazes me how many so-called Christians will vote for things that are BLATANTLY immoral — things like abortion, and the LGBTQIA+ movement, and other things that are contrary to Scripture!

In the 2018 Power Lectures Lectureship book, Jon Mitchell has a lesson entitled “The Devil in DC: How Satan Works in the Government.”

(Could have mentioned this in my opening point, too).

He has a list in that manuscript that I think was good - “How Satan Uses Governments to Further His Agenda”:

Included is a section on “Idolatry and government leaders.”

He talks about how some who claim to be Christians have idolized politics to the point that they 1) share false & even vulgar information online about members of the opposing political party, 2) will endorse candidates who stand for obvious immorality, 3) will point out sinful actions of their political opponents while sweeping the sins of “their guy” under the rug, and 4) will make WORSHIP SONGS out of political campaign slogans.

I’m not really going to say much more about that, but Christians, consider these things please before you go to the voting booth, and don’t idolize politics!

The Dark Arts/Neo-Paganism:

This is something that is heavily on the rise in our society today.

Long gone are the days when the only debate was whether or not Harry Potter was okay (I still remember my mom making me throw away those books 20 years ago). :)

But in all seriousness, I just want to list several things that have historically been associated with the occult that our society just laughs off these days:

Cutting — in 1 Kings 18:28 the prophets of Baal in their frustration during the showdown with Elijah — They cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. (I remember when I was a teenager, this was a big thing — Just WHY???!)

Ouija boards, mediums, seances and the like — Some people are just OBSESSED with the idea of trying to contact the dead — Of course, is that what they are REALLY doing? (No, I don’t believe so — Saul and the witch of Endor comes to mind - 1 Sam. ch. 28).

New-age religions — Things like “the age of Aquarius,” Astrology — When’s the last time you heard a sermon condemning using a horoscope?, Wicca, what’s known as “the Magick arts” — Right here in the state of Texas (Austin area), there is something called the “council of the Magickal Arts:

Here’s what is said about them online:

“The Council of Magickal Arts, Inc. (CMA) is a Neo-pagan organization in Texas, and runs one of the USA's largest bi-annual Neo-pagan festivals in the Southern United States.”

“CMA's festivals are held on a 101-acre (0.41 km2) parcel of land called SPIRIT HAVEN Ranch.”

“CMA promotes spirituality based on Pagan beliefs, and is open to people of all traditions who are interested in celebrating nature (don’t even get me started on “earth worship!”), spirit and community.”

“Starting out as a joint camping event of several covens (gathering of WITCHES) and some solitary practitioners, as of 2012, CMA had a membership of nearly 1000 people and festival attendance of 500 or more at each festival.”

And this sort of thing is cropping up all over the country!

Brethren, my Bible says in Gal. 5:20 that SORCERY is a work of the flesh!

The Bible says in Acts chapter 19:18-19 about those who had been involved in these things - “And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.”

The Bible says in Rev. 21:8 - SORCERERS, idolaters, and all liars shall have their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone!

1 Sam. 15:23 says that rebellion is just like the sin of WITCHCRAFT.

Deut. 18:10-12 - “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire (modern equivalent - abortion!), or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.”

Need I go on?!

And yet how many Christians want to get as CLOSE to the occult as they can, all the while thinking — “Oh, there isn’t any harm in it?”

Brethren, maybe you have seen this in the news, maybe you haven’t — But you know what some of the abortion activists in our country are saying NOW after the overturning of Roe v. Wade?

They’re trying to make it an argument about RELIGIOUS liberty …

And many of them are saying — “Oh, I’m a worshiper of SATAN. Abortion is a child sacrifice as part of my WORSHIP, so you can’t deny me that right!”

Brethren, what a SAD sinful world we live in! :(

Finally, let me touch on this …

Even our School Systems/Public Libraries:

Parents, do me a favor, and if you don’t have Twitter, you don’t need one, but pull up Twitter anyways, and on there I want you to look up one thing — Libs … of … Titok.

Sit back for a few, and just watch! Watch three or four videos — should be enough!

And then I want you to remember these words:

Coming to a school near you! (Movies used to say “Coming to a theater near you.”)

Coming to a public library near you! (Quick example - Natalie Portman’s “new and improved” fairy tales book at Marietta, OK Public Library).

Brethren, I believe it is up to every family here to determine what they are going to do to educate their children — That’s your call:

But let me say, home schooling is looking more and more appealing by the DAY!

If your kids are in the school systems these days, you better be doing your due diligence at home because society and their friends (and unfortunately even some bad teachers [not all!]) today will chew them up and spit them out if you don’t!

Conclusion:

Do yall remember what we started with at the beginning?

From Zechariah 13, the unclean spirits have been cast out of the land?

Therefore, people technically can no longer be demon possessed or possessed of the Devil.

That said, does that mean that the Devil just isn’t working anymore, that he no longer has any influence? No longer has any power?

Well, we have seen that abundantly to not be the case this evening!

I want us to finish by looking at some beautiful things taught in 1 John.

As we face all of the darkness around us today, let us keep these principles from first John in mind!

1 John 1:5-10

1 John 2:1-6

1 John 2:12-17