Knowing Your Adversary

Knowing your enemy is key to winning a war.

Our armed forces call this reconnaissance, which is defined as “...military observation of a region to locate an enemy or ascertain strategic features.”

I knew a man who was an Army Ranger and served in the Vietnam War. His job was crawling into the jungle at some distance, and to take pictures of the enemy.

His photographs were valuable to what our soldiers were planning to carry out in the short time thereafter.

Peter denotes that Satan is our enemy. He uses the term adversary in our passage today.

And as Christians, we are aware of our enemy because his actions and motivations are always deceptive and vindictive.

As part of our “Pew to Pulpit and Back Again,” sermon series, today, I will seek to answer the question: “How does Satan infiltrate the world?”

For that, we turn to a section of 1 Peter. But before we visit our passage,

We must be reminded of the criminal intent of our spiritual enemy.

Jesus referred to Satan as the thief in John 10:10

John 10:10 ESV

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

The apostle Paul qualified the devil as having schemes that are designed to hurt us and divert us from following Christ.

Ephesians 6:11 ESV

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

This letter was written to a Jewish audience in the churches of northern Asia Minor in the early 60’s, who faced sporadic persecution from both the government and their peers.

Peter’s letter is to encourage them to be steadfast in their faith and persevere their trials.

We must be reminded that the best offense is a good defense.

Beginning in chapter five, verse six, there are three verb statements used. Peter’s readership is to

humble themselves under God’s hand, because God “opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” In due time, he will increase their status.

In their humility, they should cast their cares upon Jesus, because He cares for them.

And, they are to be sober-minded and be aware of their spiritual enemy.

So there is action here, centered around humility, casting off stress and being alert, watchful.

So the three verbal ideas here are to be humble; to be faithful (in casting their cares on God, an implication of prayer) and to be spiritually sober, alert.

It is to this last idea that I want to elaborate on today.

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Edmund Clowney points out:

“The psalmist often pictures his foes as lions, lying in ambush and waiting to pounce, or roaring in their pride. (With Peter), the danger he sees does not come simply from suspicious neighbors or from hostile authorities. Lurking behind the authorities and powers that dominate pagan life there moves a more fearful destroyer, the figure of Satan.” (Clowney, 213)

I think it is quite common for Christians to forget about our enemy. He is behind every temptation, every deception, every effort to move you away from God.

We must be reminded that our interaction with Satan is daily.

Sometimes, maybe often times, we are negligent to the true nature and frequency that we encounter with the enemy of our souls. He is a stealth figure. He wants you to categorize him as a make believe character with horns and a pitchfork. He is not that, friends. He is much closer to you than you think. You encounter him everyday in one way or another.

Remember that he was the committer of the first sin. Theologian John Frame states:

“The first sin was evidently not man’s but Satan’s. Since God made everything good, there must have been a fall of Satan and his angels before the fall of man.” (Frame, 130).

To this, Ian Hamilton reminds us that...

“The Bible nowhere explains the devil. He is a creature, a fallen, malignant creature. Out of nowhere, he appears in Genesis 3 in the guise of a serpent. As the text unfolds, we see the subtlety and malignancy of this serpent. Slowly but surely, he deceives and seduces God’s first man and woman into willful disobedience. Nowhere is Adam seen to be less than culpable. But behind his sin lay the seductive voice of the ‘deceiver of the whole world.’ There is an unseen enemy to reckon with.” (Ian Hamilton, 63).

That is why science can only take you so far because it is limited to what we see and experience. But there is an unseen world, just as your soul is unseen. And the spiritual influences are active in the things you struggle with and fight against on a daily basis.

As a Christian, you must understand that you have three enemies that keep you from following the Lord Jesus on any given day, at any given moment. They are the following:

1, Your flesh/sinful desires. (James 1:14)

James 1:14 ESV

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

2. Your adversary, Satan. (1 Peter 5:8)

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

3. Your environment: the world. (1 John 2:16)

1 John 2:16 ESV

16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

It is a sobering thought that you have daily opposition to your relationship with God. The word: “adversary” is one who is an opponent in a lawsuit.

The term “devil,” means slanderer. He is the “father of lies,” as Jesus said in John 8:44. He lays snares and influences people to do his will.

And he knows exactly what you struggle with. He will appeal to your pet sins and your indiscretions. He knows what buttons to push.

He attempted to destroy the early church through evil emperors, false teachers, pride and sin from within. But he can only do what God allows him to do. You and I must be aware.

And the way to be aware is to humble ourselves under God’s authority. You must come under His protection. This means to pray and worship and abide in Him (John 15:5). You were never meant to fight Satan alone. And for that matter, you in your own power are no match for him.

But as you seek God in His word, the Bible and pray in the Spirit, and resist him with all you have, you can have victory over his schemes and devices.

Satan’s approach is often subtle, yet destructive.

A church in Atlanta, did an experiment and asked Chat GBT:

“If you were Satan, how would you destroy a young adult’s faith in their twenties?”

This was the response:

You have time. Convince them that there’s no rush to grow spiritually- faith can wait until life “settles down.” Delay their devotion just long enough that they never really start. Yet Isaiah 55:6 tells us:

Isaiah 55:6 ESV

6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;

Chase Distractions. Keep their schedule full and soul empty. Scrolling, partying, chasing people and dopamine. Make them so busy they never notice how far they’ve drifted from God. But Colossians 3:2 tells us:

Colossians 3:2 ESV

2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

3. Church is Optional. Convince them that church is a nice add-on, not a necessity. Isolate them from community so they never grow in accountability, encouragement, or truth. But Hebrews 10:25 instructs us:

Hebrews 10:25 ESV

25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

4. Success Over Surrender. Make them chase status, money, and achievement as if that’s their worth. Get them to believe God is a side hustle, not the source. Jesus warned in Mark 8:36:

Mark 8:36 ESV

36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

5. Find Yourself First. Promote self-focus over self-denial. Tell them their twenties are all about discovering who they are, not who God is calling them to be. But Jesus lovingly taught us in Luke 9:23:

Luke 9:23 ESV

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

“The enemy doesn’t need to destroy your faith in a day- just distract you for a decade.”

What is the answer? To humble yourself. To come under God’s authority. To pray to and love the Lord. And to resist the devil! James 4:7

James 4:7 ESV

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Sometimes, all it takes is to identify his movements and resist him. Too often we play right into his hands.

In doing so, God will supply you with everything that you need.

Conclusion

Many of you saw the 2014 movie, “Unbroken,” the story of Louis Zamperini, the Olympic runner who participated in the Berlin games in 1936. He spent 47 days adrift in the Pacific Ocean after a near fatal plane crash.

In May of 1943, Louis was captured by the Japanese and spent three years in one of their POW camps.

There were many times when he thought he would die. But God kept him going. Looking back on all that he experienced, he is quoted as saying: “God knew my needs and took care accordingly.”

God knows your needs. He will take care of you as you avail yourself to Him, especially against your enemy. Amen.