Attention!
Notes
Transcript
Mic
Prayer
Much to her surprise, a small three year old girl was caught in the kitchen by her mom eating cookies. When confronted by her mom she replied that she had climbed up on the chair so that she could smell them… but her tooth got caught.”
God is trying to teach us today how to keep our tooth from getting caught.
Let’s take a look at todays passage of scripture. That’s page 1,218 in your pew Bible.
4 Slides (ending vs 11)
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
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.
10 And 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.
11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.
I am only going to get to the first verse in our passage this morning and it begins with two commands!
The first command is “ Be sober,”
and, the second … “ Be on the alert.”
Be sober. Literally, this is a command which tells us to not get drunk. We need to be in our right mind at all times. We need to be able to think straight! We are in the midst of a battle and we cannot afford to be under the influence in the middle of the battle.
Now while this literally applies to drinking and being under the influence in general. God is really telling us that we need to be in our right mind. We need to think straight at all times because we are in a life and death situation.
This is immediately followed by the second command to Be on guard! Be on the alert! watch out!
Why? Because your adversary, the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
To help you get the picture, I need to define a couple of more terms and then we can start to put this all together.
The word for adversary is ἀντίδικος. It is a legal term used to describe the prosecuting attorney in a court room. He is the one who brings the charges against the accused. He is the prosecutor and his job is to:
gather all the facts and then
to put them in the most damaging way possible to make the person look as guilty as possible before the court.
If he is really good at his job… he will get the accused to admit they are guilty.… then he can skip the trial and go straight to sentencing … even if the person is innocent.
And for what it is worth, the word σάταν (another name for the Devil) in the Greek means adversary and make no mistake about it. Our prosecuting attorney... our ἀντίδικος, our adversary, is Satan.
The second word I need to take time to define is the word devil, which is the word used in our text. The word for devil is διάβολος and it means to slander, or one who slanders. Furthermore, this word is an adjective used to describe our adversary. Now don’t get me wrong. It is describing our arch enemy - Satan .
And Satan and his demons are in the business of making false and malicious statements. They will say anything to make you look bad and they are looking for any opportunity to bring you down , to devour you. and Satan is not going to be restrained by the facts if a lie will do. But why lie, if he can use the truth? If he can use our own words and actions against us? That is why we need to be sober at all times. as for the lying.… we will get to that later.
It is against this back drop we need to be on the alert. It is like we are walking through a mine field and Satan is looking for a chance to take us down. We need to be on 110% alert… maybe even 150%. and we need to aware of His techniques.
Attention! Be on the Alert!
And how does he do that?
With Eve He tempted her by getting her to doubt God. He asked a so called innocent question, but it was anything but innocent. " Has God said?”
It was designed to get her to question God and He will try to get you to question God, to doubt His word.
Then he challenged the motives of God…
God told you not to eat from that tree.… because He was holding out on you.
If you eat from that tree, it will make you wise…
you will be like God.…
God was lying to you, you will not die.
Eve fell for it, she ate from the tree
and the rest is history. She did die.
Her children died.
Sin came into the world and it has gone downhill ever since
until one day when God intervened. He provided 1 off ramp to eternal life and peace, and joy for those who will trust and follow Him. and that is through faith in Jesus Christ - His Son.
Now we need to know some other ways our enemy may come at us.
2) I think of Job. In this case Satan came directly at job with an attack on all of his property and even killed all of his children.
But Job stood strong.
He kept His faith in God and proclaimed that : all that he had ,.… had come from God.
Did Job curse God? Would he curse God? No He was filled with grief.
3 Slides
20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped.
21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
22 Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.
Satan then attacked Job’s physical body.
He was covered with boils from head to toe. Would Job now curse God?
Again the answer was no,
but he did go to God and ask for a chance to present his case.
He thought he was being treated unfairly
(and quite frankly he was being treated unfairly because he was under attack by Satan.)
Satan even came at Job through his wife.
2 Slides
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
His three friends came at him and accused him of all sorts of things,
still Job remained true to God .… and in the end,
God blessed Job, he restored everything that Job lost and even doubled it.
God had given Job 7 sons and three daughters before the attack by Satan.
And as for those children Satan thought he had killed.… but God could raise them from the dead.
and in the resurrection , I suspect Job will see all 20 of his children.
God even doubled the number of his children.
Are you on the alert for Satan’s attacks? How will you stand if Satan launches a direct frontal assault on you?
either directly or through your children.
Will you let Satan win and blame God? or
will you recognize that you are under attack from the enemy and respond like Job?
don’t be fooled.
One of the first things Satan wants you to do is to … lock yourself up in the house and mope around
and feel sorry for yourself.
He wants to separate you from God and God’s people. If He can do that, he will win the battle.
Remember the word of God.
Let’s say it together.
2 Slides
24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.
or
2 Slides
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
and
3 Slides
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
When troubles come your way… this is the time to raise your voice to the Lord. It is time to ask for an extra filling from the Holy Spirit and begin to praise the Lord.
It’s time to raise a Hallelujah and remember Hallelujah means “Praise to the Lord.”
Let’s sing it!
[ “I’m going to Raise a Hallelujah - 4 min]
Now we were talking about how we can keep from being devoured by Satan.
It is unfortunate that many believers assist the Devil in his efforts to prosecute us by being negligent or irresponsible in in key areas of our lives.
For instance, many people have money problems because they have spent too much money or used their credit cards way beyond the limit of what they can afford.
Others get sick in the wintertime because they go outside without proper clothing.
Marriages get into trouble because the spouses never spend time together
or do anything to nourish their relationships.
Christians like to blame the devil (or worse God) for every bad thing that happens,
but the truth is, people usually help the enemy out along the way.
Praise God, when we do sin and do wrong,… His grace is there to forgive and to restore us!
But the devil is also there.
The enemy remembers every innocent mistake we make along the way, and
like a prosecutor — he comes along to accuse us. and,
Just like good prosecutor .… He will argue his points in your mind.
You’re in this mess because of your own dumb mistake!
You’re reaping what you sowed, and there’s no way for you to get out of this mess! - heard that one?
You’re paying for your past!
Your kids are a mess because you failed as a parent!
You’re going to go bankrupt because you spent too much money on worthless things!
You’ve destroyed all your friendships because you weren’t a faithful friend!
What he says may be true. You may have really messed up.
You may be in a fix now .… because of what you have done, ...
but that does not have to be the end of the story.
All of his accusations may be true.
The devil is going to use the facts and arguments that make sense to you…
so you will agree with him!
But!
Let me say that again … But!
Remember what God has said… In Psalms 103 verse 2 &4
2 Slides
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;
4 Who redeems your life from the pit; Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
Our God is a restoring, redeeming, delivering God!
He wants to snatch you out of the power of darkness and bring you into a new life… a restored life… a redeemed life where you are freed from your sins.
Slide
13 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
When we confess our sins… when we repent from our sins… when we are willing to turn away from our sins and agree with God that His way was right all along..… what does the scripture say....
Slide
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
and we can then experience what we are told in 2 Corinthians 5.17.
Slide
17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Have you heard that when lions are hungry they roar really loud?
Their roar can be deafening.… it is so loud.
And Peter is saying that Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. and He is going to be shouting into your ear..
FAILURE FAILURE FAILURE LOSER LOSER LOSER. YOU CAN’T GET OUT OF THIS MESS…
The DEVIL WANTS YOU TO TURN INTO A MESS OF LIQUID EMOTIONS SO THAT HE CAN SLURP YOU UP! That’s what the word “devour” literally means. But you don’t have to fall victim to the devil.
You don’t have to allow him to slurp you up.
God gives us the solution in a similar passage, if we go to
Slide
7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
I am running out of time… but I want to give you some practical helps on how to win this battle.
I have already pointed out to you that when you are under attack, one of your best weapons is to sing praise songs.
Let us “Raise a Hallelujah” when we come under attack.
One way to resist the devil is.… to immediately ..
at the first hint of his planting improper thoughts in your mind …
is to begin to praise the Lord.
If the only song you know is “Jesus loves me this I know” … then sing it. but add to it, Learn some good praise songs that speak to your heart. Give Satan a concert of praise songs!
When Alice and I are driving down the road.… if we are not listening to a sermon… we are probably listening to some praise music.
There is a famous saying I heard long ago, before I even became a Christian.
“This book will keep you from sin.… and sin will keep you from this book.”
Take that to heart.
We need to begin our day and… end our day.... in the word of God.
We need to be spending time in His word. I recommend at least four chapters a day, because at that rate, you will read through the entire Bible in a year.
Make spending time in His word a habit… and if you are not that good of a reader… Download a Bible app on your phone and listen to it. Drown out the voice of Satan with the word of God. Listen to some good sermons!
Some of us have already made a commitment to read through the Bible this year. Why not join us. It is not to late. We are still in the middle of January.
A lot of people have a problem with lust. and quite frankly what I am about to share goes for loneliness, depression, and anger issues as well.
Don’t think you are alone on this, You do not need to be defeated.
One of the things we learn in CR is that we need to replace our old negative habits with positive habits.
Reading the Bible. singing praise songs is one way to do that.
But let me add memorizing scripture… and I don’t mean just any scripture. I would choose scripture passages that speak to the specific issue you are dealing with.
Now in CR they give us several great scripture passages we can memorize, and I would be willing to help you find some passages that speak to your particular issue, but I will give you a couple of go to passages that I start off with.
Slide
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.
If you are having anger issues, if you are depressed, if Satan has brought some pornographic thoughts into your mind… it does not fit the criteria of whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure… Let’s drown out Satan’s lies with God’s word. Let’s turn to God.
and then there is...
2 Slides
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Let’s start thanking God....
and let’s pray to be filled with His Spirit...
and Ephesians...
3 Slides
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
That’s a good start.
Take to heart a lesson from what Joseph did ...… when he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife.
7 Slides (ending vs 12)
6 So he [Potiphar} left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge; ....and with him there ..… he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
7 And it came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”
8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, .… my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge.
9 “There is no one greater in this house than I, .… and he has withheld nothing from me except you,.… because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?”
10 And it came about as she spoke to Joseph day after day, that he did not listen to her to lie beside her, or be with her.
11 Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside.
12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.
He got out of there as fast as he could.
Sometimes the best course of action is to flee.
There is a handy tool that can help you
if you find yourself getting into the same situation over and over again.
Take some time and analyze when it is happening?
what was going on before hand?
how did you respond?
what happened afterwards?
Maybe you’re going home from work and you always end up stopping by this bar
You can’t resist stopping. It get’s you every time when you see those flashing lights
… Then change your route home.. Don’t go by the bar.
Call your wife and tell her you are leaving work now and should be home in 5 minutes.
Maybe it is always late at night that you get suckered in to pornography..
Have you been reading your Bible?
Are you memorizing Scripture?
what kind of movies or books have you been reading?
Maybe you need to be watching other things.
Maybe you should be watching “Andy Griffith” or “wagon train” or
something more modern like The A-Team.
Something does not have sex in it.
Maybe you need to make that a time for reading your Bible and praying for your pastor.
Another thing is to plan to be doing something positive at that time.
When I wake up late at night, I may read my Bible, or
believe or not, I will bring up the Rosetta Stone Ap on my computer and practice my Hebrew.
If you are lonely, maybe you should volunteer at Mountain View manor. or
visit some of our people who are home bound.
We need to fill our lives with good positive things.
This is the lesson of Matthew 12.
3 Slides
43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it.
44 “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.
45 “Then it goes, and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
Fill your house with good things, so there is no room for Satan.
Slide
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Don’t let Satan get you!
Let’s pray
Father help us to take this message to heart.
Our desire is to please you.
We do not want to fail.
We do not want to be devoured by Satan.
We want to be alert at all times. We want to be on guard for the wiles of the Devil.
and when he attacks… we are going to raise a Hallelujah to you.
