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Speaker: Hey man, please seat.

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As we're facing technical difficulties,
we're talking about spiritual warfare

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this morning, so, um, apropos, but hey,
what a, what an awesome worship set.

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Um, this is the second time I heard
it and I said the same thing, first

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service, and I just felt the same way.

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The second service, uh, such a good thing.

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I mean, think about what you just said.

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The God of angel armies
is always by my side.

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Do you believe that like the, the God
of angel armies, not just by your side,

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indwells you with the Holy Spirit?

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That's phenomenal.

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I'm fighting a battle.

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He's already won.

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No matter what comes my
way, I will overcome.

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Do you believe that this morning
where you sit as a Christian, if

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you're in Christ this morning?

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I hope you do.

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I hope.

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I hope those weren't just words that were
just mindlessly coming outta your mouth.

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Those are our powerful
statements of truth that are.

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Our hope that we have yes.

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And, and, and connected back to the
scriptures, rooted in our hope in Christ.

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But what a glorious reality
that is for us this morning.

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And I hope that's good news.

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I hope you're fired up
by that this morning.

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Uh, Jordan Lowe was fired up.

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He carried my pulpit up
by himself this morning.

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This thing's heavy too.

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If you haven't picked this
thing up, it's, it's beefy.

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Um, he just brought it up
here by, its by himself.

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So, thanks, Jordan.

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Hey, we lived in Arizona for a while
and, uh, and in Arizona, we, we quickly

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found out that there's scorpions there.

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And, and not like the scorpions
that are out in the desert

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that, that Steve Irwin sees.

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And they're, they're big and you can
see them coming from a mile away.

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No, these are, these are creatures
that I have to believe came

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into existence after the fall.

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These are what are called bark
scorpions, and they're about an inch

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long when they're an adult and they're
the same color as track home carpet.

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Okay, so my wife and I, we, we move
into this home in Arizona that we're

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renting and, and, uh, she's pregnant
with Luke at the time and a little while

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into our stay there, I, I get woken up
in the middle of the night she was in

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using the restroom and she calls for
me and I walk in and about six inches

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from her foot is a scorpion and it's
our first encounter with a scorpion.

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So I did what any
self-respecting man would do.

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I got a shoe and I smacked it.

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I didn't know what was gonna happen.

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Thankfully it died.

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And then I, I did a, another manly move.

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I got some toilet paper and I, I bunched
it up and I, I grabbed it and I threw it

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away and, and I felt good about myself.

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Well, then we turned around
and we found two or three more

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in our bathroom that night.

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So we did not sleep forever after
that, until we left Arizona.

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No, we didn't sleep
the rest of that night.

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'cause we're going, where, where
are the rest of these scorpions?

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Why are they here?

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And scorpions are insidious creatures.

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Because you can't spray for them.

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They have an exoskeleton that any
insect spray doesn't penetrate.

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So you can put like diatomaceous earth
out around your house and things, but

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you really have to just call for the
priest to come and bless your house.

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'cause that's the only way
the scorpions are leaving.

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Uh, went to the church the next morning.

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That happened to be a Saturday night,
and I told one of our elders, I

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said, Hey, you'll never guess what
I found in my house last night.

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He's a native Arizonan, by the way.

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I was like, I, we had a
scorpion in our house.

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And he just was like, yeah.

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I said, we have like four
scorpions in our house.

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And he said, yeah, you've probably
got thousands in your house.

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I'm sorry, what?

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You didn't cover this in the interview.

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This was not part of
the job offer package.

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It wasn't come be a pastor of this
church and take your life into your

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hands every night with scorpions.

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He told me there was a scorpion
that climbed up the wall over the,

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the top of his bed in the middle
of the night, fell into his bed

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and then started stinging him.

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Excuse me.

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He said, you guys are
about to have a baby.

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You should probably take the wheels off
your crib and put it up on Glass Bulls,

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because Scorpions can't climb Glass Bulls,
otherwise they'll end up climbing up the

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legs of the crib and sting your baby.

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So I quit right there.

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You should No, no, I, I didn't.

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But man, leaving with scorpions
is, is such an uncomfortable thing.

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'cause you don't know where they are.

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They, they're, they're subtle.

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They blend in.

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The difference though, between the threat
of scorpions and the threat that we're

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here to talk about this morning is that
scorpions don't hunt, at least not people.

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The threat that we're here
to talk about this morning is

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another threat that can be subtle.

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It's another threat that can blend in.

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It's another threat that's easy for
us to forget about, but the difference

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this morning is the threat that
we're here to address this morning.

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Unlike a scorpion, the threat that we're
here to talk about today does hunt.

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The threat that we're here to talk
about today is the threat of Satan.

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In the life of a believer, we can
fall prey into forgetting about

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what the Bible is gonna tell us
this morning that Satan is real.

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And not only is Satan real,
but he's active, he's on the

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hunt, and you're on the menu.

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And so as we come to this passage in one
Peter this morning, it's good for us to

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remember that the devil is indeed real.

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But the good news is, as Christians,
even though the devil is on

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the hunt, you and I can resist.

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We're not pray to just roll
over and wait for him to attack.

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If we're in Christ, we can resist.

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And Peter's gonna give us the
roadmap for that here in one Peter

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Chapter five, verses eight and nine.

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So if you've got your Bibles open
up to one Peter, chapter five, and

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we're gonna start here in verse eight.

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Peter writes, be sober
minded, be watchful.

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Your adversary, the devil,
prowls around like a roaring

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lion seeking someone to devour.

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Before we get any further into
the text, I want us to talk

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about the devil for a minute.

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And, and, and it's good for us to
do that because I don't know what

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your conception is of him, but the
devil is not the cartoon figure

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that the world has put out there.

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The, the world pictures Satan as this
horned figure that has a pointy tail

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and that, uh, has uh, a pitchfork
in his hand and he's waiting at the

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welcome desk to hell to check people
into perdition as they get there.

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That's actually not the devil at all.

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Uh, Satan is not in charge of hell.

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That's probably a helpful
clarification point.

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God is, Satan is not the
one that is ruling in hell.

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God is, Satan is ultimately gonna
cast into the lake of fire, along

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with all the inhabitants of hell.

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But, but Satan right now is actually
prowling as the text is saying here

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in one Peter around this earth.

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Paul says in Ephesians chapter two
that before we come to faith in

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Christ, that we were following the
prince of the power of the air.

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We were following the
course of this world.

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Paul's gonna say in Second Corinthians
chapter four, that Satan is the God of

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this world who is blinded the eyes of the
lost, so that the domain of Satan is here.

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The domain of Satan is this world,
along with all of his demons.

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But I want us to talk about Satan.

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Not so much about his nature
or who he is, but I I want us

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to talk about what he does.

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Because if we do have an enemy and
we do, and if he is a threat to us

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and he is, then it would help us
to understand the threat itself.

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What are his strategies?

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How does he attack?

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What are his methods?

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What are the ways that he goes
about hunting us as his prey?

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Point number one this morning is just
that, know the strategies of the devil.

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Know the strategies of the devil.

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Again, Peter says he prowls
around like a roaring lion.

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He calls 'em our adversary, that
that's a word that means enemy.

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It's used in Luke chapter 18,
verse three of the woman who

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goes before the unjust judge.

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The widow says there was a widow
in that city who kept coming to

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him, the unjust judge saying, give
me justice against my adversary.

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And so it can even carry a, a courtroom
idea that they're the one on the

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other side of the docket from you.

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An adversary is our enemy, it's our
opponent, and that certainly is the devil.

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The devil is the opponent of Jesus, and
because we belong to Jesus, because we

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are followers of Jesus, then the devil
by implication, is an enemy of us.

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He's our adversary.

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The word devil is a word that
means accuser or slanderer.

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He's the one that wants to see us fall.

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He's our opponent.

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He's the one who tempted
Jesus in the wilderness.

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He's the one who snatched the word
from the rocky path that we talked

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about as men this last weekend.

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He's the one who possessed Judas in
order to cause him to betray Jesus.

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He's the one who enticed Ananias
to lie to the Holy Spirit.

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This is the devil, the adversary.

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The slanderer.

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The accuser.

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And Peter says he prowls around.

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It's the word for walks, but it's applied
here to one who is said to be a, a lion.

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So I want you to get the picture of
National Geographic with the the lion

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prowling and crouching in the tall
grass as it's looking for the prey.

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That's who Peter says the, the devil is.

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In this context, he's prowling
around like a, a roaring lion, and

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so Peter is still continuing the
flock in the shepherding imagery.

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Remember, he began that back at the
beginning of chapter five with his

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instructions to the pastors to shepherd
the flock of God that is among you.

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He's carrying that forward because
at this time, the lion was a great

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threat to the shepherd in his flock.

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For you and me today, lions
don't pose much of a threat.

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We go to the zoo and we
see lions behind the bars.

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We go to the zoo and we see them
and they're, they're, they're over

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there and we can admire them and
we can be impressed with their

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strength, but we don't fear them.

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During this time though, the lion sent a
chill down the spine of every shepherd.

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David had to face lions as a shepherd.

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First Samuel chapter 17, as he's talking
to King Saul, when Saul looked at him

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and said, you can't fight Goliath.

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David appealed to his tracker because he
said this, but David said to Saul, your

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servant used to keep sheep for his father.

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And when there came a lion or a bear
and took a lamb from the flock, I

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went after him and I struck him,
and I delivered it out of his mouth.

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And if he rose against me, I caught him by
his beard and struck him and killed him.

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So the lion was a threat to the sheep.

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A lion was a threat to the shepherd.

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And hearing the roar of a lion
would've sent a chill on the spine

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of the shepherd and the sheep alike.

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And so Peter's continuing this imagery,
and he's saying the li the lion

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here in this context is the devil.

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You have an adversary.

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You have somebody that's after you, the
devil and his demons are hunting you and

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you are on the menu, but he's not just
after scaring you, he wants to devour you.

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That's what Peter says next.

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He's prowling around like a Loring
roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

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He's searching for you.

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He has his sights set on eating, and he
wants to eat and devour and destroy you.

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You think of the lion again in the weeds.

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Sniffing, catching the scent of the
flock, looking through the weeds, trying

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to find the straggler, trying to find
the one that he can set his sights on.

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The one that he can attack.

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The one that he can pick off.

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That is what Peter says Satan
is doing with us and his demons.

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That is, and I want you to see
that it's in present tense.

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Your enemy, the devil, prowls around.

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That's current.

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That means that, that
he's doing that right now.

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Him and all of his demons
are doing that right now.

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He's, again, not the cartoon image
of of, of Satan in hell with the

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pitchfork waiting to check people in.

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That's not him at all.

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He's not there.

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He's here.

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He's on this earth with all of his
demons, and they have you in their sights.

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They want to take you out.

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They wanna cause as much damage to the
name of Christ as they possibly can.

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It,

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but what does that actually mean?

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What threat does Satan pose to us?

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What can Satan do before
we get to what he can do?

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I want us to first say what he can't do.

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What can Satan not do?

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Well first, Satan can't possess a
Christian nor can any of his demons.

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A, a believer.

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According to the Apostle Paul
in one Corinthians, chapter six

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is in dwelt by the Holy Spirit.

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A believer cannot be in dwt by a demon,
so a Christian cannot be demon possessed.

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Demon harassed, sure, but not
possessed A demon cannot take up

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a residence within a believer in,
in exercise control over them.

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One John four, four says, little
children, you are from God

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and have overcome the world.

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00:11:51,569 --> 00:11:54,660
For he who is in you is greater
than he who is in the world.

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The spirit who dwells in you
is greater than any demonic

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force that would be out there.

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So there's no demon that can move into you
and say to the Holy Spirit, see you later.

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00:12:03,390 --> 00:12:05,070
And so a Christian cannot
be demon possessed.

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Second, uh, Satan cannot touch a
Christian, harass a Christian, afflict

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a Christian, apart from the sovereign
permission and purview of God.

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Think of job Satan appears
before job and or before God.

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That is.

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And, and God says to Satan,
where have you come from?

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And Satan says, I've been roaming.

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It's just like our text, right?

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I've been prowling.

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I've been looking, and God says to Satan,
have you considered my servant job?

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There's none like him in all the earth.

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Satan says, well, of course there's
none like him in all the earth.

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You've set a hedge of
protection around him.

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You've made his life easy.

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But then what does Satan say?

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Satan says, let me, let me afflict
him and then we'll see what happens.

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Christian Satan is not
nor any of his demons.

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They're not capable of doing
anything to you apart from

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the sovereign purview of God.

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Satan's not gonna wake up or God's not
gonna wake up 'cause God never slumbers.

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But God's not gonna wake up and,
and, and look all of a sudden into

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your life and be like, whoa, what's
going on with this spiritual warfare?

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Who okay, this, he's sovereign over it.

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And so Satan can't do anything to you
outside of the sovereign purview of God.

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Third, he can't make you
sin against your will.

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And so there goes the old excuse,
well, the devil made me do it.

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He can't do that.

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That's not how it works.

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Satan contempt you.

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00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:25,500
But what does James say?

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James says that we are enticed
and lured by our temptation.

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And when temptation
gives it, conceives it.

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It gives birth to sin.

283
00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:36,030
We don't sin because
the devil made me do it.

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00:13:36,750 --> 00:13:38,430
We sin because we wanted to sin.

285
00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,710
So Satan can't force you
to sin against your will.

286
00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:46,770
And then finally, Satan
is not omnipresent.

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He's not omniscient,
he's not equal with God.

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Satan can't act like God.

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00:13:51,810 --> 00:13:56,220
And so this is an important point because
Satan is not everywhere all at once.

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So Satan is spatially confined somewhere
in this earth at this point in time.

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If he's here, he's not at
the church down the road.

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00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:11,160
If he's right now over in Iran,
he's not in Africa, he's not in

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00:14:11,370 --> 00:14:12,689
United States, he's not in Canada.

294
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Satan can't be everywhere at once.

295
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And so what does Satan have?

296
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Well, Satan has all of his demons.

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00:14:17,819 --> 00:14:20,819
By the legions of them at his disposal.

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They can reach anyone anywhere.

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00:14:25,675 --> 00:14:29,340
And, and so we can't think that
Satan is after everyone, all in

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00:14:29,340 --> 00:14:31,650
the, the same form or fashion
because Satan is a creative being.

301
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He's spatially limited.

302
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:34,980
He's not omnipresent,
nor is he omniscient.

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00:14:34,980 --> 00:14:36,689
He doesn't know the end from
the beginning, and he is

304
00:14:36,689 --> 00:14:37,650
certainly not equal with God.

305
00:14:38,819 --> 00:14:40,980
And so all of those things are
important for our framework of

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00:14:40,980 --> 00:14:44,220
understanding how a Satan, how Satan
threatens a Christian, what his

307
00:14:44,220 --> 00:14:46,290
strategies are, and how he attacks us.

308
00:14:46,860 --> 00:14:50,820
And so we wanna know what he can't
do, but also we then need to shift

309
00:14:50,820 --> 00:14:53,580
and say, okay, so then what does
Satan do in a Christian's life?

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00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:55,920
I'm about to put up a slide.

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00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:57,930
I know our, our diligent
note takers out there.

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00:14:57,930 --> 00:15:00,990
You guys sometimes panic when I've got a
slide with a lot of words on it because

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00:15:00,990 --> 00:15:02,100
you're like, I gotta get all of it done.

314
00:15:02,340 --> 00:15:03,420
It's gonna be up here for a minute.

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00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:06,210
And so you can either write it down or
you can take a picture of the slide.

316
00:15:06,330 --> 00:15:07,110
That's fine too.

317
00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:09,330
But, uh, I don't want you
to miss what we're talking,

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00:15:09,330 --> 00:15:10,020
we're gonna walk through it.

319
00:15:10,020 --> 00:15:11,220
I'm gonna talk through these things, so.

320
00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:13,110
This is what Satan does.

321
00:15:13,110 --> 00:15:13,350
Okay?

322
00:15:13,590 --> 00:15:14,640
First let's just talk about this.

323
00:15:14,670 --> 00:15:17,400
He deceives and distorts the truth, man.

324
00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:18,840
He's been doing that
from the very beginning.

325
00:15:19,949 --> 00:15:21,689
Satan in scripture is
called the father of lies.

326
00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:23,939
Lying is his native tongue.

327
00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:27,390
Satan comes to Eve in the garden,
and what does he say to God to eve?

328
00:15:27,390 --> 00:15:31,829
He says, did God really say that
you shouldn't eve from the tree?

329
00:15:31,829 --> 00:15:32,699
The knowledge of good and evil?

330
00:15:33,660 --> 00:15:36,630
See, Eve had received the word of God,
and so had Adam, don't eat from the

331
00:15:36,630 --> 00:15:37,620
tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

332
00:15:37,650 --> 00:15:38,400
Satan comes along.

333
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:39,780
Did he really say that?

334
00:15:40,950 --> 00:15:43,860
Surely he didn't actually
mean that you can't eat of it.

335
00:15:43,860 --> 00:15:44,550
In fact, you know what?

336
00:15:44,850 --> 00:15:46,140
God's a cosmic killjoy.

337
00:15:46,170 --> 00:15:47,700
He doesn't want you to be like him.

338
00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:49,080
Doesn't the tree look good?

339
00:15:49,140 --> 00:15:49,380
Eve?

340
00:15:49,380 --> 00:15:50,430
Why don't you just go for it?

341
00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:54,750
See, from the very outset, Satan has
been one that distorts and deceives.

342
00:15:55,650 --> 00:15:57,060
He goes after the truth of God's word.

343
00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,780
He openly opposes and distorts
and deceives with the, the,

344
00:16:00,780 --> 00:16:01,530
the truth of the gospel.

345
00:16:02,069 --> 00:16:02,250
Right.

346
00:16:02,250 --> 00:16:03,329
We're still under this first point here.

347
00:16:03,449 --> 00:16:04,859
Second Corinthians chapter four.

348
00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:07,650
It says that God has blinded
the eyes of the lost the God

349
00:16:07,650 --> 00:16:08,849
of this world that is Satan.

350
00:16:09,030 --> 00:16:11,760
Satan has blinded the eyes of the
lost to keep them from seeing the

351
00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:13,469
light of the glory of Jesus Christ.

352
00:16:13,890 --> 00:16:17,040
Satan can pervert and twist and
deceive people so that they don't

353
00:16:17,069 --> 00:16:18,959
see and understand that gospel.

354
00:16:20,489 --> 00:16:22,859
Satan can also introduce
and empower false teaching.

355
00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,010
First John, John, chapter
four, verses one through three.

356
00:16:27,449 --> 00:16:31,439
We are called to test the spirits to see
whether or not they're truly from God.

357
00:16:32,745 --> 00:16:36,194
Satan can also disguise himself
and, and as can I believe, his

358
00:16:36,225 --> 00:16:38,985
demons as messengers of light.

359
00:16:39,735 --> 00:16:44,745
Second Corinthians 11 verse 14, A, a
And so in other words, Satan can take

360
00:16:44,955 --> 00:16:49,455
his deception that distorts the truth
and he can make it seem like something

361
00:16:49,455 --> 00:16:54,015
that's innocuous, something that's good
when really it's something that's evil.

362
00:16:54,824 --> 00:16:57,630
Take for example, the realm of
of transcendental meditation.

363
00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:01,229
And that has flooded our
society and culture, hasn't it?

364
00:17:01,229 --> 00:17:02,969
It's flooded schools as well.

365
00:17:04,050 --> 00:17:09,030
There's apps that people have an app
like the app Calm that's on your phone.

366
00:17:09,030 --> 00:17:10,169
You go, well, what's wrong with that?

367
00:17:10,169 --> 00:17:11,368
It helps me breathe.

368
00:17:11,398 --> 00:17:13,200
It helps me center myself.

369
00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:15,000
It helps me empty my mind.

370
00:17:16,260 --> 00:17:18,300
Well, that's not biblical
meditation at all.

371
00:17:19,348 --> 00:17:21,000
Biblical meditation
isn't emptying your mind.

372
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:21,839
It's filling your mind.

373
00:17:22,858 --> 00:17:25,560
The enemy would love nothing more
than for you to empty your mind so

374
00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:29,639
that you're vulnerable to fill it with
all kinds of things that aren't true.

375
00:17:31,290 --> 00:17:34,229
In fact, even some of the things that
are chanted during transcendental

376
00:17:34,229 --> 00:17:38,939
meditation are the evil and demonic
names for false gods and goddesses,

377
00:17:40,590 --> 00:17:45,239
and we disguise it under a picture
of a beach on our phone, or we slip

378
00:17:45,239 --> 00:17:46,830
it into our classrooms with our kids.

379
00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:51,570
See the, the, the demons
are messengers of light.

380
00:17:52,230 --> 00:17:54,420
Disguise themselves as
messengers of light.

381
00:17:55,020 --> 00:17:57,000
Paul says this in two Corinthians
11, three through four.

382
00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,570
He says, I'm afraid that as the serpent
deceived eve by his cunning, your

383
00:18:00,570 --> 00:18:04,920
thoughts will be led astray from a
sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

384
00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:06,240
That's what he wants.

385
00:18:06,930 --> 00:18:09,510
He's gonna distort and, and
twist and deceive because he

386
00:18:09,510 --> 00:18:14,220
wants to lead you astray from a
sincere, pure devotion to Christ.

387
00:18:14,490 --> 00:18:16,170
So he distorts the truth.

388
00:18:16,230 --> 00:18:19,500
He also tempts towards compromise,
bitterness, lies, and pride.

389
00:18:21,885 --> 00:18:23,595
He, he can take anger.

390
00:18:23,925 --> 00:18:26,715
Ephesians four tells us,
be angry and do not sin.

391
00:18:26,715 --> 00:18:30,165
Do not let the sun go down on your
anger and give the enemy a foothold.

392
00:18:30,375 --> 00:18:33,225
Satan can take anger and
turn anger into sinful anger.

393
00:18:33,945 --> 00:18:39,075
Through his temptations, Satan can
promote unforgiveness in bitterness.

394
00:18:39,435 --> 00:18:42,465
Second Corinthians chapter two
verses 10 through 11 says that.

395
00:18:44,294 --> 00:18:47,355
Satan can tempt to deceive and lie.

396
00:18:47,595 --> 00:18:51,645
Acts chapter five, when he led
Ananias to lie to the Holy Spirit,

397
00:18:53,175 --> 00:18:56,865
and so Satan can tempt towards
compromise, bitterness, lies and pride.

398
00:18:57,014 --> 00:18:58,305
Satan can also afflict us.

399
00:18:58,305 --> 00:19:03,284
He attacks the mind with fear and
accusation, paranoia, confusion,

400
00:19:03,284 --> 00:19:04,335
doubt, things like that.

401
00:19:06,315 --> 00:19:11,715
For example, in Luke chapter 22, verse
31, uh, Jesus tells Peter, Satan demanded

402
00:19:11,715 --> 00:19:15,195
to have you, and he's telling that to
Peter and the rest of the 12, I think

403
00:19:15,195 --> 00:19:16,335
that's part of what he wanted to do.

404
00:19:16,335 --> 00:19:19,155
He wanted to pressure, he wanted
to antagonize the disciples during

405
00:19:19,155 --> 00:19:21,945
this time of intense suffering
that they were about to go through.

406
00:19:22,005 --> 00:19:24,015
And yet Jesus said, but
I have prayed for you.

407
00:19:25,065 --> 00:19:26,205
Satan can also threaten us.

408
00:19:26,205 --> 00:19:27,615
That's our text one Peter five eight.

409
00:19:28,215 --> 00:19:31,635
He can threaten us, which can lead us
to that paranoia and that fear, that

410
00:19:31,695 --> 00:19:33,915
unhealthy fear that can cripple our minds.

411
00:19:34,650 --> 00:19:35,970
'cause he's the roaring lion.

412
00:19:37,470 --> 00:19:40,740
Satan can also try to undermine the truth
of God's word by launching the attacks

413
00:19:40,740 --> 00:19:45,120
of the, the quote unquote intellectual
realm against the scriptures, which

414
00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:48,780
were called in two Corinthians 10, three
through five, to destroy arguments in

415
00:19:48,780 --> 00:19:51,330
every lofty opinion raised against Christ.

416
00:19:53,430 --> 00:19:55,890
That's our job because the enemy's
gonna continue to try to come after

417
00:19:55,890 --> 00:19:59,160
us to come after the word of God
to try to disprove the word of God.

418
00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:01,200
Guess what hasn't happened since?

419
00:20:01,290 --> 00:20:04,230
At the beginning, the word
of God hasn't been disproven.

420
00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:10,500
Satan can also introduce along this
lines of, of, of harassing the mind.

421
00:20:10,590 --> 00:20:12,750
He can introduce thoughts
into our, our mind.

422
00:20:12,750 --> 00:20:16,320
I believe even take the temptation
of Jesus when Jesus is in the

423
00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:18,570
wilderness and Satan comes along
and he says, you must be hungry.

424
00:20:19,170 --> 00:20:20,159
Oh, look at that rock.

425
00:20:20,399 --> 00:20:21,960
Why don't you just turn
that rock into some bread?

426
00:20:22,590 --> 00:20:25,980
Oh, hey, didn't, didn't something
in the Bible say something

427
00:20:25,980 --> 00:20:27,210
about the angels bearing you up.

428
00:20:27,210 --> 00:20:28,415
Why don't you, why don't you jump?

429
00:20:29,075 --> 00:20:29,615
See what happens.

430
00:20:31,860 --> 00:20:35,580
For us, those thoughts might be something
like, oh man, I deserve better than this.

431
00:20:36,660 --> 00:20:39,060
I don't deserve what I'm
having to walk through.

432
00:20:39,060 --> 00:20:41,370
I don't deserve what I'm
going through right now.

433
00:20:41,700 --> 00:20:42,810
I deserve better than this.

434
00:20:43,770 --> 00:20:47,040
Or maybe the thought is, man, these
people around me in my community group,

435
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:48,629
they're, they're not as spiritual as I am.

436
00:20:50,639 --> 00:20:52,080
Did you hear the way they read that?

437
00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:55,590
Did you hear they would
pronounce that name in the Bible?

438
00:20:56,250 --> 00:20:58,350
Did you man that question?

439
00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:00,270
Who do these pastors think we are?

440
00:21:01,590 --> 00:21:03,360
This isn't nearly deep enough for us.

441
00:21:06,330 --> 00:21:09,540
Satan could also introduce a thought like,
I should be leading in that position.

442
00:21:09,540 --> 00:21:10,380
Not, not them.

443
00:21:10,470 --> 00:21:11,280
I should be doing that.

444
00:21:11,670 --> 00:21:12,420
That should be me.

445
00:21:14,340 --> 00:21:16,500
He can also introduce a thought
like, man, what would life have

446
00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:18,360
been like if I never had kids?

447
00:21:20,370 --> 00:21:21,295
I've got one of mine in here, Luke.

448
00:21:21,295 --> 00:21:22,590
I've never had that thought, buddy.

449
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:27,180
He can also introduce a thought like.

450
00:21:27,990 --> 00:21:30,300
What would life have been like if
I had never married that person?

451
00:21:32,670 --> 00:21:35,100
I haven't had that thought, and I hope
my wife hasn't had that thought either.

452
00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:39,540
But see, we can begin to entertain
these thoughts and all of a sudden it's

453
00:21:39,540 --> 00:21:40,740
like, where did that thought come from?

454
00:21:43,050 --> 00:21:45,450
Sit and can afflict the mind as
well through things like drugs

455
00:21:45,450 --> 00:21:46,980
and alcohol, lack of sobriety.

456
00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,550
He attacks the mind with fear,
accusation, confusion and doubt.

457
00:21:53,550 --> 00:21:53,560
Doubt.

458
00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:55,710
Satan does other things to us.

459
00:21:55,710 --> 00:21:56,880
He harasses people, right?

460
00:21:58,230 --> 00:22:01,139
Ephesians six 16 talks about the
flaming darts of the evil one,

461
00:22:02,310 --> 00:22:03,510
the flaming darts of the evil one.

462
00:22:03,514 --> 00:22:06,540
I, I, I believe those are, are things
like the, the doubts, the anxieties, the

463
00:22:06,540 --> 00:22:09,929
fears that can creep in and, and even
some of the stuff that we think about and

464
00:22:09,929 --> 00:22:12,149
we're like, oh man, that's kind of the
realm of the heebie-jeebies, isn't it?

465
00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:15,490
Walter Martin, in his book, the
Kingdom of Cults, he writes this

466
00:22:15,689 --> 00:22:17,189
about demon demonic activity.

467
00:22:17,775 --> 00:22:21,465
He says, all of the people involved
in these experiences, these encounters

468
00:22:21,615 --> 00:22:25,905
recognize the signs of the demonic
harassment, knocking or banging

469
00:22:25,905 --> 00:22:30,315
sounds, severe, repetitive nightmares,
colored lights moving across the

470
00:22:30,315 --> 00:22:35,595
room, red eyes, apparitions, and
objects moving without any human help.

471
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,980
See, Satan can can do things like
that as well with his demons.

472
00:22:43,169 --> 00:22:45,870
The last part, he works, especially
where believers grow, isolated,

473
00:22:45,870 --> 00:22:47,520
worldly or spiritually careless.

474
00:22:51,030 --> 00:22:52,590
There's other things too, persecution.

475
00:22:52,919 --> 00:22:55,950
Revelation two 10 says Satan is
about to throw some of you into jail.

476
00:22:57,300 --> 00:23:00,780
Worldly affairs, they can govern with an
asterisk, meaning they're governing under

477
00:23:00,780 --> 00:23:04,230
God's sovereign purview, but they can
control the the events of the nations.

478
00:23:04,470 --> 00:23:07,200
Daniel 10 12, the Prince of the
Kingdom of Persia opposed me.

479
00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:11,100
So these are all the
things that Satan can do.

480
00:23:11,190 --> 00:23:14,070
And, and here's the thing, I, I
can't be overly dogmatic about

481
00:23:14,070 --> 00:23:18,660
this, but sometimes I wonder if
maybe you don't have a specific

482
00:23:18,660 --> 00:23:20,940
demon that's been assigned to you.

483
00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:24,570
After all, Satan went after job.

484
00:23:25,830 --> 00:23:26,790
Satan went after Peter.

485
00:23:28,020 --> 00:23:28,650
What did Paul say?

486
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,960
Paul said, I Ivy Messenger from Satan.

487
00:23:30,990 --> 00:23:32,225
A thorn in the flesh.

488
00:23:35,265 --> 00:23:37,125
Joshua, the high priest in Zechariah.

489
00:23:37,155 --> 00:23:43,275
Satan is there accusing him specifically,
and then in Luke's gospel, Luke 1316,

490
00:23:43,275 --> 00:23:48,495
it says There was a Jewish woman
who was bound by Satan for 18 years.

491
00:23:50,445 --> 00:23:53,205
Whether you have a specific
demon or not, Satan knows you.

492
00:23:53,655 --> 00:23:55,605
If you're in Christ, you've
got a target on in your back.

493
00:23:55,755 --> 00:24:01,005
He's hunting, you're the prey, you're
on the menu, and he will come after you.

494
00:24:02,730 --> 00:24:04,290
Spiritual warfare is real.

495
00:24:05,610 --> 00:24:07,530
And so if he's gonna come after us,
we should know what is he after?

496
00:24:07,530 --> 00:24:09,420
Well, it it, we've already
seen it in the text.

497
00:24:09,420 --> 00:24:10,680
He, he wants to devour us.

498
00:24:11,550 --> 00:24:12,450
He wants to devour us.

499
00:24:12,450 --> 00:24:16,050
And, and so even though a genuine follower
of Christ can't be possessed, can't

500
00:24:16,050 --> 00:24:17,340
lose their salvation, you know what?

501
00:24:17,340 --> 00:24:21,720
Satan can still do a whole lot of damage
in the life of a believer if we let up,

502
00:24:21,780 --> 00:24:24,510
and we're about to talk more about that
in just a minute, but if we're not aware

503
00:24:24,510 --> 00:24:25,615
of the fact that the threat is out there.

504
00:24:26,955 --> 00:24:29,024
Then he can do a lot of damage
in the life of a believer.

505
00:24:29,024 --> 00:24:32,355
But you might say, okay, but
why is he still doing this?

506
00:24:32,805 --> 00:24:33,225
Right?

507
00:24:33,345 --> 00:24:34,485
How doesn't he know?

508
00:24:35,235 --> 00:24:38,145
He, he's, we're fighting a battle Satan.

509
00:24:38,205 --> 00:24:39,135
God's already won.

510
00:24:39,225 --> 00:24:39,945
Satan lost.

511
00:24:40,545 --> 00:24:42,225
Why doesn't he just take
his ball and go home?

512
00:24:42,735 --> 00:24:43,845
Why does he keep trying?

513
00:24:45,135 --> 00:24:46,785
I think there's a, a couple
of possibilities here.

514
00:24:46,785 --> 00:24:48,615
Number one, Satan's not omniscient.

515
00:24:49,485 --> 00:24:52,125
He doesn't know the beginning
from the end, God does.

516
00:24:53,250 --> 00:24:57,450
Number two, even though Satan knows
the Bible, the demons know the Bible.

517
00:24:57,450 --> 00:24:59,130
The demons have a, a sound theology.

518
00:24:59,130 --> 00:25:01,170
James even talks about that
you believe that God is one.

519
00:25:01,175 --> 00:25:01,980
You, you, you do well.

520
00:25:01,980 --> 00:25:04,020
Even the demons believe and they shudder.

521
00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:07,020
Satan has a theology about God.

522
00:25:07,110 --> 00:25:10,710
It doesn't mean that he actually
believes that that's sure and

523
00:25:10,710 --> 00:25:11,940
fixed and going to happen.

524
00:25:13,650 --> 00:25:15,780
Satan's not stupid, but he's dumb.

525
00:25:17,370 --> 00:25:18,930
Satan's crafty, right?

526
00:25:18,930 --> 00:25:19,650
So he is not stupid.

527
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:21,455
He's, he's cunning about what he does.

528
00:25:22,889 --> 00:25:25,500
But he is not the the sharpest tool in
the shed either in some other areas.

529
00:25:25,980 --> 00:25:28,620
I totally think it's within the realm of
possibility that Satan thinks that he's

530
00:25:28,620 --> 00:25:29,970
going to be able to beat God in the end.

531
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:33,720
I think it's within the realm of
possibility that Satan believes

532
00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:37,590
that he could take out a believer,
and so he's gonna keep going.

533
00:25:37,710 --> 00:25:40,470
But even if he doesn't, even if he
knows that he can't, and even if he

534
00:25:40,470 --> 00:25:44,910
knows that he's gonna lose in the
end, Satan hates Jesus so much that

535
00:25:44,910 --> 00:25:47,820
he's gonna do everything within his
power to harm those that love Jesus.

536
00:25:49,290 --> 00:25:51,240
And so if you love Jesus, Satan hates you.

537
00:25:52,965 --> 00:25:54,015
And so you're on the menu.

538
00:25:54,975 --> 00:25:56,355
Satan and his demons are active.

539
00:25:56,355 --> 00:25:58,815
We need to know the strategies
of the devil, but then we need to

540
00:25:58,815 --> 00:26:02,115
ask ourselves, okay, but if I can
resist, because remember, the the

541
00:26:02,115 --> 00:26:06,435
hope is even though Satan's real,
you in Christ can resist him.

542
00:26:06,735 --> 00:26:07,725
How do I resist?

543
00:26:07,755 --> 00:26:10,485
Knowing the strategies is, is
one thing, but let's keep going.

544
00:26:10,485 --> 00:26:11,205
What does he say next?

545
00:26:11,205 --> 00:26:12,765
He says, be sober minded.

546
00:26:12,885 --> 00:26:13,695
Be watchful.

547
00:26:14,850 --> 00:26:16,590
Be sober minded and be watchful.

548
00:26:16,590 --> 00:26:19,830
These are two terms that are pretty
synonymous with each other and, and

549
00:26:19,830 --> 00:26:21,300
I think Peter's calling us to this.

550
00:26:21,300 --> 00:26:22,500
It's a state of alertness.

551
00:26:22,500 --> 00:26:27,660
It's a state of, of being awake and
aware, a readiness of vigilance.

552
00:26:27,900 --> 00:26:31,110
I believe Peter's calling us to that
because of what he's just written right

553
00:26:31,110 --> 00:26:35,580
before that, casting all your anxieties
on him because he cares for you.

554
00:26:36,629 --> 00:26:40,110
I think Peter then says that
that's part of our equation.

555
00:26:40,110 --> 00:26:42,960
We cast our anxieties on the
Lord because he cares for us.

556
00:26:43,725 --> 00:26:47,175
But that doesn't mean that our position
now is one of fatalism and a kind of a let

557
00:26:47,175 --> 00:26:50,745
go and let God just kick your feet up and
just ride it out until Jesus comes back.

558
00:26:51,915 --> 00:26:52,395
Because why?

559
00:26:52,665 --> 00:26:54,105
Because there's an actual threat there.

560
00:26:54,855 --> 00:26:57,465
And I think Peter's saying,
cast your anxieties on him.

561
00:26:57,465 --> 00:26:58,365
He cares for you.

562
00:26:58,725 --> 00:26:59,265
He loves you.

563
00:26:59,265 --> 00:27:01,815
He's not gonna let you
fall at the same time.

564
00:27:01,995 --> 00:27:04,335
Hey, stay alert, be on guard.

565
00:27:04,635 --> 00:27:05,265
Be wary.

566
00:27:05,595 --> 00:27:10,095
Know what's going on here because you
do have an enemy that is prowling around

567
00:27:10,155 --> 00:27:12,555
that does want you to be devoured.

568
00:27:14,250 --> 00:27:15,810
I want you to think of the
movie Home Alone for a second.

569
00:27:16,710 --> 00:27:16,980
Okay.

570
00:27:18,660 --> 00:27:23,310
Spoiler alert, it's was from the
nineties, so you're late to the game.

571
00:27:23,580 --> 00:27:28,410
Um, but Kevin, he finds out the bad guys
wanna come in and rob his house, and

572
00:27:28,410 --> 00:27:31,890
when he finds out the bad guys wanna come
in and rob his house, he doesn't just

573
00:27:32,670 --> 00:27:34,140
kick his feet up and be like, it's okay.

574
00:27:34,650 --> 00:27:35,340
It's no big deal.

575
00:27:35,790 --> 00:27:38,010
I'm sure they're not gonna be able
to get through the deads on the door.

576
00:27:38,490 --> 00:27:38,940
I'm fine.

577
00:27:40,274 --> 00:27:41,385
He also doesn't call the police.

578
00:27:41,415 --> 00:27:42,345
So there's that element too.

579
00:27:42,405 --> 00:27:44,054
But what does he do?

580
00:27:44,595 --> 00:27:48,794
He goes back home and he goes into a state
of watchfulness and sober mindedness,

581
00:27:48,855 --> 00:27:53,475
alertness, and he prepares for what
the attack is that he knows is coming.

582
00:27:54,465 --> 00:27:56,655
He begins to set all the traps
all throughout the house that

583
00:27:56,655 --> 00:27:57,915
make the movie hilarious to watch.

584
00:27:57,915 --> 00:28:00,465
But he's doing that because he's aware.

585
00:28:00,645 --> 00:28:02,745
And so Kevin, this is the
weirdest thing I've ever preached.

586
00:28:02,745 --> 00:28:07,125
Probably, probably Kevin's a picture
for us of how we should be when it

587
00:28:07,125 --> 00:28:08,985
comes to the threat of spiritual forces.

588
00:28:09,540 --> 00:28:11,460
That exists out there in
the darkness around us.

589
00:28:12,750 --> 00:28:14,760
You didn't expect to come to church
and hear some the pastor say,

590
00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:15,990
be like Kevin from home alone.

591
00:28:18,510 --> 00:28:22,169
As I mentioned earlier, I can't be dog
dogmatic about it, but, but what if Satan

592
00:28:22,169 --> 00:28:23,610
has assigned a specific demon to you?

593
00:28:23,940 --> 00:28:26,669
Wouldn't that create an even greater
sense of urgency for us this morning?

594
00:28:27,929 --> 00:28:30,120
And whether or not you have a specific
demon assigned to you, he's got

595
00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:32,490
legions, they may rotate through.

596
00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:34,800
I can tell you for sure
they're gonna come after you.

597
00:28:35,700 --> 00:28:37,500
You've got a target on your
back because they hate Jesus.

598
00:28:37,500 --> 00:28:38,730
And if you love Jesus, they hate you.

599
00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:43,620
And so as such, that means that we have
to be alert because we do have the target.

600
00:28:43,620 --> 00:28:44,550
He is hunting us.

601
00:28:44,730 --> 00:28:46,440
We're the prey, we're on the menu.

602
00:28:46,530 --> 00:28:48,630
And so in light of that, our
second point this morning is

603
00:28:48,630 --> 00:28:50,250
this, stay spiritually alert.

604
00:28:51,420 --> 00:28:52,470
Stay spiritually alert.

605
00:28:53,310 --> 00:28:55,260
This is another way that
you can resist the devil.

606
00:28:55,665 --> 00:28:57,900
We are at war.

607
00:28:59,504 --> 00:29:02,235
If you think back to, to England
during World War ii, and you think the

608
00:29:02,235 --> 00:29:05,025
bombing raids that came through, they
would hear the sirens and, and the

609
00:29:05,025 --> 00:29:06,795
sirens would tell them to take shelter.

610
00:29:06,975 --> 00:29:10,695
But for a period of time there, you
know, that the sirens were going off

611
00:29:10,695 --> 00:29:13,845
regularly enough that they weren't even
waiting for the sirens to think, I need

612
00:29:13,845 --> 00:29:18,375
to be ready to take shelter, and, and
they never woke up a day and thought

613
00:29:18,375 --> 00:29:21,285
to themselves, well, maybe they'll
just take a day off from the war today.

614
00:29:22,185 --> 00:29:22,605
Maybe.

615
00:29:22,785 --> 00:29:24,195
Maybe I don't need to
worry about it today.

616
00:29:24,990 --> 00:29:28,320
Imagine probably even more apt
for what we're talking about here.

617
00:29:28,470 --> 00:29:29,910
Imagine being on the front lines.

618
00:29:31,410 --> 00:29:33,480
Imagine being on the front lines
during some of the battles of

619
00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:35,879
World War ii and just thinking to
yourself, I'm not gonna fight today.

620
00:29:36,300 --> 00:29:36,780
I don't want to.

621
00:29:38,370 --> 00:29:42,000
When you have an enemy that you know
is not taking it off and you know

622
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,020
he's got you in his sights, what's
gonna happen if you take the day off?

623
00:29:46,020 --> 00:29:47,400
You're, you're a sitting duck.

624
00:29:48,810 --> 00:29:51,210
I was watching this reels about
this guy who's sailing his

625
00:29:51,210 --> 00:29:52,590
sailboat across the Pacific Ocean.

626
00:29:52,590 --> 00:29:53,220
It's fascinating.

627
00:29:53,910 --> 00:29:57,000
Uh, but one of the things he talked about
was sailing through the shipping channels.

628
00:29:57,690 --> 00:30:00,510
And when they're sailing through the
shipping channels, uh, he's sailing solo.

629
00:30:00,570 --> 00:30:05,520
He can't sleep for more than 20 minutes
at a time, and so he sets an alarm

630
00:30:05,610 --> 00:30:08,430
and after 20 minutes he wakes up, he
scans the horizon, he looks for ships,

631
00:30:09,090 --> 00:30:11,460
and then he goes back to sleep for
another 20 minutes, and then 20 minutes

632
00:30:11,460 --> 00:30:13,770
later wakes up, scans the horizon
for ships and goes back to sleep.

633
00:30:14,070 --> 00:30:16,500
There are so many reasons why I
don't want to ever be on a sailboat

634
00:30:16,500 --> 00:30:17,430
in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

635
00:30:17,430 --> 00:30:18,120
That's another one.

636
00:30:19,139 --> 00:30:20,520
I like sleep too much.

637
00:30:20,879 --> 00:30:21,810
Why does he have to do that though?

638
00:30:21,810 --> 00:30:22,800
Because he has to keep alert.

639
00:30:23,639 --> 00:30:27,360
He has to be so reminded he has to be
watchful because if he lets up, if he

640
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:29,760
just decides, I'm just gonna go to bed
and, and tuck myself in and sleep for

641
00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:33,840
12 hours, if a freighter comes through,
guess who's winning that battle?

642
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:35,310
Not the sailboat

643
00:30:37,679 --> 00:30:38,129
with my kids.

644
00:30:38,129 --> 00:30:40,199
In the mornings we do our, our
Bible time together, and recently

645
00:30:40,199 --> 00:30:41,189
we're reading one of the proverbs.

646
00:30:41,189 --> 00:30:43,169
Pride become, pride
comes before destruction.

647
00:30:43,169 --> 00:30:45,419
But the Lord loves a,
a humble spirit, right?

648
00:30:46,199 --> 00:30:49,050
And so I just ask my kids, so what
would you rather have from the Lord?

649
00:30:49,050 --> 00:30:52,320
Would you rather have destruction
from God or honor from the Lord?

650
00:30:53,460 --> 00:30:56,370
It was not a trick question, and
thankfully they all got it right.

651
00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:58,230
Well, I would rather
have the Lord honor me.

652
00:30:58,650 --> 00:30:59,070
Amen.

653
00:30:59,070 --> 00:30:59,370
Yes.

654
00:30:59,370 --> 00:30:59,610
Right.

655
00:30:59,610 --> 00:31:00,930
It's plain, it's simple, it's clear.

656
00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:05,580
Sometimes living out the Bible
is hard, but I appreciate the

657
00:31:05,580 --> 00:31:09,840
Bible's clarity in areas, and this
is another one of those, right?

658
00:31:10,950 --> 00:31:14,040
Peter says, you have an enemy
prowling around like a roaring

659
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,200
lion, and he wants to destroy you.

660
00:31:17,370 --> 00:31:20,010
Man, I wish God would be clear
about things like spiritual warfare.

661
00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:22,950
Be sober minded.

662
00:31:22,950 --> 00:31:23,550
Be watchful.

663
00:31:23,550 --> 00:31:24,300
Be alert.

664
00:31:25,169 --> 00:31:27,990
Oh man, I wish God would just
tell me what he wants me to do.

665
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:29,550
What does he expect of me?

666
00:31:31,770 --> 00:31:35,610
Spiritual alertness begins with a
proper sobriety as we assess the threat.

667
00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:40,139
Do you believe what Peter's writing
here, that that's where we have to begin.

668
00:31:40,439 --> 00:31:43,530
Do you believe that you have an enemy,
that you have a target on your back,

669
00:31:43,620 --> 00:31:46,725
that Satan is after you with all of
his demons, that you are on the menu?

670
00:31:48,705 --> 00:31:50,565
That he's prowling, that he's seeking you.

671
00:31:50,565 --> 00:31:53,355
Do you believe that being sober
minded and watchful begins with

672
00:31:53,355 --> 00:31:54,465
taking the threat seriously?

673
00:31:54,825 --> 00:31:59,325
Last night, you, you probably heard the
news, there was a, a, a, a shooting,

674
00:31:59,325 --> 00:32:02,235
and we're not totally clear on all
the details yet, but at the, the

675
00:32:02,235 --> 00:32:03,125
correspondence dinner at the White House.

676
00:32:04,395 --> 00:32:08,715
And so you had an event at the White House
where all of the, the massively powerful

677
00:32:08,715 --> 00:32:12,794
figures in the United States are there,
and the Secret Service was there, and

678
00:32:12,794 --> 00:32:15,794
apparently the guy was hanging out in
a coat closet before the event started.

679
00:32:15,794 --> 00:32:17,264
I'm like, how do you not check that?

680
00:32:18,090 --> 00:32:20,820
My wife, when she hears a sound in the
middle of the night, I'm checking closets

681
00:32:20,820 --> 00:32:22,290
that haven't been opened in three years.

682
00:32:22,290 --> 00:32:24,389
'cause we just keep things in
there that we don't use anymore.

683
00:32:24,689 --> 00:32:25,500
Nobody can fit in there.

684
00:32:25,500 --> 00:32:26,429
I'm still checking the closet.

685
00:32:26,970 --> 00:32:30,960
The guys in the coat closet bust out
runs and thankfully our, our secret

686
00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:33,210
service did their job and they, they
took him out and I believe the guy

687
00:32:33,210 --> 00:32:35,250
that got shot is gonna be okay as well.

688
00:32:35,610 --> 00:32:38,189
That's one type of response
to a, a threat, right?

689
00:32:38,639 --> 00:32:40,409
When it's a threat that
catches you off guard.

690
00:32:40,409 --> 00:32:41,490
You gotta be ready in the moment.

691
00:32:42,570 --> 00:32:44,639
There's a different kind of
a, a response to a threat too.

692
00:32:45,449 --> 00:32:46,860
Think of our counter-terrorism units.

693
00:32:47,730 --> 00:32:50,970
Think about the headlines that
you read, terror plot, foiled,

694
00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,720
and then you, you begin to dig
into it and you're like, oh, wow.

695
00:32:55,200 --> 00:33:00,600
This was a multi-layered investigation
and it didn't ever do anything.

696
00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:01,770
We were protected from it.

697
00:33:01,770 --> 00:33:02,250
Why?

698
00:33:02,790 --> 00:33:07,290
Because we have people in our country who
are sober minded and alert and watchful.

699
00:33:07,695 --> 00:33:08,685
For these threats.

700
00:33:08,685 --> 00:33:11,115
They're always on guard
against these threats.

701
00:33:11,115 --> 00:33:14,865
They're always monitoring the channels
and looking at the different chatter and

702
00:33:14,865 --> 00:33:19,065
they're, they're looking for things that
you and I have no idea are evidence that

703
00:33:19,065 --> 00:33:22,125
some plot may be afoot, and yet they
see it, they recognize it, and they take

704
00:33:22,125 --> 00:33:23,895
it out before it ever happens to us.

705
00:33:24,885 --> 00:33:27,585
We need to have the CTU mindset when
it comes to our lives spiritually.

706
00:33:28,605 --> 00:33:31,755
We need to think about the threat and
be able to think, I need to always

707
00:33:31,755 --> 00:33:33,135
be watching the perimeter of my life.

708
00:33:33,165 --> 00:33:36,765
I always need to be available
and, and alert to what's going on.

709
00:33:37,005 --> 00:33:41,745
And that begins with examining our own
lives, the watchfulness in our own lives.

710
00:33:41,750 --> 00:33:45,945
So, so ask yourself things like, okay,
what, what am I being influenced by?

711
00:33:47,910 --> 00:33:50,340
What are the things that I'm,
I'm watching social media.

712
00:33:50,345 --> 00:33:52,500
What, what are the, the, the
channels that I'm following there?

713
00:33:52,500 --> 00:33:53,910
What TV shows am I watching?

714
00:33:53,910 --> 00:33:54,780
What books am I reading?

715
00:33:54,990 --> 00:33:58,530
Am I opening myself up to the
demonic realm in any of those areas?

716
00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:03,630
How about sources of what I
would call domesticated evil?

717
00:34:04,350 --> 00:34:06,300
I talked about transcendental
meditation earlier.

718
00:34:06,330 --> 00:34:07,080
I think that's one of them.

719
00:34:08,100 --> 00:34:08,820
Yoga.

720
00:34:09,375 --> 00:34:13,335
Not against stretching, but the, the
teachings that accompany yoga so often

721
00:34:13,335 --> 00:34:18,405
are rooted again in ancient, ancient
near Eastern, uh, pantheistic religions.

722
00:34:18,975 --> 00:34:21,045
The religions of Hinduism and Buddhism.

723
00:34:21,255 --> 00:34:23,925
It's, it's a demonic
route to these things.

724
00:34:23,925 --> 00:34:30,495
They may sound innocuous, but they're
sources, demonic games, right there,

725
00:34:30,495 --> 00:34:34,065
there are different games, board games,
card games that flirt with the demonic

726
00:34:34,065 --> 00:34:35,925
realm, and I would say don't, don't do it.

727
00:34:36,945 --> 00:34:37,545
It's not worth it.

728
00:34:40,159 --> 00:34:41,625
Uh, this one tchotchkes.

729
00:34:42,884 --> 00:34:43,335
What in the world?

730
00:34:44,054 --> 00:34:45,014
Little trinkets.

731
00:34:45,074 --> 00:34:48,614
Maybe you go somewhere and, and you buy
something on vacation, you bring it back

732
00:34:48,824 --> 00:34:52,214
and you, and, and you were in a, you
know, animistic culture and you bring

733
00:34:52,214 --> 00:34:54,585
back this little totem thing and you
think, oh, look at that little cute thing.

734
00:34:54,884 --> 00:34:57,315
But you don't know what's behind that.

735
00:34:57,315 --> 00:35:00,315
I'm not saying that of every souvenir
you've ever brought home from vacation.

736
00:35:01,005 --> 00:35:01,605
But we need to be careful.

737
00:35:01,605 --> 00:35:04,455
I talked to a guy after service who told
me that his, one of his friends used

738
00:35:04,455 --> 00:35:07,335
to be heavily involved in the Satanic
cult, and there's a Renaissance fair

739
00:35:07,335 --> 00:35:08,955
that happens out, I think in Waxahatchee.

740
00:35:09,135 --> 00:35:11,415
And this guy would go to the
Renaissance Fair and there were

741
00:35:11,415 --> 00:35:13,845
little totems and trinkets that
were sold at the Renaissance Fair.

742
00:35:13,845 --> 00:35:17,385
And this guy as a Satanist would go and he
would burn incenses and bless all of those

743
00:35:17,385 --> 00:35:19,935
trinkets that were then sold to the people
that showed up at the Renaissance Fair.

744
00:35:21,285 --> 00:35:22,575
Y'all spiritual warfare is real.

745
00:35:24,045 --> 00:35:25,395
And so we just need to be alert.

746
00:35:25,395 --> 00:35:26,025
We need to be on guard.

747
00:35:26,025 --> 00:35:27,915
We need to be guarding the
perimeters of our life, not

748
00:35:27,915 --> 00:35:28,995
to open the door to any of it.

749
00:35:29,415 --> 00:35:31,125
Maybe you've got a
fascination with the occult.

750
00:35:32,384 --> 00:35:33,765
You're reading books about witchcraft.

751
00:35:33,765 --> 00:35:34,995
You've got a spell book at home.

752
00:35:34,995 --> 00:35:35,685
Get rid of it.

753
00:35:36,825 --> 00:35:37,424
Get rid of it.

754
00:35:38,234 --> 00:35:39,435
Don't toy with these things.

755
00:35:39,915 --> 00:35:44,085
Even going overboard with decor at
Halloween, I hate my neighborhood

756
00:35:44,085 --> 00:35:47,205
at Halloween, we've got some people
that decorate more for Halloween

757
00:35:47,205 --> 00:35:49,545
than they decorate for Christmas,
and it is grotesque and it is

758
00:35:49,545 --> 00:35:55,545
gruesome, it's filthy, and I, it's
just object evil that's on display

759
00:35:57,555 --> 00:35:58,634
that doesn't please the Lord.

760
00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:03,960
You are opening yourself up to realms
that you have no idea about your marriage.

761
00:36:04,950 --> 00:36:08,790
If you're harboring bitterness,
lack of forgiveness, sinful anger

762
00:36:08,790 --> 00:36:11,550
in your marriage, man, that is a
foothold for Satan in your marriage.

763
00:36:14,070 --> 00:36:17,280
If you're actively lying, deceiving
someone that's a foothold for Satan.

764
00:36:18,990 --> 00:36:19,620
Isolation.

765
00:36:19,620 --> 00:36:21,990
If, if you've retreated from other
believers and you're hanging out

766
00:36:21,990 --> 00:36:24,180
over here and you're, you're going,
I don't need Christians in my life.

767
00:36:24,390 --> 00:36:27,660
And you are the straggling
sheep amidst the flock.

768
00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:29,910
And which one does the
lion pick off first?

769
00:36:31,260 --> 00:36:31,895
The one that's isolated.

770
00:36:35,010 --> 00:36:38,160
Pornography, unconfessed sin,
and all of these things open the

771
00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:40,860
door to the demonic realm and the
demonic influence in our lives.

772
00:36:40,890 --> 00:36:42,870
And yet my, my fear is this, y'all.

773
00:36:43,050 --> 00:36:46,560
I fear that we read about these things
and we're like, oh yeah, spiritual

774
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:49,470
warfare that happens in the Bible and
in third world countries, but we're

775
00:36:49,470 --> 00:36:51,090
evolved past that here in America.

776
00:36:52,380 --> 00:36:55,230
Can I tell you if there's one thing that
Satan would love for you to walk out this

777
00:36:55,230 --> 00:36:59,430
morning with, is believing that, believing
that there's no such thing as spiritual

778
00:36:59,430 --> 00:37:00,345
warfare here in the United States.

779
00:37:02,220 --> 00:37:03,480
Absolutely there is.

780
00:37:04,230 --> 00:37:05,190
We cannot let up.

781
00:37:05,190 --> 00:37:06,120
We can't take the day off.

782
00:37:06,120 --> 00:37:07,890
We have to be like the soldier
on the front line, aware

783
00:37:07,890 --> 00:37:08,970
of the danger at all times.

784
00:37:10,290 --> 00:37:11,700
There are many different
ways that Satan attacks.

785
00:37:11,700 --> 00:37:14,220
We need to know a strategies and we
also need to stay spiritually alert.

786
00:37:14,220 --> 00:37:17,400
But then finally here, we have
to be watchful and alert as

787
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:18,330
part of our responsibility.

788
00:37:18,330 --> 00:37:21,750
But then there's also this next part about
what it looks like to actually now resist.

789
00:37:22,799 --> 00:37:23,490
We're alert.

790
00:37:23,490 --> 00:37:24,210
Now what do we do?

791
00:37:24,420 --> 00:37:26,850
And that's where Peter
goes last here in our text.

792
00:37:26,850 --> 00:37:29,490
Look down in your text at verse nine.

793
00:37:29,580 --> 00:37:30,210
Verse nine.

794
00:37:30,540 --> 00:37:34,710
Peter says, resist him firm in your
faith knowing that the same kinds of

795
00:37:34,710 --> 00:37:37,560
suffering are being experienced by
your brotherhood throughout the world.

796
00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:38,940
Resist him.

797
00:37:39,720 --> 00:37:40,350
Resist him.

798
00:37:40,590 --> 00:37:41,700
Stand firm.

799
00:37:41,700 --> 00:37:43,950
It's command steadfast in your faith.

800
00:37:43,950 --> 00:37:45,180
This is the hope that we have here.

801
00:37:45,690 --> 00:37:47,009
Peter is saying, you can resist.

802
00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:49,049
He is prowling around like a roaring lion.

803
00:37:49,049 --> 00:37:50,190
Wants to seek someone to devour.

804
00:37:50,190 --> 00:37:50,670
Yes.

805
00:37:51,359 --> 00:37:52,830
And you can resist him.

806
00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:55,560
James four verse seven
says something similar.

807
00:37:55,589 --> 00:37:57,779
He says, submit yourselves,
therefore to God.

808
00:37:57,779 --> 00:38:00,930
Resist the devil and
he will flee from you.

809
00:38:02,819 --> 00:38:06,720
The takeaway from James and Peter
is Satan can be resisted, which

810
00:38:06,720 --> 00:38:08,279
is great news for us as believers.

811
00:38:08,970 --> 00:38:11,609
They're your enemies out there,
prowling around, and you're on the menu.

812
00:38:12,359 --> 00:38:14,220
You're not defenseless against him.

813
00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:16,710
Part of it is stay alert.

814
00:38:16,770 --> 00:38:17,430
Be aware.

815
00:38:18,450 --> 00:38:21,629
The other part of it though, is going
to involve you showing up every day

816
00:38:21,629 --> 00:38:28,410
ready to resist, ready to stand firm,
which is gonna involve pursuing a

817
00:38:28,410 --> 00:38:32,189
firmness in your faith, a growth in
godliness, and holding fast to the word.

818
00:38:32,189 --> 00:38:35,910
Our final point this morning is this,
use what God has given you that is

819
00:38:35,910 --> 00:38:37,140
in your battle against the enemy.

820
00:38:38,250 --> 00:38:39,660
Use what God has given you.

821
00:38:41,069 --> 00:38:43,799
I want us to talk about three different
things, three different ways that

822
00:38:43,799 --> 00:38:45,270
we can use what God has given us.

823
00:38:46,740 --> 00:38:48,750
First, I, I want us to
talk about drawing near.

824
00:38:49,710 --> 00:38:51,690
If you wanna use what God has
given you, draw near to God.

825
00:38:52,740 --> 00:38:53,790
That's in James.

826
00:38:53,790 --> 00:38:56,069
There he says, draw near to God,
and he will draw near to you.

827
00:38:57,029 --> 00:39:00,120
In other words, if you wanna stand firm
against the the devil and the enemy, the

828
00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:03,060
stronger you are in your relationship
with Christ, the less likely Satan

829
00:39:03,060 --> 00:39:04,200
will want to be to come after you.

830
00:39:05,730 --> 00:39:07,890
Satan's gonna pick off the
weak ones, the stragglers.

831
00:39:08,250 --> 00:39:11,160
He's gonna pick off the ones that
are spiritually anemic, not the ones

832
00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:12,240
that are drawn near to the Lord.

833
00:39:13,890 --> 00:39:16,020
If you want safety draw near to God.

834
00:39:16,110 --> 00:39:17,430
In fact, James says this in James four.

835
00:39:17,430 --> 00:39:19,560
He says, what causes
quarrels in fights among you?

836
00:39:20,220 --> 00:39:23,460
Is it not this, that your passions
are at war within you, you desire

837
00:39:23,460 --> 00:39:26,040
and do not have so you murder,
you covet and cannot obtain.

838
00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:27,029
So you fight in quarrel.

839
00:39:27,569 --> 00:39:29,430
You do not have because you do not ask.

840
00:39:29,850 --> 00:39:33,509
You ask and do not receive because you
ask wrongly to spend it on your passions.

841
00:39:34,230 --> 00:39:35,490
You adulterous people.

842
00:39:35,490 --> 00:39:38,910
Do you not know that friendship
with the world is enmity with God?

843
00:39:38,910 --> 00:39:40,440
Whoever wishes to be
a friend of the world.

844
00:39:40,799 --> 00:39:42,720
Makes himself an enemy of God.

845
00:39:43,020 --> 00:39:44,459
Contrast that he says later on.

846
00:39:44,459 --> 00:39:46,350
Submit yourselves therefore to God.

847
00:39:46,529 --> 00:39:48,720
Resist the devil and
he will flee from you.

848
00:39:48,930 --> 00:39:51,779
Draw near to God and he
will draw near to you.

849
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:55,529
Christian, if you wanna stand firm
against the attacks of the enemy, you

850
00:39:55,529 --> 00:39:57,810
need to root worldly outta your life.

851
00:39:57,810 --> 00:40:01,649
Get rid of it right and draw near
to the Lord John near to him.

852
00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:04,770
Pursue your relationship with
Christ through all the things you

853
00:40:04,770 --> 00:40:05,975
hear us preach about so often here.

854
00:40:06,690 --> 00:40:09,299
Spending time in the word of God,
spending time in prayer, spending time

855
00:40:09,299 --> 00:40:11,520
around other believers confessing sin.

856
00:40:11,970 --> 00:40:12,900
All right, praying.

857
00:40:13,799 --> 00:40:15,270
We talked about that model last week.

858
00:40:15,270 --> 00:40:16,740
Maybe you, you started to do that.

859
00:40:16,740 --> 00:40:20,009
But the acts model of prayer, adoration,
confession, Thanksgiving, supplication.

860
00:40:20,190 --> 00:40:22,110
It's a great way to be
drawing near to God.

861
00:40:23,130 --> 00:40:26,340
That's one way that you can stand firm and
use what God has given by drawing near.

862
00:40:26,340 --> 00:40:30,600
The second way though is by dressing
for battle, by dressing for battle.

863
00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:33,285
You may already know where we're going
with this, but Ephesians chapter six.

864
00:40:34,470 --> 00:40:37,620
Ephesians Chapter six, Paul writes
this, finally, be strong in the Lord

865
00:40:37,620 --> 00:40:40,290
and in the strength of his might
and put on the whole armor of God.

866
00:40:40,290 --> 00:40:41,730
He's gonna say that twice in this passage.

867
00:40:42,240 --> 00:40:43,950
Put on the whole armor of God.

868
00:40:44,100 --> 00:40:48,750
He says, though, that you may be able to
stand against the schemes of the devil.

869
00:40:49,500 --> 00:40:52,530
The word stand against is the same word
that Peter uses back in our passage

870
00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:55,650
when he says, stand firm, resist.

871
00:40:56,370 --> 00:40:58,530
Stand against the schemes of the devil.

872
00:40:58,710 --> 00:41:00,210
Put on the whole armor of God.

873
00:41:00,210 --> 00:41:01,530
Well, what is the armor of God?

874
00:41:01,890 --> 00:41:03,025
Well, it begins with the belt of truth.

875
00:41:03,915 --> 00:41:05,085
What is Satan called in scripture?

876
00:41:05,085 --> 00:41:07,725
Satan is called the father of lies.

877
00:41:08,235 --> 00:41:10,875
So if we're gonna combat the enemy,
if we're gonna stand firm against

878
00:41:10,875 --> 00:41:14,025
the enemy, we need to have the
truth fast and firmly around us.

879
00:41:14,025 --> 00:41:15,465
And where is the truth ultimately found?

880
00:41:15,465 --> 00:41:19,245
But the word of God, we need to
have the truth, the belt of truth.

881
00:41:19,245 --> 00:41:21,885
We need to have the breastplate of
righteousness because you know what?

882
00:41:21,915 --> 00:41:24,435
Satan's gonna come after you as a
believer, and he's gonna wanna heap

883
00:41:24,435 --> 00:41:26,295
shame and condemnation and guilt on you.

884
00:41:26,295 --> 00:41:28,125
That's not yours to bear because why?

885
00:41:28,125 --> 00:41:30,315
Because you are righteous with
the righteousness of Christ.

886
00:41:31,125 --> 00:41:32,295
But then you know what
else Satan's gonna do?

887
00:41:32,295 --> 00:41:34,875
He's gonna come at you and he's
gonna heap a a, a, a holier

888
00:41:34,875 --> 00:41:36,045
than thou mentality on you.

889
00:41:36,045 --> 00:41:37,665
He's gonna tempt you towards legalism.

890
00:41:37,665 --> 00:41:40,305
He's gonna tempt you towards
self-righteousness that you need

891
00:41:40,305 --> 00:41:41,835
to be able to battle against
that and say, no, no, no, no.

892
00:41:42,015 --> 00:41:44,175
I'm righteous with the
righteousness of Christ.

893
00:41:44,985 --> 00:41:47,305
So we fasten on the breastplate of
righteousness, not ours, but his.

894
00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:49,770
What else do we need?

895
00:41:49,770 --> 00:41:53,250
As he goes on here, shoes for Your Feet,
which is the readiness of the gospel.

896
00:41:53,790 --> 00:41:54,810
What did Jesus tell Peter?

897
00:41:54,810 --> 00:41:58,830
Peter was, was which Jesus had confessed,
that he's the Christ and Jesus said,

898
00:41:58,830 --> 00:42:02,610
you are Peter, and on this rock, I
will build my church and the gates

899
00:42:02,610 --> 00:42:04,140
of hell will not prevail against it.

900
00:42:04,290 --> 00:42:04,980
What are gates?

901
00:42:04,980 --> 00:42:06,600
Are they defensive or offensive?

902
00:42:07,380 --> 00:42:08,310
They're defensive.

903
00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:09,900
And so what do we need?

904
00:42:09,900 --> 00:42:13,500
We need the shoes of gospel readiness
to advance against the enemy.

905
00:42:14,370 --> 00:42:16,230
See, we're not here just
playing defense church.

906
00:42:16,695 --> 00:42:18,915
We're here on the offense and the offense.

907
00:42:18,915 --> 00:42:22,335
The greatest weapon that we have on
the offensive right now is the gospel.

908
00:42:22,815 --> 00:42:26,025
So we put on the shoes of readiness
to go to battle daily in spiritual

909
00:42:26,025 --> 00:42:29,745
warfare, to get the gospel message out
there, to take the gospel against the

910
00:42:29,745 --> 00:42:32,895
spiritual darkness, to see people give
their life to Christ, and the kingdom

911
00:42:32,895 --> 00:42:34,695
expanded and darkness pushed back.

912
00:42:35,565 --> 00:42:38,085
And then he goes on and he says, in
every circumstance, take up the shield

913
00:42:38,085 --> 00:42:42,315
of faith with which you can extinguish
all the flaming darts of the evil one.

914
00:42:42,915 --> 00:42:46,515
So those anxious thoughts that tempt
you and the fears that creep in, and

915
00:42:46,515 --> 00:42:49,334
the shame and the humiliation and the
guilt, and all of those things that

916
00:42:49,334 --> 00:42:51,674
might otherwise paralyze you as a
believer, what are you supposed to do?

917
00:42:51,674 --> 00:42:53,265
You pick up the shield of faith.

918
00:42:53,265 --> 00:42:54,015
Faith in what?

919
00:42:54,285 --> 00:42:55,814
Faith in the promises of God.

920
00:42:56,595 --> 00:42:59,984
Faith that there's therefore now no
condemnation for those in Christ Jesus

921
00:43:00,555 --> 00:43:03,145
Faith that you can cast your anxieties
on him because he cares for you.

922
00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:09,000
See daily, we take up the shield of faith
against the flaming darts of the evil one.

923
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:12,600
And then finally, or almost finally,
you take up the helmet of salvation.

924
00:43:12,690 --> 00:43:15,540
You take up that thing that's gonna
guard your thoughts and cast your

925
00:43:15,540 --> 00:43:18,420
thoughts where not to hear, but to
where salvation's ultimately gonna

926
00:43:18,420 --> 00:43:22,529
bring you, which is into the presence
of God that you're battling spiritual

927
00:43:22,529 --> 00:43:24,240
forces here that have already lost.

928
00:43:24,330 --> 00:43:25,350
You're fighting a battle.

929
00:43:25,410 --> 00:43:26,460
He's already won.

930
00:43:27,645 --> 00:43:29,925
And one day you'll experience
the fullness of that victory.

931
00:43:29,925 --> 00:43:32,175
And the helmet of salvation
reminds you that your ultimate

932
00:43:32,175 --> 00:43:33,945
destination is not here but there.

933
00:43:35,385 --> 00:43:37,815
And then finally, you're
gonna pick up the the weapon.

934
00:43:38,205 --> 00:43:41,625
You're gonna take up the sword of the
spirit, and you are gonna combat the lies

935
00:43:41,625 --> 00:43:43,305
of Satan with the truth of God's word.

936
00:43:43,425 --> 00:43:44,895
Just like Jesus in the wilderness.

937
00:43:44,895 --> 00:43:46,335
When Jesus has tempted, what did he do?

938
00:43:46,395 --> 00:43:47,985
He said It is written.

939
00:43:48,195 --> 00:43:51,195
And then smoke Satan with
the truth of the word of God.

940
00:43:52,575 --> 00:43:54,615
And so we pick up the sword
of the spirit daily too.

941
00:43:55,185 --> 00:43:57,555
So you gotta dress for battle,
you gotta dress for Battle.

942
00:43:57,915 --> 00:43:59,805
King David, when he went
out to fight Goliath, right?

943
00:43:59,805 --> 00:44:00,465
He went to Saul.

944
00:44:00,465 --> 00:44:01,935
Saul said, Hey, here's my armor.

945
00:44:02,025 --> 00:44:03,555
And David said, thanks, but no thanks.

946
00:44:04,245 --> 00:44:04,455
Why?

947
00:44:04,455 --> 00:44:07,305
Because it didn't fit well
and it, it, it wasn't tested.

948
00:44:07,965 --> 00:44:08,175
Okay?

949
00:44:08,325 --> 00:44:13,125
God has given you and me armor that
fits perfectly in his 100% tested for

950
00:44:13,125 --> 00:44:15,855
the, the battle at him, which is the
spiritual warfare that we're up against.

951
00:44:16,365 --> 00:44:17,805
So dress daily for battle.

952
00:44:17,805 --> 00:44:19,845
And then finally, the way that
you use what God has given

953
00:44:19,935 --> 00:44:21,285
is you fight in community.

954
00:44:22,125 --> 00:44:23,025
You fight with one another.

955
00:44:24,690 --> 00:44:26,790
Remember again, the imagery
of the roaring lion.

956
00:44:27,089 --> 00:44:28,560
Who's he gonna target first?

957
00:44:28,710 --> 00:44:31,859
The isolated believer he's gonna
go after the straggling sheep.

958
00:44:32,490 --> 00:44:33,900
That's the one that's easy for him to get.

959
00:44:34,440 --> 00:44:37,049
And so for you this morning, you need
to make sure that you are leaning into

960
00:44:37,049 --> 00:44:40,799
what the community of, of, of the, the
bride of Christ is, that God has given

961
00:44:40,799 --> 00:44:46,230
to you, those believers in this room,
that you are fighting with one another.

962
00:44:46,259 --> 00:44:49,589
God has given you brothers and sisters to
aid you in your battle and that you would

963
00:44:49,589 --> 00:44:51,384
be able to aid them in theirs as well.

964
00:44:52,590 --> 00:44:55,170
Nehemiah wrote, wrote about this
in in Nehemiah chapter four.

965
00:44:55,170 --> 00:44:57,930
This is literal, but we can see
the metaphorical connection here.

966
00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:01,290
Nehemiah four 16 through 18 as the
rebuilding here it says, from that

967
00:45:01,290 --> 00:45:05,880
day on half my servants worked on
construction and half held the spears,

968
00:45:05,910 --> 00:45:10,140
shields, bows, and coats of mail, and
the leaders stood behind the whole house

969
00:45:10,140 --> 00:45:12,030
of Judah who were building on the wall.

970
00:45:12,150 --> 00:45:15,480
Those who carried burdens were
loaded in such a way that each

971
00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:18,345
labored on the work with one hand
and held his weapon with the other.

972
00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:22,650
And each of the builders had his sword
strapped at his side while he built, the

973
00:45:22,650 --> 00:45:25,320
man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

974
00:45:25,530 --> 00:45:30,480
Y'all, we are on a mission commissioned
by Jesus to build the church, and as we

975
00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:35,190
build the church, we have to have the
trowel in one hand and the sword in the

976
00:45:35,190 --> 00:45:37,755
other, and we need one another to do that.

977
00:45:37,755 --> 00:45:39,540
That's the image here.

978
00:45:39,600 --> 00:45:40,860
They had each other's back.

979
00:45:41,100 --> 00:45:42,360
Nobody was gonna come after them.

980
00:45:42,420 --> 00:45:44,040
Nobody's building by himself.

981
00:45:44,715 --> 00:45:47,535
They had people that were manning
their post and everybody was ready

982
00:45:47,535 --> 00:45:50,715
to do battle for the good, not
only of themselves, but also to the

983
00:45:50,715 --> 00:45:52,245
man, to the right and to the left.

984
00:45:53,115 --> 00:45:55,365
Church, we have to fight together.

985
00:45:55,755 --> 00:45:57,135
You have to fight in community.

986
00:45:57,255 --> 00:46:00,255
You'll be stronger against the attacks
of the enemy if you lean into the

987
00:46:00,255 --> 00:46:01,605
community of the body of Christ.

988
00:46:01,785 --> 00:46:05,175
If you try to do the Lone Ranger Christian
thing, man, Satan will come after you

989
00:46:05,265 --> 00:46:10,040
and he will be successful in slowing you
down in your growth in Christlikeness.

990
00:46:12,705 --> 00:46:16,515
You won't be nearly effective, as
effective as a believer if you're

991
00:46:16,515 --> 00:46:19,185
trying to do this by yourself, as
you will be if you do it within

992
00:46:19,185 --> 00:46:20,505
the context of the body of Christ.

993
00:46:21,315 --> 00:46:21,855
What does that mean?

994
00:46:21,855 --> 00:46:23,925
That looks like join a community group.

995
00:46:24,345 --> 00:46:30,255
I've preached on that so many times
and if Yeah, I, and, and it we're,

996
00:46:30,285 --> 00:46:31,605
we don't have stats up anywhere.

997
00:46:31,635 --> 00:46:31,875
Okay.

998
00:46:31,905 --> 00:46:34,185
So this is not, I'm not up here
preaching to you saying join a community

999
00:46:34,185 --> 00:46:36,495
group because I, I want my numbers
to look better on our community group

1000
00:46:36,495 --> 00:46:38,025
participant, nobody knows those numbers.

1001
00:46:38,895 --> 00:46:42,195
We talking about 'em as, as pastors,
just for our own accountability.

1002
00:46:42,975 --> 00:46:45,675
I want you in a community group because
I want you to be well protected from

1003
00:46:45,675 --> 00:46:49,845
the attacks of the enemy showing up
at church and then just going home and

1004
00:46:49,845 --> 00:46:54,255
living the rest of your life, the rest of
your week, outside of the context of the

1005
00:46:54,255 --> 00:46:56,025
local church away from other believers.

1006
00:46:56,025 --> 00:46:57,765
And you say, yeah, well,
I've got my immediate family.

1007
00:46:58,005 --> 00:46:58,725
That's great.

1008
00:46:58,725 --> 00:47:01,845
And praise God, if they're believers, not
all of you have believing family at home.

1009
00:47:02,205 --> 00:47:05,715
But then let me go beyond that and
just say, that's just, that's not

1010
00:47:05,715 --> 00:47:07,365
what Jesus calls us to in the Bible.

1011
00:47:09,285 --> 00:47:11,715
The one another's aren't
for those that are under the

1012
00:47:11,715 --> 00:47:13,215
same roof as you necessarily.

1013
00:47:15,765 --> 00:47:18,045
Uh, this is meant to be
life on life together.

1014
00:47:20,325 --> 00:47:21,735
That's what God is calling us into.

1015
00:47:23,295 --> 00:47:25,455
And so we, we stress
community groups here, y'all.

1016
00:47:26,010 --> 00:47:28,440
Not because you're not saved if you're
not part of a community group, but because

1017
00:47:28,440 --> 00:47:32,370
we want you to be able to be secure
and to grow in your walk with Christ

1018
00:47:32,430 --> 00:47:34,320
and to thrive as a believer of Jesus.

1019
00:47:34,380 --> 00:47:37,890
And we want you to come alongside other
Christians as well and say, I'm here.

1020
00:47:37,950 --> 00:47:39,180
I got your six.

1021
00:47:40,470 --> 00:47:41,400
We're gonna fight in community,

1022
00:47:45,210 --> 00:47:48,090
so use what God has given man.

1023
00:47:48,090 --> 00:47:49,440
When you come to the 11, you
don't know what you're gonna get.

1024
00:47:49,440 --> 00:47:50,610
I didn't say any of that in the nine.

1025
00:47:51,420 --> 00:47:53,490
I said not the whole thing,
but you know what I mean.

1026
00:47:55,410 --> 00:47:57,900
You know, your enemy
has you in his sights.

1027
00:47:57,990 --> 00:48:04,380
You are on the menu and, and, and
you will be until God calls you home

1028
00:48:04,799 --> 00:48:06,060
or Christ comes back for his church.

1029
00:48:07,350 --> 00:48:11,009
And, and so what that means, because
he doesn't take a day off, is you can't

1030
00:48:11,009 --> 00:48:14,340
take a day off you, you can't wake up
one day and be like, you know what?

1031
00:48:14,340 --> 00:48:16,920
I'm just not, I don't want,
I'm not gonna go into the word.

1032
00:48:16,920 --> 00:48:20,549
I'm not gonna pray, you know,
we got church this weekend.

1033
00:48:20,549 --> 00:48:21,750
I don't really feel like going.

1034
00:48:21,750 --> 00:48:22,230
I'm not gonna go.

1035
00:48:23,279 --> 00:48:23,790
Um.

1036
00:48:25,064 --> 00:48:25,575
You know what?

1037
00:48:25,634 --> 00:48:28,935
I know the sin that I'm thinking
about right now is wrong, but I

1038
00:48:28,935 --> 00:48:30,495
just need, I need a cheat day.

1039
00:48:32,055 --> 00:48:33,165
You can't do that.

1040
00:48:33,884 --> 00:48:35,205
The stakes are far too high.

1041
00:48:36,825 --> 00:48:38,984
The damage that could be done
to your testimony to the name of

1042
00:48:38,984 --> 00:48:45,345
Christ is far too great for us to
ever say, I'm gonna take a day off.

1043
00:48:46,515 --> 00:48:47,415
Your enemy's active.

1044
00:48:47,595 --> 00:48:49,365
He's prowling around like a roaring lion.

1045
00:48:49,365 --> 00:48:52,064
Satan is real, so are his
demons, and he's after you.

1046
00:48:52,064 --> 00:48:52,964
But the good news is.

1047
00:48:53,805 --> 00:48:56,895
The good news is, as we've seen from
Peter in Christ, there's a game plan.

1048
00:48:57,165 --> 00:48:58,245
You can resist him.

1049
00:48:59,145 --> 00:48:59,535
Let's pray.

1050
00:49:01,545 --> 00:49:04,605
Lord, thank you for that glorious
truth that we can indeed know

1051
00:49:04,605 --> 00:49:05,985
that, that we can have victory.

1052
00:49:06,375 --> 00:49:09,975
Not just resist, but we know we will have
victory one day because the battle is

1053
00:49:09,975 --> 00:49:12,060
already won even as we sang this morning.

1054
00:49:13,650 --> 00:49:15,630
And so God, we still are called to engage.

1055
00:49:15,630 --> 00:49:16,560
We're still called to fight.

1056
00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:20,280
We're not called to just put our
feet up or roll over or, or cast

1057
00:49:20,280 --> 00:49:22,380
everything to you and say, okay,
well you take it from here, Lord.

1058
00:49:22,380 --> 00:49:23,520
We'll just wait until you come back.

1059
00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:29,310
For us, we're called to be alert, to
be aware, to be engaged, to fight, to

1060
00:49:29,310 --> 00:49:34,530
take up the full armor of God daily,
to stand firm, Lord, to lean in, to

1061
00:49:34,530 --> 00:49:36,000
fight in community, to love one another.

1062
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:38,220
Well in that this is God.

1063
00:49:38,220 --> 00:49:40,740
I pray that we would do that as
a church, that you would keep us

1064
00:49:40,740 --> 00:49:41,670
from the attacks of the evil one.

1065
00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:46,050
And that you would help us to be faithful
to you until you come back for us, or

1066
00:49:46,050 --> 00:49:50,040
call us home to you and we pray this
all in Jesus' name, the one who gives us

1067
00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:52,830
the victory that we so eagerly wait for.

1068
00:49:53,370 --> 00:49:53,730
Amen.