Stay Alert: 1 Peter 5:8 on Spiritual Warfare

Most of the sermons that you will hear, talk about Who God is and what He wants from us. Sermons on how to become a child of God and what it means to be a child of God. There are so many sermons about the character of God and what He has done for us, that sometimes we forget that we really do have and enemy out there, Satan. One thing that we should have no doubt about is that Satan is looking to devour us.

I Peter 5:8

And not too long ago, I preached about Satan wanting to destroy you. John 10:10, Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” We talked about how Satan doesn’t just want to knock you down, trip you up or set you back. Satan wants to destroy you.

Satan’s goal isn’t to make life difficult. Satan’s goal is to make you give up. And he will use many things to make that happen. One of the things that he does, he will hide who he truly is and what his end goal is.

The bible tells us in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 that Satan masquerades as an angel of light and some of the things that he does may seem like they are okay, because Satan knows the scripture and can twist them just enough, we believe that it is the Holy Spirit opening our eyes to a new revelation.

Our main text says that Satan prowls around like a lion. He ain’t no lion. Who is the Lion? Jesus. Revelation 5 says, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.” Satan wants you to think that you will be on the winning side if you follow him, when the bible clearly says that he loses.

How much power does Satan have? I want you to understand this. Satan has power to do a lot of stuff, ask Job. What Satan can’t do is make you sin. What Satan can’t do is defeat Jesus. If you don’t have Jesus, he has already defeated you.

There is a story in Acts chapter 19, where some people thought they were more than they really were and they were trying to cast out a demon from a man and the demon said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” and the man that the demon was in tore them a new one. They left the house beat up and naked.

Let’s learn a little more about Satan, shall we? One thing that we need to know about our enemy is that….

1. He is a weed planter.

Matthew 13:25

In this parable of the enemy planting the weeds in the good seeds that were planted by the farmer, Jesus is talking about how we will interact with non-believers all of our lives. These weeds will not be taken away, but rather mixed in with us and at the time of the harvest or the day (that when each one of us will stand before God) on that day the good crop will be kept and the weeds will be put into the fire.

Satan doesn’t just plant weeds that are people in our lives there are other weeds that he plants as well…

Weeds of….

a. Doubt

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Satan will take what God has told us and twist it and make us question it? Like nothing can separate us from the love of God and if nothing can separate you from the love of God then you can do whatever you want. Weeds of doubt are how we get churches that are okay with homosexuality, transgenders, adultery, divorce, lying, gossip and the list goes on. It only takes a little doubt to make you sink when the storms come.

Satan also plants weeds of..

b. Anger

Genesis 4:5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So, Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Cain allowed that weed of anger to grow to the point that he killed his brother and then lied about it. Satan wants to get you to lose focus on what is right and good with anger.

Here’s another one

c. Worry

Matthew 6:34 do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. I want you to understand that there is a difference between worry and concern. Worry consumes you. It becomes all that you think about. I am concerned about every one of you and your souls being saved. I know that God has a plan and that I am here to do my part and I have to leave the rest up to God and for you to be obedient. I can’t make you choose the right thing to do. I can only encourage you and show you what is right and wrong and you have to make a decision for yourself. Here is another type of weed…

d. Fear

Fear rears it ugly head when we allow our worry to get the best of us. We do not share our faith because we are afraid of rejection or losing a friend, not being accepted by the world. We are afraid to speak out because the truth might offend someone or what might happen to us physically. What other weed might Satan plant? How about…

e. Confusion

Galatians 1:7 Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. Why are there so many different denominations? Could it be because man has allowed Satan to confuse them as they read the bible? God’s message is clear and when you study it, it does not contradict (which leads to confusion), it compliments or completes itself. Satan will try to confuse you, but God is not the God of confusion but of peace. Let me give you one more weed, it is not the complete list but hopefully you see a pattern and this weed is….

f. Superiority or pride

I Corinthians 13:4-5 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Satan is not love. Satan is not okay with love, except the love of self. I did this or that. I have given and given. Look at what I have done. Praise me! If you don’t praise me, I don’t need you.

Satan plants that weed of I am not getting what I want or I don’t have to be kind because they are not kind. All those thoughts do not come from God, they come from the enemy. Not only is Satan a weed planter, point 2….

2. He is a Liar.

John 8:44

I love being a pastor and I am thankful that I am blessed with some amazing people praying for me and encouraging me and I shared with you last week that I really need your prayers and that sometimes I just get overwhelmed with the everything that is going on.

I am going to share something of how Satan lied to me and I believed it. I share this with you hoping that in one way or another that you can relate with what I am telling you.

One day, I was having quite the day, issue after issue at church, problem after problem, people texting me with all their issues and let me tell you sometimes you guys have issues, complaining but not complaining, just sharing about how things should be in the church and it had completely drained me mentally. I just wanted to go home, sit in in my comfortable chair and relax and watch a little Monk to unwind.

I fix a drink and sit down. Where is the remote? I just got sat down and now I can’t find the remote. I get up, frustrated, because Cheryl has hidden the remote from me. I look around the coffee table, on the floor, on the couch and I am getting more and more frustrated. I go into the kitchen thinking maybe she laid it down in there by accident. NOPE! Maybe she carried it into the bedroom. I walk down the hall and there are a bunch of my shirts on the bed that need hung up. No stupid remote, just shirts. I want to relax and she is adding to my stress. I hang up the clothes and do not find the remote and now I am so frustrated I could yell. I go back to the living room and look some more. I find the remote shoved into the crack of the couch and I was about to just lose it.

I sat down in my chair and thought how stupid! I believed that Cheryl did that on purpose. She hid the remote and washed my clothes just to irritate me. Satan is a liar. Karen or Heidi might have hidden the remote just to irritate me as a joke, but I allowed Satan to lie to me and I believed it.

3. He is limited.

Job 1:12, Job 2:2-6

I have asked Tisha to give a testimony and I would like her to share that now.

James 4:7 says “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The Contemporary English Version says it this way, “Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you.” Satan is limited because of God in your life. Other versions say submit to God. Let God lead you everywhere and in everything and when you tell Satan, “NO!” He gotta go.

Has the enemy lied to you? Has the enemy planted seeds in your life that you have allowed to Grow. Come and humble yourself before God and send Satan on his way.

Knowing Your Enemy