’A LION ON THE LOOSE’
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Several years ago, one of our state paper had an article in it which said, "there’s a mountain lion loose in the NW part of our county. It is killing rabbits, dogs and even attacking horses." When I read that article, I thought, yes and there is a lion on the loose in our world, He’s not a mountain lion, but the devil and he’s attacking Christians, and attempting to destroy everything that is good.
In our text, the devil is compared to a wild vicious lion stalking about looking for victims who he can destroy.
In one survey of 1500 preachers back in the 70’s, 50% of them said, they did not believe in a personal devil. Well some preachers might not believe in him, but God warns us to beware of him. 2 Cor.2:11
Let us notice some ways that the devil attempts to attack Christians.
I-THE DEVIL ATTEMPTS TO DISTORT YOUR THINKING:
1-He does not want us to get a picture of his true character. He wants us to think he is just a big joke.
2-Flip Wilson used to say, "the devil made me do it". But the fact is, the devil is no laughing matter.
3-But on the other hand, sometimes, we give him to much credit We make him too powerful.
4-Writing in Moody Monthly, Carl Armerding recounted his experience of watching a wildcat in a zoo. "As I stood there," he said, "an attendant entered the cage through a door on the opposite side. He had nothing in his hands but a broom. Carefully closing the door, he proceeded to sweep the floor of the cage." He observed that the worker had no weapon to ward off an attack by the beast. In fact, when he got to the corner of the cage where the wildcat was lying, he poked the animal with the broom. The wildcat hissed at him and then lay down in another corner of the enclosure. Armerding remarked to the attendant, "You certainly are a brave man." "No, I ain’t brave," he replied as he continued to sweep. "Well, then that cat must be tame." "No," came the reply, "he ain’t tame." "If you aren’t brave and the wildcat isn’t tame, then I can’t understand why he doesn’t attack you." Armerding said the man chuckled, then replied with an air of confidence, "Mister, he’s old--and he ain’t got no teeth."
5-Well the devil has some teeth, he has some power, but only God is all powerful.
6-If the devil had all power, he would destroy every Christian this very moment.
7-God has all knowledge, but the devil doesn’t. God has all presence, but the devil doesn’t.
II-THE DEVIL ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY YOUR PEACE:
1-There is nothing like peace, to have that feeling that everything is all right.
2-I heard a man on TV from the middle east say, he would like just one year of peace. He would like to go to bed one night in peace and not fear.
3-The devil doesn’t want us to have peace with God. Thus he trys to deceive us and get us to sin. When we fall into his trap, we have the peace of God taken away. The only thing that will restore it is that we follow David’s formula in Psalms 51.
4-Monkey trappers in North Africa have a clever method of catching their prey. A number of gourds are filled with nuts and firmly fastened to a branch of a tree. Each has a hole just large enough for the unwary monkey to stick his forepaw into it. When the hungry animal discovers this, he quickly grasps a handful of nuts, but the hole is too small for him to withdraw his clenched fist. And he doesn’t have enough sense to open up his hand and let go in order to escape, so he is easily taken captive.
This is a picture of many Christians. The devil with his crafty devices tried to ensnare them. He appeals to the appetites of the flesh which can lead to their spiritual downfall. As long as they hold on to worldly bait, they cannot escape from Satan’s trap. But he keeps on urging, "Don’t let go! Enjoy the pleasure of your sin just a little bit longer!" So, listening to the tempter’s alluring voice, they continue in their evil way.
Dear friend, are you caught up in sinful practices that are destroying your testimony and preventing you from growing in grace? Stop and think it over. Get out of Satan’s trap now while you can. 1
III-THE DEVIL ATTEMPTS TO DENY YOUR FAITH:
1-He doesn’t want you know for sure that your are saved. He wants you be miserable in not knowing for sure whether you are saved or not.
2-He will come from time to time, and whisper in your ear, you are not saved, you are a phony.
3-He knows that a Christian who is doubting will never be a force in Gods’ work.
4-A Christian from China was giving his testimony and he said, "I had slipped into a great ditch and the ditch was sin." Buddha came along and said, "Come up half way and I will lift you up." Muhammad came along and said, "Here are five pillars that will get you out." But I couldn’t get up those five pillars. Confucius came along and said, "You’re not really in that ditch, you just think you’re in that hole." But I was still there in the ditch of sin. Then Jesus came by and saw my predicament. He didn’t say a word but laid aside his regal robes and got down in the ditch along with the sin and the mire and he lifted me out of it by his grace. The difference was his love and who he was! He was who was God was willing to come down to my level in order to lift me out of sin. 2
5-The same God who saved us out of the ditch of sin, will keep us all the way. When the devil come and trys to get us to doubt our salvation, we need to take him back to that day we were saved, and tell him, its settled. We are in God’s hand, and thats safety.
IV-THE DEVIL ATTEMPTS TO DISPLAY YOUR FAILURES:
1-He is always trying to bring up your past sins. He wants you to think you will still be judged for them.
2-I was preaching in a revival last year when an unusual thing happen to me. I was on the platform awaiting my turn to preach. While the special music was being rendered, my mind went back to the time I was in the Air Force in the far east in 1962. At that time, I was not saved. I was on my way with a couple of friends one Sunday night when we passed by a Church. The pastor invited us to Church, but we made fun of him. The devil impressed upon my mind that I was not worthy to stand and preach the gospel for I was a sinner, I had did a terrible thing. But God at the same time spoke to heart, and said, those sins are under the blood of my Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You preach the Message I ‘ve laid upon your heart. I did, and God greatly blessed the service with souls being saved.
3-When the devil comes like that, we needs to tell him, no fishing allowed in our past life. God has wiped our slate clean when we were saved.
4-The next time the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.
V-THE DEVIL ATTEMPTS TO DAMAGE YOUR TESTIMONY:
1-On the day of Pentecost after the 120 had prayed for 10 days, they went into Jerusalem and gathered the people together and Peter preached and 3,000 souls were saved.
2-I don’t know who Peter went to and invited, but I imagine he didn’t go to those who had been gathered around the fire at the trial of Jesus. He had let the devil damage his testimony when he denied Jesus in front of them.
3-When a Christian begins to start missing on Wednesday nights, and then on Sunday nights, the devil just laughs because its just a matter of time that Christian will lose their influence for Christ.
4-The importance of really living the Christian life is illustrated in the life of the famous author Mark Twain. Church leaders were largely to blame for his becoming hostile to the Bible and the Christian faith. As he grew up, he knew elders and deacons who owned slaves and abused them. He heard men using foul language and saw them practice dishonesty during the week after speaking piously in church on Sunday. He listened to ministers use the Bible to justify slavery. Although he saw genuine love for the Lord Jesus in some people, including his mother and his wife, he was so disturbed by the bad teaching and poor example of church leaders, that he became bitter toward the things of God. 3
VI-THE DEVIL ATTEMPTS TO DELAY YOUR PARDON:
1-I have been married since 1964, and during that time, I have always has some kind of debt I have owed. Also many Christians are walking around with debts. The debts of sin that they have not confessed.
2-Did you know -- In 1842 the first bathtub was denounced as a "luxurious and democratic vanity". Boston made it unlawful to bathe, except on doctor’s prescription. In 1843 Philadelphia made bathing illegal between November 1 and March 15.
How tragic most Christians have adopted a similar schedule of spiritual cleansing. We would rather put up with the stench of our unconfessed sins than come clean before God! 4
3-Of course the devil trys to delay the pardon of the lost person. He doesn’t want to have a person sins forgiven, he doesn’t want them to be saved.
4-THERE IS NO HURRY-The parable of the procrastinator is retold in Currents, wherein three devils try to conquer the world: "The first devil went around proclaiming the message, ’There is no God!’ But even though few people acted as if there was a God, they knew in their hearts that this message was not true.""The second devil announced ’There is no sin!’ And again, although many people acted as if the message were true, they knew deep down that it wasn’t.""The third devil was smarter than the other two. He didn’t attempt to change people’s beliefs. He made no attempt to argue against their deepest convictions. He simply said, ’There is no hurry...5
VII-THE DEVIL ATTEMPTS TO DIM YOUR FUTURE:
1-He wants to get your mind off the prospects of Heaven. Instead of having joy and happiness about looking forward to heaven, he wants you forget that you are going to a "land fairer than day", to that "city of gold."
2-A few hours before Dwight L. Moody died, he caught a glimpse of the glory awaiting him. Awakening from a sleep, he said, "Earth recedes, heaven opens before me. If this is death, it is sweet! There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go!" His son who was standing by his bedside said, "No, no father, you are dreaming."
"No," said Mr. Moody, "I am not dreaming; I have been within the gates; I have seen the children’s faces." A short time elapsed and then, following what seemed to the family to be the death struggle, he spoke gain: "This is my triumph; this my coronation day! It is glorious!" 6
Conclusion-There is a lion loose today, and he trying to defeat you, to bind you, to keep you from becoming what God would have you to be. Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst; he promises honor and pays with disgrace; he promises pleasure and pays with pain; he promises profit and pays with loss; he promises life and pays with death. But we can overcome him through our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ as we put on the whole armor of God.
1-Bible Illustrator
2-Illustration Index
3-Bible Illustrator
4-Bible Illustrator
5-Martin R. Bartel
6-Bible Illustrator
