Wayfaring Strangers
A Study of 1 Peter
Part 21
“Get Ready to Rumble”
I am not a huge boxing fan
Boxing movies on the other hand I like
But in both the actual ring
And the movie Ring
There is a common phrase that is part of boxing all over the world
World class boxing announcer Michael Buffer is most famous for the words
“Let’s get ready to rumble”
As we continue our study of 1 Peter
In our series titled Wayfaring Strangers
We are nearing the end of Peter’s first letter and the end of our sermon series
Over and over again we have studied suffering persecution
Our reaction to those storms and wreck
And how we should be encouraged by them instead of defeated by them
As we have seen persecution
Trials
Wrecks
Storms
Troubles
Are common in the world
And we as believers are not immune to them
Actually, if we believe that Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly
And I do, as God’s word says so
Then we must ask
What is life
And the answer is a series of ups and downs
Good times and bad times
So, life abundantly means more good times
But also, more tough times
We also know that the more we ride for Christ
The more likely we will suffer persecution and troubles
We have studied and learned that trials and troubles come in many forms from many directions
Sometimes just because we are human, and we live in a sin filled world
Sometimes by our own actions
When we do dumb stuff- stuff happens
Sometimes Satan causes our troubles to stop us or at least slow us down
Other times God uses trials and troubles to get our attention
To get us back to where he wants us
This is trials and troubles
Storms and wrecks
But the other thing we see in scripture that we will be exposed to
If we are truly living for God
Is persecution
Persecution as we have learned is suffering for our belief in Christ
Our allegiance for Christ
Our proclaiming of the message of Christ
We may suffer loss of friends
Family
Jobs
And the like
We could suffer finical hardships
Physical and emotional hardships and even
Sever injury and even death
For our faith in Christ
Talk to my Brother Emmanuel if you want to hear stories of these types of persecution
I need you to hear me on this
No matter what form of persecution you and I face
I all come from the same place
Satan
Old Slick
The devil
Old slick sends persecution into the believers’ lives
In an effort to discourage them
In an effort to derail them
To stop then from growing spiritually
To stop them from spreading the good news of Jesus
And he is good at what he does
If enough heat is applied
Many will turn away from God
Many will become so discouraged they stop fulfilling the reason for their salvation
Many will just quit
That is unacceptable
That is unpleasing to God
That is unproductive for building the kingdom
And personally, that is unconducive to our own spiritual growth
So, we have just fulfilled the first step in winning any fight
Know your enemy and know their tactics
Satan is the enemy
And his tactics are this
He will use anything at his disposal to stop you
To stop a believer
He will use persecutions of all types
He will use lies and deceptions
He will use pain
He will use a loss of material things and he may even use
Fame
Fortune
Money
Things
To draw your attention away from our creator
There is a reason he came to the garden as a snake
He is sneaky
Sometimes so sneaky we have no idea we are even being manipulated
God’s word says he masquerades as an angel of light
What this means is this
Simply he pretends to be God or better yet
Desires to be God
And he tries to convince us that he is indeed God
So, knowing this
And understanding this
Now we must learn how to defend against his attacks
Subtle ones and head one all out warfare
This is where we come to in 1 Peter
Listen to me
Peter understood persecution
He understood
The lies of Satan
He understood how falling for the lies could cause a separation from God
And his desire was to teach the believers that were going through hard times
How to deal with persecution and still find the joy that God desires for them
Peter gives us the tools to get ready to rumble
So please open your bibles to 1 Peter 5:8-9
1 Peter 5:8-9
Let me read it in its entirety then break it down and apply it to our lives
1 Peter 5:8-9
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers[a] all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.
Verse 8a
“Stay Alert”
The King James says “be sober and vigilant”
The NASB – “Sober in spirit and alert”
And the NIV “self-controlled and alert”
What all of these translations have in common is this
Stay awake
Watch out
Pay attention
We know because God’s word tells us
That an attack is coming
Some know because they have experienced an attack or many attacks
We can’t sleep on guard duty
We must be prepared
We must stay alert
We must be sober in spirit which means be thinking with a clear mind
We know persecution is coming
So, Peter says
Don’t get dry gluched by it
Be ready to rumble
Next in verse 8b
Peter shows us once again who our enemy is and what he is like
“Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. “
Old slick is waiting in ambush
Sometimes incognito
Like a rouge lion waiting for the chance to pounce
Waiting for someone to devour
Listen to me
When God’s word says devour
God is not talking about a loss of salvation
He has given us eternal life if we are a believer
Devour means to destroy
Destroy what
Our faith in God
Our faith in ourselves
Our faith in humanity
He wants to destroy our witness
Or testimony
Our self esteem
Our identity as Children of God
He wants to devour all that is good and pure
Destroy all that is righteous
And leave us
As battered
Confused
Complacent Christians
That are doing nothing
Nothing
Nothing
To build the kingdom of God
Nothing to become more like Christ
Nothing but getting by in life
This is who he is
This is what he does
And this is what we must be alert to
Verse 9 gives us
tactics
Gives us tools
Gives us a battle plan
Verse 9a
9” Stand firm against him”
Stand firm against him
What does this mean
Plant your feet on the rock of God’s word
Your strength is Jesus’ depth and resurrection
Your weapon is the sword of the spirit which is the word of God
Study it
Read it
Meditate on it
Memorize it
Make it part of you
And then
When the attacks come
You can stand firm with the sword of truth hidden in your heart
Listen to me Jesus himself was tempted by Satan
He was tempted when he was tired and hungry and thirsty
This is when he will jump on us as well
But Jesus used the sword of the spirit
God’s Holy word to overcome the attack
He stood firm on the word and Satan
Could no long stand in his presence?
Stand firm on the rock of your salvation
And he can not stand in your presence either
Next verse 9b
“and be strong in your faith”
If we look at the armor of God from Ephesians 6
We see the shield of faith
Our faith in God
Our faith in Jesus Christ
Our faith in his word
Our Faith in his death and resurrection
Our faith in his second coming
Is our shield
The devil
That raging lion cannot penetrate a strong shield
Faith means trust
Trusting wholly in Gods provision
His protection
His guidance
His blessings
Trusting in his power to overcome and thrive in the persecution
When we are strong in our faith we as the song the band often sings
Shall not be moved
Like a tree planted by the water
A tree planted by the living water that is Jesus our savior
We shall not be moved
The claws and teeth of Satan will not be able to penetrate our shield
His fiery arrows will bounce off
He will get discouraged
Maybe even disgusted
And he will move on to easier prey
At least for a season
For a while
This is why staying alert and standing strong are a lifelong
Continuous endeavor
It is when we relax
When we let down our guard
when we stop watching
Stop expecting
Stop learning and growing
That his attacks will come again
He often attacks in the dark times of our lives
Under the cover of darkness
On the heals of the tough times
Like the slithering snake he is
Old sneaky snake
Sometimes he hits us on the mountain
After a spiritual hiigh
Stay alert
Stand strong in your faith
Verse 9c
“Remember that your family of believers[a] all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”
We are not alone
Every true believer
Every growing believer
Every serving believer
Throughout time
Has and will suffer attacks
Use their testimonies of victory
Use your own testimonies of victory
Remember David when he was facing Goliath
For 40 days the giant taunted the Israelite army
And no one would face him
And then David Just a boy stepped up to the plate
From 1 Samuel 17:32-37
32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
David used his past victories as weapons
He uses His faith as his shield
And he stood on the Rock ---The Lord his God
Look again at verse 37
The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
In order to fight we must put on our armor
We must be prepared
And we must keep our eyes on God
Let’s look at the armor that Paul teaches us
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[d] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.[e] 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.[f] 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
The belt of truth
The body armor of righteousness
Shoes of peace
Shield of faith
The helmet of salvation
And the sword of the spirit
Verse 18 of Ephesians 6
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
This means pray in accordance with God’s will
With his mind, with his heart
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirt
As Jesus taught in the Lord’s prayer
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
And again, in the Garden
Not my will but yours Father
This is what pray in the spirit means
Let me wrap up today with this
Listen
Believers
Attacks will come
Not if but when
And we must be prepared
Peter says
Stay alert
Watch out
Stand Firm
Stay strong in your faith
And remember you are not alone
Many have gone before you and many will follow
And God will be there for you just as he was for them
Unbelievers
Listen to me
Satan uses deception on you as well
The difference is he already has you
All he has to do is keep you beat down
Disoriented- distracted
Keep you in the dark and focused on anything but God
And convincing yourself you can do this alone
You may not even know you are in a battle for your very soul
Listen to me
It is not my intent to scare you
but to open your eyes
You cannot win the fight alone
And the good news is you don’t have to
Jesus gave his life to forgive you and save
You and with that salvation come his power and his strength
His protection and his provision
And victory can be yours though the blood of Christ
Close from the heart
Pray
