Spiritual Warfare 101: The Battle is the Lord’s!
I Peter 5:8-11
Introduction: I was shocked to read that as recently as the Gulf War, 20% of American casualties were not the result of enemy fire – one in five deaths resulted from accidents, suicides, and the largest non-enemy related cause, friendly fire. Accidents can happen anywhere, suicides too are a sad but too frequent happening in almost every setting and age group in this fallen world. But friendly fire, as high as one in five casualties, is to me surprising. And it is nothing new. Lives have been taken in virtually every war in recorded history through “friendly fire” incidents. Clearly a critical aspect of warfare is to correctly identify the enemy! During our “walk through the psalms” over more than three years in our Wednesday night studies we frequently heard the psalmist lament the attacks of enemies, or pleading with God for deliverance from them. As Christians we were reminded that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, i.e., our ultimate enemy is not human. Obviously, as we consider the spiritual conflict of which we are a part, we need to remember who the enemy is. One of his tactics would seem to be to confuse us about that very fact. Someone said that if believers don’t determine to wrestle with their spiritual adversary, before long they will be wrestling with each other! I’m sure that delights the enemy, and grieves the Lord.
Context: The theme we saw in the preceding context: Don’t worry – Be Humble! Perhaps the trials and persecutions believers face are like the lion's roar... intended by the enemy to paralyze us with fear!
The Maine* Idea: We are at war so be alert and stand firm. Know the enemy, resist him, and be encouraged, Jesus wins!
I. Our Enemy: the devil – Our enemies are not flesh and blood (8b)!
8…Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
The fact that our “adversary” is identified reminds us that we are in a war. That is very clear when you read through the book of Revelation as we did on New Year’s Eve. There is a cosmic spiritual battle that is described, and the stakes could not be higher. The powers of darkness are engaged in open rebellion, attacking God by attacking those who are His. We read in Revelation 12:3-5
3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.
The picture we see in these verses refers to the incarnation of the Son, and the desire of Satan to destroy Him even as He came into the world. That antipathy continued from the cradle to the cross. We saw it pointedly in Herod sending his soldiers into Bethlehem to kill every male child two years and under. It continued in the temptation of Christ and in his rejection and crucifixion. And it continues in the spiritual attacks on God’s people as we carry out His mission in the world.
He prowls about – that made me think of the language in Job. Satan appears before the Lord, and when he is asked where he had been he reports that he had returned from going “to and fro” in the earth (Job 1:7; 2:2). Lions are good at finding their prey and they are skilled at the take down and the kill. It’s a powerful illustration. We don’t want to push the illustration too far, but how do lions pick out their prey from a herd of animals? They look for the weak ones who fall apart from the herd, right? They’re the ones who don’t have the strength to keep up, or they’re simply not alert. And the lion just watches, waiting for the opportunity to pounce.
Could it be that our enemy the devil acts in the same way? Looking for the weak and unaware, waiting for his opportunity to pounce and kill. When we are not “eating” regularly, when we don’t avail ourselves of the spiritual disciplines God has provided, when we don’t participate in the body of believers of which we are called to be a part – we’re easy pickings for the enemy.
Let me say it one more time: we are not designed to go it alone. God created us to be part of a community. The whole idea of spiritual gifts is that we minister to others and they minister to us. One of the branches of the service uses a recruit-ment motto, “Be all that you can be!” Well, in order to be what we are designed and called to be we need to take seriously our calling to be part of the body. You need a band of brothers and sisters to watch your back, and they need you! Friends, we are at war, so know the enemy, be alert, and stand firm. And be encouraged, Jesus wins!
II. Our Activity: We are at war, and we belong to the resistance! (8a,9)
8aBe sober-minded; be watchful… 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world…
Stay awake and stay alert (8a) 1:13, 4:7. The word “sober” is often used in a literal sense to contrast drunkenness. Obviously on the field of battle we wouldn’t want a drunken pilot flying overhead preparing to drop his bombs on a nearby enemy! Warfare is serious work. John MacArthur suggests that on a spiritual level,
“It includes ordering and balancing life’s important issues which requires the disciplines of mind and body that avoids the intoxicating allurements of the world…”
Was it Thomas Jefferson who said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom"? A familiar saying that is sometimes evoked in looking back on the attack on Pearl Harbor that launched us into World War 2. There was presumption, and perhaps a false sense of security, thinking that the Japanese would never launch a first attack against Hawaii. The enemy can be deceptive: Japan's peace envoys were seated at the negotiating table at the very moment the attack was launched. Our country’s security depends on a strong defense – on being watchful so we are not surprised by a sneak attack and on being powerful so that we are prepared to fight when we have to. The same holds true in the spiritual realm. Don’t underestimate the enemy. He has been around a long time, and he is an expert on human vulnerabilities. He can be deceptive, even disguising himself as an angel of light. The enemy will do all he can to cut short our effectiveness as a witness and ambassador for Christ. I read this week another illustration of that principle from the latter stages of World War 2.
On April 28, 1944, during World War II, Allied soldiers were engaged in Operation Tiger, a training exercise in amphibious beach landings in preparation for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Suddenly, enemy gunboats appeared and killed over 700 American servicemen in a surprise attack. Today, a monument stands on Slapton Sands to commemorate the sacrifice of those young men who died while training for battle but were never able to enter the conflict. Ready to fight, but cut short. That tragedy is a picture that warns the believer in Christ. We too are involved in combat with an enemy who is powerful and deceptive. That is why the apostle Peter warned: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour"
We need to be watchful, vigilant, and we need to “resist Him, firm in your faith.” Mount your own “resistance movement”! How do we do that? How can humans, already weakened by sin, possibly resist the onslaughts of an enemy that succeeded in tempting Adam and Eve before the Fall, and who has been perfecting his tactics for all of human history? First of all, God will not call us to something that we cannot do, rather He will give us the resources we need for the battle. One of the laments of the Vietnam era conflict was that the military felt their hands were constantly tied to carry out the mission. God has given us what we need! So…
Stand firm in the faith! Paul addresses the nature of our warfare and the provision God has given us in Ephesians 6:10-18,
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…
Now that is a sermon, or a series of sermons in itself! But let’s look at a couple of aspects of the provision we have for spiritual warfare at the very end. First, “…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication… making supplication for all the saints.” Prayer is not simply an exercise for the “holy,” nor is it where we turn as a last resort. Our desire, our goal, should be to pray at all times in the Spirit. Talking with God, allowing the Spirit, who is GOD, to fill and control us, and to empower us as we resist the enemy. I wrote in one of my first Bibles a phrase, I am not sure where I heard it: “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest Christian on his knees!” I think that is true, do you know why? He has been around long enough to have observed that incredibly, God works through the prayers of His people. It is amazing to think about. God know what we need long before we ask! And He has a plan that He is going to carry out in the world. Yet He moves us to look up, to cry out to Him, expressing our faith, our trust, our dependence on Him. And notice that we pray not only for ourselves, but for “all the saints.” That is one of the most powerful “one another” commands in the New Testament. We intercede on behalf of each other.
He also refers to the “sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.” Do you remember how Jesus responded to each of the temptations of the devil in the wilderness? He quoted Scripture. “It is written…” God’s word is truth, it shuts the mouth of the lion and sets us free. He said it, that settles it!
Notice, by the way, that Peter refers to “…your brothers throughout the world…” No temptation has overtaken us but what is common to man (cf. I Cor 10:12,13). Whatever we face, others have been there before. They made it, you can too! And remember, we have a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, who was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. He is our strength. We are at war so be alert and stand firm. Know the enemy, resist him, and be encouraged, Jesus wins!
III. Our Hope: God will ultimately deliver us: He is in charge (10,11)! Alastair Begg preached a message on these two verses speaking of the Pattern, Power and Praise of God, and since I like alliteration I’ll use those points to walk through this text!
10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
The Pattern which God designed (10a). The contrast here is quite emphatic. “After you have suffered for a little while…” As Peter has stated before the suffering of this present age is transient, and at least from God’s perspective, from the perspective of eternity it is “a little while.” Near the start of the letter he said in 1 Peter 1:6-7,
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, as was necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Trials and suffering are “for a little while,” even though, when we are in the midst of it, we may not feel that way. War by nature is a time of intense conflict and it is seldom easy or quick. But for perspective, think about eternity. Think about that line in “Amazing Grace,” “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the Sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun…” Here Peter reminds us that though we suffer for “a little while” we are called to eternal glory in Christ. We are His forever, and God will glorify himself in us and through us.
The Power He displays (10b). Notice the subject of the actions in v.10, “The God of all grace…”, the One who calls us in Christ, “He Himself” will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. Thinking back to the story of Job, he went through unimaginable pain and heartbreak. He came to the end of himself, he had nothing left. Yet we read at the end of the story that the LORD “restored” Job, and blessed him with twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10). Job didn’t do that work of restoration, God Himself did it. Jesus told his disciples that they would weep, but that their sorrow would be turned to joy (John 16:20). The word “restore” is the word that was used to describe the sons of Zebedee “mending” their nets, repairing the tears and making it whole. The word appears a half dozen times in Ezra 4,5, and 6, describing the “rebuilding” or “restoration” of the Temple and City which was in ruins. Here, as Peter writes to the scattered and persecuted believers in Asia Minor, he is encouraging them that their suffering will pass, and that ultimately God will lift them up. It is God’s work, God alone, who does it. As I looked at this word I could help but notice that the root appears twice in the conclusion to 2 Corinthians, as Paul exhorts the church there…
Your restoration is what we pray for. 10 For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down. 11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you (2 Cor 13:9-11).
Paul had started his first letter to that same church exhorting restoration and unity. We read in I Corinthians 1:10,
“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united [“restored, made whole”] in the same mind and the same judgment.”
These letters were written just a short time apart, and Paul makes it clear where his heart was, he longed for unity and restoration in the body. He wanted the nets to be mended, unity to be restored. That is my heart desire, and that is what we should pray for and seek. One day the body will live in the reality of our “oneness” in Christ, forever. Let’s be people who reject bitterness and divisiveness and strive for peace. Let’s do it for the sake of the Gospel, for the glory of God.
The Praise which God deserves (11). The beautiful doxology in verse 11 is our fitting response: “To Him be the dominion [some manuscripts say, “glory and dominion”] forever and ever, AMEN.” He is Lord, and His kingdom is eternal. The battle is described throughout Scripture, Psalm 2 gives a poetic synopsis. This world system, under the deception of the Evil One, is in rebellion against God. The good news: JESUS WINS!
What is God saying to me in this passage? We are at war so be alert and stand firm. Know the enemy, resist him, and be encouraged, and rest assured, Jesus wins!
What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Do you have any doubts that we are at war? Don’t forget who the enemy is. Remember two things, 1) the battle is spiritual, we wrestle not against flesh and blood; and 2) the battle is the Lord’s, He will lift us up if our trust is in Him. Our desire for any brother, even if He would hurt us, should be that God would do what is necessary to restore Him, that we might be one with our brothers and sisters. Remember that God has us in the world, in all of its “fallen-ness,” as His ambassadors, as agents of reconciliation, to proclaim the gospel of peace. Part of our witness is our relationship with each other: “By this men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” What do the people in your oikos, your friends and family, co-workers and neighbors, what do they see and hear when you talk about the church? We don’t want be deceptive and give the impression that we are perfect (they’ll only be disillusioned when they find out the truth!). But they ought to know, above all, that we love one another. That will attract them to the Lord of the Church. AMEN!
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