“On the Prowl!”

I Peter 5:8-11

The Seventh Sunday of Easter

May 4, 2008

 

 

1 Peter 5:8-11  ⁸ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.  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.

 

            Back in 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger made a movie called Predator. The synopsis of this movie is that an alien, called Predator, comes to earth and begins hunting and killing humans. Predator has advanced technology that allows him to travel wherever needed and this technology thus allows him to hunt difficult prey. In the case of this movie, the difficult prey is humans. Eventually, the movie ends in a physical brawl between Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, Dutch, and the Predator. Eventually, Dutch needs to be rescued from Predator and his faithful partner comes and sweeps him away, of course making room for a sequel and beginning a new franchise of movies.

            This sounds a little far-fetched, as many Hollywood movies are, yet it gives us a vivid picture of what Peter was describing in our text this morning. After watching movies like Predator, it is always nice to turn the power off, eject the DVD from the machine and return to our “normal” everyday lives. We know there are no such things as aliens and that we are not going to be hunted by some grotesque creature. Or are we?

            In our text this morning, Peter warned the Christians who were scattered around Asia Minor, which is now modern day Turkey , that there was someone on the prowl for them, and who is still on the prowl for us today. He is far more terrible than any Hollywood movie could ever depict. Peter is giving us a very vivid picture of the devil and what he not only did then but also is doing today on this earth. Peter likens the devil to a prowling lion, awaiting someone to devour. The devil is roaming this world and he desires to devour each and every one of us. The devil is on the prowl for us. He doesn’t want us to be with Christ in heaven, so he does everything in his power to distract us from our eternal goal of heaven.

            Peter is portraying an aspect of the Christian life that may sound more than a little scary. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. This does not portray the Christian life in rosy colors. In fact, it gives us the idea that the Christian life is like many thriller movies. We are constantly on the lookout for our prowling enemy who is lying in wait to ambush us: the devil.

            In our society today we downplay the role of the devil in our world. We rarely talk about him except in passing. We say that the devil is tempting us to do those things that we know we shouldn’t do, but we rarely put a face on this creature.

If our society ever puts a face on this creature, it is put it on bumper stickers or t-shirts saying something to the idea that “we are little devils” or something similar. Even some sports teams will use the devil as a mascot, like the Duke Blue Devils or the Arizona State Sun Devils to name a few. The devil has just become another cartoon character in society today. So much so, that often times we glance over this passage casually, not really thinking of what it really means or the implications it has for our lives.

            The devil is alive and real in our lives today. He looks nothing like the cartoon characters that sports teams use or that we see on Saturday morning cartoons. In my opinion, I believe that the devil is scarier and uglier than any movie depiction we will ever see. In fact, sometimes the devil will disguise himself to be something wonderful or beautiful only to lure us into his traps and schemes.

            The devil’s disguises can easily catch us off guard. Sometimes the devil may disguise himself as that beautiful woman or handsome man we see running down the road. Maybe he disguises himself as that 6-pack of beer that goes down so quickly after a difficult day. Maybe the devil lures you into his lair by tempting you to use items of witchcraft like black balls or magic mirrors, or even to check your daily horoscope, “just for the fun of it”. Maybe the devil uses your job as a lure. No matter how much time you spend at work there is always more to do, thus luring you away from your family, God’s Word, or even Bible studies and worship services. The devil has many masks and disguises he uses to lure you into his traps. Sometimes those disguises seem very innocent.

            I am willing to wager a bet this morning. My bet is that each of you on your way to church this morning saw the devil in some of your morning routines. Perhaps the disguise was your favorite restaurant you passed on the way to church this morning. When you passed by this morning you noticed that there were very few people in the parking lot. Maybe you thought about how great it would be to have Sunday brunch before church to avoid the crowds. Maybe the disguise revealed itself in your pillow. It took every fiber of your being to roll out of bed when the alarm clock went off this morning, because your bed and pillow were just so comfortable. If only I had a few more hours of sleep and didn’t have to come to church this morning….

            The devil can use anything and everything to distract you from what God would have you do. Like a lion that stalks its prey, the devil is stalking you. The lion seeks out the weak in the herd. If necessary he chases down the prey and attacks from behind. So it is also with us. All may be going well. But the devil looks to blindside us and attack us from behind. The devil will set ambushes for us, to catch us when we are unaware.

            This is the exact picture that Peter is painting in our text this morning, and this is the exact picture we can use as we think of the devil in this world today. The devil is prowling around in this world and he springs out at you at the most inopportune times. He tries his best to catch you off guard, when your defenses are down. It is at that very moment that he springs into attack mode.

            However, our predator, the devil is at a disadvantage. He has already been mortally injured!!!  Jesus’ death and resurrection has fatally defeated the Devil.  The new creatures that we are through Jesus’ blood have also defeated the Devil and his schemes.  What the Devil knows, though, is that on this side of heaven, there will always be a war within each and every one of us between the new creature we are in Christ and our old, sinful self.  He waits, watching, for those moments when the new creatures we are in Christ are less than vigilant against him.  Those are the moments when he pounces, drawing out our old, sinful selves and taking our focus off of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and in doing so, sneaks around our defenses. 

However, the Lord is always vigilant, ready to reach out to us through His Word and to reassure us that He has defeated our predator, the devil.  In His Word, we are again given the strength and the armor of God to fight the Devil and resist him and his ways.

            Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. During His life here on this earth, beginning with His temptation in the wilderness and culminating with His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, Jesus was in an all out duel with the devil. The devil in turn devoted all of his energies to the goal of preventing Jesus from achieving salvation for us. However, the devil failed.

            In Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus triumphed over the power of the devil along with his allies of sin and death. Your predator, the devil has been injured and defeated. Jesus died on that cross for you, and in doing so, has given us everything we need to keep the devil from overpowering us. The devil has already lost. He cannot win when faced with Jesus’ blood.

            Thursday was Ascension Day. This was the day that Jesus ascended into heaven and returned to his rightful place at the right hand of God. Jesus ascended into heaven and He assumed His role again of ruling over this world with all power and all authority. God has placed all things under the feet of Jesus, your Savior and Redeemer. As the psalmist David states in Psalm 110: The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

            Everything of this world is subject to our Savior Jesus Christ. He is now reigning in heaven and He is ruling over all things: the devil included! The devil has a very debilitating injury. Jesus’ death on the cross, His payment for all your sins has knocked the wind out of the sails of the Devil. His days are certainly numbered.

            The devil is now wandering this earth. He is on the prowl, looking to snatch you out of the hands of your Heavenly Father. The devil is now engaging in rearguard operations against all believers: yourself certainly included. The devil has devoted everything that he has left to making sure that you do not receive and enjoy the fruits and benefits that Christ’s victory on the cross won for you.

            The devil does not want you to bask in the glory of God in heaven. The devil wants to take you with him to the fiery pits of hell. He will do everything in his power to make that happen. The devil will use the most innocent things to distract you from the goal of living your life for Jesus Christ. The devil is on the prowl for you. Satan’s goal is to destroy your faith and to deprive you of Jesus’ blessings that He won for you on the cross.

            We may live in a land that is not immersed in a civil war. However, there is a war going on around us. That war is for your very soul and your salvation.

            Jesus Christ has given you salvation. You did nothing to earn or deserve it. It was a free gift that Christ gave to you. However, the devil is waiting to ambush you to attack you when you are left unaware. However, we can be assured as the apostle Paul told the Corinthians in his first letter chapter 10 verse 13: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

            So how do we withstand the devil’s attacks and his schemes against our salvation? The devil is only as strong as we allow him to be in our lives. If we let our defenses down, if we open ourselves to temptation he will use those open doors to come into our lives. Maybe we let our guard down as we turn on the TV at night and just watch whatever happens to be on. Maybe we let our guard down when we sit at the computer and begin to surf the Internet.

            Temptation will certainly strike at times we least expect it. It is at those times that we can turn to God’s Word and His promises. God will always provide a way out of temptation; we just need to be on the look out for how to withstand the temptation. We can fight off temptation by reciting Scripture, turning our heads and praying to our Lord Jesus Christ. We can fight temptation by not allowing ourselves to be vulnerable to those things that make us weaker and less guarded.

Remove temptation; do not allow yourself to fall into the trap that the devil lays before you. God always provides a way out of temptation. You just need to have your eyes open for that way out. It might mean turning the TV or computer off. It might mean leaving a situation all together. Whatever that way out might be, run toward it with all your energy.

            Jesus has defeated the devil. The devil is a lame duck with numbered days. He is on the prowl for you, but he is not as strong as the new creature you are in Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ has already defeated the devil by His death on the cross for you. The blood of Jesus Christ has paid for all your sins.

            You can be assured that the devil’s days on this earth are numbered, as are yours. Here on this earth we must fight off temptation, but as Peter reminds us in the text this morning that

…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.

            We can be thankful that our days on this earth are numbered. We have all been given eternal life with Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer. Jesus has given you the crown of eternal life. Our days of suffering and temptation are limited. We will one day soon be rejoicing at the feet of our Savior Jesus in heaven. Until that day comes, God will give us the strength and determination we need to resist the devil and all his tempting schemes.

¹¹ To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.