Seeking once again the help of God, I'd like you to turn with me to the second chapter that we read together, 1 Peter 5, and the text you'll find in verse 8. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.

we saw this morning as we looked at the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ as he put on flesh so that he would be made like unto his brethren, that he was able to fulfil the whole law of God, walking in obedience to that law as as under the law and as he was judged and crucified, as the Lord poured out his wrath upon him for the sins of his people.

As he rose again on the third day, we saw that he both justified and sanctified his people. By being their substitute, he is able to experience the whole wrath of God, to pay that punishment on their behalf. And in doing so, he is their substitute and he rises again on the third day, justifying them from their sin.

And we saw that the unity that is found between Christ and his people, that not only he was made like unto them, that he became as they are, yet with his dual nature, both human and divine, that he's able to that he's able to pay that debt as God, experiencing the wrath of God for his people, yet as a human able to be that perfect substitute.

But not only able to be that perfect substitute, he's able to understand the weakness and frailty of the human body. He took not on himself the nature of angels, but took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things it behoved him, it was needful for him to be made like unto his brethren. And we saw that both he that sanctifies, that is Christ, and those who are sanctified, that are his people, they are one. They're not ashamed to be called their brethren. And we saw that that justification is their standing before the law of God, that as Christ was punished, wiping away their sin, making them just before the law as guiltless, and then their state, the state of being justified, is that they are sanctified, they are righteous before God.

And we saw that that process that takes place produces in them a desire for holy and godly living. And so as we come to Peter, we find that Peter writing to the churches, he seeks to lay down the effects of that justifying work upon the Lord's people.

In chapter four he says, for as much then as Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind, for he that suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

And so right from the foundation of the church, the evidence of the justifying work and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit of God, it is a desire for a godly standard of living, a godly lifestyle, a lifestyle that is being weaned from the excesses of this world, the sin of this world and the ongoing fight within.

We see in the book of Ephesians. where he tells us there about the armour of God at our fight. is not necessarily against flesh and blood, although Satan's influence is in the world and manifesting itself in flesh and blood, yet the ultimate fight that we have is against the kingdom of darkness.

He says in Ephesians 6, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. against spiritual wickedness in high places. Because of this, take unto you the whole armour of God." And Peter sets out before those who are reading that There was a time when we did indulge ourself in the things that this world has to offer. There was a time when we lived in lasciviousness, excess of lust and filthy conversation and a desire to indulge in the things of the flesh and to cause us also to join with us in that sin.

Mischievousness is a deep word probably that we don't fully use it but if you look it up you'll understand what I'm trying to say. It is a word that causes others to want to join with you in immorality. Not just in acts but also in speech and just by immoral living. And there was a time, he says, when you walked like that. There was a time when you did behave like that. You had no fear of God and you walked contrary to the law of God and you walked in accordance with your own heart doing whatever you wanted to do. And he says that was how you were.

in the lust, excess of wine, drunkenness, revelings, partyings, and banquetings, and abominable idolatries, and things which take hold of our hearts that we hold up in worship, that we place in the stead of God. And he says that's how you work. And you mixed and you mingled with those types of people. But then something took place. The Spirit of God entered and you were born again of the Spirit and your tastes changed. You no longer wanted to indulge in the lasciviousness and the lusts of the flesh anymore. You no longer wanted to live a life of excess, excess of anything, excess of wine, excess of food, excess of lust.

In partying and banqueting and idolatry, Christ is now your object. And because you have changed, because you are no longer living like that, those people that you used to hang around with, those people that were your friends that you've now separated from, he says, they think it's strange. They can't fully grasp what has happened to you because you're not the person that you used to be. you have been transformed by the Spirit of God, you've heard the gospel, you've seen the danger of that way of life, you've seen that the broad road leads to destruction and now you've entered in through Christ Jesus on the narrow way that leads to life and they think that you're strange, that you don't run with them as how you used to run and they speak evil of you.

But he goes on to to warn these Christians that not only are your old friends and acquaintances out for you speaking evil of you but also your old friend is after you. Your old friend. Who is your old friend? Your old friend is Satan. Satan was your old friend and you walked with him you walked with him in the kingdom of darkness you were friends with him you were happy to walk with him he set temptation in your way and to you it wasn't a temptation it was an indulgence and you walked hand in hand in sin with him

But now that friend has become your enemy. You see Satan was your friend and Jesus was your enemy. We saw this morning that Christ has broken down the enmity that there was between man and God, that we saw that God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world unto himself. So that God who was our enemy, Satan who was our friend, there has been a great exchange that takes place. Satan is no longer our friend, he is our enemy. He is a frightful foe. And Jesus Christ, who was once our enemy, is now our friend. And more than a friend, he is a brother. And he says, I'm not ashamed to call you brethren. And so Jesus Christ, as we saw this morning, has defeated the work of Satan, the power and influence that Satan had upon our lives, upon the lives of believers.

The whole world was held in darkness. Remember that God had a favor towards the people of Israel. They were his people. The rest of the world was held in darkness. They were to be the light. They were to be the ones who were to shine as a light in a dark place. They were the ones that were meant to magnify the grace and the love and the greatness of God by living in accordance to his laws.

we know that they failed. They, instead of drawing people to God, were drawn to the idol worship until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the light that should come in to the world. And he came and he didn't fail in his task. He defeated the power that Satan had over his people. We read this morning, for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part in the same, that through death he might destroy him that have power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

And so Christ came by his death to deliver his people from the power of and influence of Satan and he came to break their chains and to set them free. So I've said to you many times before the world talk of freedom But they are not free. They are chained to sin and to Satan. Only believers are free in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus has gained the victory for them. He defeated death upon the cross that they are now free. They've been granted and gifted eternal life. And so this enemy that was now becomes a friend, the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see the Lord Jesus Christ, he prevailed. He prevailed. Here in our text the devil is described as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. But if you remember the Lord Jesus Christ, he is also described as a lion. He is the lion of the tribe of Judah in Revelation 5. And he is the one who is able to open the book. And one of the elders, Revelation 5, 5, one of the elders says unto me, weep not, behold the lion of the tribe of Judah.

If you go back into the Old Testament, you see that Judah, it was prophesied that he was the lion's whelp and that from him would come the deliverer. And we see in Revelation that Jesus Christ is the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, and he has prevailed. He's prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof, the book of life.

that all of those in Christ Jesus have been set free, that Christ has delivered them from the chains of darkness, the chains of sin, the influence of Satan over their lives. And we see that Jesus says to the Apostle Peter, Peter, upon this rock I shall build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. That means that Christ has gained the victory and that he can enter into the kingdom of darkness and he can bring out his people.

The gates will not prevail against him. He can break open them gates. He can enter in and redeem his people. The lion of the tribe of Judah. Every single one of those in the Lamb's Book of Life, those gates that Satan is holding them, those chains by which Satan is holding them, they will be broken. and they will be delivered and they will walk in newness of life because Christ has granted them his spirit he's born them again of an incorruptible seed and they will no longer walk in the ways that they used to walk in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, revelings and banquetings and abominable idolatries.

Why? Because they love the Lord Jesus Christ they are one with the Lord Jesus Christ he is their brother and they're now walking in union with him, yoked together with him on the narrow way that leads to life. And so he says that Christ, he persevered, he prevailed against the kingdom of darkness, he prevailed against the gates of hell and he gained the victory.

This brings us into great danger as believers. You see, we are like deserters. We have been snatched from the kingdom of darkness and we've been brought over into the kingdom of light. We were once friends with Satan, we walked in league with Satan, we walked in his ways, but now we're in Christ. We're no longer in the darkness, we're in the light. And therefore we have another enemy. Our enemy is Satan himself.

The problem that we have is that because Satan was once our friend he knows us very very well. He knows the things that we like. He knows the things that excite us. We know the things by which he can he knows the things by which he can tempt us with because he was once united to us. And now he is our enemy. So he knows you. Do not think just because Christ has redeemed you that Satan has forgotten all about you. Satan knows exactly who you are and where you are. He knows you. He knows your weaknesses. He knows the ways by which he can tempt you. He knows how to exploit those weaknesses.

You think of Jesus Christ. He didn't leave Jesus alone. After he was baptised he went into the wilderness and was tempted of the devil. And Satan knew exactly where to tempt the Lord Jesus. In Matthew chapter 4. And if he knows how to tempt the Lord Jesus Christ then he knows exactly how to tempt you and I. He says, if thou be the Son of God, command these stones to be made bread. Jesus was hungry. Jesus had been in the wilderness for those 40 days and 40 nights and he was hungry and Satan came to him and tried to exploit the weakness of Christ. If you're the son of God you have the power, you have the ability to transform these stones into bread to satisfy your human body. Jesus replies, by the word, man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Again, he keeps going, if thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, he shall give his angels charge over thee, concerning thee, and in thy hands shall they bear thee up, lest thou at any time dash thy foot against a stone. And again he tempts Jesus seeking to cause him to doubt himself if thou be the son of God. So he goes on seeking to exploit any weakness that he can find in the Lord Jesus Christ yet Christ Jesus draws up the word of God and uses it as the sword of the spirit which is the word.

And so if he knows exactly how to tempt the perfect spotless Lamb of God who was tried and tempted in all points as we are yet without sin, how much more is he going to be able to exploit our weaknesses? And yet we don't have the ability as Christ has to withstand those temptations of ourselves. Look at Simon Peter. Jesus says to him, Simon, Simon, Satan has desired to have you and to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. Satan desired to have Simon Peter. Satan desires to have every single believer, yet Christ prays for them. So what does he do? He seeks to exploit the weaknesses that we have. He's described as a roaring lion. We've all seen on the programs, the wildlife programs of the lions, the king of the jungle. how that he seeks to exploit the vulnerable and the weak by causing the herd to run or to divide. And he's looking for weakness. And so Satan is described as like a roaring lion looking for weakness.

Simon, Simon, Satan has desire to have you. Satan is looking for a weakness. Satan is examining you to find out if there's any weakness that he can exploit in your life. In Simon Peter he finds it. He finds it in his pride and in his self-sufficiency. Not I. There we go. There's the weakness. And so he will use that weakness to attack. And he attacked Simon Peter. And Simon Peter denied the Lord Jesus Christ. All of his boasting came to nothing. He denied, he was ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But he didn't fall completely because Jesus prayed for him that his faith would not fail. And you and I, we're to know our weakness as Christians. We're not to live in this bubble that we think that we're perfect and we have no problems, we have no sin and we have no weaknesses. Every army has to examine its strengths and its weakness. If it's going to war, it has to look at the strength of the enemy and it has to look at the weaknesses in its own army. Where are we strong? Where are we weak? What area can be exploited in us? Where is the enemy going to attack? Do you know your weakness? Do you know the area where Satan is likely to come and to attack you? Have you examined yourself? Are you fully aware of your faults or do you see yourself as having no faults whatsoever? If you see yourself having no faults whatsoever then you're like Simon Peter very, very proud and Satan is going to come and he's going to attack that specific area and he's going to pull you down because he goes around like a roaring lion. seeking who he will devour.

In Proverbs chapter four it tells us, if you've ever read the book from John Bunyan about man's soul and the warfare, he uses an illustration of the vulnerable parts of the human body, the areas by which the enemy will exploit. And he uses the phrases eye-gate and ear-gate. These are the ways by which sin may enter in and corrupt and contaminate the soul.

In chapter 4 it says in verse 20, my son attend unto my words and incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes, but keep them in the midst of their heart. Remember here he says, you listen to me. Listen with your ears and don't let your eyes depart from what I am going to tell you. And so that the the eye and the ear is seen as the channel by which these words enter into the heart for they are life unto those that find them and health unto all their flesh keep thine heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life Put away from thee the froward mouth and preserve lips but far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet and let thy ways be established.

And so he speaks of the way by which good and bad may enter into the human body and corrupt the heart. The means that Satan uses, the things by which Satan uses are to attack the vulnerable places of the human body. The eyes and the ears. Because that brings everything down into the heart. Let them not depart from thine eyes, keep them in the midst of thine heart. Keep thy heart. So here's where the believer is at. Satan is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He desires to cause Christians to sin. That is his delight. And he will use the weaknesses of the human body to cause us to sin. Our pride, our vulnerability, our eyes and our ears, that we may corrupt the heart.

Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Where did Satan start with Eve? He spoke to her. He used the ear gate. He used the weakness that she had and he entered in through the ear gate by causing doubt to take place within her heart and mind. As God said, you're not going to die. Then what? Look at the lovely tree. Look at the fruit. It's good to eat. It's going to make you wise. The eyes. She listened. She saw. And she took. And so our vulnerable parts of our body come from our eyes and our ears. What we see and what we hear have an effect upon our hearts.

You think of David. How did David get attacked? Idleness. Lust. He looked. He thought. He took. Just like Eve. She looked. She took. Satan exploited those weaknesses. The weaknesses of men. The weaknesses of women. to get into the heart.

In 1 Peter chapter 2 it says, Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. having your conversation honest, or your lifestyle honest among the Gentiles, that when they speak evil of you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. He says, I beg you. Dearly beloved, I beg you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts. Why? Because they war against the soul.

And so as Eve heard Satan, entered into her heart, corrupted her thought process, she looked at the fruit and she chose to disobey God. So Satan will continue to exploit those vulnerable parts of our bodies. You will listen. and that listening will enter into your soul and are like fleshly lusts which will you will look you will look and it will enter in and you'll become a prey a prey to Satan Eve hurts Eve saw and Eve took. And that is how Satan will bring us down. Looking for our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities, then he will exploit them so that we sin, so that we deny the Lord Jesus Christ, bring shame upon his name, bring reproach upon the name of Christ. and shame even our own selves.

But he tells us the way by which we are able to overcome his exploitations by being sober. being aware of our weakness, being aware of those things, that area in our life that Satan is likely to attack us and put up the barricades to make it harder for him. If you know your own weakness then you're not going to allow him to come in that way. Yes he may find another way but there he exposes another vulnerability but he says be sober, be clear-headed, be clear-minded. When somebody is drunk, they're unable to make collective decisions. Their thought processes are not stable. And so he says, be sober, have a clear head, think clearly about these things. Be aware that Satan is going around like a roaring lion and he wants to destroy you. The scripture is filled with evidence of that. men of God that have fallen because they have been exploited by Satan and they have fallen. He's attacked them by the things that they look at and by the things that they hear, by their vulnerable weaknesses. He wants to devour, be self-controlled. Don't be driven by the lusts of the flesh. Someone under the influence of alcohol is not able to show any restraint. And so Peter uses the wording of to be sober to show that we're to be the opposite of a drunk person. that we are able to be clear-headed and self-controlled.

But also he says be vigilant, be watchful, be aware of what is taking place, be aware of the tricks and traps of Satan, be aware of your vulnerabilities and look for ways by which you can avoid certain situations, certain places, certain people. Be watchful. And not only of others, be watchful of yourself. You know your own weakness, I don't. I know mine. And as we saw in Ephesians, that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. We have that spiritual enemy of darkness. Also we have the weaknesses of our own flesh.

As it is written, run with patience the race set before you looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Laying aside every sin and every weight that does so easily beset us is part of the sanctifying effect of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to lay aside and overcome sin. not to live a life of lust and excess, not to allow things to enter into our hearts that may corrupt our decision processes and our thoughts of Christ. Our mind is to be filled with the Word. Our mind is to be renewed by the Word. And we're to be sober and to be vigilant of ourselves and also of each other.

It tells us in verse 7, But the end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer. Basically using the same words again. Be sober and vigilant. Be sober and watchful. What are you to do? to pray that the Lord would grant you strength. As Jesus says to Peter, I have prayed for you that your faith fail or not. We are to be praying also that we don't fail. That our weaknesses are not exploited and that Christ will give us strength in those areas where we are weak.

We will overcome a besetting and annoying sins in our lives, that we are aware of the roaring of Satan, that he is going about as a lion seeking whom he may devour. And so he gives us not only the problem, but he gives us the remedy, the way by which we can defeat this foe, resist him in the faith, pray, Be mindful, be sober, be collective in your thoughts and be watchful and casting all our care upon him for he cares for us.

Satan wants to sow doubt. Satan wants to sow seeds of doubt as he did with Eve in our lives. God doesn't care. God's forgotten about you. There's nothing that you can do. Or you can do. It's here. Watch unto prayer. Cast your care upon him and resist the temptation that he lays in your way. Be sober. Be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking. whom he may devour, and may it not be us that we be made aware of his seeking and not fall.

May the Lord add his blessing. Amen.

Our final hymn this afternoon is from Hymns for Worship, number 36, to the tune 314.

Great God of wonders, all thy ways are worthy of thy self-divine.
And the bright glories of thy grace among thine other wonders shine.
Who is a pardoning God like thee? Or who has grace so rich and free?

36. I will. ? God like thee ? ? All who has grace are rich and free ? ? God and full man are fated gone ? ? God and full saints of deepest down ?

Jesus' blood, a doubter frees the rebel mind. There is a God beyond like Thee, for who has raised the rich and free? is gone.

Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father, with the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit, to be with us now and for evermore. Amen.