Eternal vigilance is the price of
freedom, a familiar saying in our country. We remember from Pearl
Harbor what it's like to get caught off guard. The enemy can be so
deceptive: Japan 's
peace envoys were seated at the negotiating table at the very moment the attack
was launched. Our country depends on a strong defense, on being watchful and on
strong offense, so we are not surprised by a sneak attack we are prepared to
fight when we have to.
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.[1]
That tragedy is a picture that
warns the believer in Christ. For many of us war is not a new concept. Since
3600 B.C., the world has known only 292 years of peace! During this period
there have been 14,351 wars large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have
been killed. Perhaps what many
Christians are not aware of is that there is another kind of war that has been
waging since the creation of the world which is spiritual in nature.
During my years in Christian
ministry I met many Christians who were either ignorant or caught off guard by
the schemes of the enemy as a result they shipwrecked their faith, lost their
testimony, brought grief to themselves, to their loved ones, to everyone else
and especially to the name and cause of Christ.
Spiritual war calls us to be vigilant.
We combat with an enemy who is powerful and deceptive. If we are caught off
guard and ignorant of the tactics of the enemy we too can be overcome and die
spiritually and possibly physically too. 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. Resist
him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced
by your brotherhood in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9).(NKJV) Here
Peter warned believers to be
self-controlled and to be alert by exposing the nature and intent of the Devil
and finally he arms the believers how to fight the Devil. Let’s look at: Be
Sober, Be vigilant.
I BE SOBER: (Vs 8)
First let’s look
at what it means to “Be Sober”In the book “Addict Nation,” Jane-Velez-Mitchell
highlights the top five addictions that the Americans are dealing with, namely:
Prescription pill addiction, Food addiction, Crime and punishment, addiction to
shopping and addiction to technology.”[2]
For anyone struggling with any kind of addiction the final step in recovery is
maintaining sober living as an individual.
Once out of sober
living, it will be easy to fall into the same habits that led to the problem in
the first place. To avoid this, avoid the situations. It may mean suggesting
other options for activities with friends.
Coming back to the
Apostle Peter’s letter, while advising believers regarding spiritual warfare,
he uses similar recovery language. I Peter 3:13-14 “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your
hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus
Christ is revealed at his coming. As
obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when
you lived in ignorance. (NIV) In the NASB it reads, “Therefore, prepare
your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely
on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As
obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were
yours in your ignorance,”
In other words
what Peter saying here is that, “you used to live in addiction to sin and
bondage to the Devil your former master. You did that out of ignorance, you
couldn’t help it; but now you have come to know Christ as your savior, the
light has dawned upon you; the truth has set you free from your former
addictions therefore be ready for action; be sober completely; obey your new
master and Lord; do not go back to your old way of living.
This is the position
for every born again child of God. When we have accepted Christ; in fact when
Christ has accepted us; we have made a transfer from the kingdom of darkness
into the kingdom of light. Our loyalties have changed therefore our current way
of living must also change. We can not afford to continue to live in sin
because grace abounds where sin abounds. When we do not maintain sober living,
it is easy for us to fall back into the Devils trap and continue to live like
the way we used to live.
What does being
sober minded mean? It means: being
steadfast to the truth of God’s word; self control; clarity of mind; living in
fellowship with Christians who pursue godly values. The sober Christian is
correctly in charge of his priorities and not intoxicated with the various
allurements of the world. In other words
we have to rid ourselves from certain debilitating habits and friendships and
cultivate Christian disciplines and seek out godly friendships that enrich and
strengthen our faith.
I have talked and
prayed with several people who once had a vibrant relationship with God but now
have almost given up of their faith. During those talks to my dismay I have
discovered that these individuals slowly but surely have stopped living sober
lives. Like the one that the Apostle Peter was talking about.
They began to take
things into their own hands and started to crave for what they had given up, or
compromised in other ways; they let their spiritual guard down if you will. As
a result they have plunged back into the same bondage or struggle where Christ
has set them free from. What a sad proposition that is. It could happen to any
one of us. I am concerned about a number of people who are struggling because
they have ignored the warning signs. That brings us to talk about; being
vigilant.
II. BE
VIGILANT: (Vs 8)
Being sober minded calls for
individual responsibility for the way we live our Christian lives, but being
vigilant takes our focus away from us to our enemy, on the one who is about to strike
us any moment when we are off guard. The Roman system of military communication
provides an early example of how they used signals to alert the troops and the
public about the threat of the enemy. In modern military terminology we call it
“Human Intelligence” or abbreviated as “HUMINT” It is "a category of
intelligence derived from information collected and provided by human sources,
which involves interrogations and conversations with persons having access to
information.[3]
Similarly, God has an inbuilt
intelligence in His word which is based on His dealings with the devil, his
angels and their impact on the cream of his creation called the “Humans” God’s
word is his intelligence for us which alerts us against the devil who is our
arch enemy. While we can not blame the devil for all the evil that happens to us
and in the world, certainly he has a lion’s share for which he is responsible
and rightly so needs to be blamed for. We need to keep this tension in balance.
With that in mind let’s look at what the scriptures say about the devil and his
schemes against humanity even more so against believers so that we are not only
informed but also can be vigilant. How can we recognize our enemy?
Satan has been so clever that he
has almost totally disguised himself from fallen humanity, so that not one in
ten thousand recognizes that he is inwardly motivated by another spirit. We
just think it is we ourselves running our own lives! Satan has even managed to
get himself smeared and laughed at as a ridiculous creature with horns and
tail, so that none recognize the truth of his awful subtlety. Here are a few
pointers that scriptures provide which exposes the true nature, purpose and the
destructive plan of our enemy.
I Peter 5: 8 “Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” This
scripture shows that: the devil is not our friend but our enemy. He has a
deceptive nature; he pretends to be like a lion but not an actual lion. He is
constantly, 24/7 and 52 weeks of the year making his rounds and looking for
someone to devour. The scriptures call him a murderer and a father of lies, he
is known as the “accuser” He accuses God to men and men to God. In other words
he spreads lies about God to men and about men to God.
Jesus has exposed Satan’s true
nature when he said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I
have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” That is what Satan
is doing in the world today. He is stealing our true joy, health, peace, he is
killing lives through crime, and violence and he is destroying marriage, and
families through lies and misunderstandings. Next time when you are faced with
relational, and financial challenges, or debilitating addictive behaviors pause
and think; could it be that your adversary is after you to destroy your life
completely? If that is the case then how
can we overcome the onslaught of the devil? How can we live fulfilled and
victorious lives?
What hope are you and I given in the
Scriptures? Vs 9 “Resist him, standing
firm in the faith.” James 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you.”
The key to victory here is not just
resisting the devil but submitting to God first and then resisting the devil
and he will free from us. So summing it all up; we talked about being sober, we
have to come to terms with the fact that life is not a cruise but that we are
involved in warfare. Not only are we to
be sober but also vigilant or in other words, aware and alert about the schemes
of the enemy. Being sober and alert is
half of the battle. In order to
effectively fight the devil and win God has equipped believers with defensive
and offensive weapons for spiritual warfare which we will look at next
week. For now as we close, remember you
are more than a conqueror through Christ who loved you. Amen
[1] (From a sermon by Larry Wise, Facing
the Roaring Lion, 8/1/2010)
[2] Jane-Velez-Mitchell, “Addict Nation” http://addictnation.org/top-5-addictions-in-the-u-s
