Thank you very much. so so Thank you. Okay. Good morning, Grace Church. If we could begin to move in and find our seats. We're going to be starting in a minute here. While you're finding your seats, you can be turning to Sol 57 this morning for a call to order show. Good to see a full house again this morning. We're going to open with Psalm 57. Let your glory be over all the earth. Be merciful to me, O God. Be merciful to me. For in you my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God most high, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me. He will put to shame him who tramples on me. God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness. My soul is in the midst of lions. I lie down amid fiery beasts. The children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth. They set a net for my steps. My soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah. My heart is steadfast, O God. My heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody. Awake, my glory. Awake, O harp and lyre. I will awake the dawn. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be. over all the earth. Thinking about mercy this morning. David's crying out for it. I was reading a little book, Importunity, by Christopher Love of Puritan, and he has this quote. Though God can give a mercy without prayer, yet he has not promised anywhere to give it without prayer. Prayer is the means God has appointed for the obtaining of mercy. So I think about that this morning. Let's not come presuming upon God's mercy. Let's ask Him for it and He will give it to us. And that's true of our lives even this week. Let's not live our lives just presuming God is going to give us mercy. Let's ask Him for mercy. Let's start our service off this morning doing that. Let's go to the Lord. Father, you are a merciful God, and so we appeal to you because of your character, because of your goodness. And even this morning, Lord, we ask for your new mercies with this day that you've given as we meet as a congregation to sing about your love, your goodness, your faithfulness. Lord, all your attributes you've given to your church, to your bride, and we thank you for them. So Lord, we just ask that you might be merciful to us as sinners, Lord, who have fallen this week in many ways. And yet, Lord, you have promised new mercies through Christ. And so we claim those this morning as we come in worship. May our hearts be lifted to you. May our hearts not dwell upon our sin, but upon the goodness of Jesus Christ and his work for us. So be with us as we now worship. In Jesus' name, amen. Good morning, brothers and sisters. It's great to see you all this morning, and we have the privilege of worshiping our God together. So let's stand, and let's sing. Come, people of the Risen King. ♪ People of the risen King ♪ ♪ Who died to break the grave ♪ ♪ Come all ye who are wise to see ♪ ♪ The Lord and Son of grace ♪ ♪ From shifting shadows of fear ♪ ♪ Who lived for Christ to bring ♪ ♪ Let steady arms of mercy be ♪ Rejoice! Rejoice! Mary, now rejoice! On high, the Lord is come. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪ Oh, please rejoice, rejoice ♪ ♪ Every heart rejoice ♪ ♪ Our heart and voice ♪ ♪ Oh, Church of Christ, rejoice ♪ ♪ O come, all ye faithful ♪ ♪ We lift it up again ♪ ♪ From those who pull our empty hands ♪ ♪ To the riches of His grace ♪ ♪ For all who love His people ♪ ♪ Sing to Him shall we hear them call ♪ ♪ The truth will rise through every age ♪ ♪ Our God is all we know ♪ Every time rejoice, my heart, my voice, all shall praise thee. Rejoice, rejoice, every time rejoice, my heart, my voice, all shall praise thee. It's great to praise the Lord with joy and we know we stand on a firm foundation. Let's sing how firm a foundation. ♪ Over the foundation, he sings of the Lord ♪ ♪ He's waiting for your name in his aspen wood ♪ ♪ What more can he say than to you, Lord? ♪ He has sent you. Welcome to Jesus. Forever you shall play. Dear God, I am windy. Oh, we love this way. I, I, am I, I, and the skill in the aim of strength in the L, P, and positive span of L, Y, Y, Y, just a little different. ♪ When through the deep waters I call thee to go ♪ ♪ The rivers of foe shall not be overflowed ♪ ♪ For I will be with thee thy trouble to rest ♪ ♪ And sanctify to thee thy rest ♪ ♪ My deepest distress ♪ ♪ When through my retrials ♪ ♪ Thy pathway shall wind ♪ ♪ Thy grace, all submission ♪ ♪ Shall be my supply ♪ Your praise shall on earth be thy holy design, thy trust to pursue, and thy goal to define. The soul that on Jesus hath laid for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes. What a wonderful promise. Well, good morning, everyone. Special good morning to any visitors with us here this morning. And I thought I maybe will mention too, because we're getting lots of visitors lately. If you're a visiting family with young children, there is a nursery down the hall to the left of the front entrance where you can go and there's a TV in there too that is projecting what's going on in here. So if you need just a moment to get out, there is that available to you. So that's just for any newcomers here this morning. But welcome, we are glad that you're here with us and we hope that you are refreshed this morning in the gospel and that you find this to be a warm and friendly and Christ-filled place. That's definitely our prayer this morning. Just a few announcements today, not too many. Next week we will have the Lord's Table. So if, again, you are new with us this morning and perhaps you want to come next week, we are having the Lord's Table. And we do ask that before you share with us in the table that you speak to one of the elders and we would like to hear your testimony and just affirm that you are indeed in the new covenant and that you're born again and that it's a covenant meal that we can share together. Also, we have today, right after our service, we have our fellowship meal and Oikos meeting. And that's just a time that we're trying to set aside about twice a year just to kind of go over some household issues at Grace Community Church, share some updates, get a glimpse into some of the ministries, so that everyone is well aware of what is going on and who to contact and just in the loop. So we want to have a household meeting. For the serving groups, I forgot to put into the email that I sent out last night, but I think this time around, it'll be Nathan's grace group and Sam's grace group that I'd like to call on for just helping out with the serving and the setup. Also, Just a note, and I will expand slightly on this in the Oikos meeting, but if you have young children, let's try to contain the food in the gym. I've noticed sometimes that after a fellowship meal, It looks like a food fight happened in various places and there's lots of crumbs and lots of stuff going on. So just for general tidiness and cleaning up, can we make sure that our children stay in the gym when they're eating and not taking food anywhere else? This coming Friday, there is youth group, I believe. Am I correct on that? Yes. This coming Friday, youth group at 7 a.m. here at p.m. 7 p.m. at the church. Very good. And also, there are prayer meetings every Wednesday. Finally, there is going to be tryout or additions, not tryouts, additions. We're going to, this year we're going to endeavor to put on a Christmas program. So that's exciting. And there's going to be a play. And so during the Oikos meeting, there's going to be some additioning for different roles in that play. And you can contact, is there a certain Sunday school room that they need to go to? Go to their own rooms? Okay, so if anyone wants to audition for that, then go to your own Sunday school classroom for that. Yes, specific roles are being auditioned for, but there are places for everyone to participate. Also, just be reminded, and as I really like what Matt said, we should not presume on the mercy of the Lord. We are called to prayer, so I will call you once again to join in online in our prayer meetings on Wednesday, or at our house, at Caitlin and my place. Come and pray, and let's ask for God's mercy together as a body of Christ. So, those are announcements for this morning. I'm going to move on. Every Lord's Day, we continue on in a consecutive reading, somewhere in Scripture, and right now we are working through Matthew. We are in Matthew chapter 13, so we're going to continue on with that. As I read Matthew 13 this morning, I was reminded of a talk that I listened to a long time ago. And in that talk, one of the main things, and it was sort of a talk on Matthew 13, and all the different parables given there, and the kingdom of God, and generally big thinking, and when will the end of the age come. But his admonition was, if you are pondering the end of the age, the culmination of all things, then the father's words to Peter, James, and John was to listen to my son, listen to Christ, listen to his words. And there can be a lot of confusion about the kingdom of God and the end of time and all these things. And Jesus lays out these parables and then he explains them. It's one of the few times that Jesus explains his parables. And so we do well to listen very closely to what our master has to say about these things. So let's listen carefully, read together. Matthew 13, picking up in verse 31. Jesus put together another parable before them, saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown, it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. He told them another parable, the kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour till it was all leavened. All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables. Indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet. I will open my mouth in parables and I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world. He left the crowds and went into the house, and his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field. And he answered, The one who sows the good seed is the son of man, the field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The son of man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up. Then, in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and he buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things? And they said to him, Yes. And he said to them, Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old. And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there. And coming to his hometown, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, where did this man get his wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And is not his brother James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are they not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things? And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and in his own household. And he did not do many works there because of their unbelief. May the Lord bless the reading of his word. As we think about those parables of the kingdom, the common theme that I see there is the priority of the kingdom of God in Jesus' thinking, and the beauty of it, and the power of it, the preciousness of it, so much so that those who can see it And I would say you can only see the kingdom if you are born again, but those who see it are willing to give up everything to be part of it. That's what happens when God changes your heart. That's what happens when suddenly you know that Jesus and his kingdom are everything that you need to live for. And if that isn't burning inside of you as a born-again Christian, then I would cause you to ask. And the Apostle Paul commands us to test ourselves if we are truly in the faith. Do you love the kingdom of God? Do you love the bride of Christ? Are you longing for the return of Jesus? If not, if those things really mean nothing to you, then maybe the day when the angels come to remove all stumbling blocks from Jesus' kingdom, I hope you're not found to be a stumbling block. And so what we're going to do, we're going to pray right now, even that in this room, if you were not born again, that God would send His Spirit. He would give new life to old, to young, to anyone here who does not know Christ, and that through the service God would be doing his work here, bringing his elect and giving them new hearts. We want to pray together as a congregation for a number of things. And so let's bow our head together. Let's pray that the Lord Jesus keeps bringing his kingdom. He's promised it, but let's pray for it anyways. So let's pray together. Father in heaven, we do not know how blessed we are to have your word. At least we do not know fully. Because sometimes, too often, we read it and it just goes by us. And we are like the people who listen to Jesus' parables and we don't seem to even get it sometimes. But Father, I thank you that in this room your spirit is working and that these words are making things happen in our hearts, that you are doing your work here this morning in your church, and we give you glory, Father. There is none like you on this earth, in the heavens above, there is no one, there's only one God, and you are Him, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are the God that saved us, and we are so thankful. And Father, this morning, we need to, once again, we need to admit that we are very sinful. And it does grieve us, Lord, that day after day, we fall back into the same sins as the day before. And Lord, we just pray with David that you would guard our mouths from evil words. Lord, we pray that you would guide and guard our actions from things that do not honor you, And Father, we ask forgiveness for everything that we've done this week that was not honored to you. And we thank you for Jesus. We thank you that in His perfect life, we have been given a clean slate. That we have been washed clean of every foul and wicked thing that we did this week. And that When this judgment happens at the end of the age, the one that we read about, we will stand clean, guiltless, in fact, perfect, spotless, just like your son. Oh Lord, help us to have even a greater measure of thankfulness in our hearts. May we truly love you more because of the gospel and because of the forgiveness that we have in Jesus. Lord, we want We want your kingdom to come. We want to be like the people described in these parables, who would give up everything for the kingdom of God. Who would give up everything for our Lord and Savior, who died and bore all of our sin. That we would sacrifice completely and wholly to Him. We would be willing, day in, day out, to pick up our cross and to walk in Jesus' footsteps. Please, Father, Grant us at Grace Community Church the ability and the willingness and the longing to do this. Lord, we pray for those here this morning who are lost, who maybe have a false pretense of faith, who don't get it yet. Lord, no amount of human convincing will convince anyone to come to you. We need your spirit, Father. We need you to send your spirit into hearts of lost people. Lord, if your elect are here this morning, save them, please. We beg of you. Save the ones that you've chosen to save. Father, we pray not only for our own congregation, we also pray for mission efforts around the world. We pray for the McFalls, as we've been praying this month. Please, would you give them strength? Would you revive their own hearts for the mission that they're doing there? Would you protect them? Would you give them physical safety? Would you give them spiritual safety? So Lord, everything that they do there would grow the kingdom like you promised. Grow it from that little mustard seed to that big tree What a wonderful promise we have in the gospel, Father. We thank you for it. Father, we also want to remember those who are sick among us. Lord, I think of Cliff. Father, would you give him strength? Would you help him to endure? Lord, we've asked so many times for healing, and we ask again this morning that you would bring answers, you would bring healing. Would you bring him and Willow comfort? greater reliance on you, but also, Father, a greater confidence in your big plan, one they may not understand. And I pray for Mariah and Carlin. You would do the same thing for them. You would help them to cope, help them to lean on you day in and day out. And Lord, we also thank you so much for the answers to prayer and how you allowed the doctors and the surgery to restore Wilhelmina's neck Father, you are so gracious. We thank you so much. You are to be praised above all. And Father, we also thank you that in this congregation are many who give regularly, who give generously to the work at Grace Community Church. And we don't want to forget that. We want to thank you, Father, for the cheerful giving. And we ask, Lord, that we would be good stewards of what you give us. And we ask, Lord, that you would continue through the hearts of these people to provide every need for Grace Community Church. Lord, may we never squander what is yours, but may we use it for your glory. And finally, Father, as you have so graciously given to us through the giving of these people, Lord, would you give again to us through the preaching of the word? Father, would you, it's not, Father, we need your spirit this morning, and Ryan needs your spirit. And we need your spirit to listen well. Father, be with our children as they squirm and fidget, and help them to even gleam something of what this service is about. Gleam something from the holiness of what we're doing here. But Father, inform our minds this morning. Enlarge our hearts to your word and sanctify us, ultimately, for the sake of Christ. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, let's stand, let's sing. Nothing but the blood. What can wash away my sin? A King of the world, Jesus. What can make me whole again? A King of the world, Jesus. Oh, precious is the blood that makes me white as snow. nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my cleansing, this I seek, nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my pardon, this I plead, nothing but the blood of Jesus. ♪ Oh, precious is the flow ♪ ♪ That makes me white as snow ♪ ♪ No other fount I know ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ I think therefore sweet and low ♪ I am. Christ is born in Bethlehem ♪ Oh, precious is that flow that makes me white as snow ♪ ♪ Oh, I am glad I know my lovable God of Jesus ♪ ♪ Now my disciple, pray for me ♪ The blood of Jesus, how bright it is, how great my hope, that we have the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is that blood that makes me white as snow. Let's sing, my faith has found a resting place. ♪ My grievance found a resting place ♪ ♪ A living place for me ♪ ♪ I trust the ever-living One ♪ ♪ His roots for me shall be ♪ I need no other argument. I need no other meaning. It is enough that Jesus died. and glad he died for me. Read, O Lord, ye that Jesus saves, this next one here and now. So I come to Him, He'll never cast me out. I need no other argument, I need no other plea. Praise ye not that Jesus died, ♪ And glad he died for me ♪ ♪ My heart is leaning on the Word ♪ ♪ The pristine Word of God ♪ ♪ Salvation by my Savior's name ♪ ♪ Salvation through Jesus died. ♪ The lost he came to save ♪ ♪ For in his precious blood he shed ♪ ♪ For in his life he gave ♪ ♪ Our Eagle Wanderer, our U.S.A. ♪ Sometimes when we're singing, it is like a little slice of heaven. And I felt that today, I hope you did too. But let's keep praising the Lord. Please be seated. Good morning. If you're able, please open up your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 5. When you've found it, please stand as we read God's holy, inspired, infallible, and all-sufficient word that is able to make us wise unto salvation. We're going to read verses 1 to 11, but we find ourselves this morning thinking through verses 8 to 11. But let's establish the context. Hear now the word of God. I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God that is among you by exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you. Not for shameful gain, but eagerly. Not domineering over those under your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another. For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, Be humbled under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties upon Him, because He cares for you. Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 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. To him be the dominion. forever and ever. Amen. Thanks be to God for his word. Let's pray. Father, I do ask, Lord, that you would strengthen us this morning, that you would set us more firmly on the foundation of Christ's finished work on our behalf. Father, I pray that you would remind us that though we are in this battle, the war has been won, that Christ is conquered, that angels and authorities and powers and dominions have all become subject to him. That he is not waiting to become the king of kings or lord of lords, but he is because he has been raised as the son of God in power. And though his bride is going through persecution and still suffers, oh Father, would you help us to fix our hope and our gaze and our faith afresh on His coming kingdom, that no one will thwart, that He will bring it. And Father, I do ask that this morning that, as we read from Matthew 13, that as the Word is sown, that it would find good soil. Oh Father, I pray that this foe who goes around sowing tares, oh Lord, may that not be the case this morning. I pray that as the Word of God is preached, that the Spirit of God would produce faith in the hearts even of unbelievers, and would increase faith in the heart of believers. Father, we need a word this morning. Thank you that you have provided it for us. Father, I'm so thankful that it finds its terminal, its yes, its amen, in the person and finished work of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Would you help us to leave this place triumphant Truly saying, dominion belongs to Him. That our God is in the heavens, and though hell break out on earth, our God reigns. And He does as He pleases. His kingdom and sovereignty rules over all. Oh Father, would you meet with us this morning? Would you help us to have a greater picture of Christ, our King? Would you help us to see our foe, has been bound, that our foe is defeated. He has been publicly ridiculed in the heavenly places, and one day he will be publicly ridiculed for all eyes to see before he is cast into the lake of fire. Oh, Father, would you help us to see our foe is defeated, our king is triumphant. Help us, Lord, to have a biblical perspective through which we can see the chaotic world we live in. Bring order in us. and be pleased to bring order through us. May your kingdom come, Lord, in our hearts this morning, but would you also bring it to this earth as it is in heaven, that you would be glorified alone, Father. We ask this in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated. Well, before we look at 1 Peter 5, I was reminded of a story of 2 Kings 5. It's the story of Elijah, Elisha I should say. And the king of Samaria has surrounded him and his servant and they are freaking out. But Elijah is not, because he has a biblical and heavenly perspective of all that is happening in the world. And he has an amazing prayer that he prays for his servant Lord, open up his eyes that he might see that those who are with us and for us are greater than those who are against us. At a human level, it seemed like all of hell had been surrounding them and was opposed to them. Not a superpower, a governmental tyranny was opposed to the people of God. And what Elijah wants his servant to see, I think Peter wants his hearers to see as well. That though we are in a spiritual battle, the battle has already been won. That we have a foe that is roaring, but he has been defanged, that he has been defeated. And though he seeks to undo us, he seeks to devour us, we are more than conquerors through the one who has already won for us the battle, Christ. I think a lot of us, a lot of us in the affluent, comfortable church in the West are like Elisha's servant. We've forgotten or we've been blinded to the fact that we have a foe that opposes God and His kingdom coming. He has always been opposing God. Already we see him in Genesis 3 seeking to undo God's work, seeking to hinder God's work, seeking to trip up God's people, seeking to deceive the nations. And then until Christ returns, he will be doing that. And I just want us to be awake and depressed to the fact that we are in a battle. Paul says to Timothy, who he has stationed in Ephesus. you need to be reminded that you have been enlisted as a soldier in battle. And as Peter says, that you now dwell in the kingdom of light, understand that you've been brought out of the kingdom of darkness, and until Christ returns, it will oppose you at every turn. You once were darkness, now you're in the light, but do understand that the darkness seeks to oppose the light. So, we are in a battle, And I'm entitling this message then, Battle Instructions for the Church. Four simple points. Stay alert. Stay awake. Stand against. Stand amazed. How are we as the church militant to live in this war? We saw yesterday men's breakfast. We just can't pretend it isn't happening. We can't stick our head in the sand and just pretend. That there is no war. No, there is a war. And I think in the last two years the Church has maybe been awakened to this realization that there is a fiendish foe. He does seek our woe. He is seeking to undo us. He is seeking to devour us. But we need to go back to the word of God. And remember, this is not just the Apostle Peter, but Pastor Peter, writing not just to the shepherds who are watching over the flock, but writing to the church abroad. I do think there is a special significance to those who are overseeing the church and to protect them. We especially, Charles and Nathan and Marvin, we especially must stay alert, stay awake. We must stand against and stand amazed. But this is for everyone. This is Peter's battle instructions for the church. Well, let's just pick it up. In verse eight, be sober-minded, be watchful. Those are imperatives. That's where I get my points. Stay alert and stay awake. Peter is going to introduce to us the one who stands behind all of the persecution. We've seen that in chapter one, in chapter two, in chapter three, in chapter four, in chapter five. There's a culture and even a government that stands opposed to the Church of God, right? Christ did say to Peter, I am going to build my church and the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against it. And Peter is saying that the gates of hell are run, as it were, by the fiend of hell, Satan. Sometimes we forget that there is a lion And he's prowling about. He's walking to and fro. And he's seeking to, as it were, paralyze Christ's people in fear. And so what are we to do? Well, firstly, we are to stay alert. Or, as the ESV translates it, be sober-minded. We've seen this word before, and it has to do with the mind. Actually, turn back to chapter 1, verse 13. In light of the fact that Christ is coming and his salvation will be fulfilled when he returns, you need to do something with your mind. You need to, as it were, tuck it in. That verse 13 of chapter 1 is the context of battle. If you're going to do hand-to-hand combat, you can't have your robe tripping you up. Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded. How do you prepare your minds for action? Well, you need to become sober-minded. And it's this idea of just being sober, putting away anything that would inebriate you, that would cloud your judgment, that would distract you. So he says be sober-minded, be sober. If you were saying that to somebody who struggled with alcoholism, you'd say, put away anything that will trip you up, that will lead you back into bondage, anything that will distract you, anything that will cloud your judgment. That's what Peter's saying. That's the first commandment. If you want, as it were, to stand against the devil, the first thing you have to do is stay alert with your mind. Or in the words of Paul, also in a battle context. Take every thought captive to obey Christ. And I think some of us just need to be reminded that there needs to be an intentionality with our thought life. With what comes in. And I'm preaching to myself. Right? Stay sober when you're on the internet. Otherwise you go nuts with conspiracy theories. Or you'll be brought back into bondage with lust. If we spent enough time as it were reigning our minds in, in the word of God, we would not be so distracted. This word has to do with being self-controlled and balanced. And some Christians are freaking out because they are being more informed by the world, and even good conservative news agencies, than they are the word of God. That they are falling prey to paralysis by what is happening in the world. Why? Because they're not being sober in their thinking. Myself included, right? And run back to the word. Run back to the word. Run back to the word. Put aside all these things that trip you up. Lay aside not only every sin and hindrance, lay aside everything that distracts you. Right? I learned from Kuya Rod many, many, many years ago when I first came here that Satan seeks to devour us through other things like diversion and deception. Put away all those diversions. Even the good ones. That's what Peter says in chapter one. And so what he says in chapter five, and this is what you call an inclusio. You begin something and you end something and everything in between is assumed to be flavored or influenced by that. It starts with your mind. You need to rule over your mind with the word of God. All these other things that come into our life, tuck them in. Be sober. Prepare your minds for action, how? By being sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the things that count. Set your hope fully on the grace that we brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. The opposite of being sober-minded is to be in a state of mind that is drunken, inebriated. Peter basically says be spiritually sober. be clear-minded, be self-controlled, be free from confusion, be free from fleshly passions, including unbiblical fear. When we think about reigning our mind and we just think, okay, I gotta just watch over my lust, I think in this context, Peter is saying reign over all of these thoughts and diversions and distractions that bring you into a state of fear. Satan roars. but God's word needs to roar louder in our hearts. If we don't sing those songs that we overcome by the blood of the lamb, we will be paralyzed. So bring your mind captive to the word of God and set your mind fully on the grace that is coming. Or in the word of Paul to the Colossians, don't worry about what's going on on earth in comparison to what has happened in heaven. Christ is conquered. So his first Instruction to the army, stay alert in battle. It's also actually in chapter four, verse seven. You might recall Charles preaching on this. Listen, the end of all things is at hand. That's pretty big. Peter doesn't even have to yell like me to get the attention. The end of all things is at hand. If you were in battle and the general said, the battle's almost done, I can see across the horizon, it's almost done. Stay sober. I think that's what he's saying here. The end of all things, not of most things, the end of all things, Christ could return this moment. He could. Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded. Peter's always using doublets. Right? Gird up your loins by being sober-minded. Here are two more things. Be self-controlled and sober-minded. Chapter 5, stay alert, stay awake. Be sober-minded for the sake of prayer. As our call to worship reminded us this morning, that prayer is our weapon. Stay sober-minded. Let me apply this quickly, lest I forget. As you tuck things in or as you cut things off, as you cast them away, anything that clouds your judgment, anything that takes you away from Christ, what needs to go? Maybe some Netflix binging needs to go, because it's just focusing you on this life. Maybe even news binging needs to go. Some of us are addicts to the news. That might need to go. Maybe there's just habits that are so distracting you from saying, come, Lord Jesus, Marantha, come. So what needs to go? What things sort of intoxicate your mind, dull your senses to the kingdom of God? This is not legalism. The end of all things is at hand. If we're in a fight and some of the soldiers that snuck in little gin bottles I would say, get rid of those. You're of no help in this battle. So what are those bottles, as it were, that need to go? If we are to stand against the devil, first, we must stay alert in battle. Secondly, and I need to move quickly, we need to stay awake, or as the Isvija says, be watchful. In our grace group, there's a little joke, Gregoria. This is the Greek word gregoreo, means just to stay awake. And I think this word's important to Peter. If you were to go and read Matthew 13 and Matthew 14, I remember when I preached this, when Jesus is talking about the end of days, and then he's talking about his own time of prayer in Gethsemane, he uses this word gregoreo three times in each chapter. Bang, bang, bang. And Peter's right there to hear it. The end is coming, chapter 13. Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake. And here is Jesus as we're going into spiritual warfare in the context of the devil tempting him, just the way he did at the beginning of his ministry. Here's the devil again tempting Jesus to cave in in fear at the end of his ministry. Jesus stays alert, Peter doesn't. And I think Peter's saying, don't be like me. Stay awake, stay alert. This is a battle. Jesus is sweating drops of blood. It's a battle. Stay awake. It's no less battle today than it was in AD 33. Satan is still seeking to trip up and devour and paralyze and silence the church into inactivity. Stay alert, which leads to being watchful. The two go together. And before you can be watchful, you need to be alert. But as you're being alert, be watchful. Just as too much alcohol makes it hard to stay awake physically, so also too many unbiblical mental distractions make it hard for us to stay awake spiritually, which makes us easy pickings for this prowling lion. Some of us have gotten sleepy. And I'm thankful that persecution has maybe awakened some of us, but the command is to continue to be watchful. If you knew that someone was storming the gates, like the watchman of old in the Old Testament, any sound, you'd be just aware to. Did I hear something? I heard some scurrying in the bush. That's to be us. It's so easy to fall asleep. And as Keith Green says, sometimes we can be asleep in the light. And my parents, when I grew up, they had this huge window facing the south with a big sliding door. Sometimes we just lay in front of it because the sun makes you sleepy. Now, I love sun, but we have to be careful that we don't even become asleep in the light. No, says Peter, we must be watchful or we must stay awake. Stay alert, stay awake. Why? Well, we're now introduced to our fiendish foe. See it in the text. Be sober-minded, be watchful. Why? Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion. First, he's called the accuser. It's an interesting word in the Greek, anti-dika, okay, or anti-dike. So dike has this idea of law courts. When you're justified, you're declared righteous. Okay? And so what he's doing is anti-righteous declaring. He's accusing you. It's a great word. And in a very real sense, this is a title actually that fits. If you were to read in Revelation, he's the what of the brethren. He's the accuser of the brethren, night and day. He's constantly saying, you're guilty, you're guilty, you're guilty. He's slandering you. which is why as we get further into the text, we're gonna have to stand in the faith. These songs that we sing, I do hope that they're sinking and penetrating into your mind and heart. These are truths you're singing. What can wash away my sin? Oh, that's a kid's song. I think it was little Grace and her Judah requested it, and so we put it in. That's a good adult song. Now by this I'll overcome. Overcome what? the slanderous accusations of the devil. How do we overcome in the book of Revelation? By the blood of the lamb, and by the word of the testimony. Our testimony, but also of the gospel testimony. You need to be watchful, why? Because someone is lurking, prowling, and roaring. He's the accuser. Secondly, he's the slanderer. Diabolos just simply means to throw down or to throw through. He's throwing down all kinds of accusations and he's railing against you. He accuses you and he slanders you. And unless you stay awake and unless your nose is in the word of God, you may believe these things. Firstly, he's an accuser. Secondly, he's a slanderer. Thirdly, he's a devourer. Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the Diabolos, he prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Notice how he devours, though. Because you're going to say, didn't Pastor Ryan make jokes that I laughed at a couple weeks ago? It's like the old guy with dentures. His teeth come out and all he can do is gum on you. He has no bite. He's all bark and no bite. That's true. So you think, well, how does he devour you? Well, I looked up the Greek word, and it does literally mean to gulp down. But if you were to search this word out in the New Testament, it's interesting the contexts in which it is used. Let me give you a couple of them. Metaphorically, it is used to mean to overcome, destroy, completely overpower, bring under control. So he's roaring to paralyze you. He's roaring to bring you under his control. It's often used in other contexts to be overwhelmed or exasperated. So he has no teeth to devour you, but this Greek word has a double meaning here. He's seeking to, as it were, render you useless, paralyzed, like the deer in the headlight. He roars. And you no longer fight, but you cower and surrender. You compromise. And remember the context of Peter's listeners. The world's roaring at them and they're being tempted to return back to the easy way of life. That's what the devil's seeking to do. He's seeking to overwhelm you and overpower you. To render you weak and bring you under his control. Now, this is something that came to my mind that I think will help you. Sometimes we think that the devil has been just assigned to us personally. My guess is that you have never personally been roared at by the devil himself. He uses agents. The devil is not omnipresent. He's not everywhere. Stop thinking that he's probably in this church. He might be, I don't track him. Right? Not even Apple can track him. But he works through agents and this will help you because some of us still think that government is neutral. That is unbiblical and dangerous thinking. There's lots about what the Bible says about lions. We read about it actually this morning providentially in our call to worship as we work through the Psalter. My soul is amongst lions. David was constantly fighting against other nations. So yes, Satan goes around roaring, but he roars through his agents. His agents are primarily government and culture. So I'm not saying his roaring isn't real, but we need to be mindful. Is that Satan roaring? When I see what's happening at a government level globally, that's Satan roaring. When Satan, through the government, tries to cast fear on the church, that's him roaring. We take this so personally, but we need to understand, he's roaring against the church. He roars through persecution, or through ostracism. He roars through threats. Jeremiah 50, verse 17. Jeremiah 51, 34. Jeremiah says that the nations that oppose God's people under the old covenant are lions. David in Psalm 22 says that there are lions that are encircling him. You read the book of Daniel, which we're reading providentially as a family for our devotions. Or the book of Revelation. These beasts that devour, these anti-human beasts represent what? Kingdoms that are fallen and that oppose God and his Messiah like in Psalm 2. How is Satan roaring against the church? He's probably not roaring at you when you wake up from bed. He's roaring at you when you turn your phone on and you read the latest news updates. I'm not trying to put you into fear. I'm not conspiracy theorists. I'm just saying, biblically, lions often represent tyrannical governments. And as Job's, my favorite commentator in Peter, says long before COVID came in, or long before the threat of communism was upon us, way before that she says that the Roman Empire was symbolized by a lion. Who is opposing these Christians to whom Peter is writing? The Roman Empire. Be alert, a lot of Christians, oh, the government's neutral. They're not against us. I wanna like take a fish and slap them in the face and say, wake up. The government has always been against the church. Always seeking to devour the church and to replace the church. Some of us need to have that realization that government is not neutral. It is not. It may have appeared so for the last centuries in our country, but it has never been. Starting from Babel all the way till today, government has sought to usurp God's reign and to rule over God's people. Government, ungodly, Christless government is a tyrant. And unless we see that Christ has conquered them, like in the book of Daniel, and in the book of Peter, and in the book of Revelation, we will be paralyzed. Stay alert, stay awake. If we're not awake, Satan will have his way. Too many Christians are sleeping. So, they are being opposed by Satan in the form, I think, of government and culture. If you don't believe me, just go read Ephesians 2. The whole world walks according to the prince of the power of darkness. Satan is the god of this world. that he deceives the nations. And when you read Revelation, he deceives especially the kings who rule over the nations. Now that can freak you out, until you remember that Christ died, and he rose, and he's coming back. The conquering king will come back for his bride. Which is why you must be sober-minded. Satan's not on the throne. Never has been, never will be. The Kratos, the power, the dominion does not belong to him. It does not belong to Rome. It does not belong to the President of the United States. It does not belong to China. It does not belong to anyone but God. So remember that there is a foe, and you need to be watchful. Why? Because he seeks to accuse you and slander you. He seeks to devour you through the nations and through culture. Justine sent me a very funny meme text yesterday, and it's basically, I don't know actors and stuff like that, but it's just like, you know, when someone says something mean about you, and you go to church on Sunday and sing songs about how bad you are anyways. Like, we're sinners, we know that. It's fine, let the world despise, let them forsake me, let them slander me. This word slanders all throughout 1 Peter, and we hate it. But realize the source of the slander, that though it comes through culture, though it comes through government, ultimately finds its source in a defeated foe. Read Colossians 2. He's been disarmed. He's been defeated. He's still roaring around like Revelation 12 says. He's still seeking to do damage. So be very alert. Be very awake. Satan is still roaring. So stay awake. Application. What might being spiritually sober-minded and spiritually watchful look like for you? I've told you there's a devil who's roaring and who's prowling. You need to just know who he is and what he does. Paul says also, we're not ignorant of his schemes. I'm not going to go through a biblical theology of the devil right now. The Bible says so much about it, and that's for another time. But you need to actually be reminded of his existence. That he's not some concept. He's not some metaphor. The Bible nowhere treats him like a thought. He's a real person. He's a real fallen malevolent spirit. He's a fallen angel, and he's opposed to God, the Christ, and his kingdom. He's opposed to us. So wake up. Remember you're in a battle. And remember that when Christ comes, and he brings us to himself, the battle will stop. But until then, the battle won't. Third command, stand against him. Okay, of course, you can't stand against him until you are alert and awake, but as you stay alert, as you stay awake, we're called then to stand against him. You see that in verse 9? Resist him. Here's another anti-word, right? The devil is anti-DK. He is opposing us with his slander. And now we are to anti-stethe against him. I'm just showing off, but there's Greek things here. He's anti-us, now we need to be anti-him. The word resist literally means stand against him. It's similar to Ephesians 6. Stand against him, having done all to stand firm. Peter's saying the same thing. Yes, stay alert. Yes, stay awake. But now stand against him. You can stand against him because he's a conquered foe. Pilgrim's Progress. Remember the scene? Pilgrim's doing his thing, he's on his way, he's not walking like a robot, but he's on his way to the Celestial City, and two guys come flying by him, freaked out. What are they running from? A roaring lion, two roaring lions. Maybe some of you aren't familiar with the story, I would encourage you, go and read that book. It was so, it's such a help. Written from a man sitting in prison, by the way. And so Pilgrim begins to tremble and he's becoming fearful as he presses on. And they're like, this lion's gonna get you. But he is counseled to what? Continue on, trusting, walking by faith, not walking by sight. His sight sees roaring lions. Do you remember what happens when he stays on the narrow road? He walks right between them and he realizes some clanking as he walks between them. These lions are chained. We can resist him. We're more than conquerors. We have all the armaments necessary. Go and read Ephesians 6. All of those accoutrements that God, as it were, has provided for us in the Gospel. They're ours to be exercised by faith and in prayer. Notice what he's not saying. He's not saying go around picking fights. He doesn't say go around binding. I've met Christians, they're always wanting to bind Satan, to which John MacArthur jokingly says, if you're always binding him, who's unbinding him? Right, like if you're binding him in North America and he's being bound, right, they have a wrong view of the devil. God binds the devil. We resist him, just like James 4 says. Draw near to God. Resist the devil, you can stand against him. How do you though? You may have noticed when I was reading, I switched it up from the ESV. The ESV says firm in your faith, but that's not what the Greek says. It can say that, but literally says firm in the faith. And the can mean you're in Greek. It rarely does, but it can be translated that way. But literally says that you resist him firm in the faith. And I like this word for firm. It means solid, strong, firm, often used of a foundation. The songs we pick are not willy-nilly. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word. So run back to the word. This is actually tying back to how you are sober-minded. Get rid of the inebriating, intoxicating things, like the worldly news and stuff, and fill yourself with the Word of God. Alcohol produces shakiness. The Word of God produces stability. Be firm. In your strength? No, in the faith. Remember the Gospel. Satan is roaring, and he's causing you to quake. But if you're firm, you'll have that foundation. You're a defeated foe. Christ conquered you. and he's coming back to throw you into the pit. Oh, that's cocky. No, that's just faith. That's firmness. It's used in other contexts of spiritual maturity, especially with regards to being strong in doctrine. Oh, did he just swear in the pulpit? Doctrine, that word? It's almost as bad as law or command. I'll say this, if you have a weak, shallow, insipid doctrine, you will not be firm. We actually read this yesterday at the men's breakfast from Isaiah 8, and the LSB translates it fantastically. Where Isaiah the prophet says to Ahaz, remember I preached this about a month ago, he's shaking like leaves on a tree in the fall, right? We have these nations roaring at him. And he's shaking, and he says, if you are not established by your faith in Yahweh, you will not be established at all. His counsel is, not look in the mirror and tell yourself you're a champion. Remember who Yahweh is. Remember that to those who belong to him. He is a fortress, and he will not leave you, he will not forsake you. You need to go back and deep into the gospel. You need to understand things like propitiation. You need to understand even things like election and perseverance. These things help you. When Satan is roaring against you, right, like in the song we sing, when Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, in the mirror I look and see how awesome my week has been. Wrong melody, wrong song. Upward I look and see Him there who made an end to all my sin. Justification by faith. That I'm accepted by God in Christ. I'm more than a conqueror in Christ who loved me. I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. That's doctrine. So how do you stand against Him? By standing firm on the word of God. Is it firm in the faith or firm in your faith? I would say both. but it's your faith in the faith. This is used by Paul and by Jude to a standard set of doctrines based on the gospel, right? Jude says, I wanted to write to you and extrapolate all these things, but I realized that since we're in war, there was something more necessary in the faith once for all delivered to the saints. It's a body of doctrine. You stand firm on the gospel. The faith is another way of saying the gospel. Who Christ is in his person and character and what he has done for you. So I would encourage you, find someone more seasoned, more mature in the faith and ask them to disciple you. Come and talk to one of the pastors. We'd love to set you up with somebody who would love to take you deep. Talk to Deanne. They're studying doctrine. That verse kept coming to my mind. We want to run from persecution, we want to run to where we think it's safe. What if God has actually raised us up for such a time as this? We remember even the doctrine of eschatology, of end times. Doctrine will make you firm. This is how you stand firm against the devil, by being firm in the gospel. So yes, we stand firm in the faith, but of course we need to stand firm in our faith. Knowing doctrine is helpful, but you need to believe in that doctrine. You need to actualize it. You need to be like Ezekiel and chew on it, masticate it, digest it. As Schreiner says, believers triumph over the devil as they continue to trust in God. But you need to know who God is before you can trust him. Study the sovereignty of God. Trust me, this will give you a firm, resolute stand against the devil. When I understood the utter, not just he's a little sovereign here and a little sovereign there, when I understood the utter sovereignty of God over all realms, over all people, it changed me. radically transformed the way I see everything. And when you believe that God is God and everyone else is not, when you believe that he is utterly sovereign, that to him belongs dominion, that he rules in heaven and does whatever he pleases, when you read Daniel 2 and Daniel 4, that all of these puppets roaring really are underneath of his sovereign control, it changes how you read the news. Even though I told you you should read less of it. Shriner says, believers triumph over the devil as they continue to trust God, believing that he truly cares for them and will sustain them to the end. Perseverance through persecution and opposition is accomplished from first to last through faith in the gospel. This is what Paul says in Romans 1, 16 and 17. God saves us in justification, and He saves us in sanctification, and He saves us in glorification by faith in the gospel. Go back to the gospel. We will always preach it on Sundays, but you need it every day. Talk about the gospel in your grace groups, in your discussions. Read it every day. Go back to the gospel that you may be able to stand firm. One quick example. Satan came to tempt a man one day in the wilderness. And the man stood firm against him by the word of God and by his trust in it. And of course we know it's the God-man, Jesus Christ, that empowered by the spirit driven into the wilderness, he endured and stood firm against the devil, quoting scripture but believing it. You want to stand firm against the devil? You need to stand firm in the faith. If the gospel is to survive and the kingdom to advance in Asia Minor, and in Southern Alberta, beleaguered Christians must not allow themselves to be paralyzed by the threat of a roaring lion, but must take their stand against him. We must take our stand against him. Is now the time where I talk about it? Probably, since I have no filter between my mind and my mouth. Keeping the church open has been one of the best decisions I've ever seen us as elders make by the grace of God. We are standing opposed to him. We're not picking a fight. We're not being belligerent or cocky. We are saying that God has told us to do certain things. And though the devil roars at us through his agents, we stand firm on the word of God that we will gather, we will partake of the Lord's supper, We will sing together. We will encourage one another. We will show signs of affection. We will build one another up. We will do all these things. We will stand against him, firm in the faith. Lastly, and my favorite one, not only do we stand against the devil, lastly, we stand amazed at God's grace. From first to last, it's all of grace. If we are to stand firm, it's because God is gracious. Let me just quickly read the words. I'll give a couple of applications. Resist him firm in the faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you've 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. To him be the dominion forever and ever, amen. We should never, ever stop being amazed. We should never, ever stop being amazed at God's grace. If we are to battle against the devil, against his fallen agents, we must stand amazed at his grace. Not only is suffering a little while, but the fact that we get to suffer for the sake of Christ should blow your mind. That's not fair, the world doesn't suffer for him. He has overlooked the world and passed them over and seen fit in his eternal wise counsel and the doctrine of drawing us to himself, giving us the privilege of suffering for the sake of the name. Now we don't think it's a privilege, but to belong to Christ until he returns is to suffer. That's a privilege. Now, it might not feel like it, but when we stand amazed like the apostles after they'd been lacerated and whipped and scourged by the leadership, the roaring lions, as it were, of the Sanhedrin, they returned rejoicing because they were counted worthy to suffer for the sake of the name. So we have here the word calling. You've suffered a little while, but I love this, the God of all grace who has called you. And that makes me go right back to chapter two. But you, this is verse nine, you are a chosen race, you are a royal priesthood, you are a holy nation, a peculiar people, set apart for God, or by God for God, but he has also called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now, in this marvelous light, there is persecution for a little time. But when Christ returns, that marvelous light will be endless, unto ages of ages. Glory, joy, peace, everything you long for, unending. Little bit of suffering that you've been called into. But remember, he called you out of darkness, which opposes you, but he's called you into his marvelous light. How do we battle well? We stand amazed at God's grace. The illustration that came to mind, and most people or a lot of people think that it's talking about Bunyan, but there was an old Puritan in prison. And they brought to him some stale bread and very little water. And he said, what? All this? And Christ too? See, he had been humbled in his own estimation, just like we saw last week. God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. How amazing it is that God in his mercy would call us to himself. That he would set his love upon us in eternity past and call us to himself and we can share in the sufferings of Christ for a little time. And then be completely restored and established and strengthened and confirmed for ages of ages. God's grace will blow your mind. It'll make those trials be seen as they truly are short. I'm not belittling them. Please don't hear that. Some of you going through the ringer. Persecution can get really nasty. But chapter 1 verse 6 and 7 says they're necessary to refine us. But just as they are inevitable, they're also short. There's the brevity that matches the inevitability. That's not mine, by the way. Though persecution's from and rejection by this fallen world system, is inevitability for the Christian, it is also one of brevity for him or her. We often sing it, the outcome is secure, and Christ will have the prize for which he died, an inheritance of nations. We need to remember that, that God has called us to himself, and that as Paul says elsewhere, our sufferings, when compared to the glory that will be revealed to us, they're incomparable. That's grace. The ease of this world, which is short and fleeting, it pales in comparison to eternal torment, because their sins have not been paid for. Remember that. Christ died for your sins. The hell you deserve has been quenched by Him. A little suffering for the sake of His name is not God's disfavor on you, but His favor. And His favor will be fully experienced in eternity of eternities, ages of ages, that we will share in Christ's glory, a joy that is truly inexpressible and glory-filled. These four verbs, I'm not going to get into them. But Job says this, that all four of them act as a rhetorical crescendo. What's a crescendo? I don't know, something you hang maybe in a ceiling? No, it's when you come to a musical piece and everything just climaxes. All four of these should cause your heart to beat for what God is going to do when Christ returns. They act as a rhetorical crescendo to refer to the complete act of God at the consummation of all things. These four verbs picture the restoration of a house or temple, both of which we are described by in the book of Peter. We are God's temple. We are his household. And yes, it's being beat against. It might seem creaky and rickety. There might be some holes in the windows. Stand firm. The day is coming when you'll no longer have to stay alert, as it were, to defend it because God will come. and he will do a perfect renovation to his house, to his temple. That's what he says here. And after you've suffered how long? A little while. The God of all what? Grace. Who has purposed your suffering? The God of all grace. He himself. He's not giving Gabriel or Michael the archangels the privilege of doing this. He himself, it's emphatic in the Greek, he himself will do these four things. He will restore, he will establish, he will strengthen and confirm. In the Greek, you is not there. Now he will do these to us, but ultimately I think this is a picture of the new creation. He's going to right all the wrongs. He's gonna make all the things that seem unstable, stable. He's gonna establish them. All the things that are characterized by weakness will now be strengthened. I think he's talking about the new heavens and the new earth here. After you've suffered a little bit in this creaking world that is unstable, even though you feel so weak, a time is coming when you receive your new resurrection body to enjoy the new heavens and the new earth. God himself will do this. Right, what you read in Revelation 21 and 22, I think is what Peter's saying here. God himself will bring the new heavens and the new earth, and we will enjoy life the way it was meant to be. Is anyone gonna stop him from doing it? Not according to verse 11. To him, and that's emphatic, it's placed first in the Greek. To who? Not to Satan, and not to Rome, but to him. The God of all grace. one who sovereignly called you, and the one who will sovereignly keep you. To him be the power, or to him be the dominion unto the ages. Amen. Conclusion. The devil devours through diversion, distraction, and deception, which is why you must heed Peter's words in persecution. And the devil's roaring. Stay alert. Stay awake. Stand against. And stand amazed. I hope your mind is blown afresh that God set his love on you. That will help you to endure. And remember, know this, that as he has conquered through our brothers and sisters throughout the ages, and is conquering through them in their sufferings, He can do the same through us. I didn't touch on that, but I will say this in closing. I think we're sitting here, secure, gathered together, without restrictions, because Pastor James and Pastor Tim went to jail. I really believe that with all my heart. Why? Because they stood against, and they suffered, and that emboldened us. And it's emboldening other churches to say, you know what? To stand for Christ even in suffering is worth it. The kingdom will advance and we will not be paralyzed by fear and cowardice. We will not succumb to his roaring threats and accusations. I could be wrong on that. Don't write that down as gospel truth. Churches are not being visited right now by AHS even though there's a threat. Why? Because brothers have stood firm and been willing to go to jail. And that has strengthened us. And we can say if God strengthened them for that and through that, he can do that for us. So let us be men of courage, women of courage, and stand strong. Because it will hopefully be a blessing maybe to other churches that are maybe still paralyzed in fear and wondering what will happen if they stand against Rome. Or stand against Babylon. Or stand against government. Stand firm. God will establish you, and he will strengthen you, and he's coming back. Power belongs to him, and him alone. Father, we thank you for your goodness. I pray that in your sovereign might and grace, our hearts would be comforted, even if persecution comes. Maybe it won't, maybe it will. But Lord, we have been enlisted into a battle, and our foe rages against us, but oh Father, we're so thankful that he is defeated. that he has been disarmed through Christ's triumphant death and resurrection for his bride. So Lord, I just ask that, especially that you would help us to stay alert. Help us to cut off things that distract us and divert us. Help us to stay awake. Help us, with our gospel shoes, to stand against the devil, firm in the faith. And Father, work in our hearts that we might always and forever stand amazed at what you've done for us in Christ. Father, help us to do battle well. Help us to remember this battle will soon be done. The end of all things is at hand. So help us, Lord, to fight the fight, to wage the warfare until Christ returns. This morning, Lord, I pray if anyone here is opposed to Christ, that even this morning their rebel will and fallen heart would be conquered by this King. Oh Lord, send forth your word, regenerate them, grant them faith and repentance. May they bow their knee to you and your power and might and dominion. Grow your church, grow this church. And Lord Jesus, come quickly, we pray. Father, hear our requests, for we ask it in Christ's name, amen. Well, let's stand and let's sing. We're going to stand first, standing on the promises. Standing on the promises of Christ my King, through eternal ages let His praises ring. Glory in the highest, loud we shall then sing, standing on the promises of God. Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing, for I'm standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises I cannot fail. ♪ What a living Word of God I shall prevail ♪ ♪ For standing on the promises of God ♪ ♪ Standing, standing ♪ ♪ Standing on the promises of God, my Savior ♪ ♪ Standing, standing ♪ ♪ In eternal weep and a song go on, over and on we go. ♪ Standing firm, his spirit restored ♪ ♪ Standing on the promises of God ♪ ♪ Standing, standing ♪ ♪ Standing on the promises of God, my Savior ♪ ♪ Standing, standing ♪ ♪ I'm standing on the promises of God ♪ Standing in love with the promises of God, my soul. Well, to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before Him without spot with great joy. In Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. We will give thanks for our meal. And then we'll proceed to set up for potluck and look forward to that. Lord, we thank you that it's you that keeps us. We think of our adversary, the devil. We think about how powerful, how crafty, and how evil he is. And we know that we'd never stand a chance. We know that all of our wisdom would fall and we'd be caught dead in the water by our ancient foe. But we thank you that you have intervened. The right man is on our side. The King of Glory will overcome and he will crush our enemies under our feet. and bring us before you safely. So Father, we pray that you'd bless us, you'd keep us, you'd bless this afternoon, you'd bless our family meal together, and you'd bless our meeting, and would you use it greatly to bless your church here and build your kingdom, I pray in Jesus' name, amen.