If you could turn to that passage we read earlier in the first epistle of Peter and chapter five. 1 Peter and chapter 5, and the verses that I would like to consider this morning are found in verses 8 and 9, where we read these words, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, whom resists steadfast in the faith. knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. My title for this morning's message is Our Adversary, The Devil. And as an introduction, this epistle was written to various churches in Asia Minor. Asia Minor is now modern-day Turkey, and at the beginning of the epistle, the apostle Peter refers to the addressees as strangers, strangers scattered abroad. In other words, they were not at home. He encourages them to remember that they are on a pilgrimage. They are steadfastly set towards their heavenly home. They're steadfastly set on a path, on a pilgrimage towards heaven. Now the Epistle of Peter is a very practical and instructive read. It deals with our daily Christian walk as believers. I would encourage us all if we're feeling down or low or in need of practical Christian instruction to spend 10 minutes or so reading through this Epistle of Peter. I think I can safely say it's one of my favorite books of the Bible for its warmth and instruction and encouragement. But in this epistle, Peter encourages the believers scattered in these various churches to be steadfast under persecution. They were Roman provinces, these towns, and as believers, they must have suffered a various amount of persecution as believers, perhaps from the Roman state, but surely also from the heathens and pagans. around about them. And so he encourages them to maintain their Christian testimony and encourages them to maintain their stance and their witness in their evil surroundings. He encourages them not to look back at their former lusts. He encourages them not to look back at their old lives. to their old ways of living, which they left behind before the Lord Jesus Christ saved them. And he encouraged them to walk in their Savior's steps and to follow him, to base their lives after the Savior. And he warns them against their enemy, Satan. And in this verse 8, he refers to Satan as a roaring lion. And they're probably very familiar with this description of a roaring lion. There aren't many lions found in that area at present, but in these days, there were mountainous lions, which were very different from the lions that we imagine in Africa. They weren't lions which would live in prides together, but they were often solitary lions that would prey on weak and vulnerable targets. They would often move from village to village and pick on vulnerable children or women. And so Peter is drawing from this picture and he's showing them how Satan is as a roaring lion seeking to devour the Christians and seeking to devour even us today. Now there is a reality this morning and that is that we are all at war. We are in a battle with a supernatural power. And this power is deadly and this power is seriously frightening. And yet it is deceptive and it is subtle. And many of us forget that we are in a battle And the world is blinded to this fact and it has disastrous consequences. We are all either in two camps. We are either subjects of this principality and subjects of this supernatural power or we are enemies of it. There is no middle ground. If we are believers this morning, then we are in the camp of followers of Christ and thus enemies of this power. And if we are unbelievers, then we are subjects and followers of this power this morning. So Peter calls it, this power, a roaring lion, and he warns them to be watchful and to be careful. If there was a lion outside Gordon Road this morning, we would be exceedingly careful. I'm sure probably many of us would look for volunteers to make the first step. And as Colin is our senior elder, I'm sure he would step up to the plates to go and look for this lion. But the point is that we would be very careful if there was a prowling, roaring lion out to get us, out to eat us. to pray on us this morning. And that's the feeling that we should have as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ this morning. We need to be careful because there is someone out there who is out to get us. And this principality that the Apostle Peter is referring to this morning and in this passage is, of course, the devil. He is referred to in the Bible as Lucifer originally. Isaiah 14 gives us an outline of Lucifer. It gives us an outline of his beginnings and how he fell. Lucifer means morning star and he was a created angel. He was high up in the angelic order and he became so obsessed with his beauty, so obsessed with his intelligence that he wanted to challenge even the position of God and the position which belonged only to God. And in that passage we read in Revelation, we're told of a fight in heaven between Lucifer and the archangel Michael. So Lucifer and a third of the angels had a fight in heaven against Michael and the other two thirds. And Michael prevailed and Lucifer was cast out, as we well know, with a third of the angels from heaven. and cast out to roam on this earth and to call this earth their principality. They will one day be bound and they're all destined for hell. And they know this and they know that their time is short and Satan knows that one day he will be bound for all eternity. And so he is desperate to cause as much damage as he possibly can in the short time available to him. He continues this fight on earth as the God of this world. The Bible refers to him as to the Prince or the God of this world. A point to remember though that although he is a God of this world, he is not in ultimate authority. Praise the Lord today that God is still in control and he will one day bind Satan. hand and foot. Remember the story of Job where Satan came to God and asked permission to chastise Job and God gave him permission. Satan still needs to ask God permission. He has limited power. So the world that Satan is, or that the Bible is referring to, which belongs to Satan this morning, isn't the physical world as such, but it's referring to the evil, sinful opposition against God, not necessarily the world as a whole. We are all born in sin. We don't need to learn how to sin. We all are born with sinful hearts and sinful beings. And so we thus are Satan's subjects from the very beginning. We are born and we do the work of Satan. We are born blind and under his subjection. And so Satan is leading this sinful opposition against God. And so the Bible refers to him as the prince of this world. When Satan tempted the Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness, he offered him the kingdom of the world if he would bow down and worship him. He was in effect offering our Saviour to join his rebellion against God. And so the object of Satan is twofold. Firstly, it is to keep men and women from salvation. To keep men and women from salvation, and secondly, It is to weaken the devotion of the believer to God and to cause him to backslide and return to the world. Satan is referred to by three titles in that chapter we read in Revelation. In chapter 12 and verse 9, we see the first title and Satan's main purpose in life in this world called the deceiver. Verse 9 we read, and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. Satan is the father of lies. A deceiver is someone who deliberately causes someone else to believe something that isn't true. And this is Satan's big object, is to cause us to believe something that isn't true. Turn to John, the Gospel of John, Chapter 8. John, Chapter 8, and... Verse 44, Ye are of your father the devil. and the lust of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it. You know, this was evidenced right at the beginning in the Garden of Eden, when Satan, as a serpent, approached Eve and said to her, hath God said? He immediately threw doubt into the woman's mind. And then he went on to not only be subtle, but he then went on to tell the blatant lie, you shall not surely die, you shall become as gods. if they ate of the forbidden fruit. So we are dealing this morning with a liar. And he lies firstly to the unbeliever. His object, remember, is to keep us from the kingdom. he will do all he can to discourage us from coming to Christ. Turn to 2 Corinthians and chapter 4. 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4, in whom? the God of this world, that Satan hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. This morning, Satan is blinding the eyes of everyone who does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Before we came to him, And before he saved us, we were all blind. We could not see the truth. And it is his main objective to keep us all in this blindness. We cannot underestimate this this morning, that people around and about us are blind to God and to the truth. They're blind to the idea that there is no God. This is one of Satan's great lies to convince men and women that there is no God. And he's doing it very convincingly today. He tells them lies that they will be okay in the end. That even if there is a God, that they will probably go to heaven. I heard of someone who died young, sadly, in America and she was a playboy model and she died at 39 in America. And on her Instagram account it said that heaven has gained another angel. Satan is convincing the world that we will all be alright in the end. He's convincing them that there's no hell. and he's convincing them that there's no judgement, that we can all do what we want and it doesn't matter. We've all become the masters of our own fate. We are all doing that which is right in our own eyes. And Satan is even convincing men and women this morning that there's no purpose. to life and maybe this is why we have such high suicide rates in society these days. Satan's objective is to drag us down to hell this morning and he will do that by any means he can and his favoured method is by lying and not telling the truth. The concept of evolution is his brainchild. The majority of people in this world nowadays believe that we came from some primordial soup. As believers, we see a newborn baby and wonder at the beauty of its creation. But we must thank God that our eyes have been opened to this, that we've been given faith to believe that these things are not, and have not come about by a big bang, but have come about by an intelligent designer. We must thank him that we are not blinded as we once were, but our eyes have been opened. But this morning there are bitter consequences to the lies of Satan. It says that the wages of sin, that's the wages that Satan pays, are death, they are eternal destruction. And for the majority of men and women, sadly, there will be a rude awakening when one day their eyes will be open and it will be too late. And they discovered that the master they've served all this time has taken them to a place where there is no hope. but also he seeks to deceive even the believer. He knows that he cannot have us back and he knows that our salvation is secure. He can't take us to hell. and yet he can tempt us to sin. So his object for the unbeliever is to keep them from salvation and for the believer it is to draw us away from our saviour. And he does this by tempting us to sin. His objective in this life is to drive a wedge between us and our saviour. And every time we sin and that sin remains unconfessed then Satan is adding another blow to that wedge between us and our Saviour. He attempts to make sin look promising and alluring. He attempts to lie and say there are no consequences to our sin. He might even tell us that because we are saved, we are secure and so our sinning doesn't really matter. And yet when we sin, we build up that separation between our God. He hates the idea of us walking closely with our Saviour. It might be useful to note now that A trial is a test of our faith, and the object of a trial is to draw us to our Saviour and to teach us to pray and to cast ourselves on our Lord Jesus Christ. But a temptation is the complete opposite of that, and the purpose of a temptation is to draw us away from our God. It's important not to get those things confused. So firstly, Satan is a deceiver and attempts to deceive believers and unbelievers, and secondly, he causes us to doubt. Satan causes us to doubt our Savior's love for us, and he causes us to doubt our love for our Savior. which leads me to the next point and the next title of Satan. This morning, it found in Revelation chapter 12. Firstly, he's known as the deceiver. And secondly, in verse 10, we get his second name. And I heard a loud voice saying, in heaven now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of Christ for the accuser. of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God's day and night. The second title given to Satan is the accuser. He reminds us of our faults and of our sins. He says, how can you love the Lord when you've sinned like that? He throws doubt on our love for the Saviour, and he throws doubt on our Saviour's love for us. And moving swiftly on, the third The title given in this passage is found in verse 13, and when the dragon saw that he was cast onto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child. The third title is that he is a persecutor of brethren. The woman pictured here is the church. And from this passage we see that the devil is a persecutor of God's people, of the Christian church worldwide. Are we surprised when men hate us in the world? We shouldn't be surprised. In 2 Corinthians 6, verse 14, it says that They are of their father, the devil. What fellowship can light have with darkness?" Perhaps you've had it in your life or in your work where you feel attacked by various people. Perhaps your work colleagues who you previously got on well with or people that you've come into contact with and you get home and you're scratching your head and you can't think really what you've done But perhaps it's that they hate us because we serve a heavenly Master, we serve the Saviour. And as willing subjects of Satan, though blinded subjects, they are willing subjects, they hate us as Satan hates us. And maybe they don't even understand why, but they know that there is enmity between us. And Satan persecutes the Church worldwide, not only emotionally, but also physically. We cannot underestimate how much Satan hates Christ's children throughout the world. There is much persecution, and Satan is at the root of this. So the question is, how can we stand against him? Well, our text in 1 Peter gives us some methods we can use to stand up and to resist Satan and to resist his devices. It says, firstly, that we should be sober. In verse 8, be sober, be vigilant. To be sober doesn't mean that we should be lacking in fun. It doesn't mean we have to be dry and boring and dull, but it does mean that we should show temperance. It does mean that we should show self-control and humility. We shouldn't be frivolous and foolish as Christians. This is perhaps an unpopular subject, but we need to be sober-minded as Christians. We need to be disciplined in our prayer life, and we need to be disciplined in our reading of the scriptures. We need to be disciplined in avoiding places where Satan is present. We need to be disciplined in avoiding areas which cause us to fall into sin. And if this means setting up safeguards or accountability partners, then we should do so. Often, and I speak to myself here, sometimes one glass of alcohol too many can open the door for Satan. to come in. We need to be aware of these devices and of the way that Satan can cause us and build up that rift between us and our Saviour. We need to avoid superficiality as well. That's included in this sober-mindedness. Not to be foolish or superficial, but to be thoughtful and composed. And the longer I believe we're on the Christian journey, I think the more sensitive we are to the fact that life is not a bed of roses, and it's oftentimes sad, and it's oftentimes difficult, and there are many challenges to face. And this in itself causes us to be sober-minded. and to be watchful. 1 Peter 1 verse 13 calls it girding up the loins of our minds. He refers to it as being ready to run and ready to fight. We cannot run a race and we cannot fight a fight if we've got things holding us back. We need to be free and able to fight this battle. We have a battle to win and a race to run. We have Satan on our heels and there's work to do for our Saviour. And the second method that the Apostle Peter instructs us to use is that we should be vigilant, remembering that there is a roaring lion out to get us. We're to be watchful of his devices. We are to be prepared for his attacks and to be aware of his presence. We're to be aware of the methods he uses and we're to know where he dwells. We are to remember that he attacks those who are weak and those who are vulnerable. Remember when Christ was tempted of the devil in the wilderness. He came to him when he was hungry, when he was thirsty, and when he was at his weak point. He came to him when he was alone. And this is often Satan's methods to come and attack us when we're at our weak point, or perhaps when we're alone, or perhaps when we haven't spent time around his Word recently, we haven't spent time in prayer, we're feeling distant from him, and perhaps we've withdrawn ourselves from a fellowship with other believers. We're alone and Satan can come in and attack us and again draw that rift between us and our Saviour. And the third method that the Apostle Peter encourages us to use is to resist. In verse 9, whom resists steadfast in the faith. In James 4, verse 7, we read that if we resist the devil, he will flee from us. It's an incredible thought that we can stand up against the ruler, the prince of this world and of sin. We can resist Satan and it says that he will flee from us. But it's important to remember that we cannot do it in our own strength. We need to rely solely on the strength which comes from the Lord Jesus, from his Word, from communion with him. and from prayer and supplication at his throne. Do you remember in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Christian's meeting with Apollyon? He's in the Valley of Humiliation and he sees a dragon approaching him, an awesome dragon with scales and breathing fire and smoke. And it's almost that good cop, bad cop situation. The devil approaches him and speaks kindly with him and sort of tries to persuade him to give up. to return to the city of destruction, to return to the world. He points out the trials and he points out some of the hardships along the way. He points to Christian's failings. And to his sin, he tells him of other Christians that have turned back, and he says how hard it's going to be. And if you return to the world, then he'll make sure that our burdens are easy, and he'll make sure that our burdens are light. Again, beware, it is Satan's devious lies. And Christian, with God's strength, recognizes this. And Satan then turns from that good cop to that bad cop, and he suddenly attacks him. He flies into a fit of rage, and he throws fiery darts towards Christian. And the first fiery dart he aims is aimed at Christians' hearts. This is the seat of our affection. And the first dart that Satan aims is aimed at our hearts. He challenges our love for the Lord and he challenges the Lord's love for us and for Christians. The second dart he throws is at his head, and this challenges Christian's ability to understand the truth. And then he throws one at his hands, and this challenges Christian's ability to grasp and hold onto the truth. And then at his feet, which attacks his ability to walk in the truth. Satan is clever. He knows our weak points. and he knows where to aim his fiery darts. But we are told to resist the devil and he will flee from us. We're told to stand our ground. We're told that it's no surprise when Satan attacks us. We're not to be surprised of this. We're to focus on the work and the promises of the Lord. We're not to focus on ourselves. We're not to focus on our sin and on our failings. We are to readily admit them. Christian readily admitted his sin. He said, yay, I've committed these sins and many more which you haven't mentioned. But we are to plead the finished work of our Saviour. We're to plead our Saviour's promises found in his word. They're methods of dealing with Satan's devices found in Ephesians 6, that chapter well known to us. And Christian uses the shield of faith to ward off the fiery darts. He uses the shield of faith to ward off that dart aimed at his heart. God-given faith in the finished work of our Saviour will ensure that these fiery darts do not penetrate our hearts. They cannot. This faith is deep within us, and it's unexplainable. Faith is the evidence, we're told, of things not seen. Satan might try and throw a dart at our hearts to challenge our love for our Saviour. And yet, the shield of faith in the finished work of God, in knowing that we are His. If we're believers this morning, I believe that we all know we are the Saviours. And though we may fail Him, And though we may sin against him and let him down, I'm sure if we were asked this morning, do we love the Lord, we can all say, we love the Lord. Faith is a gift, we cannot see it, we cannot explain it, but we know it's there. Deep down we know we are the Lord's because of the love we have for him. So we must wield this shield of faith to protect ourselves against Satan's fiery darts. Faith looks away from ourselves and to God. We must seek God to increase our faith and to give us more of it. The other method of dealing with Satan's devices in Ephesians is the Sword of the Spirit, known as the Word of God. When Apollyon was attacking Christian, he attacked him with a blow so severe that he fell to the ground and dropped his sword. And at this moment, just as Apollyon was about to finish him off, he reaches for his sword and stabs a mortal blow in his heart. He uses the Word of God against Satan. Satan cannot cope with us using the Word of God against him. Ryan persuaded that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. And with that Apollyon flees. And the third method found in Ephesians is prayer and confession of our sins. Satan, as it were, is one side of the wedge driving it further in. between us and our Saviour. And as we pray and confess our sins, then Christ is, as it were, the other side of the wedge, driving it back out. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So I'd encourage us this morning, if we're feeling low and down as a result of our sin, If we're feeling distant from our Saviour, then I'd encourage us all to confess our sins. And as it says in Revelation, he stands at the door and knocks. If any man opens up to him, he will come in and sup with us. We are to confess our sin and we're to ask for help to resist Satan. and his fiery darts. Satan is a very real foe, dear friends, this morning. And we need all the help we can get. We need to be aware of his devices. We need to be aware that we are in a battle, that out there is someone mightier than we can imagine, who is out to get us. And we must be aware and seek, with God's help, to resist him. Well, this morning I would commend again and afresh the Lord Jesus Christ to us. He came to free us from the bondage and from the servitude of Satan. He came to set us free. And in contrast to Satan, he's not a deceiver, but he speaks truth. If you turn to John chapter eight, John chapter 8, verse 31 and 32, then said, Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, if you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Christ came to reveal to us the truth. He came to open our blind eyes. Satan's goal is to keep us blind so he to keep us blind to our own sin, to keep us blind to our need of Him. And yet Christ came to show us the way. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Without Christ, we are lost. But this morning, there is good news, and that is Christ came to set us free. He came to give us truth, His Word, to open our blind eyes. His words are pure and kind and righteous. They're not lies, but he speaks truth to us this morning. The second contrast is that he's our advocate. He's not our accuser. Satan seeks to accuse the saints this morning. He seeks to accuse us in our ear, He seeks to whisper lies. He seeks to tell us of our sin. And one day, on the Day of Judgment, Satan will be the great accuser. And as we stand there and our lives are laid bare before Him, and all our sins are made known, Satan will be there accusing us of them. And as we were saying, well, what about that sin? But what about when He did that and then went straight back and did it again? And Christ will be there for us if we put our trust in Him, if we know Him. And He will say, put them to my account, I have heard them. All those sins that we have ever committed, which Satan seeks to accuse us of, which Satan says should damn us rightly to have, And yet, if we believe on Christ, and if we are saved by Him, then He will stand as our Advocate on that great day, before the Judge of Heaven, and say, put them to my account. Pardon them for my sake. The other contrast is that He's not our Persecutor, but this morning, He's our Savior. Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. If we serve the Lord Jesus Christ, then it may not be easy, but we have a God and a Savior who speaks truth, who doesn't lie, who has gone to prepare that place in heaven for us. He has promised us eternal rest. And if we believe this, we have that hope this morning of a wonderful Savior who loves us and promises His love to us. Without Him, this morning things would look very bleak. And when we consider a little of Satan and his evil In the most pernicious ways, we are surprised that anyone is saved these days. And I think this is partly why I believe in the sovereignty of God. Because despite Satan, and despite his powerful ways, today Christ is drawing men and women out of nature's darkness, and saving them by His grace. He's opening our blind eyes to the truth, to our sin, to the Savior, and restoring us to our heavenly Father. Today, He is Savior, man and woman, and boys and girls. If we're believers this morning, then we can be encouraged that we are on the victory side, that we are marching on towards heaven. But if we I'm sure if we are a believer this morning, perhaps as we've been listening, we understood that we have an evil opponent trying to keep us from ever coming to Christ. And one day, who one day might drag us down to hell, then I would encourage you to cry on the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy. Remember the blind man at the gate, beautiful, who sat begging. And as Jesus passed by, his disciples, a multitude from him. And there was so much noise that he had to shout to be heard above the multitude. And he didn't just say it once, but he said it twice. And he kept saying it until the Lord Jesus came over to him. And he said to Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. In that very moment, he was healed of his blindness. If this morning you sought the Lord and yet found no relief and no rest, I would encourage you to keep praying, to keep calling, remembering that he is listening, he is a gracious and loving Savior. Remember when I was first saved, I was amazed to think that Christ had been listening to my prayers. Not only listening, but answering. And He will do the same to you if you call on Him for salvation and for mercy. He has promised that He will save you. One day Satan will be defeated forever. Let's be encouraged by this and live Our lives for Christ, seeking to resist, to shun Satan, and to live for his problem. May the Lord bless these few words to us, and the glory will be his, and the blessing ours. Amen.