you You. you so so you you Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome back to the Lord's House as we celebrate not only another Lord's Day, but it's Father's Day. So we want to remember our fathers and honor our fathers today. And being a father isn't an easy job. It's a very difficult job. And we appreciate you and the effort that you have done. And we want to appreciate our fathers that are no longer with us. Many of us are in that situation. So one of the elders had something to say about that this morning. He said he was looking at the front of the bulletin with the title of the message. Did you see that? Know your enemy? And he asked me, is that appropriate for Father's Day? Well, fathers have enemies too, don't they? All right, so the new Table Talk is in. It's in the back, so help yourself. It's back there on the table, The Holiness of God and His People. So that's now in and available, so help yourself. If you have a friend you'd like to give a copy to, please do that as well. If you're visiting with us for the first time, we want to welcome you and to thank you for coming. We have some books that we want to give out, so make sure you see me before you leave so I can give you your books. All right, as far as announcements, let's see. Tonight we'll be meeting at my house with our At Home With Hope at 5 o'clock. Bring some food if you can. If not, just come. There's always a lot of food there. Ladies, your next Coffee and Conversations will be at our house June 21st at 1030. I will be there because I'm on dog duty. It's my job to make sure that joy leaves you guys alone so you can have a good coffee and conversation. So our prayer emphasis for the week is PMU. We want to pray for Casey Sutherland as he runs that organization. Don is on the board. So pray for Don as they make decisions regarding missionaries around the world. And there are some important things going on. at PMU right now. Okay now one announcement that I'm kind of excited to share with you and I'm just going to read it as it's in the bulletin. The session is pleased to announce that starting today the 16th through Sunday June 30th we will be accepting nominations for potential new elders. So that's that's a big deal folks. That is a great window that's opening for you today So pray about it, think about it. If there's someone in a congregation that you would like to nominate for elder, go to that man, ask him if he's willing to serve. If he is, then turn his name into any elder, and that window will close June 30th, so you have two weeks. Then after that, the session will interview the candidates, make sure that they're willing to serve and are qualified to serve. Then at that point, the ones who are qualified and willing will be put on a ballot. You'll see the ballot ahead of time. and then we'll call a congregational meeting, and it'll be a members-only vote, and you can vote yes or no. And it's a majority vote, so if the men, they reach the majority vote, they are in. So this is a big deal. Whenever you have an elder, things change, because they bring new things to the table, new insights and new wisdom that we don't have, haven't had before. So I'm excited to make that announcement, so I'm pleased to do that. So all right, having said that, let's Let's enter into the Lord's presence, and I'm using for our call to worship Revelation 11, verse 17. We give you thanks, O Lord God the Almighty, who are and who were, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. And the Lord is reigning in our lives, and He's shaping us into Christlikeness, to be in the image of His Son. So let's stand, if you're able, and join and sing together. The first song is in the bulletin, the wonderful cross. From that point on, you need your books. and you need all of your uh the black books will be the next two then the last song we're closed with will be the red book but first song's in the book after that you're gonna or it's in the bulletin after that you'll need your book so let's stand please uh as we in the wonderful cross and in the black book page 16th When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of Glory died, I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. For it is Lord that I should lose, save in the death of Christ my God. All the vain things most, I sacrifice them to his blood. Oh, the wonderful cross, oh, the wonderful cross, fills me come and die and find that I may truly live. See from his head his hands his feet ♪ Sorrow and love coming undone ♪ ♪ May their such love and sorrow bleed ♪ ♪ For force compose the ritual crown ♪ ♪ Where vow around the nature bound ♪ ♪ That were an offering for to stow ♪ ♪ But so amazing, so divine ♪ ♪ Immense like snow, but so divine ♪ ♪ Oh, the wonderful cross ♪ It's becoming nigh in time that I may truly live ♪ Oh, the wonderful cross ♪ Oh, the wonderful cross ♪ All who gather here by grace shall hear ♪ And bless your name Your black book number 16, please. Beneath the cross of Jesus I find a place to stand and wonder at such mercy that calls me as I am. O hands that should discard me! Beneath the cross of Jesus, my unworthy soul is won. Beneath the cross of Jesus, His family is my own. One stranger's chasing selfish dreams, now one through grace alone. How could I now dishonor the ones that you have loved? Beneath the cross of Jesus be the children called by God. Beneath the cross of Jesus, a path before the cross. ♪ We follow in his footsteps ♪ Where promised hope is found ♪ How great the joy before us ♪ To be his perfect bride ♪ Beneath the cross of Jesus ♪ We will gladly live our lives Amen. Please be seated. Now another joyous occasion that we get to celebrate. We'd like to ask Tom and Linda if they would come forward, please. Tom and Linda are joining the church. Actually, they're already members. They met with the elders. We heard their testimony. They took their vows, but we always like for them to take the vows in front of you so you can hear them and get to know them a little bit better. You know, they're an answer to prayer, so we're thankful for them, for the Lord bringing them our way. We pray for new members, and we pray for people that would jump in and help, and boy, they've done it. So, oh, I need the elders up here, too, please. We got the elders up front. They've jumped in, and they've been a real blessing to us. In fact, for the month of July, we're going to meet for At Home with Hope in their home. So we're going to be at their house in July. All right, all right, so what I'm going to do, I'm going to ask you the same vows you took a couple weeks ago, and I'd like you to speak up and let the people hear you, okay, when you answer the vows, okay? Same five, here we go. Number one, do you acknowledge yourself to be sinners in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure and without hope except for His sovereign mercy? Okay, number two. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the gospel? Do you now resolve and promise in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit that you'll endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ? Do you promise to support the church in its worship and work to the best of your ability? Finally, do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of the church and promise to study its purity and peace? Okay, Neil, would you pray and thank the Lord for Tom and Linda for us? Lord in heaven, thank you so much for your church and that you grow it and add to it. We're grateful for Tom and Linda. their sweet testimony and their love for you and I pray that you would bless them and encourage them help us to minister to them as they help minister to us and may your name be magnified through them in their worship of you and may that be our goal to worship and love you with all our heart soul mind and strength and to love our neighbor as pray in Christ's name, amen. Okay, we asked the Lord for five. Keep praying. Okay, Lord's working. Things are happening. Okay, keep praying. All right, I'd like to ask the ushers if they would come forward to receive the morning offering. And here's some more good news I can share with you. In October, we had a congregation meeting. We shared with you that for the first time in our history, our giving was down and we were spending more money than we were bringing in. And Lord gives, Lord takes away. We ask you to pray about that. And that need has been met. So we are now bringing in again more than we're spending. So we'll ask Frank if he'll fight the Lord, okay? Oh, that's right, I'm singing. When you're up against a struggle that shatters all your dreams, and your hopes have been cruelly crushed by Satan's manifested schemes, and you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fears, don't let the faith you're standing in seem to disappear. He can work through those who praise Him, praise the Lord. For our God inhabits praise, praise the Lord. For the chains that seem to bind you serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you when you praise Him. Now Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think that we are paupers when he knows himself we're children of the King. So lift up the mighty shield of faith for the battle must be won. We know that Jesus Christ is risen for the work's already done. Praise the Lord. He can work through those who praise him, praise the Lord. For our God inhabits praise, praise the Lord. Lord, for the chains that seem to bind you serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you when you praise Him. Praise Him. When you praise Him. When you praise Him. When you praise Him. Please turn with me. The first Peter chapter five. First Peter chapter five, we'll be reading the first 17 verses. Under the instrument. I'm sorry, there's not 1711. All right. because the pastoral admonition will stop at verse 11. Therefore, I exhort the elders among you as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God, and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness, nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the cheap shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders, and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves unto the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Be of sober spirit and be on the alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. but resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of God's grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself perfect and form and strengthen you and establish you. To him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we are blessed to be here this morning. We know that you are pleased with us and extend us mercies of all kinds and grace simply because we have designated the day which you have indicated to worship you, to celebrate with you, to praise you and honor you, to sit at the feet of Almighty God and be instructed in his laws and ways and precepts. We are thankful, Lord, for all that you have provided for us this week. Treatments of different kinds, food, safety on the road, comfort in our homes on hot days. These are just blessings and mercies that are given to us because you love us and you care for us. We pray, Lord, that the offering we took this morning, which is a small portion of all you have given us, be multiplied and increased a hundredfold so that the mission and the ministries of this church can continue. We're thankful for our pastor, our elders, our deacon, Lord, give them wisdom and grace and direction and light and how to lead the church. not lording it over our congregation, our flock, but leading them by example. And we need that, Lord, all the time. We need that grace. We ask that you would bless all those who are not with us this morning. not because of any will of their own, but because of sickness, illness, infirmities, or some malady that would keep them from coming and worshiping you. And we ask your grace would be provided in abundance to these people so that they could return and begin to worship you again. Lord, I read this week that on Sunday, we don't go to church. We are the church. We go to worship. And give us a worshipful attitude this morning as our pastor feeds us with the worlds and the thoughts and the ideas that you have given him. We ask a blessing upon our nation, Lord. probably surmise that some of the things that are happening are the result of your judgment. We don't know that for sure, but it would certainly seem so. Forgive us, Lord, enable us to return to the faith of our fathers, the faith that the Puritans set up when they came, the faith that has sustained us through our life as a nation. We're thankful for our earthly Father's Lord, the man that you gave, who instructed us, who corrected us, who disciplined us, and who loved us. And those that are with you, we praise them and we praise you for making it possible for them to be with you. Lord, we sit facing your table this morning, and we ask that we would confess, we would forsake, we would turn from anything that would keep us in sin from having pure, holy, and unbroken fellowship as we come to participate. We ask your blessing upon our church this morning. Keep us safe, Lord, from those who would harm us, as we ask that you would around the world. And we ask that you would give us attentive hearts and willing spirits as we seek to learn and to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We humbly ask all these things for these mercies and blessings. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. We'll continue praising the Lord using your Black Songbook, number 51, How Deep. Please remain seated as we sing. You were broken, then I might be healed. You were cast off, then I might draw near. You were thirsty, then I might come drink. Ride out in anguish, then I might see. How deep is your love. How high and how wide is your mercy! How deep is your grace! Our hearts overflow with praise to you. You knew darkness that I might know light. Wept great tears that mine might be dry. Stripped of glory that I might be called. Crushed by your Father to call me your own. How deep is your love. How high and how wide is your mercy! How deep is your grace! Our hearts overflow with praise to you. Now if you take your hymn book, and I forgot to look up the page, so somebody might help me here. I think it's 845. 845 in the back of your red songbook, as we're going to repeat the Apostles' Creed. And one reason we do this is because it ties us in to Christians that have gone before us, Christians that will live after us, regardless of denomination, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, whatever it may be. This is a Christian creed focused on the Trinity. It talks about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, things that we can all agree on as we're united in Christ. So it's page 845. So if you'd take that, please, and let's read the Apostles' Creed together. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was crucified, saved by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, From there, he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen. And the word Catholic there means universal. That's the universal Christian church that we're speaking of there. OK, well, let's take a moment and go to the Lord in silent prayer. Confess your sins, pray for me, pray for the people around you, pray for the ones that are not here. You don't know what the person beside you is going through. We're all struggling with things. A lot of those things are very private, very personal. So the Lord knows. So lift them up to the Lord and then I'll close in just a moment. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this time, and we thank you for our Christian fathers, whether they're with us or not, some are with you, who took us to church when we didn't want to go. And they took us to church because they knew we needed it. And your Holy Spirit worked in our hearts and converted our hearts and saved our souls, and we thank you for that. And we ask you now to bless this time that we have together Lord, we came in with burdens, and we're going to walk out with burdens. But we ask you now to work in us in such a way that the Spirit of God will conquer those burdens and give your people hope and encouragement as we live the Christian life. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, well please turn if you're not already there. Take your Bible or the one underneath the seat in front of you and turn to 1 Peter chapter 5. We're working our way through this little book. I think we have one more message left on 1 Peter 5. We started traveling with Peter when he was a young man. with all of the answers, correcting Jesus more than anyone else, the apostle who was corrected by Jesus more than anyone else. And now we meet him as a senior citizen. He might have five years to live at this point. So we're wrapping this up and Peter's wrapping up his letter and he's going to turn to a very serious theme as we close this out. And I want to start by asking you a question. Think about your life, times where you've grown spiritually, where you've been flat or you slip back a little bit. What were the circumstances in your life that caused you to grow the most and grow the fastest? What were they? Think about it. I know the answer because it's the same thing in my life. Good times or bad times. Good times or hard times? Which one? I know the answer because I'm right there with you. It's the hard times. That's when we grow the most. That's when you're leaning on the Lord the most. It's through times of suffering, fear, pain, loss. Times in your life when your faith is shaken and you lift up your hand, you say, Lord, are you even there? Where are you, God? Are you even there? Now for a believer, folks, I can say this pretty strongly and dogmatically. Those are the times you will grow the most. You'll look back. You may not enjoy it when you're going through, but you're going to look back and you say, yep, that's it. That's what happened. However, as believers, we have to deal with those same difficulties every day. We have to deal with disappointment and pain and loss. I've encouraged you to read the book by C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain. If you're dealing with those issues today, pick up his book. It's not expensive. It's a small book. Chuck Swindoll said, we get attached to people and they die. And that's true. Every one of us in this room, we could talk about someone that we've lost. It's Father's Day. Many of us have lost a father. You're blessed if you still have your father. Don't take him for granted. We get attached to people and they die. And the Lord doesn't want us to get attached to too deeply to anything in this life because we're just passing through. How are you going to be here? Not very long. And Peter never says to these hurting people that he's right and he never says, I am sorry for your loss. Not one time. I probably ought to keep my mouth shut on this, but that statement just kind of bothers me a little bit. One reason it bothers me is because I hear people say it, and it's just something to say. They don't really mean it. I guess I'm judging a heart there. I shouldn't go there. But if you're sorry for someone's loss, do something. be there for take on something i was impressed i was asked to do a funeral for a young man and i wasn't that i wasn't the his pastor but the family thought that i knew him better than his current pastor did so i was asked to the funeral went by the hall when i was in the home visiting in the their current pastor that they were the church they were part of he was just sitting there at the kitchen table And he had been there for a while, and he wasn't going anywhere. I thought that was good. I learned something that day. One thing you can do, just sit down and be there. Stay with them. Don't leave. Just stay with them. So I learned something that day as I suffered and realized what they were suffering through. And Peter also doesn't tell us how to avoid this loss. Not one word about that. You know what he does do? He faces it head on. And that's what he wants us to do as Christians face it head on. As this one critic said, the weakness of the Christian faith is pain. The Christians have no answer for the problem of pain, but he's wrong. He's absolutely wrong. That is not the weakness of the Christian faith. In fact, I do think it's important, though, I'm working on a series that I don't know when we'll have it together, probably use it on a Sunday night called The Problem of Suffering. And Christians suffer, no doubt about it. And we need to be able to address that, we don't run from it. So sometime on Sunday night, we'll dig into that. But it's absolutely true, we grow the most in the hard times. Now let's tie it into our theme with Peter today. Your enemy is not the pain you're going through. Your enemy is not him, it's not her, that situation, whatever it may be, Your enemy is the devil who is behind that situation. And Peter says to you, and he says to me today, I want you to know your enemy. The Satan wants to use your problems, your pain, your your loss, your tears to bring you down. God wants to use this to help you grow. Help you grow spiritually. All right, so how do we fight the devil? Peter said, I wanna tell you how the devil works. So starting with verse eight in 1 Peter chapter five, as one man put it, we are standing face to face with the devil. Verse eight, let's read it. He said, Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So first of all, you need to respect him and realize that he is dangerous. Now, we're now at the end of Peter's letter, and he's telling these hurting people, I want to give you hope in what you're going through. and he Satan is your enemy and he's dangerous so now he gives us a call to battle and the first call is know your enemy I don't remember, it was years ago, I don't remember if I watched a movie, if I read a book, it was about World War II, and General Patton was the greatest tank commander that we had, and Rommel was the greatest tank commander that the Germans had, and they got into a big battle in Northern Africa, and Patton won the battle, and the scene is Patton standing on a hill, and he's looking out, and German tanks are just burning everywhere, and Patton cries out, Rommel, I read your book! He wrote a book on how to fight with tanks in battle. The Patton read the book. He knew what Rommel was going to do, and he beat him because he read the book. Well, you and I need to know the devil's strategy today. Because as Peter writes in chapter four, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you. The devil is behind the fiery ordeal in your life. Now, Peter's trying to encourage his people here. Now, the unbeliever is going to say, oh, there's no devil. They're going to mock the idea and think of the devil and this red suit with a pitchfork and a long tail. When they start doing that, have nothing to do with it. Just walk away. Do not be a part of that. Now, verse eight, Peter describes the devil. one author said an evil stands behind our visible enemies an evil stands behind our visible enemies so now what is our battle plan dealing with the devil in your life in my life what if our response first thing Peter has to say in verse 8 be of sober spirit which means watch out be on guard sober means to be watchful level-headed wide awake take self-control self-control is the fruit of the spirit it takes self-control second command he gives us Be on the alert. Stay awake. You are in the middle of a battlefield. I hope you enjoy going to work tomorrow, going to school, wherever it may be. I hope you enjoy your co-workers. But don't be deceived. You're walking into a battlefield. And your enemy can be very, very subtle. I'm Marie from Paul in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 verse 14 2nd Corinthians 1114 Paul writes no wonder for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Meaning you got to watch beyond people's personalities and things like that. I'm not naming names. I have no names in my mind. But you might turn on a television and listen to some TV preacher and he may have a big smile. It's not all about just big smiles. Just be careful. And I have no one in mind. I just know that Satan works as an angel of light, friendly, personal, big smile. He deceived Eve. Now, folks, he deceived Eve in a perfect environment. You and I are much more likely to be deceived by the devil than Eve was. As much as we want to criticize Eve, you and I would have done the same thing then and were more likely to be deceived today than she was. He goes on to say that This enemy is your adversary. Now notice that notice the words little words in the Bible are important. He says this is your adversary. This is personal to you. This isn't just your neighbor. This is you and I. Now the word adversary your personal adversary there has the idea of a legal opponent in court. And we'll talk about that more in just a minute, but let's look at some of the names that God uses to describe the devil in the Bible. He has the word devil, which means slanderer of God's people. He's described as Satan, which comes from the Hebrew, adversary, destroyer, which is used in Revelation. He is destructive. When you put it all together, Satan is a very dangerous enemy. What's his future? Revelation tells us he's going to be cast into the bottom of hell. Listen to what Jesus said about Satan and what we're up against in John chapter 8 verse 44 we read. Speaking to the Pharisees the religious leaders the fake leaders of the day. You are of your father the devil and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. So where is Satan today? Of course, I don't know. But what I do know is that he is a being and he can only be in one spot at one time. So if I had to guess, probably in Washington, D.C., or Moscow, or Beijing, China. That's probably where I would think he is. So this is Peter's final warning here. Adversary. The Greek has the idea of a legal opponent in a lawsuit. And when you're in court, folks, your opponent is not your friend. He is out to hurt you. He's out to get you. He wants what belongs to you. Take your opponent seriously. One writer said, Satan hates you. I stopped while I read that and just kind of thought for a minute. There's some people, we all have folks we'd rather be around some more than others, okay? But I don't think there's anyone that I hate. I can't think of one person that I hate. But Satan hates you. And he hates me. So Peter says your adversary, the devil. So now he's going to describe our enemy. He is one who accuses us to God. Worsby said. One reason we have cares is because we have an enemy. One reason we have cares is because we have an enemy. So Peter says, he prowls around. What does that mean? I came up with a very theological definition of prowling around. He's sneaky, sneaky, quiet, secret. So Peter's now focused on his approach. One writer said, remember that someone is hunting for you. And we're not used to thinking that way, folks. We're not used to that. Someone is hunting for you. First thing that came to my mind was Don Strickland out there on the first day of hunting season looking for that cute little sweet deer. Don has every right to go after that deer. But think about that deer doesn't know Don's hunting for him. Satan here is hunting for you and for me. So respect him. He's dangerous. and he describes him as a roaring lion. Now a lion is a beast. Now it's interesting that he uses the word lion because as you go through the Bible, the word lion is used to describe a king, the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ. So it's a little strange that Peter's using the word lion to describe Satan. In Zechariah 3, verse 2, the priest is being mocked by Satan, and the priest is saying, he's saying to the priest, you're not worthy to be a high priest. Look at a sin in your life. You're not qualified to be a high priest. But the high priest is pictured there as clothed in the robes and the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That's where you are today. You're clothed in the right is not what you did or didn't do. We're all sinners. We all fall. We all fail today, tomorrow. But we're clothed in the righteousness of Christ. That's our answer to Satan. You know, you don't see me, you see the righteousness of Christ. So Satan wants to whisper in your ear today. Are you really a Christian? I don't think you're a Christian after what you said yesterday. After having how you handled that situation. You're not a Christian. And our answer is we're clothed in the righteousness of Christ. So the Holy Spirit and Satan both want to point out your sin to you. Satan wants to point it out to take you down. The Holy Spirit wants to point it out to you to move you to repent so you can grow. That's the difference right there. The Holy Spirit wants you to repent. Christians repent of their sins, and it should be done on a daily basis, a regular basis. It should be common in your family and my family to say, you know, I send against you. Please forgive me that people know it when you do. You need to recognize it yourself and face it. Now, there was a time in Peter's life when he underestimated the power of Satan. And now he's saying to you and to me, don't do what I did. I'm going to read a 1st John 4 4 1st John 4 4. where we read, you are from God. Now he's describing you, the redeemed sinner standing in Christ. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he who is in the world. That's the truth. You should lean on that. Find comfort in that. Now let's go back to this idea of a lion for a minute. Now lions are quiet. They stalk their victims. By the time you see a lion, It's too late. Too late to get ready when you see a light, but you're done. Now Satan knows you, and he knows your weakness. Now each one of us have different weak points. Satan knows what yours is, he knows what mine is, he knows how to reach you, he knows how to reach me. He has had thousands and thousands of years to practice this. How long have you had? 20 years? 80 years? How long have you had? He knows your fallen nature. Now many times we just overlook our fallen nature. We want to deny we have a fallen nature. Satan knows it's true and he knows your nature. So the line is usually used to describe a king, but here it's describing a dangerous counterfeit. Because Satan is the great counterfeit. He wants to counterfeit what the Lord's doing and get you to follow him and not the Lord. So many times what he'll do, he'll put a teacher in front of you that you might really like this guy, but when you start digging into it, he's teaching half a truth and not all the truth. That is one pastor said to me, half the truth is no truth. You need all the truth. So Satan's great counterfeiter wants you to follow him. But notice these strong words that Peter uses here. He is seeking someone to devour. Satan doesn't play around, folks. Satan wants to destroy Christians, destroy your family, destroy your testimony, and destroy you. Now, we just announced that we're going to open a window for you to nominate, potentially have new elders. I would say to you, if you're a church officer already, or if you're approaching and someone asks you to consider the office, you better think it through. Because if you do, you take that job, Satan's going after you. And not just you, he's going after your family. So you better talk to your family before you say yes, because Satan is going to go after you and your family. One writer said, remember that the next time you skip church. So the word to devour here can be used two different ways. Satan can use the direct approach, which is what he used with Job, and what he used with Peter when Peter denied the Lord three times. Or he can use the subtle approach, which is the pull of the world. Which one is the most dangerous? Probably the one that you're facing. But I sometimes wonder if the subtle approach might be more dangerous. Because when you're hit face on, like Job was, you know you got a battle in your hand. But the subtle approach, many times we just fall for that. I'm going to read from 1 John 2, verse 15, where John writes, Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life is not from the father, but it is from the world. The world is passing away and also its lust. But the one who does the will of God lives for ever. I don't think about Joe for just a minute. My buddy, Joe, I call him my buddy, Joe, because I just got so attached to Joe as we've gone through this thing. Satan accuses Job right to God's face. Now, so at that point in the Old Testament, Satan had access to heaven and God the Father. Something might have changed there since the cross. I don't know, but he definitely had access then. So just listen to these few words. Chapter one of Job, verse six. Now, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it. The Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job? For is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. So God is bragging about Job. Job puts a smile on God's face. Wouldn't you like to be that person? Wouldn't you like to be the one that the Lord, when the Lord thinks of you, there's a smile on his face? as he thinks about your life and what you're trying to do for him. So this is wonderful, but Satan can't leave it alone. Now verse 9, this is the key to the book. Mark it if you haven't. Then Satan answered the Lord, does Job fear God for nothing? Because Lord, the only way you can get someone to worship you is to bribe them. You got to pay them. And then it moves on from there. "'Have you not made a hedge around him and his house and all that he has? And on every side you have blessed the work of his hands. His possessions have increased in the land.'" But here we go. "'But put forth your hand now, touch all that he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.'" Because you're not worthy to be worshiped, Lord. You're buying his love. That's the direct approach. So Peter's warnings to us today are rooted in his own failures, folks. The night Jesus was betrayed, think about it. Jesus took Peter and he went off to pray and he was in the garden and as one man said, that night the world is hanging in the balance. What did Peter do? He fell asleep. He wasn't ready for the battle. Go back and read Mark 14, 37. Jesus returns. He sees Peter. He says, Peter, are you asleep? Could you not pray? So now that same man's learned his lesson. He says, Satan wants to devour. Now the word devour means to gulp down, not to wound, but to destroy. So now as we move into verse 9, how do we defeat the devil? What do you do when you're face to face with the devil? Do you cry? Do you run? Do you hide? Do you give in? How do you respond? Let's read verse 9. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. So he gives us a way to confront Satan and be successful. But there is a condition. There is a qualification here. Resist him, which means stand against or oppose or to withstand, to be firm against someone else. But how? He tells us, in your faith. which means we take our stand on God's word and then refuse to be moved. Now let's go to take go and take your bow. Let's go to Ephesians chapter six for a minute Ephesians chapter six. Frank developed this very well for us but it's been a while. We find the armor of God in Ephesians chapter six. So Paul's going to now reinforce what Peter is saying. Let's let's I'm not going to read all of it but what we see here is that we're told to stand withstand and then stand again and one author said unless we stand we cannot withstand somebody read a couple verses let wet your whistle you can go home and read it on your own verse 16 in addition to all taking up the shield of faith and With which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. So there's success there folks He's telling you you can't extinguish all of the arrows of the evil one verse 17 and take the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. So our weapons are not an AK-47 or AR-15. It's not a 45 pistol. It's not our IQ. It's not our college education. Our weapons are the word of God and prayer. So our protection is the complete armor of God. Now, there's an application and a question for each one of you. Are there holes in your armor? Are there holes in your armor? Because if there are, Satan will find them. So you study this passage, pray, ask the Lord, the Holy Spirit, are there holes in my armor? What do I need to do? In Matthew chapter 4, which deals with the temptation of Jesus. Jesus is in the desert. Satan's tempting him. He's weak. He's hungry. He's thirsty. Jesus had the power to take Satan and throw him to the backside of the moon. And he didn't do it. Why didn't he do it? Because he resisted him using the same tools that you and I have. What lesson would there have been for us if Jesus had performed a miracle and kicked Satan to the other side of the moon? You can't do that. I can't do that. He beat Satan using the tools that you and I have available. He resisted Satan with the Word of God, which is the Bible that you have in your hands. He would quote the Bible to Satan. So Peter said, hold firm in your faith. Well, faith in what? Faith in me? Faith in you? Faith in your elders and deacons? No. Faith in the Lord. Your faith is in the one who clothed the high priest in chapter three with the righteousness of Christ. That's where your faith is. Read James chapter four when you get home. So we have three different men we've talked about. Peter, Paul and James. They're all zeroing in on the same theme here and saying to you and to me, the good news is it can be done. In your life and my life. Peter writes, knowing that the same experience shared with other Christians around the world so when you're in a trial and you're getting beat up you tend to think that you're all alone and you're by yourself but you're not in it alone and that's one reason why you just need to be in church because people around you're going through the same thing share it with them let them help you cry on their shoulder let them put their arm around you let them help you with these things we're all going through it you are not alone in the battle We stand with each other. We need support groups. We need prayer meetings. We need ladies Bible studies. On or on we could go. We need prayer time. Others are facing the very same battles that you're facing. James chapter 4 tells us that Satan will retreat. But. You get through that battle, he retreats. Guess what? He's going to come back again and again and again and again and again. You're not over it. It's going to keep happening while you're on this earth. But you and I should be growing stronger every day in the work of the Lord to withstand that. So. Realize he's going to be there. and don't be deceived and and try not to talk to satan because eve tried that how'd that work out it failed okay failed big time martin lloyd jones said this he was a great preacher from the what the mid 1900s maybe i would have been dead long ago if i had depended on men for encouragement I think that's kind of sad in a way, because we should be able to encourage one another. We were talking about elders this morning, a few minutes ago, so I would just ask you, when was the last time that you encouraged a church officer, a deacon, or an elder? Those are hard jobs. Lonely hours, sometimes there's criticism. I would like to ask you to consider at times when you mean it, you see something, talk to a deacon or an elder and thank them for what they're doing. Martin Lloyd-Jones, I would have been dead long ago if I had depended on men for encouragement. Now, that's a great compliment to the Holy Spirit. That's what he's saying. But I also think it's sad that he could not count on the people around him. And he was used in a mighty and a powerful way. So Peter, Paul, and James give us the same battle plan to use against Satan. Worse, we said this, before we stand against Satan, we must bow before God. Before we stand before Satan, we must bow before God because we're fighting with different tools. All right, now as we move into verse 10, He wants you to be hopeful. He wants you to be encouraged. He wants you to realize that whatever your trial is is not going to last forever, but your reward, folks, will last forever. Verse 10. All right, get back there. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself do several things, perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. So victory is certain. If you're a Christian, victory is certain, but there will be times of pain, tears, sorrow, and loss, and at times you're going to be knocked down. And when you get up, you might be bleeding a little bit. I'm a reminder of the story of the two houses in Matthew 7. I'm going to go there. I've had this on my mind a little bit. I'm going to read this for you. Matthew chapter 7, verse 24. Now, I want you to notice we're talking about the believer's home and the unbeliever's home. I want you to see that the battle is the same for each one. Verse 24. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built this house in a rock. The rain fell, the floods came, the wind blew, slammed against that house, yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on a rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built this house on the sand. The rain fell, the floods came, the wind blew, slammed against that house, and great was its fall. Both houses are shaken, the unbeliever's home falls, the believer's home is shaken, but it stands. both suffer now the believer is going to walk out of that alive but he may have scars but his house stands and Peter says after you have suffered meaning you will suffer we have soldiers to come back from battle and they're dealing with shell shock and things like that It's real, painful. But Peter says for a little while, then how does he close that? He closes it by saying the God of all grace, the God of all grace, which could be translated the God of all help. Or the counselor, the God of all counseling. J Adams said God will not share this title with the psychiatrist. The God of all comfort and grace and counsel. He will not share that title, but the psychologist. So there's no other hope. There's no other help anywhere, folks. He who called you into his eternal glory. So we know we're going to have glory. You're going to have an inheritance. How do you like to get a letter in the mail says you got some rich uncle that just died and he left you $10 million. Whoo. We all want an inheritance. You got it. It's in heaven. One writer said, suffering will drive you to the foundation of your faith. And it will. Suffering can drive you to the foundation. Now, but there's a process here. Our trials build on our Christian character. Peter says God will himself do. Now, in the Greek, that's strong. He could have just wrote God himself, but he adds to it. He's emphasizing it there. He's going to do four things in your life and my life. What are they? What is the result of your suffering? What's the Lord's going to do? He says, first of all, that you are going to be perfect. You know me, and I'm not perfect. How about that? But God says, we're going to get there. You're going to make it, folks. You're going to get there. You're going to be perfect someday. You're going to get to heaven. You're going to be perfect. You're going to be Christ-like. Next thing he's going to do for you, he's going to confirm you. I know I'm a Christian. I know I'm in Christ. I know I'm OK. So Peter finishes with these quick lists of verse. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. What's God's goal? After you have suffered, he wants to grow you. I'm going to give you one verse and I'm out of time. I got to move on. But I think I got time to fit this in. I'm going back to Genesis chapter 45 and you know the story of Joseph. We've talked about he was sold as a slave into slavery by his brothers how terrible that could be. But now he's in a position of authority and he's standing in front of his brothers for the first time years and years later. Verse 40, Genesis 45, 4. Joseph said to his brothers, come closer to me. And they came closer and he said, I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now, can you imagine what's going through their mind at that point? Their eyes are big, their mouth is open, their heart is racing and inside they're thinking, we're dead, we're dead, we're just all dead. We're not going to get out of this alive. Then what does Joseph do? Verse five. Do not be grieved or angry with yourself because you sold me here. But God sent me before you to preserve life. So what do we see? Two phrases. You sold. God sent. You sold. God sent. God had a purpose. And sending them that they did, the brothers did it because they wanted to. They were evil. But the two-winged bird, human responsibility, the sovereignty of God takes two wings to fly a bird. Human responsibility, they did it. God sent. God brought something good out of that. Now I'm done. Let's see. Resist. Meaning, you can overcome. But folks, even though you overcome, it's still exhausting. You may finish the battle at the end of the day and say, whoo, I got through it. Thank you, Lord. But then you got to get up the next morning and do it all over again. It's exhausting, it's draining, it's emotional, and it's painful. But I want to close on a positive note. I want to read from Paul and 2nd Corinthians chapter 4. And we've talked about all the difficulties Paul went through. Notice how he responds to them. Chapter 4 verse 16. He said, therefore. We do not lose heart. But though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. Now notice how he describes his intense suffering for momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. So that's it, folks. You got an enemy? And he's not to get you, but greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord. You shown us right up front what we're up against, and we can't beat Satan. But Lord, you have beat him and you can beat him. And we ask you to beat him in us, through us, using the Holy Spirit. May we focus on the glory to come, heaven, what you're going to do in our lives. Encourage your people this week as we go out into the world. And hopefully, Lord, we're just on fire for the cause of Christ, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, if I could have the elders come forward, please, for the Lord's Supper. Now, if you're not a member here or if you're visiting with us for the first time, we are glad you're here. And this is the Lord's Supper. It's not Living Hope Supper. This is for Christians and Christian people. So whether you're a Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, if you're trusting in Christ alone for your salvation, This is your table. This is for you. So we invite you to be a part of this. But there are some warnings that go with this. It's a serious occasion. And so Paul writes in verse 28 of 1 Corinthians 11, But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge his body rightly. For this reason, many among you are sick and weak, and a number sleep." Sleep meaning have died. So, but if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. So what he's talking about there, if you're not a Christian, pass it by. If you're living your life as a rebel and you won't confess your sin and deal with things in your life, pass it by or deal with it right now. And we've talked about bringing on elders today, and one of the responsibilities of church leadership is to help all of us, myself included, be protected against taking this supper in an unrighteous way. So the elders have responsibility to work with you and to work with me and make sure that I'm dealing with sin in my life and I'm confessing it, moving on with it. So if there may be a time when the elders might say to you, well, I think for right now, I would suggest that you not take this. And that's okay. They're doing that out of love for you and out of love for me. So if that's where you find yourself today, Just read the scripture, pray, pray for the people around you, and it will work to get everybody back on track so we can all be a part of this. So, Neil, I'd like to ask you if you would ask the Lord's blessing on his body. Thank you. Lord Jesus, thank you so much for coming and giving salvation to your people. Thank you for the righteous life that you have provided. And thank you for this opportunity to be reminded that you gave your body for us. Pray, oh Lord, that you would have mercy on us, draw us to yourself, and we glorify your name. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Amen. you you you you Well, this supper isn't for perfect people. If you're here today and you're perfect, this isn't for you. You don't need it. This supper is for sinners. Sinners saved by grace who are very willing to confess their sins or repent of them and fall on your knees before the Lord and live for the Lord and None of us do that perfectly, but that's why we have this supper So let's hear the words that paul leaves us in verse 23 For I received from the lord that which I delivered to you that the lord jesus and the night in which he was betrayed took bread And when he had given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is for you do this in remembrance of me Let's take and let's eat together I'd like to ask Frank if he would pray for us and thank the Lord for giving his blood for us. Almighty God and Father in Heaven, this is your table. You have invited us to come and partake of the elements here. We take the bread and think of how your body was broken for us in the trip to Calvary and on the cross itself. We take the grape juice, Lord, and we think of the blood that was shed for us. All this shows your mercy and your care and your love are beyond our ability to comprehend it. We're thankful for this invitation, Lord, to your table, and we look forward to the invitation to your table. After we have joined you in heaven, the great and general resurrection, we will partake food and beverage with you eternally. But this morning, we're thankful for the invitation here. Bless us, increase us grace and knowledge, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. so you Now we read in verse 25 in the same way He took the cup and after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood Do this as often as you drink it and remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So we believe that there's more here than just bread and juice. There is a spiritual blessing that flows to God's people through this meal. So let's let's drink together. And their practice that night so long ago, it's very interesting, when they got through the supper, they did not close in prayer. They sang a song and they left. So that's our practice when we do this. So take your red songbook, please, and turn to number 640, my tribute. And please stand if you're able. We'll sing this together. How can I say thanks for the things you have done for me? Things so undeserved. love for me. The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude. All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe it all to thee. ♪ To God be the glory ♪ To God be the glory ♪ For the things he has done ♪ With his blood he has saved me ♪ With his power he has raised me the glory for the things he has done. Just let me live my life. Let it be pleasing, Lord, to me. And if I gave any praise, let it go to Christ. Amen. Have a good Lord's Day and a good week.