In his sermon titled 'You Have an Enemy,' Trent Moody emphasizes the reality and persistence of a spiritual adversary, the devil, who seeks to devour believers like a roaring lion. Moody underscores the importance of being sober and vigilant, urging believers to stay clear-minded and self-controlled, not under the influence of worldly distractions. He warns against complacency, noting that the devil is constantly active and seeks to exploit any lack of spiritual preparation. Moody advises believers to resist the devil by steadfastly maintaining their faith and being aware of his tactics. He highlights the need for constant spiritual vigilance, comparing the Christian life to a battleground rather than a playground. Practical steps include being clear-minded, self-examining, and putting on the armor of God to stand firm against the enemy's attacks. He concludes by urging believers to have a plan for becoming more steadfast in their faith and to always stay on guard.

All right, well let's go to the Lord in prayer and we will ask him to lead us as we go to the book of 1st Peter chapter 5. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the word of God that is our instruction and Lord we thank you that it is feeding our souls and Lord we do pray for that specifically that last part and be filled with the Spirit. We ask you now Lord that your spirit would guide us to all truth. Lord, we thank you that you have not left us to our own devices, you've not left us to our own wisdom, but you've given us your word to instruct us and to guide us in the way. Lord, we thank you for this word that you have given us and pray that it would be profitable to our souls today and we ask it in Christ's name.

Amen. All right, 1st Peter and chapter 5 and we're going to be looking at one and a part of a verse. So verse 8 and then the first part of verse 9. The Word of God says this, be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Resist him steadfast in the faith.

One of the things in our memory verse that we are memorizing, and I'm hoping that it's just gonna be galvanized into your heart is, is see then that you walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise, because you have an enemy. You have an enemy. And this enemy is not, He's not lacking in diligence. You know, the title of our weekend here is Diligent Daughters for Zion. Well, let me tell you something.

You have an enemy that is very diligent, and I'm going to show you that. So in this memory verse, I want you to keep that in your mind. So specifically this morning I'm speaking to believers because really if you're not a believer, the devil's not really your enemy. In one sense he is, but in another sense He's not hounding you and he's not going after you like he could, but if you're a believer here, you're on his list. He has a to-do list every morning.

He has that and he doesn't have to, you know, he does it the night before, but he doesn't sleep either. And he has this list and you're on it. Okay? So let's look at this. You are a child of the king.

Listen, if I could teach you anything this morning it would be this. You're not on a playground, you're on a battle ground. It sure is fun out here. We're having a great time, but I want you to know something. There is an enemy lurking for your soul.

You know, sometimes the Word of God gives us great encouragement, sometimes it gives us admonition, and sometimes it gives us some really stark warnings. And this is a stark warning for us today because daughters listen I want you to realize there's an enemy that is lurking. He's going about looking whom he may devour. You see not only is Christ your King but you're a soldier. Christ is our captain.

This world is our battlefield. Heaven is our reward. You have an enemy. The temptation that we all have though is that we think that we're on safe ground. We think being here is a place of safety and physically speaking it looks pretty safe.

I don't see any lions lurking around thankfully, But there is an enemy of your soul that is lurking even here. And the temptation for us is that we will be lulled asleep by the tunes of this world. Even the enjoyments of this world, we can be lulled asleep. But Peter is really designing to wake you up to the danger that is about you and in this passage Peter tells us first This how to walk circumspectly when you know that you have an enemy That is like a lion So he wants you to know how to walk circumspectly when you know that you have an enemy that is like a lion. So he wants you to know how to walk circumspectly when you know that you have an enemy that is like a lion.

And first he tells us these two instructions. This is kind of the the pregame warm-up if you will. It's sort of the the preparations for battle. You're going into a battle. Every day is gonna be a battle with this enemy.

And he wants you to know what you need to do. And the first thing that he tells you to do is very simple. Be sober. We just read this, again, in our memory verse, and do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. The idea there of being sober is when you're drinking alcohol and you're drunk with wine, you're under the influence of the alcohol and you do not act, you do not speak, and you do not think as you should.

But here he's talking spiritually that we are to be sober, literally sober-minded. We're to be clear-headed. We're not to be drunk on the things of this world. We're to be also restrained, and we are to be self-controlled. So how do you prepare when you know that you have an enemy?

Well, you want to be clear-minded, you want to be sober thinking, you want to be restrained, and you want to be self-controlled. If you're not these things, if you're just tossing about and running about and going through this life without a care, just like what our brother was just talking about, if you're at ease in Zion, you are ripe and ready to be devoured by the enemy. Now this implies a couple of things. Whenever you find a command in the Bible, it's because there's a temptation or a natural inclination that you are actually doing the opposite. The natural inclination of fallen humankind and human beings is that we're not sober minded.

We're not thinking about all ways that we have an enemy of our soul that is lurking like a lion ready to devour you. We kind of go about our day. Hey, we live in a prosperous time. We live in, we have pretty much peace and prosperity. Things are pretty nice.

I mean, the weather is perfect today, right? There's not much to worry about. We've had plenty of food to eat. But there's a temptation. One of the implications is this.

There's a temptation to be under the influence of this world. To be drunk, as I said, means to be under the influence of alcohol, and so to be sober means that you're not under its influence. And so what Peter is wanting us to know is that you're not to be under the influence of this world or worldly thinking. If you are going to be prepared for battle, you need to be able to think clearly. Do you understand, daughters, and dads you should know this, but daughters, do you understand that you're in a battle?

It's a spiritual battle. It involves your soul, it involves your mind, and it does involve your body because these three are all connected. We need to understand that the second implication is this. It implies that the natural state of most people is to be drunk, and in the sense that they are not thinking clearly about what's going on around them. You know, I was explaining to my wife just the other day, I said, sometimes I feel like I'm going through this world and everything else is in fast motion going around me and I feel like I'm just in somewhat of a bubble watching this thing happen.

And it's a really unusual feeling to get this sense of things, because I feel like people aren't, they're not paying attention, they're just, they're living for the moment, they're striving after something that is fleeting, They're giving all of their efforts and energies for that which will perish. So I don't want you to fall into this grave misconception. Thirdly, it implies that there's something that you can do about it. This is a command. Be sober.

In 1 Corinthians 6, 9-10, Paul says, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived. Not only is there a temptation to be deceived outwardly from the things that are coming in from to our ear gates and our eye gates, but there's also a temptation to be self-deceived about your own standing.

That you think you're at ease. You think everything's good. I'm being watchful. The hardest thing in the world to do is truly and honestly examine your own soul. Because we want to tell ourselves everything's just fine.

Hey, I go to church and I read my Bible and I pray and I'm at a father-daughter retreat where they're preaching. I'm in a safe ground and I'm good. But daughters don't believe that for one moment. You need to be willing to examine yourselves. Colossians 3.1 and verse 2 says, set your mind on things above, not on the things of the earth.

To be heavenly minded, there's no such thing as being so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good. I don't believe that. The most heavenly minded man, as my brother said this morning, was Jesus Christ, and he did the most earthly good ever. I don't think that's our problem, is being too heavenly minded. So just go ahead and mark that one off your list.

Don't worry about that one. We need to be focused on what God wants us to do. First Thessalonians says, you were all sons of the light and sons of the day. You were not of the night nor of the darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet the hope of salvation." First Peter tells us to gird up the loins of your mind and be sober, to be clear-headed, to be thinking. But next he tells us this, to be vigilant. It means to stay awake and to keep watch. It means it has this idea of being alert, that You're aware that there is an enemy, and therefore you're watching that there is an enemy. So an interesting story of someone I believe all of you know.

I'm going to tell you the story and then I'll tell you who it was. So this dear brother and his family were in Africa. And picture for yourself Yellowstone, except in Africa where there's things that will eat you. And he's going with his family and they instead of flying across this area, they drive through this area. Most people fly because the road conditions could be so treacherous so quickly.

I asked him to write this out for me and this is what he what he had to say. He said we had already seen quite a number of lions. Most people fly from the local airport over this area. I didn't realize that until afterwards. It had rained the night before and the road conditions were not good.

We came to a muddy spot where our vehicle got stuck in the mud. You could wait for maybe four or five hours and no one would pass. So he had the bright idea. I'll get out and push. I'll let my wife behind the wheel and my two young daughters will look out of the sunroof and watch because he said on either side of the road was extremely tall grass.

All you could see was right in front of you and right behind you and so these two daughters were watching for the grass to move while this dear brother was going to push the vehicle out of the mud while his wife drove. So he had a problem. And it was a bit of a scary problem, but I will say this, the brother was sober-minded and he was vigilant because he had his whole family at work watching because he knew something. He knew, because he had just seen them, lions. And he understood of the danger.

He said after a fearful while we were able to get out, or get the vehicle out by rocking it and finally we were back on the road and I was in the driver's seat. The brother's name is Paul Carrington. Can you imagine if he had not had been watchful, if he had not have been vigilant, if he had just lackadaisically walked to the back of the vehicle and thought, I'll just push it out, don't worry about being on watch. But I want you to understand something, that there is a lion that is lurking about for your soul that is a million times more dangerous than that earthly creature. And he is after you.

And so thankfully our dear brother was not attacked by lions but I want you to know something you and your family will be attacked by the lion. The thing about a lion is, is that they are stealth hunters. They don't come at you full frontal. They will come at you sneaking in the grass and they will pounce on you at the moment that you least expect it. But secondly, I want you, what you need to know about your enemy.

There's something you need to know about him. He gives us many descriptions here. He's called your adversary. He's called the devil. He tells us something about him, he's walking about.

He's seeking whom he may devour. Let's look at a few of these things. This adversary means a hostile enemy. It's a legal term and it means he's your opponent, he's against you. Secondly, the devil, the word devil is Satan or slanderer.

He's the prince of this worldly system that we're living in. He is the prince of the power of the air. He is the the god of this age in the worldly system And he wants to destroy you So be Sober and be vigilant But notice what it says it says here in verse 8 because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion. In Job chapter 1 verses 6 and 7 the Bible says, now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, from where do you come?

So Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth and from walking back and forth on it. I want you to realize that your enemy, the devil, this walking about like a roaring lion, he is not idle in his business. He does not sit still. He is always active. He is always about his business.

And the difference between you and the devil is that the devil never forgets for one moment that his business is to seek and to find and to destroy and to devour you. But we walk about as if he doesn't exist and as if there is no danger. One of the things that we see in the book of Job is that the devil wanted to prove that Job only feared and loved God because of the blessings that God had brought into his life. That's one of the things that the devil wants to do with you too. He's wanting to use you as a display and as an example that you don't really love God, you just love his benefits.

Satan also wants to prove that you have more affection for this world than you do for the living God. You need to understand that every person, every one of you here this morning and myself, we will be an object lesson to the rational universe. And the question is, what kind of lesson are we going to be? Are you going to give into the temptations that are before you? Are you going to recognize them as what they are?

These are the attacks and the fiery darts of the evil one. Are you going to resist the devil as we'll get to in just a moment, or are you going to be sleepily walking through this world acting as if there was no enemy? The Bible says that he's a roaring lion. He's not a kitty cat. Kitty cats are cute.

Lions will eat you. And may I say he wants to destroy you and devour you and he goes about seeking. He does not go about his business aimlessly. He's on a mission. He is always looking for a victim.

He is looking for someone who has not put on the armor of God. In Ephesians chapter 6, we read here about the putting on the whole armor of God. It's very interesting, and I'm not going to read all of this, but I just want to throw some things out there. He mentions that we need to stand against the wiles of the devil. He makes this statement, gird your waist with truth, because he wants to attack you.

These are the ways. He wants to attack you regarding truth. He wants you to tell you that everything is relative. It's the doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation only to culture and society. And so when the culture says it's perfectly fine for you to marry, for a woman to marry a woman or a man to marry a man or for you to change your gender, he's wanting you to believe that that's truth because the world says it's truth.

But What God's Word says is that there is an eternal truth that never changes, and it's God's truth. The devil wants to attack your mind regarding truth. He says, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, he wants to attack you regarding your act of obedience to God. And then he says, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel, he wants to attack you regarding your understanding of the gospel. He will try to make you proud of your walk with the Lord or keep you feeling so defeated because of your failures that you fall into more sin.

And above all the shield of fate which is able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, there are all sorts of fiery darts. We could list them. Galatians chapter five, 19 through 20 gives us a whole list of the works of the flesh and those are the fiery darts that he's shooting at you. And then the helmet of salvation, listen, he wants to attack your mind and the things that you're thinking about. Second Corinthians chapter 10 speaks about these things, that We need to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ because he wants to attack you daughters in what you're thinking about Because here's the fact everyone meditates all the time.

The question is what are you meditating upon? He will attack you in your thinking. And I want to say that he's hungry. He's looking for whom he may devour. Chrysostom said, the devil does not want to bite you.

He wants to devour you. The idea of devouring means that you gulp it down or swallow it down completely. That's what he's after. He's specifically after believers. He's specifically after believers that think they stand, but they're in grave danger of falling.

And lastly, I want you to know that you have an enemy like a lion, and how should you fight the battle? The Bible's real clear, it just is this simple stuff here, resist him. I don't know of anywhere where the Bible says flee from the devil. The Bible actually says resist him and he will flee from you. You are to resist him.

You are to be hostile towards him. You're to oppose him, rebel against him, and set yourself against him. That's what it means to resist. And may I say this, the Bible says God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. Resist the devil and he will flee from you, James says.

So we are not to turn our backs on him because really none of our spiritual armor protects our back. We resist him. That means he should be in front of our eyes. When you're thinking about your day, you need to be thinking that you have an enemy. And you need to be watching.

You need to be vigilant. You need to be sober. You need to be ready to resist him because he's after you. Do not be ignorant of how your enemy works. And then he says resist him steadfast in the faith.

It just means to be stiff, stark, firm, solid. The metaphor is stubborn. Any of you young ladies stubborn? Be stubborn in your faith. Be stubborn in your faith as you resist the devil.

And two questions for you to think about. In what areas, number one, in what areas are you not being sober and vigilant? And remember, sober means self-controlled and clear-minded, and vigilant means watchful, on guard. In what areas are you not being that? And then number two, what is your plan for becoming more steadfast in your faith?

You need to have a plan. Put this on that list that Brother Jason was talking about as number one on your list and add in there my plan for becoming more steadfast in the faith. Because you need to dedicate your life to it. Don't think for a moment. The verse that's been running through my mind is 1 Corinthians 10, 12.

Therefore, let him who thinks he stand take heed lest he fall. Be on guard. Let's pray. Our Father, would you please take these truths of your word, take this warning Lord that has been given and I pray oh God for your people, I pray for these fathers or these fathers are leading their families. I pray for them that they will recognize the enemy, recognize his devices, recognize the danger, and Lord be on guard.

I pray for these daughters Lord that you would help them. Lord the world and the devil is attacking their minds in so many different ways. It's a full frontal attack and their minds are in the crosshair and I pray God that you would guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus that you would protect them Lord from any sense of doubting your word any sense of believing the worldly system or the culture over the Word of God please help them oh God, I pray in Christ's name, amen.