As a Bible scholar and compassionate pastor, Dr. Youssef gives you tools to stand strong in the strength of the Lord. In Dr. Michael Youssef's new book, Winning the Invisible War, Dr. Youssef reminds you that although the war isn't over, victory is guaranteed in Christ.
Pre-order your copy today and learn more about the content when you go to ltw.org. L T W dot org. Welcome to Leading the Way with the author of the brand new book. Winning the Invisible War. Dr.
Michael Yusak. and get ready for a powerful message he's called Be vigilant. Unpacking a warning from the Apostle Paul about Satan's strategy to pursue and defeat Christ's followers. It's just one part of the life-changing audio series. winning the invisible war.
which complements Dr. Youssef's new book of the same name.
So listen with me as he begins this very timely message. 1 Peter chapter 5 Verse eight and nine. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around. like a roaring lion.
looking for someone To devour. Resist him. Stand firm in the faith. Because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. Those who know the world of animals.
Tell us that a lion Well, the lions always roar, but they roar the loudest. Under three conditions. Whether you heal them Raw The most. The Aurora when another lion Intrudes into their territories to try to hunt in their territories. They tell us that the lions at that point roars very loud.
Telling that intruder Get out of my territory and stay out. The second time that a lion really roars loud, is when there is thunder and lightning. For some reason lions Are terrified of thunder and lightning. They don't like it.
So they roar very loudly. The third time, and that's what I will be talking about today, is when a A lion roars loud. Really loudest. is after He gets his prey. After he gets that animal which he's been Tracing, first of all, he's been waiting for quietly, then he chases after the prey, and then when he pins that animal.
Under his control he would roar the loudest. That is the roar of triumph. It's a thrill of victory. after overwhelming his prey.
Now let me tell you something at the outset. whether we like it or not. Whether we acknowledge it or not. Whether we agree with it or not. Satan is in a state of war with you.
It's another matter of choice.
So not only will he take it or leave it, he is in a state of war with you. The Bible calls him Our adversary. This adversarial relationship started the moment we said yes to Jesus. Why? Because that moment he lost you.
As his follower. Because that moment He had been insulted by you. Because that moment You were snatched out of the jaws of death and sin. Because that moment He lost a future companion with him in the lake of fire. Because that's the moment with God's power and God's grace, you kicked Satan in the teeth.
And he never forgives you for it. He just doesn't know how to forgive. He can't forgive you. Please, please hear exactly what I'm saying, okay? There can be no neutrality.
in Satan's attitude toward you. You may have neutrality in your attitude towards him. He has no neutrality of his attitude toward you. Who is a Bible-believing Christian? Because He thought he had you in the bag.
But you broke free. He can't forgive you for that. And when that happened, Satan doesn't shrug off and say, oh my goodness, another one bit the dust. Yeah. No.
Or never mind. I'll never miss him. I'll never miss her. No. He sends one of his agents after you.
Now, beloved, before I go any further, I want to remind you of the promise that we've been going through in the series, or we continue for the rest of the series. He who's in us is greater than he who's in the world. I want you to say that with me. Heat. I don't want you to ever forget it.
Ever forget it. Because if you know all about the enemy of your soul and you don't understand the promise of God for those who put their faith in Jesus, you can be terrified. And that's not what God called us to do. He called us to live with joy. and peace and in victory.
No doubt. That agents that Satan's agent whispers in your ear. He may be doing that right now. You don't believe the stuff about the devil, do you? Do you really believe that stuff?
Do you really believe that there is a personal Satan? Does such Satan exist? This Satan idea is a metaphorical and not literal. Oh my goodness, I heard preachers say that. You have enough problem to worry about.
They're worrying about a personal devil. You need to forget about that stuff. You're a decent person. And God has no choice. but to accept you because you are a decent person.
Be very careful. negotiating and debating. With the voice of the enemy. Be very careful negotiating, debating. For when you do that, You will end up like the man, the hunter, And you get into the same risk as he did.
who faced a huge grizzly bear.
So he took his rifle And aimed And he's about to pull the trigger. When the bear spoke, He said the grizzly speaks? Yep. And the hunter was so surprised of how soft the voice of the grizzly was, almost hypnotic. Yeah.
And the bear said, To the hunter he said, Isn't it better to talk than to shoot? Why don't we just sit down and negotiate? Let's find out what you want and w we come to a middle answer somehow. The hunter lowered his gun, And he thought about it for a moment. He said, Well, all I want is a fair coat.
The grizzly said, Fake out. That's not a problem. That's not a problem. We can talk about that. Because all I want is a full stomach.
Let's come to a compromise.
So they talked it over? And then negotiate it. In the end. The grizzly was walking away alone. Through the negotiation.
The bear managed to fill his stomach And given the hunter what he wanted. A fair quote. Beloved, listen to me. You can no more negotiate. with Satan, then you negotiate with the grizzly.
Remember again. Isaiah 14, 13 and 14. Satan said in his heart, I will ascend to heaven. I will make myself like the Most High. He wanted to be worshipped instead of God.
And as a result, he was thrown out of heaven. But don't ever forget, don't ever forget, don't ever forget. even though Satan was defeated on the cross. He has never given up his ambition. Never given up his ambition.
even though he was rendered toothless and clawless By Jesus. And he can never, ever, ever challenge God again. But he can still try to challenge God by going after his children. His faithful children. Ah That is why Peter who had experienced first hand.
He experienced first hand They're falling in Satan's trap. He could give us this warning. Only a man can speak from the crucible of his pain. could say be sober Be vigilant. Because you're adversary.
is sprawling around Like a roaring lion. Question. What does it take to be sober? In the real sense, in the normal physical sense. Nothing really.
You don't have to do anything, you just stay sober. You don't have to go to school to learn how to be sober. You don't have to go and get a course on being sober. Unless you're in trouble. They don't do anything.
to be sober. All you need to do. It's not get drunk. Getting drunk involves action. Being sober doesn't.
I told you in the last message. That when you hear the scripture says be vigilant and be sober, doesn't mean you grit your teeth and you're worried and you're sitting there 24-7 and say, oh, I got to be vigilant, I got to be vigilant, I got to be vigilant. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's not how it works. Being vigilant means that you rest.
in the power of the Holy Spirit. Is she a drunk person? Has an impaired vision. He has impaired ability to react quickly. He has an impaired control of his limbs.
Yeah. And ultimately. The drunk person really It has an uh his self-deception. You see sometimes I totally can't even walk and say, no, I can drive. That's self-deception.
Let me Translate this to the spiritual. Living in disobedience to the Word of God is a spiritual drunkenness. Why, how? Living in disobedience numbs your spiritual senses. And makes you not alert.
to the enemy's design on you. Listen to me. Those who are not spiritually sober. I'm able to see Things From God's perspective. And if Peter is telling us anything in these few verses, he's telling us to be serious-minded about the devil.
To be serious minded about Satan's traps. to be serious and not flippant about Satan because he means business. Because he cannot get to God, so he will try to get to one of his children. And we're seeing this happening all over the place. We see that also in the scripture.
King David. The man Of whom God said, I found his heart after my own heart. You couldn't get any greater. Praise. Then when God says, This man's heart is after my heart, In 2 Samuel chapter 11, We see the man of God Stopped being vigilant.
Stop being vigilant. And he ends up in the river of lust. Covetousness, adultery, intrigue. Betrayal And finally, Murder. Do you know what the original decision that led to all that mess, to that sordid affair?
You know what that decision was? 2 Samuel 11.1 There are five words, just five words, five words. Very innocent words. Five seemingly harmless words. Five words.
They appear to be insignificant. But I want you to l look at them with me, okay?
Now We don't know exactly the reason why he didn't go. and stayed home. A lot of people speculated, but That's not my place. The point is That he stayed in Jerusalem. But David Stayed in Jerusalem.
Five words. David. Did not exercise his primary responsibility. David did not exercise his role of leadership. He did not hear the lion crying.
creeping around him. He did not prepare for the temptation. He was not alert to the traps. They're being set up for him. Question.
When you can't sleep, what do you do? Don't do what David did. And now you don't have roofs, so you don't go up on the roof. Don't turn that television on. There are nights when I can't sleep.
The first thing I do is I'll have it by my bed. I listen to the word of God spoken. Into my ear. And then I sleep like a baby. Because I know and you know.
That every moment that is not dedicated to some godly end. is an opportunity for the devil to use. Had David walked across the street to the temple. Instead of going up on the rooftop. It would have been a different story.
Had he gone across the street to worship. But even then even then Had he not inquired about Bathsheba? Who is she? Boys, come over here. Who's this one?
Who's the This sordid trail would not have unfolded. You know the rest of the story. I'm not going to get into it. David was not vigilant. And he failed.
Oh, but the very man who gives us this warning, the very man are kept into the end, because that's very, very important, it's the heart of the text. The very man who warns us, the great Apostle Peter. The man who says, be sober-minded, be watchful, your adversary, the devil, is hurting around. Peter. The chief disciple.
He wants us and he warns us. out of the crucible. of his own experience. His own experience. Like all of us, Peter had His Achilles heels.
What was Peter's Real Achilles heel. He's courageous. Right? He's a bravado. And you wanted everybody to know it.
Isn't that just important in his own eyes, he wanted everybody to know how courageous he is. No. Look at me Luke 22.33 He expresses this courageous enthusiasm by saying to Jesus. You know Jesus? Of all these wimps not his word.
Yeah, they all kind of Forsake you, not me. I'm your man. I've got your back. Not just go to prison with you. I'm going to die with you if I have to.
Remember? They all had just had a precious meal. All of them had a precious meal with our Lord Jesus. And there during that meal, he said to them, He said, that he is the Passover Lamb. And he's going to die for the redemption and the salvation of the world.
And yet Peter Fellows out this Brafada. Dribble. Yeah. I want you to think with me, okay? He expressed willingness to die, right?
Verse 33, Luke 22, 22, 33. It's easy to remember. If you go up just two verses above 33. Only two verses here. You read of how Jesus Peter is a specific warning for Peter.
In those two verses above, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demands or sought. or requested To have you. That he might sift you like wheat. But I have interceded for you. that your faith may not fail.
And when you have returned, that's when you've repented, and when you're renewed. Go back and strengthen your brothers. I don't need to tell you. That during our Lord's trial, Peter denied Jesus three times. Three times.
And Satan roared. I got you man, I got you chief disciple. The Bible said, Peter went out and wept bitterly. And yet the sifting had just started. I just started.
After the sifting of fear, Can the sifting of self-doubt? But thank God. Peter did not surrender. to that self-doubt. that caused Judas to commit suicide.
Question. How many Christians do you know? They've been trapped. In the feeling of depression and discouragement and despondency. Why?
Because they don't know how to repent. They don't have to be renewed by the Holy Spirit. They don't have to reclaim their Rightful place, position and authority as the children of the living God. Judah's sin is no greater than Peter's. And yet the difference was knowing how to repent.
The difference is believing that God accepts and renews and restores repentant sinners. No matter how big is your sin, no matter how bad you feel, no matter how deep is your failure, no matter how low you have gotten, there is one thing Satan wants you to do, and that is stay down. Stay down. Getting up, repenting, and returning to your first love is the greatest defeat of Satan's design on you. Did you get that?
I'm gonna repeat it. Getting up, repenting, returning to your first love is your greatest defeat of Satan's design on you. Yeah. Peter, no doubt. No doubt.
Remember the words of Jesus. When you return. when you're restored. When you go back to your spiritual sobriety, You need to do one thing. Strengthen your brothers.
And my beloved friends, Part of his strengthening of his brothers. is the warning that he gives us in the Bible. 1 Peter 5, 8 and 9. Be very Vigilant. These words Peter put here In 1 Peter 5, 8 and 9 no doubt has strengthened millions of Christians in the last two thousand years.
He's strengthening his brothers just as Jesus asked him to. Or listen to what John said in 1 John 5, 18. We know that anyone who's born of God does not keep on sinning, or does not live in sin, or does not stay in sin. But he who is born of God protects himself And the evil one does not touch him.
Now I need to explain what touch means. Full meaning. does not touch him. You see, Satan can never, never, never, never, never. Siver our vital union with Christ if you're born again.
Satan can never, never, never break the cord of salvation. Even Careless believers. cannot lose their salvation. God has spoken. Jesus said, those whom the Father has given me, I'll lose none.
My Father is greater than all, and He will lose none. God has spoken, and Satan is powerless to change that. He's powerless to change that. Ah, but Satan can devour almost everything else around you. If you let him, that's really the operative word, if you let him.
If you allow him, if you get away from under the cover of the word of God and obedience to the word of God, if you stray away from the covering of the Lord Jesus. Listen to me. Satan can devour your effectiveness for God. Satan can devour your peace of mind. Satan can devour your witness.
Satan can devour your health. Satan can devour your marriage. Satan can devour your business if you let him. If you lit him. I repeat, if you let him.
If you allow him. If you give him an open door, All the New Testament writers again and again and again saying, be vigilant. Put on the whole armor of God. Resist the devil. This is leading the way.
and a message from Dr. Michael Youssef in his timely series, Winning the Invisible War. encouraging Christians to be watchful in today's challenging culture. Remember that you can listen to more of Dr. Youssef On the radio?
online at ltw dot org. Hey, if your computer or your mobile device is just constantly distracting you with notifications like mine is, you may appreciate this once a day email that is specifically crafted to refocus you on the things of God and His Word. It's called My Devotional. My Devotional is an email from doctor Youssef serving up several Bible verses to ponder. Get your free subscription to My Devotional started when you visit ltw.org.
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