This Could Be the Start of Something Big: Victim or Victor?
I Peter 5:7-11
1 Peter 5:7-11
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
(NIV)
Lions, in their prime are amazing predator's. They prowl and lie in wait for prey. Then without warning they will rush out of hiding, silently, swiftly catching and killing their victim.
Young and old lions have something in common. They have a problem taking down their prey. When a lion is young it has small claws, short teeth and is really quite awkward. They have a very difficult time chasing down prey and catching it. And once they do manage to catch something they usually have a difficult time killing it.
Old lions suffer the opposite end of the lifecycle. They are slow and weak, have lost their teeth and claws and are unable to pursue and take down prey.
These two must rely on a different style of attack to survive. They also prowl and lie in wait, But then must rush at their prey and ROAR! This is what they have in common, to be able to take prey they must roar. Sounds fairly innocuous, however, it is how they survive.
The part that is amazing is that they know by instinct they can frighten their prey into submission, so that they can easily catch and kill it.
Lions roar to induce their victims to freeze in fear before the attack!
Amos 3:8
8 The lion has roared-- who will not fear?
(NIV)
God has not designed you to be a victim, but victorious!
2 Timothy 1:7
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
(NKJ)
How NOT to become prey:
Be self-controlled and alert!
1 Peter 5:8
8 Be self-controlled and alert.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
(NIV)
The most famous lion tamer in the Bible was Daniel. Daniel became a lion tamer because he did know how to control himself. His self-control caught the attention of the King.
Dan 6:3
3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
(NIV)
And Daniel’s self-control unleashed the first lion he would have to tame – JEALOUSY!
Dan 6:4-5
4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.
5 Finally these men said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God."
(NIV)
Dan 6:7
7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions' den.
(NIV)
Dan 6:10
10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
(NIV)
Dan 6:13-23
13 Then they said to the king, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day."
14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
15 Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, "Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed."
16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!"
17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed.
18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den.
20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"
21 Daniel answered, "O king, live forever!
22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king."
23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
(NIV)
Learn how the enemy hunts!
2 Corinthians 2:9-11
9 The reason I wrote you was to see if you would
stand the test and be obedient in everything.
10 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him.
And what I have forgiven
— if there was anything to forgive—
I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,
11 in order that Satan might not outwit us.
For we are not unaware of his schemes.
(NIV)
African Lions hunt primarily by sight. Although visual cues will trigger the hunt, their sense of smell and hearing will assist in alerting them to the whereabouts of their prey. Herbivores are untroubled if lions are visible, but get agitated when they smell or hear them without being able to locate their position, or when being stalked.
Most hunting takes place under the poor light conditions of early evening or dawn, and during the night. During daylight when prey animals themselves are better able to see, the lion is at a disadvantage, as its hunting technique depends on stalking within range of its prey.
African Lion have little stamina, and will usually get up close to the prey before charging. In about 10% of kills, the prey is ambushed. The lion's final charge is usually made from as close as 30 to 60 feet. Lions do not always hunt in a group and single lions account for about 50% of all kills.
Generally females kill more than males, but in the case of large animals, the greater mass and strength of the male is needed. The hunting technique is typified by: the pride either walks in single file, or fans out in a loose formation, searching for potential prey. Their body language is casual until prey is sighted: the lioness will then freeze or sink down into cover, and is emulated by the others. They then begin to stalk the prey, with one lioness leading: every scrap of cover is used, and the lioness will freeze and remain totally still if necessary. They then silently burst from their cover and launch at the animal, usually closely followed by the rest of the pride.
1) Roar inducing Worry
What do you worry about? Ever find yourself frozen in fretfulness? The devil’s roar that you’ll never get well, you’ll always be mistreated, you’ll never get ahead financially, and on and on, inducing a fretful situation on your soul..
Psalm 37:7-8
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret-- it leads only to evil.
(NIV)
1 Peter 5:7
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
(NIV)
2) Roar reducing Resistance
(making bad look good and good look bad)
One of Satan’s loudest roars, reducing us to cowardice is the bait and switch ploy. He will try to convince you that it really does no good to resist evil, because you know that you want to do wrong. You might as well give in. It won’t hurt this time. He still uses the line he spoon fed Eve in the Garden:
Gen 3:4-5
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.
5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
(NIV)
Satan also loves to make you feel bad when you do good so that you’ll quit trying! The Apostle Paul was nearly duped into believing that!
Rom 7:19-21
19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-- this I keep on doing.
20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
(NIV)
If Satan could get Eve, the first perfect woman, and nearly trap the Great Apostle Paul, is there any hope for folk like you and me? If the Lion cannot kill his prey instantly by breaking its neck, he will drag it around until it is dead! How can we keep from falling prey when Satan roars this way?
James 4:7
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
(NIV)
Sin meets legitimate needs in illegitimate ways!
3) Roar raising weakness
This lion roar is the Roar of Remembrance. “You failed before, you will fail again.’’ “You know there is no way you can keep from failing.” Sin you may, Sin you must, If you know sin, you know you’ll bust! You can’t help yourself! The failures of your past will haunt you and Satan will scream those things at you to intimidate you into believing that you are too weak to fight against him.
1 Peter 5:9-11
9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,
after you have suffered a little while,
will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
(NIV)
Ephesians 6:10-11
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
(NIV)
Eph 6:14-18
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth (TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE) buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness (GOD MADE JESUS WHO HAD NO SIN TO BE SIN FOR US SO THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE THRE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM) in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace (HAVING BEEN JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD).
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith (FAITH IS THE VICTORY THAT OVERCOMES THE WORLD), with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
(NIV)
