Open your Bibles to First Peter chapter five. We’re going to read verse eight.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.”
The word “seeking” means “to seek with the intention of killing.” Now let that sink in. The devil wants to kill you. The word “devour” means “to swallow up as in drinking.” It’s almost like Peter is trying to drive home the point of how heinous the devil is.
Peter is clear about the devil’s intention for our lives. He wants to destroy us. First, he wants to do that spiritually. Secondly, he wants to that physically.
Now I want you to keep this verse in mind because we will see it verse again.
In the game of poker, players try to identify in other players what is known as a tell. A tell is a “change in a player’s behavior or demeanor that give clues to his assessment of his hand.” A player can gain an advantage if he observes and understands the meaning of a player’s tell, particularly if the tell is unconscious and reliable. Also keep this in mind.
In Matthew 4, we are introduced to Lucifer, the fallen angel mentioned in Isaiah 14, in a way that is both personal and deadly. Let’s read what Isaiah says about him first. Let’s read verses 12 through 15.
(12) How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
(13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
(14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
(15) Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Lucifer coveted his Creator’s seat of power and authority. We see this in his five “I will” statements. He still craves what belongs to God but knows he’ll never have it. So what does he do? He takes out his anger on God’s children. He looks for opportunities to humble us and to humiliate us. His end game: he wants us with him in the lake of fire.
Here in Matthew 4, we’re going to see two Greek words that describe how Lucifer functions in the world and how he comes against Christians. Let’s begin with verse one.
“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”
Matthew identifies him first as the devil. In the Greek it’s the word “diabolos” and it means “the one who falsely accuses and divides people without any reason.” This is the primary way he operates. He deceives and divides families and relatives and friends with lies and half truths. Are we not seeing this on full display right now in our country? And I’ll say this again child of God – you…are…the…target.
The accuser “points a finger” at our shortcomings and he often does it through our past. Look at Revelation 12:10.
“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”
One way “the accuser of our brethren” attacks us is by using our past to convince us that getting born again really didn’t change who we used to be. Let me give you an example.
A father wants to remind his adult son that being intimate with his girlfriend before marriage is a sin. But when he picks up the phone to call him, the accuser whispers in his ear “Didn’t you do the same thing? So why is it a sin when he does it but not when you did it?” The accuser is trying to guilt the father into hanging up the receiver and remaining silent.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is happening every day in Christian homes in our country. Parents are being guilted into silence because the “finger pointer” makes them feel that their past has caught up with them. But we have a Father who loves us and forgives us when we repent of our sins. Psalm 103:12 says
“As far as the east is from the west, So far hath He removed our transgressions (against Him) from us.”
Now, let’s go back to Matthew. Let’s read verse 10.
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
In this chapter, Matthew also identifies Lucifer as Satan. In the Greek it’s the word “satanas” and describes “one who opposes and is an adversary to both believers and unbelievers.”
Remember what we read First Peter 5:8 and the words “seeking” and “devour”? Let’s read it again.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.”
Ladies and gentlemen, Satan is not a roaring lion, but he wants us to believe that he is. When a lion roars, the vibrations of his roar penetrate the nervous system of the prey and the prey freezes in its tracks. In that moment of indecision, the lion pounces and the devouring begins.
As we mature in the knowledge of who we are, Satan will roar louder and louder, hoping to stop us. He sees us as prey and wants to immobilize us through “sudden fear” – fear that causes us to hesitate or be confused. When this happens, we don’t focus on the power that’s in us and the One empowering us who says, “Be not afraid of sudden fear, Neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.” (Proverbs? ?3?:?25)? ??????????????????
So what is it that our enemy, our adversary, wants to devour in our lives?
Let’s ask Jesus.
In Mark 4:15, He says “… but when they have heard the word, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.”
In Matthew 13:19 He says “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart …”
And finally, in Luke 8:12 he says again, “Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.”
In the parable of the sower, Jesus says Satan has one goal: to keep His Word from taking root in our hearts. He says it differently in John 10:10 – “The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy …”
This is another way of saying “seeking whom he may devour.” What Jesus describes is what the enemy is after. He wants to separate us from the one thing that can keep us from becoming his prey – the truth of the Word living inside of us.
Why is this so important? Let’s look at what Jesus says in Luke 6:45.
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”
Ladies and gentlemen, when life becomes uncomfortable, it is the Word that we have planted on the inside of us that has become deeply rooted in our hearts that will govern our response. We see how this plays out in Jesus’ temptation here in Matthew 4.
(3) And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If thou be the Son of God …
(5) Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city …
(6)And saith unto Him, If thou be the Son of God. (Matthew 4:3, 5, 6)
The devil wanted Jesus to prove to him what he already knew and what Jesus Himself already knew – that He was the Son of God. Today, so many Christians don’t know their true heritage as sons and daughters of God and we can see it in their tells.
Now let me define the “Poker Tell” this way: It is our default response in an uncomfortable situation.
Let me give you a personal example.
Early in our marriage, Doris and I would go out with friends and after a period of time she’d notice me fidgeting. My left leg would bounce up and down like it was receiving one electrical shock after another. She’d gently place her hand on my knee, lean in and say softly “Honey, stop. This makes you look like you’re nervous.” Over time I realized that my fidgeting was an unconscious response to, in this case, a wandering mind. When I wasn’t participating I had mentally “checked out”of the conversation. Fidgeting was my tell.
In times of stress and uncertainty, when you listen to what most Christians say and watch what they do, you will see their tell: instead of responding biblically to what they’re experiencing, their default responses are worry, agitation, uncertainty and doubt. Folks, these are signs that are like lights blinking so brightly that they are impossible for the enemy to miss!
Why does this happen? Second Corinthians 4:4 gives us a hint.
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
In the context, Paul is talking about the lost being blinded so that they will not believe or accept the truth of the gospel. But, is it possible that it could apply to Christians as well? Absolutely.
The word “minds” is “noema” in the Greek and means “to perceive, understand, and comprehend in an absolute sense.” A mind that is not blinded by what it sees and what it hears is capable of perceiving, understanding and comprehending the truth of the gospel.
The words “believe not” are one word in the Greek, “apistos”, from “a”, which means “without”, and “pistos”, which means “believing or faithful.” Christians apistos (don’t believe) the Bible when they don’t have enough Bible sown in their hearts. Remember the parable of the sower?
Ladies and gentlemen, having apistos in our lives is a huge tell in the realm of the spirit.
? When Christians are silent concerning lifestyle choices and behaviors that the Bible prohibits, there is apistos in their lives.
? When Christians support ways of thinking that don’t agree with the way the Bible says they are to think, there is apistos in their lives.
? When Christians support policies and laws that are ungodly and wicked and individuals who promote them, there is apistos in their lives.
? When Christians attack other Christians by labeling them “religious” or “intolerant” or “divisive” or “unloving” because they speak out against what society and culture say are acceptable, there is apistos in their lives.
Ladies and gentlemen, most of the Church is living in apistos.
I saw a YouTube video recently that saddened me. A young man approaches several people in a supermarket and offers them $50 if they can repeat one Bible verse. Not one person, including two self-professed Christians, could recite a Bible verse or declined to even try. The video ended with him holding the $50 in his hand.
The video was a disappointing reminder that there are Christians who are living in apistos and don’t know it. So many fit the description of the children of Israel found in Hosea 4:6. Let’s turn to it.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
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There are two crucial points in this verse that, in my opinion, scream at us. The first is the word “destroyed”. It means “to be dumb or silent; hence to fail or perish, be undone.” The second is the phrase “because thou hast rejected knowledge”.
The people had silenced themselves and chose to go along with the sin of the nations around them. By silencing themselves, the children of Israel were “telling” the realm of the spirit that they did not believe God to take care of them. That’s why the verse says they rejected knowledge.You can’t reject what you don’t know, now can you?
Many in the Church are like the child who has learned “to be seen but not heard.” They are not willing to speak out against the sin and wickedness we are witnessing in our country. For example,
? They are unwilling to speak against drag queens in local schools and libraries and in some churches.
? They are unwilling to speak against replacing the nuclear family with non-Biblical models such as two mothers or two fathers.
? They are unwilling to speak against leaders whose words and actions promote ungodliness that lead to increasing sin.
? They are unwilling to speak against pastors who preach a gospel that allows people who are living in sin to believe they are not outside of God’s will.
A Christian’s silence or reluctance to challenge these abominations are the tell that shows that he or she is uncomfortable with the truth of the gospel and it’s on full display in the realm of the spirit and enthusiastically enjoyed and applauded by the enemy.
Now, keeping all of this in mind, how can we – how do we – shut down the enemy?
Let’s go back to Matthew 4. In addition to showing us how the enemy operates, the chapter points out the one and only way to “shut down” his attempts at infiltrating our minds with his lies. After the tempter launches his attack, Jesus’ response is straightforward, to the point and, most important, consistent. We’re going to read verses four, seven and ten.
(4) But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. …
(7) Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. …
(10) Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10)
When it comes to dealing with the enemy and how he operates, there is nothing more powerful on the lips of those who believe than the life-containing words of the Bible. Nothing.
We are battling a spirit who wants to steal, kill and destroy us. If we want our God-given authority to rise up, then we need to give it a spiritual ladder to use – words that are filled with spirit and words that are filled with life. Jesus says in John 6:63 that –
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” ?
Jesus’ tell was always the same – “It is written.”
For us today, if “it is written” is not our tell, if “it is written” is not our default response, then the enemy is going to do whatever he wants in our lives, whenever he wants, with little resistance. That didn’t happen to Jesus. And it shouldn’t happen to us either.
Now, I’m going to circle back to First Peter 5:8 one more time:
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.”
The devil is looking for prey that he knows he can devour. Now, how do you think he makes his final selection? By the person’s tell – by what the person is showing him.
So here’s my question: when Satan looks at you and evaluates you as potential prey, what is your tell – what are you showing him that tells him you are not available?
Let “It is written” be your tell!
