From Matthew 26 (NIV) 33Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." 34"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." 35a But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." 69Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said. 70But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. 71Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth." 72He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!" 73After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away." 74Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed. 75Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.
I Peter 5:6-10 (NASB) 6Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion … whether we are facing a national crisis or personal problem, dealing with the temptations of prosperity or the trials of poverty, the Enemy is the same. And, no matter what the difference in our difficulties might be, the Enemy’s goal is the same – to destroy the firmness of our faith. The Enemy wants to fill us with worry and discouragement, to send us scurrying in all different directions to isolate us from God and from one another, to steal from us the confidence that we can count on God, and to deafen us to God’s call and command.
We are not likely to be alert on our own and by ourselves. We need a group of like-minded people to help keep us aware and alert, to help us see beyond our present problems and struggles to the work of the Enemy. We also need a group of people to help us see and trust the work of God. One person may not well resist the power of the enemy. Peter proved that in his denial of Christ. But together we can form a bond of resistance that the enemy cannot break. That has been the hope and the faith of the church for 2,000 years, and it is as important and crucial now as it has ever been. The Enemy may change tactics over the years but has not yet retreated in full defeat. Be sober in spirit and be on the alert.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October 6, 1991
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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