Be Alert and Sober-Minded

This morning is the last sermon in our series on 1 Peter, this is the 14th sermon, next week we'll dive back into our series on Psalms.

We have seen, over these last 13 weeks, that this letter from Peter is jam-packed with doctrine and exhortations and encouragement.

Here are some of the things we’ve learn from Peter.

We are elect, chosen by God. We are born again to a living hope.

We are exiles, in this land, refugees, but we have a new identity in Christ, and a citizenship that is in heaven.

We are loved. We are chosen. We are precious. We are a holy nation. We are a royal priesthood.

We are guaranteed to be sustained amid suffering by the grace of God.

We are guaranteed to be refined through suffering.

We get to be the people that mediate God’s blessings to the world, we have the privilege of being the instruments that God uses to proclaim the excellencies of Christ.

We are the living stones of this new spiritual house that God is building. And there is a future grace, we are exhorted to look forward to it.

These are some of the truths we learn in the first few chapters.

Then, last week, Pastor Joe examined the first few verses of chapter 5 and there Peter gives exhortations to the elders to shepherd the flock of God.

And I’m going to unpack that a bit more this morning. We’ll come back to that. And now we come to the final few verses of 1 Peter, chapter 5. Look at verses 6 and 7 with me:

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

God is the one we run to when we face anxieties… because he cares for us.

Psalm 55:22: Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.

Psalm 56:3-4: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Psalm 34:15: The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

Philippians 4:6: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Words of Jesus in Matthew 6:25-26:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Pastor Jonathan talked about this passage a few months back during the ROOTED series. When we hear birds chirping, we are reminded that God will take care of us. If God takes care of the birds, he’ll certainly take care of us.

Church, God cares for you!

Now, let’s look at verse 8 together: Peter says… “Be sober-minded; be watchful.”

This is not the first time we hear this language from Peter: 1 Pt. 1:13: “preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded…” We also hear similar language again in 4:7: “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.”

This idea of being sober minded is important. It literally refers to drunkenness. Being sober is the opposite of being drunk. You could call it anti-drunkenness.

But Peter is not merely alluding to the excessive use of alcohol here, he is also saying that our minds must always be sober, we must not ever do anything that causes our minds to not be sober. 

We must avoid anything that impedes our judgment. We must avoid doing anything that may cause our minds to be more likely to make bad decisions. I’m going to say that again to make sure we don’t miss it… the command to be sober-minded is telling us that we must avoid doing anything that may cause our minds to be more likely to make bad decisions.

That varies from person to person.

Sometimes it is alcohol.

For some it’s money, people can be drunk on a love of money.

For others it’s food.

For others is sex or relationships.

For others is the drive the be famous on social media that drives them to make poor decisions. I don’t know about you, I so desperately want that blue check mark on Twitter, and if I’m not careful, I might end up making a bad decision in how I use the platform.

Whatever causes you to potentially make bad decisions. Whatever causes you to be irrational. Whatever causes your mind to not think clearly, get rid of it.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:30:

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Look at rest of verse 8 with me: “… Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

I actually used the imagery of a lion a few weeks ago. I had the opportunity to preach on chapter 2.

And in 2:12 we see Peter command the Christians to abstain from the passions of their flesh, and he says that they “wage war against your soul.” The passions of the flesh are proactively looking for ways destroy you.

Back in that sermon, I said that this reminds me of a lion crouching in the plains of Africa, sneaking up on an unsuspecting gazelle, ready to pounce. That’s what sin is like. And so many Christians are like the unsuspecting gazelle, just enjoying the moment, drinking at the water hole, as if there’s no threat.

Friends, the passions of the flesh are waging war against you. Well, here in chapter five, the apostle Peter uses this imagery to describe the devil. He’s already told us that the passions of the flesh war against our souls. But now he also highlights the devil himself. Peter calls him our “adversary.”

Satan is real. He wants to destroy us.

Also, it’s important to note… Our enemy is supernatural.

Paul says in Eph 6: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Church… People are not our enemy. We have supernatural forces and principalities working against us, that’s who we wrestle against.

Your spouse is not your enemy. Your boss is not your enemy. That co-worker you don’t get along with and argue with, he’s not your enemy.

That friend who voted for a politicians that you cant stand, you know what I’m talking about, you know someone who voted for a politician you don’t like, and you’re like, “how could they have voted for that politician?” Listen, the politician is not your enemy and the friend that voted for that politician is also not your enemy.

The devil is the enemy… and he is out to get you… prowling around seeking to devour someone! This is why we must take this command from Peter seriously, to be watchful of the devil. This language that Peter is using is very similar to language used by Jesus.

Luke 21 (CSB): 34 “Be on your guard, so that your minds are not dulled… 36 But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place.” We are to be on guard. This is an attitude we must have.

Example: I often take our dog on walks through our neighborhood… well, sometimes it feels like he’s walking me… anyway, I walk through my neighborhood, and I hear noises and I ignore them. Walking by someone’s home and you hear their A/C unit kick on, you hear cars, you here birds and squirrels. You hear someone pulling their garbage cans up their driveway. There’s all sorts of noises, but we just ignore them.

But a few days ago, we go an email from the HOA that there had been some coyote sightings and the next day I saw a coyote wondering around our cul-de-sac. So now, my walks with the dog, little shorter, I don’t go out as far. And we have mace attached to the end of the leash, I have it ready.

And now when I’m out, I’m on guard. Every little noise. I hear a twig snap, boom, I’m on it. I hear some rustlings in the bushes, I get the mace ready.

Because I know there’s a threat, I’m much more in-tune with my surroundings and I am much more careful. I don’t assume things are safe.

Well, that’s me being watchful. That might be a little bit of a silly example, but this is how we ought to approach the devil.

We must always be on guard… and if we see anything in our lives that might make us vulnerable to his schemes… we must be right on top of it.

There was a well-known British church leader in the nineteenth century, JC Ryle… he said this:

“That old enemy of mankind is not dead. Ever since the Fall of Adam and Eve he has been "going to and fro in the earth… striving [for] one great end—the ruin of man’s soul. Never slumbering and never sleeping…. he is always near us… spying out all our ways… he labors night and day to cast us down to hell. Sometimes [he leads us] into superstition, sometimes [he suggests] infidelity, sometimes by one kind of tactics and sometimes by another, he is always carrying on a campaign against our souls.”

Look at 1 Peter 5:9 (ESV)

“Resist him…” [speaking of the devil]… “firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”

Notice, Peter tells us how we resist the devil. He mentions two things: First… by remaining “firm in your faith…” Second… knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

First, Peter mentions, remaining “firm in your faith.” Again, Peter uses lingo here which is remarkably similar to things Jesus said to Peter. Look at Luke 22 with me:

Jesus speaking… 31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Not long after Jesus said this, Peter denied Jesus, he failed big time, but he didn’t relinquish his faith in Jesus; and he didn’t stop loving Jesus. Notice, Jesus said “when you have turned again…” Jesus knew Peter would fail that evening, but Jesus also knew Peter would turn again, and Jesus says, “when” (not if), “when you turn back…. Strengthen your brothers.”

Why did Peter turn back to Jesus? Why did he not lost his faith?

We see the answer in v. 32… Jesus said to Peter, “I have prayer for you, that you faith may not fail.”

Peter’s faith remained because Jesus prayed. Well, the same is true for us. In John 17, Jesus had just prayed for the apostles, then he says: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.”

Here’s the conclusion…. You will be able to resist the devil, why? Because your faith will remain firm. And… why will your faith remain firm? Because of Jesus… because he prayed!

One other observation: When we read this, Peter is addressing them in the plural. “Humble yourselves (plural)... so that he may exalt you (plural).” “Casting all your (plural) cares on him, because he cares about you (plural).” 8 “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your (plural) adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” Why does this matter? Why does it matter that it's plural lingo?

Peter is speaking to the group, as if he is expecting that the group will do this together. Peter is not telling us to resist the devil by ourselves, no. The devil, our adversary, he’s looking around to devour someone. He’s circling the group, the church, and he’s looking to the one that appears to be the weakest link. So we are to be watchful, not just for ourselves, but for the entire group.

We are watching out for each other, and if we see something in each other’s lives that the devil could attack, then we call it out.

If I notice that’s there’s something in your life, and I think this may cause the devil to think he can devour you, then I need to step in and help you.

Last week Pastor Joe covered the first few verses of first Peter chapter 5 where Peter exhorts the elders to shepherd the flock of God among you, and I said earlier that I’d come back to it. Okay, here it is.

We as elders, as your pastors, we recognize that there is an adversary, checking out our church… and he’s trying to figure out… is there one or more of those members he can target and devour!

So, if we see a weakness in your life, a vulnerability… we see you dealing with some concerns or anxieties in a way that will hurt you or those around you…. then we will point it out, and we will call you to repentance and expect you address that issue.

This is why the apostle Peter exhorts the church to submit to the elders…. To the pastors. Peter commands this because he knows that the pastors are going to keep watch over you.

Hebrews 13:17: Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls.

It’s not legalistic or domineering to point out a vulnerability and to call people to repentance. And of course, we’re not the only ones, it’s not just the elders… your Community Group leaders and our deacons and your life group. These are the mechanisms we have put in place to help you be watchful.

This is why we do church membership. I’ve had people ask me, what do we get when we become members?

And honestly, there’s some flaws with that question, but I typically just let that slide… when people ask, “what do I get when I become a member?” Here’s my answer: You get the opportunity to submit to this church, and this church will help you stay on guard against the schemes of the devil. That’s what you get. You get a community that will help your faith remain firm.

Look back with me to verse 9: “…knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” One of the ways you will be able to resist the devil is because you are aware of the sufferings of other Christians and you see the grace of God at work in their lives.

Example: I have been in a life group for a while with Pastor Josh Foster. I observed some suffering in their life. I got permission from them to share.

They four kids, and another on the way. But what you may not know, is between their third and fourth kid, Neshawn and Sariah, they had three miscarriages in 15 months. I watched them go through this. I was heartbroken for them. God, why would you ordain this to happen? But you know what I saw… I saw them love their Community Group and their friends and their kids… I saw them go through it and still love Jesus… they still wanted to have more kids. I watched the grace of God in their lives and I said to myself, “If they can go through that and rely on God’s grace, I can endure the things I am suffering and I too can rely on the grace of God.” That’s why we have Community groups and life groups.

This is why, if someone says, “Nah, I don’t want to be in a CG or I don’t want to be in a Life Group…” we get concerned about that… it’s not good… because we know that you’ll be missing out on one of the key components that will help you resist the devil.

When you become a member, you get the opportunity to submit to these elders, and you get the opportunity to submit yourself to your community group and to a life group, and that will help you stay on guard against the schemes of the devil. Last thought for this morning… Let’s look at just one more verse together…. vv. 10-11: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace…” I love that phrase… “…the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Peter uses this term “little while”… he uses the same lingo is used in 1 Peter 1… he says “little while” is until the “revelation” of Jesus… basically, until Jesus returns.

Little while does not mean a few days or few weeks or few months…. It’s referring to the time period between now and the time when Jesus comes back… that’s the little while that Peter is talking about.

Peter says… yes, you’re going to suffer for a “little while”… which is during this life, on this side of eternity… but Jesus is going to come back…. And that’s when “the God of all grace”… that’s when he’ll fully restore you, and confirm you, strengthen you, and establish you.

Side note… I know someone might say, but this life does not feel like a “little while.” Peter would say… compared to the future grace that is coming, this life is indeed a little while. And Paul would agree with Peter…. Here’s what Paul writes in Romans 8:18:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

And then Paul also says this in 1 Cor 2:9: “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” No human mind has ever conceived what God has in store for us, when he appears again.

Church, I want all of us to experience that future grace, so let us guard one another to ensure that no one is devoured by the devil. Let’s be alert, and sober-minded, let us cast our anxieties on him, he cares for us… and let’s humbly submit ourselves to each other, so that we can resist the devil.

And church… we will win our war against sin and the devil, we will win; not because we mustered up enough will power, no.

We will win our war against sin and the devil because Jesus prayed for us and because Jesus died for us and because Jesus rose from the dead.

We will win! And we will see that future grace; and it’s all because of Jesus. And that’s why we come to this table, each and every week. To remember what Jesus did.

We partake in this meal to remember Jesus, the son of God, who prayed for me, who loved me, who died for me, and made it possible for me to be born again; born again unto a living hope.

In just a moment, our pastors are going to come and they’re going to pass out these elements—the bread and the juice—the symbols of the body and blood of Christ.

This meal is primarily for the members of Cities Church, but it is open to all believers. If you believe in Jesus and have trusted in him, than this meal is for you. However, if you are here this morning and you are not a Christian, or if you’re not sure that you’re a genuine follower of Christ, then please just let elements pass. And instead of taking this meal with us this morning, I encourage you—I implore you—take Christ instead. If you have any questions about that means or what it means to be a Christian, please come up after the service, we’d love to talk to you about it.

Church, His body is the true bread. His blood is the true drink. Let us serve you.