A Scary Season

1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 2:22

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So it’s the season for scary movies, for Halloween decor, for haunted hayrides, and all of those things.

How are you with those? Do you like those things? Do you not like those things?

I gotta be honest, I’m not really into the whole, like, scary movie thing. Part of it is because I know that with some of these movies, they’re actually dipping into some things that aren’t games. They’re, they’re real. Now, don’t get me wrong. If you like scary movies or whatever, good for you. But for me, I realize there’s some real stuff that’s going on in our world though that’s kinda… it’s scary. It’s kinda tough to think about some of the spiritual realities that are out there.

But while they can be scary, guess what?

We don’t need to be intimidated.

There’s a verse that speaks to this in 1 Peter chapter 5, and it’s a verse that I didn’t really understand until I was actually at the zoo one time. We were at the lion exhibit, and there was a sign about why the lion marches around his exhibit, and he was he was marching around the perimeter, and he was roaring. And they were explaining that the lions will walk around their territory and roar as, like, an intimidation tactic to say that, “This is my territory, and you don’t belong here.” And after I saw that exhibit, then this verse from 1 Peter chapter 5 hit me in a very different way. It said,

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 ESV)

So that picture then of a roaring lion prowling around is a roaring lion who is looking to intimidate you, to say, “This is my territory, not your territory. You don’t belong here.” And that’s what the enemy will sometimes do to us. He will try to intimidate us and scare us. But don’t forget, while you and I were underneath the power of the enemy, Ephesians 2 chapter 2 makes this very clear, you are no longer.

Our Savior Jesus, when He came into this world, He took on that enemy. He went into the wilderness, and He withstood the temptation of the enemy in the wilderness. And throughout His ministry, again and again, we see Him driving out demons. People who were bound by demons for years, Jesus set loose, and He bound those demons. He cast them away. They were nothing compared to Him. When Jesus died and rose again, He defeated the powers of darkness. The spiritual forces in this world do not stand a chance because Jesus is everything you and I were meant to be, but laid down His life, defeated those powers with His love, His life, His death, and with His resurrection, He has given you new life and authority and power over them.

Speaking of the book of Ephesians, if you go to Ephesians 2 chapter 2, to the end of Ephesians, in verse 22, it says,

In him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22 EHV)

The God of all creation dwells in you. When you’re brought to faith in Christ, when you’re baptized into Christ, you are washed with Christ. God lives in you. When you and I take the bread and the wine, we take the body and blood of Christ, God Himself lives in you. So these powers out there in the world, they might look scary and intimidating, but if they are no match for God, and God lives in you, then they are no match for you.

You can have fun and to watch a, you know, movie. Maybe the adrenaline gets you going, it gets you a little scared. But really, you do not need to be afraid this season or any, because they are no match for the God who lives inside of you.