WOLVES AMONG US

 This weekend, please engage in the vitally important conclusion of Breaking Enemy Lines: Wolves.  It’s a unique Bible Truth I’ve never ministered before, but critical to your life. 

One of the most dangerous mistakes you can make is not recognizing a wolf.  If your intel is soft and you’re not alert, evil can take advantage of you.  You might ask, Why doesn’t God automatically protect us?  That’s an excellent question.  God’s intervention on earth in the affairs of humanity is limited—yes, limited—to the extent that a person believes.  That’s why the Bible tells us to “pray without ceasing”.  Add to that 1 Peter 5:8 warning us, “The devil roams about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  There are wolves among us, and it’s a dangerous thing to not beware.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of savage wolves!”  Don’t be afraid, but beware.  A wise person suspects danger and avoids evil.        

On October 7, 2023, a terrorist group out of Gaza launched a full-scale attack on Israel that morning. Well over a thousand innocent Israeli citizens were murdered, along with some Americans, and many hostages were taken.  The terrorists reveled in their grisly crimes, taking pictures and parading their captives through the streets of Gaza.  Mobs cheered as they spit on the helpless hostages.  If you ever wondered if monsters were real, you just had to watch these callous surrogates of evil.  They desecrated their dead victims’ bodies, stripping them naked and dragging them behind their trucks.  All the while screaming obscenities.  Pure evil.

The question many pundits and military analysts asked after the attack was, How did this happen?  How does one of the greatest security forces in the world get caught off guard?  Regardless of the answer, the one fact no one can deny is that they did get caught off guard. 1 Peter 5:8 says the devil is looking for someone he can devour. 

There’s never a right time in life to let your guard down.  Wolves are real.  Monsters are evil and prey on the vulnerable.  Culturally, it’s unpopular for even church ministries and outreaches to admit there’s this level of evil in the world.  Our doors have become symbolic of our failure to discern, and therefore, equally, a failure to protect.  Subjective morality has made popular a solution to normalize the things we can’t seem to fix in hopes of making peace with the big, bad wolf.  See how pretty his fur is!  You cannot make peace with the devil.  You cannot make a deal with the disease.  Evil will never play fair.  There’s no compromise you can make that will disarm the devil.  He’s here to steal, kill, and destroy, as Jesus said in John 10:10.  Proverbs 29:10 says, The bloodthirsty hates the blameless.   

Wolf-taming is not a ministry.  Wolf petting is not a godly act of love and sacrifice.  Jesus said to “love one another as I have loved you,” so who is one another?  The Bible makes it clear that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and His sheep are those who hear His voice and know Him.  Jesus said, “I myself am the door for the sheep.”  He’s the door for His sheep, not for hungry wolves.  In fact, we can say this: Jesus is the locked door that shuts out the wolves and protects the sheep.  Psalm 23 says the Good Shepherd’s rod and staff comfort us.  Did you ever wonder why?  His rod is for breaking the jaw of evil and devouring wolves, while His staff is for pulling lambs to safety, guiding them to green, lush fields of provision.

God loves you dearly.  He never wants you unprotected for a second.  The heart of God is grieved over acts of terrorism and evil in this world.  God wants to intervene and destroy the works of the devil before they ever move into activation against innocent, vulnerable people.  The truth many humans are unaware of is something God said in His Word in Psalm 115:16.  “The heavens are the Lord’s, but the earth has He given to the children of men.”  In giving the earth to humanity, God has limited His actions on earth to a partnership with any person who would have faith in Him.  Why do you think Jesus taught us to pray, “Father, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven”?  If God’s will is automatic—yes, if God’s protection is automatic—then why would we ever need to pray, or another way of saying it, authorize His will to be done?

Look at Luke 18:1.  “Jesus told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn cowards and faint.”  Don’t you ever give up.  Yes, there are terrible thingsgoing on in the world, but don’t lose hope.  Pray.  Believe in God and pray.  Don’t drop your guard.  Evil is real, and there are wolves among us.  Activate God’s presence by worshipping Him.  Activate His rod of protection by praying, “Deliver us from all evil, for Yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen!”  No wolf can stand against thepower of the Savior King.

Let’s Pray the Word:  

Father God, we invite the protection You provide as the Good Shepherd.  You deal with our enemies, and You instruct us to pray for those who persecute us.  We love our enemies with Your powerful love because You desire everyone to repent and be saved.  We reconcile ourselves with the reality that there are those who will never repent.  You warn us about the bloodthirsty.  In Titus, You warn of detestable and loathsome people who have renounced you by what they do.  Part of being wise is discerning wolves so we can avoid evil.  Help us, Lord, to be wise and discerning and to make the hard choices that keep us on the path of righteousness.  God, You keep Israel, and You will neither slumber nor sleep!  The Lord is our Shepherd.  You lead, guide, and protect us.  In Jesus Name, amen.