Be Sober: Mindset for the End Times & Spiritual War Why should we be sober? Because God commands us to We are commanded to "be sober" 5 times in the New Testament | Thessalonians 5:6,8 + | Peter 1:13+ | Peter 4:7 + | Peter 5:8 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober...” (1 Peter 1:13) (We will come back to the next two later) Because we are told to be sober in the end times“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” (1 Peter 4:7) We are told to be sober because the devil is always hunting us like a lion “8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8) Who should be sober? Pastors “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober...” (1 Timothy 3:2) Deacons“Likewise must the deacons be grave, ...” (1 Timothy 3:8) (Grave means serious, sober) The wives of pastors and deacons “Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober...” (1 Timothy 3:11) Older men “That the aged men be sober....” (Titus 2:2) Young men “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.” (Titus 2:6) Older women and younger women“3. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 4. That they may teach the young women to be sober....” (Titus 2:3-4) The only group not mentioned is children. They must be taught, trained, and disciplined to be sober as they get older “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” (Proverbs 22:15) “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) What does it mean to be sober?SOBER- 2. Not intoxicated or overpowered by spiritous liquors; not drunken. 3. Not mad or insane; not wild, visionary or heated with passion; having the regular exercise of cool dispassionate reason. 5. Serious; solemn; grave Being sober means not being drunk on alcohol or any other substance “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” (Ephesians 5:18) People will party all the way until the end of the world, getting drunk, not caring, and not paying attention to what is going on. “26. And as it was in the days of Noe, soshall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Luke 17:26-30) Being drunk takes away all carefulness and caution. It makes you not care about the future. It makes you only care about having as much fun as you can in this moment right now.“12. And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: 13. And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.” (Isaiah 22:12-13) (Watch my video: Should Christians Drink Alcohol? for an in depth study of this subject) Getting drunk, high, or putting yourself in any altered state of consciousness through other means will pervert your judgment and make you more easily influenced by evil spirits “A. Itis not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strongdrink: 5. Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.” (Proverbs 31:4-5) (Watch my video: The Spiritual Danger of Altered States of Consciousness for more information) This is tied together with the next point Being sober means not being spiritually asleep “1, But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that | write unto you. 2. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall notescape. 4. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-8) This passage teaches that if you are paying attention to "the times and seasons’, you will not be caught off guard when things happen. It says that the day of the Lord(which is the judgment of God)comes as a thief inthe night to those who are expecting peace and safety. In contrast, this passage says that those who are saved are not caught off guard as by a thief in the night. It says the saints are not caught off guard because they are not in darkness, not asleep, and not drunk. The saints are awake and see that all that is going on in the world is fulfilling Bible prophecy. “14. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:14-16)We see here that being a fool and wasting time are associated with being asleep. In contrast, those who are sober and awake are walking circumspectly and redeeming the time. Being sober means protecting your mind from sinful influences “13. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14. As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16. Because it is written, Be ye holy; for | am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13-16) Gird up your loins is a phrase associatedwith preparation. It can be preparing for battle, a long journey, or a well deserved rebuke: “Gird up now thy loins like a man; for | will demand of thee, and answer thou me.” (Job 38:3) We need to prepare our minds every day before we start our day. We are striving to avoid sin and so we are sober in preparing for the assault of temptations we will experience in this world. When we are sober, we prepare for battle with the flesh and this world by settling in our heart certain actions we will take to help achieve victory: “| will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: | hate the work of them that turnaside; it shall not cleave to me.” (Psalms 101:3) “11. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Romans 13:11-14) We must also pray for the grace of God which teaches enables us to be sober and live holy“11. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” (Titus 2:11-12) So being sober means preparing every day for battle with the flesh and the world, but also one other front... Being sober means to be watching out for attacks and traps from the devil “8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9. Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)VIGILANT - Watchful; circumspect; attentive to discover and avoid danger, or to provide for safety. The devil never sleeps. He's always on the prowl walking up and down the earth seeking to steal, kill, and destroy. To be sober means to acknowledge this spiritual reality and take Biblical actions to protect yourself. This means not being ignorant of the tactics Satan uses against you “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Corinthians 2:11) This means studying the word of God to see all the various ways the devil tempts,provokes, ensnares, and attacks. Once we understand these tactics, we should watch out for them and pray for God to keep us from them. “31. ¢And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32. But | have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: ...” (Luke 22:31-32) Being sober means not being proud “For | say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3) When you think more highly of yourselfthan you ought to, you are not thinking soberly. To be sober, you must think sober thoughts. Prideful thoughts, where you are a legend in your own mind, do not lead to you being sober. “5. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” (1 Peter 5:5-6) If you are proud and not sober, God will resist you and will not give you grace. Earlier we read that the grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness andworldly lusts and to live soberly. This means if we want to be sober and live righteously, we must be humble. Being sober means being serious and not treating life as one big party or joke The definition of sober said serious and grave. “2. Ut is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. 3. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6. For as the crackling ofthorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2-6) It's okay to laugh, but to make everything a joke is not good. The crackling of thorns under the pot - it burns well, but very quickly and then it's over. The same is with laughter. It is only temporary and fools must constantly make everything a joke as they cannot be bother to soberly consider important things in life and eternity. You are sobered up and learn more in life from a funeral than a from festival, more from a fast than a feast. Feasting in the house of mirth can take away your sobriety and make you forget God.This is why if you want to be sober you must not neglect fasting and do not despise trials. Being sober means being ready for the end times “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” (1 Peter 4:7, KJV) It says to watch unto prayer. We need to watch all the signs of the times and see how it fulfills all the warnings given in scripture such as Matthew 24. We need to pray without ceasing, especially for God to help us be sober as outlined in this message. “17. And take the helmet of salvation, andthe sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” (Ephesians 6:17-18)