THE ENEMY!
I
had one of those unique experiences at church this morning. While the pastor of
the church that Jan and I are attending (while we wait for the Lord to open
the right door for us to return to pastoring ourselves), was preaching my
thoughts . . . I began to wonder a bit.
Pastor Ron mentioned some things about Islam, 9/11 and it’s up-coming
anniversary and my mind was gone! My thoughts immediately went to the writings
of Peter:
Peter,
1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary
the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour”. (NKJ)
We have an enemy that is treacherous. He doesn’t
care about rules of engagement or any other rules. In fact he is incapable of
keeping any rules. It is his desire to destroy as many lives as possible before
the end of time and he is currently running full speed ahead. He is using many,
if not all, of the situations that we have in this world right now to
accomplish his evil. We do have some natural enemies. Selfishness, greed, and
striving for control, are some of those enemies, just to name a few. To a large
degree, the enemy of our soul is able to use these inner enemies to come
against us. It is our responsibility to
know the scriptures and to stand on their promises for our lives. One that we
must stand on constantly is,
James
4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and
he will flee from you.” (NKJ)
When
we fail to submit and resist, we are setting ourselves up for defeat. When 9/11
took place our nation was one of the least expecting nations in the world. But
today we stand guard knowing that indeed we are vulnerable to the attacks of
our enemy. We must be ever vigilant and cautious. But we must never give in to
a spirit of fear. Fear is another enemy that Satan likes to use against us. If
he can cause an individual or a nation to live in constant fear, he will be
able to control their lives.
I
know that it isn’t politically correct, but one of the agents of fear that the
enemy is using is terrorism. Any time we give in to it we are allowing the
enemy to take ground in our lives. So I admonish you at this time, “Do not allow the fear of terrorism to haunt
you”. Neither should you just walk off and forget about it. But take
time as we approach 9/11 to pray a prayer for the safety of our nation and our
troops overseas.
It
is when we cease to pray that our enemy can take the greatest advantage over us
and kick us again. Regardless of what many are saying today about Islam, it
desires to control the world. Islam hates Israel and it hates Christians. So,
the antidote for fear of terrorism and Islam is, win them to Christ. It is also
the antidote for fear. What I am about to say could be misunderstood. So, do
not mistake what I am going to say as weakness or being deceived. We must
balance our mistrust with Godly love for the Muslims. We can’t win them with
arguments. That approach has been failing for centuries.
But
we might win them if they were to see two things taking place in our lives.
One, if they saw the Love of Christ shinning out from us to them, we just
might win them. Second, if they
could see the awesome power of the Living God flowing out of our lives, we
just might win them. I am certain
that allowing them to see fear and resentment in our lives will only serve to
fuel the fire of hate and religious fervor in them. I’m not saying that we
shouldn’t fight if it becomes necessary, but we should try everything we
can to display the love, and the life of Christ to any enemies that we might
have. I John 4:18 says, “There is no
fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He
that feareth is not made perfect in love.”(KJV)
Well
I didn’t mean to go on about Islam or terrorism in this article. But we must
understand that our real enemy isn’t Islam or Terrorism. Our enemy is Satan and he would love nothing
better than to steal, kill, and destroy the lives of any who would give into
the spirit of fear. John 10:10 says, "The thief does not come except to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy. But Jesus said, “I have come that they may
have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (NKJ)
The
abundant life is one that is free from fear and torment. By the time that you
read this article, 9/11 will have come and gone. But, the enemy of our soul
will continue to try to bring defeat into our lives. So remember these
thoughts:
Ø
Don’t quit living for the Lord.
Ø
Never
give up trusting and believing all of the promises in the scriptures.
Ø
And
never, under any circumstances, give into a spirit of fear.
2
Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind. (KJV)
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