Who is the ENEMY?

[Juanita]

The scripture says that we are in a battle. Anyone going to battle must have a clear view of who the enemy is. If we don't have a clear view, we can spend way too much energy in the wrong place.

Who is the enemy?
(P-L-E-A-S-E DO NOT put the name of a denominational or political leader!)

[DestinysPrince]

The number one Enemy is Satan but right next to him is "Self"! The battle with the Devil is one thing but the battle of the flesh is a hard enemy to conquer..It don't want to pray, it don't want to study the holy scriptures, it don't want to summit to the Spiritual man, it is lazy, mean, disrespectful, hateful, arrogant, prideful, it wants to fight and argue it's point, it desires to be dominant and sit itself right up on the throne! When it is offended, it never wants to forgive, as a matter of fact, it will hold a grudge all the way to hell! It has no regards for the things of God and it seeks only pleasures to satisfy it's lust for more, more, more. But praise God! Paul said, Romans 6:1-What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we, that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized with Jesus Christ were baptized unto his death? Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection! Glory to God! Let us then consider our old nature. Our sinful self, dead unto sin and alive unto righteousness in Christ Jesus! We do not have to yield to the nature of sin and self no longer. This is why Paul also wrote and said, Let us walk in the spirit that we may not fulfill the lusts and desires of the flesh! We can now walk pure, holy, righteous, and yes, I'm saying it. Sinless! How? By walking in the Spirit.. Let me say that when your spirit was reborn, your spirit on the inside of you became just like Jesus in perfection. And as some of us noticed that after the first couple of months after our conversion, the war started. It was our flesh once again rising to the occasion, like a dead man out of the grave! But those who are under the anointed teaching of the word are the ones able to know that they must deny the flesh to allow the spirit man to remain dominant. Many do not understand the principals of faith and thus, the dead man of sin revives and they then believe that Christians aren't perfect and they will give in to certain sins, never knowing the victory that is truly theirs in Christ! But know that It is not only possible to live a sinless life, Christ will return for a sinless, spotless, pure and holy Bride that is unspotted from the world of sin and flesh. Want to know how to get rid of the dead man? I will let you tell me... Blessings

[Juanita]

I would say our biggest enemy is ignorance.

We cannot fight the Enemy if we don't know how...
We cannot obey God if we don't know what he wants...
We cannot defeat "Self" (you're so right Danny)... if we don't know how...

[Lisa]

A good first step, assuming one already has a relationship with the Lord, would be to come to Him admit your sin and ask the Lord to forgive you. Scripture tells us that the Lord will move our sins are as far as the east is from the west. Look closely at a globe. East and west never meet. One is always traveling east or west, never both. There is no pole at the equator so the direction does not change at the halfway mark. You might also ask the Lord to show the keys to conquering that thing. Some things will seem to be a nearly constant battle until one finds and uses whatever tactics are effective. It might be as simple as falling to sleep with a worship CD playing.
At times we do things that hurt others and will need to go to them express that we are sorry and seek forgiveness.

[Juanita]

Thanks, Lisa, great thought.

I'd like to add to my earlier post... I agree with the others, too,

I think for each person, we have our weaknesses. So, my #1 enemy might not be the same as yours.

Plus, I think "Unbelief" is a big one. It's hard sometimes to believe God... Like the Bible account where Peter got out of the boat to walk to Jesus. He saw the wind and waves around him. He quit believing and began to sink. I know I can get just like that if I look at the wind and waves instead of Christ and His promises to me!

[Bro Cope]

The enemy is the god of this world, the roaring lion, the accuser of the brethren, the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.

2Co 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Re 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Many Christians believe in God, but pooh-pooh the idea of the devil. When we do not see his work around us, it is because we are blinded by his brilliance at lying. If we don't thnk he is there, he can influence us without us being suspicious. Whenever any Christian says to me that "No one can stop sinning", I know that they have been listening and believing Satan's lies. The Bible says that all authority and power in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus.

If it is true that Jesus can not set us free from sin entirely, then it must mean that Satan is more powerful than Jesus. When a Christian tells me that he loves God but will always be obeying God's arche enemy, I know they have believed Satan's lie that he, Satan, won - not Jesus.

[sarahjohns]

Aside from the obvious, satan, self would be my second choice as well. But why are we enemies to ourselves because the accuser of the brethern is allowed to convince us we aren't worthy of Christ's love & sacrifice! And we're not, duh otherwise Christ died for nothing! A big one I am discovering is shame! It is such a big part of how we look at life that it appears normal! The only answer is God's Word that will lovingly wash over the enemy of our soul's accusations and help us to look at ourselves through that truth and set us free!

[KingdomScribe]

As Christians, we are in a three-pronged war against the world, the flesh, and the devil (Satan). The latter two prongs are of obvious spiritual importance, and can lead to devastating results if not overcome, but we often miss the significance of the first prong--the world and worldliness. It is here where the rubber meets the road, and our theology and witness are put to the test as we encounter the many competing worldviews of our increasingly secular society. It is in this arena where, if we are not careful, our faith can be compromised and co-opted without our even realizing it--and we can suffer the same fate as the frog in the boiling pot analogy.

[Rev. Homer]

Juanita, this is a good question. I understand that most people see things from a particular perspective and sometimes they won't let go of that perspective. It is very true that Satan is a great enemy and even self has to be put down. However, I have to say that the greatest enemy of any man or woman is, are you ready for this?

It is too simple so it might slip away.

I will only touch a bit on this as I don't have much time, but if you meditate on this it will certainly change your life. Okay, here goes. The greatest or number one enemy for anyone is their PERSPECTIVE. That is right. You have read it right; your number one enemy is your perspective. This is why I always tell people it matters who you grow up with, or to be more specific, what church you grow up with.

I have spent the last few months simply dwelling on this before the congregation. You see, your perspective on who Jesus is and what he has done for you, will either hold you down or pull you over. Your perspective concerning WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST will either lead you to victory or keep you waiting for it. This is a very powerful thing. Jesus taught us to say we are strong when we are weak, to say we are rich when we are experiencing lack. Do you remember how Gideon the COWARD was addressed at his calling?
(Judges 6:12 KJV)
12"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor."

Now we know that God calls those things that are not as though they were (Rom 4:17), this was one of those cases. You see God is in the business, by the Holy Spirit, of changing ones perspective on things. By changing your perspective to His he can then change your life. Ones perspective on Jesus and who He is and what He has done for and in us is what he is getting us to see.

Make it your business to see yourself and your situation from God's perspective. This is the answer to your desire and question for victory. May God lead you and all that read this to know Him and the power of His resurrection toward you who believe and may your perspective be His.

Free in Christ,

Pastor Homer

[Juanita]

Rev. Homer,

Yes! I see it! Could we call prespective 'belief' - or at least a dimension of belief?
How do we impact it? Is there a way that KingdomInsight can impact it?

Rev. Homer said:

Juanita, this is a good question. I understand that most people see things from a particular perspective and sometimes they won't let go of that perspective. It is very true that Satan is a great enemy and even self has to be put down. However, I have to say that the greatest enemy of any man or woman is, are you ready for this?

It is too simple so it might slip away.

I will only touch a bit on this as I don't have much time, but if you meditate on this it will certainly change your life. Okay, here goes. The greatest or number one enemy for anyone is their PERSPECTIVE. That is right. You have read it right; your number one enemy is your perspective. This is why I always tell people it matters who you grow up with, or to be more specific, what church you grow up with.

I have spent the last few months simply dwelling on this before the congregation. You see, your perspective on who Jesus is and what he has done for you, will either hold you down or pull you over. Your perspective concerning WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST will either lead you to victory or keep you waiting for it. This is a very powerful thing. Jesus taught us to say we are strong when we are weak, to say we are rich when we are experiencing lack. Do you remember how Gideon the COWARD was addressed at his calling?
(Judges 6:12 KJV)
12"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor."

Now we know that God calls those things that are not as though they were (Rom 4:17), this was one of those cases. You see God is in the business, by the Holy Spirit, of changing ones perspective on things. By changing your perspective to His he can then change your life. Ones perspective on Jesus and who He is and what He has done for and in us is what he is getting us to see.

Make it your business to see yourself and your situation from God's perspective. This is the answer to your desire and question for victory. May God lead you and all that read this to know Him and the power of His resurrection toward you who believe and may your perspective be His.

Free in Christ,

Pastor Homer

[Bennie Yates]

Juanita you are right! We need to know who the enemy is. That is the problem many do not see it is spiritual not physical. And you are right we can spend wayyyyyyyyyyyy to much energy in the wrong place. Never heard it put the way you said it thought it was neat. Thank You

[Bishop & Mrs. William Surita]

Sister it is very clear: read Ephesians 6:12.
Paul says it all when he speaks to the church of Ephesus.
Or Epheso as I would call it.

In GOD'S Love I remain,

Pastor William Surita

[Juanita]

Bennie!
Thanks so much. We don't want to be boxing 'shadows'. :-)

Bennie Yates said:

Juanita you are right! We need to know who the enemy is. That is the problem many do not see it is spiritual not physical. And you are right we can spend wayyyyyyyyyyyy to much energy in the wrong place. Never heard it put the way you said it thought it was neat. Thank You