10 August 2009

Enemy awareness!

I was reading a portion of scripture the other morning and was struck by the profundity of a verse: 1 Cor. 16:9 says, "...For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." Whenever God opens a great and effective door for ministry, there will be enemies to contend with. The word "adversaries" here means, "to lie opposite, be contrary, to oppose." As we follow Jesus Christ we must be watchful for all opposition, whether subtle or obvious. It is for this reason we must fervently pray God would grant us discernment of spirits, so we may know what is of God and what is of the enemy who masquerades as an "angel of light."

Satan, the enemy of our souls who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), will always seek to distract, deter, confuse, and oppose the work of God. In proclaiming our allegiance to Christ, we now pose a threat through the Holy Spirit's power to the strongholds of Satan through which he holds men captive in sin and deception. 2 Cor. 10:4-5 says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, [5] casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..." As Samson was empowered by God to push down the pillars of the idolatrous temple, all born-again believers whom the Holy Spirit has regenerated, filled, and baptised are enabled to walk in the purity, sanctification, holiness, and power that marks the life of Christ.

As I prepare to march forth to Australia, I am heading toward territory long held captive by the devil. When I visited the first time I was told on several occasions, "You know we have never had a revival here in Australia?" There have been spiritual revivals, but some have lost hope in having one.  The spiritual ground is as hard as it is dry in the Great Desert. But hailing from Southern California, isn't it amazing what a little irrigation will do? When our eyes flow with tears in repentance and pleading for the deliverance of the captives, God's Spirit will pour out like a river of Living Water. I believe the signs that followed Christ will follow all who abandon themselves to His service and that this scripture can be fulfilled as spoken by Christ in Matthew 11:5: "The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them."

As a farmer takes time to prepare the soil, we must pray that God would prepare all hearts involved in this venture of faith: the sent, the senders, and those who I am being sent to. The enemy will try to convince you that praying is pointless, that many have tried to impact Australia for the Gospel without success! This pack of lies remind me how Sanballat and Tobiah tried to withstand the work Nehemiah had been commissioned for by King Artaxerxes and the KING of Kings, God Almighty. Sanballat and Tobiah provide a great study in spiritual warfare because they exhibit all the tactics the devil uses to impede spiritual growth and progress. He sees the open door and the great potential for God to work and will do his best to resist the work, though ultimately he is a defeated enemy.

Here are some of the tactics of our enemy as I briefly scan through the book of Nehemiah:
  • The enemy hears of the plans of the righteous and is "exceedingly grieved" that any should seek the welfare of men (Neh. 1:10).
  • The enemy laughs us to scorn and despises us, accusing us (Neh. 1:19).
  • The enemy observes progress with wrath, is indignant, and mocks us using intimidation (Neh. 3:1-3).
  • The enemy becomes furious at the fortification of our defenses and conspires to openly attack us (Neh. 3:7-8).
  • The enemy attempts to destroy us through subtle strategy and stealth (Neh. 3:11).
  • The enemy will try to make peace with us so the work might cease (Neh. 6:2).
  • The enemy will pester us to cause us to lose focus (Neh. 6:4).
  • The enemy will lie to us to manipulate and weaken us (Neh. 6:5-9).
  • The enemy will use hirelings to put fear in our hearts to flee the work (Neh. 6:10-14)
  • The enemy will seek to undermine our faith with fear through false reports (Neh. 6:16-19)
  • The enemy will seek to pollute the fellowship with ungodly alliances, idolatry, and make room for himself in the temple like a squatter (Neh. 13:3-9).
Should this put us in fear? No! But we must not be ignorant of Satan's devices and schemes. Praise God that perfect love casts out all fear! Here are two verses of promise set among the dangers of working for the glory of God: Nehemiah 4:9 says, "Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night." I must be watchful at all times, praying without ceasing. I exhort you to do so for yourselves as well as me and my family as we seek the LORD. Nehemiah 4:15 is a great verse of promise: "And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work." As God brought the counsel of Ahithophel to foolishness, so the plots of Satan are brought to nothing! Praise the LORD!

1 comment:

  1. We must always be on our guard. As you've mentioned before, there's no part in the Bible about how to remove our spiritual armor. Thanks for that outline, it's amazing how many tactics the enemy will employ, yet they all fall woefully useless against God.

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