PSALM 115:1 – Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”
In the Christian life, we need to be reminded we are called to a daily war against three formidable foes .First, there is Satan. The Apostle Paul tells us of this scheming enemy in the last chapter of his letter to the Ephesians – Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11). When it comes to the devil, his chief tactics against believers are accusation – And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God (Revelation 12:10). Many Christians lay slain in the spiritual battle to which God has called them because they listen to the lying accusations of Satan. The chief area of accusation is when we sin. When we do, he rushes in with accusing words like, “Look at you. You cannot be a Christian. You sin too much.” Another tactic of our fiendish foe is doubt of God’s Word. Here is where he brought Eve to defeat in the Garden of Eden – Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”(Genesis 3:1)
The second foe we face daily in spiritual warfare is the world. Obviously, not the physical world, but the one of sinful passions, pleasures, and attachments seeking to get our eyes and hearts off the Lord Jesus. The Apostle John informs us of this enemy and its tactics – Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world(1 John 2:15-16). In fighting this foe, we must be constantly on watch for the ways of the world are subtle and powerful, drawing us into its sinful clutches with ease.
Our final spiritual foe is the most dangerous and greatest–ourselves. Now such a statement does not diminish the danger and power of the devil and world to spiritually devour us, but the person we greet in the mirror causes us the most problems in our walks with the Lord. Time and space don’t allow a thorough breakdown of how self seeks to defeat us spiritually, but here are two areas. First, the bent we have toward comfort and ease. We want things easy and convenient and that includes spiritual growth and impact. Not going to happen. If we allow self to rule, then gone is self-discipline, self-denial, and self-control–the necessary elements to win any and all spiritual battles. But there is another area where self is the greatest spiritual foe we face, self-deception. Self gives self a pass when it comes to obedience to God’s Word. We read, study, hear sermons and read books but too often there exists a disconnect between all those inputs of spiritual truth and output of spiritual truth in lives of obedience. James warns us of this spiritual foe and danger – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22). The worst form of deception is self-deception. Be on constant guard against it by regular self-examination that evaluates how much doing of the Word is occurring from our hearing of the Word.
The Christian life from start to finish is war. Are we familiar with the conflict? Do we know the enemy in its three manifestations–the devil, world, and self? To wage successful warfare demands a thorough knowledge of our foes. May God help us to be armed with such knowledge, aware that our greatest foe is the one we meet each morning in the mirror.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for the power of the Gospel of Your Son that defeats all my foes.”
QUOTE: “We must do daily hand-to-hand combat with ourselves if we hope to grow spiritually.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim