Know Your Enemy...

POP QUIZ: What do we call a person who hates you, your marriage, your children and your family?  What would you call someone who's main objective is to block you from hearing the voice of God?

What would you label a person who constantly lies to you?

ANSWER: The ENEMY.

It gets better...

CHALLENGE: Think about the person who has LIED to you the most.  The #1 liar in your life.  Can you think of him/her? 

FACT: YOU HAVE LIED TO YOURSELF  MORE THAN THAT INDIVIDUAL.  The point is, you are perhaps your worst enemy.

Christians, here is your enemy: THE WORLD, THE FLESH, and THE DEVIL.

Let's say you joined the U.S. Military during World War 2.  Your sitting on a hill and you see 3 types of infantryman charging towards you: Japanese, German and Italian.

Do you care who you shoot?  No.  Because the type of uniform they wear is irrelevant.  They are your enemy and their main objective, regardless of what team they represent, are out to get you. 

So the same is with spiritual warfare.  The World, the Flesh and the Devil are your enemy and must be fought against with spiritual weapons.  Listen to what Ray Stedman says about each of these entities.

THE WORLD

"The world is human society, blindly and universally accepting false values, shallow concepts and insights and deluded ideas of reality, as well as almost desperately insisting upon conformity to those standards and insights."

The world offers advice that is void of God.  It sounds good, preaches well, but is empty and temporal.  

THE FLESH

"The flesh is that inward urge within us toward total independence, toward being our own little gods and running our worlds to suit ourselves. It is that continual drift within us toward self-centeredness and selfishness."

The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  

THE DEVIL

^{1 Peter 5:8} Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

 "The devil is especially interested in defeating Christians. After all, the unredeemed worldling is not problem to the devil. As Jesus put it, "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace," (Luke 11:21 RSV). All the quite sincere but rather pathetic efforts of worldlings to solve the problems of their lives through legislation, education and a change of environment do not bother the devil in the least. He is quite content to let them go on rearranging the pieces of the puzzle without ever solving it. But the presence of every Christian in this world bothers the devil greatly. Why? Well, because each Christian is a potential threat to the solidarity of the devil's kingdom, to his rule over the rest of mankind."

PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD

Years ago a young Marine named LCpl Wilkins gave me a coin with an angel slaying a demon.  It had Ephesians 6:12 on it with the inscription "Put on the Whole Armor of God" across the top and the USMC Eagle, Globe and Anchor on the back.  It was MOTTO as Grunts would say.

This has become my daily reminder that my "struggle" is not against flesh and blood (i.e. things I can see with my eyes), but rather against the enemy.  When I'm in an argument with my wife, I can step back and know that my struggle is not with her, but against the enemy.  When I'm irritated with "idiots" I can pause and take my thoughts captive because the "idiot" is not my enemy, but my fleshly thoughts towards this individual.  Here is the verse in its immediate context:

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 wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:10-13 RSV)