Author, Speaker, Pastor

March, 28, 2024

Author, Speaker, Pastor

Identify Your Enemy

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.       1 John 4:4-6

As Christians, we know there is a spiritual battle going on around us at all times and the enemy will use anyone he can to come against us in some way – even other Christians. This can happen when we step out in faith or try our best to use our talents to do God’s work. When you decide to make a public stand for Jesus Christ and Bible truth, there will be people who will be offended or irritated. There may even be Christians who are upset that you’re stirring the pot, shaking the sleepy-eyed, and trying to seek, hear from, and obey the Lord. There may be lukewarm believers who feel badly about what they’re not doing for Jesus. Some have conformed to the world while others may simply be apathetic, jealous or insecure. That’s not your problem.

As much as we’d prefer everyone love us, it’s not realistic, even if we’re talking about other Christians. I have an easier time understanding a non-Christian than I do a Christian who has a dramatically different worldview than I have. If you’re wondering where believers in your circle of influence stand, write a blog or a book. Recently I learned how much more prepared I need to be for upcoming attacks and am reminded how much more I need to be in prayer. Being criticized or insulted is nothing new if you’re a Christian conservative and it doesn’t surprise me at all when it happens. However, it’s still disappointing when it comes from other Christians.

Henry Blackaby said, “When you meet opposition to your faith, your first reaction may be anger toward your antagonist. This may divert your attention from the deeper, spiritual dimensions of your conflict. Your adversary may be hopelessly in bondage to sin. Rather than retaliating, you should immediately and earnestly intercede for that person. Your opponent’s hostility is your invitation to become involved in God’s redemptive work to free him or her from spiritual bondage. Be alert to the spiritual warfare around you.”

This new season of spiritual division is another opportunity for me, maybe for you as well, to decide to dig even deeper in the Good Book and trust God knows what He is doing. Some people don’t even know they’re being used by the enemy of the faith they proclaim. Our struggle is not with people, but attacks come through people and sadly, we can’t always expect more from believers than we do from the world or we’ll set ourselves up for disappointment. God is our authority and there has been too much compromise in American Christianity. Our lives reflect whether we’re striving to please man or God. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 1 verse 10, “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

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Identify Your Enemy

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You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.       1 John 4:4-6

As Christians, we know there is a spiritual battle going on around us at all times and the enemy will use anyone he can to come against us in some way – even other Christians. This can happen when we step out in faith or try our best to use our talents to do God’s work. When you decide to make a public stand for Jesus Christ and Bible truth, there will be people who will be offended or irritated. There may even be Christians who are upset that you’re stirring the pot, shaking the sleepy-eyed, and trying to seek, hear from, and obey the Lord. There may be lukewarm believers who feel badly about what they’re not doing for Jesus. Some have conformed to the world while others may simply be apathetic, jealous or insecure. That’s not your problem.

As much as we’d prefer everyone love us, it’s not realistic, even if we’re talking about other Christians. I have an easier time understanding a non-Christian than I do a Christian who has a dramatically different worldview than I have. If you’re wondering where believers in your circle of influence stand, write a blog or a book. Recently I learned how much more prepared I need to be for upcoming attacks and am reminded how much more I need to be in prayer. Being criticized or insulted is nothing new if you’re a Christian conservative and it doesn’t surprise me at all when it happens. However, it’s still disappointing when it comes from other Christians.

Henry Blackaby said, “When you meet opposition to your faith, your first reaction may be anger toward your antagonist. This may divert your attention from the deeper, spiritual dimensions of your conflict. Your adversary may be hopelessly in bondage to sin. Rather than retaliating, you should immediately and earnestly intercede for that person. Your opponent’s hostility is your invitation to become involved in God’s redemptive work to free him or her from spiritual bondage. Be alert to the spiritual warfare around you.”

This new season of spiritual division is another opportunity for me, maybe for you as well, to decide to dig even deeper in the Good Book and trust God knows what He is doing. Some people don’t even know they’re being used by the enemy of the faith they proclaim. Our struggle is not with people, but attacks come through people and sadly, we can’t always expect more from believers than we do from the world or we’ll set ourselves up for disappointment. God is our authority and there has been too much compromise in American Christianity. Our lives reflect whether we’re striving to please man or God. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 1 verse 10, “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

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