July 17th,
2011 AM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
I.
Introduction
(Philippians 1:28)
A.
We all have enemies,
adversaries – people who just don’t like us
B.
Don’t be terrified of enemies
(Philp 1:28)
C.
Just mark them, and stay clear
of them
D.
Worry about them – about how
they might just ruin everything that God has started in our lives – if we are
not careful! Why worry about them? Because they go after the young, and the
weakest, and they destroy the work of God
E.
Especially worry the enemies
that are on the inside of a church!
1.
We usually worry about the
political winds that turn against Christianity – as they are turning today
2.
We usually worry about how TV
and the movies mock Biblical Christianity
3.
But we had better start waking
up the enemies that sneak into our meetings, and right into our thinking!
II.
Message
A.
The First Enemy - Apathy
(Judges 18:7)
1.
A group of Israelites (tribe
of Dan) were looking for a place to settle in the Promised Land, and came to a
town called Laish way up in the northern region near what is now Lebanon).
Notice the description of the people:
a.
They dwelt careless – didn’t
pay attention to possible threats - neglect
b.
quiet and secure – they felt
fine and safe as they were
c.
there was no magistrate in the
land, that might put them to shame in any thing – didn’t think they needed
authority over their lives
d.
Those people in Laish were
easily defeated/conquered!
e.
This describes most modern
“Christians”
2.
The problem with Christianity
is not that we are not well trained, and well equipped to stand against the
wiles of the devil
3.
The problem is that most just
don’t care!
4.
Apathy means:
a.
Uncaring, coldness, not
interested in spiritual things, no passion, passive, callous, careless,
numbness, boredom
b.
It is an “I don’t care
attitude”
c.
A “I’m doing just fine” way of
thinking (Matthew 13:15)
d.
Just lukewarm (Rev 3)
5.
To many modern Christians,
there is no battle to fight, no reason to stand, no cause to die for
6.
And so, the devil walks right
in, and tears up a church, and leaves it in bits
7.
This enemy creeps into a
church in three ways:
a.
When its people rest on the
spirituality of others – when they are lazy
1)
Christianity is hard work
2)
Reading your Bible every day –
reading 2,4 10 chapters a day is work
3)
Complaining and griping is
easy – praying is much harder!
4)
Studying what God means is so
much harder than just believing what everyone else is believing
5)
Too many of you rest on MY
spirituality, or on the spiritual walk of your parents, or your wife, or your
husband
6)
THAT IS APATHY
b.
When its people have Success
and Talent – have no need of God
1)
No one wants people to be
failures
2)
But there is an awful danger
in the smartness, abilities, talent, and natural successes of the people in a
church (1Cor 1:27,28)
3)
This was Samson’s great sin –
not needing God! And in the end it destroyed him! Not the Philistines, not
Delilah, but his own pride and arrogance!
4)
The worst arrogance today is
the lack of dependence upon a loving God!
5)
Apathetic Christians are
a)
Unthankful, ungrateful – don’t
appreciate GOD’S goodness to them
b)
Lack of praying about and for
everything
c.
And that apathy allows the
devil to just come right in, and destroy the work of God in our homes, and in
our community
8.
How cold are YOU? How callous,
passive, numb?
9.
Those are warning signs that
you are the devil’s next target!
10.
Blessed are they that do
HUNGER and THIRST for righteousness (Mt 5:6)
B.
Second Enemy – Carnality –
Worldliness (John 17:16)
1.
Carnal means of the body,
fleshly, sensual, unspiritual! Living only to please yourself!
2.
This enemy is the opposite of
apathy, but in the wrong direction!
a.
It is passionate, and
sacrificial, active and sensitive about things
b.
But only about things that
please THEMSELVES – lovers of self more than lovers of God (2Tim 3:4) They love
the praise of men more than of God!
3.
Carnality is…
a.
Natural – it just happens when
we don’t walk in the Spirit
b.
Carnality slowly cools our
love for God and for the things of God (Mt 24:12)
c.
Carnal people are saved from a
devil’s hell, but live only emotionally, and physically – never spiritually!
d.
Carnal believers long for the
world, live in lust and have eyes full of adultery, and cannot cease from sin
(2Pet 2:14)
4.
In other words…
a.
It is YOU wanting the water IN
the ship that you are in
b.
It is YOU missing the leaks
and onions of
c.
Carnality is YOU inviting the
thief into your own home simply because he looks like he is having more fun than
you are!
d.
Carnal Christians are FearLESS
only about one thing! They don’t fear sin and its affect!
e.
And so you, and your church
end up, robbed, sinking, and in bondage!
f.
That’s why I want to live,
walk in the Spirit of God, not in the lusts of the flesh!
5.
How do you know if you are
carnal, or worldly?
a.
Haven’t grown spiritually
(1Cor 3:1)
b.
You don’t enjoy learning the
meat of the Bible (1Cor 3:2)
c.
Easily offended (1Cor 3:3; Gal
4:16)
d.
Full of bad attitudes
e.
You follow personalities (1Cor
3:4)
f.
Uncontrolled tongue
1)
Sowing discord among brethren
2)
Anger, wrath, hurtful words
g.
Your friends are of the world
– unsaved, and uncommitted to Christ!
1)
You love the music of the
world – Beyonce, gaga
2)
Its philosophies – don’t
offend anyone, don’t mention hell, don’t mention sin, learn to forgive yourself,
do as THOU wilt
3)
Its lifestyles – live
together, try homosexuality, transgender people are normal
4)
Its dress and fashions – as
low as you can go, as scummy as you can look
C.
Third Enemy - Fake
Believers (Mt 13:24-30)
1.
These are tares amongst the
wheat
a.
Look like wheat
b.
But are worthless – have no
fruit – no use
c.
Jesus explains where they came
from (Mt 13:36-43)
d.
Pretty scary! It ought to be!
e.
You can’t fake the new birth!
Not to God!
2.
Fake believers are like…
a.
A Banana skin, with no banana
inside!
b.
A pile of peanut shells, with
no peanuts inside
3.
William Law (from the 18th
century) wrote,
a.
"The church is filled with
professing Christians whose faith has never gone beyond a conviction that the
words of Scripture are true. They believe in the Christ of the Bible, but do not
know Him personally. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is sound doctrine
to their minds, but their lives are empty of His manifest power either to
overcome the power of sin within, or to convert others to Christ."
b.
This certainly describes the
church today. James 2:19 said "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest
well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
c.
There are so many who believe
that they are saved, but they do not even know what salvation is. To them, it is
merely the mental belief that their sins are forgiven and they are going to
heaven when they die. Yet most people could not even define what repentance,
faith, or even love means, many cannot even give testimony or evidence of ever
having experienced them in their own lives.
4.
Too many people have only a
form of godliness, but they daily deny, reject the power of God over their lives
(2Tim 3:5)
5.
False believers are enemies of
a church
a.
They hate it when there is an
emphasis on prayer
b.
They come only when they are
praised and appreciated
c.
They come only when there is
excitement and fun
d.
They drain the Church folks
because of the spirit they carry
e.
They emphasize only outward
appearances, instead of a broken, and humble walk with God!
f.
They constantly try and change
the church into something other than what the Bible says – anything other than
what the Bible says it is to be!
g.
A church does not exists to
fill itself with sinners, but rather with those who are tired of sin, and who
want to be full of the HOLY Spirit of God!
D.
Fourth Enemy - False
Doctrines (2Peter 2:1)
1.
Are you careful about what you
eat?
a.
Would you drink a glass of
diesel?
b.
Would you eat a spoonful of
caustic soda?
c.
Why not?
d.
Because they are deadly!
2.
False doctrines abound today –
amongst CHRISTIANS
a.
Superstitions everywhere
1)
Crucifixes in the homes
2)
The saying of special prayers
by special saints
3)
The sign of the cross
b.
“A loving God would never send anyone to
hell”
c.
“Baptism is part of a person’s
salvation”
d.
No one really can know if they
are saved for sure…
e.
God saves and damns whoever He
wants – a false doctrine
f.
We should avoid meats in order
to be more spiritual!
g.
Tongues and healings are for
today – false!
h.
We can live ANY way we want!
FALSE!
i.
God only wants you to be
wealthy and successful – false!
3.
The problem is that most
people PREFER false doctrines and false teachers (2Cor 11:1-4; 2Tim 4:1-4)
E.
LAST ENEMY - Satan Himself
(1Peter 5:8; Eph 6:12)
1.
Satan is a bad enemy!
a.
He is called our ADVERSARY!
b.
He is the enemy of everything
clean, everything good, everything wholesome, everything godly, everything true
in this world!
2.
He seeks to ruin, defile,
destroy everything (John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy)! He was
fired from his job as musician (he was the worship leader in heaven) and ever
since then, has sought revenge against everything God has going!
a.
He ruined Adam and Eve
b.
He has sought to ruin the
human race again in Genesis 6
c.
He sought to ruin the nation
of
d.
He sought to kill Jesus before
birth, at 2 years old, a dozen times during His ministry, and finally in the
e.
And he seeks to ruin every
Church that wants to follow Jesus!
3.
He is not concerned with
anything that is already false, or already corrupt
a.
He couldn’t care less about
other religions, and other denominations – he already has them!
b.
He doesn’t attack those people
who are at home in bed this morning, and those who got drunk last night – he
already owns them!
4.
He is only out to destroy them
that live godly! All they that live godly shall suffer “persecution” (2Tim 3:12)
– not just bad days
a.
It is the Bible believing
Christians, who are the ones that face the most attack (Luke 22:31)
b.
It is the young ladies who
want to stay pure till marriage
c.
It is the young men who want
to live for God and keep their minds clean
d.
Every God fearing, sin-hating,
Bible believing church is going to be marked for attack by the devil
5.
Well, AMEN then! That means we
actually are doing something right!
III.
Conclusion
A.
How do we get rid of, and
defeat these enemies?
B.
Don’t fear your enemies -
learn how to resist them (Luke 12:4,5)
1.
Apathy is defeated by a FIGHT
(1Peter 5:8,9)
a.
Let your light get you into
trouble – if you are born again, quite hiding it!
b.
The greatest need of today’s
Christian is the need to be alert (1Peter 5:8) – wide awake. But you won’t get
sober until you get attacked
1)
People don’t purchase burglar
alarms until AFTER they have been robbed
2)
So, step out of your comfort
zone and live godly, and see just how hard you get hit!
c.
If you only knew the enemy
that waits right outside your home, and right at the very tips of your fingers
on the internet
d.
If you only knew who was
looking over your shoulder, waiting for you to become careless
e.
People are pacifists until
they hear bullets whiz by their ears and feel bombs falling all around them –
THEN they are ready to fight
2.
Carnality is defeated by
HOLINESS (2Cor 7:1)
a.
There needs to be a fear of
God, and fear of sin and what it will do to your life and your future!
1)
Sin is killing our homes
2)
Thinking pornography, and rock
music, and the casual drink are all that bad is ruining not only your life and
your marriage, it is ruining your church!
b.
It is high time Christians
started
1)
Treating girls as SISTERS
2)
Treating your body as God’s
3)
Treating the Bible as PURE
WATER
4)
Treating your lusts as SEWAGE
5)
Treating Jesus as GOD
3.
Tares are won by EXPOSURE
a.
Showing them that they are NOT
like a believer
b.
Showing them where they are
headed! HELL
c.
Showing them that they are
wasting their time faking it – they might as well get all the way in, or out
d.
We don’t aim to make everyone
just feel comfortable at church
e.
The best meeting will be the
one that gets you off your butt and going forward for Christ! Not the one that
just pats you on the back
4.
Religions are defeated by
BIBLICAL TRUTH (2Cor 4:2)
5.
Satan is defeated by
SUBMISSION to God (James 4:7)
IV.
Challenge
- Are you wanting to defeat any of these enemies?
A.
Beg God for a heart for
holiness, and for the things of God
B.
Make your Bible, and this
church the priority it should be
C.
Open your eyes to the attacks
of the devil
D.
Let’s get busy being a Church
that Jesus loves!