Escaping The Enemy Within

There was once a head of state in West Africa, Burkina Faso to be exact. Captain Thomas Sankara.

He was interviewed back then, and they asked him what if his 2nd in command wanted to overthrow him? He said, if that situation ever occurred, it would be too late by the time he found out.

That was exactly what transpired. His second in command Blaise Compaore plotted against him, and he was ambushed and assassinated. 38 years ago in 1987.

In this sermon, we want to pray to address the syndrome of the enemy within.

The enemy within, is the close associate that knows everything about you, has every intelligence about you, knows where all your cards lay and then wants to or has used the information and intelligence to attack you, or your position. So much so that your present or latter state is a very shabby and bad shadow of your glorious past.

Now because of the definition; the enemy within can be anybody.

Your spouse, your child, your assistant pastor, your colleague in the office, your subordinate, a former lover, former friend, present friend. Anybody.

There are quite a number of examples in the Bible. Jacob and his mom were the enemy within to Esau. The story of Jacob and Esau is told in the Bible in Genesis 25:29-34 and Genesis 32-33. When Isaac was dying, Jacob, with Rebekah's help, cheated Esau out of his father's blessing. Esau would have killed Jacob, but Jacob fled; when he returned 20 years later, Esau forgave him. They knew his secret that he was hairy and when he would go to ask for his birthright. Got ahead of him and used the intelligence they had to deprive him. They were the enemy within.

Jacob’s father-in-law; Laban, also known as Laban the Aramean was the enemy within to Jacob. He was born and died in Paddan Aram, which is present-day Harran, Turkey. Laban promised his younger daughter Rachel to Jacob in return for seven years' service, only to trick him into marrying his elder daughter Leah instead. The Bible passages about Jacob and Laban are found in Genesis 28–31, particularly in Genesis 29, 30, and 31.

In Genesis 38, Judah's daughter-in-law Tamar who tricked him. She was the enemy within. She knew where and when he'd be traveling along a certain road (Genesis 38:14), and she positioned herself there, veiled as a prostitute, and seduced him (Genesis 38:18). She accepted his staff, signet, and cord as a pledge for later payment, then disappeared back home. Because of her veil, Judah never knew she was the widow of his two deceased sons whom he had promised to marry to his third son (Genesis 38:11). It was the realization that Judah's promise was a lie (Genesis 38:14) which drove Tamar to concoct her scheme.

Tamar conceived that day. From her perspective, this was the best possible outcome. Twice widowed and childless, her only prospect had been marriage to Judah's son Shelah. Now, however, she is expecting children and has powerful evidence to ensure support from the father (Genesis 38:25).

In 2 Kings, Elisha's servant Gehazi was the enemy within. Gehazi was a trusted attendant who witnessed many of Elisha's miracles. However, Gehazi was also dishonest and was punished by Elisha.

• Elisha cursed him: Elisha cursed Gehazi, causing him to become leprous.

• Gehazi's descendants were also cursed: Elisha cursed Gehazi's descendants, saying that Naaman's leprosy would "cleave to him and his descendants for ever"

In the Bible, King Solomon judged two women who both claimed to be the mother of a living infant. The story appears in 1 Kings 3:16-28.

The story:

1. Two women who lived together and each had a baby boy came to King Solomon.

2. One of the babies died, and each woman claimed the surviving child as her own.

3. Solomon ordered that the living baby be cut in half, with each woman receiving half.

4. One woman agreed to give up the baby, while the other insisted on the verdict. The latter woman was the enemy within,

because she knew the baby was not hers, but that the situation was whose word was believed.

5. Solomon awarded the baby to the first woman, who protested the judgment.

6. The people of Israel respected Solomon for his wisdom.

Michal, the daughter of Saul, was said to be barren until she died. Michal was in love with David and saved him from her father's attack on his life. The Bible passages about David and Michal are 1 Samuel 18:17-27, 2 Samuel 3:13–16, and 2 Samuel 6:16-23.

Michal later publicly disrespected David, which led to a prophecy that she would have no children. She was the enemy within.

Another powerful example of the enemy within is Absalom who was King David's third son who rebelled against his father. The rebellion is described in chapters 15–20 of 2 Samuel.