"God Will Expose Our Enemies If We Obey Him”

Intro: We as Americans have declared war on terrorism. The most difficult aspect of this war is identifying and locating our enemies. Fighting the war on terrorism is not as simple as finding one man and bringing him to justice. Terrorism is not a person or a people for that matter; it’s a state of mind, a cowardly way of fighting. We all realize that this war is so very different from any other war because we’re not fighting a specific people in a specific place. One of the most difficult aspects of terrorism is exposing our enemy. Soon after the nation of Israel crossed over the Jordan River into the promise land they came upon one of the most fortified cities of there time the city of Jericho. The great of walls of this city made it a fortress that was impossible for the Israelites to penetrate in there own power. Jericho was not a large city in terms of land dimensions. It only covered about 8 acres. But it was a city surrounded by two enormous walls, 15 feet apart. Each wall was lined with soldiers and watchmen stood at every gate. God’s will was to deliver the city of Jericho over to the Israelites, but first they had to follow God’s leadership to victory.

On a more personal level our enemies might be better defined as obstacles. Sometimes the obstacles we face is running short on money. Or it might be a person you work with, that is constantly holding you back, or a personality conflict that makes the workplace tense. Some people have what seem to be insurmountable obstacles in there family relationships. Maybe it’s a life threatening illness. We all face obstacles of some sort or another whether it be War with terrorism or personal finances we sometimes find ourselves with the odds stacked against us.

Transition: God has given us His promises. But the interesting and sometimes confusing things about His promises is that there are walls between the promises.

1. EVERY OBSTICLE WE FACE IS SUBJECT TO THE POWER OF GOD.

Jer 32:17

17"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

Luke 1:37

37 For nothing is impossible with God."

The problem we have many times is we take the opportunity away from God by fighting our own battles. When we fail to seek God and go about things our own way and totally disregard our relationship with God and His leadership we are failing to allow God the opportunity to work for us. When we take matters into our own hands we are in affect taking them out of God’s hands. Now don’t misunderstand me I know we need to couple prayer with action. I’m not saying lets just pray when faced with difficultly and do nothing. What I am saying is we need to first pray about our issues, bring them before God and seek His leadership and will allowing Him access to lead us.

2. WHY DO WE GET DOWN IN THE DUMPS WHEN WE FACE OBSTICLES?

a). Because we focus too much on the obstacle and not enough on God. This lesson the Israelites learned the first time they came to the Jordan River and sent the 12 spies in to spy out the land.

b). We look at obstacles in light of our own power. There was no way, humanly speaking, that Joshua and his followers were going to break through the walls of Jericho and overcome its inhabitants. This great city was the first formidable foe that stood between the people of God and the promises of God. Many times we face problems and difficulties that we can’t overcome in our own power. This is where the ministry of the Holy Spirit is so important to us as believers. The fact that the Holy Spirit dwells in us makes it so very personal. Aren’t you glad it doesn’t dwell near you or over you but it dwells in you?

1 Cor 6:19

19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?

Phil 4:13

13I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

So many times when we face impossible situations in our lives we say there is NO WAY. There is always a way when God is involved. If you would have been there at the crucifixion you would’ve thought their was no way Jesus would be walking around talking and teaching His disciples three days later.

c). We fail to view our obstacles as an opportunity for God to demonstrate His power. God can turn our gloom into gladness. Let me stay with the analogy of the disciples and the crucifixion. What about when the disciples were making their way to the tomb on Sunday morning? Do you think they were filled with gloom? Of course they were. What happened on Saturday? The day between the crucifixion and the resurrection? What a gloomy day that must have been. But on Sunday morning God turned our gloom to gladness.