Defeating your Enemies
INTRODUCTION
Most great heroes are defined by the enemies that they defeat. Just listen to the name of these heroes and see if their enemies do not come readily to mind: Batman (Joker, Penguin, Riddler); Superman (Lex Luthor); Flash Gordon (Ming the Merciless). The list goes on and is true throughout all of literature: King Arthur and Mordred; Beowolf and Grendel.
The greatest of all heroic battles is David and … Goliath of course. In fact, many of the great hero stories are patterned after David and Goliath. The timeless truths of this epic battle in scripture suggest it to our human experience. We can all relate to the underdog, fighting against seemingly insurmountable odds, a fearsome opponent, and summoning the will to fight. These are all human experiences to which we can relate. That is why God included this great event in scripture – because He knew we would all face times like this and need the lessons from the life of David of how to defeat an overwhelming enemy.
Read I Samuel 17.
DEFINING YOUR REAL ENEMIES
You find in the first few verses of I Samuel 17 that the stage for battle is set. The army of the Philistines has already taken ground from the children of Israel. They are camped in land belonging to Judah. Each army is entrenched on opposing hillsides with a valley between them that will be the site of battle.
This is a beautiful picture of life as we live it today. There are forces of good and evil. There is holiness and sin. Everyday of your life is a battle between the force of holiness and sin. We are surrounded by choices that strive to pull us one way or the other. The New Testament often uses the analogy of spiritual battle to explain life to us: “Put on the whole armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.” See Ephesians 6.
In our culture today, sin has already taken ground that once belonged to the Lord and holiness. Sin has taken over areas that once belonged to the church. The divorce rate in the church is as high as outside the church. Preachers too often give “encouragement lessons” instead of preaching about holiness. The government and liberal philosophy is gaining ground in re-defining marriage as homosexual marriage. They even call it “gay.”
The normal course of life will always bring you to the front line of battle. It cannot be avoided. Even when David ends up at the battle front, it is because he is obeying his father’s instructions to take food to his brother. As a Christian living in a fallen world, you cannot avoid battle.
Therefore, you must learn to recognize your true enemy. We fight against all sorts of things and too often fight the wrong things. Here God shows us a clear picture of a true enemy: Goliath. Look at him. What makes him an enemy is not that he is a gentile. Throughout the Old Testament, we see gentiles turn in repentance towards the Lord. Rahab and Ruth are both found in David’s own lineage.
It is the fact that he defies God that makes him an enemy. He also tries to draw the focus of the Israelites away from God. See how he taunts them stating that they “follow Saul.” They are not the armies of Saul, but are supposed to be the armies of the Living God. If they had kept this mindset, they would have had the confidence to fight the Philistines. He also tries to get them to fight one-on-one. That is not ever God’s plan. He calls us to fight as an army.
These characteristics help us properly define our true enemies: Satan, sin and self. These are our only true enemies. Circumstances some would say. They are not enemies. They may form the valley in which the battle is fought, but they are not enemies. Unfortunately, many Christians treat people who are unsaved as the enemy. They are NOT! That is one reason that we have lost our passion for evangelism. We have become so weak through taking our eyes off of Jesus that we have trained ourselves to fear and loath lost people instead of recognizing that they are prisoners of war and not the enemy. They are captives of Satan and not our enemies.
Satan, sin, and self are the only things that seek to defy God, defeat us, and draw us to focus inward on ourselves and to withdraw from the presence of God. We must learn that in every battle, we are looking for the enemy that is active see what its true goals is. Fight the right enemy and you will win. Fight the valley and you will loose.
SIX PRINCIPLES FOR DEFEATING YOUR ENEMIES
A. Recognize whose side you are on.
David immediately upon arriving at the front recognizes what is going on. He asks, “who is this uncircumcised philistine, that he should defy the Living God?” he knows whose side he is on – the Lord God of Israel. Unfortunately, people today do not understand the depth of what it means to be a christian. They first do not know or comprehend that attending church or being a good person does not save you. Our pews are filled with folks who have not truly surrendered their lives to Jesus.
That is what happens when you are saved – you truly surrender your life totally and completely to Him as Lord. That means it is not your life any longer. You have a new citizenship, home, family, purpose, life, heart. The Bible says God even gives you a new name. You are now on His side. This fact should define every aspect of our lives. It should redefine our view of the world and life itself. David was sold out to the Lord so he recognized immediately that this was wrong and an offense to the holiness of the Lord.
We need to learn to view all of life through the eyes of God. We need to see sin as just that sin. Too many folks lose before they even begin because they are so desensitized to sin that they do not even recognize it or fight it. Begin to ask God to develop this mindset in your heart and mid.
B. Consider who you are as a member of that side.
We need to learn who we are in Jesus. David understood who he was in the Lord. He was confident and told both Saul and Goliath that he knew who he was and what he could do by virtue of the Lord’s presence with him. He was confident, but not in his own abilities. He said the Lord killed the lion and bear and therefore it was the Lord who would kill Goliath as well. His confidence was in the Lord.
Consider the power of one simple verse: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13. What does that simple verse means in practical terms in your life? It means that, through the presence of Jesus in your life as a believer, there is no command you cannot obey, no circumstance you cannot face, and no enemy you cannot defeat. One of the major failings of the discipleship process in our churches is that we fail to truly teach the importance of “who we are in Jesus.” Understanding this fact is critical to living a victorious Christian life.
David understood this and we must learn it too. Commit yourself to learning this truth. In the face of each life struggle that comes, begin asking the Lord to use it as a “life classroom” to teach you about the truth of who you are in Jesus. Just for consideration at home, review I Peter 1:1-12 and Ephesians 1:1-14. Simply make a prayer list of who you are in Jesus as a Christian. Then pray your way through the battle using this list. This is he best way to learn what David had learned.
C. Draw on your experiences with God
David relied on his prior experiences in which God had saved him to bolster his faith. David relied upon the times in the field when God had protected him. When you face a struggle or battle, one of the first things you should do is get alone with the Lord and make a list of all of the times that He has met your needs. Just make a list. Then take the list and praise Him for each of those times.
This will greatly bolster you faith. It will change your perspective. You will see the enemy and the situation differently. You will face the enemy with faith because of the truth of the Lord’s faithfulness in your life. David’s confidence of “who he was in Jesus” was not a general faith or emotional strength. Instead it was founded on specific instances of God’s faithfulness. He had the wisdom to remember and call on those to bolster his faith. Learn the same lesson and it will bolster your faith for battle as well.
D. Prepare for battle with YOUR weapons, and not someone else’s.
David tried in Saul’s armor but it did not fit. He knew he must fight as God had prepared him to fight. He instead prepared himself by getting 5 smooth stones and using his slingshot.
Your weapons are not the normal “weapons” folks use to get through life. We as Christians do not rely upon positive thinking, escapism, emotional manipulation, etc. We do not need to drown our sorrows or medicate ourselves into a stupor. The Bible says plainly that “we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not [human] but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” II Corinthians 10:3-5. Your weapons are faith, scripture, and prayer. Your ally in utilizing these weapons is the Holy Spirit which resides in your heart when you trust Jesus as your savior.
In order to win spiritual battles against spiritual enemies, you must use your spiritual weapons. The fight to save your marriage, your kids, your testimony at work, all are won using your spiritual weapons and not human weapons. You must learn to wield these weapons in battle as a soldier would. (Review Ephesians 6)
E. Fight with passion!
One of my favorite verses of scripture in all of the Bible is found in this story. Verse 48 says “So it was when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.” David’s faith generated a passion in him that caused to run to battle to defeat the man blaspheming his God. To many of us have lost our passion for battle. Fight the enemy as if you believe you can win. Fight temptation to sin as if you believe it wrong to sin. Fight as a prayer warrior as if spiritual battles are won and lost based upon your obedience.
Scripture teaches this point all through the Bible, but we have lost that sense of passion for the Lord Jesus. David did not weakly back his way onto the battle field. To be victorious you must fight as if you want to be victorious and believe you will be victorious. This point is simple but the one at which many fail. What gives us passion? Worship generates passion. If you cannot even sing in church, how will you face the devil and temptation with any passion? A quality quiet time before the Lord generates passion. Serving others generates passion. You must develop the will to win, but what greater purpose would stir our passions than serving the Lord Jesus who gave His all for us at Calvary – so go fight and win!
