Enemies
Pt. 3 – Enemy Love
I. Introduction
I have tried to inform you over the last two weeks that we are at war! Ecclesiastes makes it abundantly clear that there is a time for peace, but there is a time for war. We are in that time!
And yet, one man said, “We have lost our militant mindset and so we have lost ground and the wherewithal to train, prepare, arm and engage in warfare. We have become the comical, but deadly sight of the man who brings a knife to a shoot out!”
We must change this! Our mind must be shaken from its slumber of assumption that everything is for our good and that everyone loves us. The truth is the enemy of our soul has assigned certain things and certain people to destroy us. So I told you we must not become comfortable with our enemy. What are you tolerating that you should be killing? What enemy appeals to you? If you weren’t attracted to it it wouldn’t be as deadly as it is to you. What you refuse to destroy will ultimately destroy you! I told you that we must become wiser than our enemies. We have been instructed to live wise as snakes and harmless as doves. So we can’t be paranoid or untouchable. We must be wise. We have to know that our enemy is trying to get close to us because it is the close quarter strike that is most devastating. We need to know that there will be wolves who will dress up like sheep in order to get close. We can spot them because they will prey on the weak. Wolves divide and conquer. Wolves run in packs. Wolves fight for control. Wolves howl and bite. The only safe way to deal with wolves is to stay as close to the Shepard as possible! We must run to the sheepfold because the Shepard has placed His body between us and the wolves. So I challenged you to become a LAMBO – a sheep that will fight for other sheep.
So I wished Jesus hadn’t sent us into hard, dangerous, and hazardous situations? Why can’t we just coast? Why can’t we just live a protected, safe, no risk life? Why not meet Jesus and sit on a couch and relax until He comes back. Besides, if we have been guaranteed victory, deliverance, and we are already designated as an overcomer, then why is it even necessary to be involved in daily fights and skirmishes? If no weapon formed against us has any chance of prospering then why do we need armor and why do we have to be trained for battle? The answer is that our enemy serves a purpose! We must understand that our enemy has specific GOD GIVEN purpose in our life. In fact, we quote and I even read to you out of Matthew that Jesus said that we should love our enemy. I know what He meant, but I also want you to know that you should love having an enemy because of what they do for you! You should make it your homework assignment this week to thank your enemy. Just walk up to them or it and say thank you then turn around and walk away. It will drive them crazy and it will cause you to smile and see things correctly!
To understand this we need to go back and reread a very familiar enemy story! I know you know this story, but we need to look at it again and learn some valuable truth about our enemies.
TEXT: 1 Samuel 17:4-7; 11; 20-27; 33-37; 45-47, 2 Samuel 18:6-9
4-7 A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. His shield bearer walked ahead of him.
11 When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine's challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope.
20-23 David was up at the crack of dawn and, having arranged for someone to tend his flock, took the food and was on his way just as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the army was moving into battle formation, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines moved into position, facing each other, battle-ready. David left his bundles of food in the care of a sentry, ran to the troops who were deployed, and greeted his brothers. While they were talking together, the Philistine champion, Goliath of Gath, stepped out from the front lines of the Philistines, and gave his usual challenge. David heard him.
24-25 The Israelites, to a man, fell back the moment they saw the giant— totally frightened. The talk among the troops was, "Have you ever seen anything like this, this man openly and defiantly challenging Israel? The man who kills the giant will have it made. The king will give him a huge reward, offer his daughter as a bride, and give his entire family a free ride."
26 David, who was talking to the men standing around him, asked, "What's in it for the man who kills that Philistine and gets rid of this ugly blot on Israel's honor? Who does he think he is, anyway, this uncircumcised Philistine, taunting the armies of God-Alive?" 27 They told him what everyone was saying about what the king would do for the man who killed the Philistine.
33 Saul answered David, "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced—and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born." 34-37 David said, "I've been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I'd go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I'd grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or bear, it made no difference—I killed it. And I'll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. GOD, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine." Saul said, "Go. And GOD help you!"
45-47 David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day GOD is handing you over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that GOD doesn't save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to GOD—he's handing you to us on a platter!"
2 Samuel 18:6-9
6-9 As they returned home, after David had killed the Philistine, the women poured out of all the villages of Israel singing and dancing, welcoming King Saul with tambourines, festive songs, and lutes. In playful frolic the women sang, Saul kills by the thousand, David by the ten thousand!
II. Enemy Love
a. Your enemy deepens your reliance on God.
Opposition reveals your self reliance. David has faced a lion, a bear, and now a giant and these enemies caused him to come to an early realization that it is God that will give him victory. When you read the story of Absalom, David’s rebellious son, who came to the conclusion that he could be a better king than David you see a young man who has faced no enemy opposition. He has everything going for him. Everything is easy. Everything is handed to him without resistance. And because he has no enemy, Absalom missed the important lesson of God reliance.
When you find people who have never faced an enemy bigger than them you also find people who think they can make it on their own. But as soon as they face a drug addiction, a life threatening disease, an impossible situation they suddenly come to a deep understanding that if it weren’t for God on our side we couldn’t make it. I have no problem relying on God! My enemies have forced me to know that if God doesn’t show up I am lost! I have discovered that there are some battles that require prayer and fasting! Some you may be able to handle in your own ability, but an enemy teaches us that we need to rely on Him. Anyone know what I am talking about?
b. Your enemy deepens your praise.
Is it any wonder that David’s life was marked by deep praise? Is it any wonder that he could sit and compose a whole song book full of rich and eloquent worship and adoration for God? His enemies deepened his praise.
Listen for the seedbed of this song (Psalm 41):
1 Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.
2 The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.
3 The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.
4 I said, "O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you."
5 My enemies say of me in malice, "When will he die and his name perish?"
6 Whenever one comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it abroad.
7 All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying,
8 "A vile disease has beset him; he will never get up from the place where he lies."
9 Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
10 But you, O LORD, have mercy on me; raise me up, that I may repay them.
11 I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.
13 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
High praise is birthed in battle! Empty praise is founded in an effortless life! If you are going through hell right now take hope in the fact that your praise on the other side is going to be a deeper more meaningful praise!
Those people who only praise when it is cool or convenient haven’t faced an enemy. Those people who only praise when the right song is sung or the right mood is set haven’t stared into the eyes of opposition. An enemy forces you to learn how to praise when everything isn’t OK, when everything isn’t like you want it, a “though he slays me” praise is found in the middle of a battle not on a beach! An “everything is gonna be alright” praise isn’t possible until you have battled through “everything has been all wrong” season. Your dance on a good day doesn’t impress me as nearly as much as your dance that is danced when you have faced a dark day! Your enemy strengthens your praise!
c. Your enemy promotes you!
Notice there were songs about David and no women were filing out to see him before the fight! Every time it seems that God wants to promote someone He gives them an enemy! Moses . . . a fugitive, outcast, unwanted and unknown . . . until an enemy promotes him to deliverer. Gideon . . . unknown, unsure, unfollowed . . . until he faces an enemy. Martin Luther . . . unknown and accepted . . . until faced with enemy. Abraham Lincoln lost his job, lost bid for State legislature, business failed, had nervous breakdown, lost bid for Congress, lost bid for US Senate, lost nomination for Vice President, but in 1860 when faced with the enemy of slavery and impending war is promoted to President one month before the first shot of Civil War!
Mike Murdock says that “a friend encourages you, your family humbles you, but enemies promote you.”
You should love the presence of an enemy because it must mean that God is about to promote you to a new season. New enemies mean that you have entered a new season!
d. The size of your enemy determines the size of your reward.
The size of your enemy gives an early indication of the size of your victory! Go back and learn from David. Why fight small battles? Why fight for nothing! A wise man counts the cost before the battle. However, he also takes into account the reward! David knew that a big victory brings a big reward. Listen to what he heard, “The man who kills the giant will have it made. The king will give him a huge reward, offer his daughter as a bride, and give his entire family a free ride (no taxes)." That is a reward worth fighting for!
Don’t back down from the enemies that you are facing. See them as a means to get to the reward on the other side. Some of you are fighting battles for no spoils. Turn your attention to fighting the enemies that will secure reward! There are some battles worth risking everything in . . . kids, spouse, peace, destiny. The enemies that oppose those areas are worth taking on because the spoils are huge! If you are facing a huge enemy right now quit seeing it as a big nightmare and see it as a sure fire way to reap a big harvest!
e. Your enemy reveals your strength!
No one knew David was a warrior until he faced a strong enough enemy to expose his strength! An unopposed life is a weak life! An unopposed faith is a weak faith. Resistance training makes you stronger. You remember that old advertisement on the back of comic books? It was the one where the 97 lb. weakling is having sand kicked in his face. I sent it for that! It was a workout plan from Charles Atlas! Atlas was dubbed the "The World's Most Perfectly Developed Man". He claimed he achieved his statuesque body by using a method of training called “Dynamic Tension”. And as you can tell by the concealed weapons that I carry to church every week, I was real faithful to this workout! It was all based on resistance! Resistance reveals your strength! The more resistance we have the stronger we get.
Since we have been told that God won’t place more on us than we can bear that must mean that God trusts us with the enemy we have strength to handle. No more than we can bear. Our enemy reveals our spiritual strength.
"The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials" -George Muller
You show me someone with a big enemy and I will show you a strong person. You show me someone that hasn’t ever faced anything and I will show you someone that has no endurance, no prayer life, and no discipline. We rise to the level of opposition or we play down to the level of our opposition. So our enemy exposes our strength level so that we can see our need to grow. If the small enemy is defeating you it reveals you need to grow. If the large enemy is working you over then it is time to grow. The size of the enemy you are able to battle shows me who I can trust when times are hard. Hang around folks who are whipping big enemies! Strength is contagious!
f. Your enemy also reveals your purpose!
When you find yourself being opposed you are closing in on your destiny, Promised Land, and purpose. The closer you get the harder your enemy will fight!
A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.
Baltasar Gracian
If we will pay attention our enemy will reveal our purpose in life! David’s purpose as a warrior king was revealed by the enemies he faced. Moses’ purpose was revealed by the enemies he faced. His purpose as deliverer was revealed when he squared off against the Egyptian who was mistreating the Israelite.
If you sense more opposition in one area of your life take heart . . . love your enemy . . . because you are getting closer to your sweet spot! I have found this to be true. As long as I was coasting as national youth director there was very little opposition. The moment we answered the call to plant Passion we found ourselves surrounded by naysayers, doubters, haters, and opposition. It revealed that we were getting closer to our promise! Where is the enemy fighting you the hardest? It might just be that he knows that if you would press through that battle you would walk into your purpose on the other side!
