The Toolbag Of The Enemy

The Toolbag of the Enemy

Gen. 17:1,2

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

Gen. 17:15-19

15 ¶ And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

What the enemy uses to attempt to rob your victory

Delay----Demorrar

Discourage----Desanimar

Deceive----Defraudar

I. Delay

The promises of God are precious; especially when we receive one on a personal level.

Abraham was told of God many years before (cp. 12) that from his seed would proceed a great nation. He was now 99 years old and only had a son by means of a slave girl (that was a disastrous affair).

Delay does NOT mean denial.

God is not tied to a timetable. He is eternal. Yesterday is just as close to Him as it is to the other side of the Millenium.

As humans, we tend to think that God has forgotten us if the answer doesn't come when we think that it should.

Example: Mary and Martha

That healing you need

The coming of the Lord

Due to the delay, Abraham became disbelieving and laughed at the plan of God. He pleaded with God to just go with plan B; Ishmael.

How many times are we guilty of the same. The answer has not arrived, so we are willing to accept an alternative and work with it. Don't let the enemy trick you into doing that.

2Co 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

II. Discouragement

Another tool of the enemy is discouragement. It sometimes goes hand in hand with delay.

Gen. 21:10-12

10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

Abraham became discouraged and it grieved him that his wife wanted him to dismiss Hagar and Ishmael. He wanted to avoid conflict and he also did not want to get rid of what had become close to his heart.

Some of us have tried to make a substitute fit in our scheme of things. Then when God deals with us to let it go, we become discouraged because it has a grip on our heart.

Beware of becoming discouraged at your spouse for stating the obvious!

Beware of being discouraged with God for pressing you to crucify the flesh.

Great men like Moses and Elisha passed through times of discouragement; even David.

1Sa 30:6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

III. Deceived

Abraham had become deceived, at least temporarily, to believe that he could go forward with Isaac and Ishmael in the same household.

The devil will lie to you and tell you that you can have one foot in the world and one foot in the church and it will all turn out all right. NEVER! God is a jealous God and will not share His glory with another.

Be not deceived----this is a repeated theme throughout the Bible. Why? The devil is a liar and the father of all lies. He cannot tell the truth. If he can get you to clutch even a little bit of deceit, he knows that it will be a stranglehold to steal your victory and cause you to be lost.