Text: “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us; for we are
not ignorant of his devices.”
2
Corinthians 2:11.
Good morning, enemy-aware Christian! Through the
constant sincere study of your Bible - God’s inspired Word - you and I have
firstly, been granted God’s gift of faith to believe; we have been Spiritually
quickened and saved; and now we continue to learn how to walk ‘…as pilgrims
through this barren land…’ The Lord is teaching us to be aware of the
enemies of our now Spiritually regenerate Christian souls. Praise God for
His Word which makes us wise to the wiles of Satan; and most aware of the
constant enemies of our born again souls.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (correctly discerning) the
Word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
“So then faith cometh (comes and continues to come) by
hearing (reading?), and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my
path.” (Psalm 119:105)
Verse 19. “Consider mine
enemies…” Let us now ‘consider’
these ‘enemies’; let us look attentively at them; let us study carefully the
things that are, and always shall be, in opposition to our born again souls;
let’s get serious about knowing exactly what/who are Spiritual enemies are -
that we might be better prepared to contend with them.
So who, then, are ‘the enemies of our Christian souls’
that we should always be most aware of in our daily lives for Christ
Jesus? Let us revisit a couple of these ‘bad boys’, and remind ourselves
not to become complacent to their deadly ‘devices’.
The World: The world, I define as all those with whom we come in
contact daily who know not Christ as Saviour and, therefore, will never own Him
as Lord. These are ‘the world’, these are the Devil’s children, as the
Lord Jesus teaches us clearly in His Word.
“Why do ye not understand my speech? Even
because ye cannot hear My Word. Ye are of your father the Devil, and the
lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he
speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for his is a liar, and the father of
it.” (John 8:43-44)
The Flesh: The flesh I define as the old nature within each of
us, that remains sinfully alive and active even after we are
graciously redeemed by the Living Lord God. This old nature, or ‘the
flesh’, is what I call ‘the enemy within’; the inner-traitor, that is incurably
sinful, and that shall remain incurably sinful until the day we die, or the
great day of Christ’s return when our soul/spirit shall throw off this body of
sin and be forever sinless in a body glorified of the Lord. (See the
doctrine of Glorification on my website by using the ‘Search’ facility.) (1
John 3:1-3)
The Devil: The Devil is the entire personification of all evil;
but is indeed a person; created an angel of the Lord God; placed in high
authority in Heaven as ‘the anointed cherub that covereth’, who was created
‘…perfect in all (his) ways…til iniquity was found in (him).’ (Ezekiel 28:11-19)
Satan and his legions of evil angels, who were cast out of Heaven, are
continually seeking ways and means to tempt and torment God’s people.
They are the committed enemies of our Spiritually regenerate souls.
“And there was war in Heaven; Michael and his angels
fought against the Dragon; and the Dragon (Satan) fought and his angels, and
prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in Heaven. And the
great Dragon was cast out, that old Serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were
cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:7-11)
Other ‘Religious’
People: Yes, my dear friend, ‘other
religious people’ have been the author’s bitter enemies since that day of God’s
grace unto me on August 12th, 1979 when the Lord God saved my soul
in a prison cell at the infamous Maze Prison in Northern Ireland. (See
‘About Kenny’ on this website.)
I believe I could have achieved so much more for
Christ Jesus over the past 34 years, had not ‘other religious people’ caused me
such deep and bitter hindrance. Sad, but totally true. Instead of
allowing me to come alongside them in their service to the Lord Jesus, many
such ‘religious people’ have shunned me like a pariah, marginalised me; and
detracted from my living witness for the risen Lord. It seems that such
‘religious people’ would rather safeguard their positions in church groups,
than open up their pulpits to a brother saved by God’s Sovereign grace.
These are enemies we ’consider‘.
The Psalmist is using the word
‘consider’ as a verb - something that must be done. He is asking the Lord
God to actively ‘consider’ his enemies. Selah.
Verse 19: “Consider mine
enemies. Or look upon them;
but with another kind of look; as He looked through the pillar of fire upon the
Egyptians and troubled them (Exodus 14:24) with a look of wrath and
vengeance.” (John Gill 1697-1771)
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