Conquering our greatest enemy within.

One of the most incredible mysteries yet to be revealed is the presence of a fierce enemy that lives within us.

This instigator of all spiritual warfare within us is the old nature of sin that lies dormant within each one of us. The discovery of this hidden enemy within us is the road to victory.

Apostle Paul being an apostle of Jesus Christ is the best example for us. A man who received such privileged revelation from God lived the rest of his stay in this body of flesh to win the war that was set before him.

In the end of His life on earth this is what Paul delivered to his followers.

I fought the good fight, I finished my race and I kept my faith.

One of the most undesirable truths about our Christian life is to discover this enemy within us. Many read the words of our Lord about carrying our cross daily and refer to it as the difficulties of this life or even call people in their lives their cross in life, yet this is a totally vain thought on behalf of us Christians.

Looking intently in pursuit of God’s truth, we can come to the understanding of the deeper meaning of God’s word for us. Apostle Paul had this revelation from the Holy Spirit that no matter how hard he tried to live Godly there remained in him a law of sin that was embedded in his natural man.

In Romans chapter 7 he discovered this huge obstacle or means of enmity being within himself. Therefore I believe right there he stopped pointing fingers elsewhere.

He realized the enemy lives within him.

The discovery of this truth about himself served as a door to the abundant living in Christ. Jesus came to win the warfare within each man by being tempted in all things, but in being God in the form of man He gave us the victory through His cross.

Today many see the cross they need to carry as being things in the utter man, but the Lord points us to the one living right within us. The fallen man who lives for self. I, I, I or me, me , me this is the real enemy of every man. The selfish life of the flesh. The independent man living inside of us that refused to yield to God’s plan and purposes for us.

The cross we need to bare is to die to our own flesh ( Old nature of sin). Conquering this enemy within will bring us the promised life and abundance we are all looking for.

Oh how I hate the false prosperity teaching that has enticed men in believing its lie.

This rebellious spirit of pride inherited from Adam is our greatest obstacle to the abundant living promised in Christ. The life lived for the comforts of the flesh is a poisonous venom that kills man’s true life in God. This struggle within the inner man explained in the book of Galatians too is the one to be mastered by us in the end of our life on earth.

Christians like us are always wanting to see the cross elsewhere, but the Lord Himself pointed it to us and showed our fiercest enemy living within us. It is called the pride of Lucifer laid in our old nature through inheritance . Carrying our cross means to die to the appetites and desires of our flesh by saying no to our sinful nature warring against our spirit. You see the selfish desires of our old nature is what brings us into defeat in living a Christian victorious life. That is why all the men of God learned to die to it’s heavy demands.

In living the life of faith we need to put on the lenses of the eternal righteousness of God, and then we could truly recognize the enemy living within us. By discovering this enmity living inside of us we can view our lives in a brand new way. The center of our focus would be taken from us and placed on Christ our Lord.
Many of our wars come from within us as James says. The desires that are not being fulfilled either by men or by God. James says we ask and we do not receive, because we ask for things with selfish motives.
And motives are the hidden addenda’s of our heart. We covet and make war with people, because we are not willing to say no to our selves by carrying our own cross.
Let me ask you this. Have you just had a fight with someone and have you argued with a loved one recently?
If you answered yes to my question, let me tell you something. Have you considered that you might have been selfish in the estimation of your quarrelling? Have you checked the real motives of your heart? Are you looking to make yourself to look right in the eyes God and men? You see here lies the problem. None of us are ready to blame ourselves. No one wants to humble themselves in accepting wrong. It is always the other person that is wrong, why? Because we neglect to admit the presence of this enemy living within us. The biggest wars come from the lack of acceptance of this major enemy living within us.
Even after being saved we are not willing to accept our sinfulness and love to blame others instead of recognizing the enemy within us.
God is out there to brake our pride, yet we stubbornly refuse the fragrance of his cross.
The very thing that is able save us.
The message of the cross is the fragrance of our Lord’s sacrifice for us. Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians chapter one says the message of the cross is foolishness to the perishing. Wow what an amazing word. Why? Because the genuine Christians would welcome its meaning for themselves, but those who perish ignore the participation of its pain in order to obtain its glory. We love the easy gospel of health and wealth and prosperity, that pampers our flesh and tickles our itching ear, but abhor the message that says we need to carry our own crosses that has the breath of death which breads into our nostrils. The crowds of people assemble around those who would preach a gospel of ease and comfort and leave the presence of the few that are showing them the way to the true abundant life
That is why the truly saved find it amazing that they are so few.
Within this same mindset fell the scribes and the Pharisees who loved the ease and the comforts of this passing life. In Matthew chapter 8 verses 19 to 22 the gospel writer tells us the following event around our Lord while on earth. “ Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher” I will follow You wherever You go” And Jesus said to him “ Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Then another of His disciples said to Him. “ Lord let me first go and bury my father” But Jesus said to Him “ Follow Me and let the dead bury their own dead”.
Do you see the real picture here? This certain scribe was asking Him to allow him to follow Him, but Jesus knowing his heart said following me means dying to the comforts of this life meaning dying to our own sinful nature with all its passionate pursuits and carrying our cross by admitting of the enemy within us.
The greatest battle of mankind after the fall is the power to conquer the enemy within. It is the hardest task placed before men to accomplish alone. That is why our Lord’s cross brought this overcoming strength to man by His grace alone.
This why Apostle Paul call the preachers of the false gospels accursed, since they in their preaching deny the necessity of the destruction of this enemy. On the contrary they by works of righteousness build the strength of this fierce enemy called the Flesh or the Old sinful and carnal nature.
When we hear preachers who only speak of the things of the flesh they are like the accused children spoken by Peter who by their teachings deny our sovereign Lord in His obedient death on behalf of us all.
Instead of warring the good fight of faith, they give opportunity to the flesh to rule.
By saying all this folks I want to say this, let us wake up and recognize the enemy within.

Let us withdraw our hands and hearts from compromising God’s truth into embracing the depths of His word. Let us welcome the fragrance of His death and that of His cross in our lives. Let us hear the Lord on His call in walking in integrity as we spoke last Thursday night. Let us pray that the message of His cross would not be ignored by us. Let us not be like those who twist God’s word to benefit them only in this life.

May the warfare set before us be won through His grace by us in finishing our individual races in keeping our faith through a genuine fight of the good fight that is set in our path. And all this would be given to us if we are willing to embrace the truth about us.
And I know that we are all expecting a war soon, a great and mighty war of the prophecy of the Ezekiel chapter 38, But let us consider a greater war that is happening within us now.