The Destination! - Enemy At The Gate


	The Destination! - Enemy At The Gate

Enemy At The Gate by Jason Graham

There is no question that sometimes in this life there will come times when we all may fail, falter, fall, mess up, struggle, etc. To say anything else would be untrue. Why do all experience times like this? Well, I'm sure there may be different reasons, but in some cases the reason is exactly what the title of this devotional is talking about: There is an Enemy at the Gate. This enemy has the potential to destroy you, make you sick, keep you sick, kill your faith, condemn you, hold you back, hold you down, rob you of the Blessings and Promises of God, separate you from the people you love, destroy their lives, bring a curse on you and those around you, and Ultimately Kill you.

The thought of an enemy with such potential can be intimidating, even frightening. So we must understand what this enemy is so that we can protect ourselves from it. And the only way to gain a proper perspective on what we are up against is to turn to the scriptures. John 10: 10 tells us that the thief cometh not but to kill, steal, and to destroy. And I Peter 5: 8 also tells as that our adversary, the devil, roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

But that is NOT the enemy I am talking about.

Truly, there is an enemy at the gate, BUT I have not told you what the gate is either.

This enemy is not on the outside of the gate trying to get IN.

This enemy is on the inside of the gate trying to get OUT.

The Gate

The Enemy

The Power of the Tongue

Proverb 18: 21

Matt 15:11, 15-20

Over and Over in scripture we can see the Power of the Tongue emphasized. This is how it can be our enemy.

James 3: 5-10

SO WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

You see so many troubles that we go through are not caused by the devil…they are caused by our own Mouth. Our tongue defiles us, brings us death, and condemns us according to the scriptures.

But it doesn't have to. If "From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks," then what we need to focus on is just WHAT the abundance of our heart is.

Instead of speaking our own words…we need to speak the Words of God.

We go through so many struggles, prolong our own trials, and ensnare ourselves by not speaking God's Word.

You see the Bible says that we are tried as silver or gold. When a precious metal is refined, a fire is put underneath it and all the impurities rise to the surface. It can be like going through the Garden of Gethsemane. Gethsemane means a "place for pressing." This title came from the fact that this garden was a place where the olives were pressed to get the oil out of them (there is enough symbolism there to start an entire new devotional, but I shall constrain myself). The scripture paints an agonizing picture of our Lord in the place of pressing. Jesus agonized until His sweat became as great drops of blood, in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here in this great time of pressing for Jesus, He cried out to the Father to let the cup of that suffering pass from Him, but immediately we find the heart of our Savior revealed as He utters the words, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done." This is what came out of Christ when He was pressed in His own personal place of pressing. It is here, in our own Gardens of Gethsemane that we must decide to say Not My Will, But Thy Will Be Done just as our Lord did.

In these times of pressing or refining, as I pointed out that the scripture compares it to earlier, we may find that some really ugly stuff rises to the surface. The refiner likes to see all the nasty stuff rising to the top when his precious metals are being refined, because he knows that is how they are becoming pure. In the same way, God is neither surprised nor disappointed if, when we are pressed or refined, that the nasty stuff that is still inside of us begins to pop up to the surface. It is then, however, that we must decide to let God wipe away the dross when it rises to the surface. It is the abundance of our heart that is being revealed during these times.

There is one very important point to notice about Jesus' time of pressing, however, He never had a question about what the Father's will was. He simply prayed for it to be done. This is where we fall short and SNARE ourselves with our own tongues so often. We run into trouble with our mouths when we have to question what God's will is. This may often cause us to even speak things into our own lives that are against the will of God.

So, How do we know His will?
" We must know His Word.
" We must know His Character by His Word.
" We must ask Him to remove from us anything that is in opposition to His will.

We have to keep His Word in our hearts and NOT our own words.

This will keep us out of a lot of trouble:

Ps 119:9-17
9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
17 Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.

Finders: Keepers; Losers: Weepers

Proverb 21: 23

Proverb 4:20-23

Then, once we have Found God's Word or put it in our Hearts, we must Keep our Hearts with All Diligence. The Hebrew word for "keep" here is natsar, which means to guard or protect. Once we have made sure that we are getting God's Word inside of us, then we must guard our hearts to keep it there. We do this by keeping ourselves in the Word and by keeping ourselves in Prayer. The Bible likens God's word to a seed, and we must water this seed with prayer for it to grow in us, much like one would keep a garden.

So, there we have it. The Bible says that no man can tame the tongue (James 3: . So why try? But the Bible also says that the tongue is going to speak whatever the abundance of your heart is; therefore, the Word of God can tame your tongue if you make the Word of God the abundance of your heart.

So now let us focus ourselves on hiding God's word in our hearts and keeping our hearts with all diligence so the next time you are pressed, instead of speaking words of doubt you may find that what is pressed out of the abundance of your heart is, "I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me" (Phil. 4: 13). Or maybe the abundance of your heart will force you to proclaim, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7) instead of words of fear. And instead of words of defeat the abundance of your heart will overflow into a mighty, "I will bless the Lord at all times! His praise shall continually be in my mouth!" (Psalm 34: 1). If we keep God's Word in our heart it can do several things. I just want to leave you with a list of scriptures to help you focus on the power of God's Word in your life. If we will familiarize ourselves with His Word more, then we can truly realize its significance to us. God Bless You All.

The Word:

· I Samuel 3: 7, 21-it is instrumental in knowing God.

· Matthew 14: 24-31-it gives us something to stand on in life's storms

· Mark 4: 35-40-it gives us peace in the midst of a storm

· Genesis 1: 2-3-it brings the dark and void to light

· Luke 1: 36-37-it brings fruitfulness to the barren

· Luke 13: 11-13-it gives freedom to the bound

· John 11: 43-44-it gives life to dead things

· John 14: 26-it gives the Holy Ghost grounds to teach us from

· Luke 1: 38-receiving it will give birth to God's will for our lives

· Proverb 2-receiving it will do a lot of things, just read the whole passage

· Isaiah 9: 8-it is given to our leaders to bring light to us

· II Timothy 3: 16-17-it is our source of doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction so that we may be mature and able to do the work of God.

· Psalm 107: 20-it heals us

· Isaiah 55: 10-11-it accomplishes whatever God sends it to do

· Proverb 4: 20-22-it is life and health to those who gain understanding of or "find" it

· Titus 1: 9-it can convince those that do not believe and give sound doctrine so that one will be able to exhort.

· Psalm 119: 100-108-it gives you wisdom beyond your years if you obey it, it will give you understanding that will make you hate every false way, it is a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path, it will "quicken" us in our affliction

· Psalm 119: 11-it will help to keep us from sin if we put it in us

20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

We stop unnecessary struggle by Finding and Keeping. The word "find" here in this scripture is the Hebrew word matsa', which, in the sense of "finding words," it means to understand them. We must not just know the Bible; we must FIND God's word. Get an understanding of it and "hide it in our hearts." It is in the heart that true Godly understanding is found, not in the head.
23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the
fruit thereof.
Matt 12:35-37
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. : The tongue that twists and turns behind them. : The two lips that flap on the front of our faces.