Enemies Of Your Faith

enemies of your

faith

by Duane Vander Klok

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction……………………………………….…………………………………….

Chapter 1

Hardness of Heart...........................................................................

Chapter 2

Condemnation.................................................................................

Chapter 3

Worry...............................................................................................

Chapter 4

Unforgiveness.................................................................................

Chapter 5

Desire for Other Things.................................................................

Chapter 6

Trouble............................................................................................

Chapter 7

The Deceitfulness of Riches..........................................................

Chapter 8

Tradition of Men..........................................................................

INTRODUCTION

Faith in God is stronger than nuclear power! It moves mountains and changes the course of history. It turns lives around, restores marriages, heals the incurable, delivers from depression, and breaks addictions. One man's faith even held the entire universe motionless for almost a day (Joshua 10). If God can do that in response to one man’s faith, what can He do in response to yours!

Faith is a believer's greatest weapon. It so damages the kingdom of darkness that Satan takes desperate measures to destroy it. Whether by violent attacks or by subtle undermining, his sole intent is to sabotage your faith, thus preventing your prayers from being answered.

To accomplish his plan, Satan has assigned dangerous enemies such as Hardness of Heart, Condemnation, or Worry to infiltrate a believer’s life in such a subtle way that people often accept the thoughts and behaviors they provoke as being “normal and acceptable.” Satan usually doesn’t wait until a person reaches adulthood to start this destructive process. Bobbie was only two years old when she watched her parents having an extremely heated argument, and in her tender, innocent mind, the enemy planted the idea that she was the cause of it. At that point, even as young as she was, Fear and Rejection attacked her thoughts. Little Bobbie didn’t know what to do with the pain and confusion caused by these enemies, so she responded by withdrawing. If someone hurt her again, she would quietly slip away to a secluded corner and cry brokenly; then she would never trust that person again.

Outwardly, she seemed like a happy, tough little girl; but inside a hardness started to develop.

Bobbie was 13 when her mother died. Her father, who knew nothing about raising girls, used harsh accusations to correct her instead of patience and understanding. Even though his word was so trusted in the community that he could walk into any bank and borrow money, at home his own daughter couldn’t trust his temper and cruel verbal attacks.

The church they attended taught that God was responsible for the bad things that happened in life, that it was part of His will. As desperately as she longed to know God, she decided a God like that couldn’t be trusted either—especially after she married her high school sweetheart who died of cancer, leaving her with three young children.

“I really got mad at God because I thought He was responsible for the deaths of my mother and husband,” Bobbie reminisced. “Now I had to be tough again and survive on my own. I didn’t know about trusting God or that I could ask Him for help. To me, He was nothing more than a hard taskmaster—definitely not my friend.”

A second marriage two years later seemed to go well enough until Bobbie noticed subtle clues that her husband was having an affair. Unable to confirm her suspicions, yet unable to deal with any more pain, she felt betrayed beyond repair. Sobbing, she began boxing up her belongings until uncontrollable anguish brought her to her knees. Oh, how she needed God! For 46 years she had tried to take care of things herself, but it hadn’t worked. She had no one else to whom she could turn for help. That day she opened her aching heart to Him. After deciding to stay with her husband, she started going to church, seeking God and, from then on, obeying what His Word said to do. Bobbie knew God wanted her to forgive everyone who had hurt her and, without hesitation, admitted she had quite a long list to work on. The first one was the hardest. Her father. How could she forgive someone who had inflicted so much pain? Desperate and miserable, Bobbie asked God to show her how to forgive, and He answered in a most unexpected way.

Her husband’s friend happened to stop by one day and observed Bobbie’s struggle with painful arthritis. “Arthritis can be caused by unforgiveness,” he commented. “Is there someone you need to forgive?”

Her husband answered for her. “She hasn’t forgiven anyone,” he said, “but mostly she hasn’t forgiven her dad.”

“Do you want to forgive him?” the man asked.

She looked down and tried to blink back the tears. How could he possibly know the intensity of her desire to escape from the torment of unforgiveness? “I don’t know how,” she whispered.

He invited her to pray a simple prayer of forgiveness with him, and when she finished, much to her surprise, she felt as if one of the anvils from her father’s blacksmith shop had been lifted from her heart. “I had no idea hatred and unforgiveness could make a person’s heart feel so heavy!” she exclaimed. That was the first of many decisions to forgive that Bobbie made, and each time she forgave another person, her heart softened a bit more. Until then, she hadn’t realized how hard her heart had become over the years, especially toward God. Without realizing it, she had quit trusting God the same way she had quit trusting her father. Bobbie not only needed to forgive others; she herself also needed God's forgiveness for rejecting Him. Rather than feeling condemned for her failures and sins as she had in the past, she knew now what to do. With child-like faith she prayed and simply asked God to forgive her. She felt God’s warm, gentle love enveloping her, and she knew, deeply knew, that God had not only forgiven her, but He also wanted her to know He was not responsible for the bad things that had happened to her. Satan was her enemy. Not God.

Amazed at His loving acceptance, Bobbie decided that if God cared about her this much, she wanted to know more about Him, and a new hunger for the Word of God began replacing the old torment. As she read the Bible, God continued to remind her of other people she needed to forgive.

Though sometimes she argued, the desire to be free was stronger than the desire to cling to her pain.

One by one, she forgave. Day by day, a sweet joy and peace replaced the pain.

Unfortunately, five years later, Bobbie discovered her suspicions about her husband were true.

Strange, she thought, that since she had turned toward God, He had dealt with her only about her sins— not her husband’s. But she realized that, as hard as it would be to forgive him, what God had been requiring of her had prepared her for this decision. After all, God had forgiven her of so much, how could she withhold forgiveness from her husband?

No, it wasn’t easy; but, with God’s help, she did forgive, in spite of his refusal to change and a subsequent divorce. Looking back over her life, Bobbie said, “I didn’t have to walk through so much pain for so long, but I didn’t know who my enemy was. I thought it was me. I thought it was other people. I even thought it was God. My heart had gotten so hard from all my attempts to deal with things myself.”

Today Bobbie is free. With faith in a living, loving God, she has conquered—and continues to conquer—the enemies assigned to destroy her life. “Now,” she says, “I know who I am in Christ. I know who God is. I know the authority God gave me to deal with these enemies. And I know how to use it!”

LOCATING THEIR HIDING PLACES Like Bobbie discovered, enemies of our faith hide where the Word of God enters our lives— in the gateway of the mind. Entertaining a wrong thought is actually entertaining an enemy, who collects and builds such thoughts into a stronghold from which he influences us to make destructive

choices that damage our faith, families, marriages, ministry, and money. Obviously, the challenge, then, is to recognize and root out these enemies.

The purpose of this book, therefore, is to expose, one by one, these "spiritual terrorists" who are so bent on stealing our confidence and trust in God and His Word. The following names and descriptions will boldly identify eight of the most dangerous enemies of our faith. But remember, once exposed, they make an easy target. And only you, using your faith, can root them out!

ENEMY #1: HARDNESS OF HEART My friend used to work in Nebraska on a cattle ranch. In spite of the broad expanse of grassland, the cattle ambled back and forth over the same hard-packed trails until nothing grew on those paths—not even when the pasture was left unused for years. Jesus described such hard-packed paths when he warned about an enemy called Hardness of Heart. In Mark 4 He said, "Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed [which represents the Word of God] fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it." The wayside is that well-traveled path that is so hard packed that crops can’t grow there and birds can easily steal the seed sown on it.

Likewise, making wrong decisions over and over again hardens the heart. Hebrews 3:7 says, "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts . . ." Hearing His voice and knowing what is right, yet deciding anyway to do what looks good at the moment will harden one’s heart. In fact, Satan used this tactic against the first man and woman. He started with the idea that God didn't really want them eating the fruit of one tree lest they become like God. The amazing thing is they were already like God—yet Eve entertained the thought! Adam and Eve knew they shouldn't have eaten that fruit, but they compromised the Truth because the idea sounded good at the moment. That decision to compromise hardened their hearts, and they lost confidence and faith in what God said.

The deadliest thing about such compromise is its power of influence. One person’s decision to compromise affects many others. Take, for instance, the time when God freed the Hebrew children from bondage in Egypt and wanted to lead them into the Promised Land. When they faced tough times along the way, ten people decided it would be easier to do what looked best at the moment rather than to listen to God’s voice. The influence of such compromise hardened the hearts of an entire generation,

and they all missed God’s plan and never did successfully enter the Promised Land. Instead, they all died in the wilderness—except for two men who had refused to compromise from the very beginning.

No wonder the Bible warns, "Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways,' so I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest'" (Psalm 95:7-11). Is compromise really worth it?

Another more subtle danger of compromise is procrastination. It is dangerous to think, "I'll do it tomorrow or next week, next month, next year. I'll get right with God later."

Consider this example of someone who compromised by procrastinating. Egypt’s Pharaoh refused to release the Israelites from bondage, so God smote Egypt with a plague of frogs. Frogs were everywhere. In the beds. In the drinking water. In the closets. In the bread dough. Everywhere!

Pharaoh called Moses and told him to get rid of the frogs and then he'd let the Israelites go.

"When do you want the frogs to go?" Moses asked.

Pharaoh replied, "Tomorrow."

Tomorrow? Why not today? Why would he want to spend just one more day with frogs swimming in his soup? I'd say this is the dumbest verse in the Bible! Yet that's how people live every day! They decide to live in fornication for "one more" fling. They'll go to "one more" drug party.

They'll have "one more" drink or "one more" piece of pie. Something is happening "one more" decision at a time. Procrastination is a form of compromise. A decision to procrastinate allows an enemy called Hardness of Heart to slip in and take over, and it becomes difficult to hear God's voice—not

because He stopped speaking, but because a heart hardened by compromise and procrastination no longer hears His voice.

Some years ago, for example, a couple used to come to church, and the man would be under such conviction at the altar call that he would grip the pew in front of him so hard his knuckles turned white.

I wondered why he wouldn't get right with God, so I asked him about it.

“I'm just not ready yet," he explained. A year later, he still came with his wife but now he sat with arms folded and head cocked arrogantly to one side. Resisting God wasn't hard anymore. He had decided to wait until later, but by then his heart had hardened. How important it is to respond to God's voice today and do what He tells you to do now!

Hardness of Heart is also attracted to areas where sin is tolerated. Psalm 66:18 says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." Refusing to deal with sin dulls a person to its dangers, and Hardness of Heart can easily move in. Not even seeing spectacular miracles will have an influence on those who are comfortable with iniquity. There’s no better example of this than the Israelites who walked through the Red Sea on dry land, and then saw the waters drown Pharoah's army. Every morning they gathered bread that came from heaven for their food. Their thirst was quenched by water flowing from a Rock that the Bible says followed them around. Every day for forty years they saw a cloud that shaded and led them by day and a pillar of fire that warmed and protected them by night.

They saw miracles, yet they had hard hearts. It’s easy to see why after taking a look at the attitude they harbored. They griped and fumed and fussed about everything: "Moses, you're not doing this right.

We're thirsty! We're hungry! God doesn't care about us. Gripe! Gripe! Gripe!"

In spite of the miracles they saw each day, they failed to turn from their selfish, negative, sinful attitudes. God's Word made no sense to their hardened hearts; thus, it was an easy matter for Satan to rob them of their destiny.

Unfortunately, when a heart is hardened in one area, it affects other areas. Someone with a hardened heart will oftentimes mistreat others, especially those closest to him. “. . . the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant" (Malachi 2:14). The reason for divorce, Jesus said, is "because of the hardness of your hearts" (Matthew 19:8). In every divorce there is always at least one hard heart. Oftentimes in such a case, the spouse with the hardened heart thinks he/she can compartmentalize relationships. That is, he can mistreat his wife one minute and still love God the next.

Not so. The Bible says, "Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother" (I John 3:10). Relationship with God and a relationship with a husband, a wife, or another person cannot be put in different compartments. That's why the Bible says, "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel . . . that your prayers may not be hindered" (I Peter 3:7). A heart hardened in one area does affect other areas.

Overcoming Hardness of Heart

The Bible compares Hardness of Heart to “fallow ground,” which is ground that used to be good, but after being let go has became weedy and hard. For example, you used to read the Bible every day, but it doesn't seem necessary any more. You used to pray every day, but now rarely do. You used to tithe, but now feel you can't afford to. When you got sick, you used to pray for healing first; now you go to the doctor first. These are some examples of Hardness of Heart.

God knows mankind has a tendency to develop a hardened heart, so, for those who want to overcome it, He tells how to do it in Hosea 10:12: "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on

you." To break up the "fallow ground" of a hard heart, immediately start doing (sowing) something right. 

Join up with a body of believers. (Many of the things God tells us to do cannot be done without being part of a church fellowship.)



Forgive those who have been a source of pain to you. (Sowing a crop of forgiveness brings a harvest of mercy when you need forgiveness!)



Ask forgiveness from those to whom you have been a source of pain. (This is a powerful way of breaking up the fallow ground of a hard heart!)



Rather than dutifully reading a quota of Bible chapters, read and listen for His voice instead. A softening heart can hear His voice again.

True, it may not be easy at first to start doing right, but Jude 3 says to "contend earnestly for the

faith." Fight the good fight of faith! A hard heart can be softened. How? Bomb it with obedience!

ENEMY #2: CONDEMNATION Condemnation, a seasoned veteran of faith-destroying tactics, has an obsession with the past.

Condemnation sifts through the past looking for guilt, shame, unresolved conflicts, any debris useful for obstructing faith. This enemy will also try to condemn you for past sins even though you've already asked forgiveness. In spite of the fact that God forgave and said He would remember your sins and iniquities no more, still Satan taunts, "You're no good! You're bad! God is disappointed with you! He won't bless, heal or deliver you!" A lack of confidence in your standing with God allows this lying enemy to make your faith ineffective.

I remember hearing Lester Sumrall tell about a gray-haired woman in her 70's who came to him for help and, to his surprise, confessed having had an adulterous affair. He asked her when this had happened and was even more surprised when she answered, “When I was 21.” Every day for 50 years she had been ashamed and intimidated by condemnation! It’s a good thing God is greater than wasted years! In Joel 2:25, God says, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten . . .” And He does!

Overcoming Condemnation

God has provided the most powerful weapon for absolutely wiping out Condemnation.

Condemnation is a powerful enemy; but it is no match for the Blood of Jesus. The Bible says, “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin . . . If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:7, 9). The way we use this weapon is simple. It’s by faith—the very thing Condemnation is trying to destroy. Think about it!

When God said He would remove your sins as far as the east is from the west, He meant it! Why not believe it?

Not only does the Blood of Jesus forgive sins, but it also cleanses the conscience! "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:14).

Unfortunately,

many people only exercise enough faith for forgiveness of sin, then struggle with their conscience on their own. Doing good works is a common way of trying to ease a painful conscience. Like the older woman discovered after 50 years of condemnation, good works do not remove the inner image of an adulterer, drug addict, or fornicator.

Sara, a single mother and a Christian, came under Condemnation’s attack after she divorced her husband, who was an habitual adulterer. Their sweet dispositioned toddler grew increasingly belligerent and selfish. “How can you correct him for being wrong,” Condemnation taunted her, “when you’re so wrong yourself?” Sara listened to Condemnation and tried to ease her conscience by letting him get by with anything. Unfortunately, such attempts only increased her frustration and despair. Only faith in the Blood of Jesus can cleanse the conscience—literally, the consciousness—from the guilt, shame, and dead works.

In addition, the Blood of Jesus is so powerful it not only removes past sins from Condemnation's arsenal and cleanses the conscience of “leftover debris,” but it also provides protection from further attacks of Condemnation with God’s gift of His own righteousness. “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (Ephesians 6:14). When Condemnation brings up accusations from the past, use your God-given weapon. Point to the Blood of Jesus and boldly declare, "Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (II Corinthians 5:17). With confidence declare, “I am not a dirty old sinner anymore. I’m not an adulterer,

a drug addict, an alcoholic, a liar, an obsessive-compulsive. I am a child of God, washed in the Blood, with my conscience cleansed. I am right with God! I am in Christ, not under condemnation. I am in His death, in His burial, in His resurrection, in His ascension, and the Bible says I am seated together with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Because of the Blood, Condemnation’s assignment against me is cancelled!” Now, go fulfill your God-given destiny!

ENEMY #3: WORRY Here's a subtle one! I met this enemy on a mountain bike in the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming as my boys and I flew down the bike trails. I tried to keep up with them, all the while frantically thinking about the rough path ahead of me, “Don’t hit that big rock! Miss that rock! Don’t hit it!” Sure enough, as soon as I started worrying about the rocks, my bike headed straight for them, and I experienced a smashing hit because of a spiritual law: We get what we worry about. Job even admitted, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me” (Job 3:25).

Worry is a sneaky, aggressive enemy. Some people consider Worry to be a normal part of life— so normal, in fact, that they really think worrying is a form of caring about others! Actually, Worry is a direct affront to God because it is Fear in its infancy. With time and feeding, a little worry can become a full-grown fear, then panic, then crippling terror.

Worry sits at our mind's gate and chokes the Word of God before it can work in our lives. Jesus described this enemy in Mark 4: "And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop . . . Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word; and the cares of this world [worry], the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful " (Mark 4:7, 18-19).

Worry resists the Truth and is especially adept at sneaking into a believer’s prayers. God intends for prayer to be a powerful weapon against the works of the devil, but when prayer becomes a place to

rehash worries, it is like going into frontline warfare with a squirt gun. You are no threat to any enemy.

That’s why the Bible urges, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). When “the cares of this world” obscure the truth about God and His character, they are actually a sin and snare that cause the Word to become unfruitful (worthless) in our lives—which brings another spiritual law into play: 

No Word = No faith



No faith = No fruit



No fruit = No joy

Overcoming Worry

Is there any way to conquer this enemy? Absolutely! Any worrier knows the victory must be won in the mind. I Peter 5:7 tells us to get violent with those worrisome thoughts: "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." Ask a fisherman about casting! He knows it doesn’t mean “gently drop it.” It means “to hurl, to forcefully throw,” and it takes practice to get good at it!

Once a concern has been cast on Him, the peace of God will come, but don't stop yet! Worry must be taken captive or it will regroup and come raging back into the mind. To seal the victory, another step is absolutely necessary. Bind up every fearful thought and worry with the Word of God, such as Philippians 4:8: "Whatever things are true, . . .noble, . . . just, . . . pure, . . . lovely, . . . of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." Then you can think about your situation from a different perspective and see how many good things are at work

on your behalf. At first it may seem awkward to look for the positive side of a situation, but with practice, you will find wonderful peace and victory in every situation. Somebody does care! God has provided!

If the enemy has blinded you to God’s provision, isn’t it time to bring Worry to justice? Cast every care into His hands and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Then sentence them to Life imprisonment behind the bars of God’s Word!

ENEMY #4: UNFORGIVENESS Unforgiveness is a faith-killer. Armed with resentments, anger, and bitterness, Unforgiveness has a mission to inflict deep spiritual, emotional, even physical destruction. Not only that, but Unforgiveness also wants to destroy others around us. Needless to say, never, never harbor such an extremely dangerous enemy. The fact that Jesus warned us about Unforgiveness immediately after teaching on the tremendous power of faith should be a clue to its deadliness. He said, "Whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:23-26).

No wonder Unforgiveness is so hazardous! God has given us the responsibility of deciding how much forgiveness we want to receive from Him! Plain and simple, that means the way we forgive others is the way He forgives us!

Forgiveness is not simply a responsibility; it is also a privilege and an honor. Because He so freely forgives us for the grief, rejection, and pain we inflicted on Him, He now expects us, in turn, to forgive those who have hurt us deeply. Refusing to forgive another’s sin is rejecting the forgiveness from God that we ourselves need.

Unforgiveness stubbornly opposes faith. We saw this happen when we were missionaries in Guadalajara, Mexico. Our friend, a pastor, had a man in his congregation who got so angry with him at the end of a service that he began arguing and yelling. Then he stomped out of church and refused to come back.

This man worked as a traveling salesman, and he told people everywhere how bad that pastor was. About eight months later, at my wife's urging, I went to see him. His wife met me at the door and explained that he was very ill and would be going into the hospital the next day to have a tumor removed. I had wanted to talk to him about his unforgiveness, but with all his friends and relatives crowded into the bedroom to show their care and concern, it wasn't a very good setting for a confrontation. I stayed about 20 minutes, then started to shake hands with everyone before leaving, as was the custom. I got to the third man—the sick man's nephew—and he begged, "Please pray for him!"

I thought to myself, "It won't do any good because this guy is too bitter." But rather than make a big scene, I went over and prayed a nice, quiet little prayer that we both knew didn't do any good. I shook a few more hands so I could leave, but here came the nephew rushing back into the room with the biggest bottle of cooking oil I had ever seen! He pushed it into my hands and said, "Anoint him with oil like it says in James 5!" (Now the oil has no special properties to change a person's condition. Rather, it symbolizes a dedication of one’s self to God. In the Old Testament when a priest reached thirty years of age, he would go to the temple to be anointed with oil and dedicated to the service of God. Likewise, being anointed with oil indicates the commitment to yield one's life to God, and to turn from anything that would be displeasing to Him.) So I took the jug of oil, sat on the bed next to him, and asked, "Is there by any chance anything in your heart that you might possibly be holding against anyone?"

He looked at me with fire in his eyes and said, "You know I do."

I reminded him, "As long as you don't forgive, you can't be healed. Unforgiveness blocks faith for healing." Now that was a revelation to him! He thought it over for a minute, then decided he would rather get healed than have surgery, and if he had to forgive in order to receive healing, then he would forgive.

However, I should tell you something else about forgiveness. Sometimes people think forgiveness is a feeling, but it isn't. Forgiveness is a decision made by faith. But you must do more than say, “I forgive” because the Bible says faith without works is dead. Put some action with those faith words. Maybe you need to talk to the person you are forgiving, or maybe you need to make restitution. One action the Bible insists on is prayer: "Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). Praying for the one you are forgiving has tremendous rewards. When praying for an offender, your heart always goes toward God, the One to Whom you are praying, so a relationship with God is renewed. In addition, your heart also turns toward the one for whom you are praying, so your heart is prepared for restoration.

This man decided to forgive the pastor, so he closed his eyes, and, after what seemed like an eternity, he looked up. He announced he had now forgiven the pastor and as soon as possible, he would go and apologize for his behavior.

Now I could pray. Though a dab of oil is all that’s usually used, this time I filled my hand with oil and slapped all of it on top of his head. After praying for his healing, I shook hands with the rest of the people and went home. Three days later we heard that soon after I left, the tumor came out of his body, and he went to the doctor who canceled the surgery. Nineteen years have passed and there has been no recurrence whatsoever.

This isn’t a coincidence. Ephesians 4:26-27 says, Be angry and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil." Unforgiveness is an invitation for Satan to attack your life, hurt your family, your finances, your home, and your marriage.

If that’s hard to believe, look at I Samuel 17 and 18, where a shepherd boy named David killed Goliath, a giant who had been terrifying the entire army of Israel for many days. With his army and the young hero, King Saul rode in triumph back to the city where all the ladies came out dancing and singing about how Saul had only slain thousands but David had slain ten thousands. That infuriated Saul. Hadn't he won some battles, too? Wasn't he the king? Anger and jealousy boiled up in him. The Bible says the next day an evil spirit came upon him! Why did it come so quickly? Because of the unforgiveness in Saul's heart toward David's accomplishment! God's protection is removed when we don't forgive.

Besides destroying our protective shield of faith, Unforgiveness torments its victims. Jesus told a parable of a servant who owed millions of dollars to the king; yet, in an incredible gesture of mercy, the king forgave him the entire amount. Greatly relieved, the servant walked out and on the way noticed a man who owed him a mere $20. He grabbed him by the collar and demanded payment of that little debt. When the poor man said he couldn’t pay it, the servant, his anger aroused, threw him into debtor's prison. The king heard of it and rebuked the servant for being so unforgiving after having been forgiven so much, then handed him over to the tormentors until he repaid every penny he owed.

Did Jesus add the part about the tormentors just to take up space in the Bible? No! When we do not forgive, we are handed over to the tormentors—Satan and his demon powers. They now have an open door through which to attack our lives.

Unforgiveness not only gives Satan permission to attack our lives, it also gives him the weapons to use against us! In John 20:23 Jesus said, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you

retain the sins of any, they are retained." The sin you refuse to forgive is retained—to affect your life!

I saw an example of this some years ago when a woman came for advice. She told me her husband was an alcoholic, their marriage had been destroyed, and the family and other people in his life wanted to know what to do. We decided to have a meeting where his family, friends, business associates, and anyone close to him could, one at a time, tell him what his alcoholism had done to them.

Everyone gathered and at the end of the meeting, we asked if he would be willing to change. He said, "I know I have a problem, but I am nothing like my dad. My dad was an alcoholic and abused us, and . . . and . . . and . . ." He then began to list the sins of his father. Because the angry, bitter man had not forgiven his dad, he had become just like him. It is a spiritual law. You become like the person you refuse to forgive. Not an exact clone of that person, but having the same attitudes. Their sins are retained . . . to poison your life. Unforgiveness causes you to become like your offender. It's a spiritual law with no exceptions. On the other hand, however, forgiveness enables us to become like God, which is another spiritual law at work—for our good! No wonder God places such a high value on the privilege of forgiveness!

OVERCOMING UNFORGIVENESS Ernest Hemingway once wrote a short story about a broken relationship between a Spanish father and his teenage son, Paco. Paco ran away to Madrid, and the grieving father looked everywhere for him.

In his desperate search, the father put an ad in the local Madrid paper that read, "Dear Paco, meet me in front of the newspaper office tomorrow at noon. All is forgiven. I love you." The next morning 800 hopeful men named Paco were standing in front of the newspaper office.

Every human being longs to be forgiven. After holding another person's sin against them for many years, however, it may seem difficult to forgive them. Still, no matter how impossible the

situation or how formidable the enemy, God is not (and never will be) intimidated by any enemy. You don’t have to be either.

God has just the weapon for destroying stubborn enemies such as Unforgiveness and for releasing you from its torment. That weapon—believe it or not—is surrender. At first glance that may seem rather crazy, but the Bible declares, ". . . God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty" (I Corinthians 1:27). Surrender may seem insignificant against the magnitude of a broken and deeply damaged relationship, but then who would have guessed that the tiniest parts of the universe—the atom—could have brought the horrors of World War II to such a dramatic halt? Surrender, like the atomic bomb, has incredible force and power to overcome Unforgiveness.

Think about it for a moment. We are constantly surrendering to something whether we realize it or not. Some mornings we surrender to a few more minutes of sleep or to the discipline of getting up.

At mealtimes (and in between) we surrender to eating what's good or what's bad for us. At work we surrender to laziness or to diligence, to irresponsibility or to integrity. Every day we practice surrendering to what's good or what's bad, what's right or what's wrong.

Obviously, surrendering in the wrong direction leads to self-destruction. When dealing with Unforgiveness, it’s dangerous to surrender TO a victim mentality, TO pride, TO bitterness. Using the weapon of surrender against Unforgiveness does NOT mean: 

surrendering to someone’s wrong behavior



giving up



forgetting



becoming a puppet



surrendering to anger, retaliation, or rejection.

Quite the contrary. Using the weapon of surrender against Unforgiveness means: 

surrendering the right to get even (“'Vengeance is mine' . . . says the Lord" Romans 12:19)



surrendering the opportunity to tell others about the wrongs done ("Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. . . . Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice" Ephesians 4:29, 31)



surrendering the thoughts that dwell on another’s wrong ("Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" II Corinthians 10:5)



surrendering the status of being a victim ("He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" Colossians 1:13)



surrendering the demand for change in the other person ("And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" Matthew 7:3)



surrendering the sin of the other person into God’s hands

(“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" Luke 23:34) 

surrendering the desire to be right and other personal sins (such as resentment, anger, rage, bitterness, self-pity, distrust of God) that you have overlooked in yourself in the pain of the situation ("If we confess OUR sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" I John 1:9) In short, forgiveness is surrendering to God’s love for you and for the other person. As

President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln could have used the power of his position to silence his harshest critics. Instead, he treated them with kindness. When his puzzled friends wanted to know why he didn't destroy his enemies, he responded, "Sir, don't I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"

Surrender is overcoming evil with good. Meditate on the above "surrender list" until the truth of it penetrates deep into your heart. Remember, forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling. You can decide to forgive right now! In fact, Jesus said you could forgive while you stand praying (Mark 11:25). It doesn’t take days, weeks, or years to forgive; it can be done right where you are. If you have decided to forgive someone who has deeply hurt you, here is a simple prayer you can pray: Father, in Jesus’ Name, I forgive ______ for what they did to me. I release them from all retribution they should receive, and I ask you to bless them and draw them to yourself. Amen.

Too easy? Perhaps it seems that way at first, but consider how many sins Jesus forgave with this one sentence as He hung on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). Isn't it amazing what one heartfelt prayer can do!

Now keep praying God’s blessings every day on that person, and your feelings will line up with your choice. You can forgive anyone with this weapon of surrender! Just be sure, deliberately sure, to surrender in the right direction! You'll overcome Unforgiveness every time!

ENEMY #5: DESIRE FOR OTHER THINGS How can people be so busy, yet accomplish so little? We have more conveniences than ever, but still no more time. Many households have two incomes; but, like many have discovered, more money doesn't buy more time. We have more house size, more hobbies, more vacations, more shopping.

More! More! More! Yet we don't have more time. Why is life so hectic?

Satan has employed a rather attractive distraction called Desire for Other Things to nudge God's Word off every believer's priority list. This enemy is a master at slipping into the day’s schedule and deliberately choking out the Word. "Now these are the ones sown among thorns," Jesus said, "they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful" (Mark 4:18-19). You see, without the Word, faith is worthless and unfruitful.

God didn't create time to be a curse, but to be a blessing. It’s a God-given opportunity to put our lives in order. Obviously, then, a life of disorder and stress, even in business or in ministry, is not God’s fault nor is it His plan. His plan, instead, is to bring fulfillment and peace to our lives. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Lacking the time to do what God has planned is a sign that Desire for Other Things is actively (and successfully) at work.

OVERCOMING DESIRE FOR OTHER THINGS To keep Desire for Other Things from sabotaging your time, first do a personal evaluation of each day. Look for daily activities that are not part of God’s plan for your life. Be honest! You will find some things that are not worth spending your time on—even if you're good at them!

My dog hasn't learned that yet. If a skunk wanders into the yard, she'll chase it down and kill it.

Jean will try to scrub her up afterwards, but. . . . ! Being good at chasing skunks doesn’t mean chasing skunks is good for our dog! In fact, chasing skunks is not even part of our plan for our dog. Are you preoccupied with things that are not part of God’s plan for your life?

It’s amazing what people choose to eliminate from their schedules in order to have more time for "skunks." They often tell me, "Pastor, I just don't have time to read my Bible; I don't have time to pray."

What they are really saying is, "I don’t have time for God and His Word because I prefer chasing skunks that wander into my schedule!"

Actually, they are choosing to eliminate the very thing that will give them more time! The Bible says putting a relationship with God and His Word first will actually give us more time. "My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you . . . In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:1-2, 6).

“Length of days” means God will bless your day so you can get more done. In fact, it actually seems at times that God put more hours in the day because putting God first gives Him permission to bring order and blessing to our schedule. Psalm 37:23 explains, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way." Rather than erratic and impulsive attempts to accomplish everything, we can walk with such peace and efficiency that so much more gets done that it seems as if the day has been lengthened with extra hours.

What if an evaluation of your schedule reveals time with God has been replaced with projects and busyness? Take a look at what you do first every day. That’s a good indication of what is most important to you—so important that maybe you've allowed it to take the place of God. For example, do you roll over for another fifteen minutes of sleep? Do you get up and turn on "Good Morning America?" Or maybe grab a cup of coffee and the newspaper? What you do first every day will reveal what place God has in your life.

If an honest evaluation of your schedule confirms that the Desire for Other Things has replaced God, the Bible gives four effective tactics for overcoming this enemy. #1 - Do what is right FIRST; then you won't have time for what is wrong!

The Bible says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33).

Dr.

Martin Luther King, Jr., said, "We must use time creatively and forever realize that the time is always right to do right." That’s why God gives us time! Did you know an eighth century monk invented the first clock to help him know when it was time to pray? Don't get so busy watching the clock that there is no time for prayer! Use the first moments of the day to invite God to order your steps, and let Him help plan your day! #2 - See yourself from God’s point of view.

Believe it or not, God gives His people time because they are valuable to Him. The gift of time is to be used—like all His gifts—with eternity in mind. It’s hard to place the proper value on time without placing the proper value on yourself. Jesus said, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). You are more valuable in God's eyes than this whole world. It will pass away, but you are going to live on somewhere—heaven or hell—forever.

Value yourself when you make decisions about how to use your time! Life is time. What you do with time affects your eternity. #3 - Be thankful.

A third very important tactic for overcoming the Desire for Other Things is thankfulness. Being thankful for what we have minimizes the desire for what we don’t have. Obviously, thankfulness is not a natural human trait. Remember the story about Jesus healing the ten lepers, and only one returned to say thank you? Thankfulness must be deliberately cultivated. One way to do this is by thanking God daily for His blessings. Try it! Make a list of at least 50 things for which you are thankful, and every day thank God for them. Another way is to be thankful when presenting a request to God in prayer.

Philippians 4:6 says, “With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Whenever you ask God for something new, be thankful for what you already have. #4 - Compare your marriage relationship with your monthly bills.

The fourth tactic to use in the eviction of this enemy of your faith is to compare your marriage relationship with your monthly bills. As odd as it may sound, spending more time working to pay bills rather than working to strengthen your marriage relationship is like paying your enemy’s credit card bill for him! Having the biggest house, driving the finest car, wearing designer clothes and taking the most exotic vacations will never build strong, healthy relationships. The Bible describes what is really important, and it has to do with a special relationship: "Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies" (Proverbs 31:10). Outside of a relationship with God, the most important people in life are your spouse and family. Life is good because of people, not because of possessions!

That reminds me of a bumper stick I once saw. It read, "Whoever dies with the most toys, wins!" No! Whoever dies is dead! So who wins? The person with the best relationships! When

people are on their deathbed, they don't say, "I wish I had a bigger boat; I wish I had spent more time at the office." Dying people wish they'd spent more time with their families or treated those they loved better. A TV program is not more important than children or spouse simply because the program is on a schedule and the family can be scheduled in later. "Later" is never on any schedule. In his book, The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management, Hyrum Smith tells of a busy Merrill Lynch executive who evaluated his schedule and saw, for the first time, how he had allowed work-related projects and meetings to push time with his young son off his schedule. This father immediately began to make changes, doing things with his boy, listening to his ideas and dreams. A year later the eightyear-old boy died in a tragic car accident. The heartbroken father said, “I have experienced some real pain at the loss of my son. But I have to tell you that I have experienced no guilt." Instead he had memories of special times together. He never regretted putting what is right first.

As life ends, what is really important becomes obvious—and it is always relationships!

Don’t allow the enemy called Desire for Other Things talk you into chasing projects, busyness—or skunks—that just aren't worth it! Boldly and decisively disarm this enemy by putting what is right first.

ENEMY #6: TROUBLE Have you ever felt like any step taken toward God brings an invasion of Trouble? There is a reason, revealed in Mark 4:16-17: "Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away" (NIV). Whenever you learn something from God's Word, Satan has assigned Trouble to steal it.

For example, after learning that God's Word says a marriage relationship is to be like your relationship with Christ, you decide to work on your marriage. Guess what? Before you can even put it into practice, here comes Trouble in the marriage. Or you hear and believe that Jesus bore your sicknesses and carried your diseases and by His stripes you are healed. Immediately here comes Trouble slapping sickness on the family with the intention of stealing that Truth so it won’t take root in your heart.

OVERCOMING TROUBLE So what do we do with Trouble? Here's the bad news first: Yes, there will always be Trouble.

But the Good News far outguns the bad news: There will ALWAYS be victory because God ALWAYS leads us in triumph in Christ.

He will prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies.

God makes the greatest victories and the greatest peace available to us in the worst times of our lives.

He answers our prayers far beyond all that we could ask or even think, according to the power that works in us.

What power? The power of faith in an Almighty God! Faith is our Blood-bought, Spiritguided, Resurrection-powered weapon for attacking Trouble! Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matthew 11:12). It takes violent, bulldog tenacity and endurance to overcome Trouble and to hold on until victory is complete. Victory, after all, doesn't simply fall from heaven like ripe cherries off a tree. We have to fight for it. When Trouble comes, it's time to USE our faith, not lose it!

The Bible commands us to "Fight the good fight of faith" (I Timothy 6:12). A good fight is one that we fight and WIN! Genesis 6 describes an example of a "good fight" that took 100 years to win.

God told Noah that He was going to destroy the world because it was so wicked, but if Noah would build an ark, he and anyone else who entered the ark would be saved. So Noah started building this huge boat in the middle of a field while telling people it would soon rain until the earth was covered with water. People had never seen rain before, so they didn't really take him seriously. You see, the Bible says that during Creation, God separated the waters "which were under the firmament [sky] from the waters which were above the firmament" (Genesis 1:7). In other words, a canopy of water above the sky protected the earth from ultraviolet rays, which is one reason why people lived to be 900 years old back then. People had never seen rain before because, according to Genesis 2:6, a mist used to come up from the earth and water it, so when Noah told them it was going to "rain," they thought he was crazy.

For 100 years Noah worked on this 450-foot long boat that was so big 1,000 boxcars from a train could fit inside. And for 100 years the people mocked and ridiculed him. I’d say it took endurance and tenacity on his part to keep preaching and building for that many years just because he heard a Word

from God. Yet when the Flood came, Noah was glad he had fought the good fight of faith—even if it took 100 years to win it!

Hebrews 10:35-36 says, "Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.

For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise." Many people give up when the answer is on the way and victory is coming. No! Don't quit!

Daniel prayed for 21 days before he received the answer to his prayer. An angel explained why the answer took so long to come. "Do not fear, Daniel," he said, "for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days" (Daniel 10:11-13). Satan opposes and resists God’s answer to our prayers! How sad that most people give up if they don't have an answer in 21 minutes! Not Daniel! What an example of a man who kept on believing and praying! When the answer finally broke through Satan's opposition, Daniel was still holding on to his confidence in God. He won the good fight of faith because he absolutely refused to cast off his confidence.

Here's another incredible example. This guy named Eleazar saw his fellow Israelites retreating before the Philistines, but since he had been given responsibility for a field of barley, he wasn't about to abandon it to any enemy. So he "arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder." Not bad for one man. Especially for one, the Bible says, who was the son of Dodo, a nobody. Yet when he took his responsibility seriously and won a victory, he received a promotion. God likes it when we take our responsibility seriously—whether it's guarding a barley field or working in the nursery! Because Eleazar refused to run from Trouble, refused to leave his responsibility, and refused to give up his confidence in God, by the end of the day he had gone from

being Dodo's boy to General Eleazar. Who says it's best to go with the majority? (His story is found in II Samuel 23 and I Chronicles 11:12-14.)

Trouble may come from every side, but never, never quit believing God, and never, never quit resisting the devil. Keep on confessing and believing God's Word, and you will receive the promise.

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we SHALL reap if we do not lose heart" (Galatians 6:9). Remember, Christianity is not for wimps; it's for winners! So grab your Sword and stand your ground! Trouble is in trouble!

ENEMY #7: THE DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES Nothing causes a believer's faith to fail faster than having faith in the wrong thing. Knowing this, Satan sends an enemy called Deceitfulness of Riches to deceive believers into putting their faith in money rather than in God. Because money can do so many things, it has become the number one false god. Yes, money can buy a beautiful house, but it can't buy a home. Money can buy a king-size bed, but it can't buy a good night's sleep. Money can buy Prozac, but it can't buy peace. Beware of having more confidence and trust in money and in what money can buy rather than in God and His provision. I Timothy 6:9-10 says, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil."

“Love of money” is not determined by the amount of money one has but by one’s attitude toward it. You see, someone with no money can have an obsession (love) for money. On the other hand, someone with millions of dollars can be free from the love of it. It doesn't matter whether a person is rich or poor; Jesus says the wrong attitude toward money can choke the Word of God and make our faith unfruitful.

God knows that we all have bills to pay plus living expenses, but Satan takes this perfectly normal, necessary part of life and, using deception, twists it out of balance until it brings destruction.

For example, food is also a necessary part of life, but Satan will deceive some into thinking food will make them fat, so they becomes anorexic. Or the opposite may happen as Satan deceives them into "living to eat rather than eating to live" so they become gluttons. Either way, food has become their god. Another example is sex—a gift God meant for the confines of marriage, which Satan perverts into

something destructive. And he does the same with money. Satan wants our confidence and attention to be on money rather than on God because he knows we can't serve both at the same time. “You cannot serve God and mammon [money]," Jesus said in Matthew 6:24.

Overcoming the Deceitfulness of Riches

God has a plan to conquer this deceitful enemy. It's called the tithe. According to Deuteronomy 10:23, “the purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives” (LB). For every dollar we make, God has a plan for the first 10 cents, such as to feed orphans, train a pastor in Cuba, translate a Bible in Africa, bless children, or to pay an electric bill at church. Your tithe tells God, "Yes, I recognize Your plan. I agree with it, and I am deliberately choosing to put You first in my life."

One reason the tithe is such a powerful weapon against the Deceitfulness of Riches is because it keeps God's plan and our plans in right order. Our plans usually put what we want in front of what God wants. We want to go out to eat, buy a new car, take a trip to Hawaii, or get a new DVD player; we want this, that, these, and those. When we spend our money on our plans first, there is never enough left over for God's plan. And that's a sure sign that money has become a false god.

Another reason the tithe is so powerful, believe it or not, is because the first 10 percent of our income is different than the rest. God calls it holy. He says, "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. It is holy to the Lord" (Leviticus 27:30). The word "holy" literally means sanctified, which means God has a special use for it in His Kingdom. Now that doesn't mean God is saying, "Gimme! Gimme! Mine! Mine!" Rather, His special use for the tithe is to bless others—and you as well. Giving the tithe to God activates the promise that He will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing: "'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this.' says the Lord of hosts, 'If I will not open for you the

windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground . . . '" (Malachi 3:10-11).

That’s why God gives us this "weapon of privilege." Tithing is a faith weapon that totally cripples this enemy because it invites God to get involved in our battle against lack. Having God fight for me financially—now that's what I call a privilege!

ENEMY #8: TRADITIONS OF MEN In areas of your life where you follow an enemy called Tradition of Men, the Word of God has no power to change you. Jesus said you are “making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down” (Mark 7:13). This spiritual enemy looks good and sounds good—so good, in fact, that he has successfully laid siege to many lives, slowly entrenching himself, even for generations, until he replaces the Word of God with the word of man. Colossians 2:8 warns, "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ."

When people get away from the Truth, one of the first ways they compensate for the lack is to make their own set of “do’s” and “don’ts.” Follow these rules, they insist, and you will be right with God. Such was the mindset of a rich young ruler who asked Jesus, "What good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?" He believed he could earn eternal life by doing good things. However, if that was true, then, as the Bible says, “Christ died in vain.” Who needs the cross if attending church or being a good person can earn eternal life?

Sometimes people get so attached to a denomination they think Jesus and all his disciples belonged to it; consequently, they believe they are the only ones who will make it to heaven. One fellow said, "If you think we are going to change because the Bible says so, you're wrong! We've been doing it this way for over 100 years!" The Cotton Patch Translation of Colossians 2:8 warns, "Watch your step now and don't let anybody make a sucker of you with his intellectual jazz and smooth sounding bologna, which are based on human concoctions and worldly standards, not on Christ." What a description of the Tradition of Men! How dangerous to base our lives on "human concoctions!"

My wife, Jeanie, and I were missionaries for seven years, living two of those years in an Indian village in Mexico. In this village the church women had to sit on one side of the church and wear a head covering. The Bible says a woman's hair has been given to her as a covering, but they didn’t believe that was enough so they wore shawls on their heads. One day we were preaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and one young woman came for prayer. When I laid my hands on her, her face glowed with peace and joy as she began to speak in tongues, but as she smiled and worshipped, her head covering slipped off. Another lady got up and pulled the head covering back on. A few minutes later it fell off again; the other woman got up and pulled it back up. It happened again. This time the woman picked up the shawl, put it back on her head and tied it in a knot under her chin! Tradition of Men will convince people that God can't do anything unless it's done man's way!

Tradition of Men can also contradict God's Word: " . . .making the word of God of no effect through your traditions which you have handed down" (Mark 7:13). Many years ago when Jeanie and I went to Mexico as missionaries, we started a church there. One day as I was mowing the churchyard in the 90-degree heat, a couple dressed in long-sleeved black clothing walked by. They stopped and asked if this was a Christian place. When I told them it was, the man said, "We are holy!"

Surprised, I responded, "I'm holy, too!"

They looked at me in my shorts with green grass sticking to my sweaty body and decided I must not understand holiness, so he said, "We are really holy!"

I said, "Me, too!" I was thinking about II Corinthians 5:21: "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." He is the One Who made me holy, not my clothes.

"You don't understand,” the man said. “We are really, really holy, and we don't wear bright colors!” He looked at my wedding ring and added, “Our women don’t wear jewelry or makeup or pants, and they don’t cut their hair either.” Then he started listing other things they didn’t do, like watching TV or going to movies or drinking pop, or. . . or. . .or! Then he added that they were really, really holy—not like me!

I thought of Isaiah 65:5 where God talks about rebellious people who say, "Keep to yourself, Do not come near me, for I am holier than you!" God says of them, "These are smoke in My nostrils."

Literally, God is saying that basing a relationship with Him on a list of outward requirements and not on Christ and on what He did for us in His death, burial and resurrection makes Him sick!

Ever wonder how such "traditions" got started? Let's suppose somebody gets carried away in a worship service. Let's say the heart is in the right place, but that person is dancing around being extremely distracting. To solve the problem, Tradition of Men will make a rule, "Thou shalt not dance in church." What really needs to happen is a private talk with the overly exuberant worshiper.

Here is an amusing list of "laws" that were made instead of talking to the offender. And yes, they are as foolish as they sound!

Cotton Valley, Louisiana, has a law that a woman cannot run in public unless her body is covered with at least 16 yards of cloth.

New Hampshire has a law on the books that says a woman weighing over 200 pounds who wears shorts cannot run.

Single women in Blessing, Utah, are not allowed to run to church on Sunday. This law was made many years ago when some members of a religious sect spotted an attractive young woman running to church so she wouldn’t be late. Some deacons were observed

looking at her in "that way." To solve the problem, the community council decided to prohibit "Sabbath sprints" and also passed another ordinance banning men from turning and looking at women in "that way." She had to pay a fine of $1.00, and he had to wear a pair of horse blinders for 24 hours!

We laugh, but look at another list of traditions operating in the church today: Only the Pastor can hear from God. People will literally wait to see me for a month to find out what they should do, when all they need to do is go to God, the Wonderful Counselor, Who said, "My sheep hear My voice. Those who are the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God." You can hear God just as well as I can. Actually, you can hear God better than I can hear Him for you! The Bible tells every one of us to "be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed" (II Timothy 2:15). Go to the Word and listen for God’s voice!

The Pastor is to do the work of the ministry. Tradition thinks that the church has specialists and they will do it all, which is exactly opposite of what the Bible says! The Bible says the Pastor's ministry is to train you to do the work of the ministry. Ephesians 4:11 says, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." We are missing God's plan! Many people who are not in church leadership positions have overcome some kind of problem and can offer great counsel to others having trouble. God has called you, not just the Pastor, to do the work of the ministry. Tradition says let somebody else do it, but the Bible says the Pastor is to equip you to do the work of the ministry!

Traditions run deep, sometimes generations deep, but are they all bad? After all, Luke 4:16 says Jesus Himself had traditions: " . . .and as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read." So how do we recognize the difference between good traditions and bad ones? It's fairly simple, really. Traditions that cause us to condemn others or ourselves are definitely not good ones, and neither are those that magnify one issue above the rest, which is a grievous denominational tendency. Unhealthy traditions are usually aggressively forced on others and cause a bondage and loss of peace. Good traditions bring peace (not turmoil), reassurance (not condemnation), hope (not dread), comfort (not confusion), and build faith (not doubt). In short, good traditions bring life, not death.

OVERCOMING THE TRADITIONS OF MEN To overcome Traditions of Men, deeply desire the Truth. Truth is a powerful weapon just waiting for those who want it; it is not rude or aggressive like deception. To find the Truth, turn to the Lord. Want Him. II Corinthians 3:16 says, "Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."

I saw an example of an unhealthy tradition broken by the Truth when I visited Buena Vista, a village in Mexico. My friend and I had traveled the twelve-hour mule ride beyond the nearest dirt road to minister in a mountain village, and as we went from hut to hut praying for villagers, we met a man who had been seriously ill and bedfast for several months. He refused our offer to pray for him. "No," he said, "this is from God. It's Paul's thorn." He was talking about II Corinthians 12:7-9 where Paul entreated the Lord three times to remove "a thorn in the flesh" but God told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." When we showed him that the Bible actually said, "a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me," he was amazed. Paul's thorn was a messenger of Satan, not—as tradition had taught him—something from God. As soon as he

realized he had been blinded by a tradition, he listened to the truth in I Peter 2:24, " . . .by whose stripes you were healed," and believed it. We prayed for him, and he received his healing.

He had simply taken man's word for what the Bible said and had never read it himself.

Turning to the Lord is a voluntary choice that enables us to hear what God says. Those whose security is based on "being right" might find it hard at first to consider anything else but what they already believe, but those who want to know the Truth can ask God to show them the Truth, no matter what opinions (or whose!) they have to lay aside and no matter what changes in their associations they have to make.

After reading this chapter, perhaps you have recognized Tradition of Men has kept you in bondage in some areas. Maybe a tradition of self-sufficiency and pride? Or a tradition of watching soaps on TV? Or overworking? Maybe you've gone to church all your life and thought that was enough to get you to heaven. Maybe you thought God wanted you to be sick. Or that He was responsible for "taking" your loved one. These are Traditions of Men! Jesus Himself tells the effect of wanting to know the Truth. "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him. "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32). There's nothing like being set free from Tradition of Men! There is healing and joy, deliverance and hope. God is not bound by men's opinions, ideas, or traditions, and He doesn't want you to be either. Ask God to show you the Truth as you read His Word. Truth is like a laser-guided missile that puts an end to Tradition of Men! ******

There you have it. Eight of the most dangerous spiritual terrorists of your faith have been exposed. Check the list of the eight powerful spiritual weapons below. How many of these weapons are you already using? Are there some you need to take up and use now? 

Obedience

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The Blood of Jesus

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Taking Thoughts Captive

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Forgiveness

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Right Priorities

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Faith

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The Tithe

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Truth

If you have had enough of Satan’s destructive terrorism in your life, take these God-given weapons and use them consistently. Get involved in a Bible-believing church so you can learn more about the Truth and the freedom God has given you. Start establishing new, good traditions. Do what it takes to strengthen your faith in God so you can root out these deadly enemies of your faith.

You've read examples of what God can do in response to others' faith. Now find out what He can do in response to yours!