THE ENEMY WITHIN

IOI CHRISTIAN MEAN

TITLE: THE ENEMY WITHIN

TEXT: Nehemiah 5:1-19

INTRO: Nehemiah and the people were half way to their goal, the outside enemies were already fading as a threat, they had successfully fought off the outside enemies and their attempts to destroy the goal God had given them to build.

But, now without the threat of outside sources a new and potentially worse enemy was rising to threaten them ... this enemy really could destroy the work of God in their midst: Who Was this great enemy?

The new enemy was TIREDNESS and SELFISHNESS ... INSIDE THE CAMP!

While outside enemies tend to cause the saints of God to rally together against a mutual threat these inside enemies tend to do just the opposite; they tend to divide the people of God and turn brother against brother!
"How like the people of God! All we have or are that is worthwhile is the gift of God's pure grace. And yet we are proud, self-centered, envious, and quarrelsome. Often we fight over God's good gifts rather than expressing our gratitude in humility and sharing what we have been given with others. Just as I am confronted daily with rivalry in my yard, even so God is confronted daily with rivalry in His."

The end result of tiredness and selfishness is division among the people of God ... and the work of God is left unfinished! Selfishness robs the saints of their joy ... and thus their motivation and drive diminishes. This lower drive increases the sense of tiredness ... which causes loss of vision and laziness to settle in.

THE SOLUTION: True repentance and everyone working for the shared goal!

PRAYER
EVERY SPIRITUAL WEAKNESS THAT WANT TO ROB ME OF MY VICTORY AS WE CLOSE TO THE END OF THE YEAR, I CAST YOU OUT BY FIRE IN JESUS NAME