ENOUGH IS ENOUGH (Regaining Spiritual Power)

Donna Summer a local neighborhood girl from Dorchester who started her carrier as a gospel singer became the first female artist to have four number-one singles in a thirteen-month period. Summer's website claims that she has sold more than 130 million records worldwide. Listen to the words of one of her popular songs “No more tears (Enough is enough).
“Tell him to just get out
nothing left to talk about
pack his raincoat show him out
just look him in the eyes and simply shout

Enough is enough is enough
I can't go on, I can't go on, no more no
enough is enough is enough
I want him out, I want him out that door now
“I Cant’ go on I can’t go on no more no”

Obviously there is a message here from a female lover who was looking for a perfect lover but in the end was badly cheated by him. It was time for her to say “Enough is enough” We often see posters or hear people talking about things going out of control just like in this add “Enough is Enough” But how about the internal trash? Do we say Enough is Enough?

Have you ever felt that you have been trapped in your addiction to alcohol, smoking, drugs, over eating, and wrong relationships? Are you tired of trying to kick certain habits or harmful patterns but you seem powerless? Do you struggle with sin? You feel like you can’t take it anymore may be it’s time for you to take personal responsibility, turn around and say, I am not going to put up with this any more, I am sick and tired of being a defeated Christian. Enough is enough.

I. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH:

There are many great qualities in this culture; one of them is the tenacity to fight against odds. There is great resilience and a never say die attitude. How come that on the other hand we see so many powerless when it comes to fighting against certain crippling, and harmful habits?

As a result we have 50% divorce rate in first time marriages, highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world, 750,000 teen pregnancies annually. Currently, 3,900 babies die from abortion every day in America - one every 22 seconds. Each year, over 1.4 million infants die from abortion. More than 50 million babies have been killed in America since the Supreme Court's ruling in 1973: more than the total loss of life in every American military conflict. Not to mention forty million smokers. Aren’t these numbers staggering? Why are so many lives being lost? Why so many are living in defeat? Sadly speaking even many born again Christians seem to be living a life of defeat.

What is the cause behind this moral decay in a nation that was presumably founded on Judeo Christian principles? One of the primary reasons I believe is that the arch enemy of God, Satan is having a field day.

The apostle Paul reminds us that there is a war between God’s children and the powers of darkness, a war between good and evil. This is unlike any earthly war; many bible scholars call this “Spiritual warfare” in order to be victorious in this war we need to develop an attitude that says “Enough is Enough to Sin” and learn how to regain our spiritual authority to take a stand against Satan, the deceiver. Some of us are so deceived that we can’t even recognize that we are in bondage. The Bible says every one who sins is a slave to Sin. (John 8:34) I would like to share some principles which will help you to stand your ground and experience true freedom.

We must look at our struggles in a broader context. Recognizing that we are in a Spiritual warfare puts some of our battles in right perspective. What is the nature of Spiritual warfare? Who is our enemy? What is the nature of the enemy? What are the enemy’s battle grounds? Who is our God? What are the weapons of warfare? How are we to fight our enemy? How to lead a victorious Christian life? There is lot learn so let’s get started.

II. SPIRITUAL WARFARE

In ancient Greece wrestling was a popular sport. The readers of his time were familiar with wrestling. Paul uses this analogy to explain the nature of Spiritual warfare. In Ephesians 6:12 “for our (struggle) in KJV it is “for we “wrestle” not against flesh and blood” but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Is it possible for a born again Christian to be attacked by evil forces? Have you wondered why you are struggling with sin even though you are saved? Has it been hard for you to quit a certain harmful habit? Are you living in defeat? Do you lack spiritual power? Do you want to be free? Whether you realize it or not, every child of God is involved in a Spiritual War. Paul recognizes that he was waging a war with in himself, Romans 7:23 “but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.” If Paul was not exempted from fighting a war do you think you and I will be exempted?

Spiritual warfare is between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. When you made a conscious decision to follow Jesus you brought much joy to God and the angels but upset Satan and his evil forces. He will do any and every thing possible to hinder you from growing spiritually.

Spiritual warfare is constant. It is fought twenty four hours a day, seven days a week and 52 weeks a year. There is no room to be complacent. When we talk about Spiritual warfare there are two extremes. One is the under emphasis and the other one is the over emphasis. What do I mean by that?

Those on the under emphasis side would say in this modern time and age there are no demons, it is just a myth, it’s all your imagination, and they completely ignore the fact that the demons exist and they are real. Others on the over emphasis side see demons everywhere. They give too much publicity to demons; they attribute every thing to demonic activity. They are demon chasers.

We must avoid either of these extremes and develop a balanced outlook on this subject. “The man who fears God will avoid all extremes” (Ecc 7:18). I personally do not think that the enemy is the cause for all the problems, and struggles we face. Some problems we face because of our wrong choices, harmful habit patterns and irresponsible lifestyle, for example, smoking, drinking alcohol, taking drugs, and immorality no one forces any one to do all that, it is a choice we make.

The enemy can tempt us to sin but can not make us sin. In James 1:14-15, “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” However I can not rule out the fact that certain hardships and heartaches we face are beyond us. We suffer because of other’s actions (i.e. child incest, robbery, loss of a loved one due to gun violence, some one opens up fire and kills innocent people etc). We had no control over those circumstances but we face the brunt any way. What logical explanation can you give to such heinous acts some people commit? Could it be that they are controlled by the Devil?

In Timothy 2: 26 we read about certain people who “are trapped by the enemy, they were taken captive by the Devil to do his will.” Unfortunately born again believers can also be deceived by the enemy if they are not watchful and if they don’t stay in close relationship with God through prayer, reading His Word and in right relationship with other believers. We need to know who our real enemy is.

III. WHO IS OUR REAL ENEMY?

No science fiction movie comes close to describing the conflict raging around us in the spiritual world. The forces of God and of his enemy Satan are locked in battle over the lives of individuals, communities, and nations. A young American was trying to explain to a Kiwi woman in Papua New Guinea about the unseen forces of good and evil. When asked if she understood, she said, Oh yes, there were three (demons) in my house this morning.

Here, I drew pictures of them. She handed the astonished American a paper with hideous half-human, half-animal beings sketched on it. We don’t have to convince most people in Asia, Africa and the Pacific of the reality of the spirit world. Some live with it on a daily basis often seeing the evil spirits with the naked eye.

By contrast, most people in Western countries place demons in a fantasy category, like Superman, Harry Potter and the Hobbit. This is a dangerous view because demons are not make-believe. You don’t have to go to Asia or watch movies to understand the spirit world. The demonic realm is just as substantial as the world we see. It is existed before the material world and continues to exist today. The Bible is clear in exposing and explaining the spirit world.

Paul writes to the Ephesians believers explaining that they were not fighting against people, in other words people are not our enemies. He goes on to say in Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

This indicates that when we fight against people we are fighting a wrong battle because they are not our real enemies; our real enemy however is as the Bible says Satan, or the Devil. Although we usually can not see these forces with our physical eyes, they should be no doubt in our minds that they exist. The Bible describes Satan as an angelic being who was thrown from heaven because he tried to exalt himself above God (Isaiah 14:12-15). He’s now fighting for control of the world and the souls of humans. The Bible calls him the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Ephesians 2:2 “in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”

Satan can not have power over God’s children unless it is given to him like in the case of Job or through our sheer disobedience to the revealed truth. So how are we to face this enemy?

IV. STANDING YOUR GROUND:

In the OT the children of Israel were in constant war. Under God’s direction they won many battles and enjoyed great victories. We are familiar with the great warriors of the Bible like, Moses, Joshua, Saul, David, and Samson who fought valiant battles. But have you heard about Shammah, who perhaps was one of the most seemingly insignificant characters yet brought great victory for Israel? 2 Samuel 23:11-12, “When the philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them.

But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.” Instead of running away just like the others Shammah, showed a different spirit. He had the courage to say” Enough is Enough. He took his stand against the enemy; and God gave him the strength to defeat the enemy. When you are being pushed around by the enemy the best way to fight him is to turn around and take your stand. In other words don’t run away, stand your ground.

As the saying goes: half the battle is won by recognizing our enemy! We have only just started there is much more to learn on this subject. What have we recognized so far?
* We are made more than conquerors with Christ.
* People are not our real enemies.
* We have a real enemy to fight; his name is Satan. We have a war to win.
* Spiritual warfare is constant, so let’s be vigilant
* We avoid the extremes of over emphasis and under emphasis in Spiritual Warfare
* We have to regain our spiritual power.
* We have to learn to say “Enough is enough” and take our stand against sin and Satan.