The Enemy Within

September 30, 2018                   NOTES NOT EDITED
“The Enemy Within”
Mark 9:38-50

SIS – When we allow the grace of God to annihilate the enemy of pride within us, we need fear no enemy about us.

When I sent Gloria the visual image for my sermon this week, she replied, “That’s scary.”  Of course, she had the animated version that was flashing on and off on her computer.  It is a bit scary, I admit.  I think it is appropriate.  Pride is a scary thing when you begin to see it as Yahweh sees it.  Pride is the arch-enemy of mankind.

In 2002 George W. Bush identified the “Axis of Evil” comprised of Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.  Our old arch enemy Russia, like a bear still stalks us as the last election, and the ensuing “Russian Investigation” reminds us.  America has many enemies.  Iranians chant on the street, “Death to America,” and burn our flags.  Iraq and Iran both spawn horrific terrorist attacks against Americans at home and abroad.  “Little Rocket Man,” Kim Jong-Un, is feverishly working on missile systems to deliver a nuclear attack on the United States.  The Axis of Evil President Bush identified is real, and really dangerous—passionate enemies of the American Way.  It is a fact of life for the United States that we have many enemies that would wish us harm and would like to take us out—and I don’t mean on a date.  Yet, even with the Axis of Evil breeding terror all over the globe and the Russian Bear always hungry for a Western meal, what I witnessed this last week reminded me that our greatest enemy is not from outside our borders but inside our gates.

America is decaying before our eyes—if we’d just open our eyes and look around.  The very foundation of America’s judicial system has been nearly demolished in the last ten days or so as the nomination of a supreme court judge has become a political blood-bath.  Many senators and others are now advocating that the the doctrine of a “presumption of innocence” be cast aside—and an accused man strung up for political gain, with zero evidence.  The “hearing” held in D.C. this week was painful to watch.  It was like watching the slow death of a dear friend—and I don’t mean Bret Kavanaugh.  I mean the United States as we know it.  I feel like Pogo, the possum looking over his beloved swamp overrun with garbage and lamenting, “I have seen the enemy and he is us.”
All this caused me to recall a quote I heard once attributed to an African proverb.  “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.”  This quote draws a line for me from the concept of an Axis of Evil in the material world to a Trinity of Evil in the spirit world.  John outlined that Trinity of Evil (1Jn. 2:16):

 For everything that belongs to the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle.

I’m sure you noticed that the sin of “pride” highlights that list.  Scholars throughout the ages have called pride the “Father of All Sins.”  In the book of Mark, we have a picture of the greatest enemy we will ever face at work in the life of the disciples—just like it is at work in many of us.  LET’S READ MARK 9:38-50.

As much as I hate to see the fighting in Washington, D.C., I realize there are times we must fight for what we believe in.  Life presents many conflicts.  It gets harder as we get older.  Some fights cannot be avoided.  I remember reading about a couple that had been married for over 30 years.  One day at church Bob was talking with a good friend from church named Joe.  Bob was visibly unhappy.  Joe said, “Bob, what’s eatin’ at ya’?”  Bob replied, his eyes looking at the ground, “Joe, I’ve been married for over 30 years and my wife and I have fought almost every day.”  Joe was shocked.  He asked, “You mean even before church today?”  Bob responded obviously a bit ashamed, “Yea.  Even before church.” Joe was shocked and didn’t know quite what to say (a good sign you should be quiet) and blurted out, “Well, how did it turn out?”  Bob replied, “Well, after a little while that woman came crawling on her hands and knees and said to me, ‘Come out from under that bed and fight like a man!”

I can assure you that as you journey through life, you will have to face an enemy.  You will have to come out from under the bed of cowardice, and fight.  The greatest enemy you will ever face is “pride.”  Our biggest enemy in life comes not from anything around us but from an ungodly sense of pride within us.

In the passage before the verses we read this morning, the ugly monster of pride reared its head among the disciples.  They actually debated among themselves over “who is the greatest disciple.”  That’s like fighting over an award for the “Person with the Greatest Humility.”  Pride is everywhere.  It is so powerful it has been called, “The Father of All Sins.”   C.S. Lewis, the brilliant English scholar and defender of Christianity once wrote:  “According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”  This is helpful, let me repeat it.

We spend so much of our time and energy, and so many of our resources battling enemies “without and about us,” such as health issues, wealth issues, political issues, or even doctrinal issues.  These external enemies pale in comparison to the “Enemy Within—Pride.”

First, let’s examine some of the “external” enemies that are NOT our greatest foes, and then we will examine the enemy that is our biggest challenge.  First, there are three common enemies that are

1.  NOT our biggest or fiercest challenges.

(1)  Circumstances are not our biggest enemy.

Notice what circumstance in verse 38 prompted John’s question.

³⁸ John  said to Him, “Teacher,  we saw someone  driving out demons  in Your name,  and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.” NIV, “not one of us.”

Now, there’s something to fight about:  someone doing good!  How could John come up with such a silly question?  Because, pride makes you stupid.  Jesus quickly and harshly rebuked John for his attitude.

But, notice what prompted this exchange between John and Jesus.    It was the enemy called “demon possession.”  Over and over and over again we see people seeking out Jesus to help them with some challenging circumstance, whether it be healing a deaf mute or casting out a demon.  Crowds followed Jesus everywhere He went because they sought “deliverance” from one difficult circumstance or the other.  In this present situation, the circumstance was demon possession.

Casting out demons was not solely associated with Jesus.  As we see in Matthew 7:21ff, one could cast out a demon but not be a follower of Jesus.  Human good deeds are not solely done by church-folk.

There are many groups that do “good works” but are totally secular.  Our text really does not address one way or another the spiritual condition of these “unbonafide” workers of good.  The point Jesus made was, “If they wish to do good and give Me credit, then leave them alone.” More simply, “Mind your own business!”  Jesus was saying nothing about the relationship of these other disciples’ relationships with Him. He was shedding light on bad attitudes.

Christianity is not essentially about “alleviating difficult circumstances.”  Jesus did not die to make you healthy and wealthy.  Jesus died to make you holy.  Circumstances are not always your enemy.  In many cases, God is closest when He seems farthest away.

(2) Other People are not our biggest enemy.  I do not mean to say that people will not hate you, or even seek to kill you, because you are a believer.  It happens all the time around the world.  Jesus said,

^{John 15:20} Remember . . . : ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.

Muslim people are not our enemy.  Mormon people are not our enemy.  Homosexuals are not our enemy.  Democrats or Republicans are not our enemies.  When we allow the Devil to focus on “other people” and get us to focus on the sinner instead of the sin, then the Devil is winning.  A different opinion does not make someone our enemy. Certainly a different religion or a different skin color does not make someone our enemy.  People are not our biggest problem.

John said in affect, “Those people aren’t like us.”  John may have been right.  These people might have been wrong doctrinally like Mormonism.  The text does not say.  John’s problem was he focused on them as “people” who were “outsiders” and a threat. 

On one occasion, not long after this one, Jesus focused on His date with destiny in Jerusalem.  He determined to go straight through Samaria on the way.  He sent the disciples ahead to Samaria to secure lodging.  The Samaritans and Jews hated each other and the Word of God says that the Samaritans did not welcome the disciples.  This was John’s response in partnership with his brother James:

^{Lk 9:54} When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

Other people may be different.  They may be difficult.  They may even be downright deadly—but other people are not our biggest enemy.  All people are sinners, and none are beyond the reach of God’s love.

(3)  This may shock you but it is true:  the Devil is NOT our biggest enemy!  Well surely this can’t be right.  Look at verse 38 again.  The whole discussion focused on people who were actively—and effectively—fighting the Devil.  They were “driving out demons.”

Didn’t Peter warn us about “watching out for the Devil?”  1Pet 5:

⁸ Be serious!  Be alert!  Your adversary the Devil  is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

The Bible says clearly that the Devil is our enemy, our adversary, and that he wants to devour our lives.  In fact, all throughout the Bible the Devil worked night and day, no vacations, to destroy the plan of God and take captive the people of God.  He does so even today.

I did not say the Devil is not “an enemy,” but I said he is not our “biggest” enemy.  In fact, read the verse following the one we read in 1Peter 5:8.  Verse 9 says,  ⁹ Resist him  and be firm in the faith.

The word, “resist,” is a war word.  It is a battlefield word.  It means to “dig in and take a stand.”  James uses this same word but adds something to it (Jam. 4:7-8):

Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. 
⁸ Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.

We cannot be defeated by the Devil because the Devil has already been defeated by the Lord.  The Devil is an enemy, but is not our biggest enemy because the Devil is a defeated foe.  If we stay close to God (“draw near to Him”) the Devil will stay far away from us.

Our biggest enemy is not the difficult circumstances of life, however difficult they may be.  Our biggest enemies are not other people, however different, difficult, or even deadly they may be.  Our biggest enemy is not even the Devil, as evil and deadly as he is.  I know it sounds shocking to say the Devil is not our biggest enemy, but it is the truth.   Our biggest enemy in life comes not from anything around us but from an ungodly sense of pride within us.

2.  Our biggest enemy is PRIDE, the Enemy Within.

This entire pericope, or section, falls on the heels of the prideful argument the disciples were having along the way, and then John’s prideful pointing of his fingers at others who were “not part of the club.”  Remember, Jesus is having this entire discussion with a little child sitting on His lap (v36). We’ll get back to this in a moment.

What caused the argument among the disciples?  Pride.  What caused John to point an accusing finger at others?  Pride.  What lies at the root of all sin?  [WAIT FOR ANSWER]  That’s right . . . PRIDE.

Let me take you back to the very root of John’s prideful spirit—which is no different from yours or mine.  Turn with me to Genesis 3.  Pride entered the Garden of Eden with the Devil personified as a serpent.  The essence of the Devil’s being is “pride.”  The Word of God says, speaking about Lucifer, or the Devil (Ezek 28:17):

¹⁷ Your heart became proud because of your beauty; For the sake of your splendor you corrupted your wisdom. So I threw you down to the earth;

That dark, deceitful, deadly, devilish pride slithered out of heaven and into the life of the First Family.  Genesis 3:1-6, esp. v3, says

3 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. ³ But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” ⁴ “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman.  ⁵ “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God,  knowing good and evil.” ⁶ Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate _⌊it_⌋; she also gave _⌊some_⌋ to her husband

That same serpent wants to “slither into your life” today.  And he already has if you are not a believer.   You must learn to recognize the horrible hiss of the serpent as he attempts to slither into your soul promising you absolute  “control” over your life.  Think about the chaos in Washington, D.C.  It is all about “control.”  Think about any abusive relationship.  It is all about “control.”  The essence of being lost is wanting to “control,” that is, run one’s own life.  Sin is about “control.”

(1)  Sin leads you top seek control over your DECISIONS (3:1a)

The Devil hissed a tantalizing question raising doubt in Eve’s mind:

Did God really say ‘you can’t eat from any tree in the garden

For one, the Devil twisted the Scripture as he always does.  God said, you cannot eat from “every” tree, not “any” tree.

The Devil always challenges God’s authority.  “Did God really say?”

YES!  GOD REALLY DID SAY.  God has said a lot in fact. Pride prompts us to seek control of our decisions, but faith requires that we submit our decision-making to God through His Word.

Pride says, “My will be done.”  Faith says, “Thy will be done.” 

God says, “give a tenth.”  It doesn’t require a decision, but an act of obedience.  God says, “Remember the Sabbath Day.”  It doesn’t require a decision, but an act of obedience.  God says, “Watch and pray.”  This requires no decision but only obedience.  God says, “meditate on the Word.”  God says, “evangelize the world.”  God says “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of the lowly and disenfranchised.  These things don’t require a decision, but a simple act of obedience.  God’s Holy Word not our carnal desires must control our decisions.

James warns us against being presumptuous and leaving God out of our decision-making:

^4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” ^4:14 You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. ^4:15 You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” ^4:16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

(2) Pride prompts us to seek control over our DESIRES

Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food

and delightful to look

The Apostle John calls these two, “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes.” (Jn. 2:16).  The word for “lust” is epithūmia.  According to Kittel’s Dictionary of N.T. Words epithumia means, “the direct impulse towards food, sexual satisfaction etc., and also desire in general.”  Epithūmia leads to all kinds of unhealthy addictions from drunkenness, sexual sin, drugs, pornography and any number of destructive behaviors.

Eve’s action is an example of “seeking immediate gratification.”  We see something we want and we take it, giving no regard for the consequences.  As the Bible says,  “Sin is sweet for a season but soon turns to gravel in your mouth.” (Prv. *****).

Eve’s pride caused her to think she could control her desires, that is fulfill them how she wanted them fulfilled when she wanted them fulfilled, without taking any consideration for the consequence.  Every sin and every evil that has ever been or ever will be came as a result of Eve wanting to control her desires instead of bringing her impulses into submission to God’s Word.

(3)  Pride prompts us to want to control our DESTINY.

Genesis 3:6c says that Even saw the fruit “and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom.”  At this point, Eve agreed with the Devil who had said in verse 5,  “In fact, God knows that when  you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God,  knowing good and evil.”

The pride in man rises up directly from the pit of hell to prompt a man or woman to seek to control his or her eternal DESTINY.  This is the most damnable part of the devil’s prideful plan.  Pride becomes like a 2000 pound grinding stone wrapped around your soul as you are tossed into the abyss of eternity.  That’s exactly what Jesus said.

As Jesus held that innocent, humble, trusting little child on his lap and heard the prideful arguing of the disciples Jesus gave one of the harshest, if not the harshest, statements in the N.T.  When the pride in the disciples rose up to seek control of their DESTINIES, Jesus said,

^{Mk 9:42} “But whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me —it would be better for him if a heavy millstone  ^w were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. ⁴³ And if your hand causes your downfall, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life maimed  than to have two hands and go to hell—the unquenchable fire,  [⁴⁴ where Their worm does not die,

and the fire is not quenched.]

How do we cause the downfall of the “little ones?”  By modeling a life of prideful disobedience instead of passionate devotion to Christ. 

Prideful parents lead to prideful children.  It is a death sentence for the soul and Jesus said the penalty for prideful living will be severe.  Pride is awful.  Pride will destroy your soul.  Pride will drag you down into the eternal lake of fire “prepared for the devil and his angels.”  I have been asked many times over the years if I believe that hell is “eternal fire.”  Well, the Word clearly says it is “eternal,” and clearly describes it as “fire.” 

My personal opinion is:  hell is worse than being burned alive eternally and having maggots crawl in and out and all over you.  It’s at least that—and much, much worse.

The better question to ask is:  “how can I make sure I never go there?”  The answer is woven throughout this passage and in fact throughout the entire Bible:

v39:  “in My name.”  v40: “not against [me] but for [me].”  v41a: “of My name.” v41b: “belong to the Messiah.” v42: “believe in Me.”

Pride will lead you to seek control of that which man can never control.  Pride leads you to accomplish by your works what can only be accomplished by God’s grace.  Only faith in Jesus overcomes pride.  Faith in Jesus allows us to surrender our decisions to His will, submit our desires to that which leads to godliness, and trust Jesus to fulfill our destiny.  Only by surrendering to the Lord Jesus can we ever overcome the enemies of life—the greatest being pride.

This passage, and the one last week, show us John and the other disciples at their worst.  They were focused on all the wrong “enemies” while being blinded to the Enemy Within—which is pride.

Pride leads to all kinds of evil, even among disciples of Jesus who allow it to slither into one’s life.  If this pride is not dealt with, it’s venom will course through your life and ultimately lead to death—eternal death.

Today, is the day you must deal with this Enemy Within.  Perhaps nobody else sees it, but you know it is there.  It is eating away at your soul just like the venom of a rattlesnake eats away at your tissues and flesh.  Today, you can cast off this ugly serpent by giving yourself humbly and completely to Jesus “like a little child.”

Today.  Tomorrow may be too late.

If a person winds up in hell after he or she dies it will not be because they were dragged into the pit by a demon of drug addiction.  A person will not find themselves in hell after they die because they were led down a demonic path of a deceitful cult.  It won’t be this vice or that which will defeat your soul and sink you into the vast abyss of darkness for all eternity. If you wind up in hell you will have been consigned to that fate by one enemy:  pride.  Because of pride a person refuses to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and allow Him to defeat all your other enemies. 

When we allow the grace of God to annihilate the enemy of pride within us, we need fear no enemy about us.