ENEMIES OF THE CHURCH

TEXT: Acts 13:10

INTRODUCTION: The church is described as a body, both in its life and its function

Romans 12:4-5  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Bodies are designed to live, to act, to work. It is natural for the body to function is such a way that life today promotes life tomorrow. The same is true for the church --- life today promotes life tomorrow. The body also has enemies that can damage or even kill it.

Disease

Accidents

Self-destruction (Aids, autoimmune problem)

Likewise, the church has enemies that can keep it from moving into the future

Enemies that can damage or cripple it

Enemies that can kill it

Therefore, we must be ready to fight the enemies if we are to move forward

Today I want us to look at four such enemies so that we can avoid being a target

I.       THE ENEMY OF IGNORANCE

A.  Ignorance comes in many forms

Isaiah 45:20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

1.  Today -- same: worship nature, crystals, idols, ancestors, etc Jeremiah 5:21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:

2.  Stubborn ignorance -- refuse to listen to God

3.  Won't see, hear -- think?   

Hosea 4:1-2 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood

Hosea 4:6  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

4.  Specifically, ignorance of God's Word

5.  It is possible to be destroyed by our own lack of   knowledge

B.  What ignorance can do

1.  Cause us to miss salvation

2.  Cause us to miss obeying God's will

3.  Cause us to practice religion instead of biblical faith

4.  Cause us to build monuments to ourselves instead of God

5.  Cause us to miss God's purpose for us in the world

II.    THE ENEMY OF UNBELIEF

A.  Unbelief is a problem for both the saved and the unsaved  

John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

1.  This is the simple fact -- people will die in their sins unless they believe in Jesus Christ

2.  It is a matter of life and death

3.  It is a terrible thing to be blind -- more terrible to be spiritually blind

4.  Satan can blind people to the glory of the gospel

5.  Normally we only think of the unsaved as being unbelievers

a.  The Hebrew writer addressed himself to his brethren

Hebrews 3:12  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

B.  Unbelief can keep the church from moving forward

1.  How might unbelief affect us?

a.  We might know, but not believe, God's word

b. We might not believe that God cares how we live

c.  We might not believe that God has a plan to save the world

d. We might not believe it matters how we worship

e.  We might not believe it matters how committed we are

2.  We should be like the man who cried out to Jesus

Mark 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

III. THE ENEMY OF APATHY

A.  A man asked his wife, "Do you think the world's problems are caused by ignorance or apathy?" She replied, "I don't know and I don't care."

B.  Apathy is very similar to the attitude expressed by the church in Laodicea, for which Jesus soundly condemned them

Revelation 3:15-16  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

1.  Someone may say, "No this church was lukewarm."

a.  Well what is apathy = lacking passion; blah

b. In a word -- lukewarm

C.  How apathy can destroy us

1.  Causes us to be lukewarm about the church

2.  Causes us to be lukewarm about reaching the lost

3.  Causes us to be lukewarm about righteousness

4.  Causes us to be lukewarm about practicing the fruit of the Spirit

IV. THE ENEMY OF SIN

A.  This may be the most obvious enemy, but sin happens to people who don't know, don't believe and/or don't care

1.  Ignorance, Unbelief, Apathy -- all lead to sin

2.  If the church practices sin, how can we remain the church?

B.  Consider just a few verses

1.  Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

a.  A runner does not run a race hampered by weights

b. Neither can we run the race of life hampered and weighted down by sin

2.  Hebrews 3:12-13 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

a.  One of the reasons we need each other is that we can help help each other avoid having our hearts hardened by sin

b. If that happens, sin can cause us to leave God

3.  James 5:19-20 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

a.  The error of sin can kill the soul

b. Again, we need each other to help stay on the right

                           track

CONCLUSION: For the church to move forward, we must recognize and defeat our enemies Long time ago, Pogo, the comic strip character said it:  "We have seen the enemy, and he is us."

Other people, the government, economics, religious  prejudice, and a host of others may work against the  church, but the most dangerous enemy of all lies within  ourselves

The four enemies are: Ignorance     Unbelief     Apathy      Sin

All of these are enemies that we can do something about

Are you under attack today?  Fight!  Do not lose the battle. Enlist help.