Once, when we were in Mexico, I went to a bullfight that left a lasting impression on me: The bull didn’t know who his enemy was. He thought the red cape was his enemy. I remember thinking, If he ever realizes his real source of trouble, that matador won’t have a chance.

As I travel among Christians everywhere, it is very evident to me that many believers are just like that poor bull. They are battling “red capes” instead of getting to the real source of their problems. They are contending against the trouble itself instead of the troublemaker who is your enemy.

Who is your enemy? Who is the real source of all of all of your troubles, whether they be spiritual, mental, physical, social or financial? If you knew, you would no longer struggle against the “red cape” of your problems. You would eliminate the very source of them. Just as that matador was not match for that mean, ferocious bull, the troublemaker is no match for the believer who battles him with the full armor and mighty weapons of God. I have prepared this to help you do just that. So, get ready. You’re about to cause some serious trouble for your enemy!

Who is Your Enemy?
Trouble seems to be as much of a part of life as breathing. Everyone has trouble at some point in his of her life. And human nature always wants to place the blame for its trouble on someone else. That started in the Garden of Eden. As soon as Adam had to explain his disobedience to God, he pointed the finger to his wife! When God said, “Adam, have you eaten from the forbidden tree?” Adam replied, “The woman that You gave me, she gave me of the tree and I ate! It wasn’t my idea!” (The paraphrasing is mine.)

When trouble arises, the most natural thing to do is to place the blame for it on someone or something. Sadly, for the most part, may Christians have been falsely accusing God of being the cause of their troubles.  This is the number one deception sown in the Church today, that our problems, our trials and our temptations are sent by God to teach us. This lie says that trials and tribulations are God’s tools of developing and strengthening our character. The very extreme end of this deception is that God Himself is the author of our troubles or that God  is the One Who makes us sick in order to teach us something.

This is absolutely against the Word of God! Why? Because the very basic principle of the Christian life is to know that God put our sin, sickness, disease, sorrow, grief and poverty on Jesus at Calvary. For God to put any of this on us now to teach us or to strengthen our faith would be a miscarriage of justice. To believe that God has a purpose for your sickness would mean that Jesus bore your sicknesses in vain. What an insult to His love and care and compassion toward you!

In order to place blame where blame is due, believers need a fresh revelation of who is our true source of trouble. The only way we will receive this revelation is by rightly dividing the Word of Truth. James 1:8 says tht a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Jesus said in Luke 11:17 that a house divided against itself will fall.

Therefore, if a man thinks, imagines, assumes or in any way has the idea that God is behind his trouble, either by permission or commission, he will never resist it. And if he does not resist it, then he will certainly fail, because his hesitation will give Satan just the edge he needs to defeat him.

In the world of the spirit, there is a challenger, a counterfeit, an opponent of God who knows his business. But there is also the armor of God, the Word of God and the power to defeat this opponent. The Bible says to resist Satan, and he will flee form you (James 4:7) But when a man hesitates, not opposing, but wondering, then Satan can easily defeat him.

We must clearly distinguish between what is coming from Satan and not blame God for something that is not His doing. This is why it is so extremely important to rightly divide the Word concerning this issue.  Whenever God reveals His Word to a man, Satan comes immediately to steal the Word from his heart. Jesus said that he would. He said the sower sows the Word, and Satan comes immediately to take away the Word which was sown. (See Mark 4.)

Satan has no defense against the Word of God. He has no defense against the lordship of Jesus or the Name of Jesus. He has no defense against the born-again believer who is walking in faith and acting on the Word of God. He has no defense against these because Jesus said that all power has been given unto Him both in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18). Satan has been stripped of his power.

The devil knows he is defenseless, so in order to stop the revelation of God’s Word in the believer, his only tool is deception. He must sow a deception, something that sounds good and looks good but is really a wolf in sheep’s clothing, He usually does this most successfully in the area of religion. He uses religion to blind and deceive the people.

By sowing the seed of deception through religious tradition, Satan has robbed the Church of her power. He has no defense against our real spiritual weapons, but he can easily defend himself against our carnal, religious traditions.

Summary Points:

• Believers need a fresh revelation of who is our true source of trouble.
• Satan has no defense against the born-again believer who is walking in faith and acting on the Word of God.
• The very basic principle of the Christian life is to know that God put our sin, sickness, disease, sorrow, grief and poverty on Jesus at Calvary.
• The troublemaker is no match for the believer who battles him with the full armor and mighty weapons of God!

Source: Know Your Enemy by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland
Excerpt permission granted by Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka: Kenneth Copeland Ministries