The Enemy is Playing Chess & Checkers- Part I

“Ignoring things won’t make them go away. It only makes it harder to face them when they finally come around.”

Meredith Walters

Most of us say the line I’m playing chess, not checkers to illustrate being intelligent in maneuvering tricky situations and being strategic in how we move in general; however, both games require skill and strategy to beat your opponent!

What is the difference between chess and checkers?

1. Chess- the goal is to check the opponent's king until there is no legal move to escape the attack.

2. Checkers- the goal is to collect all of the opponent's pieces or block them so they have no legal moves left

Too many people think that ignoring the devil will make him leave them alone or that they won't have to deal with the enemy if they don’t pay any attention to him. But God paid a lot of attention to the devil, so much so that he gave us a blueprint on how to defeat him and avoid becoming trapped by him. Now, if the enemy wasn't worth talking about or studying, why would God place so much emphasis on him in the bible?

According to the web :

The word enemy is found 192 times in the bible

The word devil is found 52 times in the bible

The word satan is found 92 times in the bible

The word evil is found 613 times in the bible

The word wicked is found 344 times in the bible

This is one of the biggest mistakes made in the body of Christ with regard to teaching. The preaching of a feel-good only gospel that leaves us unprepared and lacking real knowledge of what is really happening around us. We hear the generalities, " there is a battle between good and evil, " we wrestle not against flesh and blood, etc, but are we truly seeking God and the holy spirit for wisdom on how to maneuver in strategic ways like the enemy does against us?

No ! Why ? Because we are taught to avoid, ignore, and love God for what he can do for us !

Do you know that God has an assignment for you? And it's not just to reap the benefits of the kingdom or sit on the sidelines content to just be saved! The bible speaks about the enemy throughout its text because even though Jesus's death and resurrection gave us the victory, there is still a battle that is going on until he returns.

And who is that battle against ? The Kingdom of God .

Who belongs to the Kingdom of God ? Those who are saved and are in covenant with Jesus? That means YOU !

So why do believers not think they are a part of this fight?

See, the enemy is not really concerned with non-believers or believers who are in continual sin; they are not a threat, and they will not be able to resist him or put a stop to his plans for their lives and the generations to come.

From the moment you are conceived, you are under attack! He has studied you and your bloodline, he has infiltrated most families, and thus already has agents that have claimed rights to attack, create stumbling blocks, and possess the family and generations to come.

1 Peter 5:8

Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Take this in love and not judgment.....!!!!!!! - I had to learn this the hard way because I thought I could praise God, pray with tongues of fire against the enemy, and then hold on to my habitual sin, and it doesn't work that way .

In fact, what happens is :

1. Your prayers are diminished before God and may not be answered if not for his mercy and grace

2. The enemy will begin to unleash a horrible attack against you because he has a legal right to do so. After all, your actions do not match up with your words.

   
   

When you, as a believer, are lacking in real prayer life and you are spiritually malnourished and in habitual sin, your prayers do not carry the same weight and legal authority as those of a person who walks upright and is fully obedient to the Lord.

Before you are born, God has already determined your life and its seasons, and the enemy knows who and who won't be a mighty force in the kingdom of God.  The enemy knows this, and thus it is his sole purpose and plan to STOP you by any means necessary. He wants to stop the deliverance that will come from your hands, the prosperity you will bring to others, the chains that will be broken, the repairs you will make to the breach, and all of the great works God will do through you!

Job 2:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Everything comes with an instruction or a how-to!! You wouldn't just start putting a piece of furniture together or your child's toy together without reading the instruction manual ! This is no different.

Thank you for reading another Moody Mindsets blog ! As always, you are appreciated ! Stay tuned for Part II- The Enemy Plays Chess and Checkers!