Defeating the Enemies of the Soul Series – Part Four The Perizzite

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There is a point, beyond which, tolerance ceases to be a virtue.  

This morning we are continuing in the series: Defeating the Enemies of the Soul. 

This is the 5th lesson in our series. In Part 1, we learned that the Old Testament accounts of the Children of Israel were not written as merely a historical record of their journey. Rather we found that the accounts of the Bible were intended by God to be a spiritual roadmap for our lives, and that that the enemies faced by the Children of Israel in their conquest of the Promised Land equal the spiritual enemies we face in our walk with Christ today. 

In Part 2 we discovered the first enemy, The Canaanite who entices us to compromise. We learned how to identify the voices of compromise and what to do to defeat that Canaanite in our lives.  

In Part 3 we studied The Hittite who hopes to terrorize and paralyze the Christian by acting bigger and stronger than he really is. He is a liar! 

Last week The Amorite showed us: There is a difference between being strongly principled and being stubbornly opinionated. 

Exodus 23 NKJV 

20 ¶  “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 

21  “Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 

22  “But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 

23  “For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. 

24  “You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. 

25  “So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. 

The lesson today focuses our attention on that demonic spirit called - The Perizzite. 

Perizzite means: Villager - To dwell without walls; with no standards; without boundaries; where personal freedom is more important than community benefit; the “don't fence me in” with rules or regulations, morals or absolutes, rights and responsibilities”; people who say, “I’m a free spirit and I can do anything I want … you’re not my boss … you can’t judge me …”; “What I do is my business and not yours.” That doesn’t sound all that bad right up to the point that it is … 

• There is a certain God-given call on the souls of mankind to not be judgmental or critical of others. We all want to live in peace. This is a seed of desire placed in mankind by God from the beginning.  
• The enemy of our soul does his best however, to deceive mankind and trick the individual into thinking that they are doing good and being a better human when they accept the “I’m ok, you’re ok, anything goes” approach to life. It is a trap of the Perizzite. 

• While there is merit in pursuing peace, there is yet great detriment awaiting the souls of those who refuse to distinguish right from wrong and godliness from sin and wickedness. Wickedness destroys a society, from those pre-flood souls to the souls living in Sodom and Gomorrah. We can’t all do just anything we want without facing the consequences.  
• Truth is absolute, and the Bible is absolutely true. 
• God is not asking us to judge anyone but ourselves. But He is definitely asking us to do that and He has set standards of life which promote family, unity, godliness and community. If we, like Joshua 24:15 says, live our lives and teach our families to serve the Lord, we will positively affect others by the joy we have, the kindness we show, the love we share and the light we shine. 
• The standards by which you live your life will be reflected in the choices you make, the votes you cast and the issues you support. 
• Without standards, we have no values to uphold and no truths to preserve. Where there are no absolutes, wickedness prevails.  

• Wickedness promotes no rules … no truth … no right or wrong … 
• Anything goes – no standards – no absolutes – relative sin … 

What we tolerate today becomes the norm tomorrow. 

Judges 3 

5  Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 

6  And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods. 

7  So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs. 

8 ¶  Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He sold them … 

Another generation back into slavery to the demon spirit of the Perizzite. “Forget what God says, we can do anything we want, this is my life!” 

How can I identify the Perizzite? 

• Ask God to open your spiritual ears to the liberal ideologies of this fallen world. Not everything that looks, sounds and feels good is good. There are some things which are wicked by nature and serve to weaken and destroy the individual, the family, the Church and life. 

• Shine the simple light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on each decision and every judgment you make. 
• If it sounds good, but isn’t God, it’s the evil enemy of your soul. 
• Make no bones about it, the Perizzite is trying to destroy your life, your family, your nation and ruin the lives of generations to come, one attitude at a time.  

What can I do to defeat him? 

• Refuse to join the rebellion against God. 

Deuteronomy 7:2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them. 

• Seek out and listen to wise and godly counsel.  

Proverbs 12:15  The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise. 

• If you find yourself at odds with God or godliness, repent and reflect the truth of God’s Word with kindness and hope. 

What have we learned thus far in this series that will help us to identify and defeat the enemies God wants His children to face and defeat? 

1. The Old Testament accounts of the Children of Israel make up a spiritual roadmap for our lives today. 

2. We cannot hope to live a victorious Christian life with one foot in the Kingdom of God and one foot in the world.  

3. What would you do for God if you weren’t afraid? Do that! 

4. Be unwilling to go to war with your family and friends. 

5. There is a point, beyond which, tolerance ceases to be a virtue.  

The greatest tragedy one could ever experience would be to believe that there are no absolutes and no rules to which we should submit our souls. Eternity will be filled with those who believed the lie of the Perizzite and lived their lives without walls, without guidelines, with no standards and without God.  

Billy Graham said, “There is no such thing as a social Gospel. There is only one Truth and if anyone preaches anything else let him be cursed. Only Jesus can save your soul.” Billy Graham 

Life is not an “anything goes” adventure. Life is a precious gift and the single opportunity you have to accept an eternal relationship with God which comes only through the Jesus Christ, His Son. There is no other way to salvation. Without regard as to who a person is or what they accomplished while on earth, except a man be born-again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God after death. Jesus said these words to Nicodemus in John chapter 3:  “You must be Born-Again!” 

Once saved we should all progressively face and defeat those enemies of the soul which God has shown us in His Word. Life is a process and our path can be corrected. Get right and stay right with God … it’s the only way to enjoy the blessings of God in this life and in the life to come.  

Are you right with God?