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A foundational element in military strategy is to know your enemy. This is an initial step to experience the thrill victory on the battlefield. If you underestimate your enemy, you will experience the agony of defeat. Believers must be forewarned about the triple threat.

Believers have three evil adversaries namely, the world, the flesh, and the devil. These correspond to "earthly, sensual, demonic" (James 3:15). The world is a system of thought without God (1 John 2:15-17). The flesh is the self not under the control of God (Galatians 5:17-25). The devil is Satan, who rebelled against God (Revelation 12:7-10).

Believers have three exemplary ancestors namely, Noah, Daniel, and Job. Ezekiel 14:14 reads, "'Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,' says the Lord God." Noah overcame the world.

Genesis 6:8 reads, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Hebrews 11:7 reads, "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." Daniel overcame the flesh. Daniel 1:8 reads, "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself." Job overcame the devil. The Lord commended Job before Satan, then Satan condemned Job's motives to the Lord and said, "But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!' And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person'" (Job 1:11-12). After Job experienced Satan's trouble and gained a new perspective about the Lord, we read in Job 42:7, "And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, 'My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.'"

Believers have three eternal allies namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Someone points out that the world rivals God the Father, the flesh rivals God the Holy Spirit, and the devil rivals God the Son.

Oswald Chambers explains, "In education everything is built up on difficulty, there is always something to overcome. And this is true in the spiritual world. If the world, the flesh, and the devil have knocked you out once, get up and face them again, and again, until you have done with them. That is how character is made in the spiritual domain as well as in the natural."

Let this be an encouragement to you in your engagement of the triple threat.

Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, of Robertsdale, is the author of "Don't Miss the Revival! Messages for Revival and Spiritual Awakening from Isaiah"