Frankie Mazzapica - How to Know the Enemy is Near
The title of today’s message is «How to Know When the Enemy Is Near.» How to know when the enemy is right next to you? I always speak like this: when Adam and Eve were in the garden, Satan could not mess with them. But the minute they sinned, I want you to see a picture—a word picture. It’s almost like there was a slice around the atmosphere. This isn’t in the Bible; it’s just a word picture. The atmosphere was protected, but when they sinned, it was like this slice around the atmosphere, and black bats flooded the world. They could roam freely, and Adam and Eve could never walk with the Lord the way they did ever again.
I want you to know that these bats—I’m going to start calling them demons—because that’s what they are. These demons, they prowl around; Satan prowls around like a lion. They sit at the door. In Genesis 4:7, it says that they sit at the door and wait. I want you to know that when you wake up in the morning, it’s fight time. Life is not a picnic; it’s warfare. That war starts the moment you open your eyes. The enemy begins his attack; you never get an hour off from the attack of Satan. You never get a day off. I want you to hear me say this: the temptations are from Satan. I want you to hear this pull-down of the way you see yourself—it is from Satan. You don’t want to beat yourself up; God is not going to beat you up.
So where is it coming from? I want you to know it is from Satan. Your anxiety, the fear, the anxiousness—this is Satan tormenting you. One person is struggling with one thing; you have a temptation to do something completely different than the person next to you. But know this: they are tempted about something. I want to equip you to be able to fight this battle, to be aware of the battle, and to be victorious. Let me lay the scriptural foundation. But first, I want to say I’m going to talk about two major points: the first one is desire, and the second one is anger.
So let’s talk about desire straight away. In James 1:15, it says that when desire is conceived, consider desire like a woman who has a desire, the thought, «I want to get pregnant.» Then what happens next? It’s conceived, and then it gives birth. The same way sin operates: first, you have the thought; it’s a desire, then it’s conceived, resulting in the actual action. But then, when the sin—the action—is fully grown, it brings death. It brings death. So, I just want to say it starts with the thought. If you have a temptation—an addiction—it starts with a thought. This is just an easy example, so I’ll throw it out there: if you’re single and you’re in a relationship and you are about to go too far physically, where does that start? It’s a thought.
If there’s an addiction, where does that start? It’s a thought. I became aware of a lady who was addicted to nail polish remover. She would drink it or snort it, or smell it—I don’t know how you do it—but she was addicted to it. She couldn’t even walk into a department store, Macy’s, or whatever; she couldn’t even walk in because she was so tempted to grab it. How does that start? It’s the thought. First, when you look at Cain and Abel, Cain killed his brother. Did he kill him first before he had the thought, or did he have the thought first? He had the thought first.
When the desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin. I wish I could go back and look at Cain and say, «Look at what you’re thinking! If you’re thinking about it, the devil is near.» When you think about the temptation, when you think about the sin, the devil is near. David looked and saw a married woman; he thought, «I want that woman.» He committed adultery and then killed her husband. What happened first? Did he kill the husband, or did he have the thought? The thought. Don’t you wish you could go back to David and say, «David, look at what you’re thinking!» The Bible says «desire,» but I’m intertwining both words. The desire for the woman came first. Go back to David and say, «David, David, the enemy is near; he’s right next to you.»
There was a song growing up; I’m going to show my age a little bit. I loved the '80s music—anyone with me? If you love '80s music, let me just tell you what you say to people all the time, because I say it: they don’t make good music anymore. Now everyone here who doesn’t listen to '80s music is just like, «Oh, here we go, old people talking about old music.» But anyway, there was a song where the singer would go, «I wish I had Jesse’s girl.» You with me? «Where can I find a girl like her?» I wish I had—okay, I can’t sing very well. Let me show you the original and enjoy the '80s. Take a look at this. I’ve sung that song my whole life. It came on again, and I was singing it, and I thought, «I wish I had Jesse’s…» and then I thought, «Hold on right now.»
If you catch the first verse, he’s saying this: he goes, «I have a friend named Jesse, and I wish I had his girl.» And we’re all like, «Best song ever! I wish I had Jesse’s girl!» Think about what we’re discussing here. The enemy wants to make sin look harmless and fun. If sin didn’t look harmless and fun, we wouldn’t do it. Eve was not thinking about an apple; she was thinking about apple pie—it was harmless and fun. I want you to become distinctly and keenly aware that the moment you have the thought, the enemy is near. The Holy Spirit will speak to you. It’s in John 14:26, where it says, «The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name"—Jesus is talking—"will teach you all things.» The Holy Spirit will spark inside of you, «This isn’t right. This isn’t right.» You have a nanosecond—quicker than a blink—to say that thought, «Stop it!»
All right, let’s go to the next point. So we’re talking about desire; now we’re going to talk about anger. In Ephesians 4:26, it reads like this: «What does it read? Oh yeah, do not get angry; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.» Now, to get angry is to be human. It would be insane to stand up here and say, «Don’t get angry.» I’m half Brazilian, half Italian. It’s a hot mess; it just is—a hot mess. Okay, anyone here Latin? Are you Latin? You get it, right? My wife’s Canadian; she’s always like—since the day we were dating, I just looked at her and said, «Shut up,» then I looked over, and she was crying. I said, «I didn’t mean shut up; I was just saying shut up; it meant I love you, stop being silly!»
Latin, wave at me real quick. My dad used to tell me, «People with dark eyes and dark hair have fire.» So if you have dark hair and dark eyes, you get me. Now, if you’re not fiery and you have dark hair and dark eyes, you’re what we call a unicorn—okay? You’re a unicorn. I digress. It’s anger that sustains; that’s why it says, «Do not go to sleep while you’re still angry.» Anger sustains the devil; the devil is near when you wake up the next morning, and you’re still angry. I want to say, «The devil’s near; he’s right next to you.»
We’re not talking about a desire to do something; we already covered that. Now we’re talking about just getting angry. It’s the desire to do something—different from anger. Anger is—I don’t need to define it; you know what it is. It starts with a thought, and then it just explodes within you. When that sustains, the devil is near. I want to say, «The devil’s near! The devil’s near! Watch it, watch it, watch it!» One of the things that anger does—the spirit of anger that comes on you—wants to control you. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:9, «Do not be easily provoked; do not be easily provoked in your spirit, for anger rests in the lap of fools.» Have you ever laughed at somebody because they get angry so quickly? It’s almost fun to make them angry because it’s like, «If I’m laughing at you, what do you think the devils are doing? We’re really concerned about Frankie; he was worshipping Sunday morning. Don’t worry about it; I got him. He gets so ticked off so easily; I got him.» Anger controls. Don’t be so easily provoked. Don’t let the Bible say, in Ephesians 4:26, «Don’t let it control you.»
Let me see—David, why don’t you come on up here real quick? I need to illustrate this, and you have the best haircut in the room, so I’ve got to use you, man. I love this guy. I really do! Okay, anger controlling you—if he gets angry and it sustains, don’t let anger control you. The devil gets a foothold in your life. I have a foothold—I am controlling him. He thinks he’s controlling himself. That’s part of a lying spirit. In John 8:44, it says that when the devil lies, he’s speaking his native language. He’s the father of lies! I got him thinking that he’s angry on his own—no! I have a foothold in his life because he let it sustain; he let it stay. Here’s the thing about anger: you can always have a defense for sustained anger—always! You didn’t wake up that morning thinking, «You know what? I’m going to get so angry around 1:15 today that I’m going to go to sleep angry; that’s how angry I’m going to get.» Nobody does that. It’s the—then you stay angry, and it’s like, «David, why are you so angry?» «It’s like, 'No, it’s the…' Okay, I understand the moment happened, but you’re just walking around angry.»
Then you say, «Well, he’s always being…» Here’s the thing about the Bible: sometimes it’s annoying. Are you with me? Say yes. Thank you, David; you can sit down. Matthew 18:21—I think it is—Peter is so proud of himself, and he says, «I’m—Is it cool? Like how awesome is it? Like if I forgive somebody like seven times,» and Jesus says back, «How about 77 times 7?» Now, watch this: there’s no timeline on that. How about that person who offends you doing the same thing 77 times in one day? «I’m really sorry; I forgive you.» Five minutes later, «Look, I’m really sorry; you know what? I forgive you.» «I’m really sorry; I forgive you.» «I’m really sorry; you know what? I’m done forgiving you.» Are you with me? There’s always a reason. How easily are you provoked? It says, «Don’t be provoked. Don’t be easily provoked.»
Now here’s the thing: if you’re thinking about somebody who’s easily provoked, stop. How well are you self-aware? What’s it like to be with you? Now watch this; watch this. There are concentric circles in your life. The inside circle is your family; these are your friends. It’s one concentric circle out—people you just met. So yesterday, I was at my daughter’s volleyball game. This guy comes up; he’s one of the other parents. He goes, «Hey, I want to introduce myself; my name is…» Oh, I really wanted to remember his name; I said it like five times in my head after «Kirk,» because my name association was «Star Trek.» So he came up to me and goes, «Hi, my name is Kirk,» and boy, I was my best me! You’re always your best you when you meet somebody. So I shake his hand, look him in the eyes, and say, «Man, it is so good to meet you! Thank you for coming over here and introducing yourself; best me!»
Outside concentric circle—closer you get to the inside of the circle, things start changing. My friends get my best me when I’m in my best mood. Are you with me? If I’m in a good mood, they get me as a good mood. If I’m in a bad mood, I can be a bit looser because they’re my friends. They’re not going to disown me just because I’m in a bad mood, right? This guy, further circle out? No! No, no! Now we get into this circle right here. Now this circle right here—they know you the best. If you’re—I just heard someone over here go, «Careful!» Because you’re sitting next to family; okay? So it’s about to get awkward. They know you the best! This is the inside circle; they know who you really are. If you’re single in this room and you just started dating somebody in the last year, you have not met them yet! You have met their representative, sir! Yes, you have met this person. That’s right! You’ve got to stay with them long enough to meet this person, and then you want to know who this person is before they put a ring on it! Are you with me? What is it like to be you? Does your anger spark so quickly that the enemy laughs? I want to come on and say, «The enemy is near! The enemy is near!»
My wife—she’s fun; she’s wonderful. We’ve been married for 24 years. Awesome job, Ally; awesome job! I remember we were doing something playful before the kids; I can’t remember, but I think it was something like I took a Kleenex and beamed it at her, right? She picks it up, throws it back, and chases me around, but she’s got this little move where she fakes here and goes there, right? She’s chasing me around, and to draw a contrast. Remember I said, «You know, Brazilian, Italian—I just wake up hot?» Okay? If she took a Kleenex, rolled it up, and hit me in the back of the head, I’m like, «What the heck? What are you doing? What’s up?»
It’s self-perception! What’s it like to be around me? Ask yourself, «What’s it like to be around you? Are you easily provoked? Does the enemy get to come up and do anything?» I wish someone, when that Kleenex hit the back of my head, in that split second as I turn around—it’s a quick second. This is a nanosecond right here; it’s quick! As I’m turning around in slow motion, I want someone to run up to me and say, «Hey, hey, hey, the enemy is right next to you!» There has to be this awareness of what it’s like to be you.
One of my favorite movies—I’m not recommending it—is «The Godfather.» It was in the '70s. Obviously, I like '70s and '80s, but it’s about the Corleone family. Let me show you the primary actors. So raise your hand if you’re a Godfather person; that means you’re only half saved, right? This is the Don; this is the leader of the family, Vito. This guy here, his name is Tom; he’s like the adopted son, not the blood son of Vito. This is Sunny; he’s the oldest. This is Fredo, the second oldest of Vito. This is Michael. Now, what we have here is Tom; he’s very calm, level-headed. You can’t rattle the guy; everything’s analytical to him. He loves spreadsheets!
Sunny’s the one who’s supposed to take over the family after Vito dies. The problem is he’s a hothead! He gets mad about everything, reacts crazy, and does crazy things. Most of the time, when you’re crazy, you’re messing something up. Very rarely will you be crazy and right at the same time—tweet that! This is Fredo; this guy needs prayer. He cries about everything; he’s emotional. He’s a total mess; he’s nuts! Now, this guy, Michael Corleone—this guy I’m about to ruin the movie for you, but if you haven’t seen it, it’s been out for 50 years. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re not going to see it. This guy gets killed pretty quickly; this guy gets killed—not going to tell you. I think his brother killed him, but that’s another story. This guy gets killed because he’s an idiot. Now, this guy takes over the family.
Now here’s the deal: If you’re a Godfather person, you start assigning people to people. For example, in my family, I’m like, «Okay, this brother, you are Fredo; you’re a mess.» You are! You’re Sunny, okay? I always tell my dad he’s Vito, even though—but everybody who likes The Godfather, deep down inside, wants to be Michael, all right? Deep down inside, even the ladies are like, «I’m Michelle!» Deep inside! But self-awareness, I remember the day it happened. I was like, «I am not Michael; I’m like Sunny and Fredo’s son.»
That was weird. But how am I going to get out of that? I’m just messed up; I’m crazy, emotional. And then when you become that self-aware, then it’s the decision: how are we going to live from here on out? I’m going to tell you it can’t be a minor shift; it has to be aggressive. I remember saying when my kids are born, «Every time they walk through the room, it’s going to be like they want a gold medal.» Presley came into the office this morning when I was studying. She opened the door; I said, «Presley!» I saw Luke back there; I said, «Luke, Luke!» It’s like we haven’t seen each other in 50 years. Kate comes in; Al comes in; she’s like, «What did you do?» No, Ally comes in; she says that to me. No, Ally comes in; we kiss. I’m a hard kisser.
She’s like, «Stop!» But you have to be extreme to muzzle out the other stuff. Last and final thought—last final thought. We’ve covered desire; we’ve covered anger. But the devil is after you every single moment, every single day, all day, every day. When you play at the playground, kids play a game called tag. There’s one person running around trying to touch the other kids. Do you know what that person is called? It’s a weird name, but—so it’s like «You’re it!» and the other kids go running around. The one who is it has to go touch one of the kids who are not it; if he touches them, they become it. Are you ahead of me? The enemy is chasing you around!
Now, what the kids do when they’re running around? They’re yelling, «You can’t catch me! You can’t catch me!» I just want to say, when you desire, you go, «Ah! I know who you are! You can’t catch me! No, no, no, no, no!» When you get angry and that little spark—that’s when the enemy comes up and says, «Can’t catch me!» It’s spiritual warfare! You’ve got to know he’s right next to you, and you’ve got a split second—a nanosecond! I mean a blink second! What are you going to do with the thought? What are you going to do with that burst of anger? What are you going to do? What are you going to do? What are you going to do? And you’ve got to go, «Yeah, can’t catch me! Can’t catch me!» When the devil talks to you, you’ve got to go, «I know what you’re doing! It’s not going to catch me!» Does this help anybody?