The Bible says that we "Wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalites, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places".
But there is another thing we wrestle against, and that is ourselves ( our flesh).
''For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it''
Eph 5:29.
There are times in which we are singing the song, "I'm in the way..." and we really are in the
way, not of someone else, but ourselves. Our Ego, our Image, our pride! They can all get in our way. At times we can be our own worst enemy. In other words, we can become so wrapped up in ourselves and our problems, that we can prevent ourselves from getting what we need from God.
We need to identify our faults and shortcomings. The bible says "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves'' another place it says," Let every man examine himelf"
We need to examine ourselves, and correct anything that is not right. I have come to firmly believe that you should not teach, preach, lead a service, or otherwise participate in any leadership role with out searching your heart and repenting. When you step in the pulpit, you need to be clean. Yes, God is looking for a willing vessel, but he wants a clean vessel. When you set the table, you don't put dirty glasses on the table, you want to use a clean glass. God desires to use us, but he wants to use a clean vessel.
