Pastor Ron Carpenter Jr. discusses controlling your environment in Part 7 of The Necessity of an Enemy. He begins by telling the story of a fishing trip he took with 3 friends. They caught a shark. Eagerly anticipating a massive, menacing specimen as they pulled the shark onto the pier, they were shocked to discover that the shark actually was quite small. Like the proverbial fish out of water, the shark lost any intimidating impact when it was removed from its natural environment.
Likening that shark to Satan, Pastor Ron applies his story to our battles:
“If you bring the enemy into your environment, he won’t be able to operate in it. He can’t come over into your worship; he needs you in a worldly, carnal environment. If you would step back into the presence of God, you’d see that you’re strong in Him, you’re built up in your faith and passion, and all things are possible. There you magnify Him. He gets bigger and bigger, and all your problems get smaller and smaller.”
