As our congregation has been working through the book of Acts and the life of the early church, I am amazed at just how much opposition and struggle the church faced. Whether it was outside persecution from either Jewish or Gentile leaders; or internal strife due to pride, ego, or unrealistic expectations, our enemy, the Devil, used anything and everything to distract, discourage, and derail the church from her mission. Praise God for the work (the "acts") of the Holy Spirit to keep the church motivated, encouraged, steadfast and growing.
Some 2,000 years later, nothing has changed. Our enemy, the Devil, is still on the prowl, still using inward and outward pressures to distract, discourage, and derail the church from her mission. As the pastor of a church that has just stepped out in faith to be more effective in reaching our community for Christ, I can tell you that both the church and I have been met with an increase in such schemes designed to knock the proverbial "winds out of our sails."
Scripture reminds us, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7); and "8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in your faith...(1 Peter 5:8-9a).
The church is called to "resist" - that is "to stand our ground"; not to give an inch to the schemes, tactics or wiles of the devil (see Ephesians 6:10ff). The implication is that the devil is constantly at work trying to get us to "give an inch" (or two, or three) so that we might give in or give up.
I am asking for our congregation to be in fervent prayer for our church, our mission and our new venue. I am calling on the congregation to be aware of the schemes of the devil; not just corporately, but individually, schemes designed to distract, discourage and derail us. Not one of us is exempt and so we all must prove to be vigilant in this matter. Be careful of entertaining unbecoming or diminishing thoughts about one another but learn to love one another as Christ has loved us. Let us practice patience, forbearance, forgiveness and compassion for one another. Let us beware of anger that gives our enemy a foothold among us (Ephesians 4:26-27). Let us practice the exhortation of Ephesians 4:31-5:2 which says,
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Be Imitators of God 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
This past week in my theology class I was working through the tactics of Satan against the church. I close this entry with some statements given regarding the goals of Satan in diminishing the church. These four goals of our enemy were articulated by Richard Mayhue, in his book Unmasking Satan. May we recognize these schemes and resist them to the glory of God and to the growth of God's Church.
The Schemes of Satan
Four goals of the Adversary
1.
Distort or Deny the truth of God’s Word
2.
Discredit the testimony of God’s people
3.
Destroy the believer’s enthusiasm for God’s Word
4.
Dilute the effectiveness of God’s Church
