Is your church is inward-focused,
squabbling over petty things, straining at doctrinal gnats, and otherwise just
generally ineffective in reaching your community with the Gospel? There’s at least one person happy about that.
Who? The Devil.
Yes, you heard me right. I do believe in
Satan’s active influence in this world—and without apology. The Bible clearly
tells us demonic forces are engaged in the world. As the Apostle Paul writes, “For
we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12, ESV).
Now, I don’t blame the Devil’s direct control
for every single bad thing that happens. Instead, I think he’s generally happy
to let people be people. People just being themselves will do the work of the
Devil for him.
If your church is declining or near death,
take a look around.
Are you preference-driven? Is it “my way
or the highway?” Have your music, hymnals, furniture, and even your order of
service somehow taken on (or more likely, overshadowed) biblical importance in
the church’s life? Do you have guests? Better yet, do you follow up with them,
and do they come back? Has corporate prayer vanished?
Does the church leadership dismiss other
churches’ success by saying those preachers must be tickling the ears of their
listeners? At the same time, do they explain your church’s failure with a sigh,
saying it’s a sure sign that, here in the end times, people won’t endure sound
doctrine anymore?
If so, I’m sure right now that Satan is
spending little time bothering with your church. He holds the territory in your
neighborhood, and your church isn’t the least bit threatening. Your church has
given in to the flesh—the inner predisposition of people towards evil. And it
has given into the world, with its unbiblical assumptions. The Devil needs to
do very nothing to keep you at bay. (And by the way, the cigarette butts tossed
in your parking lot and the petty vandalism you experience every few years are
not demonic attacks. They’re just people being people.)
But go ahead and try to do something
about your church’s sorry state. Decide you’re going to obey the Great
Commandment to love God and your neighbor. Choose to be intentional in carrying
out the Great Commission. Commit to reclaiming your neighborhood for the
Gospel. Work hard to show the love of Christ in your community. As a church, devote
yourselves to revitalization, revival, and renewal.
And then standby for all Hell to break
loose. Because, you can rest assured, Satan will not let you march into his
territory unopposed.
Church revitalization (or renewal, or
replanting…call it what you will) is, at its very heart, an exercise in
spiritual warfare. I’m convinced Satan is okay with inwardly focused churches.
But make that outward turn and just watch what happens. Well, the looky-loos in
the church probably won’t experience much change. But the pastor and any other
leaders interested in outward focus will experience real spiritual beatings.
The Enemy will goad them, play on their anxieties, remind them of every
failing. Within the church, arguing and squabbling will start in places no one would
ever have predicted. Opposition to
change will arise.
As William Cook and Chuck Lawless note, the
Enemy attacks a local church on several fronts—all of which strike to the heart
of the church’s very purpose. In place of God-exalting worship will be idolatry.
Music styles, personal preferences, sacred-cow furniture, and even the past all
become objects of worship. The Enemy will also foster within the church body a
deep fear of evangelism. The church is responsible for equipping the saints
through teaching and mentoring. The Adversary will work to ensure no
discipleship takes place at all. The Devil will oppose any attempts church
members make to edify each other through ministry and service. Pride and
self-glorification will take the place of service. The Enemy will see that corporate
prayer and dependence upon God are supplanted by prayerlessness and
self-dependency. Instead of encouragement through the fellowship of believers, internal
church conflict will be the order of the day. Next
thing you know, the church runs off yet another pastor.
The Satanic gameplan? Get that church
that suddenly thought maybe God could use them in their neighborhood for a
great work for His Kingdom to sit back down. Go back to making sure the remnant
stays comfortable.
Look, all ministry is challenging. And ministry
that’s making a Kingdom difference will routinely encounter spiritual warfare.
What I’m saying is, it’s going to come as a shock to the comfortable members of
a decaying church. And it’s going to go hard at the pastor or leaders who try
to lead that church back to health. Be ready for it.
Before I went into ministry, I was a
naval surface warfare officer. I had the distinct privilege of commanding a
coastal patrol ship off of Iraq during 2004-2005. Most of the action took place
ashore, but coastal Iraq was a busy place with some occasional hostility, as
well. As I reflect on that time, I can’t help but think how closely spiritual
warfare mirrors the physical. Enemy attacks don’t come at our places of strength,
but rather, at our weak spots. We need to know his tactics and be continually
looking out ahead, lest his attacks come as a surprise. And we need to go into
battle adequately equipped.
As Paul writes,
“Therefore take up
the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened
on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as
shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In
all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and
take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with
all prayer and supplication.” (Ephesians 6:13-18a).
I pray that we will see a great movement
of the Holy Spirit in America in the renewal of the church of Jesus Christ. Let’s
be armed and ready. Let’s be prayed up in expectation of those fiery
darts! Remember, we believe in the God
who turns crucifixions into resurrections.
Church revitalization doesn’t just involve
spiritual warfare—it is spiritual warfare.
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All comments are moderated. I welcome respectful disagreement with my posts. Such discussions can cause me to consider perspectives I hadn't examined before. However, I also reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason. Why? Simple enough, this is MY blog, with MY thoughts, and I want to have a civil conversation that is, at all times, God-honoring in nature.