Church Planting Series, Part twenty
John Maxwell once said that the devil will try to attack you before a Kingdom success, after a Kingdom success, and when you’re tired.
I’ve found this to be true, along with the fact that the devil tries to frustrate you, demoralize you, and foul up your demeanor with a slow but relentless accumulation of small inconveniences.
Recently, after a significant spiritual success in her life, my daughter’s furnace malfunctioned, her computer developed a glitch, her cell phone broke in half, and she acquired a strange kind of flu.
When big issues develop, we’re more apt to fall on our knees in prayer, search the Scriptures, and get some help. When little things crop up, however, we’re more likely to get crabby, to lash out, and to have our light put squarely under a bushel.
I once taught a Bible study called “Angels, Demons, and Major Household Appliances” because that’s the way spiritual warfare happens, isn’t it? You can count on annoyance, a Chinese water torture drip after drip of spiritual poise-breaking testing and temptation.
The devil goes after your morale, your pocketbook, and your kids. He tries to foul up your ministry. He attempts to drag your personal life into a morass of inconsistency and lapses of integrity. He leads you to worry and complaining, to anger and resentment.
We’re in a spiritual battle. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Yet, in this spiritual struggle, 2 Corinthians 2:11 gives us the good news that “we are not unaware of [the devil’s] schemes.” The devil is an open book, a known quantity, a limited spiritual being with a finite imagination and habitual pattern of evil. Sure he’s angry. He “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He’s ticked off. As Revelation 12:12 says, “He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” But he can only do so much.
What’s our job? The Bible says, “Be self-controlled and alert…Resist him, standing firm in faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9). “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Remember, this resistance and awareness, this self-control, is not by our might or power. It’s by the Spirit of God. Standing firm in faith means standing firm in God doing His doing in your life. It means standing in grace. It means having the Word dwell in your richly. It means living in the shadow of the cross of Jesus Christ—-the One who conquered Satan and made him a short-timer, able to squirm outside the lake of fire only because of God’s patience that is not willing for any of us to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
Be alert. Be on guard. As you make plans to reach out, be ready—-and prepare the people you serve!—-for a spiritual battle. The glitches are no accident. After you experience the mountaintop of God’s movements in your church, be ready. A valley of foul-ups may be coming. When you’re tired, be self-controlled. You’ll want to quit ministry. You’ll feel awful. Don’t make any big decisions when you’re tired. Know the real story. Walk in faith.
The struggle is not in finding volunteers or getting more funding. It’s not in sound system malfunctions or frozen computer programs. The battle is greater and more worthy. Are you taking notice? Are you prepared? Are you letting people know that their awareness of the real battle will keep them close to the One who fights for us?
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Revelation as a Resource
Church Planting Series, Part nineteen
John Ortberg once said that in order to get new people in the church, you had to publicize teaching on two topics: sex and the end-times. Then he commented, with tongue in cheek, that a blockbuster series would be “Sex in the End-times.”
Leaving the debate aside about the attractional model for the church, a truth Rev. Dr. Ortberg uttered is the high curiosity factor about the end-times—-especially about the book of Revelation.
People are fascinated with this book of the Bible. Even people outside the Christian faith, the de-churched, and the disillusioned are curious about this mysterious grand finale of the Scriptures.
I’m convinced that, in this strategic vision at the end of the Bible, there is method to God’s madness.
Admit it. People think church is boring. We’ve not always done the greatest job in conveying the awesome sense of a world-creating, Red Sea-splitting, fire from heaven-sending, miraculous Messiah-conceiving, ill and troubled-healing, on the cross-dying, from the dead-rising, sin-forgiving, life-transforming Savior God! In the rush of the day and clutter of the culture, the Almighty God, too often, has been getting lost in the shuffle.
This is where the genius of the book of Revelation comes in. During similar times in the late first century, Jesus appeared to the Apostle John, a reputable witness, in order to encourage suffering and straying believers. Instead of delivering a dry lecture, He gave a Scripture-saturated, eye-opening, mind-blowing vision of the invisible action in the spiritual realms. He proffered a prophetic repast that blew the doors off pagan persecution. God provided the zing that the church needed.
And it’s still zinging. People are drawn to examine this book of the Bible. They are eager to dig into the vision. They want to hear what God is saying. Unfortunately, we’ve let some confused and deceptive teachers get a corner on the market. They twist this final book of the Bible into their personal message of fear, their scheme to get rich quick, or their effort to gain control over others.
Isn’t it time we reclaim the book of Revelation for God’s wonderful purposes? Isn’t it time to remember that this book of the Bible is also one that “is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)?
Revelation can be a great entry point for new believers. It asks the big questions and gives big answers for life. It also draws people in. God keeps the curiosity and wonder factors high in the book of Revelation. If you’d like to check out my new book, “Revelation: What the Last Book of the Bible Really Means,” as a resource for small group or large group study, click here. If you purchase a copy, please enter the discount code: 8N347JTM to receive $2.00 off every book you purchase. My prayer is that this book can help you reach out with Revelation!
John Ortberg once said that in order to get new people in the church, you had to publicize teaching on two topics: sex and the end-times. Then he commented, with tongue in cheek, that a blockbuster series would be “Sex in the End-times.”
Leaving the debate aside about the attractional model for the church, a truth Rev. Dr. Ortberg uttered is the high curiosity factor about the end-times—-especially about the book of Revelation.
People are fascinated with this book of the Bible. Even people outside the Christian faith, the de-churched, and the disillusioned are curious about this mysterious grand finale of the Scriptures.
I’m convinced that, in this strategic vision at the end of the Bible, there is method to God’s madness.
Admit it. People think church is boring. We’ve not always done the greatest job in conveying the awesome sense of a world-creating, Red Sea-splitting, fire from heaven-sending, miraculous Messiah-conceiving, ill and troubled-healing, on the cross-dying, from the dead-rising, sin-forgiving, life-transforming Savior God! In the rush of the day and clutter of the culture, the Almighty God, too often, has been getting lost in the shuffle.
This is where the genius of the book of Revelation comes in. During similar times in the late first century, Jesus appeared to the Apostle John, a reputable witness, in order to encourage suffering and straying believers. Instead of delivering a dry lecture, He gave a Scripture-saturated, eye-opening, mind-blowing vision of the invisible action in the spiritual realms. He proffered a prophetic repast that blew the doors off pagan persecution. God provided the zing that the church needed.
And it’s still zinging. People are drawn to examine this book of the Bible. They are eager to dig into the vision. They want to hear what God is saying. Unfortunately, we’ve let some confused and deceptive teachers get a corner on the market. They twist this final book of the Bible into their personal message of fear, their scheme to get rich quick, or their effort to gain control over others.
Isn’t it time we reclaim the book of Revelation for God’s wonderful purposes? Isn’t it time to remember that this book of the Bible is also one that “is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)?
Revelation can be a great entry point for new believers. It asks the big questions and gives big answers for life. It also draws people in. God keeps the curiosity and wonder factors high in the book of Revelation. If you’d like to check out my new book, “Revelation: What the Last Book of the Bible Really Means,” as a resource for small group or large group study, click here. If you purchase a copy, please enter the discount code: 8N347JTM to receive $2.00 off every book you purchase. My prayer is that this book can help you reach out with Revelation!
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