After reading over my first post about this topic it was clear that I needed to expound upon a few things just a little bit more. I haven't bothered to really organize my thoughts much. I'll just ruminate as the spirit carries me, so to speak.
The first misconception that needs to be rectified is the old mistake of 'seeing a demon behind every bush.' This is a phrase that preachers use a lot as a warning. It means that not everything in this world that goes wrong or is evil is instigated by demonic forces. Sometimes we screw things up ourselves badly enough without any help from the devil and his imps. And many times the things that we see as bad in the world are nothing more than manifestations of sin's effects upon creation. More on that another time. Finally, some events that we see as bad from our perspective are not that at all. God will at times allow events to occur that He intends for good, and that are, in the big scheme of things, according to His plan. That, too, involves some pretty detailed theological explanation to understand. Suffice it to say this: sometimes bad things are incited by demonic forces and sometimes they are not.
A minor point needs to be clarified here. Rarely does Satan himself ever attack someone or control events. He is not omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent. Only God is that. Satan is a single spiritual entity, created by God, and limited by his created nature. However, he is much more powerful than we are. The Bible gives pretty clear information about the nature of Satan's kingdom. For one thing, we know that he has an army of evil demons at his command and they have divisions of authority, such as over geographical areas or particular sins (lust, greed, bitterness, etc.) The goal of this evil empire is to stifle, and destroy if possible, the works of God and the church. Additionally, the demons seek to destroy as many human lives as possible before they get an opportunity to meet Christ.
Another important point is that demons cannot possess or involuntarily control a true believer in Christ. They can influence a Christian to ungodly behavior only if the believer permits. Demonic possession of nonbelievers is possible. There is little doubt that Satan's forces can and do influence people in varying degrees. But actual demon possession? Unfortunately, it is real; fortunately it is rare. The Bible teaches very clearly that anyone who is not a follower of the living God is already owned and controlled by Satan, so, in that sense, all unsaved people are possessions of the devil. The good news for the Christian is that demons cannot force you to do anything you don't allow. See Dodging the Demonic Bullet Part I for verses about spiritual warfare.
All of that is very interesting but the crux of this essay is to try and clarify for us those times when we are experiencing actual spiritual attack. A thorough treatment of the subject is way beyond the parameters of this work and there are many good books that address the matter in much more detail. I will only try to offer some general guidelines, based on Scripture and my own personal experiences, that may help throw up the red flag if you encounter similar circumstances. I will list off some broad points, in no particular order, that may help.
1. If you have recently made a spiritual decision in favor of the things of God, and then soon after, start having a greater than normal level of troubles, that is a very good sign that your trials and tribulations may be instigated by dark forces. Not a guarantee, but be alert.
2. If any problem or situation seems to be preventing you from regularly participating in godly activities, there is a pretty good chance that unclean spiritual forces are behind it. I am not saying your boss is a devil because he won't give you time off to attend the special activity at church. But if something in your life is regularly barring you from going to church, reading your Bible, praying, or any of the other spiritual disciplines, then there's a fair chance it is either demon-instigated or the dark ones are taking advantage of it and magnifying its intensity.
3. If you are struggling over a particular sin in your life and just can't seem to get away from the temptations that lead you to that sinful behavior, then you are probably experiencing spiritual warfare. The devils hate it when we try to live pure lives before God, and they will certainly redouble their efforts to tempt you if you are trying to get the victory over a bad habit or sin. For example, if lust is your problem and you decide to be more pure in thought, just get ready -- you will probably be bombarded with situations to fall into lust. Warning: Though the demons will fight harder in these instances, we sometimes fail to depend completely on the Lord's grace and power when striving for purity. Often, what we mistake as spiritual attack is our own spiritual weakness.
4. If during a certain period of time there seems to be a freaky, almost eerie, spate of troubles, trials, and tribulations -- you know, a "when it rains, it pours" type of thing -- then start looking at your life differently. You may be experiencing spiritual attack. I know, I know, we all have times in our lives when one thing after another happens that makes us wonder if God has it in for us. And sometimes it has nothing to do with demons. Maybe God is trying to get our attention. He has been known to do that, you know. But I am talking about a short time frame when your world just seems to be falling down around your shoulders and you feel yourself reaching the end of your rope. The truth is, if it is spiritual attack, this may be your preparation for something big. So it may not be demons at all. But realize the possibility that evil forces are always at work to try and prevent you from fulfilling God's plan for your life.
5. Should you have a disagreement, argument, or falling out with another believer and it then suddenly begins to spiral out of control, then you can be pretty darn sure that demonic forces are at work. They like nothing better than to sever the unity of the body of Christ. Disagreements and even arguments are not necessarily evil in nature, but failure to handle them properly can bring ungodly results. Another way to know that spiritual warfare may be happening in a situation such as this is when forgiveness is not offered or, when offered, is spurned. (I'm still talking about between believers here.) The Bible gives us very clear guidelines on how to deal with friction between believers. If these are followed then the risk of dark spiritual intervention is minimized.
6. Sometimes the church as a group comes under attack, but usually only when that church is a godly one, with godly leaders. The church that neglects the simple, whole gospel of Jesus Christ rarely comes under spiritual attack. How can we know if our church is under attack by the forces of darkness? In my experience it is usually obvious, at least to the more spiritually sensitive members of the congregation. Instances of spiritual attack on the church have included pastors falling to sexual temptation (a really big problem these days), splits about menial things (the color of the carpet), the introduction of heretical teachings (happens more than you know), or even unusual -- maybe even supernatural -- occurrences within the lives of church members. Once again, the devil and his foul imps cannot destroy the church of Jesus Christ unless the people, having drifted away from the guidance of the Holy Spirit, allow it.
The spiritual world most definitely exists, and it consists of good and evil camps. This is clearly taught in God's Word and is supported by historical, orthodox Christian doctrine. To not believe this is to deny the veracity of Scripture. A denial of its existence plays right into the hands of the prince of liars and puts the denier directly into the hands of evil forces who will use him or her to fulfill hell's plans. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ then you are Satan's enemy. The good news is that we have already won the war; it's just the intervening battles that we have to endure.
Ephesians 6:10-13 (ESV)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12 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.
13 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.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Dodging the Demonic Bullet
In Acts 20:17-38 Paul is on his way back to Jerusalem from one of his missionary trips. He stops at the port of Miletus and, instead of going to visit nearby Ephesus where he had founded a church, he calls for the elders of the Ephesian church to come to him. Paul is hard pressed by the Spirit to return to Jerusalem, where he will face many trials. Strangely enough, he is in a hurry to get there, not because of any twisted martyr complex but because he knows this is God's will for him. If he had gone to Ephesus he knows that his stay would have been difficult to cut short.
It is interesting not just that Paul summoned the Ephesian elders but what it was he had to say to them. Part of that farewell message is applicable, I think, to us of The Pointe Church (TPC). This has to do with his warning to the church and especially its leaders. It is so significant that I will quote it at length (from the Holman Christian Standard Bible): Speaking to the elders,
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock [congregation], among whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And men from among yourselves will rise up with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears." (vvs. 28-31)
The reason that I feel a connection between the church at Ephesus and TPC is that both churches voluntarily put spiritual targets on their backs. What does this mean? At The Pointe we have recently embarked upon an exciting new strategic ministry plan, which, with God's blessings, will ignite a fire within our people and affect the community such that God's kingdom will grow and He will be greatly glorified.
This is exactly the kind of activity that draws Satan's attention and attacks.
Church, we have put ourselves directly into the line of fire of our adversary, the devil. Be sure, he is very, very unhappy with us and will not sit idly by while we unleash the power of the Gospel upon Cherokee County.
The purpose of this blog is simply to warn The Pointe Church that the spiritual attacks will surely come. It is also my purpose to proclaim that Satan need not have any success with his evil efforts.
It has often been stated that 'if the devil ain't after you then you need to be worried.' The corollary to this is 'if you're going through spiritual warfare then you must be doing something right.' Put simply, if we are serving and worshiping God in ways that are pleasing to Him, then the devil is going to try and stop us. One of my professors in seminary said that whenever God builds a church, the devil builds a chapel right next door. There's much truth in this.
People of TPC, when we decide to be obedient to The Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20), and to minister to 'the least of these' (Matt. 25:31-46), then Satan gets afraid and angry. You see, he already knows that he's defeated. Christ accomplished that at the cross. But he plans to go down fighting, taking as many with him as possible.
Before I go any further, let me be clear about one thing: Satan cannot cause you to lose your salvation and drag you to hell. A truly redeemed child of the living God is saved forever and nothing or no one can change that. Do not listen to those in and out of the church who teach the false doctrine of losing or renouncing one's salvation. It is a false gospel, from the pit of hell, and has kept many Christians in such spiritual bondage that they are, in effect, miserable and disarmed. So, when I say that Satan is on the attack against Christ's church collectively and us individually I do not mean that he is trying to take us to hell. I do mean that he will try to harm the church with any scheme that he can concoct, thereby neutralizing our witness, worship, and service.
In 1 John 4:4 we are taught that "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." In other words, by leaning on the power of God (the Holy Spirit) that resides inside of every believer, it is impossible for the devil to overcome us. Further instruction is given in James 4:7, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Clearly, God has bound Satan to the extent that he has no power over us that we don't allow to him.
There is a key to these two verses (and every other one in the Bible that teaches about spiritual victory) and that is the concept of dependence. What I mean is that we do not have the power to overcome demons all by ourselves. Forget the garbage you see in the movies. If you try to stand up to the devil and his imps all by yourself, without God, then woe unto you! These spiritual entities are real and much more powerful than we are. Dependence in this sense means simply that Christ does the fighting for us while we lean completely upon Him. Notice it says "he that is in you" and "submit yourselves therefore to God." One of the worst mistakes you can make in spiritual warfare is taking the second clause of James 4:7 without the first. For the devil to 'flee from you' you must be resisting him by first submitting to God. The two actions go together and must not be attempted separately.
Alright, what am I saying here? Should we be afraid? Should we reconsider our dedication to pursuing God's will? As Paul would say, "God forbid!" "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7) You see church, we have no real reason to fear our obedience to God, for He has given us the power -- the Holy Spirit -- to conquer when faced with spiritual attacks. Satan can hit us with anything he wants but he cannot overcome us unless we fail to fight with the power of God and try to beat him with our own efforts. This will require much prayer, Bible study, fasting, and fellowship, but it is possible to defeat the demonic forces that oppose us. God has promised it; so it must be true.
The warning for TPC is this. Get ready -- sometime in the next few days or weeks some attack will occur. Guaranteed. I can't say how it will develop but the possibilities are endless. It will probably start small. Someone's feelings will get hurt maybe. Or there will be a minor disagreement about some plan or policy. Whatever form the attack takes you can be assured of this: Satan will exploit it for all it's worth. Another thing that is pretty certain: church leadership will be the prime targets. No better way to bring down a church than to cause a pastor to fall.
As Paul told the Ephesian church elders, "Be on guard!" That's good advice for not just your pastors and other church leaders but for all who call The Pointe Church home. Let us all continually lean on the Lord, submitting to Him in every way, stay in the Scriptures, love one another solidly, and never give in to the temptations that constantly assault us. Remember: the devil is a defeated foe; let's keep reminding him of that.
It is interesting not just that Paul summoned the Ephesian elders but what it was he had to say to them. Part of that farewell message is applicable, I think, to us of The Pointe Church (TPC). This has to do with his warning to the church and especially its leaders. It is so significant that I will quote it at length (from the Holman Christian Standard Bible): Speaking to the elders,
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock [congregation], among whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And men from among yourselves will rise up with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears." (vvs. 28-31)
The reason that I feel a connection between the church at Ephesus and TPC is that both churches voluntarily put spiritual targets on their backs. What does this mean? At The Pointe we have recently embarked upon an exciting new strategic ministry plan, which, with God's blessings, will ignite a fire within our people and affect the community such that God's kingdom will grow and He will be greatly glorified.
This is exactly the kind of activity that draws Satan's attention and attacks.
Church, we have put ourselves directly into the line of fire of our adversary, the devil. Be sure, he is very, very unhappy with us and will not sit idly by while we unleash the power of the Gospel upon Cherokee County.
The purpose of this blog is simply to warn The Pointe Church that the spiritual attacks will surely come. It is also my purpose to proclaim that Satan need not have any success with his evil efforts.
It has often been stated that 'if the devil ain't after you then you need to be worried.' The corollary to this is 'if you're going through spiritual warfare then you must be doing something right.' Put simply, if we are serving and worshiping God in ways that are pleasing to Him, then the devil is going to try and stop us. One of my professors in seminary said that whenever God builds a church, the devil builds a chapel right next door. There's much truth in this.
People of TPC, when we decide to be obedient to The Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20), and to minister to 'the least of these' (Matt. 25:31-46), then Satan gets afraid and angry. You see, he already knows that he's defeated. Christ accomplished that at the cross. But he plans to go down fighting, taking as many with him as possible.
Before I go any further, let me be clear about one thing: Satan cannot cause you to lose your salvation and drag you to hell. A truly redeemed child of the living God is saved forever and nothing or no one can change that. Do not listen to those in and out of the church who teach the false doctrine of losing or renouncing one's salvation. It is a false gospel, from the pit of hell, and has kept many Christians in such spiritual bondage that they are, in effect, miserable and disarmed. So, when I say that Satan is on the attack against Christ's church collectively and us individually I do not mean that he is trying to take us to hell. I do mean that he will try to harm the church with any scheme that he can concoct, thereby neutralizing our witness, worship, and service.
In 1 John 4:4 we are taught that "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." In other words, by leaning on the power of God (the Holy Spirit) that resides inside of every believer, it is impossible for the devil to overcome us. Further instruction is given in James 4:7, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Clearly, God has bound Satan to the extent that he has no power over us that we don't allow to him.
There is a key to these two verses (and every other one in the Bible that teaches about spiritual victory) and that is the concept of dependence. What I mean is that we do not have the power to overcome demons all by ourselves. Forget the garbage you see in the movies. If you try to stand up to the devil and his imps all by yourself, without God, then woe unto you! These spiritual entities are real and much more powerful than we are. Dependence in this sense means simply that Christ does the fighting for us while we lean completely upon Him. Notice it says "he that is in you" and "submit yourselves therefore to God." One of the worst mistakes you can make in spiritual warfare is taking the second clause of James 4:7 without the first. For the devil to 'flee from you' you must be resisting him by first submitting to God. The two actions go together and must not be attempted separately.
Alright, what am I saying here? Should we be afraid? Should we reconsider our dedication to pursuing God's will? As Paul would say, "God forbid!" "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7) You see church, we have no real reason to fear our obedience to God, for He has given us the power -- the Holy Spirit -- to conquer when faced with spiritual attacks. Satan can hit us with anything he wants but he cannot overcome us unless we fail to fight with the power of God and try to beat him with our own efforts. This will require much prayer, Bible study, fasting, and fellowship, but it is possible to defeat the demonic forces that oppose us. God has promised it; so it must be true.
The warning for TPC is this. Get ready -- sometime in the next few days or weeks some attack will occur. Guaranteed. I can't say how it will develop but the possibilities are endless. It will probably start small. Someone's feelings will get hurt maybe. Or there will be a minor disagreement about some plan or policy. Whatever form the attack takes you can be assured of this: Satan will exploit it for all it's worth. Another thing that is pretty certain: church leadership will be the prime targets. No better way to bring down a church than to cause a pastor to fall.
As Paul told the Ephesian church elders, "Be on guard!" That's good advice for not just your pastors and other church leaders but for all who call The Pointe Church home. Let us all continually lean on the Lord, submitting to Him in every way, stay in the Scriptures, love one another solidly, and never give in to the temptations that constantly assault us. Remember: the devil is a defeated foe; let's keep reminding him of that.
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