Spiritual Warfare

7 Defining Moments in Your Sermon Preparation – Part Three

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Defining moments are pivotal decisions that will impact the essential nature of your sermon. So far we have thought about getting started, and about the move from passage to message. Now let’s add a couple of unplanned moments that tend to show up quite often in the process:

5. The moment of breaking through a log jam.  Most messages are not a smooth journey from passage selection, through each sequential step, to a pulpit-ready sermon.  Somewhere along the way, there tends to be a log jam and we get stuck.  It could be the wording of the main idea.  It might be a needed illustration.  Or perhaps the sermon is ready, but the introduction feels bland and in need of a major overhaul.  Sometimes the whole thing might feel okay, but flat.  You are stuck and you feel it.  What can you do?  Sometimes the jam is the necessary reminder to really pray about the message – wrestling with God for some kind of breakthrough.  Sometimes the jam needs to break you free of your computer – stand and preach it out loud, then when it seems to flow better, go back and try to capture what you said into your outline.  Sometimes the jam will break only after you take a break – pray about it and leave the preparation for a walk, a night’s sleep, or a conversation with someone else.  I suspect new preachers will know the panic a log jam can create in your heart.  And I suspect that seasoned preachers will know how often a log jam occurs in the preparation process, and then proves to be a defining moment.

6. The interruption or even, the attack.  Maybe you have a nice predictable rhythm.  Perhaps you start preparing on a certain day, then take X number of sessions to study the passage, move on to shape the message on another day, and then have X number of hours to complete the message.  It may be nicely and neatly regimented by years of practice.  But then there is the interruption.  It is almost predictable.  The washing machine breaks, the family member’s computer goes down, the phone call from the congregant in a crisis, the thing that demands several hours that you do not have to spare.  It happens.  If it happens so often that you feel under-prepared every time, perhaps you need to review your standard plan for sermon preparation.  Perhaps it is time to lift some stress and get further into the process sooner in the week.  At the same time, it is good to recognize that God has used many sermons that felt under-prepared from the preacher’s perspective.  Sometimes the interruption, or even spiritual attack, is the necessary mechanism to push our dependence back onto God, where it belongs.

Do you experience variations of the log jam and the interruption? How often?

Is Our View of Satan Too Small?

/ Peter Mead / 6 Comments

I have noticed something strange.  Many Christians will acknowledge the existence and the general agenda of Satan.  They will affirm that he is alive and active on planet Earth.  Yes, they recognize that he hates God and God’s people.  Yes, he hates truth and wants to steal, kill and destroy.  Yes, he wants to tempt us into rebellion, crush us under guilt, and destroy all that is good, beautiful and anything that has even the faintest reflection of God’s character. 

And yet, oddly, as quickly as those affirmations are made, that awareness seems to evaporate just as quickly.  For many Christians, the devil appears to be a very limited antagonist.  He might get some vague credit (for want of a better term) for any temptation we consciously notice. Still, he gets specific credit for very little activity. 

For example, suppose the subject of the occult is raised with the related concepts of devil worship, seances, fortune telling, etc. Many will shudder and point to the enemy’s works in that case.  But is that the whole story?  Is Satan just tempting us as individuals and running a relatively obscure dark religious operation? 

Let’s take a few moments to review some essential biblical background. 

Origins of Satan – The name Satan means adversary and came to be applied to the greatest adversary of all – the devil.  It is a well-earned label!

What we know of his origins is described primarily in Ezekiel 28:11-19, where it is clear that prideful arrogance was the key driver of his original fall from perfection.  Since his fall, his primary domain has been Earth and Sheol.  We see him cursed by God in Genesis 3 – the one whose goal was to be the most high became the most low, eating dirt close to the underworld.

Influence in the world – The big question in this post essentially relates to his influence.  According to 1 John 5:19, the whole world is under the control of the evil one.  He is called the ‘prince of this world’ on several occasions (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).  He influences through lies, especially the original lie that we humans can be like God, and he masquerades as an angel of light, deceiving people (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:14).  There are plenty of people whose spiritual father is the devil, and it is possible to identify them by their actions and their lack of love (John 8:44; Matthew 13:36-40; Acts 13:10; Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 3:10)

Influence over nations – He rules the nations and tried to strike a deal with Jesus in exchange for Jesus bowing down to him. Still, Jesus did not affirm his ultimate ownership of the nations and did not bow down.  Jesus knew and trusted that, at the right time, the Father would give the nations to him.  (See Matthew 4:10.)  Jesus confronted the power of evil by casting out demons from people. It is evident that Satan commands the realms of darkness (see 1 John 3:8).  What Jesus began in his ministry, he is continuing – building his church and the “gates of hell” continue to be unable to resist the onslaught.  Satan is on the defensive. 

Influence in the Church – Paul wrote to the Romans, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20). Yet, it would be naïve to assume that Satan does not influence the church.  While our minds might go to Judas Iscariot, whom Satan influenced (John 13:2) and then entered (John 13:27), we do not need to live in fear of being taken over by the evil one.  We belong to God, who is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4).  However, we should recognize that discord, anger, unforgiveness and resentment can provide an opportunity to the devil, and we should actively resist him (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9).

Our hope as the spiritual war rages – Because of Jesus’ victory over the rulers and authorities on the cross (see Colossians 2:13-15), Satan’s power of death is now broken (see Hebrews 2:14-15).  We now know that death is swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54).  And yet, the one who comes only to steal and kill and destroy does not give up easily (John 10:10).  His ultimate downfall is already determined; he will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).  In the meantime, he fights on.  Indeed, as his time gets short, we might expect him to offer a big final push, but we know the end of the story.

The hole in our spiritual warfare – So, what is missing in our understanding of the spiritual battle that we are in?  Satan exists and is active on earth.  Yes, he does tempt us and would delight to see us derailed by sin and defiled by discord.  And yes, the occult does exist, and some people are drawn into religious acts of pure evil.  But at the start of this post, I suggested our view of Satan may be too small.  Is Satan just tempting us as individuals and running a relatively obscure dark religious operation? 

To be candid, I have been struck by how much we are inclined to bury our heads in the sand regarding evil in this world. “Oh yes,” people will affirm, “Satan is real, and we are in a spiritual battle.” But mention some specific aspects of society and watch the response change:

Could there be evil at work in news reporting designed to shape our thinking? “No way, we can trust the news media.” 

Might the enemy be shaping education to harm children?

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

What about medical professionals who seem driven by something other than ‘first do no harm?’

“Of course not! The doctors I know are good people.”  

What about government decisions that seem to benefit them but harm people and cost lives?

“Absolutely not!  They have our best interests at heart.” 

What about unelected and unaccountable groups of the hyper-rich and influential seeking to gain control over ordinary people?

“If such groups exist, then I’m sure they mean well.”

What about influential people who have publicly declared the global population needs to be reduced by whatever means?

“Of course not; they only want to help the poor!”

What about the entertainment industry that so fills our consciousness?

“Oh, but I like him, she’s my favourite, etc.”

It does not mean much to acknowledge that Satan is real and active if we then immediately deny that he could be at work in almost every layer of human authority and influence.  And I would suggest we are utterly naïve if we don’t believe that the prevailing paradigm of our day, with its “lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God”, is influenced by Satan.  (See 2 Corinthians 10:3-6) 

In the past, Christians seemed ready to recognize the malevolence of hedonism or materialism as it confronted our worldview in the so-called “Christian West” or the evils of totalitarian regimes in the East.  But today, too many Christians seem happy to play along with and believe the best about media-driven narratives concerning identity politics, critical theories, social justice, weather worship, globalist agendas, neo-communist ideologies, uncontrolled immigration and encroaching violent religion.  Are we sure that we should ‘believe the best’ and ‘affirm the good’ in all the ideas swirling around and in all the layers of authority setting themselves up over us?

Perhaps it is time for us to fix our eyes on Jesus and recognize that we are genuine outsiders in this world and that we will be hated by it. And yet we are here as ambassadors to represent God’s truth, to share the hope of Jesus, to stand for what is right and to not love our lives even unto death. Let’s stop smiling at the devil as if he is an insignificant foe.  Let us instead armour up, stand firm, be ready to speak, be prayerful as if we are in a war (for we are), and when we have done everything we can, to stand.

(HT – https://www.logos.com/grow/satan-in-the-bible/ )

Spiritual Warfare and Pulpit Ministry

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Spiritual warfare is a subject that stirs opposite responses. At one extreme we can become paranoid and give Satan credit for every little difficulty, whether the forces of evil were involved or not. At the other extreme we can easily become complacent and act as if the enemy is impotent around someone such as me. Both extremes are unhelpful.

If there is any arena in which spiritual warfare may be a factor, surely it will be in relation to pulpit ministry. The enemy would love to disrupt or damage the proclamation of God’s Word, the presentation of the Gospel, or the encouragement of believers. The worship of God really does get under the enemy’s skin.

So what tactics does the enemy use against us preachers? Here are a few to prayerfully consider:

  1. Pride. Visible, respected, influential . . . pride is an ever present trap for the preacher. Without fanfare it slips in, we start to believe our self-fanfare and before you know it, we live with a painful lack of dependency on God.
  2. Temptation. During preparation, perhaps during interactions at church, perhaps the day after. Waves of temptation can feel relentless. Pride, lust, anger, discouragement, etc.
  3. Distraction. Not every interruption is an overt spiritual attack, but it is amazing how often we can face a pastoral or family crisis at the most inopportune moment.
  4. Accusations. It doesn’t take much in the way of accusation or lies from the enemy to wear down our heaven-high prayers and lofty ambitions for a sermon.

What attacks do you recognize to be spiritual in nature? When do you often feel attacked?

Pre-Preaching Fears

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

New preachers my have fears concerning speaking to a crowd of listeners and similar nerves.  Those of us that have preached for a while don’t tend to have nervousness to the same extent in those areas, but that doesn’t mean there are no fears.  Here are some fears that may have risen in your heart in the lead up to today’s message:

Content Fears. What if I got it wrong?  What if I’ve missed the point?  Am I going to say something that is actually heretical?  Is this message simply too simple?  This can lead into…

Passage Fears. Should I switch passage?  The meeting is in a few hours, should I switch now?  The meeting is in a few minutes, should I switch now?

Listener Fears. He or she will be listening, what will they think?  What if so and so doesn’t approve?  I shouldn’t be the one preaching.

Personal Fears. Who am I to preach this?  Has this really been applied to me first?  Why do I suddenly feel so inadequate?

These and many more fears can creep up on a preacher before any or every message.  Pray about the fears, bring them to God.  Fear and faith fight a battle within.  Faith doesn’t require the total absence of fear, but they don’t cohabit well.  Allow fear to push your gaze back onto the Lord.  Consider whether this fear should be simply resisted and dismissed, or written down to be addressed later in more extended prayer.  Briefly consider whether change is needed to the message, but don’t undermine hours of prayerful work because of fear.

Perhaps as you shift your gaze back onto the Lord you will find renewed motivation to preach this message exactly as it is.  After all, if the fears are coming from a source beyond yourself, it is worth considering the motivation.  Perhaps there is fear of what your message might do, the light it might shine into darkness?

You’ve prayerfully prepared?  Step forward relying fully on Him, preach His Word.  Preach in the mighty strength of your own weakness – a contradictory paradox, unless, of course, we do not go to the pulpit alone!

The Discouraged Preacher – Part 4

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

We have looked at feedback, both immediate and long-term.  We have considered ministry drain and unhelpful comparisons.  Here are three more sources of discouragement:

8. Lack of Dream Schedule. Many preachers wish they had a better preparation schedule.  Many preachers work another job through the week and are restricted to time grabbed in the early morning, late at night, minutes snatched here and there.  If only I had more time to fully prepare!  But then “full-time” preachers have their time restricted too: pastoral emergencies, family crises, hospital visits, counseling appointments, committee meetings, etc.  We can all plan our schedule, and perhaps many of us could plan a little bit better than we do, but some things will mess with the best of plans.  Consider starting preparation earlier, tweak your time management skills, but remember that we preach to people in a less than ideal world.  We preach from experience, for our preparation is done in a less than ideal world too!

9. Spiritual Attack. We can’t blame the enemy for everything, but it would be naïve to not recognize a spiritual warfare element in any ministry.  The enemy would much rather have a discouraged preacher than a faith-filled, praying, passionate preacher!  Surely every category should drive us to prayer, but surely this one calls us to our knees so that we can stand firm and resist the devil.

10. Non-Preaching Issues. Perhaps work is tough, parenting is a struggle, marriage is tense, other ministry is hurting, health issues have emerged.  Non-preaching issues may improve your preaching in terms of empathy, relevance, vulnerability etc.  But non-preaching issues may add to discouragement in preaching – a time when you give of yourself and personal vulnerability comes to the surface.

Another post to come . . . all in honor of the discouraged preacher.