As we move into this new year and launch another major expansion effort throughout the USA with our Ignite a Church Campaign 2010-2015, along with me moving into my new post March 1, 2010 as the District Executive Minister of Converge MidAmerica, it is always good to remember that with new things comes new attacks and counter-attacks from God's enemy.
Argentinean leader Ed Silvoso said, “The Church in the West today presents too easy a target for Satan. We do not believe we are at war. We do not know where the battleground is located, and, in spite of our weapons, they are neither loaded nor aimed at the right target. We are unaware of how vulnerable we are. We are better fitted for a parade that for an amphibious landing.”
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth, “…in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes” (II Corinthians 2:11). Paul, as a spiritual leader, acknowledges to this troubled church that he knows the plans, thoughts and cunning of the evil one. In the context of this verse he reveals that one of the tactics of the enemy is an unforgiving spirit which provides an entry point for the enemy's influence in the church's life. I also would suggest that in this statement he is presuming that we can know them (the enemy’s tactics) and not be outwitted by them for they are well documented throughout the pages of Scripture. Scripture reveals to us the reasons for Satan’s fall (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19); the tactics he used in his temptation of Adam & Eve (Genesis 3:1-10) and his devices to tempted our Savior (Matthew 4). We see throughout the pages of Scripture Satan’s defeat (Hebrews 2:12-14) and his ultimate demise (Revelation 20:10). Serious spiritual leaders should be fully aware of these counter-attacks on His leaders and His church. Ignorance of the enemy's tactics is one of the downfalls that many leaders face and ultimately leads to ones disengagement in God’s redemptive work in the world.
In Robert Clinton’s Commentary on 1 & 2 Corinthians: Problematic Apostolic Leadership, he writes several excellent articles on spiritual warfare. In one article entitled, “Spiritual Warfare—Satan’s Tactics” he offers a simple listing of times when Paul refers to Satan or the Devil and or demonic work. I have found these references very instructive and illuminating and they serve as the foundation of 14 devotional thoughts I am writing for spiritual leaders to increase our awareness of spiritual warfare.
Here are the 14 passages we will be examining:
My prayer is that we as a missional leaders will start off the New Year building up our spiritual muscles; refocusing our spiritual dependence and receiving God's spiritual discernment. Missional advancement always engages missional resistance (Matthew 16:18-19).
