Spiritual Warfare - It's Role in Evangelism

Simply put, “Effective Evangelism is a spiritual battle” (Earley & Wheeler, 2010, p.157), in which we must view our efforts to reach the lost in light of the fact that we will face stiff opposition the moment we step out to share the good news. Satan realizes his efforts to strike a blow against God directly are utterly futile, yet he does recognize his one chance at disrupting the advancement of God’s kingdom. According to Dave Earley, “The only way to get at God is to attack those whom he loves, people. People are His weakness. … Satan knows this, so Satan attacks people. … We are the battleground.” (Earley & Wheeler, p.157)

When a lost person turns their heart over to the dominion and lordship of Jesus Christ many are told to assume that life will be all “fine and dandy.” Yet when we look at lives radically changed by Christ we see the case being quite the opposite. Look at the example of the apostle Paul, once enemy number one to the new Christian Church, when he attempts to send word to one of his church plants in Thessalonica he writes, “Therefore we wanted to come to you – even I, Paul, time and again – but Satan hindered us.” (1 Thess 2:18) Satan was on the offensive because Paul desired to continue his work in edifying the church he planted but Satan opposed him. Spiritual warfare won’t merely cease because you have converted to Christianity, it has always been with you or as Earley puts it, “Spiritual warfare begins at birth” (Earley & Wheeler, p.158) and will only intensify as you mature and intend to do more for the Kingdom of Heaven. Be on guard and fully equipped for every good work (cf. 2 Tim 3:17).

Discussing the wiles of the devil: “How do we fight spiritual warfare?”                                                            

            “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes.” (Eph 6:10-11, emphasis added)

            So what tactics or schemes does the enemy employ to knock us off course? According to Dave Early he utilizes four strategies. First the enemy attempts to accuse and condemn you. He will cast doubt and sling accusations our way in attempt to thwart our efforts at reaching the lost. He might whisper, “You can’t do it, no one will listen to you, … you aren’t good enough to share your faith.” (Earley & Wheeler, p.160) If you defeat the fiery darts of the wicked one (cf. Eph 6:16) he will still attempt to bring upon more assaults this time in the way of temptation. Satan wants to use our sin to keep us feeling guilty and ineffective for the gospel’s sake, this can happen if we allow the temptations he hurls our to overtake us and knock us down. Next the devil will use deception, “…with the goal of putting us in bondage.” (Earley & Wheeler, p.160) He will attempt to deceive us into believing any number of the following, “Those people don’t need God. …There is plenty of time to do evangelism later. If you tell them about Jesus, they will never talk to you again. People will think you are some religious nut.” (Earley & Wheeler, p.160) All of this in a vain attempt by Satan to cause us to become inactive in sharing the gospel. Finally, Satan will attempt to distract us, particularly with the cares of this world. Anything that gets our focus off the eternal mission of evangelism is a small victory for Satan and he will use anything to us to stop doing the Lord’s work.

            So how do we fight spiritual warfare? Again its a simple formula, first be girded with truth (cf. Eph 6:14) which comes from a knowledge of God and confidence in His truths and words. The Holy Spirit is key to this confidence and will act as our radar system to the truth-value of a claim made by the enemy. After we have been covered with truth we can utilize our strongest, “secret Christian weapon”. R.A. Torrey, the late 19^th and early 20^th century author and evangelist, put it this way, “The reason many fail in battle is because they wait until the hour of battle. The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came … anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees before the temptation comes, and you will always have victory.” Prayer is the greatest weapon we have in our attempt to defeat the wiles of the devil and it is our most assured victory for through prayers we call down the armies of Heaven to do battle on our behalf. Victory over spiritual warfare is ours when we first drop to our knees.

References:

Earley, D, & Wheeler, D. (2010). Evangelism is: How to share jesus with passion and confidence. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic Publishing Group.

Ministry, it comes in various forms

This past weekend I was privileged lead in the High School Ministries annual trip to Hume Lake Christian Camps. What an amazing time of fellowship, worship and spiritual refueling. I was so impressed with the level of deep conviction on the students hearts this time around and the guys really took the call to "take care of some business with God" seriously. They all met together and shared how they had been impacted by the message from the speaker Jerrod Rumley (Pastor of The Well Clovis Campus) and how they were going to help one another overcome some serious areas of besetting sin. What I realized on this trip inspired my mind to write briefly about ministry.

Sure Hume Lake is a great place to visit, with is pristine views and awesome staff. Sure the music from Christian artist Brenton Brown was outstanding, but what else was going on there that had just as much importance if not more?

Ministry was happening.

It wasn't always the hit you in the face ministry you might think of sitting in a church service on a Sunday morning when the pastor is giving a message, this was the day in day out ministry of disciples of Jesus Christ.

From students providing a shoulder to cry on for another, to Youth Pastors and leaders praying for and speaking with students who had deep questions about their lives, to the kitchen staff cooking meals, to the red coats supervising and growing relationship with students from every church, ministry was happening. Ministry takes forms in many different ways. It is simple really and can/should be a part of your daily life.

In whatever you do you can have a goal for ministry and evangelism. While driving down the freeway you can pray for the cars passing by, particularly the ones swerving all over the road, this can be a ministry. You can open the doors for people entering stores and wish them a blessed day, this can be a ministry. You can keep extra waters and fruit in your car and when you see a homeless person, instead of giving money you can give life providing food and water, this too can be a ministry.

You don't have to be seminary trained or an elder in the church to serve in ministry somewhere. Be creative, be genuine and always be about God's purpose to minister to a lost and fallen world. There is no telling what impact your ministry will have on this world when you faithful live out your convictions from the Holy Spirit. However, I can promise you this if you fail to make any effort at all your impact on the world will be zero. Let that not be our claim as Christians. Step up and step out in minstry to provide that life giving bread and water that is the Word of God through Christ Jesus.

Go make a difference today!

What is Evangelism?

What do you think of when you hear the word "Evangelism"? Do you think of the guy holding the "Trust Jesus" sign at sporting events or high school graduations? Do you think of the guy yelling curses to all apostates and sinners from the top of a soap box on the street corner?

If you do let me say read on a bit because I hope to help change your perspective on what Evangelism is all about.

Those who had the memories of the type above will be happy to know that most of Christianity doesn't see evangelizing the world in quite the same manner. Now you might be thinking well I don't know of any other forms of evangelism and you sadly might be right. You haven't likely seen a true Evangelist do his or her thing because either one it was very subtle or as is the case for the other part no Christian has taken the chance to share the Gospel of Christ with you.

So what exactly is evangelism supposed to look like? Well first before answering that let me say that to those who are Christians we need to take more seriously the words of Jesus in the 28th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew when He says,

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

These words weren't merely a friendly suggestion of the type of things we should be doing but its okay that were not doing it. These were more than suggestions or options for the Christian, these were plain and simply Commands from our Savior and we would be wise to heed the command of Him who knows best how to reach a people in desperate need of His saving grace.

So now that we know that its a command, what does this look like? Well quite simply put, Evangelism is about relationships. If I asked you the question, "Would you marry someone you just met that sat down next to you at Starbucks?" how would you respond? Most sane people would respond with a resounding "No". What if I asked, "Would you marry that same person you met at Starbucks and had a conversation with for 30 minutes?" how then would you respond? Probably in the same way. Marriage is a serious commitment. What if I asked you, "Would you respond to an invitation to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior from a complete stranger, someone you have never had any dialogue with, and not to mention you don't even know who Jesus is besides a cuss word." How would you then respond?

Remember when Evangelizing its about building a relationship. The mission of Evangelism is certainly spreading the word and helping to "convert sinners into winners" eternally but can this be done by force or by a one-time conversation from a stranger? Not likely and if you think of your own experience with coming to a saving knowledge of Christ, you likely didn't do so after one experience. It may have been that one experience that started you off on a step by step path to discovering the truth of the Gospel but it was just one step in many that led to true conversion. If someone is closer to a decision for Christ then perhaps you can be the one to pray with them and witness their conversion but it would not have been without the hard work of others gone before you. 

Also, be prepared to become a guide for the person seeking Christ. Be open about your faith but give room for the person to doubt, question and research the things that don't sit easy with them. Remember, a relationship with Christ is like a marriage and if that is the picture we get then certainly it is a good thing that much thought and study go into making a decision to follow Christ. This is why many people, not just Pastors get to witness conversions. Any who labor for the Gospel will have their part, whether emotionally, prayerfully or intellectually, in the conversion story, none is more important than the other. The important thing is to focus on the task of reaching and reasoning with the unbeliever and being relational with them. It is hopefully through this process (which takes years sometimes) that we can see souls won for Christ.

So in closing, when Evangelizing to the world (a clear command from scripture) keep in mind that you don't have to get a prayer, or a conversion every time you talk with someone. Its not our job to do the saving, that's God's work but we would be wise to take a tip from Paul in regards to Evangelism when he said,

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow."

1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV

Be about the job of planting and watering the seeds of the Gospel and if you are faithful to the work you will see God make these seeds grow.