A Pastoral Plea For The Sermon Campaign
A Pastoral Plea For The Sermon Campaign
For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
Acts 20:27
I am writing just several days removed from the start of our latest campaign, A Field Guide to the Wiles of the Devil. Certainly, we are embarking on unfamiliar and uncomfortable terrain. Nonetheless, I cannot shrink back from preaching the whole counsel of God [Acts 20:27]. The Christian Life is one of war. We are engaged in spiritual conflict. A Christian faces imminent danger on both the inside and the outside. Paul warned the church of Ephesus about the outside threat, the Devil [Ephesians 6:11]. I hope the first sermon has created an awareness of this very fact. We have an enemy who employs a number of devices to lure us into sin and to render us ineffective and unfruitful in the chief end to glorify God and make disciples of all people. In the same posture as Paul, I’d like to urge you and make a plea with you for the duration of the sermon campaign.
Plea One
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves (the devils) are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
Heed Lewis’s Warning. On Sunday, I quoted from C.S Lewis’s book The Screwtape Letters. He mentions there are two equal and opposite errors regarding the Devil: disbelief in His existence or an over infatuation. Give this some thought: Which error defines you best? Which perspective best describes you?
Plea Two
Wretched man that I am!
Romans 7:24
Don’t Believe The Devil is Under Every Rock. What do I mean by this? There’s a tendency and temptation to assign blame to the Devil for every sinful and wicked thing in our lives while simultaneously abdicating our personal responsibility for our sins of omission and commission. This easily could be classified as one of the schemes of the Devil. The Devil wants to lure us into sin. He will bait the hook, but if you choose to take the bait, then it’s you who have sinned. My plea is we all would understand our wretchedness [Romans 7:24]. Each of our lives are fertile for sin and the Devil knows this. He will create the temptation, but it’s us who choose to sin.
Plea Three
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Ephesians 6:10
Read & Memorize Ephesians 6:10-20. Reading and memorizing the Scripture isn’t for the spiritual elite, but the spiritually weak. One of the great tragedies among Christians is their failure to consistently read and memorize Scripture. I’d like to say a great deal on this matter, yet I will refrain and save that for another time. There are only two things that I need you to hear. Firstly, a Christian who fails to engage the mind and heart with the Scriptures is an expression of pride. We can’t live without the Word of God. In this spiritual battle, I’m even more aware of it. Secondly, and most importantly, Jesus depended on the Scriptures to stand against the wiles of the Devil [Matthew 4:1-11]. If this is what Jesus did, surely it’s the manner of life worth mimicking in the spiritual battle. My plea is this: read and memorize Ephesians 6:10-20 everyday until the end of the campaign. Read it personally, with your spouse, family, and Doxa Community. Invite others to memorize this passage with you. We have created some wallpapers of the text for your phone to help keep the Scriptures before you.
Plea Four
Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
Ephesians 6:18
Pray. For many of you, that’s easy, however for some it’s very hard. This provides a perfect opportunity to serve each other. Those who are strong in prayer can help those who are weak. Praying with fellow saints is an untapped wellspring of grace. Let’s join our voices together and approach the ear of God. What are we praying? What are we saying to God? Praying the 10 Year Prayer and Petitions introduced during the Forging Faithfulness Campaign is engaging in the Spiritual War. That bookmark isn’t a "one and done" for us. The very things mentioned on the front and back of it are the very things that put us smack dab in a spiritual battle. Satan doesn’t want us to take any inches from him, especially the very most important inches; the human heart. The message of the Gospel that our church proclaims liberates human beings and transfers them from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of the blessed Son [Colossians 1:13-14]. We must pray, because it’s a testimony of our weakness and need for the strength of His might [Ephesians 6:10].
I’m eager and expectant to see God work through our obedience to fill inches of the community with His glory by helping others behold, obey, and be transformed by the Gospel. Brothers and sisters, our callings as a church plant puts us right in the middle of the war. May we not operate as Christian civilians, but rather as soldiers. Soldiers who draw upon the divine provision of God’s strength and put on His proven armor for the praise of His glorious grace.
Soli Deo Gloria,
PJL
