Spiritual Warfare and Missions
Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer have come out with an outstanding book called "Spiritual Warfare and Missions". This book fills a real need in the Missions community. It is published by B&H BOOKS and is a sequel to "Spiritual Warfare" by Rankin. Rankin's first book on this subject is an outstanding look at the warfare of every believer, filled with examples from the mission field. In this new book, Rankin and Stetzer are focusing on the areas of warfare that are specifically related to Missions. They identify 8 strategies of Satan to undermine the World Mission enterprise.
1. Keep Nations Closed to the Gospel
2. Keep People Groups Hidden from Our Awareness
3. Persecution of Believers and the Church
4. Convince Christians Missions Is Optional
5. Erode the Authority of God's Word
6. Distort the Call of God
7. Erode the Faith of God's People
8. Destroy the Spiritual Vitality of the Church
I am still reading this book and am being enlightened and inspired by it.
Interesting enough, Spiritual Warfare is actually one of the critical elements of CPM, and it is one that I have written about before. It is number 20 in the list of 21 that I shared in the March 4 blog. It is a critical element that we don't have to pursue (along with number 15, Persecution). The enemy is more than happy to provide all CPM projects with critical elements number 15 and 20. We intentionally pursue the other 19 elements. Our job with these two is simply to be prepared and to respond appropriately when we do encounter Persecution and Spiritual Warfare. But that is the point, we must be prepared and know how to handle those times.
For most of my Christian life (including the majority of my 27 years of full time ministry)I have functioned out of a default attitude of considering Spiritual Warfare to be something strange and that I did not understand. It seemed to me that the Devil was a terrorist who attacked randomly. Although it does seem that way sometimes, the truth is that the enemy of God is operating according to his own strategy.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2: 11-"so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his intentions."
His intentions! Satan has intentions! That word makes me think of a plan or a strategy. And that strategy is an opposition to God's plan and intentions. To fail to understand God's Purpose and Mission is to fail also to understand the Devil's strategy. In a strange sense, God and the Devil are on the same page. And Christians who are clueless about God's purpose are almost always clueless about the Devil's strategy....and flabbergasted at his tactics and his merciless hatred.
In the Liberal churches the enemy has caused people to think he is a myth.
In the Conservative churches the enemy has caused people to think he is real, but on the other side of the world.
In the more Charismatic churches or churches that have experience with deliverance he tends to seem spooky and random. But even most of them have little understanding of his "intentions".
In my own experience, I was well versed in spiritual warfare I thought. And then in the year 2000 our ministry began to intentionally train church planters and began a program that resulted by the end of 2008 with the planting of 212 churches. It was in that very year that we began that I found out more about Spiritual Warfare than I ever wanted to. Over the next several years I experienced warfare on the level that I really did not know that the Lord would allow! And I was almost disillusioned about it. I must say that meeting CPM leaders from 2005 onward and hearing some of their stories of warfare was a real encouragement.
Revelation 12: 12 says that when the enemy sees that he has only a short time left to work, his fury will be great. I think we are in those days now as the mission of God is increasing and filling the earth.
In light of the time in which we are living and in light of the mission with which we have been entrusted, let's be prepared for the Warfare that will be faced. How can we be prepared? Here are a few suggestions:
1. Get serious about the authority of the Word of God and dependence on the Holy Spirit. This is no time for "sin management", but rather it is time for Obedience based discipleship.
2. Let our priority be on God's Mission. Matthew 24:14 will come to pass and it is God's agenda on earth today. It is also that which the enemy is fighting. Let's not be ignorant of his intentions.
3. Put on God's armor (Ephesians 6). In Rankin's first book on this subject, he gives a new perspective on this that Christ Himself is the Armor....focus on Christ and your position in Him.
One thing for certain, God's side is the winning side. The last chapter's of the book of Revelation make it clear that:
GOD IS EXALTED
SATAN IS DEFEATED
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
1. Keep Nations Closed to the Gospel
2. Keep People Groups Hidden from Our Awareness
3. Persecution of Believers and the Church
4. Convince Christians Missions Is Optional
5. Erode the Authority of God's Word
6. Distort the Call of God
7. Erode the Faith of God's People
8. Destroy the Spiritual Vitality of the Church
I am still reading this book and am being enlightened and inspired by it.
Interesting enough, Spiritual Warfare is actually one of the critical elements of CPM, and it is one that I have written about before. It is number 20 in the list of 21 that I shared in the March 4 blog. It is a critical element that we don't have to pursue (along with number 15, Persecution). The enemy is more than happy to provide all CPM projects with critical elements number 15 and 20. We intentionally pursue the other 19 elements. Our job with these two is simply to be prepared and to respond appropriately when we do encounter Persecution and Spiritual Warfare. But that is the point, we must be prepared and know how to handle those times.
For most of my Christian life (including the majority of my 27 years of full time ministry)I have functioned out of a default attitude of considering Spiritual Warfare to be something strange and that I did not understand. It seemed to me that the Devil was a terrorist who attacked randomly. Although it does seem that way sometimes, the truth is that the enemy of God is operating according to his own strategy.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2: 11-"so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his intentions."
His intentions! Satan has intentions! That word makes me think of a plan or a strategy. And that strategy is an opposition to God's plan and intentions. To fail to understand God's Purpose and Mission is to fail also to understand the Devil's strategy. In a strange sense, God and the Devil are on the same page. And Christians who are clueless about God's purpose are almost always clueless about the Devil's strategy....and flabbergasted at his tactics and his merciless hatred.
In the Liberal churches the enemy has caused people to think he is a myth.
In the Conservative churches the enemy has caused people to think he is real, but on the other side of the world.
In the more Charismatic churches or churches that have experience with deliverance he tends to seem spooky and random. But even most of them have little understanding of his "intentions".
In my own experience, I was well versed in spiritual warfare I thought. And then in the year 2000 our ministry began to intentionally train church planters and began a program that resulted by the end of 2008 with the planting of 212 churches. It was in that very year that we began that I found out more about Spiritual Warfare than I ever wanted to. Over the next several years I experienced warfare on the level that I really did not know that the Lord would allow! And I was almost disillusioned about it. I must say that meeting CPM leaders from 2005 onward and hearing some of their stories of warfare was a real encouragement.
Revelation 12: 12 says that when the enemy sees that he has only a short time left to work, his fury will be great. I think we are in those days now as the mission of God is increasing and filling the earth.
In light of the time in which we are living and in light of the mission with which we have been entrusted, let's be prepared for the Warfare that will be faced. How can we be prepared? Here are a few suggestions:
1. Get serious about the authority of the Word of God and dependence on the Holy Spirit. This is no time for "sin management", but rather it is time for Obedience based discipleship.
2. Let our priority be on God's Mission. Matthew 24:14 will come to pass and it is God's agenda on earth today. It is also that which the enemy is fighting. Let's not be ignorant of his intentions.
3. Put on God's armor (Ephesians 6). In Rankin's first book on this subject, he gives a new perspective on this that Christ Himself is the Armor....focus on Christ and your position in Him.
One thing for certain, God's side is the winning side. The last chapter's of the book of Revelation make it clear that:
GOD IS EXALTED
SATAN IS DEFEATED
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
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