Attacks of the Enemy

It is very interesting how our enemy Satan attacks. In this instance I mean attacks upon the church as a whole not Satan attacking us as individuals. In Acts 3 aand 4 Satan attacks the church from the outside. He brings persecution from those who are oppossed to the church. First this persecution comes upon the leadership of the church and when that is not effective, Satan brings persecution on the membership as a whole. This proved to be ineffective also. The enemy does not give up and so in Acts 4 he attacks from within. Satan uses part of the church to try and damage the whole church.

Satan has not changed his tactics. We see it today. The church is growing in places where it is being attacked from outside. In countries like China and Cuba where the government tries to control and limted what churches and Christians can do the church is growing. In American and Western Eurpoe where there is freedom to meet and evangelize the church is not growing nearly as fast and there are internal conflicts like: authority of Scripture, worship styles, and Bible translations.

I also see it on a more local and personal level. God is doing an awesomely cool work in our church. Sunday has become an amazing time to see God work in people's live and the repsonse among God's people to what He is saying and doing. It amazes me that in the very middle of God working we see Satan using people in the church to try and stop God. We have seen it in three ways.

One way is people not focusing on what God is doing, but on their on own selfish desires. This people will find a small petty thing and if it is not to thier liking try and casue a conflict over it. One of the biggest of this is worship style. In reality the worship style you use is to be pleasing not to us, but to the one you are worshiping. Our worship does not have to please us, but to please our audience of One - Jesus.

A second way we have seen internal problems is people getting angry at one another. This again is usually over very unimportant things. However, when there is disunity within the Body of Christ the Holy Spirit is grieved and hindered in His ability to work with His people.

The third way that Satan has attacked inwardly is by people attacking the spiritual leadership of the church. Spiritual leadership in the chruch should be held at very high level of accountablity . It should not be required to be perfect. When there is a concern on the part of an individual in the church about the leadership it should be in love taken to the leader face to face, not in gossip behind their back. Spiritual leadership should be repected, not followed blindly or in Biblical ignorance.  

For God to Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls of His church we must focus on what God is doing and let Him do it His way and not demand that He do it our way. We must be in unity, one heart and one mind. We must support the spiritual leadership that God has placed within the church. As we do that God will do awesome things in and through His church.

Joe