You Just Started a War!

The very first words ever spoken to us as a new church were spoken by a man with more than 50 years of faithful service in the Lord’s work. We had all gathered in his home one evening to commission this new ministry, and we knew that his vast experience in church planting and missions work on numerous continents would provide us with some highly valuable insight as we prepared to take this huge step.

Looking back on that night, I’m honestly not sure exactly what everyone expected to hear, but I do know that what we did hear was not even close to what we were anticipating! I suppose in some innocent, naive way, most people expected him to pat us on the head and tell us how proud he was of us for starting a new church. After all, when you’re embarking on a brave new endeavor, it’s nice to hear words of affirmation. It tends to add credibility to what you’re doing. Well, we got a little more than we bargained for that night!

We all crammed into his tiny living room and jostled around to find a spot on the couch or the floor, or on one of the dining room chairs that had been brought in. There was excitement in the air. He waited until everyone had settled down and it was completely silent, making sure he had everyone’s undivided attention. And then he looked at us with incredible intensity in his eyes and said, “What I want to say to you tonight is…” and he paused. We leaned forward and thought, yes… what great thing do you want to tell us? He continued, “What I want to say to you tonight is… You just started a war!”

What?! What did he say?

I watched people glancing around the room as if to say, “Did we come to the right meeting?” It was priceless, and although we didn’t realize it then, it would turn out to be a defining moment for our church. He went on to share with us how our decision to step out and start a new church was nothing short of a declaration of war, and that our enemy would not take it lying down. He was speaking from decades of personal experience on the front lines of spiritual combat for the Lord, and his words have proven true in every conceivable way. We have faced tremendous spiritual warfare since starting LifePoint, both personally and corporately, but it has increased our faith and given us ample opportunities to see God’s power in action!

Last weekend I was reminded of his words once again as I faced what can only be described as the most intense spiritual warfare I have ever encountered in my life. Without going into all the details, let me just say that last Friday and Saturday were grueling. After facing the attacks of Satan all during the night Saturday night, I arrived at the church service Sunday morning exhausted after a night of no sleep. When I stood up before the church to bring the message, I stared at my notes knowing that I was simply too emotionally drained to teach. When we first started LifePoint, I made a promise to our folks that I would never teach from God’s Word if my heart wasn’t prepared. It’s too big of a responsibility to handle lightly. And now here I was faced with that very reality, and it was time to make a crucial decision. Would I move forward anyway and just “fake” it, or would I hold to my promise?

As I stood up there in silence, the Holy Spirit was speaking so clearly to me, saying, “Stop the service and call the church to pray!” I would be lying if I said I didn’t wrestle with that for a few moments, but I knew it’s what we had to do. I folded up my notes, told everyone I was struggling too much to teach, and I invited the entire church to a time of prayer. It was exactly what we needed. We took time out to pray for several needs, including one of our own sweet ladies who had just found out three days earlier that she has cancer. I’m glad I didn’t allow an “order of service” to keep me from canceling the sermon and doing what God prompted me to do, and I’m thankful for a church family who feel exactly the same way. That is a huge blessing!

It is very interesting timing that I faced those intense spiritual attacks when I did, especially considering what Satan was bombarding my mind with on Saturday night… telling me to just give up, quit the ministry and turn my back on it all. I had just finished meeting with two different pastors who were both considering leaving the ministry, and I was the one encouraging them to remain faithful. I had also just written a lengthy article about the alarmingly high statistics of pastors leaving the ministry, and I encouraged pastors in that article to keep a close watch over their life in several areas. And then, before I could turn around, Satan launched a brutal attack on me, trying to convince me to quit! That is no coincidence.

Let me tell you something. The Bible isn’t kidding when it says that our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He knows precisely when to attack. What better time to try and knock my feet out from under me — a pastor — than right after I had publicly written an article warning other pastors of the very same dangers? That would have been a tremendous black eye to the cause of Christ! But thank God that through the power of His Word, we are not left defenseless against Satan and his schemes! The Bible assures us that “greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

The words of warning we heard on that first night as a new church were spot on. We had, indeed, just started a war! Satan has been fighting the ministry of LifePoint Church non-stop. Makes you wonder why he would be going to such great lengths to stop this church! But I remember the very first thing Jesus said about the Church. In Matthew 16:18 he said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” With a Commander like Jesus, and an iron-clad guarantee like that, it is Satan who should be trembling in fear, not us! Whatever spiritual attacks may come into your life — and they will come; regardless of how brutally exhausting they may be, just cling to the truth that Satan is already a defeated foe, that he has absolutely no authority over your life since you are in Christ, and that in the end, we win!