SATAN’S AGENDA FOR THE HOME

The Bible makes it very clear that the believer’s life here on earth is a battlefield. We are at war, and our enemy, the devil, is a formidable foe. What makes him formidable is the fact that he is a master strategist. He has a clear and specific plan for the church, the home and the individual Christian. It is therefore imperative that the Christian home be aware of the schemes of Satan in order for them to stand against his fiery darts.  Having highlighted Satan’s agenda for the church last week, we now look at what the Bible says is his agenda for the home.

1.                  To usurp the husband’s leadership in the home- Genesis 3:6

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

2.                  To prompt adultery in the home- 1 Corinthians  7:3-5

The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

3.                  To promote sibling rivalry in the home- 1 John 3:11

For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.

There is more that can be said as to what Satan’s agenda is for the home (i.e. misplaced values, disregard for the Bible, etc.). However, the ones listed here are merely representative. The goal here is to awaken us to the reality of the battle we have in the Christian home. We have to be vigilant and diligent in ensuring that our homes are embassies for the kingdom of God. Fathers have to be spiritual leaders and disciple their wives and children. Mothers have to be godly dispensers of God’s truth, and the children have to be obedient and seek to live out the truth of God’s Word. The Christian home should be a place where the Word of God is taught, lived out and proclaimed to the unbelieving world in order that Christian homes may withstand the strategic and deliberate plans of the evil one.

SATAN’S AGENDA FOR THE CHURCH

I am currently attending classes on expository preaching, and in one of the lectures Mike Fabrez challenged us to prepare and preach with expectations and to remember that Satan is a foe who has an agenda for the church, the family, and individual believers. This reality should fuel prayer in preaching. This tremendously challenged my perspective, and I thought I should share the truths I learned in my next three blogs. So, what is Satan’s agenda for the church? 

1.                  To persecute the church

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. Revelation 2:10

2.                  To keep the church apart

But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 1 Thessalonians 2: 17-18

3.                  To promote conflict in the church

Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:23-26

4.                  To oppose the church’s evangelism

But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Acts 26:6-18

5.                  To get people to leave the church

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:1-3

In view of Satan’s agenda for the church, preachers must heed Paul’s solemn charge to the young preacher Timothy—to preach the word and not relent from doing so at any time. The congregation must be devoted to praying for the preacher and the preaching of God’s Word. Furthermore, congregations must demand that the preacher preach the Word so that they can be equipped to submit to God and resist the devil.

It is instructive that Paul says to the Ephesians believers that when members are equipped, they do the work of ministry and the church is built up and is able to withstand the fiery darts of the devil (Ephesians 6:12-16).

The types of members that build up the church

Studying through the book of Ephesians gives you a fresh view of the church: a diverse group of people who have been radically transformed from their sinful nature by the power of God through the person and work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary where he paid for the sins of the world as a substitute sacrifice. These diverse people who have no reason to live and work together, let alone care for each other, choose to live in love and unity in the church to the praise and glory of the Lord’s name. This is powerful and attractive when it is lived out in a local church. This therefore means that every member has to be devoted to building others up. Previously, I discussed the five types of member that do not build up the church. Today I would like to discuss six types of members that build up the church.

The attending member

Attending is the most basic way members build each other up. It is also the most obvious way one shows commitment to the body just like class attendance is the easiest way a student shows that he is serious about class and studies. There is something encouraging about knowing a brother or sister is going to be present at a church service, and you are going to worship God together. The writer of Hebrews tells the believers to “stimulate one another in love and good deeds” and to “encourage one another,” and the way they are to do this by “not forsaking the assembling of the believers.” (Heb 10:23-25). You cannot build others up if you are not meeting with them regularly and faithfully. It is therefore no wonder that those who are regularly absent from church meetings are often stagnate in their faith and become complaining and grumbling members. Dear Church Member—church meetings are not about you or your convenience. Build others up by faithfully attending church meetings.

The encouraging member

“Encouragement is shared with the hopes that it will lift someone’s heart toward the Lord (Col. 4:8). It points out evidences of grace in another’s life to help them see that God is using them. It points a person to God’s promises that assures them that all they face is under his control.”[1]

The encouraging member commends, recommends, praises, thanks, comforts, urges, supports and complements other members. We often think of encouraging as merely giving praise, like a spectator in the terraces. However, biblical encouragement is more than that; it is a fellow teammate urging you on in a play to either put on a defense against an opponent or take them on in attack. And encouraging is not flattery. It is not just being nice and telling people what they want to hear; rather, it is honest and sincere. It will commend those who serve well, and yet it will also urge those who are struggling in their walk with the Lord. Such kind of member is a great blessing to the body; strive to be one.

The confronting member

As we live together as a body, we will soon discover that we are sinful people. We will sin against each other, and we will struggle personally with sin. The sin will pose a challenge to the unity of the church and the glory of God. This therefore requires members to confront one another in love and with gentleness. The confronting member is the opposite of a gossiper and slanderer. They obey the charge of Scripture to confront and restore people who are living in sin (Matt. 18:15-18, Gal. 6:1-2). What motivates the confronting member is not just that someone’s sin has offended but that the Lord is offended by sin. They confront out of love for God and other believers.

The praying member

I have always been struck by Samuel’s statement to David when he said, “far be it from me that I may sin against you by not praying for you” (1 Sam. 12:23). We have a responsibility to pray for each other. The spiritual and godly member is devoted to prayer. They have learned to depend on God so they highly value prayer. The praying member learns to talk less to people and more to God about people. The praying members are the unsung heroes of churches. If prayer is what drives the church, then the praying member is essential to the health and growth of the church.

The serving member

Attending is good and important, but members should do more than just attend. They should serve. They do the work of ministry. They use their gifts to serve God and serve other members. They build up the church with their gifts and talents. There is great encouragement that comes from knowing you are not the only one on the team. There is great comfort from knowing that you have teammates fighting with you and encouraging you as you battle. People who are not serving in the church are very discouraging to the rest of the body.

The patient member

This may seem a bit odd to some but patience is a virtue that is very important for the individual believer and the congregation as a whole. The Christian life is not a sprint but a marathon. Our walk with the Lord is a process, and we will not grow over night. This therefore means that we have to learn to endure with each other’s weaknesses and short comings. We have to learn to forgive without holding grudges and disciple one another with all patience. A patient member graciously puts up with other people’s failures and realizes that no church is perfect, and as a result, they are joyfully patient. A church with patient members is a church where members confront one another, encourage one another, confess sin to one another and forgive each other.

Conclusion

Dear Church Member—pursue these things in your own life and encourage them in other members. These are good things to pray for one another. The type of members that build up the church are faithful in attendance, committed to encouraging others, while confronting sin. They serve faithfully and are patient with others. This builds up the church of Christ.

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[1] https://www.9marks.org/article/encourage-one-another-giving-grace-with-your-words/

THE TYPES OF MEMBERS THAT DO NOT BUILD THE BODY

Studying through the book of Ephesians gives you a fresh view of the church: a diverse group of people who have been radically transformed from their sinful nature by the power of God through the person and work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary where he paid for the sins of the world as a substitute sacrifice. These diverse people who have no reason to live and work together, let alone care for each other, choose to live in love and unity in the church to the praise and glory of the Lord’s name. This is powerful and attractive when it is lived out. However, that is not always the case. It is true that churches are made of diverse people and unfortunately not everyone pursues unity. So what kind of members do not build up the body of Christ?

-          The arm chair critic

Cynicism is the new cool. In a world dominated by social media and all kinds of platforms for self-expression, being cynical is easily mistaken for wisdom and enlightenment. In Christian circles people build entire ministries on cynicism; their purpose is to tell you what’s wrong with everyone else. And in our self-deception we have managed to veil our critical spirits as wisdom. The arm chair critic is the member who is bent on finding fault with what others are doing while doing nothing themselves. They are apathetic to things that are going on and are disappointed when you succeed. They are quick to condemn and slow to commend. They have falsely placed themselves as judge, yet ironically you never hear them admit wrong. Cynics can never be pleased nor satisfied.

“Cynicism is so undetectable because it is so justifiable. It wears a mask of insight and godliness, but it conceals festering wounds of harbored bitterness against God and neighbor. We need to understand cynicism, because the masks we wear tell us about the wounds we hide, and point us to the Savior who yearns to mend them.”[1] More often than not, cynicism hides the wounds of hatred and bitterness. This type of member destroys the unity and joy of the church.

-          The non-attending member

It is amazing how many people are eager to be members of a local church and yet not all of them are willing to be faithful and committed. It seems it is common to have discrepancies between the membership roll and actual participatory members. Most churches have more members on paper than they have in actuality.

The New Testament model for believers is for them to be meeting weekly to worship God and serve one another (1 Cor. 11; 16:2), and it even warns believers about non-attendance (Heb. 11:23-25). This invariably means that non-attending members are willfully disregarding the Lord’s command to fellowship with other believers and pursue discipleship relationships. Granted there are some valid reasons for not attending (i.e. you are in another town in which case you should work on finding a church, or health reasons which need comfort and encouragement). Non-attending members do not want to serve and use their gifts to edify other believers, and by not attending they actually remove themselves from the platform where they can minister and be ministered to. 

-          The divisive member

Divisive people are often driven by the desire to win and be in charge. They want the point taken and implemented. They want total agreement from everyone else. They also expect you to consult them about an issue, and if you do not (consult them in particular), they rise up in arms. The funny thing about people with a divisive spirit is that they may actually have a sincere concern about an issue or the church’s well-being. However, our true nature is revealed and Jamie Dunlap sums it up perfectly: “We rally support to get people to see things our way. Behavior like that, no matter the virtue of the original concern, quickly causes factions and dissension within the church, something Paul lists alongside idolatry, witchcraft, and fits of rage (Gal. 5:20). We must address discontentment carefully because it so often bears the fruit of discord.”[2]

-        The busy body

Meddlers are often gossipers. They are in the business of gathering information about people and their affairs with the sole purpose of sharing it with others. They have an inquisitiveness masked as care and concern, when in actual fact they simply cannot mind their own business.

Such people make healthy discipleship relationships very difficult because you have to be guarded around them, for fear of your issues been shared with someone else. Busy bodies also bring strife between people and are always in the middle of conflict between people.

The arm chair critic, the non-attending member, the divisive member and the busy body have one common thread running through them: self-centeredness. They have missed the very essence of salvation which is a transformed life which lives to love God and love people with every ounce that is in their being. These attitudes have missed the fact that the church of God does not exist for their comfort and happiness but for the glory of God. And in God’s design that means loving people with diverse preferences and opinions and yet still loving like Christ loved us. The result? A oneness that displays the power, wisdom and glory of God and becomes a powerful witness to the world.

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[1] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/putting-off-cynicism

[2] https://www.9marks.org/article/class-vii-discontentment/