Last Sunday’s sermons have created quite a stir here at Lake Osborne.  Lynn’s sermon in the morning was almost shocking to many who listened.  He was clearly very passionate about this, and very earnest in his call for people to sit up straight and listen carefully. 

Not by our design (but by God’s), my Sunday evening sermon had the same title and dealt with the same subject: “spiritual warfare.”  That just “happened” to be the theme of the next chapter in our studies in the book of Daniel.  No coincidence here!

Many have wondered what triggered this “alert.”  Let me give you a little more information here that will help you understand, and also inform the focus of your prayers.  Before doing that, let me point out three very healthy dimensions to this current “alert.”  These will remind us that we need not fear.  God is at work in this and will use this to His advantage.  It’s a time for prayer, not panic.

First, it is a sign of spiritual health that we perceive Satan to be unleashing a strategic attack at the present time.  If we were not making good advances in spiritual health here at LOPC, especially through the “Fan the Flame” revitalization efforts, Satan would direct his troops elsewhere.  He would not feel threatened unless things were going well.  The fact that he’s on the offensive encourages us that we must be doing something right!

Second, it is a sign of spiritual health that this congregation is ready to follow Lynn’s pastoral leadership in this, even though hardly anyone knows the full extent or the specifics of what has caused the alarm bells in his soul to go off.  It’s wonderful to see a congregation that trusts its Pastor, even when they don’t have all the facts.  “Where he leads us, we will follow!”

Third, it’s a sign of spiritual health that so many were willing and able to respond to Lynn’s invitation to meet downstairs after the service to pledge themselves to participating in a series of gatherings with prayer and fasting, to seek God’s power in overcoming and defeating Satan’s recently launched offensive.  We’ll soon have details about how those gatherings will occur.

But now to the issue itself.  What caused Lynn to believe that we are under spiritual attack here at LOPC?  There are several things.  None of these, by themselves, would cause the hair on the back of our neck to stand up.  These sorts of things happen all the time in churches.  It’s part of life in a fallen world, when the church still has fallen people.  But when so many of these suddenly pop up without warning, and all within a space of just a few weeks, Satan’s cover has been “blown.”  There’s more to this than meets the eye! 

As I identify these, listen to this “up-front” warning.  Don’t take these general descriptions as a launching pad from which to initiate your personal investigation to try to figure out what names are involved.  You may know a couple of these situations.  If you do, pray for the people by name.  But be content to focus on the issues, not the personalities.  Here are the situations.

First, there are too many marriages here that are suddenly in danger of falling apart.  And there may be others where the cracks in the foundations haven’t yet appeared in the walls.  When Tara Barthel was here for the women’s retreat, she was shocked at the high percentage of feed-back cards in which women indicated they were very unhappy in their marriages.  When marriages fall apart, not only are hearts broken.  The church is shaken.  And Christ’s honor before the watching world is tarnished.  As Steve Brown would say, “this attack smells like smoke; it comes from the pit of hell.”

Second, there have been a few cases of a negative, critical spirit about little things in the church. Remember that Lynn preached about this on November 4.  The point is that this is not the point!  These are so insignificant compared to the REAL issues that ought to be occupying our attention.  Issues like the salvation of the lost, the defense of doctrines under attack, the protection of the unborn, the moral purity of our teenagers.  There will always be opinions about various things in the life of the church.  But when these opinions become complaints, and when complaints become destructive to the health of the soul, we smell more smoke.

Third, within the youth group there have been some personality issues that could jeopardize the unity and harmony of the group, as well as the welcoming spirit we want to have for unchurched kids who are attracted.  Some of this is easily attributable to what goes on in the emotional development of young people in the teen years.  But Satan can use this to his advantage, if we’re not careful.  And when this is added to the list of other factors, we smell smoke again.

Fourth, since Satan is a liar and the father of lies, it should not be surprising to discover that he sometimes spawns slanderous lies that threaten the reputations, and even careers, of those he has targeted.  He’s tried that here recently.  This is mean and malicious, and does harm not only to those falsely accused, but also to the Gospel and the Savior whose name they bear.  When those are spread anonymously, they are even more vicious.  These cases absolutely reek of smoke!

Fifth, there is a dynamic in which Satan has not yet attacked, but where he could do so, if we’re not careful.  That’s the matter of Lynn’s departure, the interim between pastors, and the acceptance and integration of a new pastor in the future.  Satan has tipped his hand here, too, since we can see that this has been an opportunity for spiritual attack in other churches that have gone through such a transition.  While he’s not done anything here yet in this regard, it’s time for us to make “pre-emptive strikes” and to “shore up our defenses” at this spot in the wall.  It’s a place where he will certainly make an attempt to breach the fortress of the church at some time in the future.  We don’t smell smoke here yet, but we need to keep sniffing the air!

Once again, don’t worry about trying to find names for these cases.  We hope and pray that God will be victorious promptly and permanently, so that the names need never be known.  But focus your prayers in these areas, praying that God would unleash squadrons of angels from the air force of heaven to carry out His will in defeating Satan on the front lines of every battle.

What can you do?  Join with all of us in using the armor God has provided in Ephesians six … the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit … and most importantly prayer.  Be a part of the team of prayer warriors recruited to stand fast over the next few weeks, joining together in the times of prayer and fasting that will be announced within the next few days.

I look forward to reading the comments you post about this.

Larry