Take up your arms! Satan is on the attack!
Things were going well in the congregation. Children were
learning and growing in the faith. Adults were helping children to mature in the
faith and were also growing and learning. The gospel was being heard and
believed and shared with those outside the walls of the church.
Of course things weren’t perfect, but things were good.
And when things are good, Satan takes notice. He can’t stand when the gospel is proclaimed
and believed. He hates seeing Christians joyfully gathering together and
faithfully receiving the good news of Jesus.
So the devil got to work.
“These people don’t really
like you,” he whispered to a middle aged woman. “You know they talk about you behind your back.” And so the woman began
to distance herself from the church.
Next the devil saw a businessman. Things were going well for
the man, so Satan thought, “I won’t undercut him, but I’m going to give him so
much business that he’ll be so busy with his business that he won’t have time
for the things of God.” And so it happened. Business was good and increased so
much that soon the man was consumed with his work and started drifting from the
assembly of believers.
Now Satan decided he wanted to really cause some trouble. He
likes to isolate believers, but he loves
to cause division in the church. So he whispered in the ear of an older man, “The
leadership of this church is undermining all of the things you worked to bring
about. You can’t stand for that!” And the devil whispered in the ear of a young
woman, “This church should be doing so
much more! Nobody here is serious about the gospel like you are.” And the
devil whispered to a married couple, “You didn’t agree with the decision the
church council made. Why should you put money in the offering plate? Hold on to
your money. If the church becomes cash starved, you can force them to do what
you want.”
So the older man became antagonistic towards the leadership
of the church. He gathered people to his side and the leadership gathered
people to their side and soon there was a cold war within the congregation. The
young woman became more and more angry with others in the church and others responded
to her anger with their own anger and soon, where there had been joy at the
church there was now a palpable tension.
The married couple started holding tight to their money, their hearts
became hardened, and the work of the church was severely hindered.
And in the congregation in which things had been going well,
things were now devastatingly disastrous. Children became disillusioned by the
behavior of the adults and couldn’t wait to go to college so they could stop
having to deal with the church. Bible Studies became divided along “party lines”
and were often complaint sessions rather than time in the word. Attendance started to dwindle.
Those
outside of the church no longer heard the gospel, but now saw the infighting,
divisions, and tensions and they wanted nothing to do with being a part of
those things.
Looking on, Satan smiled. He hadn’t had to do much to bring
about this mess, but his plans had been completely successful. Isolation, division, tension, jealousy, and
cynicism had replaced the joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness,
and self-control that the Holy Spirit had brought.
The devil smiled, knowing the damage he had done would be
generation…and even have eternal consequences.
The story above illustrated the reality. Satan is at work
and he does desire to stir up trouble.
In the Large Catechism, Martin Luther writes, in explaining
the Seventh Petition of the Lord’s Prayer (but deliver us from evil),
Therefore, we finally sum it all up and say,
“Dear Father, grant that we be rid of all these disasters.” But there is also
included in this petition whatever evil may happen to us under the devil’s
kingdom: poverty, shame, death, and, in short, all the agonizing misery and
heartache of which there is such an unnumbered multitude on the earth. Since
the devil is not only a liar, but also a murderer (John 8:44), he constantly
seeks our life. He wreaks his vengeance whenever he can afflict our bodies with
misfortune and harm. Therefore, it happens that he often breaks men’s necks or
drives them to insanity, drowns some, and moves many to commit suicide and to
many other terrible disasters (e.g. Mark 9:17-22). So there is nothing for us
to do upon earth but to pray against this archenemy without stopping. For
unless God preserved us, we would not be safe from this enemy even for an hour.
Satan seeks to kill and destroy.
However, clothed with the armor of God and led by the Spirit,
Satan can attack all he wants (and he will), but the Holy Spirit will sustain
us by His work through the Word and Sacraments, through the mutual conversation
and consolation of the brethren, and even as the devil assaults us with his
numerous attacks, the Holy Spirit will bring about His fruit.
So, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray. Let us pray
“delivers us from evil,” and trust that our loving Father will do exactly that.
Let us pray for our congregation and for the church at large, that the devil’s
attacks would be repulsed by “the Valiant one.”
Let us pray that Satan would not be able to isolate us or bring
division, but that the Spirit would bring unity and peace.
Satan will be on the attack, so let us take up our arms to
fight as well.
Let us pray.
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