Posted on 09/10/2016 1:11:11 AM PDT by metmom
"Stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph. 6:11).
Satan wants to render you ineffective for Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 16:9 Paul says, "A wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." That's typical of spiritual warfare. The more opportunities you have to serve Christ, the more adversaries you'll face. That's because Satan seeks to hinder your spiritual service.
Often seminary students ask me if ministry becomes easier over the years. In one sense it does because you learn better study skills, time management, and the like. But in a greater sense it becomes more difficult because as you labor in the Word, contend for souls, and struggle against your own weaknesses, Satan opposes you at every turn.
You can sense something of the difficulty of ministry in Paul's words to the Thessalonians: "Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God" (1 Thess. 2:8-9). To the Ephesian elders he said, "Be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears" (Acts 20:31).
Every sphere of ministry is important—whether you're a pastor, homemaker, factory worker, or student. Consequently, every ministry encounters opposition as Satan attempts to cause friction and discouragement within families, churches, and work places. Thus, believers must be humble and gentle toward one another, "being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3). When we do that, the Body of Christ is strengthened and Satan can't gain a foothold.
Ministry is hard work and the obstacles are great, but the victories are even greater. So be faithful, knowing that God will reward you richly.
Suggestions for Prayer
Thank God for the privilege of serving Him—even during the hard times. Thank Him for the encouragement you receive from His Spirit, His Word, and your fellow believers.
For Further Study
According to Romans 8:18, what was Paul's perspective on difficulties?
Studying God’s Word ping
Good article. I was just talking to my daughter about this a few days ago. The more your heart inclines to good and the things of God, the more Satan is going to throw at you to pull you away.
One of my friends is teaching a class on Ephesians at her Baptist church, and she said obstacles keep coming up. Please say a prayer for Miss Larae and her class!
Thank you for this encouragement. I am currently taking a class based on the book “Counter Culture,” by David Platt. It goes in depth and explores how we, as Christians, must decide how we are to face and deal with the secular challenges of our time..Poverty, Racism, Sex Slavery, Same-Sex Marriage, Immigration, Persecution, Abortion, Orphans, Pornography..And, I would add, strong evidence that we are living in a nation and world where high level corruption exists within our government and media, which threatens the freedom of everyone. We do our best to help those who can’t help themselves in our own communities but the government hates us for that because it gives power to us and not them. I long ago accepted that evil might have an easy time overcoming good in our time. But, hasn’t it always been true that the carnal nature of man without God is never satisfied until everyone is destroyed? We know the end of this story. We just do not know what kind of suffering will happen before then. What the pleasure seeking culture wants is for Christians to shut up and go away, but that will not happen because God said it would not happen. Very few will read this posting, but I have. Just wanted you to know that I am here. God bless!
Thank you for your spirit of discernment. What you wrote is truth!
To God be the glory!
‘Pod.
Just wanted to say thank you for faithfully posting these short studies.
I have been deployed again now for several months, and my family has been challenged in many ways. These short studies have been of much encouragement!
And indeed, there's nothing new under the sun, is there?
Thank you for your encouragement.
And thank you and God bless you for your service to our country.
This country is still the freest, most prosperous country this world has ever seen and I’m hard pressed to think of a better place to live.
I’m going to go with “same-sex marriage” as a real novelty, in spite of that one satire of Juvenal about a ceremony in Imperial Rome. There was no legal sanction, even in the most decadent regimes, for homosexuality.
That’s true, but the homosexuality has been around since then.
I was thinking in terms of the sin itself.
Yes, there has always (since the Fall) been homosexuality, and even ceremonial homosexuality, such as male temple prostitution. However, what we have now is a true novelty: the absolute equation of man/woman marriage with man/man, woman/woman, and human/whatsit legal “partnership.”
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