Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

PASTOR'S PENS 2008

November 23rd "In this Israel was not an example, but a type; we will not copy the chosen people in making literal war, but we will fulfill the emblem of carrying on spiritual war."            Charles Haddon Spurgeon God and Satan have this in common: each of them desires worship. God wants us to worship Him because He is worthy and He graciously wants to transform us. Satan wants us to worship Him because he wants to destroy us, and worship is the easiest way to achieve that diabolical purpose. This explains why worship involves warfare: whenever we bow to worship God, the Adversity will oppose us. When Satan tempted our first parents, his appeal was centered on worship in seeking to get them to question God’s Word, "Did God really say?", deny God’s Word "You really won’t die?" and then substitute his own promise, "you will be like God, knowing good and evil." As Adam and Eve partook of the fruit and Satan’s deceptive promise, they "exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25). Satan received the worship he was seeking and he still receives it whenever people substitute the creature for the Creator and believe the lie that they can be their own god. How do we know when something is Satanic worship? Humility is vital to true spiritual worship. Pride is the essential ingredient when it comes to worshiping Satan. Satan wants to be lifted up whereas our Lord willingly humbled Himself. As William Temple observed, "So far as worship of Christ is genuine and complete, pride is eliminated for He whom we humility itself incarnate." The character of our worship then depends on the state of our hearts. Satan’s worship is a worship of substitutes: worship anyone or anything but the One true God. When Satan tempted our Lord in the wilderness, he offered him all the kingdoms of this world for one act of worship. Satan did not ask for service, he knows that whoever or whatever a person worships, he/she also serves. That explains Jesus’ reply, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only’" (Mt. 4:10). The fact that Satan has always wanted worship explains his hatred for God’s people. Our spiritual worship of God hinders Satan’s work, defeats his plans, robs him of territory and only increases his hatred for God and His people. But when the Church or the believer does not truly worship God, Satan is happy to let us do anything that we want to do. He knows that all of our man made programs, no matter how apparently successful, can never threaten him or defeat his demonic forces. A worshiping Christian then is also a soldier. And a worshiping church is also a warring church, true worship is also spiritual warfare. There is a militancy to our faith and even to our worship. God has not called us to be spiritual pacifists. I read recently that Evangelist D. L. Moody did not like his soloist, Ira Sankey, to use the popular song Onward Christian Soldiers in their campaigns, because Moody felt the church was a poor excuse for an army. Sadly, he was probably right. If being a good soldier involves obedience, discipline, and sacrifice, then many Christians have either never enlisted or have gone AWOL. And yet our Lord’s first mention of the church made it clear that believers are involved in a battle, "and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it" (Matt. 16:18). In Isaiah 38:10, the phrase "gates of Sheol" (the Hebrew equivalent of Hades) refers to death; so our Lord's words can mean, "The Church will never be swallowed up by death." However, in the Old Testament, gates usually refer to places of power and authority. The elders of the city met at the gates to transact their business. So, the phrase "gates of Hades" probably means "the very power and authority of Satan." The history of the Church is the story of believing people storming the gates of hell and delivering those held in sin’s bondage. The military images used of the Church in the New Testament ought to convince us that the Christian life is more than joyful fellowship or quiet meditation. It’s a battle that we cannot escape and that we dare not lose; and the key to our victory is worship. In his Epistle to the Ephesians, the early church father, Ignatius of Antioch, wrote: "Take heed, then, often to come together to give thanks to God, and show forth His praise. For when ye come frequently together in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and his ‘fiery darts’ urging to sin fall back ineffectual. For your concord and harmonious faith prove his destruction, and the torment of his assistants." Most believers today unfortunately do not see corporate worship as a major weapon in defeating the armies of hell. Living as he did in a military state, and knowing as he did the spiritual battle in which he was engaged, the Apostle Paul often used military imagery when he communicated with both churches and pastors. In fact, along with athletics, architecture, and anatomy, the army is one of Paul's favorite figures. Ephesians 6:10-20 is a key text, pointing out that Satan and his demonic hosts are the enemy. God has given us the equipment necessary for a successful attack and defense. God expects us to wear this armor. When we come to worship God, we are engaged in battle. All believers are soldiers in God's army, whether they know it or not and whether they act like it or not. Unless you and I are worshiping Christians, and unless our congregations are worshiping assemblies, there is no hope for victory over Satan, "I hope I am wrong," writes Michael Green, "but I do not see the modern church...as a body which is alive to spiritual warfare. It seems pretty preoccupied with its own survival, its petty concerns, its tradition." Even in worship you and I are engaged in a spiritual conflict because we worship the true and living God. Satan does not care what our church does so long as it does not worship. Once our church really begins to worship, then Satan's territory is threatened. God has called us to worship and storm the gates of Hell. When we gather to worship, it's battle stations!!