The Three R’s
Recently I was in a zoom meeting with several pastors. Mike Chong Perkinson, our superintendent, invited us to the meeting. Mike wanted to check in with us and see how everyone was doing. At some point in the meeting Mike said he had some words for us that he felt the Lord impressed upon his heart to share with us. Before I tell you what he shared with us you need to know that Mike is overseeing a lot of discouraged pastors. The post covid world has not been kind to most churches.
Mike said, “I have three words for you. The first word is Resist!" In James 5:7 it says, “resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Before Jesus began his public ministry he was led by the spirit into the wilderness to fast for 40 days, Matthew 4:1-11. At the end of his 40 day fast the devil came to him to temp him. After not eating for 40 days Jesus was hungry with a capital H. Satan went for the jugular when he tempted Jesus to turn rocks into bread. Jesus resisted the devil and said "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Satan came at Jesus with two more temptations perfectly crafted and designed to hit him where it hurt the most. Jesus resisted those temptations and the devil left him. The point is, the devil doesn’t play fair. He waits until we are going through some kind of wilderness experience, perhaps an extended period of discouragement or depression, before he lodges an all out assault against us. The apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” In what area of your life are you being tempted right now? Having recently gone through a very difficult season myself the devil has been busy kicking me while I’m down. Sometimes when I’m tired and discouraged I can hear that voice in my head saying, “Why don’t you throw the towel in? You don’t deserve this.” When I hear that voice I know where it’s coming from and it’s not me. By the grace of God I am able to resist the devil and indeed he goes away, at least for a little while. I find that every time I resist the devil I grow stronger and this encourages me.
The second word Mike gave us is Renounce. When hellish kinds of thoughts and temptations enter into our minds the best thing we can do is renounce them knowing where they came from. After Satan tried to lure Jesus into bowing down and worshiping him in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world Jesus renounced him. He said, “Away from me Satan, for it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” God has given us the authority as his children to resist and renounce the devil. When we have resisted and renounced the devil there is one last thing to do.
We must Resolve that God is with us. We must resolve that we are not a victim and we will carry on as God enables us. We must resolve that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. We must resolve that if God is for us, who can be against us? We must resolve that we are not condemned because we are in Christ Jesus. Resist, Renounce, and Resolve. I hope you find this helpful, especially if you find yourself in the wilderness.
Stay close to Jesus,
Steve