What are the Schemes of Satan?

“I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.” -2 Corinthians 2:11

Satan is the great enemy of mankind, especially God’s people. In fact "Satan" means "adversary." The Bible refers to the devil by a number of names and descriptions. He is seen as "the anointed cherub" (Ezek. 28:14), "the ruler of demons" (Luke 11:15), "the ruler of this world" (John 16:11), "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4), and "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph 2:2). He is identified as a great dragon, a roaring lion, the vile one, the tempter, and the accuser. He is formidable, cunning, and powerful. Paul writing to the Corinthian church realized that Satan was working overtime in the church and emphasizes that we are to be vigilant and alert to his subtlety. Satan’s advantage is based upon one being ignorant of his devices or his methods. The devil’s devices by which he seeks to deceive God’s children, defeat God’s church, destroy God’s work, and denigrate God’s Word.

I. Distraction

The goal is simple get us to major on the minors and to minimize the majors. Satan seeks to distract us by getting us to focus our attention on the material instead of the spiritual, on methods rather than the message, on men rather than God. (1 John 2:15-16, 2 Timothy 2:4; Colossians 3:2)

II. Discouragement

One of Satan’s most potent weapons is trying to get you into a feeling of discouragement, so maybe you’ll give up. Discouragement is a lack of hope usually after a major victory. Many are confronted with it on Monday after a break through on Sunday. The Devil wants you to believe that things are worse than what they are and that you are the only one who cares. That is exactly how Elijah felt the day after his victory on Mt Carmel. (Deuteronomy 1:28, Numbers 21:4-5; Galatians 6:9)

III. Disillusionment

Disillusionment is the state of being disenchanted or disappointed by unfulfilled expectations. (Proverbs 13:12, Philippians 1:21)

·      “If you expect perfection from people, your whole life is a series of disappointments, grumblings, and complaints. If, on the contrary, you pitch your expectations low, taking folks as the inefficient creatures, which they are, you are frequently surprised by having them perform better than you had hoped.” - Bruce Fairfield Barton (1886-1967).

IV. Discontentment

Perhaps this should be labeled as unholy discontentment, unholy discontentment is being angry with God for the hand you have been dealt. (Numbers 21:5-6, 1 Corinthians 10:10, Philippians 2:14, James 5:8-9, Colossians 3:17)

·      “A godly man wonders at his cross that it is not more, a wicked man wonders why his cross is so much.” – Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

V. Discord (division)

A very simple but effective tool used by the enemy to destroy churches. Usually this takes the form of pettiness and is accompanied with unholy discontentment. (1 Corinthians 1:10-11, Romans 12:3-5, Philippians 1:27)

·      The problem with the church today is not corruption. It is not institutionalism. No, the problem is far more serious than something like the minister running away with the organist. The problem is pettiness. Blatant pettiness. – Mike Yaconelli in The Wittenburg Door

VI. Disassociation

The devil loves when believers do not fellowship: he loves it when we distance ourselves from each other. (Hebrews 10:25, 1 Corinthians 12:18-21, 1 Corinthians 12:25, 1 Peter 5:8)

“Don’t give the Devil an opportunity.” –Ephesians 4:27

Five Insights from Breaking the Missional Code

Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer and David Putman challenges church leaders and pastors to think like a missionary.  Missionaries on the field have always understood that there are cultural barriers and helps to understanding the gospel.  We must understand the culture in order to  evangelize effectively.  Here are five insights I gained from the book.  If you are a pastor I highly recommend that you read it.

1. Avoid “Preference Slavery.” (52) Move from personal preferences into Missional Thinking.  As time progresses all churches tend to turn inwardly focused.  Inward focus must be challenged by missional thinking, seeing others as Christ sees them.  If we don't fight out inward tendency we will become slaves to our own preferences, and not Christ's slaves.  Never lose focus on the Great Commission!
2. Have Intentionality in Ministry (see Chapter 3).  Many churches are drifting like a ship without a rutter.  As cultural winds and waves push, the church moves more and more off course.  We must have a biblical center and be intentional with our resources.
3. The Author’s questions and discussion on Code breaking found on pages 81-83.  The authors give us some questions to help us begin to break the code in our own context.  Here are some helpful questions:
1. Where are the unchurched/unreached?
2. Who are the unchurched/unreached?
3. Why are they unchurched/unreached?
4. What is God doing among the unchurched/unreached?
4. View Missions and Evangelism as codependent on each other. (3 & 226). What is the difference between missions and evangelism?  In other words in order to evangelize people we must first understand them.
5. In church revitalization, start with spiritual renewal and begin with worship that Honors God and Connects with the Community. (139)  Insight number five was a huge insight.  In Eating the Elephant, Rainer and Lawless argue for beginning with outreach after renewal, but Stetzer disagrees.  I think that Stetzer is correct in his assessment.  If we were on the mission field and we did outreach, but failed to have a worship service that connects with the culture those who come to Christ will struggle to connect with God.  It is the same in our North American context.

State of the Church Address

Chart 1.1 shows Sunday School Attendance, AM Worship Attendance, and Guests.

Looking Behind- Review

1. http://askpastort.blogspot.com has received a total of 3,976 pageviews up from 2,958 pageviews last month in the last month- total of 1019 over December and to this point in January.

2. Attended Southeastern Seminary January 11-15, 2016.

3. January Bible Study 2016 is in 2 Corinthians, we will remain there during the winter.


2015 By the Numbers:

· Average Sunday Morning Attendance = 197

· Average Sunday School Attendance = 144

· Average Sunday Morning Guests = 5

· New Members in 2015 = 16

o 5 Baptisms

o 6 Letters

o 5 Statements of Faith

· Deaths of Members = 5

· Transfers out to other churches = 9

· Net Gain for the Year in Membership = 2

· Highest Attended Sunday = April 5, 2015 @ 281 in attendance (Easter Sunday)

· Lowest Attended Sunday = February 15, 2015 @ 116 in attendance (Snow Day)

Highlights of 2015:

• Battery Saturday 2015!
• Baptism of four children this week in one Sunday Morning Service. List includes: Rachael White, Andrew White, Don Singleton, and Asher Tyler.
• Passing our Mission Statement: “To Know Christ And to Make Him Known.”
• VBS 2015
• Fall Harvest on October 31, 2015.

• Larger Thank Expected Turnout for Griefshare this past Fall; a new face almost ever week.
• Special Called Business Meeting in December with an 86% approval in favor of the new service! Looking forward to what God is going to do at our church in 2016.
• Christmas Baskets Ministry:
•  22 Children received Christmas Gifts
• 9 Food Baskets were prepared and given out.

Looking Ahead- Preview

· Battery Saturday moved to April 2, 2016

· Return to Southeastern on June 16-24. Note: This will be the last weeklong seminary I will attend, year three is writing.

How do I know if I am being called to faithful gospel ministry?

“This saying is trustworthy: "If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work."” -1 Timothy 3:1

My calling to preach the gospel originated as a freshman in college at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The call came during a time of prayer and bible reading. The day it happened my mind was filled with images of Christ on the cross, the suffering, and the mission Christ left us. While in prayer, I asked the Lord to show me His Will. I asked if he wanted me to serve him in the ministry and preach the word. I didn’t hear an audible voice, there was no still small voice, and there was no burning bush there was however my Bible. I grabbed my bible desperately looking for an answer, opened it randomly and it fell to Second Corinthians chapter six verse three though thirteen, which describes the Apostle’s hardships in ministry. I became completely convinced that this was my decisive call from God to preach the word and minister faithfully to him. I went to my home church in the next few weeks, and they affirmed the call. Those verses that were used that day I have returned to many times for encouragement and reaffirmation.

1 Timothy 3:1 gives a general call to all who have desires, and a specific call similar to what is seen in Jeremiah 20:9. Pastor Vic Wallace, my mentoring pastor, use to say, “Do you have the desire to preach like a burning in the bones?” What he means is there a burning desire to preach the Word of God? It is an unquenchable need to preach the Word of God.

• Discern Your Call Though Wisdom. Mystical readings outside the Holy Bible that discern “God’s Will” make for captivating stories, but fall short compared to the Word of God. The Bible says in Hebrews 1:1-2 that God spoke in the past though burning bushes, still small voices, even a donkey, but today he speaks through His Son. 

• Have Your Local Church Affirm Your Call. While ordination exists more for tax breaks then as a biblical concept, an affirmation from your local church is vital to understanding if you are called to preach the gospel. Your local church should be able to see the gifting (Matt 28:14-20; John 21:15-17; Acts 6:2, 11:25-26; Eph 4:11; and 1 Tim 3:2) and qualifications (1 Timothy 3) being met in your life.

• Understand that being a pastor is not the only way to faithfully served Christ.  If you have discerned that you want to live a life sold out to Jesus, Praise God you get the gospel! However, this does not mean that you are called to preach the gospel! In seminary I remember many who just floated into seminary, because they didn’t really know what they wanted to do and Bible College ended. Ask yourself hard questions like, what gets me really excited when I think about serving the Lord? What am I passionate about? What energizes me as I serve God? We need faithful lay leaders in local churches just as much or more so than we need faithful ministers of the gospel!

16 Questions to Ask Yourself in 2016!

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves..." -Corinthians 13:5 (HCSB)

The New Year celebration is a time of reflection.  I would encourage you to set some personal spirtual goals for your walk with Christ this year.  Here is a list of 16 excellent questions to reflect on and ask yourself in 2016.  Please note that Don Whitney is to be given credit for writing these questions, and I couldn’t think of a better way to phrase them.  

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? In eternity?

11. What's the most important decision you need to make this year?

12. What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what's one way you could simplify in that area?

13. What's the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?

14. What habit would you most like to establish this year?

15. Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?

16. In what area of your life do you most need change, and what will you do about it this year?

Happy New Year!

How has evangelism methods changed over the past 30 years?

“Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, …..” -1 Chronicles 12:32

Recently a friend called me and asked me about using the “Way of the Master.” The “Way of the Master” evangelism method promotes a very in your face, confrontational style of evangelism, and it has been effective for some. Other evangelism methods we have seen developed over the last thirty years plus include the Four Spiritual Laws, Evangelism Explosions, F.A.I.T.H., the evangecube, and the old Roman’s Road.

I would argue that culture constantly changes. We must exegete the culture we live in just like we would the Scriptures. We see examples of this in the gospel when Paul preaches his famous sermon about an unknown God in Acts 17.  According to a recent study from the Pew Research Center, the number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a rapid pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public, a third of adults under 30 years old is religiously unaffiliated today. In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15% to just under 20% of all U.S. adults. In a population that has grown up ignorant of the bible or church life, the former methods of evangelism may not be as effective.  It also appears that as a christian influence slips away, a more hindu view is gripping American's thinking and theology as seen in the article, "We Are All Hindus Now."  I would like to share a few items that would be helpful in evangelism today:

• Be Relationship Oriented. In my experience, almost every case that I have led someone to the Lord over the past ten years, I have had a relationship with for some time. Usually a meeting as friends then that becomes an evangelism opportunity. You must be willing to be available and take time to build relationships with people. People who are far from God want to know you care about them first, and that they are not another notch on your evangelism belt.

• Let’s Have Better Fights. Let’s just admit it we all end up in a fight or love a good fight, especially Southern Baptist! The problem is most of our fights are small and petty compared to real problems in the world. Instead of fighting Starbucks on their choice of holiday coffee cups, let’s fight racism and prejudice. Instead of fighting over the color of carpet in the church, let’s go to war with poverty in our community and make a difference in someone’s life.  Jesus didn't help everyone in need when he was alive, but he did help some.  We can't help everyone, but we can help someone.  Everyone wants to be part of something bigger than themselves which makes a difference in the world, why not the local church? Jesus met both physical and spiritual needs. Why shouldn’t we?

• Be Patient. This is just an issue of expecting more time. The apostle Paul was converted in a single event, but Lydia's heart was opened slowly in Acts 16. In my experience,  evangelizing someone usually takes at least three to six months and in many cases a year of hearing the gospel over and over. We must show perseverance and persistence. In John 3:37 Jesus said, “One sows and another reaps.” You may find that you are often part of a process not an event.  

• Meet People Where They Are. The apostle Paul did not expect Greeks to cross-Jewish cultural lines to become believers. In 1 Corinthians 9:22 Paul said, “I have become all things to all men.” Certainly this has parameters, we do not become like an adulterer or thief in order to reach them. We never violate scripture’s boundaries for what is sin, but we are able to we flex.  We can and should cross cultural lines to meet those far from God where they are.

Remembering Uncle Mike Russel

Uncle Mike Holding Xander!

Uncle Mike served his family as a father, uncle, great uncle, husband, and grandfather.  He made his living as an electrician, and was a big Nebraska Fan!   He loved his Lord, family, and college football.  When I came into Becki's family about 11 or 12 years ago, we were the only two real college football fans.  You see St. Louis is a baseball town, Go Cards!  We would always watch the college football bowls together, and have a good time.  I remember him being at all the holiday family gatherings with the same warm smile you see in this photo, and getting down on the ground to play with all the little kids.  He loved his great nieces and nephews.

Back in November, he began to have memory problems and headaches.  On December 1, Uncle Mike was diagnosed with CJD a very rare brain disease.  I had never heard of it in my yeas as a pastor.  It took him and our family to a hard dark place.  On December 15, the Lord called him home.  His last prayer was the Lord's prayer.  He told us that the whole thing that he was being reminded that Jesus loves him.  We thought that it would take months, but it only took weeks.

We buried Uncle Mike a week ago today.  In moments like this it always appears that darkness is winning, but as the old Appalachian songs says, "The Darkest Hour is Just Before Dawn!" I do not think it is an accident that the shepherds received the news of Christ's birth in the darkness of night.  It was a dark night spiritually, the nation of Israel's religious leaders had turned their faith into legalism and the priests served as little more than politicians bending rules to their benefit.  The world sat in darkness, but Jesus is the bright and morning star!  We are reminded in the last book of the Bible that the light always trumps over the darkness!  Revelation says,

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you the testimony for the churches.  I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”  -Revelation 22:16

Our Morning Star will rise in the midst of our most unfamiliar and dark places.  What is your darkness?  Is it a sadness?  A loss? Sickness? Failing Health?  Living with the effects of your sins or others' sins?  Let the light of Christmas shine in your dark moments.  Uncle Mike does not rest in darkness this Christmas, he is bathing in the Light of our bright Morning Star!  The old poem instructs us, "Rage against the dying of the light!"  Let us rage at our sin, and it's effects.  Let us rage at all things that seem to dim the true light of Jesus Christ in all of us.  Let us rage at the darkness in mandkind's souls, and let us proclaim that a child is born who has ended the darkness for all who will follow Him!  Christmas is a holiday of lights, because as the angel told the shepherds,

"10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. 12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”  -Luke 2:10-12

The light has come on Christmas Day.  Every Christmas light I see lit up is a reminder of the light of our Morning Star which has conquered the darkness!  Glory be to God!


Merry Christmas Uncle Mike, until we meet at Jesus feet!