Who Is The Real Enemy?

We live in a really difficult period in human history and it is more the merely easy to get into a “bunker mentality” about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Paraphrasing that comment Paul makes, “the devils is throwing darts our way.” (Eph. 6:16) as he walks around “as a roaring lion seeking to devour us” as Peter notes. (1 Peter 5:8)

I’m good with all of that and have no struggle when it comes to admitting that there are evil forces at work in the world. My guess is that we probably overdo the “spiritual warfare” language in some contexts, but to pretend that our battle isn’t a spiritual one is to ignore the obvious and to contradict Scripture.

On Wednesday of this week, the Point community had an outdoor, self-directed observance of Ash Wednesday. It was held in the courtyard of the Lanier Academic Center. The courtyard is in the center of this massive building, surrounded on all four sides by brick walls and windows.  It is landscaped beautifully and the weather was perfect. Among other things, my conviction that “outside” is a great place to get serious with God was confirmed.

I stayed the entire hour the service was available because students working with me were responsible for the service and I wanted to honor their good work. While in the courtyard, I kept thinking about the importance of “inward thinking.” That courtyard is “inside the place” where so much that happens at Point happens. 

Maybe it was the focus of Ash Wednesday, but I kept thinking “if we don’t get the insides right, we can never get the outside right.” And that brings me back to the issue of “spiritual warfare.” So often when I hear that term, people are talking about forces on the outside that are opposed to the people of God. I don’t doubt that there are such forces nor do I doubt that they seem pretty powerful these days.

But it is hard to have taught Bible and theology for forty-two years at Point and not let what you have learned sneak into to your deepest places of thinking.

If you read the story of what I call “the earliest, early Christians” in the first scene of Luke’s Acts of the Apostles, (1:1-6:7) you will read a story of stunning advances made by a group that began with twelve guys hiding in a room in Jerusalem, seemingly afraid that what happed to Jesus could also happen to them. Outside forces have them hiding.  But the Holy Spirit came, and next thing you know Luke is using numbers like 2000 in one place and 3000 more in another (mostly likely counting only men) to describe the growth of the church.

It is a story of God’s intended purposes for His creation on the way to restoration and renewal. They are selling property and giving it to the apostles. Luke even notes a couple of times that there were no needy people among them!

And . . . there were some “fire-like darts” from the outside being thrown their way. There are stories of Jewish opposition that least to the arrest of Peter and John. Talk of the resurrection of Jesus is considered heresy and must be stopped, and just a general sense of “our culture doesn’t want us here.” But the church keeps growing!

Finally – in Acts 5, we read the first story of internal problems. A couple named Ananias and Sapphira, believers, scheme to get the same sort of recognition that Barnabas had. They end up lying to the Holy Spirit and God. They end up dead.

And not long after that, instead of telling a story of “no needy people,” Luke tells a story of widows who are complaining about being neglected in the daily distribution.

Never again will Luke describe the church like he did prior to this story and you want find those sorts of stories in the epistles of the New Testament either. 

I would argue that the church has never quite been the same.

And guess what – the problem was internal not external.

Back to Ash Wednesday. I couldn’t help but think that the first place I should look when it comes to examining my witness for Christ is internal. What are my spiritual disciplines that sustain my faith? What daily things to I do that make me a stronger believer? And, most uncomfortable, are there some internal “Ananias and Sapphira” like behaviors that need to stop?

But beyond that, for all of us as believers living in what seems like a hostile world, what do our insides look like? The churches and ministries that we are part of, what do the insides look like? Is the real struggle actually from the outside – or should we go to our own “courtyard moments” and think internally for a bit? Where are the “Ananias and Sapphira” issues in my church? My ministry? My family? My . . .?

Don’t misread me – I know that there are serious external battles to be fought, and with God’s help, won! But . . . I am pretty confident that the way to win spiritual battles starts on the inside for people and for ministries.