I remember saying those words to a kid in the neighborhood one day when he was messing with me & told me that he was going to tell his dad to come & get me…my response was, “My dad can beat the crap out of your dad…so tell him to bring it on!”
Every kid thinks their dad is invincible…that whatever he says is right…that nothing can stop him…and that if anyone comes around looking for trouble…well, they will have to deal with dad, thus having the crap beat out of them!
Do you remember feeling that way?
Some of you are wondering right now, “Where in the world is he going with this?” Others are gasping & saying, “I can’t believe he said crap…I am so offended…” Lighten up…if “crap” offends you then please, get rid of your computer and your television NOW!!!
The reason I bring this up is two fold…
#1 - In Scripture, God is referred to as our Father. (Not our parent or our mother—some denominations are still struggling to figure this one out!) It is clear in Scripture that He is Sovereign, Supreme, does what He wants when He wants. It is also clear that He is righteous—which basically means He is always right. He has never said, “oops” or “my bad!”
One good thing about a Father…a good one, as God is. No one, I mean NO ONE messes with His kids. When I was growing up—nobody messed with me because my dad would mess with them. And it’s the same today…if you are a child of God—well, let me make my next point.
#2 - God is doing an amazing work in our church! AMAZING!!! I was talking to a friend last night at the Marble Slab (thank you Jesus for ice cream) and he was telling me that he’s been in church all of his life and has never seen anything like this. I keep hearing stories about how God is changing lives…the lady who brought ‘Cretia and I our food last night at Outback told us that she received Christ at NewSpring last year…and was baptized a few weeks ago.
(BTW—when I asked her, “How did you wind up coming to NewSpring for the first time,” she told me, “My roommate would NOT stop inviting me…every week she would ask me to go to church with her & so I finally went…and things have never been the same.” Here’s a word of encouragement—DON’T GIVE UP ON THAT FRIEND/FAMILY MEMBER…GET THEM HERE THIS SUNDAY!!!)
Saying all of that—I have received a TON of e-mails, phone calls…and have had a lot of well meaning people say the following to me, “Well Perry—now be careful…God is doing such an awesome work in our church—lives are being changed…and so now the enemy is mad, he’s really ticked…and he’s going to be coming after you!”
Hear me…I know you mean well if you have said that…and please continue to pray that God will protect me…but also hear me when I say…
BIG FLIPPIN’ DEAL!!!
Am I supposed to be scared? Am I supposed to run and hide? Am I supposed to cower in fear because the devil is mad? News flash—he’s been after me all my life—and the level of spiritual warfare has dramatically stepped up since starting this church!
(I could literally tell you stories that would make the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up…and if you don’t have hair on the back of your neck…well, you would automatically grow it and it would stand up!)
Scripture says we are supposed to be alert because the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion. Scripture says we should not be unaware of his schemes…and tells us not to be outwitted by him. But NOWHERE does Scripture say that we should EVER…I MEAN EVER alter our plans and sit in some closet somewhere and cry because satan is ticked off!
Bottom line is this…God is MY FATHER, He is Sovereign, Supreme...and the enemy cannot touch me unless God says he can…and if he tries God will just go and beat the crap out of him. And if the enemy is allowed to somehow have some success in making my life miserable…then God is RIGHT in allowing him to do that to me…and will somehow use whatever takes place for HIS glory.
The reason some people fear the enemy being mad is because they’ve seen too many movies about heads spinning around and dolls bought at Toys ‘R Us coming alive and killing people. STOP GETTING YOUR IDEAS ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE FROM HOLLYWOOD AND START READING SCRIPTURE! WE WIN!!!
If God is your Father—then rejoice…live in the victory He has provided. Jesus said we should NOT fear the one who can kill the body…but rather the one who has the power to throw us into hell. (That would be God!) I fear the Lord—I live in awe of Him…He is MY ONLY GOD...and I refuse to let the fact that I or this church has made the enemy mad somehow control my thoughts and actions.
Will he come after me? Yes!!! Do I need your prayers? Yes, please! I had a lady tell me the other day, “If satan could get you to fall…he could take a lot of people with him.” And that is true.
Will he come after this church? YES!!! Does this church need your prayers? YES, please! He would love for this church to fail…come to think of it…so would a ton of other religious people. (the devil is VERY religious!)
So we will pray—hard…HARDER than we’ve ever prayed before! But Jesus said in Matthew 11:12 that the kingdom must advance FORCEFULLY if it is to advance at all! So…NewSpring…let’s move forward…let’s pray as hard as we can…work as hard as we can…and know that God reigns supreme and will take care of us!
HE REIGNS!