The Christian believer and the local church...

As a child I did not grow up in a Christian home and as a result church attendance was seldom at best. Even after I was saved at the age of 12 haphazard attendance might be the most accurate description. At that time my father was lost and my mother was not living for the Lord and so, faithfulness to church wasn't exactly high on the priority list. When I turned 16 the Lord started to do a marvelous work in my life that brought godly sorrow upon me which led me to repentance and right living before the Lord. Since that time faithful, local church involvement has been very important to me. Of course, as a pastor church involvement is crucial, but in reality it is just as important for every member of a local church to be as faithful and committed to the church as the pastor is... we are all parts of the body.  My wife and I will soon be married 16 years. To this date we have never had a conversation about whether or not we would attend church. Even prior to when I began to pastor attending church has always been very important to both of us. Now, there may have been times when we discussed where we would attend, such as when we were on vacation or out of town; but the fact that we would attend was never in question.

I believe in the importance of the local church! I believe that being faithful to attend and serve in some capacity in the local church ought to be important to everyone who names the name of Christ! It seems, however, that the importance of local church involvement is lost upon many in these current days. I have observed that there are believers who seem to just float between churches. They stay at one church for awhile and then float to another, and then to another, and to another and so on, until they start all over from the beginning. The cycle seems endless. And then, of course there are those who claim faith in Christ but see no value in being a part of a local church. They say they are believers but do not attend church and, in fact in many cases are bitter and resent the idea of being involved with a local church. In such cases, not all, but some, it will usually be discovered that at some point the individual was involved with a local church, only to be hurt in some way. Then you have professed believers who exhibit bitterness and anger towards the church and will often use excuses like, 'there are too many hypocrites in the church,' to keep from being faithful to the very institution that Christ sought to establish and build on this earth to advance His kingdom.

In Matthew 16:18b Jesus said, "... upon this rock I will build My church..," the rock being that great confession that Jesus "... is the Christ, the Son of the living God..." Acts 2 describes the birthday of the New Testament church when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost to seal and indwell those who confess salvational faith in Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. Prior to this the Lord had promised His disciples: "... But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth..." (Acts 1:8). The point being that God was going to send His Holy Spirit to indwell and empower believers to carry His gospel to every people group on the planet for the sake of His glory. This group of people, this body of people carrying out the Lord's will is called the church. The church is the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18). She is also referred to as the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5: 22-33). Anyone and everyone who is drawn to God by the working of the Holy Spirit, expresses repentance towards God for sin and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord is born again into this family and made a part of this beautiful institution called the church. This is what we call the "universal church." Every believer is a part of the church of Jesus Christ. 

However, the church is expressed on this earth, not through an intangible, universal body, but rather through a literal, physical local church. Now, there are those who fail to see the importance and the need for the local church. There are those who claim to be believers and yet refuse to be a part of a local church. There are even those who see nothing but corruption in the church and therefore refuse to be involved with a local body of believers. But let me be clear: those who hold to such positions allow experience or presupposition to be their guide and authority. Something is their authority, but that something is not Scripture. Even a casual reading of the New Testament reveals the identity, structure, importance, purpose and program of the locally established, New Testament church.

In the New Testament we find that the books of Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians and, arguably, 1, 2 & 3 John were written to specific, local churches. The books of 1 & 2 Timothy as well as Titus are referred to as the "pastoral epistles" because they are written to the pastors of particular local churches with instructions as to the nature, structure, organization and purpose of the local church. In the book of Revelation as the apostle John is being given the great revelation of the apocalypse he is commanded to write letters to seven specific local churches (Revelation 2 & 3). Given the fact that there is such an obvious importance placed on the local church in the Scripture the question must be asked: Why is there so little commitment to the local church today? I mean, let's face it, people change churches all the time; and not just because they've moved to a new city, or even because of some doctrinal heresy being taught in their church. People change churches for most trivial, and I would say unbiblical, reasons!

One day I had a man come to my office at the church where I was pastoring at the time to tell me that he would be leaving our church and begin his search for a new one. I asked him if he was moving to a different part of town, or to a new city. He said, no, he just felt like he and his family needed a change. Of course, as a pastor I never want to see anyone leave the church so I probed a littel bit further. I asked him if he had a Biblical reason for leaving the church. He was confused and asked what I meant, so I clarified. I asked him if he could show me in the Bible where the Scripture allows for the believer to just up and change churches based on "feeling the need for a change." He could not.

Obviously there is allowance for finding a new church when one has moved to a new city or to a distance to far to travel... Paul and others did this in the New Testament. But never do we find a discussion or an allowance for believers to leave their local church to find a new one simply because they feel the need for a change; or, because their feelings have been hurt; or, because they have even been wronged. As I discussed things further with the gentleman I mentioned, I discovered that he had an issue with another man in the church and rather than dealing with and working through the issue to bring resolve to the matter, this man chose to leave. I would submit that this is the case more often than not when people choose to change churches. They place such little emphasis on the importance of the local church and their involvement that when an issue arises they choose to leave rather than work through it.

Furthermore, it's one thing when you are a part of a church that is teaching outright doctrinal heresy and anti-biblical doctrine. One must be careful as to their spiritual diet. However, I still lay out the challenge to those who change churches simply because their feelings were hurt, or their sin was condemned, or even in the cases where they may have been genuinely wronged; the Scripture doesn't allow for that person to just run off to another church! What the Scrpture does do (Matthew 5 & 18) is outline for us, how to deal with those issues and bring resolve to differences with honesty, integrity, forgiveness, grace, mercy and compassion.

And let me add this: the Jews of Jesus' day and even His own disciples (at least until the day of Pentecost) never understood God's real plan in Christ coming to the earth. They looked for a conquering Messiah to come and over throw the Roman empire and rule forever from Jerusalem. They never understood that Christ was coming to establish a kingdom that would be ruled from the hearts of men and that that kingdom would be advanced in the world through the church that Jesus established. Now, let me say this: I think that many people today still don't get it. The don't understand the importance of the local church; that this is how God will advance His kingdom in the world until His return. Thererfore, there is very little commitment to the local church. People focus more on people rather than God's purpose. They focus more on problems than God's power. They focus more on personalities than on God's presence. In this pastor's opinion the church (in America) has become powerless and ineffectual; and that, is in large part due to the fact that Christian believers have so little care and concern for the local church body, and their place in it.

Lastly, let me say that if you are reading this, be committed and involved in your local church. Give your tithes and offerings. Operate in your area of giftedness. Serve the body of Christ. Take your place in the local church and help to advance God's kingdom on the earth. Be faithful, after all this is the church that Christ has built. This is His establishment. Don't be so quick to forsake what the Lord has designed and constructed to change the world!

An issue regarding prayer...

Several years ago I was flipping through the channels on the television while relaxing one afternoon. I came to a block of Christian channels. The satellite company I used grouped all of the Christian channels together. There were several channels that featured different authors, speakers, pastors and evangelists. I came to one channel and the program was that of a well known pastor who has authored several different books, whose name you would probably know if I mentioned it. Of course I already knew that I had much theological disagreement with this particular teacher but I paused for a moment just to see what his subject was. What transpired really caught me off guard and exposed me to something that I have noticed becoming more and more prominent among Christian people. When I tuned the television to the station he was on he was right in the middle of praying. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with his prayer. In fact he prayed for many of the things that I often prayed for before I preach the Word of God. He prayed for wisdom, for God's power and strength. He prayed for the anointing of the Holy Spirit and he prayed for his congregation's ears to be open and hearts receptive to the Word of God. But then, he did something that I found very strange: right in the middle of his praying, he began to talking to Satan. I was a bit surprised and my mind began to flood with questions: why is he talking to Satan? In praying to God why would he divert his attention to the Devil? What purpose does this serve? Well, I soon changed the channel and went on with the rest of my day and attributed this to another misunderstanding of Scripture that I perceived this particular preacher possessed. Since then, however, I have noticed more and more believers doing this very same thing.

I've always firmly believed in prayer. I believe that many Christians miss out on much of what the Lord has for them because they fail to engage the Lord in prayer. James 4: 2 says, "... you do not have because you do not ask..." As a pastor I often counsel with people. Many times I am told something like this: "Pastor, I just feel so distant from the Lord. I feel like God isn't there. My relationship with God is not where it should be." When I hear statements like this I often ask several diagnostic questions and one of those inquiries is: tell me about your prayer life. More often than not the person who makes statements like these has a prayer life that is virtually non-existent. So, let's be clear: prayer is vital to your Christian walk. Prayer is as necessary as breath. If we're to live physically we must breathe. If we're to live spiritually we must pray. And so, I offer this paragraph as my disclaimer of strong conviction on the necessity of a faithful and fervent prayer life for the Christian believer.

Now, on to the issue at hand... I would ask why would anyone begin to address Satan while praying? There are no Biblical examples for such a practice. We find that Jesus addresses Satan in Matthew 4 but this was not a part of His prayer time. Satan approached Jesus with temptation, to which the Lord responded with the Word of God. Peter, Paul, James, Jude or any other New Testament writer for that matter, in none of these men do we ever find them addressing Satan in prayer, much less teaching that believers should ever do so. Then of course, there is the matter that Satan, though very sly, cunning and deceptive, is nothing like the God of the Bible. The Devil is not all-powerful, he is not all-knowing and he is not omni-present, which is to say that Satan is not and can not be present every where at the same time. You see, the Lord is present with me in the person of the Holy Spirit, just as He present with every other believer on planet earth. The Lord can manifest His presence in a church service where I pastor, while at the same time He can manifest His presence in a service at the church down the street, and in a church in an neighboring state, even in a different country. God is omni-present... He can be everywhere all the time, but Satan is and can do none of these things. The Devil's knowledge is limited, his power is limited and his presence is limited. Knowing this, why would anyone waste their time or breath in speaking to Satan in prayer? More than likely he isn't even there and certainly doesn't hear their prayers. Really, if you stop and think about it this is a pride issue. There are about one billion people on the earth who profess to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, granted, all of those professions may not be genuine, but, even still, given the fact that Satan can only be in place at one time, what is the realistic possibility of Satan coming against you personally. Consider if there were only one million believers on the earth. If Satan were to personally attack each one for one day, one day at a time it would take him 2,739.73 years to attack each believer for one day; and that is based on there only being one million believers on the earth. Of course we know there to be more than one million believers on the earth. We also know that Satan has and does influence the kingdoms or powers of this world. 2 Corinthians 4: 4 refers to the Devil as "the god of this world." So the figures I have mentioned would not even account for Satan's work in the lives of those who are lost. Don't misunderstand me. I'm not minimizing the work of the enemy, all that I'm saying is that Satan can't attacking you and someone in India at the same time. He can't be in two places at once.

So, why talk to Satan in prayer? Prayer is not meant for Satan and has nothing to do with him, other than seeking God's protection from him and wisdom in response to him. Prayer is ordained for communing with the holy God of the Bible, not Satan. One day the disciples of the Lord ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. And in Luke 11 the Lord taught them about prayer. We often call it the model prayer, for in His teaching Jesus modelled how and what we should pray. He said, "... When you pray, say, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one..." (vs. 2-4). Notice, that in response to the direct request to be taught to pray, Jesus models prayer and in His teaching there is no place given for addressing Satan. The prayer is to God. God alone is to whom we pray! Now, in His teaching on prayer Jesus models asking God for protection from Satan, but again, this request is made to the Lord and protection from Satan is the subject, but he isn't the addressee. Prayer is where and when we seek God; its when we cry out to Him; its when we cast our cares upon Him; its talking to Him; its listening to Him; its communing with Him; with God, not Satan. The only place Satan should have in the prayer life of the believer is when the believer prays for God's protection from Him, nothing more.

But some would say, 'what about fighting the enemy?' We're never told in Scripture to fight the enemy, the enemy being Satan. In fact, the only fight that we're told to fight as believers is "... the good fight of faith..." (1 Timothy 6: 12). Even in that great warfare passage of Ephesians 6: 10-18 where the Bible beautifully describes the  armor that God has provided for the believers, having been clothed in Christ the believer is told to do only two things: 1. the believer is told to "... stand..." vs. 13-14; and 2. the believer is told to pray, vs. 18-20. The believer is not told to fight. The believer is not told to do battle with Satan. The believer is told to stand and to pray. The significance of this can not be overlooked. Where as in the previous paragraph I point out the issue of pride, because in addressing Satan in prayer places a focus and emphasis on the individual and the spiritual power of the believer who is praying; the words in Ephesians 6 places the emphasis on God! We're to be protected, but God is the one who does the fighting! I'm reminded of what Jesus said in John 15: 5, "... for without Me you can do nothing..." But some would say, 'what about the sword? The sword is an offensive weapon isn't it?' Well, the sword is both actually; it is offensive and defensive. But even more than that, the sword is the Word of God; it isn't speaking to Satan, or casting Satan to hell (which can't be done by a human being any way), or anything like that. What it is, is what Jesus did in Matthew 4: if Satan presents himself and tempts the believer, the response of the believer should be the Word of God, Scripture.

So, why do people do this? Why do some people begin to address Satan in the middle of prayer when prayer is only for communion with God? Well, I don't know how to answer the question any other way than to answer the question, but I'll try to be as delicate as I can. The answer is Biblical ignorance. Those who have such a practice often have had teaching, false teaching, over a period of time that has led them to believe in what they are doing, but they have never really examined Scripture carefully with respect to this practice; had they done so, they would see that there is no Biblical reason to address and speak to Satan while in prayer to God.

When you pray, pray to God... and God alone! Until next time, may God bless you!