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Peter Mead, of the Biblical Preaching blog, did a series of posts on Spiritual Warfare and the Preacher. You can find his first entry at this link.
In this post Mead provides three things that Satan uses to battle preachers. These are:
- Pride
- The Sin that easily besets us
- Distraction
Not Giving One’s Best
This is a good start. Mead will no doubt illuminate these as well as give us other possibilities. But as I think of this, a few other tools of Satan come to mind. The first is not giving one’s best. This problem’s twin is lack of preparation. This can easily happen to us when we procrastinate, or even when we fail to struggle with the text to the fullest extent of our abilities.
Ignore the Demands of the Law
Another way the enemy strikes us is to not address sin. There are some preachers who always sidestep the ethical demands of the gospel for things that are easier to preach.
Not Preaching the Gospel
There are so many things to preach, but we must always preach the Gospel. Some people think that a sermon is simply a lecture on a religious topic. They present the facts and then sit down, but a sermon is an encounter with the Gospel of the Living God. Satan would like us to preach facts and never preach Gospel.
Conclusion
Satan will always attack preachers, but if we will keep the Gospel center and seek to be true to both it and our God then, by God’s grace, we will be able to overcome Satan’s plans for the shipwrecking of our sermons.
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AMEN So very true thoughts
Spiritual warfare in preaching is common. Yet the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty through God to the pulling down of stronghold, as well as any imaginations against Jehovah God. Do not be weary in well doing but in due season you will reap, if you faint not. Preach the Word, be faithful in season, and out of season.
May the Lord break down the wall that divides the churches. There will be one church that the Lord will come back for without spot or blemish. How great it is when brothers dwell together in unity,
let us pray and work towards that day…