Toongabbie Anglican Church Blog

Weekly Blurb

The Prowling Enemy

Sunday 10 August, 2008 · Posted by Raj Gupta

It is nothing short of incredible to ponder God’s kindness to our church at this time. As we have now begun to conduct our Church Strategy workshops through our Growth Groups, it has been striking that God’s kindness is so evident to so many. Sometimes it is not easy for those of us on the inside to see what is happening. But I do hope that you are aware of some of the things that God is doing in our midst.

People are hearing and understanding the Gospel. People are coming to Christ. People are deepening in their understanding of God through His Word. One example is someone I spoke with a few days ago who visited evening church. They said: ‘we loved it’. They are thinking of joining us as a result of just one visit.

This is not to say that we are the perfect church. We must prevent ourselves from thinking such nonsense, for we are sinful people and our church has many weaknesses. It is inevitable that a growing church will have problems, for in many ways chaos sets in as we try to keep up with what God is doing.

With so much to give thanks for also means there is a tremendous danger. For it is in times like these that the evil one would like nothing more than to gain a foothold. I have seen it happen before, with devastating consequences.

‘Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8). These are apt words for our church at this time. Satan would like nothing more than to bring to a halt to the work God is doing through His people. And in recent weeks, I have become only too aware of many opportunities in which I believe he is trying to do exactly that.

We must not let him.

It is in times like this where we must uphold one another in prayer, particularly our church leadership. That is often where he chooses to attack. God is a powerful God. He is far more powerful than the evil one, and he is working wonderfully among us. Praise the name of the Lord, and please join us in praying that he keeps working as he is.

Raj

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