“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”. 1 Peter 5:8

It sometimes comes as an unpleasant surprise to many in the faith that Satan actually does have them on his radar screen. Your vision is in place, your plans for ministry to the lost and captive are moving forward and all is right with the world…until Satan makes his move, that is. As those who are experienced in ministry and missions will tell you, it’s not a matter of if Satan will strike; it’s a matter of when Satan will strike. 

Now, I have an acquaintance who is convinced that Satan is personally responsible for every untoward event in her life. Flat tire on the way to work? Satan trying to get her fired. Child only gets a C+ on his chemistry final; Satan ruining another young life. Hair out of sorts – you guessed it, Satan keeping her from finding husband number three!

That’s not what I’m talking about.

Scripture assures us that Satan is on the prowl and anyone with a little time in grade can tell you that Satan stalks those who dare to step out of their personal comfort zone and get busy with the spread of the Gospel. Now the good news is that Satan only has a few signature moves; he isn’t God, after all. The bad news is that, given our sin nature, he only needs a few moves. And if we are caught off guard, he’ll do his best. It’s important for leaders (by my reckoning, all Christians, in fact) to be acutely aware of how Satan works, as a preventative measure.

The Apostle John understood this all too well and his words should be a caution to us all:

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2: 15-17

It is worth noting that Satan even attempted to trip up the Master in each of these areas (see Luke 4) and he’s still at to today in the lives of those who belong to Jesus. I’d encourage everyone to take a closer look at each of these three signature flaws that Satan would love to exploit:

1.     Desires of the flesh – What do we really live for? Are we living for merely material things?

2.     Desires of the eyes – What heart idols have us in captivity, right now?

3.     Pride in possessions – Is our identity mostly wrapped up in who we think we are or is it truly in Christ?

This type of introspection is very difficult, if we are honest in the endeavor. The benefits, however, are enormous if we consciously, deliberately probe our hearts to uncover, as Tim Keller would put it, “our sins beneath our sins”. We all have issues in each of these areas, to be sure, but it is much better to work out our salvation off line with the help of the Holy Spirit, than to be caught unawares as we move forward on mission.

For those who have attended the ILI Regional Leadership training, take some time to review the excellent study resource provided in the Obstacles to Leadership module. For those who haven’t, consider attending our next Regional Conference to be held in the Santa Clarita Valley in February, 2010.

Mike Brown