Ristau Spiritual Warfare

1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-1-68359-622-6
Verlag: Lexham Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 280 Seiten

Reihe: Lexham Ministry Guides

Jesus Christ is the light that no darkness can overcome. Spiritual warfare isn't always obvious. It's normally not scary or spooky; it's usually rather mundane. Yet it's real and always miraculous. In Spiritual Warfare, Harold Ristau shows how faithful spiritual warfare isn't about secret methods and rituals. Rather, for the care of souls, pastors already have all they need in God's word. The Spirit's gifts equip Christians for whatever challenges await them in ministry-even fighting against the wiles of the devil. Spiritual Warfare helps pastors inform, prepare, and equip the saints for the battle. The good fight is fought in prayer and worship. As the church preaches the forgiveness of sins, the darkness is pierced with the light of Christ and those in bondage are freed.

Harold Ristau (PhD, McGill University, Montreal) is associate professor of theology at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary. He is a former chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces (2006-2017) and was deployed twice to Afghanistan. He is the author of At Peace with War, My First Exorcism, and When You Fast.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ristau, Harold

Leseproben

CHAPTER 1

Send Your Holy Angels

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ and asleep we may rest in peace.

—Compline Antiphon

Books on spiritual warfare are a dime a dozen. It’s a popular topic because every faithful Christian is assaulted by the unceasing attacks of the world and the devil in his or her day-to-day life. The shelves of my local Christian bookstore are cluttered with self-help material listing ways to subdue temptation and prevent the evil one from gaining territory. Fictional novels on the subject compel us to question whether God is actually in control of the universe and if he could use our help. A few books address the unique spiritual and mental struggles that pastors suffer in their ministries. Then there are the rarer, more intriguing books on demon possession. These books can feel like the snuff of Christian literature for both clergy and laity alike; when we read them to satisfy curiosity, they can make our spiritual lives even worse.

The one book that stands out amidst this jumble—the Holy Bible—offers us the only entirely trustworthy window into these unseen realities, ensuring that we’re not “outwitted by Satan” (2 Cor 2:11) through ignorance or misunderstanding. When we peer through the glass of God’s word, we see that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). We find ourselves surrounded by demons but also an army of angels, supporting and caring for us in our ministry. And every divine warning and threat is followed by words of peace and promise for repentant believers.

This book helps prepare pastors as they devote their lives to equipping the saints to battle our common foe (Eph 4:12). For when it comes to questions around the subject of spiritual warfare, what you see isn’t necessarily what you get. Looks can be deceiving, especially since the great deceiver disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). If we could see with our eyes what we know with our hearts—that our enemies aim their arrows incessantly—we would value our ministries more and show greater care in the ways in which we conduct them. After all, Satan’s mission is to prevent your people from getting to heaven. He does it by distracting you from defending yourself, protecting your people, and using your God-given armor. Pastors fight the good fight of faith and empower others to do the same (1 Tim 6:12). They clothe their sheep when they preach “sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1) without compromise. They nourish their sheep by leading them in God-pleasing worship (Ps 29:2). They uplift them as living sacrifices by inspiring them to remain “holy and acceptable to God” (Rom 12:1).

At the end of the day, at the end of their lives, and at the end of the world, the job of the shepherd is to get his lambs into the sheep pen of heaven.

GUIDING SHEEP TO HEAVEN

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Ps 116:15). Let’s not let our joy become overshadowed by the tears and grief at a Christian funeral. Another soul for whom our Redeemer shed his blood has passed into the kingdom of glory. Alleluia! Another guest at the heavenly banquet has arrived, even as all Christians—both the living and the dead—await the final resurrection. Praise the Lord! That pastor can rest in peace celebrating the fact that, as a spiritual warrior, he has once again foiled the enemy’s hellish plans. The apostolic ministry has triumphed, as it always does; a whole string of shepherds, through whom our Chief Shepherd worked, were likely instrumental in the victory.

Every pastor knows that it is dangerous to live by sight, for the victory remains hidden in the form of a cross. Yet we pastors forget how significant our calling is. Because the choices that people make in their short time on earth have repercussions for their eternal destinies, your job is one of the most important in the world. So, although the world thinks you are just performing empty ceremonies and ancient rituals that are therapeutic at best, God sees it differently.

The pastoral ministry is indispensable to the salvation and preservation of souls. And yet, if you are a sinner, you screw things up. God knows us better than we know ourselves—both our strengths and weaknesses. And so God doesn’t let us go at this important task alone. He gives us help and helpers: the angels outnumber the demons at least three to one, so we have no reason to fear (Rev 12:4; 1 John 4:18). Even though this “host of heaven” (1 Kgs 22:19) has been worshiping the Triune God since their creation, their top priority since the fall of humankind is serving us. God sends angels to assist us in resisting our temptations and to strengthen us in both body and soul in our trials.

TWO KINDS OF HOLY ANGELS

Just as you have angels, you may be surprised to hear that you too are an angel to others. You may have never thought about your vocation in this way. You are called as a messenger of the word. In fact, a synonym for the Hebrew word for “angel” is “messenger.” These ambassadors of God are sent as preachers to us. And just as the identity of angels is inseparable from their office, it is the same with pastors.

Angels are like pastors in some unexpected ways. Both are sent to help others in need. By far the best aid available to humankind is the proclamation of the saving gospel to disheartened sinners with a message like “Do not be afraid” (Matt 28:5). We find the angels announcing Jesus’ conception (Luke 1:31), the birth of John, who would prepare the way for Jesus (Luke 1:13), the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:10–12), the guardianship of Jesus (Matt 1:20; 2:13, 19), and the resurrection of Jesus (Luke 24:23). In addition, most biblical scholars would argue that the Old Testament “angel of the Lord” is the preincarnate eternal Christ (Judg 13:18). Though we don’t know for sure, it is an appropriate title for the Word who would become flesh and dwell among us (John 1:14).

After all, Jesus is both the message and the messenger. So his servants—both human and celestial—are dedicated to delivering Jesus into the ears, lives, hearts, and souls of people in word and deed.

One obvious difference between clergy and angels is that the angelic race is older than the human one. Because their population is complete, they don’t need to get married (Matt 22:30). This society of bodiless creatures were created during creation, like us. But because death is, by definition, the separation of body and soul, they never die (Rom 6:23). Besides, they are sinless, perfect, and holy. They were, in effect, born divine messengers. In contrast, pastors are formed into messengers. They undergo study and training and, of course, receive a divine call. Yet despite these differences, together with angels, pastors are created and sent by God as ministers of mercy to his precious people. And despite your sins, imperfections, unholiness, and inadequacies, God confidently assigns a small flock to your care.

CELESTIAL REINFORCEMENT

He does it with the help of angels. Ministers need the celestial angels’ ministry as much as anyone else. They come to the rescue of God’s people in their dire times of need—and so do you.

As remarkable as it may sound, what they do for you, you do for others. As you are sent to serve others, angels are unceasingly being sent to serve you. Is there any greater comfort than the assurance that you aren’t alone in your ministry? God governs and watches over the universe through the agency of the angels, which includes you!

In your common mission, serving your common Lord, don’t be surprised when you find yourself in their company. Angels and pastors have a common love for worship. Christian worship offers an incomparable consolation in those moments when we feel like we are islands unto ourselves. Repeating our forefathers’ sacred practices with their enduring resonance reminds us that the Lord’s army is larger than a few clusters of Christian soldiers. Recollecting that the words with which we strengthen our people weren’t created by us but come “from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4) keeps us humble. We worship in a massive company of not only angels but all those who have fallen asleep in the Lord. Acknowledging both the tininess of our personhood and the timelessness of our message, the words are also a safeguard when we are tempted to minister to “our” people as lone rangers or one-of-a-kind spiritual heroes.

DELIVERING PEOPLE FROM HELL

Some pastors and seminary professors teach that demons don’t pester people in a Western, first-world context like ours. It’s not true. Yet even when the invisible war manifests itself in strange and disturbing physical ways, we don’t need to be frightened. As a retired military chaplain with an unusual amount of experience in the spheres of mental health, demonic oppression, and even possession, I hope to give you tools—some elementary, some specific to those in a pastoral vocation.

This book isn’t intended to offer a crash course in angelology and demonology. Instead it unpacks pastoral applications of what we confess in the Nicene Creed—that God created “all things visible and invisible,” and for his good and sovereign will. The message is a simple one: when God calls us to...