1 post tagged “songs”
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Eph. 3:14-21)
Many of you know that this has been my prayer for the youth ministry the entire semester. As I look back at the past month, I’m blown away at how faithful God has been to answer this prayer and so many more that have been lifted up by each of you. God has blessed us tremendously! Nevertheless, we must always remember why God chooses to bless us: God has a desire to bless us, so His glory, passion, and Word will be known among the nations. The central focus of the youth ministry is God’s glory. Every decision that is made, every word that is taught, and every relationship that is established is done with the glory of God in mind. Our motivation for ministry comes from a pursuit of God’s glory. The ways our programs are run reflect God’s glory. And the results of these programs celebrate God’s glory.
The advancement of the kingdom of God and His glory is taking place in the youth ministry right now. As a result, the enemy is working harder than ever to destroy what God is doing. Satan’s first scheme is to destroy the unity among the youth leadership. He wants us to question each other, fight each other, gossip, be frustrated, and be angry. When we begin doing these things, Satan has successfully taken our minds off of God’s glory and replaced that glory with an unhealthy desire to glorify ourselves. A battle is raging in the youth ministry right now, but it’s not the battle many of you think it is. Paul writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). The battle is not among us. It’s a war that goes well beyond anything we can see. Satan wants nothing more than to steal the glory of God.
So how do we fight this battle as youth leaders? Thankfully, Paul not only tells us about the enemy but gives us the battle plan too:
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with her readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints (Eph. 6:13-18).
For some of you, this may be your first experience with spiritual warfare. It’s real. Satan is real. God is real, and more importantly, God has already won the battle! I’ll leave you with a thought from David Crowder. In the song “We Win,” Crowder encourages believers and hits Satan in the mouth with the following words:
Because we’ve already
won
And You don’t have a chance
Yeah we’ve already won
No you don’t have a chance
It’s already done
And you don’t have a chance
Because we’ve already won!
We have already won!
Youth leaders, Satan has already lost! God has already won! Strap on your armor, remain unified as a team and fight for the glory of our King!
