Online Articles
Spoiler Alert!
[Editor's note: In anticipation of The Southside Lectures, we will be using articles written by our lecture speakers for the next several weeks.]
“Efforts are being made to make this year’s Southside Lectures the best ever!” I am confident that that sentiment has been discussed in an elders and preachers meeting if not announced to the congregation. It is a special week full of preaching, singing, fellowship and encouragement that carries spirits high for weeks after. Preparations have no doubt been underway for some time now. Exhortations to invite people, pray for the speakers and song leader and make arrangements to attend have been shared.
However, there is one who is preparing just as much to make this week a disaster. Satan does not want the 2018 Lectures to be a success. He would prefer to use this event as a stumbling block and a means of division. We need to be on the alert, “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11). There are many ways the serpent of old can use lectures to his advantage.
Satan will try to deceive us into thinking we are too busy or too tired to attend. The more people he can convince not to come, the less encouragement, the less opportunity for growth, the less potential for the word to hit its intended mark during the week. Perhaps even the theme of lectures, “Preach the word” will be thought of incorrectly as, “I’m not a preacher so this doesn’t apply to me.” This is not a lectureship for only gospel preachers! Luke records that more than preachers went about “preaching the word” during the persecution (Acts 8:4; 11:19). Each lesson will help us in teaching and living the word of God.
This is not a new strategy. The devil has been using it since the church began. “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another…” (Hebrews 10:24-25). Everyone is busy, perhaps too busy. This is especially true if you are a parent with children. Getting everyone there on time fed and clothed should be an Olympic event! Don’t be deceived. Your family will remember these times and learn what comes first (Matthew 6:33).
Satan will try to deceive us into thinking this week is about us. Yes, the church is to edify itself (Ephesians 4:12, 16). Yes, the singing will be uplifting, beautiful to the ears and educational (Colossians 3:16). Yes, the speakers will be prepared to “Preach the Word” and will be encouraged and lifted up (Galatians 6:6). Yes, Dee Bowman and the eldership will no doubt be reminiscing of the times when each speaker was in the preaching program and thinking of the years of investment put into each man and his family (2 Timothy 2:2). These are all good things.
However, the devil can use each of these biblical actions to his advantage. If the only thing we think about is what can “I” get out of lectures, we are neglecting what we can do to serve others during that week. If we focus on the beauty of the melody of the songs to the neglect of the words, we defeat the purpose. If we put the speakers on a pedestal beyond what the Lord says, we do them a disservice. “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:5-7). The lectureship is not about any man or group of people. If Satan can turn our focus away from Jesus, he will succeed in spoiling lectures.
Satan will try to deceive us into thinking there is nothing to do after lectures. After a packed week with good singing, convincing, rebuking, exhorting preaching, thoughtful prayers and encouraging reunions, it will come to an end. Visitors will return home and the building will have some breathing room again. There is a temptation to look back at how everything went and then go about the daily routine as normal. Like reading a good book or watching a movie, the feeling can come and go and be forgotten. The word of God is not meant to be heard only. There should always be stirring of the will and a self-examination that begs the question, “What do I need to do about this?” Our adversary has used this tactic skillfully before as well (Acts 17:32; 26:28). If Satan does not succeed in keeping us from coming or taking our focus off the Lord, he can still convince us to not do anything with those things with which we have been equipped (James 1:22).
Be on the alert! Major events in the business and entertainment industries come with security personnel. They also have evacuation plans, bag check points, cameras and various other precautions. They prepare for potential threats and emergencies. We need to prepare to defend ourselves before, during and after lectures. The devil wants to spoil this week…don’t allow him (Ephesians 6:13).
