Because Satan is “the god of this world,” many have also assumed that he controls the weather and is the one who causes all natural disasters, such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and so on. But is this what Scripture teaches us? Again, we must be careful that we don’t base our entire theology of Satan upon one scripture that

says that, “the thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). How often I’ve heard people quote this verse as proof that anything that steals, kills or destroys is from Satan. When we examine more of the Bible, however, we learn that God Himself sometimes kills and destroys. Consider these three passages out of many possible examples:

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy (James 4:12, emphasis added).

But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! (Luke 12:5, emphasis added.)

And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28, emphasis added).

If we say that everything that involves killing or destroying is the work of Satan, we are mistaken. There are scores of examples in the Bible of God killing and destroying.

We should ask ourselves, When Jesus spoke of the thief who comes to kill, steal, and destroy, was He actually speaking about the devil? Again, all we need to do is read His statement contextually. One verse prior to His statement about the thief coming to kill, steal, and destroy, Jesus said, “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them” (John 10:8). When we read Jesus’ entire discourse in John 10:1-15 stating He is the good Shepherd, it becomes even more obvious that His terms thief and thieves are references to false teachers and religious leaders.

One final question about natural disasters: Is it not true that if we have enough faith, we can rebuke and stop natural disasters from occurring?

To have faith means to believe God’s revealed will. Faith, therefore, must be founded on God’s own word or it is not faith at all, but rather hope or presumption. There is no place in the Bible where God gives us the promise that we can rebuke and calm hurricanes, and so there is no way a person could have faith to do so (apart from God sovereignly granting him faith).

Let me explain further. The only way a person could have faith to rebuke a hurricane is if he was certain God did not want that hurricane to strike a certain geographical area. As we have learned from Scripture, God is the one who controls the wind and is thus responsible for hurricanes. Therefore, it would be impossible for someone to have confident faith that he could stop a hurricane when God Himself has decreed its occurrence! The only exception to this would be if God changed His mind about the hurricane, which He might do in response to someone’s prayer that He show mercy, or in response to the repentance of the people whom He was about to judge (the story of Nineveh in Jonah’s day comes to mind as an example). Yet even if God changed His mind, still no one could have faith to rebuke and calm a hurricane unless that person knew God had changed His mind and also knew that God wanted him to rebuke and calm the storm.

The only person who ever rebuked and calmed a great wind was Jesus. The only way any of us could do it would be if God gave us the “gift of faith,” (or the gift of “special faith” as it is sometimes called), one of the nine gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. As with all the gifts of the Spirit, the gift of faith operates not as we might will, but only as the Spirit wills (see 1 Cor. 12:11). Therefore, unless God gives you special faith to rebuke an oncoming hurricane, you should not remain in its path, supposedly acting in faith. You should get out of the way! I would also suggest that you pray for God’s protection, and ask Him to have mercy upon the people He was judging, asking Him to spare their lives that they might have more time to repent.

Notice that when Paul was bound for Rome on a boat that was driven for two weeks by gale-force winds, he did not calm it by a rebuke (see Acts 27:14-44). The reason he didn’t is because he couldn’t. Also notice that God did have mercy upon every person on board, as all 276 of them survived the resulting shipwreck (see Acts 27:24, 34, 44). I would like to think that God had mercy upon them because Paul prayed for God to have mercy on them.

Jesus once said something concerning Satan’s fall from heaven that will help us understand how much power Satan has in comparison to our omnipotent God:

And the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning” (Luke 10:17-18).

When the all-powerful God decreed Satan’s expulsion from heaven, Satan could not resist. Jesus chose the metaphor, like lightning, to emphasize the speed with which Satan fell. He fell, not like molasses, but like lightning. Satan was in heaven one second, and in the next—BOOM!—he was gone!

If God can so quickly and easily expel Satan himself, it should have been no surprise that His commissioned servants could also quickly and easily expel demons. Like Christ’s first disciples, too many Christians today have a great respect for the power of the devil and have not yet grasped that God’s power is far, far, far greater. God is the Creator, and Satan is only a creation. Satan is no match for God.

But what about Christians who are affected by natural disasters? When a hurricane hits, it doesn’t just demolish the homes of non-Christians. Aren’t Christians exempt from God’s wrath due to Jesus’ sacrificial death? Then how can we say that God is the one ultimately behind natural disasters when they might very well harm His own children?

These are indeed difficult questions. We must realize, however, that the answers aren’t any easier if we base them upon the false premise that Satan causes natural disasters. If Satan causes all natural disasters, then why does God allow him to cause things that might harm God’s own children? We still face the same problem.

The Bible does state plainly that those who are in Christ are “not destined for wrath” (1 Thes. 5:9). At the same time, the Bible says that “the wrath of God abides on” those who don’t obey Jesus (John 3:36). Yet how can God’s wrath abide upon the unsaved without affecting the saved, when the saved live right among the unsaved? The answer is that, sometimes it can’t, and we should face up to that fact.

In the days of the exodus, all the Israelites were living together in one location, and the plagues which God sent as judgment upon the Egyptians did not harm them (see Ex. 8:22-23; 9:3-7; 24-26; 12:23). But with us, we live and work side-by-side with the “Egyptians.” If God is to judge them by means of a natural disaster, then how are we to escape?

Escape is definitely the key word in understanding the answer to this question. Although Noah escaped God’s full wrath when God flooded the earth, he still was adversely affected, as he had to labor to build the ark and then had to spend a year on board with a multitude of smelly animals. (Incidentally, both Old and New Testaments give God the credit for the flood of Noah, not Satan; see Gen. 6:17; 2 Pet. 2:5).

Lot escaped with his life when God’s judgment fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah, but he still lost everything he had in the destruction of the fire and brimstone. God’s judgment upon wicked people affected a righteous man.

Years in advance, Jesus had forewarned the believers in Jerusalem to flee when they saw their city surrounded by armies, because those would be “days of vengeance” (Luke 21:22-23)—clearly indicating God’s wrathful purpose for allowing the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Praise God that the Christians who heeded Christ’s warning escaped with their lives, but they still lost what they had to leave behind in Jerusalem.

In all three of the above examples, we see that God’s people may very well suffer to some degree when God’s judgment falls upon the wicked. We cannot, therefore, jump to the conclusion that God is not responsible for natural disasters because they sometimes affect Christians.

Does this story of Daniel and the prince of Persia prove that our spiritual warfare can determine the outcome of angelic battles? Again, this idea assumes (based upon a few scriptures) that there are regular angelic battles. But let’s take a leap in the dark and say that, yes, there are regular angelic battles. Does this story about Daniel prove that our spiritual warfare can determine the outcome of angelic battles that perhaps do occur?

The question is often asked by those who promote this particular myth, “What if Daniel had given up after one day?” The answer to that question, of course, no one actually knows, because the fact is that Daniel didn’t stop seeking God in prayer until the unnamed angel arrived. The implication in asking it, however, is to convince us that Daniel, through continued spiritual warfare, was the key to the unnamed angel’s breakthrough in the heavenlies. If Daniel had quit doing spiritual battle, supposedly the angel would never have made it past the prince of Persia. They want us to believe that we, like Daniel, must continue in spiritual battle, or else some evil angel may triumph over one of God’s angels.

First, may I point out that Daniel was not “doing spiritual warfare”—he was praying to God. There is no mention of him saying anything to any demonic angels, or binding them, or “warring” against them. Daniel, in fact, had no knowledge that there was any on-going angelic battle until three weeks had passed and the unnamed angel appeared to him. He spent those three weeks fasting and seeking God.

So let us rephrase the question: If Daniel had quit praying and seeking God after one or two days, would that unnamed angel have failed to get God’s message through to him? We don’t know. May I point out, however, that the unnamed angel never said to Daniel, “It’s a good thing you kept praying, or else I would never had made it.” No, the angel gave credit to Michael for his breakthrough. Obviously it was God who sent the unnamed angel and Michael, and He sent them in response to Daniel’s prayer for understanding of what was to take place in Israel’s future.

It would be an assumption to think that if Daniel had stopped fasting or seeking God, God would have said, “O.K. you two angels, Daniel has stopped fasting and praying, so even though I sent one of you to take a message to him on the first day he started praying, forget about getting that message to Daniel. It looks like there never will be an eleventh or twelfth chapter in Daniel’s book.”

Daniel obviously did persevere in prayer (not “spiritual warfare”), and God responded by sending angels. We, too, should persevere in prayer to God, and if God so wills, our answer could come by the agency of an angel. But don’t forget that there are plenty of examples of angels delivering important messages to biblical people where no mention is made of anyone praying a single prayer, much less praying for three weeks.^[1] We need to remain balanced. Furthermore, there are scores of instances of angels who gave messages to biblical people that include no mention of those angels having to fight demonic angels on the way from heaven. Those angels may have had to fight evil angels in order to deliver their messages, but if they did, we don’t know about it, because the Bible doesn’t tell us.

So on we go to a third commonly-believed myth.

^[1] See, for example, Matt. 1:20; 2:13,19; 4:11; Luke 1:11-20, 26-38.

If God is judging people through famines, floods, and earthquakes, then is it wrong for us, as God’s representatives, to assist and relieve the suffering of those whom God is punishing?

No, absolutely not. We should realize that God loves everyone, including people He judges. As strange as it may seem to our ears, His judgment through natural disasters is actually an indication of His love. How can that be? Through the hardship and difficulties that natural disasters cause, God is warning people whom He loves that He is holy and judgmental, and that there is a consequence for sin. God allows temporal suffering in order to help people wake up to see their need for a Savior—in order that they might escape the lake of fire. That is love!

As long as people are still breathing, God is still showing them undeserved mercy and there is time for them to repent. Through our compassion and assistance, we can demonstrate God’s love for people who are experiencing His temporal wrath, but who can be saved from His eternal wrath. Natural disasters are opportunities to reach out to the world for which Jesus died.

Isn’t reaching people with the gospel the most important thing in this life? When we have an eternal perspective, the suffering of those caught in natural disasters is nothing in comparison to the suffering of those who will be cast into the lake of fire.

It is a fact the people generally become more receptive to the gospel when they are suffering. There are numerous biblical examples of this phenomenon, from the repentance of Israel during the oppression of neighboring nations, to Jesus’ story of the prodigal son. Christians should view natural disasters as times when the harvest is potentially very ripe.

A pastor makes another wrong assumption if he thinks that his teaching responsibility is primarily one of delivering weekly public lectures. Jesus’ teaching ministry consisted not only of public sermons (and for the most part, it seems they were fairly short), but also of private conversations that were initiated by His inquisitive disciples. Moreover, such conversations were not limited to one half-hour of one day of the week at a church building, but occurred along seashores, in homes, and walking along dusty roads, as Jesus lived His life in full view of His disciples. That same teaching model was followed by the apostles. After Pentecost, the twelve taught “in the temple and from house to house” (Acts 5:42, emphasis added). They had daily interaction with the community of believers. Paul also taught “publicly and from house to house” (Acts 20:20; emphasis added).

At this point, if you are a pastor, you may be comparing your teaching ministry to that of Jesus and the first apostles. Perhaps you are even beginning to wonder if what you have been doing is what God intends for you to do, or are you just doing more of what hundreds of years of church traditions have taught you to do. If you are wondering, that is good. That is very good. That is the first step in the right direction.

Maybe you’ve thought even further. Perhaps you said to yourself, “Where could I ever find the time that such a ministry would require, teaching people from house to house, or involving them in my daily life so that I primarily influence them by my example?” Now that is a wonderful question, because it could lead you to keep wondering if there is something even more wrong with the modern concept of the pastor’s role.

Perhaps you even thought to yourself, “I’m not sure I would want to live my life so closely with people in my church. I was taught in Bible school that a pastor should never get too close to his congregation. He must keep some distance in order to maintain their professional respect. He can’t be close friends with them.”

Such a thought reveals that something is indeed very wrong with the way things are so often done in the modern church. Jesus was so close with the twelve that one of them felt quite comfortable leaning his head on His breast at a common meal (see John 13:23-25). They literally lived together for several years. So much for keeping a professional distance from one’s disciples in order to successfully minister to them!

No house church pastor/elder/overseer suffered ministerial “burnout” because of being overwhelmed with pastoral responsibilities, something that is widespread in the modern church. (One study reported that 1,800 pastors are leaving the ministry per month in the U.S.) He had only a small flock to look after, and if that flock supplied his financial needs so that the ministry was his vocation, he actually had time to pray, meditate, preach the gospel to unbelievers, assist the poor, visit and pray for the sick, and spend quality time equipping new disciples to do all those things right along with him. Church administration was simple.

He worked in unison with the other elders/pastors/overseers in his region. There was no striving to have “the biggest church in town” or compete with his fellow pastors to have the “best youth ministry” or the “most exciting kids’ church program.” People didn’t go to church meetings to judge how good the worship team performed or how entertaining the pastor was. They had been born again and loved Jesus and His people. They loved to eat together and share whatever gifts God had given them. Their goal was to obey Jesus and be ready to stand at His judgment seat.

To be sure, there were problems in house churches, and those are addressed in the epistles. But so many of the problems that inevitably plague modern churches and hinder disciple making were unheard of in the early church, simply because their model of the local church was so different than what evolved after the third century and since the dark ages. Again, allow this fact to sink in: there were no church buildings until the beginning of the fourth century. If you had lived during the first three centuries, how would your ministry have been different than it is now?

In summary, the more closely we follow biblical patterns, the more effective we will be in accomplishing God’s goal of making disciples. The greatest hindrances to disciple-making in churches today stem from unbiblical structures and practices.

The minister’s goal of making disciples should shape everything he does in ministry. He should continually be asking himself, “How does what I’m doing contribute to the process of making disciples who will obey all of Jesus’ commandments?” That simple test question, if asked honestly, would eliminate much that is done under the banner of Christian activity.

Let us consider the ministry of the pastor/elder/overseer,^[1] a person whose ministry assignment focuses him on a specific local church. If that person is going to make disciples who obey all of Jesus’ commandments, what should be one of his primary responsibilities? Teaching naturally comes to mind. Jesus said that disciples are made by the means of teaching (see Matt. 28:19-20). A requirement for one to be an elder/pastor/overseer is that he be “able to teach” (1 Tim. 3:2). Those who “work hard at preaching and teaching” should “be considered worthy of double honor” (1 Tim. 5:17).

Therefore, a pastor should evaluate every sermon by asking himself this question, “How does this sermon help accomplish the task of making disciples?”

Is a pastor’s teaching responsibility fulfilled, however, solely by means of his Sunday or midweek sermons? If he thinks so, he overlooks the fact that Scripture indicates his teaching responsibility is primarily fulfilled by the life he lives and the example he sets. The teaching example of his daily life is simply supplemented by his public teaching ministry. That is why the requirements for elders/pastors/overseers have much more to do with a person’s character and lifestyle than his verbal communication skills. Of fifteen requirements listed for overseers in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, fourteen are related to character and only one to teaching ability. Of the eighteen requirements listed for elders in Titus 1:5-9, seventeen are related to character and only one to teaching ability. Paul first reminded Timothy, “In speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:12; emphasis added). He then said, “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13). Thus the example of Timothy’s character was mentioned before his public teaching ministry, underscoring its greater importance.

Peter similarly wrote:

I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock (1 Pet. 5:1-3; emphasis added).

Who inspires us to deny ourselves and obey Christ? Is it those whose sermons we admire or those whose lives we admire? Uncommitted, soft-style pastors inspire no one to take up their cross. If such pastors do preach an occasional message of commitment to Christ, they must preach in vague generalities, otherwise their listeners would question their sincerity. Most of the great Christian leaders of the past are not remembered for their sermons, but for their sacrifices. Their example inspires us long after they are gone.

If a pastor is not setting an example of obedience as a true disciple of Jesus Christ, he is wasting his time delivering any sermons. Pastor, your example speaks ten times louder than your sermons. Are you inspiring people to deny themselves and follow Christ by denying yourself and following Christ?

But how can a pastor, by means of the example of his lifestyle, teach people who primarily know him as a Sunday-morning orator? The closest they actually get to seeing him live his life is a five-second handshake as they dutifully exit the church building. Perhaps there is something not quite right about the modern pastoral model.

^[1] It seems quite clear that a pastor (the Greek noun is poimain, meaning shepherd, found only once in the New Testament) is equivalent to an elder (the Greek noun presbuteros, found numerous times in the New Testament), and is also equivalent to an overseer (the Greek noun episkopos, translated bishop in the KJV). Paul, for example, instructed the Ephesian elders (presbuteros), whom he said the Holy Spirit had made overseers (episkopos), to shepherd (the Greek verb poimaino) the flock of God (see Acts 20:28). He also used the terms elders (presbuteros) and overseers (episkopos) synonymously in Titus 1:5-7. Peter, too, exhorted the elders (presbuteros) to shepherd (poimaino) the flock (see 1 Pet. 5:1-2). The idea that a bishop (the KJV translation of episkopos) is a higher office than pastor or elder and is one who oversees numerous churches is a human invention.

For many years and in many ways, I unknowingly followed practices that worked against the goal that God wanted me to pursue, the goal of making disciples. But gradually, the Holy Spirit graciously opened my eyes to my errors. One thing I’ve learned is this: I should question everything I’ve been taught and believed in light of God’s Word. Our traditions, more than anything else, blind us to what God has said. Worse, we are very proud of our traditions, certain that we stand among an elite group who has a greater grasp of truth than other Christians. As one teacher sarcastically said, “There are 32,000 denominations in the world today. Aren’t you fortunate to be a member of the one that is right?”

As a result of our pride, God resists us, because He resists the proud. If we want to make any progress and be fully ready to stand before Jesus, we must humble ourselves. To those, God gives grace.