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One obstacle we must overcome is the illusion that we, because of our ability to "rightly divide the word," are more spiritual than those in other churches. This deception infects churches across the board. Consequently, we remain divided, kept in isolation by our own spiritual pride, never discerning that the enemy has the church down the street similarly thinking they are more spiritual than we.
I want to commend those who sent us their comments about church splits. We received more responses to this subject than any previous message. From my best analysis, about five percent blamed pastors, saying that the pastors were in serious sin, heavy handed, weren't in "the river" or refused accountability to anyone (sadly, this is true among a minority of ministers). Twenty percent wrote simply to encourage us to write the book. However, amazingly, 75% spoke of being "deeply devastated" by a split, some calling it "hell on earth." These people usually wrote long and obviously painful emails. They grieved for their pastors, the loss of friends and the "death" of their church. These individuals said the division arose from a subordinate leader or group within the church.
Last week, as we discussed church splits, we marveled that heaven itself endured a time of strife where Lucifer challenged the leadership of God. The Scriptures reveal that a full third of the angels succumbed to the persuasion of Lucifer's spell. We do not know what lie the devil was able to weave, but that angels could, on the one hand, know God in His unlimited capabilities, yet believe a strategy could emerge that could defeat Him is a testimony to the unfathomable cunning of Lucifer's wiles.
The spirit of Jezebel will target, and then seek to divide, the relationship between a pastor and the church intercessors. The antidote? Let the senior leader appreciate, communicate and support his intercessors and esteem their contribution, and let the intercessors set their prayer focus to first seek the spiritual fulfillment of the senior pastor's vision. Pastors are under siege. At every conference where I speak, various pastors approach and tell of terrible experiences with Jezebel-like battles in their churches. But I don't have to travel to be informed, for not a week passes where I do not hear from pastors from many places via phone, letters or emails; each desperate for specific prayer concerning the conflict in their churches. The war is over one thing: satan seeks to neutralize spiritual authority, and no enemy of hell does this more efficiently than the spirit of Jezebel.