(From my column “Looking Forward and
Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, February, 1988.)
“For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
(Ephesians 6:12) The reality of these prophetic words from Paul has recently
been felt and experienced by all of us at Stained Glass Theatre. We’ve
experienced the battle; we’ve come face to face with the power of the enemy.
We’ve experienced the fear and the pain, but the love, power, and grace of God,
plus the personal courage of so many has carried us through. Praise God! We will win! Victory will be ours! Thank You, Father!
The above is not the kind of thing I
enjoy writing. However, when I began this column some eighteen months ago, I
promised to keep you, our supporters, informed about what was happening at SGT.
I said then that I would tell the bad as well as the good. I feel God wants me
to honor those words, so it is with much pain and sorrow that I must now share
with you our most recent and potentially devastating struggles. We need your
prayers now as never before. As you read the following, please know that our
desire is for you to join with us in the battle against Satan, who would surely
like to see the ministry at SGT destroyed.
As you are aware from recent
newsletters, God has been blessing us in such exciting and miraculous ways over
the last two years. That has not changed, and we continue to praise Him for His lovingkindness! So what has happened? We can only surmise. It seems
that Satan has launched an attack like we’ve never experienced before. Why?
Perhaps to stop THE LORD OF TWO REQUESTS and/or future shows, perhaps to
completely shut down the ministry, or perhaps we let our armor slip a bit and
Satan saw his chance. We may have dropped our shield of faith, or we may have
loosened the breastplate of righteousness. Whatever the reason, all we know for
sure is that we have been under attack. Everyone was caught off guard. It was a
surprise attack—a bolt of lightning out of the blue. Our previous battles with
Satan had been fought along lines we understood: i.e. finances, attendance,
business-type problems. But now, suddenly and without warning, we found
ourselves in the middle of a devastating attack on the personal lives of the
SGT company. I do not believe God would have me discuss the details, for
innocent people could be hurt even more than they have been or are hurting now.
It is enough to tell you that lives have been devastated, families wounded (if
not destroyed), morale temporarily shattered, trust lost, and hurting people
left crying out for help. There were days of waiting through agonizing
uncertainty. But praise God, when the smoke began to clear, we could see that
there were survivors all around us. Yes, it had been a hideous battle, and
skirmishes still flare up, but we had survived—we
had won! THE LORD OF TWO REQUESTS would
open as scheduled! The battle had been bloody, but the band of survivors is
stronger than ever! We are resolved to carry this ministry forward in victory!
We will complete this Season
of Praise! We will continue
to praise God with all that is in us, through the bad times as well as the good
times! Praise You, Lord! Thank You, Father! Hallelujah!
This has been the most difficult
article I’ve ever had to write. We’ve shared our pain that you might pray for
us, and to ask all who love this ministry to intercede for us now and daily in
the future. But having said that, let me ask you to join with all of us to look
beyond the pain of battle and rejoice in good!
He is on His throne, and we give Him all
the glory! Praise You, Father! Praise Your Holy Name!
COMING NEXT: LESSONS
FROM JOSHUA—PART I
Everyone at SGT had to prepare to
enter their “Promised Land.”
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