Holding the Ropes

I'm a big believer in encouraging our brothers and sisters! We need more men to learn how to do this, linking their encouragement to the truth of Scripture. Here's a wonderful example to learn from.

John Piper received this message from a missionary on the field:

"I need you to pray for me—I have a situation here where the occult is involved . . . . My friend has confided in me about some things . . . . I believe her story and believe that she may be in danger (as well as I) and am certain that her husband is in danger. I have been asking the Lord to save this woman and her husband for several months now. . . . I love these people so much my heart (literally) aches when I think of them separated from God forever."

His response:

"Your situation fills me with a sense of urgency that our people understand some of the battle many of them do not feel, but which you are tasting firsthand. My prayer for you is that God would give you a deep peace in his absolute sovereignty over all principalities and powers and world rulers of this present darkness and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Put on the whole armor of God, and you will STAND against all the fiery darts of the evil one. “They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:11).
. . . The greatest thing in the universe is that when Christ died he disarmed Satan and all his hosts (Colossians 2:13-16). I take that to mean that he stripped him of his one mortal weapon—unforgiven sin—because he nailed all the charges against us to the cross. That means Satan can rough us up but cannot damn us. I do not take lightly the threats, but they are not ultimate. They are limited. You can always say, Jesus is superior in strength and he died so that no accusation can hold against his people.
The great accuser, liar, murder has been exposed. He has been defanged. He can hurt us by gumming us, but his poison is gone. We cannot die. We cannot lose the battle that God fights for us with the death and resurrection of his Son. All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus. Lay hold on him. Speak his sovereign name. Trust his power and mercy and blood and righteousness implicitly.
We are holding the ropes and love you."