CHRIST-CENTRED MINISTRY

Christian ministry should be Christ-centred rather than Satan-centred, because Christ is the centre of Scripture, the gospel, and the Church. The apostles preached Christ crucified rather than making Satan the primary focus, as Paul says, “For I am determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

The Bible clearly teaches that Satan is real and that spiritual warfare exists, but our focus should not become centred on him.

There is also wisdom in not giving unnecessary attention to darkness. Scripture tells us to “resist the devil” (James 4:7), but it does not encourage us to continually talk about him, look for his activity, or make him the central subject of our ministry.

There is an important principle here about what we give our attention to. Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue”. Whilst this verse is not specifically teaching that whatever we focus on becomes our experience, it does remind us that our words have power and consequences. Therefore, if a ministry continually talks about the devil, his works, manifestations and attacks, it can unintentionally create an atmosphere where people begin looking for the devil rather than looking to Christ. Instead of becoming increasingly aware of the greatness of Jesus, people can become increasingly preoccupied with darkness.

Our attention should be directed towards Jesus, His finished work, His authority and His victory over sin and Satan. Christ has already triumphed over the powers of darkness through the cross, as Paul declares in Colossians 2:15. The devil is not the centre of the Christian story, Christ is. Satan is a defeated enemy, whilst Jesus is the risen and reigning King.

We see the importance of this Christ centred vision in Isaiah 6. Isaiah receives a vision of the Lord, seated upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe fills the temple. The seraphim cried out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). Isaiah's response is not to become fascinated with darkness, demons or spiritual manifestations. His response is to be overwhelmed by the holiness and glory of God. He says, “Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5).

The vision of God's glory brought Isaiah into a place of deep humility. When he saw the greatness and holiness of the Lord, he became increasingly aware of his own unworthiness. His attention was not drawn towards himself, nor towards the enemy, but towards God. The greater his vision of God's glory, the deeper his humility became.

There is also a powerful connection to Christ in Isaiah's vision. John, speaking about Isaiah's prophecy concerning Jesus, says, “These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him” (John 12:41). Isaiah's vision ultimately points us towards the glory of Christ. When Christ is truly lifted up before us, the natural response should not be pride, self-importance, or an obsession with spiritual darkness, but worship, humility, repentance and surrender.

This is an important principle for ministry. The answer to darkness is not to constantly focus on darkness, but to lift up Christ. When people encounter the holiness, beauty, authority and Glory of Jesus, they are brought into a proper perspective. We see ourselves rightly, we see the enemy rightly, and most importantly, we see Christ rightly.

Isaiah's encounter with God's glory led him from conviction to cleansing, and from cleansing to calling. After Isaiah humbled himself before the Lord, his guilt was taken away, and his sin was purged. Then he heard the Lord say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Isaiah responded, “Here am I, send me” (Isaiah 6:8). His ministry flowed out of an encounter with God's glory.

This is what Christ-centred ministry should produce. We should not seek to make people increasingly conscious of Satan, but increasingly conscious of Jesus. We should not build ministries around the enemy's activity, but around Christ's victory. We should not magnify darkness, but magnify the Light.

When Christ is exalted, Satan is put in his proper place. When Christ is glorified, pride is brought low. When Christ is seen clearly, we recognise our need for Him. And when we encounter His glory, like Isaiah, we are humbled, cleansed, transformed and made ready to serve.

The Church does need to understand spiritual warfare, recognise the reality of the enemy, and stand firm against his schemes. But even in spiritual warfare, our eyes must remain fixed upon Jesus. Christ is the centre, Christ is the message, Christ is the victory, and Christ must remain the focus of Christian ministry.

The answer to darkness is not to give darkness the spotlight. The answer is to lift up Christ, the Light of the world, the crucified and risen Lord, the victorious King. As Jesus Himself said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32). A ministry that truly reveals Christ should produce worship, conviction, repentance, cleansing, humility and mission.