If you are doing God’s work, the devil will try to get you to not do it, using whatever tactics he can. And one of his favorite tactics is lies.

Just look at Genesis 3:1-5 to see how he tempts Adam and Eve using lies. His tactics haven’t changed much since then.

Lies love to show up along with the other challenges of support raising. If we aren’t diligent in fighting them and training our staff to fight them, these lies can sideline the staff we are leading.

Here’s a battle plan for fighting the lies that show up to derail our MPD efforts.

Our model for how to deal with the devil’s lies is Jesus, especially as he’s tempted in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13). Notice how Jesus doesn’t argue with the lies, he instead replaces the lie with the truth, quoting Scripture.

I offer a three-step model for battling lies based on what Jesus does:

• Notice the lie, bringing it to the light.

• Renounce the lie in Jesus’ name.

• Replace the lie with the truth.

Below is an example with one common lie. As you see one possible way to deal with that lie, it should give you a good framework for dealing with other lies your staff uncover. The specific lies they are dealing with could take many forms, so walk with them in the process of identifying, renouncing, and replacing.

Let’s say you’re in a coaching session with one of your staff and they complain, “It’s easy for you to say that, you’re from the Midwest, and people tend to be stronger Christians there. Where I’m from, no one wants to give.”

There’s a lot to that statement, but ultimately there’s a lie behind it that says, “I can’t do MPD because __.” (In this case the blank is geography, but it could be a number of other factors).

To phrase the lie differently:

“The things you taught me are good and all, but they don’t apply in my super unique situation that exempts me from all of it. Other people might be able to do MPD, but I can’t.”

Now, I’m not saying there aren’t factors which can impact MPD. There certainly are. Some things might make MPD easier or harder. But to say that MPD is impossible in their particular situation is a lie, plain and simple.

So in this coaching session, you’ve identified the lie. Maybe your staff member has identified it, maybe they haven’t. If they can identify the lie themselves, that’s preferred. If not, you can do them a great service by pointing it out to them, because they haven’t noticed it yet. You point out the lie to them, and to complete step one, bring it to the light.

You now move on to step two, renouncing the lie in Jesus’ name. You can say something like, “Let’s pray out loud about this. Would you mind repeating this after me? ‘In Jesus name, I renounce the lie that I can’t do MPD because of where I’m from.’ ”

It’s important to not renounce the lie by our own power, but to renounce it in Jesus’ name. MPD, like any ministry, is only fruitful if it’s rooted in Jesus (see John 15:5). Bring Jesus into your renouncing of lies.

Finally, we move on to step three. Renouncing a lie is good, but if you really want things to be more effective, replace that lie with the truth. Here are two options:

• Find a Scripture that speaks truth into the situation.
• Pray something like, “Jesus, I ask you to fill me with the truth that MPD is possible no matter where I’m from. You called me to this mission. Help me to trust you to provide.” Asking for specific graces from Jesus is great.

I know some missionary teams who begin their MPD time with a session on renouncing lies, so they can be filled with the truth as they sit down to dial the phone. You can use that if you want, or you can use what I’ve outlined here in a one-on-one setting.

If you encounter a staff member discouraged, not putting in the work, or not seeing the MPD fruit they were hoping, there very well may be lies behind those behaviors. Bring those lies to the light, and let Jesus speak truth.