How to Know When You’re Under Spiritual Attack | Same Demons. Different Day. | Week 1

There you are, okay. Hey, if you have a Bible with ya, you're gonna need it. If you don't have a Bible, there's Bibles in the back of all of our auditoriums. Go in and get one and you're gonna need something to write in. If you have a Bible app, something like that, go. We're gonna start and end in Ephesians chapter six. It's about 2/3 of the way through the Bible. Use the table of contents, all right? But hey, before we dive in today, I wanna give you a little background about what you're about to experience, all right? I'm so excited. So three years ago, I did a study through the first 11 chapters of the Bible and then I read and studied through these chapters. And I would say like with a new lens, like I looked at them a different way. Especially those parts of the Bible, I just call them the skip over parts. Like that doesn't make sense. We're, I just skip over it and just keep on reading. But we're gonna cover all those weird parts in the next six weeks too. But after studying through a book, great book, I recommend it's called The Unseen Realm by Duck of Michael Heiser and be ready. You need to read it again, get it on Amazon, right? And then I was so taken by this book that I enrolled in some college level courses

that Dr. Heiser taught before he passed away. And I studied them. And then I just, for the last three years, I think I taught the Bible differently. Now the reason I tell you that is as I was teaching that series three, three years ago, Dr. Heiser's widow reached out to me, thanking me for doing that series. She said it was always Dr. Heiser's goal to see this content like taught in churches. But the few churches who actually tried to teach this stuff blew up. Like, they aren't here anymore, all right? And honestly, here's why. It was because the pastors were not true to scriptural teaching. They lost their minds, all right? As a matter of fact, anybody been in that church where the pastor loses? Somebody goin', we're in that church. Anyway, so. So we actually have pastors on staff currently here at Flatlands that were part of some of those churches. And when I told them three years ago, I was gonna be teaching this. They were terrified. Like, don't, don't repeat the same mistakes. And we didn't, okay? As a matter of fact, I'm really excited about this. If you have your phone, if you look at this on the screen,

we're gonna host the first official unseen realm conference on Flatlands, October 9th until next Friday and Saturday up at our West Campus. We're hosting it. There's a cost to go to there, they're actually running the unseen realm ministry is. If you use the code Flatlands50, you get 50 bucks off the registration. I really highly recommend, if you dig what I'm gonna say today, you're really gonna dig that. So anyway, and I get a teach out at the beginning, but then these great, great men and women are gonna be teaching, all right? So, all right, ready to get into this? Here we go, buckle up, all right? So today, I wanna begin this series by not so much diving into the series itself. As much as let this week kind of serve like as a preface like a setup, by explaining to you where we will be going over the next five, six, seven, eight, I don't know how long it's gonna go, a long time. Why we're gonna do it, where we're gonna go, why we're gonna do it, and what I hope and I believe needs to be the application and the outcome in our lives as followers of Jesus who say this is my church. It's gonna change our church, it's very important. So as we enter into this series,

the study, this exposure of the spiritual war, the spiritual reality that is being waged currently against you like today in this world, a battle that is as real and ongoing as anything that you will read in the Bible is like it happened back then, it's happening now. I do, I go into this series, I'm not doing it lightly or flippantly. We're gonna be, here's what we're gonna do, we're gonna be pulling back the curtain on the source of so much of the sin, the evil, the pain, the chaos that you have are and will experience in this life. But to do this, there's a danger in doing this kind of series. It's also why this series is gonna be so important. Maybe the most important one we've done in 10 years, all right? Here's why the demonic realm doesn't want us to do this series and I've heard from them, they don't, all right? They know that if your eyes are open and you can actually identify like the real enemy and what's actually going on around you, the Bible calls them, I'm gonna read it here in a minute, the schemes of the devil, the things that are going on beneath the things that you're experiencing in your life, if your eyes are open, you'll be able to fight the battle that needs to be fought and when the day comes to win. So let's look at what, if he's in chapter six, if you have there in front of you, let's look at what the Apostle Paul who wrote this book,

2000 years ago, it's a letter he wrote to some struggling Christians who are under spiritual attack in a city called Ephesus, that's why it's called Ephesians, right? But by extension, he wrote it to them, but he's writing it for us because what he addresses back then will most certainly be true and ongoing for us in our lives until Jesus returns. He writes this at the very end of the letter. If he's in chapter six, he says this, he says finally, after the other five chapters, finally church, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Now I'm a pause, I'm a pause a lot, right? So if we are going to survive this ongoing battle, it will have to be done not in our own strength, not in our own power, not because we're just gonna stick it out and have determination. from an outside power, outside of ourselves. It will be supplied in and from the Lord. In other words, what Paul's saying is this, if you are, if we try to fight this enemy without the Lord's strength, you're gonna get beat. Now let's keep going. This is how we will tap into the strength we're gonna need to fight. Look at verse 11. So put on the whole armor, remember that, right? Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the,

here are this schemes of the devil. So this is important. Whatever this armor is that's of God that will be needed in the spiritual battle, right? Against the devil. God's not just gonna zap you with it. He's not gonna do it for you. He's not gonna do it instead of you. No, no, no, no. He's not gonna put on the full armor of God that you need to put on. You have to put it, you have to choose to put it on. God is gonna make it available to you. He's gonna show you what it is and where you can get it. He's even gonna show you how to use it. And Paul is saying you won't make it without the armor of God. Side note, which may explain like so many of us are experiencing defeat in our spiritual life instead of victory. We're not fighting. It's just too hard and we surrender. We hear what God says must be done and our response, some of us is this. Hey, thanks. Honestly, Jim, I think that the spiritual warfare, demon, mumbo, jumbo is a bit extreme, a little weird. I'm just gonna live my life. I'm gonna, as best I can, I'm gonna do something different and I think it's just as good and I'll be fine.

Heads up, write it down. It won't work because standing against this kind of enemy requires what only God can do and on your own, you won't stand. You won't make it. Your life will be, at best, less than it could have been had you simply agreed with God and put his armor on instead of fighting yourself. But you won't realize it until you realize I just got beat. I've just got defeated. You're not standing. Now, let's keep reading, verse 12. Here's what we're up against. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, we're gonna unpack all these, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, all the space around you, all right? If you try to wrestle against these evil spiritual forces that surround you, are being applied and deployed and targeted against you in your physical flesh, right? That you're living in, all right? Flesh and blood, if you try to defeat spiritual evil with mere human physical, emotional, or mental strength alone, you're gonna get beat. You're gonna lose. Which is why if you have any chance of not, not just surviving, but experiencing victory in your life to not lose everything, how about,

to not lose everything again to be still standing in the most important areas of your life, then you're gonna have to do this, verse 13. Therefore, if you wanna stand, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand to withstand the evil day and then having done all to stand firm. Now, here's what, here's what a lot of Christians, I'm gonna pick on Christians today, all right? It's my spiritual gift. If you're not a Christian, just go get some coffee. I'm gonna pick on the other people, all right? So, here's what a lot of Christians think and how they respond whenever they hear about spiritual warfare or the schemes of the devil and everything that we just read. Many times, they'll quote a Bible verse, which is true, all right? But Christians, sometimes you're naive. And you treat the Bible like it's a magic formula or a spell, and you'll say, or you'll think something like this, I don't have to worry about all that spiritual, evil stuff because I believe this, he that is in me is greater than he that is in the world, which is true. But most Christians don't even know where that verse is. Let alone the context that it was written in because if they did, they would know that the passage actually starts this way, first John chapter four, John writes this, beloved, so he's talking to Christians, beloved, don't believe every spirit.

But test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. In other words, there's a lot going on in the spiritual world around you. And not all the spirits are the same. When I talk spiritual warfare, we go devil, Satan, all right? But there's so much more formed against you. There are many spirits at work in our world, driving an agenda in the unseen world beneath the surface of the world that you're living in and they're working against you. And we're gonna look at all of them in this series. And some of them are good and some of them, many of them are false and are evil. So you'd better be able to figure out which one is which because they have very different agendas for your life. And how do you do that? Well, let's look at verse two. By this, by this you know the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, that spirit's from God. And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist. We'll come back to that, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. So if the spirit is good, if it's from God, that spirit will always confess and point you towards Jesus. To say, you know, agree with who Jesus is.

"he rose on the third day, he defeated death, "that's who he is, and you can trust his word." If a spirit does that, it's from God. And any spirit that does not do that or does anything else, it's the spirit of the Antichrist. Now, time out, if anything is anti-Jesus, it's anti-Christ. You heard the word anti-Christ, and you really, you jumped to this. You think or you reduce it to, there's a horrible person mentioned in the Bible, I think it's in the book of Revelation, like in the end times, like a long time from now, all right? And you're right, but Paul says spiritually, the spirit of the Antichrist is already busy and at work in this world right now. Now, keep reading here, I'm gonna come on, jump and get warmed up buddy, okay, so. (congregation laughing) So here's the verse that a bunch of Christians, quote, he says this, "Hey church, hey, now little children, "you have children of God basically, all right? "You are from God." So let me just say flat irons, children, you're from God. And you have overcome them, those spirits. For here it is, for he who is in you, is greater than he who is in the world. And here's what we're gonna learn in this series, the spiritual realm, these false gods and these demons, and there's a lot of them. We're gonna look at all of that,

but their authority was broken and removed at the cross, meaning that after the resurrection and Jesus' defeat of death, which is the ways of sin, so he's paid for that, and it's the ultimate threat and weapon of Satan formed against you. Jesus said, okay, all authority, it's mine. It's been given to me, which means Satan and the evil spiritual realm cannot make you or force you to do anything. They do not have that authority anymore. They have been overcome on the eternal level, but they are presently and will continue to wage war against your mind, against your body, and your emotions, and the goal is seducing you and convincing you to choose to let go of your faith in Jesus and his word, and choose to believe and embrace and live apart from Jesus. But we looked at this a few weeks ago, God is what? Faithful, I thought somebody, nobody got it last night either, okay, say, but God is faithful, all right? God is faithful and will give you all the strength that you need to not give into that temptation, but God will not force you to choose him. He won't make you trust him. You'll have to choose what you have decided to trust is the most true. The spiritual realm can't make you do anything, but they will do everything necessary to get you to not trust and follow Jesus. Why, verse five? 'Cause they're from the world.

Therefore, they speak from the world, and the world listens to him. The world's taking the cues from this realm, all right? These spiritual forces will operate from the world's perspective, and will try to convince you to listen to them from the world's perspective, culture's perspective of, this is right, this is wrong, this is good, and this is bad, and then act and live accordingly to what culture says and has decided is actually better than Jesus, and will try to convince you to embrace something that they claim and promise is actually more true, more helpful, promises more life, here's the big one, they're actually more loving than what Jesus says is the way and the truth and the life, but it's a false spirit offering, false hope, because it isn't true. It might make sense or feel better logically or emotionally in the moment, right, temporarily, but it will only have one result, steel killing destroyed, that's the only agenda, the spiritual forces of evil that work around you have. So having said that, here's why this series is so important, look at verse six. We are from God, flatter than say, where are we from? We are from God, whoever knows God listens to us, and us is not just, right, those who point to the gospel, to God's word is truth, right? Whoever is not from God doesn't listen to the gospel, right?

By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error, and if you look at those spirit words, caps intended, spirit of truth is God. So the goal of this series is for us, right? The people of God, that's us flatterings, right? That the followers of Jesus, to develop the ability to discern between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. And right, right, right, right, right. Paul says, the Bible shouts a warning and alarm. There's many spiritual forces at work in your world, and they're not all the same. Some only to life, and some of them want nothing more than to steel kill and destroy everything in your life. So don't judge them, don't take them at face value. They will play a long game to beat you. The goal of the series, the win of the series, and that you'll be able to, by seeing through everything through the lens of God's word, not culture, not Jim, I'm gonna look at everything through the lens of God's word, the goal is that you'll be able to discern. That's true, that is not true. That leads to life, and that leads to death. So that is what makes this series so important. But let me take the time out. So this is all set up, but let me take it, I'm gonna spend the rest of my time talking about what's about to happen in our church. Some of it's good, some's not, and you'll know who you are.

All right, so here we go, all right? So first, let me talk to the first group of you up. For some of us, this is gonna be like new information. You've only been in church a couple of times. You go, I've never heard this before. And it's gonna hit heavy because of the implications it will mean for your life. If what you are about to hear and learn over these next five or six weeks, if it's really true, and if this truth reveals that your life is not in alignment with what God's word says is true, that means you'll have to make a decision. You'll have to decide if you would be willing to choose to adjust your life and bring your life and your lifestyle under the authority of God's word. Even if it means, I gotta rethink some stuff. I gotta sacrifice some beliefs and alliances that I've always got held true as like, I don't know, just normal, I've always thought of it that way. Including, look at some of the normal things in your life that you've always thought, that's inconsequential. That's no big deal, that's not important. You're gonna discover, apparently, it is important. And you're foolish justifying the attempts to say, "My life with Jesus, while I'm continuing "to hold on to things that are anti-Jesus, "it's not possible, and I gotta choose." And here's the goal for you to say, I never thought about it like that, something needs to change. Jesus called that repentance.

I gotta rethink how I've always thought about everything based on new information. So that's buckle up, good luck, here we go, all right? So a second, right? Here's what I know, for some of us, some of the truths and realities that we're gonna unpack will be confirmation of what you have already been feeling and discerning in your spirit. But you didn't have the words or the context to put it into words. In other words, God has like been poking and prodding some of us around this. Like there's something more, there's something bigger, there's something sinister, there's something evil going on in the world around you. Has anybody felt that? Like, show of hands, has anybody felt that right? That's God. Something's happening and it's not good. But you have felt like helpless or unprepared to say or do anything so you haven't done much of anything 'cause you don't know what to do or where to start without sounding like some religious nut bag, right, right? So let me quote my friend, Jake Reed, he's our Lafayette High School pastor. He came out to house here today and we were talking and I was talking about this talking, he said this, he said, just because there isn't a demon behind every rock, that doesn't mean there isn't a demon behind some of them. In other words, they're out there.

And what you're feeling is real and most likely from the spirit of God. In this series, I'm telling you, lean in, listen to the Holy Spirit and he will guide your steps and your thoughts and tell you what you need to do in order to go to battle, not just battle against evil, but go to battle for good, for truth, for Jesus. So for some of us, this is gonna be new information, it's gonna rock your world, it's gonna lead you to make changes in the current alignment of your life. Second, for some of us, it's gonna give language and context is what you've already been sensing from God but didn't know what to do with it. I promise you, I'm gonna tell you, this is what needs to be done with it, okay? Now I'm gonna talk about the third one, okay? I've been waiting for this all the way, all right? And this one's a little more concerning and this will lead into why doing this series is definitely worth it. But also, why doing something like this is dangerous. And here's what I mean, this is what is about to happen. Some of you, mostly Christians, okay? And I say that 'cause I've rarely heard this argument from non-Christians, I'll be honest with you. But some of you Christians, you're gonna sit under this teaching over the next several weeks and you're just gonna get mad.

You're gonna get steamy. Some of you are already mad, not even know what I'm gonna say. You're just ready to get mad, all right? And here's what you're gonna do, all right? 'Cause I've been here for 21 years, all right? I know who you are, all right? Some of you, you're gonna write in your head and then you're gonna send me a very heated email telling me that, hey, we are leaving this church. Most likely include, and we've suspended our giving until we have clarity over where Jim's leading this church, all right? Got that email, right? So, but you'll either leave this church or threaten to leave Flaturns and go find another church, which probably you've done multiple times before whenever the pastor steps on your toes or says something that makes you mad. But that's not the reason you'll give. What you'll say is something like this, Jim and Flaturns, they're just getting too political. And I believe in the separation of church and state and I thought everybody is welcome at Flaturns no matter what they believe. Let me talk to you. Let me see a couple of things to this third group. So you can go ahead and leave. And leave now rather than sit in this church

and contaminate what God is doing here by your rebellious, critical, stubborn spirit. And here's the other thing, all right? And you won't be able to keep it to your stuff. You won't leave quietly. Here's what you'll do. You'll go back to your small group and share. Well, you'll gather a group of, there's a lot of us who feel like Jim's lost his mind and needs another sabbatical. I've got that one, thank you for that email, all right? (audience laughs) It's very kind, but you kind of mean is what it is. But anyway, but before you leave, here's what you'll do, all right? You'll get a bunch of people around you and you will voice your concern so that you can justify your own self-righteous spirit. First things, let me just tell you, I and Flatiron are not becoming... The bigger thing that we and you and I should be concerned about is that politics has become more theological, more spiritual, and it's leftist, don't clap, okay, I got some stuff to say, all right, so you won't hear it, clap it, all right, all right. (audience laughing) And left this lane of providing, this is government's lane, providing safe roads, civil law and order and protection and their responsibility in this constitutional republic that God has placed us in.

Their lane is for the purpose of reflecting the moral code of the people who elected them that they are charged to protect, not impose their moral code on us. Amen? (audience cheering) See, government, this is important, I'm just telling you what it is. Government has abandoned its lane and entered the lane that is reserved for God alone. Spiritual matters. Redefining sacraments like what is marriage, what is the right role and responsibility of a parent in their child's life and gender, that off-bounds, right? And here's the big one, when does a life actually begin that can be recognized and defended and protected as opposed to being reduced to and considered as nothing more than an inconvenience to that mom and can be dismantled and discarded like it was a piece of unwanted garbage? And yes, I'm referring to abortion as birth control. God defines life, not government. Amen? (audience cheering) And may usually people come here for two or three years ago, I didn't know that was your stand. Wake up. (audience laughing) If you're willing, I'm gonna say this a lot. If you're willing to stick around to the end of the series,

I will show you that the separation of church and state, as it was originally intended, was to address what our Founding Fathers knew, which is government's historical tendency from creation in the spiritual realm realm. We're gonna watch it happen in the first six chapters of the Bible and continuing throughout human history right up to today as it is currently happening in these United States and in Colorado. And here it is. Unchecked government will always gravitate towards the position of replacing family, church and God as the best option as to who should rightfully run your life. They always do that. And to this group, all right, I would say this, if you're willing to stick around, I'll show you that every ideology that says government should replace God, socialism, communism, Marxism, they all have one thing in common, anything but Jesus. And this should, I'm gonna ruff us more feathers, right? More than anything we have experienced in our lifetime is long. It's a demonic ideology masquerading as a religion centered around an ancient pagan God who currently goes by the name Allah, but he's the same demon, same small as you pagan God who made it his goal all through history to oppose and destroy the people of God. Different day, same agenda, destroying God's people. The Jewish people in the Old Testament and currently all Christians because they know

that we are the one remaining barrier holding back all people from abandoning one true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent so that they can force all people to worship and swear loyalty to Allah. I didn't make it up. That is the agenda clearly written in their book, The Quran. Now, let me be clear. This is why we have more security and they search your bags now. All right, that's telling you, all right? Here it is, ready? Bail of the Old Testament and Allah of Islam are the same God. Stick around and I'll open up your eyes and you can discern this is good and this is evil. So if you think, oh, Jim, you're being Islamophobic, that's not even a real thing. But if it was, I'm okay with it. That's like going, Jim, you're being Nazi phobic. All right. Or Satan phobic, I'm good with that because they all originate from the same evil place with the same evil agenda, the destruction of God's people. So to the separation of church and state group, I invite you to stick around and honestly listen, the current interpretation of separation of church and state cannot be supported biblically. It's impossible and I'll show you, if you stick around, with a discerning spirit by looking at what is happening

in the world around you through the lens of the Bible, not a political party. The only question that matters does it agree or disagree with God's word? Is this the spirit of God or is it the spirit of error? And I'll tell you up front, the current application of separation of church and state is a progressive socialist ideology and a satanic strategy to silence and dismiss any voice that aligns with Jesus. Any and everything is allowed in public life in America, except Jesus. I'll give you an example. Top of the list, government schools. And I'm not picking on teachers to allow your hands are tied. Government schools publish anything goes. Gender ideology, identity politics, all American history is oppressive and bad. It's based on Christian white patriarchal oppression of the powerless, which is why anything Christian must be dismantled, deconstructed and discarded to be replaced with new progressive ideas, even in especially the acceptance and celebration of Islam. 25 years after 9/11, Islam is not just tolerated, it's welcomed, it's celebrated, it's embraced in our government schools. Islam is of Satan and Satan's only agenda is to steal, kill and destroy.

Everything in America is welcome, except Jesus. The danger of this series is that I know I'm gonna lose some people. [BLANK_AUDIO] Write this down. I don't care. (audience applauds) I didn't get into this to grow a big church. I got into this to build an effective church that chases after Jesus. We're the people of God. All right? I am preaching it. I wanna build this church that hears the word of God and that they hear the truth. They repent, they turn from evil. If we're gonna grow, it's because we keep on calling on the name of Jesus. Not because the pastor made you feel better about your feelings and your ongoing beliefs and behaviors that are in conflict with Jesus. Jesus said, "I came to seek and save the lost." He didn't say, "I came to tell the lost that it's okay. "It's just stay lost." I'll give you one of many quotes to come from a good friend, Josh Howardton, down in Lake Point, all right? Yeah, all right, all right. He says this, "If godly voices are silent, "ungodly voices will speak unopposed.

"If godly leaders won't lead their homes, "their children, their schools, their churches, "their state, ungodly voices will. "Jesus commanded his church to go and make disciples." Here's a Howardton quote, "If the church won't disciple people, the world will. "And if godly pastors, and I'm doing my best, "and churches made up of godly followers of Jesus, "and I believe I'm sitting in one right now, "if we won't challenge and oppose evil, who will?" See, I'm fully aware that some of you're gonna pack your bags and go find another church. Not because I said or taught something unbiblical, but because it offended your personal beliefs and politics, but you'll blame me, and here's the line you'll hit me with. This sounds like Christian nationalism. I get full disclosure. I'm a Christian, and I love America, and I love this state. I do. (audience applauds) So much so that I'm not gonna move. I'm not gonna surrender this awesome state to Satan. I wanna fight with Jesus so that God can have it back, and it being the people that are being deceived by anti-Christ spiritual policies in our government and in our schools, and people can once again flourish under God's blessing, which can only come from alignment with God's truth. How can God bless the state that has made it its goal to be the poster child for, if God hates it, we love it,

and we celebrate it, and we even make it a civil right, and we'll make it our priority to codify it into the fabric of our state. You wanna talk about nationalism. Islam is nationalism. Islam is forced belief in loyalty or suffered death or exclusion if you resist, question, or criticize. Christianity is not nationalism, but it is this. Jesus said, you, turn this here, you're the salt of the earth. He didn't say you're the salt of the church. You can get up out of your church and go be salt of the earth. Be a salty force and presence in the world that you live in, the physical world that you go to school in, that you go to work in. The purpose of salt is to slow down the decay of everything it touches, like society. I will build the argument that it is our responsibility as Christians living in this constitutional republic to leverage our moral code-founding Christ in the forming and directing of the country that God has placed us in. We don't live in Sweden, we live here. I don't wanna live in a theocracy of forced religious loyalty or alliances at the cost of your life if you don't believe the same things I believe. But make no mistake, somebody's moral code is currently and will always be forming and directing our country and our state and our duty and responsibility as followers of Jesus to care for the welfare of our city, our state, and our nation and our children.

We're gonna talk a lot about that in this series, so get ready. Here's my suspicion. My name is, I don't have faith, my doubt. I think that many of us most likely have made an idol out of either our political party or an idol out of our hatred of a certain candidate based on his personality. And yeah, I'm probably talking about Trump. Listen, he's not a reflection, I'm not stumping for him, all right? You care more about personalities over the policies that do or don't align with godly values and what will be the best available choice in front of you to hold back the decay of our society. Heads up, personalities come and go. Policies last a long time and they will land on your children who will have no idea of the personalities that cause you to make the decision. Hey, Christians, grow up. Mature Christians need to think deeper than outward appearance of our leaders. At least, and why, like, Jesus isn't on the ballot. I'm gonna write his name in, well, don't. He's king, he's not enough for a vote, right, right? I mean, the Bible demonstrates that when David was chosen as king over his bigger, stronger, faster brothers, that didn't look at the house of appearance.

Now, I know I've taken a lot of time to address what I know is about to happen. When I address and tie in what is happening in the original spiritual world, it's safe there, right? In the hypothetical, and that happened a long time ago, category, but I'm gonna pull it out of that and I'm gonna apply it in real time to the real world that you and I live in because I know that it will collide with parts of your life that are very important to you. That's not lost on me, but part of spiritual formation. more and more aligned with Jesus over time, is that with the mind of Christ, you're able to better discern. That's the spirit of truth. That's the spirit of error. But here's the other thing I know. Well, I will get a lot of criticism from people, and I, okay, that's not my biggest concern, because my biggest battle isn't against you, people, right? It's not against flesh and blood. I know I'm opening up my cell. I'm drawing a huge target on me and this church to spiritual attack, which will come against me and some of us on all fronts, physical, relational, spiritual, and emotional, probably legal. I'm not talking hypothetically, three years ago when I began a four month study through the first 11 chapters of the Bible,

that fully explained why the world is the way it is and why it takes the rest of the Bible and Jesus coming in till we finally get to the last two chapters of the Bible and we get back to God's original plan. But at the beginning of that series, I don't ever say this, all right? I flippantly said, if you pick a fight with the devil, he's probably gonna fight back. I had no idea. I mean, even this week, as I'm studying for this series, this week, I got my talk halfway, typed out in word crafts, coincidence. And then Instagram notified me, some AI chat box, told me that I had violated community standards by some of the things I was posting and the research I was doing, which it's pretty intense. And then a radio station says they're investigating, it's like, I don't care. But as I went back and I reviewed the messages I preached from that first series three years ago, I opened up to week one and I started reading the first page and there it was, this week my mom died. It just got real. He's coming after us. A few weeks later, I've had many surgeries that you've gone through with me, all right? A couple of weeks after that, I tore a muscle off the bone,

I had to have it surgically attached. And then a couple of months after that, Satan hit my family. It almost ended, it almost split us in half. And I would pray prayers like God. I don't know if it's fixable. I don't know how to get there. I trust that there's a redemption story at the end of it, but I don't know, anybody been in some of those, right? It's just now recently beginning to heal 'cause God is good three years later. But I remember, and I was talking about this with Robin this week, I said, well, it's all this stuff happening to us all at once, and here's what she said. Maybe you stopped teaching us such hard things he'd leave us alone. He being, yeah, right, right? Which, you know what, I believe there's some truth to that. But I'm gonna be honest with you. I did not answer God's call in my life to tickle your ears or make people feel better about their sinful, broken lives. I can do this, I'm pretty good at it. I can preach five steps to a better marriage, how to be a better man or better parent, how to find the purpose of your life. But if I don't talk about the thing beneath the thing that's actually formed against your identity and your marriage and your children and your family and your life, then it's like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

We're just going down. We had a better marriage and my kids liked me all the way to hell. I'm not gonna do that, we're not gonna be that church. What I signed up for is this. I'm gonna talk about the real things. I made a deal with Jesus when I got into this, all right? I'm gonna talk about the real things in real ways that real people are really dealing with and have to deal with. I believe that you all, I hope, trust me to tell you what God says is true. Even when that truth stings, it makes us uncomfortable. So that is what I'm going to do. And if you don't think I'm telling you the truth, show me in that Bible where I'm wrong and I'll change my teaching. Just don't come to me with this. Jim, I know what the Bible says, but I just stop. Whatever comes after the but is irrelevant because it's wrong. I know what God says, but it disagrees with God. Not Jim, it agrees with what God's word says is true. Now having said that, I'm gonna do two things and then we're gonna come back next week, some of us, and we're gonna dig in, all right? First thing, everybody with me? Are you all with me? All right, okay. (congregation applauding)

We'll see. All right, so first thing, I'm really serious. We have, I have no business walking into a study like this without the absolute cover and protection or prayer and the power and protection of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise we should stay home. See, if you're new to faith, like when you become a follower of Jesus, he saves you, but he also promises to send his Holy Spirit to live in you, in your life. And when you have the Holy Spirit in your life, it is impossible for Satan or his demonic entities to possess you. I've seen all the movies, they're stupid. Hollywood's dumb, all right? Satan cannot possess you when you have the Holy Spirit, but be sure of this. They will most certainly oppress you. They'll attack you and they will tempt you, they'll lie to you, they'll try to discourage you and deceive you. So you shut up and stop speaking while they know it's true. They just don't want you to hear it. Robin and I were talking today, Robin, she's getting ready for church and she just got vertigo and she goes, "I love you and I want to support you." I said, "This is warfare, babe." He's going to get to our health. He's going to come against our marriages.

Anybody felt that? See, Jesus calls in His disciples that two things are always going to be at play in your life. He says, "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation to give up, right? The Spirit is indeed willing, but it's flesh. It's weak. All through the New Testament, we find warnings and encouragement from the authors to watch out. Stand firm. Don't be discouraged. Don't turn back. Don't give up. Why? They put it in there over and over because they know that they and we are going to come under such spiritual attack on our minds, our emotions, our bodies, our families, our relationship, that we're just going to get really tired and exhausted and discouraged and we're going to want to surrender because the fight, the battle, feels like it's just too much. It's too hard. It just doesn't feel winnable, which is why we began with Paul's warning and encouragement of what it will take to stand firm and not fall, win, not yet, but win spiritual attacks come. And they will. See, after Paul lists all the parts of the armor of God that we will need to put on and we'll get to those. They include faith and the truth of the word of God. But listen to what Paul teaches. It's also vital in this battle that we're in.

So Paul is going to encourage them to do something for one another and then he's going to say this. He's going to ask the church to do something personally on his behalf and I'm going to ask you the same thing. Back in Ephesians chapter 6, go down to verse 18. Pray all the time. Pray it all times in the spirit. I don't know what they're praying. He'll tell you with all prayer and supplication. That means I'm asking God. To that end, keep alert, like wake up with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, for the entire church. And he says this, and also pray for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains. He's writing from prison. Then I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. I'm asking for the same thing. Paul knows that he's picking a fight with the devil. So like Paul, I'm asking, will you please pray for me and then pray for this church as we enter into the series and the season of asking the Lord what he's directing us to do? Because the devil's going to fight back, all right? So here's the plan. I need to get your phones out. I know most times like put your phone away, you're in church, get your phone. Everybody, I'm going to wait. I don't bring my phone, yes you do.

You don't leave home without it, okay? All right, for the next five weeks, here's the plan. The prayer plan, I'm asking, I'm begging you to engage in with me and for me and for one another, all right? Starting tomorrow morning, Monday, all right? We're starting a six-week prayer challenge to go hand in hand with this teaching. And I want us to join together. If you say, "Flowers is my church and Jim is my pastor." I'm talking to you, okay? Every weekday by 7 a.m., go ahead and put this up, all right? We're going to send you a short prompt in the morning to help you pray as you start your day, to go through the day looking for what God may be doing around you and through new eyes. And then we're going to send you a second test. That's two a day at 7 p.m. in the evening to help you look back and notice what you saw that God had been doing. It's kind of like this, all right? So, text prayer to 80857. Now you said, "Well, I already text next to you. "Well, you ought to do it again." This is just for the people who want to pray, right? But this is kind of the analogy. A few years ago, I said, "I want to buy a Jeep," right? And now as I drove around town, all I saw was, there's jeeps everywhere. Now, there were jeeps everywhere. I'm just paying attention now. So that's what this is about.

I'm going to go through my day looking for what God may be showing to me, because my eyes are open, and I can say that one's true and that one's error. And then I'm going to look back at the end of my day and go, "I saw God's truth," and I was confronted with the error. Does that make sense? So, we're going to see what God does for the next six weeks, two a day, right? Pray for each other and pray for me, right? So this week's prayer, starting tomorrow, it's really not going to be about spiritual warfare, but remembering this, okay? Same Jesus different day, amen? And that's where I want us to end the day with this. Remembering the most important thing is not demons, it's Jesus. See, I think that one of the reasons that many of us feel like we are experiencing more fear and more defeat, like then we're experienced like the abundant life that Jesus came to give us, victory, joy, peace, is that we've forgotten who Jesus is. And what he will do and what he promises to do, it's like, I was talking to my friend Jonathan, and he says, "Nobody fears the Lord anymore." There's no respect, right? We've lost our awe for the Lord Jesus. He's more than that sappy, what's the fight, effeminate version that many have reduced him down to,

praying prayers to start like this, "Hey, bro, what's up, Jesus?" Heads up, you're addressing the creator of the universe. And yeah, Jesus says that we can call God our Father, but please remember Jesus is more than your buddy, your home boy, your homie in the sky. He's more than an add-on to your life in case things get rough or you can fit him in if the kids don't have another soccer game, all right? can't we just all get a long kind of Jesus, and no wonder you have no confidence in him. So you look to other things, stronger things for security. As we enter into this study of the enemy formed against us, let me remind you of this. God has made Jesus most Lord and King in Christ. Of everything. And Jesus chose to lay down his life for you, all right? Not because you're that great, but because he's that great. All authority belongs to him. He's bigger, greater, stronger, wiser, more powerful than anything Satan or his evil minions throw at you and he will not be mocked. No matter how bad or crazy this world feels, let me remind you, in the end, Jesus wins. And if we stick with Jesus, we win too. And we shall see the enemy knows that's true. They know they're coming fate and they're terrified of Jesus. Every time Jesus confronts the demon, they go,

we know who you are, we have history. Jesus is all authority, all power, and we'll do everything that he has promised to do. I was talking to some guys the other day and one of them asked me, like, hey Jim, what's the best thing you've preached in the last few years? I know what it is. I think a couple years ago, I preached what I think was my best sermon ever. It's definitely my favorite sermon in 40 years of doing this, all right? In that sermon, some of you are here three years ago, we went cover to cover of the Bible and discovered that while Jesus made his entry into the world in the flesh as a man in Bethlehem, Jesus has eternally been around from before creation of the universe. As a matter of fact, look at this gold nugget. Look at this, Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He's the first born over all creation. Look at this, for by Jesus, all things were created. He did it in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through Jesus and for Jesus, they belonged to him. And Jesus is before all things and in Jesus, all things hold together. So Jesus in the New Testament is God in the flesh, we call that incarnate, incarnate, right?

Jesus fully God, fully in the flesh as man. Everything in here, incarnate, I think, carnitas. That's what I think, all right? Now I'm hungry, all right? So it's the same word, all right, in the flesh. But we took a deeper dive and looked at Jesus' appearance in the Old Testament, I thought, Bethlehem, let me explain. Whenever God interacted with people in the Old Testament, he took on the appearance like a man, not in the incarnate form, that doesn't happen until Jesus is conceived in Mary's womb. No, when God appeared like a man, that's called embodied, appearing like a man. Look at this, two words, incarnate, God becoming a flesh man out flesh, right? Embodied, God appearing like a man. So we just read that Jesus pre-existed creation and was the one who created all things. After creation, before Bethlehem, anytime a person encountered God embodied, they were encountering Jesus. And when you discover who Jesus was before Bethlehem, you'll also be reminded of who Jesus is today because here's what my Bible says. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let me take you, I can't do that whole sermon. I want to, but I'm not, right? So when Adam and Eve, we're gonna, real quick, right? When Adam and Eve heard the footsteps of God walking in the garden, they walk and talk with God, right?

God had to have feet embodied. It was Jesus they were walking in the garden with. And after they had sinned, it was Jesus who came looking for them when they were hiding from God because of their shame. It was Jesus who was offering a way back into relationship with God. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. He doesn't change, he's still doing that for you today. When the angel of the Lord, not an angel from the Lord, that's different, we can talk about that in a couple of weeks, right? Special designation, whenever you see this in your Bible. Jesus is the angel of the Lord. And Jesus took Abraham outside of his tent and pointed to the stars and said, "Your descendants will outnumber the stars "and one of them will be the Messiah "who will come and save everybody who believes." The angel of the Lord was God embodied. It was Jesus who preached the first gospel message and he was talking about himself. And Jesus doesn't change. He's still on a saving mission to save everyone who believes. Same gospel, different day. Later when Abraham takes Isaac as one and only son up on the mountain to sacrifice him, it was Jesus who stopped his hand. Now you gotta let that one sink in. Jesus stops Abraham from sacrificing his one and only son. Knowing that in the future, he'll be laid not on an altar

but on a cross and nobody's gonna stop that hand. And he'll sacrifice his life. If you keep going, Jesus was, you've never thought about this. Jesus was the voice, the one speaking to Moses out of the burning bush, right? It was Jesus who defeated the gods of Egypt but the deaths of the firstborn. It was Jesus who was the first Passover lamb whose blood saved those who believed. And it was Jesus who knew that his blood would one day be shed on a cross to save those of us who believe. Jesus doesn't change. He still does the same thing. It was Jesus who was the pillar of fire that led people through the desert, through the promised land. Jesus can still lead you where you need to get to go. Jesus is a warrior that met Joshua on the other side of the Jordan River and said, I will go before you and I will fight for the Lord. He doesn't change. Jesus will fight for you today. Jesus who is God did the ultimate. to be graphed, like hoarded to himself, but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form flesh, he humbled himself by becoming obedient, even to the point of death on a cross. Therefore, listen to this church, God has highly exalted him, and we better do the same, and bestowed on him the name that

is above every name, so that at the name of who? Every nation bow, and heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that, let's say together, Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection defeated the powers and the authorities and the dark spiritual realm, making it possible for people like us to be saved, forgiven, and adopted back into God's family, and God is our Father. Jesus gives us the right to become the children of God, because without Jesus we're not. He made that possible over 2,000 years ago, but he doesn't change. He makes that possible for you right now. What do you mean? For everybody, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, Jesus, you'll be saved. Do you want to do that today? If you're not a Christian, just call on the name of Jesus, and he will save you, forgive you. His Holy Spirit will come and live inside of you. The end of this service, why don't you come down here and talk to some of us, all right, today's your day. So as we enter into this series, looking at the enemies formed against us, the best thing that we can do is not look at the enemy, but keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Because of what he has done in the past, he will continue to do it again and again and again, so do not be afraid, because Jesus never changes. Jesus is with us and in us, and the enemy is real

and has a plan to deceive you and defeat you, so we must open our eyes, wake up church. We must open our minds and we'll open our Bibles so that we can hear from Jesus what it is he's commanding us to do, that he can do what he's always done and will continue to do. He's always been about this. Love, protect, provide, forgive, heal, save. How, by bringing light into darkness, and he will do that in the world, and he will do that in us, and he will do it through us, if we'll trust him and obey him. So here we go. (audience applauding) I hope, I really do, I hope you'll come back. I hope you'll grab friends that have, you know, kind of giving up on church, so you gotta come on back. I don't know what church you went to, but I sit in a room with the people of God, hungry for the word of God, willing to submit themselves and adjust their lives under the authority of what God says is true. So please come back, bring your Bibles, and bring your minds so you don't need both of them, amen? All right, here we go. All right, all right, James, let's stand up. I'm gonna pray. Last night, I started crying. You ever just feel like overwhelmed by God, and you're not sad, you're just like,

but I'm very sober-minded. And I'm very alert that we have a target on us, but we also have the blood of Jesus, the authority of Jesus covering us. So do not be afraid, be bold, stand firm. God, I pray for the people of God, gather together under the name, the one and only, the name of all names, the name of Jesus. I pray boldness and courage, I pray their minds would open, I pray their hearts would soften, as we look at, I didn't realize I've actually made an idol, I made a false God out of something, it's important to me, but compared to Jesus, I choose Jesus. I pray protection on individuals who are fighting battles that we know nothing about, but they feel them every day, in the name of Jesus. I come against any spirit that's tormenting them, there's anxiety and bitterness and depression, I just come against it, 'cause you are greater than that. I pray for any marriages, any families, they just feel like, we're just under attack, they just can't get a win. I speak the name of Jesus into that family, the decisions that we have to make, that we feel like I have to do it. There'll be consequences and Jesus, you will not tell us to do anything

that you won't walk through with us, and when we go through it with us, you'll be with us and you'll give us what we need. So I do, I pray for boldness, and I pray for protection. 'Cause Satan is our enemy, and he cheats, and he doesn't fight fair, but my eyes aren't on that enemy, my eyes aren't on you, Jesus. The author and perfect are in my face. He laid down his life to demonstrate the links he was willing to go for me, for you, for all of us. We'll follow King Jesus anywhere. We're your people. Speak to us. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Amen.