Citizen ATX
Citizen ATX
Seeing The Unseen | Making A Battle Plan
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In last week's episode, we uncovered and discussed who the enemy of this world is and how he affects and influences the world around us. As we continue in our series, now we discuss how we protect ourselves as Christians from evil and the influence of sin. What does it mean to make a battle plan against the enemy? What does it mean to put on the full armor of God? And what significance does it have to know Jesus Christ has already won the war amongst the battles we face of this world?
Hello there. Welcome to the Citizen ATX podcast. My name is Matt Gillum, and welcome to our show as we are talking about living in the dual kingdom of heaven and on earth. Today with me is Jonathan Spencer. Hello, Jonathan. Hello, Dr. Gillum. Hello, hello. And then we also have Lauren Ortiz with us. And hello, Lauren. I think leave me the space in there.
SPEAKER_00Howdy.
SPEAKER_02Alright. Yeah, but you for those of you who are listening with us, uh, all our best stuff actually happens off microphone, I guess. There's not a camera in here, so it's it's when we're not recording. Um, but uh we we enjoy this time together talking through these difficult issues and uh different things that are on people's minds. And today we are continuing in our series called Seeing the Unseen. We're gonna be looking at the uh we're looking through the various spiritual realities of the world around us. Last week we spent time talking about the devil and Satan and hell in general. And this week we're gonna go ahead and take it from that kind of area of theory and looking out there and um and you know, discussing about Satan and about and about the way that there's impacts in the world to talking about real life battle plans, right? So, like the the title of this session today, we're talking about making a battle plan. And so, Jonathan, why are we using that terminology in this subject?
SPEAKER_01Well, the subject at hand, I know it's seeing the unseen, but this is kind of under the umbrella of what we're what people would call spiritual warfare. So we've talked about our enemy and we identified the enemy last week in this war, in this battle. But today we're really talking about more about a battle plan because if Jesus says he's come to steal, kill, and destroy, then we have to figure out how to defend ourselves. Unfortunately, the Bible has quite a bit to say on that.
SPEAKER_02Why do you think that spiritual warfare is not something that people typically think about when it when it comes like if you if you're coming to church for the first time, I don't know that there's a a ton of people coming in first one thing they'll know, well, what what's spiritual warfare and things like that.
SPEAKER_01Why do you think that, Jonathan? Well, I think I think we don't talk about it a whole lot because usually a couple things will happen. One, if we talk about it, people think we're weirdos. Because uh, especially if you're new to church or new to the scriptures, all this just seems so far-fetched and nuts. Um, so some people will think you're weirdos, or some people might just think you're hyper-spiritual and uh unrelatable, because sometimes I guess when you focus on the unseen versus the things that people see, people will write you off as just kind of up in the clouds of theology and not pragmatic. And uh so it becomes difficult in some ways, I think, for churches to address these topics because they fear it will disconnect them from their audiences. But in reality, I think it's actually very, very applicable to any of us. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I think too, we we also live in a culture that is so scientifically driven, uh, which the very nature of science needs means that things need to be measured, analyzed. You don't have to look further than the game of baseball to where everything is analyzed to the nth degree of of statistics. But when it comes to spiritual warfare and the impacts of the spiritual world, um they're things that can't be measured, they can't be timed out. It's it's something that's uh ultimately usually more felt than it is observed. And so um I think for that reason, you know, the the it's just not apparent in our culture. It's not something that we generally will have to deal with. Um and so yeah.
SPEAKER_00So now that I mean we've been talking about spiritual warfare for I guess what, a week, two weeks, how the intro with that kind of stuff. So like I would ask you, like, well now what? Like what what do we do now, knowing that we have an enemy, like what do we do?
SPEAKER_02Well, I think it's kind of the same thing you do when you know you have a have an enemy in the real world. Uh you start building defenses, right? Um, you know, the the bet the easiest way to lose a battle is to pretend it's not happening. I mean it's uh and that's honestly where a lot of Christians are, is we pretend these kind of we uh a cer a portion of our population either pretends it's not happening, that there's not a spiritual war war that's going on around us at all times, um, that we don't live in a place that's dominated by the kingdom of the air, um, and um and that and we pretend that our fight is not against the cosm the cosmic forces that are around us. Um instead we kind of dumb down our world to politics and um and social issues and the kind of stuff you listen to on N N PR as being the big, the big uh um attention grabbers of it. And so yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, and I think I think the key is for us just to if we're gonna engage this battle, if we're trying to figure out how to even get started or get in there, if you think about any kind of physical warfare, if you know you have an enemy, if there's somebody that's coming to you, the first thing you're naturally probably gonna do is arm yourself. I mean, that is something that you'll naturally consider is well, how do I defend myself? And spiritually, the Bible tells us that the word of God is our sword, that it is it is actually a weapon for our defense, that that if you look to the scriptures and Jesus modeled it in his own temptation with Satan in Matthew chapter four, he always came back to him with scripture. Uh so scripture is given to us for a multitude of reasons, but one is so that we can hide those truths in our hearts so that we might not sin against God. Um so I think a first step in the defense, you know, game plan is you have to immerse yourself in the book. Um, it's not a battle you can take on without your sword, but I think a lot of people lose the battle because they neglect the sword day in and day out, and then they find themselves losing over and over again. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I find a really helpful passage to look at in regards to these things is the uh Ephesians 6 when it's talking about the armor of God. Because we look at that um, you know, I think a lot of times we just kind of blow through that passage. I again kind of going back to baseball, it was helpful for me to read that passage in the context of if I were a catcher, how how would this all apply, right? Like why why is the breastplate of righteousness there? Well, so you don't take a ball to your rib cage and and so you can protect your heart from literally being punched to death. Um but when you think about that, you know, the um uh the when we practice a righteous life and when we stand in that, that does protect our heart from things in the world. One of the one of the things that's in that passage that I find the most compelling and one of the ones that we skip past, I think, the the quickest, is when it talks about your shoes, actually. Because it talks about that you have um having shoes uh being shod with the uh gospel of peace, right? And because it's because this was Roman armor, those were cleats. And it was the idea that if you're not moving forward in a battle, you're gonna get pushed over. Nobody stands still in a battle if they're winning. It's all if you're falling backwards, you're losing. And um, and that's why I like that you brought up in the preparation for the battle plan, it it's not just about bunkering down, because if we bunker down as believers and either ignore it or or hope it won't happen to us, the battle the enemy's gonna take ground and eventually you'll find yourself on an island um and you're not going to be living and move pressing forward into the things that God wants you to want you to achieve and do.
SPEAKER_01Well, and I think a lot of people get stuck in their battles too, because lots of times they think they're the only ones fighting them. And I think that's one reason why so many of us will hunker down, because we can usually see uh we talked about this last week in 2nd Corinthians chapter two, how we're not ignorant of Satan's schemes is what Paul says. I think it's in verse 11. But we talked about that idea we know his schemes, we know where he's attacking in our lives, and we'll we're really we might be losing ground. But instead of forming an army around us, what most of us do is we do hunker down out of shame. And I think, you know, part of the battle plan is also not just, you know, picking up your sword and putting on the armor, but it's developing an army around you. I think is a critical part of that battle plan. Uh it makes me think of 1 Corinthians 10 13, where uh Paul tells us that no temptation has seized you except what is common demand. So the battles we're in, other people are already in them. Uh we're just oftentimes fighting isolated instead of in community, but I think that's such a critical part.
SPEAKER_02Well, and I think we also forget then that if we're still using the battle metaphor, that there is a general who sees the full battle plan. Um, that we try when we try to go fight by ourselves, we do wind up isolating ourselves and not necessarily having that support or that effectiveness that he's intended for us. Um yeah, and I think over all this conversation, the thing that we we have to come to grips with is that ultimately when it comes to the spiritual realm, we are absolutely dependent on on Christ for our protection. It's not something that we can gin up for ourselves because I can't build a spiritual armor or shield or something like that. I'm dependent on a God who loves me and and who walks with me through the trials in this world. Um and that as I'm dependent on him, he'll be the one that gives me the power to to move forward to protect and to attack.
SPEAKER_00So I I have a quick question. So, like obviously, like I I started following Jesus later in life. So did I immediately become like have a target on my back when I started following Christ? Like, what what does that look like?
SPEAKER_02I'd argue that you have a target on your back before you start following Christ. Um, you know, because one of the questions I know you were going to talk about is um uh the idea of protection are are Christians protected by God or non-Christians protected by God? One thing I think that we have to make sure and separate out from this discussion first is how much of our perspective of spiritual warfare is influenced by the movie The Exorcist and the other horror, the other horror movies that have been, even though you've not seen it, um, you know, when when you have that idea, when you have the cultural idea of what possession is, that's this idea of like the spirit coming into the person and the head spinning around and vomiting everywhere or a ghost coming in or something like that. Like that idea possession, right, is kind of the what I would say is the um most culturally available idea of what spiritual warfare is. Um but what I would argue is that generally um uh demonic influences are that that they're influential. They they don't take because the the the problem is when we when we talk about possession, then responsibility leaves. Right because something else is doing it, something else has inhabited me and is doing these actions, and I'm doing them without being able to help it.
SPEAKER_01Well, and I do believe it's impossible for us to be possessed, just so people can hear me on that too. If you're in Christ, if the Spirit lives in you, and first John 4 4 says that he who's in you is greater than he who is in the world. So I don't I don't fear as a born-again believer being possessed by a demon. I don't I don't fear that, and I don't think any born-again believer should walk on eggshells over that. I do think we need to be cognizant of the reality that there are principalities at work, as we talked about, and demonic forces that do want to bring influence into our lives that that will lead us to destructive patterns. And Lauren, you asked an interesting question, you know, of being a fresh convert in that time if you're more if you're receiving more attacks. I I don't know if you could qualify that biblically to say that a fresh convert is receiving more, but I also would say that a fresh convert is someone who uh is easy to be attacked. Uh, because if if the devil prowls, Peter says in 1 Peter 5 8 that he prowls around like a roaring lion. What do lions look for? They look for the easiest kill. Um and so to me, I think some of the easiest kills are fresh converts, uh, that in that they don't have the foundation of scripture, community. Uh they don't, lots of times they're making transitions in large, large parts of their life from their friend groups to their habits to disciplines that they've never put in that are spiritual in nature. And I think I can't say that it's in the Bible it says he that he goes after them, but I think I think they are um easy to pick on, in other words. Uh, and it makes me think of, you know, when Jesus talks about Mark IV, the four different soils, when the seed is cast out and he says, you know, we the goal is obviously to have good soil that brings a massive return uh over time. But he talks about those other soils, one being a rocky soil that the seed planted and there was a little bit of life, but then there was no depth to the root, so it just kind of died out, and then there's that thorny soil where it it brings life, but then thorns and influences and heats just starts to choke it all out. And so I always think of that, you know, in that idea of people that receive the word of God, but there's really not much depth in there. And I know there's a lot of questions on whether the soils are, but but to the same to the point of this illustration, I think that sometimes new life starts to emerge in someone's life, and Satan always wants to choke it out. So I think I think you bring up an interesting question, Lauren, and I think Matt's right. I don't know if it's necessarily more or the other, because I think he always attacks us before we know Christ, and when we do, but um but that's a good question you're asking.
SPEAKER_02Well, and I think you know, you also have fear that's a part of the equation, right? Like you talk about the uh the devil being like a lion uh roaring, it's an intimidation factor, right? And when we when we approach the spiritual world, when we when we've not really paid attention to it or we're influenced by more cultural views of it than actual biblical ones, fear is the natural result. Um and I'm not I'm not absolutely certain that fear is the right response to demonic influences. Um you know, we mentioned in the last episode the idea of the screw tape letters and the the description of the demons being more like bureaucrats and and annoying and irritating. But that kind of is the thing. Like if if if you think about it, why it if the devil were a giant, if he was a giant monster with horns running around scaring people, is that going to create more or less devotion to God? I think it's gonna make more devotion to God because help me because there's a big horn guy coming after me. But if it's something that's a minor irritation, a whisper in the ear of you can be God yourself, you can do this. It's more of an attractiveness, a more of an influential influential aspect to it. That because we carry fear and we're looking for things to be afraid of, of torments and tortures, and we're not looking for the things that would just that would just inhibit and hinder and derail us. I think we miss the majority of things that are actually in spiritual warfare. Um because I mean that that's the way that it achieves the goal. You I mean, Satan would love nothing more than Christians to be derailed by stupid sins. Um and that is the I think that's something that we do have to also unwind here is the the difference between uh where temptation exists in demonic influence, but also where does sin enter into all this? Because that's I I would argue that sin is kind of the currency that we're working with here that the devil's trying to produce. So how does that all wind together, Jonathan?
SPEAKER_01Well, in differentiating, you're saying specifically within the temptations versus the sin. Yeah. Well, I mean the temptation's coming, but sin is ultimately a choice. I think that's also something that I think just to lay down here to reiterate to everyone that that uh demons and Satan don't force us to sin. Yeah. I I think that I think sometimes we make ourselves out to be victims uh of the enemy. Well, the enemy's attacking me on this and that. Well, God's given us all the grace and power we need to win those victories. It even says in that same verse I I kind of alluded to earlier in 1 Corinthians 10 13 that no temptation seized you except what's common to man, but then it says, But God is faithful, and even when you are tempted, he will give you a way out. So in God's very character and nature, he wants you to win and he'll enable you to win. And it's just oftentimes we fold, I guess is the point.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and there's a there's a unique thing to that passage. I'm actually pulling it up right now, um, really quickly. Um well, I can't find it right now, but um the the idea uh the idea of responsibility comes into it, right? That um with spiritual warfare, it's not just us feeling, well, I I I want to uh steal this guy's money. Right. I want to do I want to do this ethically wrong thing. You know, sometimes that might be demonically influenced, sometimes you might just want to do something wrong because it's easier. I mean it that the it's hard to to differentiate between those two things. And so the the reason why I bring that up is that you know, in our prayers, and even in the Lord's Prayer, uh it talks uh about give us this day our daily bread, um, uh forgive us our sins and those who sin against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Um you know, that most of the time I see it that Christians deliver themselves into temptation rather than the demons forcing anybody into it. Um and so, yeah, and then that's the point that I was gonna make is that in that first Corinthians 10 passage, there is it says that you'll not be uh tempted beyond what you can bear. Um, but and I'm gonna pull it up directly here. I'm I'm the worst because I always forget uh citations. Here we go. So no temptation has has overtaken you that is not common to man, but God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape so that you may be able to endure it. Another translation talks about that you may be able to stand up under it. The problem with a lot of Christians is that when we look at temptation, we don't we there are ways out, we don't want to take them. Right. We we are perfectly happy to go ahead and engage in the sin and then blame the devil for it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well it's because of what it says in James, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So it's our own desires that's that's like the enemy recognizes that, so do his helpers, you know, quotes. They recognize that we're enticed by the things that that look appealing to us. And so I think it's just a thing to know and and a heart check to be like, Where where am I struggling? And ask the people around you kind of what Jonathan said, like what what's a sense, what's a sense spot of mine? Like having that accountability and and working through that and saying, Hey, um, I'm really struggling with this. Will you pray with me? There's another verse in James talking about um prayer of a righteous man. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, in James 5. But and you're 100% right that that I think we do take a victim mentality into it, uh, and and the enemy will take a foothold in that. But I think you know, going back to kind of the metaphor we talked about about a battle plan, we talked about how you have to pick up your weapons, so the sword, uh, you have to find an army, you know, to fight with, but then you have to train yourself. Like that's a big part of military. If you want to use that same illustration, the military has constant training to keep themselves sharp. And in 1 Timothy 4 8, Timothy is uh being told by Paul that physical training is of some value, but he says training for godliness is so much more. And I think that's part of the battle is that you have to train yourself. And the training is the part that's the disciplines in our lives, the spiritual disciplines that we put into us day in, day out, that that are that are not easy, and honestly, oftentimes they're not exciting. And some days we don't want to read our Bible, we don't want to pray, we don't want to worship, we don't want to go to Bible study. But those things, it's training, it's getting out and doing what we need to do, so we are uh then capable to stand up on in those attacks.
SPEAKER_02And that reminds me of a quote from um from the the uh theologian Mike Tyson that everybody everybody has a game plan until they get punched in the mouth, right? Yeah, and that's that is the purpose of spiritual disciplines and the recognition of what spiritual warfare is, is that sometimes there are gonna be influences that that punch and hurt and influence and press against you. And the problem is if you lack discipline, you're going to react in the way that you're most you've already trained yourself mostly to do. And if your general response is serving yourself or uh taking care of yourself, you're gonna pick a way that's counter to what God has for you. But if you've already trained yourself in the easy times when the plan is clear to lean on Christ, to lean on scripture, to lean on that community, um, then that's gonna be it's muscle memory. It's moving, it's moving back to the thing that you know uh without having to rely on a clear head and clear uh emotion to guide you through it. And so uh I mean that's exactly right. That sp that spiritual discipline, I think, is a major part of this uh in spiritual warfare. Um now I I do think as much as we've kind of uh pushed back against spiritual warfare being, you know, as um maybe maybe as prevalent as it sometimes is, um, let's talk about that idea of possession and things like that. Because in in in the New Testament, there are several examples of people who are demon-possessed, and oftentimes that's spoken of as a um one of the signs of by which Jesus was working was by of casting out people's demons. So Jonathan, what what of that? I mean, does does that do we see that as something that continues into today, or uh what why is it not more common if it's common in the New Testament?
SPEAKER_01I believe it does exist, first of all, today. I there's nothing in in the New Testament to say it doesn't. I will say that. There's nothing to say that suddenly the devil stopped working that way. Um so I think it does exist. Um I will tell you there's many people that will have testified to things they have seen. And I have people, credible people I've spoken to, missionaries around the world, uh others that are not insane people that I know personally that have talked about how they've seen the enemy at work in people, uh, especially in uh oppressed areas of the world and in different different areas. And I and I'm not even saying that it doesn't happen in America, because I believe it does too. I think it happens everywhere. It is not something we see all the time. Um, but just because of that, I guess isn't an argument that it no longer exists either. But I uh to go back to what I said earlier, I still also don't believe that a born-again regenerated heart can be possessed, that uh that a that a body can be taken over by a demon. I don't believe that. And and the Bible doesn't say that's possible, and it would go against really what what scripture says, because if in 2 Timothy 1 7 we're told that we don't aren't given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control, um that that gift of power fights against him. But at the same time, uh could a lost person be possessed here in Austin, Texas? Yeah, yeah, I believe they could. I mean, truthfully, theologically, I would say yes.
SPEAKER_02And there is a parable that talks about this where um where Jesus talks about a demon being cast out of a house, but but then coming back finding it clean, he goes and he brings seven of his other friends in. And it's that idea of um what are what are we in our in our world leaving the door open to? Are we and this is one of the reasons why if you're if you're you know a young person or interacting with young people to be so careful about real witchcraft because it is dealing with forces that you don't understand that are out there and that are uh destructive. Uh, because a lot of the stories that I've heard from people about observable demon possession and activity is usually I uh uh one of them was on the Navajo Reservation uh in Arizona. Um I've heard about it in context in more highly spiritualized contexts. Where you have witch doctors, you have people that are worshiping these these beings and are uh being influenced that way. And so I I think that that is the area where a lot of caution has to come in. That um while you while as a believer you cannot be possessed, there's nothing the de devil is going to do to you that will make you do anything. At the same time, it is very real. The spiritual world is very real, and there is a very real battle that's happening right now in the heavens between uh between Satan and his minions and and the heavenly host.
SPEAKER_01And I think it's important for us, and especially if you're listening, you know, what takeaway is, you know, what do you set your mind on? Because I think also even in the Christian church, for some reason, I think it's our flesh, uh, we have we have a a bent towards sometimes focusing on dark things. And and we shouldn't, that we've been born into the light, but for some reason we like to just kind of focus a lot on darkness. And what I mean by that in some practical terms is many in the church are just constantly uh attuned to dark movies, dark stories, uh wicked, you know, kind of storylines and plots, uh the worst stories on the news. I mean, there's there's the enemy's work is around us all the time, and we're not called to bury our heads in the sand, but we're also not to call to put our devotion to on evil and dark things. And uh that's always just been, I guess, a part that I've kind of it's disturbed me, I guess, is it for instance to use an example of how many Christians out there can be fascinated and in love with the most demonic and awful storylines and movies. Like I cringe at that stuff, and it's not because I'm old-fashioned and legalistic, it's just like I don't want to celebrate that stuff. Yeah, uh, because it is real and it's demonic and dark, and Jesus came to free us from it. Um, but we're called to set our minds on better things, is what Philippians chapter four says. And so, um, so anyway, I think that's just a pragmatic part too, is I think sometimes we just we we focus on the wrong things, and then it leads us to dark places because all we're thinking is about the enemy's work.
SPEAKER_02And then there is a, I think, a note of what happens with repentance that a lot of times where there where there's sin and we and we repent of it and we clear it out and we we push back on those demonic influences and we celebrate because hey, I repented, I I I uh pushed this thing out, but then because we don't replace it with anything else, right, or we replace it with the same thing that that was that caused the problem in the first place, um it bec it comes back and it comes back worse. Um I I would be thinking about some of the apps that people will have on their phones right now that they know leads it has a pathway to porn, but they leave it on there for whatever reason because they think they can handle it or they've put up a certain parental control or something like that. It's like, well, you know what? If the gateway is still there, why will the why will the uh spiritual forces not keep attacking it if you haven't closed it? I mean, yeah, it's just it's just the nature of the deal that um you know when you play around with that kind of stuff, it's it it's likely to come back and and kick you in the butt. So I mean, I think that that's a large part of it.
SPEAKER_00So helpful to like practical applications to sum it up is know the word. Yeah, surround yourself with community, yeah. Be mindful of what you what you put in. Yeah. Um what what else would you add?
SPEAKER_01And train yourself. I'd say go back to that point because I think that's such a big part of it at the end of the day. Um, we always look for easy solutions. I think I think by by nature, and it's easy to go to church or even to use the illustration of warfare. If you had enough money and resources, it'd be easy to buy a tank. It's much harder to actually know how to operate it and use it because that would take training and education and time. Um and in the same way, you know, it's easy to hear a podcast and it's easy to go pick up a resource and and just do that. It's much harder to actually like grind it when no one else is watching you, of really getting after it, of of prayer and spending time with the Lord and time in repentance, like Matt was saying, uh, and time with community and and all the stuff we talked about. So above all, I I hope people take that that aspect that God will equip you with what you need, but you have to have uh the desire and the commitment to discipline yourself to receive uh his help. But if you do, honestly, there's nothing to be fearful of in my in my mind.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and it says, I mean, I've uh don't fear for I've overcome the world, right? And this the spirit set in us is uh more powerful than the spirit that's in the world. And so I I think that con that confidence backed by training, backed by humility, I think, is the other part of it. Is that um like that the first Corinthians passage said, I mean, there's no temptation that's overcome you that's not common to man. That means that the greatest people in the world have been tempted with the same things, and even Jesus was tempted with the same things as us, yet did not sin in those things. And so being realistic about who you are, what where and if you can talk even back about battle plans, uh a good battle leader is going to look at his lines and see where are my weak spots and how can I brace that up, or how can I how can I go ahead and attack in those areas and get get away from the weakness so that I can hold the I can hold uh hold the area better. It's it takes some very real uh self-analysis and a very real um looking at yourself and understanding even though I don't like this about myself, this is something I have a proclivity toward. Knowing that, what kind of protections am I putting up and how I'm and then how am I being aggressive and pushing forward and not dwelling in that place where I'm at risk. Um and so I think that those kind of things are are some practical things for that.
SPEAKER_00That's great. Yeah, I I I remember the other day in staff meeting you talked about like, you know, like God using our strengths and like surrendering our strengths to God, but also surrender surrendering our weaknesses, the the areas that we need to grow in. And that really hit home for me because that that's not something that I I like know where they're at, don't get me wrong, but I'm not like, hey, God, will you refine this in me? Yeah. Um, and so that's that was something that really stuck with me the other day that you that you talked about. Um, so that's I feel like that's gonna be helpful for a lot of people.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Well, and so I know ultimately they have this idea of the final defeat that we wanted to talk about. Yeah, I mean we didn't want to steal your thunder morning. We didn't, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_00I was you know, I was thinking about it. I was like, every day is such a little battle. Let's talk about the final one, the the full-on, like end in Game of Thrones, like Lord of the Rings meets like spiritual, but so much better because it's Jesus. Let's talk about it.
SPEAKER_01Well, I mean it's all going to the end, and and the end is in Revelation, and and it's confusing to read the whole book, but if you want to get to the best parts we're talking about, start 19, chapter 19. Skip ahead. Because Jesus, Jesus will return. We'll cut all the controversial stuff and the when and how, the stuff that happens before he returns, but he will return. And when he returns, ultimately he's gonna come and he's gonna destroy the Antichrist. We're told actually 2 Thessalonians, I think he's in chapter 2, that he'll destroy them by the presence of his coming and the word of his power. He's just gonna show up and destroy him. Uh, and in that moment, in chapter 20 of Revelation, he's gonna establish a kingdom, uh, I believe, a physical kingdom on this earth for a millennium. But then and during that time, Satan will be bound, and there will, and he will be put to the side for a moment, but then he'll be released after that thousand years, and he'll be destroyed and thrown into the lake of fire. And the wicked will be judged, and then in chapter twenty-one, we're told heaven will come down to earth, and all things will be made new. Uh, and so where it all is going ultimately is in that Revelation 21 picture where John says he saw a holy city, a new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband, and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, death shall be no more, neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. So all these present things will become former things. They won't exist anymore. And really, what you see is a picture in the Bible of Satan's disruption in Genesis 3 is ultimately removed, and God is back with his people, all things are made new, and death shall be no more. There will be no more battles to be fought at that point. Uh, and so there there is a victory coming, and and Satan also knows the victory's coming. That that is also the reality. So everything we we cling our hope to, Satan's aware of, and he knows he's on a limited clock right now. Um, but I think for us, it's important for us to look forward, to set our minds on things above, is Colossians three, that we look up to God and we look forward to the things that are to come, and it gives you hope. Because if you know ultimately that we're gonna win the war, then the battles you might lose day to day, they they don't hurt as much because you know at the end of the day you're gonna win, and then you pick up, get ready to go fight the next battle, knowing that the ultimate victory is coming.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I think that I think it's very, very important that we understand that methodology of the battle of the fight. Um, that the the passage that Jonathan just read talking about uh the end of pain and tears, we so often just skip straight to that. But it comes at a cost, and it came at the cost of Jesus Christ on the cross. And that that that that battle was fought, and that was where ultimately it was won. And everything else from that is the enemy retreating and trying to burn everything as he goes. Um and so yeah, I think so much of this when you when you go into when you go into a battle or even you go into a sporting event, generally it's not going to be the coach getting up there and talking about the nitpicky strategy of of all the different things, but it's about inspiration. And I do see a lot of the the testament in the the Bible as to what how we're supposed to go into these spiritual warfare battles with inspiration, understanding with confidence who it is that carries us and uh relying on our training and and discipleship.
SPEAKER_00So that's good. I think that's gonna be helpful for a lot of people. Thank you all.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Well, I think that's the end of this episode then. Um anything else that you have, Lauren or Jonathan?
unknownNada.
SPEAKER_01We're good. We're good at war.
SPEAKER_02We just solved all the world's problems, Jonathan. Yeah. Mark it. It was uh at uh 3.28 on a Tuesday afternoon, we solved all the world's problems. Oh my gosh. But friends, we do hope that you know that you are considering the the army that's being built up around you, that you don't try to to face these things in the world alone. Um, that where there is spiritual warfare in your life, that you are analytical about what weak spots there might be, and then be open and walk with others in accountability and community and in and most importantly in prayer to God, laying those things before him because he cares about you. And so thank you for listening today. Next week we're gonna come back and we will be talking about the better part of the spiritual world of the spiritual gifts. Um I get like this vision of prices right, right? Like God's spinning that giant wheel and Bob Barker's over there, and he's like a million years old. Anyway, so since I've just ruined this episode, you guys have a great week, and we look forward to our next time on the Citizen ATX podcast.