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If you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you've probably noticed that I went quiet for a few months, no episodes, no updates, just well silence.
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And that wasn't because ministry slowed down.
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It wasn't because life got easier and it definitely wasn't because I ran out of things to say.
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It was because God had me focused, deeply focused on something that required more than my spare time.
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It required my attention, my prayer, my wrestling, my obedience.
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So over the past several months, I've been writing and finishing a book on spiritual warfare, a subject that a lot of Christians either avoid entirely or approach in ways that are more dramatic than biblical.
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That book is now released.
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It's available on Amazon and at South Shore Church this weekend if you attend South Shore.
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And on February 1st, we're launching a small group video series and curriculum built around it.
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And that's why this episode matters because this isn't about promoting a book.
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This is about preparing God's people for the battles they're already in, whether they recognize them or not.
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So you don't have to be obsessed with the enemy to be vulnerable to him.
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You just have to be unaware.
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As you and I step into 2026, I believe this conversation is timely necessary.
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And pastoral.
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So today I wanna talk about spiritual warfare, not from a place of fear, but from a place of clarity.
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Not speculation, but scripture, not sensationalism, but sobriety.
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And my prayer is that by the end of this episode, you won't walk away looking for demons under every rock, but you'll walk away spiritually.
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Awake for many Christians, spiritual warfare falls into one of two extremes.
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If you know my story, I grew up Bicostal, half Baptist, half Pentecostal, and so on one side, everything is spiritual warfare, right?
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A flat tire, a bad mood, a slow wifi connection.
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People blame on the devil on the other side, nothing is spiritual warfare.
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We explain everything psychologically.
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Emotionally or circumstantially.
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And we leave no room for a real enemy, but scripture refuses to let us live in either extreme.
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The Bible is clear that we have an enemy, but it's also clear that we don't need to fear him first.
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Peter five, eight.
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The verse that sparked all of this for me I'll talk about that in the book, but at a men's Bible study about a year and a half ago, says this, be alert and of sober mind.
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Your enemy, the devil, prs around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
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Now, notice what Peter doesn't say.
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He doesn't say Be afraid.
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He doesn't say be obsessed.
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He doesn't say, go looking for the devil.
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He says, be alert and be of sober mind.
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See, spiritual warfare isn't about panic.
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It's about perception.
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The enemy's greatest victories don't come through dramatic attacks.
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They come through subtle.
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Distractions, quiet compromises, and a slow drift.
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And if you're not careful, you can live your entire Christian life battling the symptoms while ignoring the strategy behind them.
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One of the biggest misconceptions about spiritual warfare is the assumption that the enemy's main objective is possession.
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But scripture paints a different picture.
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Again.
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Peter says, the devil is looking for someone to what?
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Devour that word matters.
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To devour means to consume, to erode, to dismantle over time.
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The enemy would much rather wear you down than scare you outright.
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What does he devour?
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He devours your joy.
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He devours your confidence.
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He devours your marriage.
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He devours calling.
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He devours spiritual hunger, and he often does it through things that seem ordinary, unresolved bitterness, chronic isolation, hidden sin, spiritual apathy, exhaustion that never gets addressed.
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See, the enemy rarely kicks the door down.
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He waits for us to leave.
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It cracked open.
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That's why scripture constantly warns us about vigilance and humility and endurance, not fear.
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That's why scripture tells us not to give the devil a foothold.
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When people hear spiritual warfare, they often think about something happening to them, but more often than not, the battlefield is within us.
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Paul writes in Ephesians chapter six, verse 12, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
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authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
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That doesn't mean every thought is demonic, but it does mean not every thought is neutral.
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The enemy traffics in lies.
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He whispers distortions about God's character, about your identity, about your worth, about your future, and if he can't steal your salvation, he'll aim for your effectiveness.
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See, the enemy doesn't need to remove you from faith.
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He just needs to reduce you to survival mode.
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And that is where discouragement becomes dangerous.
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That's where isolation becomes lethal.
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That's where secrecy becomes strategic for the wrong side.
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See, one of the chapters in the book that I felt the strongest burden to write was about isolation, because isolation isn't just unhealthy, it's unbiblical.
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Think about Peter's imagery again.
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A lion doesn't attack the herd head on.
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It looks for the one that's separated.
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Now, that's not accidental.
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That's strategy And isolation is the enemy's favorite environment, and I've seen this play out pastorally over and over again.
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People don't fall away from faith outright.
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They drift quietly.
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They disconnect relationally.
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They stop being known, and that's why I'm excited about the small group curriculum launching February 1st, because spiritual warfare is not meant to be fought alone.
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God designed community not as a convenience, but as protection.
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Now, let me get personal for a moment.
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I didn't write this book because spiritual warfare is trendy.
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I wrote it because I've watched too many believers get blindsided by battles they didn't know they were in.
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I've watched faithful people grow weary, not because they stopped loving God, but because they didn't recognize the weight they were carrying.
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And honestly, I've felt it myself.
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Moments where discouragement didn't make sense.
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Seasons where joy felt distant times when the resistance felt disproportionate to the circumstances.
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And writing this book forced me to slow down and ask better questions.
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What does scripture actually say about this?
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What does a healthy theology of spiritual warfare actually look like?
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How do we stay alert without becoming anxious?
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See, awareness is not paranoia.
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It's maturity.
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And so this book isn't about dramatizing the enemy, it's about grounding believers in truth, humility.
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And hope, and here's the most important part I want you to hear today.
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Spiritual warfare is real, but so is Christ victory.
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Paul reminds us in Colossians two 15.
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He says, in having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them on the cross.
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Can you imagine that?
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God himself, Jesus in the flesh made a public spectacle of the devil.
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That means the enemy is active, but he's defeated.
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He's present, but he's not sovereign.
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He might be persistent, but not powerful enough to overcome Christ.
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See, we don't fight for victory.
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We fight from victory, and that truth changes everything.
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It gives us confidence without arrogance, humility without fear, and courage without chaos.
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See as we step into 2026, my prayer for you is simple, that you would be spiritually awake, that you would be biblically grounded, that you would refuse to fight battles.
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God never asked you to fight, but also refuse to ignore the ones that he did.
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Now, if you haven't picked up the book yet, I'd love for you to do that.
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If you're a part of South Shore, I hope you'll jump into a group when the curriculum launches February 1st, and if you're listening from somewhere else, my prayer is that this content strengthens your walk with Jesus right where you are.
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See, the goal isn't to be impressed by the enemy.
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It's to be anchored in Christ.
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I'm so grateful you're here.
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I'm excited to be back and I can't wait to walk through this season together.
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May the grace and peace of God rest with you today.