from the heart

Spiritual Warfare

        Over the years, I've been exposed to more spiritual warfare than I ever wanted to know about.  I vividly remember being a Youth Minister in a church and getting a call from the Sr. Pastor, asking me to go with a couple of others guys to talk with a man who had just gotten out of prison and was talking about killing his family.  Scared to death, we went out of "ministerial obligation" and encountered some pretty pointed spiritual warfare.  I always wondered why that pastor sent us and why HE didn't go!

        As a pastor in Oklahoma, I encountered demon-possessed unbelievers on the one hand, and on the other hand Christ-followers under severe spiritual attack.  I was amazed at the war Jesus and Paul warned us about, but which we cannot directly see.  It is there, and it is real.

Spiritual warfare takes place whenever we seek to move forward with God – and the enemy wants to keep us where we are!  It is as simple as that.

So many of us over the years have given up ground to the enemy.  It may have taken place through broken relationships, through habits we’ve allowed in our lives, or through hurtful words and actions that still affect us and those around us.  Spiritual warfare involves the thought-life, the feelings and the emotions.  It affects our willingness to go or do what God has called us to – and the fear and intimidation of the enemy often keeps us from truly following God.

The great news is this – we have weapons in this battle.  These are the weapons we find Paul focusing on in Ephesians 6:10-18.  There we learn about the weapons for warfare which God has so graciously provided for us to have.  God did not save us from sin only to leave us at the mercy of the evil one on earth!  Rise up, armed with all God has given you today.

Battle upcoming

Today, we’ll finish our Journey 357 series where we’ve been looking at the purpose of the church and why we do what we do! I’m so thankful for the common direction we have here. The sad fact is that many people who attend churches today have no idea why they go, and don’t know their goal in attending in the first place.

Here, we’d like to know-—and we’d like YOU to know, as well. Only by doing this can we actually tell if we’re progressing! Today I shared the final message and the final earthly goal for every true follower of Jesus Christ. Make sure today that you are walking in that direction and that you have a plan for getting there! We’d love to help you on that spiritual journey, and in fact, we realize that is why we’re here! Let us know how we can help.

I’m excited about the series we’re beginning this next week. It is called, “The Battle.” I realize many of you know a great deal about spiritual warfare, but God’s Word gives us some great insight into what kind of battles we can expect and how to win them in the power of Jesus Christ.

Reach out to someone in battle. Encourage them to visit with us and discover for themselves how to win in war—with the person of Jesus Christ.

Next Sunday evening, we’ll have a “First Sunday” evening service. We expect a great crowd of people and we’ll have some great fun! Christian comedian Tim Hawkins will be with us to give us some of the best medicine we can take: the medicine of laughter. That night would be a great time to bring a neighbor or friend, and we’ll make sure that the message of Christ is clearly shared during the service.

The following First Sunday will be intensely evangelistic. We’ll welcome Evangelist/pastor Danny Forshee will be with us. He will be preaching a message on the subject of hell. “A Prayer from Hell” is the title of that service and if you’ll read Luke 16, you’ll see why it is named that. With the chance to invite thousands of people to that service who come to our TrunkFest, in addition to all those we’re starting to pray for, I’m praying for a great time of harvest! May many come to know Jesus!