Girls Gone Bible - Spiritual Warfare w/ Jonathan Pokluda | Girls Gone Bible

Episode Date: January 10, 2025

Hiiiii GGB:)   this week's episode is with the incredible pastor, author, and preacher Jonathan Pokluda. Today, we dive into his new book, Your Story Has a Villain, which focuses on spiritual warfare.   Guys, Satan has waged a war against the Almighty, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. His sole desire is to keep you from God's goodness. Jonathan’s book is an incredible resource for truly understanding the spiritual warfare we all face.   We love you so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari   This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/girlsgonebible and get on your way to being your best self.   Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/ggb and use the code GGB to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF.   JOIN US ON GGB+ 🥹❤️ https://ggb.supportingcast.fm   WE ARE ON THE OFFICIAL GIRLS GONE BIBLE LIVE TOUR! www.girlsgonebible.com/tour for the first batch of cities we have locked in :) WE LOVE YOU AND CANNOT WAIT TO SEE YOU!

Hi, I'm Ange. And I'm Ari. And this is Girls Gone Bible. And today we have a two-time GGB All-Star. We have Jonathan Fakuda. Let's go. And we're so excited. I was driving from San Diego to LA, driving up the one.

And I'm going to Santa Monica, and that's where I was supposed to stay. And I'm talking to a pastor friend. I'm like, hey. He's like, where are you? I was like, I'm headed to Santa Monica. He's like, no, you're not. It's on fire.

I was like, what? And so it's devastating. I talked to another pastor friend who lives over there. They couldn't, they didn't stay at their house last night. And they're like congregation and everything. I'm just like praying for the city, man. It's really bad. Talking about spiritual warfare. I know. It is really, really sad. I woke up this morning and I'm driving on sunset and the whole sky

is dark at 8 AM and I'm like, this is actually the end times. This is what the Bible talks about. Do you agree? Is that too much for the end times? We're talking about end times. We are absolutely in times. And here's what I'm certain of, is today we're closer to it than we were yesterday. Jonathan, thank you so much for coming. It's a joy, guys. Thank you. I'm so proud of y'all. So proud of y'all. It's amazing. Thank you. It's the favor that God has poured out on your lives and your love for Him, and you're

discipling people. And I love the way that you guys have been so honest, transparent, struggled out loud. You hold His Word in high regard, and He's using you. It's incredible to watch. Thank you so much. That is really kind. Thank you. That's true.

And we really do struggle out loud, don't we? We tell them everything. And that. That's true. I know, we really do struggle out loud, don't we? We tell them everything. And that's what people need, I'm telling you. And this is the whole next generation, it's just like they want, they don't want like this facade, you know, polished version of Christianity.

It's like they want something real, so. Well, we just talked about, cause you just spoke at Passion this year, and the first time I ever saw you or heard about you was at Passion 2024. And I remember it's like this weekend of conference of, you know, talks and pastors and preachers speaking. And the one that stood out to me the most was yours, your talk and your message that you gave because you literally out the gate, you were like, I've struggled with this,

this, this and this. It's a long list. It was the most... It was the most relatable... Like, that's what breaks chains. Honesty and authenticity, and just like being like, I went through what you went through. This is not just a cakewalk for any of us. It was life-changing.

Well, there's a verse in Revelation that says, we trample over the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. And you read that and you're like, wow, the way that we defeat the enemy, so the blood of the lamb, that's the work of Jesus, His death and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins. But then the word of our testimony, and I think about it like this, it's like you're in a cage.

And so whether it's a cage of alcoholism, a cage of sexual addiction, a cage of pornography, you're cutting yourself, you look in the mirror, you hate what you see, you're starving yourself. Satan loves all of that. And so it's like you're in a cage and Jesus comes and He unlocks that cage and He pulls the door open, right? And He says, come out, like, come out, my child, like, come out, my dear, like, come out. And as you walk out, He hands you the key and He says, here you go, you can set people free. And that key is your story. And you look up and there's all these people in cages, all these people in jail cells. And you realize like, what they need is for me to share my story of the way that Jesus delivered me, the way that Jesus saved me, the way that He set me free. And then as I share my story with them,

they go, wow, me too. Like, I thought I could never say that out loud. I thought I could never talk about that. But as you talk about it, it emboldens me, it encourages me. And now I walk in freedom. And then they share their story and that's where it spreads. It makes the hard times worth it, huh? Yeah. I mean, well, it redeems them. Right. And that's what in Genesis 50, 20, Joseph, he says, what the enemies meant for evil, God uses for my good, Romans 8-28, all things work together for the good of those who love Him,

who've been called according to His purpose. God is working all things together for those who love Him, who've been called according to His purpose. And so, if we take our mess and we bring it to the Lord, He makes it our message and even our ministry. It's like, hey, God, here's what I have. He doesn't need anything, right? We have nothing to offer Him, but you're like, here's my mess, God.

He goes, I'll work with that. That's my favorite thing about Him. My favorite thing about Him is that He doesn't need any of us. He could literally snap His fingers and heal everybody, do all that He needs to do, but from the beginning of time, he wants to do it with us. He purposefully uses us to get to each other. When you pray a prayer, usually he doesn't... Sometimes he'll just answer it and fix the situation. Usually he sends you somebody that has an answered prayer. I love that he works through us and with us for everything. TGB, we are on the Girls Gone Bible live tour. It is so exciting to be with you guys.

Go to girlsgonebible.com slash tour to get your tickets. We cannot wait to be with you in person. So as you guys know, we have GGB+. It has been one of the biggest blessings this year starting GGB+, because it gives us a chance to really just go so intimate and deep with you guys, talk about things that we typically can't really share on this platform. So it is just, it's so, this is exactly what we wanted. We wanted something where we can really go deep and really

talk about the nitty gritty stuff. You can sign up at girlsgonebible.com slash plus. Let's talk about this book. We love talking about spiritual warfare on this podcast. Oh yeah. That's what it felt like driving on the freeway. I'm like, oh man. Because I was supposed to do 12 podcasts tomorrow, all canceled. And I'm like... And listen, that's silly for me to talk about a podcast canceled because people lost their homes. Who knows what else?

But I saw one video of somebody trapped inside their house and just praying for them last night. It's a crazy town, man. No, but I mean, he definitely gets many birds with one stone. That's true. Like 100%. Yeah, anytime, any day. I wish we could call you and tell you all the things.

Actually, we're gonna call you and Monica sometimes and talk to you guys and get prayer from you guys and tell you every time we get on a plane to go on tour. Oh, man. It's rough air. I'm telling you, you gotta bind... I'm like... And I pray different. After that book, I pray different. Because like, so Jenny and I, Jenny Allen and I have been going around to universities with our friend Tanya Pruitt. And it's like, we get on that plane and we know that we're gonna share the gospel to thousands and thousands of college students, we're like, Lord, we know the enemy doesn't

want us to get there. And it's crazy. And so can he, you know, what can he do? That's one of the things as I was thinking about the book, is like, what are the limitations of Satan? Because I was thinking, like, if you're gonna go to church, like, let's just say you're getting your life, you're at that transition where you're like,

all right, I'm gonna get my life in order. You know, we've all been there. Where you're like, all right, I'm doing it. I'm gonna find a church, I'm gonna go there. You know, I'm gonna get sober, I'm gonna do the thing. And you go and you wake up and you get dressed, you're like, all right, I'm really go there, I'm gonna get sober, I'm gonna do the thing. And you go and you wake up and you get dressed, you're like, I'm really doing it. You get in your car and you turn the key and it goes click, click, click, click, click,

like battery's dead, right? And you're like, oh man, hashtag spiritual warfare. Well, I'm like, what can Satan do? Did he take out your battery, take out your alternator, leave your light on? Did he have to pop the hood to do it? Like, can they actually do that? Yeah, what? And so that question really sent me on the journey

of writing this book, Your Story Has a Villain, which is the answer. I mean, is Job is a textbook case study of what Satan could do. He can start fires, he can steal, kill, and destroy John 10, 10. He can make you sick. He can, you know, do anything, anything. But, and so that kind of stirs up fear. Second Corinthians chapter four, verse four, says he is, like, if you ask a bunch of Christians, who's the god of this world? If I ask an arena, like Passion or, you know, Unite, who's the god of this world?

You know, they're gonna say, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Yahweh, Jehovah, Jesus, you know. Yeah. Second Corinthians four, verse four says, the god of this world is Satan. That's what the Bible says, Satan. That he has authority here. And so the answer to the question, what can he do,

is anything God allows him to do, which then begs another question, I was like, why would God allow him to do anything? There's a testing nature of our faith in this broken world, where things are not as they're supposed to be. And so one day we're gonna be in a place where there's no anxiety, there's no flu, there's no cancer, there's no breakups,

there's no heartbreak, there's no sadness, there's no depression. And, but today, in this broken world, all of those things exist and they're opportunities for us to use our faith. And in fact, Jesus says to Peter, Satan has asked me to sift you like wheat. He goes, so I... Because I'd be like, Jesus, just tell him no. Just say no. Like, if he asks you, just say no. You can't mess with Peter or JP. Angela. But he said, so I'm gonna pray for you that your faith would increase. And so I think that's like, what does it look like for us to live with faith and fires and

cold and sickness and heartbreak and all your grief, all those things are opportunities to exercise our faith. One of my favorite things that you write, I think it was before you even started, what is this that those things called in the book, the prelogue? Oh, the letter. The introduction? Yeah.

You said something along the lines of like, you are not, you don't have letters next to your name, you don't have a PhD, but you do have, you know, many years of experience being a pastor, and what you've noticed is patterns. Like the enemy, he's clever, he's witty, he schemes, but he has patterns. And so when you're aware of his patterns,

there's power in that. Yeah, yeah. You have so much of ministry's pattern recognition. And it's, I've got like four guys right now being morons. You know, I mean, just, and it's interesting because I'm on one phone call, the next, you know, somebody else is calling me and they're, they've been unfaithful.

There's addiction, adultery, and it's, you just see the same pattern. And I'm like, bro, they're like, well, you know, you don't understand how I feel. I'm like, I understand exactly how you feel because it's like this, as soon as I hang out with you, I'm gonna call, you know, John back. And he's gonna tell me that I don't understand how he feels.

And then I'm gonna call Mark back. I'm making up these names, Mark back. And then he's gonna tell me that I don't understand how he feels when you all understand, you all feel the same way, which is, hey, I think this is worth it. And I'm telling you, it's not worth it. It's gonna feel really great for about six months. And then six months, reality's gonna settle in.

The shame's gonna overwhelm you. You're gonna see the death and destruction. And so, yeah, it's... the pattern is the same in Genesis chapter three. The Garden of Eden. It's like, look at the fruit. It appeals to the eye. It tastes good and it offers you everything. And it's the same pattern that Lucifer, who fell from heaven, Satan, who was an angel created by God. So the question is, did God create evil? No, God created Satan good as an angel for his glory and he fell.

And he said, hey, I don't wanna worship you as God, I wanna be God. And God said, okay, well, we're gonna send you to earth, let's see what kind of God you can be. And so here he is with authority over this world. But that same spirit, we call it pride, is a satanic spirit, a spirit of selfishness, a spirit of vanity, a spirit of, hey, a spirit of vanity, a spirit of, of, hey, I want to get mine, I want to live for me. And when we operate that, in that, we're operating by a satanic spirit. In fact, the mantra of the satanic church is do as thy will.

And I don't know if you knew that. It's like, do whatever you want. That's the mantra of the satanic church. And so it's like, that's what Satan receives as worship, is selfishness. It's wild. I love how you simplified heaven and hell. Can you talk about that? Because when I actually read that, I was like, wow, if that doesn't make somebody act right. Because we think of hell as just this burning flames with a devil with horns. Can you, can you just talk about what you wrote in there? Because I loved it. For sure. Thanks for saying that. And I think, you know, what I've learned is,

different people think of hell in different ways. Like some, especially here, you'll hear a lot of like, oh, it's a party. Like, oh, I'm going to hell. You know, drug sex and rock and roll. Exactly. No, there's no drugs in hell. There's nothing to numb your pain in hell. It is a place, and you're like, well, why would God create hell?

God created hell for Satan. It's a place created for Satan. He's gonna be thrown into the lake of fire. That's where he's gonna be forever. And it is just a place of suffering. And in fact, there's only one thing that you can do. As you pull out your to-do list, you know, it's like, these are the things I have to do today.

I need to go to the grocery store. I've got to go pick that up. I've got to record that podcast. Like, you have your to-do list. There's only one to-do item in hell, to suffer for your sins forever. Not 100 years, not 100, thousand years, not a hundred billion years, not, you know, forever and ever and ever. And so, the only person who doesn't have to go to hell

is the person whose sins have been paid for. It's not like good person, it's not like good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell, you know, the Scripture tells us there is no one good, not even one. And so the only person who doesn't go to hell is the one whose sins have been paid for. You can think about it like this. Every sin will be paid for either in hell or on the cross. And you get to choose. You can say, I wanna pay for my sins, or you can say, I believe that Jesus Christ paid for my sins on the cross. And so, yeah, there's a story in there

about being in the Grand Caymans, and there's a place there called Hell. And they're like, hey, welcome to Hell. How the hell are you? And I was just like, man, what a mockery of what it actually is. That it's the most devastating. Like, the worst things that you can think about here

on Earth, it's the most devastating, like the worst things that you can think about here on Earth. It's that amplified. Yeah. It's just, it's so interesting the way that Satan is able to pervert things in a way that seems so subtle. Like nothing, so much of what he does doesn't even seem inherently evil. Like he has a way to twist things to be like,

we're joking about the most, like the worst thing that will ever happen to you going to hell, and then we're gonna put like a fun twist on it. That's what he does. Well, he just like, I talk about it in there, like switching price tags. I was misdirected youth, you know, and my friends would steal things.

And I couldn't steal in the traditional way, but I would switch price tags. I would take something that was cheap, and I'd put the price tag on something that was expensive, and I would switch price tags. I would take something that was cheap, and I'd put the price tag on something that was expensive, and I would go through the checkout line, and I would pay something for it, but it's still stealing very much so. And Satan does that. He takes things that are cheap, and he makes them look expensive, and he takes things of infinite value and glory and worth, and he makes them look cheap.

Yeah. And so, it's, you know, we pursue the fleeting pleasure of this world, we seek the shortcuts of masturbation, one night stands, and those kinds of things when he's offering us, when God is offering us eternal glory and joy forevermore with him. And yet we're like, now we want this... We don't want the, you know, the filet mignon dinner with,

you know, paired with the perfect glass of wine or whatever that is. We want, you know, the nerds' gummy clusters. You know, the sugary. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Guys, what do you want your 2025 story to be? Every January brings you 365 blank pages This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Guys, what do you want your 2025 story to be? Every January brings you 365 blank pages waiting to be filled.

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to download the Glorify app. That's glorify-app.com slash ggb to download the Glorify app for free. Glorify-app.com slash ggb. I just really quickly wanted to read this from your introduction. It says, if the devil were gonna take you out, how would he do it? Would it be lust leading to an affair? Would it be greed leading you to cut corners to get ahead?

Would it be pride so you become so self-reliant that you push away those who love you most? Or maybe the enemy would play head games with you. Maybe he would get you thinking about all that you don't have while comparing yourself to others. Maybe he would send you into a deep dark depression or cause you to be an anxious, over controlling mess. How would the evil one rule you? Which I think is so interesting because it's so specific and particular to every person. How would the evil one ruin you? I find it interesting that we believe there's a world full of dark

opposition and we're content knowing very little about it or how it works. So take a minute to answer this question. I'd be curious to know how your answer changes by the time you finish this book. And one thing that I'm so passionate about is encouraging people to recognize their own weaknesses and their own issues, because, like we said,

there's patterns and there's nothing new under the sun. He's gonna hit you with the same thing every single time. So, like, becoming aware of where is your area... Yeah. ...that the devil, like, it's his playground. Yeah. Right? Yeah. What do you think it is for you guys?

Mine has always been my thoughts and my self-worth. Never thinking I'm good enough. I'm always dwelling and self-blaming. So, that's been my biggest battle in my journey. Yeah. Which is crazy, because, I mean, I'm not... I don't mean to invalidate your struggles when I say it's crazy, but I think there's people watching that are gonna be like,

wow, if I could only be like Ari, you know, then I would just have so much self-worth. And if I could only look like Ari and talk like Ari and have the, you know, one of the biggest podcasts in the world, then I would be so content. And it's just, it's not there. And, you know, Brad Pitt said that, Russell Brand said that, Jim Carrey said that,

Tom Brady said that. I mean, the people at the very height of everything said there has to be something more. Like, there has to be something more. We all have this eternity-sized hole in our heart. He says in Ecclesiastes, I've set eternity in your heart. Where we're at right now, I mean, we're recording this. Some of the most... the richest, most famous,

most beautiful people with the nicest cars in the biggest houses on the... on the nicest property in the United houses on the nicest property in the United States of America are like a nine iron from us, a stone's throw from us. And it's one of the most... like highest sales of antidepressants in anywhere in the country.

And if that doesn't say, hey, that's not it, you know, do not love the world or things of the world, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father's not in him. I mean, we are, there's walking dead people all around us right now who are just the shells of people desperate for the Holy Spirit to fill them. Mm-hmm. So true. If they had any idea, if they had any idea, yeah. Yeah, what's yours? idea. Yeah. Yeah.

What's yours? Oh, sorry. She's like, oh, I thought I got to skip, you know? She's like, oh, no, you're not gonna make me say anything. No one said anything, so I'm just like, no, I'm just kidding. She's like, let me read some more. What's yours? Mine is definitely, probably, definitely, probably, mine is gonna be fear and anxiety

and just probably how I relate to other people. Like it's usually relationally, I think I have a major fear of abandonment that shows up in every area of my life. And it results in like, of my life, and it results in like, my issues like result in the opposite symptom. Like my fear, like all of my fears resulted in me being like overly strong, overly courageous, but really there's like a deep rooted sense of just fear and probably a little bit of self worth and relationally, that's where I find my biggest issues.

Just a lot of anxiety, fear of abandonment, stuff like that. Yeah. And so, and for me, it would be... I mean, there's, you know, lots of things. Lost materialism, greed. But I think the one that I'm probably most susceptible to is revenge. Like, vengeance. Like, it's like, if I hurt somebody,

and they're mad at me, like, that's on me, and I want to make that right. But sometimes, I feel like people will do things that are unjust, like unfair, or say something about my child or something like that. And I just feel this like, errr, that's not of the spirit of God. And I just think about, you know, if I didn't get a good night's sleep that

night and things aren't going my way, and then somebody says something dumb or mean or whatever that is, just being provoked to anger. And so if we go back around, like yours was, how would you say it again? I get attacked in the mind a lot with my self-worth and, yeah, just not feeling good enough. So if we run the offense of Ephesians 6, which, you know, it says... put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the feet fitted with the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And so that sword being the offensive weapon,

and then he says to pray, like pray constantly. And so if we go to that formula and we start to combat, you know, some of those things, you know, I could say to you, well, Genesis 2 says that you've been created in the image of God. The reason my iPhone has worth is because it's an Apple iPhone. It's not generic, it has a brand, it was created by someone intentionally, and so have you.

He says the things that he started in you, in Philippians, he says he's gonna carry out to completion. And he says, do not conform, Romans 12 now, do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And then Colossians, he says, to set your mind on the things above. And so there's a... All wars and battles are fought over real estate, and there's a spiritual war being fought over the real estate of your mind because your thoughts feed your heart and your heart takes you places. Proverbs 4.23, above all else, guard your heart for it's the wellspring of life. Everything you do flows from it. And so he's trying to, the enemy is trying to get you

to think lowly of yourself rather than the truth that you are loved by the Most High God, who has numbered your days and has a plan and a purpose for your life, and he's using you in spite of you. He says in 1 Corinthians 12, his grace is sufficient, His power is made perfect in your weakness. And so like that where you are weak, He is

strong and He's using you in those ways. And so how did you say yours? Just like a deep rooted sense of fear, fear of abandonment. It's like a lot of childhood stuff. Yeah. Jesus in Matthew four is tempted by Satan himself. I'll say this right here. We always say Satan, like Satan's after me. Satan's never been anywhere near us probably. He's not omnipresent. And so it's kind of like if I said Vladimir Putin is invading Ukraine. Well, it's not Vladimir Putin. It's a war. It's soldiers. I mean, he's never fired a gun or fired a missile. He's sitting safely in an office protected, right? Satan is probably somewhere where wars are being fought

and people of great power. And so we probably have some snaggletooth demon attached to us, our family, an area, right? Yeah, a lower level's not close to it. Yeah, a lower level soldier, if you will. And so, as we think about that, so say it, I wanna hear your words. Fear of abandonment, childhood wounds. And so when Jesus is tempted by Satan himself, it's actually Satan this time, he responds

four times with memory verses from Deuteronomy. Like that's... Like Satan gives him a lie and he goes, no, here's the truth. Satan gives him another lie and he goes, no, here's another truth from Deuteronomy. Satan gives him another lie, he goes, no, here's another truth from Deuteronomy. Like what if the only... Our only hope of overcoming the enemy today is a memory verse from Deuteronomy? But for you, I might go Deuteronomy 31.6. He says, he will never leave you nor forsake you, so you're never alone. Like your entire life, because you have God, because you are now his adopted child, his daughter, that wherever you go, he's going to be with you. And he loves you, right? While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,

for God so loved the world, for God so loved Angela that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish. And so He says that perfect love casts out fear. And whenever we're afraid, we can look at the situation and we can say, all right, is what I am fearful of sin? Like is there something here that I would be choosing to do that sin? And if it's not sin, then Romans 8 tells us, if God is for us, who can be against us? And so if it's not sin,

then I'm charging forward, and it doesn't matter how it ends up, because I don't have to determine obedience by the outcome. I just wanna walk in that faithfulness. And so there's not a minute, there's not a second of your life that you will ever be afraid. And that's just renewing our hearts and our minds around the truth of God, which is spiritual warfare. Like, that's how you defeat the enemy, according to Ephesians 6 and according to Jesus and Matthew 4. I think I really needed that. Thank you so much. It's true. That ministered to my heart. according to Ephesians 6 and according to Jesus in Matthew 4.

I think I really needed that. Thank you so much. It's true. That ministered to my heart. It's the promises of God. Yeah. I feel like since starting ministry, I'm just gonna be honest, I do good with combating with the Word of God, I've been doing really good with that, but I feel like there's been a severe attack on my joy. Like, I feel so numb. I have... I feel like I have no joy. And I don't want to play, be a victim,

but I, because I have such a good life, I'm healthy, and so I think that, but I'm like, I can't even talk about it. But I do, I feel a lack of joy and numbness. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of a weird place to go on the air, but when I prayed beforehand, I sensed that, and I don't know if you heard, but I was like, Lord, I pray for a spirit of joy to overwhelm them. And I was literally thinking about that, and I'm not trying to... It's

the Lord, right? That's not a person, it's not me, I'm not trying to be a, I'm a prophet kind of thing. It's just like sometimes the Lord in His kindness will do that for the encouragement of people. When the Scripture talks about joy, it's a really strange thing in that the only joy that we know pre-salvation is tied to our circumstance. So it's like Christmas morning, you might open presents, and so you experience joy. Hey, tomorrow we're going to go to the beach, you know, you experience joy. Hey, you know, we're going to do something that you want to do, and so you experience joy and your joy is tied to the circumstance. But then the scripture says, be joyful in all circumstances,

pray without ceasing, says, even find joy in suffering. It's like, how can we do that? Have you ever, what's your favorite? If you could go anywhere, where would you wanna go? Either back to somewhere or somewhere. So Hawaii, what island? Maui.

Okay, Maui. And so if I told you right now, Ari, if I said, hey, tomorrow, um, we've cleared your calendar for a week, and, um, you're, you're, we put your best friends, we're gonna be on a plane, and we're sending you to Maui, and we, it's the, it's the Grand Walleye, it's where you're going to the nicest, you're going to the nicest place, right there on the beach,

the weather there is perfect, by the way, all your responsibilities here are covered. And you're just gonna have, you know, a week vacation with some of your closest friends in Hawaii. Have a blast. Would you experience joy in that? Like, would that feel like, -"Oh, man, that's exciting." -"I think for a fleeting moment." Yeah.

So, because it's like... Because there... Because of that reality, right? I think what the scripture is telling us is Hawaii, but something... It's hard to even quantify, but like infinitely better than Hawaii is right in front of you forever and ever and ever and ever. And so when you see the homeless man on the street, when you get overwhelmed by your schedule,

when you feel like you're just going through the motions, when God feels far, you kind of lift your head up, and you're like, oh, I'm going to Hawaii. Because for me, I was in the corporate world. And before, you know, if I was going on vacation, it's like nothing could get me down, because I'm going on vacation. I'd be like, oh, hey, the copy machine's on fire. I was like, eh, I'm going on vacation. Hey, that deal fell through. I was like, eh, so what? Going on vacation tomorrow.

Like, don't bother me. I'm going on vacation. And for the follower of Jesus, like we're all about to go on an eternal vacation. And all these problems here, like problems with parents, problems with relationships, problem with parents, problems with relationships, problem with roommates, problems with neighbors, you know, bills, all those things, all of those are square, like they're cold, right? All of those are gonna get squared away. And forever and ever and ever and ever,

and we have to renew our mind around that reality. It's the only way I know how to endure the sufferings of this world. Because, man, the world's hard. It'll kick you in the face. I don't care how much money you have in the bank. I don't care how much influence you have, how popular you are. I mean, you know, with all that stuff comes haters. And their voices are loud, you know, and they will come after you. And Christians are the worst. Christians, I'm saying air quotes,

because I'm not so sure you're saved, are the worst. And I mean it and take that to the bank. Don't email me, email these girls, ggb at... Yeah, take your time, we'll handle it. But yeah, and I would just say, we, God made us emotional beings. And like sometimes we have seasons of being down. Some theologians call it the dark night of the soul. Where it's just like that's our opportunity. It's not a literal fire. It's not cancer. It's not circumstantial. It's just like,

hey God, when I open this book, you just feel far. You know? And I just, I'm grasping. I want to laugh, but I'm just not feeling it. And in that, in those seasons, you just get your friends around you. You have them pray for you. I mean, sometimes it's therapy. Sometimes it's medication. I'm not anti-medication therapy. I'm pro-therapy. But you gather the believers and you say,

Hey, pray for me. get your favorite ice cream, you know, go watch your favorite show, you know, just begin to do the things that you love. And to the glory of God. Yeah. Yeah, I think that there is a level of, you know, Ari and I didn't even grow up in church. So I think that there's a cost to ministry

that we may not have been prepared for, especially we're in a much better position now because we were going like, our first four months of tour, our first year of the podcast, first four months of tour, we had no intercessors, we had nobody that prayed for us, we had nobody that covered us. And that was really, really hard. And we didn't even under, like, we didn't know. We didn't know. We thought it was like, us, do you, like we didn't know. We didn't know, we thought it was like, us, like we're good. And then we have learned a lot since then

and it's been really helpful having so many people cover us in prayer. And we, you know what I saw you do that I loved? And that's, I started doing it. You posted on your Instagram story and you asked people to pray for you. And I was like, we have GGB gang, like why are we asking them to pray for us? Well, I pray for y'all. I know you do, thank you. And I was like, we have GGB gang, like why are we asking them to pray for us? I know. Well, I pray for y'all.

I know you do. Thank you. Yeah, I mean, I mean, it's a, there's a battle. This is, it's weird. This is weird. But there's a battle of like demons and angels around us all the time. And so you're protected by angels. I don't think it's necessarily like a guardian angel. Like we're taught like this, like one angel. And in fact, sometimes I'm like, God, send your strongest angel. Especially on those airplanes. Yeah, please. I want a good one. Rough air. I'm like, Lord, send your strongest angels, carry this plane safely. But yeah, I mean, you definitely, like prayer, so in Ephesians 6, that all culminates in prayer.

And I think we think about prayer, and this is in the book, like room service. I heard Pastor John Piper say something like this once. It's like we're in an all-inclusive resort, like in Hawaii, and we're dialing up chocolate cake, like, hey, can you guys please send up a new pillow or like, you know, or I forgot my toothpaste, and we're just like, we use prayer like that. But we're in a war. Like, there's a war being fought. When you go into that city, and you step in, and people come into that arena, like the enemy is there, he's gonna say, you're not real, like no, you're not true.

You don't really love Jesus, you're doing this for fame, you're doing this for the glory, for this and that, whatever, this and... And you say, hey man, like when he comes at me with that stuff, I'm like, man, you're probably right. You're probably right. I'm sure some of that's there, but I got an amazing Savior.

Because Satan's not afraid of us. He's terrified of Jesus. Like, he, like, me, you know, he's like, 6'7", 250, no problem. Right? But Jesus? Like, I don't want to, I don't want to... He doesn't want anything to do with Jesus. And so I think that whole section in Ephesians 6 culminates in, don't stop praying. Don't stop praying. Lord, protect us. And he does. I mean, I like... I will sense that,

the whole room will change. Sometimes I'm preaching and they're like, you know, and it feels like nobody's listening. I'm just like, Lord, would you, would your Holy Spirit speak through these words to change hearts, to change lives, and you just feel the whole room shift. Wow, you're on stage? We always wonder these things. In my mind or sometimes out loud, I've done both. Okay, yeah.

No, go ahead. No. No, this is so exciting because obviously we're on tour. So we have like learned, we were 16, you know, nights down. And we've learned so much just in those 16 nights. And you don't understand. Like, I'll be on there. You don't know how we get attacked. While we're on stage, there are times, and I fight through it, and I've made a decision

that if this happens again, because I have the ability to fight through it. I have the ability to keep going and just do what I need through it, and I've made a decision that if this happens again, because I have the ability to fight through it. I have the ability to keep going and just do what I need to do, even though I'm feeling oppression. I'm feeling there are times where I'll be on stage and all of a sudden out of nowhere, and I'll feel it before I'll go.

I'll feel the darkness like in the venue, where these theaters, these old theaters, and I'll feel like this blanket of sadness or just like fog, like I just so heavy. And I'll be like, what is going on right now? Like I legitimately feel something sitting on my chest. Like I feel so, it's so crazy. And so I've decided now, GGB, if you're at one of our shows,

I'm gonna stand up and I'm gonna say, I am not like, I'm not doing this. And I'm gonna stand up and I'm gonna say, I am not, I'm not doing this and I'm gonna call it out on the spot. And I'm gonna be like, we're breaking this off right now. Oh yeah, just be like, hey guys, man, I just, I sense a heaviness in the room. You'll sound like a, you know, a gospel preacher. I love it. Just be like, I sense a heaviness in the room.

So let's just all pray for a second before we go further. Just that there would be no evil here, that that would be bound in Jesus' name, that this would just be holy ground. Sometimes, like, I did a tour once, and sometimes you walk around the place and just like, Lord, protect this place, make it holy ground. Oh, I pray over every scene. Yeah, all of those kinds of things. But yeah, when it happens, here's what I'm like, and I don't talk to the devil, I'm like, other than Scripture. Like, that's... some people do.

You don't take it out of here? For me, I just say Scripture to them. Yeah. And it's like, hey, if you're gonna attack me, I'm gonna pray harder, just know that. It's wartime prayer, so we're not calling up room service. It's like we're on walkie-talkies, and it's like, hey, I'm going into this coffee shop and there's lost people all around me. Who

do you want me to share with? What do you want me to do? What's going on with that guy there, Lord? Would you give me supernatural wisdom to love and support him? I walk in here, I'm like, hey, Ari's struggling with joy, man. Like, let's pray that away. Like, let's get the Lord moving in her heart, you know, whatever. And so, you just begin like, just, like, we're almost home, man. You know, we're about to go to Hawaii forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. And there's like all these people around us, like, this place on fire. Like, it's burning down and people everywhere are going to hell. And so I'm like, all right, Lord, let me try to make heaven as crowded as we possibly can.

And so, yeah, when you feel that heaviness on stage, I wouldn't sweat it. I mean, I think it even... I'd just be like, hey, let's all pray right now. And that's... It can't stay. Prayer is so powerful. When the apostles came up against a demon-possessed person and they say, why couldn't we get that one out? Why couldn't we call it out? Jesus says, this one only comes out with prayer. And so it's like, where is that? In some of our deliverance ministries, you know, these guys that get really animated and it's really theatrical and whatnot, and I'm not saying that's necessarily wrong, because I can't see their heart, but sometimes we got to look at somebody and say, you know what, I'm just going to pray for you. And I'm

not going to eat this week, or I'm going to go a couple days without food or I'm just gonna, you know, I'm gonna limit, I'm gonna fast in some kind of way and just pray for you. Because he says, the way it's represented in another gospel is this kind only comes out with prayer and fasting. And so, yeah, I've had friends preaching and like a demon manifests in the room and that happened to a friend of mine. And sometimes they just like start yelling from the audience. And so that can get in your head, you know, like, I don't want that to happen, but if it does, it's just like you don't understand

how much more power... Like, we don't believe in a theologian's called dualism. It's like equal opposing forces. It's like God and Satan and they're really struggling. No, it's like God... It's like Satan can't even they're really struggling. No, it's like God, it's like Satan can't even do anything without God's permission. It's like he's so much more authority, so much more powerful than him. That is so... I'm so fired up right now. And you know what I... Even when that happens on stage, I have learned to get so excited because I'm like,

God has something so special for this moment and Satan is so intimidated that he's like trying to make us all confused and sad and insecure. So I just, we always try to encourage people that like, if you're being attacked, not, you don't have to rejoice in being attacked, but you can also have a little bit of confidence that like, you've got something that's intimidating. There's something special in you that God placed in you and Satan is like, I gotta attack that so it doesn't come to fruition. Yeah. Have you ever seen like in a movie, it's like Lion King, it's been kind of played out in the plot where it's like, there's like a, I'll just go with Lion King. There's like

a little cub, you know, and he's coming up against all of these hyenas or the wolves or something bad, you know, that we're gonna devour him. And he's like, rarr! He tries to roar, but it's like, comes out as like a squeak, like rarr! Like the big, scary lion walks up behind him and then they get scared and he thinks it's him, you know? He thinks, oh, they're scared of me, little lion cub,

but really they see the dad behind him. He doesn't know his dad's behind him. That's what I think about. I mean, I could tell you a story. I don't know if we have time. Yeah, yeah, go ahead. Yeah. Your nighttime bedroom temperature

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so I'm still hanging out with my old boys and we're at a bar and everybody's had too much to drink. And so like I'm like brand new, I'm like brand new to Jesus. And so I'm sober and I'm there. And you know, one of my friends, like the smallest one of us, is really intoxicated. And so he does, the dumb thing guys do is he finds the smallest guy in the bar and he goes, what are you looking at? And they're like, oh, we're about to throw down. And so I go over there sober and I separate them.

And I'm like, hey guys, no, I'm gonna take him home. He's had too much to drink. And I separate him like this. Well, this little guy here, he slaps my hand. He goes, don't you touch me. And I was like, him home, he's had too much to drink, and I separate him like this. Well, this little guy here, he slaps my hand, he goes, don't you touch me. And I was like, oh man, no, hey listen, we're gonna go, you know, it's cool, like hey, you go your way, he's gonna go his way.

And they get back together and I separate him again, he goes, I told you, don't you effin' touch me. And I'm like, hey man, like I kinda like bend down, I'm like, hey buddy,, like I kind of like bend down. I'm like, hey, buddy, wait, don't do that. And now all our buddies circle around him. So eight guys are around him, you know? And they might like do these, they're taking the creatine and stuff, like they're, you know, they're working,

like they're big dudes. And so they're all around him. And so there's 10 of us, because my buddy and me and then eight other guys, and then this little guy in the bar. And I was like, hey, man, that's not gonna go well for you. Like, don't do that. And he pulls out his phone, he looks at me, he goes, oh, yeah. He pulls out his phone, he touches the name.

And he goes, hey, you here? Okay, I got someone I want you to take care of. And then he hangs up. And he goes, we'll see. And I'm like, wait, what? I was like, what a move, man. Where was this? And I'm like, you call Batman?

So I'm like, hey guys, we gotta go, like, let's go. And we go out in the parking lot, and I'm talking Dwayne Johnson, the rock, I mean, like, the biggest dude you've ever seen. With it, there's two of them. Like, two dudes, he has a chain around his neck, like a chain you pull a car with, with a padlock. Like, walking up, like, these are the guys. I was like, nah, they left, man.

I think about the courage that guy had. What you see in Ephesians 6, it says the word stand, like five times, stand. Stand. First Peter 5, "'Clothe yourself in humility for God. Oppose the proud, but give grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore into the mighty hand of God,

so that in due time He may lift you up. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him standing firm in the faith." So I think about that guy just the way he looked at me, he's like, the dude, you see ten men, you don't know who I know. You know, you don't know who's with me. You can't see who's with me." And he's just like, and so, and he just stood there, like with so much confidence.

Honestly, it intimidated me. Like, his confidence, I'm like, dude, I don't know who you called, but I don't want to know. And I think that's what it looks like to walk in faith. It's like, you don't know who I know. I know you're not afraid of me, but daddy God, you know, like the creator of the heavens and the earth has my back. So don't mess with me. Yeah, I know. Gotta edit that out. I'm kidding. But yeah, it's like, it's wild because

I, you know, I've been in Haiti, I've been in Africa, I've been in Mexico, I've been in the Amazon jungle, all of those places multiple times, stories of like coming across demons, like, you know, and I just have never seen it. People on my team, you know, they'll come back with those stories. I've just never seen it until I was in a country club in Utah.

Like one of the nicest country clubs, and the dude just came off the golf course with his visor, and I pray over him, and a demon manifests. And it's like the cra- and I'm like, I'd love to tell you, I was like, I'm not afraid, but I was like, please don't jump on me. Hey, stupid! And I just- Was it huge? Was who huge?

The demon. Oh, and I never saw the demon, I just saw the dude. It's just like- Oh, I thought- No, so I'm like praying over him. Yeah, he's like, rawr. So I'm praying. She's like, what did the demon look like? No, I just like pray over this guy. He's telling me he struggled to pray, like he would like, he would, like his throat would close and stuff. And I was like, man, that sounds demonic. And he was like, oh, it's not demonic. You Christians, you all are crazy. And I was like, well, can I pray for you? And I pray like, man, that sounds demonic. And he was like, oh, it's not demonic. You Christians, you all are crazy. And I was like, what can I pray for you? And I pray over him.

And I was like, Lord, I just pray that you'd heal him, that he'd be able to pray, that he would know Jesus. And if there's any evil here, would you just bind it in Jesus' name? And he just starts like, all this stuff starts not throwing up, just like these noises started coming from him. And his arm like flies up in the air and he starts convulsing. And I was like, what is happening right now? Like, what is going on right now? So, and again, I'm like, Lord, in Jesus' name. I start calling my Charismatic friends and I just started writing this book.

All my Charismatic friends in there are like, man, you're gonna see more and more of that. It's everywhere. Like, I mean, they're just, they're not hiding anymore. And... They aren't. Why? And so, I think as they're just, they're not hiding anymore. Wow. They aren't. Why? And so, I think as you go into places, I think, you know, Jesus, He's coming back.

I think we're, like I said, I know we're closer today than we were yesterday. I don't know how close we are, but I've got a feeling that, you know, and we always see things through the lens of America, but in reality, there's a whole big world out there, lots of countries, and I think as America gets further and further away from God, you know, they feel the freedom to show their faith, but I think we're seeing a revival. I think we're seeing hearts turn toward God right now. Part of

it's what you guys are doing on tour. When are y'all in Texas? April 25th. Let's go. April 25th is Dallas? And 7th, yes. 25th and 27th. And 27th is San Antonio? I think so. I think that's right. Hey, Texas people, go see my friends. Yeah, April 25th in Dallas, April 27th in San Antonio. Hey, make sure you guys, I'm gonna go, okay? So we can hang out, y'all go.

He's gonna do deliverance at the end of the night. At the end. At the altar end. I love it. I love it. And thank you all so much for... What a gift that would be. Thanks for the convos, man. So you split the book up into three different parts. You did who the villain is, what the villain does,

and how to fight back. Yeah, yeah. And so who the villain is, Satan, Lucifer, the devil, lots of... Prince of Darkness, the God of this world, the lowercase g, God of this world. He's the villain. Revelation 12 tells us that He took one-third of the angelic realm with Him. So one-third of the angels fell.

Encouraging thing there is God still has two-thirds of the angels, right? So they're outnumbered right out the gate. And then there's still God, the Creator, and Jesus, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so, you know, they... he has access to the Word. Like, he's read Revelation, he understands his destiny is that he gets thrown in the lake of fire. So he's running a scorched earth strategy,

meaning that he's just trying to hurt everyone. If he can't keep you from God, then he's gonna try to discourage you. John 10 says he tries to steal, kill, and destroy. So that's what he's up to, is he's trying to prevent conversions, and he's trying to discourage Christians. So when you say, hey, joy feels far, that's spiritual warfare. Like that is for sure the enemy whispering lies to you. Like you wanna not believe those lies and replace those lies with the truth, but that's what he's doing. And so when you go into a city,

like Dallas or San Antonio, to share the gospel, he's like, we've got to try to stop this, discourage them, put a heaviness in this place. Sometimes to me, it feels like brain fog. Like, I'll be in a place where I'll just like, oh, like, what is... Man, my thoughts feel cloudy right now. Almost like the room feels smoky kind of situation. The heaviness, people describe it as. And so he's wanting to do that,

so you feel, at least feel ineffective. Exactly. But that's where I go, you know, his grace is sufficient, his power is made perfect in our weakness. My favorite line, not in the scripture, that's as close as it gets, is if dependence is the goal, weakness is our advantage. So it's like when we're weak, he's strong. And then how do we defeat him? People will say if they grew up in Sunday school, like, put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, you know, the helmet of salvation.

I'm like, I don't really know what that... Like, what do you mean put it on? Like, I'm like, okay, helmet of salvation. That's us every morning before tour. All right. Yeah. And so I'm like, I don't know. So I think what's happening there, Paul is in prison in Rome.

He's on house arrest. I believe he's chained to a Roman soldier prison in Rome, he's on house arrest. I believe he's chained to a Roman soldier. That's how they would do that there, is they would like chain you to a Roman soldier, they would be walking by guarding the place. And I think he's looking at them and using that as an illustration. And it's not necessarily the articles, like you can't put on a helmet of salvation and not have the breastplate of righteousness, you're unarmed if you do. So you have to have all of those things. It's the way

that it says in the Greek, it's like put on the full armor of God. So as we put that on, it's that we're positioned in truth, because right now everybody's like, oh, it's your truth and their truth and his truth and her truth. No, no, there's absolute truth. Yeah. If you're like, my truth is I can fly and I'm gonna jump off this building, the truth of gravity is gonna overwhelm your lie that you believed and you're gonna see that as a lie. And so there's absolute truth, that there's a God. So good. He created everything. He sent His son Jesus to die for your sins. So we're positioned

in truth, we are aligned with righteousness, which is just like we're walking in right... We're doing the right thing. And if we don't, we don't hide it. We're like, I really messed up there. I drank too much or I hit the vape or man, we went too far in our relationship. I messed up and I'm not gonna hide it. Yeah. I'm gonna bring it, it's right here. I'm gonna put a giant spotlight on it. See that right there? I did that. I'm so sorry. Will you guys pray for me? And so we're aligned in righteousness.

We're sharing the gospel. It's not just for professional Christians. Like, it's every follower of Jesus should share the gospel with people, tell people how they can live forever, that Jesus died for their sins and God raised him from the dead. We have this, we're standing in faith.

And I think this is huge. Like, we have to grow our belief in God. Like, doubt will kick your tail, you know? It's like, I've gotta grow in my faith in God. Shield of faith. Oh, the helmet of salvation. I think that's the setting your mind on the things above. The internalizing salvation.

Like, understanding that I'm gonna be with God forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. And that I operate the sword of the Spirit, I operate in the Word. Like we said earlier, like I know what it says, I do what it says, I'm writing it on my heart. When He comes at me with a lie, I'm responding with the truth, and then never stop praying. Because... If all of your armor is in a box,

like a trunk, you know, the key to that trunk is prayer. So as you talk to the commander in chief, you open the trunk, you're able to put on the armor. And so that is how we find the abundant life that Christ came to give us. So good. That's what we needed. That's all we needed everybody. That's it. Come on. This book. It's incredible. So good. That's what we needed. That's all we needed everybody. That's it. Come on. This book. It's incredible.

This book. Y'all are kind. If you are a Christian, you should be reading this book. Everybody has to have an understanding of the spirit realm, of spiritual warfare, of the enemy. Jesus is so much bigger than the devil. He's so much bigger than his army of demons. However, we still have to have an awareness. Knowledge is power when it comes to our faith. Like, we need this. Thank you, Jesus,

that you wrote this book. And thank you, Jesus, that you're somebody, you're not just a theologian that learned all of this. Like, you experienced it. I love there's so much power in teaching that is from experience, like your lived experience, because it's real. And that's who you are on the CJP. Not to honor circle you really quick, but like who you are to the people of our generation and younger.

There's not many people like you. There aren't that many teachers like you. You make such a big difference. You have such an incredible impact because you live it, you breathe it. This is your life. You are a man that knows Jesus. You walk in this room and you carry the glory of God. You minister to me for 20 seconds and I start crying because you carry Jesus with you everywhere you go. Likewise. Y'all are doing it too. And so, GGB gang, you pray for these ladies, pray for your boy too.

Yes, please be praying for JP. Let's be prayed up, but man, just so proud of y'all. So honored to be here. Thank you. This is really fun. I was really looking forward to this time in conversation. So it's good to just check in with y'all too. I know. Because I'm cheering y'all on from Waco, I'm like, I know them, that's my friends. You're the best.

We're so blessed for you. Thank you so much. Let's go. We love you. Thank you guys. Much love. And we love you guys. Love you, GGB. Come on.