Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:07] It's Rick. Welcome back to the Nomad Pastor Podcast.
[00:00:12] You know, this is going to come out. It's not going to be my normal, you know, every other Wednesday release. It'll probably be out Saturday the 13th. Today's the 12th. I may even.
[00:00:24] I may even post it today. But, you know, with everything going on, I just felt like I wanted to sit down and talk and, you know, talk about spiritual warfare. And as I look around the world today, sometimes I just got to shake my head. You know, things are changing so fast and rapidly.
[00:00:44] And it's not just politics. It's not just technology, you know, but the way people treat each other.
[00:00:52] And, you know, it really made me think for a long time about, like, why are we doing this?
[00:00:58] And, you know, what we're really seeing today is it's really just spiritual warfare. It's not hidden anymore.
[00:01:08] It's right out there in the front, right out in the open every single day.
[00:01:13] And, you know, I'm not one of those guys that, you know, blames every bad thing that happens on the devil. You know, sometimes life just happens. Sometimes we make dumb choices.
[00:01:25] But right now, we need to make no mistake about it, that Satan is alive and he is active and he's working overtime. He's working overtime right now to distract us. He's working overtime to destroy us. And he's working over time to divide us.
[00:01:40] And if we're not paying attention, we're going to get swept right into it, because that's the real battle. And in Ephesians 6:12, Paul puts it perfect.
[00:01:51] He says, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
[00:02:03] That's it. That's the battlefield.
[00:02:05] It's not left versus right, Republican versus Democrat. It's not black versus white. It's not rich versus poor.
[00:02:15] The real war is spiritual forces at work pull, pulling people away from God.
[00:02:23] And when you scroll through the news and social media today, you can feel it. I can feel it.
[00:02:30] And I'm going to give you some ways that it shows up, right?
[00:02:34] It shows up in our entertainment.
[00:02:37] You know, some of the stuff that's on TV today, movies, TV shows, even on our local channels, man, we would have been just completely and utterly shocked 10 years ago to what the new normal is.
[00:02:55] The things that they. They put out on tv.
[00:03:00] It shows up in addiction, right? Drugs, porn, gambling.
[00:03:05] It's not tucked away in the shadows anymore. It's right there on your phone, right there on your computer screen.
[00:03:13] It shows up in division, right?
[00:03:15] Families can't even sit together and have dinner without arguing about politics or religion.
[00:03:23] Friends who have been friends for decades, stop talking together.
[00:03:30] That's not just people being people.
[00:03:34] That's the enemy planting seeds of hate at every turn.
[00:03:43] It shows up in our identity.
[00:03:45] People don't know who they are anymore. And let me be honest with you, Satan loves it.
[00:03:51] Because if you don't know who you are, you will never know whose you are.
[00:03:57] If you don't know who you are, you will never know that you are a child of God.
[00:04:02] And if you think I'm exaggerating, just look at what happened this week.
[00:04:10] Charlie Kirk, whether you liked his politics or not, was doing what he always did.
[00:04:17] Speaking, using his voice, engaging the culture. And right as he started to answer questions, a sniper shot him from a rooftop.
[00:04:31] That wasn't just politics.
[00:04:35] That wasn't just some random act of violence.
[00:04:38] That was evil.
[00:04:40] That was the thief coming to steal, kill and destroy.
[00:04:47] And Jesus already told us this is coming.
[00:04:51] John 10:10 says, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
[00:04:56] I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
[00:05:02] You see, the mission of the devil, Satan's mission, it hasn't changed. Steal, kill, destroy.
[00:05:10] But you know what? Christ's mission hasn't changed either.
[00:05:16] Life.
[00:05:17] And life abundant.
[00:05:20] You see, the enemy, the enemy hunts. And the problem is that too many of us are asleep at the will, that Christianity becomes a label that we wear instead of a life that we live.
[00:05:36] And people spend hours scrolling through Netflix watching episode after episode after episode, but struggle to give 15 minutes to scripture every day.
[00:05:50] We'll pray when things are bad, but we forget God when things are good.
[00:05:55] All while Satan is wide awake.
[00:06:00] In 1st Peter 5, 8, it says, Be of sober spirit. Be on alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
[00:06:14] Look, this isn't some Halloween or cartoon devil with a pitchfork.
[00:06:19] That's a lion hunting in the jungle.
[00:06:22] And if you've ever seen how a lion hunts, you will understand what Peter means. Here.
[00:06:29] They don't waste their energy on the strongest in the herd.
[00:06:32] They look for the weak. They look for the isolated, the ones that have strayed far away from the pack.
[00:06:41] And when the moment's right, they pounce.
[00:06:45] And that is exactly how Satan works. If we wander off alone, if we let our guard down, we become easy prey.
[00:06:57] This is a war zone.
[00:07:01] As simple as I can say it. It's a War zone. And if you imagine with me, just picture this, right? You're in a war zone. Bullets are flying all over the place, bombs exploding.
[00:07:12] Would you walk out in your pajamas with nothing to protect yourself?
[00:07:18] No. Never. You'd gear up, you'd be alert. You'd be ready.
[00:07:23] You know, one of my. One of the shows that I've watched a lot is Band of Brothers.
[00:07:28] I've watched it through multiple times. And if you've seen it, you know, right? Bullets are zipping past their heads, smoke everywhere, bombs going off, soldiers diving into foxholes. It's complete and utter chaos.
[00:07:42] But in the middle of that, those men had to trust their training and lean on each other to survive.
[00:07:50] That's what stood out to me about Easy Company. They weren't just soldiers. They were brothers. They carried each other. When somebody went down, they encouraged each other. When somebody couldn't take another step, that bond kept them alive.
[00:08:06] And that is exactly what the church should be today.
[00:08:10] And a lot of times it's not.
[00:08:13] The church should be brothers and sisters, shoulder to shoulder, standing together in the middle of this spiritual battle.
[00:08:20] And when the enemy attacks, and trust me, he will, we cover each other. When one stumbles, we help him up. When the fear sets in, somebody speaks faith at that moment into their lives.
[00:08:37] But the problem is, too many of us are walking into this war with no armor, no weapon, no brotherhood.
[00:08:43] So, spiritually speaking, we're wearing pajamas.
[00:08:48] So there's ways that we can fight this, and the ways that we can fight this. First is you got to know your enemy.
[00:08:57] If you know your enemy, but you keep your eyes on Christ, that's where you win. You see, Satan's sneaky. He comes to us as comfort. He comes to us as to distraction. He comes to us as compromise.
[00:09:13] But we got to keep our eyes on Christ.
[00:09:17] Another way we fight is by putting on that armor of God. You know me. You've listened to my messages. I talk about Ephesians a lot. I talk about the armor of God. You got to put it on. Truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, the word of God. You cannot fight today's battles with yesterday's prayers.
[00:09:38] You don't put that armor on alone.
[00:09:41] Think about the band of brothers in Easy Company. They geared up together. They checked each other's packs.
[00:09:48] Somebody always had their back before the first shot was fired.
[00:09:53] That's what the Church needs to be.
[00:09:58] Another way we fight is by staying in the Word.
[00:10:01] Without scripture, we're unarmed. That is our only offensive weapon, the word of God. Everything else is defensive.
[00:10:15] We Fight by staying connected.
[00:10:18] Lone wolf Christianity doesn't work, period.
[00:10:28] Pray without stopping, without ceasing.
[00:10:30] Prayer isn't the backup plan. It's the battle plan.
[00:10:37] We have to fight, but we also have to understand how to fight. And I'll be honest with you, since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I've seen just this evil hate pouring out on social media.
[00:10:54] People celebrating, people dehumanizing one another, people mocking each other.
[00:11:03] And if I'm being honest, I have felt anger inside of me that makes me just want to fight. Part of me wants to fire back. Part of me wants to let those people have it.
[00:11:15] But then I think that's not what Charlie would have done.
[00:11:22] You see, Charlie was bold and he was passionate, but he also believed in civil conversations.
[00:11:28] He believed you could disagree without violence, that you could disagree without hate.
[00:11:35] And that's what we need today more than ever.
[00:11:39] So if you're listening, I challenge you on this right, Instead of answering hate with more hate, rise above it.
[00:11:47] Have conversations with truth and love.
[00:11:51] Hold firm without throwing stones.
[00:11:54] Because anger will never change somebody's heart.
[00:11:58] But the spirit of God working through love, that just might do it. It can do it. It did it for me.
[00:12:08] You know, there's been times in my life where Linda and I felt just worn out.
[00:12:15] You know, we go through issues with her health, with my workload, with my ministry load, and just the weight of everything.
[00:12:23] And I remember one night, Linda was in the living room. She just prayed out loud in the living room. This house belongs to Christ, Satan. You have got no place here.
[00:12:32] And in that moment, there was peace.
[00:12:36] There was not perfection.
[00:12:39] We were not problem free, but there was peace.
[00:12:44] Because that's the authority Jesus gives his children.
[00:12:52] So when you see the headlines, when you see the hate on social media, when culture feels like it's coming apart, don't forget what's really happening.
[00:13:07] This is a spiritual war. It is a spiritual battlefield that we are fighting.
[00:13:15] But we are not defenseless. We are not powerless. We have not been abandoned.
[00:13:24] So suit up, put on that armor of God. Stand firm, pray hard, love bold.
[00:13:30] And remember, this war is fierce, but the outcome is already decided.
[00:13:38] Christ has the victory.
[00:13:42] In Romans 8, 37, 39, it says, but in all things, we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us.
[00:13:51] For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[00:14:11] That is the hope that is the anchor that we can live on.
[00:14:21] And maybe right now, listening, you're realizing that you've been walking into a battlefield with no armor, that you've been trying to fight this thing alone, and you're exhausted.
[00:14:30] Maybe you've never surrendered your life to Christ.
[00:14:34] Here's the truth.
[00:14:35] You can't win this war without him.
[00:14:39] And the just amazing thing about that is you don't have to.
[00:14:45] You can join that brotherhood today.
[00:14:48] You can be part of that family of God standing shoulder to shoulder.
[00:14:54] It simply starts with surrender.
[00:15:00] And before I finish this, I do want to spend a little bit of time and just honor the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk. Whether you agree, agree, or disagree with him politically, you can't deny the impact of his life.
[00:15:15] He built Turning Point USA from nothing into a movement that reached millions of young people.
[00:15:23] He challenged culture. He defended the values that he believes in. He gave a voice to a generation that felt so ignored.
[00:15:35] But more than politics, more than organizations, more than headlines, the thing Charlie wanted to be remembered the most for was his courage and faith.
[00:15:50] That's what courage and faith looks like.
[00:15:53] Standing up when the world tells you to sit down, speaking truth when the culture tells you to be silent, living out your faith in every arena of life.
[00:16:08] And that's what Charlie did.
[00:16:10] And that's the legacy that he leaves.
[00:16:13] He leaves a reminder to us, to every one of us, that one voice anchored in faith can make a difference.
[00:16:25] So I do want to say a prayer.
[00:16:30] Father, we lift up Charlie's wife and children to you today.
[00:16:33] Their grief is heavy. Their pain is deep. Wrap them in your love.
[00:16:38] Surround them with people who will carry them when they feel like they can't take another step.
[00:16:43] Protect them from the bitterness, from the despair, and from fear.
[00:16:47] Fill their home with your peace, Father.
[00:16:51] I also pray, Lord, for the nation, Lord. Silence the hate. Heal the division.
[00:16:58] Help us, Lord. Rise above the anger and respond with love and truth and grace.
[00:17:05] And, Lord, may Charlie's life, especially in his courage and faith, inspire us to live boldly.
[00:17:13] To live boldly for you until the day you call us home.
[00:17:19] I say this prayer in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
[00:17:23] Amen again. This is Rick the Nomad Pastor Podcast.
[00:17:28] Like it Share Know it's on all podcast platforms. And if you have a question, send me an email at. Hello @nomadpastor.
