Overcoming The Darkness

By Grace & James | 1 June 2023

OVERCOMING DARKNESS

EQUIPPING SESSION JUNE 2023

Introduction

John 1:4,5 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Ephesians 5:11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

Cultural context by John Mark Comer (Live No Lies)

The Christian worldview has gone from the majority to the minority.
Our place in culture is shifting from a place of honor to a place of shame.
There is a shift from widespread tolerance to a rising hostility.

Eventually, a post-Christian society moves from assuming Christian values to ignoring them, to resenting them, to repressing them, and eventually to persecuting them. What was once Christian and is now post-Christian will eventually become anti-Christian. – John Mark Comer, Live No Lies

The language many are using today is that we are “exiles”.

1 Peter 1:1; 5:13 To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout…Your sister church here in Babylon sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark.

“must cultivate the mindset of exiles. What this does mainly is sober us up and wake us up so that we don’t drift with the world” – John Piper

“Collapse in the Christian life is seldom a blowout. It is usually a slow drift.” – Paul E. Little

“The experience of knowing that one is an alien, and perhaps even in a hostile environment where the dominant values run counter to ones’ own.” – Lee Beach, The Church in Exile

“Digital Babylon” – The Barna Group

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Romans 16:18-20 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

“The idea that this world is a playground instead of a battleground has now been accepted in practice by the vast majority of Christians.” – Aiden Wilson Tozer

1 Timothy 4:1 ESV Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.

1 Timothy 4:2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

1 Timothy 4:6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.

A pastor’s job is to protect you from the wolves and help you discern the wolves dressed as sheep.

The Importance of Discernment

“Cultural engagement without cultural discernment leads to cultural captivity.” – Ken Meyers

1 John 4:1 ESV Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 Corinthians 12:10 ESV To another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

1 Kings 3:9 ESV Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?

Matthew 10:16 ESV Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Colossians 2:8 ESV See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

1 Chronicles 12:32 NLT From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.

II. Elements of Spiritual Warfare (The Flesh, The Devil, The World)

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith.

Ephesians 6:13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Ephesians 2:1-3 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.

A. The World

Mark 8:36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

John 15:18,19 If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

1 John 5:19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

James 4:4 CEV Don’t you know if you love the world, you are God’s enemies? And if you decide to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

“Our culture and social practices, that are under the control of Satan and, thus, opposed to God.” – Dallas Willard

“The world is Satan’s domain, where his authority and values reign-though his deception makes that hard to realize. If you are of the world, then it all seems right.” – Gerry Breshears

“If you can make it a trend you can make it true.” – Renee DiResta

“What was universally condemned is now celebrated…what was universally celebrated is now condemned…those who refuse to celebrate are condemned.” – Theo Hobson

James 3:14-16 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

B. The Flesh

2 Peter 2:10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.

2 Peter 1:4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Jude 1:8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings.

Jude 1:18,19 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Desire (epithumia): “Over-Desire”

“The philosopher Charles Taylor, in his seminal work, A Secular Age, wrote about how the West changed from a culture of ‘Authority’ to a culture of ‘Authenticity’…Western people live by what their internal ‘authentic self’ wants to do.” – John Mark Comer, Live No Lies

“Our strongest desires are not always our deepest desires.” – John Mark Comer, Live No Lies

Our strongest desires often become distorted desires.

Sin didn’t invent our desires, God gave them to us. What sin does is twist and distort and pervert our God-given desires so that we try to fill our lives with everything but God.

Sin doesn’t begin with something we do; it begins with something we desire.

Strongest Desire (Perversion)

Deepest Desire (Pre-version)

“Giving in to the desires of the flesh does not lead us into freedom and life, as many people assume, but instead to slaver, and in worst case scenario, addiction, which is a kind of prolonged suicide by pleasure.” – John Mark Comer, Live No Lies

“This has become the dominant view of freedom in the West. Our children are being educated into this view one Disney movie at a time.” – John Mark Comer, Live No Lies

We make our decisions and then our decisions make us.

C. The Devil

Devil (diabolos): to slander or accuse

If Jesus’ anthem was, “On earth as it is in Heaven,” the devil’s is “On earth as it is in Hell”.

The devils greatest lie is to convince the world he doesn’t exist.

1 John 4:3 This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

1 Peter 5:8-9 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

How is your spiritual sobriety?

Ephesians 6:10,11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

2 Corinthians 2:11 In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Schemes (methodeia): cunning arts, deceit, craft, trickery

2 Timothy 2:26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

1. The Devil distorts your identity

What I have done (My Accomplishments)

What I do (My Career/Calling)

What I have accomplished (My Trophies)

Who I know (My Connections)

Who I am attracted to (My Sexuality)

What I own (My possessions)

What I look like (My Appearance)

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord with open face, and are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Prayer of Truth

Lord, you are my God and, because I glorify You, I boldly confess that I am a child of the Most High God and I reject the lies of the enemy! As I worship and praise Your mighty and powerful name, help me to overcome the lies of the enemy and to seek truth.

2. The Devil discourages your hope

Ephesians 6:11 ESV Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

2 Corinthians 10:4,5 ESV For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ

Prayer of Hope

Thank you, Lord, that you are victorious over every trouble and obstacle. Thank you for overcoming sin, death, and any evil we may face today. And because of you, we, too, are overcomers. We, too, can have victory and walk strong in your peace.

3. The Devil distracts your purpose

2 Corinthians 11:3 ESV But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ

Prayer of Focus

Lord, I pray that you will remind me that we are all a part of building and expanding your Kingdom. I ask that you give me a fresh vision of your purpose for my life. I ask that you prompt me when I set out to make plans that I make them according to your will and not my own. Let me not be conformed to this world. Please align my heart with yours, my ideas with yours, and my will with yours. For your ways are higher than mine and your plans are greater than ours, and nothing is impossible with you.

4. The Devil disturbs your peace fear

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Philippians 4:6,7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Worship is our weapon! There is power in our praise!

Prayer of Peace

Lord Jesus, I ask you to give me all-around peace in my mind, body, soul, and spirit. I want you to heal and remove everything causing my life stress, grief, and sorrow. I am claiming and declaring Your promises for blessings of peace and strength over my life. Bring peace into my soul that passes all worldly understanding and make me a light for others to see Your strength.

5. The Devil divides and darkens hearts

Ephesians 4:26,27 ESV Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

John 17:20,21 My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Prayer of Unity, Forgiveness

Heavenly Father, hear my prayer for unity, that we may all love each other as you first loved us. May we act with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience toward one another, living in unity with you. May we lay down our swords, set aside our grievances, and forgive each other as you forgave us. May your love bind us together in perfect unity, and may your name be known through our testimony.

6. The Devil disguises as light

2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

2 Corinthians 11:15 KJV Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers be transformed as the ministers of justice, whose end shall be according to their works.

Prayer of Discernment

Lord, Give me discernment in my heart, I pray, and increase my knowledge and understanding so that I may come to know You more and love You better. Open the eyes of my heart, Oh Lord, so that I may be able to identify the plans of the enemy. Help me to test every spirit to see what is truth or whether deception is being peddled. Give me wisdom and understanding to discern the difference between truth and error, I pray. Thank You that You are not a God of confusion but the God of peace.

7. The Devil disturbs the innocent

Ezekiel 16:20 And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols.

Leviticus 18:21 Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God.

Prayer of Protection

Father, I come to You today, bowing in my heart, asking for protection from the evil one. Lord, protect the innocent and vulnerable. I pray Your emotional, physical, and spiritual protection over my kids (grandkids). Keep evil far from them, and help them to trust You as their refuge and strength. I pray You will guard their minds from harmful instruction and grant them discernment to recognize truth. I pray You will make them strong and courageous in the presence of danger.

8. The Devil deceives the lost

2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Prayer for the Lost

Our Father, our heart’s desire and prayer is for the salvation of our loved ones, our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our friends and neighbors, the known and the nameless, those both near us and far from our shores. Bring them to Yourself, Lord! Grant them sight. Give them light. Use me to be a messenger of your good news in their life!

III. The Devils End Game (Steal, Kill, and Destroy)

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 8:44 ESV You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies

The devil is committing spiritual homicides, and his weapon of choice is a lie.

It’s not just that we believe and tell lies. It’s that we live them.

We let false narratives about reality into our bodies and they wreak havoc in our souls.

What is a lie?

When we call something a lie we mean it doesn’t correspond to reality.

Truth is reality. Lies are unreality.

So who has the final authority over what is true about reality?

Authority of truth comes from the author of life.

Truth is how God helps humanity create order out of chaos.

Lies are what the enemy uses to create chaos out of order.

M. Scott Peck, in his book People of the Lie, called the devil, “a real spirit of unreality.”

Ideology has become idolatry.

A lie is anything that is untrue about God.

A lie is anything that is untrue about me.

“Our new environment is one in which a battle is raging between truth and lies, and truth is losing.” – John Mark Comer

Strongholds: Like poison it effects our soul; hence soul ties or agreements.

Ephesians 2:2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

Revelation 12:10 For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

Accuse (katégoreó): to prosecute, charge, segregate, divide

Sweeping generalizations and making outliers to be the norms.

Classification: Groups in a position of power will categorize people according to ethnicity, race, religion, or nationality, employing us versus them mentality.

What is the enemy’s endgame?

Isaiah 14:12,13 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart,

“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly…

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”

Satan’s end game is to steal God’s glory and hurt the heart of the Father.

He does that by robbing and replacing.

If Satan cannot dethrone God in Heaven, he will try to dethrone God in hearts.

Genesis 3:4,5 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Satan robs God of His worship by:

Convincing you to worship at the Altar of Self (Creation worshiping Creation)

Convincing you to see God as unworthy of your trust (Oppressed vs. Oppressor)

You will never worship whom you don’t trust.

“In order to disobey God, we must first diminish Him. We will not adore a being that is subordinate. We don’t stand in awe of what is beneath us. Once diminished, devotion to Him not only becomes unnecessary but unreasonable.” – Noelle Mering, Awake, not Woke

Satan preaches a theology of self-exaltation.

Satan wants to get back at and hurt God. How?

By destroying and defiling anything made in his image, which is why innocence is about hurt.

IV. The Devil’s Then Game

Judges 17:6 ESV In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Idolatry is the act of spiritual adultery.

1 Corinthians 10:20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.

Genesis 11:4 Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves.

Revelation 18:2 With a mighty voice he shouted: “’Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit”

Revelation 2:20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality.

Jezebel Spirit: The character of the Jezebel spirit manifests in control, power-grabbing, pride, and manipulation, especially through sexual immorality.

Psalm 106:35-38 NASB1995 But they mingled with the nations And learned their practices, And served their idols, Which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, and shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and their daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with the blood.

Ezekiel 16:20 LSB Moreover, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured.

More than 60 million legal abortions have occurred in the United States since 1973.

U.S. abortions per year: 930,000 (Guttmacher Institute)

Rape and incest: 0.3%
Risk to the woman’s life or a major bodily function: 0.2%
Other physical health concerns: 2.5%
Abnormality in the unborn baby: 1.3%
Elective and unspecified reasons: 95.7%

“The fact of the matter is that abortion as a necessity to save the life of the mother is so rare as to be nonexistent.” – C. Everett Koop, M.D., former U.S. Surgeon General

Isaiah 34:14 AMP The creatures of the desert will encounter jackals And the hairy goat will call to its kind; Indeed, Lilith (night demon) will settle there And find herself a place of rest.

We are exploiting our children as worship to our idols.

Lilith: A female demon of the night who supposedly flies around searching for newborn children either to kidnap or strangle them.

“Yes, we all possess a bit of Lilith’s unacceptable rebelliousness in us, which believe me, requires more than a bit of courage.” – Huffpost

Ishtar (Inanna): She was known as the Queen of Heaven and was the goddess of sex, war, and justice.

Jeremiah 7:18 The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger.

“To destroy, to create, to tear out, to establish are yours, Inanna. To turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man are yours, Inanna.” – Enheduanna, 23rd century BCE priestess

“The people of Sumer parade before you…
The male prostitutes comb their hair before you…
They decorate the napes of their necks with coloured scarfs…
The women adorn their right side with men’s clothing…
The men adorn their left side with women’s clothing.”

– Sumerian Hymn quoted from Inanna Queen of Heaven

“Men who became priests of Ishtar, known as gala, would sometimes assume non-binary gender roles, dress in women’s clothing.” – Deianira Morris, “Goddess Ishtar”

“HIJRAS’ PURPORTED SUPERNATURAL powers are enshrined in Hindu mythology, and their gender fluidity mirrors the androgynous gods.” -Ina Goel, “India’s Third Gender Rises Again”

2 Corinthians 11:3,4 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.

Creation was created to worship Creator not creation.

Romans 1:24,25 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator

This is a rebellious spirit.

V. The Devil’s Now Game

1 Samuel 15:23 GNT Rebellion against him is as bad as witchcraft, and arrogance is as sinful as idolatry.

“More and more we conceive of God as less and less, until he becomes little more than an extension of ourselves or a therapeutic being who serves to comfort and affirm us. ‘He must decrease, we must increase’ is our modern mantra.” – Noelle Mering, Awake, not Woke

Secular humanism: The belief that humanity is capable of morality, defining of truth, and self-fulfillment without belief in God.

Self-determination and self-realization

“His poetry was marked with violence, destruction, and demonic delusions of usurping God. In his letters, he wrote of his understanding that as the Roman Empire was brought to its knees by sexual licentiousness, so could the ruination be brought to the West through the breakdown of all sexual restraint and the abolition of the family.” – Noelle Mering, Awake, not Woke

Anarchy: A state of disorder due to the absence or nonrecognition of authority.

Anarchy uses the deceptive illusion of “love for others” to camouflage its truest motive, “love of self”.

Anarchy has a hidden sinister agenda and seeks to serve self with a desire that no one has rule over you but you get to rule yourself alone. Lawlessness and anarchy are spiritual rebellious spirits to govern ourselves free from God’s authority over our lives. The Bible calls this rebellious spirit “witchcraft”.

Anything that flies under the banner of pride is witchcraft.

Satan will use people to accomplish his will.

Ephesians 2:1,2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Mark 8:32,33 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter.

Mark 8:33 “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

“Mind of the Spirit” is replaced with “Mind of Satan”.

Mind: Selfish, narcissistic, flesh-driven, “me”-centered, relativistic

A self-centered person will always be a self-sabotaging person.

The enemy wants to steal kill and destroy and his weapon of choice is lies. But not any lies, a lie with you at the center.

“The concept of “menticide” indicates an organized system of perversion and psychological intervention, in which a powerful tyrant transfers his own thoughts and words into the minds and mouths of the victims he plans to destroy or to use for his own propaganda.” – Joost A. M. Meerloo, The Rape of the Mind

“One important result of this procedure is the great confusion it creates in the mind of every observer, friend or foe. In the end no one knows how to distinguish truth from falsehood. The totalitarian ruler, in order to break down the minds of men, first needs widespread mental chaos and verbal confusion, because both paralyze his opposition and cause the morale of the enemy to deteriorate…From then on he can start to build up his system of conformity.” Joost A. M. Meerloo, The Rape of the Mind

Mental Coercion leads to Enemy Occupation.

A post-Christian culture is a “ME”-centered culture.

Worship at the alter of self.

Self-centered lyrics: “My rights, my money, my car, my gender, my body, my life, my opinions, my choice.”

Idolatry is inherently a rejection of God’s authority and a quest for self-definition, self-importance, and self-fulfillment on our own terms. – Paul M. Gould, Cultural Apologetics

A self-centered person will always be a self-sabotaging person.

The justification for self-exaltation will always be victimization.

Deconstructionism: Deconstruction can involve redefining or rejecting core doctrines of the Christian faith to bring it in line with current cultural values. This is deadly to one’s spiritual health and often leads to totalabandonment of the faith.

Deconstruction is a process; deconversion is a result.

2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

2 Corinthians 11:15 KJV Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers be transformed as the ministers of justice, whose end shall be according to their works.

He who defines the terms wins the argument.

We are calling evil good and good evil.

“Critical theory has led to the rise of ideologies that have killed millions. We have paid severe prices at those moments when people have lost faith in reason and decided to defect to something else. Those are the moments when genocide rears its hideous head.” – Allen C. Guelzo, Princeton University

Labels

Hater
Book Burner
Homophobe
Transphobe
Gender aggression
Christian Nationalist
White Supremest
Bigot
Domestic Terrorist

“In contrast for the woke, we are not to understand ourselves in proximity to the goodness of God but in proximity to the evil of society.” – Noelle Mering, Awake, not Woke

“Rubbing raw the sores of discontent in order to galvanize people for radical social change.” – Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

Virtue Signaling: A moral soap box or moral grandstanding to elevate one as better than others.

Radical Chic: Projecting oneself as a moral elite and using advocacy as a fashion accessory.

We are camouflaging objectification as empowerment.

We are camouflaging abortion as reproductive justice.

We are camouflaging sex mutilation as “gender-affirming” care.

Blindness comes through both ignorance and arrogance.

Transhumanism (Posthumanism) and AI

“I titled the book Homo Deus because we really are becoming gods in the most literal sense possible.” – Yuval Noah Harari

“Your feelings became the highest source of authority. The emotions of the voters in a democracy, not his or her rationality, became the number one authority in politics. In the economics of the consumer society, it is the feelings of the customer that drive every market. The feelings of the individual are the prime authority in ethics. ‘If it feels good, do it’ is the basic ethical ideal of humanism.” – Yuval Noah Harari

“So authority came down from the clouds, moved to the human heart and now authority is shifting back to the Google cloud and the Microsoft cloud. Data, and the ability to analyze data, is the new source of authority. If you have a problem in life, whether it is what to study, whom to marry or whom to vote for, you don’t ask God above or your feelings inside, you ask Google or Facebook.” – Yuval Noah Harari

“Human history began when men created gods. It will end when men become gods.” – Yuval Noah Harari

VI. The Exploitation of Children and Innocence

Matthew 18:6 NLT But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Satan uses a strategy of Popularize, Sanitize, Normalize, then Weaponize.

“I love that we are normalizing paganism. Laura is a pagan. She’s a witch. She’s jacked.” – Aubrey Plaza

“It’s time to see what I can do To test the limits and break through. No right, no wrong, no rules for me I’m free” – Elsa, Frozen

By the time of the New Testament, porneia had a very broad meaning that included sexual behavior such as prostitution, extramarital sexual intercourse or adultery, pedophilia, promiscuity, homosexuality, lesbianism, incest, premarital sex, and bestiality.

“Trying to understand something as powerful as sex, Freud turned to what he called the ‘infantile’ stage of human development, and identified the leading characteristic of infantile sexuality as polymorphous perversity. Freud explained: ‘What makes an infant characteristically different from every other stage of human life is that the child is polymorphously perverse, is ready to demonstrate any kind of sexual behavior, with any kind of pleasure, without any kind of restraint.’” – Noelle Mering, Awake, not Woke

“Reich knew that sex education was a powerful trojan horse. Exposition at a young age to the mechanics and images of sexual activity would encourage them to imitate and engage in such activity sooner that what would otherwise be likely. Away from the confines of parental authority, early sex education would seize and form their imagination and corrode their conscience.” – Noelle Mering, Awake, not Woke

“We see the universe as being indifferent to us, and so all morals and values are subjective human constructions. Our position is to be self-centered, with ourselves being the most important person (the ‘God’) of our subjective universe, so we are sometimes said to worship ourselves.” – Church of Satan

Satancon 2023 Goals:

– Deconstructing your religious upbringing

– Reclaiming the trans body

– Self-determination

– Sins of the flesh

– Satan and self-pleasure

– Reimagining Lilith as an architect for reproductive justice

– Satanism and BIPOC experience

Allegiance to self is allegiance to Satan.

It’s not entertainment, it’s evangelism.

The more our kids consume culture, the more it consumes them.

Hebrews 2:14,15 he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Revelation 12:11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony

VII. Raising and Releasing (Discipleship in our current culture)

1. The Rebellious spirit

2. The Religious spirit

3. The Remnant Spirit

Romans 11:4,5 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.

Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Matthew 28:18–20 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age”.

1 John 3:8 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

Matthew 12:28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

You are NO MATCH for the adversity you are facing. But the adversity you are facing is NO MATCH for Spirit you carry.

Matthew 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

“It is the Church that Jesus sees as the aggressor. He was declaring war on evil and death.” – Michael S. Heiser, “Standing at the Gates of Hell”

“There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.” – C.S. Lewis

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” ― Abraham Kuyper

Ephesians 1:22,23 MSG He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

A dangerous church is a disciple-making church.

Are we dangerous or domesticated?

Are we on the offensive or defensive?

Are we losing ground or taking ground?

Are we retreating or advancing?

Jesus envisioned not a DOMESTICATED church, but an UNLEASHED church:

UNLEASHED for miracles and to see God work in supernatural ways.

UNLEASHED for revival and full life.

UNLEASHED to walk in freedom and healing.

UNLEASHED to be witnesses to the power of God.

UNLEASHED to behold the manifestations of the Spirit Of God.

UNLEASHED to experience the brilliance of God’s power.

UNLEASHED to trample the gates of hell and take back ground from the enemy.

We don’t just have an idolatry crisis, we have a discipleship crisis.

You tear down idols by raising up disciples.

Discipleship is a spiritual battle of allegiance.

An impotent church symptomatic excuses:

I don’t want to get into a culture war.

You’re being legalistic.

I don’t want to be political.

I’m not from this world.

I just want to share the gospel.

I just want to focus on Jesus.

This is just a phase or a fad.

People don’t take this seriously.

The church has always faced these things.

I just want to love people.

We aren’t called to judge the world.

We need to focus on the church, not the culture.

We have made love our God instead of making God our love.

What you call love is actually enabling.

You can actually love someone to hell.

Acts 17:7 NLT They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.

Acts 17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.

Acts 17:17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

Acts 17:18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

Acts 17:19-21 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.”(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

Acts 17:32-34 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed.

Acts 19:23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.

Acts 19:26,27 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”

Acts 19:32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.

When we don’t believe in the supernatural power of the gospel to transform a culture, we resort to natural forms of power to transform a culture.

It’s not just about turning the world upside down but turning the world right side up.

John 17:14,15 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

The church is called to be a refuge for the world and a refuge from the world.

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak.

Not to act is to act.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Romans 10:14,15 NLT But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

Acts 26:17,18 ESV I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

It’s time for an uprising in the Kingdom led by sons and daughter of a royal priesthood.

Isaiah 60:1,2 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

Arise (Quwm Koom): To emerge out of defeat into victory.

VIII. Reaching and Renewing (Evangelism in our current culture)

2 Corinthians 5:18,19 NLTAnd all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

John 16:8,9 NLT And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.

Colossians 4:4-6 NLT Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

The Gospel is God’s loving rescue mission.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes

Ephesians 2:8,9 NLT God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Romans 5:8 NLT But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners

The gospel is the good news Jesus offered to anyone, saving us from death and saving us to life.

God created us for a meaningful life and to be in a loving relationship with Him.

Our lives are in bondage to sin which leads to death, pain, and a broken relationship with God.

Sin was canceled and overcome through the power of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus.

Peace, freedom, and healing are offered to anyone who turns to Jesus.

Everyone who turns and believes is a new person filled with God’s peace, presence, and power.

Living a flourishing, whole, and thriving life happens through daily trust and surrender to Jesus.

Evangelism in Babylon:

1. Start with Prayer

2. Live an authentic counter-narrative life

3. Listen to the Holy Spirit

4. Serve others

5. Listen and ask questions

6. Offer prayer and follow up

7. Invite others to do life with you, come to church, youth group, join a group

8. Live a Spirit-filled life and be the presence of the Holy Spirit

9. Offer them an encounter with a supernatural loving God

10. Let your passion for Jesus be authentically contagious

11. Live in such a way that begs the question, “What is your hope?”

12. Have bold humility

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