Valley Gospel
A Pentecostal church experience.
Valley Gospel
Spiritual Warfare
Have you ever wondered what it really means to fight a spiritual battle? On this episode of the Valley Gospel Church Podcast, we are joined by Brother John Jackson, who opens up about his personal struggles and the divine strength he found through God’s unwavering presence. Brother John takes us through the powerful scripture of Ephesians 6:10-12, shedding light on the unseen battles we all face and the importance of relying on God's actions over our own.
Explore the reality of spiritual warfare as Brother John shares his firsthand experiences and observations on how Satan tries to obstruct God's work in our lives. He emphasizes the necessity of putting on the full armor of God to withstand the devil’s schemes and highlights the supportive role our church community plays in this struggle. This chapter is filled with practical advice and heartfelt reflections that will inspire you to draw strength from God's mighty power and continue your spiritual journey with resilience and faith.
Finally, delve into the invisible spiritual battles that have profound eternal implications. Brother John guides us through biblical teachings on preparing for these conflicts, using relatable analogies and personal stories to underline the importance of vigilance and reliance on God's power. He wraps up the episode with a message of encouragement, reminding us of God's constant support, the miracles He performs in our lives, and the boundless love He showers upon us. Join us for this enlightening discussion and fortify your faith as you navigate your own spiritual warfare.
My God will open. He'll open up the windows of heaven and He'll pour you out of blessing. My God will open, He'll open up the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, and you will not have the room to know not because of you, but because he is good and you will not have the room to receive Him.
Speaker 2:Hello, welcome to Valley Gospel Church Podcast. We are an independent full gospel church worshiping in spirit and in truth, located in Springdale, pennsylvania. Our single mission is to present a message of truth and hope centered on Jesus Christ and him crucified. So let's go into a service recorded live at Valley Gospel Church.
Speaker 3:This morning we have the awesome privilege of our brother, john Jackson, to share the word of God with us. So, brother, the microphone's on the pulpit, whatever God's given you, bring it, brother, bring it, bring it.
Speaker 4:I thank you. I thank you and I'm thinking about all the things this morning that didn't go well. Am I on? Okay, and I'm sitting down this morning. I'm going no wonder.
Speaker 4:What you're going to preach today, john is about what you're going through and I just thank God so much that he's alive and well, he doesn't sleep, he doesn't slumber and he's always working for our good. You know something about the God that we serve. Sometimes we don't have the right words to say what we really mean, we can't say and do, but he's so good at what he does. It doesn't matter what we do, because it matters what he does, and I'm just so thankful that I serve a god that loves me more than I love myself.
Speaker 4:Your message today is really something for me, and as I have Krista come up today and she's going to read out of the book of Ephesians, the sixth chapter, verses 10 through 12. And I'll set the basis for my message this morning. And Ephesians, the sixth chapter, verses 10-12. And I want you to pray for me as I prepare this morning to share with you what God shares with me, Because I need your prayers this morning. I need your prayers to share with you what God shares with me. Ready, okay with you. Will God share with me?
Speaker 5:Amen, please stand Amen Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Speaker 4:God's word, god's word. Let us pray, father, again. I just thank you, father, for the opportunity to stand in the shoes. There's so many men and women today, all around the world, that I've opened up your words and sharing what you share with them. So, father, today I ask Lord, holy Ghost, have your way in me today, because I can't do nothing without you, holy Spirit. So, father, I just thank you for the way you plan and you do everything in my life. So, in Jesus' name, I just thank you and praise you for all that you have done, all you are doing and what lays ahead for all of us, your children. Again, in Jesus' name, amen, you may be seated. Thank you, I want to speak on this morning, the reality of spiritual warfare.
Speaker 4:The reality of spiritual warfare. You know, a couple weeks ago I was walking out and Dan was talking with his wife and Colette and Jamie and he was sharing with I think it was his brother who said he knows the Lord, but he was having a battle. And I said to myself that's spiritual warfare. The devil's always trying to stop and hinder and do something to stop what God's doing in our lives. Church, you have to realize we're in a battle. We're in a mighty battle with Satan, our enemy. But I come to tell you this morning have a God who says hi. He looks low and he can do everything but fail. This morning, as I was preparing to do what I usually do study, read a little bit I did none of that today. Nothing today I wanted to do. I was able to do, and I realized I was in this spiritual battle. Satan don't want me to preach this message this morning. He doesn't want me to tell people and share with people those old, sneaky and dirty and loud little things he's trying to do in our lives, because he can hinder anything to stop the gospel of Jesus Christ. He'll do it. All those years. You're in the spiritual battle. Satan was trying to stop you. Hinder Boy, look what my God has done in your life. He got you standing tall. All the tears you shared today were tears of joy about the God that we serve, the God that loves us more than we love ourselves. You know, church, we talk.
Speaker 4:War is a fact of life. The US of the United States has many conflicts and many wars. We've had the Revolutionary War. We had the Civil War, world War I, world War II, korea, vietnam, gulf Wars and many other conflicts throughout our history as a nation. Some of you Terry, ted's not here, even me have fought and stood for my country, and those who are engaged in the military conflict have no doubt. Now listen, when you're in the military Kirk, you know who your enemy is. You have a plan to defeat him and you're trained to do battle.
Speaker 4:But, church, there's another battle being waged all around us in the spiritual realm and I don't think some of us really think about what goes on in the heavenlies. We don't realize that Satan is always working, always trying to stop what God's doing. When I look at my sister, carol, you are just a bright light to all of us here. You are, carol, and think about you. You do it. You don't think about nothing, about others. Why you're doing it? You just do it because God is working in your heart and Satan's going to try to do everything he can. I know he gets up sometimes. He gets up in the morning and you just don't feel like it, like to me sometimes. Sometimes I don't feel like coming to church. I don't, but the Holy Ghost won't let me. He just won't let me. I might shuffle my feet, grab my Bible and have an attitude, but when I come in this house, when Jamie stands and talks, when Karen starts playing that piano, and oh, my girl, stephanie opens up her mouth, everything changes. The Holy Ghost starts working in me and working through me. Oh, my girl, stephanie opens up her mouth, everything changes. The Holy Ghost starts working in me and working to me.
Speaker 4:In that sixth chapter of Ephesians, as Christa read thank you, christa, for your reading it tells us this is be strong in the Lord's mighty power. God gives us a power to fight this life, because I don't care who you are, satan doesn't like where you're at and what you're doing, and he'll work through your wife, he'll work through your kids, on your job. Anything he can use to stop the progress of the gospel of Jesus Christ Satan's going to do. But this is what he tells us the Lord's mighty power. But he tells us the Lord's mighty power, but he tells us to put on the whole arm of God that we'll be able to stand firm Not just stand, but stand firm against all the strategies and tricks of the devil, who we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, against the wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.
Speaker 4:So this morning I want to share with you four basic truths we need to be aware of. Four basic truths we need to be aware of. Do you know this first basic truth? There's an invisible world that is just as real as a visible world, and I think just a lot of us. We know the Lord, that we can see, hear, touch, smell and taste. Like me, this Bible's real. It's real. Close up my back, donna. They're real. Now, if you got something in the oven today, cooking before when you come home, it's real. See, I know they're real. You know they're real because we can experience them with the senses God has given us.
Speaker 4:But we begin to talk about which is invisible. Those things cannot be seen, heard, touched, smelled or tasted. We sometimes tend to think that those things are not real and somehow at a lesser level of reality than the visible world. Nothing can be further from the truth. Just because you can't see it, smell it or touch it, don't mean it ain't happening and Satan counts on us thinking because we don't see it? Well, they can't shoot what I'm doing. They can't shoot what I'm doing. He's going to throw all these things at us. But I come to tell you this morning, god's given us the Holy Ghost to help us in our time and our need as we walk in his will and his way.
Speaker 4:In Ephesians 6, 12, the 12th verse of that sixth chapter, we're not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against evil spirits and rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against the mighty powers of darkness who rule this world and against the wicked spirit in the heavenly realms. Church will we exist in a present and visible world Tree, houses, trees, see all we can see things. We also exist, though church, in a simultaneously in the unseen world that Paul describes here in the sixth chapter. The unseen world is described as a place where evil begins and exists, but it's also a place, church, in this world, where my Jesus Christ lives and all believers exist. Listen, it says in the first chapter, verse 3,.
Speaker 4:It says God has blessed us. Amen y'all. God has blessed us, amen y'all. God has blessed us With every spiritual blessing In the heavenly realm Because we belong to Christ, because of who we belong to and who we love and who loves us. He makes us aware of things. God has blessed us With every spiritual blessing In the heavenly realm Because we belong to him. We are bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. Hey, listen, jesus did it all. He went to a cross. He didn't have to go to, he stayed on the cross. He didn't have to stay on the cross. He was pierced and brutally beaten and thrown a cord on his head, but he did it because of you, colette, because of you Judy, because of you, tim. He stayed on the cross for us, each one of us. If you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. He did it for you In the first verse of Ephesians, verse 19,.
Speaker 4:It says it's the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of the honor of God at his right hand in heavenly realms. Because of who Christ was, what he's done, god raised him from the dead. Or they thought they had killed, or they thought they had done away. They thought they shut, shut him up. But all boy, my God, told him something about the day my Christ lives and he lives today. I've given him something else. I've given shelly bopper? Or what about dot told sub-tablet that, by quite a bit of the list of day, have given some out, like giving us, arguably, the whole spread of the interview. They have been good day in your troubles and your time. Charge that holy ghost, it will take care of you in your way. He's gonna tell you, because she had a lot of what you've done who raised us up from the dead? All of us are dead because we're dead. We weren't alive, but what Christ did for us, we're now seated with him in heavenly realms, all because we're one with him. Oh, come on church, it says we're one with him. Oh, come on church, it says we're one with him. This Christ, god's son, who was in heaven. And he said oh, dad, I'll go down for Terry, I'll go down for Laura, I'll go down for Vicki, she's going to need me. And he did it. Man, when the needs are bad, god gives you the strength to endure it to death and you're going to endure it to the end.
Speaker 4:See, church, beyond this world of our senses, in the unseen world, where all that is of a spiritual nature dwells both good and evil, and it is an invisible world, that the spiritual warfare takes place. It's just what we can't see. There's a war going on. There's a war going on. There's a war going on in church. And just because you don't see it, don't mean it ain't happening. There's a battle going on against you and me and against God and against Jesus Christ. But my Bible head tells me, at the end we win, we win, and we win because he gives us everything we need to fight this battle Church. There's an invisible world that's just as real as the unseen world. That's the first basic truth, girl. There is an invisible world that's just as real. It's real Bob, it's real man. The second basic truth is this we are involved in an un. Come on, holy Ghost, not me. We are involved in an invisible world, a cosmetic conflict that has eternal implications. You hear what I just said. We are involved in an invisible world war, a cosmetic conflict that has eternal implications.
Speaker 4:I had a guy on my porch I'm always on my porch, people come and I'm always talking and he was talking to me about his daughters. That guy, russ Ross, who got baptized here, and he told me to keep praying for him because he's going through a rough time with his family. He has three daughters. They're all going to be doctors. They're all going to be doctors, all going to school. But they got this idea that there is not an invisible world out there. And he was telling me you know, he's trying to tell his children now. He said, listen, he's trying to tell his children now. He said, listen, his wife was adopted at birth. Her dad she got to meet in the last ten years. Well, found out, he left them six million dollars and that's why he's going to Florida, massachusetts. He's traveling all over because this guy had business all over the country and he's been really busy. But he comes down with me on my porch to sit and share with me.
Speaker 4:And I said I know Ross, but the thing you got to remember you need to be in the fellowship. I know your family is not up to par with what you believe and what you're saying. That's what you need to be in the fellowship. Ross is what we call an engineer. He's very sharp, very challenging guy. I said I don't care how much you think you know, my famous verse is Romans 15, 4.
Speaker 4:That first part of that verse. It says these things in your Bible were written for our learning. And we never graduate. We're always going. We always should be going, but you're going to go just sitting. You go because you study, you pray, fellowship, the meditation, the things God calls us to do. If you do these things, you get a chance. Without them, you're done.
Speaker 4:I like this one here. See, my papa tells me about Daniel. Daniel's a bad dude. Daniel's a bad dude. You know the dinner lines, how? God just shut them out the lines. But Daniel was praying. You know the story.
Speaker 4:Daniel prayed For 21 days. He didn't get an answer. But when I read that part, daniel didn't give up. Daniel didn't give up. But your angel, gabriel, came down to tell Daniel. Daniel, there's something we have to understand. He said Daniel, your prayer was heard in heaven. He said, but I was in a battle in an unseen world up there. He said I was in a battle. He said I had to call on Michael, the archangel, to come down and fight for me so I could come to tell you that God heard your prayer. I love that Because I'm going to tell you what we know today. A lot of people pray. They don't get an answer, they give up, they walk away. But this tells us if you hold on to God's unchanging hand, god does everything for you. So we got Daniel.
Speaker 4:In our 10th chapter of Daniel it says Don't be afraid, daniel. He's telling us Vicki, don't be afraid. Since the first day you prayed for understanding, to humble yourself before God. Your request has been heard in heaven. God hears our prayers. And we got to be able to stand. We got to be able to stand and learn to endure to the end, because the answer is coming. Because the answer is coming.
Speaker 4:See, there's much I don't understand, but what is very obvious is that the spiritual war was taking place between the spirits and angels. This reveals that, in a world which is unseen by us, there's a conflict going on, a conflict of the ages being good and evil, light and darkness, god and Satan. It reveals that there is a satanic force and the heavenly forces and it reveals that we are smack dead in the middle of the whole thing. Remember Elijah, him and his servant. Very new battle of the whole thing. Remember Elijah, him and the servant. Very new battle With the servant.
Speaker 4:He said man, elijah, I'm looking around. I see nothing but chariots. I see all kind of enemies all around us. What are we going to do now, elijah? What can we do now? Elijah cried and said don't be afraid. Elijah told him there's more on our side, don't on this? How many people know they got more fighting for you than against you? Satan is such a good liar and a deceiver He'll have you thinking you're all alone. But God has made a way and a way for us, and Elijah said. He said, Elijah, what are we going to do All this trail? What are we going to do, vicki? He said look at all this.
Speaker 4:Because he was looking with his worldly eyes, because he's not spiritualized, the Lord opened the servant's eyes. When he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elijah was filled with horses and chairs of fire. God, let him see something. See, god doesn't do that. Once in a while he lets you see some things, even if you don't understand. He lets you see some things he wants to give us understanding. God revealed to them that he was ready to do battle on their behalf from the world that was unseen by human eyes.
Speaker 4:The spiritual brethren are weary and there's no less than what's with Daniel or Elijah of any God's people through the ages. In 2 Corinthians 4, 4, it says Satan, the god of this evil world, has blinded the mind of those who don't believe. So they are unable to see the glorious light of the good news that is shining upon them. They don't understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. See church sing it all the tricks, all up a sleeve, but God has a way in showing him who he really is. He's a defeated foe. We're involved in the invisible world, church, a cosmetic conflict that has eternal implications.
Speaker 4:Maybe you're hearing this message today and you're not in a relationship with Christ. Or perhaps you have trouble even understanding what I'm talking about today. Just hold on. Or maybe you once felt close to God and you have been straying away Church. It just might be that you are engaged in a spiritual world that you are not even aware of that Satan is blinding your mind to the truth. That's what he does.
Speaker 4:Those of us who are in Christ are here to battle, not those who are not Christians. They don't know any better. But the satanic presence that is keeping you from understanding. People don't understand that. I keep saying how come people can't get this? God made it so easy for us to understand. Why ain't people getting it? Because they're blinded by the ways of the evil.
Speaker 4:One In 2 Corinthians 10, verse 3 to 5,. It says we are human, but we don't wage war with human plans and methods. We use God's mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the devil's strongholds. When these weapons, we break down the devil's strongholds. When these weapons, we break down every proud argument to keep people knowing God. With these weapons, we conquer their rebellious ideas and we teach them to obey Christ. That's our job. Telling people about the Lord, telling people about the Jesus Christ that died for them. Talk about the God that sits high and looks low. That's our job.
Speaker 4:You didn't come here to get saved, come here on Sunday. No, you come here to get strong for battle. And I'm telling you right there if you don't get strong for battle in here because you don't want to, I'm telling you right there. If you don't get strong for battling here because you don't want to, I'm telling you what this church, god, is equipping us for battle. I'm telling you church, and we're blessed because a lot of churches don't understand that, they don't get it.
Speaker 4:But as I heard Jamie and I heard Colleen and I heard y'all singing, I believe, without a doubt, pastor Bob, with God's help and the Holy Ghost, is preparing us To do battle with the enemy Church. It's quite obvious that God is calling his church To engage sin and warfare so that we will be Strong in the Lord Church. It's quite obvious that God is calling his church to engage sin and warfare so that we will be strong in the Lord and able to break the satanic strongholds that have so many people. They don't even know it, they have no idea. And you don't know it if you don't have a relationship. Our women are not of this world and you don't know it if you don't have a relationship. Our weapons are not of this world.
Speaker 4:The decisions that we make today as to whether we will or not begin to take up our weapons of warfare has internal implications for those who are not in a relationship with Christ. The Bible tells me there will be a time when every knee will bow. It says, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord Church. We have to remember that God is so good to us and no matter how good you think you got it, no matter what you got, nothing compares to the love God has for us. So there's an invisible world that's just as real as the visible world. We're involved in an invisible world that's just as real as the visible world. We're involved in an invisible war, a cosmetic conflict that has eternal implications.
Speaker 4:We must have respect for our the third one basic truth. Our foe is formidable and his goal is to destroy us and to discredit the cause of Christ. You know, church, satan ain't no joke, he's a joke. But he ain't no joke's a joke, but he ain't no joke. Let me put it that way. We have to realize what he has, but we gotta realize what he doesn't have. Like me, like I'm a Steelers fan, you know, and the Steelers have a game and I'm going, man, we're gonna crush them today and they're gonna beat them, we'll be the pants off of them today. And what happens? I think some of the Steelers have a game and I'm going, man, we're going to cut them today and they're going to beat them, we'll beat the pants off them today. And what happens? I think some of the Steelers forget who they're playing, because sometimes the worst teams can be the best teams, sometimes, like any given Sunday, and I've seen them get beat time after time again, because I think I believe they took their foe lightly.
Speaker 4:See, a similar problem comes with Christians to underestimate the power of our enemy. Well, we don't want to give him more power than really has. We make a huge mistake. We make a huge mistake. We think it's the money army. He has no power at all. It says be careful. 1 Peter 5.8. It says be careful. He's like a roaring lion, satan Seeking who he may divide. That's Satan. Satan is a present reality in our lives, whether we like it or not. He wants nothing more than to destroy our faith away and take away our credibility and lead us to stumble into sin. Credibility and lead us to stumble into sin. We have to be prepared for his attacks and we need to show him some level of respect as far as his abilities are concerned.
Speaker 4:In Jude 9, this is good for me because I was reading Jude and I read the ninth verse. It talks about the archangel Michael. He's fighting with the devil over the body of Moses. See, satan wanted to know where the body of Moses was buried so he could get the people to go there and make like a shrine out of it. Michael said no way, brother, I ain't telling you nothing. You ain't going to know where Moses' body is at.
Speaker 4:And when I read that and I was thinking about that, because here's what it says no, you don't Satan, god will take care of you. And I thought about that, pastor, I told a lot of people I don't want to rebuke Satan, I want to do this to Satan. You better be quiet, because he is a foe. He's a mighty foe and he's here to discredit us all, each one's stairs apart. See, this remarkable section of Scripture doesn't give us any details, as I was like, but does share something like how we should treat Satan. Satan is a fallen creature and a vile enemy of God.
Speaker 4:Yet Michael the archangel, when he was speaking with the body, wouldn't dare say anything that would give or talk anything bad on Satan. All he said was God take care of you. See, sometimes we think we can talk to Satan any kind of way. Be careful, be careful. But you know this, whatever Satan wants to do, god says I'll take care of him. So we got somebody to fight about. What's it say? The battle isn't ours, but it's the Lord's. So church, when I think about that battle that Michael and Satan had, michael stood his ground, wouldn't give in to Satan. But one thing Michael didn't do he didn't discredit Satan, he just told Satan God will take care of you. So we're involved in the visible world, because many conferences have an eternal implication.
Speaker 4:And this fourth basic truth is this we must respect our foe but not fear him, become acutely aware of his methods but not preoccupied by them. You know church unless you've been in a closet somewhere and you have not had or seen many retired military personnel, men and women, on TV telling us about the different strategies and schemes of the Iraq war and church. They had all kinds of things that we saw, what they did, what they said. It shows us they didn't fear Satan, but they did respect him. You ever think you're so good and so high, you're so, hallelujah, happy or whatever you want to call yourself. Beware of your enemy, because he's here to destroy. You See, we can become aware of Satan's tactics church.
Speaker 4:Now here's some of Satan's names. He's called Satan. What's Satan? An adversary, the devil. He's a slanderer, lucifer, he's the son of the morning, beelzebub, the prince of demons. He's called the evil one, the tempter, the prince of this world and the accuser of the brethren. We learn these things about what Satan, what his name means, and Satan attacks God's program.
Speaker 4:The church, oh, he's always. We talk about it, sometimes. Most of the time we talk about some churches I heard on this morning they don't preach Christ. And how can a church, how can believers, not preach Jesus Christ? Satan gives us false philosophies Colossians 2.8. There's so many false religions, false ministers, false doctrines, falsities and false morals.
Speaker 4:Satan's always attacking God's program, the church. We say how can a church do that? Because they're not respecting their enemy. Satan does not want to see the church grow, he wants to see it divided. And we know anything divided won't stand. We know that. Singer thanks God.
Speaker 4:People, I've got attacked us. Well, he does my directing government, daniel 10.13. He attacks God's people by deceiving them, destroying life, persecuting saints, preventing service, planting doubt and saints, always provoking sin and anger. That's what he does. We can be aware of Satan too by his powers limited. Oh, I love this one. His powers limited. One thing he is created. Therefore, he is not omniscient or infinite. Because he is created, he is not omnipresent. He can't be everywhere Because he's created, he's not omnipotent, he's not all-powerful. See, balance and wisdom are crucial in our set of spiritual opposition. To assign too much or too little to credit to the reality of demonic activity is in there greatly. What I'm saying here, if I mumble through. That is this. It's a reality. Church of demonic activity, and it's to destroy us and take away our credibility.
Speaker 4:Church, as believers in Christ, we do not fight for victory. We fight for victory In Christ's power. We are invincible. We are, so he said, put on the whole arm of God. I've been praying that for about five years now. The whole arm of God. Oh, what a helmet of salvation. Years now. The whole arm of God. Oh, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, the word, the blessed plate of righteousness. He prepares our feet for the peace of the gospel. The launch he girds us up with God is so good. He gives us everything we need.
Speaker 4:Church to fight this invisible battle that we can't see. Because what we can't see, god does see. What we don't know, we don't understand. We got the Holy Ghost to help us. So, church, it's a reality. It's no joke, daniel. We're in a spiritual battle. We serve a mighty God. It takes care of us better than we can take care of ourselves.
Speaker 4:I love God, but I like us. He loves me. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I say God, how can you love a God like me? He said, just because I do, john. So, church, as I'm done this morning, I kept you a little longer than I expected, but when things are going not the way you, you know, remember you're in a spiritual battle that you can't see with your natural eye, you can't hear with your natural ear, but the Holy Ghost can give you everything you need. So again, church, let's thank God for who he is. Let's praise him so much and you can never out praise God. He makes a way when there isn't a way. He does things for us. Church, sometimes we don't even know. I remember all the drunk days and riding around drunk and coming home in the morning and look out the window and see my car was still there. All that time God knew. One day I was standing to preach, he kept me down there. He kept me. I didn't know it, I had no idea, but God knew.
Speaker 2:And, like he knows me, he knows you and you, and you and you and you. We pray this message is a blessing and encouragement to you, most of all, that it fortifies your faith as the return of our Lord draws near. We encourage you to share the love of Jesus this week and invite you to listen to next week's podcast.