The heart of every man craves a great adventure, but life doesn't usually feel that way. Jesus speaks of narrow gates and wide roads, but the masculine journey is filled with many twists and turns.
So how do we keep from losing heart while trying to find the good way when life feels more like a losing battle than something worth dying for? Grab your gear and come on a quest with your band of brothers who will serve as the guides in what we call the masculine journey. The masculine journey starts here, now. Welcome to Masculine Journey. We are glad that you're with us this week, and we continue our foundation series.
which will be continuing for a while. Foreseeable future. Let's just put it that way. There's just lots of things that God's put in our heart that. We want to share, you know, that we want to share that the truths that he's been giving us over the years and the things where we found deeper intimacy with him, where we found healing, restoration, all those kinds of things go into this Foundation series.
Jump in here. Morgan Snyder makes this illustration, you know, with Wild at Heart, that if you're going to build a skyscraper, That's, you know, whatever 50 stories tall, you got to go whatever 30 or 40 stories down to get a foundation that will hold that building. And so. To get the foundation that we need in Christ, I mean, it takes a lot of excavating. And to get the foundation right is a gigantic thing.
And so I I to me Foundationally, I think we're on, right? Yeah, absolutely.
Well, you know, there's a scripture about, you know, build on.
Solid soil, right? Not on sandy soil. It's called defense. There you go. Yeah.
No, the fence goes around the house. We are Continuing the Foundation series with Spiritual warfare. We are talking. This is one of our boot camp talks, and this is not the talk. We're going to do elements of the talk, and we're going to talk about some other things in it.
But first, we have to talk about what spiritual warfare is. It's kind of in the description there, right? It's spiritual warfare. It's against our spirits. Paul talks about in Ephesians, this war that goes on that's greater than what we see around us, right?
It's what is it, principalities and. Powers and rulers of this present darkness. Thank you. Yeah, all that stuff, right? It's a big deal.
It is the deal. At the end of the day, the little things that we see that we think are battles around us every day are nothing compared to what's going on spiritually in the spiritual realm. And so we're talking about this battle for your heart. That's what this whole battle is about for you personally. It's the enemy is coming after your heart, trying to take you from God, trying to take one of His children away.
Right. And he's after you, so he can hurt God's heart, which we'll talk more about that later on. But before. before we go anywhere else. you kind of have to decide What are you going to do with the question that's at hand?
Will you fight? Right, and so Andy, this is a clip I'm kind of stealing from you. Yeah, go ahead. Right, it's uh it's from the original fellow fellow two towers. Two towers.
It was from two towers, and this is where you have Thaodin and Lord of the Rings, by the way. Yeah, Lord of the Rings, Two Towers. You have Thaodin and Aragorn talking, right? And Thaodin's wanting to protect his people, but he wants to do it by burying them deep in a place called the Deep. He's going to take them down into this place, and he's going to shield them from the outside attackers.
And that's a that's a method. Right, but he's not willing to go to war against the enemy. And so where we pick it up, he and Aragorn are having this conversation and it begins with, you have to draw them out to protect your ki your women and children. And so let's pick it up there and see where it goes. Draw him away from your women and children.
You must fight. What? You have two thousand good men riding north as we speak. Amer is loyal to you. His men will return and fight for their king.
They will be three hundred leagues from here by now. Ayamer cannot help us. I know what it is you want of me. But I will not bring further death to my people. I will not risk open war.
Open war is upon you. Whether you would risk it or not. And that is the question, right? You have Thaodon, who is a good person, he is a good king, he loves his people well. Right, but is he willing to go out and fight?
You know, Darren, we talked before the show that it's just not about you, right? It affects so many people. Your decision whether you fight or not. Yeah, I mean when we get up in the morning. What we do matters.
And I don't know that we have a better example. Than Jesus, obviously, when he decided, yeah, I'm going to leave heaven. I'm gonna go become a man. I'm gonna fight. for whatever time frame that is.
And I Honestly, I believe every curse every uh insult, every thing that was thrown at him while he was on the cross. was Satan Trying to get him to come off of the cross because Satan knew if he finishes this thing, he's won the war. And I've got some battles left, but Jesus has won the war. And most of us have been taught that, right? But that's also left us in a place where we've kind of Some of us have grown up thinking, oh, well, I don't have to fight then.
Jesus has won the war. I just got to survive, I just got to make it through this life. And I don't know that we've got a better modern day example of that than Charlie Kirk. Honestly, who got up every day and said, Here am I Lord, send me. And because he allowed the Lord to put him in a place.
Satan. You know, through a huge curve and took him out. But Who you know, the Lord is getting. Kind of the last laugh, honestly, with Jesus' sacrifice, but even in the now. The Lord is getting.
The benefit, the glory of a wife standing up in public and saying, I forgive that guy. Um, And We now kind of have a pretty good example of what it means to get up every day and make a decision that what I do today matters to somebody more than just me. Yeah, i thank you. The enemy is defeated. But he's not dead.
Right? For whatever reason God decided that I'm leaving him in the game. Right, he's still an active player in the game called Your Life. Right. Now, I want to make it really kind of clear: the enemy doesn't really care about you.
No. You're nothing to him. What he cares about is hurting the heart of God. And if you go into Revelation 12 and you look about, you read in there about a war in heaven where it talks about that a dragon they convinced a third of the stars to follow him. to attack God, basically.
Basically, what it is: it's a story of Lucifer, Satan. convincing a third of the angels to attack God and tried to overthrow him. Yeah, open rebellion. Right, and he's cast down to earth. Right, so he's tried to attack God and he realizes I can't do that directly.
So, like in any movie, I promise you, any movie that has a bad guy that can't attack the hero. Who's he attack? Jim, who's the attack in that situation? His loved ones. His loved ones.
And so that's what the enemy does. He attacks God's loved ones. Andy, who is God's loved ones? Me, you. Yeah, everybody listening.
Yeah, if you're listening to this, you're a beloved child of God. And the enemy is after you for one reason, to hurt God's heart. Right, and so I'm gonna play a clip real quick. It's a short one, it's about 47 seconds, and it's from the movie Amadeus. And Jim, go ahead and say the guy's name: Soliari.
Solieri is the king's kind of music guy. He's the guy you go to, and then this guy comes up named Wolfgang Mozart Amadeus, and he is talented. And according to the story, this guy is very jealous, and he, in this conversation, he's having it with God. And he's talking about his feelings towards God over having somebody that's better than him, that is made in a clearer image than he is. From now on, we are enemies.
You and I. Because you choose for your instrument a boastful. Lustful. Smutty. Infantile boy.
And give me for reward only the ability. to recognize the incarnation. Because you are unjust. Right there. Unkind.
I will block you. I swear it. I will hinder and harm your creature on Earth as far as I am able. I will ruin your incarnation. you Pretty much sums up how the enemy feels about it.
Satan himself. I mean, if if he were in the dialogue, I mean, it's somebody being used by him, obviously. But y what they don't show, you hear the fire crackling there, he throws in a crucifix with the adjesus on it and stuff.
So definitely uh No love loss right there. Yeah, and yeah, the enemy I'm sure gets some joy out of tormenting you. Yeah. Right, but it's really more about what it does to God's heart. If you're a parent out there Yeah, it may hurt when somebody hurts you, but how's it how's it feel when somebody hurts one of your kids?
It's a totally different kind of hurt. Right. You hurt more for the people you love most often than you hurt for yourself. Yeah. One of the things, and we've seen this with Danny.
it is often the spouse of some one. and it doesn't have to be someone hurting them. that have it much harder. When a loved one is struggling with sickness or injury. And uh We just had a fellow church is son was critically injured in a motorcycle accident.
And he's torn up. Um The his son is in pretty rough shape. But uh the impact that has. On us is much worse. I mean, I'd you can punch me all day long, but don't mess with my kids or my wife.
Right, and so that's what the enemy is doing, and so the question we started with comes back to. We Open war is upon you, or are you going to risk it? Right, 'cause the cost is so high if you don't. And for the rest of this show, we're going to be talking about. just different times and the way the enemy comes after you specifically.
We're going to touch on the thing called agreements. that he's trying to get you to agree with him. And we're going to talk more about that. We're going to play some other clips and talk about You know what the enemy's goal is in this whole thing, but keep in mind he always has the same goal regardless of what he tries on Jim or Darren or me or Grant or Andy or Robby or any of us in the room here. He's after the same goal.
to divide us from our Heavenly Father. Right? To create separation there. That is his number one goal, and any way he can go do that. he's going to try to do that.
And so that's what we're going to be talking about. This is one of the boot camp talks that for me was really, really instrumental. It helped me understand how I'd been attacked for years. And didn't really realize it. You know, I thought it was just me always messing up, which is a lot of truth to me.
It's a damn occurrence. Yeah. That have a theme to them, but we don't pick up on the theme or anything. It's just random. It seems like this always happens.
Yeah, exactly. That's it. That's about the extent of we get into our introspection on what's going on. I mean, deja vu again. Yeah, that's my third time.
Yeah, Groundhog Day. I feel like I'm living that. And that's it, you know. And to get the context of what's been going on, that you've had an active enemy in your life, and he's been attacking you with purpose and intent. and used specifically and uniquely.
In the way he attacks you. And we're going to talk a lot more about that. We have a boot camp coming up November 20th through 23rd in where at in Georgia? Royston. Royston, Georgia.
Go to masculinejourney.org to register. We'll talk with you after the break. What we have at our boot camp is something that makes you stronger and gives you the strength to go on your regular walk with God. It's something that will make you be bigger than you were when you got there. What brings you here this weekend?
So, I met Robby and he invited me to come to the boot camp, and there were just so many doors that were closed before I was able to come here, but God allowed these things to happen. And I said, You know, God, I'm going to ultimately acknowledge what's going on for all these doors to be open for me to come to this camp. I just want to seek you.
So throughout that time since I've been here, you know, just the illumination. of God speaking to me through my heart, through my mind, and through my soul was just It's going to a whole nother level since I've been here at the boot camp. The covenant of silence after the talks and being able to go out and just submit myself to being able to hear from God and what we've been working on, and it's just been transparent in my life. The level of the sanctification process, the discipleship process, and coming here, I feel like this is exactly where I'm supposed to be. Register today at masculinejourney.org.
Welcome back to Masculine Journey. And I must be the only person I think in this room that didn't know this song. I mean, I'm like, hey, I found a new song. And everybody's like, yeah, you really didn't. It's been popular for a long time.
I'd heard of the the artist, not the song.
Well, yeah, I'd not heard of either, so I was like way out of there. That was Torrin Wells. We've sung the song in our. Church. Have your own daughter and yeah.
Wow. Maybe he should report on the lyrics. Yeah, you probably know the lyrics.
Well, if you're like me and you may not be, I have a hard time picking up lyrics when people are singing. You know, I'm hearing to the listen to music, I've got all these other things going on, and hear the different instruments, and I don't really hear the words. And so, what he started singing in the chorus is, I'm calling the angels down. I'm storming the gates of hell. Tell the devil he don't own my soul and I'm taking back what the enemy stole.
I'm raising the battle cry, I'm holding the banner high, With the power of the Holy Ghost I'm taking back what the enemy stole. It's quite an awesome song, so it's in my playlist now, Andy. To quote you, I do have a Christian playlist. I just don't listen to much radio, and so you have to add to it when people tell me good songs. You don't have to confess.
No, no, no. I listen to great talk shows like Masculine Journey. That's your though. The w The weapon There's love. Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely. You know, I uh I I have songs I like and I listen to those. But anyway, back to the the topic at hand. We are talking about spiritual warfare. And so we are moving into some of your guys' clips.
So Darren, I actually wanted to start with your clip. If you wanted to tell us anything about it, why I find it and get it set up.
Well, it comes from the movie Gladiator and it's towards the very beginning of the movie where You know, it just seems like it's any other battle that they're getting ready to fight, and they've got a plan. The plan is we're going to win the battle. The plan is in three weeks we'll be back home and moving on with our life. And the whole point of this is: A, we always have a plan. We always have an agenda.
I mean, I pray against an agenda every single morning. I still have one by the time I go to bed at night. And so we've always got an agenda, and seldom. Does it fully include Hey, I'm suited up in the armor of God there's a reason for that. I better be on the on on guard because most of our life doesn't make sense Literally, what you were talking about earlier.
Most of our life doesn't make sense unless you have the context of warfare. What I mentioned a minute ago, the Charlie Kirk thing. That doesn't make any sense unless you understand spiritual warfare. And if you understand spiritual warfare, you can stop hating that person that disagrees with you. you can start putting the focus on Satan.
Who not only disagrees with you, but he's the one that really wants to destroy you and steal your joy and steal God's joy. That's what he's trying to do.
Now, This clip basically talks about, you know, we've got an agenda, but. While we're here in the right now, choose what you're going to do because what you do echoes in eternity. At least. A terrible! Three weeks from now.
I will be harvesting my crops. Uh Imagine where you will be. And it will be so. Hold the line! Stay with me!
You find yourself alone. Riding in green fields with the sun on your face. Do not be troubled! Or you are in Elysium and you're already What we doing live? Echoes in eternity.
So, making that choice to get up every morning and put on the armor of God and to pray. God's angels Around your kingdom, surrounding your kingdom, and moving forward towards the gates of hell. I mean, it doesn't say. That The church will be able to keep Hell out of the church. It says the gates of hell will not be able to hold the church back.
back. Our mission is to go against the gates of hell. You can't do that. Unless you are prepared to fight. And what we do is much bigger than us.
Yeah, we could say, well, I'm just not, that's not my gig.
Okay, I get it. But if you don't choose to make it your gig because God called you to do that, I mean, that's why He put you here. He puts you here to put Satan in his place. That's ultimately why we're here, to bear the image of God and to put Satan in his place. And if we don't take control, every day.
Of our own heart, our mind, our home, our family, all of those things, guarding it with that spiritual armor, and the Word of God being the most important part of that. then people will die.
Souls will be lost. But we have a choice, and it will change someone's eternity. If you make the right choices. Thank you. Robby, now I'm going to take this from a very big level down to a a small level.
Right. The the battle is daily in small little things it doesn't sound like it's that big of a deal. Do you want to help explain what agreements are and what the enemy's after and kind of how those play out? And all that goes together with this particular clip you're going to take from Wild Hogs that, you know, this is. four middle-aged men that Have lost adventure in their life, which we talked about that is one of the foundations that you need.
And so. You know, they have agreed that they've lost a purpose, that there really is no purpose for them, you know, that life is just. Exposing their weaknesses and they're going down for the count. And they and they all are you know, that's where they and they wake up one day and decide, Hey, we need we need to go on some kind of adventure. And so they take off on this bike ride.
So they break the first agreement that we're past the point of having adventures anymore, we're past the point of purpose. And of course, you know, as life would have it, they End up meeting a real biker gang, which makes them feel like they're posers, right? And we talked about the poser on the thing.
So they feel like, wow, we're the posers, and they're not understanding that.
So now they got a real fight on their hand. But that. That group Causes everybody to go into fear, such fear that they're not willing to take on their own adventures. And so it actually has these guys cowering behind the wall until one of them finally breaks all that agreement and goes up against the bikers on his own. Which, because he has the courage to stand up against the enemy, you see, then the other three of the four.
They stand up. And as those three break that agreement, they actually begin to make an agreement with each other that we're going to stand. And you can hear him make this agreement, which eventually you'll hear the whole town. You know, come into this, and it's a pretty funny scene, but it's real life. You know, from my standpoint, we all are facing these.
Agreements that Satan would love to make us think that we're not anybody, that we're losing, that we're totally inept. Which we are without apart from Jesus, you can do nothing. But these guys, they get it together, come together. It's pretty amazing. No, we're not going to pay any money and we're not calling the cops.
We're gonna stand here and fight. Thank you. You don't want our money. What do you need money for? You're free.
You know, you just here to... Get what you get from the townspeople all the time, fear, because you're scary people. People will do anything to stay safe, include give up the biggest part of their lives, their adventure. I say, let's have a little adventure, huh? Let's fight.
Let's dance, huh? Enough's enough. Let's kick some Del Taco. Wait, wait, wait. Four on four.
Oh! Oh good, you want some more? I got nothing to lose. and a wife. No job.
The house. I got my friends though. I got them to land. Oh! That's great!
You know what's so stupid about this? We wanted to be like you guys. You know, cause what I see here is just a bunch of grown men whose biggest decision in life is uh sleeveless or uh sleeveless. Hey, because we're not the posers. You guys are the posers.
Hey, do yourselves a favor. And stay down! 25 years of being yelled at? Man, I ain't taking this. And I got a girlfriend.
Punch that out of me. Oh no. Are we doing this? Let's do it. Come on, Battle.
Come on, come on. You're kidding me, right?
Alright, you wanna keep going? I don't think so. You're done, Jack. You don't play goes? You are We're done!
And we want you out of our town now! And who's we? All of us. If four people could stand up to a gang of bikers, I guess we can too! Yeah it's it's a Amazing thing, right?
That as Dudley Finds a crossure break agreement, you know, they all. jump into the equation. But the you know, the net result of your freedom. Right? To break the agreements.
And don't miss this little aspect of it. You notice how many times he got knocked down? I mean, if you watch this fight scene, it's a lot more than what I have in that clip. They get knocked down, and you are too. You're going to get knocked down and get knocked down and get knocked down.
But at some point in time, when everybody watches you get up after the 15th time you got knocked down, they're like, and he's got something, and it's Christ. That is the bleed first principle.
Somebody's got to get out there and get shot at.
Somebody's got to get out there and get punched in the face. And hopefully... hopefully, there will be good men, good women, wearing the armor of God behind them that say, All right, Enough's enough. I'm going to go fight with or for that person who's willing to bleed for me. But it starts with individual.
I have to fight the individual battle. With got al with me out in front, they are with me, I'm not alone, but I have to fight that against the enemy. I can't let him gain ground. I can't let him into my thoughts, into my way of life. You know, it's simple things.
We're going to talk a lot more about this in the after hours. And I'm not just promoting the after hours, although I'd like for you to listen to it. You can go to any podcast location and get Masculine Journey After Hours. But we're going to talk a lot more deeply about how this is really personal at a personal level. How the enemy attacks you, it's things that you hear in your head or things you've heard your whole life.
You know, maybe you grew up in a uh a family that told you you were the idiot. You know, and so you live at this agreement, I'm just an idiot. No, you're not, you're a child of God, and how the enemy uses that to hold you hostage. And hold your family hostage in its own way. And so, we're going to talk a lot more about that.
So, listen to the Masculine Journey After Hours. Go to register for the upcoming boot camp. It's coming up November 20th through 23rd in Royston, Georgia. I remember where it's at this time. It's an amazing, amazing camp down there, Camp Little Light, a lot of fun.
We're going to have just a great time, and God will be in the house doing lots of really cool things. He always is. And that's our favorite part about boot camp: seeing what God accomplishes and what He chooses to let us be a part of. And so, join us for that. And thank you for listening this week.
Just go love somebody else this week and we'll talk to you next.
