Listen to the Narrated Introduction below

If you’re a Christian, you likely have a compelling story about how you came to Christ.

Perhaps there was someone in your life who walked in such genuine love and radiated the joy of salvation that you wanted what they had. You asked, they shared about Jesus, and it changed everything.

Maybe you always sensed there was something greater than this mundane existence. During your search for truth, someone witnessed to you about Christ, and the message resonated deeply.

Or perhaps you had that persistent “Jesus freak” relative who kept inviting you to church. When you finally gave in, the Holy Spirit convicted you right there in the pew.

Maybe you were lost in profound suffering — pain no earthly thing could touch — until a compassionate friend told you about the hope found in the gospel. You listened, believed, and your life was transformed.

Or maybe, like me, you grew up in the church. I never knew life outside it. My grandmother, who helped raise me, was the matriarch of our congregation — she literally helped build the building. Church was simply my community; I took it for granted.

Then, when I was nine years old, they showed an old end-times movie called A Thief in the Night during a church service. It terrified me. In an instant, I realized church wasn’t just a social club and Jesus wasn’t merely a comforting figure. This was serious. If I wasn’t part of Christ’s family, I could face eternal suffering. Right there, as a frightened nine-year-old, I fell on my face and accepted Jesus into my life. I couldn’t wait for the next Sunday to get baptized and secure my place in the kingdom.

No matter how your story unfolded, the response from the Christians around you was probably the same: celebration. Sometimes private, just between you and the person who shared. Sometimes public, before the whole church.

They told you the wonderful news. You are saved — right now. You are part of God’s family. The Holy Spirit lives inside you and will guide you moment by moment. You no longer need to fear death; your eternity is secure. You will live forever in the glorious, loving presence of God the Father, who sent Jesus to die for you. You are part of the bride of Christ. Joy is your birthright. Peace is your inheritance.

You can talk directly to the Creator of the universe through prayer. You can ask Him to heal you, restore you, bring love into your life, help your children, provide for your finances, and reveal your purpose. You receive spiritual gifts from the Father to shine as a beacon to others. You are the salt and light of the world.

…And then, of course, they also told you that you had just joined a war.

A war against powerful, malevolent spiritual entities who hate you with perfect hatred. They want nothing more than for you to spend eternity in torment alongside them. They despise you — but what they hate even more is that God loves you and has a special plan for your life, a plan they can never have. For that reason, they attack you relentlessly.

They strike when you’re awake and when you’re asleep. They attack physically, spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically. They come through friends, family, finances, strangers, health, government, politics, and mental oppression — nameless fear, anxiety, depression. They are brutal, cruel, and they delight in your misery. They are relentless. They don’t eat, sleep, or take breaks. They show no mercy, no honor, no regard for you whatsoever. They will never stop until the day you die.

…Okay, see you next Sunday!

Wait — you mean they didn’t tell you that part?

Don’t worry. You’re not alone. For most Christians, that part is rarely mentioned. We are welcomed into God’s family, but rarely told that we’ve also just entered an active war — one that didn’t begin when we got saved. The war started long before, often in infancy. The enemy doesn’t wait until you’re ready. They have no honor.

They attacked me from the beginning. My parents divorced when I was two. Almost immediately, a demonic voice whispered that it was my fault — that I caused the divorce, that my parents rejected me because I wasn’t good enough, wasn’t worthy, wasn’t significant. Of course, their divorce had nothing to do with a newborn baby; their issues were entirely their own. But as a child, I accepted those lies. They became a stronghold.

(We’ll talk more about strongholds later in the course.)

You Chose a Side

The purpose of every attack is singular: to draw us away from God. The enemy doesn’t want us on God’s side. They want us either unwittingly serving their purposes — acting as useful idiots in the guise of self-interest — or simply sitting on the sidelines, causing them no trouble.

When you became a Christian, you chose a side. You declared allegiance to their Enemy. Their attacks intensified exponentially because you are no longer a neutral pawn or potential asset — you are now the adversary. Peter knew this reality intimately:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. — 1 Peter 5:8-9 (NKJV)

These powerful beings will stop at nothing to defeat you. It sounds terrifying, doesn’t it?

But here is the great news — the best news: you already have the victory through Christ.

You are not a helpless victim. When you became a Christian, you didn’t just pick a side in the war — you joined the winning side. Jesus came primarily to bring salvation and restore fellowship with God, but He also demonstrated total mastery over the spiritual realm — and then transferred that mastery to us. He cast out demons effortlessly. He withstood Satan’s direct assault and made him flee by simply resisting correctly. And He explicitly gave that same authority and power to His followers:

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” — Luke 10:17-19 (NKJV)

The disciples cast out demons while Jesus walked the earth, and even more so after His resurrection and ascension. And the Apostle John gives us the bedrock assurance that puts the enemy’s power in its proper perspective:

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. — 1 John 4:4 (NKJV)

So Why Are We Still Losing?

We have been given unequivocal victory and dominion over these entities. So if we possess the same power and authority as Jesus, why do so many of us seem to be losing? Why are we brutalized daily? Why do we suffer oppression, triggers, regretful actions, health issues, financial strain, family turmoil, and mental torment? Why does it sometimes feel hopeless?

Two main reasons.

Reason One: We Don’t Know Our Own Strength

Our churches have done a poor job teaching us about the authority we actually possess. These entities could never defeat us if we walked confidently in the power of Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit. But most of us have never been taught to do that.

Imagine a grown adult attacked by a ten-year-old child. How would that fight go? You’d simply pick the child up and set them aside. But what if you believed — genuinely believed — that the child was stronger than you? You might curl up in fear and let them pummel you until you were worn down. The same dynamic plays out spiritually: when we shrink back instead of standing boldly, an inferior enemy can wear us down through sheer persistence. Paul’s instruction to the church at Ephesus was not a suggestion:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. — Ephesians 6:10-11 (NKJV)

Even otherwise strong believers can live in unnecessary fear if they don’t embrace the victory that is already theirs. My own grandmother — a mighty woman of God, the matriarch of our church, a woman of deep and genuine faith — would watch the evening news, shake her head at the troubles of the world, and say with a sigh, “The devil is busy.” As though evil held unstoppable power and our only option was to endure until Jesus came back.

She was a spiritual giant in so many ways. But in this one area, she had not been taught the fullness of what she carried.

Reason Two: We Haven’t Been Trained to Fight

Even though we have the power, most of us don’t know how to use it. Authority without training is potential without result.

Jesus didn’t merely tell the disciples they had authority over evil — He showed them, day after day for more than three years, how to exercise dominion in every area of life. Those methods are fully documented in Scripture. The Bible is our complete field manual for victorious spiritual warfare. But just like the disciples, we need to be taught. The writer of Hebrews addressed this problem directly:

For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. — Hebrews 5:13-14 (NKJV)

“By reason of use” — that is the key phrase. Spiritual discernment and warfare skill are not gifts that arrive fully formed. They are developed through training, practice, and repeated engagement. That is precisely what this course is designed to provide.

The Purpose of This Course

Over the next twelve months, John and I will walk alongside you. We will teach you to wield the authority that is your birthright as a believer in Jesus Christ. You will learn how to defend yourself, how to fight for others, and how to tread on the enemy so that nothing shall by any means harm you.

When you became a Christian, you enlisted in a war. By the end of this intensive spiritual warfare program, you will no longer be merely a soldier. You will be an elite warrior — dangerous to the kingdom of darkness. The prophet Isaiah recorded the kind of transformation that awaits those who are properly equipped:

Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. — Isaiah 60:1-2 (NKJV)

Instead of fearing them, you will strike terror into their ranks. You will attack, defend, and defeat them — on behalf of yourself and everyone you love.

When you became a Christian, you enlisted in a war. By the end of this course, you will be an elite warrior — dangerous to the kingdom of darkness.

So prepare yourself, dear recruit. Basic training starts now.