The War You Can't See

What's going on, my friends? How y'all doing today? It's been a while. It's been a couple weeks, and I've been a busy person. So I figured I'd get on here tonight, and let's get this show back on the road, y'all. So without further ado, well, actually, you know, I'll probably wait a couple minutes here before I go ahead and give us our cool intro. You know, because y'all might have forgot about me. So, um, I got a couple, uh, really cool announcements to talk to you guys about, and, um, you know, we're gonna jump in. So I spent a lot of time up in Washington, DC at the end of July, and, uh, man, I'll tell you what, it's just been a cool experience. Um, there's a lady that I met, and she actually was the publicist for Um, the whistleblower case that happened, uh, you probably remember it a while back, uh, the whole whistleblower thing against, uh, you know, Camel cigarettes and all that. So the same lady who kind of worked that case, it was the RJ Reynolds case, uh, the Reynolds family, RJ Reynolds, and, um, the same lady who was a publicist for that, um, actually met me while we were up there, and she's going to be interested in working with me to try to help get my case out there, uh, with my book and everything, to try to make it, uh, known. So, uh, very cool. You know, some of the people I met up there, I mean, just incredible people, incredible stories. And, um, you know, it was just really cool to be, uh, associated with those people. And actually, one of the coolest things that I saw up there in DC was, uh, There's a film on Netflix right now, it's called The Bad Guardian, and I highly recommend that you go watch it. And, uh, it was just a really cool experience because the people that made the movie, like the actual true story of it, they were there and they were sharing their story. And then we watched the film and everything, so it was really cool. But, uh, they were a $5 million film, and here I am with just my tiny little— you know, I might have spent $1,000 on my film altogether. And, uh, you know, the fact that it was there competing with $5 million films and, um, you know, just it was cool, you know. And I actually took second place for what they called an Impact Award. So that was really neat, uh, to be at the Whistleblower Summit Film Festival, pull second place out of there. So I'm very happy about that. And, um, just big doors opening. So here on October 2nd I'll be headed downtown to Atlanta where my film will stream live, and also in Columbia, South Carolina. So in September, the end of September, I'll be down in Columbia, South Carolina. And then October 10th, I'll be headed out to, uh, California. So we'll be in Hollywood, California. Me and my wife are gonna go out there. We'll send lots of cool pictures and everything. This is for the International Impact Book Awards. So good things happening, guys. Um, My film is doing well, and, uh, Through the Veil, which we're going to talk about tonight, is actually doing really well. That's my Christian horror film if you haven't had a chance to check it out yet. But without further ado, guys, before we talk too much more tonight and get into our topic, we're going to go ahead and give you guys a proper introduction. So here we go. Welcome to Beyond the Glitch, the podcast where we expose the darkness behind the issues affecting our lives and bring truth, hope, and healing into the light. From addiction and mental health to culture, faith, and the stories people are afraid to tell. Nothing is off limits. I'm Jason Tremko, and together we're going Beyond the Glitch. Okay, so yes, that's it. We are going beyond the glitch, and that is what we do. So we're gonna get into it tonight. We're going to talk about Um, what I'm calling Beyond the Veil. All right, and basically tonight's theme is the war that you can't see. All right, because a lot of people, you know, they don't really realize that there might be more going on than what people, you know, think or understand. So we're gonna get into that tonight. Okay, so my first question for y'all is, are we living In spiritual war? What do y'all think? You know, um, a lot of people maybe feel, um, even if they don't, they always— you're— maybe they feel that we're living in a supernatural or spiritual warfare, uh, but sometimes they don't know how to describe it. And it's really interesting because, you know, I've shared before on my podcast about, you know, how many people believe in aliens or you know, demons or some kind of supernatural. And, um, it's a very large majority— a very— actually, the largest majority of people believe in some kind of a supernatural power. So we're going to talk about that tonight, right? Because I believe that there is spiritual warfare and that the devil is, is out to get us. You know, he really is. The Bible's clear on that. So we're going we're going to talk about that a little bit tonight. Excuse me. All right, so, you know, have you ever looked at the world and kind of thought that, hey, something just feels a little bit different? You know, especially now. Um, I know I do, you know, and I see a lot of people talking about it, you know. They're like, something's just different, you know, the world's different, it's not the same anymore. So, you know, have people changed, or has You know, society changed? Has America changed? You know, or is just the devil doing the same old thing that he's always done? You know, still killing and destroying and, and deceiving us. You know, the Bible says he's the deceiver and the father of lies. So, you know, I think that there's more going on here than what we realize. Okay, a lot of people don't want to accept it, even though they may believe in a supernatural Power, you know. So, you know, I don't know about you guys, but when I look around, anger seems a little bit more, a little stronger. I see that with kids, um, just angry, so angry. And, um, I really don't understand why, you know. It's like, where does this, just all this anger come from, you know? What makes you so upset? So, you know, addiction, it's another thing, you know. I talk about addiction a lot on this show. Um, it's everywhere. Almost every family is affected by some kind of addiction as of 2026, okay, which is very, very sad. And, um, you know, families are just struggling, people are struggling. So what, what's going on? You know, what's causing all this? Um, people feel more isolated, they feel more anxious, uh, more consumed by things that promise Freedom, but a lot of times, uh, just leave them feeling more trapped. So what is that? You know, it's what's causing it. Okay, these are things that I think about, and there's things that I understand, you know, because, you know, I, I see it for what it is. You know, I feel like the Lord's kind of given me a spirit of discernment, you know, uh, or not a spirit of discernment, but a gift of discernment. To be able to see things for what they are, you know. And that's why a lot of my work focuses on, you know, peeling back the onion. And the thing is, I didn't invent this, okay? Um, the Bible told us, okay? The Apostle Paul told us about what was going on. So we're going to talk into— talk about that a little bit tonight, you know. So some of these things really raise a question for me, and that is, you know, what if Some of the battles we're fighting are not just physical, um, not political, okay? What if, what if they are just not emotional, psychological, or cultural warfare, but instead it's more of a spiritual battle that's going on around us, okay? So I want you just to kind of ponder that for a minute. Um, maybe you're on the show tonight, you've experienced spiritual warfare, and I'm not talking about, you know, the kind like you would see on the movie The Conjuring, you know, with Demons invading your house and throwing pictures off the wall. No, I'm not talking about that, okay? I'm talking about spiritual warfare, okay? That's, you know, it could be a generational thing. It could be a, uh, you know, just a, a way the enemy is attacking you, you know? Maybe it's something that you're trying to overcome, an addiction, or, um, you know, just you, you've opened doors to where the devil can kind of sneak in. and, and manipulate you, right? That's what I'm talking about. So what does the Bible say? All right, we're going to look into Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12. Okay, it says, for we wrestle not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. So you know, flesh and blood. I was talking about us human beings, okay? We don't wrestle against human beings, okay? We wrestle against powers and principalities of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness, okay? It's very interesting. Um, that is a powerful statement, right, that the Apostle Paul made. And he's trying to tell us in the Bible that the person standing across from us is not necessarily the problem, okay, or not necessarily the enemy, okay. But instead, you know, it's not, it's not the co-worker that we disagree with, you know. It's not the, the person with a different political opinion, because a lot of times we want to think that nowadays, you know. Uh, society's kind of brainwashed us to, to look at people and say if they don't agree with us or they don't see things the way we see things, that they must be the enemy, okay. But the Bible's talking about that there, saying that's not the case. Okay, the, the issue is spiritual powers of darkness. Okay, so we're going to get into that a little bit more, um, because there is something deeper going on. All right, so, um, I'm not trying to convince people that there's, uh, a demon behind every bad day. All right, because I've met people like that too, you know. They'll be like, you know, every time something goes bad, they're like, oh, this is just spiritual warfare. I don't think that's necessarily the case. I don't think that there's spiritual warfare behind everything that goes wrong in our life, okay? I'm not saying that, um, you know, but if we are in a spiritual warfare situation, you know, how do we recognize it? You know what I mean? How do we recognize it? So, and more importantly, how do we fight it? Okay, so that's what we're going to talk about. Um, so first off, you know, what is spiritual warfare? All right, when people hear the word spiritual warfare, they sometimes imagine, uh, something dramatic, like I said earlier, you know, like something from like The Conjuring movie or, you know, The Exorcist, you know. Okay, that's— that would be demonic possession. Okay, we're not talking about that. Okay, or supernatural events. We're not talking about that. Um, it's not a scary movie. Okay. Um, but when we read scripture, you know, it, it puts it into something a lot deeper, something more broader. And spiritual warfare can— the kind of, the kind that I'm talking about can actually involve more deception, temptation, fear, pride. Okay, pride, hatred, discouragement, and division. You know, think about, think about all those scenarios that play out in America right now. I'm going to read that again: temptation, fear, pride, hatred, discouragement, and division. How often do we see those things? And think about how it tears people apart and communities apart, and even in some cases churches. You know, churches get ripped apart because of some of those things. So the devil knows what he's doing, and he's very patient. All right, so, you know, anything that pulls us away from truth and away from God can be a type of spiritual warfare. Um, people are very blinded to the truth, you know. And what I've noticed is, you know, from the stuff that I've researched and the books that I've written and the information that I've got out to the public, a lot of times People honestly just don't want to know the truth. They will try to do everything they can to pull away from the truth. And I believe that that falls right in line with spiritual warfare, okay? Because, you know, what better technique for the enemy to use than to put blinders on people, you know, so where they can't hear the truth, right? And eventually you just kind of be numb to the truth, right? So, you know, basically it's anything that pulls us away from the truth and away from God, okay, is a form of spiritual warfare. So it's very, you know, something that we just need to think about. We got to be very careful. And I see it a lot, you know, and the Bible's clear about it because it talks about in the last days that there'll be a form of godliness but denying the power of, okay. And he also talks about how in the last days people will be handed over to a reprobate mind. I talk about that a lot because what is a reprobate mind, right? A reprobate mind is somebody that can't see the truth or hear the truth, um, you know, and, and the devil knows exactly what he's doing and he just drags people right into that mindset, okay? And, you know, I think there does come a time where God gets tired of dealing with us, you know. I think, you know, if you grew up in church and You've had people trying to tell you the truth and preach to you, and, you know, you know, the Holy Spirit's dealing with you, telling you things, and you just totally just block it out, don't want to hear it anymore. You kind of just turned your back on God, then I do believe he will hand you over to a reprobate mind. So that's, um, that's really a sad situation to me. So something we need to think about, uh, when we read 1 Peter 5:8. It says, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion who walks around seeking whom he may devour. Think about that. Be sober, it says, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour. So why do you think it says be sober? Okay, is that talking about drugs, alcohol? Um, I don't know, you know, I think that falls in line with it, right? Because, you know, I've always said I don't want to be drunk because I don't want to be out of my own control. You know, that you're losing self-control, and when you lose self-control, it's easy for somebody to take advantage of you, right? It's kind of the same thing with the devil, okay? If he— if you're not in a sober mind It's easy for him to take advantage of you and to manipulate you and get you to believe a lie, um, which I think leads a lot of people into sadness, depression, um, and things like that. So, and then they start turning to other, other things. And the Bible tells us right there to be sober, be vigilant. You know, what does it mean to be vigilant, right? Always on guard. You know, when you're, when you're talking about spiritual warfare, you know, I can't help but relate it to physical warfare. Okay, when I'm— when I was in combat, I would make sure I stayed vigilant, right? I'm not going to go to my guard post and fall asleep on duty because what could happen? The enemy could sneak in, he could, he could kill me, right? Or he could get through and kill other people in the unit, or anything could go wrong, you know. So I think the Bible's telling us right there we have to stay vigilant because the devil's walking around trying to find an in in our lives. Okay, so sober-minded could also just mean paying attention, um, you know, paying attention to, to what we're allowing in our lives. You know, it's just crazy how the devil works, you know, and he, he looks for opportunities, right? And, um, I do believe too that some people that have a higher calling or a higher purpose, I think he's going to work a little bit harder, okay, because he doesn't want you stepping out in that Higher calling or that higher purpose. So look, if the devil's attacking you hard, you find yourself in a lot of spiritual warfare, maybe God's got something bigger for you. You know what I'm saying? So keep fighting, keep fighting because it'll pay off for you in the end. That's what I believe. But yeah, you know, first Peter five eight, it tells me something very important. Okay, it tells me to pay attention. It tells me to stay alert. It tells me to, uh, to live, um, afraid, honestly, you know what I'm saying? Like, and I'm not saying to like be afraid of the devil, okay? I'm not saying that, right? Because I believe when you walk in the Lord, you have power over the enemy, okay? But the difference between a physical enemy and a spiritual enemy in spiritual warfare is that the devil is relentless. Okay, he's gonna come at you and he's not going to stop coming at you, right? He wants to steal, kill, and destroy you, okay? And he's, he's always going to do that, okay? Even if you're the, the greatest missionary in the world or the greatest pastor in the world, there's going to be times that the devil's going to come after you, all right? So we have to stay alert, you know. Don't, don't live in fear of the enemy, but live afraid of, of losing your guard. That's what we should be afraid of, right? I don't want to open up a door. I keep hitting this little symbol. I don't want to open up a door in my life to where the devil can sneak in, okay? I'm afraid of that, okay? I'm afraid of getting a reprobate mind. I don't want to, to be wrong in what I think, right? I want to know what the Bible says and I want to live by what the Bible says. So some important things to think about. Um, yeah, it's just important to think about. Yeah, somebody said, uh, so many people are going through this right now. And you're right, they are. And what's sad about it is they really don't even realize that they're going through it. You know, a lot of people, um, you know, they're just like, oh, life is so bad, but they don't realize that it's probably spiritual warfare, you know. And my, my thing is, what are you gonna do about it, right? Um, you should get into church, right? You should stay plugged in, right? You should have a support system that's praying for you. Um, you know, and remember, just because things start to get better Doesn't mean, oh hey, I stopped going to church now, or I stopped living for the Lord now, or I just put God on pause, right? It doesn't work like that because the enemy's not going to go on pause, all right? He's going to keep on coming, okay? Um, you know, I just imagine when I'm in Afghanistan or Iraq or something, you know, it's like, hey, you know, Mr. Taliban, you know, don't, don't invade the camp tonight because I'm tired, right? It doesn't work like that. The devil's going to keep on coming in and trying to, trying to, to come at us. You know, he's relentless, so we have to stay relentless in our walk. So, so important. Um, Jesus also says in John 8:44 that the Bible— or excuse me, that the devil is a liar and the father of lies. Okay, so that's Jesus telling us that. So the devil's a liar and the father of lies. We know he's a liar. Okay, he's the father of lies, so he's trying to use spiritual warfare on you to convince you, um, you know, that it's other problems. You know, it may be— maybe it's, uh, my husband, you know, maybe he's the reason I'm so miserable. Or maybe it's, you know, the pastor of the church that I don't like this church. You know, maybe it's, uh, you know, I don't know, whatever it is that you're dealing with, you know, like He's going to try to convince you, he's going to lie to you and make you think that those things are the problem, whatever that thing is in your life. But the reality is it's just a lie, okay? I think a lot of people, um, end in suicide or they end in depression because, um, they believe those lies, you know? So something to think about, you know, something to think about. Um, You know, the greatest weapon, in my opinion, that the devil uses is spiritual warfare, and it's deception. I believe he did— the devil uses deception as one of the, the strongest weapons nowadays. And I see it all the time with my work and my research. Um, you know, things that are seen, or things that are evil, are seen as good. You know, how many, how many times do we see that nowadays in America? you know, evil things that are seen as good. And if you try to stand for the truth, you're going to have people, you know, throwing, throwing arrows at you. And it's really strange sometimes, you know, because it's like, what happened to our values and our ethics and our morals? And some people, they're almost proud of the fact that we don't have any values and morals, which is really strange to me. Um, so what got us to this point? Okay, I think it's spiritual warfare. I think it's That reprobate mind that we were talking about. We need to pray for our nation, okay? And we need to guard ourselves, guard our hearts and our minds, you know, because here's the reality: if I start to be convinced to believe something that is false, that false belief will actually start to shape my decisions, okay? And we're seeing that with politicians, right? We're seeing politicians decisions being made because of, of something that is false, and they started to see it as a true, a true situation or a true scenario. Um, it's part of that reprobate mind, you know. So it's scary that we have allowed even politicians to gain power who have a reprobate mind, right? Things that are evil, they're trying to, they're trying to promote things that are evil, make policies about things that are evil. And we're just allowing it. It's crazy. So, um, some of us voted them in, you know. So I'm not saying who you need to vote for, okay? But what I'm saying is you need to consider these things, you know, because the devil of course wants to put people in power that are gonna move his agenda, right? Move the ball forward for him. So yeah, somebody said the devil's blinding people's minds, and he absolutely is. So, you know, these are just things that I think about, is, you know, I don't— I don't— I want to make sure I'm on the side of right. I don't want to be voting for somebody that's gonna push evil as good, right? Um, some of us really need to search our hearts, you know, and get back to what the Bible says. All right, I don't think it's going to fail you if you do it, to get back to reading the word. Living by the word. Okay, but here's another thing. Okay, deception can also shape our relationships. Okay, there's a lot of people in bad relationships because of deception, right? There's a lot of people who see other people in a bad way because of deception. I see that a lot. You know, a lot of bitterness. People. are just angry at people for no reason. You know, I see that a lot, like I said, with the, with the kids. And it's really, it's really concerning to me, um, how much bullying and hate and things like that are going on, you know, in the schools. You know, and a lot of times it starts at home, it starts from the families, you know. So, you know, we— the Bible, or the Bible's pretty clear about it, right, that the devil's going to try to cause that deception, he's going to cause anger, he's going to cause, uh, confusion, okay? And that confusion can lead to hate and things like that. So we have to, we have to guard our hearts, guys. Um, eventually a lie or deception, um, can eventually begin to control our life, and that's sad. That is so sad. We see that a lot these days. Um, and that's why truth matters so much. Right. And honestly, guys, you know, if you're a Christian and you're hearing this, we need to start standing up for the truth. We need to start being vocal about the truth. I was recently researching and actually talked to my students about this. If you research how many people in the United States don't know who their congressman is, it'll blow your mind. Okay, only 35%. This is the I can't say statistics right now, but the, uh, statistics are showing that 35%, only 35% of people in the United States know who their congressman is, right? So I'm like, you know, if you don't even know who your congressman is, like, how are you— how are you being a light, right? All you're doing is allowing these guys to get in there and vote however they want. Right? We're not, we're not in control, right? It's supposed to be a government of the people, by the people, for the people. So of the people first, all right? So how, how can the government be of the people when we don't even know who our, our governor is or our senator or congressman, right? So we got to start standing up, guys, right? We need to start being involved in what's happening in our communities, you know, to be able to, to see some change. for good be made, right? Because again, the devil, he's going to try everything he can to elevate leaders to, to promote his agenda, okay? And how often do we see that, right? I'm not trying to make this a political scenario, but I do believe it falls right in line with, um, spiritual warfare. And, um, actually, I did a podcast the other day, um, with Emily from— actually from my church. And, um, you know, we were getting into politics, and I found it very interesting because she had mentioned to me that somebody had literally told her that Christians shouldn't be involved in politics. And I was just like, that makes no sense to me, all right? That makes no sense to me, all right? We should be— we should be involved. We should be out there voting and, and standing up for what's true and protecting Christian values and morals and ethics and all these things, right? We should be standing up to protect those things. Um, I find it really funny— well, it's not even really funny, but I find it interesting how people, um, you know, will try to protect things that are evil. Like, they'll actually try to fight you when you stand up against it, right? And I'm just like, man, you, you are so under the devil's, uh, deception, right? Um, and it's time that we wake up, all right? Because I believe as Christians we can, we can start to change that narrative, you know? But we can't be scared. We got to be bold. We got to get out there and show people what truth looks like, right? And most of the time, from my experience, people are willing to hear it. You know, if you're willing to get out there and talk and share truth, people are typically willing to hear it. Um, and funny story, okay, funny story, I'll go ahead and say this. Uh, when I was up in DC, all right, um, let's just say, you know, at the Whistleblower Summit and Film Festival, there was a whole lot of people who don't see eye to eye with my political viewpoints.

Okay.

Um, but I'll be honest, the, the ones that don't see eye to eye on my political viewpoints have been the ones that have helped me the most. Okay. And what I mean by helping me the most is helped to promote my book, um, helped, uh, you know, they wrote articles. I actually just got a phone call from my publicist who, believe it or not, doesn't see things politically from my viewpoint. And I'm like, this is my publicist, right? That's crazy. All right, but I've, I've started talking to her, you know, and all these people, and it's been really cool because, you know, we, we have completely opposing viewpoints on politics, but yet I feel like, you know, what I'm doing, I'm able to merge both sides together. We can have these honest conversations. And it's, it's really funny how it's working, um, because I'm actually, like I said, supposed to be out in California October 10th, and my publicist called me up and was like, hey, you know, I'm going to be out there in Hollywood. She has a business out there at the same time. And it's funny because actually like Jennifer Lopez and Liam Neeson and all these guys are actually going to be there. So I'm probably going to get to hang out with some celebrities, um, but they don't believe in the viewpoints that I have, right? And they're actually going to be talking about this stuff. It's almost like a rally for the other side, right? But here I am, I'm actually invited and I'm going to be hanging out with these people, which is crazy. And it's like, I don't even know how this happened, um, you know. But it's— I guess the Lord's just kind of using what I'm doing to, um, bridge the gap, you know. And that's, you know, it's been kind of crazy the way God's— God's done that with me. But, um, I, I believe that truth is always going to shine brighter than than deception, right? And I think this world's seeking for truth. They just don't know where to find it, you know? So I think us as Christians, we need to be bold. We need to get out there, spread, spread the truth, y'all, but do it in a loving way, okay? Don't do it in a judgmental way. Um, you know, with, with my books, you know, that I've wrote, I try to do it in a way that's respectful. Um, and loving. I don't wanna— I don't want to shut people down, you know what I'm saying? But I still think we need to be honest, and I'm not scared to be honest, right? And I think if we had more of that in the church, like more people that would step up and be honest, we could actually start to chase this or change this world. So, um, I don't know, just something that I see, you know. Christians are— I think they're scared to speak up a lot of times, and we shouldn't be. So I want to encourage you, right? Because You know, when I wrote this book, The Green Glitch, people— I, I knew people weren't going to like it, a lot of people, right? Because 70% of people are in favor of marijuana legalization. And I was like, you know what, I'm gonna step up and I'm gonna talk about what I see and what I know, right? Because truth can be found if people will open their minds to it. And when I did that, the doors have opened, you know, all these opportunities that came up and film festivals and California and all this kind of stuff's just opened up, you know. Um, so I believe that when you do what God tells you to do, doors are going to open. Um, you know, and I— of course you're gonna be nervous. I understand that, you know. I think, I think the Apostle Paul, um, and his disciples, they, you know, they were nervous, you know. They, they knew that some of the places they were going to share the gospel, they were gonna They were going to face death or prison or torture in a lot of ways, a lot of, a lot of cases, and, uh, they did it anyway, right? It takes boldness. It takes boldness to do the right thing. Um, but I think personally we live in a time where we shouldn't be afraid to speak up and talk about Jesus or anything. I got kids that are doing that at school, and that's really encouraging to me to hear, you know, a 15-year-old. I was, I was teaching a class the other day and we were talking about, uh, a leadership class. And one of the kids, you know, he, he, he just opened up about Jesus right in the middle of class. And I was like, this is awesome, you know. So good on him, you know. So I'm seeing boldness coming from kids. So adults, come on, dig deep, right? Find, find your platform, okay? Um, sometimes you have to create your platform, okay? I, I, I didn't know you know, 5 years ago I would be an author. I had no clue I would be a filmmaker, okay? But all I did was, you know, I, I listened to what the Lord asked me to do. He asked me to write a book about things that I saw, and I did it. And then it just turned into this. Now it turned into a podcast, then it turned into a film, and now I'm meeting more people. I'm going to places and I'm talking about it. I actually just got accepted to be a guest speaker on a cruise. A cruise ship. How crazy is that? I'm not gonna be able to go, but I applied for it just for fun. They accepted me. It was a paid gig too, actually, on a cruise ship, but it actually falls during a week that I have school, so I'm not able to go. Um, but you gotta just throw yourself out there, y'all, all right, and see, see what happens. But, um, you know, spiritual warfare is a real thing, and I think that we're God's disciples. So we have to be bold. We have to get out there and share the truth, okay? Because if we don't, the devil's gonna do it. He's gonna sneak in and he's gonna he's gonna do it. He's gonna tell people deception and lies and everything else. So we have to protect that. We need to protect our nation. We need to protect the rights that we have. I watched the movie *The Apostle Paul*, and after I watched that movie. I felt challenged as a person. I was like, you know what, this man went to, to death. He was beheaded because of his faith, right? And I'm like, you know what, if, if all those guys, those warriors of the faith, you know, could face death for what they believe, then the least I can do is, is not be scared to get on a microphone and talk about Jesus, right? Or go into my community and talk about Jesus. Tomorrow morning I'm going to be at a flea market singing worship, right? Just gonna be in there singing worship at 10 o'clock in the morning, right? And I've done it a couple times. People, people love it. They come there and they're excited to hear it, um, because light needs to be shown and people are drawn to the light, guys, right? So be the light, be the salt, okay, that the Bible talks about. All right, so, you know, let's talk about the mind. Okay, so we talked, we talked about, um, you know, what spiritual warfare is. Let's talk about the battle for our minds. Okay, um, I believe that one of the biggest battlefields in spiritual warfare— I should have brought myself a drink, I didn't bring mine. But, um, I believe one of the biggest battlefields in spiritual warfare today is the human mind, okay? Because I think back to when I was a kid— I'm 43 years old, okay? I never met other young people that said, oh, I got anxiety, or I have depression, or, you know, self-mutilation, things like that. I, I see it all the time now, you know? So I think the devil is using spiritual warfare against the mind of young people. Okay, and I see it all the time. Suicide rates are through the roof, and a lot of kids, they don't even know why they're depressed. I had a kid had a mental breakdown a couple weeks ago, and he was crying and didn't even know why. You know, he didn't even know why he was having a mental breakdown. You know, he told me, he's like, I just don't understand why this is happening, right? And I'm just like, man, I see it for what it is. I'm trying to tell this kid Um, but before something becomes an action, it is often a thought, right? So this is why, you know, I, I talk about self-mutilation a lot, right? Because believe it or not, a lot of people are doing that, and a lot of kids are doing that. And, uh, you know, the devil's slick, okay? I believe that when, you know, you get used to holding that knife and you're cutting your arms, all right, you're used to holding that knife against your skin. The devil's gonna slowly build your confidence to where you may actually do something, right? You may commit suicide, or you may, you know, hurt yourself, right? Or somebody else. You know, the devil knows what he's doing. Um, and I— that's why I feel like I— like I feel about marijuana, right? Because I think it's, it's a drug that people take way too casually, and then it turns into harder drugs because their confidence builds up. They get more used to using substances. Right, then it can turn to alcohol or anything else, right, or harder drugs, right? We have a major drug problem in America, okay, but we don't want to do anything about it because we don't want to see the truth for what it is. Um, you know, temptation, okay, before an action happens, before we act on it, it begins as a thought, okay? So again, spiritual warfare against the mind. Um, before hating somebody or or hatred or hating ourselves, you know, begins as something we act on. It begins as a thought, okay? The devil starts putting that— those thoughts in our mind about somebody, and then we're like, we hate that individual, or we hate this person. Next thing you know, it becomes an action, okay? So we have to learn to fight against spiritual warfare in our mind. And, and the Bible's clear on that too, all right? Because if we read Romans 12:2 It says, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, right? So, you know, spiritual warfare against the mind is a powerful tool, and we gotta, we gotta take that. And that's important. That's why we need to know Christ in our life, right? Because a lot of times that's the only way we can get control of our mind, right, is, is to, uh, begin to transform it, you know. Um, and that's how we do it, is through Christ. So if you're struggling with, uh, a lot of stuff going on in your mind and thoughts and hate and frustration and depression and all those things that I talked about, it could be that you got spiritual warfare going on against your mind, right? And I'm telling you straight up, you, you need Christ in your life to be able to overcome that. So if you haven't tried it out, try it out. I guarantee you, you will probably get the results that you're looking for, and that's to overcome that and have a, have a much more satisfied life, guys. So, you know, the renewing of your mind. How many of you would, would like to have a renewed mind? I know, I know. When I'm going through something, it feels good when you get that, uh, that clearing of the mind, right? So many people did— they just live with frustration and hate and anger day by day by day by day, and it really starts to take a, take a root in you, right? It'll slowly self-destruct you. And again, that's what the devil wants. He's here to steal, kill, and destroy you, okay? And I believe that's part of spiritual warfare. Uh, 2 Corinthians 10:5 says we should be bringing into captivity every thought To the obedience of Christ. Okay, so do we have control over our thoughts? Not necessarily. Okay, but we do have the ability to, to say, God, I give these thoughts to you, take them from me. Help me to stop thinking about this. Help me to stop thinking this way. You know, we got to learn to turn it over to Christ, right? Because we by ourselves are hopeless. We're helpless. We can't do it on our own, okay? There's only one way a lot of times that we can get rid of these things, and that's to give to Christ, okay? So that means I, I do not have to accept every thought that comes into my head as truth. Just because I think it doesn't mean it's truth. Give it to Christ, all right? Um, we need to learn how to compare our thoughts to scripture. Okay, if I think something, just because I think it or somebody puts the idea into my head doesn't mean that it's truth. Okay, we've seen that. Think about how many, how many situations that have come up over the last 10 years where it's just as bizarre as it can be, but people literally start to believe it as truth, right? Like putting the litter boxes in the bathroom. I'm a cat. Right? Somebody gets told they're a cat or that they can be a cat long enough, they're going to start to believe they're a cat, okay? Because the devil's using that as a tool, spiritual warfare, right? So just because we think it doesn't mean it is true, or just because somebody puts it into your head doesn't mean it's true, okay? Um, compared to scripture, what does the Bible say? All right, um, You know, some of these thoughts that we have make us more bitter, fearful, anger, more angry, okay, prideful. And, um, I think personally that a lot of battles will begin— a lot of spiritual battles will begin in our lives when we stop examining what we're thinking, okay? When we don't compare it to scripture, we just believe whatever we're told. And it's sad because a lot of people do that. Okay, we have to be careful, especially with artificial intelligence and things like that. We can't tell what's real anymore. It's so easy for somebody to put information out and it's a bold lie, but people literally will believe it as though it's the truth. All right, be careful. Okay, be careful. Um, you know, and, and we need to protect our kids, guys. If you, if you're a parent, you know, TikTok Uh, advertisements, influencers, you know, politicians, the news, whatever. These kids are hearing stuff every single day, um, even from, even from teachers. You know, I'm not going to get into what one of the, one of the, one of the teachers told my kid, but I was like, wow, I couldn't believe it. You know, so you don't know what's being told out there, and you need to raise your kids up to know the truth as well. Okay, um, you know, everything's competing for our attention, okay, whether it's social media, video games, movies, all right? But we need to make sure we're, we're giving the Bible and God more of our time, okay? Because that's what will keep our moral compass aligned and keep us pointing in the right direction, heading in the right direction. Um, we need discernment. Okay, we need to, we need to have discernment. Um, you know, if I constantly, uh, consume anger, then I might even become more angry. If I constantly consume fear, I might become more fearful. If I constantly consume lust, then I'm going to become, uh, lustful in the way that I view people. Okay, we have to learn to Have discernment over our thoughts. All right, so, so important to guard our hearts and our minds. Okay, I also want to talk about addiction and temptation real quick. Um, you know, addiction is complicated, okay? Um, there can be biological factors, psychological factors. I do believe that addiction a lot of times comes from a family situation or a family curse, honestly. And I always tell people, you know, I tell young people all the time, like, you have to step up and break that. Somebody's got to break that, that cycle in the family, right? Because it does continue, uh, to evolve in families. It's crazy how that works. And I think it's spiritual warfare, all right? Because if the devil's using something that's already working in a family situation, why would he stop, right? It's kind of like the old saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I think the devil knows exactly what he's doing, right? If it ain't broke, he ain't gonna— he ain't gonna fix it. He's not gonna try to hit you with something else, right? So somebody's gonna have to step in when spiritual warfare happens and break the cycle, right? So if you're— if you're in a family right now who's struggling with addiction of any type, okay, I would challenge you to break the cycle, okay? Somebody's gonna have to do it. Be bold. Break the cycle. Um, you know, which leads me right back. I know I talk about marijuana all the time, but, you know, if, if I want to break the cycle of addiction in my family, why would I want to turn to that stuff, right? All it is is something that's going to open doors of more addiction. You know, it's time that we start making a stand and somebody break the cycle. Somebody in the family is going to have to break that cycle. So I would challenge you To be the one to do that in your family. Um, you know, mental health issues, right? We should be praying over our, our minds. We should be praying over our kids' minds. We should be praying over our families, you know, that God will protect their mental health, right? Um, you know, the devil knows what he's doing, guys. Um, you know, so spiritual warfare, you know. So I want you to just kind of think about, you know, what kind of things are going on in your life that could be spiritual warfare, you know. What doors, you know, what, what is that one thing in your life that's, that's kind of opened a door to where the devil can sneak in and just wreak havoc, you know, because that's what he's gonna do.

All right.

Um, you know, reminds me of that scripture in the Bible, right? Jesus says, I stand at the door and knock. Okay, he wants to come into our lives. Um, but guess what? The enemy's gonna do the same thing. Okay, but the enemy is going to come in more appealing, more enticing, because he's a deceiver. It's deception, right? He's gonna make everything look fun. Who doesn't want to have the, the life of the party show up, right? Well, that's what the devil's going to try to be. Okay, but in all honesty, he's just trying to destroy you. So, um, you know, careful who you let into your life, okay? Careful who you open the door for. All right, 1 Corinthians 6:12 says, all things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. I will not be brought under the power of any, okay? Um, I will not be brought under the power of any? Okay, that last phrase stands out to me. You know, that is— that's a question worth asking about anything in my life. You know, I should be asking myself, is this under control, right? Or am I under its control? Okay, that could be drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling, um, social media, food, money. Um, even something as simple as needing constant approval from other people. Okay, if something begins controlling our decisions, our emotions, our priorities, and our relationships, then it's time that we start paying attention, and we may need to get rid of those things in our lives, right? Okay, I think a lot of times we could, we could fix a lot of our problems if we would just ask ourselves those questions.

Right?

Is this under my control or am I under its control? Right? And I believe that we can't be in control. I think we can only be in control by letting God have control. That's what I believe. All right, I know me, I'm weak. Okay? And the Bible says that the flesh is weak. Okay? Even the Apostle Paul said he had to die to the flesh every single day. He said he— the things that he did not want to do, he did. Right? So we have to guard our hearts, we have to guard our minds, we have to give our flesh over to the Lord every single day, because it's only through him that we can truly walk in that freedom and, and be in control. Okay, that's, that's what I truly believe. And I know, um, James 1:14-15 says, but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust. and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin. Okay, so think about that progression. You know, it starts with, with, uh, temptation, then it goes to desire, then it goes to action, then it goes to consequence. And that is why spiritual warfare is often, um, you know, seen or fought, uh, a long time before the final decision. All right, um, it's fought in the moments when I choose what I'm going to entertain. Okay, so again, if we can learn to control it here in the minds, you know, and here's the thing, when the devil— the devil's always going to come at you, okay? But I believe when, when you are victorious and you truly learn what it means to win these spiritual battles in your life, I think the devil, he's not going to work as hard, right? Because he's going to get tired. He's like, you know what, I can't, I can't win, right? I can't win. So, you know, the Bible talks about putting on the, uh, uh, the armor of God, right, for battle. You know, you got to have that armor that, that protects us, right? We have to be an impenetrable, impenetrable, uh, shield, you know, against the enemy, okay? And, uh, how you do that is by, you know, living for the Lord, guys, okay? Knowing what the word says. Knowing how to control our mind, knowing how to control our thoughts, knowing how to, uh, see spiritual warfare and fight against it, right? Um, being willing to walk away from some things. You know, I see a lot of people in situations, it's like, you need to walk away from that. I talk to kids all the time about that, right? And it's funny because I can literally see how it's going. Um, You know, when people start to progress, you know, when kids start to progress and, and kind of go off the deep end, you know, it's like they have the angel on one side and devil on the other. And I can literally see when they start to go follow that devil, and it's like, man, I see what's happening here, you know, and I just wish I could get them to see it. Um, you know, but until you, until you see it for yourself, you know, I don't know if you can ever really see it. Um, until you understand what spiritual warfare really is. So hopefully this is something that you're thinking about. Um, let's talk about division and the culture around us. Um, I think the devil likes to cause division, um, because that feeds right into hate, okay? And hate turns into everything else. Hate turns into depression, sadness, murder. Um, criminal behaviors, uh, drug use, um, you know, and, and it almost turned, you know, it's used in politics big time because like, you know, we get division and then next thing you know, people want to kill people because they don't believe the way that they believe or see the way that they see. Is to me, it's just crazy. Um, we've got to learn how to, to disagree And love. That's okay, okay? It's okay to disagree in love and to have conversations, um, you know, social issues, you know, all these things that happen in the world. We got to learn how to talk about them in love, guys. Um, disagreements in churches, you know, one of the saddest things to me is seeing church, you know, how churches get kind of ripped apart, uh, from disagreements. You know, if we're looking for them, we're gonna find them. You know, I've had to learn how to, uh, see the things that I don't like and, and just kind of ignore it, you know. Uh, somebody, somebody told me a long time ago, eat the chicken, throw away the bones. I think it was actually my wife, right? You know, when it comes to church, sometimes you got to eat the chicken, throw away the bones. There's going to be some things, you know, that, that you don't like. Um, nobody's perfect, guys. If you're looking for perfection in a church, you're not going to find it. Think about it, that's the worst place in the world to look for for perfection, right? Because the church is for the sinners, if you really think about it, right? Um, I had a buddy, he wrote a song called Rehab. He said, we're in the church having rehab. Honestly, that's what church is for, right? It's full of sinners. It's not for perfect people. If you're going there for perfect people, you ain't gonna find them, y'all. Um, but we should still be living for the Lord, you know. I think there comes a time Um, as a Christian, you know, you, you develop spiritually enough that you should know how to live and act and all that thing, all those things, right? So if you see, um, you know, disagreements or you see division, you should be putting a stop to that, right? Um, the Bible says God is not the author of confusion, so division doesn't exist. It shouldn't exist in the church. There's no place for it in the church. All right, so, you know, us as spiritual leaders, we got to put a stop to that stuff when we see it, guys. Um, there's ways to do it, right? You, when you see it, don't feed into it, right? The devil will use division as spiritual warfare to destroy churches. He will do it to destroy families and just people in general, guys. So You know, fight against it. All right, um, social media, same thing. You know, how many times do you see somebody get on social media and vent about things and put other people down? And, you know, don't feed into that stuff, guys. Um, you know, people aren't the enemy, okay? It's, it's the spiritual warfare. Because again, Ephesians 6:12 says we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the powers of darkness, right? So recognize it for what it is, okay? When, when you see that division, I would challenge you to look at it through a different lens, okay? It's not politics, all right? It's the devil trying to rip people apart, okay? I believe that's what's going on a lot of times. Sorry, my throat's a little dry. All right, um, you know, the Bible's clear that Jesus died for all people, okay? God loved everyone, right? And he's challenged us to do the same thing. Don't feed into the division, y'all. Um, Jesus would go to the places no one else wanted to go to, like the woman at the well, all right? Um, You know, Jesus was, uh, was a Jew, and the woman at the well was a Samaritan woman. Okay, if you read about the history of that, Jews didn't go where the Samaritans went, you know, like they didn't go to that part of town. All right, so Jesus didn't care, right? He didn't care about division, and we should be the same way. All right, um, you know, stand for what you believe is true without being consumed by hatred. Okay, I think that's very important right now. All right, James 3:16 says, for where envying and strife is, there's confusion, and destruction will soon follow. Which it does. So where there's strife and confusion, destruction follows. Okay, to me that's scary, right? Because if we see all the, the, the hate in the United States you know, the strife, the constant strife, the confusion, destruction follows. That's scary, okay? We can literally self-destruct from within. Um, and crazy, you know, I don't know if you guys remember the, uh, the terrorist Gaddafi, um, but one of the things that he said that was really scary was that America— they didn't— the terrorists didn't need to use bombs to destroy America. What they said was We can— America will destroy itself from within is what they said. Um, they saw something that we didn't see in ourselves, okay? Because if you really look at the grand scheme of things, we kind of are destroying ourselves from within, um, with division and hate and all that stuff. You know, Charlie Kirk just got murdered. I mean, so many things, so many things. So don't avoid difficult conversations as Christians. You know, I mentioned earlier somebody told somebody I know that Christians shouldn't be dealing with politics or in politics. I don't agree with that one second, okay? I don't think Christians should avoid difficult conversations. I think that we need to handle them differently, okay? In love, okay? Um, you know, we— there's ways to do it, okay? We have to have that, that godly wisdom, that spiritual wisdom, all right? Um, you know, there's so much, guys. I could, I could talk on here for the next 2 hours about these things. Um, but I want you just to, to really think about it and start seeing, you know, spiritual warfare for what it is, you know. And I want to, I want to leave you with this, you know. So the title is The War You Can't See. So maybe the war we cannot see is happening in places much closer than what we realize. Maybe it happens in our thoughts, maybe it happens in our habits, maybe it happens in our anger, our temptations, our relationships, um, our entertainment, our addiction, our fears, and the things that we slowly allow to become normal. Okay, 1 John 4:4 says, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. That means I do not have to live in fear. If spiritual warfare is real, the answer is not paranoia. The answer is faith. Okay, the answer is discernment, and the answer is truth. The answer is knowing who I am and who I belong to. So here's my challenge over the next week. I want you to pay attention to the things influencing your thoughts. Okay, I want you to pay attention to the things producing anger inside of you. I want you to pay attention to the things that are controlling you. All right, and I want you to pay attention to the voices that are shaping the way that you see other people and ask yourself, Is this moving me closer to God, or is this slowly pulling me away? Okay, because if there really is a battle happening beyond the veil in our life, then maybe one of the most important questions that, you know, we can, we can ask is, uh, which side is shaping the person I'm becoming? Okay, um, there's a spiritual battle. It's a battle, so that means there's 2 sides. fighting force. You got the devil and you got God. Okay, so which side is shaping the person that you're becoming? Think about that for a second. That's deep. Um, am I allowing the enemy to shape me with lies, deception, hate, anger, sadness, depression, wickedness? Or am I allowing the peace of God, um, godly wisdom um, discernment, all of those things to shape who I'm becoming. Okay, so important for you to think about. So, you know, until the next time we have a meeting, I want you to, to stay alert for spiritual warfare and, and really think about that again. I'm gonna say it one more time: which side of the spiritual battle is shaping the person that you are becoming. If anything else I say tonight makes sense, I hope that sticks with you, all right? Because I want to see you live a, a purpose-filled life, a joyful life, a life, uh, of boldness. Get out there, help change this world, guys. If you're a Christian, be bold. Get out there, you can make a difference. Stop doubting yourself. Okay, so until the next time, keep grounded in truth and keep looking beyond what you, what you can see. Okay, because spiritual warfare is a real thing, y'all. So with spiritual warfare being talked about, I'm gonna end this with my, um, current film. Okay, Through the Veil, uh, which will actually be getting shown in Atlanta, okay, at the, uh, Kingdomwood Film Festival, and will also be shown at the film festival in Columbia, South Carolina. So here it goes.

As dawn breaks, the cycle begins again. The alarm sounds. He rises. Drives the same winding road, sits at the same desk, speaks the same hollow words. To the world, he appears functional, but inside, he is unraveling. Every mile is haunted by memories of what he threw away. Every quiet moment echoes with the voices he no longer hears. The laughter of his children, the love of his wife, the faith he abandoned when the darkness seemed easier to embrace. There are forces that have been with him all along, and tonight the veil will be lifted, and what has been stalking him in the darkness Will finally step forward to claim what remains of his soul.

He was victorious over death, hell, and the grave. We are made to be victorious. You are victorious in Christ. With Christ in our life, we are victorious. Victorious in life and in death.

Hallelujah!

We are the Lord's. All right, all right guys, so that was my trailer for Through the Veil. And, uh, probably at the start of 2027, I'll probably stream that live on my socials. Uh, I don't want to do it until it reaches, uh, all— it goes through all the film circuits and things like that, film festival and whatnot. Um, but I'll be showing that live. And, uh, if you haven't had a chance, this last thing I'm gonna tell y'all, if you haven't had a chance go read my book. All right, I need some good reviews on there. Uh, go to Amazon, buy it, or wherever you want to purchase that, but please leave a review. Um, those things are so critical, uh, nowadays, uh, for, for the algorithms to get more book sales and, uh, for more people to see it. Okay, I want people to see it, and they want it— I need them to read it, not necessarily for the sales, but just I need people to read it So that way the message gets out there. Okay, that's, that's most important to me. Um, but yeah, it's called The Green Glitch: What's Behind the Devil's Lettuce, and the film is also available on Apple TV, iTunes, and, um, YouTube Movies and Google Play. So if you get a chance, go check it out, y'all. And if you're around Silva, North Carolina this weekend, I will be out at the Uh, Rally for Recovery, the Jackson County Rally for Recovery on Sunday at 3 PM. You're welcome to come out there. If you buy a book, I will give you a ticket. If you buy a book and the DVD, I will give you 3 tickets. So you get a free ticket, okay, for the drawing of a brand new Xbox