Street ministry has always been a place where I felt alive, called, and driven to work. It’s not one of those places where I feel pulled to build complex systems to operate and maneuver people into positions that I feel they should be in their careers, home-life, or anything else specific in changing the lives of the homeless and street-bound mentally ill. Rather, this calling of mine has always been, even when I couldn’t see the path ahead, about restoring awareness of identity, the removal of deception and the film that covers and obscures the clear vision and sanity of these individuals.

The more I spend time talking with street-living people, the more I see a shadow surrounding them, a fog of darkness intentionally leading these people astray. I see the enemy, our enemy.

In the Beginning

Before I share my affirmation of the Great Collision, the mixing of metaphysical worlds we live in today, I’d like to start with where this all began, the Origin of Battle.

It was on the streets of Hollywood Blvd. At the time, I was working as a Director of Media Ministry for a church in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was during COVID-19 that my role and duties of media ministry had extraordinary pressure, much of which was felt due to filming all forms of worship, those that were prior in-person only. Fortunately for me, I was given the opportunity to film one of our Pastors who lived in Southern California.

My trip to this area was, well, a nightmare. The second day, after our first filming, all of our film gear was stolen from our vehicle. The next day, a car accident. Finally, to replace all of our gear, we spent a day traveling throughout the Los Angeles Valley obtaining what was needed, only to find that the camera we bought was defective and unusable. Needless to say, I was in a battle of epic proportions.

Fortunately for me, I’ve read John Eldredge’s work on spiritual warfare, I recognized there was something greater going on. Although I thought that our enemy was fighting to stump-out the video work we had planned all week (4 sermons!!), it was the very aggressive homeless person I found on that Hollywood Blvd. that showed me the real reason for the war, it was understanding my enemy, it was seeing where the origin of battle began.

Majoring in the Minors

It was about 8am that we started filming in front of the Chinese Theatre. The pastor was wearing his tuxedo and was using the setting as a metaphor for Esther and her beauty, the star of Babylon, and a hero of God’s people. Needless to say, Hollywood Blvd. is a prime location for homeless, street-living people and those mentally hurting, living oppressed lifestyles. This was the case for one particular woman, whose name I did not catch. We’ll call her Sam.

Sam saw our crew filming. To her, this Pastor was an actual celebrity, a fantastic opportunity for starting up a conversation. We informed Sam that we were filming for our church and that the Pastor was “receiving an award” in his sermon. He is a great character—the man actually acts in T.V. commercials as well.

Our discussion quickly moved to God and Jesus. It’s interesting to me how so many homeless and mentally-ill, street-living people know about God, Jesus, and The Story. When I say The Story, I mean the world in which we found ourselves in today. The Story is better known by these people than most professing Christians.

The problem is that The Story has been told to them through the eyes of another, through the eyes of The Deceiver.

Hate Can Never Keep Quiet

As with many mentally-ill, street-living people, Sam was aware of God and the spiritual nature of our existence. In our short time talking on the street, she discussed intimate, deep thoughts on God and Jesus. At the time, I was busy getting our camera and audio recording setup, as well as keeping an eye on Sam to make sure she didn’t knock over or run off with our equipment; remember, we just had everything stolen from us two days prior.

Although it has been a hard lesson for me to learn, I’ve found that observation, instead of action, can be the action within a certain moment that God requires. At this moment, I was a part of the Original Battle, I was seeing it play out.

Pastor, seeing Sam’s enthusiasm for God, recited the famous John 3:16 passage to her, seeming to try and relate to her as she spoke somewhat disturbingly based on her mannerisms and presence.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever shall believeth in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:16).

What an amazing passage, and sure enough, Sam knew it well. In fact, she knew it so well, she decided to argue with Pastor on the validity of God’s decision. Fortunately for me, I knew it was not her arguing.

It was someone else making the claim, the original claim, the Origin of Battle.

Watching for God to Move

Sam responded to John 3:16 with a voice that I have never heard from someone, outside of haunting, scary movies. It was, to be honest, rewarding to see it happen. I had been discipling a friend of mine, who lived in the area at the time, on spiritual warfare and the presence of demonic, evil forces in mentally-ill, street-living people.

This friend, a Christ-loving, Easterner who lives his cultural beliefs while God moves his Christian heart, did not believe demons existed, especially in the street-living people he encountered daily on the streets of Hollywood. With my experience, I knew better, I knew spiritual forces were at play.

As Sam began to release this dark presence from within, this sound of a possessed person from The Exorcist, I knew God was moving in that moment, I knew something was happening. I stayed completely aware at that moment, my eyes were open.

A Demon Revealed

Sam began to speak rhetorically and in Socratic fashion. I remember the exact words she said,

“Lucifer says, ‘if God is so great, why didn’t He put himself on that cross, instead of His son?’”

To be honest, I was not sure what to say. Pastor didn’t respond with some elegant theology, he just recognized that this woman was here to do only one thing, distract and ruin his sermon. He, knowing there was much to lose, moved the conversation along and Sam left to continue on her way.

My friend knew something spiritual had just happened. I didn’t need to say a word. Our eyes did the speaking.

A Familiar Argument

You may have heard this argument before, why would God not put Himself on the cross, instead of His Son? There are many theological potentialities for this reason, and I will share my views on them later. What’s important about this moment is not why God acted as He did but how everything else responds.

Whose words did Sam speak? Was it a demon or were they her own words? Is this something she heard a militant atheist share in her street encounters or was it something she felt in a dark time of her life? Where did this question come from?

The answer may startle you, it sure did me later that day.

Belief in Purpose

After finishing our filming for the week, I decided the beach was exactly where I needed to be to celebrate that day. Driving through the hills of Malibu, I had time to let my trip thus far sink in. Thoughts of “why did all this insanity happen to me” and “what purpose did I have through these tough times” both plagued my mind. After all, at the time, I was studying to get my doctorate and my dissertation was on life purpose. I needed to see the purpose in this pain.

It wasn’t long before Sam entered my mind. At first, I was saddened. I felt I should have had an answer for her, that I should have engaged in some way to make a long-lasting change in her life. With my previous victories in street ministry, I felt that I failed Sam and God. I felt like a failure for many reasons that trip.

Then it hit me.

Sam’s response stumped me. Not because it was theologically hard to answer but because I had no way of revealing Sam’s true identity, her nature as a lost sheep at that moment. God spoke reality into my heart.

Life at War

We see battles everywhere in our world today. You can’t go 10 minutes watching any sort of world or local news and not hear of people fighting. Especially as this trip was occurring, Black Lives Matter riots were destroying cities and the COVID-19 rebellion was occurring in many areas. The world was in lockdown but it was by no means down, people were in an uproar.

I’m so thankful for the mentors Father God has placed in my life. They have taught me to see how the physical reflects the spiritual, that what occurs in this plane of existence is an outcome of what is happening, and what has happened, in the spiritual world.

Sam revealed to me the Origin of Battle.

The Origin of Battle

Sam questioned why God did not put Himself on the cross, that if He was so good and great, why was He not the one to die, to suffer? Of course, we know that He did suffer, that He and Jesus are together one (John 10:30). World-renown Jewish intellect and scholar Richard Friedman states that any manifestation of the Host of Heaven is actually the manifestation God the Father as well, that when angels appear, they are revealing the Father, not only as representatives but also as being literal parts of Him (see Dr. Friedman’s work “Commentary on the Torah”).

Nonetheless, the peculiar part in all of this is why Sam said those words. The reason, I believe, is that she heard them as a bedtime story. Not one from her parents, per-se, but one from her father, The Deceiver, the one who is the Father of Lies (John 8:44). Whether she, or a demon, spoke those words at that moment, and I have my beliefs it was a demon, this, although important, is not what Father was showing me.

He was showing me the Origin of Battle.

Jealousy, Pride, & Deception

The works in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, found in the Holy Bible, form the setting of the original battle.

• Father God “made us alive together in Christ…and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:4-7).
• “Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph 2: 20-22).
• “that [Paul] should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the Church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (Eph 3:8-12).

Paul also writes that “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phill 2:9-11).

The author of the Book of Hebrews states that “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:8-9).

Jesus, or his proper name Yeshua or Yesu (Learn about Christ’s real name and the eternal battle to hide and oppress it), is clearly given the status and position from which one could be jealous. Imagine a scenario where Father God reveals to a select few, say the Archangel Michael, Satan, and Jesus, His plan for the future, for eternity.

This plan is to create life and this life would be bound to Jesus. That all life would recognize Jesus as Lord. That the Glory, which is currently the Father’s, is now shared with Jesus. That all knees would bow to Jesus. And not only that but that Jesus would have to do something, He would have the opportunity to reveal to all of Creation how wonderful He is. Father God wanted to brag about His Son.

Now, the response by the two others in the room, Michael and Satan, had a choice. Do I bow to Jesus?

A Cosmic Response

One of these, one with pride, would say, “No!” because “I am also wonderfully made by you Father, so much so that we are closer than all else. Everything already sees my beauty and how you brag about me.”

The other option, the one without pride and jealousy, would say, “Father, this is an amazing plan and you are correct that it will bring eternity to life.”

At this moment, both of those options were chosen. Michael stood with Father God and His decision with Jesus. Satan did not.

One Choice – The Illusion of Two

We can’t understand how this original battle really took place, how it looked, the energy that was felt, the pain and sorrow that existed. What we can know is that there is a choice and that we make this choice every day.

Sam showed the jealousy and pride of Satan in her response to John 3:16. Satan wanted to be the one on the tree. He wanted the glory, he wanted you and me. He still wants us but in his own way. He wants to pervert God’s plan, that plan that haunts him from the Origin of Battle onward to this day. He wants us to bow on our knees to his plan, to his rebellion, to his lies.

He wants everything Father God promised Jesus…and he’ll take it if we let him.

The Take-Away

Today we can learn from Sam. What Satan wants doesn’t matter if we know what God wants. The illusion is that there are two choices, because, in reality, there is only one path to choose. If you choose the path that actually exists, you’ll find yourself alive, existing, becoming, you’ll find something of purpose, of meaning.

If you choose the illusion, the second or false path, what occurs is an illusion of life. You’ll be walking backward on a road that can only go forwards, and as you’re moving backward, this path continues without you. What you’ll find is that the illusion will lead you to where the Deceiver has always been, jealous, angry, sad, and alone.

Don’t fall for that same age-old battle. When you hear the plan, you have one choice.

Will I bow my knees to Jesus?