(Ep27) Five Goals of Offense

In this episode, we unpack the five primary offensive goals every believer must pursue in spiritual warfare — securing terrain, depriving the enemy of resources, gaining intelligence, creating diversions, and holding the enemy at bay. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 10:3–5 and vivid military analogies, we want to equip you in moving beyond passive defense to advancing the kingdom with intentional, Spirit-led purpose.  We want you to have an offensive mindset that looks for these goals in every area of your life.

Transcript

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Welcome back to Joining the Fight, a podcast on spiritual warfare and episode 27, as we dig deeper into the five main goals or reasons why we go on the offensive. I'm Kyle Clark from Standing Word Ministry, a Christ-centered ministry dedicated to equipping believers with solid biblical truth and practical training. We create scripture-based curriculum and resources like our workbook joining the fight to strengthen discipleship, deepen our understanding of the word, to follow Jesus, and to help every one of us live with purpose as we stand firm in the truth and carry the message of Christ forward. If you want to explore more teachings or grab this workbook, head over to standingword.com. So last week we talked about shifting our mindset to the offensive. We fight from a place of victory, and our ultimate goal is to advance the kingdom. But today we get practical about the five primary or immediate goals that guide every strategic offensive engagement. These are the overall objectives to the next fight or the enemy that we see right in front of us, and they help to add to the overall success of Christ's mission and the final victory when he returns. These come straight from 2 Corinthians 10, 3 through 5, and they set the stage for future victories while strengthening the advance of the kingdom. When we move from defense to offense, our goals are clear. We set out to secure terrain from the enemy, deprive the enemy of resources, gain information, divert or distract the enemy, or hold the enemy at bay. These five goals push the enemy back from our places of safety and create other Christian strongholds in their place. We're not just reacting anymore, we're advancing with purpose. Let's start where the advance begins, and that is the idea that an offense is securing terrain from the enemy. He has it, we want it, so the goal is to take it away from him. Offense starts by deliberately taking back ground the enemy has occupied. Whether it's people, ideas, organizations, movements, or cultural strongholds, our purpose is to target the strongholds of Satan within these things that oppose God's truth. Ephesians 6 12 reminds us our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil. Securing terrain means advancing Christ into areas once held in darkness. We are not waiting for the enemy to come to us, we are moving into his territories with the light of the gospel and the love of Jesus. Why does this matter? Well the enemy doesn't just attack individuals in isolation, he builds systems and cultures and strongholds that keep people captive for generations. When we secure terrain, we are answering the Great Commission in real time. We are proving that the gates of hell will not prevail against Christ's church. This is active intentional advance, not passive defense. Look at it like this. In combat, when we move into a contested area, we didn't just drive through and leave. We cleared it, we secured it, we sweep through it, and we establish a presence so the enemy can't simply slip back in and take it away from us. Spiritually, this goal is the same. We don't just pray a prayer over a situation and walk away. We move in with the presence of Christ through relationship, truth, and tangible love, and we refuse to let the darkness reclaim that ground. A good example of this is a church or a Christian organization partnering with businesses in an area to combat sexual trafficking. A church that I belong to did this once. They created a safe space, a bubble around their church, which was in a rough part of town, that encouraged those businesses to not do business with the sex trafficking trade. And on top of that, they also provided real aid and the gospel to the homeless. Other churches do this by stepping in to help with broken families or addiction within their community with both truth and compassion. Acts like this reflect God's love and holiness, and they mirror the heart of the good shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one. In our life, there is a one that is strayed around us. There is a stronghold of the enemy harassing our presence. Securing terrain reclaims this ground for Christ. It dismantles the enemy's influence in that space, in that person, in that organization, and it strengthens the church's reach and creates overlapping defenses with other ministries and other believers who have been rescued from that ground that has been secured. It builds broader support across the kingdom so the advance is sustainable and not just isolated. One secured piece of terrain makes the next advance easier for everyone. So on top of our defense, we must look for those areas the enemy holds sway and take it away from him. And here's one simple way we can live this out this week. Ask the Lord to show you one specific terrain in your world: a person, a relationship, a workplace, a cultural lie that needs the light of Christ. Write it down and begin praying specifically and taking one loving action towards it. Decide what you'll do, donating to a cause that combats that type of issue, volunteering for a ministry within your church or in your community that targets that specific stronghold. It can be something practical or it can be fervent prayer in that direction. When we secure terrain, we help to reclaim what is lost. But we also need to cut off what feeds the enemy's power. And this comes to our second goal. We must also deprive the enemy of a resource. We weaken the enemy's stronghold by removing the tools and fuel he uses to keep people in bondage. It's one thing to go into a neighborhood and reclaim it for Christ. It's one thing to break Satan's grip on a person and bring them over to Christ's side. But there are also resources out there that strengthen the enemy's hold on people and in areas. Depriving the enemy of resources weakens his hold geographically and amongst a wide range of antidemographic resources include locations, connections to others we couldn't reach, cultural influences or the tangible resources of groups and people. While securing terrain is about redeeming people and spaces, depriving resources is about starving the very tools Satan exploits to keep them bound. Why is this important? The enemy's power is often sustained by the very things people cling to. Lies they believe, habits they can't break, desires they won't surrender, or influence that stretches across multiple demographics. When we help remove or replace those things with truth and freedom, his grip loosens dramatically. This is both rescue and sabotaging his supply lines. In combat, cutting supply lines, fuel, ammunition, food, was often more effective than a direct assault. Without resources, the enemy couldn't sustain the fight. Spiritually, we do the same thing when we help break people free from the lies, addictions, or influences that feed the enemy's control in their lives. Encouraging an entire generation to not be on social media as much is depriving the enemy of resources. Encouraging someone famous to use their position to lift up Christ instead of themselves is denying the enemy a resource. Encouraging a business to change the way it operates and live by godly ideals deprives the enemy of the resources that company has. Countering the perception of Christian hypocrisy by actually demonstrating consistent love instead of judgment. We must deprive the enemy of resources. So if the way our culture views Christianity is being used as a resource, we must do the opposite. Walking with someone who is struggling with addiction, bitterness, and false belief instead of distancing ourselves. Now, if you're not ready for this, or if you don't have a plan in place, I encourage you to not do this yet. But when you are strong and you are prepared and you have a group supporting you in this effort, these actions reflect Christ's security and mercy and his desire to redeem people. They echo his teachings that his burden is light and his yoke is easy. When we deprive the enemy of resources, we strip him of his influence. It empowers individuals to walk in freedom, or it softens the ground and makes the message of Christ more easily received by that group. Those who are set free often become new resources for God's kingdom. So when we deprive the enemy of a resource, that is a resource or tool that can come and be used for God's kingdom. And it strengthens the church from within and frequently becomes a part of the next advance. That person opens a doorway to a new offensive, that group, that influence, that organization. We're not just winning one battle, we are turning the enemy's former assets into kingdom assets. And here's a simple way we can live this out. Identify one resource the enemy is currently using in your life or in the life of someone close to you. Take one practical step to starve it by replacing it with truth, accountability, or a new habit based on the grace of Christ. Starving the enemy's resources is a powerful step in advancing the kingdom. But to do it effectively, we also need good intelligence. One of the other reasons why we go on the offensive sometimes is just to gain information about the enemy, to gain wisdom and the enemy's weaknesses. Smart offense requires good intelligence. And sometimes the overall battle requires us to advance to see where the enemy is, to see what assets he has, to see where he is most vulnerable. We gain wisdom so that we can strike again where the enemy is weakest and adjust ourselves as the battle unfolds. Offensive operations involve gathering wisdom about enemy strongholds and resistance. And sometimes we have skirmishes or smaller advances and attacks to discover what those weaknesses and strengths are. These kinds of attacks enable us to plan strategically and adjust as new challenges or opportunities arise. During an attack, other strongholds may be revealed that require a fresh set of discernment. One of the things that I have often seen with this is that when you decide to go forward and preach the gospel, share Christ with someone in your life, and you receive a guttural negative reaction that reveals a whole nother set of issues that the enemy has in that person's life. It shouldn't be a deterrent to us, it should be information that we've gained and allows us to create a strategy of offense designed for that person's weaknesses, designed for the way the enemy has been lying to them and controlling them. See, the enemy adapts. And so if we only use yesterday's tactics, we become predictable and ineffective. What worked yesterday, the enemy is going to lay the groundwork for it not to work tomorrow. And so gathering information keeps us sharp, helps us avoid wasted effort, and allows us to place precise, spirit-led attacks. We fight smarter, not just harder. So like it's like this in combat, good intel saves lives and wins battles. We didn't just charge into a fight. We listen, we watch, we ask questions, we move to see the way the enemy moves. We probe to see where he'd respond, and we adjusted the plan based on what we had learned. Spiritually, it's the same way. Combat is a game of cat and mouse. And so we as believers, we plant that kind word, that listening ear. Even a ministry effort that feels like a failure can give us the extra information we need for the next move, for the next assault, for the next strategic plan. Something as simple as a kind word, a conversation about Christ, expressing your excitement about what you've learned at church this week, or a genuine question to them can reveal what a person is really going through beneath the surface, can reveal the hooks the enemy has in them. Even when a ministry effort feels like it has fallen flat or it's gained no traction, it has actually given you experience and intel to do better next time. We learn what works and what doesn't, and where the real resistance is hiding. Gaining information exposes the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, exposes his tactics in a certain area. It provides us with the insight for our next strike. So we stop swinging wildly at the wrong targets and we start placing precise blows that actually advance the kingdom and rescue the people around us. If you look at the behavior of the Holy Spirit in Acts, where the Holy Spirit interceded, the power it gave them, the circumstances it led them to were surgical. The right person was put in the right spot at the right time to do God's will. It is like that, and we can be that precise when we let Christ and the Holy Spirit guide our attacks. And here is one simple way we can live this out. Practice gathering intel in one relationship or a situation. Ask a question, share a part of your faith, listen to them more than you speak, and then ask the Lord to show you what's really going on beneath the surface of that person's life or in that situation so that you can respond with wisdom instead of assumption. Knowledge is power in a fight. And with good information, we can also force the enemy to look the other way. We can use that information to distract him. Because distraction, diversion is also another goal or reason why we go on the defensive. Sometimes the most effective offensive move is just designed to pull the enemy's attention away from others so that they can be strengthened. I often find Paul's missionary journeys as a good example of this. Early on, Paul met with resistance from Jewish leadership, and that Jewish leadership then followed him to every town that Paul was in to harass him. But they left a brand new baby Christian church behind in those cities when they chased Paul. So Paul's offensive movement was distracting the enemy in those people's lives. And those in those people were chasing Paul instead of staying home and destroying that new church. Offensive action can divert the enemy from exploiting the weaknesses that are being displayed by us. When we are humble, when we are selfless, when we take efforts to contradict the worldly values, it's like ringing the dinner bell when we show signs of weakness, reliance on Christ, when we don't do things the way the world does. Yes, it attracts interest in the people around us to potentially know Christ, but it also signals that we're on the offensive against the enemy, and he's going to divert his attention, and that sometimes will stall or delay his attacks elsewhere in the immediate area. See, the enemy has limited attention and resources. He's not God, and when we live in a way that directly frustrates his plans and contradicts his values, he has to respond. And that response often creates breathing room for others who are under pressure. In combat, sometimes the best move was a move that created a diversion, drew fire onto ourselves so another unit could easily move safely to reinforce us or flank the enemy. Spiritually, when we live with radical humility, love, bold truth, when we push on the offensive, when we declare ourselves as Christians or as followers of Christ, when we show his love and grace and we do things countercultural to the world, we create a diversion that pulls the enemy's attention away from others in the immediate area and gives others rooms to breathe, to grow, to escape, to open their eyes and realize what Christ is offering. Paul's persecution and acts drew the enemy's focus on him and away from those young churches, giving them time to grow. And our willingness to take heat for the gospel or to live in a way that directly opposes the enemy's values can create the same kind of cover for others. Diverting the enemy's focus provides real relief for others. It creates a way out of temptation or attack for those who are vulnerable. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is simply live in a way in which the enemy has to deal with us first. And here's a simple way that we can apply that this week. Ask the Lord to show you one place where your life could become a diversion for others, a place of humble love or of bold truth that draws attention away from someone else who is under pressure. Take one step this week to live that one thing. Diverting though buys time and space for others. It provides breathing room. But oftentimes, and when we look at the big picture of what the church is and what we're expecting in the future, the Lord's return, one of the goals of going on defensive, our final goal is sometimes our offense, our offensive operations are simply designed to hold the enemy at bay. We're going to meet him on the field and attack so he doesn't come to our places of safety. We maintain a faithful presence that prevents the enemy from advancing without meeting resistance from us. We set up future victories by not allowing him to take away certain ground. We attack to hold him at bay. This involves maintaining a faithful presence in the world that prevents him from advancing without resistance. We will not go quietly in the night. We're not going to let him have sway over the areas of our life that we could commit to. And so this requires us to be actively present among unbelievers to counter his influence. The enemy loves quick victories. He loves abandoned territory. When believers show up and stay with consistent love, truth, and perseverance, no matter what the world does to us, his plans are slowed, and we know because Christ already has the victory, his plans will eventually be broken. Holding ground is the long obedience, and it wears down opposition over time. In the military, after we've secured an area, we often leave behind a presence, a patrol base, a checkpoint, or simply soldiers who know the ground and refuse to leave. The presence prevented the enemy from slipping back in and taking that ground back. Spiritually, our consistent, loving, truth-filled presence in someone's life or in a community does the same thing. It wears down opposition and it opens doors that sudden attacks never could. A believer who is consistently invested in the lives of those trapped in the enemy's grip, in his addiction and his false belief, bitterness, brokenness, they demonstrate love and perseverance. This is what holding the enemy is. Is it's perseverance, that faithful presence that wears down opposition and opens the door for real transformation in the lives of those people around us, reveals the opportunities we have to advance further in their life. When we don't let go of ground, when we go on the offensive to hold the enemy at bay, he gives us an opportunity, windows open for us to strike deeper and further. Holding the enemy sets the stage for these future victories. It ensures his advances are always met with resistance. It strengthens the influence of the church and prepares the way for the next battle. People who see the light will eventually follow the light. And here's a simple way we can live this out throughout the week. Choose one person or one situation you have been tempted to give up on. Commit to holding one consistent act of love or truth this week when it comes to that person or that situation, even if it feels small or slow, and continually add that situation and that person to your prayer list and ask God to reveal the ways that you can hold on and persevere in that situation. Now let us close out in prayer. Father, thank you for calling us to advance and not just offend. Give us courage to secure terrain that belongs to you and faithfulness to hold every inch we take. Teach us to deprive the enemy of the lies, addiction, and influence he uses to bind people. Grant us wisdom to gather good information and adjust quickly when you reveal those new strongholds. Show us how to live in such a way that we distract him from his plans and create spaces for others to be rescued. We fight from the victory of Jesus. Make us effective, humble, and full of your love as we press forward together in Jesus' powerful name. Amen. So here's our simple offensive rhythm to understand what these goals provide. When we look at secure terrain, depriving resources, gaining information, distracting and diverting and holding the enemy, we must realize that we're not fighting to earn a victory. We fight from the victory Jesus has already won on the cross and proved by the empty tomb. When the pressure hits and the battle gets loud, we return to these five goals and keep advancing the kingdom together under our commander Christ. Now, next episode we'll look at the actual basic characteristics that every offensive operation must have. But before we go, let's take one moment to review our challenges. Which of these five goals is the Holy Spirit highlighting for you right now? Which one is an offense that you can see needing to be executed around you in the world today? Pick one and ask the Lord this week, how do you want me to live this out practically in my family, my church, my workplace, or my neighborhood? Write it down and take one small faithful step in that direction, in your ability to execute that offensive goal. We're in this together. Keep pressing forward, keep being involved in the fight. Thank you so much for joining us today. See you next time on Joining the Fight. God bless.