Taking Back What the Enemy Has Stolen
We had the joy of welcoming Pastor John B and his wife Lauren this week — visiting elders and senior pastors of Consume Church (formerly Kiss of Fire Dallas) in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Pastor John brought a word that met a lot of us right where we are: after a season of real loss, how do we actually get back up and go after what's been taken from us?
Naming what 2025 really was
Pastor John was honest that 2025 was one of the hardest years he'd seen in his lifetime of following Jesus — not just personally, but across the wider body of Christ. He named it plainly: "The enemy has been stealing from the body of Christ. He's stealing from you. He's stealing from you personally. And it's time to stop that, to stop the enemy in his tracks." That became his word for this year: recovering all — taking back what the enemy has stolen.
David at Ziklag
The heart of the message came from 1 Samuel 30, the story of David returning to Ziklag to find it burned and his family — along with everyone else's — taken captive by the Amalekites. David's own men, grieved and desperate, spoke of stoning him. It's hard to imagine a lower moment: total loss, and the people closest to him turning on him in their pain.
But instead of collapsing under the blame, David "strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (1 Samuel 30:6). He didn't shoulder all the blame, and he didn't just resign himself to the loss. He went to Abiathar the priest, inquired of the Lord, and heard a clear answer: "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all."
Three questions worth asking
Pastor John walked through what it actually looks like to strengthen yourself in the Lord, the way David did:
First, realize that something precious has been stolen — and don't just put up with it. Whether it's your peace, your health, your finances, or your sense of calling, none of that is God's will for you. As he put it, "it's the enemy that comes to steal, kill, and destroy."
Second, take time to pray, worship, and recall what God has actually spoken over your life. It's easy, in a hard season, to forget the promises that once felt so real. Going back to the ephod David used to inquire of the Lord, Pastor John pointed us to Hebrews 4 — that we now have a greater high priest in Jesus, and we're invited to "come boldly to the throne of grace" and "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful."
Third, shift your mindset. Pastor John spent some time unpacking what Paul meant by "principalities and powers" — not necessarily anything with horns, but the prevailing patterns of thought that shape what a culture accepts as normal. Spiritual warfare, he said, starts with taking our own thoughts captive, and it's lived out less in prayer walks around buildings and more in how we actually love and serve one another as a body.
A personal story of trusting God for something better
Pastor John shared a story from early in his walk with the Lord — losing a workshop and a home he'd hoped to buy, betrayed by a neighbor who bought the property out from under him. Rather than let it crush him, he said the Spirit rose up in him: "God's got something better." He ended up working at the very dealership connected to that betrayal for nearly two decades, eventually becoming one of the most successful in his field. His encouragement to us: don't let a loss define your identity or your future. There is something better coming.
Ordaining Stephen and Christie Beard as elders
The service closed with a meaningful moment for our church family: Stephen and Christie Beard were officially ordained as elders at Catch The Fire Boulder, recognized for years of faithful ministry. Pastor John and the congregation laid hands on them and prayed for wisdom, grace, and strength as they step into this next season of leading and discipling alongside our church.
Something to sit with this week
What has the last season cost you — your peace, your confidence, a relationship, a dream you'd stopped praying for? And like David at Ziklag, what would it look like this week to strengthen yourself in the Lord before you decide the loss is final?
Catch The Fire Boulder meets Sundays at 10:00 AM at 700 W South Boulder Rd, Lafayette, CO. We'd love to have you join us. Watch the full message or plan your visit.
