8 Ways Christians Open the Door to the DEMONIC (ft. Jonathan Pokluda) | Live Free with Josh Howerton

Episode of Live Free with Josh Howerton · October 5, 2026 · 1 h 36 min

Pastor Carlos Erazo and Jonathan Pokluda discuss spiritual warfare, demonic footholds, occult practices, signs of revival, and a simple method for sharing the gospel.

Summary

In this episode of Live Free, Lakepointe Church pastor Carlos Erazo interviewed pastor and author Jonathan "JP" Pokluda following Pokluda's sermon on the armor of God. They opened with a viral exchange in which the Grok chatbot declined to remove Jesus from an image of "fake gods," which led Pokluda to recount his conversion after a period of partying and studying world religions, and Erazo to recall Pokluda confessing sin from the pulpit at The Porch.

Pokluda described three years of studying spiritual warfare. He argued that Satan works chiefly through lies and division, citing the divisions of 2020, that Satan is not omnipresent but commands demons, and that Satan, knowing his fate, runs a "scorched earth strategy." The pair explained the idea that sin gives the devil a foothold that can become a stronghold, applying it to pornography and profanity, and Pokluda recommended confession, weekly accountability questions, and removing access to temptation. Pokluda warned that Ouija boards, tarot, crystals, horoscopes and manifesting are not spiritually neutral, and Erazo recounted disturbing dreams after attending a folkloric show in El Salvador. Pokluda said AI and music can be demonic tools but also forces for good.

The conversation then turned to revival. Erazo listed historical characteristics of revivals—cultural decline, renewed hunger for God, persistent prayer, conviction of sin, young leaders and new technology—citing statistics on declining Christian identification and rising Bible sales, and Pokluda said he saw 50,000 people commit to Jesus on Forrest Frank's tour in one month. Pokluda suggested a roughly 50-year cycle between American Great Awakenings positioned 2026 for another.

Finally, Pokluda explained his evangelism method—asking "Do you have a faith?" followed by two Evangelism Explosion questions—and demonstrated it in a role play with Erazo. He said he leads roughly one in five such conversations to prayer, argued that churches should celebrate sharing rather than only conversions, and described his introverted daughter's success evangelizing at H-E-B as encouragement for fearful Christians.

Chapters

  1. 0:18

    Introduction and the Grok exchange

    Erazo introduces Pokluda and shares a viral Grok response about Jesus, prompting Pokluda to recount his search through world religions that led to Christ.

  2. 11:19

    Pokluda's background and raw preaching

    Erazo recalls Pokluda confessing sin from the pulpit, and Pokluda explains his conversion, prayer life, and why authenticity reaches the next generation.

  3. 17:45

    Satan's strategies: lies and division

    Pokluda describes how studying spiritual warfare began and argues that Satan works through lies, division, and media, fighting over the mind.

  4. 29:05

    A defeated but active enemy

    Pokluda explains Satan's scorched-earth strategy and the 'already not yet' tension, while Erazo uses a black widow illustration.

  5. 39:53

    Footholds, strongholds and accountability

    The pair discuss how sin gives demons a foothold, applying it to pornography and cursing, and Pokluda outlines confession and accountability practices.

  6. 48:04

    Ouija boards, the occult, AI and music

    Pokluda warns that occult practices are not spiritually neutral, Erazo shares an experience in El Salvador, and they discuss AI and music as potential demonic tools.

  7. 1:01:08

    Signs of revival

    Erazo lists historical marks of revival and Pokluda describes mass conversions on tour, persistent prayer, young leaders, a 50-year awakening cycle, and new technology.

  8. 1:15:50

    Pokluda's evangelism method

    Pokluda explains his bridge question and two diagnostic questions for sharing the gospel.

  9. 1:19:26

    Evangelism role play

    Erazo plays a skeptical barista while Pokluda demonstrates answering objections about Bible reliability and pushing religion.

  10. 1:27:33

    Results, fear and closing prayer

    Pokluda discusses how often people pray to receive Christ, tells the George Street story, encourages fearful introverts with his daughter's example, and closes in prayer.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda argues that no credible atheist denies Jesus existed, citing non-Christian historical sources.

    “There's not a credible atheist today alive that would deny the existence of Jesus”

    Listen from 7:03

  • Carlos Erazo

    Erazo contends that Christianity differs from other religions by centering on God seeking people rather than people seeking God.

    “Christianity at its core is about how God seeks you”

    Listen from 9:39

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda argues that spiritual warfare is fought over people's thinking.

    “The spiritual war is fought over the real estate of the mind. Satan is after our thinking”

    Listen from 20:40 · Spiritual warfare

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda speculates that the divisions of 2020 reflected a demonic strategy to divide people politically and socially.

    “I want you to divide them politically. I want you to divide them socioeconomically”

    Listen from 21:08 · Spiritual warfare

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda holds that Satan is not omnipresent and instead leads an army of fallen angels as demons.

    “Like Satan has never probably been anywhere near me. He's not omnipresent”

    Listen from 24:56 · Spiritual warfare

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda says Satan knows his eventual fate and therefore pursues a destructive scorched-earth strategy.

    “He knows his destiny is the lake of fire. And so he's running a scorched earth strategy”

    Listen from 29:34 · Spiritual warfare

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda recounts being sued within two weeks of signing the contract for his book on spiritual warfare.

    “I was sued. I got sued within 14 days of signing it”

    Listen from 37:47 · Spiritual warfare

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda argues that consuming pornography gives the devil a foothold and amounts to demonic worship.

    “So like pornography is Satan's iconography. It's not innocent. When you give yourself to that, it's demonic worship”

    Listen from 40:09 · Pornography

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda recommends a weekly accountability practice built around three questions on spiritual input, output and confession.

    “How did you feed your soul? How did you feed others? How did you feed your flesh? Input, output, confession”

    Listen from 46:11 · Spiritual warfare

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda warns that occult and New Age practices give demons permission to interfere in people's lives.

    “with that Ouija board, crystals, manifesting, tarot cards, horoscopes, like none of that stuff is spiritually neutral”

    Listen from 50:05 · Occultism

  • Carlos Erazo

    Erazo recounts that after staying at a spiritually charged folkloric show in El Salvador, he and his wife had violent dreams that night.

    “That night, my wife had a very vivid dream of being stabbed”

    Listen from 53:14 · Occultism

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda reports that he saw 50,000 people commit their lives to Jesus during one month of Forrest Frank's tour.

    “in the month of july i saw 50 000 people give their life to jesus”

    Listen from 1:02:05 · Christian revival

  • Carlos Erazo

    Erazo cites a decline in the share of Americans identifying as Christian as evidence of the cultural decline that precedes revivals.

    “statistically, people who identify as Christians in the U.S. in 2007, it was 78%. Today, it's 62%”

    Listen from 1:05:37 · Christian revival

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda claims every revolution and revival in history has had a person in their twenties or early thirties at its center.

    “is somebody in their 20s or early 30s, every single one without exception”

    Listen from 1:11:10 · Christian revival

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda argues that a roughly 50-year gap between American Great Awakenings positions the present for a new one.

    “2026 would be about 50 years after that one ended, which would poise us well for a great awakening right now”

    Listen from 1:12:09 · Great Awakening

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda argues Christians err when they reject new technologies like AI as only evil, comparing it to the printing press.

    “I would say, you know what? That's the mistake that Christians have made many, many times”

    Listen from 1:15:46 · Artificial intelligence

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda argues the Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrate that biblical texts have not been substantively changed.

    “The Dead Sea Scrolls show parts of like Isaiah and some of the scriptures that predate the dark ages and actually show that the scripture hasn't changed”

    Listen from 1:22:01 · Dead Sea Scrolls

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda contends churches should celebrate the act of sharing the gospel, not just conversions, since only God saves.

    “And I think the church actually under celebrates sharing. Like we celebrate saving, but not sharing”

    Listen from 1:28:05 · Evangelism

  • Jonathan Pokluda

    Pokluda says his introverted daughter, relying on the Holy Spirit, is the most successful evangelist he knows.

    “She has the highest hit rate of anyone I know, like the highest success rate”

    Listen from 1:30:58 · Evangelism

People

In the conversation

  • Carlos ErazoLakepointe Church pastor and Live Free co-host
  • Jonathan PokludaAmerican pastor in Waco, Texas, author of Welcome to Adulting and Your Story Has a Villain, former leader of The Porch young adults ministry

Discussed

Topics

More from Live Free with Josh Howerton

From the publisher

Spiritual warfare is real—but should Christians be afraid of it? In this episode of LIVE FREE, Pastor Carlos sits down with Pastor Jonathan (JP) Pokluda for a practical conversation about how the enemy works, how Christians can recognize deception, and why Jesus’ victory gives believers confidence rather than fear. Then the conversation shifts from spiritual warfare to revival and evangelism. JP shares what he has witnessed among thousands of young people responding to the gospel and gives a simple, practical approach anyone can use to start conversations about Jesus. In this episode: How Satan uses deception and lies What it means to give the enemy a foothold How confession, accountability, and Scripture help us fight temptation Why occult practices should be taken seriously How Christians can stand firm without living in fear Signs of renewed spiritual hunger and revival A simple method for starting gospel conversations How to share Jesus even when evangelism feels intimidating Stand firm. Think biblically. Live free. 💬 This week’s giveaway: Comment HAT 🧢 Want a Live Free hat of your own? Visit LiveFree.shop 📲 Looking to grow deeper in your faith? Check out the Lakepointe App to access our Discipleship Guide, daily Bible reading plan, and more. Text APP to 20411 to download

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 6, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Christianity·Religion