Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 312 | Conversations - The Armor of God - The Sword of the Spirit

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312 | Conversations - The Armor of God - The Sword of the Spirit · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  Music.
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  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries,
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  where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus like the woman at the
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  well in John chapter four.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org,
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  we invite you to sit down with us as we look to the scriptures to learn more
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  about God and to strengthen in your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Living her life for Christ. She's a happy girl.
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  Music.
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  She's a happy girl.
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  In this episode of the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast,
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  join Kim Miller and Erica Close in a conversation as we walk with Jesus.
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  In today's conversation, we continue our series on wearing the armor of God
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  as we journey through life.
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  In today's podcast, we continue our study of Ephesians 6, 10 through 17,
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  and chat about taking up the sword of the Spirit.
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  Well, thank you all for joining us in today's podcast of Women at the Well Ministries.
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  My name is Erica Close, and I am here with Kim Miller.
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  Hello, and thank you for taking time to continue to study the armor of God.
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  And today we are on the sword of the Spirit, and that's our offensive weapon.
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  We've been defending ourselves against the devil up until this point,
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  But today, we're getting to take an offensive step with the sword.
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  Exactly. I'm really excited to have a conversation about this one.
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  Now, before we have our conversation, I would like to go ahead and read our
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  passage, Ephesians 6, 10 through 17.
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  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
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  Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
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  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
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  against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
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  against spiritual wickedness in high places.
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  Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand
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  in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
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  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, And having on the
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  breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with a preparation of the gospel of peace.
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  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench
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  all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation,
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  and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
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  Amen. Hallelujah. I know I'm so excited to talk about the sword word of the
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  spirit because it is the word of God.
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  And I believe we should probably establish what the word of God really is.
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  So the word of God, yeah, the word of God, we read in Hebrews 4.12,
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  is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword,
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  piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and
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  marrow, and it is a discerner of the thoughts And if I could just read John 1, 1 also.
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  Yes. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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  And I believe it's important to realize that in John 1, verse 14,
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  he tells us that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
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  And we know that in John 4, 16, that Jesus is the way, the truth,
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  and the life. So we know that if the word was Jesus made flesh, then he's truth.
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  So the word of God must be truth. And you read in our hearing in Hebrews 4.12
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  what the word of God could do. And it's powerful.
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  And it pierces through the heart and the soul.
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  And reveals the thoughts and intents of the heart. It is a powerful revealer,
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  right, that brings about truth.
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  Amen. And I think it's important that we realize that we only need the one weapon.
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  If you read the entire armor of God, your weapon is the sword.
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  Everything else is defense, is protection. And if you recall,
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  in many instances in Scripture,
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  it was quoting of the Word of God, quoting the Scripture that brought the victory.
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  Absolutely if you recall david when he fought the goliath the giant he wouldn't take on any of the,
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  provisions of the world they didn't fit him he was too little we need to learn
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  from that and not take on any of the provisions of the world to try to fight
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  these spiritual battles we need to take on the armor of God to do it.
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  But he even said, you know, the Lord, he doesn't save by might.
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  You know, he spoke about how the Lord worked and he said it to all these people.
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  And he said, in all these people, you'll see that the Lord will deliver him into my hands today.
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  And so we need to realize how powerful the sword is that we have.
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  I think the sword is so powerful.
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  And if we think about a soldier, a soldier of any kind would never go into a
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  battle or any situation without a weapon, right?
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  It's inconceivable, right? It's just not something that would be done.
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  And therefore there is no way that we should ever be going out into this world.
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  Without having the Word of God with us. And I think that it's so important that
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  we understand we have to have the Word of God in us.
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  We have to know the Word of God in order to take it into the world with us.
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  2 Timothy 2.15 says, Study to show thyself approved unto God,
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  a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
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  Right? We have to have God's Word word in us.
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  We have to understand it. We have to know it in order to be able to use it offensively in the world.
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  And he tells us in 1 Samuel 17, 47, this is again, David and Goliath's battle
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  and David explaining what's going to happen.
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  And he says, and all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear.
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  The word of God is our sword.
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  It's our spear. The word of God is what we're talking about as being our sword.
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  And it's what's going to take the people down because it's the truth and it's powerful.
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  And so he says, the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands.
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  It's important that we understand that we come mightily when we come in the
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  name of the Lord with his word.
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  1 John 4, 4 says, of God, little children, and have overcome them because greater
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  is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
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  The he that is in us is Jesus, right? Is Jesus in the form of the Holy Spirit?
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  And we know that Jesus himself is the word. The power is in the presence of God in our lives.
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  The power is in the Word of God in our lives, and it is bigger and stronger than.
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  Than he that is in the world that's bigger and stronger than the devil himself.
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  And he even tells us that when we look at Romans 8, 37, he says,
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  nay, in all these things, like whatever's happening to you, whatever battle
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  you're in, whatever war you're fighting,
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  he says, nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
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  And we do that by empowering his word in our life and giving him the opportunity
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  to rule and reign remain and speaking words that increase our faith because
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  they're promises of the Word of God,
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  speaking words that keep us on the right track because he instructs us in how
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  we should live and how we should be.
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  And that produces a peace that passes all understanding.
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  And he said, I've come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.
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  It's the Word of God that enables us to have an abundant life.
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  Absolutely. You know, 2 Peter 2, 3 says.
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  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
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  according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto
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  life and godliness through the knowledge of him that have called us to glory and virtue.
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  We know him and knowing him Him gives us the grace and the peace in this world.
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  And you know, that happens in every situation.
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  The Word of God is a one-size-fits-all weapon.
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  You don't need a paring knife. You don't need butcher knife.
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  You don't need a bread knife. You don't need a fillet knife.
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  This sword will do every single task you need to defend yourself and defeat the devil.
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  It's the word of God that does that for us.
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  You know, I think one of the things that's so important is that we see this in Jesus's life.
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  When Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit and tempted by the devil, we see what he did.
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  We read about that in Matthew chapter 4, and I'll just read 4, 1 through 11.
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  And when then Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
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  of the devil, and when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterward and hungered.
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  And when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the Son of God,
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  command that these stones be made bread.
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  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone,
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  but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
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  He quoted scripture back to the devil.
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  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city and setteth him on a pinnacle
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  of the temple and saith unto him, If thou be the son of God, cast thyself down.
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  For it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee,
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  and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time.
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  What's important there in 6, I'm sorry, is that the devil actually quoted Scripture.
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  To him and totally misconstrued it.
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  He quoted it to him and he's using it incorrectly.
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  That's just what I was going to say. And Jesus was not going to have it.
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  And you know, we see that in the world today. day.
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  People just, they just try to make it say whatever they want it to say.
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  Just because you say it says that, does not mean that's what it says.
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  He has said it. It doesn't need any, you know, modification.
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  It doesn't need watered down. It doesn't need twisted.
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  It doesn't need find the best, you know, version to get yourself the alliteration
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  you're trying to achieve.
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  It is the word of God when it speaks, it speaks boldly and it speaks with the authority of God.
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  And we need to remember that. And when it says it, it says it.
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  And what he says, he means.
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  Absolutely. If we pick up in verse eight, again, the devil taketh him up into
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  an exceeding high mountain and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world and
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  the glory of them and saith unto him,
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  all these things will I give thee that will fall down and worship me.
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  Then saith Jesus unto him.
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  Angels came and ministered unto him. I love, again, that Jesus is throwing back
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  offensively the Word of God to him.
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  And it's interesting, I had a conversation about this passage a week ago, and talked
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  about how we have so many people that are wearing t-shirts that say,
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  not today, Satan, right?
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  And we, you know, we write it, but do we really use that phrase offensively, right?
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  We have the authority to say, Satan, get out of here.
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  Before he starts. Before he starts. And we might put that shirt on and things like that.
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  We might post it on a Facebook post, but do we really take on the authority
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  to say, you know, Satan, you are not welcome here.
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  You have no place here where I am. you have no place in my heart,
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  my mind, my body, you know, and then tell him the scripture that proves that.
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  We have the ability to do that. And so often we don't do that.
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  And, you know, if we could quote scripture or knew the Bible just well enough
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  to understand where to go, think about this in the terms of what you're just
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  saying about, you know, not today, Satan.
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  Well, if you could come at him with 2 Peter 2, 3, which says grace and peace
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  be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God.
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  Where do we learn about God? In the Bible.
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  Absolutely. And what we see revealed in the Bible about who God is,
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  is what increases our faith.
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  It's what allows us to know of his almighty power.
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  It allows us to know of his amazing grace.
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  These are the things, it's the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
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  according to his divine power, hath given us unto all things that pertain unto life.
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  And then he adds godliness. Absolutely. You know, I think that a trick of the
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  devil is to let us know that if we don't know lots of scriptures to throw back
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  at him, we don't have a weapon, right?
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  I mean, we know, we do know a lot of scripture. We are blessed.
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  We have been saved a long time. We have studied a long time,
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  but that doesn't mean that someone who knows John 3.16 and nothing else doesn't
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  have the sword of the Spirit, right?
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  In any situation, you can throw that one at the devil.
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  And every day, they should be striving to know him more.
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  Because it's our offensive, it's the key to our relationship with Jesus himself
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  because it's how we know Jesus, but it's also...
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  The thing that we take into the world with us, right? We dress ourselves in the armor.
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  Amen. But it is the sword that I'm taking, you know, and that's going out in
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  front of me into the world.
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  And as such, since he says it's the sword of the spirit that it divides, that is the thing.
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  We should be dividing truth from false, light from darkness.
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  We have this weapon in front of us. You go back to 2 Peter 2,
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  verse 3, and he says that he gives us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.
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  He says, through the knowledge of him that has called us into glory and virtue.
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  He's called us to glory and virtue because he empowers us to be a conqueror.
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  And the world didn't give it to us, so the world can't take it away. way.
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  When we lose a battle to the devil, and I get that the devil walks about like
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  a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour in 1 Peter 5.8,
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  but when we lose to him, we have thrown in the white flag because you told us earlier in 1 John 4.4,
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  greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.
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  He has told us in Psalms 119.11, thy word have I hid in my heart that I might
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  not sin against thee. It's the word of God that keeps us and helps us.
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  It's what allows us to know in whom we believe and what we believe.
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  Absolutely. Amen. There's nothing that we could use as we go into the world,
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  as we go into the world every day, that is more powerful than the sword of the Spirit.
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  There's nothing that we could do in a given day that would give us more benefit
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  than spending time in God's Word.
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  You know, 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 13 says this, There hath no temptation
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  taken you, but such as is common to man.
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  But God is faithful. Let's say that. But God is faithful.
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  Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able.
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  But will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it.
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  But he was in the wilderness, and he escaped with his word.
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  And he's given us the greatest love letter from Genesis to Revelations as a tool.
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  And just like anything else is, I mean, when I was a kid, I couldn't chop potatoes to save my life.
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  You know, 50-some years later, I'm really good at it.
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  You know, because I've honed that skill, because I love mashed potatoes.
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  Is, but I've honed that skill. I've done it over and over.
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  I saw a value, so I worked at it.
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  You know, we need to see a value in being able to effectively and efficiently
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  wield the sword of the Spirit.
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  And there is no better value. We just read that it's what's going to help us through temptation.
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  The promise is that if we believe all things are possible, the understanding
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  that he tells us in James 4, 8, if we draw an eye to God, he'll draw an eye
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  unto us. But then he says, cleanse your hands.
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  Sinners and purify your hearts, you double-minded. We need to be holy as he is holy.
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  In all manner of conversation, we're told in 1 Peter 1, 15 through 17,
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  because he's holy and he loves us.
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  He wants to have a relationship with us and he wants us to be victorious.
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  So he sets us up that way. He gives us all we need.
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  The Holy Spirit in us, the word of God going before us and through us and in
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  us and nothing can stand against it.
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  We are totally prepared to take down the devil and whatever circumstance and
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  situation that he might bring into our lives.
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  And one just added cherry on the top.
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  When you read the word of God, not only do you.
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  Get the understanding of how to take the devil down, because you're not,
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  you're just yielding to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to do that who's in
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  you, well, you learn of the promises.
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  And you learn what heaven's like.
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  Too wonderful to miss. Too wonderful to miss. The gates are pearl,
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  the streets are gold, the walls are jasper.
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  And that's just part of the many sights unseen.
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  We go there because He has built a much better place for us.
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  And knowing his word allows us to know that.
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  And the more you know him, the more you love him and the more you want to know him.
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  And at the same token, you are just honing your skills. The devil's no match
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  for the Jesus in you. Amen. Amen.
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  Well, thank you so much for joining us today. This has been a really fun conversation
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  because it is just fun to talk about Jesus.
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  We pray that you are blessed by today's conversation and that you come back
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  and join us again at your next available opportunity.
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  Remember that you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  Music.
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  Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
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  quotes from today's podcast and scripture references.
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  Music.