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Spiritual Warfare · The Father's Business Podcast

0:04
SPEAKER_01: The Father's Business was founded by Sylvia Gunter to encourage people to a deeper relationship with God.
0:10
SPEAKER_01: I'm Elizabeth Gunter Powell.
0:12
SPEAKER_02: And I am Kimberly Roddy.
0:14
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the Father's Business Podcast.
0:16
SPEAKER_02: We are so glad that you've joined us.
0:20
SPEAKER_01: When people ask me what's it like growing up with Sylvia Gunnar, it's awesome.
0:24
SPEAKER_01: It's an adventure.
0:25
SPEAKER_01: You never know what we're going to get into.
0:28
SPEAKER_01: It's never going to be normal.
0:30
SPEAKER_01: And I don't want to be normal.
0:32
SPEAKER_01: And we have done a lot of things together and have partnered together in ministry, and it's been incredible.
0:38
SPEAKER_01: But as I was reflecting about talking with you today, the thing that I think would be good for anyone who's in ministry or just about kingdom business, because we're all doing it.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: Yes, it is real.
0:59
SPEAKER_01: And every time you would get ready to go speak, or you were writing a book, or whatever, the enemy knows just coming at you doesn't really do much because you can take it.
1:12
SPEAKER_01: But where he'd come after is the people that are close to you.
1:16
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
1:17
SPEAKER_01: And so I remember as I got older as a teenager, um, there were times I would be frustrated at your ministry because it meant my life was gonna blow up.
1:29
SPEAKER_01: Oh.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: And I and I knew you were doing kingdom business or whatever, but I was like, why does every flipping time she goes to go do ministry somewhere, does my car have to break down or something's gotta happen to David or Charlie, or you and Dad get in a fight?
1:46
SPEAKER_01: But the enemy, he's he's not that creative, and he always comes back with the same thing.
1:51
SPEAKER_01: And so you get to a maturity where you realize, okay, stop, wait a minute.
1:57
SPEAKER_01: This isn't just normal, there's more going on here.
2:01
SPEAKER_01: And he doesn't fight fair, and he does not fight fair, he goes for the jugular.
2:06
SPEAKER_01: Um, and so I got to a point of maturity where I could say, well, wow, this is just gonna be a really great conference.
2:13
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
2:17
SPEAKER_01: Um, but now, even as I'm speaking and writing, I see even this podcast, like every time Kimberly and I have tried to get together record either her life or my life blows up.
2:27
SPEAKER_01: Yes, and and it gets you to a point where you just want to say, you know what, it's not worth it.
2:36
SPEAKER_01: And maybe I'll just not do as much, and therefore the battles will go.
2:41
SPEAKER_01: And that's what he that's what the enemy wants.
2:43
SPEAKER_01: And so um that to me is uh something that I don't think we understand how often spiritual warfare is going on in our life, right?
2:55
SPEAKER_01: But we also don't want to swing to the other extreme where we think everything is spiritual warfare.
3:00
SPEAKER_01: Yes, sometimes an argument with your husband is just because you're both sinful little people that tired, hungry, tired, hungry, whatever, and get in a fight.
3:09
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it's a small miscommunication that blows up into something much greater than it should be.
3:16
SPEAKER_01: And I believe the enemy is involved in that.
3:19
SPEAKER_01: So talk to us a little bit.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: I know you have a great story that you love to tell, and it's turned into some shorthand that we used to with each other.
3:28
SPEAKER_01: But how do you try to understand that not everything is spiritual warfare, but also not everything is just in the natural, that we're living somewhere in the in-between?
3:37
SPEAKER_00: I have a friend who sent me an email and it said, the devil himself is after me.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: Uh, there's a squirrel gnawing on the wires in my attic.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: My response was, Well, sometimes it's the devil and sometimes it's just a squirrel gnawing to the glory of God, because that's what he was designed to do.
3:59
SPEAKER_01: Why I love that squirrel story so much is because it is that perfect balance between squirrels were created by God to gnaw.
4:07
SPEAKER_01: And so by him choosing your wires, he was just doing what God created him to do.
4:13
SPEAKER_01: Um, and sometimes we can give the enemy too much credit for things going on in our world.
4:18
SPEAKER_01: But at the same time, where we actually use that and where the shorthand has come between the two of us is when we're in the midst of a battle, one of us will say to the other, This is not a squirrel.
4:30
SPEAKER_01: And immediately we get it.
4:31
SPEAKER_01: And what that means is snap to attention, understand you're under attack, take your position in who God is and allow him to fight this battle for you.
4:42
SPEAKER_01: And it's it's something we've shared at Ruach before.
4:45
SPEAKER_01: And so there's times when I have emailed some of our friends from Ruach and said, hey guys, I just need y'all to pray.
4:50
SPEAKER_01: Here's what's going on with us.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: And more times than not, someone comes back and says, This is not a squirrel.
4:57
SPEAKER_01: And it's just that comfort and encouragement that you needed to know you're not crazy.
5:03
SPEAKER_01: And um I'm in this battle with you.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: And so sometimes it's spiritual warfare, and sometimes it's a squirrel.
5:11
SPEAKER_02: Elizabeth and I have been preparing for this podcast, and every time we turn around, something's going on.
5:17
SPEAKER_02: And yes.
5:19
SPEAKER_02: And we are about kingdom business right now, and we feel like there's been a lot of spiritual warfare.
5:24
SPEAKER_02: Help me understand spiritual warfare a little bit more.
5:28
SPEAKER_00: Well, there definitely are two kingdoms.
5:30
SPEAKER_00: There's the kingdom of light, and there's uh the kingdom of darkness, and they are at war, no doubt about that.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we're taught in the middle.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: And we need to recognize that and know that we have a mighty warrior on our side who fights our battles for us.
5:59
SPEAKER_01: To which some people would say, if we have a mighty warrior on our side who fights our battles for us, then why are we going through spiritual warfare?
6:06
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's a very good question.
6:09
SPEAKER_00: Well, Jesus told us in this world you'll have tribulation.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: And he just told us, he told us to expect it.
6:18
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
6:18
SPEAKER_01: What benefit is it to you to have spiritual warfare in your life?
6:23
SPEAKER_02: Oh, makes me draw closer to God.
6:26
SPEAKER_02: Spiritual warfare makes you draw closer to God?
6:28
SPEAKER_00: Yes, spiritual warfare makes me draw closer to God for comfort, for consolation, but for absolute assurance that he's got this because he is the mighty warrior.
6:43
SPEAKER_02: Can you talk to me about um Psalm 91?
6:48
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's just absolutely a key.
6:51
SPEAKER_01: Hey Kimbley, why don't you take a minute and read Psalm 91 for us, since not everyone may be familiar with that psalm.
6:59
SPEAKER_02: Psalm 91, he who dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
7:05
SPEAKER_02: I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and fortress, my God in whom I trust.
7:11
SPEAKER_02: Surely he will save you from the fouler snare and from the deadly pestilence.
7:16
SPEAKER_02: He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.
7:19
SPEAKER_02: His faithfulness will be your shield and your rampart.
7:22
SPEAKER_02: You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7:30
SPEAKER_02: A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
7:36
SPEAKER_02: You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
7:41
SPEAKER_02: If you make the most high your dwelling, even the Lord who is your refuge, then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent, for he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
7:53
SPEAKER_02: They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
7:57
SPEAKER_02: You will tread upon the lion and the cobra, you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
8:02
SPEAKER_02: Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him, I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
8:08
SPEAKER_02: He will call upon me and I will answer him.
8:10
SPEAKER_02: I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
8:14
SPEAKER_02: With long life, I will surely satisfy and show him my salvation.
8:20
SPEAKER_02: Why is Psalm 91 such a powerful prayer?
8:24
SPEAKER_00: It is a promise of the personal presence of God and a reminder that he's on our side and that he's all victorious.
8:35
SPEAKER_00: And that is a promise you can take to the bank.
8:39
SPEAKER_02: Sylvia, you have written a lot about spiritual warfare in prayer portions for the family and in prayer essentials for living in his presence, volume one.
8:48
SPEAKER_02: What are some of the main themes of those works?
8:54
SPEAKER_00: Well, first of all, there is a battle going on.
8:57
SPEAKER_00: We are in a war, and we need to be aware and wise about that.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: We are living in the midst of a war between darkness and light, and that's very serious.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: 2 Corinthians 10 says we live in the world, but we do not wage war as the world does.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world, and on the contrary, we have divine power to demolish strongholds.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: We demolished arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
9:35
SPEAKER_00: And I think that phrase is probably the most important for me.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: We take captive every thought.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: In 1 Peter 5, 8 and 9, uh Peter says, be alert in a sober mind.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
9:57
SPEAKER_00: That's pretty dramatic.
9:59
SPEAKER_00: And it's the truth.
10:01
SPEAKER_00: Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10:13
SPEAKER_00: Uh, Paul said in Ephesians, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
10:20
SPEAKER_00: Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and if you have done everything to stand.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: Notice in this, we're not told to attack anything.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: We take our position and stand.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: And in fact, he says, stand firm then.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: And having done all to stand, so uh Paul made it very clear we are to stand, but we can get ourselves in trouble by approaching it the wrong way.
11:16
SPEAKER_00: In scripture, Jesus casts things out, and we have the same authority, but most of the time in scripture, the pattern is that we are to take our position and stand.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: We're not told to attack anything.
11:36
SPEAKER_01: We're definitely in a battle, and there's definitely light and dark, and we have a role to play, but what are some of the ways you can get yourself in a bit of trouble if you approach it the wrong way?
11:50
SPEAKER_00: Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is you overstep your bounds.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: God set up an order and hierarchy to everything He's made.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: The best analogy I know for it is that it's a court case, just like a court case.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: God is the judge, and in Isaiah 33, 22 it says, The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, he is our king, and he will save us.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: Psalm 75, 7 says it's God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: So God is our judge, and Satan is our accuser.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: Revelation 12 says he accuses us day and night before our God.
12:35
SPEAKER_00: Jesus and the Holy Spirit are our advocate.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: John, first John 2, 1 says Jesus is the righteous advocate with the Father.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our advocate in John 14 and 15.
12:50
SPEAKER_01: So there's definitely an order here where there is this battle between light and dark, and praise the Lord, we have both Jesus and the Holy Spirit on our side, right?
12:59
SPEAKER_01: We do.
13:00
SPEAKER_01: That's the good the good news.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: And when we start to pray beyond what is our position to pray, what can happen?
13:11
SPEAKER_00: Well, we open ourselves up to attack, just like even in a physical army today.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: If your soldier is out of position, then he opens him upself up to be actually getting killed by the enemy.
13:30
SPEAKER_01: So maybe that is why so many times in scripture we're told our job is to stand.
13:35
SPEAKER_01: That's exactly not necessarily to charge.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: Stand, stand fast.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: Yes, that is correct.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: And having done all to stand, he didn't say go out there and see how many cages of the enemy you can rattle.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: We can invite more harm, but the harder it is for me in Jude, it speaks about people who blaspheme and heap abuse on the celestial beings.
14:04
SPEAKER_00: And then it said, even the Archangel Michael did not himself dare to condemn the devil for slander.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: He said, The Lord rebuke you.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: So this has become my bottom line in spiritual warfare prayer.
14:21
SPEAKER_00: Whatever is not of God that's coming against me, the Lord rebuke you.
14:27
SPEAKER_00: And that takes care of it.
14:29
SPEAKER_01: It's a simple but very profound prayer because I know there have been seasons in life where you spent a lot of um time and energy trying to make sure you had named everything that might be coming against you.
14:43
SPEAKER_01: And there is a power in naming things and being aware of that.
14:47
SPEAKER_01: But I love the way you say anything that's not of God that pretty much covers everything.
14:53
SPEAKER_01: And you say, the Lord rebuke you.
14:55
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
14:57
SPEAKER_02: There's a piece of me that's like I hear this and I go, okay, for some people they're thinking it's not enough to just stand.
15:03
SPEAKER_02: I want to fight him.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: The important thing in standing is trusting that God is God and allowing him to fight the battle for us.
15:15
SPEAKER_00: And he will.
15:17
SPEAKER_00: And standing is not passive, it's very active.
15:22
SPEAKER_02: You say that standing is not passive, but it feels passive.
15:25
SPEAKER_02: How can you help me understand how it's not passive?
15:29
SPEAKER_00: The best image I could give you is trying to stand in a hurricane.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: We've seen the weather channel guys exerting all their energy just to stand in a in the same place, just to stand their ground right where they are.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: Because if they didn't, the wind would just blow them away.
15:55
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's very easy reading these passages that makes it sound like just stand.
16:00
SPEAKER_01: I think the tone of Paul was very much more of a military leader.
16:06
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
16:07
SPEAKER_01: Telling his men and women of God, I don't care what they're gonna shoot at you, you stand.
16:13
SPEAKER_01: Like you don't, you hold your ground.
16:15
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
16:16
SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, and I see how it can feel passive to say just stand, but there's a lot of strength required to withhold everything the enemy is throwing at us and stay secure in our position in Christ.
16:30
SPEAKER_00: It's noteworthy to me that the language used in scripture for spiritual warfare is military language.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: Put on the armor, stand.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: Um it's it's not for wimps.
16:48
SPEAKER_02: And Sylvia, you were just saying we stand firm as as in a military.
16:54
SPEAKER_02: So we're we're girded up, we have on armor because we're in Christ.
16:59
SPEAKER_02: So this goes back to knowing who God is and who we are in him, right?
17:05
SPEAKER_00: Yes, it does.
17:07
SPEAKER_00: We stand firm because we know who we are in Christ, we know who he is, we know what he can do, what he will do, and we are girded about uh by the Lord's power and his presence.
17:25
SPEAKER_01: And because of that, that is why we're just able to say very powerful words, the Lord rebuke you.
17:32
SPEAKER_01: Yes, because we understand the bigness of who that Lord is, and we are speaking so that in a way we are fighting because as an attack comes against us, I am saying I'm not going to receive what you're giving to me, and I am going to say the Lord rebuke you.
17:50
SPEAKER_01: But I think kind of where you're getting at, mom, I I know you're hard in this, is a lot of time has been spent, and you have spent it as well, kind of trying to chase after um specific spirits, specific demons, and uh a lot of energy is spent on that.
18:10
SPEAKER_01: And in some ways, I think the enemy's okay with that.
18:12
SPEAKER_00: Oh, he's excited about that because he has then distracted us from his power to do what needs to be done, and he's also distracted us from our focus being on who God is.
18:29
SPEAKER_02: So clearly, there's an order, like you said, to things, and we can overstep our bounds.
18:38
SPEAKER_02: How else can we get ourselves in trouble when we approach spiritual warfare the wrong way?
18:43
SPEAKER_00: Well, we can pray too small.
18:46
SPEAKER_00: Uh, in prayer portions on page 319, there is a study of the Hebrew, a Hebrew word paga, and paga means as far as like uh in um in another setting, it was the word when the children of Israel were taking their territory.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: The territory belonging to Ephraim went as far as the territory of Manasseh was went as far as, and it means to touch, to press the righteous boundaries of God.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: So, how do you use this word paga in prayer?
19:36
SPEAKER_00: It's as easy as stating I'm praying this not by my desires, but as far as my righteous boundaries in God.
19:49
SPEAKER_01: I think that's really important, especially when we're praying for loved ones, family members.
19:55
SPEAKER_01: Um, it's it's for us to pray as far as we're allowed.
20:00
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: Because we can often get into soulish prayer praying our desires for them.
20:08
SPEAKER_00: How we want them to change, how we want them to change what we want them to do.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: And uh that's very soulish.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: So, but you would pray how when all chaos is coming against me.
20:28
SPEAKER_00: I say to my prayer to God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, push it back as far as my delegated authority in you.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean do what I want it you to do.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about what it is your will.
20:48
SPEAKER_00: Jesus prayed a guy's prayer, not my will, but yours be done in the garden.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: So that's what that's the gist of it.
20:58
SPEAKER_01: So when that chaos comes, you're not praying.
21:02
SPEAKER_01: Uh, God, here's the situation, fix this.
21:05
SPEAKER_01: I need help with that, whatever.
21:06
SPEAKER_01: You know, this is a much bigger spiritual warfare prayer.
21:10
SPEAKER_01: Yes, because you were saying one of our problems is sometimes we pray too small when we're trying to pray on, I need this fixed, versus God, in your righteous authority, would you push back?
21:22
SPEAKER_01: He is much more creative and imaginative than I am.
21:25
SPEAKER_01: Um he knows what to do, he does know what to do, and so our place is to push back and choose to stand in the full paga, the full as far as authority that God has given us.
21:38
SPEAKER_01: So we can overstep our bounds by praying in ways we shouldn't.
21:43
SPEAKER_01: We can uh pray too small and not take up the full authority that God has given us.
21:49
SPEAKER_01: What's the what's another mistake we make in spiritual warfare?
21:51
SPEAKER_00: You don't show up for the fight.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: There are many needless harassments that we face and live with because we live in denial, but very is a War in the heat of the moment, it's sometimes hard to see for yourself that you're being attacked.
22:05
SPEAKER_02: So now that we've heard some of what not to do, what should we do?
22:12
SPEAKER_00: We need to focus on the victor, not the enemy.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: The enemy loves to keep us chasing rabbits.
22:21
SPEAKER_00: We must remember the battle is not ours, it's the Lord's.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: Two of our greatest weapons in spiritual warfare are praise and rest, as opposite as that sounds.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: But praise as a weapon reminds us, reminds that us that God is God, and it's an act of declaring who he is, and he is great.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: He is above all, and at his name, every knee will bow.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: Declaring his name causes every knee to bow.
22:58
SPEAKER_01: What does praise do for you in the midst of the battle internally?
23:02
SPEAKER_00: It takes my my eyes off the chaos, it takes my eyes off myself and my capabilities and puts it on God who has all power.
23:14
SPEAKER_01: You know, when you talk about praise being a weapon, I think um worship music and worship is a big part of that.
23:21
SPEAKER_01: I know um we have at times played the hallelujah chorus in our home on repeat as a way of just cleansing the atmosphere of anything that's not of God, because the words of the hallelujah chorus is Revelation four.
23:38
SPEAKER_01: And so it's scripture um and it is just declaring who God is, that He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He will reign forever.
23:49
SPEAKER_01: And um, there's a lot of power that comes um, not only for the feeling of the atmosphere of a room, but also internally, as if I find myself in distress or lacking peace, simply playing that chorus.
24:05
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes I just play it three or four times until I it feels like okay, everything's settled, but there's such a power in that.
24:12
SPEAKER_01: And I know there's also been times when I've been in distress, and I remember one time very clearly something really uh hurtful happened to me, and I snapped at God and I was like, and what do you want me to do about that?
24:26
SPEAKER_01: As only a loving daughter could do to her heavenly father.
24:30
SPEAKER_01: And I I sensed him say one word to me, and he said, sing, and I knew what that meant was.
24:38
SPEAKER_01: He wanted me to get the focus off myself and focus back on him and get myself back in a better place.
24:47
SPEAKER_01: And I remember I said, No, I don't want to sing right now.
24:52
SPEAKER_01: And he said, sing anyway, and so I did for the next hour.
24:57
SPEAKER_01: I made myself sing worship songs until I got out of the focus on poor, pitiful me, my life is so horrible, and back turned around to God, you are bigger, you are greater, you are better.
25:11
SPEAKER_01: And when those uh thoughts come towards us, because in some of the scriptures you read, it talked about taking every thought captive.
25:18
SPEAKER_01: And so much of spiritual warfare is a battle for the mind.
25:21
SPEAKER_01: Um, I think a lot of times we just the best thing we can do is just sing.
25:26
SPEAKER_01: So praise is definitely in those moments for me a stronger weapon than me trying to declare, and and even part of us standing, we were saying earlier that standing can be passive.
25:37
SPEAKER_01: Well, you can sing while you're standing, right?
25:40
SPEAKER_02: Yes, Elizabeth, where you're talking about music, I think of the doxology.
25:45
SPEAKER_02: That for me is is a huge, yeah, like it will run in my mind, and sometimes I have to remind myself to to verbally sing it out loud, but it's you know, praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise him, all creatures here below, praise him above, ye heavenly hosts, praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
26:04
SPEAKER_02: And that that is a weapon against the work of the enemy, because we are praising Almighty God.
26:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely, Kimberly, and and I just I think so many times I forget that praise is a weapon, and this is a really good reminder for me.
26:20
SPEAKER_01: Um, there was a time also um uh in my walk with God when I he I was just really struck by the verses that talk about praising him at the city gates.
26:32
SPEAKER_01: And so as I would be driving, every time you see one of those, welcome to this county, welcome to this city, welcome to the state, I would just stop and say something about who God is.
26:41
SPEAKER_01: And that was such a fun way to drive around the city instead of being mad at traffic all the time.
26:46
SPEAKER_01: And I think it's it's easy to get distracted and forget just the powerful weapons that we have in Him.
26:53
SPEAKER_01: So, mom, you we talked a lot about praise being a weapon, but you also talked about rest being a weapon.
26:58
SPEAKER_01: And as we read in Psalm 91, it says, Those who dwell in God's secret place shall be kept safe.
27:06
SPEAKER_01: So, how what is our what is what is rest as a weapon and what is our part?
27:11
SPEAKER_00: It's so easy when you're addled with external circumstances to lose sight of the rest of God.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: But rest is a weapon, I mean it is a weapon of warfare.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: Expand on that a little bit.
27:24
SPEAKER_01: What do you mean by rest being the weapon?
27:27
SPEAKER_00: Well, it keeps us from running off in all directions and doing stupid stuff.
27:32
SPEAKER_00: If you're in God's rest, the enemy can do nothing to you, he cannot touch you, he cannot touch you or if you're in the heart of God's rest.
27:43
SPEAKER_00: You will be totally unassailable, you'll be totally safe if you're in God's rest.
27:49
SPEAKER_00: How do we get there?
27:50
SPEAKER_00: Our part is being still and knowing Him.
27:53
SPEAKER_00: Be still and know that I am God.
27:56
SPEAKER_00: I I say it's easy, but by trust, by just giving ourselves over to God.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: So rest is a choice.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: Rest is always a choice.
28:07
SPEAKER_00: You can choose stewing and fretting and worry, or or you can choose uh rest.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: It's an inner decision that my job is to stay in Christ, in God, in the Holy Spirit, right there, surrounded with all three of them, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
28:30
SPEAKER_01: So why is it hard?
28:31
SPEAKER_01: I mean, yes, that sounds awesome.
28:34
SPEAKER_01: I would love to spend my day wrapped up in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
28:38
SPEAKER_01: And yet I find myself scattered and hurried and scurried, uh, kind of like a Waffle House, but different.
28:46
SPEAKER_01: I find myself scattered and hurried and stressed and uncertain.
28:52
SPEAKER_01: And so why is it hard to rest?
28:56
SPEAKER_00: Everything in you thinks that you can do it better, that you have to do it.
29:02
SPEAKER_00: Just everything in you will fight against God's rest.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: I think resting goes against everything we have in the modern world.
29:12
SPEAKER_00: It's just we are taught to hurry, scurry, harry.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: Nothing is about peace.
29:19
SPEAKER_00: We have to fight the current of the modern world to do that.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: And what do we have to fight on the inside?
29:27
SPEAKER_00: Our own lack of trust.
29:29
SPEAKER_00: God's got this.
29:30
SPEAKER_00: Oh, if I could just get in my mind and my heart and my spirit, God's got this.
29:38
SPEAKER_00: It I I would just love to be that settled in him always, but it's a fight.
29:45
SPEAKER_02: I just heard another author talking about how we can live unhurried.
29:52
SPEAKER_02: And you were just talking about the the modern world and our fight to we want to impress others, we want to we're busy, we're hurried.
30:01
SPEAKER_02: And he said rest is an exercise and and kind of putting down our importance.
30:10
SPEAKER_02: And and that goes directly to what you're saying of recognizing that we matter in the eyes of God, but that ultimately he has to fight the battle.
30:21
SPEAKER_02: We're called to stand firm.
30:24
SPEAKER_01: I hear all of that.
30:25
SPEAKER_01: I want all of that.
30:27
SPEAKER_01: But I'm thinking about how many phone calls I've already received this morning about things that are really important, and um, how many different people are looking to me to either get them to a doctor's appointment or do this thing at work or someone's got to do laundry, or we run out of underwear at home.
30:47
SPEAKER_01: Like there's there's things that have to get done that feel like a constant beating drum.
30:55
SPEAKER_01: You've lived that you raised three kids and had a ministry and lots of things going on at one time.
31:02
SPEAKER_01: How do we do it in the midst of the phone calls and the emails that we can't just always ignore?
31:09
SPEAKER_01: How do you on the inside?
31:11
SPEAKER_01: What do we need to be doing?
31:12
SPEAKER_00: Well, mostly it is our souls that are squawking and our spirits need to stand up and say, rest.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: God's got this.
31:24
SPEAKER_00: The struggle in this stat society is to stay in rest.
31:30
SPEAKER_00: We want we it we live in a microwave age where everything is now or yesterday, and uh it harries us, it harries our our inner peace.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: So how do we stay in rest?
31:45
SPEAKER_00: Staying in rest is a choice to see everything that's going on around you and choose peace.
31:54
SPEAKER_02: Just choose uh quiet in your spirit.
31:58
SPEAKER_02: That has to be a spiritual discipline, has to be a choice.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: Oh, what a good word.
32:03
SPEAKER_00: A spiritual discipline, yes.
32:05
SPEAKER_01: What does rest do?
32:06
SPEAKER_01: I hear what it's saying, it does for us.
32:08
SPEAKER_01: It calms us, it centers us, it keeps us from being thrown around by the chaotic.
32:13
SPEAKER_01: What does rest do to the enemy?
32:16
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's a defeat for him because that's not what he wants for us.
32:21
SPEAKER_00: He wants us to be in turmoil and chaos and uncertainty.
32:26
SPEAKER_02: And do you think that resting throws off the enemy because he expects us to act out of our soul and out of our hurried, busy life and fight against him and recognize of course, of course.
32:40
SPEAKER_02: Because we don't have the power, right?
32:42
SPEAKER_02: So if we fight him back, is it as powerful as if I strive to fight back the enemy?
32:48
SPEAKER_02: Is that as powerful as my resting?
32:50
SPEAKER_00: I don't think so.
32:52
SPEAKER_00: Resting is a much more powerful weapon than trying to strive against the enemy, because when you rest, you are exercising complete trust in God.
33:05
SPEAKER_00: It's it's uh a whole new infusion of faith in God's power in the situation.
33:12
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we don't rest because we don't understand who God is and who we are in Him, how much He loves us.
33:20
SPEAKER_00: It really comes down to that.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: We don't trust God's love.
33:26
SPEAKER_00: Yes, and that's why I have spent uh multiple, multiple resources and a lot of time writing books about who he is and who we are in him.
33:38
SPEAKER_00: Your prayers are a lot shorter than they used to be.
33:40
SPEAKER_00: They are, yes, because God knows it all anyway, but he does want to hear from us, he does want us to state our faith in him and trust in him and love for him.
33:55
SPEAKER_00: But my prayers are definitely a lot shorter than they used to be.
33:58
SPEAKER_02: We have felt a lot of spiritual warfare preparing for this podcast.
34:04
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I think there's something authentic and real about what you're doing, not a lot of hype to it.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: There's not a lot to it.
34:15
SPEAKER_00: I see you you need to not get no, that's good.
34:20
SPEAKER_01: That's good.
34:20
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I just think about how little we are engaging social media and no marketing whatsoever.
34:27
SPEAKER_01: So, yes, there is no hype whatsoever about this podcast.
34:31
SPEAKER_01: Well, funny story.
34:33
SPEAKER_01: Um, as we're recording that podcast on spiritual warfare, and mom's telling her story about sometimes it's a squirrel, um, I start hearing this sound in my ceiling.
34:46
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, oh Lord, the squirrels have shown up for the podcast.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: So uh a few days later, Kimberly is dealing with spiritual warfare as her computer can continues to crash as she's trying to edit it.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: And I'm sending her pictures of the squirrel they pulled out of my attic.
35:03
SPEAKER_01: So sometimes it's spiritual warfare and sometimes it's just a squirrel.
35:07
SPEAKER_01: So uh I'm gonna post a picture of this lovely guy that was trying to make his home in my attic uh on our Instagram and Facebook page so y'all can get a visual for that reminder that sometimes it's just a squirrel.
35:19
SPEAKER_01: So um it was a great conversation with mom about spiritual warfare.
35:23
SPEAKER_01: There is a lot we didn't cover, and uh spiritual warfare is a big and very serious topic.
35:30
SPEAKER_01: Um, and there is more about spiritual warfare in her books, Prayer Portions uh for the family and living in this presence, volume one.
35:38
SPEAKER_01: But also beyond that, we know there's different levels of warfare that go on in in everyone's lives.
35:44
SPEAKER_01: What we hope today was just a good reminder for you of how things are in the day-to-day life of a believer.
35:52
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, Elizabeth, that is so true.
35:55
SPEAKER_02: The spiritual warfare stuff is real and is serious, and um, and we know, like you said, there's so much we haven't covered.
36:01
SPEAKER_02: So we would love to hear from everyone who's listening.
36:05
SPEAKER_02: We want to, we want to engage with you, we want to hear your questions, we want to hear your feedback, we want to hear your thoughts.
36:10
SPEAKER_02: Um, we want to talk about so much more, and we want to hear from you as we do that.
36:16
SPEAKER_02: So, Elizabeth, where can our listeners go to send us their feedback, their questions, their comments, uh, those types of things?
36:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I know there's some platforms on of this podcast that you can leave a comment.
36:30
SPEAKER_01: So if you can do that on your your app, that's great.
36:33
SPEAKER_01: But you can also uh send us an email to info at thefathersbusiness.com, or you can go to our website, which is thefathersbusiness.com, and we have a contact page there where you can send us any comments you have about the podcast, any feedback you want to give us, any questions or topics that you would want us to discuss going forward, because we really want to be here to be a part of encouraging the body of Christ in whatever area that you want to hear about.
37:00
SPEAKER_02: We will be praying that you do not have crashing computers and squirrels in your attic this week.
37:05
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
37:06
SPEAKER_00: Have a good one.
37:07
SPEAKER_00: Bye.
37:08
SPEAKER_00: I want to thank you for listening to the Father's Business Podcast.
37:14
SPEAKER_01: Check us out at thefathersbusiness.com or follow us at the Father's Biz on Instagram and Facebook.