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When Does Spiritual Warfare Begin? · Arise Women of God

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  Hey, my friend, have you ever wondered, when did spiritual warfare actually begin?
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  And why does it feel like there has been an invisible target on your back since childhood?
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  This is such an isolating situation because you want to know why this battle is so personal.
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  Well, my friends, stay tuned because by the end of today's episode, you will know where this ancient conflict originated, why the adversary targets Christian women, and how our savior Jesus Christ equips you to step out of hiding and
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  crush the enemy's lies.
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  Let's dive in.
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  Ordinary women, extraordinary faith.
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  When God calls, we say yes.
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  Hello, and welcome back to the Arise Women of God podcast.
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  I'm your host, Tamara K.
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  Anderson, and joining me today is my wonderful friend, Kari Anjewierden.
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  Kari is an author, speaker, speaker, and mother of six who understands how linking arms with Christ brings us home.
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  Here's what we're going to talk about in today's episode.
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  First, we'll talk about the cosmic origin and peek at Revelations 12 and the war in heaven.
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  Second, we'll turn to the garden of Eden, the shame, instinct, and the significance of how God seeks us out and clothes us in coats of skins.
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  Third, we'll talk about stepping out of the hiding place.
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  And here Kari shares why we retreat like our first parents and how to change that number.
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  4.
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  We'll then talk about the ancient target on women, where we'll discuss Genesis 3:15, the story of Jael crushing Sisera, and my personal story of overcoming childhood bullying to reclaim my voice.
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  But let's begin back at the very beginning, the cosmic origins of this battle of good versus evil.
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  When you are having a terrible day, when you've lost your temper, the house is in chaos and your thoughts are spiraling, the adversary often whispers, look at you.
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  You started this mess.
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  You are the problem, Sister.
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  I want you to hear me clearly.
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  Spiritual warfare did not start in your living room, and it did not start with your mistakes.
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  Let's look at Revelation 12, verses 7 through 9.
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  And there was a war in heaven.
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  Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels and prevailed not.
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  Neither was their place found anymore in heaven.
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  And the great dragon was cast, old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.
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  He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
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  The resistance you feel today is part of an ongoing cosmic conflict that was already underway long before you took your very first breath on earth.
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  And consider this.
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  Perhaps you, my dear sister warrior, were one of Michael's angels, standing valiantly on the Front lines of heaven, casting the adversary out.
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  God has reserved you to come forth to this earth in this specific hour and in day of intense spiritual challenge before the Savior returns.
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  Because he knew you were faithful then, and he knows you can be faithful now.
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  That doesn't mean that you will never stumble.
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  It means that, as Paul writes in Ephesians 6, 10, you are called to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
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  Your strength comes from being yoked to our Lord Jesus Christ.
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  Now, when did warfare begin on Earth?
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  It began in Eden, targeting the very first man and woman.
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  In Genesis 3, the serpent didn't show up with weapons.
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  He arrived with subtle deception, questioning God's character.
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  Yea, hath God said, ye shall eat of every tree of the garden when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit.
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  The very first tactic of the adversary was to make humanity equate imperfection with abandonment.
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  Panicked and exposed, they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
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  And the moment they heard the voice of the Lord walking in the cool of the day, they ran and hid amongst the trees that run and hide.
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  Instinct is the oldest adversarial trap on earth.
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  When you fail as a mother, the enemy screams, hide.
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  You ruined everything.
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  God is disgusted with you.
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  But notice God's response in Genesis 3.
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  9.
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  God didn't throw a lightning bolt into the bushes.
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  He walked into the garden and called out with a father's heart, where art thou?
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  God knew where they were.
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  He was inviting them out of hiding.
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  And in verse 21, he made coats of skins to clothe them, requiring the very first shedding of sacrificial blood, pointing forward to the redeeming atonement of Jesus Christ.
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  God doesn't pursue you to shame you.
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  He steps into your hiding place to cover you with his grace.
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  Let's listen to Carrie share how this same urge to hide hits us today when the battle gets intense.
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  That in these moments, when the warfare gets so intense, when the battle is so intense and we are so weary, worn and exhausted, we tend to be a little bit like our first parents who want to hide.
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  And that is when we need him the most.
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  And the world that we live in, our own thoughts and experiences.
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  All of those things, trauma or fears or shame or just physical, mental load, all of those things make us want to retreat.
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  They want us.
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  They make us want to go internal.
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  And I think part of having the armor of light allows us to not go internal, but instead external.
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  Where can I serve somebody else who can I love?
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  Am I really being all God needs me to be.
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  Am I using these extra experiences that I'm having, the things that I'm learning, the trials that I have, Am I using them to bless other people too?
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  Or am I just holding on to them and making myself bitter because they were so hard?
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  Right?
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  And I think if we can turn those things outward, then that armor also can armor other people.
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  And I think that is part of why we're here, is that God needs us to share our armor with each other.
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  We need each other and part of that armor is that winking arm and arm and supporting one another and walking each other home.
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  But to do that, we have to be grounded ourselves.
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  Carrie is so right.
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  When we stop hiding in self pity and turn our armor outward, the Enemy loses His Grip have you ever wondered why the enemy targets women and mothers so fiercely?
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  Let's look at the divine decree in Genesis 3:15 and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed.
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  It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.
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  God established the primary battle line right between the serpent and the woman and her seed.
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  Satan targets Christian women because God ordained that through the seed of the woman, our Savior Jesus Christ, we would crush the serpent's head forever.
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  When you raise faithful children, build a sanctuary of light in your home, and stand in your faith, you are actively participating in crushing the enemy's head.
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  Look at Jael in Judges 4 and 5.
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  Sisera, the brutal Canaanite general who had terrorized Israel for 20 years with 900 iron chariots, fled to Jael's tent after a battle.
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  Jael brought him in, covered him with a blanket, and gave him milk when he fell into an exhausted sleep.
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  Jael didn't need a sword or armor.
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  She picked up an everyday household tool, a wooden tent peg and a hammer, and went softly to him and then drove the peg straight through his temple.
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  Deborah, the prophetess, sang that Jael was blessed above women.
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  Jael is a literal Picture of Genesis 3:15 A woman crushing the head of the oppressor using ordinary tools in a domestic space.
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  God uses ordinary mothers like you and me, holding the simple tools of prayer, scripture, and unwavering faith to strike devastating blows against darkness.
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  Because the enemy knows this, he tries to target us early in life.
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  For example, when I was a young girl, right before my teenage years, I became the target of relentless bullying.
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  Before that, I had been vibrant, happy, and outgoing.
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  But the cruelty broke something in me.
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  I retreated to the back of the classroom, wishing I was invisible.
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  The enemy planted a devastating lie in My young mind, what you have to say doesn't matter.
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  You don't matter.
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  That attack started long before I had the spiritual discernment to recognize it as warfare.
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  The adversary wanted to silence my voice before I could ever use it for God.
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  It took years of prayer, working through some therapy and connecting deeply with Heavenly Father to peel away those lies.
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  God showed me that my voice does matter, that he called me to be a voice pointing others to Him.
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  Sister, your voice matters in this war too.
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  Do not let the enemy's early lies keep you sitting in the back of the classroom.
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  When you know when the battle began, you stop feeling disqualified by your imperfections.
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  You step out of the bushes, put down your fig leaves and pick up the armor of God.
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  If you want a step by step framework to help you stop the enemy shame loops, identify early vulnerabilities and fortify your home with divine power.
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  We at Women warriors of Light want to put our complete digital guide into your hands for free.
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  Down in the show notes below.
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  Click the link to download your free copy of a mother's spiritual defense guide 6 Empowering Steps to Fortify Home and Family.
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  Once you get it, turn straight to the Is it mine?
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  It's a three step mental hack to help you discern between physical fatigue and adversarial shame that whispers and and spirals you into hiding.
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  You'll also find this home sanctuary audit where you'll find practical steps to eliminate doors where Satan might be sneaking into your home.
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  You'll also find the Cast out the Adversary word for word prayer script to help you cast out the spirit of fear and speak Christ's light and peace back into your household.
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  Download your free copy today on our website and step out of the shadows.
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  Oh my dear sister, come out of hiding.
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  The Lord is not standing over you with condemnation.
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  He is standing before you with open arms.
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  You were chosen for this hour.
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  You are clothed in the grace of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and through his power you have the strength to stand firm and win.
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  Thank you for joining us today and until next time.
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  May you arise and do it God's way.
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  God Strong.
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  If today's episode helped you feel a little closer to God, please like and subscribe.