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Recognizing Spiritual Battles: Spiritual Warfare for Christian Living · Fostering Faith

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  Welcome back to Fostering Faith. I'm going to
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  be your host Tracie and we are in the second week
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  of April and we are continuing with our warfare
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  month. And so in this episode, we are recognizing
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  spiritual. Battles and in the last episode we
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  put on our armor of God and so we had our salvation
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  We had our breastplate. We had our truth. We
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  had our peace. We had our shield We had our sword
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  we are ready for battle now We need to realize
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  what spiritual battles look like and if you are
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  new to fostering faith We welcome you and as
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  we are fostering our faith together. We are just
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  walking in this journey as community because
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  we are better together. And if you are a return
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  listener, thank you so much for coming back home
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  and we hope this message inspires you. And so
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  most believers know that the armor of God exists,
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  but very few know how to recognize when it's
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  actually in spiritual battle. And if the enemy
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  can keep you unaware, he can keep you ineffective.
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  He doesn't need to destroy you. He doesn't need
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  to keep you distracted. He doesn't need to ruin
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  your life. He just needs to convince you that
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  everything is natural. when it's actually spiritual.
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  He doesn't need to attack you loudly. He works
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  subtly, quietly, and strategically, hoping you
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  never realize, hey, this isn't normal. This is
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  spiritual. This is war. And so, in today's episode
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  about spiritual discernment, the ability to recognize
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  when something is actually warfare and not just
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  a bad day or my emotions, that's a coincidence.
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  or life being life because once you can recognize
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  the battle you can respond to it with authority
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  that God gave you and this is important the enemy
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  works the hardest against what God is building
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  in you he intensifies warfare in the exact place
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  your calling is growing he pushes where you are
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  anointed he presses whenever you are gifted he
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  attacks whenever you're most powerful if you
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  can't stop the Salvation? He's trying to stop
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  your influence. If he can't steal your destiny,
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  he'll try to steal your peace. If he can't silence
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  your calling, he'll try to silence your mind.
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  If he can't break your faith, he'll try to break
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  your focus. But today, we're going to expose
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  him. And the first truth is, you're not crazy.
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  You're just under attack. So many believers feel
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  guilty, confused, or embarrassed about spiritual
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  pressure because no one taught them Where spiritual
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  work feels like so here there's clearly you're
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  not dramatic. You're not imagining things You're
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  not too sensitive. You're not unstable. You're
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  not weak You're in a spiritual battle in the
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  moment. You can name it you can fight it What
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  spiritual warfare can look like spiritual warfare
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  doesn't always look like Hollywood most the time
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  they show up in sudden discouragement everything
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  was fine and then WHAM heaviness confusion where
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  there was clarity god gave me direction and then
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  all of a sudden you doubt everything emotionally
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  overwhelmed crying for no reason irritability
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  spiritual agitation mental fog you can't focus
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  thoughts are scattered nothing makes sense unexplainable
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  pressure A heaviness that doesn't match your
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  reality. Temptations of old areas. The enemy
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  tries to drag you back where God had pulled you
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  from. Conflict that escalates unnaturally. Arguments
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  that feel charged. Spiritual tension disguised
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  as relational friction. Isolation. Pulling away
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  from community. Church. Scripture. Prayer. If
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  he has you all alone. And that's why we say theology
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  by itself is dangerous. Don't isolate yourself.
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  Nothing good can come from isolation. Attacks
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  on your identity. Feeling not good enough? Insecure?
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  Ashamed? Unqualified? Attacks during big spiritual
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  steps. Right before a breakthrough, obedience
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  or calling, leadership or influence expands.
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  That's whenever he's going to attack. Feeling
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  tired no matter how much rest that you get. Spiritual
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  level fatigue. Hyper awareness of problems. Everything
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  feels big. Everything feels urgent. Feeling just
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  overwhelmed about everything. Olten insecurities
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  resurfacing. Patterns you thought were long gone
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  creeping back. An increase in random frustrations.
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  Small things pile up to create a big atmosphere.
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  Accusations. You're failing. You're not called.
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  You're not worthy. Everyone is against you. Whenever
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  the enemy wants to disrupt your purpose, he starts
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  with your mind. And yes, a lot of those things
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  can sound like medical conditions and things
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  like that. And so we always want to make sure
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  that we are being mindful over the body that
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  he has given us. And so if you're feeling any
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  type of way, make sure that you're talking with
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  your provider just to make sure that their insides
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  are not trying to kill you too. The biblical
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  examples of spiritual warfare moments. And so,
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  Job. Attacks came in waves. Hell rarely fights
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  you at once. The attacks are in patterns. And
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  Elijah. Spiritual exhaustion after spiritual
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  victory. Battle often hits the hardest after
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  a breakthrough. Look at Jesus. He got baptized,
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  was sent to the wilderness, and who met him there?
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  Exactly. Jesus' temptation during the wilderness
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  attracted warfare because isolation tests identity.
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  Peter? Satan asked to sift him. Sifting feels
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  chaotic confusion and disorienting. Paul? A thorn?
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  Spiritual harassment. Some warfare isn't removed.
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  It's resisted. And Daniel? Demonic delays of
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  answers. And not every delay is natural. Some
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  are spiritual. The Bible is honest. Warfare is
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  real, but victory is more real. And the enemy
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  has patterns, and he repeats them. He has nothing
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  new in his playbook. Just like God is consistent,
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  the enemy is predictable. And we've done a podcast
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  on this before, the Devil's Playbook. And he
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  uses the same main distractions over and over.
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  And so one, distraction. He can't destroy you,
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  but he'll distract you. Deception. He twists
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  the truth, he whispers lies, and he distorts
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  scripture. Division. Arguments, misunderstandings,
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  relational tension. Four. Discouragement. He
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  drains your hope and joy. Five. Delay. He slows
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  breakthroughs to weaken your faith. Six. Doubt.
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  He questions what God said. Despair. He pushes
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  weariness to make you want to quit. But hear
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  me, once you recognize these patterns, you can
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  stop falling for them. Awareness is warfare.
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  And how to know it's spiritual battle, the sermon
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  checklist. So ask these questions to yourself.
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  Is this attack? Disproportionate to the situation.
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  Small things big reactions? Spiritual? 2. Did
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  this hit right after a spiritual growth or obedience?
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  3. Does this attack target my identity or calling?
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  4. Is the confusion where God previously gave
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  me clarity? 5. Is the attack sudden, intense,
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  or unusual? That's a sign it's spiritual. 6.
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  Is it hitting the same places over and over again?
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  The enemy loves to repeat what worked before.
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  He's not stupid. He got you the last time, he'll
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  get you again. 7. Does it feel heavy, dark, or
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  suffocating? Warfare always carries weight. 8.
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  Is there a push toward isolation? Isolation is
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  spiritual quicksand. 9. Does a situation produce
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  fear out of nowhere? Fear is a spirit, not a
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  personality trait. 10. Is your mind under pressure?
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  Thoughts are the battlefield, and if you answered
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  yes to multiple questions, You're not dealing
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  with circumstances. You're dealing with spiritual
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  warfare. And the moment that you see it is a
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  moment that you can fight it. And the enemy can
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  attack, but he cannot win. The enemy has eliminated
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  power. He cannot read your mind, control your
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  spirit, override God's plan, break God's covering,
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  remove God's calling, separate you from God,
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  steal your salvation, cancel your destiny, block
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  God's voice, or reverse God's Word. He can only
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  influence your thoughts, your emotions, your
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  focus, your perception, your obedience, your
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  competence, and your habits. And that's why scripture
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  says resist the enemy and he will flee in James
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  4 -7. Not maybe, not sometimes, not if you're
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  strong enough. He will flee. Why? Because he
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  is defeated. He is overpowered. He is outmatched.
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  He is outranked by every believer covered in
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  Jesus. You don't fight for victory. You fight
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  from victory. And so how do we respond whenever
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  we recognize spiritual attack? One, stop and
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  acknowledge it. Say it out loud. This is spiritual,
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  not emotional. Two, use the word as a weapon.
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  declare scripture over your thoughts three pray
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  out loud hell hates when you speak truth four
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  reject the lie say i refuse agreement with this
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  thoughts i refuse agreement i do not agree with
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  this thought done take it captive five use the
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  name of jesus demons tremble at the name not
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  yours They don't say Rebecca, Rebecca, and they
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  go away. No. They don't say Tracy, Tracy, and
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  they go away. Jesus, Jesus. And there are some
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  days I probably say his name a hundred times
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  just because I need his presence. I just need
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  his name out there just because one, it makes
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  me smile and two, just to prove, just to make
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  sure that just the area is clean because they
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  have to flee. They have to flee. They know who
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  he is. They know his power. Six, ask the Holy
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  Spirit for strategy. He will always give you
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  clarity. In His time, in His way. But He will
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  always give you clarity. 7. Tell someone you
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  trust. Hidden warfare is heavy warfare, and we
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  are meant to do this together. 8. Worship through
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  it. Worship changes the spiritual atmosphere.
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  9. Don't isolate yourself. Stay in community.
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  I can't say that enough. Small groups. Get connected
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  with somebody at church. Don't be a back row
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  specialist. You are not connecting with people.
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  It's because you get in and you get out. Stay.
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  Be in community. Linger. Ten. Stand firm. Attacks
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  don't last, but your authority does. And so,
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  in your workbook this week, the question is,
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  what spiritual battle am I in right now? What
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  is being targeted? Your identity? Your mind?
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  Your peace? Your focus? Your calling? your confidence,
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  your relationships, your emotions, your consistency.
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  Name it. And write down the specific place where
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  you're being attacked and respond with scripture.
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  The attack, I'm not enough. Scripture says I'm
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  a masterpiece. I feel afraid. God has not given
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  me a spirit of fear. Nothing is changing. God
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  is working all things out for my good. This is
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  not symbolic. This is warfare. And so we hope
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  that this opened your eyes. We hope this gave
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  you a fresh perspective. We hope that this gave
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  you tools to use as we are putting things in
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  our tool belt as we go into battle. And so we
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  hope this message encouraged you. Make sure that
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  you write. Leave a comment. Make sure that you
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  subscribe. Make sure that you're printing out
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  these workbooks. We hope that these are encouraging
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  for you. If you want longer episodes, let us
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  know. If you want more theology, if you want
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  more scripture based, let us know some topics
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  that you guys want. We're here as a community.
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  We're here to foster our faith together. And
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  so we would love to pray for you guys. Thank
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  you God for all that you've done. Thank you for
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  these listeners. Thank you that you're opening
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  our eyes to recognize spiritual battles. Thank
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  you that you're giving us discernment to see
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  the enemy schemes. Thank you for protecting our
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  mind. Thank you that you're strengthening our
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  heart. Thank you that you anchor us in your truth.
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  Thank you for filling us with courage and focus
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  and clarity. Thank you that you're teaching us
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  to resist the enemy and stand firm in your victory.
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  Thank you for all that you do. In Jesus name
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  I pray. Amen. Amen. We hope you guys have an
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  amazing week. We love you guys. See you next
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  week.