Latest / The Living Freed Podcast / The devil on your shoulder (spooky edition)

Transcript

The devil on your shoulder (spooky edition) · The Living Freed Podcast

0:21
Thank you for listening to the Living Free Podcast
0:24
and Happy Holidays Eve, everyone. It is the day
0:29
before Halloween. Whether you enjoy celebrating
0:32
it or not, I think a holiday is a holiday for
0:35
the most part in my mind, especially this time
0:37
of year. And, you know, if you enjoy celebrating
0:42
it, go celebrate it. And if you're anti -Halloween,
0:45
I feel a little bad for you, but I can understand
0:47
it because my parents were also anti -Halloween
0:50
when I was growing up. Now, my mom takes my Cousins
0:56
kids so my I don't know my second cousins her
0:59
great -nephews Trick -or -treating which is a
1:03
crazy thing to think about because I never went
1:05
trick -or -treating as a kid once And my mom
1:08
called me one time. This was years ago, and she's
1:10
like yeah I just got been in Andrew costumes,
1:12
and I'm taking them trick -or -treating in their
1:14
neighborhood And I thought who is this did someone
1:17
clone my mom and put this put this thing in her
1:20
place This is not Pamela Um, so yes, it is going
1:25
to be Halloween this weekend. I do not get to
1:28
celebrate this year I think I had my fair share
1:30
of celebrating last year So this year I will
1:33
be going on a bachelorette with some very close
1:36
friends getting ready to celebrate a very happy
1:40
marriage for one of my sweet friends who Her
1:43
wedding is in November like the week before Thanksgiving,
1:47
which is crazy I know these next couple months
1:50
are gonna fly by and it's gonna be January 1st
1:53
before we know it y 'all. I am so not ready.
1:57
Anyways, so yeah this week we actually leave
2:00
for the bachelorette tomorrow. That's on my list.
2:02
I need to pack so bad. I need to get organized.
2:07
I haven't done a single thing to get ready for
2:10
this trip outside of send the Venmo's out to
2:15
pay the girl who's been buying everything. Outside
2:18
of that I haven't done a single thing useful
2:20
for this trip and I need to hunker down and start
2:24
planning what I'm going to wear. We are going
2:25
to go horseback riding, we're going to go out
2:27
to dinner at Baldhead Island, and do some other
2:31
cute activities, so I'm excited for that. Speaking
2:35
of spooky though, this morning I woke up a little
2:40
extra early, well sleeping in, but earlier than
2:43
I had anticipated Because I had this feeling
2:45
that like I was going to get an important text.
2:47
Do y 'all ever get that? Like you just get a
2:49
feeling about something and then it happens.
2:51
My phone goes off and in my head I'm like, oh,
2:54
I bet it's Sam. Sam is my younger brother and
2:57
I pick up my phone. Who is it? It's Sam. Crazy.
3:01
The text was basically it's it's one of those
3:05
things that you like get disappointed in yourself
3:07
for. He was letting me know how I let him down
3:11
earlier this summer on one of our trips. and
3:14
I feel terrible as a big sister. I don't know
3:16
if any of y 'all have siblings, but when you
3:19
let a sibling down, it sucks. Like in my mind,
3:24
almost nothing is worse than letting a loved
3:27
one down in that way, but I was so appreciative
3:31
that he reached out and let me know where I'd
3:34
let him down and gone wrong so that I had a chance
3:37
to apologize. I mean, what... What a big blessing
3:40
to have family members that don't just hold stuff
3:42
against you even though it's been a couple months
3:45
and they actually tell you where you've gone
3:49
wrong so that you guys can work on having a better
3:51
relationship. I feel for those who don't get
3:54
to have those communications with their siblings
3:57
because y 'all know my siblings mean everything
4:01
to me. Anyways, let's talk about what's in. I
4:06
know I said in the last couple episodes that
4:08
fall activities are in. I have tried, let me
4:12
tell y 'all, I have tried to find a corn maze
4:14
that was open late because out in Raleigh we
4:17
always had corn mazes that were open out after
4:19
the sunset. Not here in Wilmington. All of the
4:22
corn mazes close easily at like, gosh, I think
4:27
most of like the latest to 6 is open. And that's
4:30
during the week. I can't do that. I have work.
4:33
I have Bible study. There's a million things
4:34
going on and I'm not gonna cancel either of those
4:36
just to go to a corn maze So now what was in
4:40
is officially out take the corn maze off my bucket
4:42
list I'm not gonna I'm not gone to look at pumpkins
4:46
and Yeah, also what is out is my roommate's cat
4:52
keeps eating food like human food. He ate like
4:55
a stick of butter he was eating something on
4:58
a pan and then I was in the kitchen earlier today
5:01
and he was eating something out of a box on the
5:04
counter and now he's mad at me so if you hear
5:08
meowing in the background that is sweet Kenan
5:11
who is a cutie pie if you look at him he tricks
5:13
you he's so freaking cute that he's tricky but
5:16
if he If you hear him meowing in the background,
5:19
it's because I got him a playpen to play outside
5:22
in and he's mad at me for not putting him outside.
5:25
But it's cold and it's rainy and what if he gets
5:28
sick then I'll feel like the worst fake pet aunt
5:30
in the whole world. So, ignore the cat noises
5:34
if you don't mind. Anyways, let's dive into this
5:37
week's episode. This week, we're going to talk
5:46
about a subject that I personally feel like doesn't
5:49
get talked about enough, especially as of late.
5:53
And when it does get talked about, I think it
5:55
gets over -dramaticized in a lot of ways and
5:58
under -spoken about in a lot of ways. We'll talk
6:01
a little bit more about that. But if you're anything
6:03
like me, you probably grew up in a church that
6:07
would hear people say something like, the Lord
6:08
is testing me or the devil is testing me. You
6:11
probably heard people say how they're under spiritual
6:13
attack. or heard them share their concerns of
6:16
the devil as giving them doubt. Doubt about their
6:18
faith, doubt in their marriage, doubt in their
6:20
choices, doubt in their God. Just doubt. If you
6:23
didn't grow up in a church like that, then you're
6:26
probably wondering where this crazy girl's getting
6:29
this from and what the heck kind of people has
6:32
she been around. And honestly, same. I look back
6:35
all the time and think, who was I around and
6:38
why? But because of those conversations and people
6:41
saying things like that around me, I grew up
6:44
being kind of scared. Scared of being under a
6:46
spiritual attack and what that might mean because
6:48
what does that even mean? I don't want to go
6:51
through what Job went through. I was scared of
6:53
the idea of the devil testing me. Or what if
6:56
he placed doubt or fear in my head? I was so
6:59
careful, y 'all, of my thoughts and prayers because
7:01
I didn't want the devil to use it against me
7:04
because at that time, no one had taught me any
7:07
differently and I was just working based off
7:09
of the information or words spoken around me.
7:12
There was a moment, though, in my early 20s when
7:15
I was either reading my Bible or at church when
7:19
the dots kind of connected for me and I realized
7:21
the devil wasn't God's equal. We give him way
7:25
too much credit. too much strength and too much
7:27
power and that he doesn't deserve it. And yet,
7:31
at the same time, we hold ourselves at a way
7:33
higher value than even the devil does. Let's
7:36
talk about the credit we give Satan. And yes,
7:38
I will use his name because I'm not scared of
7:40
him. I've heard people say that they're scared
7:43
of the thoughts he has put in their head and
7:45
that they don't know what to do. Those thoughts
7:47
being doubt, fear, negativity, etc. I want to
7:50
make something undoubtedly clear and straight
7:54
out of the Bible. Satan might be the prince of
7:56
the air, but he is not God's equal in any way.
8:00
He would love to be, and he would love for you
8:02
to think so, but the facts are that he just isn't.
8:06
Satan cannot speak in your head, cannot control
8:08
your thoughts, or even give you thoughts to think.
8:11
He couldn't do it with Jesus, and he couldn't
8:13
even do it with Job, who was human like you and
8:16
me. I want to go over some comparisons that people
8:18
make between God and Satan, and I think we get
8:20
them really confused, or messed up, or just straight
8:23
up wrong. Starting with, God is omnipotent, which
8:27
means all powerful. Satan, on the other hand,
8:30
has to ask for any power he has. So, he has no
8:33
power in your life. God is omnipotent, which
8:37
means he creates all things. Satan can't create
8:40
anything without God's permission. So, he can't
8:43
create your thoughts. All he can do is destroy.
8:46
God is omnipresent. He is not held by space or
8:49
time. He is aware and present of all things.
8:52
Satan is not. He's not like God. He has to live
8:55
in the present with us. Satan cannot be bothering
8:57
you, me, and your cousin down the street all
9:00
at the same time. The devil cannot know your
9:02
thoughts, hear your thoughts, or control your
9:05
thoughts. Our thoughts of fear, doubt, or negativity
9:08
in any form that they may take aren't from the
9:10
devil. Hate to break it to ya. Those thoughts
9:13
are just a part of being human. That's why Paul
9:15
says in 2 Corinthians 10 -5, in the NKJV version,
9:20
cast down arguments in every high thing that
9:22
exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Bring
9:25
every thought into captivity to the obedience
9:28
of Christ. You are in charge of those thoughts.
9:31
You have to take them captive. Not captive like
9:34
hold onto them and meditate on them, but captive
9:37
like an enemy is in your territory and you're
9:39
at war. Because, well, we are. a spiritual one.
9:44
Let's talk about spiritual warfare. In our life
9:46
and walk with Jesus, spiritual warfare will show
9:50
up in different ways. We make two mistakes when
9:53
it comes to this subject. We either underestimate
9:56
it or overestimate it. Some of us completely
9:59
ignore the spiritual battle happening around
10:01
us and the impact it has on our life and others
10:03
blame everything on it. Every sin they commit,
10:07
every bad thing that happens in their life, every
10:09
bad thought they have. How do we know if we are
10:12
in a spiritual battle or personally under attack?
10:14
The enemy's tactics show up in many different
10:17
ways. One could be distraction. Right now I'm
10:20
in a Facebook group and I am kind of obsessed
10:24
with reading what people say in it because I
10:26
don't know it gives you insight into so many
10:28
different walks with the Lord that we all have
10:32
because I sometimes forget that my walk or my
10:35
friend's walk isn't the only walk with Jesus
10:38
and lots of people have lots of different questions
10:40
or lots of different experiences. But anyways,
10:44
in this Facebook group, a girl that used to be
10:47
a witch is now a new believer and was sharing
10:49
how every time she gets ready to sit down and
10:52
read her Bible or is actively reading her Bible,
10:55
that something happens. Her mom will call, her
10:58
boyfriend needs help, her cat will physically
10:59
jump up and lay on her Bible. Now the comments
11:03
got flooded with this and my thought was the
11:05
same. and it might sound a little dramatic, but
11:08
my thought was this is the enemy using the method
11:12
of distraction. Are there ways for this girl
11:14
to work around it? Absolutely, but you have to
11:17
know what is being used against you to know how
11:19
to fight it. The enemy might use distraction,
11:22
but you won't know what to look for because he
11:24
also uses deception, which is our number two.
11:27
Webster's defines deception as as the act of
11:31
causing someone to accept as true or valid what
11:34
is false or invalid. How often do we see what
11:38
is happening around us as truth? Whatever we're
11:40
feeling, seeing, or hearing is building our perception
11:44
of reality. You know, like when you're texting
11:46
with a friend and you might be in a fight and
11:48
they say something that rubs you the wrong way
11:51
because you decided they said it was sass or
11:53
sarcasm when in reality, it's a text. You don't
11:57
know the tone they're using. There is no tone
11:59
to be used. The enemy will try to deceive you
12:02
like he did with Eve, with little lies that look
12:04
like truth in reality. Number three is demolish.
12:08
He will try to demolish you, the truth, your
12:11
hope, your dreams, and most importantly, your
12:13
relationship with God. He will stop at nothing
12:16
to destroy you. We see how he destroyed all God
12:19
had given Job. Yes, with God's permission. but
12:22
he wanted to take away the love Job had for God,
12:25
his hope in God, and his faithfulness to God.
12:27
The enemy demolished Job's family, land, and
12:30
tried with his body, and even tried with the
12:32
relationship with his friends, but only caused
12:34
a sense of friction and conflict between him
12:37
and those friends. Which is our number four.
12:40
The enemy will use division, separate you from
12:43
God, separate you from the good, separate you
12:45
from the light. He tries to divide the church,
12:48
families, friends, and he even tried to divide
12:51
Jesus from God when he tempted him in the wilderness
12:53
for 40 days, just like he did with Adam and Eve.
12:56
And he did succeed for a little while because
12:59
they felt that separation from God after they
13:02
had eaten the fruit and saw that they were naked,
13:04
only for a short moment in the garden. Number
13:07
five, he will try to desensitize you. We see
13:10
it happening in our culture, right? No one's
13:12
shocked by school shootings anymore, the genocide
13:14
happening, by cheaters or pastors failing their
13:17
church. We have become soft to porn, assault,
13:20
and abuse. The world we are living in through
13:22
social media has brought so much to our attention,
13:25
stealing our attention, that we are so desensitized
13:27
from the hurt and pain going on around us. We
13:29
lack empathy for those outside of the church
13:31
body, for those hurting in the church body. We
13:34
lack empathy for those who disagree with us,
13:36
live differently from us, or believe differently
13:38
from us. We live in a world where we don't think
13:41
twice about the displaced man on the corner of
13:43
the street, or the girl crying in the bathroom.
13:45
Sometimes we ignore the pain our friend is feeling
13:48
because we have bigger things to worry about
13:50
in our personal life. Okay, number six. The next
13:53
thing is something we've seen largely taking
13:56
place in our culture as well through the church,
13:59
which is deconstruction. Deconstruction is the
14:01
analytic examination of something such as a theory
14:05
often in order to reveal its inadequacy. I see
14:08
this conversation come up a lot. It's kind of
14:11
a hot topic at the moment. But, just like everything
14:14
in life, it can be used for good or for evil.
14:18
For example, my mom deconstructed her faith,
14:21
but then reconstructed it. She has built a clearer,
14:24
deeper relationship with God because of it. Beth
14:27
Moore did the same thing and so have many others,
14:30
but some have done it. and not had the same outcome.
14:32
Unfortunately, those who didn't go through the
14:34
whole process and didn't have faith in their
14:36
God didn't survive the attack and have fully
14:39
walked away. And they walked into a life of hurt
14:42
because what they think they know is off their
14:45
experience. They didn't give Jesus the time to
14:47
heal them. They walked into a space of loneliness
14:49
because they no longer choose to walk as if Jesus
14:53
is right next to them going through life with
14:55
them. I want to say this. It's okay to deconstruct
14:59
religion. It's okay to dissect your relationship
15:03
with the intention to get to know Him better.
15:05
It's okay to unravel something to understand
15:08
how or the why, but you have to do it with those
15:12
intentions. Deconstruction can cause separation.
15:15
It can demolish your relationship and faith and
15:17
desensitize you from the love Jesus has for you.
15:22
Here's the thing. The enemy wants you to care
15:25
about yourself. Only yourself. What's going on
15:28
in your life? How you're affected? What you believe?
15:32
What you know? What you see? What you feel? No
15:36
one else, because you have bigger things going
15:38
on in life, harder things going on, more important
15:42
things going on. He wants you to be busy, distracted,
15:46
overwhelmed. He wants you to feel hurt, sick,
15:49
guilty, and alone. Spiritual warfare shows up
15:52
in many ways, for many reasons, but those reasons
15:55
will always have to do with your walk with Jesus.
15:58
The enemy doesn't care about you if you're living
16:00
a mediocre life, not living for Jesus. He doesn't
16:04
care if you're just a Christian, if you're not
16:06
actually in the battle for the Lord. If you're
16:08
going to the bars on the weekends, the enemy
16:11
doesn't care. But if you start going to church,
16:13
they will care. The enemy doesn't care if you're
16:16
doing volunteer work because it makes you feel
16:18
good about yourself. but they will care if you're
16:21
making a sacrifice that God asked you to. The
16:23
enemy doesn't care if you're doing something
16:25
for yourself, whether it seems like selfish ambition
16:28
or not, but he will care when the attention brought
16:32
to God or is for God. Every time I hear someone
16:35
talk about how they're under spiritual attack,
16:37
I want to ask them, why? Why are you under spiritual
16:40
attack? What have you done that is so on mission
16:43
for God, so holy, such a threat to the enemy
16:46
that he's coming for you? It's not that I don't
16:49
think he couldn't be, or that they aren't worthy.
16:51
It's not that I think so little of them, but
16:54
I do think we all think too highly of ourselves.
16:57
I also think we have a hard time accepting responsibility
17:00
for our thoughts or actions, and that we have
17:03
to blame it on the devil. Well, the devil gave
17:05
me lustful thoughts. Or, one girl said in our
17:08
Facebook group, the devil is testing me and I
17:10
slipped up and watched porn again. Someone else
17:13
said, Satan keeps giving me hateful thoughts.
17:15
Please pray for me. Trust me girl, I am, but
17:19
I'm praying over your heart, not what you think
17:22
is the devil controlling your thoughts. So, who
17:25
is our enemy? Satan is, and he has his own team.
17:29
Now, he isn't the ruler of hell, he doesn't run
17:32
hell. He is the prince of the air, leading an
17:35
army because of this world. He wants to see it
17:37
burn, fall, crumble, because if he can't have
17:41
it, no one can. He is an accuser who wants to
17:44
separate you from God. He isn't I want to touch
18:03
on one last thing. As Christians, we cannot be
18:07
possessed. You aren't an empty vessel. You are
18:10
filled with the Holy Spirit. Something that is
18:12
filled cannot be filled with something else.
18:14
It would need to be dumped out first. But you
18:17
can be influenced by demonic spirits, which is
18:20
why the Bible tells us to resist evil and its
18:23
forces as we see in 1 Peter. In chapter 5 verse
18:26
8 we see it say, Be sober, be diligent. Because
18:30
your adversary the devil walks around like a
18:33
roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, resist
18:36
him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the
18:39
same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood
18:42
in the world. But may the God of all grace, who
18:45
called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
18:49
after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish,
18:53
strengthen, and settle you. You can be influenced
18:57
by the people around you, the things you watch,
18:59
listen to or read. There are things from God
19:02
and there are things not from God. Now I'm not
19:06
saying stop listening to secular music or no
19:08
more going to the movies because Lord knows I
19:11
love a solo movie date. But you do need to be
19:15
aware of what you're taking in and how it might
19:18
be influencing you long term. So what do I want
19:22
you to get from this conversation? Great question,
19:24
thanks for asking. I want you to know that one,
19:28
Satan has no control over you, your thoughts,
19:31
or your being in any way. Two, he is not equal
19:35
to God in any way. In fact, he would like for
19:37
you to think so, but he's not even made in God's
19:40
image, but you know who is? You and me. Three,
19:43
he does not have control over hell, and will
19:46
never have control over it. But he is fighting
19:49
for control of our world, and he will do what
19:52
he has to to get it. even though he actually
19:55
does know he's fighting a losing battle. And
19:58
four, you and me, we have an all -powerful God
20:02
with a huge army who is fighting for us and with
20:05
us. We are not alone and we have nothing, absolutely
20:10
nothing to fear. So next time you hear someone
20:13
talking about how the devil is working against
20:15
them, think back to these facts that you've learned.
20:18
Is the devil really working against them? Or
20:21
are we all just human, experiencing human actions,
20:25
human needs, human thoughts that sometimes lead
20:28
to sin? Also, remember you have the power. You
20:32
can take control of your own thoughts. And you
20:35
have the power of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is working
20:37
in you and for you. We aren't subject to things
20:41
of the world. And we aren't subject to Satan.
20:44
He would like for us to think we are. But he's
20:47
not this scary boogeyman hiding in your closet
20:49
because you have an all -powerful king, an all
20:53
-powerful ruler on your side. So don't live in
20:56
fear. In fact, stay away from living in fear.
20:58
The Bible tells us not to live in fear because
21:01
we're on this earth to honor and glorify God.
21:04
And would living in fear really do that? I don't
21:07
think so. Let's pray. Dear Jesus, thank you so
21:10
much for being on our side. Thank you for fighting
21:12
the battle for us. Thank you for sending an army
21:15
of angels to protect us and giving us the Holy
21:18
Spirit to be with us, giving us guidance, fighting
21:22
for us, protecting our hearts and our souls.
21:26
Thank you for the grace that you show us, and
21:28
thank you for showing us how to fight against
21:30
the devil through your words and through your
21:32
actions. I ask that you give us discernment and
21:35
wisdom when we are under spiritual attack, and
21:38
that you give us your strength to fight against
21:40
it, and when we're not, give us clarity. Have
21:43
us be aware when it's just us being human, and
21:46
when it really is enemy forces working against
21:49
us. And have us see your love for us through
21:52
it all. And in your name, Jesus' name, Amen.
22:04
Well, that's the end of this episode. Thank you
22:07
so much for listening to the Living Free Podcast.
22:10
Let's get connected on Instagram. You can reach
22:12
me at Hannah Liz D or email me at livingfreepod
22:16
at gmail .com. If you're loving the podcast,
22:20
I'd be so honored if you'd go ahead and hit that
22:22
subscribe button and leave me a review. And if
22:25
you have feedback or a subject you'd like me
22:26
to cover, please go ahead and email me or DM
22:29
me on Instagram. Again, thank you so much for
22:32
listening. I hope you feel encouraged and lighter
22:34
today. Bye y 'all!