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Speaker 1: Life Audio with that faith of Abraham that says God's

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Speaker 1: got this. I don't have to fear. I don't have

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Speaker 1: to sit and wonder what the demon's up to, because

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Speaker 1: God wins.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the Faith over Fear podcast, where we discuss

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Speaker 2: powerful truths to quiet anxiety and fear big and small.

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Speaker 2: In today's episode of Faith Over Fear, we're joined by

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Speaker 2: author and Bible teacher Melissa Spoolstra to talk about her

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Speaker 2: new Bible study, finding hope in God who reigns over

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Speaker 2: heaven and Earth.

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Speaker 3: And it's about angels.

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Speaker 2: So if you've ever been afraid of what you can't see,

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Speaker 2: spiritual battles, uncertainty, the enemy's schemes, or the overwhelming maybe weight.

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Speaker 3: Of life struggles, this episode is for you.

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Speaker 2: Today we'll explore how studying angels actually expands our view

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Speaker 2: of God, the one who commands the angel armies, who

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Speaker 2: reigns over the spiritual realm, and offers hope that's stronger

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Speaker 2: than every single whole fear that we base. We're going

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Speaker 2: to be back after some brief messages from our sponsors.

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Speaker 2: Hi Faith over Fear listeners, it's Carol again and I

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Speaker 2: want to introduce you to Melissa Spoolstrap. She is a

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Speaker 2: woman's conference speaker, Bible teacher, and author who, as she claims,

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Speaker 2: is madly in love with Jesus. She's the author of

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Speaker 2: several Bible studies, and she's a regular contributor to the

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Speaker 2: Proverbs thirty one First five app She lives in Texas

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Speaker 2: with her pastor husband Sean, and they've got four grown children. Welcome, Melissa.

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Speaker 2: I'm so glad you're here today.

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Speaker 1: I'm so excited to be here with you.

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Speaker 2: I think some of our listeners will really resonate with

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Speaker 2: what you've written, because, you know, sometimes things that we

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Speaker 2: can't see scare us.

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Speaker 3: So in a culture full affair.

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Speaker 2: That we live in right now, you know, there's there's

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Speaker 2: a fear of evil, there's fear of suffering, there's fear

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Speaker 2: of the unknown. How to studying angels actually helpless develop

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Speaker 2: a bigger view of God instead of being fixated on

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Speaker 2: those spiritual being parts of it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, no, that's a great question. What's amazing about studying

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Speaker 1: angels is they are always pointing back to the power

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Speaker 1: and the purposes of God. I say, they're kind of

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Speaker 1: like the theme music on a movie, like maybe like

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Speaker 1: Star Wars, where it's like there's that theme music, and

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Speaker 1: when you hear that theme music in the in the storyline,

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Speaker 1: you know something really amazing is about to happen. And

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Speaker 1: I think when angels come on the scene in the

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Speaker 1: Bible or in our day to day lives, you know,

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Speaker 1: some of us could be entertaining angels unaware. The scripture says,

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Speaker 1: but when the supernatural cosmic things intersect in our lives,

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Speaker 1: it isn't about them. It's about God and who he is.

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Speaker 1: And I think for me, just a huge takeaway in

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Speaker 1: terms of the fear issue is just seeing that God

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Speaker 1: has millions Revelation five says, millions of angels at his disposal,

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Speaker 1: and so it just helps us remember that, yes, he's

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Speaker 1: this amazing, incredible creator of the universe, but he is

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Speaker 1: also the commander in chief of a heavenly army that

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Speaker 1: is fighting battles on our behalf that we don't even

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Speaker 1: recognize or realize. And I think that just brings me

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Speaker 1: to have greater faith over my fears.

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Speaker 3: That's great.

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Speaker 2: Well, you write in your study that angels reveal something

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Speaker 2: about the character of God. What attribauty of God became

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Speaker 2: most real or healing to you personally as you studied their.

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Speaker 3: Role throughout scripture as you're writing this.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean there's a couple things, but one is

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Speaker 1: just studying angels reminds us that God cares about the

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Speaker 1: details of our lives. The Psalmis wrote, he delights in

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Speaker 1: the details of our lives. But he cared enough when

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Speaker 1: Daniel was discouraged and praying to him to send an

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Speaker 1: angel to remind him. This is in Daniel chapter nine

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Speaker 1: and ten. Hey, you're precious to me, and Angel said

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Speaker 1: that twice. Gabriel said that twice to Daniel. And I

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Speaker 1: think for us out here trying to just unload the

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Speaker 1: dishwasher and get our emails answered and all the things

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Speaker 1: and difficult relationships and health challenges, to just know that

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Speaker 1: God cares enough that he would send an angel just

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Speaker 1: to remind you that you're precious to him, to remind

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Speaker 1: you that he's here and that he's near. But also

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Speaker 1: that he wants to lead us, that he will give direction.

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Speaker 1: And there's so many ways right that God gives us direction.

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Speaker 1: He gives us his Holy Spirit to live inside of

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Speaker 1: us to direct us. He's given us his word, He's

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Speaker 1: given us each other right to speak truth to each

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Speaker 1: other on his behalf. But angels is another one, and

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Speaker 1: it's not just an Old Testament thing. I always point

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Speaker 1: to that in the New Testament. I love the story

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Speaker 1: of Philip. He's this guy, he's out sharing the message

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Speaker 1: about Jesus and he goes to Samaria and he's preaching

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Speaker 1: there and an angel's like, Hey, I'd like you to

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Speaker 1: go to the desert. And I think that's just a

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Speaker 1: reminder for us that God's instructions don't always make sense

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Speaker 1: to us. They always make good cosmic sense to him.

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Speaker 1: And so in Angel's like, I'd like you to go

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Speaker 1: to the desert where there's no people, even though he's

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Speaker 1: having this incredible, fruitful ministry in Samaria. And he goes

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Speaker 1: to the desert and then the Holy Spirit leads him

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Speaker 1: to go along to run alongside a chariot. And then

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Speaker 1: he gets in the chariot and the Ethio being Munich

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Speaker 1: is reading the Book of Isaiah, and so he's explaining

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Speaker 1: the Book of Isaiah. And so here's this human messenger.

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Speaker 1: So you see four ways there that God wants to

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Speaker 1: lead and communicate with his people. He'll use an angel,

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Speaker 1: he'll use his spirit, he'll use his word, he'll use

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Speaker 1: a human messenger, and sometimes I'm like, I don't know

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Speaker 1: what to do. Am I going to be able to

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Speaker 1: figure it out? That's the source of my fear. Am

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Speaker 1: I going to do something wrong? Am I going to

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Speaker 1: take a wrong turn?

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Speaker 3: You know?

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Speaker 1: I remember, even as a young person, being like, am

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Speaker 1: I going to marry the wrong person? Am I going

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Speaker 1: to choose the wrong career? And that really never ends.

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Speaker 1: Even I just had my first grand baby, and go,

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Speaker 1: am I going to be able to manage my time

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Speaker 1: so that I can really be in her life? And

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Speaker 1: how much time would you have me spend with her?

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Speaker 1: Because I'm also caring for my aging mother and we're

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Speaker 1: sopriety and just, and that can be sometimes the seed

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Speaker 1: of our fears is the I'm not going to know

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Speaker 1: what to do? And I think his study of angels

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Speaker 1: just reminds us that God is so incredible and that

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Speaker 1: he wants to lead us, and that he can use

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Speaker 1: all these different ways, and one of those ways is supernatural,

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Speaker 1: and we can have this incredible confidence, this incredible faith.

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Speaker 1: It's a faith builder, just his desire to lead us

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Speaker 1: that kind of a confidence. To give you a biblical

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Speaker 1: example of that, Okay, would be the faith of Abraham.

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Speaker 1: So Abraham doesn't start off being this great man of faith.

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Speaker 1: He lies, calling his wife his sister multiple times because

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Speaker 1: he doesn't trust that God's going to fit. He's using

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Speaker 1: human logic like we all do, right, But he grows

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Speaker 1: and he matures in his faith to where at the

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Speaker 1: end of his life there's this encounter. He has his wife,

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Speaker 1: Sarah has died, and he has his son Isaac, and

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Speaker 1: he's looking for a wife for Isaac, and he doesn't

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Speaker 1: want any of the people around. He wants for his

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Speaker 1: son Isaac, and so he sends his servant. And I

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Speaker 1: love his servant. His servant is full of fear. We

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Speaker 1: can so relate with the servant because the servant's like,

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Speaker 1: what if I can't find anyone? What if I find

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Speaker 1: people and they will come with me? He lives in

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Speaker 1: the what if And to me, that is those two

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Speaker 1: words are really a fear thing for me. What if?

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Speaker 1: What if? What if? What if? What if? And Abraham's

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Speaker 1: response is God is going to lead you. He'll send

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Speaker 1: an angel if he needs to. That's the kind of

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Speaker 1: confidence I want to have that, like, even if I'm

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Speaker 1: doing my what if, what if? What if? I can

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Speaker 1: go no. But if God, God's going to lead me,

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Speaker 1: He's going to show me what to do.

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Speaker 3: He loves me.

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Speaker 1: He'll use his word, he'll use the personal, use the spirit,

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Speaker 1: or he'll even send an angel if need be our

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Speaker 1: God's going to give us everything we need, including direction.

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Speaker 2: Well in angels. I love the way that you use

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Speaker 2: angels comfortingly. There that it's a comforting presence. So I

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Speaker 2: venture to guess that many of our listeners struggle with

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Speaker 2: anxiety because they can only see what's right in front

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Speaker 2: of them, And perhaps that's a little conviction for me

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Speaker 2: sometimes too. How does remembering that that unseen spiritual realm,

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Speaker 2: that God's got authority over it too, and it can

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Speaker 2: bring comfort like were talking about with the angels on

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Speaker 2: fearful days.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think, first of all, a lot of times

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Speaker 1: when we talk about angels, we then think about demons

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Speaker 1: which are fallen angels, and that can be scary. And

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Speaker 1: so when I studied angels, it was just such a

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Speaker 1: huge reminder that we have nothing to fear when it

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Speaker 1: comes to these cosmic, unseen battles that are happening around us,

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Speaker 1: because it can be like, ooh, what if there's my

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Speaker 1: what if what if there's some evil force, you know,

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Speaker 1: that's that is attacking my marriage, and people will be like,

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Speaker 1: so I just won't study those so I won't get attacked.

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Speaker 1: And I just want to remind everyone that if you're

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Speaker 1: following Jesus, there are spiritual enemies that are not for you.

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Speaker 1: But that being said, you have nothing to hear because

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Speaker 1: greater is he that is in you than he that

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Speaker 1: is in the world. I think when I studied angels

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Speaker 1: and demons, I was so encouraged and reminded that we

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Speaker 1: already know who wins, like, yes, there are going to

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Speaker 1: be spouse. I think about my grandfather. He was in

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Speaker 1: World War two and he fought in Tinian, which is

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Speaker 1: like these islands in the South Pacific, And after all

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Speaker 1: the victories, there were still some little skirmishes out there.

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Speaker 1: The war was over, but not everybody knew, you know,

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Speaker 1: and so they're still fighting battles. Sometimes when I think

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Speaker 1: of our spiritual lives, I think the war's already won.

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Speaker 1: We know who wins. We don't have to live in

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Speaker 1: fear of like, oh, is God gonna defeat Satan? He

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Speaker 1: already has and so yes, do we have real battles, Yes,

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Speaker 1: are we living on a planet that is cursed by sin?

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Speaker 1: That means that we suffer and we struggle, But just

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Speaker 1: to remind ourselves that it won't always be that way,

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Speaker 1: that God has ultimate victory. But then also just to

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Speaker 1: remember that all of those spiritual enemies of ours, those

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Speaker 1: scriptures sometimes refers to them in different ways. I think

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Speaker 1: of Ephesian six, where it reminds us that our battle

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Speaker 1: is not against flesh and blood enemies, which some of

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Speaker 1: us listening today may feel like, but my boss is

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Speaker 1: my enemy, or my spouse, he is my enemy. Right.

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Speaker 1: It feels like those flesh and blood people are enemies

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Speaker 1: because we feel personally attacked by things they say, things

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Speaker 1: they do. But I think it's just studying angels reminds

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Speaker 1: us that those are not actually our enemies. And Ephesian

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Speaker 1: six calls them rulers and authorities and principalities and powers.

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Speaker 1: But I want to read just from Colauss because I

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Speaker 1: had never seen this in this context, and I think

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Speaker 1: it's so encouraging to us. In a conversation about fear.

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Speaker 1: It says that you were dead because of your sins,

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Speaker 1: your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God

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Speaker 1: made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all your sins.

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Speaker 1: That right there is like whoa, Okay, let's just remember

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Speaker 1: that today. Just take a pause and go all of

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Speaker 1: my sin is forgiven. Because that's what enemy likes to

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Speaker 1: use the most. Right. He's called the accuser. That's what

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Speaker 1: he does. And the reason that we're studying a little

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Speaker 1: bit about him, I don't want to give him too

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Speaker 1: much airtime. Some people are like, I'm not going to

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Speaker 1: study him at all because I don't want to give

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Speaker 1: him any airtime. But here's the deal. It says in

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Speaker 1: scripture that we want to be familiar with his schemes

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Speaker 1: so that he will not outsmart us. So here's the

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Speaker 1: thing that you can always say to him, Oh all

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Speaker 1: my sins are forgiven because of Jesus. But then it

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Speaker 1: says he canceled the record of charges against us. He

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Speaker 1: took it away by nailing it on the cross in

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Speaker 1: this way, okay, the cross. He disarmed the spiritual rulers

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Speaker 1: and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over

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Speaker 1: them on the cross. So just to reminder today, all

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Speaker 1: those enemies, they've been disarmed. And as we study that,

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Speaker 1: as we think about God's great power, and maybe that's

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Speaker 1: the attribute the way I should have answered what you

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Speaker 1: said to me. That's the attribute of God that studying

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Speaker 1: angels most highlights is how powerful he is. And that's

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Speaker 1: the lie that I'm often believing in my anxiety, right,

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Speaker 1: is that God isn't powerful enough or he won't And

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Speaker 1: just to remind ourselves that, yes, our battles are spiritual.

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Speaker 1: There's so much going on in the heavenly realms. And

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Speaker 1: to circle back to your original question here, I think

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Speaker 1: about Joe, all the battles, all of the struggle, and

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Speaker 1: yet he didn't know at the time all that was

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Speaker 1: happening behind the curtain. And I think that's just a

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Speaker 1: reminder for you and I to go, Yeah, I don't

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Speaker 1: know why. I have an adult daughter struggling with back

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Speaker 1: pain in her twenties and struggling with the anxiety of

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Speaker 1: am I always going to be in pain? Is this

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Speaker 1: what my whole life is going to be like? And

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Speaker 1: just to go, I'm reminding her all the time, there's

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Speaker 1: a greater story in your suffering. There's a greater story

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Speaker 1: in your suffering. And just to rest in that faith

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Speaker 1: over the fear, that's.

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Speaker 2: Great, Okay, well, you write in your study that God

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Speaker 2: allows his people to be tested but never abandon you

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Speaker 2: point out, so how do we go about discerning the

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Speaker 2: difference between the testing that strengthens us and the enemy's

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Speaker 2: attempt to deceive or destroy us.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: One of the ways I just use for myself personally

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Speaker 1: is to say what is the difference? Really, the question

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Speaker 1: you're asking is what is the difference between shame and conviction?

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Speaker 1: Because shame is Satan's that's what he loves to do.

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Speaker 1: He loves to throw our sins in our face. Oh,

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Speaker 1: God's not going to listen to your prayers because you

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Speaker 1: didn't read your Bible this morning. Like just he loves

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Speaker 1: it to accuse us and shame us and make us

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Speaker 1: feel low and make us want to run from God.

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Speaker 1: But conviction by the Holy Spirit, which can be testing

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Speaker 1: in that is when we believe the Gospel and say,

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Speaker 1: you know what, I am a sinner. I struggle all

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Speaker 1: the time, prone to wander Lord, I feel it, I

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Speaker 1: don't drift in good directions. But really that's victory for

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Speaker 1: us to reminder, Oh, here's more evidence of why I

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Speaker 1: need God. Like when the media portrays Christians as like

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Speaker 1: super spiritual hypercritical. I want to go. Have you read

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Speaker 1: the book we're reading. The book we're reading says that

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Speaker 1: we need God, that we can't do it on our own,

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Speaker 1: that when we are apart from Him we can accomplish nothing.

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Speaker 1: So every time we mess up or struggle, rather than

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Speaker 1: that being a shamed thing, it's a conviction of yes,

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Speaker 1: I want the Lord to change this in my life.

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Speaker 1: But it's just more evidence of why I need Jesus

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Speaker 1: so much. And that's a very different way to look

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Speaker 1: at it. I call it the humility plan. I'm like, oh,

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Speaker 1: more evidence that I'm human and I need God when

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Speaker 1: something hasn't gone right, whether it's whether it's my own

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Speaker 1: sin or whether it's just living on a cursed planet.

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Speaker 1: And I think we need to remember that God is

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Speaker 1: not the offer of suffering. He just will use our

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Speaker 1: suffering for good. That's how good he is. One day

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Speaker 1: he's going to make all this right. He created Eden,

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Speaker 1: which was a perfect place, and if Sinna had never

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Speaker 1: entered the world, there are going to be two chapters

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Speaker 1: in the Bible Genesis one two. It was all good

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Speaker 1: and we'd be living in perfect harmony with God. That

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Speaker 1: was God's plan. Now sin entered the world, and it

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Speaker 1: did leave a curse on our planet, and we're living

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Speaker 1: under that curse, and all suffering of our sorts finds

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Speaker 1: it's root in that. But God will use our suffering

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Speaker 1: for good. And one of the ways he does that

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Speaker 1: is through testing. Like what you said, He tested Abraham,

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Speaker 1: he tested Moses, he tested Daniel, and likely for every

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Speaker 1: one of us. I'm sure, Carol, you've been through seasons

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Speaker 1: like that where God tests us. Yeah.

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Speaker 3: Well, and it gets a closer to him. I love that.

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Speaker 2: Did you call it the humility plan him? It drives

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Speaker 2: us to him, not a whist from him.

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Speaker 1: Yes.

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Speaker 2: People often wonder about spiritual warfare and they feel nervous,

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Speaker 2: they feel overwhelmed. So how can the very thing that

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Speaker 2: you're doing, biblical literacy you emphasize it. How does it

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Speaker 2: help believers fight fear without becoming fearful in the battle.

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Speaker 1: Well, I think the more you study the Word of God,

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Speaker 1: the more it will fuel your faith. Faith comes by

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Speaker 1: hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And I

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Speaker 1: think we need a strong angelology. It's not something that

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Speaker 1: we talk about a lot. That having that good theology

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Speaker 1: surrounding the supernatural, so that we in our spiritual battles,

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Speaker 1: because I do think it's sometimes hard to sort out

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Speaker 1: what are hormones, what is lack of sleep, what is

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Speaker 1: poor eating and sleeping habits, and what is a demon

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Speaker 1: messing with me?

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Speaker 2: You know?

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Speaker 1: And how do I delineate that? And I just want

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Speaker 1: to acknowledge and say that's very difficult, and I think

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Speaker 1: we should cover all the bases. So what I'm saying

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Speaker 1: is when you're in a place of maybe doubt or depression,

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Speaker 1: like go see a good therapist, go to your physical

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Speaker 1: doctor and see if there's any things to play there.

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Speaker 1: But then also recognize that everything is spiritual. That God

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Speaker 1: made your body, God made your mind, and so all

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Speaker 1: of those connection things are connected to our spiritual health.

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Speaker 1: And so I think the danger is that we live

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Speaker 1: with an anti supernatural bias. And we come by that

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Speaker 1: honestly because of our culture, because of our world. And

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Speaker 1: we could track that historically because in the Bible they

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Speaker 1: didn't have it right, they didn't have an anti supernatural bias.

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Speaker 1: In in fact, Sean and I were just my husband and

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Speaker 1: I today we're just something together in numbers. That was

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Speaker 1: like when women are accused they have to drink this potion,

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Speaker 1: and we're like, oh my God, goodness, what is this,

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Speaker 1: you know, and we're like, this is just so strange,

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Speaker 1: And I'm like, wow. They really did not struggle with

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Speaker 1: everything being logical the way that I do and the

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Speaker 1: way that most of us do. And so I do

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Speaker 1: think the danger for us is to live as though

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Speaker 1: there's people and there's God and that's it. I think

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Speaker 1: it's because there's three hundred mentions of angels in the Bible.

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Speaker 1: One scholar called it the excluded Middle. So living as

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Speaker 1: though there's God and there's people, but let's remember there's

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Speaker 1: this whole other category of angels and demons. And here's

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Speaker 1: the reality. We're going to spend eternity worshiping God alongside

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Speaker 1: these incredible creatures. They don't have wings. Slash that the

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Speaker 1: Seraphim and the Cherubim do have wings. The Cherubim's wings

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Speaker 1: are covered in eyes. Never seen that in a Nativity play.

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Speaker 1: I never seen that. So I do think we want

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Speaker 1: to be biblically literate about these messengers that God sends.

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Speaker 1: One of the theologians I really enjoyed listening to doctor

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Speaker 1: Joel Mudumala. He said this, and it kind of rocked

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Speaker 1: my world. I'd love to hear what you think about it, Carol.

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Speaker 1: He said God is the king of a two household family,

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Speaker 1: angels in the supernatural and humans in the natural. Do

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Speaker 1: you think that way? I don't think that way. Like that,

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Speaker 1: there's that this excluded middle I've kind of excluded. And

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Speaker 1: I think that's my prayer and hope for women and

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Speaker 1: men as we study this supernatural realm, to just remember.

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Speaker 1: I think the enemy wants us to live with an

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Speaker 1: excluded middle because it will encourage us so much to

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Speaker 1: know that the God, that God is the God of

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Speaker 1: angel armies, and that he's fighting for us, and that

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Speaker 1: will spend eternity with this these members of our household.

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Speaker 1: I don't know, how does that How does that land

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Speaker 1: in your soul today? I'm just curious.

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Speaker 3: That's something to think about.

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Speaker 2: Is very thought provoking because we're both were created beings,

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Speaker 2: right and he created the order?

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Speaker 3: Is gonna check I nite?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, But I think about like in the Bible, they

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Speaker 2: strength awe in people.

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Speaker 1: Most of the time they say, do not fear before

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Speaker 1: they can even get their message out. But just to

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Speaker 1: think that we're going to be in relationship of some

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Speaker 1: sort together, I mean read Revelation, we're singing and we're

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Speaker 1: worshiping God together. I if you had asked me before

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Speaker 1: I wrote this study, does an angel? I know, we

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Speaker 1: don't pray to angels, like, there's no example of any

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Speaker 1: scripture not to right, well, not to worship them, for sure,

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Speaker 1: we're to pray to God only. We're to worship God only.

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Speaker 1: In fact, angels give that message. Now short caveat, we

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Speaker 1: don't have to dig into this, But there is a

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Speaker 1: character in the Old Testament named the Angel of the Lord.

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Speaker 3: That's right.

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Speaker 1: This is an angel that is distinctive from all the

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Speaker 1: other ones. And there's two real things that make this

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Speaker 1: angel distinctive. This angel receives worship and forgive sin, and

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Speaker 1: we know that only God does that.

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Speaker 2: Right.

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Speaker 1: So there's a lot conversation around is this Angel of

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Speaker 1: the Lord God in an angel form? Is it the

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Speaker 1: pre incarnate Christ? So there's some fascination and good there.

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Speaker 1: But what I where I wanted to lead is that

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Speaker 1: I would have told you I didn't know does an

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Speaker 1: angel ever pray for humans? Why would they pray to

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Speaker 1: God on behef of humans? And I actually found there's

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Speaker 1: an example of it in the Book of Zechariah where

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Speaker 1: there's an end to the exile, and we know that

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Speaker 1: the exile, we know the amount of years that it

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Speaker 1: was going to be seventy years because God told Daniel

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Speaker 1: and Daniel prophesied that it would be seventy years of captivity.

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Speaker 1: And so when it's coming towards the end of that,

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Speaker 1: this angel and Zechariah says, Lord, the seventy years have

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Speaker 1: come to an end, would you be gracious and merciful

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Speaker 1: to your people? Like this angel prays on our behalf.

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Speaker 1: It's so beautiful and it's such a passage we don't

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Speaker 1: normally go to because it's weird. And I'll just say this,

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Speaker 1: a lot of angel passages are weird, like they're very supernatural,

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Speaker 1: they're very cosmic. Pastors don't preach them regularly in the pulpit.

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Speaker 1: So when you go through the three hundred Angel mentions,

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Speaker 1: you're gonna I go, oh, my goodness, what is this story.

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Speaker 1: I don't remember the story of an angel praying. We

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Speaker 1: also know from the New Testament that angels are not

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Speaker 1: redeemed and humans are. Jesus did not become an angel

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Speaker 1: and die for the angels. He became human. He put

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Speaker 1: on flesh, he dwelt among this, and it says that

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Speaker 1: the angels are in awe of our salvation. They're in

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Speaker 1: wonder of our salvation. So I just my prayer is

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Speaker 1: that as we look at these supernatural beings, this excluded middle,

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Speaker 1: that we would prepare for the future, that we're going

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Speaker 1: to spend eternity with angels, that we would overcome this

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Speaker 1: anti supernatural bias that we've come by without even realizing it. Historically,

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Speaker 1: because of the Enlightenment and the Reformation, which were good things,

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Speaker 1: this was just a byproduct of them. Was this elevation

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Speaker 1: of logic and reason over the supernatural. I also think

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Speaker 1: there's so much misinformation in our culture, right, there's so much,

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Speaker 1: whether it's demonic, weird stuff about zombies, or whether it's

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Speaker 1: even just every time the bell rings, another angel gets

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Speaker 1: their wings. Well, angels don't actually get wings. So all

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Speaker 1: that's terrible theology, you know, may seem harmless.

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Speaker 2: Well everything, we don't become angels when we die.

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Speaker 1: We don't.

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Speaker 2: And that you're not going to tell somebody at the funeral, no,

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Speaker 2: your theology is wrong. But it's like, right, Mama died

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Speaker 2: and heaven got another angel, right, Yeah.

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Speaker 1: And that's actually what spurred me on to write this

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Speaker 1: as someone said this at my dad's service. I thought

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Speaker 1: maybe you had read that. But someone said that, and

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Speaker 1: it made me think, gosh, I know we don't become angels,

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Speaker 1: but I don't know that I could explain to someone

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Speaker 1: why and how. And that's how I started to go, Man,

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Speaker 1: there's a lot that I don't know about these supernatural beings.

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Speaker 1: So preparing for the future, overcoming the supernatural bias, identifying misinformation.

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Speaker 1: But then just back to the original question you asked me,

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Speaker 1: and I'm sorry I've got off on an intentions. It

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Speaker 1: is spiritual warfare is being able to fight our spiritual

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Speaker 1: battles with confidence, with that faith of Abraham that says

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Speaker 1: God's got this. I don't have to fear. I don't

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Speaker 1: have to sit and wonder what the demons are up to,

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Speaker 1: because God wins. And it should fuel our prayer lives.

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Speaker 1: To be praying in faith, knowing that we don't have

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Speaker 1: to live under believing the lives.

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Speaker 3: Of the accuser.

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Speaker 1: We can walk in victory, and I think as believers,

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Speaker 1: more of us I want to walk in more victory

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Speaker 1: and less fear.

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Speaker 2: I agree, it's funny demons, I didn't really, we didn't

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Speaker 2: study them growing up a whole lot, as we shouldn't.

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Speaker 3: But you're right.

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Speaker 2: We need to have weapons, we need to be able

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Speaker 2: to speak intelligently to protect ourselves. And a demon is

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Speaker 2: a fallen angel, but just briefly they seek to destroy.

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Speaker 2: But one thing that's really comforting that your study pointed

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Speaker 2: out to me is that Jesus has absolute authority over.

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Speaker 1: Them today, not one day, he will today.

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Speaker 2: Yes, So how can this truth, how can it help

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Speaker 2: somebody who feels spiritually attacked or oppressed or discouraged.

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Speaker 1: Well, first of all, let's just say demons cannot possess you.

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Speaker 1: It's an ownership issue. If you are in Christ, you

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Speaker 1: are owned and sealed by the Holy Spirit, So you

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Speaker 1: don't have to fear being possessed by a demon, even

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Speaker 1: if you've seen a movie about it, if you are

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00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,080
Speaker 1: in Christ. Second of all, yes, there you have the

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Speaker 1: truth of God's word, which is so much greater. And

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Speaker 1: that's that. I mean, demons don't have anything new going

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Speaker 1: on since scripture. You know, they're maybe using technology in

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Speaker 1: a different way, but they accuse us, they deceive and

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Speaker 1: lie to us, and and that's that's that deception and

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Speaker 1: then they oppress us. Right, that's the bringing suffering, like

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Speaker 1: what Joe went through. Right, So we can look at

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Speaker 1: those things and just say, maybe not be as surprised

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Speaker 1: by them. I think that can help us comfort us

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Speaker 1: to go, oh, of course I'm feeling shameful. That's what

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Speaker 1: the enemy does. That's not true, you know. And when

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Speaker 1: he tries to sieve us, we can fight back with truth.

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Speaker 1: I think about how did Jesus fight Satan? Right, we

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Speaker 1: can go to the Temptation of Christ and say every

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Speaker 1: time Jesus fought back against enemy lies with the truth

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Speaker 1: of scripture correctly interpreted. Satan even used an angel passage

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Speaker 1: to truck from Psalm ninety one to try to get

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Speaker 1: Jesus jump off this thing because the angels will come

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Speaker 1: down and you won't even be able to hit your

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Speaker 1: foot against the stone. And he's like, you know, so

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Speaker 1: he totally. So it's that right interpretation of scripture is

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Speaker 1: how we battled the enemy lies. And I love that

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Speaker 1: at the end of Jesus's temptation, after he's been tempted

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Speaker 1: with an angel passage, who came and ministered to Jesus

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Speaker 1: interest it was the angels, that's right. They came and ministered.

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Speaker 3: Well, tell me this.

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Speaker 2: If you could speak directly to the listener who is

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Speaker 2: overwhelmed by fear, fear of the enemy, fear of the future,

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Speaker 2: fear of suffering. What truth from this study that you

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Speaker 2: written would you want them to hold onto most highly?

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Speaker 1: It would be this, The God of angel Armies is

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Speaker 1: on your side. He's on your side. I also would say,

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Speaker 1: in that moment, I would find a verse of scripture,

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Speaker 1: just one, memorize it, and hold on to it. Whether

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Speaker 1: it's greater is He that is in me or the

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Speaker 1: God of Peace will soon crush Satan. But for me,

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Speaker 1: it's been pro Psalm twenty seven. It's written by David,

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Speaker 1: and it's where he starts off with the Lord is

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Speaker 1: my Light and my salvation, of whom shall I be afraid?

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Speaker 1: But he has this one line in verse three at

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Speaker 1: the end where he says, even if I am attacked,

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Speaker 1: I will remain confident. And the reason David could write

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Speaker 1: that is because he knew the God of angel Armies

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Speaker 1: was on his side. So I would say, let me

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Speaker 1: just remind you, the God of angel armies is on

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Speaker 1: your side because he is your light and your salvation.

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Speaker 1: And if you put all your fears up next to him,

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Speaker 1: you'll find faith.

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Speaker 3: Oh, they give me goosebumps.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Thank you for that, And to our listeners,

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Speaker 2: thank you so much for joining us today. We hope

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Speaker 2: that you're encouraged by Melissa's insights and that you're reminded

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Speaker 2: that you're not alone, that you're not abandoned, that you're

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00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:15,520
Speaker 2: now fighting your battles in your own strength. The God

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00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,760
Speaker 2: who rules over heaven and earth, that God of angel

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Speaker 2: armies that Melissa is talking about, is present. He is

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Speaker 2: present in your story. He's aware of your struggle. He's

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00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:30,720
Speaker 2: powerful enough to bring healing and redemption and hope right

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00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:34,000
Speaker 2: where you need it the most. So, if you haven't

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00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,280
Speaker 2: already done so, I encourage you to subscribe to this

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00:27:36,359 --> 00:27:39,520
Speaker 2: podcast so you won't miss a single episode, and rate

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00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,800
Speaker 2: it because it encourages Jennifer, my co host, and me.

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00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,240
Speaker 2: Share it with your friends, and until next time, may

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Speaker 2: you live as one who has been truly set free,