The Worship and Leadership Podcast
Real conversations on worship, leadership, and living a faith-filled life beyond the platform. Hosted by leaders from LifePoint Church, this podcast is here to inspire, equip, and challenge you—whether you’re leading in ministry, in the marketplace, or just learning to lead yourself well.
The Worship and Leadership Podcast
Worship as Spiritual Warfare
Fear has a way of hijacking your plan, your timeline, and your peace. We pressed into a counterintuitive move that changes everything: when the pressure rises, worship goes first. Starting with 2 Chronicles 20, we follow King Jehoshaphat as he meets a real threat with a real response—seeking God, telling the truth about his fear, and choosing praise before a single outcome appears. That decision doesn’t numb reality; it reframes it. As the people worship, God speaks, details emerge, and the battle flips without Judah lifting a sword.
If you’re ready to stop fighting for victory and start fighting from it, this conversation will give you language, tools, and courage to stand firm. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a review with your favorite takeaway so more people can find the show.
What's going on, everybody, and welcome to the worship and leadership podcast. And my name is Elmer Cagnez Jr. And I'm excited that we get to spend this time together on the podcast. And like always, my my main man, Willie C Simpson.
SPEAKER_04:I'm excited. So uh I bet you're wondering.
SPEAKER_00:They're making me do it.
SPEAKER_04:You're wondering what's going on. How in the world do them three fellas been on top of this left seat right here that's clearly designed for Tim?
unknown:A lot of love in this.
SPEAKER_04:I'm telling you, where there's a will, there's a way. So we're gonna go ahead and get the obvious out the way. Our first guest that's in betwixt us. These are missions and outreach pastor, Pastor Mike Campbell.
SPEAKER_00:What's going on? Glad to be here. Hey, we're glad to be here.
SPEAKER_04:So excited to have you, Professor Mike.
SPEAKER_00:He he was here today. Yeah. And we're like, we don't see your face. And we're like, yeah, you're gonna be on the pocket. You're gonna be the pocket. You're gonna be on the pocket.
SPEAKER_04:We already had a full slate. To be clear, already had a full slate. We're like, man, we're gonna wade you in there. Literally. Literally. And uh we got uh the often irritated, never duplicated. Oh Tiffany Duncan, Tiffy Toes. Oh god. Our GSP grocery store princess in the building. What up, Tiff?
SPEAKER_02:Hello, so glad to be here.
SPEAKER_04:So excited to have you here. And wearing a navy blue blazer, rocking it. One of our lead pastors from O H I O.
SPEAKER_03:That's right.
SPEAKER_04:Dayton. The state with the most inventions ever.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Uh that's that's the claim to fame right there.
SPEAKER_03:Well, they've got a lot.
SPEAKER_04:Hey, listen, y'all know she straight up 10 minutes to schooled us on all the inventions that came out. Did y'all know the pop tab came out of Ohio? Yeah. Did you know that the thermometer came out of Ohio? Did you know that the that the airplane came out the spike mometer came out of Ohio? You know what the sp- What was that? The spike mominometer.
SPEAKER_03:No, I missed that one.
SPEAKER_04:That measures your blood pressure. You know the thing that they put.
SPEAKER_02:I don't think that's what it's called.
SPEAKER_04:It's called the Spike mominometer. Can you spell it? Spike. Spike. Oh, spike. Spike. S-P. Spike. H Y G. M-A-M-M-O-M-E-T-E-R.
SPEAKER_03:Someone's gonna jump. The blood pressure cuff.
SPEAKER_04:The blood pressure cuff, it measures.
SPEAKER_01:Well, let's go with that word.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. Measures.
SPEAKER_01:Glad to be here.
SPEAKER_04:You went overhead.
SPEAKER_03:Glad to be here.
SPEAKER_04:Thank you, Pastor Steph. Sorry. Switching gears. Yes, please. Today's podcast episode is very special. It is. Because we're going to be talking about worship as spiritual warfare. Come on, somebody. Anyone that has been saved longer than five minutes knows that we have a very real enemy. That we don't just have to deal with our own weaknesses. We don't just have to deal with the fallenness of our world. We have a supernatural enemy who is actively and deliberately and constantly fighting against us. Can I get an amen?
SPEAKER_03:Amen. Unfortunately.
SPEAKER_04:Unfortunately.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that is true.
SPEAKER_04:Right? But it's a reality, and we can't afford to ignore it. The Apostle Paul says, I would not have you to be ignorant of Satan's devices. And since we are all soldiers in the Lord's army, I think today would be a good day to talk about worship overall, and then to look through the advantage that we have as the believer and in practical ways that we can engage in warfare. So our anchor verse, our anchor passage today is 2 Chronicles, chapter 20. And this is a very interesting backdrop. We have the king here, Jehoshaphat. He is the ruler in Israel. And there are two warring nations, the Moabites and the Ammonites. They have conspired against the people of God. And verse 2, we can see that there are some trouble. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, a great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea, and behold, they are in Hazazan Tamar, that is in Gedi. Verse 3. So we can see there's an issue here. Verse 3. Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord, and all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord. So I just want to pause here and talk through what is what does it mean to be at war spiritually? When people talk about spiritual warfare, Hollywood has all types of things. People have all types of things. So Pastor Michael, I'll start with you, then Pastor Steph throw to you. When we talk about spiritual warfare, what exactly does that mean for us as Christians?
SPEAKER_01:Well, we live in a physical world, but our enemy is not physical. Right. Second Corinthians 10 tells us in verse 3 the weapons of a warfare are not carnal, right? But mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. So in my thought process, I believe the biggest war we fight is right here in the mind. Because he begins to influence our thought life with what's going on around us. Remember Lot said that he was a righteous man, but his soul, his mind, will and emotion were backed by the things he saw and heard. That's where the war is waged. And it's not a physical. I can't take a gun. You can have a gun all day long, but you can't shoot a spirit. And so we have weapons at our disposal that God has given us. And I love this second chronicles because Jehosaphat gives us some real keys to how to go about doing this thing. And uh acknowledging what he was not and acknowledging who God was. And that put him in the place where he could receive victory.
SPEAKER_04:Yes, sir. So good. Pastor Steph.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I think as Christians, you know, we're we get so focused on the natural, the temporal, what I can see, and we think that's all there is. Right. Because it's the world we live in right now. But then all of a sudden, if when you become a Christian, you get saved, you're like, wow, there's a spirit part of me. I mean, I don't know how often we think before we're a Christian, like, wow, there's a spiritual side of me. And we hear that phrase sometimes, like, I'm a spiritual person or something. But when you meet Jesus, it's like the spirit part of you, because we're body, soul, spirit. That's what I'm talking about. The spiritual part of us connects with the Holy Spirit. So then when you talk about a spiritual battle, a spiritual warfare, you're like, wait a minute, what's happening? Like, there's so there's more happening than what I can see in front of me. And as a Christian, yeah, just start reading scripture. And we're this passage right here talks about, you know, letting the Lord go before you and fight this battle. Now they were in a physical battle here, actually. But today I think we're gonna talk about way more than just physical battles. Cause like you said, Pastor Mike, I you can you can take a weapon. Now we're in an army town, so we actually hear quite a bit where we are in our context about physical battles. But as believers, there's always something happening around us that's it's spiritual, it's spiritual, it's spiritual. And we got to put our spiritual glasses on, or like you're talking about, what comes in our mind? What are we focusing on? What are we thinking about? That it may not just be practical problems that we're facing, you know, it could be a lot more than that. So, how do we figure that out? I think those are some of the things we're gonna talk about today. How do we identify? How do we warfare? What do we do? And Paul is so great. I love Ephesians chapter six. That's one of my favorite passages. We'll probably get there today. That's right. But we have to be geared up and ready for this. So if you're a new believer, old believer, anywhere in between, be reminded that we are in spiritual battles every day. I like to think that the spiritual world is more real than the physical world. Because everything we see is gonna pass away one day. But our spirits go on to live for forever with the Lord. Our physical bodies will, you know, they bury you, you you begin to decay. But if if you're a believer, well, even if you're not a believer, your your soul and your spirit go on forever. That's right. It's just whether we're gonna be with the Lord or not. So that's just proof that there's so much more than the physical that we're in. So today I'm excited about today's conversation.
SPEAKER_01:Come on. And I think that's important because most people, because they live in this physical world, the spiritual man gets pushed to the back.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and you can't fault somebody for only seeing what's around us, but that's why we have the instruction of the word to remind us there's so much more. There's so much more.
SPEAKER_04:That's right. So, Tiff, I want you to think through this. I'm gonna read this passage, but this is I I love again, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, he sees a threat. He sees there's an enemy coming, and his response is so key. Verse 4, and Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord from all the cities of Judah that came to seek the Lord. Verse 5, and Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court and said, O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham? And they have built. So he goes on and on and on, talking about all these things. And then let me let me look at verse 10. And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and my seer, whom you would not let Israel evade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy. Behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given to us. Verse 12 Our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that's coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. Jehoshaphat prays. He calls the assembly together.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:He doesn't say let's mount up and ride. He says, Let's kneel down and pray. So, okay, we just talked through the importance of seeking God before we engage in in spiritual warfare.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I love that. I love that it says he was afraid and then he went to God. Right. He didn't, you know, spend time spiraling in his own thoughts or or thinking about even his own power. Because when we go to God and and he even reminds the Lord in his prayer that that we fight from a place of victory, not for a place of victory.
SPEAKER_05:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Like God is is already, you know, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, he has already won the victory. He's already won the battle. So you know, just shifting that perspective and and just going to to prayer to, you know, just reminding even even the Lord, but then it reminds yourself like, like, God, this is your battle.
SPEAKER_05:Right.
SPEAKER_02:You are already victorious. I know that you go before me. Yeah. I know that I am weak, but I know that you are strong, you know, and just just fighting the battle from that place of victory. I mean, it's all the difference. He could have just spiraled in his own thoughts and his own power, and he chose to seek the Lord.
SPEAKER_04:Come on.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it's a first response. Yes. Yes. I think that we talked about that on Sunday and in a lot of sermons, but prayer, seeking the Lord, going to the Lord, it's a first response, not a last resort. Yeah, right. Resort, like you said, instead of spiral thing, thinking, how can I solve this? I think he even said he didn't know what to do. Verse 12. Yeah, verse 12. Yeah. We do not know what to do. I love the honesty. Yes. Yeah. I mean, how human is that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I think the other thing that's cool about that verse is he says, Oh, God, will you not judge them?
SPEAKER_05:Right.
SPEAKER_01:It wasn't his place to judge who was attacking him. It was God's place. And he's just reminding the Lord. He said, because we have no power against this great army. And then I love the last part where he says, We don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. And you know, in Hebrews 12, it says that we're to we're to be looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. It's obvious. I mean, Jesus wasn't around then as far as the manifestation that we know of, but he had his eyes on God. So he could say, and when it says that, you know, it it talks about their gaze fixed. It wasn't just a casual glance. It was something that was common for him to be able to look to God to give the answer.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. So I'm I'm gonna park the cart here and talk through the believer's authority and victory. Because when you talk about warfare, we have to be careful. We're not trying to secure victory, and you said it, and you said it. We have victory in Christ. And I and that's so I want all of us to just encourage folks, just out of your spirit, in terms of hey, you're a blood-bought believer, you are washed by the blood, you're filled with God, the spirit, so you you already entered the battlefield with the advantage. So can we can we just talk through that, Elmer? Let's start with you, sir.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I I think again to Pastor Stephanie's point earlier, it it's hard to fault people when they don't know any better. And so, and that's the point of you know, new believers, we and us being the local church, we don't want you just to make a decision and just kind of figure it out as you go. And so that's where community and and small groups and being part of a healthy church really helps kind of in I was gonna say, yeah, no, I'm not gonna say to really shed light on on the where you what you should do and what's happening. A lot of times people will find themselves like feeling like they they are defeated, feeling like life has the best of them, feeling that things aren't going the way that they should be going for them. Hey, I just gave my life to Jesus and everything's falling apart, right? And and it and I say it a lot on the podcast, a lot of it has to do with perspective, with depending on what you've been exposed to, that's that's how you filter things just in the same way as the the traumas of your own life kind of shape how you see people and how you interact with people. And so that's why the word of God is the truth that we and the light that we want to shine on every situation in our lives, and so knowing the truth, knowing what Jesus says, the truth that shall set you free a lot of times is it's not because of what you have, but knowing the position that you're in, regardless of what's happening in your circumstances. And so I think the position of victory, peace doesn't come by having things, a joy doesn't have doesn't happen because something happens to you, you know, and there's a lot of things like that, but we peace comes from the Lord. Joy is something we choose to to to engage in every day, and so those are perspectives, those are things that we we find and that on our journey with the Lord that we have in Jesus. Yeah, and so when it comes to that that perspective of we we we have we worship and we praise from a position, we live in a position of victory. It's because we have Jesus, so knowing that we have Him, that He's on our side, it changes our perspective on life, on our perspective on how we're raising kids, how we're dealing with all the crazy around the world. And so, you know, we feel like governors and politicians control what how we feel, but the truth is it shouldn't impact our feelings, regardless of if you get angry or upset, like we still have the fruit of the spirit, self-control, things like that that we get from the Lord in relationship, being close to Jesus, close to the vine. Yeah, and again, so the the difference here is Jesus, and when we have the perspective through scripture on who he is, what he offers, it changes our understanding of like, oh man, I I I'm better off than I think, yeah, you know, and so that's that's what I'm thinking.
SPEAKER_01:I think that's a great comment. Back to Tiffany's comment. We're not fighting for a victory, we're already in the place. We got it, yes. We have authority over the spirit realm. Yeah, Jesus said, Behold, all authority has been given unto me, and now I give it unto you. Yeah, so we don't have to back up. We don't, I mean, if you look at this passage, it says after he set his eyes around me, he says, Now all Judah with their little ones, their wives and their children, stood before the Lord. And then it says, And then the Spirit of the Lord came. Now it makes you think like it was all bam, bam, bam. But when you look at that word stood, it indicates that there was a passing of time where they waited on the Lord. And it reminds me of the young lions lack and suffer hunger.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:But they that wait on the Lord shall not lack any good thing. And I think Pastor Mike, maybe it was this Sunday, if I remember correctly, he said, uh, prayer shouldn't be a last resort, it should be a first response. That's right. You see it right here. Yeah, yes, as soon as they heard it, first response. And I I think this is what gives us the upper hand if we're thinking in the proper manner that we're supposed to be, remembering who we are in Christ. When things roll up on us, we roll into prayer.
SPEAKER_00:So good. But but the whole waiting concept has to do with trusting. Yeah. And so waiting on God begins with trusting in the Lord. And sometimes we don't trust in him fully, but the process itself teaches us to trust.
SPEAKER_03:And so I was gonna actually back up into this. So you guys are giving so much hope and encouragement to people listening, but I'm going, what if what if you're a a person listening or a Christian who's like, but wait a minute, why am I fighting a battle if we've already won? That's something I've always tried to distinguish between. Like, can you help us understand? And maybe I can start to answer it a little bit, but you know what I'm saying? Yeah, like, okay, we know Jesus wins in the end, but why why are we fighting battles if we've already won? What's well, how do like, and and I think it's like you said, if you're a Christian for even a couple of minutes, like things don't always go right. So I I want to start that conversation by saying we live in a fallen world. So I'm I'm a Christian, I'm a believer, and we have an eternal, a blessed hope, right? Jesus is returning for his church. But between now and then, there's battles that come our way that we're gonna have to stand up and step up. And then we go, so what's my part? If he's already done it, doesn't he just fight this for me? So I just want to put that thought out there. Like, so as a Christian, what is my responsibility and why doesn't God just do this for me? Do you see kind of what I'm getting at here? And so I I would like to posit that as a Christian, we recognize there are gaps where God, I mean, he wants to come through for us, but he's also waiting on us for our faith to rise and for us to trust him, like you're saying, perspective. I choose joy. This is a really tough situation I'm in right now. So I can be defeated or I can go, I know the battle's already been won. So what's my response gonna be? I'm gonna choose joy.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, I'm just kind of throwing that first of all, we're created for God, for as we're created to worship him. That's right, for his glory. Right, and scripture is clear on that, that we're created for his glory. And I think every circumstance in our life, good or bad, it's an opportunity for God to be glorified. And so I might not we might not even answer the the the why things happen. And I know that's a big question. If why did God allow this to happen, this and that, and and that's really hard to answer because there's a lot of things we don't know. But I do think there there is opportunities in our daily lives, opportunities in our lives in general to bring glory to God. And it's almost like the way we choose to live this life in the flesh, in this fallen world, determines what happens in in the next, right? In eternity. We choose to follow Jesus and live this life surrendered to him. It's almost like God wants all of us, meaning our mind, body, soul, everything. And so as we live this life for his glory, we're gonna we're gonna have conflict because, like you said, this is a fallen world, it's a broken world, and there's everything's opposing the will of God, right? The purpose of God, the mission of God. Right. Right? It's it's easier to go and do bad things than it is to go and preach the gospel and spread the gospel around the world. And so I think just just from my my perspective, my two cents is every moment is a moment to bring glory to God in the good and the bad. And so we will go through battles, yeah. But at the end of the day, like I I go through it, and if I can overcome it, it's not to say, Man, I I did it. Look at me, I'm I'm good, I'm better. No, it's it's to say, like, man, glory to God. Amen. I got through it, uh look, I'm still standing because of God. And a lot of times, a lot of people, a lot of Christians will will overcome, but then it's like, look at what I did. Right. And then they lose focus in sight of what what the Lord has done. So good. And then that whole moment becomes pointless and meaningless. Yeah. You know, because they they set their sights off of God Himself and maybe a lesson, something he was trying to do, or grow in them. Right.
SPEAKER_04:And so yeah, that's good. Yeah, so what I thought that I had was, you know, there's this doctrine in in, especially in academic theological circles, of the already, but not yet. And I think part of it is the already for us as believers is that we have victory over the enemy. The Bible says that Jesus defeated death and the one who has the power of death, the devil. Uh, Paul calls death our last and final enemy. The Bible says in Colossians that Jesus made an open show. He he mocked, he made an open mockery of these demonic powers, these principalities paraded them down the streets. And he he's Christ as victor. So there's this already to your point, like we have victory in Christ, but evil has not yet been finally and fully judged. Right. The consummation of God's judgment has not taken place. Therefore, the enemy is doing what Peter said. He's prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he made a vow. The devil is still the accuser of the brother and he's still active and doing these things. The kingdom of God is still suffering violence. That is still actively happening. And so, because that is the case, we cannot look to this present age and this present life life to see that consummation happen. But what we can look to is the already victory that has been secured through Jesus Christ. We can look to that.
SPEAKER_03:And I love that point because I think that's where as believers we we just need that awareness all the time. Yes. Already, but not yet. Yeah. Yes. Thank you for explaining that because that's that's so powerful. Like I am a believer, but I've got work to do. I've got people to reach. I'm on mission because we are in the church era. You know, we are. I remind our growth track class about this when I talk about the salvation story. I said, so Jesus came, died for our sins, ascended to the heavens, and sent his Holy Spirit. And so we are in the church era. He said, I will build my church, the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And so the enemy's trying every which way to get, you know, Christians to do anything but serve Jesus and the gospel to not move forward, but we keep advancing, praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_05:Come on.
SPEAKER_03:But there is a day coming when Jesus will come back for his church, and that day hasn't come yet. So we are in this time that we are called to serve him, tell our families, our children, reach the world for Jesus. So we can't be sleeping on the job.
SPEAKER_05:Come on.
SPEAKER_03:We can't be unaware that there's spiritual warfare going on around us. So thank you for bringing that to our attention. That's really powerful.
SPEAKER_00:And it started, you know, you see it in the ministry of Jesus. Yes. Like in that example of the gospels, you see spiritual warfare happening. Jesus overcame every instant, but there was always opposition. That's a great thing. And that in that context, it was like the spirits themselves were more submitted to Jesus. You know, in those moments where the demons, you know, please Jesus, no. But but the physical, you know, the Pharisees, yes, they were they didn't understand that. So in the physical, they brought opposition, which was eventually led to his crucifixion. You know, but even that itself, even the death of Jesus served a purpose. Yes. And God was glorified in it. And it led to his resurrection, which is the ultimate victory. And so we don't get that. Right. That seems like why would that happen? Why would he have to die? But it it he had to die for us to be able to walk in that victory. Yes.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. Pastor Mike.
SPEAKER_01:I just what she brought up about Matthew 16, the gates of hell will not prevail. Come on. It didn't say they wouldn't attack, it just will not overcome. And it rains on the just, it rains on the unjust. And bad things do happen to good people. But here's the key. We got the Apostle Paul in 16 of Acts, where he's thrown in prison, him and Silas, for casting out a devil. A girl is demon-possessed. And they cast out the devil and they throw them in jail because it's going to affect their income. So life is real. We live in a carnal world that's fallen. And so then I think what's really cool is in verse 25 when it says, But at the midnight hour, when it was the darkest moment, they began to sing praise and pray. This is where we're going with our stuff. At the darkest moment, I shouldn't be here. They could have whined all night, God, what's wrong with you? I shouldn't be here. I can't believe this happened. No. They began to sing praise and pray. And the Bible says all the prisoners heard them. I think our voice is not loud enough. We're letting the world get away with a loud voice and not the church. But they need to hear us. They need to hear us in the valley. They need to hear us on the mountaintop.
SPEAKER_00:That's right.
SPEAKER_01:They need to know that the Lord our God, it is Him who will prevail.
SPEAKER_04:So good. That's a perfect segue because in the midst of worship, the Lord speaks. In the midst in response to our worship, the Lord acts. And so here we are, verse 14. And the spirit of the Lord. Now remember, they prayed. Jehoshaphat's gotten honest. He's like, we don't know what to do. Our eyes are on you. Verse 14. And the spirit of the Lord came upon Jehezeel, the son of Zechariah, son of Beniah, son of Jael. Now listen, you need some baby names. I'm giving them to you now.
SPEAKER_01:You just wanted to go through these names. I just want to go.
SPEAKER_04:You need them, here they are. You got Jamal Beniah Wilson, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asap. Hey, Asaph, he was David's mighty man and in worship. Verse 15, and he said, Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat. All y'all listen, this works for you. Thus says the Lord to you, do not be afraid. Do not be dismayed at this great horde, that this huge army. For the battle is not yours, but God. So first thing he does, there's encouragement. Worship, it fills that, what do they call it? The inner man, Pastor Mike? The inner man, the inner woman. It fuels your why? Because, like you were saying, it is spirit connect, our spirit connecting with the spirit. That is where we're encouraged. That is where we're strengthening, not strengthening your flesh, and not strengthening your mind. Because then you could take credit and say, wow, I came up with the plan and I bootstrapped and I encouraged myself. No, you didn't. Jehoshaphat says, we're powerless. We got nothing. God, we're looking at you. And then look now. First, there's there's praise and worship. God speaks, and now there's a plan. Well, right?
SPEAKER_00:Actually, first was obedience.
SPEAKER_04:Well, yeah, first there's obedience, right? Oh, that's good. That's good. Because there's obedience, because he calls them, hey, I need y'all to come together.
SPEAKER_00:And their their response to their obedience was to worship God.
SPEAKER_04:To worship God. Which moved the led God to speak, and now he gives them a plan. Look at verse 16. Tomorrow. Aren't you glad God? He's got a detail. Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. He's letting them know this is where they're gonna come. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.
SPEAKER_03:I wish God could speak that way every time.
SPEAKER_04:My Lord.
SPEAKER_03:With the details, just tell me. You're afraid, and you're like, I can't lay it out for me.
SPEAKER_04:Tomorrow go down Wilma Rudolph.
SPEAKER_03:Right at noon.
SPEAKER_04:At noon. Go to Raising Canes. Get the Kaniac combo. There will be a man there with a donkey tied up to the fence post. Tell him that the master has need of it. And let him give you the coupon. And let him give her the coupon now because then tell him Jesus, he paid it all.
SPEAKER_03:Is this a weekly tip?
SPEAKER_04:This is weekly in it.
SPEAKER_01:You know, there was a difference in the old covenant and the new covenant. In the old covenant, they couldn't have the Spirit of God leading them. Remember the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt? They had a fire by night and a cloud by day. If they wanted anything, they had to go to the prophet, the priest, or the king. He would ask the Lord and give them an answer. But now, in this covenant, we all have the Holy Spirit. That's right. We're filled with the Spirit baptized. Baptized in the spirit. Come on. He's down on the inside. And I'm telling you, the Bible says that no one can stand against it.
SPEAKER_04:Come on now.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, listen, we've got everything we need right on the inside.
SPEAKER_04:That's it.
SPEAKER_01:And so he don't have to tell me to go to raisin.
SPEAKER_04:Come on, where can I go?
SPEAKER_01:I can go into the pastor, preach it. But I'm telling you right now, if we'll just learn to listen to him, that's right.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. I think that's the first step. Yes. You got to make the decision. Go back to verse four. They came to seek the Lord first. If they hadn't done that, the rest of the story wouldn't have taken place. That's exactly right. So if we don't seek God, we don't get an answer. It's kind of plain and simple.
SPEAKER_04:That's it right there. First response.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, if we put ourselves before the Lord, we have positioned ourselves then to hear from God. Yes. And Lord willing, it will be with the details.
SPEAKER_01:You know, you're a detailed partner.
SPEAKER_03:I know. My God, you made me this way. You know I like list. You know I need to know. And then you know what he often says to me when I ask him very specific things like, okay, how do I handle this? How what do I make a decision about that? And he always oftentimes I hear him say, Do you trust me?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:I'm like, that's not very detailed. And I hear it again multiple times. That's often a response I get from the Lord. Do you trust me? I think sometimes we'll have to drop my shoulders and go, Yes, I do. And then he's kind of like, just shh, hush. Like, I will help you, you know? Because sometimes I think I know I'm picking on myself a little bit here and loving the detail people, but we don't need all the details. Yeah. Like God wants us to trust him because if we knew the details, we may not want to go forward with the plan.
SPEAKER_04:Come on, that's a word.
SPEAKER_01:You know, that's why he doesn't show us the beginning to the end.
SPEAKER_04:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:If he had showed Joseph that he would go to the pit and the prison before he went to the palace, we wouldn't have a palace story. Come on, but he showed him the palace.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, I even think of this church. If you told us what we would be doing when we came here in 2010, and what we're doing now, you know, we'd have a staff that we're leading and we're doing campuses. I'd be going, there's no way we can do that. I don't know how to do that. I don't know how to get there. You know, but it's one day at a time, following the Lord, going, what today, God? What today, God? One day, one step, one prayer. Come on. You know, so good.
SPEAKER_04:So, Tiff, I want to throw it to you because their response to the word of the Lord, it's it's unconventional. So, verse 18. Now remember, it says, Tomorrow go against them, and the Lord will be with you. The man of God is spoken. Verse 18. Then Jehosaphat bowed his with his, bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord. Look at this, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. Let's just pause right there. They didn't go arm up, they didn't go get their munitions, they didn't go reshoes, put horseshoes on the horse. They didn't do any of that. Check their ARs, they went back and worshiped.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and I love that. I mean, that's even before they saw the evidence of what the Lord said.
SPEAKER_04:Come on, come on.
SPEAKER_02:They are already worshiping because they know that God is going to be true on his word. They know he's not going to tell them something and it not come true, you know. And we can worship from that place too. You know, we know this word is true.
SPEAKER_05:That's right.
SPEAKER_02:And and we can worship our God in victory in the midst of the battle or like before, if we see it coming. Like God is good and he always will be. No matter what our circumstances look like. I mean, their circumstances still look bad.
SPEAKER_05:Right.
SPEAKER_02:They still had an army, you know, coming after them. Their circumstances still looked bad. Yeah. But the Lord had already told them do not be afraid. He already told them he's gonna win the battle. He already told them it's his battle. And so their response is worship.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:You know, he is always worthy of our worship. So I just loved that that, you know, they are face down and worshiping in in the midst of that circumstance. Because we know the end. Right. Yeah, we do. Yeah, we have a horse. And know what happens. They didn't have that yet. Right. You know, so I just love that response.
SPEAKER_03:It would have been easy for them to be fearful. Right. Yes, right. I mean, when you you're outnumbered, when you're facing an enemy, this was a physical, real enemy. Yeah, yeah. And yeah, I love that.
SPEAKER_02:And and they had the day, they did have some of the details, you know, that he did give them, but they didn't believe that God was gonna come through.
SPEAKER_03:And I love that their perspective was we're just gonna focus on you. Just focus on you, Lord. That's where our that's where we need to put our all of us, yeah, no matter what we're facing. And they still had to stand firm. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, he told them go and stand firm. He didn't say, go hide in your closet and I'm gonna take care of this. They still had to go and stand firm and be obedient in that.
SPEAKER_00:Come on. I I think we're we're I know we always say, Well, that was back then. This is now. I think it's still the same thing. Absolutely. If they had they had they had the written word, the Torah, they had the stories of old, they didn't have a printing press. Correct. So they didn't have a physical Bible, they didn't have uh iPhones, but but they had the stories of what God had done, right? What Jehovah had done, and so you know, all the way from leading them out of Egypt, everything. And so they very much like us had to have faith. They had to have that, you know, they had to be in them as the chosen people of God, the Israelites, they knew they were chosen, they were they were set aside. And and so, very much like us today, as Christians, we know we're followers of Jesus, and we have the word. And so I think in the same context, we're facing several things in in our world today, they look very different, but are we gonna believe what God says at the end of the day? Because you could tell me all the stories, all the testimonies of man, God's done this, God's done that. We see people in church with family members that have been healed from sickness and disease that still struggle with following Jesus, very much like the people of Israel would have, you know, where they doubted. And and back, like to your point earlier, they had the the columns and the like the cloud of fire, the column of you know, fire, the cloud of of the by day. Yeah, and there was more signs because that's how he revealed himself. But now we have testimony, the testimony of the Spirit of God and the things that he's done and does through us as believers, but it's still hard. Yeah, it comes down to believing, it comes down to obedience, and and we say worship is a lifestyle, worship is our obedience to the Lord, right? And so it's it's one thing to sing to God, but he doesn't want you just to sing to him, he wants you to live a life of obedience, and that's worship. Yeah, you know, and so I still think there's very similarities to just Old Testament to us now. Are are we willing to believe? Are we willing to embrace the word of the Lord?
SPEAKER_01:You know, I think that's important. I think this came out, Jehoshaphat's response came out of a lifestyle. Yeah, and if your lifestyle is not worship, if your lifestyle is not gratitude, when the enemy attacks you what are you gonna do? Yeah, you're gonna look for the natural solution.
SPEAKER_04:Come on.
SPEAKER_01:You're not gonna go to God.
SPEAKER_04:Yes, sir. So wrapping up this story. Come on now. Sorry about that. Oh, listen. Oh, that that's that's the fire of the Holy Ghost. So then verse 20. It's the detail for Pastor Steph. So, what did they do? They followed the detail. They rose what? Early. He said, Hey, get up early tomorrow. They rose up early in the morning. Right? And they went out to the wilderness of Tokoah. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat said, Hear me, Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, believe in the Lord your God. You just it's over and over again. This is God's God's with us. He's doing, you will be established. Believe his prophets, and you will succeed. When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire as they went before the army and said, Give thanks to the Lord for his steadfast love, endures forever. So God said you don't fight, but he didn't say you don't worship. So they were still worshiping, they're having praise. Verse 22, look what happened. And when they began to sing in praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of who? Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir. Let's pause right there. All three of these armies had conspired against Judah. And now two of those nations attacked their third co-conspirator. My God in heaven. Can you imagine? You are you Mount Seir? You got your Mount Seir shirt on. I got Moab and I got Ammon right here. We all run into Judah. And all of a sudden, these two guys over here cut me off at the knees. You know what? That's total chaos and confusion. Total chaos and confusion. And guess what? And guess what everybody else is doing? You know what Judah's doing? Here I am to worship. I mean, seriously, they just sing it praise. What was the song we were saying? Jesus, I will fight my past. That's what they're doing.
unknown:Yep.
SPEAKER_04:For the men of Amon Moab rose against Mouseir, devoting them to destruction. And when they have made an end of the inhabitants of Syria, they all helped.
SPEAKER_01:Look, then they killed each other.
SPEAKER_03:I've actually prayed that over our soldiers before. Because I know they go out and do amazing things and you know they bear the sword of the government. But I've prayed that their enemies would be confused.
SPEAKER_04:Come on. And just start attacking each other. So Moab, Ammon, and Mount Seir. Moab and Ammon take out Mount Seir. Then Moab and Ammon take out each other.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Complete destruction, as the Lord said it. And to pulling forward in the New Testament. That's what Jesus did on the cross. He defeated and he paraded them through. I mean, he let me just say this. It's not like there is order and alignment in the kingdom of darkness. It's chaotic. To be clear. It's just anti-God and anti-God's people, anti-image-bearers. But it ain't like it ain't like that's a throne in hell. The Bible says hell was created for the devil and his angels. That's another reason why Jesus gets the victory. Because everything in the kingdom of heaven is aligned towards Christ. It makes much of him. The devil ain't trying to get you to worship him. He wants you to worship yourself or anything but Jesus. What did you say? He wants you to do anything but serve Jesus and spread the gospel.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:That's chaos. Yeah. That's another reason why the kingdom of darkness can't win because there ain't no alignment there. It's just chaotic. It's just anti-God, anti-order, anti-unity.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Now, this is the way God chose to move in this situation. He may choose to move differently in other situations. But I think the takeaway here is the posture of worship, the posture of trusting in the Lord, even though you don't see the outcome yet. Right. Yeah. Right.
SPEAKER_00:You know what I'm thinking? I got distracted because I'm went to Genesis 22. The parallel of the entire people of God with King Jehoshaphat in this moment to Abraham being told to take Isaac to the mountain to go be sacrificed. It was God gave him a promise, God gave him instructions, and then it was up to Abraham to believe and to act in obedience. And then when he did act in obedience, God provided. That's right. God came through. Abraham's obedience was different. It was in singing, but it was still worship. It was still the act of I'm going to obey God's word. Yes. And then God stepped in and still provided a room for the Sabbath.
SPEAKER_04:As a matter of fact, that's what he characterized, what he was going to do. Remember, he's going with a servant and he says, Stay here. That's what he said. I and the Lat will return, but we're going to worship. So he's even then he's obedient, but like, no, this is an act of worship. I'm still giving rendering service to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00:So whether it's in the big situation that seems crazy big or something so small internally, like, are we willing to believe and obey God's word and just worship him? Just worship. Just take that step of faith.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I think of that verse, it talks about worshiping the Lord in spirit and in truth. That's right.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, John 4 24.
SPEAKER_03:You know, worship so often we think is just singing and just praising. And in this story, they they were giving thanks to the Lord. That is definitely a part of worship. But this theme of obedience has come up many times in our conversation today. And some of us, maybe we're good at singing worship and we love praising, but when it comes to obedience, we're we're just not quick to do it. You know, let me let me think through that. Let me get some ducks in a row first. But some of us just need to obey first. I mean, I can't imagine being Abraham in that situation.
SPEAKER_00:I'll I'll be transparent real quick. Just I've been leading worship for decades, and I'm not that old, but two that two decades. But and there's been seasons in my life where even as a worship leader, like I have not been fully devoted to the Lord, not fully surrendered in every area of my life. And I did the singing, but you know, there was areas of my heart that weren't surrendered to God. And so to your point, Pastor Stephanie, it's it's not just the act of the the musical gift, the musical abilities, singing along with the songs in the car. They're great. But it it it all comes back to the posture of the heart.
SPEAKER_03:And I'm preaching to myself on that one too, because God is always tapping on my heart too, Steph. You're gonna obey immediately or are you gonna wait till I figure this out?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. We had a we had a situation when I was in Uganda where these guys pulled up and blocked us in, they wanted to rob us, and they got out with AKs.
SPEAKER_03:What?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we're riding down.
SPEAKER_03:Can you give us some backstory recently?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I'm just in Uganda.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_01:Preaching the gospel, and we're going to Bishop Andrew's house. We just finished our last crusade, everything's done. So he says, Y'all come to my house, we're gonna have dinner. So we're riding, and it's raining, and there's a mud slide, you know, it's terrible. We got stuck, and these guys helped us get out. They were very kind. So we're riding down the road, and then this car pulls right in front of us and cuts us off and stops, and another one pulls in behind us. And so these guys get out, they got masks over their nose and mouth, and they got AKs. And so instantly, I'm gonna be honest, I didn't think. Let's praise the Lord. I told the guys, I said, Guys, when they get close enough, open your door as hard as you can, right into their kneecaps, and we come out fighting. Yeah, we're going down to go down like men. Come on, and all of a sudden, this little lady about your size, Miss Bethany, come on, she's sitting in the front seat and she says, Don't mess with us. We're going to see Bishop Andrew. And they stopped in their tracks. And this guy comes over the window and goes, What'd you say? She said, We're going to see Bishop Andrew. These are his guests. Well, over in Uganda. I didn't know this, but if you're a bishop, you got a high regard and high respect. And so they the guy says something to his men, they get back in their car. And so they followed us to Bishop Andrew's house and we pulled in. So I told him, I said, Let me out. I want to talk to these guys. So I gave them all 20,000 of the Ugandan money, I can't remember what they call it, which is about seven dollars. And I said, Listen to me close. You don't have to steal to get a meal. God will bless you and take care of you if you learn to trust him. So when I went in the house, I told that lady, I said, What made you say that? She said, I just said, Lord, what do we do? And she said, It hit my mind. I didn't do it. I wanted to be carnal. Here we are talking about this. I watched too many Jason Bourne films. Take his kneecap. Take it, take his good job. The Lord quickens to tell him we're going to miss him.
SPEAKER_04:My Lord. That is amazing, Pastor Mike.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks for sharing that. Thank you.
SPEAKER_04:That is, man. I mean, I got chills underneath this doggone sweatshirt. I prayed and asked the Lord. That's what Joh. Lord, we don't know. Yeah. We don't know. But I got my eyes on you. Yeah. Tell him you're going to the bishop.
SPEAKER_01:That's powerful.
SPEAKER_04:That is um. I mean, I'm sure I got chills. That is amazing. I didn't know that.
SPEAKER_01:I don't hug those ladies, but I hugged her. And who heard from heaven. Amen. I heard from the flesh. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Thank you, Pastor. Thank you, Pastor Mike, for that. And thank you, Pastor Steph, for expanding the definition of worship. Immediately, Romans 12, 1. I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your whole bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. This is yours, this is worship. Present your whole body. It's a life of surrender. My mind, my will, my emotions, my plans, my agenda. Whether Romans 6 says, Don't present your members as members of unrighteousness, but members of righteousness. Submit them to the whole body.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, love the Lord your God with all your heart. Heart, mind, soul, and strength.
SPEAKER_00:Which, which all of this, you know, when you play sports, there's offense and defense. Which everything we've said right now, I think out of Second Chronicles, is offense. That's right. Because we're it's it's on us to make the decisions to make to take that step of faith. But then we we alluded to Ephesians 6, yep, which is the it's the defensive part of it as we're moving forward. Yes, there's certain instructions that Paul gives us to prepare ourselves for spiritual warfare.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, Ephesians 6, verse 10. Right? Classic passage on the on the what's called the whole armor of God. But Paul begins first. It's funny because he says finally, but he might, he should have said firstly, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. So again, somebody else had alluded to, I think it was Pastor Mike about that that we are strong in the Lord. He has secured the victory, he gives us the victory, he is the one who's overcome. Then, because we are strong in the Lord, verse 11, put on the whole armor of God that you why you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Tiff, that's what you said. God told the army of Judah, no, just stand firm. You got to show up. All you gotta do is stand. And then again, here's the implication what Pastor Steph had said earlier at the top of this podcast. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Pastor Mike, you said you can't bring a new up and you know, shoot a spirit.
unknown:No, you can't.
SPEAKER_04:You can't do it. But we do wrestle against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, the spiritual is more real than the physical. That that's where this battle is taking place. And then 13, therefore, because this is a reality, take up the whole armor of God. Then he says it again, may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand firm. Verse 14. So let's just walk, you know, it you know, it's the whole armor of God. Yes, the pieces are significant, but I don't want to allegorize this and say, you know, the belt, it's this. No, it's it's the whole, it's it's God's armor, and you put all of it on.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, the NLT says, so that you may resist the enemy in the time of evil. Right. Because there will be moments like we talked earlier, like they don't make sense. Why are these things happening? These moments of evil that we gotta be ready to resist. That's right.
SPEAKER_03:And remember, it says of God that just jumped out at me.
SPEAKER_00:Yep, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:It's not just any old armor, no, it's of from God.
SPEAKER_05:Yes.
SPEAKER_03:If there's an armor I want to put on, it's gonna be armor from him. I can't come up with anything better.
SPEAKER_05:Come on.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I'm not gonna come up with anything better. So I love that yeah, he lays it out for us.
SPEAKER_01:And I think David illustrated that because he wouldn't wear Saul's armor. Come on. Two things happened there, I believe. Saul wanted everyone to give him the credit, but David said, I can't do this. But he went out, and the only thing he had was you come at me with a sword and a spear, but I come at you in the name of the Lord. Come on.
SPEAKER_03:That's what that lady did in the front, front seat and said, Thanks a lot, Stephanie.
SPEAKER_01:I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_03:I'd have been doing both, probably. Like, okay, how are we gonna go?
SPEAKER_04:I'm about to wriggle it on these fools. But Lord, if you give me a different plan, my eyes are on you. But I'm about to shin guard these jokes of I'm ready to fold them up like a cheap blanket. But Lord, if you speak, I got my eyes on you, but I got my eyes on them too.
SPEAKER_03:So, Pastor Wood, I like how you said in verse 13, take up the whole armor. I think maybe some of us we only take up bits and pieces. Like, I'm really good with salvation. I know I'm saved. Come on, but you know, I don't I don't really believe all the truth, you know, or whatever pieces. So I'm gonna just challenge us today. I mean, maybe we can just quickly go through them, but like, are are you wearing all of it? Right. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:All of it. All of it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And I love that all of it is always available. I love that God equips us. No matter what we're going through, he has already equipped us to fight this battle. It he's not saying, you know, some have the belt, some have the helmet, you know, he equips us. Like he loves. Like we have different gifts. But the armor you're saying we are equipped. We are equipped to fight these battles. We we have access to all of these things, no matter what. Like, no matter what we are walking through, we are equipped with all of it. He doesn't leave us in a battle, yeah, unequipped.
SPEAKER_00:And as we as we talk through it real quick in the time that we have left, just just real brief again. The armor of God is an inflection of Jesus. And so everything that we need, everything that is described in the armor of God is as if it's Christ Himself. So we just talk about so as we let's go, let's go through it and just kind of in as you're listening or watching, just think about how Christ is this for you. That's right.
SPEAKER_04:So, Pastor Mike, would you walk us through?
SPEAKER_01:Where are we at? Verse 14.
SPEAKER_04:We're in the Bible. Uh Ephesians 6, 14. Is that a real book? Just walk us through.
SPEAKER_01:You guys want me to do it after I told you my carnality? Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_04:You was arming up. Come on.
SPEAKER_01:It says, Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth. That's the word of God. We have to have the word of God. Yeah. And I and I think this whole thing is prefaced by put on Christ.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And just put him on. And then he says, next, he says, having put on the breastplate of righteousness. It's not our righteousness, but it's his.
SPEAKER_05:Come on.
SPEAKER_01:He said, we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. And then he says, stand therefore. Having what he says, stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. I love that. We're grounded in peace. We are absolutely grounded so that nothing can move us from where we are. And he says, above all, take the shield of faith, which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Oh. Everything he shoots at us.
SPEAKER_04:Come on.
SPEAKER_01:Block. Bloh.
SPEAKER_04:Come on.
SPEAKER_01:Come on now. I'd be like me playing ball against Shaq. Every time I'd shoot. Block.
SPEAKER_03:Tiffany, that's exactly what I was thinking. Were you thinking that analogy?
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so so went straight to sports. He was also gonna take out someone's kneecaps with me.
SPEAKER_04:He's about to block them. Yeah, the shield of faith.
SPEAKER_01:And they take the helmet of salvation. Come on. You gotta put it on. That's our thinking ability through the word of God.
SPEAKER_04:That's so good.
SPEAKER_01:And then he says the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. If Christians would understand, the power of victory is in your mouth. Come on. It's the place of victory. I win and lose based on what comes out of this mouth.
SPEAKER_05:Come on.
SPEAKER_01:Which is out of the overflow of this heart.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And so if we'll get it right, man, praying always with all prayers.
SPEAKER_00:So you said as you were explaining it, so I'm I'm a words person. So you you you started off by saying, Well what translation are you reading?
SPEAKER_01:I'm reading out of the King New King James. Come on now. I should have swapped it.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, that's good. That hit good. But you said it started with the word of God and then it ends with the word of God.
SPEAKER_01:It's all about the word.
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Listen, he says, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby.
SPEAKER_04:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:The word of God is everything to us. Look at what Peter did in Acts 3. He said, In the name of Jesus, he used his word. Rise up and walk. Then he stuck out his hand and he grabbed it.
SPEAKER_05:Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, if you look through the scriptures, through the where Jesus was, and through the Acts of the Apostles, you'll find the Word of God is what propelled people forward.
SPEAKER_05:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:And without the Word, we're nothing.
SPEAKER_05:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:But with the Word, we're everything that God called us to be.
SPEAKER_00:If you think of the ministry of Jesus, it was his words that compelled people. Yes. The Samaritan woman, he he told me everything. It's the word that moves, stirs people's faith. Right.
SPEAKER_03:And so Jesus. Come on, flesh. I mean, so it is. It's all. There's so many angles, so many ways. So look at that.
SPEAKER_01:But that's good that you picked up on that.
SPEAKER_03:Beginning and the end. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:The word.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. That's so good. And he he ends that verse there to that end. Keep alert. That's what you had said earlier, Tiff. Hey, be watchful. With all perseverance, make a supplication. There it is prayer for all the saints. Now you're praying for your brothers and sisters in arms. Not just yourself. Not just yourself. We're all armored up, but I'm making an intercession for my brothers and sisters because we have the victory. So what am I praying for? I'm praying, Lord, that they would remember, it's not flesh and blood, that they would remember to stand firm in the power of the Lord and his might, that they would remember to put on the armor so that they can stand, not win, but stand against the evil one. And then that they would also pray and make supplication that they would persevere, remain alert. Come on, somebody. Man, I'm thankful.
SPEAKER_01:I'm telling you right now. We have the victory.
SPEAKER_04:We have the victory.
SPEAKER_01:We have it.
SPEAKER_04:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:And I like it. It goes back to what Tiffany said in the beginning. We're not fighting for a place of victory.
SPEAKER_04:Right.
SPEAKER_01:We're fighting from the place of victory.
SPEAKER_04:Amen.
SPEAKER_00:Amen. Come on. My God. So good.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that'd get me fired.
SPEAKER_04:I'm telling you. I'm ready for another two hours. Now listen, me and Pastor Steph, we talked through this. Now we're about to take y'all real practical now and give y'all a prayer language because how many of you know the battle's won?
SPEAKER_00:And now but real real quick. So so people hear spiritual warfare and they want to talk about angels and demons. Like, like we're above that. And with like, can you talk talk to that? Because a lot of people they they've that's what they want to hear. That's what they want to talk about. The the creep, the spooky things, the creepy things. But but what we talked about today is really in the context of a believer, that's what's important. Those are the things that will help you move forward in your faith in your journey with the Lord, and also to resist the enemy, which is you know, put on Christ, like we said earlier. Those are things that matter, but we get so caught up with all the other things that our mind, our imagination, you know, and things that some that are real. You you face a lot of that on your journeys, and I've seen that as well on my on some of my trips where there is manifestations of demons and things like that. But can you speak to that a little bit?
SPEAKER_01:Well, it goes back to the position of authority, and you gotta know who you are in Christ. That's the issue. Most people don't realize they are in Christ. Yes, but you know, you take Paul in silence, they just cast the devil out of a girl. She kept walking around hollering, these men are gods, you know. And Paul got irritated.
SPEAKER_04:He did, yeah. He had enough.
SPEAKER_01:And he said, Enough's enough. Come out in Jesus' name. That's all he has to say.
SPEAKER_00:But that to I I'm glad you said that. I was hoping you said that because that was in warfare. That was exercising the authority of Christ. That's correct. And so that's where people confuse, like, man, I gotta be praying, demons, this and that. Yeah. No, that's the authority that we have in Jesus Christ to do those things. And Jesus says, and even greater thing, things than this you will do in his name. Spiritual warfare is the process of like like we started the whole podcast with like, how do I live my life for Jesus, this this flesh, that's and surrender it every single day. Yes. Taking up our cross daily. That's a fight that like there's a lot of fights. Joyce Meyer has his book, Battlefield. Yeah, Battlefield of the Mind. Classic. Classic book. Helps in so many different ways. Because a lot of us won't be fighting most of our battles with other people or in other spaces, but in our minds. That's it.
SPEAKER_04:That's what Pastor Mike said right here. That's the first point that Pastor Mike made, winning it here.
SPEAKER_03:So so you're saying we don't need to be scared and worried and stressed about demons and all these things.
SPEAKER_00:And when we put on Christ, when we when we're when we we're in the word, and and that's that's the importance of understanding Jesus. And that's why we tell people here at Life Point, like, hey, you want to know more about Jesus? Start at the gospels. Yes. Because you see the authority that He has over all these things, right? The conversations he has, the the moments. And when you follow His example, I I mentioned this earlier in one of our meetings that Matthew 12, it it says that it it cites uh Isaiah 61, and the Spirit of the Lord is upon him talking about Jesus. And then I was thinking in In a s my Bible study a few days ago, like why would the spirit of of the Lord be upon Jesus when he was Jesus, you know, Jesus is God? Right. Yep. But then in Philippians it says that he fully just emptied himself out. He came as as God, fully man.
SPEAKER_04:That's right.
SPEAKER_00:And so he went through everything as a as a man. That's exactly right. With the Holy Spirit, with his help, the Holy Spirit as an example to us that we're gonna go through life, but we have a helper.
SPEAKER_04:That's right.
SPEAKER_00:Right. And so everything Jesus did, we can do it because he emptied himself before he came and he operated with the the Spirit of the Lord. That's right. And so I I I do think a lot of a lot of times we'll we'll see the spooky things because of Hollywood in the movie. That's what I was just thinking.
SPEAKER_04:It's how it's portrayed.
SPEAKER_03:What you're watching and taking in. I I will say, since we're talking about spiritual warfare and things, be very mindful of what you're putting in your eyes, your mind, your heart, your soul. Because, you know, the world, I would expect the world to act like the world, but if you're a Christian, you need to be really careful because what we allow in, even as a believer, we can begin to marinate on those things and get really confused. And then we go scripture and we're just not sure, and then we're doubting. No, no, no, no. We're gonna stay away from those things. The enemy will draw us to those things. And there is a curiosity, I think, in our culture right now. There's all kinds of movies and genres that just really, and I know a lot of Christians that love those type of movies. Right. And I would be just very cautious what you allow in, including books, yes, in different forms, whatever format, whether it's it's screens, print. Because listen, if we're a Christian, I want to get as close as I can to the things of God and as far away from the things of the enemy. That way, when you come and encounter something, you can spot and say, That's not of the Lord. Right. And and you need to be ready as a believer to cast things out if you see it. I'm exactly right. Just last night I felt like there was a spirit of something in a situation. And I said, and I don't use that language very often.
SPEAKER_05:Right.
SPEAKER_03:Just proclaiming that there's a spirit of this or that. And I said, There's a spirit of this. And I just said, in Jesus' name, right now. And then I had another conversation, I think it was two nights ago, with another pastor friend. She's in another state going through some spiritual warfare, attacks of the enemy. And I just I started praying. I said, We take authority over, we rebuke in Jesus' name. And then after the end, she goes, Wow, you got kind of animated. I said, I guess I did kind of get going. But I said, I will absolutely cover you in prayer and know that we have authority over this stuff. And I'm believing from here forward, you're not gonna deal with this regurgitating in your mind anymore. But you're gonna be clear-headed, you're gonna believe what the scripture says, and we're moving on with peace. Come on in Jesus' name, you know.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I just got kind of like come on, like we're just gonna draw a line in the sand. That's right.
SPEAKER_03:So, anyways, I just want to encourage anyone, don't dabble in stuff out there that you know is questionable and gray in your heart. No one needs to even point it out. Yes, you sense it and you're kind of sweeping it under the rug like it's not a big deal. Listen, God has called us to be on not in the gray. I mean, that's what that's what I pick up when if you read Ephesians 6. We're putting the whole armor, I don't know how you can put the whole armor on and then dabble in some of these battles willingly.
SPEAKER_04:That's it. So that that thank you for that. Because that that made me think of Luke chapter 11, verse 34. There's the teachings of Jesus. Your eye is the lamp of your body. That's right. When your eye, that eye gate, ear gate, your when is healthy, your whole body, listen, is full of light. But when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Pastor Stephanie's point here is verse 35. Listen, therefore, be careful lest the light in you becomes darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when as when a lamp with its rays gives you light. That's it right there.
SPEAKER_03:If you open up just a little bit, give a little room to the enemy, he he will exploit that and it will be subtle.
SPEAKER_05:Yep.
SPEAKER_03:It's not gonna be an avalanche of demonic forces on you. It won't. If you if you create a space, the enemy will subtly crafty, like we were talking about today earlier. Subtle, the enemy, he will do anything to get your eyes off of Jesus on yourself and just in your flesh a little bit. You just gotta be on guard.
SPEAKER_04:It's gotta be on guard. And and let me just, I'm glad you said that. It's not out of fear, it's out of it's out of wisdom and maturity. It's just watchfulness. It's like it's it's like we know we have the victory, but I'm watchful because what I don't want, I don't want the enemy to get an in. And he's like he's it's like World War II, a kamikaze pilot. Like those guys, that's their final mission. But they're like, we're gonna cause as much damage as we can. Like, I mean, that's a losing battle. You know, you sit there and you know, extinguish yourself, and that's what the devil does. Like you said, he's he's like he's been defeated, he knows his fate. Lake of fire, that's where he's gonna end up. Because he knows the word. All right.
SPEAKER_00:Can I just put this quick spin and then we're gonna wrap up? Come on. So we started with Jehoshaphat 2 Chronicles 20. Beautiful, powerful. But to the to Pastor Stephanie's point, you allow these things to get close. Jehoshaphat's son, Jehoshaphat dies. Jehoshaphat's son, Jeh, Jehoram. Jehoram? Jehoram. Jehoram. Jehoram saw his father's example, but then he starts allowing and building these shrines in the hill country, and he introduces idolatry because he embraces culture, and then he thinks this is okay, and he wants to be innovative, he wants to be relevant, and then he brings all these pagan shrines, and eventually the Bible says he was a wicked king. Yep. And so his father who obeyed God, we saw this incredible victory, you know, and then all of a sudden, yeah, his own son, the very next chapter, just the very next chapter, is is introducing idolatry into the the people, into the into Judah. And so I I think that's so powerful that you might be like, oh, that's you know you're watching things and you're dealing with it, and you feel you're a mature Christian, and you use that as your example. You can handle it, you can handle it, but but you don't know what you're sewing into your kids and what that journey is gonna look like for them. Because it was okay for mom and dad, and then so like let me let me dab a little bit more.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and so I don't know, just I and I would even say in in friends and conversations, good if if you're you know, allowing what the enemy really wants you to do is to go, did God really say? Did God really is that really his word? You know, and and when you have people around you that are gonna lead you astray, or like it or not, I mean just just perspective shift are gonna shift your perspective off the Lord. And and that can that can be really extreme and it can be very slight. It can be, you know, look at your circumstances, you know, this is what the the world would say. This is what normal people would do, you know, when your eyes are fixed on the Lord and you're expecting a miracle, there's plenty of people that that want to make you doubt that miracle or or doubt the Lord and and that circumstance and want to sit and vent and gossip and and just go down this spiral of you know life. So you have to be careful what you're letting in your ears that doesn't seem so bad. You know, it doesn't, it doesn't, you're just kind of veering off a little bit. And then maybe one day you find yourself saying, Did God really say? You know, because that's that's how we win subtly. Yeah, he's not, you know, extreme, like he's you know, like it, it's not, he's not gonna be obvious. Right. It's it's you know, most of the time it's it's very subtle. So yeah, what you're what you're watching, what you're listening to, and and what you're allowing in conversation makes a makes a difference.
SPEAKER_03:I just think we got enough battles as it is. You know, I d I don't need to open up the door for any more. Yeah, right. And now, especially when you start talking about leadership, ministry leadership, or you step into a dream team position for the first time, right? Or or or uh LLA or you're on staff now or you're wanting to pastor, just just wait. Like we don't we just need to steer clear of that because the enemy's already got enough schemes and strategy strategies, which we have authority over, but I'm not inviting any more. Come on now. We're just gonna keep it. I mean, we're I I feel as a shepherd, I feel protective covering over our people already, you know. So, man, I know Mike and I talk about this a lot. We live a simple, boring life. That's right, but I wanna be tuned to the spirit so that if something pops up in somebody else's life, I can just help point them in the right direction. Going, you have authority over this, you don't need to accept that as an answer, you don't need to deal with that mentally anymore, whatever's going on. And we'll help them take you know, that's the shepherd in me, I guess, that I'm like encouraging people.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, this is so good. This is rich. Man, and so man. My Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. And we hope you you're encouraged, those of you that are listening and and watching, just put this into practice. Easier said than done, but uh that's why we're here as a church. We want to be be by your side as you're on this journey. We always talk about small groups, that's right, yeah, you know, and not doing this alone.
SPEAKER_04:Yes, yeah, that that's the biggest key. Remember, Jehoshaphat, he called the other nations, he called the other rulers, he called the people and said, Hey, assist me in seeking the Lord. So who in your life right now is assisting you and seeking the Lord? Who in your life right now, like like Pastor Seph said, is is that shepherd? Is that covering for you? Can pick you up and shake your tree and say, Hey, this is not who you are in Jesus' name. If you don't have it, make that your first priority right now. Yeah, get among God's people, their safety and the multitude of counselors in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, we don't have to do this alone.
SPEAKER_04:No, we don't.
SPEAKER_03:Oh no. We got each other's God. Amen.
SPEAKER_00:Amen. Thank you guys for being on the podcast today. Thank y'all so much. Thank you for sitting between me and Pastor Willie. Oh, this is awesome. Appreciate it. We appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I don't think so.
SPEAKER_00:I want to see you get up from the couch after this. I think the camera will be off. We love you guys until next week. Peace out.
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