Strengthening the Soul with God's Armor / S3E17

What if spiritual battles aren't just reserved for men, but are a daily reality for everyone, including women? Join me as I explore the spiritual significance of the armor of God in Ephesians 6, breaking down the barriers of gender in our fight against sin and temptation. Inspired by the powerful stories of Deborah, Esther, and Mary Magdalene, we delve into why it's crucial for women to be equally equipped with this spiritual armor. Despite personal doubts and technical setbacks with the podcast, the message of spiritual strength and resilience remains clear and urgent, as life's challenges often arrive without warning.

We also dive into the role of prayer as a vital weapon in our spiritual arsenal, drawing on the empowering promises from Joel 2:28-29. Encouraging self-reflection, this episode challenges listeners to consider what it means to live a genuine Christian life and resist negative influences. With a sense of urgency inspired by what many perceive as the last days, we emphasize the importance of sharing faith and being ever-prepared to guide others toward Christ. Through prayer and preparation, we can strengthen our spiritual armor and lead with conviction and courage in our everyday lives.

References on Women Warriors in the scriptures
1. Deborah

• Why Considered a Warrior: Deborah acted as both a spiritual and military leader, embodying wisdom and courage.
• Scriptural Reference: Judges 4–5

2. Jael

• Why Considered a Warrior: Her act of bravery directly led to Israel’s victory over the Canaanites.
• Scriptural Reference: Judges 4:17–22; Judges 5:24–27

3. Esther

• Why Considered a Warrior: Esther demonstrated bravery, wisdom, and strategic thinking in a dangerous political situation.
• Scriptural Reference: Esther 4–8

4. Miriam

• Why Considered a Warrior: She was a spiritual leader who strengthened the faith of the Israelites during their journey to freedom.
• Scriptural Reference: Exodus 15:20–21; Numbers 12

5. Abigail

• Why Considered a Warrior: Abigail demonstrated courage, diplomacy, and wisdom in a volatile situation, preventing violence.
• Scriptural Reference: 1 Samuel 25:2–42

6. Ruth

• Why Considered a Warrior: Ruth’s perseverance, resilience, and faith in the face of hardship highlight her warrior-like determination.
• Scriptural Reference: Ruth 1–4

7. Rahab

• Why Considered a Warrior: Rahab’s faith in God and courageous actions aligned her with Israel’s mission, despite the risks.
• Scriptural Reference: Joshua 2; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25

 8. Mary, Mother of Jesus

• Why Considered a Warrior:
   
  • Accepting the angel Gabriel's message and embracing her role as the mother of the Messiah required extraordinary courage and faith. She endured societal judgment, the hardships of raising Jesus, and the agony of His crucifixion, all while maintaining unwavering trust in God.
  •  Scriptural References: 4 Gospels

 9. Mary Magdalene

• Why Considered a Warrior: Mary Magdalene demonstrated loyalty, courage, and spiritual resilience. Her role as the first witness of the resurrection highlights her importance in spreading the foundational message of Christianity.
• Scriptural References: 4 Gospels

Chapters

• 0:12 Armor of God
• 12:08 Equipped to Fight

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:12

Hello, first thing I want to do today is to thank Ziegler Services for sponsoring this podcast again for the month of January. I want you to know that they offer snow removal, landscaping, lawn care, tree services, fencing, firewood and other home maintenance services to the Indianapolis and surrounding area. Contact them at ZieglerServices at gmailcom. My computer's running again. This has been a long battle and I just feel so much that Satan is just trying to get me down for some reason feel so much that Satan is just trying to get me down for some reason. And the thing about it is is I've been looking forward to doing this one because it's about the armor of God, and I know I've done the armor of God before and I know you hear me talk about it all the time, but this is just something special that I wanted to talk about and it seems like every step I take to do this podcast, something has happened. Well, I finally got my computer up and running last. Well, this morning at four o'clock in the morning and it is 1104 at night and I'm just now getting everything loaded and ready to go to be able to do this. And I opened up my recording software and it didn't work. I had to uninstall that, start all over again trying to get that back up. I finally got it working. So I think we're okay. And the reason I wanted to do this one on the armor of God is because I was looking for a Bible journal. I wanted something that I can just put notes down in and when I think of things that I wanted to talk about on the podcast, I could use it for that. But I wanted a journal that the outside of it had the armor of God on it. So I found several. Every one of them that I found that I really liked said for men why? Why do people think that men are the only one to wear the armor of God? They're not. You know, he's going to talk about several warriors, women warriors listed in the Bible. There's Deborah and JL and Miriam and Esther, abigail, ruth, rehob, mary, the mother of Jesus, mary Magdalene, mary of Bethany, martha there are so many women in the Bible that did special things and that wore the armor of God, but I decided you guys know about them and if you don't, the references will be in my transcripts. I'll try to remember to put all of the information in. But I wanted to talk about us wearing the armor of God. And had I got this done last week, I wouldn't be talking about this part of it right now, because I was absolutely going to talk about the warriors that came from Bible times.

Speaker 1: 3:21

But, just like the battle I've just been through, something as simple as my computer not working. You have to fight, you have to put on the armor of God. You guys, when all of this was going on, this little nagging thing hit my head. Oh, it's time for you to stop. Kayla, you're getting too old to do this podcast. You need to just let it go. Let somebody else get a podcast and take over.

Speaker 1: 3:46

And I knew it wasn't God telling me that and I'm constantly saying, satan, you're a liar, and it would come back. And it would come back and I would get tired and I was frustrated and I thought, okay, this is my third season and I already missed my first ever week of not putting a podcast out so far in this third season and then this week. So it just seemed like is this a battle that I can fight? And then I thought what am I supposed to talk about? I'm supposed to talk about the armor of God, about how it protects us and how we use the word and how it shows our faith, it shows our trust, it shows God's grace and mercy and all the things that we need to live. And you know, women should wear the armor of God just as much as men. And it's so important right now for us to do it, because you can all look around and see what's going on in this world right now and we know that the things that are going on are not of God. And the armor of God is just as much for women as it is for men.

Speaker 1: 5:07

In Ephesians 6, 8 through 10, it is intended for all believers to equip themselves spiritually for the battle of faith against sin, temptation, evil forces, the devil, the fiery darts, all of those things. That's what the armor of God is for. It's for the spiritual battles. Spiritual battles don't come just to men. Spiritual battles come to all of us. I mean Galatians 3.28 says there is neither Jew nor Gentile, nor slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are one in Christ Jesus. We're one Got the same battles. Another scripture talks about how there's nothing that we go through that isn't common to man. It's for all of us and we all need that armor just to make it sometimes through the day.

Speaker 1: 6:09

Your armor isn't something that you set aside and then you get it out and put it on when you think you need it. Your armor should be worn every single day. Satan's darts are not planned. He doesn't send you a schedule of when he's going to send them to you. And if you do not have that armor on, then guess what? You're not prepared and we need to be prepared. You know, women like Deborah, which is in Judges 4, esther, which is in Esther 4, mary Magdalene, which is in John, demonstrated spiritual strength and resilience in their battles of faith. They equipped themselves for spiritual battles and they were with Jesus and they still equipped themselves with spiritual battles. You have to resist Satan and it takes that armor to do it.

Speaker 1: 7:02

James 4, 7 says submit yourselves then to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Do you think he's going to flee from you if you don't have on your armor? He's going to laugh at you. And this resistance requires spiritual preparedness, and that's what the armor of God is for. If you are not spiritually prepared, if you are not out there praying, if you are not out there reading the word, you know, people say, well, I can't remember all of that. Yes, you can Read the word. Pray about it, and when it is time that you need that, the scripture even says the Holy Spirit will bring it to your remembrance. Time that you need that, the scripture even says the Holy Spirit will bring it to your remembrance. Don't find excuses not to prepare yourself to wear the armor of God. And I hear those excuses all the time from men and from women.

Speaker 1: 8:01

First, peter, 5, 8 through 9, says be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, standing firm. That is one of the things that and I've told you this before it's one of the things that I love about the scripture, about the armor of. By how many times it tells you to stand. It doesn't say stand the armor in the corner. It says you are to stand.

Speaker 1: 8:31

You know, ephesians 6.13 says Therefore, put on the full armor of God so when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after having done everything to stand, why is that? Why does it keep everything to stand? Why is that? Why does it keep telling us to stand. It is repeated because it wants to ensure that believers are spiritually ready, that we're alert, that we can resist the enemy's schemes, that we can maintain our victory in Christ, that we can persevere through the trials that we're going through and depend on God's strength and not our own. It also shows that we remain stable and unwavering in our faith. Stand. Stand, therefore, and after having done all stand, and after having done all stand, you know each piece of the armor represents an aspect of spiritual preparedness. You have the belt of truth, and that means that you are grounded in God's truth. Where do you find God's truth? In his word.

Speaker 1: 9:49

The breastplate of righteousness. It guards your heart and it helps you to live a righteous life. The shoes of the gospel of peace what do you stand on your shoes and why do you walk to battle in your shoes? And what are you going into battle for? To spread the message of peace and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The shield of faith reflects those satans saying you're too old, you don't need to be doing this anymore. That helps you block the fear, the spiritual attacks that Satan loves to throw at you.

Speaker 1: 10:34

The helmet of salvation that is the most important. You have to have the helmet of salvation to have any of the armor. God's not going to send you out with something that you're missing One of the most important parts. The first thing somebody does is hit you in the head and you know what. We have one offensive tool the sword of the spirit. And what is the sword of the spirit? The word of God. Be prepared, know the word, read the word, know that it is going to build your armor. Whether you are a man or a woman.

Speaker 1: 11:13

There are so many things going on right now. People are running, scared, people are worried about the fires in California and the lights over the East Coast and who wins and who doesn't win in a political election, and it is just sad that so many people are so afraid of what's going on around them. But what does God say to us? Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. We're not supposed to fear. We're not supposed to fear. We're not supposed to worry and fret. We don't have to do all that. We have an armor of God over us. We have God over us. We have his banner over us. We have his protection over us.

Speaker 1: 12:08

When do you start reading the word praying. That is one of the things that we didn't talk about in here, that one of the parts of the armor is God is praying in the spirit. Do you know that Joel 2, 28 through 29 says I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions, even on my servants, both men and women. I will pour out my spirit in those days, because both men and women are equally called, equally equipped and empowered to fight the good fight of faith.

Speaker 1: 13:00

Are you fighting the good fight of faith? Are you memorizing the Bible? Are you letting God lead your life? Are you a Christian who just talks about being a Christian? Have you really asked God into your heart? Do you live your life for him? Do you not compromise with Satan? Do you tell others?

Speaker 1: 13:29

I would love to see some of you get out a notebook. I have one in my purse. My wonderful daughter bought me some notebooks to carry in my purse because I'm always needing something to write something down on, and I have a notebook in my purse and I want to start marking down how many times I talk to someone about God? Are we leading people to Him? It's the last days.

Speaker 1: 13:58

Some people aren't going to get the chance. But without our feet shod and our breastplate and our belts and our swords and our shields and our helmets and our gloves and all the armor that goes into it, without that on, what do we have to say to someone when they start coming back at you telling you how horrible Christianity is? If you have that armor of God on, then you have the knowledge to go into that battle and maybe lead someone to Christ, and that's our job. Don't go out without your armor. Pray about it. Pray for others that are out leading people to Christ, pray for those seeds that have been planted, pray for your family, but, most of all, make sure your life is being lived to increase God's kingdom.