Armor of God

#11 aligning with you’re path and equipping yourself in spiritual warefare

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

All right, welcome back to another episode of Body of Christ Podcast, episode 11. We're gonna go over the body of armor and kind of like the spiritual warfare behind it and just being well equipped for battle, you know, in this walk with Christ. And this is important because if you're serious about following Jesus Christ, it's not gonna be an easy road. And you need to be well equipped in the word, you need to be have your mind level-headed and focusing on him. Right? You wouldn't run into battle with no protection, no weapon, you know, with your pants down, if you will. So we can't be doing that with this faith because there's something else going on beyond what most people can see. And that's important to know. So if Jesse, you want to get us started here.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Yeah, absolutely. So to really kind of dive into like where we're at with scripture, we're actually gonna be in Ephesians chapter six, specifically verse 12 through 20 here. If you have your Bibles with you and you're gonna kind of follow along. If not, like I said, you're on a car ride, that's completely fine too. But we're specifically, again, as brother Robert here just mentioned, we're gonna go over the the armor of God here. And I'm gonna kind of just break down the six aspects of it real quick, and then we're gonna kind of talk through how to help apply it in our daily life, how to help resist the enemy's tactics and deception and spiritual warfare, and how it kind of applied in our lives. And maybe kind of share some quick stories for you guys. Maybe you can relate to them. The first one being the helmet of salvation, right? And as we kind of go through them, we're gonna kind of talk about how they're all kind of like intentionally specifically on specific body parts, right? So, where does a lot of our doubt come from, right? In our mind. And what is our doubt sometimes always about? Well, what God has really done for us, or like our salvation, or whatever I've been, right? So the helmet of salvation goes in the head. So like there's specific scenarios that may have happened in your life, or verses that will apply to resist those doubts and fears. Same thing with the breastplate of righteousness, right? Well, what does the breastplate breastplate cover? The heart and all of like the main organs for that, right? Well, a lot of times our heart can be deceitful. So putting on a breastplate of righteousness can shield us from wanting our own ways and desires and passions, and instead of wanting the Lord's ways and passions and desires. Choose a peace. Again, are we walking in the ways of the Lord that give us peace? Are we walking in our own ways that can kind of give us anxiety, stress, doubt, fear? Shield of faith. Love this one. Are we stepping out into faith in some of our actions sometimes? Or are we kind of shying away if we don't see the full picture? Again, belt of truth, kind of holds everything all together, right? Well, what's the truth? The word. Obviously, John 14, 6, or sorry, yeah, 14 6 is I'm the way, the truth, the life. Everything that is built on the foundation of Jesus will last and stand. And lastly, the sword of spirit, which is an interesting one because of all the ones that we have just listed, they're more like defensive. Well, this one is definitely more offensive to kind of like push the kingdom forward, where the sword of the spirit is actually the word of God and also the active word of God, where he's giving you active word to say against darkness to kind of help expand the kingdom. We'll kind of dive into that in a little bit here. But yeah, that's kind of the overview of the six aspects of the armor of God. I'm gonna kind of hand over to Robert here. Do you want to kind of start with one? Um, I'm kind of speaking to you right now.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

Yeah, um, I mean, I'm I'm good with going in order if you are okay. So, helmet of salvation. I mean, both of us kind of had this, you know, the the minute we gave our life to Christ and surrendered to him, like we were saved. We had salvation in him. And I feel like one of the biggest battles kind of a lot of people have, um sometimes might even take you out of faith. Like, am I saved? Like, am I truly saved? And I mean, I think one, did you truly surrender? Or are you doing this as an insurance plan, as we keep saying? But also, like, if if you're truly looking to grow with Christ, the evidence will be there. He will give you undeniable proof, unshakeable faith, like Abraham received from God. Um, and he gives you those signs, whether it's through healing, whether it's through just how he sets things up in your life that is not explainable except through him, you know, whether it's financial or whatever it is. And I think the important thing to know with the with the helmet of salvation is it's not you that did it, right? We are protected because of what he did. I don't believe in myself. Amen. I can't earn my salvation, but he earned it for me. So now I hang up his banner because he is my king. And that's kind of what I got on that. If you got anything to explain.

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Yeah, absolutely. I just kind of want to start off with the story here with the helmet of salvation is if I'm ever going through like a rough patch, like a lull, or like a bad day, or just like, you know, those thoughts of the doubt, as you know, Robert has explained here. I always one of my go-to's is I always write down a lot of stories that kind of happened, you know, in the in this walk, because it's always good to kind of like again be reminded of what God has done. But also my go-to story that like I always think first and foremost is that January 20th, 2025, where I like literally felt a shift in the physical, but also in the spiritual, where like I was once one way and now I'm another. And the only answer and explanation is Jesus Christ. Like finally let go of what I was holding on to so tightly in this world, so I can finally open up my hands and receive what he always had for me. And that's exactly what is for everyone. If we just let go of those worldly things and open up our hands so we can receive what he has for us. I mean, it it's that was just a moment I'll never forget. And some verses, right? So we're gonna talk about some verses that kind of apply. So some verses that really apply for me personally. And if you guys find some other ones, that's great. We'd love to actually see them in the comments for any of these. Some verses that really apply for me when I get those doubts or like the fear, whatever it is, is Romans 8.1. And I'm just gonna kind of read it here real quick. So there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So when you're walking in with him, in his ways, being led by the Holy Spirit, having full faith in him, again, not by anything we do, but having full faith in him with the character change, the renewing of the mind, the you know, thinking of ways of the heavenly things, kingdom of heaven, not ways of the world, there's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. He's paid for it all. And that always kind of like targets those doubts and and low moments, like just reading that out loud and like applying that, you know, just giving giving gratitude to the Lord. Another one, actually in Romans, same chapter, 831, what shall we say to these things then? So again, those things are kind of coming at you, getting hit, trials and tribulations, right? If God is for us, who can be against us? Love of Paul is kind of wrote in that chapter. Um, that really helps me in those moments with the helmet of salvation aspect.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Yeah, and you know, like when you when you begin this journey with God, like a lot of things start to kind of happen almost at once. Like Satan's trying to pull you off your intended path, like he's getting worried. Because at this point, there's nothing he can do. You're gonna be saved, however, he's afraid that you're going to make it to your full potential, that you're going to walk on the path that God wanted you to walk, because that is a problem to him. And he'll hit you with anxiety, he'll hit you with depression, financial troubles, like all these things. And I feel like you know, with the helmet, speaking life and kind of getting your head right with God and pulling yourself back and be like, okay, why am I feeling this way? You know? And you know, I used to just like focus on the negative things in my life. You know, focus on the the pain, focus on the depression, all like, oh I'm having a horrible day, blah, blah, blah. Now when I have a bad day, I'm like, man, that's all I get. Like I deserve so much more. Well, God pulled me out of that. Like God, the blessings God has put in my life, and I just start focusing on those things, and it kind of turns my you know day around and giving praise to God too. You know, when Satan tries to attack me, I just give God glory. No matter how bad my day is going, I just give God glory. Like Satan, do you know who you're messing with? Do you not see the stain on my skin? I'm covered in the blood of Jesus. Do you know who my father is? And those change things right like the Satan willfully. So I think those are important things to kind of focus on, but always give gratitude to God in your lowest moments and watch how your your mood changes, your attitude, and your outlook on your day becomes. Because I mean, even modern studies show like when you have gratitude in your life, like you can't beat depressed and gracious at the same time, it's impossible. You know, and I'm I believe there's some verses on that too.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Science is just catching up to that.

SPEAKER_02 10:07

Yeah, yeah, right, finally. But so what do you have on a breastplate of righteousness?

SPEAKER_00 10:15

Yeah, absolutely. So breastplate of righteousness, right? So we're talking about like the heart's desires here. Um is what the first thing that kind of comes to mind is I'm kind of reading this not only in scripture, but like how to kind of like apply this to daily living, right? So the first thing that comes to mind is Jeremiah 17, 9 through 10. And it states that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruits of his deeds. So again, we kind of see here, like if our heart is so focused on our passions, our own desires, our ways and will of the world, again, it's gonna be deceitful. We're gonna be led astray. But if we understand the way like of the Lord and like apply the word to our heart, right? We write his word on our heart and his ways, and we apply that breastplate of righteousness in situations where, again, we may have fallen short in the past. We can we can again, by the power of the Holy Spirit, walk in the ways of the will of God. And some again, a couple verses that I like to use. Uh David just again comes to mind. I mean, I think some of the some of the verses he writes is just beautiful when just in the in the spirit with the Lord here. So Psalms 51.10 is again one of my amazing go-tos with the breastplate of righteousness if I'm at my prayer time with the Lord. And it states, create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Pretty much just acknowledging my ways are not sufficient in your will. Create in me a whole new heart so I can follow you, God, and not follow my ways, which could separate myself from you. And then Psalms 139, 23 to 24, again, Psalm from David here. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there are any wicked ways in me and lead me in the way of everlasting. Um, again, same application here, just being fully willing to like open up to the Lord and be like, God, I want only you. I want to put all my faith in you, I want to put all my trust in you. Help me not want my ways or ways of the world or the trends or what's popular or anything like that. A story I like to apply here is there's a pretty big, pretty big shift for me this past year and a half, two years is honestly just being around big groups, big events, family reunions, uh, kind of specifically. Like I used to go around and kind of talking to everybody, you know, kind of like, you know, having a good time talking to everybody and everything like that. And I've really kind of pulled back from that because I just kind of got conviction from the Lord, I guess you could say, in prayer time, saying some of these verses, wanting to apply the breastplate of righteousness, and not saying it's all the time and everything, but like if it's talks about someone that I don't know and it's like about negative things, I don't want to be involved in that because it could it could damage the character of someone I do not know. And if they're not involved in my life right now in the moment, like I don't want to know something about someone that could be damaging to their character, to their spirit, whatever it is. It's because that's labeled gossip. And as James states in the gospel or the book of James, gospel or sorry, gossip is wicked in all its ways, and it's it's it's uh it's rooted in evil, and I just I don't really want to be a part of that if I don't have to be.

SPEAKER_02 13:48

I mean, that was a big one for me as an applicable story for that kind of paraphrasing that verse in James, but yeah, yeah, and Jesus uh labels that as murder in the heart, you know, and the thing about the brush plate of righteousness is that guards all your main organs, like your heart. Yep. But also, like with our brothers and sisters in Christ and other people, those might be potential recruits, if you will. You know what I'm saying? So, like, why do we want to cut them down? You know, we were once not saved, yet did God just spit us out? No, he saw the potential in us. So I think it's also important, you know, soften my heart, but like, God, how could I soften their heart? Like, how do you see them, you know, in your lens, in your view, you know, so I could with the sword of the spirit, the word pierce their heart so that you shine through. And yeah, I mean, that was another like big thing I probably went over in a past episode, but yeah, like sh like break me down, God, shatter me, start new, you know, return me to the clay, and and just I'm ready to go to the factory settings here.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

I was saying that like you say that the factory set was always a good one.

SPEAKER_02 15:06

Yeah, but I mean it's true, it's true. So shoes a piece, or do you have anything left on?

SPEAKER_00 15:13

It's all I got for the breastplate, but yeah, I definitely want to add to the shooters of peace here. And the shoes of peace is an interesting one because I do think it actually tends to go hand in hand with the shield of faith, but we're gonna kind of talk about them separately a little bit here. The shoes of peace, right? So again, the ways we walk, is it giving us peace, or does it feel like heavy burdens, right? And those burdens could feel like the stress, the anxiety, the I'm just not good enough, or whatever it might be, right? One of the main verses, and I feel like I talk about this verse all the time, but I'm just gonna share it again anyway, is Matthew 11, 28 through 30, right? And it is Jesus telling his disciples and all who are listening and gathered around, take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And to kind of like break that verse down a little bit here, so back in the Hebrew times, it was very common for when you would plow the field, you'd yoke a younger bull with an older bull. So all the younger bull had to do was just walk side by side with the older bull because he's already towed this field so many times. The younger bull has a very easy way of learning how to do it then. Instead of just going off on his own trying to figure it out, because he's probably gonna mess up and it's gonna be too heavy, or he's gonna, you know, just off the path. That's what Jesus is basically applying here is like when you feel like you just can't figure out who you truly are in this world, or like everything just feels heavy, or you're just like taking on everything, and how much more can my shoulders bear, or everything you're doing is just you're overthinking and just leading to stress or anxiety, depression, even suicidal thoughts. Is all that Jesus is saying is stop, slow down, don't worry about the past, don't worry about the future, worry about right now, give it to me, and what can we focus on just today? And when you turn from your ways and 180 them back to God, you're gonna feel so light. It literally says, It's my yoke is easy, my burden is light. You'll feel that light. Like it is like lifting, it is like changing, yeah, you know, from inside out. And a story that I I have here is I was on I was on the way to work one day. It was early on in my new job framing, and there was like a bunch of tornado warnings on the radar, and I'm like probably 15 minutes away from work, and my wife texts me, gives me calls, like, oh my gosh, Jesse, there's so like the weather looks so bad, there's tornado warnings, I think you shouldn't go to work and everything like that. And I stopped the car on like pickup zone, basically, and I sit there and I look at the weather and it looked bad. I'll admit it looked pretty bad. And I sat there, I'm like, okay. I closed my eyes and I was like, Jesus, if you don't want me to go to work today, like let me know. And I like envisioned myself turning around and going home, and I just like felt uneasy, it just didn't feel right. It just was uncomfortable. And like, okay, you want me to go to work today? Jesus, tell me. And I like envisioned myself going to work, knowing there's tornado warnings about tornadoes to about touch the ground in the area I was working at, and just a calm, like, yup, supposed to go to work, like a calm, like uh like peace with it. I couldn't even understand it. So I'm like, all right, I'm going to work today. And I ended up going to work that day, and the weather looked pretty rough for the first two hours, but the point of the story was through a series of events, I actually had a huge opportunity to share my testimony with someone that needed to hear it that day. And if I would have turned around and not gone to work, I don't know if that would have happened with that person. Because it was just a specific moment I had for like two hours where it just like organically just led up to that. And I praise the Lord for that. And that's like a great example for me for like the shoes of pieces, like just focus on today, not tomorrow, not yesterday, not next year, whatever. Just focus on the Lord with Him today. He will never lead you astray. Walk in that peace.

SPEAKER_02 19:32

Yeah, I want everyone to kind of like concentrate on what he was saying. Calm in the storm, you know? Yeah, there you go. You know, like most of us are so afraid and we feel like we're drowning in this life. But when you follow Jesus out on the water into the storm, you will find peace. And in this world, like when we are concentrating on him, regardless of how scary, I mean, when they were martyred in some of these stories, they were singing and giving praise to God. I mean, you will always find peace. The power in you is more powerful than that in the world, right? And I kind of think of Psalm 119-105, your lamp, sorry, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, you know? And when you're following Christ, like you have that peace, you know, you have that joy. And just like in heaven, we will not need a son, he will be our light. He will be our day. And that's how it should be here on earth. We concentrate on him, we follow him. And that's what I have on shoes of peace there.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

Amen. Absolutely. And the next one, tying into the shield of faith, then again, as we kind of explain some more of these verses and stories here, you're gonna kind of see how both of these kind of like kind of go hand in hand, but important nonetheless, um, as standalones as well. Shield of faith, right? The thing that comes to my mind is when things are going on in your life that can be stressful, can give you some anxiety, that make you kind of want to think about things and try to think them through and try to figure it out on your own. I mean, how many times have we gone through that? I mean, this is this is kind of like how the world is, right? And you just can't seem to see the other side, excuse me, side. You just can't seem to see the other side, and you're just like not sure how it's gonna happen. You're not sure how this is gonna work out. It could be financial, it could be a relationship at work, it could be a job transition, it could be something at school, and you just don't know how this is gonna work out. You just don't see the other side in it. This is shield of faith, right? And the first verse that comes to mind when I'm going through something in this world, we're like, God, I need you big time here. I mean, I always need you, but I really need you big time because like I don't see how this is gonna work. I know you have it all played out, just help me out. It's John 16 33. And this is where Jesus is saying, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world. And I always go back into Derotomy 31.8, then, where it says, The Lord himself goes before you, he will be with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged. So again, tying into the first verse, I mean, the world's gonna give you some trouble, right? Like the world is imperfect. There's gonna be trials and tribulations, as we've mentioned, but as Derotomy states, the Lord Himself goes before you and He will be with you, and He's never going to lead you in a situation where He's just gonna like just leave you hanging or like forsake you or like mislead you. It doesn't happen, so don't be afraid or discouraged. And one of the stories that really like applied to me in this shield of faith moment is actually we got in a car accident about a year ago where the car was totaled. Praise the Lord, all glory to him, that there was no injuries in the car accident. But it led to us not having a vehicle. And to spare some details, it was a two-month process, but we just relied on the Lord, um, spent prayer time with him, just wanted to be fully guided in what he wanted us to do with the situation. And it led to us going to a car dealership a distance away for a specific vehicle at a specific price, and everything happened exactly how he revealed it to us, like over a two-month span. Like it all just like it's like that we got this piece at this time, and then this piece at this time, then this piece at this time, and we had to wait a little bit longer here for here, and then this had to play up. Like this whole time the Lord's working, the whole time the Lord is working, and he's just needing us to be still, believe in him, put faith in him, trust in him, you know, step into the faith. He is showing us the direction, just step into it. And I mean, it it is another moment I'll never forget. I mean, we go down there, and I'm not kidding, it happened exactly how God said it would happen. I mean, it was like an hour and a half process. I mean, it was like is is insane, and it's a testament within itself. And I mean again, all glory to God, and another huge story I'll never forget. But I mean, yeah, it that's He turned a trial tribulation into a blessing. I mean, how good is our God? Yeah, right? How good is our God? And that's kind of my shield of faith kind of perspective in that one.

SPEAKER_02 24:46

Yeah, and I mean, if you drop your your shield in battle, right? That's your first line of protection. You have left yourself vulnerable. So when we drop our faith in God, we leave ourselves vulnerable. And it's important to know, kind of like with the helmet of salvation, like we don't have faith in ourselves, we have faith in God. We need healing. I don't have faith in in medicine, I have faith in God. The Lord is my healer, Jehovah Jirah, I believe. And like that's the important thing. Like, if God created all of this, He can't give me 50 bucks to help me pay my rent. Like, come on. You know, it's like it kind of seems ridiculous when we say it like that. But even if you don't like believe it 100%, keep saying it till you believe it. Like, God will heal me, God will do this, God will do that. Like I believe God, I will hear God speak to me for the first time. I will. And guess what? You will. I mean, when I live like that, it happens with in within his will, it happens. You know, like you were there when I think we saw this in a past episode, our first healing. Like he was like, Oh yeah, I think God's telling me, like, I think you're gonna heal my hand, whatever. And I could have been like, I don't know. Like, I prayed over his hand and we watched his hand like literally go, like the swelling went down within like five minutes. Excuse me. Crazy. We've also seen cancer be healed twice now. I mean, I don't know if one of them has the confirmation, but I'm saying right now, like they are healed, regardless. We we know somebody who had kidney cancer prayed over them. They removed the kidney. There was no cancer on it though. They said we have good news and bad news, you know? And like this is what we keep seeing. And what's what's the common denominator is God in all these things. So he's moving to his day. Yep. So belt of truth. What we got here?

SPEAKER_00 27:02

Yeah, belt of truth. I mean, you say it best, it holds it all together, keeps the pants up, right? Holds it all together, holds all the all the armor together. And of course, the belt of truth is obviously the word of God, right? I mean, John 14, 6 says it best. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. There is no other way to salvation, there's no other way to heaven, there's no other way to the Father except through Jesus Christ alone. And the belt of truth, I mean, again, when we're hit with delays, distractions, counterfeit theologies, you know, false religions, false doctrines, it is so important to stay rooted in the truth, the word of God, get to know that Bible, and just not be led astray, right? I mean, just because something sounds good and sounds spiritual, right? Or like feels emotionally good does not mean it's the truth. It is a temporary, you know, like roller coaster lift up, but then it's probably gonna give you a big low later, right? Like, but Jesus is perfect, he's peace, he's love. He's never gonna roller coaster you. He like the world always let you down, people always let you down. He ain't gonna let you down. That's the truth of it all, right? And one of the big things, again, another verse that I always like to apply to this belt of truth is then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. So that's John 8 32 is that verse. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Jesus is a chain breaker. Amen. And he he sets the the chains and the bondage and the straps, you know, on fire, and they just completely have to get released off you, and you were just torn out of the darkness, so you can walk into the light. And a big applicator for me in this one is like I definitely struggled with a lot of anxiety in the past, especially my younger self. I mean, there was just like just some lies that I was just growing up to believe, you know, whether it came from like school or whatever it might be, but like just like when you hear like, you know, you're not good enough, or like, you know, you just you're not smart enough, you're you're not, you just, you're just too small, you can't do it. You're just procrastinating, you know, like you just, you know, all that stuff, right? And like if you believe that, that's only gonna make that situation be a those words be applied to it, right? And knowing the truth of what God says about you is like, no, you are good enough with me. No, I made you this way. That's why maybe you in that position, it was never meant for you in the first place. Because I made you for this, right? So like you replace that lie with a truth. Like you're trying to form yourself into that area where listen, like your value ain't known there. I know your value. So just come to me, come to God, right? That's what God's saying. I know your value, you're not valued there. I know what you're made for, and it's not there. You will fit in perfectly for I made you in this area. And you just, you know, hearing, hearing that, no, I like I am a hard worker from God. You know, like, no, you can do this in a timely manner from God. Like it it helps replace, you know, the lie with the truth. And it is very powerful, and it it completely changes your mood, it completely changes your character, it completely changes like, oh, I was designed for this. You know, instead of like that doubt, no, the belt of truth, I'm designed for this. And those are kind of like you know, my go-to verses and and stories that kind of apply for the for the viewers who are listening, maybe they can relate to some of those, but no, I I think those are all very important.

SPEAKER_02 30:58

And I kind of brought up the story um before we we went on air here when they were casting out demons, and you know, not in Jesus' name, you know, and they got beaten so badly and they they ran out naked. You know, because when we don't fight in the truth, when we don't cast out like our names hold no power, but it by his name we have power and we have authority in this life and over the kingdom of darkness. And I know you made a video about this recently, but when Jesus says it is completed on the cross, do you want to kind of like get into that, like what it means, verbatim?

SPEAKER_00 31:38

Yeah, yeah, I can do a just a just brief it if you want to add on to anything that I may miss.

SPEAKER_02 31:43

Because I think that was that's pretty important.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

Yeah, I mean it's the the verse overall is like the John 1930 that really is kind of focused on and it is it says it is finished, and Jesus is saying that as he's on the cross to bearing all the weight of sin, all the weight of curses. I mean, just just brutally, you know, abused, whipped, tortured, right? Still has the strength to yell. Now keep in mind when you're being crucified in Roman times, you have to press through the iron spike in your feet to push up your diaphragm enough to even take a breath, which probably means you're getting a bunch of splinters and you're exposed whipped back. He's probably going through this for a few hours at this point. Medically probably shouldn't be alive for multiple reasons. Still strong enough, still enough energy, still enough strength, still enough focus to at the top of his lungs, it is finished. Declaring victory in a war that he went out and won for us, paying a debt we couldn't even owe. Like it is officially saying we had a debt, it was transferred over to him, and he paid it in full by the blood. And the blood is important because in the Levitical time frame, if there was a sin that needed to be atoned for, there was at a cost of blood, like an animal sacrifice, wherever it might be. He was the Lamb of God, the true one, ultimate last sacrifice we need, and by the blood we are purchased from the world into his heavenly heritage. I mean, I don't know if that's what you were kind of referencing, but yeah, that is that is the overall message of it is finished on the cross.

SPEAKER_02 33:41

Yeah, and the one thing that Satan didn't take into account is it was the love that got him there. It was the love that helped him complete his love for you. And the thing is, regardless, I think I've said this before, but regardless if we choose him or not or how far we make it on our path, his love for us doesn't change. We can't earn his love. His love is the testimony on the cross. And yeah, I mean so s yeah, that's what I got for Belt of Truth, but sword of spirit. Now the sword of spirit is I think the word they use is the Rhema word. I could be wrong. No, no, that's what Jim said, right? Yeah. Shout out to Jim. Anyway. You know, we we gotta be careful with this one because when we say we're doing things with God, like, oh God told me this, right? Make sure you have that discernment. So you're not saying his his name in vain, right? Be careful when you claim to be a Christian and then speak death on people. Right? If you live by the sword, you'll die by the sword. And that's why I think it's important like a skillful swordsman, to know the weight of your sword, to have it well balanced, to practice, to train, you know, to be quick to listen and slow to speak. Wait for the command and then go. So, Jesse, what do you have on a sword of spirit?

SPEAKER_00 35:24

Yeah, I mean, just one verse just directly comes to mind here, and it is a very much of a go-to one for me. Um, as we might kind of mention the other five are kind of like a little more defensive, right? Well, this one's a little more offensive, where like something's kind of going on, you're kind of feeling a little off, you're kind of feeling like, what is going on here? You know, James 4 7 is an absolute go-to for me. It is submit yourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. I believe it's even submit yourselves to God in all of his righteousness, resist the devil and he will flee to from you. Such a powerful verse. It usually comes when you're under heavy temptation, wanting to go back to an addiction, wanting to go back to a desire of the world, wanting to go back to spending times time with desires of the flesh, and not, you know, spending that prayer time or that reading time or whatever it might be, right? It it's usually in those moments where like you feel at the heaviest, you know, old memories come back, flashbacks, trauma, you know, might might instigate, you know, just feeling like just a massive spiritual warfare. That is a go-to verse for me. It is directly targeting what is happening to you or around you or in memories or whatever it might be. And it's it's basically declaring, no, I don't want what is the of the old me. I only want what the Lord wants for me. Referencing, you know, submit yourself to God in all of his righteousness, right? And I mean, just just some big, big moments for me. And I kind of mentioned that many times throughout the podcast. I mean, I definitely get temptations of my old life. My I always get like, oh, you were having so much fun doing all those things, like you were so good at it, you know, and I'm referencing, you know, like my hobbies and stuff, and you know, all everything, but honestly, saying this verse and just knowing like I would not be where I'm at with the Lord if I would A go back or B never stepped out of it, or like again, basically got saved from it. I'm not going back. I don't want to. I want nothing to do with it. Love, love this analogy, but it's a verse in Matthew. You cannot put new wine in an old wineskin, it'll burst. It's not made for it.

SPEAKER_03 37:36

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 37:37

For you were once one way, you're now another. You're a new creation. You are literally a new creation in the ways of the Lord, you know, and just knowing that I believe that's 2 Corinthians 5 7, I believe. I was your new creation, and and just applying those verses like that is just huge. Huge in the daily walk and kind of building off of taking up your cross, right? It's kind of huge in just like up this understanding that it's a it's a daily battle.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

Yeah, I forget what verse it is, but it's he says it's not what you like take in, it's what comes out, right? Like you're talking about like word vomit, if you will. But it's important, especially like if we're eva evangelizing, like what we say to people. And I feel like a good discernment is am I going to deliver this word in a loving way? Am I just trying to talk to this person to prove a point? Am I talking to this person to be judgmental? Or am I talking because like I love this person, regardless if I know him or not? Because he's my potential brother or sister in Christ. You know what I'm saying? So I think that's an important thing to keep in mind. And I feel like we're like the body kind of starts to fail at this, is actually within the church, too. My we me and you have kind of had problems with this a little bit with topics and kind of diving into it, trying to help each other understand the point of view, and we kind of just like lose track or more of an earlier in this walk, I would say, but with other people as well, because we're just and it's not from a bad spot, but it's just delivered in a bad way because Satan wants to skew and get you guys to not see each other face to face, right? Again, the nine plagued darkness or Abel and Cain. Just having a difference in and thought process. So I mean I kind of don't want to start babbling, but uh yeah. It's just important that we try to see the other person through God's eyes. Like, what are you trying to say with this word to this person? Or are you even trying to say this? Because it might sound right in our mind, it might seem good, but it might be end up doing more damage in the process. It might be pushing that person away from God. So is that a risk you're willing to take?

SPEAKER_00 40:23

You know, how sure are you? And God's timing is always perfect too. Yes, like God will always know the perfect timing. Don't ever try to rush it. If you're ever trying if you're ever feeling like you're trying to rush it, it's not ready yet. Or they're not ready yet. And it'll be for a perfect moment. But yeah, this is essentially the armor of God from our point of views and our experiences and some verses that help apply. Really good at battling with spiritual warfare, really good at establishing the truth, especially with new believers, and just honestly helping apply the word to our daily lives, because that is what our calling is as disciples of Christ, right? And hopefully this helps some of you guys out there listening. And I would love to hear some verses or some stories you guys may have in the comment section below regarding some of these armor. Honestly, I would love to hear it. I would love to hear what you guys experienced and how the breakthrough kind of happened and what verses really helped you guys because I'm always interested in hearing those testimonies and everything like that. So yeah, feel free to share some stories.

SPEAKER_02 41:29

Yeah, or I mean, just feedback in general, because we're not like kind of getting too much, and I'm interested in what you guys are thinking. Like, are these topics good? Like, is there anything you want to hear more about? Yeah, we are definitely open to hearing those things, and our purpose again is just to make sure that you guys are growing closer to Christ, all of us together as one. So, with that said, we hope you enjoyed and hope you join us for the next episode. Peace be with you.