Target practice - under attack by the enemy

As you navigate your journey in Christ one thing you must accept is that you are now on the enemy's radar and he is coming to attack you. His game plan is to steal to kill and destroy and his focus is to derail your destiny, but God's plans are to prosper you and in the midst of the enemy's attacks God has a plan to develop and refine you. 

Transcript

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Happy Monday, everyone. Welcome to the I'm Saved Now What podcast. I am your host, Jaavonne Taylor. Thank you so very much for those of you who have been returning to listen. And if this is your first time, welcome to the podcast. I'm so excited to have you here, and I'm so grateful to the Holy Spirit for giving me this assignment to help us navigate this journey in Jesus. Today we are going to look at the topic of target practice under attack by the enemy. And I don't think it's gonna be a long episode at all, but it's an episode where we're just gonna get very real about some of the things that happen as we say yes to Jesus. I think it's so good that we emphasize all the goodness and all the amazing changes that will happen in our lives when we say yes to God, when we talk about, you know, you know, you'll find a new identity in Christ, you're awakened to purpose. You know, we speak about the goodness, especially when people are making this is the decision to follow Christ. We emphasize what is good about the journey, we emphasize how amazing the journey is, but I think we don't prepare people enough that with this good comes some level of bad, and it's not because God is wicked, it's because, well, we have a real enemy, and the enemy does not want to see us walk in our true identity or fulfill our true purpose in this life, and so I think it's important that we speak about the fact that when you say yes to Jesus, you now become a target for the enemy, and so that's why we're gonna speak about this today. It can be frightening for a lot of us as believers, especially if you were living a life where, according to your standards, you were fine. Some people will tell you that before they said yes to Jesus, their lives were cool, they were coasting, they were alright. Obviously, not everything was great, but by the standards of the world, they were alright. And the moment they say yes to Jesus, all hell breaks loose in their life. Like literally, things just start to happen out of the blue. Some people lose jobs, some people get sick if it's not them getting sick, their family gets sick, um, you know, they lose homes, there's just chaos, there's animosity, that they they start being attacked, and many of them don't understand why this is happening, and unless you have community or support when you're navigating this thing, it can be very difficult for you to one understand what is happening, like deal with what is happening, and so right now we're gonna talk about why this happens. So, target practice is any systematic exercise where projectiles are fired at a designated mark. And I like this definition because it speaks about projectiles being fired at a designated mark, right? You see, the moment you say yes to Jesus, the enemy's eyes are now focused on you, you become a mark for him, and you're a target for him, and his and his agenda is now to try and get you off of your mark. Your life's mission is to walk like Jesus, so you're walking and trying not to miss the mark, and here comes the enemy trying to make you a mark, you right? You see the irony in that? Because sin means missing the mark. So, because sin means missing the mark, you're now trying to live a life free from sin, and the enemy has now made you a mark, right? You are now the target, he's you're now the one that he's aiming projectiles at on this journey. And when I tell you the enemy will stop at nothing, he will basically use whatever he can to get you off of your mark. He does not want you walking in this new life. What he's actually trying to do is to dissuade you, distract you, frustrate you, annoy you. He wants to get you back out of this new life, and he wants to put you back into the position that you once were, which was a position of ignorance, a position of darkness, and a position of death. That is really what it is. The enemy wants you to go back to that because he's trying to convince you that this new life that you started in Jesus is too much, it is too heavy, and it's not something you can manage. So, because of that, he is going to do whatever he can to try and keep you off of your mark. All right, that's what he's gonna do. The enemy's game plan has always been to steal, to kill, and to destroy. His game plan has never changed, his his ultimate strategy, you know, it has never changed what he does, how he does it in everybody's kind of different. But the point is, what he wants to do is to steal, to kill, and to destroy. And so, if you are cognizant of that, you will therefore understand if that is that is his game plan and that is his aim, you will now be cognizant and understand why it is that the moment you step into light, darkness is going to now target you, right? So, because darkness is coming to target, be very vigilant because you are walking into this new direction, you are walking into who you are in Christ. The enemy doesn't want you to discover that because the reality is that you are valuable. Once you awaken, once you step out of the dark, you are now so valuable and you're about to destroy everything that the enemy has tried to build on this earth. Now, remember when the earth was created before the fall of man, the Lord had given man dominion. But the moment we we sinned and we did not take responsibility for our actions, right? So when you look at the conversation and the exchange between God and Adam, you recognize that there was no responsibility that was taken. The enemy said, Well, yeah, I did it. I was wrong. He gets this control over the earth. But the moment we give our lives to Christ and the moment the Lord wakes us up back, it's like we're saying, Hold up, something is off balance here. We actually do have power, we can do this, right? So because we are waking up, when we are waking up, we're recognizing that hold on, I don't have to stay bound to sin, I don't have to stay in this relationship that is destroying my life, I don't have to succumb to you know the the the the generational patterns that have been in my bloodline for years. You are waking up to different things, and the enemy does not want to do that because you are literally destroying his game plan. You are now infringing on his free reign, so to speak, because he thinks he has free reign in this earth. If he keeps you bound, then essentially he can do whatever he wants, he can wreak havoc, right? But the moment you wake up now, you are becoming a problem. He's like, Oh god, another one is striking up, another one is coming up, somebody is finding me out, somebody is realizing the truth. And when the Bible talks about the truth setting you free, this is some of what is meant by that. So the enemy is annoyed and he wants to keep you bound, and yeah, because you are a threat to his reign, he is going to say, you know what? Let me keep him or her distracted, let me confuse them, let me frustrate them, let me antagonize them, let me torment them, let me keep them bound, let me wreak havoc in their lives so that they will run away from this. What we need to remember is that conversion threatens the enemy's territory, and his attack is always to discourage you. He wants to test your faith because he wants you to fail the test. He's gonna test your faith because he actually wants you to fail the test, and he wants to cause you to stumble, especially before you establish a strong spiritual foundation, and that is why I think, especially when you are a new convert, you this is something that you really need to be aware of, and it is something that the church needs to speak to us about because the devil is coming hard at you, and when you are a new convert, you are fresh meat, you are a target, you are vulnerable, you are susceptible because you don't have any kind of experience really battling this thing, right? So you literally are the perfect prey when we think about prey, when we think about the animals in the kingdom, when we think about hunters, they usually go after the weakest link. And when you come to Christ, you know, when you just step into Christ with no previous experience battling the enemy, that kind of thing, you are fresh meat, you are the perfect prey, and so in this season of your life, especially when you just become a new convert, community is very important, community and mentorship. I cannot emphasize it enough. It is extremely important, and it's important that you get connected as quickly as you can. Some of us may not be able to get physically connected in spaces because of or unique situations, but even if you can't connect physically, connect digitally, connect online, do not be by yourself in this stage because it is gonna be hard, and the devil he's gonna come, he's gonna come with God. Like, don't delude yourself, don't think that he's not coming for you, he will come. And I'm not saying this to scare you, I'm not saying it to intimidate you, I'm not saying it for you to get confused and for you to panic. I am saying it for you to prepare, right? Because preparation is the weapon, preparation is what you can use to counteract the enemy's attack. I'm not gonna say he's not gonna come, but because you're aware that he is coming, there's certain things that you as a believer, as a new convert, can do to prepare. And one of the main things is getting connected in community. I won't stop emphasizing the power of community, Christian community with solid mentors, with solid intercessors right now because he's coming. Sometimes he may come at you explicitly, like literally, you will just say everything started to collapse, and that's very obvious. And sometimes he plays the long game, and so he would come subtly, and sometimes he comes parading as an agent of light, he comes parading as your desires, the thing that you want that on the surface it does not look bad, it actually looks like it's a God thing, but down the road, you will recognize it's not a God thing, it's actually the devil parading as a God thing, and so this is why being in communities important with a community of believers, a community of persons who have gone down this road before, who can help you navigate this path to say, Hey, don't go there, try that, you know, avoid this, avoid that. I'm not gonna say it's gonna be easy, and some of us have to walk it out alone because you have now switched allegiance and you are now riding with Jesus. Trust me, He He's coming for you, right? He is coming, but not to worry because we know He's coming, and because we know we serve a God that is good, a God that is just, a God that is able, a God that is able to protect us, a God that is able to use anything for his glory, you will be fine if you do what is right. So I would have given my life to the Lord in November of 2023, and then I moved in April of 2024, and so between November, April, even to August, I would say like I was I was in a good space mentally. I was happy, I was on cloud nine, I was just loving my decision to follow Christ. I was, yes, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. I was just when I tell you, I was just in awe of all the goodness, the doors that the Lord were opening for me, the new opportunities, the blessings that were coming, the reconciliation with my mother, the restoration of friendships. Like, you know, there was so much good that was happening. So much good was happening, you know. I have a new community, new church, all of that. So much good was happening for me that I was blindsided when the devil started to come in and I was not prepared. I was blindsided because even though I went into a new community with a new church and a church that I loved and all of that, at the time I was still new in that church, so I didn't necessarily have the church family per se. Like I was just building up that family, and like my regular friends, my friends who who I hang out with, hung out with most of the time, they were not yet saved. So there were things that I was starting to deal with and things I was starting to process on my own that I couldn't necessarily share with them. Now, yes, I had friends who were saved back home, but you have to remember that sometimes distance creates a problem, sometimes distance creates a problem, and even though they love you and you love them, sometimes because somebody is not in your face in real time, you you don't get a chance to fully jump into the fullness of the conversation, and so I was battling things and I was starting to deal with things on my own, but I wasn't I wasn't sure what they were, and I guess if I'm being honest now, if I'm talking about it now, I think pride was one of those things where I just said, Oh well, you know, I can deal with this on my own, it's not a big deal. But what I didn't realize it was that it was the enemy that was actually coming in, he was coming in and he was subtly doing things, and another thing I will say too at this stage in my faith, I am still learning God's voice. I am still learning God's voice, I'm still learning how God speaks to me, I'm still trying to understand certain things, and because of that, the enemy was able to manipulate that situation. So sometimes, so there was a particular incident that happened, and I thought I was hearing from God, not recognizing it was the enemy, and that's another thing I will tell you. Just because it sounds like God doesn't mean it's God, the enemy knows how to use and contort and distort scripture. The enemy knows how to use scripture, so not because the people cut that they say God, not because they appear to be good, it means that you know they're good. And there's a reason why the Lord says test the fruit, because the fruit is what will really confirm what it is from. But again, at this stage in my journey, I'm very new, very fresh in my walk, not understanding what is going on, and because of that, I fell. I fell and um, you know, I got got caught up in I was just being attacked by the devil, and I was being attacked by the enemy in an area in my life where boy, I'm telling you, it's an area that I wasn't even too focused on so much, it's an area that I I was, you know, I had a deep desire for all my life in terms of relationships and you know that kind of thing, but it was an area that he used, he came in and he tried to just distort and wreak havoc and chaos in my life, and it was horrible. But because God is so good and God is so faithful and God is so miraculous, you know that scripture that says what the enemy meant for evil, God turned it around for good. I can speak to you now from this perspective because God has got me to the other side, but whilst I was in that, whilst I was going through that, whilst I was being attacked, it was really painful and it was really horrific. And this is the part that got me first. I said, God, I'm serving you. You know, I've given my life to you, I'm serving you all of this. What why is this happening to me? Why are you allowing this? Where are you in the midst of this, God? Why aren't you taking away this pain? Why aren't you rescuing me, Lord, from the evil one? Why is it that he's allowed to just wreak havoc in my life? Why aren't you coming to save me, Lord? Why, why, why, why? What are you, you know, what are you doing? Why are you allowing this to happen to me? And to be honest, I felt like the Lord wasn't answering me. I felt like I was alone, I felt like he just was not paying me any attention, and it was really freaking me out. But that was a lie. Because the thing about God is that God does not leave you alone, and God was in the midst of all of this um pain that I was dealing with, and the the hurt and the trauma that I was going through, and the torment and the havoc that that was really wreaked in my life. Look, the Lord was sending people, the Lord was sending people, He was sending um persons, destiny helpers to send me messages, He was sending me people in the midst of it, and the Lord was using this moment. Now I know the Lord was using this season, using these attacks to prepare me for more. One thing that came out in in my season was that the Lord said, There is pain in your purpose and purpose in your pain. Now, when you hear things like that when you are going through hell, you really and truly wanted to scream at the Lord. But on the other side of it, I see what the Lord meant because there is really pain in your purpose and purpose in your pain. There's purpose in the pain, and the Lord allowed the enemy to attack me, not because the Lord is sadistic or he's crazy, but because the Lord knew that there was something inside of me that needed to be birthed, that needed to be brought forward, that that could only come forward from this challenge, from this battle, from this attack, and so he allowed it, right? He allowed it, and you would hear if you read the book of Job, you will recognize that God sanctions the devil's attacks, right? He sanctions it, he allows it. And again, guys, when we read these things, it sounds crazy. I'm not gonna lie, your life, why would you allow it? But God has a purpose for everything. There is a scripture that the Lord actually told me to speak about this week, and it's a scripture of Luke 22, 31 to 32. And this in this scripture, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat, but I have prayed, I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, so that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turn to me again, strengthen your brothers. We see here that Jesus is alerting Simon Peter to the fact that he is about to be tested, he's alerting him to the fact that the Lord has permitted the enemy to test him. But he's also said, I have prayed for you. God is not going to send you into a battle without protection because the prayers of Jesus went forward before this battle even started. When I'm looking at this scripture, that's what I see. I saw that the prayers of Jesus went forth even before the battle started. So Jesus was giving Simon Peter insight into what was about to come, but he was also telling him, Listen, you're gonna face something, but I have already prayed for you. You're gonna face our battle, but I've already prayed for you. Right? He said, I've already prayed for you. And it wasn't just for Simon Peter, but it was for all of the disciples. Because you see, what is happening is that the devil is gonna come after us, guys. He's gonna come, but Jesus was saying to them, you are going to be fine, you're gonna withstand this because I have prayed for you, I have prayed for you, right? I encourage any of you to go online and look at what sifting means. But when I did my research, I recognized that the ultimate goal of being sifted is to get out the impurities, right? So all the parts that don't belong. See, the devil wants to sift you, but the Lord permits the sifting because at the end of that process, what is going to be coming out of that is somebody who is purified, a better version of you is going to come forth. What the enemy meant for evil, God will turn it around for good. Don't ever forget that. And Romans 8 28 is that one of those key scriptures that we hold on to, or for me anyway, when it speaks about all things working together for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. You see, even the attacks of the enemy serve God's agenda and serve God's purpose because God is preparing you for the places He's taking you to. There are many of us that have some greatness inside of us, but it's not until we are challenged, it's not until we are threatened, it's not until we are attacked that this greatness comes forth and leaps forward. It is not until we are forced to confront a devil that the braveness and the boldness and the courage in us comes forth. And God allows these trials and these tests to build our faith. He allows the attack so that the the true person can come forth, that the true man can arise, that the true woman can arise, that the warrior can arise, that the the prophet can arise in the name of Jesus, that all of us, the intercessors, the kingdom builders, the innovators, right? He does it so that we can arise. God is not here to cuddle us, guys, right? He cuddles us, he does come for us in some seasons, but at the end of the day, if you are really being honest and you're paying attention, the parents that cuddle their children end up in problems in the end because these kids cannot do anything, they don't know how to do anything, and God is not going to do that, He's not going to cuddle you to the point that you become ineffective and dull in the kingdom. He is not going to do that. So if you are looking to be cuddled, this and promise you it's not gonna work. Yes, he comforts you, but he is propelling you and preparing you for destiny and purpose, never for Get that. We look at David when when we study the Psalms and we look at David, we look at the life of David. David is a shepherd that the Lord, you know, anoints to be king. He anoints him ever before he's appointed, but he does not get to the palace instantly. He goes through a process. This is a shepherd becoming a king. There is a process that he had to go through. And when you look at his life, when you look at his legacy, he went through so many trials, but in the midst of every trial, he knew how to call on God. He knew how to call God and ask the Lord to meet him in the midst of his trial and in the midst of the fight and in the midst of you know standing against the enemy. He was able to do that. And that's something that we have to do now. We have to cultivate a relationship with God so that even in the middle of the battle, in the middle of the fight, in the middle of the threat, in the middle of the attack, we are calling on God in the midst of it. So your prayer life, guys, has to be it has to be so intact. You know, in order to be successful in the battle against the enemy, your prayer life has to be intact. And if you don't know how to pray, don't worry about it. Holy Spirit is here to help you. But just be willing to pray. And what I will encourage you to do now, especially if you're walking out this journey and you are good, send forth prayer, send prayers before you say, God, right now everything is good, but God, I'm sending this prayer forth into my future. So when the challenge comes, when the battle comes, when the fight comes, God, I will have peace in the middle of the storm. You send forth these prayers, you send forth the protection, you send it forth, you send it forth. Because if we know that a battle is coming, if we know that there's a war coming, we are going in prepared. So we are sending forth the prayers, we are pleading the blood of Jesus, we are sending the prayers forth to protect us. We are reading our word and our scriptures, we are getting connected to the truth, and we are asking God to show us the strategy and the technique. And when we are in the midst of the storm and the battle and the attack, we are calling on Jesus and we are going to stand ten toes down, and we are going to go through the storm and we're going to weather the storm and we are going to fight. We are going to fight because the battle has already been won. The battle has already been won. So if the battle has already been won, why does God need me in it? The reason God needs you to be in the battle, as I said before, is because there is something being cultivated on the inside of you. You are anointed, you carry oil, you are precious, you have value, but there's certain things that can only be created from crushing. There are certain things that can only come around from going through painful experiences. And the Lord wants you to arise, He wants you to evolve, He wants to get you to that place. That is God's aim. Don't think that the enemy only targets new believers. No, the enemy can target anyone. Is that when you rise in your faith, another attack is on the way. Another attack is on the way because as you rise in the kingdom, as you rise in your faith, there is another attack coming. Because remember, the attack is coming to test you. So, like when you're a student going to school and you're about to leave this grade to matriculate into another one, an exam comes. This is what the enemy's attacks are like. It's like an exam. Are you ready for the next level that the Lord is calling you into? So you have to be prepared. You have to be prepared. My bishop said it this way, and I love it. He says, New levels bring new devils, right? New devils, new challenges, new attacks. And so the Lord's plan in all of this is for us to come out as pure gold. Guys, we don't come out as pure gold without going through a fire. We have to understand these things. We have to understand that pain is a part of the process, trouble is a part of the process, but God is still God in the midst of the profit process, and He will make a way where there seems to be no way. And at the end of it, when you come out on the other side, you're gonna say, Wow, God, I see what you were doing, I see why you brought me through this, I see why you allowed me to experience this. I see now, God, what you had to do, what you had to uproot, what you had to dig up inside of me. I see what you had to get out of me. If you stay committed to God, if you stay committed to his course, you will succeed, you know. If you stay the course, there's a scripture that says the Lord did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. And it's one of those scriptures that I meditate on daily. Because sometimes when you think about this, sometimes when you think about the fact that you're going to be attacked, sometimes you get a little intimidated. But I say this scripture and I believe it and I speak it over my life because the Lord did not give me a spirit of fear, but he gave me power, he gave me love, and he gave me a sound mind. And this is something that I encourage each of you to say over yourselves daily, especially in this day and age when a lot of attacks that are coming are mental attacks. A lot of attacks that are coming are mental attacks. You better plead the blood of Jesus over your mind and say that scripture over your mind. There's another scripture that I love too. It says, No weapon formed against me shall prosper. No weapon formed against me shall prosper, and every tongue that has risen up against me shall be condemned. You have to get into a position where you say these things over your life daily. Say them, declare them, believe them, walk them out. You have to cover yourself with the scriptures of the word. The word is live, it is active, it is not passive, it has real impact and real effect. And when you play, when you pray the word, when you speak the word, when you declare the word, the word is going ahead of you, the word is covering you. So even in the battle, there is comfort, even in the fight, there is peace, there is coverage, there is protection. There is protection, but you have to prepare yourself for battle. It makes no sense for you to walk on this Christian journey, think that it's going to be La La Land. Take my stupid advice, please. It is not La La Land. This is a real fight, and nothing in life that is worth anything does not come without a challenge. The bigger the challenge is, the more you know that there's something on you. When the harder the challenge is, you better know that there is something on you. You better know that the oil on your life is so great. You better know that the anointing on you is so great. You better know that the gifting on you is so great. You better know that the God in you is so great. The opposition that you are facing now from people is because there is a light on the inside of you that is shining so bright, that is making people uncomfortable because they are in darkness. And the moment you come into that space, it is making them uncomfortable. It is making them uncomfortable, not because of anything that you did, but because of who you are and what is inside of you. And it is making it uncomfortable, but stay the course, stay the course, do not abort the mission prematurely. Stay the course, stay in the fire, stay because God is with you in the fire, God is with you under every attack. He is there, he is there, he is with you, he is not letting you go. Stay the course, pray, read your Bible, guys. I can't say this enough. It is not just something we do to tick a box, it is our life. Invite the Holy Spirit into the situation, invite him into the mess, invite him into the attack, help him, ask him to give you strategies, how to deal with certain things, how to deal with certain behaviors because he will tell him, you know, tell him, God, I don't understand what this is about. Ask him questions, ask him, ask him to show you how to navigate it and don't be afraid to feel the emotions. God gave us emotions for a reason. It's okay to be sad, it's okay to be angry, it's okay to even feel intimidated, but give all of that to God because God can manage your emotions. God never told you to pretend, he never said, smile, have a big smile on your face while you're going through the fire. He never said that. He never said that. He wants you to trust him, trust him with this process, trust him with this process. Yes, the devil is coming after you, but God is bigger than the devil. And if God is for you, then who is against you? Who is against you? Yes, they may be coming after you, but can they really destroy you? Can they really destroy you? Can they really destroy you? God wants you to be pure gold, he wants it to be purified as pure gold, he wants you to know that he got you, and as you're going through this process of being targeted by the enemy, of being tested, I will encourage you to get into your communities, to speak to your spiritual parents, your mentors, your friends. And if you don't have them, guys, go and get connected. Please, I encourage you to do that. Read books. What I used to do was read books from my spiritual mentors. They don't know that they're my mentors, but they're my mentors. I would buy their books and read because people have gone through this journey already, people have gone through these processes already, and I wanted to know what they need to navigate it and how they felt and all of that. And when I read these books, when I listen to these podcasts, when I watch these sermons, when I listen to the sermons, I recognize that it may not necessarily be an identical challenge, but the reality is that it was a challenge nonetheless, and they had to submit to God, they had to surrender to the Lord, and they had to allow, you know, they had to they had to go through the process, and it was a day-by-day process. I will tell you as well, take it one day at a time. Don't over-generalize the situation. Yes, you may be going through hell, but take it a day at a time, a day at a time, a day at a time. Even in the midst of this, your words still have power. In the midst of this challenge, your words still have power. Remember, the power of life and death is still in your tongue, so speak life over your situation. Speak life over the like God, I am going to overcome this, I am going to get through this. God, I'm going to arise stronger, I'm going to arise better. Speak those words over your life as you navigate this path, as you go through it, because the Lord will meet you in that season. He will meet you in that space. Speak the words over your life. What I've also learned in this process is that the greater your assignment is the greater your attack. And the place in your life where you are attacked the most is usually the place you are called. It's usually the place that the Lord is calling you to wreak the most havoc. I'ma call it wreak havoc because in the enemy's eyes, you're wreaking havoc, right? It's the place where the Lord is calling you. That's the area in your life that you get attacked the most. And guys, I just want to encourage you to stay the course. Stay the course. Stay the course. You're not being targeted or attacked because anything is wrong with you. You are being targeted and attacked because you are valuable and you are a threat to the dominion of darkness. That is simply what it is. And God has not abandoned you in this process. God is actually right there. And God wants you to call out to him and cry out to him so that he can meet you in the middle of this. Trust me. When I was going through what I was going through, when I was hearing there is pain in your purpose and purpose in your pain, did not want to hear that. God was doing exceedingly abundantly above all I could ever ask, think, or imagine. God got me through that fire. And I'm on the other side, and I know because I'm on the other side, you can get to the other side as well. I'm not saying that I won't go through something else. Because, as I said to you, once you are in this faith, once you are walking with Jesus, it is par for the course. So don't delude yourself. And look at it as a badge of honor. Because if you want to keep attacking me, it clearly means that there's something on me that is worth something. Like, okay, you don't want me to open my mouth, you don't want me to talk, you you know, you want me to stay silent, you want me to stay hidden, all of these things. Okay, why, why, why? Misery loves company, you know. Misery loves company, and remember the enemy is sentenced to eternal damnation. He does he's he already knows his sentence. So he's trying to wreak havoc before he he gets his final punishment. And a part of that plan to wreak havoc is to try and get as many of us to come with him. But I plead the blood of Jesus against the enemy's plot, his plot and his scheme. I plead the blood of Jesus. But guys, don't grow weary in this season. It's easier said than done, I know. But cry out to God and He got you. One thing I can tell you is that that season of my life, that season of attacks and trials, it built my prayer life. It built my prayer life, like it fortified my it forged my prayer life. I'm telling you. Because every day it was like, God help me, God. It fortified my prayer life, it built it. It built it, like it gave me that. Like, I'm telling you, like morning, noon, and night, I was in prayer with God. It was almost like I was preparing for combat. I'm I'm I kid you not. Every day, I pray and I pray and I pray and I praying, I pray and I pray and I pray. Prayer, we we don't. I think if we understood how powerful and potent prayer was as believers, we would be in prayer more. Because if that battle built my prayer life, I'm grateful for it, you know. I'm grateful because it built my prayer life. Because prayer is protection, prayer is something that I need. I'm clothed in prayer every day. I'm clothed in it. I'm not saying bad things can't happen, but I'm protected. I am clothed in it. It's a part of my armory, it's a part of what I walk with, right? Prayer. Get into it. You might start out at two minutes, move to five minutes, move to ten minutes, move to guys. Just get into prayer with the Lord. It's about communion and fellowship with him. Read the Psalms. If you don't even know what to do, one of my favorite books in the Bible is the Psalms. Go look at David, go read Psalms 91, go read Psalms 35, go and look at the attacks that David was enduring. Psalms 25. Go and look at them. And go and look at how he prayed. Go and look at the journey. Look at his experience and what he was doing in the midst of the torture, in the midst of the torment, in the midst of the chaos. He was always going back to God. He was going back to God. God, why have you forsaken me? Why am I going through this? My enemies are attacking me. This and he he he kept at it. Alright? None of us are immune. None of us are immune. But I want you to stay prepared. I want you to stay vigilant. And I want you to stay praying. I want you to stay in your word. I want you to know that Jesus Christ is Lord. I want you to know that no matter how awful it is, no matter what the attack looks like, no matter if it is that you're losing people, losing money, whatever, whatever the enemy has taken from you, Lord, the Lord has the ability to restore. You know, he says he will restore the years the locusts have stolen. He can restore it. Before I go, I'm gonna pray. Most righteous and heavenly Father, Lord, I thank you so much for this day. I thank you for the opportunity, Lord, that you have given me to speak to your sons and your daughters. I pray for each and every one of them today, Lord, that as they go about their day, Lord, that they will seek you with their whole heart and they will truly find you. That they will call on the name of Jesus, Lord, in the midst of their situation and you will meet them right there, God, and give them strategies, give them comfort, give them wisdom, give them knowledge, give them understanding, help them to navigate the path and the terrain that they're on. God, you will give them courage and confidence as they go through these trials and these tests and these tribulations. God, you will put the right people in their corner. God, you will send kingdom partners, destiny helpers in the midst of their trials. God, you will connect them. Mighty God, you will plug them in with the right connections. God, you will send them the right videos to watch online. You will send them the right ministries to become a part of. God, you will align them in such a way that God, even if they're going through hardship, they're going through testing, they're going through trials, the enemy is attacking them. That God, they will be protected in the name of Jesus, Lord. I pray, Almighty God, that you, oh Lord, mighty God, would continue to pour your spirit out onto them in the name of Jesus. You will pour your spirit out on them, and God, they will know that when they call on you, God, you will come there, you will help them, mighty God, in the name of Jesus. They will not run back into the world, but God, they will stay the course. They will stay the course, Lord. Whatever it is that used to bring them comfort, temporary comfort and temporary pleasure, God, they will release that and they will call on you and they will recognize that true comfort comes only from you in the name of Jesus. God, we will not prematurely abort the mission. We will not prematurely get into, um, you know, get out of the fire. But instead, God, they will stay the course. They will stay the course, Lord. They will stay the course because God, at the end, they will become purified as pure gold. I pray for their hearts. I pray for their minds, God. I pray for their health. I pray for their health and their minds, God, keep their minds intact. I pray for their families. I pray for their businesses, I pray for the works of their hands, Lord. I pray that you will open their eyes for them to see themselves like you see them, for them to see the finish line, for them to remember that even though they're in this battle, that the battle has already been won and victory has already been won in the name of Jesus. Mighty God. I thank you, Lord, for all you've done, all you are doing, and all you will do in their lives. I give you glory, honor, both now and forevermore. Amen. Guys, we have come to the end of episode five. And until next week, I am Jaavonne Taylor, and this is I've saved now what. Bye.