Winning Your Spiritual Battles - Episode 29

"We are natural beings living in a spiritual world."

Do you want to learn how to be guided by the Spirit when times get tough? 

Justin and Don discuss the importance of being prepared for spiritual battles. They explain the distinction between the soul and the spirit and emphasize the need to recognize the spiritual dimensions of life that affect our natural existence. The conversation highlights the significance of prayer, how to equip ourselves with the Armor of God, and maintaining a positive mindset to fend off spiritual attacks. They also underscore the necessity of understanding and employing spiritual tools for overcoming fears, anxieties, and daily struggles, all while fostering a deeper relationship with God.

This is your step-by-step guide to having readiness and for winning your spiritual battles. 

Transcript

Episode 29 | Being Ready For a Spiritual Battle

[00:00:00] Justin: Hi everyone, this is Justin Olbrantz and this is Don Schaefer. And you are listening to the wise and the wandering podcast for those who know “The Way” and for those who are led astray. And if you feel like you fall into either of those categories, then you're in the right place. So let's dive in!

[00:00:32] Justin: So Don, what are we going to talk about today? 

[00:00:34] Don: Well, Justin, I think we're going to talk about being ready for spiritual battle. For a spiritual battle. That's right. It's an area that a lot of people don't realize is going on because of the fact that we live in a spiritual world as natural beings. 

[00:00:48] both: Yeah.

[00:00:49] Don: And so a lot of times the spiritual side is what's affecting us and it creates a lot of Goods things in our life, but it also creates bad things. 

[00:00:59] Justin: Yes, [00:01:00] it definitely does. I like the way you say that we are We are spiritual. What did you say? We are 

[00:01:05] Don: we live in a spiritual world. Yes and our

[00:01:07] Justin: natural beings We are natural beings in a spiritual world.

[00:01:11] Justin: That's right And a lot of us do not understand that no a lot of people have no idea what? Spirituality is that's right. A lot of people, you know, there's entire genres when you look in Like the apple podcast menu the spotify of all these different religious things.

[00:01:27] Justin: Yeah sometimes it's kind of like cryptic and sometimes it's kind of like, um, Paranormal, I guess you could say.

[00:01:34] both: Mm hmm, 

[00:01:34] Justin: but people don't understand it, right? And we don't understand it because we're not I don't think we're getting the full context of what how it really works Yeah, and like you said that is the best way to break it down as we're actually You beings, natural beings living in a spiritual world.

[00:01:50] Justin: Yep, yep, we are. And there is often the term soul, right? The soul. Yes. I think that's confused with the spirit. Yes. [00:02:00] They're two different things. Right. But we, what we're kind of taught and we're generally told is the soul is not actually the spirit. The soul, if you look in biblical context, the soul is your, your mind, will and emotions.

[00:02:15] Justin: That's your soul. Your spirit is something different. That's right. Your spirit is kind of what, uh, it's like the essence of the human being that. Corresponds with God's nature and allows you to communicate with God, right? When you're praying, right? Yes, as you should pray as you should have every day when you have a relationship with your Creator, right?

[00:02:36] Justin: You are in communion with the Spirit. Yeah, because you're praying to God. That's your way of connecting in a spiritual way That is true. So today we're gonna talk about Being ready for spiritual battles when they come 

[00:02:48] Don: that's right. Yeah, and and just uh put another picture on it a little bit Um when adam the bible talks about two atoms the first atom was a natural atom Yeah and [00:03:00] sinned And broke connection with God.

[00:03:02] Don: The second Adam was Jesus Christ and he brought spiritual life. 

[00:03:07] both: So 

[00:03:08] Don: when we come into this world, we're born naturally and basically spiritually dead, you know, and we have a nature to sin. Uh, some people say that, you know, talk about an original sin. I always say a sinner isn't a sinner. sins, you know, and, and, and a baby, a baby is born into this world with the nature to sin.

[00:03:28] Don: And you don't have to teach a child, you know, how to do wrong. They figure that out all by themselves. But there's a period in time where we can take an old nature and have a change to a divine nature. And that's what the born again process is. And that's what, you know, Jesus came to do when we invite Jesus into our life.

[00:03:49] Don: But when we do that, that's when on the spiritual side, we start to see and sense things. 

[00:03:55] both: Yes. 

[00:03:55] Don: Because I know the Bible talks a little bit about the fact that those are born [00:04:00]again of the Holy Spirit. Holy ghost or to have the received the spirit of god that god puts his commandments and his laws on their hearts You know, so inside you you know, what's right and what's wrong Where but the natural man has to have it written down on a stone or tablet.

[00:04:17] Don: They have to read it because uh, That's right. They don't they don't sense those things right and uh, 

[00:04:23] Justin: yeah, it really it is a sense The spirit itself is a sense and it's a way of I would say even communicating in like a different realm in a way, um, I would say the analogy is kind of like the experience of breathing, right?

[00:04:37] Justin: That's right. So, One is not conscious of it all the time. You're not always conscious that you're breathing. Right? But if one is not conscious of it, at least sometimes something is wrong. See what I'm saying? There's a sense there. Yeah. If at some point you're not conscious of it. And if, I like that you said that, bringing up the Born Again experience, because, That is [00:05:00] all true, and that's a very spiritual process.

[00:05:02] Justin: You've now taken on a new life, but what happens right after you do that, that is where a spiritual battle takes place. That 

[00:05:10] Don: is absolutely right. 

[00:05:11] Justin: The moment you take on the life of Jesus, the moment you deny yourself, you pick up your cross to follow him. The moment you make that transformation, that process, you've now entered into a war.

[00:05:23] Justin: That's right. A battle. You're really, you're, you're, you're in a war and you're in, there's going to be battles, but you now have, cause you're now a threat, you're now a threat to the enemy. Now he looks at you and he gets nervous because he sees somebody that's not just, you know, that is no longer their original self.

[00:05:43] Justin: He sees somebody who's no longer sucking, uh,, stuck in suffering and, , , Somebody who can be easily controlled. And somebody who is after the will of God. Somebody who is wanting to be like Jesus. Wanting to be an example in this world. Right. Is a threat [00:06:00] to Satan, right? Yeah. So, I think a lot of the times people think like, well, I've accepted Jesus.

[00:06:06] Justin: Now I'm a believer and they think things are just supposed to get easy. Then to be honest with you, that spiritual process is where things get a little tough because now you've entered into a war. There's a target on your back in a way. There is. 

[00:06:19] Don: Yeah. And that's where this podcast is good because what we're trying to do here is bring some light to that.

[00:06:24] Don: But I know Jesus, uh, when he publicly declared that he was going to do his father's will when he was baptized, it was then. That satan went after him relentlessly, you know and tried to trip him up and that's where Jesus recognized the snake he recognized what was happening there, you know, and that's what's bad 

[00:06:44] Justin: snake 

[00:06:45] Don: Oh, yeah, and satan came at him in every direction trying to trip him up and trying to get him to not finish What he came to do and uh, as you're saying just that's the same thing in our lives We started reaching out to god.

[00:06:58] Don: All of a sudden we have an [00:07:00] open target And satan will work on us and cause all kinds of issues and problems and try to get us back into our old ways Into the ways where he was controlling us because it's amazing because you know You have two masters, you know, you can either allow sin or the devil or the worldly ways, fleshly ways control you, or you can allow Jesus in the spiritual side control you.

[00:07:25] Don: And, uh, you know, once, once you're, , stepping over that, you become an open target. And a lot of times the spiritual battle is the way you think. Think, you know, because, you know, it's our thought process that controls everything in our lives. Yes. And if we give our mind over, that's, you know, that's where all of our attitudes, everything.

[00:07:48] Don: I know myself, uh, I'm just use a little example here. See, I used to work with parts, you know, and I would plan parts and make sure the parts are there. Well, a lot of times, every once in a while, a part wasn't there, [00:08:00] it wasn't there. Right. quick enough. So you get these phone calls and you know, you get people with attitudes and stuff coming at you and uh, you know, you can take that in different ways, but , myself, whenever I start to feel the pressure and this and that, I would start praising God.

[00:08:15] Don: I would say, you know, Jesus, I love you and uh, I want your presence to be here. I want to think properly because I know having a bad thought can, Creates stress, can cause all kinds of attitudes, moods, and all this in my life. Anger, you know, all anxieties, all this stuff here, it's a thought process and this is all part of a spiritual battle that gets thrown at us.

[00:08:40] Don: So a lot of it isn't just thought. It's stuff going inside of our minds, you know, and we get, it 

[00:08:46] Justin: really is. And I've heard people talk about this before and they've said something like, it's like a matrix. And I really think it is. I think a lot of the times, um, there, there's a, a lot of, uh, Satanic things, a lot of wicked things in the world.[00:09:00]

[00:09:00] Don: The 

[00:09:00] Justin: world is comprised of a lot of this stuff. And we, and when you kind of break out of that matrix, when you start seeing in the spirit, when you start that re you know, when you start having that real relationship with God, when you deny yourself, when you go through the born again process and you break out of that matrix, so to speak, yes, then you become a threat to the enemy because you're not, you're not on his side.

[00:09:25] Justin: You know, there's. If you can look in this world right now, you can see there's clearly a battle between good and evil. There's clearly a battle between light and darkness. I mean, look at all the wars and stuff that are going on right now. And a lot of the times you don't even hear about a lot of the destruction and, uh, you know, the stuff that's actually happening.

[00:09:45] Justin: We just are. Going to work and living our day to day lives and worrying about the next paycheck, you know, so there's a lot of Discernment that needs to take place though that you need to see what is real and what's lies There's a lot of lies out [00:10:00] there. It really is once you start seeing the truth Yeah, again, I like to repeat this because it's the one who called himself the way the truth and the life when you see the truth The enemy doesn't like that.

[00:10:11] Justin: And like you said, the way, how is he going to attack you the most? The way he's going to attack you the most is he's going to put thoughts into your mind, right? He's going to try to derail you. He's going to try to get you back into that cycle of. Shaming yourself of being guilty of things you did in the past 

[00:10:29] both2: Of 

[00:10:31] Justin: finding yourself guilty, but then also of rejecting yourself and feeling rejected by other people There's a lot of people that are struggling right now with such bad anxiety, 

[00:10:41] both2: right?

[00:10:41] Justin: They cannot even go into a public place. Yeah, they cannot even leave their homes They go show up to the gym and they want to go work out. They're already dressed, but they can't go into the gym. They can't work out. So they just sit in their car and they go home. They're struggling with so much anxiety and we think it's all mental and we think it's [00:11:00] all psychology and we're not being told the full picture right there.

[00:11:04] Justin: We are being attacked. Attacked in a way. And those people are being attacked in their mind and there's thoughts that the enemy is putting there to keep them into the state of rejection. To think that if I go somewhere, everyone's staring at me. Everyone is rejecting me. Nobody wants me there. Nobody wants to be my friend.

[00:11:21] Justin: Nobody wants to love me. Nobody wants to be with me. All of these are not your thoughts. They're thoughts that are coming. This is a spiritual thing. These are thoughts that are trying to keep you down. Because if you're not doing. What you were purposed to be we just did an episode about value you have a lot of value God put specific value in your life and The enemy does not want you to know that he's gonna spend your whole life Trying to make sure that you don't know that because the moment you realize that it's war.

[00:11:50] Justin: That's right and so Up until that point, these, these, uh, waves of depression and just the regular anxiety that we go on on a [00:12:00] daily basis. This isn't a direct spiritual attack. 

[00:12:03] Don: Yeah. And we have to break ourselves from that. It's preventable. It is preventable. And it's interesting because I know, um, there's a spiritual breakthrough where all of a sudden you get eyes to see and ears to hear.

[00:12:14] Don: Yeah. And, uh, you know, And that's where a lot of times we don't understand why we are and have struggle in the areas that we struggle in, but God in his grace towards us will give us eyes to see this and understand it. And now you're talking about between good and evil. See, I don't want to get political on all this, but I remember Bill O'Reilly, uh, is a talk radio type guy.

[00:12:38] Don: And he was mentioning that he says, yeah, I know he is. He says, politics is spiritual. Yeah. You know, a hundred percent. Yeah. You know, and what he was saying is you get two different people and they see things totally the opposite of each other. And you say, and each group says, how can the other person see it that way?

[00:12:58] Don: You know, it's a spiritual [00:13:00] thing. And even in our world, everything that goes on around us. It's amazing how people see things, you know, that could be in, you know, your mind totally wrong. But uh, you know, that's where until we really get eyes to see and ears to hear that's where satan's got a profile He's been profiled He's called the father of lies, you know, so there's no truth coming out of this guy.

[00:13:24] Don: So he's going to constantly try to deceive you. He's going to try to get all this stuff going on and get you to a place like you were saying Justin where I can't get out of my car, you know, and that, and that's a spiritual battle. 

[00:13:36] both: You 

[00:13:36] Don: know, this is what we're talking about, you know, how to, uh, get ourselves.

[00:13:39] Don: Ready for the spiritual battles. The bible 

[00:13:42] Justin: says he prowls around like a roaring line. That's right seeking who he can devour 

[00:13:46] Don: That's right. Yep. Yeah, he's looking for a target and once you start to seek after the things of god Well, you're an easy target until you grow and get stronger you get wisdom, you know, the bible talks about placing everything [00:14:00] Thought into captivity under the obedience of Jesus Christ, you know, so we're not to allow our minds.

[00:14:07] Don: I know one time, uh, this was presented to me this way. He says, you know, a bird can come up, come flying over the top of your head and start dropping off. Uh, you know, different, uh, grass or whatever and build a nest, but you don't have to let that nest be built on your head, you know? And so when you get thoughts and stuff, you get rid of them, you get rid of them because eventually you're going to have a full nest and you're going to have a bunch of baby birds fly sitting on top of your head, you know?

[00:14:34] Don: And that's the way it is in our life. We get these bad thoughts. I know sometimes I tell people you need to turn the channel. You know, whatever, wherever the thoughts are coming, the, the spiritual, uh, anxieties and stresses and stuff, you need a different channel. And it's interesting to note because our bodies, you know, I've heard this said that our bodies is a, is the greatest drug store we will ever come across because our mind creates that.

[00:14:59] Don: It's the, , [00:15:00] the, the drugs that we need inside of us to make us well. And I know a lot of times people fighting depression and anxieties and all this, you know, if you, or if you're injured, if you're injured and hurt, you'll have a much more speedier recovery. If, you know, people say this, if you watch comedy.

[00:15:18] Don: If you turn on the comedy channel and get yourself because the Bible says laughter is a medicine, you know So we create a medicine inside of us in these areas here So we learn how to fight these spiritual battles these thoughts that are going in our minds by reaching out in areas that are That the Bible talks about, you know, which is truth, which you're saying the truth, life in a way and allowing the process to work in our lives.

[00:15:43] Don: And that's where we prepare ourselves. 

[00:15:45] Justin: Yes, and I like what you said there. It's so biblically accurate about Paul saying you need to take every thought and hold it in captivity to the obedience of Christ. That's right. So what we think is going on in our minds, we think all of these thoughts are ours [00:16:00] and they're not.

[00:16:01] Justin: They're really not, but we're,, we naturally think that way as we just think we're natural beings. We're not spiritual beings. We think that all of these thoughts are just ours and I'm just crazy and I'm just having these thoughts because of such and such and this is because of genetics and my father thinks this way.

[00:16:17] Justin: So I think this way and this happened to my mother. My grandmother might have had this too. And I think the doctor told me this too. So we just go through this process of thinking that it's all ours when it's not, it's like we're saying, you have the, you have to think of it being, uh, battle ready, being spiritually battle ready is.

[00:16:35] Justin: If I don't like that thought, no, , I'm not, I'm not going to come into agreement with it. I'm not going to validate it. Yes. It's not, it's not, it's not one of my thoughts. It's not mine. I don't have to accept it. And that's the way you have to look at every thought that comes to your mind because the enemy is trying to throw you off.

[00:16:52] Justin: This is, it's a spiritual battle. It sounds cliche, but it is. Yeah. And part of, I guess part of [00:17:00] in defending yourself in this spiritual battle The I would say the first part is that mindset is knowing how that that battle works when it comes to your thoughts And we've did an episode in the past about hearing god in your thoughts.

[00:17:13] both: Yeah, 

[00:17:13] Justin: you can hear Satan in your thoughts you can hear god in your thoughts, right? Obviously god wants you to hear his he wants you to hear what he's saying to you and follow him That's the way this the spirit works. That's the way the spirit leads, you know, jesus was tempted You In the wilderness, uh, like you were brought up earlier, he was tempted.

[00:17:32] Justin: He went through all the temptations to show us that he could do it as human, as a son of man, but the spirit of God led him into the wilderness. It says after he was baptized, the spirit led him. So it was almost like a testing, right? He knew, he knew Satan, obviously God has all the authority over, over, um, God has the authority over.

[00:17:56] Justin: Every living being, every spiritual being in the world. 

[00:17:59] both2: That's right. 

[00:17:59] Justin: [00:18:00] And, and heaven, on heaven and earth, right? Yeah. But this happened right after he got baptized because the spirit came into Jesus, the spirit. Actually, when he got baptized, it says the heavens opened, right? And they heard a voice. It says, this is my son, whom I am well pleased.

[00:18:18] Justin: Right? That's right. And at that point, the spirit had entered in, 

[00:18:22] both: and 

[00:18:22] Justin: spirit, he had fully been consumed by the spirit, received the spirit, and then went into the desert. Right. And I think that when it comes to defending yourself, right? Against the spiritual attacks, you know, if you look in the bible ephesians six.

[00:18:38] Justin: Yes Verse 10 talks about the armor of god, right? Right specifically I mean, this is armor like they wore armor in battles, right? I mean we're talking military terms, right? So the armor was the helmet of salvation right knowing you're saved you have the helmet The breastplate of righteousness if you [00:19:00] want to be righteous, you know, you have to know what's right That's right.

[00:19:03] Justin: And if you want to know what's right, you got to know what's wrong and not doing what's wrong is called repentance It's called changing your mind 

[00:19:11] both2: in your ways 

[00:19:12] Justin: and walking in righteousness. You have to have a clear conscience, right? You have to wake up and you got to be Free of clutter. You got to get all that, all that bitterness, that resentment, anger out.

[00:19:25] Justin: You got to have a clear conscious. Talks about the belt of truth. I'm just going to go one by one here. The belt of truth. Well, we have to have the truth in our life. The truth. The Bible says the Holy Spirit will lead you in all truth. That's spirit. Jesus was limited here on his, on the earth. He was limited in his ability and his healings as a physical person because he could only be in one place at one time.

[00:19:49] Justin: He said, greater things will ye do when I go to my father. I'm sending a comforter to you because once he died and was resurrected, his spirit is now poured out to all who believe. So now [00:20:00] that same spirit that resurrected him, that same spirit that got him through. Yeah, all of these temptations is now in us and now it can be manifested everywhere.

[00:20:10] Justin: Right? Right. So You have the truth. It says you have the shoes that are shod with peace. There is a peace Bible talks about him being the prince of peace, you know, peace that never ends 

[00:20:21] Don: surpasses all understanding 

[00:20:23] Justin: all understanding Then it talks about the shield of faith. Yeah, we have the shield that's what guards us A shield of faith.

[00:20:29] Justin: Yeah, and what faith means, uh can be dissected into a lot of different things, but It's having that faith. It's always standing behind that faith That is your shield and the only offensive weapon or um, Yeah, the only Offensive weapon is the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, knowing the scriptures.

[00:20:51] Justin: Yes. We live in this world where things change constantly. The hairstyles change, the phones change the, you know, the popular trend, [00:21:00] the food changes. This week, people are on, uh, you know, Ozempic next week, who knows what it is, but the scriptures don't change. No, they're, they're always going to be the same.

[00:21:10] Justin: It's solid. It's solid. So it's getting through the battle is having the sword of the spirit. And that is the word of God of knowing what is in the Bible. 

[00:21:22] Don: That is true. And I want to give you a little secret here that um, Everybody should know this, but a lot of people I don't, don't think do, and that's called the power of prayer.

[00:21:34] Don: See Jesus represented something, you know, not only was all this an operation with him, but he knew the power of prayer. So every day he would find time to pray. You know, you would think, uh, both God and man, filled full of the Holy Ghost. That he'd have that all covered. No, Jesus had to pray and what happens a lot of times in our life is we Don't get ourselves into [00:22:00] the place of prayer.

[00:22:00] Don: I mean a lot of times our prayers are wish lists You know like my granddaughter she'll give me like a list of prayers 40 things she wants for Christmas, you know, and a lot of times our prayers are just that or, um, you know, or, or we read off something that's written down, you know, read it over and over and over again, but God wants to hear something different from us.

[00:22:19] Don: And it's a connection because we develop a relationship with him so that the spirit of God can stay strong. I know, uh, the human body can make it up to make 40 days or whatever before we get into a starvation mode. where we're actually being starved. So we can go without food for a period of time, water, I know it's like three, four days or whatever, air, it's a matter of minutes, you know, and we're dead.

[00:22:45] Don: But on the spiritual side, you know, a lot of us are dying. We're dying. And You know, you talk about spiritual battles. If you don't have a spiritual strength inside you, you are open, like you're talking about the armor and all this stuff has to happen. [00:23:00] If you don't have a spiritual strength, and that's what prayer gives, you know, it's a relationship.

[00:23:05] Don: It's getting before God and talking to God on a daily basis. It's getting up in the morning and saying, Lord, help me today, bless me today. It's going to bed at night saying, Lord, I Thank you for the day. And I pray that tomorrow will be even better because we give ourselves, because I know the Christian world calls it being prayed up, 

[00:23:26] both: you 

[00:23:26] Don: know, so that when the battle comes at you, you are prayed up.

[00:23:29] Don: You can handle the stuff that's coming at. So many times people are afraid of charging 

[00:23:34] Justin: up. 

[00:23:35] Don: Yeah. So many times people are afraid to even go out the door or like go into the gym. Like you were saying. Good examples. Why? Because they're not prayed up. You know, and therefore the spiritual battle, they're losing it.

[00:23:47] Don: They're losing that battle and God wants us to win it. And I know a lot of times people ask me, well, what do I pray about? Well, pray about your life. Talk to, I know of a guy that made it a business meeting. You know, he talked about [00:24:00] the, you know, every day we talk to God, what should I charge for French fries and hamburgers this year?

[00:24:04] Don: day. You know, should I put a sail on something, whatever it might be. See, God wants to hear what's going on in your life. And you know, and then spiritually he puts thoughts, ideas. He's there because the Bible says you draw close to me and I will draw close to you. And we do this in prayer. And a lot of times even Christians, they fall short on this stuff.

[00:24:27] Don: You know, they, they allow a week to go by. I know when I was young. I don't want to carry on here, but when I was young, I, uh, I used to have an old 57 Chevy and, uh, that was a pride of my life. And they had on the dash lights that would go on, lights that would go on and would say, Hey, Don, you haven't checked the oil for a while or whatever.

[00:24:48] Don: We called them idiot lights, you know, cause every idiot knows you need to do stuff like this. And a lot of times our attitude, our moods, our fears, all these. Are our idiot lights [00:25:00]in life showing us that we are not filling ourselves with what we need and that's time to pray, time to reach out to God and a lot of people that are successful in life.

[00:25:10] Don: They know this people who are strong and ready for battle. They know this. And Jesus was the example. I would think that he'd have this all covered, but he himself knew where his strength came from. So he preached all day long, and then later on, he'd leave everybody and find a place to pray, you know, and that's where this Getting ourselves ready for a spiritual battle.

[00:25:34] Don: We need to know that that is an element that is so, so important in the things we do. And so much of our world today is lacking in this. We have so many other things we can do, you know, and we run until the day we, the time we fall in the bed and we get up running, doing this and that. And we. Don't do the number one thing we really need to, and that's to get to [00:26:00] the filling station and fill ourselves back up again, you know, so we can have a place.

[00:26:05] Don: And that's where they struggle. People struggle in life. And I think that is a powerful tool for people to walk with. 

[00:26:13] Justin: Yeah, I agree with that because prayer is definitely something it all starts with prayer when you reach out to God when you understand You know that there is something that is not Working there, you know, a lot of the times they say there's this thing about narcissists Yeah.

[00:26:28] Justin: And they say that narcissism is like incurable. And I don't think that at all. I don't think anything is incurable. As a believer, I can do anything with my belief in Jesus. I can do anything with the power of the Holy Spirit. Yeah. Uh, Philippians 4 says, was it 4. 13 says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

[00:26:51] Justin: Yeah. All things, everything. So when it comes to, for instance, just to break that down for you, narcissism, [00:27:00] okay, Satan, the devil, our adversary is a narcissist. He's completely consumed with self. He wants you to be a narcissist. He wants you to be completely full of pride, full of ego. And to be living in denial of any kind of actual truth that can be coming into your life.

[00:27:20] Justin: Because you can't be helped. If the doctor says that narcissism is incurable, well, guess what? There's no hope for you. That's where he wants you because that's who he is. He truly is. And the reason I'm saying this, Don, is because it is a spirit. There is a spirit of narcissism that is affecting you. Once you can cut that out, you realize that it's actually kind of good if a doctor says that because, okay, they could tell you're incurable and now no medicine can help you, but now you'll turn to Jesus.

[00:27:49] Justin: You'll turn to a higher power and you'll get saved just like many people had before they even realized. Narcissism could be, you know, classified as something or diagnosed. Yeah. So this is just a [00:28:00] point just to show you how the spiritual world works Right. There's a lot of illnesses. There's a lot of diseases and stuff like that that are directly They're spiritually influenced, they're spiritually, you know, attributed, they're, they're definitely manipulated spiritually that once you can rid yourself of that, when you can rid your mindset, when you can stand there with the armor, when you are prayed up and when your belief system is in the right way, when you understand the truth.

[00:28:29] Justin: Behind all of these lies. Yeah, nothing can stop you. You're on a whole new path That is where the new life comes from because you now are a new new person You don't think like you once thought you don't perceive like you once did and you don't and if you're cured of anything Illnesses that the doctor said were incurable, right?

[00:28:49] Justin: Well, guess what? I guess you're in a new life then, right? I guess you have a new life over disease. 

[00:28:54] Don: That's true. Yeah, that's very true. And it's interesting to note Also, I've [00:29:00]read this Justin. I don't know but it was an article It said that 90 percent of a lot of people's thoughts are negative And now we wake up with negative thoughts in our minds and we live our whole day, you know, and that and a negative Atmosphere that's created because we because we live in a spiritual world And we've talked about this before god can only work in a positive area 

[00:29:21] both: Yeah, you know 

[00:29:22] Don: and that's where if we get ourselves negative, that's true.

[00:29:25] Don: We started thinking, uh, johnny downer thoughts all day long. What can we expect to be happening in our life? You know, as far as winning a battle, we need to get on positive things. I know the Bible talks about, is there anything good, anything wholesome? These are the things we need to think on. That's where getting into the Word of God, reading the Word of God, getting into positive things, listening to good podcasts, all these types of things, they create a different atmosphere and get you thinking.

[00:29:51] Don: Thinking in a positive way. That's half the battle. You know, that's where if we can get all everybody here to get on the other side and start taking that [00:30:00] 90 percent and dwindling it down 

[00:30:02] both: so 

[00:30:03] Don: that we're almost 100 percent positive on the things we see and the faith we have and the trust we have. And you know, like you talked about narcissism and stuff, you know, our God is an immediate God.

[00:30:15] both: You know, 

[00:30:16] Don: I mean, he, when he does something, it's right now and like, as far as being healed, as far as getting things out of our life, anger, bitterness, whatever this is in Jesus name, let it be gone. Let it be out of my life, you know, and then get the armor on, get the declaration. Yes. Yeah. Don't let that stuff back in your life.

[00:30:35] Don: Don't let that way of thinking be a part of your life. Create something in there that God can work with, you know, and we have to do something on our end. And God isn't going to do it all for you. for us. But if we can take the time to be able to reach out to him and to pray to him, ask him for his help and, and a lot, feed ourselves, become wise enough spiritually to know what's damaging our thought process [00:31:00] and creating an atmosphere that's making us miserable.

[00:31:03] Don: You know, God is, he takes over. He can work with that. He can make a masterpiece like he's designed each and every one of us to be. If we allow him to do that, 

[00:31:13] Justin: yes, 100%. Paul says that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So now understanding the distinction between, you know, the soul, mind, will and emotions and the spirit, right.

[00:31:26] Justin: It's now time to start. Activating the spiritual sense in your life. It's now time to start seeking what is in the spiritual sense Yeah, because it's going to lead you into all truth You know and it's gonna take faith to step out like you're saying it's going to take action to step out Yeah, it's gonna be a Bible says it's a still small voice.

[00:31:49] Justin: Yes And maybe some people hear audible sounds and stuff like that. But for a lot of people, it is a still small voice and it is going to take faith to act on that. And when you do [00:32:00]act on that, you're going to start on a whole new path, a whole new relationship, , that will only make your life better, only create more change, only impact change to more people around you.

[00:32:13] Justin: Yup. That is so true. That's how the battles won. 

[00:32:15] Don: Yep. That's very true there, Justin. And like what you said, the flesh is weak. There is no strength in the flesh. I mean, if you get a spiritual mindset, you know, you can destroy that flesh because the Bible says it's weak, but we use it as an excuse and it's our greatest obstacle in the things we do, but we can easily get this removed from us and be able to live the life that God has designed for us.

[00:32:37] Don: And what a beautiful, that's where our prayer is for everybody that's listening here that they can. put on the armor that they can allow God to do great things in their life, and that we can learn how to pray and reach out to him and be strong and overcome these spiritual battles. Yes. 

[00:32:56] Justin: Well, I think that wraps it up for today.

[00:32:58] Justin: This was a good one, [00:33:00] Justin. I think so too. Hey, we're glad you guys found your way here today, and we hope you can join us again next week for another good word. Until then, stay blessed by the best. See you guys.