Confronting the Demonic (Walking in the Light) - Episode 54

"Darkness by definition is the absence of Light."

Confrontation is healthy and needed right now in the Body. 

Hosts Justin and Dr. Don aim to dispel the controversial nature surrounding discussions of demonic forces by using scripture to shed light on the reality of spiritual warfare. The episode emphasizes the importance of understanding and recognizing the spiritual battles that believers face, explaining that confronting these dark forces involves acknowledging their existence and the light that can expose and expel them. Justin and Don discuss the symbolism of the eye as the lamp of the body and how what we focus on can fill us with either light or darkness. They conclude by reaffirming the power of Jesus Christ and the victory He has already won, encouraging listeners to embody the light of Jesus to overcome the darkness.

Transcript

Episode 54 – Confronting the Demonic

Justin: [00:00:00] 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.

Justin: So Don, what are we going to talk about today? Well, this week we're gonna 

Don: talk about 

Justin: confronting the demonic. The demonic? Yes. So we are going to confront the demonic. That's right. Okay. And a lot of people, this can be like a taboo kind of subject. The demonic, the darkness, the evil. Today, I actually just kinda wanna make this not taboo.

Justin: I wanna be very straightforward about this and use scripture to support [00:01:00] kind of everything that we're saying. Yeah, 

both: that'd good. Just to kinda 

Justin: line things up, because this is something that shouldn't be. So controversial and it's true. This is something that if you want to understand the battle that we're in, if you wanna understand spiritual warfare, then you have to be aware of the things that are going on in other realms and other sides.

Don: Yes. 

Justin: And the way that we have go about fighting it and the way that we have to go about at at least addressing at first is we have to confront it. Right? Too many times we run from things, we spend our whole life hiding from things. Yeah. We spend our life living in fear, anxiety, whatever the case is.

Justin: Yeah. Running away from things. Today we are going to confront what is it's right, and we're gonna go head on sounds good. Justin. Against it. 

both2: Mm-hmm. 

Don: That sounds good. Yeah, because a lot, for a lot of people, this is just an imaginary thing.

both: Mm-hmm. 

Don: Uh, something that's not real. And people struggle in all sorts of ways in life. And they don't realize what's really happening. Mm-hmm. That's where to talk [00:02:00] about this and not, you know, the, actually use scripture to show that this stuff really is real. That there really is a battle that's going on right now.

Don: Mm-hmm. And to have the wisdom. Hopefully, you know, that we can discuss a little bit about how we can conquer this and not allow it to control us. Mm-hmm. And a lot of times, fear all this sort is because we don't know. But when we realize that we're in a battle and we do have a source for battling with it.

Don: God is wanting to deal with this and wanting to help us, but we first have to realize what is really going on around us. 

Justin: Yeah, we really do. Because the best thing about this and understanding it in hindsight and, and understanding the fight that we're up against. 'cause , our last episode touched on this in the fight that we're up against and we kind of expanded a little bit on that.

Justin: And um, the best thing to know about it is that the fight is already won, and since the fight is already won and we have the victory, we can be a little bit more confident and bold about how we approach these [00:03:00] things. This 

Don: is true. 

Justin: So a lot of the demonic, we think about the word demonic, okay?

Justin: It's associated to demons, it's associated to evil, it's associated to the devil, right? It's associated to the adversary, the enemy, and it's associated to. Satan. Right? , this is the, the demonic, but the better way of looking at this is it's associated to the darkness. Yeah. And the Bible talks a lot about being in the light.

Justin: Walking in the light. It talks about what you do with light, that you don't put it underneath , the lampstand. Right. That you need to put it up high so that people see , the lights, right. Yeah. And they're influenced by that. And there's a lot of different ways where you can.

Justin: Correlate. Good and evil. Light and darkness. Yeah. And that's that's kind of one of the main goals today, is to talk about where the light is, who the light is. Mm-hmm. Right. [00:04:00] Jesus called. Us the light of the world. Right? Right. And the light is what exposes the darkness. This is true.

Justin: And these are things that need to be exposed because if they're not exposed, they can manifest in our lives. And they can ruin people. Yeah. And you can be used as a. Missile, so to speak, to take out other people and not even know what's happening in your own life. Right, 

Don: . And , yeah. As far as shedding light on things, I know, uh, we've talked about this before.

Don: We talked about the fact that God cannot lie. Mm-hmm. You know, uh. It's all truth. Yeah. All truth in the Bible, but the devil cannot tell the truth. Mm-hmm. You know, and we live in a world right now where, , by speaking the word, understanding what's going on, we can shed light on situations. Because today's world, there's a lot of people that are believing a whole bunch of lies and thinking it's true.

both: Yeah. And 

Don: I see stuff today that just blows me away. I've been around a little longer than you have Justin. Yeah. And the stuff that's coming out right now just [00:05:00] blows me away because it's so obvious. Mm-hmm. So obviously that it's a lie, that it's wrong, that you know, God doesn't make any mistakes in what he's doing, but people are believing that they're being born into this world, the wrong sex, and I'm sitting there.

Don: Where does this all come from? Mm-hmm. There's a bunch of lies out there that people are believing and the mind is being twisted. And I know our society today, uh, you're talking about the light society today has taken God out of schools, taking God out of a lot of. Things. So there's a lot of biblical understanding things that build light into a person's life that is taken away.

Don: The Bible talks about, uh,, the God with a small G of this world mm-hmm. Blinds the minds small G. Yep. Small G And a lot of minds are blinded right now. They just do not understand. 

both: Yeah. And, 

Don: and they, they believe the lie and it's becoming real. And the devil. And our adversary doesn't even hide it anymore.

both: Mm-hmm. 

Don: It used to be they'd hide this stuff and you know, you wouldn't see it. And if it was going on you would know it. [00:06:00] Now it's right , on your television. It's all over the place. The stuff that, uh, he's manipulating the minds the. The believe a lie. 

Justin: Yeah. And he's kind of, uh, overplaying his hand a little bit, I would say in that.

Justin: But he's also deceiving a lot of people. 'cause that's what darkness does. It deceives. It is deception. Yeah. When you are in darkness, you don't know you're in darkness. Right. The reason being is because there's no light present or not enough light present. Yep. So I want to go to Matthew chapter six, right Verse 22.

Justin: It it starts off and it says the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is single. Yeah, the body will be full of light. If it is not single, the body will be full of darkness. So if you have a single focus, a single vision in that eye, yeah. You're focused on one thing. You're producing light.

Justin: You're full of light, you're full of truth. Right? Right. But if there is a. If there's multiple visions there, if , there's confusion [00:07:00] there. There's die vision, right? Right. There's more than one vision, then you're full of darkness. The body is reflecting that and you're full of darkness. Mm-hmm. So that is such a good verse in my opinion, because it talks about where we really need to be in terms of.

Justin: Understanding where this whole demonic thing happens. Yes, yes. And a lot of the times it happens by what we consume, what comes in through the eye. Mm-hmm. If it says that the eye is the lamp of the body, right? Then whatever comes in through your eyes is causing you to either have light in your body or be full of darkness.

Justin: Right. So a lot of the things that we think. Are just my thoughts or it's just my emotions, or it's just things that are happening in my mind. A lot of it actually is spiritual. A lot of the things that we're watching and viewing and letting in. Two through the eyes, a lot of the [00:08:00] things that were, that are coming in through the eyes are what is going to create lighter darkness inside of us.

Justin: Yeah. And people are gonna see that light or darkness. Right? Right. And you are gonna be influenced by that. You might be controlled by that. And so it's just important to understand that if you're. I is the lamp of the body that you want that lamp to be full of light. Yes. So you want to be consuming, you want to be looking and viewing, you wanna be taking in things that are producing light.

Justin: Right. Right. So. Part of confronting the demonic is understanding the weaknesses of the demonic, right? 

both2: Mm-hmm. 

Justin: And I would say the weakness is, is that light exposes darkness. It gets rid of it. It does. So the more light that you bring in, the more. Darkness you're going to expose. Mm-hmm. Darkness. The definition is the absence of light.

Justin: Yeah. So as soon as light comes in, it's gotta go, it's gotta get evicted. Right. Right. It it, it gets an eviction [00:09:00] notice. So Jesus. Who is the light of the world? Who said that we would be the light of the world, we would be children of light. 

both2: Yeah. 

Justin: Is now as a believer, right. Is now inside of us. 

both2: Mm-hmm. 

Justin: And the more light that we have, the more of him that we have inside of us, the more the darkness wants nothing to do with us.

Justin: Right. Right. It is. Exposed. Right? It's expelled out of us. Yes. So the first thing that we have to do is, if you really want to have a single eye, is you have to be focused on the things of God. You have to be focused on Jesus Christ who is now inside you, right? 

both: Yeah. And 

Justin: when you're focused on only that and doing his will, and being obedient to the things, the words that he is given you, the things that you're being told to do.

Justin: The more that you will proceed to remove any kind of darkness out of you. Mm-hmm. So a lot of the times people wanna talk about demonic and they want to talk about evil [00:10:00] things that are happening in the world. And you even touched on some of them. Uh, just earlier, which is true. All of this stuff is happening on us.

Don: Yeah. 

Justin: All, all of this stuff is happening around us, but it is also equally important to address the things, the darkness that is in our own lives. Yes. So that we can walk properly in the light with a 

Don: single eye. That's for sure. And when you talk about the eye and. You know, we need to keep ourselves focused on Jesus.

Don: And I know right now, , our adversary has gotten a lot of things going on in life and in this world that tries to take our focus off. 

both: Yeah. And 

Don: what happens, I think a lot of times in life is, see, we're supposed to develop that love, which in the Bible says God is love. We're supposed to be like that.

Don: We're supposed to love our fellow man. 

both: Yep. And have 

Don: a love for Jesus Christ. 

both: Mm-hmm. 

Don: And if he can get that out of our life. Things start to change. I know. Um, a lot of times what happens is people put themselves on the throne. We start to think only of ourselves. We have a very selfish way, and [00:11:00] that's what our world is.

Don: The way we live in it today, we have to realize it takes a little bit of an effort to develop that love. It's just like in a relationship, you know, when you're with somebody, you develop a relationship. Because you're with them all the time. You talk to 'em, you do things together, all that sort. A lot of times in our relationship with God, our adversary gets us to get away from some of that stuff.

Don: Mm-hmm. So that we get distracted. He uses distractions. He gets us too busy for God. Oh, definitely. You know, so that we're, we're busy doing things, so we can't stay focused because I got all these projects and this and that. It all seems good. But it's all a distraction, keeping us from focusing on that which is gonna direct us and keeping us that eye protected.

Don: And then he uses deception. You know, he makes sin look like it's normal. I know. Uh, today's day and age, it just blows me away. I'll just throw some stuff out there. I know they used to say gambling and was against the law. Now they call it gaming. 

both: Yeah. You 

Don: know, and it's advertised all over the place. Yeah.

Don: But if you got a [00:12:00] problem, there's a telephone number on the bottom that you can call, but how many people are. Hooked up in sports and all this stuff in doing something that probably isn't good for them, they're doing it. Mm-hmm. But this is the way our society is set up right now, because we aren't focused on the one.

Don: Mm-hmm. 

both: The 

Don: source. We haven't allowed ourselves to be educated to allow the light to develop in. And then distortion, taking the word of God distortion. Yeah. Distorting it, you know, that started in the garden where the devil tried to get Adam and Eve to, you know, distorted what God had and meant for them, and he's still doing it.

Don: People are still believing the lie, the lie that comes out. What's, what makes you happy and stuff of that nature. A lot of things, you know, , in life, which we've talked about, Justin. Mm-hmm. 

both: You know, 

Don: where the Bible says you seek the kingdom first. 

both: Yeah. You 

Don: know, and, and the lie that we've. Follow the deception of demonic workings within us.

Don: We, we go after education, we go after jobs, we go after a lot of things in life before we even think [00:13:00] about seeking the kingdom of God. Mm-hmm. Where the Bible tells us totally the opposite tells us to seek the kingdom. And when we do that. Then our eyes are focused in the right direction, in the proper way.

Don: Because at the end of the day, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how many things we've done. You know, I, I've seen this park, I've been to this amusement, I've watched this football game. I took a second mortgage on my house so I can go to a Super Bowl and stuff of that nature. That stuff doesn't matter.

Don: The only thing that really matters is that we get past the deception. 

both: Yeah. 

Don: That is placed and there is a demonic. Deception going on here. Yeah, there is. And you talked about 

Justin: the kingdom of God, right? Yeah. And do you wanna know the only kingdom that Satan cannot control the kingdom of God? God. Yeah.

Justin: That's good. And, and I'll tell you this because if you go and you go into the Bible and you see where after Jesus is baptized and he gets led into the spirit, leads him into the wilderness, and the tempter, it says, right, the tempter comes to tempt him, right? And the tempter [00:14:00] says that. Yeah.

Justin: All of these kingdoms I have, I can give to you if you will bow down and worship me. 

both: Mm-hmm. 

Justin: So what that's saying is that Satan is in control of all of the kingdoms in the world. Yeah. Which is why he says he can give them to Jesus if he bows down to, 

both: right, 

Justin: right. Obviously he doesn't give into the temptation.

Justin: But that tells you where the control lies. Who really has control over these kingdoms. Right, right, right. So the one thing that he despises, the enemy despises and his army of soldiers is army of dark minions. Right. The one thing he despises the most is the kingdom of God. Yeah. 'cause it is a kingdom that he cannot control because it is a.

Justin: Kingdom based on kingdom principles. Right. It's based on authority. Yes. It's based on love. It's based on honor. Yep. It's based on serving others. Mm-hmm. These [00:15:00] are all things that he is not capable of doing. Right. He is capable of stealing, killing, and destroying. Yep. Right. So , so there's nothing that he can do against the kingdom of God?

Justin: No. So much so that Jesus even says this himself. As he says that, and the gates of hail will not prevail against it. Amen. Right. Amen. So that the gates of Hades Right. Will not prevail against this kingdom. Right. That Jesus said he has just inaugurated basically. Yes. When he is talking to Peter, right? Yep.

Justin: So this kingdom is so important because it is not an earthly kingdom. Mm-hmm. Because if it was an earthly kingdom. Then Satan would have control over it. The God of this world. Like you said, small G, right? Small g Paul says, but he does not have control over it and , his greatest deception to you as a believer.

Justin: And us Right. As believers is to convince us that the kingdom has no power. Right. That's his, the greatest deception that he has because it's the one kingdom that [00:16:00] he cannot control. Yeah. That he cannot give away and he can't call the shots in. Right. And so he's trying to convince the people that he's trying to convince believers that they have no real power.

Justin: Yeah. And, and also he's trying to convince believers. That they have no light. Yeah. That they are not the light. Right. And that they should not so let their light shine. Right. Amen. Because this does go back, like you said, all the way back to creation, all the way back to Adam and Eve, right? Yep. Yep. And the, the serpent, the serpentine that's in the garden.

Justin: Right. And convinces them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Right. And very cleverly does it. 

both2: Mm-hmm. 

Justin: And. Introduces sin to the world, right? And introduces a fallen world because of it. But in that process, when you look at the word, you look at the word demon, right? And I think it's, when you look in the Hebrew and [00:17:00] you look at the kind of the, the root word of it, and I'm not talking about, you know, horned beasts and long fingernail weird creatures that Hollywood has made this out to be.

Justin: Really, when you look at the root word, it just means, one that comes between two others. 

both2: Hmm. 

Justin: Oh wow. That's interesting. So, so when you take out the, the evilness and all this stuff, really when you look at that original relationship that man had with God, that perfect relationship that they had, there was none.

Justin: That came between 'em, between Adam and God. Right. There was no one that came between 'em. That's right. Until there was, yep. So it all goes back to that. So even to this day, still is the same, even to this day. The tactics are the same. Yeah. Even to this day, the persuasion, the temptations are the same. Right.

Justin: Nothing has changed. Just like Solomon said, nothing new under the sun, even to this day. True. It is one that is [00:18:00] getting between two others. That's right. It is him getting between you and God and the way. The way that he's trying to do that is to convince you that God is not real.

Justin: , uh, the way that he's trying to do that is to make you not think that you need God and that you can partner with God in everything that you do. , the way that he's trying to do that is to convince you that you are powerless in this kingdom, right?

Justin: Mm-hmm. That's right. So a lot of people don't understand. The true power that they have, the hope of glory that's inside of them. The one that rose from the dead Yes. And is now inside of them. Yes. They do not understand the power. So today we are going to confront the one that tries to get between two others.

Don: Amen. That's good. That's well said. Yeah, you're absolutely right. Uh, Jesus did come down. And he, and he brought something, he brought a kingdom, which is at hand, and this is the area, the number one thing that the Satan does not love and and hates is the kingdom. And the [00:19:00]second thing he hates is people like you and I, Justin talking about the kingdom.

Don: Mm-hmm. Because when Jesus came into this world, it wasn't that he physically. Set people free. He spoke to 'em. He spoke to them about the, the kingdom of God. 

both: Yes. 

Don: He spoke to 'em about the evils for 40 days. The 40 and the Yeah. The nasty stuff that was going on. He explained all that. People were excited to hear all that because they were being set free.

Don: Yeah. 'cause the mind was being set free. And that's where, right now I know, , our adversary, the devil, is trying to make this all superstition. Not only is he trying to make God not real, but he's trying to make. Himself, just superstition. Mm-hmm. You know, people, he's not real either. So headed in plain sight.

Don: Right. Hidden in plain sight. And that's where today, I mean, he's exposing himself all over the place. Mm-hmm. Because I find that one lie is demonic. Mm-hmm. You know, if I, there's one lie about it. That's where the Bible talks about God hates liars. He's got a lake of fire for, for liars. He hates liars because this is what the devil is trying to [00:20:00] do.

Don: Portraying a lie. And that's where we need to get ourselves into the place of realizing where the source is coming from, what's going on around us, what type of life are we living. Mm-hmm. Are we are sold out for him because in Bible talks about us living, uh, loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul.

Don: Yep. Soul and spirit. I'm saying, how do I love the Lord with. All my heart. Mm-hmm. What does that mean? I mean, in our world that we're living in right now, there is so much going on. God is just a second base. , play out there that nobody gets to, you know? Right. They, they get the first base all the time doing things, but they never get the second.

Don: There's just not a, an opportunity where people are seeing what they need to do, and that's where Jesus came with the good news. The good news is that we do have to be aware of what's going on around us. We need to wake up. And you're talking about the light. And the light really is needed to be shown, but it's the word of God, the word of truth, the words of [00:21:00] our testimony that, uh, bring light into the situation.

Don: And , you know, I'm just gonna throw a name out there, but Yeah. Like Charlie Kirk. Yeah. You know, uh, he was an interesting guy. He, because he, he talked a lot of people about things, but what he did is made 'em think. You know, he made 'em think, he, he didn't necessarily argue with them, he just shared his perspective.

both: Yeah. And 

Don: a lot of times, you know, that's what we need to get ourselves around people that make people think, and we're hoping this podcast does this, but, you know, we need to be able to look at what life's all about. We realize it's going quickly and that, um, you know, there is a, a, an avenue and there is a force around here that's trying to disrupt our lives and ruin our lives.

Don: And there is only one hope for every person and mankind, and that is Jesus Christ. Mm-hmm. And keeping that one eye focused on him. 

Justin: Yes. Yes, a hundred percent. And Jesus Christ, there's one thing that gives us power over the demonic forever, and that is the blood of Jesus [00:22:00] Christ. 

both: Yeah. 

Justin: That is your sole weapon that you need because that is where the victory was gained.

Justin: Amen. Jesus came back and he said, all authority on heaven and earth has been given to me. 

both: Amen. 

Justin: Remember when we went back and , , just as I was talking earlier saying that. The devil was trying to present the kingdoms, the earthly kingdoms to Jesus to throw him off.

Don: Yeah. 

Justin: Right.

Justin: And saying, bow down and worship me. Yeah. Well now Jesus is saying, after his death and resurrection is saying, all authority on heaven and earth has been given back to me, basically. Mm-hmm. And now I give you this, you have the keys. Right. I give you the keys, is what he says. And once we understand that power.

Justin: It says the, the reason that the blood of Jesus is so important is because it says that in, uh, Hebrews 10 14, I think is, it says that four by one [00:23:00] offering. He has perfected forever. Those who are being sanctified. 

both: Yeah, he's 

Justin: perfected is what it says. So the power in the blood by his offering, because John the Baptist, as you know, right.

Justin: When before Jesus comes down and is baptized, John says, behold the lamb of God who comes to take away the sins of the world. That's right. So how did John know? Before Jesus even got baptized and started his ministry, that Jesus was going to be the Lamb of God, that he was going to sacrifice his life.

both: Mm-hmm. 

Justin: Three and a half years later. How did John already know that? Well, John must have knew something. Right? Right. And John was working up in that Holy Spirit, right? Yes. And John was filled with the Holy Spirit also since birth, which is why it says Elizabeth when she was around, Mary, the baby leapt in the womb.

Justin: Right? Right. Because he too was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was sent to be the one before the Messiah [00:24:00] to usher in the kingdom of God, right? Yeah. Because the kingdom now comes and like you said, the kingdom is at hand and some people think that the kingdom of God is getting to heaven or it is heaven.

Justin: That's not true at all. Jesus says that the son of man came down from heaven. Yeah. And since he descended down from heaven, that means the kingdom of heaven is here, which is why that's right in in Mark in Luke. They're telling him, go heal the sick. Go do these things, cast out the demons, and then tell them that the kingdom of God has come on to you.

Justin: Amen. Because Jesus is the kingdom of God. Yes, he comes down in flesh from heavenly realm, and now that kingdom is here and that that's right. And that person, that person of Jesus who came to take away the sins of the world mm-hmm. Has taken away the sins of the world by one offering. Right. As they used to bring the lambs and sacrifice the lambs and the high priest would [00:25:00] sacrifice the lambs so that the sins of the, of the tribe or the sins of their people would be forgiven.

Justin: Now we have one offering that was made. And his blood has taken away the sins of all for Good Once for all. Right. Amen. That's right. And he now also is our high priest who is in the Holy of Holies. Yeah. So this might sound like a bunch of Bible jargon, but what it really means is we have the victory.

Justin: Yeah. Because the one. Who got between two others, who brought the sin into the world, who caused us to fall, who caused death to come into the world, has been defeated now forever because the one that took away the sins of the world. Since he took away the sins of the world, the power that sin had over us was death.

Justin: And now that the sins have been taken away, the power that was over us by sin has been taken away as well. Amen. And now we can be, not be born in the flesh or [00:26:00] living in the flesh, but we are born again in the spirit. That's right. And by that one offering, we are perfected forever. Because we are being sanctified in the spirit.

Justin: You cannot reach perfection in the flesh. Mm-hmm. But we can reach perfection 

Don: in the spirit. Amen. That is so true. Justin. Well said. You know, Jesus did come with a perfect process, you know, the process that he has set up for us to be redeemed. And to become one with him is a perfect process. But there's, like we've been saying through this whole thing, there's a demonic process out there that's trying to confuse and muddy this all up.

Don: And I know myself, I can't be thankful enough for the individual that brought this process to me. The understanding of who Jesus is and how important he is. Because friends, we are living in serious times. Yeah, we are. You know, it's. Not a time where we need to be afraid, but we need to be prepared. Mm-hmm.

Don: And we need to understand that Jesus is the source, the truth, the life, and the way. Mm-hmm. And that there's a wide way to destruction and a [00:27:00] narrow way that leads to eternal life. And that , each one of us needs to find that way. And we have to understand that the demonic forces around us is trying to disrupt that.

Justin: Amen. We have to know who we are. Who we are in Christ. Right. And everything we do, because we are in Him and all the good works come directly out of us expressing our identity in him. If he is the overcomer and he is now in us, what does that make us? Yeah. More than overcomers, right.

Justin: It's in the Bible. That's right. It says we are wholly blameless and above reproach in his sight. 

both2: Mm-hmm. 

Justin: So we need to see ourselves the way that he sees us. We need to really believe as believers, I'm saying we gotta increase this. We need to believe more. We need to believe the way that he sees us, not the way that we think we are.

Justin: We've been told if you see yourself less than he does, you'll live up to what you see less. Yeah. So we need [00:28:00] to understand that God's word is truth. That is true. And we can't take it lightly. So if he sees us. This way, and it's said that way, we have to believe it. Right, right. Because , Paul also says, let your yes be yes and your no be no.

Justin: And what does that mean? Right. We don't compromise this is from the beginning. Right? Right. That serpent in that garden was looking for eve to compromise, right? Mm-hmm. Did God really say that? Yeah. Did he really say that? I think you would become more like him. If you eat from this tree, right, it is all about compromise.

Justin: Because what happens is if you compromise once, you'll keep compromising. It'll develop more and more compromise until you've dug yourself a hole. So we are living for the truth. We're not compromising, and we keep our eyes single so that our body is filled with truth and light. Yeah. And that, because then our body is full of that, we are walking in light everywhere we go, so that people 

Don: see [00:29:00] that light and that truth.

Don: That's true. And what you're saying there, Justin too is, is good because you know, we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. Mm-hmm. But we need to become strong in him and we need to develop ourselves strongly, and we need to have him living in our life and developing us. To where we need to be. I know when we come in prayer and we start to seek after the things of God, we feed ourselves with the word of God and allow ourselves, this is an area, 'cause I know the Bible talks about the fertile ground.

Don: Yep. The area where a sea can be planted, where it can grow, and where it can multiply. You know, a lot of times what happens in life, we become weak Christians. Mm-hmm. We have an understanding of who Jesus is and we might go to church on Sunday or whatever , but. We get ourselves to the place where we're not real strong.

Don: So it's easy for us to compromise. It's easy for us to say, this is okay, you know, I can look the other way. You know, this is all right. You know? And we, right now, we're in a world right now where people are [00:30:00] needing somebody. Mm-hmm. That can grow strong, that can represent. Who Jesus is and what we have because we truly do have the victory.

Don: And now is our day. It's now is our day to make hay. My, my father used to say, when it's hot, you make hay. Now is the time. 'cause I think that we're living in some hot times right now, and there are people out there that need people like you and I that can grow strong and develop ourselves because the believing process in ourselves can become very weak if it's not fed, if it's not exercise.

Don: If it's not properly looked after that single eye, you know, we need to have that be a source. Jesus wants to give us everything. He is our multiple vitamin. He is our strength. He's our, I like that. Yeah. He's our adrenaline. He's everything. We need to fight this fight because there is a. Demonic spiritual battle going on right now, and we can't turn our eyes away from this.

Don: We have to realize that we are the ones that can be used of him [00:31:00] to develop and fulfill the purpose that he came and lived and died for. 

Justin: Yes. He's the once a day, once for all, one a day. Right. Amen. And I just want to close out by saying this, just to kinda wrap this up, is that. If you are experiencing guilt, shame, or condemnation, those things are not coming from God.

Justin: Mm-hmm. This is a spiritual war that we're in. Yes. If you're experiencing heavy guilt, if you're experiencing shameful thoughts, these are not from God. If you're experiencing fear any kind of. Condemnation, you know, the Holy Spirit is going to convict you, but convict you, not in the way that you're gonna be told how bad of a person you are.

Justin: It's going to be the way a father, , disciplines a child. Right. In the sense that the Holy Spirit will convict you and bring correction. Yeah. There's always going to be correction at the end of it. Mm-hmm. There's not gonna be just something to make you. Feel bad and feel [00:32:00] like a terrible person and cause you to go through a trigger event or something that just makes you spiral down a bunch of different thoughts.

Justin: Right? Right. That's not the way the Holy Spirit works. So if you're feeling shame, guilt and condemnation know that is not coming. From God, it's coming from the enemy, right? Yes. That is the one trying to get between two others. 

both: This is true. And 

Justin: so at the end of the day, just to wrap it up, Jesus has taken away the sins of the world.

Justin: Amen. It's not just about forgiveness of sins. Jesus was forgiving the sins, son of man. Also,, when he was saying, son of man has the power to forgive sins, before he even went to the cross. Mm. Yeah, John the Baptist said, behold the lamb of God who comes to take away the sins of the world. So the power of sin and death, and really the power sin had against us, which was death, has been completely taken away.

Justin: Yeah. And that's because we are no longer living in the flesh, but have been born again in the spirit. Amen. When the power of sin has been removed from us and no [00:33:00] longer has any power over us because he who beat death and rose again and lives is now. In us. That means we are now living through him and his power.

Justin: We are now living by the spirit and not the flesh. The flesh had to die and it did die, which is why we now have new life in the spirit. Amen. And the spirit never dies. This is eternal life. 

Don: That's right. 

Justin: Well, I think that wraps it up for today. This was a good one, 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.

Justin: Until then, stay blessed by the best. See you [00:34:00] guys.