Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 23 SUMMER SCHOOL: Are Angels and Demons Real?
83 Plays3 years ago
Mentioned in this episode:
Satan and His Kingdom: What the Bible Says and How It Matters to You by Dennis McCallum
Connect with Ruth here:
Connect with Pat here:
Please share Rootlike Faith with your friends!
This podcast is produced and edited by Angie Elkins Media, Inc.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Root Like Faith
00:00:03
Speaker
Hi, I'm Ruth Schwenk and I'm so thrilled you're listening in with us at Root Like Faith. It is our deepest desire to encourage and equip men and women to be rooted in God's word, transformed by the love of Jesus, and moved by his mission in the power of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is more important.
Exploring Angels and Demons
00:00:21
Speaker
Well, on today's episode of Root Like Faith, we are continuing our summer school mini series. I hope you're loving it. Today, we're talking about, well, it's kind of a really heavy topic, but it's very, very important. And we're talking about what the Bible has to say about angels and demons. So I hope this is really, really helpful to you, because like I said, it's really important. So let's get going.
00:00:49
Speaker
Well, as we continue on with our summer school miniseries, which has been so good so far, I hope you've loved the guests that we've had. Today we're talking about a little bit more of a heavy subject, I think. And I think there's probably a lot of misunderstandings and questions around this topic of angels and demons. And honey, oh my goodness, I'm really glad that you're here to help us with this.
00:01:16
Speaker
I feel like in pastoral ministry over the years when I've had to preach on this, it's like you feel like you've always drawn the short straw, the short stick. Is that how they
Understanding Angels in Christianity
00:01:27
Speaker
say that? How do you say that phrase? Yeah, I know what you mean. It's like you're sitting around the... Short straw. Is that right? I don't know. Anyways, I feel like it's like, okay guys, do I really have to preach on this?
00:01:37
Speaker
And so it feels like every time I've preached on this subject over the years, you just know it's going to be a tough week. And so it's just a reminder of the reality of the spiritual battle that every Christian is really in. And when you bring that to awareness, when you bring that to light, sometimes it seems like the enemy gets even more agitated.
00:01:58
Speaker
Right, because it's real. And I think that's where that's why it's so important that we're talking about this, because there's so many misunderstandings that we have about angels and demons. Some people don't even think it's real. Right. You know, that spiritual warfare isn't a thing. But OK, so let's back up and let's start talking about angels.
00:02:20
Speaker
Yeah, I know we were talking about just, I don't know if it was last week, a couple weeks ago when we had some friends invite us over for dinner and we were talking, the husband is starting a new job and it's very different than what he's done in the past. It's more of a ministry job and so we got talking about this very subject in terms of spiritual warfare, spiritual battles we face.
00:02:40
Speaker
Um, and so it got us talking about just over the last 20 or so years in pastoral ministry, some of the different, I think seasons that we've been through where this battle has been more, um, more real or more apparent to us. It's, it's felt more intense. And I can think about.
00:02:58
Speaker
Yeah, just different times over the years where you felt like, wow, this is a raging battle. It's just really obvious. And other times, you don't feel that. You don't see that. And it's just easy to go about your day as a Christian and go about a week, a month, or whatever. But there are definitely, wouldn't you say, been seasons where we really have experienced the reality of this spiritual battle more so than others?
00:03:19
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And I would say, like I was saying, if we start here talking about angels, I would say that there's also, because I think we always have this tendency to think about the battle, which it is a huge battle. But there's also seasons that we experience where it's so evident that you're just like, oh my word, God is moving and working.
Role and Presence of Angels
00:03:42
Speaker
And I think we take for granted that there are angels all around us.
00:03:48
Speaker
And we sense that peace and that hope. And I think, you know, a lot of that that is the spiritual realm and world as well. And so let's start off by talking about angels. And just in general, what is an angel? So angels, they're real. And what are they?
00:04:09
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a great point because oftentimes we focus on the negative, the spiritual battle. And we forget that there's a positive side to that too, to the spiritual reality of angelic beings who minister, who are messengers of God. And so, yeah, very simply, an angel is simply that, it's a messenger of God.
00:04:27
Speaker
I love Wayne Grudem's definition of an angel. He says that angels are created spiritual beings with moral judgment and high intelligence, but without physical bodies. And so you see angels mentioned over and over again throughout the scriptures, both Old and New Testament. I think it's like over 250 times. Wow. Angels are mentioned. And so again, that Greek word,
00:04:50
Speaker
in particular for angels, just means a messenger. And so an angel is a spiritual being without a body, high intelligence, great power. They're in the presence of God, but they minister on behalf of God. They minister to God's people. And so they're messengers of God. And it's really what you were describing. Oftentimes we feel the negative. We'll talk about fallen angels in a minute.
00:05:13
Speaker
But we oftentimes experience the spiritual attacks from those fallen angels. But we don't talk as much about the ways that God's angels minister to believers, to followers of Jesus. And so as we think about angels, that's really the most simply, they're a messenger of God. And so I think throughout the scriptures, you see them referred to in different ways. They're oftentimes called sons of God.
00:05:39
Speaker
They're called holy ones, spirits or principalities and authorities, but ultimately they're messengers of God. Why do we take that for granted? I feel like we take that for granted. Like I don't think enough. I'm just being really real here. I don't think enough about
00:05:57
Speaker
that there are angels all around ministering to me and how that would change my just daily life perspective if I had that in mind. We just don't take it serious enough.
00:06:14
Speaker
Well, I think depending on, again, what tradition you come from, I think sometimes maybe as an evangelical Protestant, we don't talk as much about angels or the ways that they minister to us or guard us, protect us. We talk more about the idea of spiritual attacks and the way the enemy is trying to discourage or destroy what God is doing.
00:06:35
Speaker
But certainly if you come from a Catholic background, even an Orthodox background, you probably hear that language much more. There's more of an emphasis there, in particular, guardian angels. But yeah, I mean, angels are sent by God to minister on behalf.
00:06:51
Speaker
of God, and I think there's some things that are important for us to remember because we want to have a healthy biblical view of what angels are. I think the temptation sometimes is to overemphasize. Some people can overemphasize angels, and we don't see in Scripture people praying to them or worshipping them in any way, but it is, I think, a good reminder
00:07:14
Speaker
that when you read the scriptures, I mean, angelic beings are in the presence of God. They're used as messengers of God to minister to God's people, and they do so in powerful ways, in ways that sometimes we see that, and many times we don't. And so I think it's such a good reminder for us. A couple things that I think are important to remember is that angels are spirit beings. And so, you know, Hebrews 1, verse 14 is a good example of that.
00:07:42
Speaker
Unlike humans, angels do not have bodies. And so again, angels are spirit beings. Angels are said to be higher than humans in God's order of creation. So Psalm chapter eight, verse five, for example, the Psalmist is talking about how God made man, made men and women a little lower than the angels.
00:08:01
Speaker
And yet, in our redeemed state, the Scriptures talk about how we'll actually judge the angels. And so those are, I think, just a couple, you know, good things to remember. Then also, angels are oftentimes or frequently in the presence of God. And so you see this in Matthew 18 or Revelation 5.
00:08:20
Speaker
You know, Isaiah chapter six, I mean, angels, there are thousands, tens of thousands of angels, and they're oftentimes described as being in the presence of God. And again, sent out by God to minister as messengers of God, to God's people.
00:08:33
Speaker
Yeah, and I just want to say here, we'll put all of these references to scripture in the show notes so that if you want to study further and learn more about angels, you'll know where to go in the Bible. So, honey, I was thinking about how, you know, you're talking about angels and they minister to us and you said, but we don't pray to them. So.
00:08:57
Speaker
I don't know, I'm wondering, I'm thinking of the listener that is wondering then, what is, if I don't pray to angels, who do I pray to about angels, which obviously that's God, but what is the
Praying for Angelic Protection
00:09:11
Speaker
purpose? Like, am I supposed to ask God to surround me with angels? And, you know, like, does that make sense? It does, and I think that that's what, you know, oftentimes you'll hear people, or I think that's probably more, maybe a more appropriate prayer to pray.
00:09:25
Speaker
is, you know, Father, you know, would you send your angels to minister to me or to be a protection, a shield around me? And so again, the prayer is directed to God the Father, to Jesus, for the Holy Spirit. And it's okay to, I think, ask God to send his
00:09:43
Speaker
to minister and to be messengers, to supply our needs, to protect us, to go before us. And so I think that that seems to be a more appropriate way to ask God to intervene for us through his angels. Yeah, because I'm thinking of people wonder, well, what's the purpose of an angel? I know we've talked about what angels are.
00:10:09
Speaker
But really, what difference do angels make in a believer's life?
00:10:15
Speaker
Well, I think what you see, again, is God using or choosing to work through angelic beings to deliver a message, for example, and you see that in the birth of Christ. And it's an angel who comes and announces certain things about the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. And so oftentimes you just see, again, they're messengers of God. And so God uses those angelic beings to deliver a message, to
00:10:40
Speaker
exercise judgment sometimes to bring about salvation or deliverance. And so if we think of angelic beings as messengers or ministers on God's behalf, what we see throughout the scriptures is that God certainly could do all of those things by himself, but he chooses to work through different angelic beings to accomplish his purposes on behalf of his people.
00:11:03
Speaker
And what a sense of peace that brings when we are aware of the presence of angels. I don't know. That's what I'm thinking right now. Like I said earlier, I just think we don't have our thoughts focused on the spiritual realm enough. And I think it changes everything for us, our perspective, not just with angels, but now we'll talk about Satan and we'll talk about demons. I mean, it changes.
00:11:32
Speaker
how we live every day when we have awareness of that spiritual battle, whether we're talking about angels or whether we're talking about demons. So let's shift here and talk a little bit about Satan and demons.
The Reality of Satan and Demons
00:11:51
Speaker
And I know this feels heavy. This is where it gets really heavy. It's like, oh, it's great to talk about angels.
00:11:58
Speaker
But I don't want to talk about Satan and demons. But this is, like you were saying, there's been so many times over the years, in particular in ministry, where we'll go through a few months. And I even remember saying to somebody, I just feel like Satan is prowling all around. And there's been so many times in our lives in ministry where it's clear that the enemy
00:12:25
Speaker
is you just feel that he is after us. I don't know how else to say it. And we are in this real raging battle. And I think all of us experience that in life. And, you know, 1 Peter 5, what is that? 5-8 says, be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
00:12:52
Speaker
Wow, that sounds really great. Positive and encouraging. Well, I mean, think about who's writing that. I mean, Peter knew exactly what it was like to come under the intense, you know, raging battle of the spiritual world and to face Satan and to be sifted by him.
00:13:11
Speaker
to fall prey to Satan's tactics. He had denied Christ. And of course, he experiences the restoration of Christ. But Peter knew very well that the spiritual battle was real. He had fallen to it. And so years later, as an older man, a more mature man, he's writing these words to Christians to remind them that, hey, this spiritual reality is real. And I think that's the challenge for us living here, for those of us that live in the West.
00:13:39
Speaker
obviously live in Michigan, live in North America. So when I say the West, referring to North America, the United States, we oftentimes have, I mean, we have become so secular. And so to believe in the supernatural can be a real challenge for us because it seems archaic. And we like to think of ourselves as more progressive and educated, where
00:14:06
Speaker
the vast majority of the world, you just think about other countries, other parts of the world, the spiritual reality is very real to them. Spiritual battles, Christians living in other countries. It's much more pronounced there, and so I think one of the great tricks of the enemy is to, again,
00:14:24
Speaker
stay hidden and to lead us to believe that this is not real and so I think that is one of the challenges for Christians living where we live is that you know we believe that ultimate reality is just what you can you can see right taste and touch and smell and there's no scientific answer for a spiritual realm
00:14:43
Speaker
Well, I in First Peter five nine, which is the next first after the one I just read, it says resist him standing firm in the faith because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
00:14:59
Speaker
And that just kind of goes along with what you were just saying and even just Peter like recognizing that this isn't just this isn't just you, you know, this is real. This is happening everywhere. And be alert. Be aware because the enemy is prowling around.
00:15:16
Speaker
Yeah, and I think, you know, again, just a simple definite, you know, we talked about angels being messengers of God. I mean, a demon or Satan, I mean, Satan himself and then his demons are simply fallen angels.
Satan's Rebellion and Influence
00:15:28
Speaker
I mean, they're just sort of every simple way of describing who Satan is and who demons are. They're fallen angels. And Revelation 12 talks about, you know, that great rebellion. I mean, it's pride is what made the devil the devil. And he did not want to worship God. He wanted to be God.
00:15:46
Speaker
And so the scriptures talk about that fall, that falling away. And so he, like every other angel, was created to be a messenger of God, to be a minister of God, and yet he was not content to be a messenger of God. It was pride.
00:16:03
Speaker
that led the devil to become the devil and so he rebelled against God and took with him the scripture say a third of the angels and so when we think about you know demons or spiritual attack from from Satan you know we're really talking about those fallen angels
00:16:18
Speaker
that have rebelled against God who want to oppose God. They want to oppose God's work in the world. They're out to discourage Christians. They're out to destroy the work of God in your marriage and your family and your kids' lives. I mean, the job from the very beginning of Satan and his demons is to essentially destroy what God is up to in the world. And so, you know, Jesus talked about Satan more than any other character.
00:16:44
Speaker
And so we ought to take note of that, that as you read the Gospels, Jesus believed in a literal Satan. It wasn't just an idea, it wasn't a metaphor, it wasn't figurative, but he believed in a real literal Satan and he talked about Satan more than any other character. And so as you read through the Gospels, just pay attention to how many times Jesus
00:17:02
Speaker
refers to Satan and is really combating his kingdom of darkness and undoing what it is that he's been trying to do. And so, you know, John chapter 8 verse 44 is a good example. I'll read this. He says that you are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.
00:17:29
Speaker
whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, his own native tongue, for he is a liar and he is the father of lies. And so, you know, that's just sort of one example of Jesus referring to Satan as the father of lies. And he is one who again wants to discourage, destroy, disrupt all that God is doing in the world.
00:17:50
Speaker
And I just wonder why the church doesn't, and of course I'm just speaking in general, and obviously I'm speaking from a point of, we've been in ministry for over 20 years, why do we shy away from
00:18:09
Speaker
Why does the church in general not talk about Satan very much? I just feel like it's almost looked at as, oh, you're focusing too much on Satan. We have victory, which we do. But that doesn't mean we ignore, you know, we ignore the very the real battle that's going on. But why do you think what do you think it is that that has us as Christians shying away from this and not talking about it a lot?
00:18:38
Speaker
I think there's a great quote by C.S. Lewis and he says this, he says, there are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence and the other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.
00:18:55
Speaker
I think that's a good example of how you see within the church. Sometimes you have those two extremes. You have those that don't believe in this reality, and so they don't ever talk about it. And then you have those that feel like Satan's under every rock. They get a, I don't know, the radio channel won't come in and they think a demon is behind it. So there's almost this idea that we give Satan too much credit. And so I think that
00:19:22
Speaker
Part of the challenge, too, is what we were talking about before, where I think that we don't talk about the spiritual battle as much because we don't believe in it ourselves. Or we're scared to talk about it because we don't want people to think we're kooky. And so we're nervous to use that language. Honey, I don't think I have heard that word in such a long time. Kooky, anyway.
00:19:48
Speaker
I mean, it just felt right. It just felt right to use that word. But you know what I mean? Like, I think the reality is you just go, oh, yeah, like, I don't want my neighbor to think I'm weird. Yeah. No, I'm talking about Satan or demonic activity. And so we so we don't use that language very often.
00:20:03
Speaker
And so I think there's a variety of reasons why we don't take it more serious or as serious as we should. And so again, I think part of our challenge is living where we do when we do is for many Christians, you know, the
00:20:21
Speaker
Ultimate reality again is what we can we can see and touch and taste and smell and so this idea that there is a real spiritual realm We sometimes can can be led to believe that that that seems outdated or archaic
00:20:36
Speaker
Well, and I just, I think a lot of times we honestly just don't even think about it because we're living our lives on autopilot. Right. And we, this whole spiritual realm, like you said, we don't want people to think we're weird. Um, we, you know, being a Christian is we, it's like tight. Okay. We're going to follow, follow God. And it's tied up with a bow and.
00:20:59
Speaker
you know, I'm going to reach my neighbor. And a lot of times we are, we're kind of avoiding that, the real depth of the spiritual battle. And that's what's going on all around us. And I think actually that is a tactic. Well, it is a tactic of the enemy to distract us, to make us live kind of, you know, on the surface and not realize what's going on all around us in the spiritual realm.
00:21:26
Speaker
Yeah, and I think, you know, I think too, you know, there are, you know, many cases where, you know, maybe there has been, again, excessive interest. And so, you know, we have to be careful that, you know, that we are looking, and we've talked about this before, that we are, you know, holistic beings. We're body and soul.
00:21:48
Speaker
And so I think it's really important. Sometimes we can just assume something is spiritual, but we also go the other direction. That's true. And we explain everything apart from the spiritual. And so I think that there are a lot of times that we encounter things in our life that have a spiritual origin, whether we're dealing with
00:22:08
Speaker
you know, some kind of temptation, or there's there's deep sadness, or there's, I mean, you just sort of fill in the blank. And there are course times where we need to look at other causes. But I think we've almost gone the so far the other way where we don't even consider the fact that that we could be encountering spiritual warfare.
00:22:26
Speaker
and what we're dealing with in a marriage, our own thought life, or just in our own soul and our own emotions might be the result of some kind of spiritual attack. And so we've kind of gone the other direction where we sort of explain those things away. And so really quick, I know we're gonna end with some practical things, but I wanna just, again, for clarity's sake, point out a couple things about Satan. According to Revelation 12, he evidently persuaded one third of the angels to join him in his rebellion against God.
00:22:54
Speaker
Second thing I think is really important to remember is that he led the first humans, Adam and Eve, into rebellion. You read about that in Genesis chapter 3. He leads them astray and essentially causes them to disobey and to fall from grace. And then thirdly, we also see that he really does seek, and we've talked about this, he really does seek through a variety of tactics to prevent people
00:23:21
Speaker
from being reconciled to God. And so you see this in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 4, or Matthew chapter 13, verse 49. I mean, Satan is actively working to blind and distort the truth of the gospel. And so he's working to prevent people from coming to faith in Jesus.
00:23:42
Speaker
And so I think that's a really good thing to keep in mind as we're praying, as we're being alert, as we're thinking about our own local church or marriage or family, that he's really working again to discourage, disrupt, and even prevent people from knowing God and walking with him and trusting in him. And so I think those are just a couple other things to kind of bring to mind.
00:24:07
Speaker
That's good. And so we've obviously kind of described and talked about angels and Satan and demons.
Recognizing Spiritual Warfare
00:24:16
Speaker
And I think, well, you know how I love to end practically all the time, but this is really, really important. It's like, okay, what does this mean for us? Like this is the reality of the spiritual realm that maybe some of our listeners, you might be listening and thinking, oh my word, I just, I don't take this seriously enough.
00:24:36
Speaker
And you're not alone in that. I would say that's probably the majority of us. And so how does this practically apply to my everyday life? How is this relevant? And you might be wondering that. How should this change the way we live as a Christian? If we are aware that there are angels around,
00:24:58
Speaker
And then there is this battle with Satan and the demons who want to distract us, who want to tempt us, who want to lead us away from God. How does this change the way I live daily? Because now I'm aware of this.
00:25:18
Speaker
And so we want to end talking practically about how this should change our everyday life. Well, first of all, I think obviously just being aware that we're in a battle. I think you've said this before, honey, it's it's very dangerous to be in the midst of a war and not realize it.
00:25:39
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I think that's the first for sure. I mean, to know you're in a war is one thing. And then to be walking down the street and for there to be a war going on and you're oblivious to it. Right. You don't want to be that guy. That's a bad place to be. And so I think you're exactly right to understand that there's a real conflict happening. And that's the narrative of the Bible. The story of the Bible is that there's a God who created the heavens and the earth.
00:26:04
Speaker
and that Satan rebelled against God, and he's leading others in rebellion against God. There's the kingdom of God, but there's also this kingdom of darkness that opposes God, and there's warfare going on, right? And it's in the midst of that battle that God comes to us in the person of Jesus, and he
00:26:22
Speaker
redeems us and saves us and he calls us out of the kingdom of darkness, but that battle still rages on. And so for anybody that pledges allegiance to Jesus, they also sign up for warfare. They sign up for this battle. There's this real conflict and Satan hates you, not primarily because of who you are, but because of who Jesus is.
00:26:41
Speaker
And so I think that when we think about spiritual warfare, we need to remember that this is primarily proactive. It is sons and daughters of God charging the gates of hell. And so oftentimes we think of spiritual warfare as just we kind of go about our day and Satan attacks us. But really the Christian is to be on the offensive. And as we are joining God in his work in the world,
00:27:05
Speaker
we're going to encounter this battle in real, tangible ways and in different ways throughout our lifetime. But I think you're exactly right to remember that there is a conflict.
00:27:14
Speaker
Yeah, I just love that. It's dangerous to be in the midst of a war and not realize it. I mean, nobody wants to be in the middle of that. But we shouldn't be afraid. Yeah, and I think that's the second point. I think oftentimes when we talk about spiritual battle, I mean, it is real. And the Bible never calls us to be fearful. The Bible calls us to be wise, to be alert. I love that. And I think that's, you know, you read that already in First Peter chapter five, verse eight, where we're to be alert, we're to have our eyes wide open, we're to be
00:27:39
Speaker
awake to the spiritual reality that exists, to the enemy that wants to destroy what God is doing in our life. And so to be alert is really, really important, to have our eyes wide open to the different ways, to the devil's schemes. And there are a variety, as Paul talks about in Ephesians 6. And so I think that's the second thing. The third thing is, I would say, stand firm. And so oftentimes, I think what happens is when
00:28:04
Speaker
We are attacked by the enemy when we encounter spiritual warfare. It's easy to give up. It's easy to quit It's easy to get discouraged. You're a parent. It's easy to give up doing what God has called you to do in your family You're fighting for your marriage. It's easy to quit that You're in a local church and things are difficult and you're thinking about leaving and going to another church I mean, there's all sorts of examples where we can
00:28:30
Speaker
not persevere, we cannot endure. And I think that's one of the tactics of the enemy is he wants you to quit. He wants you to become discouraged, to doubt the gifts that God has given you perhaps, and to essentially give in. Honey, I have to stop here because that, what you just said, there are so many people in that place who feel discouraged with the church they're at. And they don't know how to handle
00:28:58
Speaker
what they're going through or what they're feeling towards whatever's going on. And so they just they just want to quit and leave. And obviously we've been in ministry for over 20 years and seen this happen over and over again. And I just want to say that I cannot even we and I would both say that almost every single person that has done that
00:29:21
Speaker
that the enemy has used that in their life to actually lead them astray. And so this is a really, really important thing to pray through and work through and be stand firm and be wise. And instead of walking away from whatever issue you're feeling that you're struggling with,
00:29:43
Speaker
Um, face that head on and talk to whoever's, you know, in, in leadership, talk to, or if there's a, if it's, you know, a problem you're having with a friend there or whatever at your church, don't walk, don't let the enemy get in there.
00:29:58
Speaker
Yeah, because the enemy ultimately wants to bring division. I think you see that over and over again. And you just think about the last year and a half with COVID and the way that has isolated people, it's divided people, and you see that within the church. And so I think we are foolish to think that there's not a demonic element to what we've seen over the last year and a half in terms of its impact on the church, the body of Christ.
00:30:20
Speaker
and the way many Christians have turned on one another, they've turned on maybe their leadership, they've turned on their church. And I think it's really, really important for us to remember that there quite possibly is a spiritual element to what is going on in your particular situation. And so again, I think we're foolish to not see the enemy's tactics in just that reality and what the church has experienced over the last year and a half because of COVID.
00:30:48
Speaker
And how Satan can use differing viewpoints and everything else amongst your friends that you're in community with to start to sever those relationships. And like you said, you become isolated and then you walk away from that community.
00:31:08
Speaker
because you don't know what to do. And I just, we have to be alert and stand firm, be aware of every situation that Satan can use to get in. And I just, this is so important to me because I can't even tell you over the years, I could just, it's like person after person that this has happened to. So, and lastly, I would say just, you know, and this seems pretty obvious, but we always need to be reminded to arm ourself with God's word.
Defending with God's Word
00:31:38
Speaker
because when we know who God is, we can stand firm.
00:31:43
Speaker
And I think you see that again in the life of Jesus when he's tempted in Matthew chapter four, where you see the devil tempting Jesus, how he responds, how he withstands that temptation is that he quotes scripture back to the enemy. He reminds him of what is true and he always responds, it is written. And so I think that that is our best defense
00:32:08
Speaker
is that we use God's Word and we saturate ourselves in God's Word. And I think it's really important to remember, too, is we're talking about this. Satan has been disarmed on the cross. Paul talks about it in Colossians.
00:32:25
Speaker
And so we do need to remember that the presence of Satan, the presence of this spiritual battle is very real and still very powerful. But Satan knows his days are numbered, which is why he's working so hard.
00:32:41
Speaker
and so tenaciously to disrupt what God is doing. And so we do fight a defeated enemy, but he's still a powerful enemy. He still is at work in the world. And so I think that we need to really arm ourselves with God's Word. We have the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God lives in us. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. And so greater is He that is in us,
00:33:07
Speaker
than he that is in the world, the Scriptures say. And so I think as believers in Jesus, we need to remember that we possess a great power, God himself dwelling in the believer through the presence of the Spirit. And so we need to walk by the Spirit, stay in step with the Spirit. We need to know God's word, memorize God's word, declare God's word.
00:33:28
Speaker
and really walk in victory because Jesus has defeated the enemy. He has been crucified, resurrected, and he is reigning, and one day he's going to return and the enemy knows that.
00:33:39
Speaker
Amen, honey, yes. And I just, you know, I keep thinking, you know, after you're done listening to this episode, I think what would be so helpful for all of us is to just really reflect on the different areas of our life, whether it's in your home, in your marriage, your relationship with your kids, your relationship with some friends, your relationships at church.
00:34:06
Speaker
Your work whatever it is just take some time to reflect on Where you're at and where you might not be Realizing that the enemy is trying to get a foothold in your life Yeah, and I think it's really just maybe one last thing just really appropriate to I think for something that's that's you know in that place where they're recognizing you know the battle is intense in their marriage their home and
Practical Steps in Spiritual Battles
00:34:31
Speaker
in a relationship to, because I remember there were times where we experienced some of those seasons that were more intense than others. And I remember like getting up in the middle of the night, like going from room to room and just, you know, praying over, you know, those rooms.
00:34:45
Speaker
reading God's word out loud, I mean, declaring scripture. And so just on a very practical level, it might look like that, taking God's word and reading it out loud or praying in each room of your house, again, just declaring who Jesus is and what he's accomplished, declaring the victory that is ours.
00:35:05
Speaker
and really going to battle in that way with God's word, with God's help to, again, just ask God to come and to minister to us, to protect us, to come to our defense, to send his angels to minister to us and to protect us, to go before us and behind us.
00:35:22
Speaker
on every side. And so maybe those are some practical things that our friends here at Roo Like Faith can do in their own home, in their own family, their own marriage or relationships or even their church to go and to pray from room to room and to pray over that sanctuary, to pray for their pastor, their elders, their leaders. And again, just to remember that we are in a battle and we need to use the weapons that God has given us.
00:35:46
Speaker
That's so good and I and I just had this one last thought we will make sure again that we put all of The scripture we've talked about in the show notes and maybe a resource or two if you want to Dive into this even more well friend. We are so so grateful you have joined us
Conclusion and Community Engagement
00:36:06
Speaker
and
00:36:06
Speaker
If we haven't met, we want to get to know you. Listen, it's been so fun to get messages from you on Instagram. Be sure to follow us on Instagram at Patrick W. Schwank and at Ruth Schwank or on Facebook. Also, don't forget, like I said, everything we talked about will be at rootlikefaith.com.
00:36:27
Speaker
Again, we welcome you into our family here at Root Like Faith. Would you do us a big favor and leave us a review or rating and share this podcast with your friends. It just takes a second and it's a tremendous help to us as we spread the word about Root Like Faith. Be sure to tag us on social media when you do that. We're so, so grateful for your help in getting the word out. All right, friend. Well, we will chat soon and we hope you have the best week.