The Spirit Realm Is Real, True Stories

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Hey friends, welcome to the Her God Story podcast.

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I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta,

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ministry leader at Somebody Cares America and International,

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author and traveler on this journey with Jesus.

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I'm so glad you tuned in to this episode.

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I know you will be encouraged, inspired,

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and equipped today in your walk with the Lord.

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Have you downloaded your free six week devotional

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on Women of the Bible at hergodstory.org?

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If not, make sure you get it.

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God will use it to minister to you in so many ways.

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We also have a 12 week devotional on Women of the Bible

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that you can purchase for just $12

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and all the proceeds will go to our Widow and Orphan Fund.

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So check them out.

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If this is your first time listening,

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I hope you will enjoy it

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and check out other inspiring episodes.

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Every one of them has a powerful message

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of how God is working in lives of people just like you.

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And please tell your friends about her God's story

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so they can be encouraged in their faith too.

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The spiritual world is real.

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Angels, demons, heaven, hell, those are all real.

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God operates in the supernatural realm.

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That is a realm beyond what our natural senses perceive.

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So it's normal for us to be curious

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and want to find out more.

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God even welcomes that interest

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as long as it is focused on him and him alone.

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He gives some very clear instructions

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about interacting with the supernatural realm in the Bible.

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Those who do not heed his word regarding supernatural things

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can open a door in their lives for the attacks of Satan.

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And he's the one who kills, steals and destroys.

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So let's take a look at some of God's instructions

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about the supernatural realm

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and then hear some stories of people

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who have had supernatural encounters.

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When the people of Israel were getting ready

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to enter the promised land,

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God gave them some guidance through Moses.

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Deuteronomy 18, 9 through 13 in the NLT reads,

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be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs

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of the nations living there.

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For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter

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as a burnt offering.

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I'll stop there for a minute and comment.

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None of you I'm sure have ever considered

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burning your children as a worship to some God.

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It's unthinkable, but this warning begins the list.

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So the rest of the items on the list

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are equally detestable to God.

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I'll continue reading.

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And do not let your people practice fortune telling

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or use sorcery or interpret omens

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or engage in witchcraft or cast spells

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or function as mediums or psychics

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or call forth the spirits of the dead.

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Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.

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It is because the other nations

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have done these detestable things

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that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you.

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These things all fall under the category of the occult.

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So what are some of the modern day versions

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of the things listed?

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I came across an article by John Piper

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that defines the occult and also lists some elements of it.

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I hope it will help you determine other activities

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that also follow this list.

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So you can stay away from them as well.

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John Piper in his blog, Jesus versus the occult

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says, I designate anything as belonging to the occult

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that involves dealings with the world of spirits

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or of supra natural forces,

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which dealings are not oriented on Jesus

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as he has revealed in the Bible.

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With this definition,

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I am assuming the reality of a spiritual world

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and of mysterious supra normal forces.

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I'm assuming that the church makes a grave mistake

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when it says that supra natural phenomena

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are restricted to another age

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or that only godly people can work miracles.

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Such a mistake lays the church open

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to the power of evil precisely

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because it refuses to recognize the presence of that power.

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This definition is also intentionally very broad.

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I mean to include everything

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for the most blatant Satan worship

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to the most commonly accepted use of horoscopes.

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As examples, I would mention seances, necromancy

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and all forms of communicating with the dead, PSI, ESP

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and all forms of supra natural psychic phenomena,

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real magic as opposed to sleight of hand tricks,

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fortune telling, the casting of spells,

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wearing of charms, the use of Ouija boards, astrology, etc.

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John Piper goes on to explain that our involvement

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in the occult belittles God in our eyes

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while exalting mankind.

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It belittles God because our actions tell him

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that we believe he is inadequate to reveal mysteries

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or to truly protect and care for us.

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Instead, those who dabble or delve into the occult

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look to Satan and his demons

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for answers, protection and pleasure.

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And when you invite Satan to give you anything,

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he can come in and torment you in many ways

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unless and until you close that door.

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I heard the Deuteronomy scripture when I was a young girl,

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very thankfully, and I took it seriously.

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I no longer wanted to participate in Halloween,

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which glorifies witches, ghosts and supra natural forces

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that are not of God.

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When friends pulled out a Ouija board, I went home.

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I never looked at a horoscope, even for fun.

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I did not go to movies or watch TV shows

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that glorify the occult themes.

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I still don't.

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You might think it's all just fun and games,

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but the supernatural realm is very real

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and God does not think it is fun.

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He knows how harmful involvement in the occult is

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to you and your relationship with him.

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I certainly do not judge you for your choices.

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Only God can do that,

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but know that all choices have consequences.

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So be aware that when you are making choices

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for you and your family,

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you are the one who gets the consequences good or bad.

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First Samuel 28 tells a very interesting story

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about the occult.

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Samuel, the prophet of the king, had died,

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so King Saul could not get counsel from him anymore.

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Of course, there were priests serving the Lord

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and other prophets of the Lord in the land,

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but Saul really did not want to hear from the Lord.

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He wanted to hear from Samuel.

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Now Saul himself had banned all witches, mediums,

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and spiritists from the land

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as the Lord had told the people of Israel to do,

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but Saul snuck out one night and found a medium,

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a woman who was known to be able to communicate

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with the spirits of the dead.

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Some translations refer to her as the witch of Endor.

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Saul convinced her to call Samuel up from the dead

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so he could talk to Samuel,

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and she was actually able to do it.

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Verses 15 through 19 record the conversation

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dead Samuel has with Saul.

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Not long after that encounter,

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Saul went into battle and was killed.

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1 Chronicles 10, 13 tells us why.

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The NLT reads,

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Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord.

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He did not keep the word of the Lord

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and even consulted a medium for guidance.

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I tell you this to convince you of the reality

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of the spiritual world

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and that there are very real consequences.

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Nadine Nesbitt is an engineer, very analytical,

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not prone to hysteria or mystical thoughts.

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So when demonic creatures showed up in her room,

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she was terrified

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and the power of God was the only answer.

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Take a listen to her story.

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Well, I was in my mid to late 20s

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when a young man invited me on a date

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to a place called Magic Island.

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And it was an entertainment type venue

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where they had magic shows, illusionists.

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They also had a room where they had,

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what I describe now is different occultic services

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that they offered.

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They had a tarot card reader.

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There was a Ouija board table that you could play.

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There was a place to get your palm read,

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all that type of stuff that was in there.

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My date had decided to get his palm read

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and he wanted me to do it with him

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but quite frankly, that dark atmosphere

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kind of creeped me out.

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And so I declined, you know?

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But he went ahead and did it.

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But later that night after I came home,

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I turned the lights out in my room

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and was just settling into falling asleep

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when all of a sudden demonic creatures appeared in my room.

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I could see them physically with my eyes.

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I hadn't been drinking, I didn't do drugs.

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They were a reality.

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They were there, they were right in front of my face.

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So something followed me home that day

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and there were a lot of small creatures

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that were flying around the room

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but there was one large head

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that appeared at the foot of my bed.

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I would describe it now, years later,

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as the face that you would see on one of those orcs

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from Lord of the Rings.

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It was a very grotesque, very ugly and very scary.

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So that kind of freaked me out.

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And so what did your scientific mind think?

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I didn't know what to think.

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I just got up out of bed, I turned on the lights.

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I was scared, quite frankly.

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And so what I did was I had a Bible.

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It was one of those Bibles with the zipper around the edges.

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And I put it on the pillow next to me

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because I thought it would protect me.

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I'd never opened it.

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It was still zippered up

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but it was on my pillow next to me for protection.

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And then I decided to turn on the TV to Christian Channel.

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I just had that Christian Channel on.

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And I slept that way for close to a year.

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I had the Christian TV going on in the background

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and never really sat down to listen to it.

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It was there on,

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because I thought that would offer me some protection.

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Yeah, so I mean, deep in your heart,

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you knew that there was a spiritual realm

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but you didn't really want to go there.

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Right, exactly.

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I didn't want to investigate.

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I didn't know how to investigate.

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And I never heard of anything like that before.

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So yeah, you're right.

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So, but one day, I often did shift work,

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working in mission control

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because you work around the clock,

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supporting shuttle missions.

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And I had one of my colleagues that lived

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in the same apartment complex.

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And he noticed that my light was on all night.

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You know, every time he passed by my apartment

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after his shift was over, he would notice,

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I don't know why, he would notice my light was on.

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So he actually stopped me one day at work and said,

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Nadeen, are you afraid of the dark?

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Well, yes, but I couldn't tell him that.

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So I decided that I was being crazy.

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And I decided that night I was gonna turn my light off

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and sleep like a normal person.

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And when I did, those demonic creatures

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reappeared in my room.

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But this time they were, I would say, more aggressive.

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They actually came to me as I laid in bed

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and I felt a shove.

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I felt, and I actually, my body was moving.

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So there was some kind of real entity in my room

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shoving me, moving me.

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So even though all that time of having that Christian TV

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on the TV, I never sat and listened to it,

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I was hearing it.

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I was hearing what they were saying.

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And one of the things I remembered in that moment

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was someone had said on that Christian TV

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that there's power in the name of Jesus.

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So I called out, I shouted Jesus.

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And the instant I did, those creatures left my room.

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They were gone in an instant.

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It was very, very powerful display

264
00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:53,640
of the power of the name of Jesus.

265
00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:55,960
And you still didn't know him as your savior,

266
00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:57,800
but just the use of his name.

267
00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:01,160
Just the use of his name was so very powerful.

268
00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:04,120
When that happened, I jumped out of bed, of course,

269
00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:08,080
because now I was excited because I had learned

270
00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:09,680
the power of Jesus' name.

271
00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:14,440
And so I thought, I need to know more about this Jesus.

272
00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,080
Bolted out of bed, turned on the TV,

273
00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,080
and there was Paul Crouch on TVN.

274
00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:23,200
And he was quoting from Isaiah 64.

275
00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:27,080
He's saying, all a righteous acts are like filthy rags.

276
00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:30,880
And then he quoted from Romans 3.23,

277
00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:35,200
for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

278
00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:40,920
Well, I was arrogant enough to just have this thought come

279
00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,440
into my head that he couldn't be possibly talking about me.

280
00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:47,400
Well, I thought, I didn't sin.

281
00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:48,960
I was a good girl.

282
00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:51,120
You know, what is he talking about?

283
00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:52,520
When have I ever sinned?

284
00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:55,560
These are the questions that were going in my mind.

285
00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:57,040
And then it happened.

286
00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:00,320
I found myself in a white room with God sitting

287
00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:01,680
on his throne in front of me.

288
00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:03,120
I didn't actually see God.

289
00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,520
I just knew that it was God that was sitting in front of me.

290
00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:10,320
The Lord suddenly gave me a life review.

291
00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:12,280
It started with my childhood.

292
00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:14,520
It seemingly lasted for hours.

293
00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:18,600
But I had these flashbacks of every place

294
00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:22,480
that I had fallen short of the glory of God.

295
00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:24,120
And it just wrecked me.

296
00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:28,480
It just left me on the floor in a puddle, weeping.

297
00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,840
I was having some carpet time at that time.

298
00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,080
And it really did seem like it went on for hours and hours

299
00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,160
as you can imagine a life review would.

300
00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:41,840
But then I've started feeling a sense of despair.

301
00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,240
Like, what can I do now?

302
00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:45,480
And so that's what I asked.

303
00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:47,240
I said, well, what can I do now?

304
00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:49,480
And what can I do to be saved?

305
00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:53,960
And just as I was thinking that, I heard Paul crouch his voice.

306
00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,000
And he said, you might be thinking right now,

307
00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:59,240
what can I do to be saved?

308
00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:04,480
And then he led in a prayer of repentance and of salvation.

309
00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:08,240
So that night, I became a new creature in Christ

310
00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:10,000
when I prayed that prayer and asked the Lord

311
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:11,160
to become my Lord.

312
00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:11,480
Wow.

313
00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:13,640
I knew him personally now.

314
00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:15,440
And did those creatures ever come back?

315
00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:16,680
They never came back.

316
00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:17,960
Never, never, never.

317
00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:18,880
No.

318
00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,520
Before Nadine knew Christ, she was tormented by demons

319
00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:25,880
after just visiting a place where the occult was practiced.

320
00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:28,400
Once she gave her life to the Lord, however,

321
00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:30,600
they did not bother her again.

322
00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,280
But Satan will take every opportunity

323
00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:35,960
he can to target Christians as well as unbelievers.

324
00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:40,080
So we need to know how to stand against his attacks.

325
00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,160
Mary Nelson learned how to do that

326
00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:45,800
when Satan tried to do his destructive work in her life.

327
00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:47,600
Let's hear her story.

328
00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:49,200
So during that time, you also began

329
00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:53,520
to learn about spiritual warfare and Christ's power in us

330
00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:55,560
to defeat the works of Satan.

331
00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:57,960
What were a couple of those experiences?

332
00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,240
Debbie and Mark started going to Christian school

333
00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:01,680
when they were in middle school.

334
00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,480
And one of the things they did was have Bible class.

335
00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:06,320
And they were studying the Word of God.

336
00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,640
And they studied about Old Testament and New Testament.

337
00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,960
One of the things they studied was about the occult

338
00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:14,720
and not to be involved in it.

339
00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,760
Well, we had purchased a beautiful globe bar

340
00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:19,480
when we were in Europe.

341
00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:24,360
And one day, the children were standing around the globe bar

342
00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:25,240
looking at it.

343
00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:29,960
And notice that there was signs of the zodiac all over this bar.

344
00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:31,520
And they pointed it out to us.

345
00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:34,440
And we're aghast that we would have such a thing in our house.

346
00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,200
So we decided we'd better get rid of it.

347
00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:39,880
So we took all the liquor out, put it in the cupboard.

348
00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:43,320
At that time, we still weren't convicted about drinking.

349
00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:48,600
But we got rid of that globe bar, put it out in the driveway.

350
00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:49,840
And our neighbor happened to see it.

351
00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:52,960
And she came over and asked what we were doing with it.

352
00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:54,600
And dad said we were going to get rid of it.

353
00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:56,040
She said, well, can I buy it?

354
00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:57,080
He said, oh, no.

355
00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:58,560
She said, well, how about if I buy it

356
00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:00,560
and you could donate the money to your church?

357
00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:04,840
And he said, oh, no, I would not sell a snake to a friend.

358
00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:08,720
So he put that globe bar in the back of the car

359
00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:11,520
and took it out to the Kent's home

360
00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:14,800
where people were gathering together their occultic things.

361
00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:18,960
And we were going to have a bonfire like the book of Acts.

362
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:19,760
Yeah.

363
00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:20,800
Spoke about.

364
00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:22,120
I remember that bonfire.

365
00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:27,880
And in addition to that globe, we also went through the house.

366
00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,120
And anything that we felt convicted about,

367
00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:37,360
we pulled it off the shelf, books or albums or cassette tapes.

368
00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,360
And you pulled out the Halloween clothes and Halloween

369
00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:42,640
things to get rid of.

370
00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:44,320
No one told you about that one, Jody.

371
00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:46,680
You just did that on your own.

372
00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:48,400
Yeah, we were convicted at six.

373
00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:50,560
Convicted that we didn't want anything

374
00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:55,720
to do with anything related to Satan, demonic forces.

375
00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:57,080
And we got rid of it out of our house.

376
00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:59,360
And there was a change in the environment in our home

377
00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:00,000
after that.

378
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,360
Yeah, there definitely was.

379
00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:04,880
There was a time that I hired a piano tuner.

380
00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:09,760
We had purchased an old upright German grand piano

381
00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:12,160
when we were in England, which children took

382
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:13,800
piano lessons on.

383
00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:17,880
So when we moved back to Tampa after moving across the ocean

384
00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:19,320
and coming into a different climate,

385
00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:21,880
that piano needed to be retuned.

386
00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:25,480
So I had asked Dad if we could have it retuned.

387
00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:31,840
And he didn't say anything in the time that I thought he should.

388
00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,400
So I just went ahead and hired someone on my own

389
00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:35,560
without even asking him.

390
00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:36,880
I just did it.

391
00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:38,760
Well, the man came out that I hired.

392
00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:42,080
And as he was tuning the piano, he would visit with me.

393
00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,600
And he would tell me about these senses that he was attending.

394
00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:47,960
And some of the weird things that were going on all fall,

395
00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,440
he thought they were wonderful.

396
00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:52,320
He told me a lot of occultic things.

397
00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:54,560
And I would try and squeeze in little testimonies

398
00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:55,480
about the Lord.

399
00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:59,520
But he was more determined to talk about seances.

400
00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:03,160
So after that day of tuning, he said,

401
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:05,560
he'd like to come back in two weeks after your children had

402
00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:06,960
played the piano for a while.

403
00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,400
And the keys were, or the strings were stretched.

404
00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,280
And he would readjust the tuning.

405
00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:14,840
So in two weeks, he came back.

406
00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,600
And of course, there was more stories

407
00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,840
about the seances and occultic experiences.

408
00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:25,520
And anyway, after that, I paid him and he left.

409
00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:28,200
But that night, during the night,

410
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:32,760
I developed a severe side ache, which bothered me all night long

411
00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:34,600
and into the next day.

412
00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,000
So I called a friend and asked for prayer.

413
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,800
And her husband came out that afternoon.

414
00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:41,880
He was in ministry.

415
00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:42,720
He prayed for me.

416
00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,880
And then he suggested that dad pray through our house.

417
00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,640
So after he left and dad came home, we had dinner

418
00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:51,720
and went on to bed.

419
00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,760
And during the night, I just, that side ache

420
00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:58,600
started getting so bad, I woke up and encouraged him

421
00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:00,520
to take me to the emergency room.

422
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:05,440
So as he was getting dressed to take me to the emergency room,

423
00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:09,560
a scripture reference came to my attention.

424
00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:12,040
And I didn't know what it said.

425
00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:13,880
I just knew what the reference was.

426
00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,080
And it was from Chronicles.

427
00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,760
I think it was 2 Chronicles 16 too.

428
00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:23,800
So I asked dad if he would please read the Bible

429
00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:25,440
just to see what it said.

430
00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:29,200
So he stopped getting dressed and he read the scripture.

431
00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:34,680
And the scripture said Asa, talking about King Asa,

432
00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,040
he became diseased in his feet.

433
00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:39,120
And his malady was severe.

434
00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:42,120
Yet in his disease, he did not seek the Lord,

435
00:19:42,120 --> 00:19:45,000
but the physicians and he died.

436
00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,560
And after he read that, I thought, maybe we better not

437
00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:49,480
go to the hospital.

438
00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:50,960
Maybe we just better pray.

439
00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:55,520
And then I remembered our friend suggesting that I have Gary

440
00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:57,560
walk around the house and pray.

441
00:19:57,560 --> 00:19:59,960
So I mentioned it to him and he did.

442
00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:01,600
He walked around the house to pray.

443
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:05,080
And as he got into our living room near the piano,

444
00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:10,200
the hairs on his arms and legs stood up like static electricity.

445
00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:11,560
He could feel it.

446
00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:15,400
So anyway, he just prayed around the circle of our house

447
00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:16,400
and walking around.

448
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:21,400
And every time he came past that piano through the living room,

449
00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:26,480
he could sense that sensation of static electricity.

450
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,120
But as he prayed and commanded spiritual forces of wickedness

451
00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:33,960
to leave in the name of Jesus, it became less and less and less.

452
00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:35,600
And finally it was gone.

453
00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:37,600
So he came back to bed, told me what happened,

454
00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:39,360
and we both went to sleep.

455
00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:41,120
A couple hours later, I woke up and I

456
00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:45,000
just felt like the Lord let me know that I was healed.

457
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:45,720
And I was.

458
00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:46,920
It was gone.

459
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,480
So I did have a spiritual lesson on that one.

460
00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:49,720
Yeah.

461
00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:51,760
And it's not that you're against going to the doctors.

462
00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,560
I mean, we've all gone to the doctor since then.

463
00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,880
But this was seeking the Lord.

464
00:20:57,880 --> 00:20:59,320
And it was a spiritual issue.

465
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:04,280
It was a spiritual attack on you that had been opened up

466
00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:08,240
by that piano tuner experience.

467
00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:10,680
Well, actually, Jody, what the Lord showed me

468
00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:15,040
and reminded me that I had ordered that sterling silver

469
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,920
in England without asking dad.

470
00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,800
And here I had hired a piano tuner without asking him.

471
00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,080
But I had been hearing that I should respect and honor

472
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:29,920
my husband and learn submission.

473
00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,720
But I also heard that God healed.

474
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:36,400
So we experienced that night spiritual warfare.

475
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,840
I had opened myself up to that by doing something

476
00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:43,120
that I shouldn't have done by hiring that man to come

477
00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:44,040
and tune the piano.

478
00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:47,400
Not that you not that hiring a piano tuner was was wrong.

479
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:48,720
But you know, you was my attitude.

480
00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:50,960
You were doing it out of defiance.

481
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:51,520
Defiance.

482
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:52,000
Yeah.

483
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:53,720
So I learned that.

484
00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,200
And I also learned that God healed and loved me.

485
00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:56,800
Yeah.

486
00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:58,520
And he forgave me.

487
00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:04,160
And that that encounter with really laid a foundation

488
00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:10,040
of understanding of how to address spiritual forces

489
00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:17,200
that we needed a couple of years later when we lived in Utah.

490
00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:18,160
That's right, Jody.

491
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:21,640
We moved into a haunted house, actually purchased

492
00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,680
a haunted house unknowingly.

493
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:26,960
We didn't realize it was haunted.

494
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,800
But I experienced depression in that house.

495
00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,000
And sometimes during the day when everyone else was gone,

496
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,760
I just felt like crying.

497
00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:37,640
And it was not like me.

498
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:42,520
And then Debbie was experiencing insomnia.

499
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,320
She was on the swim team in high school and needed her sleep.

500
00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:48,920
But she couldn't sleep well.

501
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:53,720
So it was a real strain for her to participate on the swim team

502
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,080
without sleeping.

503
00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:59,320
And then one night, Mark, whose basement was down

504
00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:01,920
in the lower part of the house and basement,

505
00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:03,400
came upstairs to the bathroom.

506
00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,080
And when he was going back down the steps,

507
00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,040
he just fenced that if he went down those steps,

508
00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:11,160
he'd go crazy.

509
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:12,240
And Mark wasn't like that.

510
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,040
He was a very stable, sharp guy.

511
00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:15,640
So he came upstairs to our bedroom

512
00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:17,840
and explained to us what was happening.

513
00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:19,800
But we just told him to go sleep in one

514
00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:21,320
of the other single beds upstairs.

515
00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,000
And we'd pray about it.

516
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,120
Well, we did pray about it.

517
00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:27,360
And while we were praying, this was Dad and I.

518
00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:31,360
While we were praying, we had a mini vision of imps

519
00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:33,600
with coalsacks on their backs.

520
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:35,640
We felt like maybe the next day we should just pray

521
00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:37,360
through our house, which we did do.

522
00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:40,480
All five of us prayed through our house,

523
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:45,240
starting down in the basement right next to the furnace, which

524
00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:47,600
had been a coal furnace at one time

525
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:49,960
and converted to a gas furnace.

526
00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,280
Yeah, we actually had a coal room back in there.

527
00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:53,040
And we did.

528
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:55,080
And it was a storage room.

529
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:58,080
So we actually started praying in that storage room

530
00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:00,640
and commanded those spiritual forces of wickedness

531
00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:06,200
and named them according to what we felt like they were,

532
00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,120
commanded them to leave in the name of Jesus,

533
00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:11,960
walk through every room of the house doing the same thing.

534
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:16,200
Then we anointed the doors with oil

535
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,120
and went to the ends of our property,

536
00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:20,600
each corner of the property, anointed it with oil

537
00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:22,960
and prayed scripture over each one,

538
00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,920
dedicating our property and home to the Lord.

539
00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:27,600
And peace returned.

540
00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:31,080
As believers, we have authority to stand

541
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,120
against the attacks of the enemy.

542
00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:37,200
But we must make sure that we have closed any spiritual doors

543
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,280
that we may have opened knowingly or unknowingly.

544
00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,640
As Mary shared, my family got rid of occultic items

545
00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:46,480
we had all around our home, things that were purchased

546
00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:48,840
before we even came to Christ.

547
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,360
But like the Christians in Acts 19,

548
00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:54,960
once we realized that the occult was a doorway for Satan,

549
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:56,680
we got rid of it all.

550
00:24:56,680 --> 00:25:00,560
My mom also repented of times when she had looked at horoscopes

551
00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,400
and played with Ouija boards when she was young.

552
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:07,360
And that closed the spiritual access Satan had into our lives.

553
00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:10,160
And we had the authority given to us by Jesus

554
00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:14,840
to command Satan in Jesus' name to get out and stay out.

555
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,960
Ephesians 6-12 in the New Living Translation tells us,

556
00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,160
for we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies,

557
00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:25,720
but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world,

558
00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,160
against mighty powers in this dark world,

559
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:31,600
and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

560
00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:36,080
So these things should not surprise us or even scare us.

561
00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:41,480
James 4-7 instructs us to humble ourselves before God,

562
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:45,360
resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

563
00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:47,800
This is exactly what Mary and our family did.

564
00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,000
We humbled ourselves by getting rid of the things

565
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,160
the Lord directed us to get rid of.

566
00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,720
Then we could resist the devil effectively,

567
00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:57,040
so he had to flee.

568
00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:00,000
And in Luke 10-19 in the New Living Translation,

569
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:04,800
Jesus says, I have given you authority over all the power

570
00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:05,960
of the enemy.

571
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,240
And you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them.

572
00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,480
Nothing will injure you.

573
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,400
You remember from Genesis, of course,

574
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,880
that Satan was referred to as a serpent.

575
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,960
So Jesus has given us authority over him and all his power,

576
00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:24,840
as long as we stay submitted to Christ.

577
00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:28,240
God also sends angels to care for us.

578
00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:32,240
Luke 4-11 tells of angels that cared for Jesus

579
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,800
after he resisted the temptations of Satan in the wilderness.

580
00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:39,080
Sometimes angels are sent to announce his plans,

581
00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:41,760
like they did to Daniel, Mary, the mother of Jesus,

582
00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:44,360
Zechariah, and others.

583
00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:47,560
They also come to guard and protect us,

584
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,520
as it says in Psalm 91 verses 11 through 12.

585
00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:54,960
The NLT reads, for he will order his angels

586
00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,360
to protect you wherever you go.

587
00:26:57,360 --> 00:26:59,280
They will hold you up with their hand

588
00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,680
so that you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.

589
00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:04,880
And while angels are supernatural beings,

590
00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,880
we certainly should never worship them.

591
00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:11,280
Colossians 2-18 warns against that.

592
00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:14,080
Angels are clearly active on the earth today,

593
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,360
although most of us will probably never visibly see them.

594
00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:22,080
We can trust, however, that God has sent them for our benefit.

595
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,480
A few people I know have actually encountered angels.

596
00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:27,960
Victoria Sarvati is one of them.

597
00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:30,600
Listen to this and be encouraged.

598
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,520
This was my death experience.

599
00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:34,120
I was in intensive care.

600
00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:36,520
They were working hard to stabilize me.

601
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:40,040
Apparently, something went wrong, and I started coding.

602
00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:44,120
And I started following what I say is my time in space,

603
00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:46,440
my time in this life, my time in this world.

604
00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:48,760
What I'm going to say doesn't make a whole lot of sense

605
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:50,920
in the natural, because it was spiritual.

606
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,400
There's hardly any words to explain.

607
00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:56,680
Sometimes what I say, some people say it sounds New Age.

608
00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:57,800
It's not New Age.

609
00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:00,200
It was an experience that was supernatural.

610
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:01,680
That's all I can tell you.

611
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:04,560
But it's like I fell through my own universe.

612
00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:09,000
I fell through congruent lines of time and space that were mine.

613
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:09,880
What do I mean by that?

614
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:12,320
Well, we live in time and space.

615
00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,320
God lives in timelessness outside of time.

616
00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:20,200
And He gives each of us a time to live and a time to die.

617
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:24,160
As I was going through what I understood, even at that time,

618
00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:29,800
was my future universe, where I'm going to spend my time while

619
00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:34,200
I'm in this body, in what space I'm going to be in.

620
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:38,640
It was like there were these congruent lines of decisions

621
00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:40,200
I could make in my life.

622
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:42,280
If I made this decision, then this would happen.

623
00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,680
All these different choices I had in my future

624
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,400
and my future would have, within it, blessings.

625
00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:50,400
And then sometimes it would just be darkness.

626
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:53,080
And I would see all these things as I was going through it.

627
00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:56,560
And I understood that these places where the lines met

628
00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:58,320
were my choices.

629
00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,080
And some of those choices were full of what

630
00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,160
I call precious gems, gems of great price,

631
00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:05,960
gems of understanding, knowledge.

632
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:09,760
What I witnessed in my life to make it be a testimony,

633
00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:13,480
I saw these places all along the way in my own universe

634
00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:15,040
that I would experience.

635
00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:17,000
And then at the very end of that tunnel

636
00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:21,360
was a huge wealth of precious gems, like gold,

637
00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:22,640
like greater than rubies.

638
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,400
But all of this is through the choices and the wisdom

639
00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:27,040
that we get from the Lord.

640
00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:28,360
It's not physical.

641
00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:31,480
It's not monetary gain that we get.

642
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:35,720
But it is all spiritual gain and wonderful riches

643
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:39,640
that we get as we experience our life in this time

644
00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:41,680
and space that we occupy.

645
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,240
And so anyway, I was at the end of that tunnel.

646
00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:48,600
I came out and I was now in the ICU,

647
00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:51,680
the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital.

648
00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:54,520
And I was barbed to my body.

649
00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,880
And I couldn't move any further than where I was.

650
00:29:57,880 --> 00:29:58,760
I was above it.

651
00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:00,640
And next to me was an angel.

652
00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:02,600
And I knew the angel by name.

653
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:04,080
I called him by name.

654
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:05,720
His name was Parrots.

655
00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,520
And I didn't know at the time what that name meant.

656
00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:11,960
But I do, once I started taking Hebrew years later,

657
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:13,960
it's the one who stands in the gap.

658
00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,120
Hebrew is interesting too, because it also takes,

659
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:19,320
just by changing little jot or tittle, a vowel sound,

660
00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:23,040
you can change that word into an opposite meaning.

661
00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:25,320
And so, parets can also mean,

662
00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:28,280
porets can mean one who breaks through.

663
00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:29,800
And so the one who stands in the gap

664
00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:33,080
and the one who breaks through is the one I was talking to.

665
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,440
And if you understand, and I didn't know this then,

666
00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:40,760
later on I found out that a messianic reference

667
00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:44,800
in the Jewish understanding comes from Melachi,

668
00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,200
where he says that the Son of Righteousness

669
00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,320
comes with healing in his wings.

670
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:52,480
And it also says that he's the breaker.

671
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:55,160
But where he breaks through, it's the breaker

672
00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:56,000
that breaks through.

673
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:59,120
It's a messianic reference of the Messiah.

674
00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:02,600
That is a very interesting aspect that I found later

675
00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:04,360
that it wasn't just an angel,

676
00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:07,880
but it was the angel of the Lord that appeared to me.

677
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:11,840
And somebody said, well, you can't see God.

678
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:13,720
And if you do, you die.

679
00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:15,440
And I said, well, yeah, I was dead.

680
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:20,040
So I couldn't really see his face actually,

681
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,560
because there was so much light radiating from it

682
00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:25,240
that you knew there was a face behind that light.

683
00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:26,440
But it was beautiful.

684
00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:27,840
And we were able to communicate.

685
00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:29,080
And he told me that I was,

686
00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:30,960
this was the mandate that you mentioned,

687
00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:33,160
that I was to go back, because I really didn't want to.

688
00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:34,440
I wanted to go see my child.

689
00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:35,840
I said, where's my baby?

690
00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:37,920
He says, he's on the lap of the father.

691
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:39,480
He says, but you're gonna go back.

692
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,320
And you're going to go through that time and space,

693
00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,840
you know, that continuum, that time continuum,

694
00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,760
that is already designed for your life.

695
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:51,240
And you're going to experience all these things in real time.

696
00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:53,800
And I said, well, that's okay.

697
00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:54,800
I really like it here.

698
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:56,320
I tried to reason with him.

699
00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:58,160
So I really didn't want to stay.

700
00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:00,360
And he says, no, it's been ordained.

701
00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:02,360
These gifts are irrevocable.

702
00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:05,920
You're going to receive all that God has planned for you.

703
00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:08,600
And you're going to teach others what you understand.

704
00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:09,600
I had no choice.

705
00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:10,800
And then he says, besides this,

706
00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:13,840
the Lord has granted the prayers of saints

707
00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:14,920
that are praying for you.

708
00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:17,200
About that later, there were all kinds of prayer vigils

709
00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:19,840
and intercessors that were praying for me

710
00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:21,080
at that point in time.

711
00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:23,160
So I felt myself being brought back.

712
00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:25,840
I woke up a little bit later.

713
00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:27,280
Those of us who've been brought up

714
00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:29,960
with the Western worldview often discount

715
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:31,000
the supernatural world.

716
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:33,840
Yes, we believe in God, probably even angels and demons,

717
00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:36,160
but we have a hard time believing

718
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:38,720
that the supernatural world impacts

719
00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:41,080
or is active in our lives.

720
00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:42,960
But it is.

721
00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:46,200
The supernatural world is very real.

722
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:49,600
And the occult is not harmless fun and games.

723
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:54,000
You will experience very real consequences in the natural

724
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,160
if you open that door in your life.

725
00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:59,080
Like Saul did when he visited the Witch of Endor,

726
00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:01,800
a woman who knew the power of the supernatural world

727
00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:04,240
but was on the wrong side.

728
00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:06,880
If you already have opened that door in some way,

729
00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:08,720
there's a very effective remedy.

730
00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:10,240
I already mentioned it.

731
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,400
James four verse seven tells us,

732
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,400
submit yourself to God, which includes repentance

733
00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:18,360
and removal if necessary of occultic items.

734
00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:22,000
Then you can resist the devil and he will flee.

735
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:26,400
When we focus on our great and loving God,

736
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:29,880
we do not need charms or crystals

737
00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:32,320
or fortune tellers or magic.

738
00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:34,240
Put your full trust in the Lord to guide you

739
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:36,920
and to lead you even through painful times.

740
00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:39,200
He will never leave you or forsake you.

741
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:42,680
I invite you now to agree with me in prayer.

742
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:48,520
Father, you are God Almighty creator of all things.

743
00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:51,600
You by your power hold all things together.

744
00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,800
We adore you God and we trust you with our lives,

745
00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:56,480
with our futures.

746
00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:59,160
Father, we submit ourselves to you again.

747
00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:01,800
And Lord, I ask you to reveal to my dear listeners

748
00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,760
any way they may have opened an occult door in their lives,

749
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,240
give them wisdom how to close that door,

750
00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:10,200
lead them Holy Spirit to repent of past involvement

751
00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:12,800
and rid themselves of anything

752
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:16,080
that is an open door for satanic attacks.

753
00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:20,760
Then give them courage to stand firm, resist the devil

754
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:24,440
and we thank you that we know he will flee.

755
00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:28,880
It is at the name of Jesus that every knee bows

756
00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,760
in the seen and the unseen world.

757
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:34,360
Thank you for giving us spiritual armor

758
00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:38,720
so we can stand against the wiles of our enemy, the devil.

759
00:34:38,720 --> 00:34:42,360
So now we put on the belt of truth.

760
00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,640
With it, we have discernment to know truth from lies.

761
00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:47,800
We put on the breastplate of righteousness,

762
00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:50,520
which is a sign of our right standing with you

763
00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:52,440
and our authority as your children.

764
00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:56,240
We shod our feet with a peace that comes from the good news.

765
00:34:56,240 --> 00:34:58,480
So we are fully prepared each day.

766
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:02,520
That peace also guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

767
00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:04,040
We hold up the shield of faith

768
00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:07,200
and extinguish every fiery dart of the enemy.

769
00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:09,200
We put on the helmet of salvation

770
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,680
and we fix our mind and eyes on you, Jesus,

771
00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,520
which destroys doubt and allows us to take

772
00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:19,920
every rebellious spot captive and make it obedient to Christ.

773
00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:23,040
We also joyfully pick up the sword of the spirit,

774
00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:24,960
which is your powerful word.

775
00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:28,880
And we declare right now Isaiah 54, 17,

776
00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:33,120
which says no weapon turned against us will succeed

777
00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:36,480
and every voice that accuses us will be silenced.

778
00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:38,920
Thank you again, Father, for equipping us

779
00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:41,560
to live as overcomers in you.

780
00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:43,960
It is in Jesus' name we pray.

781
00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:44,800
Amen.

782
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Thank you for tuning in.

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Check out the show notes at hergodstory.org for scriptures

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and other information we talked about.

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And remember to get your free six-week devotional

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on women of the Bible.

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We'd also love to pray with you

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on our 24 seven prayer and text line.

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So give us a call or text anytime at 855-459-CARE

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or email us at prayer at somebodycares.org.

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And now dear friends, I leave you with a key

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to abundant life from Deuteronomy 30 verses 19 and 20.

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You have the choice between life and death,

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between blessings and cursings.

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Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make.

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Oh, that you would choose life

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so that you and your descendants might live.

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You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God,

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obeying him and committing yourself firmly to him.

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This is the key to your life.

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Her God Story is a ministry of Somebody Cares America

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and International.

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To find out more about or support the ministry,

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go to somebodycares.org.