Winning the War, episode 105 (rebroadcast)

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If you love a prodigal, you can discover help and hope for your wilderness journey right

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here at the When You Love a Prodigal podcast and also help and hope for your own life journey.

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I'm talking about some really important things today.

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So please, as your mind and heart really hear something that speaks to you, be sure to jot

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it down so you can put it into practice.

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I have a young grand girl who is full of energy.

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She seems to be in endless motion, running from one activity to the next.

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She'll start on the trampoline, which is probably her favorite, then go climb in the

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jungle gym.

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She loves to play princess in my car.

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I'm her chauffeur.

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She loves to pretend to shop or she likes to take care of baby puppies or she loves

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to swim in the big blow up pool that they have.

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She loves to go visit the farm piglets and always I'm following her around for all of

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this joy just bubbles out of her.

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When this Gidoo, that's my grandmother name, gets tired and requires a pause, she's usually

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wise enough to grant it if she wants me to keep playing.

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But sometimes if I or even her mom or dad choose not to cooperate with her desired activity,

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she can become very unhappy.

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Her happy face and all the joy she usually has just disappear.

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Most of us can be like that some of the time.

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Most of us like me want our own way and when life is going our way, we are happy, even

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joyful.

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But when circumstances or our prodigal or even God interferes with our way, our joy can disappear.

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And we also have an enemy who is enticing our prodigal and loving to steal our joy.

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So some perspective on our enemy.

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Much of the strife, tension, warfare, and violence we see around the world is more than just conflicting

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ideologies, warring tribes, people demanding freedom, nations seeking to dominate.

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It is because powerful forces will use any conflict, any misunderstanding or power grab

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to increase turmoil, animosity, fear, and more.

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These evil forces are not taking sides, they are playing one side against another.

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Our God on the other hand is a God of love and peace.

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These angelic forces are engaged in this battle to protect the earth and all its inhabitants

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from the destructive intentions of Satan.

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There are many of God's children who are actively involved for the kingdom of God, where battles

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are won on their knees, worshiping God, speaking his truth, living out his love.

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Jesus said of the devil, our enemy, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

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I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.

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So he is even acknowledging that the evil one is all about destruction, killing, and

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stealing our joy.

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Peter warns us in one of his books, Be alert and of sober mind, your enemy, the devil,

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prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

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So if the devil, the world, our own desires, and our prodigals are all conspiring against

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us, how do we find and hold on to joy because we have someone more powerful than all those

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joy dealers?

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The Holy Spirit of God lives in us and fights for us and gives us all we need, including

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joy.

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In Zechariah 5.6, we are admonished and encouraged to understand it is not by might nor by power

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but by my spirit that you are going to make it through all of this battle.

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In Romans 15.13, we read, Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in

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believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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So you see, the first key we're doing to today, the first key for us to have joy,

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no matter what's surrounding us, what the circumstances are, what our prodigal is doing

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is the Holy Spirit, who Jesus sent to live in us.

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He said it was better that he leaves so that the Spirit could come and live in each of

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us.

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He provides so much for us.

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Just listen, he fights for us in the battle.

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He is our advocate.

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He comforts and encourages.

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He is our help and deliverer.

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He is a warrior on our behalf and on behalf of our wonderful, loved prodigals.

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As we admit our own inadequacies and sins and ask the Spirit of Jesus to fill us and

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direct us and empower us, he will do it.

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He will do all of these and much more for us.

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He's there on our behalf for every need that we have.

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He will be with us in all the battles and then there's a bonus.

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We read that the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of having the Spirit live in us, what

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He will produce in us.

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Love, sometimes we need that extra love for our prodigals.

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Joy will come back to that peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,

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and self-control.

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Are those amazing things that the Spirit of God is working to make true of us?

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He provides some, but He's growing it into our lives.

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Notice the second one is joy.

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He's so good to give us joy in the midst of everything that we might be experiencing.

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It becomes ours as we surrender to the Lord, as we choose to walk in His will and wisdom

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and power.

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So we can have joy as a way of life, even life with a prodigal.

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I said last week I would share two secrets for consistent joy, and that's the first

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one, live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, let Him fill you and guide you and give you

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everything that you need.

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So now let me tell you one more practice that I found essential and helpful for a joyful

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life.

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As I told the story of my grand girl and my natural desires, both of us one in our own

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way, I noted that when she or I get what we want, we can be happy and even joyful.

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But as we have discovered, life doesn't give us all that we want.

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Rarely does it mean we get our own way on a consistent basis.

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You may have heard this saying, it is not joy that makes us grateful, it's gratitude

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that makes us joyful.

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When my husband died, which I talked about in the previous podcast, I and my family who

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were there made a tight circle just as he passed, and we prayed together.

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All the words that came out of my mouth were, thank you, Lord.

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How could that be?

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How could I be saying thank you, as I said goodbye to my husband?

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I believe it's because a lot of years ago, I made a decision to act on God's command

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that he gave through Paul.

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He says these things in 1 Thessalonians 5.

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Rejoice always, that's joy, you know, rejoice.

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Pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.

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Now most of us think that's one of the hardest things God's asked us to do.

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Give thanks when things are good, when we get our own way, when we have a happy surprise.

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But this is give thanks in all circumstances.

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For this is God's will for you and Christ Jesus.

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And then he expands on that through Paul in Philippians chapter 4.

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He says, rejoice in the Lord always, there it is again.

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Rejoice.

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In fact, he says, I will say it again, rejoice.

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Let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord is near.

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Do not be anxious about anything.

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That's a lot of what steals our joy, isn't it?

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Anxiety.

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But in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to

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God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts

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and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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So you see, God's serious about giving thanks, not just because he wants to be thanked, and

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not even just so that you began to get thankful, but that you learned that giving thanks is

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a pathway to joy, even when circumstances are challenging.

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And this has become my second way of life practice, to give thanks in everything.

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I seek to make sure I'm walking in the power of the Spirit of God, and then to give thanks

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in everything.

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Really?

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Everything?

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What if I don't get my way?

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When my prodigal once again breaks my heart, yes, it has transformed my life.

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Giving thanks has given me an amazing life filled with joy, even in the loss of my husband,

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even through tears.

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God is the one who gives us joy.

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So we have looked at two practices that we can live out and find great joy in return,

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be filled with and walk in the Spirit, and give thanks in everything.

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My prayer for you is that you will be honest with God.

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Tell him of all your pain and fears and loss.

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We talked about that last week.

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And thank him, thank him, that he is with you in it all, that his Spirit lives in you

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and will give you joy, even in the midst of pain.

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Then thank him for what you like and even for what you wouldn't have chosen for your

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life today or longer term.

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Give thanks, walk in the Spirit, and joy is an outcome.

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So next week, because you're going to practice those things all week and you're going to

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come to the podcast next week and you're going to have overflowing joy in your life,

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it's possible, I promise.

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So what should we do with all this joy, even in the midst of our hard journey?

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Will you do it?

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Will you walk in the Spirit?

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Will you give thanks?

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Remember next week, we're going to talk about what to do with all that joy.

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It has amazing possibilities.

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God bless you.