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The Sword of the Spirit: Living by God’s Word
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Good morning. Welcome to Insights with
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Pastor John. I'm Pastor John Moore and
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today we're going to be taking a look at
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the sword of the spirit living by God's
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word.
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And we're our text is Ephesians 6:17. It
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says, "And take the helmet of salvation
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and the sword of the spirit, which is
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the word of God." Have you ever seen a
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carpenter carrying tools
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but never using them? Imagine him
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holding a hammer yet never striking a
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nail. The tool may be in his possession,
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but without action, it achieves nothing.
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Many Christians treat their Bibles this
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way. We own it. We carry it. We even
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display it. But in moments of battle, we
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leave it unused.
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The Apostle Paul reminds us that the
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word of God is not a decoration, but a
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weapon. The sword of the spirit. A sword
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is meant to be drawn, used and trusted.
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Without it, we stand defenseless against
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our adversary. You know, one of the big
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things that we find that uh with
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Christian living is that we we walk in a
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state of of
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perpetual
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victory and defeat. And if you'll look
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at things that are going on in your life
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where you have great victories, it's
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because by faith you stood on what God's
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word says. And when you had defeats,
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it's because you didn't by faith trust
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what God's word said. So it's important
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that we understand the power of the
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sword of the spirit, which is the word
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of God. The Apostle Paul
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in uh
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2 Timothy 2:15 said, "Study to show
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yourself approved unto God, a workman,
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needing not to be ashamed, rightly
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dividing the word of truth." It's
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important that we realize just how
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powerful God's word is in our lives to
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the victory that we need.
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In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he's
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he's imprisoned in Rome. And the letter
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is rich with doctrine and practical
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exhortation urging believers to live out
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their identity in Christ. And in chapter
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6, Paul shifts to the imagery of
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warfare.
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The Christian struggle is not against
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people, but against spiritual forces of
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darkness. He instructs believers to put
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on the whole armor of God. And you don't
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put armor on unless you're going out to
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battle.
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And when he told him to put on the whole
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armor of God, he went through and he
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described each piece of it. The belt of
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truth, the breastplate of righteousness,
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uh the shoes of peace, or having your
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feet shot with the preparation of the
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gospel of peace, the shield of faith,
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the helmet of salvation.
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But one weapon stands out, the sword of
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the spirit, which is the word of God.
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And it's not defensive. the sword of the
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all of the armor that you put on is
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defensive armor. It's to protect you
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from getting hurt. But the he gave us
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also an offensive weapon which we are
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supposed to use. And the word in the
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Greek for sword is masher and it's it's
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a description of what the term in Latin
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is gladius which is where we get the
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word gladiator from. It's a short sword.
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It's a double-edged sword and it's a
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pointed sword. And that sword is to be
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used by us in close combat with the
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enemy.
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The people in Ephesus at the time, they
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were surrounded by
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uh all these pagan temples. And Paul is
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urging the people to stand up for the
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truth and to believe what is written
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even though they're living in this
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wilderness of all these pagan temples to
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stand on God's word for what it says and
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to realize that they have the victory
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over everything if they'll use the word
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of God
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as it says to.
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So our b our life as a Christian is a
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battlefield. Every day we face the
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enemy. We face things the enemy brings
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against us, attacks from the enemy.
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That's what the defensive armor is for.
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But we're not supposed to just stand
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there and take the attack. We're
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supposed to go forward and use the sword
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of the spirit to defeat him.
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So we have to we have to realize that
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our our weapons and it says the weapons
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of our warfare are not carnal but mighty
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through God to the pulling down of
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strongholds. And our weapons are our
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faith, our hope, our witness in Christ
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and God's word. The devil tries to plant
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fear and temptation and discouragement,
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but he's not left us defenseless. God
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has given us a weapon that it can
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overcome anything. And that weapon is
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the word of God. And so, we have to
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learn how to sharpen it. We have to
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learn how to use it. And we have to
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learn how to swing it, how to lift it,
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and how to study it, how to speak it,
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and how to apply it to our lives. And
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so, we're going to look at the sword of
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the spirit as number one, the word is
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the sword of truth. It's our weapon in
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temptation. It's our strength uh in
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battle, and it's our victory in Christ.
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Because when we repeat what Christ said,
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when we believe by faith what Christ
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said,
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then we are able to overcome all the
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powers of the enemy. So the first thing
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we need to look at is the word is the
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sword of truth. The devil's called the
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father of lies in John 8:44. His main
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strategy is deception. If he can get you
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to believe a lie, he can defeat you.
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So we need the truth, and the truth is
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God's word. Jesus said, "The truth shall
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set you free." Free from what? Free from
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that attack from the enemy. And you need
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to focus in on what God's word says.
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What it says about you, what it says
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about every situation and what it says
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to do. And then by faith, you have to
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operate it by doing it.
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And the word of God is sharper than any
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two-edged sword. And it cuts through
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falsehoods like a sharp blade. And uh
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the world promotes a lot of voices. We
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hear we're overwhelmed and attacked by
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culture, media, personal opinions.
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And none of that matters because God's
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word is final. It's the final authority.
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It says that we should trust what God's
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word says over what we can actually see.
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That's the that's the base of Hebrews
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11:1. It says faith faith is the
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substance of things hoped for and the
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evidence of things not seen. So we have
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to take God's word for what it says. And
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uh Hebrews 4:12 it says, "For the word
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of God is quick and powerful and sharper
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than any two-edged sword."
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So imagine facing fear because of
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uncertain times. The enemy's whispering
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lies to you, telling you, "You can't
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make it. You can't overcome this. You're
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doomed to this." All these different
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things. And then God's word says that
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he's our salvation. He's our light. Who
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should I fear?
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And with that, fear loses its power
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because you're standing on by faith on
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what God's word says.
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So know the truth before the lies come.
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Study the word every day. The more you
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sharpen your sword, the quicker you can
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cut down uh deceptions. And the truth
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always overcomes deceptions.
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It's also
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it's our weapon in temptation because
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things always come against us. We're
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always tempted by things, especially
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things that at one time we were slaves
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to. And listen to what Jesus said. This
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is Jesus is in the wilderness. The enemy
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comes to tempt him. And listen to what
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he says.
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When Satan tempted Jesus in the
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wilderness, this is Matthew 4:1-11.
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Christ did not debate or negotiate.
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He declared, "It is written."
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Three times the enemy attacked and three
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times the word of God silenced him.
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So Jesus was hungry. The enemy came. He
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says, "If you truly be the son of God,"
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so he's sewing, he is sowing doubt,
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commanding stones to be turned into
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bread. And Jesus's reply to him
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was man shall not live by bread alone
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but by every word that proceedth out of
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the mouth of God.
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So we have these situations where we
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need to remember that Christ gave us
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victory over everything and that victory
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comes through one thing and one thing
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only and that's the word of God. So when
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he comes and attacks you, when he comes
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and tells you you're not good enough,
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when he comes and tells you that you're
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doomed to failure and you're doomed to
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all these things, remember what Jesus
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said, it is written. So if Jesus said it
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is written, we need to know what is
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written.
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Uh if you're struggling with things, you
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know, uh Job 31:1 says, "I made a
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covenant with my eyes when I should
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think upon a maid." Speaking this verse
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becomes a defense and a declaration.
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He's talking about dealing with lust.
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But there's so many verses that apply to
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every single thing in our life that we
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have to realize just how much power we
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have through God's word.
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You got areas in your life that are
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weak. We all do. We're broken. were
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people that were uh we were co um
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directed by sin in our lives and we
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become Christians. Now we have to learn
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how to overcome those things that we
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were fighting. And so to do that we need
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to know what God's word says about that
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particular situation so I can speak to
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it straight up and say you have no power
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over me because the word of God says
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this is who I am. This is what I am.
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This is how I overcome the enemy.
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Scripture, when you declare it in faith,
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it disarms temptation.
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The word of God also strengthens us in
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battle.
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Spiritual warfare is exhausting.
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Doubts, weariness, trials often drain
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us. But the word strengthens and revive
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us. Psalms 119:105 says, "Thy word is a
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lamp unto my feet and a light unto my fa
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path." The sword is not only for
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striking but also for guiding and
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sustaining. God's word renews faith when
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our hearts are heavy. Romans 10:17
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declares, "So then faith cometh by
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hearing and hearing by the word of God."
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The more we hear and declare scripture,
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the stronger our faith becomes. We need
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to actually hear it. You know, you
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should get into the habit of when you're
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facing these things, read that scripture
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out loud so that you can hear it.
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Faith comes by hearing.
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Hearing by the word of God. Isaiah 40 40
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and31 is a very familiar passage of
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script scripture but it says they that
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wait upon the Lord shall renew their
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strength. They shall mount up with with
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wings as eagles. And Philippians 4:19
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says my God shall supply all your need
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according to his riches and glory by
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Christ Jesus. Don't just read the Bible
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in crisis. Feed on it daily. So your
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soul remains strong because the word of
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God gives us light and direction in our
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battle against the darkness.
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And our word and the word of God also
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secures our victory in Christ. If you
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believe what it says in the word more
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than what you can see, then you gain
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victory in Christ. Revelations 12:11
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tells us that we overcome
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him, the enemy, by the blood of the lamb
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and by the words of our testimony. The
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word in our hearts become a testimony on
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our lips, releasing our powers. When we
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look at that scripture of I will hide
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thy word in my heart that I might not
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sin against thee. What happens is when
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the enemy comes against us, all of a
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sudden we have power over all the powers
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of the enemy. He no longer has power
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over us because we're pulling up from
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within from our spiritual man, our heart
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what God's word says and be by faith we
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activate it and we put it to into use.
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So we need to understand Romans 8:37
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says, "Nay, in all these things, we're
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more than conquerors through him that
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loved us." The strength comes from God.
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It activated through belief in what
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God's word says. And because of that, we
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are able to overcome all the attacks of
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the enemy, no matter how difficult they
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may seem.
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Uh missionaries have done it for for
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from the beginning. They would go into
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places where God's word was never
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preached yet that they were there and
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they spoke what God's word says and said
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by his stripes we are healed. That's a
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basis for spiritual uh for healing and
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for operating in that gift. So
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store the word of God up in your heart.
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speak it out loud so you can hear it.
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Activate it by what you say. And the
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more you do that, the more you're going
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to be able to follow through and
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overcome these attacks that the enemy
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without mercy brings against us because
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his he knows what his in he knows he's
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already been defeated by Christ. But
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when he knows that you know that and
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that you're an error to that, it disarms
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him, especially when you're using God's
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word to your advantage. So there's I'm
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going to give you a few Bible references
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to think about. Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews
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4 and12, Matthew 4:4-10, John 17:17,
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Romans 10:17, Psalms 119 105,
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Revelations 12 and 11, Isaiah 40:31, and
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Romans 8:37. These are scriptures that
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you need to be actively using in your
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spiritual battle against the enemy. And
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remember, the word of God, it's not
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passive. It's powerful. It's not a
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decoration hanging on the wall or put up
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on a shelf. It's a weapon in your hands.
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It's a sword that you can uh use every
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single day. But if you never pull that
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sword out, you can't use it. You have
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nothing to attack the enemy with, nor to
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uh overcome the enemy. A Bible left
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unclosed
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It can't guide you or protect you. When
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you don't have God's word actively
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working, then you have no way to do and
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overcome the enemy because it's by the
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blood of the lamb, the words of our
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testimony that we overcome him. So God
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calls us not only to own the sword of
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the spirit which but also to wield it
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with boldness in times of dim in times
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of temptation to declare it is written
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in moments of fear proclaim his promises
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in the face of battle lift the sword of
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truth and claim the victory already
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secured in Christ don't fight unarmed
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take up the word sharpen it through
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study strengthen it through memorization
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speak it with authority and then watch
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every stronghold fall before the sword
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of the spirit. I'm going to pray with
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you now. Lord, we thank you for giving
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us your word, sharper than any two-edged
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sword. Forgive us for our for the times
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we've left it unused. Teach us to study
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it, hide it in our hearts, and declare
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it in faith. Strengthen us in
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temptation, renew us in weakness, and
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lead us to victory in Christ. Fill us
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with your spirit so that every verse we
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speak may carry heavenly power. Help us
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live daily with the sworded spirit drawn
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and ready in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
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So, I'm going to leave that with you
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this week. I want you to remember that
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you're not defenseless. That you have
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God's power at the at the ready anytime
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you're ready to use it. And what you
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have to do is literally use it. Don't
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let the enemy defeat you because he's
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convinced you that you're not good
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enough. Jesus paid the price. You were
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You are good enough. You meant so much
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to Jesus. He came and died for you on
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the cross. He said, "All power on heaven
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and earth is given unto me and I give it
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to you." So use the power. It's there
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for you. All you have to do is begin to
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believe it. And and the way that happens
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is faith comes by hearing and hearing by
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the word of God. You need to hear it
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when you're studying. and you have a
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specific scripture you're trying to
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stand on, speak it so that you can hear
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it and speak it over and over and over
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so that you can convince your mind to
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agree with your heart that what you're
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saying is more true than what you're
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seeing.
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And with that, I'm going to tell you
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guys to have a blessed week. Have a
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great week. Remember, God, if God is for
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you, who can be against you? God's word
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is sharper than any two-edged sword. And
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you have the victory in Jesus if you can
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claim it.