Spiritual Warfare 101: The Believers Guide to Overcoming DarknessAir Date: Jun. 24, 2025

Beth Barlet (00:01)
Did you know that there is a battle happening all around us, hidden in the unseen, fought in the spiritual realm? It’s a conflict that influences our thoughts, our choices, and our very lives. But many of us go through our days unaware of the forces at play or how to stand against them. Today, I’m peeling back the veil on spiritual warfare and how we can armor ourselves for the fight ahead for the kingdom of God. Let’s get to it. Salted Begins right now.

Beth Barlet (00:55)
Welcome to Salted, where I help you uncover the transformative power to know and love Jesus in His fullness and stir up revival within your heart. Join me, Beth Barlett, as I come alongside you every week on the narrow path that draws us into a deeper relationship with Jesus. Get ready to be encouraged, empowered, ignited and equipped as we pursue authentic discipleship to influence the world for the Kingdom of God.

Beth Barlet (01:26)
Hey family, welcome to the newest episode of the Salted Podcast. I am just so grateful to be here with you again today for another opportunity to talk about God’s Word. I hope everyone is having a great week and I just pray that today our hearts would burn to know more about our Lord and that we together after this episode would all walk in a greater understanding of what was done for us through our Savior Jesus.

Amen. All right, well for the past week I have been asking the Lord about what he wanted me to talk about next to the kickoff of the second quarter of Salted in 2025 and just today I really felt him strongly lead me to talk about the realities and the stark biblical truth about spiritual warfare. I think there are so many Christians today

that believe in the Kingdom of Darkness and our adversary Satan, but that they tend to shy away from the reality that we are all in a real, active spiritual battle within the Kingdom of Darkness every day on this earth. Whether it be out of fear, ignorance, or even forgetfulness, because it is often a war within our minds that occurs in a manner in which many times with our earthly eyes we cannot see.

But I love the quote from the movie The Polar Express. I don’t know if you’ve all seen it. It’s one of my faves. But sometimes the things we can’t see, it says, are the most real.

And I think the more we shy away or choose not to believe these biblical realities with a wrong mindset that evil spirits cannot affect us or aren’t real, or we do not fully know our authority in Christ to overcome the evil one through what was bought for us on the cross, we not only allow ourselves to be vulnerable, weak, and easy targets for the enemy, but we also stifle our ability to walk in the full freedom

that was given to us on Calvary redeemed by the power of Jesus’ blood. In today’s episode, I am diving into not only what the Bible says about the kingdom of darkness, but also the authority and the power we have as Christians to overcome the evil one through spiritual warfare. We also will briefly touch upon the misconception that Christians cannot be demonically oppressed, but most importantly, I want to encourage you as sisters in Christ how through the power of the Holy Spirit,

and what was done on the cross for us by Jesus, that you guys have the ability to walk not only in discernment, but the power and authority to overcome the works of the devil through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside you in the name of Jesus.

Through this episode, more than anything, I want to bring awareness to the schemes of the enemy, not to glorify him, but to equip, remind, and encourage you as an heir and a child of God about the victory we all possess in Christ Jesus as we seek to bring all the glory to God. Alright, so what exactly is the definition of biblical spiritual warfare? Simply, it’s the ongoing battle between God’s kingdom and Satan’s forces.

But you know, what’s so funny is that the greatest scheme of the devil is making people believe that he isn’t real. But the Bible tells us that he is real, that he is a father of lies, the prince of darkness seeking to devour God’s children, derailing them in their faith. One who actually has authority and power on this earth, who roams it to and fro, trying to tempt and lead Christians away from the will of God and into sin.

and that he doesn’t work alone, but that he rules with his fallen angels known as demons to do his handiwork. The world wants us to believe that Satan is just some Hollywood character we see in movies and on TV, and that demons are simply another storyline in horror movies, and that witches and warlords are only figures in children’s Disney movies. We have become so desensitized through the music we listen to, what we watch on our TV and our computer screens.

that many Christians have become flippant about the realities of spiritual warfare, and it’s no coincidence that many of us struggle with oppression. Now, Ephesians 6-12 reminds us that we do not fight against flesh and blood, but actually against every evil ruler and authority of the unseen world, against mighty powers, and against evil spirits in heavenly places. Even though we are children of light, we cannot be ignorant to the kingdom of darkness.

The Bible also addresses demonic oppression in several passages illustrating both the presence of evil spirits and the authority of God over them. It also is so important, however, that we not only renew our mind to these heaven realities because we need to simply believe God’s word wholeheartedly, but because as disciples of Jesus, acknowledgement is the first step to becoming equipped to walking in victory to overcome the kingdom of darkness.

Scripture tells us that we must be sober and alert to the devil’s schemes, that he is like a roaring lion looking for someone he can devour. And it is through our awareness, our discernment, that we can be on the offensive versus simply the defensive, more equipped and more able to overcome by relying on Jesus for our victory. It also helps us understand the depth of what Jesus bought for us on the cross and the freedom available to us from the chains of the enemy and our sin.

the power of his blood breaks chains and strongholds. And once again, it is the renewing of our minds through God’s word to maintain this right perspective that helps us to overcome and to grab hold of the faith of who God is and who we are in Christ. Now, as followers of Christ born again into the kingdom of God, heirs to God’s throne, because of our position in Christ and who lives inside of us,

we know that he who is in us is greater than he who is in this world. And we must always remember that although we are ongoing a battle, the war through the power of Jesus has already been won. But we must put on our armor of God each and every day to fight our battles. Not only our spiritual armor as in Ephesians 6 10, but also by James 4 7, submitting ourselves to God.

resisting the devil because if we do these things he will flee from us. And about Ephesians, if we don’t fully know what the armor of God is, let me do a reminder. Number one, it’s the helmet of our salvation. The belt of truth or God’s word. It is putting on the breastplate of righteousness with a hunger to walk in holiness and godliness. It is the shoes of peace to bring the gospel, the sword of the spirit through God’s word, and pretty much to sum it up,

the armor of God is putting on Jesus. And okay, before going any further, I also want to make a note about how important it is to be aware of spiritual warfare by reminding everyone that although Jesus never sinned, he too was tempted by a Satan. And that in fact, right after Jesus was baptized, he was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested and tempted for 40 long days and nights.

And I believe it’s through this account that we can gain a deeper understanding of how our adversary works, to try and derail us from walking out God’s will in our lives and to try and make us fall away from our faith by tempting us with things of this world and into sin. Now the Lord was not tested to see if he would fail. Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted, but to also demonstrate how we as his disciples can resist the temptation to sin.

and how through Christ’s we too can overcome. And I did a lot of research and many biblical scholars suggest that the specific temptations that Jesus faced in the wilderness represent three main categories of all human temptation. The apostle John labeled these as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 1 John 2.16.

But that with each test Jesus shows us the Word of God is the best defense against Satan’s schemes, always entrusting himself to the Father, submitting to his will alone above his own desires and needs. And you know, a lot of warfare occurs in our minds. It is no wonder in Romans 12,2 that we are to renew our minds and be transformed by God’s Word, but also that we are to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ and tear down strongholds

resisting the devil drawing near to God so that he will flee. However, I want to also address today that scripture also tells us that the demonic kingdom of darkness can also cause external physical sickness, suffering, trials, and hardships. Believe it or not, many of the stories in the gospels involve Jesus or his disciples casting out demons

which were believed to cause or influence physical or mental ailments.

The Bible often links demonic possession with various afflictions, including blindness, deafness, paralysis, and other physical or mental illnesses. And

In the Bible, there are several instances where people’s sicknesses or conditions are attributed to demonic influence or possession. Here are some examples. If you can remember from Mark 5 and Luke 8 and Matthew 8 about the demoniac, a man possessed by a legion of demons who was living among the tombs, often crying out and hurting himself, but that Jesus, through his authority and power, casted out those demons and the man was healed and restored.

Or if you can remember the boy with the unclean spirit in Mark 9, 14, who was an epileptic and often convulsed, sometimes throwing himself into fire or water. And Jesus identified the issue as caused by an unclean spirit, which he cast out, healing the boy. Or the deaf and mute man, Mark 7, 31 through 37, where Jesus healed a man who was deaf and mute. And some scholars believe this was connected to demonic influence, which Jesus was able to easily cast out.

Additionally, the Bible does suggest that demons or unclean spirits can influence people’s emotional and mental states, including feelings of depression, fear, and anxiety. Now, while not every instance of depression or fear or sickness is attributed to demonic influence, there are biblical examples and principles that indicate spiritual oppression can impact mental health and that we must be aware and discerning

where our issues are coming from. Now, let me tell you a little bit about what God has done in my life

when it comes to deliverance and freeing me from spiritual oppression. For the first 20 or so years of my life, for the majority of it starting in my late teens and college years, I really started to struggle with anxiety for no apparent reason. It wasn’t like I was fearful of certain things, but I would say at random times I would have severe bouts of terror or anxiety attacks

that would just overcome my body physically and emotionally.

as if I couldn’t escape. And I remember, particularly during my college years, that I had to even get on anti-anxiety meds to keep them under control. But you know that after I first gave my life to Jesus, 10 or so years later, that the anxiety significantly went away to the point where I didn’t need my meds anymore, simply because the Holy Spirit was living inside of me.

However, I still suffered from anxiety attacks and these terror attacks that would continue to out of nowhere come upon me. And believe it or not, they would even worsen as I started to come to understand and pursue more of God’s will in my life in the spirit, especially when I started to walk in the prophetic and grew in my understanding of spiritual warfare. However, one night as I sat and prayed with my spiritual mentor and a friend of mine,

I remember praying to the Lord to take anything away that was hindering me to walk in the fullness of the calling that he had for me for his kingdom. And out of nowhere, the power of God’s Spirit came upon me. First in my speech, where all of a sudden as I was thanking the Lord, thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus, it uncontrollably started to quicken until as if the Spirit was leading me.

and I received my prayer language and the gift of tongues. But right after that, as soon as I was baptized in the Holy Spirit’s power, a second screech, a different voice, which I later would come to realize was a demon that was oppressing me, was actually released as it came in contact with the power of God’s full presence upon me. And in that moment, Jesus set me free from the spirit of fear that wreaked havoc upon my life. And I can’t explain the feelings that I went through.

but it was 100 % supernatural. And from that day forth, I give all the glory to God that out of his mercy and unconditional love for me, that from that moment, I no longer struggle with panic attacks ever again. It has been now since that moment around eight years and I haven’t had one. I was oppressed by a demonic spirit of fear.

There was something for the majority of the early years of my life that the Lord revealed to me was oppressing me. That may have even entered in through my early obsession with horror movies and me actually wanting to be scared and agreeing with the spirit of fear to be with me. Although I will never know for sure how it attached to me, I know that it possibly also started through a season of life where I was walking in rebellion, promiscuity, drunkenness, and sin.

which makes us all susceptible to Satan’s oppression and for the Kingdom of God to more easily oppress our lives. Now you may be thinking, Beth, you sound crazy. That sounds like a made up fairy tale movie, but if you take the time to read God’s word, particularly the gospels as we just discussed, there are multiple accounts of the same similar stories. And I am compelled to share my message to not only give glory to God,

and tell you of his love and mercy that he bestowed on me that day to set me free, but that if you think you are walking under spiritual oppression, that you can be set free as well. And God, we cannot limit him in a box. He can free you anyway. Yes, someone can pray over you and command and rebuke a spirit to go in the name of Jesus and it can flee. In my instance, it was the power of the Holy Spirit that sovereignly came upon me.

baptized me with power and literally it caused the spirit to flee. Everyone’s testimonies are different. I have heard so many, so many different ways, but the whole gist and awareness I want to talk about today is that we are in a spiritual battle and that we must be discerning and aware.

Now I want to go into another couple examples of where the kingdom of darkness can actually influence a mental state biblically. Now we can also look at King Saul’s spirit of fear and distress in 1 Samuel 16 14 or after being rejected by God King Saul was tormented by an evil spirit that caused him distress and fear and note David was called to soothe Saul’s spirit with music

indicating spiritual oppression affects his mental peace.

We can also learn from the man with the spirit of insanity in Mark 320, where some interpret this as a case where Jesus cast out an unclean spirit from man resulting in his healing. Or the man in the gospels with the spirit of fear, Mark 5.1, the man possessed by many demons, the legion living among the tombs that we already talked about, isolated and tormented, who had an influence on him of fear and loneliness and mental torment. And again,

Not every disease or mental illness problem is due to a demonic spirit. That is not what I’m saying at all, but we cannot ignore that in some instances, yes, they do. OK, but Beth, I am a Christian saved by faith and the Holy Spirit lives inside of me. I cannot be possessed by the devil. And yes, scripture would support the statement that yes, you are correct. However, through many verses in the Bible that support Christian oppression,

and my and other personal testimonies, that although we cannot be possessed, it is very common that we can still be oppressed. So

I want to go to verse 2 Corinthians 12-7 where the apostle Paul is describing his glorious encounters with God in the heavens and how he describes in order to keep him humble a messenger of Satan was sent to oppress and torment him, Now going into how God uses suffering to keep us humble and mold us into the image of God’s Son is for another day.

But I want to focus on the fact that Paul was a believer, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, but was still oppressed and tormented by a demonic influence that went through the hands of God. But also like in the book of Job, we can once again see that the Lord’s desire for us is to walk in freedom but that everything does go through his sovereign hand and out of his goodness uses all things, even sometimes oppression, for a season for our good.

Therefore, Paul says, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was giving a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

That is why for Christ’s sake I delight in weaknesses and insults and hardships and persecutions and difficulties for when I am weak, I am strong. Now we can also look at other verses to support this claim. We can talk about Ephesians 6 12 with highlights of spiritual battle as we discussed that we as Christians constantly face and that we need to be armored up because we can be easily influenced by spiritual dark forces or 1 Peter 5 8.

that reminds us that the devil seeks to attack believers which can be understood as a form of oppression. Or again, James 4-7 where Christians must actively resist demonic influence, implying demonic oppression and influence are real. And that 2 Corinthians 10-3-5 that we are not waging war against the flesh but have divine power to destroy spiritual strongholds.

These verses all support that while we as Christians are secure in our salvation, we can still face spiritual oppression and must be vigilant in our faith and our spiritual practices. Now demonic oppression refers to external influence or harassment by evil spirits while possession implies a more serious takeover of an individual’s will and body which can occur in non-believers.

Now the Bible says that the devil seeks to devour believers, 1 Peter 5, 8 as we discussed, and Satan and his demons scheme against Christians, Ephesians 6, 11. But as Satan tempted with Jesus, Luke 4, 2, demonic forces tempt us to sin as well and oppose our efforts to obey God. But Christians who allow continual sin open themselves up for greater and greater oppression. Now I know there are many cessationists out there that believe that the gifts of the Spirit

The casting out of demons, the speaking in tongues is not for today. But for someone who has experienced all of this first hand, I will boldly say that I respect your opinions, but Jesus says in Mark that those who believe will cast out demons, speak in new tongues, heal the sick, etc. etc. and that those who have faith in me will do greater things than I. Despite what some people believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is actually alive and real today,

And as Christ followers, God’s children, we too have been given all authority, the mantle of Jesus to cast out demons, heal the sick in the power of Jesus’ name.

You know, if you look through the book of Acts and many other biblical verses, the apostle Paul and Peter and John all had accounts where they cast out demons, not by their power, but the Holy Spirit living inside of them and the authority and power in Jesus name.

Now this episode is not a teaching on advanced deliverance. That can be for another time. However, I just want to share simple yet powerful biblical truths to empower you on your everyday faith journey so that you too can walk in the fullness of life and freedom available to you in your walk with Jesus Christ.

Now 1 John tells us that Jesus came to earth to overcome the works of the devil. And through the blood that was shed on the cross, the war again has already been won. Although Satan is both

are in God’s adversary, he is still a created being and the power he has is counterfeit, a power that nowhere comes close to God’s. And biblically when it comes to spiritual warfare, it’s important to note about authority and the power of Jesus’ name. In the Bible, there are several verses that highlight the authority of Jesus to cast out demons and heal the sick. We can refer to Matthew 28, 18, and Jesus came and said to them,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, showing and establishing Jesus’ supreme authority overall, including over spiritual realms. Mark 1, 27, and they were all amazed so that they questioned among themselves, saying, what is this? A new teaching with authority? He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him. Again, illustrating Jesus’ authority over unclean spirits. Or Luke 10, 19, behold.

I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall hurt you.” Here showing that Jesus has also granted authority to his followers to confront spiritual forces. In Acts 16, 18, and this she kept doing for many days, Paul having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus to come out of her. And it came out of her that very hour.

demonstrating the authority of Jesus and the actions of his apostles. And again, as talked about earlier, Mark 16, 17, and these signs will accompany those who believe, in my name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues, emphasizing the power believers have in Jesus again to cast out demons.

Stop it.

And these passages collectively affirm the authority of Jesus and the power granted to his followers to confront demonic forces and command them to go through the power of Jesus’ name. And if we remember, there is so much power in the name of Jesus. It’s no coincidence that Satan has turned it into a curse word. Now, Philippians 2, 9, 11. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.

so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Or we remember John 14 13 14. Whatever you ask in my name this I will do that the Father may be glorified in the sun. If you ask me anything in my name I will do it. Or Acts 3 6 when the apostle Peter said

I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk when he healed the man near the gate. You know, there are so many scriptures that support this claim about the power and authority of Jesus, and power that he gives his disciples to walk in the freedom, healing,

and authority that we have as his followers.

Now I want to talk about as well, just as important it is to rely on the Holy Spirit to discern God’s word and truth versus Satan and things that are good from God versus things that are evil aligned with the kingdom of darkness. And I want to

share another testimony about another one of my first encounters with the enemy that the Lord allowed me to experience to teach and equip me as I was learning more and more about spiritual warfare to help sharpen my discernment. Now one day when I was seeing patients when I was in medicine I was taking care of an older couple and the husband started to speak to me in a manner in which I so did not expect.

You know, this couple I had been seeing for several years, like clockwork every six months for, for exams. And it was during my wilderness season when I struggled waiting on God to open up my barren womb. And I remember that each time this couple would come in, they would always press the issue about when I was having a baby, almost in a mocking manner. Each time I would politely shrug it off, change the subject, but there was always this abnormal mocking tone that

when they would come in, it would just get very uncomfortable. And I think that after how many years they would eventually get a hint, but they would not let up. But anyway, a week or so before their next visit, I was having a rough moment in my infertility struggle. I think it had been about year three or four that I was struggling with having a barren womb and I had all the emotions that come with it. And to be honest with you,

In my flesh, I was sad, I was jealous, was angry, frustrated, disappointed. If I can go on about my journey, I do in another episode. But it was a moment where after one of my close friends had just gotten pregnant with her child. And I remember even though I was so happy for her, it just broke me. And I remember me and my husband getting dinner by ourselves in the rain that night. It was pouring rain at Chick-fil-A.

And I remember eating in the parking lot, looking around. No one was near us. It was just us parked. And I actually, in that moment, just vented. I just started crying, breaking down in tears, just being really real and vulnerable with him of my anger and my frustration and my sadness. Just venting all my emotions. It was such an intimate moment, just me and him. Well, wouldn’t you know that the next week when this couple came in, as I was doing his

exam, we were all talking about a new Chick-fil-A opening up near their house somewhere in Georgia, which is like an over an hour and a half away where they were at. But out of nowhere, the man says, speaking of Chick-fil-A, you and your husband were at Chick-fil-A having a pity party that your friend was getting pregnant and you weren’t. How do you feel now? And it was so out of the blue. We all stopped and looked at each other.

including his wife because she had no idea what he was talking about. But I knew and I immediately changed the subject as if he knew nothing and went and finished my exam. And that afternoon I went to the Lord and questioned, said, God, what just happened? And now at the time I was growing in the prophetic and as believers, you know, we can know the secrets of God and the mysteries of God. And I had no idea the status of this man’s eternal destiny.

but I did know the voice of my God and my God had a voice of love and compassion and mercy and grace. This voice, even though it was supernatural that he knew something that he should not have known, it was accusatory. It was mocking. It was provoking.

And after also going to my dear close spiritual mentor, mother and elder, I realized what I believe was a lesson from the Lord in discernment that I had my first encounter with the enemy. But instead of this scheme, losing me into more discouragement, doubt, fear,

and anxiety, it actually sparked and refan a flame of faith deep within inside of me that the enemy was actually scared and that God’s promise to me that I would have my promised son was true and I was destined to have an annoying child of God. And three years later, my son was born. So amen. Thank you, Jesus. But that being said, now, biblically, I want to get to this, that we learn

that Satan can speak through anyone, even believers. It was even in the gospels where Jesus rebukes Peter when he was focusing on things of man versus things of God that Jesus says to him, get behind me, Satan. Matthew 16 23, get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. And this occurs immediately after Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah.

and he even predicts his death and tells him that it would be him that he would build his church upon. And it’s just so important that we realize that from one minute we can be speaking the voice of God, but that others that we can have an open door and actually speak the things of Satan. But I speak my testimony to testify again that we are in a true fight and that Satan can influence as subtle

as not aligning with God’s will due to influences of worldly reasoning and our culture, but that we must be so discerning from what is good and what is evil through the power and the listening of the Holy Spirit. I also, I love those posts on social media where biblically this is the voice of God versus the voice of Satan. And I think that we have to do more to meditate on what God’s character is and who he is.

throughout the Bible and who Satan is and who we learn about his attributes versus God’s, we can be that much more discerning.

Alright, now knowing that demonic powers and their human agents strive to forcibly enter and disrupt or destroy the work of God’s kingdom, I want to lastly address as a reminder that we also need to discern demonic activity in our biblical teaching and who and what we are listening to to grow our faith. We have to constantly ask ourselves what we are listening to whether it be on social media or even our pastor.

Is it aligning 100 % with the word of God? I remember in one of my other episodes, I was doing a research topic and it was about the salt of the earth and how many Christians truly live through a biblical lifestyle. And it told me that only 30 % of pastors are speaking and living through a biblical lifestyle. So we have to be discerning on even who we are listening to on the pulpits.

And my pastor one Sunday reminded me that demons teach that we need to guard ourselves from teaching or listening to teaching of anything other than the word of God and that we have to protect our pastors from wolves and sheep clothing and demonic deceitful spirits that tickle the ears and ally with things that our flesh wants to hear.

We have to remain sober and alert and watchful to God to help us resist temptation to sin and overcome the evil ones.

Additionally, it is so important that we must guard what we watch, what we listen to, who we hang out with, because if we aren’t careful and take the realities of the Kingdom of Darkness seriously enough, we can open the doors to their influence in our lives, while also understanding that aligning with the Kingdom of Darkness intentionally or not dishonors God and many evil practices that many today

are ignorant to are an abomination to him as well. But we have to guard our atmospheres.

spiritually because mainstream culture many satanic, dark and evil things they have made into commonplace or even cool. And many things in the new age culture, quote unquote, you may have different opinions than me, but the Lord opened my eyes that even yoga has a demonic origin and can open ourselves up to demonic activity into our lives. You know, before becoming saved, after practicing yoga for several years,

I did as much yoga all the time. It was more for as a form of exercise. However, once I had given my life to the Lord, immediately the Holy Spirit made me stop going to yoga. And he showed me that even though I wasn’t actively worshiping any false idols or gods, that it was still dishonoring to the Lord and could open myself up to demonic influence because each pose

Even though I wasn’t actively worshipping a Hindu god, the pose itself was an act of worship to demonic entities, and by practicing these positions I was yoking myself to them. Also, my husband and I choose to guard our family from evil influence as we do not allow our kids to celebrate Halloween. Especially when even former satanic worshippers testify that it is the night of witchcraft, devil worship,

And by partaking in it, even if we aren’t dressing up like evil characters, we are still participating in a holiday that worships and believe that it would dishonor God. Now, little things as well that don’t seem as big that could be inconspicuous like horoscopes, Ouija boards, psychics, talking to the dead, crystal worship, sage, all are forms of divination. And according to scripture are demonic and abomination to God.

Deuteronomy 1810 and also Leviticus 1931 do not turn to mediums who pretend to consult the dead or to spiritists who have spirits of divination Do not seek them out or be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God

or Deuteronomy 18, 9-12. When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire as a sacrifice, one who uses divination and fortune telling, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens or a sorcerer, or one who casts a charm or spell, or a medium or a spiritus, or one who seeks the dead.

For everyone who does these things is utterly repulsive to the Lord. And because of these detestable practices, the Lord your God is driving them out amongst you. And really when people are seeking people of the dead through Ouija boards or other ways, they’re actually speaking to demons.

We cannot play ignorant. We have to submit to the convictions and the leading of the Holy Spirit and stay sensitive to his voice over the voices and what culture deems normal in this world when these normal things are actually anti-God. Now, to put it another way, the Holy Spirit gave me a revelation that I think can make this even that much more relatable to you guys. Now, those closest to me know I could be a pretty crunchy mom.

My husband and I are pretty much health nuts and we want the best for our children physically, emotionally and spiritually. So it’s super important to us that we are very selective in what ingredients and foods we are to give our children. You we are very intentional to make sure they don’t eat junk and give them food that only has as much possible organic, simple, clean ingredients. Because even though there may not be any immediate dire effects within the first five minutes of them eating a bad unhealthy food,

We know the effects of years of data that show that lifelong studies eating this food increases their risks for disease, cancers, obesity, diabetes, the list goes on. So likewise, if we use this analogy, the Lord reminded me that we as moms, we are the spiritual gatekeepers of our homes. We must choose what we allow not only our children to listen to, to watch, to read who they play with because we ourselves

allow into our hearts and minds not only Holy Spirit stuff, but we can open ourselves up to demonic oppression. And that we have to keep our minds renewed through a Spirit-led, Biblical worldview in the midst of the shouting culture of this world. Because we love our children and want to guide them on the path that leads to the fullness of life and freedom that comes from a life of godliness, righteousness, and purity. One that seeks the light, runs from darkness, and supports

supports them to be spiritually healthy and pleasing God. It is not legalism. It is just discerning. And before my deliverance, I will be honest, if I would have listened to this episode, I would be skeptical. But I experienced an encounter, the demonic first hand and its reality. But we’re not to be afraid. We’re just to be aware, sober.

and alerts we can resist the works of the devil through Jesus Christ so we can walk in the fullness of freedom, healing, peace, joy, and assurance that was bought for us on Calvary. Now, if this is new to you, I want you to ask the Lord to open your eyes and heart to a deeper understanding of his word. Because like I said, acknowledgement, awareness is the first step.

to freedom. And before I leave you guys, I want to just go over a few points. Number one, spiritual warfare is real. We don’t fight against flesh and blood, but every spiritual dark force and principality in the heavens. We must continually renew our minds that there is a spiritual realm and kingdom in which we do not see and we must constantly walk with our armor on. Our first weapon against the kingdom of darkness is discernment and awareness through biblical truth.

but also guarding ourselves from the works of Satan by walking in God’s protection and will when we obey his commands, seek holiness and purity, walk in continual repentance on the narrow path that seeks to do the will of God. Also, Jesus came to overcome the works of the devil. And we must remember that we can learn as well from the book of Job. Again, the devil is not equal with God. He is a created being.

and that what Satan does must go through the hands of God’s control and sovereignty, but that in God’s hand we are protected. And like the Apostle Paul, sometimes Christians can be oppressed by messengers of Satan. But the most important thing as children of God I want us to remember is that when we put our faith in Jesus, we have been given the power and authority to overcome the oppression of darkness and the evil one in our lives. By the power of Jesus’ blood, we have authority to rebuke Satan, his demons,

the power of Jesus name and make them flee. If we resist the devil he will flee from us. If we draw near to God he will draw nearer to us. And from Mark 16 that these signs will accompany those who have believed. In my name Jesus says they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will pick up snakes with their hands, and when they drink deadly poison it will not hurt them at all. They will place their hands on sick people and they will get well. Lastly,

To actively fight well in the spiritual battle, we need to constantly use the Word of God. Jesus defeated Satan with scripture. We have to memorize key verses for battle. We need to continually pray persistently in the Spirit for protection, for deliverance, for discernment. We need to stand firm in our faith, trusting God’s promises, resisting the devil, pursuing the Lord, believing who he says that he is.

We must try to continually live in obedience and holiness to the power of God’s Spirit, confessing our sins, walking in righteousness to maintain our intimacy with the Lord and stay connected to the body of Christ. And we also need to declare victory in the name of Jesus over sin, death, and Satan, Colossians 2.15, and speak faith-filled declarations.

So in closing, just wanted to encourage everyone to be vigilant and prepared and aware, continuing to seek God’s word, his truth, but also to boldly walk in the authority and the power that Jesus has given you. I hope today renewed your mind, equipped you, empowered you and challenge you to grow deeper into God’s word.

and to know more and more of who lives inside of you and that greater who is in you than he who is in the So I plead the blood of Jesus over all of you. I pray that Lord God would help you walk in victory, knowing your identity in him, knowing his goodness.

and I declare victory, declare freedom, I declare peace, I declare healing over all of you in Jesus name. I can’t wait to see you guys here next week. I pray you all would be blessed. May God bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you peace. Amen.

Beth Barlet (43:58)
I pray this episode has blessed you today. I appreciate our time together and I hope our conversation has deepened your faith. Don’t forget to check out today’s show notes for episode links and additional information. Be sure to share this podcast with a friend, review it, and hit subscribe so you don’t miss one episode. Go to my website www.thesaltedpodcast.com and subscribe to my newsletter to be part of our Salted community. Remember,

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