God's Remnant is Stepping into a NEW Season: Are You Ready?

The last few weeks, the world has shifted and we have entered a new season. Evil and violence seems to be more prevalent, but so is God’s Spirit as he moves among the people. I’m calling God’s people to recognize themselves as the warrior we are called to be. Time to armor up and stand your ground in prayer.

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Transcript

Speaker 00: 0:11

Hello, hello. Welcome to the Dona Watson Show. I'm your host, Dona Watson. Hello, everyone. In the last few weeks, things have shifted. I don't know if you have felt it, but things have shifted spiritually, and we have entered a new season. And this new season is marked by a couple of things. Not only has evil been more prevalent the last couple of years, but, oh my goodness, God's spirit is moving. He's moving among his sons and daughters. And this video today is a call for God's people to recognize themselves as the warriors that they are called to be. When I asked God what I should bring for today's devotional, he whispered that it's time to start talking about this. It's time to start talking about why his sons and daughters need to start seeing themselves as the strong warriors that he has called them to be. And this isn't a role just for pastors or teachers or leaders to fill. It's part of following Christ, Christ our King, the ultimate warrior. God has called us to use the power and authority that He has given us to stand firm against the attacks of the enemy. Not only was God impressing on my heart that this was going to be the topic for today's video, but imagine my surprise when I went to church yesterday morning only to see Pastor Eddie from Life Church in Cookville, Tennessee, was speaking about the very same subject on Sunday morning, along the same lines. So I have Pastor Eddie to thank for a few of my talking points and scriptures that I borrowed for today's video. But the Lord had already put this on my heart, and to me, it was a confirmation that this message is going out, and I am not the only one making this call. So let's jump right in. First thing I want to talk about is how we have indeed entered a new era. The world has shifted, and we are in a new season. Evil and violence do seem to be more prevalent, but so is God's spirit as he is moving among his sons and daughters. And this call for God's people is to wake up, to armor up, and it's time to raise up and to stand strong. Why? Because we are in a spiritual war. One that maybe the world has never seen before. The days are getting short. We're getting closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ. And things are moving. Things are moving in the spirit world. The enemy's angry. He's persecuted Jesus Christ's followers and trying to silence voices like Charlie Kirk's. But the opposite of what he wanted has happened. In trying to silence voices, the word has only gone out more, and God has used that to awaken the remnant of the church for the end times. I truly believe that. And so my question to you is: have you heard the call of God? Have you felt an extra tugging from the spirit to pay more attention to the things of God? Have you responded with increased time in prayer? And if you have, welcome to the front lines. Welcome to the front lines, warrior. A great awakening is here, and I don't want any of God's sons and daughters to be left behind. I want to impress on you that God has put you where you are in this world right now. He wanted you to be alive right now, just like Esther, for such a time as this. Yeah, these are tough days. They really are. A lot of people are scared, and that's the design of the enemy. He's trying to make everybody afraid because fear holds people back. They won't step into their full destiny if they're afraid. But God, God knew that you would have what it takes to handle these difficult times. He knew that you had potential. And it might not feel like it to you right now, but God placed you here because He knew that you had the potential to be an effective warrior for him in this very special day and age. It's an amazing time to be alive. And he wanted you to be a part of it. You're stronger than you think. So, what do we need to do? The first thing we need to do is listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 2:1 says, "For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard so that we will not drift away." Friends, we need to listen really carefully to the truth that we have heard, or we will drift away. It's forgetting your first love, it's forgetting things, and it just gradually takes over, and you drift away. If we do not pay attention to our spiritual health and our relationship with God, that will happen. And this verse in Hebrews says, pay attention all the more to what we've heard. And when we pay attention and we act on what God has told us, we will not drift away. 1 Timothy 4, verses 1 and 2 says, "Now the Spirit explicitly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared." We don't have to look very far in our culture, in our world today, to see demonic teachings all around us. Anything that is contrary to the word of God is going to be a demonic teaching. It's going to originate from the heart of the enemy. Anything that originates from the heart of the enemy is going to be there to draw you away from God. The enemy has worked overtime for centuries to corrupt those who follow God. And those efforts have only increased as we've gotten closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ. He knows his time is short. He's working over time. We need to work over time too. Some translations of this scripture in 1 Timothy 4 read that some people will give heed to seducing spirits and get drawn away. He knows your hot buttons. He knows what will seduce you to get your eyes off of God. And he'll throw everything he can at you to keep you from stepping into your destiny as a spiritual warrior. Yeah. Don't let this be you. Don't be seduced away. Spend time in Bible study. Spend time talking to God in prayer so that you can have that strong foundation that you need to not be swayed by the enemy. And then once you have that strong foundation, you can take that authority over the enemy. Luke 10, verses 18 to 20, Jesus said, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Look, I've given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing at all will harm you. However, don't rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." The most important thing is to make certain that you're in good standing with God, that you've asked forgiveness for your sins and that your name is written in heaven. That's what Jesus says. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. That's the most important thing. But once you're in good standing with God, or I should say, and once you are in good standing with God, you gain the ability to take authority over all the power of the enemy. Those are Jesus' words. And you can block the enemy from interfering with your life and the lives of your family and your loved ones. That is the authority that you have as a follower of Jesus Christ. We have the authority to trample the enemy. That's so cool. Satan and his demons have to yield to the authority that we wield in prayer because Jesus Christ, through the sacrifice on the cross, went and claimed that authority from the enemy, and he's given it to us. Just wrap your mind around that for a minute. God is calling you to be his warrior, to take the authority that Jesus has given us to bind the enemy and his efforts to wreak havoc in your life, to cause chaos, or to deceive you, your family, or your loved ones. That's how we fight. That's how we fight this spiritual battle. The third thing that we can do is remind God of His word. The Bible is filled with so many promises that God has given us to stand on. These are promises that He will be with us, that He will protect us, that He will give us strength and courage. There's so many other promises in the Bible, too, of things that we can stand on. And it's up to us to remind God, "Lord, you promised." Sometimes our prayers need to become military campaigns where we present our request to God and then we remind him of his word until we see the promise. What we see here on earth is a visible manifestation of what happens in the spiritual realms. And if the delay is long in coming, there just might be a protracted battle in the heavens, and God's angelic warriors might need your prayer support. God has chosen to use endurance and patience to strengthen us in our walk with him. And as we go through these battle strategies, it strengthens our faith and that draws us closer to him. It pleases him. And he smiles and gives us his favor. In the show notes, you will find a link. You can go and download a free book of prayers that I've put together. It's 31 Scripture-based prayers for spiritual warfare to help you. Just go find the link. Otherwise, let's wrap this up. These are not normal times, my friends. Darkness has been making itself seen, and the enemy is preparing to reveal his final battle plans in his war against God. It's not time to be afraid. It's time for us to say, hallelujah, Jesus Christ is coming back. So praise God. We have also seen an increase in godly victories, haven't we? Many, many people are hearing and feeling the tug of the Holy Spirit, and they're drawing closer to God. They're seeking him out. We have record numbers of baptisms. We have huge viral worship services in public around the world. God truly is calling his people. And we just need to open our eyes and see what he's doing to see that his spirit is moving among people. And so this is your call. It's time to go all in with Jesus. And he left us instructions. In a conversation that he had recorded in Matthew, he was talking with the teachers of the law. And they asked him what was the greatest commandment. Matthew 22: 37 to 39: "He said to him, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. And the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself." But Jesus also left us warnings. In the last few, sorry, in the first few chapters of Revelation, we see warnings to not be lukewarm. We see warnings to not forget our first love for God. We need to take great care, my friends, to not allow our good works to take the place of spending time with God. It's important to do good works. It's important to love our neighbor, to do things for other people, but don't do that instead of spending time with God. Spending time with Him is the most important thing that you can do. That is where you get your strength. That is where fear is banished. That is where you gain courage. And the enemy knows that. And if he can distract you from spending time alone with God, it's much easier for him to whittle away at your courage. So this is a special time in history. It's time to press in. Reawaken your first love for God and love your neighbor. We find in Ephesians 6, verses 10 to 18. Let's do a refresher, folks. "Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason, take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything to take your stand. Stand therefore with truth like a belt around your waist," gotta have the truth, "righteousness like armor on your chest," you gotta follow, be godly. "Your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace." So you're ready to carry the good news out into the world. "In every situation, take up the shield of faith." We talked about that already. "The shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." It is that strong faith that will extinguish the enemy's arrows. And he really wishes you didn't have it. Verse 17: "take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God." Protect your mind, and your sword is offensive and defensive. Immerse yourself in the Word of God. Know what it says so that you can use it. "Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for the saints." Again, if you need help with prayer, go get the free e-book that I'm offering you guys. It uses tons of scripture. The prayers are themed. You can do one a day for a month, or you can just go through the table of contents and find the prayer that you need for your particular situation. It'll give you scriptures to stand on, to remind God of, and a place to do some battle. But make sure your heart is right with God first. It's a new season, church. Time to armor up. Let's do it. I love you guys. This has been the Dona Watson Show. For more information on my books and other projects, visit my website at Donawatson.com or my substack at Donawatson.substack.com. God bless you.