Introduction to the Armor

Season 02 - Episode 01 Show Notes

The Journey has begun, are you dressed? Join Sebra as she introduces us to this season's topic: the Armor of God! 

In this episode, Sebra shares the connection between the Armor of God and the Parable of the Sower and the Seed that she discovered in 2014. 

So, let's get Dressed for the Journey and see what God has in store!
 
In this episode:

• Intro 
• Welcome to Season Two (00:44)
• Sebra's experience with the armor (01:08)
• A different approach to the armor (01:40)
• Introducing the armor (03:14)
• Refresh on the Parable of the Sower and the Seed (05:01)
• Connection between the armor and the soils (06:04)
• People are not our enemy (10:00)
• Different approach to the season (11:05)
• Defining our belief about God (11:40)
• Prayer (12:48)
• Suggested Studies (15:15)
• We'd love to hear from you (16:44)
• Something to ponder (16:57)
• Thank you for listening (17:28)

Scriptures references:

• Titus 2:3-4
• Matthew 13:18-23
• Mark 4:13-20
• Luke 8:11-15
• Ephesians 6:10-18
• Ephesians 6:12
• John 1:1, 14

Links to previous episodes:

• Bonus Episode - Soils of our Heart: https://raisinggodlywomen.buzzsprout.com/1792483/9749293-bonus-episode-soils-of-our-heart. 
• Bonus Episode: Tips for Studying Scripture:  https://raisinggodlywomen.buzzsprout.com/1792483/12854624-bonus-episode-tips-for-studying-scripture

Website:  https://raisinggodlywomen.buzzsprout.com/    

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Transcript

S02 E01 - Introduction to the Armor

[00:00:00] Khara: Welcome to Season Two of the Raising Godly Women podcast, where we are here to empower a generation of women in their relationship with Christ, so that they can empower the generation behind them. In Season One, we explored the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, which is all about the soil of our hearts.

[00:00:17] Khara: We personified each of the soils and shared our experiences as we journeyed with these women. So, if you are new to the podcast, we wanna thank you and check out Season One, because it lays the foundation for the path ahead. We are to take time and Dress for the Journey God has before us. So please join our host Sebra Ferrell for Season Two, as she and her guests take a fresh look and put on the Armor of God.

[00:00:44] Sebra: Hello, everyone. I'm your host, Sebra Ferrell, and I'd like to take a moment to welcome you back to Season Two of Raising Godly Women. We have had a couple of bonus episodes already, but this episode is where we introduce the armor of God. I want to start by sharing my experience with the armor.

[00:01:08] Sebra: This part of my journey with the armor of God began in 2014 while teaching in small group on the armor. At this point, I had studied the armor several times and I could even clearly see it in my head, but there was still something missing. So, I sat down one day, I got my Bible, I got some paper, I got a pencil, and I started drawing each of the armor pieces in the order that they were listed in Scripture to see how they all connected together.

[00:01:40] Sebra: That's when a light bulb went off in my head and the Journey from Logos to Rhema was born. However, Logos and Rhema, those aren't necessarily words that people easily relate to now. So, when it came time to begin preparing for this season of the podcast, the team and I went on a retreat and the Holy Spirit gave our graphics designer a fresh new way to view each piece of the armor.

[00:02:09] Sebra: She sat there and as we talked about what we could envision, she just began to pull everything together. So, this year, what we'll be doing, rather than looking at the armor from a traditional view that those of us who are familiar with the armor are used to, we'll actually use an article of clothing as a visual aid to help us better understand the purpose of that piece of the armor.

[00:02:36] Sebra: This may be a different approach, but bear with us, because we will still be covering Biblical truths from Scripture, as not to lose the impact of what God gives us with His armor. So, buckle up and join us as we Dress for the Journey. And while on this journey, my heartfelt prayer is that God's Holy Spirit will meet you at your place of need to provide exactly what you need in this season of your life.

[00:03:10] Sebra: And on that note, let's begin looking at what's ahead.

[00:03:14] Sebra: The purpose of this episode is to introduce some and reacquaint others with the armor of God. But this season is not going to stand alone. As we go through these episodes, our goal is to connect what we learned in Season One about the four soils in the Parable of the Sower and the Seed with the armor of God found in Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 18.

[00:03:44] Sebra: But rather than read those entire passages of Scripture to you, the short version is God provides us with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and we have the sword of the Spirit.

[00:04:05] Sebra: Now some people will also include prayer as an armor piece, but not everyone does. However, since in Scripture, the number seven means completion, we're going to add prayer as the final armor piece so that we will have a complete set of armor lacking nothing.

[00:04:26] Sebra: Because we will be talking about the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, if you're new to the podcast and you're not familiar with the soils, I encourage you to check out the Season One Bonus Episode called Soils of Our Heart. It will give you an overview of the soils. It will give you the name we gave each one of the soils to bring Scripture to life.

[00:04:46] Sebra: And it will let you know what we now call the Women of the Soils looks like in our everyday lives. And to make the episode easy to find, if you have Show Notes available to you, the link will be in the Show Notes. 

[00:05:01] Sebra: So, let's take a step back for a moment and refresh our memories and introduce those who've not heard of them yet to these women, these four soils, that we named Wayside Wendy, Rocky Raquel, Thorny Theresa, and Good Ground Gabrielle. or Gigi. 

[00:05:20] Sebra: Wendy represents the times that we don't understand the Word and the devil comes and steals it right out of our heart.

[00:05:28] Sebra: Raquel represents those times when we like what we hear, but once it gets tested through trials or tribulation or temptation, we stumble. 

[00:05:40] Sebra: Theresa represents those times when we start off well but over time, we get faith weary and the Word gets choked out of our heart. 

[00:05:50] Sebra: Finally, we have GiGi. She represents those times when through faith and patience, faith and patience, we produce a harvest on God's Word.

[00:06:04] Sebra: We'll talk about each of these as we connect the dots between the soils and the armor in future episodes, but for now... It's important that I remind you, or share with you, that we can be any of these women in any of these soils at any given time in our lives. We can be there for a moment, or even a season. And that's okay, because what all these women, all these soils, have in common is they represent how we respond when we hear God's Word. 

[00:06:41] Sebra: So, now that we have looked at the soil of our heart and how we hear the Word of God, which by the way, Scripture tells us that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God. And then it tells us that that Word came and dwelt among us, and that Word was Jesus. So, when we are hearing the Word of God, we are actually responding to Jesus. And how we respond impacts our relationship with Him.

[00:07:11] Sebra: When we go through each of these armor pieces, we will see how we're responding to God and whether or not we're wearing His armor. And this is hugely influenced by a great many changeable factors in our lives. Believe me when I tell you, I've had moments when I've been each of these women. I've had moments when I've gone through all four soils in one specific circumstance in a short period of time. 

[00:07:45] Sebra: The most important thing to know, how we respond impacts whether we're putting on all of God's armor or we're leaving the house and we're not fully dressed. And who wants to go out of the house without all your clothes on? Because where the seeds of God's Word lands in the soil of our heart, that determines how effectively we wear each piece of the armor.

[00:08:12] Sebra: It's also important to know that understanding each piece and how they fit together is crucial to our ability to apply what we learn in the individual episodes. And that is our hope that we will be able to not only gain knowledge. But that we will gain the understanding we need to apply that knowledge so that we have on every piece of God's armor.

[00:08:40] Sebra: One of the reasons I want to emphasize this is because there really is a difference in reading Scripture or even reciting Scripture and walking in it. For example, I remember when someone very dear to me gave me an armor prayer to pray every day. Well, let's just say I had no clue what I was praying and just like I wouldn't take a power tool and go out and try to use it without the proper instruction, I probably should not have been trying to pray the armor without the proper instruction. And that's how I see this. 

[00:09:17] Sebra: I feel like sometimes we try to wear God's armor, we try to use God's armor, but we don't have the proper instruction. And because of that, there are times when we end up doing ourselves and others more harm than good. Been there, done that. So, my prayer is that as we go through each armor piece, we will gain the proper knowledge and the proper understanding and the proper application of what we understand so we can effectively wear every armor piece God has given us.

[00:10:00] Sebra: And when it comes to wearing the whole armor of God, the one thing I hope you take away from this episode is that people are not our enemy. We have an unseen enemy. Who will act through people, but Ephesians 6:12 is very clear. Our fight is not against flesh and blood. People may feel like our enemy. People may present themselves as our enemy, but they're not. And we'll talk about who our battle is really against in a later episode. But for now, please remember people are not our enemy. That one truth can change how we interact with those around us when conflict arises in our lives. I'm not just telling you what I've heard, I'm telling you what I have lived time and time and time and time again in my life. 

[00:11:05] Sebra: Now before I close, I do want to point out this season will be different than Season One. Season One was all about the soil of our heart and how we hear the Word. This season, we'll focus more on the Word itself because after all, this is the armor of God. And in John chapter one, it tells us that Jesus is the Word and that the Word came and dwelt among us. That means there is absolutely no way for us to talk about the armor without talking about Jesus. 

[00:11:40] Sebra: In our next armor episode, we will be talking about the Belt of Truth, so I want to wind this Introduction down with the truth of what we in Raising Godly Women mean when we say God. We are referring to God the Father in heaven, who has a Son named Jesus, who was born of a virgin, was crucified for the forgiveness of our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and now is seated in Heaven at the right hand of the Father, but who did not leave us here alone. God sent the Holy Spirit to be with us. This is the God whose armor we are putting on. 

[00:12:24] Sebra: So, if you're listening to this podcast and you don't know Jesus, we pray that God's Holy Spirit will meet you right where you are and introduce you to the Son of God. Because we can't wear God's armor if we don't have relationship with God.

[00:12:48] Sebra: As a matter of fact. I want to take a moment and just pray for anyone who doesn't have a relationship with Jesus. For those who may have had one but feels like you drifted far from Him and you're trying to find your way back. And even for those who know Him, but something in you is hungering for something deeper.

[00:13:11] Sebra: So, Father, we take a moment. We still our hearts. We still our minds before you. Lord, I lift up every soul that is listening to the sound of my voice on this podcast. Father, for wherever they are. Whatever they need to know you, to love you, to give their heart, their lives to you. Father, I pray that you will provide it.

[00:13:44] Sebra: I pray, Father, that your Holy Spirit will bring conviction where conviction is needed. I pray, Father, that your Holy Spirit will speak to the heart of every person listening right now. If they don't know you, Father, I pray that you will bring them to that moment of confessing with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in their heart that you raised him from the dead and that they will give you, through your Son Jesus and through the intervention of your Holy Spirit in their daily lives, permission to do whatever needs to be done to bring them into closer relationship with you, Lord God. Father, I thank you. I thank you for the saving of souls in this moment because I know through your Word it is not your desire that any soul be lost. So, if you have allowed someone to listen to this moment, you have a purpose and a plan. And I pray, Father, that your purpose and your plan will unfold in their lives. I thank you and I praise you in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

[00:15:04] Sebra: I pray that no one will let that moment go by without responding according to the conviction of the Holy Spirit in your heart right now. 

[00:15:15] Sebra: And before we close, I want to encourage you to do three things. Even if you studied it before, I still encourage you study the Parable of the Sower and the Seed and the armor of God to see what if any connections you might find or that the Holy Spirit will show you.

[00:15:33] Sebra: You can find the parable in Matthew chapter 13, Mark chapter 4, and Luke chapter 8. And I shared before, you can find the armor in Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 18. And if you're not comfortable studying Scripture, check out the Bonus Episode we did on Tips for Studying Scripture where I share some of our ideas. A link for that is also available to those who have Show Notes. 

[00:16:00] Sebra: The second thing I want to encourage you to do is this season, in order to get the most out of it, I really encourage you to take notes. If the Show Notes are available to you, print them out and highlight things that you want to look more deeply into.

[00:16:18] Sebra: Sit down with an episode and take notes. Whatever works for you, I encourage you to do that because we are hoping that there will be things you'll tuck in your tool belt for life and maybe share with those around you so that all of us can Dress for the Journey in the full armor of God and help someone else make sure her armor is on straight as well.

[00:16:44] Sebra: And last but not least, I want to encourage you to share what you learn with us on social media. You may have a missing piece that we've never even thought about and we'd love to hear about it. 

[00:16:57] Sebra: And on that note, as is our tradition, here's something to ponder: Our greatest superpower is the power of choice. For with it, Adam and the woman changed the whole course of humanity in the Garden of Eden. And Jesus, through His choice on the Cross, changed it back. Now that's something to ponder.

[00:17:28] Khara: Thank you for listening to the Raising Godly Women podcast and taking this journey with us to be Titus Two women. We pray that the seeds of God's Word shared today fell on good soil. That soil is in your heart. Now we hope that through today's pearls of wisdom, you have gained the tools to help you become stronger, to help you become more confident in your everyday life, most especially as it relates to your walk with Christ. 

[00:17:55] Khara: We also hope that you will share your tools with those who are younger in age, or even maybe younger in faith and help them become stronger and confident, so that they can share with other women passing on the baton to the generation behind them. Just imagine the ripple effect our sharing can have, not only in our generation, but also in the generations to come to build and strengthen the body of Christ as we all come together to empower each other. 

[00:18:20] Khara: So, until we meet again, feel free to join the Raising Godly Women community. Let's talk about your connection with this episode on social media, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram at Raising Godly Women dot RGW. Be sure to tag us because we love to have you connect and be a part of the family. And on that note, may you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers, Shalom daughters of God Shalom.