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The Estherpreneur is a weekly chat about doing business and life God’s way. Join your host, Edna Harding as she offers biblical strategies and practical applications to improve your mind, business, spirit, relationships, and finances. Listen along as she talks with guests on how to thrive in all areas of life. Edna is a Wife, Mother, Growth Strategist, Author, Minister, Certified Maxwell Business Consultant and Executive Coach, an accredited Master Mindset Coach, and Speaker whose message of hope, truth, and wisdom reaches people all around the world. FavorandWealth.com Estherpreneur.com
Edna Harding [00:00:03]:
Welcome to Estrepreneur, a podcast for entrepreneurs and leaders doing business and life God's way. Each week we discuss biblical and practical tips to improve your mind, business, spirit, relationships, and finances. Listen along as I speak with special guests on how to thrive in all aspects of life. Hi, I'm Edna.
Edna Harding [00:00:27]:
Like many of you, I wear many hats.
Edna Harding [00:00:28]:
I'm a military wife, mother, author, certified John Maxwell business and executive coach, trainer.
Edna Harding [00:00:35]:
And founder of Favor and wealth, where.
Edna Harding [00:00:38]:
We help the good guys win. So tune in as we bring on the light.
Edna Harding [00:00:46]:
Well, hello everyone. Thank you for tuning in for another episode of the essaypreneur podcast. My name is Edna Harding, and I'm nothing but your sister from the family of God, sharing the gospel, sharing the messages of the kingdom in the Word for your business. I'm so excited you guys are joining me today. As I mentioned before, my voice is still a little raspy. I tend to record these in batches. And yes, it's still. I'm still not a hundred percent, but I listened to the other two and sounds really good.
Edna Harding [00:01:22]:
And so I'm glad you guys are here and I pray by way of this prayer spirit that this will resonate with you. Today's topic is such an important topic because I believe it's really going to set people free. And it comes to persecutions, it comes to just an assault from the enemy when it comes to you as a son and daughter of God. And so today I'm going to title this episode Breaking Free from Modern Day Assyrians. Breaking Free from Modern Day Assyrians. You know, this morning as I'm recording this, I just wanted to like, basically let you know that, you know, I was meditating in Isaiah. The Holy Spirit led me to Isaiah. And this is specifically in Isaiah 52.
Edna Harding [00:02:14]:
And Isaiah 52 is basically, I want you guys to read this on your own, open up your Bible, read it and come back to this episode. Because I want you guys to read it and come back to this episode if you can, and just meditate on that. And I truly believe the Lord is going to speak to you through this word. Isaiah 52 is a chapter of hope. It's a chapter of freedom, and it's a chapter of God's redemption. If you look at verse four, it says, for this is what the sovereign Lord says. At first, my people went down to Egypt to live. Lately, Assyria has oppressed them.
Edna Harding [00:02:55]:
Them. Oh, come on, Jesus. Now, this isn't just a history lesson, okay? This is a spiritual picture. I want you guys to see this with deep meaning. For leaders and entrepreneurs and just children of God in general. Okay, how many of you guys, as you're listening to this episode, are feeling that you are being oppressed by the enemy? Come on. Can I get a witness? Can I get an amen? How many of you guys are raising your hands right now? Oh, my goodness, my friends. I feel you.
Edna Harding [00:03:29]:
I feel you. I am. I was. A word. Your. What do you call it? It's a dime. I'm a dime a dozen. Does that make sure? I don't even know how you say it, but I forgot the terminology.
Edna Harding [00:03:39]:
But basically, I feel you. I'm in the trenches with you. It seems as if, like, the enemy is coming to delay, oppress, condemn, whatever word you could think of. The enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy. Thank you, Holy Spirit, but God has a plan. Okay, so let me talk about the Assyrians real quick. The Assyrians were one of the most powerful and feared empires in the ancient world. In fact, they conquered the Northern kingdom of Israel back in 722 B.C.
Edna Harding [00:04:12]:
they were infamous. You know, like, they were known, okay, for brutality. They were known for oppression. They were known for intimidation. Does that sound like a country to you right now? Okay, it's all the same spirit. Hear me, guys. It's all the same spirit. I truly believe that the same spirit that is operating back in Assyria is also operating in the world today.
Edna Harding [00:04:37]:
And you can name all the enemies of the. Of. Of our country, specifically in the United States, or just people, Just the people of God. Okay? Doesn't matter what country we live in. But that Assyrian spirit, the same spirit that was in Assyrian, I believe is in these wicked people, okay?
Edna Harding [00:04:56]:
Who.
Edna Harding [00:04:56]:
Who are brutal, who are oppressing, who are intimidating. And specifically to God's people, Assyria represented control. It represented domination. It represented bondage. Okay? Do you know a people who's right now being controlled, who's being dominated, who feels like they're in bondage? Is this. Is this resonating to you and your country? I know I have con. I have listeners from all over the world. I think the last time I counted as of September.
Edna Harding [00:05:30]:
September, like 7th or something like that. I. I have listeners in over 40 countries. So welcome, welcome, welcome. So excited you guys are here today. You know, the Lord, I just want. This is. I'm going off topic here, but on.
Edna Harding [00:05:45]:
You guys don't see this, but on the right side of my office, I have, you know.
Edna Harding [00:05:50]:
Sorry, I'm getting emotional, but wall art.
Edna Harding [00:05:55]:
Of the nations, wall art of the globe, wall art of the world, North America South America, Asia, you know, and so on. Australia, Africa, Europe, all the whole shebang. And for many years, since 2020, when I, when I. Actually, it was before then, I think it was 2018, whenever I got this, before we moved to Rhode island, before I even launched this podcast, I would.
Edna Harding [00:06:21]:
Lay hands on the nations. I would pray, I would pray for revival. I would pray for God's glory to be revealed. And, and now here, fast forward however.
Edna Harding [00:06:33]:
Many years, I'm, I'm looking at the stats, I'm looking at the reporting of, like, where this podcast is reaching, and.
Edna Harding [00:06:41]:
It'S reaching every corner of the world.
Edna Harding [00:06:43]:
And I know I'm not everywhere, but it's enough to say that the Lord has brought the people for the nations to his message.
Edna Harding [00:06:52]:
And it's such an, it's such a.
Edna Harding [00:06:54]:
Humbling thing that God used me, you.
Edna Harding [00:06:57]:
Know, as a willing vessel that when I said yes, during the most difficult time of my life to go all in for him, that he's using me.
Edna Harding [00:07:08]:
To share the gospel, to share his heart to his people.
Edna Harding [00:07:13]:
It's just an honor and privilege that I just humbles me so much.
Edna Harding [00:07:21]:
And I guess I, I don't know who this is for, but if you believe that God is calling you to the nations, if you believe that God.
Edna Harding [00:07:27]:
Is calling you to the other mars.
Edna Harding [00:07:30]:
Part of the world for the message that he put in your heart, believe God and just obey and understand. And I, this is going to relate back to the podcast episode that when.
Edna Harding [00:07:41]:
You pursue God, when you say yes to all of God, you will encounter enemies just like the Assyrians. And I just want you to know that you just have to stand firm and believe God and trust the Holy Spirit to carry you through the different.
Edna Harding [00:07:59]:
Seasons that you have to go through as part of your journey, as part of the price of saying yes to the cross and, and trust that God.
Edna Harding [00:08:09]:
Will take you to where you need.
Edna Harding [00:08:12]:
To be at the perfect timing when your character is ready. And I share all of this to say that, you know, the Assyrians, the spirit that operate in Assyrians will come against you. And which comes. It comes down to they want to enslave you, they want to oppress you, they want to delay you, they want to stop you from doing what God called you to do. But the promise of Isaiah 52 back to the episode is that God will.
Edna Harding [00:08:45]:
Redeem his people yet again. And I guess I'm just so excited. I'm sorry, guys, for getting all emotional, but this is, this is not just.
Edna Harding [00:08:55]:
A script or this is not just an outline. Of what I want to share. Like, this is truly a message from.
Edna Harding [00:09:00]:
My heart, and I hope you hear me when I share this, that.
Edna Harding [00:09:07]:
As an encouragement to you, my brothers and sisters, because I understand.
Edna Harding [00:09:11]:
I. I've been there. I've been there and it hurts. And it's. It's awful. It's awful.
Edna Harding [00:09:17]:
I don't wish it on my enemies, but the Lord allows it because he knows that it's going to bring the fire inside of you out. You know, like, he's good. It's going to ignite the person he called you to be because of your obedience to him, because of the opposition. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I'm seeing, like, when you're working out the weight of the. Of. Of the muscle, the weight of the muscles, the weight of the weights, if that makes sense. I know it sounds so contradictory, but the weight of the weights, like, however, how many pounds you could bench or carry or lift will determine your strength.
Edna Harding [00:09:53]:
And you have to be strong in the Lord. And those opposition is just building your muscles. Okay, and so let me get back to this. But, you know, in Isaiah 52, God promises that he will redeem his people again. And we may not face, you know, Assyrian soldiers today, but we all have Assyrians in our lives and businesses, which are basically forces that are not of this world, okay? But they're evil forces, okay, that tries to dominate us, tries to hold us back or rob us of peace. And this includes the. The spirits of darkness, you know, the rulers, the principalities, witchcraft, all these things that come against God's people. This is part of our journey.
Edna Harding [00:10:41]:
This is part of our walk. The disciples had to go through it. Jesus had to go through it. People in the Bible had to go through it. It's part of your journey. You can't avoid it. It's inevitable. And instead of fighting against it, meaning like you asking God to take it away, you have to ask the Lord for the weapons of warfare that are not carnal.
Edna Harding [00:10:59]:
But it's going to teach you to. To fight the enemy where it hurts, where it's truly gonna affect him, that's really gonna make him cry. Like, how many of you guys here want to raise your hand and be like, yeah, I made the enemy cry today. Every morning I wake up wanting the devil to feel like, oh, crap, she's up again. You guys remember that shirt? Or that saying, edna's up. Oh, my gosh, let me go. Send the. The.
Edna Harding [00:11:25]:
My biggest demons to come against her because she's a powerhouse. Like, that is the kind of reputation, okay? In the spirit. I don't care. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I don't care what people think of me. I don't care what men think of me. I don't care about my social media following. I don't care about all that stuff.
Edna Harding [00:11:43]:
What I care about is what the kingdom of darkness thinks of me. I want people, I want the kingdom of darkness to say, I don't know who you are, but I do know Edna. I do know Paul, I know John, I know Jesus. Like, I want to be part of those names that the enemy says. I know who she is, okay? And so I, I, I, I, I, I guess. Am I stirring up a hunger? Am I stirring up a hunger to learn more of God? So that you could be strong in the Lord and you could fight and come against the enemy's strongest demons, the strongest spirits? Because I can tell you guys that every single one of those spirits is no opposition to the Jesus Christ inside of you, to the Holy Spirit. And just as Jesus did through me, he can do through you. So let's go ahead and continue here because I, as you can see, I'm fired up because I just, you know, there are times in life when you look back, my journey, like the oppression started in 20, 20, 12, actually.
Edna Harding [00:12:44]:
And after 12, 13 years, I mean, it's insane. Like just all the things I overcame and just how much stronger I am, how much we're at peace I am, how much joy I have. And it's not like the kind that, that, that comes with because everything, my environment changes because I was, I'm able to handle, you know, the, the warfare now because I'm strong. I'm built for it. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I finally built for it because of the opposition, like the lions and bears I had to deal with, you know, during my journey. All right, so let's talk about again, you know, for entrepreneurs specifically, what those, what does a Syrians look like? The spirits. It could be fear of failure that keeps us from launching.
Edna Harding [00:13:31]:
It could be toxic business environments that pressure us to compromise our values. It could be an overwork and burnout, you know, where we're just constantly stressed, we're exhausted, we're fatigued, we're tired because the business owns us instead of us stewarding it. It could be inner battles like pride, doubt, insecurity, fear that rule our decisions. Okay? All these things are modern examples of what the Assyrians spirit can look like. And just like Israel, we can find ourselves under those systems of oppression. Right? And the good news is that those Assyrians don't have the final word. You know who does have the final word? And that is God. You know, Isaiah 52 doesn't end with oppression.
Edna Harding [00:14:18]:
It actually begins with a call to rise. If you look at Isaiah 52, verse 1 to 2, it says, Awake, awake, Zion. Cloth yourself with strength. Shake off your dust, Rise up, sit and throne Jerusalem. God is saying, hear me by way of the Spirit. Your time of bondage is over. Step into strength, step into freedom. That means we don't let the fear of man dictate our strategy.
Edna Harding [00:14:47]:
That means we don't bow down to the world's systems. We create culture that lines up with kingdom values. That means we don't hustle ourselves into chains or we work from rest and God's rhythm, his pace of grace that's going to carry us where our earthly and earthly flesh cannot ever take us. Right? He can take us farther ahead. He can multiply us. We can add our to our thing, but he multiplies us, if that makes sense. And I'm just going to share really quickly three practical ways to break free. Okay? Number one, you have to identify the oppressor.
Edna Harding [00:15:27]:
What does that mean? You need to ask yourself, what's holding me captive right now? Is it fear? Is it overwork? Is it toxic culture? Is it my own striving? Name it. Name it. And admitting that there is a problem is your first step. Okay.
Edna Harding [00:15:46]:
Sorry, guys.
Edna Harding [00:15:47]:
I'm going to just drink some water, man. It's itchy. How are you guys doing, by the way? I hope you. I didn't even think I asked you guys this earlier. I hope you guys are doing well. And by the way, guys, connect with me on LinkedIn. I know this is completely off the thing. Connect with me on LinkedIn.
Edna Harding [00:16:04]:
I want to hear from you. Message me and say, I listen to you on the Entrepreneur podcast. That's a great way for you guys to interact with me. You can also go on my website, favoritemoth.com or estrepreneur.com but connect with me on LinkedIn. Like, that's probably the only platform that I'm active on a daily basis. Okay, back to number two. All right? Invite God's deliverance instead of lighting your own torch like we talked about in Isaiah 50:11, which you probably didn't hear, but this is for another episode. Okay? Surrender the situation to God and ask him to bring his light and freedom.
Edna Harding [00:16:40]:
Say, lord, I. I'm. I don't know what to do. Here, here. Bring your light on. Bring your freedom on. You handle this, because this. This is just too much for me.
Edna Harding [00:16:51]:
Like, be honest. Be transparent. Ask the Lord, what do you want me to do with this? What can you do with this? Like, what can I do with this? And if. What can. If I can't do anything, what can you do with this? Okay, or you do something about it. I don't know, like, just thank you, Holy Spirit. Now I know some of you guys were like, well, I'm not a spiritual, I'm a new Christian. I don't really know what to say.
Edna Harding [00:17:10]:
Just speak like regular, like, talk to them as you're talking to a friend. Talk to him as you're talking to a father. Talk to him as you're talking to a counselor. You know, Guess what, my friends, Everything that I just told you, Counselor, father friend, it's all scriptural, okay? He's. I am. That I am. He's everything to us. So speak in your own language.
Edna Harding [00:17:32]:
Speak in a way that you know how to do, and he will answer you, okay? He's not, thank you, Holy Spirit. He wants relationship with you. That's all he cares about. He just wants your heart. Okay? Whatever this religious spirit is that telling you have to earn something or do something, like you, you do stuff, you honor him, you obey him because you love him, but you don't do it to earn his ability to communicate with you. He wants to communicate with you. He wants to share his heart with you. All you have to do is ask.
Edna Harding [00:18:03]:
You know? It's that simple. Okay, and number three, walk in strength, not slavery. What does that mean? Isaiah says, clothe yourself with strength. This means you show up in your God given identity, okay? You show up as a daughter of the most high God. You show up as the son of God. You show up and as an heir of Jesus Christ. Okay, so you lead with integrity, okay? You lead with excellent, you lead with rest. You lead with courage.
Edna Harding [00:18:29]:
Okay? You lead with all the things the fruits of the spirits mentioned with joy, peace, self control, all that good stuff. Stuff faith. And you don't lead with intimidation. And you don't lead with fear. You walk in strength and allow the Lord to use you in a way that only he can. Okay, so the Assyrians were real in history, okay? But they're also a metaphor for us today. They represent whatever tries to rule over what God has already redeemed. And the good news is, just as God delivered Israel from evil Egypt and Assyria, guess what, my friends? He's still the same deliverer.
Edna Harding [00:19:12]:
Yesterday, today and tomorrow, he has delivered you. It is finished. Jesus said it is finished. So my encouragement today is this. Shake off the dust. Rise up. Step into your seat of authority. The Assyrians don't win.
Edna Harding [00:19:29]:
God's redemption does. And if this message spoke to you, my friend, share it with a fellow entrepreneur or leader or brother or sister family member who cares. Or friend who needs the reminder that oppression is not permanent. My friends, remember it's a season and that this season shall pass. It doesn't always storm. At some point the rain is going to come out. You just have to persevere. Remember, God's freedom is always greater than all your fears, than all your opposition.
Edna Harding [00:19:59]:
Okay? Remember that with God, all things are possible to those who believe. So until next time, my friends, keep building with faith, wisdom and courage. And I look forward to talking with you guys next week on another episode of the Estrepreneur podcast. Take care. Bye bye.
Edna Harding [00:20:20]:
Thanks for joining us this week on Estrepreneur. Make sure to visit our website, favorandwealth.com for more information on our services. While you're at it, if you found value in this show, we'd appreciate a rating for on itunes. Or if you simply tell a friend about the show, that would help me out, too. Also, check out my book, the Ugly side of Sales, available on Amazon, where I share seven of my secrets on how to win and grow business the right way. Until next time, keep shining.