Are we not men and women inhabited by the great and holy spirit of our God? Why would any powerful Christian question the worth or value of their prayers when they were answered? Please understand that I don't have complete victory over what I'm about to talk about here myself. But as I'm becoming more fully aware of the enemy's influence, I'm seeking our Lord and Master desperately for His help in these areas, not only for myself but for all of my brothers and sisters in Christ.
From the early beginnings of man in the earth, our enemy, and enemy of our God has certainly done his best to disillusion us, deceive us and outright destroy us. He does his best to keep us from recognizing the power of Christ in us and to minimize our belief in our authority in Christ. Throughout His word, our Lord has made known to us who we are in Him and what His promises are. We have no reason to ever doubt what God's told us. But in spite of what He's told us, I'm struck by the difference between the truth of what our God has declared to be our identity and the identity many of us actually claim and live out as Christians in the world today. As members of the body of Christ, we expectantly strive to show the power of our God in our lives knowing full well that His power to do anything that does not deny His character or His word is awesome and unlimited. So the limitations we experience if we suffer from a lack of results, must be with us. But why, and what are the things that create these limitations?
If we look at the acts of the apostles, we see examples of our Lord's power revealed through them, but for what purposes? And what was the disposition of the hearts of those apostles through whom these things were done? It doesn't appear that the core of their intent was to better their own situation, but instead to magnify our God and draw others to see the truth. It's clear to us as we follow the lives of these mere men, that they were indeed conduits through which God chose to reveal His power, and that their focus and priorities were far different from the world's.
Maybe if we understand that this life we're currently walking through is nothing more than a momentary inconvenience, a learning process and time of decision, we would likely come much closer to having our Father's perspective for this time. In our flesh, we hold the situations and circumstances of this life so very close as if they were life and death to us. But I believe that in the real picture and perspective of our God, that this life's merely a moment in the whole of our eternal lives. I tend to think that part of our trouble as vessels of the power of our God may be in our individual limited perspective. Perhaps, if we are able to readjust the scope of what we consider our lives to be and the definition of our identity to what God has said, then our perspective and priorities are more likely to become much closer to His view. For example, if we die in this life, are we truly dead? I say no! Because our Lord has given us the truth of our condition in His word. Are we not eternal beings by His promises?
In our lives in this world, there are things that we count worthy to suffer for a moment in order to "get ahead" or to gain. In the true scope of our eternal lives, are there things that are worthy to suffer for the brief moment of this life in order to gain for all eternity? With a true perspective of our lives rooted in the promises of our unfailing God, our thoughts and our priorities have to change. Certainly the enemy of our souls would relish the opportunity to limit our perspective and the achievement of our God's power in our lives. Not only would he love to minimize who we become in Christ and prevent us from recognizing the truth of the inheritance our precious Christ has given us - but at the same time, the revelation of our God's power to a world who needs Him desperately. The revelation of God's power in the New Testament always brought others to His throne which is certainly contrary to satan's purposes. But we know that satan has no power over God, so again, the limitations to God's power being revealed in the world must be with us. Our Lord has given us minds and the freedom to use them to believe what we will. In this, I believe strongly that satan has found his foothold against even many who endeavor to follow Christ.
I've alluded to it before, and I'll say it again clearly now - the enemy is working in a number of ways to minimize, paralyze, and otherwise incapacitate as many portions of Christ's Church as he can. We need to believe what God has said no matter what we see or hear in this world and no matter what anyone says to the contrary.
Satan's's doing his best to pervert and pollute God's standards in the hearts and minds of those who allow it. For example, some even in the Body of Christ are willing to make small concessions of acceptance as society changes - Surely our God sees that things have changed right? There's only one problem - what God has said remains as unchanged as He has from before the beginning of time! If it was sin once - it's sin now! He's just as straight laced, truly righteous and holy as He ever was. So if we ever allow ourselves to think otherwise, we're very dangerously decieved and likely more in danger of real death than those who are unaware - because we know the truth. If He's said it before, it stands today. We don't have any authority to attempt to compromise what our God has spoken on any level.
One method satan's using to make us weak and poor conductors of God's power and spirit again involves deception. He's eroding the spiritual health of some by preoccupying them with things that appear "harmless" and thereby leaving them less accessible to God - the giver of life. I've always held the thought in my own heart and mind that even any good thing can become a sin when ingested or participated in, in excess. As I become more aware of satan's methods, I recognize that there are an increasing number of preoccupations that are tantalyzing and available in the world that require ... time. Moments from a limited number, that once spent, cannot be recaptured for service to our God to our future gain. Time that can be spent separated from the spiritual feeding that keeps us strong in the face of the enemy and maybe even oblivious to what our Lord would have us do - maybe even to the final gasps of a brother who's going down for the last time.
The enemy's creating situations and circumstances in the lives of some that keep them struggling to keep up with "life" because they don't recognize that they're being mugged by the thug, or they don't realize that they have the authority to send him packing. By constantly throwing things at us, the enemy can keep us ducking or franticly putting out fires. Either way, he achieves his objective if we let him. If we forget or don't recognize our identity - who we are, who we belong to, and the authority we have through Christ, we can allow him to trespass into our lives and maul us like the rabid dog he is.
He (satan) is the accuser and deciever. He will always tell us lies to make us believe that we're unworthy or unfit, that God can't really be speaking to us. Yes! Of my own accord, I was unworthy, but covered by the precious and holy blood of my Savior, my Father calls me His own and I stand before Him unblemished by sin - made acceptable to my God. By the declaration of my Lord, I am heir to many things and made powerful in the Kingdom Of My God! I can claim the promises and the gifts in the word of my God as mine! They're for me and for you as Children of the most high God! We walk in His spirit and power as we continue to recognize and confess our need for Him and our dependence on Him.
Some other ways or things that contribute to our being minimized as Christians follow, but there are more. We need to be constantly on our guard to prevent giving the enemy a club to beat us with. (most are perfected by our enemy over the centuries to make them even effective amongst Christ's Church)
Disbelief Unforgiveness
Sin Worldly intellect
Our own will Pride
Our lack of surrender Greed
An incorrect perspective Arguments
Impure motives Selfishness
If you really question what your identity is in Christ, I'd pleadingly suggest that you really begin searching it out in earnest, because it can make an incredible difference in your life, the lives of those around you and also in your relationship with our Lord. We weren't meant to live defeated, weak or at the mercy of the enemy. Who does our God say that we are? Here are a few hints as to our identity and how to find it, but please don't just settle for these, it goes far beyond this:
- Matthew 18:18-19, 18 I tell you this: Whatever you prohibit on earth is prohibited in heaven, and whatever you allow on earth is allowed in heaven. 19 "I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.
- Luke 10:19 "And I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you."
- John 14:12-17, 12 "The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it! 15 "If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
- Ephesians 3:19-20 19 "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope."
2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time he said, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ
may work through me.
2 Corinthians 13:4 "Although he died on the cross in weakness, he now lives by the mighty power of God. We, too, are weak, but we live in him and have God's power -- the power we use in dealing with you."
1 Peter 3:7 "In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. If you don't treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard."
James 4:10 When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.
Matthew 5:3-19 "God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are gentle and lowly, for the whole earth will belong to them. 6 God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for they will receive it in full. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted because they live for God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 11 "God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted, too. 13 "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14 You are the light of the world -- like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. 15 Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. 17 "Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them. 18 I assure you, until heaven and earth disappear, even the smallest detail of God's law will remain until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you break the smallest commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God's laws and teaches them will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
There's so much more that can be said, so much to know, but I'll leave you with this - and relate it to yourself because it does refer to you personally as a Christian!:(In order to understand what follows, know that the most common definitions of the word Prefect refer to a powerful commander)
I know a brother in Christ who has an incredible recall of volumes of scripture. He grew up as the son of a pastor and as such was exposed to the word at length. But he is very humbled before the Lord. One morning, he related a dream that he had the previous night. In it, he heard foreign words and saw them written as if on a wall. Now he doesn't know Latin at all, but he was so struck by the vividness of the dream that when he woke up, he remembered the words clearly and wrote them down. When he attempted to look them up, he found that they were indeed words and they were indeed Latin. It's a message to the children of God that needs to be acknowledged and accepted by Christians everywhere. The translation is as follows and He's speaking to you!: "You are Prefects in the kingdom of the most holy and most high God!" Own it!
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