Published by admin on 02 Dec 2011 at 07:24 pm
KNOWING WHO YOU ARE
Have you ever wondered why you are alive at this particular time in history, and what your purpose is for being here? What if I told you that you are here for a purpose and your birth was not a surprise to God?
People think they just “happened” to be born, and their birth was no more than chance. We find it written in Ecclesiastes 9:11: I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. So, does that mean there is no rhyme or reason to life; that we just bounce around through life like a ball inside a pinball machine? Back in my “BC” days, “Before Christ”, I more or less “reacted” to life as it hit me, good or bad. It was mostly bad, by the way, not that I wanted it that way, but that’s just how it went. “Que sera, sera”, what will be, will be is what I was taught. Boy, was I ever duped by the devil. And chances are, you have been, too. Ready for a change for the good? You ARE? Good, I’m speaking to the right people then.
I tell people, “BC”, Before Christ, I knew my name, but not a whole lot more. I didn’t know I was a person of pedigree, of regal standing, while I stumbled through life feeling downtrodden and worthless. I asked the Lord Jesus to save me back in 1993, and from that very day life started changing for me. First of all, gone was my “Little Orphan Annie” identity. The Holy Spirit told me I have a Daddy, I’m not orphaned and alone. Well, my earthly Dad died when I was young, and as a young kid without a Dad, I was made to feel I wasn’t worth a whole lot. That stuck with me a long time, resulting in a lot of heartache and without a Dad to guide me growing up, I missed out on having his wisdom imparted to me. So, pretty much everything I knew how to do “BC”. I taught myself to do.
In 1993 at the age of 45, I was adopted. Not by an earthly father, but by the Heavenly Father himself. Immediately He began teaching me who I was, not from an earthly standpoint, but from a spiritual standpoint. First off, my new Daddy, the heavenly Father is not broke, nor poor. Nor will he ever leave or forsake me, like my earthly father did. Not that he did it on purpose, but he left me, nonetheless, hanging out to dry. He loves me unconditionally. That doesn’t mean I always do all things that please Him, yet His love for me is unfailing. That means, even when I fail, His love doesn’t, and that my son-ship doesn’t depend upon my behavior. My son-ship depended only on two things, the choice of my heavenly Father to adopt me, and my existence. He adopted me because it was HIS choice and I was there. Notice my choice didn’t enter in.
I did a good deal of thinking before making that last statement. We think that it’s OUR will that we can ever come to know God, and we think that because we have been taught that God gave us free choice, and that He will not violate that freedom of choice, no matter what. That all sounded well and good to me until I read the following in Jeremiah 1:4-9: Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
It occurred to me that God had put Jeremiah on this earth at the exact time He purposed sometime way back in eternity. His birth was no accident. Jeremiah didn’t just grow up and one day God spotted him and said, Wow, where did THIS guy come from? Hmmmm…wonder what his purpose is? No, God already HAD a plan for his life in place.
And He has a plan for YOUR life already in place. He isn’t trying to come up with a plan for you and me as He goes. He already knows who He is, who WE are, and why we’re here. God already has it all worked out, and it’s a GOOD plan. In fact, it is written in Jeremiah 29:11-14; For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
Notice the “I will” statements there? It’s going to happen, folks, just like God said. Now, moving back to the part about who we are in Him: as His adopted children, we are children of promise, privilege, and opportunity, for as the children of HIS household, He causes us to be well taken care of. It is not His will there should be a sickly or poor or broken or misfit among us as befitting the children of the Most High God.
Then WHY are there so many sickly, poor, broken misfits among the body of Christ? It’s a matter of our mindset. It’s the working of the devil to try to keep us in the dark as to not only WHOSE we are, but WHO we are. It’s certainly not God’s intent we should be living on the crumbs under His table, when He has adopted us into His family, and set a place for us at the table. I’m reminded of a promise made by David to Jonathan before David was made King over Israel. David sought out all the relatives of King Saul and blessed them. There was a young man who was living in poverty who was lame in both his feet, whose name was Mephibosheth. Let’s read about it in 2 Samuel 9:1-13:
2Sa 9:1 And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?
2Sa 9:2 And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.
2Sa 9:3 And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.
2Sa 9:4 And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.
2Sa 9:5 Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
2Sa 9:6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
2Sa 9:7 And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.
2Sa 9:8 And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
2Sa 9:9 Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house.
2Sa 9:10 Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
2Sa 9:11 Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.
2Sa 9:12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.
2Sa 9:13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.
Take a good look at verse 8 and you will see how most of God’s adopted children speak: And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
Do you see a bit of yourself in that verse? I did! And God told me to STOP THAT!!! His children are NOT dead dogs, but His beloved children! Now, if King David made sure this poor lame outcast member of the family of Saul was treated royally, how much more will God take care of HIS adopted children, whom He purposely chose out from all the others in the world? (that’s you and me, by the way, in case you haven’t figured that out yet). God has NOT left us here without His wisdom being available for the asking, for more provision being available to us than we will ever need, and more health to our flesh than we could ever ask for. His love is absolutely without end, and here comes the kicker….we are NOT to be chump change, getting kicked around for the entertainment of the devil and his crew. God has given us all the power we will ever need to overcome every evil plan the devil has plotted against us, and we need never fall short in any area of our lives.
There are three plans out there for your life: God’s plan, the devil’s plan, and your plan. God has the best one, the devil has the worst one, and yours is QUE SERA, SERA, right? Tell the devil to take a hike, and tell God you want HIS plan to be the plan for your life, and forget YOUR plan altogether, for only God has the ability to bring His plan to fruit. Otherwise, you will be like a canoe up a fast stream without a paddle. You don’t want to do that one. I did that once, and believe me, it’s no fun. But that’s another story for another time. Knowing who you are is what it’s all about. Once you’ve figured that one out, you’re on your way.
anand on 10 Dec 2011 at 9:37 am #
Praise God
…Its a Life changing message.