Published by admin on 26 Aug 2000 at 03:30 am
WHO ARE YOU?
If I asked you who God is, you would probably tell me, the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. And He is. If I asked God who He is, He would probably say “I AM”. And of course, He AM. He AM anything He wants to be….He’s God. But if I ask you who you are, what would your answer be?
Maybe you’d tell me, my name is Bubba or Bubbette…(we’re from the Ozarks, remember?), but if your answer wasn’t “A Child of God”, then you don’t really know who you are at all. And suppose that you did correctly answer “A Child of God”. Do you have a clue who you REALLY are? Do you have any idea of what weight that carries in the spirit realm? Let me explain it like this: suppose a Police Officer stands out in the street and holds his hand up for you to stop. Are you going to stop? You bet. Why? Because he weighs 180 pounds and he can physically reach out and smack your car off the street? No, you stop because you recognize his authority as a Police Officer. And of course, he recognizes his authority as well, and he is not afraid to use it.
Well, my friend, as a child of God, you have a lot of authority you probably aren’t even aware of, or using, even though you may have desperate needs in your life. Now before we get in the ditch with this, let me add…you’re not going to walk around creating new planets or make money appear out of thin air. There are some things God has reserved unto Himself. But, there are some things He has reserved unto YOU as His child. You don’t suppose Jesus came to this earth and went to the cross and saved you just so you could be a name and number in heaven some day?
I can’t see that God has ever done anything without a divine purpose in mind. Now when a child is born into a family, for a while, that child can do nothing but eat, burp up, fill diapers, and sleep. And Mom and Dad see to all the child’s needs, day or night. But as the child grows up, (and we are supposed to grow up, right?) the child is trained up in the way he or she should go, and given responsibilities in the family. At first, the responsibilities are small…maybe it’s just helping pick up sticks in the yard, or emptying the trash. Mom and Dad are always watching and ready to protect and guide and correct. And then as the child can take on more responsibility, they are given more important tasks. During those formative years, as the child grows up, he or she is given more freedom as a sense of wisdom and trust is developed. The purpose in all the training? So the child may grow up and take his or her place as a responsible, wise, productive member of society. And as time goes on, that daughter or son will inherit their parent’s legacy.
Now, let’s move on. When I first got saved, I thought my eternity would be spent sitting on a cloud playing a stupid harp. That really didn’t appeal to me, but yet, it sounded a lot better than hell, which I had been saved from. It had never dawned on me that God had a purpose in saving me. How about you? Do you know why God saved you? Have you ever really given it much thought? Could it be He has a plan for you? Through the circumstances of life, He is shaping you for a Take Charge job further down the line. How well you come through your training rests entirely on you. You can either co-operate with God and let Him shape you into the leader that the He has intended you to be, or you can piddle your time away and never reach your full potential. It’s up to you. But God will provide you every opportunity to walk in His ways, to learn how to excel, and be blessed. He even teaches you how to prosper!
What is God preparing you for? He wishes to develop trust in you that He may put you in a place of authority over His creation. When God created Adam, He gave him dominion over all the earth! Not bad for a newcomer. God created the earth and said, Here it is Adam, it’s yours! Name the animals, take dominion over all the earth. God even created a help-mate for Adam, and Adam saw her and said “Woman”. Probably more like Whoa! Man! (remember, God does it RIGHT! I bet she was a looker!) God could have put Adam and Eve out in the desert and told them to eat dirt, but instead, He put them in the best spot on the whole earth. He even showed them where the gold was, long before there was a Wal-Mart to spend it at.
Point is, God’s purpose for man is to prepare him for a “take charge” job as a member of His family. That place is a place of authority. Actually, you already have more authority than you know what to do with. So do I. Problem is, none of us are really making use of it to the fullest. The only one who ever has is Jesus. Yes, He came as a man, and stripped Himself of His Godly powers and became like us. As He delegated power and authority to His disciples, it is written in Luke 10:17-24, “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, LORD, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And He said unto them, I beheld satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold! I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit, and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and He to whom the Son will reveal Him. And He turned him unto his disciples , and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: for I tell you, that many prophet and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”
But unto YOU are they revealed also, the things which the Father has in store for those who love Him and are in His family. Authority. Power unspeakable. The Father is training you up to use it for His Kingdom, to be a blessing to the lost, so that they may be saved also. He isn’t raising you to sit on a cloud strumming a harp. He is preparing you to be a ruler forever.
And for now, He’s starting you out ruling over a few snot nosed, annoying devils that go around harassing people, making them sick, crippled, and miserable. Your job? Cast them out.
Jesus said in Mark 16: 17-18, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; in My name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 11:23-24 says, “For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsover he saith. Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
Go ahead…use your authority, that’s why He gave it to you. The devils can’t hurt you!
They might say, Who are you to cast us out?
You just say, I’m a child of GOD! That’s who you are!