Is the Church in an identity crisis?
There seems to be much chaos, contention and fear being generated throughout this world. This is nothing new as the Adversary (Satan) has been afflicting mankind since the beginning of creation. However, if you are a Bible-believing child of God, you should know it is the Adversary (a/k/a the liar & the father of lies) who comes to steal, kill, & destroy...but, more importantly, it is Jesus, the Word of God, who came so that you may have life & have it abundantly!
There is a war at hand, but not a natural war. It is a spiritual war between good and evil that will not see victory by natural means. The Bible assures us that Jesus triumphed over the enemy and destroyed all his power at Calvary. It is the responsibility of all believers to enforce the victory of Jesus over all the powers of darkness that continue to try to rule and reign in this earth’s realm through deception. To accomplish this purpose, it is imperative that we know the truth as revealed through the Word of God. Truth always triumphs over a lie even as light always triumph over darkness!
2 Cor 10:3-5 makes it very clear that our war is not a natural war: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ...” Notice that the weapons of our warfare are spiritual and very powerful, but the first place of battle is within us—and regards our thoughts and beliefs. Do we believe and act based on truth as revealed in the Word of God or do we believe the lies of the enemy?
The Church needs to wake up! We do not war against the enemy in the flesh—and we certainly do not war against him with the world’s ways! Satan is the god of this world! The Lord destroyed the power of Satan at Calvary and He has given us dominion over him, including all of his lies, torments, plots, and plans!
The Word of God is the Truth and it is the mighty Sword of the Spirit that we use against the enemy’s lies. So, why is a great portion of the Church assimilating to the world’s ways?!
This is a season when every child of God should take the time to do a little self-examination to see how well our thoughts and actions are aligning with God’s Word.
Are we believing the lies that the enemy declares through the news and social media regarding who we are and what opportunities we have available to us? Worse yet, are we declaring those lies over our self and others as if they are truth?! Why would we believe anything about our self that is contrary to what God says about us? And why would we need the world or any natural worldly group to deliver us from the evil destructive plans of the enemy when we have already been delivered through the shed blood of Jesus?
I understand that not all believers know or even believe what is said in the Bible, but there will always be a remnant that do! “Believers”, as in those who believe the Word of God, know that they should decree the Word of God over their life and over the lives of those within their sphere of influence. They also know that, as ambassadors of God with delegated dominion and authority, they shouldn’t confess the lies of the enemy over their life or the lives of others.
So, let’s look at the past few months and consider the response of a great portion of the Church.
The worldly media reports COVID-19 is deadly and it’s going to spread everywhere and kill many people. Many in the Church believe this and assimilate to the world through their confession and their actions. Many in the Church are very diligent in repeating the mantra of the world regarding the virus, instead of declaring the Word of the Lord which promises "no weapon formed against us will prosper", and also sickness and disease has no place in us because Jesus bore sickness and disease in His body at Calvary--by His stripes we were healed!
The more the threat of sickness and death are believed and confessed, the more the spirit of fear strikes; and many in the Church have fallen under the dominion of fear and terror! The Church must be a beacon of light and safety that displays the testimony that the Lord’s Word is true and is available to all who will believe. We should be living witnesses that Jesus is the Savior and is the absolute solution to ALL problems.
The enemy knows his time is short and he is determined to exalt himself above God, so he has struck the Church with another devastating blow—which is division. He knows a house divided cannot stand, and he has used the plan of “divide and conquer” very successfully many times in the past. So, what does he use to effect division? Nationality, race, gender, economic status, denominations—or a million other things that make us different from one another. But just magnifying our differences is not enough to divide, he must instill the belief that differences can be favorable or unfavorable. We must be told repetitively what is good and what is bad. How we feel about the differences will be the deciding factor as to whether we are divided.
Why do we keep falling for his junk? Do we really not know who we are in Christ Jesus? For goodness sake—the Creator created us! He doesn’t do "bad"—and He made no two alike!
Under the reign of the god of this world we will remain divided, but the Church shouldn’t live under the reign of the god of this world. We are in this world, but we are not of it—we are members of the family of God—and this important truth makes us one in Messiah!
Don’t let the enemy define who you are and what you have. If you belong to God, then live by every word that proceeds out of His mouth regarding you!
According to God, the following scriptures defines what He has done for us and who we are in Him. Meditate on these words until you believe them!
* “The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath,...” Deut 28:13 (NASB)
* “Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” Ps 100:3 (NASB)
* “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;...” 1 Pet 2:9 (NASB)
* “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;...” Phi 3:20 (NASB)
* “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Gal 3:28 (NASB)
* “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were
making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 2 Cor 5:20 (NASB)
* "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ;...” Rom 8: 14-17 (NASB)
We will be oppressed only if we believe the enemy has the power to oppress us. If we believe our experiences have more power over us than God’s Word, then we will continue to live our lives based upon the sorrows and afflictions of our past.
I believe very strongly that there is a remnant of God’s people who will choose of their own free will to believe what God has said about them rather than what past experiences or the god of this world has dictated to them. They will be a holy, united people who war in the Spirit through the power of the Word of God and not by natural or carnal means.
* “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved
us.” Rom 8:37 (NASB)
* “By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.” Dan 11:32 (NASB)
We are the people of God. For the world’s sake, it’s time for us to act like it!