Know who you are in Christ (Pt.4). How the enemy will use pride and arrogance to entice the weak and control the vulnerable!

The enemy will preoccupy himself  with fantasies that focus on unlimited success, power and intelligence. He has a form of godliness which identifies with a haughtiness. The vulnerable will be deceived, and look to him as being strong because he seems to carry himself with confidence. This confidence he portrays is deceiving because it is not a confidence in God (which is true humility) but a self-confidence conjured up in arrogance and false humility. Those who do not know who they are in Christ will put men like this upon pedestals and follow them. In so doing, this plays right into the hand of the enemy, for it is this kind of people that the enemy encircles himself with. The ignorance of babes, those who are not clothed in Jesus (the armor of God), the insecure, and co-dependents he will use to his advantage for they are his enablers and his followers. Keeping the vulnerable under his control is a twisted mind game he plays as he continually misrepresents facts, even subtly twisting God's Word, or frequently shifting positions as the opportunities arise. Those who do not study God's Word and ask the Holy Spirit for understanding will continually be deceived by the enemy. Not looking to Jesus but man is their bondage, thus they begin to wonder and go astray. Living under the stronghold of obligation and in constant service to please man and not God is their bondage! They operate in the spirit of fear, because they know not the perfect love of Christ for them who casts out all fear! All of this to which the enemy uses to his advantage with his twisted teachings, which ultimately serves him and his purposes. To deny flesh/self and walk in the Spirit is not the mindset of the enemy, but catering to the flesh and making one feel good in the flesh (which ultimately keeps the vulnerable in a weak state) is his goal. For the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! It's a twisted lie and a controlling strategy that the enemy plays. He is a master at manipulating others!

How does the enemy deal with those who know who they are in Christ? If he does not disregard them as an individual as well as their viewpoints, he will make it a point to belittle them and or jest about them and their viewpoints, or he will disregard them as if they never existed, for his relation with them was only based upon their support of his authority and grandiosity. Beyond that they are nameless, faceless and worthless. Submitting to God and resisting the devil will cause the enemy to flee from you. If the enemy is challenged by one who is strong in the Lord and his control seems threatened, insanity (in the person that the enemy is using) will be unveiled, he will respond like a crazy person who thinks his survival is at stake, thus evil is seen in all its glory! The enemy can be so twisted and manipulating that he can express himself as potentially violent or show forth socially unacceptable impulses in a modified socially acceptable manner which deceives the weak in faith but displays to those who are strong in the Lord a wolf in sheep clothing. Cult leaders bare these characteristics (Narcissism at it's finest). If you know who you are in Christ you will not be deceived and snared by the enemy. Those who know who they are in Christ are not silenced by such a one either. The enemy is the one who will be silenced! Those who know who they are in Christ have no fear of man and what man can do to them. They care not of being bullied or made fun of, for they need not recognition from man. They do not need to be acknowledged by man or rewarded by man. They know that their reward will be much greater when they finally meet their Jesus! Those who know who they are in Christ, care not for the accolades of this world. The ironic thing about this is, even though they care not about recognition from man, God has a way of giving those who know who they are in Christ a platform so they will be recognized, but all for His glory! Jesus was exalted and suffered for the salvation of mankind and for the glory of His Father. Thusly, those who know who they are in Christ may also be exalted and/or may have to suffer for the cause of Christ for the glory of God! Their confidence in God will be a true humility! Count it all joy when persecuted for the cause of Christ. Love your enemies and pray for those who despitefully use you. If you are secure in your relationship with Jesus, you will have a peace that passes all understanding and a joy that makes you strong in the Lord, no matter what you face! Your mission is to glorify your Father in who He created you to be. It is who you are!

As we continue in Pt. 5 "Know who you are in Christ Jesus" we will talk about "Jesus in us our hope of glory"

Know who you are in Christ Jesus Pt. 1

How important is it to know who you are in Christ Jesus? It is of great importance for each of us to realize and understand our place in Christ so that the enemy cannot enslave us. Not knowing who we are as a child of God makes us vulnerable to the tricks and schemes of the devil. Deception enslaves and places shackles on God's people. The only way to know who you are in Christ is to know His Word and to understand what is the lie and what is the Truth! Our worth is not in and of ourselves but who we are in Him. Our true identity is who our Creator created us to be. Our Creator knows each of us intimately and desires us to know Him intimately. Our Heavenly Father who created us and knew us before the foundations of the world loves us very much. His desires for us are for our good and not our harm, to give us a hope and a future. He desires for us to know His love, joy and peace in our lives as well as His freedom. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom! Whom the Son sets free is free indeed! May your joy be full just as mine is, said Jesus. We must each be transformed by the renewing of our minds, and the only way this is possible is to know who we are in the eyes of Christ!

What does God's Word say about us and Himself and who we are in Him? Here is a few things: I did not give you a spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid for in this world there will be troubles but I have overcome the world. I will never leave you nor forsake you, I am with you always even until the very end and then I am still with you. I have come to heal the broken hearted and set at liberty those who are held captive. I am the Great Good Shepherd and my sheep hear my voice, and I call them by name and they follow me.

The question is, are you following Jesus "the great good Shepherd?" Is He truly the Shepherd of your life? If He is, then you will know the freedom and joy of being lead by Him. No fear, no bondage,  peace in the midst of troubles, and the fullness of His joy in your life despite circumstances. The comfort of His Holy Spirit will always be with you, tending to your every need. His love always washing over you bringing refreshing to your soul as you eat in green pastures and drink from the still waters. He is your bread of life and the water that causes you to never thirst again. Jesus our Shepherd never leaves us with feelings of helplessness, hopelessness or vulnerability. There is no condemnation in Him but only saving grace and mercy offered to all who call upon His name and follow Him. He loves us with an Everlasting Love and draws us with His Loving Kindness! Even when our Shepherd must chastise us, it is not done as to cause us to cower in fear of Him for being disobedient. His chastising is done in love as to refine, purify and protect us (His Lambs and Sheep). A Good Shepherd has been known to break a leg of a straying lamb with His Shepherd's hook as to keep a lamb from continually going astray, then the good Shepherd will bind up His lamb's leg and carry him upon His shoulders until the lamb's leg is healed. The bond that grows during this time between the straying lamb and the Shepherd is a loving bond that can never be broken.

The Good Shepherd will leave the 99 in a safe place together while He searches for the straying lamb. Isn't it amazing that the majority (the 99) stay close to the Shepherd but there seems to be the one who always wanders, thus continually placing himself in harms way, where it can be devoured by a predator/the enemy? The wandering lamb may be deceived in thinking that the pastures may look greener on the other side but when they get there they find it was just an illusion. Could it be that, that "one" may not know who they are in the eyes of Christ Jesus/their Great Good Shepherd? Could it be that this wandering lamb/sheep who sabotages his life and places his worth in the abusiveness of the enemy enslaving himself to fear and bondage not know who they are in Christ Jesus?

To be continued....