by Pastor Mark Cowart
It is time for the Body of Christ to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, as demonstrated in the early Church. We must again access, through our relationship with Jesus, the fullness of His Holy Spirit working through us.
How have we lost our identity in Christ, which gives us this power? In the same way that identity theft operates in the natural world to rob a person of rightful access to their assets, our identity has been hijacked for decades. We are just beginning to remember that we are God-ordained believers, and that we have protection, responsibility, and power because of it.
Until now, the American Church’s light has steadily dimmed, having fallen asleep under a blanket of cultural darkness. But there is hope! God is awakening His people, and an army is arising. Will you be part of that army?
To prepare for this mission, you must realize the foundation of your authority as a believer and the power to shine your light and overcome the darkness comes from your identity in Christ. You must know who you are in God’s Kingdom because of what the Lord has done for you. Your standing and authority in the spiritual realm depends on your certainty that you are God’s fully-equipped warrior child, redeemed by His love.
This kind of faith comes only from the Word of God and your right standing through Christ. Any other source for assessing your worth will rob you. You cannot trust your own reasoning, you cannot trust other people’s opinions, and you surely cannot trust the accusations of the enemy. You must search out what the Word of God says about who you are.
What is identity in the spiritual sense? It is found in our complete union with Christ in His substitutionary work on our behalf. Beyond forgiving you, God has elevated you to a place of spiritual authority that you must lay hold of by faith. The devil will not stop, in this life, reminding you of your past failures in order to keep you from operating in your heavenly identity.
So, this is where the battle begins. You must know what God says about you, so you can combat what the enemy says about you and stand established in your identity as a son or daughter of God. Only then can you move fully into your destiny in Christ. Righteousness or right standing with God is what He did for us. Holiness is about what we do with His gift.
He took your sin. You received His righteousness.
There are five things that happened to you when you accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord:
1) You were crucified with Him. (Galatians 2:20)
2) You died with Him. (Romans 6:6)
3) You were buried with Him. (Romans 6:4)
4) You were made alive with Him. (Ephesians 2:5)
5) You were raised and seated with Him in heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:6)
Satan will try to destroy you, try to steal from you, and ultimately try to kill you in order to hinder you from operating in your true identity in Christ. The resulting pain in your life will either produce perils or power. Your trials will either be instructive or destructive. It is up to you. You must continually decide that your past does not dictate your future in order to return to your power and walk in the righteousness and power of Christ that is yours.
REFLECT
1) Do you identify more with your past sin, failures, and mistakes, or do you
identify more with what Jesus did for you on the cross?
2) What does the Word of God say about who you are in Christ and what
you can do? Make a list.
3) Meditate on those five things (listed above) which Scripture states
happened to you through the sacrifice of Jesus.
DIVE DEEPER
• II Corinthians 5:21
• Galatians 2:20
• I Corinthians 4:20
• Philippians 4:13
• Romans 8:31-39
• Luke 10:19
• Hebrews 12:14
• Ephesians 1:17-21
• John 10:10
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