Part Two: Who Are You?

Fresh Manna© by Pastor Tim Burt
http://www.freshmanna.org

Isaiah 54:17 “But in that coming day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. And everyone who tells lies in court will be brought to justice. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt like it started out as a bad day before you even got out of bed? You slept lousy. You dreamt weird pizza dreams. You look in the mirror and are almost frightened at what you see. You put on outfit that just won’t seem to coordinate. You mind is screaming – “you look ugly, you didn’t get any sleep and you won’t make it through the day, and you are useless anyway.” Let me ask you – who would be behind that kind of day’s start and those kinds of thoughts, God or Satan?

That is the beauty of God-given discernment. You can figure that out. God would not be behind that kind of start to your day or behind those kinds of thoughts. Satan would like to discourage you and start your day off wishing you hadn’t woken up.

We all experience days where everything just seems to create pressure – where mishaps and problems want to overtake us. If we cave in to our feelings in times like that and let our emotions match our circumstances, the day will go from bad to worse in record time. It’s at times like that you have to look in the mirror and shout “Stop!” “I am a child of God. His grace will give me the strength and wisdom I need for this day. Jesus paid the price for me to be blessed. Galatians 3:11 says that God’s children “…live by faith.” I refuse to look at the circumstances that surround me and let Satan dictate my emotions. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says that I “walk by faith, not by sight.” God is with me and will turn this day around as I apply my faith.”

Now as you are still looking in the mirror say, “See you are looking better already!” Redo you hair. Put on a different outfit. Know His grace will be your strength for the day. Start singing about how good God is to you! Make up a song and sing about His goodness. Make yourself laugh. Put on a smile. Look back in that mirror and say, “Now you are walking toward a good day with the Lord. His favor is upon me and He will bless everything I diligently put my hand to! Praise the Lord.”

Why can you do such a thing? Because of who you are! People that don’t know Jesus just get up believing they are a victim of their feelings and whatever comes their way that day. That is not the case with you. That is not who you are. You are God’s child. Romans 8:16 says, “The Holy Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” As a child of God He has given us His name over the enemy in this earth. Mark 16:17-18 says, “These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages (tongues). … They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them.”

You may think, “That is pretty hard for me to believe. Who am I to do those things?” Exactly. That is the thinking of people that DON’T know who they are in Christ. Until you know who you are, you’ll never step out in faith believing God is in you and wanting to work through you. Even when you do begin to take steps of faith – they be more like steps of hope. You won’t really believe it until you see God moving through your steps of faith. When you do, you’ve become a threat to Satan. That is who you are.

Let me show you more about the secrets of God and the power of His name. Remember when Moses was leading the children of Israel out of Egypt? He came up to the Red Sea with Pharaoh coming quickly behind him and with them having no place to go. The Lord spoke to Moses at the time and told him what to do. Jesus name and authority was hidden in God’s instruction to Moses in Exodus 14:16. “But lift thou up thy rod (branch), and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. When Moses held the rod out over the Red Sea, the Red Sea divided and they walked through but Pharaoh’s army drowned as the sea came back together on them.”

The word for rod in the Hebrew means branch. Did you know that branch was one of the names God gave Jesus in the prophesies of His coming. We see it in Isaiah 11:1. “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots…” This verse is talking about Jesus coming from the linage of Jesse and David. He was called “a Branch” – the same word for Moses rod over the Red Sea. Moses rod represented the power and authority of the name of Jesus leading to their miracle, their deliverance from Pharaoh’s army, and Pharaoh’s (or Satan’s) defeat.

Jesus is your branch – your authority and your defense against Satan dictating his attacks against you. That is who you are. Today’s Fresh Manna is your heritage and God’s promise to you! It’s who you are. Isaiah 54:17 “But in that coming day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. And everyone who tells lies in court will be brought to justice. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
http://www.freshmanna.org