If you were suddenly woken up at night and asked who you are, what would your response be? Would you mention your name or would you just stare?
Just sample out 100 people over the next 10 days and ask each and every one of them this question:
Who are you?
The typical reponse you will get will not vary much from the responses below;
I am John Smith (their name), I am the child of God, I am a brother or sister to so & so, I am the director of xyz ltd, I am a teacher, I am a doctor, I am a bus driver, I am a pastor, I am the father of ... , I am the mother of ..... The list goes on and on...
The crucial question though is this; Who are you really? It's worth noting however that, there can only be one you, and no substitute whatsoever.
But,.....
Is it really easy to know oneself?
Well, humanly speaking, I don't think so but it is possible and I will share that insight with you in a minute by the grace of God.
Lets begin first of all by looking at Identity, shall we?
Well, humanly speaking, I don't think so but it is possible and I will share that insight with you in a minute by the grace of God.
Lets begin first of all by looking at Identity, shall we?
Identity is one of the biggest crisis that has pledged the human generation for time immemorial and is not showing any signs of abating its grip on many souls and even more sadly, of being used as a vehicle for attack by the evil one.
You see, once you don't know the truth, especially the truth about who you are, you can easily be deceived and continue to beleive that who you are is for example, what you do for a living or how you identify yourself in your community
The truth though about who you are, only comes by revelation.
Let me relate to you a more detailed identity question(s) I was confronted with one time and the revelations I got in the word of God through the writings of the great men of Faith
Here is the question(s);......
Who am I?
What characterises me (what really makes up my character)?
What relates to my situation (how did I find myself in this situation whether good or bad)?
What is external to me (that which is important or not important to me)
And here are the answers;....
What I am is not at all the same as that which characterises me; nor is what characterises me the same as that which relates to my situation; nor is what relates to my situation the same as that which is external to me.
In each case the one is distinct from the other in the following respects;
- What I am is an image of God manifest in a spiritual, immortal and intelligent soul, having an intellect that is father of my consciousness and that is cosubstantial with the soul and inseparable from it. This does not change.
- That which characterises me, and is regal and sovereign, is the power of intelligence and free will.
- That which relates to my situation is what I may choose in exercising my free will, such as whether to be a farmer, a builder, a cleaner, a doctor, and architect, an accountant, an entrepreneur, a mathematician or a philosopher.
- That which is external to me is whatever relates to my ambitions in this present life, to my class status and worldly wealth, to glory, honour, prosperity and exalted rank, or to their opposites; poverty, dishonour, ignominy and misfortune.The great men of faith say that; when you know yourself you cease from all outward tasks undertaken with a view to serving God and enter into the very sanctuary of God, into the noetic liturgy of the Spirit, the divine haven of dispassion and humility. But until you come to know yourself through humility and spiritual knowledge your life is one of toil and sweat.
The enemy is in the habit of telling you that what is external to you is really the most important and nowadays he does it mostly through media; television adverts/commercials, bad companions, peer pressure and in all sorts of ways and they may all seem to be okay to you. No harm, it is not alt all evil you may say to yourself. You should however remember that the scriptures say that the devil is capable of transforming himself into an angel of light(2 Corinthians 11:140) and try to seduce us in what seemingly seems innocent and normal.
Question then is,.....
What should we do when the devil transforms himself into an angel of light and tries to seduce us with external things?
Answer,.....
You need great discrimination in order to distinguish between good and evil.
Answer,.....
You need great discrimination in order to distinguish between good and evil.
Do not therefor readily or lightly put your trust in appearances, but weigh things well, and after testing everything carefully cleave to what is good and reject what is evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
You must test and discriminate before you give credence to anything. Realise that truth is not evinced by looks, gestures or words, and God reposes not in these things but in a contrite heart, a humble spirit and a soul illumined by the knowledge of God.
You must also be aware that the effects of grace are self evident, and that even if the devil does transform himself he cannot produce these effects: he cannot for example induce you to be gentle, or forbearing, or humble, or joyful, or serene, or stable in your thoughts; he can not make you hate what is worldly, or cut sensual indulgence and the working of the passions as grace does. He produces vanity, haughtiness, cowardice and every kind of evil.
Thus you can tell from its effects whether the light shinning in your soul is from God or from satan. The lettuce is similar in appearance to the endive, and vinegar to wine; but when you taste them, the palate discerns and recognises the differences between each. In the same way the soul, if it possesses the power of discrimination, can distinguish with its noetic sense between the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the illusions of satan.
You must test and discriminate before you give credence to anything. Realise that truth is not evinced by looks, gestures or words, and God reposes not in these things but in a contrite heart, a humble spirit and a soul illumined by the knowledge of God.
You must also be aware that the effects of grace are self evident, and that even if the devil does transform himself he cannot produce these effects: he cannot for example induce you to be gentle, or forbearing, or humble, or joyful, or serene, or stable in your thoughts; he can not make you hate what is worldly, or cut sensual indulgence and the working of the passions as grace does. He produces vanity, haughtiness, cowardice and every kind of evil.
Thus you can tell from its effects whether the light shinning in your soul is from God or from satan. The lettuce is similar in appearance to the endive, and vinegar to wine; but when you taste them, the palate discerns and recognises the differences between each. In the same way the soul, if it possesses the power of discrimination, can distinguish with its noetic sense between the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the illusions of satan.
So, to know yourself means that you must guard yourself diligently from everything external to you; it means respite from worldly concerns and cross-examination of your conscience. In other words, things like; status, worldly wealth, poverty, prosperity, misfortune etc, should not define who you are and you must make a conscious decision not to allow such things define who you are.
You must test and discriminate before you give credence to anything, your identity lies in God.
Speak to you soon,
Peace & Love
Sterling
