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St. Paul School of Leadership & Discipleship Lesson 219 - BELIEVE WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT YOU...NOT WHAT YOU FEEL! (God's Plans and Promises for You from the Book of Isaiah) By Frank Eiklor and the Shalom Team “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass?” Isaiah 51:12 This verse contains a powerful truth for those who determine to be Christ's disciples. First comes God's awesome declaration of who He is—the One and only "I am"—and He adds extra emphasis by saying, "I, even I, am He." Second comes His action toward His redeemed ones, including you and me—His guarantee to comfort us. Third comes an interesting question that deserves a second look: instead of asking, "who is man that you should be afraid of him", the Lord turns it around with "who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die..." That question deserves an answer. "Who are you," not as you see yourself, but as God sees you? In our walk as pilgrims and soldiers of Messiah Jesus, we often look in the mirror and faint at what we see. Merely human! Weak! Nobodies! And the devil is at our side to say, "That's right! Seeing is believing!" But how does God want us to answer the question He raises: "Who are you?" We are to look into another mirror - the Word of God - and dare to boldly answer: "I am a king and a priest! I am an heir and a joint—heir with Christ! I am a partaker of His divine nature! I am seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus! I am His soldier with all of the armor of God available to stand against, and defeat, the enemy!" The story is told of King Richard the Lion-hearted who was fighting a battle with the issue in doubt. Suddenly his armor bearer shouted to him, "King Richard, remember who you are!" He did - and won the battle! You, too, are not to fear puny man. Remember who you are in Christ and fight the good fight! My prayer: "Lord Jesus, it is not how I see myself, but how You see me, that counts. Open my spiritual eyes to see the greatness of 'Christ in me' so that I will only fear You and never fear men." "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:1)
Related Articles · More Articles Jesus said many would come in His name and deceive the hearts of the simple, sinful and proud. Eastern mysticism and meditation is a big thing in the gullible West. And one day a “world leader” will appear on the scene with the persuasion of a god and the heart of a devil. Jesus warns His children to know the Scriptures, live in obedience to the Father’s will, and stay alert to the signs of the times. They laugh no more. Now God’s description of how He will destroy the old earth and create a
new one makes perfect sense. The splitting of the atom turned many skeptics into believers.
After all, look what man himself is capable of doing with the atom and hydrogen bombs. Now
the fear is that nuclear weapons are being placed in the hands of madmen who wish to annihilate
their enemies. God has blessed man with incredible genius. We stand in awe as we watch men and women in a room full of computers and high-tech instruments guiding and landing spacecraft on distant planets. At that moment, we appear invincible. But then a mammoth tornado comes—or a terrifying hurricane—or rains that flood whole regions and never listen to our shouts to “Stop!”—or the shake that removes from under our feet any confidence or pride we carry, and leaves us numb with hardly enough breath to even utter the paralyzing word “EARTHQUAKE!”. And man is helpless in the face of it all! |
