KEYS TO LIVING AN EMPOWERED CHRISTIAN LIFE.

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

For awhile now I have been on a journey of trying to figure out why as Christians we tend to live a defeated life. The Bible tells us that we are God’s children and with that in mind it does not make sense why we would suffer yet He owns 1000 castles in a 1000 hills. Why would we suffer when we belong to a Kingdom that endorses abundance. And although I am still on that journey to discovering, I have found a couple of things that help. And to help us unpack the keys to living an empowered Christian life, I would like for us to look at the story of the prodigal son.

Luke 15:11-32

In Luke 15: 11 onward, the Bible talks about the story of the prodigal son. In summary it talks about a man who had two sons. The younger one decides to get his inheritance and his father obliges. He then leaves his father’s nest and goes to live it up in another country. He ‘yolos’ and eventually runs out of cash. Unfortunately, his friends desert him and to make matter worse famine strikes. So now he has to look for a Job. He manages to get one – looking after pigs.- Due to the severity of the famine he resorts to eating with the pigs.  How the might have fallen, right?

The good part starts

Fortunately for him he comes to his senses and decides to go back home. However this time it was different. All he wanted was to be a servant because he felt like he did not deserve to be a son after all that he had done. On his way back, his father spots him from afar, a clear sign that he had been waiting for him and hoping for his return .

As soon as his father spots him he runs towards him and embraces him. He does not even give him the chance to give the speech he had prepared. His father then instructs his servants to get him a robe, sandals and a ring. Furthermore he also prepares a banquet in his honor. What a homecoming.. imagine how happy his son must have felt  after receiving that warm welcome knowing what he had done.  

As the party was going on the other son comes home and after finding out the reason for the party he sulks.. The father once more goes to talk to the sulking son and meets him at his level. He even explains to him that what he had was his so there was no need to worry. The father validated him. No condemnation, no judgement, just validation. What a father. As I was reading this passage, a couple of things stood out from each character in the passage. And I realized that these were the ingredients to living an empowered life.

4 Keys To Living The Blessed Life As A Godly Sophisticated Woman.

3 Keys to living an empowered Christian Life based on the parable of the prodigal son.

Position/ Identity

You see, although the prodigal son got many things wrong, there was one he got right. In verse 12, the Bible shows us that the son knew his identity. He was confident of his position in his father’s house. He knew he did not need to beg or try to earn what was already his to begin with. The prodigal son recognized that his birth warranted that he received an inheritance from his father. He therefore did not see the need to wait for his father to die so he could inherit. Talk about confidence.

This begs the question, do you know your identify in Christ? Have you been living your life with a lack of awareness of your position in Christ? You see, living an empowered Christian life requires that you know who you are and believe it. In John 1:5 the Bible tells us that to those who believe He gave them the right to become children of God. And as a child you have the right to belong and be protected. You are no longer an orphan. God made the choice to adopt you and even paid the price for you to be redeemed.

In the Jewish culture, there are very stringent laws that govern the adoption of a child. Once you adopt a child it is illegal for you to disown them. After all, they were minding their business before you came and interrupted them. In fact it is even easier to disown your biological child than it is to disown an adopted child. With this context in mind, I want you to ask yourself this question, do you live life like an orphan inspite of your salvation? Have you been living life like a second class citizen?

You are no longer an orphan. You have an identity and a sense of belonging. God chose you and He wants you to experience His goodness and partake in the inheritance He so willingly wants to share with you. You don’t have to wait until you get to heaven to experience all that Jesus paid for you to have.

You see…

The truth is that the day you became a Christian you automatically became a child of God. And as His child you have access to His power, authority, inheritance and blessings. Let’s look at the story of Abraham for instance. His saying yes to following God accorded him all the other blessings. He did not need to beg for the blessings or try to earn them. All God required from him was his faith and obedience.

Your identity is found in Jesus. And the guarantee that you are God’s child is the fact that you have the Holy Spirit in you. He is your promise to eternal life and the guarantee that you belong to the kingdom of God. Now don’t get me wrong good works are great and all. But if I was to ask, why do you do good? What’s your motive? Are you trying to earn something from God? Are you looking for some brawny points to guarantee that God blesses you? If your answer us yes then you are operating from an orphan mentality. Today I want to remind you that you belong and you cannot earn what Jesus already freely gave you.

How can you restore your identity?

You see, if you don’t know your identity the devil will toy with your emotions. The devil will make you think you don’t have power and authority yet Jesus already gave them to you. Do you know that’s what he was trying to do to Jesus? Imagine this, the devil tried to get Jesus to question his identity by constantly asking Jesus to prove that He really was a child of God. To the point of promising Jesus wealth and power, something He already had to begin with. If you don’t know your identity, the devil will try to give you a false identity. And this identity will leave you depleted, bound and living in a place of fear.  

Reading the Bible.

The Bible contains the blueprint for your everyday living. It is in the Bible that you will know who you are. God calls You His own. He says that He has given you power and authority, He has also promised you all the spiritual gifts in heavenly places. Furthermore He has made you a Co heir with Jesus. He calls you a royal priesthood and a king. You see, unless you read the Bible you will never truly know who God says you are.

Internalize and personalize.

It is not enough to read the Bible, you also have to internalize and personalize it. Remember in the book of Joshua when God told Joshua that he was to meditate on the scriptures day and night. Well, internalizing means that you’ve got to meditate on what the word says. Read that particular verse until it is engraved in your heart. And then personalize it. Instead of reading it as you have been given power to trample over snakes and scorpions. Insert your name there.

THE GIFT CALLED GRACE

You can say, I, Mercy, I have been given power to trample over snakes and scorpions. And as you read that picture the ‘snakes’ in your life and imagine yourself trampling over them. If it’s scriptures that talk about you being a child of God. Envision yourself as His Child and how you would behave. Would you go about scared and trying to prove yourself? Remember you are dealing with a perfect Father. Personalizing scripture is the key to transformation. That’s how you renew your mind to really embrace your true identity.

Intimacy and fellowship.

Spending time with God in prayer and communication is yet another way to solidify your identity. As you spend time with God, He will reveal to you who you are. He will give you revelations that speak specifically to you therefore giving you the confidence to truly step into your identity. His love will also cast out the fear that yields the orphan mentality. But for you to encounter His love you need to get to a place of trust which is cultivated through intimacy and spending time in His presence.

The second key to living an empowered Christian life is proximity.

You see while the prodigal son left home to enjoy his inheritance. The elder brother chose to stay. And everything that befell the prodigal son did not befall him.  It is not enough to know your identity. You also need to remain and abide in Jesus. That’s why the Bible reminds us in Psalm 91 that it is those who dwell under the shelter of the Most High that abide under His shadow.

His protection is found in His presence. There was no way that the prodigal Father would have protected his son because he was not under him. And without his fathers protection he gave room to bad company and people with evil intentions to come near him.

As Christians it is important to recognize that while it’s true God is powerful, we need to accept the boundaries He sets so that we can experience His protection and safety. As powerful as King Charles is, there is a level of security and protection he can mot offer Prince Harry simply because he chose to leave.

God’s boundaries are for our own protection. When we go against His will, we give the enemy the legal right to torment us. Remember when Jesus said that no one could harm Him because it wasn’t time for Him to die? This proves to us that when we follow God’s laws we get to experience His protection and the devil will not torment us. That’s why the devil had to ask for permission to torment Job. God had to allow it for him to act because Job knew to follow God’s laws.  And again you need to read God’s word in order to know His instructions then follow what He says.

THE REDEMPTIVE LOVE OF GOD: EXPERIENCE IT TODAY!

The third key to living an empowered Christian life is the revelation of His love

This is the ultimate key, recognizing that God loves you will make it easy for you to follow His instruction and will give you the confidence you need to embrace your identity in Christ. Perfect love casts out fear and fear is the root cause of the orphan spirit. Therefore receiving and accepting the love of Jesus Christ will restore your identity. And again the revelation of God’s love for you will give you the confidence you need to trust His ways. And this makes it easy to obey Him, follow His leading and live within His boundaries. Knowing His heart and love for you will make it easy for you to submit to His ways.

Receiving His love boils down to faith in Jesus and intimacy with Him. The more you spend time with Jesus, the easier it will be to trust Him and the more you will get to love Him. Do you believe Jesus loves you? If you don’t, spend time reading His word so you can understand His heart for you. Ask Him questions, commune with Him and as you do that you will get to truly know Him.

What now…

Living an empowered Christian life is possible. I don’t know what end of the spectrum you are on today. Are you strugling to know your identity in Christ? Or are you struggling to obey His word because you don’t trust His heart for you. I want to encourage you to receive His love. The revelation of God’s love for you is what will anchor you on your identity in Him. His love will give you the confidence you need to embrace who you truly are.

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For the prodigal…

If you have wandered away His love will draw you back to Him. Remember this, He will leave the 99 to run after you. His arms are wide open waiting for you to accept His warm embrace. And the beauty is He will redeem you just like the father redeemed his son. He gave him a robe, sandals and a ring. These three things were symbolic. The robe and sandals represented a restoration of his identity. While the ring represented a restoration of his authority.

As Christians, the sandals and robe represent the Holy Spirit. He is the guarantor of our faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit acts as an engagement ring to serve as a promise of what is to come. While the Holy Spirit never leaves, we can easily stifle His voice through our rebellion. However when we come back, we give Him the authority to lead us again.. And as Romans 8 tells us, He will constantly reassure us of our identity in Christ.

The ring on the other hand represents the Name of Jesus. As a child of God, you have the legal right to use the name of Jesus and see the manifest power of the same. The disciples were amazed of the power the name of Jesus held. They were shocked that demons and sicknesses would bow at the mention of His Name. The same is true even now. The Name of Jesus is powerful. However for you to experience its power, you will need to know your identity, be in close proximity to Him and have a revelation of His love for you.

You can come back to God anytime. His arms are wide open. And He will not ostracize you. There is still a place for you in His kingdom. And when you come back, don’t allow the enemy to lie to you and condemn you. The Lord does not condemn us. He convicts us and does so with love. Just like He did for the Israelites years past, He will do the same for you. He will forgive, restore, redeem and make you whole.

For the older son

You don’t need to earn His love or His blessings. Jesus already paid the price for your salvation. There is room for you at the table and a blessing with your name on it. You are not an orphan, He calls you His own. Your identity is secure in Him. Stop striving, rest in Him. Allow Him to carry your weight and step into your place of rest. You cannot earn His acceptance, His love or His blessings, He is your Father, approach Him as such.

Don’t be afraid of Him, He wants to see you smile and thrive. And don’t feel bad when others get blessed, there is a blessing with your name on it. Them being blessed and accepted does not take away from your own acceptance and blessings.

Conclusion

God’s ultimate desire is for you to live an empowered Christian life. He has already paid the price so you don’t have to live a defeated life. Knowing your identity is the key to defeating the lies of the enemy. It is time for you to thrive. That is God’s desire for you. Be un-apologetically God’s child and live as such.

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes