When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Do you see a girl with eyes that could be bigger? A nose that could be slimmer? Lips that could be plumper? Do you look at your clothes and think they should be more expensive or that you should wear shoes from a higher tier of designers?
Whatever the case, consider that Philippians 3:20 states "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." Now, ask yourself, how often do you think about your identity as a citizen of God's kingdom? How often does it cross your mind that the kingdom you belong to has a prince and Savior called Christ?
If the answer is 'not enough' then today is the day to make a change.
It is easy to see yourself as the pieces of who you are. The world has conditioned you to see yourself according to your race, gender, or nationality. These qualifiers make it easy for the people of this earth to assess and qualify who they think you are. However, everything about you changed when you committed to Christ and declared Him your Lord. You went from being an ordinary individual to becoming an extraordinary person. You received the Holy Spirit and all the power of God became accessible to you. And, as you continue to submit to that transformation, you will grow in prayer, praise, and the studying of the Bible. The Lord will deem you trustworthy to receive insight into things hidden from the average person and your discernment shall increase.
Unfortunately, satan knows this and wants you to focus instead on how ordinary people see you. As a person who needs to make more money. Someone who needs to wear designer goods. Someone who isn't good enough. When you agree with what satan wants instead of breaking agreement with those lies, you become powerless and less of a threat to the devil's kingdom. This results in you relinquishing the gleaming robe the Lord placed on your shoulders. That, and the crown He adorned your head with. These are supposed to tell the world you are His, a diadem of pure gold, immaculately constructed for God's purposes here on earth.
Therefore, you can't afford to ignore who you are. You must not take off the beautiful garments the Lord has clothed you in, replacing them with the rags the devil wants you to wear instead. Each day, you must rise from your bed reminding yourself that you are God's ambassador. As you step out your door, fix that crown on your head and lift your chin. Walk through the world exuding the fragrance of Christ - leaving people and places better because you were around and brought the Lord's presence with you. This cannot happen in a vacuum. You will have to make God's word a constant companion. You will have to abandon yourself to praising Him as that builds union with the Lord. You'll have to learn to create quiet moments to not just speak to Him but hear what He has to say in return.
And as the years pass, your Kingdom identity will be more evident to others. This is because it will be deeply woven into every part of your being. Never forget that through Christ you are a full-fledged member of God's holy household, a citizen of His kingdom (Ephesians 2:19). That you are an ambassador for His kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:20). Wear your Kingdom Identity and walk in it.
To learn more, please read the following related posts:
Exploring the Role of the Five-Fold Ministry in the Christian Faith: How Do You Fit In? (The Five-fold Ministry 1)
Unveiling the Crucial Role of the Five-Fold Ministry: How Do You Contribute to the Body of Christ (The Five-fold Ministry 2)
Embracing the Five-Fold Ministry: Unlocking Personal Benefits of Serving God (The Five-fold Ministry 3)
CLOSING PRAYER
Jehovah Shammah. Jehovah Kadosh. Jehovah Tsidkenu. See how fear You have brought us. Today is Day 342 of P&P. We have met over the years by Your grace and to Your glory. Thank You for these opportunities.
Thank You as well for today's fellowship. Please remember those who participated. Lord, cover them in Your favor and salvation. Help them in the ways they need Your help and advance them in such a way that it is clear it could only have been You. IJMN, Amen.
Thank You again, and we look forward to the next chance to meet. Glory, Honor, Praise, and adoration belong to You, King of kings. Hallelujah!
From Amanda Woodward - Father God, thank you for granting me another day to experience your love and grace. I am grateful for the fresh mercies that greet me each morning, reminding me of your endless compassion. As I wake up to a new day, I feel surrounded by your presence and guided by your light. Thank you for the gift of life and the opportunities it brings to grow closer to you. Thank you for another chance to live out your calling in my life. Help me to walk in alignment with your will and purpose. IJMN, Amen!
From MamaFatCheeks - Lord Jesus, I come to you today and thank You for the privilege of praying for others. I've been the recipient of others' prayers so often, I understand how powerful intercessory prayer can be. I ask You first to cleanse my heart and show me if there is any unconfessed sin in my own life so that my prayers for others will not be hindered. I thank you that through your name, I can come boldly before you and pray with confidence, according to your will and know that you hear me.
I lift up those in my neighborhood, in my city, and in my church. Begin with those who follow you, and help them influence others for good. Let them be salt and light, pointing others to you. Deepen their love for you and for the people around them. Guard them from hypocrisy or from giving in to temptations that could harm the cause of Christ. Raise up leaders who will serve you faithfully at all costs. Turn the hearts of fathers toward their children, and families toward you. Help them to exemplify your values, and make them bold in their faith. Strengthen my own family, and those closest to me, Lord. May our love for you help us to love and forgive others and make a difference in our world.
I pray for teachers, for students, and for all those in authority and leadership, both locally and throughout the world. Give them your mind, and surround them with godly counselors who will exercise integrity and work for justice, morality, and freedom. Help them to esteem you, not dismiss you. Send revival, Lord.
We pray for the lost, the hurting, the lonely, the sick, the bereaved, and those who are imprisoned—behind both visible and invisible walls. Send Your comfort, Your Peace, and Your calming presence to those who are without hope. Protect the defenseless, and hold them close to your heart. I pray for laborers to tell the good news of Jesus to people around our world. Jesus, my heart cries out for persecuted believers, too. Make them brave, and give them your powerful protection. I pray you will bring swift justice to those who want to destroy the innocent and those who carry your name. Bind the power of Satan, and strengthen believers everywhere.
So many needs, Jesus, but you are adequate for every need. Your name is powerful, and your power is great. So it's in your name that I pray—and believe.
Amen
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. Exodus 14:13
LAST 10 MINUTES
What is your primary identity? Is it your race? Your gender? Your marital status? Or is it based on something you desire but don't yet have?
No matter the case, your primary identity needs to be that of a citizen of heaven. If you have given your life to Christ, then that is your Kingdom Identity. In the event you have forgotten, there is no need to feel bad. Right now is the moment to remember that you are a part of God's kingdom. This is the moment to break agreement with that forgetfulness. It is time to reassert who you are to God, who He has called you to be, and how you need to see yourself.
Father, thank You for today is the day of Your salvation and I remember that I am redeemed by You. Thank You for saving me. Thank You for opening Your hands to me. Thank You because when I accepted Christ as my Savior, I became Your child and became part of the greatest family to ever exist. Thank You that I am born of the Lion and so that's exactly what I am. Lord, help me to remember my Kingdom Identity. Help me to know that in all things and at all times, I can do all through Christ who strengthens me. I am surrounded by the horses and chariots of fire. The blood of Jesus has bought me and I am no longer ordinary but extraordinary. IJMN, Amen.
Hallelujah!!!
You have put your kingdom identity on, so what remains for you to dance? Put some praise music and dance in praise to the Lord.
From Cookie Doe - Family, please be willing to receive instruction, direction, correction, and even elevation.
Instruction = the willingness to follow before you can lead
Direction = a lack of direction can lead to feelings of being incomplete, new goals appear when old goals are accomplished
Correction = admitting to yourself that you are not always right. Admitting when you are wrong. And allowing for others to accomplish their goals by taking a different approach than you did and still cheering for them.
Elevation = When God is calling you higher, stop telling Him why you can't do it. He knew you before He knitted you in your mother's womb, He knows what He put into you and what you can accomplish with it.
Strive to learn 1 of 2 things everyday. Either learn how to do something or learn how not to do a thing, but as long as you learn.
Blessings
From MamaFatCheeks - Good afternoon Peppers.... It's been a long time!
First giving honor to God who is the head of my life. Thank You Father God for a brand new month. It has been a challenging season, BUT GOD! We give thanks for the ways that the Lord has shown up for our family. Thank you all for your prayers over my Mother. She was hospitalized in February with Pneumonia and just last week for an allergic reaction. She is doing much better now, praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord! This passage reminds me of the following song. It is easy to be distracted by the conditions of this world, but whose report will we believe? Almighty God, thank you for seeing me as your child. Lord, I am so grateful that you adopted me into your kingdom. Your love and protection guides me. I pray to see myself the way that You see me, and share that light with the world. Hallelujah!
Good God, You are the Almighty. Nobody compares to You. Father, please hear my prayer for people that they come to a knowledge of You as You promised in Jeremiah 24:7. Please give people a desire for You. Whet their appetites for more of You. Let hearts clamor for You. Pour out Your Spirit on all mankind in accordance with Your word in Joel 2:28. Be glorified, Lord our Redeemer, IJMN, Amen.
All powerful and Almighty God, please break free, the lost ones, from the influence of the enemy and stronghold of occultism and deceitful new age practices. Please turn their heart away from the darkness and into one that thirsts and hungers for You alone. May Jeremiah 24:7 manifest in their lives. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
Lord, praise be onto You, Jehovah Sabaoth. The God of the Heavenly Hosts.
Father, I come against witchcraft in the lives of the members of this fellowship and their families I speak against every attempt to control, destroy and ensnare with such arts, IJMN, Amen. I know satan's modus operandi is to steal, kill and destroy the glorious destinies of Your people by enticing them with slickly-packaged, deceptive messaging that blurs the lines between what is godly and what You have specifically forbidden Your people to get entangled with.
Nevertheless, I thank You Father, for You are He who has all dominion (Daniel 4:34-35). You are the Sovereign Lord. And no matter what satan's desires are, no matter how much it flexes and roars, it is Your purpose and plan that shall be fulfilled to the last letter (Isaiah 14: 24 & 27). Hallelujah!
I therefore pronounce Your word upon these wicked practitioners of witchcraft, necromancy, and other dark arts. As they are used against your people, Ezekiel 11:21 applies. Repay them, Lord, as promised in Jeremiah 16:18. Let Your word in Isaiah 45:16 be thoroughly fulfilled for them. Hit them with the mighty blows of Your arm, oh Lord (Isaiah 30:32).
Thank You for Your word that satan itself is less than nothing and those who choose it are detestable and nothing just as the power source they rely upon (Isaiah 41: 24 & 29). Expose them, Father. Drag them out, pull them down and bring them to ruins, Lord.
For the Kingdom of God is of power not about talk (1 Corinthians 4:20). Oh my God. I look forward to seeing the fulfillment of this prayer pronounced to Your glory and by Your grace, IJMN, Amen. Let me see what will happen to who will stand against You, my Lord.
YHWH Ropheka, You are the almighty God of healing!. Pour Your restorative power upon Your children, young and old with special needs. Drench them with Your healing grace. Bless them with supernatural abilities and mighty miracles! Let them know they are loved and that they matter to You and the world. Cover them with your love, compassion, and protection, and eliminate the cruel stigma towards them. We have seen how Your mighty hand moves in Your power and sovereignty, therefore In Jesus' name we command the inflicted to be made whole, for Your glory and namesake! To You be all honour and praise, Amen!
God of our salvation. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be unto You for ever and ever. Amen! (Revelation 7:12).
Lord, I lift up Your word in Ephesians 3:16 - I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being
Father, Your people have been blinded by the troubles of this world - sickness, financial insecurity, depression, and more. These issues have clouded their minds to where they have forgotten their Kingdom Identity.
This is what the devil wants. But God, You are the Creator. You hold all things in Your mighty hands.
And so it is to You I come, dear Father. I speak for Your children around the world. That the scales from their eyes will fall. That the burden holding them down will lift. That the evil words that sunk into the soil of their heart and mind are uprooted right now.
I pray over them that the peace and the love of Christ will find them and pull them out of the waters. Set them on the solid Rock. Let every dry bone come to life in them right now.
IJMN, Amen.
PRAYER TIME
Hallelujah, the Lord is good!
Let's pray for people with zeal.
Trust God to hear and answer.
Thank You Lord for every word You have spoken over my family. Thank You for being the only God who is not about talk but about power.
Thank You for Your covenant is sure and Your word is flawless.
Hallelujah!
I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High - Psalm 7:17
Thank You Righteous God, Sovereign God, Almighty God! I worship You in the splendor of Your holiness and I sing songs of praises to Your name! Take all glory and adoration Lord!
Lord thank You for my peaceful Sabbath. I'm grateful for the rest You afforded me.
Thank You that in the midst of all the noise and the work that has to be done, You create a period of solace.
Praise be unto You now and always in Jesus' name, Amen.
Thank You, Lord, for the souls You are redeeming from the clutches of satan. Thank You for their salvation and for making a public spectacle of the enemy.
Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as in heaven.
Father, I thank You for the mercy You showed to everyone involved in the rescue of the truck driver from the bridge in Louisville.
Lord, bless all the first responders. Thank You for their lives. Please protect them and their families.
God, thank You that the truck driver's life was spared. Thank You that her loved ones are not mourning but rejoicing in You for Your mercy.
Glory be to the Lord!
PRAISE TIME
Glory be to God in the highest!!
Let's worship our God with joy.
Give Him all the praise.