Philippians
2:9-12
9)
Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every
name:
10)
That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth;
11)
And
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.
12)
Wherefore,
my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
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t
is very easy to tell if one really knows Who the Lord is. Most often,
the "fact" and "level" of recognition of Him is revealed by
our actions. Like it or not, our true confession is evidenced by our
actions.
We
know, of course, that "Lordship" denotes rulership
and authority. It is ironic then, that rather than seeking to serve the One Who
has the rulership and authority over us, we
frequently look to Him to serve us.
Before salvation, there as little to
nothing that the Lord could do with us. This is because we had no Spirit through which He could
communicate to us. Had He tried, the information that He would have attempted
to impart would have meant nothing to us because of being outside of our
frame-of-reference.
You
see, the Lord does all that He does in our lives that we might change and
become the representative of God that we must be. Of course, none of this is
possible of ourselves. "Change" takes power
and authority and "a positive confession." The only way
to that power and authority is through the power of God operating in our lives.
How
many of us do not wish to enjoy the blessing and anointing of God? It is
available to us, but first, we must cease to operate in our human spirit. Our
willingness to operate in the Holy Spirit is in direct correlation with how
much regard we give to that Lordship. However,
whether we acknowledge Him or not , He is still
Lord, for He enjoys that title not because we appoint (or
"make") Him, but because He made all things.
The
question remains: How does He become Lord to us? This can be done only
if we allow Him to become this.
There
are numerous and unending examples in the Scriptures of those who recognized
the Lordship of Jesus. All of those examples show us the benefit of
making this recognition.
For
an example, we have read of the centurion's son, who was ill and on the verge
of death. The centurion, though not saved, knew that the boy would be
healed if the Lord would simply speak the Word. In this, he recognized His
Lordship.
We
have no way to secure the Lord's help in our situation but to invite
Him. Once we invite Him in and then speak His word positively
in all situations, He is freed to be able to move and work for
us. If the intercession we ask of Him involves the giving of direction to us,
we must be willing to follow that direction.
What
is going to keep many from achieving in the
The
mind of Jesus that we need to acquire is, along with being selfless, positive.
He knew by what authority he operated, understood what that authority meant to
Him and was willing to live to honor that authority. You see, that power
and authority can only be obtained in the spiritual. Therefore, we must live
and operate in the spiritual realm.
Our
lives are to be dedicated to the praise and glory of God and it is sure that
one who trusts God will never be intimidated by the devil. You see, the life
of praise is the overcoming life. The man who praises is, in turn, strengthens
and encouraged by the very God he praises.
In
that all will one day have to confess the truth before the Lord, why not start,
today? We have no business allowing the devil to trick us out of our blessings.
Those who are walking uprightly before and with the Lord will
have "a positive confession." So, if you live on the "the wrongside of negative," perhaps you should examine
your walk. Beware lest that examination should reveal to us just how far we
have "sunk." n