Who Are Ye?
...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6
...Certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said: Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. Acts 19:13-16. Why did this happen? We read it there: they took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus Christ over them that had evil spirits. "We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth". The evil spirit in that man knew these ole' boys didn't have "the goods" -- they were trying to use authority they did not have. That's right, that's what I said. They were of the same rank as the evil spirit--they only "knew of" Jesus. They didn't have a personal relationship with him. They were trying to take on the evil spirit on their own, and that is ALWAYS a mistake! The enemy of our souls uses bully tactics and we'd better have something more than just ourselves to back us up before we take him on or we'll wind up in a mess just like they did. All seven of ole' Sveca's sons were beaten up (wounded) and had even their clothes stripped from them by the satanic power in just one man. Let me tell you, it's one thing to know the 23rd Psalm--it's quite another to know The Shepherd!! Hey, there's no doubt ole' Sveca's sons believed in God. HOWEVER: we'd better remember one very VITAL fact: it is NOT enough to believe in God, "a" god, "an all-powerful being", etc. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. James 2:19. There is NO salvation in "just believing in God"--the ONLY WAY to Salvation is believing and accepting that Jesus Christ is the ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD. Allow me to repeat that: there is only ONE way to get to God, and that is through His Son, Jesus. You CANNOT know the Father except THROUGH the Son. The world can twist it and turn it and argue all it wants to: there is NO other way! JESUS CHRIST is the ONLY door to Eternal Salvation. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. John 14:1, 5-7. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:1,9. Now, it would have been one thing if merely Jesus had made such a claim. But God the Father, confirmed it more than once: And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:16-17. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. Matthew 17:5. Peter was an eyewitness to it: For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. II Peter 1:16-18. Not once have I found where the devil questioned who Jesus is! Here are only a few examples to prove that the devil and his demons ALWAYS recognize Jesus and the authority He has over them: And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. Mark 1:23-25. And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. Mark 1:34. For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. Mark 3:10,11. In the country of the Gadarenes, lived a man among the tombs of the dead. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. Mark 5:6,7. I want you to know something: Jesus still has that same authority over ALL today! He has not changed--HE is STILL Lord and Master over all! Now whether we allow Him that reign in our lives is quite another matter. So when the devil comes against you, will he say, "Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you?" Are you going to get stripped and beaten? Will he recognize the authority of the Holy Ghost in your life or are YOU trying to flaunt an authority you don't have? You CANNOT have the overcoming power of the Holy Ghost in your life UNLESS you have a personal, I said, PERSONAL, relationship with God's Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And the only way to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is through faith in Who He is. Without faith in Who He is, you won't have salvation through Him, and without Salvation through Jesus Christ, you CANNOT have the overcoming power of the Holy Ghost in your life! I don't know how to make it any plainer. No wonder we have so many depressed, defeated, dejected, depowered "Christians". They are NOT plugged in to THE Power Source! They are plugged in to all the race tracks, wrestling rings, soap operas, ball games, ungodly music--everything but THE Power Source! It's sad to think that we allow the devil and his demons to be smarter than we "Christians" are. We "profess" to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yet we are so full of ourselves and the ungodliness we see on tv and read in books written by UNinspired people, we have no room for Jesus Christ. Yet, He has ALL authority over EVERY THING! We don't Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15. We have time for everything of this world, but no time to nurture and strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer and study and praise and worship. Then when the enemy of our souls mounts an assault against us, we wonder why we get beaten up and stripped. The next time we have to take a stand against the devil--when the enemy of our soul comes against us and asks us who we are, will we be beaten and stripped? When he asks, will we be able to stand against him because we are strong in the Lord and the power of HIS might? Do we KNOW in Whom we have believed??
(all emphasis on scriptures, such as bold, underline, uppercase, is mine) "Who Are Ye?" Copyright © 2001 by Patricia Sikes All Rights Reserved.
Power Medley
If you have been blessed, give God the Glory! Please sign our guestbook; let us know you enjoyed "Who Are Ye?" Thank you so much for visiting He Is Able!
With the exception of the King James Bible, ALL material on He Is Able is protected by copyright.