Let me introduce to you my special friend in ministry, Wanda Roberson.
I have known Wanda Roberson for over ten years. She has always been on target in her prophetic insight and ministry. I have traveled to the nations with her and I have always witnessed a tangible anointing for healing, restoration and breakthrough.
Wanda has had her own prophetic school in Katy Texas as well as in South Africa. She co-labors with her husband, Dave, as pastors of Empowerment Center in Katy, Texas as well as overseeing ministries and training schools in S. Africa. They have both proven that they are ministers of integrity and have a cutting-edge word for the season. I know you will be encourage with this word! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
I had the most unusual occurrence a few months ago. I opened my tablet to pay a bill, and as I clicked to log into my account, the place for username and password was blank, as usual. I went to retrieve my user ID and password. As I prepared to type in the user ID, I was utterly speechless – the user ID area was no longer blank. The entire verse of Matt. 16:18 (KJV) was inserted in the user ID space. "And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it."
"As I was reminded of this by the Holy Spirit, despair and heaviness began to fall off. A major shift took place within me. I re-asserted my God-given authority to bind, loose and overthrow the attack of the enemy on my mind." |
I stared at the Scripture for quite a while, perplexed and amazed. Of course, many thoughts raced through my mind: "How did this get here, is this real? Maybe I accidentally typed this." But I hadn't touched the keyboard. I knew God was speaking to me. As I meditated on this Scripture and pressed into the heart of God for answers, He began to speak to me about our IDENTITY.
If you have any online accounts set up, you're familiar with a user ID. You can't access your account without the proper user ID. It identifies who you are and without it you're locked out of your account. Consider the definition for user ID: "A unique sequence of characters used to identify a user and allow access to a computer system, computer network, or online account." So, it's literally impossible to advance without first submitting your identity.
Knowing Your Identity in Christ is Key for the Season Ahead!
When Jesus called Simon as one of His disciples, He changed his name (see Jn. 1:42). In the above passage, Jesus calls him Peter. According to the Strong's Concordance, Peter is Petros, meaning a small stone or rock, which figuratively translates as strength and stability. This was very significant. Why? Changing his name shifted Simon's identity. He was now identified as a "ROCK" – one that possessed strength and stability. It totally transformed his way of thinking concerning himself. This was strategic as Peter would soon face the biggest challenge of his life. Jesus prophetically declared to Peter in (Lk. 22:34) that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed and Peter did just that. However, the real test came after Jesus was crucified and Peter watched the vision die.
Feeling lost and without direction, Peter felt abandoned, angry and frustrated. So he did the only thing he knew to do – HE RETURNED TO HIS PAST (see Jn. 21:3)! At that moment, Peter didn't feel like a rock. He didn't feel strength or stability. He lost his identity and returned to who he previously identified himself as – a fisherman! He forgot that he was Peter, the ROCK, and that he had spent nearly three years walking with Jesus. Imagine, seeing and experiencing signs, wonders and miracles at the hand of Jesus, witnessing His transfiguration and hearing the voice of God (see Matt. 17:1), as he experienced it all first-hand.
However, let's not judge Peter too harshly. How many times have we faced situations that were so devastating, so unrelenting, which left us reeling from the onslaught of the enemy? Or you found yourself stuck, not knowing how to move forward. When things appear hopeless, oftentimes we do the same – "return to what's familiar." We lose sight that our identity is rooted in the Word of God and not our circumstances. (Photo via Unsplash)
Father had to remind me of this very thing. I went through a long season of one attack after another...it was unrelenting. The enemy of my soul was releasing fiery darts of lies, fear, doubt and unbelief. I became shrouded in the lies of the enemy, although I knew the truth (Jn. 8:32). As I was out walking and praying one day, I heard the Lord say, "Begin to decree loudly who you are in Me." I began to yell Scriptures, concerning my identity, at the top of my lungs (thank God, I was the only one on the walking trail).
The Significance of "Adoption"
The one Scripture that stuck out in my mind was Eph. 1:5, because it says He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will. In other words, I am adopted into His (God's) family!
"As I meditated on this Scripture and pressed into the heart of God for answers, He began to speak to me about our IDENTITY." |
Adoption is significant for me because I grew up without a father in the home. I struggled with knowing my complete identity and I wrestled with identity issues because of it, but eventually overcame them. Well, going through this hard season, the enemy attacked the very area that I gained victory in. He challenged me as he challenges so many of us when we're facing a hardship. Jesus was challenged in this very area as well. According to Matt. 4:3, the tempter came to Him and said, "If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." His identity was being challenged: If You are the Son of God, PROVE IT.
In Eph. 1:5, the word "adoption" comes from the Greek word huiosthesia (huios - a son; thesis - to place), to place as a son. We have been placed in the family of God as spiritual sons. Adoption is the legal action by which a person takes a child into his family with the purpose of treating him as his own, and giving him all the privileges of his own natural child. An adopted child is legally entitled to all rights and privileges of a natural-born child. As I was reminded of this by the Holy Spirit, despair and heaviness began to fall off. A major shift took place within me. I re-asserted my God-given authority to bind, loose and overthrow the attack of the enemy on my mind.
Know Your Identity!
Identity and authority are linked together. If you continued to believe the lies of the enemy concerning your identity, you are powerless to overthrow him. To walk in your God-given authority, you must be secure of your identity in Christ. The Spirit of the Lord impressed upon me that it is time to remove the grave clothes from this past season and decree who we are in Him!
Yes, dear ones, we have crossed over into a new season of open doors, new beginnings and breakthrough. However, the stench of death, loss, bewilderment, fear and hope deferred from the old season, is still draped around some like a comfortable, old blanket – clinging to the very essence of your souls. This is causing your identity to be marred by past failures, disappointments, losses and setbacks.
Stop Identifying with Prior Circumstances
The enemy has unleashed such a diabolical scheme to strip you of your identity and authority which caused you to lose sight of who you are and what you're purpose to do. It's time to STOP identifying with your prior circumstances. You are greater than your latest battle. 1 Jn. 4:4 says, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." It's time for your IDENTITY to be RESTORED! (Photo via Unsplash)
You are the Church, the Ekklesia, the called-out ones. Knowing who you are and who Jesus is, gives you access to the Kingdom of Heaven. Believers, you have an inherited right to ALL the privileges that Heaven has to offer. 2 Cor. 6:18 says, "'And, I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters', says the Lord Almighty." You have been adopted into the family of God, according to Eph. 1:5.
Believers, it's time to claim your inheritance and walk in the revelation of who you are in Christ Jesus! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
Wanda Roberson
Wanda Roberson Ministries
Email info@wandaroberson.com
Website www.wandaroberson.com
Wanda Roberson has co-labored with her husband, Apostle David Roberson, for over twenty-five years in ministry at the Empowerment Center. She was ordained to the office of prophet in 1995. Her message is one of hope, encouragement, inspiration and deliverance. She is founder and president of Wanda Roberson Ministries (WRM), which is a multi-faceted prophetic ministry
designed to teach, train, and develop people for the end time harvest. She established an International School of the Prophets and hosts an annual prophet conference in South Africa. She resides in Katy, TX with her husband, and they have five children and 8 grandchildren.
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