Stolen Identity by Marcella Ward

Church Arise!

I had a dream today about being in a place where there were many people seated as if  in a church building setting.  While I was sitting down a woman came in who was not very good looking but she was excited and she kept saying, "Change, change, change!"

She and her fiance sat down in the same row that I was in and she showed me her engagement ring which she said was not a diamond but some other name for a jewel that I do  not remember.  What I do remember is her consistent word of "change."

As I pondered the dream, I asked the Holy Spirit to give me the interpretation of the dream.  I looked up the word engaged because she had obviously become engaged.  The word engaged means "actively committed."  The Church needs to arise and  be actively committed to God's Holy Word and defend Who God is and our identity in Christ and not let the world dictate who we are or how we are to think or act.  Almighty God is our Commander and Chief.

I believe that she represented the Church of Christ.  She was not beautiful and did not have a diamond but an ordinary stone because she is still in process.  She is not perfect yet.  She is not ready for her bridegroom.  Revelation 19:7 says, "Let us rejoice and shout for joy (exulting and triumphant)!  Let us celebrate and ascribe to Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb (at last) has come, and His bride  has prepared herself."  Revelation 21:2 says, "And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband."  Everyday Life Bible Amplified Version

Why did she keep saying, "change, change"?  I believe that God is saying that there is a change coming to the Bride of Christ.  We need to change so that we are ready to receive our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.  We need to be made perfect.  We need to be the defender of the faith.  We need to act like the Church, the Body of Christ here on the earth to prepare for the 2nd Coming of Jesus.  We need to also prepare to meet Him.

Revelation 22:17 says, "The (Holy) Spirit and the bride (the church, the true Christians) say, Come!  And let him who is listening say, Come!  And let everyone come who is thirsty (who is painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, and strengthened); and whoever (earnestly) desires to do it, let him come, take, appropriate, and drink the water of Life without cost."   Everyday Life Bible Amplified Version

We need to arise and be the Church which means we are the representation of Jesus Christ on the earth.  We need to re-present Him to the world.  We need to win souls and be an open Gospel by our words and deeds.  The harvest is plenty and the workers are few.  Let us go out to the fields that are ripe and be a part of the largest harvest in the history of the world.  It is a harvest that is going to arise as the Church realizes that the coming of her Bridegroom, Jesus Christ is at the door.

As I read the words written down from an outpouring gathering here in Tucson, Arizona, I realized that it confirmed the dream that the Lord had given  me.   A portion of the message from the Lord given on October 25, 2019 through Lenora and Jody Morin from Fountaingate Ministries said, "Church arise!  Be engaged moving with Me (God).  You are the movement."

Our Inheritance in Christ

As defined in Webster's dictionary, the word inherit means to "come into possession of (possess) or to receive (property) from a person by legal succession or will or to receive genetically from an ancestor."

Inheritance is not foreign to most of us.  Many of us have inherited property, money, or personal items from a loved one when they have passed.  Some of us have been told that we have "inherited" our mother's looks or our father's mannerisms.  Most inheritance, but not all, is given to sons or daughters considered loved ones because they have a special place in the person's heart.



"For (the Spirit which) you have now received (is) not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption (the Spirit producing sonship) in (the bliss of) which we cry, Abba (Father)!  Father!.  The Spirit Himself (thus) testifies together with our own spirit, (assuring us) that we are children of God.  And if we are (His) children, then we are (His) heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (sharing His inheritance with Him):only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory." Romans 8:15-17

When we give our hearts and lives over to Jesus Christ we become a part of the family of God Himself.  We become adopted sons and daughters in the Kingdom of God and God becomes our Father.  According to scripture, we need to receive Jesus and the Holy Spirit will dwell in us assuring us that we become children of God.  We legally receive our inheritance through the shedding of blood by Jesus whose death purchased for us our salvation.  We become joint heirs with Christ.  Jesus said in John 16:15 "Everything that the Father has is Mine.  That is what I meant when I said that He (the Spirit) will take the things that are Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you."

We are joint heirs with Christ.  Ephesians 1:14 "That (Spirit) is the guarantee of our inheritance (the firstfruits, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage), in anticipation of its full redemption and our acquiring (complete) possession of it---to the praise of His glory."

God the Father becomes our Father and as adopted sons and daughters through the blood of Jesus we are joint heirs with Christ.  Everything that the Father bestowed on Jesus is ours also!!  Christ living in us is so profound!!  If we would just grasp this reality, there isn't anything that we cannot do through Christ living in us---heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, preach the Gospel!!

We are sons and daughters of God who have a calling, a mandate to enlarge the Kingdom of God and be Jesus on the earth doing what He did and loving like He did but we can only do it because the Holy Spirit dwells within us.  He is the One promised by Jesus Who would be our Comoforter, our Counselor and our Helper.  We need only call on Him.

Let us lay hold of our inheritance and walk as children of the Light; children of God who are heirs with Christ Who is seated in heavenly places with God the Father, our Father.  Ephesians 2:6  "And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together (giving us "joint seating with Him) in the heavenly sphere (by virtue of our being ) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One."

So go out into the world and be the hands, the feet and the voice of Jesus---Christ in you!!

Living Water

A word from the Lord on November 5, 2018

"Rivers of living water coming from the Throne of God to purify the earth and replenish it with the Glory of God therein.

Ripples of gladness for the earth to see the Glory of God therein.

Blossoms of fragrance filling the atmosphere with the Glory of God therein springing forth through the valleys of despair; a recompense for the weary of heart.

Drink from the waters as you did at Meribah.  Drink the healing waters springing forth in the desert streaming forth to cleanse the earth of the degradation of the evil one that has polluted the earth and all therein.

Run like a gazelle.  Enjoy the waters that I bring.  Leap and sing for joy in My presence and My joy shall be your strength!  REJOICE, BE CALM, RELAX, for I go before you with the mighty shout of the shofar to proclaim a season of joy and laughter for all who will call upon Me in faith.

Sing to the Lord a new song.  Shout it from the rooftops!!  ALLELUIA!!"

The Sound of Heaven

"After that I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse (appeared)!  The One Who was riding it is called Faithful (Trustworthy, Loyal, Incorruptible, Steady) and True, and He passes judgment and wages war in righteousness (holiness, justice, and uprightness).  His eyes (blaze) like a flame of fire, and on His head are many kingly crowns (diadems): and He has a title (name) inscribed which He alone knows or can understand.  He is dressed in a robe dyed by dipping in blood, and the title by which He is called is The Word of God.  And the troops of heaven, clothed in fine linen, dazzling and clean, followed Him on white horses.  From His mouth goes forth a sharp sword with which He can smite (afflict, strike) the nations; and He will shepherd and control them with a staff (scepter, rod) of iron.  He will tread the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath and indignation of God the All-Ruler (the Almighty, the Omnipotent).  And on His garment (robe) and on His thigh He has a name (title) inscribed, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."  Revelation 19:11-16  (The Everyday Life Bible;Amplified Version)

October 20, 2016

The following, I believe, is a word of the Lord:

"Do you hear the "tick tock" of time?  Time is ticking.  It is getting louder.  It is the hoofs of the stallion coming.  It is the sound of the stallion.   The King of the Ages is coming!  He will come with His army of warriors to occupy and reign on the earth and crush Satan under His feet.

Do you hear the faint hoofs upon the earth?  They are getting louder and louder.  Only my saints shall hear them.  Say to the earth----rejoice for I come to overtake the bondsman and the Liar of all lies; the anti-christ.  For I am the King and My Kingdom is forever and ever.  Rejoice oh little one.  Do not be alarmed for I am coming on a stallion to reclaim My Kingdom, My glory, My Lordship upon the earth.  Oh man, why do you continue to falter and hate Me:  No more I say.  No more.  For I am the Alpha and the Omega Who is, Who was, and Who is to come!  I Am your strength.  I Am your deliverer.  I Am the Prince of Peace.  I Am the King of Kings!  So rejoice, be glad.  Be relaxed.  REST.  For the earth is Mine and none can take it from Me.  Oh man you say you are a god.  God you are not!  So I say to the wind, sea, and earth---rejoice for you too will reclaim that which is lost!  Rejoice!"

WAKE UP AMERICA!

Reverend Billy Graham was buried on the Festival of Purim which is a Jewish festival celebrated to commemorate the protection of the Jewish people from Haman who ordered the extermination of the Jews.

Queen Esther was an instrument of God who had the courage to speak out even if it meant her death.  (Esther 4:16)  "Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast for me; and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day.  I also and my maids will fast as you do.  then I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish."  (The Everyday Life Bible)

Esther won favor with the king and a decree was established and the Jews were allowed to defend themselves.  If not for the courage and faith of Esther, the Jews would have been annihilated.

Why does this relate to us as believers in Jesus Christ?  The fact that Billy Graham was buried on the Festival of Purim, in my opinion, is a sign that we need to stand up for our faith before the forces of evil take over.  We need to have the same courage and resolve to stand up for Biblical principles and not let the world dictate who we are.

You have probably heard the story of the frog and the boiling water.  Researchers found that when you put a frog in boiling water, it immediately jumped out.  When they put the frog in cold water and slowly put the water to boil over time, the frog boiled to death because it didn't notice that he was in danger.

So it is with us as Christians.  We are so busy with our lives and those things that are around us that we, in many cases, fail to see the reality of what is going on around us just like the frog in the pot.

Christians throughout the world are being persecuted and martyred every day.  Our freedoms are slowly being taken away especially in the area of free speech.  Free speech is being attacked and conservative or Christian views are even labeled by some as "hate speech."  Conservatives are being silenced on social media.  The unborn is being assaulted every day.  We need to speak out and be that voice.  We need to stand for who we are in Christ because if we don't, our Christian faith will continue to be assaulted just as evil forces tried to assault all the Jews during the time of Esther. 

Be an Esther and have the courage to stand and be heard.  Our very faith is being challenged and we will not be silenced!!

REFLECTIONS

These are a few reflections that I  believe that I have received from the Lord over the years.  Some of them are recent and some are in the past.  They will not necessarily be in order but I will share them as the Lord leads me.

June 20, 2019

" I challenge you my children to walk in the light of  My presence for I am calling you to a higher level; a higher level in your walk with Me; a higher level in your gifts from Me and a higher level in your intimacy with Me.

Let my love, My joy, My peace reign in your hearts now and forevermore!!  I love you."


September 15, 2017

"Child of mine, I say to you to be prepared.  Watch, pray.  Be prepared, for many trials are coming upon the earth.  For My voice will be heard.  Be it by thunder, or rain, or flooding.  My voice will be heard!  Be My Voice.  Utter My words.  Go before Me like Elijah.  Proclaim the Good News!  Revel in it.  For I proclaim to you that heaven and earth will not pass away until all of My promises, My Word, My Kingdom shall be established upon the earth.  It's a new day.  It's a new dawn.  Walk in it!  Walk in it!  Walk in it!"

October 14, 2017

"My child, hear the whistle of the train?  See the smoke from the stack from the train as it approaches?  When you see these signals, you know that the train is near.  The train is nearing, the time for the gathering is near----you can almost hear the sound of the trumpet as the angel prepares to sound the alarm!  Be ready!  Be ready!  Be ready!  Call others to the train station.  You need a ticket to board!"

June 22, 2019

"Child of mine, be prepared for I am coming very, very, very soon!"  (I was given this message three times in a row.)

In these last messages, it appears the Lord is telling us to prepare for His Second Coming and that it is very, very near!  How do we prepare?  We prepare by making sure that we are in a right relationship with the Lord.  We need to confess our sins on a daily basis and we need to make sure that we are living a life pleasing to the Lord.

In the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-12) the foolish virgins did not have enouth oil in their lamps when the bridegroom came.  Oil is  symbol of the Holy Spirit and is active within Christians who has surrenered their life to Christ.

Jesus is warning us that there are people who look like Christians, call themselves Christians but will be shocked when they learn at the return of the Lord that they will be left behind.  In Matthew 25:8-13 it speaks about the wise and foolish virgins,  "And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.  But the wise replied, There will not be enough for us and for you; go instead to the dealers and buy for yourselves. But while they were going away to buy, the bridegroom came and those who were prepared went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut.  Later the other virgins also came and said, Lord, Lord, open (the door) to us!  But He replied, I solemnly declare to you, I do not know you (I am not acquainted with you.)  Watch therefore (give strict attention and be cautious and active), for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man will come."

Some can recite the sinner's prayer for salvation and go through the motions of looking like a Christian but they have never fully been born again by the Spirit of God.

Those of us who have been born again need to be watchful at all times.  We  know that the coming of the Lord is even "at the door."  We need to be ready and be covered by the oil of the Holy Spirit.  We need to confess all of our sins every day, obeying God's commandments, doing His will upon the earth and spending time with the Lord.  When the Lord said, "I do not know you," He was talking about intimacy with Him.  Does a bride not  have intimacy with her bridegroom?

Let's watch and pray and be ready for our bridegroom when He comes.  Yes, we must be ready at all times because we don't know when our time on earth is complete.  If we are here when our bridegroom comes, let us be ready to go out and meet Him!!  Maranatha, come Lord Jesus come!

AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER

Authority is part of our inheritance in Christ.  Jesus said in Luke 10:19, "Behold!  I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and (phyisical and mental strength and ability) over all the power that the enemy (possesses); and nothing shall by any way harm you."

In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, "But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth."   (Amp.Bible)  These were Jesus's last words to His disciples.  These were  not words just for the disciples but also for us as His followers.

Jesus has imparted divine authority through the workings of the Holy Spirit in believers.  The promise of the Holy Spirit was to give them strength and wisdom and spiritual gifts that they would need on their journey winning souls and healing and delivering souls from the demonic.

We are emissaries for Christ because we represent Him on the earth and as a representative, we are given authority to RE-PRESENT Jesus to the world!!

OUR INHERITANCE IN CHRIST

When someone inherits a parcel of land or money or whatever has been bequeathed, it is usually passed on to a loved one.  Christ came to hand over our inheriance from the Father.  Through Jesus's death and resurrection we are able to receive the inheritance passed on to Jesus through the Father and then to us so that we can carry out His purpose and his plan for the redemption of mankind empowering us to be the manifestation of His glory here on the earth!

In John 17, Jesus says, "I have manifested Your Name (I revealed Your very Self, Your real Self) to the people whom You have given Me out of the world.  They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have obeyed and kept Your word.  Now (at last) they know and understand that all You have given Me belongs to You (is really and truly Yours).  For the uttered words that You gave Me I have given them; and they have received and accepted (them) and have come to know positvely and in reality (to believe with absolute assurance) that I came forth from Your presence, and they have believed and are convinced that You did send Me."  John 17:6-8

Matthew 10:7-8, "And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand!  Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons, freely (without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give."  (The Every Day Life Amplified Bible)

CREATED IN GOD'S IMAGE

We are created in the image of God.  We are a resemblance of God created to manifest His glory thoughout the earth.  When God created Adam and Eve, it appeared that He wanted to share His love and be loved, and He loved mankind so much that He gave him a will of his own.  God did not create robots but people with a free will who would choose right from wrong and also choose to love or be loved by their Creator God.

Adam and Eve forfeited their identity when they fell into the trap of decepton when Satan convinced them that if they ate of the forbidden tree that they would become like God.  Satan has been trying to steal our identity since the Garden of Eden.  "And he (Satan) said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?"  Genesis 3:1  (The Every Day Life Amplified Bible)

He even tried to steal Jesus's identity when he said, "If you are God's Son....."  Matthew 4:3  All the evil one needs to do is put a seed of doubt into our minds and that is where deception begins.

Don't be deceived by the world.  Don't let the world tell you who you are.  Stand up for who you are in Christ.  We are who Almighty God says we are!!


BIBLICAL IDENTITY DECLARATIONS:

1.  I am chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world that I may be holy and blameless before the Father.  Ephesians 1:4
2.  The Father has accepted me in the beloved.  Ephesians 1:6  I have redemption through Jesus Christ's blood and the forgiveness of sins.  Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:4
3.  I am saved by grace through faith.  I am not saved by my own works.  Ephesians 2:8-9
4.  I am God's masterpiece.  He created me anew in Christ Jesus, so I can do all the good things He planned for me long ago.  Ephesians 2:10
5.  I am strenghtened with might through His Spirit in the inner man according to the riches of His glory.  Ephesians 3:16
6.  Christ dwells in my heart by faith.  I am rooted and grounded in love.  Ephesians 3:17
7.  God gives me the victory through Jesus Christ my Lord.  I Cor. 16:57  I have the mind of Christ.  I Cor. 2:16
8.  I am in Christ Jesus and therefore I am a new creation.  Old things have passed away and all things have become new.  II Cor. 5:17  (Igniting Hope Ministries, June 10, 2015)