Empowered By Being Born Again

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John 1:12

12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. NIV

John 1:12

12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name

AMP

You have to know who you are. When you don’t know who you are you are just like a prince who does not know his inheritance.

Having the legal right to be a child of God gives you so many advantages.

1. Spiritual adoption

Rom 8:16-17

16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

1 John 3:10

10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Gal 4:7

7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

2. Become an heir with Christ.

Gal 3:29

29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Gal 4:7

7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Rom 8:17

17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

3. Become part of Abrahamic seed and heir according to all the promises given to Abraham.

Gen 12:2-3

2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Some characteristics of Abraham that will help you enforce your power as a child of God.

1. Obedience

Gen 12:4

4 So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran

2. Selflessness

Gen 13:9

9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

3. Courageous

Gen 14:14

14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

4. Benevolent

Gen 14:20

And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

5. Incorruptible

Gen 14:23

23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.

6. Mighty in prayer

Gen 18:23-33

 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”  He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”  33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

7. Great in faith

Heb 11:17-19

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”   19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

YOU ARE BLESSED AS A SEED OF ABRAHAM. Think about this and exercise your authority with confidence.

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Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
NIV

Who are your friends and associates? What contributions do they make in your life? Do their contributions help you to draw closer to God or go further away from him? Our friends and close associates many a time have a very high degree of influence  on our lives. I remember when I was in secondary school, I had a close friend who was a smoker. For a long time I resisted all  attempts to get me to smoke, however, during our last year in school, I could not resist anymore. The reason why I could not resist anymore was that since I was completing school, the devil made me believe that I was a grown up and could do what I wanted.

Sometimes we believe in our ability to resist temptation, but the bible warns us that if we think we are standing  then we should take care otherwise we may be overtaken unaware.

When you make the ungodly your close friends, you are likely to do things their way. After you have gained experience in their ways, you will begin to sit with them in counsel ignoring the counsel of God. There is a better person to relate with, Jesus Christ. He will watch over your ways and help you to pursue righteousness and purity. Godly friends and associates will help you to stay on course with the Lord.

Prov 27:17

17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another.
NIV

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