We have been discussing that the primary mission statement of Jesus was to give us our true identity. Through this He could give us all of our inheritance, including eternal life, now and forever (Isaiah 61). The final goal is to glorify Him (Isaiah 61:3).

We have discussed how that the primary agent destroying and covering our true identity is guilt and shame. Shame is the real culprit because it attacks who you are, your very identity. It calls you "bad," intrinsically bad, "inadequate," etc.

We have seen how God wants desperately to heal you through "knowing" Him and the His power of life over death through the resurrection. He has taken the very pounding of all the shame that was intended for you into His very being. When the Holy Spirit shows that forgiveness to us, we are on the road to healing and to understanding our true identity. When that comes, then God can legally bring our inheritance to us. Please stop and meditate on this paragraph. Do not read on until you get this!

What does this all mean to me personally? How is this relevant to my life?

When God brings your true identity to you, you are the happiest person on the face of the earth. He programmed you to have purpose and destiny. Most of us have been looking in the wrong places for that. As my psalmist friend Pendleton Brown says, "They were looking for love in the lost and found."

When you are who you were destined to be, your financial supply will find you, your relationships will find you and your work will find you. Peace and joy will we there waiting for you.

We were all created to be problem solvers. That is what people pay money for, to have someone solve a problem for them. If a corporation does not have enough sales, they hire salesmen to be problem solvers. If God needs a woman to mother her children, then that will bring great pleasure to that woman. If God needs His Gospel preached to a poor dying Muslim in Iraq, He picks a problem solver who will go. When that call comes to the proper person, they become the happiest person on earth! You are created to be a special person with a special purpose with which to glorify God. Do not compare yourself to another person, only look for the Master's pleasure. In the end, only what He thinks will count!

Ephesians 2:10, Amplified, says, "For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]."

Hebrews 12:1 Amplified, says, "THEREFORE THEN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,"

You cannot discern your path, but you can only walk into it by holding the hand of Jesus and allowing Him to walk you into it. Often His path involves tribulation and experiences that do not seem like the good path. This is where you must increase and perfect your relationship with Jesus for yourself. You must hear Him speaking and encouraging.

What is the problem?

Satan, working through the world system, people in your life, and just circumstances in general has caused guilt and shame to cover your true identity like onion peels cover the core, but the onion peels are like black evil shades that are making you feel hopeless, helpless and without purpose. We wonder why God does not change things in our lives, we wonder why we are struggling and not receiving what we think our inheritance in Christ is. Remember we stated in past chapters that your inheritance comes to you when you are the real "You."

Why doesn't God just remove the shame and guilt?

He did the work at the Cross and the resurrection. He bore your shame. He sends the Holy Spirit and the Word now to show you that by revelation knowledge so that you may believe, obey and appropriate.

However so many people do not open themselves to God so that they may go through the needed tasks of listening to God, hearing Him speak, obeying Him, believing and standing on His Word until the promise is manifested. We need the light of the Word, but often our own hearts block the light. We do no allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse our conscience therefore we block the light of God's revelation knowledge.

Luke 11: 34 Amplified says, "Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye (your conscience) is sound and fulfilling its office, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound and is not fulfilling its office, your body is full of darkness."

The conscience is darkened by guilt and shame. Guilt and shame are the agents that keep light from coming into and healing you and bringing you your true identity so that you may walk in your God ordained purpose in life.

What if we do not open ourselves to either hearing God or cooperating with Him by being gut level transparent so that He may enter and heal us?

In that event, it is like covering the sewer with a manhole and a seal at the end of the pipe. Whatever is inside of us will rot. It becomes a stronghold that causes us to loose hope. Eventually we revert to our "flesh nature" and we are no longer out of the reach of Satan. The only person that is out of the reach of Satan is the New Creation in Christ. That is you! However if you choose to live in the flesh, you are still within Satan's reach.

Does God just wring His hands and say, "Oh well, poor ole Johnny, he just backslide"? No. God is not surprised that Christians begin to act like their generations before them, in the same sin patterns of their forefathers. He is not surprised that people are not open and transparent and that all Christians get their inheritance and their identity the first time around.

Here is one of His plans. I say, "one" because He is God, and perhaps has many, but this is the one He revealed to me.

God is on the offense!

He brings the sewer stuff to the surface so that all may see it. He brings things to the surface that you perhaps would not bring voluntarily. He brings it up so that He may slay it with the "Breath of His mouth." "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:7,8).

Our pain, affliction and struggles in life may seem to us like they are from Satan, and in a way they are. However in a way they are simply the result of the "Hound of Heaven" flushing out the enemy into open territory so that you may see him, the people around you may see him, and to have you become humble enough to listen, obey and stand.

The way a person hunts for rabbits is sort of an allegory for the "Hound of Heaven."  A rabbit hunter employs the best hound dogs, usually beagles.  The hounds then take off looking for a briar patch because that is where rabbits often seek refuge.  The hounds bark at the rabbit long enough to scare it out of the briars, and then it runs and the chase is on!  At that point the dog's voices turns into the most beautiful "song" and the hunter knows that the rabbit is "jumped."  The rabbit outruns the dogs, and he uses the strategy of running in a large circle so as to confuse the dog's smelling senses when it leaves a circular track.  However, the hunter just stays his place until the rabbit makes the full circle and then his shotgun hits his mark, rather easily.

I believe that God is at work chasing hidden demons and their strongholds from their comfortable "briar patches." I believe that is why we experience so much turmoil, and why we see the world in so much turmoil. Is Satan at work because his time is short? Yes. However, God is at work first because He is riding on His white horse conquering to conquer, (translated, overcoming to overcome).

"God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day. If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts" (Psalms 7:11-13).

God's reputation is that He takes the initiative.

"All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8).

Did Satan take the initiative to deceive Adam and Eve in the Garden? Yes. However, even before Satan was created, God took the initiative to see His Son slain, thus overcoming and defeating Satan even before he existed! Think of that! That is your God! How can you lose? Only by not dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High so that you may hear Him speak and become like Him!

Scripture is loaded with this idea and it is culminated in Revelation. I believe that John was commissioned to show the suffering churches that their purpose was to be overcomers, and that all the "bad stuff" that was happening had purpose in their lives. John and the First Century churches needed to know that their suffering did not mean that God had forgotten them. They needed hope, and Johns letter, as written in Revelation. was meant to give them hope, purpose and comfort. It was intended to enlist the people of that day as overcomers in Jesus' army. It is meant to do the same for you and me. Jesus is before history, in history and after history! He is on His Throne judging, and He is asking you and me to judge with Him, to drive out demons from their strongholds and slay them with the Breath of His Mouth, His Word, as we overcome.

In Revelation chapter 6 John sees the white horse coming conquering and to conquer (the word is actually overcome or in Greek, nikao). We all know that Jesus is the overcomer not Satan. I believe that this is to show John that in all the horrible events that will be taking place, that Jesus is actually taking the initiative. Good internationally known Bible teachers have different opinions on this, but I am going with Pastor Jack Hayford's interpretation in his book E QUAKE , and believe that this is Jesus. The word "white" here infers a heavenly glory that could only be divine. The arrows are us, His children; look at Psalm 45:3-5. During John's day on the Isle of Patmos is not when the other horses, Death and Hades, war and famine started their work. They had been working for at least 4,000 years. This was just the time when God wanted to reveal the true nature of this evil to the churches of that day. Like many of us, they needed to know that Jesus was still in control even though Rome was riding through their cities killing Christians. This is when the true nature of evil was brought to light!

"But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: 'Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light'" (Ephesians 5:13,14).

These horses had been riding through history disguised as "bad people." God wanted John to know and for us to know that the horrible things we see are not coming from bad people but rather they are from the demonic powers that empower people. John had the charge to tell the churches and you and me, that these evil forces are now in the open and they are no match for the Conquering King on the White Horse! He whipped them before the Foundation of the world; they do not even stand a chance. The rabbit is running and the "Hound" and "little hounds" are chasing him.

After all the tribulation seen in Revelation it seems like the spectators and participants, like you and me, just could not take much more. When they could no longer stand to look at the evil, then they got the real treat as in Revelation 14:1 which says, "Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads." When you see the Lamb, you know that everything will be all right.

God allows the product of our inner and hidden sin to become manifest and exposed to the light so the He may slay it with the Breath of His mouth. He comes like a thief in the night to disarm Satan who is holding captive your sin underneath the surface of your life.

Matthew 24:43 Amplified, says, "But understand this: had the householder known in what [part of the night, [whether in a night or a morning] watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be undermined and broken into." Satan does not know when or how the Lord will act.

Luke 11:19-22 Amplified says, "Now if I expel demons with the help of and by Beelzebub, with whose help and by whom do your sons drive them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.

But if I drive out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has [already] come upon you.

When the strong man, fully armed, from his courtyard] guards his own dwelling, his belongings are undisturbed [his property is at peace and is secure].

But when one stronger than he attacks him and conquers (overcomes) him, he robs him of his whole armor on which he had relied and divides up and distributes all his goods as plunder (spoil)."

God is on the offensive. He is not on the defense.

Satan is scared like the rabbit.

Rahab told the Israelites, just before they took Jericho, that her people, the enemies of the Israelites, were afraid of them. What a revelation to these Israelites! How could such a formidable enemy be afraid of them? But they were!

"Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: 'I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath'" (Joshua 2:8-11).

Our task is to believe. His is to wipe out the demons. To Him belongs the strategy. Our task is the obedience. Our task is to abide in Him and keep our intimacy and relationship skills sharp with the Creator of the Universe, the Captain of our Salvation, Jesus Himself!

His strategy is far beyond our mere mortal minds. Satan can out think us, but not God. God thinks outside of time. Satan and mankind are time-bound. However God speaks to us from outside of time and tells us the end from the beginning.

As we covered in our last chapter, our task here now in this dispensation is to be overcomers, which will indeed put Jesus' enemies under His feet, finally for a final judgment.

Do we need to be super warriors or something? No! We need to remember Who the real overcomer is. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Jesus has already overcome, and our only task is to abide in Him, thus allowing Him to make cause us to overcome in the realm of our individual influence. If you abide in the Overcomer, then you too will automatically be an overcomer. Therefore, you need not worry or have fear; you need not overly concentrate on the demonic. You need wisdom and understanding on the demonic, but you do not need to worry about how to overcome Satan. Just stay abiding in the Overcomer, Jesus, and you will win!

Keep your relationship skills sharp.

Here are the same "big three" that we always talk about.

1. Not loving your "life" to the death. "You must walk in repentance and gut level honesty as in Revelation 2-3 because "I am going to unroll the Day of Vengeance and the Year of Jubilee all at the same time (Isaiah 61:2). That means bringing demons up from their hiding place so that I may slay them with the Breath of My Mouth."

2. Word of your testimony. "You must give Me your breath so that I may put My Breath into it. You must abide in My Word and meditate thereon day and night. You must speak out My Breath, My Word."

3. The Blood of the Lamb. "You must hear Me speak personally. When you do you will hear who are in Me, and you will hear my love and concern for you. You will hear Me speak those things for your life that may look like promises to you, but to Me they are simply the future facts unveiled into your time realm. Do not fear when you see yourself beset by tribulations all around." "strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22)." "You will find that the entrance into My Holy of Holies is often through the many tribulations. They are not for your destruction but for what is written in this chapter, for our intimacy and the enemy's defeat. They are for the establishing of My Kingdom, for eternal jewels, beyond your understanding at this time. Trust Me, abide in Me, and your reward will be beyond measure."

Jesus.