Your Need to Be Known

Acts 19:15

“Jesus I know. Paul I know. But who are you?” VOICE

In this new post, I’m going to address our need to be known in the spirit. Right from the start we see in Acts 19:15 where a demon asked a very important question to some men who were trying to cast it out. As believers, this question should cause us to ponder the levels of authority we are operating in and what we’re able to accomplish in our spiritual walk. However, before I continue, I want to disclose that this post is not intended to bring condemnation, but an awareness of where we may be spiritually and the possibilities we can reach in our maturity the more we know God, the ways of His Kingdom, and our relationship with Him. 

We saw the initial Scripture in this post in Acts 19:15 where a demon spoke to some men who were trying to cast it out, and said, “Jesus I know. Paul I know. But who are you?” Now, for those of you unfamiliar with this passage, let me give you a little bit of a backdrop for this story. The Apostle Paul was being used by God by performing “unusual and extraordinary” miracles, signs, and wonders throughout the city of Ephesus. This was a region full of idolatry, sorcery, and paganism. The miracles Paul performed by the hand of God upon him included healing and deliverance from demonic oppression by coming in contact with handkerchiefs, towels, or aprons that he had touched. 

This means that Paul had reached a level of anointing greater than the level of darkness that was over that city and demons easily submitted to his authority in a way that he didn’t even have to be present when the people got healed and delivered, only a piece of garment that had touched his skin was enough for the miracles to manifest. This provoked the zeal of seven men, sons of a chief priest named Sceva. Initially, they went about casting demons in the name of Jesus whom the apostle Paul preached. That’s what they said when casting out demons that would submit to their level of authority. But then they encountered and tried to cast out a demon they had no authority over. 

This is like an analogy I heard that’s very appropriate for this topic about a featherweight boxer who got pretty good at winning in his category until he was promoted to the welter category and thought that right from the beginning he was going to keep his winning streak, until those in the higher level started showing him otherwise. This means this boxer needed to prepare, get to the necessary weight for this new category, and practice boxing men in this higher category to ensure his next winning at this level.

In the same way, we’re advised to avoid presumption in our walk with God because as a church, we grow to higher levels and dimensions in the spirit.  At this point, the things we were able to do with some success in the previous dimension, now don’t work as well. Therefore, just like the boxer, our job is to prepare and learn what the new level or dimension entails by seeking the Lord whether for you individually, for your family, as a corporate church, for your business, for your ministry, and so on, to be able to be known in the spirit at a higher level and dimension. 

The demon in question described the dimension in which those he opposed operated in the Kingdom. They had to be apostles, which these sons of Sceva were not. Perhaps they had apostolic callings but were still in preparation. This explains why the men received a serious attack from this demon for trying to cast out something they had not yet been prepared to come against because they had not reached that level of authority and legality. Jesus Himself had things to say about us being known by Him because of our faithful and steadfast relationship with Him, as well as our partnership to fulfill His will for us, establish His Kingdom, and accomplish our destiny in Him.

Matthew 25:11-12

11 “Later the others also came, and said, ‘Lord! Lord, open [the door] for us.’ 12 But He replied, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I do not know you [we have no relationship].’” AMP

He spoke those words about the virgins known as foolish. These virgins might have started out strong, steadfast, faithful, and diligent in their walk and intimacy with God, but along the way, they got comfortable and declined in their prayer life, the reading of the Word, and their dependence and obedience to Him. The more they did this, the more they strayed into doing things “for” God, instead of “with” Him because our ability to accomplish things that are lasting for the Kingdom requires that they be done led by Him and in partnership with Him. This is why this Scripture in Hebrews warns us to avoid being shaken unnecessarily for refusing to listen and obey Him. 

Hebrews 12:25-29

25 “Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: ‘Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also. 27 This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. 28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. 29 For our God is a devouring fire.” NLT

Luke 13:24-28

24 “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom., for many will try to enter but will fail. 

25 when the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.

26 Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

27 And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’

28 “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out.” NLT

This Scripture admonishes us to follow the ways of the Kingdom and work daily in a way that shows that we’re expecting our Lord to visit us at any moment, and we want Him to find us ready, and obeying His commands for us even when our obedience will cause us to enter unpleasant situations like loneliness and rejection. Those unwilling to follow the way of righteousness and holiness can only do that so much until it’s too late for them to enter the Kingdom (to receive and enjoy the blessings that come to those who obey). There are times that He gives us to repent, but that time does expire after a while (Revelation 2:21). Thus, we can avoid this kind of situation by doing some important things which I will highlight here next.

Some principles that help us be known in the spirit realm include:

First, we seek to be saved by humbly asking Jesus to forgive us of our sins, to come into our hearts, be our Lord, Savior, and King, and the only One who rules and reigns in every area of our life. We also renounce our sins and declare that from this day forward, it is Jesus we submit to and follow to become everything He has planned and purposed for us. The next step is to learn our identity: that we’re a child of God (Romans 8:14), born of the Spirit (because we’re saved), learning to be led by His Spirit and to live by faith that we will receive His promises, a faith that works through love (Galatians 5:1, 5). 

By this, we also practice our display of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and when we stumble in our practice, we try again until it becomes much easier for us to show that we belong to God by our fruit. It is also important that we get familiar with the principles of the Scriptures for the area of our life where we’re seeing challenges or a storm. What does the Bible say about it? We must study to know these truths that set us free because only the truths that are revealed to us, give us knowledge and understanding of God and His ways in the area we’re seeking, these are the truths we are able to obey with understanding and that is what activates our freedom in that area (John 8:31-32) no matter how long it takes for us to see that freedom manifested. 

Matthew 6:33

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness, and all these will be added unto you.” 

This is how we seek first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness. In other words, before we see the things we’re believing for, we need to obtain the character of Christ that will help us learn to approach our situations according to His will and His way. For this, we need to spend times of intimacy with Him, reading and studying the Bible, worshipping, praying, fasting, and obeying everything He tells us to do (as we learn to hear His voice) to prepare for what we’re believing Him for. When we feel that we’re not hearing God very well, one of the first things to check for is if we have obeyed the last instruction He gave us. He will not move us forward until we obey the last thing He told us to do. These are the practical things to do.

But the other things we need to obey are forgiving, honoring others, being teachable, repenting of what God shows us does not please Him, renouncing it (coming out of agreement and out of alignment with it), and being able to receive correction without defiance of the authorities. We also actively participate in the renewal of our mind so that our carnal thoughts or behaviors can be replaced with righteous thoughts and behaviors by studying and meditating on what the Bible says about our situation so that we can live according to the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God (Romans 13:1-2). 

It is also highly recommended that we seek to be mentored by someone chosen by God, not chosen by man for us. This is very important. The reason this is necessary is that the storm or challenge we’re going through may be in part due to lies and deceits we learned from our culture and traditions, philosophies, ideologies, idolatry, fears, and other things that do not line up with the truth of God’s Word for our life. We need to learn to identify the root of the things that hinder our growth, especially if we know that we’re called to reach great heights in influence, and impact, and to be used to establish and advance God’s Kingdom through a position of leadership. 

This is where someone assigned by God to see our potential and draw it out of us is highly recommended. But just like Elisha was identified by Elijah as his next mentee, we need to ask the Lord to show us who the person He assigned to help us draw out our potential to reach our destiny. Someone who has experience and enough edge ahead of us. Someone who has pioneered the path we’re to follow and can guide us through it successfully and help us reach our destiny in less time than it took them to reach theirs. The lessons they learned and the wisdom they can impart to us are invaluable. 

1 Corinthians 4:15

“For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you.” NLT

It does matter who speaks into our life. This person must be God—ordained for our life. There are many people out there claiming to be the ones who can help us do or master many things we may be interested in doing and learning, and many of them could very well be able to help us. But we must ask the Lord who has He chosen to help us get to the next levels in our life to reach our destiny because doing this His way, will help us know where we are, where we’re going, and how to remove the hindrances from our past that would try to get in our way, so that we can access everything Jesus made available to us with His death on the Cross.

In our walk with God, hearing “I never knew you” are words we never want to hear from Jesus. This can happen because we follow the ways of the world, even in the name of God, or unknowingly have been operating our life with a mixture between the ways of the Kingdom and the ways of the world and by now don’t know which is which. This scenario can certainly be avoided and we can take steps to know God and His Son Jesus and the true ways of His Kingdom that help us be empowered to partner with Him. As we know Him more and the ways of His Kingdom at higher levels, we can then receive everything He made available to us through our knowledge of Him. 

2 Peter 1:2-3 

2 “May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need to live a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.” NLT

That is why I want to join in the prayer for you that Apostle Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:16-20

“I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called— his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realm.” NLT

I pray this in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus, and to Him alone be all the glory. ∎

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