Knowing God For Real

By Violet Wallace

This inspirational and spiritual book of knowledge for daily living reveals the truth about what it takes, not only to be Saved, but to be living for the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom represents the mindset and stability of the believer, as we are the Kingdom of God (Heb). The book expounds on such topics as T

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
• Release date: May 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885902427

Violet Wallace

Bishop Violet Wallace was born in Jamaica, the sixth child of seven, and was sent to live with her aunt at an early age. During that stay, Bishop realized she had a gift she did not quite understand. As she grew older, she understood that there was a spiritual call on her life. In 1990, she emigrated to the U.S. and attended the Bronxwood International Church of God in Bronx, New York, under the spiritual guidance of Pastor Quarrie, whose spiritual wisdom helped to shape her life. She had such a passion for souls that she started evangelizing on the train while going to and from work. After seeing herself in a casket for three consecutive weeks, she went to church one Sunday night, and while standing at the pulpit waiting for prayer, she literally died. The ministry leaders prayed for her, she revived, and went home. Through her near death experience, she discovered firsthand God's resurrecting power.After Bishop's deliverance, the group Intercessor for Christ was born, and she opened her home on Monday nights to strangers, praying for their deliverance, and also went to the homes of those who requested prayer and deliverance. In 1999, Bishop was called by God to start her ministry, and in 2001, Faith in Action Deliverance Ministries was officially incorporated. Her first service was held in her basement with seven attendees. As the ministry grew, the church moved to 237th Street in the Bronx, soon surpassing her expectations. In 2004, she opened Faith in Action Deliverance International Ministries in Spanish Town, Jamaica, and subsequently established ministries in Charleston, South Carolina, and Birmingham, England. Her ongoing work is demonstrated in the Holy Spirit, teaching the undiluted word of God as she operates in the five-fold ministry.Bishop Wallace is a no-nonsense, down to earth, loving, and compassionate person who will go to the ends of the earth to minister the word of Jesus Christ to a dying world. She has a fervent desire to lead God's people, and she is an energetic preacher who has inspired, informed, instructed, enthused, convicted, and changed the hearts of many people to give their lives to Jesus Christ. Being a motivator, advisor, coach, mentor, teacher, pastor, visionary, and so much more, Bishop Wallace has truly made a lasting impression on the community and the generations to come. Like Paul, she encourages all to be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because their labor is not in vain.Faith In Action Deliverance Ministries was built on foundational prayers and Intercessory for Christ. Today, it has over 300 members and a multitude of churches. Bishop Wallace once said, "I love to pray for the church and individuals, and for this cause, God poured his spirit in and upon me," thus causing her to become the mouthpiece of God, with an anointing to set the captives free.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

UNDERSTANDING THE REAL YOU

The Bloodline

T

he significance of a bloodline is invaluable to the culture of most people, as it provides a legacy of our past, an indication of the present, and sometimes determines our future. Aspirations are sometimes cast on an offspring based on the legacy of the family, whether they are affluent or destitute. If many of us were to trace our family bloodline, we probably would discover that we have inherited some spiritual bondage such as sickness, poverty, untimely death, nicotine and alcohol addiction, inability to conceive, and even the drive to succeed. Today, we can be rest assured that our legacy and future were predestined in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:17 says, "… since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs with God’s glory …" (NLT)

Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we are engrafted into His bloodline. This bloodline is our spiritual pathway that enables us to stay near the cross. The closer we are to the cross (remembering the sacrifice, and what it represents), we become more humbled before Him, acknowledging that without Him, we are as filthy rags. He was so concerned with the future of His creation that He brought forth His legacy (i.e., His name, His character, and His status) that we might become joint heirs and receive the Kingdom of God as our inheritance. Revelation 1:5–6 says, "… To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen." (NIV) What a legacy!

Being descendants of Christ entitles us to the promises of God given to the children of Israel. We have the ability to access that same inheritance, only if we walk in His precepts. Following the bloodline is not an easy feat to accomplish, considering all the temptations and various distractions that the world has to offer, but as long as we carry our cross (according to Luke 9:23) and walk the bloodline, it will draw us closer to the Father. How great and awesome is our God!

Take Off the Mask

Giving the impression of being what or who we are not tends to come as naturally as the air we breathe. Rather than being transparent so others can see the true us, we pretend to have everything under control; meanwhile, we are slowly fading away. Someone may ask, Are you okay? and with a rehearsed smile, we say, Yes, I am great, and yet we have no food at home, we received an eviction notice, and our utilities have been turned off. How many times do we lie to ourselves? How many times do we tell ourselves that we have it all together and that there is nothing really wrong with us? Are we being truthful? Do we hide our insufficiencies and faults by putting our best foot forward so others will not see the truth? Well, it is time to Take Off Our Mask and reveal all our insecurities to God.

For too long, we have mastered the church act of looking and acting saved. We do saved-like things, such as attending church every Sunday, speaking in tongues, lifting our hands when we worship, singing spiritual songs around our friends and families, and reading the word but not living according to its commandments. Matthew 15:8 states very clearly that we speak with our lips but our hearts are far from God. At times, our hearts are so far from God that we are not cognizant that we are not even close! To be close to God requires a personal relationship with Him. Those who know God seek to please Him. We profess to be Christians but do not want to be identified with Him because most of us believe that to walk with God is too sacred and HARD to maintain. Individually, we say, I do not want to be out of relationship with my pastor or the church, so I am going to go to church so that I am seen, but in reality our hearts are far from church and even farther away from God. To all those who can relate, it’s time to Take the Mask or Masks Off!

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a mask is:

(1) Something that serves to conceal or disguise.

(2) To disguise one’s true character or intentions.

(3) A facade and defense people erect to protect themselves.

The story is told in 1 Kings 14:1–18 of Jeroboam, who had his wife disguise herself to meet with the prophet Ahijah to inquire of him on the fate of her son Abijah, who was sick. Although Ahijah no longer had his sight, God revealed to him that she was coming to see him and told him what to tell her. He informed her that as a result of King Jeroboam’s sinfulness, disaster would come to his house (in the form of the death of his son) as well as to Israel. Not confessing our sins to God can and will eventually lead to deep hurt and doom in our lives. It is not God’s intent to bring pain and suffering to His people. As 2 Peter 3:9 states, "… but (He) is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (NKJV) Most of us embrace and prefer the pleasant things in our lives, but not our faults and responsibilities to the Kingdom of God. When we harbor sin in our lives, it disqualifies us from God’s comfort. (Jeroboam worshipped idols but still wanted God to spare his son’s life.) Many people would want prophets to minister to their flesh so they can feel good, but if the prophet should declare good and it is not so then they would face the wrath of God. Another king who had a similar experience was David in 2 Samuel 12:13–18. God knows the heart of men; He wants to work for us, help us, and heal us, but instead of being real with Him, we put on a mask." God will judge men according to what and who they are, not by what they pretend to be.

We must all come to a place where we either admit that we do not have a pure heart and need God in our lives for real or that we have mastered the act of being saved, and as a result, we become great pretenders. Saved folks are born again—born of the spirit and the blood of Jesus. We often sit in the pews with our heads held high, pretending that we have it all together. Get Real! Through all this, we can’t pray, praise, or worship God, but as soon as the Lord speaks through the preacher, we get prideful and emotional. We are not submissive to the word and so we become rebellious, forgetting the word of God as stated in Hebrews 12:6 that whom the LORD loves, He chastens. When was the last time the power of God fell on you, leaving you kneeling, praising, and weeping with your clothing disheveled and your hair all out of place, totally prostrate in His presence?

We need to cry out to God, requesting Him to give us a heart of worship, a heart that wants to know Him for real, and no longer buried under the multitude of masks. Tell Him, Lord, my emotions have taken control of me, but I am going to prove that I really love You. My old heart has failed, but now I’m going to prove that my love for You is real. Isaiah 55:6 indicates we should "seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near." (NKJV) It is time to seek God like never before.

Knowing God brings satisfaction in whatever state we find ourselves. Not knowing God personally will cause us to perish. To know the truth of God’s word is to know that we are destined for greatness, and greatness in God is true success. On our journey with the Lord, many times we tend to be more concerned about what others think than what God thinks about us. However, if we consistently listen to people, we will be more confused about who we are and what we are supposed to be. It would be prudent if we reveal who we are to God in every aspect of our lives. He is waiting for us to get over ourselves so He can be our Father who art in heaven—the only one who really cares. If we cannot be genuine with God then we need to re-evaluate our relationship with Him. Let us not try to fix our shortcomings. Remember, He first loved us, and there is nothing we can do to separate ourselves from His love. One thing, however, that will hinder our relationship with Him is sin. Although sin causes us to be separated from God, even in our sinful state, He still loves us. For the love of