Hide and Seek

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Hey, welcome to my show. This is Dr. Ray Self, episode 211 of Self Talk. You are not invisible, that's the topic today. You know, Satan plays hide and seek with you. It's like a game where, um, you hide, and you're never found. That's a terrible game of hide-and-seek, but Satan never didn't know how to play very well. This is going to be an interesting episode, and I appreciate you being a part of it. Thank you for all you guys who’ve been faithful to me and listened to these shows. Be sure and download and subscribe, and you know the deal. Share it with your friends. Let's, you know, let's get some increase. That'll help me a lot. If you'd like to donate, you know, we are a 501(c)(3). Tax-deductible donations will help me a lot, and the best way is to go to my PayPal account, icmcollege.org/donate. And I appreciate you very much, thank you so much, and uh, let's get going with today's episode of Self Talk with Dr. Ray Self. 

So let's read a scripture. This is a scripture that's always kind of mystified me a little bit, but the more I see it, the more I think I understand it. 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know know just as I also am known.” And what I want to key into here is the last part of this verse says, “...just as I also am known,” I am known. And the reason that jumps off the page at me is, in, in my life, especially in my young years, I struggled with being invisible and not being known or, or really valued or appreciated. And it's not that I wasn't loved, I was loved, and I had, I had great parents, but I was considered to be a good boy, and uh, as a good boy, I was to be seen and not heard. Now, I'm not– I don't want to paint this terrible picture of my mother and dad because they weren't terrible, you know, they did love me, they were doing the best they knew how to do. However, I played the role of the Lost Child. That means I– that was just my role, you know, in the dysfunctional family, kids team tend to play roles, I've talked about this before. There's the, the Hero Child, the Lost Child, the Scapegoat, the Clown. And we, we play these roles, it's just kind of a role that we're assigned or grow up in. 

But my role in the family was kind of just to be a good boy, don't make any waves, kind of be seen and not heard. I wasn't abused or anything, but, but I was kind of invisible. Um, I never really felt that I  mattered as much as other people. They used to call that an inferiority complex. I, I literally thought…my, my self-esteem was low, very low. And I felt other people were important, other people mattered, and you could see and understand other people, but I wasn't really seen, and I didn't really– growing up, I didn't know that it was causing me damage or harm, this is just who I was. I was seen and not heard, so to speak. But my desires, my wishes, my confidence, uh, my confidence just wasn't there. I…was…lost. And I played the role of being invisible, not making any waves, just being invisible. I wasn't causing a lot of trouble, I wasn't making a lot of waves, I just sort of blended into the background to speak. And, and, and I stayed that way. 

And then as I got older and I study– studied and learned and grew, I want to tell you something, there's a demonic scheme called the scheme of invisibility where you are invisible. You are not known. We all have a desire, it's a natural desire to be known and understood and appreciated for who we are. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you have a best friend who is that person for you, who knows you inside and out and loves you unconditionally. If you get one of these people, hang on to them because in most people's life, if you have one or two best friends in your life, you've done very well. A best friend loves you like Jesus will tell you the truth, you know, so help me, God, but will never…understand you, knows how you, how you tick, knows your faults, knows your good points, knows your bad points, and loves you unconditionally, is always there for you. And you might not see them for several years, and you see them again, and it's like nothing ever changed. That's the best because they know you, we have a desire to be known. God knows you, God understands you, God sees you. God sees you. 

You see, the devil does not want you to be seen by anyone because you are anointed, you are called of God, you have a purpose, you are a joint heir with Jesus Christ, you're a child of God, you have something in you that God wants to do through you, and Satan wants to hide you. I've seen this scheme play out so many times. Incredibly talented, gifted people who are overlooked, ignored, passed over for promotions, passed over for positions at the church, and for ministries. Their gifts, their talents, their abilities are amazing, but they remain hidden. It's like the, the leaders can't see it, the boss can't see it, um, the, the pastor cannot see it. Sometimes your friends can't see it, your teacher, your coach cannot see it - what's in you - and it's amazing because Satan has worked hard to keep things that are great, of God, like you, completely hidden away. I've also seen him do this with churches that are uh, anointed, called of God. Churches where signs and wonders and miracles are taking place, where the presence of God is, and the devil will try to keep those churches hidden, keep a, a blanket over that church, camouflage that church so nobody can see it, and nobody will even know it's there. People will drive by and say, “I didn't know that church was even there.” And that's the way sometimes it is with you. You are incredible. The Bible says you are fearfully and wonderfully made, you're a child of God, a joint heir with Jesus Christ, a member of the royal priesthood, above and not beneath, the head, not the tail. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit; the Spirit of God lives within you. No wonder the devil wants to keep you invisible. And that scheme of invisibility can be seen your whole life. Your whole life, it's like people just don't see you, people don't get you, people don't know you, because you see, you're in this world, but you're not of this world, and that's a demonic scheme. 

But you, see, remember what Paul– I've talked to this many times in my podcast - the Apostle Paul said we should not be ignorant of Satan's schemes. Satan wants to keep you hidden away. He's playing hide and seek with you. You hide, but you're never found. It's a really sick game. And sometimes he will use, unfortunately, our family and our friends participate in this game and perpetuate this game of us not being seen for who we really are. The value, the talents, the gifts, the abilities that are within us are hidden, and it, it plays out in so many areas. It can play out in your job, it can play out in your church, even in your own family. People may not see you, who you really are, the amazing person you are, the, the, the abilities that you have. And so, because of this, you live a life of underneath, you live a life of never rising up quite to the level you're called to be at. You, you work beneath your skill level. You work beneath. You live beneath your ability. You know, you're like a, a computer that, that– and people– that's only being used– 10% of its memory. The full you is not being realized. But let me tell you something. When you become aware of the scheme, and you know that Satan is trying to keep you hidden away, you can resist it. You know, submit to the Lord, resist the devil, he will flee from you. Resist this. You need to be seen. You need to be fully known. Now God, God knows you. God knows your, your good points, your bad points, your weaknesses, your strengths, your, your temptations, your sins. He knows it all. And He has still approved of you so much that He gave His Son to exchange His life for your life. Because you need to be seen. You are valuable, you are important, you are acceptable, you are wonderful, and you are not invisible. Not to God, and you shouldn't be invisible to anybody else that matters, but that's just the world and how Satan has clouded the eyes of so many people. 

But we resist that scheme. We rebuke that scheme. We renounce that scheme of– the scheme of invisibility in the name of Jesus Christ for everyone listening to this podcast. I renounce, rebuke, and, and just tear away the scheme of invisibility because the things of God, the people of God, the truth of God, needs to be seen in you. In us. We are not invisible. We are visible as the light of the world, we are visible as witnesses of Jesus Christ, we are visible as temples of the Holy Ghost, we are visible as people walking in love and carrying the anointing of the Holy Spirit in us. You are not invisible; you are visible to God. “Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known,” 1 Corinthians 13:12. You are known by God. And Jesus said, “Lord, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.” Lord, let us be seen on earth for your glory, Father, as it is in heaven, Father. Father, let your people be seen, let your truth be seen, let your truth be shown through us, Father. The truth of Jesus Christ. We are not invisible, we are the visible light of Jesus Christ, and that's what I wanted to tell you in this, this podcast. 

I hope this made has made sense to you because I know that this has played out in so many people, this terrific, horrific scheme of invisibility. It was in my life, I struggled with it. People just could not see who I was. And in the times in my life where the few people I've had who know me for who I am and appreciate me for who I am and get me, they get me. They get Ray. Oh, that's such a good feeling. And there's people out there that will get you. They will understand you. They, they're from God. They’re divine appointments. They'll understand you and appreciate you and know you and love you unconditionally the way Christ does. We need those people in our lives, and you know, I, I don't expect everybody to get me or understand me, I get it, and not everybody will ever get you or understand you or even appreciate you. However, there's a scheme that will keep you invisible when people who need to know you. You're invisible sometimes from people who should know you, should appreciate you, should value you, should use you in the way you're created to be used, and these people need to see you. 

So, Lord, I rebuke and renounce the scheme of invisibility. We are not invisible. Your light and your truth in us is visible. Father, open up their eyes, Father, open up the eyes of the unbelievers. We know Satan has blinded them, but open up the eyes, Father. And also, Father, open up the eyes of those around us who need to see us, Father. Our bosses, our spouses, our families, uh, our church leaders. Any scheme where, where the church leader has been unable to see you, your boss has been unable to see you, your spouse has been unable to see you. We renounce that scheme. We rebuke that scheme. And you have to also fight for this. Fight for your rights, fight for the right to be seen. And as the Bible says, to be fully known. You are not invisible. You are visible, and you are important, and you are worthy and acceptable, amen. I hope this has blessed you. That's the end of episode 211. I hope this has been a blessing to you. 

Again, this episode, you know, is made possible by the International College of Ministry. That's my that's my school that I founded in 1998. We're online. Right now we have I think 500 students, and it's hard to believe. Not all of them are that active, but we've enrolled quite a few over the years, and uh, fully online, work on your own schedule. Affordable, we give away scholarships to anybody who can’t afford us, you know, we give them help. Uh, we have schools in India, we have uh, schools in uh, Peru, and now we have satellite campuses in the Navajo Nation out in New Mexico, uh, just opening up one in Uganda. We're also in Buffalo, New York, Troy, Missouri, South Haven, Mississippi, Orlando, Florida. God is good, but we need help. It, it's difficult. We, we give away a lot of money. We give away a lot of money in scholarships. I never refuse anybody who cannot afford their tuition, you know, we do, we help them, but that's very expensive and difficult for us. Anyway, if you can help us to, appreciate it. You know, appreciate any donation we could give. That's my little appeal there. The main thing that would really be cool would be if you'd enroll in ICM. We're always enrolling; we run 24 hours a day, the courses are pre-recorded, waiting for you to take them. Get your degree, get your associate’s or your bachelor's degree, or finish up your master’s, finish your doctorate degree. You know, get it. We're accredited. Recognized by the Florida Department of Education. Check us out, icmcollege.org. That's enough about ICM. God bless you, thank you so much for listening to Self Talk. This is your host, me, Dr. Ray Self, and God bless you.

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