In this series on reclaiming personal sovereignty, Kim highlights the four tests one must pass to reclaiming your personal sovereignty.

Four (4) Tests to Pass to Reclaim Your Sovereignty

1. The Test of Necessity
2. The Test of Internal Conflict & Personal Challenge
3. The Test of Freewill
4. The Test of Opposition & Danger

In the two prior episodes, we looked at reclaiming sovereignty through the lives of Jesus and Moses. Today Kim describes and applies the four tests to reclaiming sovereignty by the healing of blind Bartimaeus, Mark 10:46-52.

Let's explore how Bartimaeus passed the test of necessity, internal conflict, freewill and opposition.

Test 1 - Necessity:

Bartimaeus recognized the necessity, the urgency in approaching Jesus. When he was told to be quiet, Bartimaeus continued to shout more loudly over the crowd. Bartimaeus had a need - he wanted to see. He knew his time was now. He didn't wait for help, so he asserted his right to speak.

Test 2 - Overcoming Internal Conflict:

Bartimaeus threw of his coat (cloak). Coats in scripture were significant. They represented authority, power, protection and provision. They had a monetary value in those times. While the scripture doesn't say, this was probably Bartimaeus' only coat. Throwing off his coat presented an inner conflict for Bartimaeus. His coat was a means of survival, and Bartimaeus was no longer tied to it. It could not heal him. Throwing off his coat meant Bartimaeus was choosing a new system of provision, a new way of life that was incompatible with begging.

Bartimaeus threw off his coat because he wanted freedom from bondage. Blindness is a bondage. At the moment he threw off his cloak, Bartimaeus decided to choose freedom (Jesus) over the things in his life that he relied on. He gave up something of value (his cloak) for something of greater value… a new way of life.

Test 3 - Freewill:

Reclaiming your sovereignty is a voluntary process; no one can do it for you. Only you can exercise your freewill to reclaim your sovereignty. While Bartimaeus was physically blind, he was not spiritually blind. He knew "Jesus SON OF DAVID" as he cried out, was no ordinary man. Bartimaeus did not hear a man, he heard God within a man.

Bartimaeus exercised his freewill to follow Jesus once his sight was restored. Jesus said, "Go, your faith has made you well." However, Bartimaeus chose to follow Jesus. There was something greater in Jesus that Bartimaeus needed beyond his sight.

Test 4 - Opposition:

To reclaim your sovereignty, you WILL have to overcome opposition. Bartimaeus had to overcome peer pressure and threats from the crowd to silence him. The more the crowd pressed him, the louder he got. Bartimaeus was challenging the crowd's sentiments about Jesus. That is, he challenged the mainstreams attitude and position on Jesus. Bartimaeus was going against the grain of the crowd, so much that the crowd could hear him. He was not echoing the crowd; he became a voice to the crowd by saying something different. When challenged, Bartimaeus did not cower to the opposition of the crowd.

Why is facing opposition dangerous? A person who reclaims their sovereignty:

1. Cannot be controlled. They retain their right to think, decide, and act for yourself as well as the right to ask for help as God would provide it to you.
2. Cannot be bribed.
3. Cannot be seduced or coerced.

Bartimaeus passed these four tests. So, where are you in passing these tests? Are you living your life God's way or your way?

God wants you to reclaim your sovereignty. It's required in order to take back your life.

Why now? You will face these four tests over and over and over again. The only difference is, the stakes will get higher if you fail the test, and they will get higher if you pass.

What test has God presented to you in this hour??? God always gives you the answer before He gives you the test.

John 10:17-19; Eph 6; Mark 10:46-52; Phil 2:13; 2 Tim 4:13; Ex 22:26-27; Is 55:8-9; Luke 16: 20-21