So, I preached last night at the Well. It was awesome. The LORD gave me all the words. I preached on identity. See below. He really does put the words in your mouth.
Who Am I? That’s the question we all ask ourselves sooner or later.
So, who are you? Where do you find your identity?
Is it in your work? Are you an astronaut?
Is it in your family? Are you a stay at home mom?
Is it in your circumstances? Are you homeless?
Who are you?
Who does God say you are? Do the two connect or are they opposing?
If they oppose, why is that? And, why is it that we define ourselves with where we are in life rather than whose we are as we do life?
God calls us children. His children. That’s where our identity starts.
Galatians 3:26
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 4:6
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So our identity starts with God. We are His. We belong to him. He grafted us into the lineage ofAbraham, and we are called His children. And, being children of God has many benefits. We don’t have to walk around sick or impoverished or oppressed. That is not the identity of a prince or princess. No, we can walk around as royalty. But, what if our circumstances don’t quite line up with this? What then?
It’s funny how we want to keep defining our identity with our circumstances. Those are very different things. Paul talked about how he was able to be contented whether he had much or very little. And, he got the raw end of circumstances on several occasions, even being stoned and left for dead – which is a whole lot worse than any of us have experienced.
Being of the King allows us to gain access to what our hearts truly want – love. We can experience immense joy in all circumstances. And, we can enjoy the love of a Father under any circumstances. He is always with us and loves us no matter what we do. Our hearts are wired for this. The more we come to realize that we are His, the more fully we can experience this. And, out of our love, we find that circumstances no longer grip us nor define who we are.
Look at the two greatest commandments: love God and love each other as ourselves. We need look no further than that to figure out how God is going to judge us one day, and its not by how much stuff we accumulated.
If your circumstances are rough right now, are you loving? Do you love God and love your brother? Or, do you curse or blame God and hate your brother?
And, as we let our circumstances determine who we are, it is easy to get caught up in the trials of life and turn against one another rather than working with one another out of love. Do all know that you are a disciple of Christ? If not, repent! Change! Do it differently.
John 13:35
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
So then, your identity starts with being God’s child. And, it continues into how you love.
But, who are you in Christ?
Ok, so we get the love thing, and I understand that I am God’s child. That’s great. But, really – who am I?
It’s funny how the western world identifies us with what we do. That is a shame, but it’s not completely out of line. We really are created with a purpose – to do something great in our time here.
So, does God have a purpose for you? Could this be all that you are called to be? You may be saying to yourself, certainly there must be something more. God didn’t intend for me to live like this did He?
You know, I don’t really think that God wants any of His children to live a downtrodden life. I am not about the prosperity gospel, but I do believe that God wants maximum glory. Stories of redemption are what He is all about. No matter what our circumstances, there is great opportunity for Him to show up and do something remarkable in our lives and get maximum glory. People need to know that there is a God out there who is alive and well and cares deeply for His children. What kind of dad would leave His kids in a life unfulfilled?
Just as we are to love. We are also to find our identities in Jesus. He has a purpose for our lives. This purpose draws us into that place of experiencing Him in the greatest fashion so that we can enjoy deep communion with Him and allow Him the room to make Himself known to the greatest number of folks through our lives. And, yes, you have an identity that serves a real purpose. There are things for you to do. We are not called to walk around the earth aimlessly, wandering the desert for 40 years. We have promised lands to occupy and giants to conquer. God destined us for greatness – each and every one of us. It very well might be that the circumstances you find yourself in right now are exactly the giant that He wants you to overcome to bring Him maximum glory.
Predestination is an interesting concept. The idea of God having already determined the outcome of things long before creation existed brings about quite a stir. But, what does it really mean? To some, it denotes of being puppets on strings with little choice of what we do or where we go. For others, it means putting life on autopilot and sitting around doing nothing claiming that this is one’s destiny. Yet, there is something bigger, something more to this idea.
Has God already determined our fate? What about free will? What about choice? Why is this relevant?
Let’s look at what God says about predestination.
Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'”
Jeremiah 1:5
4 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
5 ” Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
Many people don’t believe in God’s goodness. They see bad things around them and think that God caused it to occur. Or, they judge God for not stopping it. But, the world was placed under man’s dominion. And, at the fall, man gave it over to satan. He is the god of this world. It is the grace of God that many horrible events of the devil are not ever seen. We have no clue as to how much stuff God prevented that we simply don’t know about. God is sovereign, and it is prideful to think that we know how things should end up.
That all said, God is good. He is good. He has plans for us that are good. Now, it is up to us to decide whether we will follow those plans and seek Him out for those plans. If we do, we are blessed richly. But, lots of folks don’t. They cant wait because of impatience or they don’t believe that the LORD really is on their side so they run out and take control and try to do things their way. In this, we see that the will of God isn’t always manifested. People sin every day. It is not the LORD’s will that we sin. But, it still happens. Yes, it is possible for us not to act out God’s will. This goes to your purpose as well.
But, the fact remains that God has a purpose for your life:
To Moses, God says:
Exodus 9:16
But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.
1 John 3:8
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
God certainly does have purpose for us, and this purpose existed long before there were you or me. So, how does that correlate to where we are now?
If we know that God is good, then certainly His purposes must be good. You say, “what about Jesus?” That seems a bit harsh. Well, yes, the road to glory for Jesus was hard. And, that illustrates a lot about our understanding of God. Why is it that we think that the only purpose that God could possibly have would not include some hardship? Does God get glory out of everything being easy? God is in the redemption business. He has been repairing our mistakes since Adam and continues through this day. Grace is a good thing. God does have something good for us, and He helps us overcome all the junk that the devil throws our way and the mistakes that we make.
God knows the plans that He has for us – not to harm us. If God is good, and His plans are good, why are we so afraid of God directing our path of life? Why must we maintain control? What if He really has a great purpose in mind for us? The bible says that it is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search a matter out. God likes to play hide and seek with us. He develops a relationship through this. What would it mean for you if you tried to find your purpose? How does one find his or her purpose? What is your purpose? Am I supposed to destroy the works of the devil too? Does everyone find their purpose?
Again, I would fathom that most everyone does not find their purpose. It is a hard thing to be patient and fully surrendered to the LORD. He has amazing things in store for everyone. Many people give up hope. Others succumb to the fears and insecurities of life, not trusting His word to provide. Still others don’t see that what is on their hearts as something that they are worthy to achieve. There are all kinds of lies that come against a person who starts out seeking His purpose in life. But, the rewards for a faithful journey into your destiny are endless.
Where do I begin? Where can I find my purpose?
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 20:4
May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, And fulfill all your purpose.
David gives us great insight into our purpose. It’s written right on our hearts. We carry it around everywhere we go. We need look no further than in. Whatever it is that burns inside of you…well, that’s pretty close to what God has in mind too. And what’s on His heart is most likely on your heart. It’s hard to shake a God-inspired purpose.
It took me five years to get to Colorado. I waded through all kinds of adversity and all kinds of ridicule. People all around me told me that it must not be of God to take so long and cause so much devastation. Sometimes, the true purpose in a man or woman’s life is marked with great resistance. For the enemy certainly knows that your life matters and that you have a purpose. He will do all that he can to stop you from realizing your destiny. And, even after I got there, I still had many mountains to cast into the sea. The battle for your promised land begins after you enter it. The Israelites fought something like thirty-nine battles after crossing the river Jordan but only two before.
But, even with all the hardship, I knew in my heart that the LORD was taking me to Colorado. I had a purpose there that He wanted to achieve, and He had picked me. So, He put it on my heart. It mattered to me, and the journey to the Rocky Mountains brought me into great communion with My creator. I saw Him show up mightily in so many ways. And, each step along the path not only brought me closer to Him, but it increased my readiness for the purpose to which He called me into. I never knew all that I was supposed to do. I continue to learn every day. God does not tell you all. He gives you a glimpse and a nod and writes something special on your heart. Fulfilling it to its maximum depends upon your willingness to surrender to Him as LORD and wait, wait, wait. Oh, the waiting! But, He promises to direct our paths. Every step will be from Him, if we let Him.
Ultimately, He plants desires in our hearts that draw us unto Him. The pull is in His direction, if we listen to His voice and follow the path that He leads us down.
Our identity is linked very closely to our purpose. Our identity in Christ is who He has made us to be. We are sons and daughters of the King. Our calling or purpose is what that identity is supposed to achieve for His glory and His Kingdom.
Identity, Purpose, Gifts & Calling
Jeremiah 2 – you had purpose before you were created, and God knew you.
Call – before we were made, God called us unto Himself and for His purpose. God calls us out. Just like he called Abraham, Moses, Gideon, John the Baptist, Jesus, The 12, Paul, etc., He calls us unto His purpose. If we accept His call, we embark on a journey of a lifetime.
Gifting – whatever God calls us into, He equips us for the task. His gifts are poured into us to give us supernatural power to do His work. The more we wait on Him and press deeper into Him, the more we can see these gifts increase. And, gifts seem to grow. Prophetic gets clearer – bigger. Healing becomes more pronounced, and bigger diseases cured. Our revelatory gifts get more power. Things just come into focus more clearly. It is like God gives us a little bit of our gift to teach us and allow us room to grow up into it. Then, as we mature, He increases the gifts. And, both the gifts and calling are ours to keep.
Romans 11:29
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
It is important that we see the gifts as tools to do the work. If we maintain a perspective that our tools allow us to do what God wants rather than making the tool an idol unto itself, we position ourselves to see our tools get bigger. And, it is quite exciting to experience this.
We are Joined Together as a Body
God calls us to advance the Kingdom and serve the body in our own unique ways.
Members of the body. It’s amazing to see a body at work. Each part serves the other. There is a good deal of scripture admonishing us not to look at another member and freak out because we are not more glamorous than we think we deserve. We are who God created us to be. We stand in our identity and serve one another, and big things happen. It is truly a blessing just to be a part of what God has going on. As we work together in unity, we see how amazing the LORD moves.
Our eyes direct us where to go. Our feet get us there. Our hands do the task once we arrive. All components work together to achieve a purpose. God builds interdependency upon the body. This is His nature and His desire. No one is to be a lone gun. Those do not last very long.
So, we not only have a single identity in who we are in Christ and who God calls us to be, but we have a corporate identity. We work together in unity to achieve things much greater than any one person can achieve by himself. We have all seen what happens to people who work together through great adversity and come out as a band of brothers. Bonds and love are formed that surpass the greatest trials of life.
Expect Opposition from the Enemy
Once our identity starts to manifest, we see that the enemy wants to come against that.
Jesus – temptation in the desert, interrogation at the trial and even while hanging on the cross
Elisha – mocking spirit in the kids right after he got his mantle
The enemy tries to keep us from moving into our destiny.
Once we gain our identity, the enemy tries to kill it:
Elijah – jezebel curse after the baal victory
John the Baptist – beheading after his victory of ushering in Jesus.
Both of these prophets were attacked by jezebel. We should expect resistance to our moving into what God has for us. This happened with the Israelites. It will happen with us.
In Elijah’s case, we have the witchcraft spirit being unleashed. He became suicidal.
In John’s case, we have immorality in Herodias’ daughter dancing and pleasing him and a manipulating mother in law. This was no “Dance”, by the way. This was an old-time lap dance. Herod had a big fear of man going so rather than face what he knew in his heart to be right, he had John’s head taken off.
Victory is not defined by us.
We are at war. We must work together in order to achieve victory. We should not be surprised when we meet opposition that tries to rob us of our identity.
So, let me ask you. Who was the greatest prophet?
Elijah? He called down fire from heaven.
Moses? He led the Israelites out of the desert and the hands of pharaoh
John the Baptist? He prepared the way for Jesus
Jesus says that it was John the Baptist. But what happened with John? He came on the scene for a very brief period and then got his head cut off. That doesn’t seem like much of a calling or purpose to life. John probably wasn’t all that thrilled with the end either. But, did he serve God’s purpose for himself? Oh, did he ever. He illuminated and ushered in the Messiah.
And, so we see that the enemy really wants to show up and rob us of who we are. He tells us that we should define success, and it is rooted in our desire to want to matter – to make a difference.
Jesus was a great example:
Jesus was King of the Jews. All the Jews expected Jesus to rise up and take over the land and restore it out of Roman rule. Many even left him when they discovered that this was not the case. Abandonment certainly can be anticipated when you don’t meet the expectations of those around you. But, the true test remains to whom you belong.
What did Jesus do?
Where was His victory? In His resurrection. And, that could only come through His death. And His circumstances were brutal. To the world, he seemed a failure. It may feel like that to you too in the moment, but know that the LORD will bring you through.
John 10:10
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Conclusion
So, where are you today? Do you identify with your circumstances and try to bring the LORD glory in all that you do or do you see yourself as a victim.
Have you defined victory and are selfishly waiting for that to happen? Or do you love God and love others right where you are?
What is God’s call on your life? Are you there?
Has the enemy of our souls risen up to meet you? Is he winning? Are you like Elijah and ready to die?
Do you believe that God is good and has a plan for your life? Will you let Him get the glory from your situation?
Call to Action
1) Get with the LORD. Get alone. Recognize that He is good and has good things for you.
2) Ask Him how He sees you. Ask Him to stir up that desire in your heart that you buried a long time ago.
3) Let Him direct your steps and move out when He says. Do not fear. He wants it more than you.
4) Surrender yourself to Him. Wherever you hold the crown, give it up.
5) Recognize that greatness and success are defined by Him.
6) Above all, love God and others.
7) You are wonderfully and fearfully made and with a purpose.