What God Says About Your Identity
Scripture: Deut. 28:1-14; 2 Cor. 5:20; Rom. 8:35-37; 2 Tim. 3:17
Introduction
I started this series with this end in mind. I wanted you to know that you are not just some “poor human” existing here on earth waiting to die and go to heaven to get your reward. You are not just a "nobody" who exists in obscurity. I wanted you to know from Scripture that you are somebody, that God has placed within you the ability and resources that you need to accomplish His will here on earth. In the first three messages I focused on the dominion that we have been given as Children of God. This morning I will close this series by walking you through a few Scriptures that speaks directly to your identity. I pray that you will prayerfully consider what the Word of God says about you verses what you have always been told. You must decide if you believe the Word of God as it applies to you. There are some people who read the Bible and view it as if they are reading a novel. The things that happened were one time events that applied only to those people in the Bible. When they read the New Testament they do not believe that God is speaking to them individually but that it is just a story of history. I believe that since God does not change (Malachi 3:6) and what He has stated in His Word applies to each of us today as it did for those during the time it was written. Based on this belief, I share with you what he has said about you, me and all those who accept Him through His Son Jesus Christ.
I. The Head and Not The Tail
“The Lord shall make you the head and not the tail, and you shall be above and you shall not be underneath, if you will listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully.” Deut. 28:13
“And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you.” Gal. 3:29
The above verse from Deuteronomy come towards the end of a whole list of blessings found in the Deuteronomy 28:1-14 that God told the Children of Israel would be theirs if they kept His commandments. The second verse found in Galatians 3:29 confirm that as believers in Christ, we become eligible for all of the promises God gave to Abraham. This morning I want to look at the promise found in the 13th verse. In this verse God tells the people that they would be the head and not the tail. I want you to think about the difference between the head and the tail on an animal. The head is the key to what the body does. The head enables the rest of the body to operate. The head makes the decisions and takes the lead in everything that goes on with the body. The tail is the posterior part of an animal’s body. It follows the head wherever it takes the body. The tail does not make any decision about what the body does; it just goes where the rest of the body goes which is controlled by the head. With that image, think about what God was telling the Children of Israel as part of the promise He made to Abraham which also applies to us. He was telling them that if they were obedient, Israel would be an independent power and leader among nations. What this meant was they would not be dependent on any other nation to lead them or to give them guidance. They would be in the driver’s seat, not in the back seat. They would be the one in control because they were walking with God in obedience to His commandments.
Now think about that example in reference to driving a car. If you are behind the wheel, you control where the car goes. If you want to turn left, you can. If you want to turn right or make a u-turn, you can. This is not so if you are riding in the back seat. If you are riding in the back, you go wherever the person sitting behind the wheel takes you. Even if you were a back seat driver, you still had no “real” control over where the car went. Before you were saved, Satan was behind the wheel and you went according to where he led you. When you got saved, Jesus kicked Satan out of the front seat, out of the car, and placed you behind the wheel. Not only did He give you the driver’s manual (His Word) so you could learn to drive the car, He left us an instructor to make sure we would not do it badly (the Holy Spirit). Jesus put us in the driver’s seat. We are now in control and we get to decide where the car goes. Satan is on the outside of the car running beside us trying to get us to open the door and let him back in. Don’t do it! Remember the words of the old song that says “Don’t let the devil ride, you let him ride, he’ll want to drive, don’t let him ride.” God has placed us in control. God has established us so that we take the leadership position in the world; we do not have to be followers. It is our responsibility to establish the path for others who do not know Christ so that they may find Him through the example that they see in each of us. God has not made you the tail. He has not placed you in the back seat of the car. You have accepted Christ and you are in the driver’s seat – START DRIVING!!!!! Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 5:20.
II. An Ambassador For Christ
“Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 2 Cor. 5:20
We have a high-ranking and influential job in the Kingdom of God. Our position is so important that we have the Kingdom of God backing us up. Why do I say this? In the verse above, Paul says that we are ambassadors for Christ. Do you know what an ambassador is? Let me tell you. Webster defines ambassador as “the highest ranking diplomatic representative of one country to another.” An ambassador is one that represents a nation to a foreign land. He or she is a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or king. An ambassador is also an authorized messenger who has the power to make decisions and to represent the will of the government, nation or king he/she represents. They are official representatives who are authorized to speak on behalf of the sender. Last week I shared with you that have been sent out by Christ with all of the authority you need to accomplish what He has set before you. As Christ’s ambassador, you have an official job to do.
As Christ representatives we are authorized to speak and to act on his behalf. When we do those things that we have been authorized to do, heaven backs us up. There are angels on assignments helping us as we fulfill what God has called us to do. The Holy Spirit leads us, but there are angels all around you assisting your efforts. The world that we live in is the foreign country. Those who do not know Christ are the residents of that foreign country. Christ has sent us to them to build a lasting relationship through diplomatic means whereby He can impact their lives. We are fully backed up; fully funded; fully defended and fully assisted by the authority and resources of Heaven. We are an important part of God’s plan here on earth. We have been invested with royal powers, including the name of Jesus. Angels stand ready to assist us in our ministry work, in our efforts to complete the assignment that Christ has given us as His ambassadors. Being ambassadors for Christ does not mean that we will not have hard times. Actually it guarantees that we will have some hard times because we have an enemy who is working against us. However, we have been given the assurance that we will succeed. Turn to Romans 8:35-37.
III. More Than A Conqueror
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we face death all day long, we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
Romans 8:35-37
There have been many times that I have felt beaten down like I was carrying the weight of the whole world on my shoulders. There have been times when no matter how hard I’ve tried it did not seem to working the way I believed God wanted it to go. There were times when I wanted to give up and walk away. You see, it seems like it is easier if you only have yourself to worry about, especially when it comes to ministry work. But when I read Romans 8:35-37, I am reminded that regardless of what I experience God has already made me victorious because of the love He has for me. Verse 35 reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Why is this important to understand? In war, one of the tactics of the enemy is to cut off the supply line so that he can separate the soldiers from the supplies necessary to carry on the battle. When the soldiers become isolated from their supplies, their morale becomes low and often times then end up losing the battle. In these verses we find that nothing can separate us from our supply line. What we need in order to be victorious is guaranteed to be there in full, uninterrupted abundance.
Because I am connected to Christ and this connection cannot be broken by the enemy, I’ve learned to see myself as a champion in the battle, not a loser. I’m learning to carry myself as one who is victorious and not as one who is in a constant state of defeat. How we perceive ourselves is very important because it will ultimately affect the way other people perceive you. It is a proven fact that we will project to others what we feel about ourselves. If you see yourself as a loser, people will see that too. If you see your self as a champion, people will see that and accept you as that also. Let me tell you a true story. About 30 years ago, a young man named George Foreman came on the boxing scene. He was beating up on everyone that came before him because he was an intimidating force. He believed in his heart that he could not be beaten. When he walked in the ring, he acted like he was the champion. In one fight he hit Joe Frazier so hard that Joe skipped across the ring. He had power and the self-confidence that he was a winner. After he won the championship, he had a fight against Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali also saw himself as a champion and he believed that he could beat George Foreman. In that fight, George Foreman was the bigger man with the harder punches. But you know who won? Muhammad Ali. How did he do this? Besides using his famous rope-a-dope fighting style, he actually talked to George Forman throughout the fight. He told George Forman that he was weak and that he could not hurt him. When George heard this, he became angry and tried to hit even harder. What George did was tire himself out and Muhammad Ali knocked him out. After the fight George complained that Ali had talked throughout the fight. Muhammad Ali got into George Foreman’s head and George lost sight of who he believed he was and temporarily accepted what Ali said about him. It was interesting that after that fight, George set up an exhibition against five boxers to prove that he had stamina and that it was Ali’s talking that made him lose.
For this reason we should understand what Paul says in Romans 8:35-37. Although we may go through hardships and even face death, we are more than conquerors. We must keep that within or hearts and minds because our enemy will try to get us to see ourselves differently, as losers. When Paul uses the term “more than” he is saying we are over, above and way beyond conquerors. He is implying the idea of superiority, something that is unsurpassed. In other words, we are “super-conquerors” in Jesus Christ. When he uses the word “conqueror” he is saying that we are an overcomer, a champion. We are an overwhelming, prevailing force. We are not weak and we are not losers, we are champions. We must see ourselves as being more than a conqueror, more than a champion. We cannot let the enemy talk us into believing we are less than conquerors. If the enemy can get us to believe his lie then a knock out will follow leading to defeat. God has given us everything we need, we have been equipped. Turn to 2 Timothy 3:16-17 for our last Scripture. I want you to know how to access everything God has placed within your control – including your identity.
IV. Thoroughly Furnished Unto All Good Works
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim. 3:16-17
Paul shares with us that the Word of God is what prepares us to operate in this life. The Greek word for “adequate/equipped” means to completely deck out or to fully supply. The word was used to depict a ship that had previously been ill-equipped for traveling; but because its owner had decked it out with new equipment and gear, this ship had become adequate and equipped to sail anywhere in the world. Before we got into God’s Word, we were not ready, not equipped to really go out and be effective in the world. However, once we got into the Word and made it a part of our lives, we became equipped and able to be effective in whatever area of ministry we are operating in. God’s Word operating in our lives changes our hearts and souls and enable us to start seeing ourselves as God sees us. When we first came to Jesus, we were like the ill-equipped boat, just beginners who hardly knew enough to get by in life. Although we were saved and on our way to Heaven, we hadn’t had enough of God’s Word placed into us to fully equip us for sailing through all kinds of weather. As we read and study God’s Word, it begins to equip us with all of the spiritual gear we need to take the adventurous trip God has planned for our lives. With God’s Word fitted tightly into place, we are ready to set sail and follow wherever the Holy Spirit leads. Understanding God’s Word is critical to how you see yourself and what you will believe you are able to do as a Christian.
As I told you several weeks ago, you are not a loser, a failure or without the ability to achieve in this life. When God sealed you, He approved of who you were and what you were going to be. He has made you an ambassador for Christ, more than a conqueror and placed you in a leadership position (the head and not the tail). This is not the image of someone weak. You have power, you have heaven backing you up and you have everything you need to walk as a light in darkness. You must choose to believe that you are more than what Satan has told you about yourself. You have dominion. God gave it to you and never took it back. The time is now to start walking in who you are and what God has placed within you. May God bless and keep you.
