Who are you?
Have You Forgotten Who You Are?
Some would say, of course I know who I am,
I am so and so, from Such and such!
And then again, there are some who think they know who they are!
And they remind people, everywhere they go,
and all those who they run into in life...
Do you know who your talking to?
Do you know who I am?
And the response shouldn't be one of fear and intimidation,
But of concern when someone acts that way..with a question,
Who are you?
Tell me what is your genetic make up?
And our response shouldn't be one of sarcasm...
But one of witness, one of pride, one of inclusion!
Illus.
Who am I, that The Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt?
Who am I, that the bright and morning star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart?
Not because of who I am
But because of what you've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who you are
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still you hear me when I'm calling
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling
And you told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours
Far to often, we fail to make the observation that...
If we call ourselves Christian..
If we bare His Name...
Then We Are His! Aren't we?
He knows who we are..the question is...
Do we? We'll Do we? We should!
Psalm 139:13-16
The Message (MSG)
13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.
He knows everything about us!
Everything? Yes everything!
My friends, that knowledge shouldn't be intimidating..
That knowledge should be exciting to all
who call Him, their Lord and Saviour!!
David wrote that Psalm with Excitement church! Amen?
He knew God and he knew God knew Him...
there is beautiful intimacy in their relationship!
You know there are a lot of things that excite people in life..
Music,
Sports,
Attractive people,
Money,
Fame...
How’s come people can get excited over something’s like that in life,
but when it comes to the spiritual smorgasbord that God has so extravagantly prepared for all who wish to enjoy,
So many are willing to settle and to just have the hor’derves that religion offers them in life?
and so few are willing to experience all that God has for them, only the personal intimacy of a relationship with His Son Jesus...can bring into their lives?
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-14, MSG
3-6 How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
13-14 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.
So I ask you...Who Are You?
If your a Christian.. the correct response should be...
I am Christ's..
I am a adopted son or daughter of the most high God!
I am somebody..because God has made me Somebody!
Far too many people in life..don't feel like their somebody
Like they matter or have purpose.
Psalms 42:5 MSG
Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He’s my God.
God has prepared an extravagant feast for His children..
and if you are one of His children,
Then isn't it about time...you claimed your chair,
That's been reserved for you at His table and started
To enjoy the feast that has been prepared for you???
Well I would.."but"
Is that all you got..surely you can do better than that?
Listen up..I'm going to tell you something....
I believe the accuser invented the word but..
and he is well aware of how and when to use it, to keep you from receiving all that God has for you!
There will always be an excuse or a circumstance, as to why their not feasting on everything that God has for them.
Let me tell you, God does not want any of His Children to have to settle for anything less than His very best!
He is not affected by your circumstances in the least, you are!
Sometimes you may be willing to settle for less and thereby try to limit Gods ability in your life,
but that does not change God’s willingness to bless you, in the least!
But it does limit how much you receive!
Its like when you settle you say,
I didn’t get what I wanted, but at least I got what I needed,
what I could afford, what I could provide.
I think we all know, "What's" wrong with that statement, there are way to many I's in it!
The devil would have you think..
That God is just willing to throw you a bone every now and then!
God doesn't have to throw you a bone!
A bone is a leftover!
A bone is something that gets thrown out with the trash! Amen?
He wants you to enjoy the "extravagant feast" that He has already prepared for you!
Does TBS. The Lord is my shepherd, throw me a bone?
No! It says The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want!!
How do you know, what you are wanting, Gods not willing to give you,
If you will just believe, have some faith and let Him provide it for you,
instead of you trying to provide it for yourself
and then making it sound like you had to settle for less than what you wanted, because somehow it was'n‘t Gods will.
Your self effort, will never be enough to give you the equivalent of the extravagant life that God has already prepared for you
Sometimes that’s the hardest part, not trying to help God out, but learning to wait on Him and praising Him right where your at in life.
No matter where that is!
2 Chrn. 20:15-17,21-22 NKJ
15. And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
17. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
The bible goes on to say, Jehoshaphat and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.
Despite how their circumstances looked, they worshipped God, for the victory that was coming on the horizon,
They hadn’t seen it yet, but they knew it was on the way!
And they began to give God the praise, because they knew it had nothing to do with their limited abilities,
but everything to do with Gods endless capabilities!
21. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:
“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”
22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.
when they began to sing and to praise right where they were, God was moved to action, (I'll repeat it, because it's worth repeating!)
If your down in the dumps..start singing
If your on the mountain...keep on singing
Wherever you are..keep on praising God all the way in between, for what He is going to do!!
The world scoffs at the things of God and says what sense does that make!
The world says, show me the money!
God says show me your faith and I'll show you my riches in glory, my son is in charge of dispersing
Gods ways don’t always have to make sense and trying to figure them out all the time,
only subtracts from the ability to believe and the faith that it takes to see them come to fruition
Let me ask you what sense does planting almost anything in the ground and it growing into a living beautiful thing make?
But you know that it works, even in the desert it works,
Has anyone ever seen the flower of a cactus? Their absolutely beautiful!
Gods principles are not limited to their surroundings or circumstances
Isaiah 43:16-21 MSG.
16-21. This is what God says,
the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
they lie down and then can't get up;
they're snuffed out like so many candles:
"Forget about what's happened;
don't keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new.
It's bursting out! Don't you see it?
There it is! I'm making a road through the desert,
rivers in the badlands.
Wild animals will say 'Thank you!'
—the coyotes and the buzzards—
Because I provided water in the desert,
rivers through the sun-baked earth,
Drinking water for the people I chose,
the people I made especially for myself,
a people custom-made to praise me.
"Forget about what's happened;
don't keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new.
Human nature has a tendency to repeat itself, over and over and over
You know, the “I can make the square peg fit the round hole” if I just keep trying, philosophy.
If you always continue to make left hand turns all the time,
you will continually lap the same piece of real estate over and over, just like the children of Israel did.
Oh you can live there and sustain there, but as long as you do,
you will never experience the promised land that God truly has waiting just for you.
Start praising God now for the rivers that are about to flow in your desert,
For the road that is about to appear out of nowhere
to lead you to where abundance lives and flows freely,
For the path that won’t continue to circle the mountain, but will split the mountain wide open and take you safely right through it, to your promised land God has waiting for you!
"Forget about what's happened before; let it go once and for all..don't keep going over old history.
His mercies are new every morning after morning, after morning
God wants to do a new thing in your life, today right now, the waiting can stop today, you can walk out of the old, step into the new!
No matter where your at right now in life,
Even if you think That God has blessed you beyond...
what you could have ever imagined...
God has so much more..
A 100 x's more, a 1,000,000 x's more..
if you can believe.. for you to be enjoying in your life!
Your relationship with His Son Jesus, has reserved and assured
your place at the table.
Every promise in the Bible is yours to lay hold to, there's not one promise God wants to withhold from you.
Maybe your standing at the corner of Desert and mountain rd today
And you’ve been carrying a burden to long
and you've Done all you know to do
Stand where you are give it up to God, once and for all
He's waiting to fight your battle, start praising right where you at,
"He's Waiting" to carry your burden so you don't have to,
Not just for right now, but forevermore!
You can make a life change today
Praise him for the river in your desert
Remember this...
Every river started with a rain drop, it's true,
you won't find a spicket at the mouth of a river,
Your faith multiplied by Gods ability can turn that raindrop..
into your river of blessing in your desert
"God is Amazing" He can meet your need today
He doesn’t want you to wait any longer, He has already prepared for you..
an abundant life, full of His Promises and Goodness!
A life fit for a child of the King!
So I ask you one last time..Who are you?
I'm so glad you asked..
Don't you know..I'm a child of the King
Let the feast begin!
Let's pray
