Identity Theft
Pastor Jamie Wright * Maranatha Fellowship Church * 04-21-04
Identity is the door to your destiny
You are a sum total of all the decisions you make.
On what do you base your decisions? Why do people commit adultery? They forget they who they are; I am a husband I can’t do this.
What is the common denominator for people making bad decisions? Men of God don’t do things like this. Christian homes don’t act this. The Body of Christ doesn’t do those types of things. Pastors don’t do this.
Why do people do these things? In a moments notice the devil had stolen their identity. That is the common denominator.
Your identity is the key to your destiny
When you know who you are confidence rises up in you. Then you know what the next step is for your life.
* The goal of the enemy is to steal the identity of the believers.
If Satan can get you to forget about who you are, then you will forget about your destiny.
When your identity is stolen then you end up turning into a guy like this.
City Identity theft solutions commercial says- Need help getting your life back? We will give you solutions to identity theft.
Help getting your life back. You just need to know who you are.
I want to give you some Biblical solutions to prevent identity theft in your spiritual walk.
The devil will no longer steal our identity if you know who you are.
When he steals your identity you forget where your destiny is.
Identity theft is a serious thing in our country.
Visiting through our airports, then we want to know who you are. We are now Finger printing all people coming into our country so we can put them in our system. We want to know who they are. Why? Because your identity tells us how you are going to act.
*Don’t tell me what you do! I am a plumber, I am a nurse….no
Tell me who you are.
There is something about identity that is linked to destiny issues.
Tell me who you are and I will tell you what you are supposed to be doing.
Every 79 seconds in America there is an identity theft victim the stealing of someone’s identity.
Technology tells us in the next two years there will be a massive identity theft crisis in our nation.
*Not just natural also in the spiritual.
The devil is about to unleash a deceptive tool. A massive identity theft conspiracy
Because if he can get you for just a moment to forget who you are; he will get you to make decisions based on your emotions and not based off of your identity.
Identity theft is a serious issue
Random check of credit reports in 2003 50% credit reports checked were victims and they didn’t even know. It is serious
1 of 50 people will fall victim to it in 2004.
It will take every victim close to $1500 dollars to repair the damage and get things put back together not counting lawyers fees
*Here is the tragedy of identity theft-
You can spend your whole life building your credit, building your identity credit and in one moment somebody steals your identity and your future is destroyed.
The same thing happens in the spiritual realm. You can spend your entire life building your spiritual identity but all it takes is one moment to forget who you are and make a stupid decision and it will take you and I years to fix what one decision did, because we forgot who we are.
*Identity is a powerful thing.
When you learn who you are you stop wondering around wondering what my next step is. Just figure out who you are and what you do becomes natural a no brainier.
God understands this. Exodus- God introduced to Moses in a burning bush
First time God is appearing the people of Israel. First time.
Lead my people out of Egypt. Moses asked in chapter 3…what is your name … my name is I am who I am. You tell them I Am sent you. What was God doing?
Moses wasn’t asking please tell us what you are going to do for us. Tell us your actions your destiny what kind of God are you going to be. Who are you because your identity will tell me who you are going to be?
I am that I am has sent you.
In other words, tell them whatever they need me to be whenever they need me to be it that is the kind of life I will life because of my identity
God comes on the scene before you can understand my destiny you have to understand my identity
Before you can walk in your destiny you must walk in your identity
Before you can walk in gods plan for your life as a father, as a husband, a man of god as a single adult, before you can walk in God’s promises you have to under stand you identity
When you forget who you are is when you make dumb choices
Scripture tells us 2 Samuel 11 King David’s problems started when he forgot who he was.
2 Samuel 11:1 “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David stayed at home…” 1 Samuel 15
In a moment, for a moment David forgot I AM A KING. Kings don’t stay home at spring they go out to battle.
My identity determines my destiny
It determines how I act. It determines what I do.
And for that split second David said, “Oh, forget that I am a king. I am staying home.
Because of momentary laps he forgets who he was and he watches Bathsheba sun bath.
Because of that minute of forgetfulness…He makes a decision to have Uriah killed. It catapults to blood on his hands and god says you can’t build a temple for me because you got blood on your hands
All of the sudden…everything he had built was annihilated simply in a moment because he for got who he was a king.
How many times as a people are we willing to sacrifice our destiny for a momentary pleasure of forgetting WHO we are?
I look at times in my life Life is all about choices…where we are right now is not because of how big the devil is, its not because of where I was born…rich, black, poor life is not about the cards you are dealt…lucky Life is a result of the choices we make.
*SOONER or later you have to quit blaming what everyone else has done to you in life look in the mirror this day forward
My destiny is going to be decided by who I am and the choices I make
Your choices and my choices are always based on who I think I am. Always
They are based on my identity. My self esteem. How do I look at myself? What do I think of my self?
Before I can walk in my destiny before I can walk in the promises of God I have to figure out WHO AM I? You have to settle the issue of WHO AM I?
Even Jesus understood this. He understood that identity related to destiny
He was born for the purpose of dying
He gets to the river Jordan …do you know that from the day he was born to the day he was baptized leaving heaven he had never heard his heavenly Father speak to him. He didn’t have to. They were one.
He is now getting ready to enter into his destiny of what he came to this earth to do.
There are time when you are entering into what you believe is your destiny. I am telling you your destiny is always put on hold until you settle the issue of identity
You will never be the husband you are supposed to be until you settle the identity of what is a godly husband…mother wife student teacher minister business owner, single adult senior saint. Never. You have to settle the identity issue
So Jesus is coming on the scene he is getting ready to start his ministry and what is the first thing that God does
Splits the heavens and says----
Matthew 3:17 “Behold a voice from heaven says, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”
If I were God, to make sure there was no misunderstanding, I would have split the heavens, thunder lighting earthquake, and said, let me take the next 45 minutes and tell you what my son is going to do over the next three and a half years. I want to lay it all out for you so every one know this is what he is going to do for you. Cross, die, spit on side split, beaten buried rise again bare the burden of your sin…God doesn’t to that.
All he does is split the heavens and gives us the identity of Jesus. Let me tell you his identity because when you know who he is (MESSIAH, IMMANUEL, SAVIOR….come to take away the sins of the world Named at birth…given his identity) you know what he is going to do
God says I am not going to deal with the destiny issue I am going to deal with the identity issue.
Some of us are so concerned about what we are supposed to do. Quit worrying about what you are supposed to do and figure out who you are supposed to be.
When you settle the identity the destiny naturally flows in your life.
So God settles the identity. This is my beloved Son
Jesus is looking up going CONFIRMATION I know who I AM.
Next thing is he is lead out to the wilderness Matthew 4.
Three temptations of Christ in the wilderness…do you realize what those were about?
When you see this you are going to understand this and it will begin to open a new door to your identity
Temptation #1 Matthew 4:3 “if you are the son of God.” Temptation is to the identity.
Temptation is to challenge the identity. Do you know who you are? That is what Satan was saying do you know who you are? If you are the son of god turns stones to bread.
Compromise for a momentary pleasure. Jesus says No no no there is no compromise in me because I know who I am. My identity is secure…I am the son of God. Passes #1
Temptation # 2 vs 6. The devil says if you are the son of god throw yourself down and have the angels catch you. Again tempting him: do you know who you are? Do you know your identity?
Jesus probably was saying I know who I am can we move on. I am the son of God lets move on to something else.
God is watching as Satan challenges your identity in different areas of your life. But there comes a time when you know who you are.
There comes a time when you look Satan face to face and go
Hey In case you haven’t figured this out I know who I am and
You no what amazes some of us s how come Satan doesn’t turn and run away
He didn’t turn and run on Jesus he changed to his strategy.
You have to know where you are because that will tell you how the enemy is coming at you
When you are searching for your identity he will come at you and say if you are this then why do you do that. If you are this why do you think like this? You are still searching for your identity.
NONONONO I know who I am when you know who you are the strategy shifts. It is no longer your identity
#3 temptation vs. 8 ….all these things I’ll give you ok you know who you are and thus that means you know what your destiny is. Satan is now saying
I want to see if you are willing to compromise your identity and destiny for momentary pleasure. I know you know who you are. Challenge before you
Are you willing to take the easy road to achieve the same thing? No That’s all mine anyways. Only one way to get there
Too many people I know I am suppose to be this but I am going to take a short cut, your destiny will cause you to take a hard road.
Your confidence doesn’t come from someone patting you on the back saying “hey you are doing a really good job.”
Your confidence comes when something rises up in side of you and you know who you are.
I am the associate pastor of this church that isn’t an arrogant thing. I know I am the one called along side my dad as the associate pastor of this church…not you.
Pastor knows who he is. He is called of God to get vision for this church not you. If the vision for this church is lousy you don’t have to answer to God for it He does. When he is behind this pulpit he is confident. Why because he knows who he is.
Your confidence rises when you know who you are.
Example…your child looks at you and says why? You say because I said so I am the dad. There is real confidence in this. This is not open for debate you will do what I say. Where does that confidence come from it come from the identity of knowing who you are?
The flip side. You know what many do in a step parent relationship
You are not as confident…why because you are questioning your identity.
Am I the real parent? Can I discipline them? Do they look to me as the point of authority? All the sudden now you are not walking in the same air of confidence because you are looking for your identity. Why do people go through a mid life crisis? Searching for identity. Why do moms have trouble when all the kids move out? Searching for identity. Who am I, am not a mom anymore. Identity crisis
We need to have identity when we know who we are our destiny is laid before us and it is made very clear.
You have got to be reminded of who you are
We have got too many people in the body of Christ making dumb decisions
Because for a moment they are forgetting who they are.
Forgetting for a moment who I am doesn’t do this.
People who have been delivered and set free don’t go back to this
Tasted of the land of the living don’t want to go back to Egypt
We remember who we are….
If God can get us to remember who we are, if I can help you to realize you have an identity
There will be a confidence that rises up inside of you.
If you forget your identity you will compromise your destiny
