Christ asked the Disciples the question,
“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man,
am?” Your answer to this question determines your spiritual health, because
you are one of three persons. You are: 1) Who others say you are; 2) who you say
you are; or, 3) who God says you are. My point is, unless we live our lives
from the truth of who we are in Christ, we will never maximize our potential in
Christ Jesus our Lord. Instead, we will construct our identity from not only
what others say about us, but by what we say about ourselves.
In studying the life of Christ, you will
find He never defined His worth by who He was in the opinion of others. In fact,
He never lived for the approval of others. He lived His life from the truth of
who He was as the Son of God.
Dutch Sheets stated that true liberty
came to him when God delivered him from caring what people thought of him. He
said, “As long as God is pleased with me, that is all that truly matters.”
Shouldn’t that be the case for all of us?
Paul said, “I am what I am.” He was
saying, “My calling, my gifting, my purpose was not my decision; it was God’s,
and I can’t change that.” He says, “This one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus” (Phil. 3:13, 14). Paul was not going to let what others thought of Him,
nor what he had done in the past put the brakes on his future.
When God initially called Moses,
Gideon, and Jeremiah, they all felt inadequate to do what God had called them
to do because of their self-constructed identity based on who they perceived
themselves to be. Moses said, “Who Am I?” Jeremiah said, “I am a youth.” Gideon
said, “I am the least in my father’s house.”
In our first impression of Gideon, we see him hiding in a winepress,
afraid of the Midianites. But when the angel appeared to Gideon, the angel called
him a “mighty man of valor.” Look at
his initial response, “Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my
family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judges
6:15). Gideon, like so many of us, rather than extend himself to grasp who he
really was, retreated into the safety of the label of who he said he was. At
this point Gideon was far from being a mighty man of valor, but being empowered
by God, Gideon grew into the meaning of his new name.
Experience has taught me, until you know who God says you are, you
will never live with confidence in God’s call on your life.” No matter what
you have done or haven’t done, God’s power is big enough to change you. Get
this, there’s no sin too great for God’s grace; there’s no habit too big for
His delivering power; there’s no label too strong for His love. The truth is,
what once was no longer has to be. God can and will break the labels that have
held you hostage, because you were made for more than you’ve settled for.
It doesn’t matter how you feel about yourself.
The truth is, we are God’s master piece according to Ephesians 2:10 “For we are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.” You need to understand this: you’ve been
made new. You’ve been remade. You are God’s masterpiece and God doesn’t make
JUNK. Workmanship means “a work made by
God.” The way God made you was not by chance or accident. You are divinely
inspired with a divine intention to guide you.
Isn’t it time to peel off the many
labels that cling to your reputation and uncover who you really are? Paul says
in 2 Cor. 10:3-5 that our weapons "are mighty through God to the pulling
down of strong holds; Casting down imagination, and every high thing that
exalts itself against the knowledge God." "Pulling down" means
demolition, destruction of a stronghold or total, absolute destruction. That
means you take the negativity, lift it up over your head, bring it crashing
down to the ground, and crush it into rubble. Demolish it. Remember, it’s not
what you were that matters, but what you can become.
Loyd
Naten
General
Secretary
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