Discovering Your True Identity

TRANSCRIPT

We've talked about what it means to enter into child likeness. We've talked about what it means to enter into adulthood. We've talked about what it means to enter into manhood and to being a woman. And I thought, what is it that actually stops us some of the times from fully entering into those things?

And it's our identity. And so this morning that is what I want to unpack a little bit about our identity. Who are you? That is a question that cuts to the very core of who we are as human beings. And that's what I want to explore this morning. Voices can be incredibly powerful when it comes to identity.

And I remember this time, I was in about year six, and back in primary school I had not yet discovered... the necessity of hair product for people with curly hair. I can only describe my hair back then as being some kind of combination between like curls and an afro. Like it was, it was pretty out of control and that's an important part of this story.

I was a very shy... Quite insecure, I would even say, as a kid, and would not speak, you know, I just, I was so shy, and in year six I was sent by my teacher to this year seven classroom to deliver a message. It wasn't just any classroom, it was the classroom belonging to the scariest teacher, no, like, you could hear her voice three classrooms down, like, She was that kind of person, so I am not over emphasising the fact here that I was scared, and it was totally out of my comfort zone to go and deliver this message, but I summonsed all my courage, and off I went, and I like, peer through the door, and I'm like, Excuse me!

Mrs. G... Before I could even get the message out, she looks over... And she says, what do you want? You, you, you mophead.

Now teachers. I'm not sure you would get away with that this day and age. But I was like, I literally delivered the message, The band, the band have to meet at three o'clock. And I got out of there as quickly as I could. To be fair, she wasn't exactly wrong. Like, there was some truth to what she was saying.

But, four weeks after that, every time I would look in the mirror, I would think, she's right. I wish I had straight hair like the rest of my family. I wish, you know, that I had shiny, long, straight hair. My hair does look like a mop. It looks like a bird's nest. You know, you start as a preteen. Words can cut so, so deep.

But it's not just as a preteen, is it? Words can cut deep, regardless of our age. They can have a lasting impact, and that example that I just shared is very light hearted. But there are people in the room today, and there are people that are watching online today, and people have said things to you, you've overheard things said about you, and those words have hurt.

and they have cut to the heart. And maybe they were words that were just spoken last week. Maybe they were words that were spoken in your childhood, but you've taken them on board and they've affected your identity. They've influenced your decision, your decision making. They've affected your self worth.

They've affected your confidence, and for many of us, they can begin to form part of our identity. What I would like to explore this morning is that there are many voices that can impact our identity, but there is only one voice that leads us to our true identity in Christ. An identity which, when we discover it, and when we enter into it, allows us to walk in freedom and in hope and in confidence and in great joy.

It allows you to live the life that you were created, uniquely you, to live. So what kind of voices distort our identity? The first voice is the opinions of people. Your friends, your family, your siblings, your partner, your workmates, people that you know, maybe your frenemies. We are surrounded by voices.

Some of them are actually well meaning, and they can even come from a place of love. I'm gonna confess something to you, don't change the way you think about me. I'm house sitting at the moment, and they have Prime. So I'm accessing shows that I don't normally watch at home, cause shall I tell you?

Okay. I've been watching this show called Say Yes to the Dress. Has anyone ever seen it? So basically the whole prem, reality TV has gone to an all time low, people. It's basically follows the lives of. Soon to be brides that go into these dress shops and they, they try on wedding dresses And then they bring a whole entourage in with them And they come out and they stand before their entourage and they like decide will I say yes to this dress or not?

But what's fascinating about it? I have a point, is that sometimes in the dressing rooms, these brides try the dresses on, and they look in the mirror, and they literally tear up, and they're like, This is my dress. This is the dress I've dreamed about. And then they go out onto the runway, and they stand in front of their family members, and friends, who say, Oh no, like that's terrible.

No, don't pick that one. That's like a four out of ten and they like tear them down. Reminds you to go shopping with people that are encouraging and lift you up. And then all of a sudden you literally see in front of your very eyes this bride, her mind is changed. The opinions of people affect her to the point where this dream dress that she thought she'd found was no longer the one she want.

Completely silly example, but in the same way The opinions of people can affect our hearts and they can cause us to act differently and to make different decisions and they can actually impact our identity. People have said things to you, perhaps, that were well meaning but slightly off the mark. Other people have said things to you that are just straight up lies.

Sometimes you can trace the opinions of people right back to your childhood. Something that you overheard, maybe that you were not meant to even hear. And it's true that the voices around us. Even from the people who love us and know us the most, can shape our identity and shape the way that we see ourselves.

But, their opinions are just opinions. They're their thoughts. They come from a different filter. So, people's voices. You have to remember that when you're listening to the opinions of others, it's through that filter of sometimes misconception, sometimes judgment, sometimes it's just their opinion and their thought.

And you need to be able to, as a child of God, sift through those opinions of people and put them aside if they don't line up to the truth of what God says about you. There is one person that knows us completely. The one who created us and his is the voice that we need to listen to when it comes to identity.

Another loud voice in the world when it comes to identity and distorting our identity is what culture expects. That's a loud one, isn't it? What culture expects. Culture expects us often to conform. It expects us to be popular, just like everybody else. You know that we're not meant to be unique and the person that we were created to be.

Culture can tell us a lot of the times that our identity is wrapped up in what we do. I want you to know this morning that what you do does not equal Your identity is not tied to what you do. It's not caught up in your job description or your job title. Your identity is not tied to what culture says you should do, or you should have, or you should be, or what you should have achieved by a certain period in life.

Whether you do or don't fit to the patterns and the timelines of what culture says the norm is, That's not your identity. In a, in a world that is absolutely filled with what culture says is right and true and, you know, that this is the expectation and that this is the timeline, our view of our identity beca can become very distorted.

But the truth is... that we have the choice to live a counter culture, Jesus centered life. When he becomes the center of everything that we do, success starts to get redefined. Success starts to look very, very different to what the world says it might look like. We march not to, not with the crowd. We march not even to the beat.

of our own drum, but we get to march to the beat of his mercy within our lives, within the rhythm of his grace within our lives. And we get to discover each and every day his daily mercies and his forgiveness and his faithfulness and his joy and his peace as we set about setting our eyes on him instead of what culture expects.

Another voice that can distort our identity is a little bit of a different one, but it's your own thoughts. Your own thoughts. Our minds are powerful and the thoughts that we allow to take root within our minds really can distort or strengthen the identity that we have. Thoughts, sometimes they are inspiration.

Sometimes they are temptations. Sometimes they are borrowed from the opinions of other people. Suggestions from those around us. But when it comes to our thoughts, The choice is ours, whether to hold on to it, or to reject it. Human nature kind of kicks in a bit here though, doesn't it? I don't know about you, but when a negative opinion or a negative thought starts to make its way in your brain, you sort of kind of repeat it a little bit, don't you?

It can run laps inside your brain. Words spoken over you as a kid, if you repeat them enough, They become these thoughts that just are constantly in your head and they form your identity. Maybe thoughts like, you don't matter, you're worthless, you have to work harder to try and obtain God's love. That thing that you did, you should be ashamed of, you know, you'll never be forgiven.

These are lies, and yet sometimes as thoughts in our mind... They are given free reign, and we just think and think and think on them. We become trapped in this cycle of falsehoods, of fear, of guilt, and it starts to create a fog when it comes to who we really are. Your identity is not tied to your mistakes.

Your identity is not tied to your past. As followers of Jesus, when we confess our sins, the truth is that He is faithful. And He forgives us and He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. When we are forgiven and we turn to Him in faith, we receive the most incredible gift of God's mercy and God's grace.

And we are reminded multiple times in here that when we are forgiven, Our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west. They are sent down to the deepest ocean. Like, we are forgiven. Our salvation is secured and we are forgiven. And yet, we find it so difficult to forgive ourselves. And that guilt sometimes just remains in there as a thought.

We hang on to guilt. We hang on to shame. We hang on to fear. We hang on to resentment. And they run laps. in our heads. You are forgiven, but sometimes your thoughts impact your identity. But the good news is that we can renew our minds. We can rewire negative thought patterns. We can discern lies. and we can replace them with the beautiful truth that Jesus says about us.

You know, in this last season, I've been going through some health challenges and I have been actively listening to podcasts and reading about the power of renewing your mind. The incredible way that God has designed our mind to work and the way that we can, you know, when you have a thought, your thought is going to go down.

the pathway of least resistance, right? And so when you've been thinking a thought for a long time, it kind of becomes like this little highway in your mind, and that's the easiest route for that thought to go, and so it's going to go down there. And so what I've been applying over the last 12 months or so myself, is to start replacing falsehoods I'm starting to re pattern my mind with new highways so that my thoughts don't go straight down, you know, my old way of thinking.

But down the new way of thinking, I'm creating highways of truth in my mind. I'm actually renewing my mind, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do that. And that's an incredible gift. And so I wanted to encourage you this morning that if your thinking has been something that has been holding you back, identify the lies.

But don't stop there. Replace them with truth. Start creating new neural pathways of truth and life and hope. All of which are found right here. Decide that it's his voice that you're going to listen to. It might be still and it might be quiet. In a very loud voice, in a very loud world where all of these voices are incredibly loud.

But you need to choose to listen to his voice. That's why I love my daily devotions and that's why we constantly talk about SOAP devotions because it's in these moments of quiet when I... Can read truth and the Holy Spirit reveals something to me. It's personal You know, it's personal and and it goes straight from just knowing something about God at this level To knowing Him and being known by Him and being transformed by the truth of what He says.

It goes beyond head knowledge. It embeds in my heart and it actually begins to change me. The power of the Holy Spirit when you are in His presence is just second to none. There's nothing like it. It does. It completely transforms you. It reminds you who's You are, and who you are in Him. So, that's your identity.

We, and in Him, in those spaces where we can just come before Him and be in His presence, you actually discover a really safe place to share with God your struggles. Particularly around identity, you can share with Him the things that have eaten away. at your identity and the pain that has caused you and the things that have perhaps stolen your identity over time.

And in that really safe place, he reminds you. of who you are and who you are in him. We need to recognize the lies that these other three voices speak to us and replace them with the truth. And in that space, we get to walk in confidence and in freedom and enjoy as we enter into our identity in Christ.

There are so many truths about your identity. And we could probably speak all year long as we unpack each of those truths about your identity. But this morning I just wanted to give you a couple, just so that you are armed here this morning, ready to walk out of this place. And when a negative voice speaks to you about, you know, distorting your identity, you'll be able to straight away replace it with a truth.

I hope that the ones that I've chosen today will remind you, if you're already a Jesus follower, that they'll remind you just how loved. You are by him, but I'm also aware that there are people in the room and maybe watching online that don't know Jesus yet personally and I really it's my hope this morning that as I these are personal identity that have impacted my life.

And in the same way, I really hope that they would impact you, that maybe they would just nudge you a little bit closer to figuring out who Jesus is and what a difference he can make in your life, because he sure has transformed mine. So truth number one in Christ, you are completely accepted. You are completely accepted.

Many of us, I would say probably all of us know the sting of rejection. Have you ever been picked last for a sports team? Have you ever heard those famous last words? It's not... It's me, you know, maybe that signified the end of a relationship that you just did not see coming. We intrinsically, as humans, long for acceptance.

We long for acceptance from our parents, from our families, from our friends. We... We, we want even respect, don't we, from people that we don't even know. And some of us have done pretty crazy things to feel accepted. Anyone here? I'm seeing a few, few nods. Acceptance in our schools and in our workplaces, even in our families.

is often conditional and temporary. And maybe you have experienced this even growing up in your household or in your workplace that your boss or your parents or that friend that you have, you can never just seem to quite satisfy. There's always something. Maybe their approval has felt to you conditional and Often times in life, our approval to other people can feel very much like it's based on what we do rather than on who we are.

In a world where rejection is very real and approving is fleeting and conditional, the truth is that you are completely accepted.

There is a beautiful passage that I want to unpack this morning and it is a letter from the Apostle Paul to his young protege, Titus, and Titus was a leader in the early Christian church and he was leading a church in Crete and that was a place that was really known at this time as being Diverse and challenging, I think you would say, in its cultural context.

So let's pick it up Titus chapter 3, verse 3. It says, At one time, we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. It says, We lived in malice and envy, being hated, and hating one another. Wow! Isn't that a beautiful picture? Paul is reminding us here, for those of us who are followers of Christ, of a time before we encountered the transformative power of God's grace.

We were living in brokenness, and I don't know about you, but if you've ever been in brokenness, you try everything that you can on your own. to escape that brokenness. But the reality is there is nothing that we can do. Only Jesus can pull us out of that state of brokenness. Without him, we are trapped.

Let's continue reading along. It says, but when the kindness and love of God, our savior appeared, he saved us not because of righteous things that we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved through the washing of rebirth. and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Wow. I think it's so easy sometimes just to flick past a verse like that.

But, oh my goodness, there's your identity right there. A kind and loving God sent his son, Jesus, our savior. Our acceptance is not based on anything that we could do. It's not based on any effort, any, you know, on my behalf, any righteous deeds that I could be a part of. It is completely and only and solely because of the grace and mercy of our God.

When we were unable to save ourselves, God made a way. And I love the imagery here of the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. That is the transformative work of God. in our lives. It's a fresh start. And then once we've had that fresh start, it's this continual dependence on the Holy Spirit as He changes us from the inside out.

As long as we abide with Him, as long as we stay connected to Him in His presence, as we surrender to Him day by day, He renews us. We are continually renewed and transformed into the image of Christ. He continues in verse six. says whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ, our Saviour. So that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Again, he reminds us that we are accepted. We're accepted into the family of God. We are co heirs. We are not just forgiven. But we are adopted. We have a new identity as children of God. And this new identity gives us hope, a hope of eternal life, and a future with God. This truth, it changes the way that you see and view yourself.

It changes the way that we relate to other people in our world. We are accepted not because of anything that we have done, but entirely because of who He is and where we are found. in Christ Jesus That's your starting point in Christ Jesus You're accepted by God himself. You are also extremely valuable Someone this morning needs to hear that you are extremely valuable.

What makes something valuable? It's the price that someone is willing to pay for it, right? You can look on Marketplace and think to yourself, they're dreaming, like they're never gonna get that price, because the value of something is only in what someone is willing to actually pay for it. You are extremely valuable.

You are priceless because God gave his son for you. He went to the cross. He bankrupt heaven for you. You are incredibly valuable now in our village and if you're not sure what a village is a village is what we call around here our small groups It's a group of people that do life together and some months ago now We were having a conversation about identity and we kind of went around the room and shared how we think God views us, you know, and how that shaped our identity and Portia shared something really striking on that night and I've asked her permission to share this this morning.

She and Taylor are not here, they're on a plane heading off on their holidays but she's given me permission to share it and Portia, for those of you that don't know her, she is somebody who has an incredibly authentic faith. She is one of the most beautiful, servant hearted and humble people that I have ever met.

And in the room that night, she said, I'm important. That's how she viewed herself. And when she said it, it was the most fascinating thing, because it was almost jarring. Like, you're not used to people using that language and saying, like, I'm important. Portia had discovered the revelation of just how important she is to God.

And it's not in a you know, holier than thou kind of way, or even an arrogant or superior or boastful way. She just knew. That to God she was important and man that has been running around in my mind since she shared that on that night She knows that her identity in Christ is that she is important because she is so Valuable that God was willing to send Jesus for her and there are people I know that there are people who were told growing up That you don't matter and you're not important and you were a mistake.

Those are lies Because God says, you are important. You are a VIP this morning. You are important and you are valuable. So valuable that Jesus was willing to offer his entire life as a sacrifice for you. You're important. Young people, and not young people, when you discover that, it completely changes the way that you live your life.

You suddenly have this confidence in who you are. that you can live boldly. You can live your faith out knowing that you are important and you are valuable to God. You know your value in God's eyes and that changes everything. In a letter that Peter, one of the apostles, wrote to the early Christian church who were facing trials and challenges like all of us do.

He said this in 1 Peter 2, verses 9 and 10, You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you make, that you may, sorry, you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into the glorious light. Once you were not a people, But now, you are the people of God.

You have now received mercy. Chosen people, royal priesthood, holy nation, a people belonging to God. These words speak to your identity, don't they? Purpose. You were chosen by God and set aside and apart by God himself. In Christ, you are the people of God. You've moved from darkness into light. And you are incredibly valuable and you're important.

And in that identity, when we truly get a revelation of what that is, it actually causes us to live differently, not with an arrogance, not with a holier than thou attitude, but with a willingness to pick up a towel and to serve. to model our lives on Jesus, the servant of all, and to live and to love like he did, pointing people to the same love and freedom and hope and confidence and joy that we have found in him.

So you are accepted. You are valuable. You're also loved. Did you know that you're loved eternally? You're eternally loved. God actually We have the same father, right? We're part of his family. Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same father. This is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.

You never have to question his love for you. His love is so great that he welcomed you into his family. It's unconditional. It's eternal and you are loved. God is not some kind of distant, you know, deity that that just sits up there that we don't get to have a relationship with. He is a loving father and he loves you with an eternal love.

Our inclusion in God's family means that we are accepted and loved by The Creator, by the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Son of God, He acknowledges you in His family. So that's what God says about our identity. That's three of the things that God says about our identity. There are so many more that you will find when you open this thing up and you read it.

In a world that constantly bombards us with messages of what it says or they say we should be and do, Listen to the still, quiet voice of the one who knows you the best. You know, his voice and his truth are distinct, and it's unwavering, and it speaks directly to your heart. And it reveals our true identity.

You are fearfully and you are wonderfully made. And our identity is found in Christ Jesus. So what does that mean for you today, or in your day by day life? I love that Pastor Kev shared that scripture earlier, and I was thinking about that one this week. He talked about God's workmanship or God's handiwork.

Other translations talk about being God's masterpiece, and I've been thinking about what it means to be a masterpiece, but a work in motion at the same time. Because you are, you're made in his image, you're his masterpiece, you're fearfully and wonderfully made, and yet each and every one of us is on this lifelong journey to be conformed to the image of Christ.

And so we are a work in motion at the same time. For those of us who are followers of Jesus we are being transformed. We are not transforming ourselves. That is the work of the Holy Spirit within our lives. And as we immerse ourselves in the truth, and as we read, and as we apply what we read and choose to live differently because of what we just read.

we discover our true identity as we enter in. As we choose to live in Christ, the Holy Spirit does His work. And that, I'm going to say it again, that's why I love my devotions. And, you know, we're not, we're not embarrassed about the fact that we will continually point you to do your devotions, to discover the revelation of God for yourself because It's only then that it will become revelation.

You can learn a lot about God. You can increase your head knowledge about God, but until you're willing to sit at his feet and actually apply what he speaks to you, that's when we actually start to be transformed because it goes from here and it changes. me here. I've been challenged as I prepared this week.

I was so challenged, you know, it's so easy in the morning to hit the snooze button, isn't it? And grab a few extra minutes. But the choice even there is a little bit of sleep or get up and have time in his presence and set myself up for the day where, you know, what the world does not need is an interaction with Ruth across the course of their day.

They need an interaction too. with Ruth who is reflecting the love of Jesus to them. That's what's going to point them to Jesus. And the more I I allow the Holy Spirit in His power to transform me. The more I begin to look like Him, the more I begin to respond rather than react, the more I begin to be able to show His grace and offer His mercy and show forgiveness and love and just be more like Him.

As we reflect His hope and His love, it points people to Jesus and they get to discover the identity that we have found. You know, I mentioned before that I'm currently house sitting. I'm house sitting down at Eleanora, which means my patience is being tested as I get to enjoy 30 to 40 minutes every morning and afternoon sitting on the M1, you know, in that beautiful southern stretch.

But at night time, the highway, it's not as straight as it used to be. Like, it's kind of meandering a bit at the moment. And I noticed this week that the reflectors that they've put on the sides of the road to keep you safe, they only, you can't see them up ahead, they only actually work as the car gets close to them and the light hits the reflection and it reflects back to you.

And I was thinking about that when it comes to my life as a Christ follower, because reflection needs a light source. And that light source needs to be close for it to work. And so if I want to reflect the love of God and the love of Jesus and His light in my life, I have to stay close to Him in order to reflect Him.

Will I get it wrong and make mistakes? Absolutely. We are all human. We all mess up. This journey of being transformed into his image is a lifelong one. It's a marathon. It's not a sprint. But as we listen to his voice, and as we allow, you know, rely on his power he will be at work within us. And he will slowly transform us from the inside out, and we will be a people who walk in freedom, and hope, and joy, and in our true identity.

as we have found in Christ Jesus. Weeks ago, Kev shared a diagram. I don't know if you remember. They've got it up here. Remember he talked about how in life, we have to be centred with Jesus and from that place of being with Jesus, everything else gets impacted? It's so true, even of our identity in Christ.

In Christ, there is no secular and sacred. There's no divide. All of life. And so when we live our lives like this, with the Holy Spirit at the center, we become authentic people. There's no duplicity. I'm not one person on Sunday and then a different person on Monday to Friday. The Holy Spirit, I'm leaning on the Holy Spirit and relying on His power to transform me.

When we enter in, and we find our identity in Christ, it's actually really appealing. It's, it's irresistible because they see Jesus reflected in us and it points them to Him. So, that's it from me this morning. I'll ask the team to come. I was, I was a bit excited. Thanks for listening. But I hope that you I hope you don't just listen, but I hope that you take some, it was a bit practical this morning and, and I really hope that you take some of that away and, and this week as you maybe entertain some thoughts about your distorted identity, you know, thoughts that people have spoken over you or that culture says about you or that your own thoughts are just ruminating on.

I hope that you would be. Able to identify them as false, as lies, and choose to replace them with the truth of your identity in Christ Jesus. Would you pray with me and then I'll ask the team just to minister to us in song. God, I thank you that each and everyone is fearfully and wonderfully made. And that in you, Christ Jesus, we are chosen.

We are forgiven, we are redeemed, we are accepted, we are valuable, we are important, and we are deeply and eternally loved. Help us to discover and to embrace our true identity in Christ, and to walk in that freedom, and God, to reflect your light to a world that is hurting and that is in need of hope. Help us to enter in to our true identity in Christ.

knowing who we are and whose we are. And we thank you for that. In Jesus name. Amen.