There are 2 things that have set fire to my relationship with Christ and shown me the true freedom that exists in Him: Worship and Identity.
My identity in Christ is the foundation of my life. I read my identity statement every morning and He continues to reveal new pieces in new seasons. At the end of All-Squad Month in Argentina, I was asked by our squad leaders to a give talk on identity at a Leadership Development Weekend. Holy Spirit showed up in a huge way and breakthrough was experienced all across the room. Here is an outline of what I shared:
*I want to take a moment to honor the men that have blazed the trail of “identity” for me and pointed me to the endless fields of good fruit from hearing who the Father says I am. I was without a doubt standing on the shoulders of giants as I gave this talk in Argentina. Brad Lenardson, Matt Toth, Adam Paulson, and Revel Ministries – to you I owe being ALIVE in Christ.
What is Identity?
When left without a compelling glimpse of who God says we are, we will craft a definition for ourselves – and it will likely be written from a hurting and incomplete view of our story.
TRUE Identity is defined simply as “who God says you are!”Each of us carries around a collection of opinions, ideas, memories, wounds, and celebrations in our lives. We stare at this collection and try to make sense of who we are. It’s like picking up 100,000 puzzle pieces and trying to put together the puzzle without seeing the front of the puzzle box.
God is the creator, crafter, and artist of the front of the puzzle box. To him, yours looks something like this!
I believe God wants to speak to each of us and show us glimpses of our puzzle box picture – our Truman Show poster – our bigger story.
Without it, when life gives us crap, we start to believe in and become the crap.
With it, we know how to trust in the larger tapestry of God’s plan.
Identity is GROUND ZERO to not being swallowed by hurts, distractions, and the anxiety that comes everyday. It’s choosing to tell myself His TRUTH every morning.
Where does Identity come from?
Without God, humans naturally build identity with how we answer 3 questions:
1. What I do 2. What I have 3. What others say about me
Around social gatherings the most common questions I get asked is “Hey (insert name), what do you do?”
The problem with that “identity” is that it won’t stand up to LIFE’S NOISE! When disappointment or distractions come, it all falls apart.
There’s no bigger story in it!
With our weak identity, we live from our feelings, rather than God’s eternal truth.
We have 2 choices in living our lives.
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We can live from our FEELINGS, allow them to set the foundation for our ACTIONS, which eventually defines our “IDENTITY”.
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Some say that’s “living authentic”… My friend and worship coach calls it “getting your ass handed to you”. I add “AND it doesn’t glorify the Artist!”
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We can receive our true IDENTITY from our creator (the artist who knows us and the bigger story best), let that proactively drive our ACTIONS, and live free from the grip of our momentary FEELINGS.
There are 2 foundational truths to Identity.
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It must be BESTOWED. It can not be EARNED.
In Genesis 1:26 it says God “made man in image according to our likeness”. Image is the general aspects of us being sons and daughters in Christ. It’s our foundational, redeemed in Christ DNA. When we say “Yes God. I believe you sent your son to save me because you loved me,” it’s what’s awakened within us.
Likeness is specific. It’s how we personally say “yes” to Christ’s light shining through us. It’s how we each put on our new-self.
“to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.” – Ephesians 4:22-24
“We are born with image, we say YES to likeness.” – Adam Paulson, Revel Ministries
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It must be received in BELIEF and owned in COURAGE.
17 Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.” – Matt 16:17-19
Jesus didn’t stop with “Blessed are you…”. He told Peter his IDENTITY with Christ inside him!
There was little to no evidence of Peter’s identity when Jesus said this… Peter had to believe it was true and own it everyday of his life. Belief matters!
We are all longing to be told who we are. The problem is that most of us are hearing from wrong source. We will get our identity from somewhere else if not from God – let’s get it from the source of truth and life.
Keys to Receiving Your Identity:
Don’t complicate it. Spend 30 minutes in prayer and ask “God, who do you say I am in this season?” Sometimes He gives you one word, sometimes He gives full sentences, sometimes He gives you a list. You are His child and He knows how to personally communicate with you.
Make sure it’s not religious, fluffy, or buzz-wordy. The daily wolves are coming, fluff won’t put them in their place. This is not meant to be a “youth retreat-like activity”. This is meant to be highly personal and aimed at taking out the wolves of fear, shame, and distraction.
God is a good Father, any shaming or unkind voice it not His. Let that stuff go. When you hear a negative voice, that’s a great place to invite God to speak something truthful against it.
Finally, THIS IS TACTICAL. Once you hear from Him, declare it as truth daily!
Other helpful Questions:
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What do I love to?
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What fires me up?
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What makes me angry, makes me cry?
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Where am I in my sweet spot?
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What are promises do I need to hold onto right now?
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What aspects of God’s character do I need to declare true?
Examples of identity:
Kayla Taylor – http://rjandkaylataylor.theworldrace.org/post/who-am-i
Shannon Sears – http://shannonsears.theworldrace.org/post/who-does-god-say-i-am
HB Chronister – http://hanachronister.theworldrace.org/post/i-am-filled-with-my-masters-colors1
Emily Adams – http://emilyadams.theworldrace.org/post/identity-truth-and-why-im-not-a-believer
Lauren Walker – http://laurenwalker.theworldrace.org/post/i-didnt-know-who-i-am
Grace Buxman – http://gracebuxman.theworldrace.org/post/my-name-is-grace-amelia-buxman
My Identity – http://rjandkaylataylor.theworldrace.org/post/who-god-says-i-am-rj
RJ, so glad they asked you to speak on Identity in Christ. Great insights and clear direction for all. God used this talk to refresh and redirect my thoughts after being very damaged from comments by a family member last year. Thanks for allowing the Lord to speak through you at the leadership development conference and hence the “reboot” in my own life! I’m ready to enter 2018 remembering who I am according to my Maker!
I am scared to be vulnerable. I am worried about what people think sometimes. Without Jesus, I’m a total wreck. I listen to my heart and the spirit will guide me; if I choose to follow. I am fully devoted to caring for those who can’t care for themselves. However, I choose to hide in the shadows in fear of the attacks from evil. I have seen and felt the deepest of these attacks. I’m scared to be vulnerable.