Identity Crisis Part I: A New Creation In Christ
As we begin the year, it’s so important to understand and be reminded who you are. Eventually, I want to get into passing this understanding to your children. It’s truly the biggest flex to be a parent who knows who they are in Christ. However, before we can get into the importance of speaking life into your children, you need a full understanding of who you are in Christ.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re simply spinning in circles year after year, it’s because you’ve failed to understand who you are. If you’re reading this and you’re sick in your body, or struggling with anxiety, or depression or finances, it’s because you lack an understanding of who you are. You may not like to hear that harsh reality. It's much easier to pray about your situation than it is to accept responsibility for it. The reality is you already have everything you need for life and godliness.
Who you are in Christ affects everything you do. Here comes another statement that you may not like, but it’s straight from the Word of God: Your view of yourself in Christ is more important than your view of God. You can do something about you and your situation. God is unchanging. It’s the actions that you take based on how you view yourself in Christ that create your reality.
You Need A Revelation
Bishop Oyedepo says, “You don’t have a money problem, you have a wisdom problem.” Your problems are not a spiritual attack, your problems stem from a lack of biblical wisdom. If you’re sick, you need a revelation to understand you don’t have to be sick another day. You can do all things through Christ in you.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says,
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old is gone; a new life has begun!”
If you’ve told yourself the lie that you’re insecure or shy or you lack self-esteem then you don’t understand what it means to be a new creation. Too many people simply don’t get it. They can recite the scripture, but it’s not real to them. It’s not personal and it’s evident in how they speak.
‘I’m a believer, but I still struggle with…’ EHHHH!
Anything with a ‘but’ after it demonstrates a lack of understanding. Where there’s a ‘but’ there’s a poor revelation of this scripture.
So who are you?
According to the Word, you are a new creation. That’s the essential and elementary concept that people gloss over, but you HAVE to know this. You are a literal new species of being. The old you is dead and gone.
When you accept this, all those excuses have to drop off of you. People love to make excuses for their toxic behaviors. “I’m just an angry person.” No, you were an angry person. Now, you’re a new creation. If you continue to make these types of excuses, don’t wonder why your life is the same year after year.
Identity Crisis
Having an identity crisis means you are not secure in who you are. Insecure is defined as, not safe, exposed to danger or loss. When you’re exposed you become a target for predators. If you fail to identify who you are as God made you, you become easy prey for the enemy.
With self-reflection often comes a tendency to identify with the past, whether that be a prior experience or trauma. Many people get their identity from what they’ve been through or where they come from. But you have to literally detach yourself from your past and graft yourself into a new understanding of who you are.
How do you do that?2
You have to take intentional steps to sever thoughts about your previous identity. No one can do this for you, not even God. You have to mentally prepare yourself to act according to your new identity.
This is a race you run every day. There’s no finish line. It’s a consistent exercise. The same way a bodybuilder trains daily in the natural, you need to constantly train in the spirit.
Let’s look at Philemon 1:6.
“I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective and powerful because of your accurate knowledge of every good thing which is ours in Christ.”
There needs to be an accurate knowledge of every good thing Christ has done for you.This truth affects everything you do. This basic knowledge includes understanding you are not that old person. You are a new species of being. You have to know what the Word of God has to say about you and your life with accurate knowledge, not a general understanding. It has to be EVERYTHING. That’s why God says ‘I want everything or nothing at all.’ Everything you have is what it will take for you to be effective.
It’s possible for you to really love God and not live a victorious life. That’s because loving God doesn’t mean you’ve received this revelation. Once you grab hold of this understanding it will alleviate your need for breakthroughs. You will carry breakthroughs with you wherever you go.
You Are Royalty
In the natural realm you most likely have some understanding of what it means to be royalty. Members of the royal family have to follow certain protocols. There’s certain places they cannot go and things they cannot do. They don’t eat with their elbows on the table. They don’t wear red nail polish. They dress a certain way and they carry themselves a certain way because it’s expected of them. Members of the royal family aren’t born knowing how to act as royalty. They are trained.
In the same way, when you are born again you become a supernatural being. The Bible says in John 3:6,
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Your spirit (lowercase ‘s’) was born of the Spirit, (capital ‘S.’) That means you are now the image of Christ. You are God’s daughter. You are God’s son. There are certain things you are not permitted to do because you are now a part of God’s royal family.
A New Reality
You are a spirit, you live in a body, and you have a soul. You are responsible for all three of those entities. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, there’s a consecration that needs to take place when you become born again.
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [that is, separate you from profane and vulgar things, make you pure and whole and
undamaged–consecrated to Him–set apart for His purpose]; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and [be found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The days of casually reading the Bible have to end now. You need to understand it and meditate on it. Digest it. Learn to discern the Word.
Webster’s definition of the word understand is to have the same idea as the person who speaks. Selah.
To fully understand God’s Word you and God need to have the same ideas.
So, how can you say you love God when you don’t obey His word? How can you say you love God when you don’t even know His Word?
The world is in the condition it’s in because people allow their experiences to shape their reality. When most people reference The Gospel they really mean their gospel, according to them and what they’ve experienced. As a believer, you can’t allow your natural reality to trump what the Word of God says. The Word of God has to become your reality.
The Word of God is Spirit and Spirit produces spirit. Therefore, you can no longer identify with your flesh. You have to watch how you speak. You can’t say things like, ‘I’m ugly.’ or ‘I’m an idiot.’ anymore. If you can’t say those things about Jesus you can’t say them about yourself either because it’s no longer you, but Christ in you, and He’s no idiot!
Galatians 2:20 says,
“I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in body I live by faith [adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
The crucifixion killed your flesh. Not your flesh in the sense that your body is dead. Your flesh meaning your five senses. You have to strip away the information your five senses tell you in order to understand who you are. Who you are has nothing to do with any of your senses.
A Loving Father
It’s integral you understand love is what caused God to come up with a plan to rescue you from becoming a victim of the enemy. Love caused Him to become sin. That’s how much He loves you and I. Your decision to not fully trust and rely on Him only affects you and your progression.
Pastor Rodney was recently preaching on the ‘suddenlies of God.’ He’s come to expect sudden and supernatural blessings. I don’t know about you, but that’s what I want. The time is short.
I want daily suddenlies. Why not complete everything I want to accomplish, now?
At the end of every day I reflect on what suddenly happened to me. If you don’t intentionally reflect on it, you’ll miss it every day. But when you take them seriously, God takes notice. You’ll be blown away by what God does next. When you begin to show gratitude towards God and rely on His Word and His presence, it affects everything in your life. You won’t live a mundane, natural life.
As It Is In Heaven
Be confident in God’s Word and you will begin to understand the language of Heaven. It says in John 6:63,
“The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
This is why some of you continue to struggle. Where there’s human effort, there will always be struggle. Make room for the Spirit and enter into eternal life.
If human effort accomplishes nothing then what will enable us to accomplish something?
The Spirit of God inside of us empowers us to accomplish all things!
Did you know it’s possible to bring eternal life here to earth? You can pull down the reality of eternal life and make it work for you right now. The Bible tells us “the words I have spoken to you are spirit and life” He’s speaking to children of God who have already accepted Jesus and have eternal life.
Why would we need the provision for eternal life if we already have it when we were born again?
Because God wants us to live above the natural realm while on earth. You can tap into the heavenly dimensions now. The Word of God will bring you to the heavenly dimension. You can have the God touch in your marriage, in your ministry, and in your finances, NOW!
What practical steps can you take to tap into this heavenly realm? Galatians 5:16,
“But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts].”
The human nature within us would prefer to figure things out of our own power. But God wants to be talked to. He wants to be asked so that He can provide you with guidance. Whether you respond to Him is 100% your choice.
Spirit Over Flesh
In order to know who you are in Christ you must seek God in His Word. Habitually walk in the spirit. You are spirit more than you are flesh. Disregard how you feel. There is more to life than your five senses.
Out of your body, soul, and spirit, it’s your spirit that lasts forever. Choose to seek and respond to God’s guidance, which is found in God’s Word. God’s Word is like a letter written directly to you.
Galatians 5:16 is the most accurate description of the condition of today’s world. This sinful nature of man responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts. How many of you have found yourself in trouble because you acted on impulse? God wants you to be calculated in everything you do. Don’t be a reactive Christian. There’s a difference between a reaction and a response. Respond to situations with wisdom and guidance found in God’s Word.
It’s so important that you stay on guard. If you remain spiritual nothing will be able to shake you. Bishop Oyedepo says, “Life isn't funfare, it's warfare.” Remain in the spirit, habitually, and become invincible to every scheme of the devil.
Father, I thank You for the Word. I pray that any person struggling with any aspect of their identity that doesn’t line up with what You say about them would receive the revelation of who they are in You. I pray that You would make who they are a reality to them. Give them a glimpse of who they are. I pray all insecurity drops off them. Our security is found in You. I thank You that a new reality is created as they get in Your Word. In Jesus name, Amen.
