Message 2: Identity
Key #1: A New Identity!
Around the world today God is raising up a new kind of Christian. This new Christian is doing incredible things in the power of the Holy Spirit that would have been unthinkable even a generation ago.
Listen to this story – as told by James Rutz in the bestselling book: Mega Shift –
“At six o’clock on an April evening in 2001, five year old Arjun Janki Dass died in New Delhi from an accidental electrocution.
His parents took him to a medial clinic where they worked on his body of ro two hours – without success. The doctor charged them 5,000 rupees (about $110) and told tthem to call a mortician.
Instead they called Rodrick at the nearby Deliverance Church. He then called upon Savitri, one of his staff members.
Savitri brought two other Christians to Arjun’s home, and the five of them began praying over the dead body about 10:00 PM. They prayed their hearts out for six hours. Then at 4:00 AM the next morning, Arjun snapped back to life – no brain damage, no problems.
Today he is a normal eight year old kids. I met with Savirtri, Arjun, and his mother, Mina, and the body is A-OK except for a nasty scar where the wire hit.
Savitri is a 60 year old widow, a ‘Dalit (untouchable) from the lowly Dom caste. She spent her life as a street sweeper, which made her, in the caste system, the lowest of the low. The broom was her livelihood, and she remains today a fine, humble lady, a former Hindu turned to Christ.
As we were parting, I asked Savitri through an interpreter, “How many resurrections have you been involved with in the six years you’ve been doing ministry?”
She answered quietly, “Sixteen.”
For a moment, my brain froze. Then I began to re-evaluate my life.
I would give you Savitri’s email address so your chould check her out for yourself, but she doesn’t have one. She can’t read.”
REFERENCE: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44416
WHAT would it be like to be involved with God’s work at this level?
All I know is that there are people rising up world-wide that God is using in this kind of new dimension of spiritual power to give testimony to a dying world that He really is the way, the truth and the life!
And I know, that if we are going to be involved with God in this we simply must go through a megashift in how we view everything.
NOW, to be fair, we’ve begun to see glimpses of God’s power in recent months:
• Numerous physical healings – backs, headaches, bruises, cancer
• Miraculous provision – where God provides for His church over and over again
• Changed hearts – where some of you were headed one direction and God got ahold of you and changed your heart!
BUT, where do we go from here? How do we go through this megashift?
We must adopt a new identity.
Proverbs 23:7 says: “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7
How you think about yourself, about God, about the Holy Spirit – totally impacts what you able to be involved with in the Kingdom of God!
All of our lives the world has been giving us an identity:
“Isn’t she beautiful…”
“He’s very creative…”
“You’re just like your father!”
“LOSER!”
“He’s a charmer!”
And on and on and on.
Virtually all of us view ourselves NEGATIVELY. We are our own worst critics.
“For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he…” –It is time Christian to begin to THINK DIFFERENTLY!
Let me tell what I’m not here to do today:
I’m not here to make your feel good.
I’m not here to stroke your fragile ego.
I’m not here to puff you up with meaningless motivational speeches.
I am here – however – to speak the truth in love, and to pray that the Holy Spirit would bring a spirit of revelation into your life that recreates your identity in Christ!
SO, WHAT IS YOUR TRUE IDENTITY IN CHRIST?
Let me answer that question by telling you that I’ve done some counting. And here’s what I’ve discovered:
• The Bible has 330 places where unsaved people are called sinners.
• The Bible has 240 places where saved people are called saints.
• And I found exactly ZERO places where saved people are called sinners!
Do we still sin? Yes. And when we do, do we know what to do about it? Yes. We repent and confess. But – get this – for this is the message in a nutshell: Sinner is not your true identity!
The true identity of a Christian is SAINT!
Read your Bible – look at the opening verses of Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians and Philippians – they all same the same thing: “To the SAINTS at…”
Now – make a decision: Is PAUL kidding around? Or do words have meaning?
And also you should note: Not one place in the Bible does anyone address believers as sinners!
If the Bible calls you a SAINT why would you demean it and yourself by denying it with the statement: “I’m just a sinner saved by grace!” Nonsense!
Jesus paid a hefty price to make you a SAINT. So smile and accept it. And get on with a life that reflects your true identity!
Some may be thinking: “C’mon Doug, this is just semantics.” No it isn’t! Answer this question: How many shining deeds of power and glory should we expect from a dirty, low-down good for nothing sinner? The label “Sinner” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy!
But SAINT on the other hand – that’s different. What activities does a saint involve themselves in? Do they love? Do they believe? Do they work in things that last?
WELL, If Christ made me a SAINT – I ought to know what the word really means.
Romans 1:7 says that we were ‘called to be saints’ – what does that mean?
SAINTS - agiov hagios: That which is holy. Set apart. Selected for a special purpose.
Get this: Saints, in the New Testament, are never deceased individuals who have been canonized by the church and given sainthood. They are living individuals who have dedicated themselves to the worship and service of the one true God as revealed through his Son, Jesus Christ.
And – that is what you are. Period. End of discussion. This is the truth. Deal with it. Welcome to Sainthood.
NOW – HOW DO I EMBRACE THE SAINT IDENTITY?
There a number of issues – but I want to keep it simple today. I’ve got three things that really stand out to me. Here they are:
• Saints smell lies.
• Saints love truth.
• Saints love a good fight.
1. Saints smell lies.
Every time a negative, critical, self-defeating, self-limiting thought comes to you – from any source – sniff it out! It’s a lie. It’s not true. You are a SAINT and you are able in Christ to do the impossible!
Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12
The Bible says…“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
Which is why we must smell the lies.
The Bible says to…
“take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
And this is what you must do in order to embrace the new identity!
Not only do saints smell lies, they also…
2. Saints love truth.
Saints understand that Christ meant it when He said…
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” John 8:32
Truth is the native tongue of the Saints of God! We pursue truth with passion. Our hearts race when the truth is spoken and lived out. It excites us! Why? Because our hearts have been made good because of the truth! We have been set free from the lies and the deception and we are now in love with the truth!
And Saints tell the truth especially in the places where the lie is the prominent voice. Saints reject the culture and ‘conventional wisdom’ and are willing to come out of the crowd to speak and do according to the truth.
Which means to embrace your new identity as a Saint means that you turn from lies and embrace truth – at all costs!
And thirdly ---
3. Saints love a good fight.
Saints love to tango with the devil and take back the territory that belongs to God!
We fight – not with each other – but as Paul says:
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel” Philippians 1:27
And as we fight together – something happens:–
Our prayers change from hopeful wishing to praying believing and seeing the miraculous occur!
We are learning to silence the doubt and to genuinely speak faith into our lives and to those around us!
Our activities change from wishing people well, to doing the impossible in Christ’s name!
CONCLUSION:
Maybe you aren’t ready to tackle a resurrection – maybe you are! But you know there is far more of God available than you’ve experienced – and you know that your heart doesn’t leap when it hears someone say “I’m just a sinner saved by grace!” But your heart does leap when the truth is spoken – and here is the truth: IN Christ you are a SAINT!
To become an effective Christian in the 21st Century we need to allow God take us through this megashift on how we view ourselves. So let me help you with this right now.
Do you believe in Christ? Have you allowed Him access to your life? Are you a Christian?
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? Are you empowered by Christ?
YES? THEN YOU ARE A SAINT OF GOD.
As a Saint of God – I hate lies. So right now I tell Satan to shut up in Jesus name.
As a Saint of God – I love truth. So, Holy Spirit, bring revelation to my life.
As a Saint of God – I love a good fight. So determine now to stand together – as one – in the Battle – believing that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!
Around the world today God is raising up a new kind of Christian. This new Christian is doing incredible things in the power of the Holy Spirit that would have been unthinkable even a generation ago.
Listen to this story – as told by James Rutz in the bestselling book: Mega Shift –
“At six o’clock on an April evening in 2001, five year old Arjun Janki Dass died in New Delhi from an accidental electrocution.
His parents took him to a medial clinic where they worked on his body of ro two hours – without success. The doctor charged them 5,000 rupees (about $110) and told tthem to call a mortician.
Instead they called Rodrick at the nearby Deliverance Church. He then called upon Savitri, one of his staff members.
Savitri brought two other Christians to Arjun’s home, and the five of them began praying over the dead body about 10:00 PM. They prayed their hearts out for six hours. Then at 4:00 AM the next morning, Arjun snapped back to life – no brain damage, no problems.
Today he is a normal eight year old kids. I met with Savirtri, Arjun, and his mother, Mina, and the body is A-OK except for a nasty scar where the wire hit.
Savitri is a 60 year old widow, a ‘Dalit (untouchable) from the lowly Dom caste. She spent her life as a street sweeper, which made her, in the caste system, the lowest of the low. The broom was her livelihood, and she remains today a fine, humble lady, a former Hindu turned to Christ.
As we were parting, I asked Savitri through an interpreter, “How many resurrections have you been involved with in the six years you’ve been doing ministry?”
She answered quietly, “Sixteen.”
For a moment, my brain froze. Then I began to re-evaluate my life.
I would give you Savitri’s email address so your chould check her out for yourself, but she doesn’t have one. She can’t read.”
REFERENCE: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44416
WHAT would it be like to be involved with God’s work at this level?
All I know is that there are people rising up world-wide that God is using in this kind of new dimension of spiritual power to give testimony to a dying world that He really is the way, the truth and the life!
And I know, that if we are going to be involved with God in this we simply must go through a megashift in how we view everything.
NOW, to be fair, we’ve begun to see glimpses of God’s power in recent months:
• Numerous physical healings – backs, headaches, bruises, cancer
• Miraculous provision – where God provides for His church over and over again
• Changed hearts – where some of you were headed one direction and God got ahold of you and changed your heart!
BUT, where do we go from here? How do we go through this megashift?
We must adopt a new identity.
Proverbs 23:7 says: “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7
How you think about yourself, about God, about the Holy Spirit – totally impacts what you able to be involved with in the Kingdom of God!
All of our lives the world has been giving us an identity:
“Isn’t she beautiful…”
“He’s very creative…”
“You’re just like your father!”
“LOSER!”
“He’s a charmer!”
And on and on and on.
Virtually all of us view ourselves NEGATIVELY. We are our own worst critics.
“For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he…” –It is time Christian to begin to THINK DIFFERENTLY!
Let me tell what I’m not here to do today:
I’m not here to make your feel good.
I’m not here to stroke your fragile ego.
I’m not here to puff you up with meaningless motivational speeches.
I am here – however – to speak the truth in love, and to pray that the Holy Spirit would bring a spirit of revelation into your life that recreates your identity in Christ!
SO, WHAT IS YOUR TRUE IDENTITY IN CHRIST?
Let me answer that question by telling you that I’ve done some counting. And here’s what I’ve discovered:
• The Bible has 330 places where unsaved people are called sinners.
• The Bible has 240 places where saved people are called saints.
• And I found exactly ZERO places where saved people are called sinners!
Do we still sin? Yes. And when we do, do we know what to do about it? Yes. We repent and confess. But – get this – for this is the message in a nutshell: Sinner is not your true identity!
The true identity of a Christian is SAINT!
Read your Bible – look at the opening verses of Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians and Philippians – they all same the same thing: “To the SAINTS at…”
Now – make a decision: Is PAUL kidding around? Or do words have meaning?
And also you should note: Not one place in the Bible does anyone address believers as sinners!
If the Bible calls you a SAINT why would you demean it and yourself by denying it with the statement: “I’m just a sinner saved by grace!” Nonsense!
Jesus paid a hefty price to make you a SAINT. So smile and accept it. And get on with a life that reflects your true identity!
Some may be thinking: “C’mon Doug, this is just semantics.” No it isn’t! Answer this question: How many shining deeds of power and glory should we expect from a dirty, low-down good for nothing sinner? The label “Sinner” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy!
But SAINT on the other hand – that’s different. What activities does a saint involve themselves in? Do they love? Do they believe? Do they work in things that last?
WELL, If Christ made me a SAINT – I ought to know what the word really means.
Romans 1:7 says that we were ‘called to be saints’ – what does that mean?
SAINTS - agiov hagios: That which is holy. Set apart. Selected for a special purpose.
Get this: Saints, in the New Testament, are never deceased individuals who have been canonized by the church and given sainthood. They are living individuals who have dedicated themselves to the worship and service of the one true God as revealed through his Son, Jesus Christ.
And – that is what you are. Period. End of discussion. This is the truth. Deal with it. Welcome to Sainthood.
NOW – HOW DO I EMBRACE THE SAINT IDENTITY?
There a number of issues – but I want to keep it simple today. I’ve got three things that really stand out to me. Here they are:
• Saints smell lies.
• Saints love truth.
• Saints love a good fight.
1. Saints smell lies.
Every time a negative, critical, self-defeating, self-limiting thought comes to you – from any source – sniff it out! It’s a lie. It’s not true. You are a SAINT and you are able in Christ to do the impossible!
Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12
The Bible says…“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
Which is why we must smell the lies.
The Bible says to…
“take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
And this is what you must do in order to embrace the new identity!
Not only do saints smell lies, they also…
2. Saints love truth.
Saints understand that Christ meant it when He said…
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” John 8:32
Truth is the native tongue of the Saints of God! We pursue truth with passion. Our hearts race when the truth is spoken and lived out. It excites us! Why? Because our hearts have been made good because of the truth! We have been set free from the lies and the deception and we are now in love with the truth!
And Saints tell the truth especially in the places where the lie is the prominent voice. Saints reject the culture and ‘conventional wisdom’ and are willing to come out of the crowd to speak and do according to the truth.
Which means to embrace your new identity as a Saint means that you turn from lies and embrace truth – at all costs!
And thirdly ---
3. Saints love a good fight.
Saints love to tango with the devil and take back the territory that belongs to God!
We fight – not with each other – but as Paul says:
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel” Philippians 1:27
And as we fight together – something happens:–
Our prayers change from hopeful wishing to praying believing and seeing the miraculous occur!
We are learning to silence the doubt and to genuinely speak faith into our lives and to those around us!
Our activities change from wishing people well, to doing the impossible in Christ’s name!
CONCLUSION:
Maybe you aren’t ready to tackle a resurrection – maybe you are! But you know there is far more of God available than you’ve experienced – and you know that your heart doesn’t leap when it hears someone say “I’m just a sinner saved by grace!” But your heart does leap when the truth is spoken – and here is the truth: IN Christ you are a SAINT!
To become an effective Christian in the 21st Century we need to allow God take us through this megashift on how we view ourselves. So let me help you with this right now.
Do you believe in Christ? Have you allowed Him access to your life? Are you a Christian?
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? Are you empowered by Christ?
YES? THEN YOU ARE A SAINT OF GOD.
As a Saint of God – I hate lies. So right now I tell Satan to shut up in Jesus name.
As a Saint of God – I love truth. So, Holy Spirit, bring revelation to my life.
As a Saint of God – I love a good fight. So determine now to stand together – as one – in the Battle – believing that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!
posted by Doug Love at 8:32 AM
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