Becoming What You Already Are….
I have no idea how many books I have read over the years — nor if I am honest, can I remember a lot of what many of them contained. But there are a few books, and a few sentences in those books, that have lodged so deeply in my heart and mind that I can honestly say, they have shaped my life in ways I can’t begin to describe. They are like launching pads, for discovering the person I can become. One of those sentences is found in Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s book “God’s Ultimate Purpose”. In which he repeatedly reminded his readers, that “our greatest need is to become who we already are in Christ.” *…..2 Timothy 1:6 "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you …" I was a throw away child, who was given away 4 times by my foster mom, after my biological mom gave me away to her. (that makes 5) They kept bringing me back. But the fact that who I was going to be, was who was already within me, gave me equilibrium in all of that… That God had a plan for me and it was encoded within me. My foster mom, told me that finally, God spoke to her, and told her that He had His hand on my life, and He had entrusted me to her care to raise me for Himself. It has placed in me a deep desire to help others discover their real identity in Christ, and to know that God has a plan, which He has already put in place for their lives, if they will only embrace it, and receive it…
Think about championship racehorses. On the screen is a picture of Seabiscuit and 7 little biscuits he sired. (how many are looking at the Power point and counting?) Race horses have generation after generation after generation of winners in their blood. However, when the colt is born, it’s legs are wobbly and skinny. It’s not very attractive, but the owners don’t get discouraged. They know inside that wobbly colt has the DNA of its father. That’s how you need to see yourself. You may be wobbly sometimes. You may not look exactly like you want. You may not appear to have the talent, or abilities, or skill set, but inside of you are the strength, abilities, wisdom, and fortitude, and everything you need to win your race. If you’re living with less than you should or could be, check your DNA. You may not look like much right now but wait till they see you then! Our God has put His Spirit in you, and He never fails….When you were born, He knew what you were capable of Today, we’re making the transition…..When we transition from being what we thought we needed to be or aught to be, to becoming what we already are, we shift from wishing and hoping, to receiving and applying the gifts which God has already placed within us in Christ. There’s a good reason why the windshield is a lot bigger than the rear view mirror! Thank God He has brought you this far, but what we’re dealing with today is that because of what He has already done, you can look out through the windshield with great rejoicing and expectation! I want to use as my scripture text today…. Galatians 4:1 “What I am saying is that as long as an heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. v2 The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. v3 So also, when we were spiritual children, we were subject to the spiritual forces of the world. v4 But when the time appointed had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the world system,
v5 to redeem those who were subject to those same spiritual forces, that we might receive adoption into sonship. v6 Because we are His true sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” v7 So you are no longer under subjection, but you are God’s child and since you are His true child, God has made you also an heir”.
When people come to faith in Christ, our first instinct is to teach them what to do or not to do. But sometimes that is like the cowboy who jumped on the horse facing backward. You can keep turning the horse, but the cowboy will always be backward. We need to get off the horse and face the right direction… and that starts with who we are in Christ.
If we are to successfully negotiate the maze called “living for Christ” in all the muck of life, and cope with the ups and downs of our emotions, and the whims of circumstance, the injustices and stuff that hits us out of the blue, and the sheer pressure of our human brokenness, then the first step is to make sure that we know who we are as children of God. Or I should say WHO WE ALREADY ARE, as children of God. This is the underlying truth that will enable us to get out of bed in the morning and face the delight and despair, the ups and the downs, the defeats and the successes of our world. It will enable us up to walk humbly and yet confidently with Christ through the day, and at the end of the day stand with a steadfast faith, that will allow us to lay our head on our pillow and sleep in perfect peace.
A little humor about identity…. The Recording said - "Hello, Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline." If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly. If you are co-dependent, please ask someone else to press 2. If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5 and 6. If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line until we can trace your call. If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press. If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press. No one will answer.
On the other hand 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 tells us “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (Now that sounds like a much better deal)
Lets make another phone call here, and we get…
Philippians 2:12 “Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who works in you to will and to complete His good purpose”.… (this is about becoming who you already are) But we need to be careful, because as D.L. Moody has said, “God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves”. Someone else said, “The smallest package in the world is a person wrapped up in themselves”. There is a big difference in knowing who you are and being full of yourself!! Then there was the guy who said “You can be whoever you want to be!" And now he is currently serving time in prison for identity theft. When a king is still a child, his mom disciplines him, and he is provided various training opportunities and disciplines to enable him to fulfill the high office which is his by birth, but he has yet to master the skills and abilities which will allow him to receive the crown and begin to rule in his appointed time.
Who are we? The good news gospel announces to us that as those who have believed and received Christ, and repented of our sin, have been born of God. We have been adopted into God’s family, as His children.
So, we stand before God forgiven and cleansed and yet with a propensity to sin, forgiven yet flawed, secure and confident in Christ, while understanding that there is much work to do, as we press on into that for which Christ Jesus has made a claim on our lives.
Sometimes winning or losing is about reaching the point of no return. It’s known as the ‘Tipping point”. If you’re half way across a frozen lake and the ice starts to crack, which way are you going to go? You’ve already come this far, you might as well finish the crossing! We move from “Who am I?” to “Who He says I am”…..
Philippians 3:12 “ It is not as though I have already obtained all of this, or already been made perfect, but I press forth to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus already made available tome. v13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have arrived. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind (what I used to be)I strain forth, toward what is ahead, (who I am in Christ)”
Knowing who we already are in Christ enables us to make that choice day after day to press forward, beyond the obstacles and distractions, into who we are becoming, for the rest of our lives.
I call it “Being satisfied with a dissatisfied satisfaction”….
In school we learned to sound out words, and it was clumsy at first, but it was so exciting to begin to speak and to read fluently. We learned to say the letters of the alphabet, and then write the letters and spell words which would allow us to form and express our thoughts on paper, and cyberspace. And there was Math, Science, History and Geography and sports. We were being prepared to take our place and become a productive member of our community by improving our skill sets in all of these areas.These were foundational things that we would continue to build upon. Our foundation determines what we can build upon it….
How much more important is it that we approach the word of God the same. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, have all taken a personal interest in our growth and development since we have been given rulership, authority, and power in God’s kingdom. All of my children have cars of their own and drive them everyday. But I would be insane to give them my car keys and say, “well one day you will have a car and you will drive, so, at 6 years old, I want you to drive to the grocery store and get the weeks groceries”. I would not only put their lives at risk, but many others as well. And I would probably have soda, pop-tarts, chocolate CoCo puffs, and candy bars to eat for the entire week!
Look at Psalm 8:4 “What is man, that You oh God are mindful of him, and the son of man, that You visit him? v5 For you havemade him a little lower than the angels, and You crowned him with glory and honor. You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands, You have put all things under his feet (or subject to him)”.
If you know the end game, then you begin to prepare yourself, in order to bring it to pass. A runner can have all the things physically that would make them a world class runner. But many of those very people are sleeping on the streets, without purpose or meaning, because they lost their way and forgot the end game.
There are thousands who should have become doctors, scientist, engineers and professors, who would have changed the world we live in. But they died on a drug overdose or from alcoholism, because they never realized their purpose and their God given destiny.
While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle chick who had fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens. One day a game warden passed by the farm and asked why the king of all birds should be confined to live in the barnyard like a chicken. The farmer replied that since he had given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly. Since it now behaved and thought like the chickens, it was no longer an eagle. "But Still it has the heart of an eagle, and can surely be taught to fly." And he lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, "You belong to the sky and not to the chickens. Stretch forth your wings and fly." The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again. About that time, a majestic eagle, flew overhead and let out a loud eagle call. The young eagle looked up and answered the call, and in a moment, recognized who it was. It spread it’s wings and mounted up to become who it had been all along! Sometimes you may feel like an eagle living in a world of turkeys, or scratching around with the chickens…IT’S TIME TO LOOK WITHIN OURSELVES AND LOOK UP TO HIM!
We do not begin with some distant end or goal in mind of who you want to become but we begin with the truth of who wealready are.
If you have received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, here’s a list of who you really are. You are a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). You are an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17). You have been rescued from every curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13). You are now God’s child (1 John 3:2). You are kept by the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:8). You have been given God’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4). You are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). You are forgiven of all past sins and washed in the blood (Ephesians 1:7). You have been delivered from the power of darkness and placed in God’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13). You have healingby the stripes of Jesus (1 Peter 2:24). You are raised with Christ and seated in heavenly places Ephesians 2:6). You have overcome the world (1 John 5:4). You don’t have a spirit of fear, but love, power, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). You are part of the family of God (1 Corinthians 12:27).
You are given all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). You have been justified (just as if you had never sinned) (Romans 5:1). You have access to God through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16). You are now a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20). You have peace with God (Romans 5:1). You have everlasting life (John 5:24). You cannot be separated from God’s love (Romans 8:35-39). You are qualified to receive your inheritance (Colossians 1:12). God will finish the good work that He started in you (Philippians 1:6). God is for you even when others are against you (Romans 8:31).
Speaking of not knowing what we already have, every time my kids come home, they show me features in my smart phone, and my lap top, that I already have but never use. It’s there, it’s available, and it’s already mine but because I don’t know what I have, and how to access it, it doesn’t do me any good…. (do I have anyone that knows what I’m talking about)
Romans 8:31 “What shall we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? v32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? v33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. v34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. (You have the best attorney in the universe) 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. v39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
Now, when you want security, there’s security for you! I heard a story about a man passing a tattoo shop. In the window were displays of different tattoo designs, so he stopped to look. One of the designs read, “BORN TO LOSE.” The owner saw the man looking and came out and asked if he wanted a tattoo. He said no, but does anyone really tattoo themselves with “BORN TO LOSE”. The owner said, “Oh yes. Before it is tattooed on their body, it is tattooed on their mind.”
What is our mind tattooed with? If it is tattooed with failure, rejection, unhappiness, resentment, or injustice, then you will live out failure, rejection, unhappiness, resentment, and injustice unless you change that tattoo. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our INNERMOST THOUGHTS and desires. It exposes us for WHAT WE REALLY ARE.
Once two blind men came to Jesus to heal them. Here is what he said. Matthew 9:29 “Then He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith, so be it unto you”.
In other words, “I touched you, but you must believe you can see”. God has touched your life. You must believe your life is something more than you have been seeing before.
ONCE JESUS TOUCHES YOU, WHAT YOU BELIEVE ABOUT YOURSELF, SETS THE LIMITS OF YOUR LIFE ORIT BREAKS THE LIMITS OFF OF YOUR LIFE.
Remember, no one can cause you to live below your potential without your permission. INSIDE of you is the DNA of an Overcomer. INSIDE of you is more than a conqueror. You are a new creation, in Christ. Let me close with ….
Deuteronomy 28:13 “The Lord your God has made you the head and not the tail—you have been placed above and not beneath—if you obey the Word of the Lord your God that He is giving you today to keep and observe. v14 Do not deviate from any of His Word, neither to the right nor to the left..”
Are you ready to pray the closing prayer….. “Lord Jesus, I pray that You would unlock my heart that I might be fully alive to my true identity in You. Give me clear revelation to see myself the way You see me. Help me to stand in Your truth over the enemy’s attacks against my mind,so that I might guard my heart with all vigilance. Help me to identify the enemy’s false accusations, and reveal to me any places where I am chained to the past in a negative way. Lord, I repent of judging myself by the failures and faults of the past. Teach me to hear Your voice and not enemy’s lies about who I am. I thank You for my uniqueness and that I am made in Your image. I want to understand and receive the deep things in Your heart for me. I choose to see myself the way You see me. I thank You that I can have hope for the future and know the good destiny that You have for me.
Lord, You give me vision for my future. I receive greater authority in my spiritual life. I want to know You on a deeper level, and I thank You that I have been justified and I belong to You. I have been established, anointed, and sealed by You. I am chosen by You before the creation of the world. I am forgiven and I am adopted as Your child. I have purpose, I have hope, I am included in Your family, I am an overcomer and I am qualified to share in Your inheritance.
I have been given the righteousness of God and I am part of Your Kingdomplan. I am beginning to understand more and more what Your will is. I have God's power operating within me by the Holy Spirit, that enables me to live a victorious life. Thank You for the identity I have in You. Help me to live out Your reality in my life every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Lord, anoint our eyes to see, our ears to hear, our minds to understand, our hearts to receive, our spirit to embrace and our feet to walk in all that we have already received from you, In Jesus name, by the power of Holy Spirit!
