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Identity is Destiny: A Forgotten Identity Is A Useless Identity; Never Forget Who You Are

Identity is important. If a child is identified as a prince his destiny is to rule. If a child is identified as poor his destiny could be misery. Pilots fly, architects design, losers lose. You produce who or what you are.

God has always changed names: Abram to Abraham (Father of multitudes), Jacob to Israel (Prince with God), Simon to Peter (solid, stone). These people changed when their names were changed. Of course, in the Bible the change signifies change of identity and not just the superficial label we call a name. The new name gives the bearer a new identity which changes their actions to fit with their new self. Jacob is a classic example. His name means to defraud. Before meeting his brother Esau whom he had earlier defrauded Jacob was so scared that he arranged his entourage in such a way that he was at the back and the rest of his family were in front. Before he met Esau however Jacob met with God and God changed his name to prince. In the 32nd and 33rd chapters of Genesis Jacob rearranged his entourage and this time put himself in front as a prince would do, to meet his brother Esau. You will be amazed what a changed identity will do for your confidence.

Before Jesus was met with severe tests in the wilderness a voice from heaven spoke and affirmed Him as the divine Son. It is with this identity that he faced and overcame the enemy.

But we all know of people who should or could have been great because they bore great titles or labels: presidents, executives, world champions, etc. But they found themselves overcome by some ‘nobody’! Israel was like that. They were slaves for over 400 years. The princes had become slaves! That history damaged their self – perception. They were stronger and more numerous than their would-be masters, the Egyptians. But Egypt ruled over them by craftiness (Exodus 1.6-10). A forgotten identity is a useless identity. And that is what Egypt did – help them forget who they really were. That is why we must constantly be reminded about who we are in God. And no one can give identity more than the maker of a thing. Spending time with God, the ultimate maker of all things, and His word reminds and reinforces the champion you are on the inside.

Jesus said: ‘Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.’ Mark 4.25.

Here Jesus illustrates why some people can fail and bounce right back. The great rich men Mr Kiyosaki and Mr D Trump both reported losing unbelievable amount of money. Trump lost more than a billion dollars and still recovered to be a billionaire. Mr Kiyosai was a million in the red and living in a trailer but also recovered.

Why do some never recover? Because they were not rich in themselves. Both these men teach that money does not make one rich – it is how you think that does it. If you think and believe deep down that you are poor a million dollars will only make you superficially rich and that money is quite likely to leave you almost permanently. A good example are Adam and Eve: They were made like God (Genesis 1.26-28) but they did not know/believe it. So satan says to them ‘you have to do this to be like God’. The moment they did it they proved they did not believe they were like God and so became satan’s slaves.

To be truly rich you must believe and know that you are rich. Jesus said in the text above that how you listen is the key. Whatever God says you are that is what you are. When you believe this you will produce that which you are.

Crisis Can Sometimes Make it Hard to Listen to the Word of God

1 Kings 17. Elijah was told by God during a famine to go somewhere where He had commanded a widow to feed the prophet. A widow? Weren’t widows of that time very poor? Yes. How is Elijah going to find it easy to listen to this message? When Elijah arrived the widow was gathering sticks to cook her last meal to eat with her son and then await death by starvation.

Elijah nevertheless asked that that last meal be given to him. The widow had been told by God to feed Elijah. But she pretends she didn’t hear! She complains that it is their last meal, as if God did not know that. Crisis makes it hard for us to listen. That’s why Jesus said in Mark 4.25 that those who can hear will gain more. At the time Jesus told that to His disciples He was getting ready to take them across a body of water. He said to them in Mark 4.35, “Let us go to the other side.” But amidst the journey a storm arose. Now they are going to pretend they did not hear what they heard, because it is not easy to really hear.

That day in Mark 4, Jesus had taught that when the seed of God’s word comes to your ears satan comes to try to steal it so you must hold tightly to whatever you hear from God. The famine and the storms are just illustrations of the attempt to steal whatever God says about you, to you and for you. Don’t forget the Word of God and who you are just because of a storm or crisis. It is not easy to keep hearing that word that says: You are healed; You are rich; You are strong. For if you hear then you have the word, and to him/her that has the word more blessings shall be added!

I am told that the eye has a kind of ‘memory’. Once when a piece of hot particle of metal was washed out of his eye a certain man says when that area of the eye was inspected he felt as if the metal was still there. That memory was more powerful than the present clean eye. One’s reality then can be a matter of perspective and memory.

Jesus and Nicodemus: John 3

This man was a member of the Jewish ruling Council who visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus praised Jesus: ‘No one can do what you do unless God is with Him’. Wonderful so far. Jesus proceeded to explain spiritual things to this man, but the man did not understand. Jesus said to him, ‘unless you are born again you cannot see...’ The point I am making is this: unless this man abandons his memory, that, everything he had been taught, his upbringing, prejudices, history, and becomes like a newly born he cannot see God’s new era. He belonged to the religious class that generally disapproved of Jesus but he could not help but notice that God was with the Jesus. Nicodemus was torn. That is why he came at night – trying to be with Jesus and at the same time maintain his ties with the system.

Jesus is saying unless you completely abandon the system you cannot understand. Start with a clean sheet!

I am told of a story in which a climber falls off a steep point and finally holds onto a rope or something that breaks his fall in pitch darkness. He prays for safety as he cannot hang there forever. And then a voice says ‘let go’. He was only a few safe feet of the ground but it’s dark and he cannot see this so he holds on all the way through until day break. His recent experience of falling was so strong that he found it too difficult to listen to the voice. Those who choose to hear no matter what will always win. Those who don’t wait for perfect conditions to listen but they are still waiting.

Everyone Needs God's Divine Mercy: God is Kind And Merciful to Everyone

Who would have thought that lepers, sinners or tax collectors could be heroes?

In the New Testament, leprosy seems to represent the obnoxious character of sin or sinfulness. In the Old Testament, lepers were kept outside the city limits to avoid contamination. This distance-keeping is symbolic of the distance of sinners from God. Ironically the lepers were kept away from the temple but almost everyone else was allowed in.

Jesus broke with this practice when He touched lepers and ate with sinners. This is God dining with people who are supposed to keep far away from Him.

In this practice Jesus was actually teaching us that everyone is a sinner and needs mercy to be brought near God. But others thought they were better than these lepers and sinners. Luke’s Gospel serves up one powerful illustration: two people went to pray at the Temple. While one bowed and asked for mercy as a sinner, the other boasted of how many religious duties he performed and how much better he was. Jesus concluded that the first man was heard, not the latter.

We are all “lepers” but do not know it or admit. And we can compare ourselves with others and feel superior. But Jesus’ company was enjoyed only by the poor, the sick, blind, broken-hearted, sinners, etc. The moment you are not in this category the presence and power of God ceases to be real for you.

Nearer the end of his life Paul described himself as ‘chief sinner’ (1 Tim 1). The point is that the closer one is to God the more imperfections one sees in oneself – thus one includes oneself with all those whom society regards as refuse or sinful. Attitude of superiority and pride demonstrates sinfulness, and arrogance. And refusing to acknowledge it is in itself blindness. So basically some people live in denial of their true condition. Denial means they do not need Jesus as their doctor.

As long as we are in our bodies we are sinners and in constant need of God's mercy. And this humble attitude which brings God nearer and enables us to live in the right way. Ours becomes a life of constant closeness to God.