Identity Crisis – Part II

MYDestinyonVinyl

He Looks Like a Jehoshaphat
Genesis 17:5
God re-names Abram.
Abram means “exalted father”.
God names him Abraham.
Abraham means “father of many”.

Genesis 32:27,28
God re-names Jacob.
Jacob means “deceiver”.
God names him Israel.
Israel means “he struggles with God”.

Matthew 16:13-18
God re-names Simon.
Simon means “one who hears”.
God names him Peter.
Peter means “rock”.

Three men.
Three name changes.
One God.
One important lesson.

In ancient culture, names carried more weight than “Oh, honey, that sounds like a nice name”. You didn’t name a child based on whether or not it had a ring, or “Well, she doesn’t look like an Ashley…” I mean, Jehoshaphat? Not much of a ring there. Obviously names meant much more.

In that culture, a name was who you were. Names were not just names but words or phases. Jacob meant “deceiver”, and he was that to his core. Your name is your identity. Your name is who you are inside and out. Its both who the world sees you as and who you see yourself as in the mirror.

Some of us are named Rejected. The world could care less about us, and we become “Reject”. Some of us are named Insecure, Hopeless, Goodfornothing, Slut, Snob, Spoiled, Outcast… People “name” us, and that becomes our identity. We do not choose our name, but we are born with it.

This is our “Jacob” nature. Our fallen, flawed, sinful self that from birth looks to everything but God for our identity.

Now these three men had an identity. They had a name. Some good, some not so good, but they all had an identity.

God changed their identity. And it is out of their new, changed identity came their prophetic destiny.

So many of us go looking for our destiny right away. We ask ourselves questions like:
What is my calling?
What is my purpose?
What are the works “prepared in advance” for me (Eph 2:10)?

We ask these in an attempt to find our identity out of this.

It makes logical sense. I mean, if I discover my role, then I will find out who I will need to be to fill that role. Identity, right?

Wrong.

Unfortunately, this is not the case with our God.

We are created in the image of our God (Gen 1:27). This is not a physical image so much as a spiritual one. So what better place to look for and find our identity than our maker in whose image we were created?

The Parable of the Broken Record
Picture yourself as a vinyl record. The ones that grandma listens to while she sips her tea in the living room after a Sunday lunch (or the ones that a DJ will spin and scratch while breakdancers spin and flip on the floor to the new, hot beat). You choose your scenario, as long as we are on the same page here.

You are a record. What is your destiny, your “calling” in life?

A. To be played in a record player to make music.

Well suppose a disgruntled worker of the record production company who, for reasons of his own, decides to treat all of the vinyl records with an acid, thus creating a flaw in every record sent out, including yourself.

Now each record is flawed. Does it make sense for you to look to the other records to fix itself?

No, of course not. A flawed record can not look to another flawed record to fix itself. You may see the flaws in other records and point out that you have no defects on that song. Or other records may point out that track number two on you sounds much more like a train coming to a stop than anything else. Two wrongs do not make a right. Similarly, two flaws don’t make a right.

Well, suppose you store yourself in the nicest record case. Behind glass, dust free, regular cleanings… Guess what, you have a nicely kept, polished flaw.

What about instead of one really nice case, you get a new case every week. Brand new, state of the art case. It has all of the latest features in keeping records new. You probably know what I am going to say before I even say it. You are still just a flawed record in some new cases with great designs and technologies.

Well then… it seems like nothing will fix you. Why not just go to the record player to fix yourself? I mean, that is what you are meant for, right. Everyone knows that the record player is where you are supposed to end up. It’s your destiny. Nobody can argue that. Just go to the record player to be fixed (or at least learn how to fix yourself).

That is ridiculous! A flawed record in its proper record player is still a flawed record, and can not function properly in its proper place.

Where then must you, a flawed record, look to in order to get your flaw corrected (and fulfill your destiny)?

The master record!

The master record is unchanging. The master record is made out of durable, long-lasting coated metal.

The master record came before all other records, and the master record is used to create all other records in its image.

A flawed record can not look to anything but the master record to find and correct its flaws. And after the record gets re-stamped, it can fulfill its destiny beautifully.

I’m sure you are seeing the connection by now. This is how we work. We are created in the image of God, but we are all flawed from birth through the sin of the first man tempted by Satan (the disgruntled factory worker).

In the first scenario, we see the record look to other records.

How often do we look to others and hope to be fixed? We get advice from peers, pastors and parents. We go to counseling. We buy the latest self-help book. Sometimes we just look at other and think one of two things:
“At least I’m not that bad. I mean, look at their problem” (Pointing out others flaws)
or
“Wow, I wish I was as good as them. They got saved and quit drinking instantly, and it is still a daily habit for me and I want it dead…” (you fill in the blank for whatever the drinking scenario is in your own life)

The point is advice and comparison can not fix us. Let me save you the trouble of learning the hard way that no friend, no parent, no pastor, no teacher, no coach, no boyfriend or girlfriend… can ever fix our flaw and reveal your identity and your destiny.

In fact, the enemies best weapon in slowing or stopping your progress in becoming who you are meant to be (rather, becoming who you are) is bringing someone of the opposite sex in your life. People who have lived life will tell you this is the case 9 times out of 10.

What about the record cases, what the heck was that about?

Well, have you ever gone from church to church, camp to camp, conference to conference… and still feel unfulfilled? Or better yet, are you planted and serving in an amazing church and feel like your life is on pause and you are struggling to find what the next “step” is?

No conference, camp, mission trip, self-help book or church in itself can fix you and reveal your destiny to you anymore than a high dollar glass case can fix the records flaws.

Now to the before-mentioned person, the one who tries to find his calling or destiny and will try to find out who he/she needs to be based on that.

This person is the record in the record player.

The record has made it to where it is supposed to be. A record is made to be played in a record player, and will not function anywhere else outside of its purpose. But a flawed record, even in the correct record player it was made for, will not change.

It will still be a flawed record in a record player.

In fact, the record in the player will more than likely have its flaws amplified and even made worse if not dealt with.

Likewise, you may have found your destiny. Your legit, prophetic destiny that you were made for. You may be there, but still be feeling lost and even more than that confused. You probably have the same feeling you get after driving to your favorite restaurant only to find when you get there that they have moved to a new location or are closed.

The Remedy of Lost
How is this “lost” feeling remedied, then?

A lost person can not find himself, but must be found.

A broken record can not fix itself by any means, but must be fixed. It can only be fixed by its maker, the master record by which it was formed and in whose image it was created. The record must go to the master record to be made like it, to be made new.

Now the record doesn’t need to do anything but simply allow the master record to make it new. The only thing the record needs to do is submit and allow the master record to do its work. We try so hard to make this harder than it is, when really it’s quite easy. (I must expand the use of the word easy here. It is easy in the same way threading a needle is easy. It is easy because it is not a complicated process, not because it isn’t difficult)


The Transitive Property
In high school, I had this crazy math teacher who used dry erase markers all the time. At the beginning of class, she was strict and straightforward. But by the end of class, I could swear the fumes got to her. She was so loopy and crazy that nobody wanted to miss her class (at least the last half hour). The main thing she taught (every single day of my 10th grade life) was called proofs. You probably remember, the whole if A=B, then B=A thing. They got quite a bit more complex than this, but after about a week or so, the only letters I used in equations were X’s and O’s in heated games of tic-tac-toe with my friend Adam.

But one of these “proofs” stood out to me. It was called the Transitive Property. Simply stated, it says:

if A=B and B=C, then A=C

Simple math, right? If A is 7, then B is 7, and then C is 7 (you can check my math here, it’s right)

Ok now, what is the point of this math here?

Well, we saw earlier that before we can function properly in our destiny, we must have and know our identity. But before we get our own identity, God must (and will) give us a revelation of who He is.

If you follow Genesis 1:27  of us being created in the image of our creator, God, then just plug identity into this formula.

A=Revelation of God
B=Identity
C=Destiny

If we know we are created in God’s image, and we are supposed to be Christ-like (Christian), then we must look to God for our identity. Here it is broken down:

If we see who God is, we will better understand ourselves
If we understand ourselves, we will understand who we need to be.
If we see who God is, we will understand our prophetic destiny (and function in our destiny to our fullest potential)

It’s as easy as ABC. Brilliant! But how do I do it?

A=Revelation
A. W. Tozer says that God is always previous; that God is always first and he pursues us before we pursue him. I go back to what I said earlier, “A lost person can not find himself, but be found.” Let’s look at how the three men in the beginning were “found”.

Before God renames Abram, God gives Abram a revelation of who He is.

“I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless.” -Gen 17.1

The Lord gives Abram a revelation of Himself – “I am God Almighty”. This was given to him by no direct effort of Abram, but by God’s will and Abrams lifestyle of obedience and worship.

Jacob got a revelation of who God is in Genesis 32. Jacob wrestled with God. Take a look at verses 27 through 30:

27The man [God in this story] asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered
28Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.
29Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
30So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

Ok, God did not give our friend Jacob a revelation of Himself. I see God’s reply to Jacob in verse 29. Jacob asks for a revelation, and God totally sidesteps the question. No revelation here.

There is a revelation given by God, but it is found deeper in the verses.

God asked for Jacob’s name; his identity. It is here Jacob came to grips (possibly for the first time) with who he was. Jacob’s answer to Gods question was more than just “My name is Jacob.”
Jacob had to reply to this man, “I am a deceiver, a liar, and a thief. That is who I am.”

God did not directly tell Jacob who He (God) was, but Jacob knew who he himself was. He knew his own sin and the wickedness in his life. He knew what his name meant, and he knew he lived up to it. When Jacob had this encounter with God, he saw God’s mercy fresh and in its fullest.

Then if you look at verse 30, Jacob called the place Peneil. Jacob saw God face to face, and he did not die.

Jacob should have died!

By Jacob surviving a physical encounter with a Holy God, he got a divine revelation of God and his mercy. Remember, the face to face encounter happened when the man was Jacob, not when he was Israel. God gave Jacob a revelation of Himself where Jacob was at in life.

Jacob did not have to change for God to pursue Him, God first pursued him in order for Jacob to change.

Simon’s revelation of God comes in Matthew chapter 16:13-17

13When Jesus came the the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15″But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”

Simon got a revelation of who God was not by himself or others, but God gave Simon the revelation of who God was.

B=Identity
Ok, so each three men have a revelation of who God is. Now in each three stories, God gives them a new name, which nullifies their old name. In essence, God gives them their identity, thus nullifying their old name.

In Abram’s story, God gave him a revelation of who he was in verse 1 – “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.” Abram knows that God is all powerful, and an encounter with God completely cleanses him of his sins and wickedness.

In verses 3 and 4, God renames him Abraham. This is his new identity. He is never called Abram again.

Jacob learned how rich in mercy God was in his encounter with God in verse 27 (when he saw his wickedness juxtaposed to God’s holiness). God gives Jacob a new name (new identity) in the very next verse after Jacob got the revelation of God.

“Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel…”

God destroyed his identity of Jacob, killed his “Jacob nature”, and gave him a new identity.

Jesus said that the revelation of himself came to Simon not by men, but by God in heaven (v. 17). God gave Simon a revelation of himself. In the very next verse, Jesus says to Simon:

“I tell you that you are Peter…”

Jesus took away his old name of Simon, and gave him the new name of Peter. His identity was now Peter, which means Rock.

C=Destiny
Each man had a revelation of God.
Each man got their old identity removed and nullified.
Each man received a new identity from God.
Each man will now have a destiny put on their lives through that identity.

Abraham means “father of many”. God had a destiny over his life, but before the broken record called Abram could function in it, the Master Record had to re-stamp him and give him a new identity. This new identity allows Abraham to function in and fulfill his prophetic destiny in the earth.

Jacob could not be the patriarch of God’s chosen people as a deceiver. This would have set up a generational curse on his descendants (remember, a name is more than just a name). If a people’s origin was deception, then they will be a people whose roots are deception and function according to their roots. God had to destroy this “Jacob” nature before this man could fulfill his destiny. God destroyed his old identity and God gave him a new one. This new identity allows Israel to function in and fulfill his prophetic destiny in the earth.

Simon heard the revelation from God about Jesus (Simon means “one who hears”). Jesus renames him Peter, which means “rock”. We know the famous verse where Jesus says to Simon, “You are to be called Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.”

Wow. The church today would not exist if Peter had not received his new identity from God, and that would not have happened if Simon did not get a revelation from God by seeking Him and hearing Him.

Get RIPD
So here is the process. It all follows a principal found in Ephesians 4:22-24. This principal has changed how I live my life, and it is what changed Abe, Jake, and Peter’s lives.

22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the dew self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

There is a three step process here (who says the Bible is not practical?).

Paul is writing to Christians in the Ephesian church, so we can assume that these people here already have had the revelation of who God is (otherwise they would not be in the church).

The first key is to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. This is your “Jacob”, or deceitful nature. Other terms for this is your Adamic nature, the Human Condition, your Cain nature, the Ego… Whatever you call it, it is that flaw in yourself that needs to be put off.

Putting it off is the same as God saying “Your name is no longer Jacob.” But Jacob had to see himself for who he is before he could give it to God.

In the same way, we must ask God to reveal to us our Jacob nature, our fallen human self and ask God to shine His light on our lives. But you must be prepared for this, because it may hurt a bit. You will find pride, jealousy, lust, hate, bitterness, hurt… all sorts of sick things in you. Asking God to show you your Jacob nature and submitting it to the cross is you saying to God, “My name is Jacob.”

Take heart though, these strongholds of false identity do not have more power over your life than the cross of Christ. The scriptures and the cross has the power to demolish your Jacob strongholds (2 Cor 10:4).

“Being made new in the attitude of your mind” is where the power of “Your name is no longer Jacob,” really starts to take action. To do this, you need the power of scripture to combat this Jacob nature. Abram, Jacob, and Simon all had the physical voice of God speak identity into their lives. Now the majority of us will not hear the physical voice of God, but we have something just as good: His Word! Your identity can be found in the words of your Maker. Allow the Lord to tell you who you are.

To put on the new self is to trust this new identity and be confident in who you are.
I am a child of God.
I am no longer a slave, but a son.
I am forgiven.
I am loved.
I am pursued.
I am unique.
I am pure and righteous.

The list goes on and on. Trust in the identity God has for you. Trust in God with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. Don’t lean on your Jacob nature.

I have just skimmed the surface of these 3 verses. An entire book can be written on it alone. This is not a one time solution, though. This is a daily process. Every day I find new things in me that is not of God. They seem to get worse and worse the deeper I go and the more I allow God to reveal to me who I am. Do this daily to allow God to speak identity into your life.

So here is the conclusion. The “Get RIPD” principal. Its a simple equation.

Receive a revelation of God, from God.
Receive your identity from God.
Walk in your prophetic destiny laid our for you, prepared in advance for you by God.

Revelation –> Identity –> Prophetic Destiny

God will give you a revelation of Himself.
Out of that He will give you your identity, and it is only out of a true place of identity that you can walk in and fulfill your prophetic destiny.

Identity Crisis – Part I

Every decision you make in life will come out of one of two things:
Our Identity or Our Insecurity

You will either choose the path of righteousness and holiness because you know who you are in Christ, or you will choose the path of sin because you are insecure. There is no decision made outside of Identity or Insecurity. Decisions made out of insecurity are made in an attempt to find your identity. Are you entering into a relationship because you are confident and content in your walk with God? Or are you lonely, needing to have love and give love (and not just that romantic kind either)?

Now I need to say that you can have Identity in one of two places. Christ or a lie from the enemy. This is how the process works:

God speaks identity over you through His word (the Bible). He will say something like “You are a child of God”.
Satan will come in and lie to you, saying you are rejected by God, not a child.
You now have a choice: either stand on the word of God, or buy-in to the lie – making the lie your new identity!
You are now not just rejected, but you are a reject

Now to prevent you from buying-in to the lie of the enemy, let me tell you how he deceives you.

Did God Really Say?

In Genesis chapter 3, Satan the serpant comes to Eve and tempts her. He says “Did God really say not to eat from any tree?”
This is exactly how it looks in your life. Did God really say you are his child? Did God really say He loves you? Did God really say you are pure and clean? Did God really say you are important and set apart? Did God really say he wont abandon you? – because your father did…
It never stops. Yes – God really did say. If you don’t stand on scripture concerning your identity, you stand on nothing and you will fall. Adam and Eve didn’t stand on the words of God, and they caused what is know as “the fall”. You will fall too if you don’t stand on God’s Word.

If you are…

In the book of Matthew, right at the end of chapter 3, Jesus is baptized. God then rips open heaven and physically speaks identity over Jesus. In short, He says, “That’s my boy! I am so proud of him, and I love him!”
Directly after this, he gets tempted by the devil. But this time he doesn’t say “Did God really say.” Instead he questions Jesus identity.
“If you are the Son of God…” It’s interesting that once Jesus received his identity from God, satan questions it.
How many times have you seen someone get saved, then immediately question their own decision for Christ? Thats because they or anyone else doesn’t take the time to show them their identity.
I must point out Jesus response to this attack. He does not say:
“But this is what was spoken over me… This is what everyone thinks of me… Ask them – they were there when that was spoken to me…”
No way. What does he do? Jesus goes to the bible. He quotes scripture to the devil!
“It is written…”
What does that tell us?
Again, if you stand on anything but the Bible, even a prophetic word or what everyone else things and speaks to you, you will fall…

Where do you find your identity? What is your source?
Friends? Relationships? Gossip? Sex? Cutting? Sarcasm? Being the “funny” guy (when deep down you have no idea who you really are)?
Or are you finding you identity in God by means of the Bible (not preachers, prophets, evangelists, parents…)?

Find your identity in the eternal Word of God!!! What better and more solid foundation to build your life on than the eternal Word of God!

More to come on identity soon!

Read Jeremiah 17:7,8
John chapter 15

Juxtaposition of the Divine

Finding Faith in Fear

Psalm 13

David faced many hardships and trials in his life. This psalm hardly describes a fraction of what Kind David went through during his earlier years as an innocent fugitive.

Fear, loneliness, rejection, abandonment, defeat, a sorrow that few in this world can comprehend, betrayal… The eyes of death fixed on him – it’s gaze David cannot shake.

Yet David ends this lament with two seemingly contradictory verses:

⁵“But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation

⁶I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.

This is not an optimism birthed out of the heart of man – no, it is much more. It is a clear perspective of mortal man juxtaposed with the eternality and the unfailing love of the divine.

Faith has no limit where there is an accurate view of God; and trust in him is equally limitless when that view of God is measured against man. And it is here, man in his lowest, where you will find praise in its purest and worship its best.