Who Does YOUR Identity Belong To?

Galatians 2:20, " I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

God created each of you for a purpose! For a divine, appointed purpose! To God, you are so important and you mean everything to Him. You've got the greatest potential to be used by the Lord, for the Lord and with the Lord as long as you allow Him to direct your life in the way you should go. The Lord knows all things and He certainly knows what's best for you and me. Think for a moment what it actually means to have the Lord guiding your life. Think about the mistakes you'd avoid, the heartaches that could be avoided and the pains of knowing that by your own flesh, by your own choices, you really have NO direction at all without Him. There's an emptiness without Him. There's a dark void deep within that yearns for light to fill the darkness that only the Lord can do! Think too about what it would really mean to be a part of God’s plan for the world.

The world's philosophy is simple. Live for self. The Word of God says die to self. The world is run by Satan. He is the "god" of this world. Having a dependence on yourself or your possessions instead of God will lead to a fall because it is actually Satan who forces your dependence on yourself or worldly possessions. That's what he does in order to gain ground. He wants nothing more than for you to find your identity in him, in the world, in the darkness and in sin. His time is short. He knows it. Proverbs 11:28, "He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like foliage." Also in John 15:5 we find this, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." This tells us where our identity really is for those who are born again Christ believers! We are to live in total dependence upon Christ, who is the power and wisdom of God.

Our Fingerprint in Jesus

A person’s identity is valuable to them and it's equally valuable to a thief. We should all take care to protect our identity from getting into the wrong hands. Identity theft is a growing national concern and it's estimated that over 9 million individuals have their identity stolen each year as of 2010, and growing with each passing year due to technological advances. Even children have their identities stolen. As frightening as it is to think someone, some stranger, knows too much about you and has invaded the most intimate of things by violating your privacy, as Christians, there's another identity that is more important and more valuable to us, and to the enemy. Our Christian identity. When we are saved, we are set apart. That's MY spiritual identity and it's far more valuable than any other identity that a thief could take from me. But just as it is important to me, it's also important for Satan and his pathetic minions too. He wants to steal your identity and those hands are the wrong hands to gain access to your privacy, to your identity. He can be compared to those “dumpster divers” who literally rummage through people's trash just to find a receipt, a check or anything else with a sliver of information that could possibly reveal our personal and/or financial identity. Satan dives into our hearts with his evil, diabolical intention to steal our spiritual identity, our moral purity, and it's done so subtly through the morally corrupt secular world. The fallen world that Satan uses, with all of its trappings, does his bidding for him in order to quietly lure us into compromising our spiritual identity.

Philippians 2:3-4, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. v4) Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." This is a good example of not being self-centered, selfish and prideful! The three things Satan uses in this world to trap us, to lure us, to gain access to our minds and hearts. We are not to trust ourselves, but we are to trust God. Remember that our hearts are deceitful above all things as quoted in Jeremiah 17:9, and so it can't be trusted on its own. So then that means we have to test everything in light of God’s word so we know it's true, it's godly and it's His will. We have to trust Him in following God’s principles that we find in the Bible. Most people rely on their own wisdom and reasoning, and few seek God's counsel. This is what is meant in Philippians 2:3-4. Our confidence needs to be in the advice that God gives us through His word because we know it to be true. We are to live by faith, NOT in our own fleshly selves. but in Christ. The believer knows that he has a carnal, fleshly nature. This nature is fully corrupt and sinful. It's the nature that Satan takes advantage of when our fleshly desires get in the way and our guards are let down. It seeks to destroy us. But the believer has the Spirit of God and a new nature that comes from God is a new identity in Jesus Christ! Our new identity nature allows us to understand God’s principles and how to apply them throughout our lives.

Now, it's here that I will point out the very word that Satan likes to throw around at us Christians through all formats to snag our sin nature. The "C" word. COMPROMISE. It's one of the most dangerous words for a Christian to adhere to, especially in this evil world we're living in right now. Our enemy, the devil, tricks us with this word by tempting us with lies that we can "handle" it. For example, take an R-rated movie. This is just ONE example of MANY. We all know it's full of profanity, sexual situations, gratuitous violence and nudity. We know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we shouldn't be watching such movies, much less entertaining the idea in the first place. But, here comes Satan dangling the shiny object in front of our noses telling us, "Well, look, it has a good story line. You can watch it because it has a good meaning behind it. The acting is superb, too and has your favorite actor playing the lead role. Go on, you can just overlook the profanity and close your eyes during the morally impure scenes. Afterall, it can't HARM YOU." That's one of the biggest lies Satan tells all of us is that it can't harm you! Oh but brothers and sisters, it most certainly CAN and DOES! The more he plants these thoughts to compromise what we know we shouldn't, the easier it becomes to make us trip and sometimes fall. It makes it easier for him to steal our identity. The stuff of which we observe, whether it's with our eyes or ears, we will soon begin to focus our lives, thoughts and actions around those things. Then we begin to slowly accept those things as acceptable behavior, eventually embracing it and ultimately participating in it. That's the normal progression for moral degeneration, beginning with a compromise, and don’t think for a minute that Christians are immune from Satan’s temptations. I'm not and neither are you.

You see, we are twice born creatures trying to live in a once born world while at the same time, being set apart FROM them. For unbelievers. this doesn't make sense because they are, unfortunately, living and taking part of the once born world, once born culture without ever knowing our Lord and Savior. Satan lays his traps everywhere we look and the bait he places before us can be  quite tantalizing. We live in a world of moral arrogance, selfishness, and self-centeredness and honestly, it's just spiritual adultery to pursue the pleasing values of this world while pledging our love for God. Satan knows this all too well....and after us, he comes. We are not righteous in ourselves. Romans 3:10-12, "As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; v11) There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. v12) They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” Our true righteousness is based ONLY on a sincere belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. This isn't head knowledge of Christ, but rather it's a personal belief, commitment to Him and a personal relationship with our Savior that changes our lives forever. It's a true belief that directs, instructs and controls your life.

John 10:10, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." Satan wants to steal your identity so that he can use the giftings, callings and purposes that are on your life from God for his own selfish purposes! Once he steals your identity, (has control of your soul) he uses your soul to kill your spirit and destroy your destiny! Also to destroy everything that you have dominion over! But look at what Romans 11:29 tells us, clearly, "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." When we, as Christians, fully understand those words, those powerful words, we will become much stronger against the wiles of the enemy because we belong to royalty and with our royal heritage comes powers through the shed blood of our Savior who died on the cross for all of our sins and who is ALIVE. Satan has already been defeated! He's just trying to upset the apple cart.....Many genuine Christians are still tormented in their minds because a principality of darkness planted a lie deep within their minds sometime in their distant or recent past that they've nurtured, believed and allowed to take root by believing the lie because they kept rehearsing it repeatedly out of their own unregenerated soul or unrenewed mind. This is why it's so important to stay in His word, daily renewing your minds and sanctifying your souls.

We can spend our whole lives building our credit, building our identity and our identity credit and in a split second, somebody steals your identity and your future is destroyed. The same thing holds true in the spiritual realm. You can spend your entire life building your spiritual identity, building your relationship with Jesus and finding your place in royalty, but in a blink of an eye, all it takes is one moment to forget who you are, and who you belong to, and make a careless, thoughtless decision. A momentary lapse of reasoning that will take us years to fix the mess of what just one decision did, all because we forgot who we are! The lie that the world and the devil likes to whisper into the ear of our hearts and minds is: "I have to be strong". Being "strong" is the crux of all of it really because being strong is associated with being independent, self-sufficient, self-centered. All the "self's" can be attached to being "strong." But let's look at the TRUTH that's taken from 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, "And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 

1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour Here are just a few ways." Peter informs us that Satan is a thief seeking to steal your identity as a faithful child of God. Let's take a look at some of the ways Satan can accomplish this thievery.

1) SATAN STEALS ONE’S IDENTITY WHEN ONE BELIEVES JESUS TO BE GOD’S SON, BUT REFUSES TO ACCEPT ALL SCRIPTURE AS GOD’S WORD. The great majority of humanity doesn't follow God’s Word in their daily living or in their religious practices. Because of this carelessness, Satan sees an open door and encourages us to do as the majority does, as the world does and as our flesh would do. Primitive man became so corrupt that God had to destroy him from the earth, saving only righteous Noah  and his family as found in Genesis 6-7 and 1 Peter 3:20-21. Following the flood, we find how man again became wicked so God chose Abraham through whom He would eventually bring Jesus to save man from sin Genesis 12:1-3 and Galatians 3:16. The LORD still commands, "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil" Exodus 23:2.

2) SATAN STEALS A CHRISTIAN’S IDENTITY WHEN HE INFLUENCES ONE TO
LOVE THE WORLD MORE THAN GOD. Twice in the parable of the sower Matthew 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15, Jesus speaks of the wicked one snatching the seed of God’s Word from the hearts of men. Jesus said for the child of God this happens when they are choked by cares, riches and the pleasures of life. The apostle John charged in 1 John 2:15-16, "Do not love the world or the things in the world, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” Look what is said here in Hebrews 3:12, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;"

3) JESUS PRAYED THAT HIS DISCIPLES BE SANCTIFIED IN GOD’S TRUTH
STATING, “THY WORD IS TRUTH.” (John 17:17): For those whom Satan has stolen through unbelief, God’s Word warns in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, v10) and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved." “Saved” in this passage is the same as “sanctified” in John 17:17. For those who don't believe God’s revealed truth, who turns from His revealed Truths, Satan has stolen their identity as children of God.

Many believers fall into his sticky trap, sometimes intentionally, but mostly unintentionally because they believe the lies. All of his dirty lies. What lies? The lies that speak about their identity in Christ. For example 1) I am not good enough, 2) I am insignificant, 3) I am worthless, 4) I am bad, 5) I am a failure, 6) I am not lovable. 7) I am broken. These lies penetrate the depths of one's soul, to such a depth that results in empty feelings of being lost, hopeless, damaged, misunderstood, frustrated, alone and vulnerable. The worst part is these lies are often lived out as absolute truths because they've believed them long enough that they've become a reality. Believing those lies in this manner guides the person toward destruction… further away from God’s plan. Just like the enemy wants them to do!

But there's good news! No, there's AWESOME news! We can have VICTORY in Jesus and RETAIN our IDENTITY IN HIM! Let's take a look at several ways to retain our identity, to fight off the lies of the enemy and to walk with Jesus boldly in our heritage!
1) BE ALERT! 1 Peter 5:8 tells us, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Staying alert to the lies that the enemy wants so desperately to tell us and convince us of, is imperative to not losing our identity to this lowly thief. Satan doesn't want us to be alert. In fact, it's the opposite. He wants us to be filled with distractions, with "noise" and with the world so we don't see what's around the corner ready to attack!

2) PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD! Ephesians 6:10-18 is long but IMPORTANT, and I'm going to copy it in its entirety. 10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. v11) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. v12) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. v13) Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. v14) Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, v15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; v16) above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. v17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; v18) praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints...." If we walk out of the house, or even wake up and forget to put on the whole armor, we leave a part of ourselves open to attack, to identity theft.

3) RESIST AND STAND FIRM! 1 Peter 5:9-10 tells us, "Resist him, stand firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. v10) But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you." Resisting the devil will make him flee from us and in doing so, we are able to stand a little firmer ground, growing stronger through the Lord. Our faith needs to be strong and grounded. It needs to be built upon the solid rock of our Lord and Savior because no other way will we be able to resist the devil much less overcome!

4) PRAY! Matthew 26:41 speaks much truth about the power of prayer! "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Our flesh IS weak, no matter who you are, no matter how mature of a Christian you are, and no matter what we try to do. That's why God sent His only Begotten Son to die for our sins, for our weaknesses in our flesh because we couldn't, and CAN'T, do it without Him! As we pray to Him daily, and are watchful of the wiles of Satan, we begin to feel the "will of the spirit" more and more and our transformation into the likeness of our Father takes precedence.

5) PROTECT YOUR THOUGHT LIFE! This is so important but many people, many Christians too, don't see, or refuse to see, just how dangerous a thought, a simple, seemingly harmless thought can be. But it can be extremely harmful because once it takes root, we become that thought.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. v4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, v5) casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," And then in Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." We are warned and instructed several times to guard our minds and thoughts and to protect them from receiving thoughts that aren't of the Lord. A thought, good or bad, takes roots inside of our minds and those roots reach our hearts in no time! What we think, therefore we are....

6) KNOWING GOD'S TRUTH! 2 Timothy 2:15, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Not much more needs to be said because this is His truth sent to us to quench our thirst, to fill our bellies and to nourish our souls! We do need to present ourselves approved and rightly dividing the word!

7) FLEE FROM TEMPTATION! 1 Timothy 6:11 tells us, "But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness." As we flee from our temptations to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and gentleness, those things become who we are on a daily basis. It's part of our sanctification. Daily renewing our minds and fleeing temptations. To do so, we MUST call on our Lord, know Him intimately so that we know His will and character, and walk upright with Him.

8) STAND IN GOD'S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND GRACE! I find more and more Christians finding this difficult to do because either they don't feel worthy or they don't understand grace! Standing in His love and Grace is such a beautiful thing and more beautiful is finding your worth in HIS eyes to receive it fully! Revelation 12:10-11, "Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." 

Where We Belong!

These are examples of how we should live in order to retain our identity in Christ! If we can do this, then the biggest, but weakest, thief can't steal our identity. As you continue to trust God on a daily basis, you will begin to believe His truths! The wisdom that comes from above leads us to be pure, not the wisdom of the world. James 3:17, "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." Ah, the beauty of the words of our God! His instructions to us and in how we are to gain wisdom and from where, just shows us how much He really LOVES us unconditionally! We need to surrender to His will and resist the devil so he will flee from us. James 4:4 just might sum it up the best saying, "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." 

If you believe in the Lord as your Savior, then you don’t have to continue believing Satan's lies. You can claim your identity! It’s yours. You just may have forgotten your place in God’s family. Maybe you've allowed these lies to creep into your mind and heart. There is still hope, the greatest hope. The wonderful thing is that you don’t have to go looking for the thief that stole from you in order to get your identity back. God's taken care of it already! He's the best Judge, the ULTIMATE Judge, we have and He restores all!

Hebrews 10:22-23, "let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

So, don’t risk losing your spiritual identity! It is the single most valuable, important thing that any Christian has in their spiritual possession, more valuable than anything in THIS fallen world. It's our eternal identity. And the enemy doesn't want us to know that, or understand it, because if we do, then it's harder for him to fool us. He wants us weak, worldly and tempted. He doesn't want us to know our heritage, nor does he want us to own our eternal identities. He wants us focused on "self" rather than Jesus! Galatians 2:20, " I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  God's cure for the problems of "self" is a transformation. God has a plan and a way for you to live your life. It's a way by which you will overcome the difficulties of this life.

Guard YOUR identity and KNOW who your identity belongs to! It's never too late!



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