PERFECTED SELF CARE UNDERSTANDING YOUR IDENTITY. Dr. Kenneth W. Jones, Pastor, Practical Living Ministry

Transcription

1 1 PERFECTED SELF CARE UNDERSTANDING YOUR IDENTITY Dr. Kenneth W. Jones, Pastor, Practical Living Ministry

2 Introduction 2 Most Christians do not suffer from a lack of knowledge Nor do they suffer from a lack of Process What we do suffer is from a lack of identity

3 Focus of This Teaching 3 Our Identity With Christ Identity with the World Our Identity As a Church

4 Understanding Identity 4 Man s Identity is associated with the likeness and image of God. Genesis 1:26-28: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth

5 Do You Really Know Who You Are? 5 Image: tselem: image, likeness (of resemblance) We were made to be the symbol of God in the earth Even the word, Christian is linked to being like Christ (Acts 11:26) They shall rule God created us for a purpose. Our identity is tied to a purpose God s purpose. Genesis 2:7: Man is aligned to God s purpose and made in God s likeness so that he becomes a partner to God s purpose. God blessed them and said to them.. (vs 1:28): Realize that God only did this with his creation of man and woman. God directly addresses the man and woman, entering into communion with human beings God gave man authority in the beginning. Jesus gave the church authority (Matthew 28:18)

6 So What Happened? 6 How did something so majestically and wonderfully made become reprobate? While God gave man the gift of free will, that gift was meant to be exercised in accordance to God s divine will The whole aspect of man s fall in Genesis 3 is that man sought to assume another identity: You shall be as gods and with that he willed himself to the god of this world and immediately began to lose his God-given identity Just as the serpent was cunning, many people are losing their identity through the efforts of cunning men and women.

7 Man s Loses His Identity 7 Genesis 6:5 - And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. This past election was a struggle over social issues rather than spiritual issues. Is there a connection between a lack of spiritual responsibility an social disorder? See 2 nd Chronicles 15:1-7 The Lord saw every plan devised in humankind s mind: thoughts, understanding, volition (choices), impulses, and morals. God s creation gave over free will to a corruptible mindset God regretted God no longer recognized His creation, because his creation no longer identified with Him Identify and Identity go hand in hand

8 2 nd Chronicles 15:1-7 8 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: 2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. 4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. 6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. 7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.

9 Cont d 9 We are God s elect, but we choose or elect to live in a reprobate status Sin mars our identity (To impair the soundness, perfection, or integrity of) Satan deceives us and seeks to rob us of our identity or deceive us out of the rights and privileges that comes with our God-given identity Satan tried to talk Jesus out of who He is by offering something that was His to begin with and would soon regain

10 Why Is This Important? 10 If you don t know who you are, you are probably more easily deceived Sometimes it is difficult to minister to someone who don t know their rights, privileges, authority in the kingdom of God and know their spiritual purpose and identity Who you Identify with makes you more likely to assume their identity.

11 Out of Character 11 Ephesians 2:10 - For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Character represents our thoughts and behavior. We behave a certain way in most cases because we believe a certain way. When we behave differently from what we know is our true character and purpose, we are acting out of character. There is some moral character that aligns with our godly character. A lot of Christians live by their moral character above their godly character. Moral character is more connected to our social groups while godly character is more connected to the Father God s moral character is absolute, while societal character is more relative.

12 12 What Does This Have to do With Self Care? It will be difficult to care for something if you really don t know what it is and it came without instructions. God created you and gave you His Word and His Spirit so that you may know who you are and how to experience all that He has for you so that you may be preserved blameless, spirit, soul, and body (1 st Thess 5:23) When you don t know who you are, you are more likely to act and assume an identity given to you by the world, or you elect an identity that you feel is suitable for you With that identity comes character, traits, blessings, curses, implications for living, etc.

13 What Does This Have to do With 13 Self Care? Do you struggle with feeling unworthy? Do you wonder about your purpose in life? Do you feel as if you're not growing spiritually? Part of this is connected with identity. Many people, to include Christians will never experience a breakthrough and become mature in their faith because they lack a proper understanding of their essential identity in Christ Many Christians are engaged in a life-or-death struggle to find their identity. If you desire to truly walk in your identity, you must become "renewed in the spirit of your mind. Ephesians 4:23 - and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, Renewing our minds takes more than factual information; it necessitates spiritual revelation.

14 Why Is This Important? 14 There is a Need to Know Who You Are Assumed Identity fictitious Mistaken Identity arising from error; wrong in judgment and opinion Philippians 3:20 - But we are citizens of the state (commonwealth, homeland) which is in heaven, and from it also we earnestly and patiently await [the coming of] the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [as] Savior, Secret Identity kept hidden or separate from the knowledge of others

15 Identity Killers 15 Rejection. Man's greatest fear is that he will not be received, respected and loved. We search for significance in social acceptance, materialism, achievement, self-improvement and even religion to gain the attention of others while losing our identity to please them Unforgiveness. When we allow unforgiveness to rule in our lives, we may lose ourselves as this may lead to bitterness, anger, and hatred consuming our God-given identity that was created in love and operates in the love of God. Wrong relationships. The most powerful force in the universe, outside of God, is human relationships. Evil communication corrupts good manners who we are. If your associations are leading you to act outside of your God-given character, then you need to end that association. Many people hold on to evil and bad associations out of rebellion as well.

16 Identity Killers 16 Insecurity. We lose our identity by reducing ourselves through the comparison of others instead of realizing God s divine pattern for us as a husband, wife, brother, sister, child, parent, etc. Generational curses. One of the foremost ways that strongholds of insecurity and rejection are established in people's lives is by the spiritual transfer of the sins of the fathers to the children. We begin to accept the identity and failings of past generations. i.e. My grandfather was a drunk, and so I am a drunk.: Lack of revelation of who they are. Too many Christians focus more on the outer image at the expense of inner image. They settle for less than they were created to be. The Word of God is the only influence that has the right to define you. But you will never discover your essential identity unless you have eyes to see and ears to hear.

17 We Also Have Chameleon Christians 17 A Chameleon changes his color to suit its environment for protection Chameleon Christians change according the circumstances. Some are indeed Christians on a Sunday morning. They come to church, worship, praise God, give offerings and even tithe. However Monday to Saturday they go clubbing, swear words, gossip, live in fornication, adultery, sexual promiscuity, lying, shout, yell, become moody, hold grudges, etc.. They say that they are only being themselves but there is no original self other than what God created us to be. A Chameleon Christian s Identity is only as good as the environment one finds himself/herself in

18 Contrast of Chameleon Christians 18 Chameleon Most chameleons change color in as little as 20 seconds. Light, temperature and mood cause chameleons to change color. Changing color can make the chameleon more comfortable and helps the animal communicate with other chameleons. Chameleons have the most distinctive eyes of any reptile seeing things from every direction While the chameleon s tongue is typically thought to 2 times the length of their body projecting and reaching its prey in as little as 0.07 seconds. While Chameleon s are not deaf, they do not hear very well. They have a sharp tongue, but a deafening ear. Chameleon Christian Chameleon Christians blend in with their surrounding environment and allow the culture to influence their moods, attitudes, and character. They change their identity in an instance in order to make themselves more comfortable. Their vision allows them to see and experience every walk of life, understanding where each path will lead them to. Their tongue are sharp and long, able to cut down and belittle others. While our tongue is the smallest member of our body, it definitely controls us. They refuse to hear the truth, but they do whatever appeases their flesh. It is not that they cannot hear, but they turn a deaf ear to what they know deep down is right.

19 Don t Choose the World s Identity 19 1 John 2:15 - Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The love of the world disconnects us from the love of the Father and we lose our connected identity with Him John 15:19 - "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Don t be deceived. The world only loves you as long as you are a participant in what they do and believe. Don t follow every movement. Be sensitive to the movement of the Spirit of God.

20 Stop Trying to Pick a Jersey 20 Pastor Tony Evans used the analogy of a football game where you have two opposing sides. The referee, although he is on the field, is not truly a part of the game. He is there with the rules and principles of the game and occasionally has to make the call. You are in the world, but you are not to be of this world. As believers, our greatest benefit is not to get caught up in the game. We don t have to pick a jersey, but it would be good that we provides the rules, principles and concepts of the game and occasionally make the call when necessary. (i.e. What is a foul or penalty as it relates to God s Word) Jesus God has called you to be a Light to the world, but to pick a Jersey means to take a side. It means to sometimes take on the characteristics of the team you ve chosen.

21 Practical Living Ministry 21 Practical Living Ministry mission is to impact the lives of God s people by providing biblical concepts for practical, spiritual, living. To fulfill the Great Commission appointed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ through witnessing, discipleship, and equipping the saints of God. You can reach us on our website at: