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Breaking Off False Labels: Knowing Your True Identity in God · Fostering Faith

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  Welcome back to Fostering Faith. We are here
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  and it is our first episode of March. We have
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  made it to month three. And so welcome back to
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  Fostering Faith. If you are a return listener,
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  we welcome you back home. We hope that these
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  messages are inspiring you, encouraging you to
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  dive into God's. Word. And if you are a new listener,
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  welcome to Fostering Faith. We are here fostering
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  our faith together as we walk through scripture
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  together and we are better in communities. So
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  this is why we're putting these podcasts out.
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  We do want to remind you that we do have Word
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  books now associated with each podcast. And so
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  they are out on our website, fosteringfaithmedia
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  .com. And so go check that stuff out there. We
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  have a newsletter that's going to be out. And
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  so sign up for that, put your email in and let's
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  grow in Christ together. So something to me is
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  so powerful. I think that we put labels on ourselves
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  and I teach the kids this, I teach patients this,
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  I try to teach myself this. And so in this episode,
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  we're going to be calling it who God says we
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  are, our identity in Christ. And so there's something
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  powerful about knowing who you are, but something
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  is more powerful about knowing who you are in
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  Christ because identity is the foundation of
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  everything that you do, your choices, your competence,
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  your relationships, your purpose, your calling,
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  the way that you pray, the way that you speak,
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  the way that you lead. All of that flows from
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  identity and an enemy knows this. And that's
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  why the identity is one of the first areas that
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  he will attack. The one the hardest hit areas
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  is the one that we need to protect the hardest.
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  And so if the devil can't destroy your calling,
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  He'll try to distort your identity. He's there
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  and He's going to try to ruin your purpose. He'll
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  try to convince you that you're unworthy of it.
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  If you can't stop the plan of God, He'll try
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  to stop you from being the person of God. And
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  He does that by whispering lies about who you
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  are. So as we step into March, this whole month
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  is going to be about the identity in Christ.
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  And today we're going to be starting off with
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  something foundational, something stable, something
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  eternal. who God says you are, not who you were
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  in your past, not who culture says that you are,
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  not who your family say that you are, not your
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  insecurities and not what other people say you
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  are, but who God says you are. And there's nothing
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  more stabilizing when we're hearing God's voice
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  over your life. And there's nothing more dangerous
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  than living from a false identity, because whatever
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  you don't know who you are, you will settle for
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  anything. You will accept any label. You will
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  believe any lie. You will shrink when God is
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  calling you to stand and you will compare yourself
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  to everyone else because you're not anchored
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  in who God has designed you to be. An identity
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  is not something for you to discover. It's something
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  God reveals. You don't create your identity.
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  You receive it. You don't decide who you are.
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  You discover who God already declared you to
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  be. You're given identity before you were even
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  given a breath. And when you're spoken over,
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  before you were spoken to, you were named before
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  you were born. In Psalm 139, God says, I knit
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  you together in your mother's womb. He didn't
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  mass produce you. He handcrafted you. He intentionally
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  designed you. Your personality, your wiring,
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  your strengths, your creativity, the way that
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  your mind works. The way that your heart feels
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  deeply, the way that you see the world and none
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  of it's random is divine architecture. And have
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  you guys ever knitted? I've never knitted, but
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  I've crocheted and just the intricacy and my
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  aunt who knitted like doilies and like signs
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  and stuff like that and just the integral parts
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  of it. And my dad was a woodworker back in the
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  day and he would make these plaques and these
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  wedding plaques and They were so intricate and
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  so delicate. And so if a human can make something
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  so perfectly designed and thought out, just think
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  how much effort and time and detail that God
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  put into you. Just how He knit every cell, every
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  structure, every part. If you understand the
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  biology of how the human body works, it is literally
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  amazing. And let me tell you something that the
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  enemy never wants you to realize. You are not
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  who you used to be. You are who God says that
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  you are. Your past does not define your identity.
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  Your trauma does not define your identity. Your
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  mistakes are not your identity. Your weaknesses
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  are not your identity. The worst days are not
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  your identity. Who you are in God created, redeemed,
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  called, empowered is who you are. And scripture
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  is full of identity statements, not about what
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  you do, but about who you are. And so listen
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  to this. You are chosen, Ephesians 1 .4. You
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  are loved, Jeremiah 31 .3. You are forgiven,
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  Colossians 1 .14. You are redeemed, Ephesians
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  1 .7. You are God's masterpiece, Ephesians 2
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  .10. And you are a child of God, John 1 .12.
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  You are a new creation, 2 Corinthians 5, 17.
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  You are strengthened, Philippians 4, 13. You
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  are set apart, 1 Peter 2, 9. You are free, John
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  8, 36. You are called, 2 Timothy 1, 9. You are
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  protected, Psalm 91. You are empowered, Acts
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  1, 8. You are known, Psalm 139. You are sealed
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  with the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 1, 13. and you
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  are never alone. Deuteronomy 31, 6. Identity
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  is not insecurity talking. Identity is not culture
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  talking. Identity is not fear talking. Identity
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  is God talking. And everything God says about
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  you is stable, eternal, and unchanging truth.
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  I think that we get into culture and we say,
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  oh, it's your truth. It's this truth. The truth
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  is scripture. The truth is what God said. There
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  is nothing that He has said that is not true.
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  It is truth. But here's the tension. Even though
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  God declares these things over us, many believers
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  still live in insecurity, fear, self -doubt,
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  imposter syndrome, and comparison. Why? Why do
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  we do this to ourselves? Because what God says
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  about us and what we believe about ourselves
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  don't always match. And spiritual maturity is
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  the process of being and your identity, bringing
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  your identity into agreement with heaven. Identity
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  is not a feeling. It's a declaration. It's sometimes
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  you had to declare the truth before you feel
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  the truth. You may not feel competent, but you
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  are chosen. You may not feel strong, but you
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  are empowered. You may not feel worthy, but you
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  are redeemed. You may not feel loved, but you
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  are deeply loved. And you may not feel enough,
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  but God has called you his masterpiece. And listen,
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  the enemy knows scripture better than you do.
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  He knows exactly what God speaks over your life.
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  And that's why he works overtime to contradict
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  it. The enemy will attack your identity with
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  lies, labels, comparison, insecurity, fear, shame,
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  doubt, voices of your past people, memories of
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  old seasons, the opinions of strangers, and the
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  pressure to perform. And the fear? a failure.
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  Satan never attacks who you are not. He attacks
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  who you are. He attacks the area of the greatest
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  spiritual potential. He hits on your confidence.
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  It's because you're called to lead. He hits your
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  voice because you're meant to speak. He's been
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  hitting your mind because you are anointed to
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  think with clarity. If he's hitting your worth,
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  it's because you're positioned for purpose. Identity
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  attacks always reveal identity assignments. So
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  let's talk about something practical. Identity
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  in Christ is not just spiritual. It's lived out.
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  It shows up in your decisions. It shows up in
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  the way that you respond to things. It shows
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  up in who you let speak into your life. It shows
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  up when you pay close attention. It shows up
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  on the way that you pray. It shows up in the
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  way that you walk into a room. It shows up in
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  the way that you handle conflict, and it shows
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  up in the standards you set. When you know who
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  you are, you stop apologizing for it. A child
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  of God does not shrink. A chosen person does
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  not compare. A forgiven person does not stay
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  stuck in shame. A loved person does not chase
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  love in unhealthy places. A cold person does
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  not belittle their purpose. A masterpiece does
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  not compare. with copies. Someone walking in
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  identity does not let insecurity narrate their
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  story. Identity is freedom. But I want to go
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  a little bit deeper. Identity is not about self
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  -esteem. Identity is about sound doctrine. Your
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  identity is built on theology and not feelings.
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  God says who you are. Full stop. You cannot bargain
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  with it. You cannot edit it. You cannot rewrite
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  it. You can only come into agreement with it.
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  When the prodigal son returned home in Luke 15,
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  he rehearsed a whole speech, I am no longer worthy,
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  just make me a servant. He had adopted the identity
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  of Shane. He was ready to downgrade himself,
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  but the father interrupted him and the father
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  said, bring the robe, bring the ring, bring the
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  men's sandals and kill the thighted calf. Why?
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  Because the son didn't get to choose who he was.
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  The father did. Identity is based on who the
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  father is. It's not who the child feels like
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  he is. And let me tell you something. You can't
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  outperform your identity. You can't overfill
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  your identity. You can't outrun your identity.
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  You can only reject it or receive it. Which are
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  we going to pick? Are you going to reject what
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  God has called you to do? Are you going to deny
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  your blessings that he's poured upon you? Are
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  you going to open your hands and say, I receive
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  it. I receive what you've put in me. Open my
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  eyes. And so for some of you listening right
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  now, the Holy Spirit is pulling you back into
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  alignment. Remember who you are. I think it was
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  on Malayan King, whenever Moose Basa was talking
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  to Simba. Remember whose you are. You are living
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  like a rejected person when God has called you
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  chosen. You're living like an orphan when God
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  has called you His child. You're living like
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  someone unloved when God's called you dearly
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  loved. And you're living like someone without
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  purpose when heaven is holding your calling with
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  both hands. Your reflection question this week
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  that's in the workbook is, Who does God say I
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  am? And what part of it Do I struggle to believe?
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  Sit with that. Let the Holy Spirit show you your
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  identity gap because healing happens in that
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  place, in the quiet, at His feet. And so we hope
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  that this message encouraged you. We hope that
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  this message opened your eyes to whose you are.
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  and that you are loved, that you are redeemed,
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  that you are chosen, that you're forgiven, that
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  you're a masterpiece, that you're a child of
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  God, that you're a new creation, that you are
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  strengthened, that you are set apart, that you
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  are free, that you are called, that you are protected,
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  that you are empowered, that you are known, that
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  you are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and that
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  you are never alone. And the enemy is going to
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  come after you with lies and labels and comparison,
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  insecurities, fear, shame, and doubt, voices
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  and memories and opinions and pressure to perform.
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  and fear of failure. But we're gonna say, you
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  know what? My God's already defeated you. My
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  dad already beat you. I will not listen to you.
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  My God said this. And that's why it's so important
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  for scripture to be written on your heart and
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  for you to know what scripture is. And how do
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  you know it? You read it, you spend time with
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  it. Whenever that timer goes off on your TikTok
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  and that you've already had your two hour limit,
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  don't escape it. Once your hour is up, go spend
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  it in scripture. Write it on your heart. And
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  for those living in other parts of the country,
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  in the USA, we're able to have these Bibles.
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  It's such a blessing to be able to have, I have
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  three Bibles sitting in front of me now, just
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  to be able to turn the scripture, the pages.
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  And just like that song that was out, we have
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  desks on our Bibles, but we have brand new iPhones.
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  Yes, you could have the YouVersion Bible app.
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  Yes, there's so many different apps that are
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  on the phone, but are you using them? Are you
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  using them to build and to remember who He said
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  that you are? This book is alive. He knows what
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  you need and He will turn scripture in. and you
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  could have read it a hundred times and you really
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  feel like he had came in there in the middle
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  of the night and just re -changed what that verse
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  said because you've read it before but this book
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  is alive and it is breathing and it is his breath
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  and it's just so exciting to see how he communicates
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  because he will use all the different things
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  just to make sure that you are aware that you
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  are loved and that you are seen and so we hope
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  this message encourages you if it did share it
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  like it Make sure that you're going to the website
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  and getting those workbooks. Maybe turn into
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  a small group session. Send it to a friend. And
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  so we would love to pray for over you. Dear Heavenly
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  Father, thank you so much for these listeners.
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  Thank you so much for declaring who we are before
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  the world ever had a chance to label us. Thank
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  you for reminding us of our identity. Thank you
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  for showing us that lives that we believe. Thank
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  you that you're breaking off every false label.
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  Thank you that you're bringing our identity into
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  alignment with heaven. Thank you for the help.
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  to live boldly as your sons and daughters. We
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  pray this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. So your
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  action set this week matches your workbook. Write
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  down the five things that God says about you
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  and declare them out loud every day. And identity
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  grows with repetition. We hope you have a great
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  week. We love you guys. Bye.