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Stepping Into Your New Identity: Letting Go of Who You Were to Embrace Who You Are · Called to Build

• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Today, I want to discuss the topic of stepping into your new identity and letting go of who you were, to embrace who you are.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: There is a tension every leader, entrepreneur, and faith-driven person will face at some point.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: The struggle to let go of an identity that has become too small for the destiny God is unfolding.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Often the greatest enemy to our next season isn't failure, it's comfort with the familiar.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: But when God calls you to a new level, clinging to who you were can sabotage who you are meant to become.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Isaiah 61.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: The comfort of a familiar identity.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: We naturally find comfort in what we know.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Success, titles, even painful seasons can create a framework that feels safe.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Even when life changes, it's tempting to cling to those frameworks because they once served us well.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes, though, what once protected us becomes what imprisons us.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you are wrestling today, ask yourself, am I clinging to a role, a title, or a season that no longer represents who I am becoming?
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: What fear is keeping me from stepping into the new?
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Let me start with this personal example.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Wearing the clothes of poverty.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: In 2010 and 2011, I lost nearly everything.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Our family found ourselves living with friends, surviving on sheer faith.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: During that time, I unknowingly adopted a poverty identity.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Even after circumstances improved, the mindset lingered.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: I could afford new clothes, but instead I found myself wearing worn-out shirts with stains and holes.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't about money, it was about how I still saw myself.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: God had provided new opportunities, new resources, and new doors.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: But inwardly I was still living in yesterday's losses.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: It took intentional surrender for me to recognize.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the breakthrough happens before we give ourselves permission to live like it.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Deep reflection.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Are you still carrying the clothes of a past season, even when God has already provided new garments for you?
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: When the old title no longer fits.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Another area where we cling to the past is with our titles.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Titles are important.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: They represent seasons of calling, authority, and relationship.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: But when a title no longer reflects the season God has called you into, it can become a weight instead of a mantle.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Let me give you another personal example.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Letting go of pastor.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: In December 2024, my pastoral role at Restoration Church came to a close.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: For years, Pastor Carl had been a title people associated with me.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Even after stepping out of that role, many still called me pastor, reinforcing an identity God had already released me from.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: At first I wrestled, who was I without that title?
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: God gently reminded me, you are not your title.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: You are my son, you are my ambassador.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: You are a leader in my kingdom, regardless of the labels men attach to you.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Titles honor the past, but they must not define your future.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Reflection Questions What title or label are you still wearing because it's how others see you?
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: What would it look like to lay it down and trust God to redefine you?
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Identity is forged in the fire, not in the comfort zone.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you are feeling the heat right now, don't curse it.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: God forges your new identity in the fire, not the easy chair.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's not punishment, it's preparation.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: He will purify and refine them like gold and silver.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Malachi 3 3.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Deep wrestling, where is God allowing discomfort to push you toward transformation?
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: You must fight to possess the land God has given you.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Stepping into your new season means confronting the giants of fear, insecurity, and old mindsets.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Boldness isn't optional, it is essential.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Be strong and courageous.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Do not be afraid, for the Lord your God goes with you.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Deuteronomy 31 6.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Press in, take ground.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Your new identity is territory that must be actively possessed.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Obedience over outcome.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, success in God's eyes is measured by your obedience, not by the immediate results you see.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Proverbs three five.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Obey Him even when it doesn't make logical sense.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Trust him when outcomes are uncertain.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Faithfulness is your victory.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: The old season was preparation, not definition.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Everything you have walked through, every win, every loss, every desolate place was preparing you, not defining you.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Romans 8 28.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Honor the lessons, but don't idolize the past.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: You are called to build forward.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: You're called to build legacy, not just make transitions.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: How you walk through this matters because others are watching, your children, your spiritual sons and daughters, your community.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Titus 2 7.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: You are not just shifting seasons, you are modeling legacy.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Someone else's breakthrough may depend on your courage today.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: How to transition gracefully and boldly.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: One, recognize the shift.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Pay attention when your spirit becomes restless.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: God often stirs dissatisfaction when it's time to move forward.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Two, honor the past.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Thank God for the seasons, titles, and experiences that shaped you, but don't camp there.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Three, update your self-view.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Ask God to help you see yourself as He does today, not as you were yesterday.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Four, accept some will resist.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Not everyone will understand your new season, and that's okay.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Your obedience isn't for their approval.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Five, walk fully in your new assignment.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: No apologies, no shrinking, no half steps.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Transformation practice.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: Write down the old names you have carried.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Pray over them.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Physically tear the paper and symbolically leave them at the foot of the cross.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Declare aloud, I embrace the new name, new assignment, and new identity God has given me.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: A prayer to embrace your new identity.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Heavenly Father, I come before you today, ready to lay down every old identity, every worn out title, and every label that no longer serves your purpose for my life.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the seasons that shaped me, but I will not allow them to define me.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: I choose today to step into the fullness of who you say I am, a new creation, called, chosen, and commissioned for such a time as this.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Give me the courage to let go.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Give me the strength to walk boldly.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Give me the eyes to see myself as you see me.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: I declare that I will no longer live small, hidden, or bound by the fear of man.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: I embrace my new assignment, my new identity, and the new season you are leading me into all for your glory in Jesus' name.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Declaration stepping into my new identity.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: I am not who I was, I am who God says I am.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: I lay down every old title, every old limitation, and every old fear.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: I rise today in the strength, authority, and identity Christ has given me.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: I walk boldly into my calling, I walk fully into my destiny.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: I will not shrink back, I will not stay small.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: The world will see Christ in me, fully alive, fully surrendered, fully victorious.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name, amen.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: The invitation to walk boldly.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: You are not who you used to be.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: God has expanded your heart, your calling, and your influence.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Your job is not to apologize for it, your job is to steward it.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new is here.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: 2 Corinthians 5 17.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Today I challenge you.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: What old identity do you need to lay down?
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Let it go.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Step into the fullness of who you are becoming.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: The world needs the real you, the now you more than ever.