Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 263 | Your Identity Is In Christ - Overcoming Judgment and Opinions

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263 | Your Identity Is In Christ - Overcoming Judgment and Opinions · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  Music.
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  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries,
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  where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus like the woman at the
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  well in John chapter four.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org,
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  we invite you to sit down with us as we look to the scriptures to learn more
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  about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Living her life for Christ, she's a happy girl.
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  Music.
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  She's a happy girl.
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  In today's world, everyone has an opinion, and most are very quick to express it.
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  People walk around judging those around them as if they have the authority to do so.
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  The results are that many among us are beaten down, battered, and misled.
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  Join us in this podcast of Women at the Well Ministries as Kim takes us on a
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  journey through the scriptures, revealing that Christ, and Christ alone,
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  has the authority to tell us who we are.
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  Our identity is in Christ, and His opinion and judgment is the only one that matters.
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  He speaks truth, and it is He who sets your identity.
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  Hello and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries
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  and what an amazing truth it is to know that our identity is in Christ Jesus.
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  Let's pray. Our kind and most gracious to heavenly Father Lord,
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  I ask that you would remove me from this message,
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  that you would use this vessel of clay and speak words that are life-changing
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  and transforming people people, into the person you want them to be.
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  Allow them to see themselves as you see them, Lord.
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  Help us to gain from your word that which you would have us to gain.
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  Help us to be the people that encourage and lift up.
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  But most of all, may we walk away from this time with you, knowing who we are
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  in you. And in Jesus' name we pray.
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  Amen. men. There's a familiar account in John chapter 8 of a woman who is caught
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  in the act of adultery and those who catch her,
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  they seem exuberant to bring her to Jesus.
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  And in John chapter 8, verse 5, they begin to speak about, you know,
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  in Moses's law, He commanded them that if someone someone was caught in adultery,
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  that they should be stoned.
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  And they're asking Jesus, but what sayest thou?
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  And they are tempting Him that He might, have to accuse them.
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  But Jesus, He stoops down in the sand.
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  And with His fingers, or a finger, He writes on the ground.
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  As if whatever they had to say didn't matter. As if He didn't hear them.
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  And the scripture doesn't tell us what Jesus writes, but He tells us what happens.
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  And so as we come upon this scene in scripture,
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  what I want you to do is I want you to think about whatever it is that thing
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  is in your life that the devil continually brings in in front of your mind and
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  places on your heart that makes you feel unworthy,
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  that makes you feel,
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  bad or makes you feel like as if you are less than.
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  Because with Jesus, we are greater than. Because greater is He that is in us
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  than he that is in the world in 1 John 4.4.
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  The world was going to deplete you.
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  The world wants to take away from you. In 1 Peter 5, 8, we're told that the
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  devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
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  He is trying to make you downcast.
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  He's trying to make you feel bad about yourself.
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  He's trying to let you see yourself through fleshly eyes. He wants you to feel less than.
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  But in Christ, we are more than.
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  We are more than conquerors in Romans 8, 37. And so if you're listening to this message,
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  I encourage you to hang in there for the next few minutes with me as we walk
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  through this beautiful love letter
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  from Genesis to Revelations that Jesus penned and that God inspired.
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  And when I say Jesus penned, I'm telling you, the gospel of Christ was written
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  with His blood because it's His blood shed on the cross of Calvary that washes away all your sins.
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  And when the devil comes knocking at your heart and he comes speaking in your
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  mind, you need to ask the Lord to take thoughts that are like that and make
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  them captive to the word of God.
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  And today we're going to look at the word of God so that you are equipped to
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  put to rest the lies of the devil.
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  The truth is, Romans 3:23 says that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
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  So I promise you, in that way, we are all unworthy of the love of Christ.
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  But He doesn't give us His love ....
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  He doesn't give us His salvation because we are worthy. He gives it to us because He loves us.
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  In John chapter 3:16, He says, for God so loved the world that He
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  gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
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  but have everlasting life.
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  Whosoever, you're going to be caught a lot of things in this world,
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  but none of them will be more greater than whosoever.
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  Because we're also told that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
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  And in Romans 5:8, He tells us, but God commendeth His love toward us,
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  in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
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  You're right, on your own and in your flesh.
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  We don't deserve the unmerited grace of Jesus Christ, which saves us.
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  See, in Ephesians 2:8-9, He says, For by grace are you saved through faith,
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  and that not of yourselves.
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  It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
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  You've got nothing in it.
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  It's all about Him and His love for you. The scripture tells us he's no respecter of persons.
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  What He did for Daniel in the lion's den, He’ll do for you.
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  What He did for the three Hebrew children in a fiery furnace,
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  he'll do for you. What He did for Noah in the ark, He’ll do for you.
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  What He did for the widow woman who was running out of food, He’ll do for you.
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  What He did for the woman with the issue of blood, He’ll do for you.
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  See Jesus Christ changed
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  everything when He gave himself
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  as a ransom for our sins and
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  it's His precious blood shed abroad in our hearts that makes us worthy and it's
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  his love that caused Him to want to change us and transform us into what would be worthy See,
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  what we see in John chapter 8 is we're pushing up into this verse 7.
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  What we see is a legalistic, holier-than-thou, wanting-to-punish-somebody mentality.
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  But when we get to verse 11 and Jesus speaks again, we see love.
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  And we understand the verse that says love covers a multitude of sins.
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  So as you're getting ready to listen as we unfold and unwrap John chapter 8
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  and we undergird it with multiple passages of scripture in His holy love letter to you,
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  I want you to once and for all lay your burden down.
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  Give it to the Lord and tell the devil he has no place in your life.
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  And though your sins were a scarlet, they are white as snow.
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  See, what some of us are doing, and I hope today puts a rest to that,
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  is some of us are allowing the devil to create our identity.
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  He neither has the power or the authority or the good sense to do so,
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  but yet we allow him to do that.
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  But I want to show you what Jesus has told us.
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  See, in 2 Corinthians 5:17, He says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
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  he is a new creature. Old things are passed away.
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  Behold, all things are become new.
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  Now, many times we use that scripture to remind us that we are no longer serving
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  the flesh. We are no longer servants of sin.
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  Sin no longer has dominion over us. And all of that is true.
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  But today, I want you to read it with the understanding that what he's saying
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  is all those things that made you a servant of sin,
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  all those things that created your identity in the flesh, they are no longer part of who you are.
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  And if they're not part of who you are, how can they possibly define who you are?
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  They're no longer part of your story because all of those those things have
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  been transformed by the blood of Jesus.
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  You're regenerated into a holy person, acceptable and pleasing to the Lord.
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  Your want-tos have changed.
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  Your mindset has changed. And listen to me clearly. Your story is being rewritten.
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  And it's being rewritten by the blood of Jesus Christ.
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  And nothing or no one can blot it out because John 10 28 says that no man shall.
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  Pluck you out of the hand of God.
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  And nothing can refute it because He is the one and true living God and the only authority.
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  But in verse 7, these people who have brought her to Jesus, Jesus,
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  holding her past against her, holding her works against her.
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  And we don't have a works relationship with Jesus, but our love for Him will cause us to work for him.
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  James explains that. But when we get to verse seven, He says,
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  so when they continued asking him, He lifted up himself and said unto them,
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  he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
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  Here is is the only one fit to judge and the one who truly could have said,
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  you're not worthy to stand in my presence, but I want you to see what He did
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  instead. He became her advocate.
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  He who was without sin did not cast the first stone.
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  And remember, He was writing something in the sand. And my personal opinion
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  is He was writing sins in the sand.
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  See, we judge people because they sin differently than us.
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  Now, as Christians, we should not habitually sin, but we do find ourselves living
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  in the world and we have to come to Him and confess our sins.
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  And he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
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  unrighteousness when we receive Him as Savior and daily as we wash the sins
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  of the world away from us so that our heart stays in tune and focused on the one true living God.
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  But something interesting happens. He steps down or stoops down and He begins to write again.
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  And those that heard it were convicted by their own conscience.
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  See, when you're in the presence of Jesus, he's always cleaning up.
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  He cleans up your heart. He cleans up your mind. And He cleans up your life.
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  Because he's pure holiness. And he's light.
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  And in His light, He removes the darkness of this world. You want true happiness and joy?
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  Sit in the presence of Jesus.
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  So when Jesus lifted up himself again and He saw none but the woman,
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  this is what He said to her. Woman, where are those thine accusers?
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  Hath no man condemned thee?
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  See, in the light of Jesus, man's words fail.
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  I want you to see how beautiful it is that He has given us this passage of scripture.
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  See, all that the people had said before became worthless and of no value and powerless.
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  Because in the presence of Jesus, that's exactly what they were.
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  See, up until the point that she comes to Jesus, Jesus all those people around
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  her who were berating her and harassing her and demeaning her they had great power.
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  I can only imagine what she must have looked like as they brought her there,
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  but Jesus this is what He said to her neither do I condemn thee go and sin no more.
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  We're new creatures in Christ and we need to set our affection on things above,
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  but the power of the words around you only have the amount of power you give them,
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  they're not speaking truth they're talking about a story that was you're living
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  a life that is is two different things.
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  We may not be able to erase our past, but He can erase the sins of our past.
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  Did you hear me? Let me say that one more time loud for those in the back.
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  You may not be able to erase the sins of the past, but He can.
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  Jesus loves me. This I know.
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  And so if man's words do not write truth, and man's words do not go down in
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  history, because remember, He says that your sins are forgiven as far as the east is from the west.
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  Then where is your identity?
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  The Bible tells us in Colossians 3, verses 1 through 4, this.
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  If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,
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  where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. God.
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  Set your affection on things above, not on things of the earth.
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  For you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.
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  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him
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  in glory. Listen to verse 3.
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  For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.
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  The things of the flesh no longer have viability.
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  The things of the flesh, your life that was serving sin as a master has been
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  buried in the sea of forgetfulness in the mind of Christ,
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  because you are now hid in Christ.
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  Your identity is in Christ. Your identity is who He says you are.
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  Your identity is one in which He is the author and the finisher and the creator.
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  It's what Almighty God says that you are.
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  See, because Ephesians 2:10 says, We are His workmanship, created in Christ
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  Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
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  The story that's told, the story that is written, is the one in which you are hidden in Christ.
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  It's when you become who God has asked you to be, who God has intended you to
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  be, who God will strengthen you to be, who God will help you be who He wants you to be.
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  Who you are in Christ Jesus is a born again believer whose sins have been washed
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  away, who's loved unconditionally, who is exalted above all of anything man
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  can give you or do because the Lord is on my side.
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  Whom will I fear? or what can man do unto me?
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  In Psalms 118:6, the answer to that question is man can only do unto you that which you allow him.
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  And when you fix your mind on Christ Jesus, you'll have a peace that passes
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  understanding and a joy unspeakable and full of glory.
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  Jesus died that you might have Have your identity in him.
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  Don't neglect to live a dynamic spirit field.
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  God-loving, God-seeking, holy life, zealous of good works.
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  Because you're hanging among the dead works of your previous life.
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  See, the disciples were told to go and preach and teach the gospel.
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  Let the dead bury the dead. What he's telling us right here in Colossians is
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  that's your old way of life.
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  Like He said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, that's the old way of life.
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  But you're a new creature and you're hidden in Christ.
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  And that's the story He told us to go into all the world and tell.
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  Whatever it is that the devil continually brings up that tells you that you're
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  unworthy, that He can't use you, that His love and His mercy and His grace is for somebody else.
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  I want you to go back to John chapter 8 and replace her sin with yours.
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  And He didn't throw the stone. The one who could did not throw the stone.
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  Instead, He threw love, mercy, and grace.
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  And because of the transforming power of Jesus Christ in the life of a true
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  believer, He commanded her to do what she could do through His strength and His power.
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  He said, go and send them. Friends, set your affections on things above.
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  Be hid in Christ Jesus and walk truly in His ways.
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  The world doesn't get to define who you are because Jesus Christ paid the price for you.
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  Jesus Christ bought the rights to who you are Jesus Christ in first Corinthians
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  6 19 through 20 gave us this know ye not that your body is the temple of the
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  Holy Ghost which is in you,
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  which ye have of God, and you're not your own.
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  Do you understand the importance of what he's saying?
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  The flesh, that's what you own. But when we're hidden in Christ Jesus,
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  as we're told in Colossians.
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  Are now the temple of God. And the Holy Spirit dwells in us,
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  teaching us and leading us and guiding us and directing us.
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  And we're no longer our own. We're no longer servants of sin.
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  We're no longer living in the flesh.
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  Because verse 20 says, for you were bought with a price.
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  Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God.
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  My identity, it's in Christ Jesus. My story is now in God's hands.
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  Oh friend, if you can grasp this truth, you will have broken the stronghold
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  of the Satan on your life, on your mind, and on your heart.
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  Jesus said you're mine and I love you and I bought the price paid the price
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  and bought your salvation and I give it to you as a free gift,
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  and the things of this world no longer get to identify.
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  Who you are they are dead to you and you are alive in Christ Jesus Jesus,
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  live in the blessings and favor of God.
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  And today, right now, stop living below your privileges because you're allowing
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  man and the devil to create your identity.
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  Today is the day you give devil the boot and you place Christ as King of your
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  heart and Lord of your life and accept your identity in Christ Jesus.
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  Mark 9.23 says, All things are possible to him that believeth.
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  Don't let Satan write your story.
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  Live in the blessing of God.
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  Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  Music.
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  You for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for quotes
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  from today's podcast and scripture references.
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  We pray today has been a blessing and we encourage you to reach out to us through
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  our app, our website, or our Facebook page.
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  You can find our app by searching for a woman at the well ministries in your
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  app store or through our website at watwm.org.
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  a daily devotion written by Kim and delivered Monday through Friday by text message.
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  Woman at the Well Ministries is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving our Heavenly Father.
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  And it is through your loving and generous support that our ministry continues to bless others.
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  To learn how to partner with Woman at the Well Ministries, please visit our website.
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  Thank you to the gospel group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song,
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  Happy Girl. We greatly appreciate your prayers.
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  We are praying daily for our listeners.
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  Remember that God loves you. You.
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  Music.