Opening with Scripture

Let’s break bread together by turning to the book of 1 Peter 1:3-9 (ASV):

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

5 who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials,

7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ:

8 whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him no

9 receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
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I find that a very few Christian people will argue with the truth of assured victory in Christ. In other words, when we became saved we recognized that God has already secured the victory over satan. We won’t argue that God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. We won’t argue that there is nothing God can’t handle. There’s no mountain too high to climb and no valley too low to come out of. We won’t argue that the bible contains the true and divine Word of God, that God can’t lie, and that He keeps His promises. We believe that He will never leave or forsake us and that He loves us and provides for us. It’s in the Word.

What is disheartening is that even though we believe all these things, why is it so often that our lives don’t reflect our beliefs? Why is it so often, so difficult, to find a smile on a Christian face, or rejoicing in a Christian heart, or strong joyful commitment to Christian duties? Why do we find ourselves stuck in circumstances we know we ought to be delivered from? We find ourselves bound up and weighed down by burdens we should be free from. The reason - some of us just don’t know the real biblical truth about who we really are in Christ. So today our topic is “Who You Really Are”.

Born Again!!

Satan’s biggest weapon against you is to keep you from understanding and acting on the things we will be talking about today. If satan can keep you from understanding who you truly are, he can continue to hold you hostage and keep you from receiving what God has for you. He doesn’t want you to know that you no longer have chains on you. He doesn’t want you to know that who you used to be and what you used to do doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want you to know that the fact that you aren’t worthy, aren’t perfect doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want you to focus on the fact that you are who God says you are (1 Peter 1:3,23). You’re new, different, set free. The old you died. The you that was in bondage died. The you that was confused and uncertain died.

You have new hope now through new birth. You were born initially with a birth defect. You were born sin-riddled and corrupt. But when you were born again, when you experienced spiritual rebirth, that birth defect was corrected and removed.

You Are a Christian!!

You need to understand that now that you are born again, you don’t have to try and live like a Christian. You are a Christian. Let go of that old habit of identifying yourself by what you do and start identifying yourself by who you are. Satan loves for us to think of ourselves in terms of what we do. If we’re saved but we abuse alcohol, satan wants us to think of ourselves as nothing more than an alcoholic. That is not who you really are! You are a Christian with a serious drinking problem. You’re saved but you’re heavy of heart because you’ve stolen something from someone. Satan says you’re just a common thief. That’s not who you really are. You are a Christian who made a bad choice, a bad decision. One perspective says you have no power, the other says you have access to all power! One says nothing ever changes, the other says everything has already changed. A Christian is not perfect. Christians can still do things wrong, but those things don’t define you. You aren’t what you do, but who God says you really are. You still need to confess your sins, deal with them, and turn from them, but you still are who God says you really are. Think of it this way - your identity is determined by birth. Your natural birth labeled you as defective, born under the burden of sin, lost and corrupt. That was who you were. No matter what position you gain in life, no matter how much worth you amass or how nice a person you try to be, your identity stays the same. But now look at 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says (ASV) “17 Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new”. You accepted Christ and you were born again (who you really are!!)

A New Creature

Now you have a new nature, a divine nature, a God-given nature. The burden has been lifted, the defect repaired, the sin atoned for, your direction fixed. You are not the same. Your new birth has redefined you. You might still be doing some of the same things, but you are not the same person. Your spirit has been renewed. Now it’s up to you to renew your mind. It starts with a clear understanding of who you are and whose you are. Satan will tell you you’re the same person you used to be, but you’re not. You’re new and you’ve got new reserves, new resources, new hope, new peace, and newfound joy.

Don’t be confused about who you really are. Changing what you do, how you act is rooted in understanding who you are. Nothing can stop you from living right and wanting to do it. I told you the new nature in you is divine, is perfect. It cannot practice sin. It won’t let you continue in sin. When we make a mistake, we have a habit of saying, “I’m only human.” That’s no longer true for you. Now you are more than that. You have divinity in you. If you look at Galatians 2:20, it sums up perfectly who you are by saying “20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.” Adopt, memorize and internalize this verse. When satan tries to take you back to the cemetery of your old life, call it back up and speak it out loud.

Child of God

This is who you really are, Child of God. What you were before was crucified with Christ. You are not some patched up, converted sinner. You are holy in the sight of God. Your new identity, your true identity gives you hope that soon the change in your spirit will be matched by a change in your thinking and a change in your actions. It is time to step up in the courtroom and testify that satan no longer has authority over you. Satan isn’t going to like it. He’s going to come after you, but don’t worry. God’s got the best witness protection plan. You’ve been set up with a brand new identity. Your old records have been erased. Satan can’t use those against you anymore. He can’t even find you anymore because you don’t live where you used to live. You don’t reside in those dark places anymore. He’s got nothing on you and nothing to use against you. By the power and grace of God and by the sacrifice of Christ, you have been cleaned up and set free. Rejoice in the real you. Praise God for a new birth and a new beginning and declare victory over your old thoughts and your old actions.

Who you really are is holy! Who you really are is righteous! Who you really are is sanctified! Look at you now! There’s something different about the who you really are because you told the Lord “not my will, but thine oh Lord.” Now look who you really are! You used to be spiritually dirty and unkept, sin-riddled and broken down. Something happened when you handed your life over to God. A change, a wonderful change came over you.

Because of Christ

Because of Christ, you became holy and righteous. Because of His blood, you became clean on the inside. Because of His sacrifice, you became spotless and blameless in the sight of God. The devil thought he had you, but your Father told Satan to get his filthy hands off of you. God told satan, “You can’t touch this! This is my child and he is beautifully and wonderfully made!” There is nobody quite like a child of God, the real you. We’re strange and peculiar, sanctified and set apart. The world doesn’t know what to do with us. They don’t understand the real joy that let’s you praise God and rejoice in abundance when the refrigerator is empty and the cabinets are bare.

Real peace let’s you show unconditional love for your spouse and to declare and rejoice in the healing of your marriage even as satan tries to rip it apart. The world doesn’t understand how the real you can smile and sing praises even while you’re driving your broken down car from your broken down house to your broken down job. The world doesn’t understand how you can shout alleluia and have joy when your body is wracked with pain. They don’t understand the real you because where there is pain and sickness, you can declare healing. Where there is sorrow and heavy burden, you can declare deliverance. Where there is never enough, you can declare more than enough. There is something about a child of God – who you really are. The world can’t understand how you can be happy, joyful when your money’s not right and your job’s not right and your child’s not right and your man or woman’s not right. But there is something about God’s child, who you really are, that let’s you say “this joy I have, the world didn’t give it to me and the world can’t take it away!” You are a power-filled person. Singularly, you can do all things through Christ Jesus, but when all of God’s children get together, what a time, what a time, what a time!

Conclude

You are a child of the King! That is who you really are! You’re blessed in the city. You’re blessed in the field. You’re blessed coming and going. You caste down every stronghold. Sickness and poverty must cease. You can say that right now the devil is defeated because the real you, God’s child, is blessed! There’s something about a child of God, who you really are, that let’s you say when I look back over my life and think things over, I can truly say that I am blessed. I have a testimony!

Satan says you can’t have anything, but God says you’re my child and you can have the desires of your heart. The devil says you can’t accomplish anything, but the Word says child of God, you can do all things through Christ. Satan wants to remind you of where you came from, but by the grace and mercy of God and the sacrifice of Jesus who set you free, you can rejoice in where you’re going. The chains are broken. The shackles have fallen away. The prison doors have been yanked off of their hinges. Don’t ever be confused again about who you really are. Let you who really are, that child of God, shine forth. God has a purpose and direction for you. He has peace, joy, and blessings for you. He has a role for the real you to play in His plan for a world in need of salvation.

AMEN, AMEN, and PRAISE GOD!