FORSAKEN IDENTITY

INTRODUCTION

I am so honored to be a part of this great conference. I want to thank Pastor Devin Gough for inviting me to speak at this year’s conference. When He asked me a year ago to be one the speakers at War Week I didn’t know that I would be speaking to you by way of video.

I know these have been difficult times for many of you, many in the body of Christ, but God is yet faithful. He has given us a way to still come together and fellowship in spite of the various obstacles that we are facing. I want to congratulate everyone who has worked behind the scenes to make this conference possible. Great work guys!

I’m not sure what has transpired so far during tonight’s event, but I want to take moment and just pray over the word we will be sharing with you tonight.

I want to talk to you from the subject FORSAKEN IDENTITY. We’re all familiar with the phrase ‘mistaken identity.’ Well, today I want to talk to you about ‘forsaken identity.’

Personal Identity is something that everyone is in search of. Moreover, it seems everyone wants to answer the question, “Who am I?” More specifically, we want to know who we are apart from our parents and even our siblings. Sure, if you were to ask our parents they could tell you who we are and who we are going to be. But, no one wants to accept the identity their parents have for them, at least not in the beginning. It’s not until you have matured a little that you find yourself embracing the life and identity that your parents (or God) had in mind for you.

But what happens when the identity you were meant to have is lost (or worse—forsaken) during your early years? Can you still reclaim it? Such is the case in our text. It’s taken from the second chapter of Ezra.

Ezra 2:61–62 KJV 1900

61 And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name: 62 These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.

What’s happening? Well, Israel was taken captive and had their land and temple destroyed after being invaded by the Babylonians. About 70 years after this, they were permitted to return to their homeland to rebuild their nation. Ezra, along with other leaders like Zerubabbel, Nehemiah, led a wave of Israelites back to Jerusalem.

Now, those who returned to Jerusalem consisted of people from every class of society, including Levites and members from priestly families. As Ezra is helping to reestablish their community and, in particular, their religion he discovers that some of the Israelites had become so assimilated with other families in Babylon that they lost their family ties.

Anyone who has studied Hebrew culture will tell you that a person’s family ties is what gave them a right (made them eligible) for certain vocations. There were certain vocations in Israel that required a person to prove their ties with certain Hebrew families. The priesthood was one of those. A person had to prove that they descended from the line of Aaron to participate as a priest.

When the Jews returned home to Jerusalem, there was nothing more desirable than being a part of the priesthood. You can see how children from these families were eager to claim their stake. Now, there were 3 names cited in this passage:

The children (descendants) of Habaiah

The children (descendants) of Koz (Hakkoz)

The children (descendants) of Barzillai

I want to focus specifically on the last family—children of Barzillai. The reason I want to focus on them is because ‘Barzillai’ wasn’t even this man’s real last name. ‘Barzillai’ was the name of his wife’s family.

This was a case where the husband took the wife’s last name. Why? Apparently, his wife’s family was very wealthy. Barzillai was not a priest, but he was a very notable person. Therefore, this man may have taken his wife’s name to secure an inheritance with her father. We have a case of this today. Shawn Carter (Jay Z) took his wife’s name. His name is now Shawn Knowles.

Apparently, he adopted his wife’s last name because being the son of Barzillai seemed to be more to be more desirable than being the son of a priest, especially in Babylon where priests carried no fame. The only problem is that when he cut his ties with his priestly family he disqualified himself from the priesthood!

I can remember growing up and never really wanting anyone to know that I was a PK (preacher’s kid). Being the son of a minister/pastor just didn’t seem all that desirable to me then. In fact, I tried hard to sever any ties I had with the ministry (preaching). I wanted to be anything other than a preacher. Thankfully, God never allowed me to get too far away. But, I know other PK’s that weren’t so fortunate.

How many of you have tried to pass for someone else? How many of you have secretly tried to sever your ties with your family or with God? I want to offer you a little advice...

LEARN TO ACCEPT YOUR IDENTITY

I know you’re young it seems like the ‘in thing’ to do (i.e. reject the identity that’s been given to you by your family or God), and go on a quest to find (or determine) your own identity. The Devil tempted Jesus with this same proposition.

Matthew 4:8–10 KJV 1900

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

The Devil is always trying to get us to exchange our God-given identity with some short-term pursuit.

Hebrews 12:16 NKJV

16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

Birthrights are things you don’t have to fight for, things that you are entitled to and have a right to. Many times we find ourselves fighting for things that don’t belong to us, while the things that have already been given to us we reject.

Can you think of some things that we are entitled to as children of God? Understand, that when you reject and forfeit your identity, you are also forfeiting your right to these things!

Hebrews 12:17 KJV 1900

17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Esau later realized that he has made a big mistake in rejecting his identity and forfeiting his birthright. However, the Bible says that he “found no place of repentance.” This a reminder that sometimes our choices (or our mistakes) have lasting consequences! Life is not like your laptop computer. You can’t always just press undo or go into the trash and retrieve something you deleted. Sometimes when you erase or sever your ties with our family or God, you can’t go back and reclaim it later in life!

CONCLUSION

I don’t know where you are in your journey. You may be someone who’s searching for a new identity because you are not pleased with the one you were given. Or, you may be someone who desperately wants an identity/relationship with God. In either case, I want you to understand that there’s no greater identity a person can have than the one God gives to them.

Don’t accept the name (identity) that the world tries to place upon you. Instead, embrace the ‘new’ name (identity) that God is pronouncing over you.

“Thou shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.”

Moreover, this new name comes with a new nature and a whole new set of privileges and blessings. But, to receive them, you must never trade away your identity. It is as you identify with we family name that we are able to lay claim on the privileges and rights that that this name provides us.