Living in Your True Identity in Christ - Embracing God’s Love and Purpose

Loving Yourself as God Loves You

Love your neighbor as you love yourself (Matthew 22:39). You can’t love your neighbor if you don’t love yourself. The best thing you could do for your neighbor is to love you. In fact, Paul goes on to talk to men about their wives, and he says, “Husbands, love your wives as you love your own flesh, for no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it” (Ephesians 5:28-33). The best thing you can do for others is to first love yourself.

False humility—thinking badly about yourself—is not called humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s just thinking of yourself less. When you feel bad about yourself, you’re still the center of attention because you’re still thinking about you. This whole idea about how we should think about ourselves is important.

Why don’t you try loving yourself the way God loves you? Because if you loved you the way God loves you, you would never be afraid of someone not loving you. We spend our lives building cases against people. You’ll never let someone love you more than you love yourself. When someone tries to love you more than you love you, you build a case against them. The more you want someone to love you, the greater the fear you’ll have. You begin to reject them before they can reject you.

If some people don’t like you, that’s not your problem. But if everyone doesn’t like you, that probably has little to do with them and everything to do with you. Not everyone is going to like you, but if nobody likes you, it’s probably because you don’t like yourself.

Jesus, Peter, James, and Paul all used this statement in some form: “If you humble yourself, you’ll be exalted at the proper time” (1 Peter 5:6). You are famous in heaven. The Father has written your name on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16).

Jesus was crucified at a place called Golgotha—it means “the skull.” (Matthew 27:33, Mark 15:22, Luke 23:33, and John 19:17). Do you know why Jesus was crucified on Golgotha? Because Jesus is the head of the church. That’s why He was crucified on a mountain called “the skull.” Jesus wore a crown of thorns because salvation wasn’t just for humans. Jesus said, “Preach this gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

The Curse and Redemption of Creation

When Adam and Eve fell in the garden, they ate from the tree they shouldn’t have eaten. The curse over the serpent was, “You are going to crawl on the ground and eat dust. I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15). The curse over the serpent was that the woman would be eternally angry with him.

Every time you call for intercessors in any church, 80% are women. Every culture and religion figure out some way to reduce women. Because if the woman gets her rightful place, she’s the one that carries the enmity, the hostility towards the devil. It is your job, ladies, to teach your children to hate the devil.

The curse over the woman was increased pain in childbirth and that her desire would be for her husband, but he would rule over her (Genesis 3:16). Please note that the woman was only ruled in marriage under the curse. The curse was that “your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” It wasn’t that all men would rule all women. It was that when you marry, your husband will rule over you. I propose that when Jesus died on the cross, He broke the curse.

Isn’t it interesting that man was formed from dirt, but the woman was fashioned from a second-generation creation—from a rib? She wasn’t taken from his foot, but ladies, remember this: she wasn’t taken from his head either. She was taken from his side. She was meant to stand beside him.

The curse over Adam was, “You shall till the ground, and it shall yield thorns and thistles” (Genesis 3:18-20). When God cursed Adam, Eve, and the serpent, creation was part of the curse. Why did Jesus wear a crown of thorns on His head? Because He was crucified to break the curse off of creation.

Resurrection and Revealing the Sons of God

When Jesus was crucified, He was placed in the tomb. Peter and John ran to the tomb, and John got there first (John 20). Peter and John stopped at the opening, but Peter ran right in. He saw two linen wrappings. The linen wrapping that once covered the head of Jesus was taken and placed somewhere else, but the linen wrapping that covered His body was still in the place where the body once lay.

When Jesus rose from the dead, the head was revealed, but the body has yet to be revealed. Romans 8:14 says, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by which we cry, ‘Abba, Father.'”

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. If we are children, we are also heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory about to be revealed to us.

The devil knows who you are. Creation knows who you are. The angels know who you are. God knows who you are. It’s only you who don’t know who you are. All of creation is waiting for the sons of God to be revealed.

Creation is still in corruption until the sons of God are revealed in glory. When you rise to your rightful place in glory, creation will be released from corruption into the glory of the children of God. Demeaning yourself is keeping creation in corruption when it has been assigned to glory.

Living from Heaven to Earth

When Jesus rose from the dead, you rose with Him. 1 Corinthians 2 says, “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory….” In verse 10 he continues to say: “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” And verse 16 “For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

The devil doesn’t know your thoughts unless he gives them to you. People ask and wonder all the time if the devil can read my mind. The answer is no, the Bible says right here that nobody knows your thoughts except for you. It also says here that nobody knows God’s thoughts except for God’s spirit. Now, we have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit who’s from God, so that we may receive freely so that we may know freely the things given to us by God. These things we also speak not in words taught with human wisdom but those taught by the spirit combining spiritual thoughts with the spiritual world words.

Verse 16: knows the mind of the Lord that we may instruct him and Paul writes we have the mind of Christ the Old Testament people, they weren’t born again when you received Jesus Christ you were born again, you are a new creation you are a second generation creation you are the first beings on planet Earth that live both in heaven and on Earth. You are currently already in heaven, you were seated in Heavenly places with Christ. When you realize this, it goes from a philosophy and a theology to a reality it’ll change your destiny you are currently seated in heaven. Do you live from Earth towards Heaven or do you live from Heaven towards Earth? If you live from Earth towards Heaven you are always living in reaction to something that’s already happened, for example, I’m praying for people who are sick – they’re already sick, you’re praying for something that already happened. But when you pray from Heaven towards Earth your heavenly seat gives you eternal perspectives. You should live from Heaven towards Earth.

Jesus said to the Apostle John in Revelation 4:1 “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Your eternal Heavenly seat gives you eternal perspective so you see things not as they are but as they should be and your prayers become prophecy and your words become world, so no longer am I just praying to God but now I’m praying with God.

Prophecy and the Power of Words

Think about Ezekiel, he goes to a boneyard where there was once a battle and there are all these bones and God says to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37 “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel’s probably thinking, not likely, but when God asks you a question He probably has a different answer. Ezekiel says “You know Lord” and God says “Prophesy to the bones.” Ezekiel didn’t prophesy about the bones, he prophesied to the bones, and as he prophesied the bones became a mighty Army.

Our Heavenly seat gives us eternal perspectives and when we begin to pray from our Heavenly seat our prayers become prophecy and our words become worlds. No longer are we under the circumstances. We are controlling the circumstances. The Old Testament Prophet says who knows the mind of God that we can instruct him and Paul says we do. John the Baptist was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament but Jesus said in Matthew 11:11 that the least in the kingdom was greater than John, which means that John was greater than Daniel, he was greater than Moses, he was greater than Joseph, he was greater than David but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John.

God wants to use little old you, God wants to use little people, God wants to use nameless and faceless people but God doesn’t have little people, God doesn’t have nameless and faceless people, God only has Sons and Daughters (Psalm 82:6 and 2 Corinthians 6:18).

Sometimes we prophesy out of our low identity and we’re trying to say, God wants to use everybody. But to say, God wants to use everybody we reduce the prophecy to include everybody. Instead of telling everyone you’re better than that, you’re bigger than that, you were created to be Sons and Daughters of the King, you’re actually heirs to the throne, your daddy is God and you have the mind of Christ.

When you’re right with God you think like God. Jesus lives inside of you, people say things like, without God, I could do nothing, well that’s true but you’re never without him because He’ll never leave you or forsake you. That means you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). In John 15, Jesus said: “I’m the vine you’re the branches and you can do nothing without me”. They weren’t born again and you’re born again, they became born again.

Understanding Your Authority as a Son / Daughter

You don’t have to worry about not doing anything without Jesus because He’s always with you, He’s never going to leave you or forsake you, which is why you should be doing miracles. In the book of Samuel, 1 Samuel 9 there’s a young man named Saul and his father has lost his donkeys, he sends Saul and a servant out to find his donkeys and they look and look and look they can’t find the donkeys and the servant says to Saul you know I think there’s a prophet up here at the next village maybe he’ll know where our donkeys are, in the meantime, the Lord speaks to Samuel the prophet and he said hey two young men is coming they’ll be here later on and they’re looking for donkeys, you’re going to tell them that their donkeys have been found but you’re going to anoint him, king. A little while later they end up at the prophet’s house, but they don’t know it’s the prophet’s house. Saul says to Samuel we’re looking for the prophet and Samuel says to him I am the prophet, I want you to stay with me for tomorrow morning I’m going to tell you, all that’s in your heart for aren’t you the one that all of Israel is waiting on. Saul says I have no idea why you’re talking to me like this for I’m from the smallest family in the smallest tribe.

Saul has a father who’s the most famous warrior at the time in Israel’s history, his dad is famous, he may be from a small family in a small tribe but he’s from a famous family in a famous tribe.

The next morning in 1 Samuel 10: “Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: “Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance? When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands. After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”

When Saul encountered the prophets he was changed into another man. Samuel gave the right word to the wrong man, he anointed him king and said, first of all, I’m going to tell you all that’s in your heart. Prophecy reveals the secrets of your heart and the secrets of your heart are not sin they are the glory you fell short of. When Samuel told Saul, he seemed completely unaware of the greatness that was in him. When Samuel said to him you are called to be the ruler of Israel and he said this is already in your heart, he didn’t give him anything he didn’t already have. The only person who was clueless about his identity was the person who was called to be the king. He anointed him king but he anointed the wrong man, with the right word, because then he said you need to go over and meet these prophets and when you do you’ll be changed into another man. Saul had to be changed into another man for the prophecy to be fulfilled.

He was changed into the man that he was supposed to be in the first place with low self-esteem, disillusion, and poor performance, all of those things reduced Saul to a man who even when he received the prophecy, he couldn’t be what God wanted him to be, until he encountered the prophets and was changed into another man.

Until you meet your people you can’t come into your destiny. Everyone’s trying to find their purpose and until you find your people you can’t find your purpose. Your purpose is in your people, you are part of something bigger, if your vision doesn’t include other people, you don’t have the Father’s vision because the Father never gives you a vision that you can fulfill by yourself.

Lord, I pray that every single person reading this would have an unveiling that they would have a new sense not just of purpose but of personhood in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Share this article with a friend?

[Sassy_Social_Share]

Connect with Us

Prayer Requests

Should you require prayer, kindly send your prayer request to prayers@hopeandhealing.co.za

Testimonies

Should you want to share a testimony, kindly send your testimony to testimonies@hopeandhealing.co.za

General Enquiries

For any general enquiries, kindly send an email to info@hopeandhealing.co.za