Living By Faith

YOUR IDENTITY IN THE WORD

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)

The greater your Word intake, the more Christ will be manifested through you. Mark Hankins

I believe when Jesus was ten, eleven, or twelve years old, He found out who He was by reading it in the scriptures. Jesus identified with the Word as He read Isaiah 61:1,“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”

Many people, not just teenagers, have an identity crisis. They search for it in some psychology book or by trying to mimic a movie star. They comb their hair like someone they see on TV.  They watch some cowboy movie and think they are John Wayne, or they see a motorcycle rider and think they need a motorcycle and a bandanna around their head too!

You will find your identity in the same book as Jesus did — the Bible. You do not have to spend your entire life searching for your identity. You are a new creature in Christ — your identity is now In Christ!

Confession:I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me.  (Galatians 2:20)

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LET ME TELL YOU WHO I AM

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Matthew 16:16)

You need to find your identity from God; you are an individual created to reflect His glory. Mark Hankins

In Acts 19, the seven sons of Sceva, without having a relationship with Jesus (which would give them authority to use His name), tried to use the name of Jesus to cast out evil spirits. An evil spirit said to them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?”  Because they didn’t know their identity in Christ, the scripture says, “The evil spirit… leaped on them, and over came them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” (Acts 19:16)  It is important to understand who you are in Christ because the devil knows if you know your identity.

The devil will do everything he can to steal the Word from you to keep you from understanding your new identity in Christ. He wants you to see yourself in the natural. He will even get you to study your family tree, which never produced anything but a bunch of nuts! You need to find your identity from God. You are an individual created to reflect His glory.

Confession: I am a totally different person In Christ then when I was born. I was created to reflect His glory!

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CHANGED FROM WITHIN

Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. (Jeremiah 18:2-4)

God is the original “people person”; He specializes in making people over again and giving them brand new identities. Mark Hankins

God can give you a new identity. He made you, so He ought to be able to remake you. God is not someone who just does repairs. We are talking about the One who creates people. God creates people out of nothing. No scientist has ever figured out how to make people because God is the manufacturer! 

God told Jeremiah, “You go down to the potter’s house, and I am going to show you that when people have defects in them, I will make them over again.”  God is in the business of changing people’s identities. He remakes you from the inside out. When you are born again, your spirit is recreated. Then He builds from the inside out — changing your mind, renewing it, rebuilding your thinking and attitudes, and then changing your body and your actions.

Confession: God has given me a new identity. He is rebuilding me from the inside out!

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YOUR VALUE IN CHRIST

Therefore, if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new being! His old life has passed away; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17 20th Century)

You became a new creation in Christ the day you were saved, but it won’t become a reality to you unless you walk in the light of the Word. Mark Hankins

You can get a whole new identity when you see who God says you are and what God says you have. Your self-esteem will go right through the roof!

The devil wants to destroy your dignity and self- esteem. But when you see your value in what God has done for you in the death and resurrection of Christ, you will hold your head up high and forget those things, which are behind.

God made provision for you to be in Christ even before you were saved, but this new identity did not become yours until you exercised faith in Him when you were born again. You’ll have to feed on the Word, get it engrafted on the inside of you, receive revelation knowledge of the Word, and let the Holy Spirit help you to see your new identity — who you are in Christ and what you have in Him.

Confession: My old life is gone and a new life has begun. God has given my life value in Christ!

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A WHOLE NEW IDENTITY

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)

Once you are lost in Christ, the devil can’t even find you! Mark Hankins

I believe the moment you receive Christ you become a new creation in Him. It takes a while to feed on the Word before you say, “I’m not even the same person anymore. I have a whole new identity.”

If you witnessed a crime and the FBI got hold of you and wanted to give you a new identity to protect you, they would change your address, your Social Security number, and all records concerning every bill that you owe. They would totally wipe out your past to protect you.

God wiped out your old identity when you were born again. He wiped out your past. Every account, sin, or claim the devil had on you has been wiped out. Once you are lost in Christ, the devil can’t even find you! Hallelujah!

The devil can’t find you unless you stick your fleshly head up and say,“Hey,it’sme!” Slap your head and get it back down in there, man! You want to talk about my past, my feelings, and my failures? God says, “I don’t want to talk about that. You are dead and your life is hid with Christ in Me. You’ve got a new identity now.”

Confession: I am dead to sin and my past. My life is hid with Christ in God. I am lost in Christ!

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