There is a conference this weekend called 'Manifest Identity' and it is important that we know and understand our identity in Christ as new creations. Identity may be defined as the distinctive characteristic belonging to any given individual, or shared by all members of a particular social category or group.
The Bible says this in Ephesians 1:3-14
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
The wonderful fact of your salvation is that you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. That means all the good that is due to Him comes to you. Your old identity has been removed forever and it is a blessed release. Everything that speaks of your old life is gone. You are no longer lost, living in guilt, shame, blame or condemnation. Instead you are completely surrounded by God’s grace.
Remember, you are in Christ and blessed forever. You have nothing to fear from your old life because it has been removed forever. Now you must learn your new identity and enjoy the blessings that are yours in Christ.
The more you focus on who you are in Christ the more you will live according to that identity. Never think of yourself as anything other than being in Christ. That way you can begin to become in your daily life the new person that God has made you. Remember, you are different now, and you don’t have to do what you used to do. Today, remember who you are and what you have in Christ and let that thought guide you through the day.
A prayer for you today:
Lord, thank you that I am not that person I once was. Help me to see who I really am in Christ and help me to live out the fullness of that identity day by day with joy.
The Manifest Identity Conference begins this weekend with a BBQ at 3982 Borelli Drive, Windsor, Ontario at 6pm on Friday, July 25, 2014 and continues on Saturday and Sunday at St. James Anglican Church, Roseland at 4276 Roseland Drive, Windsor, Ontario. For more information, call (519) 800-4845 or visit our Facebook event site at https://www.facebook.com/events/668063173265106/
The vagaries of life can cause tremendous doubts to arise in our hearts regarding God’s provision, protection and even our very salvation. These doubts came to the disciples after Jesus’ death. They could not understand how the one who had performed such miracles had faced such a bloody and gruesome death and had not escaped from it. When he met the two on the road to Emmaus they were in such doubt that they were not sure any more that Jesus was the promised Messiah nor did they believe the reports of the women that he had risen from the dead, the crucifixion having obliterated their faith. Later, when Jesus met with the disciples he asked them, “Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”
The trials of this life cause us to doubt also. What do we do when this happens? We have to understand that doubt does not come from God. According to Ephesians 6 we wrestle against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The doubt in our hearts may begin with us but it is increased exponentially by these forces. What, then, is God’s recipe for doubt? The answer is faith.
It is easier said than done but the only way to deal with doubt is to pour the word of God into your heart. As the bible says faith comes by hearing the word of God. There are specific scriptures for doubt. Here are a few.
• According to Mark 11:22a “Have faith in God.” Just reading this scripture can bring faith to you. It indicates that God will indeed honor his word and promises, that he will make a way where there seems to be no way. It implies that he will honor your prayer of faith regarding your situation no matter how long it takes. It gives the assurance that God will take you safely through your trial or bring you out of it. Verse 25 says, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours”. However, you have to be sure that what you are praying for is in line with God’s will. If you need help with unbelief ask God for help. The man with the demon possessed son asked Jesus to help his unbelief and his son was healed. God is God and deserves your trust. Read Genesis chapters 12, 15, 16, 17, 18 and see that God was faithful to Abraham even though it took a long period of time.
• Know that God is with you. Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged”. In the middle of fear and discouragement it is good to remember this scripture. In addition to this Philippians 1:28 warns us not to be frightened in any way of those who oppose us. We are not even to fear death itself. Psalm 23:4 states, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me your rod and staff comforts me”. Be comforted by the fact that God is with you, his presence goes before you and he will never leave you nor forsake you. He is the Lord that is always there.
• Your hardship or trial does not mean that God does not love you or has forsaken you. Romans 8:35, 37-39 states, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. God has not forsaken you on the contrary he is with you helping you through each day even though you do not realize it. James writes in James 1:2, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything”. If nothing else this trial is increasing your spiritual maturity. God loves you just like he did the Apostles when they went through their situations. There were times that Paul described when he and those with him did not even know what to do. You are not alone lean heavily upon the Lord and when you get on the other side of your trial you will not understand how you got there. Trust in God’s goodness.
• A long period of trial does not mean that your past sins are not forgiven. Job thought that God was repaying him for the sins of his youth in Job 13:26 but as you know that was not the case. Once you have been saved all your past sins are forgiven and God gives you the Holy Spirit as your assurance of salvation. Ephesians 1:13-14 states, “And you were also included in Christ when you heard the word of truth… having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession…”. A person may choose to turn away from God after this, but as the father welcomed the prodigal son back to him in Luke 15, God is waiting with open arms to welcome those who stray away from him. Luke 15 is filled with parables about this. Understand that with God there is no license to sin, after we are saved he expects us to sin as little as possible and certainly not as deliberately as we did while we were sinners. However, there is forgiveness for our sins when and if we sin. I John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”. John continues in 2:1-2, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense─Jesus Christ, the Righteous one. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours but also for the sins of the whole world”. We must understand that we cannot continually sin deeply against God and think that we are his when we live like the world. A person steeped in such sin is in a backslidden condition. Galatians 5:24 states, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. If you have done this how can your trials mean that your sins are not forgiven? Trust in God for the salvation that you have received.
