It’s Really Okay to Be Who You Are
REVIEW
Do you not know?
In Christ we must function from who we are
o We are new creations 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
o We are accepted Ephesians 1:5-6
o We are (already) delivered from the power of darkness
Colossians 1:13
o We have overcome 1 John 4:4
o We have everything we need Ephesians 1:3
When you don’t know who you are, you are unlikely to fulfill
your potential.
When you ask the average person “Are you saved?” What is
the likely response?
Ask the average person “Have you been rescued?” What is
the likely response?
Luke 19:1-10 Then Jesus entered and passed
through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus
who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see
who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of
short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree
to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus
came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to
him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay
at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received
Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He
has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” 8 Then
Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my
goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false
accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today
salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of
Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that
which was lost.”
Salvation: G4991 (so-tay-ree’-ah) n. rescue/safety,
deliverance. Deliverance not just from the debt, but from that
which causes us to be debtors.
This opportunity to be rescued is available to everyone
Titus 2:11 11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared
to all men
However, it will only be received by a select few
Mark 2:15-17 15 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house,
that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and
His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16 And
when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax
collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He
eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 When Jesus
heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a
physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to
call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
When we were rescued from the power of darkness
(Colossians 1:13), we were identified as Christ’s own (John
1:12; 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Notice that when identity was being changed, there was
opposition present
This opposition is seen clearly in Luke 15:1-3 and 11-24
Luke 15 1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to
Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained,
saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He
spoke this parable to them, saying:.. … 11 Then He said: “A
certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said
to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So
he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the
younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and
there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had
spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to
be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that
country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would
gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and
no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he came to himself, he said,
‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to
spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and
will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before
you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like
one of your hired servants.”’ 20 “And he arose and came to his father.
But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had
compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the
son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your
sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the
father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him,
and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the
fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my
son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they
began to be merry.
Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies…
Who is the enemy? The weapons we are given in battle are
determined by the enemy we fight.
2 Corinthians 10:4 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal
but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down
arguments [imaginations] and every high thing that exalts itself
against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to
the obedience of Christ (bold text added from KJV)
Strong holds: arguments used to fortify an opinion
Imaginations: reasonings, computations
Knowledge: the knowing in the intellect
Thought: perception in the mind
Each of these exist in the mind
How do we walk in this?
o 1) Homologeo: to voice the same conclusion; to agree;
to speak the same thing.
o Romans 10:9-10 9 that if you confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation.
o 1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
o 2) Heart Belief: connect your heart (meditation) with
your words
o Romans 10:9-10 9 that if you confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation.
o James 1:14-15 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn
away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire
has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-
grown, brings forth death.
o Psalm 1:1-6 1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the
counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor
sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of
the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its
fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and
whatever he does shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so,
but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore
the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the
congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of
the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
o 3) Activation: Neural pathways are like a pioneer
trekking through uncharted territory. The first pass is
supremely difficult. However, the more passes she
makes, the easier it is. Not only that, the path becomes
more pronounced. Eventually, it becomes the path of
least resistance (automatic behavior)
o Galatians 5:16, 25 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh… 25 If we live in the Spirit, let
us also walk in the Spirit
o Luke 4:3-4 3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of
God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 But Jesus
answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
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