Wholeness: Do you know who you are?



Last year Disney presented Tangled, its version of the beloved German fairy tale Rapunzel. In this musical adaptation, Gothel, an evil woman longing for eternal youth, kidnaps Rapunzel from her royal family, then masquerades as her mother. Gothel hides Rapunzel in a tower, forbidding her to leave, ever fearful that she will discover her true heritage. If she loses Rapunzel, she loses the magical power of Rapunzel's hair that she uses to maintain her youth and beauty. Gothel's worst fear is Rapunzel discovering her true identity.

Rapunzel is a child of the King, but she doesn't know it.

Guess what? So are you.

If you've begun a relationship with God through Christ, you are His son or daughter. You are a child of the King. And not only the King, but the King of Kings.

Now, let's be honest. On a good day -- maybe a day we've had our time reading the Word or a Sunday that we've enjoyed great worship and a good sermon -- we can easily believe this truth about ourselves. No matter what we look like, no matter how we may have failed God the day before, we know we're royalty.

But what about the other days? The days when we're feeling weary, uninspired, frustrated, depressed or confused. The days when we just can't seem to get our stuff together. The days when that condemning voice haunts us with reminders of our every mistake, our every imperfection, our every sin.

It's those days that we need to be reminder by our Kingly Father that we are precious in His eyes. On those days we need to hear His compassionate voice remind us of His love for us.

What makes it so difficult to hear His voice, however, is the competing voice of condemnation that's screaming in our heads. That voice often drowns out the voice of our Father. And what's tricky about that voice is it often sounds like our own.

When the Spirit led Jesus into the desert for forty days, Jesus was tempted by the devil there. After fasting for the full forty days, naturally Jesus was hungry. The enemy, relentless in his tactics, first tempts Jesus by challenging Him to turn a stone to bread. Yet Jesus perseveres, resisting each of the devil's temptations.

But let's look a little closer. What's really the first challenge that the devil presents?
"The devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Luke 4:3
Satan first challenges Jesus' identity. He begins with "If you are the Son of God..."

And He attacks us the same way. When we face a trial or difficulty, when we fall into sin, when we don't feel like we measure up to those around us, he slyly poses the same question to us -- "If you are a child of God..."

Two Sundays ago, my husband Anthony preached from this same text. He compiled a list of scriptures that clearly identify who we are in Christ. Read this list out loud, meditate on it, believe it. And may these truths and scriptures empower you the next time the enemy tries to fill your head with his lies.

AS A CHRIST FOLLOWER, YOU ARE:
In Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:17
A new creation - 2 Corinthians 5:17
Made alive in Christ - Ephesians 2:5
Raised up with Christ - Ephesians 2:6
Seated with Christ in heavenly places - Ephesians 2:6
Blessed - Ephesians 1:3
The righteousness of God - 2 Corinthians 5:21
More than a conqueror - Romans 8:37
An overcomer - 1 John 5:5
Indwelt with God's Spirit - 1 Corinthians 6:19
Baptized by God's Spirit - 1 Corinthians 12:13
Sealed with God's Spirit - Ephesians 4:30
Redeemed - Psalm 107:2
Forgiven - Colossians 2:13
Washed, Justified and Sanctified - 1 Corinthians 6:11
Light - Ephesians 5:8
His workmanship - Ephesians 2:10
A citizen of heaven - Ephesians 2:19
A member of God's household - Ephesians 2:19
A sinner who measures up - 1 Timothy 1:15
Elected by God - Colossians 3:12
Chosen by God - Ephesians 1:4
Predestined by God - Ephesians 1:5
Adopted by God - Ephesians 1:5
Accepted - Ephesians 1:6
Loved by God - John 17:23
A joint heir with Christ - Romans 8:17
A saint of God - Philippians 1:1
A soldier of God - 2 Timothy 2:4
Holy, Blameless and Above Reproach in God's sight - Colossians 1:22
A child of God - 1 John 3:1

And if you still don't believe who you are in Christ, check out this song by Israel Houghton, I Know Who I Am...


Let's walk in confidence in who we are in Christ. Amen!

Made Whole In Him,

Carla

Comments

  1. latesha harrisAugust 16, 2011 at 9:32 AM

    This is just what I needed!

    ReplyDelete
  2. carlaahendricksAugust 16, 2011 at 10:55 AM

    Thanks Latesha. Me too, Girl!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. ChelleAugust 16, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    we have watched that movie 2 times in the last 24 hours, and love it! Great way to relate it to US! Another fabulous post friend.

    ReplyDelete
  4. carlaahendricksAugust 16, 2011 at 5:45 PM

    Thanks Chelle!!! (And yes, we watch movies over and over and over too!)

    ReplyDelete

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