Today we will continue our series entitled “God’s Grace & Our Faith.” We are looking at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our primary scriptures are John 1:14 & 17. Yesterday we also looked at 2 Peter 1:1-4. We will look at these again today.
(John 1:14 New International Version)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:17 New International Version)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(2 Peter 1:1-4)
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Your title is not who you are.
In the video version of yesterday’s message, I drove home the point that when you discover Jesus, you discover yourself. You don’t even know who you are until you know who God is.
— When you get Born-Again and start walking with God, the Holy Spirit will reveal who you are and what He has called you to do.
— Peter introduced himself as “Simon Peter” (his name), “a servant” (his heart), and an “Apostle” (his calling). We would do good in learning from this pattern. His name was not “Apostle Peter.” His name was Peter. Actually, he was born Simon. Jesus later named him Peter, so he continued with the name Simon Peter. But my point is that “Apostle” was not his name. It was simply his assignment. At his core, Peter was a “servant” of Jesus the Christ. My point here is that you should never get so caught up in a title that you lose your identity.
— You may wear many hats and operate with many titles (by function) while you are on the earth, but never allow your title to become your identity. Who you are in Christ should be the foundation for all God enables you to do, from season to season. When the season changes and your title changes, your identity should not change. Who you are in Christ should be the foundation for #TheGraceLife God has called you to live.
2. Your divine identity precedes and will outlive your performance.
— God sent you to the planet “for such a time as this.” You are called, appointed, and anointed for this planet for your lifetime. But during the span of your life, you will enter many times and seasons. God may have you doing different things at different times and seasons, but who you are should be consistent through them all. This is why your divine identity must be settled in Christ.
Said another way, your story does not begin or end where your ministry does. You are who you are well before you start doing what you were called to do. I’ve had many titles in ministry, but my story did not begin, nor does it end, with any of the titles. I know who I am, so am I comfortable doing what I am called to do. Are you?
— You must know who you are before you start doing what you are called to do.
— Peter teaches us that grace and peace are multiplied to us “through the knowledge of Him.” The more knowledge of God we have, the more knowledge of self we will have, and the more grace and peace we will walk in.
When you are dealing with a person who knows who they are in Christ Jesus, it is evident that they:
— are at peace with themselves.
— are comfortable in their own skin.
— are not trying to compete with anyone.
— are not judging themselves by anyone else’s performance.
— are not moved by the opinions of others becuase they are so focused on God’s opinion of them.
— are confident that what God started, God will complete in their lives before they die (Phil 1:6).
*** These people are so confident in God that when the seasons change and God shifts them to do something else, they are not shaken simply because their title changed. They know that God has not changed!
3. Divine identity and divine function go hand-in-glove.
— If you don’t know who you are and you start doing something in the name of God, your performance will be both inauthentic and ineffective. God’s anointing only flows through the authentic.
— Just knowing you are called is not good enough. If you know who you are — that you are called to live “As Jesus is, in this world” — but you don’t do anything after having received the revelation of your divine identity, it will lead to frustration.
— Knowing you have greatness in you without any external proof of your internal reality can lead to frustration and even depression.
— I have told you many times that you must be processed to the point where you can carry the weight of the anointing associated with your assignment. However, there is a difference between being processed and being stagnant. There is a season of your life where God will hide you and process you behind the veil of obscurity. But there will then come a season when He expects you to act. In that season, if you don’t move, you are not being processed, you are procrastinating, and you are frustrating the grace of God.
— Peter did not introduce Himself as the Apostle Peter. He introduced himself as Peter, a servant of God who just so happened to be called to be an Apostle. Learn from Peter. Make sure you know who you are, keep the role of a “servant” at the core of your being, and then do what God has called you to do in every season of your life.
— This series is about realizing all God has already done for you. You don’t work for what God has already done. You simply believe and receive it by faith. You then work because you are called, not to earn the call. Simon the Fisherman did not have to work hard to earn a spot on Jesus’ team. God planned for him to be on the team from the foundations of the world. All Simon the Fisherman had to do was believe and receive the identity and the assignment. First, he received the identity. Simon became Peter. Then he received the assignment. The fisherman became an Apostle. Once Simon, the Fisherman got a revelation of who he was, he spent the rest of his life doing what He was called to do. The same should be said of you!
I will close this week with two questions:
a) Do you know who you are in Christ?
b) If you do, then are you doing what you are called to do in this season?
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith.
You made plans for me before the world began. You then sent me into the world at just the right time.
I spent years living my life in pursuit of my identity and purpose. I discovered both when I discovered Jesus. The revelation of who Jesus is led to the revelation of who I am. I am because He is! As Jesus is, so am I, in this world!
I know who I am, I know what I am called to do, and I will spend the rest of my life BEING and DOING. My BEING precedes my DOING, so my DOING is authentic! I don’t DO to BE. I DO because I AM! Therefore, GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
