Reclaim Your Supernatural Kingdom Identity – Who are You (Part 1)
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Hello, and welcome to the third video in the “Reclaim Your Supernatural Kingdom Identity” series. I’m Randy Crane, from Leaving Conformity Coaching.
In the first two videos, we started with who God is, and how that affects our actions and attitudes. But honestly, that’ll only take us so far. We need to answer the next question. Who are we?
I want to remind you of a scene from the movie The Lion King. Simba has grown up. Nala find him and tries to get him to come home, but he refuses. Rafiki says he can show Simba his father, and leads him to a lake, where he looks in, and at first sees only his reflection, but then Rafiki tells him to “Look harder…”
Mufasa’s ghost: “Simba.”
Simba: “Father?!”
Mufasa’s ghost: “Simba, you have forgotten me.”
Simba: “No! How could I?”
Mufasa’s ghost: “You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life.”
Simba: “How can I go back!? I’m not who I used be!”
Mufasa’s ghost: “Remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king. Remember…”
This overstates the case, but there is a core truth in there. You cannot be who you were made to be without two things happening. You must remember who your Father is, and who you are. Often we are more than what we have become, and this is why. We have forgotten Who He is, and we have forgotten who we are.
We’ve already reminded ourselves of Who God is. But who are you?
Given all that is true of who God is, can you trust what He says about you, even when all you have to go on is His word? Then it’s time to be transformed!
What value do you really have? The Bible says that on our own we’re vapor, dust, that sort of thing. Jesus said that without Him we can do nothing. But there’s more to us than just ourselves. In Christ, we are a new creation.
So what does the Bible say about us?
- We are jars of clay. People in the first century sometimes kept valuable, priceless objects in clay pots and jars. The value wasn’t in the vessel itself, but what was inside it, placed there by another.
- We are powerful—with His power. The power that we have doesn’t come from us, and it doesn’t operate independently of His will and purpose.
- We are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Again, the value is not inherent in the temple, but exists only because of the One who resides there.
- We are children of God. Not through anything we did, not through earning it, but through Jesus Christ.
- We are recipients of far less than we deserve (mercy), and far more than we deserve (grace). As those who have received Christ, we don’t get the punishment that we so richly deserve (because none of us can be “good enough”) and we get many blessings that we could never earn or deserve (not the least of which is eternal life).
That is who we are. It’s who you are. A ceramic vase has value because of the sculptor or the owner. In and of itself it’s just clay, glaze, & maybe some paint.
A painting has value because of the painter.
A home-run baseball has value because of who hit it, and when.
Our value doesn’t come from ourselves. Our identity as creatures of great worth doesn’t come from within us and how good or talented or successful we are. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have it.
So who are you really? Ephesians 1:3-14 –
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. 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—to the praise of His glory.”
Between now and the next video, read this passage every day, at least once a day, out loud if possible.
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For Reflection:
- Re-read Ephesians 1:3-14. What does it say about who you are? (Remember if a description is true of all of us, it is true of each of us—including you!)
- Is it difficult for you to see yourself in this passage?
- What part is the easiest? The hardest?
- What is one struggle or challenge in your life right now that becomes easier or more manageable if you really internalize this passage?