Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17
According to 2 Corinthians 5:17 a real transaction took place. You were made new. You were forgiven. You were given a new nature, and you now have a new identity. You are a different person and you are no longer the same. You may not feel different, but you are different. You may not feel forgiven, but you are forgiven. You are born again and are no longer defined by what you do, what you did, or what has been done to you. You are now defined by whom God calls you, period!
God calls you someone different than who you call yourself. God’s desire is for us to walk in that new identity and see ourselves as He sees us. God’s desire is for you to be accepted, secure, and know your significance in Christ in your new identity. This new identity is one of the benefits we inherit when we trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Our lives should be a reflection of what Christ did for us.
God is who He says He is, and we are now who He says we are. If we are to do what He says we can do, it can only be done through His power and in the new identity He has given us. God does not want us to spend the rest of our lives trying to discover who we already are. He wants us realize who we are today, so we can walk in that new and true identity.
If you have done an Anchor 4 study from the 12 Anchors of Hope Bible study, the last question is to write your own identity statement and declaration based on the scriptures in the lesson. I am going to livestream my personal identity statement tonight at 7:00pm on the Encounter Facebook page with a special request. I hope you will videotape your personal identity statement and post it on the livestream. I hope we can start a movement of people who know who they are in Christ, declaring it to the world.
Too many people are living in defeat during this crisis. The reason why so many people are struggling, is they have lost sight of who they are in Christ. They have stopped making those declarations and putting the enemy on notice. They are locked in and looking at the news and giving into fear instead of declaring by faith who they are in Christ. I look forward to seeing you all tonight at 7:00pm at www.facebook.com/thehopeencounter
Be Blessed and Encouraged
Bill Rieser
Encounter Pastor