YOUR DIVINE IDENTITY
By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel
“And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, “let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it”. But the men that went up with him said, “we are not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we”. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel saying, “the land through which we have gone to search is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” Numbers 13:30-33.
Twelve men were sent out to spy out the Promised Land. Ten of those men returned with an evil report; a clear indication that they had accepted defeat even before trying. There defeat did not come from reality rather it came from their perception of the situation and their own identity versus the challenge they were facing. They had not even gone into battle, yet they had testified their defeat and inability to claim what God gave them.
THEIR (THE TEN) PERCEPTION OF THEIR CHALLENGE
- “The land eateth up the inhabitants thereof”. Which is not true because they still saw the inhabitants living there. This is a weapon of imagination that the devil uses to destroy people’s faith.
- They saw men of great stature. The giants, the Anaks.
- They saw themselves as grasshoppers when compared to the inhabitants.
- They were petrified by their imaginations to the point that they believed that the inhabitants saw them as grasshoppers too. Fear had taken over their minds totally. Defeat was all they saw.
Here is their conclusion: the ten men basically concluded that they wont be able to take what God had given them. Num 13:31 “But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.”
JOSHUA AND CALEB’S PERCEPTION
- Joshua and Caleb had a different perception. They had God’s perspective and believed what God said.
Num 13:30 “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”
Num 14:6 “And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.8 If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.9 Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.”
Joshua and Caleb’s report;
- Let us go up at once and possess it.
- We are well able.
- The Lord will bring us into this land and give it to us.
- This land flows with milk and honey as the Lord had said.
- Do not rebel against the word of God by being afraid of the land’s inhabitants.
- They are bread for us, let us eat them up right away!
- They have no defense, they are afraid of us now.
- The Lord is with us so we must not be afraid.
The fear mongers did not believe Joshua and Caleb. Fear blinded them and they became violent. Numbers 14:10 “But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.”
THE UNCIRCUMCISED PHILISTINE VS THE CHILDREN OF GOD
We can also learn from the story of the Israelites, David and Goliath. The Israelites were defeated before the battle even began because they had the wrong identity of themselves and a very wrong view of their challenge.
1 Sam 17:4 “Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall!….16 For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army…. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.24 As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25 “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”….33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE ISRAELITES
The Israelites had an identity crisis because they were afraid of their enemy.
- In their eyes this giant was undefeatable and therefore they ran away from him morning and evening for forty days. They were terrified by this giant. He touted them, ridiculed them, and challenged them to dare show up for a fight.
- In their own eyes they saw themselves as grasshoppers compared to the giant.
- They were defeated even without a fight. Even their king saw defeat all around and was filled with fear.
DAVID’S PERSPECTIVE
- On the other hand, David had God’s perspective and saw victory even before the battle. He saw this challenge as a reproach to God’s people and how dare this uncircumcised Philistine challenge God’s people? David also saw Israel as the army of the Living God. David knew who he was, and who Israel was but, the rest were ignorant of it. 1 Sam 17:26 “And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
- In the verse below, we read that David received opposition from his own brother. I’m sure his brother meant well, but his counsel was against that of the Lords. People like David’s brother are known as “Unbelieving Believers”. They never give up! They tend to fight God’s people instead of the enemy. They use emotions to try to discourage believers and will go to any length to prove that they know exactly what they are talking about even when they don’t. They say things like “we too have faith” but they don’t! They just live in fear. They also try to present their credentials by saying ” we too are Christians” to convince believers to buy into their counsel of fear and disbelief. 1 Sam 17:28 “And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.”
- Despite his brother’s counsel, David was strongly persuaded in his faith on the word of God. This is the right response! Be rooted and grounded in the truth that is Christ. 1 Sam 17:32 “And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
- Even King Saul tried to sway David away from defeating Goliath. Saul was speaking to David from a place of fear and defeat and was trying to instill the same unbelief in David. We must be careful of who we listen to! 1 Sam 17:33 “And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
- David was fully persuaded from his past experience with God. Nothing could move his faith in God and the word. He had tasted and was able to testify of God’s faithfulness. He testified of God’s faithfulness in the face of discouragement. 1 Sam 17:37 “David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.”
EMULATE DAVID, JOSHUA AND CALEB
We can deduce that David, Joshua and Caleb overcame their challenges because they had God’s view of who they were and who was with them. The devil’s aim is to wipe out your faith by shielding you from Gods’ word and perspective. Jesus called it “a dangerous trap.”
Matthew 16:23“Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
ADOPT GOD’S PERSPECTIVE OF WHO YOU ARE
Victory is won or lost even before the battle begins. It really comes down to your perspective of who you are and the situation you are in. If you have God’s perspective, you are already more than a conqueror! But, if you walk by sight and listen to religious minded unbelieving believers, or any counsel outside of God’s word, you have lost already.
Adopt the Bible’s perspective of who you are. If you have God’s perspective of the new you in Christ, you will never fail to see yourself as God sees you.
HOW GOD SEES YOU
- First and foremost, God sees you as a new creature. Old things have passed away and behold all things are now new. This is the real you! 2 Cor 5:17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
- Secondly, you are now created anew in Christ Jesus. Created to be like God, with the life of God, so you can manifest the life of Him which is in you through Christ. Eph 2: 10 “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Instead of trying to change yourself, just believe what the Word says about you and let the Holy Spirit renew your mind and bring the realty of the new man into manifestation .
Eph 4:23 “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
God created us in His true image in Christ Jesus and so we cannot see ourselves as anything less. We are not grasshoppers while sin, Satan, the world, sickness etc. are giants. A wrong identity will build weakness into your life and produce failure even before the fight.
Think of these Scriptures
- 1 Cor 6:17 “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.”
- 1 John 4:4 “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”
CONFESS WHAT THE WORD SAYS
David never failed to confess the word of God before any challenge. Every believer should emulate this! Rev 12:11 “And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb And by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.”
The bible says “let the redeemed of the Lord say so”. Likewise, let the overcomers say so, let the healed of the Lord say so, let the free say “I’m free” and let the new creatures say “I’m a new creature and I know who I am”.
Ps 107:2 “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy”
Once you start saying so, you faith will start rising until you really believe it and you’ll start to act like it is true without even thinking. Soon enough, God’s Word will become your reality because what you confess is what you believe.
BASK IN YOUR NEW IDENTITY, LIVE IT OUT TO THE FULLLEST
Your identity helps you realize that you can stand tall and be the person that God made you to be. You can stand tall over the flesh. You no longer fear sin. You know that wherever you are, you have been handpicked for greatness. You are no longer mere flesh, but a spirit as the heavenly father is born of the Spirit of God.
Ephesians 1: 22 “God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.”
You are in and reign with Christ, so all things are also under your authority in the Name Of Jesus! Arise and shine! Show forth the glory of He who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Show forth His UNIQUE life produced by His Spirit that lives in you. Stand out from the crowd as He displays the beauty and glory of His holy life!
Galatians 5:22 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”
Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor at Fountain Of The Living Word Church, New Jersey.
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