Taking On Our New Identity

The reason why the devil has picked on you for as long as your life is because you haven't gotten it yet you don't know you are a child of God you join their webs. Jesus maybe whatever Jesus has a 134.

You hello and thanks for being here for today's destined for victory pastor Paul Sheppard always glad to have you with us while you may think you know who you are. The question is do you know who you are in Christ today pastor Paul takes us straight to God's word to answer that question and to tell us with this new identity means for all those who believe in him. This is a must here message for anyone who has professed faith in Christ. But may not quite understand what this new identity is all about.

Stay right here or visit pastor Paul.net to listen on demand. That's pastor Paul.net you can also listen to and subscribed to the podcast at Apple podcast or whatever you get yours now is pastor Paul, today's destined for victory message taking on our new identity messages. We just importance up taking only what God gives us God's been doing some real surgery in our lives, cutting away some things cutting away some comfort zones and some security blankets and cutting away some props and some things that we been leaning on God has been saying I am your sufficiency.

I want you to just follow me even when I am removing things in your life.

We talked about the fact that, in Gideon's case there were to slip things. The first was voluntary. Tell those who really are feeling this they can go on home and we found out that in our lives that happens to their people who just aren't there for you. Like they once were, and you have to get permission to people when they're not feeling you let him go on home. There was a book, a secular book written years ago to say he's just not that into me and you know sometimes people met I was about romantic relationships exclusively, but in truth there people who just for some reason they are no longer into you in this season of your life or their lives. And the worst thing you can do is try to hang on to somebody who's trying to get away. You have experience that trying to get away and you're trying to hang onto them. God says let him go for safety was voluntary. Then we saw on these past couple messages that the second sifting was mandatory that some people that God took away from getting they wanted to be with Gideon.

They were the 10,000 who said we're not afraid let's go. But God said no you are not to go.

If I do it with this many people they will rob me of my glory. And I'll have to judge so I will bless you by taking things away from you and some of you don't know, but God is blessing you right now by taking people away taking props away taking security away.

God is blessing you because you be blessed you with them or throw them you would focus more on them than on him so he just moving things now as I wrap up the series I want to make five very practical points from the remainder of this story and I'm entitling this one taking on our new identity. Remembering this journey. When we first meet Gideon.

He is a warrior. He is concerned that the Midianites are going to take his food so he's trying to thresh.

We standing in a winepress. And that's not where you do it, but it was an indication that he was afraid that he was being wimpy. But when the angel shows up. He says the Lord is with you, mighty warrior, and God gave them an identity that he wasn't acting like so now we get to this part of his story. He is finally taking all of the identity that God gave him and to look at that. I want you to go with me to Judges chapter 7 and look at verse eight verse eight of Judges 7 it says so. He spent the rest of the Israelites to their tents. This is after the second sifting, but The 300 who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others now, but Of Midian lay below him in the valley now as Gideon took on his new identity. There are several things that he had to do and they are things that I want to remind you, because you what I have to do them as well. If you're going to take on your new identity in Christ who you really are not what you like, but who God has destined you to be.

There are five things I want to tell you about the first is remember that the enemy is beneath you. Remember that the enemy is beneath you. Verse eight tells us the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley, and of course that's figurative in our case, but it is still very real, that the enemy is below us understand who you are in Christ. The Bible says in Ephesians that you and I are seated with Christ in heavenly places with Christ in heavily places a question for you what's above Christ, nothing no man is above Christ.

The enemy is under his feet. When Jesus rose from the great people claim all power has been given to me in heaven and earth.

There is no enemy that can't even stand in the presence of God.

And so you must understand that the Army is beneath us because were seated with Jesus and he is above all things and were seated with him and not places us above all things, because of our identity in Christ. I need you to understand who you are the reason why the devil has picked on you for as long as your life is because you haven't gotten it yet you don't know you are you a child of God.

You God you join their Jesus meeting whatever Jesus had one bad victory for you. You when our errors and co-heirs. And so the enemy is below us. So you are victorious long before you start acting like you are soon as you got, you became victorious.

You've lived at different times in your life but God is saying it is time for you to take on your new identity and style back then, like the web, and start living like a warrior. This is the time. This is the season, says the Lord began to move out into your new identity. You've taken the other steps that we discussed and now it is time for you to lay hold on that identity because that is what the enemy recognizes he doesn't recognize you and your flesh recognizes you in the spirit in the spirit you and I are somebody. The devil knows who we are because we have the stamp of God on our lives and you can understand this is not about you personally.

This is not about you and your flesh, and our friends were no match for spiritual enemy, but in Christ we are more than conquerors and so it is time for us to remember that the enemy is beneath you. Now he won't act like he is beneath you until you put them in this place. He's going to pretend like he has power over you.

But as soon as you come to understand who you are, the enemy is toast. Years ago, our friend Buddy Wilson told a story about a friend of hers.

True story about a friend of hers who had one of those little dogs that was just so tippy. Just so you know, barking in an assertive and old. It just little tiny dog but real real chippy real assertive you know because you know dogs are pack animals and so they quickly identify pecking order and so they know who's above them. You know often the parent or whatever sometime children if they really assert themselves. The dog will know that they have to submit. But even in the case of children if they don't, they can be in the family, but if the kids on the side of enough, the dog will say bird right behind mom and dad had dogs I grew up does most of my life. I don't have one right now but but love dogs and they do they pick the pecking order. I never forget our last dog jet jet black lives we going to jet thought he was family. You know our kids were young at the time and sometimes their mother that I would be out and we come in and I say good be shocked how jet packs when y'all are here. He's in charge knows he has no business trying to show you all so much that one day I put it to the test.

I said pretend like I left the house and I want to see the doll as I did, I did some part of my routine that he got used to hearing and associating with me leaving as I did all that and I would found a good place and show its start run around. He jumped up on the sofa. I could just show and tell me what to do and find a job as a chat. He looked up at me. I also took care of him. What is true. Dogs love that pecking order and so Bonnie said her friend had this little dog but the dog really felt you know very much part of that family. So they decided at one point they wanted a second dog and I got a very different breed.

One of the breed offhand, but it was one that would grow large and so even as a puppy. It was a little larger than this little dog and it was destined to grow much larger than this dog. So they brought the puppy home you are fourth and third the second half of Pastor Paul Shepard's message is coming right up. We want to thank all of you who support destined for victory with your prayers and financial support, gifts that help Pastor Paul share the good news of salvation in Christ with a growing audience destined for victory is a listener supported ministry as we continue to live in a season of uncertainty. Your support is critical because no more than ever people are looking for answers and only God can give. So give online safely and securely from our website. Pastor Paul.net or give us a call at 855-339-5500 again.

The numbers 855-339-5500. When you give the gift of her own to share with you and I'll tell you all about it.

After today's message you want to be a person of destiny personal lives and victory. Find out how. Next, and the rest of today's destined for victory message taking on a new identity was again here's Pastor Paul puppy every chance just just just in the populace puppy is a breed that is to be large, destined to be big, powerful but it's identity and the family quickly became all three of these to humans and this little logo on that identity so it even after the little dog got used to would be around. It was delivered on and just picked wanted just to make sure the puppy knew one day they took the little dog to the groomer and the groomer got too happy with the clippers got through the little dog really was an recognizable to the bigger doll.

So they brought the little dog back all where he thinks he's heard the big dog in the big dog has grown now, so it had been for until this day the same. But the big one having had the pulled a big dog offer that little dog.

He was everything he will stop why because you had the power, but he just needed something to remind him of who he really was somebody you like who you really are longtime but you leave this message said for I am God says I am so remember that the enemy is beneath you. Number two. Pay attention to God's timing. Look at verse 97 that night. The Lord said to Gideon, get up, go down against the camp because I am going to give it into your hands now pause right there. The Lord says to him, get up, go down to the camp.

I'm going to give it into your hands.

When does the Lord say that to him that night. That night God said now that night they were somewhere. According to the text, which talks about being in that particular watch. They were somewhere between 10 PM and 2 AM not the time you would normally expect to go to battle. Typically you don't want to go to battle at night, but the Lord says that night, get up, go to the camp will give it into your hands. Pay attention to God's timing, there is often timing aspect to what God does in our lives to be a person of destiny to be a person who really fulfills your calling to understand that God will lead you not only in terms of the what and by how, but he leads us in terms of the wind. There are some things that are destined for you, but you've gotta find God's timing for them. God's timing.

Because if you do the right thing at the wrong time you get the wrong results and we got to understand that there's this timing element in all that God doesn't give you that we remember when Ruth and Naomi were headed from Moab back to Bethlehem. Now they only is a woman of Israel. And so Bethlehem used to be home until she and her family had moved years ago Moab during the famine you know the story.

Naomi's husband died and her two grown sons died while they were in Moab where one of the sons was married to and so suddenly all three women now don't have a husband and eventually when the Lord comes to his people in Bethlehem. Naomi says I'm going back home tells the two girls I can stay, but eventually you know the story Ruth said no, no, I'm going with you, your God's will be my God, your people don't be my people going with you. I feel somehow, even though I'm not a woman of Israel. I feel that my destiny is connected to you and so bad she goes. Headed back to Bethlehem a play she's never been a place she is not from but she's just going to see what God is going to do here what you know that what happened was one day she said we gotta have somebody, so let me go out, find a field and let me glean behind the harvesters try to pick up some of the leftovers the harvesters and I just pray that God gives me a favor so that they don't mistreat me because this was a foreigner and she certainly could've been mistreated with impunity.

So she goes out in faith. Just trusting to go to be able to's to pick up some wheat and be able to feed herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi, and you know the story as it turns out she found herself gleaming in the field of Boaz.

She didn't know about all she knew is we need and I'm going out. Trusting God and so she ended up God directed her path and she ended up in the right place, but more importantly she ended up at the right place at the right time because while she's bleeding. One day as though the whole field almost harvest about their work for him. He's the CEO people in his Mercedes gets out the car and looks over his land and sees the harvesters doing their job and any notices this woman over in the corner of the field gleaning behind them because someone woman over there and they said no that's rude.

She came back with Naomi. She's from Moab but the boy she takes care of Naomi and she's a wonderful woman and nobody has anything bad to say about her and I gave a good report, and Boaz said all right.

He called the men in front of his arm to go.

No one messed with dad woman. If anybody bothered you got a problem with me, God's protection over her life and he called her and she came in from the field and he told her. I've instructed the man not to mess with you. You can glean all you want. In fact, they don't believe in some handfuls behind on purpose God left you any handfuls on purpose and he says you can glean all you want to will be a problem in the Lord bless you God have the right place, but she was meeting husband that day be at the right place, but also at the right time so you have to learn to pay attention to God's timing.

You just walk in the spirit and let God put you in the right place but pay attention to the timing because there are divine appointments, a time when your life is to intersect with somebody else's in the timing makes all the difference. Back in 1989 I heard Oral Roberts telling the story of how he came to buy the 400 acres that he originally purchased to build his university on and he said that he knew the Lord had spoken to him about building the University. He said the Lord was very specific. I want to go to college you want to build a university I want to build on my authority. I want to build it on the power of the Holy Spirit and Sorrell said I'm a preacher, to preacher healing revival preacher.

I know nothing about academic I know nothing about universities. I know nothing about building a faculty. I know nothing at all, Indian preacher, but the Lord told them back in whatever decade 60s or whatever university on my authority and on the power the Holy Spirit, he said so there was a piece of land that I said this will be ideal for what God is the vision he's given me and he said I would God drive up in that area and get out of my car. Sometimes just stretch my hand out and say Lord, hold it for me, Lord, hold it for me. He said, and then the time came when we began to inquire. I pull my attorney and a few trusted people and would begin acquire loans at land and tell them we're interested in building a university on it. Let's begin the talk. What he said I have any money but we inquire so they found the family very wealthy oil-rich family and they said no we have no interest at all in selling delay and so he said well let's just keep trying to raise more money and so we can have some sort of down payment that sort of thing Doing that. He said we visit hello a small amount of money.

Not a whole lot it would be considered a very small down payment on the purchase of 400 acres. He said so then we went back to the family said you know we really want to seriously talk about buying this property in the family. So we told you before, we are not interested.

The owners were not interested at all and he said repeatedly as they would approach them. They said no no no no no, so that the average person would just say okay we need to just go elsewhere. This is not a possibility, he said, but the Lord told me to build. I was offered free in Denver, Colorado to build a university on offer freeway was offered in the binary of Southern California, that all men that's gotta be people reminding you said, but in my spirit. I know this is not where God said as I turned down the free landing Colorado turned down the free land in California, if you want to walk in victory.

If you want to fulfill your destiny in Christ.

Remember you are not who you think you are you are who God says you are walk in that truth today and every day. Thanks for stopping by for today's message taking on our new identity to hear any of Pastor Paul's recent messages on demand log on to Pastor Paul.net that's Pastor Paul.net will.

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