From the desk of Steve Shultz:
More than ever, it's important that we know WHO WE ARE. I couldn't say it better as Rob Hotchkin shares below: It is critical in this hour that we dig into the Word and posture ourselves before the Father's heart so that we can allow Him to show us who we truly are.
Let's take time today to pray and allow HIM to truly tell us who we are.
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Rob Hotchkin:
Our God-given Identity is Who We Really Are
Before God ever formed us in our mothers' wombs, He knew us. In other words, before He even brought us forth He had fully determined who we are and established our identity in Him.
One of the most important weapons of warfare we have in any battle is our God-given identity. When we allow God to reveal to us who we truly are, and we choose to believe Him, we can live from that identity and trust God to back it up and bring it about. When we know who we are to God, with God, and for God, we can enter any situation or circumstance confident that we will see victory, because we are walking out the destiny God created us for, called us to, and has empowered us to step into.
The Life of the Son
The Father models this to us in the life of His Son. When Jesus emerged from the waters of His baptism, the Father proclaimed Jesus' identity. The Father declared that Jesus is a "Beloved Son" in whom the Father is "fully pleased." Before Jesus stepped into any ministry or any confrontations with the enemy, He knew who He was.
God-given identity is so powerful that the enemy will do all he can to come against it. He tried to attack Jesus' identity in the wilderness and get Him to question if He really was God's Son. But Jesus refused to be shaken. He refused to let go of the identity His Father had declared over Him. He was so rooted and grounded in who He was to, for, and with the Father that at times He simply declared His true God-given identity and the enemy was completely overpowered by it (John 18:6).
Jesus was the firstborn of many children (Romans 8:29), and because of the amazing gift of His sacrifice you are now one of those children. Just like He did with His Son Jesus, the Father wants to declare over you, His precious child, who you truly are.
It is critical in this hour that we dig into the Word and posture ourselves before the Father's heart so that we can allow Him to show us who we truly are. You are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). You are not who you were. You are who He created you to be. When we know and embrace our God-given identity, we can nullify the lies of the enemy and cast down every temptation and vain imagination that does not line up with who and what God says we truly are.
Knowing your God-given identity is a key weapon for victory in this hour.
There is Victory in Identity!
When David went into battle against Goliath he confidently carried a weapon that was key to his victory. More than the sling in his hand, more than the five stones in his pouch, the weapon David wielded was his God-given identity.
In 1 Samuel 17, when David showed up at the battlefield to take on Goliath, no one thought of him as a warrior. At that point he was really only known to the world as a musician in Saul's court. But David did not let the world determine his identity. He knew the Lord had anointed him to be a leader, victor, and protector of Israel. He knew that God had been training him for war while he had been caring for the sheep of his father's flock (1 Samuel 17:34-37). It didn't matter if the world knew who he was at this point. David knew who he was – because he chose to believe what God had declared over him. That's why he was ready for the battle and able to step into the victory.
When his older brother belittled him, telling him he had no business being amongst the warriors since he was just an insignificant little shepherd (1 Samuel 17:28), David held tightly to who God had told him he was. When King Saul dismissed him as "only a boy" (1 Samuel 17:33), David clung to his God-given identity. And when the enemy tried to humiliate and intimidate him, David confidently declared who his God was and reiterated who he was with his God. He battled from his God-given identity, a key to stepping into victory!
When the world tried to tell David who he was, he didn't pay attention. When the people around him tried to tell him who he was, he ignored them. And when the enemy tried to tell him who he was, he corrected him. David was confident in who he was, because he was confident in his God who had declared his identity to him. David knew and trusted the Lord, so he knew he could trust what the Lord had told him about himself.
David's identity was not determined by his circumstances, by others, and certainly not by the enemy. It was determined by God. If we truly trust our God, we will truly trust that we are who He says we are. We will live from that identity, and we will see victory.
Don't Limit Yourself!
In addition to the voices of the world, people around you, and the enemy, there is one other voice that can come against your God-given identity. You! Sometimes it is our own voice inside our heads that tries to convince us we are not who God says we are. Think of Gideon in Judges 6. The Lord declared to Gideon that he was a "mighty man of valor" and that he would be the rescuer of his people. Gideon's initial response was, "Not me!"
He then went on to list all the reasons he could not possibly be a mighty man or a hero amongst his people. Gideon had been so beaten down by the Midianites (the enemy) over the years that he could not bring himself to believe what the Lord told him about who he was. But God is so faithful, so loving, so kind, and so good at declaring to us who we really are; He took Gideon past his own doubts and empowered him to step into his true God-given identity. He can do the same for each of us.
Who You Really Are!
The world will try to tell you who you are. People around you will try to tell you who you are. The enemy will try to tell you who you are. They might even cite facts about your past or your present to try to convince you that they're right. Don't listen to any of it. Don't listen to any voice that tries to tell you that you are anything other than who God says you are.
Before God formed you in your mother's womb He knew you (Jeremiah 1:5). God knows all about you, but He wants you to know, too. He wants to share with you who you truly are so that you can cast off any remnant of false identity the world, others, or the enemy have placed upon you, and start to live from your God-given identity.
Take time this month to get with God and let Him speak to you about you. Ask Him who you are. Ask Him how He sees you. Ask Him what He created you for. Ask Him to declare over you your God-given identity. You are going to be amazed by who you really are!
Robert Hotchkin
Extreme Prophetic
Email: rob@xpmedia.com
About Rob Hotchkin: Rob ministers with Patricia King and Extreme Prophetic. He fervently believes every Christian is a miracle-working explosion of the Kingdom waiting to happen. His preaching, teaching, and ministry inspires Believers to grab hold of their restored relationship with the Father through the finished work of the Cross and walk the earth as Jesus did – destroying every work of darkness everywhere they go! Rob is a passionate lover of Jesus Christ and that passion is truly contagious! He ministers with strong faith, releasing revelation, prophetic decrees, healings, miracles, and the love of God. He is a true carrier of the glory and revival. People have been healed, refreshed, set free, and empowered through his life. He believes for Heaven to impact lives and regions everywhere he goes.
