Who Am I? What is Identity In Christ?

"Do you wonder -- am I really a new creation? Have you thought “I don’t feel much different, maybe nothing has changed. What does God think?” For years I wondered…“How can God forgive me of my past mistakes?” 2 Corinthians 10:4, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 

This truth restored my mind to the place God already set me up, already positioned me. He didn’t see my shame; he saw my worth. When Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they lost acceptance, security, and significance. against God. Jesus Christ is the only one who can restore our relationship to God. And in that relationship, he has restored our acceptance, security, and significance. In Christ, you are loved. Your identity is a child of God. You can resist sin by remembering that God has the best for His children. He offers you more than the world ever could. You are complete in His love. I challenge you to use the three ways to enable you to see yourself as God sees you – loved and righteous.

1. God’s “love (that) covers a multitude of sins,” (I Pet. 4:8).
 2. The old me is gone, the new me lives. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
 3. In Christ your new identity is found in the finished work of Jesus Christ. “You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.” Ephesians 2:19

“Lord, thank You for giving me a new identity in Christ. Help me rely on my position in Christ. That in Christ, I am accepted, in Christ, I am secure, in Christ, I am significant. “

Thank you for joining me, I am excited to be part of your journey. Please share this episode and hit subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes. I can't wait for you to experience God's peace, comfort, and wholeness.

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Transcript

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Do you wonder, am I really a new creation? Have you thought, I don't feel much different. Maybe nothing has changed. What does God think? In this episode, I share three ways about how to see yourself as God sees you, loved and righteous. You are not defined by your past. Restore your heart starts right now. Each week I bring tips and tools from God's Word to help you identify and overcome triggers, trauma, or tragedy. When your heart is hurting or broken, God's heart breaks right along with yours. If you're anything like me, you've asked questions like, why am I going through this? Or how long will my suffering last? Or will this pain ever stop? You felt abandoned and alone. Be encouraged. You've found a friend here who knows. God understands each hurt, God cares about each loss. Everything that has happened to you has broken God's heart. Let's get started. I can relate to the helpless feeling of being defined by my past mistakes. For years I wondered, how can God forgive me for what I did? Every day I felt guilty, unworthy, inadequate, and unforgiven. I didn't know my pity party kept me trapped in the devil's lies. I was deceived and I didn't know it. I couldn't get off of the endless torment, the merry-go-round in my mind. I didn't know that God wanted me to find out for myself by reading his word, and that's what I learned to do. And so for us, that's why in each episode we go to the Bible, and I'll show you where to look to find out how God feels about you and how God sees you. So the first truth that I learned was that God's love covers a multitude of sins. That's 1 Peter 4.8. And God wants us to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord to have a new life in Christ. For years I was deceived. I believed a lie that because of the mistakes I made in the past, I thought God couldn't or wouldn't forgive me. Maybe you can relate. God used his people, his word, and his holy spirit to bring me to the place where I understood that it's God's love that covers a multitude of sins. First Peter 4.8. I received Jesus as my Savior, but I didn't know that when I was adopted into God's family, that no one erased the hard drive of my emotions, memories, or mistakes. So I listened to lies that the enemy had repeated to me, and I repeated to myself things like, you'll never be good enough. No one likes you. You'll never fit in. Why do you even try? This created a stronghold. It was built because I chose to continue to believe that my situation was hopeless. And I kept adding more lies to this stronghold. It had a stronghold on me. I was stuck. But God's solution was on the way. I began to understand what God's word told me in 2 Corinthians 10 4. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. And this truth restored my mind to the place God had already set me up, already positioned me. He didn't see my shame, he saw my worth. The same is true for you. So the second truth is that the old me is gone, and the new me lives. This is 2 Corinthians 5.17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new is here. Jesus came not only to die for our sins, but to give us a new life in him, and also to supply all of our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. It's a resurrection. Jesus was raised from earthly death into eternal life. In Christ, He's given us a brand new, fresh life, an abundant existence that's resurrected. He gave us life, and this life gives us our true identity as a child of God. When Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they lost acceptance, security, and significance. Jesus Christ is the only one who can restore our relationship to God. And in that relationship, he's also restored our acceptance, security, and significance. Only his redeeming love can cut through the trauma of a sin-scarred world. Walking in the freedom Jesus offers is a life that's not just resuscitated, it is resurrected. The third truth is that in Christ, your new identity is found in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2 19 explains it better than I can. You're no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household. Wow, isn't that cool? You're a member of God's household, not a stranger. If you follow Christ, you belong in God's family and with his people. You're part of one big family of God. You are a legitimate child of God. The explanation is continued in 2 Corinthians 9 8. God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As a child of God, you are blessed and provided for. The reason that the world does not know us is that it did not know him. In Christ, friend, you are loved. Your identity is a child of God. You can resist sin by remembering that God has the best for his children. He offers you more than the world ever could. You're complete in his love. Zephaniah 3.17 says, The Lord your God is with you, the mighty warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you. In his love, he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Jesus delights in you. You're not just accepted, you are welcomed into his family with delight. And when correction comes, it lasts for a short time because the goal is for it to help you reflect God's holy character more accurately. He delights in you so much that he is making you more like himself day by day. Today's unshakable truth in Christ, you can let go of your past. God sees you as loved and righteous. When you feel ashamed or unworthy, read the scriptures aloud in this episode and give yourself a truth boost. I will share more tools for a truth boost in the next episode as I read aloud scriptures to encourage you to stand firm in who you are in Christ. I challenge you, use the three ways to see yourself as God sees you, loved and righteous. Let's review what we talked about today. Number one, the first truth is that it was God's love that covers a multitude of sins, first Peter four eight. The second truth, the old me is gone, the new me lives. Second Corinthians five seventeen. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new is here. The third truth is that in Christ your new identity is found in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2.19 explains it so well. You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household. Friend, you don't have to guess or question whether or not God accepts you. Jesus' finished work at the cross has done it all for you. In his resurrection power, you can let go of the shame of your past. If today's message spoke to your heart, take a minute right now to pause and pray, Lord, thank you for giving me a new identity in Christ. Help me to stand firm on my position in Christ. That is, in Christ, I am accepted. In Christ, I am secure. In Christ, I am significant. Thanks for joining me on Restore Your Heart. If this message of God's unshakable truth resonated with you, share this episode with a friend who's questioning what God thinks about them. Let's help each other walk in freedom. You don't have to wonder what God thinks. You can be sure, in Christ, God accepts you, you're secure, and you are significant. Please subscribe at S-H-E-R-Y-L, G S and Go, T S N Tom.com. That's Cheryl G-T.com. I'm Cheryl Geese Brack Turner, and this is Restore Your Heart. I hope you join us next time. For Who Am I? What is Identity in Christ? As I share our truth-boost scriptures. See you then.