28 Aug Who Am I? Learning to respond to life from your position not your condition. (Part 2)

Posted at 07:59h in Joy Church by

 

Have you ever noticed how identity conscious people are?  When Hollywood has its red carpet galas, interviewers will frequently ask, “Who are you wearing?”  People identify with celebrities and some even think they look like celebrities.  We presently have a deluge of “reality” shows because people identify with other real people on television.  This all boils down to one issue…the identity issue.

Last week I began our teaching and we shared with you why your identity is so important:

  1. You behave according to your self-image (Mark 12:31)
  2. You marry according to your self-image
  3. You succeed or fail according to your self-image (Prov. 23:7)

Then we began to share with you “3 Wonders of Who I Am”:

  1. Who Am I…you are a spirit (John 3:3-6).

We also shared with you our text verse, Philemon vs. 6: “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”  For our faith to be effective, we must begin to acknowledge all the good things in us…in Christ.  Last week we shared with you just a few of these good things:

    1. II Cor. 5:17 – “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
    2. Eph. 4:24 – “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
    3. Col.2:10 – “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”

This week, let’s continue…

  1. Who I am not…I am not a soul or a body (Phil. 3:19).

We live in a society that worships our looks.  It’s like the woman who had a serious illness to the point of death.  On her death bed she prayed to God, to which God replied, “Fear not my child, I shall give you 20 more years.”  Immediately this woman recovered and now elated with 20 more years under her belt, she immediately went out and had major plastic surgery.  She totally revamped her face and body.  As she left the hospital after having major plastic surgery, she walked out in the street only to be run over by a bus.  As this woman arrived in heaven, she exclaimed to God, “I thought I had 20 more years?!”  To which God replied, “I’m sorry, my child, I didn’t recognize you!”

We also worship our feelings in this society!  Think of some of our songs.  “Feelings, nothing more than feelings”, or  “You lost that lovin’ feeling”, and my favorite, “Sometimes I feel like a nut, sometimes I don’t…”!  Seriously, we have a generation that is addicted to looks and feelings.  The Bible clearly tells us that God is a spirit (John 4:23-24), therefore to try to know God or yourself through the five physical senses will always leave you in a very shallow understanding of both. 

Please allow me to give you “10 Facets of Fickled Feelings”:

1)      Feelings are the first thing to go in negative circumstances (Eph. 6:13).

Here the Bible tells us that in the “evil day” (when negative circumstances come your way) you must put on the whole armor of God.  The first piece we are instructed to put on is the belt of truth over our loins.  The “loins” is a biblical reference for your emotions.  In the Roman armor, to which Paul is referring, the belt of truth was the connecting point for all the other pieces of armor.  If the belt came off, so would all the rest of the armor.

While negative circumstances come our way, many times the first thing that goes swirling down our emotional toilet are our emotions.  If the emotions go…the rest of your armor goes with it!

I remember many years ago at World Changers Bible Institute we were having our “Get Acquainted Weekend”. This was a weekend in which potential students came to visit our campus and decide if WCBI was right for them.  During this gathering we would always feed our perspective students lunch.  This particular weekend Anne’s parents were also visiting.  My father-in-law was fighting off  a severe cough that Friday.  As he went to eat a potato chip he began to cough.  As he breathed in he also sucked in a potato chip.  This chip completely closed off his windpipe and he began to choke.  His wife then yelled out, “Does anyone know how to do a Heimlich maneuver?!”  Now remember, this room was full of men and women with the call of God on their lives, full of faith and power and our future spiritual leaders.  You have never seen so many people panic emotionally all at once!

Now I had never done a Heimlich maneuver in my life nor have I ever been trained to do so, but I did know the name of Jesus!  Without trying to be overly spiritual, it seemed as if time just slowed down and I was keenly aware of my own fleshly inadequacy but His divine supremacy!  I had complete peace and total confidence in the name of Jesus!

You see, God created us spirit, soul and body and in an emergency situation your soul was designed to simply step aside and give your spirit ascendancy.  At that moment, if your spirit is full of the Word of God, it will come charging out.  If your spirit is empty, your emotions will freak out.

So I calmly walked over to my father-in-law and positioned myself behind him.  I pumped once under his sternum and then said, “In the name of Jesus, come out” as I pumped a second time.  The chip came miraculously out!  I moved up on my father-in-law’s will that day…of which I frequently remind him!

2)      Never depend on feelings to tell you the truth.

Feelings lie!  Have you ever said on a Tuesday, “It sure does feel like a Monday!”  That’s why our loins are gird about with truth.  Never let your emotions tell you how to feel.  You tell your body and emotions, “This is how we will feel!”

Remember this…act your way into feelings, don’t feel your way into acting!  Next week we’ll continue our series.