THE POWER OF SELF IDENTITY

Matthew 16:13-18

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

To do the right things we need to know who we are. To worship God very well or to have a relationship with Him, we need to know His identity. Jesus knew this, so, one day He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.“

Christ knew that the Pharisees were antagonistic to his preaching because they did not know His identity.
Again, one day as they gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David." He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,‘ saying: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool'"? “If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?" ^{(Matt. 22:41-46)}

The Bible says a Christian is a living stone and Christ is the cornerstone of the spiritual house. Another analogy is that we are priests and Christ is the Chief priest ^{(1 Pet. 2:5, 9)}.

The fundamental truth on which our relationship with God stands as Christians is that we are children of God. The source of most challenges in relationships is the failure to know one's identity. If we don't know our identity, it is difficult for us to really know God and to relate with Him.

Aspiring to know myself makes me know what I have and whatI need in have.

Every Christian ought to have sense of self-identity; otherwise, we can easily be distracted from faith. Awareness of our strengths and weaknesses makes us concentrate on our mission “and not boast in another man's sphere of accomplishment” ^{(2 Cor. 10: 16)}.

No amount or intimidation will make us lose focus of God because we will not engage in comparison that leads to other negative acts. Someone said, “Behind every failed relationship is a sense of lost identity”.

As a Nazarene and unique personality, Samson could not build his relationship with God due to loss of identity. We will not, like Samson dishonor and devalue the divine grace we are given if we know our identity and well-rooted in Christ and the Spirit of God.
Knowledge of our identity goes a long way in assisting us to carry out our assignment or mission. Our identity in Christ gives us purpose and direction.

To build a relationship with God, we must appreciate the difference between our physical and spiritual identities, or draw a line between our inner man and outer man.
We can't relate with God if we rely on our human experiences as it nearly made Gideon lose his opportunity due to his initial lack of self identity and self-belief ^{Judges 6: 11-16.}

To reveal our identity, the scripture says, “I have said, ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High” ^{(Psalm 82:6)}.

Ignorance of who we are in Christ can make us live, talk and act without the consciousness of God's covenant over our lives. Confessing and carrying the consciousness of the Lord's authority and grace over us makes us establish a strong relationship with God.

Our identity was further revealed by Christ when he said, “You are the salt of the earth... you are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden” ^{(Matt. 5: 13-14).}

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