Archive for June 17, 2007

Finding Your True Identity

June 17, 2007 by PastorDave.

Play nowFinding Your True Identity, Sunday, 06-17-2007

 

Title: Finding Your True Identity
Text: Malachi 4:5, 6

 

INTRODUCTION

 

  • The Lone Ranger, Zorro, & Superman; all men with secret identities, no one knew who they really were.
  • Identity = the distinguishing character or personality of an individual: individuality.
  • Who was that masked man? Heroes to the public, all of them revered.
  • Everyone (man) needs an identity; it provides status & self esteem among other things.
  • Dads have searched for their identity outside of their relationship with Jesus Christ and we have become disillusioned and are facing a great identity crisis. Who Am I?
  • Position Man: Identified by my title in life
  • Possession Man: Identified by what I have gained and achieved in life
  • Pleasure Man: Identified by my recreation & hobbies

 

Today I want to sound a cry; herald a message, set off the alarm, be a voice crying in the wilderness to all fathers. Dad please look for your identity in a personal, daily, alive relationship with Jesus Christ and his Word.

 

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF DAD LOOKS FOR HIS TRUE IDENTITY IN HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST?

 

  1. HE WILL DISCOVER HIS TRUE MISSION
    1. Malachi 4: 5, 6- “See I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
    2. Luke 1:17 – “And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children.”
    3. The God-given mission of every dad was prophesied in the O.T., confirmed here in the N.T., and was the message of the forerunner of the Lord.
    4. God addressed only one area of interest before the great and dreadful day of the Lord….and that area was the heart of dad’s turned toward their children.
    5. The one relationship that God focused on was father, child.
    6. Dad when you focus your identity solely in Jesus Christ He will make clear His mission for you and your heart. (Your children)
    7. Challenge: Investing your time, talents, and testimonies into your children.
    8. What we spend our time on, invest our talents in and talk about; that’s where our hearts are. That is where are treasure is.
    9. Is your heart turned towards your children; ask them, your wife, and your parents.
  2. HE WILL RECEIVE HIS TRUE ASSIGNMENT
    1. Proverbs 23:26 – “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”
    2. The God-given assignment of every dad is to pursue until you posses our children’s heart.
    3. Son, daughter, I want your heart. In other words I want to be the major influence in the decisions you are going to make in life.
    4. The one who gets our children’s hearts wins! (Friends, culture, Satan, pop-culture heroes etc…)
    5. Too many of us Dad are trying to subdue our children with the law, when what God wants us to do is woo them with our love. (that’s how God got you)
    6. Challenge: Listen to them, not get lazy in our pursuit of their heart, and our lusts which cause them to shrink back from giving their hearts to us.
    7. The end of this verse is very important, we gain our kids hearts only when we give them the freedom to observe our ways, we must live transparent before them.
    8. Hannah & the grocery store:
    9. I do the grocery shopping & take one child each week with me.
    10. My daughter helped me one day and we came to the check out
    11. We put the groceries through and went home and everyone helped.
    12. 1/2 hr. later my wife said you need to talk to Hannah she is crying & upset, she’s nervous you are going to leave us…. why I said….
    13. She said you were “staring” at the magazines as you checked out.
    14. Now, I immediately began to defend myself…I didn’t even pick one up, how dare she… let me talk to her.
    15. The Lord helped me at that moment because this was a win your kids heart moment, I first assured her that I am not and would never leave my family.
    16. Then I asked her to forgive me, she saw, I didn’t even see it, a touch of lust, something in my eyes or spirit that I didn’t detect, but her sensitive spirit did, and it bothered her…a lot.
    17. I asked her if, when we go to the grocery store again she would help me be better at the check out, I gave her the right to remind me.
    18. The next time came, we came to the check out, I had thought about it, but as we were checking out the Spirit reminded me… and I turned to and said, honey, how I am doing the magazines…big smile, real good dad, thanks. And I knew I had just succored a big piece of a ten-year old girl’s heart. (let your eyes observe my ways)
    19. Dad when you focus your identity solely on your relationship with Jesus Christ He will make clear your true assignment given directly from His Word to you (pursing the heart of your children).
  3. HE WILL BE MADE AWARE OF HIS GREATEST WEAKNESS
    1. Colossians 3:21- “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”
    2. The greatest weakness or danger every dad faces is simple, to provoke their children to anger.
    3. An angry spirit will never win the heart of a child, never. It may put them in their place for a short while, but when the time comes they will rebel and run.
    4. The angry dad tries to “power parent” you will do it or else.
    5. A child living with angry dad will (according to Scripture) become discouraged.
    6. A discouraged child is a sitting duck for the enemy.
    7. Challenge: Submit, Surrender, and Serve
    8. Submit your anger to the Lord, surrender your actions to His Word and serve your children instead of forcing them.
    9. Rebecca & the meeting:
    10. One Friday evening I prepared my daughters for an early Saturday morning event that I wanted them to go to with their mother.
    11. One of my daughters got up and just couldn’t get herself together and was running super late. The tension was beginning to mount in the house.
    12. I went in her room to check on her and she was undressing and decided she wouldn’t be ready in time so she wasn’t going. Well I lost it. I got right in her face and blew up
    13. You will be going, you will get dressed now, and I saw her eyes get big & her face turn white as her father unleashed his anger on her.
    14. While 5 minutes later her wife came down and made an appeal to me, that she would never be ready in time and that she is not in any shape to go. I didn’t know what to do.
    15. So I told her, to get downstairs as my wife and other daughter left, and eat breakfast and get your bible because you need to hear from God!
    16. So her and I sat down together and both of us began to read, but I was just angry.
    17. I could see the discouragement on her face; I had broken her spirit with my anger.
    18. Now you might say, pastor, but you were right. Maybe, but using anger to control and get your way makes you always wrong in God’s eyes.
    19. As I read my bible a verse jumped out and slapped my spiritual face…
    20. 2 Corinthians 2:8 – “I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm our love for him.”
    21. And I was rebuked. I turned toward my daughter and asked her to forgive her father for his angry words and spirit and reaffirmed how much I loved her and that we will just learn from this. And we hugged and I could sense the burden lifted from her spirit. (and I knew I had just captured another little piece of a 12 yr. olds heart)
    22. Dad when you focus your identity solely on your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ He will make you aware of your greatest weakness and give you power to overcome it. (provoke not our children to anger)
  4. HE WILL BE MAKING LIFE-LONG MEMORIES
    1. Deuteronomy 6:7 – “Impress them on your children.”
    2. One thing a Spiritual leader dad does is purpose to make life-long memories.
    3. Rose Bowl- January 1, 1981 (stand up if you have a ticket to the 1981 rose bowl)
    4. Promise Keepers –fall 1996, Shea Stadium
    5. Sharing life memories & Spiritual memories.
    6. Make memories with your children, that they will burn or be impressed on their heart.
    7. What are you planning right now that your children will be talking about 10, 25 yrs. from now?

 

CLOSING

  1. I want to close with three really tough statements to dad. Too many of us dad’s have spent our time decorating our lives with Christianity instead of finding our true identity in Jesus Christ.
  2. Your children do not need a “Christian” dad; they need a Spiritual Leader.
  3. Dad, your family doesn’t need increase commitment from you; they need you to surrender to God’s call on your life as dad & spiritual leader of the home.
  4. Dad, I would like to give you and opportunity before you leave this morning to take a bold step of faith and state your intentions.
  5. Whether you’ve done a good job or not, from this point on you are going to pursue your God given mission to win the heart of your children, place your identity in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and let Holy Spirit transform you into the spiritual leader you are designed to be.
  6. It all begins for every dad in here at the foot of the cross; this is where you will get the wisdom, love, power and endurance to be successful.
  7. Come join me dad, lets turn our heart to our children so they will turn their hearts to us and then we can point them to Jesus.
  8. Any dad need to get anger or lust confessed and under the cleansing blood of Jesus?

 

PRACTICE:

  • Forgive Me
  • I Love You
  • I Need You
  • What Do You Think
  • I Was Wrong

 

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