Real Talk

Unfollow The Fake You: Live In Your New Identity

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Everything changes when we follow Jesus. 

Mark 1:16-20

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

How has Christ’s arrival in my life changed how I live my life? 

Matthew 16:13-19

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 Christ, 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. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

How many of us are letting the wrong identity create a transaction history that differs from who we want to be?

John 21:3

“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

The enemy is great at connecting us with our fake identity more than our spiritual identity.

The Faults Of Our Fake Identity 

• The fake you focuses on pleasing yourself. 

Picture of Dee

Picture of Dee 2

Romans 8:5

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Our identity in Christ will always focus on pleasing him first. 

Galatians 6:9

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up.

• The fake you leans away when things get hard.

James 1:2-4

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Our identity in Christ will cause us to lean toward Christ for strength. 

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

BAND IN TO FOLLOW

• The fake you tries to achieve to receive. 

Ephesians 2:8-10

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

When the enemy shows up to tell you about your transaction history, remind him of the greatest transaction in history. 

Jesus was willing to pay a price for you that you couldn’t pay yourself. 

Our identity in Christ will always be built on the grace we’ve received, not the works we’ve achieved. 

Action Step:

Choose to be what you’ve yet to see. 

Real Talk:

If what he’s given you isn’t changing you, it will eventually be wasted on you.  

Consider This:

Imagine the peace  we could experience and share with others if we fully embraced our Christian identity.

There’s no identity crisis where Christ is.