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Who are you?

by Apostle Dr Val Egbudiwe  
2/10/2007 / Christian Living

John 1:19-23

The difference between the rich and the poor, is information. One has the information that will advance him in life and the other does not have it. Sometimes, the difference between the great and the small, is knowledge. There is a saying that: "A man's mountain is his ignorance".
There are great discoveries, but the greatest discovery that anyone could ever make, is Self-discovery. There is no greater discovery than that. It is possible for a person to be born again, Spirit-filled, sanctified, and could be a Pastor or Evangelist, without knowing who he or she is. That is why this question is coming out to you today: WHO ARE YOU? It is a very important question; it is like asking for you identity card. Ignorance about who you are could put you in untold hardship.

The lesson on identity is very important. Jacob learnt this lesson; he saw that by his identity, he was not in his place of destiny. He got the blessings meant for his brother Esau; got his identity through fowl means but he later discovered that, that did not help him. He had to hold tight to the Angel of the Lord and his identity was changed. He was given a new name, before he could actually enjoy any blessing. One of Satan's most effective devices is to get Christians, to be completely ignorant of their true identity. The devil is an expert at doing this; he tried it on Jesus, so he will do it to any Christian. The devil thought he could confuse Jesus, by saying: "If Thou be the Son of God, command these stones to become bread" What was the devil trying to do? It was to make Jesus doubt His identity. It means if Jesus did not know Who He is, the devil would have gotten away with his trick. That did not discourage the devil; he tried again, by saying: "If Thou be the Son of God, cast Yourself down; because it is written that the angels will bear you in their arms". Again, Jesus defeated him, but that did not stop the devil from trying again at the Cross; he spoke through the people who mocked Jesus, telling Him to come down from the Cross, if He was truly the Son of God. The devil is an expert at speaking to Christians; he would want to convince them, that as children of God, they are not supposed to suffer so, their suffering, means that God is not with them, or that He is partial or wicked. The devil would ask if your God is asleep. Beloved, why are you entertaining evil thoughts? I am asking once more: "Who are you?

Some people, when they pray, call themselves all kinds of names; they will say they are unworthy servants, miserable sinners, unfit, unworthy, bad, etc Some of them think that by so doing, they are being humble; all they are doing, is to appropriate upon themselves, satanic identity card. It actually shows that they do not know who they are. The devil will always try to whisper dirty things into the ears of the believer. Whilst the believer is busy thinking about it, he will turn round and accuse the person and even report him or her to God. The person will be found guilty on many grounds and will be discouraged
The prodigal son did a lot of terrible things. He was rotten and bad. The Bible records that he got to a stage in his life, when he came to his senses and realised that he needed a change in his situation. His head became 'correct' and he realised the son of whom he was; a son and not a slave; he decided that he would arise and go to his father and he did. The devil will whip people forward and backwards, if they do not know who they are.
You must know who you are. Let the life of Jesus, from His birth to His death on the Cross, be an example to you. Jesus was always talking about Whom and What He is, what His mission in life is. He said He is the Living Water, the Bread of Life, the Son of God, the Way, the Truth and the Life. Who are you? I am not asking what your name is; at this level, your name is not important.

The day you realise who you are, that day, you would have won a great battle. Maybe God is telling you to pray for some people or preach to them and you are giving excuses and feeling unworthy; it is very dangerous. This feeling of unworthiness has made many Christians to become targets for the devil. When you know who you are, and you keep confessing it, things begin to happen.

The soldiers that were sent to capture Elijah asked him to come down from the mountain and he said if he really was a man of God, fire should come down and it did.
Many people do not know who they are, when the devil comes; they do not know which answer to give to him. People asked John who he was; thank God he knew who he was and he told them that he was the 'voice, crying in the wilderness'.

What is the most terrible form of Man's ignorance? It is ignorance of oneself; not knowing what one is. If you do not know who you are, you are in a dangerous position. That is why some people worship animals and feed them with the food that people should eat, whilst they are dying of hunger.
Until you discover who you are, you cannot give yourself unselfishly to another person. That is why many marriages are in trouble today. If Mr. Zero marries Miss Zero, they become Mr. & Mrs. Zero that is, they are nobody; meaning that there is no marriage. If Mr. Chronic Selfishness marries Miss Acute Selfishness, they become Selfishness2 ; meaning there is no marriage. Many people get into wrong marriages, because they have not discovered who they are. 99% of married people, never really know themselves. When two people who do not know themselves get married, there will be confusion and their children too, will be confused. There are many people like that, who really never discover themselves.

Are you a preacher or pastor, because you want to be one? Or you are, because that is what God wants you to be?
Are you a business man because you like it or because God wants you to be one? Are you a musician or banker, or lawyer, or doctor because you or your parents want you to be one? Or because God called you to be one? Are you still intact? Are you still God's original design? Or you have been unconsciously altered by the enemies of your destiny? Are you where you are because it is your place of destiny? It is important to discover this. When God created Man, He gave him several assignments.

The first thing that God gave to Man, is an image; the Bible says God made Man in His own image. What is your original personal image? When you discover yourself, you will be free from the effect of the opinion of other people; you will not get swollen or deflated by what people say about you. You will not be bothered by their comments on your relationship with God. You will not be worn out by the comments of people, on your decisions, when you know who you are.
Jesus asked the disciples, Who men say He is and then, Who they themselves say He is. For Him to have asked the question, He knew the answer; that is why, when Peter said He is the Son of God and Saviour of the world, shown in the flesh, Jesus affirmed that the Spirit of God was in Peter, to have answered correctly. Whatever you think about someone who knows who he is, does not matter. The only One Who knows who you are, is God, Who made you. If you ask Him, He will tell you who you are. The closer you get to God, the more you know about yourself. You must discover, or rediscover yourself. The moment you believe you are nobody, you are off the track and the devil will make you believe all kinds of lies about yourself. You need to get back in touch with who you are.
The moment you discover yourself, your value comes back; your worth comes back. No opinion can devalue it. It is not what you have that makes you valuable, but what you are as a person.

How to discover yourself

1. You must be born again
2. Pray to discover who you are; what God created you to come and do in this world. Know what God had in mind, in the beginning, when He created you. If God shows you what He created you to be and to do; you will know if you are doing it or not and you will make moves to change, so that you can be blessed.
3. See yourself, think and talk about yourself the way God does and not the way the devil does.
4. Disconnect yourself from past negative experiences. Paul says: "Forgetting those things that are behind, I look forward..." Some people continue to blame themselves for past mistakes and keep attributing present problems to what they did in their time of ignorance. When God forgives, He forgets; that is why we have to come before Him, in complete and genuine repentance.
5. Do not compare yourself with other people because you are unique. Each person is different from another. The Bible says there is no wisdom in comparing oneself to another.
6. Watch your tongue and especially, what you say about yourself. Do you know that the words that you speak about yourself and your situation matter a lot? Those things that you playfully say, or that you say in annoyance, even though you did not mean those things, matter.
7. Have wise friends; those who will make your life better. Anyone that advises you to marry an unbeliever because you are getting old, is not a friend, but a destroyer; even if he or she calls himself a Christian.
8. Walk in holiness, honesty and integrity. The Bible says: "Nothing good shall He withhold from them that walk uprightly.
9. Always think positively; do not engage in negative thoughts. The Bible says: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
10. Avoid negative and destructive influences. If you notice that the things that someone else is doing, are affecting you negatively, you had better run. If you find out that whenever you move close to the opposite sex, your body reacts, when the person is not your wife or husband, you had better run. Do not wait until you are captured, before looking for a way of escape from prison.
Today is a day that you must cry to the Lord; talk to Him, ask if you are in the wrong place; perhaps you do not know who you are and what you should be doing. Some people who should not be thinking of marriage yet, are getting married, because they do not know who they are; they do not know their purpose in life; so, they are making mistakes and having problems. Cry unto the Lord today beloved.

PRAYERS
The prayers that I am suggesting below, are meant to make things happen in your life; if you have embarked on a fruitless journey on the wrong path of life, the Holy Spirit will frustrate that journey and turn you to the right path, in the Name of Jesus. Take these prayer points with all the aggression and seriousness that you can gather:

1.Every damage done to my destiny, be repaired by fire, in the Name of Jesus.
2. O Lord, restore me to Your original design for my life, in the Name of Jesus.
3. I reject destiny-demoting names in the Name of Jesus.
4. O Lord, lay Your hands of fire upon my life in the Name of Jesus.
5. O Lord enlarge my coast in the Name of Jesus.
6. I receive explosive break through in the Name of Jesus.
7. O Lord anoint my eyes, ears and legs, to locate my divine purpose.
8. Every power contending with my divine destiny, scatter in the Name of Jesus.

Val Egbudiwe is a man of God with a unique anointing to deliver God's people from bondage. God's presence is always manifested as God confirms His Word with signs and wonders when he preaches. He is currently the Pastor of Chapel of Revival and Miracles, Mesquite, Texas, USA. www.chapelofrevival.org

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