What if your identity wasn't something you had to find, but something you were meant to grow into?
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00:00 Grow Into Your Identity in Christ
01:31 From Believer to Disciple
02:06 From Disciple to Servant
03:06 From Servant to Friend
03:45 From Friend to Son/Daughter of God
04:51 Growth Sequence: Beliver, Disciple, Servant, Friend, Son/Daughter
05:49 Desires Fulfilled Heal and Restore Us
06:11 Practical Steps: Ephesians 4:22-24
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The Bible repeatedly tells us to “put on Christ.”
Ephesians 4:22-24
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Think of this as getting a brand-new suit of clothes. The fabric is amazing. You never thought you’d have a suit this fine in your life! It’s beautiful! You put it on, but it’s ridiculously big for you. You turn to the tailor, doubt in your eyes and see Jesus standing there, a measuring tape over his arm. Jesus just smiles. You are thinking that you will need to have the suit taken in – tailored to fit you now. Jesus heard your thoughts and replies, “No. Don’t make the suit smaller. Grow into it.”

That’s what we do when we become Christians. God gives us identity. We have it. But to walk in it, we need to grow into our identity in Christ. With Holy Spirit’s guidance and power, we grow into the people that God created us to be. Then we do the amazing things he has planned for us to do.

This growth is a journey. As new believers, we are immigrants who have just arrived in God’s kingdom. Believing is good, but there’s so much more. There is so much we don’t know and understand about God.. Most of all, we need to get to know God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. We need to learn to hear their voices and to know their hearts. We need to feel comfortable talking to them and walking with them throughout our days.

The New Testament tells us that we are believers, disciples, servants, friends, and sons and daughters of God the moment we are born again. But in this physical realm, we need to grow into the higher identities.
The early church fathers, those directly discipled by the disciples, measured the maturity of believers by determining what level they were on: Believer, Disciple, Servant, Friend, or Son/Daughter of God.

I offer this as a practical way for you to determine where you are in your growth journey. And more important, to show you where God wants you to go.

For the last 30 days, I have built a foundation for you to radically shift your identity (who you actually are) by showing you the deepest desires all people have and revealing that God is the one who gave you those desires. And only He can fill them.

God created you to be like him. And these desires will draw you to God who delights in giving you the desires of your heart. As you allow God to fill the deep desires of your heart, much of the brokenness in your life will be healed. Insecurities, fears, emotional wounds, and the pain of your past will become a thing of the past.

You have been given a key to living a great life: go to God with your pain, your problems, your flaws, and the deep, hidden things in your life and He will forgive you, heal you, and make you whole.

Ephesians 4:22-24 give you the practical steps:
Ephesians 4:22-24
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Take off your old self, your old way of thinking and living. That means unplugging your old desires. Don’t let them drive you to fulfill your desires the way you used to.

Be renewed in the spirit of your minds. Renew your mind with God’s word and with the wisdom of godly people in your life.

Put on Christ. Accept the fact that your spirit is perfect before God right now. Jesus wiped out your past. In God’s eyes, it is no more. Now, there is only you and the future you will have together with God.

You will have the same desires. Pursue God’s way of filling your desires. Don’t try to fill them yourself or desperately seek others to fill your heart desires. Let God do it! He wants to – so much!

As you do that, you will walk God’s path to maturity and the amazing life God has waiting for you. From believer, to disciple, to servant, to friend, to son or daughter of God.

Romans 12:2 NLT
Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think…
Transformed people transform nations. This is your identity and your destiny.

Thank you to all of you who went through this 30-day series with me. I would greatly appreciate your comments about how these 30 videos have impacted your life.