New Covenant Church
Join us at one of our three services on Sundays, at 9:30 and 11:15 AM at our South campus, and at 9:30 at our North Campus! Visit wearencc.com for more information.
Identity – what you really believe about yourself, or how you see yourself.
We tend to live up or down to what we really believe about ourselves.
Business owners who’ve made and lost a fortune make their second fortune much faster; athletes who’ve won a championship tend to win another one much quicker;
How you see yourself determines…
- The goals you set
- The prayers you pray
- Eph. 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us
- The life you expect
I suspect when we get to heaven, we will not regret setting goals too high or praying prayers too large
We base our identity on…
- Affirmation from key relationships – parents, friends, peers
- Accomplishments
Women tend to be more relationally driven, men more accomplishment driven, in terms of identity.
Jesus – Our Example
- Affirmation prior to accomplishments – “This is My Beloved Son…”
- Satan’s attack was on His identity as a son – “If you are the son of God…”
Identity will empower you against temptation. The affirmation came before the attack.
God kept telling people they were more than they thought they were,
- Gideon
- Abram
- Simon
God’s solutions
Divine affirmation
- Ephesians 1:6 - to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
- You cannot make yourself acceptable.
Gift discovery and Christian work ethic
- Affirmation without accomplishments can be shallow flattery
- Why we have our ID class every third Sunday morning.
How does God see me?
- What are the dreams and desires He has put in your heart? Quit writing those off.
- What is God’s dream scenario for your home, your work, this community?
Where does faith for that come from?
- What God says
- Eph. 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.
- This is why have our Spirit empowered living class every second Sunday
- For God to make your outside bigger, He has to make your inside bigger.
- That’s why we have Winning at Work every fourth Saturday morning – an internal investment that has real external results
- That’s why we all need to be connected to the church. In the very next verse after Ephesians 3:20 Paul writes, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:21)
- Your Kingdom come, Your will be done…
WHATEVER YOU FOCUS ON THE MOST REVEALS WHAT YOU TRUST THE MOST