Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Thank you all for just coming out tonight and celebrating with us. So, it has been one year of her place services, and so, yeah, so I just want to share with y'all just a quick little recap of how her place come to us. And y'all can be seated before Miss Kim comes up to speak on her place of identity.
But this ministry has just blessed me so much, and I know that it's blessed Liz. And we're just so grateful for the leadership in our church that just has allowed us to really just hit the ground running and just has given us the freedom to be able to serve each of you. And so we're just really thankful for the leadership of this church and to each one of you that continues to just show up and serve every other month for these services. And so we're just really grateful for that. So I wanted to say thank you. Our prayer a year ago was just to create a really beautiful place just for broken ladies to come. And what started as a really fun conversation for me and Liz on the phone, really, like I said, it just become this dream, and it transpired into ministry with a name. And our prayer for her place was that the gift of God would be stirred up not only inside of us, but inside of each of the ladies that come to this service. And that is exactly what the Lord has done. And so I just want to share the two scriptures as a reminder of why we continue to do these services.
And in one, Peter three eight, it encourages us to cultivate unity in a community of believers. And I found this online when I was just reminding myself about this scripture, and I just thought it completely, just broke this scripture down perfectly. But it says, this is God saying to all of us as followers of Jesus. One, to have unity of mind. And this language is very similar to the scripture in Philippians two. It's to have a mind of Christ, to have the attitude of Christ towards each other, towards the world around you, to be a servant who wants to look not only at your own interest, but Philippians two says, but to the interest of others.
Having unity of mind is being and having a mind of Jesus. Have sympathy and look for opportunities to touch others around you and to express sympathy, to step into others burdens and trials, and that the things that they are going through to serve them, to help them, to pray for them, and to express compassion for them, to comfort them through all of that and in sympathy and sisterly love. And it says, and I love, especially sisters in Christ, as your family today. And just think about the sisters in Christ that you'll be around today and in the coming days, how to express your love for them as your family member and to have a tender heart. And it says, when people who are closest to you describe your heart as tender, this is not just for women. It's for all of us. But it says, this is God calling all of us, no matter what our personality might be like. It says, God calls all of us to have a tender heart and a humble mind, and that's exactly what his word says. And so, through this ministry, we have just been able to love on each of you and just see God truly work and just be able to reach out. I've met so many new faces that don't even attend crossway, but we're still able to connect with you guys through this community and just love on each of you. And so I just. Now I'm going to introduce Kim as she comes up for her place of identity. That's been another really special way that we have been able to connect with other people is just through women that have reached out to us, wanting to share his word with each of you. So we're really proud of her and excited to hear her word tonight.
[00:03:40] Speaker B: Thank you. Hey, good evening.
Let's get the awkwardness out of the way. My palms are sweaty, and I'm nervous, but we'll do this. So I first want to say thank you to Lindsey and Liz for this opportunity. I'm very grateful for this. I also want to thank the worship team. Did an amazing job, and also to Abby for working with me and on the slides.
I think it was back in April. I was just hearing the word identity over and over and over again, and it just. It kept resonating with me. And I went to Lindsey after one of our small groups on Tuesday night, and I said, hey, I've got this word, and if you have any openings to be able to speak, I would really like to. And she said, how about august? And I was like, oh, wow. Okay, so here I am. So when I think about identities, I can't help but think of the many, many identities I have portrayed since attending Christway. So I thought I would name a few. I have been a box of BC powder. Don't ask. I have been Hannah from the Bible, told by Paisley Reno when she was preschool age. I have been the evil queen from Snow White. And after lots of practice, I perfected that evil laugh. So y'all just ask Miss Carrie when you see her.
I played a nurse in the kids force Christmas play. I have been a hebrew mom in one of the choir programs at Christmas. I have been a lawyer who pointed out faults of women from the Bible and tried to have them convicted. And last year, I was Cindy Lauper, and I busted a move on this very stage with Brandi and Miss Kristen beside me. And then at Christmas, I was Mary Magdalene, who shared how she was restored, forgiven, and washed and dried Jesus feet with her hair. So I've been a lot of identities, but tonight, I'm just me.
And so when I looked up identity, one of the definitions that really stood out to me is the unique set of characteristics that can be used to identify a person as themself and no one else. And so, to me, that means that there is no one else in this room or this world that is like me or you. We are all created with our own characteristics and traits and behaviors and ideas. And we each have talents that have been given to us that many use in the church for ministry.
No one else can do or be who we are. And it says, you know, as women, we identify many roles in our life. We are daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, friends, etcetera. That list goes on and on and on. And often we identify by feelings and characteristics. Some of us are loud and silly. And I will say when I know y'all don't believe this, but when I first met Alan, I was very shy, and I was very quiet, and I spoke to no one. And he prayed and prayed and prayed that I would come out of my shell. And he says, that's one prayer that God heard and answered quickly. And now he says, I never stop talking. So.
And some of us are quiet and reserved, and even the world wants to put labels on who we are. What we need to know is that we are not our accomplishments, we're not our failures, we're not our feelings, and we're not our desires. We are not what others say about us or even what we say about ourselves. Our identity is found in who God made us, and God made each of us in his image.
And so that brings me to our scripture tonight. That is on the back of our t shirt for this time, and it's psalms 130, 913 14. For you formed my inward parts. You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your words are wonderful, and I know that full well. And so the hebrew word for fearfully is Yahweh. I hope I'm saying that right, and it doesn't mean that you're scared, but rather, it's about being in the presence of what is sacred.
Fearfully made means there is a mysterious awesomeness about calling an individual into being. Each of us are crafted by God in his image, but we're also specially designed to be who we are, to fulfill the purpose God has planned for us.
Every woman in here has a purpose, and God has called each one of us. And I think that's great in this time when the church is going through, you know, we're doing the classes and we're learning, and we're realizing that each one of us in here has a calling on our Life in some Way, in form or shape. We are called to serve in ministry, and that may be here in the church, and it may be outside in the world, you know, with missions and different things that we do.
And then the Hebrew word for wonderfully made is Palah. And it reinforces the notion of our individual craftsmanship and purpose. We are created to be set apart from other creations. And out of everything God created, he made us unique and has put a calling on our lives.
Ephesians 210 says, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
This verse, when I studied it, to me, you know, I looked it up and it says, we are God's creation, and he has formed us for a purpose. When God created us, he did it with a specific purpose in mind. This reverse reminds us of our value and our worth in God's eyes.
And then we get to talk about, you know, you think about the enemy and how he attacks our minds. He doesn't want us to tap into who we are, and he doesn't want us to realize who we're created to be. And so he tries to distract us with distorted thinking, a misguided mindset, and a poor self image. Satan tries to distort our identity by convincing us that we are not enough and that we will never be enough.
And so when I was studying and I was looking things up, I found three ways that we can believe who God says we are. Number one is to recognize lies from the enemy.
I wrote down, the enemy always finds a way to invade our thoughts with worry, self doubt, comparison, and hopelessness. This is so true. And for me personally, I can be at work working. I can be at home with my family, or I can be sound asleep, and I'll have thoughts of worry come to my mind. And before I know it, those thoughts are spiraling out of control, and one thought turns into another thought, which turns into another thought. And before long, all of those thoughts are drowning out anything that I know God has said to me.
And the more we dwell on the negative, the more we will start to believe those lies. And some of the lies that us as women hear in this kind of touches on what Pastor Donnie was speaking about last week is, I'm not enough. I can't do that. I'll never be as good as they are. And the list goes on. And I feel like we, as women, struggle in that area more than men. We self compare and we doubt and we believe those lies that the enemy puts on us. And number two is to take thoughts captive.
I'm sorry. Sometimes negative thoughts come so fast, we feel overwhelmed. But we have more control over our thoughts than we realize. When you have a negative thought, fight it with prayer and the word of God. As soon as the thought comes to your mind, plead the blood of Jesus over it. Remind yourself of who you are in God and who he says you are. So many times when I've had a negative thought about myself, it will start small. And if I don't take that thought captive, it grows bigger and bigger until I'm feeling sorry for myself and doubting who I am.
And when we begin to doubt who we are, it will keep us from serving in ministry. It will keep us from fulfilling the purpose that God has for us.
And then we must begin to think about ourselves the way God does. To do this, we have to stay in constant communication with God. We have to choose to believe that God loves us and that we are made in his image and not believe the lies of the enemy.
Number three, which is one of my favorite, is to point your thoughts back to Christ.
When you recognize a thought as a lie, it's important to replace it with God's word.
And I have this notebook right here. I think I bought it about six months ago, and I began to write down scriptures, and I have it sectioned off. I wrote down scriptures for when I'm dealing with fear, and I'll go to this notebook and I'll read some scriptures. Isaiah 41 ten says, fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 40 113. For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying, fear not, for I will help you. Psalm 27 one, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? And I have four pages written for when I'm experiencing fear. And then if I have days where I'm wanting to seek more of God. I have scriptures to read from there. You know one chronicles 20 219 set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. I have sections for joy. Romans 1513 now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And I have sections for different things in life because we all face things, we all go through things, and God knows his word. God knows what his word says. But when we're in the midst of a storm or in a season of our life where we're having those doubts, it's so helpful to be able to flip to scriptures and we're praying them out loud to ourselves and to God and to the enemy to remind him of what God says. And God says that we don't have to stay where we're at. We don't have to believe the lies of the enemy because he has put in us so much authority and power to do his work.
And then the more we fill our hearts and minds with God's word, the less room it leaves for those negative thoughts. And the more we do this, the easier it will become. If God didn't say it, don't believe it.
Philippians four eight says, finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.
When we focus on positive things, we can experience the true peace of God. When we read our Bible, we will see that there is not a single instance where Jesus uses the words I am with a negative. We need to follow Jesus example of speaking only the truths of who we are in Christ.
I won't read all of these scriptures, but I will encourage you to look them up in your own time. But God says, I am a child of God first. John three two I am a light. Matthew 514 I am a new creation. Two corinthians 517 I am chosen. Colossians 312 I am forgiven.
Acts 1338 through 39 I am never alone. Deuteronomy 31 eight I am valuable first corinthians 619 20 I am redeemed from the hand of the enemy. Psalm 172 I am saved by grace through faith. Ephesians two eight I am strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Ephesians 610 I am more than a conqueror. Romans 837 and these are just some positive affirmations for ourselves. You know, I've written things down. I have sticky notes at work. I have some in my prayer closet at home. But just reminders of who God says we are. Because there's not a day goes by that the enemy is not going to try to bring a negative thought to us and make us doubt who we are and who God has called us to be. And if we give room for the enemy to continue to give us those thoughts, and we continue to dwell on those, we'll find ourselves in a dark area that we don't want to be in.
Don't let anyone or anything convince you that you are something that doesn't line up with God's word. Don't let someone speak negative over you about who you are.
If it happens, remind yourself of who God says you are. And then I wanted to share.
I was reading a devotion by Jensen Franklin, and he said the words you say to yourself and about yourself have far greater weight than you can imagine. We need an unshakable inner confidence based on what God says about us, not a distorted self image on what the devil throws in our faces.
The way to get that inner confidence is to pray. Stay in God's word, remembrance, scriptures and saying them over and over again. As someone who has battled fear almost her whole life, I've quoted scripture a lot, and that's God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and of a sound mind.
And sometimes when I'm feeling overwhelmed or fearful, I will remind myself that I have a sound mind. And I may have to say that over and over and over again, and I may have to quote it 20 times in an hour.
But the thing I have to remember is I have a sound mind. God has not given me that spirit of fear. So I know that when I have fear, when I experience a fearful thought, I know that it comes from the enemy. And I know that I have the power to crush that thought. I know when I have a negative thought about who I am and doubting what I that I know that God has called me and he has called me for a purpose.
I trust God. And when we know our true identity in Christ, we will find peace and joy. And it's knowing that God has chosen you.
It wasn't very long, but I just wanted to share what was on my heart, and I wanted to give a chance.
We have some women that will come to the altar to pray. But if you have an area in your life where you struggle with identity, if you struggle with those negative thoughts, you know you can come and pray.
