WHO ARE YOU?

Carl Wells, PhD

BELIEVER'S IDENTITY • Sermon • Submitted a year ago

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Jeremiah 1:4-10 “Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.””

VERSE OF FOCUS: Before (I formed thee) in the belly (I knew thee); and before thou camest forth out of the womb (I sanctified thee), and (I ordained thee) a prophet unto the nations.

I have a question for you this morning. Who are you?

Who are you?

Who are you when nobody is looking? Who are you when the lights go out?

Who are you when you are all by yourself? Who are you?

In church, you call me Rev. Wells, but in my home, my family does not call me Rev. Wells. They call me Daddy or honey or husband.

But that's not who I am.

The students at USC call me Dr. Wells. But still, that is not who I am.

These are all titles, and a title only identifies what I am. It does not tell who I am. It tells you I am a husband, father, preacher, or teacher. It does not tell you who I am; for who I am was decided in the mind of God long before I was born. We need to understand who we are, separate from what we are.

What you are is shaped by your environment. In some cases, your education or vocation experiences determine your identity.

What you are is determined by what people say that you are. But who you are is exclusively determined by the thought of God. What I am is changing daily, but who you are can never change by man or created by hand.

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever more. And so, since God made me who I am, I remain in place until God changes his mind. Who you are is already determined in the mind of God long before you are even born.

So what we have to do is discover whom God intends for us to be. And when we discover who we are, it doesn't matter what people say we are. Hosea 4:6 says that "my people perish for lack of knowledge."

Church, we must not perish for lack of knowledge of who we are. Some say that young people are dying because of guns. Others say that they are dying because of drugs. But I say young people are dying because they don't know who they are.

Friends, it would be best to distinguish who you are from what you are. Many of us don't know who we are; we only know what we are. But today, I came to help you get a glimpse of who you are.

There are things in you that have yet to show up.

There are things about you that have yet to be revealed. Look to your neighbor and say, "you don't know who I am."

ENCOUNTERING THE TEXT

We find in OUR scripture reading this morning that God had to remind Jeremiah who he was. You remember Jeremiah, don't you? God had to remind Jeremiah who he was. Even though Jeremiah was the Son of a priest and even though Jeremiah had been raised in a religious home, he did not want anything to do with proclaiming God's word. Jeremiah loved his people and did not want to have to tell them about the destruction that was coming, the destruction that resulted from their sins. It takes much strength to proclaim God's word. It takes many nerves to stand forth and tell people to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, to tell people that if they don't live right, hell will be their home.

Speaking the truth is not always popular, and it tends to make some folks mad when you tell it. But because the truth will set you free, somebody has to tell it.

So Jeremiah did not want this task. Initially, he was afraid to stand up and preach the word. Jeremiah knew how wicked the people were.

Not only did he know, but he cried for their sins and cried because of the task that was before him. Because of his many feelings and emotions, Jeremiah became known as the weeping prophet. And because Jeremiah proclaimed God's word, his listeners beat him. And not only that, but because he proclaimed God's word, they put him in prison. And not only that, but because he proclaimed God's word, he barely escaped for his life on an occasion.

Jeremiah did not want to look folks in the eyes and tell them that wrong is wrong any way you dress it up or cover it up. Wrong will always be wrong. Jeremiah realized that he would have to have some backbone to stand forth and proclaim the word. You have to look folks in the eye and tell them we are either going to do it the right way or no way. We are either going to do it God's way or no way. And not only do you have to challenge the people to do right as a preacher or as a prophet, but you have to do right yourself. Jeremiah realized that proclaiming God's word, you can't waver to the left and then to the right. When you proclaim God's word, you can't go with every wind and doctrine. You can't be a yes man if you proclaim God's word). It was a big task, and Jeremiah did not want it. So initially, Jeremiah was reluctant to accept the calling upon life.

He was hesitant and felt ill-equipped for such a great task. So God had to step in to remind Jeremiah of a few things. God says to Jeremiah, "Jeremiah, not only do you not know who you are, but you have also forgotten who I am. God shows up to remind Jeremiah of four things.

Notice in verse 5 that God says to Jeremiah,

"Before (I formed thee) in the belly (I knew thee); and before thou camest forth out of the womb (I sanctified thee), and (I ordained thee) a prophet unto the nations."

Jeremiah, I formed thee, I knew thee, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee.

Formed

The first thing that God says to Jeremiah is, I formed thee. We need to remember who our maker is. Some folks these days and times have the notion that they are self-made. And some think they have pulled themselves up by their (own) bootstrap. I even hear folks talking about being self-made millionaires. But everything moves by the power of God. It was God that made you. It was God who kept you when you should have died. God kept you from going insane when you should have lost your mind. Don't you know that God made you?

Psalm 100:3

Says, "Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." God had to remind Jeremiah that he was his maker.

We become our own Gods. In life, we get caught up in what we have done, about what we have accomplished. But the danger is that we can reach the point where success, fame, and fortune become our God. You see, many people have the things of the World in their possession but nothing in their soul - no joy, no happiness, no peace.

We create Gods that look like us. God's that talk like us. But it is God that created us. Not we ourselves.

Psalm 22:9

But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.

Psalm 71:6

By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.

So you see, it is God that hath created us, not we ourselves. There is so much talk these days about when life begins. Some tell us that life begins when a baby is conceived. Others say that it begins when a baby is born. But according to this scripture, God knew us even before conception. The scripture says I knew you before I formed thee in the belly. You were in my though even before you were in the womb.

We must realize that there is a difference between our birth and creation. God created you long before your mama and daddy got together one starry night when the moon shone brightly. Long before your mother's birth pains, God created you. Your mama may have birthed you, but God created you. It says I knew you when "before." Before what? Before all the stuff happened in your life that got you off the right track before all the pain came into your life and started you going down a different road.

I knew you before the dysfunction came into your life, causing you to be something other than what I created you to be. Scripture says:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Knew

The next thing that God tells Jeremiah is, I knew thee. See, God knows the stuff that we have yet to find out. God already knows the stuff that we have to figure out. God knows how the story ends.

Psalm 94:11

The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

Psalm 139

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

Matthew 10:30

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

God knows what I'm thinking right now. God knows the thoughts that we should have. God knows what we handle. God knows what will come out of us when our back is against the wall.

Sanctified

God formed you. God knows you. But God also sanctifies you.

Now Sanctification is one of the most misunderstood Biblical principles. Now there are two definitions of the word sanctify. Some of us think that if we wear our hair a certain way, keep our dresses at a certain length, or cover our heads in worship; then we are sanctified. Some folks say they are saved, sanctified, and filled with Holy Ghost, but they don't even know what the word means.

Sanctification is not something that happens outside of us. It is something that takes place within us. You aren't sanctified because you wear your hair a certain way, wear your dress a certain length, or keep your head covered in worship. To be sanctified is to set one's self apart by God. Some of us are sanctified before birth. God has set us aside for a purpose long before we are born. And some of us are sanctified (meaning declared holy) when we receive Christ. God inputs righteousness into our souls. We are not righteous on our own. Before birth, God sets us apart, but after birth, God cleans us up. Recall that Joshua instructed the people to sanctify themselves because, in the morning, God was going to do wonders among them. In other words, because God was coming, they needed to prepare to receive him; they separated themselves from things that did not align with God's word.

Another way of understanding this thing of Sanctification is "the state of proper functioning." To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer (tell the bouncing story). In the natural sense, eyeglasses are sanctifying agents. They are used to return our sight to what was intended. In the spiritual sense, things are sanctified when used for God's intended purpose. Many of us live in ways other than what God intended. When you sin, you live in a manner other than God intended.

Some folks are sanctified from birth - set apart. And some folks are sanctified when they receive Christ. Some folks are sanctified, so they can help sanctify others. Some folks want to try to sanctify others without being sanctified themselves. Some folks want to be a sanctifier when they haven't sanctified themselves. If you are going to talk the sanctified talk, you got to walk the sanctified walk. You want the title, the positions, and the office, but you don't want anything to do with God. We want to be set aside to do work, but we want to be set aside for something other than holiness. But the scripture says be ye holy as I am holy. Without holiness, no man shall see God.

Galatians 1:15

But even before I was born, God had chosen me. He was kind and had decided 16 to show me his Son so I would announce his message to the Gentiles.

Ordained

Finally, God says to Jeremiah, I have ordained you. Ordination is a symbol, much like baptism. When we are baptized, it symbolizes our new relationship with God. It symbolizes the burial of the old and the rise of the new. And the laying on of hands is a symbol; it symbolizes passing the authority of God from one person to the next. But many people had gotten up out of that water just as dirty as when they went in. And a whole lot of people have received the laying on of hands and are less powerful than they were before. The water can't cleanse, and man can't ordain you. Your power comes from God. It's God who does the cleansing, and God does the ordaining.

Do you remember when God gave Adam authority over the fish, the bird, and all other living creatures? The problem with so many of us is that we need power. God is the source of our power. God is our energy source. We've lost connection with God.

Jeremiah didn't realize his authority. God told him to go, and he said, Lord, I'm only a child. But what Jeremiah didn't realize is that we may be children, but that's all right because God is my father. He didn't realize that we may feel like sheep, but the God that I know who my shepherd. Jeremiah had forgotten who he was. But not only that, he didn't realize whose he was. God says go, and I will speak for you if you go. God says go, and if you go, I will give you power, holy ghost power. Power to talk right and power to do right.

Whop:

I stopped by today to let you know who you are. Some of you have gotten caught up in what we are.

Some of us say that I am Reverend "so and so."

Some of you say I'm Deacon "so and so."

And some of you say that I am Trustee "so and so. "

Some of us say I am a member "So and so."

I'm Mr. "So and so," or I am Mrs. "So and so."

That's not who you are!

That's what you are.

A title or a position does not determine who you are.

Now just in case you have bought into the lie that you are crack head, I stop by today to let you know that smoking crack is not whom God intended for you to be.

Smoking crack is what you do.

You may buy into the lie that you are drunk, but you see that's not whom God intends for you to be.

Drinking wine is what you do. Drinking wine ain't who you are.

Some of you have gotten caught up in lying and stealing, but that's not who you are.

Lying and stealing are what you do.

And some of you have gotten caught up in backstabbing and gossiping, but that's not who you are; that's what only you do.

And some of you have gotten caught up in whore mongering; I stopped by to let you know that's not who you are.

It is what you do.

You see, this Old World you and I live in can determine what we are, but the World can't do anything about who we are.

Man can build you up, and man can tear you down.

Man can make you feel like somebody, or man, you feel like nobody. But that's got nothing to do with who you are.

What you are can be determined by how much money you got in your pocket.

What you are can be determined by what other folks think about you. What you are can be determined by where you live, where you work, or what kind of car you drive.

But I'm glad that only God can determine who I am today.

If you are depressed, I stopped by to tell you that that's not who you are.

God created in you the right spirit. He gave you joy. And he gave you life abundantly.

And just in case you feel defeated today, I stopped to let you know that defeated is not who you are.

When God created you, he gave you the victory.

You are so awesome that when He created you, he threw mold; no one else is exactly like you.

You are the Seed of Abraham

You got it going on! You are what's up!

You are the cat's meow! You are down!

You are killin' it!

You are hashtag: The bomb!

You are, OMG!

SHM!

You are somebody.

Not rachet!

Not ghetto!

Not a hood rat!

Not shady

Not stupid!

You are somebody!

You are The Seed of Abraham

Light of the World

Children of The Promise

You are a chosen generation,

A royal priest

A holy Nation That shows forth the praise

You are a soldier in the army of the Lord

You are a servant of God

You are the chosen

You are the elect

You are an heir to the throne

You are a follower of Christ

You are the head and not the tail

You are all that and a bag of chips.

Light of the World

Children of The Promise

You are a chosen generation

A royal priesthood

A holy Nation

That shows forth the praise

You are a soldier in the army of the Lord

You are a servant of the most high.

You are the chosen

You are the elect

You are an heir to the throne

You are a follower of Christ

You are bad

You are bad to the bone

You've swag

You are all that and a bag of chips.

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