Who I Am – 5

Who I Am – 5

Subject – Freedom in Being Yourself

by Rick Welborne

Psalm 139:13-18 (NLT) 

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 

16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 

18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! 

Last sermon in this series:

1. Because you are God’s child your heredity and destiny are from Him.

Psalm 139:13-14 (NLT) 

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

2. Why is it that we all start out as “one of a kind original” but too many of us end up as carbon copies of someone else.

Batterson: We forfeit our uniqueness because we want to fit in.  Instead of daring to be different, we sacrifice our soul print on the altar of conformity.

3. If we will have God’s uniqueness for us, and if we will be who we are, we must be willing to take Saul’s armor off.

1 Samuel 17:38 40 (NKJV) 

38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 

39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them." So David took them off. 

40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 

Romans 14:12 (NKJV) 

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 

Soren Kierkegaard: The deepest form of despair is to be another than oneself.

Batterson - At the end of the day, God isn’t going to ask, “Why weren’t you more like Billy Graham or Mother Teresa?”  He won’t even ask, “Why weren’t you more like David?”  God is going to ask, “Why weren’t you more like you?”

–Today I want us to see how we can have confidence in who God created us to be...to have confidence in our uniqueness.

1. In discovering God’s soul print you may find that your greatest weakness may become your greatest strength. 

–Around the turn of the twentieth century, a pioneering psychologist by the name of Alfred Adler proposed the counterintuitive theory of compensation.

Adler - Perceived disadvantages often prove to be disguised advantages because they force us to develop attitudes and abilities that would have otherwise gone undiscovered. And it’s only as we compensate for those disadvantages that our greatest gifts are revealed. 

–The more he studied and researched the more he found...70 percent of the art students he studied had eye problems, he found that some of the greatest composers like Mozart and Beethoven had degenerative traces in their ears...hearing problems...probably loud music.

–Adler concluded that people with perceived disadvantages such as birth defects, physical ailments, and poverty can be springboards to success. That success is not achieved in spite of those perceived disadvantages.

–It’s achieved because of them. You are not a victim. Listen to what Paul says:

2 Corinthians 12:7 10 (NKJV) 

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 

8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 

9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

–Can you even perceive how powerful this is?  What a confidence we can have in Christ.

–We may think that what we are strong in is where our greatest advantage lies but our greatest advantage may be hidden in our greatest disadvantages. 

–One of the keys of finding what your soul print is identifying what our weaknesses are and letting God redeem them...Example of my speech impediment growing up.

–Batterson shared how he could not preach like many of his friends either from memory or from short notes but had to write out his sermons in manuscripts. Was embarrassed. 

 –What God uncovered by him doing this was that God revealed his hidden gift of writing.

–I used to preach from minimal notes but two things changed that for me...when I would go back and read my sermons I could not remember my main points and Jeremy wanted my sermons sent to him...no help to him.

--I started writing them out for him and for future benefit.

–When was the last time that you thanked God for the challenges and disadvantages in your life?  Without them you may never uncover God’s hidden gifts that give you holy confidence.

–David would have never discovered his greatest strengths without being confronted with his obvious weaknesses...He was not a warrior but a shepherd.

2. In discovering our soul print we find out God will use past experiences and present circumstances to unfold our destiny.

–All of us have heard that when you are staring death in the face that you begin to have your life flash before your eyes...can you imagine what David was seeing as he looked at Goliath?

–He is probably googling or binging past experiences trying to find anything that will help in this present situation.

–David has a flashback of a lion coming after his father’s sheep on the hills outside of Jerusalem...another flashback of a bear coming after the sheep...holy confidence comes.

1 Samuel 17:34 37 (NIV) 

34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 

35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 

36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 

37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you." 

–In that moment fear begins to evaporate...and his confidence rises up...it is more than realization...it is revelation...it is more than self-confidence...it is holy confidence.

–The un-circumcised Philistine who is staring him down is no different than the lion or the bear David faced and fought as he tended the sheep.

–David is able to connect the dots between his past experiences and his present circumstance and it empowers his soul with a sense of destiny.

Batterson - Every past experience is preparation for some future opportunity.  God doesn’t just redeem our souls.  He also redeems our experiences. And not just the good ones. He redeems the bad ones–especially the bad ones.

–He goes on to say that the way he does that is by developing our character, developing gifts, and teaching us lessons that could not be learned any other way than going thru the fire...this is not classroom teaching...this is on the job training.

–Let’s face it...we have all failed at some point. If you learn the lesson God is trying to teach you, no matter how things turn out, you have not failed. In fact, you cannot fail.

–Every wild beast that attacked David’s flock was just a pop quiz for the big test that was coming. David could have sacrificed his sheep over his own safety. It was preparation.

–Why is that so important...God was getting him ready to shepherd His flock...Israel.

3. In discovering your soul print God will use your greatest challenge to uncover His divine preparation.

–On paper, it was obvious that David was at a great disadvantage in facing Goliath on the battlefield. He probably was not good with a sword or spear...He was a shepherd.

–That perceived disadvantage gave him the advantage he needed to defeat Goliath. We all must learn that we cannot fight our enemy on his terms. The rules of engagement have to be changed to beat this giant or to beat the devil.

2 Corinthians 10:3 6 (NKJV) 

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 

5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 

6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. 

–David may have been weak as a soldier but he was a great shepherd. He may not have been good with a sword but he was deadly with a sling...his holy preparation is leading to holy confidence...He was perfectly prepared and positioned to win this battle.

–The battle with Goliath was not won in the valley of Elah it was won on the hillsides outside of Jerusalem.

–There must have been times when David thought he was the one who was put out to pasture...could not go to war...could not be with the other brothers...He was exactly where God wanted him to be...getting prepared to shepherd His people.

–You may fill that way about your life but God is preparing you for your date with destiny. That is why it is imperative for you to be faithful where He has placed you!

--Pastor Rick, How do you know He has anything planned for my life?

Psalm 139:16 (NLT) 

16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 

–God wants you to have a holy confidence that He has you in His hand.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV) 

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.