Embrace Your True Identity

 “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharoah’s daughter.” 
- Hebrews 11:24

Last year, back when seeing movies in theaters was still a thing, I took my family to see “Harriet.” The film tells the life story of Harriet Tubman, the most famous leader of the underground railroad in the years leading up to the Civil War. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in rural Maryland in the 1820s. By the age of 25, she made up her mind to escape slavery by fleeing to Pennsylvania. Her brothers were too scared to run away with her. So, with God’s help she did the impossible. Even though she was just five feet tall and had never traveled more than a few miles from her home, in 1849 she ran, walked and crawled her way to Pennsylvania… 100 miles away.

Harriet felt like she was in heaven. As she crossed the Pennsylvania state line, she said that the sun looked like gold coming through the trees. But once she was free, she was still restless. She said she felt like “a stranger in a strange land.” Her parents, her brothers, and friends were still slaves in Maryland. So, with very little support, she took the dangerous journey back to Maryland to rescue her family. Between 1850 and 1860, Harriet Tubman returned to Maryland 13 times & helped around 70 African Americans escape slavery—including four of her brothers, her parents and a niece. And during the Civil War she led a battalion of soldiers that secured the freedom of an additional 750 men, women and children.

Harriet Tubman was, without a doubt, an American hero. And as the film depicts so well: She was a strong believer and follower of Jesus Christ. She had a very deep faith in God, and she trusted Him to guide her steps and give her the courage to obediently do what He called her to do. And God never let her down.

One of the heroes of our faith who inspired Harriet Tubman to lead hundreds of slaves to freedom was Moses, who led his own people out of slavery. But first he had to successfully pass through three milestones of faith, which are outlined in Hebrews 11.

Faith Milestone #1: By faith, Moses refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  For the first 40 years of his life, Moses had it made in the shade. He was adopted by the princess of Egypt. He was raised in the palace and lived the life of king. But as we read in verse 24, Moses in faith accepted the truth—that his true identity was that of a God-worshiping Hebrew slave, not as a Pharaoh-worshiping prince of Egypt. So, at the age of 40, Moses said, “Enough!” He refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

Faith Milestone #2: By faith, Moses endured rejection by the people of Egypt. When Moses refused to be known as the prince of Egypt, it didn’t go over so well. He “chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time” (vs. 25). Moses chose to identify with God’s people, the Jews, who Moses knew would one day give birth to the Christ.

Faith Milestone #3: Moses received the reward of faith. As a reward for his obedience to God, Moses’ firstborn son wasn’t killed on the night of the Passover. And as a reward for his faithful obedience to God, Moses and his people were delivered through the Red Sea. And we know also that as a reward for his faithful obedience to God, Moses received a great reward in heaven.

Like Moses, Harriet Tubman didn’t allow the sinful culture around her to define who she was. For the first 25 years of her life, Harriet was told over and over again that she was someone’s property, just like a “pig.” And she was called the “n” word on a daily basis. She was told these things thousands of times, but she refused to believe it. She refused to accept it. She knew that she was a precious child of God, and she believed in her heart—like Moses—that God created her and her people to be free.

Let’s take our lesson from these two heroes of the faith. When the world around them tried to force them into its mold, they refused to be conformed to the pattern of this world. When the sinful culture around them tried to tell them what their identity was, they rejected that culture’s labels. Their identity was in Christ. And ours should be as well.

So, if Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord, you are not who the world says you are. Forget about society’s labels. You are not a “white, heterosexual male” or a “Black, middle-class female” or a “Hispanic, divorced Baby Boomer.” If Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord, your identity is not grounded in the temporary, shallow things of earth. Your true identity is found in Christ. You are a child of God; you are a follower of Jesus Christ. And you are a loved member of a forever family. So, if someone asks, tell them: That’s who you are!

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our live outdoor worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.

America the Beautiful?

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.”

- Psalm 33:12

Saturday was the Fourth of July—Independence Day. And even though home firework displays exploded all across the Victor Valley, the truth is, many Americans have been wondering whether America is worth celebrating. Many of our neighbors don’t think that America is beautiful at all. Are they right?

The United States of America has long been called the land of opportunity. Over the past 244 years, millions of immigrants have flooded into our ports of entry to pursue the American dream. Every year around 900,000 immigrants become U.S. citizens, making the United States number one in the world for receiving immigrants. In fact, we have more than four times as many foreign-born citizens as any other country in the world. Why do so many people want to immigrate to America?

We’re told that our government and justice system are steeped in institutional racism. We’re told that our law enforcement is corrupt. If America is as bigoted as some people say it is, immigrants should be heading for the hills. Instead, America continues to be a magnet for people around the world seeking freedom from persecution because of their religion, ethnicity or social status. While most countries around the world have been stifling freedoms, America has been extending them: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to bear arms, freedom to vote, and, of course, the freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And few countries can match the freedoms we have in this country to pursue economic opportunities.  

On Independence Day, I’d like you consider how blessed we are to live in this country. Our founding fathers recognized that our freedoms and opportunities in life weren’t given to us by man—they were given to us by God. As Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.”

Our country has been in such a desirable position because God gave us that desirable position. He gave us that position because for the better part of those 244 years, we have proclaimed God as our Lord. Our founding fathers wanted America to be a great nation—and they understood that if America was going to be great, America would have to be good. And in order for America to be good, its citizens would have to submit to the authority of God. They knew that if this nation was blessed, it would be blessed because God blessed it.

Proverbs 13:34 tells us, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Remember that the word “righteousness” is just a fancy way of saying “right-ness.” When a nation does what God says is right, that nation will be exalted. But when a nation does what God says is wrong, that nation will be disgraced. So, has our nation been doing what is “right” or what is “wrong” in God’s eyes? The answer is: BOTH.

In 1964, the Civil Rights Act put an end to our nation’s racist Jim Crow laws. That was a God-honoring change that needed to happen, and I believe it exalted our nation. In 1989, we played a role in the fall of Communism in the USSR. And in recent decades, the U.S. has provided financial assistance and disaster relief to dozens of nations around the world including Haiti, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Kenya.

However, during these same 60 years, a growing number of our nation’s leaders and citizens have chosen to push God away and do what is biblically and morally disgraceful. In 1962 prayer was taken out of public schools. The following year the Bible was taken out of classrooms. In 1973, abortion-on-demand became legal. In the 1970s, no-fault divorce laws were passed throughout the nation. In 1980, the Ten Commandments were removed from classrooms. And in 2015, gay marriage was legalized.

These are just a few examples of the disgraceful things we have been doing. Our nation has continued to sing “God Bless America,” but our actions have—to a large extent—said, “God, we don’t want You in America.” We as a nation have become arrogant, and much of what we have been doing has been a disgrace in God’s eyes. If America continues in its arrogance and rebellion and refuses to repent, then we should fully expect that in the days to come God will remove His hand of blessing from our nation.

And when it comes to transforming our nation—turning it from disgrace to righteousness--the Church is the key, because the Church proclaims Jesus Christ, the only one who can fix all the mess in our nation. Remember what God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If My people [that’s the Church] who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Our country is far from perfect. But I believe that America’s founders were guided by God to form a nation and a government that is more biblically-based and less prone to corruption than just about any other government in the history of the world. No, America is not perfect. It’s always had its fair share of ugliness. But it continues to be beautiful in many different ways. And that beauty can and will grow if you and I will lead our nation back to Christ.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our LIVE outdoor worship services Sundays at 8 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. at Live.GreaterImpact.cc, on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.

Set Free by the Empty Tomb

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” – John 8:36

Last week as we celebrated Easter, I remembered a story I once heard about a first grade teacher who gave her class an assignment that involved plastic eggs. She passed out an egg to each of her students and told them, “Easter is about life. So, I want you each to take your egg home and put something inside it that is a sign of life.” The next day the kids returned with all sorts of things in their plastic eggs: leaves, blades of grass, an ant and even a butterfly. But when one little boy opened up his egg, it was empty. The other kids laughed. The teacher asked him, gently, why he didn’t do his assignment. He answered, “I DID do my assignment. My egg is empty because on Easter Jesus’ tomb was empty. Isn’t that a sign of life?”

It certainly is. And today I’d like to take a look at one of the first people to discover the empty tomb: Mary Magdalene. That empty tomb transformed her life. And it can transform yours as well.

 

All four gospels mention women going to the tomb at sunrise on resurrection Sunday to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. Matthew, Mark and Luke mention several women in the group, but each time, Mary Magdalene is at the top of the list. And John doesn’t even mention the other women. He focuses entirely on Mary Magdalene. What was so special about Mary Magdalene? That’s just the thing: As best as we can tell, she wasn’t very special at all. In fact, before she met Jesus a year or two earlier, she was pretty messed up.

Now, over the centuries many Christians have assumed that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute with loose morals. But nothing in Scripture supports that. When Mary Magdalene is introduced in Luke 8, we read that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (verse 2). So, most people who knew Mary Magdalene wouldn’t have said, “She’s a floozy!” They would have said, “This lady has lost her mind! Those demons are making her as nutty as a fruitcake.” But one day Mary Magdalene met Jesus. He drove out the seven demons and set her free. And she was never the same again.

From that point forward she stuck with Jesus wherever he went—regardless of whether he was popular or unpopular, regardless of whether the crowd was shouting “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday or “Crucify him!” on Good Friday. Mary Magdalene was one of the few remaining followers of Jesus who was faithful and courageous enough to stand at the foot of his cross. She was the first to arrive at Jesus’ tomb on Easter morning. And she was the first to see Jesus after he rose from the grave.

This woman had likely been tormented by demons for years, but she was set free from her demons by the power and authority of Jesus Christ. And she was forever grateful to him. She had been forgiven much, so she loved much.

This transformed woman became even more transformed when she experienced the empty tomb and saw her risen Savior face-to-face. She ran back to the disciples and exclaimed, “I have seen the Lord.” They probably thought she had lost her mind again. But she hadn’t.

This oppressed woman had been transformed by Jesus Christ. And she was more in her right mind than ever before. Once again, Jesus Christ had set her free.

Honestly, many of us need to be set free in much the same way as Mary Magdalene. Some of us are held captive by our past. We look back on who we used to be and we’re the first to admit, “I was nuts! I was out of my mind. I wasn’t rowing with both oars in the water.”  And what’s worse, we know our family and friends had a front row seat to our nuttiness. They saw it all! They heard it all! And sometimes we feel like crawling into a hole. We know that we’ve deeply hurt the people who mean the most to us. We’ve burned so many bridges. And even though we’ve made big changes in our lives, we can’t repair the damage we’ve done. We’re still haunted by the demons of our past.

Well, I have good news for you. Just as surely as Jesus drove Mary’s demons out of her, he can drive the demons of our past out of you and me—if we’ll let him. There were likely times when Mary Magdalene thought about the woman she used to be, and she felt like crawling into a hole. But Jesus Christ had set her free. So, she boldly stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified. And she boldly led the ladies to Jesus’ tomb on Resurrection Sunday. And after seeing Jesus with her own two eyes she proclaimed to the rest of Jesus’ followers, “I have seen the risen Lord!”

So, if you feel like a prisoner of your past, Jesus holds the key to your prison cell. He alone can set you free. As Jesus himself says in John 8:36, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” So, journey to the empty tomb today. Come to Jesus and take hold of his forgiveness. Take hold of his healing. And take hold of his peace. Because the tomb is empty, because Jesus is alive … you CAN be set free from the demons of your past. You CAN be set free from  your guilt and shame. Jesus Christ can set you free. And if the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our online worship service tomorrow at

10 a.m. at Live.GreaterImpact.cc or on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.