The I AM said, "You are!"

An excerpt from his book

I AM IDENTIFIED

by Darrin Justice Begley

When Jesus was being baptized in the Jordan river, “…a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You, I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) Daddy God was releasing a blessing on His Son, affirming Jesus in His identity, not in His gifting, or His calling, or even His obedience. Father simply stated, “You are My Son.” Basically, the I AM said, “YOU ARE.” This is a picture of unconditional love. It is what the world is crying out for: “Identify us! Tell us who we are!”

It’s worth repeating: our identity is who we are, not what we do. We are human beings, not human doings. We are not made up of our gifts and abilities or how other people view us. Although the world may be intrigued, impressed, or mesmerized by our gifting, we can never value a person according to them. When we do, we sell people short of the truth of who they really are, His son or His daughter. More often than not, we clothe each other with an identity based on what we do, or what we can produce. This is the exact opposite of how God identifies us. He clothes us with Himself!

We are first and foremost, sons of God, equipped with gifting, hearing the voice of Father and fulfilling our kingdom mandate. Paul said, that “the earth is groaning for the manifestation of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:22.) Groaning means complaining, crying, sobbing, and lamenting. The earth is not groaning for apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, or evangelists. It’s not sobbing for miracles, or lamenting for church growth; the earth is crying out for the sons of God! Now, don’t misunderstand me, I do believe in the fivefold ministry in the church. The Word says that God gave these gifts unto men and we see that Jesus operated in all five during his lifetime. Nevertheless, there are so many who find their identity in their gifts or their position rather than in their identity of sonship.

Clearly, when the Father blessed Jesus at the Jordan, He did not recognize Him from heaven as the apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, or evangelist. He said, “This is my Son!”

The Word tells us that our giftings will “make room for us” and bring us before mighty and noble people. But it’s our identity that will determine what we do when we get there. Your identity will determine if you are a Simon Bar-Jonah, ‘son of Jonah’, a fisherman; or Peter, the Rock, one who receives revelation straight from a heavenly Father.

Your gift can leave a memory, but your identity can leave a legacy.

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