Creflo Dollar - How To Avoid Identity Theft - Part 1
The great stealth attack of the enemy is coming towards every believer who knows their God. Now, I'm not saying that he's going to be successful, but I am saying that this is gonna be an increased war of the mind, a battle like you've never seen before in your mind. Some people are already going through it. But if you'll study the M.O. of the devil, when he really wants to take something, his first area of attack is your identity. That was the first area of attack in the Garden of Eden where he stole the identity of Adam and Eve. And then even when Jesus showed up in the wilderness, his first attack was, "If thou be the Son of God," going for the identity of Jesus. And I'm telling you that this year for the believer will be Satan trying to constantly steal your identity. Identity theft will describe who the devil is. He will use guilt and shame and condemnation to try to steal your identity. And there are consequences when identity is stolen.
If you just take in the natural, identity theft is a form of a fraud in which someone uses your personal information and leaves you with some damaging and costly consequences. And if we allow Satan to steal our identity, we will be left with some damaging consequences. And while identity theft has become a more visible problem in recent years, its roots go all the way back to the Garden of Eden. My goodness, it was there that Adam lost his spiritual identity due to this stealth deceiver. And by extension, we too have lost our identity. That Christian people just do not really know their identity. Well, Pastor, how can you say that? Well, I'm gonna prove it to you, so that you can understand that you got to get ready for this. If Christian people are already in a place where they don't really know who they are right now today, don't let him increase that.
Let's talk about in the natural, your identity just for a moment and then bring it up into the spiritual. Our identity is a sense of self and our knowledge of who we are. And let me tell you something. When we are confident in our identity, then we know who we are, we know what we believe, and we know why we make decisions based on our personal values and belief systems, and we surround ourselves with people who reinforce what we believe about ourselves. That's the natural. But now spiritually speaking, as believers, our identity is found in Christ. As believers, your identity is found in Christ. As believers, your identity is found in Christ. As believers, your identity is found in Christ. So don't, you can't find your identity in what you do. You can't find your identity in what you've earned. As believers, our identity is found in who? Christ.
So we have value because he created us, we have purpose because we were created on purpose for a purpose. How many of you know, each of you have been created on purpose? There are no mistakes sitting in here. I don't care how it happened. There are no mistakes sitting in here. You were created on purpose for a purpose. And our decisions are based on the Bible and it's based on teachings of Jesus. Now, I got four statements before I begin preaching here that I want you to think about. I chose this Sunday because we're leading in to really break this thing down.
Number one, your identity is in Christ and not in your mistakes or your sin. Your identity is in Christ and not in your sin. It would be so easy for you to do something wrong and then try to find your identity and how you behaved. Your identity is in Christ and not in your mistakes or some people wanna say sin. I don't care. You know, so that's number one, your destiny. Please, please listen to this. I heard this, this past week so clear. Your destiny is greater than your past. I don't think y'all hear what I'm saying. Where you are going is greater than where you've been. But sometimes we allow where we've been to hinder where we're going. And you keep questioning yourself about your destiny because of your past. I'm talking to somebody here this morning, but your destiny is greater than your past.
Now secondly, God does not keep a record of your negative history. God does not keep a record of your negative history. These are points I gotta give you before I can start teaching. He does not keep a record. I know you've heard that, you know, when you get to heaven and they gonna sit you down and they gonna put this little tape in and show you all your... God does not keep record of your negative history. He doesn't keep record of your sinful past. Well, that ain't in the Bible nowhere. You know, I went to Micah, go there with me. Micah chapter 7, in verse 19 in the NLT. The book of Micah chapter 7, verse 19 in the NLT, because a lot of people, they think, well, God keeps record of their negative past. They think he keeps record of their sin. He says, "Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean"! Wow. But somehow what hinders us from getting to our destiny again is our past. But God does not hold record of your past mistakes.
Here's the third thing I want you to consider. Holding on to your sins and holding on to your mistakes keeps you from your purpose. How many of you are still holding on to your mistakes, holding on to your sins, holding on with regret to the things that you have done. All that does, it keeps you from your purpose. God gets you so close to the purpose for your life, and you let what you have done keep you from your purpose. This is so vital in understanding your true identity. These are the tricks that Satan will use.
And then number four, placing your identity in mistakes will keep you in spiritual slavery. Placing your identity in your mistakes will keep you in spiritual slavery. Look at Galatians chapter 5 and 1 in the NLT. It keeps you into slavery of those mistakes. You know, my objective is very clear. I got to get you to see who you are and religion has played a negative role in you seeing and understanding who you are. Verse 1 says, "So Christ has truly set us free". See that sounds good. But I don't, I don't think we really get a hold of it. I mean, he has really set you free now make sure that you stay free. He set you free, so stay free and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law. And he is saying, your past mistakes, don't put your identity in what you have done. It keeps you in spiritual slavery.
Now, let's talk about accepting that true identity that's in Christ. Who you are in Christ, Jesus. Look at Romans chapter 8:16 in the NLT. Romans chapter 8:16 in the NLT. I think a lot of Christians, I know I thought that as a Christian, that I was pretty sure of my identity. And I'll let you decide after you hear this today. He says, "For his Spirit," the Holy Spirit, "joins with our human spirit". "For his spirit," the Holy Spirit, "joins with our human spirit". So man, we, the anatomy of man, we are spirit beings, we possess a soul, we live in a physical body. Many have used spirit and soul interchangeably as if they are the same. They are not the same. You are a spirit, you have a soul, you live in a physical body. Your soul is your thinker, your filler, your chooser, your soul is the compartment where your feelings and your emotions reside. You are a spirit, you possess a soul, you live in a body.
Now the Holy Spirit, the day you got born again, joined with your spirit, your spirit and the Holy Spirit are now one. Yeah. Yeah. You gotta understand what I'm saying. So why did he join together with your spirit? To affirm that you are God's children. He's trying to convince you and he's trying to affirm that your identity, is that you are indeed children of the Most High God. Yeah, but I don't feel like it. This is not based on your feelings. Yeah, but what about what I did last year? This ain't based on what what happened last year. Holy Ghost came, joined with your spirit, got together with your spirit and said now you are children of God. I have settled it. Oh my goodness.
Alright now watch this. Matthew 4 and 6. Look at that in the King James. Matthew 4 and 6, so we're children of God. Matthew 4 and 6, "And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone". Notice what he did right here with Jesus, "If thou be the son of God". You're gonna hear that quite often, if you are really the children of God, if you are really sons and daughters of God, and you have a tendency to question that based on your past and based on your behavior. And you're not understanding the fact that when you have children, I don't care what they do, I don't care how good they are, I don't care what they have done, they still your children. Even if they say I don't like you no more, I'm gonna go find another daddy. You can't find another daddy. Whether you like me or not, you still gonna be my child. Ain't no use to me being ashamed of you, running from you. That's my child. That's still gonna be my child. I don't care what nobody say, that's my child.
And God said the same thing, I don't care what you do, what you have done, what you have been, that's my child. I don't even care if your parents say I disown you, you can't. You can disown them and not ever speak to him again, but when they see that same nose you got, when they see that same big head you got, they gonna still know whether you own them or not. They gonna still know that's your child. And that's what I want the world to know, praise God. No matter how crazy you start acting, I want them to look at you and I want them to be able to tell that's a child of God right there. That's a child of God. Because of Adam's sin, we show up on the planet spiritually dead. Because of what one man did. Because of what one man did, it infected every other person that was gonna get born again. We show up spiritually dead.
Look at Romans 5, verse 15, 18. Romans 5, verse 15 and 18 in NLT. Now, what I'm about to do is this, I'm just, I'm gonna go like line by line, and then a scripture. And another line, and then a scripture. So I ain't got time, we ain't got time to be playing no church today line and a scripture. Another line and a scripture because if I don't convince you that you still God's child, then the devil will use condemnation, shame and guilt to talk you out of your identity. "But there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift. For the sin of this one man Adam brought death to many". So people we showed up on the earth spiritually dead verse 18. "What Adam did brought death to many. Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone". I'm not gonna read the good part but Christ will one act. I'm trying to convince you of the fact that we showed up on this earth spiritually dead.
Psalms 51, and 5 in the King James. Psalms 51 and 5 in the King James. And that's everybody. Everybody showed up. Everybody that's here, showed up here spiritually dead. You have to get born again because you're spiritually dead. Yeah, but I go to church now. But if you don't get born again, you're still, you're just a spiritually dead person going to church. Because you showed up here spiritually dead. And until you get Jesus in your life, you're spiritually dead. The songwriter wrote, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me". Shaped in iniquity and was conceived in sin. Spiritually dead. So while Adam was originally created in God's image, Satan stole that identity from him and ultimately stole it from us. So the fall changed everything. And as a result of the fall, in Eden, we are born in Adam's spiritual image, spiritually dead, not God's image. Does everybody see that now?
So it's only when we receive new life in our spirits that we are recreated and renewed again in God's image. So the day you got born again, life came back in and you're no longer spiritually dead, because you got born again and the Holy Ghost joined his Spirit with your spirit, and now we're recreated and now we renewed, and now we are in God's image. We regain the spiritual identity that God intended for us to have. Look at Colossians 3, 9 and 10 in the NLT. Colossians 3, 9 and 10 in NLT. So the day you got born again, life came, restored you from spiritual death, you regain that identity that God intended for us to have, and then in Colossians 9 and 10, he says, "Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all it's wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your creator and become like him".
Oh my goodness. So because of our death with Jesus, we're now reborn. We're plugged into the life of God. We've been recreated in the image of Jesus Christ. Now I'm gonna show you the scripture now. 1 John chapter 4:17. I'm gonna show you the scripture and I don't want you to read it lightly. II I want you to take it in light of what we're talking about here. 1 John chapter 4:17, it says, "And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him," Lord have mercy. "We can face him," how? Because we live like Jesus here in this world, we can be confident because we live like him, in this world because we like him.
Now look at this in the King James, 1 John 4:17. I gotta have confidence in this. You gotta have confidence in this. And that's the thing that's gonna be on the attack. Your confidence about your identity is gonna be on the attack. "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is," as he is, alright now. Let me amplify it some. As he is the Son of God, so are we the sons and daughters of God in this world.