Gregory Dickow - Success Is Knowing Who You Are
Welcome to "The Power to Change Today". I'm Gregory Dickow, and if there was one secret to having success in every area of your life, wouldn't you want to know what it is? Of course. Well, that's what today's program is all about. No matter what you're going through, no matter what you're facing right now, no matter what trial you're in, no matter what your financial situation is like, no matter what seems to be coming up against you, there's one secret to having success in every area of your life, and it's this: knowing who you are. When you understand who you are in Christ, out of that identity flows your authority, flows power, flows your destiny.
You see, the Bible says we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. You are more than a conqueror. Jesus did all the conquering, now we're more than conquerors. We get to enjoy the victory when we know who we are. We get to experience all the victory that Jesus already paid for us to have. That's what this program is all about. Success is God's idea, and success is knowing who you are because that's when you're going to be able to pray with authority. That's when you're going to be able to stand up against whatever comes against you. When you know who you are, that's when peace and happiness is going to flow like a river. Depression, emptiness, loneliness starts falling off of you when you know who you are. In the next 25 minutes or so, get ready, your life is going to be changed forever from the inside out when you discover the power of true success, knowing who you are. Check this out.
If we would look at the Bible like that. When we look in the natural mirror, we want to fix whatever is not right. But when we look in the Word of God, it's not a mirror to show us what's wrong, it's a mirror to show us who we are. So, when you wake up and you're not sure, "Am I really going to have a great day"? oh, you look in the mirror. "Oh, Psalm 1:18 says, 'This is the day the Lord has made. Now, let me rejoice and be glad in it.'" When you get up and you're like, "Oh, I'm not sure, man. I'm not sure I'm going to beat this thing," you look in the mirror of Romans 8:37 and it says, "You are more than a conqueror through him who loved you".
You say, "Man, I'm not sure I got the strength to make it through this today". And what you do is you look in the mirror, Philippians 4:13, and it says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me". "I'm not sure God's going to meet my needs. I'm not sure I'm going to have my bills paid. I'm not sure how I'm going to make it through another day". What do you do? You look in the mirror to find out that my God shall supply all your needs according to this riches and glory. "Oh man, I'm so afraid. I'm not sure I can overcome this fear today". What do you do? Look in the mirror and then you'll see 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "God has not given you a spirit of fear but power, love, and a sound mind".
What are we looking in the mirror of God's Word for? We're not looking to see what's out of place, we're looking to see who we are, we're looking to find our place, we're looking to discover this is what God says about us. You're more than a conqueror. You're a joint heir with Jesus. Greater is he that is in you that he that's in the world. That's the mirror of God's Word, and the way when you're so unsure about whether a hair fell out of place, you go right to a mirror. How much more should we go to God's Word when we're not sure we have authority over the enemy? And then we look at Luke 10:19, and it says that in the mirror that God... Jesus said, "Behold, I give you authority to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means injure you, hurt you, or harm you".
Man, you can be sure. What do we do when we're not sure? We look in the mirror. And what does the mirror say? It says what God said you are. It says you're a champion. It says you're the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath. "Man, I don't know if I'm going to... man, I wonder if I'm going to make it through this. I just feel cursed all the time. Things don't go right. I make a friend and immediately they're not my friend anymore. I make another friend, and a day later they're not my friend anymore. I'm cursed, I don't know how to be a friend. I don't know how to make a friend. Oh wait, let me look in the mirror. It says Jesus became a curse for me, for cursed is one that hangs on..." "I'll never meet Mr. Right. I'll never meet Mr. Right. I'll never meet Mr. Right". You need to just change that and realize you might not meet Mr. Right now... but Jesus said, "All things which you pray and ask, believe you received it, and it'll be granted to you".
So, if you haven't met Mr. Right, stop looking left. You need to start looking. And I told you before if I got up this morning and said, "I'm going fishing," but I just sit at home, I ain't gonna catch any fish. Guess what I got to do if I'm going fishing? I got to get a pole, I got to get some bait. Now, what's your bait? Your bait may be how you walk, girl. Your bait may be how you talk, sister. But you ain't catching nothing without some bait. "He's so worldly, he's so fleshly". But I'm married. For now, all right. Are you hearing this? We don't read the Bible to find out what's out of place. We read the Bible to find out our place, to find his grace, to find out who we are. Not what to do, but who we are. Because how many have ever read the Bible and found something in it, "Oh, I'm supposed to do that," but you couldn't do it? Right?
How many, one person, me and one person, we've read the Bible, "Oh man, I need to do that, and I couldn't do it. Oh, I need to live holy," and then I love, "Oh, I need to live godly," and then I make a mistake. How many have ever done that? Am I the only one, me and you? We're all like that because we're not supposed to read the Bible to find out what to do. We're supposed to read the Bible to find out who we are. And when you know who you are, you'll end up doing what comes naturally out of who you are. It's the overflow of who you are. What a contrast to the stark reality of how we see ourselves sometimes. Reminds me of the sick guy that went to the doctor, and he said the doctor looked him over and asked him what was bothering him.
The sick man said, "Well, doc, when I look in the mirror every morning, I see thinning hair, sagging jowls, a bulging stomach, crooked teeth, and bloodshot eyes. I am a mess, doc. What is wrong with me"? The doctor looks at him, he says, "I'm not sure, but the good news today is your eyesight is perfect". Aren't you glad God doesn't look at us like that? He doesn't make a list of our mistakes and our shortcomings. And when we make a list of our mistakes and shortcomings, God doesn't agree with it. God says, "No, you're in sin". Say, "I'm in sin? How am I in sin, Lord"? "Because you're doubting my Word. This is what my Word says about you. You're the head and not the tail. You're beautiful in my eyes. You're made in my image. You're fearfully and wonderfully made. That's what I said about you".
You're in sin when you say about yourselves something other than what God says about you. We're in sin when we believe something other than what God's Word says about us. That's what sin is. Sin is not going out and smoking, sin is not going out and drinking, those are behaviors that flow out of an insecurity about who you are, or an ignorance about how God wants to fill you, or you're lacking in knowledge, or you're just going through a season in your life where you're struggling with something. And that doesn't affect who you are, that doesn't affect what God says you are, that doesn't change who God said you are, that doesn't make God love you less. That doesn't make you less anointed, it doesn't make you less beautiful to God, it doesn't make you less loved by him. It may be something you're struggling with right now. Maybe you're going through some other struggle.
And instead of letting your struggle define you, you need to let the Word of God define you, and say, "You know what? I'm going to let what God says about me talk to my struggle". And when you convince your struggle of who you are and when you're convinced of who you are, it will begin to translate to your struggle, and your struggle will begin to yield to who you are. The Bible says that trouble is but momentary, but it's subject to change. So, what will cause the thing in your life that was seen, the thing that is seen is subject to change. What is going to cause the thing that you see so you see the struggle over here, or you see this addiction over here, or you see this problem in your marriage over here, or you see this problem of your health or in your body, what will bring, those things are temporary, and the Bible calls them subject to change. But will make them change is when you subject them to something greater than them.
So, I have to subject, if I'm dealing with a sickness or a disease or an addiction, let's say I'm dealing with an addiction, that thing is subject to change. But it will only change when something greater than it brings it under subjection. And what is greater than my addiction? My identity is greater than my addiction. My identity is greater than my sickness. My identity is greater than my body. So, when I discover my identity and know who I am, my identity will bring my body into subjection. My identity will bring that addiction into subjection. My identity will bring that behavior into subjection. My identity will bring that marriage into subjection. We don't bring people into subjection, we bring circumstances and situations into subjection, knowing who we are in Christ. Can anybody say amen to that?
When you believe who you are, when you realize, "Wait a minute, I know who I am," it's going to cause you to be a person who values yourself. When you know who you are, you're going to get back up when you fall. When you know who you are, you're going to become a creator of things rather than just a consumer of things. When you know who you are, you're going to see an extraordinary future come to pass. When you know who you are, you're going to learn how to exercise your authority. If you don't know who you are, you'll fall and say, "I guess I'm just somebody who falls all the time". But when you know who you are, you'll say, "I might have fallen, but I'm the righteousness of God". And Proverbs 24, verse 16 says, "When a righteous man falls, he gets back up". I am the righteousness of God, therefore I am getting back up. Come on, are you with me?
So, when you know who you are, you'll understand your value. When you know who you are, you'll get back up when you fall. And when you know who you are, you'll become a creator of things. When you know who you are, you know, "Wait a minute, I'm made in the image of God. I have creativity, I have ability, I have skills, I have an anointing. I have wisdom. I have the power of God. I have the Holy Spirit living inside of me. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. I'm creative, I have business ideas and inventions coming out of me. There's something in me that God wants to bring out". But you got to know who you are, and you're going to start creating things. You got to know who you are, and you're going to have an extraordinary future. You might have a terrible past, but you're going to have an extraordinary future when you know who you are. And when you know who you are, you're going to be able to exercise your authority, your authority.
Now, contrast that with what happens when you don't know who you are. When you don't know who you are, you can't walk in your God-given authority. Let's look at a situation that describes that in Acts chapter 19, verse 15. Acts chapter 19, verse 15, look at this. Look at what the Bible says, folks. Acts chapter 19, verse 15, and it says that the evil spirit answered and said, if you go back to verse 14, let's look there. It says, "God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hand of Paul. Sick people were being healed, evil spirits were coming out". Then verse 13, "Then some of the Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, 'We exercise you,' or, 'We cast you out by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.'" Now, notice how they describe this. "We cast you out by the Jesus who Paul preaches". Like they didn't know Jesus themselves.
And if you don't know Jesus, you don't know yourself. You got to know him to know yourself. You got to know what God's like to know what you're like. Why? Because you're made in the image of God. So, if you know what God's like, you can say, "Oh, that's what God's like? Well, then that's what I'm like because I'm made in his image," right? So, these guys didn't know Jesus, so they didn't know themselves. So, they said, "We exorcise you. We cast you out by the name of the Jesus that Paul preaches". And isn't it interesting what happened? Look at the next verse, verse 14. "And there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so". So, there were seven men there, Jewish priests. They might have been religious, but they didn't know who they were. They might have been religious, but they didn't know Jesus directly. And if they didn't know Jesus directly, they didn't know themselves. And what happened? Verse 15, "And the evil spirit answered".
Now, this is problem number one when you're casting out an evil spirit. As soon as you talk to it, it starts talking back to you. That's a big problem. And the evil spirit, and notice what the evil spirit said. "And the evil spirit answered and said, 'Jesus I know and Paul I know.'" In other words, "I know both of those dudes, but who are you? Who are you? Who are you"? See, when you can't answer who are you, neither can the devil. When you don't know who you are, neither will the devil know who you are. But let me tell you something, when you know who you are, you can rest assured the devil knows who you are. When you know who you are, demons know who you are. Why didn't this demon know who these men were? The evil spirit answered and said, "I know Jesus, and I know Paul".
He didn't know them 'cause he had a relationship with them. He knew them because he knew they had authority. And he knew that Jesus walked in authority, and Paul walked in authority. But these people, these seven religious people, did not know who they were, so the devil didn't know who they were. And verse 16, look at what happens when you don't know who you are. "Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, prevailed against them, and they ran out of the house naked and wounded". They went in with their religious priestly garments, so holy, so religious. And look at what happened. They were overpowered, they were prevailed against, they were running for their lives, they were now naked. That means the devil took their clothes, and they were wounded. He beat their little behinds.
That's what happens when you don't know who you are. You're going to be overpowered. The enemy is going to prevail against you. You're going to be running for your life the rest of your life. You're never going to have your needs met, and you're always going to be wounded and damaged, hurt, and injured for one simple reason. 'Cause you don't know who you are. You see why it's so important to know who you are? You see why this is the single most important thing you can do with your life to know who you are? Who are you? Who are you? Go back to verse 14. "Jesus I know". Excuse me, verse 15, "Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you"?
Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you? Who are you? Who are you? What are you going to say when the devil says, "Who are you"? What are you going to say when the elephant says, "Who are you"? What are you going to say when life says, "Who are you"? What are you going to say when sickness says, "Who are you"? What are you going to say when financial problems say, "Who are you"? What are you going to say when your health is saying, "Who are you"? What are you going to say when your job situation is going to say, "Who are you"? What is going to be your response? They couldn't answer, so they were overcome. They couldn't answer, so the enemy prevailed. They couldn't answer, so they ran for their life. They couldn't answer, so they were naked, and they lost everything they had. They couldn't answer, they ran out of the house wounded, broken, damaged, and in pain and suffering.
And I'm here to tell you if you don't know how to say it, if you don't know who you are, and you don't know how to say who you are, the same thing's going to happen to you. Life is going to overpower you. Situations are going to prevail against you. Your needs aren't going to get met. You're going to be running for your life rather than running to the race that you're called to. You're going to be running for your life. You're going to be running just to save yourself, running just to protect yourself. Aren't you tired of just being a survivor? Aren't you tired of running? Aren't you tired of not knowing who you are? Aren't you tired of having to find some new job or career to feel better about yourself, find a new boyfriend or girlfriend to feel better about yourself?
Aren't you tired of needing someone in your life to make you feel good about yourself? Aren't you tired of people treating you a certain way in order for you to feel good about yourself? 'Cause most of the time, people aren't going to treat you the way you want to be treated. That's why the Bible never says, "Treat people the way other people treats you". It says, "Treat people the way you want to be treated". Not the way you've been treated, but the way you want to be treated. Aren't you tired of needing people to like you to feel better about yourself? Aren't you tired of needing people's attention to feel better about yourself? When life starts cracking down on you and saying, "Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you"?
I want you to be able to say, "I am a child of God". I want you to be able to say, "I am more than a conqueror through him that loved me. I am God's workmanship according to Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10. I am a new creature according to 2 Corinthians 5:17. I am the righteousness of God according to 2 Corinthians 5:21. I am a believer, not a doubter according to 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 4. I'm a joint heir with Jesus Christ according to Romans 8:17. I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb according to Revelations chapter 12, verse 11. I am a partaker of his divine nature according to 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 3 and 4. I am an ambassador of Jesus Christ according to 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20. I am the temple of the Holy Spirit according to 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 19. I'm the head and not the tail according to Deuteronomy 28, verse 13. I'm the light of the world according to Matthew chapter 5, verse 14. I am his light, I am his elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and long-suffering according to Colossians chapter 3, verse 12. I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the blood of Jesus Christ according to Ephesians chapter 1, verse 7. I am delivered from the power of darkness according to Colossians chapter 1, verse 13. I am redeemed from the curse of the law".
When the devil says, "Who are you"? when the curse says, "Who are you"? you say, "I am redeemed from the curse of the law. I am blessed coming in and I'm blessed going out according to Galatians chapter 3, verse 13". Who are you? "I am called by God to be the voice of his praise according to 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 9". Who are you? "I am healed by his stripes according to 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 24". Who are you? "I am seated with him in heavenly places according to Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4". Who are you? "I am greatly loved by God according to Romans chapter 1 verse 7".