Gregory Dickow - Your Destiny Starts Here
I want to add my faith to yours and pray for your 2023; continue to pray for this year to be the best year ever. If it hasn't started out that way, it's never too late. Right now, let's believe together.
Father, I thank You that this is the year of our growth, our increase, our breakthroughs. This is the year of our miracles. This is a year of turnaround in our lives. We thank You, Father, that this is the turning point for the turnarounds that each and every one of us need in Jesus' Name. Thank You for supernatural health, healing, supernatural wisdom, supernatural favor surrounding us like a shield; surrounding each person like a shield. I thank You, Lord, that You will bring each of us out of the wilderness into the Promised Land, in Jesus' Name, amen.
Well, I'm excited about what God's given me for you today. I want to talk about the greatest battle of all, and I'll tell you what that is in a moment. But my greatest prayer for myself this year, and for you this year, is that I might see Jesus more clearly, that I would then love Him more dearly, and then that I would follow Him more nearly. How many want that to be your prayer, and your 2023, and your... this new season; this next best season of your life. That I might see Him more clearly, and then, that I might love Him more dearly, and then, that I might follow Him more nearly. You see, that's exactly what will happen when we see Him more clearly, and when we see ourselves more clearly as well. Because what we're going to find is the greatest battle of all is the battle for our identity.
In Matthew chapter four, verse three, when Satan came to tempt Jesus, he said, "If you are the Son of God". If you are the Son of God. And then in verse six, he says it again, "If you are the Son of God". You see, identity is everything. Satan understood. This was true spiritual warfare for Jesus, because Satan was trying to get Jesus to question His identity. And true spiritual warfare for us, is Satan trying to do the same thing, get us to question our identity. Identity is everything. And this year we're leaning in. It's all about leaning into our identity, then leaning in to our intimacy with God, and then leaning into our destiny. We sabotage our destiny when we do not take and make the priority to understand our identity. We sabotage our intimacy with God when we don't understand the clarity of who we are in Christ; the clarity of who we are as His beloved.
You know, it says, in fact, tells us this in Song of Solomon, chapter eight, verse five. Who is she coming up out from the wilderness? It is the one "leaning on her beloved," Song of Solomon, chapter eight. Who is she coming up out of the wilderness? The wilderness; the dry place, the place of trials, and emptiness, and dryness, and no harvests, and no fruit. That wilderness is something we come out of when we're leaning into our beloved; when we're leaning on our beloved. So, we're going to lean into our identity, we're going to lean into our intimacy with God, and we're going to lean into our destiny. We forfeit our destiny when we do not make our identity the true priority of our lives. Who am I? Who are you?
It takes you back to Ephesians 1:11. When I ask this question, "Who am I?" it takes me back to Ephesians 1:11 in the Message Bible, and it's such a powerful verse. It says for it is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we're living for. It is only in Christ when we find out who we are and what we're living for; who we are. This is the question that should be asked of ourselves every day so that we ask ourselves the question and give ourselves the answer. And then when Satan comes to try to challenge us with that question, we already know the answer. Who are we? John, chapter one, verse 12 says, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God". One translation says the children of God. But it's the sons and daughters of God, "even to those that believe on His name". What a great promise in John, chapter one, verse 12. And then in Galatians, chapter three, verse 26, "for you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus".
You don't become a child of God because you do everything right. You don't become a child of God because of your holiness or your purity. We become children of God simply by faith in Jesus Christ; by faith in Christ Jesus. Look at what he says in First John, chapter three, verse two about us. Who are you? This is the question. Identity is everything. Identity will lead to intimacy. Intimacy will lead to destiny. These three things are what we're leaning into this year and for the rest of my life. These are the three things I'm leaning into. I'm leaning into who I am in Christ, my identity as a son or daughter of God. I'm leaning into intimacy with Him, and I'm leaning in to my destiny. It starts with identity. Listen, this great verse in First John, three, verse two, "Beloved, now, are we the sons of God".
Now! Now, we are the sons of God. And it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. You see, he tells us here, beloved... That's the giving away. This is the secret to it all. Beloved, he says in verse two, "Beloved, now". Now. Hey beloved, now. Hey, because you are the beloved, now you are the sons and daughters of God. Now we are the children of God. And it has not appeared to us. It is not fully revealed to us yet what we shall be, but we know that we shall be like Him. We know that we shall see Him just as He is. This is where to start. This is pushing start in your life. This is pushing restart in your life. This is where everything begins. This is the true battle for our true identity. To understand our identity and to fight off the lies, and burn down the lies about who we are. And only embrace what God says we are, His beloved sons and daughters.
This is where contentment comes from. This is where our inspiration to have, to pray comes from. This is where our destiny comes from. It comes from fostering the things that can't be taken away from you. And what is that thing that can't be taken away from you? Your true identity. Your true identity cannot be taken away from you, but Satan can blind you to your true identity. Your mistakes can blind you to your true identity. But listen, we are going to... We're going to unveil and reveal to one another our true identity in Christ. Psychology can't do it; they can only take you so far. Personality tests don't reveal who you really are. They can only take you so far. We need to have an identity check and realize who we are in Christ. Because boredom, and wandering, and wilderness living comes from an identity crisis. It truly comes down to understanding your true identity. We must burn down the lies that pain, that our pain has taught us. And we must establish our identity deeply so we can establish our destiny highly.
The deeper we understand our identity, the higher we will go in our destiny. It's a simple cause and effect reality. The deeper we understand our true identity, sons and daughters of God, then the higher we go with our true destiny. You see, our common identity is written about in John, chapter 13, verse 23. And do you know, by the way, John never uses his own name when he says this, but rather he calls himself what we also can call ourselves. In John 13, verse 23, it's so powerful. He says, "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved". I really want you to get this. John writes about himself, but he doesn't use his name because he says, "one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved". Now, you know what? That applied to John, but it could have also applied to Peter. It could have also applied to to Judas. It could have also applied to any of the other disciples. And it also applies to us. He says here in John 13:23, "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved".
You see, it wasn't that Jesus only loved John. It was that John knew He was one of His disciples whom Jesus loved. You see, it's all about our identity as Abba's children; as our Heavenly Father's beloved. God calls us beloved. And I really want you to get this. Because when you get this, when you choose to define yourself the way God defines you, when you choose to define yourself radically as one beloved by the Father... I mean, this is the first thing right here. Define yourself radically as one beloved by the Father. The one beloved by the Father. God's love for you, and God's choice of you, constitutes your worth. His love for you and His choice of you constitutes your worth.
So, number one, we must define ourselves radically. Define yourself radically as one beloved by the Father. Accept that. Accept that, and let it become the most important thing in your life. If you would just set aside whatever has been important to you and today make this the most important thing in your life. Claim your identity in your belovedness. Claim your identity as His beloved. This is the most important thing about you, who you believe you are. You see, our false self feels real. But our false self draws our identity from our past achievements; from the celebration of others towards us.
Our past false self draws its identity from our achievements, or our failures. A good identity based on our achievements. A bad identity based on our failures. A good identity based on how people celebrate us and how people see us. But that's, or a bad identity because of how they see us in a negative way. But none of those things should be how you see yourself. You should see yourself as God sees you. Your true self will... Your true self is identified as the beloved child of God. It is the core of our existence. It is the core of our existence. This needs to become the most important thing in your life. Claiming your identity as His beloved; claiming your identity as His beloved. When you introduce yourself, when you get up in the morning, when you introduce yourself to a group of people, you have got to get this as the number one thing about you. Who are you? I'm God's beloved. Who are you? I'm Abba's child. Who are you? I'm Abba's beloved. Who are you? I am my Father's beloved child.
Now, so first, define yourself radically as one beloved by the Father. In Ephesians chapter one, verse six, it says He has accepted us. We are accepted in the beloved. We are accepted in the beloved. I really want you to get ahold of this because this is going to change the trajectory of your prayer life. It's going to change the trajectory of your story. It's going to change the trajectory of your destiny. Your history has nothing to do with your destiny. Your destiny has everything to do with your identity; your identity.
So, number one, define yourself radically as one beloved by the Father. And number two, when... allow God, or allow God to liberate you from unhealthy dependance on people, today. We need to allow God to liberate us. We need in fact, invite Him to liberate us from unhealthy dependence on people. When we are delivered from this unhealthy dependence on people, we will listen to God more attentively. We will love others more unselfishly. And we will become more passionate, more compassionate, more playful, more kinder. We'll take ourselves less seriously when we allow God to liberate us from an unhealthy dependence on people. Boy, this will set you free when you realize in chapter 26, verse 17, God speaks to Paul. And He says I'm going to deliver you from the people so I can deliver you to the people.
Now I want you to think about that for a moment. He says, I'm going to deliver you from the people, and deliver you to the people. In other words, you can only be of good to the people when you're free from the people. When you're freed from. He said, I'm going to deliver you from them, so I can deliver you to them. I'm going to set you free from needing them. I'm going to set you free from depending on them. I'm going to set you free from needing their adulation, needing their affirmation, needing their confirmation, needing their approval. I'm going to set you free from needing all that. I'm going to deliver you from them so I can deliver you to them. And then when I deliver you to them, you're going to free them too. Because you're freed from them, you'll be able to help them become free as well.
You see, this is what God wants to do in our lives. Deliver us from our unhealthy dependence on people, so we can be delivered to a healthy encouragement and inspiration of people into this beautiful walk with God. Wow. When you define yourself radically as the beloved; beloved by the Father. When we allow God to liberate us from unhealthy dependance on people, let's pray over that right now. Just say this. "Heavenly Father, I'm asking you to liberate me". Come on, pray that out loud. "I'm asking you, Father, to deliver me from unhealthy dependance on anyone in the Name of Jesus. Deliver me from people, so you can deliver me to people. Lord, deliver me from my dependance on their approval. Deliver me from my dependance on their opinion. Deliver me from my dependance on their view of me. And deliver me to them so I can introduce them to You, in the Name of Jesus".
Listen, as sons and daughters of God, as sons and daughters of this beautiful Father, we should be the most non-judgmental people in the world. We should be the kindest. We should be the most generous. We should be the least judgmental in the world because we know we're loved. Most people judge others because they feel judged themselves. But perfect love casts out fear of being judged. Perfect love casts out the fear of being unvalued, or undervalued. Perfect love casts out the fear of feeling like you're constantly under the scrutiny of everyone else, including God. Perfect love, His love for you, casts out fear. Boy, this is where You truly get free. Define yourself radically as one beloved by the Father. And then ask God to free you and liberate you from unhealthy dependence on people. You see, God loves us as we are. And because of this love, He sent us His Son, our eldest Brother Jesus, to bring us home to the Father after washing us in His own blood. This is a family. We're family.
So, number one, define yourself radically as one beloved by the Father. Number two, allow God, invite God as we just prayed, to liberate you from unhealthy dependence on people. And number three, embrace your complete acceptance. Embrace your complete acceptance. Only in complete self-acceptance, with no one involved except you and God, only then can you truly experience love; true love. Only then can you truly experience peace and true love. I want to say it again. Embrace your complete acceptance. Embrace your complete acceptance. Like, believe that you are 100% accepted by God; 100% accepted by yourself. You need to have self-acceptance. Because when you realize that acceptance only should come from God and from you... You should receive God's acceptance of you, and then you should accept yourself. Not "Except," E, X, C, E, P, T. "Accept," A, C, C, E, P, T. To accept yourself... I accept myself as I am. I'm not stopping there. I'm not leaving myself where I am, but I accept myself where I am. And God accepts you where you are.
You see, that is when you can truly experience peace and true love. And that's what makes you able to impart to others. Not by learning how to be a better communicator, but by learning how to identify with being His beloved. And then imparting to others that they are also His beloved. You know, in the Gospel of John, we call him the beloved disciple, because that's what we are too. He emerges as a close personal friend of Jesus. We also see that Martha, and Mary, and Lazarus, are really close friends with Jesus. And I want to show you something. Because the secret to prayer, the secret to power, the secret to breakthroughs, the secret to miracles is all found right here. Our identity as beloved. Our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God. In John, chapter 11, verse three. Watch. Watch this secret in John, chapter 11, verse three. Because Mary and Martha went to Jesus about their brother Lazarus. And notice it says the sisters sent word to Jesus saying, "Lord, behold the one who You love..." "The one who You love is sick".
Notice, Mary and Martha did not focus on how much Lazarus loved Jesus. Mary and Martha didn't focus on how good of a person Lazarus was. Mary and Martha didn't focus on all the good that Lazarus had done. Mary and Martha didn't focus on all the prayers Lazarus had prayed. Mary and Martha didn't focus on all the holiness Lazarus had achieved. Mary and Martha didn't even focus on how much they had prayed. They focused on one thing, and one thing only that led to the power of healing Lazarus, not only from his sickness, but his eventual death as well. They focused on how much Jesus loved Lazarus. Notice how they tapped into the power of prayer. It's not a gimmick. It's not a trick. It's not a name it and claim it thing. It is a roadmap. It is the secret. It is the way to power in prayer. Your breakthrough, your miracle, and your destiny starts right here, with your absolute assurance that Jesus loves you.
Notice what they said in John 11. Now a man named Lazarus was sick. Go back to verse one. It says, "He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)" She knew that she was loved. She knew she was a prostitute. She knew of all her sins. And she knew that Jesus had forgiven her. She who has been forgiven much, loved much. And so, she is not going to Jesus based on holiness, because she was a prostitute. She's not going to Jesus based on what she had accomplished. She's going to Jesus based on a revelation she knew. She knew that Jesus loved her, and she knew that Jesus loved Lazarus. This is how miracles happen, when we realize and know we are His beloved. Boy, get this. Because when you get this, you get everything. Don't go to God.
You say, "Lord, I've prayed so long. Lord, I've suffered so long. Lord, I've done this so long". It's not about what we've done. It's about what He feels towards us. They said, "Lord, behold the one who you love is sick". "What? The one I love is sick? What? Yeah, I do love him". "You know, our brother Lazarus, he's the one You love". "Yes, he is the one I love. And so are you, Mary. And so are you, Martha. And so are you, watching right now". And when you believe that, that you are the object of His love, you'll realize you are the object of His blessing. And you are the object of why He wants to give, and be generous with you, and heal you. And your breakthrough, your miracle, your destiny, it all starts in this assurance, absolute assurance of this love. Get this man. Malachi, chapter one, verse two, one of my favorite verses in my entire life.
Malachi, chapter one, verse two, New Living Translation. "I have always loved you," says the Lord. "I have always loved you". I never stopped loving you one translation, one verse says. We'll get to that. I've never stopped loving you and I never will. "I've always loved you," says the Lord. I've always loved you. So often we feel like we have to love God more to have our breakthrough. That we have to love God more for God to move in our lives. That we have to love God more for things to work out for us. But you know what? It's the opposite of that. It's not how. That's not how God operates. He wants you to know how much He loves you. That's the "why" behind God's power. That's the "why" behind His promises.
That's the "why". That's the reason He keeps His word to you. That's the reason why He moves mountains for you. That's the reason why He causes all things to work together for your good. That's the reason why he does all of that. That's the reason He sent Jesus. That's the reason He sent His Holy Spirit. That's the reason He sent His word. That's the reason He sent you into a church family. That's the reason He's done all these things and continues to do them, because He loves you so. That's the reason. That's the "why" behind God's power. God is powerful, but why does He operate in His power? Why does He use this power? He uses this power because He loves you so. He keeps His promises because He loves you so. I love what Jeremiah, chapter 31, verse two through verse six tells us in the Message Bible. This is the way God put it. They found grace in the wilderness. "They found grace out in the desert, these people who survived the killing... Out looking for a place to rest, they met God who was out looking for them".
You know, we have a lot of Christians have said, "I've been out there looking for God. I've been seeking God. I've been seeing God". But you know, as you're out there looking as you're out there... They weren't even looking for God. They were looking for a place of rest. And there they met God, who was out looking for them. You know, God has been looking for you. Not so He can shame you. Not so He can judge you or criticize you, but so that He can bless you. That verse goes on to say, "God told them, 'I've never quit loving you and never will.'" That verse goes on to say, "Expect love, love, and more love". You say, "Oh, you started out the first few weeks of last year pastor, talking about this. Expect love, love, and more love. And the year before, love, expect love, love, and more love. And the year before, expect love, love, and more love". And guess what I'll start out next year with. Expect love, love, and more love.
And so now he goes... So now, I have, "I'll start over with you and build you up again. You'll resume your singing". Man, because of this love, you're going to start singing again. Some of us have lost our song. We've lost our reason to sing. We're going to start singing again. He says, "you're going to grab the tambourine. You're going to join the dance". Some of us have lost our dance. We've lost the pep in our step. God's going to give you your dance back. He says, "You'll go back to your old work of planting vineyards on the Samaritan hillside". That's where you're experiencing the fruitfulness of God, eating the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of God's blessing, the fruit of God's promises. And he says, "And you will sit back and enjoy the fruit". You're going to just be sitting back enjoying the fruit. "Oh, how you'll enjoy those harvests! The time's coming when the watchman will call out from the hilltops of Ephraim: 'On your feet! Let's go to Zion, and let's go to meet our God!'"
Boy, we'll love, I love this passage, Jeremiah, chapter 31 there. But if we go back to John 11, verse four, it says when Jesus heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death". When He heard that the one whom He loved was sick, He said, "This sickness will not end in death". No, it's going to be for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it. He said, "This sickness will not end in death". Whatever you're going through right now, it's not going to end in your failure. It's not going to end in your destruction. It's not going to end in you losing. It's not going to end in you being defeated. It's going to end in you being the head and not the tail; in you being above and not beneath. It doesn't matter how it's going; it only matters how it ends. Did you hear me? It doesn't matter how it's going; it only matters how it ends. When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death".
Your situation right now, no matter how bad it is, it's not going to end there. It's not going to end there. In John 11 verse five, he goes on to say, Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, and you. He loved Martha. He loved her sister. He loved Lazarus. And He loves you. If you could realize that God has given us a pattern there. And you just place yourself right there after Lazarus and just say, "Now Jesus, verse five, loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus and me". He loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus and me. Say that. "He loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus and me".
Wow. You know, if you could just get ahold of this. Stop caring how it's going and start realizing how it's going to end. What are these points that I made today? Define yourself radically as one beloved by the Father. Allow God to liberate you from an unhealthy dependence on others. Embrace your complete acceptance. And then discover where the power of prayer is. The power of prayer is in knowing your loved. The power in prayer is in knowing your loved. And number five, stop caring about how it's going, and stop caring about how it looks. Because it just doesn't end there. It doesn't matter how it's going. It only matters how it ends. And it's going to end with your victory.
Father, thank You for each person connected here. I pray that they have a revelation of Your love. A revelation of their belovedness. A revelation of their true identity as sons and daughters in the Name of Jesus. Beloved sons and daughters, in the Name of Jesus. And I pray that the power of prayer would be released in each person's life to pray out of the assurance that we're loved. To pray because we're loved. And to expect the answer because of your love for us, in the name of Jesus.
Now, if you've never accepted that love and never accepted Jesus as your Savior, pray this out loud. Just say:
Heavenly Father, I invite Jesus Christ to be my Savior. I believe Jesus died for my sins. I believe Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead. From this moment forward, I'm a child of God, amen.