TRANSCRIPT

“Hey, everyone, I’m Anne-Marie Michaelis, a Christian author and coach. Welcome to the Faith Calls Podcast. My life was radically transformed during a supernatural encounter with Jesus.

God allowed my eyes to be spiritually open long enough to see the truth of the hidden battles and to scare the rebellion against him right out of me. Over the years, God has revealed my identity in Christ and purpose in him, calling me to step forward unapologetically into that purpose. Faith Calls for identity in Christ, purpose in God, and action, walking out God’s purpose for our lives.

As believers in Christ, we know that each of us has a unique purpose and plan pre-designed by God. Part of this podcast, we’ll be diving into our identity in Christ and purpose in God. God’s word clarifies that we should be diligent, plan, and walk out our purpose as He has designed for us, leveraging the spiritual gifts gifted to us by the Holy Spirit.”

“This is a deep dive into our call, purpose, mission, vision, and commitment to walking out our purpose in God. Please take a moment to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and subscribe to my channel on YouTube at God Design LLC. Podcasts are available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

For a free download of my memoir, visit my website at GodDesign.me. Hello, everyone. This is the first episode of the workbook, Identity and Purpose in God, Her Plan and Schedule 365.

Episode 1 from the Faith Calls Podcast, Chapter 1 called Your Identity. Let’s start with prayer. Heavenly Father, I declare that you, Lord, will accomplish that which concerns me, your unwavering love and kindness, O Lord, endures forever.

You will not abandon the works of your own hands. You, Lord, who began a good work in me, will continue to perfect and complete it until the day of Jesus’ return. Therefore, I accept your call on my life, Lord, and I’m forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead.”

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which you have called me, heavenward, in Christ Jesus. In all my ways, I submit to you and believe with all confidence that you will make my path straight. You, Lord, will instruct me and teach me in the way I should go.

You, Lord, will counsel me with your loving eye upon me. I promise to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness and know with great confidence that all of these things will be given to me as well. In Jesus’ name, I pray.

Amen. So if you prayed this with me, if you want this prayer, let me know. This is the prayer we’re going to start with, right?

This is more of a declaration prayer using scripture. Scripture is very powerful. It’s God’s word.

And so praying with scripture according to God’s word and his promises to us is so important. So if you’d like a copy of this, let me know and I’ll send it to you. But this is going to be our prayer that we’re going to start with as we begin each of these Faith Calls episodes.”

“So the first part of this particular workbook is called the plan, right? It’s all about planning and doing like a deep dive into ourselves and kind of discovering anything that God may be leading us towards. And then the whole second part is the schedule.

So this is the plan. It’s the truth about our identity and purpose. As part of the planning stage, we’ll look at where your identity is currently sourced from, meaning where you are getting your identity.

We’ll go deeper into the consequences of aligning yourself with an unreliable, shaky and unstable worldly identity. Versus aligning ourselves with an identity found in Jesus Christ, which is a solid, unchanging foundation. Afterward, we’ll move into the pre-designed purpose God explicitly designed for you.”

“The scripture for this section of the book is Ephesians 2 verse 10. For we are his workmanship, his own masterwork, a work of art, created in Christ Jesus, reborn from above, spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used for good works, which God prepared for us beforehand, taking paths which he set so that we would walk in them, living the good life which he pre-arranged and made ready for us. Let’s look at your identity.

Where does your identity come from? Our identity can depend on many things, including the world’s standards. This means that our identity could be reliant on and shaped by society.

What we see or hear on social media, television shows, co-workers or specific individuals like our parents, spouse, children and friends. You might even have based your identity on work, school, sports or hobbies. And this could become an issue if what has shaped your identity changes, doesn’t work out or goes away completely.”

“Having your identity depend on things of this world is unstable and most likely not aligned with what God has planned your identity to be. Look at Paul in the Bible. It can be found in Acts 9 verse 1 through 19.

He was originally called Saul, and he was in charge of persecuting Christians. He encountered Jesus and his identity and purpose changed completely. He became pivotal in spreading the good news of Jesus and wrote 13 books in the Bible.

I’d like to share the scripture from 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17 with you. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that is grafted in, joined to him by faith in him as Savior, he is a new creature, reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit. The old things, the previous moral and spiritual condition have passed away.”

“Behold, new things have come, because spiritual awakening brings a new life. When we are joined to Christ, we are a new person. Our identity comes from him, no longer from the world.

So let’s look at our identity from the world first, and see what that looks like. Our identity from the world. So suppose we are currently getting our identity from the world through any of the examples I just mentioned.

We should probably understand who the ruler of the world is, whose shapes and influences all these various false identities. Second Corinthians 4, verse 3 through 4 says this, But even if our gospel is in some sense hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only to those who are perishing, among them the God of this world, Satan. He has blinded the minds of the unbelieving to prevent them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

“Ephesians 2, verse 1 through 2 says this, And you, he made alive when you were spiritually dead and separated from him because of your transgressions and sins in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world, influenced by this present age in accordance with the prince of the power of the air, Satan, the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient, the unbelieving who fight against the purposes of God. And lastly, 1 Peter 5, verse 8 says this, and there’s more scripture than this.

These were the three I pulled out for you. So 1 Peter 5, verse 8 says this, be sober, well balanced and self-disciplined. Be alert and cautious at all times.

That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, fiercely hungry, seeking someone to devour. The ruler or lowercase she God of this world is Satan. What is Satan’s agenda?”

“He fights against God’s purposes and seeks to kill, steal and destroy, basically devour us. I was being destroyed and my identity and purpose were not aligned with God’s for so many years. But he doesn’t need to go as far as what happened with me.

All Satan has to do is get you sidetracked from your true identity and purpose. And he has won because you are now working for him and don’t even realize it. That is what happens when we’re blinded from seeing the glory of Christ and the purposes of God.

We need to stay focused on Christ at all times. So this is going to take a look at our identity from the world or Satan, right? We’re going to go through a list.”

“And so now that we’ve established who influences all the false identities we can obtain from the world and other people, let’s look at what the world or Satan has masterminded us in the believing about ourselves when we take our identity from a worldly perspective. If you have the book or the worksheets, put a check mark or circle around all the statements that I’m going to read to you that are currently true for you and add any others that I may have missed. And if you don’t have the book or worksheet, pause and jot down on paper all the statements as I’m reading these that are currently true for you and add any others that I’ve missed.

Okay, so here we go. Who or what does the world or Satan say I am? I’m not good enough.

I’m not smart enough. And so when I say this, when I fill in the blanks, so I’m not good enough to do to do. I’m not smart enough for da da da, right?

I’m too weak or too old. I’m not attractive enough. I’m alone and no one likes or loves me.”

“I’m not successful until I need more food, money, sex, friends, power, success, control, parties, booze, drugs, toys, etc. Right? I need a bigger or nicer car, house or whatever.

I’m guilty, da da da, right? Fill in the blanks. I need to be more tolerant and accepting.

Fill in the blank. I don’t fit in to such and such, right? I’m living my truth with greater self-knowledge.

What does that sound like? That sounds New Agey. I believe love is love.

That’s not God’s word, right? That is also a New Age, or not New Age, kind of like a nowadays saying for all kinds of confusions in gender and things like that. All the answers are within me.

I can be any gender. It’s all fluid. God just wants me to be happy.

I only live once. That’s that YOLOS, you know, you only live once statement. And so it’s okay to do that.

Pro-choice is fair and just. It’s my body. I create my own right and wrong for myself.”

“I don’t need God, or I am my own lowercase g God. God’s not real and Jesus is a myth. My identity is wrapped up in, fill in the blank, my husband, wife, children, friends, job, sport, something else.

I am nothing without, and then fill in the blank, my husband, wife, children, friends, job, sport, or other. So this is a short list of examples of all that you are, according to the lies of the world and Satan. And so you may need to go back and listen again to some of the examples I gave, and if I missed any, write them down on your paper.

All right, now let’s look at our identity from our creator Jesus. So who do you ask if you want to know how something works and its purpose? Typically, your vehicle or other complex things comes with an owner’s manual written by the manufacturer, the creator or inventor of the thing.”

“So again, if you have the book or the worksheets, put a check mark or circle around all the statements that are currently true for you, and add any additional scripturally based identity statements that I may have missed. If you don’t have the book or worksheet, pause and jot down on paper all the statements that are currently true for you, and again, add any additional scriptural based identity statements that I may have missed. So here we go.

Who and what do God and Jesus say I am? I am chosen in Christ. That can be found in Ephesians 1 verse 4.

I have the mind of Christ. That can be found in 1 Corinthians 2 verse 16. My inner self is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4 verse 16. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6 verse 19.

I’m loved by Jesus and the Father. John 15 verse 9 and John 16 verse 27. I have an imperishable inheritance from God.

Ephesians 1 verse 11. God will fill until full my every need. That’s Philippians 4 verse 19.”

“I have God’s power within me. That’s Ephesians 3 verse 20. I have been justified from all things.

That’s Acts 13 verse 38 and 39. I expose deeds of darkness with moral courage. Ephesians 5 verse 11.

I am accepted in the beloved. That’s Ephesians 1 verse 6. I know the truth of salvation and I am free.

That’s John 8 verse 32. I am sanctified and control my body. That’s 1st Thessalonians 4 verse 3 through 5.

I trust in the Lord for all understanding. That’s Proverbs 3 verse 5. I am created in the image of God, who created only male and female.

That’s Genesis 1 verse 26. I delight in the Lord. That’s Psalm 37 verse 4.

I live my life for Christ. Matthew 16 verse 24 through 25. I was known by God before I was born.

Jeremiah 1 verse 5. I seek God’s kingdom and right way of being. Matthew 6 verse 33.”

“God is alive and Jesus is the door. John 10 verse 9 and John 14 verse 6. I am shielded by the power of God.

That’s 1st Peter 1 verse 5. And last but not least, I can do all things through Christ. That’s Philippians 4 verse 13.

And again, this is a short list of all that you are in Christ. So please feel free to add more that may have come up for you and add the scripture that you can find that in for yourself as well. Who do you want your identity from?

So we went through that exercise. And, you know, if you have the worksheet or the book, you can see a compare and contrast, because a lot of these I try to line up with what the world says versus what Jesus says about our identity through Him. And I tried to do a compare and contrast, and it’d be hard to see that on the podcast here.”

“So, you know, if you wrote them down even, just look at the, it’s like a vast difference between what the world says you are, you know, what Satan says you are, through the lies and counterfeit identities from the world, versus what Jesus says you are that we can find in the Bible and His truth, right? And so I would challenge you to do a compare and contrast. I know that would be a lot to write down.

You can get the worksheets on the website, Goddesign.me, and I’ll have it there for you. And you can see it right there. You know, if we choose our identity from the world versus Jesus, it is just a stark difference.

It’s like dark and light. So I challenge you to take a look at that. It’s just so powerful and hopeful when you have your identity in Christ and you change, you know, where you are getting your identity from.

It changes your life. So that leads into this. Who do you want your identity from?”

“Why would we try to find our identity in the world or other people? How would they be able to bring out the best in who we really are and what we truly are meant to be and do? Why would we try and seek out who we were meant to be in our own minds and hearts apart from God if all we’ve been fed are the lies of the world?

If you’re in the world and are ready to be in Christ, we’re going to say a prayer if you want to be in Christ right now and start that relationship. But if you’re in the world and you are not ready to be in Christ, you may have hints about your identity and purpose, but it will not be clear without walking with God and surrendering to Jesus. You have a God-given and God-designed purpose.

We all do. Your God-given purpose will be aligned with God’s purpose, like a bicycle wheel with all the spokes. Jesus is a wheel and we are all the spokes.”

“We all have a purpose of our own to support the wheel. We all work together for a greater purpose, God’s purpose. To know your purpose and unique design, you must walk with the one who created you.

Otherwise, you’ll miss your unique God-given purpose and never realize your true identity, which can only be found in Jesus Christ. Anything less than this will leave you with voids that you will seek to fill with worldly things. Things like addictions to alcohol, drugs, technology, gambling, sex, shopping, or the endless pursuit of fame, power, success, another toy, more money, and I’m losing my breath because there’s so many, right?

You will never be fully satisfied. If you’re in the world and ready to be in Christ, let’s pray a prayer of salvation found. You know, you could find this in the book.

If you have the book, it’ll be in the worksheet. If you have the worksheet to pray along with me or do this right now, we’ll pray this together. And this will I’ll pray this with you right now.”

“And we’ll begin to walk out your commitment to walk with Jesus. So let’s move forward to discover your trend and Christ’s purpose in God. Let’s first start.

And if you’re ready to say this prayer with me, let’s do that now. Heavenly Father, I come to you as a sinner in need of your grace. I repent of my sins and confess openly with my lips that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.

I believe in my heart that he died and rose from the grave for my sins. Lord Jesus, I invite you into my life. And ask for your Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart, to be my teacher, counselor, comforter, and helper in all areas of my life.

May your will be done in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

And if you prayed this prayer of salvation with me, it is a very good first step in beginning your walk with Jesus. Relationships take effort and communication. So keep the communication channel open with Jesus.

So you can start building your relationship and hear what he has in store for you. All right, let’s move on. All right, here’s your reflection questions”

“Who do you want your identity from and why? So we kind of went over a whole lot just now. So I ask you again, who do you want your identity from and why?

If not Christ, what are you gaining by walking with the world?

And more importantly, this is an important question to think about. If you are not wanting your identity in Christ, what are you losing by walking with the world and not Jesus? All right, chapter reflections, or we should call these chapter challenges.

Write your identity statements down that were from the world or Satan, based on the exercise we just did. Now write a note to Jesus and tell them about what came up for you as you learned about your identity. And now share with Jesus the identity that you graciously and joyfully accept from him as a replacement for the world’s counterfeit identity.

So write down your new identity in Jesus Christ.”

“Hey friends, that’s a wrap of today’s Faith Calls podcast. A transcript for this week’s podcast and my memoir are available for free download on my website at GodDesign.me. Or check out some of my other books that you may find helpful.

If you liked this episode, please share it with others. Faith Calls for Identity in Christ, Purpose in God, and Action, Walking Out God’s Purpose for Our Lives. Never stop praying, never give up, and I’ll see you next week.”