Who Are You?

As I mentioned in the last ‘Just a Thought’– one of the issues we face when working with vision is that many disciples of the Lord Jesus have not taken the time to discover their personal vision for ministry and thus their place within the body of Christ.

I mentioned that most disciples have not taken the time and invested the effort to discover for themselves what they are called to accomplish for the Lord – their vision for their ministry. And, it does take time and effort to seek after God which is how you receive the revelation of God’s plans and His purpose for your life.

However, there is a step even more basic in this discovery process. Before working on the vision of your ministry and how it fits into the wider vision of the church you attend; before sorting out the “do” part of your walk with the Lord – you first need to sort out the “be” part. Who has God created you to ‘be’? Who has God called you to ‘be’? Who are you “in Christ”? Yes, we have Christ living in us (at least His Holy Spirit) but we are also called to be “in Christ.” Who are you called to ‘be’ in Him?

This personal vision of who you are is so basic and so foundational to the call upon your life to do things for the Lord and to minister to others – accomplishing the plans and purpose of God for your time here on the planet.

But, to discover and have revealed to you who you really are “in Christ” takes time and effort. The revelation will not come and strike you suddenly like a lightening bolt from the heavens. It takes prayer, fasting, stillness, solitude, and listen to the voice of the Spirit – God’s Holy Spirit.

In the process you need to discover which motivational gifts are resident in you (Romans 12:4-8) as these determine your life-long interests and the hot buttons that motivate you.

And, you need to discover which of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit are resident within you (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) as a result of being baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) so that you know the supernatural gifts you have at your disposal to fulfill your ministry.

As well, you need to discover or have revealed to you prophetically through an apostle or prophet what you ministry calling is – elder, deacon, teacher, five-fold minister, home group leader, Bible teacher, children’s minister… the list is endless as there are many, many ministries we can have.

Having discovered these giftings and even the call upon your life you now know who you are, who God called you to be. This is the first vision every disciple needs as this gives you a security and confidence to begin to minister to others. You will no longer be a people-pleaser because you will know who you are “in Him” and this will always now be more important than what people might think of you; more important than ministry, recognition, authority and power.

Now, you can begin to be trained and equipped to do things for the Lord and fulfill the vision for your ministry through the local church. The second part of your personal vision – training for your ministry – can begin because you now know yourself and who you really are.