Day 17 - Identity by Pastor Philip Olubakin: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Paul's Identity Was Non-Negotiable

Galatians 1:1

Paul begins almost every letter the same way: Paul, an apostle. He was crystal clear about what he was called to do. He did not follow trends. He did not shift based on what was popular or what other people were doing. He stayed through on what he believed his calling was, from start to finish.

We have to be that clear about our own identity in God. Many people are not sure. They follow whoever is popular today, then shift tomorrow. Without a settled identity, you cannot fulfill God's plan for your life.

Living to Please Men Disqualifies You

Galatians 1:10

Paul said plainly: if I seek to please men, I cannot be a servant of Christ. If you live to please men, you are a slave to men. Their emotions change your convictions. Their reactions rewrite your identity.

A lot of people are addicted to validation and human approval. They post something, don't get the response they hoped for, and delete it. They feel bad because people didn't like it. But who cares? If your conviction changes every time someone criticizes it, you never really had a conviction — you had an opinion held up by other people's approval.

• Joshua and Caleb stood against 10 spies and 3 million people. They said: we are able to go up. Can you hold a position against that kind of crowd?
• Foolish people in large numbers can drown out wise voices. Don't let accumulated foolishness become your conviction.
• Paul says: I received my message not from men, not by human opinion, but by revelation.

Stop chasing validation. You were not called to please the crowd — you were called to obey God.

Guard Your Vision Before You Share It

Galatians 1:15-17

Paul said that when God revealed his son to him and called him to preach among the Gentiles — immediately he did not confer with flesh and blood. He did not rush out to consult anyone. He did not go up and down sharing the vision, looking for people's opinions.

He waited three years. He let it simmer. He let it take deep root in his spirit before he said anything.

When God puts something in your heart, keep it to yourself first. Let it become deeply rooted before you tell anyone.

The moment you pick up a new vision from God and start sharing it prematurely, people will corrupt it with their opinions. Someone will say it won't work. Someone will say you're not qualified. Someone will find ten reasons why it's a bad idea. And if the vision is not yet deeply rooted in you, those voices will uproot it.

But if you wait — if you let it grow strong in your spirit the way Paul let his calling grow for three years — then when you do share it, even a contrary opinion cannot move you. You know what you heard.