Beyond Dust: Living as a Child of God

Join us in this week's episode of Relentless Pursuit as we dive deep into understanding our true identity in Christ. In this powerful message, we explore how knowing your position in the Holy Spirit elevates your intimacy with God and transforms every aspect of your life. Through biblical stories and teachings, we uncover the profound significance of being God's vessel, living a life of humility, and reflecting His glory to the world.

Discover how to overcome challenges to your identity in Christ, the essential role of praise in your spiritual journey, and what it truly means to embrace your role as God's child. This episode will empower you to walk boldly in your faith and witness God's transformative power in your life.

Be ready for an eye-opening message that will inspire you to grow in your relationship with God and experience the abundant life He has promised.

Additionally, don't miss our live prayer sessions every Thursday at 5 PM on YouTube, where we come together as a community to lift each other up in prayer and seek God's presence. Tune in and be blessed!

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Transcript

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What's up, RP family? I am so excited for this week's episode of Relentless Pursuit. I'm thankful for everybody that's joining. I am Nathan. I am the host of Relentless Pursuit. And we pursue after God as He pursues after us. And I just want you to know that God is moving in, not only in Arizona, but all over the United States. I've seen Heard so many testimonies of what God is doing and even in relentless pursuit. It's I've seen our stats today and Just been amazed of what God is doing so thank you for joining I'm gonna be talking about Today somewhat of your identity in Christ understanding your position and things of that nature I believe because of where we started with I am a friend of God and in that episode and we talked about the Friendships we have with God or the friendship we have with God and then we moved on to unveiling the secrets of heaven and the fear of the Lord and righteous confrontation And The warfare and things of that nature and having the victory in Christ and we've talked about these things but the all these things fall short or are empty Without understanding your identity in Christ. And so I want you to in this episode, I want you to know your place in the Holy Ghost. So understanding your position in the Holy Ghost, God places you where you are meant to occupy. If you seek him meaning or because it puts you in a position like Mary, when she poured out the alabaster jar on Jesus feet, when you pursue after God, it puts you in the right posture. It positioned you It positions you where you need to be because it will elevate you not in man's eyes or perspective, but it will elevate your intimacy with God. It shows your desire for the intimate intimacy with the Lord to build your relationship with the Lord. And so living in the Holy Ghost, living in the Holy Spirit allows his glory to rest upon you to rest on you. When you're pursuing him, it makes room for him to increase. And when it, when he increases his radiance or his glory shines off of you, it's almost when Moses was coming down from the mountain after speaking to God he came down and the people of Israel were afraid of him because they seen the glory of the Lord shining off of him. And so he had to put a veil over. So the people. weren't afraid. And in that we are positioned properly. So when we get in contact with God, we will look more like him. And see The story of the woman with the issue of blood, I want to go into this and it's a small pivot, but it's a pivot. Nonetheless, she was defined by her condition. She's known as the woman of the issue with the issue of blood and her, not her actual identity until she encountered Jesus. See Mary. I'm sorry, many of us identify with our hurts, with our pains, with our traumas, with our struggles, and we identify what what we've been through but instead, we have to identify what God has called us to be. See, we are not fishermen, we are fishers of men. We are not hurt, we are not defeated, but we are more than conquerors. And even in her brokenness, she pressed toward Jesus Christ, bleeding on others on the way. And so she's still a woman that's b That's bleeding. Her clothes are full of blood and she's bleeding along the path and she's bleeding on the people. She's bleeding, but when she gets in contact with God, it changes everything. She's no longer bleeding on anybody. She's no longer bleeding out of her hurts, out of her traumas. She's no longer bleeding and the problem is sometimes on our journey is when we are bleeding and we are hurt, we hurt others. And the thing about that is, is that God's grace is so sufficient in our weakness is that even in that journey, our hurt will not just be something that affects others, but it will be a billboard for others to to proclaim the miraculous power that God carries. And after encountering Jesus, she was no longer defined by her condition, but instead she was called daughter by God. Our identity in Christ is that we are adopted into God's family. Through salvation, we have received God's name and are adopted into his family. We have a kingdom, authority, power, and live under an open heaven. Because we are not of this world. And when we are joining together with the family and the kingdom of God, we are not of this world, but instead we are ambassadors of Christ. We are ambassadors of the king of God, sent by God to govern and Govern the authority to bring God's light into the darkness and see, this is the thing is that there will always be challenges to our identity. Challenge when Jesus went into the wilderness, Satan attacked God's sonship. He attacked. If you are the son of God, he said, if you are the son of God, then do this, do that, do this. And see the Satan will also do the same thing with us. He will say, Nate, you did this before. Are you sure you're a son of God? If you are a son of God, then move away from this. If you are a son of God, then you shouldn't have fell. If you are a son of God, then you shouldn't do this anymore. If you are a son, and that's where Satan will try to trip you up and make you focus on the mistake instead of the one who covered your sins. See, Jesus sees us not as we are, but as a finished work. We are a masterpiece in the hands of the painter. We are the temple. In the hands of an architect, we are the vessel in the hands of the potter. And so we in the hands of God are finished to perfection, but we in our own strength are incomplete. We have to change our perspective of who we are instead of the ones that are defeated, the ones that are more than conquerors through Christ. And see, this coincides with living a life of humility. Humility in Christ. Because true humility lies in between the false humility and insecurity. See, False humility is an inflated perspective that leads to religion. But humility acknowledges our dependence on God. And see, here's the thing is that humility will elevate us by decreasing us, meaning that from meaning that we are decreasing as God is increasing. We are becoming the dust that are that's in the that's in filled with the breath of God. And I the Bible says from dust, we become dust. Became clay formed by God's hand. Dust is the lowest to the earth, meaning that in when we become the dust to become the clay that is formed by God's hand, we are becoming humble. It is an example of humility and frailty. And then Genesis two seven, it says, then the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed. into the nostrils of life, and the man became a living being. And see in Ecclesiastes 12, 7, it says, And the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who came from it. Who gave it and then isaiah 64 it says yet you lord are our father We are the clay you are the potter We are all the work of your hand and see here i'm i want to lead us to this place Of understanding that yes, we have came from the dust But the bible says that the satan was cursed to eat the dust Meaning that he's here to devour our flesh. He is here so that our flesh will be the reason we fall short. Our flesh will be the reason we fall. Our flesh will be the reason we sin. And he is here to devour the flesh. But the thing is when we are in the hands of God, we become vessels. We become jars of clay and we are carrying God's power. Jars of clay. Carry God's power in the work, in the hand of God. We are God's handiwork created to do good work. in Ephesians 2 10, it says, for we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good work, which God prepared in advance for us to do. And as jars of clay, we are carrying God's power. All surpassing power in 7. It says, but we have the treasure in jars of clay to show that all this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. See, we have became vessels for God. There is a story in 2nd Kings 4 through In 2nd Kings 4, I want to read verses 2 through 4 and then I'll jump to 6. It says Elisha replied to her, How can I help you? Tell me what you have in your house. Your servant has nothing there at all, she said, except a small jar of oil. Elisha said, Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside, shut the door behind you, And you and your sons pour the oil into the jar and each is filled, put it, I'm sorry, as each is filled, put it to the side. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, bring me another one. But he replied, there is no jar left. Then the oil stopped flowing. See, the thing about this Woman is, or this widow, a woman before she knew the plan of Elijah, she diminished the tool that Elijah was going to use to get her breakthrough. Before she knew what Elijah was going to tell her or instruct her with, she lessened the impact that it was going to have or that she had. And see, we, when we understand our identity in Christ, we become that vessel that is lesser that is As she said, small jar of oil that she has nothing except for the small jar of oil. We become diminished in man's eyes because we are living in humility while God is elevating through us. We become the vessels that pour continuously. This is the dust that God was forming us with. We are the small jar that God formed us is that is carrying the power for breakthrough. We are carrying the power the dunamis power of God so that we can invite and invoke God's authority in the earth. We are the small jar of oil that God can continuously pour through and see our molding requires water, which is baptism combined with dust in order of which is humility. And. In order to create clay, two ingredients is the dust and water. It creates this mud form that bonds it together. See the Bible talks about a story when Jesus spit on the ground and he picked up the dust and he put it on a man's eye and the man's eye began, or he was able to see and see. This is why no matter the circumstances of life, as long as we, I Understand our identity we carry and that God formed us and we understand that God's power is flowing through us and we understand that in the right position we are covered by God, that the battle is the Lord's meaning that when we allow our life to be dedicated to God through the baptism through the washing away of our sins and we allow ourselves to overcome the dust and become formed in God. In God's image as he intended us to be, we then released the battle of our circumstance, the battle of our storm to God, and it becomes his battle. And so in positioning yourself, in positioning ourselves in God, we become almost like someone that's in the backseat of a car. We are no longer driving, but we are saying, Jesus, take the wheel. Amen. And so in 2 Chronicles 20, it's It talks about the story of Jehoshaphat. When he reminded God of Israel's identity, which reaffirmed their position in him. He wasn't saying, God, remember we are your children because he wanted to remind God of But instead, he was reaffirming that God, we are still your children. We are still ones that carry your inheritance. We are still ones that you have chosen. I am going to reaffirm to not just me, but also to the people that you are fighting our battles. And see, God responded by saying, the battle is not yours, but mine. Position yourself to see my salvation. And the cool thing about this whole story is that when we really just expand this word salvation and look what it means it is the fulfillment of the promise made by Jesus, because Jesus's name means salvation and see, part of our position is not reminding God of who we are, but it's actually. Reminding us who we are. It is being established in our identity that in order for god to increase we must decrease and see this is what's awesome is because we're in the decrease of who we are of our flesh We are increasing in him meaning we are exalting him So there is an open invitation for god in our life and in the same story of joseph You It, it is the instruction that they gave was for the people or the praisers of Judah to go before the army. And so they sent up praises before the battle even came about. See, this is what's cool is that as a praiser or as somebody who praises and somebody who sings praises to God, and it's not a song that sings praises to him, it's not necessarily a. Instruments that sing praise to him. But you praise God in in, in everyday living. You can praise God when you're on your way to work, when you're in work, when you're at school, when you're doing the most mundane things, you can praise God in the midst of it and see we are inviting. God into the situation when we are praising him and see praising God through this battle. See the singer of Jews, the singers of Judah went first before the army, meaning that everybody with the swords, everybody with spears, everybody with javelins, everybody with shields and in armor that was dressed for war went after the singers. What does that mean? That means that God, that there is an importance and a weight that comes with being a praiser. That means you can't show the same fear because you are going first into battle. See, worship led the battle. Reminding the enemy who's fighting for us. See, when we go first with our praises, we're reminding the enemy that we are not the one fighting. See, we didn't lead with swords. We led with praises. Because we were saying, this battle is not ours. This is This battle is for the Lord, and so we need to be like David when he said in 1st Samuel 17 45, it says, We do not come in our own strength, but in the name of the Lord. See, God covers us with his name because he calls us his son and daughter. And so there is a distinction when we are stamped with God's name. He In a way, this is probably a bad example, but this is how I think of it is that we are cattle and being, and I think it's embroidered. Is that the term? I don't know, but they take the stamp and they burn it. into this, the flesh of the cattle or the cow. And that's what I've, that's what it's like being a child of God. God is burning his spirit in us and claiming us as his. And so we are living as Children of God. Our identity is founded in Christ. And an identity is founded in being a child, which is, which means being fully accepted, loved and known. And we then are under his authority and it is not earned, but it is by faith. This is going back to the water baptism. This is going back to the baptism of the spirit. This is going back to the, we were dead in our sin. We were the dust of the ground. But because of Christ spirit that was breathed through the nostrils of man, because we were revived in his spirit, that we have received this gift of life and not death. For the Bible says that Jesus came to give life and life more abundantly. And we then have become heirs to God's promises and called to live in the freedom through his grace. And see, this is the evidence. Of being born again, see Jesus tells, I believe it's Nicodemus, is that there, you have to be born again through water. See, you came in through your mother's womb, but there is a new life that you have to take up. There is a new life that is, is gonna be like a rebirth because you have been bought with a price through Jesus Christ. Amen. Bars, and see in one John three, nine, and I like the amplified version on this one. It says, no one who is born of God deliberately, knowingly, and habitually practices sin because God's seed, his principle of life, the essence of his righteous character remains permanently. In him who is born again, who is reborn from above, spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for his purpose. And he is born again and cannot habitually live a life characterized by sin because he is born of God and longs to please him. That is amazing. That is an amazing scripture because it gives us this distinction that we are no longer to live by the dust or live in the flesh where the we are easily accessible to the enemy. But instead we are called to go higher and to be the masterpiece that God has created. We are called to go higher and be the vessel that we can pour out For God's kingdom, that we can be the one that pours out despite the perspective of man, despite how man views us, despite our lack of platform or a quote unquote lack of influence, it's because God's authority that he gives us the ability to pour out even when we are diminished by the man's perspective, even when we are just that small jar of oil. We can pour out and fill jars of oil that have been brought in all over. See, this is the call. This is the purpose that God has called us is so that we can pour out an example and be an example of who he is to the people around us. See, we have to Love God above all else and then love our neighbor and this is the dust that is meeting the water This is the dust that is meeting the water. This is our reality meeting an all powerful God This is our frailty meeting an all powerful God. Our identity is a God's child and as God's children, his spirit transforms us by setting us apart for his purposes. See, this is the power that God has is that he can take someone who's messed up, broken that has, has fallen time and time again, that has lied, that has cussed, that is, that has been influenced by the world. But he still can call me a son. He still can call you a son. And that's the, an amazing God. And that's a testament to his loving kindness. And it's a testament to his grace and power. That is just, I thank God. That he's willing to choose someone like me. Someone that is the small jar of oil to pour out into vessels, to pour out. And that is just so amazing. That's our identity in God. That we are his son and daughter. That we are someone that is set apart for his purposes. That we have been stamped by his name. And that we do not come in our name, but in the name of the Lord. And that no matter what circumstance or situation or storm, we say in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. This situation, this circumstance, I peace be with you peace in the storm. And everything seems to the chaos may be still going around you, but the internal peace that you have is carried because of God. And so I want to thank you all for joining this week's episode of Relentless Pursuit. I had so much fun preparing this episode. We are going to start Praying at five o'clock every Thursday. I know God has an assignment in doing that and I know God wants to move through it. So we're going to be live on YouTube every Thursday. Praying at five o'clock. We have an assignment for this coming year and I'm praying and for the word that God has given us. For this coming year, and I'm believing that it's going to be extremely powerful in God's kind of limit or brought it down to really just two, two words. And one of the words I feel a little bit more strongly about but I want to see what the Lord has for us. And Yeah, I praise God for everything that he's doing. So thank you guys for joining this week's episode of Relentless Pursuit. I'm so excited that you've decided to join us this week. Don't forget to follow, share and subscribe to all our social media platforms. We are on YouTube or our platforms. Thank God is growing. And I thank you all for the journey that we have been on. I think it's been two years now, roughly around two years and to God be the glory. To God be the glory, we have and I know a lot of people, I'll just tell you, we've reached around 16, it was either 16 or 18 countries. Which I thought was amazing. We've been listened to around the United States. Which again, like glory to God of what he's done. And so I thank God for what he's done and what he's doing. But see you guys next week for another powerful episode. We have 15 episodes ready to go not ready to go but in the works which it makes it difficult because I'm on I don't even remember what episode but We're getting ready to wrap up the season pretty soon. And so I'm excited to see what whatever God has next for this season and then Next season is going to be so powerful because we're going to bring back guests for next season. I, if you don't remember the last one, I said that I felt like the Lord was telling me to just do this season on my own. And. It's been powerful. It's been powerful. It's grown my relationship with God. And it's also taught me how to seek him. Despite of circumstances it's growing my knowledge and my wisdom. And so I praise God for that. But I want you guys to expand yourself as well. And yeah. Anyways, thank you guys. See you guys next week