Identity

In one paragraph

This message was the third installment in Tribe's "Work Smarter and Not Harder" series. Brian picked up the thread from two weeks prior, where the series established that God gives us tools (gifts and talents) and we are responsible for keeping them sharp. This week the focus narrowed to a more foundational question: before you can sharpen a tool, you have to know who you are. The series had...

Read together

1. 1 Kings 5:6 Sidonians known as skilled timber cutters, used to launch series on sharpening tools
2. Isaiah 29:16 potter and clay, only the creator has authority to define his creation
3. 2 Corinthians 5:17 believers are a new creation
4. Romans 8:15 believers have been adopted back into God's family
5. Romans 6:14 believers are no longer slaves to sin
6. Romans 8:37 believers are more than conquerors
7. Jeremiah 31:3 listed as one of several passages teaching that believers are deeply loved by God
8. Ephesians 1:4-5 listed as one of several passages teaching that believers are deeply loved by God
9. 1 John 3:1 listed as one of several passages teaching that believers are deeply loved by God
10. John 16:33 Jesus says you will have trouble in this world but take heart because I have overcome

What was said

• Read Judges 6 this week and follow Gideon's story through to the end, watching how he grew into the identity God spoke over him.
• Look up the five identity verses Brian mentioned - 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 8:15, Romans 6:14, Romans 8:37, and Jeremiah 31:3 - and sit with what they say about who you are.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you have been letting the world, your own thoughts, or the enemy define your identity instead of letting God define it, and repent of any specific lie you have believed.
• Say the confession out loud to yourself at least once this week: name the lie you have been told about yourself, then replace it with one of the five truths - new creation, adopted, no longer a slave, more than a conqueror, deeply loved.
• If you are a man, show up Monday at 6PM for the men's Bible study, even if you have not been before - Brian said it is never too late to jump in.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about the difference between a sharp tool and a dull tool, saying a dull tool is a gift or talent used in the flesh and a sharp tool is one used in the spirit. Where have you seen that difference play out in your own life?
2. When the angel greeted Gideon as a mighty man of valor, Gideon pushed back hard, pointing to how small and weak he was. How do you respond when someone speaks a bigger identity over you than you see in yourself?
3. Brian said only the creator has the authority to define his creation, and that society, social media, and our own shifting feelings will try to do that job instead. Where do you find yourself most tempted to let something other than God define who you are?
4. Renee made the connection that Gideon's everyday skill of threshing and baking bread was quietly preparing him for a calling he could not yet see. What ordinary things in your own life might God be using to prepare you for something you have not yet stepped into?
5. Brian led the congregation through a confession renouncing false identities and declaring five truths: new creation, adopted back into his family, no longer a slave to sin, more than a conqueror, and deeply loved. Which of those five is hardest for you to actually believe about yourself right now, and why?