Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

Romans 8:29 " For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."

You may have asked yourself about who you are. Why we are in this world. Trying to know your identity. You don’t need to answer out loud, but I encourage you to reflect on it.

Few years ago I wrote a book and I dedicated a whole chapter about it and how people often confuse their identity with what they do or what they have.

For example, if I asked, Who are you? Many would answer: I am a doctor, a businessman, or a shop owner.

But this is a problem, because your identity would be lost if you stop being a doctor or shop owner.

Let’s understand this through the Word of God.

The first verse we read we can see that when God created mankind, He "Created in His image" This is the defining characteristic of our true identity.

However, this identity was damaged when Adam sinned.

But God had a plan to restore it by sending Jesus, as we can see on second verse we read:

Romans 8:29 " For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren”.

From this perspective, we see that we were predestined to be God’s image. This is our true identity!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

He sent His only Son so your identity can be restored and Jesus can become the firstborn among us

This topic is a very important matter, yet many people neglect it

and the enemy knows its power and often uses it against us.

When Satan tempted Jesus, the first two temptations were about His identity:

Matthew 4:3-6 "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread… If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down..."

This happened right after Jesus was baptised.

Matthew 3:16-17 "16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

He didn’t fall into this temptation because he knew who he was.

Now that you know that, in the light of the Bible, our original identity is to be in the image of Christ, it is important to understand that we need to focus on three things to develop it:

• you need to know your purpose,
• you need to walk in your purpose and
• you need to persevere until the end.

Know your purpose

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

God knew Jeremiah, He sanctified him and ordained him to be prophet to the nations.

it’s the same principle with us. He knows us and have a purpose for us and he also prepared everything for us to fulfil this purpose. If we walk in the path He has prepared for us, we will relish His provision.

So this purpose must guide your life.

If you don’t know your purpose, the best way to find out is asking who created you, He knows and made plans for you!

Walk in your purpose

It is not enough to know who you are; it won’t change your life just to have the knowledge—you must walk in your purpose.

• Samson knew who he was, he was unbeatable, but he became weak when he stepped out of his purpose
• Saul was chosen to rule over Israel, but became a persecutor when he stepped out of his purpose.

If you know your purpose, are you walking accordingly? Try it, you will see how satisfying it is!

Persevere
Matthew 24:13 "But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved."

It’s not enough to start—you must finish.

The reward is not in the beginning or the middle; it comes at the end.

We are in a marathon, but the reward is not for whose gets there first, but who gets to finish it.  Ecclesiastes 7:8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

This depends more on you than on God. He has already given you an identity and you need to find out.

Don’t waste time—focus on your purpose!

I want to pray with you:

• If you already know your identity but stopped halfway, God is calling you back.
• If you still don’t know your identity, let’s seek it together.

I also want to give the opportunity for you who hasn’t surrendered your life to God, Jesus is calling you today. He died for you so you can have your identity restored.

You may think that you accepted Him in your heart but in Romans 10:9-10 9 "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." so it’s necessary to make the confession with your mouth.

If you want to do so, please raise your hand and we will pray for you. Is there anyone here this morning who wants to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour?

Lets pray?

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your Word that teaches and transforms us. Today, we acknowledge that we were created in Your image and called to live according to Your purpose. We don’t want to follow our own desires, but we want to walk in what You have prepared for us.

Help us to find and understand the identity You have given us in Christ. May we live according to this calling, without being distracted, without conforming to the world, but remaining faithful to the purpose You have for each of us.

Give us the grace to see clearly the path. Renew our strength so that we persevere through challenges, keeping our hearts steadfast in Your truth. We don’t want to just start—we want to go to the end, honouring Your name in everything we do.

Father, we surrender our lives into Your hands. We are the work of Your hands, and there is no greater identity than being Your children. May our confidence be built on the Rock, and may nothing take us away from what You have for us.

We pray in Jesus' precious name, Amen!