Where you find your identity is such a crucial topic. I think it’s one of the biggest reasons people miss out on what they were made for. When we’re kids, we believe we might one day walk on the moon, become President, wear the Miss America crown, and change the world! Then something happens. A kid on playground makes fun of you. A teacher embarrasses you. You’re not chosen for the team. You’re not invited to the prom. There person you love leaves you for someone prettier or richer. Your boss gives the promotion to someone else.  And rather than allow hurtful comments and experiences to roll off our  backs we take them in, we digest them, assimilate them and they become our dictionary for self-assessment. They become defining voices in our lives that join together with our voice, ganging up against us. We listen to their argument against us, telling us all we cannot do and will not become. And we believe them. The good news? It is not God’s plan for you to live in the desolate places that comparison, inferiority or condemnation leave you. Real change, real growth, and lasting transformation is possible. God can help you move beyond yesterday’s voices.

You don’t have to live under the cloud of insecurity. You aren’t destined to live with a profound sense of self-doubt and a feeling of uncertainty about your worth. Insecurity is the voice inside that second guesses your choices, feelings and value. Beth Moore defines it as self-sabotage. And if you will let the One who made you define you, you don’t have to be subject to other voices, circumstances and feelings. You can stand firm no matter the weather, words, wins and losses. Your heart, life, and core don’t have to be up for grabs. You don’t have to be subject to latest opinion polls at home, at work, or in the mirror. Your security can be rooted in what God says about you. Our security in our source!

In Matthew 16, Jesus is talking with Peter and it’s as though once Peter understood the truth about Jesus, He was ready to receive the truth about himself. (I love the Message version of Matthew 16:18 “And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are.”)

You are not who others tell you you are. You are not who you have thought yourself to be. It’s in Christ that you will find out who you are and what you’re living for. (Eph 1:11) If you want to get off the roller coaster on the confidence continuum and begin to build on the rock of His truth, you’ll need to make a shift. You’ll need to follow Jesus’ wisdom in Matthew 7 and build on the rock, the solid foundation of His Words.

Here are three keys for your journey:

1. Accept that your security isn’t based in what you see, but in what He says!
2. Recognize that your security is not based on your performance. (He chose you before you were born!)
3. Dive into the battle of agreement. (Choosing to listen to HIS voice over the other voices will take work!) You’re going to have to agree and put 2 Corinthians 10:5 into practice, taking every thought captive.

As a pastor I see people hungry for second chances all the time. Some are hopeful; others have forgotten to hope. Some readily admit their need; others have to hit rock bottom before they will cry out — but the good news is this: the God we worship is a God of second chances. He knows just how to intersect our lives with His presence and His invitation to heal us, restore us and put us back on our feet. And no one (I mean no one) is beyond His reach.

God is not mad at you. He’s not disappointed in you. He is longing to run to you and put you back on solid ground.

Romans 3:22 says this: “We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.”

This offer is available to everyone!

God’s sacrifice, our sin, the cross, the empty tomb…I’m undone all over again every time I come face to face with Jesus’ remarkable sacrifice on the cross.

As I’m working away – writing, praying and preparing for Easter weekend, I can’t get over what He did for me – personally. I will never recover from His extravagant offer of love…His sacrifice. Nothing in the universe compares to His singular act of love that Good Friday 2,000+ years ago. Nothing comes close to His extraordinary love. It is beyond anything I could have ever hoped for.

Are your hopes up this Easter? God has more in mind for you than you could possible begin to imagine. I don’t know where you are on the road or where you find yourself on your spiritual journey, but Heaven’s hopes are up for you…for the people you love…for our cities and our world.

Luke 14:23 says, “Go out 2 the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in…” I want to encourage you to DO IT. Invite everyone you know…invite everyone you come in contact with between now and Easter. Let’s SPILL OUT HOPE into this hopeless world.

I’m cheering you on as you go all out inviting and getting ready, Questers. Pray for me as I finish my talk and make my last invites. I can’t wait to partner with you this weekend for the most remarkable weekend we’ve ever experienced together.

Some of you struggle with the voice that says, “I’ve messed up so much already. I’ve bailed on promises, I’ve wrecked relationships, made excuses, hurt people…what’s the point? I will never be a faithful person.” And I want to tell you…It’s not too late! One of the most beautiful things that can be found on nearly every single page of the New Testament is that Jesus loves to give fresh starts and new beginnings.

Whether you’ve failed miserably or succeeded wildly – it does not have to be a determiner of your future. You can decide that with God’s help you are going to become a faithful person. For those who know Christ, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, and He can do more than you could ask or imagine. (Eph. 3:21) He can erase the past, reconcile relationships and lead willing people down the path of faithfulness.

Let God’s voice drown out the voice of the accuser in your life and step forward, friends. It is possible for you to become a faithful person…not perfect, but faithful.

• When you fall down, repent.  Be honest and humble. Let Him pick you up and dust you off, and step forward again.
• Don’t try to do it alone. Avoid isolation. Be honest with your LifeGroup or get to the Mat. Connect with other leaders in ministry. Run in a cloud of witnessess.
• Listen to God’s voice above every competing or accusing voice in your life. Let the ‘capital T’ Truth from His Word supplant the ‘lower case t’ truths you’re tempted to believe. (Whether they’re about you – who you are or what you deserve, or about the sin in your life and the possibility of faithfulness.) The Bible is full of stories of faithless people who became faithful by the grace of God, and it is possible for you, too. You are NOT the exception!
• Make private vows with Jesus. Keep your eyes on Him. Don’t bail. (What private vows do you need to make? Listen back to Signed, Sealed & Beheaded for some examples from Mother Teresa’s life.)

With God’s help, your past doesn’t have to determine your future. You can be faithful.

So where do you turn when you’re not alright? Where do you turn when all hell breaks loose?  Important question, don’t you think?

Maybe like your parents before you, you cling to your family or try to find your compass in relationships or hard work. But these things can’t meet the deepest needs of your heart. As much as they matter, they will eventually fail you and leave you disappointed.

Whatever you’re facing, lean into community and put your hope in Christ…not in your circumstances, not in what He’ll do for you, but in Jesus Himself. He loves you and He has not forgotten you.

You are His dearly loved child.