What do I mean by "What you are" and "Who you are"? "What you are" has to do with how you view yourself, your identity (as you see it). "Who you are" has to do with; when you were Born-Again, you stepped into a realm of the "Who you are" in Jesus Christ or a "in Christ Identity". You are to take on the Identity of Christ, this happens as you renew your mind with the Word of God and build a relationship with the Lord. When Jesus went to the Cross, it is as if he went to an auctioning block of people, and paid for us with His Blood, and bought us out of the kingdom of the satan and the world. Now we have the potential for the first time to walk out of darkness into the marvelous new identity "in Christ" or the "in Christ Realities". Jesse Duplantis says, "You are a New Creature, with a New Feature and a New Freedom.

     Most of the Christian world though, lives in the realm of "what you are". What I mean by this is, is that we live in realm of what and who we view ourselves as. This is a low life identity. If we decide to live in the realm of "what we are" we will get plenty of support; including from our brothers and sisters in the Lord that wouldn’t want us deluded about ourselves (as they view it). Yet scripture says "to walk by faith not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7 NKJ) also it says that we should be like Abraham and "calls those things which do not exist as though they did (Rom. 4:17 NKJ)." In the "what you are" realm we are led by perception; perception is defined as a result of perceiving, observation, or a mental image.

     It doesn’t matter if you are tall, thin, overweight, abused, good-looking, average looking or what. What matters is how do you view yourself. How you view yourself will radiate an atmosphere to others in the spirit realm that will dictate how they view you.

     The greatest power of the Word (I believe) is it’s power set us free from the "old man’s" way of thinking and bring us into totally new "life" way of thinking.

     You see, the Word of God imparts creative life into us if we allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate His Word to us.

     I’ve heard some say well I don’t read well, or I don’t like to read, (I used to say that) the Lord spoke to me one day and told me I was just lazy. I didn’t want to put out the effort for change. I realized he was correct. So I started violating my "Old Man" and his thinking with the "New Man" and God’s way of thinking. God’s Word will create for you a New Hope and a new future. And you to willingly walk away from your "used to be’s". It will renew your mind to come in agreement with God’s will, and God’s will is His Word and vise-versa. Your part is to declare His word (with confidence) over your situation. Allow His Word to usher in a new creative way of thinking for you.

     You see, Jesus legally paid for His identity in YOU with His shed blood on the cross of Calvary. Now it is up to you to study His Word under the counsel of the Holy Spirit. Allow the transforming power of the Word of God to plant a new creative mindset in you. The terms "in Christ", "in Him", "by Him", "through Him" and "by Christ, and many, many others that refer to what Jesus Christ did for you legally on Calvary. So whatever the "in Christ" reality term said Jesus did for you, IS YOURS! But, you have to learn it, get it into your very mental makeup, then start walking in it. There is well over 100 times the terminology of your "in Christ Realities" is used in the N.T. Learn them, allow them to renew your thinking about "what you are" into "who you are" in Christ Jesus. You will never be the same. You will then view yourself through your identity in Christ rather that your identity of how you and others view you. So when you fail you should look at your past, look at Jesus, "in Him" you will live in your new created future.

     If you always look at what you are or were, you’ll always be what you’ve always been. But, if you look at your self, through the identity of Jesus, then you walk into His freedom. (Read John 8:31-36 and Galatians 5:1) Once you get used to looking for your "in Christ" realities they will get easy to spot. First, study the book of Ephesians it has a lot of "in Christ" realities.

     Here is a very short list to get you started:
In Christ: Rom. 3:24, 8:1-2, 12:5; 1 Cor. 1:2,30, 15:22; 2 Cor. 1:21, 2:14, 3:14, 5:17,19; Gal. 2:4, 3:26,28, 5:6, 6:15; Eph. 1:3,10, 2:6,10,13; Phil. 3:14, Col.1: 28; 1Thess. 4:16, 5:18, etc.
Look these terms up, hunt for them; then hunger for their very design of renewed life in your mind! Amen

     If you don’t apply your self to renew your mind the enemy will devour you with the "What You Used To Be’s" or with the "This Was Done To Me’s. That way of thinking will consume you and comfort you to total defeat. But if you aggressively go after the life in the Word you will renew you way of thinking into victory.

     I heard that a Psychologist said once "the true definition of insanity should be; doing the same thing day after day expecting different results. Change takes great effort, so start today!

     I challenge you; do something different! Embrace your Identity in Christ and start walking out of your "What you Are’s and walk into your "Who you Are’s.