Sermon notes from Pastor Shana Wise
God had to make sure Moses did not suffer from this. That’s why he put him in the wilderness for decades.
The Israelites have been in bondage in Egypt for over 400 years. That means from generation to generation all they knew was Egypt.
When the Israelites were finally freed from Egypt, many of them complained and did not make it to the promised land because they had a problem with identity assumption
God and Moses often referred to them as a stiff-neck people.
The Israelites constantly complained against Moses and God, even when they were trying to lead them to freedom. They had seen many miracles performed over and over yet they still desired to be back in Egypt.
Many would ask why would they do this? Why did they want to worship a golden calf, why did they complain against the manna and quail, why did they complain about Moses‘s leadership?
It was because they had assumed an identity that they just could not let go (stronghold).
God had a new life for them. God had a new land for them, but they couldn’t receive it because, for many of them, they never found their identity in God
The very reason, God, freed them from Egypt was for them to worship him. Like them, we were all created to worship the true and living God. However, we are surrounded by many false gods, and illusions of what life should be, and without worship, we cannot see beyond them.
Without worship, we take on identities that the world gives us or what we think we should be.
This looks like looking talking, and acting like all of those around us. It looks like idols taking the place of God. It looks like living in the opinions of others and not God.
People, pleasing, and flesh pleasing are all a part of identity assumption.
God created us to have life in life more abundantly, but how can we attain this life if we do not worship the one who gives life?
Sadly, the Israelites had to spend 40 years in the wilderness, because the previous generation had to die off, and the new generation was the ones to go into the promised land.
Why is this?
God had to work with his children to prepare them to go into a land that looked like where they came from. He needed the children to know who they were in who they were. The ones with the strongholds of identity Assumption from Egypt had to die because God didn’t need their influence of their assumption to influence the next generation.
The lesson we can learn from this is that it doesn’t matter who our family members are we have to choose who we are going to serve. Because our identity is found in him and not in people or idols.
Like the Israelites, many of us are still struggling with our identity in Christ. A lot of that is because of a lack of worship and quality time spent with him. Relationships develop over time and they get stronger over time. But if we don’t relentlessly chase after God every day, then the stronghold of our past still affects us. We will never truly know and understand the god in us if we don’t spend time with him.
Once we give our life to Christ, we have a new name. The labels of the world fall off and the labels of the Kingdom become us.
God wants us to know who we are we are the children of God. He wants us to behave like him our father. He wants us to assume the identity of kingdom children.
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About the Author
Dr. Shana Wise is an ordained Pastor who founded and oversees Wise Choice Ministries with her husband Pastor Ron Wise. She is also the CEO and founder of The Well Christian Women’s Network. Dr. Wise is the author of Women’s Devotionals Acts of Intercession and Chief Women Arise, The Impact of Your Election, and the Basic Ministry Training Manual (all available on Amazon). She received a Doctor of Divinity degree in 2019 from St. Thomas Christian University. Her passion is to teach and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, equip others to apply the Word to their lives and demonstrate it through the power of the Holy Spirit. She is a televangelist who appears on social media outlets. Shana is married and has four children.
For speaking engagements email: wisechoiceministries512@gmail.com.
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Acts of Intercession
The Impact of Your Election
Basic Ministry Training Manual
Chief Women Arise
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