Message 2: I CAN LEAVE THE IMPOSTOR BEHIND!

INTRODUCTION:
“What difference does it make to me that I belong to God?”

Last week we looked at Romans 1:6:
“And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.” Romans 1:6 NIV

The Message Translation puts it this way:
“You are who you are through this gift and call of Jesus Christ!” Romans 1:6 Message

That’s powerful: My IDENTITY is the result of Christ’s calling upon my life!

Which is why, we can leave the FALSE SELF, THE POSER, THE IMPOSTOR behind!

Last week, I introduced this idea: Every one of us have an IMPOSTOR self who tries to run our lives.

That’s why people through history have said things like: “To thine own self be true.” Because frequently, we aren’t true to who we really are. We fake it. We pose. We pretend. And it’s killing us.

Let me tell you some things about the IMPOSTOR.

1. The Impostor Lives in FEAR.
He – or – She – is terrified that someone will find out the TRUTH of who they are. The Impostor still hears the condemning voices from the past, and honestly believes that if someone finds out the truth, that they’ll mock them, reject them, or worse yet, ignore them.

FEAR IS NOT YOUR FRIEND!

Because you belong to Christ, you don’t have to live in fear. The Apostle John wrote:
“There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life - fear of death, fear of judgment - is one not yet fully formed in love.” 1 John 4:18 Message

The love of Christ for you is a perfect love. He doesn’t love you CONDITIONALLY, or based upon your PERFORMANCE, or upon your ABILITY – He simply loves you because that’s who He is. His love can kill off the fear, if you’ll let Him.

Here’s the second thing about the IMPOSTOR:
2. The Impostor SEEKS TO PLEASE.
Because the IMPOSTOR knows that he is a phony, he does everything to gain approval and acceptance from others for validation. “Maybe, if I make everyone happy with me, than I’ll feel happy with myself.”

So, the IMPOSTOR lives this miserable existence of people pleasing without healthy boundaries or the ability to say “No!”
But because you belong to Christ, you don’t need the approval of others. You don’t need to people please. You can get off that roller coaster.

Listen to this:
"Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light." Matthew 11:28-30 Good News Translation

Because I’ve been accepted by Christ, I don’t need to find my acceptance and approval elsewhere. I don’t need to people please!

Third,
3. The Impostor Seeks Meaning Through Externals.
We look to define our lives not through WHO WE ARE, but through WHAT WE DO. The Impostor is what he does!

So, power, sex, glamour, recognition, fame or status become driving forces in our lives.

Here’s a question to consider: Does the fact that I am – a mother, business person, educated, affluent, prettier than average, etc. – give me a sense of importance?

Here’s another: Do I make sure that people KNOW about my accomplishments?

Christ says: You can be free of this. The Impostor can never grant you true meaning or purpose for living.

The Apostle Paul tells us that our purpose for living – because we belong to Christ – is to be prepared in this life for the fullness of life in Eternity. Listen to this:
“The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less. That's why we live with such good cheer. You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don't get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going.” 2 Corinthians 5:5-7 Message

I’m going to be face-to-face with Christ!
I’m going to live forever in a land of unparalleled joy, beauty, excitement and glory!
I’m going to be set free from the bondage of the flesh!

Oh, praise God! Let the Impostor die – and sooner rather than later!

Here’s the next thing about this Poser:
4. The Impostor is a LIAR.
The Impostor lies. All the time. He will never lead you towards life; he always lies and causes you to become blind towards your own emptiness, to your own hollowness. The Impostor causes you to ignore your bleeding wounds, all the while convincing you that you are ‘fine’.
The Word says:
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” 1 John 1:8-10, NIV.

Do you see why the IMPOSTOR has to go? If he lies, and we ignore the reality of our sin condition, we miss out on the amazing blessing of honest confession and the joy of sweet cleansing forgiveness! Not only that, but when the Impostor runs the show, we have no room for God and His Word to impact our lives.

And lastly…
5. The Impostor is Completely OUTWARD Focused.
Do you ever wonder why – on some days – you feel like you look like a whale? Or that your hair looks like a bird’s nest? Or that everyone is staring at this little tiny blemish on your chin?

Because the Impostor makes you believe something that isn’t true. Let me say this: None of you look like a whale. No sparrows have taken up a home in your hair. And if you have a blemish, it will be gone in 48 hours.

Do you ever wonder why – on some days – you honestly believe that all of you neighbors hate you because your front yard looks ‘like a rainforest…’, or you think, why am I driving this piece of junk car? Or why did I wear THESE pants?

Because the Impostor wants you to focus on outward things, so that you won’t go deep with God!

To have a day destroyed by something like this is clearly not from God.

St. Augustine wrote: “There can only be two basic loves: The love of God unto the forgetfulness of self, or the love of self unto the forgetfulness and denial of God.”

Dr. James Masterson wrote: “It is the nature of the false self to save us from knowing the truth about our real selves, from penetrating the deeper causes of our unhappiness, from seeing ourselves as we really are – vulnerable, afraid, terrified and unable to let our real selves emerge.”

So, why does the Impostor settle for such a diminished life?

1. Because of repressed memories of painful experiences from the past.

The truth is this: What is denied cannot be healed! And far too often, because we know that to look deeply into our past will indeed be painful, so it becomes convenient to let the Impostor have control and pretend that ‘ignorance is bliss.’

2. Because of cowardice to conquer head-on the fears that are holding us back.

Again, like the first point, it is scary to go deep, so we let the fears control and we stay stuck.

3. Because of laziness to do what it takes to be intimate with God.

Brennan Manning wrote: “The false self is the lazy part of self, resisting the effort and discipline that intimacy with God requires.”

Haven’t you wondered why – you get all gung ho for God, and then 48 hours it cools off like day old coffee? Because the Impostor has too much control!

That’s why we simply must give Christ free access to all parts of our lives. You see, Christ is the Savior who saves us from ourselves. He takes us deep and frees us from the Impostor.

Proverbs 16:25 says…
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 16:25, NIV.

John Eldredge wrote: “The false self, our plan for redemption, seems so right to us. It shields us from pain and secures us a little love and admiration. But the false self is a lie, the whole plan is built on pretense. It’s a deadly trap. God loves us too much to leave us there.”

Listen to me: God will take away all that you’ve leaned upon to bring you life.

In the really great movie: The Natural, starring Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs, Hobbs, who is a little too old to play major league baseball is given one last chance at the big leagues. He plays for the New York Knights and leads them to the playoffs for the National League Pennant. It’s the bottom of the 9th, two outs, two men on base, and the Knights are down by two runs.

Hobbs steps the plate. This is his moment. He’ll not get another one like this one.

When Hobbs was a teenager, lightning struck a tree near his home, and he carved out a baseball bat – WONDER BOY – from that tree. It’s the only bat he’s used since.

The first pitch – fastball. Swing and a miss. Strike One.
Second pitch – curve ball. Foul ball. Out of play. Strike Two.
Third pitch – another fastball. Long fly ball. Is it a homerun? No, just outside the foul pole.

Hobbs runs back to the plate, only the see WONDER BOY lying shattered in pieces.

This is the critical moment in his life. Will he stay in the game? Will he run to the dugout in defeat?

This is the critical moment in all our lives: When everything we’ve relied upon lies shattered on the field. When the employer lays us off. When the spouse walks out. When the doctor says: ‘Cancer’.

The true test of our lives happens when we can no longer rely upon that which we’ve always relied upon. This is the beginning of redemption, of healing, of revival. For the real journey begins when the false self fails.

A moment passes by that seems like an eternity. Hobbs stares at the shattered beyond repair bat. And he calls out to the batboy: “Go pick me out a winner, Bobby!”

He stays in the game and hits the Pennant winning walk-off home run.

CONCLUSION:
God will shatter your bat.

If you are going through a bat-shattering season – take this passage to heart:

“So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline, but don't be crushed by it either. It's the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.” Hebrews 12:5-6 Message

God will thwart your best efforts in order to save you from the Impostor. BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU.

God calls us to accept the invitation to leave all that we’ve relied upon and venture out with Him into the places that lead to true freedom.

Message 01: I CAN COME OUT OF HIDING!

INTRODUCTION:
We continue our journey into new levels of spiritual life and understanding. Christ calls to explore the deep places of faith, experimenting and achieving both success and failure in our desire to know Him more. This teaching that I’m about to do can help you rediscover your heart.

Today I begin a series that I am absolutely convinced can and will result in many of you experiencing entirely new levels of freedom and joy in your relationship with Christ.

It’s called: “What difference does it make to me that I belong to God?”

This is a very practical question – okay – “I belong to God – so what?” How can this affect my life on a moment by moment basis? Does it really matter in the NOW of life?

Look at Romans 1:6:
“And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.” Romans 1:6, NIV.

Let me ask you some questions:
• Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God?
• Have you embraced Him as Savior?
• Have you embraced Him as Lord?

Then – according to the Bible, you’ve been called into a relationship with Him and now you BELONG to Him.

But what difference does this make? What are the practical – heart-changing life-affirming details?

That said, it is important to understand that we when are called to BELONG to Christ, we are called into an EXCLUSIVE, you could say: ‘monogamous’ relationship with Him. And, as you follow your calling into Christ you are walking headlong into a battlefield.

Jesus said in John 15:9:
“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:19, NIV.

You could put it this way: Belonging is an EITHER/OR thing! Either you are in Christ or you belong to the world. And, because you belong to Christ, the world hates you. The battle begins!

Which is exactly where our problem lies. We live in a world that has as its leader our enemy. You could say that we live in enemy territory. So, here we are BELONGING to Christ but getting slammed by a world at odds with Him.

This creates a huge tension. Sometimes the world looks pretty enticing. And sometimes, we screw up. Sometimes we fall right into the enemy’s hands and do stuff that doesn’t reflect who we really are.

Now, none of us are proud of this, so what do we do – WE COVER IT UP! We PRETEND. We FAKE it. John Eldredge calls it being a “POSER”. Brennan Manning calls this the “IMPOSTER.”

Then, we feel miserable. We aren’t comfortable being HYPOCRITES. It doesn’t fit well. And so what happens next? Self-hatred, disgust and revulsion kick in. So, we show a PRETTY FACE, all the while feeling INNER MISERY.

What happens next is worse: We figure that God must feel the same way about us that we feel about us. If I am disgusted by BEHAVIOR, than how much more must God be? So, we get tied up in knots internally and then we get cut off from intimacy with God. The very resource that we need desperately becomes completely inaccessible.

What a mess.

Richard Foster wrote of this: “Today the heart of God is an open wound of love. He aches over our distance and preoccupation. He mourns that we do not draw near to him. He grieves that we have forgotten him. We weeps over our obsession with muchness and manyness. He longs for our presence.”

Does this surprise you? God desires you – warts and all. Let’s put it this way: GOD IS CALLING US OUT OF HIDING AND INTO TRUE BELONGING.

You don’t need to fake it to make it.
You don’t need to pretend.
You don’t need to put on a happy face.

You need to find yourself in Christ. And when you do, the POSER and the IMPOSTER will die, and the TRUE YOU will emerge – filled with freedom and joy.

What did Jesus say in John 10:10? “I have come that you might have life and life more abundant!”

It’s time to put off the FALSE and embrace the TRUE!

We all know how to put on pretty faces, we know how to keep things light, we know how to respond to the age old question: “How are you?” We know how to fake it. And the church can be a breeding ground for this disease.

It’s time to put off the POSER! It’s to IGNORE THE IMPOSTER! It’s time to be WHO YOU REALLY ARE!

GOD calls you – by name – and He invites you to come out of hiding. Just like He did in Genesis when Adam and Eve first sinned.

“But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”” Genesis 3:9, 10, NIV.

We are still doing the same thing. Embarassed, ashamed, fearful because of our nakedness before Him, we hide. Or worse yet, we pretend.

And God says: “NO. That’s not what I desire for you. I desire freedom. And I have a way for you to get free.”

And that was begins in Ephesians 5:10…
“Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, take no part in the futile works of darkness but, on the contrary, show them up for what they are. The things which are done in secret are shameful even to speak of; but anything shown up by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated is itself a light. That is why it is said: Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:10-14 New Jerusalem Bible

Now, I want to make this as clear as possible, so let’s just tear the verse apart line-by-line to see the amazing steps that lead to freedom.

1. Try to discover what the Lord wants of you
2. Take no part in that which is futile
3. Show them for what they are

Now, here’s what happens when the POSER tries to run the show. He simply denies the reality of sin. He pretends that unlike others, He doesn’t involve himself in such activity. He puts on a spirit of religion and an outer shell of self-righteousness.

Here’s the truth: We all do deeds of darkness. None of us – no matter how advanced completely avoids sin. We lust, we steal, we lie, we accept falsehood rather than truth. All of us. Every last one of us.

Now, that’s not who we truly are, but we are in a battle and we sometimes trip and fall. And no amount of pretending, posing or faking self-righteousness will change that reality.

That’s why the next part of Ephesians 5 is so important. Look what it says:
“But anything shown up by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated is itself a light.”

What is the light? It’s Christ.
What is Christ doing? He is taking our darkness and shining Himself into it.
And then – what was dark, becomes light.

That’s the amazing truth of belonging. When I stop faking and get honest with Christ about my failures, He shines His light on me – on the very thing that I am the most ashamed of, and He transforms my darkness. He transforms my shame into glory!

Paul put it this way:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…” Romans 8:28
ALL THINGS. Your divorce. Your alcoholism. Your lust. Your being a control freak. God will take that darkness – and turn it into light.

Brennan Manning wrote: “Christians who remain in hiding continue to live the lie. We deny the reality of our sin. In a futile attempt to erase our past, we deprive the community of our healing gift. If you conceal our wounds out of fear and shame, our inner darkness can neither be illuminated nor become a light for others. We cling to our bad feelings and beat ourselves with the past when what we should do is let go. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, guilt is an idol. But when we dare to live as forgiven men and women, we join the wounded healers and draw closer to Jesus.”

People in 12-step programs say: “You’re only as sick as your secrets.”

God says: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16, NIV.

But we carry on as if everything is OK and miss out on the true power of the Gospel!

Paul had a problem. He begged for the problem to be taken away. Jesus said: NO. And in 2 Corinthians 12:9 we read…

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV.

• The power of Christ is not demonstrated in your ability.
• The grace of God is not seen when you strut around POSING as someone you aren’t.
• You’ll never fake it ‘til you make it.

The power of Christ is made absolutely perfect in the broken places of your life.

The grace of God is seen most clearly when we freely acknowledge just how much we don’t have it together.

CONCLUSION
You’ll never be closer to Christ that when you come out of hiding and realize that He accepts you just as you are. You belong to Christ. And even you failures cannot change that reality.

When you decide to come out of hiding, you are entering the healing rooms of Jesus.

I know that you have brokenness, wounds and shame – open up to Jesus about it, kill off the Imposter. Move in close to Christ. Let Him in on it. Let the light of Christ illuminate the dark places of your life.

So what difference does it make that I Belong to God? I don’t have to live a lie. I can come out of hiding. I can be honest with Him about my failures, and He will still accept me, love me and desire to help me. And because of this, I WANT to draw near to Him!

Today – Come out of hiding.