“Who Are You?”
by Tom Goodman
August 10, 2005

There’s a great line in the 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven.  In one scene, Jerusalem is besieged by a Muslim army that far outnumbers any Christians fit to fight.  Balian, played by Orlando Bloom, prepares the city for the coming onslaught.  In one scene, he knights dozens of men on the eve of battle.  Watching this, the discouraged Patriarch of Jerusalem asks him, “Do you think you can change the World?  Does making a man a knight make him a better fighter?”

Balian turns slowly to face the cynic and says simply, firmly, “Yes.”

No apology, no explanation, no defense for his actions.

“Yes.”

It’s a great film moment.

Remembering who you are in Christ makes you a better person.  Whenever the praise choir sings “This Is My Destiny,” as they did this past Sunday, people always tell Gene how much the song means to them.  The song lists all the ways God identifies who we are:

        He calls me child.
        He calls me to His side eternally.
        He calls what once was lost now found,
        once bound to sin set free.
        He calls me holy, calls me righteous,
        by the blood redeemed.
        He calls me overcomer,
        crowned with victory.
        This is my destiny!

A cynic may ask, “Does simply calling a man these things make him a better man?”  Like Balian, we have no other argument, explanation, or apology.  We simply say, “Yes!”

We need constant reminders of who we are in Christ, because Satan works hard to strip us of this exalted identity.  That’s why I’ve asked Tierce Green to kick off our back-to-school calendar with a spiritual renewal conference.  He’ll bring his excellent music and his excellent messages to Hillcrest August 14-17.  He’ll lead our morning service at 10:45 a.m., and then he’ll lead us in four nights of spiritual renewal, starting at 7:00 p.m.  Preschool care will be provided.  For more information about my friend Tierce, go to www.tiercegreen.com.

I know your life is busy, and weeknights are precious.  But that just means that you have to make time for spiritual renewal because you’ll never have time for it!

Besides, if Satan is at work to steal your identity, then you should be suspicious of any inner voice that justifies missing a conference about that subject!  So, start praying and planning now so that August 14-17 will be a mountaintop experience for you and your church family.

The conference begins this Sunday, August 14.  Next Sunday, August 21, make plans to attend Discover Hillcrest after the morning service, and come to our Discipleship Fair in the evening.  I’ll tell you more about these activities in next week’s Winning Ways!

—Tom

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