How do you view you? Honestly, who do you say you are? What do you believe you deserve? If people were honest, they view themselves very poorly and their view of themselves is how they tend to see others as well. If someone views themselves in a way that someone who views themselves poorly hears I view myself as blessed and highly favored, it can sound arrogant to the one who views themselves as broke, busted and a burden.

Identity is a big deal in our culture. Knowing your identity is a matter of knowing who you are. Everyone of us is filled with voices that have created infrastructure about who we are. Those voices are so established in us, they have become a stronghold in which we live. We have been told by valuable voices in both family at home and family at church that we are __. When someone of influence, authority or value in your life now comes and says something different, most people reject it, because they believe they are something else.

King David came to show kindness to someone but they thought he was coming to punish them. Listen to 2 Samuel 9 “Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.”

The king was coming to give him more than he could imagine, but he viewed himself as a dog, so was afraid when the king called for him. If you view yourself as a dog, you will not believe the King (Jesus) is coming to bless you, to restore what is yours, to heal you, because you view yourself like a dog, you will think He is coming to harm you. Friends, we need to repent of viewing ourselves as dogs, when Jesus died for us to make us sons and daughters. He is not coming to punish you, He is coming to heal you and restore you in every way.