Isaiah 62
The Importance of Self-Identity!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, March 7.
Self-identity shapes how you view the world and relate to it. So much of your personal agency is determined by your self-concept. God knows this, which is why Paul proclaimed in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” In Christ, you are not who you used to be, the Spirit is transforming you into His likeness through the renewal of your mind (Romans 12:2). In Isaiah 62:1-4, God promised to give His chosen city a new name:
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will designate. … It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; but you will be called, “My delight is in her,” and your land, “Married”; for the Lord delights in you, and to Him your land will be married.
God has promised His people an unbreakable covenant, declaring His delight in choosing Jerusalem as His bride, the bosom of His eternal kingdom (Revelation 21:2-7). Receiving a new name is part of God’s redemptive work, as Jesus promised in Revelation 3:12, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name” (cf. Revelation 2:17).
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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