Upside Down Kings

A Man Will Do What He Believes He Is

• Joshua Wilson

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A man will do what he believes he is — not what he says, but what he actually believes, down deep.

In this short solo teaching, Joshua Wilson shares what God has been showing him about belief and identity. We build our identity on sand — looks, bank account, achievements, job, status — and those things crumble because they come and go. But there's one foundation that holds: who God says you are. Joshua wrestles with the gap between the identity the world hands you and the one God already gave you in Christ, why renewing the mind is a daily battle, and why identity always comes before assignment.

What He's Wrestling With:

  • Why a man lives out what he believes he is, not what he claims
  • The identities we build on sand — looks, money, achievement, career, status
  • Why those foundations always crumble
  • The one foundation that holds: who God says you are
  • A new creation, more than a conqueror, strong in the Lord — not in our strength, but His
  • Why renewing the mind is a daily decision and a real battle
  • Why identity comes before assignment

A few of the verses on who God says we are:

  • A child of God — "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." (Romans 8:16)
  • Redeemed from the hand of the enemy — "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy." (Psalm 107:2)
  • Forgiven — "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14)
  • Saved by grace through faith — "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)
  • Justified — "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)
  • Sanctified — "But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11)
  • A new creation — "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
  • A partaker of His divine nature — "By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature." (2 Peter 1:4)
  • Redeemed from the curse of the law — "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us." (Galatians 3:13)
  • Led by the Spirit of God — "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." (Romans 8:14)
  • Kept in safety wherever I go — "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways." (Psalm 91:11)
  • Having every need met by Jesus — "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
  • Casting all my cares on Him — "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)
  • Strong in the Lord — "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." (Ephesians 6:10)
  • Able to do all things through Christ — "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)
  • An heir of God and joint heir with Christ — "And if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." (Romans 8:17)
  • Healed by His stripes — "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed." (1 Peter 2:24)
  • Given authority over the enemy — "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19)
  • More than a conqueror — "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37)
  • An overcomer by the blood and my testimony — "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." (Revelation 12:11)
  • Greater because of Him who is in me — "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
  • Walking by faith, not by sight — "For we walk by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7)
  • Transformed by a renewed mind — "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2)
  • The righteousness of God in Christ — "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
  • The light of the world — "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14)

A Man Will Do What He Believes He Is

SPEAKER_00

A man will do what he believes he is, not what he says, but what he actually believes deep down. Proverbs 23, 7. For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Now here's the gap. In this world, we build our identity

Identity Built on Sand

SPEAKER_00

on sand, on things that will fade away, on our looks, on our bank account, on our achievements, on our job, career, our familiar status, all these things we build our identities on. And they crumble away because those things come and go. But one thing that we could build our identity on is who does God say I am?

Who Does God Say I Am?

SPEAKER_00

So I give you a little treat. Copied below in the transcript, down below, I have a list of I think like almost 40 verses of who does God say we are. For example, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things

A New Creation

SPEAKER_00

have passed away, and all things become new. Now he also made us more than a conqueror. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

More Than a Conqueror, Strong in the Lord

SPEAKER_00

How about this? We could be strong in the Lord. Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in his power and in his might. Not my strength, but his strength. And when it comes to how do we work and rework our mind, Romans says this do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Now it's a daily decision and it's a battle,

Transformed by a Renewed Mind

SPEAKER_00

it's a struggle, but that's why we've got to get good at it and base it based on what God says we are. So identity comes before assignment. And I believe it's really important for us to understand that. And I have two treats for you. One

Identity Comes Before Assignment

SPEAKER_00

is I'm bringing on a coach to talk with us about identity, someone who has helped me rework through some of my major life failures and helped me find my identity in Christ. So we're going to be bringing him on this podcast soon. And then also in the description

Two Treats: A Coach and the Verses

SPEAKER_00

below, I'm sharing some of these verses of who God says we are. So, guys, I hope you're enjoying this. We'll see you on the next one. Cheers.