Every leader must first ask the question, Who am I? This was especially essential for Moses since he had an identity crisis early on. He was born Jewish and yet he was raised Egyptian in Pharaoh's palace. As he grew up he had to decide, What am I really? This was going to have a major consequence in his life. In fact it would affect the rest of his life. Here was his choice: He could pretend that he was Pharaoh's grandson in which, if he accepted that he would have fame, he would have fortune, he would have a luxurious lifestyle, he would have a great career. Or, on the other hand, he could admit his Jewish roots and if he did, he would be disgraced, humiliated, thrown out of the palace and forced into slave labor.
If you were confronted with those two choices, what choice do you think you would make? Moses did not hesitate, but he made the choice to admit exactly who he was, to confirm the identify that God had given him because he was a man of integrity. He refused to live a lie. He made his decision that affected the rest of his life.
In Hebrews 11 where we have the story of Moses, v. 23-27, in v. 24 it says, "By faith, Moses, when he had grown up refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.” The word "refused" there in Greek literally means "to reject.” It means to disown, no turning back, slam the door shut and put a dead bolt on it. So Moses refused to live a lie. He insisted on being what God made him to be. And no amount of peer pressure could sway him from that.
This is very important because this is the first issue you have to deal with as a leader. The point is, God made you for a purpose. And only you can be you. Why weren't you more like...?" He's going to say, "Why weren't you more like you?" Because only you can be you. You are one in five billion. There's never been anyone like you. If you don't be you, who's going to be you?
The point is, God made you for a purpose and being successful equals being me – being yourself. That's the first foundation. Quit trying to be like everybody else. I know when I first entered into the ministry, I had a deep desire to mimic the models in ministry that I admired. I tried to preach like them, I tried to dress like them, I tried to use words and phrases, even hold my Bible the way they did. But I eventually discovered that was ineffective. The only thing I could be that God could use was to be me. So quit trying to be like anybody else.
There's a great relief when you accept your identity. God chose your genes, your parents, your background, your makeup or SHAPE. Job 10:8 says "God formed and shaped me." SHAPE stands for Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, Experiences. These five things shape you and form you to become who God made you to be. They set your identity.
Ephesians 2:10 says "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do." The word "workmanship" there is the Greek word from which we get the word "poem" – poema. You are a work of art. You are unique. There's nobody like you. God made you to be you. He doesn't want you to be a leader like someone else. He wants to use your personality, your abilities, your experiences for the glory of God.
Settle the issue of identity – Who am I?
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