1. Know the word of the Lord concerning your identity and let it become your identity.
John the baptizer knew the word of the Lord for his life. John was used to reading Isaiah the prophet and was continually drawn to this particular prophet. One day, he was reading Isaiah 40 and the Spirit of God made Isaiah 40:3 stand out off the page for John. God gave John a piece of his prophetic identity that day and he let that word become his identity.
2. Know who you are not.
In the context of the verse quoted above, the Jews had sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. From a prophetic identity perspective, this conversation if very interesting. The scripture says first of John:
“He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” John 1:20
The rest of the conversation goes like this:
Priests and Levites: Then who are you? Are you Elijah?
John: I am not.
Priests and Levites: Are you the Prophet?
John: No.
Priests and Levites: Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?
John’s answer is stunning in a couple ways discussed below.
3. Declare boldly who you are, using the word of the Lord.
Remember that God revealed to John who he was while reading Isaiah 40:3. This is how John answers the Priests and Levites:
He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.
John 1:23
John used the words of the prophet Isaiah to define to the Jews who he was. The words of the prophet Isaiah were a personal prophetic word to John the baptizer! John read this prophetic word in the scripture and knew that God was speaking directly to him. John must have read this word over and over again, holding it dear to his heart.
Then the time came for John to pass a spiritual identity test. By this time, John had already become this prophetic word and so it was just a matter of declaring the word of the Lord that Isaiah had previously declared. John remained firm in his identity in this way and gave us an example to follow.
What is the identity word of the Lord over your life? Who does God say you are? That is your prophetic identity and it is the word of the Lord. This is why declaring the word wins the battle, because it’s the word of the Lord.
Peter shared John’s love for the prophet Isaiah. Peter understood that nothing could stand up against the word of the Lord:
All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.
1 Peter 1:24-25