Rising Above Limitations

CHAPTER FOUR
WHO DO PEOPLE SAY I AM?
Matthew 16:13-17 “when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ So they said, ‘some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
He knew who He was; He just gave the opportunity to His disciples to build their knowledge of Him from themselves, not from other people. The disciples had different opinions, as well as other people. Others said He was Elijah, others said He was John the Baptist and others said He was a prophet. When the disciples had finished saying other people’s opinions about Him, Jesus directly asked who they (disciples) said He was, and Peter had a revelation of who Jesus was.
The fact that people said that Jesus was Elijah did not make Him think that He was Elijah, John or just another prophet. He was not governed by people’s opinions; He did not look at Himself through the eyes of other people. He did not begin to doubt that He was Christ just because people did not recognize or identify Him as Christ.

A lot of people have a problem with their identity. They take other people’s opinions of themselves and they begin to believe that they are what other people say they are. You can learn from this example of Jesus. You don’t have to change the way you see yourself because of people’s opinions. You don’t have to be what people say you are. Remember that people don’t see what is within you, they don’t even see the potential God has placed within you, and they don’t even see your dreams and your determination to see them coming to pass.
Usually people will see you as less than what you really are (refer to the scripture we quoted above), because they only know what they see. If you have been told that you cannot do something, you are a failure or a loser, you are just good but you won’t be best on something, and in your heart you believe otherwise, you don’t have to take those opinions. You may even be disappointed when you share your heart desires and people cannot see them, not because they think that those things are impossible, but they think that for you those things cannot happen.
Do you remember what the people of Nazareth said about Jesus? They said He was Joseph’s son, they could not expect more from a carpenter’s son (see Matthew 13:55). I hope this makes you realize how much you don’t have to depend on what people say you are. You need to know who you are, even the Spirit of God will reveal to you who you are, believe what He says you are and work towards its fulfilment. Don’t worry; God will be working it out with you.
Find people who are full of the Holy Spirit and who will speak positive words to you, even when they have not seen any physical evidence of what you really are. I like the fact that Jesus knew that He was Christ always. His work was fulfilled when He rose from the dead, but He did not wait for that in order to call Himself Christ, He always knew that He was Christ, even before His ministry began. If you wait for things to happen before you realize who you are it is very possible that you will be discouraged along the way, and you won’t even begin to be the person you really are.
I laughed one day when another person passed her opinion about me, because I already knew that people’s opinions don’t make me to be me, but I am who I am whether they see or agree with that or not. I met this person in town and I had just begun my second year at a bible college. This time I was certain of God’s will and calling in my life. She told me that she heard that I was in Bible College; and she said she had wondered how I would minister, what I would say to people as I am so quite.
Before I used to take these opinions seriously, and considered myself according to what I was told. But this time I began to realize that I have bordered myself with a lot of untrue things before by taking people’s opinions about me seriously. I was able to ignore this at this particular instance because I was clear about what God had said to me and it is His report that I chose to believe, nobody else’s. Whether I can or cannot talk is not an issue, the issue is that God knows me very well yet He called me, He knows how to deal with my inabilities. I cannot sit back and refuse what I am meant to be because people say I cannot do it.
Here are the questions to consider and answer for you:
 Who do people say you are?
 Who are you?
 Who does God say you are?
The true answer will be that answer which comes from God, and you are to begin to see yourself through what He says about you. If you have been influenced by other people’s opinions; it’s time that you change and be influenced by God’s opinion. While you are getting God’s opinion remember that a man’s life consist of milestones, from birth a person unfolds till death. You have not seen the finished product of yourself yet, neither have others seen it. But God knows the finished product, which is why He is the one who has a right answer about you.

Do not entertain the poor opinion that people give about you, or your poor opinion about how you see yourself, but entertain the positive opinion God have about you whether He tells you directly or you take it from His word. If you don’t do this you will find yourself always wishing but never accomplishing anything because you believe that you cannot make it or it is not your style or it is not meant for you. It is time that you put aside what people say you are, and go ahead with what God says about you.