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| Dr. Omolola Omoteso |
Who Are You. What Do You See.
Let us pray:
Ancient of Days, we thank You for life, for loving, for love, for leverage and for laughter.
Psalm 119:130 records that the entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
We come in simplicity; let Your Word lighten our paths and brighten our minds. Let Your enlightenment and encouragement flow in as darkness and discouragement dissipate.
Thank You for all who are gathered at this assembly. Let them know who they are in You and help them to see You and all You want them to see clearly, in Jesus' name.
As hinted before now, I bring you the message titled, "Who Are You and What Do You See?"
I already ministered extensively on who you are in this assembly, but what do you see is a fresh word from the Holy Spirit to me and you.
Have you ever felt like God was asking you two questions at the same time:
1. Who are you?
2. What do you see?
That is exactly what He asked two different people in Scripture. And when they answered, everything changed.
Things will change for you as you respond through the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Let us unpack each, but first I need 3-5 people to respond. But let me clarify:
Who are you beyond your titles?
Beyond the title of sister, wife, daughter, friend, pastor, deaconess, nurse, mother, teacher, coach, consultant, entrepreneur - who are you? If you are stripped of all titles, who are you?
I pray we will never be stripped, but let us answer: before or beyond the titles, who are you?
We have done this before and we narrowed it down to the fact that we are who God says we are - winners, not worriers; royal, not wretched; successful, not suppressed.
Responses received:
Minister Taiwo Ojo responded that she is God's daughter, sent to be a blessing in different ways.
I let her know what was missing in the identity description. As she is sent to give, she must also position herself to receive so as to avoid burnout.
When we see ourselves as worthy of giving only, we may miss the opportunity to be refreshed, and burnout may be inevitable.
I need another 5 to respond to this...
What do you see when you walk the streets, visit the hospital or work there, take your children to school, go to the market, sit in traffic?
Sis. Kemi Aborisade:
I see the wonders and mercies of God upon His creatures and the privilege of being His child and enjoying being under His shield for protection.
Sis. Bukonla Awokoya:
I see the faithfulness of God. He still answers prayers.
But one member I called, Sis. Yemi Ajayi, who may have spoken for the first time, gave the answer I was looking for:
She shared a description of her visit to the hospital where some are fed, bathed, and even helped with toileting and hygiene. She ended by acknowledging God's grace upon her and her family.
Many thanks for the responses received.
Let me push forward the question - Do you see just crowds and problems, or do you see what God sees?
Let me share what I saw.
I was in a hospital hall recently and I saw a woman who used to be the life of her family. Her food tray lay on her bedside table a short distance from her while she sat on the twin bed, staring into oblivion.
The food was within reach, but blindness prevented her from reaching it. The person responsible for feeding her avoided her room because she displayed psychosis every now and then and had been known to hit, scratch, or push. I did NOT see a sick woman as others did. I saw a woman created by God, whom life has happened to.
I walked in calmly and said a word of prayer as I moved closer. I avoided walking stealthily because training made me know that just happening upon her could make her react aggressively. I walked quietly but in a way that made her aware of my presence. I am sure she felt more than presence... she felt power from the anointing that some may be blinded to.
When I got close, I greeted her, held and slightly rubbed the back of her hand, and I said, "Ma'am, your food is here; may I feed you?" She is known to feed herself, but the table could be messed up, and if she happens to be angry, she could push away the table, splashing food all around.
Already her room showed signs of disarray. I prayerfully began to feed her, concentrating only on the feeding. I sensed she was conscious of spills, so I handed her a napkin, granting her autonomy. The way she cleaned her mouth told me she was a woman of decorum and class.
She once had sight, success, people, and all that pertains to a good life, going by the photos around her, but life happened, I believe with the death of her husband. She snapped and entered into sickness. When we refuse to be comforted, grief can become a lifetime crisis.
She was emotionless at first, and gradually she began to smile as she ate more and more. I stopped short of feeding her all the food on the plate. She could not make a decision on when to stop receiving food or drink; I had to gauge that she was full.
This is not a sight we see often, but if we are mindful, such is around us daily. People who have lost the divine essence of who they are and who they ought to be.
But one thing is certain, even in her circumstance, God's love is still available for and to her; the question is, does she know it or does she feel it?
She definitely did in the way I treated her - with dignity, discipline, and decorum.
Her room was upside down, and I saw later that she was trying to move, but things she threw around in a previous state of psychosis prevented her from finding her wheelchair. I put her in her chair, ensured she was safe, and cleared up her room. It was while laying her bed that she spoke for the first time, a few hours after I fed her.
"Nurse, can you give me my jacket? I am cold." She never said a word from when I fed her till that point. But as she sensed she was safe and loved, she asked for help. I had no idea where her jacket was, so I covered her with a blanket and laid her bed. She said, "Thank you."
Divinity is with her. Humanity is in her, but who she has become informed what others see and affected how she is treated - as a recluse. I treated her with dignity, and both divinity and humanity were reactivated.
We will never lose what makes us who God says we are, in Jesus' name.
Do you truly know who you are?
Do you truly see the deep needs around you?
1. Who are you?
God defines you before the world does.
Abigail had wisdom and influence, but this was affected and afflicted in widowhood. Let us read 1 Samuel 25:41:
"She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, 'I am your servant and am ready to serve you and wash the feet of my lord's servants.'"
Some call this humility, but it was debasement.
This was a woman who had insight beyond vision and had prophesied to David in 1 Samuel 25:30 - "The Lord will appoint you ruler over Israel, and when He does, you will not have this heavy load on your mind..."
Who are you? You are who God says you are, NOT who the world defines based on your academic record or accomplishment.
The word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:4-5.
Jeremiah's first problem was not his calling. It was his identity. He must have shouted in Jeremiah 1:6:
"Alas, Sovereign Lord, I said, I do not know how to speak; I am too young."
That should sound familiar - I am too young. I am too old. I am too broken. I am not qualified. I recollect saying about my husband - he is too old, and he also said she is too young, but God who connected us collapsed the 26-year gap when we yielded to His will.
We all have a version of "I am."
I am just a wife.
I am just a volunteer.
I am just trying to make it.
I am just a teacher!
That one annoys me. Being a teacher is noble and must never be belittled. I am a teacher; a shaper of purpose, a transformation strategist who marshals destinies!
We must never let the world use our titles, our roles, even our wounds to rename us. God already did in 1 Peter 2:9:
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you..."
Back to Jeremiah, did you notice God does not argue with Jeremiah's insecurity? He goes deeper when Jeremiah tried to go backwards.
Before your parents met. Before your resume. Before your failures and your wins. God knew you. God set you apart. God appointed you.
Who are you?
I am happy to let you know that:
You are not your job title.
You are not your trauma.
You are not what people called you in high school.
In high school I was called oju igo, SBM - small but mighty, MT - Margaret Thatcher, flat arse because they believed my behind was shaped like the Britons!
To God, I am a Mighty Woman of Valour, Daughter of the Most High God. Even as a child, I had a relationship with the Holy Spirit who led me in the path of righteousness for the sake of His Holy Name.
You are who God said you were before you took your first breath. Picture the race that happened before the womb - the million sperm cells racing to one or two eggs, and you won!
The world will always try to rename you - angry, anxious, tired, behind, single, divorced, not enough - BUT glory to God who named you first.
Set apart.
Chosen.
Known.
Appointed.
Sent.
The Lord answered Jeremiah:
"Do not say, 'I am too young.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord." Jeremiah 1:7-8.
Your identity is not something you build. It is something you receive. And once you receive it, fear loses its grip because you are not going in your own name. You are going in the name above all names - El Shaddai, Elohim.
When you know who you are in God, you stop performing for people and start walking in purpose.
2. What do you see?
God reframes what is in front of you.
God sees your future.
Let us see another story. Elisha and his servant were surrounded by an enemy army.
I invite you to, in the eyes you use to visualise that Bible story, go to the streets. The hospital ward. The market.
The servant wakes up, sees horses and chariots, and panics:
"Oh no, my lord, what shall we do?" - 2 Kings 6:15.
He saw the problem. And it was real. The army was there. But Elisha, who has vision, saw much more, so he prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see."
"Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." 2 Kings 6:17.
Same mountain. Same street. Two different sights. Do you need God to refresh, restore, and renew you?
The servant saw danger. The servant saw what was against them. The servant saw a mighty army coming to annihilate them.
Elisha saw God's army. Elisha saw what was for him. What do you see?
When you walk the streets, do you see strangers, or solutions for people Jesus died for?
When you are in the hospital, do you see charts, shifts, and sicknesses, or hurting people who need prayer?
When you go to the market, do you see prices and pressure, men and women struggling in various degrees and prices rising astronomically, or opportunities to show kindness and encouragement?
I used to go home happily after going to the market. Why? I would haggle and get what I considered a great bargain, until God opened my eyes to see that the happiness was one-sided! I may have cheated someone struggling out of gain or profit.
What do you see when you look at your family or friend - a mess to run from or a mission field to run towards?
What do you see when you look at your church - a failed system, manipulative pastors, politics, or people Jesus died for?
What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror - your monthly flow, flaws, or God's workmanship? Can someone read Ephesians 2:10?
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
The problem was not that the servant was wrong. The army was real.
The problem was that he could not see anything else. His limited sight negatively impacted his spiritual vision.
Burnout, fear, and people-pleasing all start when we see only one layer of reality.
God's invitation is still - "Let Me open your eyes."
3. When identity and vision meet, obedience happens.
It was while in the woman's room that God ministered this message to me and the Holy Spirit spelled out why it is needed in this season when loss seems to be recurrent. Worse still is the loss of self, loss of our real image.
Over the last couple of months, I have heard of a pastor whose parents died within a week of each other. I have heard of a female pastor whose sister's death triggered the death of their mother, and also of a male pastor whose brother's death triggered the death of their father at 102.
Was it death that took them, or grief, or what will people say?
Who you are and what you see determines your level of resilience. If when life happens, all you say is "I cannot move on," you may be speaking death to your destiny.
Moshood Kasimawo Abiola got his middle name from being tagged a child who kept coming to inflict his parents with pain - Abiku. In spite of the expectation that even his own birth will end in death, his parents decided to celebrate his naming as they did other children. They borrowed money to buy a ram or goat, and when mockery humiliated them for celebrating in poverty, they named him Kasimawo - well, let us keep watching whether he will survive. He did and became successful. But when he stopped seeing God and grace, he died on his journey to becoming the first widely unanimously elected president in Nigeria.
When many women go to conferences, they plan to connect with the big names, but the Holy Spirit led me differently. Before I go, I say, "Lord, lead me, guide me, connect me, make me a blessing and send others to bless me..."
In Nigeria, I met a woman who said, "I will be coming to the USA." I immediately connected with her and continued to encourage her. She had a loss and I stood by her. I connected with her again during the Feast in Dallas. I was interested in her divine positioning and I honoured God in her. I saw a woman who carries grace. When she needed someone to minister at her big conference, she didn't look for a big known name; she immediately said, "You are coming as our Guest Minister." She added, "It will be in person and we will sponsor your participation, which includes hotel and air ticket." Someone just arriving in America, yet doing what many are unable to do.
God puts these two questions together on purpose - if you do not know who you are, you will see everything through fear rather than faith, through limitations the world points out to you rather than the love that led God to create us in His Divine Image. Rather than being anchored in church, anguish will trail the journey of life.
Who do people who see you see? Do they see a woman of God, the glory of God, the light shining in darkness? What do you see when you look at others?
If you do not know what to see, you will waste the identity and the calling God gave you. When I meet men called mad on the streets of Ibadan, I see husbands and leaders, so I begin to decree that their original destinies be restored. I cry out to God like I know their families.
A man was helped to the hospital by another man recently. Soon a woman joined them. While his pain was clearly visible, I saw a man who needed God's grace and a woman in his life. I immediately saw him as a husband to one of our sisters. Sadly, I didn't have the audacity to approach him. He was there for therapy, and I was concerned my words could have been misread. Those two were legally or occupationally assigned to him, and they were in the least concerned for his health but there to earn their pay. His aloneness and pain hit me, and I am still praying for his wellness.
Jeremiah accepted who he was once God gave him clarity; a prophet not just to his native city but to the nations.
So when he looked at corrupt kings and collapsing nations, he did not say, "Too big for me." He did not say, "God help you."
He said, "This is what I was set apart for."
"See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to build and to plant." Jeremiah 1:10.
God was not sending him to be popular. He was sending him to be faithful.
And faithfulness starts when we stop asking - Who do people think I am?
and start asking - Who does God say I am?
Deborah said audaciously in the Book of Judges 5:7 KJV:
"The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel."
Many women run away from leadership. Are you running?
Many women turn a blind eye when they see children walking the path of rebellion, affliction, or addiction. Is that you?
It is time for us to stop pointing fingers but to start wielding our faith and ask God, "What would You have me do? What are You doing in the lives of my loved ones that I am yet to see? What are You doing in my marriage?" When we see the beautiful tomorrow of the lives around us, we start guiding and guarding towards that path.
Years before one of us here acknowledged my mentorship and leadership, God had led me to see a leader in her, and I prophesied that she is called to lead. She struggled but eventually submitted herself for training. As mentorship chiseled what God already deposited in her, her light shone. Your light will shine. My light will shine.
She was in a season when anger and anguish should have become more visible, but grace grew in her and she glowed.
Omolola is glowing. Omolola will shine.
This week, take these two questions with you to work, to market, to the hospital, to your home. Ask God who you are and what He wants you to see; commit to asking the Holy Spirit to see what God says you are.
Song:
I am who God says I am
I am a winner and not a loser
I am who God says I am
Who are you?
Beyond every title, you are God's. Ephesians 2:10 says you are His workmanship.
Write down the lies you have previously believed about yourself. Then write Jeremiah 1:5 over those lies:
Before I formed you I knew you. I set you apart. You are not an accident. You are an appointment. You have an assignment.
What do you see, beloved?
Name and list the enemy army in front of you right now. The bills. The diagnosis. The relationship. The long line before your turn. The dwindling expectation...
Now pray Elisha's prayer: "Lord God of Omolola, open my eyes."
Let us dig into two stories - Bartimaeus and the Israelites.
Do you know why Blind Bartimaeus' nickname never changed? Do you know why the Israelites remained poor and enslaved after being led out of poverty and slavery?
I will tell you why. Bartimaeus' physical blindness was healed but never his mental vision. He remained spiritually blind. The Israelites were taken out of slavery and poverty, but there was no knowledge transfer and mind surgery to take enslavement out of them. They only knew how to be slaves!
Until you learn, unlearn, and relearn, you will sit in the grief of "Help Me Lord!" No doubt it is sweet to sing and the prayer is apt. But we must learn to walk in the confidence that "Baba ti gba mi," God has helped us. We must walk in confidence, make decrees, and ask for time and season to work for us while still praying... "Jesu gba mi!" Help Me Lord!
I need you to ask God:
Where are the chariots of fire?
Where is God already at work that I have missed because I am staring at the problem?
You do not need new circumstances. You need new sight, insight, and inspiration.
You do not need a new identity. You need to believe the one you already have in Christ Jesus.
Not wounded but worthy
Not sad but saved
Not lonely but loved
The only time you need a new identity is if you are yet to accept Jesus as your Personal Lord and Saviour.
This is an opportunity for you to reach out. If God is calling you into the family of Jesus, reach out to any of our leaders to minister salvation to you.
I ask you again, not to pressure you, but to invite you into supernatural identity, divine humanity, and Christlike dignity.
Who are you, beyond your titles?
What do you see, when you look at yourself
What do you see when you walk through your day?
But what does Jesus see?
The woman at the well saw the age-old conflict between Samaritans and Jews, but Jesus saw a woman in need of the Living Water. Rather than judgment, He advocated for her. We must love beyond the walls.
What do you see?
What would you say to Jesus?
As we close, I pray that your answer would be, "Jesus, I am Your own."
I am your own, I am your own
Till the day you will come
Jesus, I am your own
I am your own, I am your own
Till the day you will come
Jesus, I am your own
I need you to bow your heads and talk to God about divinity, your identity, your humanity, your dignity, and your visibility as I continue to sing this song.
I am your own, I am your own
Till the day you will come
Jesus, I am your own
You are my everything
You are my standard
Till the day you will come again
Jesus, I am ylur own
I am your own, I am your own
Till the day you will come again
Jesus, I am your own
You are my melody
You are my song
Till the day Christ will come
"Speaking in Tongues"
I am your own, I am Your own
Till the day you will come again
Jesus, I am your own
Go ahead and speak in your heavenly language if you are able to, or in understanding if you are unable to speak in heavenly language.
When the woman at the will encountered Jesus,, she herself as Jesus saw her. Her real identity was revealed and she went away joyfully testifying.
God desires to hear you.
Declare after me
By the power of the Holy Spirit, I remain yours and see like you see, I see with your eyes in Jesus' majestic name! Amen.
Prayer Points
1. Prayer for Identity
2. Prayer for Vision
3. Prayer for Dignity and Compassion
4. Prayer for Resilience in Loss
5. Prayer for Faithful Obedience
Dr. Omolola Omoteso-Famuyiwa is a minister who is passionate about sharing God's words for the healing of others.
