Know Who You Are

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Hello, welcome to Self Talk. It's me, Dr. Ray Self. Thank you for being a part of my show. I appreciate you very much. And today I'm getting into a passionate topic about your identity, your purpose, your call, and how critical it is to understand this. It also helps us, you understand what's going on with the people around you, their gifting, their purpose, their call. It's a key to life. It's a key to our relationship with God. It's a key to almost everything. So, hope this show blesses you. Again, we are sponsored by and made, you know, the reason this happens is because of the ministry that I founded, International College of Ministry. Please check us out at icmcollege.org. If you want to become a life coach, we have a life coach certification program. We have a Christian counseling certification program. We have ministry license and ordination programs, plus degrees in theology, ministry, Christian counseling, and prophetic ministry. Check it out. icmcollege.org. Let's get started. And God bless you. 

There's a scripture that's very well known, but just because it's well known doesn't mean we should not revisit it. And it comes from uh, the gospel or not, excuse me, the prophet Jeremiah. And in this particular scripture, uh, this particular scripture, Jeremiah says, “Before I…” God is talking to Jeremiah and He tells Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” And He, then He says, “I ordained you. I consecrated you.” But the key part to this is, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Now listen, I don't think this was just Jeremiah. I think He knew all of us before we were in the womb. I believe with all my heart we were created by God. God knows us. God has a plan for us. He has a purpose for us. He has a reason for us. You know, it's sad that people live without knowing purpose and reason and, and you just become, then life becomes meaningless. I, I kind of lived that life in a way. You know, I lived a very natural life, but I, I wasn't in my purpose. I wasn't in my call. I didn't understand my gifting. I didn't understand how God created me. I didn't really know myself for so long. You know, I just lived a life, you know, I did what you're supposed to do. And I think some of you guys listening to me can relate to this. You know, you just do what you're supposed to do. You, you grow up, you go to elementary school, back then we had junior high school, high school. Uh, you try to make good grades. You try to have fun when you're out of school. Then you um, go to college and again, you try to make good grades so you can get a good job. Um, you get out of college, you know, you meet your, your wife, you get married, you have kids, you have what, two and a half kids and a car and a house, three-bedroom, two-bath house. I mean, that, that was life. 

But there's so much more to that. There's so much more than just living and just making money and just trying to make money and, and have some fun. There, there's more to life than that. There's a purpose for life. There's a meaning to life. And understanding that makes life so much better for you. And not only does it become better for you, but it comes better for those around you. It's so, so, so important. When God said, told Jeremiah He knew Him, and He had a reason for Him, that principle I believe with all my heart, still plays out today because it played out in my life. And you know, some of you know my story. A lot of you know my story, but uh, I was raised in a, in a nice neighborhood in East Memphis, Tennessee. And uh, had a, a good life growing up and uh, I go to, get out of high school. I go to college, and then I did the practical thing. Part of it was I was pressured into it, but I did the practical thing. I studied business, and I was a business management major. And then I, I get out of college, and I go straight into business so I could make money, so I could pay my bills, so I could have a car, so I could have a house, so I could have a wife, and so, you know, I made money, and then so I could go on vacation. We used to go to the Florida panhandle on vacation. And that was kind of life. It was. And then when I wasn't working, I would play. I would play golf. I'd play basketball. I played, used to play a lot of tennis. And this was my life. 

But I remember in the midst of all that. And I was a businessman, something was always off a little bit. I didn't know what it was, and uh, something was always off. So I, in a way, I was striving. I was thinking, you know, what was off with me was that uh, I wasn't making enough money. What was off with me? I was working for somebody else, not working for myself. So I began to work for myself. What was off with me was I just, my business wasn't making as much profit as it should. What was off was I didn't have a, a nice enough house, and I needed a nicer car. And then of course I love boats. I love boats. And so I started buying boats, you– and bigger and bigger and bigger boats. And somehow, someway, I'm searching, I'm looking, I'm searching for that fulfillment, that sense of fulfillment, a sense of peace. And I never got it because I was not in– doing what I was created to do. And I had to learn that the hard way. And so, you know, with me, it happened, gosh, I'm trying to remember the exact year. It was uh, sometime in the, probably the early 80s, 1980s. And I'm, I was driving, I had a little pickup truck. I was driving a pickup truck to check on a business in North Mississippi. I'm driving down a, a two-lane road and I heard an audible voice. You can laugh at me or not believe me. It doesn't matter to me. I know what I heard. I heard a voice like someone sitting right next to me. And the voice said, "Ray, I've called you into the ministry." It shook me. The voice was so clear and so loud. I knew that I knew that I knew I was, I had heard God speak to me. Now, I was a, you know, I was what I call at that point a nominal Christian. You know, I'd go to church when I had time and I might read my Bible when I have time. Was I passionate on fire for God? No, I wasn't. But, you know, if you said, "Are you a Christian? Are you saved?" I would have said yes. 

And then a few weeks, maybe a couple of months after that, I was on a family vacation, uh, on the beach in uh, Florida, and the Lord spoke to me a second time. And I heard Him say, "Ray, stay close to Me." And I didn't really quite understand that at first, but then I began to realize what He meant. He meant was I need to draw close to Him because I have a call of God on my life, and things are going to start happening, and I'm going to really need this relationship with God. But these, these were pivotal moments in my life and after, and I don't want to belabor this whole thing, but after I…actually, you know, go to Bible college and, and started moving into ministry, I began to found, I found my purpose. I found peace. I found satisfaction. And I never would find that satisfaction until I was doing what I was created to do.

So, I heard the voice from God. I responded to it somehow, someway. I go to Bible college. I began to preach at churches, uh, around the Midsouth area. That would be Eastern Arkansas, North Mississippi, West Tennessee. Uh, and then I began to teach. And then I actually formed my own Bible college. And all this stuff, somehow, it fit me like a glove. It felt good. It felt natural. Was I making the money– I wasn't doing before? No, I wasn't. But, but I had a sense of peace and a sense of fulfillment. And I remember waking up and feeling, “Yes.” Yeah. I couldn't wait to get out of bed and start, and start the day where before my, my wake-up was more like I'm gonna get up and now, “Oh gosh, I got to get ready for work. What time do I need to be there? Oh my gosh, I'm running late.” Go down a, you know, drink a coffee, get to work, you know, “I can't wait when work is over, and I can come home and…” you know, you know the story. But being in your purpose, I call it your promised land, is so very critical. You know, if you know anything about me, you know my, my really popular book I wrote called Redeem Your Past and Find Your Promised Land. It's on Amazon, and it is a great book that, that tells this story and explains it. Well, the reason for this podcast is you– it is critical for you, for you, for your, for the benefit of your peace and for your soul, know what you're called to do and understand also your gifting, your gifting and your purpose. And it's very, very critical. I can't cover all this in one podcast, but I can encourage you to go deeper. 

In my book, Redeeming Your Past and Find Your Promised Land, I talk about three steps. And the three steps I talk about is discover your purpose. Let me tell you something. God's been trying to teach you and show you what you're called to do your whole life. Well, you've just kind of missed the signals. Your whole life, He's been– there's messages, signals. You know what? Discover your purpose. Then you have to fight for it because the enemy doesn't want you in your purpose. He, he hates that part. He– because he, he, he doesn't want you working and doing what you're created to do. He will resist you. So you have to learn spiritual warfare. And the third thing is yet, once you, once you find your purpose, you, you pray and you fight and you, you get into it, you have to settle into it. You have to commit to it and not be swayed. Those are three steps. But the princ– the point of this podcast is I want you to know the importance of it, you know, and, and maybe I can give you a few tips on how to know what God created you to do. And I don't care if you are 18 years old or 80 years old. It is not too late to move into that place, doing what you're created to do. Your promised land, the place you're called to be doing what you're created to do. That is the place where you benefit, where you have peace, you have fulfillment, and the people around you benefit. 

You see, your purpose and your call is not just for your fulfillment. It's for the benefit of others. People need you in your purpose and call. Your family needs you in your purpose and call. Your church, your community, needs you in your purpose and call. So, how do you know? Well, first off, if you look back in your life, there's been a lot of messages from God. There's been messages from God. Your life contains messages. And I know with me, um, when I was in a leadership position, it felt good when I was speaking or teaching, and I had a few moments like in sales, you're, you're always speaking or trying to teach somebody about a product when I was in business, but I was really good at it. I was very good at uh, understanding people. I was very good at making product presentations. I was very good at teaching and understanding, and discerning people. And of course, I was not in my call. I was in sales and marketing, but I became extremely good at it. And part of it was, it was, part of my gifting was to teach and to preach. If you think about it, and I was in a very boring business, it was the appliance and TV business, but I could teach you about a particular TV or a particular refrigerator in order to sell it to you. And I could teach it to you, which made it very, it'd make this product very interesting to you. It'd make the product very desirable, and then I could close the deal. I also had a very high level of discernment, and I was very prophetic, so I could kind of read people. I really understood people. I understood what was going on with them. All this is a little bit of a perversion of my gifting, but it was signs of a call. There's signs of your call throughout your life, going back into childhood. There's signs of your call. 

I remember, I think it was um, who was the guy, Max Lucato, I believe, that wrote so many books and I think one of his stories was that he was– his father when he was young wanted him to be a car mechanic and so he would um, help his dad in this uh, car shop and he would be under a car helping his dad pull the transmission and all he wanted to do when he finished helping his father, he was trying to please his dad, was go to the library. He loved being in the library. He loved books, being in the library, and that's where his passion was. Well, this is an indication of the call. The guy ended up writing a whole lot of books. So, my point is your call fits you like a glove. Your call and your purpose is very natural for you. When you are doing something that is your call or close to your call, it makes you feel alive. It makes you feel like “this is me.” This is your wheelhouse. For me is when I began to preach and teach, it became very natural for me and it felt good and I felt alive when I was preaching at a church or, or teaching a, a, a seminary class, a Bible college class, or when I was ministering prophetically. It just flowed, and it felt like this is me. This is who I am. This is not just something I do. This is who, this is what I was created to do. And it's a great feeling. And all of us, you have gifts. 

Now listen, it's not always ministry, because we can glorify Jesus. We can be– walk our Christian walk by being a great plumber, a great electrician, you know, a, a great architect, a real estate agent. All this can be done for the glory of God. But– and you can be called to business. Let me tell you, if it were not for business people, there wouldn't be a church in America. You hear me? Business people, business is ministry. It can, unless you just get totally self-centered with it. But because of businesses, we have missionaries. Churches are built, you know, uh, there's benevolence, there's– the kingdom is built because of businessmen, you know, and of course God. So the point of this is you were created for a purpose, and finding your purpose is important for you. No matter how– let me say, you can say, “Well, I'm so far off I know I'm not doing what I was created to do. It's too late now.” No. God can help you. God can redirect you. It's never too late with God. You know, ask Abraham. Ask Moses. It's never too late with God. So here's some questions for you. What– what's natural for you? What are you doing when you feel alive and you feel at peace? What just comes easy for you? Um, what is it that you're doing that seems to help other people that seems to really– it's unselfish, and it seems to benefit those around you? What, what is this? You know, what, what is this thing? And that is so important, and that, that's evidence of your call. 

Now, in…now, I'm gonna give you a couple of side points here. There are giftings. Now, there are supernatural gifts. In the book of uh, Corinthians, uh, chapter 12, Paul mentions nine supernatural gifts. Now, these gifts I don't think are great evidence, a little bit of evidence of your call, but it talks about words of knowledge, words of wisdom, prophecy, healing, miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues. Those are supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. However, in Romans, um, I believe it's Romans chapter 10 or Romans chapter 12, um, there is a section

which we call the motivational gifts, and the motivational gifts are natural gifting, and I have a test that I'll be glad to give you that will help you with this. The motivational gifts are exhortation. It's mentioned in Romans, I believe it's from Romans 12, um 6-10. Mo– uh, exhortation, compassion, teaching, serving, uh, leading, leading. There's actually seven motivational gifts mentioned there. Um, administration, uh, I was trying to think what they are. Compassion, exhortation, teaching, serving, administration, and these gifts are natural. Now, there's natural talents and supernatural talents. I have laid hands on the sick and seen them get healed. That's supernatural. I've given prophetic words that turned out to be straight from the throne room. I mean, praise God for that. And, and that's supernatural. 

But I also have a natural tendency. I am naturally a very compassionate person. Uh, I am a tender heart. I can feel what you feel. I care deeply for people. I have the gift of compassion. Some people have the gift of serving. They're just naturally great with their hands. They can do anything with their hands. Some people have the gift of teaching. They're very analytical. They love to research. They love to explain. They love to break things down. That's called the mind of Christ. Compassion is called the heart of Christ. Serving is called the hands of Christ. Some people are natural leaders. Uh, sometimes it's called administration, but they're, they're leaders. It's kind of apostolic. They lead. They're visionaries. They have these long-term visions. They love to delegate and, and bring forth a vision into reality. That's called administration, leadership, or the shoulders of Christ. Then you have the mouth of Christ people, the exhorters, super encouraging, have a lot of words to say, will always lift you up, will always make you feel better. That's called the exhorters, the mouth of Christ. They make great Christian counselors, and that's the gift of exhortation. Then there's other people who have the gift of giving. I mean, they are generous. They are, usually they're very blessed financially, but they, they give by the Holy Spirit. They support missions. They support churches. They give anonymously to people. Um, they, they love to, to see a need and meet that need many times with, with financial uh, gain. There, there is the gift of giving. But in these motivational gifts, matter of fact, Don and Katie Fortune wrote a book called “Discover Your…” uh “...Gifting” in, back in the 80s, and this book was based on a, a survey they did with 10,000 Christians. And what's cool about the motivational gift is the motivational gift actually forms your personality because all of us have a blend of motivational gifts. Other words, like for instance– oh, the other gift, let me, I'm, I'm skipping around a little bit. Bear with me. The other gift I didn't mention is the gift of perceiving, which is known as the eyes of Christ. These people are black and white, blunt, outspoken, opinionated, extremely discerning. Well, everybody has a blend of these seven gifts. This is what the study’s shown, and this blend of gifting kind of forms our personality. For instance, I am very compassionate but also have the gift of perceiving, which means I can be kind of blunt and outspoken at many times, but I, I tender that with a lot of compassion, and so you know, I'm not really high, I'm pretty good with exhortation. I'm not really high on the serving. I may not be so high on the administrative gift, but we're all a blend of gifting. And this blend of gifting shapes our personality. And to be able to understand that is critical because it helps you know who you are. It also helps you understand your spouse and your children and your friends, and your pastor. 

Now, this podcast was not about the motivational gifts. However, if you would like the motivational gift test, it's a spreadsheet that actually totals it up for you and it will, it will answer a lot of questions for you. Please email me and just say, "Please send me the test you talked about on the podcast.” Email me at drreself@gmail.com d r r a y s e l f @gmail.com and I'll be glad to send you that gift. But here's the deal. So you were created with a promised land, and you were created with gifts and talents that helps you in your promised land. And understanding this is critical. It's important because that's where you'll find your peace, your satisfaction, your fulfillment. It's where your children will be blessed. Your spouse will be blessed. Your church will be blessed. We'll all be blessed. The promised land is where you're created to be doing and living, and…doing what you're created to do. Now, I want to temper this with sometimes seasons change in your purpose and call. You're, you're, you're a mother. You just, you, you've got young children at home. You've got a purpose and a call, but for this season, you're raising your children. Amen. Or, or whatever it is. You know, seasons can change, but you were created for a reason. You're created for a purpose. You have specific gifts, spec– a specific call. And understanding this is so very, very important. It's, it's kind of a mystery, but it's, it's a mystery that God is giving you all kinds of ways to solve it. You solve it by, again, thinking about what is it you do well that makes you feel alive. Okay? And it, it fits you like a glove. All right. And sometimes if you're not sure, your friends, your best friend, can tell you. Say, “When, when do I seem like I'm just more myself than any other time? What am I doing?” Sometimes your friends or your family can answer that question for you. 

So, what is it you're doing? And what are your, your gifts? Are you naturally compassionate? Are you great with your hands? The service of the hands of Christ. People with the gift of serving can do anything with their hand. They can fix anything, build anything, make anything work. It's called the hands of Christ. Maybe you're a natural exhorter, you know, and exhorters make great counselors. You're, you're constantly encouraging. Maybe you're a visionary, the gift of administration. Maybe you're a teacher, the mind of Christ, and you know, you just think about word studies and research and “how I, can I get this message across?” But knowing your gifting and understanding your, your promised land is very, very important. Now listen, I know I unloaded a whole bunch of you, a bunch of stuff on you. I have courses about this, um, you know, at our website. You know, guys, you can also, it– on the, I know I talk about International College of Ministry a lot. We have over 200 courses. If you go to the website and you look at this course, you can audit these courses, and I have a way for you to audit any course. You don't have to get a degree. If you want to take one of these courses for personal enrichment about the manifestation gifts or about uh, the motivational gifts, just go through our catalog, and you'll see it. And then I think right now the fee is $35. You make a $35 donation, then I'll send you a username and a password, and you can log in and take some courses. Just an idea. Okay. You know, I love you. I appreciate you for listening. Heavenly Father, I thank you, Father, that you created us for an incredible reason. I thank you, Father, that the gifts and calling of God are, are without repentance. They just do not change. And so, Father, I thank you for what you're doing. I thank you for everyone listening to this video, uh, this audio. Lord, I just pray, Father, that we will discover, everyone here, that we'll discover our call. And if there's any confusion, we rebuke it. Make our call and our purpose known. And help us to step into it all for your glory and for your kingdom. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen. Amen.

Phew. Well, that completes episode 243. Thank you so much for being a part of the show. Thank you again. Um, if you want that motivational gift test, email me at d r r a y s e l f, drrayself@gmail.com. Say, “Hey, please send me the test you talked about,” and I'll email it to you. If you would like to donate to the ministry, that would really help me do this podcast because this is time-consuming and expensive. Uh, easiest way is just to go to icmcollege.org/donate, pick the fund. I appreciate you so very, very much. Thank you again for listening to Self Talk. Don't forget to like and subscribe, all that cool stuff. God bless you. This is Dr. Ray Self signing out.