Let Your Flag Fly

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Hey, I'm Dr. Ray Self, and welcome to my show, Self Talk with me, Dr. Ray Self. So glad you're with me. Heavenly Father, I thank you for everyone in this show, listening to the show, participating, or somehow hearing what I have to say, and maybe seeing this video. So, Father, I just ask you to speak through me through the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen. Amen. 

I want to, um, talk to you about something. An interesting story that changed my life…uh, when I, when I saw it. I love history, and there's an interesting story in the War of 1812. The British had sailed an enormous fleet of ships up uh, Chesapeake Bay into the Baltimore Harbor, okay. And they were going to attack Fort McHenry. Now, Fort McHenry was manned by a handful of Americans. I don't believe there was over 100 guys in that fort. The British had over 22 ships, and I think uh, maybe 200 cannons. And they decided to bombord that– to bombard that fort, and for 24 hours, they shelled Fort McHenry, knowing that if they could defeat that fort, they could get into Baltimore, they could ravage America. It was going to be a huge defeat for America. Well, the commander of the fort had a little battle flag raised up above the fort; it was a small flag. And back then of course, the flag meant everything. The flag was very important that it, that it was seen. And so the flag remained and remained and remained, and uh, it was knocked down several times, put back up. 

The British shelled and shelled and shelled and shelled, meanwhile, while the shelling’s going on, or actually just before the shelling started, a guy named Francis Scott Key rode out to the British boats to negotiate a prisoner exchange. Because what they used to do is they used to keep prisoners in the boats, in the sailing ships. They would take an old sailing ship that usually was not uh, fit for sea, they would anchor it somewhere, and they would hold prisoners in it. And it was horrible, the conditions in these prison ships were terrible. There was a number of them in New York Harbor. So, it was a terrible thing, but Francis Scott Key wanted to negotiate, uh, a truce, uh, and a prisoner exchange. Well, the British, once they, they invited him on board, they were courteous to him, they listened to his terms, and he got ready to leave, and they said, ”No, you cannot leave, we have to do something.” They, they started to shell Fort McHenry, and this went on for 24 hours. And as they're shelling the fort, uh, hour after hour after hour, it just seemed like the fort was going to be devastated, but it wasn't. The commander of the fort, early in the morning after all night of shelling, said, “Raise the big flag.” There was a, a main flag, and I believe that flag was something like 40 by 24 feet - it was a huge American flag. And they raised the big flag, and the big flag went up, and it showed the British that this fort was not going to be defeated. And as this flag went up, Francis Scott Key penned the words, “Oh say, can you see? By the dawn's early light,” okay. He wrote our national anthem, and it was all because of this flag that went up. And when the British saw the flag, and they saw who we are, they actually called off their campaign. They realized the Americans were not going to be defeated; this was not going to be a successful campaign. They retreated their troops, and they left the harbor. “Oh say, can you see? By the dawn's early light. With the rockets’ red glare, but our flag was still there.” Not much of a singer. 

When the enemy sees us for who we are and knows that we're not going to be defeated, he will retreat, and what the Lord showed me with that was that your identity is critical. You need to be seen. You see, the commander of the fort said we need to let the British see us, know our identity. Here is our flag, this is our identity, this is our symbol. Let's make it big, let's make it obvious. And when they made it big and obvious, and the British saw it, the British got discouraged and realized all of their attacks were in vain. This fort was not going to fall, Baltimore was not going to be captured, and they withdrew. 

You see, you have an identity. You are a joint heir with Jesus Christ. You're a child of the most high God. You were bought with a price. The Lord of lords, the King of kings, swapped His life for yours. You see, this is an identity that the enemy wants to stay– you to keep hidden. He doesn't want you to be seen, doesn't want your flag to fly, let everybody see who you are. Because if the enemy can keep you hidden, he can attack you, weaken you, discourage you, hide you. Remember last week, I talked about being invisible. We're not to be invisible. Well, the enemy wants to make you invisible. You see that Fort McHenry was kind of, it was invisible to the British. What was going on in that fort. It looked like the fort was being defeated, but it wasn't because when they raised the big flag and the British could see who they were, and they were not going down, they called off the attack. 

You see, the enemy doesn't want you to know who you are, and he definitely doesn't want anybody else to see who you are. He wants to keep you hidden and obscure like that first flag that flew above Fort McHenry. It was a small, obscure flag. You see, you got to let your flag fly. That sounds kind of ridiculous, but what I'm saying is you're called to something special. You're anointed, you're strong, you're powerful, you're capable, you're gifted, and there's nobody else like you in the universe. There's nobody better than you, there's nobody worse than you. There's only one you. You are an amazing person. You're incredible. You're a child of God, joint heir with Jesus Christ, above and not beneath, the head and not the tail, a member of the royal priesthood. This is who you are, and the enemy wants to keep that fact hidden. He wants to hide it from your friends, from your family, from your boss, from the world. He wants to hide it from you. Many of us can't see our own identity because our whole life we've been molded and, and shaped and trained and, and almost uh, you know, physically manipulated to be someone that we're not. We are chosen by God. We carry God's anointing; we carry God's purpose; we carry God's call. We do. Don't be hidden, don't be hidden. Don't let the enemy hide you. Don't let the enemy make you obscure. Be seen for who you are. You are special, you are anointed, you are a child of God. 

And listen, people don't understand you. People don't get you. I mean, they don't. I mean, sometime– it takes the Holy Spirit to recognize the Holy Spirit. You're in this world, but you're not of this world. They didn't get Jesus either. Here's Jesus, the Lord of lords and King of kings, of– King of the universe! And 98% of the people that He ministered to didn't get it. They didn't get it. They didn't– people in His own hometown of Nazereth didn't get who He was. But the people that saw who He was, oh, did they see something special. And you see, folks, there's something special in you, and you need to be seen for who you are. And I pray that those around you, that their eyes will be open so they can see the magnificence in you, the love in you, the power in you, the greatness in you. And I pray that your eyes are open so you can see the greatness inside of yourself. 

Don't let your past experience mold you; don't let your past mindset shape your identity. Our identity is not based on our experience, our identity is not based on what we've been through, all our trauma and our issues, that's not who we are, that's what we went through. Who we are is who God says we are. That's why in the Bible there's over 230 scriptures telling us who we are. 230 scriptures in the New Testament that somehow relate to identity. Justified, redeemed, saved, children of God, saints. All this. Over and over and over. I know when my father used to tell me something, “Son, don't let me repeat myself,” because I knew when he repeated himself, if I didn't listen to him, I was in trouble. But whenever a parent repeats himself, that means we should listen up. Well, God's repeated Himself over 200 times, making sure we understand when we're born again, who we are; who this new creation is, who you are. And it takes a while to refocus and retrain our mind, to recondition our mind to who we actually are.

Don't be invisible. Do not be invisible, be visible. Be visible according to God's view of you. And not only do other people need to see you for who you are, but I pray when you look in the mirror tonight after you watch this video or listen to this podcast that you will see yourself through the eyes of God. Because if you do, you'll see something special. You'll see one who's loved, a person who's valuable, a person who's acceptable, a person who God has chosen as His very own. That is the truth that'll set you free. That is the truth that will make the difference in the world, and it's a truth that'll make you feel good about yourself. 

This is a, not a long show tonight or this morning or whatever you're listening to it. I pray this has been a blessing to you. This is brought to you by my college, the one I founded over 25 years ago, International College of Ministry. An online equipping college with degrees in ministry and theology, Christian counseling. We got a lot of counseling majors. And you know what, if you're interested, and I pray that you are, don't wait. Don't let the enemy distract you. Go to icmcollege.org and enroll now. We'll help you out any way that we can. Thank you so much. Be sure to subscribe and listen, you know, all the stuff. Share this with other people, and I just pray that your eyes are open, you can see the truth of who you are in Jesus Christ. Amen, amen, amen. This is Dr. Ray Self, and thank you for listening to my show, Self Talk with me, Dr. Ray Self. And the music plays.

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