The Identity Crisis
Minister Michelle Thompson Preached on 5/3/2026Judges 6:11-23
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Summary
Minister Michelle Thompson explores the story of Gideon to address the modern identity crisis, urging believers to reject cultural redefinitions and fear, and instead embrace their God-given identity as 'mighty heroes' called for a specific purpose.
Key points
- •Like Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress, many believers live in hiding or in fear because they do not recognize the identity and power God has placed within them.
- •Identity crises often stem from looking at outward circumstances or past failures rather than God's sovereign declaration of who we are.
- •Modern society, specifically the 'digital Babylon' influencing Gen Z and Gen Alpha, seeks to rename and rebrand believers just as Nebuchadnezzar sought to change the identities of Daniel and his friends.
- •God's presence, not our own self-confidence, is the true source of our strength and the guarantee of our success in fulfilling His purpose.
Scripture
Purpose
Spiritual Growth
Evangelism
Family
Faith
Life application
This week, choose one specific area where you feel 'least' or 'weakest' and daily declare your identity in Christ using 1 Peter 2:9, choosing to act in faith rather than hiding in fear.
Reflection questions
- In what ways are you currently 'threshing wheat in a winepress' (hiding your gifts or potential) due to fear or insecurity?
- Gideon asked 'If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened?' How do you reconcile your current trials with God's promise to be with you?
- How can you better support the young people in your life as they navigate the pressures of a culture that wants to redefine their identity?
- Which of Dr. Myles Monroe's five questions (Who am I, Where am I from, Why am I here, What can I do, Where am I going) do you find hardest to answer right now?
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Full transcript
0:00Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.
0:00Thank you, [music] Lord. Thank you,
0:00Lord.
0:02We bless the Lord today for all that he
0:04has done for us. Amen.
0:07Amen. Amen. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you,
0:10Jesus. We sang the song earlier that his
0:13name [music] is excellent.
0:15Hallelujah. And he gives us strength
0:18this morning. And I'm just grateful for
0:20a God who never leaves us
0:23and never forsakes us. Hallelujah.
0:26And so I'm thankful for all of you this
0:28morning. You may have your [music]
0:29seats.
0:31Praise God.
0:33Praise God. We just want to also
0:35acknowledge the presence of Sister
0:38Darlene and Sister Grace in service. Do
0:40you recall?
0:42Yes, couple Sundays ago we
0:45mentioned that they met in an accident.
0:47And by the goodness of God and the grace
0:49of God, they are here this morning and
0:52we thank God for them.
0:55So as you may or may not have noticed,
0:58um
0:59some of the people who participated
1:02previously in the service are staff
1:04members. So we wanted to let you know
1:07that in the next service you will see
1:09some more people
1:11um participating and doing different
1:14things in the service. And of course,
1:16I am one of them.
1:19And so
1:21I am here this morning in an
1:23uncomfortable place,
1:26but the Lord is my strength. The Lord is
1:28my strength.
1:30Hallelujah. I want to thank
1:32Pastor Omar Williams for the opportunity
1:34to speak. He is not here this morning.
1:37He is ministering in Canada.
1:40And we pray that the same Holy Ghost
1:41that's here will be there with him
1:44because that's the kind of God that we
1:46serve.
1:48Amen.
1:50I'm thankful for all of you.
1:52I'm thankful for a church that's
1:54supportive. I'm a thankful I'm thankful
1:57for a church that love God and his
2:00people.
2:01And and it runs in your family, too. I
2:04was sitting over there
2:06and of course my daughter is here,
2:07Gabby.
2:10And Gabby texted me and said, "Mom, do
2:12you need water?"
2:15She said, "Did somebody give you a rag?"
2:18I said, "Gabby, I have my own rag."
2:21And she went to the office and she got
2:22me water.
2:24And so because she knows I have a little
2:26heat issue, she said, "Maybe you could
2:27borrow some some fan."
2:32But I don't need the fan this morning. I
2:34don't need the fan this morning.
2:37Praise God. But But that's somebody
2:39looking out for you.
2:40And I just thank God for that. So I'm
2:43I'm not going to be before you long this
2:45morning. I'm just going to ask that you
2:47stand as we
2:48read a very familiar passage of
2:50scripture.
2:53I'm going to ask all the mothers in Zion
2:55to pray for me this morning.
2:57Amen. And so we're reading from Judges
3:00chapter 6
3:02um verse 11 through to 23.
3:07And to enhance clarity this morning,
3:08I'll be reading from the New Living
3:10Translation and you can just follow as I
3:13read.
3:16Then the angel of the Lord came and sat
3:18beneath the great tree at Oprah,
3:20which belonged to Joash the clan of the
3:23clan of Abiezer.
3:25Gideon, son of Joash, was threshing
3:27wheat at the bottom of a winepress
3:30to hide the grain from the Midianites.
3:34The angel of the Lord appeared to him
3:36and said, "Mighty hero, the Lord is with
3:40you."
3:41"Sir," Gideon replied, "if the Lord is
3:44with us, why has all this happened to
3:46us?
3:47And where are all the miracles our
3:49ancestors told us about? Didn't they say
3:52the Lord brought us out of Egypt?
3:55But now the Lord has abandoned us and
3:58handed us over to the Midianites."
4:01Then the Lord turned to him and said,
4:04"Go with the strength you have and
4:06rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am
4:10sending you."
4:12"But Lord," Gideon replied, "how can I
4:14rescue Israel?
4:16My clan is the weakest in the whole
4:18tribe of Manasseh and I am the least in
4:22my entire family."
4:24The Lord said to him, "I will be with
4:26you
4:27and you will destroy the Midianites as
4:30if you were fighting against one man."
4:34Gideon replied, "If you are truly going
4:36to help me,
4:38show me a sign to prove that it is
4:40really the Lord speaking to me.
4:42Don't go away until I come back and
4:44bring my offering to you." He answered,
4:48"I will stay here until you return."
4:51Gideon hurried home. He cooked a young
4:53goat and with a basket of flour, he
4:55baked some bread without yeast.
4:58Then carrying the meat in a basket and
5:00the broth in a pot, he brought them out
5:03and presented them to the angel who was
5:05under the great tree.
5:07The angel of God said to him, "Place the
5:10meat and the unleavened bread on this
5:12rock and pour your broth over it."
5:16And Gideon did as he was told. Then the
5:19angel of the Lord touched the meat and
5:20bread with the tip of the staff in his
5:23hand and fire flamed up from the rock
5:26and consumed all that he had brought and
5:30the angel of the Lord disappeared.
5:32When Gideon realized that it was the
5:34angel of the Lord, he cried out, "Oh
5:36sovereign Lord, I am doomed. I have seen
5:39the angel of the Lord face to face."
5:42"It is all right," the Lord replied. "Do
5:44not be afraid. You will not die." And
5:47Gideon built an altar to the Lord there
5:50and named it Yahweh Shalom, which means
5:53"The Lord is peace." The altar remains
5:57in Oprah in the land of in the land of
5:59the clan of Abiezer
6:00to this day. Amen.
6:04For a brief while this morning, I'm
6:05going to be talking on the topic the
6:07identity crisis.
6:10The identity crisis. Let us pray.
6:12Father, we thank you this morning
6:14that we can come to you.
6:17We're thankful, God, that you are the
6:19risen savior.
6:21And Lord, as we have come to this time
6:23of the service, Lord Jesus, these are
6:25your people.
6:27You died for them, Lord God, and you
6:29have your best their best interests at
6:31heart. And so Jesus, I pray that you'll
6:34use me as the instrument to speak to
6:36them. We pray, God, that you would
6:39prepare receptive hearts to receive your
6:41word, Lord Jesus.
6:43And God, even now we take captive every
6:46thought that would exalt itself above
6:48your name. Every distraction, Lord God,
6:51we come against it now in the name of
6:53Jesus. We pray that hearts and mind will
6:56be focused on your word even now, God.
6:59Hallelujah.
7:00And we wait expectantly for what you're
7:03going to do in Jesus' name. Amen. You
7:06may have your seats.
7:09Amen.
7:10The identity crisis.
7:13The late Dr. Myles Monroe taught that
7:15there five fundamental questions that
7:17control human motivation and destiny.
7:21And answering them is crucial for
7:24discovering purpose and maximizing
7:27potential. The first question, who am I?
7:31This question addresses your identity.
7:35Many people live by adopting the
7:36identities of others, but this ask you
7:39to identify
7:41your unique essence and value.
7:45Where am I from? Second question.
7:48This refers to your source, not just
7:50your nationality or birthplace. Knowing
7:53your creator as your source is crucial
7:57for understanding your true self. Why am
8:01I here? Third question.
8:03This addresses your purpose for
8:06existence. According to Dr. Monroe, this
8:09is the most important question as
8:12purpose is the reason for being on
8:14earth.
8:16What can I do? Fourth question.
8:19This explores your potential and innate
8:21abilities. It encourages identifying
8:24your gifts and talents to fulfill your
8:28purpose.
8:30Where am I going? Fifth and final
8:33question.
8:34This question covers your future and
8:36destination.
8:38It focuses on your vision, legacy, and
8:42the ultimate purpose of your life's
8:45journey.
8:46Dr. Monroe argued that failure to answer
8:49these questions leads to a life of
8:51misuse and that the greatest tragedy is
8:55not death, but living a life without
8:58purpose.
9:00Amen.
9:02And so I I I want to just look back at
9:05the text that we read.
9:08Um if you know me, you know that
9:09whenever I read, I like to find out the
9:12context of why the scripture was was
9:15given. What was happening at the time?
9:18And as we read about Gideon, we saw
9:20where the children of Israel did evil in
9:22the sight of the Lord. So they they they
9:24were delivered into the hands of the
9:26Midianites for 7 years.
9:29God brought Israel into bondage through
9:32the oppression of the Midianites.
9:35This one was an example of God's grace
9:38and mercy for Israel because the
9:41oppression would make them turn back to
9:44God.
9:46Whenever Israel had sown, so they would
9:48sow their crops and there would be
9:50harvest, and then the Midianites would
9:52come up and they would take everything
9:56all the harvest that they had.
9:59The Midianites The Midianites did not
10:01occupy the land all the time, but they
10:04only came at the time of harvest to
10:07steal what the Israelites grew, leaving
10:11no sustenance for Israel.
10:14They were strategic in when they would
10:17strike the Israelites.
10:19They would always strike in a time of
10:22fruitfulness
10:23and harvest. I want us to note that.
10:27And so it was during this time that the
10:29children cried out to the Lord. And
10:31after a long season of humiliation,
10:34fruitless labor, poverty, and domination
10:38by an oppressive power,
10:40God decided to deliver the Midianites.
10:45And so he sends the deliverer. He sends
10:47an angel to talk to this one man.
10:51And so the angel went to meet Gideon.
10:55The angel knew exactly where Gideon was.
10:58And Gideon was in the winepress
11:00threshing wheat. Now if you understand
11:03history, you know that you don't thresh
11:04wheat in a winepress. A winepress is in
11:06a cave. You thresh wheat on a
11:09mountaintop so that the wind can
11:11separate the good from the bad.
11:15But that's where Gideon was, in a cave
11:18threshing wheat.
11:20And so
11:21Gideon was called, but he was in hiding.
11:25Before the angel even presented himself
11:28to Gideon, he was already selected.
11:32And so Gideon was in this place of
11:34privacy.
11:35He could not make a threshing floor in
11:38open
11:39as the custom was
11:41because he was in fear of the
11:44Midianites.
11:46In fear of the oppressor.
11:49And so the angel said to him, "The Lord
11:52is with you, mighty man of valor."
11:56And this was a strange greeting to to
11:59Gideon because if you read the
12:00scripture, you will see the excuses
12:03that Gideon gave.
12:06Gideon said it didn't seem like the Lord
12:08was with him.
12:10And it didn't seem like he had any
12:12valor.
12:15And so he
12:17responded to the to the angel, "Where
12:19are all the miracles which our fathers
12:22told us about?"
12:23Gideon heard about the great works of
12:25God in the past, yet he wondered, "Why
12:28did he not see the same great works in
12:31his day?"
12:33Gideon thought the problem was with God.
12:36He said, "Now the Lord has forsaken us."
12:39But I want you to remember that it was
12:41Israel that forsook God.
12:44God did not forsake Israel.
12:47And so the deliverance of an entire
12:49nation
12:51rested on this one man who did not
12:54understand his identity in the Lord. I'm
12:57going to say that again.
12:59The deliverance of the entire nation of
13:02Israel
13:03rested on this one man who did not
13:06understand his identity in the Lord.
13:11The angel said to him, "Surely I will be
13:13with you,
13:14and you shall defeat the Midianites as
13:17one man."
13:19God's assurance to Gideon was not to
13:21build up his self-confidence, but to
13:23assure him
13:25that God was indeed with him.
13:28And what did
13:30Gideon ask? He asked for a sign.
13:33He didn't
13:34readily believe, but he asked for a
13:36sign.
13:39And so he, as we read in the scripture,
13:41he went and he
13:43prepared an offering to the Lord and the
13:45fire consumed
13:47the offering. And it was only after that
13:48that he was convinced
13:51that the Lord approved of him and he
13:54embraced the call of God.
13:56So scripture reveals that this man who
13:59who thought that he was from the
14:01smallest clan of his tribe,
14:04he thought that he was insignificant.
14:07He thought that he was the least in the
14:09family. This man went on to defeat the
14:13Midianites with only 300 men.
14:17And if you if you read further into
14:19chapter 7, you are going to see where
14:23first there were 10,000 men and it was
14:25reduced and reduced to only 300. And
14:28that's when the Lord allowed Gideon to
14:32defeat the Midianites.
14:35I want to take it a little closer home.
14:37On Wednesday, February 18th of this
14:40year,
14:41the Christian Education Ministry hosted
14:44a session
14:45along with CARE raising children in a
14:48digital Babylon. Everybody remember
14:50that?
14:51Amen.
14:52The session focused on the state of the
14:54church and the influence of technology
14:58on our children.
14:59I'm talking about the identity crisis.
15:03The scripture that was used for us from
15:06Daniel chapter 1.
15:08And in that chapter, we saw where
15:10Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,
15:12issued a decree
15:13to bring young men of Israel about 13 to
15:1717 years old. The shining lights of
15:20Israel is what they called them.
15:22With specific characteristics.
15:25They were to be children in whom there
15:27was no blemish,
15:29well-favored,
15:31skilled in all wisdom, cunning in
15:34knowledge,
15:36and understanding science.
15:39They were to be children in whom there
15:41was no blemish,
15:43well-favored,
15:44skilled in all wisdom,
15:46cunning in knowledge, and understanding
15:49science.
15:50The intent of the king was to change
15:53their identity
15:55that they might be groomed in the
15:57language and the literature of the
15:59Chaldeans.
16:01They would be exposed and groomed in the
16:04Babylonian culture.
16:06And notice the age that they wanted to
16:08groom these young men. Impressionable
16:10age, vulnerable age, 13 to 17.
16:15Research shows that Gen Z and Gen Alpha,
16:17those born between 1997 to present,
16:21they are extremely tech-savvy.
16:24They are the true digital natives.
16:27That's what they're called, digital
16:28natives.
16:29They're fast at information filtering
16:32and multitasking.
16:34Immersed in AI, automation, and advanced
16:38technology.
16:39Shorter attention spans on average.
16:43They lack patience for slower,
16:46deeper processes.
16:49And there is a risk of over-reliance
16:53on technology. Now let me just put it
16:55out there to all the technology gurus.
16:57I'm not against technology. That's not
16:59That's not what I'm saying.
17:00But we have to be careful. We have to be
17:03careful of what we are exposing
17:07to our people. And not just young
17:10people everyone.
17:12Because all of us could potentially not
17:14realize our true identity.
17:19Notice what again what the angel of the
17:21Lord said to Gideon, "Have I not sent
17:23you?"
17:25We have become so intelligent and so
17:28advanced that we can no longer discern
17:32the schemes of the enemy, nor can we
17:35distinguish the voice of God.
17:38Amen.
17:40Jonah didn't have the luxury of
17:42technology to let him know that the
17:44storm arose because he disobeyed God.
17:48But because of his alignment with God,
17:50he knew why the storm arose. Amen.
17:56He knew his assignment.
17:59We have become so distracted that we
18:02miss the spirit behind some of the
18:04things that we do.
18:07So who is it today that the Lord has
18:09called, but you're in hiding?
18:11You're supposed to be on the
18:12mountaintop, but you're in a cave,
18:15in a winepress.
18:17You are commissioned, but you're in
18:20hiding. You're marked for God's purpose,
18:23but you're trying to be someone else.
18:26You're gifted, but totally oblivious of
18:29that gifting.
18:31And I wonder today,
18:34when are we going to realize
18:37that we are unique, that we are given a
18:40special identity?
18:43And so we must ask ourselves, what is
18:45the responsibility of the church?
18:47We have been called to be watchmen in
18:50this crisis.
18:52We have been called to come alongside
18:54parents and help them to offer
18:57affirmation and declaration over our
19:00young people.
19:01We are charged to constantly declare
19:05their identity in Christ even when they
19:08can't see it.
19:10Even when they can't see it, we are
19:13called to make that declaration.
19:17I want to give you an example.
19:20Australian author, speaker, and
19:21evangelist Christine Caine
19:24when she was 35 years old
19:27found out some potentially life-altering
19:30news. Her brother, who was 33 at the
19:32time
19:34was informed by the state that he was
19:36adopted.
19:37He was extremely distraught and
19:39confronted his adopted mother. His
19:42mother
19:43visibly shaken confirmed the truth that
19:46he was adopted.
19:48She turned to Christine and said, "Since
19:50we're sharing the truth
19:53you were also adopted."
19:55Without flinching, Christine encouraged
19:58her mother, "Mom, it is fine.
20:01Before I was formed in my mother's womb,
20:04whoever womb that was, God knew me and
20:08ordained me."
20:10Amen.
20:11Christine didn't know if her conception
20:13was as a result of a one-night stand.
20:16She didn't know if it was as a result of
20:18a rape or a long-standing relationship.
20:22But here is a woman who understood her
20:25identity in Christ.
20:28God had already chosen and destined for
20:31her to be his mouthpiece regardless of
20:35the circumstances
20:36of her conception.
20:39And so I want to remind all of us and
20:41encourage us this morning to realize
20:44that our identity is in Jesus Christ
20:46alone.
20:48We are marked by him for his purpose.
20:53We will not wander around in life
20:56aimlessly because we know who we are.
21:00And so if we know who we are, we can
21:02answer the five fundamental questions
21:05that were asked by Dr. Myles Monroe. Who
21:08are we? Where we from? Why are we here?
21:13What is our purpose?
21:15Scripture, different scriptures remind
21:18us of who we are.
21:211 Peter 2:9 says, "But ye are a chosen
21:24generation
21:26a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a
21:30peculiar people that ye should show
21:33forth the praises of him who hath called
21:35you out of darkness into his marvelous
21:39light. You're not random.
21:41You're not overlooked. You're
21:42intentionally chosen for purpose.
21:46Hallelujah.
21:48Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his
21:51workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto
21:54good works which God hath before
21:57ordained that we should walk in them."
22:01You were designed with intention and
22:04purpose.
22:052 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore
22:09if any was in anyone is in Christ, he's
22:12a new creature.
22:13All things are passed away.
22:16Behold, all things are become new."
22:19This means that your past doesn't define
22:21you anymore. Your identity is renewed.
22:26Hallelujah.
22:28Hallelujah.
22:30And then I just want to speak to parents
22:32of adult children, the children who
22:35seem to have walked away from God, the
22:37ones who are leaving for college and
22:40they want to go far, far away from home.
22:44The ones who are progressing in their
22:46careers but they're fading spiritually.
22:51I want to say to you parents that I
22:52understand the pain that you feel. I
22:54understand.
22:56I understand that it hurts and and and
22:58sometimes you have to grieve and grieve
23:00if you must.
23:02But please don't allow the volume of
23:04your grief to be so amplified that they
23:07cannot hear what God is saying.
23:11Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And so I ask you
23:14also
23:15I beg of you to choose relationship over
23:18being right.
23:20Celebrate their successes.
23:23Engage them in conversation
23:25while all the time you're praying.
23:27Hallelujah.
23:29Hallelujah.
23:31They know what you stand for. They know
23:33your values. But if every conversation
23:36you have you are constantly talking down
23:38to them, it's not going to end well.
23:41The Holy Ghost that you have and you
23:43prayed with them until they turned 18 is
23:46still there. It didn't expire.
23:48Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So continue to
23:52pray. Continue to pray.
23:54Gideon's father, Joash, if you read
23:56again in the scripture
23:58Gideon's first task was to tear down the
24:02altars of Baal and Joash, his father,
24:05supported him. Didn't tell him he was
24:08crazy cuz of course that was unusual an
24:10unusual thing to do at that time. But
24:13Joash supported his son Baal. And so I'm
24:18just going to invite all of us, parents,
24:21aunties, uncles, children of God
24:24let us remember our identity.
24:28Parents, keep praying for your children.
24:30It works.
24:31It works. I'm telling you it works.
24:35And the God that you serve, he sees and
24:38he understands. He hears every prayer
24:41that you lift up to God. Hallelujah.
24:44And so I just encourage us all today to
24:47remain in Jesus Christ.
24:50Remain in the one who created us and
24:53shaped us for his purpose. I'm going to
24:56ask the praise team to come and I'm
24:58going to ask all of you to stand.
25:00And we just want to have a time of
25:02prayer that we could just seek the Lord
25:05that we are reminded of our identity in
25:08him.
25:10Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
25:13Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.
25:16Glory to God. Glory to God. Pastor
25:19Chris, if you will come and the praise
25:21team will come.
25:23And as we [music] continue to pray to
25:24the Lord that we will escape this
25:27identity crisis that we're in
25:30that we'll be reminded by the word of
25:32God that our identity is sealed in Jesus
25:37Christ. Amen.
25:51Praise the Lord, everybody.
25:53The mothers and fathers, uncles,
25:56nephews,
25:58everyone is connected to someone. Can we
26:00close our eyes this morning and just
26:01lift our hands? I think after that
26:03sermon we all need to recognize that
26:06we're in a battle.
26:08We're in a battle for our children.
26:11We're in a battle for our loved ones.
26:13This is the last and closing days.
26:16It is the last and closing days.
26:19I can't think of a
26:21message more
26:23meaningful for the time and season that
26:25we're in right now. So if you would
26:26close your eyes this morning and just
26:28think about that loved one. I know you
26:29have them. I have them. You have them.
26:31Everybody has them.
26:33That's on the fringes.
26:35That's confused.
26:38Mhm.
26:43Uh
26:44speak to us, Lord.
26:48Speak to us this morning, God.
26:51Speak to us this morning, Lord. Remind
26:53us Lord
26:54of who we are
26:56and what you called us to do.