How to Upgrade Your Identity and Manifest Your Destiny

Lance: It’s time for my favorite program. This is the program we talk about you. And all the events that are going on in the world have are nothing different than the earth shaking events that took place in the first century, the second century. Christians have always been alive. And at the epicenter of historic upheavals. And we’ve been there during long periods of apparent dormancy where the kingdom of God built and built and built. We produced the reformation and the civilization of Europe that came to the United States that really shaped the whole globe in terms of industry and science and the rule of law and economics. And in so many ways Christianity has never been studied properly to see how it has been a driving force for the discipling of nations and the elevating of mankind. But I could prove to you with information, with data actually how it is the people of God responding to God that have literally lifted every nation up into the level of civilization that you see today. A civilization that is still fragile, because it can be taken over and dominated by ruthless power. 

Your job is to make sure that the devil is bound and that the kingdom goes on and you do that by fulfilling your own destiny. I was I’m on the show today. I’ve got Mercedes Sparks here. I’ve got Carl who with me and we’re working today with our Level 10 curriculum.

Carl: Yeah. There we are.

Lance: Focusing specifically on becoming unstoppable. This is we’re finishing up this one module out of our series and we’re going into the powerful part which is called the “I am statement”. Now why is the “I am statement” important Carl? Why is this necessary?

Carl: Well, you don’t know who you are. It’s difficult to know how you’re going to act in different circumstances. It’s difficult to know what you stand for. It’s difficult to know what you’re going to fall for and if you don’t, what is it? What’s that saying? If you don’t stand for anything, then you’ll fall for anything.

Lance: Don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.

Carl: That’s it. If you don’t stand for something, then you’ll fall for anything. So, knowing who you are in the grand scheme of your life has incredible impact on what you can do and where your limits lie.

Lance: Every now and then, Mercedes, I hear you bring up the term and I’ve heard it used before but I never heard it really defined you say that people can all suffer from an imposter syndrome. What is that?

Mercedes: So, imposter syndrome is like if you’re in a big board meeting and you have the resume. You have the experience but like you’re sitting there and you’re feeling like I am everyone else here so much smarter than me. I probably don’t actually know what I’m talking about but all these people do and so it can happen all the time. It can happen, I mean, I feel it from time to time when I sit in rooms with certain people or if I like get up to speak somewhere. I have this feeling of like, am I really as qualified as I think am. These other people are so much more smart. So, it’s a feeling of being an imposter and I want to say too. Let me just get this in really quick.

Carl’s so happy you’re back and I know you weren’t with us the other day on the podcast. You weren’t feeling well. You’re still getting over it and recovering. So, just prayers for Carl everyone. So, he continues in his recovery.

Carl: Prayers and tithes and offerings.

Mercedes: Okay.

Carl: All are accepted. Thank you.

Lance: Well and I’m glad you’re on today even if you’re not feeling well but that shoulder is that soldiering on as we say. It’s doing in the Super Bowl you see these guys all bandaged up and they’re bleeding and but they all want to be in the game. Because you get, life is a Super Bowl game. You only got so many innings, so many rounds so many opportunities to go play and even if you’re hurt you show up and play because you don’t want to miss the game and so glad, you’re doing this. The “I am statement” to me is what Jesus did. So, Jesus is the ultimate mentor in all of this. So, you go to page 51 of the manual on the, I am becoming unstoppable. Those of you that are giving me reports of how this is changing your life, I’m inspired by all of them. Our model of mastery, we have written here is Jesus and he was very clear on his identity and on his destiny.

Now, he is the ultimate “I am statement” guy. He’s the one who said, I am the good shepherd. I am the door. I am the way, the truth, the life. And so, if you’re going to be like Jesus, you need to have the father solidify in you, your role, your place, and your assignment. And the reason why the I am statement is important when it’s done properly, is it gives you a tool so that when the imposter shows up when self-doubt comes over you. When you start to feel like smaller than you really are. This is spiritual warfare folks. Remember Satan’s whole battle is over identity in the wilderness Jesus. Has God, if you are the son of God, then do this. If you are, then do that. It’s the whole deep psychological battle of if you are who you think you are, then there’s the pressure to have to perform in some way. But you see when you have an I am statement it clarifies that for you because it’s a prophetic statement. Highly prophetic. Meaning it speaks to your ultimate purpose, your ultimate identity and your ultimate.

So, I am the door or I am the shepherd or the good shepherd or I am the way, the truth, and the life or I am the bread of life, at every moment Jesus was articulating how he was uniquely assigned to meet the need for humanity. Every one of those has to do with the human interaction,and I am statement should imply who you are, what you do, and who you do it for. It’s not just about you. It’s about what God‘s doing through you and ironically, your gifts, talents, and abilities aren’t for you. They’re for someone else and so the ramp into every one of those moments is always something that’s taking place which the father has Jesus doing that ultimately the Lord wants people to see that it’s bigger than the provision of the food and it’s bigger than the solving of the problem. It’s the identity. Your heavenly identity is what I am statement is and Jesus was doing these things to reveal the identity. The question is, when you come to the crossroad of decision, do you have a statement you can default to that clarifies for you what you ought to do and that’s the power of an I am statement.

So, let me say it again. It’s not just a psychological tool when you’re not feeling clear about your identity. Well, I am with this. I am with that. It’s so that when you’re faced with the decision, should I do this or I do that. And you feel the anxiety, the uncertainty, or the confusion of which choice to make, the I am statement if you close your eyes and say it says, based on that, this is what that identity would do. The example I give which is very close to home is when my daughter was going to do a beauty pageant and she was not so sure she wanted to do it even though she was already had funding and it was a Miss Texas teen, Miss Texas USA or something. But she was feeling like she was getting negative feedback from her girlfriends like why would you do that, you’re going to go like. Because what walk strut around on a runway in a bikini, like why you even.

She had a lot of I guess a lot of Christian feminists I guess were giving her a problem. So, she came to meet with me and said that she was going to back out. Well, I’m her dad, so I said, well why you doing it and she gave me all the reasons why. Compelling reasons why she didn’t feel like it was something which she really felt she needed to do. I said, ‘Okay. I am make sense. What’s your I am statement by the way?’ I just asked her. What’s your I am statement? We just did it at a weekend retreat with a lot of young people. She said like, ‘I’m Joy Cristen Wallnau. I am a fearless something, something.’ And then she said, so I made up my mind. I said, ‘Okay. You’re not going to do it.’ She goes, ‘No. I made up my mind. I’m going to do it.’ I go, you have to have daughters to appreciate how confusing female logic is sometimes. She just convinced me why you had to convince me as to why she wasn’t going to do it. Then she said, ‘I’m going to do it.’ I go, ‘Why?’ She said, ‘I just decided.’ Then she gets up and walks away. I’m thinking, hook and found in the mind of a female. I came as my own daughter and I can’t figure it out. But then later on I reflected.

What did I ask her? For her, I am, evidently her I am statement said something and I think the one line that got me is fearless. And what she had done was she had challenged herself in the I am statement to meet the moment when she would back away from something because of uncertainty, anxiety, a reluctance, and not wanting to fail and then realize that’s fear and that you made a beautiful, courageous decision to push through. So, an “I am statement” should not only be made up of two accurate words or more that describe powerfully what your greatest real strengths are. Not ones you aspire to, but ones that are recognizable and then I always suggest we add a third component. I really got this studying the Clemmer process. A friend of mine, a Brian Clemmer who had an “I am statement” experience he did with programs and in that third element, you put in what is your greatest weakness. What is your greatest constraint? Because you’ll rise to the height of your dominant talent and anointing and you’ll be held at that level by the impact of your dominant constraint.

Smart people, don’t keep focusing on more prophecies or more anointing or more gifting. They focus on, because if your constraint is you quit too easily then no matter what your gifting is it checks out at the moment you meet opposition and you feel like quitting and choose to just go get another job, get out of the relationship, go to a different church, change your major. And with that your response then what you want to build in your “I am statement” is your strengths your strength and then the weakness you want to transform and you do that not by saying, and I am a formidable, a courageous leader and I quit a lot, so I’m not going to quit. You don’t say that. You say, and I am unstoppable.

That’s where this series came from. A number of people I was working with when we were doing this particular module were giving up. They were giving up on themselves. They were giving up on a job. They were giving up on a calling. They were giving up on an aspirin and I said, wait a second. You’re letting your circumstances dictate your destiny. Who did God called you to be? Unstoppable. And so, I put this in there, because it happens to be generationally with a lot of believers. In this decade, two things I’ve noticed, they can’t get clear and they quit too soon and so laser-like clarity became one of my favorite terms which I even used it in my own so that when I’m diffused ADD brain that I’ve got with all the information. You see my bookshelves, I got so many things I could get into, it’s easy for me to distract myself something interesting. So, I have to have laser-like focus and be unstoppable. Those are two constraints that I balance out with those two terms and I’m sharing with you why the terminology is so powerful. So, you build two strengths, one constraint flipped and make it an empowering word that challenges you to become something.

Mercedes: So, the formula is and maybe you could write, I don’t know if the iPad’s working if we could write it out but it starts with what? I am and then strength, strength, reworked weakness. We turn it into a strength like I am consistent. Is that correct?

Lance: So, if you go to page 51 & 52.

Mercedes: I know but for people on the podcast they may not have that.

Lance: And you might not have it. So, it would be for instance if to make it simple. Now sometimes you might have prophetic language. Remember this is an iron statement for you. We don’t actually ask people unless we’re in the program or doing training on a weekend. We don’t have you share it with others. It’s powerful when you can but a lot of times it’s very personal. So,for instance suppose there’s a prophetic word that has a great deal of meaning to you. But you’d have to it to someone else and it’s like supposed that like in my case. I remember I received a prophecy when I was young and it helped me to leave the business world and go into ministry and the word was you will be a flame of fire in my fields was a prophecy I got. And you will turn them to righteousness like a herald of God. So, for me, there are times when the I am statement might be the two strengths that I definitely got is persuasion and ideation. Ideation is a strength finder word for someone who can think in terms of concepts and communicate them effectively.

So, my name is Lance Wallnau, I am a man sent from sent by God. I am a passionate, powerful persuader. I am a strategic ideation machine sent from heaven as a flame of fire in God‘s field. I am unstoppable in my assignment. That would be a that would be an “I am statement”, and that statement alone may allow me for a period of time. You can always modify it, but then there’s been times when I needed to know that I am a flame of fire because I didn’t feel like one. And being in God‘s field is a flame of fire or a herald which means to proclaim something. There’retimes when I felt like that’s not what I really want to do. I don’t feel like getting beat up proclaiming stuff all the time. But when I go back to the statement it inspires me that that I’m persuader. I’m an ideation machine. I’ve got blueprints that actually can transform lives and organizations and nations. So therefore, that’s the “I am statement” that I’ve unpacked from time to time. Does that make sense?

Mercedes: It does, but I want to dissect it a bit. So, you said my name is Lance. So, somebody’s listening to it. My name is Susan and I am a woman sent by God. I heard you mention that. So, have we talked about that of why we add that in there?

Lance: Yeah. In the last broadcast, I had them do this. If you go back to a previous one. I remember being in a meeting where John the Baptist is speaking. There in in chapter 1 of actually the Gospel Saint John. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. That’s a statement in chapter one of John’s gospel. And there was a man sent from God and the preacher said you realize that every one of you is called as an ambassador of the kingdom. That every oneof you, the moment that you’re born again, you begin the journey being set part as a man or a woman of God and he said, practice it. “I want you all men to stand and say, I am a man sent from God. There was a man sent from God whose name was and say your name”. I remember doing it and thinking it feels so weird. It feels like an imposter. Like I’m sent by God, but that’s what the Bible says.

Then, the women all got up and did it and I could see they were having the same struggle but the more that they did it, there was a woman sent from God. Her name was Mercedes. There’s something about saying it until you can agree with it that really allows you to become it. So, my name is Lance. I am a man sent by God. I’m a flame of fire in God‘s field, a herald of divine blueprints that can change lives and nations. I am an unstoppable force. There was a time when that statement needed to be said by me, to me, many times in order to feel like I could go into boardrooms, into government agencies, into the United Nations, into colleges, that I was somebody. And thank God that there were there was also prophecy that I had other people had said it over me that didn’t even know me, which is even more interesting that it resonated.

This was actually that I’m a man that has blueprints. I’m a herald and I am an ambassador. I’m a flame of fire. Then I was thinking recently, Kim Clement had given words and said that you’ll be a spokesman for a move of God. He said this word over and over again. I thought I had to do with him because he was such an interesting prophet. I could see a movement kind of spawning out of that Elijah type anointing. I realized that now is when that word needs to go to reupdate my own “I am statement” that I am a flame of fire in God‘s field. I am a herald and a spokesman for the move of God because I think there’s a move of God that’s happening in this great awakening and it’s controversial because it’s political, it’s cultural, and it’s spiritual.

Mercedes: And so, how did people than Lance distilled down. So, you have the flame of fire. You’re a herald with divine blueprints and you’re an unstoppable force. So, the last line there is kind of like that inverse action. But how do people because I sit here and I think like well how would I know like what are the things I’m best at? Like what are the things that are the most important that I need to put in there? How do you refine it down? How do I start to figure that out?

Lance: Carl, when we have that in the manual…

Carl: Page 40.

Lance: Page 40. Alright. So, what and what is that talking about?

Carl: It’s regarding to developing your own personal passion list and how to create your first list. So, it starts with don’t include a goal. It doesn’t have to have some end result. It has to involve the activity. The lead measure as I’ve mentioned before that will impact the lag measure. Don’t include your favorite spiritual activities. We say that such as praying, worshiping, or being in the presence of God. Of course, these are important but they are the natural appetites that are universal to all believers who have tasted the powers of the age to come, and they are not measurable. Finally, don’t include values. Values are characteristics like generosity, devotion, purity, your passions are talents, skills, abilities, those things you would be using in pursuing even if you didn’t yet know God. And then finally, do start each item with a verb and make them measurable. Enough to be able to envision them. So, these are the four prompts that we give in writing.

Lance: And that’s designing your passion list, which in a sense is helpful in your “I am statement” in terms of what is it that you see yourself doing with the adjectives that describe you.To the question I think Mercedes is digging in on is page 27. Which is, if I don’t know what my core most dominant strengths are that God gave me then just take a look at these four boxes because we’ve got them listed so simple. If you, and we do this based on temperament. I’m a big believer in instrument-rated feedback because whether it’s a strength finder or Myers Briggs or an Enneagram or a disc profile. All of them are designed in order to they’re called four factor instruments for to a great degree. Because there’s like basically human beings are divided into certain categories of personality types or tendencies.

For instance, there’s the law in the curtain that is in the veil of the Holy of Holies. You have this beautiful image of a lion and oxen and eagle and a man. Lion, oxen, eagle, man. Why would Godhave those images in the most holy part of a temple that he constructed? And why in the world would the Bible say that that curtain corresponds to Jesus’ flesh? So that when Jesus cried out it is finished the curtain was torn and those four strange images that are on the curtain torn and the glory of God was suddenly released through the torn flesh of Jesus. What did Jesus have to do with a lion, a man, an ox, and an eagle? That’s his flesh.

Carl: Sounds like a Jewish joke.

Lance: I know. The rabbi, a priest, and a pastor going to a bar. But now but what does it have to do and here’s what it is. It represents four attributes of the divine nature in man that is revealed in being, flesh and blood. There’s the lion. The lion characteristics so they take authority, they show up and I think about this, could be you. How does this sound like you? Are you someone who takes authority, shows power, takes risk, gets results, a natural leader, inspires action, challenges the status quo? We gave you a list of characteristics. Choose if you can’t come up with others. Choose from that list of one or two to describe you. If you’re, the face of man is that creative, visionary, charismatic, articulate, encouraging, communicating, and bold. If that’s the characters of the face of man. The face of the oxen is the caring, nurturing, tactful, empathetic, sincere, stable, strong, consistent.

Those are the words of the oxen, and the eagle. Focused, accurate, precise, expert, genius capacity, excellence in execution. Mastery of the details. Those are the characteristics of the eagle in terms of those four tempers. The point is that if you can and everyone ought to be able to do this. You can go to your best friends and ask them, what are the two or three characteristics you think that I have is strengths that are unique consistently used by me all the time. And you’ll find out people will give you feedback that’ll resonate with this information I’m giving you now. Because what you’re doing is by temperament or design. And to Carl’s point you do these things before you’re a believer.

So, in a sense God wove them into you for his kingdom and if you sanctify yourself, they can be used for his kingdom. So, there it’s easy to find. Your two, we call it signature strengths. Two or more. Signature strength, but we say list two. List the two dominant ones that you don’t even doubt. And then you list the one that you want to develop.

Carl: And Mercedes seems like you had something to say sorry?

Mercedes: No, I just thought the advice of asking a really good friend is good, because I think I get too confused of like well what would I put? Like I think I start to overthink it and you’re like is it being a mom Is it you like you get it like spiritual about it? Is it a Christian? And so, it’s like what am I putting there? So, I think yeah, I think that’s great advice to ask somebody who knows you really well that loves you and say yeah, wow Carl I really see like you have a lot of discernment. I think you have discernment. I think you have great leadership. You know like I could just rattle them off for both of you. Probably easier than I don’t know. I mean maybe you both know yourselves really well. But I’m just saying. I think it’s easier for you to do that in other people sometimes and even for yourself.

Carl: Yeah, that was basically my comment question is like how significant and important is it to get outside feedback in regards to our own identity?

Mercedes: Yeah.

Lance: That’s a great question and the truth is that if your “I am statement” when you make it doesn’t sound like you to someone that knows you. Then then you might want to ask for some feedback.

Mercedes: And on that note let’s go to your major constraint. I was just saying.

Lance: Yeah right.

Mercedes: I don’t know if unstoppable’s it, Lance.

Lance: Yeah, yeah.

Mercedes: It’s kind of like a whirlwind.

Carl: Yeah. Let’s talk about focus. We’re having fun.

Mercedes: Just joking.

Lance: No, but it yeah but you make a good point. So, in the example that we have here. I mean I’ve even moved on from the example we published because one of my characteristics, I love change. So, I’ve changing these a lot. But the point is to be able to come up statement that captures who you are I am this and this. And then also I want to ask if you guys didn’t catch which is my name is Lance Wallnau, I’m a man sent from God, I am sent by God. I’m a flame of fire in God‘s field a herald of divine blueprints that can change lives and nations. I’m adding this to the material because I realize something that we design this, so that it’s who you are and what you do. But you should be also on page 52 we say and who do you do it for? Because Jesus said in his “I am statement”, I am not sent to any but the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Interesting statement.

Your “I am statement” should be so broad that it has nothing but ascending options. It should narrow you down. So, you want to ask yourself to who are you sent in this season? A very powerful Question for everyone because Paul said the doubtless, I am not an apostle to others yet I am to you. I am not sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So, you have to ask yourself who you sent to. And even in my sense I have broad categories, but I’m saying I carry blueprints that can change lives. That’s individual and nations that these ideas, the 7-Mountain’s ideas have gone around the world. These ideas can change nations and now I’m working with some people that are involved with governments in different countries. Well, how do these ideas work in nations? So, once again, a Flame of Firing Gods Fields, a Herald with Divine Blueprints with power to change lives and nations and in this assignment, I am unstoppable.

Carl: Still sounds pretty broad. It sounds empowering and powerful and you got some really good buzzwords in there but to me, it still sounds pretty broad.

Lance: Yeah, and it is a bit of a challenge here and I agree with you because I don’t want my students to do that.

Carl: Okay.

Lance: My challenge is because I have an international platform. I do meet with like I was just recently meeting with some fashion designers, wealthy business people in Portugal. They said,they want to start a third party politically and they want their country to be a sheep nation. I’ve got people in Brazil that work with the government. They want it to be a sheep. So, the sheep nation thing gets me into countries. But I would say, if I was to really bring this down to my own personal, “I am statement” for this season?

Carl: Yes sir.

Lance: I’m not a spokesman for a move of God in Portugal. I’m a spokesman for a move of Godin the United States where the church community is concerned and where American citizens are desiring to save their nation. So, I would probably make it more specific and say to the church in America. And to concern citizens that want to save their country. What? Mercedes rolling her eyes. You guys don’t see the eye roll I get what?

Mercedes: I’m not. I just shake my head like why?

Lance: Why? Why? Too broad still?

Mercedes: No, I think that actually you’re called to kings and political leaders and I think it’s too narrow, honestly. Because I think you’re apostolic in nature is the reality that God moves you to whatever mountain he’s operating in and whenever you’re in front of somebody, it’s like you’re called to prophesy to those people. I mean, you’ve you’re in front of presidents and kings a lot. Annabelle’s over there helping the homeless in Fort Worth. I mean, together you guys are an amazing beautiful picture of Jesus and how he really operated to the earth. So, I don’t know. That’s why I’m not, I was just thinking through it. I’m very expressive when I think. I’m like, I don’t know, but I think you are the broad nature of what you wrote there is almost needed for the mantle and the calling on your life is what I was thinking. It’d be way different than like I think Carl and I.

Carl: Yeah. So, I guess if I could boil it down, it’s kind of like we’re saying that there really is no one size fits all. There’s a certain format and a formula that we encourage people to do but there is a, sorry?

Lance: Totally true.

Carl: I was totally not true, I was like.

Lance: Oh, okay, Lance. Let’s play. Lance came to play.

Carl: No, okay. Yeah, we have a formula that we encourage people to start with. But when you actually get the feedback from your friend group, when you have said your identity statement a handful of times, you’ll know what works for you and you’ll know what doesn’t just because of that internal gut check. So, just be encouraged in that when you’re going through this process.

Mercedes: Lance, I have a question because this is all really good. I’m wondering, are you able to just go ahead and take your superpowers of processing people and potentially do a, “I am statement” for me.

Lance: Okay, so you’re talking about doing I am statements live right now.

Mercedes: Yeah, like you would on stage. Like you would walk somebody through this.

Lance: Alright, okay. Well, this would require us to have focused energy on that segment. So, here’s what I’m going to recommend we do. Why don’t we end this segment here? We’ll pick up again the next one, because we got two broadcasts and we’ll focus in on you and anyone else and Carl, okay? And we’ll model for folks the kind of conversations you’re going to have with people at home. This is what you’re going to do with people. You’re going to say, hey, I’m interested in getting some feedback on what kind of signature strengths do I have that I use consistently and I’m looking for some feedback and just tell them you’re doing a coaching program.

Just say, hey, I’m part of a coaching program and I have to ask two important people in my life for feedback. Would you be willing to help? And then I just need feedback on two strengths you see me using consistently and how do you see me using them? Boom. You’re going to get a wealth of information. It’s like thousands of dollars’ worth of psychological data just from that conversation. But for you to be able to see the model of how we do it, I do live processing with PowerPoints and all kinds of stuff on video 7, I guess it’s track 7 rather in our series which is in becoming unstoppable.

This is one we have like four different modules. We’re going to be covering level ten. Get all four like some of my coach clients. I just get the whole thing and go through it or stick with the one we’re in right now. Becoming Unstoppable, go to “Level10Living.com”. “Level10Living.com”. You could see it right there on the screen. Thank you for bringing up that lower third. Use the code Podcast, I see and we’re giving like 20% off. So, if you go to “Level10Living.com”, use the code Podcast. You can get 20% off. That way, when we come back for the next episode, you’ll be able to go on page 56 or whatever it is and work with us as we go through the data. I look forward to seeing you. This is my favorite, most empowering show. I wish I could do this every because destiny is what life is all about. Talk to you again in a moment.

Closing: Thanks for listening to this Lance Wallnau broadcast. If you enjoyed today’s show, make sure to subscribe and share the episode. See you tomorrow.