During this time of praise, the servant of God, Merveille Yoka, invites us to enter the “month of identity.” She reminds us that our true identity is not forged in blood, flesh, or family customs, but in the plan that God inscribed within us even from the womb. Through the stories of Jacob, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel, she shows how inner struggles, the desire for approval, and human practices can distort our divine calling, while the Lord’s grace and favor call us to embrace our new spiritual identity in Christ — an identity that lifts us from a mere existence to the mission of bringing nations to Christ and manifesting the power of the Kingdom. This message urges us today to recognize the battle for our identity, to cast off the chains of the past, and to walk by faith toward the promise of a transformed and victorious life in Jesus.
The core of the message centers on the distinction between two types of identity. "Natural identity" is described as the product of flesh, blood, family traditions, physical appearance, and social customs; it limits the believer and often leads to frustration (e.g., comparing oneself to one’s brothers, feeling inferior because of age or status). In contrast, “spiritual identity” is what God bestows upon every child of God when they accept Christ: a new status as an heir, as the bearer of a nation, and as an instrument destined to fulfill God’s promises. The servant of God emphasizes that the enemy, even from the womb, seeks to corrupt this spiritual identity in order to limit the potential that God has planted within us.
Jacob is portrayed as the model of someone who, despite numerous deceptions, inner struggles, and family mistakes, ultimately embraces his calling fully. From the moment of his birth, God declared that his descendants would become a nation. The sermon describes several stages: consulting with Rebecca while still in the womb, sibling rivalries, the schemes involving Laban, the theft of idols, the lies, and finally, the realization of his faults (Jacob sends messengers to Esau, shows humility, and pays his debts). At each stage, he renounces idols, buries the foreign gods (Genesis 35), and accepts the covenant of grace. This process shows that spiritual victory comes from repentance—from replacing one’s natural identity with the one God has intended.
Rachel represents the other side of the coin: even though she possesses beauty, privilege, and Jacob’s affection, she remains a prisoner of her natural identity. She becomes jealous and envious of her sister Leah when she is unable to conceive, resorts to cunning tactics (stealing idols, manipulating the servant), and persists in seeking human solutions rather than divine ones. Her barrenness, her stubbornness, and her painful death illustrate the spiritual cost of resisting the identity that God offers. The handmaid of God emphasizes that her failure is not due to beauty or material gifts, but to her refusal to align her heart with the divine vision, which results in a monument symbolizing an incomplete legacy.
The sermon concludes with a concrete call to action: to pray, to fast, to confess past sins, to reject practices and customs that contradict the Word, and to rely each day on the “new birth” in Christ. The handmaid of God reminds us that God’s promises will be fulfilled only if we cast aside our fleshly identity and fully embrace our spiritual identity. She encourages believers to remain “at Bethel” and “at Peniel ” (places of encounter with God) in order to be constantly nourished by the Spirit, to fight against the enemy’s influences, and to fulfill the destiny God has prepared. Thus, every member of the congregation is called to become a victor, to carry forward the nation that God has promised, and to influence the world for His glory.
