7-21-13 Sermon

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LEARNING MY TRUE IDENTITY IN CHRIST

Creating a Positive ID – Part 5

07-21-13 Sermon

1 Peter 2:9-10

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”                 

GOD’S VIEW OF ME: In Christ...

1.             I AM_____________________________________________________

            “You have been CHOSEN by God himself!”  1 Pet. 2:9 (LB)

·      BECAUSE________________________________________________

“He chose us in him before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in his sight by his love.” Eph. 1:4

·      BECAUSE________________________________________________

       “Jesus treated us much better than we deserve. He made us acceptable to God and gave us the hope of eternal life.”  Titus 3:7 (CEV)

             

2.  I AM            ______________________________________________________

            “You are a HOLY nation, a people BELONGING to God!” 1 Peter 2:9

“You are a people holy to the Lord your God... his treasured possession.”  Deut. 7:6 (NIV)

“God says, ‘You are precious to me.’”  Isa. 43:4 (TEV)

·      BECAUSE________________________________________________

            “Look at the birds... God feeds them and you are far more valuable to Him than any birds!”              Luke 12:24 (NLT)

·      BECAUSE________________________________________________

            "You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him..."    1 Cor. 7:23 (LB)

3.  I AM             ______________________________________________________

            “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God.”              1 Peter 2:10                                   

      "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.”  Jeremiah 31:3 (NLT)

·      BECAUSE________________________________________________

            “God’s love is eternal and his faithfulness lasts forever.”            Psalm 100:5 (TEV)

4. I AM            ______________________________________________________

            “At one time you did not know God's mercy, but now you have received his mercy.”                                    1 Peter 2:10 (TEV)

            “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”            Rom. 8:1

·      BECAUSE________________________________________________

“I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of who I am. I will not hold your sins against you.” Isa. 43:25 (TEV)

·      BECAUSE________________________________________________

       “For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God!”   Eph. 1:7 (TEV)

5. I AM             ______________________________________________________

       “You are royal priests ... chosen to tell about the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  1 Peter 2:9 (NCV)

“The capacity we have comes from God; it is he who made us capable of serving the new covenant…”       2 Cor. 3:5-6 (TEV)

·      BECAUSE________________________________________________

“I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.”  Phil. 4:13

How should my identity affect how I act?

Rom. 15:7, 1 Pet. 2:17, Col. 3:12, Eph. 4:32, Heb. 13:6

LEARNING MY TRUE IDENTITY IN CHRIST

Creating a Positive ID – Part 5

07-21-13 Sermon

We’re continuing in this series we’ve been doing this summer on Creating a Positive ID. 

Satan is trying to keep you from knowing your true identity?  How does Satan do this?  He uses a lot of different tools.  One of the tools he uses is the opinions of other people.  Satan uses hurt and he uses pain in your life to deceive you and to disguise your true identity.  Satan uses the media.  He uses culture.  Satan puts thoughts in your mind. 

If all these tools are being used against me to conceal who God really made me to be –– how do I know the real me?  How do I know the true me, who God made me to be? 

We can go back to the famous seventeenth century philosopher, Blasé Pascal.  Pascal said this: “Not only do we know God through Jesus Christ, but we only know ourselves through Jesus Christ.  We only know life and death through Jesus Christ.  Apart from Jesus we cannot know the meaning of our life, the meaning of our death, the meaning of God, or the meaning of ourselves.  It is only in Christ.”

This phrase “in Christ” is used about a hundred forty times in the Bible.  We are said to be in Christ.  It’s the most used term to describe a disciple, a believer, somebody in the family of God.  The word “Christian” is only used a couple times in the Bible.  Instead of the word Christian the Bible says you are in Christ. 

And about thirty-five of those times in the Bible God says, Because you’re in Christ, here is your true identity, here’s who you were made to be.  Here’s the real you.  Today what we’re going to do is we’re going to look at the five finger prints of your true identity. 

1 Peter 2:9-10 says this “You are [he’s talking about your identity] a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  Once you were not a people, [in other words you had no identity] but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”                          

I want you to circle five of the identity marks of your life when you are in Christ.  First, you’re chosen.  Circle that.  You’re a chosen people.  Two, You’re a royal priesthood.  Circle that.  Three, You’re holy.  You’re a holy nation.  Circle the word “holy”.  You are a people belonging to God.  Circle that.  Later on in the verse he says it again.  You are the people of God.  Then finally, the fifth thing he says is, You have received mercy.

I want us to consider the deep meaning of each of these because they’re packed with significance on who God created you to be.

Here’s the first thing that’s true about you in Christ.

1.    I am completely accepted.

I am completely accepted.  This is vital to know in my life and your life because we all have wounds; we all have struggles in our life.  Some of the deepest wounds in our lives often come from rejection.  We’ve all been rejected – some of us more, some of us less – in our families, in our office situation, in a school situation, sometimes in the church.  You’ve been rejected by a friend; you’ve been rejected by somebody that you loved. 

That rejection causes a deep wound.  Out of that we try to solve that wound by finding acceptance in our lives.  We try to find acceptance from parents, we try to find it from friends, we try to find it from work.  But many times we base it on how well we’re doing rather than starting with what God has said about us. 

Being chosen, the flip side to that, is a good thing.  It makes you feel good when you’re chosen by somebody to love you, when you’re chosen for promotion at work.  When you’re chosen for some kind of a reward.  Or just chosen and somebody says, Atta boy!  Atta girl.  You can run a week or a month sometimes on that feeling of acceptance.

I’ve got some good news for you.  You don’t have to chase after this feeling of acceptance the rest of your life from other people and other things.  Because God gives it to you.  The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:9 “You have been chosen by God himself!”  That’s where you start.  That is the truth about you.  That is your identity.  In Christ this is the truth about you.  That’s your fingerprint.  You can count on the fact, I am chosen by God himself.

How do I know this?  If I don’t feel it, how am I going to be convinced on what I don’t feel?  Two things that will begin to let you know how deeply God has chosen you. 

·      One, because God chose me before everything. 

        

That’s why I’m completely acceptable.  Before everything God chose me.  Ephesians 1:4 says “He chose us in him before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in his sight by his love.”  

Just think about this with me for a minute. Just let this blow your mind for a just a minute. Before everything God chose you in Christ.  Before God chose to make the oceans, he chose you.  Before God chose to make this planet, he chose you.  Before God chose to make the solar system, he chose you.  Before God chose to allow the sun to burst into existence, he chose you.  Before God spread the galaxies of stars across this universe, he chose you.  Before all of it he decided, I’m going to choose to love you.  That’s how deep God’s acceptance is of you. 

There’s another way I can know. 

·      I can know also because Jesus has made me acceptable. 

Jesus made me acceptable.  Titus 3:7 “Jesus treated us much better than we deserve.  [He certainly treated me better than I deserve.]  He made us acceptable to God and he gave us the hope of eternal life.” 

You might circle in that verse the words “made us” and “gave us.”  That’s where acceptance comes from.  If you’re trying to get acceptance from God like you try to get it from everybody else by chasing after it, by trying to earn it, you’re never going to get there because it’s a gift and can only be received as a gift.  Jesus made us acceptable.  So stop trying to perform your way into acceptance by God because it’s not based on performance.  The acceptance that God gives, he gives it as a gift. 

And that’s where you start, that’s where your identity starts.  Realizing I am acceptable to God.  I’m completely accepted.  That’s the first fingerprint.  The second is…

2.    I’m extremely valuable. 

This is better even than even acceptance.  We all want to be accepted.  But we want more than acceptance.  We want to be valued.  So God says I don’t just accept you; I value you.  You’re not just completely accepted; you’re extremely valuable.  In fact, you are priceless.

Peter’s second description of your true identity is this.  He says “You are a holy nation and a people belonging to God!”  Circle “holy” and “belonging” because both of those words imply extreme value. 

You are holy.  What does “holy” mean?  It means you’re valuable.  When we talk about the Holy Bible, it’s extremely valuable.  When we talk about the Holy Land, the Holy City, the holy sepulcher, the Holy of Holies.  Anything that is holy is considered more than normal.  It’s unusual.  It’s extremely valuable.  And God says you… your true identity is you’re holy.  To God you are extremely valuable to God.  You’re not just acceptable; you are valuable.  And your value is to the extreme in that you are priceless. 

What is it that makes something valuable?  There are a couple of things.

The first thing that makes something valuable is who owns it.  Because things that are owned by famous people are more valuable than things that are not owned by famous people. 

So here’s the question: Who do you belong to?  Who’s your owner?  If God’s your owner you are extremely valuable.  I’m owned by the King of Kings.  I belong to the King of Kings.  I’m holy and I belong in the people of God.

Deuteronomy 7:6 says this, “You are a people holy to the Lord your God… [in other words very valuable, set apart to the Lord your God] his treasured possession.”

Did you know that when God looks at you he doesn’t go, “Oh no!  I created that person?  You’ve got to be kidding me!  What was I thinking when I made that one?”  No, when God looks at you he sees you as his treasured possession.  Nobody values you more than God.  Nobody.  The Bible says this in Isaiah 43:4. “God says, ‘You are precious to me.’”  Your parents may have never called you precious, but God does.  God says you are precious to him.  You are holy.  You are extremely valuable. 

Why am I extremely valuable?  There are two reasons.

·      The first reason is because God is my Father. 

And if God is my Father and I’m in his family then I own part of the family inheritance.  One day in heaven, he’s going to share all of his glory and all of the universe with me.  I didn’t say that; the Bible says it.  God is going to share everything he has with his children.  God wanted children.  And because I’m a child of God I’m extremely valuable.

Everybody’s created by God but not everybody’s a child of God.  Everybody’s created by God, everybody’s loved by God, but you’ve got to choose to be in God’s family.  And a lot of people choose not to be in God’s family, not to trust in his Son, the Savior Jesus, and not to believe in him.

And so, what he’s saying, when God is my Father, God says I’m going to take care of all your needs.  When my kids are little I take care of all of their needs.  They don’t have to worry about where the money is going to come from. 

The Bible says this in Luke 12:24.  Jesus says “Look at the birds…God feeds them and you are far more valuable to him than any birds!”  If anybody’s on God’s welfare role, its birds.  They don’t do a whole lot except chirp and poop.  God says I take care of the birds and you’re far more valuable. Underline “far more valuable” to me than any birds.  God is my Father.

·      The second reason why I’m extremely valuable is because Jesus gave his life for me. 

That shows my value.  Jesus gave his life for me.  A lot of people say, “I’m nothing, I’m worthless, I’m no good. ”  Jesus did not die for junk.  You’re not junk.  1 Corinthians 7:23, “You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him…”  He paid for you with his life’s blood.

What is it that determines something’s value?  First, who owns it.  The second thing that determines its value is, what is somebody willing to pay for it? 

How much is your home worth?  It’s worth whatever anybody’s willing to pay for it and not a penny more.  You might think your home is worth more.  But, your home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. 

If I hold up an old rookie Honus Wagner baseball card, one of the rarest baseball cards around, and say how much is this worth?  It’s worth whatever anybody’s willing to pay for it.  If I hold up a piece of art – how much is this worth?  It’s worth whatever somebody’s willing to pay for it.

How much are you worth?  Look at the cross.  This is how much you’re worth, how much God paid to save you.  Jesus, when he raises his hands out on the cross and he says, This is how much you’re worth.  This much.  I’d rather die than live without you.  I am willing to die and shed my blood for you.  That’s how much you’re worth.  

If you want to know how valuable you are, you look at the cross.  Those people who told you when you were growing up, “You’re not worth anything.  You’re not important.”  They were wrong.  They were wrong because you’re not only completely acceptable to God through Christ, but you are extremely valuable to God because of what Christ did for you.  The greatest ransom ever paid in the history of humanity was paid to ransom you by God when he gave his own Son, Jesus Christ, to die in your place for your sins so you don’t have to die in your place for your own sins.  Christ gave his life for you.

So I’m completely accepted but I’m also extremely valuable.

3.    The third fingerprint in your true identity is this: I’m eternally loved.

I’m completely accepted, I’m extremely valued, and I am eternally loved.

The third thing Peter says about your true identity is this, 1 Peter 2:10, “Once you were not a people but now you are the people of God.”  Once you didn’t have an identity, but now you’re the people of God.  This has profound implications.  Because God says now you’re in my family and I’m not ashamed of my family. 

In our human way we’re often ashamed of people in our families.  You know, those weird uncles or aunts or brothers or sisters or parents or kids.  Everyone seems to have some weird relatives.  

God is not ashamed of his family and he will never, never, never be ashamed of you.  Other people might be ashamed of you; God will never be ashamed of you.  Because he says, you are in my family.  And God wanted you in his family.  And he chose you to be in his family.

In fact the Bible says this, Hebrews 2:11, “Jesus and the ones he makes holy [that’s you, that’s me] have the same Father.  And that is why Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters.” 

Do you realize when you get to heaven Jesus is going to go, “Hey bro!  Hey sister!  How’s it going?”  That’s what the Bible says.  He is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters.  Did you realize that?  That’s the kind of love God has for you.  That’s the kind of love Jesus has for you.  He’s not ashamed to call you his brother and sister, to identify with you.

Jeremiah 31:3 says “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.  With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.”

There are two characteristics of God’s love that I want you to memorize.  Because if you forget these you’re going to let other people steal your identity.  If you don’t realize these, you’re going to be sucked off into performance mentality.  Two things about God’s love for you.  One, it’s unconditional.  And two, it is unending – it’s constant.  Unconditional and unending. The scripture says, “I have loved you… everlasting… and unfailing.” 

First, it’s unconditional.  That means not, I love you if you pray.  I love you if you do good.  Not, I love you if you please me.  Not I love you because you’re a nice person.  Not because you go to church.  Because you tithe. Because you help the poor.  Not because.  But I love you … period.  In fact, unconditional love is I love you in spite of you.

You know why we have a hard time with that?  Because you have rarely experienced unconditional love.  You may have experienced a few moments in your life of unconditional love.  But no human being loves unconditionally all the time.  Because we’re all broken.  So your parents didn’t always love you unconditionally.  There were conditions at times.  And you don’t love unconditionally all the time. 

Jesus says I love you, period.  I love you in spite of yourself.  I love you regardless of what you do for me.  I love you.  That’s real love.  That’s the kind of love God has for you.  It’s unconditional.

It’s not only unconditional, it’s unending.  It’s consistent.  God isn’t fickle.  God isn’t unpredictable. God doesn’t have bad hair days.  God isn’t moody. God doesn’t get up on the wrong side of the bed.

God says no, my love for you is consistent.  It is unending.  It is everlasting.  It is unfailing.  You never need to ask “Is God going to love me today?  Did I do enough?  Did I pray enough yesterday?  Did I tell somebody about Jesus?  Did I give a big enough gift?  Did I help somebody?  Did I hold my temper?  Did I stop cussing?”  You never have to say, “Is God going to love me today?”

You can’t make God stop loving you.  God’s never going to love you one ounce more than he does right now, no matter what you do.  God’s never going to love you one ounce less than he does right now, no matter what you do.  Because God’s love is not based on you; it’s based on him – who he is. 

Why am I eternally loved? 

·      Because God is love. 

The reason I’m eternally loved is because God is love.  It doesn’t say he has love – he is love.  It is his character.  The only reason love is in the universe is because the Creator of the universe is love.  You take God out of the picture, there is no love.  Because love is of God.  God is love.  So his character isn’t going to change.  So his love for you isn’t going to change.

Psalm 100:5 says this: “God’s love is eternal and his faithfulness lasts forever.”  You may be unfaithful to him.  He’s not going to be unfaithful to you.  Because God’s love is eternal and his faithfulness lasts forever. 

So I’m completely accepted.  And I am extremely valuable.  And I am eternally loved.  That’s my true identity.

There’s a fourth fingerprint.

4.    The fourth part of our identity in Christ is I am totally forgiven. 

1 Peter 2:10 says it this way, “At one time you did not know God’s mercy, but now you have received his mercy.”  God’s mercy has given us God’s forgiveness.  And God’s forgiveness is total.  Because God knows everything, it has to be total.  He can’t partially forgive.  He totally forgives. 

Think about what that means.  That means that God knows the worst thing you’ve ever done or ever will do.  And he’s decided in Christ to forgive you of that already.  You and I might be surprised at our sins sometimes.  God is never surprised. 

If God had a Twitter account, here’s one thing God would never tweet: “Oh my God!  That one shocked me.”  He would never tweet that.  Because he’s never surprised.  He knows in advance every bad thing I’m going to do and he’s still chosen to totally forgive me.  That means the good news is, in Christ when God forgives, he doesn’t partially forgive; he totally forgives.  Your sins are totally wiped out. 

We have a hard time getting this because we don’t do this.  Even though those of us who are sort of good at forgiving, we don’t really forgive, we just sort of reserve judgment to a later date.  When we say we forgive, we actually take that wrong thing that they did, and we put it in a little box, put a top on the box and write, “To be pulled out in case of further sin.”  We put it in the closet.  And if they do something else, we pull the box out and take the top off it and say, “What about this?”  We still remember it.

That’s not how God forgives.  When God forgives he erases it.  He wipes it out.  He destroys it.  All the penalty, all the punishment is totally gone – forever gone.  He totally forgives us.

Romans 8:1, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  The Bible says there is no condemnation when you are in Christ Jesus.  God doesn’t carry grudges.  God doesn’t rehearse your sins over and over in his mind.  God releases it.  He forgives it.  That’s what a loving God he is. 

How do I know I’m totally forgiven?  Two reasons.

·      One, because He is a forgiving God. 

It is in his nature to forgive. Isaiah 43:25 says “I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of who I am.  I will not hold your sins against you.” It’s just in God’s nature.  It’s who he is.  He is a forgiver.

·      Then the second reason I can know I’m totally forgiven is because Jesus paid for my sins. 

Jesus paid for my sins.  It keeps going back to what Jesus did on the cross.  Because when you look at the cross and what Jesus did on the cross, you see your identity.  You see that you’re loved.  You see that you’re accepted.  You see that you’re forgiven. 

The Bible says in Ephesians 1:7, “For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God!”  I’m forgiven not based on my performance or what I’ve done.  I’m forgiven based on the great grace of God.

So this is your true identity:  You are acceptable, you are lovable, you are valuable, you are forgivable.  There’s one other.

5.    I am fully capable. 

This is the fifth id marker in Christ 1 Peter 2:9, “You are royal priests… chosen to tell about the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 

You are a priest.  You say.  Me?  Yeah, you.  You are a priest.  If you’re a Christian, if you’re a child of God, if you’re born again, if you’re in the family of God, you’re also a priest.  I bet you didn’t know that.  You are a priest. 

What’s a priest do?  A priest does two things. He represents man to God and he represents God to man.  And God says you are capable, you’re fully capable of doing that.  Which is why you don’t have to go to a priest to confess, because you are one.  You don’t have to go to a priest to get forgiveness because you are one.  You are a priest.  The way we say it here is, every member is a minister.  Every member is a servant.  Every member is called by God.  Every member is a priest.  Every member has a ministry. 

What are you supposed to do as a priest?  Acts 26:18 “You are to open their eyes [he’s talking about your friends, your neighbors, your relatives, the people you work with] and turn them from darkness to the light, from the power of Satan to God, so that through their faith in me [Jesus] they will have their sins forgiven and also, like you, receive their place among God’s chosen people.” 

That’s the role of a priest.  And God says that’s your job.  You’re to tell other people about how much God loves them.  You’re to tell other people that they are accepted.  They are forgiven.  They are loved.  They are valuable.  They are capable.  In Christ these things happen to you.  Your identity is this.  That’s part of your job as a priest.

You are a priest where you work.  You are the local priest at that school.  You are the local priest at that job.  You are the local priest at that restaurant.  You are it.  You represent God to everybody around you.  If you’re a child of God, you’re a priest.  And God says you are fully qualified.  You are fully capable.  You are competent.  God says I’ve made you competent to handle anything they throw at you.

A lot of times we don’t feel that way.  We don’t feel very competent.  We don’t often feel very capable.  We often feel overwhelmed by life.  “I can’t get it all done.  I can’t handle the pressure.  I’m under a load.  I’m not competent.  I can’t hold up.”

Who are you going to believe?  Yourself or what God says about you.  Feelings lie.  God says you are fully capable to handle anything that comes at you in life.  And you are fully capable to share the good news with other people.  You say “I can’t do that!”  No you can’t.  Not on your own.  But you’re not supposed to do it on your own.   You’re supposed to do it in the power of God.  And when you’re in Christ he gives you power to do things you never could do on your own. 

2 Corinthians 3:5-6.  “The capacity we have comes from God; it is he who made us capable of serving the new covenant.”    He’s made you capable of serving.   You have something to offer.  God has a mission, a purpose, a life plan for your life that he wants you to fulfill.   He’s made us capable of serving. 

Why are we not feeling capable, confident, able to take on life?  Why do we not feel confident?  Because we play the old tapes.  And we listen to what our parents said.  And we listen to what our peers said.  And we listen to what society says and we listen to what media says.  And we listen to what Satan says.  And we listen to what we tell ourselves. 

The only person we don’t believe is God.  And God says you’re acceptable, forgivable, lovable, capable.  You are competent.  You are fully capable to do what I want you to do with your life.  Why?

·      Because Christ lives in me.

Because of the promise of Philippians 4:13.  I can do most things through Christ who gives me strength.  It doesn’t say that.  I can do the easy things…  No.  It says “I can do everything… [circle “everything”]  I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.”  I can… I can do...  I can do everything...  I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.

So think of the thing you’re most afraid to do.  God says you can do that.  You’re fully capable of doing it in Christ.  You think, I could never do that!  Are you going to believe your fears or believe what God says?  I could never do that!  Are you going to believe what you think you know or are you going to believe what God says?  Think of your greatest fear.  You could do that.  Think of the most difficult thing you think you’d ever have to do in life.  I’d have to forgive that person.  I’d have to offer forgiveness.  I’d have to ask for forgiveness.  I could never do that.  Then you’re calling God a liar.  Because God says I can do all things through Christ.  Whatever God allows in my life, whatever the world throws at me, I am fully competent.  Fully capable.  I have full capacity to handle whatever life throws at me because I’m in Christ. “ I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

Here’s your homework this week:  Start telling yourselves these truths over and over and over.  I’m acceptable, valuable, lovable, forgivable, capable.  This is your true identity.

Friend, you are not what your parents said you were.  You are not what other people, friends or enemies, said you were.  You are not what the media and culture says you are.  You are not what Satan says you are.  You’re not even what you tell yourself you are.  That’s a false identity.

You need to get back to your true identity.  Your true identity has been stolen.  And you need to get it back.

Prayer:

      Pray in your own heart,  Dear God, help me to see myself the way you see me.  Thank you for loving me completely, forgiving me totally, for valuing me, accepting me, and making me capable.  Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to die for me so I could be forgiven, and I could know how much I matter to you.  Jesus, today I accept your love and forgiveness.  I want to learn to trust you and follow you.  Help me to care more about what you think of me than what other people think of me.  May the truth set me free and restore my true identity. 

      Because of you, Jesus, I am completely accepted.  I am extremely valuable.  I am eternally loved.  I am completely forgiven.  I am fully capable for whatever life throws at me.  I have this because of you Jesus.  In your name I pray.  Amen.