Untitled Sermon

My identity is found in Christ

identity is what makes you, you.

Who am I?

Illustration:

In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favourite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in his honour. Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, "We don't expect a major address. Just come and let us honour you." So he agreed...

After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said, "I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honoured by Time magazine as the Man of the Century... Einstein was once travelling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets.

It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it, he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn't find it. The conductor said, "Dr. Einstein, I know who you are... We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it."

Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. The conductor rushed back and said, "Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are, No problem... You don't need a ticket... I'm sure you bought one..."

Einstein looked at him and said, "Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going.''

I know who i am and I know where i am going.

everyone say that question with me who am I?

that question is huge

and is not easy to answer. Many things make up who we are. You may be a student, an athlete, or a musician.

Perhaps you see yourself as attractive,skinny or funny.

- my identity--affects my thoughts and actions.

> What three words would others use to identify you?

The biggest factor affecting our identity is our view of God.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?"

This is the most important question followers of Jesus will ever consider.

Knowing who Jesus truly is changes our lives, including our values and behaviors, and it ultimately changes the way we see others and ourselves.

Who is this Jesus to You?

Hes a prophet.

Hes a good spiritual influence that died years ago.

He was a man of many morals.

He was a vert intellectual man.

Hes my Savior.

He my Lord.

If He is Really Lord of Your life, why don't you look like Him.

How we see Jesus shapes how we define ourselves.

Without correctly understanding who Jesus is, we will never truly understand who we are.

Consider, then, life's most important: who is Jesus?

Mans life unto death:

Good person

doesn't know Jesus.

For a year and a half, the disciples followed Jesus and heard Him teach with authority like no one had ever heard.

They saw Him cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, feed thousands with one boy's small lunch, and a host of other miracles.

They even heard Him say to a paralyzed man, "Your sins are forgiven.' They believed Jesus was a great teacher, but they had trouble wrapping their minds around the full extent of Jesus' identity. Then Jesus asked them,

"Who do you say I am?"

The climate during this time was one of deep spiritual and moral confusion. Among the thousands of people coming out to see Jesus' miracles, there were a lot of opinions about who He was. Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do the crowds say I am?"

Despite the varying views, they all held one thing in common: Jesus was a very important man.

Many people today believe Jesus was an important historical figure.

For instance, your Muslim neighbor would likely see Jesus as a prophet.

To your Buddhist friend, He was an enlightened teacher.

Even atheists often believe Jesus' teachings have good moral value.

But what others say isn't nearly as important as how you answer the question, "Who do you say I am?"

Peter answered boldly and emphatically that Jesus is God's Messiah.

For Peter to understand his own purpose and identity, he first had to clearly know who Jesus is. And the same is true for us today.

As we seek to know our own identity, it's necessary that we answer the same question. Answer honestly: who is Jesus to you?

The Jews were expecting a political and military leader to deliver them from Roman oppression. A revolutionary leader and His followers should expect certain risks, even death.

they expected Jesus would die but they didnt know it would really happen.The disciples were likely crushed when Jesus told them He would indeed die.

However, Jesus then shared an even greater truth.

He would rise in victory over death.

As hard as it was for the disciples to hear of their Teacher's death, it was about to get worse.

Jesus told them, not only will I die, but anyone who desires to be My follower must die as well.

We live in a world that teaches every person to serve him or herself first.

What ways do you see this is true today?

However Jesus teaches that his followers must be different from the world. we are not to serve ourselves but rather deny ourselves.

Jesus ultimately demonstrated this by dying for those God would save and in order to follow Jesus we must be willing to follow him to death.

We can choose to be full of ourselves and die, or we can choose to die to ourselves and be full of Him.

This is the only way to have the full and abundant life

He provides.

who you are needs to Found in Christ? everything about you needs to be about Him.

we must decrease, he must increase.

Luke 9:23 is one of the most important verses for any follower of Jesus. We will never understand who we are, and truly identify with Jesus, until we understand what this verse means for our lives. When we experience this reality, we can't help but share Jesus, and our identity in Him, with others.

DL: Lets people know how old i am? and what I look like. But if someone steals my identity. I am mistaken for someone I am not. Sin has stolen your identity you are a slave to it.

The Gospel.

In Christ your sin are forgiven and in Christ you have purpose, he gives you a new identity he gives you a life Change, because you matter and are loved and designed for a purpose in the eyes of God

who are you? because at the center of what makes you you better be Jesus. that is must to be true Christ follower. and that is a must for a child of God. If you are an believer your identity is found in anything els but Christ. Change your mind tonight and make everything in your life about Christ and place your identity in him.