You Are Not Your Own

Introduction

Welcome

Introduce myself

Recap

A couple of weeks ago we finished up a yearlong study through the Book of Ephesians

One of the key themes in Ephesians is our identity in Christ

Ephesians is 6 chapters long

The first half (3 chapters) is all about who we are in Christ

The second half (3 chapters) is all about how we are to live in light of this truth

The whole purpose of the book is to remind God’s people in Ephesus of their true identity

They lived in an idol-worshiping epicenter and they were reminded of who they really are and they are called to live in a subversive way of love and truth

Now ‘identity’ has become a buzzword

Its usage over and over in our daily lives has caused it to lose its meaning and significance

And so I hope you can bear with me

Not just assuming you know all about your identity in Christ

Or just turning your brain off because you’ve heard enough about identity in popular culture or media

You see, the world wants you to believe that your identity is essentially liquid

Its fluid and malleable, others may try to impose a shape upon us but we are fundamentally liquid

We may pour ourselves in different glasses and shapes to give it form but at the end of the day that shape is merely chosen or imposed on us

So modern people tend to obsessively try out many different cups and glasses to give form and meaning to our essentially fluid lives

So in the past my identity was in the glass of ‘high school student’ and ‘water polo player’ but as those things passed, I filled a new identity ‘college student’, ‘video game player’ etc. but as time passes and I graduated from college and had less and less time to play games, those identities faded away into the past as well

Now my identity is ‘pastor’ one day it will hopefully be ‘father’

Some of these identities last longer that others

Others can be excluded because of social norms

But we are essentially taught that we can become anything we want to be

Find the right cups that fit you and that is who you are

Now many of us see Christianity in the same light

It is simply a new glass for us to fill

A new tag describing who we are

A new way to express ourselves to others

It might be more important than other identities but in the end it is just a tag we wear

But morality, community, and worldview are not identity

They can contribute to identity but they are not our identity

Identity is personhood, it requires a name and a face

When I look you in the eyes and address you, I am not addressing your morality, community, sexuality, worldview, likes and dislikes, or even the sum of all of those things, I am talking to you.

Its not something liquid meant to be changed and formed and reformed

Identity is something deeper than what our hobbies are, what we do for a living, and our political worldview

So the deep question is posed...

Who am I?

If you’ve lived life long enough sometimes you can think of yourself in the past and it feels like a completely different person

And if we extrapolate that to the future, I know I’ll feel the same way about myself now

Not just self-discovery in this moment, but who am I?

The lasting person that was born 26 years ago and will hopefully continue living for decades to come?

Tonight I want to pose a different question,

One that may be scary but can also provided the greatest amount of comfort

The question is not “Who am I?”

But “To whom do I belong?”

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul answers this question emphatically:

Scripture Reading

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (CSB)

Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

Pray

Now this should not be new to us, but we belong to God

We find this all over the Bible:

We are his creation

We are his people

We are his kingdom

We are his sheep

We are his bride

In many ways, we belong to God

Heidelberg Intro

What is a Catechism?

Commissioned in the 1500s

The first question of the Catechism:

The Heidelberg Catechism, in German, Latin and English: With an Historical Introduction: English (The Heidelberg Catechism)

QUESTION: What is thy only comfort in life and in death?

The Heidelberg Catechism, in German, Latin and English: With an Historical Introduction: English (The Heidelberg Catechism)

ANSWER: That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the Devil;

and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must work together for my salvation.

Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.

Tonight I want to share three important truths about us, and its implications in our lives

You are not your own

You belong to Christ

Why this is our only comfort in Life and Death

You Are Not Your Own

I don’t know how this phrase sits with you, but at the very least it something we gloss over but if we seriously consider it we may find it to be a discomforting truth: “You are not your own”

This truth fundamentally goes against the world we live in today

In every way, the world continues to tell us that we belong to ourselves and we are responsible for ourselves

I want to take time to expose this lie so that we might see and accept the truth

This is one of the unquestioned, bedrocks of today’s day and age

You belong to yourself and you are responsible for providing meaning and purpose to your life

And we’ve all heard it: “Follow your dreams/heart, Forge your own path, Find your true self, etc.”

And although as Christians we may laugh at and reject those sayings, we just as easily fall victim to these ideas

This is the culture we live in, and we can very easily be unaware of it

In 2005, David Foster Wallace addressed the graduating class at Kenyon College with a speech

There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, “What the hell is water?”

We feel this weight of this responsibility whether we like it or not:

My life must amount to something

I need to make a difference in this world

I have an obligation to my family have a successful career

Or even: I have to do great things for God, bring revival, save my family, etc. and this is my burden

And when these things don’t work out we find ourselves overwhelmed and broken

And this overwhelming weight is the result of the world we live in

We are taught that we are our own

That we ultimately belong to ourselves

We have to craft our own identity

You have all of the tools for success

If you are driven, and make the right decisions, you will find success and meaning

If you lack motivation, and make wrong decisions you will live a life of failure and lack of purpose

And when we accept this (which we all do), we find ourselves in the constant cycle of self-justification

We work tirelessly on crafting our own identity

Oh you are a musician?

You need to commit time and practice to this

Oh you are an athlete?

You also need to commit your time and energy to this

Oh you are a parent?

You need to commit your time, energy, and resources to this too

Oh you are a Christian?

This is one more thing you need to commit your already limited time to...

And because this burden is placed on each of us as individuals

We find ourselves in constant competition

And the truth is, in this globalized world, there is always someone who is better than you

We aren’t just competing with people in small communities, there are millions of other people we are in contact with

Which can lead us to two different outcomes

We either continue to try harder which results in pride

Or to succumb to defeat and resignation

Again, think of the professional athlete or musician:

Behind every professional athlete or musician there are hundreds if not thousands of people who were on the same path yet gave up because of the demands

And there are hundreds if not thousands who are ‘on the grind’ to reach their heights

And the people who have made it, say that it doesn’t amount to anything

Jim Carrey

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.”

And the problem we find ourselves in is that we simply aren’t good enough

There is always someone better than us at what we love to do

And even if you make it to the top - you find out that it doesn’t amount to much in terms of finding meaning and significance in your life

John D. Rockefeller has a famous quote:

“How much money does it take to make a man happy? Just one more dollar.”

At the peak of this man’s wealth he had a net worth of about 1% of the US economy… ONE MAN

He owned 90% of the oil and gas industry

He makes people like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates look like they are poor

“Just one more dollar”

But for most of us, we either stick to it devoting our lives to it, or we give up and pick up something new that we can take a chance at

Borja: Alavez -> FIFA

Through all of this, our identity and purpose are on the line:

If I can’t find significance in what I can accomplish, then I am not important

So we find ourselves caught up in “Total Work” in the words of German philosopher Josef Pieper

When our entire lives must be made effective and we find no place for rest

With advances in technology, life should be easier, we should have more time to rest

The economist John Maynard Keynes once wrote an essay titled "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren." It was 1930. And in the essay, he made a startling prediction. Keynes figured that by the time his children had grown up, basically now, people might be working just 15 hours a week.

But unfortunately, we have taken those tools that make more time, to take more time to work, even more efficiently

Why I can learn a new language on Duolingo, while running on my treadmill without ever having to leave my home!

Because we believe that we belong to ourselves, the success or skills of our life directly correlate with our value as humans

Because so much is on the line, I don’t have time to rest.

I have to keep growing.

And that is the world that we live in

That is why people, despite more opportunities and availability for leisure, are more and more stressed and burnt out

That is why people, despite having seemingly infinite control over what they want to learn and grow in, are never satisfied with enough

That is why people unable to cope with this burden, self-medicate, and turn to anti-depressants, pornography, alcohol, binge-watching/consuming media, and other coping methods to just get by

And if you think that these are only problems ‘out there’ but not in the church

I’m sorry to tell you, that its simply not true

Zoochosis

We are not meant to carry the “burden of self-responsibility”

We, finite beings, cannot bear the weight of belonging to ourselves

You Belong To Christ

So if this is an infinite, unbearable, weight… How are we to survive?

The truth is… that is an unrealistic burden for any of us to carry

We simply can never find any lasting contentment if is up to ourselves

You can always do better, you can always accomplish more, there will always be someone better than you

Even if you are successful and the best, you will age

You will lose your strength, you will lose your wits, you will lose your beauty

Paul’s words point us in the right direction:

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (CSB)

Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price.

And Jesus has the same message:

Christ comes to free us from this crushing burden of self-fulfillment:

Matthew 11:28–30 (CSB)

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Christ promises us rest from all of this

And it isn’t that life is all sunshine and rainbows

We exchange the burden of self-fulfillment for the light burden of Christ

It seems like a paradox and doesn’t make much sense but Jesus is telling us that there is work to do (we are yoked to Jesus)

There is a urgency and importance to the work (there is a burden) but it is not the same work and burden of self-fulfillment

Its not the oppressive, never ending, unsatisfied burden of accomplishments and self-growth

We don’t need to spend every waking hour on self-development, learning and growing to put ourselves ahead of the competition

But we are instead called to dwell with Christ and pursue his kingdom and mission

This means that we can rest and be content in not optimizing our lives

That we can cease from doing and practice being with Jesus

Human doings vs Human beings

This tension between working and resting reminds me of an account in Luke’s gospel regarding two sisters, Martha and Mary:

Luke 10:38–42 (CSB)

While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.”

The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Points

At the end of the day, it not about what we can do for Jesus but are we faithful

Mary made the right choice, she sat by Jesus’ feet and listened to his words

She would be the one that later anoints Jesus with the alabaster jar of expensive perfume

So when we free ourselves of this burden, it is a breath of fresh air

Like we started with: This is the truth of your identity

This isn’t just a tag or label

You belong to Jesus

Meaning you don’t have to be successful

You don’t have to go to the best school

You don’t even have to use your degree

My story

You don’t have to compete with others

Because your value is not found in the fact that you are useful

Its not found in the many talents you’ve honed

Its not found in your physical shape and athleticism

Your value is found in Christ

So much so that he paid the ultimate price for me and you

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (CSB)

Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

And belonging to someone can seem scary or discomforting

It raises thoughts of slavery and abuse

People generally are out for their own good and use others as tools to achieve their own advantage

But imagine belonging to someone who has nothing but good will towards you

Someone who wants whats best for you

Someone who knows whats best for you

Someone who doesn’t take your belonging as something to be manipulated and exploited

But someone who sees it as an opportunity to deeply comfort you

authority and care

So we can trust that God is really wanting the best for us

That even though I want to sin, I don’t belong to myself

Jesus is calling me not to, not because he calls the shots and says so

But because it is what is best for me

Parents

I can better obey God and say no to sin when I understand that I am not my own but I belong to Christ

So back to the Catechism:

The Heidelberg Catechism, in German, Latin and English: With an Historical Introduction: English (The Heidelberg Catechism)

QUESTION: What is thy only comfort in life and in death?

The Heidelberg Catechism, in German, Latin and English: With an Historical Introduction: English (The Heidelberg Catechism)

ANSWER: That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the Devil;

and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must work together for my salvation.

Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.

The Deepest Comfort

Recognizing that we are not our own but belong to Christ truly is our only comfort in both life and death

More than anything tonight I want all of you to realize and accept this truth

And it is not easy to accept because we face everyday cultural pressures from institutions to our loved ones that try to make us think we are what we accomplish

We can walk out of here today encouraged but the reality is, this is the way the world is set up

From institutions, to values, to entertainment, to our friends and families…

These things won’t change overnight, we will most likely come back around and place this burden of self-belonging and self-worth back on our own shoulders at some point

But the goal is to surrender it each time back to Jesus

So if you are feeling discomforted, anxious, fearful, angry, dejected, rejected, etc.

This is for you

The Greatest Comfort In Life:

Confidence and Humility:

Confidence

As followers of Jesus, knowing we belong to Jesus, we can walk forward in life with a deep confidence

Now this isn’t a confidence rooted in our skill or ability but in our God’s care over us

This is a confidence that God is in control

Psalm 91 (CSB)

The one who lives under the protection of the Most High

dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say concerning the Lord, who is my refuge and my fortress,

my God in whom I trust:

He himself will rescue you from the bird trap,

from the destructive plague.

He will cover you with his feathers;

you will take refuge under his wings.

His faithfulness will be a protective shield.

You will not fear the terror of the night,

the arrow that flies by day,

the plague that stalks in darkness,

or the pestilence that ravages at noon.

Though a thousand fall at your side

and ten thousand at your right hand,

the pestilence will not reach you.

...

Because he has his heart set on me,

I will deliver him;

I will protect him because he knows my name.

When he calls out to me, I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble.

I will rescue him and give him honor.

I will satisfy him with a long life

and show him my salvation.

Psalms:

16, 23, 34, 46, 121, so many more!

Confidence

There is nothing we can enter into that God has not already prepared in advance

Whatever hardship you are going through now, God is with you, God sees you, God hears you, God will see you through

Philippians 1:6 (CSB)

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

2. Humility

These same truths simultaneously instill a deep humility in us

Its not by my own works or efforts that my life will work out in the end

Its not because my own problems solving skills keep me safe

But that it was never you to begin with

Ephesians 2:10 CSB

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

This is something foreign to this world

There is no other place you can have true confidence and humility

If you are ‘self-made’ you have every right to be confident in your successes

In Christ we have a deep comfort in life:

We can move throughout life with both confidence and humility

We can be sure of our security while not carrying the weight of making everything okay

Many things about tomorrow,

I don’t seem to understand.

But I know who holds tomorrow,

And I know who holds my hand.

But belonging to Christ does not only instill confidence in the life we daily live

But it grants us a supernatural comfort in the face of the greatest enemy of humanity: Death

In fact death is the cause of much of the anxiety and stress we face today

If there is no resurrection, then this is the only life we have to live

We only have so much time to enjoy life, make an impact, and be successful

We must optimize our time because its running out!

Not only will we die but we grow older, weaker, more dull

Belonging to Christ in both life and death provides the greatest comfort:

Death is not the end, it is just the beginning

The Last Battle

And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at least they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

The Greatest Comfort In Death:

In Paul’s words:

Philippians 1:21–24 (CSB)

For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

Paul says these profound words:

Philippians 1:21 (CSB)

For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

We can all fill in the blanks

To live is ___, to die is ____

And anything we put in the first blank will result in: to die is loss

Because death is ultimately gain, Paul goes on to say that he is torn between wanting to stay and wanting to die.

In fact, he says that he longs to depart and be with Christ, which is far better

But it better for the Church that he stays, there is more work to do.

And you see here, Paul has a deep burden

And it’s not performing a bunch of accomplishments before he dies to prove himself

He has a burden to live for Jesus, to obey his commandments, to spread love, peace and hope to the known world

He knows that death is the greatest thing that could happen to him

But while he is still alive he no longer lives for himself, but for Jesus and his followers

So here Paul shares his great hope that we also have today

We can have comfort in death

Because death is not the end of the story

1 Corinthians 15:53–58 (CSB)

For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:

Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Where, death, is your victory?

Where, death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Because we have been freed from the tyranny of death, we have the freedom to live life for Jesus today

Conclusion

I know we talked about some big ideas, but my heart in sharing all of this with you as that you might be comforted

That your life, is in God’s hands

That you belong to Jesus

That although you face pressure to amount to something

You face the burdens of making and managing your own image

Those things don’t matter

I hope that you would share the same burden as Paul

Not to make a name for himself or find success

But that you might seek to live and honor the name of Jesus wherever you are

That you would not have to live under the stress of the constraints of time and looming death

But that you might know that this life is but a vapor, and our true hope, our true life to live, is awaiting us in heaven

Romans 14:7–8 (CSB)

For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

So what does this truth mean to you: I belong to Christ

I don’t know

1. If you’re living in sin

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (CSB)

Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

2. If you feel alone and isolated

Psalm 139:1–6 (CSB)

Lord, you have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I stand up;

you understand my thoughts from far away.

You observe my travels and my rest;

you are aware of all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue,

you know all about it, Lord.

You have encircled me;

you have placed your hand on me.

This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.

It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.

Psalm 139:17–18 (CSB)

God, how precious your thoughts are to me;

how vast their sum is!

If I counted them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand;

when I wake up, I am still with you.

3. If you feel overwhelmed and anxious

Psalm 46:1–3 (CSB)

God is our refuge and strength,

a helper who is always found

in times of trouble.

Therefore we will not be afraid,

though the earth trembles

and the mountains topple

into the depths of the seas,

though its water roars and foams

and the mountains quake with its turmoil.

But in all of these things I can say Paul’s words over you:

That despite your pains, your problems, and your sorrows,

Philippians 1:6 (CSB)

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.