Identity Crisis
Notes
Transcript
Watch music video of Beautiful Eulogy: According To God
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
What we are going to learn this weekend is that who we are is completely connected to what we believe and yield to.
Sadly, we are all stuck within a tug of war between God and the forces of darkness.
In this game of tug of war, we are the rope, being pulled back and forth as we are called to trust either God or Satan.
There are so many ways this happens. But, one of the more prominent ways we are experiencing this tug of war within our culture is centered around this concept of identity.
What should I believe about myself???
Am I what God says?
Am I what I feel?
Am I what they say?
Do I even matter?
Am I an ape? Am I cosmic goop? Or am I a miracle?
Dust made divine? In God’s image?
The question is “Who am I?”
Am I a boy?
Am I a girl?
Am I a cat?
Am I straight?
Am I not?
Am I unique?
Am I worth love?
As you deal with this question, which likely you don’t even know you are asking the question, you are really dealing with an even deeper question without realizing it.
Why am I?
Why am I?
What is my purpose for existing?
So, as we prepare to tackle Identity Crisis this weekend I want to say two things to you that I hope you will consider very seriously...
1. Who you believe determines the identity and purpose you will embrace
1. Who you believe determines the identity and purpose you will embrace
SAY “TRUST”
Everyday, we are being urged to trust in something or someone.
Your emotions are begging for your trust
I feel this way…
I feel something that attracts me to this…
I feel disgusted by this…
I feel so good when I do this…
The media you consume is begging for your trust; seemingly uninterested 3rd party
We are upset about this because this is bad...
It’s okay to do this stuff because it feels good...
They are different from us so they should be canceled...
Your friends are urging you to trust them
Why do you like that band, they are stupid, this is better...
You shouldn’t date her because she’s not pretty enough...
That guys a traitor to our team. We are mustangs!
All of these urgings and calls for trust are magnets for identity and purpose.
Your friend groups determine aspect of the identity you embrace… Your favorite music and media feed you information that help shape the identity you embrace… And the feelings you experience from moving hormones shape the identity you embrace.
The question is...
Who can I trust?
Who can I trust?
Myself?
The media?
My friends?
We see this at play in Genesis 3:1-6
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Eve was being called to trust the serpent (seemingly uninterested 3rd party)… Then after he did his damage, Eve was called to trust herself, then Eve goes and gives Adam a bite of the fruit, he was with her throughout the whole ordeal, and he trust her.
After all of this, Adam and Eve’s identity dramatically shifted. So much so, they were ashamed to be seen and covered themselves up.
Who they believed determined the identity they embraced!
1. Who you believe determines the identity and purpose you will embrace
2. There is a source more trustworthy than all other sources
2. There is a source more trustworthy than all other sources
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
God created Adam, and He created you.
God provides good gifts to us with good boundaries for our protection.
God is proven trustworthy and will be proven trustworthy.