Identity—whose Am I?

This past Thursday, Sandra and I went to see the movie, The Forge.

Both of us agree:

That it is a movie worth seeing

That ESPECIALLY men need to go see it.

Many topics are addressed in the movie:

Prayer

Discipleship

Forgiveness

Fatherhood

Single-mothers raining sons

And on and on

The movie’s byline is:

Whoever wants the next generation the most will get them.

Some things about the church were addressed — although not one church scene is included in the movie — but one thought really stands out:

One of the characters makes the assertion:

The Church, the Kingdom of God, doesn’t need more Christians in Name Only — it needs men and women who will be disciples of Jesus — followers of Him.

People who are willing to do what Jesus calls His people to do.

That same character quotes Jesus as Jesus says in: Luke 9:23 (LSB) “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

Are there disciples of Christ, those who follow Him DAILY, left in this nation?

I tend to believe the number is very small.

There are some glimmers of hope.

The Christian Post reported that last weekend :

At a student gathering, some reports put the number of attendees between 800 and 1,000, [but] an OSU faculty member who was involved in the event but wished to remain anonymous told The Christian Post that he believed the number to be closer to 2,000.

With about 60 attendees being baptized in water.

The faculty member said he was “still flying high” from Sunday’s gathering, describing the event as “amazing” and that the players “shared from their heart” about their faith in God.

“It was all Jesus-based, all focused on Him,” he said. “Very vulnerable and very moving.”

After the players gave their testimonies, an “altar call” was held among those in attendance, with those wishing to be baptized raising their hands and being immersed in water-filled tubs that normally served as the ice tubs for the football team.

“It started spontaneous baptisms, and the football guys were the ones baptizing them,” recounted the faculty member to CP. “Person after person came. You could just see the Spirit moving in people. It was different, nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”

Regarding the next steps, the staff member explained that they took contact information for those baptized and passed that along to on-campus Christian student groups involved in the event.

“Before they got baptized, we explained the Gospel and made sure they knew what they were doing,” he said. “And then, afterwards, we brought them in to a back room to share a little bit more and have a presentation delivered to them about what discipleship looks like.”

In an interview with Fox News after the event, former wide receiver Kamryn Babb said the turnout for the gathering was probably because “everybody is looking for some sort of hope.”

“I think the human condition wants hope. We throw around the words, hope, love — all these different words — and I think those things that we’re looking for, that we’re searching for can only be found in Jesus,” Babb said.

Praise God for what happened in Ohio!

But the same is not true around our nation.

I read yesterday that George Barna, Director of Research at Arizona Christian University, released a new report.

In it he said: … millions of Americans … realize just how depraved American society has become. [And ask, “how did we get here?”]

Barna says: The indisputable cultural decline is a direct result of the spiritual collapse of Christianity in the nation … the data strongly suggests that evangelicals are more likely to be shaped by the culture around them than they are to influence or “evangelize” it.

Barna went on to say that: … while evangelicals often get the “big picture” of Christianity, they struggle to apply core principles to everyday situations, and are too often victims of catchy slogans and feel-good behaviors promoted by a culture propelled by competing worldviews.

Folks, that is upside down.

WE are supposed to be an influence on our culture.

Instead our culture in converting us to its way of thinking.

We are told by Jesus in: Matthew 5:13–16 (LSB) [that] “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

So, we are to be salt and light to a dark and putrid culture.

But we are failing to do that.

Why?

Because at a absolutely critical time in our nation’s history, we have let the devil steal our identity IN CHRIST.

We have let him steal a knowledge of WHOSE we are.

This morning I would like for us who are IN CHRIST, to consider what the Bible tells us about our identity — what it SHOULD BE if we are IN CHRIST.

In Christ

First of all, we need to understand that we are not IN CHRIST because of an opinion we hold.

We are not IN CHRIST because we attend church.

Or because we do “Christian” things.

No!

We are IN CHRIST only when we have a personal relationship with the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Only as we follow the Bible’s guidelines concerning such a relationship..

To be in Christ, we must do what Jesus declared right at the very beginning of His ministry.

Right after Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness we read in:

Mark 1:14–15 (LSB) Now after John had been delivered up into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

We must repent and believe, put our complete trust in, the Gospel to save us.

We must make a radical turn from sin.

Going 180 degrees the OTHER way.

Immediately that will put us at odds with the culture in which we live.

A culture that says, “If it feels good, do it. If you want to do it, do it. If it’s your reality, do it.”

Since walking contrary to culture’s morality is like trying to walk against a herd of stampeding bison, we will NOT be able to succeed.

To be IN CHRIST, we must also follow the words of:

Romans 10:9–13 (LSB) [that tell us] if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES UPON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.” … 13 for “WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

A symbol of repentance from sin and surrender to Jesus is water baptism.

I am very proud of Coltin for getting baptized in water this morning immediately after the service.

I implore you, PLEASE stay and be a witness to his baptism.

It shows each of us what it means to be a true follower of Jesus.

WE need the reminder of what being a disciple of Jesus means.

To remember that according to Romans 6:3-11 followers of Jesus:

Have died to self.

Have died to sin.

We walk in newness of life in JESUS.

Like Jesus, we live to glorify live to glorify the Father.

That kind of lifestyle is more than saying, “I’m a Christian.”

It is LIVING Christianity.

It is daily, minute-by-minute obedience to Jesus — not just when it is convenient (like that will EVER happen!).

It is what 1 John 5:1–5 (NLT) [tells us, that] Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ [not just a good man, a good teacher, but BELIEVES Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed One of God] has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves His children, too. 2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey His commandments. 3 Loving God means keeping His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

We are failing to influence, let alone CHANGE, our culture because we are NOT walking in the victory our faith in Jesus brings.

May God help us!

Conformed to Jesus

As we walk in obedience to Jesus and His commandments another facet of our identity will be developed.

We will start to LOOK like Jesus.

I don’t mean a physical resemblance — but a spiritual and moral resemblance.

When people look at us they will not see OUR personality — they will see the personality of Jesus.

Our text (yes, I finally got here!):

Romans 8:29 (NASB95) For those whom He [the Father] foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

Romans 8:29 (MSG) God knew what He was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him.

Everyone enjoys holding and looking at a new baby.

Eventually the conversation will turn to something like this: “Oh she has her mommy’s eyes,” or “He looks like his dad.”

As children grow up it’s amazing not only how much they may look like their parents, but even more so how much children ACT like their parents!

On more than one occasion I have watched my kids talk and act just like me, and I’ve seen some of yours acting a lot like you.

When children act like their parents we often say, “He or she’s a chip off the ol’ block,” or another favorite “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

When we think about our IDENTITY as children of God we need to ask ourselves, how far has the apple fallen from the tree?

Does the way I live my life show others that I am a child of God?

This morning we are going to look at how our Identity as Children of God is reflected in our daily lives.

Because this is Labor Day weekend let’s consider:

What does our labor for Jesus look like?

Does it reflect WHOSE I am?

Does it reflect my heavenly Father and my Elder Brother, Jesus:

Hebrews 2:11–12 (NLT) So now Jesus and the ones He makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them His brothers and sisters. 12 For He said to God, “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers and sisters. I will praise You among Your assembled people.”

Walking in His Steps

If we would walk in His example, if we would reflect Jesus’ nature and character, we must:

Have our thinking conformed to His way of thinking

Have our words conformed to His way of speaking

Have our behaviors in alignment with His behaviors.

Each of these are areas are very deep.

They take a lifetime of NOT just study, but implementation.

So, let me just BRIEFLY touch on each one.

Jesus-Thinking

Every word we speak, everything we do, our very personality and attitude is controlled by, it flows out of, the way we think.

Proverbs 23:7 (GNB) … What [a person] thinks [in his heart] is what he really is.

As Jesus said it: Matthew 12:34 (GNB)… For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

So, as we would remember WHOSE we are, and

If we would reflect HIS words and His ways...

We must THINK like He thought.

We must have the Mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:16 (NLT) … “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

Fire Bible says that…

To have the mind of Christ means being able to understand His will and His plan to restore people to a personal relationship with God.

It means seeing and evaluating things from God’s perspective, adopting His values, loving what He loves and hating what He hates.

It means understanding God’s holiness and sin’s awfulness.

Having the mind of Christ also means possessing an attitude of humility, servanthood and selflessness that puts the needs of others and their best interest above our own—just as Christ did in giving His life to save us.

For this reason, receiving the Spirit and following the Spirit [Who gives us the mind of Christ - see context] cause a Christian’s values and worldview to become extremely different from the ways and wisdom of this world.

We must “have the mind of Christ” in order to effectively live for him.

I again encourage us to consider …

Philippians 2:5 (LSB) Have this way of thinking in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus

Read the context of verses 3-11.

The key to thinking like Jesus is adopting the mind-set He had.

First of all, He knew who He was because He knew WHOSE He was.

He was and is the the only begotten of the Father.

Secondly, Jesus understood that

He did not come to this earth to please Himself.

He said: John 6:38 (LSB) “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

So Jesus’s thinking was consumed by 2 things:

The Father and how He could please Him

And others, how He could minister to them

Likewise, OUR thinking needs to be consumed by..

The Father and His will for our lives.

And others, how we can help them be born again, how we can minister life to them.

I don’t see or hear evidence that any of us have arrived.

We ALL have room for improvement.

Jesus-Talking

When we THINK like Jesus we will SPEAK like Jesus.

We will…

Lovingly confront sin

Speak

salvation to the lost

hope to the hopeless

the Love of God to the unloved

Wholeness to the broken

Encouragement to the discouraged

words that build people up instead of tearing them down so that we look better.

Jesus spoke life into others.

If we are not doing so, is it because our thinking, our hearts, don’t align with Jesus-thinking?

Jesus-Behaving

If our words flow out of our thinking, certainly, so do our actions, our behaviors.

Jesus not only spoke life into those around Him, He did miracles:

He healed the sick

He cast out demons

He provided food for the hungry

He even raised the dead.

What Jesus did 2,000 years ago is supposed to STILL be happening today.

Jesus said in: John 14:10–14 (NLT) Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do. 12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

We have turned these words of Jesus into blab it and grab it — for ourselves.

That is NOT how Jesus thought.

Because His thoughts aligned with the Father’s thoughts, Jesus accomplished great miracles — for others — not Himself.

He miraculously poured abundant life into others.

Why aren’t the miracles of Jesus happening today?

Because we are not thinking like Jesus thought.

Thoughts of faith.

Thoughts of others.

Thoughts of who the Father is — that there is no limit to what He has or what He can do..

To Be Like Jesus

This morning I would like to encourage us to remember WHOSE we are…

To allow the Holy Spirit to do His job.

To allow Him to put the mind of Christ, His way of thinking, in to us.

So that we begin to speak as one who sounds like Jesus and His way of speaking.

So that we begin to behave as one who looks like Jesus and believes God for the miracles others need.

As the worship team comes, can we take some time to ask the Holy Spirit to help us?

To reveal to us WHOSE we are?

To conform our thinking to the way Jesus thought and thinks?

To conform our words to the way He spoke and speaks?

To conform our behaviors to the way He acted and still acts?

Perhaps you are not IN CHRIST.

Can I encourage you to come and commit to Jesus.

Perhaps you have distanced yourself from Jesus.

I invite you to come and re-surrender yourself to Jesus.

I want to ALL of us an opportunity to come and pray.

Can we ALL come forward?

Can we as individuals and the church pray that we think like Jesus, speak like Jesus and behave like Jesus?