Identity Theft
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 8 viewsNotes
Transcript
Who is this?
Who is this?
I am not at all familiar with the Kardashians other than hearing about them on a news snippet or from conversations I tend to walk away from. Even though I could not identify any of them by photo I would probably recognize some of them as a celebrity. I suspect many of you can probably guess which of these two is Kim Kardashian and which one is not.
On the right is Luis Flores Jr. who at the age of 19 on October 23, 2013 plead guilty to fraud. The young man had diverted a coworkers direct deposit to his own account then after he made bail for that he called credit card companies and banks with the identity information for not just Kim Kardashian but many celebrities including Ashton Kutcher, Kristen Jenner, Tom Cruise, and Paris Hilton. Though it was calling american express for Kim’s account that led to the secret service being called. It’s reported that when they took his laptop and smart phone they found SS numbers, banking information, and credit reports that belonged to many others including Michelle Obama, Bill Gates, and Beyonce.
Identity theft is frightening and I hope none of you have ever experienced that and never will. Identity theft is not new though. There was a thief all the way back in the garden of Eden that led humanity to lose it’s identity right at the start.
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.”
We can guess from things that happen later that all Adam and Eve needed to do was enjoy a life tending a weed free garden and to walk with God. Every need was met and they lacked nothing. Yet the smooth talking criminal shows up and convinces them there is more. He convinces them to throw away their own identity. Their identity is stolen by their own hand.
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’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 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.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 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. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
The identity humanity had was one of purity and was able to walk with God enjoying his creation. But then they took the fruit and ate. They took it from a tree that would make them wise. They took on for themselves the choice of what was good or bad. Now instead of relying on what God tells them is good and what is bad, they decide for themselves if it is good or bad. We see a phrase come up throughout the Bible like the phrase, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” That statement is not one of everyone doing good things.
From the fall of Adam in the garden humanity lost it’s identity. We’re now born into a world where from birth we have no living identity with God. But God from the very beginning had a plan. There was a plan to redeem our identity and restore us to a place where we would once again walk with God. As the story unfolds through the Bible we see time and time again God calls people to himself. Some respond righteously and walk with God while others reject and rebel against him. Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob, Pharoah and Moses, King Saul and King David, King Ahab and Elijah, Judas and Peter… Let’s look at some of them
Cain took wisdom - the deciding of good and bad or right and wrong for himself. He picked what he thought was a good offering to God.
but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
That’s in contrast to Abel
and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,
Abel presented what was pleasing to God not what he himself thought was good.
Next we have Pharaoh in Exodus 5.
But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”
Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
Pharoah rejected the authority of God to rule meanwhile Moses obeys God’s commands.
Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
In the New Testament with Jesus there in person in their midst we have Judas
Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
He prioritizes wealth and likely power thinking Jesus would lead a revolt and take over Israel as an earthly King. This verse comes right after Jesus reveals he will be crucified, which would not go well with a plan for power and wealth in a high office of a new earthly kingdom if that’s what Judas had expected.
Peter on the other hand when asked who Jesus is responds:
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
But was that Peter’s might reasoning and willpower overcoming his sinful nature to proclaim God? No… It was because it was revealed to Him by God.
And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
And yet after that he denies he even knows Jesus three times. Christ seeks him out restores him. Peter then goes on in Acts 2:38-41 to preach
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
So we read all of these things that people did - but doing things is not what gives us our identity. Our identity comes from our spiritual condition. You remember back in Genesis 2:17b it said “... for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” The human spirit that was alive with God and able to walk with him died. We continued on and inherited a dead spirit.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
Romans 5:12 tells us sin and death indeed came into the world through one man
But if we’re all dead what is our hope for life? What can a dead man do? Nothing but rot… There is hope we see that spoken of through the Bible.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
And God has done that in all whom he has called.
For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
This is not by anything we have done. We were after all dead to God from our birth.
Titus tells us it is not because of what we do that we are saved.
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
Why would God do that?
so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
So that we might walk with God again as He intended from the beginning. We are justified - or made right - made pure - to be able to walk with God.
How does that happen? I can tell you from my own experience and the many testimonies from other Christians I’ve heard, that when God calls you to himself it’s irresistible. This may be in a single moment or it may be over years.
The truth of my own sin, rebellion, and death were insurmountable by anything I could do. I knew that. The stories I heard from God’s Word showed these examples of following or rejecting God. Lots of me wanted to reject God and be selfish and do what I wanted but I, like Peter, knew that Christ had called me to Himself. I believed in the promises of God by faith. But how did I gain salvation? I didn’t it was a gift.
Ephesians 2:8a “For by grace you have been saved through faith.”
Oh, so it’s our faith that saves us?
Eph 2:8b “And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,”
So not even our faith is our own product. But if we don’t even produce our initial faith by doing something how do we get this gift?
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
This word of Christ, the Bible, tells us
2 Thessalonians 2:13b–14 (ESV)
... God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So in hearing the Word you may gain faith, a faith that God gifts you. The gospel that calls people is a story. It’s the story of Jesus. It weaves through the entirety of the Bible but is summarized in 1 Cor 15:3-6
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
The story of Jesus is a historical account based in reality not mythology. We aren’t telling fairy tales of morality that encourage us to be good people and do the right thing and always make the right choices. It would be great if “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” and what they did was good. But it isn’t true and it won’t ever be true. It’s why we have to fall back on the Bible. God gives us that strength to follow him. I can not succeed and resisting sin on my own.
Our sins which are a result of our being dead and unable to do what pleases God have earned us a punishment of death and torment. God’s wrath to punish us is great. But he did not desire that we should all perish and so… I think many of you know this verse.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Do you hear the Word of Christ and know in your heart that it’s true. Have you been called by God like Peter to repent and follow Christ? For some there is a reassured steady “yes” that has been deep within you for many years. For others here there is a new “oh me yes me too!” that’s within you. For yet others there may be panicked “I think I do” that you’re unsure how to respond to. I remember that panicked moment before in my life. Your heart races, you aren’t sure if you should ignore it because maybe I ate that lasagna last night… or this just all in my head… God can’t actually really change my life and the reality around me…
But God can and I know he’s calling some to repent and follow him. Lastly there are others that may be sitting here in this very room thinking “No… I just don’t believe that I can be fixed or saved or forgiven.” You might be thinking “I just don’t think Jesus is who he says he is.” You might say to yourself like Pharoah did “I don’t know this God and I’m not going to let him be in charge of my life.” For you I’m glad you’re here in person or online and I know that God desires that all would come to Him. So we will pray for God to change your heart and give you a new one, give you faith through hearing His Word that you may not perish but have eternal life.
Now what!?
Now what!?
For the unbeliever: We invite you to listen and hear God’s Word.
For the hesitant beliver: Come find me, find one of the elders, find a church leader, find another Christian here and tell them you have heard God calling you to repent of sin and follow Him.
To the new believer: Be immersed in God’s Word. Connect to the family of God and grow in God’s wisdom. God’s understanding of right and wrong not your own understanding of good and bad.
To the seasoned believer: Speak the Word to the unbeliever and serve everyone. Join in the work of the church to minister to our own family of faith and the community who needs to hear the Word.
Our human nature wants to go back to Genesis 3 and sow fig leaves together to cover our nakedness.
As believers the first identity theft was remedied but the next attack comes quickly - that snake the devil will come and tell you to hide your nakedness. Cover up your own sins, go and be perfect, feel ashamed and miserable because you aren’t perfect. Go do all the good things to prove how worthy you were of the salvation you received. This is a lie that tries to get you running on a treadmill instead of walking on the path.
In redemption we will stumble, and we have forgiveness. Even the Apostle Paul recognized this struggle.
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
As a new creation in Christ we still fail and sin but we are forgiven. Our new spirit that God has put in us and gives us new life responds to things differently. When we’re saved we no longer practice sin it’s a falter in our walk not a detour we turn down intentionally. That doesn’t mean we’re perfect but the more we practice following God, the more readily the love of God prevails through us. Paul speaks of this life that follows Christ and what that should look like.
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
What is salvation? Believing and trusting in the Lord
What do you do because you are saved? Love God, Love others - make disciples and obey Christ
One act of obedience is to remember Jesus in the bread and drink we share together. I’ll invite Jerry to come and lead us through that after we pray.
