Who Am I

Identity

I was looking back on some of my past sermons and found that on multiple occasions I spoke about who our Father is.

The attributes of God

His Love

His sacrifice

But what about us?

Who am I?

Who are we?

Hunter

Grew up in rural Illinois

Hunting was an integral part of my life

It truly became a major part of my identity.

Moved to Colorado that is who I became. A hunter

I wore the brands

I talked the talk

I listened to and obsessively watched the popular hunters

I spent days equally even weeks in the field every year

Now if you used all of that to provide my identity you would call me a hunter

If you used my success in my pursuit you’d call me a failure.

I did not have much success!

Here’s the rub

My life started shifting

My priorities started shifting

My kids are getting older. They are doing more things.

I realized that my passion was separating me from my family and I wanted more time with them.

We started getting VERY busy launching this church.

I started taking on more responsibility at work.

My desire to be in that world stated dwindling.

I used to listen to podcasts of Steve Rinella on my way to work.

I would do outdoor trivia with the kids on the way to school on Wednesdays.

I lost interest.

Then we hit some financial hardships.

And I sold one of my guns.

Then another

Then I sold my bow

And another gun

And another until I got to the point that I had nothing left.

I eventually sold my truck

Identity Crisis

So I am standing there one day and realize that all of the STUFF that I wrapped my identity in was gone.

The people I identified with were no longer there.

The time that I dedicated to my craft was no longer available.

So who am I?

I have literally removed everything that made me......me!

Who am I?

You may sit there and say how ridiculous are you that you’ve wrapped up your entire being into that junk......

But if we would all just be a little more honest with ourselves how many would admit your not any different.

How many of us wrap our identity in social media. My worth is based on how many views my reels get.

My value is directly related to how many followers I have.

How many’s jobs are who you are. My status. My position. My title.

In today’s world our sexual identity becomes our only identity.

Our political party is our identity. We literally call it identity politics.

Achieved Not Received

I was listening to a pastor who has since gone to be with the Lord Tim Keller

And a couple of amazing points he made about our worldly identity is that it has two major weaknesses.

It is achieved not received.

It mostly achieved through comparison.

Let’s look at the first.

Achieved not received.

When I put my identity into social media and the amount of views and followers. I only feel value in myself when I achieve those things.

If my identity is my job then I only feel value when I achieve what I have determined I need to achieve in order to be successful.

No matter what, when I put my identity in things of this world, I only feel value when I achieve.

Number 2

Typically our achievements are determined through comparison to others.

How do I know I have a lot of followers? Because I compare how many I have to everyone else.

How do I know that I’m successful at work? Because I compare my accomplishments to my coworkers and colleagues.

The easiest way to understand this is if we go into the world of sports.

Has does a racecar driver determine their value in that field. By how many people they beat.

Just like in sports, we measure our value based on being better..… than....… you.

But what happens when we aren’t?

When I started working on our Instagram because everyone has to have social media now days, I compared our page to others.

Now let me say I do not put any of my value as a person or the value of this church in our social media presence but I still just wanted to see where we stand in the world.

So I start posting videos. Putting them out there to the world. Sermon clips and different things.

We start getting some pretty cool results.

We have some videos now with over 3k views. We have been getting followers left and right.

I opened our account over a year ago and just kind of forgot it. So when I went back I think we had like 10 or 20 followers.

Today we’re getting close to 300. I am excited about that.

So I started feeling myself and I was like I wonder what ol’ Steven Furtick has going on.

Heard of Elevation Church?

So I click on them. Folks let me tell you.......we aren’t there!

1.9 million followers. Currently we are approximately 1 million 800 thousand and 600 followers behind them.

I can’t see how many views their last video has but I do know it has over 10k likes!

Ok Ok Ok we shot a little too high. I got a little too big for my britches.

So I go to Isa, who by her own admission mainly spends her time on social media just scrolling.

She doesn’t care to ever really post anything.

Surely Breakthrough Church is pushing past her account.

So I say hey Isa how many followers do you have? Oh a bit over 300 or 400!

WHAT!!!!

How is this possible?

If my measure of the value of myself or this church was views and followers. I would feel like an udder failure.

Placing my identity and worth in Instagram requires me to compare myself to others and make myself better than them.

Identity in Achievement

I heard this great example of the pitfalls of putting my identity into my achievements.

A man grew up in a small town in Texas. He was a violinist.

This town had a little concert hall where he would play and would just amaze everyone who came.

He was without a doubt the absolute BEST at his craft.

Because of this he decided to take his talents to New York City

He flies in and decides to take the Subway

He walks down the steps and starts to hear the sweetest sound he has ever heard.

The sound of violin permeates the air

A man standing on the platform with a worn out violin and matching case.

Playing the most amazing beautiful music this man has ever heard.

For nickels and dimes and quarters.

In this moment the man who was the greatest violinist his small town in Texas had ever seen was not even good enough to play on a subway platform........

When we put our identity in our accomplishments what happens when our accomplishments cease??

Your Identity is Received not Achieved

When I was sitting there that day realizing that my days as a hunter were limited at best and my identity as such was dwindling.

I heard God clear as day say that is what you did.......it was not who you were.

So......who am I? Who are you?

First and foremost you are created in His image.

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness

You are His creation.

I am His child

John 1:12 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—”

I am His friend

John 15:15 “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

I am loved

Romans 8:35–39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I am a citizen of Heaven

Philippians 3:20 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,”

You are worth dying for!

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 Corinthians 6:20 “you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

That price was death.

God’s word will never shift nor ever fail.

This is who you are. And it will never change!

When we stop creating our own identities.

When we stop placing our value in our achievements.

When we accept the identity and the value that our Lord and Savior GAVE us.....

Then no shifting sands of this world can collapse us.

I build my life, my worth, my identity on the rock that never moves or changes.

Closing

Stand

This sermon really came from a song. I heard it and Holy Spirit just poured out on me and I knew this is what He led me to.

If you are standing there today wavering. Wondering who am I. The person i built myself into the identity I gave myself. The life I built on the comparison of others is crumbing.

The pride I had in having my own home is gone.

The value I had in my accomplishments has been destroyed.

The worth I put in my superficial beauty is fading.

Today is the day to throw those lies into the pit.

I want you to speak this truth over your life today and every day moving forward.

The truth is I am my Father’s child

I make Him proud and I make Him smile

I was made in the image of a perfect King

He looks at me and wouldn’t change a thing

The truth is I am truly loved

By a God who’s good when I’m not good enough

I don’t belong to the lies; I belong to you

And that’s the truth!

That is who you are! That is your identity!

Alter

Bow our heads close our eyes

If you don’t know your identity in Christ because you do not know Christ

come