Identity Crisis 4

Intro

Students we made it

Week 4 of the series Identity Crisis!

We started out the series by talking about how our identity comes from the Father — that we are made in His image!

Then we looked at what does it mean to look like a Christian?

Last week we talked about the difference between an earned and given identity

Well this week we are going to finish out our teaching on this series by looking at the fact that being in the family of God gives us a certain level of authority

When our identity is no longer on the things of the world but instead of the things of God that leads to a difference in us

It leads to us receiving authority because of an identity found in Christ

What does the Bible say?

So for us to understand this idea, lets see what the Bible says:

Luke 9:1–6 ESV

1 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Jesus sends out the 12 disciples to go and preach the Kingdom of heaven

What is the Kingdom of Heaven? — Jesus coming as Savior

But notice what Jesus said — he sent them out with Authority!

The twelve disciples that Jesus sent were nothing special — they were fishermen

They weren’t people of authority, or anything special for that matter

They were not learned men, and could not be supposed to spread their religion by art or talents.

They were not men of wealth, and could not bribe men to follow them.

They were not men of rank and office, and could not compel men to believe.

Yet the Bible tells us that Jesus sent these unimpressive men to go and proclaim the Kingdom is coming

Not just that though — notice what Jesus did:

He gave them authority over demons

He gave them authority over sickness

He gave them authority to go into unknown areas

He gave them authority to go with no preparation

This is what always blows my mind!

These are ordinary men who has seen Jesus and gone with Jesus in each of these different scenarios

They saw Jesus raise a woman from the dead

Saw Jesus cast out demons

Heal the sick

Go into town after town

YET these are also men that have doubted the power of God

While on a boat they were terrified thinking Jesus didn’t care about their safety

These disciples are men in every circumstance didn’t know what to do — and yet Jesus sent them with His authority

Being sent with someone’s authority is a powerful thing

I’ve only experienced this a couple of times

One of them was when I was working at Lowe’s Foods and I was sent from my store to a smaller store because we needed more soup bowls

The store manager of the store didn’t want to give us any — and I was a part-time employee in high school so they had no reason to listen to me

But then I called my store manager and he said “I sent Jamie to get soup bowls from you” and the store managers tone immediately changed

He started to apologize to me and gave me more than I needed or came for

Another time was when I was in Florida with Pastor Nathan

Nathan is the President of a church planting network called LCN and this was a retreat / conference for LCN

While being there I noticed something interesting — the first day the rest of the people there didn’t really talk to or interact with me outside of the few friends I had made

Then the second day Nathan made a mention about me and how he brought me along — and all of a sudden everyone was coming up to me, wanted to know me, talk to me, be around me, speak to me, talk up Nathan to me

Why?

Because I had the president’s authority — his seal

Not that I was special

That was the same thing that the disciples here had

They had the authority that Jesus gave them to go and preach the Gospel

REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY FACED

Let that sink in for a second

It didn’t matter what they faced!

It didn’t matter the opposition they faced — rather it was demons, sickness, housing, food, or people rejecting and even attacking them

They had nothing to fear because they were sent by Jesus’ authority!

What do my people need to know?

Here’s the reality though — Jesus was talking to his disciples here, not us

In this moment he isn’t sending us into Galilee to go and preach the message of the Kingdom coming

BUT we learn some truths from this moment

Because this echos the same sentiment that Jesus said in Matthew 28 and Acts 1:8

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Even though Luke 9 is Jesus talking to His disciples it is profitable for us because Jesus still sends us out, and the same core truths remain

Truth #1

Here’s the first truth for both the disciples and us when Jesus sends us out:

We are sent with authority over this world

Listen to Luke 9 again

Luke 9:1–2 ESV

1 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.

When Jesus sends us out today, just like then, we are sent with authority over this world to proclaim the Gospel

Now there is a caveat to this — Jesus gave his disciples literal power over the demon to cast them out. They had literal power to heal the sick

We don’t have that

But what do we have?

We have the same authority to go and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus!

When we are sharing the Gospel, when we tell people about Jesus we aren’t meant to do it out of a spirit of fear

We shouldn’t share it in a whisper — “I hope they hear the message, and if they hear it, I hope they don’t go against me for saying it”

NO

We are called to share it with authority!

Matthew 28 tells us that Jesus has all power, that He’ll be with us, and then he sends us out with His authority!

We are ambassadors for Jesus on earth today

An ambassador is a diplomat typically of a foreign country

When they show up, they have the authority of that country that they are from

They don’t show up to meetings with fear — they show up expecting that people will listen to them!

This is the same thing that Jesus is telling us!

We have the authority of Jesus to go into a world that is dying and hurting and we are called to go and share the Gospel!

So go with authority

Romans 1:16 ESV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The gospel is power — Greek word there? Dynamite!

Don’t be afraid to be bold you have the Kings authority!

Truth #2

Here’s the second truth that we see from Luke 9 that applies to us:

We are sent with Jesus’ provision, not ours

We are sent into a dying world and we are meant to go with Jesus’ provision, not our own

Listen to Luke 9 again

Luke 9:3–5 ESV

3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

Jesus told the disciples that are going into Galilee that they were to take nothing with them except the clothes on their back

Don’t bring extra money, no extra clothes, no walking staff, no comforts — just go!

The same thing is true for us!

There were many times in my life where I was waiting on the perfect moment to go and share my faith with a friend

I have a buddy that I have had off and on conversations about faith with, but for the longest time I waited and didn’t say anything

Not because I thought he knew Jesus, but because I was leaning on my provision

I wanted him to bring it up

I wanted him to ask my a specific question about Jesus so I didn’t look like that guy

I made excuses “we are hanging out to play COD, not talk about faith”

“We are here to celebrate his wedding, to talk about Jesus”

“I’m here to support him through his mom’s death, not tell him about Jesus”

“If he brings it up then I’ll share”

What was I doing?

Leaning on my provision

I was leaning on what I was comfortable with, what I wanted, what I could do

I wanted it to be perfect

Yet Jesus tells us just like the disciples in Galilee to go and share the Gospel

Go without a tunic, without your extra money, without your comfort

Go relying on the Lord

Jesus says he will provide!

So stop waiting on everything to be perfect!

Instead rely on Jesus’ provisions and go share the Gospel

Truth #3

Then the last truth we see for the Disciples and us:

Walk in the authority Jesus gives us

We must walk in the authority that Jesus gives us

Listen to what the disciples did:

Luke 9:6 ESV

6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

The disciples heard what Jesus told them and then went and walked in that authority!

They went and preached the Gospel and healed everywhere

They were obedient to the calling that Jesus gave them

They didn’t argue with Him, they didn’t tell him no it has to be perfect

They simply went

The same thing is true for us today!

We must walk in the authority that Jesus gave us!

Having authority does nothing for you if you don’t take action

It’s just like what James says

James 2:17 ESV

17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Faith without works is dead, so is authority without action

It doesn’t matter if Jesus gave us authority to go and share the Gospel, it doesn’t matter if he gives us provision if we don’t walk in it

My store manager at Lowe’s Foods gave me the authority to got to the small store and demand soup bowls

I had the right and power to step up and take what I needed, but if I didn’t go — his authority would be wasted

If I didn’t step up to the store manager and tell them that Matt Bratton from store 205 sent me to take soup bowls they wouldn’t have listened

This is true with us as well

Jesus gave us authority — His own authority

But it does nothing for us if we don’t go and exercise that authority

We must be bold to go and share the Gospel!

Conclusion

Luke 9 gives us a view of what it looks like when our identity is wrapped up in Christ and we are walking in the authority that He gives us

We just like the disciples are called to go into the world and preach the Gospel — to heal the sick by proclaiming Christ

When we do this we must understand that:

We are sent with authority over this world

We are sent with Jesus’ provision, not ours

Walk in the authority Jesus gives us

When we do this our Identity will be solely in Christ and we will be able to live in the authority that He gives us

Discussion questions

How does understanding our identity in Christ influence the authority we perceive in our lives?

How can we remind ourselves daily that we are ambassadors for Christ despite our insecurities?

In what ways can we practically rely on Jesus' provision rather than our own when sharing our faith?

What are some fears that prevent us from walking in the authority that Jesus gives us?