Identity: Who am I? L3
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Child of God
Child of God
Good evening Imprint! How fun was Friday night live eh?
Because of those students that helped out with it — Snocamp is going to be significantly cheaper for you guys than like any other youth group that will go so thats pretty awesome.
We are jumping right back into our series on Identity! Last time our lesson was called Broken mirror — talking about how because of sin entering our lives — our picture of ourselves can be twisted… what we believe about ourselves is often a distorted image of what God actually created us to be!
We can know who we really are because of what God has said to be true about us in Word. Anything we believe to be true about ourselves that does not line up with who God says we are — are lies from the enemy.
Okay I have one recap question from last week — ill be really impressed with whoever gets it.
-Jesus is our sympathetic great, ______ _______ (High priest) what does that means?
That means that Jesus is the one that we can go to now to approach the Father and cleanse us from our sins — except Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice, so we only have to do that one time!
Lesson three is titled “Child of God”
When I was going into eighth grade I played for the Sarnia sturgeons football team — for some reason there was never a lot of guys my age that wanted to play, so they always ended up throwing me into the division older than me. So I was this little runt playing with these scary highschoolers right?
Needless to say, I was kind of easy pickings when it came to teasing and whatever — there were many drills where they would do two captains that had to one-by-one pick their teams right? And it seemed like I was always the last guy that one team just got stuck with… some of us know what that feels like.
Although technically one team did “pick” me… it didn't really feel that way right? They only chose me because they literally had to.
But a year later I had gained a little bit of height and skill and I became one of the first guys off the board during those activities — some of us know what that feels like too… it feels a lot better right? I think so.
We all realize that being chosen feels different than being stuck with.
Sometimes parents don’t actually choose their biological child, right? Sometimes parents pray forever and ever to Lord begging Him to let them conceive and have a child — and many other times its a big surprise… ope…I guess we have a kid!
This is why I think adoption is the coolest thing ever. Some of us in this room I believe are apart of families that have adopted. When a child is adopted — it is 100% certain that that child didn't just end up getting “stuck with” that family.
No, that family looked at that child and said — I want that one.
Adoption is a beautiful representation of how God works.
God chooses us, wants us, and adopts us — on purpose.
So as Christians, your identity as a Child of God is not something you earn — its something you’re given.
Here is the big identity truth for today:
“If you are in Christ, you are not just forgiven — you are family.”
“If you are in Christ, you are not just forgiven — you are family.”
Point 1:
God chose you before you ever chose Him!
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
So if you are a Christian in this room right now — Before you did anything good or bad.
Before you could impress Him or disappoint Him.
Before you prayed your first prayer or sinned your first sin.
He chose you.
Why does this matter? Because being chosen means your identity is secure — it didn’t start with your performance, so it doesn’t fall apart when you fail.
We live in a world where:
teams draft based on talent
colleges choose based on grades
friends choose based on personality
relationships choose based on attraction
But God chooses based on His love, not your résumé or ability.
Point 2: Adoption means permanent belonging.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…
In the ancient world adoption was
Completely legal
Irreversible
The child received the full inheritance
Old debts cancelled
I mentioned in the last couple weeks how God makes us like a carefully carved out of piece of wood by. The point of that is to help us understand the intentionality God has with exactly how we are —
But I believe if we actively think about our relationship with God as if we were a project — that can hinder our relationship with Him.
We aren’t a “project” to God. As christians we are Son and daughters.
We don’t just get mercy we also are included in Christs inheritance.
We also get to take on His name. Right? we called ourselves Christians. Christ-people
Point 3: Being a child of God means that God delights in you
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
God does not just tolerate you. He isn’t embarrassed of you — He delights in you deeply.
If you’re a christian and you’re anything like me — your walk with the Lord has been filled with feelings of insecurity with God, comparison with others, the feeling of constantly needing to prove yourself to God
But a child doesn't earn its love from a good Father.
Let me tell you — Barrett didn’t have to do nothing for me to love him. Before I met him I loved him. That’s the only scenario where you can love someone before you meet or talk to them — I loved Bear beforehand.
In fact all he contributes right now is poop, pee, spit up and farts. But I love the heck out of that guy.
Same goes for God to us. We can choose to act as if that isn’t the case… but it is.
Point 4: A child of God lives FROM love not FOR love
To draw all of this together — because we now know these things to be true about us and how we are adopted into the family of God —
As a child of God: we obey because we are loved, not to earn love…
Some of us here have amazing loving fathers, so we can have a good picture of the perfect Father we have in God… and maybe some of us don’t have amazing dads, so that is a little bit more difficult to picture —
but believe me when I tell you. we have the most loving and amazing father in our God. We ought to do everything within our power to serve and follow and obey Him — even if our position with Him does not depend on our obedience.
And for any unbelievers here tonight. you cannot adopt yourself.
And you cannot find this love in any other thing in this world.
You cannot find it in any material thing.
You cannot find it in trying to make yourself happy.
You cannot find it in a sexual identity.
You cannot find it in anything but Jesus Christ.
You non-christian. God wants to extend His almighty hand to you and welcome you into His family…
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
So do that. What are you waiting for? Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that he was raised from the dead — and you will be saved! And you will enter into this amazing family filled with real, unconditional love.
If you are ready to make that decision please come talk to one of your leaders after small group. Or if you have any other questions ask your leaders as well.
Lets pray.
Small Group Questions
How does adoption into Gods family change the way you think about your worth?
If someone asked you what it meant to be adopted by God, how would you explain it?
What differences do you notice between living for approval vs. living from love?
How does it feel knowing God delights in you even when all you “contribute” is weakness, sin, or spiritual immaturity?
4. What part of being “chosen by God” is hardest for you to believe? Why?
