Identity

BeeRye

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Ephesians 2:1–5 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Intro

A middle-aged woman has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near death experience. During that experience she sees God and asks if this is it. God says no and explains that she has another 30 years to live.

Upon her recovery she decides to just stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, bosom augmentation, tummy tuck, etc. She even has someone come in and change her hair color. She figures since she's got another 30 years she might as well make the most of it.

She walks out of the hospital after the last operation and is killed by an ambulance speeding by. She arrives in front of God and complains, "I thought you said I had another 30 years." God replies, "I didn't recognize you"

WE NEED TO KNOW OUR IDENTITY

Many people in the church today have no idea who they are

We behave sometimes in such a way where people won't recognise us as if we are a Christian

Now is Carnival Time and we see many Christians who involved in some way or the other at this time

When we know who were are in Christ it will change the way we behave in our society.

You ever watch tv or a movie and the audio and video is not synced properly

As Christians your audio needs to match your video.

When we call ourselves Christians but we behave like we are not, our audio and our video are not matching

One major reason for this is we don't know who we are!!!

A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion says, "Because if I do, I will die too."

The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown, but has just enough time to gasp "Why?"

Replies the scorpion: "Its my nature..."

the Scorpion knows who he is. That scorpion is smarter than a lot of people in the church today who don't know who they are

I could like a girl who is actually a man

Michael Jackson

Social media Girls will post pics in a provocative way to get likes

they make themselves look fair on facebook

Girls kills her self recently

You will never really be able to fulfil your destiny when you don't really know your identity

Skit guys

My friend had to leave Facebook

We compare our lives to other people

Eg suZie has kids she’s married

lancer

getting car license

You will never really be able to fulfill your destiny when you don't really know your identity

WE NEED TO KNOW THAT OUR IDENTITY IS UNDER ATTACK

The Devil is out to attack your identity cause when you don't know who you are - he could send you down a different path than where God wants you

let's go back to the Garden of Eden

Genesis 1:27–28 ESV

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

This was God's plan for Adam. He wanted him to rule. Adam and Eve were in charge of all things in the garden of Eden.

When the animals saw, them they saw people created in God's image and in his likeness and they submitted themselves to Adam.

Lions says Yes sir when Adam came to tell him who he is

God had great and wonderful plans for Adam but The Devil also had plans for Adam.

John 10:10 ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

He does this by attacking our identity

Genesis 3:4–5 ESV

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.”

John 10:10 ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

You will never really be able to fulfil your destiny when you don't really know your identity

Genesis 3:1–5 ESV

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.”

The Devil is out to attack your identity cause when you don't know who you are - he could send you down a different path than where God wants you

He said to Eve you are not wise enough. Eat of the fruit and become wise.

let's go back to the Garden of Eden

The devil wants to make you think you are missing out on things by staying under the confines of God's law and that there are greater things waiting for you on the other side.

genesis 1 vs 27-28 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."…

Adam and Eve were already wise but when they ate of the fruit they realised they had become foolish.

This was God's plan for Adam. He wanted him to rule. Adam and Eve were in charge of all things in the garden of Eden.

When God came looking for them they started to hide. They had messed up. They didn't see themselves as being created in his image and likeness no more but they could only see their nakedness.

When the animals saw, them they saw people created in God's image and in his likeness and they submitted themselves to Adam.

The devil had succeeded with attacking their identity. The devil doesn't want you believing who God says you are.

He wants you to think that he can give you a better identity.

Lions says Yes sir when Adam came to tell him who he is

he said if you eat this fruit you will be like God but they were already like God in that they were created in his image and his likeness

God had great and wonderful plans for Adam but The Devil also had plans for adam.

The devil would do anything to fool you when it comes to your identity

isn't it ironic that he chose to fool Eve...

he went up to the woman probably because if he could fool her he will automatically be able to fool the man

Woman's influence

Some men may say No No No but their wife says yes

Your identity is very important

Do you know who you are????

Today the devil is telling young ppl to go away from the confines of the church because the world has better things in store for them

They believe the lie of Education, The lie of Success The lie of Popularity

They go out thinking the grass greener on the other side and just like Adam and Eve they realise they are so wrong.

“If you think sin is fun, if you want to eat from the tree of forbidden fruit, look first at another tree—the tree of Calvary—and you’ll see what sin will ultimately do. It will crucify you. And if you think God is holding something back from you, or doesn’t want the best for you, look at that tree again, and you’ll see Him with outstretched arms, nails piercing His palms, proving to you unequivocally that He loves you passionately.”

Courson, J. (2005). Jon Courson’s application commentary: Volume one: Genesis–Job (p. 10). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.They go out thinking the grass greener on the other side and just like Adam and Eve they realise they are so wrong.

DON’T BE ASHAMED OF YOUR IDENTITY

Adam and Eve hid when the truth came looking for them

We go out to Carnival because we believe there is pleasure there and there is treasure there and we get into a fight, we engage in premarital sex, we get aids, we die and then we realised we were better off in the confines of God's law and his word.

Many believers ashamed of their identity in Christ

So they live a double standard kind of lifestyle

The devil not only attacked Adam but he attacked the 2nd Adam as well

If you are the son of God tell these stones to become Bread

if you are this then I want you to do this

if you call yourself a man - drink rum like the rest of us

if you call yourself a man - have plenty women

if you call yourself a man - get into a fight

The devil always attacks your identity so he could ruin your destiny

how could you call yourself a man if you not feting around Carnival time

Where you want to go on carnival ????

Sports ??????

You choosing Sports over Carnival??????

Are you nuts??????

Identity he attacks all the time

A REAL MAN HAS 1 WIFE

A REAL MAN LOVES JESUS

A REAL MAN READS THE BIBLE

A REAL MAN DOESNT LIVE UP TO THE EXPECTATIONS OF THIS WORLD BUT TO HIS EXPECTATIONS FROM GOD

A WOMAN - YOU A HOUSE WIFE

A WOMAN - YOU CAN’T HAVE A CHILD

How did Jesus handle these identity attacks ????

He quoted What God said to him????

Eve should have stood on the promises of God's word but instead she chose to believe the lies of the enemy.

Question? What is more Dangerous, a clock five minutes wrong or a clock five hours Wrong? Carelessly you may say well the clock five hours wrong is More dangerous than the clock five minutes wrong. But wait a Minute. When you look at a clock that's five hours wrong, you Say, 'that's wrong. Somebody tell me what time it is.' but a Clock five minutes wrong can cause you to miss your airplane. You see dear friend, the lie that is closest to the truth is Much more dangerous

Many of you young people today ought to stand on the promises of God's word and don't believe the lies that your friends are trying to tell you.

The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection - The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection – Sermons.

Many of you young people today ought to stand on the promises of God's word and don't believe the lies that your friends are trying to tell you.

They are jealous of you deep down and they want your life to be ruined just as theirs are right now

ELIJAH ILLUSTRATION

That is how the world is - they only love you on Mt. Carmel but they desert you when you are under the Juniper Tree

What a contrast when we compare the love of God to the so-called love in our culture. Our culture loves you when you are young and beautiful, but God loves you when you are old and not so attractive. Our world loves you when you are a celebrity, but God loves you when you are unknown and a complete nobody. Our world loves the rich and the powerful, but God loves the poor and the weak. Our world loves the extraordinary, but God loves the ordinary—people like you and me. - greg laurie

When we know our identity and that we are loved by God unconditionally, we could never trade God for this World.

APPLICATION

Therefore now that you know the importance of knowing your identity you need to :-

1. Remember that devil will always try to attack your identity in order to sway you from your destiny

2. When the Devil attacks you identify you need to know who God says you are

ESV / 1,078 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

3. We need to read the Word of God to know who God says we are

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

ESV / 778 helpful votes

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

ESV / 756 helpful votes

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

ESV / 685 helpful votes

3. We need to read the Word of God to know who God says we are

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

ESV / 591 helpful votes

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

3. We need to read the Word of God to know who God says we are

“After finishing the last page of the Qaeda, Ammi reached next to her, picked up a Quran, and presented it to me. It was my Quran, the very first book I was ever given.

Thrilled, I ran to Baji to show it to her. Baji was playing on the floor near Ammi and Abba’s room, so I got down next to her and placed the Quran on the ground to show it to her.

All of a sudden, I heard Ammi emit a heart-stopping scream while running in my direction. “Nabeel!” I was too shocked to respond. I had never heard her scream like that, nor had I ever seen her run. In a flash she picked up the Quran. “Never put the Quran on the ground!”

“Okay.”

“Always raise it high. Put it in the most honored place, wash your hands before touching it, and only touch it with your right hand. This is not just any book, it is the word of Allah. Treat it with the respect He deserves!”

“Okay.”

Excerpt From: Qureshi, Nabeel. “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity.” iBooks.

4. Know that this world has nothing good to offer you that God cannot give to you??? You have a loving God on your side because you are a child of God.

Stop being attracted to a world who has nothing for you but be drawn to God who has great things in store for you. Know Your Identity

if you have messed up in your walk with God and you have allowed the World To dictate your identity today is the day for you to change

CONCLUSION

Ephesians 2:1–5 ESV

verse 1 shows how our identity was - we were a sinner - dead in our sins

we were basically a nobody - enemies of God

verse 4 5 shows we are somebody

God was merciful towards - he died for us he was buried

Don’t go changing your identity for people who wont do what Jesus did for you....

No matter how hard we try, no matter how badly we want to change ourselves , you and I cannot forge our own identity as Christians apart from Jesus. Our identity MUST be wrapped up in Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross.

God wants to do great things through us. We are His workmanship, His product, the fruit of His labors. He’s destined us to do good works through His Son Jesus. In fact, that’s been God’s plan all along. But we MUST do those good works through Jesus Christ, according to this passage. There is no other way.

This is how valuable you are to God If you have Lied like Abraham, God is willing to call you His friend

If you have Cheated people like Zacchaeus, He is willing to befriend in front of your enemies.

If you have Left home and blown your money like the prodigal, He awaits you with open arms

If you have been Despised like the Samaritan women, He will sit down and talk with you.

If you have Been Caught in adultery, He will forgive you in front of your accusers.

If you have Denied Him like Peter, He will give you a second chance

If you're unclean he will touch you

If you are in prison, He will visit you

If you are hungry, He will feed you

If you are the only one that is lost, out of 100 people, He will leave them to come look for you

Know who you are in Christ and don't allow the lies of the enemy to interfere with your identity

Your identity is found not in who men says you are but who God says you are If I invent a new gadget and I give it a name and says it purpose NO ONE could argue with me that it is the wrong name or the wrong purpose because I am the one who created the gadget and knows it better than anyone else If you want to know who you are stop listening to creation and start listening to your CREATOR cause he is the one who made you and your identity is found only in him...

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