Remember, You're a Christian

Introduction

Good morning everyone, thanks so much for joining us online!

I’m excited to share with you this morning.

I just want to open us up in prayer to start…pray

I want to share something with you that God has been working in me, and that is so important for all of us to understand.

It’s going to be a challenging word

This is something I’ve felt challenged in personally, and I know I’m not alone in the areas that God has addressed in my life, so I want to share that with you

I want to start off by asking a question, and I would love for you to interact in the chat on FB or Youtube, and answer this question

Question

What are some identities that are important to you?

And there are no wrong answers for this, I just want to hear from

Relationship identity

Father, Mother, Husband, Wife, Grandma, Grandpa

Business identity

Business man, Salesman, Nurse, Teacher,

National identity

American, Asian, African, Irish

Activity identity

World traveler, basketball player, Fisherman

The reality is we each have multiple identities that each encompass a different mission, or goal

But the more important question is this

What is your primary identity?

What is the identity that centers you?

Heres what I want to challenge you with

If you have been born again....your primary identity should be a Christian, Christ follower, Child of God.

Just because we have a primary identity, doesn’t mean that our other identities aren’t important.

But here’s what it does mean…write this down....Our Christian identity should inform all other identities.

For example

I’m a husband

I would never say that since I’m a Christian first, my identity as a husband doesn’t matter.

No, rather my Christian identity informs what kind of husband I am

I’m also a construction worker

I would never say that I shouldn’t take my job as a construction worker seriously,

But my Christian identity informs what kind of construction worker I am

Why am I making this distinction?

You don’t have to look around long to see that we live in an extremely divisive time, politically....socially....culturally

And what I’m seeing is that if we aren’t careful, our Christian identity can very subtly begin to take a back seat to something else

Think about the political tension today

We have an election coming up in November

The tension between Democrats and Republicans, Left vs the Right

Wearing or not wearing masks has become a political issue

Our response to Covid-19 has become very political

We responding to fear mongering

We aren’t responding seriously enough

Cultural shift

The attitude towards America

Our system needs reformed, we are founded on evil, and I’m ashamed to be an American

Patriotic - Proud to be an American, who love this country

Social shifts

Differing opinions on how to solve the racial tensions, the protests, the riots, attitude toward the police, etc...

There is no shortage of opinion out there

The point of this message is not to say one opinion is better than the other on any given subject

I’m not even going to share my opinion, I’m going to stay as neutral as possible…I’m simply identifying points of contention.

I have very strong opinion, and like everyone else, I think my opinions are right.

But let me explain what started to happen to me, that we need to guard against

Listened to cultural/political podcasts

And we can even begin to form identities around our opinions

That’s why there is so much offense when people disagree with you and why you take it personally and are so offended.

What’s even scarier is when your Christian identity starts to take a back seat to your opinion

We’re seeing before our very eyes, our country being divided on all these issues

And when our Christianity takes a back seat to our political affiliations, or our cultural opinions, you end up with a Church that is divided along the same lines of the world

The Church already doesn’t have the reputation of always being a unified institution

Example of church that shut down over mask issue

The very people that screamed that the church needs to be open, caused it to be shut down because of division

Because wearing or not wearing a mask became a bigger issue than the Church of Christ being together.

Some of us have started to center our Christianity around the issues rather than centering the issues around our Christianity.

I want to challenge you on that. I believe God want to challenge you on that

What are you centered on and most loyal to?

Is it your political party?

Is it your American Rights?

Is it your opinion?

Is it mask or no mask?

Or are you centered on your relationships with Jesus Christ, and the mission He has called you to on earth?

That is not to say that we can’t have opinions, or that we can’t express ourselves or our concerns, or that we can’t get involved in issues, or we can’t take a stand for anything else

All of that has to center around our Christianity

Now I can hear some of you saying, “Well, I have the political, or cultural, or social opinion that I do BECAUSE my Christianity is informing it.”

But here’s the problem....you can have two Christians with differing opinion, and both will say that their Christianity is informing their opinion.

So let me take it a step further and ask you this...

Is your Christianity also informing the way in which you EXPRESS your opinion?

This is where so many people are falling short

The comments you make on social media

FB and Instagram are no fun these days

Is your speech seasoned with grace, or is it divisive and everyone else just a deceived idiot?

Is your Christianity also informing the way you relate to your brothers and sisters in Christ?

Let me give you a quick litmus test....ask yourself this question:

Do I feel more camaraderie with those that share my political or social opinion than I do with my brothers and sisters in Christ?

The Church of Christ should be the most unified institution in the World!

Think of what unifies us!

We can be 100% right in our opinion, or our political stance, and still get it wrong spiritually.

It goes back to the old adage, “You can win the Battle and lose the War.”

During this time, what kind of battles are you choosing to engage in?

What hills have you chosen to die on?

What do you see as the ultimate war?

I want to show you a story in Scripture that can really speak to us today.

John 6:1-14

I want to show you an example that Jesus gave us

Read John 6:1-14

Ok, so unless we dig a little deeper into the culture, and the time that the Israelites were living in, we won’t understand what is about to happen.

I want you for a moment, to walk in the shoes of an Israelite during the time of Jesus’ ministry.

Two things to take note of:

One - The Israelites were living under Roman rule

Israel who had been its own nation, and were the chosen people of God, were captives to a foreign power, known as the Roman Empire.

Imagine the longing in their hearts to come out of that captivity

I can imagine fathers sitting around the table talking with their children about the glory days of Israel.

God called Father Abraham to start a new nation and his seed would bless all the earth

Telling stories of the great prophet Moses delivering the children of Israel from Egyptian captivity.

He led them in the wilderness and gave them victory over their enemies

David and Goliath

One day God is going to deliver us!!!

Two - The Israelites understood the Messiah as a political figure

They recognized Jesus rightly as the messiah, but they wrongly equated that idea with a political revolution.

In verse 14 they said, “this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

They are referring to Moses promise to the Israelites in Deut. 18:15 where Moses said this, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.”

They know this promise, now pair that with the fact that they just saw Jesus provide food out of thin air, just like Moses had done in the wilderness.

And like Moses led them out of Egyptian bondage, Jesus is now going to lead them out of Roman bondage.

They were eager to support Jesus, he healed them, he fed them, delivered the demon possessed, he spoke with authority, what better candidate to lead a political revolution.

There is just one problem.....Jesus turned and walked away.

Look at verse 15 with me.

I can hear the people saying doesn’t he care?

we are in bondage to a foreign nation

that 80% of our income goes to just putting food on the table

that we need a leader

Doesn’t he recognize how important this is? Why would he walk away?

Because Jesus didn’t lose sight of His mission, and why He came to earth....He knew who he was

Jesus didn’t come to earth to manifest Himself as an earthly king, but as Mark 10:45 says, he came as a suffering servant who would give his life as a ransom for many.

Think about what Jesus did.

He was a king....he had the right to build a kingdom on earth if he wanted

His primary identity in this moment was not a king, but a servant.

Can you imagine what would have happened if Jesus would have given in to the crowd?

The greatest gift to humanity (salvation being made available for all mankind) would have been lost to a temporal political revolution.

So I ask you again....who are you? What is your primary identity?

Have you been swept away by the mass opinion and division?

Please hear my heart on this, because I’m not saying we shouldn’t engage with the issues we face today.

We are Christians first, and we are called to reach people with the Gospel of Christ and to make disciples of every nation. Is that what is most important to you today?

Is being right, the most important thing to you?

Is getting your opinion out there despite any carnage it may leave behind your purpose?

Has bitterness and cynicism begun to poison your relationships

Are you willing to lay down your right for the sake of your brother in Christ?

Can we speak truth in love?

I understand that we need to have hard conversations. I understand that speaking the truth may hurt sometimes. I understand that there are certain issues that the church just can’t budge on.

I just want to remind you....we are the Church of Jesus Christ....Remember who you are!

Application

In closing I want to challenge you with these three things

Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger

James 1:19–20 ESV

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

We can’t properly empathize with others, if we do all the talking

The nations today are raging...are we going to be swept away by that anger....remember the bigger picture.

For every opinion you share about an issue, say a prayer for the issue

We can get caught up talking and strategizing and working ourselves up, and never once even pray about it.

Seek the Holy Spirit

We have the Holy Spirit available to us 24/7

Let’s take advantage of that

Ask the Holy Spirit what to say before you make that comment or post on social media, or even ask “should I post or comment”

Ask the Holy Spirit for discernment

we are the Church of Jesus Christ....Remember who you are!

Pray

Before we go into our worship song, if you’ve never given your life to Jesus, and you’re asking how can I become a Christian?

How can I get forgiveness for my sins? How does this Good news you’re talking about apply to me?

I want to answer that question for you right now.

The Bible says that we can have a relationship with God if we are born again

What does it mean to be born again?

Its as easy as A, B, C

ADMIT you are a sinner in need of a savior

This should be the easy part

Have you ever messed up?

I need an intervention

BELIEVE in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and rose again

I believe that God came to earth as a man and paid the penalty for my sin….a penalty I couldn’t pay.

We are placing our trust in HIm

CONFESS Jesus as Lord of your life

I don’t just recognize you as my savior, my life belongs to you…you are my Lord.

The things that I do, the way I speak, the way I engage in relationships, in politics, in business, all the above is surrendered to Him

I’m going to say this prayer, and if you want to be born again, wherever you are, just repeat this prayer after me.

Let’s sing this song together as we go.

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 6

The people recognized Jesus as the Messiah but wrongly equated that idea with political revolution.

John: An Introduction and Commentary i. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand (6:1–15)

The evangelist relates the immediate aftermath of the miracle: After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ Moses promised the Israelites, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him’ (Deut. 18:15). Knowing this promise, and having seen Jesus provide food in the wilderness as Moses had done, the people concluded that Jesus was ‘the Prophet who is to come into the world’, the Prophet about whom Moses had spoken.

The evangelist adds, Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. Moses led Israel out of Egyptian captivity, and now this people wanted Jesus (whom they believed was the Prophet like Moses) to free them from Roman occupation. They wanted to ‘make him king by force’.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Six: Jesus Loses His Crowd (John 6)

As you read the Gospel records, note that our Lord was never impressed by the great crowds. He knew that their motives were not pure and that most of them followed Him in order to watch His miracles of healing. “Bread and circuses” was Rome’s formula for keeping the people happy, and people today are satisfied with that kind of diet. Give them food and entertainment and they are happy. Rome set aside ninety-three days each year for public games at government expense. It was cheaper to entertain the crowds than to fight them or jail them.

Holman Bible Handbook No Earthly King (6:1–15)

God’s design was not that Jesus manifest Himself as an earthly king but as the Suffering Servant who would give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

The Gospel of John, Volume 1 The Response of the Crowd (John 6:14–15)

For one thing, they were eager to support Jesus when he gave them what they wanted. He had healed them and fed them; and they would thereupon have made him their leader. There is such a thing as a bought loyalty. There is such a thing as cupboard love. Dr Johnson, the great eighteenth-century man of letters, in one of his more cynical moments, defined gratitude as ‘a lively sense of favours still to come’.

Religious leaders setup a system that oppressed and robbed the people of God for their own financial and political gain.

Is your pastor systematically oppressing you?

Obeying the government is Biblically faithful

Gathering in person is Biblically faithful.

Estimated 80-85% of income on food

We make issues so sacred that when someone speaks to these issues we make them king. They saw him as an economic powerhouse.