Where do I get my identity

Become Like Jesus – Jesus First/Where do I get my identity?

Over the years I have had the opportunity to lead several short-term mission trips. Two to Jamaica and seven to Zimbabwe, Africa. Every trip lasted between 10 and 14 days. All of these trips created perspective in my life. Perspective like… A smile is understood in any language. Clean water saves lives. Some of the happiest & most contented people I’ve have very little. If you own a refrigerator, you are considered wealthy to the majority of the world. Be grateful for what you have. The first time I went to Zimbabwe I was not prepared for the ceremony that would conclude our trip. Dereck Mushayamunda asked our team if we had any clothes or shoes we wanted to give away. We said yes, so we collected all these clothes and shoes and then placed them in piles on the grass or concrete. Dereck thanked us for our generosity and then allowed maybe 20 to 30 men and women in the village to come and take 2 or 3 pieces of clothing or shoes. I saw a man take my work boots. I walked up to him afterward and whispered to him. I pray those boots do you allot of good. That man looked at me and said it would take him six months to afford the money to buy boots like this. I cannot look at a pair of shoes without thinking of that man. Perspective can change your life.

Jesus wants his disciples to go on a short-term mission trip in Luke chapter 9. He wants to create perspective for them and for us. Turn to Luke 9:1 using your Bible or Smartphone. Otherwise all scriptures are on our You Version app or on the screen. Luke’s purpose for writing his Gospel is to “present Jesus as the perfect human and Savior.”[i] Jesus message and ministry are seen in Luke chapters 4 through 21. This short-term mission trip begins in Luke 9:1. (Read 1-3) That’s like Jesus saying to us leave behind your smartphones, credit cards & no Apple pay. Trust God to provide. Here’s verse 4. (Read 4-5) If any Jewish person rejects the Messiah – you are not responsible for their rejection of the Messiah. We are to present Jesus just as he is - the perfect Son of Man & the perfect Son of God. After Jesus gives out his instructions look at what happens in verse 6. (Read 6&7) This John is John the Baptist. Herod feels guilty about John. Herod’s the one who ordered John’s execution. Beheaded him. Yikes! Jews did not believe in reincarnation but they did believe that the spiritual presence of a holy person could dwell inside someone else’s body. Herod is wondering about Jesus’ identity. Is this Jesus or did John the Baptist come back to life only to haunt me? Go back to verse 7. (Read 7-9) Herod will see Jesus, on Good Friday, the day when Jesus is arrested and sent to him by Pilate.[ii]

The Apostles short mission trip is over in verse 10. It lasted just a few days but they gained perspective. Trust God to use you and he’ll use you. Trust God to provide for you and he’ll provide. Jesus told them to trust God to provide. Now Jesus shows them that He too can provide. Last week I spoke about Jesus feeding 5000+ people in John 6. Here it is again, the feeding of the 5000, this time in Luke 9:10. (Read 10 & 11) Matthew said this about Jesus. Matthew 14:14: When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Jesus’ compassion led him to teach, heal and feed people. The feeding starts in verse 12. (Luke 9:12-17) The disciples were hungry too. Now they each have their own basket of leftovers. Here’s how I picture this. The disciples look around for anyone who has food. Andrew finds a boy whose Mom packed him a lunch consisting of 5 loaves of barley bread and 2 sardine size fish.[iii] Great for one boy, but lousy for thousands of people. These loaves were “small, flat and round. Maybe like 4” in diameter.”[iv] Jesus looks to heaven and prays to God and then breaks the loaves. Only the Apostles and the boy would have known how much food they started with. We started with a little but we ended up with allot. All because of Jesus. Who is this man? Who is Jesus? Let’s find out. Here is verse 18. (Read verse 18 only) Jesus is asking them about his identity.

Today I am beginning a series called “Become Like Jesus” and here’s the reason why. Last week I challenged you to help people see God and the best way we help people see God is to become like Jesus in what we say and in what we do. This “Become like Jesus” series is seven-weeks long because we have seven cultural values at Westerville Christian. Cultural Values are like a guiding map for any business, organization or church, but to make sure we’re all on the same page I’ll provide this definition. Cultural Values are “the commonly held standards of what is acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong at a business, organization or church.” These seven cultural values are located on this document called Hope Initiative. Our vision is plant three churches in five years. New churches reach more people and specifically younger people – many under the age of 35. Our mission is to provide places where all people can find hope in Jesus. What happens if you put your hope in a position, pastor, or a politician? You ultimately end up disappointed. Jesus is our hope because only Jesus can forgive our sins because only Jesus came back from the dead. Our cultural values move us to make Jesus our ultimate hope. Here they are. Jesus First, Worship is a Lifestyle, The Gospel is Central, We are Family, Generosity is Normal, Made for More and Your Story Matters. Today I get the privilege of focusing on our first Cultural Value – Jesus First! But how would anyone know if Jesus is actually first in their life? For each value we created a measurement. These measurements are questions. Seven CV. Seven questions. One per week.

Here’s Question #1. Where do I get my identity? David Benner is a psychologist and author of the book “The Gift of Being Yourself.” Benner defines identity as “who we experience ourselves to be — the I each of us carries within.” Identity answers the question, “Who am I?” Let’s go back to Jesus question in Luke 9:18. (Read 18-19) How many times does the crowd, other people, make us out to be someone we’re not? Point to yourself and ask, Who am I? Am I simply a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, Mom, Dad, athlete, geek, rich, poor, attractive, unattractive.

What happens if your identity is in some relationship but this person suddenly decides they don’t want to be with you anymore. What happens if your identity is in your marriage but you lose your spouse through death or divorce? What happens if your identity is found in being a parent and one day all your kids eventually move out? How many Moms have thought? If my kids are gone, I no longer serve a purpose in this world. What happens if your identity is found in your job? And then one day you go to work only to find out your job is no longer needed! What happens if your identity is found in Social Media likes? I want my latest tweet to go viral. I want to become the new Tik Tok sensation. Do you recognize this young woman? This is Sadie Robertson Huff. Sadie’s part of the Duck Dynasty family and she’s 23. She’s married now and going to have a baby. Sadie spoke at the 2021 Passion Conference and said, “We have a generation waiting to feel a sense of love ... We have to stop obsessing over who is following us and obsessing over the one that we're following. If you're following somebody, they are influencing you one way or another and that's why we have a generation that looks more like the Instagram influencers than Jesus Christ because we're following them first instead of Jesus Christ first.[v]

Have you misplaced or lost your identity? A Portland Police Officer tried to return a stolen Driver’s License to a woman named Amanda. He texted her this. Amanda, it’s officer Fullington with Portland police, I found your ID. Can you call me back please? She thinks it’s a scam so she responded. Bull-Loney! There is no way a cop has my cell number. Nice try you creep. He responds back with a selfie in full uniform, standing next to his Police Cruiser and holding her ID. She immediately texts an apology promising to call him after work.[vi]

Your Driver’s License, SS card & fingerprints all prove who you are. But more than any driver’s license, God, best defines who we are. Every person is his creation. Every believer in Jesus becomes his child. Sadie Robertson Huff said this at the end of her talk. I just want to say to y'all as a generation ... I want us to stop that search for fame and just start following God because if we need anything after the year 2020, we need a Savior.[vii] She’s right! Jesus gets personal in verse 20. It’s no longer the opinion of the crowd. It’s what his twelve apostles believe about him. (Read 9:20) It’s been days if not weeks since Jesus broke a few barley loaves and fed thousands of people. But that miracle convinced the disciples. Jesus is God’s Messiah. Jesus is our Savior. Author Paul David Tripp said, “If you are not attaching your identity to the unshakable love of your Savior, you will ask the things in your life to be your Savior, and it will never happen. If you are not requiring yourself to get your deepest sense of well-being vertically, you will shop for it horizontally, and you will always come up empty.”[viii] Peter speaks for the Twelve and says, “You are God’s Messiah! You’re the One we’re putting our hope in. Look at what immediately happens in verse 21. (Read 21-22) Jesus just declared. I am the Messiah. My mission is to do the will of my Father. Everything I do leads to my death. If you ever want to know whether or not Jesus is first in your life simply follow Jesus’ words in verses 23&24. (Read 23&24) My identity is the following: I am God’s creation. I am God’s child. I am Jesus’ disciple. I am chosen. I am adopted. I am secure. I am Holy Spirit led. I am dearly loved. May I offer one quick warning! For anyone who serves God, don’t let activity become your identity. Nine days after Jesus reveals his identity, he will heal a demon possessed boy at the end of Luke 9. Here’s how the crowd responds to him in Luke 9:43 (NIV2011) 43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did…

What we “do” is normally where we get our identity. Jesus’ miracles could have gone to his head. But they didn’t because his identity wasn’t found in just being a miracle worker. It was found in being God’s Son, the Messiah. It wasn’t to live. It was to die. Get with someone today and answer this one question. Who am I? Am I a boss, a nurse, a preacher, a pet lover, a spouse, a parent, or an athlete? Or am I a disciple of Jesus who happens to be a boss, nurse, preacher, pet lover, spouse, or parent? If your answer is found in something that can be gained or lost, you are setting yourself up to be disappointed. But if your identity is found in the One who saved you – you can say with confidence. I am dearly loved. Jesus knew he was dearly loved by his father and that love moved him to change the world. May Jesus love’ for you move you to become more like him. Let me pray.

[i] Life Application Bible, Luke, Vital Statistics, 1654

[ii] Luke 23:8 (NIV)

[iii] John 6:8 (NIV)

[iv] Mark E. Moore, The Chronological Life of Christ, 265

[v] https://www.christianpost.com/news/sadie-robertson-huff-warns-of-elevating-social-media-over-jesus.html?uid=f5c81ba358

[vi] https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/12/amanda-wasnt-about-to-be-fooled-by-a-text-scam-but-this-time-it-really-was-a-portland-police-officer.html

[vii] https://www.christianpost.com/news/sadie-robertson-huff-warns-of-elevating-social-media-over-jesus.html?uid=f5c81ba358

[viii] https://gracequotes.org/quote/if-you-are-not-feeding-your-soul-on-the-realities-of-the-presence-promises-and-provisions-of-christ-you-will-ask-the-people-situations-and-things-around-you-to-be-the-messiah-that-they-can-never/