My Identity in Christ - Part 1

Thank you for joining us for this broadcast from The Ninth Avenue Church of Christ in Haleyville, Alabama. We hope that you will subscribe and we'll share our broadcast with others. Now. We take you to the pulpit of the 9th, Avenue Church of Christ, Our study together. Got to thank you so much for just being an awesome and amazing guy. And we are so blessed to be called your children were so blessed to be Christians. To have this church family this morning, and we're blessed by this time of worship. Thank you so much for the way that we have been LED this morning. Thank you for the songs that we have signed. Thank you for the time of communion that we have had gone, Thank you for the prayers. Have already been said in the words that have been read this morning, help us to open up our hearts and Minds to you. As we talked about who we are this morning, just blessed us in this time. God help us to evaluate our life. Help us to be convicted by Your Word this morning. It's in your son's name that we pray. Amen. Show me the last several months, January February, March, and April. From the last 4 months, of third of the year. We have spent time, studying the life of Jesus. We we've looked at a lot of different aspects of all different things from the from Jesus life, and in my goal and my hope is that as we study the life of Jesus that we will then shift to live like Jesus. And ultimately the book of 1st Thessalonians is about. That is about the idea that now, that Jesus has chosen you now that you are a child of God. How are you supposed to live? How are you supposed to look as a child of God and then as an extension to that, if we look like this is a child of God, how will our church family here and not having you begin to look ba. Begin to act and begin to function. And so that's kind of the premise over the next few weeks. As we look at some thoughts from my identity in Christ through the book of 1st Thessalonians in. So Does it kind of sub topic or subtitle of our idea here? This morning is, who are we? Who are we? What are we supposed to look like in in this life? So take your bibles. If you have your Bibles, hold them up. They have your bowels. Hold them up. If you have your phones that you could be reading off of, hold them up and open to 1st Thessalonians chapter 1. First Thessalonians, chapter one is a brief chapter probably, probably in and I say that's about a lot of versus, but top five top five chapters of mine in scripture right up there with Luke chapter 15 1st. Thessalonians. Chapter one is is right up there with it. So it was read this together and Nathan. If you will help everybody follow along on the screen, Paul Silas. And Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians in God, the father in the Lord, Jesus Christ, Grace and peace to you. We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We were before God and Father, your work, produced by faith, your labor, prompted by love and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ for we know brothers and sisters loved by God that he has chosen you. Because our gospel came to. You not simply with words, but also with power with the holy spirits and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord for you. Welcome to message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy, given by the Holy Spirit model, to all the Believers in Macedonia. And a KU. Drink.

for your faith in God has become known everywhere there for We do not need to say anything about it for, they themselves report. What kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turn to God from items to serve, the living and true God. And to wait for his son from Heaven. Whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescued us from the coming wrath, man. I love love. Love this chapter because I look at this job and I'm like, okay if there is if there is a chapter a group of verses that say you should be this. This is what you should be as a church. It is 1st Thessalonians, chapter 1. Now. There are a lot of things here in M. My clicker on here. There are a lot of things here that are mention. I want to show you a few of them and we're talk about them very quickly, can a very quickly, Will get there. I have a slight here somewhere. I do have a slide, right?

What happened? There is, if you can read I'm sorry for small small because of Jesus. I should be that's the whole idea here because of Jesus.

Borriello Brothers and Sisters, Love by God, that he has chosen you. If Jesus has chosen, you then it should make them in packs. Some some that you should make an impact on your life. There's so many things that happened and so he list some things. This is not an exhaustive list. And as I'm sitting here, reading it again, thinking man, I should have put this and I should have put this but these are some things I want to think about this morning, very quickly when I go to talk about Mom and Deborah, we're just going to hit him says look first and foremost because when we pray about you, there's something about you in about your life, that stands out above everything else and I thank God for. He said, it is your faithfulness, your love and your enduring this and and and that is some of those are some words that Paul uses over and over and over and scripture. But he says, one of the things that I know about everything else is that your faithful? You have faith in faith is not just a belief. Faith is a, is something that I believe in this. So it leaves me to watch. It leads me to ask him. So what is it? Say here, he couples. It was something. He said, we were member before our God and Father your work produced by faith. It wasn't just empty work. He said, because of your faith in God that has pushed you to do, what to work, to put forth, effort to make things happen. And then he says that you're only, we also are to be loving. He said your labor prompted by love. I think you, and we mention this again, in class this morning, Christian. Love may be the greatest thing in the world, but also one of the hardest things to live. Bizarre causes as Catherine said in class this morning. We all are great at loving The Lovable, right? How many of you are good at loving people who love? You raise your hand. If someone loves you, is it not easier to love them. How about people that don't love you. How about people that criticize you? How about people that that they just don't like you? Okay, and it doesn't matter what you do. How you act babe? Just made up their mind. They're not going to like you. How many of you have the really easy time? Loving those people know why? Because we kind of look at Love. Sometimes is it given take, right? As it if you love me, I love you and kind of what we talked about in class and in this is so true. Is that it it's kind of a defense mechanism. It's not that we don't like them, but we're going to keep them at a distance and we're not going to love them. If you don't want them to hurt us, but he said, look, I know you by your love. And see when the world says that loves this. In our love, looks like the world's love and then someone comes in and sees us as a church and they see a worldly love and not a supernatural. Christian. Love Of Christ. Love they go. Well, what's the difference? Why do I have to be here? When you're no different than me, but he says, there's something about you guys that were different, your love was different. And then he said, he said, you, you are in dire and you have endurance, meaning that, as challenges come, you have the ability to face those challenge challenges and overcome them. And then he goes on. He says, not only that a spa because you are you are confident look at her spot because our gospel came to. You not simply with words, but also with power with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. There's a couple of different words that conviction can be translated into confidence is one of them in both of them are very truth. And here's the things. What he's talking about here is I have conviction and confidence that the life that I'm living is the life I need to be. Living. And that I also have the ability to share that with other people because I know this is the best life to live. And I have confidence in God, and it pushes me and it motivates me to live in this way. I'm not scared. I'm not timid. I'm not afraid. I am confident and I am grounded verse 6. Joyful. Joyful, you became imitators of us, and of the Lord, for your welcome. The message in the midst of severe suffering. With the joy, given by the Holy Spirit. With the joy. He given by the Holy Spirit.

Let's just be honest. Are some people just naturally happy people. Are there some people that are just naturally, it's kind of a downer. People in life. Absolutely. There's some people that are naturally positive. There are some people that are just naturally negative. There are some people that are naturally half half glass-half-full. Some people are naturally glass half empty as Christians do it where we supposed to be. What supposed to Define us as Christians? Joyfulness, each, and everyone of you should be defined as being a joyful person. All of you even Jonathan. Joyfulness, okay. But some of us like, you know, that's just not my natural demeanor, that may not be. It doesn't matter. What you can natural. Demeanor is what he says here is you become this way not by your own natural ability, but through what Do what? What do you say the joyful mystery team from? The Holy Spirit. Do you have the Holy Spirit this morning? If you do then, guess what you should enjoy for Christian. And if you're not a joyful Kristen, you're doing what he says. At the end of this job, this book. He says you're putting out the spirit Spa. You're not letting that Spirit, do what he needs to do in your life. So we should be identified as joyful. People didn't verse 7. He says, we need to be examples. We need to be example, that's a dangerous thing, right? That's a dangerous thing. How many of you remember? Some of you were too young to remember this? How many of you remember when Charles Barkley said, I am not a white, you remember Dylan what he say? I'm not a, you know, you remember that? You're too young to role model. I am not a role model.

What was, what was the issue? What was the deal for looking at him and going? What was the, what was the other guy that was in the NBA during this time? Real popular guy. I met Michael Jordan. What was, what was that? Slogan be like to be like, Mike? Okay, and so, here comes Charles Barkley and he goes let Jordan B. Jordan. I'm not a role model. Don't don't, don't be like me.

We're supposed to be the type of people that say, be like us. Do you like me? How many, how many of you that scares you? That that that the scripture says you're actually to be an example. People are supposed to look at you and they're supposed to go. That's what I'm supposed to be like. Tony says he was a warning that he used it says that you watched us, you became imitators of us and then imitators of God. And that word imitators is the idea of a I'm striking a press or something and making an exact replica. Okay? Over and over and over and over again. You feel do you mate? You're taking your making replica of something and it just makes the same thing as strikes at the same thing, strikes. It same thing strikes. The same thing. He said you would have came imitators about you became like us and also we became like God. He says, we are to be the same type of people will live. That life people are to be able to imitate what we're doing. Now. Let me ask you, if you are the people that someone is supposed to imitate. If you're that person that someone looks down to go do, this is what Christ is like that a good thing or a bad thing. Is it a good thing for someone to look at you? And go? Oh, Jesus. Was it bad thing water? They seen, this is what we're supposed to be. And then verse 8, my favorite one ringing. We're supposed to be ringing. He says the message rang out of you all through high school and in an even, even even now I am a I am a drummer through, and through to my heart percussion. It's all through high school, you know, all these like locking play trumpet. I can play this. I can play that all these people that played leading one instruments in school and like I had a whole closet of stuff that I got to play, you know, every weekend and it was so cool and so much fun. We had this song that we played in Band. Call Mom and In the song, There was a part for brake drum like a literal brake drum off of a vehicle and we had this huge rusted-out brake drum. That way ain't no telling how much that got wax from the band room to the football field. Every Friday night, the Play 4 notes for this song supposed to sound like a hammer, hitting a when you hit that but brake drum with a big Mallet. It makes a clanking sound, it just goes blank day.

On the flip side of that. How many of, you know, what a Gong is. Big, big dong you have to warm those things up. And then when you strike them, you have the initial sound and then what does it do? It just Echoes and keeps going and keeps going. Okay, so we're in the middle of a concert when I was a sophomore in high school and Argan had a really huge metal base to it because it was big and heavy. And I was walking from one side of the stage to the next to go from one instrument that I played at the beginning of the song to get to the other one. And if you know me that surprise you I tripped over the base.

And I smack the Kong during the middle of this quiet. Part of the song. It was just as quiet. Like everything. I've been allowed and it kind of comes down in this quiet peaceful, and it's going to build back up. And it's on a CD somewhere. This nice quiet in this Kong is ghost.

But y'all that is us, that is what he says. We are supposed to be when Jesus hits us with salvation, when he strikes us with salvation, when he strikes us with a blessing, when those things come into our locked. It was a lot of times we're guilty of being Being a brake drum. We get it. It's blank. We don't let it ring. This is for us to be what we're supposed to be and how we're supposed to be. Guess what? When, when we are struck by Jesus it resonates into our world, it resonate throughout our life. It resonates throughout our workplace. It resonates throughout our, our family. It resonates everywhere. Jesus should resonate from us. Is it going to be ringing? And then he says, you're to be a servant or serving of God verse 9. He says for Leyland sales report. What kind of reception you gave us a tell us how you turned to God from items, to serve, the living and true God. And in this may be one of the most difficult because it's so easy to want to serve our self, isn't it? It's so easy for wasps to want to come to church, but come to church and get what we want. We want it to be the way we want it to be. We want these Traditions to always remain sacred and always remain true and always remain there. We want it to be like, it was, then instead of now. And then. So we have to remember, though that every bit of this is not about who it's not about me. first and foremost, it's about who Got. It's about God above everything else. I'll ask you these. These two questions. Does this list. Does this list, does this chapter? Does it describe you? Does it describe? You know, we're never going to be perfect and I get it will never be perfect. We're never going to live it and then in the perfect way. But we should be working toward this. And as we work towards this, as individuals, our church becomes defined by these things, which people should look at us and begin to see these things becoming our identity. Now, the question then becomes what? Gets in the way of this. What gets in the way of this, that's not the picture I want. That's picture. I want what keeps us becoming from becoming like cross and I got like, 5 minutes.

The first thing is this a, there's a lot of things, there's a lot of things, but as I was sitting and thinking about this, passage all week, trying to think what really are some things that get in the way, and you'll see the three of them here. In case we don't finish term relationships, routine and does Iran blessing from God, more than God himself. It was start with relationships. And what I want to do with this, for the next few minutes is, is these are things that can get in the way of us being more like Jesus, but they are also things at least the first two, are things that can also help us become more those things. It's, it's, it's a given take. The relationships is the first thing that I want you to think of. And a lot of times, we think of relationship in a worldly relationship, versus a Christian relationship. So it's easy to go. Well, I need to get rid of my worldly relationship. So they don't hinder me from living this Christian life, but I don't want us to make you maybe the zoom in a little bit. And I want us to take a step closer to this idea right here of relationships and say this, You look just as detrimental to as worldly, relationships is Christian relationships that really aren't based on Christ. Christian relationships that are really not based on Christ. I want you to go to Hebrews chapter 10 with me. Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews chapter 10 is, is is a great chapter lot of good thing. We're going to look at just to versus or 24.

And let us consider how we may spur one, another on toward love and good deeds. Not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one, another and all the more as you see the day approaching. What does he say about our relationships? Then our relationships are supposed to be about what? Exactly encouragement. He's got it. And I know it to encourage our relationship. He says, what does he say? Our relationships in this in this church family is supposed to be about and let us consider how we may want. Spur. One. Another on toward toward what? Love. And Good Deeds to actions. And then he says, not giving up on what meeting together, somewhere in the habit of doing, but encouraging one, another and all the more as you see the day approaching. Now, in this context, is in the only thing. But in this context, what is the purpose of meeting together? What does he say? The purpose of meeting together? Right? Here is, is he talkin about praising and worship right here? No, not in this particular section. He does. Another place is okay, but he also says, another huge component of us being together right here is so that we can strengthen our what relationship that's right Miss Vicky relationships. So that we can grow closer to each other so that we can have an opportunity to push each other. The spur one, another along to encourage one another. You see, I think and this is just Matthew. Okay, you you may disagree with me on this and then that's fine. This is not a matter of of of Salvation here. This is a matter of perspective. My matter of perspective. Is it easy? To get so focused on a good thing that it becomes a hindrance. Is that true? It's easy to get so focused on a good thing that it can become a hindrance. It's so easy for us to get so focused on church and preaching and worship that, we forget the importance of relationships in our Christian walk. Okay. My example and I guess would be as this if we feel like we're not 11:00 congregation and it would be easy to go out. We're not a loving church. We need a sermon series on what love is. Right. We need someone to teach us. What love is. Let me just tell you I don't need anyone to teach me. What love is at this point in my life. I Know What Love Is Right. Gary? Do you know what? Love is that your life. Do you need a sermon series on? Love to know what love is. No. What some of us may need to someone to come alongside Gary? When did they really need this? Someone to come alongside Gary and go Gary, you know, what love is in our relationship? Let me help you practice that, let me push you. Let me spare you towards love and Good Deeds. Don't need another sermon. You need a relationship to help show you how to live that sermon out. And in and I don't want us to get so wrapped up on. We got to have certain lessons in class than all this stuff in the absence of our relationships. Now there was a picture that popped up go back to that picture. Can you go back to that picture? Cuz I'm the one scroll back through all of that.

So, this picture was taken. 4 years ago, I think four years ago. Yeah, I like that. And The guy in the Middle. S big gee, that's great. Cochran. The other guy is Chuck. Norris Chuck was one of my youth ministry is growing up. Big G was one of our youth advisors and I will credit these two guys in a very, very large way of the reason that I'm your preacher this morning. Now, some of you may want to go back and talk to those guys to go. What were you thinking? Yeah, appreciate that, you know. I'm not a preacher today. Because of sermons. I'm a preacher today because of relationships. I'm a disciple of Christ because of relationships, because there were people who came alongside me and said, you've heard what the word of God says. Now, let me help you live that. Let me show you how that is live. Let me show you how to walk in this every single day of your life. And these two guys, especially, big Jeep are guys that are still influential and parts of my life and they still help me live that every single day. So when you have relationships in your church family than even in the world, we fail, especially in your church, family. You need to. Look at those relationships and safe are these relationships. Spurring me to live 1st Thessalonians. Chapter 1. Are they pushing me in this direction? And you need to ask yourself? I am the type of person that is pushing people toward more, positive living or am I type of person that's being negative? Be condescending being judging and I'm not sparing people long toward love. I'm sparing people along to what I want to see happen. What I want to see take place. That's a hard question to ask herself. But when we get there, we have to say, am I being this type of person? And am I having the relationships and the impact on people that push people toward love? And good deeds. We can have sermons all day long. But if we're not living the relationships that have to couple those words that have two pair with those words, then we're never going to be a 1st Thessalonians Church. The second thing is routine. The second thing that can get in our way of being this. Is routine.

The way we live. Our life shows. What is most important to us? You agree with that the way we live our life shows. What is most important to us? We're going to do something in August that I think is going to be fun funny and unique. It was actually

Nathan's idea, and he gave it to me, Nathan psychonautics, get in trouble. He gave me this idea, has been trying to get someone to do this for a few years, but he gave me this idea but football season already started, but he said, he thinks it would be fine if one Sunday or one Wednesday night or however, we want to know how we're doing yet, but we all wear our favorite football team shirt or hat or something and then get on the front step, and I'll take a picture and all of our different sports team, garb. And then make some type of post about, you know, divided in this but United in Christ, and I just think that that would be a really cool thing. And then he gave me this idea right before it all kind of. Well, it was too late to do it and we have not yet, but I have remembered it and we're going to do it. But I make that point because here in here in a few here, in a few months or a few months were going to drag all that stuff back out, right? We're all going to know who we follow by, what we wear by what we say by what we do.

Now, think about that in your Christian walk. Does your routine. Does your routine prove that you are a Christ follower? I was running late to get up into my classroom. This morning. I know I was running late to get into my classroom because David Albright started his class and I'll still in his classroom in a piece, starting class and I haven't started class. I'm way behind. This is how we started his class this morning. I have missed you all. I have missed being with y'all. David's been gone the last few weeks. He's really pouring himself into Grandpa life. These days and you think you could, you think you could ride a horse in a horse show yet? Or at least teach someone how to do it. Yeah. But as he's been gone, part of his routine has been off and that part of that routine has been the part that's with all of us and his first words. I have missed, I have missed. How many of you feel that way when you're not here you miss being here cuz it's so much part of our routine. And that's a good thing was taking a Next Step, how many of you have prayer and personal Bible study so much part of your routine that when you don't do it on a daily basis, you miss it. How many of us are guilty that we don't do it enough and it, when we do practice those things, it actually feels a little strange. I'll just not part of our routine. How many of you part of your routine is sharing your story? Letting your bell ring, all your all out all throughout your life? As part of your routine or is it a strange feeling when you get put in the situation that you have to share your faith? They are routine tells us what's most important and so our routine can lead us away from Jesus and that lifestyle, or I can bring us closer to Paul starts out this end in 1st Thessalonians 1 and through. So many other section be set in the chapters of the Bible verse to. We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayer. I don't know what specifically, Paul's prayer life look like, but I know Paul had a prayer routine because at the beginning of so many of his letters starts with that statement, when I pray I pray about you. I'll pray for you. I think God for you friend with something that he did all the time and we need to have those routines in our life as well. Last thing and then the lesson is going to be yours. 10 things that can pull us away in the Desiring. A blessing from God, more than God himself kept following God can come with some amazing blessings, this world in this part of our journey, but we can't be blessing Chasers. We can't be blessing. Chasers when we're just about what I get, what I get, what I get the blessings from God, have to get bigger and bigger and bigger for me to feel like I have been blessed.

Y'all, there is nobody in my life and in my world that I love more than my wife. Nobody. and, I am. You just as happy. With a car ride conversation with for screaming kids with her. In that moment, as I am a date night, just her and I are going out somewhere. I'm just as excited about that moment with all the distractions that I get with her. As I am. Any other moment and it's actually kind of become a running joke here lately. I don't know if I love her more than she loves me. Or, no, that's not true. But I love her so much that any moment that I get with her big or small is amazing. Now, Jesus comes along and he says your relationships with each other should pale in comparison to your relationship with me. Insane. If we just ended about The Blessing about what we're getting from God and not about the relationship with God himself. The nothing that God does for us is ever going to be good enough. When God is the most important, when we seek first his kingdom and that is our Focus. Any moment with God, is an amazing blessing. And if you've not felt those amazing blessings in a while. Then maybe it's because you're more focused on what you're getting than the actual relationship itself. And we have to be careful, not to be blessing. Chasers. Now, I want to start go back around. Grab your Bibles back out. Circle back around the verse 10. Because this is where it all comes down to. I want to be all these things. I want to be these things that he talks about in chapter 1 in the question is, how do I get there? It starts, it starts in verse 10 for some of us.

He says, he has his back at the verse 9, a little bit. They tell how you turned to God from items, to serve, the living and true God. And to wait for his son from Heaven, who was raised from the dead. And listen, Jesus, who rescued us from the coming Wrath. The starting point of the original list. Starts with being in Jesus. I want us to all be in that. I believe these are things that can keep us from coming. Be coming this way. We want to be like Jesus and all the descriptions, but for some of us this morning, you may be in a spot where Jesus who rescued us from the coming wrath is not where you're standing that you're not standing in a place of rescue of safety of Salvation from from, from the world from Satan. And I love that he intends all of this with the reminder. That we have to be in Jesus, to be safe. We have to have had that. We're about that moment in our relationship where I say Jesus, I'm going to do what you say. I'm going to believe in you. I'm going to be baptized so that I can be saved, so that I can be rescued so that I can find Salvation so that I can find this place to pee. So I can start my journey. And start living, all these things in my prayer and my challenge to you this morning. Is this the first 10 does not describe you? The rest of the chapter doesn't really matter. You have to be living verse 10. You have to have that rescued relationship with Jesus first. So if not, please, please. Find the conviction to have that relationship and then we can start living this life together. I want you to know verse for that, this might like my fist of my favorite for we know brothers and sisters loved by God that he has chosen you. God has chosen you this morning. God wants you to be here, got glad you're here. He wants you to be rescued. He wants you to live this life. If you ever feel at any time in your life that you're not in, did you're not wanted that no one cares for, you know, that God cares for you and that he has chosen you today and that you can find love and peace and acceptance in his church and his body and his family. This morning. Let's go to God In Prayer as we close our time. God. We thank you so much for these for these words, for your words, this morning and they are great words and encouraging words with her. Also challenging words, God it is easy to get wrapped up in the things that don't matter. It's easy to get focused even on even on what we may even call Church things. That are so important to us, but they may be personal and not essential guide. And to make us look like they, make us feel like they are the most important things when they really not help us to not get, so wrapped up in those things. Help us to focus on your words. All the things that you desire from us to be the top of hill, to be imitators of you above everything else. This morning guy.

We pray that as we try to find our identity. But that identity will always be grounded in you about everything else. Thank you so much for Jesus. Thank you for the rescue that he provided for each and everyone of us. Be with those who have not entered that salvation relationship with you. Please allow your spirit to convict them and lead them to that moment guide to where they can have their sins washed away and become your child. So that they can have this this endearing. Hope of Eternal salvation in love with you forever. Thank you for our church family. God. Thank you for the times. We love and laugh together for the times that we cry, shower your blessings upon us as we continue to serve you as in your son's name. We pray. Amen. Is this program has been beneficial to you, please consider subscribing on YouTube Apple podcast or your favorite podcasts. Provider also would love for you to leave us a 5-star review, which will greatly assist us in getting the message of God's love and salvation to others. Would love even more for you to join us in person. We are located at 2309 9th Avenue. In Haleyville, Alabama, you can also check us out on Facebook.

Instagram.

And Twitter be sure to join us again. And until then remember, we are a Church of Christ caring for his community.