Tribe | Your Redeemed Identity - Night 3

During our first night together, we began by hearing the 12 core truths about what God accomplished for us in Christ, and how God created our tribe, the Heaven tribe, to live as one together. As I read these truth statements from Ephesians chapter 1:3-14, I want you to say the highlighted word with me:

Blessed us in Jesus - verse 3

Chose us in Jesus - verse 4

Adopted us into his family through Jesus - verse 5

Poured grace on us in Jesus, the one whom he loves - verse 6

Gave us redemption through Jesus - verse 7

Lavished grace on us through Jesus - verse 8

Made known to us the mystery of his will as he purposed in Jesus - verse 9

Intends to bring us into unity under Jesus - verse 10

Provided us with an inheritance through Jesus - verse 11

Gave us hope in Jesus - verse 12

Marked us in Jesus with the seal of salvation - verse 13

Guarantees the redemption of all of us, his holy people, through Jesus - verse 14

These truths belong to you at the very moment that you place your trust in Jesus!

God doesn’t meet you first with judgment, nor does God shame you for your past. Rather, at the precise moment when you place your trust in Christ, God gives his truth to you and makes you part of his Heaven tribe!

AMEN!

Last night, we discussed the flipside to this truth, which is the cold hard fact about all of us - all of us - all of us - the playing field is level, for all of us:

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

Hiding in our shame, running into our oblivions, and struggling with ourselves and with others.

Friends, listen, the Devil holds no power over you, except whatever deception that you choose to believe. Don’t ever forget that!

Thus why last night, I invited you to get honest with yourself and say:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Point out anything in me that offends you,

and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24

I hope all of you answered this question with a trusted leader:

“Who owns your heart?”

And then as thoughts rise to the surface for you, follow the wisdom of James, Jesus’ brother, when he instructed the church to:

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16

Who owns your heart?

That’s our question for this week.

Does God own your heart, or do you own your heart?

When God owns your heart, God loves you all the way through to the very innermost parts of your being, showing you:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

This passage highlights one of God’s most important traits:

Our God is just.

Which means that true love demands that right wins over wrong.

Whenever we choose our own selfishness above God and others, we choose wrong over right, and whenever we choose sin over God, we break a bond that we cannot repair by ourselves.

To illustrate this broken bond between us and our Heavenly Father, Jesus told a story about a young man, who wanted to go his own way. He wanted to live like the god of his own life and make his own rules.

Sound familiar?

He rejected his Father, demanded his inheritance, declared his father dead before his household, and left for the far country to get as far away from his family tribe as possible.

This dude inherited a sum of millions, let’s say, and he wasted every penny of it on wild living.

Use your imagination, we live in Miami.

In desperation, the young man begged a local farmer to hire him. He got a job feeding pigs.

One day, the young man became so starved for food that the pig slop looked good to him.

But even then, no one gave him anything, not even pig slop to eat.

After slamming hard on rock bottom, the young man came to his senses. He picked up his broken pieces and made the long walk back home to his Father’s house, hoping that maybe his father might show mercy on him and hire him as a servant in his house. After all, the young man thought, at least his father’s servants ate 3 hot meals a day.

Listen to how Jesus told the story:

“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have enough food to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ Luke 15:17-19

Remember, the son no longer belonged to his family, and they no longer belonged to him.

The young man made a decision that he could not make right.

He gave back his rights as a son at the very moment when he declared his father dead before his family tribe.

...

At that time during the first century, in a situation like this, Jewish law allowed the Father to kill his own son for committing such a humiliating act toward him.

But friends, Hear this: by choosing to come home, the son faced the possibility of death. He knew this, but he wanted his father more.

Friends, make no mistake, Jesus told this story as a way of explaining our lives. Every human being ever, including all of us in this room, at one time or another, have turned our backs against our Heavenly Father, declared him dead to us, abandoned our rights as his sons and daughters of God, and left for the far country to live however we pleased.

Like the father in the parable, this God of justice that we abandoned is well within his rights as God to pronounce a death sentence over us because of our disobedience and many sins.

And like the son, some of us here, including me, eventually came to the realization that our lives amounted to nothing more than the junk that we used to pursue.

C.S. Lewis said it like this:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are far too easily pleased.” C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses

A couple of years ago, my wife and I celebrated our anniversary at her favorite restaurant, the Capital Grill. Thank you ladies. Dudes, take some notes.

That day, because of my schedule, I couldn’t eat breakfast, nor could I eat lunch, and by 3pm, I needed some grub…bad, so as dudes are prone to do, I made a quick pass by Taco Bell... and loaded up on some outstanding double decker tacos, even though I knew that in just a few hours time, the choicest steak in Miami awaited me.

Last night, the amazing, Jeni Hacker informed Jordan Harvell (another Taco Bell connoisseur) and me yesterday that Taco Bell uses Grade E meat, which on the box, actually says, edible,’ just in case anyone questions the grade.

Grocery stories like Publix don’t even sell Grade D meat.

I filled up on Grade E meat, when Grade A choicest cut Prime Rib literally awaited my mouth!

Friends, like the younger son, we have all fallen for the lie that if we simply satisfy our selfish desires with alcohol, weed, porn, gossip, pills, sex, sugar (seriously), vape, cliques, youtube binging, whatever, then all of our needs would be met, and we would be happy.

In reality, however, we end up feeling:

Depressed

Alone

Anxious

Worried

Fearful

We talked about this last night, And I suspect that some of you here tonight feel this way. You feel lost, and the very thought of returning home to your Heavenly Father… or the very thought of being truthful with your parents… or the very thought of letting your Heaven tribe give you a place to be known and belong and live with purpose… all feels impossible and, perhaps shameful, even.

I once felt that way, too, and so did the younger brother in this story, who expected his Father not only to shame him, but potentially end his life because of what he did.

He couldn’t do anything to fix the brokenness that he caused. Neither can you, neither can I.

But something incredible happened. Hear now some of the best words that Jesus ever said:

While the young man was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ Luke 15:20-21

The son braced for impact and waited for his father to shun him, shame him, or at worst, kill him.

In this passage:

Did his father shame him? No.

Did he kill him? No.

Rather, Jesus tells us that his father had been searching for him.

His son shamed him in front of his family, but did the Father care. No, he just wanted his son back.

The Father just wanted his son back, so he searched for him, and when he found him, Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

Though the son confessed his sin:

“His father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.

Each act symbolizing his full restoration back into the family.

And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. Luke 15:22-24

Friends, for those of you in the far country tonight, please hear the good news for you through Jesus’ own words:

Filled with love and compassion, the Father ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

In our sin, all of us deserve God’s wrath, but Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross satisfied God’s wrath toward our sin, and made a way for us to come back home to our Heavenly Father.

The young man knew his wrongs. You know yours. I know mine. The son confessed:

‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

Friends, listen to me: in your honesty, the son’s words become your words. His confession becomes our confession.

We’ve sinned against a good God, who loves us.

We’re not worthy.

By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

Verse 3 says, but the very next verse says this:

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-6

Listen, our sin leads to death. We deserve eternal separation from God, but friends, please do not miss this: God’s mercy, which means not getting what you deserve, removed the penalty of our sin! God’s grace, which means getting what you don’t deserve, gave us eternal life with our Heavenly Father!

God fixed what we could not fix ourselves, because God loves you that much!

Even while we still chose to live our own way, God turned to you, and broke the boundary of Heaven and Earth to find you. God gave his son to die on the cross for you because the debt of your sin demanded death…

So God paid that debt of death, not with your life, but by the sacrifice of his son’s life. God showed his great love for you by dying your death on an old wooden cross so that you may live full and true right now into eternity with him.

God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8

On the cross, an infinite God took on skin and bones in Jesus, who assumed all of our sin and all of our consequence in order to pay the infinite debt that all of us owe to God. Only a good and right God could make our wrongs right.

Jesus is God in a Bod!

And did for us what we could not do for ourselves.

In Christ, God redeemed you from your sin. Redeem means ‘to buy back.’

He bought you back from death and made you his own.

Do you want to know how let to God own your heart?

Place your trust in Christ your Savior tonight, and your life now belongs to God.

***“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

Your Heavenly Father purchased you with the high price of the cross, and now by your trust, he guarantees your salvation by giving you His Holy Spirit, who dwells in you.

Do you know what the Holy Spirit does? God’s Holy Spirit:

Creates new life in us

Empowers us with confidence

Guides us with wisdom

Unites us into one tribe

Intercedes on our behalf through prayer

Comforts us during our sadness

Refines us into God’s holy and blameless sons and daughters

In Christ, your Heavenly Father adopted you into his family, calls you his son or daughter, and - get this! - will one day seat you next to him on his heavenly throne to rule with him into eternity, as royalty!

You, my friends, are God’s living testimony!

So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

That’s how much God loves you!

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

The only one who can boast about this saving work is God. Your life is an example, a living testimony, of the extent to which God demonstrated his love!

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:7-10

You are God’s masterpiece, his greatest creation, and God spared nothing, not even his own son, to save his you.

You are God’s greatest work.

The original Greek word from which we get masterpiece is this word: “poema.”

What English word do you hear in this Greek word, poema?

You hear the word, Poem.

Our English word ‘poem’ derives from this same Greek word ‘poema,’ which translates to masterpiece.

Perhaps, another way to read this verse is:

God saved you by his grace when you believed… For we are God’s poetry.

You are God’s living, breathing, walking poetry in this world, and every breath you take, every act you make, and every word you speak reflects your author.

Your life is like a living Psalm in the world.

And no matter what others may do to you

No matter what happens to you

No matter what people say about you

No matter what hardships in this life that you endure...

your Psalm speaks!!!

Your circumstances may change, but in Christ, you are God’s poetry, you are God’s living Psalm in the world, and nothing or no one can ever change that truth about you.

If you have gone your own way, then tonight, turn back to God, for he promised to hear you.

—————————

One morning, when my daughter, Hannah, was about a year old, she and I woke up early to play in her bedroom - just Daddy and her.

At that time, she was just starting to crawl and wanted to explore everywhere on her own.

During our playtime together, she crawled away from me and to the edge of the bedroom. She turned back and smiled, wanting my permission to leave her bedroom and explore the dark hallway.

I told her no, but she turned around and crawled away, so I followed her without her knowing and listened for her cry.

About a moment after she left the bedroom, she crawled out of the light and into the darkness. She couldn’t see, felt scared, and cried, “Dada, dada!”

She put her arms in the air, and instantly, I picked her up, carried her into the light, told her I loved her, and then said, stay with Daddy.”

Friends, if you’re in the far country, away from God, in the darkness, then tonight, I invite you to repentance, which simply means ‘to turn.’ Tonight, simply stop, turn your hands to the air, and surrender to Christ’s salvation for you. As you do, without hesitation, your Heavenly Father promised to hear you. Jesus promised to find you and bring you back into the light of his goodness and grace!

No shame, tonight. Your Heavenly Father is waiting for you. Come to him now.

Bring your life, symbolized in your jagged piece, and place it in the cross. Let your life become God’s poetry in the world!

[[[Kids bring pieces]]]

Response prayer

Song 1

Jesus takes our broken pieces and transforms them into something beautiful.

Romans 10:10

Song 2

Related Media

Related Sermons