Who am I? - Identity
3 Fundamental Questions • Sermon • Submitted
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Postmodernism is a worldview that has gripped our society.
Everything is relative - you define for yourself
Leading to pride and selfishness, where it is all about me!
There are no absolutes - Truth as an absolute does not exist
This then leads to an identity crisis that is crippling our nation
It is filtering into every aspect of our society
With no absolutes then everything gets messy and we cant understand reality.
We are left with brokenness and a lack of human dignity.
These are the things that have influenced to preach this series
I think we need provide an answer to the fundamental questions of meaning that people are asking.
Let’s begin by understanding that what we are facing in our society is nothing new.
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper,
29 people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and unmerciful;
32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.
Are you ready for the message God has for us? - Cool, let’s begin!
Everyone searches for meaning in life
In that search we seek an answer to three fundamental questions
Who am I? - identity
Why am I here? - purpose
Where am I going? - destiny
Loren Eisleley was an American anthropologist, educator, philosopher, and natural science writer, who taught and published books from the 1950s through the 1970s.
He wrote “Man is the cosmic orphan. He is the only creature in the universe to asks, “Why?” Other animals have instincts that guide them through life. Man of all creatures has learned to ask questions.”
Since the time of the enlightenment man has searched for answers to these three fundamental questions.
Who am I?
Why am I here?
Where am I going?
In seeking meaning man has sought answers outside of religion, God, and the Bible.
Loren also writes, “Modern man thought that when he hd gotten rid of God, he had freed himself from all that repressed and stifled him. Instead, he discovered that in killing God, he had only succeeded in orphaning himself. For if there is no God, then man’s life becomes absurd.”
When man removes God and the Bible they are left looking within themselves and the world for an answer, and find no real answer.
Science cannot answer these questions, they are not found in history, philosophy is confusing, and still they search.
The danger is that letting the world instead of God define identity, because that is easier to do.
In the world attitudes, peers, family, and society shape self image and leading to the brokenness, anxiety, and shattered identity in people
That is the true reality of the world we live in.
Who defines you?
Who defines you?
None of us are immune to the the effects of performance acceptance that we find in the world.
In the world you are defined by what you do and how you perform, and when we don’t live up you feel worthless.
Some Christians do the same with God, some feel they must perform to receive God’s acceptance
No one is immune to these distorting effects
Only when we look to the truths in the word of God and ignore the world will we find our true identity.
When the world defines us we take away the value and dignity of human life and who we truly are.
The world teaches that a person must look inside themselves to find answers to their problems, that is the effect of postmodernism
Just a cursory look into the world we see the problems that arise - distorted self image, multiplicity of genders, I can change my gender, a complete inability to understand what means to male or female!
By removing God society has distorted and broken identity
It is in the scriptures where we are exhorted to look to Christ - Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Don’t look in your self
The answers we greatly need are found only in Christ
Kenneth Boa writes, “To genuinely believe and embrace the reality of who we have become as a result of our faith in Christ requires consistent discipline and exposure to the word of God.”
This why being in a life group and daily devotions are so important!
Seeing ourselves as God sees us
Seeing ourselves as God sees us
This is where we need to understand grace
Grace humbles without degrading us
It elevates us without inflating us
This is the sound judgment that Paul spoke of in Romans 12:3
3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
It is grace that teaches us that God loves each of us so much that through Christ we receive forgiveness and a new life
It is the world that devalues who we are, that we are not created by a loving God , but that we are here by time and chance.
Mankind is then no more significant that a swarm of mosquitoes or a corral of pigs, for we are all the same
Thus significance, value, and dignity are removed and being human becomes worthless!
Who does God say I am?
Who does God say I am?
What does God say about us in his word
I am a child of God - John 1:12
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,
I am a friend of Jesus John 15:15
15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
I have been accepted by Jesus Romans 15:7
7 Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us, for the glory of God.
My body is the temple of the holy Spirit who dwells in me 1 Corinthians 3:16
16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
I am no longer a slave but a child and an heir Galatians 4:7
7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
God loves me and has chosen me 1 Thessalonians 1:4
4 knowing, brothers and sisters, beloved by God, His choice of you;
I found in total 46 passages that show our value and significance to God, the Bible is full of many more
The world does not place that kind of value and dignity of human life!
I am not a product of evolution, time, and chance
I am created by a living God in his image, he loves me and has chosen me! I am valued and significant to Him
That is the dignity the world removes
The world is selfish in its desires, they don’t want account ability! Its about me and no one else!
Conclusion
So there we have answer to the fundamental question, who am I? I am a child of God!
That is an answer with significance, value, and dignity!
The answer is not found in the world, the world messes up and gets it completely wrong!
Are you looking for the answer to this question? Well it is found here!