Finding Our Identity - 1

Finding Our Identity - 1

Subject – Don’t let Them Steal Your Identity in Christ

By Rick Welborne

--King Nebuchadnezzar is the king of Babylon and he has troubling dreams…no leader in his kingdom can interpret them…Daniel comes along and tells him what the dreams mean.

--Daniel is exalted by the king and he puts three Hebrew young men in charge with him…Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  

--King N builds a 90-foot-tall image of himself and requires everyone to bow down to his image at the sound of all the music being played…the Hebrews refuse…They served only one God.

--The other leaders are jealous of them, their leadership, and that they are not conforming to the mandates being put out so they tattle to King N.

Daniel 3:13-18 (NLT)
¹³  Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in,
¹⁴  Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up?
¹⁵  I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”
¹⁶  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
¹⁷  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.
¹⁸  But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” 

--What a powerful story of these Hebrew young men who have made a decision to be who God called them to be not what others tried to make them into. Sound familiar?

--Today we are starting a new series Finding Our Identity. Identity theft just started out as the potential of someone stealing our SS# and credit card information.

--We gave a benevolence check to someone from Life Church years ago and they took the account number off the check and made their own checks…They were trying to steal what was not theirs. 

--The more I thought about this thing with Identity Theft and having my own identity stolen has opened my eyes to a more sinister plot of the enemy. Our Life Church verse:

John 10:10 (NKJV) ¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

--Another form of identity theft has been the world robbing the church of its true identity. They have convinced us that if we speak out against things that are anti-biblical that we are bigoted or racist.

--If we speak out against homosexuality or about gender identity that we are mean and without compassion.

--Which person is lacking in love and compassion…the guy who refuses to tell you the bridge is out or the person who does everything to warn you and stop you?

--I personally refuse to be identified or labelled by a liberal world system that says anything goes except Christianity…the Bible will be my manual to direct my path. Same with the Hebrew young men.

Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. 

1. My Identity Has Been Defined by God.

Matthew 19:4-6 (NKJV) ⁴ And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'
⁵  and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
⁶  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

Family Research Council:  Virtually all people have a biological sex, identifiable at birth and immutable through life, which makes them either male or female. The transgender movement represents a denial of this physical reality.  

Genesis 5:2 (NCV) ² He created them male and female… We are made in the image of God.

--News flash…God has already decided your identity when you were born male or female. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

--Family Research Council shares how those who try to have their sexual identity changed are among the highest on the list of suicides…they are so confused. Actually deceived. 

--Let me say loud and clear…any form of sexual abuse is Identity Theft because of what it robs from its victims. Children and women were never intended to be targets of sick men abusing them. Thieves!

2. When We Question God About Our Identity We Are Headed for Trouble.

--Many of us have been brain washed by the media and its constant bombarding of the worldly agenda. God please take us back to Andy and Barnie and Bonanza where right was right and wrong was wrong.

--Almost every sitcom has at least one homosexual couple and it is made to be cute and funny but it is neither cute nor funny when it goes against scripture. The three Hebrews knew who they were.

--That slow constant dripping is messing with the minds of even those who claim Christ…I heard a believer say not too long ago about same sex relationships…what does it matter if they love each other? 

--You can accuse God all you want but you have a choice in the matter…The enemy comes to steal your identity but Jesus said He came so you could have life and have it more abundantly!  

Isaiah 29:15-16 (NIV)
¹⁵  Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, "Who sees us? Who will know?"
¹⁶  You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"? 

--Romans 1 tells of the downward spiral that we can go down if we are not careful…We do not give Him glory as God, we are unthankful, our thinking is foolish, our hearts are darkened, we exchange truth for a lie:

Romans 1:26-28 & 32 (NCV) ²⁶  Because people did those things, God left them and let them do the shameful things they wanted to do. Women stopped having natural sex and started having sex with other women.
²⁷  In the same way, men stopped having natural sex and began wanting each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and in their bodies they received the punishment for those wrongs.
²⁸  People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking and to do things they should not do.
³²  They know God’s law says that those who live like this should die. But they themselves not only continue to do these evil things, they applaud others who do them. 

3. The Answer: Turn back to God!

--If God created us, if he created us male and female, if He created us to be in the likeness of His image, shouldn’t we turn back to Him. Shadrack, Meshack. And Abednego chose not to turn away.

--If He knows the plans He has for us…plans to give us a hope and a future…shouldn’t we turn back to Him.

--If He is willing to heal the broken hearted and to set the captives free (from Identity Theft, from sexual abuse or gender identity), shouldn’t we turn back to Him.

--Listen to what God did for people who had their identity stolen.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NLT) ⁹  Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,
¹⁰  or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
¹¹  Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

--You were made right with God by calling on His name…maybe you have turned away for a season…maybe you have never turned to Him at all…shouldn’t you turn to Him today?

--Your identity is found in Christ…any other identity is superficial and deceiving…God looks at you as being His special people or person: Shadrack, Meshack. And Abednego chose to live different than the rest.

1 Peter 2:10 (NLT) ¹⁰  “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” 

Conclusion: Who do we trust when it comes to our identity, our gender identity, our lives going forward, who do we trust…Choose to trust in God. Why? He created you the way you are for His purposes.

Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV)
¹³  For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

--God was not confused when He formed you…He created you to have His true identity.

The Gift – 2025 – 3

The Gift – 2025 – 3

 Subject – The Gift of Missions – 1

By Rick Welborne

Romans 10:13-17 (NLT2)
¹³  For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”
¹⁴  But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
¹⁵  And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
¹⁶  But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “LORD, who has believed our message?”
¹⁷  So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. 

--I actually believe that having preached about the gift of Holy Spirit is a perfect lead into talking about the gift of missions. We need Holy Spirit to reach the world. 

Acts 1:8 (NLT2)
⁸  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

--Many of you may not know this fact but, the AOG was started at the beginning of the 20^th Century. Listen to this, it was created to be a missionary sending organization.

Video – AOG

--Every missionary not only goes and preaches the gospel in some foreign land or here at home, but they also raise up missionaries (nationals) within the ministries they start. They send out missionaries. 

Matthew 9:37-38 (NKJV)
³⁷  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
³⁸  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

--There are countries who are raising up missionaries and sending them to the United States. We need them. Our text is pretty clear about us sending missionaries to the lost. 

Romans 10:14-15 (NLT2)
¹⁴  But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
¹⁵  And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?

--Most of you know, that missions is one of the passions of my heart. I knew before I became lead pastor of Life Church that God’s mission for me was to make this a great mission’s church. How?

--For you new folks. As a YP in Covington, La., we were on a mission’s trip to Mexico and we were in a remote village in the mountains sharing Jesus with everyone we could.

--There was a beautiful church on the side of the mountain but there was no pastor…no missionary. I was preaching that night so I was praying behind the church.

--I was begging God to let me be a missionary to Mexico and to be the pastor of that church. I was even willing to stay there without going back with my youth group.

--I was broken and weeping before God believing that He was going to grant me the desire of my heart.

--All of a sudden God’s presence, His tangible presence was so real and I knew He was about to speak to me about His plan for my life. I was excited and terrified at the same time.

--God spoke, “You will go back to the US and continue what you are doing. Eventually you will become the lead pastor of a church and your job will be to make that church a great mission’s church.”

--Of course I said, yes, Lord, because He was and is my Lord and Master. At that point I couldn’t imagine any church asking me to be their lead pastor but I knew I had heard from God.

--That was 1983…fast forward to 1991. I was the youth pastor here at Life Church and Milton Dykes resigned to become the Decade of Harvest Director for the PFDC.

--Long story short…Life Church voted us in to be the Lead Pastors. First thing on my radar was to have a mission’s convention. I met with Margaret Belew and we started planning.

--Again, there is so much that I could share but at that time we had somewhere between 10-15 missionaries. Now we have 230. To God be the glory but we are not done.

--Today I start a two-part message which will help us to see what is meant by the Gift of Missions. Please pray with me that we will understand what God is saying to His church.

1. The Gift of Missions – Obedience

--I have heard people say, God has not laid missions on my heart or spoken to me about supporting it financially or otherwise. It’s just not my thing. 

--Question: if something is already in the Word of God, does God have to give you a special invitation to be obedient? Jesus said it this way:

John 14:15 (NKJV) ¹⁵ "If you love Me, keep My commandments.

--So what does God say about the Great Commission? What does He say in His Word is our responsibility about reaching the lost all around the world and here at home?

Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT2)
¹⁸  Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
¹⁹  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
²⁰  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

--I believe Forest Gump would say this about Jesus’s Words…I’m not a very smart man but even I understand what He is saying to me.

--Jesus is saying, I am Lord and I am the Master and ruler of your life (12) and because I am you should go to all nations, share Jesus, and teach them to obey My commands. And baptize them.

--But I am not called to go to some foreign field and to share Jesus with people I don’t even know. Maybe you have never prayed about it or asked Jesus what He wanted you to do.

Matthew 9:36-38 (NLT2)
³⁶  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
³⁷  He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.
³⁸  So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

--Jesus had compassion on the lost because they are confused, helpless, and lost. Maybe that is what is missing in our lives, compassion. Some of us can’t see beyond our own little world.

2. The Gift of Sending.

--The video we showed a few minutes ago shared with us how the AOG was created to be a mission’s organization and a sending organization.

--Just because you don’t feel that God is calling you to some foreign land, doesn’t mean you can’t be a part of the Great Commission. 

Romans 10:14-15 (NLT2)
¹⁴  But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
¹⁵  And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” 

--Our missionaries have to go thru rigorous training and testing to be approved by the AOGWM. Once approved, they have to start raising their funds to be able to go.

--They contact churches, like ours, and try to set up a service so they can come share their vision for whatever country they feel called to. The AOGWM gives direction with that.

--Your pastor and mission’s board then prayerfully considers taking them on and supporting them thru finances and prayers. Again, we have grown from 12 to 230.

--We do not support these missionaries fully but as they travel from church to church they eventually get the support they need. All of us play such an important part in sending them out.

--This little church on Picciola Road in FP supports all these missionaries by giving approximately $30,000 a month. One of the reasons we can do that is because we are debt free. 

--Every year we ask you if you are willing to help us help them. You receive a FP card and you are asked to prayerfully fill it out of what you can do to send missionaries. We do this every year.

--Some churches just give 10% of their income to missions and that’s ok but we do both. We give 10% of the tithe plus do FP cards. Instead of giving 10% we give approximately 33%.

--Remember, your tithe to the church has to be first, and then, your mission’s giving. Again, it’s obedience to God’s Word. Bring the whole tithe, and then, offerings.

--The more FPs the more missionaries we can add and send. This is the kind of giving that lays up treasures in Heaven instead of here on earth.

Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV)
¹⁹  "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
²⁰  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
²¹  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

--So where is your heart?

Give Us Today – 6

Give Us Today – 6

Subject – Forgiveness

By Rick Welborne

Matthew 6:9-15 (NLT2)
⁹  Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
¹⁰  May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
¹¹  Give us today the food we need,
¹²  and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
¹³  And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
¹⁴  “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
¹⁵  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. 

--Today we continue “Give Us Today”. I personally believe there is reason people normally leave off verses 14-15 because this is the more difficult part of the Lord’s Prayer – Forgiving people.

Gothard: Forgiveness deals with our emotional response toward an offender. Pardon deals with the consequences of his offense. Unless we have the authority we may not be able to pardon an offense, but we can always forgive.

– Forgiving a person is “clearing his record” with us and transferring the responsibility for any punishment to God. Forgiveness will make it possible for us to have the love and empathy toward the person.

–Pastor Rick, it is easy for Jesus to say for us to forgive but He really does not understand what has happened to me and how can He identify with my situation?

Heb 2:17‑18 (NLT)

17 Therefore, it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. He then could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 

18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted.  

–No one has ever had to bare the sins of the whole world, and be crucified on a cruel cross but Jesus. Listen to His words while they were in the very act of killing Him.

Luke 23:34 (NLT)

34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing." 

1. Forgiveness Involves a Positive Attitude Toward the Offense Rather Than a Negative Attitude Toward the Offender.

–Our initial focus after being offended is on the offender...difficult not to be bitter. If we first focus on the offense instead of the offender, it becomes easier to see the offense as a way of God developing our character.

–Having a proper attitude as we deal with the offense becomes important for us. The offender and the offense fade into the background as we ask the Lord, “What are You teaching me through this situation?”

2. Forgiveness Views or Sees the Offender as God’s Instrument for my Life.

Psalm 76:10 (NLT2) ¹⁰ Human defiance only enhances your glory, for you use it as a weapon. 

–When Shemei followed King David and was cursing him look what David said:

2 Sam 16:12 (NKJV)

12 "It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day."  

–Joseph could have become offended by his brothers, by Potiphar’s wife, the butler, and even the Lord Who gave him his dreams. He chose to see these people as instruments in God’s hand.

–Jesus could have become offended at those who beat Him and nailed Him to the cross but He prayed - Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

3. Forgiveness Looks at the Wounds of the Offense as God’s Way of Helping Us See the Offenders Needs.

–Paul could have become bitter at the demon possessed girl who disrupted his meetings.

Acts 16:16‑18 (NKJV)

16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune‑telling. 

17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." 

18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour. 

 

–We must learn to see past the surface of people and see their hearts need. Wounded people wound others. They need our help and our love.

4. Forgiveness Recognizes that Bitterness is Assuming or Exercising a Right We Don’t Have.

--Bitterness is like drinking poison and watching for the other person to die. It only hurts us.

–We assume God can’t use this situation to help our lives. We assume God is wanting to use us to execute judgment on the offender. To be His hand extended…

–We assume we know better than God so we play the part of God. Only God has the right to punish.  

--A response of bitterness is an instinctive means of revenge toward the one who has offended us. We are prone to use silence toward the offender as a means of punishing them. Silence can be loud!

Romans 12:17‑21 (NKJV)

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 

18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 

19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. 

20 Therefore  "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."  

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

5. Forgiveness Realizes that the Offender Has Already Begun Receiving the Consequences of His Offenses.

–A person’s happiness is linked with his harmony with God and others. When a person offends another that harmony is broken and causes insecurity.

–Others too will pick up on the offense so his life will become more disrupted.

–God uses the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the reproofs of friends, and life’s circumstances as tools to expose the person’s offenses.

–When the offender goes thru this he must sense a love and willingness on our part to help him be restored.  Our attitude is so important.

Gal. 6:1‑4 (NKJV)

1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 

2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 

3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

4 But let each one examine his own work (His own actions – NIV), and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 

 

–We must examine ourselves: Are we failing in the same area of our lives? Are we genuinely praying for the offender? Are we modeling true Christianity?

2 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT2)
⁵  Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

6. Forgiveness Involves Working with God in the Offender’s Life.

–When a person intentionally offends us you can be sure that they are aware of our response to them.

–We have a great opportunity to demonstrate God’s forgiveness in this case.

–As he sees our openness and love it makes him aware of God’s openness and love toward him.

–Offenses that are not intentional will give us opportunity to help the person grow in areas that they are weak in. Make disciples.

–Our joy will be in the helping of this person and then seeing him or her exhibit the same attitudes toward others.

Gothard: Forgiveness is having a greater concern for a person after he offends me than I did before he offended me. It is using the hurts of others as the basis of demonstrating Christ’s love back to them.

--Forgiveness is the ultimate exercise of “Lord, give me today.” It is the toughest but also the most rewarding.

Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT2)
¹⁴  “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
¹⁵  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.