Finding Our Identity - 2

Finding Our Identity - 2

Subject – Find Your Identity in the Death, Burial, and Resurrection

By Rick Welborne

Colossians 1:16-20 (NKJV)
¹⁶  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
¹⁷  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
¹⁸  And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
¹⁹  For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
²⁰  and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

--We obviously celebrate Easter (the Resurrection of Jesus Christ) and we are pray many experience His resurrection power in their lives every service.

--We are talking about Finding our Identity and how the enemy comes to steal our identity or to try to re-identify us contrary to what the Word of God declares us to be.

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.

--Satan, our enemy, and his hordes of demons have a mission and that missions is to steal, kill, or destroy from us the identity we have in Christ. 

--If we allow him to define us or to redefine us…we miss out on the abundant life Jesus has promised to each one of us…we allow him to commit identity theft against us.

--Today, we want to look at the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ and come to the revelation that our identity is wrapped up in what Jesus has done for us.

1. Our Identity is Found in the Death of Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:22-24 (NLT) ²²  “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.
²³  But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.
²⁴  But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.

--On the cross, Jesus won the victory and showed the world to be powerless…how awesome is this? The debt you had, the debt I had, and the debt the world has was nailed to the cross.

--When Jesus went to the cross and laid His life down. He was saying: Their identity is found in Me because of My blood. The Romans and religious leaders did not take Jesus’ life…He laid it down freely.

John 10:18 (NKJV)
¹⁸  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

--I want to identify with the One Who willingly laid down His life for me when He died…shedding His blood so I could be free…At the cross, at the cross, were I first saw the light…

--My identity was definitely defined when I gave up my life and died to myself:

Gal. 2:20 (NKJV) ²⁰  I have been crucified with Christ; 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 for me.

--This verse was used by the evangelist who led me to the Lord. I knew I could not live for God as the person I was. The evangelist said, you really want to live for God don’t you? Yes! Stop trying…Great!

--He then quoted the verse above…stop trying to live for God…die to yourself and let Jesus come in and live His life thru you. I finally understood the plan of salvation.

--The enemy came to steal, kill, and destroy my life…my identity was found in drugs, alcohol, and running around doing things that were destructive. My identity was changed immediately. 

--Now I was identified as born again, called by God, youth pastor, lead pastor…don’t tell me God can’t stop the identity thief…my life and my future was changed forever! Still is!

--You really can’t know who you are until you survey His wondrous love for you and realize that He did what He did because He has a plan for your life. 

2. Our Identity is Found in the Burial of Jesus Christ.

--The Bible tells us that Jesus was beaten, tortured, and nailed to a cross. Even a spear pierced His side and He died. Jesus said, “It is finished!” He died on the cross and was buried for the sins of the whole world.

John 19:38-40 (NKJV)
³⁸  After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.
³⁹  And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
⁴⁰  Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

--Jesus’ body was prepared for burial…His body was laid in a borrowed tomb because that was all He needed. Three days later he was coming out of that tomb.

--I believe much of our identity has been stolen by those who tell us that Christianity is all about what we get.

Christ said we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. Paul explains it like this:

Colossians 2:12-15 (NCV)
¹²  When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with him through your faith in God’s power that was shown when he raised Christ from the dead.
¹³  When you were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self, God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all our sins.
¹⁴  He canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross.
¹⁵  God stripped the spiritual rulers and powers of their authority. With the cross, he won the victory and showed the world that they were powerless.

--You see, before you received Christ you were spiritually dead, and if you were like me, you were close to being physically dead. Doctor said I probably would not live two more months. 

--One of the great reasons you should be water baptized (other than the fact that Jesus said we should be) is what verse 12 said: When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ.

--When you are buried you no longer have life, when you are buried you no longer have rights, when you are buried you no longer have a will, when you are buried you are dead to sin.

--Think about it…when you are buried with Christ you identify with Him in His death…you have died to self, to sin, and to your own will…you are set up for a brand new life.

3. Our Identity is Found in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:12-20 (NIV)
¹²  But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
¹³  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
¹⁴  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
¹⁵  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
¹⁶  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
¹⁷  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
¹⁸  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
¹⁹  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
²⁰  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

--Can we establish here tonight once and for all that Jesus has been raised from the dead and that He is very much alive interceding at the right hand of God.

--He is alive…I said He is alive…How do you know He is alive…He has resurrected me from my dead life of sin and now His resurrection power lives in me.

--Who I am has been identified by the resurrection power of Jesus in me…my parents told me I was hopeless, they told me I was not planned, they told me the evil around me was because of me.

--They labeled me, they identified me as trouble, as evil, as jail bound, as the reason behind all that was happening…all I heard was how I would not amount to anything…

--Jesus had a different plan…His resurrection power has resurrected me…I am a new creation…the old nature (the old Rick) is buried with Christ and the new Rick has been resurrected. My identity now. 

Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV)
¹⁰  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
¹¹  and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

--I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection…that will make me new…that will make me whole.

The Gift – 4

The Gift – 4

Subject – The Gift of Missions – 2

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. 

Matt. 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."

--Last week we looked at “The Gift of Missions” and we looked at two aspects…The Gift of Obedience and the Gift of Sending.

--Jesus said, “If you love, keep my commandments.” I find it so interesting how we can so vehemently believe and obey some commands, yet, ignore others like God had not even spoken.

--If anywhere in the Bible, it talks about God blessing us, we lose our minds and say that is for me. I take that, Jesus. I am blessed, I’m the head and not the tail, Blessed in the city and in the country.

--But if God tells us to go or to give, it is almost like we totally lost our hearing. If Jesus says go into the world and we won’t even walk across the street to tell them about Jesus. Hmmm.

--I guess we like a Christian buffet with everything laid out before us. I will take some healing, some blessing, some wisdom, some prosperity…that all looks so good to me. Yummy.

--What’s that? Sacrifice? No thanks! Bringing my tithe and giving to missions on top of that! No thank you! Swallowing my pride and sharing Jesus…I don’t eat spinach and collard greens. Nasty.

--I bet those fruits and vegetables haven’t even been washed. Probably has chemicals on them from trying to kill bugs. I can’t touch those sinners (Gentiles) because they are unclean.

  Acts 10:28 (NKJV) ²⁸  Then he said  "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

--We also talked about Paul saying, and how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? I am so thankful to be a part of a church and denomination who believes in sending missionaries.

--I have had pastors and parishioners alike tell me that either they or their church could not afford to give money to send missionaries to reach the lost around the world.

--I almost lose my mind and I say you cannot afford not to give and not to send. The reason Life Church is so blessed is because we have learned the secret of generosity.

--Year after year we have sown seed into the harvest field by sending missionaries all over the world and year after year God has blessed us beyond what we can even imagine.

Luke 6:38 (NKJV)
³⁸  Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

Law of the Vacuum – When you give from your resources to God’s Work (Missions), you create a vacuum whereby God has the ability to fill it and even to over fill it! Running over!

--When I became the lead pastor, we started giving and sending. The church was in much debt, we were land locked with 9 acres, and seemed to be stuck.

--But God is faithful. We created a vacuum by giving more and more and sending more and more. Nine acres became 34, the debt was eliminated, and a 2.2-million-dollar sanctuary was paid off in 3 years. 

--Twelve missionaries have become 230 missionaries and we attribute all this to giving and to sending! If we are tight fisted, God will be tight fisted but if we are generous, God will be generous. 

Proverbs 11:24 (NCV)
²⁴  Some people give much but get back even more. Others don’t give what they should and end up poor. 

1. Missions – The Gift of Compassion.

Matthew 9:35-38 (NKJV)
³⁵  Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
³⁶  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
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."

--Can you see how Missions and compassion are tied together? Jesus’ heart was moved with compassion and He did something about it. He went, He preached, and He healed. 

--Little compassion produces few laborers but much compassion produces great goers, great givers, and great senders. Our compassion will motivate us to action.

1 John 3:16-18 (NLT2) ¹⁶  We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
¹⁷  If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
¹⁸  Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 

--If compassion had a question for us in regard to missions, it would be, “Do you care people are lost and are going into eternity without God?”

--I guess maybe having compassion is showing love with our actions. Jesus’ compassion caused Him to go, to give, and to make a difference in people’s lives. 

--Compassion will make you share Jesus even when it is uncomfortable and compassion will make you give to send missionaries until it is uncomfortable. 

2. Missions – The Gift of Generosity.

2 Corinthians 8:1-5 (NLT2) ¹ Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.
²  They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
³  For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.
⁴  They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.
⁵  They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do. 

--Notice God did it but He did it thru the churches. Their joy became rich generosity. They gave not only what they could afford, they gave far more. Sounds like a FP. It was given without duress. 

--They begged Paul for the privilege to give. They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do. 

--If you decide to give what you can afford, please be generous. Don’t throw a token towards missions and think God is pleased. Exp. $50. One meal out with your spouse. Your cable bill?

--God not only looks to see if you give, but He looks to see how you give. Is God pleased with what you give? You bring your tithe. The minimal. Does your offering look like rich generosity?

Malachi 1:8-10 (NLT2) ⁸  When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
⁹  “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
¹⁰  “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings. 

2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV) ¹¹  You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 

3. Missions – The Gift of Prayer

--Has it ever even come to your mind to pray for our missionaries? To go into the Mission’s Foyer and just pray as the missionaries scroll by? Or, to take prayer cards and pray over them?

Matt. 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."

Pastor J. John from Kensington Temple Church – Video

Faith Promises – The means whereby local churches (Life Church) participate in the Great Commission. Our generous contributions give us the ability to be “Senders” of missionaries so others can receive a clear presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

--For the Gospel we have the privilege of sharing the gift of compassion, the gift of generosity, and the gift of prayer. 

--Do we even care that people are lost with no hope without a witness of Jesus Christ? 

--A generous Faith Promise Card is more than just a commitment to give a portion of our income, it is a witness to our concern for the lost all around the world.

--Our goal has always been 100% participation because there is power in unity!

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.