Identity Theft: Finding Our True Identity in Christ
Melmore United Methodist Church
June 19, 2016, Fathers' Day
by Duane Weaver
SERMON
INTRODUCTION
Many of you
already know me, as I grew up in this church, but really, “Who Am I?” I think at
some point in our lives, everyone has asked or will ask that question. It is inherent along with wanting to know
why we exist, what is our purpose, why are we here? Our view on how we came to be shapes most
everything we come to believe in about ourselves and about the world in which
we live. This we call your
worldview. If you believe in a creator,
you more than likely believe you are His creation (Psalm 139) and that you are
part of His creation. How do you know
this? You have come to believe this
through faith in God’s Holy Word. You
more than likely view everything in this world through the lens of the
Scriptures. If this describes you, then
one can say you have a Biblical world view, but if you say “well, I may believe
in God, but I don’t know how much He had to do with my creation or the world,
for all that matter.” I am just a
product of procreation and live in a world that just came to be. This line of
thinking is what we call a secular worldview. Unfortunately, this view is becoming more
pervasive as our culture becomes more postmodern in its thinking. Postmodernism distrusts or even
rejects the idea of absolute truth. All
truth is relative to each individual’s experiences or perspective. So there exist many truths for which we
derive the term “pluralism.” The
trouble with pluralism is there is no consistency and it becomes difficult to
relate to one another. So communities
are formed of people who are likeminded on a particular set of beliefs. However, what happens when communities with
contrary beliefs collide? ……You have the
world in which we live. This is why God
the Father came to earth in the flesh as His Son Jesus, the Christ. When Pilate asked Jesus if He was the King of
the Jews, do you remember His reply? He
said “You are right in saying I am a king.
In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth. Everyone
on the side of truth listens to me.” John
18:37
God’s Word warns us in Romans 12:2 Do not
conform to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you
will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians
14:33 our God is not a God of confusion but of peace. And in his letter to the Ephesians he writes,
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to
which he has called you, the
riches of his glorious
inheritance in his holy people.” Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)
IDENTITY THEFT
Knowing our identity is important. It is important to us individually. We have an innate desire to belong. We use
titles, names or labels to identify to which group, organization or a family we belong to. It is important to community. Our identity helps us function efficiently and
appropriately in our interactions with others.
(Which restroom to use, who’s the boss, etc) Our identity is
important to God, the one who created us.
Now God certainly knows who we are, but it is important for Him for us to know who we are in relation to
Him. Do we belong to Him? Are we one of His children? Knowing this will help us respond to Him
appropriately and accordingly.
So, if knowing our identity is important to us,
important to others and important to God, who do you think would be most
interested in distorting or stealing our identity to create havoc,
confusion, and division? I would say
it would be the “Father of Lies,” the “Great Deceiver,” “The Destroyer,” or as Jesus called him, “The
Ruler of this World.”
CREATED IN HIS IMAGE
“So God
created them in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and
female He created them.” Gen. 1:27 And God gave them purpose, to be fruitful and
to multiply and enjoy the world He created.
In short, the Westminster Statement of Faith summarizes that “man’s
chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” But then sin entered the world, and the fall
from perfectionism began. God’s word
tells us in Romans 3:23, because of Adams sin, “ all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Humankind fell from the glory God’s original
creation and to this day, try as we might, we all miss the mark and fall short. But John
1:12-13 tells us, “Yet to all who did
receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God— children
born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but
born of God.” While
every person regardless of gender, race or religion, is created by God in His
image, not all, according to Scripture,
have been given the right to become His child, only those who believe in
His Name.
What does it mean “we were created in His image?” Isn’t God invisible? By image, the text means God gave us the same
attributes He has 1) a will to
decide on our own 2) intellect to grow
in knowledge and understanding so that we might apply it to righteous
living. This is called wisdom and 3) emotion to govern our decisions with
a sense of right and wrong; good and evil.
What does it mean to receive Him? To receive Christ is to not only believe He
existed but to believe He is who He said He was….the Son of God, that He was equal
with God and to receive His message; the Good News; the Gospel; that while we
were yet sinners, God loved us. He loved
us so much He gave His one and only Son to die for our sin for Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of our sin or
the consequence is death. So Christ willingly
went to the cross to pay our debt.
WHO AM I?
So to begin with, I am not perfect. I fall short of God’s glory and always
will. I need to be made right with God,
but my righteousness is only made possible by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ…..the
perfect substitute, perfect in that He was without sin, but bled and died on a
cross so that my sins would be forgiven….that I could be made right. By accepting this free gift, God the Father
now looks upon me with the righteousness of His Son and I know have the
assurance, the confidence that I will live eternally with my Father in
Heaven. In gratitude, I have chosen to
follow Christ’s example and to live as He demonstrated, knowing I will often
fall short and mess up, but know too, forgiveness is offered for all that I
repent of.
So, we all know, I am not perfect and last I checked
I am still a male –created in the image of God, adopted into His family. I am a child of God, a Christ follower. How about you friend, have you ever accepted
the free gift of being saved from your sins by faith. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “for by
grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourself, it is the
gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in
them.”
Later in the same letter, Paul exhorts us to be imitators
of Christ Jesus and goes on to describe what a husband would look like, what a
wife would look like, what a father and mother would look like and finally what
their children would look like – if all were followers of Christ. Let’s take a quick look that in Ephesians
5 and 6.
Husbands. God’s word tells us you are to love your wife
as you love your own body. You might
think, well I hate my body, but the meaning is this; husbands are to be selfless,
putting the needs of their wives before their own. They are to recognize and appreciate their
wives just as a valuable treasure, someone to be cherished. Men, you are to love your wives as Christ
loves or cherishes the church.
And wives, do you know what will help your husbands cherish
you? Give them what they want more than
anything else…..no, I am not talking about that….RESPECT. What a man needs and wants, more than anything
is respect from his wife. In return, he
will cherish you and the more he cherishes you the more you will come to
respect him.
Fathers. You know I have often heard it said that a
child will most often look upon their Father in Heaven as they have seen
or experienced their Father on earth.
God’s word exhorts fathers “not to provoke your
children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction
of the Lord.” Eph. 6:4 Notice
here, God’s word does not prohibit but encourages parents to discipline the
children, for a parent who fails to discipline, fails to love their
children. The goal for proper discipline
is correction, and is administered with love while punishment is administered
oftentimes out of anger and that is exactly what it provokes in a
child. And mothers, the best
thing you can do for your children outside of nurturing them, is to show
love and respect to their father.
Finally, children, young and old…..you are to “honor
your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that
it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth.”Eph. 6:2-3. How do you do that? It tells us in verse one, “Children, obey
your parents in the Lord for this is right.” Keep their trust. Earn their respect. Provide support and love for them in their
old age.
This is what a family looks like from a Biblical
worldview. And you know what is the glue
that holds it all together? The
church, for we are held accountable by are brothers and sisters in the
Lord, our church family. Not in a
legalistic or judgmental way, but in love.
CONCLUSION
John
10:10 “The thief comes only to steal
and kill and destroy; I have come that they may
have life, and have it to the
full” Jesus is speaking in the context of a
shepherd guarding His sheep. He goes on
to say that His sheep know his voice, and He
calls them by name and they follow
Him. They know the direction they are to go because they trust the
one they follow. The sheep know who they are by the one they follow. Who are you following….the one who knows you
and calls you by name or the thief who only comes to steal you away so that he
might kill and destroy you? What I am
asking you is what is your worldview?
My challenge to you today is found in
the Scripture I read to you earlier found in Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able
to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
My prayer for you will continue
to be that of Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians.
I pray that the eyes of your
heart will be opened. That you will
be enlightened so you may know and
understand what God has called you to and that you will experience the riches of his glorious inheritance.
