Salvation: Your Identity in Christ

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Scripture: Gal. 3: 27-29 For all of you were baptize into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
Introduction:

Identity is the fact of being who or what a person or thing is, the state of having unique identifying characteristics held by no other person or thing.

Self-worth the sense of one’s own value or worth as a person; self-esteem; self-respect

I.   Mistaken Identity:

1. When we base our identity or our self worth on what the fallen world says of us we will receive a false identity.
2. It is equivalent to asking a blind man for directions.
3. 2 Co. 4:4 the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
4. We have allowed parents or the people around us to define our identity or self-worth.
5. Many people have no idea of their identity, who they are, what they want to do or their purpose for living.
6. The self-image they have of themselves is nothing but a lie.
7. Many people have been called loser, worthless, or no good like your father or mother.
8. The sad thing is we believed them.
9. Words like this hurt and take years to overcome for some people.
10. Our identity is not found in what anyone says about you.
11. No imperfect person has the right to define who you are seeing how that they also have fallen short of the glory of God like the rest of us.
12. Our identity is not found in our failures.
13. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall it how many times you get back up and keep going that says a lot about your character and who you are.
14. Abraham Lincoln failed 2 times in business, 8 times to be elected before becoming the president of the United States.
15. He could of quit many times but he never gave up.
16. That is what made him a great man.
17. He never gave up.
18. Our identity is not defined by our circumstances or by people.

II.   Our Past Identity:

1. Many times we allow our past sins to identify who we are as a person.
2. Many people are haunted by their past.
3. When the devil as well as people throw all our mistakes and failures up in our face and it is difficult to resist the truth about us.
4. However, Our identity is not defined by our past even though it is the truth.
5. The devil accuses us of what we have done.
6. But Jesus says that is the truth but my blood covers it all, to be remembered no more.
7. My Dad was called Wild Bill, when God changed his heart didn’t like this nickname that reminded him of all the bad things he had done.
8. His new identity was Sweet William in Christ.
9. Until we come to Christ all of us have been defined by our past.
10. Phil 3:13 forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies
11. There has to be a breaking of the will in order for us to be redefined in Christ.

III.   The Breaking of Our Will:

1. Before we can recognize our true identity our will has to be broken of the lies of that false image we have taken pride in.
2. Acts 7:30 and in Exodus 3 Moses was raised in Egypt for 40 years then when he killed an Egyptian he fled to the backside of the desert where he lived another 40 years.
3. It took the Lord God 40 years in order to break the will of Moses.
4. In Exodus 3:11 Moses said who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh?
5. Then again in Exodus 4: 10 I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
6. Moses faith in his own abilities was greatly diminished after 40 years.
7. God greatly used Moses who found his identity in God.
8. Joseph was a young boy who was pretty cocky with the dreams that God had given him.
9. Genesis 37: 2 Joseph was17 years old when his brothers sold him to the Midianites.
10. Genesis 41:46 Joseph was 30 years old when he became ruler of all Egypt.
11. If my math serves me correctly Joseph spent 13 years as a slave and in prison.
12. Joseph’s will had to be broken.
13. He had to totally rely on God in all of his circumstances.
14. Because of his total reliance upon God.
15. God was with Joseph and blest him wherever he was.
16. God allows our own consequences of sin and circumstances to break us of our own self will.
17. So He can reveal who we really are……priceless treasures.

IV.   Our Identity is in Christ;

1. We have to put on Christ before we can discover our true identity and our internal worth that we were born with.
2. Putting on Jesus Christ is likening to putting on our armor.
3. Some armor on the breastplate has their family crest identifying who they are.
4. Our breast plate crest is Jesus Christ.
5. The breastplate of righteousness is not our own but the putting on of Christ righteousness by faith.
6. Think of putting on the chain mail of Christ upon your body followed by His breastplate of righteousness over the chain mail with His crest upon your chest thereby identifying who you are to the world.
7. Paul stated in 3:9 that he had not a righteousness of his own but the righteousness that comes through faith in God.
8. So therefore the chainmail and the breastplate is the clothing ourselves in Jesus Christ.
9. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:27-29 NASB)
10. We have lost our identity in Christ no longer are they’re any nationality, nor male or female but we are all as one in Christ.
11. Jesus is our new identity
12. Matthew 10: 40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.
13. Matthew 18:4-5 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;
14. Those who gave their hearts to Christ gave up their lives for something better.
15. He who has lost his life for my sake will find it and indeed we have.
16. If you define yourself as a loser you will forever walk like a loser if you allow God to define you a child of the king you will walk as a son of God with privileges.
17. All the promises of God all the host of heaven are here to support you in your walk with God.
18. 2 Kings 6:15 -17 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
19. The God of heaven told Moses, Joshua, Jeremiah and countless other to be not afraid.
20. Why? There is more with us than be with them!!!
21. Only the one who is our creator can define who you truly are for He made you.
22. Christ listing of attributes——switch to Me
    1. Loving
    2. Compassionate
    3. Servant of All
    4. Giving
23. You, all that you are—–switch to Jesus
    1. Hateful
    2. Spiteful
    3. Selfish
    4. Liar
    5. Stealing
    6. drugs
24. Then switch Jesus to your list and your name to Jesus list.
25. Jesus takes on what we WERE so we can become who He IS

V.   Our Inheritance:

1. Has we find our identity in Christ walking as a child of the King we have certain privileges.
2. Not only ALL the promises of God, not only ALL the host of heaven to back us but we also have an inheritance.
3. As Joint heirs with Christ we will own it all.
4. Ephesians 1: 3 – 14
5. Let’s break down these verses.
6. In verse 3 “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly in Christ” Blessed is in aorist tense meaning it is past tense it has already happened, done deal.
7. In verse 4 He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him.
8. In verse 5 he predestined us to adoption, as sons through Jesus according to His will and this in verse 6 is because of His grace which he freely bestowed upon us.
9. In verse 7 We have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of all sins and again it because of the riches of His grace in verse 8 he lavished upon us.
10. Meaning God spared no expense He went all out to secure our salvation.
11. In verse 9 & 10 he made known to us the mystery of His will that is the acceptance of the redemption of the Jews and Gentiles by faith into His kingdom.
12. In verse 11 we have an inheritance that was predestined according to His purpose.
13. Predestinated according to the Greek is in aorist tense meaning it was decide before hand of our inheritance according to His will.
14. In verse 12 the first to hope in Christ is the Jews.
15. In verse 13 and 14 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
16. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise given as a pledge of our inheritance, we are God’s own possession.
17. Sealed is the proof of purchase the redemption of those who accepted His plan of salvation.
18. He sealed the purchase by putting the Holy Spirit inside of us.
19. We now have all the authority of heaven backing us because of who we are or rather whose we are.
20. Ephesians 3:1- 7 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
21. 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
22. 2 Tim 2: 12 we will also reign with Him;
23. Romans 8:16 -17 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
24. John 3: 35 “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.
25. SO this is meaning that everything we see that God has created is ours because it is our inheritance ordained by God in being joint heirs with Christ.
26. Ephesians 3:6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
27. We are truly rich as Christians.
28. There is absolutely nothing we should ever be ashamed concerning our walk with him because we will own it all.
29. We need to walk differently from now on as Christian’s.
30. No longer are we the scum of the earth in the worlds eyes, we belong to the Jesus Christ the Son of God.
31. We serve the God of the Universe who by His grace has given us access to His salvation and has planted His Holy Spirit as a seal guaranteeing our place with him.
32. The Holy Spirit within us will help us to be MORE THAN CONQUERORS with anything we face as long as we totally rely upon Him.
33. We has JOINT HEIRS with Christ what the world calls their own is actually all ours through Christ.
34. As a Christian with the Spirit of the living God inside us comes with all the privileges, promises and support from the King of Kings.
35. Never walk in fear again for we have a living hope an eternal hope in the heavens.

 

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Salvation: Grace to the Humble

Returning To Intimacy With Christ Web Page

Script. Isaiah 57: 13- 15 “When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind will carry all of them up, And a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land And will possess My holy mountain.” 14 And it will be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.” 15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

I.   Broken & Contrite:

• In verse 15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. (Emphasis mine)
• Contrite in the Hebrew means to be crushed to dust, broken very small, humiliated.
• Lowly in Hebrew means to be humble, deeply embedded, of little value, to be abased
• How you ever been broken or crushed or devalued so small you feel like dust?
• I’ve been there more times than not, it has literally driven me to my knees in prayer for help and guidance.
• Jesus speaking in Luke 4: 18 the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed
• Oppressed in the Greek means to one who is shattered or broken or defeated.
• He will set you free.
• During those times the one who lives on high is with you.
• Take note He will always be there to revive you when you’re crushed to dust, broken very small, humiliated.
• Matthew 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
• He knows everything we go through because He has experienced it and yet without sin.
• To be contrite and humble as Christians means to be continually needy of God.
• To be driven to our knees daily.

II.   Hungering After God:

• To be a man after God’s own heart
• Psalms 42:1 as the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God.
• Pants in Hebrew means to long for to crave.
• Psalms 119:131 I opened my mouth wide and panted, (longed for, craved) for I longed for your commandments.
• In Luke 6:21 blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
• Hunger in the Greek literally means to desire strongly.
• We must keep this state of mind.
• For God will pour out more of His grace upon those who long for more of Him.
• He dwells with the lowly or humble and the contrite to revive their hearts.
• 2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
• We all know the more we crave for more knowledge the more grace and peace is multiplied to us.
• More knowledge of Jesus = outpouring of grace and peace.
• So who doesn’t need this? Right!
• Isaiah 66: 1-2 Thus says the LORD, “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? 2 “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. (Emphasis mine)
• God will always look to the humble and contrite of spirit, who trembles at my word.
• Trembles in Hebrew means to follow, be anxious or uneasiness.
• Since the Holy Spirit is against the flesh and the flesh is against the Spirit, there will be a great uneasiness in our lives following the word for the Spirit jealously desires to lead us in the path of righteousness.
• To take great care in obeying the word of the lord.
• James 4: 5- 7 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” 7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

III.   The Favor of God:

• When the favor of God was upon the people because of their obedience He delivered them from all their enemies.
• God favored Joshua and said to him no one will be able to stand before thee all the days of your life.
• Wherever the soles of your feet stand on I will give it to you.
• Exodus 33:13-14 now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in your sight, let me know your ways that I may know you, so that I may find favor in your sight. Consider too, that this nation is your people. 14 and He said, my presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.
• Notice what Moses said let me know your ways that I may know you, SO I MAY FIND FAVOR in your sight.
• So therefore knowing more knowledge of who God is, begets more grace or more favor with God.
• Also God tells him that My presence shall go with you and I will give you rest.
• For God’s presence to go with them and to be at rest from all enemies was a great incentive to follow the Lord and obey His word.
• In Psalms 84: 11 for the Lord is a sun and shield: the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly
• No good thing will He ever withhold from His people who walk is upright.
• No good thing!!!!!!

IV.   Every Obstacle Removed:

• Jesus removed every obstacle because He loves us.
• Isaiah 57:14 And it will be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.”
• When Jesus said it is finished He thereby removed every obstacle out of the way of His people.
• So they could come to him freely with sins forgiven as long as they came to him with a contrite and lowly spirit.
• A heart of a lowly servant who cannot make it without his or her master.
• When Jesus said Tetelestai, it is finished, means to make happen, to complete, to accomplish.
• The very Son of God removed every obstacle thereby making the connection between God and man possible.
• Making it easier for him to pour out the grace we need to follow him in times of our brokenness.

V.   Our Allegiance:

• At the begging of our salvation we are told to repent.
• To put aside our previous way of thinking for an entirely new way.
• Repent in the Greek in every place it is used whether repent or repentance means, “change of mind.”
• If we do not change our mind by faith being born-again does not happen.
• This state of mind must be a continual change of mind Bro. Brad Strand calls it keeping the eternal perspective. Strand Study Bible
• Otherwise we will get lazy and complacent.
• Resting so secure in our eternally security that we ease up on keeping the word of God.
• However, In John 14:15 says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.
• In humbling ourselves before God He promises us to exalt us.
• In Luke 14:15 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
• If you exalt yourself by seeking your own way above God’s will, God WILL humble you.
• If you humble yourself before God He will exalt you.
• If God humbles you, you who are seeking your own way.
• It’s not going to end well.
• Better us to humble ourselves before God.
• 1 Peter 2: 24 he himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25 for you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. (Emphasis mine)
• The group Peter is addressing were continually straying but then finally came to the shepherd the guardian of their souls.
• They came under His management.
• Allowed Him to be the supervisor of their daily routines.
• Allowed Him to be the CEO 24/7.
• For being needy before God doesn’t show you immaturity but rather shows your maturity.
• When we are humble before God all of the promises of God belong to us.
• Promises from addiction, demonic harassment, depression, for the family, fear, filling of Holy Spirit, finances, forgiveness, guidance, health, marriage, salvation or God’s love, strength to do God’s will.
• You exalt yourself every time you go to another source other than God.
• Like in Isaiah 57 let your idols deliver you.
• Idol is anything we set higher than God.
• If you go to your mom or dad before going to God first, or counselor, horoscope, they could be your idol.
• What does Matthew 6:33 says, seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
• Always seek God first in all things by humbling yourself before him as a broken vessel in need of him.
• In Matthew 18:3 -4 truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 whoever then humbles himself as this children, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
• Children totally rely on their parents without thinking about it.
• When they are hungry they come to you and you feed them.
• They do not think or worry about the clothes they wear or where they will sleep.
• When they get hurt they come immediately to you.
• When they are in need they come immediately to you, first before anyone else.
• So always be Broken and Contrite always Hungering After God so we can obtain The Favor of God who has Every Obstacle Removed from our pathway when Our Allegiance is fully His coming to Him as a little child.

Note:

If this series helps you or your new converts please feel free to use and copy. This is not an exhaustive research of scriptures on the subject I just used what I felt led of the Holy Spirit to use. If this helps in any way please email me.

Thank You findintimacywithchrist@gmail.com