Month: September 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This sermon is from a series called “Living out our Identity in Christ”.

In today’s sermon, we will look into another aspect of our Identity which is equally important as others and the verses we will be looking at is 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

But before we look into the final aspect of our Identity, let us take some time out and review what we’ve learned so far in this series.

I believe there is nothing more important than the subject of who we are because of who He is.

Understanding our identity in Christ will allow us to see our lives in the right perspective just as God intended it to be, making much of each moment.

In general, most people living in this world are absolutely unaware of their identity – where they came from, who made them, what is the purpose of their lives, etc.

And because people are unaware of their identity, they live as men who blindly following the traditions and cultures of this world passed on to them from one generation to another generation.

Our lives have become just like the 5 monkeys shown in the illustration below.

We are living our lives but not as God intended it to be, not according to the purpose for which God created us.

We do what we’re asked to do, we act as we are taught to act, we believe the things we’re asked to believe.

Because of which we’ve created limitations in life based on what we’ve learned from our ancestors and fail to seek the truth.

In the same way, when we become Christians we don’t stop there but go on to discover who we really are because of who God is. And as we discover these truths, we learn to live the way God originally designed us.

Therefore, if some of you have not been able to soak yourselves in the truth about your identity that has been shared so far, I urge to reflect on it again and allow these truths to change the way you think and live.

In Ephesians 1:18 Paul writes “..having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”

Here are the sermon notes from the same series:

• Living out our Chosen and Adopted Identity in Christ
• Accepted, Loved & Forgiven Children of God
• Living out our lives as Citizens of God’s Kingdom
• Living out our lives as New Creation in Christ

In today’s sermon, we will look into another important aspect of our Identity which is the outward manifestation of the inward change that happens in our heart.

We will learn how to experience true joy, fulfilment and freedom as we live our lives based on our identity.

Lets read 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

The final aspect of our Identity is that we are “Ambassadors for Christ”.

1. Chosen by the King

So during the time of the Roman rule, an ambassador was a respected official acting as a representative of a nation. Posted in a foreign land, the ambassador’s role was to reflect the official position of the sovereign body that gave him authority. Therefore, an ambassador was directly appointed by the King, not voted into position.

This is perfect in the sense that we too are chosen by God through Christ before the foundations of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight,  and now accepted, loved and forgiven.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, chosen and saved so that we become representatives of God in this earth – Entrusted with the message of reconciliation.

What a great privilege it is – to be called ambassadors of God!  To know that God reached out to unworthy people like us, unimaginably below the standards of God’s Holiness is simply extraordinary.

2. Committed only to the State’s interests

Once an ambassador, that person’s commitment, desire, goals, dreams and loyalty was only to the King.

We need to understand that to be an ambassador for God is a high calling. The day we decide to turn away from our sins and believe in the gospel, our hearts desires change, our dreams change, our goals change.

We fall in love with the King who chose and adopted us and who loved us in our worthlessness. As we seek him daily, listen to his voice through his word, allow his words to convicts us of our sins, continue to put our faith in the Gospel – we experience unspeakable joy in our hearts.

I’ve experienced it myself – When I abide in Him daily I see the fruit of it manifested through my conduct, speech and attitude while I’m at work. I don’t have to put an extra effort to represent Christ in my workplace.

But when I fail to abide in him, I don’t see much fruit in my life at work.

Therefore, as an Ambassador, seek him daily, allow him to change your dreams, your desires and make you passionate for something greater, greater than all your earthly pursuits – enabling you to experience things that eyes have not see, ears have not heard nor has anyone ever imagined

3. Full Support from the King

The Ambassador gets full support from his King for the task assigned to him – whether the provision, resources, encouragement,  military support etc, the same way that our God has provided for us – The HOLY SPIRIT, our helper.

In John 14:15-17 Jesus said

 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Through the Holy Spirit, he has equipped us to do even greater things than Jesus did.

 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. – John 14:12-14

The Holy Spirit is given to us to convict our hearts of sin (John 16:7-11), as a counsellor (John 14:16), a guide (John 16:13) and to bring Glory to Christ in and through our lives (John 16:14).

What a wonderful God we serve.

Therefore, our dependence should be on God and the Holy Spirit whom he has given us to represent Him as His Ambassadors.

As I conclude, I believe that through these series you have gained a better understanding of your true Identity and pray that will change the way you live, talk, behave, love, accept, forgive and to know that at the end of your life, you have run the race well.

 

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Today’s preaching is from a series called “Living out our Identity in Christ”.

Good morning church. It’s great to be with you this morning and it’s always a privilege to open to Scriptures together like this.

With the news of increasing persecution in places throughout India, again in China, and in other places throughout the world, I don’t want to take this time for granted. Those are contexts where believers must gather together in secret locations and be very careful how they handle God’s Word in public. I don’t want to take this opportunity for granted.

We get to gather as God’s church and freely worship Him this morning. We get to come together in plain sight and study His Word together. This time is such a gift!

So let’s approach His Word this morning with a sense of reverence, with a sense of humility & awe, and with a hunger to be conformed into the likeness of Jesus. To that end, I’ll have you grab your Bibles and turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. While you’re turning to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, I’ll take a few minutes and pray for all of us – that the Lord would do His work in us this morning.

Here’s what I’d like to do with our time this morning. I want to take the first portion of our time to recap where we’ve been over the last 3 weeks in this series.

If you’ve been here for those sermons you’ll know that we’ve spent the last few weeks talking about our IDENTITY IN CHRIST. The reason I want to spend a good amount of time recapping those discussions is because there is literally nothing more important that we could talk about.

There is nothing more important than the subject of who you are because of who He is.

In fact, everything that comes out of our lives must be shaped by our identity in Jesus Christ or we’ll easily find ourselves doing things with the wrong motivation. Isaiah 29:13 — “This people draw near with their mouth and honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me.”

We don’t want to find ourselves saying & doing the right things but with hearts that are far from Lord. And one of the primary ways that we can keep that from happening is by continually reminding ourselves of our true identity in Christ. That’s the point of this series.

So, we’re going to invest a good amount of time this morning in reminding our hearts of the truths that we’ve already discussed in this series. I think there will be great value in hearing those things presented together.

And then, once we’ve done that, I want to forge ahead and discuss a new aspect of our Identity as Christians. We’ll add another building block to the foundation that we’ve already laid.So let’s recap where we’ve been before we read our text and explore what’s next. As I lay these things out, I want to encourage you to hear these fresh ears.

And, I want you to PERSONALIZE THESE THINGS. These things aren’t just true for Christians in general.

If you are in Christ, these things are true of you! And the application on all of these points is that you would believe. That you would hear the truth, be reminded of the gospel (of who you are), and that you would believe these truths.

That you would believe them to the point where you begin to act like who you really are

1) Chosen and adopted. God chose you from before the foundation of the world. You have not earned your way into God’s favour. He acted upon you. And He chose you for adoptions as sons and daughters.

You didn’t do anything to earn that name. you were given God’s family name and that now defines who you are and shapes everything you do.

2) Accepted, loved and forgiven. God has accepted you through His Son! People will live their entire lives looking for the approval and acceptance of other people.

They are really just trying to fill the longing that we all have to be accepted by God. What a beautiful reality that, in Christ, we are fully accepted by God.

And not just accepted, but loved deeply. God didn’t just foreknow you, He for-loved you. He set His affections on you.

When you and I were unlovely, God loved us. And, because of that, He has forgiven us. You have been washed clean, you have been purified. Your sin has been removed from you.

 

3) We are citizens of God’s Kingdom. This is not our home. It doesn’t matter what your passport says. If you are in Christ, your citizenship is to another place and you belong to another King.

That truth helps remind us to not tie our hope and affections to the things of this world.

Just think about this list so far:  chosen, adopted, accepted, loved, forgiven, citizens of the Kingdom of God. That is an incredible list of things that are true of you if you are in Christ.

But, here’s my question:  If all of those things are true of the Christian, if those are the things that are supposed to be shaping our identity and driving joy, and hope, and peace in our lives, then why are so few people who profess Jesus Christ experiencing actual joy, hope and peace? I think that’s a fair question.

Because, if we’re going to be honest, when you look around the landscape of modern Christianity, you see a lot of people who claim to be Christians. They claim to love & follow Jesus. They know a lot of things that are true about God and they profess those things with their lips.

But there doesn’t seem to be a lot of joy, or contentment, or satisfaction in God. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. There seems to be a deep dissatisfaction that’s driven by the circumstances of life. So, here’s my question:  Why is that? What’s broken? What’s misfiring?

I believe the answer is that there are a lot of people who genuinely do want to know God. There are a lot of people who genuinely want to walk with Him and experience more of Him, but they are living their lives with the wrong perspective (they have the wrong mindset).

In fact, I think to some degree, that has crept into each one of our hearts. That, on some level, each one of us has areas of our lives where we don’t have the right perspective or right set of lenses. In fact. I know that’s true, because that’s where idolatry & unbelief are born. They are often born in our blindness.

And there’s an underlying principle that we need to understand, if we’re really going to get to the heart of this issue:  I believe that many Christians are waiting for something to happen that has already happened.

And it’s crippling our ability to rest in God, to live content in Him, and to live for His glory in the world. That’s what I want to consider with you this morning and I want to consider it from 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Let’s read this text and then we’ll unpack it together. Beginning in verse 13 and reading through the end of the chapter.

2 Corinthians 5:13-21

“For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

I absolutely love this section of text. In fact, it’s one of my favourites in the entire Bible because it paints such a vivid picture of what Christ has done and what that has done to us.

And that’s essentially what this week’s message and next week’s message are all about. We’ll talk this morning about what Christ has done to us and then we’ll talk next week (from this same text) about what that calls us to in the world.

So, for our purposes this morning, I think that what Paul is saying here hinges on the statement we find directly in the middle of the text: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

That’s our identity statement for this week: :  “If you are in Christ, YOU ARE A NEW CREATION.”  That phrase, in this text, helps us understand what Paul writes before and after it, and I believe it helps us understand why so many professing Christians lack the kind of abundant life (joy, peace, and hope) that we’re called to in Christ.

So, here’s what I’d like to do. I want to break this down for us in a way that we can, not just cognitively understand it, but actually live in it practically. Where we begin to walk this truth out so that it produces real fruit in our lives.

The first thing I want to highlight is that Paul uses a word for creation that doesn’t just refer to an individual person, but that refers to the whole of creation.

The way that Paul phrases this he’s really saying that if you are in Christ you are a part of a newly created order. In other words, when you are united with Christ in His death and resurrection, you are brought into the work that God is doing to make all things new. It’s not just that you are a new creation, but you are a part of the new creation.

But, here’s what we need to understand (and this is where I think we miss it): THAT’S TRUE RIGHT NOW. There is a sense in which we are waiting for God to glorify us in Christ; to finish the work that He has begun in us. But that doesn’t change who you are right now in Christ. And Paul says that you are a new creation.

Now, if we’re going to be honest, there’s tension in that for us. That sure doesn’t feel true a lot of the time, does it? Because, even though this is true of us, we still live in a fallen world and sin still resides in our mortal bodies. So, while we are a new creation, we are still carrying around this flesh that houses sin and evil desires.

This is what Paul highlights at the end of 2 Corinthians chapter 4… . He says, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (Verses 16-18)…

Paul is saying that there’s an aspect here of the “already & not yet”. If you are a believer in Christ, at the very core of your being, you are new and you are being renewed daily by Him. That’s true of your spiritual self, but it’s not true yet of your physical body. Your physical body is currently wasting away, but will one day catch up and be renewed as well.

So yes, you are a new creation. However, you still battle sin in your flesh. It’s vitally important that we know and understand this because, if we’re going to live out our identity in Christ, we must learn to live by the reality of who we are spiritually and allow that to shape everything else in our lives.

That’s important because we have the choice to live according to the Spirit or to live according to the flesh. This is what Paul says explicitly in Romans 8:5 — “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”

That’s what I meant earlier when I said that I think many of us are living with the wrong mindset; we’re living with the wrong perspective. We forget about the fact that we are a new creation.

Which causes us to focus on our flesh and the struggle happening within us. Which causes us to regard everything according to the flesh. Which causes us to set our minds then on the flesh and not on the Spirit.

And that produces the opposite of joy, peace, satisfaction, contentment and fulfilment. It causes discontentment, and worry, and anxiety, and frustration, and the like.

So, the question is, how do we remedy this? How do we live differently? Well, it begins on the level of belief. Do you believe that you are a new creation in Christ Jesus? Do you really believe that He died (for you) and was raised from the dead (so that you could be made new)? Do you believe that, as you sit here right now, that is true of your life?

If you believe that, this is just a matter of changing the set of lenses that you are wearing. You need to get used to taking off the lens of the flesh and putting on the lens of the Spirit. And you need to remember that you will always have a tendency to drift back toward the lens of the flesh.

In this life, you and I will always have a tendency to forget the gospel. We will have a tendency to forget the things that are true of us. That is why it is so vitally important that we are reminded consistently of the gospel.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Good morning church! As a church we’ve been doing a series called “Living out our identity in Christ”.

Why is this important? Because everything we do, every decision we make flows out from our identity. What makes us who we are. Who we are at the core of our being.

Over the last two weeks we learnt how we build our identities on many things – it can be our jobs, our role in the family, how much money we make or even in the relationship that we have. And all these identities leave us empty and unsatisfied. God has given us a new wonderful identity in Christ which is eternally significant.

So we learnt how we are Chosen and Adopted in Christ. And last week we learnt how we are Accepted, Loved and Forgiven in Christ. Today we’ll be look at 1 Peter 1 to understand our identity as “citizens of God’s kingdom”. I love 1 Peter because I believe this entire letter talks about this identity. Let’s look at 1 Peter 1:13-21.

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action,[b] and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

I’ve always found the life of a foreign diplomat interesting. Imagine an Indian ambassador that’s posted in another country. Even though the Indian diplomat is in a new culture and tries to engage with the culture as much as he can, he still preserves his national identity.

Maybe he might use a fork and spoon instead of hands when he’s in a foreign country but his allegiance to India will not change.

Even though he’s in a foreign country, he will responsibly manage his speech and his actions because he is a representative of India.He represents India to the world.

Similarly, you and I who have trusted in Jesus as Lord are citizens of God’s kingdom. We might have a passport saying that we belong to a certain country but much more than that we are citizens of God’s kingdom. Representatives of God to the world.

As citizens what do we do and difference does that make to you and me?

We live with an eternal focus
(v13) We need to set our hope fully on the grace that will be revealed to us in Christ Jesus. What is this grace that will be revealed when Christ comes back? The passage right before this one talks about that.

We will receive an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading. The reward for those who trust in Christ’s work for them is an eternal inheritance. We will also receive a new physical body that will be like Christ’s – one without corruption and sin and that will last for eternity! So if that’s the grace that will be revealed to us when Christ comes, then how can we live with an eternal focus:

Prepare our minds for action
preparing your minds for action,[b] and being sober-minded (v13)

The Greek word for “prepare your minds” in the Greek is actually a visual term used to depict how people in ancient times with their long robes would tie a leather belt around their waist to get ready to go on a journey or to do some physical work. Basically they didn’t want their long robes to impede their journey.

And that’s the term that’s used in the command – prepare your minds for action! In the light of receiving a wonderful gift of an eternal inheritance, you have to prepare your minds for action.

Have you heard of the term “spiritual vacation”? Well spiritual vacation is when people decide to take a break from their spiritual lives. Relax from all the spiritual disciplines or from living in holiness or serving people.

In my life there is a strong temptation to take a spiritual vacation on weeks when I’m not preaching. It constantly needs to be fought! And I believe we fall into this temptation because at some level we don’t believe that Christ’s coming is imminent. Or we don’t believe in the eternal value and worth of that future reward.

This kind of spiritual vacation needs to be fought. We need to remind each other that because God has assured and confirmed our eternal destiny through the work of Christ, we need to prepare our minds for action.

So even when we are on vacation with family or friends, there’s no concept of spiritual vacation for a believer. We are always pursuing the things of God. Okay, you might ask – how do I prepare my mind for action?

b.Pursue our calling for holiness

14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

The verse starts of by reminding us of our identity – obedient children. Relationally we are God’s children – chosen and adopted before the foundation of the world.

In our attitude to our Father, we are obedient. The verse goes on to say “do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct”. There is an active participation in this pursuit of holiness. Christian life isn’t about relaxing and allowing sin to take its course but it’s a constant war with sin.

The reason for Holiness – is because our Father is Holy! As believers sometimes, we forget or minimize this attribute of God. Because we are on this side of the cross – having experienced God’s grace and mercy, knowing that we’re relationally his children and His Friend we end up emphasizing less on the Holiness of God. God is still the same, yesterday today and forever.

When Moses meets God for the first time through the burning bush – God tells him to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground because God is Holy.

In Exodus 19, right before God gives them the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai, God commands Moses to consecrate the people for 2 days, on the third Day He said put limits around the mountain because whoever touches the mountain will be put death because God is Holy.

Isaiah 6 when he sees a vision of heaven and the 2 seraphim covering their faces and feet with the wings, they call out to each other: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty” because God is Holy.

Isaiah seeing this says “Woe to me! I am ruined for I am a man of unclean lips among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the King the Lord Almighty” because God is Holy.

Hab 1:13 “it says You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong” because God is Holy.

Revelations we see the 4 living creatures who Day and Night never stop saying “Holy is the Lord almighty, who was and is to come” because God is Holy!

And if this is our Father – who we worship and who Has adopted us, how should we live? We live in a culture today where what’s unholy is glorified and praised and what’s holy is looked down upon.

Taking a stand for holiness would mean being severely pressurized by the sin within us and the people around us. One of my believer friends recently wrote a Facebook post in response to the Supreme Court verdict section 377. With so much gentleness he wrote his thoughts and provided a biblical view for marriage and how homosexuality is a perversion of that design.

It’s a sin that needs to be repented of. The flak he got for writing that post was quite bad. He received such terrible abuses that I can’t even mention that in public. Another mutual friend of ours saw the post and said “if this is what your God says, then I would rather be in hell rather than support this view”.

That’s how extremely difficult it can be today for believers to live out their faith in holiness. That’s why I think it’s so very important to be in Gospel Communities where we get to encourage each other to pursue our calling for holiness and also speak into situations when we struggle to pursue that.

Both preparing our minds for action and pursuing our calling for holiness helps us to live with an eternal focus. Not only that but

2.We operate out of a gospel focus

Tying to the previous point. Holiness needs to be pursued with the right motivations. What is the right motivation for living in reverence and godly fear?

(v17-21) And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Christ is the irreplaceable sacrifice ->  Peter gives an amazing picture to what actually happened on the cross.

We inherited sin, Satan and death from our forefathers. We were bound to sin and its passions. Sin saturated our minds and hearts and bodies.

We were literally on the highway to hell trying to get there as quickly as we could. But God wanted to rescue us out of His abundant love and mercy.

He needed to pay a ransom amount and that was the precious blood of His Son – Jesus Christ that He shed on the cross. It wasn’t gold. It wasn’t silver.

It was something way more precious than that – the perfect lamb who was chosen before the foundations for you, who willingly gave up His life for you & was raised on the third Day so that you could believe and hope in God! Do you see why it’s irreplaceable? Do you see the worth and value of Jesus Christ?

I want us to take a moment and think honestly: what motivates you to pursue a holy life? What drives you to observe spiritual disciplines? What drives you to fight sexual sin? What motivates you to speak the truth? What compels you to not cheat? Is it because you want to be seen as morally good before others? Is it because you don’t want to be judged by the others in the church? Or Is it because you don’t want to feel guilty for not being holy?

Or is it because you fear that you’ll lose out on God’s favor? If your answer is yes to these questions, then in some way or the other you are still operating out of a performance-based focus or identity.

The truth is none of this pleases God. There is a better way.  Allowing the gospel to motivate you to live in holiness. Let it coming out of a heart that wants to please our Savior and Lord because of Jesus’ irreplaceable sacrifice.

For all of us who have believed in Jesus Christ we know that it was seeing and understanding the love of Christ on the cross that melted our hearts and brought us to His feet for surrender.

Even as we grow in our relationship with Christ obedience continues to be a response to His love. Whatever helps you remember the gospel each day – do that so that it can fuel the right motivation for holiness. Maybe its passages like these. Or a song that is gospel centred or even thinking about your testimony of what God has done for you and is continuing to do in you are ways by which you can remember the gospel daily.

We are citizens and representatives of God’s kingdom! What a privilege for people who never deserved to be part of that kingdom. What do citizens of God’s kingdom do? We live with an eternal focus unlike the rest of the world that lives only for this earthly life & We operate out of a gospel focus wanting to please the Holy Judge in every way because of the irreplaceable sacrifice of His Son that has ransomed us. This is also contrary to the world that operates out of a performance-based focus.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Today’s preaching is from a series called “Living out our Identity in Christ”.

When people talk about Identity, from a worldly standpoint, what they’re trying to achieve is to obtain a right perspective about themselves and life in general. When they acquire the proper perspective, then that becomes their Identity for Life.

Most men in the world prefer living their lives like blind men – do what’s been asked to do, say what’s been asked to speak, believe what’s been asked to think – Commonly known as blind faith.

When I ask my colleagues in the office why they fast on particular days or follow Shravan, a festive season where they refrain from eating non-veg food, The typical answer I get is “I don’t know, I do it because my parents asked me to do it.”

About these group of men Oscar Wilde, the famous poet and playwriter said “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

But we also have some great and genius thinkers and philosophers who’ve tried questioning these blind faiths and have come up with their new perspective on life which they believed to be true and then built their Identity based on their view.

Buddha, born 480BC, the founder of Buddhism, after cutting himself off from the Hindu ritualistic belief system came up with his conclusion about life, He said “To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s mind. If a man can control his mind, he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.”

And to achieve that level of control, he decided to abstain himself from the world and its desires and live in lonely places to discover his self, which eventually became another religion.

In Hinduism it is believed that man takes multiple births through incarnation until his soul finds rest (or moksha), Buddha thought that by self-discovery and good virtue a man could stop the cycle of incarnation forever and attain nirvana (freedom from the cycle of rebirth). But how can we even know that his perfect life was good enough for him to help him achieving true moksha (or salvation)? There is no way.

And likewise, many others have their unique perspective on life upon which they built their lives.

For example :

• Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
• Live life to the fullest and focus on the positive
• Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive
• It’s all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family.
• Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
• Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life

In the midst of all these human perspectives, we have the Bible, the very words of creator God who is author of life itself in all forms, which I believe has the answer to all human quest, giving us the most accurate perspective of ourselves, about God and the world around us, also helping us define our true Identity.

Like for example, it is only the Bible that gives us an accurate picture of our human condition and shows us how incapable we are to do good and never sin. “None is righteous, no, not even one” – Romans 3:10

No matter how hard we try we can never get rid of our sinful nature by ourselves, no good works, no control over mind, no positive thinking can save us from our sinful self. Only God can.

Last Sunday Jinson reminded us our identity as one Chosen and Adopted by God, but he also helped us see how that translates into right living.

To know that In Christ, God chose us before the foundations of this world as holy and blameless in his sight and not based on the merits we earn for ourselves on this earth should translate into living humble lives in the sight of men & God, entirely depending on his mercy and grace.

To know that we are adopted into God’s family as sons and daughters through the sacrifice of his beloved son Jesus help us live responsibly by refraining from sin and other temptations.

Similarly today we will look at our Identity as one Accepted, Loved and Forgiven by God. And brothers and sisters, let me remind you that it is not enough for us to gain such knowledge and do nothing about it.

What we will learn today about ourselves is not a human perspective but a godly perspective.

We have to allow this knowledge to transform our thinking and help us live exemplary lives based on our true Identity so that the world can see what true transformation looks like and affirm to the fact that Christ is the only way, truth and Life.

I wish Buddha had the opportunity to see this godly perspective and to base his life on this Identity; there wouldn’t have been another religion.

1. We are Accepted

Galatians 3:27-28 – “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

All human quest will end when we eventually meet our creator God. There are only two eternal destinies a man can attain – eternal hell or eternal heaven.

The children of God whom He chose in Christ before the foundations of the world, the ones who responded to his call, put their faith in Jesus and his finished work on the cross for the penalty of our sins.

Our destiny is the Eternal Heaven, a place where God dwells.

And the most beautiful and liberating truth is that our acceptance in God is not based on whether we are male or female, slave or free, Jew or Gentile.

We don’t have to be a Brahmin, or Shatriya, or a Shudra to have special favours with God. It doesn’t depend on the colour or our skin or the background of our people.

You don’t have to be a Malayalee or a Tamilian or a Punjabi for God to accept you. He has received us in his son Jesus JUST THE WAY WE ARE.

We don’t have to be disconnected from the world, live in lonely places, torture our bodies, seek self-discovery for God to accept us.

The only basis of God’s acceptance is our faith in his son Jesus – who has broken every diving wall amongst us and has united our hearts for His Glory.

And therefore our response to this knowledge should be Romans 15:7 – “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

Let us also not look and judge one another as the world does – based on colour, creed, language, seniority, wealth, health etc. Imagine how beautiful the world will be if we can accept other human beings just the way God accepts us.

2. We are Loved

Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.

The world is craving for love. It’s like we’re born with an empty box in our soul that craves for love. When we are children we crave for love from our parents, when we are adults we crave for love from other humans.

And no matter how much love we may or may not experience in this life, that empty box was purposely created by God which only he can fill; only he can satisfy.

A famous author once quoted ” “What we all want, really, is to be loved. That craving drives our worst behavior.”

God’s love is so beautiful – Because of his great love, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.

Paul writes in Romans 8:38-39 ” For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Our faithful response to this great love Jesus says in John 13:34 ” A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

3. We are Forgiven

Ephesians 1:7 – “In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”

The other day a brother told me that almost everyone on the street of Mumbai looks like they are angry with someone. Parents are mad at their children, children are mad at their parents, bosses are mad at their employees, employees angry with their bosses, neighbors angry with each other, car owners angry with the rickshaw drivers, the rickshaw driver angry with the buses, the bus driver angry with the people on the street, people on the street angry with the government .. so on and so forth.

Forgiveness is the last thing on anybody’s mind.

Above all needs of human beings the greatest one is for us to seek forgiveness from God for our sins, our rebellion against the creator God.

And Ephesians 1:7 tells us that because of God’s grace and redemption displayed through Jesus blood he has forgiven us of all our sins – past, present and future.

His forgiveness towards us not a one-time affair but he continues to forgive us as often as we go to him, confess and repent of our sins. I think that’s the most refreshing thing to me as a Christian that I can anytime go to God and fall on his feet and plead for forgiveness and he will forgive me.

Our response to God’s Forgiveness is to forgive others just as he has forgiven us.

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” – Colossians 3:13

I don’t know how often you sit down and count your spiritual blessings especially the identity you have received through Christ, of been accepted, loved and forgiven.

It is such a privilege to be called children of God and live our new Identity in Christ. Let us also be faithful in living out our new identity by accepting, loving and forgiving others, living our exemplary lives that honor our Father in heaven.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Good morning church! Most of us who have been tracking with us at the Gathering, you’ll know that we’ve been studying the Gospel of Mark. We’ll be taking a break from that series for the month of September and then will pick up from where we left off in October.

As elders, we prayed and thought over what would be an important topic to cover and we decided to have a series on “Living out our Identity in Christ”. Now, why would this be an important topic? Because every decision or choice we make in this life is connected to what we believe about God and what we believe about ourselves!

From the time we are born, we are figuring out and trying to build our identity. So even when we were kids like 3 or 4 years old we were trying to somehow outdo and gain some kind of superiority over our friends.

Like for example, I used to do this thing where whenever people would ask me my age, I would add a “half” to it to make me look bigger. I would say “Three and a half, four and a half” etc. And even as we go through school, college and work we are naturally trying to create big lists of what we have done and what we have achieved! Our own sinful self and the world tells us “More achievements, more respect…More achievements, more money…more achievements, more happiness”.

The more achievements you have, the better you feel about yourself. Basically, it’s all promoting this motto “What you do is who you are”. And the truth is that it leaves our life extremely unsatisfied and unfulfilled at the end. Because that’s not how God created us!
But God has given us a better identify – a completely satisfying and fulfilling one and that’s what we are going to study& embrace over the next 5 weeks.

Today we’ll be looking at our first identity: We are chosen and adopted in Christ! We’ll be turning to Ephesians 1:3-6 for our time today. As you’re turning to Ephesians, let me set up our time by giving a brief context. Paul wrote this letter while he was imprisoned in Rome.

In spite of his difficult circumstance, he is actually exploding in praise as he’s writing about the glory of the gospel in Chapter 1. With the many things that he has to tell the Ephesian church, he starts by talking about “Who God Is” and “Who we are in Christ”.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us[b] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

1. We are chosen in Christ

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
Do you remember the first time you were picked in a team or to do something for the church or given a responsibility? Remember how proud and privileged you felt at that point in time. Unfortunately, even though we say “we are saved by grace”, sometimes when we think about God choosing us in Christ, at the back of our mind we still think it’s either because I’m a good person or God’s seen some potential in me. I believe v4 gives us two reasons to know that God’s choice is made apart from us:

i) God chose us before the foundations of the world

It says before the foundation of the world, God chose us in Christ. The term “In Christ” means “a person’s current position before God due to what Christ has done”. Think about it…this is happening in eternity past. Before creating the heavens and the earth, before God said “Let there be light”…even before that God already made His choice in Christ.

A similar theme is mentioned in Romans 9 where it says that even before Jacob and Esau were born or they even did anything good or bad, God made His choice. He chose Jacob over Esau. (v11,12) Therefore it’s not based on a person’s talents or his good works or his social status or popularity but completely based on God’s mercy. Very different from the way the world works.

In God’s economy, it’s the worst, the sinner, the poor, the unworthy, the insignificant who are rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom (Jam 2:5). In fact when we look at Israel’s history – God says in Deut 7:6 – it wasn’t because they were a large, powerful nation that He chose them.

Instead, they were few and weak, but God chose them as His treasured possession to show them His love and to show how committed He was to the promise He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The second reason why we know that God’s choice is apart from us is:

ii) God chose us to be Holy and blameless in His sight

The criteria for Holy God is perfect holiness and perfect obedience. Blamelessness literally means faultless – no one can say that you’ve committed a fault! And we fail really bad! If we had any doubts on the first point, I think this should make it clear because we are naturally so far away from holiness. Here’s what Scripture says about us:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one. (Rom 3:11,12)

Holiness and purity according to these verses is impossible for sinners and yet it is a requirement from us in order to be presented before God. Only through Jesus Christ can we become Holy and blameless in His sight.

I believe this truth should rid us of any kind of spiritual pride that’s there in us. Sometimes we may think it’s because I pray so well, I help serve the Gathering each week or I observe all the disciplines and that’s why God chose me. No, the truth is that God chose you not because of anything you did or could ever do. God chose you out of His love and mercy!

Another place where this truth of being Chosen in Christ can help us is in times when we are tempted to sin in order to gain people’s approval. Maybe it’s in your family where you are pressurized to disobey God in order to gain their approval. Or maybe it’s in your workplace where you are pressurized to compromise and use unethical means to help your colleagues or boss.

Or maybe it’s among your friends where a white lie here and there in order to gain their approval. In all these places when we are tempted, we can be reminded of the identity that God has chosen us in Christ to be His treasured possession before the foundation of the world. The highest authority in the whole universe has already given His approval over you because of Jesus.

Not just that the truth that we’ve been chosen to be Holy and blameless before Him. For a believer who has been washed clean by the blood of Jesus, longing for purity and holiness is placed in his DNA.

2. We are adopted in Christ

In love 5 he predestined us[b] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Wow! Check out the language that’s being used to show the love of God. It says in love God ordained and pre-planned before the foundation of the world for us to be adopted as His children through Christ. It’s a kind of a delightful longing that’s being visualized here even as God knows exactly how and when it’s going to pan out.

Initially, I read this think about modern-day adoption but I did a little reading and adoption in the Roman culture of that day was very different from what we know today. And it adds an amazing emphasis to the love and grace of God.

In Ancient Roman culture:

a) The child was freely chosen by the parents. The child was desired by the parents.
b) The child would be a permanent part of the family. Parents couldn’t disown a child after they are adopted.
c) An adopted child receives a new identity. Any prior responsibilities and debts were erased. New rights and responsibilities were taken on.
d) The concept of inheritance was part of life, not something that began at death. Being adopted made someone an heir to their father, joint sharer in all his possessions and fully united to him.

Now think about how beautiful is this picture when we think about the God the Father giving us all these great and glorious blessings through Christ. In eternity past, God pre-planned and ordained us to be adopted as His sons and daughters. But there is a problem here. The ones who were supposed to be adopted are by nature God’s enemies. Remember what we read in Romans.

We don’t seek God. We don’t recognize God. We don’t want God. So, God, the Father sends His Beloved Son – whom He dearly loves, He shares such an intimate relationship with Jesus…sends Him to rescue us and erase our debts of sin and our old sinful identity. Jesus Christ is the perfect and pure lamb who goes up on the cross to die for you and me.

He rises from the dead on the Third Day so that whoever repents of their sins and turns to Jesus Christ will be adopted fully into the family of God! The Bible says that we are co-heirs with Jesus Christ. And this is the amazing truth –We are fully united to God never to be separated again! He is our Father and loves us dearly!

When we are tempted or when we fall into sin, this truth can bring hope and repentance to our hearts. Rom 8 says that we don’t have a spirit that makes us slaves and makes us live in fear from God. We have a Spirit of adoption that cries out “Abba, Father”. In Hebrew, that’s what you’d intimately refer to your father something like “Papa or Daddy”.

When you are being tempted or when you fall, understand that you can run back to your heavenly father and repent because there is safety there. Jesus Christ paid a huge price so that we don’t have to fear the presence of God when we fall but rather have the ability to turn back to Him in repentance and faith.

Some of us are just going through a really hard phase in life right now. How does this truth of being adopted as a child of God bring hope into your life? You’re probably thinking that God is so far from you. Sometimes you might think – does God care about what I’m going through?

The answer is that God is a Father who doesn’t disown His children. In Hebrews 13:5 he promises to “Never leave us nor forsake us”. He is right with us and we have access to Him as our “Papa”. Does God have the power to immediately change our situation? Yes, he does. Why does God wait then? That’s because God’s a loving father who is more interested in making us more like Jesus Christ.

There are some things we probably will understand only a few years down the line or maybe at the end of a lifetime but God’s plan in choosing and adopting us was to save us, change us into the image of His Son and bring Him glory through all of that. That’s why I don’t want us to lose track on the phrase “to the praise of His glorious grace”.

It’s easy for us sometimes to just love the idea of God choosing us and adopting us for our good but the truth is it’s not about us. In 2 Cor 12, it’s an interesting passage where Paul thrice asks God to remove a thorn from his flesh. I’m guessing it’s an illness of some kind.

This is the same Paul who performed amazing miracles like his handkerchief was enough to heal people but yet he didn’t find healing despite praying about it several times. What the Lord told him is that His grace is sufficient for Him for His power is made perfect in weakness”.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]