Scripture Ephesians 1:3-14

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A New Identity

9/02/2018

If the most important question in the world is “Who is God?” the second most important is “Who am I?” Our answer to that question about our basic identities, the way we think about ourselves, impacts everything in our lives: our self-image, our health, our spirituality, our ethics, our roles and relationships, our careers, and our view of the past, the present, and the future…

Answer it right, and we flourish. Answer it wrong, and we wither. ~ David Murray, Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture

I. Danger: Be Aware of the Snare of the Inner Ring

Proverbs 29:25 – The fear of man is a snare, be he who trusts in the Lord is exalted.

Galatians 1:10 – For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

“I believe that in all men’s lives at certain points…one of the most dominant elements is the desire to be inside the local Ring and the terror of being left outside….and you will be drawn in, if you are drawn in, not by a desire for gain or ease, but simply because at that moment, when the cup was so near your lips, you cannot bear to be thrust back again into the cold outer world…

It would be so terrible to se the other man’s face - that genial, confidential, delightfully sophisticated face - turn suddenly cold and contemptuous, to know that you have been tried for the Inner Ring and rejected.” ~ C.S. Lewis - Weight of Glory

Performance is another factor that contributes to soul exhaustion. When we feel as though we have to stack up to other’s expectations, or those expectations we have made for ourselves, it can result in a profound fatigue. ~ Curtis Zackery, Soul Rest

I believe that both of us, you and me, have the space in our lives—emotional and physical—to do what we really want to do and what we believe God wants us to do. We can’t, however, come close to fitting in all the other expectations that load us down. There isn’t room for it all. This is where the need for simple starts. I want a life that is full, challenging, and constantly growing;…

but I want my life—one that includes what I value as well as God’s plan for me—not someone else’s. ~ Lippincott, Lorilee The Simple Living Handbook

Approval addiction not only will mess with your motives, it also will hijack your time and emotional energy. On one side I spent too much emotional energy seeking after people’s affirmation. On the other I spent way too much emotional energy worrying about criticism. ~ Lance Witt, Replenish

II. Delight: Your Unchanging Identity in Christ

For the Christian, the issue of identity cannot be overestimated, for it is new identity that propels new behavior. Embracing our new identity has the power to draw us into a new and compelling narrative. ~ Jeff Manion, Satisfied

II. Delight: Your Unchanging Identity in Christ

A. We are the Chosen of God - Vs. 3-5a

B. We are the Adopted Children of God - Vs. 5-6

Your new identity through God’s adoption means that your most defining reality is not who abandoned, betrayed, or deserted you, however painful and scarring those events were. Your identity is not defined by the fiancé who broke off the engagement, the company that canned you, the parent who left you, or the spouse who betrayed you…

Your most defining moment is not determined by who threw you out but who took you in. The God of creation adopted you. He picked you out, he picked you up, he brought you home. ~ Jeff Manion, Satisfied

C. We are the Redeemed of God - Vs. 7

I Peter 1:18-19 – You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

D. We are the Forgiven of God - Vs. 7-8

E. We are Those Sealed by God - Vs. 13

F. We are the Treasured Possession of God - Vs. 11-14

Deut. 32:8 – “The Lord’s Portion is His people”

F. We are the Treasured Possession of God - Vs. 11-14

Isaiah 43:20-21 – “My chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they may declare My praise.”

I John 3:1 – “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God.”

We who live before the Audience of One can say to the world: “I have only one audience. Before you I have nothing to prove, nothing to gain, nothing to lose.” ~ Os Guinness, The Call