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Identity Crisis: Temple
This morning, we continue our “Identity Crisis” message series where we are faced with that question, “When everything else fails, at your core, who are you?” Last week, we were reminded how we were created on purpose and for a purpose. Our nation, and the church alike, is suffering from identity crises in many different ways.
We learned that there is a huge difference between who we are born to be and who we were created to be. We are all born into sin by our humanity and need to be born again by the Spirit. When we ask Jesus to save us, we are born again and our identity immediately changes. First and foremost, we are a child of God; adopted into His family.
If we choose to identify ourselves by our career, our relationships with others, what we own, what we are able to do; by any worldly thing that can be taken away from us, then we do not know who we truly are and we are setting ourselves up for a huge disappointment.
Jesus had to remind the disciples of this when they began to find their identities in their new found abilities.
Luke 10:17–20 NLT
17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
Jesus redirected their focus so that they would find their identity and reason for rejoicing not in casting out demons (what they can do), but rather in who they were; members of Heaven.
Sometimes, God strips those things away from us to reveal who we truly are. We were reminded last week of Joseph’s journey through many titles, positions of authority, gains, and losses. It was only His relationship with God and who God called Him to be that endured all those things and could not be stripped away from him. Prayerfully, we each come to realize and understand our own true identity as he did.
Once we realize our true identity, we are unstoppable!
Once we realize our true identity, we are unshakable!
Once we realize our true identity, we will have confidence and contentment!
Jesus said:
John 14:12 (NLT)
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
Why, then, is it so challenging for us to discover and understand who we were created to be? Why does it feel like this is hidden from us, not for us? Why is it that we are always tempted to strive to be something that we are not and to compare our weaknesses to other’s strengths?
I believe that one significant reason that we struggle with our identity is because of this reality.
From the beginning of our creation, a war was waged against our identity. Satan was the most beautiful of all of God’s creation (Ez. 28). He became corrupted by pride on account of his great beauty and began to believe himself to be equal with God. He who was created to worship instead desires and demands to be worshipped (Ez. 28, Rev. 13, Matt. 4).
God did something interesting in the sight of the most beautiful creature in existence. God shaped some mud, breathed life into that being and personally created mankind in His very image. He then personally walked and communed with them. I get the impression that Satan might have been a bit jealous of this.
Why? Satan and a third of the angels waged war in Heaven and were cast down to the earth (Rev. 12). He then waged war against us, who were created in God’s image and created to worship. This war left Heaven, continued in the garden of Eden and still continues to this day. It will continue to rage until Jesus returns and puts an end to his corruption in this way:
Revelation 20:10
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By Steve Kromer
5
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This morning, we continue our “Identity Crisis” message series where we are faced with that question, “When everything else fails, at your core, who are you?” Last week, we were reminded how we were created on purpose and for a purpose. Our nation, and the church alike, is suffering from identity crises in many different ways.
We learned that there is a huge difference between who we are born to be and who we were created to be. We are all born into sin by our humanity and need to be born again by the Spirit. When we ask Jesus to save us, we are born again and our identity immediately changes. First and foremost, we are a child of God; adopted into His family.
If we choose to identify ourselves by our career, our relationships with others, what we own, what we are able to do; by any worldly thing that can be taken away from us, then we do not know who we truly are and we are setting ourselves up for a huge disappointment.
Jesus had to remind the disciples of this when they began to find their identities in their new found abilities.
Luke 10:17–20 NLT
17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
Jesus redirected their focus so that they would find their identity and reason for rejoicing not in casting out demons (what they can do), but rather in who they were; members of Heaven.
Sometimes, God strips those things away from us to reveal who we truly are. We were reminded last week of Joseph’s journey through many titles, positions of authority, gains, and losses. It was only His relationship with God and who God called Him to be that endured all those things and could not be stripped away from him. Prayerfully, we each come to realize and understand our own true identity as he did.
Once we realize our true identity, we are unstoppable!
Once we realize our true identity, we are unshakable!
Once we realize our true identity, we will have confidence and contentment!
Jesus said:
John 14:12 (NLT)
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
Why, then, is it so challenging for us to discover and understand who we were created to be? Why does it feel like this is hidden from us, not for us? Why is it that we are always tempted to strive to be something that we are not and to compare our weaknesses to other’s strengths?
I believe that one significant reason that we struggle with our identity is because of this reality.
From the beginning of our creation, a war was waged against our identity. Satan was the most beautiful of all of God’s creation (Ez. 28). He became corrupted by pride on account of his great beauty and began to believe himself to be equal with God. He who was created to worship instead desires and demands to be worshipped (Ez. 28, Rev. 13, Matt. 4).
God did something interesting in the sight of the most beautiful creature in existence. God shaped some mud, breathed life into that being and personally created mankind in His very image. He then personally walked and communed with them. I get the impression that Satan might have been a bit jealous of this.
Why? Satan and a third of the angels waged war in Heaven and were cast down to the earth (Rev. 12). He then waged war against us, who were created in God’s image and created to worship. This war left Heaven, continued in the garden of Eden and still continues to this day. It will continue to rage until Jesus returns and puts an end to his corruption in this way:
Revelation 20:10