Are you living from your true self, or your false self? True or False…

Sin = Hamartia - to miss the mark.

The problem is the arrow 

Deuteronomy 30:19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.

Sometimes death can look like a lot like life

Genesis 3:1Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Genesis 2:16 “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Genesis 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 

Not knowing the Word of God for yourself can hurt you.

Genesis 3:4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.  5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Every sin we struggle with, is rooted in a lie we are believing.

Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Out of fear, out of shame, we hide and we cover. 

Guilt is about behavior, Shame is about identity. 

The real problem with the false self is that it kinda works.

Ephesians 3:17 I pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation.

The love of God is key to you living from your true self.

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.

Colossians 3:3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

The real you, the you you were created to be (your true self) is the you that is hidden with Christ in God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Galatians 3:26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

You’re so hidden in Christ Jesus that according to scripture, everything that is true about Jesus is now true about you.

Ephesians 4:22-24 Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.  23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.  

Holy Spirit = advocate - one who provides comfort through reliable truth

The Holy Spirit wants to come alongside you and remind you of your true identity in Jesus. 

Ephesians 4:24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Luke 4:1-13 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”  

“Who You Are Is Based What You Do” 

4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”  5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”

“Who You Are Is Based What You Have”… 

8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” 

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10  for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ 11 and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 

“Who You Are Is Based What Others Think Of You”

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

There is a God who loves you.

Who you are, is loved. That’s your true identity. 

If you are in Christ, you are His, You are loved, and God is pleased.