Bob’s Blog

We are somebody because Christ lives in us. In Christ we have all we will ever need. And in Christ we are totally secure forever.

We embark upon a five-part message series that deals with Identity Theft. Identity theft is a problem most of us didn’t think about 5 years ago. Today it is common to hear the stories of victims who are trying to salvage their name and credit rating after learning that someone has stolen and misused a password, social security number, or charge card. Statistics show that identify theft is on the rise. In 1999 to 20004 there were 17 million victims. In 2005-2006 alone, there were over 10 million. So since tracking began in 1999 there have been over 27 million identity thefts reported.

Even if we would track what is happening on the internet, fraud is rampant. SPAM volume is growing exponentially; 50% of attacks are generated outside the U.S. Statistics show that 10 out of 16 messages are SPAM. 1 in 4 email messages is virus infected. Knowing the danger of identity fraud will help us think twice before giving personal information that could permit others access to our bank account or social security number.

Being informed can also deepen our understanding of a spiritual principle that we have often taken for granted. According to the Bible, we are not the only ones who have reason for concern. God himself takes a risk with his identity whenever he allows us to use his name. When we identify ourselves as his children, and even more when we let it be known that we are Jesus-followers, God’s credit rating gets mingled with our own. Yet by endangering his own reputation, God gives us the greatest of gifts.

The use of God’s Name and credit is at the heart of what the Bible says God does for us. It is not a privilege we would expect or ask for. It’s natural to want to take care of ourselves, to solve our own problems, and to be obligated to no one. Our culture tries to convince us that if we find the right relationship, keep up our appearance, and strive for success, we’ll live happy, fulfilled lives.

We will be discovering in future messages that there are at least four “identity thieves” that steal our sense of who we truly are and render our lives diminished versions of what they were intended to be. They block out the cross or fight for allegiance in each of our lives. We were never meant to be chameleons, changing into whatever we need to be in order to gain love and acceptance. We were created for more—much more—than the way we look, what we accomplish or fail to accomplish, and the sum of our past rejections, failures, and wounds. This five-part series reveals that our longing for security and acceptance can only be found in Christ. In the cross of Christ, we find our true identity.

Who are you?” We all have a sense of identity, of “who we are”. Much of our identity was developed in our upbringing, much also contributed to by our education, but also much from our deciding “who we wanted to be.” Commonly, this is defined in functional terms, “I want to be a pastor.” “I want to be a teacher.” “I want to be a father.” “I want to be a wife.” Naturally, we have taken on a sense of identity that is usually multifaceted. The point is, our actions come from that sense of identity, not the other way around. As a teacher, we do certain things, etc. The connection between our identity and our actions is an aspect of how we are designed.

Now, let me ask you some important questions: Do you really know your identity in Christ? How do you see yourself as a Jesus-follower? Do you see yourself as powerful? Or do you see yourself as impotent? Do you understand the true extent of what it means to have the Son of God living inside of you? Do you hold your head up high because of your relationship to Christ, or are you sometimes embarrassed? Do see yourself in rags or in riches?

If our identity in Christ is the key to wholeness, why do so many Jesus-followers have difficulty with self-worth, spiritual growth and maturity? Because our true identity in Christ has been distorted by the Devil—the great deceiver himself.

Speaking of the deceiver, there is a story told of the Devil who disrupted a church service one Sunday morning. In the middle of worship, the Devil came charging into the Sanctuary yelling and screaming. This caused so much fear that all but one person in the congregation scattered and left the Worship Center. Remaining was a little elderly gentleman sitting on the front pew. Refusing to move, the Devil said to the man, “Don’t you know who I am, and what I can do to you?” The man replied, “You don’t scare me one bit. I’ve been living with your sister for fifty years!”

In the scriptures, to deceive is to cause someone to believe something that is not true. “Satan, who deceived the whole world, was cast out” (Revelation 12:9). Satan deceives not only Jesus-followers but even unbelievers. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). So we must not be deceived. Contrary to culture or what the deceiver says, we are not a product of what we do or don’t do. We are a product of who we are in Christ and his work on the cross. Jesus-followers are not saved by how we behave but by how we believe!

As we near another celebration of America’s freedom—Independence Day—do we identify with being an American more than our identity in Christ as Jesus-followers? We cherish our freedom as Americans, however, Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness won’t really give us the freedom we really need. Sometimes we emphasize the fact that the truth has the power to make us free. Truth is truth whether we believe it or not. And truth is truth whether we know it or not.

But let’s approach this from a different perspective. There are times when we can never be free unless we “know” the truth. If we do not know the truth, we may be acting on a lie. If we act on the basis of an untruth, then the untruth becomes the reality for us. We must not shortchange ourselves by believing we are less than God says we are. What a shame it would be to believe we are penniless when we are really prosperous. There are compelling reasons from a biblical point of view to perceive our need for access to God’s name and credit.

Let’s look at Paul’s opening words to the Ephesian believers in 1:1-6…

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

These words of Paul’s letter tell of our spiritual possessions in Christ. Jesus-followers inherit the wealth by faith and invest the wealth by works. Without this balance, our spiritual riches do us no good.

There is a cartoon that shows an arrogant lawyer reading a client’s last will and testament to a group of greedy relatives. The caption read: “I, John Jones, being of sound mind and body, spent it all!” When Jesus wrote his last will and testament for his church, he made it possible for us to share his spiritual riches. Instead of spending it all, Jesus paid it all. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross made possible our salvation.

In the first six verses of Ephesians, we will discover at least three characteristics of our identity in Christ. Paul names just a few of the blessings that make up our spiritual wealth in Christ. So before we come to the Lord’s Table to remember the sacrifice Jesus paid for our salvation, it would be affirming for us to see our true identity in Christ.

1. In Christ We Are Significant

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Paul opens this letter to the church, he addresses it to the “saints.” This is a good biblical term commonly applied to all believers. In fact, in some ancient manuscripts, the designation “at Ephesus” is not found at the beginning of this letter. Because of that, many believe that this was a general letter from Paul to be circulated among all the churches. In any case, Christians are commonly referred to as saints. It comes from the Greek word hagios, which literally means “holy.” To be a saint, in the New Testament sense of the word, is to be a “holy one.” And that’s who we are in Christ.

We must not be misled by the mistaken idea that sainthood is something which can only be conferred upon certain dead people by some ecclesiastical body. According to God’s Word, all believers are already saints. From God’s perspective, we are saints, not because of who people say we are, but because of what Christ did for us. We are righteous because Jesus died on the cross so that he could give us his righteousness. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He {God} made Him {Christ} who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” We are now the righteousness of God in Christ. What an amazing statement!

When Christ died on the cross, he paid the penalty for our sin. He died there to put to death our old self. But he not only died to forgive us, he died to enable us to receive his life. As we surrender to him, he gives us his life in exchange for ours. He becomes our life. We live by his life. Christ is in us, and we are in Christ. Now we live from this new level of life. His righteousness is made ours. When God looks at us, he sees us in Christ. Here’s the truth of who we are in Christ. In Christ we have significance. We must begin to realize our righteousness in Christ. It comes as we begin to see ourselves as in Christ.

Here is where we find the importance of knowing the truth. Unless we know our true position in Christ, we will never begin to live from that position. We are significant because of our position in Christ. This is what we must begin to see by faith. This is who we really are. It has been said that some people can’t get saved because they won’t accept their sinnership, and that some Christians can’t walk in victory because they won’t accept their sainthood. In Christ we are significant. In Christ we are saints. We have his permission to live like a saint!

2. In Christ We Are Sufficient

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

God has given us sufficiency in Christ. Let’s look closer at this jewel of a verse. It is not that God will bless us. God has blessed us. It’s a done deal. God has not just given us a blessing; he has given us spiritual blessing. But let’s look further. God has not just given us spiritual blessing; God has given us every spiritual blessing. And finally we are told that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. What a promise! It’s really more than a promise. It’s a current reality.

Again, if we do not know this truth, we will never walk in it. In Christ we have sufficiency, because we have every spiritual blessing in Christ. And so we must learn to rely on our resources in Christ. In Christ, we are rich. The riches of Christ have already been deposited into our account. We must now begin to draw upon those riches.

It is as if someone made an anonymous and secret deposit into our checking account. If we did not know about the existence of that deposit, we would never be able to draw upon it. But when we came into the knowledge of that truth, then we would immediately have access to that resource. This is precisely what the Word of God is saying to us. We may choose not to believe it, and live in spiritual poverty. Or we may choose to draw upon our resources in Christ. We can write a check on this account and take it to the bank! See if it doesn’t clear. It will not bounce.

Sometimes we can feel that we do not have what it takes to do what God is calling us to do. Throughout the Scriptures we find God calling us upward. There is a high calling for the Jesus-follower. There is much the Lord commands us to do. But the commands of Christ are not burdensome. It has been said that every command of God is not a demand on us, but a demand upon the God who gave the command. God will never give us something to do that he hasn’t already given us the power to do. In Christ we are already sufficient for everything he calls us to do. We begin to live in that knowledge.

3. In Christ We Are Secure

4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

God chose us in Christ. We are told that God predestined us to adoption as sonship through Jesus Christ. And we are also told that God freely has given us his grace in the Beloved. In Christ we can learn to rest in our relationship to him. In Christ we are secure, because we are in the Beloved. The point is that we are his. We are in Jesus. Therefore, we are secure. Our security rests on our relationship.

It was God’s will to choose us. God called us in order to adopt us as his sons and daughters. We are told that this is his will. God has given us what we do not deserve. God has freely bestowed on us his grace and made us part of his family. No wonder John could say, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).

I remember as a young boy playing baseball in the park with my friends. All the boys would gather together and we would choose sides. Two captains would pick the boys they wanted on their respective team. I was little in size and stature so I was perceived by the other boys as lacking in the skills of hitting, throwing, catching, and running. So it was often an embarrassing situation for me to get picked last. In fact, I remember a few times the following scenario: “You take Bobby. No, you can have Bobby. Well, I don’t want Bobby. You take him.” Well, I ended up on one of the teams adding to the strength of its players. However, the way we formed the teams by choice was brutal.

This is not so with God. God loves us. God has chosen us. God has accepted us. There is nothing we can do for God to love us more. There’s also nothing we can do for God to love us less. God doesn’t change us so that he can love us; God loves us in order to change us. It is God’s love that changes us. We surrender to that love. We bask in it. We rest in our relationship in Christ. In Christ we are secure. In Christ we are accepted. What a powerful passage!

In Christ we are significant. We are righteous. We are saints, so we learn to realize our righteousness.

In Christ we are sufficient. We are rich. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing, so we learn to rely on our resources.

In Christ we are secure. We are received. We are accepted in the Beloved, so we learn to rest in our relationship.

In the Summer of 1967, 100,000 young people, ages 15-25, flocked to my hometown—San Francisco—to experience the hippie movement. This mass convergence was sparked by the hit song in San Francisco called, “Wear a Flower in Your Hair.” Once there, they experimented with LSD, pot, immorality, and Eastern mysticism, in what became known as the “Summer of Love.”

When these newly recruited, “Flower Children,” returned home at the end of the summer, they brought with them new styles and ideas, flooding the cities of the U.S. and Europe with a message that opposed authority and scorned conservative morals. This counterculture rebellion was fueled by music and art, and it rapidly shifted global culture. A great divorce from God and his ways of kindness, along with the losing of our identity in Christ occurred in this turbulent time, and the effects of the “Summer of Love,” are still with us today. The church is obviously saturated with those effects.

On the 40th-year anniversary of the “Summer of Love” that occurred in 1967 (really a summer of divorce), it’s time for multi-generations of Jesus-followers to reclaim their identity in Christ; to return to God; and to reaffirm through prayer and fasting our trust in God for America’s healing. A Call to Prayer leaflet is inserted in our bulletin today. Nearly all the Presidents of the United States have found great power through prayer. We may pray through these prayers from Sunday, July 1 to next Sunday, July 8. This Saturday, 07-07-07 is a day for national repentance, fasting, and prayer for our 40-year generational rebellion. Let’s fast Saturday’s lunch. Let’s pray together. Our chapel will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for intercessory prayer. It’s a time for church leaders, pastors, mothers, fathers, college students, youth, children, every race, every denomination, and every age to come and divorce false worship, and remarry the Lord. We don’t allow anyone to take away our identity in Christ. Identity theft need not ambush Jesus-followers!

So we are not “flower children.” We must remember that we are called “the sons and daughters of God.” We recall what Jesus said about the importance of knowing the truth. We can’t behave right unless we believe right. Proverbs 23:7 says that as a person “thinks within himself, so he is .” If we live based on what others say about us, we may or may not be any better off. It depends on whom we talk to. But if we live based upon who God says we are, then we can hold our heads up high. We are somebody because Christ lives in us. In Christ we have all we will ever need. And in Christ we are totally secure. Nobody, nothing can ever take away our identity in Christ!

Father in heaven, you have given us so much. The miracle of life is beyond our understanding. The opportunity to know you is a gift beyond comparison. The people around us are priceless. Please forgive us for losing sight of what is most important. Please forgive us for ignoring you, your will, and the hurting and lost people for whom Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary. May today be the day that your kingdom comes and your will is done in us, as it is in heaven. Amen.

OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST

I am created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27)

I am gloriously and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)

I am a child of God (1John 3:1-2, John 1:12)

I am destined to be conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29-30)

I am being transformed into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18)

I may come boldly to the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16, Ephesians 2:18 and 3:12)

I belong to God and am part of a royal kingdom and priesthood (1 Peter 2:9, Rev. 1:5-6)

I am loved by God and nothing can separate me from that love (Romans 8:31-39)

I am chosen by God (Ephesians 1:4)

I am forgiven and my debt is canceled (Colossians 2:13-14)

There is no condemnation in me (Romans 8:1)

I am strong enough through Christ to accomplish whatever he calls me to do (Philippians 4:13)

I am God’s handiwork (Ephesians 2:10, Philippians 1:6, 2:13)

I am an eternal being with everlasting life (John 3:16, 6:47)

I have peace with God through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1)

I have the peace of God which passes understanding (Philippians 4:7)

I have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God’s Son (Colossians 1:13)

I possess abundant life through Jesus Christ (John 10:10)