Living in Christ: Embracing Our Identity and Growth
Sermon Summary
Sermon Clips
"We've been able to be partners with them in ministry for a long time, years and years, and getting to see God working through them there in Guatemala. You know, when we tell you that we want to help every person experience real life in Christ, we mean every person. Not just in Western Loudoun and not just with missionaries in Asia or Africa, but in Guatemala and everywhere in between that God leads us to partner and make a difference. And Juan and Celestine are a great example of a couple that we get to partner with. And you are so faithful in giving here. And if you don't know this, if you do, a reminder, you know, when you give, 10 % of everything you give goes to support world missions. Another 10 % goes to local missions, but 10 % goes to support on a monthly basis missionaries like Juan and Celestine in Guatemala and others all around the world." [00:24:57] (57 seconds)
"And when you hear that word, you might think of somebody who lobbies on your behalf, somebody who goes out of their way to try to get something for you. They're your advocate. And that wouldn't be untrue. But it's a little bit more detailed or specific than that. The original Greek word behind advocate is the word parakletos. And yes, it is fun to say. You should say it with me. You want a parakletos. Ready? One, two, three. You go home and just drop this in a conversation and you just sound smarter. Okay? Parakletos is the word word. therefore advocate that it's saying Jesus is before the Father for us." [00:38:10] (40 seconds)
"And in all of those phone calls and all of those conversations, I've never had a parent disown their child who is in jail for, you know, being clearly, you know, in a lot of cases guilty, right? It's as if there is nothing they could do or even do to them that would end that relationship. And even if you do feel like you have been disowned, consider how profound it is when this truth comes to Jesus, that just because we are broken, just because what we have done may be a direct offense to him, which by the way, didn't surprise him and doesn't surprise him. When Jesus went to the cross, he knew fully what you were, what you would do, and what you would forever do. He knew all of your brokenness and all of your sin. He isn't shocked tomorrow by what you do. He wasn't shocked when you did what you did this week. He isn't shocked by any of it. He still went to the cross full well knowing who we were. While we were still sinners, he died on the cross for us. He doesn't change because of what you do. He is still him." [00:44:26] (68 seconds)
"That's what propitiation is, is that Jesus satisfied God's wrath. So what does that mean? It means that Jesus isn't there just constantly fighting off the wrath of God every time we sin, going, oh, I need to pay some more. I need to shed some more blood. I need to do more. I need to do more to, okay, more of God's grace. He's already paid that price, was the propitiation for our sins, and stands in the gap as our advocate forevermore. When he said it, it was finished. It is finished." [00:46:06] (38 seconds)
"John is saying, if you're asking this question, you're in the right place where you realize, yeah, there are parts of you that are still, you know, growing and broken, but you're wanting to keep his commands. That's a sign of a believer with the Holy Spirit living inside of them. See, the person that is the one we should worry about the most is the one that's not asking that question. The one who doesn't care about keeping God's commands. The one who is so far removed from that that there's not even a consideration. See, the Holy Spirit lives inside of every person who's truly confessed Jesus as Lord. And if you feel some conviction, it is ironically a sign that he is in you and you are in him." [00:47:48] (41 seconds)
"Although this is true that we are still in him, that we have an identity that we didn't earn, but we were given and that he is doing the work to grow. All of us is, all of this is true, but we ought to walk in the same way he walked. God has a plan and a desire to use us and grow us that we can be more fruitful for him. And Paul addresses this very same issue of this topic that some people figured that they had made it. They got their get out of hell free card. They don't need to do anything else. They ought to just sit there. Here's what he says in Romans 6." [00:54:53] (34 seconds)
"We have been set free from sin, and though we may still struggle with our new identity in Jesus, we have a choice. We are not slaves anymore. You don't have to be identified by the worst thing you've ever done. You don't have to be dominated by that thing that seems to dominate you. If you have confessed Jesus as Lord and you are a child of God, that does not have to be your main identity anymore. If you have been set free, you have been set free indeed by Jesus Christ. We have a choice. Praise God, and he wants us to grow. We are supposed to grow." [00:56:14] (41 seconds)
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"And when you hear that word, you might think of somebody who lobbies on your behalf, somebody who goes out of their way to try to get something for you. They're your advocate. And that wouldn't be untrue. But it's a little bit more detailed or specific than that. The original Greek word behind advocate is the word parakletos. And yes, it is fun to say. You should say it with me. You want a parakletos. Ready? One, two, three. You go home and just drop this in a conversation and you just sound smarter. Okay? Parakletos is the word word. therefore advocate that it's saying Jesus is before the Father for us." [00:38:10] (40 seconds)
"And in all of those phone calls and all of those conversations, I've never had a parent disown their child who is in jail for, you know, being clearly, you know, in a lot of cases guilty, right? It's as if there is nothing they could do or even do to them that would end that relationship. And even if you do feel like you have been disowned, consider how profound it is when this truth comes to Jesus, that just because we are broken, just because what we have done may be a direct offense to him, which by the way, didn't surprise him and doesn't surprise him. When Jesus went to the cross, he knew fully what you were, what you would do, and what you would forever do. He knew all of your brokenness and all of your sin. He isn't shocked tomorrow by what you do. He wasn't shocked when you did what you did this week. He isn't shocked by any of it. He still went to the cross full well knowing who we were. While we were still sinners, he died on the cross for us. He doesn't change because of what you do. He is still him." [00:44:26] (68 seconds)
"That's what propitiation is, is that Jesus satisfied God's wrath. So what does that mean? It means that Jesus isn't there just constantly fighting off the wrath of God every time we sin, going, oh, I need to pay some more. I need to shed some more blood. I need to do more. I need to do more to, okay, more of God's grace. He's already paid that price, was the propitiation for our sins, and stands in the gap as our advocate forevermore. When he said it, it was finished. It is finished." [00:46:06] (38 seconds)
"John is saying, if you're asking this question, you're in the right place where you realize, yeah, there are parts of you that are still, you know, growing and broken, but you're wanting to keep his commands. That's a sign of a believer with the Holy Spirit living inside of them. See, the person that is the one we should worry about the most is the one that's not asking that question. The one who doesn't care about keeping God's commands. The one who is so far removed from that that there's not even a consideration. See, the Holy Spirit lives inside of every person who's truly confessed Jesus as Lord. And if you feel some conviction, it is ironically a sign that he is in you and you are in him." [00:47:48] (41 seconds)
"Although this is true that we are still in him, that we have an identity that we didn't earn, but we were given and that he is doing the work to grow. All of us is, all of this is true, but we ought to walk in the same way he walked. God has a plan and a desire to use us and grow us that we can be more fruitful for him. And Paul addresses this very same issue of this topic that some people figured that they had made it. They got their get out of hell free card. They don't need to do anything else. They ought to just sit there. Here's what he says in Romans 6." [00:54:53] (34 seconds)
"We have been set free from sin, and though we may still struggle with our new identity in Jesus, we have a choice. We are not slaves anymore. You don't have to be identified by the worst thing you've ever done. You don't have to be dominated by that thing that seems to dominate you. If you have confessed Jesus as Lord and you are a child of God, that does not have to be your main identity anymore. If you have been set free, you have been set free indeed by Jesus Christ. We have a choice. Praise God, and he wants us to grow. We are supposed to grow." [00:56:14] (41 seconds)
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