260412 We Already Belong

Discipleship is not about earning identity, but living from an identity. God chose you. Jesus called you. The spirit shaped you. And Jesus didn't stand at a distance and say, hey. Come join my church. He went to the cross so that you would be his child. And this morning, God is calling you to live who you are, a disciple of Jesus. And the question is, and I wanna end on this, will you be a part of the community Jesus died to create? Will you live who you are? Will you pray with me? [00:51:31] (41 seconds)  #LiveFromIdentity

Christian community is not built on our just shared interest like a a club that we belong to, personalities or preferences. I like contemporary versus traditional music. Let's go to this church. The church is built on Jesus' body that hung on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. It's not something we create. It's something that we enter into because it already exists. It's already there. [00:49:40] (28 seconds)  #ChurchBuiltOnTheCross

You weren't saved just to attend church. You were called to walk with God, hear his voice, reflect his character, and live in his relationship with him. A disciple is not just someone who obeys God. It's someone who belongs to God. You belong to God. And some people think they need to fix themselves first or get their life together or clean up their past, but that's not what Jesus says. That's not the gospel. [00:50:54] (27 seconds)  #SavedToBelong

But the gospel flips this thing upside down. You don't work your way into belonging. You start from being from from belonging. You don't work your way into belonging, you start from belonging. Before you prove anything, before you understand who God was, you already belong to God for he chose you before the foundation of the world and you don't try out to qualify for being a disciple. [00:36:07] (25 seconds)  #BelongBeforeBecoming

They're gifts that have been given by God and they're the foundation of who you are. What we do with these gifts is up to us. God hands it to you. And this morning, the Lord is calling you to live out who you are. But a, we are not just instruments, we're recipients first. And that means this, you cannot give what you don't you don't have. [00:39:10] (22 seconds)  #YouCantGiveWhatYouDontHave

And that means this, not that you need to do more because you're chosen, you are more. You belong. And so often people go on, I need to pray more. I need to serve more. I need to fix myself. And God says, well, no. You already belong. Grow into who you are. Grow into who you are. Discipleship is not about earning an identity. It's about living from your identity. [00:31:53] (29 seconds)  #GrowFromBeingChosen

When we disconnect from the mission of the church, we aren't just missing a meeting. We're bypassing the Christ's plan to use us for his ministry here on this earth. I know you've heard this story, but I'll tell it to you again. When Jesus ascended into heaven and got back to to the right hand of God and he's looking down and the angel says so at that time, there were only 11 disciples cause, you know, Judas went out and hung himself. He goes, so you're done? [00:47:47] (33 seconds)  #MissionNotMeeting

And Christ took the punishment that separated us from God so that we wouldn't have to take that punishment. And by his death, we have been brought close to God that we're far off. God's goal from the beginning was not to have followers, but a family. Your family. You've always heard that blood is thicker than water? Well, I got news for you. Water is thicker than blood. The water is a baptism that calls us into God's family is thicker than blood. [00:50:17] (33 seconds)  #FamilyNotFollowers

We were created with the capacity to to hear god's voice, to reflect his character, to walk in his purpose. Your life is not an accident. Your calling is not an afterthought. You were designed to follow Jesus and become like him, to be a disciple of Christ. This morning, the Lord is calling us to live who we are, and a, Jesus didn't invite us into a community. He was torn apart to create one. [00:48:54] (26 seconds)  #CreatedToFollow

I I know that with church members. There there are really kinda two types of church members. Those who join and volunteer for everything. Everything. They they volunteer for everything. And after a while, burn out. And instead of letting go some of the things, they ghost the church. Whatever happened to so and so? I don't know. I haven't seen him in a few Sundays. They go to the church. They just disappear. [00:40:27] (26 seconds)  #VolunteerBurnoutGhosting

Being a recipient means that you acknowledge that your gifts and energy and creativity and love is not self generated. There are gifts that must be regularly replenished through bible study, prayer, fellowship, worship. Think of the church as a spiritual filling station where you come to get filled up on on Sunday. Sometimes we're running on empty, and we can't wait to get to church to be filled up by God's word, by his spirit, by the fellowship, by worship. [00:39:32] (35 seconds)  #SpiritualFillingStation

In one year, we had this 2,000 piece puzzle. We got to the end. We only had 1,999 pieces. The dog had eaten one of the pieces. It's only one piece. So what's the problem? Only one piece of the puzzle's missing. You see how important you are? Man, you're so important. You're important to the kingdom of God. You're important to the body of Christ. [00:34:31] (36 seconds)  #EveryPieceMatters

This morning, the Lord is calling us to live out who we are. I want you to look at your outline, b. Before we were ever useful, we were already united to Christ. You know, your value is established by God's grace through faith, not because we are useful, but because he loves us. It's like having a little child. You love that child. You know, your two year old, they're not quote real useful, but you love them. [00:35:08] (35 seconds)  #LovedBeforeUseful

Someone asks, how are you doing? Oh, I've been really busy. That's the standard answer. Saying that you're busy, though, makes you feel good because I'm in high demand. It suggests I put I I have human assets that people need, and I'm competent, and I have ambition. It makes you feel good to stay busy. But then when you're asked to to use your gifts for the church, it's just another thing I can't add to my busy schedule. And that's why Jesus says count the cost. [00:44:23] (31 seconds)  #BusyIsntFaith

And what Paul is saying is is that you need to be connected. You know what? Jesus said this, I am the vine, you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will do what? Bear much fruit. For apart from me, you can do what? Nothing. So every member has a role to play, but we're hooked up to the vine of Jesus, and we are to be that person, not just a Christian, but a disciple. [00:30:11] (28 seconds)  #AbideAndBearFruit

You're qualified because you're one of God's children. And that brings me to our memory verse. Can you say this with me? It's from first Corinthians twelve twenty seven. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. You're the body of Christ. You're you're the puzzle, and you and every one of you has a peace. And without you, there's a hall in ministry. [00:36:33] (30 seconds)  #YouAreTheBody

And as believers, in your outline, Christ has placed us in his holy body through baptism. When you were baptized, you received a call. You were adopted into God's family, and it's the starting point of a lifelong relationship with Jesus. A starting point. It's not an end in itself. It's a starting point. It's kinda like graduating from high school. Are you done when you graduate from high school? Yeah. We got it. We're on top of the world. And then, no, you're not. [00:30:39] (32 seconds)  #BaptismIsTheStart

Draw close to God, he will draw close to you. But then it says, cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded. And the reason we don't want to draw close to God is because of our sin. Because of our sin. And that's the very reason we need to draw close to God because of our sin. [00:46:03] (27 seconds)  #PurifyToDrawNear

And our scripture from in this section, first Corinthians six six seventeen says, but he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. That means this. When you are functioning with the Lord, you're not just two separate entities. You he begins to flow through you. And it's joyful. It is joyful when God uses you to do his work. This morning, Lord is calling you to live who you are. [00:42:01] (37 seconds)  #OneSpiritOneJoy

And that's because when you're running on empty when you're running on empty, you can't you can do nothing because you can't give what you you haven't received. And there are those who join the church that are so cautious not to get overly involved, they volunteer for nothing. Maybe that's you. And they switch churches. Yeah. In the last church, man, I did this, this, this, this, and this. They keep asking me, and I kept saying yes. [00:40:54] (29 seconds)  #DontBeChurchSpectator