jackpickel

April 8, 2012

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?  Introduction  (Ephesians 3:14-19)

vs. 15.  Paul says we are part of a family that bears no less than the name of God himself.

vs.  16  Pauls says that if our inner being understands who we are then transformation begins to take place.

vs. 18  Paul says the Christ’s love for us is beyond comprehension.

vs 19  Paul says that it is entirely possible to be filled to with the  fullness of God in this life.

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A new confession:

I am an awesome spirit being of magnificent worth.  I am deeply loved of God, I pleasing to God, I am totally accepted by God,  I am absolutely complete in Christ.  And when my person is expressed through my performance, the reflection is dynamically unique…for there has never been another like me in the history of mankind, nor will there ever be.  I’m an original, one of a kind, really somebody.

To say this about ourselves almost sounds pompous, prideful, self- promoting, audacious.  But this is what the Bible says about those who are in Christ.  Humility is agreeing with what God says about you.

We’ll be looking at doctrines from Scripture that substantiate this confession.

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The early Christians knew that Jesus can satisfy the deepest needs of the human heart and heal emotional wounds.  They knew that Jesus was enough.  That why they grew exponentially in the first century and why they could die as martyrs with joy, victory, power, a song, and a smile.  They knew who Christ was and they knew who they were in him.

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Who do you think you are?  The religious answer is “I am a Christian”  What does that mean.  Almost every American has a different idea of what a Christian is.  “Christian” is only used three times in the Bible and all three of those times it is used in a negative, condescending way by non-Christians.  Who do you think you are?

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The Grunch

When we come to Christ we are immediately adopted into the family of God and we stand righteous before him.  However, we still drag much baggage into this new journey with us – hurts, pains, wounds, emotional scars.  Our Grunch doesn’t want us to get over them.

My Grunch is that sense of inferiority that has shadowed me my entire life.  He is a bitter enemy that hates me no matter what I do.  He lurks around the shadows in the backside of my mind and if I do one thing wrong he appears with his long, bony, accusatory finger and tries to expose me as a fake, a phony, a laughing-stock, as inferior or at best mediocre, as stupid, as a jerk.  He seeks to kill my spirit, steal my joy, destroy my life.

My only weapon against him is knowing Christ and knowing who I am in Christ.

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When you understand who Christ is, what Christ has done for you, and who you are in him it will transform your relationship with God, with yourself, and with others.

When you understand who Christ is there is no one else or nothing else you will prefer to be.

Let’s take the journey together.