Discovering Your Identity - Part 2

 Matthew 1:11

¹¹ Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

I am God's son, I belong to His family, and He is my Dad.

Rom 8:15

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

Eph 1:3-5

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (4) just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (5) having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

We are all sons of God - a generic term, covering both genders- so SONS and DAUGHTERS of GOD.

At first blush, you might be tempted to think, "But I'm not a natural son, I'm only an adopted son."

But so many children around the world are natural children, but their parents don't want them.  Children might be an accident of timing, and even if they are planned, the baby might arrive and the parents say, "Oh, no, it's a girl. We wanted a boy."  Spiritual and physical rejection is a true concept which happens every day.   All humanity has been living with rejection since the fall of Adam and Eve.  We have a internal emotional void for companionship and relationship which must be filled.   We feel if we meet the right person, have the best job, house, and family we will be satisfied.   However, the void remains and it can only be filled by a loving accepting reationship with FATHER (ABBA) God.  

"For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love" -Ephesians‬ ‭1:4‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

When one adopts, it is a child which is chosen and rescued and given a different life.  So I'm not just any old son or daughter . . . I am adopted into God's family, rescued from sin and positioned to a life of favor, grace, and inheritance. 

Just think of this: God looked down from heaven, and out of all the people He saw, He wants us to be part of His family. He sent His Son, Jesus so we would be a part of His family.WE Must accept HIM and then be born again to enter into the family... GOD did all that for US!He Loved Humanity that much!  If that doesn't make you stand tall, I don't know what will.

We must remember God’s love for us in immense.  

Jer 31:3 The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you."

He loves us with an everlasting love, and the result of that everlasting love is that out of His loving kindness He draws us to Himself.  Paul took up this theme in the New Testament, beginning in Eph 2:4… "But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…"

How do we know God loves us?  I can think of three good reasons.

First, look around you; just take a good look at God's marvelous creation.  Isn't that the action of a loving God?

Second, God takes an ongoing and active interest in us. Theologians put that in a category they call the Doctrine of the Immanence of God.  No matter how big, no matter how small, God is vitally interested.

But to me, the most important evidence of the immense love of God for us is found in this verse, "But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…" (Eph 2:4)

God is rich in mercy.  But God looked down from heaven, and He looked with eyes of compassion, and He saw a world that was drowning in sin, entangled in its own selfishness, and He said, "I better go down there and sort things out."  And instead of coming as the all-powerful King and everlasting Judge, He took on the form of an ordinary man. He took up a trade as a carpenter.  He let them rip Him to shreds with a scourge and let them crucify Him.  Why? Because He is rich in mercy.  How is it that He is so rich in mercy? Because of His great love with which He loved us.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you." (Jer 31:3)

This is where we should draw our sense of who we are from - the immense love that God has for us.  So first, I'm a son of God; second, I am loved by God…

Third,  I am a representative of Christ!  We so often look at this in terms of responsibility: I am Christ's representative, therefore I have a job to do, and I need to be faithful in doing that job.  And that's true, but let's look at it from a slightly different angle.  If I am Christ's representative, what does that say about what God thinks about me?  The key word here is trust.  God has looked at you - and me - and said, "I am going to trust this person with this important task."  And based on that trust, He makes us His ambassadors.

Just think about this for a moment. You're the owner of a multinational company, and an opportunity comes for you to get into the Chinese market. It's a great opportunity. You need to get over there and talk to them, but for various reasons, you can't. So you choose an ambassador.  You don't want just anyone. You want someone special as your ambassador.

Here is the Encyclopedia Britannica definition of ambassador: highest rank of diplomatic representative sent by one national government to another

Now listen to this:

2 Cor 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

Let's say that again using the Britannica definition.

2 Cor 5:20 Now then, we are the highest rank of diplomatic representative sent by King Jesus to earth, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

God has put a lot of trust in us to do the job of being His ambassadors.  Here are two reasons why God has put His trust in us to get the job done.

He has filled us with His Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.  By filling us with the Holy Spirit, He has equipped us to be His ambassadors.  Everything we need to be able to share the gospel with people comes when we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

2 Cor 3:6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

He has given us the most power-filled message of all.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

The gospel has the power to bring salvation, healing, transformation, the knowledge of God, significance, release.  So here's a little reminder: This is where we should derive our self-identity, our significance, the meaning for our existence and our self-esteem.

1. I am a son/daughter of God

2. God's love for me is immense

3. I am a representative of Christ, a true ambassador

All of this gives us the ability to walk tall, no matter what anyone else thinks of us.

Remember who you are in CHRIST!   You are to become LIKE Him!

Blessings, 

Ric