Identity: Moving Forward (Week 1)

I.  Moving Forward

     A.  It is time to move forward in your relationship with God

          1.  ”We cannot consistently behave in ways that are different from what we believe about ourselves.” – Kenneth Boa 

     B.  Stuck?

          1.  Perhaps you are stuck, spiritually speaking.  Maybe you feel like you have not grown much since you began your faith journey.  Maybe you have been going through the same motions for years.  If so, you are probably tired of the same scenario.  Nothing has really changed along the journey.  …If you were honest, perhaps you would even call your faith boring.

          2.  If you find yourself a bit bored or even disappointed with your faith, you are not alone.  But it is time to press forward.  

     C.  Pressing Forward

          1.  The apostle Paul continually pressed toward his goal of being mature in Christ.  He admitted that he was far from the goal, but he kept moving forward…

               a.  Philippians 3:12-14

                    i.  While Paul confessed he was not perfect, being stuck was not an option.  …Paul assumed responsibility for his spiritual growth.

                    ii.  He told believers to “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12 NIV).  

                    iii.  Work “out” your salvation.  Not work “for” your salvation.  (Salvation is a free gift given by God to those who trust and follow Christ; therefore, salvation cannot be earned.  but once someone has received the gift of salvation, he is challenged to live it out, to mature, and to grow.)

               b.  1 Timothy 4:7-8

                    i.  Quit watching infomercials about spiritual exercise.  Get off the couch and go for it.  

     D.  Spiritual Adolescence

          1.  …many Christians are stuck in an adolescent faith.  And what is the reason for the entrapment?  …I believe the stagnancy is directly proportionate to the fact that most Christians do not know who they are.  Most Christians lack a coherent sense of who God has made them to be.  Thus they wander life merely existing instead of living the reality of who God has called them to be.  

II.  Who Are you?

     A.  Searching for a clear identity

          1.  Everyone searches for a clear identity.  We long to possess a strong sense of who we are.  And we crave to be known for something.  

               a.  Some find their identity in their career.

               b.  Some find their identity in relationships.  

               c.  Some find their identity in possessions.  

               d.  Some find their identity in hobbies.

          2.  While careers, relationships, possessions, and hobbies are important aspects of our daily lives, they do not last forever.  While God breathes purpose and meaning into the details of our lives, when we seek our identity in places other than Christ, we find ourselves empty.

          3.  So we have a choice.

               a.  …we can embrace God’s invitation to lose our lives and find our identity in Him (Mark 8:35-36).  God invites us to a new and incredible identity.  God invites us to find ourselves in Him.  …And only in Him are we truly made whole.  

                b.  The invitation to become a follower of Christ is also an invitation to a new identity.  When you became a Christian, your identity changed.  You have been made new through your relationship with Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).  Your old life, your old identity is dead (Gal. 2:20).

                c.  To move beyond spiritual adolescence , we must understand who we really are in Christ.  To move forward in our faith, we must discover or rediscover the identity that God has given us.  

 

*This FOCUS University Ministry Bible Study is based on Identity:  Who You Are in Christ by Eric Geiger.  Direct quotes are in italics above.

 

Listen to the Podcast here.

~ by John Clayton on May 25, 2009.