TEXT: 2 Cor 5:17
TITLE: A New Identity In Christ!
SERIES: Identity: Who am I? Who am I created to be?
TOPIC: a new creation!
OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church, November 23, 2008
PROP.: When you encounter Christ, EXPECT TO CHANGE!
INTRODUCTION: Today’s sermon finishes out our series on IDENTITY!
Today’s sermon title is: A NEW IDENTITY IN CHRIST!
ILLUSTRATION: Chemical reaction…Mentos & Diet Coke
Parents…I apologize in advance for telling you this story…ok? Every kid is going to want to try this.
I’ve never been a huge mentos fan. The candy doesn’t do anything special for me. But I am sure that mentos sales are alive and well. Why?
Well on their own, mentos are kind of gross…but when they encounter a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke…something amazing happens.
You see, when you take Mentos…and add Diet Coke…you get this: a Coke Fountain!!!
All we had when I was a kid was baking soda and vinegar!!!!
WHEN YOU COME INTO CONTACT WITH JESUS CHRIST…EXPECT TO CHANGE!!!
T.S.: That’s it. That is the summary of today’s message. That is what I want you to know: When you Encounter Christ, EXPECT TO CHANGE!
That is the truth behind
2 Corinthians 5:17:
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Three LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE ENCOUNTERS WITH CHRIST!
Lesson #1
I. When we discover Jesus’ identity, He will change ours!
--When we recognize Jesus for who He is; He will transform my life!!!
A. Jesus Encounter #1 (blind men) (Matthew 20:29-34)
29As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
31The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
32Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
33"Lord," they answered, "we want our sight."
34Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
B. See with your heart!
How ironic is it that these two blind men saw clearly who Jesus is! They saw Jesus for who He truly was!
--“SON OF DAVID!!!…”
To call Jesus Lord was expected. This was the usual respectful greeting of someone who was higher than you…but to call Jesus “SON OF DAVID” as to virtually acknowledge him to be the Messiah, who as old prophets foretold, was to open the eyes of the blind (Isaiah 29:18).
These two blind men were seeing clearly…with their hearts! Our world is so blind! Our world is crying “Heal our bank accounts!” when our cry should be “Heal our heart!!!”
C. Jesus offers a changed identity
--Notice how the story ends for these two blind friends.
Vs. 34 “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”
No longer were they going to have to beg for money! No longer were they going to be known as “the two blind men”. Why? Because they recognized Jesus’ identity! They saw Jesus as not just another man. Or a good teacher. Or a moral guide. They saw Jesus as “SON OF DAVID!” MESSIAH!
And they followed Him!!!
Hundreds of thousands of people have met Jesus and recognized Him for who He is…HE IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD…THE LAMB OF GOD…THE SACRIFICE FOR SINS…and have become followers of Him!
ILLUSTRATION: I could have very easily used the story of Saul who became Paul. He was living life in direct opposition to what Christ really wanted! He was killing people who were following Jesus and persecuting the early church arresting those who were going to church then.
And you know the story. What happened? Paul had an encounter with Jesus. He saw Jesus for who is really is and Paul’s life was COMPLETELY transformed!
Paul used to be known as a Christian killer…now he is known as a Christian preacher!
LISTEN…WHEN YOU RECOGNIZE JESUS FOR WHO HE IS, HE WILL CHANGE YOUR IDENTITY!
Lesson #2
II. Desperation leads to transformation!
A. Definition of Desperate
Webster defines DESPEATE as: reckless or dangerous because of despair or urgency:
Desperate is a strong word. That’s why I like it! People who are desperate are frantic, rude, reckless. Desperate people are explosive, focused, and uncompromising in their desire to get what they want.
B. New Testament examples
The new testament is filled with desperate people, who barged into private dinners, screamed at Jesus until they had His attention, or even climbed Sycamore trees just to get a GLIMPSE of who Jesus is!
People who are desperate have tried everything else and nothing has worked. They have nothing else left to lose. They realize that Jesus is the solution. And nothing will keep a desperate person from Jesus!
I want to introduce you to a desperate man.
C. Jesus Encounter #2 (lame man) (Mark 2:1-4)
1A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.
Can you sense his desperation? He wants to get to Jesus…he NEEDS to get to Jesus. And he lets NOTHING stand in his way.
He has recruited four friends to carry him.
He has destroyed a roof to a home
He has risked his life being lowered through the opening in the roof..
ALL BECAUSE HE WAS DESPERATE FOR JESUS!
D. The transformation (verse 5-11)
And his desperation led to transformation!
5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7"Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ’Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ’Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11"I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"
--The Spiritual transformed
What a strange thing to say to a man seeking to be physically healed: “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
But it makes perfect sense. Jesus healed what needed to be healed first and foremost.
ILLUSTRATION: If a man went to the hospital with a fractured skull…would you first heal his hang-nail?
And so Jesus addresses the life threatening injuries first!
IMPORTANT: Jesus cares first and foremost about the eternal…not the temporal! Jesus knew that this paralyzed man would have a new body…a glorified body…one without defect when this life on earth is done. But Jesus also knew that without the forgiveness of sins, this paralyzed man would suffer an eternity of hell.
So Jesus takes care of what’s important and heals his soul first!!!!!
--The Physical transformed
And once the important stuff is fixed, Jesus heals his physical body as well!
--what we don’t know:
There’s a lot of things we don’t know about this man. We don’t know what caused this man’s paralysis. We don’t know if he was a quadriplegic. We don’t know if he was born with paralysis. We don’t know if he sustained some significant injury to cause his paralysis. We don’t even know this man’s name.
--what we do know:
Is he was forever changed after his encounter with Christ! His identity used to be that of a PARALYZED MAN! That is how the gospel writers Matthew, Mark and Luke all describe this man. To them, and the other witnesses, the fact that he was paralyzed identified him! What separated this man from everyone else was the fact that he could not walk. After his encounter with Christ he was identified as someone who was forgiven!!!
NO LONGER WAS THIS MAN’S IDENTITY FOUND IN THE FACT THAT HE COULD NOT WALK. THIS MAN’S IDENTITY IS FOUND IN CHRIST JESUS!!!!
He WAS DESPERATE TO CHANGE…AND HIS DESPERATION LED TO TRANSFORMATION!!!!
E. Your transformation
How about you? Can you say the same thing? Are you desperate to be the person Christ wants you to be? Do you realize that there is no other solution to your sin problem? No other answer to your addictions? No other way to heaven?
I fear many of us do not desperately come to Christ but instead casually come to Christ!
We think, “ahhh…well I’m not doing anything else on Sunday morning…guess I’ll come to Church…”
The third lesson we learn from Encounters with Jesus is:
III. Transformation leads to Thanksgiving!
When Jesus transforms a life…when an identity is FOREVER changed; Jesus is praised!
--JESUS ENCOUNTER #3 (Lepers)
Luke 17:11-19
11Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a]met him. They stood at a distance 13and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
14When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
15One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
A. We were like lepers
We weren’t that different from these lepers. YOU SEE, WE WERE OUTCASTS! We could have no contact with God in the condition we were in. Our sin was a disease that threatened our eternal life!
And Jesus healed us!!! Jesus removed our sins from us! He cleansed us!
B. Our Response
WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? Why are we singing songs? Why are we giving money? Why are we sippin’ on grape juice and crackers?
ALL OF IT…LISTEN TO ME…ALL OF IT…everything we do…Sunday after Sunday…is in direct praise…is in direct THANKSGIVING for what Jesus has done!
And so do you see the problem with half-hearted worship?
*when you’re mumbling some lyrics to songs
*when you casually toss in some money to the plate
*when you are distracted as you partake of the Lord’s supper?
We do a dis-service to the one who changed our identity, when we show up to church service sleepy…or late…or in a bad mood…
WHEN WE GATHER HERE, IT’S TIME WE GET FOCUSED! IT’S TIME WE GET EXCITED ABOUT WHAT IT IS, WE ARE DOING HERE ON SUNDAY MORNINGS! TO WORSHIP GOD WITH GRATTITUDE!!!
CONCLUSION: As I conclude this morning’s message and this sermon series on IDENTITY, I want to remind you of the truths we’ve unpacked this month:
**THE MASK YOU WEAR IS NOT EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE TO WHO GOD CREATED YOU TO BE
**YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE CREATED BY GOD. You are unique. You are valued. You are His.
**YOU’RE IDENTITY IS FOUND IN CHRIST ALONE. He changed you when you became a follower of Him.
ILLUSTRATION: ILLUSTRATION: You can IDENTIFY each of these characters by what dresses them:
Fireman
Policeman
Doctor
These people are easily recognized because of what dresses them! Likewise, let the world identify you as a follower of Jesus Christ!
CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH CHRIST!! LET THEM SEE JESUS!!!
Romans 13:14
“14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” CELEBRATE WHO YOU ARE CREATED TO BE!
