Who In The World Do You Think You Are?
Ephesians 1:1-2 September 28, 2008
Open: Everyone one of us struggle from time to time with the issue of forgetfulness. We forget little things – where we placed our glasses and our keys, etc. Have you ever the experience where you are driving down the road and you suddenly become aware that you might have missed your exit. You realize you’ve driven 8 miles and you don’t remember how you got there! Forgetting little things is a normal part of life - particularly the older you get. Perhaps more serious is loosing memory that provides us with self-identity.
Occasionally that happens because of disease or perhaps an injury that is so severe that a person can't access that part of their memory. It’s not that they don’t have the memory of who they are – it’s that they can no longer access that portion of their memory. We call that amnesia. They can forget their names, who they are – their friends and other significant relationships. As devastating as those kind of situations can be it’s not as scary as what happens sometimes to believers who forget their identity. And that’s what we want to deal with today as we begin a study through the book of Ephesians.
Ephesians is one of the greatest books in the New Testament. Written by Paul somewhere around the years 60-62 from a Roman prison cell. When Paul wrote this letter he was going through some of the most uncertain times in life. Whether he would live or not was very uncertain. – When you are going through uncertain times you might begin to doubt whether the things you’ve committed yourself to were actually worth it. Paul doesn’t fall into that – he uses the time to write to believers to remind us of who we are in Christ.
The issue of identity is one of the most important issues you will deal with in life. Everywhere you go people want to know who you are. Walk into a bank for any kind of transaction – they are going to want to know your identity. Get pulled over by a policeman – the very first thing he/she wants to establish is who you are. Go into an airport - you can’t even move through it without having some form of identity. Or a hospital – every time you get a shot or some medicine you will have your identity checked several times– and that’s a very good thing.
Ill of being asked to get an ID badge at a hospital – identifying me as a pastor. The chaplin of the hospital saw me carrying a bible and asked if I was a pastor. He said I could have an official ID badge identifying me a clergy - everyone will know who I am as I’m walking around the hospital and it will get me access into all the departments and once a month I could get a free lunch. Generally I haven’t had much trouble getting access to anyone the hospital. Most of the time when I tell them I’m a pastor and I’m visiting I can get right in see someone. I didn’t think it was all that necessary but hey – I’ll go along with the system – and besides, that free lunch thing had some appeal to it. So I’m given this form to fill out with all this personal information and told to take it and get a picture ID down to the security department, where they will take my picture and make my official I.D. badge. (It occurred to me as I was taking my driver’s license out - you know the one with the picture on it – that I already had a Picture ID) - but I nonetheless fill out the form and after searching through all the halls of the hospital I finally find the right department and knock on the door. A security guy is sitting in there eating a sandwich. I tell him why I’m there and he says’ you’ll have to come back at 3:00 - I don’t take pictures until 3:00 for security badges. I tell him I don’t live in the area and I’ve driven a long way to get here and I really can’t come back at 3:00. He says, “sorry – I don’t take those pictures until 3:00 PM." I tell him I was sent down there by one of the hospital administrators and He says, Sorry, I don’t take those pictures until 3:00 PM. I ask him where he takes the pictures – he says right here in this room. At that point I see a camera sitting on the shelf. Is that the camera you use? Yes it is. And this is the room where the pictures are taken? Yes it is. How long does it take to take this picture? About 20 seconds. Can’t you take the picture right now? – I have the paperwork the hospital gave me to fill out. No - I don’t take those pictures until 3:00 PM. At that point I thanked him and walked out and tossed the official paperwork into the official trash can and went home. I guess I’ll have to take my chances on not having the official ID badge in that hospital.
The issue of identity is important. In fact one of the more difficult problems we face today is identity theft. There is this whole new emerging business of protecting people from identity theft. The devil is a theft and a liar and He doesn’t want you focusing on your identity in Christ – because there is great power in realizing who we are in Jesus. In fact one of the primary strategies of the enemy is keep people blinded to who they can become in Christ. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor. 4:4) Satan works overtime trying to keep people blinded to everything that God has prepared for us in Christ. The Lord wants you to know you are to Him and how precious you are and the blessings that are yours because of Christ.
Imagine what happens when a person enters into a relationship with the God of creation. Imagine God choosing to set his love upon you – sends his Son to redeem You – sends His Spirit to awaken your slumbering heart – pours out His saving grace in and through you – imagine realizing that youa re a strategic player in God’s redemptive plan – a plan that infuses your life with eternal significance and turns everyday into an infomercial of the power, wisdom and grace of God. Imagine discovering that you life on earth God designed as an instrument of change to lead people out of darkness into the light - imagine that you have all of that and much much much more - but you don’t even realize it.
Our True Identity Is Based On Who We Are In Christ:
Comprehension of Your Identity Shapes Your Life. Who are you? Who are you really? What characteristic about your life defines who you are? Are you a mother, a father, a son a daughter? Sometimes it’s relational ties that provide the deepest sense of meaning and significance. You’re single – married – or divorced – you either have kids – or never choose to have kids or have kids and wished you’d never chosen to have kids – or maybe now you’re an empty nester. or Sometimes people derive their sense of identity from what they do. I’m a teacher – an office worker – a plumber - a salesman. Sometimes it’s age – I’m an elderly lady or I’m a cranky old man or I’m a teenager. Sometimes it’s possessions that define us. “I’m a homeowner or I’m a collector of this or that. Sometimes it’s education. I’m a professor – a phd or whatever letters you affix before or after your name. Sometimes it’s a particular skill we’ve either been gifted with or have developed. Some guys know how to fix cars – so they are mechanic. Some can play music – they are a musician. Some can grow plants – they are a gardener. Sometimes we let society define who we are you white collar or blue collar? – Republican or Democrat or Independant? Are you management or labor? In school – are you a jock or a geek? Those are the identities that we all too often allow others to place upon us and sad to say sometimes we develop our sense of identity not by what we’ve discovered about ourselves but what others have said about us.
There are countless ways we use to define ourselves and choose to allow others to define us. I’m not saying that any of these things are wrong but are they the things that really give us identity and purpose in life? The problem with them is that if this is how we develop our identities – life becomes very fragile and unpredictable. Because so many of these things change. Occupation – jobs change, careers come to an end.
Political affiliations – do you really want your life defined by a politician? Possession? How does something that is rusting or decaying really going to give you identity?
What I’m saying is that your identity needs to come from something much deeper and more fulfilling than those categories. As a believer the Lord wants you to understand that as well. You are more than any one of those labels.
Our true identity is based on who we are in Christ. Look at what Paul says about his identity in the
book of Phil. 3:4- 8 “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” Paul is saying I used to use all these things as a way of defining myself, but I came to a place where I realized that none of those things would really define who I am. What’s really important to me is who I am in Christ – and that’s what I celebrate and focus upon in my life today.
Our Identity In Christ Determines What We Do
The book of Ephesians breaks into two parts very easily. The first part (three chapters) ask the questions Who on earth are you? And the second part asks the question What are you going to do about it? Paul’s salutation expresses that same kind of division. - Notice how Paul identifies Himself in verse 1 “An apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” The word “apostle” (apostolos) means one called and sent forth on a very special mission. It’s not in vanity that Paul uses this title – it’s just that he is stating what God has called him to be – and what God has called him to be determines what he is going to do. The mission given to Paul was that of a messenger. The Lord Jesus Christ called Paul to proclaim the glorious message of salvation to the world. Once Paul discovered who he was in Christ and he then understood what he was do with His life. Now what I would like you do is write your own name into that verse in two sections. State your name and then finish the sentence by stating what is that God has called you do. Jim, a service station attendant by the will of God. John, an office worker by the will of God. You see, not all are called to be apostles. Not all are called to be pastors, and not all are called to be preachers. Also, it is a mistake to try to be something that God hasn't called you to be, something that God hasn't equipped you for. Sometimes I think we make a big mistake by elevating people who are in fulltime ministry as being so special – “He’s answered the high calling of God in His Life” Being a pastor or a missionary is not the highest calling of God. Whatever God has called you to be and equipped you to be is God's highest calling for your life. And you don't need to feel like a second-rate citizen just because you have a job as a service station attendant, or you are a secretary, or if you are blessed of God with the privilege of being a housewife. Whatever it is that God has called you to be is the highest calling of God for your life, and we should be enjoying rather than feeling guilty. “Oh my, I'm not in the ministry. I should be in the ministry. I have to work at this job and all.” Hey, be grateful that God has spared you a lot of the pain and grief that ministers often have to go through. Paul is just declaring his own calling. What I am, I am by the will of God, and that is what is important. Let’s take a look at who Scripture says you are by the will of God.
You Are A Saint – The words “In Ephesus” don’t appear in some of the older manuscripts – so what that means is we think this is a letter that was kind of circulated around from place to place. Maybe the local congregation inserted their name in the place of Ephesus. So it could read “To the Saints in Eastford, or Ashford or Woodstock” Some of you may read that and might say, “Well, that lets me out.” The only part that lets you out is the “in Ephesus.” It is a tragedy, really, that the Roman Catholic church decided to “saint” certain people for special honors. They said “We make people saints if they meet certain criteria.” The church never made anybody a saint. The Lord creates the saints, not the church. And as far as the Lord is concerned, you are all saints if you love Him and follow Him. The word “saint” means set apart, consecrated, sacred, and holy. A saint is a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ who has been set apart to live for God. It's not a special category for super Christians. It's a common title for those who love the Lord and believe in Him. “You can call me “Saint Timothy,” I will gladly accept the title. In fact turn to the person next to you and introduce yourself to them. Say “Hello I’m Saint ______ .” Being a saint has absolutely nothing to do with what you have done on earth but it has to do with what God has done.
What Has God done? Well as you look through this book you begin to get a feel for what he has done.
In chapter 1 starting with verse 3 all the way through verse 14 is one uninterrupted sentence in the original. You can say he needs to bone up on his grammar a bit – but I think it’s a picture of man who gets so excited that he just keeps on going and going and going and he can stop its so thrilled what God has done for us. There’s actually three stanzas to this section and each section is dedicated to One person of the triune God. God the Father ad God the Son and he ends up with God the Spirit in verse 14. Telling us who God is and telling us what God has done.
God the Father – He chose You. Don’t get all wrapped up about how that doctrine doesn’t sound right because in chapter two Paul’s going to tell us why he chose us – because we would never have chosen him. Some people get so angry and upset over some of these doctrines and we’ll talk about them as we go through this book but the point of the issue is not so that we will get all worked up over our understandings of these things – Paul brings up as a point of amazement. Look at verse 2:3-4 . Paul isn’t upset that God hasn’t chosen everybody – he amazed that God has chosen anybody. He’s absolutely amazed that he saved Paul. As we should be that he saved anyone of us.
- 7-12 – God the Son redeems you. We’re free from the consequences of the penalty of your sin. He removed that penalty by taking that penalty upon himself.
13-14 Verse 13-14 talk about what the God the Spirit has done for you. He seals and guarantees that all the promises God has given through His Son will be fulfilled.
You Are Called to Be Faithful Now that’s who you are – now the question is, “What are you going to
do about it? This issue of being called a saint is a two-sided coin. On one side it talks about how called has set you apart – he has sanctified you. On the other side of the same coin is the calling you have to set God apart. In other words you called to be faithful. The second term Paul uses to describe who you are in God’s eyes is faithful.
Be Filled With Hope Because of Your Faith - Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. (Hebrews 11:2) This is not so much a definition of faith as it is the declaration of what faith does. It is the substance of things that are hoped for. And the word substance there has been translated in the new versions the substantiating of the things that we hope for. And the evidence, that word has been translated conviction of the things not seen. But the key word in the verse is the word hope. If you have have faith – you have hope. There is no such thing as faithful Christian who doesn’t have hope. - We’re not just talking about having a positive mental attitude, that’s part of hope. But it really has to do with the way we live our daily lives. Making our decisions based on the hope we have in God’s promises. Moving forward believing the hope of His promises not how we feel or how we reason things out. Hope is grounded in God’s Word not human wisdom.
Be Committed To Your Faith- The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith
and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. There will be no end of temptations calling you to step off of the narrow path on which God has called you to walk. The Bible says in the end times there are going to be those who choose to abandon their faith because of the deception factor in the world. In other words they will begin to compromise their walk with the Lord. Instead of being committed in all areas in their life, they will make little concessions here and there – they will think it wise at the time – the understandings of their own mind. But in reality they will be buying into the little lies of the deceiver. Someone might ask well where are we in the end times? All I know is that it is later now than it’s ever been.
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Being faithful at times can be difficult. In fact the Bible calls it a battle.
Be Passionate About Your Faith The Bible tells us that we’re to seek God passionately. We’re to
love God passionately. The Bible says that we’re to serve and obey God passionately. We’re to trust God passionately. Then as if you didn’t get the message, in Colossians 3:23 He says “Whatever you do, do it with all of your heart as unto the Lord and not unto men.” He says I want you to do everything passionately when it comes to loving Me, serving Me, living for Me. Here’s the amazing thing. In America it’s ok to be passionate about anything except God. That is not politically correct -- to be passionate about God. I can be passionate about movies. I can be passionate about sports. I can be passionate about politics. I can be passionate about fashions and clothes. I can be passionate about restaurants (and some of us really are). But I cannot be passionate about God. That’s a no-no.
I typed in the phrase “a passion for...” into Amazon.com and found a couple hundred books with that title. There’s a book call A Passion for Birds, A Passion for Books, for buttons, A Passion for Cactus, A Passion for Chocolate (that’s understandable), A Passion for Fashion, ... for Fishing... for Flying, ... for Gardening, ... Golf, Hunting. There’s even a book called A Passion For Mushrooms (somebody’s smoking them probably is what he’s doing. He’s not eating them -- putting them in a salad. He’s smoking those things.) A Passion for Needlepoint, Pasta, Ponies. There’s a book called, A Passion for Potatoes, for Roses, for Shoes. There’s even a book called A Passion for Steam. I can’t figure out what that one’s all about! I don’t know why you’d get passionate about steam.
But in our culture it’s ok to be passionate about anything except your religion, except your faith, except your relationship with God. I can go to a rock concert, or a political rally or a baseball game and I can shout my head off. I can get excited. I can get hoarse from yelling so loud. When my team loses I could cry. Nobody thinks that’s a big deal. When my team wins I can jump up and dance around and wave my hands in the air. If I do that at a game people go, “He’s a real fan!” If I do that in church people say, “He’s a fanatic! He’s a nut case.” You don’t want to get too emotional about your faith. Its ok about anything else but not that.
Romans 12:1 “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor.” Keep the fires going in your life. Circle the word "keep." Notice, it’s not automatic. It’s a choice. It’s a discipline. It’s something you must maintain. You are not by nature passionate about God. It’s something that you must choose to do. You get distracted and everything in life conspires to keep you from being passionate about God. So He says keep your passion going. Keep the fires going. It’s a discipline. It’s not just automatic.
You Are An Object of God’s Unfathomable Love. That’s who you are if you are in Chirst. So much
of the world struggles over who didn’t love me or lost love or broken love. – But the gospel screams out – look at who does love you. And proved his love for you. Look at what He did to show you His love.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:17-19)
You Are an Intricate Part of God’s Plan to Bring Redemption to the Earth. Look at what He says in verse 9-10. We’ll go over this in more detail as we go through this letter but I want you to get just a little taste of it now. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. God has a plan. God has a plan of restoration which he is working out through Christ. And you’re a part of it. So much so that if you look over at verse 17 there is this impassioned plea that our eyes would be opened to it. “God don’t let them miss this!”
- Think of the importance of this – If you take Christ out of the equation – or take the Gospel out of the equation what hope do we have? Ill I was listening to a news commentator this week – And this guy said that the financial crisis everyone is talking about is not just about our national economy but the entire world’s financial structure came within 15-20 minutes of total collapse. Now I really don’t know what all that means but it sounds bad. But the thought occurred to me that all the smart people in the world – all the brilliant people whose primary focus in life is making money and they think of nothing else day and night – all that cumulative effort couldn’t have prevented this from happening? And on top of it all the very best idea that all these smart people can come up with is to print and hand out money that we don’t have. If you play monopoly that way you get kicked out of the game! That’s our hope? That’s the world’s plan? Talk about frustration. If our hope rests in the wisdom of the world or the security of worldly wealth and possessions, man we’re lost. You take Christ, the Bible, the Gospel – God out of the equation & we have no hope. But when you start talking about a savior who left the throne of grace in heaven and humbled himself and became a servant and gave his life upon a cross and died and rose again so that we can live and share in his victory and be a part of plan to bring hope and help to mankind – now we are talking about something exciting. We need real hope. We need real power. – I know everyone’s mind is fixed right now on debates and political agenda and the upcoming election in November. But if you are looking to the ballot box to turn around the destiny of our nation you setting yourself up for disappointment. No ballot box, no political, no political system is going to turn around a country – only the Gospel can do that. That’s what Paul is talking about. This power that he is alluding to that you will begin to grasp and understand is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead – that’s real power.
CLOSE: Who Are You? And What Are You Going to Do About It? Hetty Green was famous in her day, not as much for her great wealth as for her miserly ways. Born into a prosperous whaling family in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1834, she made her money the old-fashioned way - she inherited it. Inheriting her family’s fortune when her father died in 1864, Hetty’s stinginess became legendary. Some of the stories about her eccentricities include: On her 21st birthday she refused to light the candles on her birthday cake so as not to waste them. The next day she wiped the cake off the candles and returned them to the store for a refund. She lived on cold oatmeal, 15cent pies, and broken cookies she could buy in bulk at a discounted price. She lived in cheap tenement housing and refused to use hot water. She wore one old black dress that she changed only after it was in tatters. To save money she would only wash the bottom part of the dress when it got too filthy to wear. When her son Ned was 14, he dislocated his knee in a sledding accident. Hetty refused to take him to a hospital and instead tried to treat the injury at home. Not being able to treat it properly herself, she dressed him in old clothes and tried to pass him off as a charity case to get free care. The doctors however recognized her and refused. Eventually Ned's leg got infected with gangrene and had to be amputated. One account of her death says she died of a stroke while arguing over the cost difference between skim and whole milk. When she died at the age of 81 her accumulated fortune was estimated around 200 million dollars – making her the richest woman in the world in her day. She still holds the record in the Guiness Book of World Records as the world’s greatest miser.
At first Hetty Green may seem an historical aberration, but in reality her miserly ways are duplicated by thousands every day. So many of God’s children live far beneath their privilege. Even though they have so much offered to them from God they choose not to access it.
* PowerPoint slides may be available for this message. Some slides I use have copy write restrictions on them - others are slides, which I’ve created. If this sermon has slides I’ve created, I’d be glad to pass them on to you for your use. Please feel free to email me at: timvamosi@charter.net
