Introduction:
1. Two last day's passages: Matthew 10:18-21 & 2 Timothy 3:1-5
2. The Bible is very clear that as we approach the coming of Christ, there will be a major breakdown of the family and, to a large extent, it will have to do with children.
3. Satan will employ every method possible to destroy children and turn them away from their parents and from God. The battle rages for the minds of children and adults. If Satan can control your thinking, he knows he has won the battle. 2 Corinthians 4:4
4. Because of this, every believer must be fortified with the truth of who they are in Christ.
5. Parents, your primary responsibility is to lead your children to Christ and then help them understand their identity in Christ. Children, teenagers, and adults are looking for acceptance.
• “If I perform well enough, maybe I will be accepted. If I am attractive enough, maybe I will be accepted. If I'm good enough at sports, If I make good enough grades, If I do enough church work.” Adults do this too.
6. Satan loves this and does not want you to know this truth: in Christ, I am fully accepted.
7. You don't have to work for it, earn it or strive for it. The liberating truth is, in Christ, I am fully accepted. Why is this? The Bible explains why this is true.
Because I have been justified - Romans 5:1
1. To be justified means “to be declared righteous.”
2. The moment the believing sinner trusts Christ, he is immediately justified (his spirit is filled with righteousness). He is placed in Christ, clothed, and indwelled in His righteousness, and thereby he stands justified before God. He stands in a right relationship with God.
3. This is not a temporary justification, it is eternal.
Because I am a member of Christ's body - Ephesians 5:30
1. The moment you trust Christ, a spiritual operation takes place whereby God's Spirit takes you out of the kingdom of darkness, and you are placed in Christ. You are now one with Christ.
2. Do you realize what this means? The only way you could ever be rejected by God the Father is if He rejected His Son. Why? Because you are in Christ. You are part of His body.
3. Of course, the Son can never be rejected (Ephesians 1:20-23). Because the Son has an exalted place of eternal acceptance before the Father, so do we! Why is this? Because we are in Him. We are part of His body!
4. So I don't have to have a certain brand name on my pants, drive a certain car, or look a certain way to be accepted. In Christ, I am fully accepted by God Almighty. Ephesians 1:6
Because I am a saint - Philippians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2
1. You've heard, “All I am is an old sinner saved by grace.” I am a sinner, and I am saved by grace, but that's not all I am. That is not where the story ends.
2. God wants you to realize there's a lot more He's done for you than that. He has given you a high, exalted position in Christ. You are now a saint of God who has the life of Christ at the center of your being.
3. Satan has convinced people that at the core of their being they are nothing more than rotten sinners. That describes what they were before they were saved, but not anymore!
4. The Corinthians had some sin issues they were dealing with, but it didn't change who they were in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2). In Christ, I am fully accepted as a saint of God.
Because I have been adopted as God's child - Galatians 4:4-7
1. The moment you trusted Christ, God adopted you into His family, and you became an heir of God. An adopted child cannot be cut out of the Father's will. Many people don't believe God could really love them.
2. What a place of acceptance we have before the God of this universe, and it's all through Jesus Christ.
Because I have been redeemed and forgiven - Ephesians 1:5-7
1. The moment you trust Christ as your Savior, God redeems you out of Satan's family of bondage and darkness, adopts you as His child, and completely forgives you of every sin.
2. You know why young people get involved in destructive behavior, end up committing suicide, or end up depressed and have feelings of despair and hopelessness? Because they are eaten up with guilt. Satan convinces them, ìGod hasn't forgiven you. God can't love you after all you've done. You're a loser and always will be.î
3. If they could only see that in Christ they are forgiven. The guilt is gone. We aren't striving to be accepted by God. In Christ we are accepted by God.
Because I am complete in Christ - Colossians 2:10
1. If you are in Christ, spiritually you lack nothing. God has given you everything you need for a victorious Christian life.
2. “But I'm ugly.” No, you are complete in Christ. ìBut I'm stupid.î No, you are complete in Christ. ìI'm worthlessÖî Etc. Who do you think is telling you that you are ugly, or stupid, or geeky, or you have a terrible personality? It's not your heavenly Father. It's Satan. He's mad because you were in his family, but now you’ve been adopted by God.
3. God has said that you are “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.”
In Conclusion:
1. Satan does not want you to know that you are fully accepted in Christ. He doesn't want children and teens to know this. He wants them searching for acceptance.
2. The same is true of adults. Satan cannot do anything about your position in Christ, but he knows he can frustrate and hinder you if he can keep you blinded to who you are in Christ.
3. Maybe you have felt like you have had to strive for acceptance your whole life. Let this truth sink in: in Christ, you are fully accepted. Your acceptance isn't based on what you do, but who you are in Christ.
