Do You Know Who You Are? I don’t mean if you have proper identification. So many people struggle with the security of knowing who they are really are. Let me tell you a quick story of a United Airlines gate agent. A United Airlines gate agent in Denver, Colorado, several years was confronted with a passenger who was acting extremely rude and demanding. This United flight had just been canceled and this one agent had the unenviable task of rebooking a long line of travelers and they were all upset because they had been inconvenienced. Suddenly, an angry passenger pushed his way to the front of the line, stood before the agent’s desk, slapped his ticket down on the counter, and said, “I’ve got to be on the next flight and it had better be first class!” The agent said, “Sir, I’m very sorry for the inconvenience you are going through and I’ll be happy to help you, but you are going to have to get back in line and wait your turn and I’ll do everything I can to work something out.” This just made this man even angrier. So in a voice loud enough so that everyone could hear him he said, “Look at me. Do you have any idea who I am?” At this moment and without hesitation, the gate agent smiled, grabbed the public address microphone where she could be heard throughout the entire area. She then said, “May I have your attention, please? We have a passenger here at gate 42 who does not know who he is. If anyone can help him find his identity would you please come to the gate?” Most of us have seen that guy before or dealt with someone like this guy. But the agent raises a great question: Do You Know Who You Are?
The cross of Jesus gives you a great gift to enjoy right now. The gospel frees you up to be the person you were made to be.
Locate the book of Ephesians with me. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you will see what God has done for you. If you are NOT a follower of Jesus Christ, you will see what God wants to do for you.
So many people struggle with who they “really are.”
The Imposter Syndrome
I recently came across an article entitled “Why Highly Successful People Seek Therapy.” I was amazed to discover that of the five most common reasons highly successful people go to counseling and seek therapy - the number one reason is what is called “Imposter Syndrome.” Imposter Syndrome is the persistent feeling that you are just not good enough - that you are inadequate, that you are a fraud and a fake. In other words, it is a struggle with self-esteem. And this impacts everybody - even the richest, the most successful, and the most famous.
Hollywood Insecurities
You may be surprised to find out that some of the biggest names in Hollywood have insecurities. Lady Gaga said of herself, “I never felt pretty enough or smart enough or a good enough musician.” Closer to my day, the wildly successful Madonna said of herself: “I have an iron will. And all of my will has always been to conquer some horrible feeling of inadequacy. I’m always struggling with that fear. … My drive in life is from this horrible fear of being mediocre. And that's always pushing me, pushing me. Because even though I've become Somebody, I still have to prove that I’m Somebody. My struggle has never ended and it probably never will.” One more, John Lennon wrote the lyrics to the famous Beatles song, “Help.” Lennon would have been 80 years old late this last year. John Lennon wrote those first words, “Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody,” Lennon said of the song, “When ‘Help!’ came out I was actually crying out for help. Most people think it is just a fast, rock-‘n’- roll song. I didn’t realize it at the time; … But later, I knew I really was crying out for help.”
But you don’t have to be from Hollywood to be feeling like you’re not enough. One in four young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 tell us they’ve considered suicide according to a CDC report from this past summer. The number of people adults who are experiencing depression has tripled in the United States.
The Problem Inside of Us
The truth is we don’t feel complete even in good times. We feel like we need popularity. We feel like we need love. We need status. We need money. We need power. Our problems are not on the outside but our problem is on the inside. The Bible says that every human being, deep down inside of them somewhere knows they aren’t as they should be.
So everybody senses we need to prove ourselves and we need to cover ourselves in some way. We are going to witness what the gospel does for your self-image, how you view yourself. The gospel offers this incredible freedom from the selfishness and egocentric tendencies that bring us all down. It frees us up to be who we are made to be. The Bible says it’s not until you know who God is that you know who you are.
Let me speak to just one genuine child of God for a moment: you don’t understand how unbelievably blessed you are, how incredibly valuable you, and how unbelievably loved you are.
The Longest Sentence in NT
Keep your Bible open to Ephesians 1 with me. You cannot tell it from your English version but Ephesians 1:3-14 is really one long sentence in the original language of the New Testament. Now, no English translation attempts to make it just 1 sentence because the sentence is so complicated.
The version we are looking at together makes it five sentences. This is the longest sentence in your New Testament.
Paul got so excited that he couldn’t stop. Have you ever gotten that excited — you just keep on talking? Paul is just trying to cram it all in, and he just won’t stop, he can’t stop. He just keeps talking and talking and talking.
The is perhaps the single greatest, most panoramic view of all that Christian salvation entails in one place. Now, there is a richness to this sentence because it begins with God’s grace and ends with God’s glory. It’s really kind of a nosebleed sort of text if you will. It begins with grace, it ends with glory, and it is the most complete statement on the gospel you will find. It’s in this one sentence that you will truly find yourself.
1. How We’re Blessed?
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:3-5).
How does every spiritual blessing come? All your spiritual blessings come “in him.” So we get grace “in him.” We get every spiritual blessing in him.
In the first 14 verses of the Ephesians, Jesus Christ is mentioned either by name, title, or by a pronoun or possessive (‘he’, ‘him’, ‘his’) 15 times.
Religious Buffet
Now, there are some 4,200 different recognized religions in the world right now. It seems there is an endless stream of spiritual possibilities in our day. If religion was a buffet, you have all these “god” choices before you. It looks like it is coming from the same cook, the same restaurant, and the same table. Yet, in the restaurant called Christianity, there is only one item on the menu – Jesus. Christianity says He is the only food both good for you and lasts forever. But while there are over two billion people who claim to follow Jesus Christ, nearly seven out of ten people have refused to eat from the Christian menu.
How can Jesus alone be true and everything else is leftovers? It’s because of His life, death, and resurrection. No one else did what He did and can accomplish what He accomplished.
We get redemption in him: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace…” (Ephesians 1:7). This means He pulls you to freedom from all the addictions that seek to chain you. If you have Jesus, you have every spiritual blessing. If you don’t have Jesus, you don’t have anything. It all comes “in him.” In other words, to become a Christian is to be united to Jesus Christ. You’re united to him, and all the blessings come with Him. All of them – each and every one of them. Once you have Him, you have everything. When you have Jesus, you have all that He has and He has everything. If you miss Jesus, you miss everything God has good for you. Jesus is just that important.
1. How We’re Blessed?
2. Why Have You Received these Blessings?
The Bible says believers are people who have received “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” But how do we receive those blessings? Do we take it by force? Do we purchase these blessings? Are these blessings inherited from our parents?
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:3-5).
You receive spiritual blessings because God chose you. The Bible says you were selected to receive these blessings. Later on, we’ll see the importance of placing faith in Jesus Christ. But for now, the Bible says no person seeks after God (Romans 3:10-11).
God is coming after you. Someone says here, “I’m trying to find God” (and we welcome you and are glad you’re here). You spend a year or a decade struggling to find God. From God’s point of view, all those years where you struggled and sacrificed to find Him, you weren’t really seeking Him. Instead, He was seeking you. All of us think we found God or we are searching for God.
That’s how it feels to us as we come to Christ. But the Bible says that’s a lot like picturing a mouse searching for a cat. Mice don’t search for cats. Cats find mice. God seeks us because He loves us (Luke 19:10).
Remember the parable of the Prodigal Son? The son is on his way back to repent to his father. What does the Bible say about the father? The Bible says that when the son is on his way back to the father, the father see him way off in the distance, and the father runs off to him. It’s a beautiful story where the Father jumps on him, pounces on his son in love before the boy even says a word.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:3-5).
Paul praises God in verse 3 and verse 4 for this beautiful character trait in the Father. God is assertive and He goes after you. It’s like the Father has mugged you with His great love.
Let me speak to just one genuine child of God for a moment: you don’t understand how unbelievably blessed you are, how incredibly valuable you, and how unbelievably loved you are.
1. How We’re Blessed?
2. Why Have You Received these Blessings?
3. Why Did He Choose Us?
Here’s why you have received all these great blessings.
Here’s why you have received these resources and benefits: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:3-5).
Remember when Darth Vader says to Luke, “It’s your destiny.” God says to you, “It’s your destiny.” More seriously now, God chooses us you so you would “holy.” It’s your destiny to be holy, Mr. and Mrs. Christ-follower.
The Bible doesn’t mean that once you realize God has forgiven your sins you can live any old way you want. No, the Bible calls on you to be an imitator of God as His beloved children (Ephesians 5:1). Act likes your Father if you are a follower of Christ.
God has a purpose for you in that you take the character of your Father, God Himself. The greatest miracle is not the healing of the sick or even the raising of the dead. The greatest miracle is that God can take a hell-bound sinner, give him a new nature, transform him, and make him holy and blameless!
Let me speak to just one genuine child of God for a moment: you don’t understand how unbelievably blessed you are, how incredibly valuable you, and how unbelievably loved you are.
1. How We’re Blessed?
2. Why Have You Received these Blessings?
3. Why Did He Choose Us?
4. When Did God Choose Us?
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:3-5).
The Bible tells us that God the Father planned our salvation before He laid the foundations of the world. Before He swung this planet into space before He scooped out the seas and heaped up the mountains. Before He flung out the sun, moon, and the stars, all of this was in the mind of Almighty God! He choose you to love before Adam and Eve ever walked in the Garden. I am so glad God choose us back then because had He waited around to see what we did, He may have regretted His choice!
Remember, it’s not until you know who God is that you know who you are.
I’m Adopted
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:3-5).
Adoption means through Christ, God is now not just your King and your Master. He’s not just your Deliverer, but he becomes your very own Father. You are brought into the family.
In the last few closing minutes, here are four gifts you receive because you’re adopted. Again, here are four life-changing gifts God has given you.
The Four Gifts of Adoption
#1 Access
“In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:4c-5).
Adoption means, first of all, access. The first gift of adoption is you have access to the Father. If you are the president or the king or the queen of the greatest country in the world, who gets in to see you? Only the most accomplished people see the President. Only the most powerful people see the President. Only the most important people see the President. People who win the Super Bowl maybe get to see you for fifteen minutes. The greatest scientist may get to see you. In other words, the President sees only the most accomplished, the most important. And then there’s His six-year-old little girl at 2:00 a.m., without an appointment. Why? Because your relationship with your child isn’t conditioned. It doesn’t matter about their performance or their accomplishments or how many PhDs they have. It doesn’t matter at all.
All of this comes when we are adopted into God’s family. When you are adopted by God, you have access to the Father.
The Four Gifts of Adoption
#2 Inheritance
Adoption also means inheritance: “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:4c-5).
God adopts us as a son like a man adopts another young boy who was not born into his family. The young boy is given the rights and privileges of a son when before he did not have them. The Bible says we are co-heirs with Jesus Christ. Meaning everything the real Son earned, we inherit. It’s mind-boggling. The Bible says we’re going to inherit the world. We’re going to inherit the new heavens and new earth because it’s our Father’s.
The Four Gifts of Adoption
#3 Security
Adoption means security: “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:4c-5).
If my father had been my boss instead, he would have fired me many times over. There’s only so much you can get by with as an employee. But when the boss is your dad, then he’s more patient and forgiving. Now, everyone has their limits. You can be secure in His love because He isn’t just your King, your Master, or your Boss. God is also your Father. There is an overwhelming security to knowing He’s your Father.
The Four Gifts of Adoption
#4 Discipline
Here’s the fourth and last gift God has given you: “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:4c-5).
Adoption means discipline because Fathers discipline their children. My father didn’t discipline every child in my class but he disciplined me. Your Heavenly Father is working to making you more mature and to grow you every breath of your life. He’s your Father and He wants to turn you into someone who is amazing. He will even bring trouble into your life to remake you into His image. What an incredible gift we have been given to have God as our Father. He’s adopted us and we are in the family!
Conclusion
Every time you witness Jesus praying, it is “Holy Father,” or “Abba Father,” or “I praise you, Father.” Jesus is always saying, “Father,” except one time. One time He cried out to God not as a child. He didn’t say, “My Father.” He didn’t say, “Holy Father.” He didn’t say, “Abba Father.” Instead, on the cross, Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Matthew 27:46)? It happened only once. What was happening there? Jesus was being thrown out of the family, as it were. He was rejected for us. He got the punishment we deserved so we can get the love He deserved.
The Father has mugged you with His great love. Let me speak to just one genuine child of God for a moment: you don’t understand how unbelievably blessed you are, how incredibly valuable you, and how unbelievably loved you are. Settle the Family Issue right now.
Prayer
Father, I take my hands off my life. I stop trusting in the things I’ve been trusting in, and I trust in what you have done for me, and I trust in Christ.
