CHRISTIAN IDENTITY THEFT
Rom. 12:2; John 15:5
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. An 8-year-old boy and his 5-year-old sister were riding in the back seat of the car. Their mother overheard what they were saying.
2. The boy said, “There’s so much to think about! I just think all the time!” He turned to his sister and said, “Do you think all the time?”
3. The girl paused, then said, “No, I only think about half the time!” Funny. Someday she’ll find out her brain is always working, even when she’s asleep!
4. Today we’re taking a look at how we think.
B. THE THIEF & WHAT HE’S STEALING
1. IDENTITY THEFT is when an unauthorized person gains access to your private assets. But this also happens spiritually. Satan attacks the mind. He tries to get us to redefine what God says about us, what He wants for us. Children, teens, and young adults are at high risk to having their identity stolen.
2. IT’S SATAN’S NATURE TO STEAL. JOHN 10:10. Satan doesn’t really care about stealing your car or your house or your money. He’s interested in stealing your Spiritual treasures; things that have value with God and are of eternal significance.
3. SATAN WANTS TO STEAL OUR IDENTITY AS THE PEOPLE OF GOD. The enemy wants you to forget that you’ve been born again by the Spirit of God, that you’re a new creation in Christ!
C. YOU’RE EXTREMELY VALUABLE TO GOD
1. You may ask, “Why would Satan care about me? I’m a nobody!” Satan wants to steal your soul because you’re valuable to God. A thief doesn’t want worthless things, but valuables.
2. Sotheby’s sold Napoleon’s toothbrush for $48,000 in 1988. Jackie O’s fake pearls just sold for $256,000. What made these items so valuable wasn’t what they were made of, but WHO owned them.
3. You are owned by Christ. You are valuable. You are priceless. That’s why the enemy targets you.
4. The title of this message is “Christian Identity Theft.”
I. THE PROBLEM OF CHRISTIAN AMNESIA
A. FORGOTTEN THEY WERE CLEANSED. “For whoever lacks these...[has] forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins” 2 Peter 1:9.
1. “AMNESIA” is the “Partial or total loss of memory caused by brain injury, by shock or repression, etc.” In extreme cases it can result in loss of identity.
2. EXAMPLE: Readers Digest told about a woman who'd been married five years.
a. She suffered a head injury & forgot everything.
b. She had to be taught to talk, eat, dress, walk and be completely reeducated.
c. Her husband had to date her all over again and they were finally remarried.
d. But she never remembered her past.
B. SITUATION: MOMENTARY IDENTITY
1. There are many Christians who, when they go to church, they are:
a. Drawn into God's presence,
b. Spiritual things become real;
c. They hear the Word and,
d. Are convinced of its importance and their need to obey it.
e. They may even come to the front and "make a commitment."
2. But almost as soon as they get out of the door of the church,
a. They forget their identity;
b. …what they've heard;
c. …all that God has done for them.
3. That’s why multitudes of Christians are living in the flesh, not comprehending who they are. They go through life like zombies – half alive and half dead; half in the world and half out of it. Don’t live in a twilight Christianity with partial identity; instead live in God’s full light as a son or daughter of God!
C. FAULTY IDENTITY? LOSE POWER!
1. Why is the enemy doing all this? Because he’s trying to lower your expectations of what GOD will do. The devil wants you to believe that you’re DAMAGED goods, that you don’t meet the standard for God to step in to help you.
2. You must guard your identity in Christ or the enemy will make you believe you're DISQUALIFIED from receiving God's best. You ARE the righteousness of God in Christ! A poor self-image expects little, asks little, & receives little.
3. God means for your identity to become the doorway to your destiny -- for you to believe God for great things. You must have God’s vision of victory to avoid Satan’s forecast of failure.
4. There are at least 2 things needed for your identity to become established:
II. TWO ASPECTS OF IDENTITY
A. FIRST KEY: THE MIND
1. The Greatest Commandment is, “You shall love the Lord your God with...all your MIND” Mt. 22:37; Mk. 12:30; Lk. 10:27. To read and study God’s Word is to love the Lord with your mind, to “increase in the knowledge of God” Col. 1:10.
2. Paul saw this as crucial to the Christian’s worldview; “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your MIND. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” Romans 12:2.
3. The word “conformed” actually means “molded.” J.B. Phillips’ trans. is especially good; “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.”
4. Paul taught that Satan has "blinded the MINDS of unbelievers" (Col. 3:17). Paul blames the unbeliever’s evil behavior on their state of MIND. Even when we get saved, the old programming is still there.
5. Paul's remedy? Re-programming our minds with the Word of God. The Bible is not simply words on the page, but contains a power, a force. When we read it and receive it by faith, the Word is activated in us and creates and changes us in conformity with God's will.
6. We must saturate our minds with Scripture. Notice the areas where you’re tempted or fail, and memorize verses that counteract those temptations. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against God.” Replace your old thoughts with God’s thoughts.
B. SECOND KEY: ABIDING IN GOD’S PRESENCE
1. There's starvation many places, but one place where there shouldn't be, is the people of God. God has made abundant provision for our vitality, but to absorb His life, we must "abide" in the True Vine, Jesus Christ. “I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” John 15:5.
2. Americans gobble our food down, hardly tasting it. We do the same thing in our spiritual lives. In contrast, many cultures eat their food for the taste, savoring the flavor. They might chew one mouthful for several minutes -- just to enjoy it! That’s how we should absorb God’s Word!
3. A hymn says, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer”[What a Friend We Have in Jesus]
4. We become like Jesus by being filled with His Spirit. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” Gal. 2:20. Being “born-again” means we have a new life from God living in us. We must nurture that new life by the means of grace – the Word, prayer, communion with God, worship, fellowship with God’s people, witness.
5. Those who walk with God should pray for and expect the blessings of God on their lives.
III. WHAT SHOULD OUR IDENTITY LOOK LIKE?
A. TRUE IDENTITY GIVEN BY THE FATHER. Your identity is what God says about you. God’s Word tells us what God thinks about us. God says...
1. You are made in His Image
2. You are God’s masterpiece.
3. He crowns you with glory and honor.
4. You are His handiwork.
5. God loves you. He will not reject you.
6. He sent His own Son to die for you.
7. In Christ, You’re a new creature.
B. OLD IDENTITY VS. YOUR NEW IDENTITY
1. In Adam you were born a loser, but in Christ you’re born a winner! In Adam you had a dark future; but in Christ you have an awesome future! In Adam you were separated from God; in Jesus you are reconciled to God!
2. When you were born again, you were born in God’s image, created in His likeness, and born of His Spirit. You’re a child of the Most High God; you’re a King’s kid, Royal Blood now flows in your veins! You’re not average!
3. You’re an Overcomer! That Greek word (nikao) is translated as “conquer, overcome, prevail, get the victory.”
C. ILLUS. OF IDENTITY CHANGE
1. A few years ago, the whole world watched as Prince William married Kate Middleton. Kate was a commoner, not royalty. We can only imagine the transformation she was required to make to conform to the Royal Family.
2. From the moment she began dating Prince William, she was expected to ACT like the Royal Family, SPEAK like the Royal Family, DRESS like the Royal Family, WATCH HER BEHAVIOR AT ALL TIMES, etc. Her whole lifestyle and thinking were required to conform to that of the Royal Family.
3. When we become Christians, we are also expected to conform to our Royal Family of heaven! We have a new family and a new identity
D. IDENTITY OUGHT TO CHANGE BEHAVIOR
1. YOUR IDENTITY OUGHT TO DETERMINE:
a. What kind of Music you listen to;
b. What kind of Books you read;
c. What kind of TV you watch;
d. How you dress;
e. How you spend your time;
f. What your priorities are;
g. Who you date and eventually married.
2. If you're a peasant, you act like one. If you’re of Royal Blood & are destined to fulfill a historic role in your nation, you should rise to fill the part!
3. COME ON CHURCH, ACT LIKE THE REDEEMED! GROW UP INTO CHRIST! THINK, SPEAK, & ACT like a Christian!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUS.: THE ONE WHO NEVER FORGOT
1. In the early 1800s, a number of people were on a dock watching slaves unloading cargo. Most of the slaves hung their heads in weariness or discouragement. But one slave held his head high, with a kingly bearing.
2. A man asked the dock manager, "Is he newly a slave? Or just come over from Africa?"
3. The dock manager responded, "No -- he's been a slave many years. But he's never forgotten that over in Africa he's a prince, for his father is a King."
4. WE have our Father’s DNA. We’re Children of the King! Never forget who you are and who you represent. Others may see you as a nobody, but God calls you a Child of God!
B. THE CALL
1. You are no longer an outcast -- you've been adopted.
2. You’re an heir of an enormous inheritance.
3. You will reign in heavenly places with Christ.
4. 2 Timothy 2:19, "Let all who named the Name of Christ depart from iniquity."
C. PRAYER
