CSI: CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL IDENTITY
“ARE YOU A LUMP?”
Show Nooma video- “Lump”
What is the area of your life where you feel like a lump? Are you overwhelmed by the past and feel like there is no hope? Today we are going to look at the spiritual identity of those who are trapped by the sin that they believe can never be done away.
In our study of CSI, we have been looking at what God has done for us through Jesus. We started by looking at the idea that he brought us from death to life in Christ. We then looked at our spiritual hone and the fact that we are aliens in this world. Last week we looked at the fact that God has called us to live with purpose and direction in our lives.
One of the biggest challenges facing Christians is forgiveness of our past. We think that we still live as those unworthy to call on God because our past disqualifies us from his present for us.
I. God’s Reconciliation
“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men) -- remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
Ephesians 2:11-13 (New International Version)
Paul is writing to a group of Gentiles who have now become followers of Christ. They were not part of the original covenant God made with the Jews, but were separated from God’s plan of forgiveness and worship.
We do not come to God by human methods, but by spiritual change.
Jesus is the meeting point with God for all mankind.
It was the death and resurrection of Christ that allows us to come to God.
God took those who were “far away” and brought us close to Him.
Gods design for us was that we would have intimacy and fellowship with him through Christ Jesus.
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)
Gods plan was to restore us to right relationship with him through Jesus.
II. Satan’s Accusation
One of the most difficult things for believers is getting past our past. We are constantly struggling with putting the sins of the past behind us and living in the forgiveness of Jesus.
One of the reasons that the bible gives for this is that Satan accuses those who follow Christ.
“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.’”
Revelation 12:10 (NIV)
Satan accuses us before God continually.
Satan’s goal is to keep us from living in the freedom God designed for us.
“The Father of lies can block your effectiveness as a Christian if he can deceive you into believing that you are nothing more than a product of your past—subject to sin, prone to failure, and controlled by your habits.”
Neil Anderson, The Bondage Breaker
When our mind is filled with accusations from our past, they do not come from God.
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 (New Living Translation)
God loves us and his desire is for us to live in freedom of his forgiveness.
“Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.”
Galatians 5:1 (The Message)
We are often deceived into believing that what we have done separates us from the love of God. It causes us to want to run and hide because we believe God could never love us.
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 (Living Bible)
Freedom in Christ means living the life God intended you to live.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
Ephesians 2:13 (NIV)
III. Our Liberation
What is it that our freedom in Christ does for us?
1) Freedom reminds us we are completely forgiven.
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” Romans 5:1 (NLT)
All sin, past, present and future, were paid for by Jesus.
2) Freedom makes us righteous in God’s eyes.
Righteous means “right relationship with God.”
“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 (New Living Translation)
The Result: We have been set free to live our lives for God’s glory.
We are called to set aside sin so that we may life the life God has for us without burden or shame.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. [2] We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)
We begin this life by confessing our sin and trusting Jesus to forgive us.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
We must forget the sin of our past and focus on our future.
“No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us.” Philippians 3:13-14 (Living Bible)
Conclusion: Are you living as a lump, hiding from God and the shame of your sin? Are you not having the kind of life that you desire to have because you have never been freed from the sin of your past? Today you can have that forgiveness.
If you would like to experience a freedom from the pain and shame of your past, and move from being a “lump” to being a free child of God, today you can seek Gods forgiveness and grace.
Declaration of Freedom
Today, I call upon the name of the Lord for my salvation. I believe in my heart that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead in order that I might have eternal life. I now declare Him to be the Lord of my life. I renounce any effort on my part to save myself and I renounce all the accusations of Satan that would rob me of my full assurance of eternal life,. I have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of His beloved Son. I declare myself to be a child of God because of the finished work of Christ forever.
___________________________
Signed
Prayer taken from Resolving Spiritual Conflicts, Dr. Neil Anderson; Freedom in Christ Ministries, 1992.
Resources for Living a Free Life:
The Bondage Breaker, Neil Anderson
Victory Over the Darkness, Neil Anderson
If you would like to walk through some issues regarding pain of your past, please mark that you would like an appointment with John to discuss going through the “Steps to Freedom in Christ.”
