“Identity Crisis” Luke.9.18-20
“Who do people say that I am?”
It was George Harrison who said there are 3 pivotal questions we need to ask ourselves. "Who am I?" "Why am I here?" and "Where am I going?"
Yet to be honest how many of us go through life never asking ourselves these 3 fundamental questions to life. We tend to talk about everything else under the Sun but not talk about these pivotol questions. It was another band member out of the Beatles: John Lennon who said, “People generally talk about rubbish because they don’t want to face reality?”
I recently heard of a man who was rushed into hospital to face heart surgery, it was touch and go whether he survived. I overheard his first conversation after him coming out of intensive care to a visitor. He asks his friend, “Did you tape fools and horses for me?” That’s a UK sitcom for my American friends. He was facing eternity in the face and yet these were the first words out of his lips... Utter rubbish
Hopefully we will not be talking about rubbish tonight but real life and death issues. People often say to me, “Christians are just escapists, who want to get away from the real world.” I always retort back “A Christian is about being a realist facing up to very important issues of Identity, love, life, death and eternity.”
So rather than being the preverbal ostrich with its head in the sand my head is out of the sand and looking at life and questioning it! To help us do that we are going to be looking to a life of a person who claimed to have the answers to these questions and more the historical figure Jesus Christ.
Luke.9:18-20
Here we have Jesus asking the question to the disciples “Who do the crowds say that I am?” Jesus is not suffering here from a case of amnesia and trying to find out who he is because there was never no doubt in his mind.
Who he was! Where he had come from! And where he was going!
But he is asking his disciples whether the crowds are waking up to his identity, because that is the key to life when we wake up to his IDENTITY we can begin to find our own.
"Who am I?"
If evolution is true then the question of our identity takes a whole new paradigm shift, life becomes meaningless you are just a morass of elements found in the dust of the ground. (17 trace elements in fact) That you’re long lost ancestor was probably a piece of rock floating about in the galaxy. (Meet the ancestor show a rock ) that your whole life is just an accident. Have you ever been told from a parent your birth was an accident? It hurts.
A whole world philosophy comes out of evolution, everything is expendable because that’s just the survival of the fittest. So part of the fall out of this philosophy is a low view of human life. As a result people have an “Identity Crisis” That’s adds to the fact that life is expendable that’s why every 3 seconds children die as a result of poverty.
Identity crisis effects all strata of life:
Even in the west life has become meaningless to many. We have so much we are so affluent we have never had it so good yet why is it that so many people are just so unhappy? Even amongst the rich and famous Nicole Kidman, can earn over 15 million dollars per film and yet here is a women who recently said “I don’t know who I am, or what I am, or where I’m headed.”
"Who am I?" continued: Many people feel like their just statistics, who nobody cares for look upon our streets look within the homes of many families we see young people crying out for an identity remember Iron Mike Tyson? He is one such person. After his final defeat against journeyman Kevin McBride, he was quoted to say “Who am I? What am I? I don’t even know. I’m just a dumb child whose been abused and robbed by lawyers, I’m Just a fool who thinks he’s someone.”
Take your name away, who would you be? The Boy with no name, the girl with no name. We are more than a name, we are more than a number. That’s closer to the truth in the west with the call of identity cards. Governments tell us they care for us, but to many politicans they only care for themselves, at the age of 16 we are all given a number in the UK its called a national insurance number mine is NH 50 43 20 D what’s yours?
Many people just feel like a statistic and lets face it to the bank manager you are! To the goverment you are! But to God You’re special, never forget it! There are over 6 billion people in this world, each one of us are unique with their own identity as we look under the microscope at ourselves you will see clear differences through DNA and especially finger prints nobody has matching finger prints and God as made each one of them.
The Bible says, “we are fearfully and wonderfully made.” All of us are made in the image of God we have his characteristics, and are of immense worth to him. "Do you like Designer labels?" We are all walking designer human beings made in the image of the greatest designer ever.
Who am I? V19-20.
In Knowing God we find our true identity as a human beings. We can only truly know God when we encounter the one who said, ‘Who do you say I am?’ Jesus never had an identity crisis it was the people around him who suffered with that problem v19. People had their varying views:
Jeremy Bowen on BBC1 in a recent documentary in the UK explained away the ID of Jesus as some religous renagrade, way of the mark!
The answer to the question to the identity of Jesus is found in the reply that Peter gave. V20 “The Christ of God.”
Great title: We often think that Christ was like a surname given to Jesus but it was not the Christ is a title which was given to Jesus of Nazareth it a title meaning that he is the anointed one the promised Messiah it’s a clarification of him as King.
Personal response ( Who do you say?)
The Christian faith goes beyond what the state Church thinks or what the clergy think or what others think. It is ultimately will demand a personal response from each one of us! Like Peter we can mention what others think but at the end of it all Jesus will ask us all who do we say he is?
V20 who do you say I am? Jesus refereed to himself often as ‘I am’ this sounds ridiculous to our vocabulary but to Hebrew thought these words that Jesus refereed to himself by could never be uttered only by God himself Ex.3:14. It was Gods holy eternal name Jesus often revealed his eternal nature as God. John 8:58 I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born I am!
Then we also have the 7 I am statements of Jesus:
1. I am the way. 2. I am the light. 3. I am the Bread. 4. I am the Good shepherd. 5.I am the vine. 6. I am gate 7. I am the resurrection and the life.
When we discover who Jesus is, then we are beginning to discover who we are as human beings made in the image of God and of great worth.
Where am I going?
The grave stone that read... Pause now as you pass by as you are now, once was I, as I am now, so you must be, prepare yourself to follow me…. Then someone had etched underneath ..To follow you I’m not content until I know which way you went!
Paul Gauguin 19th century painter who often poised questions with his work also poised this question "Where am I going?"
It is a question we must all ask ourselves ‘where am I going?’ So often we think that by getting away from it all things will be better and different, but its not always the case as Paul Gauguin found out.
A Popular slogan years ago encouraged people to live each day as “ the first day of the rest of your life.” Actually it would be wiser to live everyday as our last day.
I remember recently going to see my Lloyds TSB Personal financial consultant who advised me to be saving for the future....I told him I had no pensions, no trusts, no stocks and no savings. He told me I was in a very difficult position he said that my future could be bleak. I told him that my future is very secure. "How come?" I asked him a question. "Have you a policy for after death?" "Do you know where you are going?" The conversation came to an abrupt thoughtful end.
Were Going on a journey well planned!
V22 Jesus knew exactly where he was going, he was going to suffer face rejection by the religious elite and the crowds be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Jesus would die for our sins, all of us have fallen short of Gods standards and yet in His great love towards us God sent Jesus to take the wrap for us, to die for our sins and on the third day be gloriously raised from the dead.
A pastor doing some visitation in hospital to a dying saint once said, “You will soon be leaving the land of the living,” to which the man replied “No, Pastor I’m not leaving the land of the living. I’m leaving the land of the dying and going to the land of the living!”
Heaven is desired by all, lets be honest, If I was to ask you all right now with a show of hands it would be 100% I am sure.
Jesus often spoke about a heaven to gain and a hell to turn away from.
The concept of eternal punishment as really dropped out of our vocabulary today especially amongst many of the religious elite. That God some how will wave a magic wand and all will be forgiven no matter what!
But God is a just God and must punish sin. John3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for Gods wrath remains upon them.
The question of where are we going is of great significance, because Jesus has spanned the gulf of hell itself and is calling people to trust in him.
"Why am I here?"
Go round Western Europe and ask this question today and the over whelming response will be to get the most out of life and shop
Enlightenment dictum. Cogito ergo sum’ (I think therefore I am) has been changed to ‘Tesco ergo sum’ I shop therefore I am. ‘
The Pepsi Max TV add says live life to the max
It was Jesus who said 2000 years before Pepsi. "I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly." Jesus not only guarantees heaven but gives an abundant satisfying life in the present. The chief aim of humanity is to know God and enjoy him forever Jesus says something different v25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self
Jesus always knew why he was here? He spanned the gulf of sin that seperates us from God. He is the bridge which humanity can cross in response to His love. When we embark on that Journey we truely do come to understand why we are here.
God desires a relationship with you, right now in this life. So God the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. "Your world" We need to repent and believe the good news, he does’nt want us to perish.
Who am I? Your a person who has been made by God, who needs to renew his/her ID.
Where am I going? Its your choice but its one of two places, and its no joke.
Why am I here? To know and enjoy God in this life and into eterrnity.
Maybe you would like to respond right now through prayer admiting that you are a sinner, Believing that Jesus is your Saviour and Lord and confess him to others right now and dont forget to thank Him. Amen
