Sermon Central
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What Is Your Identity?
Contributed by Ralph Andrus on Jan 14, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: Great Question - Whom Do You Say That I Am 1. People’s Identity 2. Christ’s Identity 3. My Identity
Luke 9:20KJV
20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year.
The FTC also reports that identity theft costs $53 billion annually, and Americans spent 300 million hours resolving issues related to the crime.
BBC News 1/7/08
Top Gear is a BBC television series about motor vehicles. It is estimated to have 350 million viewers worldwide and 8 million viewers each week in the UK on BBC
It’s host Jeremy Clarkson revealed his account numbers after rubbishing the furore over the loss of 25 million people’s personal details on two computer discs.
He wanted to prove the story was a fuss about nothing.
But Clarkson admitted he was "wrong" after he discovered a reader had used the details to create a £500 ($986.75) direct debit to the charity Diabetes UK.
Clarkson published details of his Barclays account in the Sun newspaper, including his account number and sort code. He even told people how to find out his address.
"All you’ll be able to do with them is put money into my account. Not take it out. Honestly, I’ve never known such a palaver about nothing," he told readers.
Date for Real ID Implementation May 11/2008
A Real smart card that contains your U.S. government-confirmed identity, complete with biometric confirmation, plus your three credit card accounts, your check card account, and possibly even your health records.
Such a card, containing a small chip that could store kilobytes of data, could let you zoom through the toll stations on your local highway, act as a passport when you cross international borders, and contain your passwords to a number of e-commerce Web sites.
- Identification very important
- How do people identify you?
- Do they say, "Hey, there’s the guy who works at Walmart
- " Or "She’s a school teacher."
- Identification of Christ is crucial
➊ People’s Identity
- Important two other places — Mt 16:18 - Mk 8:29
- At the conclusion of feeding 5000
- Lk.9:7-8 People’s opinion
- Spun-off into the disciples thinking - Lk. 9:19
- Lk.9:8 Had spent the night in prayer for this question
People had better know who He is, because what we think about Jesus determines our eternal destiny
John 8:24KJV
24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
- Peter convinced of His Truth
John 6:68-69KJV
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
People wanted to know Jesus Identity
23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. 24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. 25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
C.S.Lewis – Mere Christianity - p. 52
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.