Who Am I?

WHO AM I?

(ALL my sermon use illustrations found at www.sermoncentral.com and ALL scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted)

** This sermon was preceded by a Special “Who AM I” by Casting Crowns **

Who Am I? For many teenagers, this is a question that is routinely asked. In High School and even in Middle school kids are labeled by the way they dress, Nice clothes - PREPPY, Dark clothes and stuff - GOTH, Athletic clothing - JOCK, hat backwards, shorts worn low and lots of bling-bling - GANGSTER, and the list goes on, But really WHO ARE THEY?

So many today, claim to be Christians, followers of Jesus, but their actions, lack of church attendance, reluctance to be involved with kingdom building, and unwillingness to give back to God one tenth of what He blesses them with, leave people asking, WHO ARE THEY?

A heavily booked commercial flight out of Denver was canceled, and a single agent was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers. Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the front and slapped his ticket down on the counter. "I have to be on this flight and it has to be first class!" he insisted. "I’m sorry, sir," the agent replied. "I’ll be happy to help you, but I have to take care of these folks first." The passenger was unimpressed. "Do you have any idea who I am?" he demanded in a voice loud enough for the passengers behind him to hear. Without hesitating, the agent smiled and picked up her public-address microphone. "May I have your attention, please?" she broadcast throughout the terminal. "We have a passenger here at the gate who does not know who he is. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to the gate." As the man retreated, the people in the terminal burst into applause.

Christians, what is your identity in Christ? Who Are We? I think the Bible tells us who we are. Those of us that have accepted Jesus in the waters of baptism, who have confessed with our mouths and believed in our hearts.

WE ARE UNWORTHY, RESCUED SINNERS!

The song this morning asks, Who Am I that the eyes that see my sin, would look on me with LOVE, and watch me rise again. We are a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow, a wave tossed in the ocean, and vapor in the wind. AND YET, the Bible tells us, we are RESCUED FROM DARKNESS!

If you have your Bible with you this morning, please turn with me to the Book of Colossians, chapter 1.

Col 1:9-14 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

PRAYER

Those of us that have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, and CONTINUE to ABIDE in Him are members of God’s household. Eph 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household,

WHO AM I? I am a member of God’s household, and I have citizenship in God’s kingdom and that brings some immediate benefits:

I. WE SHARE IN THE INHERITANCE

In verse 12 Paul says: who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints. WOW, we share in a great inheritance with others and with Christ! You know when we think of inheritance we naturally think of the amount of money someone might leave for us here on earth. Some sort of treasure that we might have to make our earthly lives a little more enjoyable. BUT, the greatest inheritance we have is the name we are given when we accept our Savior and become a member of God’s household.

One of the great preachers of our time is Dr. Fred Craddock. Craddock tells a story about vacationing with his wife one summer in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One night they found a quiet little restaurant, where they looked forward to a private meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. Craddock leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn’t come over here." He didn’t want anyone intruding on their privacy. But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. "Where you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice. "Oklahoma," Craddock answered. "Splendid state, I hear, although I’ve never been there," the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?" "I teach homiletics at the graduate seminary of Phillips University," Craddock replied. "Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a story to tell you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife.