Archive for the ‘Identity’ Tag
Once Faithless, Now Faith-Filled!
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Part A:
Part B:
Full Message:
Bible Verse: Hebrews 11: 1-12
Sermon Summary:
Are we living by faith? How do we live our lives as righteous people by faith? Romans 1: 17 –
- When it comes to faith we have to know WHO we really are. – 1 Cor 6: 9-11(CSB). We have to understand who we’re NOT – 2 Cor 5: 17 – 19(CSB)
“If we’re living our lives faith-filled, then we’re living out who we really are and understanding what we’ve been given in the newness of the life we’ve been given (in Christ) – We’ve been given reconciliation!”
“Our circumstances don’t dictate God’s love towards us and that’s what we’ve been clothed with – HIS LOVE! THAT is who we really are. So despite our circumstances we can really walk in this faith-filled life because of Jesus and who HE is. So we have to understand who he is and know who we are in him.”
“By faith, believers can live a life of sacrifice and consider mistreatment, torture and abuse from the world as worth suffering for Christ’s sake. Faith in Christ does not guarantee a carefree life but a life that is full of trouble and includes many demands to leave behind worldly pleasures and walk with God according to his will.” –Tesfaye Kassa
- We have to know WHAT faith is. – “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”- Hebrews 11: 1-3(CSB)
“Faith is the connecting power into the spiritual realm, which links us with God and makes Him become a tangible reality to the sense perceptions of a person. Faith is the basic ingredient to begin a relationship with God.
Faith is the assurance that the things revealed and promised in the Word are true, even though unseen, and gives the believer a conviction that what he expects in faith, will come to pass. Faith is the tangible essence of what is hoped for – so tangible that the faith itself, is the evidence/reality of those things that are not yet visible. In other words, it becomes so tangible that you now possess it. It becomes a reality in the spiritual realm.” – Wikibooks
- When it comes to faith, we have to know HOW to find it. – Romans 10: 17(CSB)
”Are you hearing about Christ? Faith comes by hearing the message about Christ!”
When we understand the WHO, WHAT and HOW of faith, then we can begin to LIVE by the faith of Jesus Christ! – Hebrews 11: 4-12
Theological Theme:
“By defining faith…as ‘assurance’ and ‘conviction,’ the author indicates that biblical faith is not a vague hope grounded in imaginary, wishful thinking. Instead, faith is a settled confidence that something in the future—something that is not yet seen but has been promised by God—will actually come to pass because God will bring it about. Thus biblical faith is not blind trust in the face of contrary evidence, not an unknowable ‘leap in the dark’; rather, biblical faith is a confident trust in the eternal God who is all-powerful, infinitely wise, eternally trustworthy—the God who has revealed himself in his word and in the person of Jesus Christ, whose promises have proven true from generation to generation, and who will ‘never leave nor forsake’ his own”–David W. Chapman
Jesus is the source and perfecter of our faith. “We can’t be anchored in anything or anyone else. God [Father-Son-Holy Spirit] IS THE SOLD ROCK – an immovable foundation!”
Christ Connection:
To the author of Hebrews, faith is the “reality” and “proof” of the existence of something that at the moment cannot be seen. This is why in Romans 4, Paul said that the Old Testament patriarchs were justified by their faith in the promise—a promise that was yet to be seen. These Old Testament saints hadn’t seen the object of their salvation (yet), but they trusted in God’s promise to one day provide it, which He did in Jesus Christ.
All the examples of faith in Scripture pale in comparison to the life of Jesus Christ, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame. Because of His work, the faith and hope of all who have gone before us will be fulfilled when He returns. We have assurance of the reliability of God’s promises.
While we find encouragement from this cloud of witnesses, we ultimately find that the pinnacle of enduring faith belongs to Christ Jesus, and we should emulate Him.
Missional Application:
Once we are in Christ, we are not finished with faith. Faith is not just the key to unlock the door of salvation; it is how we continue to work out our salvation so God [Father-Son-Holy Spirit] can produce in us and through us the good works He has planned for us. Living by faith is difficult, but God has called us to look at the examples of faith in Scripture—most notably that of Jesus— and draw courage from them as we focus on Christ and fulfill His will for our lives.
Just as it is grace through faith that saves us from top to bottom, it is grace through faith that sustains us beginning to end. We do not start anew in Christ by faith and then embark on a great “good works” selfimprovement project. No, we “walk by faith”
God, through his Holy Spirit, calls us to draw courage from the example of the faithful through the centuries as we fulfill God’s will and focus on Christ.
Conclusion:
Do we see God as the author and finisher of our lives?
Do we see him as the one who directs our steps and says “go left and go right”?
Do we see him as the captain of our ships – the navigator?
Do we see faith, active in our lives despite the obstacles that seem insurmountable in our own lives?
Do we hear God’s “Yes” and God saying “Do” as something that is tangible in our lives to really mandate how we live in our lives?
We must keep our eyes on Jesus. Every good work must be submitted to the glory of Jesus. Every spiritual discipline must be conducted as a means of deepening our friendship with Jesus. Every religious book read, every theological idea explored, every biblical doctrine studied must have as its aim a stirring of our affections for Jesus. It is only by focusing on Jesus that we will be able to endure in the Christian life and have a faith that lasts to the finish line….Jesus gave us the greatest example of enduring faith when He trusted in the Father during His journey to the cross. Jesus trusted in the Father throughout the greatest evil, the greatest hardship, ever. And He did so with the joy that lay before Him—the joy of obeying the Father and glorifying Him. Ultimately, it is Jesus who is able to present us blameless before God’s glory without stumbling. Let us fix our eyes on Him to the very end.
“The foundation of the Christian life is repentance and faith. You never move on from that, but you do want to build on it.” –Matt Fuller
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So Why Not Say You’re Gay, or…?
Filed under: By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Evangelism, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Love, Ministry, Relationships, Scripture Paraphrases, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Witness, Worship | Tags: Faith, God Father Son and Spirit, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God the Trinity, God's good news, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Homosexuality, Hope, Identity, identity in Christ, Image of God, Love, Meyers-Briggs, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, Participation, Participation with Christ, Pastor Tim of New Life Fellowship, Politics, Race, Sharing God's Good News, The Good News, Union In Christ, Union with Christ
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…Black, White, Asian or Hispanic??? Or Republican, or Democrat? Or why not say you’re a Millennial, Boomer, or a Gen X’er??? (After all everyone else calls themselves by their age, too?) Why not call yourself ESFJ, or INTJ – for those familiar with the Myers Briggs personality inventory?
Because, simply put but complexly true, according to Jesus Christ and the God Revealed in Him, you are not any of those things! You certainly may exhibit some of those traits but…
“Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
– Colossians 3:3-4 (The Msg)
According to Jesus, from the Father and through the Holy Spirit in the Apostle Paul, that’s why you shouldn’t identify as just any old “thing”, or even as your own thing! So if you’re struggling with your identity, it is probably because you’ve forgotten, or never knew the Truth God points out through this scripture:
1.) Your identity is not in some thing (your sexual attraction, your skin color, your political party or age), it is in Someone outside yourself, namely, in Jesus Christ, in God. You’re going to have to look outside yourself in the first instance to discover your identity! You should receive and look to Jesus because your real life is hidden in him. Your true humanity is hidden in him. He is your life! (By the way, what largely remains hidden to you now is the glorified humanity Jesus has for you; the humanity that will never die and is incorruptible. What isn’t hidden is all of the other stuff revealed and witnessed to about Jesus in the bible!)
2.) If you’re going to receive who you really are, you’re going to have to follow Jesus and let him show and tell you. Because he is a Person and you are a person, that means discovering your identity is not static but dynamic, or relational and active. Identity is not a thing that can be discovered in isolation from others (as in “I’m a hermit”). Your identity is a discovery that comes in relationship with Jesus and the God Revealed in Him.
3.) One of the greatest and common places Jesus is pleased to meet you is in the scriptures! Perhaps you, personally, are having more clarity about your identity through the scripture just quoted. It wouldn’t surprise me! This Relational God – Father, Son and Spirit is the one who inspired and left us these books we call the bible through which he would encounter us and witness to himself! If you like reading books, he left you quite a few to catch up on! Lol! If you are getting clarity about your identity through the scripture notice that we went to a passage through which God has been pleased to witness to himself (though He’s NOT the bible!) Through that passage he was pleased to speak to you not only about who he is but also about who you really are!
4.) Notice also that this isn’t a scripture only about you, it’s about every one of us! Because of who we are speaking of, Jesus, the God/Man and One who created and sustains every single person, your fellow human beings also have their identity in Him! Jesus is literally the One Human for all! Pointedly, this means you should seek to see your neighbor also for who they are in Jesus who represents all humans in his humanity, namely, your brother or sister, or neighbor in Christ!
Imagine for one moment how transformed our world would be if we referred to all others as “brother” or “sister” or “neighbor” “in Christ” rather than the things I noted in my first few sentences? Can you see the difference that would make in our treatment of each other? Can you sense the other-centered love in humility that could thrive, and the self-centered pride that could die? Wow!!!
By the way, none of this means that you become Jesus or that he becomes you! No! He will still be Jesus and you will still be distinctly you. It does mean that Jesus intends to share with you his awesome and glorified human nature so you can relate with God and each other in a way that partakes of the divine nature, as one made in the image of his image in Jesus (2 Cor 4:4)! His life reveals what it really means to be human and those who trust him get to participate in that!
Here’s the link to a GREAT read through which I was encountered by God – Father, Son and Spirit and got stirred to write this article: http://www.livingout.org/why-not-say-you-re-gay-
As author Jonathan Berry writes in his last paragraph:
“We’re often warned of the dangers of identity theft in an increasingly digital age. As a Christian I feel passionately that I don’t want to allow myself to be robbed of the enjoyment of these great blessings, by falsely embracing any other identity. In his letter to Christians in Rome, Paul urges his readers not to “conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). For me, a really important aspect of that mind-renewal process involves ditching any unbiblical labels and securing my true identity as being in Christ.” (underline emphasis mine!)
Amen!
– tjbrassell
*photo courtesy of rhemafromgod.blogspot.com
Taste And See That The Lord Is Good!
Filed under: Bible, By Richard Andrews, Christian Living, Church, Evangelism, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Humor, Liturgy, Love, Ministry, Perichoresis, Prayer, Relationships, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Song, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Plan of Adoption, Trinity, Uncategorized, Worship | Tags: Bible, blessings, Christ in our place, Christ in us, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, compassion, disciples, disciples of Christ, Discipleship, Evangelism, Followers of Jesus, Forgiveness, Forgiveness of Sin, God, God Father Son and Spirit, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God the Trinity, God's adopted sons and daughters, God's good news, God's goodness, God's Grace, God's Will, good news, Gospel, Grace, Grace Communion International, gratitude, Holy Spirit, human, Identity, Image of God, Incarnation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, JESUS THE CHRIST, life, Love, new life fellowship, Oneness, Participation, Participation with Christ, Partnership, Pastor Richard Andrews, Pastor Timothy Brassell, Preaching, Psalm 34, Psalm 34:8, Reality, Receiving Christ, Receiving God's Love, Reconciliation, Relational God Revealed, relationship with God, Relationships, repent, repentance, response, Salvation, Scriptures, sharing your faith, Sin, sovereignty, taste and see that God is good, Theology, together, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Trust, Will of God, Worship
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In this Gospel Message, Pastor Richard Andrews of New Life Fellowship of Baltimore, Proclaims the GOOD NEWS of The God Revealed in Jesus Christ with a message entitled “Taste And See That The Lord Is Good!” and asks the question “Are we ready to take that exhortation we find in Psalms 34 and make it something we LIVE BY, LIVE THROUGH and LIVE WITH?”
In this message we learn what trials REALLY represent and hear that:
- Our foolishness does NOT determine God’s actions towards us! There is no circumstance we can go through that is too big or complicated that can change who God is!
- No matter the circumstance, God invites us to open up our mouths and have an experience with him. God invites us to experience HIS presence.
- Our trials help us to taste and see God’s goodness. They make God REAL. The more we TASTE, the more we SEE, the more we TRUST!
Listen and be comforted knowing that God loves us too much not to let us experience HIM, and because of that there WILL be points of pain and trials.
Photo Compliments lizsarno.wordpress.com
Men And Women TOGETHER – Imaging God FOREVER!
Filed under: Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Church, Evangelism, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Humor, Liturgy, Love, Ministry, Perichoresis, Prayer, Relationships, Scripture Paraphrases, Sermons, Song, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Plan of Adoption, Trinity, Uncategorized, Worship | Tags: Bible, blessings, Christ in our place, Christ in us, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, compassion, disciples, disciples of Christ, Discipleship, Evangelism, Female, Followers of Jesus, Forgiveness, Forgiveness of Sin, God, God Father Son and Spirit, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God the Trinity, God's adopted sons and daughters, God's good news, God's goodness, God's Grace, God's Will, good news, Gospel, Grace, Grace Communion International, gratitude, Holy Spirit, human, Identity, Image of God, Incarnation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, JESUS THE CHRIST, life, Love, Male, Male and Female, Men and women, new life fellowship, Oneness, Participation, Participation with Christ, Partnership, Pastor Tim, Pastor Timothy Brassell, Preaching, Reality, Receiving Christ, Receiving God's Love, Reconciliation, Relational God Revealed, relationship with God, Relationships, repent, repentance, response, Salvation, Scriptures, sharing your faith, Sin, sovereignty, Theology, Timothy Brassell, together, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, TRUE identity, Will of God, Worship
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In this Gospel Message entitled “Men And Women TOGETHER – Imaging God FOREVER!”, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship of Baltimore, Proclaims the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ who has taken up our humanity in Himself, sharing with us HIS life of union and communion with His Father through the Holy Spirit. He shows through the scriptures that all barriers between men and women and the dividing wall of hostility between all humanity has been destroyed, and our humanity renewed and healed, in Jesus Christ!
Hear in this message:
- That Jesus Christ is the first image of God of man and woman together and is not just an after-thought. As women and men, we were always meant to be conformed to Jesus Christ’s image and what He made of our humanity in Himself. We understand that HE is the Reality, and Adam and Eve (and us!) are only the shadow of Him in this first phase of our humanity!
- That because Jesus is the Image of God, it is best to think of men and women, male and female, as created in the Image of The Image of God!
- That ONLY FEMALE AND MALE TOGETHER show GOD toward creation and how ONLY TOGETHER do we show creation back to God in the fitting response Jesus shares with us. This doesn’t always mean marriage between men and women, but it always means gender partnership and complementing each other!
- The Good News of what IS superior about being female and male, and what is not! Learn how we ARE equal and how we are not! Understand our participation and roles as Kings and Queens of creation!
- About The Great Grace that has been lavished on us as male and female in the person of Jesus Christ , and the Great and Loving Judgment against our broken humanity that compels us to reconsider and take part with Jesus as Life actually is!
You are encouraged to Participate with Christ, and in His shared humility, learning to admit your faults and receiving the forgiveness that leads to ACTUAL & REAL reconciliation and peace between human persons, plus LOTS MORE GOSPEL INSIGHT!
Trinity and Humanity 