WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.639 So that's Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 to 11. 00:00:17.080 --> 00:00:19.920 Since then you have been raised with Christ. 00:00:20.699 --> 00:00:26.600 Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:31.140 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 00:00:32.679 --> 00:00:37.520 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:45.760 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 00:00:47.980 --> 00:00:51.180 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature. 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:58.899 Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. 00:00:59.659 --> 00:01:01.939 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:07.260 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:12.960 But now, you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these. 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:19.680 Anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language on your lips. 00:01:21.180 --> 00:01:26.720 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices, 00:01:27.260 --> 00:01:34.160 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator. 00:01:35.720 --> 00:01:43.280 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, scillian, slave or free. 00:01:43.719 --> 00:01:47.180 But Christ is all, and is in all. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:48.880 Amen. 00:01:48.880 --> 00:01:48.980 Amen. 00:01:51.180 --> 00:01:57.320 Thanks, Sam. 00:01:57.720 --> 00:02:00.640 And thank you for passing some pens around as well. 00:02:00.720 --> 00:02:05.700 If you've got the new sheet on the back of the new sheet, you can take notes. 00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:08.200 There's a blank page there. 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:19.359 And I do encourage you, as we go through this short little series on identity. 00:02:19.739 --> 00:02:20.259 Whoops. 00:02:21.399 --> 00:02:22.659 Everything's going... 00:02:22.659 --> 00:02:33.359 As we go through our short series on identity made in God's image, 00:02:34.019 --> 00:02:40.219 to come back if you have questions or feedback on anything, it helps me. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:44.000 And to be able to talk it out may also help you. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:52.580 And just by way of some helpful little books on what we have looked at already and what we're looking at today. 00:02:52.580 --> 00:02:56.540 So, is gender fixed or fluid? 00:02:56.540 --> 00:03:02.820 So, this little book, written by somebody called Vaughn Roberts, is just simply called Transgender. 00:03:02.819 --> 00:03:11.900 So, it's a little very easy, accessible introduction to what it is and how we should respond as Christians. 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:13.319 So, that's that one. 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:20.319 Another helpful book, just covering a lot of different subjects, it's called Messy Grace. 00:03:20.459 --> 00:03:29.539 And this is the story of a guy who's a pastor now who grew up with both his parents, were both gay, 00:03:30.099 --> 00:03:40.079 and just his experiences in growing up in that family environment and, yeah, just how he has been able to relate to them. 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:41.560 So, that's called Messy Grace. 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:42.640 It's very helpful. 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:47.780 And then the other one to encourage you, they're all easy reads and accessible. 00:03:48.379 --> 00:03:50.580 The plausibility problem. 00:03:51.180 --> 00:04:00.939 So, the whole thing is that this is looking at is that as we read the Bible and what God has to say about our sexuality, our gender, 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:04.960 just sounds so unreasonable to people. 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:10.520 How am I meant to live like this if I feel something else? 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:12.960 It just doesn't seem plausible. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:20.139 Well, this book will help us to think through some of those questions, which is excellent. 00:04:20.340 --> 00:04:21.379 So, they'll be available. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:22.280 Don't take them. 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:24.920 If you want to borrow them, ask me first. 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:29.240 But they are available to look at if you want to get your own copies. 00:04:31.740 --> 00:04:36.819 Well, with that in mind, let's pray and ask for God's help. 00:04:36.819 --> 00:04:55.980 Father, thank you that you have not left us in the dark, but that you have given to us the light of your word, 00:04:55.980 --> 00:04:57.980 helping us to understand the world. 00:04:57.980 --> 00:05:01.180 Helping us to understand the world in which we live. 00:05:01.860 --> 00:05:09.160 Helping us to understand our own lives, how we think about ourselves and how we feel. 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:17.220 We pray, Father God, that your word would now speak truth into our hearts. 00:05:19.660 --> 00:05:21.120 Shaping our thinking. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:26.400 Helping us in how we live and how we behave. 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:33.419 And we ask this all for your glory and for your honour. 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:34.479 In Jesus' name. 00:05:35.039 --> 00:05:35.419 Amen. 00:05:35.420 --> 00:05:35.500 Amen. 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:45.199 So, we've been asking the question this morning, who am I? 00:05:46.420 --> 00:05:48.759 How would you define yourself? 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:51.319 So, have a look at these following headings. 00:05:52.020 --> 00:05:54.200 How would you define yourself under these? 00:05:54.300 --> 00:05:56.379 So, your vocation, what do you do? 00:05:56.860 --> 00:05:58.620 What would you say your job is? 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:02.439 Are you employed, unemployed, at home, at work? 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:04.960 What's your ethnicity? 00:06:06.400 --> 00:06:07.840 Your race, your culture. 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:10.860 How would you identify yourself in that way? 00:06:11.060 --> 00:06:11.900 Or your religion. 00:06:13.080 --> 00:06:14.699 Or maybe there's no religion. 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:17.759 Or what about class? 00:06:17.939 --> 00:06:20.360 Would you say your working class, middle class? 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:23.819 How would you define yourself in those areas? 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:27.020 What about the last one, gender? 00:06:28.139 --> 00:06:29.240 What would you say there? 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:31.580 What's your gender identity? 00:06:31.579 --> 00:06:41.359 Well, a few years ago, Facebook launched a facility enabling users to select one of over 50, 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:46.960 I think it's now moved up to almost 70, gender options. 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:51.399 So, when you're on Facebook, you can tick a certain box. 00:06:51.500 --> 00:06:53.719 You can say you're either male or female. 00:06:53.720 --> 00:07:03.620 And then below that, or including that, you've got 50 other options to choose your particular gender identity. 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:07.699 So, let me give you an example of some of them that are there. 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:12.019 Agender, which simply means no gender at all. 00:07:13.899 --> 00:07:19.800 Androgynous, which means you're partly male and partly female. 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:30.220 Or cisgender, someone whose gender identity is not the same as the sex they were assigned at first. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.040 Or you could identify yourself as two-spirit. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:41.240 Someone who has both a male and a female spirit. 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:45.000 Then there's gender questioning. 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:51.220 So, for those who aren't quite sure yet who they are, well, you're gender questioning. 00:07:52.920 --> 00:08:00.959 And if you can't find anything in that list of 50, you've still got an option there to choose your own or to write in your own. 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:05.959 Commenting on the list, Facebook said this. 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:12.060 We recognize that people face challenges sharing their true identity with others. 00:08:12.060 --> 00:08:18.980 And this setting gives people the ability to express themselves in an authentic way. 00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:24.639 You see, you might think that identifying your gender is easy. 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:27.500 But it's not for everyone. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:31.360 For some, gender is not something fixed. 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:35.279 It's something fluid that can change. 00:08:36.200 --> 00:08:39.559 And the umbrella term for this is transgender. 00:08:39.559 --> 00:08:43.619 And here's a brief definition. 00:08:43.619 --> 00:08:52.279 A person whose gender identity does not correspond to that person's biological sex assigned at birth. 00:08:53.259 --> 00:08:56.559 So, somebody may be born a boy or a girl. 00:08:57.699 --> 00:09:02.659 But yet their inner feelings do not match their biological sex. 00:09:02.659 --> 00:09:13.159 And research tells us that one in 215 males, one in 300 females, struggle with their gender identity. 00:09:14.439 --> 00:09:18.240 Sometimes it's referred to as gender dysphoria. 00:09:19.339 --> 00:09:24.360 Where people would describe it like this, that they're trapped in the wrong body. 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:28.480 Now, this isn't just kind of makeup. 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:33.600 This is actually a very real experience for many people. 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:38.759 And they need love and care and lots of support. 00:09:41.419 --> 00:09:45.360 So, back to the question, who am I? 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:55.240 Well, Dale Coohen, I think that's how you pronounce his surname, wrote a book called Sex and the Eye World. 00:09:56.539 --> 00:10:00.180 And in it, he's commenting on the success of Steve Jobs. 00:10:00.379 --> 00:10:04.860 If you remember him, he's the founder of Apple, the big computer giant. 00:10:05.580 --> 00:10:09.300 And he's commenting on the success of their marketing skills. 00:10:09.299 --> 00:10:11.519 And he says this. 00:10:13.099 --> 00:10:24.559 The names of his Apple products, which we've heard of, the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad, are striking. 00:10:25.719 --> 00:10:32.479 Jobs knew that we live in the eye world, in which everything revolves around the individual. 00:10:33.839 --> 00:10:37.779 So, morality is something that I decide. 00:10:37.779 --> 00:10:41.980 Identity is something that I choose. 00:10:42.679 --> 00:10:48.779 Biology or society no longer determines what I can do and who I want to be. 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:52.399 It's something I decide and I choose for myself. 00:10:53.860 --> 00:10:56.319 We live in the eye world. 00:10:56.839 --> 00:10:59.159 Everything revolves around me. 00:11:00.019 --> 00:11:04.139 If it feels right and if it makes you happy, then it's okay. 00:11:04.139 --> 00:11:11.159 But we are so much more than just our gender or our sexuality. 00:11:12.299 --> 00:11:16.159 You see, I am not what others may say I am. 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:21.939 I'm not what I even feel about myself. 00:11:21.940 --> 00:11:28.700 I am what God has defined me to be. 00:11:29.340 --> 00:11:35.040 So, three things we're going to look at in terms of how God defines us. 00:11:35.980 --> 00:11:37.280 Here's the first one. 00:11:38.100 --> 00:11:40.760 First, we are created by God. 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:43.580 Let's go back to Genesis chapter 1. 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:45.480 Genesis chapter 1. 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:50.820 We'll come to Colossians in a moment, but back to Genesis chapter 1. 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:54.259 And look how Genesis begins. 00:11:54.500 --> 00:11:59.480 The first Bible, the first words of the Bible. 00:12:00.420 --> 00:12:01.639 Genesis chapter 1. 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:10.879 In the beginning, God. 00:12:12.419 --> 00:12:18.519 Before we were, before we ever existed, God was. 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:20.860 In the beginning, God. 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:25.580 And as we read on, we see that God creates. 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:28.240 But I want us to notice how he creates. 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:34.980 There is design in his creation, and there is difference in his creation. 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:36.620 So, look at verse 5. 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:45.480 God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. 00:12:46.379 --> 00:12:50.080 So, we have night and day. 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:52.040 Then down in verse 10. 00:12:52.800 --> 00:12:58.780 And God called the dry ground land, and the gathered waters he called sea. 00:12:59.060 --> 00:13:02.320 So, we have land and sea. 00:13:02.820 --> 00:13:08.220 Then in verse 17, we're being introduced to the lights. 00:13:08.460 --> 00:13:16.540 God set in the vault of the sky light to give light on the earth. 00:13:16.780 --> 00:13:19.180 So, we have sky and earth. 00:13:19.179 --> 00:13:21.259 So, we've got these different pairings. 00:13:21.379 --> 00:13:22.199 Night and day. 00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:23.539 Land and sea. 00:13:23.959 --> 00:13:25.039 Earth and sky. 00:13:26.719 --> 00:13:28.719 But yet, they're separate, aren't they? 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:30.639 They're distinct from each other. 00:13:30.739 --> 00:13:31.799 They have boundaries. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:33.419 They are fixed. 00:13:34.459 --> 00:13:35.399 Not fluid. 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:37.899 They are not interchangeable. 00:13:39.539 --> 00:13:42.139 And then when we go on and read in verse 26. 00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:43.839 Let's read there. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:59.620 Then God said, let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea, and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. 00:13:59.620 --> 00:14:03.440 So, God created mankind in his own image. 00:14:03.820 --> 00:14:05.860 In the image of God, he created them. 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:09.080 Male and female, he created them. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:11.940 So, we're introduced to another pairing. 00:14:12.500 --> 00:14:14.539 Male and female. 00:14:14.539 --> 00:14:14.659 Male and female. 00:14:15.419 --> 00:14:19.339 Both are made in the image of God, so equal in value and worth. 00:14:20.099 --> 00:14:22.439 But both are separate, if you like. 00:14:22.599 --> 00:14:25.120 They're distinct from each other. 00:14:25.599 --> 00:14:27.379 Male and female. 00:14:28.339 --> 00:14:30.059 Just like night and day. 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:30.860 Land and sea. 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:31.719 Sky and earth. 00:14:32.179 --> 00:14:34.279 Male and female. 00:14:34.279 --> 00:14:38.519 So, gender is something that is fixed. 00:14:39.659 --> 00:14:40.659 Not fluid. 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:43.740 They are not interchangeable. 00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:46.339 This is part of God's design. 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:48.339 Design in difference. 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:52.639 Suppose I were to go into a carpenter's workshop. 00:14:53.339 --> 00:14:57.159 And in the middle of his workshop, I discover a table and chair. 00:14:57.699 --> 00:15:01.179 Something designed and made by the carpenter. 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:04.719 And I bring the table and chair home, and I put it into my kitchen. 00:15:05.059 --> 00:15:08.679 Come home one day, and everybody's sitting on the table. 00:15:09.579 --> 00:15:12.699 And they're eating their dinner off the chair. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:19.639 Well, you could sit on the table and eat your dinner off the chair. 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:22.979 But it doesn't change what they are, does it? 00:15:23.699 --> 00:15:26.120 The table is the table, and the chair is the chair. 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:28.699 They're not interchangeable. 00:15:28.700 --> 00:15:38.259 In the same way, changing our gender identity, ticking a box, does not change the reality. 00:15:39.300 --> 00:15:44.900 Physical change, behavioral change, does not change who we are. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:50.720 We have been created by God, male or female. 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:55.940 Now, that raises a very important question. 00:15:57.860 --> 00:16:00.580 Sorry, that was all under creator's design. 00:16:03.060 --> 00:16:06.279 Creator's word, which raises an important question. 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:08.160 Who am I going to be listening to? 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:11.940 What's going to be the authority in my life? 00:16:12.160 --> 00:16:15.040 Am I going to be ruled by God's word? 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:21.039 Or will I be ruled by my happiness, my choice, my decision? 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:25.959 Will I choose what I want and who I am? 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:31.279 Or am I going to trust God and what God says? 00:16:32.419 --> 00:16:37.719 You see, if we listen to God, if we trust what his word has to say about us, 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:42.879 we will actually find the happiness that we're all longing for. 00:16:43.820 --> 00:16:46.100 Have a look at Psalm 19. 00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:50.420 Psalm 19. 00:16:56.420 --> 00:17:00.920 Psalm 19 is this wonderful celebration. 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:04.519 It's divided quite neatly in two halves. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:09.119 So, verses 1 to 6 celebrates God as creator. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:15.740 And then 7 through to the end celebrates the creator's word. 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:20.079 So, let's read Psalm 19, verse 1. 00:17:20.399 --> 00:17:23.259 The heavens declare the glory of God. 00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:26.139 The skies proclaim the work of his hands. 00:17:26.139 --> 00:17:30.059 So, it's telling us how great God's creation is. 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:34.740 Design and order, it tells us something about who he is. 00:17:35.820 --> 00:17:41.620 But then when we get to verse 7, it celebrates the creator's word. 00:17:42.580 --> 00:17:43.200 Verse 7. 00:17:43.940 --> 00:17:46.920 The law of the Lord is perfect. 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:49.360 It's refreshing to the soul. 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:53.200 The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy. 00:17:53.500 --> 00:17:54.880 They make wise the simple. 00:17:55.560 --> 00:17:57.759 The precepts of the Lord are right. 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:00.120 They give joy to the heart. 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:07.180 You see, it's telling us that, well, not only has God created the world in a certain way, 00:18:07.300 --> 00:18:09.240 a certain design and a certain pattern, 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:12.920 but he's also spoken into that creation to say, 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:15.500 look, if we follow his word, 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:19.620 if we follow the creator's design and what he has to say, 00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:21.840 then it's refreshing. 00:18:23.380 --> 00:18:25.539 It's something trustworthy. 00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:30.319 It makes us wise in the decisions that we make. 00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:33.500 It gives, in the middle of verse 8, 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:35.859 joy to the heart. 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:40.940 Listen to this from C.S. Lewis. 00:18:41.059 --> 00:18:42.379 You can follow on the screen. 00:18:42.380 --> 00:18:49.700 When we want to be something other than the thing God wants us to be, 00:18:50.700 --> 00:18:55.880 we must be wanting what, in fact, will not make us happy. 00:18:56.820 --> 00:18:58.920 Let me start that again so you get it. 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:03.480 When we want to be something other than the thing God wants us to be, 00:19:04.020 --> 00:19:08.300 we must be wanting what, in fact, will not make us happy. 00:19:08.299 --> 00:19:13.119 Those divine demands, which sound to our natural ears, 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:17.059 most like those of a despot and least like those of a lover, 00:19:17.799 --> 00:19:23.339 in fact, marshal us or guide us and direct us where we should want to go 00:19:23.339 --> 00:19:26.159 if we knew what we wanted. 00:19:27.099 --> 00:19:30.399 You see, we may struggle with gender identity. 00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:35.299 You may be somebody here this morning who struggles with that. 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:38.940 We may feel trapped in the wrong body. 00:19:39.319 --> 00:19:43.720 However, God's word is what brings clarity in the confusion. 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:46.099 If we trust his word, 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:49.720 if we trust that the creator and the designer of our lives 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:51.859 knows what is best for us, 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:54.940 we will find joy and contentment. 00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:58.960 We will find a way to live as God has called us to be. 00:20:00.399 --> 00:20:01.440 So first, 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:03.960 who am I? 00:20:04.059 --> 00:20:06.160 We are created by God. 00:20:06.320 --> 00:20:06.660 Second, 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:10.080 we are united to Christ. 00:20:11.220 --> 00:20:13.460 And here we go to Colossians, 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:15.539 chapter 3. 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:19.200 Chapter 2 and chapter 3, Colossians. 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:21.039 I think it's on page... 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:21.799 Well, I don't know. 00:20:21.880 --> 00:20:22.600 What's the page? 00:20:23.019 --> 00:20:23.259 Anybody? 00:20:24.820 --> 00:20:24.940 Hmm? 00:20:26.120 --> 00:20:27.620 1-1-8-3. 00:20:27.820 --> 00:20:28.220 Thank you. 00:20:28.220 --> 00:20:29.360 1-1-8-3. 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:31.639 So, 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:36.819 while gender goes some way to defining us, 00:20:37.459 --> 00:20:40.639 what matters most of all is our status. 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:43.599 The primary issue is not, 00:20:43.959 --> 00:20:46.159 am I male or female? 00:20:46.879 --> 00:20:48.479 It's important as it is. 00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:50.059 It's not the primary issue. 00:20:50.139 --> 00:20:51.619 The primary issue is this, 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:53.839 that each one of us has to answer, 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:54.500 is, 00:20:54.500 --> 00:20:56.319 am I united to Christ? 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:59.980 Am I united to Christ? 00:21:00.819 --> 00:21:02.179 Have a look at Colossians, 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:04.179 chapter 2, 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:05.099 verse 9. 00:21:09.339 --> 00:21:10.319 Chapter 2, 00:21:10.419 --> 00:21:10.899 verse 9. 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:13.119 For in Christ, 00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:15.359 in Christ, 00:21:15.619 --> 00:21:17.740 all the fullness of the deity 00:21:17.740 --> 00:21:20.319 lives in bodily form. 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:21.480 So, 00:21:21.539 --> 00:21:23.119 let's try and grasp this, 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:25.059 this mental image before us. 00:21:25.460 --> 00:21:27.039 All of who God is, 00:21:27.579 --> 00:21:29.179 everything that God is, 00:21:29.539 --> 00:21:30.539 is in Christ. 00:21:31.399 --> 00:21:33.399 The loving creator of the universe, 00:21:33.539 --> 00:21:34.200 who made us, 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:35.240 who designed us, 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:37.799 that God is in Christ. 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:40.519 The fullness of who God is, 00:21:40.859 --> 00:21:42.720 is found in Christ. 00:21:43.779 --> 00:21:44.419 Now, 00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:45.519 let's read verse 10. 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:46.000 And, 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:49.440 in Christ, 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:52.900 you have been brought to fullness. 00:21:54.740 --> 00:21:55.480 So, 00:21:55.579 --> 00:21:56.400 follow the logic. 00:21:56.980 --> 00:21:59.240 All of God is in Christ, 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:00.940 and, 00:22:01.019 --> 00:22:02.359 in Christ, 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:04.359 we find 00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:06.119 fullness of life. 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:08.160 All of God in Christ, 00:22:09.139 --> 00:22:09.680 and so, 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:10.740 in Christ, 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:12.539 we find fullness of life. 00:22:12.539 --> 00:22:18.059 the only way that I could kind of picture this in my own mind, 00:22:18.139 --> 00:22:20.579 if you can think of an empty swimming pool, 00:22:21.379 --> 00:22:23.180 no water in it at all. 00:22:23.639 --> 00:22:28.059 And that swimming pool is filled to its fullness. 00:22:29.559 --> 00:22:32.839 And then we're invited to jump in, 00:22:33.619 --> 00:22:36.940 and enjoy and experience the fullness, 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:39.059 of all that's there. 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:40.980 You see, 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:41.539 God, 00:22:41.679 --> 00:22:41.919 in, 00:22:42.940 --> 00:22:45.519 gives all the fullness of his love, 00:22:45.659 --> 00:22:46.599 in Christ. 00:22:47.159 --> 00:22:49.220 All the fullness of God's love is, 00:22:49.319 --> 00:22:50.659 is in Christ. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:51.980 And so, 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:53.039 in Christ, 00:22:53.159 --> 00:22:56.639 we get to know the fullness of his love towards us. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:58.879 It's in Christ, 00:22:58.980 --> 00:23:00.799 that we are filled and satisfied. 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:02.299 It's in Christ, 00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:04.359 that we are complete and made whole. 00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:06.039 It's in Christ, 00:23:06.139 --> 00:23:06.960 that we discover, 00:23:07.220 --> 00:23:08.440 who we really are. 00:23:09.059 --> 00:23:12.339 So, 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:15.759 how can we experience this fullness of life? 00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:17.319 Well, 00:23:17.339 --> 00:23:19.139 let me try to explain it to you. 00:23:20.399 --> 00:23:22.139 Think for a minute of a marriage. 00:23:23.539 --> 00:23:24.960 The man and a woman, 00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:26.599 they begin separate. 00:23:27.779 --> 00:23:30.480 Let's think of the man as having great wealth. 00:23:30.700 --> 00:23:32.700 He's somebody who's very, 00:23:32.859 --> 00:23:33.379 very rich, 00:23:33.500 --> 00:23:34.579 lots and lots of money. 00:23:34.879 --> 00:23:35.379 The woman, 00:23:36.019 --> 00:23:36.159 well, 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:37.299 she has great needs, 00:23:37.399 --> 00:23:37.899 no money. 00:23:38.039 --> 00:23:38.759 She's poor. 00:23:38.759 --> 00:23:43.200 But in joining together in marriage, 00:23:43.940 --> 00:23:45.420 all that is his, 00:23:46.299 --> 00:23:47.720 now becomes hers. 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:50.180 And all that is hers, 00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:52.960 now becomes his. 00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:55.379 His life becomes her life, 00:23:55.640 --> 00:23:57.799 and her life becomes his life. 00:23:57.799 --> 00:24:03.519 Martin Luther explained it like this. 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:04.680 Read it on the screen, 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:05.720 you can follow along. 00:24:06.460 --> 00:24:06.960 He says, 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:08.159 by faith, 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:12.000 you are so cemented to Christ, 00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:16.460 that he and you are as one person, 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:19.019 which cannot be separated, 00:24:19.379 --> 00:24:21.700 but remains attached to Christ forever, 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:22.619 and declares, 00:24:22.619 --> 00:24:23.119 I am as Christ. 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:24.879 I am as Christ. 00:24:25.679 --> 00:24:27.479 And Christ in turn says, 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:31.139 I am as that sinner who is attached to me, 00:24:31.399 --> 00:24:32.799 and I to him. 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:34.960 So you see, 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:36.559 we are joined to Christ, 00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:38.379 we are in Christ, 00:24:38.379 --> 00:24:39.680 by faith. 00:24:39.980 --> 00:24:42.059 And as we come into Christ, 00:24:42.379 --> 00:24:44.500 his life becomes my life, 00:24:44.659 --> 00:24:48.700 and that is where I experience fullness of life. 00:24:48.700 --> 00:24:53.319 Look at chapter 2, 00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:54.500 verse 20. 00:24:56.980 --> 00:24:58.880 So we are in Christ, 00:24:59.039 --> 00:24:59.799 by faith, 00:25:00.140 --> 00:25:02.380 so his life is my life, 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:03.840 and my life is his life. 00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:04.480 So, 00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:05.460 verse 20, 00:25:05.819 --> 00:25:07.059 since you died, 00:25:07.420 --> 00:25:08.880 with Christ. 00:25:09.819 --> 00:25:11.039 Just that little phrase, 00:25:11.140 --> 00:25:12.000 since you died, 00:25:12.299 --> 00:25:13.559 with Christ. 00:25:13.840 --> 00:25:15.279 When Christ died, 00:25:15.360 --> 00:25:16.160 on the cross, 00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:17.380 by faith, 00:25:17.380 --> 00:25:19.500 I can say that I died, 00:25:19.780 --> 00:25:20.500 with him. 00:25:21.260 --> 00:25:22.780 Johnny Grant died. 00:25:23.280 --> 00:25:25.600 My old way of thinking about myself, 00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:27.500 my old order of things, 00:25:27.580 --> 00:25:28.620 is now dead. 00:25:28.760 --> 00:25:30.460 Johnny Grant is dead. 00:25:30.780 --> 00:25:32.140 He no longer exists. 00:25:32.340 --> 00:25:33.440 He's dead. 00:25:35.620 --> 00:25:36.920 Now look at chapter 3, 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:37.540 verse 1. 00:25:39.300 --> 00:25:41.920 Since then you have been raised, 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:43.020 with Christ. 00:25:43.740 --> 00:25:45.200 We've died with Christ, 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:47.440 now we've been raised with Christ. 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:49.980 So when Christ rose from the grave, 00:25:50.299 --> 00:25:51.200 by faith, 00:25:51.259 --> 00:25:53.259 I can say that I rose with him. 00:25:53.620 --> 00:25:55.740 There is now a new Johnny Grant. 00:25:57.259 --> 00:25:59.460 A new Johnny Grant in Christ, 00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:00.740 who has been born again, 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:02.420 who lives a new way, 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:04.779 who's been given a new identity, 00:26:05.180 --> 00:26:06.440 a new way of living. 00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:08.480 The old has gone, 00:26:08.840 --> 00:26:10.019 the new has come. 00:26:10.019 --> 00:26:12.039 A brand new person. 00:26:12.039 --> 00:26:15.180 You see, 00:26:15.299 --> 00:26:17.819 by faith we are in Christ. 00:26:18.579 --> 00:26:21.379 In Christ we find fullness of life. 00:26:23.220 --> 00:26:25.519 And that is something that is fixed, 00:26:26.420 --> 00:26:27.460 not fluid. 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:30.879 Our new status of being in Christ 00:26:30.879 --> 00:26:32.579 cannot be changed. 00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:35.980 We remain attached to Christ forever. 00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:38.259 His life becomes my life. 00:26:38.259 --> 00:26:40.279 I am in him. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:43.980 What does all that mean for us? 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:46.460 Not only are we in Christ, 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:48.400 but we do have a new identity. 00:26:48.920 --> 00:26:50.599 Look at chapter 3, verse 3. 00:26:53.400 --> 00:26:55.140 For you died, 00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:59.180 and your life is now hidden 00:26:59.180 --> 00:27:01.779 with Christ in God. 00:27:02.759 --> 00:27:04.500 Hidden with Christ. 00:27:05.180 --> 00:27:07.019 His life becomes my life. 00:27:07.019 --> 00:27:08.660 I am as Christ. 00:27:08.940 --> 00:27:10.799 When God now looks at me, 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:13.960 he doesn't see Johnny Grant. 00:27:14.099 --> 00:27:16.420 He sees me as Christ. 00:27:16.900 --> 00:27:18.059 As his own child. 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:20.379 Chapter 3, verse 4. 00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:21.660 When Christ, 00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:23.619 who is your life, 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:24.359 appears, 00:27:24.940 --> 00:27:26.660 then you also will appear 00:27:26.660 --> 00:27:27.619 with him in glory. 00:27:28.599 --> 00:27:30.059 Where Christ goes, 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:31.319 I will go. 00:27:31.639 --> 00:27:33.460 As Christ went to his death, 00:27:33.460 --> 00:27:35.119 I go with him to death. 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:36.519 As Christ is raised, 00:27:36.899 --> 00:27:38.099 so I am raised. 00:27:38.719 --> 00:27:40.519 As Christ is in glory, 00:27:40.859 --> 00:27:42.799 so I will go be in glory. 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:45.559 This is what I was created to be. 00:27:46.339 --> 00:27:47.399 In Christ. 00:27:48.639 --> 00:27:50.259 Chapter 3, verse 11. 00:27:51.939 --> 00:27:53.839 Here, again with the theme 00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:55.359 of being in Christ. 00:27:56.259 --> 00:27:56.839 He says, 00:27:56.919 --> 00:27:59.799 there is no Gentile or Jew. 00:28:00.339 --> 00:28:01.679 If we are in Christ, 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:03.360 there is no ethnicity. 00:28:03.360 --> 00:28:03.440 There is no ethnicity. 00:28:03.779 --> 00:28:05.200 It's not about your race 00:28:05.200 --> 00:28:06.420 or your culture. 00:28:08.019 --> 00:28:10.600 No circumcised or uncircumcised. 00:28:10.700 --> 00:28:12.920 It's not about your religious background. 00:28:14.620 --> 00:28:15.860 Barbarian or Scythian. 00:28:15.940 --> 00:28:18.240 It's not about your education 00:28:18.240 --> 00:28:19.480 or your intellect 00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:21.140 or anything else like that. 00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:24.360 It's not about slave or free. 00:28:24.620 --> 00:28:27.160 What your status is within society. 00:28:27.460 --> 00:28:29.120 Whether you are employed or unemployed 00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:30.139 or what you do. 00:28:31.319 --> 00:28:31.839 And, 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:33.659 not mentioned here, 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:35.539 but in the corresponding verse 00:28:35.539 --> 00:28:36.259 in Galatians, 00:28:36.359 --> 00:28:37.000 it talks about, 00:28:37.339 --> 00:28:39.739 and there is neither male nor female. 00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:42.500 It's not about 00:28:42.500 --> 00:28:45.119 whether you are male or female. 00:28:45.679 --> 00:28:48.000 But Christ is all 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:49.599 and is in all. 00:28:50.879 --> 00:28:52.439 That's what matters. 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:54.719 Am I in Christ? 00:28:54.720 --> 00:28:55.000 Christ. 00:28:55.700 --> 00:28:56.940 Because in Christ, 00:28:57.059 --> 00:28:58.600 I find my true identity. 00:28:59.100 --> 00:29:00.339 This is who I discover 00:29:00.339 --> 00:29:01.680 who I really am. 00:29:02.700 --> 00:29:04.160 The God who made me 00:29:04.160 --> 00:29:06.200 to be who I am today. 00:29:06.759 --> 00:29:08.500 This is where I find 00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:10.019 my fullness of life. 00:29:10.940 --> 00:29:12.420 In Christ is life. 00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:14.120 In Christ, 00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:15.799 I experience who I am. 00:29:17.799 --> 00:29:18.319 So, 00:29:18.420 --> 00:29:18.980 who am I? 00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:20.380 Well, 00:29:20.420 --> 00:29:21.880 I'm created by God. 00:29:21.880 --> 00:29:25.440 And I am united to Christ. 00:29:26.860 --> 00:29:27.680 And third, 00:29:27.800 --> 00:29:29.900 I am filled with the Spirit. 00:29:32.380 --> 00:29:33.280 You see, 00:29:33.360 --> 00:29:35.080 if we are united to Christ, 00:29:35.940 --> 00:29:38.580 we are also filled 00:29:38.580 --> 00:29:40.860 with his transforming Spirit. 00:29:41.840 --> 00:29:44.000 Because where Christ is, 00:29:45.160 --> 00:29:47.080 the Spirit also is. 00:29:47.079 --> 00:29:50.319 And where the Spirit is, 00:29:50.779 --> 00:29:52.059 the Spirit's work 00:29:52.059 --> 00:29:53.259 is going on 00:29:53.259 --> 00:29:54.199 in our lives, 00:29:54.359 --> 00:29:55.159 changing us 00:29:55.159 --> 00:29:56.639 and transforming us. 00:29:57.439 --> 00:29:58.399 So, two things. 00:29:58.500 --> 00:29:58.740 First, 00:29:58.899 --> 00:30:00.579 be who you are. 00:30:00.939 --> 00:30:01.779 Chapter 3, 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:03.139 verse 9. 00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:08.159 Do not lie to each other, 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:10.460 since you have taken off 00:30:10.460 --> 00:30:11.859 your old self 00:30:11.859 --> 00:30:12.960 with its practices, 00:30:14.099 --> 00:30:15.199 and have put on 00:30:15.199 --> 00:30:16.859 the new self. 00:30:17.779 --> 00:30:18.159 You see, 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:19.179 if we are united 00:30:19.179 --> 00:30:20.439 to Christ in faith, 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:21.500 he's saying, 00:30:21.919 --> 00:30:22.099 well, 00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:23.639 now start living out 00:30:23.639 --> 00:30:24.439 your new self. 00:30:25.460 --> 00:30:26.579 Start living out 00:30:26.579 --> 00:30:27.679 the new identity 00:30:27.679 --> 00:30:29.000 that you have been given. 00:30:29.439 --> 00:30:30.559 It's no longer about 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:32.039 living in the I world 00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:33.339 where everything revolves 00:30:33.339 --> 00:30:33.919 around me, 00:30:34.119 --> 00:30:35.939 I decide what I want to do 00:30:35.939 --> 00:30:36.819 and who I am. 00:30:37.659 --> 00:30:38.939 But now it's about 00:30:38.939 --> 00:30:40.259 listening to God's Word 00:30:40.259 --> 00:30:41.299 and what God says 00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:42.039 about me. 00:30:43.199 --> 00:30:44.539 And what God says 00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:45.579 is best for me. 00:30:46.379 --> 00:30:47.079 It's not about 00:30:47.079 --> 00:30:48.119 what I choose, 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:50.439 but now living 00:30:50.439 --> 00:30:52.019 as God has made me to be. 00:30:52.659 --> 00:30:53.579 We've put off 00:30:53.579 --> 00:30:55.099 the old identity. 00:30:55.659 --> 00:30:56.899 The old identity 00:30:56.899 --> 00:30:57.740 is dead. 00:30:58.399 --> 00:30:59.039 We now have 00:30:59.039 --> 00:30:59.679 a new identity 00:31:00.399 --> 00:31:01.359 in Christ. 00:31:01.740 --> 00:31:01.919 So, 00:31:02.099 --> 00:31:04.000 be who you are. 00:31:05.919 --> 00:31:07.099 Here's another quote. 00:31:08.220 --> 00:31:09.179 Lots of quotes 00:31:09.179 --> 00:31:09.720 this morning, 00:31:09.859 --> 00:31:10.779 but this is very helpful. 00:31:10.779 --> 00:31:11.519 We'll follow along 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:12.980 as we read it. 00:31:13.059 --> 00:31:14.279 It comes in two parts. 00:31:16.019 --> 00:31:17.559 This is Kevin DeYoung 00:31:17.559 --> 00:31:18.160 speaking. 00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:20.319 He says, 00:31:20.460 --> 00:31:21.960 if I had to summarize 00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:23.759 the New Testament ethics 00:31:23.759 --> 00:31:25.160 in one sentence, 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:27.000 here's how I would put it. 00:31:27.700 --> 00:31:29.879 Be who you are. 00:31:30.940 --> 00:31:32.599 That might seem strange, 00:31:32.680 --> 00:31:33.500 almost heretical, 00:31:33.700 --> 00:31:35.299 given our culture's emphasis 00:31:35.299 --> 00:31:37.039 on being true to yourself. 00:31:37.039 --> 00:31:39.359 But like so many 00:31:39.359 --> 00:31:40.579 of the worst errors 00:31:40.579 --> 00:31:41.379 in the world, 00:31:41.879 --> 00:31:43.059 this one represents 00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:43.659 a truth 00:31:43.659 --> 00:31:45.000 powerfully perverted. 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:47.399 When people say, 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:48.659 relax, 00:31:49.559 --> 00:31:51.119 you were born that way. 00:31:51.899 --> 00:31:52.279 Or, 00:31:52.839 --> 00:31:54.299 quit trying to be 00:31:54.299 --> 00:31:55.339 something you're not 00:31:55.339 --> 00:31:57.059 and just be the real you. 00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:00.339 They're actually stumbling 00:32:00.339 --> 00:32:01.180 upon something 00:32:01.180 --> 00:32:01.960 very biblical. 00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:05.880 God wants you 00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:08.279 to be the real you. 00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:10.980 He does want you 00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:12.700 to be true to yourself. 00:32:13.660 --> 00:32:14.660 But the you 00:32:14.660 --> 00:32:15.819 he's talking about 00:32:15.819 --> 00:32:16.779 is the you 00:32:16.779 --> 00:32:18.900 that you are saved 00:32:18.900 --> 00:32:19.920 by grace, 00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:22.240 not by nature. 00:32:23.220 --> 00:32:24.360 God doesn't say, 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:25.100 relax, 00:32:25.240 --> 00:32:26.519 you were born this way. 00:32:27.319 --> 00:32:28.680 But he does say, 00:32:29.180 --> 00:32:30.380 good news, 00:32:30.380 --> 00:32:32.380 you were reborn 00:32:32.380 --> 00:32:34.000 another way. 00:32:35.660 --> 00:32:36.140 So, 00:32:36.340 --> 00:32:37.580 be who you are. 00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:39.040 Start living out 00:32:39.040 --> 00:32:40.240 your new identity. 00:32:41.480 --> 00:32:41.960 So, 00:32:42.040 --> 00:32:42.940 be who you are. 00:32:43.880 --> 00:32:44.780 And second, 00:32:45.780 --> 00:32:47.300 become who you are. 00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:47.600 So, 00:32:47.720 --> 00:32:47.920 look, 00:32:48.040 --> 00:32:48.820 let's read the rest 00:32:48.820 --> 00:32:49.500 of verse 10, 00:32:49.620 --> 00:32:50.180 chapter 3, 00:32:50.260 --> 00:32:50.760 verse 10. 00:32:51.840 --> 00:32:52.360 So, 00:32:52.420 --> 00:32:53.020 we've taken off 00:32:53.020 --> 00:32:53.840 the old self, 00:32:54.320 --> 00:32:54.880 verse 10, 00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:55.540 and put on 00:32:55.540 --> 00:32:56.480 the new self, 00:32:56.900 --> 00:32:58.260 which is being 00:32:58.260 --> 00:32:58.960 renewed 00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:00.600 in the knowledge, 00:33:01.600 --> 00:33:02.539 in the image 00:33:02.539 --> 00:33:03.900 of its creator. 00:33:05.299 --> 00:33:06.480 Day by day, 00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:07.620 we are being 00:33:07.620 --> 00:33:08.120 renewed. 00:33:09.160 --> 00:33:10.160 We are becoming 00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:11.120 more and more 00:33:11.120 --> 00:33:12.340 like the image 00:33:12.340 --> 00:33:13.380 of our creator. 00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:14.779 The image 00:33:14.779 --> 00:33:15.700 has been distorted 00:33:15.700 --> 00:33:16.700 because we've chosen 00:33:16.700 --> 00:33:17.579 our own path. 00:33:18.579 --> 00:33:19.360 But now, 00:33:19.500 --> 00:33:20.160 in Christ, 00:33:20.579 --> 00:33:21.460 and because we are 00:33:21.460 --> 00:33:22.720 filled with the Holy Spirit, 00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:24.680 we are now becoming 00:33:24.680 --> 00:33:26.460 more like the image 00:33:26.460 --> 00:33:27.319 of our creator. 00:33:27.319 --> 00:33:29.079 Look again 00:33:29.079 --> 00:33:29.779 at verse 10. 00:33:31.019 --> 00:33:31.579 Renewed 00:33:31.579 --> 00:33:32.379 in 00:33:32.379 --> 00:33:33.460 knowledge. 00:33:34.339 --> 00:33:34.799 That is, 00:33:35.099 --> 00:33:36.319 we now begin 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:37.139 to think 00:33:37.139 --> 00:33:38.119 about ourselves 00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:39.460 as God 00:33:39.460 --> 00:33:39.939 would think 00:33:39.939 --> 00:33:40.720 about us. 00:33:41.179 --> 00:33:41.519 So, 00:33:41.599 --> 00:33:42.179 I'm no longer 00:33:42.179 --> 00:33:43.059 thinking 00:33:43.059 --> 00:33:44.700 or shaped 00:33:44.700 --> 00:33:45.500 by my own 00:33:45.500 --> 00:33:46.079 thoughts 00:33:46.079 --> 00:33:46.839 or my own 00:33:46.839 --> 00:33:47.339 desires 00:33:47.339 --> 00:33:48.019 or my own 00:33:48.019 --> 00:33:48.539 feelings. 00:33:49.179 --> 00:33:50.019 I'm now 00:33:50.019 --> 00:33:50.659 thinking, 00:33:51.139 --> 00:33:51.500 what does 00:33:51.500 --> 00:33:52.379 God think 00:33:52.379 --> 00:33:52.899 about me? 00:33:52.980 --> 00:33:53.559 And I'm now 00:33:53.559 --> 00:33:54.359 beginning to live 00:33:54.359 --> 00:33:54.960 that out. 00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:57.079 and this 00:33:57.079 --> 00:33:57.759 can only 00:33:57.759 --> 00:33:58.340 happen 00:33:58.340 --> 00:33:59.340 as we are 00:33:59.340 --> 00:33:59.840 filled 00:33:59.840 --> 00:34:00.559 with the Holy 00:34:00.559 --> 00:34:01.019 Spirit. 00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:03.500 Okay, 00:34:03.579 --> 00:34:04.200 the Holy Spirit 00:34:04.200 --> 00:34:05.000 isn't mentioned 00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:05.279 here, 00:34:05.380 --> 00:34:06.319 but it's implied 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:07.279 that where Christ 00:34:07.279 --> 00:34:07.539 is, 00:34:07.600 --> 00:34:08.119 the Spirit 00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:08.480 is. 00:34:08.800 --> 00:34:09.519 It's the Spirit 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:10.400 who enables us 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:11.380 to be who we are 00:34:11.380 --> 00:34:12.460 and it's the Spirit 00:34:12.460 --> 00:34:13.519 who equips us 00:34:13.519 --> 00:34:14.280 to become 00:34:14.280 --> 00:34:15.340 who we are. 00:34:18.019 --> 00:34:18.500 So, 00:34:18.579 --> 00:34:19.139 who am I? 00:34:19.139 --> 00:34:21.779 Well, 00:34:22.079 --> 00:34:22.679 I am 00:34:22.679 --> 00:34:23.259 wonderfully 00:34:23.259 --> 00:34:23.960 created 00:34:23.960 --> 00:34:25.279 in the 00:34:25.279 --> 00:34:25.900 image of 00:34:25.900 --> 00:34:26.279 God. 00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:28.299 There's a 00:34:28.299 --> 00:34:28.639 wonderful 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:29.299 order 00:34:29.299 --> 00:34:30.299 and design 00:34:30.299 --> 00:34:30.960 to God's 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:31.420 creation 00:34:31.420 --> 00:34:32.000 and who we 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:32.299 are. 00:34:33.239 --> 00:34:33.659 There is 00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:34.239 difference. 00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:35.739 It is 00:34:35.739 --> 00:34:36.940 fixed, 00:34:37.179 --> 00:34:37.779 not fluid. 00:34:38.339 --> 00:34:39.079 They're not 00:34:39.079 --> 00:34:40.179 interchangeable. 00:34:40.299 --> 00:34:40.559 We are 00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:41.199 male or 00:34:41.199 --> 00:34:41.579 female. 00:34:43.319 --> 00:34:43.940 But we've 00:34:43.940 --> 00:34:44.299 been given 00:34:44.299 --> 00:34:44.859 a new 00:34:44.859 --> 00:34:45.579 identity 00:34:45.579 --> 00:34:47.019 that we 00:34:47.019 --> 00:34:47.420 are now 00:34:47.420 --> 00:34:48.299 in Christ, 00:34:48.300 --> 00:34:49.039 united to 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:49.400 him by 00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:49.800 faith, 00:34:50.120 --> 00:34:50.760 so that 00:34:50.760 --> 00:34:51.220 we are 00:34:51.220 --> 00:34:52.080 now hidden 00:34:52.080 --> 00:34:53.000 with Christ. 00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:54.640 His life 00:34:54.640 --> 00:34:55.019 is now 00:34:55.019 --> 00:34:55.720 my life. 00:34:57.400 --> 00:34:58.140 And we 00:34:58.140 --> 00:34:58.740 are filled 00:34:58.740 --> 00:34:59.240 with his 00:34:59.240 --> 00:35:00.039 Holy Spirit 00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:01.700 so that 00:35:01.700 --> 00:35:02.120 we can 00:35:02.120 --> 00:35:02.740 be and 00:35:02.740 --> 00:35:03.560 start living 00:35:03.560 --> 00:35:04.539 as God 00:35:04.539 --> 00:35:05.160 has made 00:35:05.160 --> 00:35:05.700 us to be 00:35:05.700 --> 00:35:06.400 and called 00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:07.039 us to be. 00:35:08.200 --> 00:35:08.800 Until 00:35:08.800 --> 00:35:09.420 that day 00:35:09.420 --> 00:35:10.420 we will 00:35:10.420 --> 00:35:11.060 see him 00:35:11.060 --> 00:35:12.340 and we 00:35:12.340 --> 00:35:12.740 will be 00:35:12.740 --> 00:35:13.519 like him. 00:35:15.500 --> 00:35:16.100 So, 00:35:16.220 --> 00:35:16.500 know 00:35:16.500 --> 00:35:17.640 who you 00:35:17.640 --> 00:35:18.100 are. 00:35:18.300 --> 00:35:18.840 created 00:35:18.840 --> 00:35:19.539 by God, 00:35:20.360 --> 00:35:21.039 united to 00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:21.460 Christ 00:35:21.460 --> 00:35:22.840 and filled 00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:23.720 with the 00:35:23.720 --> 00:35:24.039 Spirit. 00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:25.600 Let's 00:35:25.600 --> 00:35:26.580 pray together. 00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:30.740 As we 00:35:30.740 --> 00:35:31.140 pray, 00:35:31.900 --> 00:35:32.580 I'm just 00:35:32.580 --> 00:35:32.980 going to 00:35:32.980 --> 00:35:33.560 read out 00:35:33.560 --> 00:35:35.360 some verses 00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:36.039 that 00:35:36.039 --> 00:35:37.960 remind us 00:35:37.960 --> 00:35:38.980 about who 00:35:38.980 --> 00:35:39.720 we are 00:35:39.720 --> 00:35:40.700 in 00:35:40.700 --> 00:35:41.640 Christ. 00:35:41.639 --> 00:35:41.779 Christ. 00:35:43.699 --> 00:35:44.259 So, 00:35:44.299 --> 00:35:44.579 if we 00:35:44.579 --> 00:35:45.339 are in 00:35:45.339 --> 00:35:45.819 Christ, 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:47.460 let's 00:35:47.460 --> 00:35:47.759 start 00:35:47.759 --> 00:35:48.259 thinking 00:35:48.259 --> 00:35:48.859 and living 00:35:48.859 --> 00:35:49.579 and behaving 00:35:49.579 --> 00:35:50.139 as the 00:35:50.139 --> 00:35:50.719 people God 00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:51.159 has called 00:35:51.159 --> 00:35:51.460 us to 00:35:51.460 --> 00:35:51.599 be. 00:35:51.599 --> 00:35:51.879 So, 00:35:51.879 --> 00:35:52.559 as we 00:35:52.559 --> 00:35:52.960 pray, 00:35:53.960 --> 00:35:55.299 just 00:35:55.299 --> 00:35:55.980 listen and 00:35:55.980 --> 00:35:57.259 reflect on 00:35:57.259 --> 00:35:57.699 some of 00:35:57.699 --> 00:35:58.079 these 00:35:58.079 --> 00:35:59.199 verses. 00:35:59.199 --> 00:35:59.419 us. 00:36:05.939 --> 00:36:06.379 Father, 00:36:06.460 --> 00:36:06.819 as we 00:36:06.819 --> 00:36:07.539 pray now, 00:36:08.339 --> 00:36:09.819 would you 00:36:09.819 --> 00:36:10.639 please do a 00:36:10.639 --> 00:36:11.439 work deep 00:36:11.439 --> 00:36:11.960 down in 00:36:11.960 --> 00:36:12.659 our lives 00:36:12.659 --> 00:36:15.679 so that we 00:36:15.679 --> 00:36:16.319 begin to 00:36:16.319 --> 00:36:16.819 live out 00:36:16.819 --> 00:36:17.699 our new 00:36:17.699 --> 00:36:18.539 identity, 00:36:18.539 --> 00:36:22.360 not living 00:36:22.360 --> 00:36:23.279 as I 00:36:23.279 --> 00:36:23.759 want 00:36:23.759 --> 00:36:25.860 or how 00:36:25.860 --> 00:36:26.579 I feel, 00:36:28.380 --> 00:36:29.320 but 00:36:29.320 --> 00:36:29.719 listening 00:36:29.719 --> 00:36:30.519 carefully to 00:36:30.519 --> 00:36:31.099 your word 00:36:31.099 --> 00:36:31.880 and trusting 00:36:31.880 --> 00:36:32.539 that it is 00:36:32.539 --> 00:36:33.279 right and 00:36:33.279 --> 00:36:33.800 best, 00:36:35.500 --> 00:36:36.259 asking that 00:36:36.259 --> 00:36:36.579 you would 00:36:36.579 --> 00:36:37.159 fill us 00:36:37.159 --> 00:36:37.539 with your 00:36:37.539 --> 00:36:38.360 Holy Spirit 00:36:38.360 --> 00:36:41.019 so that 00:36:41.019 --> 00:36:41.519 we start 00:36:41.519 --> 00:36:43.360 living as 00:36:43.360 --> 00:36:43.739 your new 00:36:43.739 --> 00:36:44.159 people. 00:36:46.860 --> 00:36:47.579 If 00:36:47.579 --> 00:36:48.320 anyone is 00:36:48.320 --> 00:36:49.539 in Christ 00:36:49.539 --> 00:36:51.460 the new 00:36:51.460 --> 00:36:52.280 creation has 00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:52.620 come. 00:36:54.900 --> 00:36:55.380 In 00:36:55.380 --> 00:36:56.240 Christ 00:36:56.240 --> 00:36:58.320 God 00:36:58.320 --> 00:36:58.840 forgave 00:36:58.840 --> 00:36:59.100 you. 00:37:01.019 --> 00:37:01.980 There is 00:37:01.980 --> 00:37:02.820 now no 00:37:02.820 --> 00:37:03.920 condemnation 00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:04.640 for those 00:37:04.640 --> 00:37:05.120 who are 00:37:05.120 --> 00:37:05.800 in 00:37:05.800 --> 00:37:06.880 Christ. 00:37:09.140 --> 00:37:10.160 We 00:37:10.160 --> 00:37:10.860 have 00:37:10.860 --> 00:37:11.460 every 00:37:11.460 --> 00:37:12.160 spiritual 00:37:12.160 --> 00:37:12.720 blessing 00:37:12.720 --> 00:37:13.780 in 00:37:13.780 --> 00:37:14.600 Christ. 00:37:14.599 --> 00:37:18.059 God 00:37:18.059 --> 00:37:18.460 will 00:37:18.460 --> 00:37:18.940 meet 00:37:18.940 --> 00:37:19.559 all 00:37:19.559 --> 00:37:19.860 your 00:37:19.860 --> 00:37:20.500 needs 00:37:20.500 --> 00:37:22.039 according 00:37:22.039 --> 00:37:22.539 to the 00:37:22.539 --> 00:37:22.860 riches 00:37:22.860 --> 00:37:23.319 of his 00:37:23.319 --> 00:37:23.839 glory 00:37:23.839 --> 00:37:24.779 in 00:37:24.779 --> 00:37:25.739 Christ. 00:37:28.139 --> 00:37:28.900 In 00:37:28.900 --> 00:37:29.559 Christ 00:37:29.559 --> 00:37:30.559 you have 00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:31.319 been brought 00:37:31.319 --> 00:37:31.659 to 00:37:31.659 --> 00:37:32.119 fullness. 00:37:32.119 --> 00:37:32.400 us. 00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:36.519 We are 00:37:36.519 --> 00:37:37.279 seated with 00:37:37.279 --> 00:37:37.639 him in 00:37:37.639 --> 00:37:38.139 the heavenly 00:37:38.139 --> 00:37:38.719 realms 00:37:38.719 --> 00:37:39.619 in 00:37:39.619 --> 00:37:40.559 Christ. 00:37:43.559 --> 00:37:44.599 God 00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:45.339 has called 00:37:45.339 --> 00:37:46.799 you to 00:37:46.799 --> 00:37:47.219 his 00:37:47.219 --> 00:37:47.880 eternal 00:37:47.880 --> 00:37:48.500 glory 00:37:48.500 --> 00:37:49.679 in 00:37:49.679 --> 00:37:50.719 Christ. 00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:54.819 Father we 00:37:54.819 --> 00:37:55.739 so quickly 00:37:55.739 --> 00:37:57.639 forget our 00:37:57.639 --> 00:37:58.119 true 00:37:58.119 --> 00:37:58.739 identity 00:37:58.739 --> 00:38:01.639 and we 00:38:01.639 --> 00:38:02.519 live according 00:38:02.519 --> 00:38:02.959 to a 00:38:02.959 --> 00:38:03.259 different 00:38:03.259 --> 00:38:04.000 pattern and 00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:04.439 a different 00:38:04.439 --> 00:38:04.799 way. 00:38:06.939 --> 00:38:07.819 Help us 00:38:07.819 --> 00:38:09.179 to look 00:38:09.179 --> 00:38:10.019 afresh 00:38:10.019 --> 00:38:12.059 and see 00:38:12.059 --> 00:38:12.719 afresh 00:38:12.719 --> 00:38:15.879 that in 00:38:15.879 --> 00:38:16.679 Christ we 00:38:16.679 --> 00:38:17.099 have been 00:38:17.099 --> 00:38:18.000 brought to 00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:18.380 fullness. 00:38:19.940 --> 00:38:20.639 Thank you 00:38:20.639 --> 00:38:20.980 that we 00:38:20.980 --> 00:38:21.619 find all 00:38:21.619 --> 00:38:21.920 that we 00:38:21.920 --> 00:38:23.559 need and 00:38:23.559 --> 00:38:24.000 could ever 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:24.900 be and 00:38:24.900 --> 00:38:25.340 want to 00:38:25.340 --> 00:38:26.719 be in 00:38:26.719 --> 00:38:27.199 Christ. 00:38:28.760 --> 00:38:29.340 Amen.