INTRO...“FOR THE ONE”

I want this to be more than a title of a sermon series here at Creekside, my prayer is that in the days and years to come this three word statement becomes the anthem of creekside church!

-- TWO WEEKS AGO:
We looked at OUR CALL…which was found in the Great Commandment given to us by Jesus…we are to love God (vertical) and we are to love others (horizontal)

-- LAST WEEK:
We took a look at our mission statement which explains what we are about at Creekside Church. We started with the ‘first brick’…OUR POWER…which is THE GOSPEL. We state it this way in our mission statement…

“Creekside Church will PROCLAIM CHRIST crucified, buried and risen…”

When we are “Proclaiming Christ” we are demonstrating and declaring the GOSPEL…and we identified 3 ways the GOSPEL is applied to our lives:

- JUSTIFICATION (saved from penalty of sin)
- SANCTIFICATION (being saved from the power of sin) and
- GLORIFICATION (will be saved from the presence of sin)

We can only do this through the power of the Holy Spirit…he was sent by Jesus to reveal to us the love and forgiveness of Jesus, convicting us and drawing us to God helping us understand the GOSPEL…as we repent and receive forgiveness and become a part of God’s family, the Holy Spirit changes us, grows us, guides us, fills us and then helps us to share the GOSPEL with our neighbors…

-- THIS WEEK:
I want us to spend some time talking about OUR IDENTITY. The moment we were saved, forgiven, justified, we were given a NEW identity…so lets look at WHO WE WERE, and then take a look at WHO WE ARE NOW in Jesus…

WHO WE WERE…
[our old identity, spiritually…dead, blind, darkened mind, hard heart]

[1] SPIRITUALLY DEAD…
[EPH 2:1-3] “1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
[ROM 5:12] “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned
[ROM 6:23a] “For the wages of sin is death…”
[COL 2:13a] “And you, who were dead in your trespasses…”

[2] SPIRITUALLY BLIND…
[2 COR 4:4] “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…”

[3] SPIRITUALLY DARKENED MIND…
[1 COR 2:14] “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned…”
[COL 1:21a] “And you, who once were alienated and hostile (enemies) in mind, doing evil deeds…”
[ROM 8:6-8] “6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God…”

[4] HARD HEART…
[EPH 4:18] “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.”

>> THIS IS A BAD PLACE TO BE…BUT BY THE GRACE OF JESUS WE DON’T HAVE TO REMAIN THERE
>> The power of the Gospel!
[ROM 6:23] “For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord!”

WHO GOD DECLARES US TO BE…

[ABRAHAM/SARAH]
When God declares something to be true…it is true. We see this played out with the story of Abraham and Sarah. God changed their names, proclaiming a new identity for them.

[Genesis 17:1-8, 15-16]
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram,("High" or "Exalted Father") but your name shall be Abraham("Father of a Multitude"), for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” // “…15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, ("My Princess" [perhaps a reference to her noble descent]) but Sarah ("Royal Princess" [from whom kings would come; cf. v. 16]) shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

* Abraham’s name emphasized the innumerable number of his offspring, and Sarah's name evidently stressed the royal nature of their family line…namely Jesus

-- Even though none of theses things had actually happened, God declared it to be true ‘now’…and in the same way, even though as disciples we are still ‘being made into the image of Christ’ we have been given a new identity that is still true

OUR NEW IDENTITY…
[our new identity, spiritually alive]

-- Just as God declared a new identity for Abraham and Sarah, he also has done that to us! Look what the rest of Eph 2 declares…

[EPH 2:4-10]
“4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable
riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

[EPH 2:11-22]
“11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

-- We also see Jesus establish our new identity when he gave his last instructions to his disciples after he rose from the dead and was about to ascend into Heaven…this is the other part of GC2…the Great Commission…

[MATTHEW 28:16-20]
“16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

-- NEXT WEEK we will spend some time talking about OUR PURPOSE…which is to MAKE DISCIPLES…but this week I think it is important that we understand what OUR NEW IDENTITY is as a disciple. As we live in that new identity we will be able to actually go and make disciples!

-- Jesus said that our baptism establishes our new identity… being baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

-- Baptism doesn’t save us, it is an outward proclamation of the finished work of Jesus (death, burial, resurrection) and what has happened to us as we repent and believe, justified, saved, forgiven…our baptism is an important proclamation of what Jesus has done to give us our new identity.

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER…
--- LOVED AS FAMILY

-- Using the 4 questions: Who is God? What did he do? Who am I? What do I do?...We can see how Jesus was establishing our new identity

Q:“Who is God?”
A: He is FATHER

Q: “What did the FATHER do?”
A: He loved us and adopted us into his FAMILY

Q: “Who am I?”
A: I am FAMILY … God has done the work to save me, redeem me, forgive me and has moved me out of the realm of darkness into his kingdom of light, I am no longer an enemy of God, I am his beloved child…I am not part of his family with all of the rights as an heir, seated with Jesus…

Q: “What do I do?”
A: I LOVE OTHERS AS FAMILY, BECAUSE GOD LOVED ME LIKE THAT

-- Our new identity as a FAMILY MEMBER motivates us to love others the way the Father has loved us…this is who you are and this is what you do!

IN THE NAME OF THE SON…
--- A SERVANT

Q: “Who is God?”
A: He is the SON (JESUS)

Q: “What did JESUS do?”
A: He is the SERVANT KING who left his throne in heaven, became a servant to serve the “least of these”, namely you and me who desperately needed a savior, one who would love us and die in our place to satisfy the wrath of God and allow us access to the Father. He humbly served us out of his mercy and love.

Q: “Who am I?”
A: I am A SERVANT … acknowledging the KING of my life is JESUS…he is the boss, he is the one I bow down to.

Q: “What do I do?”
A: I DEMONSTRATE THE GOSPEL BY SERVING JESUS SACRIFICIALLY (VERTICAL) AND BY SERVING OTHERS SACRIFICIALLY (HORIZONTAL)
-- Jesus modeled being a servant when he washed the disciples feet

[JOHN 13:12-17]
“12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

-- He washed even Judas’ feet…that is servant love. His ultimate act was his obedience to death for our sins…that was his humble servant heart to obey his Father.
-- As Jesus modeled for us what it meant to be a sacrificial servant and calls us to do as he has done to us, we live out that part of our identity when we serve and obey him and when we serve others as sacrificial, humble servants.

-- Our new identity as a SERVANT motivates us to love others the way the JESUS has loved us…We DEMONSTRATE the gospel by sacrificially serving others...this is who you are and this is what you do!

IN THE NAME OF THE HOLY SPIRIT…
-- SENT MISSIONARY

Q: “Who is God?”
A: He is the HOLY SPIRIT

Q: “What did the HOLY SPIRIT do?”
A: He empowered Jesus on his mission and has been sent to empower us in that role of accomplishing HIS mission

-- Jesus stated in his prayer to the Father in...

[JOHN 17:13-21]
“13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent theminto the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

-- Jesus was praying for us, that we would be full of joy, remaining in this world, accomplishing the mission of pointing people to Jesus.

Q: “Who am I?”
A: I am a SENT MISSIONARY … I am a ‘SENT ONE’… sent by Jesus… empowered by the Holy Spirit…

Q: “What do I do?”
A: I DECLARE THE GOSPEL TO OTHERS
-- Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to ‘empower’ us to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8)

-- Our new identity as a SENT MISSIONARY motivates us to DECLARE THE GOSPEL to the world…specifically “your ONE”, who you are called to demonstrate and declare the gospel to…this is who you are and what you do!

PRAYER, REFLECTION AND COMMUNION…

-- This is your NEW IDENTITY as a disciple of Jesus…

-- INDIVIDUAL…Your new identity is that you are part of God’s FAMILY, You are a sacrificial SERVANT who serves King Jesus, and you are a SENT MISSIONARY empowered by the Holy Spirit to Declare the gospel

-- CREEKSIDE CHURCH…WE ARE A FAMILY OF SERVANT MISSIONARIES!

-- “What God does to me he desires to do through me”

-- Have you ever responded to the good news Jesus has offered to us for forgiveness and reconciliation? Rom 6:23…

-- Are you walking in your new identity “FOR THE ONE”?
---- Family…loving others as family
---- Servant…demonstrating the gospel by sacrificially serving them
---- Sent Missionary…Declaring the gospel to people who are spiritually far from God

-- Have you clearly identified who “THE ONE” is that God is calling you to love as family, serve sacrificially and declare the gospel to?

-- WHAT IS JESUS SAYING TO YOU?
-- WHAT IS JESUS ASKING YOU TO DO?