Who are you? Most of us answer the question by talking about what we do, where we are from, or who we know. If you are in Christ, these things are irrelevant compared to what God says about you.

Series: Resetting You Compass
Title: Who You Are
Friday, February 3, 2012

SONG: Knowing You Jesus – Graham Kendrick
If you’re trying to reset your compass, you need to know who you are. That’s what we’re calling this HT heading into a Super Bowl weekend. Men and women measure themselves by their profession or the job they hold. For stay-at-home moms, they define themselves more in light of their families. Guys get together for the first time and in short order, the question comes up, “what do you do,” and this is the defining moment in who you are. You may not like to be called a truck driver. You may say to a person you’ve just met that you are in the transportation business. The Bible uses many terms to describe who we are as Christians. If you’re a child of God you're a child of the light; you're a believer, a brother or sister, a sheep, a saint, a soldier, a witness, a steward, a fellow citizen, a light in the world, an elect of God, an ambassador, a minister, a servant, a disciple, an heir, a branch, a member of the body, and we could just keep going couldn’t we; a living stone, a temple of the Holy Spirit, a follower, beloved, an overcomer, a conqueror, all of these terms describe you if you are in Christ. They are all your identity in Christ and I can even use more terms, but we don't have enough time. In the very first chapter of 2 Timothy, Paul wrote about an identity first his own and then Timothy's identity. He started his letter with these words, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy my dear son.” Paul said he was an apostle of Jesus Christ. Maybe that seems rather presumptuous of him, after all, he wasn't there when Jesus chose the twelve. On the road to Damascus here's what Jesus said to Paul in Acts 26:16, “I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I am sending you to the Gentiles”. The word “sending” is the word “apostle” in Greek. Jesus said I am apostle-ing you to the Gentiles. Paul took that call seriously and he let it defining him for the rest of his life. Christ's call made him bold. Christ's definition of who he would be lifted Paul and gave him stature. When Paul got flack from other people he remembered that he was an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. Not because anyone had chosen him, not a human being; what a powerful source of strength. I’ve got to tell you; you don’t just have to listen to me talk about Paul. If you are in Christ, you have a strong identity. You can let God's own words to you in scripture define who you are and then live that identity out in your life. You don’t have to accept the lies of Satan that you're a nobody and that God couldn't really value or use you. You are a child of God and an heir of his kingdom. You are a soldier for Christ, a light in the world, a witness. Jesus has called you to a life of significance; you can believe that and you can live it. Now back to Paul; remember what I read from the Scriptures? Paul identified Timothy as my dear son. Timothy wasn't his actual birth biological son but when Christ brought Timothy to salvation through Paul's message, that gave them a special relationship and that relationship became part of Timothy's identity. Paul went on to say, “I thank God as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.” Why did Paul thank God? Because he recognize that God had made Timothy who he was. Timothy's identity had been carefully shaped by the Lord and that's true for you too. You are not an accident. You are not a product of your family’s dysfunction. You are the result of the planning of a Mighty God. David said well in Psalm 139, “For God created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb….All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” The Lord has carefully constructed your own genetic makeup. He planned all the forces during your life here on earth that would impact you and make you who you are. We talk about the need to find ourselves today, well Paul found himself when he found Jesus. That is true for you and me too; as we become more intimately connected to the one who made us, our identity will become clearer and we will discover that it is very good:


This is a Haven Today program called, Who You Are and I’m Charles Morris We are looking at the life of Timothy. I want you to look at his life and then in terms of how that relates to your life too. In the first chapter of 2 Timothy, Paul wrote about the four major influences that shaped Timothy's identity. Now think about how this can apply to you too today. First he reminded him that he had had a Christian upbringing. Not everybody listening to the program is a Christian or had a Christian upbringing but many did. Paul wrote that Timothy's sincere faith first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and I am persuaded now lives in you also. We can’t ever forget can we on how much the influence of a family who is in Christ and members of that family can influence the next generations. Even though Timothy didn't have a Christian father he had a great advantage by having a godly mother and grandmother. Timothy 3:15 says that from infancy he had been instructed in the scripture. Now that's a heritage. Let this encourage you especially if you're a single parent listening today. The faith you live out and the scripture you teach your children will bear fruit later in their lives. Believe it and pray it every day. To build people of faith God often uses parents. The second major influence that shaped Timothy was spiritual friendship and this is something that all of us can identify with. Timothy had a wonderful friend in Paul. Paul had nurtured him in Christ. He had taken them on trips and he prayed for him regularly, in fact, he said night and day. At this point they were separated; Paul was in prison in Rome and Timothy was back in Ephesus. Paul said he longed to see him. Meanwhile he wrote to him and encouraged him in the Lord. This was a friendship that was a powerful part of Timothy's identity. We all need that and we all can identify with that and your friendships are going to shape you too. Do you have anyone that prays for you and motivates you to live for the Lord? Or is there someone that you should be praying for and motivating to live for the Lord. The third major influence that shaped Timothy was his particular spiritual gift which gave him a role to play in God's kingdom. The New Testament teaches that's the Holy Spirit gives each of God's children gifts for ministry in the church. Your gifts are part of who you are. Paul encourage Timothy, he said, “Timothy, fan into flame the gift of God which is in you.” God has put his gift in you no matter who you are. That's a gift that we all get in Jesus Christ; he has gifted you too for ministry. As you act on those gifts you'll be ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit and with effectiveness in that ministry. In Christ your identity isn't just as a receiver but also as a giver. There's one more factor in Timothy's identity that we can think about as well; he had to make his own contribution of personal discipline. God had given him gifts but Timothy had the fan them into flame's. Don't forget that; four things we can identify in the life of Timothy and see in our own lives as well:

Who You Are. If we are in Jesus Christ we need to know who we are and the Scriptures tell us. We are looking at the life of Timothy; the young man whom Paul had loved and discipled. He was a product of the grace of God and that's what we all are if we are in Christ Jesus. God had given him a Christian mother and grandmother and then a godly friend in Paul and gifts from the Holy Spirit that allowed him to effectively minister in the church. Then there was the personal discipline; he had to make his own contribution of personal discipline. Do you know how you do that? God had given him gifts but Timothy had to fan them into flames. The reality is of course, I can never fan my own personal Christian walk into flames. It is God's power. It is God's Spirit living in me and I need to seek that power today and every day for the rest of my life. Your identity is determined by these same factors as Timothy's identity. God's will, yes and a little of your family's upbringing especially if your family raised you in the Lord. Your friendships are very powerful and certainly the spiritual gifts you've been given and then there's your own self discipline which comes by God working in you. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul talked about God's will. Don't forget this; God's grace had made Paul what he was and God's grace makes you what you are today. Your identity is in Christ. In all his meekness and majesty. Don't settle for anything less than his glorious living in you.

SONG – Meekness & Majesty – Graham Kendrick



CLOSE – To You Be The Glory – Matt Maher & Kari Jobe