Who do you say that I am ? pt 3

Jun 7, 2022 // By:Dave // No Comment

(who do you show that I AM?)

Last week, I challenged us all to be aware of how we answered this question.

Who remembers what we were supposed to be mindful of ?

does our understanding match scripture ?

does our words (verbal proclamation) match our understanding ?

does our actions (non-verbal proclamation) match our words ?

I do not mean to imply there is a chain of events (understanding, verbal, non-verbal)

what I do mean to point out is that the disconnect between what we know we should believe (our understanding) and our actions

is usually not detectable 

this is because we can usually speak the correct thing while still not truly believing it

thus by comparing our textbook accurate verbal response to our heart motivated non-verbal response

we can now see a difference between the two

Paul wrote in

1Cor. 4:20 For the kingdom of God does anot consist in 1words but in power.

(he was referring to people whose lives did not reflect the spiritual authority or power they claimed they had in contradicting Paul’s teaching and authority)

what we claim to be true comes out in two ways at the same time (words and deeds)

when our words do not match our actions, it usually means:

  1. our mind (logic data base) knows the truth’
  2. our heart has not surrendered the area that this “truth is meant to occupy”
    (there is a stronghold of falsehood still in that area being held as more important than God’s priority)

2 Cor 10:3-5

2Cor. 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,

2Cor. 10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

2Cor. 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

We often live with an expanse of beliefs and convictions that we seldom live out each day

and it is easy to say the right or correct thing without truly holding it as TRUTH (truth that changes us from the inside out)

We are not intended to live by logic alone, we are meant to live “whole hearted”

This is the mended heart portion of Jesus’ announcement of His ministry to us in Isaiah 61

Is. 61:1 ¶ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, 

Because the LORD has anointed me 

To bring good news to the afflicted; 

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 

To proclaim liberty to captives 

And freedom to prisoners;

Is. 61:2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD 

Truth that does not change is not being held as truth (only factual information)

Who do you say that I AM?” is a question that requires more than words

Part of our answer usually includes what He did for us on the cross

(Or what the cross did for us)

Completely overlooking what He did to us (we begin to recite factual information, WORDS)

He changed us

(He has made us something different than we were before)

what did He do (Paul offers a summary in the middle of the heavenly blessings context at the beginning of his epistle to the Ephesians)

Eph. 2:1 ¶ And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

Eph. 2:2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Eph. 2:3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Eph. 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

Eph. 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Eph. 2:6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Eph. 2:7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Eph. 2:9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Eph. 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Eph. 2:11 ¶ Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands —

Eph. 2:12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Eph. 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Eph. 2:14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,

Eph. 2:15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,

Eph. 2:16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

Eph. 2:17 AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR;

Eph. 2:18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

Eph. 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,

Eph. 2:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,

Eph. 2:21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,

Eph. 2:22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

This is Paul’s expanded edition of “Who Do You Say That I AM?” 

and his life proved he believed it

Which is why we read him writing to the Philippians 

3:17 ¶ Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.
(
the “us” referring to Timothy and Epaphroditus in Phil 2:19-30)

Phil 4:9

As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

These men answered the question “who do you say that I AM?” with their lives, not merely words

part of our answer is not just identifying Him in historical context, but also understanding WHAT He did for us and TO US.

the better we understand this the better we can proclaim our answer “WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?”

(and not be thrown off course by distractions and/or obstacles)

let me share a story I heard (one of those inspiring ones that makes you want to go out and do it)

A violinist played for 45 minutes in a New York subway.  A handful of people stopped, a couple clapped, and the violinist managed to raise about $30 in tips. 

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. In that subway, Joshua played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before he played in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston and the seats averaged about $100. 

The experiment proved that the extraordinary in an ordinary environment does not shine and is so often overlooked and undervalued. 

There are brilliantly talented people everywhere who aren’t receiving the recognition and reward they deserve. But once they arm themselves with value and confidence and remove themselves from an environment that isn’t serving them, they thrive and grow.  

Your gut is telling you something. Listen to it if it’s telling you that where you are isn’t enough!  

Go where you are appreciated and valued. 

Know👏 Your👏 Worth👏

If Jesus uses this line of thinking, He would have stayed I. Heaven and not allowed himself to be abused and killed for our sins 

All this post is about is changing your audience to feel more worthy or appreciated 

  • The violinist had the same skill in both places and was the same person In both places 
  • And maybe, just maybe, while the tickets sold for 100 dollars , they paid to hear him play what they wanted to hear 
  • Those tickets don’t show their value for his value , only their value for their own pleasure !
  • Our value does not change when the audience changes it response to us 
  • A pastor who leaves a small church to preach at a big one does not suddenly become worth more nor does it make him a better preacher 

lets see where this train of logic takes us:

So only those who can show appreciation or return kindness should be allowed to “define our worth or even get our attention”??!!

That would leave the least of these out in the cold , never receiving anything from us since they cannot return the gesture 

This post is dangerously selfish 

if a christian is, by name, meant to be like Christ, then shouldn’t we be understanding our worth the same we He did (does)

Matt. 20:28 just as athe Son of Man bdid not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His 1life a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man adid not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His 1life a ransom for many.”

John 15:13 “aGreater love has no one than this, that one blay down his life for his friends.

our worth is not established by being servants but it is revealed by our servanthood

John 13:35 “aBy this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

James 2:18 ¶ aBut someone 1may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your bfaith without the works, and I will cshow you my faith dby my works.”

James 2:20 But are you willing to recognize, ayou foolish fellow, that bfaith without works is useless?

1John 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

our worth (our awareness of being appreciated) is founded in how our Father sees us and loves us

1John 3:1 ¶ See 1ahow great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called bchildren of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because cit did not know Him.

this verse reminds us that the unsaved around us are incapable of even perceiving our true identity which is based upon our relationship with our heavenly Father

(if we let the people around us determine our worth by the appreciation they show, we will certainly fall into a pit of false identity)

our lives then are controlled by others and not God because we have placed their approval above that of our Father God.

just as our works justify (validate) our faith to be true

our love, agope love (serving love) validates our understanding of our true identity

(because it shows a proper understanding of our value from the Father)

parable of the master who forgave another who could not forgive a lesser debt owed to him.

The more we understand how our Father sees us and loves us, the less we need approval of those around us for security

our lives begin to reveal our confidence is truly in Him.

Message Version

1John 3:13 So don’t be surprised, friends, when the world hates you. This has been going on a long time.

1John 3:14 ¶ The way we know we’ve been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn’t love is as good as dead.

1John 3:15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don’t go together.

1John 3:16 ¶ This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves.

1John 3:17 If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

1John 3:18 ¶ My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love.

1John 3:19 This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality.

1John 3:20 It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

1John 3:21 ¶ And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God!

1John 3:22 We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him.

1John 3:23 Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command.

1John 3:24 As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.

1John 4:1 ¶ My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.

1John 4:2 ¶ Here’s how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God.

1John 4:3 And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought!

1John 4:4 ¶ My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world.

1John 4:5 These people belong to the Christ-denying world. They talk the world’s language and the world eats it up.

1John 4:6 But we come from God and belong to God. Anyone who knows God understands us and listens. The person who has nothing to do with God will, of course, not listen to us. This is another test for telling the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.

1John 4:7 ¶ My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God.

1John 4:8 The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love.

1John 4:9 This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him.

1John 4:10 This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.

1John 4:11 ¶ My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other.

1John 4:12 No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!

1John 4:13 ¶ This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit.

1John 4:14 Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world.

1John 4:15 Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God.

1John 4:16 We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.

 

¶ God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us.

1John 4:17 This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s.

1John 4:18 There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

1John 4:19 ¶ We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

1John 4:20 ¶ If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see?

1John 4:21 The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

our new nature wants to love like this (it is designed to love like this)

Eph. 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

Eph. 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Eph. 2:6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Eph. 2:7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Eph. 2:9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Eph. 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

loving others shows others that I love GOD (and understand that HE loves me and loved me first)

What does 1 Pet 3:15 mean ? (what does it look like in use ?)

This is how 1 Pet 3:15 is meant to work

we typically apply this verse in the cultural context of apologetics and theological debate

but the scripture context shows that it is couched in the fact that ones life is one of living christlike despite cultural pressure, opposition, and persecution

1Pet. 3:13 ¶ aWho is 1there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?

1Pet. 3:14 But even if you should asuffer for the sake of righteousness, byou 1are blessed. cAND DO NOT FEAR THEIR 2INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED,

1Pet. 3:15 but 1sanctify aChrist as Lord in your hearts, always being ready bto make a 2defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the ahope that is in you, yet cwith gentleness and 3dreverence;

1Pet. 3:16 1and keep a agood conscience so that in the thing in which byou are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

1Pet. 3:17 For ait is better, bif 1God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

do not fear their intimidation and do not be troubled, but as you keep Christ as Lord in your heart, be ready to give an account for the very hope that is in you … keeping a good conscience in the very thing they slander you , the good behavior they revile you for (for it is better to be persecuted for doing right than for doing wrong)

loving one another will be misunderstood and attacked by the world, even others around us (our personal part of the world)

standing our ground and continuing to love (the good works referred to in Eph 2) is how we are expected to live

just as forgiving others is the expected response to understanding how much we have been forgiven for by God

loving others is the expected response to understanding how much we have been loved by God

our life of loving others, serving others, forgiving others, shows our calling:

Eph. 4:1 ¶ Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

Eph. 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,

Eph. 4:3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

it shows that I am different than the world and capable and desiring to do something that the world does not understand

It shows that I AM alive to a way of living that others are not

It reveals that I have an identity that is not dependent upon those around me

showing the world who I am (in Him) declares who He is

You want people to understand how God loves you ?  love them.

You want people to understand how God forgives you ?  forgive them

You want people to understand how God served you  ?  then serve them

love them as He did and does

forgive them as He does

serve them as He would

answer “WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?” with Godfidence.

(there is only one way to show Christ, being His hands and feet)

only by living in our new alive nature can this happen

We are meant to proclaim who HE is, by revealing who He has made us to become 

 

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