May I See Some Identification?

I. Why I chose this message?

A few months ago as we studied the book of Acts and we talked a lot about baptism. At that time the Lord put it on my heart how we are a people who are searching for our identity, some validation of who we are.

Just last week I was pulled over by a sheriff for a burned out tail light, the very first thing he asked me was, May I see some identification? So that became the title of our message today. We live in a time when your identity can be stolen, when teenage girls look to tv pop stars and magazine covers to tell them who they are, at the first sign of lines and wrinkles we pay money to erase the years, women leave their marriages and even their children because they have to go and “find themselves”. While we were once a nation founded on Christianity and our country’s identity was the land of the free. Now we are a nation in a debt crisis because of greed. A mortgage crisis, because a bigger house means we are successful, not just more to clean. We are a politically correct nation who accepts all sinful lifestyles and tolerates the worship of idols and false gods via numerous religions. At one time or another, we can all raise our hands and say yes, I can identify with that. Well it seems to me we are a people suffering from an identity crisis.

II. The lives we’ve been studying.

Within the last 25 chapters in Genesis we have touched base on what kind of legacy both men and women left on the pages of Scripture. We read about Cain who murdered his brother and his great, great, great grandson Lamech followed in his footsteps; Cain left a legacy of murder. Noah, who believed God and moved with godly fear building an ark even when it had never rained, left a legacy for his obedience, patience and faith. Ham dishonored his father Noah and so his son Canaan was cursed. We know that the legacy of the Canaanites were of idolatry and wickedness. Abraham’s legacy was that he is the father of faith, his faith made him righteous. Abraham’s legacy reaches to the very lives of our own in that by faith in Jesus Christ we too are made right with God. We remember Sarah for laughing at the thought of having a son in her old age; yet bore Isaac when she was 91. Lot’s wife who looked back at Sodom and became a pillar of salt.

III. What is a legacy?

So we ask ourselves the question, who and what will history remember us by? To borrow from one of your responses in Genesis 5, Enoch left a legacy not an epitaph. A legacy is something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor; a gift handed down "Enoch lived to be 365 years old. He spent his life in fellowship with God, and then he disappeared, because God took him away. "All of the other descendants until Noah, they lived, they tried and they died. There were those who are remembered for their relationship with God and those who tried to become famous; building a tower to make a great name for them selves. We can either chose to leave a legacy that glorifies self or one that glorifies God.

For some, I may be telling you something that you already know, while others are hearing this truth for the first time and will be relieved to start living their lives fully aware that their identity is in Christ and the legacy you leave depends on how well you understand and embrace this truth.

IV. Why are we still searching?

Just on Facebook alone, there are many quizzes you can take to reveal what qualities you have, your Myers-Briggs personality type, what actress you most resemble, what bible character you are most like and even what bible verse best describes you.

The need to discover who we are and why we are here, where does it stem from? I believe it’s the enemies plan to use worldly values and wisdom to keep people in a state of confusion of wanting more, doubting who they are, pre-occupation with what about me, envy about the life they think they deserve and bitterness about the life they have. Remember, Eve in the garden, the serpent lied to her, confused God’s words, and appealed to her sin nature of wanting more. The difference between the world and God is so vast that if we move toward and listen to what the world says we are actually moving away from and alienating ourselves from God. So let us put an end to all the confusion, close the door of uncertainty, silence the mouths of liars and reveal the truth that trying to find yourself, searching for that validation is not the solution it’s the problem.

V. Who are we?

We have learned from Genesis 1 that we were created in the very image of God. When we put our faith in Christ our spirit was reborn. Paul often used the expression “in Christ”….Our identity is in Christ because when we put our faith in Him we became united with Him in His death and resurrection. 2Tim 2:11, For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. We died to sin, our old identity. Dying with Christ means dying to the things that used to run our lives. Rising with Christ means rising to a new way of living under Jesus’ authority and God’s will for your life. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Scripture says, do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you (who dwells within you), whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 1Cor 6:19 The temple, as the name means (from a Greek root "to dwell"), was the earthly dwelling-place of God, where alone He put His name. We need to come to the realization that we are not living in the flesh according to our old nature, but in the Spirit. The flesh says we need to find out who we are; self-discovery and leave our mark as someone who is accomplished by the world’s standards. But the Spirit says, you are no longer your own, but bought at great price so present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Under our new identity we are not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Paul got it right when he said, “for it is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me.” Isn’t it true that our actions are motivated by who we are. So if we are created in His image, we have the Spirit of God dwelling inside us and we know we are united in Christ. If we are called vessels, a temple, His body, His hands and feet, then lets look at what action will follow.

VI. Our legacy

The legacy we leave is really the fruit that was produced in and through our lives by the working of the Holy Spirit in us. As Matthew 7:20 says, therefore by their fruits you will know them, either bad or good. The key to that legacy or fruit is abiding in Jesus, which means to remain in, dwell, to stay, to settle in, to sink deeper.

In John 15:5-8 Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

Those that don’t abide in Christ are cast out, Cain was cast out, Canaan was cursed, Lot’s wife became salt and Sodom burned. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Mark 9:36. For the person who says I need to find myself. Jesus says, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 11:39

VII. Closing

So I ask , what will your legacy be? To quote from some of your responses. As moms, we too can be "mothers of nations". God commands us to faithfully teach our children the life-giving truths of Scripture. With Christ in our hearts, we can begin our own line of godly seed. As we pass on the gospel to our children, they can, in turn, pass it on to the next generation. Our godly influence can continue through time and through generations as "innumerable as the stars". One sister said, I want to leave a legacy of faith and I want to bring hope to those around me that no matter what we face...in Jesus there is victory. And just the other day I was told by a dear sister in Christ, the greatest legacy that we could ever leave is to teach our children to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, if we do that, when we leave this earth, we will have done our job. Sounds like a great legacy to me!!!

Beginning today- we can stop searching, stop pursuing those things that we did with our old identity and start living out our legacy, doing the will of God. I pray that we have faith to believe, to trust, embrace the truth, to know and understand that our identity is in Christ. It's never too late to begin if we make ourselves available to God for His purposes. Let us be determined to abide in Christ, bearing much fruit and giving all the glory to Him.