1 00:00:00,667 --> 00:00:02,042 Hi there Mars Hill Church 2 00:00:02,125 --> 00:00:05,125 and the extended family of Mars Hill Global. 3 00:00:05,167 --> 00:00:08,417 I'm pastor Sutton Turner here in Dilla, Ethiopia 4 00:00:08,500 --> 00:00:10,375 and I wanted to take a moment and explain 5 00:00:10,458 --> 00:00:14,500 what the extended family of Mars Hill Global is. 6 00:00:14,500 --> 00:00:18,417 I was a podcaster when I was living in the Middle East 7 00:00:18,500 --> 00:00:22,250 and consuming those podcasts every week, 8 00:00:22,292 --> 00:00:26,250 participating, really one way, from Mars Hill Church. 9 00:00:26,292 --> 00:00:28,000 I was really a consumer. 10 00:00:28,042 --> 00:00:29,667 So what we're doing is setting up 11 00:00:29,708 --> 00:00:33,292 the extended family of Mars Hill Global and saying, 12 00:00:33,333 --> 00:00:39,125 "Come, be a part of what Jesus Christ is doing in and through our church." 13 00:00:39,167 --> 00:00:41,000 So what does Mars Hill Global do? 14 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:46,250 Well, Mars Hill Global is doing and participating in church planting 15 00:00:46,292 --> 00:00:48,667 here in Ethiopia and also in India. 16 00:00:48,667 --> 00:00:51,500 Also, we're doing church planting in the United States as well. 17 00:00:51,583 --> 00:00:53,750 We're doing all of that because in Mars Hill Church 18 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:58,542 we believe that Jesus has called us to make disciples and plant churches. 19 00:00:58,625 --> 00:01:02,500 So I want to ask you to be a part. I want to as you to be a part 20 00:01:02,583 --> 00:01:04,333 of the extended family of Mars Hill Global. 21 00:01:04,375 --> 00:01:05,625 Sign up today. 22 00:01:05,667 --> 00:01:08,417 Become a member of the extended family, 23 00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:11,000 start participating online with us, 24 00:01:11,042 --> 00:01:13,667 and let's see what Jesus Christ is going to do, 25 00:01:13,708 --> 00:01:16,667 not only in the United States, but to the ends of the Earth. 26 00:01:17,292 --> 00:01:30,125 [music] 27 00:01:36,375 --> 00:01:38,333 [laughing] 28 00:01:38,375 --> 00:01:39,708 Hi, I'm Holly. 29 00:01:39,792 --> 00:01:41,125 I'm Caleb. Joshua. 30 00:01:41,167 --> 00:01:43,125 I decided to open up my own agency. 31 00:01:43,167 --> 00:01:44,500 I'm a lawyer. 32 00:01:44,583 --> 00:01:46,250 I'm a colorist in the fashion industry. 33 00:01:46,333 --> 00:01:48,458 Some days I help out in our lumber mill. 34 00:01:48,500 --> 00:01:49,833 I'm a professional boy wrangler. 35 00:01:49,917 --> 00:01:51,333 I work in commercial real estate. 36 00:01:51,417 --> 00:01:53,500 I'm a seasoned human resources professional. 37 00:01:53,583 --> 00:01:55,042 Yeah, I am a baseball fan. 38 00:01:55,125 --> 00:01:58,708 And I lost the house that I cherished. 39 00:01:58,792 --> 00:02:01,292 A typical day is waking up next to my wife. 40 00:02:01,333 --> 00:02:03,000 Couldn't get her out of my head. 41 00:02:03,042 --> 00:02:04,375 [laughing] 42 00:02:04,458 --> 00:02:06,208 I'm the tallest person in my family. 43 00:02:06,292 --> 00:02:08,583 I like to make comic books. 44 00:02:08,667 --> 00:02:10,417 I got a tattoo of a tree. 45 00:02:10,500 --> 00:02:11,833 I love--I love that. 46 00:02:11,875 --> 00:02:13,583 Yeah, so that's all I think about. 47 00:02:13,667 --> 00:02:16,167 Who do you think-- Who do you think you are? 48 00:02:19,292 --> 00:02:21,292 Who do you think you are? 49 00:02:21,333 --> 00:02:26,208 That question is identity-shaping, life-altering, 50 00:02:26,292 --> 00:02:29,917 eternity-affecting. 51 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:31,500 How would you describe yourself? 52 00:02:31,542 --> 00:02:33,333 How do you introduce yourself? 53 00:02:33,375 --> 00:02:35,833 How do you perceive yourself? 54 00:02:35,875 --> 00:02:38,042 In mainstream pop psychology, they'll talk a lot about 55 00:02:38,125 --> 00:02:41,917 self-esteem, or self-image, or self-awareness. 56 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,833 At Mars Hill, we like to use the language of identity. 57 00:02:44,875 --> 00:02:47,167 What's your identity? 58 00:02:47,208 --> 00:02:48,708 Who do you think you are? 59 00:02:48,792 --> 00:02:52,333 How would you answer this question, 60 00:02:52,375 --> 00:02:53,833 and it's an important question. 61 00:02:53,917 --> 00:02:56,667 It's the one thing that changes everything, 62 00:02:56,708 --> 00:03:00,792 because when you know who you are, then you know what to do. 63 00:03:00,833 --> 00:03:04,167 If you don't know who you are, then you don't know what to do. 64 00:03:04,250 --> 00:03:08,833 How would you answer this question: I am "blank"? 65 00:03:08,875 --> 00:03:10,792 I am rich. 66 00:03:10,833 --> 00:03:12,500 I am poor. 67 00:03:12,542 --> 00:03:14,083 I am young. 68 00:03:14,167 --> 00:03:15,708 I am old. 69 00:03:15,792 --> 00:03:17,208 I am smart. 70 00:03:17,292 --> 00:03:18,792 I'm stupid. 71 00:03:18,833 --> 00:03:20,333 I'm loved. 72 00:03:20,375 --> 00:03:21,875 I'm hated. 73 00:03:21,958 --> 00:03:24,625 I'm single. I'm married. 74 00:03:24,667 --> 00:03:28,167 I'm married. I'm divorced. 75 00:03:28,250 --> 00:03:30,125 I'm desirable. 76 00:03:30,167 --> 00:03:32,500 I'm undesirable. 77 00:03:32,583 --> 00:03:34,542 I'm successful. 78 00:03:34,625 --> 00:03:38,417 I'm a failure. 79 00:03:38,500 --> 00:03:40,167 I have hope. 80 00:03:40,208 --> 00:03:43,042 I'm hopeless. 81 00:03:43,125 --> 00:03:47,667 Who do you think you are? 82 00:03:47,708 --> 00:03:50,750 How do you see yourself? 83 00:03:50,833 --> 00:03:56,958 How does your identity alter and affect your destiny? 84 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:02,417 We're going to spend 16 weeks answering this question, 85 00:04:02,500 --> 00:04:05,625 and it's a question that we all ask ourselves, 86 00:04:05,667 --> 00:04:08,833 sometimes consciously, sometimes less consciously. 87 00:04:08,875 --> 00:04:11,625 Sometimes others answer it for us. 88 00:04:11,667 --> 00:04:14,208 It starts when you're little. 89 00:04:14,292 --> 00:04:16,708 Were you the first-born? 90 00:04:16,792 --> 00:04:18,708 Were you the baby in the family? 91 00:04:18,792 --> 00:04:20,792 Were you the middle child? 92 00:04:20,833 --> 00:04:22,333 What were you like? 93 00:04:22,375 --> 00:04:23,708 Were you the funny kid? 94 00:04:23,792 --> 00:04:25,125 Were you the chubby kid? 95 00:04:25,167 --> 00:04:26,500 Were you the athletic kid? 96 00:04:26,583 --> 00:04:27,917 Were you the arty kid? 97 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:29,333 Were you the nerdy kid? 98 00:04:29,375 --> 00:04:30,708 Who were you? 99 00:04:30,792 --> 00:04:32,375 What names did others give you? 100 00:04:32,458 --> 00:04:33,958 What nicknames did they give you? 101 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,167 Did your parents have a nickname for you? 102 00:04:36,208 --> 00:04:38,333 Did your friends have a nickname for you? 103 00:04:38,417 --> 00:04:39,958 Was it a good nickname? 104 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,333 Was it a bad nickname? 105 00:04:43,375 --> 00:04:45,125 How did they see you, and subsequently, 106 00:04:45,167 --> 00:04:47,167 how did you see yourself? 107 00:04:47,208 --> 00:04:50,167 As we continue forward in life and we hit the teen years, 108 00:04:50,208 --> 00:04:52,333 then it becomes incredibly complicated. 109 00:04:52,417 --> 00:04:55,042 You hit junior high, you have no idea who you are. 110 00:04:55,125 --> 00:04:57,458 All of a sudden, you're in a new school. 111 00:04:57,500 --> 00:05:00,125 You have new relationships, and new responsibilities, 112 00:05:00,167 --> 00:05:03,417 and new authorities, and they're all giving you input regarding 113 00:05:03,500 --> 00:05:08,167 who they think you are, at least who they think you should be. 114 00:05:08,250 --> 00:05:10,833 All of a sudden, clothes become more important than ever, 115 00:05:10,875 --> 00:05:14,125 and hair care, and hair products, and how we appear, 116 00:05:14,167 --> 00:05:16,375 and how we size up to others. 117 00:05:16,458 --> 00:05:18,333 And "Have I hit my growth spurt yet?" 118 00:05:18,375 --> 00:05:20,417 and "Am I succeeding or failing? 119 00:05:20,500 --> 00:05:23,792 "Am I one who is part of the crowd that I want to be 120 00:05:23,833 --> 00:05:28,125 a part of or always on the outside looking in?" 121 00:05:28,167 --> 00:05:30,625 You hit college and all of a sudden you've got 122 00:05:30,667 --> 00:05:32,625 an opportunity to completely reinvent yourself. 123 00:05:32,667 --> 00:05:35,250 You go away from your family, friends, church, community, 124 00:05:35,333 --> 00:05:37,708 those who know you, and you get to start fresh— 125 00:05:37,792 --> 00:05:40,833 at least that's what you think. So, you make decisions about your 126 00:05:40,917 --> 00:05:43,167 wardrobe: "How will I present myself?" 127 00:05:43,208 --> 00:05:44,958 About your lifestyle: 128 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,708 "Will I go to church? Will I not go to church? 129 00:05:47,792 --> 00:05:49,458 "Will I drink? Will I not drink? 130 00:05:49,500 --> 00:05:52,167 "Will I be sleeping around? Will I not be sleeping around? 131 00:05:52,208 --> 00:05:53,917 "Will I join certain activities or not? 132 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:55,333 "What degree will I pursue? 133 00:05:55,375 --> 00:05:57,333 "What life course will I put myself on? 134 00:05:57,417 --> 00:06:00,833 Who am I and who will I be?" 135 00:06:00,875 --> 00:06:03,875 You graduate and it's an identity crisis. 136 00:06:03,958 --> 00:06:05,708 Now you're supposed to be an adult. 137 00:06:05,792 --> 00:06:08,125 You're not prepared for those responsibilities. 138 00:06:08,167 --> 00:06:10,417 "Will I get a job? Where will I work? 139 00:06:10,500 --> 00:06:12,667 "Will I make enough money? What will I drive? 140 00:06:12,750 --> 00:06:15,667 "How will I pay my bills? Will I be in a relationship? 141 00:06:15,750 --> 00:06:17,667 Will I be single forever?" 142 00:06:17,750 --> 00:06:20,333 And then perhaps, one day, you get your career job. 143 00:06:20,375 --> 00:06:23,125 Then it consumes all of your identity. 144 00:06:23,167 --> 00:06:26,667 "Now I know who I am, and if I can succeed and thrive 145 00:06:26,750 --> 00:06:31,125 in this vocational path, that will define who I am." 146 00:06:31,167 --> 00:06:33,750 And you get married, all of a sudden your identity 147 00:06:33,833 --> 00:06:36,958 gets very conflicted. 148 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,208 You thought they were going to marry you to help you become 149 00:06:40,292 --> 00:06:43,542 who you want to be, and they were thinking the same thing, 150 00:06:43,625 --> 00:06:46,333 and suddenly two selfish people with separate identities 151 00:06:46,417 --> 00:06:48,250 collide into misery. 152 00:06:48,333 --> 00:06:52,750 We call that marriage. 153 00:06:52,833 --> 00:06:55,917 "What's our identity?" 154 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,500 And for the woman sometimes, this is particularly difficult. 155 00:06:59,583 --> 00:07:02,625 "I was this kind of woman, maybe strong, maybe career-minded, 156 00:07:02,667 --> 00:07:04,625 "maybe independent, and now I'm married, 157 00:07:04,667 --> 00:07:08,000 "and now I was reading the Bible and it says that my husband is 158 00:07:08,083 --> 00:07:10,000 "the leader and I need to respect him. 159 00:07:10,083 --> 00:07:13,667 And who am I and how does this work?" 160 00:07:13,750 --> 00:07:16,083 And then you have children and all of a sudden 161 00:07:16,167 --> 00:07:17,500 your identity totally changes. 162 00:07:17,583 --> 00:07:20,708 And for the woman, it starts with a change in her appearance, 163 00:07:20,792 --> 00:07:22,833 which affects so much of her identity. 164 00:07:22,875 --> 00:07:25,208 Now she's showing and she's feeling different, 165 00:07:25,292 --> 00:07:28,583 and now she's turning into a mother, 166 00:07:28,667 --> 00:07:30,833 whole new identity. And the man feels that 167 00:07:30,875 --> 00:07:32,917 weight of responsibility, or at least he should, 168 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:35,667 because now he is a father. 169 00:07:35,708 --> 00:07:38,917 And all of a sudden, the child becomes this center around which 170 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,167 the family orbits. 171 00:07:41,208 --> 00:07:47,250 They determine when you eat, when you sleep, if you do, 172 00:07:47,333 --> 00:07:50,333 how money is spent, and how vacations are planned, 173 00:07:50,375 --> 00:07:52,250 and how life is organized. 174 00:07:52,333 --> 00:07:54,458 And all of a sudden, your hobbies, your friendships, 175 00:07:54,500 --> 00:07:57,750 your free time, the things that defined who you were, 176 00:07:57,833 --> 00:08:03,875 they're gone, or altered, or affected in some particular way. 177 00:08:03,958 --> 00:08:07,083 Your kids get older and all of a sudden they don't need you 178 00:08:07,167 --> 00:08:08,625 like they used to. 179 00:08:08,667 --> 00:08:10,417 They're starting to move away from home. 180 00:08:10,500 --> 00:08:12,375 You hit that empty nest season 181 00:08:12,458 --> 00:08:14,333 and suddenly your identity is shaken. 182 00:08:14,375 --> 00:08:16,000 "Who am I? Who are we? 183 00:08:16,042 --> 00:08:19,833 "What's the center of our world? Why do we try? 184 00:08:19,875 --> 00:08:22,125 "We used to try to hold the marriage together, 185 00:08:22,167 --> 00:08:25,708 "or to make the money, or to be in the church for the sake 186 00:08:25,792 --> 00:08:28,500 "of the children, but they're gone. 187 00:08:28,542 --> 00:08:31,625 Who are we and what are we doing?" 188 00:08:31,667 --> 00:08:36,333 Sometimes then it crashes into divorce because the idol has 189 00:08:36,417 --> 00:08:40,833 left home and there's nothing to hold the family together. 190 00:08:43,708 --> 00:08:49,542 And you're widowed, you're alone, your spouse is deceased, 191 00:08:49,625 --> 00:08:53,458 your children have grown up and they've moved away. 192 00:08:53,500 --> 00:08:57,458 Maybe they don't live in the same city, or state, or country, 193 00:08:57,500 --> 00:09:01,333 and there's grandchildren that you're lucky to see once a year 194 00:09:01,375 --> 00:09:04,583 during the holidays. 195 00:09:04,667 --> 00:09:07,208 Your identity's in total crisis, and conflict, 196 00:09:07,292 --> 00:09:09,708 and chaos all the time. 197 00:09:09,792 --> 00:09:11,833 You feel that? 198 00:09:11,875 --> 00:09:13,917 I do, do you? 199 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:15,417 Who do you think you are? 200 00:09:15,500 --> 00:09:22,000 How would you answer the question: I am "blank"? 201 00:09:22,083 --> 00:09:26,917 Let's ask a different question: Who does God say that you are? 202 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:28,792 Who does God say that you are? 203 00:09:28,833 --> 00:09:31,917 Here's what we see, in Genesis 1:26-28. 204 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:33,542 Genesis means "beginnings." 205 00:09:33,625 --> 00:09:35,250 It's the first book of the Bible 206 00:09:35,333 --> 00:09:36,750 because it's the book of beginnings. 207 00:09:36,833 --> 00:09:39,042 And there, we find the beginning of everything, 208 00:09:39,125 --> 00:09:40,667 except for God, of course, 209 00:09:40,708 --> 00:09:43,167 because he is the Creator of all things. 210 00:09:43,208 --> 00:09:45,917 And there we find the beginning of our identity. 211 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:47,542 And here's what the Bible says: 212 00:09:47,625 --> 00:09:49,333 "Then God said, 'Let us.'" 213 00:09:49,417 --> 00:09:51,958 There's an allusion there to the Trinity: one God, 214 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,625 three persons, us. 215 00:09:55,667 --> 00:09:57,333 "Make man." 216 00:09:57,375 --> 00:09:59,958 That's mankind, says the same thing in Genesis 5:1. 217 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:01,625 That includes men and women. 218 00:10:01,667 --> 00:10:04,167 "In our image, after our likeness." 219 00:10:04,208 --> 00:10:06,333 I want you to see, that's identity language. 220 00:10:06,417 --> 00:10:07,833 Who are you? 221 00:10:07,917 --> 00:10:10,958 God says, "I've made you in my image and likeness." 222 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:12,667 That's your identity. 223 00:10:12,708 --> 00:10:15,167 There's the identity statement. 224 00:10:15,208 --> 00:10:17,917 "'And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, 225 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,167 "'the birds of the heavens and over the livestock 226 00:10:20,208 --> 00:10:22,750 "'and over all the earth and over every creeping thing 227 00:10:22,833 --> 00:10:24,542 "'that creeps on the earth.' 228 00:10:24,625 --> 00:10:27,250 "So God created man in his own image, 229 00:10:27,333 --> 00:10:29,833 "in the image of God he created him; 230 00:10:29,917 --> 00:10:32,542 male and female he created them." 231 00:10:32,625 --> 00:10:36,083 And I love this line: "And God," what? 232 00:10:36,167 --> 00:10:38,792 "Blessed them." 233 00:10:38,833 --> 00:10:41,042 Who does God say you are? 234 00:10:41,125 --> 00:10:42,792 Four things. 235 00:10:42,833 --> 00:10:45,500 Number one, you are a revelation receiver. 236 00:10:45,542 --> 00:10:48,375 The God of the Bible is Trinitarian: Father, Son, 237 00:10:48,458 --> 00:10:52,250 and Spirit, here referred to as "us" and "our." 238 00:10:52,333 --> 00:10:55,667 "Let us make man in our image and likeness." 239 00:10:55,750 --> 00:10:58,167 There's the Trinitarian God of the Bible. 240 00:10:58,250 --> 00:11:03,542 So, God in his eternal nature, essence, is a community of love, 241 00:11:03,625 --> 00:11:05,458 affection, and communication. 242 00:11:05,500 --> 00:11:08,125 That God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit 243 00:11:08,167 --> 00:11:10,833 have been communicating with one another forever, 244 00:11:10,917 --> 00:11:13,750 and they make us in their image and likeness, 245 00:11:13,833 --> 00:11:17,042 and they make us as revelation receivers. 246 00:11:17,125 --> 00:11:20,667 They speak to us, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do. 247 00:11:20,708 --> 00:11:23,667 God speaks to us. 248 00:11:23,708 --> 00:11:27,833 Now, here's the good news: you don't have to determine 249 00:11:27,917 --> 00:11:31,917 or decide what your identity is because God has already chosen 250 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,167 to reveal it. 251 00:11:34,208 --> 00:11:37,958 God has, in his kindness, chosen to speak to us. 252 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,042 What this means is we don't need the speculation 253 00:11:41,125 --> 00:11:43,250 of philosophy or religion. 254 00:11:43,333 --> 00:11:45,833 We need the revelation of God. 255 00:11:45,917 --> 00:11:48,667 We need God to tell us who he is, 256 00:11:48,708 --> 00:11:51,833 and we need God to tell us who we are. 257 00:11:51,917 --> 00:11:56,542 Need to know both: who God is, who you are, 258 00:11:56,625 --> 00:11:58,708 and the Bible provides both. 259 00:11:58,792 --> 00:12:02,375 Here it tells us who God is and it tells us who we are. 260 00:12:02,458 --> 00:12:04,833 And the first is that we're revelation receivers, 261 00:12:04,875 --> 00:12:07,917 that God speaks to us primarily, and firstly, 262 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,333 and most authoritatively through the Scriptures. 263 00:12:11,375 --> 00:12:14,208 And so I would ask you, this year, 264 00:12:14,292 --> 00:12:18,333 to be in the Word of God and to have the Word of God in you, 265 00:12:18,375 --> 00:12:21,083 because you were created as a revelation receiver, 266 00:12:21,167 --> 00:12:24,625 and God wants to speak to you through his Word, 267 00:12:24,667 --> 00:12:28,500 and he wants to hear from you through prayer. 268 00:12:28,542 --> 00:12:30,167 So, who are you? 269 00:12:30,250 --> 00:12:32,417 Well, number one, you're a revelation receiver. 270 00:12:32,500 --> 00:12:34,750 Number two, you are humbly honored. 271 00:12:34,833 --> 00:12:37,250 I want you to see here that there is God, 272 00:12:37,333 --> 00:12:38,667 and then lower creation. 273 00:12:38,708 --> 00:12:41,667 It talks about beasts of the field, and birds of the air, 274 00:12:41,708 --> 00:12:43,042 and fish of the sea. 275 00:12:43,125 --> 00:12:48,708 And between lower creation and God is mankind, men and women. 276 00:12:48,792 --> 00:12:52,250 We are below God, but above the animals. 277 00:12:52,333 --> 00:12:56,333 And anytime we try to establish our identity and we do not 278 00:12:56,417 --> 00:13:00,292 understand it biblically, it results in tragedy. 279 00:13:00,333 --> 00:13:02,125 One of two things happen. 280 00:13:02,167 --> 00:13:05,375 We become people who think too much of ourselves and we believe 281 00:13:05,458 --> 00:13:09,000 we're God-like; that we're almost divine, 282 00:13:09,083 --> 00:13:11,208 or a spark of the divine is within us, 283 00:13:11,292 --> 00:13:15,625 or pantheism or panentheism; that we're part of some divine, 284 00:13:15,667 --> 00:13:20,375 cosmic consciousness; that we're somehow equal to God, 285 00:13:20,458 --> 00:13:26,000 or alongside of God, or part of God, or God. 286 00:13:26,083 --> 00:13:28,625 And if not, then we'll reincarnate and pay off 287 00:13:28,667 --> 00:13:34,333 our karma, and we'll escalate toward divinity. 288 00:13:34,375 --> 00:13:38,958 Conversely, some say we're nothing more than 289 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,833 highly evolved animals. 290 00:13:41,875 --> 00:13:46,167 We're just lucky animals with thumbs, that's all we are; 291 00:13:46,208 --> 00:13:49,250 that we're really not above lower creation, 292 00:13:49,333 --> 00:13:53,000 that we're just the luckiest among lower creation; 293 00:13:53,083 --> 00:13:57,250 that really all we are is just highly evolved animals. 294 00:13:57,333 --> 00:14:00,625 Well, that is to think too little of us. 295 00:14:00,667 --> 00:14:03,500 And conversely, some think too much of us. 296 00:14:03,542 --> 00:14:06,125 Humility, the root of which literally means to know your 297 00:14:06,167 --> 00:14:09,667 place, is to know that your place is under God, 298 00:14:09,750 --> 00:14:11,875 but above lower creation. 299 00:14:11,958 --> 00:14:14,375 You're not an animal, you have dominion over them as 300 00:14:14,458 --> 00:14:15,792 God's image-bearer. 301 00:14:15,833 --> 00:14:18,292 You're also not God, you're a created being, 302 00:14:18,333 --> 00:14:21,125 and you're here because of his divine design. 303 00:14:21,167 --> 00:14:23,333 So, number one, you're a revelation receiver. 304 00:14:23,375 --> 00:14:26,000 Number two, you're humbly honored. 305 00:14:26,083 --> 00:14:30,583 You need God's help, but you're more than just a base animal. 306 00:14:30,667 --> 00:14:33,833 Number three, you're made to mirror. 307 00:14:33,917 --> 00:14:36,833 When he says that we are made in his image and likeness, 308 00:14:36,917 --> 00:14:39,542 and those two words are essentially synonymous, 309 00:14:39,625 --> 00:14:42,333 think of images in your life. 310 00:14:42,417 --> 00:14:47,500 Every morning, most of us get up and look in a mirror, 311 00:14:47,583 --> 00:14:51,042 and that mirror is reflecting back to us our image, 312 00:14:51,125 --> 00:14:53,458 our likeness, who we are, 313 00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:57,667 showing us, revealing to us who we are. 314 00:14:57,708 --> 00:15:01,500 And what God says is that, though he is spirit, 315 00:15:01,542 --> 00:15:06,292 he wants his attributes to be visible on the earth. 316 00:15:06,333 --> 00:15:09,625 He wants creation to know something about him, 317 00:15:09,667 --> 00:15:12,417 and so he's made us as his mirrors. 318 00:15:12,500 --> 00:15:14,333 We were made to mirror. 319 00:15:14,375 --> 00:15:16,833 And so God is loving, and when we love, 320 00:15:16,875 --> 00:15:19,000 we reflect his love to others. 321 00:15:19,042 --> 00:15:20,500 God is truthful. 322 00:15:20,583 --> 00:15:23,333 When we tell the truth, we refrect--we reflect, rather, 323 00:15:23,375 --> 00:15:25,083 his truthfulness to others. 324 00:15:25,167 --> 00:15:26,625 God is forgiving. 325 00:15:26,667 --> 00:15:29,208 When we forgive others, we're reflecting his grace 326 00:15:29,292 --> 00:15:31,417 and his mercy to others. 327 00:15:31,500 --> 00:15:34,167 God is generous, and when we're generous, 328 00:15:34,208 --> 00:15:37,417 we're reflecting his generosity to others. 329 00:15:37,500 --> 00:15:41,458 And so our life is to be one of mirroring, 330 00:15:41,500 --> 00:15:45,167 that it doesn't begin with us, it begins with God. 331 00:15:45,208 --> 00:15:47,917 And the goal is not for the world to know us, 332 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,958 but the goal is for the world to know him. 333 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:55,667 And we are not the objects, he is. 334 00:15:55,708 --> 00:15:58,833 We are to reflect, to mirror, to show, 335 00:15:58,917 --> 00:16:04,208 to echo something of God's attributes to the world. 336 00:16:04,292 --> 00:16:07,500 What that means is, then, the glory goes to God. 337 00:16:07,542 --> 00:16:09,417 "Oh, that was very loving of you." 338 00:16:09,500 --> 00:16:11,500 "Thank you, I loved you with God's love." 339 00:16:11,542 --> 00:16:12,875 "That was very generous." 340 00:16:12,958 --> 00:16:15,708 "Thank you, I gave you what God gave me." 341 00:16:15,792 --> 00:16:17,667 "That was very truthful of you." 342 00:16:17,750 --> 00:16:21,500 "Thank you, God is the one who tells the truth, 343 00:16:21,583 --> 00:16:24,833 and I'm happy to serve him." 344 00:16:24,875 --> 00:16:27,083 What that allows us to have, Mars Hill, 345 00:16:27,167 --> 00:16:30,833 is this courageous humility, to be bold, to be generous, 346 00:16:30,875 --> 00:16:34,708 to be loving, to be truthful, to have conflict as is holy 347 00:16:34,792 --> 00:16:37,542 and required, and always asking not, 348 00:16:37,625 --> 00:16:41,542 "What will this make me look like?" 349 00:16:41,625 --> 00:16:46,750 but "How does this rightly or wrongly reflect God?" 350 00:16:46,833 --> 00:16:48,958 Do you see the difference? 351 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,542 So many of our identity decisions are about, 352 00:16:51,625 --> 00:16:53,625 "How will this make me look?" 353 00:16:53,667 --> 00:16:56,750 That's the wrong question. 354 00:16:56,833 --> 00:16:59,042 "How could they see God?" 355 00:16:59,125 --> 00:17:01,125 That's the right question. 356 00:17:01,167 --> 00:17:03,333 "How could I reflect, image, mirror, 357 00:17:03,375 --> 00:17:06,500 who God is in this moment?" 358 00:17:06,583 --> 00:17:08,000 And we call that worship. 359 00:17:08,083 --> 00:17:10,583 That's what the Bible means by worship. 360 00:17:10,667 --> 00:17:12,875 It means reflecting, imaging, mirroring, 361 00:17:12,958 --> 00:17:17,208 showing to some limited, fallen, imperfect degree because we're 362 00:17:17,292 --> 00:17:22,167 not God, but we're a mirror that is to reflect God. 363 00:17:22,250 --> 00:17:26,417 That's why Jesus is called the image of the invisible God. 364 00:17:26,500 --> 00:17:28,667 That's why Jesus says, "If you've seen me, 365 00:17:28,750 --> 00:17:30,417 you've seen the Father." 366 00:17:30,500 --> 00:17:32,000 What is he saying? 367 00:17:32,083 --> 00:17:33,542 He's the perfect mirror. 368 00:17:33,625 --> 00:17:35,042 He's the sinless mirror. 369 00:17:35,125 --> 00:17:39,667 Everything that could be seen about God's character is made 370 00:17:39,708 --> 00:17:42,708 visible on the earth through the life, death, burial, 371 00:17:42,792 --> 00:17:44,833 resurrection of Jesus. 372 00:17:44,917 --> 00:17:48,042 He is the image of the invisible God. 373 00:17:48,125 --> 00:17:51,458 If we've seen him, we've seen the Father. 374 00:17:51,500 --> 00:17:54,667 That's what he says, and in fact, that's why he dies, 375 00:17:54,708 --> 00:17:58,167 because he keeps making that claim. 376 00:17:58,208 --> 00:18:01,208 And he rises from death to show us the love of God, 377 00:18:01,292 --> 00:18:03,708 and the justice of God, and the forgiveness of God, 378 00:18:03,792 --> 00:18:06,292 and he continues to mirror, to reflect, to image, 379 00:18:06,333 --> 00:18:11,500 to show what the Father is like to the world that he's made. 380 00:18:11,583 --> 00:18:14,917 You are a revelation receiver, you are humbly honored, 381 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:19,333 you're made to mirror, and you're blessed to be a blessing. 382 00:18:19,375 --> 00:18:22,208 What it says here is, "God blessed them." 383 00:18:22,292 --> 00:18:26,000 What it doesn't say is that they had yet done anything. 384 00:18:26,083 --> 00:18:31,500 At this point, Adam and Eve hadn't done anything. 385 00:18:31,583 --> 00:18:33,208 He just blessed them. 386 00:18:33,292 --> 00:18:36,625 They didn't earn their blessing. 387 00:18:36,667 --> 00:18:39,667 In fact, it wouldn't be grace if it was earned. 388 00:18:39,708 --> 00:18:41,833 God blessed them. 389 00:18:41,917 --> 00:18:45,667 What this means is that God actively loved them with 390 00:18:45,708 --> 00:18:48,333 a Father's affection. 391 00:18:48,417 --> 00:18:53,333 So many of us have this very corrupted view of God that 392 00:18:53,375 --> 00:18:58,333 we need to make him bless us, manipulate him to bless us. 393 00:18:58,375 --> 00:19:02,625 Ours is a God who begins with blessing. 394 00:19:02,667 --> 00:19:06,208 Ours is a God who likes to bless his people. 395 00:19:06,292 --> 00:19:09,417 Ours is a God who is filled with grace, and filled with love, 396 00:19:09,500 --> 00:19:13,708 and filled with mercy, and in an infinitely perfect way, 397 00:19:13,792 --> 00:19:18,500 far superior to mine, he's a Father who adores his kids 398 00:19:18,583 --> 00:19:21,917 and would do anything for them. 399 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,417 I have a bit of that heart for my five kids, 400 00:19:25,500 --> 00:19:29,208 but God is a perfect Father with limitless resources, 401 00:19:29,292 --> 00:19:32,583 and he blesses with a Father's affection. 402 00:19:32,667 --> 00:19:34,417 You are blessed to bless. 403 00:19:34,500 --> 00:19:37,833 See, God is going to bless Adam and Eve so that they can be 404 00:19:37,875 --> 00:19:40,542 a blessing to their children and they can be a blessing 405 00:19:40,625 --> 00:19:41,958 to the world. 406 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:43,667 Mars Hill, we are blessed to bless. 407 00:19:43,708 --> 00:19:46,167 Whatever God teaches you is so you might teach others. 408 00:19:46,208 --> 00:19:48,833 Whatever God gives you is that you might give to others. 409 00:19:48,917 --> 00:19:51,625 Whatever God does for you is so that you could learn 410 00:19:51,667 --> 00:19:53,000 to do that for others. 411 00:19:53,083 --> 00:19:55,667 We are not the objects of worship, 412 00:19:55,708 --> 00:19:59,167 we're the mirror of the character and attributes 413 00:19:59,208 --> 00:20:02,125 of God so that others would worship him. 414 00:20:02,167 --> 00:20:04,000 Do you see that? 415 00:20:04,083 --> 00:20:06,750 Some of you say, "This doesn't sound like anything I've heard." 416 00:20:06,833 --> 00:20:09,208 Because the world is filled with lies, 417 00:20:09,292 --> 00:20:12,833 and it's why people are miserable, and it's not working. 418 00:20:12,917 --> 00:20:14,833 And I'm your pastor, and I love you, 419 00:20:14,875 --> 00:20:18,833 and I hope you trust me enough to let me teach you. 420 00:20:18,917 --> 00:20:21,208 This is who God says that you are. 421 00:20:21,292 --> 00:20:22,708 Two things I want to say. 422 00:20:22,792 --> 00:20:28,167 Number one, your identity is received, it's not achieved. 423 00:20:28,208 --> 00:20:33,458 Adam and Eve didn't do anything to obtain this identity. 424 00:20:33,500 --> 00:20:37,292 God made them, God spoke to them, God defined them, 425 00:20:37,333 --> 00:20:38,833 and God blessed them. 426 00:20:38,917 --> 00:20:41,000 It's all God. 427 00:20:41,042 --> 00:20:45,583 Your identity is not achieved, it's received. 428 00:20:45,667 --> 00:20:49,042 It's not something you do, it's something God does. 429 00:20:49,125 --> 00:20:51,875 It's not what you earn, it's what he gives. 430 00:20:51,958 --> 00:20:54,375 I want you to see that. 431 00:20:54,458 --> 00:20:57,000 It frees you up from the performance trap. 432 00:20:57,042 --> 00:20:59,167 It frees you up from the competitive trap. 433 00:20:59,250 --> 00:21:02,208 It frees you up from the bitterness, and the jealousy, 434 00:21:02,292 --> 00:21:04,917 and the coveting that marks our world. 435 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,458 It lets you be who God made you to be, 436 00:21:07,500 --> 00:21:10,208 and rejoice in who God made them to be. 437 00:21:10,292 --> 00:21:12,750 And together, seeking to mirror and image him, 438 00:21:12,833 --> 00:21:16,833 because it's not about us, it's all about him. 439 00:21:16,917 --> 00:21:21,542 Number two, you are not more valuable than anyone else 440 00:21:21,625 --> 00:21:25,833 and you are not less valuable than anyone else. 441 00:21:25,917 --> 00:21:30,667 All people equally bear the image and likeness of God. 442 00:21:30,708 --> 00:21:36,250 Male and female, young and old, black and white, rich and poor, 443 00:21:36,333 --> 00:21:41,833 first world and third world, born and unborn, 444 00:21:41,917 --> 00:21:44,208 healthy and sick. 445 00:21:44,292 --> 00:21:47,250 It's why, as Christians, we are the only ones who have 446 00:21:47,333 --> 00:21:49,667 a consistent world view that believes in the dignity 447 00:21:49,708 --> 00:21:52,250 and equality of all people. 448 00:21:52,333 --> 00:21:54,333 Some people are richer, some people are smarter, 449 00:21:54,417 --> 00:21:57,208 some people are tougher, some people are more competent, 450 00:21:57,292 --> 00:22:00,917 capable, and able, but all are made in the image and likeness 451 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:05,000 and God, all have dignity, value, and worth. 452 00:22:05,083 --> 00:22:08,000 One of the great lies is that some people are more valuable 453 00:22:08,083 --> 00:22:09,792 than others. 454 00:22:09,833 --> 00:22:12,625 Let me say this: your net worth has nothing to do 455 00:22:12,667 --> 00:22:14,625 with your self-worth. 456 00:22:14,667 --> 00:22:18,875 Your net worth has nothing to do with your self-worth. 457 00:22:18,958 --> 00:22:20,833 An unborn child, someone who is poor, 458 00:22:20,875 --> 00:22:25,917 someone who is in the third world, someone who is sickly, 459 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:30,167 someone who cannot defend themselves is in every way equal 460 00:22:30,250 --> 00:22:35,333 in value to anyone else on the earth, because they, too, 461 00:22:35,417 --> 00:22:37,417 bear the image and likeness of God. 462 00:22:37,500 --> 00:22:39,333 That's why we don't kill the unborn. 463 00:22:39,417 --> 00:22:41,042 It's why we don't kill the elderly. 464 00:22:41,125 --> 00:22:43,833 It's why we don't believe in the survival of the fittest 465 00:22:43,875 --> 00:22:45,208 and the Darwinian evolution 466 00:22:45,292 --> 00:22:47,042 that those who are strong survive 467 00:22:47,125 --> 00:22:49,917 and those who are weak are worth less. 468 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,500 It's why we don't believe in racism, and classism, 469 00:22:52,583 --> 00:22:55,000 and sexism, because all equally bear the image 470 00:22:55,083 --> 00:22:56,833 and likeness of God. 471 00:22:56,917 --> 00:22:59,917 Profound implications for not only how we see God, 472 00:23:00,042 --> 00:23:03,833 but ourselves and others. 473 00:23:03,875 --> 00:23:09,167 Next question: who does Satan say that you are? 474 00:23:09,250 --> 00:23:13,792 What we see in Genesis 1 is that God tells us who he is and who 475 00:23:13,833 --> 00:23:19,292 we are, and then in Genesis 3, Satan tells us who he thinks 476 00:23:19,333 --> 00:23:23,167 God is and who he thinks we are. 477 00:23:23,250 --> 00:23:26,792 And I need you to know this: at Mars Hill, we believe in Satan, 478 00:23:26,833 --> 00:23:28,292 we believe in demons. 479 00:23:28,333 --> 00:23:31,000 If you don't, you will have a hard, let's say impossible, 480 00:23:31,083 --> 00:23:33,542 time explaining the world. 481 00:23:33,625 --> 00:23:37,125 You will have an impossible time explaining all of the evil, 482 00:23:37,167 --> 00:23:40,167 all of the injustice, all of the tyranny, all of the lies, 483 00:23:40,208 --> 00:23:43,458 all of the abuse, and all of the darkness if there is not 484 00:23:43,500 --> 00:23:48,833 personal evil behind it harming persons. 485 00:23:48,917 --> 00:23:51,833 It's one thing that helps explain everything: 486 00:23:51,917 --> 00:23:56,208 the existence of personal evil, Satan. 487 00:23:56,292 --> 00:23:59,958 Not God, but a created being under God who rebelled against 488 00:24:00,083 --> 00:24:02,625 God, an angel. 489 00:24:02,667 --> 00:24:05,625 An angel who was, according to the Bible, 490 00:24:05,667 --> 00:24:09,125 dissatisfied with their identity. 491 00:24:09,167 --> 00:24:13,375 Their identity was created and under God to serve God. 492 00:24:13,458 --> 00:24:16,333 Angels are created as messengers and ministers of God, 493 00:24:16,375 --> 00:24:19,333 and the Bible says that Satan was an angel who became proud 494 00:24:19,375 --> 00:24:20,875 in his heart. 495 00:24:20,958 --> 00:24:24,292 He didn't want to be under God, he wanted to be alongside of God 496 00:24:24,333 --> 00:24:25,667 or over God. 497 00:24:25,750 --> 00:24:28,167 He didn't want to obey God, he wanted to do 498 00:24:28,250 --> 00:24:29,583 what he wanted to do. 499 00:24:29,667 --> 00:24:34,250 He wanted a new identity and he rebelled, 500 00:24:34,333 --> 00:24:38,958 and his work on the world begins in Genesis 3, 501 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,250 insofar as recorded history goes, with our first parents, 502 00:24:42,333 --> 00:24:44,333 Adam and Eve. 503 00:24:44,375 --> 00:24:48,542 And Satan shows up, and he speaks. 504 00:24:48,625 --> 00:24:51,958 The Bible says repeatedly that he's a liar, he's a deceiver, 505 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,042 and he's a killer. 506 00:24:54,125 --> 00:24:57,000 He will talk to you, he will never tell you the truth, 507 00:24:57,083 --> 00:24:59,667 and everything he says will ruin you. 508 00:24:59,708 --> 00:25:02,917 The question is: will you believe him? 509 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,500 See, the power in a lie is this: it doesn't need to be true 510 00:25:06,583 --> 00:25:08,000 to destroy you. 511 00:25:08,083 --> 00:25:10,417 If I told you right now: "You have cancer. 512 00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:13,917 You will die on Tuesday at 3 o'clock," it's not true, 513 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:19,333 but if you believe it is, it will change your entire life. 514 00:25:19,375 --> 00:25:24,917 The way a lie works is its power is ultimately contingent 515 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,208 upon whether or not you believe it. 516 00:25:28,292 --> 00:25:30,417 That's why Jesus says elsewhere, "They'll know the truth, 517 00:25:30,500 --> 00:25:32,083 and the truth will," what? 518 00:25:32,167 --> 00:25:35,458 "Set them free." 519 00:25:35,500 --> 00:25:37,917 Satan is responsible for his lie, 520 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,458 you and I are responsible for our belief in his lies. 521 00:25:42,500 --> 00:25:44,917 Here's what Satan says to our first parents. 522 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:46,958 Genesis 3:1, "Now the serpent." 523 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:49,917 This is also mentioned in, I think it's Revelation 12, 524 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,667 Revelation 20, serpent, Satan, dragon. 525 00:25:53,708 --> 00:25:56,333 The Bible is using this powerful, 526 00:25:56,417 --> 00:26:02,500 frightening imagery to give us a real, right, 527 00:26:02,583 --> 00:26:06,083 respectful regard for Satan. 528 00:26:06,167 --> 00:26:10,833 "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the other beasts 529 00:26:10,875 --> 00:26:13,000 "of the field that the Lord God had made. 530 00:26:13,083 --> 00:26:16,917 He said to the woman, 'Did God actually say...?'" 531 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:18,625 Adam and Eve are here together. 532 00:26:18,667 --> 00:26:21,000 If you've been at Mars Hill, you've heard this before, 533 00:26:21,083 --> 00:26:22,500 but Adam and Eve are together. 534 00:26:22,583 --> 00:26:24,208 Adam is silent, passive, and a coward. 535 00:26:24,292 --> 00:26:26,083 His is a sin of omission. 536 00:26:26,167 --> 00:26:29,083 He doesn't lead his family. 537 00:26:29,167 --> 00:26:30,708 Eve's is a sin of commission. 538 00:26:30,792 --> 00:26:33,708 She engages in a conversation she shouldn't, 539 00:26:33,792 --> 00:26:35,958 and she believes a lie that she ought not. 540 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:37,750 Paul says repeatedly in the New Testament 541 00:26:37,833 --> 00:26:41,625 that she was deceived. 542 00:26:41,667 --> 00:26:46,333 But the first thing he does is he questions the authority of 543 00:26:46,417 --> 00:26:48,333 the Word of God. 544 00:26:48,417 --> 00:26:50,333 Starting next week, we're going to get into 545 00:26:50,417 --> 00:26:51,750 the book of Ephesians. 546 00:26:51,833 --> 00:26:54,167 We'll spend 15 weeks together in what was John Calvin's 547 00:26:54,208 --> 00:26:56,125 favorite book of the Bible. 548 00:26:56,167 --> 00:27:00,875 I've been anticipating preaching that book for 5 years, 549 00:27:00,958 --> 00:27:03,333 and to varying degrees, I've been working on that book 550 00:27:03,375 --> 00:27:07,917 for 15 years. 551 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:11,500 And I want you to believe it, I want you to start reading it 552 00:27:11,583 --> 00:27:16,000 and studying it, and, in Community Group, discussing it. 553 00:27:16,083 --> 00:27:21,875 But know this: Satan is always going to question the clarity, 554 00:27:21,958 --> 00:27:26,083 the authority of the Word of God. 555 00:27:26,167 --> 00:27:31,500 I can teach, but you need to believe. 556 00:27:31,542 --> 00:27:35,458 I can study, but I need you to study as well. 557 00:27:35,500 --> 00:27:37,917 Just as Satan came to our first parents, 558 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,458 he's going to come to you. 559 00:27:40,500 --> 00:27:44,417 And whatever destruction he has intended for your life, 560 00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:48,958 it will begin with him trying to erode your confidence 561 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:54,042 in the truthfulness and the helpfulness of the Word of God. 562 00:27:54,125 --> 00:27:56,167 Sometimes this could be highly theological, 563 00:27:56,208 --> 00:27:59,042 where you have all kinds of reasons. 564 00:27:59,125 --> 00:28:01,500 Sometimes it's you're reading the wrong authors who are 565 00:28:01,542 --> 00:28:04,000 eroding your confidence in the Scriptures. 566 00:28:04,083 --> 00:28:06,833 Sometimes it's because you have a fear of man, 567 00:28:06,875 --> 00:28:09,125 and you so highly regard others who are critical 568 00:28:09,167 --> 00:28:11,000 of the Scriptures, the professors you've had, 569 00:28:11,042 --> 00:28:14,500 or family who leans on you, that all of a sudden, 570 00:28:14,583 --> 00:28:19,417 you change the Word of God, you diminish the Word of God, 571 00:28:19,500 --> 00:28:25,500 you deny the Word of God, you disregard the Word of God. 572 00:28:25,583 --> 00:28:29,000 Here's what he says, Genesis 3:5, 573 00:28:29,083 --> 00:28:32,500 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, 574 00:28:32,583 --> 00:28:34,750 and you will be," what? 575 00:28:34,833 --> 00:28:38,333 "Like God." 576 00:28:38,417 --> 00:28:40,333 There's the identity statement. 577 00:28:40,417 --> 00:28:42,708 "Knowing good and evil." 578 00:28:42,792 --> 00:28:44,333 Here's what he says. 579 00:28:44,417 --> 00:28:48,458 Satan shows up, "Adam and Eve, I have a way for you 580 00:28:48,500 --> 00:28:51,458 to be like God." 581 00:28:51,500 --> 00:28:57,250 Do you see the temptation of pride? 582 00:28:57,333 --> 00:29:00,125 What did God just say in Genesis 1? 583 00:29:00,167 --> 00:29:06,292 "Let's make them in our image and," what was the word? 584 00:29:07,792 --> 00:29:09,125 "Likeness." 585 00:29:09,167 --> 00:29:10,583 Satan comes along and says, 586 00:29:10,667 --> 00:29:14,083 "Here's a way for you to be like God." 587 00:29:14,167 --> 00:29:19,292 God says, "I already made you like me." 588 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:27,333 I've read Genesis 3 now for a long time. 589 00:29:27,375 --> 00:29:28,833 I'm not good at math. 590 00:29:28,875 --> 00:29:32,000 I got saved at 19, I've been reading it ever since. 591 00:29:32,083 --> 00:29:35,542 I've studied Genesis 3 so many times, 592 00:29:35,625 --> 00:29:41,833 and I missed that until very recently. 593 00:29:41,917 --> 00:29:44,250 God tells them their identity: 594 00:29:44,333 --> 00:29:47,333 "You bear my image and likeness." 595 00:29:47,375 --> 00:29:50,625 Satan erodes their confidence in the Word of God 596 00:29:50,667 --> 00:29:53,833 and lies to them, tempting their pride, saying, 597 00:29:53,875 --> 00:30:00,000 "There is a way for you to be in the likeness of God." 598 00:30:00,083 --> 00:30:06,250 Again, your identity is received, it's not achieved. 599 00:30:06,333 --> 00:30:10,958 It's something God gives, it's not something you do. 600 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:16,167 The essence of the lie that led to the original sin, 601 00:30:16,208 --> 00:30:20,542 which has infected and affected everyone and everything since, 602 00:30:20,625 --> 00:30:25,542 was rooted in the issue of identity. 603 00:30:25,625 --> 00:30:29,417 Adam should have opened his mouth and he should have said, 604 00:30:29,500 --> 00:30:32,458 "God made us in his likeness. 605 00:30:32,500 --> 00:30:39,375 "Our identity is received from God, it's not achieved by us. 606 00:30:39,458 --> 00:30:46,167 We are already blessed, and now we need to trust." 607 00:30:46,250 --> 00:30:47,958 Do you see it? 608 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:49,875 It's amazing, isn't it? 609 00:30:49,958 --> 00:30:55,042 Satan is going to lie to you, and he is going to lie to you, 610 00:30:55,125 --> 00:30:58,875 telling you that in some regard, in some way, 611 00:30:58,958 --> 00:31:01,958 your identity can be achieved by you, 612 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,625 not received from God. 613 00:31:07,875 --> 00:31:10,417 And what we're talking about here is naming. 614 00:31:10,500 --> 00:31:16,667 Naming has a very powerful history in the Scriptures. 615 00:31:16,708 --> 00:31:22,667 God names people, and their name establishes their life course. 616 00:31:22,708 --> 00:31:25,667 It's why when Jesus comes to the earth at his baptism, 617 00:31:25,708 --> 00:31:27,167 he's coming out of the water— 618 00:31:27,208 --> 00:31:28,833 the second member of the Trinity is— 619 00:31:28,917 --> 00:31:31,833 and the Holy Spirit descends upon him in the form of the dove, 620 00:31:31,917 --> 00:31:34,333 and then the Father speaks from heaven and says, what? 621 00:31:34,417 --> 00:31:37,833 "This is my Son." 622 00:31:37,917 --> 00:31:42,833 That's an identity statement for the whole world to hear. 623 00:31:42,875 --> 00:31:45,625 When Jesus says things like, "I am the vine. 624 00:31:45,667 --> 00:31:51,333 I am the good shepherd," those are identity statements. 625 00:31:51,417 --> 00:31:56,000 "I am," and Jesus knows who he is. 626 00:31:56,083 --> 00:31:59,417 One of the ways that Jesus was able to resist temptation, 627 00:31:59,500 --> 00:32:03,875 to overcome frustration, to endure suffering was he kept 628 00:32:03,958 --> 00:32:08,417 coming back to an understanding of his identity, 629 00:32:08,500 --> 00:32:10,708 who he was. 630 00:32:10,792 --> 00:32:14,333 See, to become a Christian is not to live a life that is pain- 631 00:32:14,375 --> 00:32:17,667 or suffering-free, but if your identity is in Christ, 632 00:32:17,750 --> 00:32:22,167 it's pain- and suffering-proof. 633 00:32:25,042 --> 00:32:27,667 Satan still names people, too. 634 00:32:27,750 --> 00:32:29,833 That's why the Bible calls him a liar. 635 00:32:29,875 --> 00:32:32,792 That's what Jesus calls him in John 8 I think it is. 636 00:32:32,833 --> 00:32:34,958 That's why in Revelation 12:10, he's called the accuser 637 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,542 of the children of God. 638 00:32:37,625 --> 00:32:39,250 He's a deceiver, 639 00:32:39,333 --> 00:32:42,750 the Bible says elsewhere. He's going to try and name you, 640 00:32:42,833 --> 00:32:48,000 and he wants that name to become, for you, an identity. 641 00:32:48,167 --> 00:32:52,083 I learned this painfully, very early on in ministry. 642 00:32:52,167 --> 00:32:55,917 When we started the church, 643 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:59,833 we had a bunch of new Christians, 644 00:32:59,875 --> 00:33:04,375 mainly in their 20s, come from horrific backgrounds, 645 00:33:04,458 --> 00:33:06,167 lots of addiction and abuse. 646 00:33:06,250 --> 00:33:09,583 I had never been a member of a church, an elder in a church, 647 00:33:09,667 --> 00:33:11,875 I hadn't had any formal theological education, 648 00:33:11,958 --> 00:33:14,083 and I was working a job on the side. 649 00:33:14,167 --> 00:33:18,042 I did not care for people as well as they 650 00:33:18,125 --> 00:33:20,083 should have been cared for. 651 00:33:20,167 --> 00:33:23,083 Some people today say, "Well, isn't it hard in a big church?" 652 00:33:23,167 --> 00:33:26,083 No, we take better care of people than we ever have because 653 00:33:26,167 --> 00:33:28,667 now we have the specialists and the resources to train 654 00:33:28,708 --> 00:33:31,375 an army of people to love and care for people. 655 00:33:31,458 --> 00:33:33,875 But at the time, I did the best I could. 656 00:33:33,958 --> 00:33:36,583 And I'll never forget, there was--I did all the counseling 657 00:33:36,667 --> 00:33:40,792 and such in the early years, and I was meeting with a young woman 658 00:33:40,833 --> 00:33:45,667 who had been abused growing up, and she ran away from home 659 00:33:45,750 --> 00:33:49,458 as a teenager, and she'd had a very difficult life, 660 00:33:49,500 --> 00:33:55,375 and she let men do the worst things to her. 661 00:33:55,458 --> 00:33:59,875 And I met with her, along with a woman leader in our church, 662 00:33:59,958 --> 00:34:02,375 and we were talking to her, trying to help her 663 00:34:02,458 --> 00:34:03,875 and serve her. 664 00:34:03,958 --> 00:34:06,375 And I looked at her, I said, "Why? 665 00:34:06,458 --> 00:34:09,542 "Why do you do these things and why do you let other people 666 00:34:09,625 --> 00:34:10,958 do these things to you?" 667 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:15,667 She said, quote, "I'm a dirty girl, so I do dirty things." 668 00:34:15,750 --> 00:34:18,333 I could still hear it. 669 00:34:18,417 --> 00:34:21,083 I pray for her almost every day. 670 00:34:21,167 --> 00:34:24,500 I have now for almost 15 years, 671 00:34:24,542 --> 00:34:29,667 and she's still not walking with Jesus. 672 00:34:29,750 --> 00:34:32,750 That was a demonic lie that her grandfather told her, 673 00:34:32,833 --> 00:34:35,792 her first abuser. 674 00:34:35,833 --> 00:34:38,000 He used to tell her, "You're a dirty girl, 675 00:34:38,042 --> 00:34:41,375 so I make you do dirty things," and for the rest of her life, 676 00:34:41,458 --> 00:34:43,167 her identity was, "I'm a dirty girl. 677 00:34:43,208 --> 00:34:44,542 I do dirty things." 678 00:34:44,625 --> 00:34:48,667 No, no, God made you and Jesus loves you, 679 00:34:48,750 --> 00:34:51,333 and there is no condemnation in Christ, 680 00:34:51,375 --> 00:34:57,667 but there is a new identity that leads to a new destiny. 681 00:34:57,750 --> 00:35:01,833 I tell you these things because I really love you. 682 00:35:01,917 --> 00:35:06,583 And I know in my own life, in my family, in our church family, 683 00:35:06,667 --> 00:35:10,292 the people who do the most damage to themselves, 684 00:35:10,333 --> 00:35:14,583 it's oftentimes rooted in a false understanding of their 685 00:35:14,667 --> 00:35:17,792 identity, and it's because somewhere, 686 00:35:17,833 --> 00:35:21,167 the enemy has come to them, and he has whispered to them 687 00:35:21,208 --> 00:35:24,000 and told them that they are someone that they're not. 688 00:35:24,042 --> 00:35:27,375 And the result is, then, they accept that lie of their 689 00:35:27,458 --> 00:35:30,333 identity, and then they live in light of it 690 00:35:30,417 --> 00:35:31,958 to their own destruction. 691 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:35,333 And this is what the Bible means when it speaks of idolatry. 692 00:35:35,417 --> 00:35:38,292 When we think of idolatry, we tend to think of, you know, 693 00:35:38,333 --> 00:35:42,458 shrines and pagan places where other religions go to worship 694 00:35:42,500 --> 00:35:45,167 their false god. 695 00:35:45,208 --> 00:35:49,625 Before idolatry exists out there, it exists in here. 696 00:35:49,667 --> 00:35:54,750 Ezekiel 14 says, "They brought their idols into their heart." 697 00:35:59,708 --> 00:36:04,667 The problem is not out there, the problem is in here. 698 00:36:04,708 --> 00:36:07,042 Idolatry is when we take a good thing 699 00:36:07,125 --> 00:36:10,167 and we make it a God thing, which is a bad thing. 700 00:36:10,208 --> 00:36:12,917 Idolatry is when we take a created thing 701 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:16,292 and we put it in the Creator's place. 702 00:36:16,333 --> 00:36:18,750 Idolatry is when we live for something 703 00:36:18,833 --> 00:36:22,500 or someone other than Jesus. 704 00:36:22,542 --> 00:36:27,333 Idolatry is when our identity, our hope, our joy, 705 00:36:27,417 --> 00:36:32,833 who we want to be, and who we want others to perceive us to be 706 00:36:32,875 --> 00:36:35,500 is something achieved, by us or others, 707 00:36:35,542 --> 00:36:39,333 and not received from him. 708 00:36:39,417 --> 00:36:43,417 There are so many ways that people categorize themselves. 709 00:36:43,500 --> 00:36:47,333 The Bible does so really in two categories. 710 00:36:47,375 --> 00:36:50,167 Worshipers and idolaters. 711 00:36:50,208 --> 00:36:52,250 Everyone is always worshiping; 712 00:36:52,333 --> 00:36:54,333 the only difference is who or what. 713 00:36:54,375 --> 00:36:56,333 What are they giving their life to? 714 00:36:56,375 --> 00:36:58,000 What are they giving their money to? 715 00:36:58,083 --> 00:36:59,750 What are they giving their emotion to? 716 00:36:59,833 --> 00:37:02,333 What are they devoted to? How do they define themselves? 717 00:37:02,375 --> 00:37:04,542 Here's what it says in Romans 1:25. 718 00:37:04,625 --> 00:37:08,042 And you'll notice it's going to echo much of what we just read 719 00:37:08,125 --> 00:37:11,750 in Genesis 1 and 3, and this is a bit of a commentator 720 00:37:11,833 --> 00:37:14,792 perspective back on the opening chapters of the Bible 721 00:37:14,833 --> 00:37:20,542 and the effects of what happened through identity idolatry. 722 00:37:20,625 --> 00:37:25,750 Romans 1:25, "They exchanged the truth 723 00:37:25,833 --> 00:37:31,500 "about God for the lie 724 00:37:31,583 --> 00:37:34,500 "and worshiped and served 725 00:37:34,542 --> 00:37:36,458 "the creature rather than the Creator, 726 00:37:36,500 --> 00:37:38,292 who is forever blessed! Amen." 727 00:37:38,333 --> 00:37:40,708 This is a common theme and thread in the teaching 728 00:37:40,792 --> 00:37:42,292 at Mars Hill Church. 729 00:37:42,333 --> 00:37:44,375 It works through our sermon series, 730 00:37:44,458 --> 00:37:46,417 and our Community Groups, and it's very prevalent 731 00:37:46,500 --> 00:37:48,542 in our Redemption Groups. 732 00:37:48,625 --> 00:37:51,833 But let me explain it again, because so many of you are new, 733 00:37:51,875 --> 00:37:55,167 and those of you who are not new, we tend to forget. 734 00:37:55,250 --> 00:38:01,125 We are to worship the Creator and enjoy and steward 735 00:38:01,167 --> 00:38:03,000 created things. 736 00:38:03,042 --> 00:38:05,833 Our identity is to be received from God, 737 00:38:05,875 --> 00:38:08,292 not achieved by something we've done, 738 00:38:08,333 --> 00:38:11,375 or others have done to us or for us. 739 00:38:11,458 --> 00:38:16,625 This allows everything to be in its rightful place. 740 00:38:16,667 --> 00:38:21,625 Now we can love people without requiring them to be God to us. 741 00:38:21,667 --> 00:38:25,000 We can enjoy things without pretending that they're 742 00:38:25,042 --> 00:38:28,208 going to make it heaven on earth for us. 743 00:38:28,292 --> 00:38:32,292 Idolatry is what happens when there is an inversion. 744 00:38:32,333 --> 00:38:36,000 Here, he uses the language of an exchange. 745 00:38:36,083 --> 00:38:39,125 All of a sudden, we're still passionate, we're still devoted, 746 00:38:39,167 --> 00:38:41,292 we're still committed, we're still concerned, 747 00:38:41,333 --> 00:38:45,125 we're still giving of ourselves, our time, talent, and treasure, 748 00:38:45,167 --> 00:38:48,042 but the center of our life, the source of our joy, 749 00:38:48,125 --> 00:38:51,042 the hope for our future, 750 00:38:51,125 --> 00:38:55,500 the establishing of our identity is not the Creator, 751 00:38:55,583 --> 00:38:59,333 the Lord Jesus Christ; it's creation, 752 00:38:59,375 --> 00:39:02,792 things that God has made, like the environment, or pets, 753 00:39:02,833 --> 00:39:05,958 or health, or our beauty, or things that we have made, 754 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,708 like a house, or a car, or a grade point average, 755 00:39:08,792 --> 00:39:10,333 or a résumé. 756 00:39:10,375 --> 00:39:14,000 And we live for, we're devoted to, 757 00:39:14,083 --> 00:39:18,333 we give our life as a sacrifice to someone or something that is 758 00:39:18,375 --> 00:39:23,375 created rather than the Creator. 759 00:39:23,458 --> 00:39:25,250 Now, I'm going to start to unpack, 760 00:39:25,333 --> 00:39:30,667 and I'll set this up for you, different categories of idols. 761 00:39:30,708 --> 00:39:34,458 Let me just say in advance, you are going to get defensive, 762 00:39:34,500 --> 00:39:39,167 and frustrated, and want to, at least emotionally 763 00:39:39,208 --> 00:39:41,833 or intellectually, fight with me. 764 00:39:41,875 --> 00:39:45,500 And let me say why: because people violently 765 00:39:45,583 --> 00:39:49,375 defend their idols. 766 00:39:49,458 --> 00:39:52,292 If you read the New Testament, let's say the Book of Acts, 767 00:39:52,333 --> 00:39:55,000 Paul goes into a town, finds the idol, preaches against it, 768 00:39:55,083 --> 00:39:58,542 there's a riot, they try to kill him, he has to leave, 769 00:39:58,625 --> 00:40:01,125 and then somebody else plants what is probably a complicated 770 00:40:01,167 --> 00:40:04,333 church with the few people that did believe 771 00:40:04,375 --> 00:40:07,375 and now will be hated and opposed. 772 00:40:07,458 --> 00:40:11,417 People violently defend their idols. 773 00:40:11,500 --> 00:40:13,458 What do you get angry about? 774 00:40:13,500 --> 00:40:16,708 What do you get defensive of? 775 00:40:16,792 --> 00:40:19,375 We may be starting to encroach on your idol, 776 00:40:19,458 --> 00:40:22,625 which means our Community Group discussions could get 777 00:40:22,667 --> 00:40:25,292 a little complicated. 778 00:40:25,333 --> 00:40:27,875 You may want to put turnbuckles in the living room 779 00:40:27,958 --> 00:40:29,958 at your apartment for the Community Group discussions 780 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:31,500 that'll be forthcoming. 781 00:40:31,542 --> 00:40:33,000 You're going to find their idol, 782 00:40:33,042 --> 00:40:34,375 they're gonna find your idol, 783 00:40:34,458 --> 00:40:35,792 you're gonna find their idol, 784 00:40:35,833 --> 00:40:37,167 and people defend their idol. 785 00:40:37,250 --> 00:40:39,333 "Hey wait, I've got a reason. Let me explain. 786 00:40:39,417 --> 00:40:40,875 "You don't understand. Don't go there. 787 00:40:40,958 --> 00:40:42,875 What about you? Let me change the subject." 788 00:40:42,958 --> 00:40:44,292 Right? 789 00:40:44,333 --> 00:40:47,208 Some of you call this family. 790 00:40:47,292 --> 00:40:49,917 But I love you. 791 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:55,667 Idols make promises they never keep. 792 00:40:55,708 --> 00:40:59,167 Lies never bring life, they only bring death. 793 00:40:59,208 --> 00:41:02,583 And even if your identity idolatry is working as you 794 00:41:02,667 --> 00:41:05,625 would perceive it, it doesn't work forever. 795 00:41:05,667 --> 00:41:10,333 You need an identity that is eternal, because you are. 796 00:41:10,375 --> 00:41:13,750 First category is items. 797 00:41:13,833 --> 00:41:16,667 What this means is that consumerism is now a religion 798 00:41:16,708 --> 00:41:19,917 and stores are now pagan temples. 799 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:22,333 Right now there are people walking through the mall, 800 00:41:22,375 --> 00:41:25,333 trying to figure out what their identity is. 801 00:41:25,375 --> 00:41:27,125 "What will I wear? 802 00:41:27,167 --> 00:41:29,125 "What will the couch be at my house? 803 00:41:29,167 --> 00:41:31,417 How will this reflect on me as a person?" 804 00:41:31,500 --> 00:41:36,125 They are purchasing an identity, trying to present themselves, 805 00:41:36,167 --> 00:41:38,208 and that's what consumerism does. 806 00:41:38,292 --> 00:41:40,958 This is where certain sociologists will speak of 807 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:45,375 conspicuous consumption, meaning you buy something not because 808 00:41:45,458 --> 00:41:48,917 you need it, but because it establishes an identity for you 809 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:53,167 as a person, like a car. 810 00:41:53,208 --> 00:41:59,167 "Will I take the bus to save the environment? 811 00:41:59,208 --> 00:42:01,625 "Will I drive a truck because I'm a man? 812 00:42:01,667 --> 00:42:05,292 "Will I drive an SUV because I'm a man with a family? 813 00:42:05,333 --> 00:42:08,458 "Will I drive a minivan because I used to be a man 814 00:42:08,500 --> 00:42:09,833 "until I got a family? 815 00:42:09,917 --> 00:42:15,250 What will I drive?" 816 00:42:15,333 --> 00:42:18,958 Because your car, it's not just transportation; 817 00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,500 it's identity formation. 818 00:42:21,542 --> 00:42:24,458 Some of you say, "I don't care. I don't care." 819 00:42:24,500 --> 00:42:26,250 So, you're your own idol. 820 00:42:26,333 --> 00:42:29,000 All you care about is what you think about yourself. 821 00:42:29,042 --> 00:42:34,167 Got you too, you're welcome. We're all in this together. 822 00:42:34,208 --> 00:42:37,542 And clothes, boy, a lot of it's clothes. 823 00:42:37,625 --> 00:42:39,417 "Well, what am I going to wear?" 824 00:42:39,500 --> 00:42:40,750 Right, ladies? 825 00:42:40,833 --> 00:42:44,125 "Am I going to wear a skirt? Am I going to wear a dress? 826 00:42:44,167 --> 00:42:45,708 "Am I going to wear pants? 827 00:42:45,792 --> 00:42:47,708 "Am I going to be casual, semi-casual, formal? 828 00:42:47,792 --> 00:42:49,833 "Where will my neckline be? 829 00:42:49,917 --> 00:42:53,833 "Where will my hemline be? Will they meet? 830 00:42:56,417 --> 00:42:59,375 "My hair, my makeup, my beauty, my spouse's beauty, 831 00:42:59,458 --> 00:43:03,292 "my kids' beauty. 832 00:43:03,333 --> 00:43:06,083 "When people come to my house, and they wash their hands, 833 00:43:06,167 --> 00:43:08,125 "and they dry it on the towel, 834 00:43:08,167 --> 00:43:13,417 "will they know the cotton fiber count on the towel? 835 00:43:13,500 --> 00:43:17,125 "Is this Egyptian or is this--what will this say 836 00:43:17,167 --> 00:43:22,167 "about me as a human being? 837 00:43:22,208 --> 00:43:24,500 "Not to mention where I live, and what neighborhood, 838 00:43:24,542 --> 00:43:25,875 "and what zip code. 839 00:43:25,958 --> 00:43:27,792 "And do I own? Do I rent? 840 00:43:27,833 --> 00:43:29,833 "Is it a condo? Is it a townhome? 841 00:43:29,917 --> 00:43:33,708 Is it a home?" 842 00:43:33,792 --> 00:43:37,583 They also talk about competitive consumption. 843 00:43:37,667 --> 00:43:39,833 Your neighbor got something, you need to have it. 844 00:43:39,917 --> 00:43:41,958 Why? Because it's competitive. 845 00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:44,125 And now we watch television shows where we see 846 00:43:44,167 --> 00:43:45,625 the richest people in the world, 847 00:43:45,667 --> 00:43:48,333 and we assume that we need to have what they have, 848 00:43:48,417 --> 00:43:50,792 and do what they do, and then we get ourselves 849 00:43:50,833 --> 00:43:52,792 into debt, and then we have a crisis, 850 00:43:52,833 --> 00:43:55,792 and all of a sudden our identity idolatry has us in poverty, 851 00:43:55,833 --> 00:43:59,000 because we spend money we don't have to buy things we don't need 852 00:43:59,083 --> 00:44:02,000 to impress people we don't know. 853 00:44:02,083 --> 00:44:05,125 Duties. 854 00:44:05,167 --> 00:44:07,458 "I'm a student. 855 00:44:07,500 --> 00:44:10,083 "I'm a first-born, responsible child. 856 00:44:10,167 --> 00:44:12,083 "I'm the funny one. 857 00:44:12,167 --> 00:44:14,875 "Every time things get difficult, I tell a joke. 858 00:44:14,958 --> 00:44:17,875 "That's my job. I'm a lawyer. 859 00:44:17,958 --> 00:44:19,750 "I'm an attorney. I'm an accountant. 860 00:44:19,833 --> 00:44:22,792 "I'm a truck driver. I'm a construction worker. 861 00:44:22,833 --> 00:44:24,792 "I'm a mom. I'm a dad. 862 00:44:24,833 --> 00:44:27,375 "I'm a deacon. I'm an elder. 863 00:44:27,458 --> 00:44:29,333 I'm a Community Group leader." 864 00:44:29,375 --> 00:44:31,208 Duties. 865 00:44:31,292 --> 00:44:35,542 Again, idols can be good things in a God place, 866 00:44:35,625 --> 00:44:37,542 which is a bad thing. 867 00:44:37,625 --> 00:44:40,250 It may not even be that you're doing the wrong thing. 868 00:44:40,333 --> 00:44:42,500 You're doing the right thing with the wrong heart. 869 00:44:42,583 --> 00:44:46,125 It's not to show the world God, but it's to show the world 870 00:44:46,167 --> 00:44:49,542 how glorious you are. 871 00:44:53,208 --> 00:44:54,750 What are your duties? 872 00:44:54,833 --> 00:44:57,292 What are your responsibilities? 873 00:44:57,333 --> 00:44:58,875 How are they going? 874 00:44:58,958 --> 00:45:03,292 Here's what happens: if your identity is in your duty, 875 00:45:03,333 --> 00:45:05,875 you try to find your thing. 876 00:45:05,958 --> 00:45:07,667 "What's my thing? Am I arty? 877 00:45:07,750 --> 00:45:09,500 "Am I musical? Do I paint? 878 00:45:09,542 --> 00:45:12,583 "Am I hunting, fishing, biking? Am I a care-giver? 879 00:45:12,667 --> 00:45:15,375 "Am I an interior designer? Am I a good accountant? 880 00:45:15,458 --> 00:45:17,667 Am I a lawyer? What's my thing?" 881 00:45:17,750 --> 00:45:19,500 We're all looking for our thing. 882 00:45:19,542 --> 00:45:22,708 "Found my thing, now I want to become really good at my thing." 883 00:45:22,792 --> 00:45:25,250 And if you achieve it, you kind of become smug. 884 00:45:25,333 --> 00:45:26,792 "Look how good I am." 885 00:45:26,833 --> 00:45:28,625 And if you don't, you become depressed. 886 00:45:28,667 --> 00:45:30,083 "I'm not very good." 887 00:45:30,167 --> 00:45:33,333 It never leads to joy in any certain identity. 888 00:45:33,417 --> 00:45:34,917 Here's the truth. 889 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:38,083 Listen to this. 890 00:45:38,167 --> 00:45:43,458 Who you are determines what you do. 891 00:45:44,833 --> 00:45:47,667 Who you are determines what you do. 892 00:45:47,708 --> 00:45:50,292 Not what the whole world thinks: 893 00:45:50,333 --> 00:45:54,333 what you do determines who you are. 894 00:45:54,417 --> 00:45:57,625 It's not what you do determines who you are. 895 00:45:57,667 --> 00:46:00,042 Because, see, the whole self-help movement is this: 896 00:46:00,125 --> 00:46:02,750 do these things to change yourself. 897 00:46:02,833 --> 00:46:05,000 Lie. 898 00:46:05,083 --> 00:46:11,042 Come to Jesus, be born again, become a new you, 899 00:46:11,125 --> 00:46:15,167 and then who you are determines what you do, 900 00:46:15,208 --> 00:46:21,000 not what you do determines who you are. 901 00:46:21,083 --> 00:46:22,458 Others. 902 00:46:22,500 --> 00:46:26,375 Alright, now we're going to proceed to full-blown meddling 903 00:46:26,458 --> 00:46:28,542 in your life. 904 00:46:28,625 --> 00:46:32,042 I just tell you that in advance. 905 00:46:32,125 --> 00:46:34,042 I think one of the most common idols, 906 00:46:34,125 --> 00:46:39,375 if not the most common idol, others. 907 00:46:39,458 --> 00:46:42,292 This can be individuals or groups. 908 00:46:42,333 --> 00:46:44,208 What do they think? What do they want? 909 00:46:44,292 --> 00:46:46,667 What do they say? What do they need? 910 00:46:46,708 --> 00:46:51,375 Proverbs 29:25 says, "The fear of man is a trap," or a snare. 911 00:46:51,458 --> 00:46:54,500 "I want them to like me. I want them to approve of me. 912 00:46:54,583 --> 00:46:57,667 "I don't want them to punish me, I want them to bless me. 913 00:46:57,708 --> 00:47:00,125 "I want them to never leave me, never forsake me. 914 00:47:00,167 --> 00:47:02,833 "I want them to say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.' 915 00:47:02,917 --> 00:47:05,833 "I want them to say, 'You can be part of our community. 916 00:47:05,917 --> 00:47:07,292 "'You're always welcome here. 917 00:47:07,333 --> 00:47:11,208 You're one of us.'" 918 00:47:11,292 --> 00:47:15,583 Whose words are far too powerful? 919 00:47:15,667 --> 00:47:19,500 If they praise you, your life is worth living. 920 00:47:19,542 --> 00:47:23,708 If they criticize you, you feel like dying. 921 00:47:26,875 --> 00:47:32,167 We should respect people, but not worship them. 922 00:47:32,208 --> 00:47:34,917 And this worship of others, sometimes it's your tribe, 923 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:38,708 it's your nation, it's your state. 924 00:47:38,792 --> 00:47:42,583 Everything's bigger in Texas. 925 00:47:42,667 --> 00:47:44,333 It's your city. 926 00:47:44,417 --> 00:47:48,542 We're in Seattle, we smoke weed, do what we want. 927 00:47:48,625 --> 00:47:50,667 Portland they say, "We're not impressed. 928 00:47:50,750 --> 00:47:53,833 We used to do that before we got more liberal than you." 929 00:47:53,917 --> 00:47:56,708 Alright? 930 00:47:56,792 --> 00:47:58,167 What's your race? 931 00:47:58,208 --> 00:47:59,958 "Oh, we're Italian. We're Hispanic. 932 00:48:00,083 --> 00:48:01,958 "We're Irish. We're Asian. 933 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:06,292 This is who we are." 934 00:48:06,333 --> 00:48:09,833 Your gender, your income level, your sexual orientation, 935 00:48:09,875 --> 00:48:12,917 your hobby, your sports team, your favorite college football 936 00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:15,792 team, your favorite pro team, your political party. 937 00:48:15,833 --> 00:48:21,125 Here's what happens, if you idolize, you will demonize. 938 00:48:21,167 --> 00:48:23,917 Jonathan Edwards, I believe America's greatest theologian 939 00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:26,625 historically, says, "If you idolize, you will demonize." 940 00:48:26,667 --> 00:48:29,333 You know why? 941 00:48:29,375 --> 00:48:34,042 "If I worship them, then I have to hate them. 942 00:48:34,125 --> 00:48:36,833 "So, it's not just that I disagree with that 943 00:48:36,875 --> 00:48:40,833 "political party, they're demonized. 944 00:48:40,875 --> 00:48:43,208 "They're barely human. 945 00:48:43,292 --> 00:48:46,667 "My sports team, we're like Jesus, 946 00:48:46,708 --> 00:48:49,500 and that sports team is like Satan." 947 00:48:49,583 --> 00:48:51,333 Okay, right? 948 00:48:51,417 --> 00:48:53,083 Any college football fans? 949 00:48:53,167 --> 00:48:54,708 I'm not making this up. 950 00:48:54,792 --> 00:48:57,042 The only thing I left out was the nachos. 951 00:48:57,125 --> 00:49:01,542 That's the only thing I left out. 952 00:49:01,625 --> 00:49:07,708 It's okay to disagree, but you don't need to demonize people. 953 00:49:07,792 --> 00:49:12,125 If you idolize your group, you'll demonize the other group. 954 00:49:12,167 --> 00:49:13,958 That's what leads to all the conflict 955 00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:15,542 and all of the hostility. 956 00:49:15,625 --> 00:49:18,708 It's not just this is right, and this is wrong, and we disagree, 957 00:49:18,792 --> 00:49:20,458 and we've got to sort it out. 958 00:49:20,500 --> 00:49:22,417 It's that you are different than me, 959 00:49:22,500 --> 00:49:25,500 and I am wonderful and you are horrible, 960 00:49:25,583 --> 00:49:31,125 or we are wonderful and you are horrible. 961 00:49:33,333 --> 00:49:39,708 And in the age of social media, this is more intense than ever. 962 00:49:39,792 --> 00:49:42,042 Social media's about creating an identity. 963 00:49:42,125 --> 00:49:44,000 How will you present yourself to the world? 964 00:49:44,083 --> 00:49:46,375 Any of you opened your first social media account? 965 00:49:46,458 --> 00:49:48,708 "What photos will I show?" 966 00:49:48,792 --> 00:49:50,500 There's a big decision. 967 00:49:50,542 --> 00:49:52,458 "Just me? Me and my pet? 968 00:49:52,500 --> 00:49:54,458 "That says something. Me and my hobbies? 969 00:49:54,500 --> 00:49:57,000 "Me in front of my car? Me with famous people? 970 00:49:57,083 --> 00:49:59,417 "Me with rich people? Me in beautiful places? 971 00:49:59,500 --> 00:50:01,500 "Or just photos of other people and things? 972 00:50:01,542 --> 00:50:03,667 "I don't want to be in the photo. 973 00:50:03,708 --> 00:50:06,333 "Single, married, complicated? 974 00:50:06,417 --> 00:50:09,333 "Oh, I gotta--oh, I gotta--okay. 975 00:50:09,375 --> 00:50:13,167 "Hobbies? 976 00:50:13,208 --> 00:50:15,750 "I should say hiking because that's outdoors and active. 977 00:50:15,833 --> 00:50:19,375 "I don't hike, but if I say hiking, 978 00:50:19,458 --> 00:50:21,417 "then other people will think I'm a hiker, 979 00:50:21,500 --> 00:50:23,167 "and health-conscious, and love--hiker! 980 00:50:23,250 --> 00:50:25,625 "Hiker! What else? 981 00:50:25,667 --> 00:50:27,417 "I love children. 982 00:50:27,500 --> 00:50:29,750 "I don't, but I want to meet a woman, 983 00:50:29,833 --> 00:50:32,833 so I'm going to say that." 984 00:50:32,917 --> 00:50:35,583 Alright, and all of a sudden we start creating someone 985 00:50:35,667 --> 00:50:42,000 that we wish we were or we wish other people thought we were. 986 00:50:42,083 --> 00:50:45,167 We live in a world where we're always creating an identity 987 00:50:45,208 --> 00:50:47,500 and someone's always criticizing an identity, 988 00:50:47,583 --> 00:50:49,250 and that's the world we live in. 989 00:50:49,333 --> 00:50:51,917 And then others have more power than they've ever had in 990 00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:54,333 the history of the world because communication now is instant, 991 00:50:54,375 --> 00:50:55,708 constant, global, permanent. 992 00:50:55,792 --> 00:50:57,708 "Once they say it, it's out there forever, 993 00:50:57,792 --> 00:50:59,917 "and everybody sees it, and everybody's going to comment, 994 00:51:00,042 --> 00:51:01,708 "and what will this mean for me? 995 00:51:01,792 --> 00:51:05,083 "And worst yet, what if I put it all out there and nobody 996 00:51:05,167 --> 00:51:10,667 "friends me, nobody follows me, and nobody cares? 997 00:51:12,542 --> 00:51:17,500 I check my status update, but I'm the only one." 998 00:51:17,583 --> 00:51:19,625 Longings. 999 00:51:19,667 --> 00:51:24,458 This is not biblical hope, this is naive optimism. 1000 00:51:24,500 --> 00:51:26,500 "Today is bad, but tomorrow will be great. 1001 00:51:26,542 --> 00:51:28,292 "Today I'm sick, tomorrow I'll be healthy. 1002 00:51:28,333 --> 00:51:30,292 "Today I'm unemployed, tomorrow I'm getting a job. 1003 00:51:30,333 --> 00:51:34,458 "Today I'm single, but tomorrow I'm going to meet somebody. 1004 00:51:34,500 --> 00:51:38,333 "Today my life is a wreck, but tomorrow's a new day because 1005 00:51:38,375 --> 00:51:43,833 "when God closes a window, he opens a door! 1006 00:51:43,917 --> 00:51:48,625 "It's not in the Bible, but I say it confidently because 1007 00:51:48,667 --> 00:51:54,750 I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm nervous." 1008 00:51:59,042 --> 00:52:01,625 Or maybe you're really religious and spiritual. 1009 00:52:01,667 --> 00:52:04,167 You're like, "Oh, I have verses. I have verses. 1010 00:52:04,208 --> 00:52:07,083 "I picked some. 1011 00:52:07,167 --> 00:52:11,333 I just--it's not what they mean, but it's how I use them." 1012 00:52:11,417 --> 00:52:13,417 "We're more than conquerors in Christ!" 1013 00:52:13,500 --> 00:52:16,792 Good, finally, now it sounds spiritual. 1014 00:52:16,833 --> 00:52:18,708 "He'll never leave you nor forsake you. 1015 00:52:18,792 --> 00:52:22,083 He never lets the righteous go hungry." 1016 00:52:22,167 --> 00:52:24,208 Just start pulling verses. 1017 00:52:24,292 --> 00:52:26,208 Claim the promises of God! 1018 00:52:26,292 --> 00:52:28,167 Have faith! 1019 00:52:28,208 --> 00:52:31,167 God wants you to be rich, and healthy, and successful! 1020 00:52:31,208 --> 00:52:34,500 Find a self-help teacher and a false prophet and let them 1021 00:52:34,542 --> 00:52:39,042 give you a god who gives you your idol. 1022 00:52:39,125 --> 00:52:45,333 Be careful. 1023 00:52:45,375 --> 00:52:51,792 Your identity needs to work today and not just be something 1024 00:52:51,833 --> 00:52:54,667 that you're hoping will work tomorrow. 1025 00:52:54,750 --> 00:52:57,125 It needs to be something you have today, 1026 00:52:57,167 --> 00:52:59,875 not something that you'll get tomorrow maybe. 1027 00:52:59,958 --> 00:53:03,333 Here's what happens: either that identity idolatry never comes, 1028 00:53:03,375 --> 00:53:07,500 or it does come and it only disappoints. 1029 00:53:07,583 --> 00:53:10,292 "I got better, I'm still sad. 1030 00:53:10,333 --> 00:53:14,708 "I got married, I'm not fully satisfied. 1031 00:53:14,792 --> 00:53:19,750 We have kids, they're driving me nuts." 1032 00:53:19,833 --> 00:53:21,792 The single people didn't laugh, 1033 00:53:21,833 --> 00:53:26,542 and the married people know what I'm talking about. 1034 00:53:26,625 --> 00:53:29,167 "I always wanted that job, I got that job, 1035 00:53:29,208 --> 00:53:31,875 "I don't like that job. 1036 00:53:31,958 --> 00:53:35,458 "Or I do like that job, but it's not a good religion. 1037 00:53:35,500 --> 00:53:38,583 "It makes a horrible god. 1038 00:53:38,667 --> 00:53:41,458 "That office isn't really a church. 1039 00:53:41,500 --> 00:53:43,458 "It's a good place to do some things, 1040 00:53:43,500 --> 00:53:47,000 "but it's not a place that ultimately reconciles my 1041 00:53:47,042 --> 00:53:50,000 "broken relationship with a Creator of the universe. 1042 00:53:50,083 --> 00:53:55,167 It's not the place where I find out who God is and who I am." 1043 00:53:58,667 --> 00:54:00,333 Some of you, it's tomorrow. 1044 00:54:00,417 --> 00:54:03,333 "When I graduate, when I get the job, when I get married, 1045 00:54:03,417 --> 00:54:05,542 "when we have kids, when we pay off debt, 1046 00:54:05,625 --> 00:54:06,958 "when we renovate the house, 1047 00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:08,958 "when we get all our bills paid off, 1048 00:54:09,000 --> 00:54:10,458 "when we can go on vacation. 1049 00:54:10,500 --> 00:54:11,958 It's coming, it's almost there." 1050 00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:15,667 Ecclesiastes calls it, "A chasing after the wind." 1051 00:54:15,708 --> 00:54:21,000 It's a wild goose chase with no goose. 1052 00:54:21,083 --> 00:54:25,167 Here's the hardest one, maybe. 1053 00:54:25,208 --> 00:54:28,083 Sufferings. 1054 00:54:28,167 --> 00:54:29,500 We suffer emotionally. 1055 00:54:29,583 --> 00:54:30,958 We suffer relationally. 1056 00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:32,500 We suffer spiritually. 1057 00:54:32,542 --> 00:54:33,917 We suffer financially. 1058 00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:35,333 We suffer physically. 1059 00:54:35,375 --> 00:54:38,042 And when we suffer, either because of sins we commit or 1060 00:54:38,125 --> 00:54:42,333 others commit against us, we can have our worst day 1061 00:54:42,417 --> 00:54:45,833 be our defining day. 1062 00:54:45,875 --> 00:54:48,750 Let me say this: you're not your best day; 1063 00:54:48,833 --> 00:54:52,792 you're not your worst day. 1064 00:54:52,833 --> 00:54:56,750 Your identity, your righteousness is in Christ, 1065 00:54:56,833 --> 00:54:59,667 not you. 1066 00:55:04,833 --> 00:55:10,750 It's hard when people are suffering because they will take 1067 00:55:10,833 --> 00:55:14,417 their suffering as an identity. 1068 00:55:14,500 --> 00:55:16,292 "I have cancer. I'm divorced. 1069 00:55:16,333 --> 00:55:18,667 "My spouse cheated on me. My kids betrayed me. 1070 00:55:18,750 --> 00:55:23,500 "My business partner robbed me. 1071 00:55:23,583 --> 00:55:26,875 And I'm suffering, and I'm hurting." 1072 00:55:26,958 --> 00:55:29,000 And the empathy, the love, the affection, 1073 00:55:29,042 --> 00:55:31,917 the compassion that we have for people, that I have for you, 1074 00:55:32,000 --> 00:55:35,000 wants to say, "I am so sorry. The Bible says that's sin. 1075 00:55:35,042 --> 00:55:37,708 "It's so bad Jesus died for it. 1076 00:55:37,792 --> 00:55:39,917 "That's the only way it can be forgiven, 1077 00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:42,042 "or there's eternal consequence for those who 1078 00:55:42,125 --> 00:55:45,500 don't give it to him." 1079 00:55:45,542 --> 00:55:48,875 And I want to be careful, because I know I can come off 1080 00:55:48,958 --> 00:55:53,458 like tough jock, you know, full-throated prophet who just 1081 00:55:53,500 --> 00:55:56,292 wants to breathe fire, and not come off as loving, 1082 00:55:56,333 --> 00:56:01,333 and compassionate, father, pastor, brother. 1083 00:56:01,375 --> 00:56:05,458 So, I want to say this carefully so that maybe I could serve you 1084 00:56:05,500 --> 00:56:07,542 and maybe you could serve others. 1085 00:56:07,625 --> 00:56:10,417 But, if we really love someone, we can't allow their suffering 1086 00:56:10,500 --> 00:56:14,958 to become the source of their identity. 1087 00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:18,333 You may have cancer, but you're not cancer. 1088 00:56:18,417 --> 00:56:23,958 You may be divorced, but your identity is not divorcee. 1089 00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:26,125 It's made in the image and likeness of God, 1090 00:56:26,167 --> 00:56:29,833 that God made you and Jesus saved you. 1091 00:56:29,875 --> 00:56:33,000 We interviewed a lot of people for the book, 1092 00:56:33,042 --> 00:56:37,583 and there was a gal, we call her name Tina, she had brain cancer. 1093 00:56:37,667 --> 00:56:39,375 Horrible. 1094 00:56:39,458 --> 00:56:43,208 Young, healthy woman, brain cancer. 1095 00:56:43,292 --> 00:56:47,750 And the surgery and the trauma, it affects her motor skills, 1096 00:56:47,833 --> 00:56:50,667 and speech, and all of her life. 1097 00:56:50,708 --> 00:56:54,000 It's affected everything. 1098 00:56:54,042 --> 00:56:56,750 And how others didn't love her, and didn't support her, 1099 00:56:56,833 --> 00:57:00,917 and didn't surround her is horrible. 1100 00:57:01,000 --> 00:57:02,875 And she has this amazing line 1101 00:57:02,958 --> 00:57:05,208 that I was very honored to share. 1102 00:57:05,292 --> 00:57:07,750 I felt like it was one of those Holy Spirit, 1103 00:57:07,833 --> 00:57:11,167 wisdom through a sister, amazing gifts. 1104 00:57:11,250 --> 00:57:13,833 She was talking about her suffering, and her cancer, 1105 00:57:13,875 --> 00:57:16,458 and her hard life, and she said, I'm paraphrasing, 1106 00:57:16,500 --> 00:57:22,708 "These things may explain me, but they don't define me." 1107 00:57:22,792 --> 00:57:25,625 That's wisdom. 1108 00:57:25,667 --> 00:57:27,667 I want you to hear that. 1109 00:57:27,750 --> 00:57:30,250 Your sufferings may explain you. 1110 00:57:30,333 --> 00:57:32,208 Your income might explain you. 1111 00:57:32,292 --> 00:57:36,375 Your health, your beauty, your life stage, your marital status, 1112 00:57:36,458 --> 00:57:41,333 your IQ, your résumé, your GPA, your net worth, 1113 00:57:41,417 --> 00:57:44,000 the car you drive, the clothes you wear. 1114 00:57:44,083 --> 00:57:50,583 Those things might explain you, but they don't define you. 1115 00:57:50,667 --> 00:57:52,958 They don't define you. 1116 00:57:53,000 --> 00:57:54,833 And I say this as a corrective. 1117 00:57:54,875 --> 00:57:57,250 We do Redemption Groups, which I love and appreciate, 1118 00:57:57,333 --> 00:58:01,000 trying to help those who are struggling with sin 1119 00:58:01,042 --> 00:58:04,833 and suffering, and it's a little different than 1120 00:58:04,875 --> 00:58:06,625 the recovery moment. 1121 00:58:06,667 --> 00:58:08,667 And I don't want to be overly critical, 1122 00:58:08,708 --> 00:58:11,000 because the recovery movement is trying to help people, 1123 00:58:11,083 --> 00:58:13,833 which as a pastor I'm all for, but when it's, 1124 00:58:13,875 --> 00:58:16,208 "Hi, my name is so-and-so, and I'm an alcoholic," 1125 00:58:16,292 --> 00:58:19,500 is that your identity? 1126 00:58:19,583 --> 00:58:22,167 "Hi, my name's so-and-so, and I'm a drug addict." 1127 00:58:22,208 --> 00:58:24,333 Is that your identity? 1128 00:58:24,375 --> 00:58:26,833 "Hi, my name is so-and-so, and I'm a gambling addict." 1129 00:58:26,875 --> 00:58:28,500 Is that your identity? 1130 00:58:28,583 --> 00:58:31,083 And in 30 years, if you've not had a drink, 1131 00:58:31,167 --> 00:58:32,917 is that still how you'll introduce yourself? 1132 00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:34,708 Because see, we don't believe in recovery, 1133 00:58:34,792 --> 00:58:36,667 we believe in redemption. 1134 00:58:36,708 --> 00:58:39,042 We believe that in Christ, you become a new person. 1135 00:58:39,125 --> 00:58:41,375 You get a new identity, and a new power, 1136 00:58:41,458 --> 00:58:44,792 and a new mind to live a new life, to have a new destiny, 1137 00:58:44,833 --> 00:58:46,667 to leave a new legacy. 1138 00:58:46,708 --> 00:58:49,500 We're not trying to recover your life before Christ, 1139 00:58:49,542 --> 00:58:56,125 we're trying to redeem your life in Christ. 1140 00:58:56,167 --> 00:58:58,500 You're not your worst day. 1141 00:58:58,542 --> 00:59:00,625 You're not the worst thing you've done. 1142 00:59:00,667 --> 00:59:03,875 You're not the worst thing that others have done to you. 1143 00:59:03,958 --> 00:59:10,417 You are what Jesus has done for you: lived without sin, 1144 00:59:10,500 --> 00:59:13,792 died for sin and suffering, rose to conquer death, 1145 00:59:13,833 --> 00:59:19,125 and is coming again to end suffering. 1146 00:59:23,750 --> 00:59:26,667 I want to share with you a pattern I've witnessed in 1147 00:59:26,708 --> 00:59:31,458 pastoral ministry. 1148 00:59:31,500 --> 00:59:36,583 I love you with a father's affection, 1149 00:59:36,667 --> 00:59:39,458 and I want you to--if I'm your pastor, listen to me. 1150 00:59:39,500 --> 00:59:43,417 If I'm not your pastor, let me be your pastor for 5 minutes, 1151 00:59:43,500 --> 00:59:45,875 because I love you and I want to help. 1152 00:59:45,958 --> 00:59:50,167 And I see this pattern, and I want to share it with you. 1153 00:59:50,208 --> 00:59:53,875 I see it in my own life; I've seen it in the lives of others. 1154 00:59:53,958 --> 00:59:56,458 Understanding your identity crisis. 1155 00:59:56,500 --> 00:59:59,417 Most of us don't even know we have an identity idolatry until 1156 00:59:59,500 --> 01:00:01,333 we have a crisis. 1157 01:00:01,375 --> 01:00:04,000 Number one, you live in fear that your identity idolatry 1158 01:00:04,042 --> 01:00:06,000 will fail you or be taken from you. 1159 01:00:06,042 --> 01:00:09,375 "If I can just find a husband, if I could just find a wife, 1160 01:00:09,458 --> 01:00:12,583 "if we could just have a kid, if I could just finish college, 1161 01:00:12,667 --> 01:00:16,000 "if I could get a job, if I could get a job with benefits, 1162 01:00:16,042 --> 01:00:19,167 "if we could buy a house, if we could pay off our debt, 1163 01:00:19,208 --> 01:00:21,000 "then we'll be there, heaven on earth! 1164 01:00:21,042 --> 01:00:22,375 "We're almost to heaven! 1165 01:00:22,458 --> 01:00:23,792 "It's coming, it's right there! 1166 01:00:23,833 --> 01:00:25,667 There's our blessing, there's our God." 1167 01:00:25,750 --> 01:00:27,417 It's right there, but you know what? 1168 01:00:27,500 --> 01:00:31,500 It's uncertain, it's tenuous, it could fail, it might not happen, 1169 01:00:31,583 --> 01:00:33,292 it might not come. 1170 01:00:33,333 --> 01:00:38,167 Or if it does, it might get taken away! 1171 01:00:38,208 --> 01:00:43,708 And it's stress, and it's anxiety. 1172 01:00:43,792 --> 01:00:48,167 Number two, your identity idolatry crumbles under 1173 01:00:48,208 --> 01:00:52,167 the weight of being in God's place in your life. 1174 01:00:52,250 --> 01:00:54,875 "All I wanted my spouse to do is never leave me 1175 01:00:54,958 --> 01:00:56,458 nor forsake me!" 1176 01:00:56,500 --> 01:00:58,667 That's Jesus' job description. 1177 01:00:58,708 --> 01:01:02,167 "I just wanted my kids to be little trophies that look like 1178 01:01:02,250 --> 01:01:05,167 "me, and have my last name, and reflected my glory 1179 01:01:05,208 --> 01:01:06,542 to the earth." 1180 01:01:06,625 --> 01:01:10,333 That's idolatry. 1181 01:01:10,417 --> 01:01:13,917 "I just wanted my job to provide me an income and security 1182 01:01:14,000 --> 01:01:16,833 "so that I could have all that I think I need, 1183 01:01:16,917 --> 01:01:19,625 "or at least maybe even a little bit more than what 1184 01:01:19,667 --> 01:01:21,000 "I really want. 1185 01:01:21,083 --> 01:01:23,375 Is that too much to ask?" 1186 01:01:23,458 --> 01:01:29,292 And good things in God's place are invariably things that fail. 1187 01:01:31,458 --> 01:01:34,083 Your spouse, your kids, your job, your beauty, your health, 1188 01:01:34,167 --> 01:01:38,792 your friends, your church, it all starts to crumble under 1189 01:01:38,833 --> 01:01:43,833 the weight of: "Can't you just be God?" 1190 01:01:43,875 --> 01:01:47,500 No. 1191 01:01:49,333 --> 01:01:53,458 Number three, your identity idolatry begins to crumble 1192 01:01:53,500 --> 01:01:55,917 and you become panicked. 1193 01:01:56,000 --> 01:01:59,292 "Our marriage isn't doing well. We're getting older. 1194 01:01:59,333 --> 01:02:01,708 "I'm not as beautiful as I once was. 1195 01:02:01,792 --> 01:02:04,792 "I put on 5 pounds. I put on 10 pounds. 1196 01:02:04,833 --> 01:02:08,667 "Our kids are leaving home. Our company is downsizing. 1197 01:02:08,708 --> 01:02:13,042 "They've changed the tax brackets. 1198 01:02:13,125 --> 01:02:17,833 I had it all together and now it's all coming apart." 1199 01:02:20,333 --> 01:02:24,708 Number four, when your identity idolatry fails-- 1200 01:02:24,792 --> 01:02:28,333 and it's not if, it's when. 1201 01:02:32,875 --> 01:02:34,333 It's not if, it's when. 1202 01:02:34,417 --> 01:02:37,500 Some of you say, "Pastor Mark, it's working." 1203 01:02:37,583 --> 01:02:40,917 Wait. 1204 01:02:41,000 --> 01:02:43,167 You look for someone to blame. 1205 01:02:43,208 --> 01:02:45,833 Self-centered contempt: "I am a failure. 1206 01:02:45,917 --> 01:02:50,042 "I am a loser. 1207 01:02:50,125 --> 01:02:52,417 "I should have been able to keep that job. 1208 01:02:52,500 --> 01:02:55,750 "I should have been able to keep that relationship. 1209 01:02:55,833 --> 01:03:01,667 "My friends don't want to be with me because I'm worthless. 1210 01:03:01,750 --> 01:03:04,208 "We wanted to have a child, but we're infertile 1211 01:03:04,292 --> 01:03:07,667 "and we can't afford adoption. 1212 01:03:07,708 --> 01:03:09,958 "God must be punishing me. 1213 01:03:10,000 --> 01:03:12,417 "What have I done? I deserve this. 1214 01:03:12,500 --> 01:03:18,167 I'm a terrible person. I am a failure." 1215 01:03:18,250 --> 01:03:21,833 For some of you, it's others-centered contempt. 1216 01:03:21,917 --> 01:03:23,792 "You failed me. You cheated on me. 1217 01:03:23,833 --> 01:03:25,583 "You robbed me. You abandoned me. 1218 01:03:25,667 --> 01:03:27,792 "You betrayed me. You hurt me. 1219 01:03:27,833 --> 01:03:31,333 "You lied to me. You ruined my life. 1220 01:03:31,375 --> 01:03:34,625 "You are a despicable person. Look what you've done. 1221 01:03:34,667 --> 01:03:38,000 "Look at the mess you've made of my life. 1222 01:03:38,083 --> 01:03:42,417 I had a great life and you ruined it." 1223 01:03:44,583 --> 01:03:46,708 Some of you say, "I've never said that." 1224 01:03:46,792 --> 01:03:49,750 God knows your thoughts. 1225 01:03:49,833 --> 01:03:55,000 We've all said it. 1226 01:03:55,042 --> 01:03:56,917 If it's not self-centered contempt 1227 01:03:57,000 --> 01:03:58,542 or others-centered contempt, 1228 01:03:58,625 --> 01:04:01,000 it's God-centered contempt. 1229 01:04:01,833 --> 01:04:05,000 "You said you loved me. You said you'd fix it. 1230 01:04:05,042 --> 01:04:07,333 "You said you'd change it. 1231 01:04:07,375 --> 01:04:09,417 "You said it wouldn't be like this. 1232 01:04:09,500 --> 01:04:12,333 "I read the Scriptures. I know what you say. 1233 01:04:12,375 --> 01:04:16,333 "You don't do what you say you do. 1234 01:04:19,500 --> 01:04:24,083 "God, I want my idol. 1235 01:04:24,167 --> 01:04:29,083 Be a good God and give me my idol." 1236 01:04:34,167 --> 01:04:36,583 Have you been there? 1237 01:04:36,667 --> 01:04:41,083 Are you there? 1238 01:04:41,167 --> 01:04:44,875 You got two options, friend. 1239 01:04:44,958 --> 01:04:49,000 You turn to Jesus Christ for a new eternal identity. 1240 01:04:49,042 --> 01:04:55,458 Say, "Jesus, my life is built on idolatry. 1241 01:04:57,167 --> 01:05:01,375 "Who you are, who I am is not the truth. 1242 01:05:01,458 --> 01:05:05,875 "It isn't working, it isn't going to work. 1243 01:05:05,958 --> 01:05:11,625 "It's not too late. I can repent. 1244 01:05:11,667 --> 01:05:17,083 "I can invite you to forgive my sin because there's sin here. 1245 01:05:17,167 --> 01:05:21,625 "I can invite you to make me new, to give me a new identity, 1246 01:05:21,667 --> 01:05:24,000 "that God made me and Jesus saved me. 1247 01:05:24,083 --> 01:05:26,375 "My identity is secure. 1248 01:05:26,458 --> 01:05:28,292 "Now together, Jesus, 1249 01:05:28,333 --> 01:05:30,792 "we can make it through whatever I've got to 1250 01:05:30,833 --> 01:05:35,708 "go through because I have you and my identity's in you, 1251 01:05:35,792 --> 01:05:37,500 "my comfort is in you, 1252 01:05:37,542 --> 01:05:40,000 "my hope is in you, my security is in you, 1253 01:05:40,083 --> 01:05:45,417 my courage is in you, my perseverance is in you." 1254 01:05:45,500 --> 01:05:47,708 That's what I want for you. 1255 01:05:47,792 --> 01:05:51,833 See, Jesus lived a life fully out of his identity, 1256 01:05:51,875 --> 01:05:54,917 with no idolatry, and he died for us, 1257 01:05:55,000 --> 01:05:58,417 and he rose and he lives with us. 1258 01:05:58,500 --> 01:06:02,167 Your second option, this is not what I want for you, 1259 01:06:02,208 --> 01:06:05,417 where sadly, you just pick a new identity idolatry. 1260 01:06:05,500 --> 01:06:07,625 "I was married, but now I'm going to be 1261 01:06:07,667 --> 01:06:09,792 "a great single person. 1262 01:06:09,833 --> 01:06:13,125 "I was going to have kids, but now I'll just find a way 1263 01:06:13,167 --> 01:06:15,917 "to be okay with no kids. 1264 01:06:16,000 --> 01:06:17,917 "I was healthy, 1265 01:06:18,000 --> 01:06:21,000 "but I'm okay with being sick, and now I'm sick. 1266 01:06:21,042 --> 01:06:26,500 That's who I am." 1267 01:06:26,542 --> 01:06:28,792 I was going to read you all of them. 1268 01:06:28,833 --> 01:06:30,708 You can just do it for yourself. 1269 01:06:30,792 --> 01:06:33,917 It's January, the lying month. 1270 01:06:34,000 --> 01:06:40,250 Every magazine, the cover is just another lie. 1271 01:06:41,583 --> 01:06:43,167 You can be old and beautiful. 1272 01:06:43,250 --> 01:06:44,833 You can be young and healthy. 1273 01:06:44,875 --> 01:06:46,792 You can be a teenager who boys love. 1274 01:06:46,833 --> 01:06:48,500 You can get your cat to obey. 1275 01:06:48,542 --> 01:06:50,417 Your dog can be your best friend. 1276 01:06:50,500 --> 01:06:53,333 You can look amazing and a boy will take you to prom. 1277 01:06:53,375 --> 01:06:56,083 You can reuse your wardrobe without spending money, 1278 01:06:56,167 --> 01:06:58,208 and be glorious, and attract a man. 1279 01:06:58,292 --> 01:07:00,167 Your children can obey you. 1280 01:07:00,208 --> 01:07:04,375 You can get rich from Obama. That's what it says. 1281 01:07:04,458 --> 01:07:07,875 You can buy a new motorcycle and enjoy your toys. 1282 01:07:07,958 --> 01:07:11,417 And while you're at it, you can find toys that you enjoy 1283 01:07:11,500 --> 01:07:14,708 and have an exact replica for your kids so you can commit 1284 01:07:14,792 --> 01:07:18,208 the same idolatry together. 1285 01:07:18,292 --> 01:07:22,208 Every January, new year, new you. 1286 01:07:22,292 --> 01:07:26,792 Old you, old lie. 1287 01:07:26,833 --> 01:07:32,667 Only in Christ is there a new you. 1288 01:07:32,750 --> 01:07:35,000 How about I end with this: 1289 01:07:35,083 --> 01:07:38,667 my father-in-law died yesterday. 1290 01:07:38,750 --> 01:07:43,000 After Christmas, Grandpa Gib, a pastor of 40-some years, 1291 01:07:43,083 --> 01:07:47,917 my wife's dad, went on vacation with his wife and Grace's 1292 01:07:48,000 --> 01:07:51,667 sisters over to Leavenworth, up in the mountains. 1293 01:07:51,750 --> 01:07:57,167 He got sick and had to be rushed in for an emergency surgery. 1294 01:07:57,250 --> 01:08:01,458 Grace was over there visiting him a few days ago, 1295 01:08:01,500 --> 01:08:05,792 and I was going to take the kids on Friday after school to go see 1296 01:08:05,833 --> 01:08:07,167 Grandpa Gib. 1297 01:08:07,250 --> 01:08:10,917 We weren't sure if he was going to make a turn for the better or 1298 01:08:11,000 --> 01:08:12,583 make a turn for the worst. 1299 01:08:12,667 --> 01:08:14,583 He was in his 80s and bad health, 1300 01:08:14,667 --> 01:08:17,250 and he was 3 hours away from home, over in Wenatchee. 1301 01:08:17,333 --> 01:08:19,167 Well, I got the text in the morning, 1302 01:08:19,250 --> 01:08:21,917 he took a turn for the worst very suddenly. 1303 01:08:22,000 --> 01:08:25,000 Basically, Grandpa wants to say goodbye to the grandkids, 1304 01:08:25,042 --> 01:08:27,125 he's dying. 1305 01:08:27,167 --> 01:08:30,125 So, I grabbed the kids out of school, gassed up the car, 1306 01:08:30,167 --> 01:08:32,333 handed off my responsibilities, threw stuff together, 1307 01:08:32,375 --> 01:08:36,833 and ran over to Eastern Washington, 1308 01:08:36,875 --> 01:08:39,583 trying to explain to the kids death, and hospital visit, 1309 01:08:39,667 --> 01:08:42,792 and Grandpa's going to have tubes, and we may be at the end, 1310 01:08:42,833 --> 01:08:45,500 and he wants to--he can't talk very well because he'd had 1311 01:08:45,583 --> 01:08:48,708 a tube in and it affected his vocal chords, but he can hear, 1312 01:08:48,792 --> 01:08:51,667 he is coherent. 1313 01:08:51,750 --> 01:08:53,583 I mean, it was crazy. 1314 01:08:53,667 --> 01:08:58,708 I knew I was pushing it, ran out of gas 5 miles away. 1315 01:08:58,792 --> 01:09:01,792 The light never came on until the car turned off. 1316 01:09:01,833 --> 01:09:04,000 I thought, "Man, it's close, but you know, 1317 01:09:04,042 --> 01:09:05,708 the light hasn't come on." 1318 01:09:05,792 --> 01:09:08,208 And it turns off, and then the light comes on. 1319 01:09:08,292 --> 01:09:12,125 I was like, "That's not the order I was hoping." 1320 01:09:12,167 --> 01:09:14,375 So, I'm over on the shoulder of the road, 1321 01:09:14,458 --> 01:09:17,208 in 20 degree weather, with a stalled car on the freeway, 1322 01:09:17,292 --> 01:09:19,667 with 5 kids, and a dying grandpa. 1323 01:09:19,750 --> 01:09:21,708 And the texts keep coming: "You better hurry. 1324 01:09:21,792 --> 01:09:24,125 He's--he could go at any minute." 1325 01:09:24,167 --> 01:09:26,708 So I tell Grace, "Well, don't come and get me. 1326 01:09:26,792 --> 01:09:28,333 Stay at your father's side." 1327 01:09:28,375 --> 01:09:31,833 So, we hitchhiked a ride with a complete stranger. 1328 01:09:31,875 --> 01:09:35,000 Finally got to the hospital, ran in, 1329 01:09:35,042 --> 01:09:37,625 and we were there to say goodbye to Grandpa Gib, 1330 01:09:37,667 --> 01:09:39,792 and to pray for him, and to sing, 1331 01:09:39,833 --> 01:09:42,167 and to spend our time together as a family, 1332 01:09:42,250 --> 01:09:44,917 and he died Saturday morning, and we got back into town 1333 01:09:45,000 --> 01:09:47,917 late last night. 1334 01:09:48,000 --> 01:09:54,125 And you know what people don't ask for on their death bed? 1335 01:09:54,167 --> 01:10:00,000 A lot of the things that we use to establish our identity. 1336 01:10:00,083 --> 01:10:01,875 "Hey, bring me all my trophies. 1337 01:10:01,958 --> 01:10:03,875 "I want to see them one last time. 1338 01:10:03,958 --> 01:10:06,333 "Hey, could you print out my resume? 1339 01:10:06,417 --> 01:10:10,958 "Read it to me again. 1340 01:10:11,000 --> 01:10:12,958 "Could you bring in my report card? 1341 01:10:13,000 --> 01:10:15,333 "I want to see my GPA. 1342 01:10:15,417 --> 01:10:17,042 "Could you bring a scale? 1343 01:10:17,125 --> 01:10:21,042 "I want to step on it and see if I finally lost that weight. 1344 01:10:21,125 --> 01:10:23,458 "Could you park my car out front? 1345 01:10:23,500 --> 01:10:25,833 "I'd like to sit in it while I die 1346 01:10:25,875 --> 01:10:27,833 "so that as people come and go, 1347 01:10:27,875 --> 01:10:32,875 they can see me in this car that defines me as a person." 1348 01:10:36,208 --> 01:10:40,000 Instead, what they say is, "Jesus and people." 1349 01:10:40,083 --> 01:10:43,208 That's all that ultimately matters in the end, 1350 01:10:43,292 --> 01:10:46,625 and the only thing that will be together forever is Jesus 1351 01:10:46,667 --> 01:10:48,167 and his people. 1352 01:10:48,208 --> 01:10:49,833 Amen? 1353 01:10:49,875 --> 01:10:51,667 Father God, I pray for your people. 1354 01:10:51,708 --> 01:10:53,458 I pray against the enemy, his servants, 1355 01:10:53,500 --> 01:10:54,833 their works, and effects. 1356 01:10:54,917 --> 01:10:56,958 I pray against the lies we believe, God, 1357 01:10:57,000 --> 01:10:59,958 and I pray against the lies that some are believing right now, 1358 01:11:00,083 --> 01:11:03,708 that it's too late, they've gone too far, it's going to be okay. 1359 01:11:03,792 --> 01:11:06,292 God, I pray for humility, and repentance, 1360 01:11:06,333 --> 01:11:09,000 and truthfulness on behalf of your people. 1361 01:11:09,083 --> 01:11:11,792 Lord, just because it's a new year doesn't mean 1362 01:11:11,833 --> 01:11:13,833 it's a new you. 1363 01:11:13,875 --> 01:11:16,333 Just because we get some new habits, and new tricks, 1364 01:11:16,375 --> 01:11:19,417 and new insights doesn't mean it's a new you. 1365 01:11:19,500 --> 01:11:22,708 Jesus, you've come that we might be born again. 1366 01:11:22,792 --> 01:11:27,000 New creations, new people, new identity, new life, new purpose, 1367 01:11:27,083 --> 01:11:30,417 new worship, new destiny. 1368 01:11:30,500 --> 01:11:33,583 Lord, I pray for my friends, that they would all belong to 1369 01:11:33,667 --> 01:11:35,167 the Lord Jesus. 1370 01:11:35,250 --> 01:11:38,333 And for those who know him, I pray they would live out of 1371 01:11:38,375 --> 01:11:41,000 their identity in Christ, that they would realize that their 1372 01:11:41,042 --> 01:11:44,125 identity is received, it's not achieved. 1373 01:11:44,167 --> 01:11:48,000 It's about God made us and Jesus saves us. 1374 01:11:48,042 --> 01:11:53,500 And in light of that, we can be students, and workers, 1375 01:11:53,583 --> 01:11:57,000 and teens, and singles, and marrieds, and grandparents, 1376 01:11:57,042 --> 01:12:00,500 and divorced, and fertile, and infertile, and rich, and poor, 1377 01:12:00,542 --> 01:12:03,375 and black, and white, and young, and old in Christ. 1378 01:12:03,458 --> 01:12:06,583 And no, our life is not pain- and suffering-free. 1379 01:12:06,667 --> 01:12:10,625 Our identity can be pain- and suffering-proof so that whatever 1380 01:12:10,667 --> 01:12:14,333 circumstances we find ourselves in might be to your glory 1381 01:12:14,375 --> 01:12:15,833 and others' good. 1382 01:12:15,875 --> 01:12:17,875 We might be able to worship, and demonstrate, 1383 01:12:17,958 --> 01:12:21,083 and reflect the goodness of the God who loves us well. 1384 01:12:21,167 --> 01:12:24,583 And God, the most important day is the last day, 1385 01:12:24,667 --> 01:12:27,500 and if we have our hope on anything or anyone other than 1386 01:12:27,583 --> 01:12:30,583 Jesus, that will be the worst day. 1387 01:12:30,667 --> 01:12:33,583 And so I pray for my friends, that their hope and their 1388 01:12:33,667 --> 01:12:36,083 identity would be in Christ, and that the last day 1389 01:12:36,167 --> 01:12:38,167 would be the best day. In Jesus' name, amen. 1390 01:12:39,583 --> 01:12:42,500 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 1391 01:12:42,542 --> 01:12:45,583 are downloaded worldwide for free. 1392 01:12:45,667 --> 01:12:48,167 This ministry is generously supported 1393 01:12:48,167 --> 01:12:50,667 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 1394 01:12:51,167 --> 01:12:54,375 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 1395 01:12:54,417 --> 01:12:57,375 please consider making a tax-deductible donation 1396 01:12:57,417 --> 01:13:00,333 by visiting marshill.com/give.