I. Recap from last week.
A. The Dream.
1. Dreams are biblical, they can be instructional but they are always supplemental.
B. The Interpretation.
1. Four step process.
C. Additional thoughts from last week’s application.
1. The ambush: Big people becoming little people— thoughts and words. Shake em off.
2. We have to expand our personal ceiling for the church to expand its corporate ceiling.
II. Our Identity in Christ.
A. Identity is the answer to the fundamental question “Who am I?”
1. In our natural lives, the answer to this question helps to form our core self image that we carry through life. Starting in childhood and continuing into early adulthood, searching for the answer to this question is one pot our primary motivations in life.
2. In our spiritual lives, there is some similarity in that we grow into our identity. Starting as new believers, we learn who we are in Christ over time until we reach a degree of spiritual maturity where we are assured and confident in who we are in Christ.
3. But where the process of discovering our natural identity and spiritual identity differ is that the Word of God and the Holy Spirit tell us who we are. We don’t have to try and figure out by experimenting or copying other people, the Word simply tells us who we are and we accept it in faith.
4. PROBLEM: Many Christians don’t even bother asking ‘Who am I in Christ’? They’re not even motivated to discover their identity in Christ. Many remain a saved infant or toddler throughout their lives.
5. And so what the dream reveals in the second part (the middle scene) is that the words and thoughts of other people will hold us down until we shake those off, speak with the authority that comes from who we are in Christ and stand up in our stature in Christ.
B. So what is our identity in Christ?
1. This can be a confusing topic because the bible says we are many things, and they are all
true, but many come from our core identity, they do not make our core identity. They are functions of our
core identity, but not our identity itself.
2. EX: The bible says that we are kings and priests to God. (Rev 1:6; 5:10; 1 Peter 2:9)
a. A king has to be born into the royal family to be a king. A king is not a son because he is a king, he is a king because he is a son.
b. A priest (in the OT) had to be born into the tribe of Levi. They were not Levites because they were priests, they were priests because they were Levites.
3. In the same way, our core identity in Christ springs from our new birth as sons and daughters of God by faith in the death of Jesus Christ for our sins.
a. John 1:12&13
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
4. This is our core identity in Christ: We are God’s children because we are born of God. (“I am born of God.”
5. 2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
6. PROBLEM: When we don’t know this, we put everything else first.
a. “I’m a prophet, a Baptist, etc.”, a worship leader, a pastor, etc.
b. All of those things flow from identity, they do not define it.
c. Also, we think “I’m a salesman, a coder, an electrician, mechanic, etc.”
d. That might be what you do, but it’s not who you are.
e. “Just a sinner saved by grace…”
7. Ignorance of identity is a great hinderance to the Christian because if we do not first know who we are, then we will never know what we were born to do and the resources that are available to us from our Father.
C. To help us with our identity, the Word teaches us to identify ourselves with Christ.
1. Jesus first identified Himself with us so that we could identify with Him. How did He identify with us? He took on our flesh. The uncreated Son of God became man.
2. When we identify with His death, we then identify with His resurrection and His throne. Let’s look at Ephesians 2:4-7.
a. Ephesians 2:4-7
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
3. We were dead, but made alive (being born again) together with Christ. Notice all the togethers…
a. alive together with Christ
b. raised together with Christ
c. sitting together with Christ in heavenly places
4. Again, He identified with us so that we can identify with Him. We do this by identifying with His death, resurrection and His throne. How do we identify with His death and resurrection? Through baptism.
5. So to identify with Jesus, we have to answer the core question of His identity— Who is He? Who is Jesus?
a. Many want to say the Messiah, the Savior, the Word Made Flesh, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, etc.
b. But again, just like with us, those things flow from His identity. So Who is He?
c. The Son of God.
d. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He sent His Son…”
6. This is where we get into trouble. We struggle to identify with Jesus because we think that means we have other think of ourselves as the Savior, the miracle worker, the prophet, etc. But what the scriptures teach us is that we identify with Jesus as the son of God. In other words, since He is the Son of God, by His death and resurrection, I am a son (or daughter) of God.
7. 1 John 4:17 “…as He is, so are we in this world.”
a. Well Who is He? The Son of God, so we are sons & daughters
III. Our Authority in Christ.
A. We have delegated authority as children of God.
1. Luke 9:1&2 “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”
2. Luke 10:1&9 “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.”
a. Vs 9 And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
3. Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
4. Mark 16:15-18
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
5. John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
IV. Our Standing in Christ.
A. Our standing is about what is already true of us because we are in Him.
1. We stand as the righteousness of God, in the grace of God, accepted by God and complete in God.
2. Righteousness: 2 Cor 5:21 “…that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
a. Not working towards righteousness, but already righteous.
3. Grace: Romans 5:1&2 “…we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand…”
a. Grace is not something we ask for when we sin, when we are weak, etc. we are standing in it.
4. Accepted: Ephesians 1:6 “…He made us accepted in the beloved.”
a. Not trying to earn a place, get picked for the team, etc.
b. We ARE ACCEPTED into God’s family, we belong in it.
5. Complete: Colossians 2:9&10 “…and you are complete in Him, Who is the head of all principality and power.”
B. We are already standing in Christ, but still growing up into the full stature of Christ.
1. We do not grow into our position in Christ— into our authority and standing— we grow into the maturity to handle the position that we already have.
2. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places, but we’re still learning how to rule from that place.
3. So we are righteous, accepted and seated with Christ in heavenly places, but still growing in wisdom and discernment.
V. Close.
A. Meditate on these things to raise the ceiling in your mind and heart.
B. It helps to think of the age to come. Ruling the nations and judging angels