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ABOVE ALL: Walking in the Victory of Jesus - Part 1: Identity | Pastor Pablo Morales

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  1. Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

  2. an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

  3. with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.

  4. We invite you to connect with us from wherever

  5. you are through our website ecb .asia or our

  6. mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

  7. by this week's sermon. Good morning. This is

  8. the beginning of a very important season for

  9. us as Christians because for the next weeks until

  10. the end of the month, we are reflecting on the

  11. life of Jesus and what he accomplished for us

  12. on the cross. We will end March with the celebration

  13. of Palm Sunday and then we'll begin April with

  14. Easter. So today we mark the beginning of this

  15. season for us, and I pray that as we go through

  16. these studies together, it will be an insightful

  17. time of digging deeper into understanding what

  18. is it that Jesus has done for us so that we might

  19. follow him in the freedom that he purchased for

  20. us. May the Lord bless us as we begin this season.

  21. Please join me as I pray. This new season Lord.

  22. With so much excitement. We finished last Sunday.

  23. Celebrating what you have done. In our midst.

  24. We celebrated your grace. And now begin this

  25. season Lord. Celebrating you. Who you are. That

  26. we can call you Savior. Our King. That we can

  27. follow you. Lord, I ask you that as we start

  28. this new study, you will use it so that our lives

  29. will be transformed in the deepest parts of our

  30. being, deep inside our souls. Reach in those

  31. places, Lord. And what we need today is not just

  32. another sermon. We need your voice. So will you

  33. reach us wherever we are and use me in the power

  34. of your spirit and in your grace, in your strength.

  35. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Above all, walking

  36. in the victory of Jesus. That is the name of

  37. the study that we begin today and will take us

  38. all the way to the end of the month. The goal

  39. of this study, It's for us to reflect and understand

  40. more deeply what Jesus has accomplished for us

  41. so that we can walk more and more in that space

  42. of freedom and peace that he already came to

  43. give us. And that's why the first part of this

  44. study today is going to start with a question

  45. that is very personal. And it's this. Who are

  46. you? Now on the surface, you may immediately

  47. think of an answer, but I don't mean that. I

  48. mean, who really are you? Molly was a very famous

  49. journalist in the U .S. and Texas. She already

  50. passed away. But even though she was famous and

  51. well accomplished, She would share how one of

  52. her struggles was that she always felt and thought

  53. that she was ugly, even though she wasn't. But

  54. it all started because even though she grew up

  55. in a Christian home with her parents being conservative

  56. family, every time that they would have friends

  57. coming over as they were little kids, the mom

  58. would... introduced the two daughters saying

  59. about the sister, she's the pretty one, and about

  60. Molly, she's the smart one, because Molly loved

  61. to read books. What Molly heard all her life

  62. was, I'm the ugly one, my sister is the pretty

  63. one, so she grew up with this identity. So the

  64. first answer would have been, well, I'm a successful

  65. journalist, but no, Molly, who do you really

  66. feel you are? Deep in your soul. Beyond the titles

  67. and the facade. Molly would simply have to recognize.

  68. I'm still that little ugly girl. It doesn't matter

  69. where we have come in life. There are things

  70. that have shaped our identity. And the gospel.

  71. Of Jesus Christ. Wants to touch that part of

  72. our being. So that we will be free from the deceptions

  73. of the enemy. And the question of identity. Can

  74. be very distorted. From a woman that is pretty

  75. and well accomplished. Thinking that she is an

  76. ugly woman. To even more complex things. It so

  77. happened these couple of weeks in the US. in

  78. North Carolina that there was a case of a teacher

  79. that was fired. I happened to learn about it

  80. and I started following the case because it was

  81. very intriguing. Some of the kindergarten kids

  82. started coming home complaining to the parents

  83. that they were scared about the teacher and how

  84. at some moments the teacher would ask them to

  85. howl like little wolves. And so the parents started

  86. trying to figure out what's going on. And so

  87. it happened that they discovered that the teacher

  88. was very peculiar because this aspect of identity

  89. has moved to a question of not who are you, but

  90. how do you identify yourself? And that's how

  91. it has become framed. So this particular teacher,

  92. it says the news article, I show it here for

  93. you. This kindergarten teacher who identified

  94. as trans wolf wore collar and tail, fired after

  95. parents raised alarm. So who are you? This person

  96. will tell the kids, I am biologically a male,

  97. but I am really in the wrong body because I'm

  98. really a woman. But not only am I a woman, but

  99. I'm also a wolf. And at night I transform into

  100. a wolf. And she will show up or he will show

  101. up to class with a tail and a collar and ask

  102. the kids to howl like little wolves. It gets

  103. complex, doesn't it? Because who is to say, who

  104. am I? Me? And if I am to say, who am I? And my

  105. identity is self -defined. then where does it

  106. end? Identity. It's at the core of what Jesus

  107. came to address. And the problem of identity

  108. is that if we have the wrong perception of who

  109. we are, we are going to have symptoms that...

  110. tell us that we have the wrong perception and

  111. some of those symptoms are things like fear and

  112. shame and feeling inferior and comparing ourselves

  113. to others and all of these different things that

  114. are underlying our experience day to day in the

  115. things that we engage. Where does this all begin?

  116. And where does it lead? Because if Jesus came

  117. to address this, how it developed and what did

  118. he do to address it? And that's exactly what

  119. we will do in the rest of this study. Where does

  120. the concept of distorted identity begin and what

  121. did Jesus do to address it? So are you ready

  122. to dig deep into the word? We have to go to the

  123. beginning. At the very beginning of creation,

  124. we are told that we humans had our beginning.

  125. And this is what the word of God says. That at

  126. the beginning when God created the heavens and

  127. the earth, and he created the world and all the

  128. ecosystem of life within it, he created humans.

  129. And then God said, let us make mankind in our

  130. image, In our likeness. So that they may rule.

  131. So from the very beginning it tells us. What

  132. was the identity and the purpose. Let us make

  133. man in our image in our likeness. So that he

  134. may rule. Over the fish. In the sea. And the

  135. birds in the sky. Over the livestock. And all

  136. the wild animals. And over all the creatures

  137. that move along the ground. So God created mankind.

  138. In his own image. In the image of God. He created

  139. them. Male and female. He created them. And God

  140. blessed them and said to them. Be fruitful. And

  141. increase in number. Fill the earth. And subdue

  142. it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds

  143. in the sky. And over every living creature that

  144. moves on the ground. So from the very beginning.

  145. Our identity is immediately established. We were

  146. designed by God in his image and his likeness.

  147. And the same phrase is used later of the first.

  148. humans, Adam, with his child that he had. And

  149. this child that is born is described as Adam

  150. had a son in his image and his likeness, which

  151. means that this trickled down the road. humans

  152. were created in the image and likeness of God,

  153. and they reproduced, and everyone born were having

  154. the image and likeness of the person before them.

  155. And I know that there are lots of theologians

  156. that have written about why they speculate this

  157. may mean or may not mean. I'm very simplistic

  158. in these terms because I'm a parent myself. And

  159. if I looked at Adam and said, oh, so your child

  160. is in your image and your likeness, it means

  161. that he looks like you and he is like you. We

  162. had our identity established from the very beginning.

  163. And not only that, But we were also created for

  164. a purpose, and that was to be given authority

  165. to rule over creation. From the very beginning,

  166. established, done. But then the distortion happened.

  167. And the Bible says that the first humans were

  168. confronted with a lie, with a distortion. Genesis

  169. describes that there's a snake in the garden

  170. that appears and deceives Eve. Later, the Bible

  171. describes this ancient serpent as Satan, who

  172. becomes known later as the prince of this world,

  173. the prince of the kingdom of darkness, that which

  174. opposes God and is contrary to the plans and

  175. purposes of Jesus. And it is this deception that

  176. begins the distortion. We are told that at the

  177. beginning, when this interaction starts happening,

  178. Adam and Eve are told, look, I know that God

  179. told you not to eat of this tree, but actually

  180. don't listen to him. Because God knows that when

  181. you eat from it, your eyes will be open and you

  182. will be like God, knowing good. And evil. When

  183. the woman saw that the fruit in the tree was

  184. good for food and pleasing to the eye. And also

  185. desirable for gaining wisdom. She took some of

  186. it and ate it. And she also gave some of it to

  187. her husband who was with her. And he also ate

  188. it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened.

  189. And they realized they were naked, so they sewed

  190. figs' leaves together and made covering for themselves.

  191. And this is the very beginning of the deception.

  192. And this is where the distortion of identity

  193. took root. The identity was, you are already

  194. in God's image and His likeness. This is who

  195. you are. But the distortion of identity came

  196. and said, no, you are not what God said and don't

  197. trust what God said. And the result of that distortion

  198. was that humans started experiencing for the

  199. first time ever shame and fear. And they hid

  200. themselves. Let me go back for a second. For

  201. you to understand how significant this is. For

  202. God knows. That when you eat from it. Your eyes

  203. will be open. And you will be like God. It's

  204. like wait. Eve. Please. Let me understand. God

  205. just told you that you were created in his image

  206. and his likeness. That you already have his image.

  207. And that you already like him. And now this guy

  208. is telling you. Don't listen to that. Because.

  209. If you really want to be like him. You have to

  210. do this first. Don't listen to that. You are

  211. already that. You don't need to try to do something.

  212. To be what you already are. You are already like

  213. God. But Eve was not paying attention to that

  214. part. She focused on the verses when she saw

  215. that the fruit of the tree was good for food

  216. and pleasing to the eye, and suddenly that took

  217. her focus. By the way, for those of you that

  218. have believed for the longest time that this

  219. was an apple that she ate, welcome to Bible literacy.

  220. The Bible never identifies what fruit it was.

  221. He doesn't mention it. He says it was just a

  222. fruit that she ate. And the act of disobedience

  223. to God brought sin into the world and the distortion

  224. of identity. Listen to it. The deception becomes

  225. that in order to be what you already are, you

  226. have to do something. You get it? You have to

  227. understand that. Because that is the core of

  228. the deception. And so the distortion began, driven

  229. by shame and fear, driven with a purpose to prove

  230. that they were already what they were. What a

  231. waste. If they just knew who they were and trusted

  232. what God said. And this is at the root of the

  233. identity problem. And you fast forward into where

  234. we are today. And we have developed all these

  235. different ways of trying to become and prove

  236. that which you already are. Many years ago I

  237. was talking to this guy who was. Well off. Successful

  238. in life. But he was struggling with all of these

  239. different feelings of insecurity. And as we start

  240. digging into his story, what we discover is that

  241. despite the facade, despite all the success and

  242. the position and the money, he was still just

  243. that little boy that grew up poor, that was trying

  244. to prove that he made it in life. So everything

  245. that he was doing was driven by that identity,

  246. trying to prove himself to the world. What a

  247. waste. Because what we will discover is that

  248. once you let the truth of Jesus touch that part

  249. of your being, you are free from the need to

  250. prove anything. Or to live to try to become anything.

  251. Because you simply live to be what you already

  252. are. A child of God created in his image and

  253. his likeness. Created with authority to rule

  254. over creation. In the power of the spirit. So

  255. what did Jesus do? Hebrews. Tell us that these

  256. distorted identities. Exactly what Jesus came

  257. to address. And the symptoms that come with it,

  258. this sense of being unworthy, bitter, confused,

  259. inferior, all of it touched by the gospel. And

  260. you need to go to Hebrews chapter 2 to understand

    Hebrews 2 chapter mention

  261. what Jesus accomplished because this is what

  262. it says. Since the children have flesh and blood,

  263. meaning they were humans, The children of God

  264. that he created. All of us were of this nature.

  265. Jesus too shared in their humanity so that by

  266. his death he might break the power of him who

  267. holds the power of death. And who is that person

  268. that has the power over these things? The devil.

  269. Jesus came to destroy the power of Satan over

  270. humanity. And free those who all their lives

  271. were held in slavery by the fear of death. For

  272. surely it is not angels that Jesus came to help.

  273. But Abram's descendants, for this reason, He

  274. had to be made like them. Humans like them. Fully

  275. human in every way. In order that he might become

  276. a merciful and faithful high priest in service

  277. to God. And that he might make atonement for

  278. the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered

  279. when he was tempted. So he is able to help those

  280. who are being tempted. And this is the end of

  281. this section. It tells us, look, from the beginning,

  282. when humans believed in the distortion and gave

  283. now authority to Satan into the created order

  284. that had been entrusted to them, Now, since that

  285. point on, Satan has had authority over the created

  286. order and humans have been subjugated to living

  287. in fear. Fear of death and fear of all these

  288. other things. So Jesus has to enter their domain

  289. to be able to destroy the power of Satan from

  290. within. And that's why. Jesus is born of a virgin

  291. and that's why he becomes flesh and blood like

  292. us because he had to enter our domain to be able

  293. to be like us to be able to break the power of

  294. Satan. And that's why in Christian theology,

  295. the doctrine of the incarnation, God becomes

  296. flesh, is essential. Without it, salvation does

  297. not work. That's why we believe, as the passage

  298. said, that Jesus was fully human. But not just

  299. fully human. Fully God. So what happens? is that

  300. Hebrews says that Jesus enters this domain as

  301. a human being to break the power of Satan so

  302. he can free the people from living in fear. And

  303. one of the things that he had to do in order

  304. to start breaking the power of Satan is that

  305. he had to face Satan as a human being in the

  306. moment of temptation. And at that moment of temptation,

  307. Jesus had to suffer through that space in order

  308. to break the power of Satan. And because he did,

  309. he now has the power to help those who were under

  310. that context before. And I love how this comes

  311. together. Because when we look at what Jesus

  312. did, at the temptation, something emerges. Okay,

  313. someone has to take a step back. Identity is

  314. not defined by me, it's defined by God who made

  315. me. And God said, you are my child created in

  316. my image and likeness with authority to rule

  317. over creation. That is who you are. But then

  318. Satan comes and says, no. That is not who you

  319. are, therefore do these things to try to prove

  320. that you are who you already are. And from that

  321. moment on, the distortion enters into place and

  322. establishes fear and gives power to Satan. Now

  323. Jesus comes into that picture to free us. He

  324. says, I have to become a human like you, but

  325. I have to break the power of Satan by confronting

  326. him at the temptation. And because I have been

  327. tempted, like all humans have, I have the power

  328. to help you now break fear and oppression from

  329. your life. So Jesus, how did you accomplish that?

  330. Show me, so that I can follow you well and walk

  331. in your freedom. And for that, we have to go

  332. to the beginning. Because Jesus will break the

  333. power of Satan over humanity. And that is where

  334. we go to Christmas again. The Bible says that

  335. when Jesus is announced, his birth is announced,

  336. his identity and his purpose is immediately established.

  337. And I remember that a few weeks ago, Pastor Jeff

  338. shared that passage with us as well, reminding

  339. us who Jesus is. You will conceive, the angel

  340. said to Mary, and give birth to a son, and you

  341. are to call him Jesus, which means God saves.

  342. And he will be great and will be called who?

  343. The son of the most high God. Identity, Jesus

  344. is the son of God. Secondly, the Lord God will

  345. give him the throne of his father David, and

  346. he will reign over Jacob's descendants for how

  347. long? Forever, his kingdom will never end. Who

  348. will give him authority on the throne to rule

  349. forever? His father, God. So from the beginning,

  350. establish clearly. Jesus, you are the son of

  351. God. You are coming here to gain the authority

  352. from Satan. You are going to be given the throne

  353. by God. And now you're going to rule forever.

  354. So then Jesus is born. He grows. And before he

  355. starts his ministry, he goes through his baptism.

  356. And when John the Baptist sees him, he says,

  357. Jesus. You don't need to be baptized. I don't

  358. need to baptize you. You need to baptize me.

  359. And Jesus said, I know, I know. Don't worry.

  360. Let's just get done with this because we need

  361. to fulfill all righteousness. So just baptize

  362. me. So at that moment, we are told when all the

  363. people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized

  364. too. And as he was praying, something happened.

  365. What happened as he was praying? The heaven was

  366. open. So imagine Jesus being baptized and suddenly

  367. it says the heaven was opened and something happened.

  368. The Holy Spirit descended on him in a bodily

  369. form like a dove and a voice came from heaven

  370. saying, let's read this together, you are my

  371. son whom I love. With you I am well pleased.

  372. Jesus is being baptized, the son of God who came

  373. to overcome the power of Satan and to establish

  374. all authority under his kingdom. And as he's

  375. being baptized, ready to begin his ministry,

  376. God the Father speaks and says, you are my son,

  377. you I love, and you I'm well pleased. And the

  378. baptism ends. You know what happens next? Right

  379. after Jesus gets baptized, Luke tells us the

  380. very following verse that Jesus is going to experience

  381. something. But here you have it. What is Jesus'

  382. identity? You are the son of God, fully human,

  383. fully God. Purpose? You're going to rule over

  384. creation in a kingdom that will never end. And

  385. what is your status? You're loved by God. So

  386. now Jesus is baptized, and he, Luke says, left

  387. the area where the Jordan River was, and he went

  388. into the desert to be tempted by Satan himself.

  389. It's like, rewind, just like at the beginning,

  390. now fast forward, and that's what it sounds like.

  391. You can try it at home if you want. And now,

  392. the same guy that duped first humans into this

  393. distortion and established power over them is

  394. going to try to do the same thing with Jesus.

  395. But Hebrews told us what happened. Because Jesus

  396. suffered temptation and overcame. He has the

  397. power to help us break. So what exactly happened?

  398. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan

  399. and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness

  400. where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil

  401. and he ate nothing during those days and at the

  402. end of them he was hungry. The Bible talks about

  403. 40 days in a very mysterious way because it doesn't

  404. explain it to us. But Jesus came to redeem not

  405. just humanity, but the descendants of Abraham,

  406. the nation of Israel. And Israel had gone through

  407. 40 years in the desert, years of disobedience

  408. and judgment. And now Jesus, And he's going to

  409. spend 40 days in the desert. So many people make

  410. that connection. The 40 days, the 40 years, there

  411. seems to be a parallel. Something is happening

  412. here. We don't really understand. But we know

  413. that Jesus was fasting for 40 days in the desert.

  414. And at the end of it, he becomes hungry. And

  415. that, at the point of vulnerability, is when

  416. Satan shows up. The devil said to him, if you

  417. are the son of God, tell this stone not to become

  418. red. It's like, what? Satan, do you know something

  419. I do not know or I know something you do not

  420. know? I'm confused because I just read the announcement

  421. of Jesus' birth and says he is the son of the

  422. most high God. And that God is going to give

  423. him the throne. And he was just baptized, you

  424. know, 41 days ago or so. And we just heard God

  425. talking and saying that Jesus is his beloved

  426. son. So I don't understand. Why are you telling

  427. Jesus if you are the son of God? As if he wasn't.

  428. He is the son of God. What are you talking about?

  429. Good thing that Jesus also knew that. Jesus answered,

  430. it is written, men shall not live on bread alone.

  431. And the devil led him up to a high place and

  432. showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of

  433. the world. And he said to him, I will give you

  434. all their authority and splendor it has been

  435. given to me. And I can give it to anyone I want

  436. to if you worship me. And it will all be yours.

  437. You don't have to go to the cross and die for

  438. people to gain all authority. I can give it to

  439. you. Just worship me. Because all this authority

  440. was given to me by the very people that were

  441. entrusted with it. Satan, do you know something

  442. I do not know or I know something you do not

  443. know? Because I just read at the beginning that

  444. when Jesus' announcement was given, it said very

  445. clearly that God his father was going to give

  446. him the throne of David and that Jesus was going

  447. to rule forever. Good thing that Jesus also knew

  448. that. Jesus answered, it is written, worship

  449. the Lord your God and serve him. I don't need

  450. to worship you to get the authority from you.

  451. Authority from you is nothing but slavery to

  452. fear. So no thank you. The devil led him to Jerusalem

  453. and had him stand on the highest point of the

  454. temple. If you are the son of God, he said, throw

  455. yourself down from here. Satan, do I have to

  456. say this again? What are you saying? If you are

  457. the son of God, he is the son of God. Are you

  458. wanting him to prove something to you? As if

  459. identity needs to be proven? There's nothing

  460. to prove. He is who he is because that's who

  461. he is. Good thing that Jesus knew that too. So

  462. Jesus is there, and Satan knows that Jesus is

  463. going to quote the Bible to him, so he quotes

  464. it first. Do this, Jesus, for it is written,

  465. he will command his angels concerning you to

  466. guard you carefully. They will lift you up in

  467. their hands so that you will not strike your

  468. foot against a stone. And Jesus answered, it

  469. is said, do not put. The Lord your God to the

  470. test. When I read this, I imagine Jesus coming

  471. to the third moment of this interaction to look

  472. as Satan says, Satan, haven't you read? It is

  473. written, do not put your Lord to the test. Because

  474. that is who he is. And at that moment, Satan

  475. shuts up. When the devil had finished all his

  476. tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

  477. And that is what Hebrews was telling us happened.

  478. Jesus was tempted by the devil. And because he

  479. was tempted directly, yet did not succumb to

  480. the power of Satan, he is able to break the power

  481. of Satan over humanity. And you could see it

  482. right there. Satan is old. But his techniques

  483. remain same old, same old. He's going to try

  484. to make you believe that you have to prove that

  485. you are who you already are. He did it with the

  486. first humans and duped them into it. He tried

  487. to do it with Jesus and he couldn't. Because

  488. at no moment, Jesus says, oh, maybe I'm not fully

  489. the son of God. Maybe I need to do something

  490. to really become the son of God. No. He knew

  491. what the father had said and he simply trusted

  492. it. The goal of Jesus was to come to break the

  493. power of Satan over creation. To break the power

  494. of fear that humans were enslaved to. And Hebrews

  495. says that one of the first things that he did

  496. was to break the power of Satan over identity.

  497. And because Jesus was able to break the power

  498. of Satan over identity, Jesus is able to break

  499. the power of distorted identities that you and

  500. I are still under. Identity, as it turns out,

  501. is at the core. of experiencing salvation. Because

  502. it's not just an issue of believing in Jesus

  503. and being forgiven and dying and going to heaven.

  504. But have you let the power of Jesus really redefine

  505. the way you think of who you are and therefore

  506. the way you live your life? Or are you still

  507. living From the perspective of distorted identity

  508. following Jesus. And therefore the way that you

  509. are living your life is characterized by the

  510. symptoms of this distortion. You are still living

  511. in fear. You are still living in shame. You are

  512. still feeling not good enough. You are still

  513. feeling you need to compare yourself to others.

  514. You still need to manipulate and push because

  515. you have. to prove that you are someone who is

  516. worth it. There's a point in our lives in following

  517. Jesus in which the gospel has to penetrate that

  518. deep part of our soul because that is what Jesus

  519. came to do. The way this works is just so sad.

  520. Satan has been opposing you, trying to oppress

  521. you since you were a little kid. And the first

  522. distortions that you acquired that are still

  523. following you today were established then when

  524. you were the most vulnerable. I worked with a

  525. designer once, a graphic designer who was very

  526. well accomplished. In fact, she owned her own

  527. company. And she was doing so well in her business.

  528. But something happened in her life that she could

  529. not shake off. She was an elementary student.

  530. I think she was maybe like in fifth grade or

  531. so. And she says that She came to the school

  532. that day and she did something wrong in her homework.

  533. So the teacher asked her to stand in front of

  534. everybody and in front of all the class. The

  535. teacher called her that she was stupid. And from

  536. that moment on, that identity attached to her

  537. heart. And she always felt That it didn't matter

  538. how well she did in her life, she was nothing

  539. but just a stupid woman trying to make it in

  540. life. I'm telling you, Satan is depicable, sneaky,

  541. evil. What did he make you? What did he lead

  542. you to think you are? Because whatever he made

  543. you believe you are, I'm here to tell you, you

  544. are not that. Let me tell you what I mean. Because

  545. in the privacy of counseling, shepherding people,

  546. I've seen certain things that seem to be patterns.

  547. The first one is the distortion that I am my

  548. past. I've done terrible things, Pastor Pablo,

  549. and I'm just so unworthy. If you struggle with

  550. a sense of unworthiness, it's not because you

  551. are unworthy. It's because you have not let the

  552. grace of Jesus reach that place. You are not

  553. your sin. Your sin and your identity are not

  554. the same. Think of it this way. If I start sneezing,

  555. and I start feeling sick, you will not say, I

  556. am the cold, would you? You will say, I have

  557. a cold. Because you know that those symptoms

  558. are a virus that are in you that are making you

  559. sick. But you know that you are not your virus.

  560. In the same way, I'm here to tell you, you are

  561. not your sin. Sin is a distortion, is the sickness

  562. of the soul. But you are not your sin. You are

  563. separate from it. And Jesus knows that. But do

  564. you know that? What Satan has done in your life

  565. is to make you believe that your failures and

  566. your sin are your identity and they are not.

  567. Jesus paid for all your sins. If you are a follower

  568. of Jesus, it's only redeemed a follower of Jesus,

  569. not unworthy followers of Jesus. So I'm here

  570. to invite you today to tell Jesus, would you

  571. let? your grace and power break this nagging

  572. feeling of unworthiness that I carry with me.

  573. And let me live in the power of your freedom.

  574. The second distortion is that I am a victim.

  575. I feel constantly that I'm struggling with bitterness

  576. because the things that were done to me Shouldn't

  577. have happened to me. And I feel that people have

  578. done me wrong. And therefore I live the rest

  579. of my life bitter. Because I am a victim. And

  580. this is often the case of people who have been

  581. harmed by the evil of sexual abuse and molestation.

  582. If you feel like you are a victim, I'm here to

  583. tell you, not only you are not your sin, and

  584. that is not your identity, but the sin of others

  585. is not your identity either. That is their sin,

  586. that is their action, and whatever they did to

  587. you is not who you are. And you will have to

  588. invite the grace of Jesus. Enter that place where

  589. it can flow through you. Where you can truly

  590. forgive the evil that they did to you. So that

  591. you no longer live your life as if your identity

  592. is a victim of what was done to you. There's

  593. only one type of follower of Jesus in the gospel,

  594. and that is redeemed followers of Jesus. Let

  595. the grace of Jesus free you from that bitterness.

  596. The third distortion is the person that thinks

  597. I am my feelings. And this idea that I am my

  598. feelings leads to a lot of confusion. And this

  599. sense of confusion changes here and there. Today

  600. you feel this, then you change. Then you feel

  601. that, and then you change. And this idea that

  602. I am my feelings has permeated a sector of society

  603. that often identify themselves based on sexual

  604. desires or feelings of gender identity. And feelings...

  605. Are never the ones to define your identity. Only

  606. God can define who you are. And he created you

  607. in his image. Not in your image. In his likeness.

  608. Not in the likeness of the feelings that you

  609. have today. So for those of you who are in that

  610. place of confusion. Jesus came to free you from

  611. that confusion. And I'm here to encourage you

  612. to invite the grace of Jesus to break from the

  613. power of unbelief that Satan has made you believe

  614. that you cannot trust what God has said, that

  615. you cannot trust who God made you, and instead

  616. you have to become that which you will never

  617. be. And finally, the other common distortion

  618. is that I am my position, my job, my salary.

  619. And when you believe that that's the case, you

  620. constantly will struggle with the sense of inferiority.

  621. You say, Pastor Paulo, that's not my case. Yeah,

  622. that's what you think today. Wait until you are

  623. demoted. Wait until your paycheck is reduced.

  624. Wait until you retire and you no longer have

  625. the position and the title and the key to the

  626. office. Wait until you lose your job and you're

  627. looking for a job for a whole year and now one

  628. wants to hire you. It's in those moments that

  629. you start realizing That you're struggling with

  630. identity. Because fear and shame. Inferiority.

  631. A sense of hopelessness takes over. And I'm here

  632. to remind you. Especially if you're in a time

  633. of waiting. You are not your job. You are not

  634. your title. You are not your paycheck. You are

  635. a child of God following Jesus and he has called

  636. you to serve him and he's going to position you

  637. here today, position you there tomorrow. Titles

  638. in the kingdom do not matter and paychecks and

  639. size of paychecks do not matter. The only thing

  640. that matters is that you're a child of God and

  641. that you walk in obedience with Jesus. Because

  642. he ultimately Is your identity. Do these distortions

  643. sound. Too familiar. If these distortions are

  644. familiar to you. I'm glad. That you were here

  645. today. Because Jesus. Came. To free you. And

  646. I pray. That today. You are able to tell the

  647. Lord Jesus. Jesus, break the stronghold that

  648. Satan has gotten over my life. Help me see myself

  649. for whom I truly am. And I'm going to invite

  650. you to read these words of 2 Corinthians chapter

    2 Corinthians 5 chapter mention

  651. 5. Let's read it together. Therefore, if anyone

  652. is in Christ, the new creation has come. The

  653. old has gone. The new is here. All this is from

  654. God who reconciled us to himself through Christ.

  655. And gave us this ministry of reconciliation.

  656. That God was reconciling the world to himself

  657. in Christ. Not counting people's sins against

  658. them. And he has committed to us the message

  659. of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's

  660. ambassadors. As though God were making his appeal

  661. through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf.

  662. Be reconciled to God. Be reconciled to God. Because

  663. Jesus already paid for your victory. Now live

  664. in it. God made him, Jesus, who had no sin and

  665. overcame the power of Satan and temptation. Jesus,

  666. to be sin for us so that in him we might become

  667. the righteousness of God. That is what he has

  668. called us to be. Lord, Three little words. But

  669. they cut so deep. Who are you? Lord I ask you

  670. in Jesus name. That you give us the clarity and

  671. the power. To answer that question truthfully.

  672. Because you already answered it for us. Let our

  673. hearts and our souls agree with you. In Jesus

  674. name. Thank you for tuning in to the ECB Sermon

  675. Podcast. Whether near or far, if you are looking

  676. for community or are in need of prayer, we welcome

  677. you to engage by sending us an email to If God

  678. is calling you to support our ministries, you

  679. will find giving options on our website. And

  680. remember to join us next week. God bless you.