Inked Part 1 | Who Am I? with Chris Schlotterbeck

Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected

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this message you feel called to make a change

in your life, text CHANGEME to 9700. Thank you

and enjoy the message. Hey, good morning everyone.

How's everybody doing today? Special shout out

to all of our Trekkies. May the 4th be with you,

right? Trekkies? Oh, it's Star Wars, sorry. That's

right. I get those mixed up every once in a while.

Not the biggest movie buff. I just want to start

by saying a big thank you to everyone that served

with our bed build yesterday. We built over 50

beds in less than two hours, or like two, two

and a half hours. You guys are amazing. And Friday

night, we had a packed house for the story tour.

So again, thank you to everyone that served and

made a difference just being there for other

people. If you're joining us from home, thank

you for welcoming us into your space. And this

morning, we kick off a series that is actually

very controversial in the church. To tattoo or

not to tattoo? Many people notice the tattoos

that cover my arms, chest, shoulders, and back.

Please understand, I did not make the decision

to get tattoos lightly, nor was the public reception,

which is typically shock once learning that I

am a pastor. I actually felt called to get these

tattoos as many opportunities have come to share

my story. and testimonies about the artwork that

is all over my arms. The most surprising reactions,

of course, though, that comes with my decisions

to get inked was from those reactions inside

the church. You've already heard when I made

the announcement that we were doing this series

that Chris was going to hell. And the most common

verse quoted to me is Leviticus 19 .28, which

let me read for you. While the Bible does instruct

the Hebrew people to avoid marking their bodies,

please remember that this was written at a time

in which pagan cults used tattooing as a way

to appease their gods. In Leviticus, God was

speaking to a culture that was very different

from the one you and I live in. The verses prior.

to that verse that I just read to you, also warned

against eating meat, verse 26, trimming one's

hair, verse 27, and the verse that follows, keep

the Sabbath rest, verse 29. Now, most Jesus followers

today regularly eat meat, get haircuts, and do

not rest or take a Sabbath. But the verse about

tattooing remains strongly contemplated. Quoted

as sin and used for judgment. All of us must

remember to look at the Old Testament laws and

practices through the lens of Jesus. He gives

us a new way to understand the law because he

fulfilled the law. Paul writes it this way in

Galatians 3, 24 to 26. Let me put it another

way. The law was our guardian until Christ came.

It protected us until we could be made right

with God. See, Jesus completed the requirements

of the law because we could never live up to

it. And because of him, we now have an opportunity

to have a relationship with God. Is getting a

tattoo a sin? No. But at the same time, I believe

and caution people to ask yourself an important

question when considering whether to get a tattoo

or not. Will having a tattoo honor God? Will

having a tattoo honor God? See, my tattoos allow

me to have great conversations with people. I

normally would not get an opportunity to share

Jesus with because they simply ask questions

about the artwork on my arms. People who would

never have asked me about my faith will ask me

about my tattoos, which opens the door for the

good news to be shared. See, we live in a culture

where people are getting tattoos in larger numbers

than ever before. They're putting beautiful artwork

on their bodies, which identifies who they are,

what they are about, and what they have been

through. This, as part of our weekly entertainment,

shows like Bad Ink, Best Ink, Inked, Inked Master,

LA Ink, Miami Ink, Tattoo Fixers, and Tattoo

Nightmares. Why the newfound popularity in tattoos?

Because tattoos point to our identity. And identity

is the most important thing about who we are.

Which leads us to our... that I want to focus

on this morning. Who am I? Who am I? See, if

I was to invite any of you to this stage this

morning right now to simply share who you are,

I know it would create anxiety and anxiousness

for many. Why? Because there's many factors that

go into what makes us who we are. It starts with

our sense of self and how we perceive others.

Then we have how we perceive us, including individual

characteristics like family and ethnicity. Let's

not forget our social groups and life experiences,

like our jobs, hobbies, income, and choices.

Then, if we're in a relationship with Jesus,

we must consider who God says we are, because

that is the most important part of being in a

relationship with Him. With all these factors

bombarding our minds and our hearts, About who

we are, who our identity is, many people get

confused. They get lost and they wonder. But

the most important thing about our identity leads

us to our first thought this morning. See, a

healthy identity produces a positive life. A

healthy identity produces a positive life. And

I want to look at this first by going to the

opposite. See, a distorted identity sabotages.

Our success. In fact, a distorted identity sabotages

our success as being a human being. I know this

because there's an enemy that tries to connect

our failures to our identity. You failed, so

you're a failure. You did bad, therefore you

are bad. That's what happened to Paul when he

wrote these words in the book of Romans. I try

to do what's right, and I don't do what's right.

Oh, what a miserable person I am. See, we can

look at some of the most effective people in

the Bible. And if you do look at them, you're

going to see people who battled with identity

issues. In the Old Testament, somewhere along

the way, Moses didn't live up to his own expectations

of himself. And so when God called him, he said,

I'm not a good public speaker. I'm not a good

leader. See, he identified his failures with

who he was. And that sabotaged his potential.

The same was true of Gideon. Gideon was nervous.

Everyone gets nervous. But he took that failure,

that shortcoming, identified with it, and he

said, I'm the weakest and I'm the least in the

entire community. Paul, who wrote over half the

New Testament that we read every single day,

said these words. I'm unqualified. I'm not good

enough. I'm not educated enough. I'm the least.

and I feel incredibly unworthy. Similarly, this

is how it might play out in our own lives. Well,

this is just the way I am. I've always known

it. I have this addictive personality, so I might

as well take another drink. I'm not good with

money. I've never been good with money, so I

might as well go out and just shop so I don't

have to deal with it. I'm not a disciplined person.

I'm not an organized person. I've never had good

relationships. I don't get anything done. See,

it's identity. It's identity. And here's what

happens. An unhealthy identity creates unwise

habits. Then the unwise habits reinforce what?

The unhealthy identity. It's this vicious cycle.

Right? Say you're in a relationship with Jesus.

We don't see ourselves as godly. Therefore, we

don't live in a way that is godly. Therefore,

the way we live reinforces the identity that

we're not really living for God. And this cycle,

it just continues to create what? Negativity.

But notice, in all those circumstances, people

focus on the do. But as a church, we have to

change that. We shouldn't focus on what we do.

We have to focus on who, on who we are. It's

not about what we do. It's not about what we

have to do. We first have to start with the identity

and we have to ask ourselves, what do you want

to become? Right? What do you want to become?

Who is it that when people describe you, who

do you want them to describe? Some of you may

say, I want to be a man of God. That's a great

goal. You might say, I want to be clean. I want

to be sober. Fantastic goals. I want to be a

godly woman. I want to be a godly spouse. Great

goals. I want to be a godly mom or a godly dad.

I want to be financially free. Right? All those

statements are good, positive statements about

identity. I want my life to be a witness to the

other students in my school. I want to be a healthy

person. I want to recognize that my body is a

gift from God. It's a temple. It's a place for

the Holy Spirit to reside. I want to make it

healthy, right? Who do you want to become? And

here's what happens. Identity shapes our actions.

A healthy identity produces a positive life.

For example, let's say you're trying to quit

smoking or you're trying to quit vaping and someone

comes to you and offers you a cigarette. If you

say, no, I'm trying to quit. what you're doing

is you're identifying as a smoker. I'm a smoker

trying to quit. If on the other hand, you say,

no, I don't smoke anymore, you're identifying

as saying, that's a part of my past. It's not

a part of my present. Identity shapes our actions.

You may say, but this is who I am, Chris. I can't

change. To which I say, let's read Romans 6,

6 through 9. We know that our old sinful selves,

We're crucified with Christ so that sin might

lose its power in our lives. We are no longer

slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ,

we were set free from the power of sin. And since

we died with Christ, we know we will also live

with him. We are sure of this because Christ

was raised from the dead and he will never die

again. Death no longer has power over him. Now,

verse 18, you are free from your slavery to sin

and you have become slaves to righteous living.

Identity shapes our actions. See, when you know

who you are, you'll know what to do. You'll know

how to respond. We focus on this negative spiral.

But let me show you a positive one. Healthy identity,

what does it do? It creates positive habits.

Right? If you're in a relationship with Jesus,

you pray, you read the Bible, you meditate, you

fast, you tithe, you eat disciplined, you work

out. It creates healthy habits. Positive habits

reinforce our healthy identity. I'm a child of

God. I'm a contributor. I'm an ambassador. I'm

a difference maker. I want to be a person that

sees others meet Jesus. But see, all of this

comes from our identity and what God speaks over

us and pours into our lives, which leads to our

truth. Our identity shapes us. So if our identity

shapes us, we have to first identify with this

truth. We are masterpieces. Ephesians 2, verse

Ephesians 2:10

10. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created

us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do good things

he planned. For us to do long ago. Everybody

look at your neighbor and declare you're a masterpiece.

Now I chose that verse. So an important verse.

Because when we read that word masterpiece. It

literally means to be marked by God. We are marked.

We are masterpieces of God. Similar to a tattoo.

When it's translated from the Hebrew, it means

a poem. That God is writing a poem through us.

We are inscribed by God as creation, designed

by him to do what? To do good. Now think about

this for a second. The God who created everything,

the sun, the moon, the stars, the universe, the

same God who understands calculus, created physics,

that is eternal, all -knowing, all -present,

maker of everything, Designed you and me. Designed

you and me. We have been made in God's image.

Genesis 1, 26 and 27. Then God said, let us make

human beings in our image to be like us. So God

created human beings in his own image, in the

image of God. He created them male and female.

He created them. I want us all to take a look

at our first tattoo that I chose for our monthly

series. Evan writes, last November I got baptized,

and this artwork, Michelangelo's creation of

man, reminds me of who I am, that I am a new

creation created by God. See, God thought about

you when he created you. There was only one of

you. Thank God, right? And you can't be anyone

else because they're already taken. So they're

at any point and try to be someone else. They're

already taken. They're already unique. We need

to be who God made us to be. And I love reading

through the Psalms. As we read through the Psalms,

you can read and connect with David, who was

a man after God's own heart, while at the same

time being a man that failed miserably. A sinful

man. that made many mistakes along the way, and

yet has this heart for God. See, David had an

understanding of who God is, but more importantly,

who he is in his relationship with God. David

is real with God and understands where his strength

and his identity comes from. Look at Psalm 139,

Psalms 139:13–14

verses 13 to 14. You made all the delicate inner

parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's

room. Have you ever paused to think that there

are delicate organs inside of us doing things

that we don't even understand? They are critically

important to our life. And God put them all together.

He made us. He created us. He designed us. God's

presence, his design, where does it start? It

starts in the womb. We have God's unique design.

David then continues, thank you for making me

so wonderfully complex. I love this part. Your

workmanship is marvelous, how well I know it.

Marvelous are your works. Who is he talking about?

When he says marvelous are your works, who is

he talking about? No, he's talking about himself.

He's literally declaring I'm marvelous. Well,

that's arrogant. No, it's not. That's him being

confident in who he is in God. He's not being

arrogant. He's saying, no, this is who I am.

And then he goes on to say, how well I know it.

How well I know it. But there's too many in the

church, they don't know it. You don't know that

you're special, that you're a masterpiece, that

you're love, that you were created in God's image.

And listen, this week I want to challenge you.

Wake up every morning and the first thing you

do is walk to the mirror. And I want you to look

in that mirror and I want you to say, you are

a masterpiece. I want you to look in that mirror

and say, you are marvelous. You are called. You

are a new creation. Because it will change the

entire directory of your day. Your trajectory

will be upward. It will be pointing towards God.

We have been designed by God, created in His

image. It's not arrogance. It's truth. And when

we live with this identity, with this confidence,

then the enemy cannot steal who we are. He can't

lie to us about our mistakes. Tattoos, they are

this incredible opportunity to get to know people.

Right? You want to look for an open door into

someone's life? Ask the question about their

artwork. And then just listen. Listen for opportunities

to speak life into the lives of others. Listen

for the opportunities to hear someone's story

and someone's testimony. Listen for opportunities

to speak life into death. Jeremiah 1, 7 through

9, the Lord replied, don't say I'm too young.

For you must go wherever I send you and say whatever

I tell you. And don't be afraid of the people

for I'll be with you and protect you. I, the

Lord, have spoken. And the Lord reached out and

touched my mouth and said, look, I've put my

words in your mouth. Confidence. God puts the

words into our mouths to live as masterpieces.

God gives us the opportunities to share the good

news, which leads us to our next truth. Not only

are we masterpieces, but we are empowered. The

Spirit of God now resides in us. Galatians 2

.20, my old self has been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives

in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting

in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself

for me. For every person who's in a relationship

with Jesus, I mean, just think about what this

verse is saying about us. We've been crucified

with Christ. And this language is very intentional

because when you think about Jesus' words to

his disciples throughout the four gospels, we

hear if anyone will come after him, he must deny

himself, take up his cross, and follow me. So

this cross, right, that we reference as a place

of death for Jesus is also a place of death for

us. As followers of Jesus, we have died to ourselves.

We have crucified ourselves. We have been crucified

with Christ to the point where it's not me that's

living. It's Jesus living in me. That is the

confidence. That is the outlook. That is the,

as some people would call, arrogance. The great

exchange. My life has been exchanged for the

life of Christ. Jesus himself now lives in me.

It's not me anymore. It's Jesus living in me.

It's not you anymore. It's Jesus who lives in

you. Yes, we live and battle in the flesh every

day, but it doesn't have to control us. When

we live by faith in the Son of God, what an incredible

picture of him being alive inside of us. Let's

check out our next tattoo. Tani writes this.

I was doodling on a pizza box, and once I was

done, God just spoke to me and said, Do you realize

what you just drew? As I did, I realized that

the eye represents myself. The tears on the bottom

left represents my soft side, my softened heart.

The spider webs on the bottom right represent

my tough side, my strength and my courage. The

spikes above the eye represent my boundaries.

The crown represents me knowing my worth and

identity through God. And the cross at the very

top is a reminder that God comes first and is

above everything in my life. Jesus. Comes first.

And not only does he come first, but he now lives

where? Inside of us. And he makes us new every

single day. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. This means anyone

who belongs to Christ has become a new person.

The old life is gone. The new life has what?

Begun. Stop living in the past. Stop allowing

yourself to gravitate. towards the negative identity

that the enemy wants to whisper in your ear,

which leads us to our next tattoo. Check it out.

Courtney writes this. My tattoo symbolizes that

Jesus is greater than the ups in life and downs.

The small butterfly symbolizes new life in Christ.

I wanted that reminder that in the highs of life,

God is greater. When things are really good,

I think we can forget to stop depending on God

the way we should. This tattoo was based on my

own drawing. This has opened so many doors for

me to share Jesus with others. We are an empowered

people. We don't have to do. We don't have to

become. We have to give ourselves to the Spirit

and allow Him to lead us. 1 Corinthians 3 .16,

don't you realize that all of you together are

the temple of God and that the Spirit of God

lives in you? Each and every one of you that

are in a relationship with Jesus, the Spirit

of God is living inside of you. He's empowering

you to make a difference not only in this world

for your family and for your friends, but in

the next as you invite and include people into

a relationship with Him. Which leads us to our

fourth tattoo of the morning. Terry writes this,

I was completely chained to my addiction and

in a state of depression. I was desperate, with

no end in sight, basically homeless and ready

to give up to the point of contemplating suicide.

On March 5th, 2023, I asked my wife, who had

little to do with me at that time, for help.

Without hesitation, she kicked things into high

gear, and within a couple of hours, I was in

the hospital for detox. After a few days, I entered

a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. Three

months sober, I was attending HCV regularly and

was talking to Rudy about getting baptized and

beginning my life and journey through Jesus.

He made sure that happened quickly as baptism

day was already scheduled within a few days of

our conversation. My life has been upwards and

full of blessings from that day forward. I needed

help, and when I couldn't help myself, God pulled

me from the fire and saved my life. God has done

for me what I could not do for myself. By the

grace of God, I have two consecutive years of

sobriety on March 6, 2025. I feel God saved me

with the purpose of spreading a message and to

help as many alcoholics and addicts as possible.

God is so, so very good. Romans 8, 12 to 14.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have

no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges

you to do. See, it's all about how we think.

For if you live by it, By its dictates, you will

die, but if through the power of the Spirit you

put to death the deeds of your sinful nature,

you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit

of God are children of God. Church, we are empowered.

The Spirit of the living God lives inside each

and every one of us. And when we embrace that

identity, that miracle from God, it transforms

how we see ourselves, which leads us to our final

truth. We are missionaries. See, the amazing

thing is that Jesus, he actually tells us who

we are. So if you're a follower of Jesus, he's

looking at you this morning. He says, this is

who you are. Notice Matthew 5, 13 through 16.

You are, you are the salt of the earth. But what

good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you

make it salty again? It will be thrown out and

trampled underfoot as worthless. Now, when I

was going through this you are statement, when

I first heard Jesus' words, I began to think,

Jesus isn't that a little harsh? You know, that's

a little harsh. It's going to be trampled underfoot.

But we have to understand, he's not being rude.

He's being honest. He's just being truthful.

And he's speaking that over us. He says, you

don't just say you're the salt of the earth.

You don't wear a t -shirt with a salt shaker.

You live it. You live as salt of the earth. And

my question to you this morning is, how are you

living? Are you living as salt to the earth?

And then notice Jesus continues, not only you

are the salt of the earth, but you are the light.

of the world. Like a city on a hilltop that cannot

be hidden. But then he goes at it again. No one

lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.

Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it

gives light to everyone in the house. In the

same way, let your good deeds shine out for all

to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly

Father. See, these are two specific times that

Jesus tells us this is who you are. You are salt.

You are light. Then he follows it up with a challenge

to live it. Don't just talk about it. Don't just

gather on a Sunday morning and check a box. Live

it. Do your words speak life to others? Do you

love your neighbor? Does God see, or excuse me,

does people see God in you? Are you an example

of what it means to be good in this world? See,

these verses are not about, who we are in Jesus.

We are children of God. We are empowered. We

are masterpieces. But see, these verses are challenges

about, no, now go live it. If you're in a relationship

with Jesus, go live it. And why? Why should we

live this way? Well, take a look at our final

tattoo of the morning. Rhett writes this, early

in 2024, God gave me... this word to challenge

our Hub City worship team. Every person on this

earth has a timer that is counting down above

their head. There are two reasons why our timers

will eventually reach zero. Death or by accepting

Jesus as Lord and Savior. Because when we do

that, our mortal timers matter no longer. I challenged

a team that would be nice to know when the timers

above those around us will expire by death. But

we will never know. Some have years, others have

seconds. Our goal is to exist, to stop as many

clocks as possible by leading others to Jesus.

Before we take the stage each and every Sunday,

we circle around each other, count down from

three and say stop clocks together before we

go and lead worship. It has become a way of life

for us and it's challenged us deeply. I asked

Tattoo Sam to work up my lower sleeve and had

this incorporated to serve as a reminder to myself

that every person I encounter is an opportunity

to stop another clock. Are you living as a missionary

each and every day? It's a challenge that all

of us have to respond to, and it's a challenge

that Jesus lays out for us when he says, you

are salt. You are light. And see, when we embrace

that identity, when we live it, right, when we

live as masterpieces being written by God, when

we live as empowered individuals getting out

of the way and letting the Holy Spirit fill us,

then we will go and do. We will live as missionaries

desiring to see others changed and empowered

and transformed. Will you stand with me? We're

going to close with communion this morning. First

Sunday of every month is a community of faith.

We gather together and corporately share in communion.

If you need an element, put a hand up real high.

If you need gluten -free, put two hands up. Every

first Sunday of the month, let's look for our

communion elements. And before we go, I felt

like God inspired me to kick off with identity.

Because this is communion Sunday. There is no

better way to connect with Jesus and what he's

done for us than through the simple act of communion.

Remember, the bread represents the broken body

that Jesus hung on the cross. The juice represents

the shed blood, that his blood covers our sins,

that it's in the past, that we no longer have

to look back, that we can keep moving forward.

This is our identity. Our identity is now in

Jesus and what he has done for us. Now listen,

if you're here this morning and you're not in

a relationship with Jesus and you're not ready

to take that step, just put this element down

because you're not at that place. But we're going

to pray a simple prayer just like we do every

communion Sunday because we believe there's people

in our midst that are distant, that are far from

God, that have not made that choice. And when

we pray that prayer, we're then going to move

into our time of communion. And if you're in

a relationship with Jesus, get your heart right.

If there's anything between you and him, get

it right. This is your opportunity to lay it

down and to reconnect and allow your identity

to be restored that you are a masterpiece. You

are empowered. You are a missionary. Let's pray.

Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full of doubt, shame,

regret, sin. Change me. I believe you're God's

son. I believe you died for me. Make me new.

Set me free. Fill me with your spirit. Help me,

God, to serve others. In Jesus' name, amen. On

the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread,

he broke it. He gave it to his disciples and

said, take, eat. This is my body which is broken

for you and do it in remembrance of me. Let's

eat. Likewise, after supper, he took the cup

of wine. He said, this is my blood which is shed

for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Drink it often and when you do, do it in remembrance.

Let's drink. Holy Spirit come. I'm just thankful

for each and every person that's gathered in

these seats that's watching online. Overwhelm

us with the truth of your identity so that our

life is built around an identity that's positive.

An identity that can't be changed or molded into

something that's not. that we are masterpieces,

that we are empowered, and that we are missionaries.

Overwhelm us, God, with your love. In Jesus'

name, amen. Pour it out