The New You

Open your Bibles to John chapter 1, and meet me at verse 19,

John 1 · chapter mention

and we'll read through to verse 23.

John chapter 1, 19 through 23.

John 1 · chapter mention

Now this is the testimony of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from

Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? Say that.

Who are you? He confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ.

And they asked him, what then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not.

He said, are you one of the prophets? He answered, no.

Then they said to him, say it with me, who are you? That we may give an answer to those who sent us.

What do you say about yourself?

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said.

Now, notice the priests and the Levites were trying to determine John's identity.

The question, who are you, is found in several different scriptures.

Let's look at John chapter 8, verse 25.

John 8:25

John chapter 8, verse 25.

John 8:25

Then they said to him, say it with me, who are you?

And Jesus said to them, just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.

Now, the Jews are directly asking Jesus his identity.

In Acts chapter 9, let's look at verse 5. Acts chapter 9, verse 5, this is Saul.

Acts 9 · chapter mention Acts 9:5

When he has encountered Jesus, he says, say it with me, who are you, Lord?

And then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

It is hard for you to kick against the goats. Basically, he's saying to him,

don't fight the will of God.

It's only harmful and hurtful for you if you fight against the will of God.

And let's look at Acts 19 and verse 15.

Acts 19 and verse 15.

And the evil spirit answered, Jesus I know and Paul I know, but say it with me, who are you?

Now notice the spiritual world wants to know who you are.

The question is, do you know who you are?

Do you know who you are? We live in a culture where people try to discover who

they are without asking the one who created them.

People are looking to feelings, experiences, relationships, careers, sexuality,

politics, social media, and other people's opinions to answer one of life's

most fundamental questions, who am I? Who am I?

People will define you according to your past or even define you according to your behavior.

And the culture we live in says you are whatever you feel like you are.

And this is the society that we live in today that says whatever you feel.

Well, I feel like a boy and I'm a girl, but I feel like a boy. Then you are a boy.

This is the culture we live in. You are whatever you feel. Well.

I'm angry. Well, then you're an angry man. No, no.

You're not whatever you feel. Feelings are fickle. Feelings change.

And so you are not what you feel, but our culture has determined that we are what we feel.

And I believe in today's society, we have lost our identity.

We don't know who we are.

Who does God say you are is the question you and I need to answer.

And over the next several weeks, we're going to go through this through the scripture.

You are who God says you are.

You are not what Pookie says. You are not what Ray Ray says.

You're not what your mama Nimden said, grandma said. You are who God says you are.

And so we must determine what God says about us to really determine who we are.

The spiritual, I love that in Acts 19. Put it again on the screen,

guys, Acts 19, 15. An evil spirit is talking here.

He says, I know Jesus and I know Paul.

But who are you? And it's time for you not to let the demonic realm know who you are.

Let the evil, wicked people know who you are.

And you need to determine for yourself who you are. You don't have to invent your identity.

In Christ, you just receive it.

You don't have to invent it. You just receive it.

You will never fully understand who you are until you understand who you are in Christ.

You will never fully understand who you are until you understand who you are in Christ.

Now, let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, and we'll look at verse 17.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

And I want to take my time today and really just teach this to you.

I'll get excited later in the series. But right now, I just want to teach it

to you and build a foundation that we will grow upon.

2 Corinthians 5, 17, the Apostle Paul tells us here, Therefore,

if anyone, say that's me, is in Christ, he is a new creation.

Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Somebody shout new.

Say it like you mean it, new.

Now new means fresh, unused, original, something that's never existed before.

Unprecedented.

Uncommon. Unheard of. Different in nature.

So God doesn't improve you.

He creates you new.

You are a species of being that has never existed before.

Paul is not saying you became a newer version of yourself No,

he's saying in Christ you have become something new altogether You are not simply repaired.

You have been made new. Say amen to that. In Christ, you have a new identity.

Identity is who you are, and in Christ, you have a brand new identity.

You are not an improved version of who you used to be.

In Christ, you have a new identity and a new way of living. Somebody shout new.

Now, as I was studying this word new, and this is one of the foundational pieces

and basis of scripture, that when we give our life to Jesus,

you and I become a brand new creature,

a brand new person.

Our spirit man became new and fresh and unprecedented and original on the inside.

And a lot of times when we think of the word new, we typically think of the word recent.

Recent. New is recent. Oh, I wrote down here is new is the latest.

Let's take this floor, for example. This floor is brand new,

right? It's recent. It's just been installed.

And thank God it's been paid for in Jesus' name. Amen.

So this is a brand new floor. It's new. And we think of it being new only because

it's recent or it's the latest, right?

And then there are people that say, you know, I'm a new creation in Christ,

and I gave my life to Jesus 10 years ago.

I gave my life to Jesus 20 years ago. 30 years ago, I became a new creation.

40 years ago, I was a new creation. 50 years ago, a new creation.

And we tend to think that because it's been 50 years, that it's been worn out.

We tend to think because it's been so long that we've been drug through the

mud that we've been beat up we we we are no longer recent it's not the latest it is no longer valuable,

but this word new in the greek doesn't mean recent or latest,

what it means is fresh original unprecedented in it and unheard of.

And as I was meditating, being a new creation in Christ, I got to thinking,

if I'm a new creation in Christ and I gave my life to Jesus in 1985,

so that's a long time ago, but I'm not worn out.

I'm new. Why am I still new? What Lamentations 3, 23 tells us.

And I was meditating this this week, though the Lord, through the Lord's mercies,

we are not consumed because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.

And so because his mercy, mercy means he's going to give us what we don't deserve.

Or let me say it this way. That's grace.

Mercy is he's not going to give us what we do deserve.

Mercy is he's not going to give us what we deserve.

So every single morning, he's not going to give us what we deserve.

That's the mercy of God. And so every single morning, I am a brand,

new, fresh creation, unheard of, unprecedented, original, unused.

And I'm ready to take over the world because I've been made new every single day. Say amen to that.

You weren't new 50 years ago. You are new when you woke up this morning.

You weren't new 20 years ago. You are new sitting here right now.

And how do we treat new things?

New things are valuable.

I bought a new car. What was it? It was a 2025. I got a new car.

And I got it brand new, praise God.

And so the kids were not allowed to get in the car.

Y'all can't get in this car. Well, dad, no, I'm jumping mama's car.

Why? Because this is new, right?

There is absolutely, even to this day, absolutely no eating in the car. Why? Because it's new.

I don't want you to touch the mirrors, the windows.

Don't do anything when you get in the car because this car is new,

it's fresh and we begin to treat it that way,

it's valuable to us and we look at new things and we say that these new things are delicate right,

and there's attention and we keep it clean if you and I are a new creation why

don't we treat ourselves this way.

I'm new. You know, when you have a newborn baby, you're going to protect the

newborn baby from other people, right?

From what they hear, what they listen to. We're going to really take care of

that precious, delicate, important, valuable newborn.

Let me tell you today, you are brand new. When you woke up this morning,

old things passed away, and all things became new as soon as you woke up.

Every single day, you are new, so take care of yourself.

You're valuable. You're important, but be careful what you listen to.

Saints and I, we've been meditating this identity, and new identity,

and we were watching something on TV, and they kept saying bad words and we

were just like, you know what? We're going to cut this off. Why?

Not because I'm super spiritual. I'm new.

And I want to be, I want my spirit protected because I'm a new creation in Christ Jesus. Say amen to that.

I like every single day, your old way of living ends and you start fresh.

You are not old, you are new and fresh.

Ezekiel 36, watch this, Ezekiel 36, 25 through 28.

Now, this was a prophetic word that's for you and I today.

The Lord says, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean.

I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.

Glory to God. Say amen to that.

I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you

will keep my judgments and do them.

Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers.

You shall be my people and I will be your God.

I want you to focus on 26. He says, I'm going to give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.

Every single day, I believe the Lord is doing this.

I do. I believe every day there's something. If his mercies are new,

then he is creating within you a newness.

Every single day, there's a shift happening on the inside of you because you

are fresh and you are new and old things have passed away.

And this morning, all things became new. Say amen to that.

Verse 27, he says, I'll put my spirit within you.

God himself has put his spirit within you. And even though his name is the ancient one, he is still new.

Every single day he is fresh and he is new and so are you.

Ezekiel 11, 19, watch this. Ezekiel 11, 19.

And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them.

I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart.

That's the New Living Translation. And that's the newness that the Lord is doing within you and I.

Every single day, he is taking away a stubborn, stony heart.

I want you to imagine when you go to bed at night that you're going to and you

wake up. This is the day the Lord has made.

And I will rejoice and be glad. Why? Because I'm a new creation in Christ.

And this is a new day. And old things have passed away.

And yesterday is behind me. And I'm starting today brand new, fresh, and new.

Don't let what happened yesterday trinkle into today. You're a new creation

in Christ today. You're new today.

You're unprecedented. You're unheard of. And don't let what happened yesterday

get into today because watch this, God is not interested in external behavior modification.

See, a lot of discipline. Let me talk to you. Can I talk to you?

A lot of discipline from our children. Those of you that have children,

hear me. Those of you, you've been disciplined, so you can imagine if you don't have any children.

A lot of the discipline we do is behavior modification.

Don't do that. We're changing behavior. Stop that. If you talk to me like that.

If you say something like that, if you don't do that, most of it is behavior modification.

And we don't see a lot of change when we try to change behavior.

Now, they may act right for a little bit of time, but they're going to go back

to their default of their behavior because behavior modification is not effective.

What has to take place is on the inside of an individual. We have to find out the way they think.

And when we find out the way they think, we have to challenge it.

And once we challenge it, we'll begin to see internal change,

which will affect external change. Can I give you an illustration?

So my son, Zavin, he's 15. He's growing up. He's already taller than me.

He's a fine young man. The future is bright for that young man.

The hand of the Lord's on him.

Well, he would always come into the house and never lock the door.

And I said, hey, man, you're going to have to lock the door when you come in.

Don't just come in and leave the front door locked. Lock the door.

And he would just come in and not lock the door. Come in, not lock the door.

And I would say, man, you're going to have to lock the door.

Now, okay, now I got to get some consequences, right?

You got to lock the door. Finally, the Lord said, no, don't do all that.

Just ask him this question.

Zabin, are you ready to fight somebody if they come in this door because you

didn't lock it and dad wasn't home?

Are you prepared to defend mom and your brother and sister because you didn't lock the door?

They walk in this house. Are you prepared? He looked at me. He's like,

no, the door has been locked ever since the change happened on the inside.

Before it happened on the outside. And so God is not interested in behavior modification.

He's interested in doing something internally in you.

And so when he does something internally in you, then you'll respond with right living and obedience.

See, if you allow him to do a new work in you every single day,

you will begin to live right. Well, I'm trying to stop this and stop that.

Stop trying to stop this and stop that and start learning who you are in him.

And when you realize I am a new creation in Christ Jesus, old things are passed away.

I used to lie. I'm not going to lie anymore because a new creation in Christ

doesn't lie. Say amen to that.

We're trying to stop behavior. There was a time this particular individual was smoking.

And he said, man, I want to stop smoking.

And he tried everything, tried all type of behavior modifications and stopping smoking.

So I said to him, do this.

Every time you pick up a cigarette and you put it in your mouth,

I just want you to say, thank you, Lord. I'm a new creation in Christ.

Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

And I thank you, Lord, that I no longer smoke. He said, what?

What? He said, but I'll be smoking.

I said, yeah, just you grab that cigarette, put in your mouth,

say, thank you, Lord. I'm a new creation.

I'm a new creation in Christ Jesus. Old things have passed away.

All things have become new.

He said, but I'll be smoking. I said, yeah, you'll be smoking,

but every time you grab a cigarette, I want you to say it.

Three months later, it was somewhere between three to six months later,

he came back to me and he said to me, you know, I don't have any desire to smoke anymore.

I said, well, he goes, I haven't bought a pack of cigarettes in a while.

I just stopped having a desire to smoke.

Well, what happened? Something happened internally that affected the external

behavior. Are you with me today?

God's saying, I'm giving you a new heart. I'm putting a new spirit on the inside of you.

Now all you have to do is receive it, and you are now a new creation in Christ.

He is changing you from the inside out.

And when you realize that you're new, you're going to begin to treat yourself

with delicacy and value and care and attention.

And you're going to keep things clean. And you're going to see yourself as important

because you're a new creation in Christ.

When someone asks you who you are, you're a new creation in Christ Jesus.

All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

Somebody say, I am new in Christ Jesus.

Now, here's a verse that I want you to see. Let's take a look here at Colossians

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3, and let's look at verse 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

Watch this. It says, for you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Look at the Amplified version of this. The Amplified version says,

for you died to this world,

and your new real life is hidden with Christ in God.

I began to meditate this verse over the last couple of weeks.

It says, I have died to the world, to the things of the world,

what's happening in the world. I've died to that.

It's no longer I who live, and we'll talk about that. It's Christ who lives in me.

I'm dead to the things of the world. Doesn't mean that I'm not thoughtless.

I just don't allow the anxieties and the cares and the worries to affect me.

These are worldly things.

I'm dead to these things, but my real life has been hidden in Christ.

And so if I am hidden in Christ and I am dead to the world, I want to give you

an illustration of what we are discussing.

So come, if you don't mind, come up here, Sterling.

Here is an offering envelope, and I want you to hold this mic for me so I can talk.

All right, so here is, no, no, hold it. Yeah, there we go. So people are liking here.

Here is an offering envelope. You see this? I want you to say this is Christ, okay?

This is Christ. You see that? This is Christ. All right.

Here is you. You are a $100 bill. Look at that. You're valuable. You can buy dinner.

Fill up your gas tank, right, for a couple of days. $100 bill this is you if

you are hidden in Christ in Christ.

Can we see you? No. But are you in there?

So you are hidden in Christ. And when the world sees you, the invisible realm,

the demonic realm, the enemy, he's not even looking at you.

He sees you hidden in Christ. Come on, say amen to that.

So no matter what, thank you Sterling, no matter what happens to this envelope,

I'm still hidden, protected, valued, covered in him.

You can bend the envelope, I'm still valuable in there.

I'm in Christ, the only thing that you see is Christ.

I'm in him though, hidden in him, and I am valuable even though I am covered

up in him. As a matter of fact, it's the reason why we hid it in Christ,

hid you in him, because you are valuable.

And so you are hidden in him.

You're in here hidden, protected. And when the devil looks at you, he sees Christ.

You have the armor of God.

Say amen to that. On you are hidden in Christ. You're a new creation.

What's valuable you hide i have us i have safes and we put valuables say amen to that,

in safes why because they're important so we hide it christ says come in me you're hidden

with christ in god and so although you are valuable you.

All you see is him and all everyone else is going to see is him.

And we'll talk about that.

This is what we want. We don't want people to see you and I.

We want people to see him, Christ.

He and here's the cool thing. Not only are we hidden in him,

but he has been hidden in us.

Christ in me, the hope of glory. And so we have been hidden in him because we are valuable to him.

Never again think of yourself as not valuable, not worthy. God has made you worthy.

That's why he put his spirit in you. Never think of yourself,

well, nobody will miss me or I'll be forgotten or I'm not important and I don't need to,

come to church today because nobody recognized that I'm not there or I don't

need to tune in online. Nobody recognizes. No, you're valuable.

You're important. You matter.

And God placed you with Christ in him. And now you're hidden in him. Say amen to that.

Say this after me. I am a new creation.

In Christ. I am forgiven.

In Christ. I am important. In Christ. I am valuable.

In Christ. I am hidden in Christ somebody say I am who he says I am.

All of this is in him. And we're going to go through this series and talk about who we are in him.

I believe this is the message that the body of Christ needs to hear and the

world at large needs to hear is if you give your life to Jesus,

he gives you identity, purpose and direction.

He shows you who you are in him.

And notice, as we go through these over the next several weeks,

if you say it without in Christ, then it becomes prideful.

Well, I'm a masterpiece. Well, if it's not in Christ, then you're full of pride, right?

But in him, I am a masterpiece.

Say amen to that. In him, I'm a new creation. No, no, you're only new in him.

I'm forgiven. Well, you're only forgiven in him.

Well, I'm important. Well, that sounds very, very prideful. You're only important

in him. Well, I'm valuable. Well, who, to who?

To him, you are valuable. And now you need to see yourself as he sees you.

Start to see yourself as he sees you.

I've been saying things like this in Christ just for myself because sometimes

as you're pastoring and as you're going, the devil tries to attack you.

Just like he tries to attack me, he tries to attack you too.

And the devil, he'll say, well, you know, if you didn't show up at church, nobody would care.

If you'd stop preaching today, nobody would care. All those people,

they'll just go somewhere else.

They don't care. Nobody would care. And I've had to fight it and say,

no, my voice makes a difference.

Come on, you got to say that. My voice makes a difference. Say it.

My voice makes a difference.

You got to believe that about yourself, that what I'm saying is making a difference,

in the lives of people. And it's changing the atmosphere and it's changing and rearranging things.

You're not alone. You're not by yourself.

You're not isolated. You are loved. You are valued. You are important.

And you are making a difference.

This is why God placed Christ on the inside of you in order to make a difference in the earth.

You're his arms and his feet. You're the body of Christ in the earth.

When God wants something done in the earth, he calls on you and I to get it done in the earth.

And so he wants us well.

And healthy and prosperous and victorious and good looking. Amen. Say amen.

This is how he wants it. Any business owner. You know, Jesus said,

I'm out here to do my father's business.

Any business owner wants healthy employees.

If I'm running a business, I don't want all my employees to be sick.

All of them call out sick on the same day. I can't get anything done.

So why would God want his people sick?

Talk to me now. Why would he want us in the hospital broke, busted,

and disgusted? He can't get anything done in the earth if we're all sick.

No, he's got to want somebody well, and he wants me well. Say that. He wants me well.

He's got to have somebody prosperous. Say he wants me prosperous.

Why? So he can get things done in the earth. You're a new creation in Christ.

When someone asks you who you are, tell them, I'm a new creation in Christ. Amen.

Tell them I am forgiven in Christ. I am hidden in Christ. I am valuable in Christ.

I am important in Christ.

This is who you are.

It's not about what you do.

Identity is not about what you do. Identity is about who you are.

What you do has to do with purpose, but identity has to do with who you are.

Who are you?

This is a question I want you to think about all week long. Who are you?

Someone asks, who are you? We tend to go to our job. Who are you?

Well, I'm an engineer at Lockheed Martin and I make airplane projects. That's not who you are.

Talk to me now. Who are you?

And every question that we see in Scripture, and there's more questions that

have been asked, who are you?

The individuals knew exactly who they are.

I like what John the Baptist said. He said, I am a voice.

I'm a voice. He knew who he was. I'm a voice crying in the wilderness.

Prepare the way of the Lord. Who are you?

Who are you find out discover locate who are you not what your past says.

Not what your mistakes say. I'm talking to somebody today. Not what your grandma said.

Not what your dad who left you said. You no good, nothing, that's why I'm out

of here. No, that's not who you are.

Who are you?

And when you determine and discover who you are, you're going to find meaning

and you're going to find purpose in life.

I read something this week. It said three out of five individuals do not know

who they are and they have no meaning in life.

Three out of five.

Don't know who they are and they have no meaning. For life, for their existence.

When you discover who you are, you begin to walk boldly.

I get on airplanes and I touch the airplane. I said, I commission you into the

ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You are carrying me to my next destination.

And I say that and some people hear me and I don't, I don't.

Hey, everybody, I'm on this. No, I don't do it like that.

But, you know, I say, hey, you know, I commission you into the ministry.

And I'm going to get to my destination safe and sound. I've had people in front

of me and behind me say, amen, amen to that.

Yeah, I said I said this we don't get the safe because I'm on this plane and.

Say amen to that.

God put something unique on the inside of you. Precious, rare on the inside

of you. And I'll say this, I'll fulfill all of my days on this earth.

I'm saying I'm not leaving early.

All my days will be fulfilled with joy, with long life.

He'll satisfy me and show me his salvation.

Amen. When you discover, this is all in him. This is not Devon.

This is who I am in him, and my time's not up. Amen.

It's not up. There's more work to be done.

There's more to live for.

And we got to discover who we are. When you discover who you are, you become confident.

And that's where the Lord wants you and I to be. It's confident.

In what he's given us and who we are in the earth.

And he wants us to be bold about it, not fearless. I mean, not fearful,

but fearless, bold and confident in who you are.

Who you think you are and who you are needs to line up.

See, you are who God says you are, but you think you're something different.

And you need to line up what you think. Proverbs says, for as a man thinks, so is he.

But when you begin to think like God thinks about you, you'll line up and you'll

have real true identity and you'll discover purpose and direction.

I've got more to say about that, but I'm gonna let y'all go today.

This is how you experience true life.