God’s Eye View (Identity)| Abundant Life Ministries

Heat. Heat.

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Heat. Hey, heat. Hey,

heat. Heat. Heat.

N. Heat. Heat.

N. Heat.

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Heat. Heat.

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Heat. Heat. Heat.

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Heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

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N. Heat. Heat. N.

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I

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feel like

you

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feel you Heat. Heat.

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N. Heat.

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Heat. Heat. Heat.

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Well, good morning, church family. We're

glad you're here. It's Sunday morning.

It's time to worship our Lord. So, we're

going to invite you to come in and stand

up with us. Let's just set our attention

on our awesome God. Father, we thank you

for your glory. Today, we recognize

you're the same God you've always been.

You're powerful just like you've always

been, Lord. The same God who split the

Red Sea, Lord, who multiplied loaves to

feed a crowd and multitude, the one who

healed, the one who rose from the dead.

You're the same God today. Same God we

come and worship. So Lord, we just give

you praise and honor in Jesus name.

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You're seated on the throne of

mercy. Your glor is shining bright for

all to

see. Oh God, I will praise you.

[Applause]

Magnificent with grace

unending. You rescue us with love that

never

fails. Oh God, I will praise

you. And who is like the

Lord? Strong in

battle. Who is like the Lord? Mighty is

save who is like the

Lord. King

forever. Jesus

reigns. Jesus

reigns. Hallelujah.

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I know that you are always with me.

Your presence goes before and goes

behind. Oh God, I will praise

you. And who is like the

Lord? Strong in

battle. Who is like the

Lord? Mighty to

say. Who is like the

Lord? King forever.

Jesus

reigns. Jesus

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reigns. Oh yes, you

reign. Oh, you're

all you reign in all the earth. You

reign in all the

heavens. You're

holy. Yes, he's holy.

You're seated on the throne. Nothing can

stand against you. You're

holy,

holy. You reign in all the earth. You

reign in all the

heavens. You're

holy. You're seated on the throne.

Nothing can stand against you.

Who is like the

Lord? Sh in

battle. Who is like the

Lord? Mighty to

save. Who is like the

Lord? King

forever. Jesus

reigns. Jesus reigns.

is like the

Lord. Strong in

battle. Who is like the

Lord? Mighty

Savior. Who is like the

Lord? King

forever. Jesus

reigns. Jesus

reigns. Yes, he

is. You reign it in all the earth. You

ring it all on the

heavens. You're

holy. You're seated on the throne.

Nothing can stand against you. You're

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holy. You reign in all the earth. You

reign in all the

heavens. You're holy.

You're seated on the throne. Nothing can

stand against you. You're

holy, holy,

holy. Yes, you're holy,

Lord.

Hallelujah. We lift praise up to you

this morning.

Oh

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yes. Heat.

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We give you

praise. Hallelu

Lord. There's a name that lifts

mountains and calls hours through the

sea.

I've seen it power unravel battles right

in front of

me. Come on. Isn't Jesus good to

us? We give him

praise. Oh, there's a faith who sanctify

it. It sends Goliath to his

knees. Yes, he does. I sing his praise

unravel

shadows right off my feet. Is anybody

free in this house? Come on, let's give

him praise. That's the

power cuz that's the power of your name.

Just a mansion makes a way. Giants

fallen, strongholds breaking, there is

healing. That's the power that I claim.

It's the same that rolled the rain.

There's no power like the mighty name of

Jesus. Believe it.

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Hey, we give you praise. There's power

in your

name.

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Glory. There's a hope that calls out

courage.

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And in the furnace

unafraid the kind of daring

expectation. Every prayer I make is on

an empty

grave. That's the power of your name.

Just the mansion makes the way. Giants

falling strongholds break and buries

healing. That's the power that I claim.

It's the same that ru the grave. There's

no power like the mighty name of Jesus.

Sing that again. That's the power of

your name. Just a mansion makes a way.

Time is falling, strongholds breaking,

there is

healing. And that's the power that I

claim. It's the same for the rain.

There's no power like the mighty name of

Jesus. Oh,

hallelujah. Come on, just say

hallelujah. We give glory to the name of

Jesus. We lift up that name cuz he's

higher. He's greater. be stronger.

Mighty are you, Lord. Oh,

hallelujah. Yeah, we praise your name.

We trust in your name. We stand on the

name of Jesus at all

times. I see you taking ground. I see

you press

ahead. Your power is dangerous to the

enemies care. I love you. You still do

mirales. You will do what you said. For

you're the same God now as you've always

been. Your spirit break, your spirit

breaking out. Your kingdom moving in.

Your victory claims the ground that the

enemy had. Yes, it does.

You still do

mirales. You will do what you said. For

you're the same God now as you've always

been. And that's the power of your name.

Just a mention makes your way. Giants

fall as strongholds breaking. There is

he. Yes, there is. That's the power that

I claim. It's the same that run the

rain. There's no power like the mighty

name of Jesus. There's no power. There's

no power like the mighty name of Jesus.

Let's sing that again. There's no power

like no mighty name of

Jesus. Yeah. No one like you. There's no

power like yours,

Jesus. Oh, just give him praise.

Hallelujah.

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Jesus. We look with faith at what Jesus

has done, what he always does, what he's

still doing in our life today. We

confess the truth. Our God is alive and

he's working in power and might and

strength. He's a victor and the

victory's been won. And so that's why we

can sing these things are so not because

I feel it, not because I understand, but

because I know it. Jesus is alive and

he's a victor.

Hallelujah. So we just say we see the

victory of Christ. We see his victory in

us.

Hallelujah. Let's sing. I see you

taking I see you taking ground. I see

you press

ahead. Your power is dangerous to the

ene. Come on, set the devil running. You

still do

mirales. You will do what you said. For

you're the same God now as you've always

been.

Your spirit breaking down and your

kingdom moving in. Your victory claims

the ground that the

enemy. Yes, it does. You still do

miracles. You will do what you say. For

you're the same God now as you've always

been. And that's the power of your name.

Just a mansion makes a way. Giants fall

and strongholds break and there is

healing. And that's the power that I

claim. It's the same w the grave.

There's no power like the mighty name of

Jesus. There's no power. There's no

power like the mighty name of Come on.

You got to say it one more time. There's

no power like the mighty name of Jesus.

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I'm calling on the God of Jacob.

whose love endures through

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generations. I know that you will keep

your

covenant. I'm calling on the God of

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Moses. The one who opened up the ocean.

I need you now to do the same thing

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for Oh God, my God, I need you. Oh God,

my God, I need you now. How I need you

now.

or rock or rock of wages. I'm standing

on your

faithfulness from your faithfulness.

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I'm calling on the God of

Mary, whose favor is upon the

lonely. I know with you all things are

possible.

I'm calling on the God of

David who made a shepherd boy

courageous. I may not face

Gri but I'll come my own tri. Oh God my

God I need you. Oh God my God I need you

now.

Now I need you

now for rock of ages. I'm standing on

your

faithfulness. On your

faithfulness. Oh God, my God, I need

you. Oh God, my God, I need you

now. How I need you now.

Oh rock, rock of ages, I'm standing on

your

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faithfulness. on your

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faithfulness.

Oh

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yeah. You heard your children, then you

hear your children. Now you are the

same.

God, you are the same. God, you answered

prayers back then and you will answer.

Now you are the same God. You are the

same God. You were providing then. You

are providing. Now you are the same God.

You are the same God. You moved in

power. Then God moved in power. Now you

are the same God. You are the same God.

You are a healer. Then you are a healer.

Now you are the same God. You are the

same God. You were a savior. Then you

are a savior. Now you are the same God.

You are the same God. Oh God, my God, I

need you. Oh God, my God, I need you

now. How I need you now.

for a core of ages. I'm standing on your

faithfulness, on your

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faithfulness. Oh God, my God, I need

you. Oh God, my God, I need you

now. How I need you now.

rock of ages. I'm standing on your

faithfulness. on your faithfulness.

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You freed the captives. in your freeing

hearts right now. You are the same

God. You are the same God. You touch the

leers, then you're touching hearts right

now. You are the same God. You are the

same God.

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Oh,

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hey. Oh God, my God, I need you. Oh God,

my God, I need you

now. How I need you

now. Oh rock, oh rock of ages. I'm

standing on your

faithfulness, on your

faithfulness. I'm calling on the Holy

Spirit.

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Oh mighty river, come and fill me

again. Come and fill me again.

Oh, come and fill me again.

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Oh, we speak

Jesus. Oh, the name above every

name. Oh, hallelujah. I just lifted up

his name this morning. Oh

Jesus. Cuz I just want to speak the name

of

Jesus over every heart and every

mind. Cuz I know there is peace within

your presence.

I speak

Jesus. I just want to speak the name of

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Jesus. So every dark addiction starts to

break. Declaring there is hope and there

is freedom.

I speak

Jesus. Your name is

power. Your name is

healing. Your name is

life. Break every

stronghold. Shine through the

shadows. Burn like a fire.

Yeah, I just want to speak the name of

Jesus over fear and all

anxiety. To every soul captive by

depression, I speak Jesus.

[Applause]

Oh, your name is

power. Your name is

healing. Your name is

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love that breaks every

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stronghold. Shine through the

shadows. Burn like a fire.

[Applause]

Oh, your name is

power. Your name is

healing. Your name is

[Applause]

life. Break every

stronghold. Shine through the

shadows from like a fire.

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Shout Jesus from the mountains and Jesus

in the

streets. Jesus in the darkness over

every

enemy. Jesus for my family. I speak the

holy

name.

Jesus. Oh, shout Jesus. Shout Jesus from

the mountains and Jesus in the

streets. Jesus in the darkness over

every

enmy. Jesus for my family. I speak the

holy

name.

Jesus. Shout

Jesus. Shout Jesus from the mountains.

Jesus in the

streets. Jesus in the darkness over

every

enmy. Jesus for my family. I speak the

holy

name.

Jesus, his name is

power. Your name is

power. Your name is healing.

Your name is

love. Break every

st. Shine through the

shadows. You're like a

fire.

Oh, his name is

power. Your name is

healing. Your name is love.

Break every

stronghold. Shine through the

shadows. Burn like a

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fire. And I just want to speak the name

of

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Jesus over every heart and every mind.

Cuz I know there is peace within his

presence. I speak

Jesus. Your name is

power. Your name is

healing. Your name is love.

Break every

stronghold. Shine through the

shadows. Burn like a

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fire. Cuz your name is

power. Your name is

healing. Your name is love.

Break every

stronghold. Shine through the

shadows. Burn like a

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fire. We give glory to the name of

Jesus. It's through his name alone that

we're saved and changed, transformed,

and made new. Lord, we glorify you. We

thank you for all you've done and

completed for us. We love you. We praise

you. Hallelujah.

Jesus. Church, I just invite you at this

moment to take a seat here in a few

minutes. Uh we're going to receive

communion together as a church. So, as

our ushers come forward, they're going

to prepare these tables with the

elements, the bread, and the cup so that

we can

receive. So, they're going to come

forward and get those ready. And then,

uh once the tables are prepared, the

first row can come forward and take

those elements back to your seat after

they've returned. and then the second

and third and so on. Uh Rose can come up

and get their elements until everybody's

been served and then uh we're going to

all receive them together. I'll read

from scripture. We're going to be in

First Corinthians 11 this morning as we

prepare to receive the representative

body and blood of Jesus. So um our team

is just going to continue singing this

song. And as we speak out, we sing out,

we reflect on the name of Jesus, I just

want to encourage you, take this moment

to think about all that Jesus has done

for you, all that he has brought you out

of, all that he's brought you into, all

that he's forgiven you and washed you

clean of. It's all by the body and the

blood, the sacrifice of Jesus. So, as we

sing out this song, just thanking Jesus

for what he's done. Reflect on what he's

done in your life. Make it personal. And

then here in a moment, we'll receive

communion together. So, first row, if

you'd come forward and get these

elements. Um, as you're waiting, please

just join our team as we sing.

Your name is

power. Your name is

healing. Your name is

light. Break every

stronghold. Shine through the shadows.

burn like a

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fire. Your name is

power. Your name is

healing. Your name is

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love. Break every

stronghold. Shine through the

shadows. Learn like a fire.

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I just want to speak the name of

Jesus over every heart and every

mind cuz I know there is peace within

your presence.

I speak

Jesus as your name is

power. Your name is

healing. Your name is

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life. Break every

stronghold. Shine through the shadows.

are like a

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fire. Your name is

power. Your name is

healing. Your name is

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life. Break every

stronghold. Shine through the shadows.

Goodbye.

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Oh, heat, heat.

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We just thank Jesus for what he's done

for us, what he's completed.

We know the word says the he sat down at

the right hand of the father. The work

has been completed. And what that is

referring to is the work of atoning for

our sins. The work of making new life

available for us to receive by faith and

calling out on his name. And as we take

these

elements, the bread representing his

body and the cup repres representing his

blood. Um, I love looking at what Paul

wrote to the church in 1 Corinthians

chap 11 in verse 26. He says, "Every

time you eat this bread and drink this

cup, you are announcing the Lord's death

until he comes again." And I love that

reference because in announcing his

death, we're also proclaiming what his

death did for us. You know, his death

wasn't just a a sacrifice for

sacrifice's sake. No, it was for you. It

was to buy you. It was to pay the price

for you. And so Jesus offering his body

was so that all the sin, all the guilt,

all the affliction, all the disease,

everything that would stand against life

and satisfaction and provision for you.

Jesus took all of those things upon

himself on his physical body, hung them

on the cross to pay off the debt so that

we could live life satisfied, life free.

And so today, as we consider the bread,

what we're doing as we take this bread

and we eat it is we're proclaiming Jesus

really died a physical death. He really

did take on his body all the suffering,

all the guilt, all the shame, all the

sin that I had to carry before. He took

it on himself. He put it to death in my

place. And so as I as I proclaim the

body of Jesus over my life, I'm

proclaiming that he has taken all of

that brokenness off of me. He's put it

away forever. And I live new. I live

free. I live redeemed and satisfied. I

live I live free of that weight of sin

because of Jesus body. And so as we take

this bread this morning, would you take

it in your hand? Let's just give thanks

for what the body of Jesus has done for

us. And let's as we take this proclaim

through our action, through our prayer,

through our acknowledgement. Jesus, your

body was enough to pay the price of my

need in my physical life. And so let's

thank him for that right now. Father, I

do thank you for the body of Jesus which

was sent to this earth made flesh like

us, living perfectly. Lord, he made

himself eligible as a spotless lamb to

take upon himself all of my sin to be

the one that bore the weight, the guilt,

the shame, the penalty. Lord, he took it

all on his body. He took it so I

wouldn't have to. He took the stripes.

He took the disease. He took all those

things so that I could be made free. And

so I confess, I proclaim, I announce, I

believe, I receive, and I take part in

what the body of Jesus has done for me.

I receive it as a fully sufficient

sacrifice to give me life. So I thank

you for the life that I have in the body

of Jesus. It's in his name I receive and

I pray in Jesus name. Amen. Let's

receive. Yes. Thank you, Jesus, for

being our bread of life.

As we take the cup in like way, we

proclaim what the blood has done. That

it has washed us clean, giving us

forgiveness, a clear record before the

Lord and before each other. That we are

sinless. We're blameless. We're washed

white as snow. We're made right in God's

eyes. We're bought with his blood to

belong to him, to be his and he ours

that we may be close to him. It's the

blood that brings us near. It's the

blood that seals us in a covenant that

is everlasting. So forever, Lord, we're

yours because of the blood of Jesus.

Let's pray and thank him for the blood

as we prepare. Lord, I thank you that by

the blood of Jesus, I have been forgiven

and washed clean. The payment, the

atonement has been made through the

blood of Jesus. And so I receive it as

my atoning price that I could be bought,

made yours, bought and called right and

clean, right and made new. And Lord,

that the blood seals me into a covenant

of belonging to you and being brought

close to you forever and ever more. And

so Lord, I thank you for all that the

blood has done for me. I proclaim it. I

announce it. I believe it. I receive it.

I apply it in my life. The blood of

Jesus. What a wonderful gift. I receive

it with much gladness, much

thankfulness. And I thank you for it,

Lord. In Jesus name I pray.

Amen. We're grateful for the body and

for the blood. and you say, "Lord, I'm

so glad that you decided to love me and

sacrifice the only son for me." We

receive all that Jesus has done for us

with much thanks. Give the Lord some

thanks this morning if you would,

church. Lord, we do praise you. We thank

you. You're so good to us. And it is

good to know what we've got. It's good

to know what we've been given and how we

live in him today. Um, and so, uh, we're

going to continue worshiping this

morning with the action of giving,

something we do every week. And I often

share about things the Bible teaches us

about giving. And this morning as I was

uh just praying about what to share with

you as we prepare to give. Um I I was

thinking on this verse that is not uh a

usual tithe and offering kind of

scripture. But in Galatians 5:13,

Galatians 5:13

um the Apostle Paul speaking under the

inspiration of the Holy Spirit is

writing to the church to explain to them

the kind of life we've been saved to

live in Christ. And uh this is the way

he describes it to them. They were

struggling with you know kind of the the

Christian to-do list if you wanted to

call it that. They were struggling with

this idea of works of a legalistic

approach to faith in God where I have to

do all these things right um if I want

to earn a place at his table if I want

to earn right standing with him. And

Paul is really telling them there is a

different reality you should live in.

And this is what he says you've been

called. So, by God, you've been called

or told or asked or or set apart to live

in freedom. Other translations will say

to live in liberty. And so, that's a

different way than they were living.

They were living out of I I like to say

it this way. They were living out of

have to instead of gettos. And I feel

like I have been saying this kind of

thing a lot lately, but our life in

Christ is really a get to kind of life,

not a have to kind of life. Can you all

say that's a good that's a good word

this morning? That's good news. Our life

in Christ is not a life full of have

to more law, more legalism, more weight

for you to accomplish. But it is a life

of get to set free in order to given

grace so that you may. It's a life of

getting to live in the freedom and the

plan and the glory of God. And so he

says, you've been called to live in

freedom, not have to get to, my brothers

and sisters, but don't use your freedom

to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead,

use your freedom to serve one another in

love. And so Paul's saying, "Hey, you

you have a life of not have to, but of

gettos." And he's saying, "But make sure

you get to do the right things. Make

sure you use the opportunity, the

liberty, the grace, and the freedom of

God in your life. Not to take advantage

and be more worldly, not to go and

pursue sinful things and old things and

things that will leave you, you know,

hurt, things that will leave you

unsatisfied." But he's saying use the

get to power of God to pursue this

calling he has to pursue his plan for

you to serve one another in love. And

the reason I'm talking about this as we

prepare to give this morning is I do

think that so often times when it comes

to actions like singing a song or

actions like you know giving something

in the tithe and offering actions like

reading our Bibles or taking time to

pray and commune with God. You know, I

talked about singing. That can be a hard

thing to make yourself do. But see, the

reality is we're living a life not of

have to, but of gettos. We have freedom.

We have liberty. We have the grace in

Christ to live not motivated or pushed

by legalistic requirements, but out of

the favor of God, out of the power of

God, out of the life and the provision

of God, I get to do things that I never

could have made myself do. And so when

it comes to this area of giving, of

tithes and offerings, of giving material

things, this is not meant to be a have

to, but I get to. Now, there are laws

that God created this world with. There

are ways that things work that are

unchangeable. And so, it's better to

give than it is to receive because the

laws that accompany giving, the worldly

things that happen when we give are

good. And God knows that. And that's why

he does instruct us to give cuz this is

the best thing for us to get to do. But

I want you to know this. In the grace of

God, it's not a have to. You know, I

don't believe anybody's going to miss

out on heaven because they got saved in

Christ, but they they didn't give

something in every week's offering. I

don't believe that that's a have to

requirement to be saved or to be in

communion with God. But man, when I know

him and when I love him and I believe in

the work and the mission that his

kingdom is called to do, when I believe

in in the benefit of being invested and

part of the body of believers, well,

then it's a get to. It's something I get

to participate in. It's something I can

look forward to doing. And I believe

that's why the word says God loves what?

A cheerful giver. because that's the

person who gets it that I don't have to,

but I get to do these things as an

action of worship, as an action of

faith, as an action of life, following

after Jesus. And so today, I want to

encourage you, church, don't give

because you have to. Give because we get

to. We get to live and give out of the

liberty, the freedom, and the grace of

God that's been poured out into our

life. And so, I pray that you have a

revelation this morning of the get to

life that we get to live in Christ. that

he's not a a a driver, you know, he's

called, we talked about this last week,

he's a good shepherd who leads his

sheep. He calls his sheep. He doesn't

beat and drive his sheep where he wants

them to go. And so, he is a good

shepherd, a kind shepherd, and he calls

us to get to do things that are good for

him and good for us. And so, I'll just

say that. I'll leave it there this

morning. Give because you get to. And I

believe you'll be blessed and God will

be glorified through that. Can you say

amen to that, church? Reers, come

forward. We're going to pray over our

offering and then we're going to give

cuz we get to, not because we have to.

Amen. Let's pray. Father, um I do love

you so much. I'm so grateful for your

power, your provision, your blessings,

all the many ways that you've taken such

good care of us. You are a loving

father. You are a good savior. Lord, we

love you and we're thankful for all that

you do in us. this action of giving this

morning, of tithes, of offerings, of

obedience to whatever you're moving us

in our heart to do right now. Lord, we

do it not because we we are afraid of

what's going to happen if we don't. Not

because I I feel like I am under this

compulsion, this obligation that I have

to do it. Lord, this is a free offering

of worship. Not a compulsive one, but a

free one. And so, I live out of that

liberty, out of that freedom. And Lord,

the best life that I can see to live is

one where I am wholly devoted to you,

wholly invested in your kingdom, seeking

you first because I have seen it proved

time and time again when we do seek you

first, Lord. You take care of everything

else. You add every other thing that we

have need of to our lives. So, we seek

you first because that's what we've been

freed to be able to do. Lord, I give

today cuz I get to take part in your

kingdom. I get to worship you with this

action. And so, I'm so glad. I feel so

honored, Lord. I feel so grateful that I

get to come before you closely,

intimately, and offer you something that

in my eyes may have some value. Lord, I

pray that as I give it today, it would

bring you glory, that it would honor

you, that it would be a sweet smelling

aroma of sacrifice. And Lord, that you

would multiply it, you would bless it,

and you would use it to do amazing and

wonderful things for your kingdom. Lord,

I ask these things and I pray them

because I believe that they are so

according to what your word says. And so

I speak it out in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. I believe for that as we give, we

believe it's blessed and I believe we're

free. Anybody free in this place this

morning? Aren't you glad for freedom? I

sure am. Um church, I'm I'm going to

give you just a few announcements this

morning before we have a missionary

spotlight and then uh get into today's

message. Um, one of the big things

happening around here this month is, uh,

we are offering church membership

classes. Um, now a membership class is

not required to be a member at church,

but there are a lot of different ways

that membership is applied through

denominations and different churches.

And so, um, I haven't done this before

since I've been at ALM, but uh, we just

have lots of new faces coming in to the

church all the time. And I just thought,

you know, it would be a great thing to

talk about membership in depth and

answer questions and just give an

opportunity and an environment where

there can be a conversation about that.

Something that we might not take time to

talk about in here on a Sunday in a

weekly way, but really a designated time

to speak to the topic of membership or

to answer questions that you might have

about membership. So, um, if if you're

interested in church membership, if you

would if you know you would like to

become a member here and you're not one

yet or you're curious about it or you

think that down the road that might be

something you would like to do and you

just don't have enough information about

what that looks like at our church or

what we believe about certain things or

or maybe you just want to get together

with me for an hour four times through

May, me and another group of of

believers. I'm going to be hosting a

membership class every Wednesday in May.

Um, at least one. if there's enough

interest. I'll look at maybe doing a

second as well, but we're looking at 700

p.m. on Wednesday nights through the

month of May. So, the first one will be

happening this Wednesday. And um if

you're interested in participating in a

membership class, then you can sign up

on the sheet that's on our back table in

the in the sanctuary here. And I will

reach out to you this week and let you

know when and where and what you need to

know to take part in membership classes.

And so, just an announcement, uh we'll

have four sessions through the month of

May. I will be hosting those at my and

Taylor's house. And so would love to

have you join us for that. Sign up if

you're interested. Um, another

announcement, something that's going on

right now in the month of May, we are uh

taking part in a toiletry drive for

Midwest Wellness and Recovery. So, we

have a wicker basket on the south desk

in our foyer. If you would like to bring

some uh toiletry type supplies to donate

to them, uh new ones, not open ones,

please do bring some of those, put them

in the basket, and we'll make sure they

uh get put to good use. And so, that's

going on for the next few weeks. take

part in that if you, you know, feel so

led and uh would be generous toward

them. And then, uh, one more thing

that's coming up real soon. Well,

Mother's Day is next week, so there's

your little warning everybody. Mother's

Day next Sunday, so make sure you know

about that. Uh, dads and children and

all the all the type of those. Uh, we

have another special Sunday coming up.

Uh, not next week, but the week

following that is graduation Sunday uh,

at Green County. And so we're going to

be having a uh graduation celebration u

before service on Sunday, May 18th. We

will have a coffee cake uh reception out

in the foyer where we just are

recognizing and celebrating our

graduates. And so come early on May

18th, have some coffee cake. It's going

to be delicious and we like those times

of just fellowshipping together. Um and

you know, interact with our graduates,

congratulate them and meet them if you

don't know who they are. But there are

several I think the names are listed in

your bulletin. uh several high school

seniors getting ready to graduate in the

next couple weeks. So, uh we want to

just take the time to recognize this

milestone in their life and uh celebrate

them and then we will have a a time in

our Sunday morning service uh where we

just recognize them. Omega is going to

share some things with them. We'll give

them uh just a small gift from the

church and uh we just want to bless

them, pray over them and so that's going

to be happening on May 18th. And then

just this one last quick announcement

and Bill you can come up because this

will only take me a second. Uh

registration is open for both our sec

kids who have graduated second through

sixth grade camp as well as the teenager

camp. Those are both live on our website

and our church app. And so if you have a

student uh who has completed second

grade this year all the way up through

high school. We have great camps that we

go to in the summer. So you can go on

our website or our app and get them

signed up for that today. And so

registration is open through May. Just

don't want anybody to miss it. So get

involved with camps if you are a student

and those will bless you. Would you all

welcome Bill up as he comes to tell us

about our missionary partner this month?

Yeah, it's good to be back. We've been

missing for a couple weeks because we've

been visiting family. We've been in

Honduras and the church down there sends

their love to all of you.

Um, it's good to be back though and

u

and you just don't know what it's like

to be gone for a while and then come

back and and see all the people that

that you know and that you're close to.

It's a very heartwarming

feeling. Uh, our missionary spotlight uh

today is Hidden Harvest who was founded

by Stan Matias. I want to give you some

background on Stan. Uh I don't think

that this has ever been presented before

uh in the other times that we've talked

about their ministry, but he started

back in the

1990s and he started by establishing a a

Bible school in Taiwan.

And from there it just kind of one thing

led to another. A and

um today um there

are 1,000 schools that have been

established in uh Eastern Asia. There

have been 13,000 pastors who have been

trained and 2.5 million people who have

been reached. And so sometimes we think,

well, how is that possible? Gee, those

are fantastic numbers. But you know, you

you place your faith in God and

fantastic things are

possible. So um as God brought forth

this ministry in Stan um and of course

he has others certainly that help him

too. But they became aware of many

unreached people groups in that region.

People that have never heard the gospel

before.

they're separated from uh the mainstream

o of the society because these

indigenous groups basically all have

their own dialects, their own languages

and so to receive the gospel of course

they they've got to get the word in

their own native language and that has

just not happened. Um but basically

that's Stan's a vision is to reach these

groups and so

um yeah the unreached groups of East

Asia are now the mission field that

hidden harvest

plants. And so uh in the coming weeks

we're going to talk about more about how

his strategy to reach those groups are.

And so I'm excited to to tell you about

uh some of those things in more detail

as we go through the month of May. Uh

for now, let let's just uh take some

time to pray for his

ministry if you join with

me. Uh Father, you've been so good to

raise up ministries and spread your word

to those who have never heard

it. So we just join with you, Father, in

your desire to see this ministry

flourish.

in this region and within all the people

in in East

Asia. We pray that there would be

protection for those sending forth the

gospel and um likewise that

uh those who would hear would become

your disciples receive your glorious

plan for their lives in Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen. Thank you for sharing Bill.

[Applause]

It's wonderful thing to be partnered

with uh those who are called to go to

far away places and reach people who

haven't yet been reached. Don't you know

God is able to do impossible things?

Can't you say amen to that? With man

might be impossible, but with God all

things are possible. We believe that

we're going to dismiss our kids and

teachers to head to their classes at

this time. And uh everyone who's not

going out to a children's class, if you

are staying in with me, um why don't you

open up your Bible and find the book of

Isaiah. I'd like to start a series this

morning. And we're going to go to Isaiah

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

chapter 55. As we prepare to do that, um

it's up on the screen. The title of this

series is God's eye view. And that was a

phrase that I read in a book on a

completely unrelated topic. It was just

kind of an interjected little thought.

But when I read across this line, uh

something happened in my reading time

this week. Uh I went from thinking about

this topic that I was studying and

reading about to all of a sudden God was

just like downloading in my heart all of

these things about his perspective and

how he sees things in a different way

than we see things and all these topics,

all these areas of life where we might

have a perspective, we might have an

understanding of things, but God's view

is much higher. God's view is much

greater and how if we want to live in

this life and this calling he has for us

we really need to take upon ourselves

God's perspective look beyond how we see

things how we understand things and look

to the perspective God has the higher

the greater because the truth is this

how we view things dramatically shapes

the way we live our life I heard a quote

maybe you've heard something like this

before too somebody said life is 10%

what happens to you and 90% the way you

respond to it. And do you want to know

how you respond to things? Well, it's

based in the perspective you have. It's

based on the view of life that you take.

And I love God's eye view because God

has the perfect perspective. God has the

perfect view, the perfect understanding,

the perfect vantage of our life and this

world, the things that happen in it. God

has a perfect understanding of so many

all things. And so we at times miss out

on plans and promises and things that

could happen because we're looking

through our view instead of God's eye

view. And don't you know we live on this

globe. I mean I can see on this on the

background of this the United States of

America and I mean I can't even make out

where the state of Iowa is. It's just my

view is so limited. It's so little. But

God, he is so much greater, so much

bigger, so much higher. And that's what

the word says. If we look to Isaiah

Isaiah 55:8

55:8, God says this. He reveals this to

man through the prophet Isaiah. My

thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,

says the Lord. And my ways are far

beyond anything you could imagine. For

just as the heavens are higher than the

earth, so my ways are higher than your

ways, and my thoughts higher than your

thoughts. So, I love the graphic we have

for this ser this series because I think

it's so well uh it it hits that point.

God's perspective is so much greater, so

much higher, so much better his vantage

is than our vantage. He sees things that

we cannot see because he has a better

view. And so, over the next few weeks,

what I'd like to do is minister about

things that God has a perspective on

that's different than ours. Look at how

his perspective on some some critical

topics of life may be different than the

perspective we've lived with up to this

point and how the very best thing that

we can do is always align our

perspective to his view. Can you say

amen to that? We're going to be blessed.

We're going to be increased. We're going

to be helped when we look not only at

our own perspective, but we look at

God's perspective, too. Uh I have a

picture to put up of our church. And

this picture is from a perspective that

you may never otherwise see. This is up

in the air shot from a drone. This was a

couple years back. And what's

interesting about this picture is you

get a whole different view of our church

building of the things that are on it.

Uh a number of weeks back, um Luke

Shipley took me up in a plane and I was

like, "Hey, that's fun. This is awesome.

I'm getting to see things in a way that

I have never seen before." And he flew

me near the church and as I was looking

out, I saw all of these things about our

property. And I saw all of these things

that I had never noticed before. You

don't see it in this picture because it

was taken before, but last summer when

we put that new playground in, I don't

know if you've ever noticed them, but

they've got this these bright yellow

triangles on top of all the koopalas in

that playground. I had never paid

attention to those bright yellow

triangles before, but I'll tell you

what, when I was up above the church at

a different perspective, it was like the

only thing I could pay attention to. It

was the only thing that I was focused on

seeing. And it just made me think, how

often does it happen that we get so

focused on things that are in our

vantage? They're big things to us, but

they're small things in the greater

picture. How often do we get focused on

things that in our perspective might be

a big problem, might be really true,

might be really impacting, but in the

greater picture, they really don't draw

all that much attention. They're really

not as big of a factor. And one of the

things that the Lord is speaking to me

about that I want to speak this morning

to you about is God has a better

perspective on your identity than you or

I have on our identity. One of the

things the Lord tells us is that God

knows exactly how many hairs are on your

head. Did anybody get that count done

before you came into service this

morning? And I don't want anybody who's

bald to raise their hand, okay? That's

not

fair. But God knows you better than you

know you. Can you say amen to that truth

this morning, church? God has a more

accurate, a more complete perspective on

your life than even what you as the

person living it have. That's just how

big God is. That's how powerful God is.

One of the reasons God has a more

accurate perspective than us, and I'm

going to look through a few of these as

we go through this series, one of the

characteristics that God has that makes

his perspective better than our

perspective, is that he is omnipotent.

Omnipotent. That's spelled O M I P O T E

N T.

omnipotent. What that means is God is

all powerful. God is the one who holds

all authority. He is the ultimate

decision maker and his decisions are

always right. He is always the perfect

judge. He is always the one whose word

is truth. And it's because God is

omnipotent. He's all powerful. He's all

authoritative. He is the maker, the

sustainer of all heavens and earth. And

so if he is the one who made and he

sustains and he knows all his creation,

well, wouldn't his perspective on

creation be better than ours as the

creation? Wouldn't he know exactly what

things really are? You know, I I thought

about like painted painters, people who

paint pictures, they know exactly what

they put in that picture. It might be

easy for someone to miss a detail, a

component because they don't have the

perspective. They don't have the power

of the creator in them. But God as our

creator, he has a perfect perspective on

his creation because he's the one who

made it. He's the one with the power to

have made and sustained the world. He's

the one with all authority to determine

what is true, what is so, what is good,

what is right. And so, because he's all

powerful, because he's all

authoritative, God's perspective, his

view of things is perfect. And so his

perspective is what we ought to look to.

God's eye view is what we should

determine things by, not just by our

limited view. And there's times where,

you know, we we all do the best we can.

We walk with what we understand. We live

by the revelation knowledge that we

have. But I believe God wants us to know

more and more of his view. Does anybody

know everything about how God sees

things? No. Do we get a revelation of

everything that he knows and everything

that he sees? No. I I don't think we

could live if we knew everything that

God knows. I don't think we could stand

to exist if we saw everything that God

sees in our current state. But he does

tell us, he does show us everything that

we need to know to follow his plan to

live in the truth that he's called us to

live in. And so, we're going to look

this morning at what the word says about

God's perspective on our identity. not

just what I feel like I am or how I view

myself, but we're going to look really

at one particular passage that breaks

down a few critical things that God says

about who you are. And the way we always

must approach learning God's perspective

is is not just by what we feel or by

what a pastor has to say about it, but

we must always gain God's perspective by

looking to God's word. Can you say amen

to that? The way we glean bits about how

God views things, about the truth as God

sees it, which is the way that is true.

The way we glean that information, the

way we glean that understanding, the way

we take hold of God's vantage point is

by looking to his word. And as we look

in the word, what we will find is there

are things that are true and they've

been here the whole time. This has

always been part of God's plan for my

life, but I just didn't see it.

Have you ever had that happen? All of a

sudden, you're reading something in the

word and God brings a revelation alive

in your heart. This is for you. I want

that for you. That that is a promise to

you. This is who you really are. And

what that is is you're getting insight

to God's point of view. And so, we gain

understanding about how God sees things

when we look to his

word. John 17:17. One of the things

John 17:17

Jesus said is as he's praying to the

father about the people who follow him,

which that's us. We're the people that

follow Jesus. He says, "Make them holy

by your truth. Teach them your word,

which is truth." Jesus is saying here,

the thing that's going to set people

apart to be like you, to live out of

your nature, to fulfill the plan for

them that's different than the way of

the world. The way that that happens is

by being taught the word, which is

truth. As truth comes alive in our

heart, it's going to set us apart from

the world. It's going to change us and

make us different than we were before.

It's going to inspire us. It's going to

move us. It's going to reveal to us who

we are and what we have in Jesus Christ

so that we can live a life that we could

have never lived without him.

But this being made holy happens as we

come to know the truth which is the

word. Isn't this what Jesus said? Teach

them your word which is truth. So it's

by knowing the word is how we know what

is true. It's by knowing the word that

we we gain insight to God's perspective

on things. We get hints and and nudges

and revelations and enlightenments about

what is actually true. And God has the

perfect perspective to give us the truth

because he is truth and he knows all

things and he's all

powerful. And so one more verse and then

we're going to go into uh Galatians

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3 this morning. One more verse

about the word and how it reveals to us

God's perspective. In Psalm 119 verse

Psalms 119:105

105 the psalmist writes, "Your word is a

lamp to guide my feet and a light for my

path." You know what light helps? It

helps our perspective. Do you know

light? It it is a visual aid. Light is

something that helps us see more

clearly, helps us see more accurately.

This is what the word does for our

perspective is it helps us to see things

as they really are. It enlightens us to

what is actually true so that we can

live with an accurate or a true view of

life. And so if we don't have the word

guiding us, the word enlightening us,

then we're we're living in the dark.

We're walking in the dark. We're walking

without the help of God so that we may

know what is true, what is right, what

is clear. And so it's the word that

helps us, aids our perspective so that

we can live accurately this plan. We can

walk rightly this way of life that God

has set before us. And so let's look at

some things God has to say about our

identity. What is God's perspective on

man's identity? And I'm not going to

give you everything this morning. You

have to read the word which is a light.

to your feet so that you may know who

God calls you to be, who he has called

you in the word. And I'll tell you, a a

40 minute, 45, a 50, even a 2-hour

sermon on a Sunday morning is not going

to deposit to you the full perspective

of who God says you are. But I'm going

to try to give you some things this

morning that might just help. And so,

God says so much about you. You really

need to read the word so that you can

get his perspective on who you are. But

where I'll start is this. God defines,

he views, he identifies people really by

one measure. And in Galatians 3

27-28, Paul again inspired by the Holy

Spirit speaks this to the church. He

says, "All who have been united with

Christ in baptism have put on Christ

like putting on new clothes. There is no

longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free,

male and female, for you are all one in

Christ." See, Paul's talking to them

about identity. He's saying, "These are

all the ways you have identified

yourself before." And isn't that just

like us? We identify based on all these

external things. I come from this place.

I do this job. I like this thing. I

dress this way. I have this much money.

I have these friends. I go to this

place. It's how man identifies our self

with all these external things. And

Paul's recognizing that. He's saying

this is this is how you've got your

identity in the past. You were either a

Jew or a Gentile and that was your

thing. That was your identity. You were

either a free man or you were a slave in

that society. Those were two really big

categories of differentiation. He's

saying you're you're either wrapped up

in your identity as a man or you're

wrapped up in your identity as a woman.

And that's all of what's important about

who you are. This is what defines you.

This is your identity. And he's saying

in when you receive Jesus, you got a

whole new identity. When you receive

Jesus, the things that used to set your

perspective on who you are, those all

went away. And what's happened is now in

Christ, you have been given an identity

of his nature, an identity of his

likeness. You see, the

differentiator, the way God uh the the

primary way he views people is either in

Christ or out of Christ. On earth today,

there there's really two options. You

can either be a person who is in Christ

or a person who is out of Christ. And

it's really all about your heart. Is

your heart alive to God or is it dead to

God? Are you in the kingdom of light or

the kingdom of darkness? Are you saved

or are you

lost? These are all differentiations.

Are are you born again? Are you born of

spirit or born of flesh? There's this

contrast we see all through scripture.

And what it really is is it's an

identity issue. God really breaks it

down into two categories. I'm either

identified with Christ and on the road

that leads to life or I'm away from

Christ and I'm wandering into death. So

that's primary identification is either

being in Christ or not in Christ. You

see through God's perspective, our

identity is not set through worldly

things. God's perspective is that our

identity is all about our relationship

with Jesus. I mean isn't that what this

verse shows us? All who have been united

with Christ in baptism have put on

Christ. No longer all these other

things. You're all one in Christ Jesus.

Saying this is who you are. You're one

in Christ Jesus. You share this

identity. You share this union with

Christ. And so it's not about all these

external things. It's not about who you

are, what you do, what you don't do,

what you like. It's about do you know

Jesus or do you not know Jesus? That's

God's perspective. That's the fun the

foundation of God's perspective on our

identity. Do you know Jesus or do you

not know Jesus? There's no longer an

identity other than in Christ. When we

accept Jesus, you know, I I shared some

about this last week. We put things

away, right? We set things down and let

him transform them. I talked last week a

little bit about baptism, how that's

putting something in the right place,

taking our old man, our old identity,

and burying it in the grave with Jesus

so that we can live new. so that we can

live changed and transformed. You see

the identity that we have is in Jesus

and that really changes the way we see

Jesus in our life. If if Jesus is not

just a casual affiliation if Jesus isn't

just like a club I'm in, but Jesus is

who I've accepted my identity in. If if

I accepted his nature, his plan, his

grace, his empowering life for myself,

then that changes how I

live. I liked that thought. I'm not just

called to be in club Jesus. I'm called

to take on the identity of

Christlikkeness, to take on his nature

as my nature, to accept him who is the

way, the truth, and the life. To work

his way, work his truth, work his life

in and through me.

From God's perspective, what what I see

in the word is that identity is

determined by relationship with him.

It's really about whether we know him

and we're in him or we're we're not. And

so I believe this is the most important

question when it comes to

identity. It's not what is my family

lineage? What is my anagram or my love

language or my disc? It's not what what

am I motivated by? It's do I know Jesus

or not. That has to be the start of my

identity. Is my nature my own or is it

that of Christ transforming and working

life in me? This question each person

needs to ask and understand is who are

you in Christ? Who does Jesus make you

to be? And this is what we're going to

look at the rest of this morning. Who

who does Jesus say that you are? Who

does Jesus say that he saved you into

being? What's the identity he's given

you? I mean, that's really letting the

old man go so that we can embrace the

new life. How do we put away the old man

and put on the new man? We embrace the

identity that Jesus gives us. We embrace

what Jesus says about us. That's how we

put on the new. And so I I really I

thought this was kind of good. When it

comes to identity, the question we need

to ask is who does Christ make me? It's

not even this. It's not what does Jesus

want me to do? That shouldn't be what

sets our identity. It shouldn't be what

way does Jesus want me to grow. That

shouldn't be the thing that sets our

identity. shouldn't even be what do I

need to give up? Shouldn't be the thing

that sets our identity. Those are all

works that flow out of our faith in

Jesus and his grace working in us. But

those can't be the things that set our

identity. Let me give you an example of

that. If I'm a person who struggles with

gossiping and I just know I need to stop

it and I know I need to give it up and I

know I need to quit doing it. And that's

my identity. how I relate to God is

God's just waiting for me to get this

thing sorted out and then it's all going

to be really really good. If that's my

identity, then I'm going to miss out on

his help. I'm going to miss out on his

plan. I'm going to miss out on the life

that Christ wants me to have. No, the

identity can't start with what I'm not

doing or what I don't have or how I

haven't grown yet. The identity can't be

here are the things I need to check off

and then God will be pleased with me. It

needs to be what does God say from his

perspective is already true.

And this is the view change from my view

to his view. Because I look around my

life and I see all the stuff that's not

going right and I see all the things

that I'm not doing and all the ways I

need to grow and all the stuff I don't

know. But God doesn't see you that way.

That's right. God has a better

perspective, a truer perspective on your

life. And it's not about all the knots.

It's about what Jesus has already done.

It's about who he's already made you to

be. And so the answer isn't I need to

become something else. It's you need to

see who God says you already are. Amen.

In Jesus.

Amen.

This is the perspective change. We need

to view ourselves as he sees

us. How are we going to live that

abundant life? See yourself how he sees

you. Yes. Amen. Cuz if you see yourself

how you see you, you're going to keep

living like the old man. You keep

looking at your life with the old man's

perspective, you're going to keep

getting the results that the old man

got.

But when we change our perspective to

see what God says is true about us,

well, now I'm set free. Yes. Now I'm

empowered by his grace. Now, now I

believe something else is possible. It

It's not fighting who I used to be. I I

heard this said one time. We need to

stop fighting the old man and we just

need to let the old man be dead.

Amen. God's view is that the old has

passed away. Behold, the new has come.

That needs to be our view, too. Let's

take on God's perspective and then see

God's results.

Amen. It's all about who we are in

Christ. It's our identity must be set

through him, not through me. If if my

identity is based on me, I'm only going

to go as far as I can go. But if my

identity is based on Christ, well, now

all of a sudden, all things are

possible. Amen. Let's look at another

verse. I I told you there's so much to

identity. I couldn't even in a series I

would miss things about who God says you

are. So, you really need to read the

word for yourself so that you can come

to know that. But this morning, there's

a passage of scripture in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5. I'd like to go there. It

talks about being new. And there are

four things God says about you in this

passage that I would like to encourage

you with today. So there's a lot more to

know, a lot more to uncover about who

God says you are. But this morning, I'm

going to give you four things God says

about you. Four truths from his

perspective. So you might not see these

things. I might say this and you might

think, well, I've got a a lot of

reasons, pastor, why that's not true.

Stop looking through your perspective.

Let's look through his perspective. Can

you say amen, church? We want to see

what he sees, not what I see. That would

be a good line. I want to see what he

sees, not what I see. Cuz all things

aren't possible in me, but they're all

possible in him. And so, let's look at

God's perspective of who we are in

Christ. And the reason I started by

saying the foundation is either in

Christ or out of Christ is the only way

these things are true is if we're in

Christ. All right? And so, so get that

straight. This isn't universally true

for every person. All right? These four

things are not true for the person whose

faith is not in Jesus. They're still

just themsel and they're still the Jew

or the Greek or the slave or the free or

the man or the woman and that's it.

But if we're in Christ, then all of a

sudden we have a whole new identity to

take on. And that's that's who this is

for. So if you've accepted Jesus, then

these things are true. Not because

you've made them true in your effort,

but because he's made them true through

his completed work. And God sees the

whole picture. So if God says it, I

believe it. Amen. Amen. And this is what

God says about you. Let's look. Not a

comprehensive list, but just a few

things to encourage your identity in

Christ. Second Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5:16

5:16 says, "So we have stopped

evaluating others from a human point of

view." I love it. We've stopped looking

at each other from merely man's

perspective. From only seeing you

through the way I see you. What does

that mean? I only see you based on what

you do. based on how you act, based on

the attitude that you had, based on the

way you did the job, based on the five

minutes late, we've stopped evaluating

others from a human point of view. And

let me say something else. It's not only

for others, but it's also for you. It

can't just be now I look at everybody

else as who they are in Christ. It also

needs to be I see myself as who I am in

Christ. Because if you don't know who

you are, you can't know who they are. If

it's not personal in your life, if you

don't have an understanding of who Jesus

has made you to be, you're really going

to have a hard time believing it about

other people whose hearts you don't know

or fully understand. And so, this is for

all those who are in Christ. We stop

looking with our limited point of

view. At one time, we thought of Christ

merely from a human point of view. How

differently we know him. Now, what does

that mean? They've come to see this

perspective. God's perspective. who

Jesus really is and who we are in him.

This means that anyone who belongs to

Christ, okay, so this is the identity.

Anyone who belongs to Christ, would you

raise your hand this morning if that's

you? You belong to Jesus. Okay, then

this is talking about you. Anyone who

belongs to Christ, if that's me, then

this is who I am. Anyone who belongs to

Christ has become a new person. Amen.

Let me read through the whole section

and we'll go break it down. New person.

The old life is gone. A new life has

begun. And all of this is a gift from

God who brought us back to himself

through Christ. And God has given us

this task of reconciling people to him.

For God was in Christ reconciling the

world to himself. No longer counting

people's sins against them. And he gave

us this wonderful message of

reconciliation. So we are Christ's

ambassadors. God is making his appeal

through us. We speak for Christ when we

plead, "Come back to God." For God made

Christ who never sinned to be an

offering for our sins so that we could

be made right with God through Christ.

Isn't that a good identity? We're going

to break that down into four things this

morning. I'll give you the four. Let's

put them all up on the screen and then

we'll go through them. Four things God

sees you as. Four things that need to be

part of your identity if you're in

Jesus. Number one is a new person. I'm

not the same person I used to be. I'm a

whole new creation in Christ. Number

two, a reconciler. We'll talk about

this, but the word says he gave you, he

gave me, he gave us the ministry of

reconciliation. That means I'm a

reconciler. I'm a person who works

toward reconciliation. We'll talk about

that in a minute. We're ambassadors for

Christ and we are

righteous. Now, there's a lot more that

you are in Christ, but these are pretty

pretty good. These are four pretty good

things to know you are in Christ. These

are four things that will really set

your identity on the right path in him.

And so, let's break these down. Let's

talk through four things God sees you

as. Number one, from God's point of

view, from God's eye view, higher,

greater, more accurate, what he sees you

as is a new person. What this means is

you have a new heart. You have a new

nature. When you got saved, you probably

didn't like swap out your body and get a

whole new one and like look on the

outside like a new person in the moment.

If you got water baptized, you probably

didn't come up out of the water looking

like a different individual. You know,

if you had a mustache, you still had the

mustache cuz you're the on the outside

everything's the

same. And that's why people sometimes

think that they're the same person they

used to be is because on the outside,

from our perspective, from the human

point of view, nothing changed. But

don't you know, God sees the things we

can't see. He's got a higher point of

view. And what he says is when you

receive Jesus, you become a new person.

You become someone different. This is a

a truth of the spirit, a truth of the

heart that when we receive Jesus, our

heart is made new. Our nature is changed

forever. Not to be like the world, but

to be like Christ. Not to be of the

flesh, but to be of the Holy Spirit. In

Colossians 3:10, it says, "Put on your

Colossians 3:10

new nature and be renewed as you learn

to know your creator and become like

him." What does this mean? Our new

person, our new creation, the new man I

am is one who's like God. One who's like

Christ, who has that nature, that life,

the the things he cares about, I begin

to care about. The things that are

important to him are are important to

me. The the qualities he has begin to

work in my heart and flow out into my

life. You know the fruit of the spirit,

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, gentleness, self-control, all

those. Do you know why those things are

what happen when the Holy Spirit's in

us? It's because we take on his nature.

We take on his likeness. It's not

because like I'm just trying so hard to

be a patient person now all of a sudden

I'm patient. It's God's nature has come

into my heart. He has literally changed

who I am on the inside to be a person

who's now patient, to be a person who's

now loving, to be a person who's now

joyful. And so, stop, if you struggle

with some fruit of the spirit, stop

listening to the world's perspective.

Stop listening to what somebody wrote in

your yearbook about who they think you

are. Listen to who God says you are.

Look at yourself through his perspective

instead of their perspective, your

perspective, because his is the one

that's right. His is the one that's

true. So, let's live like who we really

are. Who are we really? Well, we're who

God says we are. That's the

truth. So, you're new. You're changed.

Live like you're different. You are

different. And you know what? When when

things happen, when you do things that

don't look new, they look old. Just

remind yourself that's not who I am

anymore. God says that that person died,

so I'm not going to fight with this. I

I'm I'm not going to give into that

again. That old man's dead, and the new

man wouldn't do that. The the man who's

like Christ wouldn't live that way,

wouldn't think that way, wouldn't act

that way, talk that way. So, I'm I'm

going to be who I really am. I'm going

to put on who I really am in Christ

instead of living like the person I used

to be. Because the new is better than

the old. Isn't that the truth? The new

is so much better. Here's another part

of this new life in Christ. This new

person I am. The new person's free from

sin. That just goes along with what I

was saying a moment ago in Romans 6:6

Romans 6:6

says, "We know that our old sinful

selves were crucified with Christ so

that sin might lose its power in our

life. We are no longer slaves to sin."

This has to be something you know as a

new person in Christ. Sin no longer has

power to control me.

I no longer have to do that sinful

temptation, give into the urge, say the

thing. My old sinful self was crucified

and put to death. We have to live with

this perspective, this identity that I

am a different person than I was

before. I have been changed. And so the

way sin used to fit into my life, it

doesn't fit in anymore because I'm

different now. I've been changed.

There's not room in my life for sin to

rule because Jesus is in the place of

rulership. Jesus is on the throne of my

heart. So sin can't sit there and drive

me anymore. We need to see ourselves as

new. Not the same person we used to be,

but someone who's taken on a whole new

definition, a whole new identity. We

have been changed. We've been

transformed. You know, part of this new

person is we're a we're a person who now

has has been healed by the power of God.

who is now provided for by the power of

God, someone who receives wisdom as a

child of God, someone who is fully

satisfied. Do you know satisfaction and

contentment are part of your new

identity in

Christ? When Paul says, "I can do all

things through Christ who strengthens

me." You know, he was talking about

living with things and living without

anything. He was talking about

contentment. I I can do anything. I can

live any way because God's power, God's

grace is here supporting me, helping me,

strengthening me. I can do all things

through Christ who strengthens me.

Right? He's saying, I can I can handle

any of it. I'm always going to be

content because I've got who and what I

need. Who I am today is someone that has

all I

need. So, this is all part of taking on

this identity of being in Christ. Living

this abundant life happens when we see

ourselves as a person who has abundant

life. Can't be something I'm trying to

get or I'm trying to make. It has to be

something God has given me in Christ. We

can't earn it for oursel. It has to be

something we just put on by faith. We We

have to put on this identity. You know,

that makes me think of that like saying,

you know, I'm putting on my face. Well,

we need to put on our identity in

Christ because this is who he's made us

to

be. So, we believe, we know because God

says, "So, I'm a new creation." And this

comes with freedom from sin, comes with

a change of heart, comes with so much

blessing. You know, you need to know

this. The new person is a blessed

person. See, I'm just I'm stuck on this

right now. But the new man is a blessed

man. The new man is is a loved man. The

new man is an accepted man. We'll get to

it in a little bit. The new man's a

righteous man. That's on this list as

well. But you need to know that those

things are true, not because you've

earned it, but because that's how God

sees you. And if he sees you that way, I

mean, who are you to see yourself

differently than God sees you? Amen. So,

let's believe what he says about

us. Num number two this morning, as we

seek to grasp this new identity we have

in Christ, God sees you as a

reconciler. A reconciler, somebody who

works

reconciliation. Um, the word reconcile,

it means to restore friendly relations.

It means to settle. And it means to make

accountable. Not accountable,

acceptable. To make acceptable, to

restore friendly relations. To settle

and to make acceptable. God sees you as

someone that ministers this this

message, this work of reconciliation in

Christ to other people. And what that

means is we are people as we live on

this earth. God sees us as the people

who who mend relationships between him

and the world. All right, here's here's

an identity thing for you. Part of how

God sees you living on earth today is

being a person who mends friendly

relationships between him and the

world. To to be someone who who settles

scores and settles tensions and makes

peace. Doesn't God say in his word,

bluster, the peacemakers? Doesn't he say

as far as it depends on you make peace

with all men? That's part of having an

identity of being a reconciler. Somebody

who works towards making friendly

relations between people in the world

and God who wants them back on good

terms, making people acceptable. Well,

I'll tell you this. We don't make

anybody acceptable, but we do point

people to Jesus, who's the one that

makes them acceptable in Christ toward