“ALONE WITH GOD #2-DISCOVERING WHO YOU ARE”
1 CORINTHIANS 15:9-10
INTRO: We discovered in our first message on ALONE WITH GOD that
thinking right leads to doing right. Friends, we have lost the art of
spending time alone with God so that He can speak to us and we can
learn from Him, lean on Him, and grow to love Him as we never have
before. Because of this many Christians today have lost their
spiritual identity. Their lives are lives of confusion in which they are
torn between residing in this world and being a resident of Heaven.
Friend, when you spend time alone with God you will discover who
you are. Wherever you are—whether in the solitude of your home,
seated underneath a shady oak tree, or secluded from it all in your
prayer closet—by spending alone time with God and His Word you will
discover your true spiritual identity and purpose.
In Luke 4:17-21 Jesus revealed who He was while in His hometown
synagogue as He read from the book of Isaiah—“And there was
delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had
opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel
to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at
liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat
down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were
fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this
scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Jesus knew who He was and what
His purpose was. He is our example in all things. Abraham, the
father of faith, discovered his identity at the age of 99 when God
called him and revealed His plan for future generations. We read in
Genesis 17:1-8—“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine,
the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty
God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant
between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram
fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my
covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall
be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will
make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings
shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me
and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting
covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will
give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a
stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I
will be their God.” Moses had an encounter with God on the backside
of the desert that revealed who he was to become and God’s purpose
for him. The Lord told Moses in Exodus 3:10—“Come now therefore,
and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my
people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”
Many Christians told don’t really know who they are nor do they know
why God has saved them. Many seem to think that this life and all
that it holds is what is important but we must remember Christians
live in this world but they are not of this world. We have been saved
by grace for a much nobler purpose. In our text Paul discovered who
he was and what his purpose was. “For I am the least of the apostles,
that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the
church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace
which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more
abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was
with me.” The question tonight is, “Where do we uncover our new
identity?” Note with me three things…
(1) OUR IDENTITY IS FOUND IN THE WORD
PSALM 119:9-11, 105—“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his
way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole
heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy
commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not
sin against thee…Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto
my path.”
A. THE WORD BRINGS THE ANSWER. Friends, our spiritual identity is
found within the pages of God’s Word. You will never find who you are or
what your purpose is in a crowd. We need to stop fearing failure. We need
to stop following the way of the world. We need to quit filling our days with
endless activity and endless noise so that we can be attentive and receptive
to the Lord’s Word and will for our lives. At railroad crossings we are told to
STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN. We need to stop the frantic and frenzy pace of
our lives and look to God’s Word and listen to what He wants to reveal to
us. The more time we spend meditating upon His Word the more we
understand, but more importantly, the more we will be in a position to truly
hear His voice.
B. THE WORD BUILDS ASSURANCE. Satan is a liar and the father of lies
(John 8:44). He tries to tempt us to betray our calling of God and to live
displeasing to the Lord. Satan wants us to break our promises, deceive
ourselves and others, and be disloyal. If you try to remain true to God your
loyalty will be tested. The Word gives us the resolve and also the resources
we need to remain loyal and true. Friend, let me ask you tonight, “Are you
a loyal person? Can you be trusted?” We need to be like Jesus—a person
of integrity who isn’t swayed the men. Even the Pharisees recognized the
integrity of Jesus and confessed in Matthew 22:16—“…Master, we know
that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou
for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.”
Friends, are we people of integrity tonight? Do we follow the crowd or do we focus on the Word? Ephesians 4:14-15—“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”
OUR IDENTITY IS FOUND IN THE WORD but also…
(2) OUR INSTRUCTION IS FOUND IN THE WORD
PSALM 19:7-11—“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the
testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes
of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the
LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.”
A. REALIZATION. We can never embrace the new life until we surrender the
old. The Bible clearly tell us that our old self is dead and has been crucified
with Christ (Galatians 2:20). If we try to hold on the things of the old life,
the old man, we will be a struggling, frustrated, and incomplete person.
When you are honest with God, honest with yourself, then you can be
honest with others. Have often have we met people who talk behind
another persons’ back? Friend, the moment you condemn another person,
you reveal something negative about yourself.
B. REPENTANCE. Friends, we must change if we are to be the person that
God wants us to be. This means we must practice repentance. We must
daily confess our sins and ask God for forgiveness in the ways we have
failed HIM. We all need forgiveness, don’t we? Paul said it this way—
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the
prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the
mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight
I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into
subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself
should be a castaway.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). Friend, ask the Lord to
guide you and show you who you are.
C. REAPING. Friends, we cannot compromise our way into God’s will. We
cannot keeping doing wrong and have everything work out right. What we
sow we reap (Galatians 6:7). We cannot live in denial. We are saved by
grace but we are not perfect. Our righteousness comes from Jesus Christ.
We have been justified by the blood of Christ and we must resist the devil
daily.
D. REPAIRING. Jonathan Edwards, a leader of the Great Awakening wrote,
“In close meditation, prayer and conversing with God, when alone and
Separated from the world, a true Christian doubtless delights…to converse
with God in solitude and this also has peculiar advantages for fixing the
heart, for fixing what is inside him” (Solitary Refinement. p. 102).
E. RESPONSIBILITY. Our one and only purpose is to do the will of God. The
Bible shows us what we are to believe and when we spend quality time in
the Word it will change our attitudes, beliefs, and everything about us. We
must become serious about our life’s purpose.
OUR INDENTITY IS FOUND IN THE WORD, OUR INSTRUCTION IS FOUND IN THE WORD, and finally…
(3) OUR INSPIRATION IS FOUND IN THE WORD
A. AVOIDING NEGATIVITY. We will never know who we are meant to be in
Christ until we deal with the negativity in our lives. Barney fife, on the
Andy Griffith Show, would say, “Nip it, nip it in the bud!” That is what we
must do with negativity. Do you frequently say, “I’ll never get this right! It
can’t be done!” Are you constantly viewing life from a negative outlook?
What can we do about these negative thoughts and attitudes that we have?
How can we overcome them? :
· COMMUNE WITH THE LORD. Friends, when we are alone with the Lord we can conqueror those strongholds in our lives. 1 Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us—“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Instead of negatively looking for other to determine your worth and identity, look intently to the Word and spend time with the Lord.
· CONFRONT YOUR PROBLEMS. Instead trying to avoid our problems or deny our problems we need to confront our problems. We should be like David and face our giants. You and I will never know faith and courage until we depend upon the Lord to help us face the challenges of life. As David engaged Goliath he with faith declared—“the battle was the Lord’s”. David believed God could and would deliver him. Friends, we must keep our eyes focused upon Jesus, not our problems. Trust in Him, and let Him work His will in your life.
· CONFOUND THE ENEMY. We need to face our problems when they are small. We must not wait until they multiply. We must rely on God’s Word and let Him give us the victory.
B. ACCENTUATE POSITIVITY. The Bible has much to say about our outlook
on life. Proverbs 15:13—“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but
by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” Proverbs 15:15—“All the days of
the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.”
And Proverbs 17:22 tells us—“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but
a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
ILLUS: Focus...In his 35 years with the United Nations system, Kofi Annan
has come to be known as an evenhanded man with an ability to see
parts and the whole at the same time. It is this quality that makes him
one of the more popular executives in the United Nations. He recalls
an unforgettable lesson learned in Ghana at age 17: One day our
headmaster walked into the classroom and put up a broad sheet of
paper with a small black dot in one corner. "Boys," he asked, "what do
you see?" All of us shouted in unison, "A black dot!" Then he said, "So
not a single one of you saw the large white sheet of paper? Don’t go
through life with that attitude."—Newsweek
CLOSING: If you really know God as your loving heavenly Father, you consider
companionship with Him your greatest treasure. I've heard of a