Who are You?
Let's ask a simple question –who are you?
If asked - who are you? - there are a possibility of answers you could give me.
To your employees you are Mr / Mrs/ Miss and your surname.
To your friends you are simply John or Mary or whatever.
To phone shopping organisations you are just a postcode and a credit card number.
To on-line shopping sites you are an e-mail address.
To government agencies you are a social security or national insurance number.
Who are you? Your name might be significant. For example –
The Reverend Russell 1795-`1883 gave his name to a breed of terrier dog, the Jack Russell.
Our woolly sweaters that button down the front were so called after the 7th Earl of Cardigan, who wore one during his service in the Crimean war to protect himself from the severe cold. And so he gave his name to cardigans!
The Ist Duke of Wellington most famously gave his name to Wellington boots.
Charles Mackintosh gave his name to the original waterproof coat patented in 1823.
Our Hoovers were names after William H Hoover who marketed the original vacuum cleaner.
The author Ian Fleming gave the name James Bond to his spy hero after seeing it on the cover of a book of West Indian birds by ornithologist James Bond.
Who are you? Maybe your name is significant, but probably not.
Maybe you have been conditioned by the world to feel no more significant than a number today. But you matter to God.
Talking to the prophet Jeremiah God told him – Before I formed you in the womb I knew you… Jer 1:5. He knew all about us before we were even born!
In Psalm 139:16 we read – All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be…He knows exactly who You are and He cares about you.
Matthew 10:30 says – even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
So -Who are you? The only place that can answer that question is the Bible, God’s Word.If you have come to the Cross and been cleansed in the blood of the Lamb, this is who you are.
- YOU ARE SPECIAL
- YOU ARE SECURE
- YOU ARE SIGNIFICANT
- YOU ARE SANCTIFIED
1. YOU ARE SPECIAL
You are God’s child.
John wrote –To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God…
The Bible says – How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!...
The only way to get into a human family is by birth and the only way to get into God’s family is by birth. Except a man is born again, he cannot see/experience the kingdom of God… you must be born again…
So if you are born again you are God’s child with all the privileges and promises attached. But remember your ‘special ness’ is not the result of anything you have done – it is all God’s doing. We are what we are by the grace of God. All we did was respond to His invitation to be His child.
You are special – you are a people belonging to God…according to Peter.
In fact God says – you are Mine. Those lovely words of belonging are found in Isaiah 43:1 Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine…
Think of all the words used in the Bible to describe the child of God and praise Him that they apply to you.
You are justified… Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
You were bought at a price…
Your have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
So you have the word ‘justified’ stamped on you, ‘bought ‘stamped on you, ‘rescued’ stamped on you.
You are an instrument made for noble purposes, useful to the Master, according to 2 Timothy 2:21
Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul asked – Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
You are a new creation…If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Read through Ephesians chapter 2 at your leisure – Once you were… now you are…is its recurring theme. Once you were objects of wrath but now you are objects of worth.
You are a sheep in God’s flock- you can say the 23rd Psalm and know every word applies to you. The Lord is my shepherd…He restores my soul…
You are special in Christ. Think of the words in that lovely hymn Blessed Assurance. You are – an heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood…
You are special. Even when we start to feel negative things about ourselves, God has positive answers because He cares for us – we are special to Him.
When we think – I can’t manage, what does God say – I will meet all your needs Phil 4:19.
When we think – I’m worried and frustrated, God says – Cast all your cares on me.
When we think – I can’t figure things out – God says – I will direct your steps. Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight…
When we think – I’m not able, God says – I am able. God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.
When we feel alone, God says – I will never leave you nor forsake you.
When we think – I just can’t manage, God says My grace is sufficient.
You see you are special!
Who are you? You are someone special in Christ.
2. YOU ARE SECURE
Romans 8:1 tells us –Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…You are secure.
If God is for us, who can be against us? asked Paul. You are secure in Christ.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Paul said – we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord…You are secure.
Turn to 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 because I want you to see these words – He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come…
Jesus says – My sheep listen to My voice; I know them and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of My hand… You are secure. Here we see not only God’s great grace shown to us but God’s great grip upon us...
The hymn says -My name from the palms of His hands eternity will not erase; impressed on His heart it remains, in marks of indelible grace…
It says in Jude – To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the Only God our Saviour be glory…You are secure.
3. YOU ARE SIGNIFICANT
You are the salt of the earth, said Jesus. This has become an idiom of our language. Anyone considered good, helpful and valuable is often described as the salt of the earth. In the ancient world, salt was something highly prized. In Rome servants were once paid with salt and from that Roman word for salt – salarium – we derive our English word salary. So was valuable and Jesus wants us to understand our significance in this world.
To the people of Jesus’ day salt was primarily a preservative. Once a fish was caught it was packed between layers of salt before being taken to market. The salt arrested corruption and kept the fish edible and fresh. And our significance as salt is also to arrest corruption in our society, to preserve God’s standards and have a certain antiseptic influence on life. We are to be examples of purity in a world of pollution.
Salt also enhances flavour to a meal preventing it from tasting insipid. Have you ever tried eating something that hasn’t been salted to your taste? Flat and unexciting, wasn’t it? As Christians we have no business being boring. Our function is to add flavour to life so that we enrich them, not impoverish them. Do others have to put up with our grumpiness, anxieties, and outbursts of temper or are we acting like salt and making life more palatable for those around us?
You are the salt of the earth. You are significant.
Jesus also said – You are the light of the world…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven…again you are significant.
Jesus said that you are a branch of the true Vine, a channel of His life. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit… You are significant and should be abiding and abounding.
In fact in the same chapter of John’s Gospel Jesus said – You did not choose Me but I chose you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last…you are significant.
Acts 1:8 tells us that we are personal witness for Christ. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…you are significant.
Each one, reach one – should be our motto. It is a bit like what happens in a relay race when the baton is passed on to the front runner from the one coming behind him. The baton has been passed on to us – it is in our hands today! Our prime responsibility therefore is to pass it on to the next generation. Until Christ comes and takes us out of the world we have an obligation resting on our shoulders to reach those whom He calls enemies of the Cross of Christ.
It has been said – Yesterday was history, tomorrow is a mystery; today is a gift of God, that’s why it’s called the present! How are we using our present? Be very careful then how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil… In fact Peter says that we are always to be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have… we are witnesses ; we are significant.
2 Corinthians 5 tells us that we are ministers of reconciliation for God. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf – be reconciled to God. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God…So here we have our great mandate and our glorious message.
Paul speaks of our significance in Ephesians 2 – For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do…
You are significant.
4. YOU ARE SANCTIFIED
Peter tells us exactly who we are and how we should live – live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear…
Again he says in his next chapter – Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul…
Who are you – you are an alien and stranger in the world. I like the way James put it –we are to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world…As far as we are concerned we are to be strangers to the ways of the world.
James was in agreement with Paul who wrote – let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God…
Who are you in Christ? You are sanctified. Paul told the Thessalonians – God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life…He told the same people – live in order to please God…He said to them – It is God’s will that you should be holy…
Let us constantly remind ourselves of who we are in Christ and we will live sanctified lives.
You are sanctified, set apart for God.
God wants us to form a generation of valiant believers who will give their lives to serve God’s purpose in our day. God wants us to be among the priceless few who shake off apathy, lethargy and defeatism, and help God renew the face of the earth. We need to discard our small vision for our own lives and begin to see ourselves as God sees us in Christ.
Who are You? You are special – You are God’s own child, justified, rescued, redeemed, blessed chosen, dearly loved – need I say more?!
Who are you? You are secure, free from condemnation, sealed by God, in His grip and grace.
Who are you? You are significant – the salt of the earth, light of the world, branch of the true vine, appointed to bear fruit, God’s workmanship, a Spirit empowered witness and minister of reconciliation.
Who are you |? You are sanctified, a stranger to the ways of the world, someone set apart for holiness, unpolluted and spotless in God’s sight.
That’s who you are in Christ. Without Christ the Bible says you are an object of wrath, you are following the ways of this world, you are darkened in your understanding, you are perishing, you are powerless, you are enemies of the Cross of Christ, you are slaves to sin, and you are without hope and without God in the world. That was our description when we lived excluding Christ from our lives, but praise God today we can say - Once we were not a people, but now we are the people of God; once we had not received mercy but now we have received mercy. Start living as someone who is special and secure and significant and sanctified.
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Copyright 2006 Impact Unlimited.
Last updated Sept.2006