“Who Am I?”

**INTRODUCTION

Hello. Welcome to “Key to the Kingdom.” My name is Bret McCasland. One of the topics that seems to be in the news quite regularly is the matter of people seeking their identity. Well, all of us have an identity. We have a name; we have an identification card or Social Security number. We have a family. We have others with whom we can relate or share life. Yes, we have an identity, whether we realize it or not. But sometimes that identity becomes a little bit cloudy as we go through various changes or experience certain situations. Some people just want to know what they are or how they need to be spending their time here upon this earth. Others want to know their purpose in life, or even if life matters. A term, sometimes, that is used in that regard is identity crisis. Well, I don't know if it is a crisis situation or not, but it is something many people are challenged by, and they seek out some kind of answer. In our lesson today, on “Key to the Kingdom,” we will look into God's Word to see what it has to say about our identity. It may or may not be the answer we are wanting, but it is something we need to know. It is also something we are to pursue if we want to have a good relationship with the Lord. I trust you will want to hear what the Bible has to say about who we are in the sight of God. Please open up your Bible as we now study from God's Word.

**LESSON

Much of today's world seems to have what some people call an identity crisis. People are constantly trying to find themselves, as we might say, and they're seeking a purpose for their life. And they long to feel significant. They long to be able to offer something good to other people and to their society, in their time here upon this earth. And in the midst of that type of confusion and uncertainty, people generally ask a number of questions. And two of the primary ones seem to be these: Who am I, and, why am I here? Now, at the basis of that first question, who am I, is a search for something upon which we can build our lives. And that only makes sense, doesn't it; that we are looking for an identity. And yet, as we look for that, we may not know for sure where to find it or even how to search for it. Well, if we are not currently asking that question, then we probably know somebody who is asking that question. It might be a relative. It might be a friend. It might be somebody we see on a regular basis, or it might even be that person we stop to help on the side of the road. And to them, that question, who am I, is a real question. It is one for which they indeed long to find an answer. It might even lead to a host of other questions that signify their sense of uncertainty. Questions like these: What am I? Does anybody see me? Does anybody even care I am here? Well, for many, that means tying their identity to one's purpose or to one's position or accomplishments. It means achieving some level of acceptance among one's peers, perhaps even among one's family members. And yet most of those people will admit, well, that's not really who I am. That only leads to a false sense of security or self-worth; and so, they begin to look for something else. They begin to look for something that really matters, that brings an identity that is real. I suppose that's true for all of us. And for the most part, we search for a solid sense of identity, and when we find that, then it gives us a base from which to build our lives. It provides some much needed confidence in today's world. And our identity affects everything, doesn't it; from the choices we make to the values by which we live. And so that question, who am I, is a question that is asked by millions of people every day. Many are challenged by their peers or by the society. Some might be school age children, while others are young adults or perhaps even more advanced in age. And oftentimes there are a number of layers that are attached to that so-called identity crisis. But again, that crisis, to them, is real. Well, in light of all of that, what do we look at in regards to our life as Christians? You know, as Christians, we don't make fun of those who are having that kind of crisis or going through that surge. We don't seek to humiliate such people. We don't want to devalue them in any way, as individuals. At the same time, as Christians, we are reminded of who we are as a child of God. We know that we belong to Him, and in that we find our significance and our meaning in this world. Well, as we seek to answer the question, who am I, it would be good to hear from God's Word; for when we find the Lord and when the Lord finds us, our eyes are opened up and we begin to see, indeed, who we are in His sight. And that's a very beautiful thing. We don't have to wonder about our identity because the Bible makes it clear. We are told in Scripture that we are a child of God. We are one of His sons or one of His daughters (in 1st John, chapter 3 and verse 1). I want to share with us today three Biblical truths, which I believe are at the heart of our identity in the Lord. The first one is this: I am somebody special whom God loves very much. Personalize that. Say that to yourself. I think about the words of John, chapter 3, verse 16, those very common and familiar words to all of us. We've heard them before, haven’t we? <For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.> There is not a person in this world who is excluded from God's love. Never has been, never will be. But God loves everybody. He loves the people whom He has created and He has brought into this world. God is a God of love. And out of all of His qualities, or characteristics, I've got to believe that perhaps is at the very top of the list. That's number one: God is love. We see that in a passage found in Romans chapter 5 verse 8: <But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.> Isn't that a beautiful thought! In the midst of my sin, God sent His Son to die for me. Now, that doesn't make much sense to me. Why would He do that? I can't explain that. In the midst of my sin, my rebellion, my disobedience, God said, I love you, and I'm sending My Son to die for you. And the only reason He did that was, according to Scripture, because of His love. We see the same thing again in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 4: <Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -it is by grace you have been saved.> For no other reason than God's love, He makes us alive in Him. He saves us from our transgressions and sins. You know, like some of you, I have children. I love them a great deal. No doubt, you love your children a great deal, also. And there is probably nothing we would not do, no price we would pay, no sacrifice we would not make in order to provide for and protect our children. We love them. They are special to us, and we will go to great extremes to demonstrate that. And yet, no matter how much we love our children, no matter how many sacrifices we make or gifts we give, they can never compare to the love that God has for you and for me. That's something to think about, isn't it? But we know it’s true, because we are His children. We belong to Him. And when we begin to realize how much God, indeed, loves us, we can be confident that we, in fact, are somebody special to the Lord. We have an identity that is unique. Nobody can take that away from us, that God loves us more than anybody ever has, and He continues to love us more than anybody ever will. If you wonder about your identity and are struggling to answer the question, who am I? Remember, number one, you are loved by God! Well, here's number two. I am called by God to share in His blessings. And again, personalize that for yourself. God calls us to believe in and to trust His son, Jesus Christ. He calls us to be saved from eternal separation from Him. And as we receive that call or that invitation, we then begin to live in praise and in honor of the One who invites us into this family. And again, that calling extends to everybody. The Lord invited us to receive His greatest gift, Jesus Christ, His son. And we don't have to go looking for that. Jesus has already provided the gift. He has already offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice. We read John 3:16 a moment ago, and that's a familiar verse, but do we know what comes next, in verse 17? Notice these words: <For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.> You know, somehow God knew we would experience various forms of condemnation in our life. People would mistreat us. They would say bad and negative things about us. They would try to destroy our reputation. God knows that we experience condemnation in hard times. But He did not send His Son to add more condemnation to your life or to mine; He sent His Son to save us from that condemnation, so that we could experience an eternal home with Him. Listen to these words from 1st Corinthians 1, verse 9: <God, who has called you into fellowship with His son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, is faithful.> Yes, indeed, God is faithful. And He doesn't call us. He doesn't invite us into His fellowship through a phone call or an email or text message. He does it personally, through His son, Jesus Christ. He personally entered into this world through His Son so that He can relate to us and we can relate to Him. Listen to these words from 1st John 4, verses 9 and 10: <This is how God's love was revealed among us. God sent His one and only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. And love consists in this: Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.> In the midst of our sinful ways, in the midst of our rebellion, disobedience, God made the first move; not us, God did. He reached out to us. He basically said, I love you even though you don't look good right now, even though your life isn't what it needs to be, even though you're headed in the wrong direction; I still love you. He did not wait for us to get everything in order and put together and headed in the right direction before He loved us, He loved us in spite of that. And many of us can relate to that, can't we? We look back on our life and we think, wow, I wasn't going in the right direction, and then I got that invitation. I became a part of God's family. He received me. He loved me. And it looks different now, doesn't it? Oh, we can be thankful for that. We can be thankful for the opportunity and the privilege to put our past behind us and to move to something better that God has in store for us. Well, maybe your life is still like that. Maybe you're wondering, what do I do with my life? I am tired of living this way. I don't want to disappoint God. I want to make a change, a significant difference. And, well, that's okay, because God still offers an invitation. He still invites you to come and to receive that free gift of Jesus Christ, which has already been made available. And so, again, no matter what our life looks like, God loves us anyway. He sent Jesus to die for us. And when we become a part of God's family, we receive those spiritual blessings and promises and privileges that only His children can receive. My family extends some rights and privileges and blessings to me that they perhaps would not extend to anybody else. That's just the way it is. You're the same way. You receive some rights and privileges in your family that that are not extended to other people. And that's why we call it family. We belong to one another within that family unit. But that's not the way it is with God's family. Everybody in God's family receives and is able to experience all of the blessings and privileges that God affords to all of us. We become full fledged members. We are full fledged children, sons and daughters of God. And all of us are able to receive what God abundantly pours out into our lives. And because of that, we can feel at home with the Lord. We can feel like that we belong. When God calls us to be a part of His family, He knows what He is doing. He knows about our sins and our problems. He knows about my imperfections and your inadequacy and everything that's a mess; and that's okay. He knows our past history; He knows mine, He knows yours. And as unpleasant as it may be to us, or to other people, it does not affect His invitation for any of us to become somebody special in His family. I think about what happened to a man named Saul. We find his story in the book of Acts. He was persecuting people who belonged to the way of the Lord, and he thought he was doing the right thing. But God stopped him in his tracks. He changed his direction. He pointed him in a new way. And Saul, later on, became the Apostle Paul, and he became a great witness for the Lord, and a great preacher and teacher about the way of Jesus Christ. I think also about another man, named Peter. He was a disciple of Jesus. He was a close follower. And yet, on the night when Jesus was betrayed and about to be put to death, Peter denied knowing Jesus, three times. When Jesus needed him the most, Peter didn't show up for Him. But after Jesus' resurrection from the dead, one of the very first things He did was to meet with Peter and to give him a second chance, to reinstate him, if you will, into the work of the Lord. In both of those instances, the Lord saw beyond what other people consider to be flaws and shortcomings. He called those people to special and important roles in this world. And likewise, God does that with you and with me; in spite of our past, in spite of what our life looks like. So number two, today, if you wonder about your identity and who you are; remember, you are called by God to share in His blessings. Here's a third thing for us to consider: I am set free from sin and Satan! I hope you can say that, that you are set free from sin and Satan. When we receive God's call and respond to His love, then we are redeemed. And to be redeemed simply means to be set free from the curse of sin and from Satan's dominance in our life. And that sounds good, doesn't it! Hear these words from Galatians chapter 3: <Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.> Well, very simply put, Jesus died upon a cross so that we do not have to die for our sins. That's good news, isn't it! He set us free from a law keeping system so that we can receive all of the promises and all of the blessings that God the Father, gives to us as His children. And that's just another expression of God's love. Let me put it this way; Jesus paid our bail so we can get out of jail. That makes sense, doesn't it? He paid for the cost of our sin when He died upon the cross. And now we don't have to be behind prison bars any longer, no matter what kind of bars those might be. We are redeemed and set free by the blood of Jesus Christ, when He gave His life as that great sacrifice upon the cross; and now, we are invited to receive that amazing gift. Paul goes on to write this, in Galatians 4: <When the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under Law, to redeem those under Law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.> Jesus died so we could receive the full rights, or the inheritance, that a child of God would receive. And it is only through Him we can receive it. That includes all the blessings and all the promises that God can possibly give to us now, but also with the promise that more is yet to come. There is no other way and there is no other person through whom we can receive those blessings and promises, except through God's son, Jesus Christ. And so, thirdly, today, I want you to think very carefully about this: If you wonder about your identity, if you wonder and are looking for an answer to the question, who am I, remember, you have been set free from sin and from Satan. Oh, that doesn't mean that we won't ever sin and that we won't ever give in to the temptation of Satan again. It means that if we do, then we have a way out. We have an opportunity to still be right in God's sight, because God never gives up on us. He continues to love us. Yes, lots of people in this world have what we call an identity crisis. They don't know for sure who they are. They struggle to answer the question, who am I? And I understand that. Life is hard, sometimes. But today I want us to know, as Christians, however, there is no need to be misinformed. There is no need to be led astray. We can know who we are with great confidence; that we belong to God's family. We are one of His children. We have an identity. We live with a purpose. We have, not only, hope for today, but we also have the promise of living with our Father in heaven forever. And so we have an answer to the question, who am I? Thinking through all of these different passages and these points, I came up with a statement that perhaps summarizes our lesson today: I am a loved, saved and forgiven child of God who has been set free by His son, Jesus Christ. We know that with full confidence, don't we! And with that in mind, we can live our life with confidence, with no uncertainty, but with confidence that we belong to Him, He belongs to us, and we are one of His children. Perhaps you are seeking a new identity for your life. You are wondering if it can be found in the Lord. You're trying to make some kind of sense out of the life you're living now, and you know you need to make some changes. You don't know what to do with your life. You don't know if you are a value to anybody or worth anything. But know that many people have been where you are, if that's the way you are feeling today. But no matter who you are, to yourself, to your family members, to other people, you can know the answer to the question, who am I? And you can also know the answer perhaps to an even greater question; and that is, who can I be in the sight of God? Know today, God loves you. He sent His son, Jesus, to die for you, and your sin can be eliminated, and you can experience all the blessings and all the promises that God can give to you as one of His children. And I would encourage you to receive that love and that invitation, today!

**VIDEO CLIP

One of the greatest and most important questions we could ever ask ourselves is, who am I? That might sound like a strange or unusual question, and yet that's a very important question. In fact, many people are asking that question today. Who am I? They're trying to find their identity in this world. They're trying to understand, really, who they are in the sight of God and among the people with whom they live and work. And those people who have that kind of struggle, we might say, they have an identity crisis, and that's something for which we are to be sympathetic and to work with them, be comfortable and encouraging of those people. Yet, at the same time, we ask ourself the same question as a child of God; who am I? Well, the Bible is clear in regards to who we are. We are somebody very special in the sight of God, as one of His children. He loves us, He has forgiven us, He saves us through the blood of His son, Jesus Christ, and we have a special identity. Once we understand that, once we spend time reading and knowing God's Word, then we can be comfortable knowing who we are in the sight of God. Yes, we are somebody special, and we don't have to search for that meaning or that significance any longer, because it is in and through Jesus Christ we find our identity. We know who we are. Nobody can take that away from us. And for that we are most grateful. There may be times when you struggle in various situations in your life, and you simply ask, well, who am I anyway? Always be reminded of the fact you belong to God. You are somebody special. He loves you very much, and that's who you are in the sight of God today.

**CONCLUSION 

Thank you for being our guest today on “Key to the Kingdom.” Hopefully this lesson offers some things for you to consider regarding who you are in the sight of God. If you would like to view or to listen to the message again, it can be found on our website at keytothekingdom.com. There are other messages, which can be accessed, and they require absolutely no cost or commitment of any kind. I hope you will take a look at those that might be of interest to you. If you follow “Key to the Kingdom” on Facebook®, you know that we offer one minute and two minute devotional thoughts every week. Access to our ministry is also available through Roku® television and a free app designed for smart-phones. We would be honored if you would like to follow this mass media outreach. Once again, let me say thank you for tuning in to today's broadcast. We truly appreciate it. And please, join us again next time as we continue to study the Bible on “Key to the Kingdom.”