IMAGE: IDENTITY TRAPS
WELCOME
Sunday, January 8, 2023
SERIES: IDENTITY TRAPS
LIVE MESSAGE: MAPPING OUR HEARTS
Scripture: Romans 8:14-17 ESV
Podcast “Living The Message”
Pastor Philip Miller
Scripture Reading Psalm 13 ESV
Psalm 13 ESV and Audio
How Long, O Lord?
13 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
^Videos by Inspirational>1…
Breathe On Me, Breath Of God 1878 by Edwin Hatch
^Videos by Inspirational>1…
LIVE 11:00 AM EST
Sunday, January 8, 2023
LIVE: MESSAGE: MAPPING OUR HEARTS
SERIES: IDENTITY TRAPS
LIVE MESSAGE: MAPPING OUR HEARTS
Scripture: Romans 8:14-17 ESV
Podcast “Living The Message”
Pastor Philip Miller
^Videos by Inspirational>1…
MESSAGE: MAPPING OUR HEARTS
Sunday, January 8, 2023
SERIES: IDENTITY TRAPS
MESSAGE: MAPPING OUR HEARTS
Scripture: Romans 8:14-17 ESV
Pastor Philip Miller
Scripture: Romans 8:14-17 ESV
Romans 8 ESV and Audio
Heirs with Christ
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
SERMON NOTES
Sunday, January 8, 2023
SERIES: IDENTITY TRAPS
MESSAGE: MAPPING OUR HEARTS
Scripture: Romans 8:14-17 ESV
Pastor Philip Miller
Who are you? How would you answer this question?
In the coming weeks, we’ll explore the stories of nine different characters in the Bible, who each tried to build their identities in all the wrong places, and then discovered the kind of wholeness that only God can give. And in considering their lives, we’ll discover the identity traps we fall into, and the identity Christ offers us that changes everything.
In this sermon, we explore a biblical and theological framework for understanding our identity and mapping our own hearts.
Identity is, at its core, a sense of self. It distinguishes us from the people around us. It gives clarity to our place in this world. And it turns out that a sense of self is meaningful when it meets three, deep-seated, underlying needs:
1) Significance
2) Security
3) Satisfaction
Now, this is where theology comes in, because the Bible tells us that we were created in the image and likeness of God. We were created to know God as our Father, and to know ourselves as His sons and daughters. In other words, we were made to find our identity as children of God.
And as children of God, we were made:
• To find our significance in His esteem.
• To find our security in His care.
• To find our satisfaction in His pleasure.
That’s the identity we were made for: to live as a child beloved by the Father.
But, we are sinners by nature and by choice; our sins have separated us from God.
So instead of children… we find ourselves orphans. We wake up in the universe estranged from the God were meant to call “Father.” We wake up as orphans. Our orphan hearts start trying to find identity elsewhere.
Consequently, there are three primary strategies we employ to get our identity needs met apart from God. We look to find our identity through:
• People
• Power
• Possessions
Our Orphan hearts try to build an identity seeking Significance, Security, and Satisfaction from the creation instead of the Creator! To use the language of Romans 1: we’ve exchanged the glory of the immortal God for created things. In essence, that’s what idolatry is. Whenever we look to anything other than God for our ultimate significance, security, and satisfaction. Whatever that is becomes our functional god, and we serve and sacrifice and offer up whatever it takes to get our deep identity needs met. It’s idolatry.
The lie of Satan is that we’re better off fending for ourselves, getting our deep identity needs for significance, security, and satisfaction met through people, power, or possessions. Anywhere other than our Heavenly Father.
And so we go out into the world trying to get our deep identity needs met. We pursue people, not so much to love them, but so that we can get our needs met. We acquire power, not so much to serve others, but so that we can secure ourselves. We amass possessions, not so much to share generously, but so we can enjoy ourselves.
The whole of our identity starts caving inward when we live as orphans. We go into the world needy, consuming, taking. It’s less about what we can give, and it’s more about what we can get. Because as an orphan, I’ve got to find my own identity; I’ve got to get my own significance, my own security, and my own satisfaction.
Because we are estranged from God through sin, by default we learn to build our identity and cope through life as orphans.
And so most of us, one of these three deep identity needs becomes dominant. We all need significance, security, and satisfaction, but one tends to loom large in our hearts. And then we tend to learn toward People, Power, or Possessions as our primary strategy to get that identity need met.
But then, in the mercy and grace of God, He sent us Jesus to take all our broken, sinful identities upon himself, to give us his own righteous identity instead, and to fill us with the Holy Spirit.
Do you realize what this means? By the mercy of the Father, in the grace of Jesus, and by power of the Spirit, you can begin to live as Children once more!
Which means we can live from the deep resources of our Good Father as His beloved children:
• He gives us the Significance of his honor.
• He gives us the Security of his love.
• He gives us the Satisfaction of his joy.
And having received His nourishment for our deep identity needs, we move out into the world in strength. We can approach people in love. We can use power to serve. We can hold possessions with generosity.
Every day this choice is before us: Who am I?
Am I an orphan that has to fend for himself, using people, power, and possessions to meet the deep identity needs?
Or am I a child of God? By grace through faith resting in the deep Significance, utter Security, and profound Satisfaction that are mine in Christ… such that I’m filled up to pour myself out for the sake of others!
IMAGE: NINE BIBLE CHARACTERS
Benediction
Ephesians 3:14-21 ESV
Ephesians 3 ESV and Audio
Prayer for Spiritual Strength
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
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Living The Message
Episode 47: Discovering Your Greatest Identity
Sunday, January 8, 2023
Podcast: Living The Message
Pastor Philip and Pastor Eric
Podcast Updated Weekly
Who are you, and where do you get your identity? In this episode, we’ll find where we can get the greatest identity we can ever have.
In this conversation, Pastor Philip and Pastor Eric discuss how to diagnose our own identity traps by mapping our hearts. We’ll discover a way to determine who we are, how we’re wired, and how we can stay on track with our God-given identity.
They address key questions from the sermon, including:
1) How would you define identity?
2) Why is talking about an identity important? Can’t we just repent, believe, and move on?
3) Is it wrong to want significance, security, and satisfaction?
4) What is the right way to pursue them?
5) Is there hope for getting these three things in the right way while on earth?
6) What’s the first step we can take for moving towards our true identity?
Questions about this SERIES: IDENTITY TRAPS ~ SERMON, MAPPING OUR HEARTS ~ Scripture: Romans 8:14-17 ESV Submit them to 312-682-1888 or by email to livingthemessage@moodychurch.org. Your submissions will help us shape the conversation for our Live Weekly Podcast, Living the Message.
PASTOR TO PEOPLE
Each year I have such good intentions. My New Year’s resolutions seem reasonable and achievable. I make a chart and begin with vigor! But then reality sets in. My self-discipline isn’t what I thought. Bad habits are stubborn things. Everything goes back to normal. And it’s only the second week of January!
I’m reminded that everything worthwhile is an uphill battle. It’s a climb. It requires effort. If it were easy, we’d already have done it. Our problem is that our uphill dreams are thwarted by our downhill habits. It took a lifetime to get where we are, and it’s going to take more than just a few days to develop new patterns.
So, if you’ve already botched your New Year’s resolutions, join the club! But please let me encourage us all to keep at it. After all, small and inconsistent steps in the right direction are still meaningful movements forward. The key when you get knocked down is to get back up again. In the world of habit change, resilience is more important than perfection.
Remember, the mercies of God are new every morning. So, let’s call upon Him, asking for resilience, and keep on keeping on. Because no matter how many times we stumble, in Jesus we are loved more than we know!
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