Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Identity - Part 3

Hello, everybody. Welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. This is the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren. Hey, we're so glad you're here with us today. We are continuing in a series called Talking About Stuff That Matters. Now, in this series, Rick looks into the scriptures and he's unpacking what it means to live in community, have real conversation about what matters most and face discouragement with courage and faith. It's honest, hopeful, so stay tuned. You won't want to miss a second. Now let's jump in for the final part of a message called Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Identity. Now let me share something with you you've probably never thought of before. You have one thing that nobody else in the entire world has. You have an advantage over everybody else that nobody else has. If you're a woman, you have this advantage over every other woman in the world. And if you're a man, you have this advantage over every other man in the world. You know what it is? They can't be you. They can't be you. Only you can be you. And God made you to be you, not them. So they will never be you. So whether it's a group of teenage girls stand in a circle in junior high and they're all trying to be like each other, which is impossible. They never will. You need to go and say, you know what, none of you girls can ever be like me. You don't need to say that, but just think it. They go, well, it's nice knowing you. They, if anybody else tries to be you, you know what happens? They fail. they will fail if they try to be you i can't be you you can't be me but only you can be you and only i can be me only you can be who god made you to be so relax now this ought to give you an enormous confidence in life but the fact is you're not very confident most of your life A lot of times in life, you're just flat out insecure. You don't tell people that. I mean, you act like you're confident. But the truth is, a lot of times, most of the time in life, you're feeling pretty insecure about you, and there's some stuff about you you don't even like about you. Why are we lacking in confidence? Two reasons. The Bible says two reasons. Number one, you're trying to be somebody that God didn't shape you to be, and that's gonna be incredibly scary because you can't be anybody else. You can only be you. That's scary. 2 Corinthians chapter three, verse five and six says this. The capacity we have comes from God. You know, he wired it in us. It is he who made us capable of serving the new covenant. What you need to start doing is discover your own capacity. It's called your shape, S-H-A-P-E, spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, experiences. The other reason why we often lack confidence is not just that we don't know what we're shaped to do, but the other reason is we depend on our own power instead of depending on God's. And that's a sure guarantee for failure yourself. Even though God has put this capacity in you, he hasn't made you to be able to do it all on your own. God never meant for you to go through life on your own power. God meant for you to be dependent on him, to be plugged in. A blender is wired to blend things, but it's worthless unless it's plugged into the power. A vacuum cleaner is made to vacuum, but it's worthless unless it's plugged into power. God has put capabilities in your life, but it's worthless, they're worthless, unless you're plugged into the power. God's spirit in your life. so you're depending on yourself rather on God and you think, and when you depend on yourself, that's when you get insecure and somebody asks you to do something and you go, well, I couldn't do that. There's no way I could do that. There's not a snowball's chance in hell I could possibly do that. I can't do that and you know what? You're right. That's why you need God. The capacity is there but it needs to be plugged into the power. You have unused capacity in your life but you're not plugged into the power. You're not in Christ. So you don't have the power. It's like a blender sitting there that's never plugged in. It's useless. Can't fulfill its purpose. And so you have to be plugged in to the power. And that leads us to one of the most famous verses in the Bible, this next verse. Philippians chapter four, verse 13. We've read it so many times, I put it in a new translation. Amplified says this. I have strength for all things not just some things for all things in Christ there's that phrase not on my own power I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me I'm ready for anything and I'm equal to do anything through him who infuses inner strength into me I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency Friends, that is the secret to a happy life right there. I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency. If you had asked me when I was a kid, would I ever imagine doing what I'm doing? No. I was on three continents this summer. I met with the president of Guatemala, met with the president of Costa Rica, spoke to the Congress of Costa Rica, did conferences. In a million years, when I was in junior high, high school, what I have ever imagined, that's gonna be me. But I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency. And he gives me the power. The capacity was there, but I had to get plugged in to the power. You have something to offer to this world. Why? Three reasons. Number one, God wired you. Your heavenly father wired you with the capacity. Kay talked about it. You're made in the image of God. Imago Dei. Imago is the word for image. Dei is the word for God in Latin. You have the image of God in you. You're wired and there's nobody like you. Nobody's shaped like you in the whole world. Second, you're in Christ and he gives you strength. And third, God's spirit empowers you to do what nobody else can do. So stop comparing yourself. Now there's a fourth thing, a fourth pillar of your self-identity. Write this down. The fourth one is, Kay's gonna talk about it, that in Christ I am totally forgiven. The Bible says in Romans 8, verse 1, there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus I want you to read that verse with me It is a powerful verse when you begin to believe it Read it with me There is now with enthusiasm sorry don't read it through like you're reading the phone book. With enthusiasm. Okay, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That is one of the most liberating, the most freeing verse in the entire Bible as far as I'm concerned. It says that there is no condemnation hanging over the head of anyone who is in Christ Jesus. Anyone who has come to Jesus Christ as their savior and their Lord doesn't have to live waiting for that other shoe to drop. That someday God is gonna think up something that you didn't know that you were gonna be held responsible for and it's gonna happen. You don't have to spend those sleepless nights of anxiety going over and over in your head. What if God ever, you know, what if God ever finds out I did this or I said that or what if this? You don't have to live with that kind of guilt and recrimination and anxiety and regret because when you come to Christ, there is now no longer any condemnation spiritually. We are totally forgiven. Let me just tell you quickly two ways that we can know that to be true. First, it is in God's nature to forgive. It's who God is. It's who he is. In Isaiah 43, 25, God says, I'm the God who forgives your sins. And I do this because of who I am. I will not hold your sins against you. That is a powerful thing to grab onto. God says, I'm a forgiver. There's this misconception that God in the Old Testament, he's judgmental, he's harsh, He's angry. He doesn't have a whole lot to say about mercy and forgiveness and kindness. And then somehow between the Old Testament and the New Testament, Jesus shows up and Jesus is now the good and kind guy. And it's like bad cop, good cop. And Jesus is all about mercy and forgiveness and God in the Old Testament, man, he's a bad guy. You don't want to make him mad. And the truth is that the same God, God does not change. God has always been a God of mercy, always been a God of compassion, always been a God of kindness. And if you're not really sure about that, I really challenge you, go back, look at the Old Testament, do it yourself. You don't have to be a Bible scholar, just start reading through the Old Testament, looking for places where God says, I have loved you with an everlasting love. I will forgive your sins. This one in Isaiah, I'm the God who forgives your sins so that you can be convinced that God is a forgiver. The second way that we can know that we're totally forgiven in Christ is Ephesians 1.7 says, in Christ, underline that, we are set free by the blood of his death. And so we have forgiveness of sins. How rich is God's grace which he has given to us so fully and freely. Again, because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. because of what God said to us through Jesus' death on the cross. We have forgiveness of sins, God's grace. And how is it given to us? The Bible says it is given to us fully and freely, fully and freely. The apostle Paul says in that verse that Jesus' blood, as we've already said, so highly valued to God, provided for us forgiveness. And now God gives, he just like slathers us with his grace and his mercy. The problem is that even if you are willing to believe that about God and about that's the way he feels about you, we get stuck in trying to apply that same grace and mercy to other people. You know, it's like the grace and mercy spigot gets clogged in us. And when it's us, we want God to just pour out that full grace and that free forgiveness for everything we've done wrong and everything that is sinful about us, we want God's mercy and grace in droves. But when it comes to me forgiving you, that is a different story. And I am not usually as interested in you receiving grace and mercy as I am myself receiving grace and mercy. Anybody else identify with that? That's just kind of the way we are, that even though God has graced us fully and freely, we are not as eager to do that for each other. The Bible says that's wrong. Look at Ephesians 4.32. God says, be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you. When our son Josh was in high school, he came to me one day crying, very remorseful, and he said, Mom, I need to tell you something that I've done. And I kind of took a deep breath because I really had no idea what I was about to hear. Josh is a good kid, was a good kid, but I still didn't know. He's weeping. Why is he weeping? What is he about to confess to me? And he said, I just need to tell you that I used the credit card that you and dad had given me for emergencies. I bought a few things that I didn't really have your permission to buy. I've taken my friends out to lunch a few times, and I just want you to know I'm really sorry. And I'm thinking to myself, yeah, bud, you know the credit card bill's coming up here, and you're going to confess ahead of time rather than us find out through the credit card bill. But I was just really angry because Josh had broken our trust. You know, we had given him this card in good faith in case there were emergencies. And here he had abused our trust. He'd lied to us, basically stolen from us. And I was so angry at him. And I really had all kinds of things that I wanted to say about, you know, how deep my hurt was and how he was grounded for the next, you know, three years of high school. And I mean, I just had all these really angry, upset thoughts that I wanted to say. And at the exact moment that I was getting ready to blast him in my anger, God reminded me of this verse. And I was like, oh man, don't you hate it when God does that? Because you've got all this righteous anger going, and then he brings the word to you, and you're like, ah. And it was like, okay, I had a moment. Thank God he helped me realize that as a parent, I had a moment. And I could either reveal to my son something about the nature of God and the way that I forgave him, or I could just be a human parent who was justifiably upset, and I could distort the image of God. I could rail on my son. I could discipline him in anger. I could punish him. I could say all these things about how he had let us down. Or I could remember that I have already been forgiven a million times more than what my son had done in that moment. God has already forgiven me. And that I had an opportunity to say, I forgive you. I am angry. I'm hurt. And There will be consequences, but I just want you to know that I do forgive you. And so instead of railing on him and spewing all kinds of stuff I had a moment to channel the way God would do something God meets our sin and often there are consequences for our sin We don get off scot in the sense of sometimes there aren't consequences, but I had the opportunity to offer him grace fully and freely. But here's the truth, you guys, about forgiving fully and freely. As parents, as teachers, as educators, as coaches, we have so many opportunities to make sure that we don't distort the image of God. Sometimes good kids make stupid decisions. Sometimes good kids make bad decisions. And we can either jump on them with both feet and take them to the ground and, you know, threaten them with everything that could possibly ever happen and take away everything forever. And we can distort the way that God has forgiven us or we have the opportunity to fully offer grace and mercy as we build their identity. Rick is gonna come and finish this message. Okay, let me wrap this up. Everybody in life at different times has felt the pain of rejection. There's nobody goes through life without feeling some kind of rejection by different people, different groups at different times. But studies have shown that the earlier you were rejected, you felt that, the younger you were when you first felt major rejection, the greater the impact it has on your life. So if you were a young child and you felt abandoned or you felt rejected or you felt unloved, that's a real problem you're having to struggle with. And if you were told as a kid, you don't really matter in so many words. or you're a failure or you'll never be up to my expectation. That's a hard thing to move over. In many ways, it was like a curse on your life. How do you reverse a curse? How do you reverse a curse? The truth will set you free. Everybody's heard that phrase, but they don't know the full verse. It's a quote from Jesus. And the full quote is this. If you continue in my word, the Bible, if you continue in my word, then you'll be my disciple, you'll be my followers, and then you'll know the truth, and the truth will set you free. That's the full quote. The truth isn't out there on TV, the truth is in this book. And if you know the truth, then the truth will set you free. What is the truth about you? You're accepted, you're loved, you're forgiven. you're chosen, you're priceless, you have something to contribute to the world, and when you mess up, you're forgiven. That's the truth. That's the truth. Now, there's another research that I read years ago that the way you tend to feel about yourself, your identity, your self-esteem, your self-worth is largely determined by what you think the most important person in your life thinks about you. Let me say it again. The way you feel about yourself, your self-esteem, your self-worth is largely determined, whether you realize it or not, by what you think the most important person in your life thinks about you. So friends, I highly recommend you make Jesus Christ the most important person in your life. Does that make sense? Because he says, you're chosen, you're forgiven, you're accepted, you're loved, you're valuable, you're priceless, you got something to offer, and when you mess up, you're forgiven. This is who you really are. So make Jesus Christ the most important person in your life. You're chosen by God. You're loved by God. You're accepted by God. You have a contribution to make in your life. Your value and your worth are priceless. And you're forgiven. That is your true identity. When you settle your true identity, you become almost impervious to peer pressure because you know who you are and you know what you're supposed to do with your life. you know when I was in school from sixth grade through my freshman year in college I was president of something every year I was growing up I was class president of my class every single year except when I in junior high and high school was student body president of the whole school you might say I was popular and as a result of being popular I was invited to all the parties from sixth grade through college. And yet somehow, by the grace of God, I made it through all those years without ever taking any drugs, without ever smoking a cigarette, without ever even tasting alcohol, without having sex with some girl. Why? Because I knew who I was in Christ. And I wasn't about to throw that away. Somehow, God got a hold of my brain at an early age and my parents built into me what my true identity was and I was impervious to the pressure even though I was invited to all those parties. You need this in your life. You need to pass it on to the next generation. This is your true identity. You are not what your parents say you are. You're not what your peers say you are. You're not what your partner says you are. You're not what the world says you are. You are not what the media says you are. You are not what social media says you are. You are not what bullies who criticize you in school say you are. You are not what you tell yourself when you are self-condemning yourself. And you are not what Satan tells you are, You are what God says you are. And the truth will set you free. Now, as your friend, as your pastor who genuinely loves you, have I told you lately that I love you? The big question comes down to this. Who in the world are you going to believe? Are you going to believe what the world says about you? that unless you look a certain way, unless you talk a certain way, unless you do certain things, unless you cave in to certain moral issues unless you believe certain things you don matter you worthless Or you don believe what God says about you Some of those two one of those opinions isn't gonna matter in eternity for trillions and trillions of years. I'll say it again. It is liberating the day you realize that you don't need other people's approval to be happy. By the way, did you know what Jesus said is the way you express your identity publicly for the first time, the way you come out with your new identity, it's called baptism. If you haven't been baptized, what are you waiting on? Baptism says I've died to the old me and I'm beginning a brand new me. Last verse on your outline, 2 Corinthians chapter five from the Bible, verse 17. When anyone is in Christ, it's a whole new world. The old things are gone including all the guilt and the shame and condemnation. The old things are gone. Suddenly everything is new. You say man I'd like that. I'd like a whole new world. It's like starting over. It's like getting a fresh start. It's like being born again. Oh I kind of like that term. It's not turn over a new leaf. It's get a whole new life. God says, would you like a mulligan on your life? Would you like to start over, fresh start? Okay, it all starts where? In Christ. You say, well, I'm not so sure, Rick, I'm in Christ. Well, I can help you settle that one right now. It's real simple. You're not waiting on God. He's waiting on you. Let's bow our heads. thank you God our father thank you father that you can heal broken hearts and you can heal bitter memories and you can heal damaged self-esteem and I thank you Lord that the patterns in our minds can be erased and reversed and I thank you that you turn nobodies into somebodies Jesus I'm asking you to help my friends here help these dear people to begin to see themselves through your eyes of love now you pray in your mind just say this in your mind God hears you say dear God just say dear God I want to be in Christ help me to see myself the way you see me just tell him that thank you Jesus for dying for me I don't understand it all but I want to be in Christ and I want to start living my new identity in Christ help me to care more about what you say about me than what other people say or think about me may the truth set me free for the rest of my life I want to be a God pleaser not a people pleaser now the head's still bowed I'm going to ask everybody here to repeat these truths aloud with me they're the things we just talked about but I want you to say them aloud so that your own mind hears them and just with your head bowed everybody say this aloud because I am in Christ I've been chosen by God I am completely loved by God and I am completely accepted by God and in Christ my value and worth are priceless and in Christ I have something unique to offer to the world. And in Christ, I have been completely forgiven. Amen. Wow, some powerful words from Pastor Rick. And now this really is one of my favorite parts of the broadcast. Letters from our listeners. Here's Rick. I love getting letters from you. Let me share a little bit longer one. It's from Sarah and her four-year-old son. She said, Pastor Rick, my husband and I are involved in a church plant in Salem, Massachusetts, and I make an effort every day to listen to other pastors preach via podcast. But I began listening to your Daily Hope podcast, and I stumbled across Christians in the workplace and that small group study that you did. That has been a great study and quite relevant to us. Thank you for making your materials available beyond Saddleback Church. Pastor Rick, as a result of my regular listening to your podcast, my son now frequently asks to listen to the sermons. He's four and a half years old, and one morning on our way to church, he asked me to put on a sermon. I love this kid. He said, I had a Pastor Craig podcast in the queue, but began to listen, but my son kept asking him to listen to a sermon by you, and I kept telling him this was a sermon. Then he said, no, I want to listen to Pastor Rick Warren. That's funny. Well, when your four-year-old son, Sam, asked to listen to Rick Warren, you listened to Rick Warren. So I asked Sam why I like to listen to you. He said, I like what Pastor Rick says. And he said, if you don't swing from one bar to another, you're just going to hang there. Well, I was shocked that he had picked up that truth. That was just one of the recent Daily Hope messages where you talked about faith, and you were referring to where trapeze artists have to let go of one bar before they reach on to the second. And all of that just to say, thank you for the work you do, for the messages you teach. And it goes noticed even by the youngest of human beings, my four-year-old son, Best Sarah. Well, what can I say, Sarah? This is just such a great story. Thank you. And thank your four-year-old son Sam for listening. And thank you for your ministry in Salem, Massachusetts. May God bless your church. And may all of you join me next time as we continue to look at God's Word for our daily hope. Thanks so much, Rick. And if you'd like to let Rick know how much this broadcast has meant to you, how it's blessed you, please send him an email at rick at pastorrick.com. That's rick at pastorrick.com. Rick looks so forward to reading those emails. Be sure to join us next time as we look into God's word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Daily Hope Ministries and your generous financial support.