Fierce Church Sermons

Our Spiritual DNA in God | Fierce Pathways

• Fierce Church

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🌱 We all want to belong. We all want significance. But what if your worth isn’t tied to your grades, your job, your likes, or your success? What if you carry something deeper — Spiritual DNA — that comes from being made in the image of God and redeemed through Christ?

In this message, Robert James walks us through how God designed us with purpose: identity, relationships, creativity, justice — they all come from Him. Because of sin, we’re broken, but Jesus restores us and gives us new identity: adopted into His family.

✨ In this sermon you’ll learn:
What it means to be created in God’s image, and why our worth isn’t performance-based

How Christ restores our Spiritual DNA despite brokenness and shame
Why connection—with God and each other—matters now more than ever.


SPEAKER_02:

This morning, uh, unlike any other morning, is uh another day that God has given us a chance to get it right. I'm so good. I'm so glad to see that uh God has been good to each and every one of us here at Fierce Church and to those who are online watching this morning. Um today we're gonna talk about something that's really been uh it's been bothering me, it's been pestering me, but I can't talk about it uh without uh talking about where I came from with uh my grandfather. That's me, so cute. That boy in the middle, that's me. I'm so cute. I every time I look at that picture, I'm like, wow, look at that. That joker's so cute. And the little big haired joker that's sitting uh on my granddaddy's lap. That's my little brother. And he's he's cute, but probably not as cute as me. But the man that's over my left shoulder, that is my grandfather, the late Eddie Lewis James Sr. Eddie Lewis James Sr. was uh a very proud man. He uh made no punches about it. Uh as I grew older, my grandmother would tell me the story of that when I was born, uh June 24th, 1977, which is probably one of the best years according to scripture that you could be born. Um argue with the scriptures, don't argue with me. My grandfather said these words the James name will ring on. It's profound because at my birth, he was already looking at the future. Because all I had to literally do was be born of James, and we have those familiar traits. All I had to do was be born of James, and that was it. I was his, he claimed it. That was that was that's it. That's who I am. But I remember when I was a little boy, uh, my grandfather, whom I spent so much time with, always impressed upon me um some things. He taught me the importance of being a James, what it was to be a James man. He taught me how to conduct myself and how to carry myself. He taught me how I should be. He gave me uh identity. My identity was was very similar to his. And when I went out, I not only represented myself, but I represented my grandfather too, because I was his. I mean, this is his grandboy's firstborn grandson. That's that's really something. So as I grew up, I started to realize that the way I carried myself publicly, the way that I looked, the way that I acted, the way that I dressed, the way that I talked, even the way that I walked should reflect him. But there was something that he did tell me. Uh, I can't remember what it was that he told me. That what is it that he told me? Um second as I think about it here. Uh something very important. I promise you it's important. Just give me one second. I I can't remember it. I can't remember. Um give me a few minutes and he'll I'm sure I'll be reminded. Um, hold on a second, y'all excuse me for a second. I need to take this. Hello. Okay, yeah.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, yeah. I remember what it was. Um, when you go out in public and you want to act any old kind of way, or uh as he as he said, if you want to act a donkey, but he didn't say donkeys, the other, um make sure that you don't mention my name. Today we're gonna talk about um our spiritual DNA and God. And I the the connection that I had with my grandfather, and I remember I was a little boy, I remember um I that my grandfather, by the time I was born, he was already retired, but he was doing some carpentry work. And he had this 1963 Chevrolet um truck, uh three on the tree, wood bed, I mean, but I could hear that truck rumbling down the road as he was on the way home. But I've become very concerned about the nature of where we are in time. I've spent these past few seconds, these past few minutes, these past few days, weeks, months, years, and I have begun to realize that the church of God we're in a real midst of a crisis. The crisis is that of our identity and who it is that we belong. You think that we would know whose we were, whose children we belong we were, but it seems like there's just so much that's going on outside of the church, that's starting to leak into the church, that's really messing us up. The the the the connection that I have with my grandfather, this deoxyribonucleic acid that we also know as DNA, which literally connected me to him, that means that my my superior genetic uh fashioning is because of my grandfather. That's who he was. Everything about me, it trickled from my my grandfather to my father and down to me. Everything about me is to the point that when you see me, you literally can see him. But church, I'm not the only one that carries DNA. Everybody in here carries DNA uh from somebody, and it is an invisible code of determination. And it literally is our identity, it's our appearance, it's our family traits, all of that. Some good traits, some bad traits, we all know. Some let's be honest here. But so when you see me, I I got a head like my granddaddy's. My shoulders are like my granddaddy's. Uh uh, I walk like my granddaddy. Sometimes I talk like my granddaddy. Because his DNA trickled down through the generations and it flows in me. Don't you have some children, you see a child, and you're like, that's whoo, ain't no mistaking that. I'm pretty sure that that's his son. I have it now, all of my children look like me because of my superior genetic makeup. My this is it is what it is. Again, it's in scripture. Don't argue with me, blame the blame the Bible, don't blame me. But do you know that spiritually we have DNA too? And and this particular DNA is not from our earthly parents, it's it's from our heavenly father. That from the very beginning of time, at God's first thought, his image was imprinted on humanity. And even though we have this nasty disease, uh sin that has trickled in and has tried to corrupt uh the DNA, this deoxyribonucleic acid of spirituality that is in us, God had a way of bringing us all back together so that sin, what sin did corrupt, God fixed through the Son Jesus who came and he restored it, the Holy Spirit binds us together because we have the spiritual DNA, we are literally all connected together, and that's even the cousins that you don't want to claim, because I have some cousins that are of my genetic makeup, that my cousin, yeah. But even the cousins I know, the even the cousins that we don't want to claim, they they're still, guess what? They're still related to you, they're still connected to you, no matter what you think about the situation. But here it is, we're gonna move on. I want to look at point number one because I want us to understand the origin of our DNA, our spiritual DNA. Where did it come from? We were literally created in God's image. Genesis, uh the first chapter and the 26th verse. I'll begin some time reading. It says, Then God said, Let us make human beings in our image to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground. So God created human beings in his own image. In the image he created them, male and female. Don't you know that when God says, Let us make human beings in our image to be like us, he's literally the establishing the foundation of human identity. What that means is that you are not a mistake. What it means is it's not some bad luck, happenstance, random accident that you're here. It's not left to time or chance, but the Bible says that you were divinely designed. So in Psalm 139, the psalmist says, We were fearfully and wonderfully made that God put his very image in us, his imprint on us. Think of it this way. Because I am a creator, I have created some things. Stuff like that. They look like me. I think they're pretty cool actually. But when you think about the you cannot think about the creation without giving credit to the creator, that everything that the creator makes is because of him. A painting reflects the artist's style. Whether it's Picasso or whether it's Bosquiat, you can look at one of Picasso's paintings and one of Basquiat's paintings, and you can literally tell who painted it just by looking at it. Or what about uh architecture?

unknown:

Mr.

SPEAKER_02:

Frank Lloyd, right? He did all kinds of wonderful things, and his style of architecture is one of the main attractions to Chicago now because people want to come and see the brilliance of what he created. And what about music? I love music all over the place. I'm I'm like a musical schizophrenic. Um, so I can literally close my eyes and listen to music. And if I can't tell you exactly who it is, I can at least uh uh narrow down who it is, the genre that it comes from, because I can see the mind and the heart of the composer that wrote it. But it's the same way for you and I, the creator of the universe, that when he looks at us, our creativity, every invention, every work of art, every solution to every problem is a shadow of God creating us. Our longing for justice is from him. That deep down humanity knows that wrong should never be stay stay the same, that it should be made right. That sense of fairness and justice is part of God's own nature stamped on us. What about our desire for relationships? Well, look at it. You got God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. That's that's a relationship. It is an eternal relationship. They're bound together. So it's no surprise that we as his creation have the need for uh connection and love and a sense of belonging. When it comes to a newborn baby, if you really think about it, a newborn baby can't walk, talk, they they don't earn their keep, they literally uh pee on themselves and they eat uh and they they drink up all the bressed milk and all of this other stuff. But guess what? When you have a newborn baby, they're automatically yours, and that's even without the DNA test. But but but what it is is it is it is their identity is connected to lineage and history in the same way before they ever even accomplish anything. Isn't it good that God looks at us like that? That before you knelt down and said your first prayer sang or sang, prayed a prayer, or or or however it is that you serve him, God had already claimed you for his. And it's also good to know because it literally means that our worth is not connected really to anything that we do. Let me be honest with you. You look good, but you ain't all that. Everything that you are, everything that you have, everything that you desire, everything that you will be, is because of him. Capital H. Don't get it twisted. That just because you're here and you're wonderful, I'm sure we work and we do all the wonderful things, we're taught perform at the job, but I'm so glad that God is not concerned about our performance. It's only because of our origin and because we come from him. Well, well, we've been we've labored that point enough. We we understand that we were created in his image, but we also know that sin came into the picture, and since sin came into the picture, God had to do something so that we could get to where we needed to be. So guess what he did? He he redeemed us. That even though our our our our sinful nature got in the way, God restored our spiritual DNA. Here it is, you have a beautiful picture. You take that picture and you crumble it up. But when you open the picture up again, it seems like that picture is not in its original form. And that's really what sin did to us. But 2 Corinthians, the fifth chapter and the 17th verse, lets me know that this means that anyone who belongs to him has become a new person. The old is gone, and a new life has begun. Is that anybody in here? I I don't know about you, but I'm thankful uh uh that that that he didn't leave me just like I was. The beautiful thing about it is that this is not just a surface change. God didn't put just, he didn't just say, okay, this is him. He kind of messed up and kind of ugly looking. Let's slap some paint on him and let's keep it moving. That's not what happened. The transformation is literally at the core of who we are, and the only way that we can be transformed is through his son, Jesus Christ, and our corrupt, our corrupted spiritual DNA was restored to its original design. Sin tried to rewrite our identity. Sin tried to inform us and convince convince us that we were failures and slaves and orphans and unloved and unworthy. But at the cross, Jesus rewrote the story. It was there by faith that I received my sight. And now I am happy all the day. But I want you to know that this just didn't start. God had this whole thing. You ever wonder how uh it seems like things just happen and you it it just it just automatically just maps out for you, even though you hadn't even touched the GPS? It's because long before Jesus came on the scene in person, God had this whole thing mapped out. Isaiah the 43rd chapter, and the first verse says, But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. That's that's good news there that he created us. He says, Oh Israel, the one who formed you says, Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you, I have called you by my name. And listen to this part: you are mine. Ezekiel the 36th, chapter and the 26th verse says, And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your story, the one that we were writing for ourselves. He'll take out our stubborn heart, the one that we have here that allows us to think that we know everything, and he replaced it with his tender heart. That's good news. The promises, the promises find their fulfillment in the person of Christ, that we're no longer slaves to sin. Our old nature finally has no say over us, whether it's addiction, whether it's shame, whether it's backbiting, whether it's brokenness, it does not define us anymore because I'm here to tell you today that we are the children of God. The Romans writer 8 and 15 puts it this way: So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's spirit. When he adopted you as his own children, now we call him Abba Father. Now, this adoption thing, let me let me clear this up because I don't want you to think that you were in an orphanage somewhere and you know you're so cute, and somebody said they walked up to you and they said, Oh, so cute. I think I want to adopt this one. That's not what happened. When God adopted us, we were dead. He literally took us out of the morgue because the Bible says that we were dead in our trespasses and sin. I know, I know, I know. You're right. God literally brought you back to life, which is this new beginning that you have, not the cute court proceeding that we make it say, Oh, he's he adopted me, and I was just so cute. And he said, I was just so cute that he just took. No, that's you, you, you were dead. No heartbeat. You were dead, decomposing, you were dead, smelling, you were dead, the skin worms, eating your flesh. Nothing good about you. But he adopted you. How about that? They don't show that part on TV. You won't see this, you won't see this adoption on Law and Order SVU. This is spiritual. That's what it means to be spiritually adopted. But since he adopted us, that means that we have moved from strangers and enemies to sons and daughters. We're welcome into God's family. That that we have new inheritance, and our past no longer dictates the future. Our DNA determines our inheritance in the natural. So our restored DNA secures our eternal inheritance in Christ. Look at it, look at it like this. Okay, there's a story about a young man adopted by a new family, and he struggled to belong. This young man struggled to fit in, even though he had a new name, and even though he had a new home, and he even had new parents. But he he just something didn't seem right until that day the adoptive father sat down with him and said, Son, I love you. You have my name now, and you are in my family forever. That's exactly what Christ did for us. That that that his blood literally signed the adoption papers. Isn't it good that he can declare that you are mine, I am his, you are his, that we're all connected together, this miracle of redemption, not uh just being forgiven, it moves beyond and it literally restores our identity and who we are. We're defined by who God says we are, and and guess who we are? Beloved, children of his. So let's let's let's look at this. We were created in his image, which is the origin of our DNA. We were redeemed by Christ because sin crept in on us, that nasty disease, and ravished our bodies. It even killed us, made us literally dead to him, but he restored our DNA. Wouldn't you believe that we are connected by the Spirit, that we're one family? There's one family, and there's one DNA. Ephesians, the fourth chapter, starting at the fourth verse, says, For this is one, for there is one body and one spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for your future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father who is over all and in all and living through all. Truth is, spiritual DNA connects us not only vertically to God, but it also connects us horizontally, which is a whole nother thing. That we are all connected together. And I want to say what the psalmist said in 133. He says, how wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony. We share one spirit, the same spirit that raised uh uh Jesus from the dead lives in every believer, and that is whether it is in Africa, whether it's in Asia, whether it's in Europe, whether it's in America, or wherever you might find yourself in the world. That's why when we go places and we hear worship, the worship feels familiar because uh we have the same spirit stirring in our hearts. I'll give you an example. Uh I'll tell you about Robert Jr., that's my Robert Jr., my alter ego. He was a sailor, and Robert Jr. would probably do things that you know he probably didn't think it through. So one time um I got on a space available flight and I flew to Pohan, Korea. Or actually, I flew into Seoul. I landed in Seoul, Korea, or Osan Air Force Base, uh which is about 45 minutes away. Well, there's some people in the room now that probably testify I'm not the most organized person when it comes to my personal belongings. I'm not gonna call the name. Um so I land in Osan, Korea. I'm so happy I'm there. I'm gonna go on the shopping adventure. And lo and behold, I lost my wallet somewhere in between the airplane, uh the airport in the airplane, and landing at the airport in Osan, Korea. I lost my wallet. So I wandered around the majority of the day thinking what I was gonna do. It was already nighttime in the United States. I was gonna call home to my earthly DNA, uh, my my genetic makeup giver, my granddad, and ask him to Western Union needs some money. But I know that, you know, I'm from the South. After 10 o'clock, that's an ungodly hour. You don't call people's house unless somebody's dead. I mean, you you if you call after 10 o'clock, you gotta really want some business. So I didn't call. But the shop that I was going to, uh, I did not have a place to stay because I didn't, you know, there was no forward thinking in this. Rob Virginia just kind of got on the airplane and said, Yeah, let's go to Korea. And uh I went to the shop, and for whatever reason, I just felt comfortable with the guy. So I just started telling him my story how I'm just a poor United States sailor, just out here in the world all by myself. I don't have any money, I don't have a place to stay. And would you believe that this shopkeeper in Osan, Korea, let me stay in his shop overnight? He brought his family to the shop. We sat down and we ate a meal together. We watched some Korean TV. I have no idea what it was, but they were having a really good time watching it. I was like, Yeah, it's a cool show. I don't know, I don't even know what I was eating, but it was good. I said all of that to say I would as much as I would like to believe that it was my bad story that I gave him that impressed him or impressed upon his heart to let me stay in his shop overnight. But as I've grown older, I'm starting to realize some things. That he let me. He he saw, not only did he see who my father was, but he had the same father too. And that means that I was his brother. And instead of me, instead of treating me like some poor United States sailor, he took me in, brought me around his family without even knowing if I was a crazed international serial killer or not. And he loved on me. My brothers and sisters, when you have somebody who has the same genetic makeup as you, though they live on the other side of the world, once the test results come in, even though you never met them, you are now attached to that person. It is the same when it comes to our spiritual DNA. When I was in Australia, there was a rich because I like to get out and meet the people, shake hands, kiss, baby. That's what I do. I'm a social butterfly. There was an uh an aboriginal dude, and we met, I met him, and we were exchanging ideas, shall we say, and he looks me in my eyes, and he says, You, me, we the same. Now, as much as I would like to think I'm so cool, which I am, I realize now that we had the same daddy. We share one identity in the body of Christ. And I've been wrestling with Galatians, the third chapter, for just a little bit of time now. Galatians, the third chapter, and the 28th verse says this. It says, There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female, for we are all one. In Christ Jesus. Don't argue with me, argue with the Bible because that's what it said. We share one mission, just as family shares name and legacy, we share the calling to the glory of God and that we should be making disciples. We have one, one very important family resemblance. And that can be found in the fifth chapter of Galatians, the 22nd chapter. Y'all know where I'm going. Because when we're connected to his spiritual DNA and the Holy Spirit binds us, the Holy Spirit also informs us of how we ought to act while we're here on this earth. And that's by the fruit of the Spirit, which produces this kind of the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There's no law against these things. Illustration here is family connection, the DNA tests. You can tell siblings who have the same eyes and got the same smile, they got the same body makeup. We ought to be able to look at a church and say, oh, they have the same spirit. Literally, meaning that we're on one accord, and a chord is a musical term, which means that we're playing the same note. And either you're playing the same note or you're not. Let's be honest. Are we really playing the same note? Homilitically Carter, they call that a relevant question. Are we playing the same note? I just want to stress this that in Christ there's no division, no superiority, no outsiders. It is our spiritual DNA that binds us together, and we are stronger than any tie on this earth. Or at least we should be. Who cares? I'm just telling you what the Bible said. This is what the Bible said. So we're created in his image, which is the origin of our DNA. So we know exactly where we came from. We're without excuse. We know exactly who the creator is of the creation. We're redeemed by Christ. That is how we restored, God restored us to him. We ain't had nothing to do with that. We couldn't have. We weren't even good enough. We couldn't even spell our name. We're connected by the Spirit, which means that we're literally one family, that when it comes to spiritual DNA, that we ought to operate by one family. And then I got one more thing, and then I'm gonna get out your way. I'm gonna get out of your hair. It's how do we live out our spiritual DNA? Because the natural DNA determines our traits, our eye color, our height, uh, even family resemblance, in the same way our spiritual DNA ought to cover and shape our character and our behavior. That if God is truly our Father, and then we are made in his likeness, we should show up, or it should show up in us. That the world should look at us and they ought to be able to see the family resemblance. This has always been God's standard for us. This isn't something new that I'm just sitting here making up now as I read the Bible. All the way back in Old Testament times in Micah 6 and 8, there's there this says it says this. It says, Now, O people, no, O people, or excuse me, now, O people, the Lord has told you what is good. And that and this is what He requires of you to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. Love here, my brothers and sisters. Jesus gave us family trademark. John the 13th, chapter, the 35th verse. He says, Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. He let us know that there's some holiness that's attached to us because 1 Peter 1 and 6 says, For the scriptures say you must be holy because I am holy. What else did he did he say about it? He said, Unity. When it comes to unity, Paul urges us in Ephesians the third, the fourth verse, the fourth chapter and third verse, to make every effort to keep yourselves united in the spirit. That we ought to bind ourselves together with peace. And every, just like every family that's connected, we also have a family business. I don't know if if you've been receiving the residual checks on the family business. But Matthew the 28th chapter and the 19th verse says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach these new disciples to obey all the commandments that I have given you, and be sure of this. I am with you always, even until the end of the case, the age. Well, I'm about done here. When the world looks at us, what do they see? What does the world see when they they look at us? Do they see the anger? Is that what they see? What about the selfishness? Do they see that? What about this? Is a biggie. What about the division? They definitely see that, I can tell you. I'll give you the answer to that one. What we want them to see is the unmistakable resemblance to our father. That our lives should cause people to pause. When we get together or they walk past us, they ought to see something familiar about us that, oh my God, they act just like they daddy. So, beloved, your true DNA isn't just found in your family tree. Your past mistakes, your earthly labels, and all of the other stuff of this world, but your spiritual DNA is rooted in God, created in his image, redeemed by his son, and connected by his spirit. That means that we're not accidents. We here. We stuck with one another. You're not an orphan. Mean that we didn't find you just pillaging on the street somewhere. You're not a stranger, which means that we all know you, but you are a child of God. You are a child of God. You are a child of God. So let us, when we get ready to walk out of here today, let us purpose in our hearts, determine in our hearts, that we live like our Father. That when we walk out of these doors, because there's a lot of love in here, but when we walk out of the doors, we show some love. We show his love. We show his holiness. And for the love of God, let's show his unity because our spiritual DNA connects us all. Now, Carter, you set me free last week. Uh, because I do like to watch uh a good uh show, got nothing to do with nothing. I don't think about it, I don't want to watch the news, I don't want to watch anything. Uh but there's a show, Maury. Let's let's let's put this up. Maury, that's that's my guy. Maury, that's my guy. Because Maury, what he does is he does uh DNA tests. And uh either you are the father or you're not. And I I I've watched a show that they they come on. Oh, look at look at him, Mari. He he got his daddy's head, he got his daddy's eyes, he got his daddy's uh uh uh lips. Look at that hair. He got hair, look at the head, he got a head like that. And uh Mari will do the DNA test, he connects them, and uh the the the the question is are they the father or not? Well, he has his line, he says, the results are in. I'd like to believe us as a church that if Maury came in here right now and he took our spiritual DNA and he sent it to DNA diagnostics in Cleveland, Ohio, of all places, and he got the envelope back. What I would want for Maury to tell God about us is that God, you are the Father.

SPEAKER_01:

Let us pray. Gracious God, our Father, Lord, we thank you for this time that we've shared together.

SPEAKER_02:

God, we thank you now that you be with us as we go and try to navigate this world that we're in, understanding that while we're in this world, we're not of this world. God, we are of you. Let us govern ourselves accordingly, let us walk worthy to the life that you would have us to lead so that people might know that we are yours, that we belong to you.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you, God, for saving us when we couldn't save ourselves. Thank you, God, for giving us sense of belonging when we didn't have it for ourselves. We give you thanks and praise in this.

SPEAKER_02:

And we ask now, God, that you'll bless us to live out your word, that you'll bless us to do what it is that you have called us to do. And that's to love one another like we love ourselves. We thank you. God, we thank you for being so good to us. Let us who have ears hear. Thank you for loving us. Even when we're unlovable. God, we thank you for Jesus.

SPEAKER_01:

We thank you, God. God, we thank you. If I had a thousand tongues, I couldn't tell you thank you enough. So in Jesus' name that we do pray. Let us all say together. Amen.

SPEAKER_00:

Hey, thanks for tuning in today. If God has used the ministry of Fierce in your life, please consider paying it forward with a financial gift at fierce.church slash give. If you want more resources like this, check out all of our channels at YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Check out our podcasts, and check out our blog at fierce.church slash blog. If you haven't already, please consider sharing this to help people you know take their next step. We'll see you next time.