Union With Christ - Redeemed with Christ

This week’s message explores the powerful truth that our identity is not something we achieve, but something we receive. Through an honest and relatable look at how easily our sense of worth can shift based on success or failure, we are reminded how exhausting it is to build our identity on performance, approval or comparison.

Looking at one of Paul's letters, we see how he chose to lay down both his achievements and failures, recognising that true identity is found not in what we do, but in what Christ has done. In Jesus, we are forgiven, free and made right with God, not because of our effort, but because of His finished work.

This message invites us to let go of the pressure to prove ourselves and to stop carrying what Jesus has already dealt with. As we receive our identity in Christ, we can begin to live with freedom, confidence and peace, knowing that we are fully accepted. Come as you are and take your next step with courage.

Transcript

That was an excellent Venture Church welcome everybody. Well done. As most of you know, I'm a primary school headteacher and I love my job, but I want to tell you about the day that we got our dreaded Ofsted phone call. And if you work in education, you'll know what that means.

It's basically the phone call that tell you they are arriving at your school the very next day. So one of the most important things for me as a headteacher is that I still get some time in the classroom. So I was happy, happily, in my happy place, teaching a class of children. And one of my office team appeared at the door and said, bex, you need to come with me right now because Ofsted are on the phone. And I remember thinking, well, this couldn't have come at a worse time, could it?

I was meant to be off site the next day at a really important family celebration that I couldn't go to anymore. Craig and I were getting married and that afternoon we were meant to be registering our marriage. My chair of governors was actually away on holiday in Italy, which is a little bit of a problem. It was the first. First day back after the holiday, which I thought was very harsh.

Craig was about to go away with work, and for me, I'd only been a head teacher for six months, so I'd start in September. And already in February they were visiting us, so it was the worst time possible. But despite all of this, the inspection went really, really well, and we were able to show the team what they needed to see. And our grading improved to good, which was a fantastic achievement for our whole school community. And I felt really, really proud, and I still do.

And when we got the result, I felt absolutely great. I felt like I was doing exactly what I needed to be doing. I was exactly where God wanted me to be. And I felt really secure and really stable. And imagine this is my Ofsted inspection.

I'm just going to put this in here. All will become clear later on, but as we all know, things don't always go according to plan. They don't always go well. So I remember the day I got my first complaint about something at school, and I took it really, really personally. I blamed myself.

I felt completely inadequate. I couldn't see any more all of the good things that were going on. Couldn't see the happy staff, the happy children, the happy families. And I questioned in that moment whether I was the right person for the job. I was really shaken and I didn't feel good enough.

And so imagine this is that complaint. And I'm just going to put that in here and it all will become clear later on. Even this morning, on my way to church, I caught myself being shaken by my feelings. I found myself saying to myself these things. I what if I don't communicate very well this morning?

What are people going to think of me? What if I speak for too long? What if I finish early? What if I haven't put enough effort into my planning? What if I haven't heard God speak for what he wants to say to us today?

And there have been other moments along my life where things have been going really, really well. And in those moments, I felt really great.

But then it only takes something really small, something really small to happen that completely changes those feelings and makes me feel the total opposite. And in those moments, both the good and the bad, I realise how much my sense of who I am is tied to how things are going in my life. Whether they're going well or whether I'm in a challenging time. And how much of who I think I am, how much of my identity is tied to what people might be saying about me, to what people think about me. Maybe you felt like that too.

It can be pretty exhausting, can't it? The problem is that when those feelings come, it doesn't just feel like I'm trying to do well. It starts to feel like I'm trying to prove that I'm worth something. And I wonder how many of you can relate to that today if you're really honest? Have you ever noticed how quickly your view of yourself can change?

So someone says something really positive about you. Hey, you did that really well. You're really great at that. Oh, you handled that so brilliantly. And in that moment, you feel steady, you feel confident, you feel like you're doing all right.

And then it just takes one comment, one bit of negative feedback, One moment where someone questions you or questions a decision that you've made. One situation where you feel like, oh, I didn't quite measure up. Then where you feel like you've let yourself, or maybe you've let someone else down and suddenly everything shifts. Same you, same day, same life. But inside you feel shaken, you feel different.

And most of us know what that feels like, because whether we realise it or not, we're all building our identity on something. For you, it might be achievement, it might be your relationships, it might be your reputation, it might be just being a good person, being seen as a good person by those around you. And while none of those things are bad, the problem is they only work when everything is going well. And when they stop going well, we feel it. We feel the pressure to prove ourselves again, the fear that we're not good enough.

So we manage our lives. We try harder, we compare, we perform. And deep down, we're carrying this weight around with us that we're never meant to carry. We're carrying guilt, we're carrying pressure, we're carrying striving. We're carrying the need to prove ourselves.

Imagine for me for a second that in this suitcase are all the things that are good that have ever been said about you. So in here are all your wins. In here are all your successes. In here are all your achievements. The moments that you've felt chosen, the moments that you felt seen, the moments that you feel valued.

They're all in that one and in this one. Imagine that there's everything else, the criticisms, the mistakes, the regrets, the moments that you felt like you weren't good enough. And most of us are carrying both of these around with us. And that's the problem. Because if you build your identity on everything good, on everything in this suitcase, the good stuff, it only works until the things that are in this suitcase, the negative things, the things that make you feel like you're not enough, they speak louder than the things in here.

And eventually they will. So we end up dragging both of these through our lives, trying to manage which one defines us, the good things or the bad things. And it's heavy. But the question that I'd like to ask us today is, is what if identity isn't something that you achieve? What if it's something you receive?

So what if your identity isn't something you achieve, but it's something that you receive? So if it is something we receive, how do we actually receive an identity that isn't shaken by life? So we're going to look today at what Paul writes in the book of Philippians in the Bible. And he's writing to a group of Christians in Philippi who are being told that Jesus is really good, but that belief in Jesus alone is not enough to be saved or to go to heaven. They were being taught that you need Jesus plus something else.

So Jesus plus more rules. Jesus plus more effort. Jesus plus something. But Paul tells the church in Philippi this in his letter. We put no confidence in our flesh in Philippians 3, and another translation puts it like this.

We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us and put no confidence in our human effort, the good or the bad. In other words, Paul is encouraging us not to build our identity on what we've done or on what people say we are or who people say we are. And in the verses that follow, Philippians 3, verse 3, Paul challenges us. And he says, basically, if anyone could have confidence in my achievements in all the things in this suitcase, it was him. He then goes on to list all of his achievements.

He talks about his background, he talks about his discipline, he talks about his successes, he talks about his morality. And in other words, he was saying, if anyone can build their identity on their achievements, it would have been Paul. But then he says something completely outrageous. He says that all of his achievements, everything in his good suitcase, are worthless in comparison to knowing Jesus. And he says this in Philippians 3.

7. Whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss. And another translation of the Bible puts it like this. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. And that was pretty shocking.

All those things that he'd achieved, all the good things in his suitcase, he didn't say they were less important. He didn't say they were kind of helpful, but a bit secondary. He said all of these things were lost because Paul had found something better, something more stable. He counted everything as loss in comparison to the value of knowing Jesus and the righteousness that he'd received from him on the moment that he believed. And it says this in the book of Philippians.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared to the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for his sake, I've discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage so that I may gain Christ and be found in him. Paul stopped building his identity and started receiving it. He said, it's not having righteousness of my own, but that which is faith through. Through faith in Christ. So he was telling us, we have got two options.

The first is a righteousness that we build through the good and the bad and constantly have to carry with us and maintain, or a righteousness we receive and can therefore live from. So Paul looked at everything he used to build his identity on, the good things and the bad things. And he said, that's not where my identity comes from anymore. Why? Well, he explains that his identity no longer comes from having a righteousness of his own, but comes through having a bit of righteousness, which comes through having faith in Christ.

And that is what it means to be redeemed in Christ. It means your identity is not something you earn through the good things in this suitcase, but it's something that you receive, because being in Christ means you are Forgiven. Why don't you tell the person next to you that you are forgiven? Brilliant. You are forgiven.

It means your past doesn't define you anymore. Whatever's in this suitcase. Whatever's in this suitcase doesn't define you anymore. Your mistakes don't define you anymore. Your guilt and your shame doesn't define you anymore.

You are forgiven. Being redeemed in Christ means you're forgiven. Being redeemed in Christ means you are free. Tell the person next to you you are free. That was better than you are forgiven.

Well done. You are free. You are free from constantly needing to prove yourself, putting things into this suitcase. You are free from constantly needing to prove yourself. You are free from needing to measure up.

You are free from carrying around the weight, both the good suitcase and the bad suitcase. You're free. And because you are redeemed, it also means you are in Christ. Tell the person next to you you are in Christ. That was the best one so far.

Because you are in Christ, his righteousness becomes your righteousness. His standing becomes your standing. When you are in Christ, what is true of him becomes true of you. What is true of him becomes true of you. And that is identity.

Received identity isn't something you achieve, it's something you receive. Identity isn't something you achieve, it's something you receive. If you don't listen to anything else today, remember that. So tell the person next to. Identity isn't something you achieve, it's something you receive.

Do not stop listening though, because Jesus has more to say to you. So your righteousness isn't something you build on or improve over time. You don't have to keep filling this suitcase. It's credited to you. Your righteousness is credited to you because it's a gift because of Christ.

Because in Christ, God counts you as righteous. Not because of your performance, not because of this suitcase, but based on Jesus finished work. That's a great exchange. He's going to take your suitcases and get rid of them. He's taken everything bad and everything good.

He's taken our sin upon Himself, and in exchange, he gives us his righteousness. Being redeemed in Christ isn't about having everything sorted, praise the Lord. It's about pressing on from a different place, being grounded in a received identity in him, which never changes because the things around us do. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, forevermore. Being redeemed is not striving for identity, but.

But living from our identity. Being redeemed in Christ is. We're not trying to earn Acceptance. We're not trying to fill this suitcase, but we're responding to the acceptance that we've already been given, that we've already received. Paul knew that truth.

He knew the truth that Jesus was enough. But he wanted to know him more. And he continued to long for a full for a deeper understanding of what it meant to be united in Christ. And it says this in Philippians 3, 12, 14. Not that I've already obtained all of this or I've already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of for me.

Brothers and sisters. I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do. Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God called me heavenward. In Christ Jesus.

Paul knew the truth. Redemption is Jesus plus nothing. Redemption equals Jesus plus nothing else. What that means is all you need is Jesus. You don't need Jesus plus your good works, you don't need Jesus plus reading your Bible every day.

You don't need Jesus plus being successful in your career. All of those things are good. Reading your Bible, being successful in your career, good works. But they don't define who you are. All of those things are good, but they do not define who you are.

Because identity is not achieved, it is received. So let me ask us all something. What are we building our identity on right now? Jesus plus what? What's the plus?

What that you always go back to? What's the thing for you that when it's going well, you feel okay and when it's not, everything starts to wobble? What are you still carrying around? Maybe in this suitcase that Jesus has already paid for. Are you still carrying guilt?

Are you still chasing approval? Are you still trying to prove something? Because even though those of us who already know Jesus in this room today or online, we believe that righteousness is a gift. But sometimes, do you, like me, still live as though it's earned? Do you sometimes still live as though righteousness is earned?

And it often shows up in our lives in subtle ways, particularly kind of if then bargains that we make with God. Maybe some. You recognize some of these in your own life? I know I do. Achieved righteousness says, I feel guilty, so God must be disappointed in me.

Received righteousness says this because of my righteousness in Christ, my relationship with God does not change because of my feelings or does not change with my feelings. Achieved righteousness says, oh, my life's going really well. So God must be really pleased with me. Received Righteousness says, because God's approval is anchored in Jesus, my circumstances do not define his feelings towards me. Achieve Righteousness said, oh, if I fail, I need to fix it really quickly so I can feel right with God again.

But Received Righteousness says, because I'm in Christ, I don't have to fix my way back to God. I can come to him just as I am, knowing that I'm already accepted. Achieved Righteousness said, if things are going really badly, they must have done something wrong. But Received Righteousness says, because I'm secure in Christ, difficult circumstances are not proof of God's disapproval with me, but an opportunity for me to trust Him. Maybe you recognise one of those examples in your own life, or they made you think of something similar.

But what they all have in common is that they quietly shift the basis of righteousness from Christ's finished work, Christ's finished work, to my present performance or my feelings. And there are so many things that we do as Christians that are good, such as praying, being obedient, so doing what God tells us to do, being repentant, saying sorry when we've made a mistake, being here in church, regularly giving. But the moment that they become conditions for your acceptance, we slip back into achieved righteousness rather than received righteousness. Because our identity is not achieved, it is received. So the truth is, you don't have to drag these around with you anymore.

Not the good, not the bad, because neither of these gets to define you. If you're a Christian here today, you are in Christ. Your identity is no longer built on what you've done, but it's built on what he has done. Our identity is not achieved, it is received.

So we're going to take a moment just now because Jesus is here, the King is in the room. You don't need to move, you don't need to say anything out loud. I just encourage you to be open to God. Maybe you want to close your eyes, maybe you want to hold out your hands. Whatever works for you.

Maybe as you've been listening today, something has come into your mind. Something that you've been carrying, something you've been building your identity on. Something that when it's going well, you feel okay. But when it's not, everything starts to wobble. Maybe it's something good.

Maybe you're building your identity on an achievement, on an approval, on being needed by someone or being seen as really capable. Or maybe for you it's something heavier. Maybe it's a mistake, you've made, a regret. Something someone said about you that has stayed with you. Something that without even realizing it, you've been carrying, you've been trying to manage, you've been trying to prove something.

And in this moment, I just believe Jesus wants to invite you to let it go. You don't have to try any harder. You don't have to fix anything. He's just asking us today to receive what he's already given us. Because in Christ, your identity isn't something you achieve, it's something that you receive.

You are not defined by your best moments. You are not defined by your worst moments. You are defined by Him. So, God, right now we bring to you the things we've been carrying around, the pressure, the striving, the need to prove ourselves. And we let it go.

Because thank you, God, that in Christ we are forgiven. Thank you, that in Christ we are free. Thank you that in Christ we are redeemed. Thank you that in Christ we do not have to prove ourselves anymore. And together we say amen.

And if anything, if God is speaking to you today, then at the end of the service, we're coming to a close. There'll be people to my left and my right who would love to stand with you and pray with you. But I want to finish with a challenge to us as a church family. Imagine what it would be like, as if we, as a church, all stopped trying to achieve our identity and started receiving it, if we all grasped that our identity was secure no matter what. Where we understood that redemption, being redeemed is Jesus plus nothing else.

A place where serving comes from gratitude, not from pressure to serve. Where honesty isn't scary because grace is real. Because that kind of church becomes a signpost to our city because it says there's another way to live. I found this quote by Scotty Scheffler. He's the number one golfer in the world.

As I was preparing for today, and he said this. My identity isn't a golf score. All I'm trying to do is glorify God. And that's why I'm here. Just another reminder that.

That your identity isn't in what you do. Because your skill level can change, but it's on who you are in Christ. Scheffler's success as a golfer will not last forever, but his identity in Christ will. Because the truth is that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, forevermore. So remember, your worth is not found in who you are.

Your worth is not found in what you look like. Your worth is not found in the job you do. Your worth isn't found in human approval, it's not found in praise. Your worth is not found in the number of items that you have ticked off your to do list today. Your worth is found in what you are worth to Christ.

And that must be a great deal because Jesus died for you. In Christ we don't achieve identity, we receive it. And because we are redeemed in Christ, we're forgiven, we're free, and we don't have to prove ourselves anymore. So like I said, there'll be people to my left and my right. Maybe you don't know Jesus and you're here today and he'd love to get to know you.

So please do come and speak to one of my friends. It's been fantastic to be together today. Go out remembering that your identity isn't something you achieve, it's something you receive. Have a blessed week. Thanks for being at Venture Church today.