Raised to a New Identity | Raised to Life (Week 1) | Logan Hice

In Week 1 of our Raised to Life series, “Raised to a New Identity,” we see that Being raised with Christ means entering into a complete spiritual union that fundamentally transforms your identity. Many Christians struggle with old patterns because they don't understand this transformation or still define themselves by past failures rather than their new position in Christ. Your life is now hidden with Christ, meaning you're secure and defined by Him, not by your performance or past. Christ isn't just part of your life - He is your life, and like a branch connected to a vine, your strength and growth come from staying connected to Him. The danger lies in finding security in church attendance or good works rather than surrendering completely to Christ.

Transcript

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This morning, I ask you to turn with me to Colossians 3. Colossians 3. As Pastor Derek shared last week, we're starting a new series today, and it'll be going over the next four or five weeks, and several staff members are going to be sharing the load with Pastor this as we do this series. And he last week he spoke on how you can be close to God and you can still miss him. And the series that we're going to start today talks about how Jesus is risen, and if we are Christians and we have repented and accepted the good news, we have been raised with him as well. Well, what does that look like? Or what does that mean? Well, simply put, we have been raised to live like Christ, to look like Christ, to be bold like Christ, and that all has to do with our identity. Because of the resurrection, your identity is no longer defined by your past. Your life is now hidden in Christ. Some people love those crime shows. And I'm not a big fan of them, but Lauren loves them. So periodically, if I'm sitting in the living room, I'll overhear it and get the gist. And most of the time, if it's an hour show, they spend 58 minutes telling you how they're going to try to find it in the last 30 seconds to a minute telling you they found the guy. And all that stuff. And but what they are looking for is two things. They're either looking for the person who did it, or two, they're looking for a witness who saw the crime occur. And if the crime is bad enough, all of those witnesses are placed into what's called witness protection program. And when they're done, when that happens, they're given a new name, a new home, a new identity, a new cell phone number, you name it, it's new. And we think about it this way: if they kept going back to their old life, if they kept being, they went back to their old neighborhood, if they were answering their own old phone number, if they were still responding to all the people they knew in their other life, then the program really wouldn't work. Because for the program to work, the transformation only works if they start living from the new identity of which they've been given. In Christ, you haven't just improved your life, you've been given a completely new one. And the question I would like for us to answer this morning isn't, are you different? The question is, are you living like it? If you have your Bibles, Colossians three, we're going to start reading in verse one through verse four. And it says, If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. This morning I have three points that I want to share with you in hopes that at the end of this sermon we will recognize whether or not we truly have been raised to life in Christ. Point number one is simple. You have been raised with Christ, per Colossians 3 1, where it says, Since then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Church, this is not symbolic language when you read this, it is a spiritual reality. What happened to Jesus now defines what happens to each and every one of us. Salvation is not just a forgiveness, it is a union with Christ. When I hear the word union, I think of marriage. Me and Lauren, she was here for the first service. Me and Lauren have been married nine years this year. And a lot of you who have been married for longer probably can speak to this better than even I can. But on the day of your wedding, you get up in front of all your friends and your family, and you have to quote after the person officiating the wedding, I promise to love my wife and sickness and health, and for richer for poorer, till death do us part. And I have to ask myself the weight that that carries. Because on the day of, let's be honest, it just is words. You haven't gone through anything, right? So you're just going through the motions, you're saying what you have to say, because that's what you do. But after being married for nine years, you learn really quickly that the words and the vows that you say on your wedding day are not just language, they're a reality. I'll give you a few examples. I had to run all these examples by my wife as it for approval. She did take one out, so there's only three instead of four. But um, I'm gonna tell I'm gonna give you the three that she uh told me that I was allowed to say. Um, me and Lauren have been married for two months, okay? For two months, and we at our previous church, we had a big singing that we were gonna go do in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. And we had the choir there. It was uh it was a big to-do. We're gonna sing in front of a couple thousand people, and I got sick as a dog in that hotel room in the fetal position on the bathroom floor, can't move. You know how most men are when they get sick, they're groaning, they're acting worse than they probably really are, right? I was there, and I'm like, I can't, and I ended up having to have my dad lead all the songs because I couldn't do it. I could not stand up to do what I needed to do while we were there. But what did she do? She took care of me. She was probably rolling her eyes when I wouldn't see her, but she was taking care of me. Um so right off the bat, two months into our marriage, then sickness and health part, we check that box. She's probably sitting there thinking, this is not what I signed up for. But she was there and she took care of me. And as I, and number two, the for richer for poorer part. We haven't got to experience the richer part yet. I'm praying that one day we'll we're gonna it'll it'll it'll land in our lap in regards to that. But we have handled, we have handled the poorer part. Um, as I've shared even from this platform before, and I won't give you the whole story. Lauren and I had$133,000 stolen from us via wire fraud. And it was a terrible two months of a process that just felt like it would never end as the Pauldon County Sheriff's Office looks at us and says, You're probably never gonna see that money again. And we're sitting there, like, hey mom and dad. You want to talk about being in the fetal position? I really was at that point, like, what are we gonna do? Um, hey mom, hey dad, gonna have to come live in your basement because we have no money. And the Lord took care of us. We didn't get it all back, but I've never been so happy to have$20,000 stolen from me, but we got a majority of it back and we were able to survive. But what what's my point is that they weren't just words anymore. They were vows that we had to hold strong to. And then lastly, she held my hand as I experienced loss of my grandmother for the first time. First person I've ever lost that was close to me. And I was an up and down whirlwind of emotions. And what did she do? She was there by my side from start to finish. All of those situations are just a way to prove that the vows in which we gave to one another on our wedding day close to nine years ago were not just words. They were vows that created a union. After salvation, your relationship with Jesus is not casual or compartmentalized. It is a union. Your life is now joined to his. Your life is now shaped by his. Your life is now dependent on his. You didn't just say some words and then get saved. Church, we were raised from death unto life. Your old life is no longer your current reality. The resurrection isn't something that Jesus experienced, it's something that you now participate in. A few uh scripture references to back that up. Romans 6.4 says that we are to walk in the newness of life. Ephesians 2.5 says God has made us alive together with Christ. And 2 Corinthians 5.17 says that we are a new creation. I want to ask this question: when you got saved, what actually changed? Are you still living like the old version of yourself is still alive? As Pastor Derek says sometimes that he tries his best not to chase armadillos. If this is your first time, that will make no sense to you. But if you've been here a while, he'll say every once in a while he chases armadillos. What he's trying to say is he chases rabbits, okay? But we're gonna we're gonna say armadillos for the sake of the uh statement today. If you'll indulge me for just a moment, I want to chase one of those myself. I have to ask the question why do people still live like the old version of themselves is still alive? Well, first I think it's that they don't understand their new identity. A lot of believers are saved, but still think like their old self. They know they're forgiven, but not transformed. They still define themselves by past sin, by habits, or labels. And if you don't know who you are, you'll keep living like who you were. Second, salvation is instant, right? We believe that. But renewal is a process. The patterns of sin don't disappear overnight. And the muscle memory of the old life is still there. You are new on the inside, but still learning how to live it out on the outside. Thirdly, the they treat grace like permission instead of power. Some folks will subtly think, well, God will forgive me anyway, or maybe it's not that big of a deal what I'm doing. I think this is a this is so true in so many circumstances. We misunderstand grace. Hear me, church. Grace is not just a pardon, it is a power to change. Grace is not just a pardon, it's a power to change. And lastly, they don't see sin the same way anymore. Over time, sin can become less shocking, more acceptable, easier to justify. When sin shrinks in our eyes, obedience does too. I shared earlier uh and when we did the welcome that we had close to 700 people at church last week. Look look around. You can see some empty chairs next to you. And you have to ask, I asked myself, Christ is just alive this week as he was last week, right? What changed? Well, y'all are here, so I'm not I'm not gonna give y'all the degree this morning, but y'all are here. But what changed? He's just he's the same God last week as he is this week. But the priorities changed. What is important changed. Some folks are probably at the ball field, some folks are probably at the volleyball courts, some folks just didn't want to come. Whatever the case may be, we've lost sight of the priorities that we need to recognize that the Christian life is not always easy. As Matthew seven, verses thirteen and fourteen say, Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and for those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Church, anyone who's ever said that the Christian life is easy is wrong. It is not. As the scripture says right here, the way is hard that leads to life, and few be there to find it. I want to encourage you this morning to be one of the few. Be one of the ones that recognizes that if you want to live the life that God has called us to live, it's going to be difficult because he says it in his word. Salvation didn't just change your destination, it changed your identity and it changed who you are. So not only are we raised to life, your life is now hidden in Christ. As Colossians 3, 2 and 3 says, we read earlier, set your mind on things above. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. An identity shift demands a mindset shift. Hidden means secure and covered and defined by Christ, not by you or by anyone else. It is not enough to know that Jesus died for us. We must also understand that we died with him. Because we died and we were raised with him, the power of sin over us is broken this morning. And that is something to celebrate. That the power of sin over us is broken. You're no longer defined by your past. You're no longer defined by your failures or your labels. But listen to this too. Guess what you're also not defined by? You're not defined by your service to the church. You're not defined by the frequency in which you attend or how often you serve. And you may be thinking to yourself, well, Logan, you just talked about how there's people that were here last week that aren't here this week. You are right. I did. But if that is the only thing in which you find your identity in is your attendance to this place, you are wrong. Your identity does not come from what you do for Christ, it comes from being united to Christ. I'll give you an example. Last week, I believe that the band and the choir and the lead singers, all of them, did phenomenal up here. Am I biased? But they still did phenomenal. And the reason is they had six or seven practices that we focused on just those songs that we did last week. And it was evident how great they did. And if I got off the stage after last week and I was just pumped up and excited that we did so well, and then it stopped there, then I am committing a sin. Why? Because now I'm focusing on what we, what I am doing for Christ rather than in Christ Himself. And if all I'm focused on is the product in which we present to every single one of you week after week after week, that I am no longer focused on Christ. My identity is not found, not found in Christ, it's now found in what I do for Christ. And I want to encourage you this morning how easy it is to do that. Encourage you not to. Your thinking must catch up with what God has already declared. You are now defined by your position in Christ Jesus. Romans 8.1 says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And Galatians 2.20 says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me. There's a great song that says that exact line. What voice has been shaping how you see yourself? Are you living from your past? Are you living from your position in Christ? When your identity changes, your thinking must change with it. When your identity changes, your thinking must change with it. Point number three. That's good. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. You know what it doesn't say? It doesn't say when Christ, who is a part of your life, or when Christ who is important to you, or Christ who is someone you can call on in high stress moments. Doesn't say any of that. It says Christ, who is our life. He has to be your everything. Paul doesn't say your life got better. He says it ended. You have died. That means your old identity, your old way of living, your old source is gone. This is where many Christians, I think, misunderstand salvation a bit. You hear a lot of people, and I've heard it a ton, I'm sure you have too, Jesus came into my life. There's a song, there's a hymn about it. There's a whole hymn about it. I believe it's more biblically accurate to say that I died and now Christ is my life. Christianity is not a behavior modification, it is a life transformation. If Christ is your life, it has to reshape your priorities, has to reshape your desires, it has to reshape your direction. And what defines you will eventually show up through you. Think about the illustration of the vine and the branch. Now, I have at my house I got beautiful grass. I really am I'm good at that. I know how to take care of a lawn. You ask me to plant a bush or a tree, it's gonna die. I don't I can't explain it, don't know how to do it, do everything it says to do, it's gonna die. But for those who are good at that, this will make a lot of sense to you. A branch doesn't have to try harder to produce fruit, right? It just stays connected, receives life, and then what? Fruit will happen naturally. But think about it in the reverse. If you disconnect the branch, if you break it, it doesn't struggle, it dies. In the same way, your strength comes from him, your change comes from him, your growth comes from him. Philippians 1 21 says, For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. And John 15 5, as we just referred to a moment ago, I am the vine and you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. I have to ask this question this morning, is Jesus something that you add to your life, or is he your life? If someone watched your life played on this giant screen behind me, would it be evident that Jesus Christ is your life? Or would you be absolutely mortified and want to run out the back room? If Christ is your life, it will be evident in how you live. To the non-Christian in the room, or to the person who's questioning their salvation and they just don't know, I want you to lock in with me for just a moment. I heard this from a pastor one time and I wanted to share it with you. And I believe it to be 100% true. You know what my biggest fear inside the modern evangelical church is? It's not the atheist who says that there is no God, or it's not the agnostic who says, I don't believe. Well, I want those folks to get saved. I truly, truly do, more than just as much as anybody else in this room would want to see them all get saved. The person that scares me the most in the modern evangelical church is the person who sits on one of these seats inside this room week after week after week and believes because of their church attendance, because they're bringing their kids to church, because they serve in kids or they serve on this stage, their service is what's going to get them to heaven. And I'm telling you this morning, church, those people scare me. Because they've heard it time and time and time again. And if Christ came back right now, those people are going to die and go to hell. And I know that's very brash speak that people don't like to hear, and I understand that. But I think one of the most terrifying verses in all of Scripture is Matthew 7, 21 through 23. It says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Listen to this line. But the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not cast out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty works in your name? When you read that scripture, what is that referring to? That is referring to actions. And did I not do this? Did I not do that? All of those people who are saying, Lord, Lord, they're bringing up the things they did for Christ rather than the identity they should have had in Christ. What is his response? Depart from me. You workers of all this or in other versions that says you workers of iniquity. Knowing about Jesus is not the same. Knowing about Jesus is not the same. Surrendering to him. I want you to hear this this morning. You can be close to Jesus. You can know about him but never truly know him. If you have zero fruit to show from the vine, which you call your Christian life that you claim to have, you are not saved. Judas walked next to Jesus for his entire adult ministry and witnessed everything that we read about in Scripture, and he missed it. The question I have is simple for you this morning. Will you miss it? To the unbeliever in the room or the person questioning their salvation, hear me on this. I quote this pastor probably every time I stand up at this platform, but it's because he's so good. Pastor Vody Bacham, who has gone on with to the Lord, says this the good news is good news because of what God has done, not you. The good news is good news because we were not asked to do it. And I love this. The good news is good news because if we would have been asked to do it, we wouldn't have been able to do it. You cannot get there from here. God did this on our behalf because we could not do it for ourselves. Or I don't want to assume that everybody in this room is safe. And so if you are not or you're questioning it, I want you to hear this from me. You are a sinner. I am a sinner. Every person under the sound of my voice this morning is a sinner, and you cannot fix it yourself. Jesus died in your place. That's the good news. So we just talked about. And he rose again as we talked about last week. Salvation comes through repentance and faith only, not from what you can do for him. Because what you can do for him, the best you have is filthy rags in the sight of Jesus. Salvation comes through repentance and faith. Now to the believers in the room, I want you to hear me on this. If what we talked about today is true and you are born again, then something has already changed in you. You are not who you used to be. Your life is not what it used to be, and your identity is not where it used to be. But I have to ask, if your identity has changed, and you're probably asking yourself this question too, if my identity has changed, then why do I still struggle the same way that I always have? Or why do old habits still show up in my life, even though I try my best to get rid of them? Why do patterns still repeat? Why does it sometimes feel like nothing has changed in my life? That's where we're gonna go next week. We're gonna talk about being raised to a new freedom and how the resurrection doesn't just change who you are, it changes how you live. If you've accepted Christ as your Savior, then you have been given a new identity. And now you have to learn how to live from it. You have to learn how to recognize that Jesus didn't come to improve your life, he came to become it. You were not your past, your performance, your failures, your accomplishments, whatever you want to fill in the blank there. You are none of that. You are who you are in Christ Jesus. We have to get out of the mindset of compartmentalized faith where God gets my Sundays and some prayer time throughout the week, but he does not get my decisions, he does not get my emotions, he does not get my daily thought life. If we call ourselves Christians, we have to be rooted in him, and he gets everything. He gets it all. This sermon is geared and directed to three types of people. One is the person who knows they are not saved and needs to be. Make this morning be the time that you make that decision. I will be down here and I will walk you through it. Two, it is geared towards a person who has sat inside the church walls for as long as they can remember, believing they are saved and they are not. They have been believing that their actions of church attendance and serving and showing up is enough. Yet they have no real identity in Christ, no fruit, because they do not know Jesus Christ at all. And lastly, where I think there's probably a large majority of us in the room, is that person who is a born-again Christian who cannot get over their past and recognize that Christ is no longer just a part of your life, but he is your whole life. That person fights the struggle of who they are and what their calling is simply because you haven't become fully surrendered. Church, this morning, I encourage you to please make that decision. Recognize that you need to get out of the way and let Christ do in you what you cannot do for yourself. People ask, what is the biggest fear of standing up here and preaching God's word? Like I said earlier, I believe it's the biblical authority in which he gives to say things that sometimes are difficult to say. But if it says it in here, it's not me saying it. It's him. This morning, I urge you, it's all I can do. I urge you, I beg you to not leave this place the way you came in. If there's someone in here that needs help, regardless of which one of the three types of people that you are, please do not walk out of the back doors of this place without getting it right this morning. Let today be the day that you can truly say that you are raised to a new identity in Christ Jesus. And I'll be down here to help you walk through it. Let's pray this morning. Dearly Father God, we love you.