SPEAKER_01 0:00

Uh if you were here last week, uh you we discussed how we are all grappling with the idea of identity. Whether your identity might be described as a healthy identity or an unhealthy identity, we are all drawing our identity from someone, somewhere, or something. Identity in our titles, our positions, and our roles. Perhaps identity in our successes or identity in our failures, identity in our relationships or our interests or our possessions. Some people's identity is attached to the car they drive or the clothes they wear. We discussed how we tend to draw identity from the horizontal things around us, not the vertical relationship that we were creating of the one who created us. And this week I was surprised by an article because it shows the many different things that can shape our identity. I guess I was surprised by how this even got in my newsfeed through the uh wonders of the algorithms that decide what we see when we're looking at our phones. And for some reason, I found myself reading an article about baby names in Peru. Now, for those unfamiliar, Peru is on the west coast of South America. Uh, it has just over 30 million people. I looked that up this week, similar size to Australia. Uh and how the article about Peru got in my feed, I don't know. But it caught my attention because it read baby fever has combined with World Cup fever in one South American country. And the article outlined how in Peru there are 33,000 children with the name Neymar. And of course, uh, if you're unfamiliar with Neymar, he scored more goals for Brazil than anyone has ever scored, and they are a neighbor of Peru. Uh, there are also 28,000 different versions of Lionel Messi's in Peru. Messi, of course, the most successful Argentinian footballer, another one, another near neighbor of Peru. But what made me chuckle and what caught my attention is that Peru is now the home of 500 Erling Haalands. And for context of those who didn't follow the World Cup and don't have interest in soccer, Norway is a country 10,000 kilometers from Peru. Literally the other side of the world. The average height of a Peruvian is 5'4 inches. Well, that's 165 centimeters. If there's any Peruvians here, I would describe that as short. Erling Haaland is 6'5. He is taller than me, 195 centimeters. Put it this way: Haaland is a Viking from the other side of the world. Yet there are little children in the cities and villages of Peru whose identity is tied to someone who is about the furthest thing from Peru that you can get. Humanity really has this way of taking its identity from anywhere, from anything or from anyone. But last week we started a journey. We can take that down, it's a bit distracting to uh see a giant Norwegian with a funny hat on. But last we saw last week we started this journey through Ephesians 1, where we explored the idea of our identity that we receive as Christians. That by faith we are drawn into a new identity in Christ. And that's what the baptisms that we will do later represent. That we are the old man is gone and the new has come. We are a new creation in Christ. And we introduce this idea that we are made in the image of God. And that's what our mirror represents. That we are made in the image of God. But through sin, which is rebellion to God, that image was distorted. When we look at ourselves, it's not the perfect image of God because of sin. But God who doesn't leave us in our brokenness. In Jesus, God in the flesh, he drew near to us. And we looked at Colossians 1, which says, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. And when we look at Jesus, not only do we see Jesus, we see God in his fullness. And this grand work of redemption, that in Christ, we relearn our vertical relationship with the one we were intended to reflect. And we worked our way through Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 to 14, which had 11 in Christ statements where Paul unpacks all we receive through faith in Jesus. We looked at how we receive an identity of adoption from the Father. We don't need things of the world to validate us or to earn a place. In Christ, we are chosen, accepted, and loved. We can stop striving, we can stop hoping that the next thing will place value on us, and we can stop looking for status symbols because in Christ we are chosen, adopted, and loved. We looked at how we receive the identity of righteousness through the Son. We aren't our failures or our successes. We aren't our shortcomings or our insecurities. We aren't the wrongs that we have done or the wrongs that have been done to us. We are the restoration and wholeness that comes from Christ. And we looked at how we receive an identity that is sealed by the Spirit. In Christ, we receive the guarantee of the Holy Spirit, a deposit or a down payment of a future experience where the broken things will be fully restored in Him. That the Holy Spirit in us reminds us that our identity is not the broken things of this world, because our future is not the brokenness of this world. The Holy Spirit is a future experience of a redeemed identity arriving early. So today we'll continue on our journey through Ephesians and looking at this idea of identity. Today I want to share to you around this idea in Christ, from identity to formation. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, that it is a light to our path and a lamp to our feet. So I pray, Lord God, that your word would guide us into all that you have for us, Lord God. We open our hearts to receive something from you in Jesus' name. Amen. You know, we mentioned it last week that we see this transition from identity in the early parts of Ephesians to behavior in the latter part of the book of Ephesians, where he talks about therefore walk worthy, therefore walk in love, therefore walk as children of light, therefore walk wisely. But the equation isn't as simple as just identity equals behavior. The first step we see in Ephesians is that identity influences purpose. Are you ready for a running analogy? If you've been if you're new to church, you can expect lots of these. I have uh a few running analogies. I spend a lot of time running, and that allows me to do two things think about running and think about what I'm preaching on a Sunday. So you might identify as a runner, but that can mean lots of different things. If you're a runner whose purpose is just to get moving and uh enjoy the running community, maybe you just show up to your local park run. And for those who are unfamiliar, park run is this global phenomenon where people gather and they run five kilometers. And for some of you might think, wow, five kilometers, that's a long way. Uh but then there are people whose purpose is slightly longer than that. There are people who run 100 mile events. Uh, there is a local Novicastrian who is currently in Death Valley, USA, about to undertake a 135-mile race. 200 kilometers through the desert. It's about 50 degrees. Uh, later on this year, he's actually going to carry on to do a 240-mile race and run 400 kilometers. Uh, now I'm not quite to that sort of level of insanity. Uh but who knows? Behaviors are different for him than it is for a local park runner. He doesn't just show up on a Saturday morning, have a cup of coffee, and go for a jog when he sets out on his 200-mile run. So Paul works through his letter to Ephesians, having established our identity of Christ, and he reveals how we are now drawn into the purpose of Christ. And we're going to take up uh Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness towards us in Christ. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any one should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. You'll notice a word that is highlighted there, seven verses with seven we or us statements. Paul isn't using I, me, or you. He isn't using singular language when he's talking about what Jesus has done. He's using plurals, he's using a shared language. And as a reader in 2026, when you pick up your Bible, this can be more challenging than we give it credit. Because the culture we find ourselves living in tends to use the language of me, myself, and I, not we and us. In postmodern philosophy, this term is they use is radical individualized individualism. It's where we get ideas like I have my truth and you can have your truth. As all as individuals, we can make our own truths, not just as a behavior, but of a as a culture of self-determination. That all truth comes from yourself. And in a sense, identity is something for each of us to create for ourselves. And we've talked about this, but social media supercharges this in our lives where we curate our own identity and present it to the world of our own self-image. And at the center of our cultural worldview is ourselves. Not us, not we, but me and I. And this individualism can creep into our faith. There's things you hear people say, like, faith is a personal matter, or Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior. And there is underlying truth to those statements, like Dave said before. People down the front here getting ready for baptism, it's a personal decision that they are making, but it's not necessarily the most biblical language. Jesus is never described as a personal Lord and Savior. He is described as the Lord of all. Not just a new me, but we are part of a new family. It says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 19, for God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against us, against them, and he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. In Christ, God reconciles the world to himself. In Christ, he moves us from this broken view of humanity into all that he has for us. And we who are in Christ are now ministering this message. As our identity moves into purpose, we find our purpose is aligned with the very thing that God came to do in Christ. When we understand that we are in Christ, that through us God is making a new creation. We move from self-focus of our fractured identity, and we move into the fullness of our shared experience in our vertical identity in Christ. And that's why Paul writes to the Galatians in Galatians chapter 3, verse 28 there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus. And the Galatian church that would have been reading that, they were most likely a home a house church. And there would have been people in the room who were Jewish, and there would have been people who were Greek. There would have been, you know, the business owners and what they called in those times slaves, that they were the workers. There would have been people from different backgrounds, the barbarians, the people from all over the place. And as they read that out, it says what these differences are, we're now all one in Christ. This change from our self-focus of the fractured identity can be confronting. So when we've been raised with radical individualism, the message of Jesus becomes counter-cultural. So let me put it this way: I'm called to place my identity in Christ before I put my identity in the things in my life. So before I put my identity in my wife, in my marriage, or in my family. But here's the thing: I love my wife and I love my family, I love my marriage. Um but there would be people in this room, and maybe you've said the statement, we say things like, I'd do anything for my kids. But and that's a good thing. I'm not I'm not telling you not to. But if we elevate them above Christ, they become idols in our life. But the beauty is when we understand our identity in Christ, we're drawn in to understand the purpose of Christ. So we're actually drawn into a greater reality of what parenting looks like. Now we aren't just parenting to protect our kids from negative experiences. We aren't just hoping we can give them good opportunities. Now we are parenting in a way that brings the future reality of redemption into their present experience. We are parenting in a way that sees them reconciled to the vertical relationship they were created for. Our experience of parenting moves to what uh Paul talks about in Ephesians chapter 3. In verse 19, it says, To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power at work in us. And you've most likely heard that statement because it's a encouraging, it is a blessing statement that God can do exceedingly above, abundantly above all that we can ask or think. But this isn't he'll give you a better car or a better job or a better house or a better relationship. This is that he gives us a whole new frame of reference for viewing life. And as we take on the identity and purpose of Christ, your family experiences something of the fullness of God, and that is something that is greater than we could ask, think, or imagine. And we can apply that to every area of life. Our work can become something that it redeems and restores in the world around us. Our relationships become something which brings the kingdom of heaven into a present reality. As we learn our identity in Christ, that is to learn the purpose for which Christ came. From death to life by grace. We now have a shared identity, not individual pursuits, it's we and us in Christ. As we share in his identity, let us partake in his purpose. That passage we read from Ephesians 2 says, We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So you have this step that goes from uh identity into purpose. Bless that background music. And the next step beyond this is actions. We go from identity into purpose, and now, like our running analogy before, our actions begin to reflect the purpose that we're aiming for, and we step from identity to purpose and into actions. Here's the thing about our actions or behaviors. Sometimes we have can have good intentions but negative actions. Like I want to make healthy eating choices in my life. But if you give me a sour worm lolly, or if uh you know the sour gummy bear lollies, also if they were in my house, sour coke bottle lollies, if they were in my house, yep. Uh any, in fact, any sort of soft, chewy, jally lolly, if it's in my house, despite my intentions to eat healthy, they might slowly, slowly, quickly begin to disappear from the cupboard. Matter of fact, if you included ice cream or chocolate, those things too would disappear. But that'd probably be more of Claire's. I mean, I run lots, so I can kind of justify sugar. The body needs sugar and carbohydrates, but uh, you know, the preservatives, the additives, the colourings, they're probably not the best thing for my body. I don't know what my body can actually do with those things. And we can chuckle, you know, about having a bit too much sometimes food, but sometimes our actions can be far more destructive than those sorts of behaviors. Sometimes our actions can be way out of line with our intentions. Atomic Habits is a book by James Clear, and it was based on a lot of academic theory, and Clear took all these theories and made them understandable and applicable, and because he did such a good job of it, he sold 25 million copies of his book. And he's been, you know, it was on the bestseller list for a long time. And in the midst of all the little behavioral hacks that make it easy for people to form good habits, Clear touches on a much bigger concept. He says this in the book the ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of our identity. It's one thing to say, I'm the type of person who wants this. It's something very different to say, I'm the type of person who is this. He's linking purpose, identity, and actions. Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behavior. So there's this continuous feedback loop that's taking place. And it's our identity frames our purpose, and our purpose frames our actions. And the more we do those actions, the more it reinforces our identity. And you can see how this loop can kind of keep mobilizing, and our identity reinforces, a bit like that running analogy. No one starts by running 200 miles, they don't go out on their first day, but over time the identity transforms into purpose, into actions, reinforces the identity, and this cycle continues to go. So we understand purpose, it frames our actions. And when it comes to actions and behaviors, for too long, Christians have looked at behavior as having enough good points to avoid getting sent to the wrong location when you die. You know what I'm talking about. And if you were like me and you were raised in a Christian environment, much of your motivation in life was just not getting sent to the naughty room when you die. But Christianity isn't just about a future destination, it's about a present experience. When Jesus came, he said, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It's not the kingdom of heaven is out there, and if you're Lucky you'll get there, he said the future experience of all things being restored is breaking forth into our present reality. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. So here in the 21st century, James Clear, who has earned millions of dollars by identifying and conf and communicating a truth that Paul identified 2,000 years ago. That if our identity is in Christ and we are drawn into the purpose of Christ, then we begin to act and behave as Christ. Our lives are being transformed. And in doing this, a feedback loop is created whereby the more we partake in the purpose and actions of Christ, our identity in Christ is being reinforced. And this loop of identity, purpose, and actions is formation. And there's this little graphic up on the screen that perhaps can help. Formation is the place where the aspects of our lives begin to align with the identity that we received. If the work of grace that starts with identity grows into the maturity of formation, and the beauty of formation is that we aren't just dealing with behavior modification. And the beauty of formation is that we aren't just dealing with behavior modification, we aren't just trying harder to tick off the Christian checklist. Formation is where we participate in the life of Jesus. Formation is the experience of what Jesus said when he said, I have come that you might have life and life to the full. Jesus is drawing us into his life. Not just in our identity, but in every aspect of our lives. And as our identity and our purpose and our actions alive, the formation of Christ in us, the movement from the broken identity to the fullness of Jesus in our life takes place. And I'll invite the band to come. But in the wise words of the great philosopher, the boxer Mike Tyson, he says, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. And the graphic we had up before, it's a nice illustration, but sometimes theories meet reality and they don't quite line up. Like you were here last week and you walked away last week saying, I'm in Christ. But not long after that, you felt like I'm in addiction. Or I'm in my bad choices. There are people who may have left last week going, I'm in Christ, but you didn't pick up your Bible, you spent all your hours just scrolling through your Instagrams and your TikToks and whatever else you might be looking at. You might be in Christ, but you didn't live by his purpose, and your actions didn't look any different, and you're no closer to experiencing formation. We've all had those moments. If you had that moment, you're not alone. Where our spirit desires the things of God, but our lives don't reflect it. And by default, you might start to think the whole equation, identity plus purpose plus actions, does not add up. It does not equal formation. But this is where the gospel and atomic habits diverge. This is where the sealing of the Holy Spirit is different from internal motivations of self-help. Remember, if you're in Christ by grace, you never earned your status and identity. You simply received it by grace, the free gift. If you're in Christ here, you've earned the right, you have you never earned the right to be there. So he's not sending you back there. Your identity hasn't changed. Let's go back to our passage from Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4. But but God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love, with which he loved us, even when you were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come that he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. The only thing that's ascribed to us in that passage is that we were dead. That is the defining characteristic in that passage of you and I. Showing the riches of his grace in his kindness towards us. By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. We are his workmanship, he's the craftsman forming us. It's not our works that receive grace, it's because of grace that we do works. It's never our behavior that earns the identity. So if you fail and falter, you remember that it was by grace you've been saved. Oh, amazing grace, how sweet the sound. And the more I fix my eyes on grace, the next time I step into purpose, I'm stepping in with a greater revelation and a greater grace. So the next time we step into action, we come with more passion for the cause of Christ. And I find myself back examining Jesus once again. We're more certain that Christ is the hope of glory. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Now we step in to a greater purpose and we step in with a greater action, with a dependency on the Holy Spirit. Now we're back examining Him again. Oh, He gives me life and life abundantly. So now I'm back in purpose. My family, my community, the nations need to experience this Jesus that I know. They can call it habit stacking, but I call it the power of the gospel to salvation.

SPEAKER_00 29:46

Come on, somebody, this isn't self-help. I call it the grace of God that raised me from the dead and is transforming me. I call it the work of Christ, by which I'm adopted, by which I'm chosen, by which I'm forgiven and sealed. I call it the work of the Holy Spirit, that by faith and not by sight. I'm going, I am not the man in the mirror any longer. I am the hope of what God is doing in me. Come on, somebody. Philippians chapter 1, verse 6 says God started the work. God's doing the work, God's gonna finish the work. I've just got to keep coming back to the image of Christ. I'm gonna keep coming back to Jesus. Can we stand in this place? We're gonna worship him. Come on, let's lift up.