Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 494 | Identifying with Christ
Transcript
- 0:00God is in control.
- 0:05She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman
- 0:10at the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
- 0:15like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
- 0:18Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
- 0:21Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
- 0:25or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
- 0:31to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
- 0:37Living her life for Christ She's a happy girl.
- 0:38Music.
- 0:48She's a happy girl.
- 1:03Can people tell you are a Christian? If you were arrested for being a Christian,
- 1:08is there enough evidence in your life to convict you?
- 1:11Paul said, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power
- 1:17of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
- 1:24Paul's identity with Christ was clear, and his identity was completely lost in Christ.
- 1:31What is your association with Christ, and is your identity lost in him?
- 1:37Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries.
- 1:42It's a pretty practical subject we're talking about today.
- 1:46It's about can people see Jesus in you?
- 1:51He tells us in Matthew 5 and verse 16 to let our light so shine before men,
- 1:57that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven.
- 2:02He explains to us that we are the light of the world.
- 2:05He explains that He is light and His light is in us.
- 2:09And our job as Christians is to emit that light to a lost and dying dark world.
- 2:18Have you ever wondered what people see when they see you?
- 2:22I think many people spend a lot of time kind of perfecting their body and trying
- 2:28to make sure that when someone comes into their presence, there are certain
- 2:33features of their body they see first.
- 2:36I think that there are ways that we conduct ourselves in meetings and perhaps
- 2:43in activities that we're trying to show a certain characteristic,
- 2:49or we're trying to have someone see us in a certain way.
- 2:54These are conscious, purposeful goals and actions.
- 3:00But I wonder how many of us purposefully show the world Jesus,
- 3:06that we walk into the world and our goal is for them to see Jesus before they ever see us.
- 3:13Our goal is for them to remember the things that remind them of Jesus or the
- 3:19things that we said about Jesus more than to remember us and who we are.
- 3:26I wonder if we have a strategy in our lives to show people Jesus.
- 3:33Well, you can't show someone something you don't have.
- 3:38And so as we begin to look at this concept of identifying with Christ and showing
- 3:44everyone around us who he is, it is very important that we are sure that we
- 3:50possess his gift of salvation,
- 3:53that we've given our heart and our mind to him, that we've acknowledged that
- 3:56we are a sinner, that we've confessed him as Lord, and we've believed in him
- 4:01and accepted his free gift of salvation.
- 4:05But for many, there seems to be a gap between that new creation in Christ Jesus
- 4:15and their exhibit of who he is.
- 4:21And so I want to take a walk through
- 4:23the scriptures to help us see that as Christians, it is our godly duty.
- 4:30It is our Christian obligation.
- 4:33It is the manifestation of our love for him that results in a life that points others to Christ.
- 4:44When I was growing up, my mom used to say all the time, you may be the only
- 4:49Bible some people ever read.
- 4:51Make sure that your actions and your words align with what Scripture says,
- 4:59because you may be the only representation of him in someone's life.
- 5:06And you want to make sure that you're representing him well,
- 5:11that you're demonstrating his principles correctly, and that all around you
- 5:16see your devotion and your love for him.
- 5:20Being a Christian is a free gift that we receive, but it requires an active faith.
- 5:26An active faith requires that we are obedient to the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
- 5:34It is demonstrated by the fact that we love him, and we keep his commandments
- 5:41because we love him, And because we have faith in him,
- 5:44his commandments are not grievous or difficult or a hardship for us.
- 5:51And so Paul says in Romans 1.1, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
- 5:57called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.
- 6:03We are separated for good works.
- 6:08And in this verse, he's saying we are separated for the sake of the gospel.
- 6:15So that those of us who have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will look and
- 6:20act differently than those who do not.
- 6:24Those of us who've received Christ as Savior are different than those who are
- 6:29still serving the devil.
- 6:31Because as a servant of Christ, we are to serve God. So let's look at what Scripture has to say.
- 6:40Deuteronomy 10, 12 through 13 says this, And now, Israel, what does the Lord
- 6:46thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God,
- 6:52to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with
- 6:59all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord and his statues,
- 7:05which I command this day for thy good.
- 7:09There's a lot in there that we can unpack, but we are to fear the Lord,
- 7:13to walk in his ways, to love him, and to serve the Lord with all of our heart and with all of our soul.
- 7:21We are to be committed and purposeful in developing a close relationship with Jesus Christ.
- 7:30And he says, when you do these things, it's going to be for your good.
- 7:34But when is the last time you had a strategy for building up your faith muscle?
- 7:44When's the last time that part of your calendar showed a time in the day for
- 7:52you to reflect on the goodness of God?
- 7:56Where do you feast upon his word and when?
- 8:01If you're not serving God, you're
- 8:03serving the devil. There are only two choices. You can't be neutral.
- 8:08And he says that you'll have no other gods before him.
- 8:11He says here that we are to serve him with all their heart and with all their soul.
- 8:17What is dictating your day?
- 8:21Is it your relationship with God? Is it a desire and a hungering and a thirst
- 8:26to grow closer to Him, to do His will and His work and to know Him intimately?
- 8:33Or is it to accumulate wealth and things?
- 8:37What is it?
- 8:39Joshua 24.14 says this, Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth,
- 8:49and put away the gods, which your father served on the other side of the flood
- 8:53and in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord.
- 8:58Serve in sincerity and in truth.
- 9:01When you sincerely do something, you're doing it on purpose.
- 9:07You're doing it with all your might, and absolutely everything in you believes in what you're doing.
- 9:15And you're not faking it. You are truthfully serving God out of a heart that knows who God is.
- 9:24And so this identifying with Christ means that we have a relationship with Jesus
- 9:29Christ that causes us to serve because of how well we know him and how much we love him.
- 9:37In 1 Chronicles 28.9, he says this, And thou, Solomon, my son,
- 9:43know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind.
- 9:50For the Lord searches all hearts and understandeth all the imagination of the faults.
- 9:56If thou seek him, he will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him,
- 10:01he will cast thee off forever.
- 10:04Look at what he's telling us in 1 Chronicles 28, 9.
- 10:09Solomon is being asked to know that God the Father, who he is.
- 10:18Do you know him? Have you read from Genesis to Revelations, the greatest love
- 10:24letter ever written that would enable you to understand who God is?
- 10:29You know his ways. You know his character.
- 10:32You feel his blessings. He's real, and he's real to you.
- 10:38And with a perfect heart means a heart that is sold out to Christ,
- 10:42and he has washed you white as snow.
- 10:45And the things of this world, you're asking God on a daily,
- 10:49maybe even a moment-by-moment basis to just cleanse your heart and relieve you
- 10:54of the things of this world,
- 10:56but allow you to be fully focused and centered wholly and only upon God and with a willing mind.
- 11:06See, our minds can be the playfield of the devil.
- 11:11And we have to guard what we put in.
- 11:14And we have to have a mind that has been submitted and surrendered to God so
- 11:22that God owns our thoughts.
- 11:25And we allow him to take captive any thoughts that don't belong of him.
- 11:30And we willingly focus our minds on the things of God.
- 11:36In Romans 12, 1 and 2, he says this, I beseech you, therefore,
- 11:43brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
- 11:47holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
- 11:50And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of
- 11:54your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
- 11:59A perfect heart cleansed by the blood and a mind completely sold out to the Lord.
- 12:07Because when we seek him, we'll find him. He says in 1 Chronicles 28.9.
- 12:14If you forsake him, he'll cast you off forever.
- 12:17When we identify with Christ, as we're told to in Romans 1.1,
- 12:21we serve God willingly and we focus our mind upon it.
- 12:26As we turn to the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 15.58, we hear these precious
- 12:31words, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable.
- 12:36Always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor
- 12:40is not in vain in the Lord.
- 12:42The greatest return on investment you'll ever get is the work you do for the Lord.
- 12:48Little is much when he is in it, and his rewards never end.
- 12:54Daily he loads us with his benefits.
- 12:57We need to be steadfast, unmovable.
- 13:01I mean, dig in to the truth of who God is. Don't be swayed by people's politics.
- 13:08Don't be swayed by people's imaginations.
- 13:11Don't be swayed by philosophies and social norms and the cultural way.
- 13:17But stay steadfast, unmovable, and plant your feet on the solid ground and in
- 13:22the solid rock of Jesus Christ so that you aren't movable and so that you don't
- 13:28get tossed to and fro with any little thing that comes so that trends don't whack away at your face,
- 13:35so that things of this world do not allure you, but be steadfast,
- 13:40unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.
- 13:47Service to the Lord isn't a Sunday morning thing.
- 13:52It's Sunday morning, Sunday night, and every morning, and every night,
- 13:56and every afternoon in between all the time.
- 14:00It's 365 days a year is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We don't go on a break.
- 14:08Because I promise you, he's not breaking at any time from listening to you,
- 14:15watching over you, caring for you, providing for you, leading you, directing you.
- 14:21He's an on-time, in-time, all-time God.
- 14:25And we count on that.
- 14:28In Ephesians 6, 5-8, he says, servants be
- 14:31obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh
- 14:34with fear and trembling in singleness of
- 14:38your heart as unto christ not with eye service as men pleasers but as the servants
- 14:43of christ doing the will of god from the heart with goodwill doing service as
- 14:49to the lord and not to men knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth
- 14:53the same shall he receive
- 14:55receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
- 14:57The Lord will repay you a hundred times over for anything that you are doing in the name of the Lord.
- 15:06So if your heart and your mind is set on doing the will of God in his service,
- 15:13you are doing it because of your love and your obedience to him.
- 15:17He will not let you out give him.
- 15:21God will always repay the work of those who do it in the name of the Lord, and he will empower you.
- 15:29Ephesians 3.20 says, Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
- 15:33all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.
- 15:39When we submit our heart and our mind and our lives to the Lord,
- 15:43He seals us with His power.
- 15:45And His power tells the sun when to get up and when to go down.
- 15:49He shows the moon how to shine, the reflection of the sun.
- 15:53He holds the stars into space. He revolves all of the planets.
- 15:59He knows the names of all of the stars. He speaks to the wind and it obeys.
- 16:04He speaks to the waves, and they obey.
- 16:06He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and he alone is God, and the power that.
- 16:13Spoke the world into the existence.
- 16:15He's saying, according to however much we let it in, he will work in us.
- 16:23Well, we have to be about the Father's business. We have to identify with Christ.
- 16:30You know, we understand the concept of identifying. Most of us identify with our families.
- 16:36We have a last name and it's common to other members in our family,
- 16:42whether it be brothers or sisters, mom, dad, or cousins or aunts or uncles.
- 16:48And there's an association and we identify with that family.
- 16:53And most of the time, we have certain traits of that family or mannerisms of
- 16:58that family. And people who know your family can see how you fit into that family.
- 17:04That's what it means to identify with Christ. People should see through your
- 17:08mannerisms, through your speech, through your characteristics,
- 17:12through the attributes of your love and your grace and your mercy that you so
- 17:16freely distribute that you are part of the family of God.
- 17:20And whatever you do for him, you can be certain when done with a willing heart
- 17:27that he will repay that which you've done.
- 17:31Hebrews 12, 28 talks about wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved.
- 17:37Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
- 17:44We are to serve the Lord with all of our heart, all of our soul with a reverence of who He is.
- 17:53We serve out of obedience. We serve out of love.
- 17:58We serve because we are a child of the Most High God.
- 18:01So as part of identifying with Christ, we must be servants of God.
- 18:09What have you done for God over the last few days?
- 18:17Finds you a piece of paper, a journal, write it down.
- 18:21Look at all the time that he's given you. In a three-day period, he's given you 72 hours.
- 18:29You owe seven hours and 20 minutes to him.
- 18:33That's just your 10%. Where are you spending your time?
- 18:38What is dictating your life?
- 18:43Because wherever you're spending your time, wherever you're spending your money,
- 18:46whatever your thoughts are that cannot be shaken, that are consuming you.
- 18:52This is who or what you serve.
- 18:56But to identify with Christ, we have to do more than serve God.
- 18:59God, we have to realize as children of God what we are called to be.
- 19:06In Proverbs 23, 26, he says, My son, give me thine heart and let thine eyes observe my ways.
- 19:18Do you know what it means to give God your heart, that means that he's your
- 19:24deepest desire, your strongest love,
- 19:29your greatest motivation, and your incredible inspiration.
- 19:34He's your all in all. He's the first thing you think of when you get up.
- 19:39He's the last thing you're thinking of when you go to bed and all the time in between.
- 19:44Everything you're doing, all that you are and all that you have is somehow tied to Christ.
- 19:53He's saying, watch my ways. Learn of me.
- 19:58Know who I am. The people we love, we seek to be around.
- 20:05We learn things from them. We pick up phrases and we pick up ways of doing things.
- 20:12We want to be in their presence any chance we can. That's what saying, you are called to be.
- 20:21Sold out to God. In 1 Corinthians 1.26, he says, For you see your calling,
- 20:29brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,
- 20:33not many noble are called.
- 20:36It's not about what you can bring to the table.
- 20:41You may be the most skilled person God has ever created, but you still can't
- 20:47give your skill to him and think you've given him anything.
- 20:50Because everything you can do and all that you are and all that you have are his.
- 20:57And he's given them to you to
- 21:00be used in the way that brings him glory and honor and is for your good.
- 21:06He's given them to you to give back to him in praise and gratitude for all that
- 21:15he gets you that he's given you.
- 21:18But the only thing you can really give him is your availability.
- 21:22And we are called to be available.
- 21:25We are called to do service.
- 21:28We are called to walk in his ways. We are called to be obedient.
- 21:34And everything else is icing on the cake.
- 21:39So if you're looking at yourself and you're thinking, I don't have a lot of
- 21:43gifts, that's the devil probably to begin with, but he's not looking for anything
- 21:51you can give him other than availability.
- 21:53He's looking for you to be willing to allow him to work through you and for
- 21:59you and to fully equip you to do exactly what he's asked you to do.
- 22:05You don't have to come to the table with a know-how, a skill, or an ability.
- 22:12You come to the table with, here am I, send me. That is what we are called to do.
- 22:19In Ephesians 1.18, we are told, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.
- 22:25That you may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of his
- 22:31glory of his inheritance in the saint.
- 22:33We are to know the hope of his calling.
- 22:35He has called each of us to serve, and he's equipped all of us to do it.
- 22:41And he gives us that information. He enlightens us on the path that we are to
- 22:46take because he leads us, he guides us, and he directs us, he equips us, and he provides for us.
- 22:53And above all, he loves us.
- 22:56He gives us a calling that matches the gifts he's given us and requires the
- 23:02faith we fully have in Jesus Christ to follow him regardless of where he leads.
- 23:10He hasn't given you your gifts simply for you to manage.
- 23:15He's given your gifts for you to hold while he manages them and distributes
- 23:22them in the ways that he intends for them to be.
- 23:25You are the banker, and he is making the withdrawals.
- 23:32He's making the deposits.
- 23:34He's using them. You're just holding them for his good, his honor,
- 23:42his glory, and for your good.
- 23:45When you begin to think about the calling of God on your life and what it means
- 23:51and what he has for each of us, we have to understand this,
- 23:57that it's going to require our faith and our action.
- 24:01And Philippians 3.14 says, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high
- 24:06calling of God in Christ Jesus.
- 24:08I press towards the mark. There's a finish line and it's called heaven.
- 24:13And I have not seen and ear has not heard what lies in store for them that love the Lord.
- 24:18And we have to press through the obstacles. We have to press through the oppression.
- 24:23We have to press on with every bit of our effort and every bit of our energy, knowing that...
- 24:30When we think about it in heaven, it will only bring a smile,
- 24:34understanding that the trials and tribulations of this life are just part of it.
- 24:39But greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.
- 24:42And we can't be like the lost.
- 24:44We can't be walking around downhearted and downtrodden. But we have a hope inside
- 24:50of us. And his name is Jesus.
- 24:52And this hope is not a hope so. It's a hope that inspires and motivates and
- 24:58guarantees and assures that every step we take in the direction of Christ,
- 25:04in the absolute obedience of what he's asking us to do,
- 25:08regardless of what the situation looks like, regardless of the circumstances,
- 25:12we know that we know that we know that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords loves us,
- 25:19and he's going to reward us, and he's going to get us through,
- 25:22and people are going to stand back on the other side of this table that he has
- 25:27put between us and our enemies.
- 25:28They're wanting in, and he's going to look at them and say, this is my child. This is whom I love.
- 25:35This is my girl. This is my boy, and I know that I know that nothing we do will
- 25:42ever go without his blessing. When we do it in the name of the Lord,
- 25:46we will have what we need.
- 25:48He will equip us. He will direct us and he will lead us.
- 25:52So don't let the things of this world, don't let the mindset of unwise people
- 25:58or the words or the hatred or the lack of knowledge of someone else ever stand
- 26:04in the way of the calling God has for you.
- 26:07It doesn't matter if anyone else understands what God is asking you to do.
- 26:12It doesn't matter if anyone else is in agreement that you are doing.
- 26:18Right thing. The only thing that matters is that you keep on and you press on
- 26:23because the assignment is not anyone else's. It is yours.
- 26:27So it's okay if somebody doesn't understand it.
- 26:31But whatever you do, you need to understand that no man will shut a door that
- 26:36you are supposed to have.
- 26:38And no man will open a door that God doesn't want you in.
- 26:43No one is more powerful than God. And if you stay close to him,
- 26:48he will slay your enemies.
- 26:51They may think they're the ones in control. They may think they're the ones
- 26:55that's calling the shots.
- 26:57They may have decided whether you are good enough or not good enough.
- 27:01They may have decided if you're the one or you're not the one.
- 27:05But it's a short-lived decision they get to make because the king of kings,
- 27:10he's the one who lifts you up.
- 27:12The King of Kings is the one who directs your paths.
- 27:16The King of Kings is the one who makes a way where there is no way.
- 27:21The King of Kings has the final and complete decision.
- 27:26Don't sweat the people in your life that are causing you pain or trouble or obstacles.
- 27:34In many ways, you pray for them,
- 27:38and feel the pity they deserve for thinking they have the say so,
- 27:45don't let people judge who you are don't let people judge who you are in Christ
- 27:49you identify with him and you submit yourself under the mighty hand of God and
- 27:55in due time he will lift you up,
- 27:59don't look left or right don't look unto man,
- 28:03simply walk in his ways.
- 28:07And we're asked to be set apart when you identify with Christ.
- 28:122 Timothy 2, 19-21, he says, Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal.
- 28:19The Lord knoweth them that are his, and let every one that nameth the name of
- 28:25Christ depart from iniquity.
- 28:27But in a great house there are not only one vessels of gold and of silver,
- 28:31but are also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor.
- 28:35If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor,
- 28:39sanctified and meet for the master's use. and prepared unto every good work. We are to be set apart.
- 28:47In John 15, 9, he says, If we were of the world, the world would love his own.
- 28:51But because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,
- 28:55therefore the world hateth you.
- 28:57In John 17, 16, he says, They are not of this world, even as I am not of the world.
- 29:02So don't let people who aren't even in the family of God change your mind on what God has said.
- 29:12And especially, don't give the power to someone in your church,
- 29:18in your family, at work, on your team, in your ministry,
- 29:25to tell you what God wants you to do or to tell you what you can't do.
- 29:31Because all of that belongs only to Him.
- 29:34And that is a conversation between you and Him. It is a calling that He has given you.
- 29:41And you trust in Him and only Him and you use His power and only His power and
- 29:49you pray for those that despitefully use you and you pray for those that are causing you trouble.
- 29:54In Romans, we're told it'll heap coals of fire on their heads.
- 29:58But don't let them steal your joy.
- 30:00The Lord has come that you might have life and have it more abundantly,
- 30:04but the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
- 30:08Joy comes from the Lord. And when we identify with Christ, we serve Him,
- 30:14we are called of Him, we are set apart, and we are more than conquerors.
- 30:23Let me just tell you, there's a calling on your life, and it's between you and God.
- 30:30And whatever it is, He will see it to the end.
- 30:37So lift up your eyes. Your redemption draweth nigh.
- 30:43Identify with him. Walk with him and love him.
- 30:47And remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
- 30:53Music.
- 31:00Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
- 31:05quotes from today's podcast and scripture references.
- 31:08We pray today has been a blessing, and we encourage you to reach out to us through
- 31:12our app, our website, or our Facebook page.
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- 31:51Thank you to the Gospel Group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
- 31:56We greatly appreciate your prayers. We are praying daily for our listeners.
- 32:01Remember that God loves you. You are loved.
- 32:08Music.