Who Do You Think You Are? - Doug Batchelor

[Music] foreign thank you Pastor Lucas good morning friends it is so good to see each of you here and we want to welcome those who are watching on television or some form of social media or friends that are viewing on the good news network and AF TV and others this is a special presentation if you're tuning in from our regular Sabbath worship services this is a program a special youth program called identity and it's spelled with an e e y e identity because we are changed by beholding and the message this morning is going to be talking about who Do You Think You Are we are all to some extent a result of what we look at and there's a transformational power in that and we are going to be talking specifically about identity a book came out recently it's called a girl with no name and it's about Marina Chapman who back in 1954 she was abducted ostensibly the abductors were going to kidnap her she was four years old something went wrong with their plans they didn't know what to do they didn't want to kill her so they dumped this four-year-old girl at the end of a jungle logging Trail she kept thinking they'd come back and she spent the Loneliest Night of her life four years old out in the jungle woke up tried to walk down the trail went the wrong way just got totally lost in a very remote part of the Colombian jungle fortunately I guess there were no Jaguars there she didn't have to worry about water because it was a time of year it rained frequently but she got very hungry and was tormented by insects somehow she lived out there for they estimate four to five years she ended up following around this troop of capuchin monkeys and they watched her and she noticed they would sometimes drop food as they went from tree to tree and she was eating their food and watching what they ate and pretty soon they started getting closer to her and they'd come over and they'd touch her and after spending time kind of figuring the closer she say to the monkeys the better her chances were one of the monkeys sat down and leaned against her and she kind of felt like she was adopted and so even climbed in the tree so she couldn't climb like they did but she'd climb up to try to get the food they were reaching four years from the age of four five six seven eight she lived in the jungle when the hunters found her she lost her ability for human speech but she got to where she understood the signals and the cries and the sounds of the monkeys well as she was introduced to society I've had some very difficult experiences in the process but ultimately she was adopted and she was taken to England she of course relearned both Spanish and English got married had a family and lived a normal life but can you imagine it's almost like that book that Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote years ago about this baby left in the jungle raised by Apes Tarzan encounters his first humans after he's an adult and realizes he's not a gorilla he's a human talk about an identity crisis to spend your life for years thinking you're a monkey or a gorilla and then find out you're human that's where we are today young people the world over are being told that you have evolved from monkeys and from lower forms of life and is it any Wonder that there's confusion there's a big difference between the teaching of evolution that you came from nothing nowhere for no purpose to being made by a loving intelligent God In His Image and the devil is basically trying to hijack the identity of the world you can look in the Bible in the Book of Matthew chapter 4. the first Temptation that Satan brings to Jesus he is trying to hide hijack that identity the devil says if you are the Son of God command these stones to become bread now the Temptation was not doing the miracle of making the stones into bread the Temptation was doubting his identity because just before Jesus went into the Wilderness a voice Came From Heaven saying this is my beloved Son and that the devil says are you sure if you're really the son of God maybe you're not so what he did to Adam and Eve you know God made you less than you're supposed to be you should really be gods and he's keeping something from you he's hiding your identity from you the devil's done that all along trying to confuse redefine hijack confound people's god-given identity so where do you get your identity maybe I should take a moment what is identity according to Collins Dictionary identity is equalities belief personality traits appearance and or Expressions that characterize a person or group beliefs that characterize a person or group your beliefs have a lot to do with your identity an identity is very important identity often comes from you know family your job some people they get their identity from the sports that they play or are there different gifts and skills or nicknames and you might have a different identity different groups as you go from place to place I know standing here I'm Pastor Doug but when I play racquetball with the guys here in town they call me Rev I thought that meant they they were saying that because Reverend which we don't use that title typically but no they said it's because I run around like I'm all revved up so I had different identity I know I don't know about you how many of you heard Dr Calvin's testimony last night that was great I wanted him to just pause and show me a salsa dance just for a minute how many of you are wondering I why couldn't you just break a move or two here I just want to see I can't visualize this this preacher dentist being a salsa dance expert but so some of us have different identities in different groups but it's really important that you know what your identity is now in our world today the devil is trying to hijack our identity and change our identity and some people are inclined to listen to the devil there was a very interesting story here in California in 1974 Patty Hearst the granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst millionaire the famous printer she was kidnapped and the kidnapped by the Symbian Lebanese group it was this crazy militant rebellious group of some Escape prisoners and they were going to overturn the government they had insane beliefs and they put her in a closet and they beat her and they tortured her and raped her and then they started to brainwash her and tell her why they're doing what they're doing kept her blindfolded and gradually they took the blindfold off and they said you could be one of us you could be one of us who will kill you she said I'll be one of you and she began to get so indoctrinated with them that they took her on bank robberies One bank robbery right here in Sacramento Seventh-day Adventist treasure was at the bank carrying the money from Sabbath Monday morning and the bank robbers shot her this group Patty Hearst was not on that bank robbery that day but they were a rough group but you see their picture of her holding a machine gun she was free to run and she had joined this group she had gone from the wealthy educated prestigious daughter of a famous printer into a criminal through their programming and their abuse why would you follow someone that's going to abuse you that way young people are doing it all the time they're following their abuser they're being transformed by what they behold the one who's trying to destroy them you got to be careful about the voices that you listen to today there's a lot of identity theft that goes on anyone ever had their identity stolen you don't have to raise your hand I have and not a very dangerous way but every now and then I'll hear about somebody it's happened more than once and they'll say Pastor Doug I gave to your orphanage I said I don't have an orphanage somebody took my picture offline they created another Facebook account they started to communicate with people and say oh we're desperately in need of money for my orphanage in Africa and they sent money some cases thousands of dollars and I said I am so sorry someone stole my identity it wasn't me by the way for any listening amazing facts we'll never ask you to send money to Doug Batchelor or to some other country it'll only go to amazing facts that's already a signal something's fishy but identity theft's a big problem people will take your identity and they'll borrow money and they'll get a criminal record they'll run up a debt and it can take years to untangle it and the devil is trying to kidnap and redefine the identity of people all the time now I'm going to be very plain with you uh when I grew up I don't remember there being any chaos or confusion about a boy and a girl I don't think there's a lot of confusion for about 5 000 years of civilization the Old Testament and the New Testament Jesus says he made them male and female there were not 20 options it wasn't multiple choice every female has two X chromosomes see your gender identity is not something that's happening below the belt it is in every chromosome of your body you are and if you ever have any doubts I don't mean to be crude but you know after a bath or a shower just look in the mirror and settles it that's it and once you know that then embrace it embrace your femininity or your masculinity that doesn't mean you're not going to have strange feelings you know what we have all kinds of feelings the devil can make us feel all kinds of things you can feel different based on the medicine or how much sleep or how much pineapple you ate you can feel different I've got all kinds of things and so if you're going to base your faith on your feelings you are going to be confused the Bible says there is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof are the ways of death let me read the verse to you if you go to the book of First Corinthians chapter eight I'm sorry chapter 6 verse 9. here's what Paul says and I think this verse settles it do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God I don't know about you friends I want to go to the kingdom of God the unrighteous do not get it do not be deceived that means by our culture do not be deceived neither fornicators had sex outside of marriage or idolaters or adulterers that's people violating the marriage vows or homosexuals or sodomites there's no ambiguity there or thieves or Covetous or drunkards or revelers or extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God people need to be saved from sin problem is the government now some countries here in California and other states they're saying if you talk to a person about their having these what they call Gay Tendencies and say you need to go with what the Bible says they call that conversion therapy it is against the law I got a problem my Bible is all about conversion therapy it's you must be converted you need to be born again and so if the government's saying you can't do that well I'm sorry I got to go with God yes you can listen to what Paul says going on and such were some of you they say well it doesn't work I know people that were in that lifestyle and by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit they have been transformed they now have families and they're productive citizens and they're good Christians they said they had their minds renewed you won't hear about that that's being downplayed and scoffed at even in some universities even in some Christian universities such were some of you meaning past tense but you were washed you were Sanctified you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of God I had to look it up because I honestly get confused I'm dyslexic but when you start telling me lgbtq-i-a-s-2 plus you lost me and I looked it up and said this is an acronym for lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer and or questioning intersex asexual to Spirit and the countless affirmative ways in which people choose their self-identity that's the definition they're choosing these I you know you don't get to choose that part of your identity that's your gender God made that choice when you were born now there are people that have weird defects but I've told you in every chromosome it's either XX or X Y if you're a boy you are what you are can you say Amen embrace it do not let the society confuse you on that otherwise you end up like Patty ears are listening to your kidnappers and while they say this is liberating the young people you know what's happened to Young people's suicide rates in the time that they've been propagating that the rate of suicide between 2007 and 2018 has gone up 60 percent between children 10 to 24. they say oh well you know they're so unhappy because they're not able to express their identity in the time they meant pushing this telling them to have hormone therapy that's wrecking their lives and surgical procedures that mutilate them you know my Bible says Deuteronomy chapter 22 verse 5. a man shall not put on a woman's garment neither shall a woman put on a man's garment for all that do so are an Abomination to the Lord and now we've got these transvestite groups that are going to libraries and demonstrating for kids and public libraries at your expense drag shows the Bible says this is abomination we need to embrace and celebrate the differences this is going to be and get me arrested probably some aren't going to like it you know God's had a problem all through Biblical history with people understanding their identity the story of the Bible is a story of God saving a nation of slaves and trying to get them to stop thinking of themselves as slaves he said you are to be and you can read about this in Exodus 19 6 you shall be to me a kingdom of priests a holy nation and you heard in our memory verse we are a royal priesthood it says we will reign as kings and Priests with God you have a high Noble calling we are not animals that have evolved we are made in the image of God we're going to live and reign with Christ and be ambassadors for the almighty through the cosmos it doesn't get any better than that and the devil is trying to degrade Humanity that children of Israel had been saved from slavery God takes them from being beaten and they're in the mud pits and he brings them out into the Wilderness they're free he gives them bread from heaven and water from a rock and delivers them from their enemies and in the midst of all that they said we want to go back to Egypt they had onions there and you were what you'd rather serve the Pharaoh than the Lord you want to go back with your Tormentor they didn't know who they were you need to get your identity from God and the promises of God they've got characters in The Bible like Joseph God gave him a vision God said I have a big plan for your life others even your brothers will come and bow down to you I'm going to do something great and he knew it was a Divine Vision he couldn't even keep it to himself had to tell his family and his brothers which probably wasn't a good idea but then Even after spending years as a slave he never forgot who he was as a prisoner he kept living up to the noble calling and everywhere he went he excelled he says God's got a big plan for me I don't know how it's going to happen but I'm going to live for God I'm not going to sacrifice sacrifice my convictions Potiphar's wife went after Joseph he said how can I sin against God I said God's got a big plan for me I'm preserving myself and did God honor his promise Joseph knew what his identity was he knew about the promises God had given Abraham Isaac and his father Jacob and he believed it and that was the defining influence no matter what his brother said same thing with David but when they came to anoint the next king David's father didn't even invite David he thought about all his sons he said yeah let's bring all the boys ah David emails will stay with a sheep he's always writing poetry and throwing rocks God would never choose him but when Samuel finally poured that oil on David the Holy Spirit came on him he did not become king right away but he knew that God had a plan for his life and even though he spent years literally years running living in a cave he never forgot who he was you can't let everybody else Define you and it sometimes can be those close to you might be your friends trying to Define you let God Define you God has a calling on your life tell you a little story I don't think I've ever shared before my father married wife number four I went out for the wedding and I told Dad I said Dad I want to talk to you I said okay so I had to make an appointment go to the office talk to my dad so I went to the office we sat down together and I just had begun to talk to him and just said you know I want to get to know you better and he thought I was there to talk him out of marrying this 26 year old girl he's in his 70s I didn't know I knew that was a waste of time I wasn't going to do that I wasn't even talking about this our relationship and he interrupted me said you're a failure yeah I've heard a little bit but it didn't hurt as much as you might think because I know my dad he just that's how he is so you failed at everything you don't do anything right well he wanted me to work for him and so because I wasn't I was a failure and so you know I kept my cool and I said all right Lord I know what your plan is for me and I said I'm going to follow your plan for me and um I didn't let that Define me I left his office I was a little hurt but I didn't feel like a failure you know I've never passed her to church that didn't grow and my father had oh just under a billion dollars when he died but I thought about it and you know in the 28 years almost I've been with amazing facts looking at our budget the money we've raised for different projects and Mission things it's about 400 million dollars that we've raised I enjoy being a failure like that you know praise God I decided no God's called me to Ministry and my father thought what a waste religions are crutch for weak people and he's trying to Define me and I said no I know the Bible says if your father and mother forsake you the Lord will take you up at first David's father his brothers even Jesus own family didn't understand but he stayed true to God's calling God has a calling for you that's what must Define you and you may not see it right now you may not feel it right now but if God has called you and he's made you a promise you need to wait Joseph had to wait they even had to wait but God realized it I had to wait I spent years after becoming a Christian selling firewood doing mechanic work and carpentry but I knew God had called me I thought how am I going to get into Ministry didn't even have a high school diploma but then God worked things out got the diploma went back to college and he just kept opening doors he never would think would open and he will work miracles for you just believe you know it says in Romans 4 17 God called Abraham father of a multitude and his neighbors would say what's your name Abraham father of a multitude and they'd look at all of his his Entourage and say how many children do you have none yet but I'm optimistic how old are you 75 and your wife a little younger father of a multitude you know it says here Abram believed even God who quickens the dead and he calls those things which be not as though they were now you read all the letters Paul calls us Saints you look around and you go really look in the mirror and you go really but God calls those things that be not as though they were because they will be if you keep following the Lord he's calling you to be holy to be Saints God is not going to call you something you can't be I remember hearing a story one time Napoleon was reviewing his troops and he was a little guy they say it was like five feet one or something and he had a big horse and while he was walking riding down this long row of troops that were standing at attention he was inspecting the troops they do this in the military and and his horse got spooked got bit by a fly or something he was not holding the reins and the horse took off galloping and the little general Napoleon is hanging onto the saddle and he's he's getting ready to get thrown off this horse and one of the soldiers down the line jumped in front of this huge white horse grabbed it around the neck got drugged for a little while but finally got a hold of the reins brought the horse under control got up he ended the reins back to Napoleon Napoleon collected his wits and he said thank you Captain well this is a private he's a captain of what regiment Napoleon said my guard Soldier walks over to the Pavilion where all the officers are gathered he said I'd like to know where to get my new uniform and uh my orders and what are you talking about is I'm captain you're what I'm captain of the Guard you're crazy what makes you think so he pointed in a polling he said he said so they said yes sir the Declaration of Napoleon changed everything God is calling you his children he's saying you are a nation of priests you are a nation of Kings the word of God makes things happen amen the world around you is here because God said let there be and it happen he calls those things as not as though they are and it becomes real now I need to just pause and remind you that then again there are those who have the wrong impression they maybe think a little too highly of themselves and um it's like that Pharisee that prayed looking down on the public and said I thank you Lord I am not like other men extortioners or thieves or I pay tithes but I've got and I fast twice a week I'm glad I'm not like oh that Publican back there the Bible tells about Paul you can read in Acts chapter 9 verse 3 as he journeyed he came near Damascus and suddenly a light Shone around him from heaven and he fell to the ground maybe he fell from a horse and he heard a voice saying Saul Saul why are you persecuting me he's on his way to Damascus to arrest and kill Christians he thought here I am working for God against the devil are you sincere you're sincerely wrong he thought he was one thing he was the other and he said who are you Lord well he thought he was working for the Lord now he realizes I don't know him and he said I'm Jesus who you're persecuting instead of working for the Lord against the devil he found out I was working for the devil against the Lord talk about an identity crisis he spent three days fasting and praying and repenting his identity was transformed he became one of the greatest Apostles and wrote maybe a third of the New Testament when he had an encounter with Jesus he got a new identity can you say Amen to that so oh by the way what's the message to the church in the last days Revelation 3 17 you say I am rich and they become wealthy and have need of nothing and you do not know that you're poor and wretched miserable blind and naked just because you're in the church doesn't mean that you have Christ's identity as some people don't have a false idea and then the Judgment they're going to say Lord Lord he's going to say I don't know you because they think just being a member of a church is all you need to have Christ's identity that's important but that's not that's not the most important thing where do most of us get our identity first of all in your family that's probably why you've got the name you've got you get your identity from your family well you know and I'll spend most of my time on this now the Lord says that when you come to Jesus like the baptism of Christ he came out of the water and God said this is my beloved Son you come to Christ you surrender you're baptized and God says you are now my beloved Son my beloved daughter you are adopted into the family of God you now receive a new identity in a number of ways but let me let me read a verse for you Galatians 4 verses 4 through 7. I think you're going to see that on the screen but when the fullness of time had come God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption who might receive it we might receive the adoption as sons and because you are sons and this is including Sons and Daughters God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying out Abba Father it's the most intimate Papa daddy kind of language therefore you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son then an heir through God with Christ the words of son and family and father are so intense In this passage you are fully adopted you became a child of God when you turn to Jesus that gives you a whole new identity right there now what do you get when you are adopted we're going to spend most of our time now talking about this you get and I've got a list here up on the screen you get a new price a new prosperity a new purpose a new personality new power new protection new permanence chat BT what is it can't create a sermon like that a few weeks ago someone said Doug have you seen this new artificial intelligence it can do sermons said what's your sermon title next week I told him he typed in some stuff and and he sent me a sermon with my title I thought wow I was impressed but I told the mind is going to be much better than that so my mother was a songwriter so I like things that all rhyme you know a new price is seven points here I couldn't make it eight and say you get uh new privileges too a new price what happens when we're adopted we have new value Malachi 3 17 they shall be mine says the Lord of hosts on that day when I make my jewels and I'll spare them as a man spares his own son first Peter 2 4 coming to him as a living Stone rejected indeed of men but chosen by God and precious what happens when we're adopted by God we get new value we belong to him and we become the apple of his eye and the redeemed on Earth are the object upon which God bestows his Supreme regard we are the bride of Christ we get a new price Isaiah 43 Verse 4 since you were precious in my sight you have been honored I have loved you therefore I will give men for you and people for your life because I'm going to Value you more than anybody because we're his we also get new prosperity Ephesians 2 verse 7 that in the ages that come he might show the exceeding Riches of his grace his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus Mark 10 21 you will have treasure in heaven the gospel is worth more than a man who finds treasure in a field or a merchant who finds a pearl of great price we found the greatest riches God owns a cattle on a thousand hills amen my father is rich in houses and lands and so we get this new value this new prosperity and you know when I I became a Christian I didn't get the mansion in Florida when I was sort of disowned by my family but I don't misunder they didn't disown me in that way but kind of looked down upon me as uh the black sheep but you know what I've got Mansions all over the world I do everywhere I go people say Doug whenever you're here in our country you stay with us and boy I tell you I stayed with some folks they got really nice places and they say mi casa su casa the man I got Mansions all over the world it's good to be a child of God Amen heard about this man that um his aunt was trying to reach him she kept preaching to him he wouldn't listen and when she died she left him her Bible with a note and said I'm giving you my Bible and all the riches it contains you know all that sweet her Bible great he went by 30 years and he finally got so destitute he was living kind of in a group home and finally pulled the Bible out of a trunk and decided to flip through it might get some encouragement it was filled with bills of large currency five thousand dollars which back when this happened was a lot of money and it had been there all that time and he never opened the book he had there's riches here that God wants you to have a lot of people don't know about we also get new purpose God's got a new plan for you instead of being on the way to destruction we're now on the way to Delight you know you can read in Acts chapter 26 verse 17 what is our new purpose now I send you do you open their eyes in order to turn them from Darkness to light from the power of Satan to God that they might receive forgiveness of sins and an inherent an inheritance among those who are Sanctified by faith in me so when you become a Christian not only are you adopted and you get a royal inheritance we get to then share that with others and say they got room to adopt you too God will bring you into his family we've got the Great Commission we've got this new purpose we've got a mission in life to seek and to save the Lost go into all the world and preach the gospel amen and how much better is that identity it's like when Jesus goes to Peter and after filling his net Peter falls down to Jesus feet and said Lord depart for me I'm a sinful man he's so amazed at this net full of stinking fish and Jesus said don't fear follow me I will teach you how to catch men instead of catching fish you know fish don't have a lot of personality they're not that interesting you can catch humans follow me Jeremiah 29 13 God's got a great purpose for you I know the thoughts I think towards you says the Lord thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope you know what else you get when you're adopted in that new identity you get new personality yeah you become a different person the Bible calls it a new birth you are changed now a lot of families end up getting into a cycle of bad behavior because they inherit it from their parents some people that struggle with obesity they say well it's the genes and for years even doctors thought well I must there must be their metabolism and what they did is then they took babies sometimes or babies that were born from a family that struggled with obesity and heart disease and they were adopted by a family that had a different lifestyle and diet and they did just fine they had been reproducing the cycle of bad behavior among the children under the third and fourth generation parents that have problems with anger the kids often have problems with anger different kinds of abuse or drug addictions are often passed on because they are demonstrated and then modeled by the kids but when you become a Christian you do not have to reproduce those bad patterns you can break the cycle my dad was an alcoholic my mom used drugs I don't God I don't you don't have to be that you can be a new person you're born again you become a new creature Revelation 2 17 to him who overcomes I will give a white stone with a new name a new person written which no one knows it's Unique except the one who receives it God says I'll give you a new heart a new mind I'll put in you second Corinthians 5 17 therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation old things have passed away all things are become new those patterns and habits you can change yes you can both my parents and my grandparents smoked and I started out smoking but when I became a Christian Jesus gave me Victory I've never had a cigarette in my mouth since the day of my baptism he can break the chains and set you free you get new power you become a child of the king Jesus says all authority in heaven is given to me go ye therefore and we go forth with royal Authority from the King as children of the king first John 12 sorry not first on John chapter 1 verse 12. but as many as received him to them he gave King James says power to become the sons of God you get power to live a new life power to shake off those bad habits and sins it may not happen all at once but God will give you power to change it gives you power even those that believe on his name Philippians 4 13 I can do how many things all things he gives you power to do whatever he asks you to do God will never ask you to do something without then providing the power to do it inherent in any command of God is the power to do what he's asking you to do did that make sense it's it's built in to his command any command of God has built in power when you turn to Christ to do what he's asking you to do Joel 3 10 let the weak say I am strong you get new protection as a child of the king Psalm 34 7 the angel of the Lord encamps round about those who fear Him and delivers them I know God has protected me so many times Psalm 91 11 for he'll give his angels charge over you to keep that word keep there it means to protect you in all your ways in Colossians 1 12. giving thanks to God the Father who has qualified US to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints he's delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of his son of his love in whom we have Redemption notice as present tense we have Redemption through his blood for the Forgiveness of our sins that's good news God promises if he calls you and you follow him he'll protect you nothing will come to you except what God allows and you can find great peace in that I remember in the 70s there was a lot of organized crime in New York City and people were afraid to testify because whenever anyone testified against the mob they got killed or their family got killed and they couldn't get Witnesses so they created something called The Witness Protection Program and what the witness protection program did is they would tell somebody look if you'll come out of that life of gangs or that organized crime or the mafia and you're willing to testify so we can get these people out of power we will provide a new life for you we'll protect you we'll give you 24-hour protection while you're testifying and then when the trial is over we will give you a new name new documentations for you and your family will take you to a new town where you can start a new life with a new career and a new identity they even have one not only Federal it's state in California Witness Protection Program and they even give you money to live on and medical insurance of course Witness Protection Program well God's got a new identity program for you and he protects those who witness for him amen don't be afraid to be his witness and you get new permanence this is one of the most important things that changes about your identity is now you're not living from day to day or minute to minute like you realize you've got eternal life Christian gets eternal life before they die he gives us a gift of eternal life the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand now you can have the gift of eternal life now Christians don't die they go to sleep amen Romans chapter 6 verse 23 the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ Our Lord Titus 3 7 having been justified by his grace we become heirs according to the hope of eternal life you know when I first started gardening up in the hills I'd never grown anything in New York City in the cave I did grow some pot once I have to just be clear about that and that didn't even do very well but someone said well Doug if you want to see quick progress plant a turnip you'll be eating them in three weeks and so among the other things I planted to turn it was so exciting because they grew up I got quick results and I could eat a turnip by then I went up to the redwood trees and I thought wow someone planted that a long time ago so if you're planting a redwood tree you're thinking way ahead some people go through life thinking like a turnip short term they got a bucket list they said well before I die and it's all over I want to do this this and this because that's it before I kick the bucket I've got my bucket list now that's okay to have a bucket list for this life but friends don't forget this is not it this is not it the next one is it we've got to not think about this all everything I want to do in this life is being what's really important this life is preparation for the one that really matters that lasts forever God gives you permanence you know value also comes through durability when something lasts longer has more value the Bible says as the days of a tree so will be the days of my people those that follow the Lord will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water whose fruit comes forth in its season whose Leaf does not wither Jesus is offering us a new identity you know how he can do that because Jesus traded identities with us he took our bad identity and he gave us his good one in second Corinthians 5 21 for he God made him Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him he takes our wickedness and our sin and he gives us his righteousness he becomes the cursed sinner taking what we deserve and we become the Beloved son and daughter he trains identity with us he takes the suffering he took the suffering the punishment you and I deserve that ought to stir your hearts with love and gratitude not only how much better is it to be adopted and to have all these new things these new positive changes in your identity well how does this all happen we are changed by beholding we've been hearing that all week you become like what you look at that's why idolatry is so condemned in the Bible it demeans the Glorious God that we serve I know Scott just read this a minute ago but it Bears repeating second Corinthians 3 18 but we all with unveiled face be Holiness in a mere the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory as by the spirit of the Lord your soul is a photographic plate and you know with a photographic plate you'd move aside the plate it would be exposed to the image and then you cover it in it captures the image we are capturing the image of what we look at if you're looking at the things of the world the devil will Define your identity but if you're looking at Christ you will become like your lord it's that simple one of the most important things you can do practical things you can do that's going to affect you eternally is guard The Avenues of your soul young people be very careful what you look at you need to pray for the Holy Spirit I you know we're not asking you to throw away your phones and put your head in the sand you've got to learn how to live Godly in a wicked world and you think boy it's all around us the grace of God abounds where sin abounds he'll give you extra Grace but if you're looking at something and you see I don't think Jesus would look at this then change it if you're reading something if you're talking about something listening to some music he said I don't know that Jesus likes this I have to do that all day long all of us do that's what it means to be a Christian you're striving for purity of heart because blessed are the pure in heart they will see God you know there was a a wicked tax collector named Zacchaeus and he wanted to see Jesus there's a problem you know what the problem was I heard everyone say short that was not the problem the problem was the crowd was too tall there would have been no problem if there was no crowd amen crowd got in the way so he had to get above the crowd he went and climbed a tree so he could see Jesus how do we see Jesus we climb a tree we take up our cross and we follow him and the Bible says that he saw the Lord and the Lord said today I must eat at your house come to me come down to me and the crowd began to say Jesus don't you know what his identity is he is he is a public and he's the chief of the publicans he's like mafiosa you're going to go to his house and Jesus said salvation has come to this house because he is a child of Abraham when Zacchaeus came to Jesus he got a new identity by the way you know what the word Zacchaeus means pure he climbed the tree and he saw Jesus he became Pure in Art well friends we need to fix our eyes on Jesus Christ said if I am lifted up I will draw all the world to me that means we keep Christ up there Jesus said as Moses John chapter 3 verse 14 and 15 as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness they looked and they lived they were dying from the Venom of the serpent but they looked and they lived we've got to stop looking at the snake and start looking at the Savior amen don't let the culture define you let Christ Define you they looked and they lived I want to ask before we sing Our closing song we don't have room for the typical appeal where you might come down front but if there are some young people today and the Holy Spirit has been speaking to you this week together and you realize you've been distracted by the things of the world but you want to turn your eyes to Jesus you want to ask God for Grace you would like to say Lord I want to seek first your kingdom I want that new identity that Jesus is providing and you want us to have special prayer for you would you be willing to stand right now don't worry about the people that might be here if God's speaking to your heart and he said I need God's grace to be able to prioritize seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness very simply we're asking you if you've not made that decision to make it or if you've drifted from it to make it now you're wondering what a good day would be to give it all to Jesus now's a good time Christ whenever he called people he said now today if you hear his voice any other young people you might be feeling a struggle inside that's between your your savior and your Serpent and you decide you want to stand and say I want to surrender my life fully to Jesus now stand praise the Lord those who are standing we've got ushers that are going to come down they're going to give you a card we just want to know how to pray for you and be able to follow up they're going to bring those cards to you now and you can fill it out as we sing Our closing song and there's others that may be struggling those were the cards come quickly and uh they'll give you the cards you know the Bible tells us that all things are possible with God we can be born again we can be new creatures don't worry about how you're going to live the Christian Life tomorrow you come to him today you put your eyes on Jesus and you can be transformed how many of you want to say I want to be more like Christ amen I tell you what we're going to sing the first verse of this song everyone who's standing stays standing in those sitting stay sitting I'll tell you when everyone can stand because I want the ushers to find those that are standing and get the cards then we're going to sing first verse of this song be like Jesus foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] because Jesus [Music] thank you Jesus sing verse 2 now [Music] Jesus [Music] Glory let's pray Father in heaven we just want to thank you for your presence here today thank you that you're offering each of us a new identity Lord I pray that you be with those who have stood and decided to either return to you or come to you for the first time and I pray that you'll seal that decision by baptizing them with the Holy Spirit right now Lord help them know they can come to you and turn to you and through looking to Jesus they can be transformed give them that new power that new heart that new Joy and I pray you'll be with each person here and those that are watching that they might experience a new identity that comes by being a Christian in a wicked world bless us now through the remainder of this time together during our youth conference pour out your spirit on the various speakers and our fellowship together and I pray that you can just transform us Lord and fill our hearts with love for you and love for each other we ask in Christ's name amen if you could please be seated just a moment we have a few announcements we need to bring to your attention uh first of all uh you might be wondering well when's the offering going to be collected we didn't collect the offering during our service today but we do have some of the deacons and they standing in the foyer you'll see them there and if you'd like to help contribute to the offering of the church the funds will go towards our next uh program that we do like this our next Summit so we thank you for your faithfulness in supporting this work also the potluck is going to begin in just a few moments and I needed to give you some direction as it relates to that the line is going to be forming down the hallway over here to my left and you'll be going in that door that's on the far side of the fellowship hall that'll be your entry point and I'll kind of guide you around as to how you need to go if you're not staying for the fellowship lunch you can just exit directly out of the main doors in the front and make sure you're back at two o'clock that's when our program will continue very important presentation at two we're going to have another presentation at three and then the question and answer program will be at four o'clock so plan to be back here at two I'd like to have a word of prayer for our lunch for those of you who are staying and then we'll dismiss you dear Father in heaven we have deed been blessed by the study of your word and Lord we want to be able to grow spiritually ever more and more like you thank you Father for your word the living braid but also Lord we are grateful for the food that has been provided and we ask that you'd bless the many hands that have prepared it and we just thank you for providing for all of our needs in Jesus name amen [Music] thank you

Channel: Doug Batchelor

Views: 124,647

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Id: euRWgC8dWU8

Length: 56min 5sec (3365 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 10 2023