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Dr RJ Sing
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Living in a Bubble of Blessing: Your Identity in Christ

Dr RJ Sing, 11 August 2019, 30 min, Part 2 of Secrets to Experiencing the Good Life

This is the whole service. The video opens where he begins, at 52:34.

Originally preached as “The Good Life, Part 2: Identity”

Sermon outline

Knowing who Jesus is and identifying with Him personally, as your only link to God, opens the gates to God's best, because through Him God thinks love towards you, never abandons you and is always for you, not against you.

Main text

  • Ephesians 1:7-11

Opening

The recording joins him as he urges the church to invite people to the meeting, saying it is the sheep, not the shepherd, that give birth to lambs. He tells of a young colleague of another faith to whom he gave a Bible a year after he was saved; on the way home the man crashed his car and died the next morning in intensive care, and he still wonders whether he received the Lord, so he urges the church to seize every opportunity to share the gospel boldly but not rudely. He recaps last week's principle of self-value and introduces the second principle, identity, reading Ephesians 1:7-11 in the Amplified Bible: in Him we were made God's heritage.

  1. Jesus is your link with God

    Identity is the most powerful key because it opens the gates to God's riches, health, success and blessing. Know who Jesus is: not one of the prophets but the only Son of God, who died, rose again and now intercedes for us at the right hand of God. God wanted companionship with Adam and Eve and tested their confidence in His word; the devil still tries to separate you from confidence in God, so renew your mind and keep reminding yourself that God is able to meet and even exceed your need.

    “Jesus Christ is your link to God.”

    • Romans 8:34
    • Genesis 2:9
    • Romans 12:2

  2. It's a two-way friendship

    God wants you to have total happiness and a good life, and He wants you to trust Him, not people, institutions or your pay cheque. Whatever level the enemy has set for you, you will far exceed it, because God does exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or imagine and sometimes shocks us with more than we asked.

    Illustration: You ask Him for 10 and He gives you 20; you ask for 20 and He gives you 100; you ask for 100 and He gives you 1,000.

    “God is in the overflow business.”

    • Ephesians 3:20

  3. When God looks at you through Jesus, He thinks love

    God has never abandoned His dream for you; His love never quits and even compensates for your mistakes. Jesus knew Peter would deny Him, yet told him to strengthen his brethren once he had recovered, so you too will have a strong comeback. God does not merely show love; God is love, and whatever is thrown at you in this world, He is always backing you up.

    “Christians live in a bubble. A bubble of blessing and a bubble of favour.”

    • Luke 22:32
    • 1 John 4:8
    • Proverbs 10:22
    • John 3:16
    • Hebrews 4:15

  4. You and God can come home

    Your life and your worship are not separate; God dwells in you and you have the right to choose to trust Him. The gospel is good news: Jesus suffered for your sins, bore your pain and insecurity, and the record of your sins was credited to His account while His righteousness was credited to yours. Condemnation is a disease that makes you hide from God and His house, as Adam hid; God's question 'Where art thou?' was really asking why he had moved from his place of favour and blessing.

    “The gospel is not bad news. The gospel is good news.”

    • 2 Corinthians 5:21
    • Genesis 3:9

  5. Good things happen

    There is plenty of bad news in the world, but God has good things planned for you and your family. Remember that you are reborn, recreated and restored; that you have new spiritual life; that you have total peace, which cannot be bought; that you are restored to fellowship with the Father and the Son; and that this inner peace affects even your body, as goodness, mercy and favour follow you.

    “Peace can only be found in the acceptance of Jesus Christ.”

    • 2 Corinthians 5:17
    • John 10:10
    • John 14:27
    • 1 John 1:3
    • Psalm 23:6

  6. The way of life's best

    First believe that you are valuable and God's creation: you are His workmanship, made a little lower than God and given dominion, with all things put under your feet, not over you to dominate you. Even as a Christian you overcome only by faith, believing that Christ is for you while everything coming at you is contrary.

    “He's put it all under your feet so that you may have dominion.”

    • Ephesians 2:10
    • Psalm 8:5-6
    • 1 John 5:4

  7. Saying thanks for happiness

    God has given you His best, so stay grateful and never pat yourself on the shoulder as if you arrived by yourself; it was God assisting, guiding and cheering you on. Like Paul, say 'I am what I am by the grace of God': grace picked you up, has kept you alive when many young people die early, and will keep increasing in your life.

    “It is the grace that picked you and I up.”

    • 1 Corinthians 15:10

Putting it into practice

  • Invite people to church and share the gospel while you still have the opportunity.
  • Trust God rather than people, institutions or your pay cheque.
  • Refuse condemnation; don't hide from God or His house.
  • Stay grateful and give God the credit for where you are.

Closing

He declares that God's grace will take them up and over every obstacle and has them tell a neighbour, 'I know God's going to help me.' He ends by saying that condemnation separates you from God's love, but righteousness is not right living; it is a nature imparted at the new birth, so when Satan brings thoughts that demean you, answer that you are the righteousness of God and that greater is He who lives in you than he who is in the world.

Declarations he led

  • I am what I am but by the grace of God.
  • I know God's going to help me.

In his words

  • “It's not the shepherd that gives birth to lambs. It is the sheep that gives birth to lambs.”
  • “Once you put value to yourself, no one can demean you.”
  • “God is in the overflow business.”
  • “Condemnation is a disease that separates you from the love of God.”
  • “Righteousness is not right living. Righteousness is a nature imparted to you when you were born again.”

Every scripture in this message

  • Ephesians 1:7-11
  • Revelation 12:10
  • John 10:10
  • Romans 8:34
  • Genesis 2:9
  • Romans 12:2
  • Ephesians 3:20
  • Luke 22:32
  • 1 John 4:8
  • Proverbs 10:22
  • John 3:16
  • Hebrews 4:15
  • 2 Corinthians 5:21
  • Genesis 3:9
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17
  • John 14:27
  • 1 John 1:3
  • Psalm 23:6
  • Ephesians 2:10
  • Psalm 8:5-6
  • 1 John 5:4
  • 1 Corinthians 15:10
  • 1 John 4:4
TopicsWho You Are in ChristThe Love of GodGrace and Righteousness
Tagsidentitycondemnationevangelismgratitudeoverflowrighteousnesspeace
Bible booksGenesisPsalmProverbsLukeJohnRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansEphesiansHebrews1 JohnRevelation

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