In Rob Rufus's latest sermon; "Attitudes That Attract The Empowering Grace Of God - Part 4", Rob made the powerful point;
"Let me sum up what being saved is, what redemption is in one word - identification".
Our identity! It's a very popular word these days. But Rob hit on something that I think is a key problem with the Church today. We have forgotten who we are. He commented on John John 16:14-15 which I have added to the "Glory and Grace Blank Bible" and said;
"In other words, He will take what I have and He will manifest it to you. The next verse He says, "All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said, 'He will take what is mine and declare it to you" - in other words, you are about to become brothers, joint equal heirs seated in the heavenly realms in Me and with Me. What is your identity Christian? You are identified with everything Jesus is, where Jesus is seated, what Jesus can do, Who Jesus is - His righteousness, the glory that shines in His face - you are a co-equal heir!
This is the truth of the New Testament denied to millions of Christians around the world who think that God will reject them. He will never reject you - why? He will never reject those identified with Jesus and He will never reject you because all He sees is the light that shines in the face of Jesus. He doesn't see your sin so come boldly into the throne room! Come boldly and be concious of where you are seated right now! Be concious of that heavenly realm - that is your identity!".
Rob then went on to mention the popular film trilogy; "The Bourne Identity", "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum" starring Matt Damon. Here's a clip for those who aren't familiar with the films;
Rob had an incredible insight into the films;
"How many of you saw the "Bourne Identity"? It was a movie - I forget the actor's name but he was a good-looking young man. Looked a little bit like me! The whole theme of the 3-part series of the movies is that he was a highly skilled warrior. He was highly trained in all kinds of weaponary and highly trained in physical combat. He was one of the best of the best of the best of the elite.
But he had lost his memory and because he had lost his memory, he did not know his identity. Because he didn't know his identity, he acted indecisively and he acted afraid and had no confidence.
But in the movie gradually his memory started to come back and as his memory returned, his sense of identity comes back. And the more his memory came back, the more his identity is restored and the more he begins to handle weapons and physical contact and begins to devastate his enemies and becomes very confident and effective.
When I saw those movies, instantly I felt the Spirit of God say; "That is like much of my church. Through a 1000 years of the Dark Ages of religion from about 300 A.D to almost the present time, much of My Church has lost it's memory as to who it is and who it's identity is. But as we stand in the Presence and soak in the Presence of the Holy Spirit - as we come and He breathes on us, slowly in our conciousness our memory starts coming back as to who we are. We are the righteousness of God. We are the brothers of Jesus.
We are identified with His death, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension and co-seated with Him. A co-equal heir. A brother of Jesus and when your conciousness and your memory returns as to who you really are, all the skills and all the anointings and all the enablings of Jesus come upon your life".
One of the things that most impresses me about Paul's letters to the Corinthians is that his loving correction is so different to much of the correction (or should I say condemnation) that I have witnessed first hand in the local church. Their methods were focused on PERFORMANCE and they made judgements based on failures. Paul's methods were focussed around the question; "Don't you know who you are?" and he made judgements based on POSITION. Identity! Let's remember who we are!
2 comments:
It was Paul's focus on their position that was intended to prevent them from being shamed by the devil, as they absorbed Paul's rebukes and correction. Paul's focus on their shared identity in Christ - and appealing them to change their behavior based on their identity - is woven throughout his two letters.
How much more liberating and hope-ful, than if he had focused on their "indwelling sin!"
Yes Rob. Yes Dan. Yes Don. We're coming into land here.
Identity precedes function.Roger Davin (prophet,friend of Maurice Smith)1977.
Grace is good. But if it means a life of continually messing up and returning in the grace of Jesus back into His Presence...then I'll join the Catholic Church and go back to the Confessional Box.
But if Jesus Christ makes me a coheir of His own Divine Life, including His Own Divine Enabling over sin and Temptation...and more than that involves me now in the same sort of intercessory endeavours that He (Christ)was familiar with , that Paul was familiar with, to raise up congregations of like-minded sons.....then count me in...I'll work with you Rob...I'll work with you Dan, I'll work with you Don. But grace alone....hmmm...takes me back to some very dark days that I don't want to revisit. The grace wasn't dark. What was dark was a life lived not knowing who I was....so I fell repeatedly into the same cycles. First Maurice picked up the answer by 1981, I didn't get it until 7 horrible years later.
But I'm not going back.
I don't care if housechurches reject me. I don't even care that much if those reading me on these blogs don't always have a clue what I'm on about. I didn't really understand Mother Basilea Schlink in 1974 either. But when I read what you write, and what Rob is sharing my spirit is screaming " Get ready Chris....the Body is about to get this identity thing...and it's going global...and truly she(The Bride) is going to stand up and take Her Place in the Earth. Not a fleshly 80s triumphalism, but the Divine Life of Christ fulfilling what Ern was preaching in the 70s.
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