Your Place in the World

Introduction

Well, the singing and the preaching tonight brought to you by the Mock Brothers. Brothers in the Lord, anyway, even though he spells his name wrong.

It’s fun throwing Jacob under the bus. And I was just kidding, of course, at the end of services about him not being qualified to be a deacon just because he messed up my slides. But actually, it wasn’t his fault. The graphic I was using was so rich and heavy, almost nine megabytes, I’m told, that, well, it’s the equipment guys who didn’t provide sufficient equipment. If you really want to get down to it, if they would have provided the sufficient equipment, then they could have shown that graphic. So we learned something in this morning’s malfunction. I don’t know how I’m going to check this going forward. So if it happens again, you’ll just know it’s a graphic issue. Josh, welcome. Great to have you with us. And you’ve been attending here for some time and just taking it all in, and you were going to be ready when you committed to the Lord.

And we rejoice, and as heaven rejoices at your union with the God of heaven and with the Lord Jesus Christ. And may he lead you all the way as we’ve sung. And I had all those songs sung together because of what they’re saying about the Lord’s leadership in our lives. We need to have a better sense of that and appreciation of that. So I want to talk to not just Josh, but all of us tonight about who we really are as Christians.

What is your place in the world? Now I want to start with the recent tragedies. The mass shootings that have taken place in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas. There was a great article written by Matt Walsh, and some of you are familiar with the writing that he does. A great article written about this. He says it’s not guns or mental illness.

And he said to a larger degree, but we’ve always had guns and mental illness and extremism in our country and racism for that matter. Here was Matt Walsh’s answer, and I think it’s worthy of some consideration. The answer is that we have become ultimate detachment. He quotes a disturbing and fascinating article he says from Robert Evans that details the gamification of terror. You could just as well call it the internetification of error, of terror, that things are happening in the cyber world where cyber bullies group together and applaud this idea of having a hit list and wanting to kill people for a variety of reasons, and they receive support for this kind of nonsense.

That they already appear to be online. And then you add social media to all of that, and things are intensified even more. Matt Walsh makes this argument. However, you act on the internet is simply how you act. If you’re a dirt bag on Twitter, you’re simply a dirtbag. The idea that internet is a morality-free zone where grotesque behavior somehow doesn’t count, not only encourages people to be despicable, but nuns them to the impact their behavior has on others. Interesting that Matt would attribute what is becoming common in our culture, a horrifying commonality to people spending time on the internet. People spending time in social media, people addicted to their phones, to their computers, and losing a sense of appropriate values. And I tell you can’t go talking about this without talking really about the underlying cause of that is that people just simply have no idea of the transcendent.

That is the purpose of their existence. When you rule God out, when God is not a thought in your mind, we said this morning the lowest thing that could be said about a person is that they do not seek God. All of his thoughts are there is no God. They do not seek him with their countenance, or they do not seek his countenance in Psalm 10 and verse 4. Where God is ruled out of the equation, people have no concept of their purpose. And we can talk about the disintegration of the family, and that there’s too many young people raising themselves, and as they become adults, they have no vision or focus as to where they’re going. The removal of God from our culture, from our thinking.

And then ending up in these places contributes to some of the outlandish behavior we’ve seen. We need to be able to answer this question. Who am I? And why am I here? And why are others here? Can you answer that question? Who are you? Christians need to have a strong sense. A correct sense of self. Who are we? Not just what we portray. That’s the other thing. That’s the flip side of this issue of image. As people go out into cyberspace, as they go onto social media. Some of it is who the people are, and some of it who they want to project themselves as being. How they want to be seen by others. Some people who are spouting that kind of hate and the same kinds of things that people are acting upon and these terror situations.

That’s not necessarily who they are at the core. Sometimes it’s projecting an image that you want to look a certain way or appear a certain way. Sometimes we see that on social media. The thing, the person that we see in that arena is not the real person at all.

Make sure that the person you appear to be on social media is the person that you really are. Who is the real me? Who are you?

1. We Are Redeemed by the Blood of Jesus

Let me help you with how God sees you. As you’re a child of God. We’re going to look at a couple of passages mainly tonight. Those who are in Christ, like Josh when he obeyed the gospel. We are redeemed. I think this is an important concept. We are redeemed not with perishable things like silver and gold. Silver and gold is very valuable in our world. Silver and gold secures a lot of stuff. It’s worth something. But your redemption was not with a huge price. Let’s say it was 10 million dollars. The reclamation of your soul and your life, 10 million dollars. We go, whoa. That’s a lot of money. I must be worth something. You’re worth more than that. You were redeemed with something more precious.

The blood of Jesus. The blood of a lamb. A perfect lamb. Without spot and without blemish. That’s Peter’s argument in 1 Peter chapter 1. I have value to God. You have value to God. And what’s happening in our world is that people aren’t seeing that. First of all, God is completely ruled out of the equation to most people, and they have no concept of their purpose and why they’re here. And that God wants to employ them in a great cause and for great purposes. As a child of God, you’re employed in a great cause and for great purposes. You have been redeemed for that purpose. And then I love as he goes on to say in verse 21, through him. Through that precious blood of the Lamb, through Him, you are believers in God.

You know, Josh doesn’t get to look at this like, wow, look at this great thing that I’ve done in becoming a Christian. It’s only been made possible by our Lord. We simply embraced the marvelous provisions of his grace. He’s redeemed us, he paid the price. He has showed us through his spirit what we must do to embrace all the provisions of this. Through him, we’re believers in God, and our souls are purified in obedience to the truth. And we’re born again, not again by the greatness of ourselves and what we’ve done. We’re born again of incorruptible. See. The living and abiding word of God. We have been brought forth by the word of truth. James says in James chapter 1 and verse 18. Redeemed. And I’ve hinted at this already.

2. A New Name, an Entirely New Status

The concept of redeemed is the idea that we were a mess. In sin, we’re a mess. Our lives have been salvaged. I guess it’s sort of like going to a junkyard where everything is cast away and considered worthless, and you find this thing that nobody saw a value that is precious, that car part you so desperately needed, you thought that wouldn’t be available anywhere. It’s found. Now the car is operational again. We’ve been salvaged. My God. The other passage is Isaiah 62. I can’t get away from Isaiah 62 for very long. It’s sad that we want to go to Isaiah 62 and only cherry pick one verse. And that is, you’ll be called by a new name. And we run to the New Testament and say, that new name is Christian.

And we miss the wonderful things in Isaiah 62. It’s not just about wearing a label, it’s about an entirely new status. You will no longer be called desolate or forsaken so often throughout Israel’s history due to their own sin and transgression. Their circumstances were not ideal. They were oppressed. God allowed oppression to wake them up and to bring them to their senses. And so often throughout Israel’s history, it wasn’t as glorious as it could have been, like it was during the days, some of the days of David. In the early reign of Solomon, when Israel was at its zenith. So often, so often there were struggles, there were wars, there was oppression, there was famine. Because the people struggled to listen to God.

And of course, they had no way of knowing the spiritual ramifications of what Isaiah is talking about 700 years prior to the Messiah, when he says, You’ll not be desolate anymore. You’ve got a new name. Obulah. Oh, Beulele. As that old song sings, that we’ve sung. Well, we don’t sing anymore. But it means married. Married.

We’ve come in union with the Lord. We have the ultimate husband as the bride of Christ. We’re married. We’re no longer forsaken. But now has Zebah. My delight is in her. You have a new status. That’s the idea of a new name. You’ve been elevated. We sit in heavenly places in Christ. That is the new name of Isaiah 62. We sit in heavenly places in Christ. And Jerusalem shall be a praise of all the earth. I love that. Isaiah 62 and verse 7 has absolutely nothing to do with the physical city of Jerusalem. Do I need to say that again? It has absolutely nothing to do with the physical city of Jerusalem. It is the new Jerusalem. It is spiritual Israel that’s under consideration. These exalted, redeemed, and saved ones, these salvaged people.

By the precious blood of a Savior. Notice this, look at Isaiah 62 and verse 12. And they will be called the holy people. You see, that’s the thing. We’ve been set apart for God’s purposes. It’s not just about being made cleansed. Oh, we’re holy now. No. You are now able to reach your zenith as a human being. Or as the Hebrew writer would say, You’ve come to Mount Zion. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 12. You’re the very pinnacle of human existence. He says, You’ll be a holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, and you will be called. Here’s your new name, sought out. God sought us out. The scheme of redemption. He did the work. Sought out. A city. Not for savage. And because we have been salvaged and redeemed.

3. Vessels for Honor: We Are His Instruments

As we’ve been talking about on Wednesday nights from 2 Timothy chapter 2. Vessels for honor. We are his instruments. Would you go back to Proverbs 20? I was so disappointed last Sunday night’s lesson. I don’t know what happened to me. Proverbs 20, verse 11. It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself if his conduct is pure and right. I got done at a preacher and I said, man, I believe that. I want to talk to you, young people about your platform. Brett sent me a podcast that was done, an interview of one of Cincinnati Reds’ pitchers. His name is Michael Lorenzen. And Michael Lorenzen was telling the story on the podcast about what he used to do with his friends, and he’d been smoking marijuana under a bridge somewhere.

And some guy, some guy mentioned Jesus to him that night. And how Jesus paid the price for his sins. He said, I didn’t think about it much at the time, but he said, that developed a conscience with me. And I started thinking about my life. And then I started feeling guilt when I did things that were wrong. And he then told his brother, he goes, you know, I realize what my purpose is. As things went along, he said, I realized my purpose is to use baseball as a platform to tell people about the Lord. And to be helpful to young people. He works with the Fellowship of Christian athletes in Cincinnati to try to guide young people on a better path. And all I want to say about that is that Michael Lorenzen blew the game today against the Cubs.

Really disappointed me and Brad. But he has bigger things in mind than even baseball. And I want to tell a young people. When I was talking to you last Sunday night about your influence as a young person, you need to see your life where you are in your school, whether it is high school or college. You need to see it as a platform to advance to other people. What is the real purpose of living? What is your purpose here? Sure, we need an education. We have our futures out ahead of us and goals that we want to accomplish, but without the Lord, we’re missing the very essence of living. We are his instruments to be used by him. That’s why I had Jacob lead those songs about guide me, oh thou great Jehovah.

Where he leads, I’m going to follow because I am his instrument. I’m going to place myself in his hand to be used by him. And I don’t know what all the ramifications are going to be. I don’t know how many lives I’m going to touch. I don’t know how many people I’m going to influence for the Lord, but I know when I’m his instrument and I let him work in me, that good things are going to happen. Great things are going to happen. Incredible things are going to happen. And thus we sing, make me a servant, just like your son. Wow, what do we learn about Jesus and his servanthood? Well, he was such a great servant that his servanthood purchase redemption for every person in the world who wants to embrace it.

4. He Has Promised to Equip Us for the Work

That’s how extraordinary it was. Who knows what our servanthood and his likeness can accomplish? And here’s the great thing about it, too. When we are his instrument, he has promised to equip us for the work. It’s not like, go out there and get them, tiger. Make me proud. Good luck. You’re on your own. That’s not what our Lord does. He equips us for this. As he talks about being vessels for honor in 2 Timothy chapter 2 in the very next chapter, he talks about the scripture and the role it plays. And it’s profitable, as we’ll see Wednesday night. Or training, or instruction in righteousness. Not only do we have the word equipping us, we have occasions like this that are designed to equip us and help us and to keep us focused and centered on what our purpose is.

5. Who He Has Called, He Has Also Glorified

We have life circumstances, and who knows what God is doing, arranging circumstances to further equip us for what he wants accomplished. Remember, he’s the sovereign God, as we saw this morning, who will accomplish all his will. Do we have much of a sense of this in regard to the circumstances of our lives? That, regardless of what’s unfolding, positive or negative, that God is at work. And there’s one other aspect of this. Not only is God doing, he’s done all these wonderful things, he’s using me in this way, preparing me to do the work he wants accomplished, but who he has called, he has also glorified. He has eternal intentions for us that are extraordinary. Our glorification. As marvelously and wonderfully as we are made, even though sometimes we look at ourselves in the mirror and maybe don’t like some things that we see.

Waiting on us. If we’ll just stay the course in terms of who we are as God’s people, this is where we’re going. This is who you are as a child of God. And I’ll tell you need to keep that with you no matter what happens to you. No matter how much you hurt, no matter what life deals at you, because remember you have an adversary. You have someone in the spirit realm who wants to abuse you. He wants to dissuade you. He wants to discourage you. He’s going to throw flaming missiles and fiery darts at you, and that’s why you need what the shield of faith. Trust in the Lord.

Where he leads me.

I can offer you I can work. I can give my wicked.

Pray together. Almighty God, we need you to lead us. Help us to go with you all the way. Teach us to wait when things don’t go our way, when trials beset and troubles haunt us. Help us not to be discouraged.

Help us not to lose heart. Help us to trust you in everything. Lord, help us to see who we really are as your children. Strengthen us for faithfulness. We pray for those who have lost their lives at the hands of evil men. We pray for their families. We just pray that these kinds of acts of terror will diminish, that people will turn to you. That lessons will be learned from those who have lost their lives. Keep us safe. We pray for our protection. We pray for our employment in the greatest things that are.

Strengthen us to be lights in our world. We pray for mercy for the failures of the sins of our past. When we lost sight of what was important, when we decided to choose our own way and our own pleasure. Sometimes we lose sight and fall short.

Strengthen us as your children. Help us to live lives of faith each day. Bless this congregation of your people. Be with those who lead us. Be with every member who participates in this work. May it all be to your glory in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Conclusion

How real is your faith? Who are you at the core? Are you trusting in God to accomplish his purposes in you? Are you walking daily with the Lord? This last week, can you say that you were walking daily with the Lord? Have you spent time in communion with him each day? At the core, are you a faithful person? Is that who we’re going to be going forward? Realizing what our God wants to accomplish in us and through us. Did we mean it when we say where he leads?

Whatever course we think we have mapped out for ourselves. We need to realize that there are things beyond us that we cannot control. That God’s purpose was for us may not be what we see for ourselves presently. But are we going to go wherever he leads us? Where he leads me, I will follow. Will you give him your heart? Will you let him in? Let’s sing the two invitation songs. If you need to respond, come now after the second song.