Adam - Setting up the series.
Today… who are you?
Our identity is shaped by a complex interplay of various factor:
Biological and Genetic Factors
Social and Cultural Influences
Life Experiences
Social Roles and Identity Markers (Roles and Labels & Social Expectations)
Cognitive and Psychological Development (Self-Reflection & Personality Development)
External Recognition and Feedback (Social Feedback & Media)
Spiritual and Philosophical Beliefs
Continuous Evolution (Life Transitions & Growth and Adaptation)
Malcolm Gladwell in the Book Outliers - story of Christopher Langan, a man who worked as a bar bouncer and other odd jobs but eventually ended up on the game show 1 versus 100 illuminating 80 mob members and walking away with $250,000 with which he bought a horse farm in rural Missouri despite having an IQ of 195 (Gladwell claims that Einstein’s was 150) Outliers argues that these opportunities gave Robert Oppenheimer the chance to develop the practical intelligence necessary for success. Gladwell then provides an anecdote: When Oppenheimer was a student at the University of Cambridge he attempted to poison one of his tutors. He avoided punishment, and continued his studies by using the skills gained from his cultivated upbringing in his negotiation with the university’s administrators, who had wanted to expel him.
As Adam mentioned last week when we look at the Jewish community they have a disproportionately high number of Nobel Prize winners and high achievers…
.2 percent of the population
1 in 4 Nobel prize winners
So if we ask, what was the identity of the children of Israel at the time of the exodus…
Before…
Even knowing God’s Name
The 10 Commandments and all the writings we know is the Old Testament
Dietary laws
Possessing the land of Israel
Abraham blessing
Genesis 12:1-3 The LORD had said to Abram,
‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
‘I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.’
According to scripture, Abraham’s name was changed from Abram to signify a new covenant and destiny with God, where he would become the “father of many nations,” as his new name “Abraham” directly translates to. Essentially marking a significant shift in his identity and the role he would play in God’s plan for the world.
Their heritage… Children of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
Adam - Slaves for 400 years. Slave mentality. God led them into the wilderness where they discovered things about themselves.
John - WHO DOES GOD SAY I AM?
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not–to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.
The programming that is often ingrained in Christians is that you’re never enough, God is disappointed with you, you must strive for perfect moral purity, and you are always standing on the precipice of hell. But this is a completely distorted picture of God and of our situation.
Created in God’s image - Genesis 1:27
Fearfully and wonderfully made - Psalm 139:14
Loved unconditionally - Romans 8:38-39
A new creation - 2 Corinthians 5:17
Free from condemnation - Romans 8:1
A light in the world - Matthew 5:14
Book - The Cure (Performance or Grace)
The concept of Redemption and Lift (Donald McGavran is widely regarded as the most influential missiologist of the 20th century.)
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Philippians 4:12-13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.