Why Identify with Jesus

Appreciate Justin so much for leading our songs this morning and we have another Lord’s Day before us and it’s good to see everyone here today and we’re thankful for the good week that we’ve had and for the anticipation of a good week coming up ahead. I’m looking forward to it and I hope you are as well.

Well, this morning we’re going to start in Acts chapter 4 and verses 10 through 12 and think about identifying with Jesus. You know, this is something that each one of us needs to really consider as we go throughout our daily life.

There’s so many struggles that we face. There’s so many trials. There’s so many challenges that come our way. And then we get distracted by a lot of little things here and there, you know, our business dealings, our, you know, auto insurance, just so many things, you know, come up and we have to go take care of all the business.

But, you know, throughout everything that we do, we need to be thinking about identifying with Jesus in our life and thinking about every day our recognition of our relationship with Him. And letting Him come and live within our life by letting His Word dwell within us. And in Acts chapter 4, verses 10 through 12, the Apostle Peter here is telling us exactly why we need to identify with Jesus.

And he has identified with Jesus, and he’s calling others to identify with Jesus, and this is what he says in verse 10. Let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him, this man stands here before you whole.

This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. We have in the background to this statement conflict between the culture and the apostles, and they were teaching that Jesus was the true Savior. He was the one who was sent to deliver Israel.

Now, the leaders of that day and time and the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they all thought they were the saviors and that they were going to deliver Israel. And many other people had different ways of thinking about how Israel was going to be delivered.

And today, we face the same challenges. You know, who is going to deliver me? Who is going to save me? And the question, we come back and answer that question, is it going to be me or is it going to be Jesus?

And we’ve got to identify with Jesus if we want that deliverance, if we want that salvation within our life. There’s always going to be conflict between the world and Jesus on this point, because the world wants you to do what the world wants for you to be saved.

And the definition of salvation from the world’s perspective is very different from the definition of salvation from God’s perspective. This isn’t just a spiritual question. It’s a question of life. You know, sometimes we kind of romanticize salvation. We kind of think of it in terms of pie in the sky, by and by, you know, and we don’t consider it as a real everyday thing that we experience and that we enjoy.

And that’s something that we need to change within our thinking, if that’s how we’re thinking about it. Because when Jesus said in John chapter 10, verse 10, The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. When He said that, He wasn’t talking about eternity or heaven. He was talking about life right here, right now. The blessed life, the good life, the life that we can live for God in this world. John chapter 20 and verses 30 and 31 also echoes this very thought.

And truly, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in His name.

So many are struggling in this world, trying to have a life of some kind, and they let that thief come in and steal and kill and destroy their life. But Jesus says that doesn’t have to happen. That doesn’t have to happen because I can identify with Him and I can have true life in Him.

The culture always wants to be your Savior instead of Jesus. It wants to be your life. And so the culture will try to say, well, if you want to have life, go to this party. If you want to have life, go to this event. If you want to have life, do all of these things and you’ll get life. That’s not how we get life. We get life from God. We get life from Jesus Christ.

If we enjoy anything in this world, if we have any pleasure from the creation and from all that’s within it, it comes because of God. It comes because of, when we identify with Christ, our attitude in relationship to those things.

Have you ever wondered why one person can look at one thing and be tickled to death by it, and another person can look at the same thing and be grieved over it? What’s the difference? The attitude. That’s the difference. And we need to have our attitudes in Christ Jesus.

Let’s identify with Jesus Christ. Let’s give you three reasons this morning why we need to identify with Jesus Christ. First of all, because Jesus is the Savior. And what is it exactly that He is saving us from? Well, first of all, He saves us from sin and guilt. Ephesians 1 and verse 7 says, “…in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

This is a great blessing to have forgiveness of sins. Do we take this for granted? People in the world don’t necessarily have this, And they have guilt, and then angst, and then depression, and then despair. And ultimately, many of them give up, and they don’t have forgiveness, and they don’t know forgiveness.

This is a great blessing for the child of God. We need forgiveness. We need that ability to be able to say to God, I’m sorry. Please forgive me so that we can let it go and that we can move on with our life. Lack of forgiveness, guilt, shame, all of those things, they destroy, they take away that joy that God has placed within the world for us to experience. And so we need forgiveness.

And Jesus is the one who saves us and gives us forgiveness. And so we need to identify with Jesus so that we can be forgiven. Jesus saves us from dead works. Hebrews chapter 9, verse 14, How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

There are so many dead works in this world that people do and you can see people doing dead works all the time. And what do they get out of it? Absolutely nothing. They go to work 9 to 5 every day and come home miserable every night because they’re just involved in dead works. But Jesus delivers us from that. How so, you ask? He gives us purpose. He gives us meaning so that when I do what’s right and good within my life, Regardless of what it might be, it counts for something. God is saying, the good that you do will count in eternity if it’s done in the name of Jesus Christ and if we identify with Christ to do those things.

In Isaiah 64 and verse 6, Isaiah talks about how that all of the good that we might do if it’s outside of God, if it’s outside of Christ, if it’s not within God’s plan, if it’s not within His scheme of redemption, means nothing.

What does he say? But we are all like an unclean thing, and all of our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away. That’s a life without God. A life that has no meaning, no purpose, no direction, and ends up in a very desperate place. But with Jesus Christ, we are saved from dead works. Think about 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Listen to this. Knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. When we work, when we labor, we’re doing that in the Lord.

We’re doing it to glorify God in Christ. Guess what? It counts for something. Not because I make it count. Because God makes it count. That’s why it counts. Your labor is not in vain in the Lord. And this is a great thing to think about in relationship to the salvation that Jesus Christ offers.

Think about Hebrews 6 and verse 10. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you have shown toward His name. God doesn’t forget the good that you do when you do it. He remembers that. He sees that. And He counts it for righteousness on our behalf. And so our works are not meaningless in Christ.

But then Jesus also saves us from fear. Fear is a great enemy of the Gospel. And a lot of times our fears define us instead of our letting Jesus Christ define us. But when we identify with Christ, He saves us from our fears. The fear of death is a big one. Hebrews chapter 2 and verses 14 and 15 teaches us that Jesus shared in flesh and blood that through death He might destroy Him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and do what? And release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

How do we become subject to bondage? Well, one of the ways we do that is through fear of death. We let death control us. We let death define us. We let death dictate to our life how we’re supposed to live. And we shouldn’t be doing that. Instead, let’s identify with Christ and He will save us from the fear of death.

2 Timothy 1, verse 7 says, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. That’s how we want to live our lives. Not in fear, but powerfully, lovingly, and in a healthy way. That’s what it means to be saved from fear.

1 John 4, verse 8 says, There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment, but he who fears has not been made perfect in love. When we have fear within our life, we can know one thing, that we’re not loving as we should. Either we’re not loving God as we should, or we’re not loving others as we should.

Because when we love as God wants us to love, we will not have that fear within our lives. Think about what Jesus did in John 11 when He raised Lazarus from the dead there and Mary and Martha were there weeping with Him and then that question that was asked, Lord, if you had been here, then He wouldn’t have died. And what did Jesus say to her? He said, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

And we have that great hope of the resurrection. Death means nothing to the Christian who identifies with Jesus Christ because he knows that Christ will one day raise Him from the dead. And so Jesus is our Savior. But then secondly, Jesus is our standard. We should identify with Jesus Christ because Jesus is the standard. We think about who Jesus was. He was the ideal person.

We go back to Genesis 1, verse 27, where God made Adam and Eve, and what does it say about that? God created man in His own image. In the image of God, He created him. Male and female, He created them, right? Mankind was created in the image of God. But then what happened? Man sinned and fell, and as a result, he lost that initial image of God that he was made in.

And now man is tainted. Sin enters the world. And as a result, death through sin. And things can’t be what God intended them to be anymore because of the taint of sin on the world. But then Jesus came and He lived that perfect life, that sinless life. He lived the life that God intended Adam to live. And He set the standard for us.

And so Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 45, the first man, Adam, became a living being. The last Adam, and that’s Christ, became a life-giving spirit. So he’s the new standard for humanity. That is, that first Adam, he’s not the standard anymore. Now the standard is Jesus Christ.

And that standard is something that we need to identify with so that we can live in a way that is right and good. Now think about Jesus being the standard of righteousness. In 1 John 3, verse 5, it says, And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

And so He sets the standard for what it means to live a righteous life. And we need to follow Him in that standard by identifying with Him. Peter says that He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 22. And so this sinless life that Jesus lives sets the standard for how we need to live our life as well.

And if we want to be righteous, then we need to be in Christ Jesus. We need to identify with Him because righteousness is in Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21 says, For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

And God wants us to be righteous. We were studying this morning in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 13, one of the statements that the Apostle Paul makes there. He said, I pray to God that you do no sin. That’s God’s desire. He doesn’t want anyone to sin. And Jesus did not sin in His life, and He sets the standard for us so that we might do no sin.

Now, we do sin, and unfortunately, we fall short. But we have forgiveness in Christ, like we talked about earlier. But God doesn’t want us to sin. He wants us to live a life without sin. That’s the standard. Jesus is the standard. And when I identify with Jesus Christ, I set that standard up in my life so that I will not sin.

1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 18. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but being made alive by the Spirit. And that’s the goal. So that we can be brought to God. Because God is holy. God is pure. God is righteous. God is sinless. There’s no fault in Him. And if we want to be brought to God, there can’t be any fault in us either.

And so we need to identify with Jesus Christ so that we can be sinless from the perspective of having our sins covered by the blood of Jesus Christ and therefore be brought to God one day. Jesus is the sinless standard of righteousness and He sets the example for us so that we can have the path to true life.

I want us to think about that because when we think about life, a lot of times I think people simply, you know, talk about life in a real quaint way and kind of a trite way, right? And they say, well, God wants me to be happy and I can do this and I can do that. But the question we need to ask about that is this, well, whose plan does God want me to follow? My own plan or His plan?

And what’s the path to not just happiness, but to joy in Christ? And there’s a difference between happiness and joy. I believe happiness results from, you know, being able to just enjoy little trinkets and things like that. And you’re happy for a moment, but then that goes away. But joy is a lasting thing. It’s an attitude that persists, you know. It’s something that I bring to the situation.

It’s not something the situation brings to me. It’s not external, but it is internal. And that’s what we need. We need joy. We need Christian joy. And Jesus gives us that joy when we follow His sinless standard. Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If we want that relationship with God, if we want eternity in heaven, if we want life, abundant life, here and now, Jesus has to be our way, our truth, and our life. And we must follow Him at every moment.

John 5, verse 39, Jesus said, “‘You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which testify of Me.'” He said, “‘I’m the one who gives eternal life. I’m the one who has ultimate joy. I’m the one who can help you have the abundant life.'” But we’ve got to be willing to do what? To come to Jesus. They were not. He said, “‘You are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.'” Life is there. It’s available.

Well, it’s present for us, but we’ve got to seize it through Jesus Christ and through identifying with Him. Why should we identify with Jesus Christ? Because He’s the Savior. Why should we identify with Jesus Christ? Because He’s the standard. Why should we identify with Jesus Christ? Because He’s the sovereign. He is the sovereign. He is the ruler of the nations.

Think about Revelation 1 and verse 5. From Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over all the Kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. The ruler over the Kings of the earth. He’s the sovereign.

Have you ever wanted something bad enough to go talk to an elected official to get it? I don’t know that I’ve ever been in that situation. Well, I maybe have one time, but anyway, I went and talked to an elected official one time.

But you know some people, they spend a tremendous amount of money to talk to elected officials. They’re getting that access because they think if they have access to that elected official, then guess what? They’ll get something that they want. Who knows what it is they want. So many things people want.

But I want us to think about who the real sovereign is over all the world. It’s not our elected officials. It’s not the president. It’s not the prime ministers of the world. It’s not the Kings or the monarchs or whoever it is who’s in charge. It’s Jesus Christ.

He is the one to whom all others will bow. He is the king over all the earth. Revelation 19, verse 15 says, “…now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations, and He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

If you want access, go to prayer in Jesus Christ. Identify with Him, and go to prayer, and He will give you access, because He is the sovereign, the ruler of all the nations. But He is also the head of the church, and that is something we need to think about as well, because a lot of times, we think the church belongs to us.

This is my church, and I’m going to do with it what I want. You know, some people say, a lot of people say that, or at least they act like it. Now, I’m not advocating that. That’s a sinful idea. That’s a sinful thought because the church belongs to Jesus Christ. It’s His church. It’s not my church. It’s not your church. It’s not the elders’ church. It’s not the deacons’ church. It’s the church that belongs to Jesus Christ, and it’s His church.

What is our relationship to that? We’re stewards. We’re stewards. We serve Him because it belongs to Him. But think about Colossians 1, 16 through 18. By Him, all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible.

Whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him and He is before all things and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. He is the head of the church. So many in the religious world today have the wrong idea about who the head of the church is. You go ask the Catholics, who the head of the church is? Oh, it’s the Pope. You ask members of religious denominations, who’s the head of the church? Oh, it’s the pastor.

No, that’s not right. Jesus is the head of the church, period. There’s no other head. No other can approach Him. He is the head and He is the only head. Ephesians 1, 21 through 22 makes it clear that He’s far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named. Not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.

And He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be head over all things to the church. Jesus is the head of the church, period. Don’t write in anybody else in that office. It’s only Jesus Christ. And it’s His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. And so He is the sovereign. I should identify with Jesus. He rules the nations. He is the head of the church.

And He is Lord and King. 1 Timothy 6 and verses 14 through 15 says that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless, until our Lord Jesus Christ appearing, which He will manifest in His own time. He who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of lords. The blessed and only potentate.

Revelation 17, verse 14 says, “…These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of Kings, and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” Jesus is the King, and there is no other. Revelation 19, verse 16 says, “…And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of lords.”

We should identify with Jesus because He is sovereign. You know, so many people want to know how to live a good life, and the answer is right before us in the Scriptures. Identify with Jesus Christ. Now, we’ve been talking about why we want to identify with Jesus Christ. Because He is the Savior. Because He is the standard. Because He is the sovereign. That’s why we need to identify with Jesus Christ.

But real quickly here at the end, let’s talk about how do we identify with Jesus Christ. We identify with Jesus Christ by hearing His Word and believing it, repenting of our sin, confessing Him as Christ, and being baptized for the forgiveness of sins.

Because when we go down into that watery grave of baptism, we are buried with Christ. We identify with His death and His burial and His resurrection. And then we are raised to walk in a new life. And when we do that, He adds us to His body, which is the church over which He is head. And then we become Christians, little Christ, identifying with Jesus Christ, being in His body as those who then have identified with Him.

Maybe there’s someone here this morning who needs to identify with Jesus Christ. We’ve given you the reasons why you should do it. He’s the Savior. He’s the Standard. He’s the Sovereign. You should identify with Jesus Christ. There’s great reasons to do that.

Now, just take it upon yourself to do it by being baptized in His holy name and coming into the likeness of His death, burial, and resurrection and being added to His body, which is the church. Do you need to do that this morning? We’d be happy to help you. Maybe you need prayer and we can help you with that as well because Christians need prayer.

And sometimes we have difficulties in this life that we need help overcoming. Remember who the Sovereign is. Jesus Christ. We can pray to Him and to the Father, and when we do that, we have wonderful comfort and hope. Forgiveness, we have great blessing in prayer.

Maybe you need prayer this morning. If you have a spiritual need that we can help you with, we invite you to come forward now, make it known, while together we stand and while we sing.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!