Who am I?

Who am I?- Sunday 24 June.

Introduction Police figures released in early March put the total cost of fraud at a minimum of £13.8bn. 45% of the fraud investigated by the police is believed to have been instigated using identity theft. (Metropolitan Police, March 2007). Which Magazine believes that as many as 10% of UK citizens have suffered from Identity theft. Our identity is very important to us. We work very hard during our lives to find out who we are and feel very bad when others try to take it from us.

If someone says to you- Do you know my friend Brian Foster and they say “ Is he the guy who’s a pilot” That would be a very poor piece of identification Brian is a pilot but that is not all that he is. He is a committed Christian, a loving husband and father and a wise and faithful friend. He is an elder in the Church, a highly qualified engineer, a trustee, a competent cook and so the list goes on. We could try White male, early 60’s He is about 6 foot 2” weighs about 13 stone, Medium build wears glasses, Our identity is also something we can prove and show evidence for I received a card through the door the other day saying I had post to collect. I had to produce two bits of evidence to prove who I was. 2. Who is Jesus? Jesus clearly knew who He was ^{Jn 8:58} “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” In the last few months I have been taking us through Mark’s Gospel to find out a little bit more about Jesus. The last session looked at Chapters 2-7 and concentrated on the amazing power & authority ministry of Jesus. Power to Heal Authority of natural and spiritual world- remember that awesome list of miracles Since then The word of God has taken us on a journey as a church which leads us very neatly to a Question A question that Jesus asked: Please turn to Mark Chapter 8: 27 ^{Mk 8:27} Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” Now before we look at their answer turn back a few pages in your bible to Chapter 6 verse 14 ^{Mk 6:14} King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” ^{Mk 6:15} Others said, “He is Elijah.” And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.” ^{Mk 6:16} But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!” It was not only Jesus who was keen to see what people thought about who Jesus was. The King of Judea wanted to know too. Let’s compare the answers he got to those the disciples gave. ^{Mk 8:28} They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” We will come to Peter’s response in a minute. Let’s look at the nature of the opinions of others. Three responses are given John the Baptist Elijah One of the Prophets. In both cases we are seeing an identification of Jesus that is the same. It is the same partial identification of Jesus that we see today. Jesus the prophet- The man with the words of God. A man held in awe by both believers and non-believers alike. Atheists, The followers of Islam, Hindu’s, Mormons You name it they all honour the words of Jesus Christ. Hailing him as a prophet. Someone who is trying to help us be better people. But this is not a complete identification. It is like a police identikit picture with half the bits missing. In fact the bits that truly identify Him are missing. Jesus has demonstrated some frustration with this just a few verses before ^{Mk 8:18} Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 3. Who do you say that I am? Jesus is clearly keen to press on and get a view from closer to home. He is the one who has spent all these months teaching these friends of His. They have seen him do the most amazing things Say the most amazing things. Being with Him So He asks them ^{Mk 8:29} “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” He wants to know. Some commentators talk about this question as dividing Mark’s Gospel in half Up until this point there has been the powerful gradual revelation of who Jesus is to the disciples. Following this question the journey is different –it is towards the cross and the fulfillment of who He was. The answer seems obvious to us from this side of the question, but the pause while a response came was one of those great moments in the history of the cosmos. Then it comes Peter answered, “You are the Christ.’” ^{Mk 8:30} Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Matthew records slightly more Ch 16:16 You are the Christ the Son of the Living God. You are the Christ What does that mean- Christ is a Greek word that means ‘Anointed one’ Anointed- Anointed Where have we heard that word before? What does anointed mean? Someone who has had oil poured on Him More specifically the image is of someone who has had God’s Holy Spirit poured upon Him. And to really drive the point home- for a Jew to us the term anointed one they would have used the word Messiah. The one who has been prophesied who will Save Israel. This anointing This full to the brim so that you overflow, so that it runs down like a champagne fountain This anointing that has been prophesied in Isaiah 61. This anointing to save the Lost. This is who Jesus is it is His identity, The anointed one. 4. The revelation of who He is There is something I want to draw from Matthew’s account now ^{Mt 16:17} Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ^{Mt 16:18} And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. This is so important- Peter could not get this answer by working it out himself. He would have come up with a similar answer to the ones already heard; e.g. You are the wisest man I have ever met. The Revealed Words came to Him- You are the Christ. So much so that this is the changing moment in Peter’s life too- He gets a name change from Simon to Peter. To remind Him of the importance of that moment- He carried it round with Him all His life. It was the Rock on which he built the rest of his life- Jesus is the anointed one It was the rock on which the Church was built – not the man Peter, no the revelation That Jesus is the anointed one. We also cannot know who Jesus is by trying to work it out in our heads- It is revealed to us by God- One minute we think He is the wisest most wonderful man who ever lived and the next – He is the Christ the Son of the Living God. 5. Anointed Deeds and Anointed Words. Looking back to the previous chapters of Mark we have seen Jesus moving powerfully in this anointing. He was using abilities and authority that are not found in any other person before or since. But it is not just what He did that was anointed. It was also what He said. In the chapters that follow we see an increased number of occasions when Jesus speaks in a particular way. He uses the phrase; Truly I tell you (The word Amen!) He was bring God’s word to people; listening to what the Spirit was saying to Him and stepping out in faith to bring a revelation to the person in front of Him. ^{Mk 8:12} He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” ^{Mk 9:1} And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” ^{Mk 9:13} But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.” ^{Mk 9:41} I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. ^{Mk 10:15} I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ^{Mk 10:29} “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel ^{Mk 11:23} “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. ^{Mk 11:24} Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ^{Mk 12:43} Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ^{Mk 13:30} I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ^{Mk 14:9} I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” ^{Mk 14:18} While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” ^{Mk 14:25} “I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.” ^{Mk 14:30} “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” Jesus when He spoke in this way was speaking prophetically.- Out of the anointing that He has. 6. Christians- The Anointed ones. Now I tell you the Truth In the moment we become Chistians- followers of the anointed one, we too become anointed. When I spoke last year about prophetic DNA I said When we were born again we became different beings. This was not a change of cosmetic nature but at the deepest level possible at the DNA and beyond. In the West we are very material a chair is a chair it is a thing. We are anatomy the sum of our genetics.- cells and chromosomes and blood and tissue and to many that is all they want to accept or think about. But if we are honest and face the reality that cries to us, then we know we are more than what we see and touch and feel. More than our emotions more even than our sense of identity. There is something that is eternal in us a spirit. That Spirit is connected to God at a level beyond our understanding. It is an eternal connection. The word of God is not unclear about this.

Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’”
^{Jn 3:6} Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

For your own study look also at 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 Get a reminder of our changed nature in 1:Peter 2:9-10 We are an anointed people. This is our true potential- some analogies Muscle wastage when we do not exercise Qualification that is ours but that we do not use (My First aid certificate) License to drive Stroke victims The blind or deaf We are the lights, we are the cities on hills we are the mountain raised up We are made of different stuff to that which we were made of before. ^{Gal 2:20} I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me. (Author: Tim Blake)

See feedback for this article

Articles in this group

Alan Scotland
Alan brings a powerful encouragement to us from the life of Moses In the desert- Moses spoke his heart to the people. Where they have come from. Where they were at. What they must give themselves to and a prophecy about their future. (Author: Alan Scotland)

Standing Firm in Your Faith
Christine encourages us to stand firm on the rock of our faith. (Author: Christine Foster)

Shining a torch on 2011
The problem we have with looking back, even on the most recent past, is that it can seem like shining a torch into a now darkened room. We see just parts of the whole, that which our minds rest on. The glow of the light also changes the reality sometimes. (Author: Tim Blake)

Shining a light on 2012
This week I want to change my light and shine a spotlight forwards into the rest of 2012. (Author: Tim Blake)

The King is coming!
Tim Blake prepares the Church for the King's coming! (Author: Tim Blake)

Awareness Sunday
Keith brings the message of tolerance and peace right to our font door as we remember the tragedy of 9/11 and learn the lessons from it. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

Our Identity in Christ
Adrian Clarke brings a challenging and thought provoking word to us on the nature and implications of our identity in Christ. (Author: Adrian Clarke)

Something to Ponder while you Eat your easter egg...
Do we take the Easter story for granted? Dave encourages us to spend time considering our response to Jesus' single-mindedness entering Jerusalem. (Author: Dave Donoghue)

A sneak Peak through the open door
Keith's purpose was to encourage and mobilise us to move forward on the next phase of our journey together. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

Go make disciples- but no pressure!
SamDonoghue brings refreshing new insight to a familiar passage. Don't be fooled by what you have heard before, Matthew 28 demonstrates Jesus' heart to communicate Love and Grace even within what is so often called the 'Great Commission' (Author: Sam Donoghue)

The Big Picture
Peter brings to us a vision of the heavenly, eternal, universal Church that is God's chosen way of administering his kingdom in this world. (Author: Peter Douglas)

Watch and Pray
No-one can have observed the events of early 2011, without a sense of feeling- What does this mean? As nations seemed to rise and fall, Brian Foster brought a word to us that called us to watch and to pray. (Author: Brian Foster)

Don't wear Saul's Armour
William's uncompromising and challenging message will leave you keen to know more about this Jesus who saves and heals (Author: William Lee)

Discipleship
A look at discipleship, what it means, who it's for and how it can be applied to our lives together. (Author: Brian Foster)

A Community that grows
Peter amazed us by taking us back and bringing new insight to the passage God had shown us in Genesis 26 concerning unblocking the wells in our lives. (Author: Peter Kaunda)

A Community Resourced to Grow
Brian encourages us to dig deep in seeing the provision for all God has for us (Author: Brian Foster)

A Community that Loves
Christine Foster looks and the foundational role that Love plays in the Comuunity of God's people (Author: Christine Foster)

An Empowered community
In this the second of five sessions on the future priorities of the Church, Tim calls on God to reveal to us what it means to be a community empowered by his Holy Spirit. To be the aroma of Christ and a living letter communicationg the Gospel to all. (Author: Tim Blake)

The Journey
Keith Brockbank continues our look again at the direction God has given to the Church. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

Corporate Worship
Sue encourages us to reach for a deeper life of corporate worship. (Author: Sue Blake)

Hope 3
Keith continues on his mission OPERATION HOPE Drawing us to regain, and ground ourselves in, the truth of the Hope we have. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

Fruitfulness- Can God Furnish a Table in the wilderness?
Dave brings a message of fruitfulness to the Church Challenging us to have faith in our God who is able (Author: Dave Latham)

Hope
These notes draw together the material Keith will have shared over three sessions including at our Church weekend at Oak Hall (Author: Keith Brockbank)

The Treasure within
Tim Calls us to look at the treasure God has placed in each one of us (Author: Tim Blake)

Is Anyone Thirsty?
The harvest of souls needs water and the water comes from within us. Jesus stood up at the Feast of the Harvest and promised the Holy Spirit would flow from our very being (Author: Tim Blake)

The Gospel: Faith
This is more teaching from Ben in the Gospel teaching series, this time about the importance of Faith. (Author: Ben Benest)

The Gospel 4: A Power to believe in
June Silber reminds us of the influence we have and Don takes us to Pauls letter to the Romans to focus our examination of the Gospel on the power of God for Salvation. (Author: Don and June Silber)

Getting Closer to God
Brian challenges both our conscience as Christians and the prevailing secular fundamentalism. with a rallying call to return to the clarity of God's Word (Author: Brian Foster)

What are we aiming for?
What is it that is foundational to our launch pad to love- Faith, a good conscience and a sincere heart. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

God is Mindful of us.
What this Psalm shows us is that God Almighty chooses YES chooses to connect His glory to the success or otherwise of the redemption of mankind. (Author: Tim Blake)

Offer your body as a Living Sacrifice
Helen Watts speaks to us clearly about the need to turn our spiritual understanding into practical sacrificial love. (Author: Helen Watts)

New Wine Skins
Sue challenges us to look at our attitudes and responsiveness to the Holy Spirit (Author: Sue Blake)

Getting it Right with God
David shows us that we can still learn a lot from the sermon on the mount. (Author: David Donoghue)

The Good Soil
Sue developed the theme of this Parable concentrating on the Good soil rather than the inadequate soil (Author: Sue Blake)

Colossians 3
Sam Donoghue speaks to us about the reality of the challenges we face in our walk with God. He shows how the apostle Paul was no less challenged and wrote the Christians in Colossae with clear guidance. (Author: Sam Donoghue)

The Grace of God
Dave Evans from Kings Community Church Basildon, provokes us to remember that the all powerful grace of God is poured on us, to encourage us into a godly life. (Author: Dave Evans)

Fruit of the Spirit: Self Control Pts 1 and 2
Sue Blake takes a radical approach focusing on our need to understand our old self is truly dead in order to know true self control. (Author: Sue Blake)

Telling the tales of God
Testimony has a Kingdom purpose. It impacts our own faith and that of others. It strengthens the weary and the strong as well as challenging the lies of our age. (Author: Tim Blake)

The Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness
Ben looks at the amazing quality of Gentleness as demonstrated by Jesus and hopefully in us as we see the 'harvest' of the Spirit in us (Author: Ben Benest)

The Fruit of the spirit: Kindness
Against the backdrop of early Church controversy David paints an up to date and relavent picture of a life walking in the Spirit. (Author: David Donoghue)

The Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness
Sue Blake continues our series on the fruit of the Holy Spirit looking at goodness, defining goodness as moral actions that spring from a life filled with God's Holy spirit. (Author: Sue Blake)

The Fruit of the Spirit: Patience
Keith Brockbank shares the amazing connection between all the fruit of the Spirit. His clear and helpful message encourages us to allow the Holy Spirit to continue that work of Grace within us that will lead us to be the people God calls us to be. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

The Purpose of temptation
Steve Watts challenges us to look at how God can bring maturity and strength as we stand up to the temptation in our lives and that we can see areas of potential growth in those areas that Satan attcks us with most. (Author: Steve Watts)

Five Smooth Stones
Brian brings us timely wisdom from life of David (Author: Brian Foster)

The Fruit of the Spirit- Peace
Peace for Our Time. In 1938 Chamberlain promised Peace and failed to achieve this. Jesus promises us Peace but not as the world gives. (Author: Tim Blake)

The Fruit of The Spirit- Joy
Pete and Pat share from the word and from their life on the sustaining Joy of God (Author: Pete and Pat Garratt)

A New Season
An encouragement for the Church as the eldership is enlarged. (Author: Alan Scotland)

The Fruit of the Spirit- Love
Christine Foster begins our series on the fruit of the spirit from Galations 5, looking at Love. Christine looks at the life of Jesus as our model for love (Author: Christine Foster)

Daniel Man of God
Sue Blake reminds us of the character of the prophet Daniel a man of prayer and the word. A man prepared to stand for what he believed. (Author: Sue Blake)

For the Joy Set Before Him...
We are so tempted to believe the lie of rejection and isolation. When we look at the death of Jesus, we see someone who faced it all for us. (Author: Tim Blake)

Relational Influence
The Word of God is a mirror into which we can look and see the image that God has of us and of the world. Hudson Luwi, of Fountain of Life Church in Lusaka. Visited Living Word Community Church and spoke to us about how God reveals Himself to us (Author: Hudson Luwi)

The Pencil
Barbara talks about how a vision of our Church as a pencil can lead us to a new focus in God (Author: Barbara Brockbank)

Receiving an empowering vision
This is the second part of Keith Brockbanks encouragement for us to live with an empowering vision. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

Empowering Vision
Keith Brockbank shares the amazing power and authority that God enables us to move in when we pursue His vision for the Kingdom. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

Clash of kingdoms
The Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is the backdrop for a clash of kingdoms- The kingdom of god and the ambition of men (Author: Tim Blake)

A Spade is a Spade
We continue our look at Mark's Gospel by looking at a bad week for the disciples (Author: Tim Blake)

A ministry of power and authority
The next part of the series on Mark's gospel moves to examine the power ministry of Jesus Christ. (Author: Tim Blake)

Personal Effectivenessa way to personal revival
Listen as God calls us to make a Divine exchange, to leave the sin, sickness, sorrow at his feet and to walk in His forgiveness, health, and joy. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

People God Uses- Jonah
What kind of person will God use for His purposes. Ben explores this question looking at the life of Jonah. (Author: Ben Benest)

Out Of The Wilderness (Part 2)
This examination of the testing of Jesus provokes us to look at the testing in our own lives with new perspective. (Author: Sue Blake)

Out of the wilderness part 1
The first of five studies in Mark's Gospel. The message we carry is the same as John the Baptist- A voice crying in the wilderness. (Author: Tim Blake)

God's Word Living and Active
The Bible brings clear help to us in a world without clarity. (Author: Tim Blake)

Getting our Bearings
Finding our way in an increasingly hostile secular nation needs us to go back to the word to get our bearings (Author: Tim Blake)

Making a Breakthrough
David Donoghue brings a provocative short word followed by Brian Foster with a word on breakthrough. (Author: Brian Foster)

The Romans Series
The teaching to date on Paul's Letter to the Romans (Ch's 1-5) (Author: Tim Blake)

Peace with God
The wonderful promises that result from being justified by Jesus. (Author: Tim Blake)

Romans Chapter 1:20 - No Excuses
Life without Jesus can be like a doughnut- a God shaped hole we stuff with every possible rottenness to supress the truth of God. (Author: Tim Blake)

That's What Friends are For.
The one driving motivation of God is to establish friendship with His people. The one driving ambition of the enemy is to isolate us from God and each other. (Author: Tim Blake)

“Be strong and courageous…the Lord Himself goes before you'
Strength and courage Weakness and fear run like parallel tracks through my life. Yet my God says Be strong and courageous. (Author: Christina Wood)

The Fellowship of the holy Spirit
I so want to see the constant working of the Holy Spirit in my life. (Author: Tim Blake)

a Heart to Give
Look again at how you give and see if you have a heart to excel in the grace of giving. (2 Cor 8) (Author: Tim Blake)

Spritual Warfare
The topic of spritual warfare can be a mine field. So I avoid the mines by staying in the safe zone of the word of God (Author: Tim Blake)

What do you See?
A look at how we bring the vision to bear on our lives (Author: Tim Blake)

FRUITFULNESS
A look at God's plan to bless us abundantly (Author: Brian Foster)

Make Way 4 - "Make Way"
The final look at the story of Joseph looking at the work of the Holy Spirit and our need to allow Him to have complete authority. (Author: Tim Blake)

Make Way 3- Two Robes
God changes us as he changed Joseph- from a people who demand undeserved status, to a people who live out the image of Christ wearing His royal robes (Author: Tim Blake)

Make way Part 2
God is impressing His character into us as a seal into soft clay and in turn we see His kingdom grow as we press God's Character into the world around us (Author: Tim Blake)

Make Way - Joseph Restored
The first in a series on the restoration of Jopeph, that teaches us to be confident that God speaks and is building His Kingdom using us as we co-operate with Him. (Author: Tim Blake)

Vision and Values
An examination of the Vision and values of LWCC (Author: Tim Blake)

Faith Series January 2004
Tim took us through a study in Hebrews on the principles of faith. (Author: Tim Blake)