Identity Messages Leadership 1

Identity Messages Why do we believe certain things about ourselves? What kind of baggage do we bring along with us? Even after salvation, we can still bring wrong identity messages Salvation is the first step. Sanctification is ongoing

Sanctification Sanctification begins with salvation and brings us to a fullness of life Salvation can bring us eternal life, sanctification enables us to live a full life on earth Sanctification includes spiritual gifts, operating in the power of the Holy Spirit, and living free from bondage Sanctification is ongoing

Idolatry stops sanctification Exodus 32 The Israelites knew God and had encountered God powerfully and miraculously God speaks to Moses about how priests are meant to act Aaron the high priest then creates an idol using the gold that they give him

Idolatry Happens in People who know God The Israelites knew God, knew His goodness, His power, His salvation But they still held onto their idols They became idolaters over time, not overnight They experienced the silence of God and started to doubt God In the silence, they turned to their idols

People have needs Matt 6:25 They turned to idols to meet their needs instead of God In their perspective, God’s silence and Moses’ long time away was God abandoning them and not meeting their needs They turned to an idol instead of trusting in God We turn to idols when we have needs that God apparently cannot meet

What are our idols? We may not have statues or images, but we do turn to things other than God when we are desperate or when we have a need In tough times, what do we do to cope and to feel safe? Aaron turned to the idol because he lacked leadership

Put God first no matter what John 20:29 Jesus understands that believing without seeing is difficult, but we are blessed when we do it We grow up with other sources for what we need – parents, friends, family, food, money, etc These are not bad things, but they cannot be what we depend on for our lives Don’t go back to them when life is hard

Jonah’s Idol Jonah 4 Jonah’s idol was emotional Jonah got angry and wanted to die Psalm 42:5 – challenge your emotional idol

Types of idols Obvious idols are images or man made objects, people can bow to them for blessings, success, etc Less obvious idols are things like emotions, entertainment, hobbies, work, things we enjoy doing, etc. Not always wrong in and of themselves, but can become idols if we depend on them too much Potential idols are things that are good but can become overbearing in our lives. E.g. health, ministry, church, family, etc