1. So who are you? Do you know for sure? Looking at 1 Cor 1-19

2. Who are you…in relation to God? Consider car ads…. In relation to what you have In relation to what you have Or beer commercials… In relation to pub camaraderie In relation to pub camaraderie Or life insurance ads… In relation to your family In relation to your family Or deodorants ads… In relation to your body In relation to your body

3. Paul defines himself in relation to God v1 He knows why he is here —to be an apostle of Christ And he knows how he got here —by the will of God. He knows where he comes from —from a guiding God He knows where he is going —to speak the truth for the King of kings and call men to submit. And he knows who he is… And he knows who he is…

4. The Freedom of Being Defined in Relation to God Let the Bible define you – not the world. Know where you've come from in relation to God Know where you've come from in relation to God Know where you are heading in relation to God Know where you are heading in relation to God Know where you stand now in relation to God Know where you stand now in relation to God This will make you a free agent and not the lackey of advertising, fashions and trend…

5. Two vital questions The roots of our God-centred self- understanding will go much deeper if we can answer these two questions: What happened in the past to make you a Christian? What happened in the past to make you a Christian? What will happen in the future to keep you a Christian? What will happen in the future to keep you a Christian?

6. What happened in the past to make you a Christian? v2 You were sanctified in Christ Jesus. You broke with the old lifestyle and were set apart for God. You broke with the old lifestyle and were set apart for God. You were called to be saints. You called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. God called me out of darkness and put me into fellowship with his Son: a decisive break with the old; it is a real experiential setting apart for God. God called me out of darkness and put me into fellowship with his Son: a decisive break with the old; it is a real experiential setting apart for God.

7. The Goal of Fellowship with Jesus V 9: The goal of relationship : "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." What IS relationship with Jesus? Do you enjoy fellowship with the living Christ? Here’s some ideas: forgiveness, strength, hope, joy and guidance…while he draws from you faith and love and prayer and obedience. That’s what being called means.

8. So what IS the “call”? Not Merely the Preaching of the Gospel A Call That Effects a Change in the Heart What Happened When God Called Us ? What Difference Does This Make? Think about how God works in his election and “effectual calling”! Why? V29, "So that no human being might boast in the presence of God." Or, positively in v31: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord!" Think about how God works in his election and “effectual calling”! Why? V29, "So that no human being might boast in the presence of God." Or, positively in v31: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord!"

9. Colossians 1:23 says that we will be presented blameless before Christ, "if we continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel." Does perseverance mean “Try harder”? “Those who endure to the end will be saved" (Mark 13:13). But what of assurance? And without assurance what becomes of joy, and without joy what becomes of love and zeal? This is practical! God is committed to keep us believing! If v8 is a promise then v9 Is the basis of the promise: if God has called you, then his faithfulness obliges him to keep you—to keep you persevering in faith.

10. An invitation If the call of God is just an invitation to come and enjoy the fellowship of his Son, then God's faithfulness doesn't oblige him to keep us there if we try to leave. No, the reason his faithfulness is at stake in our perseverance—the reason he is committed to keeping us in the faith—is because his call is the outworking of his choice that we should be brought to glory. "Those whom he predestined he called, and those whom he called he justified, and those whom he justified he glorified" (Romans 8:29–30). What is at stake in our perseverance is God's purpose of election (Romans 9:11). That's why his faithfulness is at stake. If God has chosen us for himself (Ephesians 1:4), if he has destined us for glory (1 Corinthians 2:7), then his faithfulness commits him to keep us in the faith. For outside the faith there is no fellowship with God and no glory.

11. Know Who You Are! Know Who You Are! Understand yourself in relation to God. When you look back, know yourself as called by God. When you look forward, know yourself kept by God. What happened to make you a Christian is the call of God. What will happen to keep you a Christian is the faithfulness of God. Know who you are!! Called by God! Kept by God! The freedom of God in the calling of sinners is intended to give hope, not take hope. It means that none is too bad. None is too hard. None is too far gone. God is free. God is rich unto all who call upon him. Look how expansive verse 2 is: he writes "to all those in every place who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). If you can call, you are called.