Who Am I? I. Introduction A. Who am I? B. The great existential question 1. Our attempt to sort out our existence 2. To do so, we must get a sense of who we are C. So how do we go about considering this question? D. Who, really, are we? II. Seeking Answers A. If you were to be asked, "who are you?", how would you respond? B. Your name? 1. A natural response 2. But really, what is in a name? 3. Other people may have your exact name, but they are not you 4. Names really do not mean a whole lot-- they do not really identify you C. Relationships? 1. Sometimes, in order to clarify who we are, we identify ourselves by our relationships 2. We are the children of our parents, parents of our children, spouse of our spouse, etc. 3. While family is quite important in life, and may explain many facets about you, it still does not identify you as a person 4. Some people are nothing like their family, intentionally or otherwise! D. Other Identity Markers 1. People may identify themselves by race, ethnicity, or culture 2. Others identify themselves in terms of their language, place of origin, or current location 3. Many also identify themselves by their profession or by some aspect of their belief system 4. While such things may demonstrate some similarities or commonalities with others, and perhaps illuminate more about a person, they still do not really identify who a person really is 5. Lots of other people may come from the same culture, or geographic location, or share in a given profession, and yet be rather different people! E. While identity markers may provide some idea of who a person may be, they still do not provide any hard and fast answers F. Who are we? III. The Big Picture A. Many times, the search for the answer to the question of existence is a question about the "big picture" B. Who are we as human beings? 1. Are we just the highest development in an evolutionary chain? 2. Is our existence, ultimately, meaningless? 3. Are we just cursed with questions that have no discernible answer? C. While many may believe this, the Scriptures present a different story for man and the "big picture" D. Man as Created by God in His Image 1. Genesis 1:26-27 2. Here God indicates that He is the Creator of mankind 3. Mankind is special—they are made in His image 4. They have the ability to think and recognize the existence of that which is spiritual E. One answer to "who am I," therefore, is that we are God's creation 1. Creator as having authority over creation (Romans 9:20-21) 2. Existence as a gift from the Creator 3. We exist, therefore, by the good will and free gift of God our Creator! F. What, then, does the Creator say is the reason that we exist? 1. We exist to praise the Creator for what He has done (Psalm 33) 2. We exist to serve the Creator and His purposes (Genesis 2:15, 1 Peter 4:19) G. Even though sin has separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2), He has accomplished salvation for us so that we can have association with Him and accomplish His purposes (1 John 1:1-2:6) H. Our primary identity, therefore, involves serving our Creator! IV. But Who Am I? A. We can see that according to the "big picture," our identity is tied with our Creator and His purposes B. Yet, in theory, anyone can become a servant of God the Creator (Galatians 3:28) C. Servants of God come in all types of sizes and colors and abilities! D. So, we may ask, who am I as a servant of God? E. In short, you are the sum of your strengths and your weaknesses 1. God speaks often of the gifts/talents that believers have 2. Matthew 25:14-30, Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-28, 1 Peter 4:9-10 3. Not everyone has the same talents or gifts! F. Thus, no one can answer the question save you and God! 1. Each of us must come to terms with our individual identities as servants of God 2. Where are we weak? Where are we stronger? 3. What do we need to work on? What can we do for the Kingdom? G. This search takes place in the context of humble service for God! 1. The disciple must seek the will of God in humility (Hebrews 11:6, James 4:10) 2. He or she will endeavor to serve God in every opportunity 3. Through constant practice, they perceive their strengths and weaknesses (Hebrews 5:14) 4. They then have a decent understanding of their identity as God's servants H. In the end, therefore, the question returns to us-- really, who are we as God's servants? V. Who Am I Versus Who Should I Be? A. An important distinction to make is the difference between "who am I?" and "who should I be?" B. The answer to the latter comes more easily than the former 1. We hear preaching and study in the Scriptures and understand what we should be 2. We should be humble servants of Christ the King, following in His footsteps, accomplishing what is right while avoiding what is wrong, showing people His way throughout (Philippians 2:1-4, Matthew 28:18-20, Romans 12:9, etc.) 3. We humans like to idealize ourselves! 4. We have mental images of ourselves that are a bit more attractive, a bit younger, a bit better off than we are in reality 5. It is easy to develop the same type of mirage in spiritual terms, as James warns in James 1:22-25 C. The Problem of Distortion 1. Why is it a big deal if we see ourselves as we would like to be? 2. If we focus on the ideal, we may deceive ourselves into thinking ourselves better than we are (1 John 1:8) 3. We may think ourselves more righteous or less sinful than we really are and therefore do not feel the need to change a lot (cf. Laodicea, Revelation 3) 4. Such self-deception was a hallmark of the Pharisees! D. Therefore, it is quite important for us to soberly consider who we really are! 1. It is good to maintain an ideal for oneself (Philippians 3:13-14, 1 John 2:6) 2. But we must keep in mind how we really are so that we can effectively work toward that ideal (cf. 2 Corinthians 13:5)! 3. The more conscious we are of our own failings and sins, the easier it is for us to remain humble and show compassion toward others and their failings and sins! 4. Titus 3:3-8! E. Therefore, we can only effectively work toward being full servants of God when we recognize who we really are! VI. Conclusion A. So who am I? 1. I am a human being, the creation of the God of Heaven, made to serve Him 2. I am to believe in Jesus His Son and serve Him to be cleansed of sin and to maintain association with the God of Heaven 3. Therefore, I am to be a servant of God, uniquely endowed with certain characteristics to be used to His glory B. Who are you? 1. Do you recognize God as your Creator? 2. Do you understand that you have sinned? 3. Are you a servant of God? 4. Do you want to be? 5. If you do seek to serve God, do you see yourself as you are or as you would like to be? C. Let each of us consider ourselves, and strive to be servants of the God of Heaven! D. Invitation/songbook