Where Are You From?
People search everywhere for answers to one of life’s most important questions: Who am I? But you cannot understand who you are without understanding where you come from. Your identity and your origin are connected. In this message, Pastor DaVon reveals why Jesus said, “You must be born again.” When you are born again, you don’t just receive a new destination; you receive a new identity.
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Notes
John 1:19-23
Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
The priests and Levites were trying to determine John’s identity.
The question “Who are you?” appears in Scripture several different times.
John 8:25
Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.”
The Jews asked Jesus directly about His identity.
Acts 9:5
And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
Saul asks this after encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus.
Acts 19:15
And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Oh
Does the spiritual world know who you are?
Do you know who you are?
We live in a culture where people try to discover who they are without asking the One who created them.
People are looking to feelings, experiences, relationships, careers, sexuality, politics, social media, and other people’s opinions to answer one of life’s most fundamental questions: Who am I?
People define you according to your past or your behavior.
This culture we live in says you are whatever you feel you are.
Who does God say you are?
You don’t have to invent your identity. In Christ, you receive it.
You will never fully understand who you are until you understand who you are in Christ.
Where does your identity come from?
John 1:35-39; 43-46
Where do you live = Where are you from
Who you are cannot be separated from where you’re from
Where you are from is an integral part of who you are.
You cannot separate your identity from your origin; they are connected.
Where you are from gives you a sense of pride or self-respect
Helps you connect with others
John 3:1-8
Born again or new birth from above
Born of water: physical birth;
Born of the spirit: spiritual birth
Jesus is from above, and so are you.
The body of Christ is the people; the Kingdom is the assignment
John 3:31
He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
John 8:23
And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
Jesus is not of this world, and neither are you
Jesus talked about you being “in the world but not of the world”
How are you “not of the world?”
You are born from above.
1 Peter 1:3-4 AMP
Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant and boundless mercy has caused us to be born again [that is, to be reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose] to an ever-living hope and confident assurance through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [born anew] into an inheritance which is imperishable [beyond the reach of change] and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you.
John 1:12-13
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Blood - physical birth
Will of the flesh - human passion or sexual intimacy
Will of man - human plans
You were born from God
I John 5:4
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Colossians 3:2 AMP
Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value].