Summit Ridge Sermon Podcast

”Reclaiming the Rest of Rest”

Pastor Miles Larson
Director of Pastoral and Congregational Vitality
Brethren Church National Office
 
Colossians 3:12-15
"If I were a physician, and if I were allowed toprescribe just one remedy for all the ills ofthe modern world, I would prescribe silence.For even if the Word of God were proclaimedin the modern world, how could one hear itwith so much noise? Therefore, createsilence." -Soren Kierkegaard
Matthew 11:28-30
Exodus 20:8-11
Genesis 1:31
Genesis 2:1-3
Matthew 22:36-40
Leviticus 25:2-7
 
 

Identity in Christ: ”I Have Been Made Alive with Christ”

Ephesians 2:1-6
We were Dead in Our Wrongdoings
Ephesians 2:5
Genesis 2:15-17
Ephesians 2:1-3
John 3:1-6
Galatians 3:10
But God made Us Spiritually Alive
Ephesians 2:4-5
Romans 8:5-8
2 Peter 3:18
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
And We are alive with Christ
Ephesians 2:5
2 Kings 13:21
2 Corinthians 13:4
First, we are alive in Christ Representatively
Hebrews 4:14-16
Second, we are alive in Christ by being in Union with Christ
John 11:25-26
Finally, we are to live together with Christ in Likeness
Romans 6:8-11
(NASB 2020)

Identity in Christ: ”I Have Been Adopted by God”

Ephesians 1:3
Ephesians 1:4
Ephesians 1:5
Ephesians 1:11
Romans 8:29-30
Ephesians 1:5 
Adoption is an act of God whereby we, who were the children under the wrath of God from the lost family of Adam, and for no reason in ourselves, but entirely of the pure grace of God, were brought actually and eternally into the family of God.-Charles Spurgeon
Adoption was an Act of Grace
Isaiah 64:6-8
With Adoption comes Privilege
“All those that are justified, God granted, in and for the sake of His only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption, by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of children of God, have His name put upon them, receive the spirit of adoption, have access to the throne of grace with boldness, are enabled to cry Abba, Father, are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by Him as a Father, yet never cast off, but sealed to the day of redemption, and inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation.” -12th article of the 1629 Baptist Confession of Faith
We are no longer Children of Wrath
God has given us a new name.
Revelation 2:17
We have a New Nature
Galatians 4:3-6
We have access to His throne
Luke 11:9-13
God has Compassion for Us
Psalm 103:13
God Protects Us
God Provides for Us
Luke 12:29-32
God will Teach You all You need to Know
2 Timothy 3:16-17
God will Discipline Us
Hebrews 12:4-7
There are Requirements Associated with Adoption
Obey Your Father
Matthew 5:8
Matthew 22:37-40
Exodus 20:8
Trust Your Father
Proverbs 3:5-6
Numbers 23:5-6
Love Your Father
Matthew 22:37-38

Identity in Christ: ”I am Sealed”

Ephesians 1:1
Matthew 27:66
Revelation 12:9-11
Genesis 1:1
Acts 2:1-4
Romans 8:26 
 
(NKJV)
 

Identity in Christ: ”I am God’s Masterpiece”

Psalms 139:13-16 NIV
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
Philippians 2:15 NIV
Matthew 5:13-15 NIV
Philippians 2:12b-13 NIV
Philippians 1:6  NLT
 
 

Identity in Christ: ”I am Holy and Blameless”

Ephesians 1:3
Ephesians 1:4
“who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” 
How did Our Blessings come to Us
Ezekiel 36:22 
How did Our Blessings come to Us – Only by the Love and Grace of God
What does it mean to be Holy and Blameless before God
That we would be holy and blameless before Him in Love (Ephesians 1:4b NASB)
Psalm 99:9
Psalm 5:7 
1 Peter 1:14-16
What does it mean to be Holy - God is the perfect model of Holiness, we are declared Holy, and we should strive for holiness.
1 Timothy 3:2 NKJV
Romans 8:1 
Psalm 103:10-12 
What does it mean to be Blameless – Blameless defines our condition as seen by God; He does not see our sins but only a cleansed us so we should strive towards blamelessness.
What is God’s Purpose of Design
Matthew 23:23 
Philippians 1: 5-6 
What is God’s purpose of design – Everything He has done for us was done so that we would desire to become holy and blameless in our lives.
What is the Evidence of Our Transformation
Ephesians 1:4 
1 John 4:7-9 
Luke 19:9-10 
Luke 15:10 
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 
What is the Evidence of Our Transformation – That we would love one another as God loves us.
(NASB 2020)

Answering Jesus’ Prayer

John 17: 20-23
(NIV)

Identity in Christ: ”I am Blessed”

Ephesians 1:1-6 
Ephesians 1:3
We are to bless God
Ephesians 1:3a 
Psalm 145:10 NKJV
1 Chronicles 29:13-14 
Isaiah 6:8 
We must view God correctly.
When God is viewed correctly, He become the object of our gratitude not of our dread.
John 3:16 
1 John 4:9-10 
If we are to view God correctly then we must regard Him as the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 20:17 
Matthew 27:46 
Ephesians 1:17 
If we are to view God correctly then we must regard Him as the father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 4:4-5 
We must recognize that Jesus Christ is ‘OUR’ Jesus Christ.
Colossian 2:9-11
We need to appreciate God for all He has done for us.
Ephesians 1:3b 
First, we must realize that the blessings exist now!
Ephesians 1:7-9 
Second, we therefore need to have a right understanding of these blessings.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 
Third, the blessings are ours personally.
Ephesians 3: 14-16 
Finally, the blessings are not limited.
Ephesians 3: 17-19 
(NASB 2020)
 

Identity in Christ: ”I am an Heir”

Romans 8:16-19
 
God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering. -St. Augustine:
 
Pain insists upon being attended to: God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. -C.S. Lewis
 
SUFFERING REMINDS ME THAT PAIN IS TEMPORARY, GLORY IS FOREVER.
 
The eternal cause of pain is not clear; it wears a mask. But because God is good, we have hope of a ‘good’ eternal cause to our temporal conflicts.  -Zach Kincaid
 
One of the main ways we move from abstract knowledge about God to a personal encounter with him as a living reality is through the furnace of affliction.  -Tim Keller
 
SUFFERING REMINDS ME PAIN IS ROOTED IN HOPE, NOT DESPAIR.
 
Romans 8:20-22
 
SUFFERING REMINDS ME PAIN IS BIRTHING DELIVERANCE, NOT DEATH.
 
Romans 8:23-24
 
(NASB 2020)

Identity in Christ: ”I am a Saint in Christ”

Ephesians 2:18-20
Isaiah 6:1-5
1 Corinthians 1:2
2 Corinthians 1:1-2
Philippians 1:1-2
Colossians 1:1-2
(NKJV)