Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
January 27, 2008 - W0804

Oftentimes, we are like chameleons – green sometimes, brown other times, and even spotted when need be – depending on our circumstances and surroundings.  We seem to take on different identities at different times and in different places.  Basically, whatever it takes to “fit in.”  But we need to be careful because when we keep changing our appearance or identity, it’s easy [in the process] to lose our identity.

The good news is…the Bible tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Cor. 5:17).”  This passage tells us that despite the identities we’ve assumed in the past, when we accept Christ into our life, He gives us a new identity, an identity in Christ.

Today, we are going to spend some time talking about Peter – one of Jesus’ disciples – and see what he has to teach us about our identity.  If you’ll recall, Peter was a follower of Christ and he loved the Lord; however, when things start to get tense, Peter does some unexpected things – unexpected to himself anyway, but not to the Lord.  When Jesus is captured and taken to the cross, despite Peter’s bold claims of loyalty, Peter starts to assume different identities and starts to backslide:

“‘Simon…Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail…’But he said to Him, ‘Lord…I am ready to go both to prison and to death!’  And He said, ‘I say to you, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.’” (Luke 22:31-34)”

In this passage, Jesus predicts Peter’s backslide.  Peter was filled with faith and eagerness, but at some point he became weak and a prisoner of war (POW).   
There are many Christians who are behind enemy lines – broken, bruised, and in despair.  Peter was that way after he had denied Jesus three times despite his bold claims.  Peter was a P.O.W.  – a prisoner of war.

When he started sliding down the slippery path, he became subject to the enemy’s influence.  And eventually, he was so lost (or more accurately, distant from the Lord) that he was behind enemy lines.  In fact, we can even use the P.O.W. acronym as a way of remembering the lessons we can learn from Peter about our identity.

The first lesson begins when Jesus was first arrested:

“Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance.” (Luke 22:54)

In this passage, we see Peter following Jesus but “at a distance.”  Peter’s physical distance from the Lord seems to also represent a spiritual distancing between himself of the Lord. On the contrary, the first thing we should note about our identity [in Christ] is that what we need to be in hot pursuit of the Lord.

1.      PURSUIT:  FOLLOWING CLOSELY.

One of the most dangerous things in life is to fall away from the Lord because we need to remember that Satan has permission to “sift us like wheat.”  Oftentimes we follow Christ but we follow Him at a distance and eventually start drifting away. 

When I was a youngster in Oregon, our class went on a field trip to some underground caves.  We followed narrow pathways into the cavern about 20-30 feet down.  As we got down into the cavern, it opened up to a very large space about the size of this auditorium.  There were spotlights strategically placed around the cavern, shining up at the beautiful stalagmite and stalactite deposit formations which sparkled in the light.  We were on a catwalk going through the cavern when a friend of mine suggested that we hide in the cavern to see if the teacher would even notice.

To cut a long story short, what my friend and I didn’t know is that once the group exited the viewing area, the lights in that area were turned off!  And at 20-30 feet below ground level (with no windows), it was pitch black.  We couldn’t see a thing so what we ended up down on our hands and knees, crawling our way out of the cavern – all because we thought it would be funny (or at least not a big deal) if we drifted away from our group.

I learned a great lesson that day and it is applicable to our walk with Jesus.  We need to be careful not to drift too far from Him because when we do, we become vulnerable to the circumstances around us.  Instead, we should understand the importance of pursuing Jesus rather than following at a distance. 

So the first lesson we learn from Peter is to pursue Him vigorously and follow Him closely to maintain our identity in Christ.  The second piece of advice we learn from Peter is…

2.      ONENESS:  BEING COMFORTABLE WITH & BEING HONORED TO IDENTIFY WITH CHRIST.

The story of Peter continues... “After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them” (Luke 22:55).

In this part of the recounting, not only had Peter distanced himself from the Lord but we find him sitting amongst Jesus’ accusers – identifying with them rather than Jesus!  This triggers the question, “What would the world see you as identified with?”  Fashion?  Money?  Success? …or Christ?

We are not perfect and no matter how good we are, it is natural for our identity in Christ to sometimes fade or become faint.  On the other hand, some of us think that it’s okay for us to slip out of our Christian identities from time to time because we feel that we can also slip it back on when necessary.  But we need to be careful.  If you’re familiar with the Greek mythology figure Prometheus, you know that he could voluntarily take on different forms of trees, animals, rocks, etc.  However, at some point, Prometheus was changing himself so often that he actually forgot who he really was.  He had forgotten his identity and then could could not change himself back because he didn’t know who he was.  We need to be careful of that – changing so much that we forget who we are…or similarly, that others don’t know who we are.

I once went to a youth camp and there was a youth leader there with all these piercings on his body (e.g., earrings, eyebrow, lip, tongue, etc.)  When I asked him why he had all the piercings, he said it was so the kids could identify with him and through that connection, he could lead kids to Christ.  I asked him how many kids he had won over to Christ lately.  In the last month?  In the last year?  He didn’t say anything but I challenged him with this:  could his lack of success at converting kids to Christ be because kids actually identified him with the world rather than Christ?

Psalms 73:28 states, “…the nearness of God is my good.”  God wants to bring how we live in line with what we believe.  This is a movement towards wholeness, completeness, and integrity.  When your lifestyle and beliefs match, there’s a wholeness – oneness – and that will bring wisdom rather than foolishness.

Resuming the story of Peter… “A servant-gril, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, ‘This man was with Him too.’  But he denied it… After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, ‘Certainly this man also was with Him…’  But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about.’  Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed” (Luke 22:56-57, 59-60).

 As we’ve learn to Pursue God and that Oneness with Christ is important to protecting our identity, Peter’s third denial of Christ relays the third and last lesson he teaches us about our identity:

3.      WISDOM:  MATCHING YOUR FAITH WITH YOUR ACTIONS BRINGS “INTEGRITY.”

The third fault that found Peter behind enemy lines is denial.  “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him…” (Titus 1:16).  When we start to match our faith with our actions, then there’s integrity versus when our actions do not match our faith, there is no integrity and we tend to make unwise decisions.

We can find ourselves behind enemy lines and think that we’re free from Christ but realistically, we’re just P.O.Ws of the enemy.  The Devil doesn’t care which side of the boat you fall off on; he only cares that you fell/got off. 

Wisdom comes when our lives match our faith but when we live inconsistent and incongruent lives (assuming identities not in alignment with our faith), we prevent integrity, wholeness/oneness, and wisdom.  We are even deny ourselves freedom [in Christ].

4.      FREEDOM:  REJOICING IN WHO GOD MADE YOU TO BE!

“I can guarantee that God’s angels are happy about one person who turns to God and changes the way he thinks and acts.”  (Luke 15:10)

Recently there was a movie release called Rescue Dawn – the true story of a pilot who was downed in the Vietnam War.  The enemy tried to get him to switch to their side but he resisted and eventually escaped. Though his companion was eventually captured and killed, this soldier was rescued.  In the final scenes of the movie, you see the joyful reunion of this soldier with his fellow soldiers.  In the same way, there’s a rejoicing in heaven when one of God’s kids comes home!

God is waiting to rescue you but you need to do your part and break out first.  And on a related note, sometimes you’ll see people who have slipped away from the Lord for a while and some resurface in our [church] doorways.  Let me encourage you to welcome that fellow Christian back home.  Do not be judgmental or discouraging.  Recognize and acknowledge the courage it takes to find one’s way back.  You don’t know the valleys that person has had to traverse to make it back here.  Welcome them home with open arms.

The story of Peter illustrates three lessons about our identity with Christ that are summarized by the acronym P.O.W.

P ursue God with vigor.  Follow Him closely and stay near.

O neness between our actions and faith will bring wholeness and integrity to our

    lives (and testimonies).

W isdom will be the result of matching our actions and faith.

And through above, you will find Freedom and can rejoice in who God made you to be!  

DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS

1.      How do you know when you’re falling away from God?  What things contribute to that distance?

2.      Honestly, what do people identify you with?  What do you want people to identify you with?

3.      How closely do your faith and actions match?  What can do you to align them better?

4.      How has your integrity (or lack of integrity) affected your ability to make wise (or unwise) decisions?  Give an example.

5.      How does your faith and Christianity affect your view of your freedom?  Does it add to your freedom or restrict it?  Explain.

"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong with our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NLT)

Sermon Notes Ministry: Debbie Chang, Leighton Loo,

Doreen Rabaino & Jay Tsukayama