This is the Introduction to the Sermon. You will receive the full manuscript sermon in Word format when you purchase.
Title: “Discovering My Identity in Christ”
Series: I Am God’s Anointed
Introduction:
Two cows were grazing in a pasture when they saw a milk truck pass. On the side of the truck were the words, “Pasteurized, Homogenized, Standardized, Vitamin A added.” One cow sighed and said to the other, “Makes you feel kind of inadequate, doesn’t it?” [end of illustration.]
Maybe you can relate to these poor cows today – you feel inadequate, or lack confidence, or don’t feel that you have the skills and talents that others do. You see the superstar athletes, movie stars, famous musicians, and feel that in some way you are inferior to them, or maybe even to the ordinary people that you are around on a regular basis.
I’m here to tell you something today – if you are a Christ Follower, you have nothing to feel inferior about. You have been chosen by God to serve a purpose in this world, and that makes you somebody in the eyes of God. In the Old Testament the word “anointed” was used in a symbolic way to describe someone chosen by God – the word was normally used for someone God had named as King, a Prophet, or a Priest. In the New Testament the word is used to describe each and every one of us that are Christians.
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. – 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (NIV)
There are four specific things here that God has done for us – each one builds upon the other and are all connected to this idea of anointing.