Hi y'all-if we haven’t met, my name is Russell Marks. I wanted to take this time, share a little bit about myself, give some encouragement through the Gospel, and finish by challenging both you and I. First, a bit about myself if we haven’t met. I am 25, I am a brother to 3, I am employed by AT&T. I am a “crossfitter”. I am “paleo”. I am Watermarker, I am a regular porch attendee. I am a leader in the middle school, (with my group of soon to be 7th graders) All of those things are very true about me, and if we were to sit down and talk for the first time, they would definitely be things you learn about me… . But more than the church I go to, the young adult ministry I attend, or the place I serve…My identity, and my value is rooted in Christ alone. More than anything else, the most important thing about me is I AM in Christ. Jesus turned my world upside about 3 years ago. I didn’t grow up in the Church, and after graduating college and starting my career, I found my life was no where near what I wanted or thought it would be…and through looking for answers, I stumbled into a church (probably hungover) and heard and comprehended the full gospel for the first time. I was shocked and skeptical to say the least. My identity was found in my ability to get a job done at work, being the life of the party, and making sure people knew who I was, and what I thought. But Jesus was so faithful. After research and skepticism, prayer and worship, I realized I am not my own, but was bought at a price, the price of Christ’s blood on the Cross. And through His death and His resurrection, I have found freedom in the fact that my future was no longer tied to my past, that my life’s success isn’t dependent on my own abilities, and the story I get to be a part of is now way bigger than any merger or data analytics project at work. The book of Ephesians told me this. So I want to share a couple truths from it with you: The book mentions being In Christ 27 times, some of these are: We are redeemed in Christ We are forgiven in Christ We are Sealed with the Holy Spirit in Christ We are strengthened in Christ We are raised up and seated in the heavenly realm with Christ We have inheritance in Christ We have hope in Christ We have life in Christ We are blameless in Christ We are made whole in Christ… And through seeing myself through that lense, I realized that… If, before any reaction or interaction I think about who I am in Jesus, and that I am first loved, I am redeemed, I am renewed and I am made fully complete into the person God want’s me to be, how different would my conversations, actions, and relationships look like? I can now go from previously trying to walk away with the feeling that winning argument, or that a better deal, to now being in a position to serve. The truth is, when you have everything, how infinitely more generous can you be? And I still struggle with looking for approval in others, and lust, and putting things before God as idols, but I want to come before you today, and say Christ is enough for me. The Cross was Enough, and I am going to agree with God on who He says I am. So with that I want to end with a challenge, then a prayer out of Ephesians. First, to my friends who are the skeptics, on the fence, living with a foot in both worlds…pursue Jesus with all you have, lean in to him, and He will lean into you. You won’t ask a question that hasn’t already been asked. Do the research, ask the questions…but don’t live in two worlds. He demands everything, and He is worth everything. To my friends who know Jesus, and are walking with him. Hold me accountable. As a brother in Christ, I absolutely need you all, because with out the community, encouragement, and admonishment, I will leave so much of what God has for me on the table. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. --Ephesians 3:17-21
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