Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Labels, Part 1: Labels

Episode Date: September 6, 2015

The nickname you can't leave behind or the stereotype that follows you through life. When you get stamped with a label, it says a lot about you—but does it say the right things? Whether you love or hate how you’re branded, we all have potential be... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, everybody. Before we dive into this week's message, I've just got to tell you next week, we're starting our big fall series. It's called Stay Positive, and I am so excited about it because quite honestly, sometimes I can be very negative. We're going to look at six biblical qualities to help renew our minds with the truth of God's word. Also, we're starting six-week discussion groups. It's my heart and my prayer that every single one of you would commit for just six weeks to gather with other believers. to build one another up because life change happens best in circles, not just on rows. Next week we start discussion groups and stay positive. Let's now go to this week's message.

With my whole heart have I sought thee. Thy word have I hid in my heart. Blessed art thou, O Lord. Download it for free at bible.com slash app. Hey, welcome today to all of our life churches and all of our networked churches and those of you at church online, I'm really, really excited about what we're going to do today. We're actually doing something we've only done one other time in the history of the church. We're having what we call a developmental weekend. What is a developmental weekend? Well, at

Life Church, we really believe in developing leaders to push people to do more than they ever thought possible. And so, believe it or not this weekend, I'm going to team teach, not just with your campus pastors or your network church pastors like we've done in the past, but I'm actually going to team teach with 70 different people from our church staff. That's right, 70 people. I don't know if there's a Guinness Book World Record that we could have today, but I bet there's no church in a history of the world that had 70 different speakers speak on the very same weekend. So what I'm going to do is I'm actually going to introduce the message today. Then at your campus or your network church, your pastor may speak or your pastor will have chosen two or three or four

different people from the team to speak to your service. So if you're at one service, you may hear from one speaker, well, the next service may hear from somebody else. And what's so incredible is that we have people, many of them, who've never done this before in their entire lives. So you get to be a part of God doing something in one of our staff members and through them. I've still got people to this day who say, Craig, I was there when you preached your very first message. And oh, have you gotten so much better than when you started? And it's really a fun thing as a church to see God raise up due leaders. And so it's my honor today to team teach with 70 different people from our church.

And we're going to watch God raise up leaders. The subject I want to talk about today is one that I believe will speak to so many people. I've called the message breaking the labels that bind, breaking the labels that bind, because let's be honest, all of us have internalized different labels. Someone may have called us something, or we just picked up something that we thought was true about us, and we've even labeled ourselves something over time. For example, someone may have said, you are single, and that's true, or you're married, and that's true. Or you're divorced, and that's true. Or you're divorced, and that's true. or you're a Republican or a Democrat or you're an independent. And so you have these labels. Someone might be an atheist or a Christian, and then we'll label the type of Christian. Well, you're a Methodist type of Christian,

or you're a Baptist type of Christian, or you're a charismatic type of Christian, because you always have the answer, your hands are up in the air, or whatever. Some labels are more subjective. In other words, you're kind of serious, you're kind of funny. You're kind of lazy. Well, you're kind of driven.

You're kind of fun, you're kind of a dud. You know, he's hot, she's not, or whatever. And we internalize oftentimes these labels that end up shaping who we become. In fact, for me, I was labeled and rightly so, a tight wad for so long because I really had a hard time spending money and even a more difficult time giving to people just because I was so tight and had a fearful mindset. I made a classic giving mistake. How many of you've ever re-gifted a gift?

Be honest, do not lie in church. You've re-gifted a gift. I re-gifted a $25 gift card to a restaurant to a guy that I wanted to bless who was not a Christian. He went to the restaurant, tried to buy his meal, called me and said there's only $2.43 on the gift card that I had re-gifted him. Dear God, that was embarrassing.

I promised I would never do that again. I almost re-gifted a nice leather-bound journal that we had a pastor coming in. I said, I don't have anything for him, let's give him that. And so when we were wrapping it up, my assistant noticed that it had the name Craig Groschelle engraved on it. Oh, that was a close one. He would have loved a personalized Craig Groshell, leather-bound journal that was obviously

regifted. And so this was a label that I internalized and quite honestly didn't really like because I wanted to be jitterous, but I was not. Here's the question I'd like for you to ask yourself. What negative label has, impacted you? What negative label someone else put on you that you've internalized? They might have said, you know, you're a doormat, or you're a pushover, or you're insecure, or you never ever commit, or you're overly sensitive. You're a hothead. You blow up. You have a temper. You're irresponsible.

You're just average. You're kind of a party person. You're never really going to be a significant contributor. I want you to think for a moment, and if you would, maybe even jot down, in your nose, any negative label that you've internalized that has impacted you. I'm going to ask in a moment our team teachers to come and to help you understand some powerful principles that God's power is bigger than your past, that his truth is stronger than the opinions about you. The good news is that what once was does not have to any longer be. because God's Word transforms lives, and I would love for you to join me

and welcoming one of our campuses team teachers today to share God's word with you. Well, thank you, Pastor Craig. It truly is an honor for me to be team teaching with you this week. You know, when I think back, the first time I preached here at Life Church was about five years ago when we did something similar to this week,

a developmental weekend. So I'm excited for all the other teaching. team teachers we have across Life Church. Let's get to the message. You know, we're talking about breaking the labels that bind. And I want us to be in a place where we don't let the labels from our past limit God's plan for our future. And so I want to share a quick verse with you.

This is from 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17. We see the Apostle Paul sharing this verse. He says, anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. the old life is gone, a new life has begun. I want you to think about that verse. He says, anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. So many times when we think about coming to Christ, we think that we have to get our act in order

or we have to clean up our life before we can even come close to Christ. But Paul's telling us that whenever we belong to Christ, that's when we become a new person. The old labels, the old us, doesn't matter anymore. The old life is gone. A new life has begun. And so I hope that as you take the next few minutes and you hear from God,

I want to encourage you to stop allowing the labels from yesterday to limit God's plan for your future. I want to show you a new God-centered view of you or a version of view. So I encourage you to take notes, fine. You can use the notes at church online or use your phone. Whatever is comfortable with you, I want you to take this notes, let it sink in. The first point, if you're taking notes, is this, God will give you a new name. God will give you a new name. Prophet Isaiah, when he was praying this prayer over Jerusalem, in Isaiah chapter 62, verse two, we read this verse, says, and you will be given a new name by the Lord's own mouth.

So I looked up some examples of new names, and for those of you at church online, you've got to help me out with this. It's kind of funny. It's kind of funny. So a girl, her name was Polly. She married a guy whose last name was Esther. So guess what her name became? Work with me here. Polyester.

Yes. Okay. Second one. Girl named Carrie married a guy with the last name Oki. So guess what her name became? Yes. Carrie Oake. Last one, I promise, last one.

There was a governor in Texas a long time ago. He had a daughter. Her name, they named her, Ima. All right, pretty name. His last name was hog. And so forever then she was known as she would, you know, I'm a hog. But jokes aside, you know, there's something about a name. There's something about how a name can change who you are.

You know, when Merrill and I got married, Merrill's last name changed to my last name. Even if you look in the Bible, we see examples of how God changed people's names. Abraham and Sarah, we read about them in the Old Testament. God changed their name to Abraham and Sarah, symbolizing that they're going to be parents of generations to come. If you take the name Jacob, his name meant deceiver. And for years, you could see how that, that, that, uh, that, uh, that definition of his name defined who he was. But when God changed his name to Israel, which means God will prevail, you see a change happening

even in him. I love the example of Gideon. Gideon was a young man that looked at himself and he thought that he was worthless, that he was insignificant. But an angel of the Lord came to him and said, you are not insignificant, but you are a mighty warrior. There's something about a name being changed. changed. You know, I'm reminded of this story. Earlier this year, a few of us took a trip to India.

And on that trip, we got to meet with one of our volunteers, her name is Ira. And while we were talking to her, she introduced us to her brother. Now, I didn't know that her brother was going to be there. Now, when we started talking to him, he started sharing his story with us. And he told us of how, you know, when his sister became a follower of Christ, you know, they were from a Hindu background. And when she changed and became a Christian, he had this anger towards the church. He had this anger towards God. And so he knew that she was on church online. And so what he would do is he would show up in chat and he would start verbally attacking people. And so I'm listening to this and I'm going, wow, like, why did you do that? He's like, I don't know. I just wanted

to attack people because I hated what was happening to my life. And I just, I just wanted to just caused trouble. And so he would come into the chat and he would start arguments or he would pick on people or he would do whatever he could to steer away from the message and divert people's attentions. And I said, so what happened? Because long story short, he became a Christian. He became a fully devoted follow of Christ. And I said, what happened? How did your life change so much? And he said, Alan, it's funny you should ask me because I have even fought with you at church online. But every time I would and have an argument or I would pick a fight, the love that this community showed me,

the church online community showed me, blew my mind away. Because when they had opportunity after opportunity to kick me out of chat, they let me stay. And because of that, I began to wonder, what is it in them that causes them to love like this? And so my life is changed as a result of that. You know what's interesting?

That Raja, his name is Raja, he turned from somebody who was attacking the church to now he's somebody that's building the church. He's working with a pastor in his local community to help plant a church there. God can change the labels that man have put over you or that you might have put on yourself. Some of you see yourself as a sinner and you say, I'm not good enough, but God calls you forgiven. Some of you might see yourself and say, you know what, I'm an addict, I'm struggling with all these addiction. I don't know how to get over it. Well, God calls you transformed.

Some of you, as you're watching right now, you might call yourself sick, but God calls you healed. Some of you might be calling yourselves rejected, because everyone that you know has rejected you, but God calls you loved. God will give you a new name. I want you to know that you're not who others say you are.

you are who God says that you are. God will not only change your name, but he'll give you a new purpose. He'll give you a new purpose. Look at this verse. We see Jesus talking to his disciple, Simon. And he not only gives Simon, who was one of his disciples,

not only gives him a new name, but he gives him a new purpose as well. In Luke chapter 5, verse 10, we see Jesus telling Simon, don't be afraid from now on you will fish for people. In other words, he's saying that you're not just going to be somebody that is fishing for fish, but you're actually going to go and fish for men. You're going to go reach people for my sake.

You're going to tell them about me. When God changes you, he'll give you a new purpose. You know, we heard Pastor Craig talk about his own story of how he went from being a tight wad or somebody who had this fear of not having enough to now being someone who has irrational generosity. God took Pastor Craig through that journey and in the process not only was his life changed but as a church that's part of who we are now. Our vision, our core, one of our core values is this that we will lead the way with irrational generosity because we truly believe it's better to give than to receive.

Now, while we give a lot of our content away for free, for those of you, you know, you might have heard about open resources and all of that, we give a ton of resources away for free. But I want to highlight just one today. I want to talk about the U-Version Bible app. You know, we created this U-Version Bible app and we decided we're going to give it away for free because we want to lead the way with irrational generosity. And as of this time, we have close to 200 million downloads of the app. Now think about that for a second. How, when God changed one man's heart from being someone who had this fear of not having enough to being irrationally generous, it resulted in a church being different. It resulted in us being able to give the app away for free.

And look what God's doing. In one second, I want to share some stats with you. Every second of every day, here's some of the stats that we see in the U-Version Bible app. We see that one person installs the Bible app. 102 people open the Bible app. 219 people switch chapters. 47 people listen to an audio Bible. 15 people highlight a verse.

Two people bookmark a verse. Four, share a verse to social media. One creates a verse image and one starts a Bible plan. you're looking at a generation that is more engaged with scripture than ever before. And it's because God gave somebody a new purpose when he changed their life. I believe that for many of you, as you're listening to me right now, God's going to give you not only a new name, but he's going to give you a new purpose, a new reason for living.

Some of you, you've gone over addictions. You know what? God's not going to stop there. He's going to allow you and empower you to now help others who are stuck in their addictions to help them be set free. Some of you have battled being overweight for a long time and God's helped you overcome that. Well, now God's going to use you to help others stay fit and stay healthy. Some of you, you've gotten over an amazing amount of debt and you're financially set free. I believe that God's going to use you to reach others who are struggling with the same

problem that you were and now you have an opportunity set them free. For some of you, you've been rejected your whole life, but you understand that God loves you and God's going to give you a purpose and a vision to reach those around you to help them see what God has shown you. What is the purpose that God's giving you? I know this in my own life because His grace has changed me completely. You know, my label, as I was preparing this message, I was thinking, what was my label? When I look back over 15 or 16 years ago, what was my label? And I try to think of so many different labels, but I think the only thing that fit me or that made sense was the label failure.

I hid it pretty well because people couldn't tell that that's what I thought. But inside, that's what I felt, because everything I touched, I somehow failed. had numerous amounts of people. Maybe they had good intentions, I don't know, but they somehow just constantly reminded me, hey, you're a failure. You know what? You're failing at this too. Guess what? You're failing at this too. Guess what? You're failing at this too. And life situation kept reminding me, you know what? You're a failure. You're a failure. But when I gave my life to Christ, I was a messed up individual. But somehow God took that mess and he transformed me. He gave me a new name. I didn't have to walk around with the label failure anymore, but I was walking around with

the new label that God gave me, and he called me Overcomer. And I walked with that new label that God's given me, and I see that not only has he changed my name, but he's given me a purpose. That's why I love doing what I'm doing right now. I, more than anything in this world, would love for people to see that truth, to see how much God loves them. Because as soon as I saw that, I saw that, and my eyes were opened, I was changed. There's some of you that are watching right now. You've been part of our community for so long, and God's been stirring in your heart to make a difference,

to change people's lives. But you've taken a step back because you're thinking, well, you know, people have always said that I won't be able to do it or I won't be good at it, and so I don't think I'm the right person. No, God brought you here so that you could hear this message loud and clear. doesn't determine who you are or who God says you are. God is the one that calls you overcomer. God is the one that calls you loved.

God is the one that calls you set free. God is the one that calls you healed. You just need to lean into and accept that truth. Some of you need to hear this and let this settle in your heart. The same God that changed Raja, the young man in India, that went from attacking churches to now building churches. the same God that changed Pastor Craig's life, the same God that changed my life,

the same God that changed many of our volunteers' lives, that same God is willing and ready to change your life. All you have to do is say yes to him. Let's go back to Pastor Craig. Well, I hope that was a big blessing to hear from somebody who may have taught for the very first time, and I hope you cheered them on, and we're encouraged by God's word.

Let's review the first two thoughts and look at the third. Number one, the good news is God will give you a new name. Number two, our God will give you a new purpose. And number three, our God will give you a new future. Our God will give you a new future. In fact, I love the truth from Jeremiah 29-11 when God said, for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.

Plans to give you a what? Scripture says plans to give you a hope and a future. Say it with me. God has plans to give you a hope and a future. God has new plans for you. What once was true of you does not have to be true in the past. And because of God's power, I'm blessed to say the name that held me hostage, the label that I internalized is a label that God has changed and given me a new future. Well, I was always afraid to give and always afraid there wouldn't be enough. By the grace of God over time, God changed my heart. And now people would sometimes say, Craig, you actually are generous.

You're a blessing to others. Your church is amazingly generous. And now something that used to be far from my heart is incredibly dear to my heart because our church, we love to say that we will lead the way with irrational generosity because we truly believe it is more blessed to give than to receive. It's not just what we do. Generous is who we are. And God took what was a negative label, gave me a new name, a new purpose, and a new future.

And I believe with all my heart, that's exactly what God will do for you. Take encouragement from one of the most amazing stories in Scripture in the Old Testament. Some of you may have read about a lady who was known as Rahab, the prostitute, a label right there. In fact, her name is mentioned eight times in the Bible. Eight times her name is mentioned, and guess what? Six of those times her name is mentioned with that label. Almost every time even in Scripture, her name is mentioned. There's the tagline, the hooker, the call girl, Rahab, the prostitute.

You can only imagine what that would do to someone's heart, just as you perhaps have internalized a negative label that over the years, you down, dragged you down, discouraged you, and made you think you'd never have a future. You can only imagine her thinking, well, I'm used goods. No man would ever want me. I could never have a good marriage. I'm unclean, I'm filthy, and I will never have true intimacy with a man. Well, if you know her story, it's pretty powerful.

She started to be moved and believed perhaps that the God of Israel could become her God. and she was moved to protect some spies in a very risky and daring, life-threatening move because she believed that perhaps that God could become her God. And guess what happened? That God did become her God. Her life was radically changed. God gave her a new name, a new purpose, and by the grace of God, a new future. If you know the story, this woman who would have never thought she had a chance to have a good marriage,

married a very godly man named Salman, and then, by the grace of God, she had a great, great, great, great, great or so grandson who happened to become the savior of the world. Jesus, born out of the lineage of a woman who was named dirty, filthy, prostitute, labeled as someone that could never be special at all. But what did God do? God transform her hearts and out of her lineage.

Can you imagine this? Came the sinless son of God, the savior of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't you tell me that what someone else called you will haunt you for the rest of your life. Our God is bigger than what someone else said about you. His truth is bigger than other people's opinion. Our God wants to do more in you and more through you. He is absolutely and completely that good. Refuse to let the labels of the past

to haunt you from doing what God wants you to do in the future. Our God is bigger and more powerful than what other people said about you. What once was will no longer be. So they try to label you. You wrongly believe it. Well, I'll always be the bridesmaid, never the bride. I'll always be just average.

I'll never measure up. I'm always going to be inadequate as a mom. I just don't have what it takes. I'm always going to struggle financially. We're always going to be hurting financially. I'm always going to be stuck in a miserable marriage. I am completely unworthy of God's love. No, no, no.

You do what Paul did when he said, I am forgetting what is behind. I'm letting go of the labels of the past. I'm not hanging on to what they did. I'm not hanging on to what they said. I'm forgetting what is behind, and I'm straining on toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal

to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ. Jesus. Why? Because our God has given you a new name. Our God has given you a new purpose, and our God has given you a new future. You are not who others say you are. You are who God says you are. And our God says you are a new creation in Christ Jesus.

The old has gone and the new has come. All of our churches, would you take a moment and pray with me? Father, I thank you so much for every team teacher today that shared a personal part of their story. To empower us to believe, God, that you make old things new. God, I thank you today that there are those who will be changed forever because, God, you will give them a new name. What maybe perhaps was once true of them will no longer be true because you make us new in Christ. All of our churches today, I want you to just think for a moment, if you've internalized a negative label, it may be something someone called you, or it may be something that

you just kind of wrongly labeled yourself. At all of our churches, if there are those, you say, yes, that's true. I've internalized this. And by the power of God, I want that label to be removed. I want a new name, a new purpose, and a new future. Would you lift up your hands right now, just all of our churches? Just lift them up in a moment of honesty. I'm so thankful for all of you who say, yes, I believe God's truth is bigger than the opinions of others. So, Father, I pray right now for those who are hurting, those who have been held back because of something that they've believed that is not supposed to. to be true of them. God, I pray that you would renew our minds, that you would truly change us

to be exactly what you want us to be, to be who you want us to be. God, I pray that it wouldn't be out of our own effort, but it would be from an overflow of your spirit that, God, when we are weak, you are strong in us. God, I thank you today that there will be those that will wipe away tears because they are not what someone else said. They are. They are who you say they are. And you say they are your children. They are special.

They are called. They are equipped. They are born into your family. They are worthy of the love of Jesus. And we thank you, God, that you're giving us new names, new purposes, and a new future to serve you completely. All of our churches, as you continue to reflect in an attitude of prayer, There's some of you right now that when you think of where you stand with God, you would label yourself all sorts of bad things.

You'd say, well, I'm too bad for God. I'm too much of a sinner for God. I'm unworthy of God's love. In your mind, you may think you have to do all these good things to work your way to God. And I hope you'll realize that you are absolutely and completely worthy of the love of God because love is not just something that he does. love is who he is. And he loves you exactly as you are. In fact, he loves you so much that he did something just for you. He became one of us in the person of his son, Jesus, born out of the

lineage of a prostitute. He became one of us, was born without sin, and became sin on a cross, died and rose again, so that anyone who calls on the name of Jesus would be saved. In fact, quite honestly, that's why many of you are here today, and you can sense it. In your mind, you said, I'm far from God. I'm not good enough for God. I've got to work my way to God. And God would say, no, no, no, you come to him exactly as you are. You come to him now.

You turn from your sins. You call in his name. And when you do, scripture says, you will become a new creation. All of the old is gone. It's forgiven. It's separated from you as far as the east is from the west. God's love covers your sins. You are made completely new and you are not.

the same. And all of our churches, there are those of you, that's exactly why you're here today and you know it. It's your moment to call on his name. All of our churches, you say, yes, I need his grace. Yes, I need his love. Yes, I need his forgiveness. And yes, I want to be new. That's your prayer. Would you lift your hands high right now? All of our churches and say, yes, Jesus, I surrender to you. Lift your hands high now and say, yes, I give my life to you. Those of you at church online, you click right below me. And as we have people all over the world being made new in Christ,

would you join your hearts with theirs and pray this aloud? Simply pray, Heavenly Father, forgive me of all of my sins. Make me brand new. Fill me with your spirit so I could serve you, know you, and follow you.

My life is not my own. Today I give it to Jesus. Thank you for new life. God, you have mine. In Jesus' name, I pray. Would you all worship big, worship loud, welcome those born into God's family today.