Who am I? Finding my Identity in Christ | Guest Bryan Fagerstrom

In this episode, guest speaker Brian Fagerstrom shares a compelling testimony of how God transformed his identity after a career-ending injury. Once a firefighter-paramedic, Brian built his life around his profession—until a life-altering injury forced him to rethink what truly defines him. Preaching from Philippians 3:12-21, he explores the biblical foundation of identity, emphasizing that our purpose is found in Christ alone, not in careers, achievements, or earthly successes.

Through personal stories, scripture, and encouragement, Brian challenges us to let go of past limitations, embrace who we are in Christ, and prioritize eternal impact over temporary success.

Key Themes & Scripture References:

• Letting Go of the Past – Philippians 3:12-13 encourages believers to forget what is behind and press on toward Christ’s calling.
• Finding Identity in Christ, Not in Careers – Colossians 3:12-17 calls us to clothe ourselves in compassion, kindness, and humility, reflecting Christ rather than worldly labels.
• Trusting God’s Direction – Haggai 1:5-7 reminds us to evaluate our priorities and seek what truly matters.
• Living for an Eternal Legacy – John 3:16 underscores the importance of investing in faith rather than temporary accomplishments.

Personal Reflections & Stories:

• Brian’s Testimony – After suffering a serious back injury in 2018, Brian’s firefighter career ended. God used this moment to redirect his path toward pastoral ministry, leading him to embrace a new identity in Christ.
• Generational Faith – Brian reflects on his great-great-grandfather, a blacksmith whose faith shaped generations after him, emphasizing the importance of leaving a spiritual legacy.

Notable Quotes:

• "God sometimes has to break us to show us that our identity is not in what we do, but in who He is."
• "Success in God’s eyes is not about achievement but about faithfulness."
• "We are not defined by our careers, families, or past failures—our identity is in Christ alone."

Application & Takeaways:

1. Examine what defines your identity – Is it your career, status, or success? Redirect your focus to Christ.
2. Release past regrets – God's grace redeems your past and calls you forward in faith.
3. Invest in what lasts – Focus on faith, discipleship, and relationships over worldly success.
4. Be a catalyst for change – Take a step this week to grow spiritually and serve others.

Scripture References Mentioned:

• Philippians 3:12-21 – Pressing forward in Christ, not being defined by the past.
• Colossians 3:12-17 – Living out our identity in Christ.
• Haggai 1:5-7 – Evaluating what we prioritize in life.
• John 3:16 – God’s love as the foundation of our identity.

Keywords & Tags:

Identity in Christ, Philippians 3, faith over fear, trusting God, Christian testimony, purpose in life, discipleship, Rockwell Church, surrendering to God

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#RockwellChurch218 #IdentityInChrist #FaithOverFear #TrustGod

The WELL Faith Podcast offers encouraging, Bible-based messages from Pastor Chris Teien and guests. New sermons are released every Sunday. Replay episodes are marked with an asterisk. Find us online at ChrisTeien.com and Rockwell.Church in Virginia, MN. Email comments to wellfaith24@gmail.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:16

Today's special guest speaker is Brian Fagerstrom.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

All right, just another example of somebody that I knew when they were young that has now taken taken the baton to be a pastor. So he's officially now become the executive executive pastor at Jison Baptist. So which is good. But I'll let him tell you more. So I don't want to take your time. Thanks for that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

Well, let me get situated here. Good morning, Rockwell Church. For someone who is a younger generation, I still have to struggle a bit with technology. I love technology, and I would say even one of my roles at uh Chisholm Baptist Church is kind of coordinating technology. But when it comes to sermons, I'm still a paper and Bible type of person. So I did want to note that he didn't make mention to it, but uh the meal train, like does that pick up around here or does it go between Chisholm Baptists and here? Because that's a train that I'd like to get on, and that's something that you guys offer here. So good for you guys. I did notice that. Well, I'm delighted to be here with all of you at Rockwell Church. Um, it is a blessing for me anytime I have an opportunity to come and to share and to encourage, um, and that we can grow together in our faith, that we can be challenged in our walk, that we can dive into God's word. And there was a few different sermon opportunities that I was considering and looking at today, but as I was conversing with Pastor Chris, it was um he was kind of like, I'd like you to be able to tell your story a little bit more or understand a little bit more about you. And so part of this sermon is a little bit about my testimony and a little bit about my journey that God has had me on, that God has led me through, and that God is continuing to lead me through as I step into more formal pastoral roles. Um, as Pastor Chris said, my name is Brian Faggerstrom. I am the longtime youth guy at Chisholm Baptist Church. I've been involved with the high school uh team over there for about 18 years now. Um I have a passion for the youth. I have a passion for um, I would say all youth, but I do say high schoolers are my, I mean, I helped my wife in the nursery for years, but that was more out of out of uh um well, she's looking at me now and she's making faces like, really? When did he help in the nursery? I did. I think I came in and helped every now and then. Um and so as of uh about three years ago, I was a pastoral intern at Chisholm Baptist Church, and now um about three or four weeks ago the church formally um brought me on as a part-time pastor as I'm finishing up my seminary uh schooling. So I have about four classes left to finish my master's degree, and then um being able to look at what the future will be for me. Executive pastor, we actually just changed that. I'm the administrative pastor of the church. Um, executive was a little bit of a harder word for people to really get around, and I'm by no means in charge of the church or uh the CEO of the church, and so to try and help keep that from being a burden or a uh a stumbling block for people, we adjusted that title to administrative pastor at Chisholm Baptist. Um so I uh I have a long history actually with this church. My wife and I can reflect on many times as uh high school students coming here for various uh youth rallies. I know uh the first time that I met Pastor John Cowan was coming over here to borrow your 15-passenger van as we trucked high school kids out to Verona, Wisconsin for a short-term missions opportunity. Uh Pastor John Brooks was a good friend of uh John and Katrina were both good friends of ours uh growing up, uh not growing up, but over at Chisholm Baptist. He served also with some of our youth ministry opportunities over there. Um and Pastor Chris. Pastor Chris was our very first associate pastor at Chisholm Baptist Church. And I remember, I have a story of remembering when they when he did his interview sermon at the church, but I tell it and it was like blowing Kleenexes out a tube. Um it was something about like prayer, but he doesn't remember that, so that might have been a different pastor that we were interviewing that had the blowing cleanx out of a out of a tube for prayer. But I I thought it was you. Um but probably more so than anything else, Pastor Chris had a 94 or 95 Chevy Lumina Euro that as a high school student I longed for. I really wanted. And I thought that maybe at one point Pastor Chris would would give me that car because of his appreciation for me as a high school student at the church. Um, however, that never did pan out. He actually has a different story about that, but it didn't work out for me, anyways. Um, our first satellite dish at Chisholm Baptist was as a result of Pastor Chris. Um we were doing, I believe it was a marriage counseling uh simulcast back when that was kind of first coming out. Um and that satellite dish has been on our church up until about well, this past summer when we had a the a storm came through and blew a part of our roof off, and so we got a new, had to put a new roof on the church, and with that, unfortunately, the Pastor Chris satellite dish memorial, uh that's probably not the right word, but remembrance came down off of the church. Um but I very much remember the enthusiastic smile that Pastor Chris always had, a trait he carries with him to this day. He had a desire to see people encounter Christ, and he had a great zeal for being able to help shepherd the church. He and Julie and their family were missed as they left to start their church down in Bell Plain, Minnesota. And uh I want to show just a quick little video that's gonna help give you a little bit of an insight um into um I'm gonna figure out technology here, this will this may work, um, into uh my history. And so just to give you a little bit of background, uh, this is called Adventures of Brian and Andy. And and back in 2003, there was a friend of mine, Andy and I, and we did several skits throughout that sermon series. It was probably over a couple of years. In fact, people today are still like, when is Brian and Andy coming back? And a part of me wants to, but a part of me thinks that I've grown up a little bit more from that, but I don't know, we'll see. And so, uh, but this specific one I wanted to show because it has a little bit to do with God's uh humor and also how God is in control of um all things. Beat ya. You know what? Go ahead, Pastor. You can go ahead and have a seat there. I'm uh commandeering this podium. Um in fact, I'm kind of surprised you gave it up with that little of a fight. Um feed like you can sit down. I'm just gonna kind of take over uh from this point. Deacons, if you want to get this guy a Pepsi up here or something, he's just gonna kinda sit back for today's service. Um at this point in time, uh, the wee kids can head off to We Church. Serious, we kids can go to We Church. If they haven't already gone, what's the back is to Weak Kids Church?

SPEAKER_01 7:32

We got one, right? This is your son, Pastor.

SPEAKER_02 7:39

Okay, and uh today's sermon we're talking about is uh let me take a look here. Truth Decay.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Um today's service is uh brought to you by uh Ryan. What are you doing? Well, I I'm kind of taking over the service.

SPEAKER_02 7:55

You know, I was planning on going uh to uh seminary, I'm gonna learn how to be a pastor, so I figured I'm just gonna kind of you know prepare myself a little bit, and I decided we'll just kind of take over and just you know see how it goes.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Did you say seminary or cemeteries? You know, seminary, yeah. I want to be a pastor. You two. You a pastor? Yes. I figured, you know, I think I'd be good.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

First of all, I'd like to talk, okay? Second of all, I'm good in front of a good, you know, good-sized group of people. I'm dramatic. You know, and and plus, I'm a way better singer than Pastor Dance.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

So it doesn't take much to be a better singer than Pastor Dance, but play a pastor. Well, you know, I think it'd be a good job. I mean, like your pastor gets paid a full salary for one day of work, ladies and gentlemen. One day of work. Okay, and plus one really good first.

SPEAKER_02 8:53

Likewise. Well, okay. First of all, the whole dressing up, you know, suit and tie, GQ looking sharp. I like that. You know, I like to dress up to get good, you know?

SPEAKER_01 9:02

And uh, you know, plus, you know, you got uh weddings and funerals, and uh, there's always a lot of good food there. And I love to eat. Yes, true. And plus, you know, then you wouldn't be at my house eating my food all the time, too. That's right. Well, you know, I'm thinking of others. Okay, what okay, but what's definitely I mean, there's there's just a lot of good things.

SPEAKER_02 9:23

I mean, people make you cookies and bring you candy, especially around Christmas time, and there's actually one other very important thing that I just learned. And what would that be? Okay, I found out that the average church has twice as many single guests as single guys.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

It's a great place to meet women.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

Okay, and good women, nice women, you know, the kind you'd marry.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

You know, Andy, have you ever thought about going into pastoring? Well, you know, I really haven't, but you know what? That's that is a good point, and everyone's trying to set me up anyways, so there you go. Maybe that's a good idea. What am I talking about? You can't be a pastor.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

Well, it it is kind of funny because uh one of those good women that you meet and marry from church is my wife Jen. And so I am joined here this morning by my wife Jen, uh, my oldest son Ben, and my younger son Thomas. And so they were excited to be able to be with me here this morning. But uh, it's funny though, as that in 2003 I had no intentions of the idea of either being called, feeling the inclination of being a pastor. I was in school at that time to be a paramedic. I was going to be a firefighter paramedic. That was the goal that I was going to accomplish, and and being a part of college is is where I was at. And here we are, some over 20 years later, and I'm standing in front of you at Rockwell Church preaching a sermon as a pastor, filling in for Pastor Chris, who is now your senior pastor here at the church. And so while we may not know the plans that we have, uh God certainly uh does. Now I want to preface this: I am 100% Scandinavian. I am 50% Swedish and I am 50% Finnish, which means, in addition to being a terrible card player, I should show little to no emotion. Yet if you know me, uh I am incredibly emotional. Um I wear my emotions on my sleeve. I cry while watching movies. I cry when I'm super happy. Uh I cry when I'm moved by worship. The bottom line is, is I may cry this morning when I'm sharing with you, but I'm prayerful and encouraged that hopefully this portion of my testimony will help frame this idea of identity. And so the title of today's sermon is Who Am I? What is my identity? And identity is a huge topic of emphasis in our postmodern society. We exist, and then by existing, we create our essence or our identity. Our identity is this banner that we do that we wear or that we proclaim that describes who we are, why we're here, and what we're going to do. So let's pause and pray quickly as we jump into God's Word. Heavenly Father, we thank you, God, that you have given us your word. God, that we can stand on your word as the truth authored, powerful, able to penetrate our souls, able to provide encouragement, restoration, challenge. And Father, we thank you that you have given us your word. We thank you for this opportunity that we can explore this idea of identity and what defines us. What are the marks of who we are, and how do we create those marks or how have we created those marks? God, may you use me to be able to proclaim your truth. God, may you receive the honor and glory this morning. In your name we pray. Amen. If you have your Bibles, we will be going through uh in Philippians chapter three if you want to start working your way there. Um, but our identity is important because our identity our identity will define and shape us, but in addition to that, it will define and shape those around us. I'm gonna say that I grew up having a superhero dad. My mom and dad loved the Lord, and they desired for me and my siblings to grow up in the church. Now, this primary identity was pivotal to my coming to faith. And my dad taught me lots of things, but there was one thing that he taught me that was an ingrained part of who I became, and it didn't even require words, but his actions shaped my future. My dad was a firefighter, and from a very young age, I remember being around fire trucks and other firefighters. I remember seeing my dad in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner, having his pager go off and running out to the garage and seeing his vehicle drive away and having him come back later in the day. I remember the smell of him when he would come back, and you would smell the smoke on his clothes as he came home. It was real, it was tangible, and it made an impression on me. And and I and I saw my dad serve our community. And knowing that my dad worked to save people's lives, it set in me a path of how I identified with my dad. And I ended up taking my dad's legacy of being a volunteer firefighter and made it a career. And in 2003, I started first as a volunteer firefighter for the Chisholm Fire Department. And after completing my college and training, uh became a firefighter paramedic for the Hibbing Fire Department in 2005. I got to work every day in what many people would call one of the greatest jobs on the earth. Not the easiest job, but one of the greatest jobs. Anytime you would ask a kid in high school or in grade school, what do you want to be when you grow up? Oftentimes it would be an astronaut or a police officer or a firefighter. Um, and I got to be able to live that out. Being a career firefighter allowed me to save lives as a paramedic, assist in removing victims from house fires, investigating the origins of fires as I stepped up into the fire marshal position for the city of Hibbing as the arson investigator for the area and for our region. I had an opportunity to be able to make an impact on kids' lives and inspire them. I even had the opportunity to be able to serve the once uh vice president of the United States and was in charge of managing the fire safety and occupancy of a facility that he was visiting. Don't be too hard on me. From the outside looking in, and from the faces of kids everywhere, I had the dream job. But in July of 2018, everything would change. And while working at a house fire, I suffered a back injury that resulted in three back surgeries, numerous therapies, and three years of procedures and therapies to try to remedy the injury. With it ending with the male clinic finally saying that you should not return to the fire service. And so, just over three years ago, on January 15th, 2021, after 15 years of service on the Hibbing Fire Department, I penned my resignation. A resignation letter for the job that I loved and I looked to retire from. That entire process has been God reorienting for me. He's been focusing my life on things much greater than me. And God literally needed to break me in order to help me see that my identity was not in my career as a firefighter. Being a firefighter did not ultimately define my purpose in life. And God desired other things for me, the better things, the best things. Because if I was perfectly honest, I don't know that I would have given up my fire career to be able to pursue a job as being a pastor. And I say a job as a pastor is a hard thing to say. Because growing up being a part of ministry, ministry is just a part of who we are and what God created us to be. But God knew my heart. God knew my idolatry that was inside of me. And so often as he did in the Old Testament, he removed the idols from me. Sometimes God, when we pray, God says yes. Sometimes God says no. Sometimes God says, not yet. Or there's sometimes God says yes when you want him to say no. And in my circumstances, God made the change for me. And I'm not an anomaly. There's examples after examples. A concert pianist's career ended by early onset carpal tunnel. A surgeon loses their medical license after a malpractice lawsuit. A pastor, uh, his ministry has ended by infidelity or embezzlement. A potential pro-athlete suffers a career-end-ending injury. Or a mother of a family, where her identity is her family. And is then rocked by the death of a child. And it's no wonder so many people never recover from these things. The horrible brokenness and tragedy of this world so often drives us to the Lord when we know the Lord. But if the Lord isn't our identity, where do we turn to? What do we grasp on to? It's very empty and very dark. But those with Christ as their identity have a hope to cling to. And we realize that we are blood-bought image-bearers of God on high. We are adopted sons and daughters. And friends, I want to encourage each and every one of you that our church also isn't our identity. I hail from Chisholm Baptist Church, but I may be preaching wherever God calls me to preach. And to be perfectly honest, that's another stretching thing for me. Church and Baptist has been my home for my entire life. And people like Pastor Chris that say, God, where do you want me is where I will go and serve, is inspiring to me and encouraging to me for what God may have in store for my future. Our church name, our church colors, our church buildings do not identify us. The body, ecclesia, is each and every one of you. You are the church. And your identity isn't the church, your identity is in Christ. Christ uses the church for his glory. So let's dive into today's text. And I want to evaluate our identity on three basic formats, retrospectively, introspectively, and prospectively. Okay, so three big words. They basically mean past, present, where we're at now, and what does the future look like down the road? So let's begin with retrospectively. Now the passage we're looking at is the Apostle Paul writing to the church in Philippi. He was one of the greatest church planters of our time. And I say our time because I still consider it our time. This is post-Christ, right? He is one of the greatest church planters of our age. So Philippians 3, verses 12 through 13. Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead. And just like Paul, I stand in front of you today as not someone who's got it all together, right? We look at pastors, we look at the shepherds, we go, wow, they have got it all together. And I want to let you know that we are with you in this journey of sanctification as we become more and more like Christ. It doesn't mean I'm I've got it all figured out, or I'm fully mature in my faith. Like Paul, I speak to you today out of the love and grace that God has shown me and the love that I have for you as believers. Just like Chris when he preaches, it is out of his love for you and his love for Christ that he continues on the mission of shepherding a church. Every year, when I work with our high school students, I help them to write their testimonies. Revelation 12, 11 says, They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives in the face of death. They conquered him, Satan, by the blood of the Lamb, Christ, and what? By the word of their testimony. Understanding our testimonies and how God is working through us is incredibly important and incredibly powerful. And the basic premise of our testimony is past, where we are now, and where God is leading or taking us in the future. So when Paul says, forget what is behind you, he's not talking about this idea of reflecting on Christ's work. Our stories are important, but Paul's desire in saying that we need to forget what is behind us is that we not become stuck or trapped or defined by our past. Instead, we are looking at the progressive path that God has placed us on. If we are to have Christ as our identity, then we need to understand the power of Christ's blood on our behalf. And while as Christians, God will use you and your life experiences on this earth to impact others. But you are no longer defined by experiences, history, emotion, relationships, or sin, but we are seen as God sees you through the perfection of his son. And that's a difficult thing. There's many people, including myself, that our past becomes stumbling blocks for us to be able to move forward into what God has for us next. The idea of grace is oftentimes a difficult thing for us to come around. I often would say that grace is hard. Like, I feel like I need to pay for the sins of past. I feel like I need to experience those pains even more and more. The idea of Jesus' washing of those sins oftentimes is difficult to understand. People will call it cheap grace. It's like it just seems too good, but that is how good our God is. If God does not count your sins against you, then he desires you to enjoy the freedom of forgiveness and not be bound by the sin, so that you may be satisfied in Christ. John Piper quote It says, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. So, after examining our past and understanding that while reflecting on our past is an important part of understanding our story in Christ, it should not be a hang-up for us. So, what about introspectively? Where are we now? Where are we today? Let's continue on. Philippians 3, 14 through 16. I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this to you also. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have to attain. Or have attained, excuse me. Paul's pursuit was not to be the best tent maker in the Old Testament. Because that's what his bivocational career was, a tent maker. His goal was not to just be known as the world's best tent maker. His goal was the prize of salvation in the eternity spent with Christ Jesus. So God calls us as Christians to be maturing in our understanding of God. And if we're not, God says he will reveal it to us. And I often feel like my story is kind of like that. He'll kind of sometimes give you opportunities, and sometimes it takes a little bit more direction. And God can very much intercede into our lives in order to reorient or redirect us to what he has in store for us in our lives. So this revelation can come in the form of understanding, can come through failure, can come through loss, can come through success. There's so many different circumstances that each and every one of you are being working through and living through right now. But as Christians, we should be evaluating if God is trying to reveal Himself to us in some way through the circumstances of our lives. We should live up to whatever truth we have attained, and we need to realize that we are given one life here on earth. Hagi 1 5 through 7, it's on the screen. Now the Lord of hosts says, think carefully about your ways. You have planted much, but you harvest little. You eat, but never have enough to be satisfied. You drink, but never have enough to become drunk. You put clothes on, but you never have enough to get warm. The wage earner puts his wages in a bag with a hole in it. The Lord of hosts says this, think carefully about your ways. We are called to evaluate, and we understand that we are like a bag with a hole in it. We continually need to be being filled by Christ because a part of our sinful nature means that we will always be having it coming out the bottom. We are broken vessels, as they would say, right? As we pour in, we are cracked in broken vessels until we are made perfect in heaven. So sometimes we need to be able to stop the monotony of our life, our everyday, every week, every month monotony routine that easily sweeps away so many precious moments in our lives. Busyness is the new family tradition with people almost competing to find out who can manage the most chaos in their lives. And how much of this chaos that we manage daily has eternal value and how much of it is earthly. Are we building a legacy on an earthly identity or are we investing in eternity? The things that we have on this earth we know will not last forever, but yet so much of society, when you look at it, you will find many quotes or sayings that people will use as we each tirelessly pursue to make an impact with our identity or ourselves so that we will be remembered. We want to create this legacy where we will be remembered. And we see things that say, you may be gone, but you will never be forgotten. Or family means no one gets left behind or forgotten. Or this one, my biggest fear in life is to be forgotten. Now, this isn't to sound super negative, but I think it's a reality that we all know but often don't think about. One day you will die, and one day you will be forgotten. And it and it and it it sounds harsh, but it is a reality that we need to wrestle with. One day we will die, and one day we will be forgotten. Now, people may read or recognize this name of a person, but often we'll be forgotten within two generations. So I want to just give you a little example, okay? So this is a sobering reminder of what we invest our lives into. And so, again, I just I want to give you an example, not that by any means my family is a picture of perfection, but this is kind of my story, so this is a little bit of my family. There's my dad and my um niece, and so this is my dad. You remembered him from earlier in the slide of him? And he chose to show me that he was not defined by just being a firefighter. His life was defined by his love of the Lord and his relationship with Christ. My parents laid in me a foundation built upon Christ. Now, this is my grandmother, Rhoda Fagerstrom. This is my dad's mom. And she chose that her legacy was not based off of what she did, but about what Christ has done in her life. And she invested into my father. Now, these are my great-grandparents. Okay. Um, actually, it's the middle picture there. So that's um Hannah and Gust. So that would be my grandmother's parents. And they came from Finland, even though they were Swedish, um, but they came here with a love for the Lord and a desire to be a part of the church and the body of believers. And that's as far as I knew, really, in my family growing up. I knew great-grandma and great, never met him, but I knew of them. The last picture there is my great-great-grandfather Eric Erickson. And up until about four years ago, I didn't even know his name. No idea who he was, no idea what he did, no idea where he lived or what he invested in. I don't know his history or his work ethic of being a carpenter and a blacksmith. I don't know about his relationship with his wife. I don't know how successful he was about his philosophical understanding of things. I don't know about how many fishing boats he had. I don't know if he was an incredibly popular person or not. But you know what I do know, and what I'm extremely thankful for is that he had a love for the Lord and that he desired to invest in eternal things. And he desired to share the hope of Christ not only to his family, but to the people around him. And I'm thankful that God preserved some of that generational legacy as that came from from family to family, understanding that Christ is our identity. He was a blacksmith, he was maybe a really good blacksmith. I don't know that. But that has no bearing or effect on me today. Eric was forgotten. But his investment was an eternal legacy worth investing in. Now, ancestry.com is is such a big thing. People are finding about all sorts of amazing things of their of the of their family history. Many of you may have had ancestors that were great scientists or or war heroes or or politicians or or many other types of things. But they, like Eric in my family, are forgotten by this world. And you know what? My great-great-grandpa Eric probably had great times with his family. Probably loved his family a lot, invested into his family, maybe played hockey games with his kids. I have no idea. Buying his first home, establishing himself in a community. All good things, but not things that I remember today. The fishing trips, the weddings, the achievements, the good retirement are all blessings to enjoy, but they're not the things that carry the weight of eternity. Are you pursuing an earthly legacy or are you pursuing things of eternity? Now, please don't look at this as like my family was perfect. We are still a very broken family. And I also understand that some of you here today may not have come from a family where Christ was the focus of eternal investment. And to be perfectly honest, there because you are a part of a family is no guarantee that you will continue that. We understand that faith in Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit. And we pray for our kids. We invest in our children and our kids, and we pray that God would be gracious and that the Holy Spirit would reveal the truth of what Christ did for them in their lives. But it's not a guarantee. Just growing up in a family like that is not a guarantee of salvation. I just want to be very clear about that. But I do know that many of you here, if you don't come from a family like that, you've been impacted by someone who lived a life like that. You were impacted by someone that invested in eternal things and was willing to have eternal conversations, and being able to either invite you to be a part of a church or to be uh enter into or understand what this relationship with Christ is. There is someone who had a desire to impact others for eternity that touched your life, either directly or indirectly. Okay, so maybe the Holy Spirit's convicting you a little bit. Now, what do we do? So let's look prospectively. Okay, let's look at the future. Philippians 3, we're just going to continue on, 17 through 21. Ooh, I gotta speed up, sorry. Uh join in me, brothers, in observing those who live according to the example that you have in us. For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies to the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their God is their stomachs, their glory is in their shame, they are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself. So maybe you're sitting here today and you know that you're, or you can admit that maybe my identity is a little bit of this world. Maybe my family or whatever it is is has become my identity. Or maybe you're saying, like, ah, you know what, my identity has been my career, my family, and I don't really understand this thing about Jesus. My message to you is simple: God desires and would take unfathomable joy in you giving your identity to him, to being able to lay at his feet and submit to Christ as your king. John 3 16 says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. I know myself, Pastor Chris, others here would love to be able to pray with you and encourage you to understand what it means to place your identity in something else other than yourself. For those of us who have been saved by grace, but maybe feel we're not putting our whole identity in Christ, Paul says we should imitate him and not live in this world. And I want us to look at one other quick verse here that will help us see what that looks like. Because Paul went into more description in his letter to the Colossians. He kind of lays out a roadmap of how God desires to show his identity through us. And this is Colossians 3, verses 12 through 17. Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy love, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another, forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. Above all, put on love, the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of the Messiah, Christ, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts, be thankful. Let the message about the Messiah, Christ, dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another. In all wisdom and singing psalms, hymns, are we under the next one here? Sorry. Um, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your heart to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. God is a God of action. He calls us to be the same. God lived a life, God paid the penalty, God died a horrible, or Jesus died a horrible death and was raised again. God and Christ are a very much connected with the idea of action. But remember that God does not call us to be successful, God calls us to be faithful. To be faithful to these things, striving after these things. So I want to ask what's going to be your catalyst. So a catalyst is an agent that provokes or speeds up a chemical reaction or a significant change or action. What's going to be your catalyst this week and looking ahead that's going to help you to allow Christ to be your identity? Maybe you need to work on forgiveness. Maybe you need to be more compassionate and slowing to judge or and slow to judge. Maybe you need to get plugged into a Bible study or let the message more deeply dwell in you. Maybe you need to engage or lead a study. Maybe you need to be a more thankful person. Maybe we need to break the trend of parents letting their schedule get so out of hand that God is fourth or fifth place in priorities. Where sports replace church and kids' jobs replace Christian fellowship. He also says, do all these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It could be something as simple as in your life of maybe life has kind of become a little bit routine. God trying to tell you to change it up a little bit. Maybe instead of having that same conversation with someone else, you can steer it towards something more eternal. Instead of the weather. Which we have lots to talk about. I think that's our biggest hang up in Minnesota in Minnesota is that weather really can encompass a great majority of our conversation because we have such amazing, crazy, unique weather. I can't tell you exactly what it is, and it may be different for each of you, but let's not let Rockwell Church be a place where you just come every week like a spectator at a sport. But let's let Rockwell provide you the opportunity to develop a catalyst in your life to make Christ your identity. And I want to close with Tim Keller's quote God sees us as we are, He loves us as we are, and accepts us as we are, but by His grace, He does not leave us where we are. Where's Christ wanting to take you? I bet it's deeper and higher than you are now. Let's think less of us and our identities and more on Christ and what He has in store for us.