Who Am I?
by Pastor Mark Downey
March 16, 2014
Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:13-17
A patient is in a hospital bed coming out of a coma from a head injury; as his vision begins to focus, seeing doctors and nurses he says, “Who am I?” As soon as I decided on this sermon title, I read a description of a movie in the TV guide that said, “An amnesiac struggles to remember who he is while getting experimental therapy at a facility for the terminally ill.” This is a fascinating question, because there are so many answers. One could say their name, their religious affiliation, their nation of birth etc. We very rarely bump into other Identity Christians, but it happened to me once when I walked into a little T-shirt shop and the proprietor asked me, “Do you know who you are?” And I said without hesitation, “I’m an Israelite” and he just about fell off his chair. Nobody identifies themselves racially these days, because it’s not politically correct. In fact, to announce yourself as a Christian Israelite, hardly anybody would know what you’re talking about. And if you don’t eat pork, surely you’re some sort of converted jew. Oh, if our people only knew who we really are. Our race has sustained a traumatic head injury and collectively we suffer from spiritual amnesia. Thousands of denominations experiment on your mortal soul; their dead churches even plaster the words ‘life’ and ‘living’ on the front edifice. But, it is our faith that restores the focus to clearly remember who we are while we’re alive. We are “the children of God” who hath been quickened, becoming the mature “sons of God” and “heirs of the promise.”
