Amplify Worship Experience: The Sound of an Emerging Generation

18:40 for this space. Thank you for this time of worship, Lord. Thank you for our youth. Thank you for our future, Lord. We see the big things that you are doing and we know, God, that you are going to continue to do big things in their lives. So now, Lord, in this moment, hide me behind your word. hide me behind your cross. Allow me to be a willing vessel, a vessel that your word can go forth through. We ask these things in your son Jesus name. Amen.

19:11 Well, there is a word. We'll be coming from Romans 8, verse 14 through 18. And I really encourage you in your free time to definitely study the chapter in its whole, for we will be feeding from it in its entirety. And I ask if you're able to stand as we honor God's reading or the reading of God's holy word. Romans 8 beginning at verse 14. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading you to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also. Heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.

20:12 If indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us. Romans 8 verse 14 may the Lord add a blessing to the readers hearers and doers of his most holy word you may be seated in the presence of God whether you're walking into a new season or this new school year I'd like to encourage you with this subject get your inheritance our theme this evening is surrounded by identity and who God made you to be And when we think of identity, for me, it really comes down to the W's. You know the W's, the who, what, where, when, and why.

21:08 You know the W's. And tonight we're going to dive into the who. So I have two questions for my youth. Do you know who you are? And do you know whose you are? Most would begin that response with their name, but identity is more than just a name. or a role, or a title, identity, is the enduring understanding of who we are, whose we are, and the purpose for which we were created. So I ask again, do you know who and whose you are? Family, we live in a world that makes this question increasingly difficult for people to answer. Our lives are continually impressed upon and influenced by so many voices. You know the voices, the voices that seem to flow from every direction, the voices that compete to shape our identity and our beliefs, our priorities and our decisions. You know the voices.

22:09 What voices may be in your ears today? Hopefully, it's the Lord's voice drawing you closer in relationship or his word echoing through each and every decision you make. That's the idea, right? But our real lives come with a lot of other voices. Perhaps you're hearing the voice of family, friends, and teachers sharing their desires and direction for your life. Or the non-stop flow of opinions and comparison that social media and television feed at you. I know. Could it be the internal voices? You know, the self-doubt, the fear, the shame, the complacency, or the anxious thoughts that keep on rolling. or maybe it's the one that gets on my nerves the most, the voices of society and systems and the continual, intentional, perpetual way they frame people that look like you and I.

23:06 Telling false versions of you that they created while doing everything to ensure your true identity remains hidden in the chaos of the voices. Children, young people, the voices are everywhere. The voices can begin to create tension in our lives and you find yourself unsure of who you are, whose you are, and the directions to go. You see, the enemy uses a lot of tools, but one of them is confusion. He creates confusion. He created it in the garden and he's creating it today. He uses all the voices coming at you at once and it feels impossible to know right from wrong, up from down. and now you find yourself in an identity crisis. The truth is there are voices that will affirm the divine purpose God has for your life. And there are also voices that will attempt to sow fear, shame, and doubt.

24:05 The question isn't whether voices are speaking. The question is which voice will you agree with? Because the voice you give the greatest authority will shape the identity you choose to walk in. And you may be wondering how, how do I know what voice to trust? How do I receive this inheritance that God has for me? Those are some really good questions and I'm going to try to answer them real quick. As we examine our text, we see three quick lessons and I believe it will help us discern God's voice, embrace our identity and walk confidently in our inheritance. Number one, before you can discover your purpose, you must discover your father. it's right there in the text verse 15 you have received a spirit of adoption and as sons and daughters by which we cry Abba Father that term Abba is an emphasis on adopted so for a quick moment can I share with you about your adoption our merciful gracious and faithful God looked down on us and saw exactly who we were. He saw our brokenness. He saw our wounds and our sin. He knew we wouldn't always get it right. He recognized we collected a debt we could not pay. Y'all, God saw our need. And that God, our God, he didn't turn away. He didn't abandon us. He didn't leave us to figure it out on our own. Instead, our father looked at us in our condition and said, I got you. Your father said he got you. You are his child. You belong to him. Our adoption wasn't based on our performance. It was rooted in his love. Your father loves you. How do you know?

25:51 Because this Bible tells you so. Your father sees you. Your father accepted you. Your father freed you and your father is in your corner giving freely that God who gave his son will faithfully provide all your needs and if you're wondering how this relationship is possible let me quickly tell you our father stepped out of his royalty into humanity as Christ Jesus to place his divinity within your identity to lead you to your destiny you have a destiny rooted in Christ Jesus and you better know it. Don't you ever forget the gift of God's spirit has been placed in each and every one of you as his children. This can be tough for some to understand because we don't understand this kind of love, but y'all it gets better. Many of us don't understand the weight of adoption. Adoption is a permanent legal parent-child relationship. The same holds true with our father and the weight of his decision. It changed our future. It shapes our identity. It frees us from the power of sin.

27:04 And last but certainly not least, it changed your title to an heir. What is an heir? You may be asking one who obtains a portion of an inheritance. You didn't just receive a new name. You receive that inheritance. Everything the father possesses has been open to you. His strength, it's yours. His peace, it's yours. His joy, it's yours. His love is your security and his spirit is your guide. So I encourage you, brothers and sisters, get to know your father. Now, I hope you like point number one because point number two is a little tougher for us to handle.

27:47 Verse 17 reminds us that we are to share with Christ in his suffering. so point number two you must embrace the seasons of suffering i'd be doing a disservice if i didn't include this in the message it's one of the rough realities of being in the family hear me to be a child of a father against whom the whole world stands in rebellion unfortunately that means that the rebellion and the opposition will come towards us as well we will all have seasons of struggle every day will not be easy suffering if anyone knows suffering we as a people know suffering from the boats to the fields from the fields to the line dividing lines of segregation, to the discrimination embedded in society, to the constant killing and incarceration of our black bodies. I'm just saying we know suffering. And I wish I could tell you it goes away. I don't know if it ever will, but I know that the word suffer, the word suffer means to permit, which for me says if the Lord is allowing it, then there's purpose in it. So tonight I want to try to shift how we look at suffering. I believe suffering has two primary purposes. One, it fortifies your faith. Every season of suffering reveals a present father.

29:21 Every trial has become another testimony. Every valley has become another reminder that he will never leave your side. Every hardship has proven his faithfulness. So when you're entering into a new grade or a new season of difficulty, don't face it with fear, face it with confidence. Not because you know what the future holds, but because you know the Father holding you.

29:48 Not only does suffering fortify our faith, secondly, it produces the fruit of our future possibilities. Let me try to quickly unpack that. I'm convinced, brothers and sisters, that even in the midst of our suffering, God is cultivating something within us. So I want us to be careful not to view our suffering as a death sentence. No, your suffering is not a grave. It is the fertile ground where God is growing your glory. Imagine yourself for a moment as a seed when the Lord has planted you. Yes, you are unseen. Yes, there is darkness. Yes, the weight of the world is on you. But it is in those moments, it is in those seasons that you connect to the Father and you deepen your roots. And out of you begins to flow those fruit. You know those fruit. You know your God's fruit. Those fruit, love, peace, joy, patience.

30:41 You know the fruit. Kindness, goodness, faithfulness. You know the fruit. Gentleness and self-control. So what if every season of suffering is meant to produce your fruit? So don't allow those temporary moments of this present season to cause you to forfeit your eternal destiny and future. Y'all know what made this story kind of click for me? Black Panther. It's one of my favorite movies. And it is in there a scene from where T'Challa is challenged by M'Baku for the throne of Wakanda. Anyone remember that scene? Anybody? Let me try to paint it real quick. The mountain is shaking with the roar of warriors, spears clashing, waters crashing on the stones, eyes fixed on the heir to the throne. His strength was questioned.

31:38 His right to lead was challenged. He was in a position that looked like defeat was inevitable. His crown hung in the balance. But then, above the noise of the crowd and above the thunder of the falls, one voice pierced through the chaos. His mother cried, show them who you are. She wasn't telling him to become someone else. She wasn't asking him to prove his worth by pretending. She was calling him back to the truth of his identity. Before one could reclaim the crown, he had to remember who wore it. Before he could defeat his opponent, he had to defeat every doubtful voice. Every voice that said he wasn't enough. And when you remember who we are, your posture changes. Your courage returns. Your purpose awakens. The battle shifts not because our opponent grew weaker, but because our identity grew stronger. Every day, every day, young people, we will step into arenas where we are challenged by different voices.

32:39 the voices around you will say be this look like that but God speaks with a different voice like the scene in Black Panther he calls above the noise not to tell us to become someone else but to remember who he created us to be as I head to a close like the scene in Black Panther the voice of T'Challa's mother was never meant to impress him again it was meant to awaken him and I just wonder if that's what the Holy Spirit has been doing to us not trying to make us someone we're not but awakening you to who you always have been in Christ so I ask again who are you and whose are you the answer to that question will never be determined by the volume of culture or your sufferings or your past, it will be determined by the voices you believe. Which brings me to my final point.

33:35 You have to believe the affirming voice of your father. You can know every scripture. You can pray the most eloquent prayers. You can serve faithfully and show up every Sunday. But if you don't believe what God says about you, you'll never fully walk into what God has for you. and if you're uncertain of what to believe allow me as I close to share the affirming voice of your father your father says you are alive your father says you are free you are spirit filled you are led you have been discovered you are chosen loved kept secured called you are destined justified. You are a conqueror. Don't you know if God before you, who can be against you? You are victorious. It is always working for your good. You are an heir to the most high God. So walk in your royalty. Get your inheritance. Dare to be different. Know that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Believe in yourself because greater is he that is in you than he that is in this world. And when you put your faith and trust in your father, you can walk confidently knowing victory is yours. Don't you ever allow the influencing voices of this world to ring louder or rain higher than the affirming voice of your present loving father. Children, young people, go get your inheritance. Amen.