Welcome to Big Valley Grace Community Church.

We’re so glad that you’re here.

If you’re brand new, my name is Joel.

I would love to meet you.

I’ll be standing right down here after the gathering today.

I’d also like to invite you if you’re new or newish and you want to get connected here at Big Valley.

We’re going to be hosting Discover BVG today at 12:30.

I want to invite you as well to that.

We’re so glad that you’re here

Today we begin a a new series this weekend called the descent.

And today we’re going to be in John chapter 1.

So if you have a Bible, you can take your Bible and turn to John 1.

We’ll also reference a few other passages.

Genesis 1, Colossians 1, and Revelation 21.

But the majority of our time, we’re going to be in John chapter 1.

If you need a Bible, we would like to give one to you today.

We can do that after the gathering in our prayer room.

If you need prayer, come to the prayer room after the gathering.

Our team will be ready to pray with you.

We also have Bibles in there and we want to make sure everyone has a copy of God’s word.

Before we get into the text today, I want to share a little bit about my life, maybe to get us in the into the context of of this text for us personally.

When I was a high school student, I attended church here and I spent a lot of time in the building that we now call the venue building.

It used to be called the Youth Activity Center.

In fact, my wife Sarah, she spent a lot of time here in high school at the Youth Activity Center.

And there was something that I could always count on when I walked into the Youth Activity Center.

And there’s two sets of double doors when you go through the entrance.

And I knew that after I hit that first set of double doors and I entered into the building, I knew I was going to see something every time on a Monday night, which is when we met.

I knew every Monday night I was going to see the same thing.

And that was I was going to see a group of guys there ready to welcome me in.

Guys like Pastor Rich Sasser who would stand at that door and he would welcome students into the building.

Guys like Pastor Mark Clemens who would stand at the door and welcome kids into the building.

Guys like Oscar Viscayeno who would stand at the door and he’d welcome kids into the building.

And I knew when I came into that youth activity center, I knew there was going to be people, adults, there ready to welcome me and the other students into the building.

I cannot count how many times I entered that building.

I cannot count how many times I was welcomed by adults.

But there is one moment that stands out, one moment that I remember so clearly.

And as a high school student, I walked through those doors and one of the things that they would have us do is put a name tag on because getting to know somebody, your first step is knowing what their name is.

So they would have us put a name tag on.

And as I walked through that second set of double doors, one of the adult leaders looked at me and said, “Who are you?” Joel.

No.

Who are you?

I didn’t ask what your name is.

Who are you?

I remember thinking, “Hey, man, we just had dinner.

It’s a little It’s a little early.

I’m not quite awake yet.

I’m a high school student.

You’re asking deep questions and you know, I don’t I can see, you know, you’re going to make me think here.

I’m like a 14-year-old dude, right?

Okay.

Who What’s my identity?

This guy’s asking me about what my identity is.” And I was totally unprepared for that question.

Later in life, I was able to look back at that season in my life and I was able to see something pretty clear about me.

I would go to this group of people and try to fit in, and then I would go to this group of people and try to fit in.

And then I would go to this group of people and try to fit in.

And I’d go to this group of people and try to fit in.

And there was a pretty clear pattern in my life where it was pretty clear I didn’t understand who I was.

I didn’t understand my identity in that moment.

I wasn’t ready for that question, but it has stuck with me this whole time.

Who are you?

What’s your identity?

Maybe you can relate to a moment or moments in your life where you have searched for who are you beyond your name.

Who are you?

Who are you as a person?

Well, when we look at this text today, it is about a clear identity, a crystalclear identity.

And as we look at the identity in this passage today, it is going to address our own identity.

In John chapter 1 verse one, it says this, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made.

In him was life and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him.

He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

He was in the world and the world was made through him yet the world did not know him.

He came to his own and his own people did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the word became flesh and dwelt among us.

And we’ve seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the father, full of grace and truth.

John bore witness about him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, he who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.

For from his fullness, we’ve all received grace upon grace.

For the law was given through Moses, and grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” No one has ever seen God.

The only God who is at the father’s side.

He has made him known.

Father God, Lord, thank you for your word and thank you for how this passage gives a clear identity of Jesus Christ.

And as we look at this passage, God, would your word speak to us powerfully about how the identity of Jesus Christ clarifies our own.

And so God, we submit ourselves to you and we want you to work in us.

So please do.

And I pray this in Jesus name.

And all God’s family said, amen.

In our search for identity, what we are hardwired to do is begin our search with ourselves.

We start our search for our identity and we do it with ourselves.

In fact, it was just this last week I was asked to provide two proof of identity.

And so I submitted my driver’s license and my work ID badge.

Both have a photo of me and my name.

And you know, when I look at that driver’s license, I I see some interesting things.

I see how I used to look.

I see what I used to weigh.

I see how tall I used to be.

I see what color my hair used to be.

I still have green eyes.

I see my date of birth.

It’s interesting how we are so hardwired when it comes to identity ID.

We start with ourselves.

But in the scripture, there’s a different starting place regarding identity.

Scriptures teach that our identity does not start with us, but our identity starts with God.

And if we really want to fulfill the search for our identity, we’re going to have to start with the right person.

And this is the idea I would like to share with you today.

And we’re going to use this passage and a few others that I mentioned to explain it.

Jesus is our beginning and our end.

So let’s live with him in the middle.

Jesus is our beginning and our end.

So let’s live with him in the middle.

The disciple John who wrote the passage we just read, he said that the whole purpose of the book that he wrote here, the gospel of John, is so that we would believe in the name of Jesus Christ, the son of God. and that by believing in the name of Jesus Christ the son of God we might have life in his name that we might experience life the life that we have been designed to live Jesus is our beginning and our end so let’s live with him in the middle verse one in John 1 it says this in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God he was in the beginning with God this one verse tells us a lot about Jesus this verse verse begins to explain the identity of Jesus Christ.

He is in community.

In the beginning was the word.

Jesus is called the word and he was in community.

The word was with God.

The identity of Jesus Christ.

In community, he’s also divinity.

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.

And it begins to help us understand a pretty big theological concept of the Trinity, which is one God, three persons.

One God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, one God, three persons.

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.

And this also helps us understand about the identity of Jesus Christ is that he was prior to creation.

He was in the beginning with God.

Jesus in his prayer in John 17:5, he references in his prayer to the father, “Father, glorify me as you glorified me in your presence.” Before the world existed, before the world existed, Jesus had glory in the presence of the father.

This brings us to number one.

Jesus existed before all of creation.

Remember, big idea.

Jesus is our beginning and our end.

So, let’s live with him in the middle.

Jesus existed before all of creation.

We struggle with this because we have such a limited view.

We have a very limited view.

Time is created by God and we exist as created beings inside time.

It is very hard for us to concept, you know, conceive things outside of our experience to understand something outside of time, outside of creation.

We are so tied as humans to specific moments in time like we have very important documents that we all have.

One important document that we all have is a birth certificate.

And the birth certificate proves we were born.

Well, I mean, you know, I was born because I’m right here.

But the birth certificate proves I was born in a certain location at a certain time to a certain set of people.

And I happened to be born just right down the street, like right behind Mr.

Te’s Donuts.

Like that’s how you know I was born in a good place.

Right behind Mr.

Te’s Donuts.

I was born right over there.

Now there’s another document like a birth certificate, but I’m never going to have to worry about this document for myself.

I’ll never touch the document.

I’m never going to have to ask for it.

I’m never going to have to do anything with it.

And it is my death certificate.

Someone else is going to handle that document for me, but it’s going to have some important information legally on it, like the time and the place and location of my death.

And then in every town, we’ve got cemeteries and there’s graves everywhere and they have some very basic information about people.

They have their names, they have a date of birth, and they have a date of death.

And usually there’s like a piffy, you know, saying, which if you need a good saying for your gravestone, talk to Pastor Gordon Rumble.

He’s got a ton of them.

And this last week, he shared a bunch of them with me.

They’re hilarious.

And he will get you set up.

Okay.

If you need something good for your gravestone, he’s got you covered.

All right.

But it’s so hard for us to understand something that is outside of our experience as people who live in time.

But Jesus existed before all of creation.

Verse three, all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made.

That is a very clear statement.

All things were made through Jesus.

And without Jesus was not anything made that was made.

That is super clear.

In him was life and the life was the light of men.

Mankind receives light and the light that mankind receives brings life to mankind.

The reason that light brings life to mankind is because that light is coming from someone alive.

Jesus Christ who is alive shines light that brings life to our lives.

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

The the life of Jesus Christ is so powerful that the light that comes from Jesus, it is going to overcome and pierce the darkness.

It’s going to shine into the darkness and the darkness will not overcome the light of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said that the father has life in himself and the father has given the son to have life in himself also.

We experience true life only because of Jesus Christ.

Part of the problem we have in our search for identity is we can tend to compartmentalize our faith.

We can put like God in a box over here.

Well, you know, I participate with God when like I go to church and then when I leave church, like I have these other parts of my life and God’s kind of over here in this box when I show up to the building.

But the rest of my life really doesn’t have anything to do with God.

And when we compartmentalize our life like that, we miss something very, very important.

And that is we miss the involvement of God in everything.

Everything that has been made has been made through Jesus.

And when we partition out our lives and we exit God from our thought and our thinking and our heart and our mind from the conversation of the other aspects of our life, we completely miss the one who made us and the one who made everything in every single moment of our life.

Now, this passage in John 1, it is a reflective passage, a mirror passage to Genesis 1 at the beginning of our Bible.

And let me read to you a few verses from Genesis 1.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light.

And God saw that the light was good.

And God separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light day and the darkness he called night.

And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Now, I’m going to read this passage to you again.

And this time when I read the passage, I want you to pay attention to the names of Jesus that are found in the very first verses in our Bible.

I’ll point some out to you, okay?

And by the way, that doesn’t bother me at all.

I have nine kids.

There are 15 people in my tribe now.

I hear that sound, I’m like, family came over.

That’s awesome.

So, whoever whoever’s got it, just relax.

Okay, everybody, just relax.

It’s everything’s cool.

Okay, Big Pop’s got it covered.

All right.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Jesus is called the son of God.

The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

So Jesus is called the living water.

And God said Jesus is the word.

Let there be light.

Jesus is the light of the world.

And there was light.

And God saw that the light was good.

Jesus is the good shepherd.

And God separated the light from darkness.

And God called the light day and the darkness he called night and there was evening and there was morning.

Jesus is the bright morning star, the first day.

So what John the disciple is doing is he is showing the identity of Jesus Christ and he’s mirroring it.

He’s reflecting it to the creation account and he’s helping us understand who the identity of Jesus is.

It goes on in verse 6 and now we have a little commentary about another character who is John.

But it is not John the disciple who wrote the gospel of John.

It’s John the Baptist.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him.

He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

This is what the scriptures say in John 3:19.

This is the judgment.

The light has come into the world.

And people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

Now, is this just speaking of illumination to the globe, sun, stars?

Is this just talking about mountains and ocean and rivers and trees are going to have light shed on it?

What is this word world?

Well, it includes that it is coming into creation in the created world.

But it’s much more specific than that because in the scripture in John 12:46, this is what Jesus says and explains about him as light coming into the world.

I have come into the world as light so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

And so this true light which gives light to everyone that’s coming into the world, it’s not just so that we can see during the daytime.

It is so that we can come to know God that we can have a relationship with God through Jesus.

That not just the outside would be illuminated but the inside of us would be illuminated.

The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

In our search for identity, when we start our search for identity with ourselves, we completely miss our creator, our creator God, the word that everything was made through him.

Everything was made for him.

This brings us to number two.

Jesus made the descent into his own creation.

Now remember big idea.

Jesus is our beginning and our end.

So let’s live with him in the middle.

Number two, Jesus made the descent into his own creation.

And what’s a little wild about us as humankind is as God comes to us, we tend to withdraw.

We tend to move backwards.

We tend to isolate.

We tend to hide and yet God pursues us and Jesus pursues us and Jesus chooses to be present with us.

Jesus chooses to be in community with us.

Jesus chooses to be in relationship with us.

But it is common to mankind for us to run and hide.

In the creation account, when the sin of man happens, the fall of man happens, this is what’s described about Adam.

The Lord called to the man and said to him, ‘Hey, where are you?

And he said, ‘Well, I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.

And this is the common experience that we all have in the presence of God showing up in our life.

We get we get afraid that the presence of God is showing up.

We withdraw.

We isolate.

We realize our own sin that we’re naked and man, we go and hide.

And yet God pursues us.

We go in and continue in our John 1 passage here.

We get in verse 10.

It says, “He was in the world.” Now it’s referring to the true light, Jesus, the word.

He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

He came to his own and his own people did not receive him.

So the creator comes to creation and creation does not recognize the creator.

The true light comes to mankind to give life and mankind doesn’t recognize the true light.

He comes to his own people.

Jesus said that a prophet’s not even welcome in his own town.

So even in the town that Jesus grew up in, he wasn’t welcomed by the people in his own town.

Verse 12.

But to all who did receive him, the word, the true light, who all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

There is a birth that needs to happen in our lives in addition to the one recorded on our birth certificate.

And we’re going to talk about this more, Lord willing, in two weeks.

We’re going to look at John 3 together.

But in John 3, it’s pretty clear.

You’ve got to actually be born again.

It’s not enough that you were born once.

You’re going to need to be born again.

Referring to being spiritually born again.

Not of blood.

So, not of natural birth.

Not the will of the flesh.

So, not because the mamas and the papas decided to get together.

Not because of the will of man, but of God. a different birth than a physical birth.

A birth that is brought by God because God decided to give the right for us to become his children because of Jesus.

Verse 14, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, which is like saying he pitched a tent, he tabernacled, he dw he’s dwelling among us.

He moved into the neighborhood.

The word Jesus Christ, the true light, he became flesh and he dwelt among us.

And we’ve seen his glory as of the only son from the father full of grace and truth.

The glory of God.

The Bible talks about how the prophets would write about the glory of God.

And now the disciples of Jesus, John specifically, is representing them.

And he’s saying, “We’ve seen the glory of God.

We’ve seen the glory of God in the person of the word, the true light, Jesus Christ.

And he’s the only son.

It’s the glory as of the only son from the father, from God the father, full of grace and truth.

The word says is that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life.

And they’re they’re saying we’ve seen him.

We’ve seen the one who has this glory, the one who is from God.

Now we have a commentary here about John the Baptist.

John bore witness about him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said.

He who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me.” Which is a little bit of a word pretzel.

And what he’s describing is John the Baptist was actually physically born before Jesus of Nazareth.

And so he was technically physically older than him and he came before him.

But he’s recognizing the eternality of Jesus of Nazareth and he’s saying, “Hey, he was way before me.” And by the way, not only did he exist before me, but he ranks higher than me.

He is God.

Verse 16, for from his fullness, we’ve all received grace upon grace.

For the law was given through Moses, and grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.” No one has ever seen God.

The only God who is at the father’s side, he has made him known.

What is this saying?

This is saying no one has ever seen God the Father.

The only God, referring to God the Son, who is at God the Father’s side.

He, God the Son, has made him God the Father known.

What does that mean?

That means we’re able to know God the Father because of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has made God the Father known to us.

And there’s two options when it comes to Jesus Christ, the son of God.

We either reject Jesus Christ as the son of God or we receive Jesus Christ as the son of God.

If we choose to reject Jesus Christ as the son of God, then we will experience the outcome of condemnation which leads to death.

If we receive Jesus Christ as a son of God, it leads to being called a child of God. being a child of God.

Now, in Colossians 1, we have another passage that’s really helpful.

We actually already looked at it in our gathering today.

It was a part of our communion time, but I’m going to read it to you again in this context, and we’ll make a point about the last verse.

In Colossians 1:15, it says this about Jesus.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him.

That is very clear.

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

He’s the head of the body, the church.

He’s the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

For in him, in Jesus, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

And through him, through Jesus, to rec reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

So this identity that we have been looking at, who is the word, the true light, who everything was made through him, who existed prior to creation, was with God in the beginning.

As we look at the Genesis account now, we look at this and it’s saying not only is he everything is is through him, it’s also for him and he’s placed over everything and look what he’s done.

He has reconciled us to God.

And the way that he has done it, he has done it by the blood shed on the cross.

Jesus Christ dying on the cross shedding his own blood is what is making it possible for us to be able to access God to be able to have peace with God.

It is only because of Jesus Christ the word the true light which came into the world which gives life to man.

Jesus Christ is the only way we experience that true life.

He has made peace through the blood of his cross.

And this is such a clear picture of how salvation impacts our life right now and for eternity.

Coming to Jesus Christ impacts our life right now and for eternity.

True life, it is only found in Jesus Christ.

And the peace that we all long for, it is only found in the prince of peace, in Jesus Christ.

And this brings us to number three.

Number three, the descent of Jesus made peace with God available to us.

Remember a big idea.

Jesus is our beginning and our end.

So let’s live with him in the middle.

And number three is the descent of Jesus made peace with God available to us.

Now in your life, your search for identity has led you a number of places.

And I don’t know what groups you’ve tried to fit in.

I don’t know how you’ve tried to describe yourself when people ask who you are.

I don’t know when you look at your driver’s license, what facts on there you’re trying to change about you.

But I know this.

If your search for identity has started with you, you’re exhausted.

If your search for identity has started with you, you are tired and worn out.

If your search for identity has started with you, then you are discouraged and you’re depressed because those are the only outcomes possible when we have a search for identity that starts with us.

And you may feel like you just want to throw in the towel and you want to quit.

And I want you to know that’s the wrong solution.

There’s a different solution and it is start over.

Start your search for identity over.

And this time don’t start your search for identity with yourself.

Start your search for identity with the right person, Jesus Christ.

And then you will discover who you really are.

At the end of our Bibles, we’ve looked a lot in of passages talking about the beginning John 1, Genesis 1, Colossians 1.

Now, we’re going to look at just one verse about the end.

In our Bibles in Revelation 21:6, Jesus says this, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

You will discover your true identity only in Jesus Christ who is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.

Which is why we are looking at Jesus is our beginning and our end.

So let’s live with him in the middle.

Jesus is our beginning and our end.

So let’s live with him in the middle.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we can be incredibly confident about our identity.

We do not have to wander around searching for our identity.

We can know our identity and we can understand our identity because we can know Jesus Christ and we can understand Jesus Christ as Lord, as God, as savior from our sin as the one who becomes our master, as the one who calls the shots in our life, as the one we serve at the pleasure of.

I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.

Jesus is our beginning and our end.

So, let’s live with him in the middle.

When we understand and have confidence about who we are and our identity in Christ, it only makes us more passionate to live every day.

Because every day we wake up and we have purpose and we have value and we have mission and we have in front of us an opportunity to discover the good work that God has designed us to do every day. is an adventure living with Jesus Christ.

Jesus is our beginning and our end.

So, let’s live with him in the middle.

And church family, I want you to know it’s go time.

This is the season because during this season, people are most likely to accept an invitation from you to come with you, a trusted friend to a church.

And you have an opportunity in front of you as you exit the building.

You’re going to walk by posters and there’s going to be these invitations at the bottom and you’re either going to pick up some invitations or you’re going to walk by.

And I want to challenge you to do this.

Enter into the mission right now, right here together as a church family.

Let’s go bring invitation to our community and say, “Will you please be my honored guest to come with me to my church this Christmas?

I would be so honored to have you come with me as my honored guest to Christmas at Big Valley Grace Community Church.

Let’s live on mission right now for Jesus.

Father God, Lord, thank you so much for who you are and what you are doing in us.

Thank you for your word.

Thank you for the clarity about who Christ is.

And thank you Lord that we can submit to that clarity.

And Lord, you in your clear identity will give identity to us as we follow you.

So God, would you be honored and would you allow us the privilege to participate in reaching this community for Jesus Christ?

And we pray this in Jesus name.

And all God’s family said, “Amen.