DeepFake – 2 – True Image

Welcome back to Redemption Church! We are so glad to have you here with us in Plano Tx. Blessings to everyone joining us online. We are having a great day today because we are baptizing people into Christ.

DeepFake

We are in the 2nd week of our series called Deepfake.

The people you saw in our intro video are not real. They are digital manipulations created through A.I. – artificial intelligence.

Deepfakes are synthetic media that have been digitally manipulated to replace one person’s image convincingly with that of another.

Deepfakes hijack the creator’s image and then manipulate that image for their own liking.

Review from last week.

-You were made in the image of God.

-Sin hijacks that image and corrupts it.

-We can reclaim the image of God through Jesus.

-Jesus is the image of the invisible God! (Colossians 1:15)

I want to remind you that no one is like God. Only God is God.
I want to remind you that no other creation is like mankind. Only mankind is made in the image of God.

But because of sin, separation was brought between God and mankind.

But Jesus is both God and man!

Only God is God. Only mankind is mankind. Only Jesus is both! 

If you want to see God… look to Jesus. He is the image of the invisible God.

Through Jesus you can reclaim the image.

Today I want to talk to you about the broken image.

The Broken Image

Imagine you overhear your friend say “Oh no I broke my phone…”

You may look over and see them point out a little chip on the side… or a little fracture on the screen… or their charge port is a little loose and doesn’t work all the time…  The phone has some damage but it is still usable.

When we are talking about the broken image of sin, we are NOT talking about a little cosmetic damage.

No, we are talking so badly broken that you can barely make out it was a phone. You are questioning the purpose of the device because it is so badly broken, you can’t tell what the creator intended it to be anymore.

What end am I supposed to speak in?
Is this broken shard of glass where I am supposed to dial?

-Sin breaks our relationships, friendships, and marriages so badly that the world doesn’t know how to use what the creator invented.

-Sin has broken our blessings like pleasure, wealth, success so badly that it is a broken piece of materialistic pride.

Sin breaks us worse than any cell phone pic I could find… and here is why.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

The same enemy who slithered up to Eve in Garden, comes to us and steals, kills, and destroys.

Sin only steals, kills, and destroys.
-Sin will not make you happy.
-Sin will not bring you joy.
-Sin will not bless your finances.
-Sin can not improve your life.

Sin breaks you completely.

Here is how sin works EVERYTIME.

#1 Sin tempts you with what you think will be great fun.

#2 You enjoy sin for a very short time.

#3 You immediately feel guilt and shame.

-The hateful words you said when you lost your temper… you enjoyed that for half a second… then felt terrible.

-Stealing is the same… I know people who stole and quickly gave away what they stole because they could bare to look at it anymore because of shame.

-Drugs… Alcohol abuse… Physical abuse… Cursing… Lying… Dishonoring your parents…

Adam and Eve did not enjoy that forbidden fruit for very long… they regretted it every day of their life.

Sin kills, steals, and destroys.

The Broken Image

Nobody enjoys the broken image, but our enemy.

When we start to feel that shame and guilt, we lose all hope. We begin to hate ourselves… We often even think that God must hate us.

*1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV) Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the (Censored for Children) immoral (Censored for Children)  10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

We aren’t just a little dinged on the side… we have more than a small crack… let’s be real… because of sin we are BROKEN and not welcome in the kingdom of God.

But I have great news for you today…

That’s Not You

To the alcoholic who has been told they will always be an alcoholic and they can never be free.. we say THAT’S NOT YOU.

To the person who loses their temper and has trouble forgiving no matter how hard they try.. we say THAT’S NOT YOU.

To hypocrite who may not even realize they are a hypocrite… or perhaps they do and just have not been able to change.. we say THAT’S NOT YOU.

To the felon who did things they can’t forgive themselves for doing.. we say THAT’S NOT YOU.

To you who walked in here with guilt… to you who are watching online and thinking you have been so bad that you probably the exception to the rule.. we say THAT’S NOT YOU.

Here is why I can say this…

#1 God did not create you this way. You were created in the image of God. God didn’t create you for the purpose of guilt, shame, and death.  God, who created you and knows your purpose and design wants you to know.. THAT’S NOT YOU.

#2 the next verse says so..

1 Corinthians 6:11 (NIV) And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Your broken image does not have to be who you are… it can become who you were because God will wash you, sanctify you, justify you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Somebody say WASHED!

The scripture said “you were washed…”  What do you think that is about? It is about baptism and here is how I know.

The same author, the apostle Paul, using the exact same phrase in this verse…

Acts 22:16 (NIV) And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

This is Paul’s testimony… he was a murder… but God washed away the broken image of sin.

We are going to be baptizing today and when we do, we are going to hold this verse in our hearts.

We believe that all the shame, all the guilt, and all the sin will be washed away.

We believe that the plans of the enemy will be washed away forever in the name of the Lord.

Reclaim the Image

We were made in the image of God. We need to reclaim the image today.

The broken image that has been manipulated and twisted, is going to be gone.

We are going to come up out of the water brand new.