Identity, Part 2: I Am Unconditionally Loved // Jamie Nunnally

Victory Fellowship Church Podcast

We all have a running dialogue with ourselves in our minds. What do YOU tell yourself about yourself? Are you lying to yourself? In this message, Pastor Jamie Nunnally shares the truth about you: You are unconditionally loved.
Your identity is who you think you are.
During this series, we’re going to look at 4 different “fingerprints” that determine our identity
1. I am a child of God
2. I am unconditionally loved
3. I am in Christ
4. I have purpose
Fingerprint #2: You are unconditionally loved.
What is love? Our culture uses a heart as the symbol of love. Scripture uses a bloody cross.
1 John 4:16 “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”
4 Types of Love in Ancient Greek
Eros – passion (I love you, I’m just not IN love with you)
Phileo – friendship (We just don’t have anything in common)
Agape – sacrifice (It’s not you, its me)
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”
Storge - family
Unconditional love is love that is constant, unchanging, and has no strings attached.
God’s unconditional love for you:
1. Is unstoppable.
Romans 8:35-39 “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The negative things that happen to you are not an accurate reflection of how God feels about you. You can’t do anything to make God love you more, or love you less. You can’t get more of His love because its all been given. You can’t earn less of it because it doesn’t depend on how good you are but how good He is. This means trying to get God to love you is like trying to make water wet. Love is not just what He does, it's who He is. Stop trying to earn it - start learning to live it.
If you don’t train yourself to believe this, you will waste time earning God’s affection instead of living in it and giving it away to the world around you. Choose to believe God’s love for you, anything less is believing a lie.
2. Is always pursuing you.1 John 4:10 “This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man[a] came to seek and save those who are lost.”
3. Actively helps you.
Love is a verb: service, action, charity.
John 5:17 “But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”
The opposite of love is not hate, but inaction. We’re often afraid to ask God for help because we know we don’t deserve it. But Gods willingness to help is based on His goodness, not our worthiness.
4. Is not easy, comfortable or pretty.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love does what’s best for the other person.
Do you believe that you are unconditionally loved? Do you act like it?