Do you like yourself_2

From A.W. Tozer: "Anything God has ever done, He can do now. Anything God has ever done anywhere, He can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone, He can do for me.

Review:

The vision of this Church, can anyone tell me what it is? Love God and love people.

I have this as a goal for this church and will continue to do so. It is simple but a life long job. Therefore I am always looking for ways to get to this goal and every now and then I recognize things that can hinder us from this Godly vision.
Love God--…………….Love People. AS YOURSELF!

Rom 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (NIV)

We cannot accept others until we have allowed and believed that God has accepted us.
Loving yourself is putting the same value on yourself that God does…

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False belief #1 is: We think our worth is based on what we do.

Being vs doing

What if I were in a car accident and became paralyzed and could not move anything?

I might be tempted to think, now I am useless. I just want to die.

What would my wife tell me? I know what she would say. Jerry I love you and what you can do is not what I love, but I love you. Why she has put value on me, not my works alone.

In reality what you see is just a weak expression of who I am inside.

Not my skin color, build, shape, size, voice, etc..

Who you are is more important than what you do.

Faithfulness and works will come from WHO you are

God always loves us, but doesn’t always like our works. He puts his love upon us which gives us worth. But our actions will determine our rewards.

We need to spend more time developing WHO we are instead of WHAT we are doing.
A changed being will always produce changed doing.
But by changing WHAT we do will not change WHO we are.

False belief #2 is: We think in the now, God thinks in Eternity

Rom 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (NIV)

All things God works for the good?

God doesn’t cause us to have bad things; he is the master of turning them.

For those that love him
Those called according to HIS purpose. What purpose?

God foreknew and predestined

God foreknew: Explain seeing in eternity.. Because he could he knew our end.
God predestined: He knew after all his influence what our final choice would be. He does not determine it, we do, but he knows.
To be conformed to the likeness of his son.

God has already decided that you are to be like his son. Everything that he provided for Jesus he has provided for you.

Those he predestined, he Called…

Called to be saved, invited, (have you heard him call you? Does your heart search for the living God?
He justified, has declared and pronounced you righteous, holy, complete, good, etc..

How can he do that? Because he knows you will make it. How does he know that? Because he has seen your destination and already begins to treat you like you have arrived.
Z.b. What if I could look into the future and see that you would become a carpenter. Then when you were really small I started calling you my little carpenter. Then I started blessing you at every occasion with carpenter tools, and then started showing you how to use them, etc…

Wouldn’t you have a better chance of becoming the best that you can be?
Would you rebel and say,” I am not a carpenter, look I can hardly hammer nail straight. “Yes that may be true now, but I know if you continue you will be one of the best.”

He also glorified: to honor and magnify, to treat with respect, esteem highly

He has simply begun now to treat us as if we were already there. Already finished, Holy, like his son Jesus.

1 Tim 1:12-16

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-- of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on (N

1 Cor 3:11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

The foundation is a person, the house is you. Who you become on this journey is the most important goal we can have.

· When we begin to place the same value on ourselves as God does

o When we begin to believe that when God is for us we are going to make it.

o When we believe that we will not only make it but we will reach the place of being like Christ.

o Everything will change for us. We will have more purpose, confidence, direction, Hope,