Sermon Tone Analysis

Tonight were going to talk about our identity.

Who we truly are based on what God says, not on what the world would have us think.

Were going to break this topic down into 3 parts:

Self image

Self Worth

Self Esteem

Self Image- Is the idea you have about your abilities, appearance, and personality

Self Worth- is the opinion you have about yourself and the value you place on yourself

Self Esteem- is having confidence in your worth and abilities; it’s self respect

How many of you can honestly say that you struggle to see yourself in a positive way in one or more of these areas?

This isn’t just an issue that teenagers struggle with, adults struggle with this too!

And this isn’t just a “girl issue”; guys struggle with this issue as well.

Why is this such an issue across the board?

Why does it seem like our self image,self worth, and self esteem are under attack?

Why do we struggle so much with our identity?

The reason is because Satan wants us to second guess ourselves and God’s design for us.

He wants to confuse us, lie to us, depress us, and send us down a road of self-doubt and insecurity.

How does he do this?

By bombarding us with worldly ideals about how we should look, think,dress, and act; by giving us unrealistic standards to measure ourselves against.

The only way to battle the lies that Satan uses against us is to KNOW THE TRUTH!

The truth about self image is this, you are fearfully and wonderfully made!

You can’t know who you truly are until you find out who He says you are!

It doesn’t matter what you buy, it can be as expensive as a car, or as inexpensive as a coffee pot.

Anything you buy comes with an owners manual.

That owners manual is there to teach you about the product yo

God’s word tells us:

The creator of the product knows the ins and outs of what they have made and are the only ones with the authority to tell someone what the purpose of the object is.

You can’t fully understand the product you bought if you don’t read the owners manual.

You are made in the image of God Himself.

He knit you together in your mothers womb.

His hands made us and fashioned us.

The Bible teaches us all of these things and more.

God thought about you and knew you before you were even born.

He took His time and designed you just the way He wanted to.

Everything from the color of your hair, to the size of your foot was thought out and planned by the creator of the universe.

God designed each little detail about you and said “this is good”.

When you think no one cares about you or pays you any attention, remember how much attention God paid you when He created you.

God thinks we are perfect just the way we are.

The world (and Satan) wants us to think that we need to look a certain way to be beautiful, or act a certain way to be noticed and accepted by others.

They would have us think that we aren’t worth as much if we’re not talented in some way like sports, music, dance, something that makes us stand out.

This leaves us constantly comparing ourselves to others and we’re left feeling mediocre, at best.

But that’s what the world wants, that’s not what God wants.

Do you want to know why the world wants you to see yourself this way?

MONEY

IT’S GOOD FOR BUSINESS!

Think about it, we think were not pretty so we buy the best makeup we can find to cover up our flaws.

Think about the brand name.... COVER GIRL… its an ad campaign that emphasizes exactly what were talking about “covering up” what we see as flaws.

We think were not stylish so we go and buy a new wardrobe to fit the current trends.

Hair just isn’t right?

Color it, straighten it, perm it, cut it, buy a million styling products to get it just right.

Not thin enough?

Buy body contouring clothes, waist trainers, gym memberships, plastic surgery, sweat to death in the sauna.....

Do you see the endless cycle?

You can nit pick yourself to death on every detail of your appearance.

Details that you probably wouldn’t even notice if you weren’t constantly surrounded by images of what the perfect girl looks like and acts like.

As long as the world can keep you second guessing your appearance and the way God made you, they can keep you in bondage to this unrealistic ideal and take advantage of you, not only with your money, but they can take advantage of your heart and make you vulnerable to accepting things about yourself that just aren’t true.

YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR LOOKS!

This is what God says about appearance:

Does this mean we aren’t supposed to do our hair, wear jewelry, or take pride in our appearance?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

What this verse is saying is that we shouldn’t try to find true beauty by worrying about our outward appearance.

Being put together and looking nice is fine, but if our hearts aren’t right; if were not gentle and quiet in spirit, we don’t possess true beauty.

A quiet spirit means being at peace with God.

If you are not at peace with God, you’re in turmoil within yourself, which means you don’t have a quiet spirit.

God wants us to be content and secure with Him.

In Him is where true beauty is found.

Just as you shouldn’t judge yourself based on your outward appearance and attributes, you shouldn’t judge others in this way either.

What does that even mean?

Well, let’s look at

1 Samuel

Right here in this passage God shows us what He looks at.

He does not see as man sees but instead God looks at the heart.

So we should look at the heart too.

Remember, God created every little detail of you.

God thinks you’re perfect how you are, and God thinks they are perfect just the way they are.

So before you go pointing out someone else’s flaws to make yourself feel better, remember how God sees them; They are His creation and beautiful in His sight.

When we start to see ourselves (and others) the way God sees us, we start to have a stronger sense of self worth.

HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF?

I’m not talking about appearances here, I am talking about you as a person.

We’ve already talked about not defining yourself by how you look or what you can or can’t do.

Do you define yourself by you’re past?

Do you see yourself as not worthy of God’s love, or anyone else’s, because of mistakes you’ve made, or what others have done to you, or said about you?

Don’t devalue yourself because of these things.

God doesn’t judge you based on you’re past, especially if you’re saved.

Your mistakes were covered in the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.

He sees your heart.

He is a God of forgiveness and redemption.

His mercies are new every morning.

If you come to Him, He will take your imperfections and impurities and make you clean and beautiful.

Isaiah 43:

Isaiah 43:

God can change you from the inside out.

all you have to do is come to Him.

When you feel unworthy, God says your worthy.

:

If God finds value, finds worth in sparrows, how much more value are you in the eyes of God?

When those little voices creep in your head reminding you of what you’ve done, where you’ve been, how you don’t measure up, how you’re not worth the love of others, remind yourself that you have value and worth because you are God’s child.

You are His beautiful creation.

He has something special planned for you that is better than you could ever imagine, because HE values you; because you’re worth it.

He died for you because you’re worth it; He has a plan for your life because you’re worth it.

That should make you feel pretty good about yourself.