Sermon Tone Analysis

1. Face the Hurt

2. Accept Our Responsibility

3. Choose to be Healed

4. Forgive Everyone Involved

5. Forgive Yourself

6.

Let the Spirit reveal the Problem

God wants to heal your brokenness!

God wants to heal the emotional wounds and scars you carry.

Do you believe that?

This morning we are going to talk about our SELF ESTEEM.

Who gets what I am talking about??

Low self esteem rocks the world of so many people, men and women alike.

I’m not worth anything

No one cares about me

I’m not good enough

I can’t do that

Someone else is better than I

Some years ago Dr. James Dobson surveyed a group of Christian woman, most of them married, claimed to have happy children good health, and financial security.

He listed 10 sources of depression and had them number from 1-10 what effected them the most.

50% of them listed low self esteem FIRST

80% listed low self esteem in the top 2-3

ONLINE DICTIONARY describes self esteem as:

self-esteem[ˈˌself əˈstēm] NOUN confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-respect.

Low self esteem would be lacking confidence in one’s worth or self-respect

1. Satan’s Deadliest Weapon

Satan is a cunning deceiver - his name means deceiver!

His goal is to rob the individual of the worth they have in Christ and the Father, and get them to believe they lack any value so he can bring destruction upon one’s life.

When we lack value we are willing to indulge in sin and self destructive behavior.

The psychological weapon of the ENEMY is keep us worried afraid and doubting.

His strenth is his lies against you!

Low self esteem and self condemnation are really one in the same - they go hand in hand together.

There are 4 ways the devil tries to use your low self esteem to defeat you in your Christian life.

Paralyze Your Potential

If Satan can create doubt in yourself, he can cripple your potential in Christ!

The devil wants to keep you from accomplishing anything for Christ and even in your life robbing you of tapping into the potential of gifts God has placed in EACH and EVERYONE of our lives!

In we see the servant who is given 1 Talent go and bury his talent in the ground.

Fearing God, and doing nothing with what was placed in his hands.

Why, he was afraid to invest what was entrusted to him - he did not have enough confidence in what God gave him to use it --- he sat on the sidelines burying the gift of God in him.

2. Destroy Your Dreams

This is not fantasy or day dreams, but God given dreams to do something for the Lord - to fulfill the plans that God puts in our hearts!

God has plans for each of our lives, and he puts those plans into our hearts - with vision and dreams - but so many never come close to accomplishing HIS PLANS because the devil robs our self esteem that we can see those things happen in our lives...

I.E.

- Israel and the Promise Land

After God set Israel free from the bondage of Egypt, he leads them to the Promised land...

Miraculous events occurred - the plagues, the Red Sea parting, manna and quail from heaven...

In we see 12 spies chosen - the best of each tribe and sent into the Promise Land to spy it out.

They return and 10 of the 12 cannot see God accomplishing His plan through them.

They refer to themselves as grasshoppers compared to the giants in the land.

Their self esteem so low, asked to go back to bondage in Egypt than realize the dreams God had for them!

Only 2 saw themselves through God’s eyes with the potential that they had.

Joshua and Caleb - and an entire generation died in the wilderness except these men and their families.

How many are allowing low self esteem to rob them of what God wants to do through them?

3. Ruins Your Relationships

First with God - if we cannot see ourselves as God sees us, and we think so low of ourselves, than we will end up blaming God for the way He created us.

How many have resentment against God for the way He made us individually?

Too short, fat, smart, or not smart enough, too tall, skinny, musically incapable or not mechanical — whatever it might be...

Reality is our DESIGNER made each of us, He makes no mistakes or junk!

We can grow critical and resentful of our Designer.

We need to see ourselves as He does.

Second, our relationships with others become destroyed from low self esteems because:

WE CAN ONLY IMPART TO OTHERS WHAT WE HAVE!

If we don’t love ourselves, how can we love others - spouses, children, friends....

People around us begin to feel nagged by our demand upon them to draw our esteem from them, and no matter what they do if they cannot change our minds about ourselves, they experience defeat and frustration.

If you belittle yourself, you will belittle your spouse, your kids, your friends...

Low self esteem destroys relationships

4. Sabotages Your Christian Service

The devil knows how to cripple the church by crippling God’s people from functioning in their role in the body of Christ.

We all have a part to play and serve.

How many times when asked to serve do we say - I can’t, I am afraid or too nervous, Someone else is better...

1 cor

God is not trying to choose the best and brightest, but the willing He can work through…

our inability to see what God sees in us can cripple us from His plan to use us...

Moses was a stutterer

David was a small framed boy

Gideon was a fearful farm kid

Peter was a simple, uneducated fishermen

God used each of these people...

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The devil wants to:

- Paralyze your potential

- Destroy your dreams

- Ruin your relationships

- Sabotage your service

All using our own sense of low self esteem, self worth and value!

2.

Where Does Our Self Image Come From

Unfortunately, those with a low self image get that from the Father of Lies - the devil!

We need to get it from the Lord!!!

We need to see ourselves through God’s eyes!

There are three components of a Healthy Self Image (esteem)

Sense of Belonging

Our awareness of being wanted, loved, accepted and cared for — our awareness of being enjoyed!

Too many experienced a parent, friend, spouse, classmates, employer who did not want, love or accept them.

That treatment becomes devastating - especially in the lives of a young person or child.

Many of you here today know exactly what I am talking about.

WHO DO YOU BELONG TO???

If you are Christ - He accepted you in your sin...

He loved you and died for you to prove it...

He wants you to be a part of His family

YOU BELONG WITH JESUS!

2. Sense of Worth and Value

2

I count, I have value, I have something to offer!