Value: Our Worth To God

Intro:

Luke 12:15

And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."

Luke 12:22-25

Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?

We have all struggled with thoughts of worthlessness or feeling down on ourselves because of situations, overwhelming circumstances, other people…etc.

That fact is we have shaped our outlook about ourselves based on what we have heard about ourselves. When we look in the mirror, do we see a prized possession or just a person who feels and sees someone unworthy staring back at them?

I hope to change that view this morning. The goal this morning is to show you and help you to understand your value to God. And that you base your value on how God values you and not let circumstances, situations, and people determine your worth.

What is value?

Value is the worth of something. That which is prized or esteemed highly. Another way of saying it, is something or someone that is loved or cherished deeply.

Example: We value, people, cars, computers, our country, any and everything we hold dear to us is of value to us.

There are somethings that have value, but have no cost. Antiques, Historical items. Their value is determined by age or rarity. Clothing that a famous sports player wears and gives to a fan, that piece of clothing becomes priceless to the fan. Why? Because it is irreplaceable.

how we value ourselves:

Job 14:1

Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble.

Job speaks of mans days as being quick and having trouble. What he means is time flies and there are a lot of headaches and problems that come our way in life. It is in this trouble that we live. Jesus said: “in the world you shall have tribulation”

The value we place on ourselves have come from these troubles.

We heard: “you can’t do that”

“your worthless”

“you’ll never amount to anything”

“your just stupid”

“stop being dumb”

Some have been bullied while growing up.

We have allowed our living conditions to determine our value. Some of us have come from broken homes, bad childhoods. We have got with the wrong crowd and have been influenced by the wrong people. Through these things we have developed a low self-esteem of ourselves.

Low self-esteem is actually a thinking disorder in which an individual views himself or herself as inadequate, unworthy, unlovable, and/or incompetent. Once formed, this negative view of self permeates every thought, producing faulty assumptions and ongoing self-defeating behavior.

how god values us:

All of us in this room have heard people tell us that “God loves us”. A lot of people take that statement with a grain of salt. They really don’t believe it or understand it. It becomes a reality when we begin to build on our relationship with God.

It doesn’t get taken to heart. The reason is our situation or problem is louder than the statement. We are going to look at how much value we are to God.

Ps 8:3-8

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

4 What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit him?

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen —

Even the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the air,

And the fish of the sea

That pass through the paths of the seas.

God has placed man above everything created on earth. You have dominion. That means He made it so you control what goes on in your life, not the situations or circumstances. That’s for all of mankind. Whether you are saved or not God gave this dominion to man.

Lets get more specific:

Ps 139:1-2

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;

You understand my thought afar off.

13 For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother's womb.

14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them.

17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with You.

We are designed not just created, but designed by God. We are made with a plan and purpose. The word says everything about us was written in His book. Our lives are planned out by God. Ladies and gentlemen, you have a purpose.

Jer 1:5

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you;

I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

What im saying is this, we come from God, through our mother and into the earth.

When we build something, we take great pride and joy in whatever it is we have made, accomplished or bought. We make it valuable. It may not be valuable to someone else, but it is to us. Because we were the ones who created it, accomplished it, or purchased it. We place the value on it.

Our value is determined by our Creator not by anything or anyone else.

Your circumstance doesn’t determine it.

Your present situation doesn’t determine it.

People don’t determine it, people appreciate your value.

What’s the proof of God’s value on me?

John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The proof of God’s love is the cross.

These thoughts of worthlessness, depression, valueless thinking, low self esteem, and being unworthy. This is the result of sin. Death came into the world through sin.

When man fell in the garden it brought a separation between God and man.

The biblical definition of death is separation.

Your spirit and soul separates from your body.

Separation from God.

Our value to God did not change, God provided a way to bring us back to Him.

That way was through blood.

Lev 17:11-12

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.

It would be by blood that atonement would be made. For 4 thousand years an unblemished lamb was used to make atonement for man. God valued us. His love for exceeds anything we could ever imagine. God wants us all with Him.

What’s your worth to God?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

We go back to John 3:16. God gave His Son to die on the cross for you and me.

The value God has placed on you was the price of Jesus being beaten, spit upon, and crucified on our behalf. That’s the value God has place on you and Me.

You don’t determine your worth, God has already determined you are worth the price of His Son Jesus. You can’t change your value, you can only change your view of your value. Your value was determined from the foundation of the world.

Responding to the value god has placed on you.

How will you respond knowing your value to God?

Now is the time to act on His word about you.

Don’t let people, situations and circumstances determine your value.

Give your life to Jesus!