How Does God See Me?
Notes
Transcript
Homework for next week: read Ephesians and circle or write down everything that God says about you!
Homework for next week: read Ephesians and circle or write down everything that God says about you!
New series titled: This is Me? We will look at what God sees when He looks at us today, then who God says we are, what He has called us to do, how He has equipped us to do it, and if we are doing it!
This week we will get a list of ministries available in the church to you all.
I want you to begin praying about how God is calling you to serve Him in the church for the next year!
In a few weeks, we will have commitment Sunday where we will commit to serving in the capacity that God wants for us!
Skit Guys
Skit Guys
“When you look in the mirror, what do you see?”
“I see me”
I want to begin this morning by asking you this same question: when you look in the mirror, what do you see?
When other people look at you, what do they see?
When God looks at you, what does He see?
When you look in the mirror...and when other people look at you...and when God looks at you...they should all see Jesus!
In the beginning, after God created animals and plants and land and sun and starts and Adam and Eve, after he cerated everything:
Genesis 1:31 (NIV)
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
When God initially looked down and saw everything that He made, it was good. Including Adam and Eve.
What God initially created in Adam and Even was good. It was perfect!
But then....
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
When God created Adam and Eve, He created them good, and perfect. But, then sin entered into the world.
Once sin entered into the world, they felt guilty for their action. They realized that they were naked and hid from God.
If Adam and Eve were to look into the mirror, they would see guilt, shame and embarrassment.
For the first time, they would not feel perfect.
I wonder this morning that if when you look in the mirror if you see some of the same things…? Do you see guilt, shame, embarrassment?
Do you feel like you are far from God? Like you have very little relationship with Him at all?
When you look in the mirror, do you feel ugly? Inadequate? Hopeless?
I want you to know this: if you feel this way, these are LIES!
Just like when the serpent came to Eve in the garden and began to twist the truth into lies, he is now, twisting the truth about who you are, into lies.
And, if you are believe these things about yourself, you are believing his lies.
Are you struggling with guilt?
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Have you confessed your sins?
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
So, if you are struggling with guilt, give it to Jesus! Accept His gift of freedom from the guilt.
Are you embarrassed by who you are?
God doesn’t make junk - what He creates is good and perfect! You may be distorted by sin, but that is not what God sees!
He doesn’t make anything that is useless - everything that He creates has a purpose, and it’s a perfect purpose!
If you are embarrassed by yourself, then you are likely concerned about what others think about you! Don’t worry about what others think about you, worry about what Jesus thinks about you!
Do you feel ugly?
Well, I don’t really have a whole lot of things to say here....mostly because scripture doesn’t really have a whole lot to say about outward beauty.
All the women in here, and maybe a few men, are going to start throwing things at me.
If you are worried about being ugly - really, the only thing that I can say to you is…Stop!
I know, I know.....”but you don’t know what it’s like to have that kind of pressure put on you.....”
You’re right, I don’t! We live in a culture where it seems like everything is about beauty!
I mean, beauty sells everything...
And, I don’t really know the pressure, but what I do know that you are so much more than what you look like on the outside.
I refer back to my previous comments, worry about what God thinks!
3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
9 I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
So really, I’m sorry if that’s not what you’re looking for, but I encourage you to find beauty on the inside, not on the outside.
I’m not telling you to neglect personal hygiene…yes, you still need to shower, but don’t get so caught up in comparing yourself to other people that you miss, what God has created beautifully on the inside!
When you look in the mirror:
Do you see inadequacy?
You want some great, powerful insight?
Get ready to write this down....got your pen ready?
None of us are adequate!
None of us are good!
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.
Paul echos David when he says
9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
None of us are adequate - we are all in the same boat....lost!
Paul says in Philippians that he has more reason to boast than anyone else....
Philippians 3:3–9 (NIV)
3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
So, if you feel inadequate…you are! We all are!
But, by the grace of God, we are chosen and we are called!
I am not going to dive much more into this as we will go into details next week on who God says we are!
Do you look in the mirror and see hopelessness?
I have good news for you this morning!
Jesus wants to be your hope!
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Jesus says literally…come. to. me.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Jesus is the one who can lift you up! Cast all of your anxiety, worry, your hopeless on Him. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light!
Do you know what a yoke is?
Literally is is a piece of wood that would go over the animals to keep them together. Where one animal would go, the other one would have to go as well!
Metaphorically, it was often used for slavery. It meant that the slave was stuck with the owner and didn’t have a choice in what they did.
What Jesus wants for us is to be in close proximity to Him.
To be stuck with Him! To only be able to do what He wants to do for us!
So, you feel hopeless? How about this for hope:
The God, the creator of the all things good in the entire universe literally wants you to be stuck by His side 24/7....His yoke is easy and His burden is light!
How much more hope could you possible need?
Cast all of your cares, anxiety, insecurities, brokenness, lies that you have believed, inadequacies, selfishness, hate, anger, jealousy, upon Him!
His yoke is easy, and His burden is light!
When God looks at you, what does He see?
20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
When God looks at us, what does He see?
Once we believe in Him, repent of our sins, and accept His gift of salvation, we are the righteousness of God!
When He looks at us, He sees the blood of His only son, poured out on the cross, and made whole again through the resurrection and empty tomb!
That’s what God sees when He looks at you!
As we wrap up this morning, I want to give you a chance to respond before we take communion together.
If you still look at yourself and see guilt and shame and don’t have a relationship with Jesus, I encourage you to do so this morning! You are welcome to come up to the front and receive some prayer! The Bible says if we repent of our sins, confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, we are saved! I encourage you to pray that today!
If you have been saved, but need to fully surrender your life to Him this morning, I encourage you to do so! Take His yoke upon you!
If you need to cast your cares upon Him, I encourage you to do so as well!
As always, you’re welcome to come to the front and receive prayer!
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