Position: Man In the Mirror (Youth)

Items Needed

Mirror

Game: Scatterball

Recap

Last week we talked about what identity is

Surface vs. Core Identity

The problem comes when we confuse surface identities with core identities, because we lose sight of our worth

Losing your sense of Worth ≠ Losing your Worth

Our worth as human beings is rooted in Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Whether you are a Christian or not, you have worth because you were created in the image of God

But there is value that is restored when we are born again and have a relationship with Jesus.

That is where we are going to pick up, talking about our position when we place our trust in Christ

Position

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Fixing our hair (I look good)

Flexing our muscles/looking at our body

What you see often is the precurser of what you feel

Our emotions will often follow what we believe about ourselves

I look good, we feel better about ouselves

I look ugly, or my nose is too big, or my teeth aren’t white enought, and we feel bad about ouselves, feel insecure, etc...

You have have someone looking at you while laughing?

What about when you look a little deeper? Not just our physical attributes, but you look in the spiritual mirror.

For many, they see their sins, mistakes, shortcomings, imperfections

And the reality is....those things are there…we all have them

You end up with people that feel guilty, shameful, fearful, unworthy, never able to measure up

“Be true to you””You do you” “Live your truth” “If it feels good do it” are all efforts to try to make us feel better about something that we can’t change.

When we look in the mirror, spiritually speaking, the reflection looking back at us is not often a good one.

This is where understaning our position as a Christian is so important.

What does God see?

For the Christian, God see us, not as we are, but as Christ is.

For those that have put their faith in Christ, listen to what we have.

State vs Standing

State - Who we are in ourselves (experiences, our attitudes and actions)

My state as a Christian, is that I am still sinful.

Standing - Who we are in Christ (reconciled, forgiven, accepted, justified)

My standing as a Christian is that I an perfect

Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:1 — “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 1:3-9 Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

7–10  Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making.

As a Christian, my state as a human is that I still make mistakes, I still do the wrong things, I’m still far from perfect…but my standing in Christ is that I justified, accepted, forgiven, loved, adopted, etc....

What would it mean for you to live as if you were truly accepted, forgiven, loved, etc...

So what does God see when He looks at us?

He sees His Son

The judgement that you should have taken, He took

The penalty you should have paid, He paid

He sees you and says you are accepted...forgiven...justified...reconciled....loved

Clarification

This doesn’t mean that:

that we don’t have to repent any more

live how we want

It is saying we as we pursue God, we will still make mistakes/sin but we don’t have to live with the guilt, because we have forgiveness.

You Are Not Your Mistakes

You are not the mistakes others have made towards you.

One of the many blessings of placing our trust in Christ is that we are no longer judged by our sins or mistakes, but by the righteousness of Christ. We are freed to pursue righteousness from a place of acceptance, not guilt; from forgiveness, not punishment; from reconciliation, not wrath; from honor, not shame. Christ defines you. Rest in that reality.

Stop living with the negative emotions of how you see yourself, and start living in the freedom of how God sees you in Christ.

That will transform you life

ABC’s of salvation

Prayer (pray this in your heart, as I pray it out loud)Dear Lord Jesus I believe you're the son of God. I believe that on the cross you took my sin, my shame, and my guilt, and you died for it. You faced hell for me so I wouldn't have to go. You rose from the dead to give me a place in heaven, a purpose on earth, and a relationship with your father. Today Lord Jesus I turn from my sin to be born again. God is my father, Jesus is my savior, the Holy Spirit is my helper, and heaven is my home. In Jesus’ name, Amen.