Date:      28th September 2008                                                             (Sunday AM)                                                                       Ref: A0402

Place:     Kambah P.S.

Title: Blue on Blue

Text:        & Matthew 22:37-39

Illust:     From the Queensland University of Technology:  Self-esteem describes the values, beliefs and attitudes we have towards ourselves. It reflects the overall opinion we have about ourselves. Our opinion may be positive, (eg "I am a worthwhile person") or it may be negative, (eg "I am a bad person"). Healthy self-esteem is about accepting ourselves for who we are, warts and all. Part of being human means that we are not perfect and that at times we will all make mistakes, or do things of which we are not proud. Building healthy self-esteem means letting go to your mistakes and accepting your bad points or weaknesses as part of being human. It is about being comfortable in accepting yourself just as you are. – A focus on Self esteem.

I.                   Self Esteem

A.               Selfish Generation

i.                 There is a focus in our culture on self esteem, Government sponsored health website self esteem for children, for youth, range of articles. Concern about students and their self esteem. – Self esteem is a concept that has become pervasive in our culture

       Rodewalt and Tragakis (2003) reported that, as of 2003, selfesteem was the third most frequent theme in American psycological literature with more than 25,000 articles, chapters, and books referring to this topic.[1]

ii.               What is interesting to me is that within a society obsessed with building self esteem it doesn’t take much observance to realise that we have created a totally selfish generation. And what is the outflow of this concern about self esteem? A recent paper presented to an Australian Council of Educational Research conference, that surveyed young adults in their mid 20’s, reported that:[2]

(1)     One sixth of Australians aged 23-24 suffer depression or anxiety.

(2)     One sixth engage in anti-social behaviour.

(3)     One fifth use marijuana, other illegal drugs, or are regular binge drinkers.

(4)     One fifth have a long-term physical or mental health problem.

(5)     Overall, 40 per cent showed severe signs of problems including depression, anxiety, antisocial behaviour or illegal drug-taking.

iii.             So much for all this concern about self esteem. – What you need to understand is that the whole focus on self esteem is a relatively recent idea. First popularised by William James a pioneering American psychologist and pragmatist of the 1800’s who also consulted mediums.  – Certainly not a Christian idea

B.               Blue on Blue

i.                 There’s a term that some military forces use it is called “Blue on Blue” – basically what it refers to is a friendly fire incident – you fire on someone from the same team. – You attack your own side. - Tragic

ii.               Based on the reports & a casual look at society.  This focus on self esteem has led to an incredible number of people who actually have self hatred, self rejection.

            Walking through Civic Friday night lots of emo / Goth  ~ the piercing subcultures – root self hatred –

            Interesting that if you think about it, If you hate yourself “I hate myself,”, “I’m no good” “Nobody loves me” “I’m awful” – You are attacking yourself – Blue on Blue

iii.             Ever heard of autoimmune diseases, - Diseases like MS, Type 1 Diabetes, Rheumatoid arthritis, Coeliac disease & a host of others – put simply:

      Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body attacks its own cells.

iv.             Maybe much chronic sickness, breakdown of organs / & autoimmune diseases are more than just a biological thing, maybe there is a link. We are more complex than just a bunch of chemicals. – Maybe self hatred / self rejection triggers something – Blue on Blue.

II.                 The Church

A.               My Needs

i.                 Need to be aware of this emphasis on self esteem & it’s roots in secular philosophy & psychology. Not a biblical concept. – Focus on self.

         Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (NKJV)

ii.               Very real danger that we face is that this worldy / secular & therefore by definition anti God philosophy & focus on self & self esteem creeps into the church.

           Does the church meet my needs? Is this convenient for me? Do the events / functions suit me? ~ Do you choose what you involve yourself in or attend based on what I like/ don’t like or find convenient.

iii.             Creeps into our evangelism. – Come to Jesus & He will meet all your needs; you can have a great life if you come to church & become a Christian. God can help, you, heal you restore your marriage, your finances, your health. – You can feel better about you if you are a Christian. – They may be the product of getting saved, but they are not the Gospel.

B.               God Esteem

i.                 Subtle danger, we lose the truth of the Gospel

ii.               Hate to break it to you but it’s not about you, your felt needs, your precious self esteem. – The Gospel is about Truth: - Truth: - All Sinners, you’re not a good person ~  -  Judgement – Hell – Jesus Died – Rose – Forgiven – Worship God

           Not much about esteeming self – It’s about recognising self for the sinner you are & esteeming God. – Get the focus off self & on God. & vs 37-38

iii.             Not talking about hatred of self but having self in proper perspective. God loves you enough to die for you – You are actually extremely precious to God. That enables you to put the issue of ‘self’ to rest. – Your shape, your hair or lack thereof, your wit, intelligence, looks, gifts, talents. – Not have to worry about those issues. You can love yourself the way God intended – Focus on God & others – & vs37-39

         Leviticus 19:18 “ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. (NIV)

           One of the problems in the world today is that people do love others how they love themselves, the problem is they hate/despise themselves

III.              Love the Lord Your God

A.               Deal with Sin

i.                 I said earlier that you can love yourself if you have self in proper perspective – Not worship of self but acceptance of who you are. – Loved by God. – Doesn’t mean we don’t address character flaws, sin in our lives.

ii.               If God said in Leviticus & Jesus emphasised it again in our text that we must love others as we love ourselves then self rejection/hatred is also sin – Must be dealt with – The right way:

           Recognise, I messed up, I shouldn’t have hated myself/ rejected myself, said that, thought that, watched that, did that. I was wrong.

           Take Responsibility – Accept that no-one else is to blame. We always want to blame someone else, our parents, our teachers, spouse, bosses – the Government – anybody but accept responsibility for our own sin.

      I turn on the tube and what do I see, A whole lotta people cryin’ ’don’t blame me’ They point their crooked little fingers at everybody else, Spend all their time feelin’ sorry for themselves, Victim of this, victim of that, Your momma’s too thin; your daddy’s too fat, - Get over it

      Stop the blame game. It’s me

           Repent. God forgive me, help me not to repeat the actions of the past,

         Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, (NKJV)

           Renounce. Problem is when  we come to the altar to repent but not mean it (remorse not repentance) Need to renounce any & all involvement – separate yourself from the evil. – Love yourself but hate the evil

           Lastly need to Resist – While we are in this world we will all struggle with the flesh, sin. – Need to Draw near to God, spend time in His presence & resist the enemy of your soul

         James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (NKJV)

iii.             This is the exact opposite to the world’s philosophy, Building healthy self-esteem means letting go to your mistakes and accepting your bad points or weaknesses as part of being human. It is about being comfortable in accepting yourself just as you are. – Accept your sin & you will have a healthy self esteem – doesn’t work – God says deal with the sin, & you will be able to unconditionally love & accept yourself.

B.               Precious in His Sight

i.                 If we want to avoid the depression, mental anxiety chronic sickness that comes from our own spirit / body attacking itself through self rejection/ self hatred – Need to forget about self esteem & understand God esteem. – Precious in His sight.

         Isaiah 49:16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. (NKJV)

ii.               It sounds counterintuitive – But also makes sense when you stop to think about it. When we focus on self we become self absorbed, see plenty not to like & develop self hatred & rejection leads to anxiety, mental illness, physical sickness – chronic / major.

iii.             When we focus on God, & love Him with all that we have, all of your heart, your soul, your mind, you understand His love for you & then you can accept yourself and love others.

IV.             Altar Call

i.                 Deal with sin, deal with bitterness, unforgiveness, self rejection & self hatred.

----

[1] Rodewalt, F. & Tragakis, M.W. (2003). Self-esteem and selfregulation: Toward optimal studies of self-esteem. Psychological Inquiry, 14(1), 66-70.

[2] http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24393436-661,00.html