THE WORD


[PDF]THE WORD - Rackcdn.comd79eaeaa22b1aa699f79-6a37c94d7725517e2b234a1c50fa4cf2.r90.cf2.rackcdn.com/...

0 downloads 164 Views 445KB Size

THE WORD

Al

The Preaching Ministry of Ashley River Baptist Church

i ve

Feeling Upside Down in the Market of Life Romans 5:6-10; Luke 18:9-14 6

Romans 5:6-10 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Luke 18:9-14 9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers— or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.‘ 13But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.‘ 14I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." I. Your true worth is not based on the world’s appraisal. Definition: Self-esteem is your self-estimate or your perception of your worth or value as a person. Self-esteem is revealed in our: ACTIONS – INACTIONS - REACTIONS Self-image is impacted by both: EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES and INTERNAL THOUGHTS There are behaviors America applauds but which in fact may be negative harmful behaviors. Compulsivity: An addiction to achievement and accomplishment. Obsessive – compulsive behavior is based on the mistaken notion that mastery of my body, my performance and my physical and material environment is the only true source of personal satisfaction and the only answer to my deepest emotional and spiritual hungers. Compulsivity reflects my inability to appropriately love and value myself APART from external achievement.

KEY PRINCIPLE: No matter how low self-esteem reveals itself (anger / withdrawal / perfectionism / compulsive behavior), the inability to accept myself comes from a state of spiritual alienation and from my inability to truly accept God’s unconditional love for me! 2 sources of Self Esteem: TRUE: God’s unconditional love COUNTERFEIT: External sources that are deceptive and incomplete II. Your worth is based on God’s appraisal: Unconditional Love Once you realize how much God truly loves you, then you will value your life and discover your true worth. A. God’s love is contrasted with Man’s Man’s love: Conditional – Performance based “I will love you if…” God’s Love: Unconditional – Promise Based “I will love you regardless” God loves us at our lowest point! v.6 – Powerless v.6 – Ungodly v.8 – Sinners v. 10 - Enemies Ironically, Paul calls your “worst time” the “right time” for God to love you! “At just the right time…God demonstrates His own love for us” B. God’s love is undeserved (verses 7-8) Obviously as ungodly sinners, we were not the “good man” someone might consider dying for. Yet, God sent His Son to die for us, a sacrifice we did not deserve but one we MUST accept as a gift. Only as we consider the gulf separating ungodly man and Sinless Christ, and we realize that despite this separation, love compelled Him to die, do we see a love of true worth which cannot be taken for granted. It is beyond compare for there is no standard by which to measure it. It is AGAPE love. Agape Love: The unconditional, undeserved love of God which can only be defined through a demonstration – the death of Christ for sinners. God’s love reaches out to all men. It did then and does now; not according to anything we have done but according to His love. While mankind bases self-worth on recognition received from a performance based world that says, “I’ll love you conditionally, if…, God says, “I’ll love you unconditionally regardless” – PERIOD! In God’s economy, you are of immeasurable worth, and His deep love for you never changes. Upon what are you basing your worth?