Have you ever questioned your self-worth, measuring your value against an unforgiving world's scale? Our latest episode shatters these scales, revealing a worth that's not only intrinsic but divinely given. We share heartwarming stories and delve into biblical truths that remind us our worth is not a negotiable commodity, but rather a gift from God, beautifully illustrated by Jesus' ultimate sacrifice. Tune in as we explore the trials that can skew our self-perception, and discover the comfort we find in being God’s cherished children, a theme that echoes through the poignant lyrics of the song "Unworthy."
The path to understanding our value is fraught with distractions, notably the pitfalls of pride and Satan's cunning attempts to sow seeds of doubt. We navigate these challenges, highlighting the power of humility as described in 1 Peter and the need to lay our worries before God. With insights drawn from Ephesians, our conversation celebrates the spiritual blessings we've received: chosen status, adoption, redemption, and a rich inheritance through Christ. Join us in this uplifting conversation that affirms our identity in God's eyes, urging us to cherish our worth and embrace the purpose He has for us in His grand design.
Have you ever questioned your self-worth, measuring your value against an unforgiving world's scale? Our latest episode shatters these scales, revealing a worth that's not only intrinsic but divinely given. We share heartwarming stories and delve into biblical truths that remind us our worth is not a negotiable commodity, but rather a gift from God, beautifully illustrated by Jesus' ultimate sacrifice. Tune in as we explore the trials that can skew our self-perception, and discover the comfort we find in being God’s cherished children, a theme that echoes through the poignant lyrics of the song "Unworthy."
The path to understanding our value is fraught with distractions, notably the pitfalls of pride and Satan's cunning attempts to sow seeds of doubt. We navigate these challenges, highlighting the power of humility as described in 1 Peter and the need to lay our worries before God. With insights drawn from Ephesians, our conversation celebrates the spiritual blessings we've received: chosen status, adoption, redemption, and a rich inheritance through Christ. Join us in this uplifting conversation that affirms our identity in God's eyes, urging us to cherish our worth and embrace the purpose He has for us in His grand design.
My website is https://www.godslovingsacrifice.com
Speaker 1:
Today we're going to talk about self-worth. This question that I'm getting ready to ask and answer is coming from the Biblical Counseling Keys on Self-Worth by June Hunt, and I loved the question and the answer here. It really says everything that needs to be said. Of course, I'll say more. How can someone's worth be determined? The answer is at an auction. The worth of an item is determined clearly and simply by one thing the highest price paid. Each item goes to the highest bidder.
Speaker 1:
You were bought from the auction block of sin over 2,000 years ago, when the Heavenly Father paid the highest price possible the life of His Son, jesus Christ. By that one act, your worth was forever established by God. Jesus paid the ultimate price for you, willing to die on the cross, paying the penalties for your sins. He loves you that much. Your true worth is not based on anything you have done, will do, but on what Jesus has already done. Without a doubt, he established your worth. You were worth his life. You were worth dying for.
Speaker 1:
The word worth signifies a value, merit or significance of a person or thing. Self-worth is the belief that your life has value and significance. How do we get our self-worth? And it's mainly by the way that we're raised, mainly by the things that happen to us in life. If you have a child, or if you were a child who had a sibling, that you felt like the parents liked more if they went on an outing, the sibling went and you stayed home, or gifts were bigger for them than they were for you, or your parents just told you they didn't like you. And that happens. It truly happens clear into adulthood. There are parents that go to see one child all the time but never goes to see the other child.
Speaker 1:
I've had my own incident of the fact that I had asked my mother several times to come stay with me. To you know, come live with me. But her response was always my sister might need her. I always wondered if she ever thought I needed her. I found out later that she didn't think I needed her. She sent me a letter and told me how proud she was of me and she knew that she never had to worry about me because I would be okay. But what did that do to myself? It didn't help much when it wasn't worth my mom coming and staying with me, even for a while. She would come and spend the night or spend a few days, but then she wanted to go home.
Speaker 1:
When I got old enough to realize, after my first marriage, god gave me my self-worth. My first husband often let me know that I was fat ugly, couldn't keep a job, nobody would want me. But God wanted me. And until you can walk away from the judgments and the rejection of your youth and know that your worth doesn't come from what other people say about you, it's hard to have that self-worth Because we already felt like we were put on an auction block and no one wanted to pay for us, at least not our parents or our spouses or siblings or even children. But today we're going to learn that our value is so much higher than what we give credit for. I know people that unless you are doing something for them, buying something for them, giving them money, they feel worthless. And I want those people who feel like that to realize that there is no amount of money, there is no gift, there is no purchase a person can make for you, there is no bragging that they can do for you. That is more than what Jesus Christ gave you. And when you realize that, you'll know your self-worth.
Speaker 1:
The Lord doesn't look at how we look. People do Sometimes oh you're fat, oh you're too skinny, oh you're too tall, you're too short. Why don't you wear some makeup? Why don't you fix your hair? Your clothes are ugly. We've heard things like that since elementary school.
Speaker 1:
In 1 Samuel 16, 7, it says but the Lord said to Samuel Do not look at his appearance or at his physical structure, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees, for the man looks at the outward appearance. The Lord looks at the heart. At the heart, god doesn't care for too tall, too fat, too short, too stringy hair, too curly hair. He doesn't care about that. He cares about what's in your heart. And there's been times, I'm sure, that you felt so down that you thought no one cared. But you need to take those times and realize that the ultimate person cares, god cares, christ cares.
Speaker 1:
Psalm 69, 16 through 20 says Hear me, o Lord, for your lovingkindness is good. Turn to me according to the multitude of your tender mercies and do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in trouble. Hear me speedily, draw near to my soul and redeem it. Deliver me because of my enemies. You know my reproach, my shame and my dishonor. My adversaries are all before you. Reproach has broken my heart. I am full of heaviness. I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. But we have someone who comforts us. We have the Holy Spirit. We have Jesus Christ. Those are our comforters. Don't look for someone in this world, because our value doesn't come from this world. In fact, it's getting to the point. As Christians, our value is less because of Christ. But we know the end of the story, don't we? We know where we're going to be when it's all over. We know that our destination is a proof of our worth. If your destination is heaven, how can you be unworthy Again?
Speaker 1:
I'm going to throw a song out here. It's a song that I loved when I was little, growing up. The name of the song is called Unworthy. It says unworthy. Am I for the grace that he gave Unworthy to hold to his hand, amazed that a king would reach down to a slave? This love I cannot understand. Unworthy, unworthy, a beggar Left in bondage and alone. But he made me worthy and now, by his grace, I'm worthy to call him my own and we are worthy, knowing that we are going to be in heaven, knowing that God has died for us. That makes us worthy. So how can you feel unworthy? I know one of the people that I feel has low self-worth is a younger person, and younger people like to hurt other younger people. Believe me, older people like to hurt other older people too, but it starts when you're young.
Speaker 1:
1 Peter 5, 5-11 says Likewise you, younger people, submit yourself to your elders. Yes, all of you, be submissive to one another and be clothed in humility, for God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same suffering are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. May the grace of God, who called us to his eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after you have suffered a while perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you To him, be the glory.
Speaker 1:
And Satan is over this world, and when you get these feelings of not being worthy, that's Satan whispering in your ear. God's not telling you you're not worthy. The Holy Spirit doesn't tell you you're not worthy. That's Satan talking. We need to resist that. We need to remember whose child we are. God has given us so much and sometimes we give him so little. We need to give him our praise, our thanks, our lives, our hearts. He's blessed us in every way that you can think of. Open your eyes, start looking at the worth that God has given you. And I want to leave you with this scripture, Ephesians and it's a long scripture, I'm sorry, ephesians 1, 3 through 14, but it's very important. Take these words to heart and know how much God loves you.
Speaker 1:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.
Speaker 1:
Be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he made us accepted in the beloved, his grace by which he made us accepted in the Beloved.
Speaker 1:
In Him we have redemption through His blood, forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace which he made to abound towards us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself that, in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth. In him we have also obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him, who works all things according to the counsel of his will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory. In him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom, also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. You are His. You are his, you are worthy.
