Self Worth Series - Part 1 | Pastor Paul McGee

I'm not trying to go and feed you from a fire hose, OK, but

we'll try to make the most of four weeks.

But nonetheless, we deem that we need to look at self worth.

Because again, the more that I dig into this, this isn't just

something that may would need to be for first Apostolic Church,

but I believe this is something for the church or the society at

large, society at large. Because somewhere along the way,

every individual struggles to a degree with their their worth,

where they are in the the hierarchy of what they feel like

in the hierarchy of life. And so that's what we're going

to concentrate on for the next few weeks.

However, next Wednesday, the ladies are going to be shipping

off the Gatlinburg for women's Esprit.

And originally I was maybe perhaps going to be in that

place of taking them, driving them down.

So I scheduled brother Zach McGee to teach on that

Wednesday. It looks like now I'm probably

going to be here because we didn't think about Mariah going

to and that just leave Trevor at home.

And I love Trevor, but boys don't mature near as quick as

girls do. And so just to keep all things

on the even playing field that he'll get up and go to bed when

he needs to and all that stuff, we're going to make a guy's few

days of it, all right, and do that.

So, but Zach will be here next Wednesday, although I will be

here. We're keeping that appointment.

He's going to teach. Amen.

And we're going to be blessed by that.

I'm not going to start out with a scripture tonight.

I know sometimes that's troubling for some, but we're

just going to dive in here this evening.

I want you to use your imagination just for a little

bit here tonight and imagine if you will buying a beautiful vase

or if you're a real proper person.

A beautiful vase. That's right.

OK, We got to hit every spectrum as to what maybe a vase to 1 is

a vase to another at a local market.

And whenever you got this, it it, it is unique, it's

handcrafted, it's very intricate with designs.

There's a lot of vibrant colors on this that that catch your

eye. But whenever you get home, you

notice a small crack that's running along the side that you

didn't see before. And for a moment you you begin

to regret that you ever ever bought it.

You think about as a result of that what you've discovered

about hiding it in the corner. You've even entertained maybe

throwing it away. But as time passes, you start to

appreciate the vase more and despite the flaw of the vase,

still holds flowers and it brightens up whatever room that

it's in. And every time that you look at

it, you're reminded of the artist, whoever it was, their

intention and their care that went into creating this this

vase. And you understand that the

crack doesn't define the vase's value.

It's still beautiful, still purposeful.

Often times we view our lives like like that.

They sometimes we get caught up in our flaws.

What we see as our flaws. Maybe what other people say is

our mistakes or things that we wish that we could change.

And now we're really talking to people, right?

Because how many times have you just thought that there was

something about you that needed to be altered, whether it

appearance, personality, hair color, the list could go on and

on, but thought maybe you something that you wish you

could change. And then we find out what in our

lives. Guess who is the worst critic of

you? You.

We feel like sometimes that we're not good enough.

You hear it all the time. Not good enough.

You hear that? Maybe not that exact phrase, but

it's said in many different ways.

But just like the vase, we were created by our artist and our

creator with intention as well, and he made us with care.

Of course, I'm Speaking of God. And So what we're relaying then

by this little metaphor tonight is this, that even our quote UN

quote imperfections don't diminish our worth.

Many times it's even some imperfections that really give

something that's true beauty and its purpose still is illuminated

through it in spite of what may be called quote UN quote

imperfections. And so in our lesson tonight, as

we begin to understand that we're created in God's image,

we'll understand that our self worth isn't about being perfect.

I think that's important, isn't about being perfect, but it's

about in our state of imperfection that we've been,

and this is my title, we have been uniquely designed and

divinely loved. All right?

And so it's essential I think tonight before we get in too

deep and that is this. We need to discuss this evening

what we're going to and what we're not going to talk about

for the next few weeks. As we come here on Wednesdays

nights, we are going to be teaching about self worth, not

self esteem. I know that for many that might

be like tomato, tomato, potato, potato, whatever, but I think

it's more than that. The noun usage of the word

esteem means respect and admiration, typically for a

person. However, the noun usage of the

word worth means the value equivalent to that of someone or

something under consideration, the level at which someone or

something deserves to be valued or rated for that matter.

Throughout Scripture. Bishop.

Whenever I read and I just did a little concordance run of the

word esteem, I found out in the Bible in our King James Bible

that the word esteem is never self orientated.

It's never self esteem. Esteem is never self orientated.

As a matter of fact in the Bible esteem is always others

orientated. The Bible says in Philippians

chapter #2 and verse #3 let nothing be done through strife

or Vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other

better than themselves. Also Paul writing to the church

at Thessalonica said in First Thessalonians 513, he says and

to esteem them, the them that is being referred to is in back in

verse #12 that them are those that labor among you or those

that are over you. He says to esteem them again, it

is others orientated very highly in love for their work sake and

be at peace among yourselves. Now I'm, I'm I'll try this last

thing. Jack Kuhashek probably that's

the first and the last time I'll say his last name.

It's going to be Mister Jack from here on out.

Mister Jack says the Bible does not emphasize self love,

although it does affirm our value as individuals.

Scripture denotes in Romans 12 and 3, and I don't know if you

have this in the NIV for me, but in Romans 12 and three it says

do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought, but

rather think of yourselves with sober judgment.

One might ask for what is sober judgment?

And that's a good question. Sober judgment is a realistic

appraisal of who you are. That means both the beauty and

the beast, all right, the wonderful and the terrible, the

the strengths and the weaknesses.

But the fact of the matter is when we come with the reality of

that sober judgment, whatever the outcome is, we have this

confidence also according to the word that God still values us.

Beauty and beast, wonderful, terrible strengths and

weaknesses. Christ the scripture says you

know this and this is simple but this applies to us And

concerning self worth. Christ died for us.

Christ loved us and die for us. Romans 5 tells us while we were

yet sinners. Listen if that's the case, we

for sure was in a imperfect and still are mind you a imperfect

state yet valuable to God. Imperfect state, but value to

God. Here's what you need to write

down in your mind. You write anything down tonight,

write this down. Value does not equal perfection.

Value does not equal perfection. Or said differently, perfection

does not equal value. Sometimes it's the distinct

things, the worn things that champion the highest value.

And So what we're dealing with today in our world, and I'll put

this out as a disclaimer, although you all know this, I am

not a therapist. I am not a degree therapist.

I have friends who are therapist OK, and maybe pre adventure

someone in the future will have them come and talk to us about

these things. All right, But I am not I am not

a therapist. But when I ever I look at the

Bible and I look at the world today and what we are up

against, the biblical view of self worth has been shadowed

really by a mindset that's been dominating in in society.

And sometimes it's even cultivated traditionally in our

own homes, in our own families. There's a belief system in his

book The Search of Significance. I can say this last name, Robert

McGee, spelled just like mine, boils down our struggle as a

twofold deception. This is this is the breakdown of

self worth. This is what you struggle with

when you struggle with self worth twofold deception.

We believe our worth is based on our performance and then on

others opinion about us. That's the two legs that self

worth really rises or particularly falls on that we

are going to be our our worth. Our value is based upon our

performance and what others opinion are of us.

Now here's the thing and and we know this, sometimes people are

very forthright in sharing their opinion about right.

Sometimes they are positive or it could be good or bad.

I know sometimes we just form, you know, opinion of someone

about you just has to be negative, but they don't have to

be the case. It could be positive as well.

So, so sometimes people share those things, but that doesn't

whatever they say that don't even stop us from writing the

dialogue of what we believe. They're really thinking about

us. What I'm saying is this, someone

can give you a positive assessment in their opinion

about you and you can rewrite the dialogue of what was said

and say, well, this is what they really did.

They're being nice. That that is a that is a key

indicator that we're struggling with somehow.

We can't accept the genuine compliment as a genuine

compliment. We got a pawn in office.

Well, they're just being kind. Or if they really knew me, oh

man, we're already deep. I'm filling the water up to the

loins here right now, you know? Amen.

And so when we struggle with self worth, what is the thing?

We do not believe the best. We'd rather believe the worst.

And so when we have this performance opinion approach,

what that does then if if we're we buy for people's people's

endorsement of our performance that we can do well enough to

get a good star or, or we're there to hear what their opinion

is. What that does then is make us

addicted to people's approval, addicted to people's.

So our life then rises and falls over approval or disapproval.

And if it's disapproval, perhaps I didn't perform well enough in

order to get the approval. We can even go further.

A person that lives like that, it doesn't matter how grand

their accomplishments have been. Matter of fact, they might be a

person that anything they set their mind to, they can go out

and do it and they can accomplish it.

And then you would think, man, they're probably good because

everybody sees what they have done.

They get the approval of the people.

But The thing is, in order to keep that feeling of self worth,

they got to keep on being approved.

So there's always got to be another task to fulfill, another

goal to achieve, because it's through that that comes the

approval of people. And that's the only way that

they can survive in their own skin is for that constant

approval. And so there's that rising and

falling then with other people's opinion of us.

And then sometimes we endure our own up and downs by our own

opinions of us, whether it's real or not, whether it's true

or not. If you'll remember, we got sneak

a little genesis in here because this is where we're really at,

right? Things created before the end of

the sixth day in the creative chapters of Genesis were labeled

as good. But after the events of the 6th

day, which included the creation of humanity, God considered

everything very good. Stop that label.

Very good that fell even on the creation of humanity was a label

on Adam and Eve when they had not done anything yet.

There had been no performance, there had been no per SE

achievement. There had been no dressing of

the garden. They hadn't done anything yet.

Yet He calls it very good. And so that means to me that

God's evaluation must have been about them as human beings and

not human doings. It was based upon just them

being them without any achievement, without any

performance that was taking place.

And so as we know, we've looked at this in the in the past

already in the book of Genesis. But here is humanity, man and

woman, created on the same day as several other creatures on

the 6th day. They're made from the same

material, the dirt of the ground, the earth they fed.

You all remember they feed at this point in time of their life

on the same things that these other creatures have have fed

upon. They both equally have a

blessing of reproducing upon their life the creature and

humanity as well. Yet the Bible denotes that man

or humanity was created in the image of God and He was meant to

rule and subdue all others. Genesis 127 that we read in our

Bible. So God created man in his own

image in the image of God created he Him male and female

created He. Then the Hebrew word translated

man is Adam or Adam, all right? It refers to not just the male

portion of humanity as the verse specifies.

It is man and woman, all right. Both genders, both sexes has

been created in the image of God.

Amen. You someone say me, I've been

created in the image of God and I want to specify both male and

female because I think that is important because some people,

there's some macho men believe that self worth issues are just

female issues. It's the only thing that applies

to the females, but that's wrong.

Amen. Anyone, Amen, male or female,

can have doubts about who they are or what they value

themselves. As matter of fact, we could

spend a lot of time maybe here in Genesis 1 and verse 27 and

try to define what the actual image of God, what that was

referring to or what was that, what was meant whenever he said

that we were made in the in the image of God.

But suffice it to say tonight that what this entails is that

there are some godly qualities. There are some godly qualities,

whether seen or unseen, that you have in your life.

Will you take that in for a moment?

You have whenever you say you're not enough, and part of that you

is godly qualities. Are you saying there's aspects

about you that are the image and the likeness of God that's

subpar? You have some godly qualities.

That's a part of your life we share.

They tell us we share 50% of our DNA with a banana and over 98%

with a chimpanzee. We're made from the same ground

as other creatures, but we're no closer to being a monkey than a

banana, partly because God breathed life and to us unlike

any other created entity in the book of Genesis.

Your existence, my existence, is a result of God's action.

Verse 21 of Genesis 1 tells us God made us.

Verse 27 says that God created us, Chapter 2 verse 7 says that

God formed us and most notably verse 7 says that God breathed

in to us. Amen.

We are the product of God and more than anything his breath

came inside of us and we became a living soul.

We have God qualities about us. The Old Testament.

I've said this before, but the Old Testament uses two different

words for labor. One denotes a raw unskilled

labor, right? Somebody that's just kind of

making their way through. But there's another word for

labor that indicates skilled labor or work that is performed

by a Craftsman. In the Old Testament, whenever

the Bible speaks of the labor of God, it uses that second word,

which means a skilled labor, a work that is performed by a

Craftsman. Folks, when God formed you

created you, right, breathed into you all of those things

that you are not a unskilled laborer's work.

You are not some raw unskilled laborers work.

No, you are the creation. You are the craftsmanship of a

very skilled laborer that knows what he is doing.

I don't remember exactly where the verse is and this is nowhere

in my notes, but I think it's in the book of Isaiah.

The Bible speaks about the the Lord said he he made the dumb

and that he made the mute. And that kind of takes us back.

The Lord make the dumb and the mute, the people that were

created that came forth that were dumb.

And I'm not talking about intellectually, all right, And

the mute, yes. And he says that's my handiwork.

I did that. You know what that means?

God doing that, that the dumb and the mute are valued.

The dumb and the mute have worth just as much as the one that's

born with Down syndrome or with there are some God qualities.

Hey man, it's the work of a Craftsman.

The book I'm filming the Holy Ghost here right now, the book

of Ephesians 210 speaks about us and says for we are the

workmanship of God. We are God's workmanship.

Another word for that word, workmanship, is that we are

God's masterpiece. Look at your neighbor, Say you

look good. You're God's masterpiece,

created unto good works now, Mr. John said.

Mr. John said that a Craftsman in medieval times would work for

months on a special piece that displayed his finest artistical

skill, and finally, whenever the work was finished, he would

present it to the craftsman's Guild and in hopes of achieving

the rank in his profession of master and the work that he

finished and would present would be his masterpiece.

You and I are that work unto God.

We are a workmanship, a masterpiece that the master

Craftsman has very carefully and diligently fitted and put

together this individual, this skin taupe skin, skin hue and

this this eye color and and this body shape, this body shape,

this muscle tone, this personality.

He has fitted and formed this together.

That's us again. God wasn't slapping something

together. God's not just sitting down and

saying, well, got a bunch of scrap here.

You know, it's like me, I I keep all of my scrap wood from my

wood projects. I got a little thing of scrap

wood. Never know when you might need a

piece. Yeah, you know, type of thing.

He'll pee. I'm I'm, I'm not like he's not

going out to the scrap. I wonder what I can make of

this. No, God, he knows exactly what

he's looking for. Whenever he made you, He knows

exactly what he was putting together whenever he formed you.

Hey, man. Hey, man.

Whenever the Bible says that he created there Kinder defines the

force. When he created, it literally

means he brought forth. It means he knit, he woven.

That means that he's paying attention to every detail of our

being. When you consider that he knit

or he woven, it relays the concept that there were some

complex patterns and colors. Amen.

That the Weaver and the embroidery, uh, was putting

together whatever he brought forth.

You, I know there's some people here that does embroidery work,

right? Uh, huh.

Some of you have the little axes to follow.

Maybe some of your freehanders. Backside looks messy, but you

got to pay attention to what you're doing on the front side.

We got to make sure the colors are going to line up right and

there's going to be harmony. God had you whenever he was

creating you. He was doing all of that as the

creator and the Weaver. God wasn't unskillfully making a

human being for that matter. You could take any, any portion

of the human body and study it in depth.

And we'll soon find out that we're the work of a master

Craftsman. Huh.

You are rare. Someone's already went negative

on me. You don't have to tell me that.

I know I'm like no one else. Nobody done went negative on me.

You're rare. Your DNA is unique to you.

The closest person that could have your DNA is a twin, if you

have one. But there's still some nuances.

You your DNA is unique to you. No one has your fingerprint.

No one has your heartbeat. No one has your voice print.

No one has your tongue print. Then you don't have to give that

one at the police station, but no one, no one has your tongue

print. God created you to be

distinctively you. And here's the fact of the

matter, He loves you immeasurably.

Psalms 139 and verse 14 the Bible says, which is a great

Psalm just to read. Advise you to do so, he says in

verse 14. We'll probably go touch it again

later, maybe before we get done with all these things in the

next few weeks, I will praise thee, the Psalmist says, for I

am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Marvelous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well.

The word rendered wonderfully main means to distinguish and to

separate. You're wonderfully made.

He made you distinguished. He made you separate.

Not just separate from other creatures, but separate from

other creatures like you. He made you distinguished.

He made you separate. So listen to Pastor tonight.

Don't hang your head because you don't look like somebody else.

Don't. Don't throw up your hands

because your nose is a little different and your shape is not

like somebody else, or your skin tone that has a different hue to

it, or your weight isn't like somebody else, or your

personality isn't structured just exactly like someone else.

Listen, God, you're like that because God fearfully and

wonderfully made. He distinguished you.

He set you apart. We've been made separate from

the rest creation. We've been made separate from

the rest of each other. And as the psalmist has, you

know what the psalmist does. Hey, man, he says.

Marvelous are thy works, and my soul knoweth, right?

Well, somebody, I hope before this series is over, somebody is

closer to realizing that you being a work of God is

marvelous. And I hope you will be able to

stand back somewhere along the way and know right well, God has

made a marvelous work right here.

God has performed and put together in fashion and created

and formed a marvelous work right here.

The Bible says in Second Corinthians and this is the new

American standard Bible version Second Corinthians chapter #5

and verse #14 For the love, watch this for the love of

Christ controls us. Having concluded this, that one

died for all, therefore all died.

So if one died for all as a representation, then all died.

That's what it's getting AT. And he died for all, that they

who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who

died and rose again on their behalf.

Paul states emphatically to the church at Corinth that the love

of Christ controls US. What that means is, Sister

Sheila, other people's opinions should not control us.

The love of Christ should control us.

What that means is the approval of others should not be our

gauge. No, but Christ should be the

gauge. He loves.

His love controls us because His love is what led Him to die for

us and there is no other. We know this.

We stayed it over. I stayed again.

There is no other person in the entire world, past, present or

future that has died, will die, or is dying for you.

So why be controlled? Why be controlled by the opinion

of someone who's not willing to die for you?

Listen, your years up on this earth, you're not living it for

them and you're not living it for yourself.

We live for him who died and rose for us, or at least I might

say we should live for him, Robert McGee said.

If we base our self worth on the approval of others listen to

this clearly, then we are actually saying that our ability

to please others is of greater value than Christ payment price

love rose us. We say this to couples that are

looking to be married, already married all the time.

I tell them this that you are complete in him, right?

A man's not going to complete a woman and a woman's not going to

complete a man. That has been propagated

sometimes and I cringe every time I hear it.

He completes me or she completes me.

Baloney. There's only one that completes

you and that is him. That's what Colossians two said.

We are complete in him. My wife doesn't.

My wife compliments me and I'm not talking about she said,

honey, you look fine and all that.

She does that too, but she compliments me and I compliment

her. But ultimately, our completion

is in the Lord. I will not find completion in

someone else's opinion. I will not find completion as

long as I conform to this particular group or setting.

No, no, my completion is in Him. You are walking a road that

never ends. If you're trying to find your

completion in somebody else's opinion about you or another

relationship, you're walking the never ending Rd.

But if you'll get sewed up in the Creator, the one who formed

you, detailed and took time to fashion you.

That said, that's my masterpiece.

Find your completion in Him. Whether it was God as a spirit

or God robed in flesh as Jesus Christ, He is the source of our

significance. He's the source of our

significance. As a matter of fact, if you look

with Adam and Eve after the fall, there was created somewhat

of a gap and isolation from that presence of God, right?

In the real world. There was a isolation from the

source. And you know what?

We have the rest of the Bible showing us, people who were

trying to seek all these different things separated from

their source. They look for through Scripture

success. They look for it through

scripture wealth. They're trying to find out what

are they looking for their source.

They try to find it in their prestige in the Bible.

They try to find it in the relationships.

They try to find it in their approval of others.

Because from there there was a separation from the source that

created their significance. Amen to them.

Someone say Amen. As a matter of fact, we see this

displayed a little bit in New Testament Scripture because

whenever Jesus was walking down the road in the Bible, it's, you

know, we use it as a little Bible story and Zacchaeus of of

a small statue climbs up into a Sycamore tree to see the Lord

and the Lord says Zacchaeus, I'm coming to your house today.

And so whenever Jesus in the book of Luke 19 went to see

Zacchaeus and the Bible in so much says basically Jesus going

his him bringing salvation to his house.

The Bible says that this same man Zacchaeus, who had explored

people through taxation in order to gain a better quote UN quote

status, a better self worth in life that now he's telling the

Lord, I'll give half my goods to the poor and if I've wronged any

man, I'll repay him for food. Zacchaeus, what are you doing

before different people has to get work different ways.

The approval of people. Sometimes they have to get money

in order to get the approval of people.

That was Zacchaeus deal in order to have a good feeling about

himself and status. He had to reach a certain a

certain certain tax bracket, so to speak in order to feel like

he got the approval of people and that made him feel good

about himself. Without that, he didn't feel as

good as he needed to be. But he was always being the

little conniving exploiter of other people's riches in order

to feel good about himself, because he had to have riches to

get people's approval. But whenever the Lord came to

his house, he says, I'm willing to give this wealth here and

this wealth here. Why?

What happened? Zacchaeus gained a new source of

his worth. He gained the original source of

his worth. Now that he had Jesus, that's

the significant source of his worth.

He didn't need the wealth. He didn't need the approval of

people. Why?

He understood he had the approval, Hallelujah, of his

designer, Amen. Of his creator.

And that should impact us. Amen.

So our worth really needs to derive from 2 realities.

God created us in his image and #2 Christ died for us in our

fallen state. Those two legs need to replace

the two legs of thinking. It's about your performance and

other people's opinion. You need to replace those two

legs with I'm made in the image of God and Christ died for me

even in a imperfect state and say Amen.

Leviticus 27, you can go there. There's not going to be anything

on the screen, but you can go there if you want to.

It's the last. It's the last chapter in the

book of Leviticus. Leviticus 27 highlights votive

offerings, what's known and called votive offerings

offerings that are made to fulfill a vow that is made to a

deity that's made to a God and our Leviticus 27 to be God.

So whenever people vowed themselves unto the Lord, and

verses 1 trade are really the ones for consideration, God

placed a place the value on them if they decided to redeem

themselves. And so in the Old Testament book

of Leviticus, the word was derived from the priests

estimation of the individual. And they had some guidelines, of

course, some baselines that the law presented to them, some

worths, some values on males and females at different ages and

seasons of their life. And this was, and I denote this

because I don't want to do any error description.

This was of a course economic value and not inherit value.

There's an economic value, a human being that's made in God's

image, of course, is priceless. So this is an economic value.

But the world biblical commentary says this concerning

this law. It says in this law the price

was set on the basis of a person's strength and not on the

basis of a person's intrinsic value.

So I want, I want to solidify that in our minds as a human

being. The price therefore varied

according to age and to gender. And so please understand that,

but with that nonetheless understand this, that the

individual was required to pay the value of their life That was

determined by the priest. That was dictated by the law.

But the Bible bears out that there were cases where the

person was poor, or stated more plainly, they were too poor to

answer the estimation the priest had paid on them.

In other words, he could say I value you at this lay level, but

they couldn't. They couldn't meet that price.

They could answer that price because they were quote UN quote

poor, because in order to answer the price, that meant they had

to be able to pay it. They had to be able to reflect

back to the priest what he valued them at.

I say all that tonight because for our purposes, not meeting

the worth our priest has placed upon us means that we've

basically adopted or believed the lesser estimation of

ourselves. We can't match what we think of

ourselves with what he thinks of us.

Why? Because I don't feel that

valuable, I don't feel that worthy.

In such cases, the priest would lower the valuation to

accommodate the person's ability to pay.

Which is interesting because the estimates in Leviticus, they're,

they're considerably significant.

Whenever you look at them in those first 8 verses, they are

quite, quite, quite pricey because the average wage or the

average pay of a worker was about one shekel per month, one

shekel per month. When you start looking at these

evaluations, 50 shekels, 30 shekels, 10 shekels, 5 shekels,

according what we're talking about, imagine 50 shekels.

That's fifty months of wages, 50 months of wages in order to meet

that valuation. So as a result of that, there

were only some that could afford, if you will, their

evaluations. Now bring all that to this

tonight that God has valued us those and we come and go,

sometimes with self worth struggles at a level beyond our

ability to reconcile. We can't we we have a hard time

thinking that God thinks that much about me, especially when

we start comparing what we think other people.

About me. And then you got to ask your

question. Is that really what other people

think or is that what you think other people think about you?

What's the problem then? We don't have the emotional or

mental currency. Fine, say it like that.

We don't have a healthy self worth.

We don't have the emotional or mental currency to match God's

value of us. And with that though, you know

what it should do, Jen Paschal? It should encourage us to think

what He values me that much, that in the Old Testament it

would take this long of a time to acquire that much money in

order to meet the evaluation. He values me that much and

that's what I want. Ringing in your ears as you

leave this place, maybe not in a question mode, but in a reality

aha moment mode, that God evaluates me that much.

And just like the priest, I believe in this series that God

is going to begin with us at a level that we can accept until

we will be able to answer Him with the worth that He initially

appraised us. God's going to start where you

are. He's going to work you toward

His original appraisal and bring you to a place if you'll stand

with me tonight. So our performance opinion of

others, our perceived flaws, they don't determine our worth.

Those things change. Isn't that amazing?

Your performance is an even kill people's opinion of you

vacillates. There's some days, listen, being

a pastor, there's some days people love me and the same

person next day might hate me. I'm just being truthful with

you. It rises and falls.

So it's not grounding those because those are changing

things. My worth is grounded in

something that's unchanging. It's the unchanging truth that

again, I'm created in God's image.

Christ died. He loved me and died for me.

He redeemed me. And as a masterpiece, as His

masterpiece, I hold value. Do I have imperfections?

Yes, still. But I have value.

That worth stays intact. Despite my shortcomings, that

worth stays intact. Amen.

Can we bow our heads all across this place?

What we need to do is we leave this place and again, it'll be

two weeks till we come back here on the series, but we need to

leave understanding tonight is our true self worth.

You need to see yourself through God's eyes.

You need to see yourself through God's eyes.

You need to reflect on the way in the past that you've allowed

other people's opinions, that you've allowed your own opinions

of yourself to be self critical. That's come along and diminished

your worth of who you are. You've allowed voices and your

own voice into your head and mind to diminish your worth.

And you need to start this week challenging those thoughts and

challenging those opinions that come into your mind by affirming

the truth that God has given me a undeniable value.

And you need to say, Lord, help me help.

Help Paul Mcgehear, whoever you are.

Help me to see your worth as you see it.

Help me to see myself as priceless.

Help me to see myself as loved. Help me to see myself as

complete only in you, God, let your love for me be the measure

of my value. God help me, Lord, to live

confidently in this world. Below that, I'm your

masterpiece. You've been a Craftsman.

That's been intentional. Been intentional about peace in

this individual. Together.

Sir, Sir, ma'am, some of you have.

Some of you have fell prey, some of you have fell prey to the

voices of others, fell prey to the voices of others and and it

has left you in a worse case than what you were at first.

There's been a mindset created in your mind and heart that is

so forged in you that you can't see past that facade.

And it's a facade. It's not real.

You can't see past that facade that's been created in your

heart and mind saying who you are.

It may have come from a parent, it may have come from a spouse.

There may have been words spoken and words said that it seems to

be forever seared in your mind. And when anything else has ever

spoken or said, or even whenever God is trying to prod on you,

you default to those things that maybe in a moment was hurtful.

In a moment that was just so paralyzing that now you allow it

to be your identity and you're not going to accept anything

else because that was so severe. I'm telling you, I feel the Holy

Ghost in the next few weeks that God wants to start to pull back

the layers. He wants to pull back the layers

on on those those lies and pull back the layers on those things

that that stand in our way that we always default to.

And he wants to heal some things that will allow him to love us

through them, allow to love us in them.

He wants to mirror himself in our lives and show us, listen,

you have some God qualities that's in you and that's more

than commendable. That's more that's more than

reason to feel appreciative about who you are in him.

Hallelujah. These altars are open.

If anybody would like to find a place to pray and say, God, just

help me in the next few weeks. God, I don't I don't want to put

up my facade. I don't want to put up my wall.

I don't I want to Lord, make myself vulnerable.

Lord to your spirit. I want to make myself

vulnerable. Lord Jesus to your voice and to

your word. God, you knitted me, you

embroidered me. God, you made me distinct.

And who made me? Lord Jesus separated God from

anybody else. Help me God, not to compare my

selves among ourselves. Your word says that is not wise.

God, if there is to be a comparison, let it be between US

and you and let us find that there are God qualities in our

life. Is there imperfections?

Yes, but there's still God qualities in our life.

We have the imprint of our Maker upon our lives.

Hallelujah. Don't allow some old

relationship that you once had dictate your worth and dictate

your value and dictate how you view and see yourself.

Hallelujah. Allow the voice of God to be the

loudest voice in your life. Allow the opinion of heaven to

be the greatest thing that you look to and the cue that you

look to. Amen.

For that appreciation and for that sense of belonging and that

sense of stability, Hallelujah. God, God, God, God, he loved the

whole world. Hallelujah, Hallelujah that he

gave himself for you, ma'am, for you, Sir.

Hey, ma'am, you might be struggling right now.

You might not be able to accept positive.

You're just default to the negative all the time.

Hey, man, just because there's these things that you struggle

and you war with, God wants to set those things anew.

He's going to lead you along the way.

If you can't accept that evaluation, then that appraisal

he's placed upon your life. He's going to find where you are

and he's going to lead you, if you will, to that place of his

original evaluation in his image.

And he sacrificed for you and loved you.

Messiah, Spirit of the Lord, I pray against Lord, every spirit

of fear, God, every spirit God, Lord people struggling with with

with a mode of rejection God from others.

I pray, O God, today God, tear down mindsets, God through years

that have been built to that time, see impenetrable.

But I know God, your spirit is able to do a work.

I know your word is able to do a work.

God, you're not just a ultimate master Craftsman, but God,

you're a surgeon as well. You know where to lay the

scalpel. You know, Lord God, where to

protrude in. You know God, what needs taken

out. You know God, what needs

fetched. You know God, our own

estimations, God, what needs to be lifted up and encouraged.

I pray in the Holy Ghost right now.

He Allah bosai. He, Allah.

No, no, no, no, no, Kurama, Mama, saye.

He Allah bahaya, bahaya, your price that you're paying with

your own life. God, that's meaningful to me in

my life, that's meaningful to me in my value.

That's meaningful to me, Lord, in my words.

Kurama, Mama, Messiah, come on, someone pray right now.

Talk to God. Be vulnerable right now in that

place of prayer with the Master. Open your life, open your heart,

open your mind, open your preconceptions.

Open yourself to God. Only He can satisfy.

Only He can complete. Only He.

Only He, only He. Yes, yes.