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Message Notes:
THE LIE SATAN TELLS:
Self-worth equals performance plus what other people think about us.
FOUR FALSE BELIEFS:
1. The performance trap. I must meet certain standards to feel good about myself.
a. ANSWER: Because of justification. You are completely forgiven and fully pleasing to God. You no longer have to fear failure
2. Approval addict. I must be approved by others to feel good about myself.
a. ANSWER: Because of reconciliation you are totally excepted by God and you know longer have to fear rejection
3. The blame game. Those who fail are unworthy of love and deserved to be punished.
4. Shame. I am what I am. I cannot change. I am hopeless.
GOAL FOR THIS SERIES:
To find value and worth in Christ, not performance, perfection, success, or approval of others.
1. Carrying the blame feels so devastating, we try to divert or stay out of something because we can’t handle how being associated with blame of any kind makes us feel.
2. We deal with self-condemnation: This includes name-calling like I suck, I am no good, I’m a failure. We feel we don’t deserve to be happy; we deserve to be punished because we keep failing.
3. We believe punishment is required for failure…so we feel like every failure must experience a high level of remorse or penalty before we can forgive ourselves or others.
4. People around us say we are harsh, inflexible, pointed and mean. We say things like “If I deserve to be punished then so should you”. The tendency is to be very black and white, and justice oriented.
When something happens, our nature is to quickly try to figure who’s at fault.
Instead of just being objective and looking to the Bible for potential next steps.
GOOD NEWS:
God wants to help us with the blame game.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of MERCIES and God of all COMFORT, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. NASB
Failure does not need to be a punishable threat to our self-esteem, it is a chance to grow past it and grow closer to God.
GOD’S ANSWER:
The blame game says those who fail are unworthy of love and deserved to be punished.
Because of propitiation you are deeply loved by God and you no longer have to fear punishment nor do you have to punish others.
1 John 2:1-2
Christ Is Our Advocate
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the PROPITIATION (reconciliation, appeasement) for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. NASB
Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. NLT
GOD’S ANSWER:
The blame game says those who fail are unworthy of love and deserved to be punished.
Because of propitiation you are deeply loved by God and you no longer have to fear punishment nor do you have to punish others.
TAKEN FROM BOOK:
“There were times I felt like I could not be forgiven from something unless I felt remorse. So, I would let myself experience remorse for each sin. But before I would finish remorse for one sin, I would sin again. I would live in a constant state of remorse which drove me to depression. We have a false thinking that if we can just condemn ourselves enough for failing then maybe we will stop failing. I realized I had 1 of 3 options: 1. I could continue trying to make up for my sin by mourning over it however long that seemed necessary (but that wasn’t working), 2. I could try to deny that I sinned at all (even though I knew that I had), or 3. I could give up on the idea of trying to use my guilt as a form of penance and simply trust in Christ’s forgiveness.” – McGee
Romans 3:21-25a
22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood…NLT
GOD’S ANSWER:
The blame game says those who fail are unworthy of love and deserved to be punished.
Because of propitiation you are deeply loved by God and you no longer have to fear punishment nor do you have to punish others.
CHALLENGE:
Promise yourself you will fight Satan’s lie that says self-worth equals performance plus what other people think about you:
1. Identify, 2. Confess, 3. Reject, 4. Replace
If you prayed the prayer to start fresh with God today text “startagain” (one word) to 97000 so we can connect with you and help you take the next steps in this amazing decision.
My Notes:
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