Today’s Message –> “The Illusive Pursuit of Approval”
Sunday, October 20, 2019
What really makes for a happy life? A dream job, a bigger house, or a new relationship? If you’re always hungry for the next big thing, but frustrated because it never seems to satisfy, you might be Chasing Carrots. It’s time to hop off the wheel and chase after something real. This five-part series is about the things people commonly chase after that only bring fleeting and temporal happiness, fulfillment, or validation—things like fame, achievements, approval, fame, or comfort. All of the scriptures and main points used in today’s talk are below for your convenience!
“The disease to please is actually a form of addiction.” - Dr. Harriet Braiker
How do I know if I’m battling with a disease to please?
1. I obsess over what other people think.
2. I can be too sensitive to criticism.
3. I have a hard time saying, ‘No’**
Proverbs 29:25 NIV
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be kept safe.”
Fearing what others think is a trap we cannot take lightly. This can many times be a deep rooted spiritual issue.
OBSESSING OVER WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK ABOUT YOU IS THE FASTEST WAY TO FORGET WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT YOU!
Galatians 1:10 NLT
Obviously, I am not trying to win the approval of people, but God.
If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”
The FIRST truth found in the Disease to Please:
1. People pleasing is a form of idolatry.
EXODUS 20:3 KJV
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
John 12:42-43 NLT
Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.
Anytime you love anything/anyone more than God, it’s idolatry.
The SECOND truth found in the Disease to Please:
1. The approval of God sets us free from the disease to please!
1 Thessalonians 2:4-6 NLT
For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
Your WORTH is found in the shed blood of Jesus!
JEREMIAH 29:11 NKJV
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Impacting Thought –> You are ONLY what God says you are!
Rest in that identity today.
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