Discover Your True Self - You are Wanted, Part 1

You ever been rejected by family friend maybe or maybe even work or church you hate walking on egg shells find yourself always trying to please people all the time. If you want a break from that statement. That's today welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with shipping Living on the Edges and international discipleship ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Chip Ingram.

This program should begins a new series discover your true self series that's been decades very personal journey we all struggle with issues of self-worth, chips, desire, this course of the series is that you learn how to access the power and the freedom Jesus makes available to overcome those issues just before we get started, but we encourage you to try using his message notes while you listen chips notes containers outline scripture references and much more. Do hope you remember what you hear even sure what you're looking for quick download.

Just go to LivingontheEdge.org and click the broadcast Or Filling notes on the valve you have a Bible available open it now to Ephesians chapter 1. Let's join Chip for his message, you are wanting what comes into your mind. Think about God is the most important thing about there is a secret law of your soul.

You will gravitate toward your image of God, and that's why getting a high holy clear loving accurate picture of him is the greatest thing you can do for every year of your life.

But the second most important thing is that you can see God accurately but he longs for you to see yourself the way he sees you do a little experiment want you to think of a picture of yourself now coming to your mind and want you to describe yourself just in your in your heart of hearts, how would you describe yourself. What are the three or four words that depict you that you think are accurate, loving, caring, warm and approachable, smart, gifted, innovative, powerful, or is it lonely, inadequate and secure confused, fearful, lost, angry, are there old labels of two tall, too skinny to fat loser never amount to anything as honest as you can.

How do you actually see yourself not how you wish you did. Father, we ask now in the name of your son about the power of your spirit that you'll activate the gifts our minds and our hearts that we could hear from you today and that is we walk out of this building by a supernatural unction of your spirit that you'll take the written word and make it the living word and allow us at least in some measure Lord in a significant measure to see ourselves the way you long for us to see ourselves. Pray that in Jesus name, amen. If you pull out your notes. What we just talked about a something psychologists call our self image.

If you want to definition of that.

It's the mental picture or conception of oneself.

It's a person's idea of your self-worth.

It's the composite pictures of all the mirrors others all kind of things your parents have the biggest impact on that authority figures people in authority when your teenager, your peers begin to greatly influence you culture media. No words. There's all these mirrors that of told you over time. Who you are and you unconsciously believe them. Some of them actually you believe things about yourself that you're not even aware of is a lot like walking to a fun house and there's a mere when you walk in UK football and you look at another aerial gate but why did you look at another mirror in your 1 foot tall numbers there there all distortions. Some of you had great home.

Some of you came through horrendous homes.

Some of you had traumatic experiences. Some of you were labeled early on and all those things impact us. You have a view it's almost unconscious of yourself, but your living out of that and if most of our problems are rooted in a warped view of God. I would suggest that all the rest of them are in a were few of yourself. This isn't some academic exercise where we hope we get to the end and you can just think of yourself as wonderful, and everything's great and you don't have any problems that that's not the world that we live in, but in a fallen world. Everyone has warped mirrors. I can tell you about every single one of us. You do not see yourself accurately, nor do I but the more you do, the healthier you become, the more you do the more you're able to receive love and the more you're able to give love and at the end of the day.

I will tell you there's a lot of things in life, but receiving love and giving love is all that really matters for someone I said your smart your warm your innovative, you honestly said yeah I think it's pretty true of me for others.

When I talked about in adequate insecure loser some painful emotions. Some memories came back. I have some cards that were to look at a little bit later and their cards that I would say unequivocally not only transformed my wife's life in my life saved our marriage is a very personal series to me. My wife came from a horrendous home background and experience rejection that I won't go into.

She never heard her father say I love you. She never got a hug that she can ever remember. And that was just the beginning. After that, like most young girls who aren't loved well by their father. Look for other places that built tragedy and lots of pain in her life and then she came to know Jesus and God loved her and I met her a couple years later, and then a year or so after that we got married in 18 months into our marriage. I'm thinking I don't think this is good work.

She couldn't receive love.

She was beautiful, smart, loving, caring, and passionate in her relationship with God.

But when she looked in the mirror she saw someone that was unworthy of love, who was a loser who was rejected, who was absolutely unfit for anyone to care for her and so she couldn't receive my love are other peoples and I will Tay whatsit in the counselor's office trying to figure that one out was painful. By God's grace.

We had a counselor that wasn't just good in psychology, but it was a theologian. He was a retired senior pastor and he Saul beyond all the psychological issues and saw that my wife had such a warped view of herself.

She needed to see yourself the way God saw her and so he had her begin to write down Miss beliefs that she had a miss belief like I need other people's approval in order to be happy and then at the bottom stop sign and then the truth. I want people's approval of me, but I don't need it. With God's approval and no longer compelled to earn love and acceptance. I'm free to be me and then he gave her a passage about belonging and she read it over for two years.

We would read over these cards because you'll notice on your notes there some very dysfunctional and ugly things that happen we have a warped view of yourself.

One. It builds a sense of rejection. We all deal with rejection. Some of you. It's a huge issue.

Some a smaller issue, but because we do we become people pleasers at all cost. Some people that are overly sensitive to criticism.

It's like without don't you reject me to brothers you withdraw to avoid you what you just don't risk you don't engage in certain things are certain activities because you don't want to get hurt some your greatest success.

Some of your achievements.

Some of the reason you get up earlier and you work harder and you've made it, and you've achieved an everyone thing is so great behind all of that is a scared person that you always have to because your whole values based on what you do and how you appear as we were reviewing all those cards.

I thought I was being a loving, kind, husband helping my wife come through these deep issues, but when I read those cards. What I realized was I had all the same issues I just I was actually getting rewarded for my dysfunction. I thought I had to please people. I thought I had to be successful.

I thought I had been overachiever to the point that in my 20s I ended up in the hospital through exhaustion and then again in my 30s and the first church and Dr. say you don't even have an immune system right now what what are you doing and I gave him my schedule and he looked me ghostly unity to which my wife said I been telling that he just won't listen to me. So here's what I want to know more than a go on a journey. I'm to share some of those cards with you because what you do is ready to take the lies that we believe about ourselves and work to replace them with. This is how and who God sees you open your notes because we have a command here and the command is this is not an option ourselves.

Perception is not like. Wouldn't this be nice. Romans 12 verse three says, for through the grace of God given to me.

I say to every man among you, not to think more highly than yourself, then you ought to think what to think. As to have sound judgment as God is allotted to each man a measure of faith. In other words, we are commanded not to think too high not to think too low were to think about ourselves.

The way God sees us that little phrase where it says a measure of faith.

Put a circle around this isn't your personal faith.

Grammatically, this is the faith. In other words, notice the word to think to think to think and sober. All four of those are the same root word in Greek. This is a command you've been given a measure of the faith. This is who you are in Christ. That's the big concept when you trusted Christ as your Savior.

You died with him.

Your sins have been forgiven. The big word is you were justified in other words, you were declared legally righteous all your sins, past, present, future, are forgiven.

The imputed righteousness of Christ is given to you. And so as a follower of Jesus. God sees you to the lands of the forgiveness in the blood of the sun so you ready for this.

He loves you just as much as he loves Jesus. That's what the Bible teaches.

It says that if any man is in Christ, any woman as in Christ real relationship not in church, not immorality in Christ. The old things passed away behold all things become new. The process, but what I want you know is I don't think most people understand what it means to be in Christ, what have you received how you see yourself. My observation most Christians as we so are big on justification and we should be all while yes I'm born again. I have a new relationship and that kinda stops, but the average believer doesn't know that that led to being a son or a daughter and there's a journey and now you have a heavenly father and a new standing and you don't ever live anymore. Trying to earn his Savior. You got it you have a loving, kind heavenly father and elder brother Jesus at the right hand of the father and he want you to live out of a love that we already have, but getting that from here to here and out in your life while that's a journey. So where do we get this accurate view of God. We can go a lot of places that I would say the book of Ephesians is probably the best that I know of the book is a circular letter is written to the churches in Asia minor and the apostle Paul had been there for quite a while and what he wanted to do. It was it's a huge metropolitan city of very influential city.

So is going to be read here in all the other places and ways to help them understand is first three chapters. This is what you received and this is who you are in Christ. The next four chapters. This, then, in light of what you've already see is how you live, and so he opens it up very common beginning Paul and apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to the saints. That means just the holy set apart people at live trusted Christ, who were faithful in Christ Jesus Christ's and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So there's this general opening.

Now here's what you need to get the structure of this passage encourage you maybe to follow along your Bible, your phone, whatever use verse three all the way through verse 14 is one long sentence. I think it's the longest one New Testament and what happens is verse three is the thesis.

He makes this amazing amazing statement and all the rest of the verses in all these prepositional phrases he's gonna wind us through a journey to say all these spiritual blessings and I think he just went off. I think the Holy Spirit just captured him and he goes, here's all that we have and he just started going were chosen were adopted were redeemed.

We have an inheritance we been sealed. We here's where he starts Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with what every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. In other words, now that you are part of God's family.

Every spiritual blessing.

He's given to them.

Here's our friends again in Christ now need to make a quick disclaimer here everything I'm going to talk about. From here on is written to those that are in Christ. If you have to be visiting or if you're checking out Christianity. I'm going to talk about. This is how God sees those who are in Christ.

This isn't true of the whole world. Now, what I will tell you is, is that he's pursuing you and he wants you and he loves you and you need to hear if you would like to join his family. This is the relationship he wants for you but this, this is not how God feels about everyone. The fact the matter is, is that we were all rebels.

We were all hostile to God and his holy understood that we needed forgiveness and we turn to him and receive forgiveness through Christ. These things are true, but notice what he says about those of you that understood and humbled yourself and realized I need help. He says just what's a spiritual blessing verse four just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the kind intention of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed upon us in the beloved.

As you look at that you notice there's a few keywords. One, every spiritual blessing begins with this he chooses you. Another word you might writing your notes. God wants me some of you are know someone that you want to date or you want to marry some of you are looking for someone to fill a position and you want this kind of person.

This word is used negatively. The FBI has a top 10 list that they really want and their pursuing. If you want and what you do you pursue them kiss. I want you to know this is an amazing thing God wants you he wants you for himself a member as a kid we agreed in the suburbs so it was, you know, long driveway, long driveway, long driveway.

This is a touchdown. This is a touchdown and the big kids would play. It was tackle stupid I know, and I was always three or four years younger and I was small I was skinny and so they would pick up sides and I get down to last two guys and it just choose me choose may choose me I'm stupid young kid all dive on the concrete make you laugh. I'll try and tackle the big guys.

I'll do whatever you want.

I just want to belong.

I just want to be on the team and you know that desire is in you and me, just the teams change of day would be on that team owner be in that fraternity.

I would be in the group that lives in that section of town. I want to have want to be in the group whose kids go to that college.

I want to be someone that when they look at me at the gym I have that kind of body I want to belong. I want to be wanted.

Do you realize so much of our lives is doing crazy things to want to belong to other people that honestly don't care too much about us and God says I want you care about you you I hear Christians of the Christians for long time, and series of circumstances happen and if it's good they allow is really lucky really. There's no order. There's no plan is just what life is about chance you were just lucky instead of you know a sovereign God orchestrated the circumstances in this way enters and there's another group that something happens and is like God predestined that that card back color would be in this spot in my whole world and plan for me.

I'm a robot everything is predestined to limit give you good definition of predestination and how the path applies to this passage predestined means God has determined before hand that those who believe in Christ will be adopted in his family and be conformed to the image of his son. The theological concepts are twofold, and I just want to touch on this because I don't want your mind going places rather than why this passage was written sovereignty of God.

The Scripture clearly teaches that God is all-powerful, all-knowing and in control from attorney Pastor Turney future.

He knows the beginning from the end right that's just the truth that's a reality you read this book from the beginning to the end God is never surprised by contrast or actually in parallel responsibility of men. As you read through Scripture equally teaches that men and women are responsible and culpable for their actions. They must choose to accept or reject a relationship with God does not like everything is all lined out in your choices don't matter. We hold these two truths, intention, and we do it produces a couple things one reverence for God's word when the apostle Paul who wrote all about this idea of sovereignty and responsibility when he got done he did have an argument he broke into praise and so oh, the depth of the riches of both the knowledge and the wisdom of God, how unsearchable are his ways and his past, beyond finding out.

And so what we know is it does a couple things one reverence for God's word and in humility with each other and just all for the unsearchable wisdom of God. Here's what I want you to get. Often when people go through Ephesians they want to argue about.

Is it more responsibility or is it more sovereignty and you can can you imagine getting a love letter from someone overseas and arguing about now is this blue ink or black ink, as I can't quite tell and miss the point. It's a love letter.

The purposes I want you I love you and here's the implications this wasn't written for people to debate this was written for people to know that the awesome God who spoke the galaxies into existence sent God the son, and he died in your place, and when he did. You cannot just be forgiven, but he wants you and whosoever will, the Scripture says God is not willing or desiring that any should perish but all would come to a knowledge of the truth and he says Ephesians.

I chose you. Just like I chose Israel and I chose Israel not donations. I chose them so they would like to share other people you've been listening to trip or want from a series discover your true self, how to silence the lives of your past and actually experience who God says you are triple. Be right back with this application but before you is I hope you'll take a second to go online or tap share and encourage others to join us for this series to know we all struggle with doubts about self worth and value, but the facts about who we are change when we put our faith in Jesus chips teaching from the book of Ephesians to help us understand who we are as believers in Christ explains the nature of the new creation. We become and how to leave old things and doubts in the past for limited time resources for discover your true self are discounted and the MP3s are always free to order your copy or to send it to a friend visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org for additional information.

Just give us a call at 1-888-333-6003, which was used pastored over the years. I know you seen the hearted people live with because will number one we don't really understand who God is and number two, we don't know who we are in his eyes and because of that we live with insecurity and conflict always trying to protect ourselves. What is the series help us get past those misunderstandings. Dave historically this has been at the core of humanity, and when we don't feel loved when we don't see ourselves as beautiful and valued.

When we don't have purpose and know what God has made us, for we will always tend to point out the negative for the difference in other people and make them the bad person and what we need to understand is that when we understand who God made us to be that we are his workmanship.

We are his masterpiece created in Christ Jesus unto a good work before the foundations of the earth peace plan for each one of us and when we do that together as white Christians and black Christians and Asian Christians as Republican Christians and Democrat Christians for the glory of God.

That's how we make a difference. But until we see ourselves accurately. We will never be secure enough to love other people impartially and so I'm inviting our listeners to do daily discipleship with me.

Beginning September 14 and were going to study Ephesians chapters 1, two and three, right out of the Bible together and then I'm going to offer them the book discover your true self, so that as we study that they can begin to see what does that look like in my daily life.

How could God use an ordinary person like me. The fact of the matter is, were the light of the world with the salt of the earth and our dream it Living on the Edge is to help people activate that and be that every day in every way for the glory of God.

You have a pen handy. Let me give you all the details on this great offer, beginning September 14. Chips go sit down with you to do a brand-new daily discipleship study though. Each session will only be about 10 minutes and over the course of the study. He'll walk you through the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians as an added bonus, if you commit to doing the entire study and register by September 7 will send you his new book, discover your true self, absolutely free to sign up for daily discipleship with chip.

Just visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org for more information give us a call at 1-888-333-6003 will as we wrap up today's program.

Some of you may have heard I am really excited about the series and honestly, it's been a teaching, a journey that I've been on for decades and you can hear very practical ways of it started with me and Teresa that grew out of actually marriage counseling and some really dramatic things that she went through and then it impacted our relationship and we realize that we believe lots of lies lies about belonging about being valued about what makes a significant lies about our purpose in our worthiness and for her at times it is she competent to do anything and she obviously was that herself view the warp to Mears like we talked about in her life were deeply deeply warped and it wasn't until counseling and we were going through things together that I realized mine were just as warped and you know we all long to belong.

We all long to be valued.

We all need security.

We want to feel competent like we can do things that were made for a purpose and God has provided all of those things and yet we tend to look for those things by what we accomplish, how we look and what other people think. So what working to do in the series of what were going to learn is how to experience who God says we are and what he's accomplished because what he did in Christ and that begins with grasping who he sees you to be loved, wanted valued significant beautiful and competent, and when those things get from your head to your heart.

I will tell you your life will dramatically dramatically change.

I can't wait to continue the journey with you in our next program see it will just before we close owner thank each of you is making this program possible for your generous giving 100% of your gifts are going directly to the ministry to help Christians really love like Christians. A few found chips teaching helpful which are not yet on the team. Would you consider joining up today to donate. Just go to LivingontheEdge.org tap donate on the app or give us a call at 1-888-333-6003 and let me thank you in advance for whatever the Lord leads you to do will I hope you'll join us again next time.

Until then, this is Dave Turley saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge