As You Love Yourself Part 2
Loving Yourself
23 August 09
· Matthew 22:36-40 - “Love the Lord your God with all your heart … love your neighbour as yourself”
· The benchmark for loving others is … ‘as you love yourself’
· ‘As = 5613 = in the same manner as the one following
· ‘Love’ = 25 = to regard the welfare of, to take pleasure in, to treat as a special prize
· How you relate to and treat yourself greatly impacts how you relate and treat others
· What do you believe about yourself? Are you lovable? Are you acceptable?
· What you believe about yourself will be revealed in how you live your life in relationships
a) Agree with God about your identity and your value:
· Agree = to say the same thing that God says
· What do you say about yourself?
· 1 John 3:1 - ‘See what manner of Love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of God
· I am a child of God and I am loved and accepted
· Almighty God is my Father and I belong to God
· God places immense value on me – do I agree with the Word of God
· Romans 8:15 - You have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby you cry Abba Father. The Spirit bears witness with our spirit, we are the children of God
· Define yourself by who you are joined to, connected to and not by what you do eg family name – who you are
· What does God say about who I am in Christ
· How can you do this?
a) Meditate in the Word of God and what He says about you
b) Confess and agree to the Word of God and what He says about you
· Boundary = a wall or defense or barrier that is erected, brings limits
= defines who is responsible for what
· If you permit destructive influences into your life not loving yourself
· Agree with God about your value and learn to say ‘no’
· Most destructive influences enter the eye gate or ear gate
· Loving yourself is to identify things that is trying to come into your life that is destructive
i) Destructive influences of people
· Psalm 1:1 - stand against ungodliness 1 Corinthians 15:33
· Negativity complaining bitter controlling seductive
Critical demanding angry unclean defiling
· Value yourself – love yourself set a boundary to this behaviour
· Think through your response – how will it communicate in body and consequences
· ‘Am not a trashcan, someone flips the lid and drops trash in it’
ii) Destructive Visual Influences:
· Media and Internet Psalm 101:3
· You are abusing yourself when you allow negative influences to come into your life
· Surround yourself with people who are loving and supportive
iii) Resolve Negative influences that operate in your life:
· 2 Chronicles 29:3-16 - Hezekiah’s first action as king was to cleanse the House of God
· When you resolve negative influences from your past and present you love and value yourself
· Numbers 33:52 - ‘Drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy their engraved, those whom you let remain shall be the inhabitants in your eyes …’
· What kind of things you need to resolve: Inherited curses; fears; trauma; offences; word curses; sexual sin Genesis 49:3
· You love and value yourself when you commit to the process of growth and change
· James 1:22 - ‘Receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls
iv) Make Relationship with God your First Priority:
· Luke 10:42 - One thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part. Martha complained about the word and didn’t focus on relationship building with Jesus
- You love yourself and value yourself when you make connecting with God a priority
- What you focus your life upon you become like
- When you worship and focus on God He becomes the predominant influence in life
- An encounter with God downloads DNA into your spirit that changes you and shifts you immediately
- Draw near to God and get personal/rhema word from Him as your friend
· Hebrews 11:24-47 - Moses
· Moses chose to identify with God and to commit to His purpose
· Moses chose to commit to the people of God – their welfare and deliverance
· Encounters with God increase your personal ability to influence others
· The world cannot be won without the presence and power of God in our life
· Relationship changed a frightened man into a leader, out of bondage into liberty. He changed a whole nation
· You are valuable and lovable – chose to agree with God!