Dear Saints, Saying I will be worthy if... is the same as, I am worthless right now,” which is the same as, God is a liar,” Jesus didnt get it done,” or The Holy Spirit is helpless. Most Christians are plagued with this kind of thinking, but dont realize it. It is best characterized as natural self talk originating from the unbelief and pride of the flesh (sinful nature). This is what Jesus called evil thoughts which He also identified as the root of the dysfunction that defiles our lives. As natural descendants of Adam we are all plagued with a selfish sin nature filled with unbelief and pride. This is why Jesus told the religious leader, Nicodemas, You must be born again.” Only when we are born again does the Holy Spirit put to death the old man or natural person we were, and raises up a new person in Christ. This is truly the only way we can ever have a new identity that is worthy rather than worthless. Even though we Christians are new creations we naturally continue to think of ourselves as the old, worthless person we were. As a result, most of us engage in some kind of religious self-improvement program to make up for our natural sense of worthlessness. Failing to understand the gospel of grace, we believe the slate was wiped clean by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and it is now up to us to keep it that way as we try hard to be a good Christian. We seek more and more knowledge of good and evil with the prideful notion that we can do what we know is right, and quit doing what we know is wrong. As a result, we are constantly telling ourselves, I will be worthy if... and fill in the blank with a flurry of religious activities meant to prove to God, ourselves and others that we are okay. Because this sinful self talk is hard to recognize in ourselves I am going to share with you a little secret to help you identify the false assumptions you naturally use to determine your worth as a person. In addition to asking God to reveal your false assumptions, you simply ask yourself; what you are freaking out about lately? What is upsetting you? What situation sent you over the edge emotionally? Whatever the answer is, you have found the best place to search for the lie(s) that are plaguing you. The reason for this is simple; we just dont get upset over things and situations that are not connected to us personally. When I experience the negative or destructive emotions I can be sure that my personal worth is being threatened in some way. Knowing this helps me recognize the false goals I am trying to reach in order to make myself worthy (loved and respected). Because they are false, even though they may look and sound good, I can then discover the false assumptions or beliefs I have concerning my worth. These are the evil thoughts that are plaguing me and need to be challenged and replaced with the truth. For example, lately I have caught myself freaking out over money (or the lack thereof). Ive noticed that my anger quickly turns to hate, my hurt degenerates into self-pity, and my concern turns into worry. Every time it looks like I wont have enough money to pay the bills I have to deal with these kinds of emotions. Getting honest about it I realize that Im not freaking out about the fact that you dont have any money either, but because the lack of money to pay the bills is personal for me, I freak. This emotional turmoil in my life tells me that I am operating to some extent on the false assumption, I will be worthy if I get enough money to pay my bills.” What makes this a lie is not that there is anything wrong with having money. Money, itself is not the root of all evil, (By the way if you think it is I would be happy to take your evil). It is the “love” of money, i.e. BASING YOUR WORTH AS A PERSON on money that is the root of all evil. Recognizing the lie, I am now able to counter it with the truth that what God has done for me in making me a new person in Christ, is really what makes me worthy, not how much money I have. To the extent that I am willing to believe this truth, every time I freak out over money, I fulfill my responsibility as a believer to believe. Thats as far as I can go. From there on, it is up to God to comfort me with the love, joy, and peace of His indwelling Spirit, which, in turn, keeps my anger, hurt, and concern (negative emotions) from degenerating into hatred, self-pity, and worry (the sinful/ destructive emotions). The quality of my life; and the effectiveness of my ministry to others depends on learning to apply the gospel of grace to my everyday life as the Holy Spirit continually renews the spirit of my mind. John alphaministries.org
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 00:55:18 +0000
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