From His Heart

Speaker 1

Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, we'll learn how to chop down the giant of insecurity.

Speaker 2

Listen, self worth is inherent. We're made by God and in His image; self worth is attributed. It's what God says about us in His Word.

And self worth is also attained. It's the things that we do for people, to serve them and to minister to them.

Hey, if you want to experience a healthy, proper, biblical self image, believe the truth and serve others.

Speaker 1

How do you break free from the giant of insecurity? Do you give yourself a pep talk or maybe build yourself up with some of that positive thinking? Or perhaps you can just be like the little train who says, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." Do you think that'll work?

This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, who today will teach us about defeating notions of inferiority. A pep talk and positive thinking won't do it. You've got to have a proper understanding of who you really are in the Lord.

The broadcast today is part two of the message entitled "The Giant of Insecurity." It is the fifth of seven in Pastor Jeff's series, "Land of the How to Deal with Your Biggest Problems." This series is also our thank you gift for your support this month to From His Heart. I'll tell you more later, or you can go online to find out about it at fromhisheart.org.

Right now though, open your Bible to John, chapter 13. Hang on tight for a candid and compelling message about the giant of insecurity.

Speaker 2

How do you know if you have a self-worth problem? The giant of insecurity is out there, and he is defeating many, many people. So how do you break free? What do you do with the giant of insecurity? It all comes down to believing the truth, practicing the truth, and letting the truth set you free.

So, three key truths. First, truth: Believe the truth that you have infinite worth. I love Ephesians 1:6. In the New King James, it says, "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." Accepted in the Beloved. Who's the Beloved? It's Jesus. Jesus is the Beloved. And when I accept Him, the Father accepts me, and I'm accepted in the Beloved. Nothing will change that. And hey, I can feel good about myself. Why? Because I have infinite worth. Jesus knew who He was. He knew He was the Son of the Father, and He was secure in that. Believe the truth that you have infinite worth.

Second, truth: Believe the truth that you have incredible wealth. Look at verse three again. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, knew what He had. The Father had given all things into His hands. When He rose from the dead, He said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." Now, if you ever want to know who Jesus is, really, God? Well, who has all authority in heaven and on earth? God. And Jesus said, "I have." That Jesus is God. And so He knew what the Father had given into His hands. He knew what He had. Do you know what you have as a believer?

Now listen. Every person has infinite worth because we're a God original, each one of us. The Lord died for us, so the love of God is extended to us. The image of God is imprinted upon us. But now it's different in terms of wealth. Only a Christian can rejoice in the wealth that he has as a believer in Jesus. See, every Christian is a child of the King. Every single one. Now, not every person is a child of the King, just every Christian. Sometimes you'll hear people say, "Well, you know, we're all children of God." No, we're not. Not all children of God. The Jews that Jesus talked to in John chapter eight, He didn't say they were children of God. As they began to argue with Him, He said to them, "You are of your father, the devil." That's not a child of God.

Ephesians chapter 2 talks about those who are dead in sin. It says, "They are children of wrath, even as the rest." That's not a child of God. When you're a child of wrath, you're not born into this world a child of God. You're born into this world a son of Adam. You're born into this world in Adam, spiritually. And in Adam, all die. In Adam, all are children of wrath, even as the rest. The Bible says in John chapter one, concerning Jesus, "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him." He came to the Jews. And what did the Jews say? They rejected Him. They said, "Crucify Him. Crucify Him."

But John 1:12 says, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." When I receive Jesus, then I become a child of God. Then I am born into His family. That's why Jesus said to Nicodemus, who was religious to the nth degree, "Unless you're born again, you can't see the kingdom of God. Unless you're born again, you're not going to enter the kingdom of God." You are in Adam, and you need to be born again to be in Christ. You need to receive Me as Lord and Savior through repentance and faith. And then you're born into My family. Then you are transferred, as it says in Colossians 1, from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His glorious light. That all takes place when you receive Jesus. Then you're accepted in the Beloved, and you become a child of the King.

Now that's a pretty cool deal to be a child of the King. Second Corinthians chapter 8, verse 9 says this: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you, through His poverty, might become rich." Jesus, the second person in the Trinity, all things have been given into His hands. Jesus, the one whom the angels worshiped and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory." Jesus, the one Isaiah saw in Isaiah chapter 6 and got that vision of the Lord. That was the Lord Jesus sitting on the throne. Jesus left the throne, and He who was rich became poor. He encompassed Himself in a virgin's womb. He was born in a stable. He was laid in a feeding trough. He was rich, yet He became poor for your sake and for my sake.

He was beaten, He was whipped, He was nailed to a tree. You want to know what He had materially when He died? He had an outer robe, a tunic, and sandals. That was it. And the soldiers cast lots and threw dice for His garments. He who was rich became poor so that you and I, through His poverty, might become rich. And because He did that for us and died and rose again for our sins, we can enter into His riches when we choose. Jesus, we're accepted in the Beloved. We're made a child of the King. And when you're a child of the King, the King of the universe is your dad. And when the King of the universe, who owns it all, is your dad, you can sing that song: "How rich I am since Jesus came my way, redeemed my soul and turned my night today. How very rich, how very rich I am."

Every Christian is a child of the King, and every Christian is blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Who has blessed us? Past tense. It doesn't say who will bless us, who might bless us, or who one day is going to bless us. No, it says who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Second Peter chapter one, verse three says this: "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness." It's there. It's yours. As a child, you're accepted in the Beloved. You've given your life to Christ. You've accepted Him; He's accepted you, and you have. You're not only just a child of the King, but you've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. They've been put in your spiritual bank account.

And the problem that we have is that so many of us don't know it's there. We don't understand. We don't believe that God has really put that in our account. So what do we do? We ask God for things He's already given us. "Oh, Lord, I need patience. Lord, I need peace in this situation. Lord, I need strength in this situation. Lord, I need love in this situation." And God says, "Yeah, you need to check your bank account because I put peace and love and patience and joy—all those things—they're all yours." You've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. It's already yours. But you don't see yourself as having it. So what do you do? You don't ever withdraw from it. So you just ask God for things that He's already given you. And the response of the Lord is, "How can I give you what I've already given you?"

Maybe you've heard the story—evidently a true story—about a man who went on a transatlantic cruise. This was way back when, when cruises were just beginning. He scrimped and saved because he wanted to go on a cruise. It was kind of a bucket list thing for him. So he did, and he was able to buy the ticket, but he knew that was all the money he had to buy the ticket. So he said, "I'm not going to be able to do anything on the ship except get on." He brought a suitcase filled with peanut butter crackers and he brought that suitcase with him. He had all his meals ready to go. He would walk around the deck and hear the people talking about how great the meals were on the ship. He thought, "Man, I wish I could."

At mealtime, he'd take his peanut butter crackers and sit kind of over to the side while they were in the dining room talking about the steak and the lobster and the baked Alaska and all these fancy dishes. Finally, after about a week, somebody said to him, "Hey, how come you never join us in the dining hall?" He said, "Well, I'm embarrassed to say, but I don't have the money. I mean, I had to scrimp and save just to get the ticket. I don't have the money for this, so I just eat my peanut butter crackers." They said to him, "Well, didn't anyone tell you meals are included?"

Here's a guy who's eating crackers when he could be eating filet mignon. You know, a lot of us are like that. Spiritually, we belong to Jesus Christ. We've accepted Him, but we're living like a pauper when we could be living like a prince or a princess. And I'm not talking about materially; I'm talking about spiritually. All the love, all the joy, all the peace, all the patience—all that you need has already been given to you by faith. We withdraw it.

Hey, you have infinite worth. You have incredible wealth. And truth number three: You have an unfathomable reward. Believe the truth of your reward. It says in verse three, "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments and taking a towel, girded Himself about." Jesus knew where He was going. He knew what was ahead. The Bible says, "Who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." He knew He was going back to the glories of heaven.

Now we need to remember, when we struggle with insecurity, we remember, "Hey, I have infinite worth because I am created in God's image. I'm a God original. I'm worth more than $30.8 million in the Leonardo da Vinci notebook. And I have incredible wealth because I've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. And I am blessed and highly favored." You know, I remember talking to a guy one time. I said, "Hey, how you doing?" He said, "Blessed and highly favored." I thought, "Man, you're so stuck on yourself." Then I started to read in the scriptures, and I realized, "Man, I've been blessed and highly favored too." That's a great way to engage people. "How are you doing?" "I'm blessed and highly favored," and that's true.

Not only in this life are you blessed and highly favored, but in the life to come, you have an unfathomable reward awaiting you. See, every Christian will live forever with the Lord in heaven. Every single Christian will experience that in the future. Jesus said to the guys in John chapter 14, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

When He prayed that great prayer in John 17, one of the prayers was, "Father, I want My disciples to be with Me where I am, so that they can behold My glory." His glory fills heaven, and He wanted His disciples to be there with Him. He said, "I'm going to prepare a place for you, and I will come again to receive you and receive you to Myself so that you can be where I am." You know, it's so cool. When Jesus walked the earth, He was with us. And the Holy Spirit right now, who is Jesus, said, "He's just going to be just like Me." The Holy Spirit is just like Jesus. He lives inside of us. He is with us. But there is coming a day when we're going to be with Him. It's so much better to be with Him than for Him to be with us because when we're with Him, we're where He is. And where He is, is in glory, as He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We need to keep that in the forefront of our minds. Every Christian needs to live mindful of the future, mindful of the day that the Lord returns. John said in the Epistle of First John, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure." Fix your mind on the coming of Jesus. He didn't tell us when He's coming. That's heaven's most guarded secret.

Jesus, when He was on the earth, said, "I don't even know." The Father alone knows the time that I will return. Now, I believe He knows now, but in His humanity, He didn't know. And so because Jesus didn't know, you know who else doesn't know? The Devil doesn't know. He doesn't know. You know what's really interesting? We talk about the Antichrist. The Devil always has to have an Antichrist in the wings because he doesn't know when the Lord's going to return. When the Lord returns, then he has to spring into action. He's always got somebody in the bullpen that can be the Antichrist. Hitler was one of the bullpen Antichrists, and some of these other guys throughout history are guys in the bullpen—guys who are given over to the enemy, given over to the evil one. But the Lord is coming back one day. The Devil doesn't know. No one knows. The Lord Himself knows.

But when that happens, everything changes in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump. For the dead in Christ shall rise, and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds. And thus shall we meet the Lord in the air, and we will always and forever be with the Lord. We need to have that in our minds constantly—perhaps today.

Now, listen. One of the big challenges to believing the truth of who you are in Jesus Christ is trashy living. When you live trashy and you participate in sexual immorality and all sorts of sins, you feel bad inside; you feel dirty inside. And when you feel dirty and trashy inside, it's very difficult for you to say, "You know, I'm a God original. I really feel like I'm accepted in the Beloved," because you're condemning yourself and saying, "I'm doing terrible things."

Listen, when you feel trashy, you do trashy things. And when you do trashy things, you feel trashy. And when you feel trashy, you do trashy things. It's just this vicious cycle that takes you down, down, down, down. How do you break that cycle? You start to believe the truth, and you start to walk in the truth. And when you're tempted with trashy things, you say, "That's not the attitude and the walk of a man of God, of a woman of God. I am a God original. I have been bought with a price. Therefore, I'm going to glorify God in my body."

You get the trashy stuff out of your life by the power of the Holy Spirit, and you will start to feel differently about yourself. It just works that way. And one other key thing: If you want to feel good about yourself, if you want to have a good and proper self-image, you know, the disciples were constantly arguing back and forth, "Who's the greatest? Who's the greatest? Who's the greatest?" Jesus said, "The one who's the greatest, if you want to be the greatest, then be servant of all." If you serve, then you will experience the feeling of greatness.

Listen, self-worth is inherent. We're made by God's word, and self-worth is also attained. It's the things that we do for people, to serve them and to minister to them. What do we see Jesus doing here? Washing the disciples' feet. He's doing the lowest job. He's the Lord Most High doing the lowest job on the planet—washing dirty feet. Peter said, "You can't do that, Lord. Don't wash my feet, Lord. Never shall you wash my feet, Lord. This is not what you're supposed to do. We need to go to Leadership School 101."

Jesus, the leader, the Lord Most High, doesn't wash feet. But Peter didn't understand. It's the great ones that are servants of all. Jesus is the Son of Man, and He's the servant of all, the Savior of the world. Hey, if you want to experience a healthy, proper biblical self-image, believe the truth and serve others.

Speaker 1

Well, this message has certainly shown us how important it is to base our self-worth on the truth of who we are in Christ. But listen, if you don't know Jesus Christ in a personal way, the first thing you need to do is to surrender it all to Him. Only then will you truly understand that your worth on this earth is totally based on the value that God gives you, and He gave it to you as His creation. You were put here on this earth aware that God must exist and does exist, and He created us all to serve Him by serving others with His love.

If you're not sure that you know Christ or today is the first day you ever considered that thought, please visit fromisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" link. That will give you a lot of helpful information on your new journey as you seek to discover your true value in this world and to God.

The Giant of Insecurity was the name of today's lesson. You heard part two today; it's one of seven in the series "Land of the How to Deal with Your Biggest Problems." The series, along with his popular booklet "Why Don't You Like Yourself," are our thank you gifts for your support this month. Call 866-40-BIBLE to get your copy or go online to fromisheart.org. Thank you for supporting us as we seek to reach the world for Christ.

We want to close with a reminder that the Lord declares our source of security and protection in Psalm 27:1: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?"

Thank you for being with us on From His Heart. I'm Larry Nobles, trusting you'll be back with us next time when Pastor Jeff will provide us with the weapons to destroy another giant in the land called Discontentment. It's the lesson called "The Giant of If Only." Next time here on From His Heart.

Speaker 2

There is tremendous truth There is love There is hope that you always dream love he can heal every scars of real truth Real love, real love from his heart.

Speaker 1

From His Heart is the listener supported broadcast ministry Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more at fromisheart. Org.