Judging from all of the mirrors in here, you’ve probably figured out that tonight is talking about mirrors.
As I take this mirror around the room and as you look at yourself in it, what do you see? Do you see failure? Do you see ugliness? Do you like what you see? As you stare at yourself in the mirror, what thoughts come through your mind?
As you’ve looked at yourself in this mirror, have you said comments like?
I wish you were…
I wish you could…
I wish…
Or have you said…
I know you are…
I know you can…
I know…
Tonight, there will be a shift in your thinking, if you allow God to help you.
We’re going to talk about the two-fold purpose of mirrors.
1. A mirror is a faithful depiction or reflection
A mirror shows you for you. It doesn’t hide anything. Some mirrors magnify certain parts and some mirrors shrink certain parts, but generally they show you who you really are.
What do you see?
Who do you see?
1. Mirrors show us parts of ourselves that other people can’t see
2. Mirrors let us see the real us, for who we really are.
Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
”For you are God’s worksmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Workmanship literally means a product, or something that is hand made.
Did you know that you were hand made? Did you know that you were intricately formed from God’s hands?
Psalms 139:13-16 (MESSAGE)
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.”
Not only did God create you good, but he made sure that you knew something about him.
He has nothing but good for your life.
Listen to this:
Jeremiah 29:11 (Message)
”I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”
The next time you look in the mirror, you remember these two things:
1. God created you. All of you. Every part of you. The inside and the outside. Whatever they are to you, the good parts and the bad. He created you because he loves you. Period. That’s the bottom line.
2. God has good plans for you. Don’t ever think that your life won’t amount to anything. God’s got it mapped out. And all the plans He has are good plans. When he’s in charge, the plans are great.
There’s something that happens inside of you when that attitude changes. There’s something that begins, that is birthed, when you realize that you were created for a purpose. That you were created for a reason.
When you see yourself in the mirror, don’t forget that.
2. To reflect or resemble
What do you reflect or resemble today? More importantly who do you reflect or resemble?
Your life is a resemblance. It bears something to someone. If I were to look at your life from an aerial shot, what would I see? Who do you act like? What do you say? How do you treat other people?
See, the other side to the mirror is to see what you reflect or resemble, because everyone resembles something, or someone.
2 Corinthians 3:1-3, 18 (NLT)
1 Are we beginning again to tell you how good we are? Some people need to bring letters of recommendation with them or ask you to write letters of recommendation for them. 2But the only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves! Your lives are a letter written in our[a] hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. 3Clearly, you are a letter from Christ prepared by us. It is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on stone, but on human hearts. 18And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect[b] the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.
How cool is that?
Basically what God’s saying is this…
YOU WERE MADE TO REFLECT THAT WHICH HE GAVE YOU!!!!!!!
Here’s the Good news!
YOU WERE NOT CREATED TO BE PERFECT!!!!!!!
YOU WERE CREATED TO REFLECT GOD!!!!!
To reflect means: to give back or show an image of;. to reproduce; show: followers reflecting the views of the leader.
That is what you and I were created to do. Reflect what we are. That’s why Paul said – our lives are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it.
What are people seeing? How are you reflecting tonight?
Some of you reflect bad attitudes.
Some of you reflect good hearts.
Some of you reflect good motives.
Some of you reflect hatred.
Some of you reflect bitterness.
Some of you reflect judgement.
Some of you reflect Christ.
Here’s what you should be reflecting: notice this word:
GLORY
Everybody say it like you’re from the south:
GLORAAAAAAAAAAAAY.
Something that is a source of honor, fame, or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride
THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE REFLECTING!!!!!!!!!! SOMETHING THAT IS A SOURCE OF HONOR, FAME, ADMIRATION, A DISTINGUISHED ORNAMENT, OR AN OBJECT OF PRIDE. THAT IS CHRIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS REFLECTING GLORY!!!!!!!
