Pushing Through Series

Pushing Through

#GettingBetter (2)

Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”

5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him.’”

9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. 11 And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’”

13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.

Prayer

WELCOME – to week 2 of our series, ‘Getting Better, At What Jesus Said Matters Most’ (which is to love God with all of your heart, with all of your mind, with all of your soul and with all of your strength… and to love your neighbor as you love yourself).

NOW LAST WEEK – we said that the starting point for getting better… BEGINS – with the Father’s love.

We love, because He first loved us. – 1 John 4:19

B/S – I have some awesome, incredible, mind-blowing news for you… The Father’s Love for you…

• Is a love beyond reason

• Is a love that delights in you

• Is a love that is for you

• Is a love that pays attention to you, and

• Is a love that constantly pursues you

Amen?

GET IT?

AND – I wrapped up last week by extending to you,

3 invitations….

#1 – The invitation to STOP questioning God’s unconditional love and begin to accept and embrace it as your own…

#2 – The invitation to DEFINE yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is your true self. Every other identity is an illusion.

#3 – The invitation to LET YOUR ROOTS – go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love for you.

(So that you will be able to understand as all God’s children should.. How long, how wide, how deep and how high His love really is and to experience this love for yourself. Though it is SO GREAT that you will never see the end of it!)

We love, because He first loved us… - 1 John 4:19

God loves me!

God crazy of me!

God can never get enough me!

NOW – like I have been saying from the beginning, before you will ever love God with all you got and love your neighbor as God intends, you must first love yourself.

AND B/S – plunging the depths of God’s love is where loving yourself begins.

NOW THIS MORNING

WE ARE - going to unpack a conversation that I am calling “Pushing Through.”

UNDERSTAND – before you can ‘really’ love ourselves you must push through our insecurity.

Insecurity

1) self doubt

2) a feeling of uncertainty about yourself

3) lack of confidence and anxiety about yourself

4) low self esteem

YOU SEE – it’s hard to ‘really’ love yourself, IF you are insecure about who you are, and have low esteem for yourself.

AND LISTEN – when it comes to insecurity, in many ways it really is everyone’s battle (even famous, rich and ‘beautiful people)…

IN FACT – this week I read an article on the Huffington Post that talk about 20 celebrities who battle insecurity… here are a few of them…

(NOTE – I PUT THEIR PICTURES ON THE SCREEN)

Ryan Reynolds

“I still feel like an overweight, pimply kid a lot of the time”

Sandra Bullock

“I’m an optimistic, joyous person, but also afraid and insecure

Robert Pattison

“You have to confront your insecurities quite a lot, and I have plenty of insecurities, even more now.”

Kim Kardashian

“I am lot more insecure then people would assume.”

(and there were others on the list as well… Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake,… and bunch more)