● How you feel about yourself matters. – A negative self view sets you on a course of a loss of identity and looking for approval from others as you take on their persona. – A positive self view sets you on a course of recognizing your uniqueness and feeling God's approval from being who He made you.
Eric Liddell: I believe God made me for a purpose, but he
also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure. Chariots of Fire - 1981 A God of Uniqueness ● God is not stamping out a bunch of people who all look the same. – Creation of mankind (Genesis 5:1,2) ● Made in God's Image ● Male and Female, He created them – Lively Stones (1Peter 2:5-9) ● As living stones, you are being built up into a spiritual house. ● Why have you made me this way (Romans 9:19) – Paul write, who are we to argue “God, why have you made me this way? The potter has the right to form the clay however it pleases him! Making Ourselves in Our Image ● We want to re-create our self – Confusion over your uniqueness (Isaiah 29:14-16) ● The wisdom of their wise will perish ● The discernment of their discerning will be hidden ● Doom to those who hide their plan deep, away from the Lord, whose deeds are in the dark ● Who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?” You have everything backward! ● Should the potter be thought of as clay? ● Should what is made say of its maker, “He didn't make me”? ● Should what is shaped say of the one who shaped it, “He doesn't understand”? ● Our Human Image Crisis ● Our society is suffering from a image crisis – Whole industries are dedicated to changing our image. ● Plastic surgery will make you look younger; ● “Weight Watchers” will make you look skinny; ● “Men's Hair Club” will restore your manly mane; ● Body tattoos will make you “cool” ● Boho clothing style will make you rad. ● All of these trends result in the opposite effect as you try to reinvent yourself. ● Plastic surgery makes you look “older”; Weight loss makes you look anemic; a hairpiece makes you scarey... ● Become What God Made You ● Though made in the image of God, God made man and woman different. ● Differences of hair color, hair texture, or even no hair is all part of God's diverse creation. – Aged and Youth, part of God's diverse creation. – Blue eyes, brown eyes, green eyes, hazel... part of God's creation. – Tall, short, skinny, or hefty, all part of God's diverse creation. – Critical thinker/philosopher or practical thinker/realist, all part of God's diverse creation. Biblical Trend Breakers ● Noah – Went against the worldly trend & honored God Ge 6 ● Abraham – Went against the worldly trend & honored God He 11 ● Moses – Went against the worldly trend & honored God Ex 3 ● Gideon – Went against the worldly trend & honored God Judg 6 ● Elijah – Went against the worldly trend & honored God 1Kngs 17 ● The Disciples – Went against the worldly trend & honored God – Though trend breakers, we see their struggles. For example: Simon Peter denying Christ and the disciples returning to fishing. Jn 21 ● Paul – Went against the worldly trend & honored God Ga 1:11-24 Discovering Who You Are ● Accept Yourself – Acknowledge that God got the plan right. Every genetic trait is right, even the imperfect ones. Your hair, eye color, physical capabilities, even mental capabilities... it is all RIGHT! (Ps 130:13-17) ● Use What You Got – Whether an Olympian or Handicapped, use what you got. (Ps 150) ● Stop Comparing Yourself- It is unwise to measure yourself against others or compare yourself to others. (2Co 10:12) ● See Your Value – You are God's child & a joint-heir with Jesus. (Ro 8:15-17,19) Being A Trend Breaker ● Trend – a general direction in which something is developing or changing. (a tendency) ● Trend Breaker – going against worldly ideas, thoughts, values, and tendencies to embrace Godly ideas. ● Consider God's Thoughts- Don't lean toward your own understanding, in everything you do acknowledge God, and he will direct your paths. (Prov 3:6) ● Stand for Right – Social Justice is not riots in the street, nor demands upon governments; but loving your neighbor as you would yourself. (Mr 12:31) Biblical Examples ● The Bible is full of men and women who rejected the pressure of doing what everyone else was doing and caught a vision of who God made them to be. Gideon