You're Not Second Class: 7 Keys to Accepting Your Self-Value

Sermon outline

The first secret of the good life is self-value: you are God's best, created in His image, bought at the highest price and full of seeds of greatness, so accept your value and never again think of yourself as second class.

1. You are created in the image of God

   The first secret is that you are God's best, made in His image to manifest Him, made for life, love, power, prosperity, success and dignity, not for failure. God is first class all the way and made you unique, and before you were born you existed in His mind for a purpose no one else can fulfil. If you dream of driving an old battered car, don't ponder it; say that is not your portion, your portion is prosperity.

   Illustration: Thomas Edison said he never thought in words but in pictures; just as God first thought and then spoke, cast your vision for your future in pictures.

   “You are not made for failure. You are made for success.”

   • Ephesians 1:4-5
   • Genesis 1:27

2. Everybody is a real somebody

   God places high value on every human being. Words are seeds with the ability to produce what they say, and just as the power of the Lord was present to heal while Jesus taught, the power of God is present to heal and to change financial situations as the Word is preached. God never created you to be inferior, defeated or despondent, but to enjoy life and to think and plan like Him.

   Illustration: He recalls a very sick man, brought to church almost skin and bone, whom he hugged and prayed for at the front; the man had made mistakes, but God forgave him and he went out healed.

   “Words are seeds. They have the ability to produce what they say.”

   • Luke 5:17
   • Psalm 139:14

3. Be the best possible you: accept your self-value

   See yourself as God's masterpiece, whatever your present state, and be careful about judging others, because then you are picking on God's masterpiece. Your worth is not measured by assets, skin colour, intelligence or education but by God's love and redemption. You look after your jewellery, watches and clothes, so look after yourself, because you are valuable. Self-value rids you of jealousy, wipes out inferiority, eliminates fear and gives you courage, and the religious spirit that says 'I'm better than you' is the worst demon to deal with.

   Illustration: BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi have workshops, and so does Christ: if you fail, go back to the workshop, ask forgiveness, let the blood cleanse you and keep walking. He also quotes Arnold Schwarzenegger: when someone knocks you down, get up again, because it is failure to stay down.

   “Christ has a workshop.”

   • 1 Peter 2:9
   • Ephesians 2:10
   • Psalm 8:5-6
   • James 4:7
   • 1 John 4:4
   • Zechariah 2:8
   • John 8:3-11

4. Seeds of greatness are in you

   God created you in His image and told mankind to be fruitful, multiply and have dominion, so He never planned poverty, inferiority, sickness, depression or insecurity for you. Open up and let your potential and gifts flow: you will not know you have a gift of healing until you pray for the sick, or of prophecy until you prophesy. You are a member of divine royalty, so never entertain demeaning thoughts or act like a second-class citizen; when you value yourself, people begin to respect you.

   Illustration: To drink something and enjoy it you have to open it, so don't keep your gifts locked up inside you.

   “You have royal blood flowing in you.”

   • Genesis 1:27-28

5. You are God's starting point

   Everything from God is channelled through you; He has chosen to live in you and work through you in whatever company, job or vocation you are in. Only positive people can make others positive and only rich people can teach others to become rich, so think and act successfully, because you cannot help somebody if you need help yourself. Speak life and blessing over your children instead of telling them how naughty they are, and remember the gospel he preaches is simply God's Word.

   Illustration: Your thinking must be like electricity: first capture God's thoughts about you, then harness and protect them, then channel them into something creative and productive for yourself and others.

   “You've got to think of yourself as valuable before God starts to use you.”

6. Recognise your roots

   Because God's life is in you, His power is in you, and you need never feel abandoned, guilty, condemned, inferior or confused. Discovering how easy it is to experience God in you brings a rebirth of self-worth. In marriage, don't keep bringing up a mistake God has already forgiven; fall forwards, not backwards. He paraphrases Psalm 91: God is your refuge, His angels keep charge over you, and He has set His love on you and your family.

   “You'll have a rebirth of self-worth.”

   • Psalm 91

7. Welcome to the friendly voice

   God's voice is not harsh, demeaning or condemning; tradition and religion say humans are bad, but God saw value in us and gave His Son. Religious people exalt God with one hand and demean people with the other, but God does not. You were bought not with silver and gold but with the precious blood of Jesus. Coming from a system that segregated people by skin colour, he says believers must not think of themselves as inferior and that there is no place for racism in God's family.

   “One can never exalt God and demean his offspring at the same time.”

   • John 3:16
   • 1 Peter 1:18-19