Appreciation

Our church is located in the Baltimore/Washington corridor. If you have lived for long or ever been to the east coast you will know that we are not exactly known for our appreciation of each other. Sure there is a city north of us that is called the “city of brotherly love” but there is another saying that most Philadelphians tag to that, “and they will kill ya for a quarter.”

Expressing appreciation either visually or verbally is not our strong suit. But come to think of it, I don’t believe it’s an east coast condition as much as it is a sin condition. It is a natural state for people in the human race to take others for granted, to not say “thank you”, to be ungrateful. Where does this unappreciative attitude come from. Well you might think differently but I believe it comes from a deep inner lack of healthy self-esteem.

See, if I don’t appreciate myself, how in the world will I appreciate you? We walk around life so beat up inwardly that we rarely if ever see the amazing blessings around us and express appreciation for them. So we have a self-esteem problem and we need a healing inside us that will flow outwardly.

As promised in the message I want to give you 10 methods to apply to your life to build your self-esteem. These methods are never to take the place of a desire to have Jesus change you, but they can position you for all the Holy Spirit has.

1. Learn something new every day.

If you want to build your self-esteem, keep growing. When you are growing you add to your life, when you add to your life you have something to give someone else. Learn something new every day.

2. Do something for others every day.

In other words, don’t live for your own life. Pour yourself into others. So many live there lives for themselves, that “pity poor me” attitude will actually destroy your self-esteem.

3. Don’t compete with others.

There is a difference between competition and comparing. Often we confuse the two and use good healthy competition to fuel our comparison of ourselves to others. Instead just be who you are, don’t’ try to be some else.

4. Use affirmative language.

In other words, talk positive thoughts. I learned a long time ago that you can’t think positive thoughts while you’re using negative words. So say positive things. Learn how to say good things.

5. Remove yourself from people who put you down.

If you get around these people, you know what I’m talking about, very draining people. You all know them. Do you know what it’s like to have an average day and you look up and say, “Oh God, in your sovereignty and mercy, don’t let me see so and so today?” Keep away from those people.

6. Do something every day that you do well.

Find out what you do well and do it every day. It may be minor. It doesn’t matter because you’re going to feel good about yourself every time you do something that you know you do really well. That’s why I sing every day. You didn’t buy that one either did you?

7. Concentrate on the things that you like about yourself.

Every one of us has things that we don’t like about ourselves. Well, sure, join the crowd. It’s called humanity. But concentrate on the things that you like about yourself.

8. Immediately change the things that you don’t like.

If there’s something that you don’t like about yourself, change it, if you possibly can. John Maxwell taught me that a problem is something I can do about life, and a fact of life is something I can’t do anything about. But if you can do something about it, change and leave it. You don’t have to live under that.

9. Keep a success list.

Keep a list of successes. Just list those things that you are doing well that are helping you. If somebody writes you a note, a nice card or something and it really helped you, put it away for a while and read it once in a while when you’re having a blue Monday.

10. Set clear, reachable, daily goals.

And when I say daily goals, I’m not talking about getting 37 goals out there. I’m not even talking about being goal oriented. I’m talking about every day, determine to do something that’s going to help somebody else or help yourself, regardless of what it’s going to be.

“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Security

At the end of this weeks’ message I mentioned that I would give you the solution to our need for security. (Click Here for the Message) Before I do I want to mention a few things. A major part to security is your inner health. Your inner health touches your emotions, your spirit, your mind and your body. Thus I have come to the conclusion that there are three basic components for inner health.

1. A sense of worth:

There is a need for people to have a sense of worth. And if it is missing, we feel inferior. You show me a person who lacks a sense of worth and I will show you a person who has deep inferior feelings.

2. A sense of belonging:

If that is missing in our life we will feel insecure. That’s exactly what happened with Adam and Eve. When they sinned, all of a sudden they didn’t sense that they belonged in the Garden of Eden. All of a sudden they did not sense that relationship with God. They were distanced. And if we have a sense of belonging, we’ll have a sense of security. But when that sense of belonging is missing, we feel insecure.

3. A sense of purpose:

If that is missing in our life, we feel inadequate. We will feel that we cannot ever measure up and be what we want to be.

Those are three components necessary for inner health. As you purpose Jesus in these three areas, I want to you commit your way to the Lord, to trust and release your problems to Him. Don’t forget to dwell or remain in His presence throughout your busy life. Delight in the God of Heaven and with that security naturally comes. Look at the below passage and you will see this pattern.

Psalm 37: “Trust in the Lord and do good: Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He will do it. And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” ²⁵ “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and he delights in His way. When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; because the Lord is the One who holds his hand. I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or His descendants begging bread.”

Freakout

Do you remember slogan, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”? It was used by the united negro college fund and the US Ad council in the 70’s and 80’s. The statement was powerful and effective.

There are so many ways we waste our minds. One of the most common ways is allowing the same pattern of thinking to dominate our lives. Remember our natural ways are not God’s ways. Our natural thoughts are not God’s thoughts so we will naturally or normally think the wrong thoughts. It causes us to live a life God did not intend.

You will never change your life until you change the way you think.

I have seen the show mindfreak a few times and what amazes about it is not the magic, but that Chris Angel has managed to change the face of magic from parlor tricks to something that makes you think. His show is aptly named cause it kinda freaks you out when you see his illusions.

In a similar manner the way we think our thoughts needs to be rest, changed, kinda freaked out. Most of us don’t even discipline our thinking let alone realize that good thinking, Godly thinking does not come naturally.

So here are a few tips from the message on how to discipline your thinking.

1. Find a plan to control your thoughts.
2. Find a place to think your thoughts.
3. Find a person to stretch your thoughts.
4. Find a purpose to land your thoughts.
5. Find a power to fuel your thoughts.

Good, Godly thinking requires a plan, a place, a person, a purpose and divine power to keep you and I in a place where God can do more than we ever hoped to expect. That kinda mind freaks me out a bit!

(Ephesians 3:20 NKJV) “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”