Sermon Tone Analysis

Let me be real…Imagine trying to teach others how to find their true worth only in Christ while at the same time trying to find my own worth in doing a great job teaching and making sure that you all like me this next week.

How sick is this?

Well this is what happens when we follow Satan’s math.

Satan’s math

This math is not based upon God’s truth about who we are, but is based upon Satan’s desire to destroy all that is good and keep God’s people in slavery so they will not live as those who have been redeemed by Christ’s precious blood.

Thus, he tells us that our self-worth is: my performance plus what other people think of me.

Self-worth = my performance + other people’s opinion of me

This Satanic formula takes the form of four false beliefs about ourselves that we will look at next week.

Who am I?

I must meet certain standards to have value and be able to accept myself.

I must have the approval of others in order to accept myself.

Those who fail should be punished, including myself.

I am what I am, I cannot change.

Those who fail should be punished, including myself.

Questions we may ask ourselves

Who am I?

Yet, we will not leave simply look at these lies, but we will look at how we should handle these lies based upon God’s truth.

The answers to these questions will reveal several things about yourself.

Does my life have any value?

Does my life have a purpose?

Does my life have any meaning?

This is very important because our existence is determined by the way we perceive ourselves.

From our relationships, to what we try to do, to what we avoid, to the misery in our lives comes from our sense of who we are.

So how well we live with ourselves and others is based upon how we deal with this math.

Our answers reveal

The reality is that we are in a spiritual battle between God and Satan.

It began when Satan rebelled against God and continues today.

It affected us when Satan tricked Eve and Adam joined wilfully in Satan’s rebellion.

This rebellion propelled the world into sin and Satan became the God of this world.

Yet, when Christ finished his work on the cross, he defeated Satan.

So now, in Christ we are a new creation and are given the duty to battle against Satan through the power of the cross.

How well I live with myself and others.

Our identity, how we see ourselves, our understanding of what God did for us in Christ will determine whether we live as an active participant in the battle or a victim of the battle.

In order to do this we must not listen to Satan’s lies, but to God’s truth.

What is this truth in relationship to these lies?

God’s truth

Our existence is determined by the way we perceive ourselves.

From relationships, what we try to do, what we avoid, and the misery in our lives all comes from the sense of who we are, how we value ourselves.

In short...how we deal with this math.

You are what God says you are.

God speaks and worlds come into existence.

You are God’s new creation and you have a new identity.

These truths are the foundation of all we will talk about next week.

So we will look at each lie and then counter these with God’s truth, the truth that comes with power, God’s power:

Justification (Monday)

Reconciliation (Tuesday)

Propitiation (Thursday)

Regeneration (Friday)

I know these are big words, but don’t worry, we will make sure they are clearly defined and that we understand them.

Before I end for the night, I would like you to understand how these lies come about and why they have so much power in our lives.

What happens?

How I am doing in my spiritual battles.

From the very beginning of our lives these lies have been circulating and are still being reinforced.

So here is what happens and has happened throughout our lives.

We experience situations.

Most Christians don't understand that they are in the middle of a conflict between God and Satan.The battle began when Lucifer rebelled against God in heaven.

Some scholars believe that tells us the fall of Satan.

Satan apparently was puffed up with pride and wanted the worship which belonged to God alone.

He rebelled and God cast him from heaven.God created the world and the first people.

Satan tricked Eve into rebelling against God as well, and Adam willfully joined this rebellion ().

So Adam followed Stan in his rebellion.

After this rebellion Satan became the god of this world (until Christ's work on the cross), see , , , and ; ; .

For Christ defeated Satan on the cross (; ).

Also, see http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-fall-of-satan-and-the-victory-of-christ.How are you doing in this battle?

These four false beliefs trigger thoughts.

How I am living out my duty.

These thoughts trigger emotions.

Our duty is to deal with Satan and his demons through the power of Christ.

Our identity is crucial here.

We are to be actively engaged in this battle.

We are not supposed to be a victim of this conflict.

God chose not to stop this war, so he gave us a new nature, his Spirit and the word to deal with Satan and his demons.

We act on these emotions.

Whether or not I live as a victim

These actions reinforce our commitment to these false beliefs.

My identity, how I see myself, my understanding of what God did for us and with us in Christ, determines whether we live as an active participant in the battle, or a victim of the battle.

Our goal for the week

What is our goal?

What does God say about this?

Our goal for the week is to understand that our situations are being interpreted by these 4 false beliefs.

So, if we change our false beliefs, we will see our emotions change, once these change, then our behavior changes as well.

You are what God says you are.

But we can’t do this without the power of God and the truth of God.

For it is only the truth of God, who he is and who we are, and what he has done and made us that can release us from these false beliefs.

You are not what you think you are, or even what others may say you are, rather, you are what God has declared you to be!

You have an identity as a new creation.

How will we do it?

God speaks and worlds come into existence.

So, we will spend time this week looking at God’s antidote.

At creation, God simply spoke, and things were created, out of nothing, ex nihilo.

God has given us a new heart.

You are a new creation of God with a new identity.

God has declared what is true to us.

When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, God declares us to be a new creation.

And thus we are.

We are given a new identity.

The same thing that happened at creation happens to us.

God declares us a new creation, and we are.

God takes away the spirit we are born with and puts a new one in us that will be with him for all eternity.But there is one problem…Satan wants to teach us our identity, and he does this since our birth.

It happens sometimes through our families, always through society, and even sometimes in churches.