How Do You See Yourself? By Rodney W. Francis

(This message, though put together for ministry amongst women, can easily be adapted for men and/or mixed audiences).

In Christian life and ministry there are three important areas that it is good to challenge yourself on:

1. How God sees you.
2. How you see you.
3. How others see you.

In this message we shall look at these three areas in order to help you improve your impact as a Christian woman ... to help you raise the level of your effectiveness in the Kingdom of God and in life generally.

1.  HOW DOES GOD SEE YOU?

God sees you as being very special to Him.

He believes in you! He has invested Himself in you through His finished work at Calvary. He has made you to be you -- a very unique person with qualities and possibilities that only you can fulfil. Be encouraged to accept yourself as He accepts you and rise to be the woman He has called you to be!

"The king's daughter is all glorious (speaks of "magnificence") within: her clothing is of wrought gold" (Psalm 45:13  , KJV).

YOU are daughters of the King, held in honour and esteem by the Lord Who has redeemed you for Himself. His desire is to so work in your life and character that you can experience and fulfil the true purpose for which you were created. You were created by God Himself! And He never made anything bad, useless or unworthy. None of us had any say in being born, what sex we are, what our looks are with regard to the size of our ears, noses, etc. We need to accept the fact that God created us beautiful and full of potential to be very successful in life to the glory of His name.

The Bible holds high the woman who is:

• Virtuous:

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies" (Proverbs 31:10  ).

A virtuous woman is one who "practices moral excellence or righteousness; prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance; faith, hope and love" (Collins Dict.);

* She has "good quality, excellence of any kind" (Bullinger's);

*  She has "strength of mind or body" (Young's).

"A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband" (Proverbs 12:4  ).

Ruth was known as a virtuous woman:

"And now, my daughter, fear not: I will do to you all that you require: for all the city of my people do know that you are a virtuous ("a force, strength, valour, virtue" - Strong's) woman"       (Ruth3:11).

Ruth's virtuosity became known throughout the whole city! What an amazing woman, but, better still, what a tremendous example of what women can attain to when they build their lives, hearts and minds on being virtuous.

• Gracious:

"A gracious ("a free and spontaneous willingness to bestow good through kindness and compassion; to show favour" - Wilson's) woman retains honour ("personal integrity, glory, great respect, esteem" - Collins)"(Proverbs 11:16  ).

How wonderful to be around a gracious woman!

• Wise:

"Every wise woman builds her house: but the foolish one plucks ("to break or throw down") it down with her hands" (Proverbs 14:1  ).

Wisdom has to do with skill. Wisdom builds; it applies itself to do well and to do better. Wisdom is a key to success.

•  Fears The Lord:

"A woman that fears ("gives reverence to") the Lord, she shall be praised ("shine, to celebrate,commend, be worthy of praise" - Strong's)" (Proverbs 31:30  ).

The Bible speaks of Beautiful Women:

Sarah (Genesis 12:11  , 14): She was 65 at the time!

Rebekah (Genesis 24:15-16  ; Genesis 26:7  ): "She was very attractive" (TLB).

Rachel (Genesis 29:17  ): "beautiful and well favoured ("a handsome shape - Strong's)"(KJV).                      Rachel was "shapely and in every way a beauty" (TLB).

Abigail (1 Samuel 25:3  ): "she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance ("outline, figure or appearance" - Strong's)" (KJV);

        "she was an intelligent and beautiful woman" (NIV);

        "a beautiful and very intelligent woman" (TLB).

The Three Daughters of Job (Job 42:15  ): "Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters..." (NIV);

"and in all the land there were no other girls as lovely as the daughters of Job..."(TLB).

Accept the fact that God sees you as a beautiful person. He made you beautiful! You are beautiful! Enjoy being beautiful because you know you're beautiful. And don't let anyone convince you otherwise -- especially yourself!

2.  HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF?

Your effectiveness as a Christian woman depends very much on the opinion you have of yourself. I would like to challenge you with the following thought-provoking questions on how you seeyourself:

Do You See Yourself as:

•  A failure? or A success?
• Drab ("dull, dingy, shabby, dreary, cheerless")? or Unique?

• Inferior? or Equal to Others? "He (God) has made us accepted ("to grace, indue with specialhonour, be highly favoured") in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6  , KJV).
• Insecure? or Secure?
• Unfulfilled? or Challenged to realize your full potential?
• Useless? or Useful?
• Someone being used? or Contented?
• Ugly? or Beautiful?

• Self-conscious (about looks, size, weight, varicose veins, home, finances)? or Accepting yourself in such a way that the things you can change you're working on -- and the things you can't change aren't going to hold you back?
• Struggling with meeting people? or Very friendly in meeting strangers?
• Struggling with hospitality and catering for meals? or Love entertaining?
• Fearful? or Loving?
• Grumpy? or Gracious?
• Moody? or Motivated?

If you honestly find yourself identifying with some of the negatives of these questions, then I encourage you to find a trusted friend and share these negatives with them. Then be open and frank enough to invite them to help you to address those negatives so you can become a much more positive person. Negatives are "life-drainers"; they sap our energy and take away the inspiration and motivation for living life with a capital L!

3.  HOW DO OTHERS SEE YOU? (Do you know?)

We must remember that we do not live our lives simply to please or gain the approval of others, but it is very important to discover if we are saying or doing things that cause others "to take a wide berth" around us. People, generally, do not enjoy being in the company of a negative person and will make all kinds of excuses to avoid being there. Rejection breeds negativity and negativity breeds rejection -- it's a vicious cycle! Christians do not need to be negative people. The whole message of the Scriptures is that we are "conquerors, overcomers, positive life-givers" in a sick and dying world. We are part of the answer, not part of the problem! The development of our character in Christian service is vital if our testimony is going to carry an impact -- and you were created by God to be an impact!

How others see us -- and re-act to us -- often is determined by how we see ourself and by whether we communicate a positive or negative image. So, again, ask yourself the questions:

Are You:

• Difficult to get on with? or Easy to get on with?
• Unfriendly? or Friendly?
• Moody? or Well-controlled?
• Negative? or Positive?
• Critical? or An Exhorter/Encourager?
• A Gossip? or One who can keep confidences?
• Dominating? or Submissive?
• Proud? or Humble?
• One who displays Outward show? or Inward grace?

I trust that you will rise to the challenge that these three major areas give us, and that you will be able to answer positively to how:

1. God sees you.
2. How you see you, and
3. How others see you.

The way you respond to these three areas will determine the quality of life you will enjoy (or not enjoy)in the days and years ahead.

God bless you!

FREE OF CONDEMNATION

Romans 8:1There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

There are Christians who are continually living in defeat, do not have victory in their lives, and seem to think that the enemy is always after them. Their attitude appears to be that the devil has been chasing them all week, and they are losing the battle. They may feel he is constantly reminding them of some past failure. The power of guilt is a terrible thing, and will make you feel as if you are walking in a fog. The enemy will frequently use this method to keep you in defeat. God has given you a guarantee that you don’t have to be bound by a spirit of condemnation. He wants to give you lasting peace that will not be controlled by the circumstances around you. He tells you in Hebrews 10:17 “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Tell the accuser to leave you alone. 

Prayer Thought

The devil cannot gain a foothold in any area of your life that the Holy Spirit controls. The Christian who wields the Sword of the Spirit, yields no ground to Satan.

LOVING YOUR ENEMIES

Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

Satan uses unforgiveness as a tool to keep many Christians from having an effective spiritual life. Their prayer life, as well as the power of God working through them, becomes totally ineffective as long as they maintain this wedge between themselves and the Lord. Satan blinds the eyes of many Christians to feel that it is impossible to forgive the person who has offended them. The question should not be: “Can you forgive the person, but are you willing to forgive the person?” As soon as you are willing, you can ask the Lord to enable you to forgive, and He will give you a forgiving spirit. Now forgiving comes with­out any conditions. The next step is for the Lord to give you the desire to pray for those who have offended you.

Prayer Thought

Luke 6:45. It’s who you are not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds, v. 44. You don’t get wormy apples off a healthy tree - the health of the apples tells the health of the tree. The Message. 

Word for today

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THE GOD OF HOPE

Romans 15:13 Now maythe God of hopefill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

God calls Himself the God of Hope, and throughout the Bible you see promises which show this characteristic of His nature. He is expecting you to depend on these promises and as a result continue to have an ever increasing hope. Human hope has let all of us down on many occasions, but the Lord has told us He will never leave or forsake us, Hebrews 13:5.

As a God of hope, He has planned a future for you, and will give you the ability to complete the goals He has in mind for you.

Jeremiah 29:11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give youa future and a hope.

Prayer Thought

Father, may I never forget to keep my eyes on You, and know that You care about my future. Note: “As long as we’re sufficient, we’ll never experience His sufficiency.”

 

DESTINY TRIGGERS - 15 set of people you must pray to meet in 2017....

1.The ENCOURAGERS - even in discouraging situations of life, these people keep you going with encouraging words; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

2.The HAND LIFTERS - They are those whose hands are strong enough to hold yours up when you are weak; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

3.DESTINY HELPERS - They provide shoulders upon which you ride to fulfilling your dream and destiny; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

4.The GIVERS - these ones will give of their time, talent, and treasure to you in your hour of need; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

5.The RECEIVERS - these ones are different from routine takers and serial beggars. You can’t be blessed if you don’t give, and you can’t give if there is no one to receive. Not all lands bring forth fruits, and not all hands that receive command blessings. You need those whose receiving hands will trigger abundant blessings unto you; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

6.The PRAYER CONQUERORS - You need more than prayer warriors IN 2017. Many Prayer warriors pray from their heads only; Prayer conquerors pray from their heart and conquer; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

7.The RECOMMENDERS - these are the ones who mention your name in quarters where your skills and talents will be celebrated; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

8.The CORRECTORS - these are the ones who honestly tell you when you are wrong; they prevent you from digging a grave of mistakes that may bury your destiny; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

9.The COMMITTED - whether things are up or down, these ones are standing with you; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

10.The LOYAL - they work with you with all of their hearts to make things work in your life; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

11.The TRUTH-TELLERS - they will not call night day, and day night; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

12.The ALTRUISTS - these ones believe that life is not just about them, it is about you too; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

13.The RELIABLE - You can count on them when it counts most; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

14.The CONTENTED - these ones are not greedy, they are satisfied with whatever they get from you and they bless you from their heart for it; MAY YOU MEET THEM.

15. The LOVERS and PURSUERS of GOD & GODLY LIFE - these ones are always connected to God; MAY YOU MEET THEM, so you will never be disconnected from your source who is your MAKER.

#Success is a collection and network of Relationships. There are those who matters to your life; there are those whom your life also matters to!. May you experience the blessing and favor OF DIVINE CONNECTIVITY all through the new year.

2017 is your year of Enlargement!