DEVELOPING HEALTHY SELF-ESTEEM
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and that your joy may be complete.
(John 15:11)
I. THE PROBLEM WITH SUB SELF-ESTEEM.
A. Low self-esteem does not equal “humility”.
B. Low self-esteem spurns God with feelings of “inferiority”.
C. Low self-esteem is expressed by fear of failure.
D. Low self-esteem emphasizes personal weakness & the strength of others.
E. Low self-esteem may be caused by physical appearance.
·(Gen 29:17) Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful.
F. Low self-esteem may be caused by physical disability.
·(Exo 4:10) Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
G. Low self-esteem may be caused by youth or inexperience.
·(Jer 1:6) "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
·(1 Tim 4:12) Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young,…
H. Low self-esteem may be caused by a lack of professional training. (Amos 7:12-16)
I. Low self-esteem is a tool of Satan to keep people from serving God. (Judges 6:15)
J. Low self-esteem may be caused by past sin.
·(Isa 6:5) "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
II. THE PROBLEM OF SUPER SELF-ESTEEM.
A. Super self-esteem causes a person to think too highly of himself.
·(Rom 12:3) Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,
B. Super self-esteem is often a cover-up for feelings of inferiority.
C. Satan is the source of super self-esteem.
·(1 John 2:16) For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.
D. God hates the attitude of the super self-esteemed.
·(Prov 6:16) “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, …”
·(James 4:6) "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
E. Thinking people detest the attitude of the super self-esteemed.
·(Psa 40:4) Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
·(Psa 123:4) We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant.
F. God has some solemn warnings for the super self-esteemed.
·(Prov 16:18) Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
·(Prov 29:23) A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.
III. THE KEY TO SANE SELF-ESTEEM.
A. Remember your union with Christ.
·(John 15:5) "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
·(1 Cor 15:10) But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
B. Consider the work of the Father.
·(John 15:1) "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
·(Phil 2:13) for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
C. Depend on your source of supply.
·(John 15:4-5) Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
D. Recognize your potential for fruitfulness.
·(John 15:5) "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
E. Affirm your enabling from God.
·(2 Tim 1:7) For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
F. Wait on God to judge you.
·(1 Cor 4:3-4) I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
