Viola Solid Rock Assembly
What Does God Say About You
(audience applauds) - Thank you, thank you. Once again, I appreciate the opportunity to speak. I always appreciate it when I get the opportunity to share in front of all of you. It truly is a privilege. I appreciate the trust for letting me get up here to share the word with you. How many of you know we live in a broken world? I think in this broken world, it seems that the normal has become, you know, trying to tear away from the image that God has put on our lives, who we should be in Christ, who God created us to be, and what our true purpose is, how we were created. It seems like the world gets farther and farther away from what the Bible says and more about what man says. And I think sometimes as Christians we let them, we let the world tell us more about who we are than Christ. And I can tell you, sometimes maybe I think that we're our own enemies in that. Sometimes we are the reason that sometimes we feel less than or deal with certain things mentally, emotionally, physically. The way we think about ourselves impacts our lives in a huge way. And I think tonight, I kind of want to touch on that. I kind of want to go over who God says. How did God create us and who does God say that we are? Because I think I see so much, it seems like depression and anxiety and mental illness that follows. And the enemy has wreaked such havoc on young people's minds, other people's minds. He can get you at any stage in life, no matter where you are in your Christianity, if you're not careful. I think sometimes we can let the devil's voice become a little louder than Christ's voice. And sometimes it doesn't always seem like we're allowing that to happen, but he's real sneaky in this stuff. He likes to pitch in there that sometimes takes root in our minds and it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. I know for myself, especially, it definitely seems like the more you progress in your walk with Christ, the harder it gets. It's kind of a double-edged sword. You know, the closer you get to God, the more of a threat you are. So it seems like the more attacks try to come your way to knock you off your course. I'm guilty of myself of sometimes speaking wrong things over myself or having dark thoughts about myself that aren't really true, but stuff that I have allowed in unknowingly. And then a lot of times, by the time you realize it, it's really too late at that point that you have to worry about getting rid of a root that sometimes digs itself way too deep. And I'm thankful that God, a lot of times, reminds me through that, that it's not always immediate, and sometimes I have to go through a season, but he always reminds me that that's not from me. You know, that's not me speaking to you. You've let some other voice inside that's speaking to you that way, that's not from me. So I know the enemy is definitely trying to tear me down in my walk, but just recently, I feel like I've had a big break through, I know Joe's been talking about going through storms a lot, and I feel like I've battled with multiple things mentally, not really any issues with like really just mental issues from stuff that has followed me into my walk that I've had to try to work through, that the enemy has really tried to use to try to suppress me, I feel like, keep me less than. I feel like I am, and I feel like I'm finally starting to come out of that, I'm finally starting to hear God's voice through that, so praise God for that. I'm very thankful. There is, but if you let the enemy try to impact and tell you who you are, besides what Christ, who Christ says you are, sometimes it can make you very weak, it can lead to depression, anxiety, it can even lead to almost like a sickness. I think it's 'cause we forget as Christians what God has actually spoke over us, who he actually says that we are, how much power that we actually possess that we sometimes forget about. So I kinda wanna dive into some scripture to kinda see what the Lord of our universe says that we can do to combat any trick or deceitful thought from the enemy. Let's see, I think I'm gonna go back to the very beginning, so in Genesis chapter one, verse 27, it says, "So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God, he created them, male and female, he created them." So we all know that it is written in Genesis that we were created in God's image. We didn't evolve from monkeys. We didn't just, and blow up out of thin air like some people. But we were made in God's image. And what an honor it is to be made in the Creator's image. He loved us enough to make him like himself. He created you unique. There is no one of us the same as another. I think we are all different in our own ways and we were all special in our own ways. Even though a lot of us may be polar opposites, somebody has, you know, you may be better at one thing than I am and I may be better at one thing than you are. And that's awesome because God creates us all for a purpose. And we all have a purpose for his kingdom. So I think a great book in the Bible, I like to book a Psalms. I tend to seem that Psalms a lot of times when I'm looking for something, especially seems like if I'm going through a hard time, there's always something in the Psalms that seems to really hit home for me. But tonight I want to spend some time in Psalms 139. I think there's some great stuff in there about how he created us and what he thinks about us in this chapter. So to start out, if you would like, you can turn your Bibles to Psalms chapter 139, verse 13. I'll give you just a second to get there. If you'd like to turn in here. All right, it says you made all the delicate inner parts, inner, excuse me, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. So when I think about this passage, I just want to kind of let you in on my thought process as I depict this passage. I think alone how he knit us together. I think it is incredible if you look at the human body, alone, how intricate we are and how everything in our bodies seem to work together to keep us alive, how complex we are, how tough we are, but also how delicate everything is as human beings. How he created everything to work in sequence with each other. I think it's incredible. You know, I had little Emerson, it'll be three in December. She was my first baby. She was the first, she was, that was my first time actually getting to watch a child, you know, form from the very beginning until she was born into this world. And I'll tell you, for parents who have kids who will know how wonderful it is to be able to watch that process of your kid growing and developing and how God creates them and how they're so much like you, but not at all like you at the same time. They share so much characteristics with you, but they're so unique. It's very incredible and it's very exciting to see. When it says, so in this passage, when it says, "Knit me together," I kind of think about almost, I'm a very visual person. So I think almost like, I like the word woven to me. Almost like a, like kind of like a wicker basket, how everything flows, it's strong. Everything goes together perfectly. Next, I want to remove on to verse 14. It says, "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex." I think it's pretty amazing how different people can be so complex but in completely different ways. The way we look, maybe it's our personality traits that are different. I definitely know some people that are more complex than others. My two kids are completely polar opposites. It's like, I got one that just likes everything to be her certain way, and then I got one that just likes to tear out of the whole house. She's like a little tear. I just run around, the sweetest little tear you ever met. And some people, you know, some people are very simple, some simplistic, and some people are very hard to figure out. Kind of like my wife. But... But... It's a good thing I know how to cook, right? (audience laughing) But just because we're all complex in our different ways, it's not a bad thing. God made us all unique, and we all have different passions, and we all have different personalities because God made us that way, and he made you that way for a purpose. So don't ever think that the way you were made is by mistake. He... You are wonderfully made. He made you exactly the way you are for a reason. Moving on to chapter 16, it says, "You saw me before I was born every day of my life." Was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. I love this because it implies that God is watching over us before we were even born. So well before you were even a thought, he was already watching over you. Which to me is hard to fathom because how can you watch over something that does not yet exist, but God already knew you were going to exist. God knows all things. He was already watching out for you before you were born. I think it just shows to me how much our mighty God really cares about you. He watches over you from before you were born as you're in the womb and as you were created, and after you were born, he watches over you for the rest of your life. That every moment, he says that every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. That mean he already knows your entire life. He already knows every struggle, every pain, every mountain you're going to have to climb. He already knows all of this. I know it's hard sometimes to kind of think of ourselves. Sometimes I find it hard to always think about myself in a super positive way. I know sometimes I beat myself up because of mistakes I make, or maybe I have a really active mind. Sometimes I have to just force myself to be still because I'm always moving. I'm like the shark of the house. I'm just always, I'm like pacing all day long. And I think sometimes, but with that comes a lot of, my mind rambles a lot, so sometimes it's easy just to let my mind kind of torment. And it just sometimes can go a good way or it can go a bad way. And for me, sometimes that can kind of, if I'm not careful that can kind of distort what God really says about me. And I know a lot of people who are like me probably understand who have active brains that can happen. I think it's, can really come in and try to destroy what God has really spoken over you. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But unlike the enemy, God's thoughts about us are precious and are outnumbered. Verse 17 says, how precious are your thoughts about me, oh God, that they cannot be numbered? I can't even count them. They outnumber the grains of sand. And when I wake up, you are still with me. So by a raise of hands, how many of you have ever been to the beach? Probably most in the room, okay? So when I think when he says out numbers of the grain of sand, I'm thinking walking out on the beach, looking to my left, and looking to my right, and most of the time, depending on where you're staying, all you can see until it blurs out on you is normally sand, you know? And so I think to myself, how many of us are gonna try to count every single grain of sand? Probably not, okay? I don't think there's enough time in your human life to count every single grain of sand. On the beach alone, not even a bucket for that of sand, but the scripture tells us that just his thoughts, just his thoughts alone, outnumber the grains of sand. I cannot even comprehend what number. I don't even know if there's a number that exists to us that would count how many wonderful thoughts that Christ thinks about you. God is crazy about you. It says in Matthew 29, 31, "What is the price of two sparrows, one copper coin, "but not a single sparrow can fall to the ground "without your father knowing it? "And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. "So don't be afraid, you are more valuable to God "than a whole flock of sparrows." Unlike people, I think, people are always gonna let you down. We're all human, we all make mistakes, we're all imperfect. But God's love is never going to change, He's always gonna be in your corner, if you allow Him to be in your corner. I just wanna kind of pinpoint for anyone who struggles with a mental illness, whether it's depression, maybe it's self-esteem issues, anxiety, not just those, but I kinda feel like maybe tonight, I feel like the Lord laid this message on my heart 'cause I feel like it's maybe if it's just for one person, but I feel like it's definitely for somebody here tonight. I don't know if it's for one or for two or for three. But maybe it's just another sin that you're just desperately trying to get away from, feeling like you always mess up. Maybe you're not good enough, not worthy. Maybe you have, I think, that you're useless. Whatever thought that that may be that rambles on in your mind, that is not at all how your God thinks about you. Yes, you need to deal with your sins, and yes, you probably, for people who struggle with mental health, we should probably seek somebody to help us get through that, and yes, we might have to change some friends or some habits, or maybe quit watching certain things or listening to certain things, but just because we struggle with so many different things on this earth, it does not mean that God is shaking His fist at you and thanking all sorts of awful thoughts about you. Our God is a loving God who just wants to have a relationship with you. He wants you to bring all your problems and everything you go through in a week, everything you go through on a daily basis at night when you're laying in bed and your thoughts are running, he just wants you to bring it on and just lay it at his feet. He will embrace you. If you can embrace God and embrace what he says about you, how much freedom would there be? In all aspects of your life, how much, how free would you be able to live? Because us as Christians, we are not called to be bound, but to be free in Christ. He already knows what you're going through. It's funny, I've had some conversations with these teens talking about, you know, admitting, you know, whether it be like confessing your sins to God, you know, trying to get out of a hard place, whatever that might be, he already knows what you did. It's like you can't hide anything from God, but sometimes it feels like we get, sometimes it feels like almost like we can. You know, almost feels like if we keep it on the inside, who is it hurting? It's not hurting anybody but me. But what God is waiting for is God is waiting for you to turn it over to him so he can set you free from it. That's just a lie that the more you keep it in, the better it'll be and it won't hurt anybody and nobody will know. Because the fact of the matter is the more you keep these thoughts and these problems to yourself, the more they're just going to impact your Christian walk, your mental health and et cetera. I think we should always, we should always, as Christians, we should always choose to love on God. We should always show God our gratitude, but I think the cool thing about God is if you allow him to, he'll love on you too. You know, he will, we are children of God. Yes, we have earthly parents, but he's our eternal father, so he knows better than anybody else. He will view together from the beginning. He doesn't see you as messed up or broken. He gave you life. If you are, if you're a believer in Christ and you are covered under his blood, you are no longer guilty for your past transgressions. But you can live freely. So, Kelty, if you'd like to, you can, if you don't care, play some, if you don't care, turn on some music. I kind of just want to end with this. I just, more with the question. The question is, what are you wrestling with? You know, what's bothering you? What is something that you can't seem? What is something that, you know, maybe almost what torments you day after day? What is something you can't seem to get rid of? It's like you try so hard to get rid of it, but you, it just seems like it never goes away. It seems like there's no hope. Maybe you feel less than, maybe somebody has told you you're less than. Like I said, well, I go, I feel like, I feel like God just spoke a word to me when I was writing this sermon about that this, somebody who struggles with self-worth, that they need to let that go, and they need to give it over to God, and they need to let them, God speak to them and tell them who they really are. So, I don't know who it is, what it might be, or even if you're just looking to lay, lay your bad habits down. If you give it over to God, I promise you he'll accept it. He's not going to spit it back in your face. He's not going to shame you. You can only start truly living in who God says you are. When you give up all, give up all the false thoughts, all the lies, and you have to put your full trust in him or what he says about you and start living out day to day. I can't promise you it'll be instant, but I promise you it'll get better. I can tell you from experience it gets better. Sometimes it does take a little while. Sometimes you have to put in some work. Sometimes it takes a little bit of sacrifice. Maybe it's not, and maybe it's not even physical sacrifice. Maybe it's just mental. Sometimes letting go of this stuff hurts. It creates such a hold on you that letting it go hurts. Which almost seems backwards because you would think letting it go would feel better, but sometimes it takes everything in you to get rid of it. So I just pray tonight, as the altars are open, I just want to invite you to let God show you how valuable you really are. Why don't you ask him? Ask him how valuable you are to him. And listen, really take time to really hone in and listen to what Christ says about you. Because he will show you. If you ask him, he will show you. If I ask everyone would, to bow your heads. Father, I pray that Lord tonight, I thank you for the opportunity to get up here and speak. Lord, forever this message might have been for, Lord, I pray that you open their hearts. Lord, in their ears, Father, I pray that they would accept. Maybe if they feel that tug, Lord, something they need to give up, something they need to trust you with, something they need to give up to you, Lord, I pray that they will. Father, I pray that they won't wait any longer. They won't go through whatever it is they're going through any longer. Father, if they will give it up to you and just let you take care of it, Father. And Lord, I just pray for anybody else in the room that, Lord, maybe they're not just struggling with anything that I specifically talked about tonight, but maybe it's something else. Lord, maybe it's a financial issue. Maybe it's a sickness, Father. I just pray that you will bring healing. Father, I pray that you will just let their hearts be open and let their trust just grow in you more and more, Father. That you are good, Father. You are good all the time. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. For anyone who feels open to, I'd like to just have some time in prayer. You can pray in your seats or you can come up to the altar. I'd love to pray with you if you need prayer, but the altar is open. [BLANK_AUDIO]