Do you ever have times where you don’t feel like you matter all that much? Like you’re not that valuable. Of course you do! We all do. You see we all go around looking for things that prove we matter. And we spend much of our lives not only trying to prove our stats to others, but to ourselves, and to God! But what if stats don’t matter to God? What if the way He sees our value is nothing compared to how we see it?

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MESSAGE NOTES

Doesn’t it feel sometimes like my worth is the accumulation of my stats?

 

It’s like I’m a walking baseball card. If you want to know whether or not I matter as a person, turn me over and check the stats. The more I’ve stacked and racked, the more valuable I am as a person. When we see our value this way also, we tend to hide the stats that don’t add value.

 

We really worry about how other people see us, so we want to put on the shiniest clothes we have and hide our dirty spots. We aren’t the first ones worried about how other people saw us and worked to hide.

 

 

[Genesis 3:6-7]

“The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.”

 

 

  1. I ASSIGN VALUE TO ME ON WHAT I’VE DONE

 

Religions are united in the teaching that only good people go to heaven. The side effect is that I’m lost if I’m honest about how bad I can be in my heart OR I become arrogant if in comparison to you, I’m pretty good. So we spend our lives worried about our stats. Hoping that at the end, God will want us.

 

(On what do you determine someone’s value?)

 

 

[Luke 2:3-10]

“All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”

 

What are Jesus’ stats?

  • Did have enough money to worry about being robbed
  • Mom was known to have gotten pregnant out of wedlock at a time when that meant something!
  • Weren’t important enough to get a hotel room, even in her pregnant condition
  • Wrapped in strips of cloth, not even a baby blanket
  • The only people to come visit were stinky shepherds

 

The whole story smells of failure! If not for the angels, which Mary and Joseph never saw, this would be the beginning of really sad saga of expected underperformance.

 

 

[1 Corinthians 1:26-28]

“Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.”

 

It’s almost as if God doesn’t care what your stats are. The things that devalue me to you, and to myself, have no impact on my value to God.

 

 

2. GOD ASSIGNS VALUE TO ME ON WHAT JESUS HAS DONE

 

 

[2 Corinthians 5:21]

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

 

 

[1 Corinthians 1:30]

“God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.”

 

 

God “unites me with Jesus”. He merges our stats. I now wear Jesus’s goodness as my covering.

 

[Galatians 3:26-29]

“For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.”

 

Jesus is the great Equalizer. Truthfully, he does more than just level the playing field between us. He fills in the gap created by the worthless things we’ve done and makes us priceless

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Application Questions

1. What stood out to you from this message and why?

2. What is one thing God is telling you to START doing because of this message?

3. What is one thing God is telling you to STOP doing because of this message?

4. How will this message change how you act at home, work and in the your relationships?