Do you feel secure? I remember growing up how insecure I was. I didn’t have a stable home life. My parents owned a business
and they both had to work to make a go of it. My younger sister and I were left alone a lot and had to fend for ourselves. That is just the way it was back then. The downside was that I grew up feeling very insecure. I’m wondering how much of that led to my having full-blown panic attacks down the road.
I’ve talked to many people over the years that had panic attacks and unreasonable fears, and so many have expressed that they didn’t have a very secure childhood. Some had been abused, and even abandoned. Others came out of homes where they were cared for by alcoholics and their lives were also very insecure not knowing what was going to happen next.
I’ve said all of that to tell you about a wonderful sermon my pastor preached this past Sunday. It is called, “Your Supreme Value to God.” Wow! That is a great title and my ears perked up when I heard it. Me? A supreme value to God? That seems incredible. How is that possible?
Ephesians 1:18c says, “…what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” Pastor Ron Lewis unpacked that portion of scripture and gave us a wonderful insight.
Sometimes it is hard for those who have had a rough start in life to realize how much God does love us. He is our heavenly Father. I’ve been told by others that it is hard for them to think of God as a loving Father because their earthly father was not that way, and in fact, wasn’t even a good father. So, how can they relate to God? I always say, “Well, our earthly father’s aren’t perfect, but God is, and that makes the difference.”
I never realized it until I started of thinking of myself the same way God thinks of me. That took some time and it took reading the Bible to learn what our God is really like, and what He has promised us. Once we can know that we know deep in our heart that God loves us and has called us to be his adopted children, then the door is open for us to learn and change how we feel about God.
Believers are God’s inheritance. That seems strange at first, but it is true as you study this passage. All true believers are saints, and we are his prized possessions! Isn’t that wonderful? He paid the most high price for us and we are valuable to Him. It was Jesus Christ’s, God’s own Son, whose precious blood bought us and brought us into the family of God. This is a totally new family. We must put away the past and cling to the new.
What did I get out of this message you may ask? Well, it truly blessed my soul to learn how much God loves us and to think that we are of supreme value to Him. That boggles my mind, that’s for sure. I know I can feel secure knowing God thinks I’m valuable. He will take care of me and I can trust what He says. Then, it makes me want to get to know God more intimately. I want to study the Word more looking for the promises He has given us. I want to share what I learn with others. Mostly I want to learn how to please God in my daily life and to live in a way that will honor Him. Trust and obey, there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. I want to obey Him.
Psalm 119:33-37 (NIV)
Teach me, O Lord, to follow your
decrees;
then I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding, and I will
keep your law.
and obey it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of your
commands,
for there I find delight.
Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless
things;
preserve my life according to your
word.
Please click on this link to listen to this inspiring sermon:
