WEBVTT - Recognizing Your Value 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:02.640 You and your dog are close, like watch each other 0:00:02.680 --> 0:00:04.960 go to the bathroom close, But you could be even 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:08.880 closer with BarkBox. Every month, BarkBox brings dogs and their 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:12.639 humans together with original toys and delicious treatment. Sign up 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:14.880 now at BarkBox dot com. Slash iHeart. 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:18.119 No one likes to talk about money. Am I saving enough? 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:20.239 Can I buy a house? Am I paying too much 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:22.960 in taxes? Will I be able to retire? What if 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:25.600 you could unlock insights about your finances in less than 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:28.080 five minutes, with a clear picture of where you stand 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:30.880 today and where your money can work harder. Now you 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:34.000 can visit Facet dot com to take the free quiz 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:38.640 and get your financial wellness score today. That's Facet dot com. 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:40.600 This ad is sponsored by Facet. Facet Wealth in Corporated 0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:42.519 is an SEC registered investment advisor. This is not an 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:44.600 offer to buy yourself security snor is it investment, legal 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:45.280 or tax advice. 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.360 Are you ready to move your career forward? Make your 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:51.880 comeback with Purdue Global and get college credit for your work, school, life, 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:55.080 or military experiences. With these credits, you may have already 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.880 completed up to seventy five percent of your undergraduate degree. 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.000 You've worked hard to get where you are. It's time 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:02.200 to get the recognition you deserve and earn a degree 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:04.840 you'll be proud of, one that employers will trust and 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:07.119 respect when you take the next step in your life 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:10.280 and career. Make it count with Purdue Global produce online 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:14.920 university for working adults. Start your comeback at Purdueglobal dot edu. 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:19.240 Welcome to the Joe Lostine Podcast. Help us continue to 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:22.240 share the message of hope with those all over the world. 0:01:22.680 --> 0:01:26.240 Visit Joelostin dot com slash give hope to give a 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:33.680 gift today. 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:42.280 Oh God bless you. It's joy to come into your 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:45.520 homes and if you're ever in our area, please stop buying. 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:48.320 Be a part of one of our services. I promise 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:51.000 you we'll make you feel right at home. I like 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:53.200 to start with something funny, and I heard about this 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:56.080 six year old boy. He was standing in the church 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:59.720 lobby staring at the large plaque on the wall. It 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:03.760 was filled with names with small American flags by their side. 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:07.240 He asked the pastor what all the names were for. 0:02:07.880 --> 0:02:11.160 The pastor explained how that was a memorial to all 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:14.600 the young men and women that died in the service. 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:19.080 The little boy stood there silently, so concerned, he finally 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:21.519 looked up and asked, was it the eight thirty or 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:25.680 eleven o'clock service? Say it like you mean it. This 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:28.239 is my Bible. I am what it says I am. 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:31.200 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:33.880 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:37.919 taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:41.440 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:46.760 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:02:46.800 --> 0:02:51.240 to talk to you today about recognizing your value. Too 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:55.079 often we base our value on how someone is treating us, 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:59.800 how successful we are, how perfect of a life we've lived. 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:04.240 The problem is all of those things can change. If 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:07.200 you're getting your value out of how people treat you, 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:11.160 then if they hurt you, they disappoint you, you're going 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:15.400 to feel devalued. If you're basing your value off of 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:19.200 your achievements, how much you make, what you drive, the 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.680 title behind your name, then if something happens and you 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:26.359 don't have that position, your business goes down, then your 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:30.200 value will go down. And some people don't feel good 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:33.720 about themselves because they've made mistakes in life. They're not 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:36.960 where they thought they would be. Now they're living insecure, 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:43.040 feeling inferior. They're basing their value on their performance. Here's 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:47.160 the key. Your value should be based solely on the 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:50.360 fact that you are a child of the most High God, 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:54.240 the creator of the universe, breaths his life into you. 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:59.320 How someone treats you doesn't change your value. What they 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:03.840 say or do doesn't lessen who you are. Mistakes you've 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:08.400 made doesn't decrease your value. That's what you did, that's 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:11.640 not who you are. You can buy a bigger house, 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:15.040 drive a better car, but that doesn't make you any 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:20.080 more valuable. That increases your net worth, not your self worth. 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:24.200 You were already valuable when you had the small apartment 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:28.440 and no title behind your name. That position may give 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:32.479 you more influence, but not more value. You can be 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:36.159 a stay at home mom raising your children. You may 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:39.680 not have the influence of the CEO, but you have 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:43.680 the same value. Value is not based on what you do, 0:04:43.800 --> 0:04:47.400 what you make, who you know. That's superficial. Those things 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:53.120 can change. Your value comes from your creator. God breathed 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:56.960 his life into you. You have the DNA of Almighty God. 0:04:57.400 --> 0:05:01.680 You have royalty in your blood. But the enemy works 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:05.760 over time trying to devalue us. He'd love for you 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:09.160 to go through life letting what people say make you 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:14.720 feel inferior, comparing your life to somebody else's thinking. You'll 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:17.640 feel good about yourself when you catch up to them, 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:22.440 when you live in that neighborhood, or when you perform perfectly, 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:26.480 when you break the addiction, then you'll feel valuable. But 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:30.880 nothing you do will make you any more valuable. Nothing 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:35.720 you achieve, nothing you overcome. You are valuable right now. 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:40.400 God calls you a masterpiece. You are one of a kind. 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:44.880 You didn't come off an assembly line. You weren't mass produced. 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:48.400 God made you unique. There will never be another. You 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:53.080 put your shoulders back, start carrying yourself with confidence. You 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:57.799 have been fearfully and wonderfully made. In Luke chapter four, 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:01.600 Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert, where 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.719 he was tempted three times. He'd been out there for 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:09.240 forty days and hadn't eaten anything. The enemy said to him, 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:13.200 if you're the son of God, turn these stones into bread. 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:16.960 He was trying to make his value be based on 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:21.000 his performance. If you turn these stones into bread, you 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:23.960 can prove you're the son of God. Then you can 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:28.039 feel good about yourself. You performed a miracle. Jesus wouldn't 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:31.040 do it. He said, man doesn't live by bread alone. 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:34.440 He was saying, in effect, I don't have to do 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:38.120 anything to prove who I am. I don't have to 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:41.880 perform to feel good about myself. I know who I am. 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:46.039 The enemy couldn't deceive him into getting his value out 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:51.680 of being performance based, so he tried possession based. He 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:54.680 took Jesus to a high place, showed him all the 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:57.240 kingdoms of the world. He said, you can have it 0:06:57.279 --> 0:07:01.960 all if you'll just bow down and worship me. Jesus said, no, thanks. 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:06.160 I don't need possessions to prove my worth and value. 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:09.080 I don't have to have what you think is important 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:13.040 to feel good about who I am. Possession based didn't work. 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:19.120 Performance based didn't work, so the enemy tried one final thing, popularity. 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:22.440 He took Jesus to the highest place in the temple, 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:26.320 was very crowded below all kinds of people. He said, 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:29.000 if you're the son of God, jump off this building. 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:33.000 You said your angels would protect you. He was trying 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:36.520 to get Jesus to show off. Everybody would see and 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:41.040 be amazed. He'd gain instant popularity. Jesus said it again. 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:44.920 I don't need possessions, I don't need popularity. I don't 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:48.679 need performance to feel valuable. I know who I am. 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:53.239 I'm the son of the Living God. The enemy tried 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:57.240 to deceive Jesus into proving who he was, and a 0:07:57.280 --> 0:08:00.920 lot of people live in approving mode. They can't feel 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:04.960 good about themselves unless they prove to people they're important. 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:09.240 Prove to their coworker their talented, prove to their critics 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:13.440 that they really are okay. There's a constant struggle. They're 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:19.520 always having to outdo, outperform, outdrive, outdress. It's very freeing 0:08:19.600 --> 0:08:23.120 when you realize you don't have to prove anything. You 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:28.320 don't have to impress people. Take the pressure off. It 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:32.800 takes a lot of energy to compete, to prove, to impress. 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:36.640 If you live in approving mode, it's like you're on 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:40.400 a treadmill. As soon as you prove to one person 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:43.839 you're okay, you'll see somebody else you need to impress 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:48.600 to never ending cycle. Get off that treadmill. You're working 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:52.280 hard but not going anywhere. You don't have to prove anything. 0:08:53.280 --> 0:08:56.920 In these days, there's so much emphasis on name brands. 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:01.240 We're wearing so and so designers, use and so and 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:04.960 so sunglasses, and carrying a so and so perse, driving 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:07.400 a so and so card, talking on a so and 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:10.040 so cell phone. If you're really cool, you got on 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:14.160 so and so underwear. You can feel good about yourself. 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:18.960 Sometimes we have so many other names on us. We 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:24.520 don't know our own name. We're counting on all the 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:29.120 name brands, all the outside labels to make us feel important. 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:32.800 Can I tell you your name is more important than 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:38.040 all those names combine. No disrespect to them, But the 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:41.920 difference between you and a name brand is God breathed 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:45.559 his life into you. You're a son, you're a daughter 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:48.800 of the most High God. And there's nothing wrong with 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:52.320 owning it, driving it. We're in it, But don't let 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:55.320 it be the reason you feel good about who you are. 0:09:56.600 --> 0:10:01.400 Because what's hot today? What's the life greatest? In a 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:05.439 few years, it'll be outdated. If you live possession based, 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:08.840 you have to run from name to name, position to position, 0:10:09.000 --> 0:10:11.880 friend to friend. That's gonna wear you out. Why don't 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:15.839 you relax? You can't get any more valuable. You can 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:19.400 buy more clothes, get more friends. That doesn't change your 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:26.079 value whether you're wearing Gucci or Goodwill, whether it's Calvin 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:29.880 Klein or Fruit of the Loom, your value never changes. 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:33.120 You're clapping because you wear Fruit of the Loom. Like me. 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:37.040 I went to the sporting goods store the other day 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.840 to buy some new T shirts to work out in, 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:44.480 and there were probably ten racks of shirts. Practically everyone 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:49.160 had the manufacturer's name on the front in big bold letters. 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:51.640 I thought to myself, you want me to buy your 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:54.600 shirt and then go around as a billboard for you, 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:57.800 no offense, But I don't want to wear your name. 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:02.120 I like my own name. Do you need somebody else's 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:05.439 name to make you feel good about yourself? Are you 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:08.560 trying to prove your worth your value by who you know, 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:12.120 what you were, what you drive? Or can you say, 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:16.120 like Jesus, I don't have to have popularity, possessions or 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:19.720 performance to feel good about myself. I am secure in 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:22.360 who I am. I know who God made me to be. 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:27.440 When Jesus was riding into town on Palm Sunday, the 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:31.439 people laid down branches as he passed by. They celebrated, 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:36.560 shouting Hosanna from the young to the old, waving cheering. 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:39.560 They were so excited to see him. He received the 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:44.120 heroes welcome, but a few days later those same people, 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:49.560 instead of shouting Hosanna, they were shouting crucifying. We don't 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:53.520 want him here. When Jesus went to trial and needed 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:57.640 his closest friends to support him, his disciples, the ones 0:11:57.679 --> 0:12:01.760 he had poured his life into, weren't anywhere around. He 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:03.920 asked them to stay up and pray, but they were 0:12:03.960 --> 0:12:07.960 too tired. They fell asleep. If you base your value 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:13.319 on people's support, how much they approve you, encourage you, 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:17.200 then if for some reason they stop doing that, you'll 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:20.840 feel devalued. As long as they're telling you you're great, 0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:24.720 you'll feel great. The problem is if they change their mind, 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:28.160 they're not telling you that, you're not going to feel great. 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:33.239 You can't base your value on what people give you. 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:36.800 People are funny. They'll say you're beautiful one day, and 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:40.280 I don't care for you the next. Hosanna on Sunday, 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:44.520 crucify them on Friday. If you don't know who you 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:49.120 are without them, then if they leave, you'll be lost. 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:53.360 They'll take you with them. Your identity was caught up 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:55.840 in who they made you to be. You'll try to 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:59.440 find somebody else to tell you who you are. You 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:02.040 don't need need people to tell you who you are. 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:06.760 People will let you down, people will get jealous, People 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:10.920 have their own issues. Let your heavenly father tell you 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:16.160 who you are. Get your value, your self worth, your 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:21.199 approval from him. He says you're a masterpiece. He says 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:25.360 you're want of a kind a prize possession. Somebody may 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:29.280 have told you the opposite. You're not talented, you're not attractive, 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:32.480 you don't have a good personality. Let that go in 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:37.240 one ear and out the other. They don't determine your value. 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:41.000 What they say or do, does it make you any 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:45.920 less a masterpiece. Quit letting how people treat you make 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:50.800 you feel inferior. They don't control your destiny. They didn't 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:53.640 breathe life into you. They didn't call you, they didn't 0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:57.200 anoint you, they didn't approve you. Your value came from 0:13:57.200 --> 0:14:01.360 your creator, from the God who spoke words into existence. 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:05.800 The good news is they can't change your value, and 0:14:05.880 --> 0:14:09.080 you can't change it. God put it in you before 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:12.920 you showed up. You don't need their approval, You don't 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:17.080 need their encouragement. They don't have to validate you. It's 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:20.240 good when it happens, but if you're depending on it 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:23.400 to feel secure, then if they don't do it, you're 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:27.880 going to feel inferior. Don't give away your power, don't 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:32.960 put your identity, your value into somebody else's hands. Even 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:37.000 good people can't give you everything you need. Somebody that 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:41.120 loves you very much, they cannot keep you approved, validated, 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:44.840 feeling secure. You have to go to your heavenly father. 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:49.080 And sometimes we're putting pressure on people to keep us fixed, 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:53.400 keep us validated. Let them off the hook. They're not 0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:57.200 your savior. You already have a savior. He's on the throne. 0:14:57.520 --> 0:15:01.600 Go to him and not the people. The problem with 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:04.640 trying to get this from people is people have issues. 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:10.840 People are dealing with insecurities, fears, hurts, wounds, presentes, dysfunction. 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:15.600 They don't know any better. That's normal to them. Messed up. 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:20.160 People can mess you up. That's not profound. But it's good, 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:23.800 isn't it. If you base your value on what they're 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:27.560 giving you, you can end up dysfunctional. I talked to 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:31.880 a lady recently that had a very bad childhood neglect abuse. 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:35.360 She had just gone through her second divorce, her ex 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:38.880 husband told her that she didn't deserve to be loved, 0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:41.600 and I could tell that she believed it because she 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:45.360 was down on herself, no expression on her face. I 0:15:45.480 --> 0:15:48.640 told her what I'm telling you. Don't let messed up 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:53.000 people ruin the rest of your life. If somebody hurts you, 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:57.520 there's a tendency to internalize it and think there's something 0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:00.880 wrong with me. If I was more attract he wouldn't 0:16:00.880 --> 0:16:04.000 have left. If I was smarter, I wouldn't have had 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:07.160 a bad childhood. No, it has nothing to do with you. 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:12.120 They're treating you out of their hurts, their wounds. Hurting 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:16.160 people end up hurting other people. Don't let what they 0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:19.920 say define who you are. Don't let what you didn't 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:23.280 get make you feel like you're to blame. They said 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:26.480 you don't deserve to be loved, that's a lie. They 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:30.080 said you're not attractive, another lie. But if you base 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:33.280 your value on these lines, you won't have any kind 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:37.640 of self worth. Studies even show that children that went 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:42.520 through neglect abuse a bad childhood. Very often they take 0:16:42.520 --> 0:16:45.760 the blame on themselves. They think there's something wrong with them. 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:49.160 This lady did the same thing. She didn't think she 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:53.280 deserved to be loved. That's the enemy trying to steal 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:57.880 your sense of value. If somebody did you wrong, instead 0:16:57.880 --> 0:17:01.680 of internalizing it, have you ever thought about maybe they 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:05.120 were messed up. Maybe they felt so bad about themselves, 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:08.240 so unlovable, that they tried to project it on you. 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:11.159 I know a young man that never felt like he 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:14.639 fit in growing up. There's very little love in his home. 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:18.000 He never felt approved or celebrated. It was like he 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:21.480 was a burden. He found out in his early teens 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:26.040 that his parents always wanted a girl. They were disappointed 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:29.680 when he was born. Now he's in his twenties, had 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:35.040 his head down, insecure, feeling unworthy. I told him, your 0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:37.840 parents may have wanted a girl, but the creator of 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:41.960 the universe wanted a boy. God doesn't make mistakes. You're 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:47.119 not an accident. He hand picked you. He chose you 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:50.800 before you could choose him. Your parents may not have 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:54.240 known any better, but don't let their lack of approval 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:59.040 keep you from your destiny. You didn't come from your mother. 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:03.000 You came rule your mother. You came from oh body God. 0:18:04.280 --> 0:18:07.240 I begin to tell him how he was a masterpiece, 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:11.680 called chosen, equipped, one of a kind, with seeds of greatness. 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:15.480 Nobody had ever spoken faith over his life. He lifted 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:17.760 his head, he put his shoulders back. I could see 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:21.560 a smile starting to form. When you base your value 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:24.680 on what people say or do, that's going to push 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.600 you down. But when you base it on what God 0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:30.560 says about you, it's going to lift you up. You're 0:18:30.600 --> 0:18:33.080 going to have a smile on your face, a spring 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:36.440 in your step. You're not going to be put off 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:39.520 by what you didn't get by who's not supporting him 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:44.320 like him. Maybe nobody ever told you what God says 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:49.280 about you. God says you're amazing. He says he's proud 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:52.639 of you. He says you're the apple of his eye. 0:18:53.480 --> 0:18:56.159 People may not be celebrating you, but you need to 0:18:56.160 --> 0:19:00.640 know God celebrates you. I've heard it said if God 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:04.480 had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:07.600 he had a computer, you'd be on the homepage. The 0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:11.840 scripture says God has your name carved on the palm 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:15.120 of his hand. He's always thinking about you. You may 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:18.840 feel like you never really got the approval from your parents. 0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:22.680 From your family even now, they don't celebrate you, they 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:26.119 don't affirm you. But the truth is it's not about you. 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:31.840 It's about their issues, their insecurities. Don't spend your life 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:35.760 trying to get something that they cannot give. I know 0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:38.720 people working eighty hours a week trying to prove to 0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:42.680 their parents they're successful, prove to their family they're good enough. 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:46.360 You have to let it go or you'll be frustrated. 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:51.080 Turn to your heavenly father. Get your approval from him. 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:55.280 He's smiling down on you. He sees you excelling. You 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:58.840 don't have to have their approval to be happy. God 0:19:58.880 --> 0:20:02.760 approves you. He's the one that matters. In the scripture, 0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:07.520 David didn't have his father's approval. When the prophet Samuel 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:11.480 came in to anoint one of Jesse's sons, Jesse didn't 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:14.960 even bring David in from the shepherd's fields. He saw 0:20:15.080 --> 0:20:20.000 David as being inferior, not talented, too young, too small. 0:20:21.160 --> 0:20:25.399 Sometimes the people closest to you can't see the greatness 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:29.280 in you. Jesse didn't see a king in David. He 0:20:29.320 --> 0:20:33.160 didn't see a giant killer, a strategic leader. He saw 0:20:33.200 --> 0:20:36.640 a young boy with not much to offer. He dismissed him, 0:20:36.640 --> 0:20:41.440 didn't pay much attention. Your family may discount you. They 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:44.880 may leave you out. Don't take it personally. Just keep 0:20:44.960 --> 0:20:48.680 being your best, getting your approval from your heavenly father. 0:20:49.600 --> 0:20:53.240 This happened with Jesus. His brothers didn't believe in him. 0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:56.720 They saw him as average. What's the big deal, what's 0:20:56.720 --> 0:20:59.960 all the commotion, It's just Jesus. The people that should 0:21:00.160 --> 0:21:03.600 have supported him the most tried to make him feel inferior. 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:07.880 The people closest to you may not acknowledge your gifts, 0:21:08.359 --> 0:21:12.439 they may not see your value, but God does. David 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:16.040 was left out. It wasn't fair. But when Samuel looked 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:19.320 at the other seven sons, he said, Jesse, it's none 0:21:19.359 --> 0:21:23.240 of these. Do you have any more sons? People may 0:21:23.359 --> 0:21:26.760 leave you out, but God doesn't leave you out. If 0:21:26.880 --> 0:21:30.280 David had to have his family's approval, he would have 0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:34.160 never taken the throne. Quit trying to make people before 0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:37.040 you that are never going to be for you. Quit 0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:41.640 feeling inferior because somebody close to you is not celebrating you. 0:21:42.359 --> 0:21:45.760 If you needed their approval, you would get it. If 0:21:45.800 --> 0:21:48.520 you're not getting it, that means you don't need it 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:54.240 to become who you were created to be. And yes 0:21:55.119 --> 0:21:58.320 it may be hurtful, but it is not going to 0:21:58.440 --> 0:22:02.280 keep you from your destiny. Sometimes it's God teaching us 0:22:02.720 --> 0:22:06.280 to go to him and not to people. We rely 0:22:06.480 --> 0:22:10.360 too much on what people think. Who believes in us? 0:22:10.359 --> 0:22:14.200 And how come they're not supporting me. David's brothers made 0:22:14.280 --> 0:22:18.000 fun of him, his father discounted him. He was stuck 0:22:18.040 --> 0:22:22.440 out in the shepherd's fields, But instead of complaining feeling inferior, 0:22:22.760 --> 0:22:25.399 he turned to God. He's the one that wrote in 0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:29.040 Psalm twenty seven, if my mother and father forsake me, 0:22:29.480 --> 0:22:33.240 God will adopt me as his own child. And I 0:22:33.280 --> 0:22:37.000 know many of us had great parents that did their best, 0:22:37.520 --> 0:22:40.440 but we all have people that are not giving us 0:22:40.600 --> 0:22:44.520 their approval. They don't acknowledge our gifts. They don't see 0:22:44.560 --> 0:22:48.280 what we have to offer. Don't live frustrated thinking that 0:22:48.320 --> 0:22:51.200 there's something wrong with you, trying to prove to them 0:22:51.240 --> 0:22:54.679 who you are, trying to convince them to affirm you. 0:22:55.400 --> 0:22:59.199 Let it go. There's nothing wrong with you. If you 0:22:59.320 --> 0:23:01.679 had to have it, they would give it. Since you 0:23:01.840 --> 0:23:05.720 don't shake it off. Keep your head held high, knowing 0:23:05.800 --> 0:23:09.359 that your heavenly father has approved you, accepted you, and 0:23:09.440 --> 0:23:13.639 anointed you. Your value doesn't come from people, It comes 0:23:13.680 --> 0:23:18.479 from your creator. A while back, somebody gave a watch 0:23:18.600 --> 0:23:20.959 to the Ministry. I was out of town at one 0:23:21.000 --> 0:23:23.280 of our events, and a man came up and handed 0:23:23.320 --> 0:23:26.240 me this nice box. I opened it. It was a 0:23:26.280 --> 0:23:30.159 beautiful watch. It wasn't super fancy, but it was attractive. 0:23:30.240 --> 0:23:33.040 It s forty, and of course I thanked him. I'm 0:23:33.119 --> 0:23:36.159 very grateful. I brought it back and put it in 0:23:36.240 --> 0:23:39.200 my desk drawer. A couple of months later, I opened 0:23:39.200 --> 0:23:41.800 the drawer to get something out and there was the watch. 0:23:42.240 --> 0:23:44.920 I had forgotten about it. I looked at it again 0:23:45.040 --> 0:23:48.040 and I thought it cost a couple hundred dollars. I 0:23:48.040 --> 0:23:51.719 didn't notice the name brand, but for some reason, I 0:23:51.800 --> 0:23:55.480 googled it. When I did, I nearly passed out. The 0:23:55.600 --> 0:23:59.640 exact watch came up. It was worth over ten thousand dollars. 0:24:00.280 --> 0:24:05.119 It's from a very famous, prestigious watchmaker. It looked like 0:24:05.200 --> 0:24:08.080 to me a lot of other watches that I'd seen 0:24:08.480 --> 0:24:13.080 that cost several hundred dollars. But because of the manufacturer, 0:24:13.640 --> 0:24:17.399 this watch was extremely valuable. You could put it side 0:24:17.440 --> 0:24:20.760 by side and you wouldn't see much difference. Looked average 0:24:21.119 --> 0:24:25.600 ordinary people had copied it. There were knockoffs on the 0:24:25.680 --> 0:24:29.880 surface it seemed the same, but what gave it its value 0:24:30.119 --> 0:24:34.440 was who made it. Sometimes we don't realize who we are. 0:24:35.200 --> 0:24:39.280 You may feel average, ordinary, like nothing stands out, But 0:24:39.440 --> 0:24:43.480 because of your maker, there's something about you that makes 0:24:43.520 --> 0:24:49.159 you extremely valuable. You're not a copy, you're not a knockoff. 0:24:49.840 --> 0:24:54.800 You're an original. The creator of the universe is your manufacturer. 0:24:55.480 --> 0:24:58.720 You can't get any more prestigious than that. But if 0:24:58.760 --> 0:25:01.320 you don't know who you are are, like I did 0:25:01.320 --> 0:25:04.720 with the watch, you'll discount yourself. Think it all, man, 0:25:04.720 --> 0:25:08.080 I'm ordinary, nothing much to offer, nothing special about me. 0:25:08.760 --> 0:25:12.720 You need to google your manufacturer. You have the fingerprints 0:25:12.720 --> 0:25:17.600 of God all over you. Someone thirty nine says God, 0:25:17.640 --> 0:25:20.800 I praise you because you have made me in an 0:25:20.840 --> 0:25:25.400 amazing way. What you have done is wonderful. If you're 0:25:25.440 --> 0:25:28.840 going to recognize your value, you have to see yourself 0:25:29.040 --> 0:25:32.880 as amazing, as wonderful, not because of who you are, 0:25:33.359 --> 0:25:37.120 but because of who made you. Now, life will try 0:25:37.160 --> 0:25:42.600 to make you feel like you're anything but amazing. Disappointments, betrayals, 0:25:42.880 --> 0:25:46.520