You Are Worth Loving -- March 8, 2009-Romans 8:31-39

Romans 8:31-39
31What then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32Hw who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any change against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condems? Christ, Jesus, who died-more than than, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution of famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: "For your sake we have death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the furute, nor any powers 39niether height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Intro
Lent 40 days before Easter
40 days to think about a loving God
last week-life is a gift from God, it is worth loving
today-you. are worth loving

There is no greater feeling in the world, than to be loved
No greater rejestion than not to be loved
We have a sense of will bring when we feel loved
We are filled with discomfort and pain when we feel unloved

Yet we get stuck a little when we think of us being worth loving
We are not sure what that means...it sounds a little egotistical
We see some people are totally stuck on themselves
We have had humility masking as self desprciation pounded in to us

I am not suggesting that you get stuck on yourself
I am not suggesting today that you live a selfish life

What I am suggesting is that God says that you are worht loving
And the greates hinderance to that bedcoming a reality, is you

Lets look at some facts
You are the creation of God
God said it is good Genesis 1
31God saw all that hehad made and it was very good.

You are the crowning achievement of creation
That is why God sent a savior
God so loved the world, John 3:16

How many people would it take for God to send Jesus
1,000? 1 million? or 1?

You are worht Jesus suffering and dying for you
Did he only do that for other people, no, all of this, for you

As a Christian, there is ony one conclusion to come to
God loves you and you are worth loving.

Loving yourself, this is easier said than done
Who will condem us?
Someone makes a joke and we are hurt
Someone implies that we did something wrong and it all comes back
The little voice that says, you are a bad guy

At the core of who we are is us
We want God to be at the center, but we are wired, "us"

Christians are called to love God and love others in the same manner that we love ourselves-it is like there is a progressive chain
God neighbor self...seof neighbor God
8If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anone who ies not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love Godm whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1John 4:20

Can we love others if we don't love ourselves? Do we know what love is if we don't see that we are worth loving?

Are you having trouble with this?
A am
There are too many voices that tell me that I am not woth loving

Where do these voices come from?
Many parents, are trying to get our attention when we are young
they don't mean to make a life imprint, but they do.
By what they say and how they say it.
Pay attention. For crying out load Jeff-shame on you
We hear it for so long during our formative years, then suddenly we are adults and it takes us years to undestand what it is. then we have to start trying to combat it.

The church can also leave a crushing imprint
A Gallup poll says 80% say they believe, 40% attend somewhat...
What about the 40%
the church was just trying to keep us on track, but it has crushed them

Some days 15 people may say they love me, i still ony hear the one voice in the back of my head. You are a bad person

what if I told you that there are charges brought against you. There's a child of God that you've treated poorly
Some one that Jesus loves, you have trashed
i invite you to see that person as Jesus sees them
Lovely, forgive, free
There is a follower of Christ that you have been down on. you have harped on them for years and you have let their parents harp on them. You have stood idly by while their soul was crushed and they became discouraged.

Who is the follower of Christ that you helped crush? Yourself....

If God is for you, who can be against you?
You can....
You can so more damamge to yourself.....

Two farmers were having a long bitter feud over a fince line. The quarrel became more and more vitriolic until finally, under cover of darkness, one farmer went to the other's well and dropped bags of salt into it to contaminate it. He thought he had really showe his opponent who was in charge until a few days later when he lifted water out of his own well and discovered it had a salty taste; both farmers wells shared a common underground water table.

You need to treat yourself with a little more honor
I want to honor God creation
That includes you and me

I wonder if we are gdoing better with our children...
I asked one ht eother day...what are the voices that they hear...

this is about power...who you give power to, what you listen to
We are listening to the wrong voices

When we listen to others, many of the voices say that we aren't worth loving
When we listed to God, he says it, nothing can separate you from his love

i used to hear this and think...mothing can separate us from the love of God excep ourselves
It's liek we are our own worst enemy

But I have come to realize tha tyour belief that you are not loved does not make you unloved
Just because we think that God doesn't love us, dosen't mean he doesn't
When we listen to the wrong voices, we con't change a thing. God still loves us

Ahh the thief on the corss. What was he thinging...
I am unworthy, what was god thinking? This ismy child, this is my son

You are valuable to God---how much does God love you?
this much....Jesus spread our his arms and died. For you.

In John 13 jesus was going to wash the disciples feet
John 13 - 8"No" said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet'> Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have not part with me". 9"then Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

the love of God is held out to us from a cross and we give it to everyone but ourselves
Peter...you will never wash my feet...
If I don't wash your feet, you have no part of me.

The beginning of the story of salvation is not our sin, it is the love of God reaching, caring, wooing, wanting....you

Today Jesus is saying, O Love you. I care for you, I gave myself for you, receive my sacrifice...my body, my blood, broken for you.

38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, not any poers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.