Thursday, November 22, 2007

Poetry In Motion - Rev. Dr. A.R. Bernard

Your life is an ongoing poem written by the hands of God... unique, beautiful and a testament of His infinite greatness. Recognize the vaue of your life in Christ Jesus and fully embrace all that he has called you to be!

In Mark 4, Jesus taught the parable of the sower, which illustrates four different types of soil in reference to the four heart conditions of man. Subsequently, His disciples asked Him to explain it and Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?” From here, we can see that this particular parable is critical because it sets our minds to understand the parabolic form of God’s teaching and communication towards us.After the parable was explained, Jesus said to His disciples, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear ” (Mark 4:21-23).

Next, He gave them a very critical instruction: “Take heed what you hear” (v. 24). In another translation, it reads, “Take care how you listen.” So the important thing is not just the content of what you are listening to, it is also how you are processing the information that is given to you.
He went on to say, “With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.” What was He talking about? Well, a measure is simply a value. Basically, Jesus was saying whatever value you place on what you hear will determine its power, influence and impact on your life.

Now this explains how we can have thousands of people come to a service, sit next to one another, listen to the Word of God together and have the Word evidently influence and impact one person, while not work at all in the life of another that may be sitting right beside him.
It all depends on the value we place on what we hear.

A WORD THAT PROFITS

The Word of God is powerful. His Word is like a seed that can come into our lives, germinate and produce a great harvest. But the Word will not work in our lives if we do not place a proper value on that Word.

The book of Hebrews says that the word that was given to Israel did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith. There must be the giving of the Word, but equally important is your response to the Word. Do not think that just because you come and sit in an atmosphere that is charged with the presence of God and where the Word is powerfully delivered, that all of a sudden your life is going to be changed magically. No! It all depends on how you respond to what you are hearing.

Whatever gets your attention gets you. Every time we hear something, we put it on a mental scale and give it a value. On a scale of one to ten, if we give only a “one” to a particular message, it will have very little influence on our lives. If the value given is a “ten,” the influence will be significantly larger.

That happens even in interpersonal communication. If a total stranger calls you a name that is out of character, you may get a little bothered or insulted by it, but the effect on you would be minimal. However, if someone you love and trust passes a derogatory remark about you, it hurts much more. Why? Because the relationship that exists between you and that person increases the value of his word.

PLACING VALUE ON WHO YOU ARE

The need for resolution of the identity crisis is common to all human beings. We all struggle to determine “Who am I?” And along with that we ask, “Why am I here?”, “What is my purpose?” and “How do I make sense of all that is happening around me?”
The first question is critical because if you do not resolve it, you cannot accurately understand how to resolve all the other questions that follow.

There are people who do extreme things trying to discover who they are. We have a barrage of influences coming from television, celebrities, movies and many other places that constantly compete for our attention. Our young people are exposed to these images and if they do not clearly know who they are, they will keep “switching identities” in emulation of these influences.
Discovering our identity is a tough challenge and everybody goes through it. We have people in jail for doing crazy things because they are trying to discover who they are. Not only individually but whole corporations, churches, large entities and groupings of people go through the process of trying to discover “Who am I?”

Why is an accurate knowledge of your God-given identity such an important thing? Because out of your identity comes your sense of value and self-worth. Low self-esteem exists when you do not value who you are. And if you do not value who you are, you tend to want to be someone else.

The Bible says that all things were created by Him and for Him. So if you were created for Him, then you can only understand your unique purpose and your sense of worth and value when you are in association with Him. Apart from God, you cannot fully understand and appreciate your value or your purpose in life. So if we are just trying to use our talents and abilities to make money and satisfy ourselves, we will never be truly fulfilled. There is a hole in your life that only God can fill. The devil will offer you drugs, power, money, prestige, fame and everything else to try to fill that hole, but the only one who can satisfy that need is God.The devil often comes to attack your self-esteem. Why? To reduce your value in your own mind. You may be of priceless value in the kingdom of God, but if you don ’t know your true value, you will end up wasting your life away instead.

Do you know how many people cheapen this wonderful image of God, diminish its value, and depreciate it? When you don ’t value something, you won’t do anything productive with it. You won’t do anything with your life and future if you don’t value it. But the truth remains that you are valuable to God. You are His poem—the expression of His glory. He has gifted you uniquely, wired you and designed you to present you as a beautiful creation to be appreciated by the world.

Don’t let anyone rob you of your value to God. Don’t let anyone depreciate you and diminish the importance of your life to human society. The self-worth that you discover in Him is the firm foundation upon which you build your life. Your greatest value in life is your value to God!
You can know for a fact that people will never value you the way God does. Why? This is because the value that people place on you tends to be emotionally driven. If they are happy with you, you are wonderful and you are of great value to them. However, if they are upset with you, your value will change; it will drop. So it is important not to make the mistake of trying to draw our self-esteem and sense of value from other people. The end result would only be hurt and disappointment. It is important and wonderful for us to encourage and to give value to one another. But the reality is that the only One that can give you a consistent sense of worth and value is God.

1 comment:

nidhi sood said...

Thank you so much city Harvest for the word. I had discovered the secret of living a happy life. And to value myself. . Cos God values me! It's no sense in devaluing God's creation and His purpose for me. :) how much i should thank i don know. But i'm obliged! Thanks:)