Becoming The Person God Created Me To Be
Part #1 “I Don’t Have Any Issues”
You’ve accepted that fact that you’re a sinner
You’ve believed that Jesus Christ is your only chance
You’ve committed yourself to discipleship.
God has answered your cry and accepted you as His own,
And in the most incredible miracle,
Has transformed you into a new being.
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 (MSG)
Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.
The old life is gone the new has come,
You’re off to a good start learning how to live your life as a disciple of
Jesus,
You’re becoming the person God created you to be.
But all of a sudden its like the old way of life raises a hand from the grave
and trips you up.
Clip for Army Of Darkness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awrem5pfhBk
One of the reasons that the old way of doing life can trip us and beat us up is
because of our issues.
We’re going to start a new series called Becoming The Person God Created Me
To Be.
The purpose of this series is to help you deal with issues in your past
that effect how you are relating to people in the present;
so that you can become that special person God created
you to be.
Today’s presentation is “I don’t have any issues.”
I’ve heard people say that they don’t have issues,
They’re fine, they’re normal, they’re ok.
I hate to be the bearer of reality but yes you do have issues,
You just don’t recognize them.
Issues are indicators,
of problems that are preventing you from becoming the person God created
you to be.
Its when our issues are unseen and unacknowledged that they are most devastating.
You may be unconvinced that you have issues.
In your notes you’ll find a issue survey entitled
“But I don’t Have Any Issues.”
I want to run through it with you.
Check the traits that are reoccurring themes in your life
1. _______ That’s Why They Call It The Blues:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfY5566r0QA
Feeling sad, down, loss of energy, and diminished interest in usual, life is
just blah.
2. _______ You’re Just Another Brick In The Wall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMShcC93WOs&feature=related
Feeling like things won’t change, there’s nothing you can really do to make
things better, bad things are going to happen and there’s nothing you can do
about it.
3. _______ Everybody Must Get Stoned:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol920-6VBVc
Difficulty from refraining from indulging in behaviors that alter your moods.
4. _______ Achy Breaky Heart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TViQT0B8seA
Tendency to keep getting into the same type of difficult relationships.
5. _______ All By My Self:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-vwfWIQYrg&feature=PlayList&p=AAAA1C01E94E2B47&index=0
Feelings of loneliness and abandonment, not part of the group or withdrawal
from others when you get too close.
6. _______ I Can’t Sleep At Night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfYkhQblYjY
Can’t sleep the whole night through, sleep disturbances, nightmares,
insomnia.
7. _______ What’s Love Got to Do with It:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCBttS_y7lE
Difficulties coming dealing with your sexuality
8. _______ I Shot the Sheriff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF3fd_DOChM
Dislike and/or distrust of authority figures. Can’t stand people telling you
what to do. Got to be your won boss.
9. _______ Can’t Touch This:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c4L4CPfQY8
Don’t like being touched (especially without warning). Tends not to engage
others, shy.
10._______ I’m You’re Puppet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liKhLNY5GYI
Desire to take care of others, no time to take care of yourself.
11.______ Under my thumb:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWHnYOEgdKQ&feature=related
Become uncomfortable when you do not have influence or control over situations, irritable or anxious when things aren’t the way you want them to
be.
12. _______ What was I thinking?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TboFZCptbqU
Continue to get yourself into potentially self-destructive or dangerous
situations. Thrill seeking.
13._______ Spooky:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvNf0zJz2iA
Closely watch the significant people in your life; possessiveness.
14._______ Scared:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=425NwFb2crE&feature=related
Afraid of new situations, feelings of uneasiness, maybe suffered from a panic attack, thinking the worse outcomes, tend to be a worrier.
15. _______ Sick and Tired of Being Sick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU9pkjndmZ8&feature=PlayList&p=1F3FD002F6224B26&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=33
Frequent or chronic health problems like sore throats, gagging, Stomachaches; colitis; headaches, body aches.
16. _______ You’re No Good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr9vKWLgZzo
Feelings of being worthless, that something is terribly wrong with you,
Feel that you have nothing to contribute.
17. _______ Angry Young Man (or woman):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErPywgiMb4k
Unreasonable and inappropriate outbursts of anger/rage, short fused.
18. _______ Comfortably Numb:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU-OSLBKwG0
a general "blah" feeling, numb emotional state; inability to identify the
emotion(s) you are feeling.
19. _______ Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjqGXfw3Z78
difficulty developing an alive and intimate relationship with God, unsure
that God could love you.
20. _______ You Don’t Remember
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyI7LiCkWkQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-nlLQEfxx8
Have difficulty remembering your childhood, blank on events with certain
people. Can’t recall specifics about growing up.
Did you get a glimpse of yourself in any of those traits that indicate the issues in people’s lives?
Issues are indicators.
Issues tend to trip us up in becoming the person God created us to be.
Issues come from wounds.
Everyone gets wounded in this life.
Whether those wounds are “intentional or unintentional,
Visible or invisible;
Barely survivable or hardly noticeable,
Other-perpetuated or self-inflicted”
(Sandra D. Wilson, Hurt People Hurt People, p. 2)
They effect how we relate to God, Others and our Self.
Everything rises and falls on relationships.
When relationships are good, life is good.
When relationships are on the rocks, they can shipwreck our lives.
The pain from wounds tends to steer us towards the rocks.
Issues come from wounds and wounds hurt.
Wounds cause pain.
We learn behaviors to cope with our pain.
Often we learned these behaviors as children.
Now that we are older they don’t work.
Because we are hurt, we tend to hurt others.
It’s the reverse of a truth laid out in scripture for us.
1 John 4:19 (NIV)
We love because he first loved us.
We tend to dish out to others what we have received.
Hurt people, hurt people.
And we generally hurt the ones whom we are closest to.
That should be reason enough to want to deal with our issues.
Issues are the result of wounds,
Wounds hurt, because they are shaming.
“Shame is the soul-deep belief that something is horribly and uniquely wrong with
me that is not wrong with anybody else in the entire world. I feel hopelessly, disgustingly different and worthless.”
(Sandra D. Wilson, Hurt People Hurt People, p. 12)
Shame causes us to believe that there is something very wrong with us.
Shame imprints our thinking with the notion that we are broke,
And unfixable,
Shame convinces us that we are bad, unlovable,
And incompetent.
These feelings cause us to go into hiding.
Its an age old problem for us:
Genesis 3:8-9 (MSG)
When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
God called to the Man: "Where are you?"
Issues are the result of wounds,
Wounds hurt, because they are shaming.
To cope with shame we hide behind
Perfection, Performing, Pretending and Pleasing.
Which are the soil from which our issues grow.
Shame causes us to reject our self.
In order to compensate for our rejection of self
I’ll prove my worth by never being wrong.
If I am perfect then I am good, lovable and competent.
You will love me, accept me, include me,
And be in a healthy relationship with me.
I’ll prove my worth by performing.
If I achieve and become invaluable to you,
You will love me, accept me, include me
and be in a healthy relationship with me.
I’ll prove my worth by pretending to be someone I am not.
I’ll fake being who I am if you will love me, accept me, include me,
And be in a healthy relationship with me.
I’ll prove my worth by pleasing.
I will do everything I can to make you happy, to tend to your every
need so that you will love me, accept me, include me,
and be in a healthy relationship with me.
Out of our hiding behind perfection, performing, pretending and pleasing come our issues.
Issues are the result of wounds,
Wounds hurt, because they are shaming.
To cope with shame we go into hiding.
We are hiding because we are afraid to be authentically who we are.
Afraid that you will hate, despise, reject and ridicule, me.
Afraid to be authentically who we are is a major stumbling block to discipleship,
To becoming the person God created you to be.
The scripture instructs us:
Romans 12:1 (NCV)
So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship.
To become the person God created you to be you must present your true self to God.
The years of hiding make that really difficult.
You’ve been relating wrongly to yourself for years.
You know that sin is anything that deters, damages, or
destroys right relationships.
Hiding your real self is sin.
Where sin abounds becoming the person God created you to be stops.
The old way of life keeps tripping you and beating you up.
Proverbs 28:13 (MSG)
You can't whitewash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.
Issues are indicators of wounds
Wounds cause pain.
The hurt is because we’ve been shamed.
Shame causes us to reject our self
Self rejection drives us into hiding.
Hiding prevents us from becoming the person God
created us to be.
There is hope for you to come out of hiding.
1 Peter 2:24-25 (MSG)
Jesus used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you're named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.
Jesus has made it possible for you to get rid of the sin of relating wrongly to your
self.
He was put on public display so that you don’t have to hide.
He bore your shame, so that you can be made right.
He took on your wounds so that you can be healed.
Use your issues to help you discover your style of hiding.
Then bring that all out into the open.
Deal with it so you can get free of it.
1 John 1:9 (NIV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Sometimes God heals us instantly from our issues.
You may want to come to these altars of pray and ask Him to do that for you
Today during our closing song.
Sometimes God uses a confidant, someone who can walk you out of hiding.
I know that Mike Pratt, Carol Boswith, Patti Higashimura and myself would
be glad to help get you started.
You may want to set up a time to get together with one of these
folks.
Regardless God wants to heal you of your issues, wounds, pain, shame, and hiding,
so that you present the authentic you to Him, and become the person He
created you to be.
2 Cor 5:17-18 (MSG)
Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.