The Key of Alignment: Self-Worth. The New Man - David Mitts

Divine Alignment: Self Worth The New Man

that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (Ephesians 4:22-23 NASB)

One of the issues of alignment for our victory in life is the area of self-worth.  We have spoken over the last 2 weeks about the self-worth vacuum that exists inside all of us by God’s design.  We are created with a hunger for value.

Listen to Self Worth - The New Man

It is for this reason that when Yeshua began His Ministry He underwent baptism at the hands of John to fulfill righteousness.

But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he *permitted Him. (Matthew 3:14-15 NASB)

This means, to me that He is honoring the process of righteousness, of being made exactly as He was meant to be.  So we spoke about how when He came out of the water, 2 things happened:

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17 NASB)

First, He received the Holy Spirit.  No one can be righteous without receiving the Holy Spirit.

Righteousness, being who we were created to be is made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit who intercedes on our behalf.

Second, He received the declaration of worth from God Himself.  This is essential to our walking out our destiny.  We need to know who we are to God and that He is well pleased with us.  This is the declaration of our new birth in Messiah!  The curse of the Law, contained in our inability to live righteous through our own works is annulled by the cross and the Blood of Messiah.  He who knew no sin became sin that we might become the righteousness of God.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB)

He became sin on our behalf.  This is so powerful, if we can but grasp it.  As a man fulfilling righteousness, Yeshua lived sinless.  This means He lived as man was supposed to live.  He was beyond the Law.  The Torah was given to sin-filled man.  Apart from sin, Torah has no purpose.  They are symbiotic, Torah and sin.  Torah reveals sin.  Light shows darkness.  We measure light, in lumens which is a standard for how much darkness is displaced by the light.  Torah is pure light and totally illuminates darkness. Yeshua is pure light and so Torah has no effect on Him.  Yet He subjected Himself to Torah by becoming sin or becoming darkness itself.  He took darkness captive in Himself and neutralized it for those who accept Him by faith, now called the righteous of God.

I know this is heavy stuff but the point is that we are freed from Torah and the sin that it reveals when we receive Yeshua.  Now the question is what does it mean to be freed from Torah.  It simply means the basis for evaluating our lives is no longer Torah but faith and what faith means, trusting in His blood to cleanse us totally.  This frustrates the religious mindset which is performance based on lives under the curse of the Torah.

This means in Christ, we are free from the sin-Torah symbiosis and live by the faith of the Son of God.  We are speaking about self-worth and we need to correctly apprehend what determines it.  God declares us worthy in His declaration the Yeshua is His beloved Son in whom He is well-pleased.  We, in Christ, in Messiah, become beloved sons and daughters in whom He is well-pleased.

Then this last week we looked at how association affects our worth.  God declared that it is NOT good for man to be alone.  God who declared everything He had created “good” declares isolation,” not good”:

Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." (Genesis 2:18 NASB)

So man is designed to find a portion of His “good”-ness in relationship.  We spoke about how relationships can either make us or break us.  We looked especially at the danger of many relationships that are built on superficiality and the need for friends who are closer than brothers.  We spoke about the deception of being alone.  We also said that a faithful friend is not afraid to wound us if need be.

This week I want to go one step further in developing our self-worth.  The Baptism of Yeshua itself the key.  Why was He baptized as the way to receive the declaration of God and the Holy Spirit??

What is baptism?  Death.

So a big part of our alignment with God for our worth is death itself.  Now all death is NOT created equal.  There is death as consequence and death as the power for breakthrough!

Death as consequence: Romans 6:23 (AMP)

[23] For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our entire salvation is based on the wages of sin being death.  Death is the certain outcome for sin.  It is a law of life.  Since sin is rooted in pride and self-will, then pride and self-will lead to death.  Only by yielding our pride and self will do we come into the atonement. 

This leads us to second kind of death, intentional death.

"He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39 NASB)

This kind of death is anti-sin.  Instead of being rooted in pride and self-will, it is rooted in humility and sacrifice. This is the death that is not a consequence but a willful choice.

This kind death is transformative.

Romans 12:1 (AMP) [12:1] THEREFORE I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.[2] And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].

This is an alignment with death on purpose.  What do I mean by transformation?  Transformation is a complete change from one state of being unto another totally different.  It is complete. 

Death is complete.  A doctor has to certify a death.  Death as consequence is complete.  Death as purpose is also complete.  It is signified by Water Baptism.

When we are born again, we die to our old life.  Yet, like everything else of the Spirit, we have to walk in the reality of what is, an alignment.

Many of us while dead to the former life, drag it into our life today because we don’t use the power of death as a choice. 

Hebrews 9:15-17 says, "Therefore, He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. Where a will exists, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will is valid only when people die, since it is never in force while the one who made it is living."  Heb 9:15-17 (HCSB)

This scripture is speaking of the death of Yeshua as redemption from transgressions made real by the Torah.  But it is also speaking of a promise of an eternal inheritance.  Now, certainly the eternal inheritance is unarguably our resurrection into the Kingdom.  BUT, it also is the means for obtaining our inheritance in the kingdom now!  You see there is a health and prosperity of soul that is available now!

"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers."  3Jn 1:2 (NKJV)

Our soul can prosper when it is free from the curse of the Torah.  What do I mean by that?  When we succumb to performance righteousness, we reattach ourselves to the life of the flesh. Is that even possible? Apparently:

"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? just as Abraham "BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.""  Gal 

3:1-6 (NKJV)

You see I love Torah, because it is God’s love manual.  BUT, I do NOT “keep” Torah.  Rather, I let faith being activated by the Holy Spirit who live in me work out my salvation with fear and trembling.

But the hearing of faith that activates miracles is shaped by how I listen.  How I listen is affected by how I see myself and what I believe in my heart about myself.

Death activates the end of one identity and the beginning of another reality.

Activation:

1.      Based on your memories, failures and accomplishments write one page telling who you are

2.      Now take that page somewhere safe and burn it. Verbally declare: “this is the death I deserved. This person is dead!”

3.      Make a new list of:
a.      Strengths
b.      Benefits
c.      Privileges

That God’s Word says are yours through the resurrection of Yeshua!

4.      Make a list of how you choose to live your life with limitless power and unlimited resources

5.      Review this list daily

6.      Praise God for what He has done and for who He has made you!