What is My Worth

 What is My Worth?

                   Hello and welcome to My Little House of Prayer Bible Ministry. I am your hosty Dayla Smith. So glad that you could join me today. Hoping this week has found you blessed beyond measure. The title of today’s subject is What is My Worth. In a world screaming that we have nothing to offer, and you have to make a name for yourself or, you are nothing; even in the11 body of Christ. This should not be so in the body of Christ. Let’s look at Matthew 11:1-30.     

                      Matthew 11 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. 2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, 17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. 20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

                  In verse 7-11, Jesus talks about His cousin John. Picture this. He wears animal skin and eats a bug with honey. Matthew 3:4 says, 4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. I would love for you to see the word picture the Lord is painting right here. In ancient Hebrew dialect, the bible was a word picture. If you were wearing camel’s hair for clothing, you were considered very poor. Yet Jesus says he is found in the King’s house. And, He goes on to brag about John. 

                John also wears a leather belt. Look at Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; along with Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

            In other words, no matter what your financial standing is. No matter where you come from, you have the same rights scripturally as any other child of God. You can stand on the truth of God’s word. You can be sure of the power of His might in your life. You can stand in His righteousness. Matthew 5: 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.  Right here John thirsted after righteousness. We should all thirst after righteousness.

         Next, the scripture speaks of locust and wild honey. If you pay attention to the whole passage, John comes out of where? The wilderness. Locust were used mostly in the times the Lord’s wrath poured out to either discipline or show His power, in order to move His people to repentance. The things of the world had infiltrated the lives of His people. They were trapped in a sinful lifestyle, with no way out. 

So, John comes out of the wilderness, where the Lord first wanted the nation of Israel to learn about a repentant lifestyle. Honey speaks of self gratification. The pride of life. The Israelites were a proud nation. Their pride of life was “We are the chosen of God. Always will be the chosen of God.” But what does Jesus say in  Matthew 22:11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

                 So, you see? This scripture totally defaults their misinterpretation of being the chosen people of God. They are chosen by God. But, just like salvation  to the gentiles, we all have a choice. Do we want to keep this relationship with the one, true and living God, or not? I will say this, I am nothing, know nothing, have nothing, can do nothing apart from Him who created me. He makes all of us who we are. In Him is our worth and our being. The Lord loves us so much. But, we are the ones who decide if we want to keep that love or not.

                     So, scripture paints a picture of the message John the baptist is sending to Israel. Most of the people looked on him as a wild man come out of the wilderness according to Matthew 3: 1-3, 3 In

those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. The wilderness is always a time of testing. When you are pressed or squeezed, What is going to come out of you? Will you yield to the will of the flesh and the devil? Or, will you repent and cry out for the will of the Father. 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.  So, you see there is no excuse. The Lord wants us to bring our sin before Him. So, that we can be free of it finally. In Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. In verse 18 let us reason together reallymeans, let us declare, decree, or pass judgment together. How powerful is that. Can you see the power behind bringing your sin before Him, and the both of you pass judgment together on it? He wants us to make heaven our home. He wants a true relationship with Him. He wants to be the voice behind your voice. He loves us so much. How powerful is this? When we come to Him with our sin with a repentant heart, it allows Him to defend us. Are you starting to see your worth in Him? 

                 So, there were those that saw John as a crazy man, screaming, “Repent! The kingdom of God is at hand.” Matthew says this. But, as Matthew continues, He says that Jesus begins to vindicate John. He brags on Him. Did you know that the Lord loves to brag about you? Look at Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. 7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. So, this is just one example of the Lord bragging. Job enters a spiritual wilderness at this point. The Lord knows Job’s heart. Job is squeezed and never sins. The Lord gives him back double for his trouble.

                        Did you know that the Lord sings over you. Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. 18 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. 19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. This is the heart of God. Just how much He loves us. Especially when we receive the gift of His salvation. And choose to walk with Him. In today's lingo, we would say that the Lord loves to do a happy dance with His children. Hahahahaha Go ahead Mercy Me! They have a song called Happy Dance. 

                      Oh, and guess what each one of us, individually are on His mind continually. So much so that even the angels of heaven come to Him to question Him concerning this. In Psalms 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:  These heavenly beings sit around heaven's throne according to Isaiah 6 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

           Then in Revelation 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

                        So, you see it in the old and new testament. This tells me that these heavenly beings have been getting a new revelation of the Lord God Almighty all the way back in eternity past. They are still getting a new revelation now. And, will be getting new revelations of him for all eternity future. And praising His wonderful name each time. If they are doing this without knowing a life separated from Him, shouldn’t we be doing this even more so?  We each have a wonderful testimony of His saving power. Each of us was handcrafted by Him. Flaws and all. How grateful I am to be redeemed by His saving grace. You have to know rejection in order to know the magnitude of HIs great acceptance. In 1 Corinthians 1:27, I think this sums up what He thinks of us. 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 

                           So, if you are sitting here today, wondering what your worth is. If you are feeling beneath, rejected, unaccepted. Let me be the first one to tell you, Deuteronomy 28:13 And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

               I would love to be the first to introduce you to my Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. If you so choose to accept His wonderful gift of

redemption.  This is a free gift. But, it’s maintenance has a cost. This walk with the Lord is a walk of separation. It is called the crucified way for a reason. We have to crucify the will of our flesh daily. But, as we give things up for His name, He will always give us back double for our trouble. Will you accept this wonderful gift? Will you pray with me?

                Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge our life of sin. Then, ask for forgiveness and receive His forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

         I want to be the first one to welcome you to the family of God. You are now a child of the living God. Get a bible and if you need one I have one to give you. READ it. Learn who He is and what He expects of you. Pray. Seek His face by being still and listening for that still small voice. Find a church to fellowship with that speaks the uncompromising truth of His word. That calls you to change for the better. Sit under that pastor for a year. You will grow in Christ if you do these things.

            Heaven  is holding the biggest shindig right now. Your heavenly Father is doing the Happy dance and can’t wait to hear from you. 

          Thank you so much for joining me today and may you have a very blessed week. Hoping you know your worth in Him that loves you the most. Until next week, God bless you.