Myth #6: Believe in Yourself
The conclusion to the 'Myths Some Christians Believe' series.
Video of this message can be viewed HERE.
Introduction
Myths Some Christians Believe that we have talked about in this series: God Won’t Give Me More Than I Can Handle. God Just Wants Me to Be Happy. I Could Never Forgive that Person. Follow Your Heart. “God Really Doesn’t Care”.
I’ve enjoyed reading Shane Pruitt’s book -9 Common Lies Christians Believe- to help me with this series. Today we conclude this series with a popular saying and thought that we hear often. Believe in Yourself.
Tennis Star Venus Williams said, “Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t, pretend that you do and, at some point, you will.” Pop singer Janet Jackson said, “Believe in yourself. Have faith in yourself because no one else is going to.” Positive thinking pioneer Norman Vincent Peale wrote, “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”
Like all of the myths we have talked about in this series, there is a bit of truth in the saying - and it is often spoken with great intentions. If we believe we cannot do something - often we cannot! A negative self-defeating attitude can cause us to fail when we could have prevailed otherwise. “Believe in Yourself” sounds so true, but There is something about it that doesn’t ring true with Scripture. One reason why this idea is a myth is…
1. We Are Often Our Own Greatest Enemy
“No one has misled you more than you’ve misled yourself. No one has lied to you more than you’ve lied to yourself. No one has hurt, distracted, or hindered you more than you have. …Have you ever noticed that the harder you try the more you mess up?”- Shane Pruitt
Believing in self caused the fall of the human race! Genesis 3:5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Wanting to be like God, believing in self more than God.
Believing in Self caused problems for the Israelites in the OT. Judges 17:6 “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” If that’s not a recipe for disaster, I don’t know what is.
Believing in Self is the opposite of what Jesus taught. Jesus taught that we should take up our cross - the opposite of believing in ourselves. Matthew 16:24 “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
2. Four Paradoxes of a Christ-Centered Life
-To be exalted, you must be humbled.
James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time…
-To be strong, you must be weak.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' … for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
-To be a receiver, you must be a giver.
Acts 20:35 “… ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Pruitt: “The irony is that some of the most miserable people in the world are those who take from others, while some of the most joyful people in the world are those who give unselfishly.”
-To gain, you must lose.
Philippians 3:7-8 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.”
The greatest gift of all is Jesus Christ. Chasing after material possessions and money will just bring misery.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evils, and some by aspiring to it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Pruitt: The kingdom of God operates in a way that is the exact opposite of everything that seems natural to living in this world today.
There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. - Proverbs 14:12
3. How Should We See Ourselves?
When we say ‘believe in yourself’ is a myth, that doesn’t mean we should hate ourselves. This is a destructive attitude that can lead to disaster in our lives and in the lives of others. We need to have a realistic view of ourselves - a Spirit-led and Christ-centered view of ourselves.
In his book, If Christ Were Your Counselor, Dr. Chris Thurman reminds us that because of our spiritual rebirth, we are children of God and heirs to all he has.
You were justified and redeemed (Romans 3:24)
You were made holy, sanctified (1 Corithians 1:2)
You were set free from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2)
You were sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
You were given access to God. (Ephesians 3:12)
You were brought out of darkness into light (Eph 5:8)
Your mind is guarded by the peace of God (Phil 4:7)
You were made into a new creature (2 Cor 5:17)
You were forgiven (Ephesians 1:7)
You were made a member of His body (Ephesians 5:30)
“Regardless of how bleak your past may have been, you have an incredibly bright future. Incredible things about you and your situation changed when you turned your life over to Christ.” - Dr. Chris Thurman
Everything good we claim about our lives is rooted in our commitment to Jesus Christ. So we do not believe in ourselves, we believe in Him!
Conclusion
Believing in ourselves is pretty limited, believing in Christ is unlimited!
I encourage you today to believe in Jesus Christ - put your faith in His promises.
Questions For Discussion
1. What do you think most people mean when they use the statement ‘Believe in yourself’?
2. In Matthew 16:24, what is Jesus asking you to do? What are the main differences between believing in yourself and denying yourself? Matthew 16:24 “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
3. Why do you think it’s so hard to trust God to be in control of every area of your life?
4. Shane Pruitt writes, “At the core of believing in ourselves is our desire to be in control. … The pressure of trying to be in control of all situations will set you up to be eventually knocked out by the hardships of life. … You were not made to believe in yourself because you were not made to be in control.” What occurs to you as you read about being in control?
5. How do you think God exalts those who humble themselves? (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6) What are some ways we (or others) try to exalt self? What, in your opinion, is the key of humbling yourself before God?
6. What do you think Jesus meant when he said ‘it is more blessed to give than receive’?
7. When we went over Chris Thurman’s list of truths about us when we gave our lives to Christ, do you find that easy to embrace or difficult to embrace for yourself? Why is it important not to hate ourselves or look down on ourselves? What’s the difference between being humble and hating ourselves?
8. In the 6 myths we covered in this series, which one was the most revealing to you - the one that you may have to work on recognizing in yourself? (God Won’t Give Me More Than I Can Handle, God Just Wants Me to Be Happy, I Could Never Forgive that Person, Follow Your Heart, “God Really Doesn’t Care”, “Believe in Yourself.”)
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Resources
4-minute video from Eddie Pinero - a great example of the ‘Believe in Yourself’ philosophy.
Pruitt, Shane. 9 Common Lies Christians Believe. Multnomah, 2019.
Thurman, Chris. If Christ Were Your Counselor. Thomas Nelson, 1993.
An superbly written and thought provoking sermon! Simply put, excellent!!!