Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Welcome to the weekday podcast of Sugar Hill Church, where we desire to help you know God and discover your purpose, whether you're exercising, driving, meditating or just hanging out while you tune in with us today. Thanks. We hope these next five minutes help you feel encouraged and inspired for your day.
[00:00:22] Speaker B: Well, hey friends, welcome back to another weekday podcast. My name is Bobby. We're so glad you're here today. And today we're talking about something really, really powerful. What does it mean to be fully known and fully loved by God? First John 3:1 says, See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we would be called children of God and such we are. One of the things that we said recently in a message is we said, I do not believe that you can love well until you know that you are well loved. And I think oftentimes one of the signals of that is when it's often struggle for us to receive compliments or encouragement or love from other people. This difficulty often stems from a feeling of unworthiness or need to prove ourselves, or some past hurt. But the foundation of all healthy relationships starts with receiving God's love. Just like a newborn baby who has done nothing, absolutely nothing, to earn their parents love, we are loved by God not because of our performance, not because of our achievements, but by simply being his child. So think about how you respond when someone says something nice to you. Do you deflect? Do you make a joke? Do you try to return the compliment quickly?
Sometimes our difficulty receiving love reveals some deep seated belief about our worth. There's a lot of us, myself included, that place come from that place of deficiency where we're constantly trying to prove that we're enough through achievements or control or sometimes creating artificial stability in our lives. But God's love operates differently. It's not based on performance, not based on perfection. When Jesus was baptized, before he had performed any miracles, before he'd done any public ministry, God said to him, this is my beloved Son, in whom I'm well pleased. That same love is extended to us as his children. So the practice of receiving God's love requires daily intention. It means spending time in scripture not just for knowledge, but to let the truth about our identity to seek deep into our hearts. It means taking time to be still and to know that He's God. It means allowing ourselves to be loved not for what we do, but for who we are, that we are his beloved children. So today I want to encourage you to take some time to sit quietly meditate on these truths about your identity in Christ the defeation says you're chosen. Luke 19 says you're valuable.
Psalm 139 says you are known.
Psalm 103 says you're forgiven. Genesis 16 reminds us that we are seen. Zephaniah 3 reminds us that we're cherished. First John says that we're adopted. Ephesians goes on to talk about how we've been empowered in Romans 8 that you are unconditionally love. I want to encourage you today. Let these truths seek deep into your heart because you are fully known and you are fully loved. Have a great day.
[00:03:01] Speaker A: Thanks so much for joining us today for the weekday podcast. Our prayer is that the encouragement you just heard would help you live more like Jesus today. We would love to see you at Sugar Hill Church for one of our gatherings each Sunday at 9, 15 and 11. And we're always streaming live at Live Sugarhill Church. Thanks again for joining us today. As always, if today's message encouraged you, share it with friends and family by tapping the share button. Have an awesome day.
