You are Important!

Do you truly love who you are? Many people struggle with self-doubt, insecurity, rejection, comparison, and feeling like they are not enough. As Christians, understanding how God sees us is essential because our value is not determined by people, circumstances, or past experiences.

In this powerful Rhema Bible Study, Bishop L.A. Williams explores the important question: Do You Love You?

Loving yourself is not about pride or selfishness—it is about understanding your worth, accepting who God created you to be, and walking confidently in your God-given purpose.

In this encouraging Bible study, discover:
✨ Understanding your identity in Christ
✨ Overcoming insecurity and self-doubt
✨ Finding healing from rejection and past hurts
✨ Learning your value through God's love
✨ Building confidence in your Christian walk
✨ Discovering purpose and spiritual growth

God created you with intention. You were designed with purpose, value, and meaning. When you learn to see yourself through God's eyes, it can transform your faith, relationships, and your entire life.

Watch this uplifting Christian message and be encouraged to embrace who God created you to be.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:20

I just want to say good morning and um welcome to the Rima Bible study. I'm Bishop Williams and I will be taking you through our study this morning. And uh we're gonna be looking at a number of scriptures, um, but the main theme of our uh study this uh morning is you. Uh now that may sound rather direct, but that's what it is. You are the important thing, and understanding you will make you understand so much more about God. Now, there are a lot of people who are trying to find God on the outside, when in reality God is right there on the inside. And in fact, he's so much on the inside that he said that you are his temple. That is the place where he dwells. And when one comes to terms with the reality that God not only exists outside, uh, which is we talk about the universe, but also live on the inside of you. That is very, very, very different and it's unique. Now you're made up of three sides, and that is your spirit, your soul, and your body. Unfortunately, most people do not pay much attention to their spirit, they are more taken up with their physical appearance and how to preserve their body physically. And of course, you've got those who then pay attention to their mind and try to, whether it is educating themselves on different issues and different situations, and very few except those that have given their lives to Jesus, we called it the born-again experience. Now, these people who are born again, then they seek to integrate and to develop a meaningful relationship with God. And that is why the Bible tells us in the book of St. John, chapter 3, he says that you must be born again. That is the thing. And as we have said at the beginning, the emphasis is on you. Now, God cannot be born again because he is ever uh living. And it's it is him that created everything that there is, so therefore, the whole concept of being born again is to do with us, and the reason why it is necessary to be born again is because our first birth was messed up. Yes, and we call that sin. So because sin uh destroyed our legacy in the first birth, then Jesus had to come to fix it. And by his death, burial, and resurrection and the cross of Calvary, he has restored us to our meaningful position with God. So therefore, who was behind all of that operation? St. John 3, 16 tells us who was behind it. He said, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Yes, and he also went on to say that he sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but rather that the world through him should be saved. Now, isn't that beautiful to know that God loves you in spite of you? See, this is really, really um crucial for you to know that. So it doesn't matter what you've been, it doesn't matter how you've been, where you have been, what you have done, the love of God transcend all of that. Now in Romans chapter 5 and verse 8, it also confirmed that. It tells us that God commended his love towards us while we were yet sinners. A sinner is a person who is in the state of sin. Yes, you've got the act of sin and you have the state of sin. So a person who is a sinner is a person who has not been born again. And because they're not born again, then they are in the state of sin. A person who has been born again, and if they commit sin, it is called the act of sin, because it is one sin or two sins, and therefore they can go to God and ask God's forgiveness for those sins, and once God has forgiven them, then they are no more sinners because they are born again. But if the person who is not born again commit righteousness or does right thing, it's great that he does the right thing. But the reality is he's still a sinner because he has not yet been born again. So we need to look at that carefully. So in the book of Thessalonians 5 and verse 23, 1 Thessalonians 5, 23, it tells us there that we are being prayed for. And the apostle Paul said, I pray that your old complete spirit, soul, and body be preserved to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So imagine, yes, here are the three things that God tells the apostle tells us that he's praying for. Now it is significant that you understand why he's doing that. You may think, okay, when a person dies, their body just goes back to the dust, and that is it. Yeah, we understand about the soul and the spirit, because that goes back to God who gave it in the first place. So you may ask, why then is the apostle praying for body, soul, and spirit? Because you see, what God has done, this marvelous piece of creation that he has put in motion, he you know, he has no intention of destroying it. Yes? Now, debt causes it to cease for a while. But when Jesus return, then every person that die will be resurrected again. Now, that sounds incredible. Why? Because there are those who think that once you die, that's it. You finish. But no, you know, you're you're too great, you're too, you know, you're you're God's greatest creation. So it's not just going to be a simple come here, live a few years, go through all the stuff you go through, and then you just die, and that is it. Now, not even a crazy person is not going to do that. How much more the wise God, the creator of heaven and earth. So he wants you to know that all aspects of yourself will be preserved for longevity. Yes, that is necessary for you to know that. And that's why your decision while you're alive is important that you make the right decision so that your longevity will continue but in the right place. Because you may have longevity, but you need to make sure through the born-again experience that it will be with God and not separated from God. Okay, you see, now you may hear many people talk about hell. Yes, it is, you know, they talk about it with dread and with fear and anxiety and all sorts, because it's supposed to be a place that is terrible. Why is it terrible? Because in reality, it was never meant to be for us. It was meant to be for spirit being like Satan and the fallen angels and others who choose to disobey God even while they were in a state of perfection, but they choose to still disregard the commandments of God and rebel and as a result become fallen angels. Yes? So God said, okay, in the face of that, he will make a place where they will spent their eternity in suffering, as it were. Now, unfortunately, we, the human race, become corrupted by these spirits, and we now become partaker of their suffering. So, but Jesus came in counter distinction to Adam's failure, and Jesus came to give us the hope of eternal life by dying, in other words, he paid the price for our sins. And we don't now have to go where Satan and his angels are going. Because Jesus, being there, paid the price for us, and through our love and acceptance of Jesus, we now have eternal life, and we will go where and be with Jesus for the rest of our life. So let's understand a little bit about it. Remember, we're talking about you. Yes, that's what we're talking about, you. So every individual that is born of the human race must go through, they're gonna face three things in particular. Number one, they must die. So from the from the moment the baby opens its mouth and cry, it triggers not life, but it triggers death. Yes, that's it is now most people don't even like to think about it, especially at the birth of a child. You're thinking, wow, thank you, God, we're so happy that we have a new baby and we are so over the moon about it. But reality is the moment that that baby cries, it triggers death. It is now surviving, it is now having to overcome the very thing that his life is supposed to overcome, and that is um he's supposed to live rather than die. But every person that is born to the human race must die. Okay, so that is the first thing you know. It doesn't matter your wealth, it doesn't matter what you have or don't have, it doesn't matter if you're rich or you're poor, it doesn't matter what status you hold, whether you're ignorant or intelligent, none of those things matter to this reality. You will die. There are professors in the grave, they are doctors, lawyers, prime ministers, president, emperors, queen, name it. They are all in the cemetery. Yes? So this death has no respect of person. Yes, and the only people that it respect are those who are born again, because death will not be able to conquer them. In the book of Corinthians, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and from 50, say 45 to 58, you will see a clear picture there of what um what's gonna happen with the fight of life and death. In that uh those verses of scripture, it gives you a deep insight into what is happening. And it started out by likening us to a seed, a corn grain, for example, that is planted in the ground. Now it's plant it's planted in darkness, but while it is in the darkness, it is coming alive, is germinating. Yes, and soon you'll see it sprouting with new life, and you ask the question, what happened to the old one? It dies so that the new one can come. That's what it does, so the new one can come. Now, this is the same thing that God is saying, okay, that every person that must die, two things will either happen. Either that you will physically die and be buried, or you would have already died in Jesus Christ. So the Bible tells us that we that we died in Jesus. And what that means is that Jesus, upon his coming, some of us will still be here. Yes, and it is from a living position that we will now be transformed into immortality. Yes. Now, those who died, they're going to be resurrected, and therefore, in their resurrection, they will now become immortals. Yes, that's what's going to happen. So that is why the born-again person, whether they are alive or they die, it makes no difference to them. Because either way, they have the guarantee of Jesus resurrecting them from the dead. In fact, the Bible tells us that Jesus himself is the first person who has been resurrected. Now, I just want to explain something here to you. There is, you may say, but hang on. Didn't Lazarus die and was buried? Yes. Didn't Moses die and all some of the others, and even people that died was resurrected, was raised up again. You see, there's a difference between being raised from the dead and being resurrected from the dead. Okay? Now, every person from the first man created, which is Adam and Eve, they die, and if they were raised up from the dead, they would die again. Praise the Lord. So therefore, the difference between the resurrected person and the person who just raised is that all raised people has to die again. So Lazarus, though Jesus raised him from the dead, he died again. Yes? But Jesus is the only one who came up from the grave and hasn't died again. He's now Lord of all. He never will die. That's why he's called the first fruit of them that died. The Bible used the word sleep because we are so sure of our resurrection that we don't need to think about it as death. We think about it as if you go to bed at 10 o'clock and you're going to be woken up at 6 o'clock. So you're sleeping. That is how the Bible presents it. That we are asleep. When we die in Christ, and we will be resurrected, we'll be raised up again and be resurrected as it were. Okay? So every person, as I said before, that is born to the human race will die, whether in the very physical and natural, or they will die in Jesus if they happen to be living in this generation. Because this generation, we believe, will be here to see the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ our Lord. Okay, so we are clear on that. Now, the second thing that is essential to know is that everyone that is born and died must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. That is it got to appear there. Yes, everyone. Doesn't matter again who you are, it doesn't matter what you've done, it doesn't matter what you've achieved or not. Everyone must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And to be judged for the life you live while you were here on earth. See, now a lot of people think that this life that we are living was given to us. No, it was loaned to us. Yes, we have to account for it. We are the stewards over this life that we are now living. Because why? One day we must appear before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for how we live this life, what we do, what we didn't do, what we could have done and didn't. So yeah, we gotta give an account. In other words, was there somebody you could have helped, but you didn't. If there's somebody you could have saved, but you didn't. And the list goes on. So as a result of that, you must give an account for your life, your action. Finally. It's important to note that there's one more, and that is anyone, if you're ever to see or enter the kingdom of God, you must be born again. Now you may notice that it's not a question, it's not an opinion, it's not a suggestion, it is a statement of fact that you must be born again if you are to ever see or enter the kingdom of God. Yes. You see, that's what has to happen. Now, to be born again, it is easily explained. When I'm going to South Africa, for example, or to the Philippines, or to America, they demand a visa. Something that I must receive and I must apply for. And what is that? Visa is authorization to enter into their country. Yes. But what they do, they immediately check to see if you are a legitimate person for them to let in to their country. Are you going to cause trouble? Are you going to do something that is not right? So they check all these things in a flash. And it will come back and say, okay, that one is safe. You can accommodate them. In the same way, when we stand before God, He's going to check the record, see what we have accomplished, see what we have done, and see how we did it. Yes. So if you're to ever see or enter two things, ever see or enter the kingdom of God, you must be born again. Yes, I mean, that's what gotta happen. Okay, now we understand that. Let's understand something about you. Now there are three things again that governs you. You see, it seems like a lot of things is in three. Yeah, it's complete. So here are three things again that governs you. One, it's your memory, two, it's your reality, your present, and three, it's your desire, or in some people would call your future. So what you have is your future, you have your present, and you have your past. But let's put it in real perspective, because most people who have been through their past have little or no idea how to deal with the issues that they have encountered in their past. Why? It's not because they're incapable of dealing with it, it's because they don't understand it. That's what it is. Now your past is your memory. That's the first thing you need to appreciate. Your past is your memory. Yes. Your present is your reality. And the future is your desire. So these are the three things that is governing your life this moment, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, these three things are having an impact on your life, whether to the positive or to the negative. But it is. Let's take the first one, which is your memory. Now, so many people are walking around with you in their mind. That's what is going on. And because of that, see, your memory, or the memory of you lives on. Yes, it doesn't stop. You'll hear people say it, even at a funeral, you hear people say, Well, although you physically have gone, but your memory, our memories of you, live on. So people everywhere are carrying you around in their memory. That is what is happening. Now, this memory, you're not going to be able to erase it. That's why it is so important what you do with your life that is creating your memory bank. You have to make sure because it will come to haunt you if you do not understand what it is and how you can deal with it. Now, the Bible encourages us that we should allow our mind, where our memory bank is, to engage in the word of God. So the word of God then appears to be the antidote for whatever negative things are going on in your mind or your memory. Yes? That's what it encourages us to do. To a lot of people, they cannot enjoy their present because they are fixated on their past or what they call their memory. And they think that everything is going to that's happening, are going to happen, is going to take them back to those sad days or moments. And so some is afraid to go forward, some is afraid to take new steps, new initiatives, some is afraid to do anything outside the norm. But when you understand to what extent God loves you, and to what extent He has gone to prove to you that he loves you, then you would not be thinking that. So let's look a little bit closer on that. From the day you're born, your memory has been storing things. Yes. You know, and some things are junk, some things are meaningful, some things are purely from an experience perspective. But how you handle what is inside of you, and especially your head, going to determine what standard of life you are likely to be living? Yes? And this is where many people need to fully grasp and ask the question: Am I born again? Or am I just a sinner that needs grace, that needs salvation? Well, I'm happy to tell you that when you are born again, you take on the life of Jesus Christ. And his life is a perfect life. His life gives you all the assurance that you could need. And as you do so, you will find your life becoming more and more meaningful. Now let us also look further at this. It talks about Jesus, and we want to look at who he is. In Isaiah 9.6, it tells us. In Isaiah 7.14, it tells us. Now in Isaiah 9.6, it said, Behold, a virgin shall be with child. She shall bring forth a son, and they shall call, call his name, wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Now these are the names that Jesus was going to carry while he was walking here upon the earth. And they are all qualified, qualified names for him to have. Yes? But he was humble and he didn't want all unnecessary attention. But here it is. So he's number one, the creator, because he's called Father. Yes? He's called Father, so he's the creator. Jesus is called the Son of God. Yes, he's called the Son of God. And finally, he's called the Holy Spirit that will come to dwell with us. So isn't it amazing to know that these three things characterize the life and times of Jesus Christ and gives hope to us of eternal life. And that by accepting Him, being born again, we have all the benefits of these things. We just want to say thank you so much for a wonderful time with you. And we are about to close out, and I pray that you were blessed by this morning study. And don't forget that you can subscribe, you can support. The information is just below there. Okay, so I will pray with you. And if there's anyone who is not yet born again and is contemplating this, then please get in touch. We'll be more than happy to help your guide, to help and guide you through this marvelous process. I can assure you you will not regret it. I haven't, after 40 odd years, still think it's the best thing that has ever happened to me. Let me pray with you right now. And as you bow your head, Father, in the name of Jesus, we give you thanks. We thank you for the love wherewith you loved us. Thank you for choosing this day to bring us together to have this wonderful time of fellowship. I pray for everyone who is in far-flung places. I pray, God, that you will let your spirit rest upon them and guide them. Father, I say thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Peace.