UNDERSTANDING SELF LOVE 

I want to remind each of us we were made in the image of God. This profound truth is the cornerstone of self love. When we recognize our creation in God’s image it invites us to view ourselves through a lens of divine love and worth 
Psalms 139:14 - I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made your world are wonderful I know full well.  Loving your neighbor as yourself Is a necessity of self -love - to extend it to others we must hold it for ourselves recognizing our worth and valve in God’s eyes  1Corinthians 6:19-20 - Do you not know your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit  who is in you. Whom you have received from God…..You are not your own you were bought with a price Therefor phone God with your bodies. Ephesians 2:10 - For we are  god’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. SELF LOVE IS NOT ALWAYS ABOUT NARCISSISM OR SELF ABSORPTION RATHER ITS ABOUT ACKNOWLEDGING OUR HUMANITY - OUR STRENGTHS. Self haterd involves negative self talk, critical judgement and a belief that on is unworthy or inadequate -Self hate sabotages our ability to love and to accept ourselves  WE ARE TO LOVE OTHERS AS WE LOVE OURSELVES. HOW CAN WE GIVE WHAT WE DON’T  POSSESS. TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS AS OURSELVES WE MUST FIRST HOLD A DEEP ABIDING LOVE FOR WHO WE ARE , RECOGNIZING OUR OWN WORTH AND TREATING OURSELVES WITH KINDNESS AND RESPECT 
UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE VALUABLE NOT BECUSE OF YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS , POSSESSIONS OR THE WAY YOU LOOK. BUT SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU EXIST. YOUR WORTH IS NATURAL AND UNCHANGEABLE 
BE KIND TO YOURSELF PRACTICE SELF COMPASSION . DON’T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF DURING DIFFICULT TIME - INSTEAD OF BEING SELF CRITICAL BE KIND AND COMPASSIONATE WITH YOURSELF- OFFER YOURSELF THE KINDNESS AND COMPASSION YOU WOULD OFFER A FRIEND  - FORGIVE YOURSELF - EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES. SELF LOVE INVOLVES FORGIVING YOURSELF FOR YOUR PAST MISTAKES AND UNDERSTAND THAT THEY DO NOT DEFINE YOU 
SELF LOVES INVOLVES TAKING CARE OF YOUR PHYSICAL NEEDS ( LIKE ETING HALTHY, EXERCISING AND GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP) EMOTIONAL NEEDSS ( LIKE SKING SUPPORT WHEN YOU ARE STRUGGLING) 
Everyone take a deep breath  The breath that you just took is a gift. Thank Him for it Give Him some Glory  ( See Genesis 2:7)
Today I’m going to step out on a limb because that’s where the fruit is and say …………..that 
GOD LOVED US BEFORE  WE WERE US - Do you believe that?  
GOD KNITTED US TOGETHER- KNITTING TAKES TIME (See Psalm 139) Think about! It indicates the Creator regards all human beings to as valuable. God cares about the intricate details of our formation. God KNITTED you together inside your mother. God’s love is so extravagant and so inexplicable that He loved us BEFORE WE WERE US (See Jeremiah 1:5) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you before you were born….” He loves you that much. LOVE HIM BACK . The Pharisees were a prominent religious group in Judea during the time of Jesus, are often mentioned in the New Testament as engaging with Jesus through questions and debates. They questioned Him on various topics, including the law (Torah), ethics, the kingdom of God, and His teachings and actions. Some of these interactions were genuine inquiries, while others were attempts to challenge or trap Him in His words.
For example, they asked Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar (Mark 12:13 17), about the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:34-40), about the resurrection (Matthew 22:23-33), and about His authority (Matthew 21:23-27). These interactions highlight the complex relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees, reflecting broader tensions within Jewish society at the time regarding authority, piety, and adherence to Jewish law. Luke 18:18-27. And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. 20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. 21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. 22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? 27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Matthew 22:35-40 Then the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the  Sadducees one of them a lawyer asked him a question testing him
Vs. 36 Teacher what is the greatest commandment in the law 
Mark 12:28 - one of the Scribes. Which is the first commandment of  all. Luke 10:25 a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him saying Teacher what shall I do to inherit eternal life. Love the Lord…,and your neighbor 
A scribe was one who copied out the scriptures he spent all of his days coping the scriptures today we would call him a theologian so that’s who was asking Jesus this question. He came to Jesus asking Him this question but also testing Him you see Jewish tradition divided the commandments of Gods law into positive commandments and negative commandments. According to tradition there are 613 commandments in the Old Testament. I know that for some of you you thought that there were only ten and you not doing that well with the first 10. There are 613 commandments in the Old Testament- when you break them down they are like this 248 of these commandments tell us something we should do and 365 tell us something we shouldn’t do. So the scribe came to Jesus and asked him which is the most important. ( it’s like walking in a room and laying out 613 scripture on the table and asking Jesus to pick out the one which is the most important. It’s the first.  Most of us wouldn’t have been surprised if Jesus would have picked out the first commandment in Exodus 20:2-3 which saying I am the lord thy God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage you shall have no other Gods before me ( that’s the first commandment of the ten commandments) we may have though that Jesus would answer him with that but he did not  Jesus answered him in verses the book of Mark 12:29-30 He said hear O Israel the Lord our God is one God…And you shall love the Lord…….and the second  What Jesus gave to this man as a answer was a SHEMA ( everyone say this out Loud with me) The shema is the title given to this particular concept as it appears in the old testament -In Deuteronomy 6:4-5 Hear O Israel the Lord our God is is inverse 5 you shall Love ….
It is called the SHEMA because the Hebrew word SHEMA is the first word in the verse - The word SHEMA means hear So SHEMA is a command to hear this word. The SHEMA in Jewish tradition is the most important spiritual document among all of their documents. The most important concept In Judaism is the SHEMA.  “Love the Lord you God” This is the Shema Every Jewish child would learn that as their first memory verse and most would repeat it twice a day once in the morning and once at night. The most important thing for a person following  during that time was the Shema and is still vitally important even today. It is the central prayer in the Jewish prayer book. It is the first section that a child learns and its resuscitation is in the synagogue and I’m told that when they recite it they put their right hand over their eyes to blot out everything and they repeat the Shema  So the scribe says to Jesus what is the most important commandment of all the commandments. And Jesus said hear it you shall love the lord God with all …,,,,,… What does he mean when he says this  All of your heart you soul ( volition)  You mind and stry
Jesus adds an editorial addition heart and mind.  The scribe asked Jesus one answer and Jesus gave him two ( Jesus has a right to do that ) I can’t imagine the scribe engaging a intellectual battle with Jesus) You ask one question and you get two answers.., you get more than you bargained for Jesus said Love the Lord and the second like it love your neighbor as your self. Jesus was telling us to love our neighbor in the same was we would like to be loved. The same way that we love ourselves. This scripture is repeated in Matthew and Luke but it takes a little right turn Let’s look In Matthew 7 it says for whatsoever you want men to do to you do to them for this is the law and the prophets. Luke says it this way just as you want me to do do to them likewise. This is the second Part of Jesus answer and is now called the golden rule ( the golden rule is do unto others as you would have them do unto you.)  Love is the culture of the Kingdom of heaven 
The greatest love of all love is self love - you can never love beyond yourself  Faith and love - how do they work  Faith cannot work where love isn’t present - Paul said if I have faith to move a mountain but don’t have love it profits me nothing - he said if I give offerings to the poor but I dont do it in the culture of love I am nothing - he said if I speak in tongues of angels but don’t do it in the culture of love just a noisy symbol. 
Love is more important than faith 
We talk about faith a lot but how is it going to work  Read Galatians 5:6. It says For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith that worketh  by love  ( you can do all of your rituals and your religious custom fasting, pray ……..fasting can be nullified when there is no love, giving can be nullified where there is no love - so the whole operation of the kingdom of god is in the atmosphere of love operated so love is the culture of the kingdom of heaven in which i nab- faith functions and we must live by faith but faith can only work if there is love in the environment 6! I am 
So the greatest thing is the environment which is love 
         And v The greatest love of all is self love 
Self -love is a product of your self worth - If you don’t think you are of any worth you will hate your self if you think you have to worth you fall in love with yourself so the key to self love is self worth  You can never love beyond yourself you can only love people to the degree that you love yourself so yourself is the KEY to your faith working  You can never discover your self worth without discovering God because God is the source of your life and value and worth depends upon the material that you have  Example shoes That have different worth value and cost - you have snake leather crocodile leather cow leather - if you by cow leather and compare it to crocodile leather they are two different prices - the two leathers come from different source - so the value is different  So if you know where something comes from you know what it’s worth  Rocks come from mountains and rocks aren’t worth anything. You split a rock in half and you still have nothing - You cut a diamond in half its still a diamond in two halves  It doesn’t lose its value because of where it came from .  If your tree came from mir woods a redwood tree and my tree came from winton woods the source determine the worth  Your self worth should never be determined by your society because you didn’t com from your society you came from God. 
Peoples opinion of your shouldn’t tell you how much you are worth no government can pass a law to tell you how much you are worth 
We allow people to give us worth here where love falls into trouble when you go around looking for people they give it to you. 
Let me tell you a little secret 90% of people you know don’t like you and you asking them to give your worth. They will give it to you but it will be less than they are less than they have.  They can de value you . They can make sure you are no more valuable than they are. So you cannot trust people to get your worth from. So self love is discovering where you came from God is the source of your self worth - you didn’t come from earth you came from heaven the Bible says. God created you in His image his likeness and His nature and therefore you are God material and that means that God is the source for the true love for yourself. That’s why the Bible says he is love. You cannot love a thing more that its worth 
You can by a time x watch for 5.00 -  or you can buy a Rolex watch for 5,000 the person with th e Rolex watch doesn’t care what time it is 
Matthew 22:36-40. Study the body and you will unstained the glass
Yes, according to Christian theology, the environment of the kingdom of heaven can indeed be understood as permeated by love because God is often described as the embodiment of love. The Bible states in 1 John 4:8, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
In Christian doctrine, the kingdom of heaven is seen as the realm where God's perfect love reigns supreme. It's a place where love is not only an attribute of God but also the guiding principle that shapes relationships and interactions among individuals. In heaven, believers are believed to experience the fullness of God's love in an eternal and unblemished manner.
Therefore, the environment of the kingdom of heaven is often portrayed as one where love is not only present but is the essence of existence, permeating every aspect of life and relationships. Turn to 15.07  Seven keys to self love Self discovery  Self love is a result of self source Self love is a result of self worth  ( people buy things because they don’t know there worth  Self love is the result of self esteem no estimate of your true value)  Self love is a result of your self concept Self love is the result of self identity ( 23:17)  Self love is the result of self-value  10 manifestations of Self Love  Keys - Way to know you love you ur self ( self love manifested)  Self confidence ( 26.59) Self respect  Self assurance  Self assertiveness ( not pushing but they believe they have something to share and the offer it) Self motivation ( when a person loves themselves  m.  they are internally motivated you don’t depend on people to get you going  Self value Self giving  Self affirmation ( when God created the heavens a the earth he said that was good) If you wait around to be approved by everyone that’s a sigh of self hatred Self Forgiving ( if you don’t forgive yourself you won’t forgive me  Self investing  (34:12)
Parents would tell you to stop taking about your self Parents would correct you from using the word I and to stop taking about yourself 
And then here comes Jesus would would always speak of himself and he would irritate people ( the Pharisees 
He would say : I am the way, the truth and the life Jesus would keep using the word I ( momma told us to never use that word son) stying. You should never ask someone do you love me That is the wrong question first- the first question is do you love you ( if they are shocked by the question leave fast) This is why marriages don’t work because they go looking for love ( 24:39) You go to marriage not because you are looking for love you go to share the love that you have - you got it already  I am the resurrection  I am the light of the world the bread of life , I am the door, the water of life Jesus never spoke negative about himself- he never excepted anybody’s opinion about himself- he said I am  God is love and if you came out of God love is in you.  The glass is us and the plastic bottle is God ( pour the waters into the glass ( pour it to Half) So whatever is in the bottle is other glass (God is you source (Abba Father. When God say s he is your father he’s not talking about your daddy the word abba ( I am your source you can out of me Question how valuable is the liquid in the glass ( Whatever the valve this is .( the bottle) so you cannot say you love this and hate that. That’s you in the glass ( and you hate yourself) many of you hate yourself in this class I will prove it.  Matthew 22:36-40 Teacher which is the greatest commandment.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  Love God his nature his character  Study the bottle and you will discover the glass. I’m made out of the same stuff
I didn’t come from Cincinnati I came out of the bottle  They said Jesus was from Nazareth- Even Jesus said he came down from heaven  Spend time with God and you discover yourself
Loving God should result in self love 
The next time you meet someone don’t tell them you love them wrong answer ask them if the love themselves ( 39:15)  You can only love me to the degree you love yourself. 
People get married should they can feel worth. If I can control your worth I can take if back anytime I want and you become worthless.  Discover where you came from -  If you have no self worth and you give yourself to me T the altar then you are giving me something that is worth less.  Take two glasses half full Cedric’s and Jenny may meet ( both glasses are half full) she’s looking for her better half so Jenny meets Cedric. Both feel they have met their better half ( they are both half s people) 50: 50 marriage. They both feel that they have found the person who would fulfill their dreams and be happy for the rest of my life. Do she says fill be us and he fills her up ( he’s not empty) she’d happy in the marriage but he is empty ( Cedric is made angry ) Do he said give me back myself and they pour back into themselves and one is always empty and the other full. ( clap you know you are guilty- so they meet again and both glasses are full. Both are now full. They are filled to the brim with love for themselves. They don’t feel a lack of love for each other and waterever they give to each other is just over flow This is why we have trouble. You don’t make me happy you have to come happy read 1 John 4:16-17) The serpent's intention in the biblical narrative of Adam and Eve isn't explicitly stated as wanting to rob them of self-love. However, the serpent's deception aimed to undermine their trust in God and distort their understanding of themselves and their relationship with the divine. The serpent's deception primarily targeted Adam and Eve's desire for knowledge and autonomy. By suggesting that eating from the forbidden tree would make them like God, knowing good and evil, the serpent appealed to their curiosity and desire for self-improvement. The serpent's deception led them to prioritize their own desires and aspirations over obedience to God's command, ultimately leading to their downfall.
While the serpent's deception didn't directly target their self-love, it did contribute to a rupture in their relationship with themselves, each other, and God. The shame and guilt they experienced after disobeying God's command and realizing their nakedness suggest a profound sense of loss and disconnection.
In this context, the serpent's deception can be seen as disrupting the harmony and self-awareness that characterized Adam and Eve's initial state in the Garden of Eden. It highlights the vulnerability of human nature to deception and temptation and underscores the importance of discernment and obedience in maintaining spiritual integrity and self-awareness. You cannot be a follower of Christ and hate people at the same time (See John 13:34) info