Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Luke 21:33 (NIV) Over the past few days we’ve been discussing mirrors that we look into to try and determine who we are. Instead of looking at God’s Word to de ne us, we let memories, other’s opinions or our performance determine what we think of ourselves. Another false mirror we look into is the mirror of religious teaching. Legalistic Christian teaching is not based on the Bible. For example, maybe you were taught that to be humble you need to think poorly of yourself. You may have picked up the belief that to please God you need to su er. Or maybe you learned that God is angry with you when …

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it— not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1:25 (NIV) We’ve been on a series over the past couple days talking about the different “mirrors” that we use in looking at ourselves. The problem is we think that we can determine who we are by looking into these mirrors, but they lie to us. The third false mirror to be aware of is the mirror of performance. It’s common to rely on performance for a sense of self. We tend to define ourselves by our careers, our roles in the family and by our accomplishments, but this mirror falls short of …

He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity]. Luke 4:18 (AMPC) Yesterday we began a series about the different ‘mirrors’ that people use to define themselves. The problem is we think we can know who we are by looking into these false mirrors. But these mirrors lie. They don’t accurately tell us who we are. Another one of these faulty mirrors is other people’s opinions. If you look to others’ opinions to mirror back who you are, you are going to be controlled by their opinions. People can provide you with great feedback and encouragement, but you …

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James 1:23–24 (NIV) Mirrors aren’t always accurate. Have you ever gone into a fun house at a carnival where they had a bunch of different curved mirrors? As you go from mirror to mirror, you look completely different in each one. In a similar way, there are different “mirrors” we use in life to reflect back who we are. Often we allow these to define us. The problem is some of these mirrors lie. The first false mirror I want to talk about is the mirror of …

For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4 (NIV) Who are you? You can’t look at your past to determine who you are. You’re not what you do for a living. You’re not who you’re married to. You’re not your nationality. And you’re not a culmination of your failures and accomplishments. So who are you? The truth is, you’re a new creation in Christ! This means you’re more than a conqueror! You’re an overcomer! You’re born of God! Every time the devil tries to remind you of your faults and failures, you need to laugh and think, That’s just an illusion! I’ve been made new in Christ Jesus! His Spirit …