Are you HONESTLY Loving yourself?
The Unloving Spirit is the opposite of all God ordained us to be. The unloving spirits work to separate us from God, self, and others and then have us hate ourselves and believe that God loves others but not ourselves by barraging us with lies about who we are, what people think of us, and what God thinks of us.
These spirits are assigned to undermine our self-esteem and our ability to trust in a loving God. America, when asked these questions: "Do you love yourself?" "Do you like yourself"? - 70% replied "NO"!
Matt. 19:19
is really clear what we are to do..(Commandment, not a suggestion). We are to love OURSELVES and then love others.
You cannot give out what you do not have!
Please answer these questions honestly. No one but you and God can see them.
1. Do you love yourself?
2. Do you accept everything about you as God created you (your looks, your body, etc.), or do you wish you could change something about yourself? Did you know you are made in the image of God, and if you cannot accept your body, then you are slapping the Lord in the face, saying, "You made a mistake."
3. Do you accept yourself right now?
4. Are you mad at yourself and/or resent yourself?
5. Have you done something you cannot forgive yourself for in the past?
6. Are you in guilt and in self-condemnation?
7. Do you struggle with shame?
8.Do you harbor blame?
9. When you drop something, do you curse yourself with the words "I'm stupid", "what's wrong with me", I'm so clumsy"? That is a sign of an unloving spirit.
10. List how you feel about yourself and LIST all the things you don’t like about yourself. For example: Are there things about you that you cannot change? You say it’s just the way I am. And if I’m to change, it will take a miracle from God. Can you accept those things right now? Are you hiding from God because of the way you are? How do you see yourself in God’s eyes?
11. You cannot leave the house without your face done, your hair perfect, and your nails painted? People accuse you of being vain.
Did you know that Jesus said the "greatest commandment' includes loving yourself?
Luke 10:27 answered: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself." They will know we are Christians by our love? Your ability to LOVE is far more critical than any gift, talent, skill, calling, or resume.
God's plan is to love God and others as we love ourselves. His plan is to reconcile us to Himself, others, and ourselves in a new oneness. The problem is that most of us have not received Father God's love and do not know how to love ourselves. We measure ourselves by our performance and others, too. Maybe you grew up in a critical home or a self-conscious home? You grew up in a home worrying about what others think instead of having peace with yourself and who you?
The devil's plan has always been to separate you from others, from God, from yourself, and ultimately to destroy your ability to love. He seeks to erode our love by attacking us through others and our minds. Usually, how we see God has been distorted by our perceptions of human father figures around us. The devil's goal is to block us from seeing God's love and seeing ourselves as God sees us.
Psalm 139:14 "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."
"Peace comes from contentment of accepting who I am at the moment in time I am living right now!"
If we were content about who we are, our relationships with others, and with our God, we would have Peace! The Unloving Spirit gets you focused on yourself (going inward or looking backward).
TEST YOURSELF FOR THESE SPIRITS: See if you relate to any of these voices who would prevent you from loving yourself.
self-rejection - Says I am the non-person of the family, calls me names, and says my opinions and preferences are not necessary.
self-hatred - Uses my voice to tell me that I hate myself, and then my body/soul/spirit connection reacts with infirmities, auto-immune illnesses, and diseases of unknown causes.
competition - Says I must always win and manipulate for self-promotion. I cannot defer to others easily, as in Matthew 5,6,7.
self-pride - Causes me to lust for a position, a relationship, or material things to complete myself or to maximize my potential.
selfishness - Makes me hypersensitive to whether I am getting my share (i.e., of the love) when and how I want it.
exalted "I" and "I will" - The Devil suggests that I can do it independently, by myself, in my own strength, with my own talents, gifts, and resources (like Lucifer did in Ezekiel 28.)
rebellion - I reject God's choices for me, i.e., my IQ, appearance, body, parents, race, birthplace, etc.
attention getting - I demand attention from people before they even have a chance to offer their love or at least before they can reject me. I am easy prey for counterfeit love.
excessive talkativeness - Drives me to dominate conversations with my opinions, needs, feelings, knowledge, or just chit-chat.
insecurity - Sets me up to be easily offended, overreact, feel devalued, and take things personally.
fabricated self - We prematurely create a niche for ourselves and tend to project ourselves as more qualified than we are.
unworthiness - We fear being unworthy of blessing (based on our performance.)
self-deprecation - We torture ourselves by calling ourselves names, cutting ourselves down (as humor,) minimizing our strengths and maximizing our faults.
self-comparison - This causes me to measure myself negatively in contrast to the progress, blessings, gifts, talents, and accomplishments of others.
self-assertion - I am not just asking for what I need; I demand with pressure, control, or manipulation.
self-deception - I rationalize that sinful reactions, beliefs, and behaviors are OK; I defend them when others try to tell me the truth.
self-questioning - I constantly doubt God's truth about myself, my perceptions, and my abilities and tend to believe that I will choose unwisely.
self-indulgence - I am addicted to ineffective coping mechanisms like overspending, binge eating, kleptomania, drug abuse, or therapy that "never seems to take effect!"
self-idolatry - I obsess about my agenda, my needs, my successes, and my glory instead of God's purposes and plans.
perfection - Says that I can only feel good about myself if my performance meets the standards of others, my unreasonably high standards, or is perfect (and of course, it is not.)
self-accusation - Refuses to acknowledge the progress or growth in my life; identifies me with my past failures and projects my past onto my future.
self-condemnation - "I am" a failure, inadequate, inferior, unattractive, to blame, and unlovable. I believe that I am shameful because I am basically defective.
self-bitterness - I keep a record of my failures, withholding forgiveness from myself and resenting myself for being imperfect.
unforgiveness toward yourself - False humility tells me that it is more holy not to forgive myself and that I should punish myself.
need for approval - I try to earn "unconditional love and acceptance" (oxymoron) by meeting the supposed expectations of others.
not necessary, not needed - I agree with devaluating condescending lies and conclude that I not valuable and that my contributions are not worthwhile.
self-doubt and unbelief - I disqualify myself, settle for less, believe I am the most unlikely to be chosen and cannot believe that God could love me.
self-denial - I tend to exclude myself, isolate myself and to suffer vs. asking for what I need.
self-absorption - I obsess on analyzing myself, my interests, my needs, figuring out my own way or ruminating about my issues.
self-abuse - I blame myself, drive myself with drugs or unrealistic demands, deny basic needs, volunteer for martyrdom, victimize myself, and am addicted to self-destructive behaviors.
self-pity - I accept the identity of a victim, stuck in the past, who is not healed, and I insist that I should be pitied rather than believe that I can release my pain to Jesus to heal.
self-sabotage - I "shoot myself in the foot" because I am afraid to receive promotions, compliments, or great opportunities. I disqualify myself when I fear succeeding; I push love away for fear of inevitable rejection.
self-annihilation or elimination - I have a plan to kill myself, make suicidal gestures, or actually attempt suicide.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I recognize that I have been believing the devil's lies and repent for agreeing with him. In the name of Jesus, I renounce and break all agreements with his lies and command all these unloving spirits to leave me, to go to dry, uninhabited places, and never come back. I ask you to fill my empty place with your Life and Peace. I choose to receive God's truth about me: Because of what Jesus Christ has done for me on the cross, God sees me as righteous, holy, and blameless in His sight. (
Ephesians 1:4 and
Romans 5:18)
I agree with God's truth that I am precious, loveable, totally forgiven, unconditionally loved and accepted, completely apart from my performance. I choose to receive all the blessings that I have been afraid to receive. I ask you to restore me to your purposes and plans. Please "restore all the years that the locusts have eaten." Father God, you love me and have promised you will never leave me. (Romans 8) Amen
Now, it is equally important to receive God's truth about you instead of each one of these lies. If you would like to download Bible verses about how much God loves you, see below. If you will look yourself in the eye (in the mirror) and agree with God, He will begin to delete the lies and replace them with His truth about you. Try it! GUARANTEE: If you will declare His truths from this love letter, for 40 days; God will "re-parent" you and renew your mind! The Word of God will arm you with truth to defeat the accuser and you will walk in new confidence and victory! Start looking in the mirror every morning and say "I'm a gorgeous hunk of dust!" Start seeing yourself as the Lord sees you!
Whenever you have thoughts against yourself such as self-accusation, self-rejection, self-hatred, etc., then practice
2 Corinthians 10:5 "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," Why! These are negative feelings not from the Lord and it is not His character but the character of Satan's kingdom - it is a spirit. When the Lord said to Adam, why are you hiding, Adam said "I was afraid, because I was naked." The Lord said "Who told thee that thou wast naked? That means there was a spirit being with a voice speaking to Adam telling him he was naked after the fall! It came in as a thought and Adam became one with that thought!
Quote scriptures of who you are!
After you've done all this and you still hear the unloving spirit and agree with it, do the 8'rs any time something starts playing in your mind! For example, you have a feeling of insecurity coming over you, and you pull back because you agreed. 1. Recognize insecurity; 2. take responsibility - don't blame others, 3. repent to the Lord since you took insecurity into your heart, 4. renounce that spirit of insecurity; 5. remove it. Tell the spirit of insecurity to leave and send it to dry places. 6. resist - if it comes back, then quote scriptures that pertain to being accepted, loved, and secure in His love, etc., and believe it. Your security is in the Lord and not in people. Get to where you are not looking to people to make you feel secure or accepted. You are already accepted. 8. rejoice to the Lord that it is not your identity, 9. Restore others.
More on the 8rs, which are keys to freedom!
1. RECOGNIZE – every thought that comes to you comes from some kingdom.
Hebrews 5:8-10 “8though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things He suffered. 9And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10called by God as High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek,"
2 Corinthians 10:4-6 “4For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”
We need to bring every thought captive: We react to every thought that comes into our minds. It changes the chemicals in our minds. We need to learn, renew our minds, and be freed from strongholds.
We need to know the promises for us.
1. He did not give us a spirit of fear but of sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 - God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.
Romans 8:15 - For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
2. He supplies all our needs.
Philippians 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
3. We can do ALL things in Him.
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
2 Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” 5casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”
2. RESPONSIBILITY – regardless of how much abuse you have had, you are still responsible for your sin.
Psalms 51:2-4 “2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight-- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge."
3. REPENT – I recognize sin and taken responsibility for it and I’m choose to turn from it. I let it go.
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
4. RENOUNCE – (he was renouncing it very clearly) – Paul did not want to sin.
Romans 7:15-25 “15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."
5. REMOVE IT –remove the temptation or remove the sin, such as rejection, etc.
Mathew 4:1-5, 7-10 “1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." 4 But He answered and said, "It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God." 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."
6. RESISTED - Accusation will try to come back, so resist it. That is why we need to discern good and evil. The Devil gives afflictions.
I Peter 5:6-9 “6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”
7. REJOYCE – thanksgiving is thanking God for what he has done. Praise is a warfare tool.
8. RESTORE – We need to get involved and become proactive.
Isaiah 58:1-14
Scriptures to Look up!
Proverbs 8:22 II Corinthians 3:18 Romans 14:23
John 5:30 Leviticus 19:18 John 7:18
John 17:5 Leviticus 19:34-37 Hebrews 12:2
I Corinthians 4:3 Deuteronomy 6:5-9 Jeremiah 33:8
Titus 1:7 Numbers 13:33 Jeremiah 8:15
II Peter 2:10 Romans 13:16-18 Jeremiah 8:6
II Corinthians 13:5 Romans 13:2 Jeremiah 9:23-24
II Timothy 3:2 Proverbs 28:9 and
13 Jeremiah 10:24
James 1:22 Proverbs 28:25 II Timothy 3:1-12
Leviticus 4:1 Romans 12:10 II Timothy 4:2
Mark 7:9 Proverbs 28:16-18 Jeremiah 10:13
Romans 12:3 Mathew 5:22-25
Jeremiah 14:19-20
Mathew 5:25
II Chronicles 7:14 Romans 5:20
Leviticus 20:7 Luke 11:1 Habakuk 3:16
Job 39:28 Psalm 62:1 II Corinthians 10:5
Ezekial 37
Romans 7:19
