Joel Osteen - You Are Worthy

TOPICS: Self-esteem

Joel Osteen teaches that our worth comes not from performance, background, or mistakes but from being children of God, made worthy through Jesus, illustrated by the stories of Mephibosheth being restored to the palace and the prodigal son welcomed home, urging believers to reject unworthiness and receive their value by faith.

You Are Worthy

I want to talk to you today about You Are Worthy. It is easy to go through life feeling like we do not measure up. We focus on our flaws and weaknesses, and how we should be further along. We let guilt and condemnation weigh us down. Or we have been through disappointments, dreams have not worked out, people have done us wrong, it has opened the door to insecurity and low self-esteem. The enemy uses these things to try to steal our sense of value. He will whisper, «You do not deserve to be blessed, look at the mistakes you have made. You are not valuable, look at the family you come from. You are not attractive, look how beautiful your coworker is». He loves for you to believe the lie that you are not worthy. But here is the key: your worth is not based on what you have, what family you come from, or how perfectly you live. Your worth is based on the fact that you are a child of the Most High God. You are worthy not because of what you did, but because of what Jesus did: he made you worthy.

God created you in his own image, you have royal blood flowing through your veins. He crowns you with favor, he calls you a masterpiece. Now, do not let how people treat you determine your worth. Do not let what someone said or how they make you feel cause you to live inferior. They do not determine your value. They did not breathe life into you. They did not choose you before you were formed in your mother is womb. They cannot make you feel inferior, unless you give them permission. Quit giving it to them. You have the fingerprints of God all over you. He calls you his prized possession, one of a kind, fearfully and wonderfully made.

But sometimes we let our weaknesses and areas we need to improve in cause us to feel unworthy. We go around down on ourselves, thinking once we get it all together then we can feel good about who we are. But your worth is not based on your performance. There is nothing you can do to make you more valuable. «If I work harder, be more disciplined, pray longer, spend more time with my children, then I will deserve to be blessed». Well, that is all good, that is developing character, but that is not affecting your worth, it is not making you more valuable. Your value comes from your Creator. Do not go through life living performance-based, trying to earn your worth, and earn your value. The problem is: you will never measure up. We all make mistakes, we all have shortcomings. Take the pressure off: you do not have to work for it, just receive it, «I am worthy, I am valuable, I have been approved by Almighty God».

Every time you say that something powerful happens, you are getting stronger, more confident. Your self-esteem is increasing. Forces of darkness cannot stay when you know you are worthy. Not you are going to be, «Joel, when I control my temper better, when I quit saying things I should not, when I get in shape, when my boss starts respecting me, then I will feel good about myself». Now, how about right now believing that you are worthy, that you are forgiven, redeemed, restored, one of a kind? Those are the thoughts that need to be playing in your mind throughout the day. Not guilt, shame, «I am not up to par. If I can perform better. These people at work look down on me». You cannot stop all that, but you can decide what you are going to dwell on. Tune all that out, and get in agreement with God: you are worthy, you are valuable, you deserve to be blessed, you deserve to live an abundant, victorious, healthy, productive, favor-filled life.

A Friend’s Transformation

A friend of mine was raised in a very dysfunctional home. His father was an alcoholic, and he would become violent. They lived in government housing, his mother was on drugs. There was always fighting and conflict in the house. He was told that he would never amount to anything. He did not know any better, he believed it. He grew up with this sense of shame and unworthiness, thinking «I am not good enough, I do not deserve anything». He thought it was his fault, that he was to blame. The enemy loves to twist things: he will use other people is dysfunction to try to convince you that you are the problem, you are not up to par. «If you were better, this would not have happened». Do not believe those lies. You are not responsible for their dysfunction. Do not start taking the blame for something that does not have anything to do with you. They have issues they have not dealt with, they are struggling with things to overcome. You cannot let that shame and unworthiness get off on you.

In his 20s, this young man left home and was living in his car. He had a great imagination, he is extremely creative, knew how to tell stories. He knew that God had given him that gift, but everything said «You do not deserve to be blessed. You do not come from a good family, you come from dysfunction and abuse». He was working at a fast food restaurant, barely making it, thinking that is all he deserved. One day he turned on the television and he heard me talking about how your value is not based on how people treat us, and how we perform, and you know, not even on how good we perform. It was like a light went off on the inside, a stronghold was broken.

Instead of having this defeated mindset, «I am lacking, I am limited, I am at a disadvantage», he started reprogramming his mind. All through the day, «I am worthy. I am valuable. I am a one of a kind. I deserve to be successful. I am a child of the Most High God». You have to give yourself permission to be blessed. He put his shoulders back, and started carrying himself differently. He began to pray bold prayers, and expect God’s favor. Today he is incredibly successful in the entertainment industry. God has done more than he ever imagined. Maybe like him, you have been in environments that you have let lessen your sense of value.

Now there is shame, guilt, inferiority. You do not feel like you deserve to be blessed, you have negative baggage in your family line: none of that has changed your value. No matter what people have done, you are still a masterpiece. No matter who walked away, you are still a prized possession. No matter how far off course you have gotten, you still have the fingerprints of God all over you. Do not go through life with the wrong recording playing in your mind, «I am damaged, I am not good enough, I am lacking». No, change that recording: you are worthy, you are valuable, God handpicked you, he breathed his life into you. Now it is up to you to receive your worth, receive your value. You do not have to work for it, you do not have to earn it, just receive it. This is what faith is all about.

The Value of a Masterpiece

I was in someone is home a few years ago, and they had all these paintings on the wall. I do not know a lot about art, but they did not look very impressive to me. In fact, some of them looked like they were drawn by children. Real modern, and abstract paint thrown here and there. Later that evening the man told me how for just one of those paintings he had paid over a million dollars. I looked at it again thought, «Wow, that is beautiful, is not it»? It was an original Picasso, painted by the famous artist Pablo Picasso. What dawned on me that day was: it is not so much what the painting looks like, it is who the painter is. The picture gets its value from its Creator. Someone could have copied that painting, tried to sell it, they would not have gotten a fraction of the price. It was valuable because Pablo Picasso put his fingerprints on it. It is the same way with us: our value does not come from what we look like, what we do, how successful we are or are not. Our value comes from the fact: Almighty God is our painter.

Ephesians 2:10 says, «You are God’s masterpiece». You did not come off an assembly line, you were not mass-produced. When God made you, he threw away the mold. Eight billion people on the planet, and no one has your fingerprints. You are one of a kind, a designer is original. It would be great to have a Picasso, a Rembrandt, a Michelangelo painting, that would be impressive, but imagine having the artist that flung stars into space, that spoke worlds into existence, that created the universe, that is who designed you. That is why you are worthy, that is why you can put your shoulders back, and expect good things.

But I wonder how God must feel after creating us a masterpiece, when we go around thinking we are unworthy, «I am just average, Joel, I got these flaws, that is why I am down on myself. I have had setbacks, people did not keep their word. I am damaged, I am inferior», none of that changed your value. That Picasso painting is valuable in that nice home, and it is valuable in a rundown apartment. The environment does not change its value. People may not recognize it, I did not, but that did not change its worth. Other people may not see your value, they may try to discount you, make you feel less than. The only way that will stop you is if you let them convince you that you are not valuable. Tune all that out, here is what God says about you: you are wonderfully made, you are talented, you are attractive, you are confident, you are blessed, you are victorious.

Now, that is good for me to speak it over you, build your faith, but something more powerful happens when you speak it. When you say it long enough, it will get down in your spirit and become a reality. All through the day, even if it is under your breath, «I am worthy, I am valuable, I am a masterpiece, I am a child of the Most High God».

Mephibosheth’s Story

There is a young man in the scripture named Mephibosheth, he was the grandson of king Saul. His father was Jonathan, David’s best friend. Mephibosheth had been born into royalty, destined to one day take the throne, but when he was 5 years old, his father and grandfather were killed in a battle on the same day. The opposing army headed into town to try to finish off all of Saul’s family. When Mephibosheth’s maid grabbed him and took off running as fast as she could to try to hide him, as she is going down the stairs, she tripped and fell, Mephibosheth hit the ground so hard that he broke both of his legs and became crippled, he never walked again.

Sometimes well meaning people can drop us. This maid was trying to do the right thing, she had good intentions, but her mistake cost him his mobility. Like Mephibosheth, someone may have dropped you, put you at a disadvantage. They did not mean to, they would take it back if they could, but they tripped, and now you struggle with an addiction. They tripped, they did not protect you, nurture you and keep their word, and now you struggle with low self-esteem, or with your sense of worth.

Well, Mephibosheth ended up living in a place called Lo-debar. It was one of the poorest, most rundown cities of that day. Here he was the grandson of the king, he had grown up in the palace, now he was living in the slums, barely surviving. Here is a key: your location does not change your value. He was living in Lo-debar, but he was still royalty. You may feel like you are in Lo-debar, things have come against you, circumstances you do not understand, but nothing has lessened your value. No person that did you wrong, no bad break, no mistake you made. You are still a child of the Most High, you are still worthy, you still have a purpose to fulfill. Yes, they dropped you, but they did not stop your destiny. You may be in Lo-debar, but do not let Lo-debar get in you. That is where you are, it is not who you are.

God sees these times where you were put at a disadvantage, times you were left out, the times people manipulated things at work to get their way. The enemy loves to use those things to make you feel unworthy, like you do not deserve to be blessed. This is when you have to take control of your thought life. You cannot be passive and let the negative play. You have to remind yourself who you are. If you do not tell yourself who you are, the enemy will tell you who you are. All through the day, «I am worthy, I am valuable, I have royal blood in my veins. My location did not change my identity, I am still a child of the Most High. His plans for me are still good to give me a future, to prosper me».

Well, years went by, and I am sure Mephibosheth thought that God had forgotten about him. He was satisfied living in Lo-debar, thought that was his destiny. But God was not satisfied. God loves you too much to let you live below who you were created to be. One day out of the blue king David said to his men (2 Samuel 9:1), «Is there anyone from the house of Saul still alive so I can show kindness to them»? This is how amazing God is: Saul spent years trying to kill David, he made David’s life miserable, where he had to live on the run. You would think the last person David would think about doing good for would be Saul’s family. But God is not going to leave you in Lo-debar. Lo-debar is temporary, the injustice, the sickness, the trouble is not how your story ends. You are coming out of Lo-debar. You do not belong there, you have royal blood, you have a crown of favor, you are worthy, you are valuable, and you are destined to overcome.

Well, David’s men told him that Jonathan had a son that was still alive, but he was crippled, living in the slums of Lo-debar. David did not think twice. He said, «Go, find him, and bring him to the palace». When the king’s men came into the slums, everyone was talking. There was this buzz, «What is going on? What are they doing here»? Mephibosheth heard the knock on his little makeshift hut, he scooted to the door to open it. They asked, «Are you Mephibosheth»? He said in a weak voice, «I am». They said, «The king is looking for you, you are coming to the palace with us». Here this crippled man, feeling unworthy, washed up, been dropped, but now he is headed to the palace.

You may have been through things that were not fair, thoughts whisper, «You are not worthy either, nobody even cares about you». Can I tell you? The king is looking for you. God sent me to knock on your door, to let you know: he is not going to leave you there. That environment did not change your value, you are still royalty. They dropped you, but it did not lessen your worth. You are still a masterpiece, you are still destined to do great things.

They carried Mephibosheth to the palace. He was afraid, thinking maybe David was going to pay him back for how his grandfather treated him. The big moment finally came, David walked in the room, Mephibosheth fell to the ground. He looked up and said to David, «What do you want with a dead dog like me»? Notice how he saw himself. Not valuable, «I do not deserve anything good. I am crippled, I live in the slums, my grandfather mistreated you». Right when he thought David was going to let him have it, pay him back for all the wrongs, David said, «No, no, Mephibosheth, I did not bring you here to harm you, I brought you here to bless you. I did not have my men search you out so I could get revenge, I had them carry you to the palace, because I know something about you that others may not know. You are royalty. You are the grandson of the king. You belong here».

He went on to say, «From now on you will live here with me. Every night you will eat dinner at my table. Not at the staff’s table, but with me. And all the land that belonged to your grandfather, I am giving it back to you». But how many of us feel like Mephibosheth? We are not worthy, we do not deserve to be blessed, we got dropped, people put us at a disadvantage. Or we have made mistakes, now we are in Lo-debar. None of that lessens your value. Mephibosheth felt like a dead dog, you cannot get much lower than that. What did God do? Put him in the palace, gave him a seat at the king’s table, restored all that belonged to his family. God is going to do the same thing for you. He is not going to leave you at a deficit, at a disadvantage, at a broken place. You are coming out of Lo-debar. Now, get rid of that dead dog mentality, the shame, the guilt. Voices whispering, «You are not good enough, you do not measure up, you do not deserve to be blessed». That is the enemy trying to keep you in Lo-debar. God sent me with a message: you do not belong there, you are royalty. What has happened in your past has not stopped your future. What God promised you early on, he is still going to do.

You may have gotten dropped, but he knows how to pick you up and carry you to the palace. You got stuck in Lo-debar, he is looking for you right now. Restoration is coming, promotion is coming, healing is coming, breakthroughs are coming. There is about to be a knock on your door, a shift, a divine connection, a supernatural turnaround. Now, get your fire back: no more a dead dog mentality, you belong to the king. You are worthy, you are valuable, you deserve to be blessed, to live a happy, victorious, fulfilled life. «I do not know, Joel, I do not think I deserve anything, I am just a poor old sinner saved by grace». No, we used to be sinners, but when we gave our life to Christ we became a new creation. We are no longer sinners, we are sons and daughters of the Most High God. That is why we deserve to be blessed, because of what Jesus did. If you want to make God proud, do not go around with an unworthy, «I do not deserve it», dead dog mentality. No, step up to the table, come into the palace, believe that you are worthy, believe that you are valuable, believe that your father is a good God, that he takes pleasure in prospering you.

The Prodigal Son

But sometimes we think our mistakes have made us unworthy. We made poor choices, we do not deserve anything good. We cannot expect God’s blessings. But those mistakes did not change your value. That is what you did, that is not who you are. You are still a child of the Most High, you are still created in his image. But this is when the accuser will work overtime to remind you of everything you have done wrong, how you do not measure up, and you should have been more disciplined. Do not fall into that trap. Shake off the unworthiness, shake off that guilt, and step up to the table. The scripture (Hebrews 4:16) says, «Come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy». You cannot go as a weak worm of the dust, «I do not deserve it, I am so unworthy, I cannot do anything right». No, go to God with boldness, «God, I know you have made me worthy. I believe you love me. I believe you for me, that you have good things in store». Do not go as a beggar, go as a believer, with confidence, with boldness. Not because of who you are, but because of whose you are: a child of Almighty God.

Jesus told a parable about a young man that got his inheritance early, and he left home. And his father knew it was not a good choice, but the young man wanted his own way. He went out and wasted all of his money partying, making bad choices. He ended up working in a hog pen, got so desperate he had to eat the hog food to survive. He finally decided to go back home, but he felt so unworthy and so undeserving. He said, «I am not going to go back as a son, and try to live at the house like I used to, I am just going to go ask my father if I can be a servant, an employee, and work like the rest of the staff». He was basing his value on his performance. He performed poorly, he did not think he was valuable. He headed home. «When the father saw him a long way off», the scripture (Luke 15:20) says, «The father took off running toward him». That means the father was looking for him. Every day, «Where is my son? Maybe today he will come home? Maybe today he will change his mind»? Whole time the son was thinking, «He is going to be so upset, he is not going to want to see me, he is going to let me have it».

Those are the two voices that come to us all, «God is not going to forgive you, look what you have done, you better stay away». That is the accuser doing what he does best, trying to make you feel unworthy. You have to listen to that still small voice, «Come home. You are forgiven. I am looking for you». This son was dirty, smelled like the hogs, hair not combed, but the father ran and embraced him, gave him a big hug, would not let go, kissed him. The son had his big speech lined up about how undeserving he was, he said in verse 21, «Father, I am no longer worthy to be called your son». The father acted like he did not hear him, did not pay any attention. He said to his staff, «Quick, go get the best robe and put it on my son. Get some new shoes for his feet. Get the family ring to make sure everyone knows he is my son, and by the way, kill the fatted calf, we are going to have a party for my son has returned home».

I wonder how many of us are not coming home because we feel unworthy? How many blessings are we missing because we are letting our mistakes hold us back, when in fact God is looking for us? He is not basing your value on your performance, he knows who you are. But if you do not think you deserve to be blessed, then you will push blessings away. If you do not think you deserve to be loved, you will push love away. God is longing to be good to you, his mercy is bigger than any mistakes, but you have to come home. Put your shoulders back, come boldly to the throne. No more a dead dog mentality, «I have had bad breaks, they put me at a disadvantage». They may have dropped you, but they did not change your value, you are still royalty.

Receive Your Worth

Now, do your part and receive your worth. Do not try to earn it, do not live performance-based, take the pressure off and just receive it. Every day, «I am worthy, I am valuable, I am a child of the Most High». If you will do this, I believe and declare: like Mephibosheth, you are coming out of Lo-debar, out of dysfunction into favor, promotion, victory. God is going to make up for who dropped you, and give you back everything that should have been yours. Like the prodigal, despite your mistakes, God has the best robe waiting for you. He is killing the fatted calf right now, there is about to be a party. Mercy is coming, abundance, restoration, the fullness of your destiny, in Jesus name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?