Overcoming the Lie of Labels

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info, visit us at thrive-fl.org. Let's pray. Lord God, this day, we praise and thank you that you are so good to us. And we bless you, O Lord, with all of our soul, with all of our heart, mind, and strength, we love you. Because you have first loved us, Lord God, and you've made us overcomers. You've made us more than victorious. You've made us more than a conqueror because you have loved us. And we are convinced of that. Today, as we get into this message, Lord, I just ask that it's not just information, but that it is a transformational moment for every one of us, for me preaching, as well as for everyone listening, that when we speak this word, this word is going to, Lord, really make a difference in our lives. That the labels and the, well, that you change our identity from the labels that we have worn to the name that you give us. All this we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So, we're going to look at a story in the Bible that I think has just got some real power to it. It might not at first when you look at it, but I think it's going to show you that power. And it is in Mark chapter 2, verses 1 through 12. You can also, if you've got the You version of the Bible on your phone or iPad or whatever device that you've got, you can get the notes for the sermon there as well. Okay? But we're going to read together this in Mark 2. And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home, and many were gathered together, so there was no room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them, and they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him. And when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven. Now some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their hearts, Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone? And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven, or to say, Rise, take up your bed and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, I say to you, Rise, pick up your bed and go home. And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw anything like this. So we're in week three of this series called Overcomers. Next week is our last week on it. And we're going to be looking at overcoming the falsehood of fear. So next week's all about fear. Our first week, we looked at overcoming the curse of comparing, how we look at other people's lives, compare ourselves, and how that can either elevate us and make us prideful or just make us fall apart because everybody else has a better life than we think we do. And two weeks ago, the epidemic of apathy and how that has just affected everyone in our society, and we can get into this epidemic as well, and how we can overcome that. And after the resurrection, we're picking up these last two weeks, and today it's overcoming the lie of labels. So if I would ask you right now to write down three words that describe yourself, how would you describe yourself in three words? So if you're a note taker, write them down. You can put it in the Bible app, you can type in those three words, or just at least think about them for a moment. Now, unconsciously, we're always labeling ourselves. I don't know if you realize that. You're always talking to yourself. Sometimes you can hear it out. You actually speak out loud those words. You're walking around. It's like, I got to do this. What's going on with all that stuff? But most of the time, it's just kind of an inner tape. I know, I'm dating myself tapes. A digital recording on the inside, an MP3 going on that we kind of keep recording that says different things about yourself, right? Sometimes that voice that we're speaking to ourselves is speaking truth. Sometimes it's a distortion, and other times it's an outright lie. And often we are unconsciously doing it. We don't even recognize what we're hearing, okay? Now, there is truth in labeling. I don't know if you know this, right? There is truth in labeling. You go to a grocery store and you can find a nutrition label, and it will tell you all sorts of great things about this, and we can be happy that you can look at the side of any item and find out what's actually in it and how good it is for you. But you know one thing this label will not tell you? How that tastes. Well, is it taste good? Is it sour? Is it sweet? Is it something I want? Or is it just,...