From Major Mess To Masterpiece - Part 2 Series

This message contains some parts of a sermon by Ed Young called, "God’s Masterpieces," but is primarily my own (80%). If this is a copyright infringement, please let me know. Thank you.)

NOTE: I downloaded the video from www.sermonspice.com called "The Last Painting" to correspond with the theme and the time of year (Easter).

Ephesians – Focusing on Truth

Lesson Thirteen: From Major Mess to a Masterpiece – part 2

We have been wandering through the book of Ephesians, and last week we focused on going from major messes to masterpieces. Look at Ephesians 2:10 (on screen) – let’s read it together.

We focused on declaring the truth about ourselves in the face of Satan who would lie to us and render us useless through our mindset. We even made a collage at the end to solidify our commitment to this piece of art called The Journey.

We made three declarations in our first message, and I want to give you four more today. WHAT IS A “DECLARATION”? It is when I act on my belief that what God says is true by speaking it out regardless of the circumstance – “saying it anyway!” Declarations are important for three reasons:

1) Declarations are exemplified in the life of Jesus – Matthew 4:1-11

2) Declarations build my faith. Romans 10:17 (on sheet) - Yet faith comes from listening to this message of good news--the Good News about Christ. We cannot build our faith unless we hear that Word. When we speak it, we are building our own faith.

3) Declarations help me resist the devil. Whenever we declare something we are drawing a line in the sand with the enemy because the enemy cannot read our thoughts. Resisting is part declaration – James 4:7 (on sheet) – “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”

Do you remember the three declarations we’ve already made that will help us go from major messes to masterpieces? I am priceless (expound), timeless (expound), and part of a greater picture (expound). Today you will get “the rest of the story.” We are clay in the hands of the Potter. I hope after today that you will use these declarations so that you will “never be the same again.” That is a declaration as well.

As we looked at two weeks ago, the Bible clearly points to God as Artist, Creator, and Master Craftsman, reflected in the first 5 words of the Bible, “In the beginning, God created!”. From the beginning of Genesis, we see that He produces beauty, and man is the crowning jewel of His creation. This is pointed out by David in Psalm 139:14, where he writes about God’s workmanship and attention to detail (on sheet), “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it.”

Paul brings home this idea in Ephesians 2:10, the verse we just read together. We have focused on the truth in our Ephesians study, and the profound truth is that we are living, breathing pieces of art – created by God to live productive, meaning-filled lives. If I could “paint a picture for you,” it is basically this: God is standing in front of the canvas of our lives, wanting to make the canvas of our lives into a work of beauty. You and I hold the brushes. If we let him, if we give Him if we give Him the brush, the control of our lives, He can and will take our lives and turn them into masterpieces. We talked about this last time – we can be priceless pieces of art in the hand of the Master. Even though your life might be messed up right now, in the hand of the Artist, common, worthless materials are combined to make a masterpiece.

You know, it’s that time of year where spring cleaning takes place, and signs start popping up on the weekends for one of the greatest events known to mankind - the yard sale or tag sales. Aren’t they fun? There are two things that always intrigue me about garage sales. The first thing is that people will buy anything. I mean, they’ll buy spit in a bottle for the right price. And I’m thinking, “Who would pay for that?” But there’s another thing that intrigues me, and that is that an object is only worth as much as someone will pay for it.

There have been times in my life where I’ve felt like an item in a garage sale. Have you ever felt like that? Maybe there was a season in your life where you felt like you don’t really matter, that you were insignificant. You’re not insignificant, and God in the Bible goes to great lengths to prove that. You are priceless – “God’s masterpiece.”