The Point: YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE. ACT LIKE IT.
ME:
Good morning, Gateway Church. It is great to have you with us today. This morning we are starting a BRAND-NEW teaching series called ONE!
Series intro/set up:
Independence. It's one of the core values of American culture. We are taught from an early age to be self-sufficient. We are told that being able to fend for yourself is a sign of strength and maturity. It's a preferred trait.
Those who can't go it alone are viewed as week or at least as "less capable" than those who can.
We value independence and individualism above almost everything else. But we weren't created to live that way. It may feel counter-intuitive, but the truth is that we are created and called to live in community.
Let me say that again, only this time let me make it more personal.
YOU WERE CREATED AND CALLED TO LIVE IN COMMUNITY.
God creates man… and then says, "It's not good for man to be alone."
And not just because there wouldn't be someone to pick his underwear up off the floor or move the dirty dishes to the sink…
But because GOD WIRED US TO DO LIFE TOGETHER. HE CREATED US AND CALLS US TO DO LIFE IN COMMUNITY.
The problem is that most of us don't want to do that. Not because we are anti-community.
• We don’t' want to do it because we don’t understand it.
• We don't want to do it because we have been trained to do life independently.
• We don't want to do it because we don't know what we're missing.
We DON'T WANT to do life in community because
We DON'T KNOW HOW to do life in community.
And as a result, most of us are far too focused on being an individual. But that individualism is robbing us of the JOY and STRENGTH and HOPE we are so desperate for. And the only way to break the habit of doing life alone, the only way to experience the life we were truly mean to live is to learn how to do live in community.
And that's what this series is all about. For the next several weeks we are going to explore what it looks like to live life in community… not just as a group of different individuals, but we're going to learn what it looks like to LIVE AS ONE!
And this is far more important than most of us realize. Not just because doing life alone leaves us lacking, but because we are each wonderfully and uniquely created to be a part of a COMMUNITY and through that COMMUNITY to transform our world.
That means we must learn to do life together. We must learn to do life with others, even when life with others is difficult. But when we learn to do life as a united community, there is nothing that can stop us.
WE:
So, if we are going to learn to live in community… do life in community… transform the world as a community. We need to understand a couple of things about ourselves.
And that's what I want us to explore today. Go ahead and open Bibles to EPHESIANS 2:10. In the house bible that’s on page 799.
Question: Have you ever discovered that one of the reasons you struggle to connect with others is not THEM, but rather it's YOU?
This takes some time and some honest thinking…
• Multiple failed relationships - what's the common denominator?
• Multiple jobs that ended badly - what's the common denominator?
• Can't find a place to connect… never feel like you belong… etc. - what's the common denominator?
I'm not saying there aren't times others have left us out or have rejected us. I'm not saying that we have never been the victim of other's hurtful actions. But, if we're honest, most of the time, when we don't do well in community, it's because of US.
And I think it's because we don't understand who/what we are, nor do we understand who/what others are.
And if we are going to learn to live in community, we must learn what we are and what that means for how we live our lives.
So… What am I? What are you? And how does that impact my life?
Let me give you the short answer.
YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE
And how does that impact my life?
YOU NEED LIVE LIKE A MASTERPIECE.
Or to put it another way.
YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE. ACT LIKE IT!
GOD:
And that's THE POINT: YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE. ACT LIKE IT. That's the ONE THING I want you to get today. YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE. ACT LIKE IT. If you get nothing else, get this: YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE. ACT LIKE IT.
Remember a few weeks ago - LOVE WORTH FINDING - when we saw that we were made on purpose and for a purpose….?
We referred to one of the letters written by the Apostle Paul. In his letter, he said.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:10
That word WORKMANSHIP can be translated as MASTERPIECE.
We were created BY God.
• Look at the beauty of the world around us.
• We are the pinnacle of creation
o God said it was 'good'
o God said man was 'very good'
We were created FOR God.
We were created in the IMAGE of God.
YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE. ACT LIKE IT.
HOW DO I ACT LIKE A MASTERPIECE?
1. LIVE UP TO YOUR PURPOSE.
You are a MASTERPIECE that was created ON PURPOSE and FOR A PURPOSE. That means…
o YOU HAVE A JOB TO DO.
Because you are God's masterpiece, created to do good works which he prepared in advance for you to do, then YOU HAVE A JOB TO DO.
And one of the greatest ways you can HONOR GOD… one of the greatest ways you LIVE UP TO YOUR PURPOSE AND BE THE MASTERPIECE YOU WERE MADE TO BE, is to DO THE JOB YOU WERE CREATED TO DO.
And this is really important. You may be a MASTERPIECE, but if you aren't living out your purpose… If you aren't doing the job you were CREATED TO DO, then you are living up to your VALUE… Your POTENTIAL.
o A vintage car that's a MASTERPIECE - you don't use it to haul the little league soccer team around. That's why they have mini vans.
o A vintage guitar that's a MASTERPIECE - you don't let your 7-year-old bang on it and take it to show and tell.
o If you had the original Mona Lisa. You wouldn't use it to cover a hole in the wall in your back bathroom or to paper the bottom of your bird cage.
It's a MASTERPIECE - you use it according to its VALUE.
And since YOU are a masterpiece, you need to live up to your purpose… you need to be used for what you were created to be used for.
That's why the NT spends so much time talking about the things Jesus followers shouldn't do. Not because God wanted to make some arbitrary rules, but because he recognizes that we are MASTERPIECES - he made us - and he doesn’t want us to be de-valued.
What's your job? We talked about this a few weeks ago.
YOUR JOB - WHAT YOU WERE CREATED FOR - IS TO REPRESENT JESUS BACK TO YOUR WORLD.
• How you treat others
• How you have conversations
• How you manage your time
• How you take care of your body
So if you're going to be a MASTERPIECE… If you're going to live up to your PURPOSE, you need to ask yourself, "How am I representing Jesus?"
o Young mom - to your kids
o Husband - to your wife
o Wife - to your husband
o At your job
o In your neighborhood
o In the marketplace
o ONLINE
And never think that what you’re doing doesn’t matter. When you represent Jesus WHEREVER you are – you are living a life of infinite value and purpose. YOU ARE DOING YOUR JOB.
YOUR JOB IS TO REFLECT JESUS BACK TO OUR WORLD…. What are you reflecting?
SO… IF YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE. HOW DO YOU ACT LIKE IT.
1. DO YOUR JOB - REPRESENT JESUS BACK TO YOUR WORLD.
He's the second way you ACT LIKE A MASTERPIECE…
2. RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF OTHERS.
Just like you were created in God's image and are, therefore, a MASTERPIECE; everyone you interact with was also made in the image of God.
o EVERYONE ELSE IS A MASTERPIECE TOO… How are you treating others?
Stop and think about that for just a minute. We love the idea that WE are a MASTERPIECE. We love the idea that I AM MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD.
But, if that's true, then understand that EVERYONE ELSE IS ALSO MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD.
Doing life in community only works when we REALIZE that we are made in GOD'S IMAGE and when we RECOGNIZE that everyone else is too.
That's why the NT is not only full of thigs we should avoid (to help us recognize our value) but it is also full of things we should do FOR OTHERS… because God wants us to recognize THEIR VALUE AS WELL.
That's why Paul writes these words to one of the Jesus communities in the first century.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Philippians 2:3-4
• Do NOTHING out of SELFISH AMBITION
(Partisanship, jockeying for position, campaigning, manipulating to get your way)
• Do NOTHING out of VAIN CONCEIT
(Thinking more highly of yourself than is right. Making sure your pride doesn't get hurt)
This is the way things typically get done in POLITICS… IN BUSINESS… IN FAMILIES… IN THE CHURCH…
And Paul says NO! That's not how a MASTERPIECE TREATS ANOTHER MASTERPIECE.
Instead - VALUE OTHERS ABOVE YOURSELF…
This is what Jesus did. This is reflecting Jesus back to our world!
In fact, Paul follows this up with…
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant…
Philippians 2:5-7
The way a MASTERPIECE treats another MASTERPIECE is by making yourself a HUMBLE SERVANT!
Do you know the best way to do this? Go back to YOUR PURPOSE… Go back to that JOB YOU HAVE…
REFLECT JESUS BACK TO YOUR WORLD BY SERVING OTHERS
o Young mom - to your kids (how are you serving them)
o Husband - to your wife (how are you serving her)
o Wife - to your husband (how are you serving him)
o At your job (how are you serving them)
o In your neighborhood (how are you serving them)
o In the marketplace (how are you serving them)
o ONLINE (how are you serving them)
You were created by GOD… you are a MASTERPIECE. And everyone you come into contact with was created by GOD… THEY are a MASTERPIECE.
IF we are going to be ONE… if we are going to get COMMUNITY right then we have recognize that, WE ARE MASTERPIECES. AND WE NEED ACT LIKE IT.
SO WHAT?
YOU:
So what's the takeaway this week, Pastor Steve? What do I do with this?
3 STEP TAKEAWAY
Step 1: Pray that God will help you realize that YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE. Ask him to reveal it to you. Ask him to show you your value in His eyes. Ask him to help you see yourself the way He sees you.
Step 2: Ask Him to help you see OTHERS the way He sees THEM. Ask Him to show you how you can serve those other MASTERPIECES you come into contact with every day.
Step 3: Start serving. Don't wait for the perfect time. Don't wait until you feel like it. SERVE THEM.
IF we are going to be ONE… if we are going to get COMMUNITY right then we have recognize that, WE ARE MASTERPIECES. AND WE NEED ACT LIKE IT.
WE:
Let's Pray.
Close with Communion and Prayer
