RECOGNIZED

Intro

I am a twin, not identical but fraternal

Nothing alike

None of my high school teachers even knew we were related let alone twins

even though we had the same last name and even had to set next to each other due to alphabet order

My mom is also a twin, an identical twin

As a child there were a few times when I confused my mom with my aunt

They looked the same but they were complete opposites

mom was down to earth

aunt was very formal, prim, and proper

When they changed their hair, it tricked me but just for a minute

I could recognize the difference

So, we are starting a brand new message series titled Who Am I

We are going to go on a journey together to discover the truth of who God says we are.

In our day and age, there are so many of us that are looking for the answers to the questions of what makes us us. And for some of us, we have settled for answers to those questions that are so much less than the truth of what God says.

For some of us, we have chosen to define ourselves based off of what we do or don't do, the people we like or we don't like, the clothes we wear, the things that have been said about us, the hobbies that we engage in or even the things that we do differently because we don't want to be like our parents.

You are in a stage of life right now where you are trying to discover who you are and what makes you you.

And the reason these questions can be so challenging and confusing is because we live in a world where more than ever before, you are bombarded with influences trying to tell you who you are and who you should be.

And so together, what we wanna do is root our identity in what God says about us.

Because for those of us who are followers of Jesus, what we have to acknowledge is this reality that you are not who others say you are.

You're not even who you think you are, you are who God says you are.

And so over the course of the next few weeks, we are going to learn together who it is that God says we are

Let’s look at Genesis 1:26-27

Genesis 1:26–27 NIV

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Difference from everything else that God created?

Fish weren’t created in His image...

We were created to have control over all other creation...

Because everything else was created for us

God created the universe and everything in it so that He could know us and we could know Him

Totally different from other “gods” or ideas about God

Being made in the image of God means that you are VALUABLE

You are special, precious, unlike anything else in all of creation.

That means you are valuable, set aside, recognized by God and all of creation.

Nobody can take that away from you because you are special!, no, you are a masterpiece!!!

Ephesians 2:10 NLT

10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

This is the way God sees you = as a masterpiece

Not some mess thrown together last minute, but a work of art

This is all true, but what is also true is that sin has left a mark

Sin makes a mess of our lives

But remember before sin entered the picture we were still created in the image of God. That does not change

To understand this, let’s look at a famous painting

Mona Lisa

Some say the greatest painting ever put on canvas

Painted by Leonardo da Vinci

And so in this analogy, God is the artist

We are his canvas and He calls us a masterpiece

He created us in His own image

While it is true that sin has infected us, it has ruined parts of us that make us almost unrecognizable, that doesn’t take away the fact that beneath the sin, we’re still the masterpiece

It’s almost like if somebody were to go to the Mona Lisa and hurl a bunch of poop at it

It’s a weird image, but that’s kind of like what sin is

It’s this crud that gets on us and covers us and ruins us but it doesn’t change the fact that at the core, we are made in the image of God.

At the core, we are Valuable - God still recognizes His creation no matter what!

If someone were to throw poop on the Mona Lisa, the Mona Lisa wouldn’t stop being a masterpiece

And the great news of the Bible is that Jesus comes along, invites us to be clean!

He meets the mess of our sins with His mercy.

He makes us anew so that we can do the good things that He planned for us long ago.

Being made in the image of God means that you are Valuable and you have a PURPOSE

Genesis 1:28 NIV

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

From the very beginning, God’s purpose was for us as human beings to be His partners in the good things He has planned for the world

You were created with a purpose = to be a walking, talking, living, laughing, loving picture of your Creator, God!

God has a plan that includes each of us - and those plans are each unique and different

That plan may be really big or even small

Don’t forget the small stuff even in the midst of doing big things

The everyday things have purpose

Maybe it looks like honoring your parents when you really don't want to. Maybe it looks like loving your friend who's just annoying you.

Maybe it's being patient with your siblings who are desperate to spend time with you. Maybe it's being involved serving in your church.

Maybe it's going out and being a part of some nonprofit that's bringing goodness and justice to your community.

The beautiful thing is that God calls us and invites us to do what we can with what we have right where we are.

And so no matter what you have or where you are, you have been called by God to play a part in his good plans to restore the world.

Being made in the image of God means you are Valuable, you have a Purpose, and you are LOVED!

One way God shows His love is by giving

Genesis 1:29–30 NIV

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

You see, God loves and He gives, He gives because He loves

Most famous scripture about God giving

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

That is how God loves, He gives.

From the beginning before we did anything to earn it, God gave human beings everything they needed to survive and thrive.

This is what it means to be made in the image of God. It means that you are valuable. It means that you have a purpose and it means that you are loved.

Now what I know is that for some of you, this is really hard to believe because everything in your life says the opposite.

So much of what you've experienced has not been good or loving or kind, but you've just been beaten down day in and day out until you're ready to give up.

Please hear me when I say this, you are valuable.

You have a purpose and you are loved.

God, the creator of heaven and earth, wants a relationship with you.

He wants to make you new. He wants to breathe new life into your lungs.

You are not an accident. God created the universe so that He could know you and so that you could know him.

Genesis 1:31 (NIV)

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

The most true thing about you is not what others say, it's not even what you think, but it is who God says you are.

Your value doesn't come from what you do. It comes from the one who made you. And He recognizes you today as His masterpiece

When you begin to wrap your mind around the truth of who God says you are, that opens up the doors for so many incredible things for you to experience.

And that's what I want for you because I know personally how different life feels when I'm no longer chasing the affirmation of others, I'm no longer having to battle my negative thoughts, but I can stand firm on the truth of who God says I am.

And so for you, who are you? I believe that you are made in the image of God and because you are made in the image of God, I believe that you're valuable, that you have a purpose and that you are loved.