Project: Workmanship
Notes
Transcript
Project: Workmanship
Project: Workmanship
Ephesians 2:2–10 (NKJV)
2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Andy Stanley wrote in Visioneering, Pg 13,
“Don’t let this slip by. You are his workmanship. Do you know what that means? It means you are the product of God’s vision. God has decided what you could be. You are the outcome of something God envisioned. And through Christ he has brought about, and continues to bring about, changes in you in accordance with his picture of what you could and should be.”
Think about all the great examples of the faith. It does not just happen.
God has already prepared the way.
We must walk it.
God has already given us the tools we would need.
We need to pick them up.
We must live up to what God has designed us to be.
There are some who think they can dictate to God what they should look like. What we want God to turn us into. The first step to being everything God wants us to be means coming to the realization that we lost that right at Calvary. We could easily get our feathers ruffled and say wait a minute, Pastor, I accept Jesus Christ as my saviour but I know where I want to be and what I want my future to look like.
My response is, “How is that working for you.” Not many of us came to Christ because our life was going good and we just knew Jesus would make it better. No, most of came to Christ because our life was messed up and we made so many bad choices and left up to our own devices we would probably do it again. This is why we want to reach people all ages, but especially children. Prevent the regrets. Less that Jesus has to put back together again.
We are His workmanship. One song I really like is Virtuoso by David Phelps. A virtuoso is someone with a special knowledge of or interest in works.
Our heart is His instrument and our life is His song.
A timeless melody of beauty and emotion.
No one else can play its chords so graceful, so strong.
You made the instrument and wrote the song.
Virtuoso
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
God places a desire in your heart.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
And then he fulfills it.
Example:
When I was pregnant with Elizabeth, it was so wonderful. It seemed like forever until I felt her move the first time. This was the desire to have children that God had placed. But to be honest, there were a few times I was concerned about what I would have to give up. If I wanted to pick something up for myself within reason, I could. Now there was going to be another person in the house and things would change. Really, how would I feel?
The day Elizabeth was born and I saw her for the first time, the fulfillment of my desire of a child came to pass. My fears vanished. I did not think of myself. All I wanted to do was to give my baby everything. I felt the same way with the boys. Life is a gift.
Let us look at a couple of people:
Moses:
11 Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
God had placed a desire in Moses’ heart to see his people free. He took matters into his own hands and it cost the death of a man.
30 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
There was 40 years from the time the desire was birthed to the time it was fulfilled.
Conclusion:
Will we make the decision to live up to God’s expectations? There will be those who will tell us what can or can not be. When someone tells me I can not do something, I take it as a challenge.
Just “Say, I Won’t”
Video
Say I Won't
MercyMe
Today
It all begins
I'm seeing my life for the very first time
Through a different lens
Yesterday
I didn't understand
Driving 35 with the rocket inside
Didn't know what I had
While I've been waiting to live
My life's been waiting on me
I'm gonna run
No, I'm gonna fly
I'm gonna know what it means to live
And not just be alive
The world's gonna hear
'Cause I'm gonna shout
And I will be dancing when circumstances drown the music out
Say I won't
Not enough
Is what I've been told
But it must be a lie
'Cause the Spirit inside says I'm so much more
So let them say what they want
Oh, I dare them to try
I'm gonna run
No, I'm gonna fly
I'm gonna know what it means to live
And not just be alive
The world's gonna hear
'Cause I'm gonna shout
And I will be dancing when circumstances drown the music out
Say I won't
Say I won't
Say I won't
Say I won't
I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
So keep on saying I won't
And I'll keep proving you wrong
I'm gonna run
No, I'm gonna fly
I'm gonna know what it means to live
And not just be alive
This world's gonna hear, whoa
'Cause I'm gonna shout
And I will be dancing when circumstances drown the music out
Say I won't
Say I won't
Say that I won't
Oh, say I won't
Say I won't
Are you not living in this kind of relationship? Are you waiting to live? We only truly live in Jesus Christ. Everything else is a delusion. It is a lie.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.