Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd
like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward
slash connect. If you feel called to give, go
to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at
any time you feel called to make a change in
your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the
message. Good morning, everyone. How's everybody
doing today? Good. How can you not be? It's beautiful
outside. Sun is shining. Spring has sprung. If
you're joining us from home, thanks for welcoming
us into your space. One additional announcement
to the egg hunt. We're desperately in need of
candy, not eggs. candy. So if you could grab
a couple bags and bring them next week, that
would be great so we can fill thousands of eggs
for our Easter egg hunt. And I want to kick off
this morning with some good news or some bad
news. Which one do you want first? Well, I'm
going to go with good because I'm a glass half
full kind of guy. The good news is this. No matter
what you think about yourself, No matter what
anyone else has said about you, if you are in
a relationship with Jesus, the Bible tells us
that you are his masterpiece. And I don't know
about you, but that's really good news. In fact,
the Bible says in Ephesians 2, verse 10, for
we are God's masterpiece. And not only are we
his masterpiece, he has created us anew in Christ
Jesus so we can do good things. So if you're
in a relationship with Jesus, who are you? You
are a... That was really lame. You're a masterpiece.
Now the bad news is, as you just heard from the
response, most of you don't believe it. You don't
believe it. You don't. Because if you believed
it, and you received it, It would change how
you live. It would change how you think. It would
change your entire outlook on life. And the reason
you don't believe it is because you've seen masterpieces.
And in your mind, you think, I'm not one of those.
For example, you've seen the creation of Adam
in the Sistine Chapel, and you say, yep, that's
a masterpiece. You've seen Vincent Van Gogh's
The Starry Night, a masterpiece valued at over
$107 million. And you say to yourself, that's
a masterpiece. You've seen Steve Wetzel's 69
Camaro and 48 Chevy truck, and all of you agree
they are masterpieces. You've watched or seen
highlights of a perfectly pitched game. And you
thought to yourself, that is a masterpiece. So
we've all seen masterpieces. We all know what
they look like. And you think to yourself, I'm
not one of those. I'm no masterpiece. A masterpiece
doesn't have thinning hair and body aches every
morning. A masterpiece isn't underachieving in
high school or in his career. A masterpiece doesn't
have overwhelming credit card debt or a car that
is leaking oil. A masterpiece never eats a whole
bag of chips. I've seen masterpieces, Chris,
and I'm no masterpiece. So how many of you would
agree by a show of hands that the world that
we live in can be really cruel? Right? Let's
be honest. It doesn't take long before someone
cuts you down, says something negative about
you on social media, or looks at you in the face
and says you're no good. I still remember my
church planning interview. Before I planted this
church, Jess and I had to go to an interview
about a year and a half before we launched. I
wasn't feeling real well. It was my day off.
I had pink eye. I was running a slight fever.
And this is the feedback I received from three
other pastors that successfully planted churches.
Chris couldn't make eye contact with us. Shocker.
Didn't want to get you sick. Chris wasn't confident
in his ability to pastor or plant a church. Chris
didn't have a clear plan and questioned whether
I should even plant a church. And we all know
how that all worked out, don't we? See, we all
have our own version of that same experience.
The world has taught us you're not good enough,
you're not smart enough, you're not talented
enough, and you sure don't look pretty. Then
we'll even tell ourselves, I bring my best every
day, and even my best isn't good enough. I know
what a masterpiece looks like, and I'm no masterpiece.
It's a beautiful spring Sunday. Welcome to HCV,
where we make you feel good about yourselves.
See, when Paul was writing this text, he was
writing to the church gathering in Ephesus, and
those followers of Jesus knew what a masterpiece
looked like. Because every day, the people in
that church had to walk past a masterpiece. They
walked past the Temple of Artemis, a beautiful
structure considered one of the seven wonders
of the ancient world. Many people say that it
took more than 120 years to build that work of
art. And these people, they would walk by this
structure, and they would point at it, and they
would say, that's a masterpiece. And they were
reminded of what we often feel. We often feel
small, insignificant, inadequate, and unimportant.
And then all of a sudden you throw in the social
media craze of today and we're reminded every
single day that I am not an influencer. I don't
have a perfect body. I'm not on vacation like
my friend who's on their third this year. God
bless him. I'm not the perfect mom with the perfect
home making homemade meals all organic with natural
whole vegetables. I'm the mom who hasn't showered
yet today and it's chicken tenders again for
dinner. How many of you know what it feels like,
right? Can I get an amen? Thank you. And then
that voice in our head says, you're not good
enough. I'm not even sure why they love you.
You're not going to make a difference. You don't
make enough money. You don't look right. You're
not important enough. You will never be enough.
And if this is you, and you struggle with those
whispers and those thoughts like me when it comes
to self -worth, then this talk is for all of
us. Because I believe God wants to radically
transform your mind and your life this morning.
Let's invite the Holy Spirit to come and overwhelm
us today. Holy Spirit, come. God, I just pray
that you would silence any distractions from
the enemy. You would open our minds, our ears,
more importantly, our hearts to receive your
truth this morning. Change our outlook on life
today. In Jesus' name, amen. That prayer leads
us to our first thought, which is more bad news.
Without Jesus, we are not good enough. See, the
Bible teaches us that without Jesus, we are incomplete,
we are sinful, we are broken. And contrary to
pop culture and pop theology, we're not enough
without Jesus. In fact, the Bible tells us, Ephesians
2, 1 through 3, once you were dead because of
your disobedience and your many sins. In other
words, without Jesus, you're spiritually dead,
separated from God. Paul then continues, you
used to live in sin just like the rest of the
world, obeying the devil, the commander of the
powers of the unseen world. He is the spirit
at work in the hearts of those who refuse to
obey God. He is the one that whispers in our
ears, we're not good enough. All of us used to
live that way, following the passionate desires
and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our
very nature, we are subject to God's anger just
like everyone else. See, church, sometimes truth
is difficult to share, especially when it's very
unpopular in today's culture. But we're sinful.
And that word sin comes from the Greek word hagios,
and it simply means this, to miss the mark. To
miss the mark. See, our God is a holy God. He's
perfect in every way. And anytime we, we choose
to ignore, disregard, disobey, what is written
in the Bible, what the Holy Spirit speaks to
us, the Bible calls that sin. Not popular by
any means, but true. And what does sin do? Well,
see, sin separates us from a holy God. And the
reason I'm talking about this today is because
within our culture, right, it's really big now
to throw around self -esteem quotes. And not
just self -esteem quotes, self -esteem videos,
music videos, whatever it may be. They're everywhere
online. And we all like to hear them because
they make us feel good. And we think differently
about ourself. Sometimes they can be motivating.
But so many of the current cultural self -esteem
quotes are simply empty words designed to convince
us that we are okay. And the truth is, without
Jesus, we're not okay. None of us are. We're
broken. We're separated from God. We're dead
in our sins. Paul writes in Romans chapter 3,
everyone has sinned. We all fall short of God's
glorious standard. Yet everywhere we look, there's
messages about self -love, self -love, self -love.
And hear me out. I hope and want you to feel
better about yourself. But not just for yourself,
but who Jesus can be inside of you. See, the
message in our culture is about self -love. And
eventually, if we just buy into that, we're lying
to ourselves if we continue to say, I'm okay.
You're okay. You're good enough. Because without
Jesus, you're not enough. And then we simply
lie to ourself, and we never love ourself. The
Bible tells us we've sinned before a holy God.
And we have to start there and acknowledge that
truth. And it's so important because if we don't
admit that you're a sinner, if we don't admit
that we have sinned, then we don't have a need
for a savior. Who is Jesus? He is the one who
saves us from our sins, from our brokenness.
And without Jesus, we have no hope of saving
ourselves. Because church, we can never be good
enough. We can never say enough nice things.
The Bible tells us there is very, very good news
though, which leads us to our second thought.
See, God sent his son for us. John 3, 16, for
this is how God loved the world. He gave his
one and only son and notice God gave him so that
everyone who believes in him will not perish
but have eternal life. And I emphatically want
to tell you this this morning. I want you to
hear it. You are loved right now, right where
you are. You don't have to clean yourself up.
You don't have to have a better version of yourself.
You are loved just as you are. Paul says it this
way in Ephesians 2, verse 4. He writes this,
but God. And this is so good. Because notice
he started in verses one through two that it
was bad news. That we can't do it on our own.
But then he transitions and in verse four he
says, but God. But God is so rich in mercy and
he loved us so much that even though we were
dead because of our sins, he gave us life when
he raised Christ from the dead. It is only by
God's grace you have been saved. How are we made
right with God? Scripture says, but God. But
God, it is only by grace that we've been, what?
Saved. And I need to explain this point because
it's very, very important. Because remember,
the Bible teaches us you can never be good enough.
No matter how righteous you are, no matter the
attempts that you make to be good, you're not
good enough. The Old Testament, Isaiah 64, 6
is a reminder. that our best isn't good enough.
We need him. We need God. Isaiah 64, 6 says,
all of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.
Even our best efforts, whether we help the elderly,
whether we open the door for someone, our morality,
our church attendance, They're all described
as filthy rags. And you say, Chris, why? Why
are they described as filthy rags? Because in
the Old Testament, Isaiah was challenging the
people that they weren't focused on God. They
had drifted. They were doing it all in their
own strength. They were trying to earn their
way to him. And this is a reminder that we don't
earn anything. It's been given to us. We don't
fall short because we're trying our worst. We
fall short because we try our best. We can never
be holy enough. We can never be perfect enough.
How do I know that? Because you can stop swearing
and still lust. You can stop lusting and start
judging. You can stop judging and start and still
complain. You can stop complaining and then find
yourself spending way too much and drowning in
debt. It doesn't matter what it is. You can set
aside a portion of your chips, eat the portion,
and realize, I need the whole bag. Because we're
sinful people. No matter how hard we try, our
sinful nature, what to do, it pulls us away from
the heart of God. We cannot be enough, give enough,
pray enough, be holy enough because we're not
enough. Without Jesus, we are not enough. Paul
writes it this way in Romans chapter five, verses
eight and 11. And notice, notice church, the
connection in Paul's writing between Romans and
Ephesians. Notice how he starts off verse eight,
but God. And what's he trying to remind us of?
He said, it's but God. But God showed his great
love for us by sending Christ to die for us while
we were still sinners. So now, what can we do
now? We can rejoice. We can rejoice in our wonderful
new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus
Christ has made us friends with God. Friends,
this is good news. And it's good news that God
wants us to not only embrace, not only accept,
but live out. Because when we live this out,
we change the world. Which leads us to our key
verse and action steps. How do we defeat self
-doubt? How do we defeat those voices in our
mind that tell us you're no good? Well, first,
you got to accept I am a masterpiece. You've
got to accept it. You've got to receive it. You've
got to apply it. Ephesians 2 .10, we are God's
masterpiece. And the bad news, again, without
Jesus, you're not enough. The good news, with
Jesus, you're not enough. You're his masterpiece.
You are a masterpiece of God in Christ Jesus.
So with Christ, with Jesus, in that relationship,
you don't just become good enough. You don't
just become average. Masterpiece. Now, what does
that mean? Well, the word masterpiece comes from
the Greek word poema. And you can hear it in
there. We get our word poetry from that word.
So it's a beautiful word. And a good translation
of poema is this. God's poetic statement created
by God for God's divine purpose. So that's your
life. Let me read that again. This is your life.
God's poetic statement created by God for God's
divine purpose. So who are you? Or if you're
in a relationship with Jesus, you're a masterpiece
of God. And the Greek language actually takes
it a step further and adds more words to this
verse that are very important because it explains
to us, but God. See, it's not just the word poema.
It actually reads, And the very first word in
that statement is the word auto, which means
of him, by him, and for him. So the literal word
order is this. Of him, we are a masterpiece.
From him, we are a masterpiece. By him, we are
a masterpiece. So notice, it's from God, of God,
and by God. It's no one else. So you become who
God says you are. So if you're in a relationship
with Jesus, of God, for God, and by God, you
are his masterpiece. It's all good news. You
want to know what the bad news is? Most of you
don't believe it. You look in the mirror and
you think I'm no masterpiece. You look in the
mirror and you see your mistakes. How you tore
down your wife. How you tore down your husband.
How you yelled at your children. How you lost
it at work. And see, those things go into our
minds and then that's where all the voices come
from. So what we're going to do right now as
a community of faith, if you're in a relationship
with Jesus, we are going to declare it. Are you
ready to declare it? And you guys are, ooh. Got
to stop looking in the mirror, man. Okay, you
look in the mirror and you reflect on things
you got to change, but it overwhelms you. No,
you got to start declaring it. So let's say it
together. Are you ready? I am. I am a masterpiece.
I am a masterpiece. We're getting there. We're
getting there. I am a masterpiece. Thank you,
Timmy. I was making sure your lips were moving.
I am a masterpiece. All right. You don't have
to yell. You don't have to yell. You don't have
to make up for the people that lips aren't moving.
But let's take it a step further. Because I have
you declare that, but think about this. God knew
you were a masterpiece before you were ever born.
David wrote these words in Psalm 139, 13 through
14. You made all the delicate inner parts of
my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.
Your workmanship is marvelous. A masterpiece.
How well. I know it. In him, by him, for him,
you are a masterpiece created in Christ Jesus
to do good works, which he prepared in advance
for you to do. See, you're a masterpiece of God,
created for divine purposes to do works God had
for you to do before you were even born, which
leads us to our next step. See, we have to realize
we aren't saved by good works, but for good works.
See, it's not anything that we do that saves
us or makes us more like God. No, he has works
for us to do. Ephesians 2, Dan, for we are God's
masterpiece. He created us anew in Christ Jesus
so we can do the good things he planned for us
long ago. So in other words, we're not saved
by good works, but for good works. We're not
saved by what we do or save, but because we are
saved. And when we give our life to Jesus, he
created us as a masterpiece for his purpose.
Paul says these words right before verse 10,
verses 8 through 9. God saved you by his grace
when you believed. Don't take credit for this.
It's a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward
for the good things we have done because we're
not good enough. So none of us can boast about
it. See, we are made by God for a purpose. And
that purpose isn't for you. Let's not get it
mixed up. Pop culture tells us, just do you.
Don't let anybody tell you not to do you. Do
you. When in reality, life's not all about you.
See, we're created by God to serve him and glorify
him by loving people. Dr. Miles Monroe was quoted
as saying, when the purpose of a thing is unknown,
abuse is inevitable. Let me read that again.
When the purpose of a thing is unknown, abuse
is inevitable. Meaning, without understanding
the original intent or design of something, it
will be misused, wasted, or ruined. For example,
check this out. Everyone see this? Someone zoom
in there so that they can see it on the screen.
Everyone see that? What is this thing? It's silicone.
Let me tell you what it's not. It's not an elementary
school science project or experiment. Anybody
have any ideas? We purchased this on Amazon.
And Stephen and I tried to find the most obscure
creation ever. We felt that this fit the bill.
So in order for us to know what it is, who do
we have to ask? We have to ask the person. That
designed or created it. Would you like to know
the answer? There you go. Fun and functional
soap dispenser. Soft to the touch. High elasticity.
Durable build. A great way to teach your children
how to pick their nose. Now, let's all remember,
let's all remember what Dr. Monroe said. When
the purpose of a thing is unknown, abuse is inevitable.
Which points out to all the addictions, all the
brokenness, and all the sin in our world. Why
are so many people addicted, struggling on social
media? Addicted to their phones. Why? Because
abuse is inevitable. Dr. Monroe would go on to
say after making that statement to truly understand
the purpose of a thing, one should ask its creator
rather than relying on speculation. In other
words, if you want to know your purpose, don't
ask your best friend. Please don't ask Facebook.
Please don't ask chat GBT or whatever it's called.
If you want to know your purpose, ask one person,
and that person's name is Jesus. Because you
were created for him, by him, and through him.
Because you are God's masterpiece. So reflect
on this just for a second. There may be someone
here today that God created you to pray for that's
sitting near you before they walk out of this
building. That's your assignment. There may be
someone in your life who can't pay a bill right
now and you can. And God created you, gave the
ability to help that person in need. There may
be someone you know who's distant, far from God,
caught in an addiction and you have the light
and love and grace of Jesus living inside of
you. And you were created on purpose to show
the love of God to that friend so they can experience
the grace that you walk in. You were created
by God, for God, by him for a divine purpose.
And see, everyone loves the word purpose. It's
a cool word. Not sin, though. Let's not talk
about sin. But purpose, everybody wants purpose.
I need a job with purpose. I want a relationship
with purpose. I want a hobby with purpose. But
as a follower of Jesus, listen, you don't find
purpose. You bring purpose to everything you
do. Have you ever looked at it that way? Everywhere
you walk, you bring the purpose of God because
you know why? You are a masterpiece. There is
purpose in your parenting. You may be hot. You
may be sweaty. You might have to change diapers
and you're disciplining all the wrong actions.
But listen, keep at it because you're raising
a generation to know, love, and serve in the
kingdom of God. There's purpose in the way you
interact with people at work because you're not
just doing a job. You're everything for that
job and you're bringing God's glory into the
midst of it. There's purpose in how you manage
your money. Stop wasting it and start stewarding
it because God gave it to you so you can further
his kingdom. There is purpose in how you interact
with everyone that you come across because you
were designed by him, for him, through him for
the purpose that he gave you in advance. How
do I know that? It's all good because Romans
8, 28, a very powerful verse that many in the
church memorize but miss. And we know that God
causes everything to work together for the good
of those who love God. And then they stop right
there. Oh, this struggle that I'm going through,
it's God. God's going to bring me out on the
other end. But look at the end of it. He causes
everything to work together for the good of those
who love God and are called according to his
purpose. Purpose for them. If you want to know
the purpose of the thing, don't ask the thing.
Don't ask the thing's friends. Ask the one who
created the thing. Go to the Father, and the
Father will speak love into your heart. The good
news is that you're a masterpiece. The bad news
is most of you don't believe this. So I want
to say it to you again. I want to say it by faith.
And I want you to declare it with your mouth
boldly. Are you ready? I am a masterpiece. Oh
no, not me. I'm a mess. Good, so am I. And you
know something we learned last week? It's okay
to not be okay. We're a new creation in Jesus.
We're a new creation and we still do dumb things.
In fact, someone asked Michelangelo. How he made
his masterpiece right there. Everyone knows that
masterpiece. And of course I'm only showing you
the waist up. Because you know. They forgot to
put an athletic supporter on that. On that masterpiece.
And I just learned this during the first gathering.
I just learned this during the first gathering.
Check this out. Two other artists. Disgraced.
And threw away this rock, said there's nothing
good that can come out of it. When Michelangelo
was asked the question, how did you create this
masterpiece? He responded, I created a vision
of David in my mind and simply carved away everything
that was not David. Man, the Holy Spirit's here.
Do you feel that? You feel that, don't you? God
created you in his mind as his masterpiece. And
even though you're still a mess, do you know
what God is doing? He's chipping away everything
that isn't Jesus in you. He's working in you.
You know that pain that you're going through
right now? That's sharpening you so that you
can help someone else go through the same pain.
You know that struggle that you're going through
right now to pay a bill? He's sending someone
to help you pay that bill. So that you can give
glory back to God and then you'll do the same
for someone else. When you wake up tomorrow morning
and you think in your mind, I got problems. I
get it. We all do. But sometimes we're focusing
on and obsessing over the wrong problems. We
think about, oh, I always date the wrong man.
Oh, I overspend again. I'm always yelling at
my kids. And we try to solve those problems when
in reality, don't solve those problems. That's
not the real problem. It's a symptom of the real
problem. The real problem is a false identity.
That's the problem. And the only way you solve
a false identity is by receiving and accepting
what? A new identity. And that new identity by
God, through God, for God is from his grace.
And you come alive in Jesus and you start to
walk out and become his masterpiece. Stop overthinking
it and start living it. Without Jesus, you're
not enough. You're incomplete. You're broken.
You're dissatisfied. But with Jesus and in his
name, I declare you are a masterpiece. Will you
stand with me? I want to invite everyone now.
Heck, I'm not even going to invite you. I'm going
to tell you to do it. Is it okay if I do that?
I have a little bit of authority up here. I'm
not gonna ask you to do it. I'm not gonna invite
you to do it because I want you to do it because
I want you to receive this truth to be washed
over you, amen? So if you could, please, just
put your hands like this. Everyone in the house.
I'm gonna invite the Holy Spirit to come. When
I invite the Holy Spirit to come, I want you
to shut your eyes. I want you to focus on nothing.
Other than the words being sung by this man right
behind me. And I want you to see, receive those
words. And allow them to wash through your mind,
your spirit, and your body. So that we can walk
out of this place anew. Amen? Can we do that?
Alright. Holy Spirit, come. There's nothing else
you have to be You are a masterpiece I'm looking
at a masterpiece Breathing melodies There's nothing
else you have to be You're already a masterpiece
It's easy to look in my past It's harder to see
where I'm going it's easy to see my regrets but
it's harder to know that I'm chosen that's when
you find me you take me by the hand you tell
me child come home you remind me who I am I am
a master There's nothing else I have to be. I
am a masterpiece. I'm looking at a masterpiece,
breathing melodies. There's nothing else I have
to be. Breathing holy melodies. There's nothing
else I have to be. He created me a masterpiece.
I'm looking at a masterpiece. Breathing melodies.
Every scar leads me to be his masterpiece. The
Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead
lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus
from the dead, He will give life to your mortal
bodies by the same Spirit living within you.
You're a masterpiece. And if you're here this
morning and you're trying to do it in your own
strength, and you're just tripping through life,
God's inviting you to come home. And every Sunday
we pray this simple prayer together because we
invite you to be a part of our new family. A
family of believers that receive the truth that
we're masterpieces and desire to go forth and
transform our community so that God can get the
glory. So we're going to pray a simple prayer.
And if you're distant, far from God, don't know
if you're in a relationship with him, pray these
words with us so that we can go forth and make
a difference together. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm
full of doubt, shame, regret, sin. Change me.
Forgive me. I believe you're God's son. I believe
you died for me. I believe you're alive today.
Make me new. Set me free. Fill me with your spirit.
Help me, God, to serve others. In Jesus' name,
amen. Hold on. Hold on. Before we go, there were
several words of knowledge I want to share with
you. If you're here, you're not sure what that
is. Our prayer team has been praying all week.
And they heard from God about some issues that
you could be struggling with. You have lower
back pain on your right side that is tight and
is causing you difficulties to walk. You have
numbness or tingling in your fingers caused by
arthritis or nerve damage in your arm. You are
overwhelmed with anxiety to the point that you
feel like you can't get out of bed. You are here
and you struggle. with OCD. If any of those are
you, our prayer team will be on my right and
my left. And if you are struggling with self
-worth and identity issues, hey, get up here.
Get up here and get some prayer because God wants
to radically change you. Friends, listen, we're
two short weeks from celebrating Easter in our
community of faith. And there's people in your
sphere of influence that are hungry, searching,
and desire a relationship with God. And you are
the masterpiece to invite and include them to
be a part of what God is doing here. Amen? So
don't take this lightly. Don't take this as a
feel -good talk. Receive it, embrace it, and
go change the world. Because that's what God
wants you to do. Amen? All right, I'm going to
that door, so keep it shut so I can say goodbye
to you. God bless you guys. We close the series
next week.