Its so hard to believe that we are only one week away from the conclusion of The Truth Project that weve been on. Wow! That does not seem possible. Ephesians 2:10, were going to read this together out loud, For we are Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. By the way, the word workmanship is the word from which we get poem from. Its the word that means poema, that which has been made. Its meaning that we are an expression of Gods creativity. He has created us to be an expression of Him. We are His workmanship. So turn to someone near you and say, You are a beautiful poem or something like that. Then you may be seated. Id sure like to know what all those little conversations sounded like. Mine sure didnt come out too well; what I was trying to say didnt come out right. Have you taken some time to look at some of the works of art that are up here in the front and in the foyer as you came in? Everything you see, everything that was on display has been made from somebody in our church. So, it shows some of the creativity that is in this body. We definitely have some artistic people here, dont we? I hope if youve not done so, youll take a look at them before you go. Let me ask you a question; answer with a raise of hands. How many of you see yourselves as creative people? How many of you say, Im a creative person? Okay. Thats pretty good. That was close to half. Im going to say normally its about a quarter when we ask that question. Now for this, Im not going to ask you to raise your hand, but I want to talk about some creative things, and you check off the list of these things that youve done. How many of you have ever written a story? How many of you have ever written a poem? Or a play? How many of you have written a sermon? Or a lesson plan? A skit? How many of you here have designed a craft, a flower arrangement, a floor plan or have invented something? How about a landscape design? What about those who have designed a house or a machine? A computer program or a website? A multi-media? A play for a sports team that you coach? How many have made-with your hands-a painting, a drawing, or pottery? What about furniture? How many have renovated a house, a car, or a room? How many have fabricated metal and enjoyed it? You did something, you created something, and when you were finished, you said, That felt good. Im pleased with that. I feel good inside about what I just designed, made, or built. Let me ask you the question again, considering that list. How many of you would identify yourselves as creative people? Let me see your hands. Many more hands go up this time because sometimes our view of creativity is too narrow. We start reading that list, and we think, You know, I guess I am a little creative. It should not be a surprise because you and I are created by a creative God. Think about it, God has never stopped creating. Every second a life comes into the world, God is creating all the time. Each of those lives is unique. Each of those lives has a unique face, a unique personality, a unique expression of the Creator. Billions and billions of people, and none of us are the same. Our God is an amazingly creative God. Paul writes in Ephesians that when we express that creativity, we are expressing God. We are part of what it means to be made in the image of God because God is creative; so when we create, we are being like our Father. Ephesians 2:10, we are going to break this down. Paul says, We are Gods workmanship. We are Gods poem. This answers the who we are question. This is vitally important. This is the question of our personhood, who we are. The worth of something is determined by who made an object or a thing. If I were to take a canvas and put paint on it, it would actually de-value the canvas. People would look at that and say, Why? What were you thinking? Why would you even try to do something like that? Im less of a person for having viewed what you have painted on that canvas. However, if an artist were to take that canvas and put paint on it, as Im looking at Tim Bales painting right here, that becomes something that is good to look at. If youre an artist, you put paint on there, and its worth something of value. How many of you have heard of Pablo Picasso, a Spanish artist? Cubism, I think, is his specialty-putting eyes where ears should be. There was a man who collected replicas of Pablo Picassos work, of course, because originals are worth millions of dollars. Most people cant afford them. One day, he was going through a second-hand store. In the back of the store was a replica of one of Pablo Picassos works. Hed never seen it before. So he paid the $200 to the store keeper. He took it home and brushed it off. He began looking at it. Soon he began to wonder, Is it a fake? Is it a copy? Could this be real? He could see brush strokes on the painting. He sent it off to the art institute. They determined it was, in fact, an original Pablo Picasso worth millions of dollars. They interviewed the store owner on CNN. He was like, Yeah, it was one of my favorite paintings. Thats why I put it in the back. I didnt want anybody to buy it, really. You know hes kicking himself because he could have been a millionaire and didnt realize it. Why was it worth millions of dollars? Because of who made it. Picasso did. Its worth that much because its a one of a kind. There is no other like it. Its not a copy-its the original. Because of who made it and because of its rarity, it has enormous value. So Paul speaks to us, especially those of us who sometimes struggle with poor self-esteem. He says, I want you to know something. You have enormous value because of who made you and because of how rare you are. You are one of a kind. You are workmanship designed by God. You are a unique creation and expression of the Designer of the universe. You are a thought in the mind of God, and you are an expression of His personhood. Paul talks about, secondly, our purpose, the fact that God didnt just create us. He has a purpose in creating us. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to sit in a church and do nothing until the day we die or He returns. Is that when is says we become a Christian? Were created in Christ Jesus to do. This is a purpose statement, okay? Hes about to say something significant here. Hes saying, This is why you are in Christ. You are in Christ to do what? What does it say? Good works. Now, dont get confused and say that good works earns you a trip to Heaven because Paul just went on to explain that we are saved by grace through faith, not of yourselves. It is the gift of God less any man should boast. However, once we do come to Christ, our lives should be characterized by ministry. Were called to express what God has placed within us. To not do so is to not live out our purpose. The church is not just about a place to be ministered to. It is that. Its also a place where we minister. What does Paul say in the Book of Ephesians? God gave pastors to equip the saints for what? For works of service. You and I are called to serve Christ. Soon well have Christmas trees in our home, and soon presents will be under those trees, presents we bought for loved ones and family and presents that have bought by others for us. Theyll have our names on them. The interesting thing about Gods gift is Gods gift is a gift given to you for other people. Thats pretty unique. Normally, if I receive a gift, its for me. Now, if I have the gift of teaching, or preaching, and some of you may beg to differ with that, its not for me. I dont go home and look in the mirror and say, Okay, open your Bible up to… Let me show you some things, pal. Its not for me. I actually used to do that when I was fresh out of the blocks. Id get my Bible and go to the mirror and give my sermon. Somebody said that would help. It didnt. I was even nervous to talk to myself. My gift is for you. Your gift is for me. Its reciprocal. Its not a one-way street. If all I am doing is being ministered and ministered to and soaking it up like a sponge, thats not how God intended us to be. God says we receive and we give. Were ministered to, and we minister using the gifts and abilities and talents God gave for the glory of God, for the building up of the body of Christ, and to make this world a better place. So that answers our purpose. Were here to do good work, which God prepared beforehand. Do you see that? God prepared this in advance. That has to do with our plan. We dont come into the world and then God says, Oh, I didnt expect them. I better figure out what I am going to do here with this guy or Hmmm, I didnt expect her to be born, but now that shes here, I better come up with something. What can this person do? It didnt work that way. It said, God prepared the works that we are to walk in in advance. In advance of what? In advance of you. God knew you would be born, and before you were born, David tells us in Psalms 1:39 that God knew you. God knew you while you were still in the womb, and God had a plan for you. Have you ever tried to design something, live out something, without a plan? I tried one time to landscape an area of my house without a plan. It didnt work well. I said, I can do this pretty well, so Im just going to dig and plant and kind of make it up as I go. It wasnt good. It wasnt good, was it (looking at Brenda)? She just smiles. So we had to dig it up, and I tried again the next year. It was better, but it still was actually not good. This year, I said, Ive got ideas, and Im going to get some help. So, I called a local landscaper, and I said, Here are my ideas. He said, Those are good ideas, but here are some things to think about as youre putting this together. I said, No, I want different colors for different seasons. Help me to know what plants work in what areas. Together, we came up with a plan. I took his plan and made a lot of changes, but basically, we worked together, and I had a plan. I knew what plant was going to go in what spot. Now I look at it and think, Okay. We can live with this because there is a plan. Sometimes people will say they want to start a ministry at Faith Community Church. We dont just say, Go at it! Go get it! and have them create as they go. If you start a ministry at our church, the first thing youre going to get is a form that says the words Strategic Plan. What does that mean? That means we want to know these things: Number one: What is your purpose? Number two: Does your purpose coincide or work with the purpose of our church? What are the four critical success factors of your plan? What has to happen in order for that plan to succeed? What kind of people have to be plugged into this ministry to make it go? What should their gifts and their passions be? What are your goals for this ministry? They have to come up with this plan. A lot of times, things dont come into being because people just didnt want to put in the work. The ones that do put in the work, those plans stick around, dont they Pastor Sean? If they will take the time to put in a plan, and put that plan into operation, it goes. Thats why when we say if you want to plug into ministry at Faith Community, we dont just turn you loose. You come to something called GPS. In GPS, we help you help discover your gifts and your passion and where you should serve. Its an assessment. Then, theres a consultation. We say, We think this might be a good way for you to go. We point you in a direction. You go, and its trial and error. Eventually, we find your nitch. Its young and old. I want my children to serve the Lord. They do. They have areas of ministry they have to plug into in our church. It doesnt matter if youre young; it doesnt matter if youre retired. You never stop serving the Lord. You never stop living out Ephesians 2:10. All of us should be engaged in ministry for the glory of God and the building up of the Body of Christ until the day we die. God says thats why were here. Some of us dont do that. Look at the last part, the way it ends here, …which God prepared in advance for us to do. Some translations render …that we should walk in them. That has to do with our path. Thats where we should go. Were called to walk in the steps that God has given us to walk in. I want you to read Ephesians 2:10 with me again. When he says the word we here, For we are, who is he talking to? Us, the church. We, the church, are His workmanship. Are you part of the church? Say yes? Yes. So, this is you. Paul is speaking to you. So we can say this in the first person. In fact, this would be a very good way to start your day. Some of you might even want to make this a little morning ritual. When you get up, you say this verse in the first person, okay? Lets do this right now. Lets read it in the first person, for I am. For I am Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for me to do. Wouldnt that be a great way to start a day? Then you simply say a prayer and say, Okay, Lord, Im here. You show me what Im to walk in. You show me the path today that Im to follow. Unless I hear different from You, I know where Im going today, and Im going to represent you the best I can. Im going to serve you the best I can. You offer up that prayer to the Lord, make this a confession of faith and start your day. Sometimes we dont do that. Sometimes we dont live out what God has called us to do. One thing Ive noticed about God is that His plans never change. I noticed that God is relentless. Sometimes people will come up to me and say, You know, I feel like I really should have been in the ministry. Ill say, Whats stopping you? I really feel like I should have gone in the mission field. Whats stopping you? Why arent you preparing that? You feel that inside, that burning, and it goes away for awhile, but eventually, it comes back. Usually, it intensifies. Sometimes people will be 40, 50, 60 years old and say, I wish I would have gone into the ministry. Well, go for it! If God has put that plan in your heart, and by the way, His plan unfolds, it doesnt just boom! there it is. Its an unfolding. A couple of years ago, Pastor Sean and I were talking and he said, Eventually, Im going to go on the mission field. We talked about it, and he said, I dont have a clue? I am really very happy where I am. I dont want to go anywhere. Im very happy in Janesville. I love my job. Love my church. Love my house. I love Janesville. Everythings great! A year later, we met, and he says, I think God wants us in Haiti. I thought, Haiti?! Voo Doo! What are you doing?? But he said, This is what God has called. This is Gods will for our family, so were going to follow that. Whenever God calls you, wherever He calls you, its never too late to do what God has called you to do. Its never too late to be who God desires you to be, to express that creativity. Michael Angelo was once asked, When you look at a big block of marble, what do you see? Michael Angelo said, I see a work of art inside that I have to take my hammer and chisel to. My responsibility is simply to let it out. He said, I see it entrapped inside of there, and I have to let it out. For some of us, that creativity-that expression of God-is trapped inside of us, and we havent let it out. Maybe we havent let it out because of something our parents have said or what others have said about our gifts or talents. We have failed. Maybe theyre tried to put us into a different mode than the way God has made us, so its a self-confidence issue. Lets take a look right now at a short skit from Willow Creek called Wonderfully Made, which talks about that. (For a fee, you can download it at this site: http://www.willowcreek.com/product.asp?invtid=PR00535&action=details) Lets pray: Father, we thank You for our personhood. We have been made in Your image, that we are Your workmanship. Because of who made us, and because we are one of a kind, we have infinite worth. You made us with purpose, for good works, to express You through our lives, to minister. You have a plan, not haphazard. The what question has been answered-what we are to do. Where we are to go, our path, is set. Lord, help us to not let anything thwart that, the schedule that we keep, the things that have been said, self-confidence that we struggle with, but let us take that risk of faith, take that action step to thank You for who You made us-to be that and allow that to come out of us to bless Your name. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

11-26-06
Speaker: Pastor Jeff Williams
Series: The Truth Project