Your Divine Design - You're a Masterpiece in the Making, Part 1

If you can ask God for an extreme makeover look like you know God is in the extreme makeover business right what's old you would like to become. This may be an attitude relationship may be at your heart and God's loving masterful hands. He longs to help you with the makeover today were to learn how we can change the most important things in your life would make you the person he longs for you to be greatly enjoy welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Living on the Edge features the Bible to almost daily discipleship program. This program Chip begins a new series called your divine design how to discover, develop, and support your spiritual if you've ever wondered who God really made every couple weeks to play out with us gifts are to blame either and how God is uniquely gifted you personally miss a message there available on the chipping roadmap or online anytime LivingontheEdge.org and just before we get started, there's a ton of material that Chip shares on his message so maybe take a second and Only notes if you're on the do a quick download from the broadcast that LivingontheEdge.org Nellis Georgia for his message.

You're a masterpiece of the making of Ephesians chapter 2 as we get started I want to make a confession that you make three real small confessions brace yourself and if you don't know me very well.

I don't want to be too vulnerable to early my first confession is I do not watch a lot of prime time TV and I do not like okay I don't like TV a whole lot.

There's not a lot of good things to watch just to confession my second confession is of all the things on prime time TV that I hate that I loathe his reality shows you notice in last few years. I mean reality. This reality that I mean I just hate reality shows.

So here's a guy that doesn't like TV a whole lot and he loathes reality shows, so you ready for this, my third confession. I watched a reality show recently. Yes, I did and I loved it. It was called extreme makeover Home edition and I had taught that night.

It was a Sunday night and I came home and wanted to relax and I turned it on. I had no idea what was going on. But before I knew it, here is this guy and he had like six kids or five kids and four of them were teenagers and to begin to unfold the story and his wife had died about a year and 1/2 or two years ago and you can tell from the little little snippets they gave that he was a believer in Christ. And I mean he was now working two jobs trying to be a dad in any kind.

The thought of his wife was brought up.

You know he would begin to tear up and it was a really close knit family and eat your heart. Just begin to break and apparently the theme of this program extreme makeover is they find people in very difficult situations and then they have a team of construction people and designers, and then they go into the neighborhood and to the relational network.

In this case they went to this guy's church and they went to his neighbors and ask them to donate their skills and they brought in a group of pros and then they take the family away out of it's for a week or 10 days or how they do it. I get that much into it but then they totally revamp the house. Now it looks a little bit like it used to look on the outside but I mean they knocked out walls that increase the square footage they put in an upper floor they redid a room for every one of the kids and and each one of them was designed according to the needs of the people.

The dad was working two jobs just to make it now and so they created this unbelievable office so he could do a second job at home before teenagers no hope of going to college you were financially strapped into the one was kind of a strong guy and he was working out, they created an indoor gym with the spiral staircase and they had every piece of equipment you can imagine.

And then one of the girls had this artistic flair and she had this dream of maybe being a designer and artist in her room. I mean the bed they could pull out the bad and she could do drawings. One of the other kids had this this dream about working with animals and so everything in the room.

There was an aquarium in the bedspreads and the pillows and everything was about animals. Every room was designed around the desires and the gifts to help their life and their family function in a way that would be extremely different and extremely more wonderful than before.

And then they bring the family back in and they look at the house from the street and all the neighbors who helped her there, you know, and they're all cheer and it's going crazy and he pulled his big truck and then the truck goes away and they look at their house and then they walk in and open the door and then this this is what happens. The tears start going down there eyes dad and then they just walking from room to room to room and they tell them why they created this room for them and how to help their family and I meet the people you can tell I don't think the people who run the show were necessarily Christians at all, but when they love someone that much, they start crying. The neighbor start crying. The people get low start crying I'm on my couch thought I reality shows. This is what I made him cry room and I thought to myself Ingram, this is ridiculous and so I did a little research and I found out that there's not one reality show is a movement I actually little research. Not only do they do extreme makeover for houses they do extreme makeover for cars to take old cars and then they turn them into spiffy cars.

They do extreme makeovers for motorcycles. In fact I found there's a channel that I think the only thing that shows the chop shop and I keep you know, making the redoing of motorcycles on good authority. I have a friend who tells me they have extreme makeovers for pets you bring your ugly motto come out woo hoo unbelievable they do extreme makeovers. This is this is one I do confess out of pure curiosity. They actually do it for people me this week but when I saw I okay. The fourth confession.

I guess they took a lady who was significantly overweight and who, by her admission and everyone else's not very attractive. And they did everything to her.

You could ever do on it was scary scary and she got a facelift.

She got a life of suction. She got new dental work she did like her drawl.

They broke it gave her a new one. They did implants in all kind of places that cut stuff off at all, other places in just to let your imagination know where it goes but I mean you know there's a lady and came in about a size 40 and then they took a hairdresser and then they took an expert in clothing and a designer and about out in about three months later she ended up on the top of the staircase and she walked down the staircase.

All her friends and neighbors and her kids you know and if you get a facelift and just imagine from the neck down all the other things that occurred and I still remember they went and I just thought to myself. Unbelievable.

I mean, she had more plastic surgery done on her body than I think is humanly possible and I thought to myself, man. We are into this extreme makeover stuff and then I asked myself. Okay, what is an extreme makeover and and why are we so fascinated by it and I let give you definition what I think an extreme makeover is it is the process of taking something that is old, broken, imperfect damaged or not useful and re-creating it into something that is whole, useful, beautiful, attractive and new and and then I asked will what is it about something that's old it's made new something gets broken and made whole, something that isn't right and then is made beautiful and useful.

What is it about that. That really attracts us, and there may be a lot of reasons, but let me give you my top three. The first is I think we all inwardly love to see positive change. I just in a my human heart. I love to see positive change member, even as a kid you not. What I found when as a kid and I found a penny on that was really cool and we had the stuff we you could rub stuff on an old you keep any and it would become a bright shiny penny and be like me only. What is that there's something about seeing positive change that is so exciting for all of us as human beings. The second reason is I think our curiosity is riveted by the skill and creativity involved in making the old and new in the broken hole and taking that which was un-beautiful and then making it beautiful to me, the curiosity, I looked it. This extreme makeover thing and I was asking myself how they knock out a whole wall that house doesn't look big enough to have two stories now. The third reason I think were fascinated by extreme makeovers. Is this. I think all of us secretly long for an extreme makeover in some area of our lives, relationships see I'm just like you and I think down deep in my heart.

Down deep in your heart I long for. I like to be different. I like to take something old in me and make it new. I like to take a broken relationship and see it hole. I want to see positive change and you know what, rather than feeling bad about that I think is God-given.

I think it's rooted in the spiritual DNA of your creator in your heart and your life that you want an extreme makeover because I'm gonna suggest that the ultimate extreme makeover is Jesus Christ working in the human heart and taking that which was old and make it new Jesus Christ working in a human heart and taking that which is broken and fixing it taking that which is unuseful and dysfunctional and making it useful and functional and winsome and beautiful. In fact, I believe our fascination with makeovers is rooted in the author of extreme makeovers himself. The ultimate extreme makeover. Second Corinthians 517 says therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation the old has passed away. The new has come. God's desire.

Listen to this gods desire the one who created all that there is the one who created you, his desire is to do an extreme makeover for every single person on this planet and extreme makeover you as fascinated as I was with the woman before picture after picture as amazing as it was to see the house look like this and then a house look like this. God wants to do a relational spiritual, emotional, internal for every transformation and every man, every woman, every child he wants to do a re-creation. He wants to take the old and put it away.

He wants something new to come in. You want to open door in your heart and life in a relationship with Christ that gives you new desires and a new future and a new purpose and a new life in a new piece and he wants to take the old and forgive and want to take the old he wants to cleanse and wants to put your past behind you. God wants to do an extreme makeover in your life and mine in the way he does it is through his son Jesus. Know what I like to do. Are you ready for a little analysis I like you to open your Bibles to the book of Ephesians and I want to spend a little time and ask ourselves how does it work okay if we if we were doing extreme makeover with God, we would say how he do that how'd he do that in the book of Ephesians working to learn exactly how he did that this beginning chapter 2 and notice who you used to be over here is the before picture in a minute will see the after picture the first three verses of Ephesians 2 is getting give you the before before the spiritual plastic surgery before they came in and knocked out the drywall and put in the second-floor notice what it says. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live in. You follow the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, and the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us. No exceptions also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest we were by nature, objects of wrath that we could spend a lot of time studying this, but I can give you three quick observations about how you used to be before Christ, or where you are at. If you don't know them personally number one it says we were dead in our transgressions, theologically, that that just means we are separated from the life of God.

We are separated from God. There is a wall there's a barrier we are separated from relationship with the God who made his second, you'll notice were prisoners of the world system. The ruler of the power of the air were prisoners. Two addictions were prisoners to do functional relationships were prisoners to been addicted the pleasing people and finally notice it says that were objects of wrath there is just judgment for living in a way that hurts people. The stealing and the lying and manipulation in the image casting and the things that we all have done and God says this is who you used to be. You used to be dead. You used to be a prisoner you used to be an object of wrath, but notice it gets really good notice. Who are you now for those that have a personal relationship with God by faith in Jesus Christ. Picking it up at verse four.

What's it say but because of his great love for us. God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions.

It is by grace that you've been saved in the notice.

What he did and God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. And if you had a lot of time to study that you would realize some major changes occurred. Used to be dead now you are alive. You used to be a prisoner now you're delivered from sin's power Satan's grip and past mistakes you used to be an object of wrath and now you have a new standing with God. You are righteous your cleanse your have a new identity of new power you have a new future new purpose. A new family. New privileges and then very excitingly given new inheritance before and after.

Many ask yourself will why why did God do that. Look at verses seven through nine in verse seven. Notice the purpose clause here in order that in the coming ages he God might show that in comparing incomparable riches of his grace expressed in the kindness to us in Jesus Christ and we get a very familiar passage for it is by grace you been saved through faith. And that's not of yourselves is the gift of God is not by your works, not by your effort extreme makeovers are done by God, not by you, lest any man should boast. God wants to do an extreme makeover in your life and mine.

And the reason he wants to do it is so that we could see the riches of the kindness of his grace demonstrated in Christ, we can see, here's a person's life instead of a physical body, going from a size 38 dressed to a size 12 instead of a shabby house going into a beautiful palace he saying here is an old life in Adam in an old family with sinful patterns that brought destruction to you and alienation from God because of what Christ is done.

He wants to do an extreme makeover beginning in your heart and change the way you think change the way you act. Change your standing with God, change your relationships with people and the reason he wants to do it. Did you notice this, it says that so that in successive ages. That's the idea, in time of history, God would exhibit that what she's really like to men and women and angels seek when that lady came down the stairs. I still remember her daughter that you know they pan the camera close and I'm telling you she looked different and she looks so different that when she came down. Her daughter went mom is that you when those people walked into the house and they saw that that bedroom instead of the old one when they saw the living room and the kitchen and we can eat together as a family.

The kids had tears in their eyes. Is this our house and what what was what's behind that it's a sense of all it's a jaw-dropping that was so bad. And this is so good and what they do then they turn to the people who re-created the house with a sense of thank you so much and see what God is about. For everyone that allowed him he is about doing something in you that takes who you were and changes it to the power of Christ into this new creature, and this new person that if you would meet someone 10 years later, who maybe went to school with. Or maybe you used to do drugs with, or maybe used to run with. Or maybe did some stuff back in junior high with if they could see you and your life in your relationships that would Bobby you actually had this experience and there is a fellow that I played basketball with in high school and he went on to play one college I went on to play at another news a couple years behind me and we were couple high school guys both non-Christians both come to live in the high school life in the 70s and the I came to Christ, lost track of him for 25 years. He later went through some hard times came to Christ and you got on the Internet and looked at our website, found out what we were doing emailed somebody so I'm it's a new members thing and work on it in Shanghai. It's good to have you and I look at the first road. I'm going I literally stop Phil that you yeah to present you yeah like we knew our history. What are you doing here and he looked at me and I looked at him. God didn't extreme makeover on you didn't and God didn't extreme makeover AMI. Let me give you one picture that all I think Slated there is a fellow named Jim became very good friend and his before life was one of lived in Alaska made a lot of trips to Mexico and then did business throughout California and his business was cocaine and is a cocaine addict and alcoholic and his family was falling apart and he was running for his life and he had his messed up life. All of his kids had already gone south. Anything you can imagine in terms he was a spiritual junkyard. His life is relationships.

His body years and years of cocaine pushing and use and alcoholism, and then God gloriously started the extreme makeover process and he came to Christ in Alaska and he you realize you know something.

If I stay living up here.

This is not to be good so he ends up coming down to Northern California. He's a new believer, he doesn't know much, and it was not his third or fourth week and so you know he was living the high life, but he he he kinda went incognito.

He became the janitor at a local high school and just trying to stay sober and get a little bit help and start to read the Bible little bit and his name was Jim and we were early on the first couple years there at the church and we were in this kind old building and my wife and started little library just a little hole in the wall and I still got it in my mind. I can still remember he and his wife and was in between services and I collected as a Teresa how you doing you know and and so this couples there and it was just something about him that that sort of reeked would somebody help me.

Does anybody care about me is like our first time at church and my wife is very merciful, which is really good because I need that and it's good for other people to and that she just invited a man we had little conversation. Before long, they came to the library for a few weeks and before long she was meeting with the lady and talk with her and and before long I hear his story and if you fast-forward the camera. We watched this guy within a couple years he became our custodian and within about three years he was in a back portable meeting with two or three alcoholics trying to get them sober and they showed up about once every other week and was pretty frustrated but but little by little by little the extreme makeover in the community of God's people, and as he heard God's word go into his heart and his mind he got very serious about getting into his heart and and and now he was in a safe place and he got a small group in our church and Joe was that the counselor the family pastor really invested in the sky and pretty soon he he wanted to know what does God want me to do with my life and what he was doing wasn't working and he heard about this thing down Southern California called celebrate recovery and so he said I like to go down there and I found three or four other addicts in our church and we want to go down there and see what it's like in so we threw through very little money at it.

And very little like in a dream, a dream, find a team that was sort of the goal of how we did our church and then figure out how to pay for it you know so they went down to Southern California and they solidly came back and all I can tell you is a janitor who was rescued by Christ in extreme makeover.

After about three years came back with a team of three or four people and a year and 1/2 later we had the second largest celebrate recovery ministry over Northern California and pretty soon.

Friday nights were. I mean it got out and and I'm someone I member guy came up to me after service in Savannah had a rough night last night and you know that little cable station you were on and I watched on TV so it's not a common civil grace again.

It was really bad. I'm thinking is got a hangover syndrome is really lost it and what you mean. So luck would mean man like almost no deed on heroin. I'm going have you ever had one of those times were you really supposed to know what you're doing so don't act shocked, be very calm my insides with care when you know he's asking for help after the service and you number and I'm realizing so but I didn't show any that was all well and good.

I'm glad you made it through the night and God brought you here and I just Jim as a could you stay right here and I went and got Jim and I watch them talk for about four minutes he looked the guy right now. I said ready get help or not ma'am think Jim want to be nice to this guy, Jim. Jim understood that you want help or not. And I mean they were just so directly I city I really do said, you really do this is what's gonna take is we don't play games here will really love people speak the truth.

This is what and you know what I watch that thing mushroom and grow and grow. After while Jim realize it is calling in his gifts were leading him, and there is a Christian college and even though I'm not sure I don't get what to undergraduate but they lead and then it took about a year and 1/2 or two year program and drug counseling. Jim became our pastor of celebrate recovery and he now speaks around the country teamed up with the church in Southern California. Is this like an extreme makeover, what is this like a before dead in his transgressions prisoner, and now he's alive, free living, Jim's life is not just a picture of Ephesians chapter 2 verses one through nine, Jim's life is just a snapshot of what God wants to do and you and wants to do it in every single person and you say where you get that look at verse 10. Here's what I want you to see you are a masterpiece in the making. Look at verse 10 for we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. You are his masterpiece Jim is it some special guy every person on the earth. What what to say. If any man if any woman is in Christ, what to say. Extract the old old things passed away all things.

Notice of the process become new. Now here's what I want you to have a pimple at Japan. I want you to circle the word workmanship that I want to put a little squiggly line under created in Christ Jesus. And I want you to put a box around to do good works for you are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for a purpose to do good works, the notice which God has prepared in advance for you to do. God wants to give us an extreme makeover.

He wants to give you a second chance. Have you ever like been shooting foul shots or shooting darts with someone and you make a little bit of I'm sure he probably never done this but just in your former days of pumping air and you to any of you not quite warmed up and you shoot one, and you miss it insight redo redo right now you know you have good competition at me like I would loose lose right I want a second chance on a redo I want to start over. And don't we all want to redo you a godsend to this passage, he wants to give you a redo.

He was to give you a second chance. He wants to give you a new life.

This little phrase you are his workmanship. The Greek word here. Literally it's it's the picture of a masterpiece in the making. That's in progress. You could picture a beautiful piece of art and you're the canvas and God's painting and reworking and re-creating and your on his easel and you are a master. You are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. Or you could see it as a sculptor and he's re-sculpting your life and is taking the clay of who you are and he's forming the different parts and he is making you.

You are his workmanship, or you can be a literary work. This word was used of of of a poem or a literary work that was in progress. You are the workmanship of God. He's re-creating you.

How do you relationship in Christ.

Why, for the purpose of good works doing good.

God has a purpose for your life but don't we know that now you have 23 million people by a book of 23 million people Bible to discover what their purposes. Don't you think there's something down deep in the heart of men and women that say I want have purpose, part one of Jeff's message masterpiece in the making of a series your divine design. If you build listener to Living on the Edge for any length of time you know that our mission is to help Christians really live like Christians in this series, your divine design helps you take one of the most important steps on your spiritual journey toward that goal. Knowing your spiritual gift gives you increased confidence in the true sense of direction when you found that doing this series with a small group is been fun and encouraging either as a family devotional or sitting around with a few friends over coffee. The insights in this series will get you on the road to a life of greater purpose and satisfaction to check out the small group video and see a sample of the study guide. Visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org or tap special offers on the app. For more information just give us a call at triple late.

333-6003 that's 8883336003. I hope you'll do it today will chip really get to your application.

But you know you've been talking about the importance of our December match. I think some folks might be wondering if there's a simple overview we could look at him and see what the ministries piling for 2021. Absolutely day. In fact, every December we develop a ministry report and would we believe that those people that have prayed and given to the ministry deserve what we call an ROI. What's your spiritual and eternal return on your investment. And so our ministry report will give it's very brief. It's very easy to read probably in under five minutes.

You can get a quick overview. This is all that God did through the team of Living on the Edge and their ministry partners and this is where were headed in 2021 and memo come back and let people know exactly what we did with their money and how the ministry with so let me encourage you to check out the report, it won't take long days. Can you give them a web address about how they can click on and read it right now. You bet to take a look at this year's ministry report just go to LivingontheEdge.org/report 2020 that's LivingontheEdge.org/report 2020. You'll see an easy-to-read overview of all that's happened and then where we believe God is leaving us this next year if you like to join the team and become part of what Living on the Edge is doing in 2021. There's never been a better time because between now and midnight on Thursday. Every gift we receive will be doubled dollar for dollar 4400 4000 whatever you give between now and midnight on Thursday will be doubled if today's your day to become a ministry partner, just go to LivingontheEdge.org Donate on the app or give us a call at AAA 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003.

Thank you for doing whatever the Lord leads you to do well here.

Strip with a final thought about his teaching today. What I know for sure is a lot of you don't really believe what you heard today when you look in the Mary you don't think you're a workmanship you don't think you're a poem you don't think you're something special thank you wander down deep into why did God even make me or you don't really like yourself. You wish you had enough money to do a real makeover and here's what I want you to know you are special. God has a purpose for you. There is a good work I mean something that will tap into the depth of your heart that he designed you for an part of your DNA.

Spiritually, your personality, your background, your experience, he wants to get you on the campus and he wants you to cooperate in a way so that he can dramatically change you from the inside out in a way that will be better than you could ever dream in our next broadcast really talk about where God does his extreme makeover. I want to talk very specifically about how God does extreme makeovers so don't Mr. next broadcast in it, for any chance you think you have to go on the web LivingontheEdge.org and you can download these notes and listen to the entire message. I can't wait to share in our next broadcast the specific ways that God wants to make your life over from the inside out message as we wrap up today's program to say thank you to those who make this program possible through your generous giving. If you've been blessed by trips, teaching, and you'd like to bless others in the same way. There's never been a better time because thanks to some very generous friends of the ministry.

When you make a donation between now and Thursday at midnight.

It will be matched dollar for dollar. If today's your day to join the team.

Just go to LivingontheEdge.org Donate on the app or give us a call at triple late. 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003, on behalf of everyone here. Thanks in advance for your generosity will that wraps up this program until next time, this is Dave releasing thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge