Your Divine Design - You're a Masterpiece in the Making, Part 2

You may not believe it. You are God's masterpiece in the making. God wants to do an extreme makeover not on your house but in your life you've been created literally re-created in Christ Jesus for a special supernatural, amazing, good morning. That produces joy and peace and purpose like never before. Where does it happen. How does it stay with thanks for joining us for this edition of living only with trip trip survival teacher international discipleship ministry focused on helping Christians what Christians they will pick up where Chip left off last time in a series by design as he continues to impact how God gifted teacher before we get started if you're new to catch up on the series. Chip Ingram is a great way to listen to us anytime you have a Bible and he turned out to Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10 for the second half of Chip's message masterpiece in the making.

God says he has a purpose for you to do good works. Did you notice little phrase literally that were preordained for you to do before the foundations of the earth. God knows you and he loves you he understands you he cares about you.

He wants to save you. He wants to put away the old have you have a relationship with Christ demonstrate the kindness of who he is the love of who use the wisdom of who yes and then what he wants to do is he wants to take you and take you on this extreme makeover process where your life is beautiful and winsome and loving and kind.

Instead of the way it used to be. And then he has a special set of good deeds good works good purposes that your design for learning a minute. He actually will gift you or give you the tools so you can fulfill what he wanted. Anybody have any idea what the good works. Jim was preordained to do. My friend Jim. Pretty simple wasn't God preordained that he would rescue him then gift him restore him so he could reach into you know what first was drug addicts that was alcoholics that was sex offenders that was codependents are celebrate recovery.

Just Mushrooming anyone who had an addiction. His good works were to allow the love and the grace of Christ to be poured out through his life and his team for that to happen and here's what I want you to know God wants to do that you that's God's plan for you.

You are a masterpiece. You are special you are. Work in progress. Know what I want to do is talk about. So where does God do this I mean about you, but you can't let go to a spiritual super clause and say okay this sounds really good. I go to the spiritual closet close it turn on the super spiritual like the old ways gone walk out of the doing Christ that works and work our way for me. So how does it work he's going to tell us right here in Ephesians chapter 2 it's gonna happen. Notice in chapter 2 pick it up at verse 18 with me and he goes on is going to say for through him. Christ, we both he's talking about Jews and Gentiles have access to the father by the one Spirit in verse 19. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and now follow along carefully and members of God's household built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone, in him, Christ the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord and in him you two are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by spirit. Notice the word God's household and end of verse 19.

Notice as you come down you are a building notice it's a holy temple notice you are being built notice becoming a dwelling there is a special place where God does spiritual makeovers, but it is not a magic closet. It is a house. It is a special house is a holy temple. It is a supernatural community community, and you know what we call this house today. He's telling him about this mystery that are explained in chapter 3, Jew, Gentile come together it's been hidden in the mind of God. He hasn't revealed he's creating this new thing where he does extreme makeovers and people where the old becomes new and more the person of Christ is the head, and he's the cornerstone and it's called the church the house where God does extreme makeovers is called the church. Now don't get in your mind all the church building, don't think in your mind. Institutional religion I'm talking about the living breathing called out people of God who are living in community who were walking authentically through living out significantly in purity doing life together in the power of the Spirit based on the word of God in that supernatural community. That is where extreme takeovers happen. That's how God works for the local church is the hope of the world that the disc functional part of all that is that so many local churches are operating away. God wants us to. And so we don't see the extreme makeover happen in people's lives, but is not just a building notice is at Paul. He's giving us all. Here's what happens. The church, the supernatural community.

God's people gathered around his word empowered by spirit with Christ being the focus then skip down to chapter 3 and is going to give us the purpose is given what why is he going to use this thing called the church what his intent verse 10 chapter 3 his intent. He's been talking about the church was that now, through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence that you get that his intent was now through the church to express or demonstrate the manifold wisdom of God so that angels and principalities and powers and created things in men and women and save people and lost people and all things of all the universe would step back and see this thing called the church and what they would really see is all my these people were like this.

Jim, drug addict, they came to a personal relationship with Christ. The spirit entered their life. They became truth followers.

They got involved in community they learned from one another in the spirit of God produce the life of Christ in this thing called the church and now here Jim steps out and reaches out to sex addicts and drug addicts and alcoholics, and he is used by God to rescue and restore and another extreme makeover happen and there sent out and the Angels and the principalities they watch this process and legal will all God is great what what to say. His intent is what demonstrate his manifold wisdom. What is the wisdom of God. Wisdom is skill. Wisdom is with Windows plastic surgeons did all that stuff to that lady. I was pretty pressed with their skill. I don't think the very good thing to do.

You know, to just take someone put knives on them all over the place. I think are some big issues there, but I gotta tell you I was pretty impressed with how they did it and you know all those carpenters and all those desires that took that shabby house and made it an amazing house. I was very impressed with their skill you what God wants. The purpose behind extreme makeovers.

He wants humans and angels and principalities in people for ever and ever and ever and ever, to see who he really is and be in all of his wisdom, that their jaw should drop the same way the girls jaw dropped when her mom came down the steps and she was so beautiful. Mom is that you, God wants the principalities and the powers and the people of all times in all eons to go.

God, that is, you, I thought so small you're so much bigger you so much more wonderful. You're so much more powerful.

You're so much more faithful here so much more loving your so much more kind. You are so much more gracious than I ever dreamed how I know because I see what you do nurture. How does it work, how does it work notice. That's the corporate side of it. Notice the internal side skip down in the apostle Paul prays where really works he says. For this reason, right where we talk about.

For this reason I kneel before the father from whom the whole family. Verse 14 of chapter 3 from the whole family in heaven on earth derives its name, and I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power where his spirit in the interbeing or the inner man purpose. Verse 17 so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith and I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God. Where does God do extreme makeovers to places one he does it in a house and the house is this church is being built up the second place he does it is in the heart. He does it in the inner man of every woman, every man who allows the spirit of God to have his way, and the reason he does it is what to demonstrate to the world his manifold with but let me give you another little humorous picture if I can fella told me the story. I'm sure it's more than apocryphal, but yeah I I grew up in the Ohio and then lived for many years in West Virginia and there are places where you can go back into what the call hollers that any people have never never been to a city coming way back in way back in way back in battle me this derogatorily she's probably lives in the store as a fellow who lived way way way back in the hollers and unity decided that his sons about 14 or 15 he needed to see a city in him and mom never been there and he was, mid 60s never been to a dentist so he was missing most of his front teeth and you know mall, look what Paul and you know she can't wasn't on the Lord of exercise program and is not like she was health-conscious and actually they didn't have a TV didn't have a radio and they had this old truck.

If you can imagine the Beverly hillbillies. You know, open wide in the back all their stuff and boom boom boom boom in me me me me me me really long they're going to town writer named Albert, and so they get to town.

It's a big city and the big skyscraper and you know as they go through town. It just shrugs down wow look at that I'm either just eyes are big and finally they must open a bank account.

There's a bank in this big high tower area and all glass, and he looks up and can't believe what it's like he's a small you stay here Sunday you come with me and got his overalls and his got the straps over and you know 1 foot on the unit got the barefooted you. They walk in together and everyone looks at him he stops and as he walks in. There's a chain of of elevators and bright and shiny and you know they're looking where the bank is in the elevators are over there and so pretty soon he sees a lady who really probably had some arthritis and she had in one those canes with four prongs in unit she was pumped over little bit and that the doors opened and then she got in the doors closed and they washed all these lights go often in about 20 seconds after all the lights. The doors opened and like this gorgeous unbelievable knockout blonde walks out and he looks to his son. He says I believe there is a magic box in this place and then he said to son, go get mall and you know something that's what God wants to. It doesn't happen in a magic box. It doesn't happen overnight. There is a clear process, but the dramatic nature of the change.

The extreme makeover. God wants to do in you and every person their relationship with Christ. That's what he wants to do and where he does it is in this thing called a the household of God, the church and how he does it individually is in the human heart of people and he works in your human heart in the household of the church, but if you've ever seen a person paint. If you ever seen a sculptor doing a a masterpiece because your masterpiece. There's got to be tools right. I mean, I don't think God is fingerpainting. I think he has multiple brushes and when God is sculpting you know I think he has multiple tools to put lines into create in you can see your DNA both spiritually and physically is different than anyone else, what is he is a purpose for you. He is a goal for you. He is a target for you. He has loved you and saved you a purpose you. There is some good works that you're going to walk and there's a unique calling he has for your life that you're going to accomplish something in the scheme of God that no one else can. And you know what it doesn't have to be highly visible you have to be famous you have to get in front of people you need to do the good work that he preordained or prepared in advance for you that here's a question we found out where it occurs. The church and in the human heart. Now what I want to ask and answer is how how does God specifically do the spiritual makeovers is not about you want in on this.

I want as much of it is I get so how does he do it now you'll notice chapter 2, who used to be who you are now. Chapter 3 the purpose for how it occurs. Turn now to chapter 4 and pick it up in verse seven he's in the first three chapters of this book told people this is the new you that you are first three chapters of Ephesians are all about your new identity in Christ, your son, your daughter, your adopted your loved your sealed by the spirit you have an inheritance.

You are loved. You are accepted in the beloved. In the chapter 4 opens up and says since God has done all these miraculous wonderful things for you already, and it's already true and you can't earn it. You already possess it. Walk in a manner worthy of your calling, but the whole chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6, or about look, here's what you believe because it's true.

And this is how you ought to live so that your beliefs and your behavior lineup and so he says that in the first six verses and they said to tell us how it actually works in verse seven he says, but to each one of us grace literally. It's a grace gift.

The word here is an endowment to each one of us a grace gift or an endowment has been given as Christ apportioned it and that's why it says when he ascended on high, he led captives in his training gave gifts to men. And it went and when he ascended, he is the very one who ascended to the higher than the heavens in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who then who gave now this endowment. These gifts, here's some of the gifts he gave gifts to the church some apostles sum of profit. Some of the evangelists, some as pastor teachers. Why did you prepare God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ might be built up until get verse 13 this carefully until we all reach the unity in the faith and the knowledge of the son of God and become mature, attaining to the full measure of the fullness of Christ. What he's going to say is that we could study this in depth what is going to say is that when Christ died on the cross he paid for your sin he redeemed you the, the possibility of restoration occurs when we come to faith in him then went after he died in the cross between that time that he died and resurrected with a whole study on this, but I won't go into it now. He literally proclaimed his victory over Satan. He proclaimed his victory over sin and he broke the power of sin in your life and so you not only debt used to be dead now. Your life but Christ's victory he tells you the evidence of his victory over Satan over death and over sin is that he would take spiritual gifts and deposit them in his church because you know what the tools are for transformation. You know what his paintbrushes are that come out of my life to shape your life and out of your life to shake mine.

You know what that little scalpel link type tools are that he works in the clay it's the spiritual gifts deposited in you and the spiritual gift deposited me and as we live in authentic loving community around the word of God. The gifts out of your life and the gifts out of my life. You are the paintbrush in God's hand.

He's dipping in multiple different colors to re-create the new me that his neck your spiritual gift is the evidence that Christ has won the victory.

Your spiritual gift is the evidence that the power of sin is broken in your life, your spiritual gift is evidence that you know what Satan has no more power over you and Morgan to talk about is how to discover how to develop and how to deploy your spiritual gifts and if you're thinking, but he used took us through almost the entire book of Ephesians to get there on the tell you why when we talk about spiritual gifts in the church it.I hear people talk about it like to go into a solid bar there's a salad bar spiritually is what years I don't know Fred what years. How about you Apple you know what years it has come like kids in a candy shop and might be this, it might be that why we think this will test and find out and doubted out it outed up and you what we separated from the theology and I'll tell you what, what with I would ask most people on here done lot surveys. What is your primary spiritual gifts. You know you know exactly what it is before.very few people raising what your secondary spiritual gifts. How do you live them out how much you know about spiritual gifts. How much do spiritual gifts tell you what to do, what not to do it. We all say there's so many demands. What should I do today what God is giving you spiritual gifts he's made you a tool and you know something I I've tried hammering with a screwdriver. It is not very effective. He's made you a tool he wants screwdrivers to do spiritually screws he wants hammers to pound nails.

He wants levels to level things and because you don't know you spiritual gifts because you don't know how to discover. You don't how to deploy them. You don't know when to say yes when the Sino Christians everywhere, basically out of guilt, manipulation, sadly to say Isabella Pastor of the medical times got to fill that slot we have people out of their giftedness, not understanding their gifts and therefore one not being used by God the way God used Jim and even worse, you don't experience the joy the God intended for you. The good works that your walk-in so many Christians are walking to someone else's good works at any other certain things. I know they're good.

I see people that are passionate and are great at it.

I'm just not good at it and when I try to do it now out of service man, you gotta do whatever you supposed to do and I'm not saying that you only do things that are in your gifts. But what I'm saying. He is, is that the prime majority of your energy and focus and time needs to go and what God made you to do in this passage he makes it clear how does God do extreme makeovers. Christ gave spiritual gifts he gave spiritual gifts. How by the ascended Christ to every believer. For the profit of others through the Holy Spirit, sovereign him. He gave Jim his gift he gave me my gift he gave you your gift sovereignly.

He chose you study this carefully realized with a great deliberate thought of the will, there's a two or three words the New Testament for the idea of God's will and God's intention and I've studied them and when it talks about spiritual gifts. It's with the liberation. It's with thought. It's with he gave you the spiritual gifts that we equip you to walk in the good works and the purpose of your spouse to fulfill. And so he's not by the ascended Christ. Every believer for the profit of others to the Holy Spirit sovereignly win at the time of salvation. On the basis of grace. You didn't earn it. This whole thing about all this person has this gift, and at first, as you know what got it. It's free. I'm looking to compare mine with yours.

You have what God gave you what I have.

It was free. It was grace what you have. It's free, it's Grace Weick is not theirs works that God wants me to walk-in this good works that I've been called and preordained God prepared in advance that I should do and that you should be on my testimony as I did a lot of quote Christian things and things in general, my joy factor never skyrocketed, and the impact of my life in the kingdom of God never took off until I got clear, this is my primary spiritual gift. Here are my secondary gifts ministry gifts God gives around that and I'm going to focus my life, my time, my energy around those and when I did that and said no to other stuff I saw God begin to use my life in ways I never dreamed not because I'm special is because that's the paintbrush. He put inside of me to do what take the pallet of truth in colors in his word to do re-create in people's hearts in people's lives noticed the final thing here.

It produces the life of Christ in every believer. That's it. That's the goal. The gifts and use the gifts and may in community around God's word is to produce the life of Jesus and every believer. Isn't that the extreme makeover is God's plan. If you want to reduce it to that silly story isn't as planned were outside the elevator that we been living in the hills and ignorance and we just didn't really know any better and often willful rebellions or passive indifference, we come to relationship with Christ and it really is like the magic box you come into this new relationship is not elevator it's the body of Christ and in the moment you walk in the spirit of God comes into your life tenure with other people and they have gifts and you have gifts and their gifts are the paintbrushes and the tools to take the word of God and the truth of God and the love of God to show me the kindness of Christ and that's how my life changes.

I look back on Jim's life. He is the most radical story is life now so Mason. I member when his son came back to visit.

I mean this is a kid who just, and he literally had that one is is that you dad about by the way don't get the idea.

This was like a two-year deal were talking 989 years later and his son, who'd been wayward and came up to this drug infested family came and visited for two weeks, came to church a couple times very suspect got around his daddy came to me afterwards. He said the stuff real so would mean is my dentist put on that school so would mean is, and I live with this guy in the guy that I meet and dinner with at night is not the same man and I went to that Friday night that celebrate recovery thing. People people treat my dad like I mean he's like something special and and that they are so open and they appreciate them a I just I never saw any of that is this for real-better believe it is us a table at just pray this prayer. Ask God if he's really real to reveal himself to you and you tell God if you reveal yourself to me in a way I could understand that I will I will allow you to do whatever you want.

My life and he's spent the next week evaluating and looking at his dad's life and you and I look at where Jim was.

What I realized is God took the spiritual gift of mercy through my wife and let him feel loved.

Early on when he didn't think anybody cared. He took the spiritual gift of teaching through me so that he could take the lies about himself and he learned the truth of God's word. He took the spiritual gift of exhortation through Joe who is our counselor and begin to help him learn and grow and they took the spiritual gifts of a small group of community that were in the Bible, week by week together to demonstrate God's love and kindness acceptance were were Jim realized his past is behind there's nothing to prove there's nothing to lose and then Jim began to see he had gifts and he began to then reproduce his life.

He walked in the good work Scott had for him. Do you know your spiritual gift. Your primary are you using your spiritual gift. How much do you know about spiritual gifts or is it just this little thing you know over on the side and we trying to teach people just enough so we can get them connected so they can fill some of the slots in the programs of our church. I want to tell you.

I spent a whole session even you a theology of what God wants to do in your life.

He is in the extreme makeover business and he doesn't want a little makeover in you. He wants an extreme makeover and I want to tell you something if you don't get it. You can miss everything the tool God uses the tools God uses in this household. This place called the church in your human heart that he wants to transform you and others.

The tool he uses is your spiritual gift functioning in submission to the Holy Spirit in the community of God's people, according to God's word and he wants to use you as a paintbrush and is one of those little tools that shapes the clay and he wants to use you to write his new life.

The new novel that he's building in the lives of other people as you walk in the good deeds he's prepared for you know what I news I was can bring you right to the point were you gonna save yourself. I hope you know what I really need to know a lot more about spiritual gifts. I do and I need to discover the one that I have and I better figure out how to develop it when we get together next time organa do I mean we are gonna roll up our sleeves and working to learn to discover your spiritual gift, to learn how they fit together and how they work in the morning to learn how to deploy spiritual gifts in my prayer for you is that you will learn to walk in the good works that God paired you will be right application for this message or a masterpiece in the making of a series your divine design. Did you know God created you for specific purpose and that he uniquely wired you with a set of tools to help you fulfill his calling on your life in this eight part series strip explains the essential role spiritual gifts play in a believers walk and why these tools matter to God through trips inside and down to earth advice.

You'll learn how to Discover develop and deploy your gifts. To make a lasting impact on this world. If you missed any part of the series. The chipping room up is a great way to catch up anytime will trips with me in studio now to assure a special word that's been on his heart, so Chip would you take a minute and do that, I'd be glad to Dave, thanks so much. In today's message we learned that God gives different gifts and different callings to different people and are complementary.

In other words, we need one another and were stronger together. And that's not just true of individual people in the body of Christ is true of churches is true of ministries mean there's some ministries that are completely focused to apologetics or other ministries that they are strong in evangelism will Living on the Edge. Our focus is discipleship. We want to help Christians live like Christians and grow to maturity and for us to do that we all need to work together and what I want to say is that there are hundreds literally thousands of people to partner with us in prayer and financial support that become a body that make a huge difference in one of the critical factors as we move forward as the ministry expands and literally explodes around the world is to have people who would say every month. I want you to know you can count on me, whether it's $20 a month or $100 a month, or $33 a month. I cannot tell you the difference that would make. I just ask you to ponder today and asked the Lord. Is this something he might want you to do and if he says yes, let me say in advance.

Thank you very much will as you prayerfully consider your role with this ministry. I want to remind you that every gift is significant when you partner with Living on the Edge you multiply our efforts and resources in ways that only God can do to set up a recurring donation go to LivingontheEdge.org or visit the chipping room up.

You also text the word donate 741 41 that's donate to 741 41. We appreciate your support will hear again is trip with some helpful application from today's message you know God is in the process of revolutionizing our lives from the inside out and I call it an extreme makeover and like any good builder. He uses tools and the primary tool we talked about is along with the spirit of God living in you and in the word of God living in community. He uses spiritual gifts and what I've experienced is most Christians do not know their spiritual gift or if they do they know it was sort of a salad bar mentality that makes no difference in their life. You say what your spiritual gift and may rattle off five or six or seven and you say will. How does that give you direction in your life and they look at you like well I probably ought to do something sort of somehow in those areas and so were going to help you in the next few weeks really discover your spiritual gift, but I want to tell you how discovering my spiritual gift has been a key to the makeover in my life for things that happen my life number one when I discovered my spiritual gift I begin to live with the reality that it reminded me it's the spoils that I'm a victor. I may feel bad.

I may feel lonely, I may feel defeated. I may mess up but that spiritual gift reminds me that I got it from the ascended Christ and I love Victor it's it's the spoils of his victory over death and sin. Second, it really help me grass God's love that spiritual gift when I exercise a gift of of teaching or preaching or exhortation, you know, it reminds me that I didn't have that that God loves me so much he gave me that gift to be a part of what he was doing. Third, it really help me discover God's plan for my life. You know I was going a whole different direction and when I learned my spiritual gifts and over and over. People said ship. This is when God uses you. It gave me alignment for what to do. Not only early in my life, but literally in the last 4 to 5 years.

I make big decisions about getting closer and closer to more of my time going at the heart of the spiritual gift to God's given me, and then finally is. Give me a sense of destiny God's doing something on this planet. His purposes are great and I'm a part of it because he put a tool in my hand to be a part of help shaping other believers in the body of Christ. My prayer is that God will do a radical continued spiritual makeover in your life and you will discover the spiritual tool that is given you. Now go for that's in Encouraging Word ship thanks in case you missed some of the points Jeff just reviewed the pulled straight from his message notes, which is a tool available for every program. So let me encourage you to get this resource before you listen to us again.

Trips notes include his outline all of the Scripture references and lots of feelings to help you remember what you're learning will really help you get the most out of every program, chips, message notes or a quick download of LivingontheEdge.org under the broadcasts tab app listeners just Fill in notes will until next time. This is the same. Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge