Ephesians 2:10       How to Make Your Life a Masterpiece       Sept 28, 2008

      Some years ago I attended a demonstration by a prominent pastel artist who was showing her techniques for creating landscape painting.  I was struck by the passion she held for her work.  She spoke highly of her creations, pointing out that each was a specially made original.  She had a keen attention for every detail.  What looked breezy and flowing was actually the work of painstaking labor to paint each of her master works.

       Well, this morning I want to tell you of another Artist—a true Grand Master—whose attention to detail and perfection far outweighs any artist you will ever meet in any gallery or museum.  I speak of God the creator of all things.  In our Psalm reading today, we hear of how God has made us wonderfully and marvelous.  God formed us before our birth and knew us while we were still in the womb.  You see, we are each a special and unique creation of God.  But God’s work is not finished.  Each of us is an ongoing project.  This morning, we are beginning an eight week series to discover more fully what God is creating in each of our lives.  We are seeking to find the Will of God for our lives and to see what Masterpiece of Art each of us can become.  And now listen.  One of the primary ways in which I discover God’s plan for making my life a masterpiece is to discover the spiritual gifts given to me by God.  Each of us is gifted by God with certain gifts.  And those gifts are a big clue as to what I should be doing in my life.  So if you want to make your life a work of art then you need to understand what gifts you have to work with.  Over these next weeks, we are going to help you discover your unique spiritual gifts.

      Look at Ephesians 2:10.  It begins by saying that “We are God’s workmanship.”  That word workmanship in Greek is the word poiema.  It is the word we use in English for poem.  It means literally “a work of art.”  Folks, you are a one of a kind work of art.  No one else is exactly like you.  Even twins are different.  No one else can be you.  Only you have been made to be you.  Now our big problem is that we are always comparing ourselves to someone else.  “Well, I am not that great because I am not like so and so.”  Well, you are not like so and so.  You will never be like so and so.  You are made to become you.  Fully and completely you.   Let me show you some paintings in the screen today.   (Mona Lisa by Da Vinci)    

Who can tell me about this painting?  Is it considered a Masterpiece?   Yes.  Now look at this next one.   (Water Lilies by Monet)  

Who can tell me about this one?  Is it considered a masterpiece of art?  Yes.  But how can that be?  These two paintings are not the same.    Look at this one.   (Picasso)  

Now this is very different from the other two.  Who can tell me about this one? ……..  Now look at this last one.  (Jackson Pollack)   

Who can tell me about this painting?   Is it considered a masterpiece?  Yes but it is very different.  Some of you do not like it.  Some of you do not understand why it is so famous.  But do you know that in November 2006, one of Pollock's works became the world's most expensive painting, when it sold privately to an undisclosed buyer for the sum of $140,000,000.     Now listen.  You are the same.  Some people will not like you.  Some people will not understand you.  It does not matter.  God, the Master Artist, made you to become what you were meant to be.  Each of you different.  Each of you a masterpiece.

      So if we are made to be a masterpiece, why are our lives so often such a mess?  Because we get in our own way.  Each of us has been fully gifted by God with the needed spiritual gifts to become what we were meant to be.  We are pre-wired in our very DNA to possess the Spiritual Gifts that we need.  But you and I get in the way.  And we allow other things to get in the way.  Some of us allow the latest trends to block our vision.  Instead of becoming ourselves, we try to become what society tells us to be.  Others of us try to be what other people tell us to be.  We want to please our friends, our parents, our teachers.   And finally, we often have our own ideas about what we want to be.  Now some of you may protest at this point.  Is it not a good thing to be what you want to be?  That is one of the great doctrines of modern America.  We teach it deeply to our children.  “You can be anything you want to be.”   But folks, is that true?  If you are not gifted with numbers, can you be an accountant?  If you do not have a love for dirt, can you be a farmer?  If you do not have a devotion to children, can you be a teacher?  Well, you can try to do those things but you will not be happy at it.  When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a jet pilot in the Air Force.  But my vision is no good and I get sick on roller coasters.  I really could not be anything I wanted to be.  But here is the great news.  I can be everything God has made me and gifted me to be.   If I will just get everything else out of the way, then my Spiritual Gifts will become clear to me.  How do we get the mess out of the way?  Ephesians 2:10 says that God will create me anew in Jesus Christ.  It is in Jesus Christ that my vision is cleared and I am made anew.  Made to be what I was always gifted to be. 

      Look back at Ephesians 2:10.  First, we are God’s Masterpiece.  Secondly, even if we have messed up the masterpiece, we can be created anew in Jesus Christ.  But what is it all for?  Ephesians says “so that we can do the good things God planned for us.”   God has plans, good plans, for you.  In your family.  In your work.  In your church.  Among your friends.  Good plans.  Good plans.   How do we find those good plans?  A primary way to discover God’s good plans is to discover your gifts.  The more you understand who you are, the more you will know what good plans to follow.  The more you understand how you are gifted, you will see more clearly how to pray for the best plans. 

      Starting next Sunday evening at 5 pm, our church will host a dinner and Bible study for six weeks to help you discover your gifts.  We want to help you know your very God made, pre-wired, DNA coded, inner true you.  We will study these ideas.  We will discuss what it all means.  And you will be involved in a survey that will ask you questions and then give you big clues on how to know yourself.  You know Socrates said that the path to wisdom is to know yourself.   These next weeks can help you better know yourself and to be made new in Christ.  

     John Baker is an ordinary man whom God has used in extraordinary ways.  For years, John battled alcoholism.  It almost cost him everything.  Then John was made anew in Jesus Christ.  Soon, in his church in California, John went through a Bible study about Spiritual Gifts.  As he discovered his gifts of administration and organization, he wanted to help others who had similar problems.  The next year, John and some others launched a new ministry called Celebrate Recovery, a Biblical process for overcoming addictions of all kinds.  Over the past 14 years, John has helped thousands of people become free from addictions.  Celebrate Recovery is now used in many churches, including Washington Baptist Church near here.  In 2004, President Bush recognized John Baker for bringing hope to thousands of hurting people.  John Baker was nothing special.  In fact, his life was a mess.  But he was made new in Christ and he discovered his special gifts to use for Christ.  It changed his life and changed the life of many other people.

        God has made you to be a Masterpiece.  And no matter what mess you have made, you can be made anew.  I want you to sign up for the dinner and study starting next week.  It is only a six week commitment, but it will impact your life in big ways.  You will discover more about yourself, what you are gifted for, and how you can be what God has meant for you to be.  Amen.