MINDfield Part 4 | Landmines of Self Doubt with Chris Schlotterbeck

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

Ephesians 2:10

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,

Romans 3 · chapter mention

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,

Ephesians 2:4

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.