Self Worth Series - Part 4 | Pastor Paul McGee

Thank you Jesus, thank you, Jesus.

Amen. That's what I was feeling today

in my office, none different, none different, Amen, than what

I was experiencing today. Amen.

Thankful for the Lord, thankful for the Lord.

Shoo spirits here. Listen, you'll have to wait for

a Sunday for God to intervene in your life.

You have to wait for Sunday for a prayer to be answered, or for

a need to be met, or for you to just somehow find a spiritual

spot that you've been needing to get back to.

That can happen on a Wednesday. That can happen on a Wednesday.

Amen. He knows no bounds.

Amen. This evening, no bounds at all,

man. If you want to continue with

that, come tomorrow night to power hour, tomorrow night's

power hour starting at 7:00. Amen to 8.

This power hour will be corporate LED.

All right. Our, our, our thematically,

we're doing spiritual warfare. We're praying through the armor

of God and, and a few additional things because there's not 1010

items. We're the armor of God from

Ephesians 6. So we got some additional things

tacked on there. But with that in mind,

succumbing, it'll be corporate LED.

Again, it'll be an hour. Amen.

You come to be a part of that. Also got to make sure I get all

these things right, Amen. So that that is tomorrow night

fall conference for those that are going to fall conference in

Carmel, IN, that is this weekend, Friday and Saturday.

Sunday we'll be back here, of course, with services.

All right, if you're truly right here also on October the 12th is

the youth bake sale. That's that's October the 12th

at Bilo from 8:00 to 12:00. And so if anybody is going to

donate goods for selling, you can see a brother and sister

Mason, brother Alex and sister Grace Mason for that.

So they'll be coming up very soon.

Tonight is our Last Night for Self Worth series, OK.

And so next week we're starting them for the criteria of finding

the Mate series. All right, going to start that

next week. And then about a few weeks after

that, we'll finally go back and we'll shake hands with Genesis

and get a few slid in. Amen before we go Amen to any

type of connect groups again in in the winter months.

So just be mindful that also we have coming up within this month

because we are now in October, we have coming up on October the

18th, 19th and 20th. The 18th and 20th is Revival

with Evangelist Michael Maupin. He'll be here those three days.

But services will be the 18th at 7:00 and then the 20th, regular

service times at 10:00 and 6:00. And then that Saturday, the 19th

is the annual chilly supper and hayride that takes place around

here that will begin at 4. And so there's going to be some

things forthcoming. We just had a meeting last night

to try to tie down all the particulars, will try to

actually have a schedule for when things happen for like the

hay rides and when all of all will be played and when the

train for the kids will happen, when the obstacle course will be

up. We'll have time slots.

So it sets your expectation of knowing when things will happen.

As far as all of those particulars, I know it's no big

deal to us always come, but to those that might come that are

not a part of us, they might like to have expectation to know

when things are going to take place and happen.

And so that's going to all be out there.

Also something new this year that I thought maybe we would

try. We're going to try it in house

is a cornhole competition, a cornhole competition.

And so it's $10 per team, which is basically $5 per person.

If you want to participate, the team consist of two all right,

we're going to have three different sets of pornhole set

up. So six teams can play at the

same time. And basically your, your, your

money going toward being a part is going into a pot that whoever

wins ultimately gets everything that came in.

And we have trophies that will be awarded to to the team.

And so again, simple, just $10. Good, good, good cling fun.

Sister McGee has a sign up sheet.

If you want to sign up, pay money, you can see her.

You got to have a team name. All right.

If you're not creative, ask someone to make it for you.

You know, don't let it just be Don and Paul, the Don and Paul

team, be creative, have fun with it, Amen.

Whatever you want to do. And so that's coming up also

that same same hayride and and chilly supper night.

And so we're going to have fun, hopefully have fun, Amen, With

all of that, Amen. You can turn in your Bibles to

the book of Ephesians, The book of Ephesians.

We're going to go to chapter #2 I'm just going to read one

verse. We've already touched on this

verse once. After this, I have some books

I'm going to give away. One always went through my hand.

My daughter grabbed it. And what it is is some of the

books that I read leading up to the series, and I'm not going to

hold on to them. I'm going to be giving them

away. These are the three that's left.

She took one. She said maybe after she

finishes with it, I can give it away again.

So nonetheless, so some books that I'll give away there toward

the end of someone that anyone that might be interested in

those Ephesians chapter #2 and verse 10.

All right, glad to have each one of you, Megan, glad to have you,

Jessica, always glad to have you.

Amen tonight and verse #10 Ephesians 210 For we are his

workmanship. Everybody say workmanship

created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before

ordained, that we should walk in them a little on tonight.

I want to teach this to us this evening, this 4th lesson of self

worth. The art of purpose, the art of

purpose. You were a workmanship created

in Christ Jesus unto good works, so the art of purpose.

Let us pray right now, God. We're so thankful, Lord, for

your spirit that we have felt in this place, God, we acknowledge,

Lord, that you have come, Lord, and visited us.

Lord, even this evening, I pray, O God, open our hearts and our

minds to your word. Let someone be encouraged, Lord,

let someone, Lord, I pray, O God, be boasted, Lord Jesus, in

their recognition, Lord, of value in the eyes of God

tonight, Lord. And we'll fail not to thank and

praise you, Lord, for what you accomplish in this place in the

lovely name of Jesus Christ. I pray a man, you may be seated

in Jesus name. I have already stated it more

than one time in some of the lessons that we've already had.

And this has been a short series for me, but nonetheless, what

I've stated is this, and you should know this by now, that

there are two facts. There are two facts that should

bolster your worth or should increase in and, and give you a

sense of value concerning your worth #1 and as it's found here,

even in this solitary verse of Ephesians 210.

Number one, that God created us, right?

For we are his workmanship. God created us.

And then secondly, that Christ redeemed us, that we were

created or even said maybe even better, that we've been

recreated in Christ Jesus. And so Ephesians 2 and 10 says

very plainly that we are God's workmanship.

The Amplified Bible says it like this, that we are God's work of

art. Now here's the thing about works

of art. I'm only a artist in certain

modes, all right? I know we have maybe some very

creative people in here that are artists that can do something

with a canvas or with charcoal or paint, or maybe you can do it

with spit from a straw. I don't know.

You know, everything's art nowadays.

But what I'm getting at is this. Not everyone, everyone does not

understand another's piece of art.

Some people don't care for art, so they're inclined to reject it

from the beginning. Others don't want to take the

time to understand it, so it's their loss.

Others don't want to take time, if you will, or they, they like

experiencing maybe the art, but they don't really understand how

that piece came to be or why it is as it is.

And I met you over my 46 years of life.

I have been, I've been to a few art museums in my life.

And there are sometimes that I've been going through those

art museums, it's very quiet, you know, and they have these

things, you know, on the wall or displace the sculptures.

And there have been sometimes that works that I've looked at

that I've just stared at with no idea what the artist was

conveying. As a matter of fact, I've stared

at them sometimes. And I've had my theories and I,

I've even tried to make attempts about what is this saying to me,

right? And there's sometimes that as

I've went along, I may have even been critical, critical

sometimes over a few pieces with statements like they call that

art. I got seen a three-year old that

could do, you know, I can do that with my toes.

You know what I'm saying? They call that art.

Yeah, they may have done it with their toes.

I don't know. But many museums accompany the

art with what's known as a Waltec that describes or

interprets the artwork. And what that does for me or for

any of us is that when you have the artist's explanation of the

work, it gives you a better appreciation for something that

maybe previously you didn't understand.

And so with that, I realized that some of the things that I

saw, there was nothing wrong with that piece of art.

The problem was, is that I and others have tried to attach

meaning to something that I saw and experienced.

And what I realized was this. There was nothing wrong with

that. There is meaning to it, but I

need to consult the artist to know what the meaning is.

I can be very judgmental about the piece, but if I don't

understand the purpose of the artist behind the piece, then it

may just seem very, very lacking as far as having any type of

impact on my, my, my life and what I'm saying today.

You are God's work of art tonight.

I want to say emphatically this evening that there's nothing

wrong with you. It's just other people's

interpretation of you. We need to really tap in into

the one who created the work and ask him, what's the meaning of

this? What what?

What is the purpose of this? It reminds me of a stanza out of

this book, a poem that's in here.

I, I, I guess I can keep these up here and I can flash them up,

you know? But a stanza that's after a poem

that Jamie Kern Lima wrote said that you're not crazy, You're

just first, there was a stanza there that said this.

And what I know is, yeah, you hurt me, but I'm not rejected.

See, God just hid my value from you because you're not assigned

to my destiny. People that are missing your

worth are probably not a part of your story.

Said a little differently, people that are missing your

work probably shouldn't be a part of your story.

Brother, Brother Alex or whoever's up there running media

tonight. Can you put my, can you put my

picture up there this evening? Does anybody remember this from

a few years ago? Anybody.

Nobody. Sister Jen, you need some

culture. I mean, look how culture that

is. This was a piece of art back in

2019. A banana duct tape to a wall in

a Florida museum. There were three renditions of

this banana tape to a wall. I know you all laughing, but

this is back in December 2019. This is why we went into COVID.

No, this was back in December of 2019.

There were some Miami residents, Billy and Beatrice Cox.

I don't know if they were related to Sister Cox, same

spelling who bought this piece of art for $120,000.

Again, there were three renditions of it.

There was another rendition of it that another couple bought

for right around the same amount of money.

And then there was another rendition of it that went on

display in the Gundenheim Museum.

It was an actual banana. A real banana.

Duct tape to a wall. He generated a lot of attention.

I can't believe you didn't see this Mr. Jacob Hermit live under

a rock. There are a lot of debates over

this. The artist was an Italian

artist. His name was Mauricio Catalans.

He had an interpretation of his artwork.

This work, a lot of times they're named, this work is

called comedian. It's rooted in satire and a

commentary on the art world, consumerism, the value placed on

simple objects. According to the artist, the

banana is a symbol of global trade.

It's a comedic prop, a metaphor for the unpredictability of

life. And when you think of this, this

is quite absurd. Folks, that banana, I don't

know, was the last time you bought bananas, but they're

perishable. I mean, it's got some age spots

on it now, but the longer she stays duct tape to the wall, she

going brown, she going black, she might have some leakage.

It's absurd, but the artist did it with the intention to just

prove the fleeting nature of material things and also bring

the absurdity to the art world about how much money they spend

on art pieces. I think the point was proven.

Someone spent $120,000 for a perishable banana that's taped

to a wall. This was not a movable wall.

This was a wall in the museum. Do you understand what I'm

talking about right now? But the artist Catalan raise

questions and please hear me very carefully tonight.

Raise questions then about the value assigned to art and this,

please listen to this, whether art is defined by the object

itself or the concept behind it, whether it's the object itself

or the concept behind it. Now, there were a lot of phrases

that were said during that time that this thing came about.

I tested them all. My daughter, I was studying, she

was sitting on the opposite end of the couch this week doing

some college work. And I showed her that picture

all over again. I said, what do you think about

that? She's like, that's stupid.

I said yes, that's exactly what I was expecting.

I said that's stupid. I said, well, why is it stupid?

She said because anyone can duct tape a banana to a wall.

I said yes, that's exactly what I was expecting you to say.

And I remember saying that. I remember saying that brother,

brother Trowell, I remember saying that's stupid.

I remember saying anybody if you got dictating banana, you can be

that artist. Just, you know, flap that thing

up on there. But here's the question that I

present to you tonight. While those statements mean seem

to be true that it's stupid and that anybody could do that, I

ask you, could you have taped it there with the same purpose the

artist did? He had a point to prove a

purpose just to show how elaborate art had been selling

for and how how just, you know, perishable are just material

things. What brought the value to the

artwork and we'll talk about it more.

Wasn't just a banana taped, but it was the purpose of the banana

being taped. Someone say Amen.

This artwork. I know folks, this is bizarre.

It was exhibited at another museum called the Leon in its

original form, baked on the wall.

As a matter of fact, the banana could be replaced every day for

every few days. And then here's the thing,

right? Not every banana is the same.

They're not all the same size, same shape.

Some have different pigment and dark spots, different from other

bananas. All right, as a matter of fact,

with this was a certificate of authentication for this artwork,

detailed instructions to how to properly display it.

I guess the banana be in a certain way and the tape be in a

certain way so it could be displayed.

And so both the banana and the duct tape could be replaced as

needed. The statement was made that the

physical representation of comedian, this is what this is

called, is not the work itself. Not what you see is the work

itself. Well, you've done all this

tonight, Brother McGee. Yeah, it's been fun.

But sometimes we get sucked into the same reasoning about

ourselves or others. We might say that's nothing

special. It's a banana tape to a wall.

Speaking about yourselves may see yourself.

Well, I'm just I'm just an average individual or an average

person. But God has enabled you to live

in the generation. You are living with a purpose

for your life. In other words, God has

purposely had you born in this generation with a reason.

And so we are more than how we appear.

God has a particular purpose for us, and the importance is what

is our purpose? According to an article even by

the Guardian, Catalan, the artist, said whenever he went,

he'd again had three different renditions of this, that he

purchased the bananas down in Miami at just a grocery store

for about 30 cents. Went for 122 different works,

240, just $0.30. Can you imagine that the article

of the Guardian read like this? One banana.

What could it cost? Question mark $120,000 if it's

art, because I think that captures than the essence of

every individual setting in here tonight.

Over 800 billion people in the world, over 8 billion people in

the world. Everyone's somewhat different,

yet at the same time somewhat similar to one another.

And as common as we are, each though is a piece of art.

We are God's workmanship. We are God's accomplishment.

And so it's not just what's on display, it's what is the

concept behind you? What is the purpose behind you?

What is the intention behind you?

You say I'm just a banana, duct tape to a wall.

But God has purpose. God has meaning.

God has intention for your life. And so the value of a piece of

art is influenced by a few different things, but its

characteristics, its purpose, and the artists who created it.

We know this today. We've lived long enough on the

earth that we know this, that if there is an artwork that is done

by a well known artist. Guess what, it demands a higher

price if it's a da Vinci, if it's a Picasso, if it's a Monet,

regardless of what it is because of the the the notoriety of the

artist, it's already going to garner a higher price as the as

the Philip Bible version of the same Ephesians 210 says it says

it like this. He said we what we are, we owe

to the hand of God upon his folks.

There is purpose behind you, but even more so, it's not just Joe

Blow here on 2nd and 3rd that has pieced you together and

woven you together and made you who you are with your

personality. Know the creator of the

universe, the one that caused the stars to appear and cast the

luminaries in the sky, that's made, Amen.

All of the planets, their distance away from the sun,

those hands are the hands that have formed you and fashion you

and have given purpose for your life.

Amen. So anyone, unbelievers, people

that are born again, believers, everybody should have a sense of

belonging #1 again, due to our origin, that we have been made

by God. But if you've been born again

and everybody can be, but if you've been born again and

you're a Holy Ghost still, then you even more so because there's

a, there's a added layer to your origin story.

It's just not that he's created you, but he's recreated you.

You have a double imprint of God's Word on your life.

Last week we discussed Moses a little bit about his insecurity

of his speech. I'm not eloquent, God.

I speak slow, right? All of that back in Exodus

chapter #4 well, in Exodus 3 and 11, as he and Moses asked, and

we have it up here tonight. Here, we'll start with verse 10.

Moses asked, who am I? Let's start with verse #10 shall

we? He says, Come now therefore, and

I will send thee unto Pharaoh. God is speaking to Moses, I will

send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my

people, the children of Israel out of Egypt.

With verse 11. And Moses said unto God, So

after all that this is Moses response, Moses said unto God,

Who am I that I should go into Pharaoh, and that I should bring

forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

Moses is feeling inadequate for the task.

No, he's feeling inadequate for the task.

Despite having been reared under a pharaoh in the House of a

pharaoh, despite being educated with the knowledge of the

Egyptians, he has this inadequacy.

And so God answers Moses, but he doesn't directly answer Moses.

He indirectly answers Moses, as he typically does in his God

fashion. And he responds to Moses by

saying, I will be with thee. Seems kind of weird, kind of a

weird response to the question that Moses asks.

Moses asks, who am I? God says I will be with the What

kind of answer is that to my question, Who am I?

I tell you the kind of answer it is.

It's the answer that says we can't define ourselves apart

from God. Who am I?

God says, wait a minute, I'll be with you.

That changes the definition that everything changes whenever God

is included in the equation and formula.

You're struggling with who you are and adequate about who you

are. But remember, I'm with you.

That gives definition to you. That gives definition to your

purpose. That gives definition to your

trajectory. Yes it does so we must we can't,

we must not define ourselves apart from God.

Whether that be and this is not a word.

I looked it up. I wish it was.

I want to use it whether that's creationally, it's not a word or

redemptively can't define ourselves without God.

I read an article some time ago that's like the common phrase

from my mouth. I read all right.

I read an article some time ago in National Geographic, December

2018 issue, and it was an article about biblical

antiquities. And that when I was reading this

article, there was a statement made in there that I believe is

relevant, that I believe can be metaphorical for what we're

talking about tonight. But the statement that was made

concerning these biblical antiquities was this, he said,

the author said, he said the price of anything connected to

the lifetime of Christ goes way up.

All these antiques and archaeological facts that they

are anyway connected to the lifetime of Christ, their value

goes, you could have it before he walked the earth, after he

walked the earth, whatever. But if it is connected with the

time that he was around, then it goes up.

If I can just suggest it just slightly tonight for our

purposes, the price of anyone connected to the life of Christ,

the price of anyone connected to the life of Christ goes up.

What does that mean? That means you do and you do.

You all are connected in some way, if not by creation.

He also wants you to be connected by regeneration.

But whenever you are connected to Him, it's not saying you have

value to begin with, it just means it just increases.

Amen to some work issues that we have.

Stem from where or who we derive our identity from.

People assume their identity sometimes in this life from

various places. For instance, some people allow

themselves to be identified by how their parents were.

They put that on almost like a cloak.

It's like however their parents were acted, lived their life,

good, bad, ugly, whatever. Then they put that on as their

identity. And then there's other people

that identify themselves by their education.

They have certain level of education.

They put that on as a cloak. That's their identifier, this

thing that identifies and some of them by the job they have,

the type of job they have putting on their cloak, that's

their identity. Then there's others if they've

made certain achievements in life, right.

How many times their name was mentioned in the paper type of

wards and medals that they received.

They cloak in the self other people's opinion.

We've already talked about this. Some people assume that as their

identity. But the common question you've

heard this question you've asked before or statement even rather

it's not who you are but whose you are.

Jamie Kern Limas said this. She says you might say you have

self doubt when really what you have in those moments is God.

The psalmist wrestled with that in Psalms chapter #8 and verse

#3 we see this struggle in wrestling that he has with this

and verse 3 says, when I consider thy heavens, the work

of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou was ordained

right he's he's starting to recount all of these created

things of God. He says in verse 4 here begins

to struggle. What is man, that thou art

mindful of him, and the Son of Man that thou visitest him?

For Thou has made him a little lower than the angels, and has

crowned him with glory and honor.

Thou has made him to have dominion over the works of Thy

hands. Thou has put all things under

his feet. So the psalmist has entered into

a little place of struggle about where he is in the grand scheme

of things. What, what is his worth, his

value, his meaningfulness in the grand scheme of things.

He, he's feeling somewhat unimportant as he begins to

contemplate all of these celestial bodies, these, these

celestial bodies of the sky, this, this visible grandeur.

I mean, who's not all struck. Whenever you're in a dark enough

place, you can see the countless stars and the, the sky and, and

the moon. And, and he knows, he's no doubt

reflecting that that my life is, is very immaterial.

My life is just but a vapor. It's here today.

It's it's gone tomorrow. And so he's wrestling in this

moment with with his significance and maybe even more

so wrestling with the fact of God's possible notice and

attention of him. Right.

Who am I that you right? Why?

Why would God be mindful? The word mindful there is Why

would God mark? Why would God mark me as

something significant? Why would Why would God Remember

Me? Why would God mention me?

Even the word means Why would God memorialize?

Why would God memorialize man and the word he uses for man is

not the same Hebrew word that we have in in the man's weakness,

which gives us insight really to how the psalmist is feeling at

this moment. He's he's not using the word

Adam as man. He's looking at himself as that

frail, mortal, weak human being. Why would God remember and

mention and mark me, why would God visit such a man?

When he talks about why would God visit him, it's it's

alluding to the fact why would God visit him for any occasion

not not just to bless. Why would God even give him a

visit if he wanted to judge Why, why would he even be, you know,

to a place that God would even visit him with judgment.

I mean, God shouldn't even waste his time on that because this is

just man. Man isn't even even worth a

hostile visitation from God. And yet as he describes the

heavens as the work, notice what the psalmist said.

He said the heavens being like the work of God's fingers.

We got to understand that man is too.

And as he begins to recognize man is is made, he's created

just slightly lower than the angels or or more specifically

slightly lower than the heavenly bodies.

And he begins to talk about and God has crowned him with glory,

a man in honor, or if I can say God has ascribed to man worth.

Why? He tells us, Because that man

has been created with a purpose. I've given man dominion.

Can I tell you today that there is a concept behind the artwork?

Before Jeremiah was born, he said I was ordained a prophet

before he was ever born, before John the Baptist's mother,

Elizabeth even conceived him. Before she even conceived him,

the Bible declares that he was determined as being great in the

sight of the Lord, consecrated and controlled by the Holy Ghost

before he was even conceived. Does someone hear me?

He's not forming yet, and his mother's womb, not the first

cell, has split. And God has purpose for John the

Baptist before the conception, the Bible says even of Samson,

the Bible tells us before he was conceived, he was projected to

be a Nazarite from birth, and he was declared to be a deliverer

for the children of Israel from the Philistines.

Before one bit of bone, sinew, or heartbeat happened, God had a

purpose for him, the Bible says in Isaiah 49, and one that God

called Isaiah from his mother's womb.

What are all these things saying, John the Baptist,

Samson, what are all these things saying?

I tell you what they're saying. They're telling me that all

these things point to purpose. Before there was a body, before

there was a disposition, before there was a countenance, before

there was a big head and little feet, before there was any, if

you will, identifier of a sin physical body.

God was speaking purpose over them because God had a purpose

for them before their bodies and their personalities were even

constructed, before they were introduced to the world, before

the opinions of me and Kang, before the performance of that

individual happened. God says I got purpose.

I got a concept behind my artwork.

I know you think it's a banana tape to a wall, but it's so much

more than that. Come on, Say man.

So then other people, others of us, I don't mind taking this

jacket off and on because I'm up here sweating.

Others of us for the reefs. We cloak ourself.

We go back to the achievements with what we've done, good or

bad. But seems like when we have low

self worth, it's with the bad. We identify ourselves according

to what we've done. Listen to pastor tonight.

Just because you've made a mistake, does it make you a

mistake? And the evidences of us cloaking

ourself in these negative things, I think then are are

revealed in in the power of forgiveness.

Because whenever we receive forgiveness of our sins,

transgressions, mistakes, XYZ, when we receive forgiveness of

those, the Bible tells us that God takes those and cast them

into the depths of the sea. So if all of those mistakes had

been my cloak of identity, hear me, all those have been my cloak

of identity and forgiveness comes, you know, here's Hattie

over here. Whatever horrible things she's

done in life, it's her identity that you know, her mistakes of

she's been, she's a mistake. Then when forgiveness comes, God

says, I'm taking all of that. I'm unveiling, I'm unveiling the

real you behind all of that. And I'm casting this over here

in the depths of the sea not to be remembered again.

And so we lose the very things that we used and allowed and

permitted to identify us. And people didn't feel very

vulnerable because having been covered and known by those

things for so long, there's a vulnerability now that happens.

But that's why you don't stay uncloaked.

The Bible says that when we take on Christ, we've been as many

have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ, He gives us

a new identity. The apostle Paul said in

Galatians 220, he says in a phrase there, the life which I

now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.

Here's where I find we are sometimes even as a church, and

it grieves my heart. But today's church is vulnerable

because society at large has been conditioned to be built up

and propped up. And, and, and I don't have

nothing against biblical scriptural edification.

The Bible says even the gifts of the Spirit need to be used for

edification or for building up the body or building up one

another. But there's a difference in that

and also Christ's identification.

Come and hear me. We can't come to church and then

just barter with identity from the church people that we attend

with for our identity. No, I can't.

I can't. Like Sister Sheila, you know,

for a good price, or maybe you'll be good to share.

Just share the identity you have so I can cook.

No, it don't work. Like you can't barter identity

from somebody else or from the church for you.

What you need is an experience you need.

You've had the creation experience, but you need the new

creation experience. Satisfied them belonging and the

belonging. Amen.

That being loved and appreciated for who you are.

Pastor Antonio, Yeah, I work in cahoots with him.

When I, I do book reviews, some people don't know that, but I do

book reviews for a company called the Apostolic Review.

And Pastor Antonio Mancino is known as the book mentor.

That's his name. And so he shared this the other

day. That's probably been some time

ago now. He said if you're looking for

some good sections of scripture to determine your identity in

Christ, he said, check out Ephesians one because it's

there. We find that we're chosen, we're

loved, we're adopted, we're redeemed, we're forgiven by God,

we're seen as holy and blameless.

He said, Ephesians chapter #2 that we're alive, we're saved,

we're raised up, we're seated with Christ in heavenly places,

and 1st Peter chapter #2 that were a chosen race, a royal

priesthood, a holy nation, a people that's for God's own

possession. It's the art of purpose.

It's the concept behind you. What's the purpose, what's the

meaning, what's the intention that God had behind devising you

to live in this time among these people in this era?

And I won't hold you much longer, but we are more than

what we or other people see. There's going to be people and

they're going to fail to they're they're they're going to

misunderstand and fail to appreciate your value.

Listen to Pastor Knight, their interpretations do not diminish

the design that God has placed behind.

People may not always understand who we are, why you were

created, but that doesn't change the truth that say the psalmist

said. We are fearfully and wonderfully

made with a purpose ordained by God before even time, before we

were even created in our mother's womb.

God has imprinted you. You need to understand this

tonight. God has imprinted you with His

worth. Amen.

He's given you value that is beyond what the world can see.

Why? Because you're connected to the

life and the purpose of Christ. If you'll stand with me tonight.

So what we need to do is we leave this place.

This is this is number 4 lesson of all this.

So you haven't heard the other three go back and encourage you

to listen to them. But what we need to do tonight

and we can just close our eyes right now in this moment.

We need as we leave, we we need to focus on the one true source

of value and that that is our God, our creator, our Redeemer.

And you need to ask yourself this question as you leave here

tonight. Am I walking in the purpose that

God has for me? How am I walking in the purpose

that God has for me? And if you're not, you need to

commit tonight that I'm going to walk in the good works that God

had prepared for me. We talk, I think about this all

times. And God could have had you born

in any generation. God could have had you born in

any time, but God had you born today in this generation.

With purpose and reason. And So what I'm challenging you

to do is to step into that purpose, knowing that the one

who has created you, he's got all the tools necessary for the

equipping or the empowering of you to fulfill the concept

behind you as his artwork. You need to embrace who you are

in Christ Jesus. Embrace who you are as a

creation of God. You need to walk confidently out

here tonight with value. Value that not you've assigned

to you, Not value what other people have assigned to you.

Not value that your performance have assigned to you, but value

that God has assigned to you. There's purpose behind this

workmanship and that workmanship is these altars are open

tonight. Maybe someone wants to be a

psalmist tonight and wrestle on this altar and say, God, will I

consider this of you and that of you and all of these things that

are the workings of your fingers.

Maybe someone needs to wrestle around with that, ponder with

that, as you say, God, why would you visit me?

Why would you be? Why would you mark me?

Why would you mention me? And you come to the conclusion

and understand it's more than just about how I appear and how

I function. It's God has purpose embedded in

me. God has concept and desire.

He has intention in me. God worked that intention out in

my life. God help me, Lord, to walk.

Lord, in the purpose that you have placed upon my life, God,

that you even placed there for some God, and I say no doubt,

probably most of us, God, before we were ever conceived.

God, you had Paul McGee, Lord on your mind before he existed in

his mother's womb. You had purpose for him.

God values you tonight. Reject the reject the narratives

heavens try to place on you. Reject the negativity you try to

place on yourself. You've been created of God.

You've been born again. You've been recreated by God.

Hallelujah. You're his hand.

You're the you're the worth of his hand, so to speak.

You're the work of his mind and the intense You're here right

now for a purpose. You're here right now in the

service for purpose. You're hearing from this world,

serving in your life right now with intentions of heaven down

upon you. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.

Hallelujah, Brother Mason. I love you, Jesus.

Come on, quit beating yourself down.

Why I'm not fixed by quit Quit short selling your value.