So need to see that. Isn't it grateful for each of those who have been reading Scripture for us in this series? Welcome, by the way. My apologies for those of you with a hard time in the parking lot when there's snow and it's just Sunday mornings are already a little bit crazy. But thank you for braving the elements and being here today.

I want to talk today from the Scripture about masterpieces of God, masterpieces of God maybe got notes on your way in. You can also get them on your phone, follow along the scriptures are going to read. Let me start, though, by telling when Mary and I over the Christmas break, we had two of our five kids home and and so we took them to we did some iconic Cleveland things West side market, you know, some that we went to and we went to Cleveland Museum of Art.

It's a great spot, isn't it, that you have that expansive space you see there? And it's just beautiful. It's free. I love the impressionist works. It's my favorite section, but there's a lot of other quality exhibits. It almost turned into a really tough time a couple of years ago when I was there with Mary, because we're looking to sell some of the paintings, and Mary got her finger within about five inches of a painting.

The museum, one of the staff came over. They arrested her, put her in prison for no, not quite. But that's the thing that normally happens to me. And she's going, Jonathan. But the funny part was what had happened the second time. And I'm like, wow, my, you know, there she is. Do you know what the most expensive piece of art ever sold for was seven years ago.

And it was this painting right here, the Salvator Mundi. How much would you pay for that? The price of that painting was 450,000,000.3. Don't forget that. 300,000 for the 50.3 million the same, but the same price that it cost to launch the space shuttle or to buy 450,000 iPhones. One for everybody in Cleveland. That is a lot of money, right.

But here's what I want you to do. Would you look at the person nearest you and just tell them, say you are worth way more than that masterpiece? Would you tell them that you are worth way more than that masterpiece? And to those of you engaging in a line, welcome to you as well. I want to tell you, if you're watching by yourself, you are worth way more than that masterpiece.

And I say that I'm the authority of God's word. When we read this in Ephesians chapter two, we are God's Word masterpiece. I mean, the Scripture says that He created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things He planned for as long ago. If you guys want to leave that verse up just for a second there, here's what it says.

You're his masterpiece. And when you put your faith in Christ as he creates us, what he creates is a new so even when we've defaced, you know who we are, our person, by some decisions we've made things like that. When when God, when He welcomes us back, when we come to him, his grace just comes and makes us anew.

Thanks for having that up there. That's what it says, Right? But here's what we often do. We believe the lies about, about that we hear from others, maybe from someone who was a significant person in our life. And we think that we question our worth. We feel insecure. Maybe you look in the mirror and and you wish you were something different.

You think of only this one thing about me with change and we question how we've been made in God's perspective is this I want you to hear it. He looks at you and you are God's masterpiece. You have incredible value to him. You are worth way more than that piece of art up there. The first chapter of the Bible makes it clear that humans are the climax of God's creation.

We're set apart from animal life, even that in itself that that's the Scriptures You are worth way more than any animal. You are even higher than the angels. The Bible says you are God's masterpiece and friends. That has a huge influence, not only on the way that we see ourselves, the person in the mirror, but the way that we see others, the way that we treat them.

At least that should their value their dignity because they are masterpieces as well. That's a theme all the way through the Scripture. Let's turn to our passage for today, Psalm 139, Psalm 139. We're in part three of the series called Near Near Expresses God's Heart for US, said that he wants to be in relationship with us. And so you and I are invited to put our trust in Jesus, what he's done for us.

When he went to the cross, he took the penalty for all that we've done wrong, our shame. And and then, you know, here he is. This the God who is and who was and who is to come. And he invites us into his family. And and I hope you've accepted his invitation, but even if you haven't, I'm really glad you're here, glad you're tuning in and investigating the claims of Jesus and what he says about life and about us.

By the way, I want to give a shout out to our those who are engaging in our online community from all over different places and to our brothers at Lorain Correctional. Several more got baptized last week. And we just want to say we are so glad to have you as part of the family and love you guys. And and some of you have been able to come and be here when you've been released.

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And we look forward to seeing more of you. And but I know some of you are going to different places around Ohio or the nation. But welcome. Really glad to have you. When we come to the Lord, he places us into a family, this growing global family that is going to be not just for here but forever. He takes wounded and broken people like me and he says, Jonathan, I'm not only forgiving you, I'm adopting you.

And he adopts me to be his son or you to be his daughter like he he wants you to be in his family. You are a masterpiece of God friends. When we really grasp that it, it changes our outlook on life. It changes the way that we live, the way we relate. So here's the question How does God really see you?

Like, how does he how does he see you from the time that you were just an idea or a little conceived, you know, so small, microscopic. Psalm 139, we're picking this up verse 13 and here's what we read. Lord, you created my inmost being. You knit me together and my mother's womb. The psalmist wants to be clear. The Lord, the Lord is the one who designed you.

You're not just the product of two people who came together. You are a design of Almighty God. You believe that He saw you. He saw you being formed, and you're a work of art by the Lord of all creation. He knit you together. I mean that word there in Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament means you're handcrafted by God with unique abilities and strengths, weaknesses, so that we recognize our need for other people with gifts to make a difference.

He didn't just make the universe he made you. He made you Colossians. Chapter one says, Every God created everything. Every thing, including you, was made through him. And for him, when you are made by the master artist that just your worth, you are worth way more than 40 or $50 million. C.S. Lewis in his book The Weight of Glory, says this The dullest and most uninteresting person who comes to mind for you and I shouldn't.

I should even say that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to May one day be a creature which if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship. There are no ordinary people. There are no ordinary people. Would you see the Lord with me? There are no ordinary people. The person sitting next to you today, you.

You are a masterpiece of God. So almost continues in verse 14. He says, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth at that last little Fraser depths of the earth is simply a metaphor for the hidden ness of the womb as a poetic way of describing the dark and mysterious place that was invisible to them.

Like they didn't have like ultrasound and all the rest. And so they're like the depths. Like it just this doesn't mean that they were somehow created inside the planet, but but that it was a hidden place. But they say even then, God, you saw and you created with such incredible precision. What does it mean to be fearfully and wonderfully made?

The Hebrew word there is paler fur, which just reinforces the notion of our individual craftsmanship and purpose. In other words, you're not you're not like on some kind of assembly line kind of deal where guys like, yeah, are all you know. He had you specifically in mind when you came to be you're beautiful. You're finely tuned. When it talks about fearfully, it doesn't mean you're scared.

You just take the letters of that. Were scared and just turn them. And it's really more of a sacred. Sacred. You're almost in awe. You know, you you watch the sunset over the Grand Tetons or some kind of mountain range, and you're like, Wow, that's amazing. Or up at Lakeside Park. Anybody been there? Everyone claps and the sun goes down over the lake, you know, and you just go, Wow.

Or you're in a cathedral that just sort of inspiring. Or maybe you're holding a newborn in your arms and you look and you go, Wow, this is amazing, right? Fearfully, wonderfully made is sort of this incredible design, all of which just reflects the Laura's expansive intelligence and wisdom and creativity. Kind of. Sure. Few of my favorite facts about the masterpiece that you are the person next to you.

Every single person that God weaves and knits together fearfully and wonderfully made. You know what the fastest muscle in your body is? This right here. Sort of scary, isn't it? Your eye, your eyes capable of contracting in less than 100th of a second. It's why we say about something that happens fast. We see it happened in the blink of an eye, Right?

Your eyes are so powerful. Get this. Your eyes are so powerful that the light of a candle your eye can see from 1.7 miles away. How about your pinky finger? Sometimes big things come in small packages, right? Did you know how vital your pinky is? Without your pinky finger, you would lose about 50% of your hand strength. Every single part valuable.

How about your cardiovascular system? Did you know that your body produces your bone marrow, produces over 2 million red blood cells every six second, and that's you can go and Google that later every second. 2 million red blood cells, your body's pumping out your heartbeats 2 billion times in a lifetime, pumping your blood through over 100,000 miles of blood vessels inside your body.

Think about that. You take all of the arteries, veins, capillaries, everything, stretch them out. They would go around the planet four times, just your body, fearful, oily and wonderfully made right? Thinking about cells. There are 200 different types of cells in your body. STEM cells, bone cells, muscle cells. For me, a lot of fat cells. You know, each cell remarkable in its own miniaturized way with electric fields and protein factories and little motors, you know, And how about your ear?

The smallest bones in your body are inside your ear to know that, in fact, they're so small they could fit on top of a penny, but without them, you wouldn't be able to hear a thing. And your ear is self-cleaning because of one thing. You can guess what it is that what you might think is nasty earwax is actually a protective measure against against bacteria hurting your ear.

How about this one? Did you know that in an average lifetime, a single person produces enough saliva to fill two of those? Right there, Summer, you go. And that's enough. And I know a guy probably fills one of those every month. He's always can you know, he's just like baseball players up to bat, right? Friends. God is the master artist creating, knitting, forming The psalmist says he's he's always seen us even when we were. Just this little. Bunch of cells that began to create God knew us and songs. And verse 14 one translation says, God, your workmanship is marvelous. The psalmist doesn't stop there. Those not only the God knows about your pass, and he saw you when you were being formed inside your mom and he loved you even then. But that today, verse 16 says this Your I saw my own form body all the days ordained for me, all the days ahead were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Here's what's being said about God's knowledge of your life. And Lord knows your future as well as He knows your past. He sees what no one else can see into the future. That's why you go. Why would you do life without him? As one friend put it, your diary is already on God's shelf before your life even began.

Does that sort of blow your mind? Friends, when we ponder this and we grasp how the Lord sees us, you just go, Wow, God, if that really is true and you might question whether you believe this, but how does your life have value? Apart from seeing a divine signature on who you are made Imago Day The image of God.

So the question is, how shall we then live? Like what? What does this mean for us? Is that the question to ask? If you're God's masterpiece and if your neighbor is God's masterpiece and the person who works in the cubicle next to you or on the line, or a fellow student or you're anybody, every person with whom you lock eyes, how shall we then live?

We start here with worship, not worshiping our body, but worshiping the artist himself. This is what the soul most does, he says in verse 14, God, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Can we just join in worship together? Let's say that allow the white words there on the screen. Can we say it together? Ready?

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderful. Lee, May some of you need to look in the mirror later today and say that again, not praising yourself, but saying, God, I want to praise you because our human nature is to do what we often know like ourselves. This sort of like getting a gift from somebody, you know, last month and they go, Well, I don't really like the color.

I mean, I don't know what you were thinking when you got this for me and, you know, and whatever. If I do that with God, with the gift that he's given me and God, I praise you whatever I like or maybe don't like about myself, God, I'm I'm fearfully and wonderfully made in the psalmist starts with Praise God, I give you praise.

Can also say this not only worship, but surrender honored Jesus with your whole person. Some you know the verse in Romans chapter 12 or it says this in light of everything God has done his mercy, the fact that Jesus went to the cross for you, He gave his life for you, the author says, So present your what your your body's as living sacrifices holy and acceptable to God.

Like he We owe our lives to him. In fact, here's we read in first Corinthians six. Don't you realize your body, if you've given your life to Christ, is the Temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God, you do not belong to yourself. You do not belong to yourself. For God bought you at the high price.

You must honor God with your body. So He didn't only make us, he redeemed us. That's what Paul says. You're you're born with the price. And so there's all kinds of implications here. But essentially we say, Lord, I want my body. I want my whole self to be used for your purposes. I want to honor you with the way I care for this body, the way because God comes and he makes his home within us.

John, Chapter 14. Jesus says this Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. That's how you really love God. You obey him, you follow his word. My father will love them and we will come to them and make our what our home with them. That's how close God is. He comes in, He inhabits us. Surrender. Protect is the next word here.

Recognize the value that God places on every person. Every single person matters to him a lot. Every single person, every person bears the divine signature. And when we really see that, even if we go God, But this person is so different, made in the image of God, they're a masterpiece, maybe defaced by other people's abuse, maybe by some of their own decisions.

They're still a masterpiece. And so Proverbs 31 says this Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Defend the rights of the poor and needy. In other words, when it's within your power, your influence to make an impact, to speak up for those whose rights are being denied. You do it because they're masterpieces of God. John Ortberg in his book Who Is This Man, talks about the dignity gap that has often existed because of the brokenness of our world, that there's always this lure to to give more value to some people than to other.

And he gives some examples. If you're looking at your notes, you'll see this here. And here's one example The world's faulty value system back in 350 B.C., around that time with Aristotle, he wrote that inequality was the natural order of things. Here's what he said from our the hour of their birth. Some are marked out for subjection and others for rule.

It's terrible, isn't it? Totally contrary to what the Scriptures say that the value that Jesus places on every person there. From the very first chapter, Gaza's let us make them in our what image like we bear the the image of God He's made us. We have tremendous value. But the world's faulty value system is so often persisted in the first century there was this hierarchical way of of ordering life and at the top were the gods, and most cultures had numerous gods, and below the gods were the king was the king.

And then he had the officials of his court and the priests. And then who reported the king. And below them were then the artisans and the merchants and the the craftspeople. And below them were, you know, those who came in, last large group of peasants and slaves. So the king was seen as being like in the image of God or almost semi-divine.

And then you had the rest of people, the rest of the human race. He had this huge dignity gap and peasants and slaves over here were not considered to be made in the image of God. And so they could be treated with with abuse. And then Jesus comes on the scene and what does he do? He gives great value to children and to lepers and to non-Jewish people and to the blind and the lame and the poor to everyone.

And it took hold to the extent that in the family of Jesus, when they got it right. If someone like the Apostle Paul in Galatians three who says this, there's neither Jew nor Greek slave nor free, male or female, yet all are one word in Christ that everyone has. There's no dignity gap in the family of God. Every person is a masterpiece.

Every person has great value to him. Imagine what that did to the hearts of people who were considered to be way down the rungs of the ladder and they go, Wow, he sees me, he values me. He went to the cross for me. Sadly, nations with Christian underpinnings such as our own have sometimes gotten a miserably wrong. In 1857, the Supreme Court handed down the Dred Scott decision, declaring that a runaway slave was seen as property.

The people of African descent, whether slave or free, were not protected by the U.S. Constitution and were not U.S. citizens. It was a horrible decision and it has lasting significance. Widely regarded as the worst decision ever made by the Supreme Court. 100 years later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, whose birthday we celebrated this past Monday in the spirit of Jesus teaching, declared, There are no gradations in the image of God.

In other words, there's there's not there's no hierarchy. Every person is a masterpiece. Every person is loved by God. Sally R Supreme Court, I believe, based on the scriptures, got it wrong again in 1973, the year of the disastrous Roe v Wade decision was declared, essentially that the life of an unborn child and you can't say it's anything else when you see the imagery and you say that the life of an unborn child could be ended by another person, you might call it another worst decision ever that another group of men once again got it miserably wrong.

\What are the scriptures teach? The Scriptures teach that every person is made in the image of God, that He formed a knit together, even in the mother's white womb. He says, Before you were born, God tells Jeremiah, before were born. I knew you.

I set you apart. So what can we do today? Can I kind of say this? I'm going to probably get a couple of emails and someone goes, You got political today. This isn't about politics. This is not Partizan. This is about saying, God, we want see people the way you see them. I want to honor every single person as a treasure, no matter how damaged by life or by sin or by situations as or simply someone who was so different from me that I'm hard pressed to identify with them.

God, I want to see them as a treasure. I want to see them the way you do every age, from conception to the end of life. Every nationality, every every political party, every ethnicity, no matter what football team they root for. Right? They're still made in the image of God. So what do we do? Proverbs 31 So speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Defend the rights of the poor and needy. In other words, when other people are tempted to give a hierarchy of value, we say, No, no, no, no. Every person made in the image of God, they're a masterpiece. Friends. When we do that, when we have the heart of God and we treasure people and value them like He does, the impact can be huge.

Let me close with this true story, John. Underneath night were happily anticipating the birth of their firstborn, they were told is a little boy and they decided name Paul. When Paul was born, they quickly were confronted with the fact that that he had major physical challenges, that Paul was born without eyes. Janna Denise would later discover that their son had other serious issues, including serious autism and growth hormone deficiency.

Two months after Paul's birth, as John was looking at his son in the hospital, hooked up to all kinds of tubes and wires and sensors and surrounded by medical professionals, he quietly told God, God, you are strong. That's true and you are wicked. You are mean. Do it to me, but not to this boy. What did he ever do to you?

And shortly after that purge on his knees, quit going to church. But one couple from their church refused to give up on them. Carl and Cherilyn never pressured John internecine spiritual issues. Instead They would just often stop by the drop off a loaf of freshly baked bread. They would bring by a little bag with soaps and shampoo and just trying to show kindness, John said.

It was like Carl and Jeralyn were saying, We notice you, we see you, we know you're hurting and we love you. Eventually, Jonathan is accepted a dinner invitation over to Carl in Geraldine's home. And during dinner, John told Carl, he said, You can believe whatever you want. I don't care. I have evidence that God is cruel. Carl softly replied, John, I love you.

I have regard for you and I want you to know I love your boy. Carl and Carolyn's four children also displayed unconditional love for little Paul. John described it this way. He said They throw my son up in the air and make him laugh and do funny bird sounds. And and that was confounding to me, because most people, most adults couldn't do that.

And so I would have this extraordinary expression of love and affection at the dinner table. And I would turn to my left and there would be at least one of these children playing with my son, Paul, like he was a real boy based on this family's quiet, persistent love. John and a niece said that was the ticket to them returning to the Lord and then coming back to their local church.

And when they returned, Carl and Jeralyn were right at their side, making sure that their son made it into the nursery, that they weren't alone. And John would later say, My friends Carl and Geralyn persisted. That was a big deal. They persisted and they loved us. They saw Paul, their little boy, as a masterpiece, knit together by a father who has put great value on every single person's life.

Just to be sure, we really grasp that today, would you turn to the person nearest you and tell them again You are a masterpiece of garbage. You tell them that you are a masterpiece of God. Would you pray with me? And I want to invite you to make these words your own father. God, Thank you for creating me to be me.

Your creation is good and beautiful, and I'm a part of that. You didn't make a mistake when you made me. You didn't make a mistake when you created the people around me. Lord, please help me to know deep in my heart that I am precious and loved and help me to hear those around. To see those around me, to treat those around me like treasures as well.

In Jesus name, we pray. And everyone said, Hey, man, you know, as we sing this next song, if there's someone you say, God, I just want to thank you for the masterpiece that I want to commit them to you. It helps to come to kneel here at the front. Or you just want a firm for yourself. God, I haven't always seen myself the way you see me.

And I just want to say to God, I surrender myself too. You're welcome to come here to the front, just to pray quietly as we saying team is going to lead us. Let's stand together and speak Jesus over everybody around us.