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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you. Welcome. Thanks so much for letting us come into your homes. We love you.
If you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. These are the finest people in all of Houston, Texas, right here at Lakewood. Love to have you come out whenever you can, but thanks for tuning in. Thank you again for coming out today. I like to get started with something funny. Heard about this five-year-old boy named Tommy.
It was his grandmother's birthday, and after wishing her a happy birthday, he said, grandmother, how old are you? She said, Tommy, I'm 39 and holding. He thought about it a moment, said, grandmother, how old would you be if you let go? Mm-hmm. Hold up your Bible. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do.
Today, I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same in Jesus name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about seeing yourself as a masterpiece. Too many people go around feeling wrong on the inside. They don't really like who they are.
They think, if I was just a little taller, if I had a better personality, if my metabolism was a little faster, or if I just looked like her, then I would feel good about myself. No, when God created you, he went to great lengths to make you exactly like he wanted. You didn't accidentally get your personality. You didn't just happen to get your height, your looks, your skin color, your gifts.
God designed you on purpose to be the way you are. You have what you need to fulfill your destiny. If you needed to be taller, God would have made you taller. If you needed to be a different nationality, God would have made you that way. If you needed to look like her instead of you, you would have looked like her. You've got to be confident in who God made you to be.
And Ephesians 2.10 says, we are God's masterpiece. That means you are not ordinary. You didn't come off an assembly line. You weren't mass produced. You are one of a kind. Nobody in this world has your fingerprints. There will never be another you. If you're going to reach your highest potential, you have to see yourself as unique, as an original, as God's very own masterpiece.
When I was in my early 20s, I was sitting on the beach in India all alone watching the sun set. It was a magnificent scene. The water was so blue. As far as I could see from the right to the left, miles and miles of beach and palm trees. The sun was huge on the horizon just about to set.
As I sat there reflecting, thinking about my life, I heard God ask me something, not out loud, but just an impression down in here. He said, Joel, you think this is a beautiful picture, do you? I said, yes, God, I think this is a magnificent picture. He said, well, what do you think would be my most prized painting, my most incredible creation? I thought about it a moment.
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Chapter 2: What does it mean to see yourself as a masterpiece?
That was great. But Joel, when I made you, I breathed my very life into you. I created you in my own image. Friends, you are God's most prized possession. Don't go around feeling wrong about yourself. Quit wishing you were taller, had a better personality, or looked like somebody else. You've been painted by the most incredible painter there could ever be.
When God created you, he stepped back and looked, said that was good, another masterpiece. He stamped his approval on you. You know how on the back of our shirts, most of the time there's a tag, says made in America, made in China, made in Mexico. Well, somewhere on you, there's a tag that says made by almighty God. Now put your shoulders back. Hold your head up high. You are extremely valuable.
You have royal blood flowing through your veins. You are wearing a crown of favor. When those thoughts come in the morning, telling you everything that you're not, you need to remind yourself, I've got the fingerprints of God all over me. The way I look, the way I smile, my gifts, my personality, I know I am not average. I am a masterpiece.
That's the thoughts that should be playing in our mind all day long. Not, I'm slow, I'm unattractive, I'm just one of the seven billion people on earth. No, God did not make anything average. If you have breath to breathe, you are a masterpiece. Now, people may try to make you feel average. Your own thoughts may try to convince you that you're ordinary.
Life will try to push you down and steal your sense of value. That's why all through the day, you have to remind yourself who your painter is. When you dwell on the fact that Almighty God breathed His life into you, He approved you, equipped you, empowered you, then any thoughts of low self-esteem, inferiority, they won't have a chance.
Few years ago, I was in somebody's home and they have all these paintings on the wall. And to me, they weren't very impressive. In fact, some of them look like they had been painted by a child. Very abstract, modern, paint thrown here and there. But later that evening, they mentioned how they had paid over a million dollars for just one of those paintings.
I looked at it again, thought, wow, that is beautiful, isn't it? Come to find out, it was an original Picasso painted by the famous artist Pablo Picasso. What dawned on me that night is it's not so much what the painting looks like, it's who the painter is. The painting gets its value from its creator.
In the same way, our value doesn't come because of what we look like or what we do or who we know. Our value comes from the fact that Almighty God is our painter. Now don't criticize what God has painted. Accept yourself. Approve yourself. You are not an accident. You have been fearfully and wonderfully made.
And I wonder what would happen if all through the day, instead of putting ourselves down, instead of dwelling on the negative, we would go around thinking, I'm a masterpiece. I'm wonderfully made. I'm talented. I'm original. I have everything that I need. See, the enemy doesn't want you to feel good about yourself.
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Chapter 3: How can we overcome feelings of inadequacy?
I dare you to get up each day and say, good morning, you wonderful thing. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. That's what David said. Psalm 139, God, I praise you because you have made me in an amazing way. What you have done is wonderful. How many of us will be bold enough to say like David, I'm amazing. I'm a masterpiece. Most people, those thoughts never enter into their mind.
They're too busy putting themselves down, focusing on their flaws, comparing themselves to others that they think are better. No, your painter, your creator says you're amazing. You're wonderful. You're a masterpiece. Now it's up to you to get an agreement with God. If you go around focused on your flaws, listening to what other people are saying, you can miss your destiny.
The recording that should be playing in our mind all day long is I'm valuable. I'm a masterpiece. I'm a child of the most high God. Some of you, this is what's holding you back. Your recording is negative. There are enough people in life already against you. Don't be against yourself. Change your recording. Start seeing yourself as the masterpiece God created you to be.
I read a story about this man that died in extreme poverty. At one point, he was homeless, living on the streets, barely got by in life. After the funeral, some of his relatives went to the rundown apartment and gathered up his belongings. He had a painting on the wall. They took it down and sold it at a garage sale.
The person that bought it took the painting to the local art gallery to learn more about it. Come to find out, it was extremely valuable. It had been painted back in the 1800s by a famous artist. It ended up selling at an auction for over $3 million. That man lived his whole life in poverty because he didn't realize what he had.
In the same way, every one of you has been painted by the most famous artist there could ever be. But if you don't understand your value, you go around thinking, well, I'm just kind of average. I'm not that talented. And I've made a lot of mistakes in life.
If you let that negative recording play, just like this man, even though you have everything you need, even though you're full of potential, you'll never tap into it. That's why every morning you need to remind yourself, I am not average. I am not ordinary. I have the fingerprints of God all over me. I am a masterpiece.
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Chapter 4: What personal experiences illustrate the concept of self-worth?
There was an article in a medical magazine. It talked about how these researchers scientifically calculated how much money the human body is worth. They added up the cost of all the enzymes, cells, tissue, organs, hormones, everything contained in the body. They concluded that an average-sized person is worth $6 million. You've heard of the $6 million man.
Today I am looking at $6 million people. You can put your shoulders back. You can have a spring in your step. Your heavenly father has invested $6 million into you. The good news is you didn't even have to pay taxes on it. Think of this, $6 million is an average size person. Some of you are worth $9 million today. That's the way to look at it. You're not overweight. You're just more valuable.
Jesus said to love your neighbor as you love yourself. If you don't love yourself in a healthy way, you will never be able to love others in the way that you should. This is why some people don't have good relationships. If you don't get along with yourself, you'll never get along with others.
We all have weaknesses, shortcomings, things that we wish were different, but God never designed us to go through life being against ourselves. The opinion you have of yourself is the most important opinion that you have. If you see yourself as less than, not talented, not valuable, then you will become exactly that. You are constantly conveying what you feel on the inside.
Even subconsciously, you're sending messages out. If you feel unattractive on the inside, you can be the most beautiful person in the world, but you will convey feelings of unattractiveness that's going to push people away. The problem is on the inside. You carry yourself the way you see yourself. I've seen just the opposite happen.
A few years ago, I met a young lady, and on the surface, in the natural, and I say this very respectfully, she wasn't necessarily attractive. She didn't have a lot of natural beauty, but can I tell you, on the inside, she had it going on. She knew she was made in the image of Almighty God. She knew she was crowned with favor. She may have looked ordinary, but she thought extraordinary.
She carried herself like a queen. She walked like she was royalty. She smiled like she was Miss America. She dressed like she was headed for the runway. She may have bought it at a secondhand store, but she wore it like it was brand new from Saks Fifth. All I could say was, you go, girl. What was the difference? On the inside, she sees herself beautiful, strong, talented, valuable.
What's on the inside will eventually show up on the outside. Because she sees herself as a masterpiece, she exudes strength, beauty, confidence. Here's the key. People see you the way you see yourself. If you see yourself strong, talented, valuable with it, that's the way other people will see you. That's the messages you're sending out.
But if you see yourself as less than, not talented, not valuable, that's the way others will see you.
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Chapter 5: How does God view our identity and value?
She had it going on, strong, confident, secure. The queen wasn't the wealthiest woman in the room. She wasn't the fittest, nor the most educated, A lot of people would have been intimidated walking into that room, but not her. She walked in like she owned the place. Why? She knows who she is. She's the queen. She comes from a long line of royalty.
It's been ingrained in her thinking, I'm not average. I'm not ordinary. I am one of a kind. No doubt some mornings when the queen wakes up, the same thoughts come to her mind that come to all of us. You're not as beautiful as your sister. You're not as talented as your brother. You're not as smart as your coworker. Be intimidated. You're inferior.
The queen lets that go in one ear and out the other. She thinks, what are you talking about? Doesn't matter how I compare to others. I'm the queen. I've got royalty in my blood. In my DNA is generations of influence, honor, prestige. And if you and I could ever just start seeing ourselves as the kings, the queens God made us to be, we would never be intimidated again.
You don't have to be the most talented to feel good about yourself. You don't have to have the most education, the most success. When you understand your heavenly father breathed his life into you, you too come from a long line of royalty. Instead of being intimidated, insecure by someone that you think is more important, you can do like the queen.
Just be at ease, be kind, be confident, be friendly, knowing that you are one of a kind. Ladies, you may not be the most beautiful person, but be confident you're the queen. Men, you may not be the most successful, but stand up tall. You're the king. Not crowned by people, but crowned by Almighty God. But a lot of times we think, well, Joel, I can't feel good about myself.
I've got this addiction. I struggle with a bad temper. I've made a lot of mistakes in life. I sure don't feel like a masterpiece. Well, here's the key. Your value is not based on your performance. You don't have to do enough good and then maybe God will approve you. God has already approved you. When Jesus was being baptized by John in the Jordan River, he hadn't started his ministry yet.
He had never opened one blind eye, never raised the dead, never turned water into wine. He had not performed one miracle, but a voice boomed out of the heavens. And God said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. His father was pleased with him because of who he was and not because of anything he had or had not done.
We think, well, if I could break this addiction, then I'd feel good about myself. If I could read my Bible more, if I'd bite my tongue and not argue so much, then maybe I wouldn't be against myself. No, you've got to learn to accept yourself while you're in the process of changing.
Amen.
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Chapter 6: What role does self-acceptance play in personal growth?
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Choose every morning to begin with a declaration of God's eternal promise. You can request these inspiring resources by calling 888-567-JOEL or logging on to joelostein.com today. Call or click anytime, 24 hours a day. Request your copies today.