Discovering Destiny (Part 3) – God Made A Masterpiece When He Made You

https://youtu.be/ZbvKsB22oPk?si=-hbCpQfPacV0_2XK

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

So far in our “Discovering Destiny” series, we learned that you discover your destiny, you do not create it, and that God planned you before time began. Today, I want to give you the most beautiful picture of how God sees your life. He does not call it an accident. He calls it His masterpiece.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”

Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”

1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Scripture we will study today:

Ephesians 2:10 TPT“We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!”

Supporting scriptures:

Ephesians 2:10 AMPC“For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].”

Psalm 139:14 ERV“I praise you because you made me in such a wonderful way. I know how amazing that was!”

Isaiah 64:8 ERV“But Lord, you are our father. We are like clay, and you are the potter. Your hands made us all.”

Matthew 5:16 TPT“Don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others, so that the commendable things you do will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to your Father in heaven.”

Setting the Stage:

I did not go to the museums in New York growing up very much (other than on school trips), because my family did not have that kind of money. I live in the DC area. One of the things I think is really cool about living in this area is that I can go to the Smithsonian family of museums free of charge. I take my family from time to time, and I really like looking at history and also looking at art pieces. You can tell the difference between a random work and a masterpiece. A masterpiece is deliberate. As the word implies, when you look at one, you are looking at the work of a master. When Paul described your life in Ephesians 2:10, he did not call it an accident. He used a word that means a crafted work. He said you are God’s workmanship, His handiwork, the work of His own hands. That means your life is not random. It is a deliberate work of art. The Artist chose every detail on purpose before you were ever born. You are a masterpiece God carefully made. Let’s discuss what this means.

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. You Are A Masterpiece, Not An Accident.

The word Paul uses in Ephesians 2:10 is “poiema.” It means a work, a thing that is made, a piece of craftsmanship. Most translations render it “workmanship” or “handiwork,” and the NLT calls you God’s “masterpiece.” It is also where we get the English word “poem,” which is why the TPT says “we have become his poetry.” Either way, the meaning lands in the same place: you are something God deliberately made. A masterpiece is the opposite of random. No artist creates a masterpiece by accident. You were not thrown together. 

How this applies to you:

— Ephesians 2:10 AMPC says “we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship).” Not His afterthought, not His leftover, not His accident. You are the deliberate work of God’s hands.

— No artist ever creates a masterpiece by accident. Every masterpiece was first imagined in the mind of the creator and then worked on, in some cases, for decades, with intent and purpose. 

— The TPT even calls it “his poetry,” because that same word gives us our English word “poem.” However you say it, you are something God deliberately made.

— You are not a rough draft. God is still trying to fix. God sent you to this planet to get started, after His plans for you were finished. 

— Psalm 139:14 ERV says, “I praise you because you made me in such a wonderful way.” You can look in the mirror and disagree with God, or you can agree with the One who called His work wonderful. I choose to agree with God.

— You were not thrown together; you were carefully crafted.

— Some of you have been told your whole life that you were a mistake, an accident, an unplanned surprise. Listen to me. You may have been a surprise to your parents, but you were never a surprise to God. The Artist was at work on you before your parents ever met. Meditate on this, and it will give you an overwhelming sense of purpose.

2. The Masterpiece Was Designed For A Purpose Before You Were Born.

A true masterpiece is never created without intent. The artist has the finished work in mind before the first stroke ever touches the canvas. Ephesians 2:10 says God planned in advance your destiny and the good works you would do, and the AMPC says He prepared the paths ahead of time so that you could walk in them. The good works you are supposed to do are not waiting on your imagination. It is waiting on your discovery.

How this applies to you:

— Ephesians 2:10 TPT says God planned “in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!” The purpose was built into the masterpiece before you showed up to live it. You are not inventing it; you are discovering it.

— Ephesians 2:10 AMPC says God prepared “paths which He prepared ahead of time, that we should walk in them.” Heaven already did the work. Your feet just have to find the path.

— This is why straining and striving never produced your destiny. You do not add brushstrokes to a finished work of art. Stop trying to create what the Artist already completed.

— You are not the artist of your life; you are the one who walks in what God already painted.

— For years, I treated my purpose like a blank canvas I had to fill with my own words, my own confessions, and by finding scriptures I wanted to stand on. Then grace showed me the canvas was already finished before I was born. The good works were already planned. My job was to discover them and walk them out by faith.

3. You Were Custom-Built For Your Calling.

Ephesians 2:10 does not only say the works were prepared. It says YOU were prepared. You are His workmanship, custom-built for the very works He assigned to you. God did not call you to something you were not built for. He built you for exactly what He called you to. 

How this applies to you:

— You were hand-made by God for the works He prepared. You were not mass-produced. You are a one-of-one.

— Identity comes before activity, so when you know who you are, what to do finally starts to make sense.

— God has called me to a non-denominational, multiracial, multi-ethnic ministry. God has called me to connect with all types of people from all types of backgrounds, like Paul, to become all things to all people so that some might get saved. And guess what? When I was growing up on the corner of New Jersey Avenue and Sutter Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn, God was preparing me for my assignment. I had experiences as a little boy that were preparing me for my purpose, and I didn’t even know it until later in life. 

— While people call New York City a melting pot, there were also some pretty significant, defined lines between groups of people.

• The blacks and Puerto Ricans hung out together.

• The Jamaicans and those from the islands hung out together.

• The people from the projects hung out together.

• Dominicans and many of the folks from Guatemala, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and so on hung out together.

I was one of the only people (actually the only person I know) who was able to go in between all of these groups. I did not know it, but God was preparing me for my purpose the entire time. 

— God did not call you to something He did not build you for.

— Isaiah 64:8 ERV says, “you are the potter. Your hands made us all.” You are not self-made. You are God-made, shaped by the hands of the only One who knew what He was making. The Potter does not make mistakes.

— Stop trying to copy somebody else’s masterpiece. God did not create your life to look like theirs. The very thing that makes you different is what the Artist built into you on purpose, so quit apologizing for the way He made you.

4. A Masterpiece Is Made To Be Displayed.

Here is the last thing about being God’s masterpiece. No artist creates a masterpiece to hide it in a closet. A masterpiece is made to be displayed, hung where people can see it. God did not craft your life so you could keep it in the dark. He made you to be seen by a watching world. When people see the good works your life walks in, they are seeing the Artist through the art. Your life puts God’s craftsmanship on display. 

How this applies to you:

— God did not craft your life for you to keep it in the dark. He made you to be seen, displayed before a watching world. You are His craftsmanship on display.

— Matthew 5:16 TPT says, “Let it shine brightly before others, so that the commendable things you do… will give their praise to your Father in heaven.” When people see the good your life walks in, they are seeing the Artist through the art.

— Here is a major point that people miss. When the masterpiece is on display, it doesn’t show the greatness of the masterpiece. It shows the greatness of the one who made it. You are not the point of the masterpiece; the Artist is.

— This takes all the pressure off. You do not have to perform to impress anybody, because the masterpiece was never about showcasing you. It was always about revealing Him. Your only job is to let the work of His hands be seen.

— The world meets the Artist (God) by looking at what He made in, with, and through you!

— So walk into today knowing you are a living masterpiece made by the hand of God. Let the good works show. Let the light shine. Let them see the Artist all over your life, because a work this carefully made was always meant to be put on display.

That’s enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that I am Your masterpiece, not Your accident!

Every detail of my life was chosen on purpose!

I was not thrown together. I was carefully crafted!

The good works were designed into me before I was born!

I am not the artist of my life; I walk in what You made!

I am Your workmanship, custom-built for my calling!

The good is not my stretch goal; it is my design!

I will stop copying someone else’s masterpiece and live the one You made!

My life puts Your craftsmanship on display, and the world sees You through me!

This is THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!