"WHAT MAKES YOU SO SPECIAL?"

Introduction:

1. There's a story about a little girl who climbed up on the lap of great-grandmother and looked at her white hair and wrinkles and then asked, "Did God make us ?" “Yes, God made both of us." she said. "Well, don't you think He's doing a better job now than he used to?"

2. Obviously, this little girl had no problem w/her self-image.

3. But many people have a problem with their self-image.

4. In fact, there are many Christians who have a poor image of themselves.

   1. They question their value and worth.

   2. They wonder of what use they are in the world.

5. They have a problem understanding how God could really love them.

   1. Yet the Bible clearly teaches that each & every one of us are special & are of utmost worth to God.

   2. In A.D. 399 Saint Augustine said, "People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars -- and they pass by themselves without wondering."

6. There are many reasons why people look down upon themselves.

   1. Some have been told all their lives that they will never amount to anything.

   2. Some have failed at their attempts to succeed in life.

   3. Others have trouble loving themselves so they can't understand how anybody else could.

But instead of focusing on why some Christians have a poor self-image, let's look to the Word of God & find out why you should consider yourself special.
YOU ARE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD

1. One day Charlie Brown was talking to his friend Linus about the pervasive sense of inadequacy he feels all the time. Charlie moaned, "You see, Linus, it goes all the way back to the beginning. The moment I was born & set foot on the stage of life they took one look at me & said, "Not right for the part."

2. Many of us have felt that we were not right for our part here on earth.

3. But the Bible tells us that we have all been made in the image of God.

   1. Genesis 1:26-27

   2. 1 Corinthians 11:7 says that we are both the "image" & the "glory" of God.

   3. To be made in the image of God means that we are beings who were given the spiritual qualities of God.

   4. It does not mean that we look like God--or heaven forbid, He looks like us.

   5. John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

   6. We cannot receive God's physical qualities for He has none--He is Spirit.

   7. So we have inherited the spiritual qualities of the Godhead.

   8. We were made in the image of Father, Son, & Spirit.

   9. We have been created in the spiritual image of God.

4. When we consider this we must come to the conclusion that each of us has an innate worth.

1. It is not based on our conduct or our lifestyle.

   1. Every human being has been made in the image of God.

   2. That means that the Christian; the drunkard; the moral; the immoral; the upstanding citizen; the murderer; all are of immense worth because all have been made in God's image.

   3. No matter if you have been a success or a failure, you can stand tall because God chose you to receive His image.

2. Your worth is not based on anything you have done --it is based on your origin--created in the image of God.

   1. If God did not value you greatly, He never would have created you.

   2. He never would have taken you under consideration unless you were of utmost value to Him.

   3. We have worth because of who we are, not what we are.

   4. Human beings are creatures formed by God for a special position.

   5. In Genesis 1:28 God gave the position of ruler of all created things to mankind.

   6. He allowed man to eat of the plants & the fruit grown on the trees.

   7. God gave mankind the position of ruler over all of creation.

3. Human beings are creatures formed by God for a special purpose.

   1. Psalm 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 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, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

   2. God has a special purpose for each one of our lives.

   3. Your purpose & my purpose may in some ways be different, but we were both created to glorify God.

JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU - 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,

1. The Bible tells us why Jesus died.

   1. It wasn't because He couldn't prevent it from happening.

   2. Jesus was not helplessly caught up in a mesh of circumstances from which he could not break free.

   3. Apart from any divine power he might have called in, it is quite clear that to the end he could have turned back and saved his life.

   4. He did not lose his life; he gave it.

   5. The Cross was not thrust upon him; he willingly accepted it -- for us.

   6. Jesus died on the cross because it was necessary for our redemption.

      1. We sinned against God, & to remove our sin He died for us.

      2. Even though we rebelled against Him, He still loved us so much He was willing to give His life for ours so that we might be able to remain in communion w/Him.

      3. That is love.

      4. That is a demonstration of how special we are to God.

      5. John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

2. The Bible tells us for whom Jesus died.

   1. Romans 5:8 God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

   2. That little word "us" includes you & me.

   3. And it means that you & I are both of infinite value to God.

3. God has made a great investment in us.

   1. He invested His only begotten Son.

   2. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

   3. How much did God love Jesus? It is beyond our comprehension.

   4. But we know that the amount of investment determines value.

   5. God's investment of Christ determines that we are of such great value to God that it is beyond any words we might choose to describe it.

   6. God loves His Son, but He also loves the world.

   7. He gave His Son so that the world might have Him by coming through His Son.

   8. What makes you so special? Christ died for you.

GOD WANTS TO ADOPT YOU INTO HIS FAMILY

1. Back in the days when fathers waited outside for the baby to be born, there were three men waiting for the joyous news. The first was informed by the nurse that his wife had twins. He told the nurse, "Isn't that ironic. I pitch for the Minnesota Twins."

2. A few minutes later the second man learned his wife had triplets. He said, "What a coincidence, I work for 3-M."

3. The third man panicked & raced for the door. He was stopped & asked what happened. "I work for 7-Up & I'm getting out of here!"

4. Unlike this man, God always has room for more children in His family.

5. The Bible teaches us that we can become a part of God's family.

6. First, we find that we become a child of God by believing in Jesus.

   1. John 1:12 "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--

   2. To believe in Jesus means not only to acknowledge He is who He says He is; it means to be obedient to Him.

   3. God says that if we do that, we are adopted into His family.

   4. He not only says that we become children of God, but that He has given us a "right" to do it.

7. Second, God takes pleasure in us being His children.

   1. Ephesians 1:5 (God) predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--

   2. God chose us to be His sons & daughters because it made Him happy.

   3. God wanted us.

   4. There are some children who remain orphans because no one will adopt them. They might be the wrong color, or the wrong age, or perhaps they have a handicap of some kind & nobody wants to deal w/their problem.

   5. God accepts us – warts & all.

   6. Ephesians 1:5 says our adoption is "in accordance with His pleasure & will."

   7. If no one else in this world likes me, if no one else cares for me, I can rest on the fact that God takes pleasure in me being His son/daughter.

8. Third, we are children of God because of God's love for us.

   1. 1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

   2. What a great privilege we enjoy being children of God.

   3. What a great image booster, to know that God loves us enough to be our Father.

   4. What a tremendous blessing to be a child of the God.

Conclusion:

1. Charlie Brown tells Lucy about his birdhouse project: "Well, I'm a lousy carpenter. I can't nail straight. I can't saw straight, & I always split the wood. I'm nervous, I lack confidence, I'm stupid, I have poor taste & absolutely no sense of design."

2. And then, in the last frame he concludes, "So, all things considered, it's coming along okay."

3. We know that we're not perfect: We make mistakes, we sin, we might not be as smart as we'd like, or as beautiful as the models on TV.

4. But we know that we're special in the eyes of God, & that is what counts.