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Max Lucado – Stamped With God’s Image: Finding Strength in Unshakable Hope · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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Speaker 1: Okay, stop me if you've heard this joke. The policeman
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Speaker 1: pulled over a car for going too slow on the interstate. Yeah,
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Speaker 1: not for going too fast, but for going too slow.
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Speaker 1: He pulled him over. He walked up to the side
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Speaker 1: of the car and he looked in and noticed that
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Speaker 1: the car was occupied by an elderly couple. And so
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Speaker 1: he walked up to the driver's side And he asked
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Speaker 1: the gentleman, he said, sir, you're going so slow, it's dangerous. Why?
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Speaker 1: You're barely going 20 miles an hour on the interstate.
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Speaker 1: And the elderly man said, well, that's what the sign says.
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Speaker 1: And he pointed at a sign and the policeman said, no, sir,
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Speaker 1: this is interstate 20. That's not the speed limit. You've
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Speaker 1: got the signs confused. About that time, the policeman looked
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Speaker 1: through the car. at the elderly man's wife, who was
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Speaker 1: bearing the signs of terror. Her eyes were open, her
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Speaker 1: hair was blown back, and she was holding on to
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Speaker 1: the dash. And the policeman said, sir, what's wrong with
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Speaker 1: your wife? He said, I'm not sure. We just got
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Speaker 1: off of Farm to Market Road 177. Sometimes life gets
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Speaker 1: a little frantic If you misread the signs, we're talking
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Speaker 1: about some of the great signs in scripture, the promises
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Speaker 1: of God. And I said that before we begin each message,
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Speaker 1: we would make a declaration. And so I'd like to
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Speaker 1: invite you to declare your belief and appreciation for the
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Speaker 1: promises of God by sitting up straight, put your shoulders back,
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Speaker 1: fill your lungs with air and your hearts with hope.
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Speaker 1: And I want you to say this like you mean it. Okay,
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Speaker 1: here we go. The words are on the screen. We
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Speaker 1: are building our lives on the promises of God. Because
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Speaker 1: his word is unbreakable, our hope is unshakable. We do
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Speaker 1: not stand on the problems of life or the pain
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Speaker 1: in life. Yes, Lord, we stand upon what you have
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Speaker 1: done for us. We want to be people of the promise.
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Speaker 1: People who build their lives on upon your covenants with us. Father,
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Speaker 1: we don't know how much more we can take. Earthquakes, hurricanes,
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Speaker 1: conflict between world leaders, and then there's the personal challenges
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Speaker 1: that many face. And yet, Lord, we determine, we determine
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Speaker 1: today to stand upon the great and precious promises. Reveal
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Speaker 1: them to us and make us strong as a result.
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Speaker 1: Forgive our speaker, Father, his sins are so many, and
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Speaker 1: help us to see Christ, just Christ. Through Christ we pray.
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Speaker 1: And all the church said. Some time ago, I videotaped
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Speaker 1: a message for our church. We recruited a film crew
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Speaker 1: and went down to the Alamo. We selected a park
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Speaker 1: bench in front of the Shrine of Texas Liberty and
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Speaker 1: got to work. We set up the equipment there, and
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Speaker 1: we got busy. Four workers managed the video and the
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Speaker 1: sight and the sound with lights and camera. We must
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Speaker 1: have looked important because people began to pause and look
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Speaker 1: over the shoulders of the crew. I sat on the
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Speaker 1: park bench trying to collect my thoughts, and I could
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Speaker 1: sense that a crowd was beginning to form. Who is
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Speaker 1: that guy? What are they filming? Finally, one woman's curiosity
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Speaker 1: got the better of her, And she yelled over the
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Speaker 1: shoulders of the crew, Hey, buddy, are you somebody important?
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Speaker 1: Not a soul on earth hasn't asked the same, not
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Speaker 1: about a preacher on a park bench, but about themselves.
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Speaker 1: Am I somebody important? It's easy to feel anything but important.
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Speaker 1: when the corporation sees you as a number, when the
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Speaker 1: boyfriend treats you like cattle, when your ex takes your
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Speaker 1: energy or old age takes your dignity, it's easy to
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Speaker 1: feel unimportant. The next time you ask that question, I
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Speaker 1: wonder if I can encourage you to keep in mind
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Speaker 1: this great and precious promise from God in the book
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Speaker 1: of Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26. And then God said,
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Speaker 1: let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,
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Speaker 1: so that they may rule over the fish in the
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Speaker 1: sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock
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Speaker 1: and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures
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Speaker 1: that move along the ground. Embedded in these words is
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Speaker 1: this great promise, and that is, God made us to
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Speaker 1: reflect the image of God. God created us to be
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Speaker 1: more like him than anything else he made. Nowhere do
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Speaker 1: we read the words, let us make the ocean in
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Speaker 1: our own image or birds in our likeness. The heavens
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Speaker 1: reflect the glory of God, but heavens do not contain
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Speaker 1: the essence and the image of God. Now, to be clear,
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Speaker 1: no one is a god alone. except in their own delusion.
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Speaker 1: But everyone carries within them some of the communicable attributes
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Speaker 1: of God. Love, wisdom, compassion, grace, kindness, a longing for eternity.
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Speaker 1: These are just some of the attributes that set you
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Speaker 1: apart from your pet goldfish or the plants in your
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Speaker 1: gardens We are made in his image, the Bible says,
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Speaker 1: and in his likeness. Now these words self-define in just
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Speaker 1: a few verses. In Genesis chapter 5 and verse 3,
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Speaker 1: when Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son
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Speaker 1: in his own likeness, there it is again, in his
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Speaker 1: own image. And he named him Seth. So Seth bore
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Speaker 1: the image and the likeness of his father, Adam. Maybe
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Speaker 1: he had his father's curly hair or his father's dark eyes.
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Speaker 1: Apart from having a belly button, you have to think
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Speaker 1: about that. Seth was like Adam in many ways. You
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Speaker 1: will have to think about that, won't you? The same
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Speaker 1: is true of us. We take after God in many ways. Listen. Listen.
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Speaker 1: There is no exception to this promise. Every man and woman,
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Speaker 1: born or pre-born, rich or poor, urban or rural, is
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Speaker 1: made in the image of God. Now, some people suppress
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Speaker 1: this image. Others enhance this image. But all were made
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Speaker 1: in God's image. Sin distorted this image, but it has
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Speaker 1: not destroyed it. Our moral purity has been tainted. Our
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Speaker 1: intellect is polluted by foolish ideas. We have fallen prey
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Speaker 1: to the elixir of self-promotion instead of God-promotion. The image
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Speaker 1: of God is sometimes very difficult to discern. But do
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Speaker 1: not think for a moment. Do not think for a moment.
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Speaker 1: that God has changed his plan or rescinded this promise.
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Speaker 1: He still creates people in his image to bear his
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Speaker 1: likeness and display his glory. The New Testament describes a
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Speaker 1: progressive work of God to shape us into his image
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Speaker 1: as we fellowship with him, as we worship him, as
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Speaker 1: we study his word, as we fellowship with his people,
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Speaker 1: as we obey his commands, as we seek to understand
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Speaker 1: and reflect his character, something wonderful begins. No, someone wonderful
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Speaker 1: begins to emerge. God comes out of us. He comes
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Speaker 1: out of us. In the words that we say, in
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Speaker 1: the patience that we display, in the wisdom that we share,
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Speaker 1: in acts of unanticipated kindness. It is as if God
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Speaker 1: is scrubbing the smudge off of an old coin. And
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Speaker 1: in time, a figure, a face, begins to appear. God's
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Speaker 1: goal is simply this. This was the explanation of the
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Speaker 1: Apostle Paul. He loved to talk about being shaped into
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Speaker 1: the image can be seen in us. This was the
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Speaker 1: explanation of the Apostle Paul. He loved to talk about
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Speaker 1: being shaped into the image of God. He said in
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Speaker 1: Colossians 3, 9 and 10, you have taken off your
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Speaker 1: old self with its practices and put on the new self,
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Speaker 1: which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of
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Speaker 1: its creator. And then again, 2 Corinthians 3, 18, we
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Speaker 1: are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which
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Speaker 1: comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. You see,
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Speaker 1: pop psychology is wrong when it tells you to look
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Speaker 1: inside yourself and find your value. And the magazines are
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Speaker 1: wrong when they suggest that you're only as good as
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Speaker 1: you are thin, muscular, pimple-free, The movies mislead you when
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Speaker 1: they tell you and imply that your value increases as
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Speaker 1: your stamina, net worth, or intelligence does. And preachers are
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Speaker 1: wrong when they tell you to measure your spirituality according
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Speaker 1: to your acts of kindness, church attendance, self-discipline, or spirituality.
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Speaker 1: According to the Bibles, You are valuable simply because God
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Speaker 1: made you in his image. Period. He cherishes you because
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Speaker 1: you bear a semblance to him. And your greatest assignment
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Speaker 1: in life is to allow him to rub off any
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Speaker 1: smudge that doesn't reflect the image of God and allow
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Speaker 1: him to do the work he longs to do, and
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Speaker 1: that is to shape you into his image. In medieval times,
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Speaker 1: a priest assembled his church for a special service. Come tonight,
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Speaker 1: he told them, and hear a special sermon about Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 1: They came, but to their surprise, the sanctuary was completely dark.
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Speaker 1: No candle was lit. They found their way into the
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Speaker 1: sanctuary and found seats onto the pews, walking through the darkness.
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Speaker 1: They looked around for any sign of life. They did
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Speaker 1: not see the priest, but soon they heard him. He
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Speaker 1: too felt his way through the sanctuary until he reached
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Speaker 1: the very front. And there he lit a candle. And
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Speaker 1: he lifted the candle high enough until it shed a
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Speaker 1: light on the feet of of the crucifix that hung
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Speaker 1: on the wall. And for a moment he let the
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Speaker 1: light fall on the pierced feet. And then he lifted
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Speaker 1: the candle higher until the light fell on the pierced side.
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Speaker 1: Then he took the light to the hands that were
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Speaker 1: nailed to the cross. And then as high as he
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Speaker 1: could lift the candle, he let the light fall upon
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Speaker 1: the bloody face of Christ and the crown of thorns.
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Speaker 1: And then he lowered the candle And blew it out.
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Speaker 1: And the sermon was over. That is our assignment. To
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Speaker 1: let our lives shed light upon Jesus Christ. That's our
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Speaker 1: highest call. Is to allow the one who lives in
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Speaker 1: us to grow until our very lives cast a light
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Speaker 1: upon Christ. Could I invite you to do something? Would
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Speaker 1: you let this truth, would you let this truth find
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Speaker 1: its way into your heart? You were conceived by God
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Speaker 1: before you were conceived by your parents. You were loved
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Speaker 1: by God before you were ever thought of by a person.
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Speaker 1: You are not an accident. You are not a fluke.
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Speaker 1: of nature you're not a consequence of evolution and you
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Speaker 1: are not defined by the number of pounds you weigh
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Speaker 1: the number of followers you have the car you drive
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Speaker 1: or the clothing you wear CEO or unemployed doesn't matter
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Speaker 1: hot list or not list doesn't matter blue blood or
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Speaker 1: orphaned doesn't matter High IQ or low IQ does not matter.
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Speaker 1: First string or bench warmer doesn't matter. You are being
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Speaker 1: made in God's image. Print that on your resume. Put
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Speaker 1: that on a business card. Put that on your office door.
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Speaker 1: You are a diamond. You are a rose. You are
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Speaker 1: a jewel. And you have been purchased by the blood
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Speaker 1: of Christ. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created
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Speaker 1: us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do
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Speaker 1: the good things he planned for us long ago. In
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Speaker 1: the eyes of God, you are worth dying for. You
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Speaker 1: tell that to the person who looks back at you
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Speaker 1: from a mirror. Let that truth... found its way into
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Speaker 1: your heart. Also, would you let this truth define the
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Speaker 1: way you see other people? The Apostle Paul said, our
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Speaker 1: firm decision is to work from this focused center. One
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Speaker 1: man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat.
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Speaker 1: he included everyone in his death so that everyone could
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Speaker 1: also be included in his life, a resurrection life, far
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Speaker 1: better life than people ever lived on their own. Look
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Speaker 1: at this. Because of this decision, we don't evaluate people
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Speaker 1: by what they have or how they look. Would you
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Speaker 1: let this truth define the way you see people? Every
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Speaker 1: person you see was created by God to bear his
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Speaker 1: image and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
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Speaker 1: This means that all people, all people deserve to be
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Speaker 1: seen for who they were intended to be and that
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Speaker 1: is image bearers of God. We live in a hostile,
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Speaker 1: trigger-happy society. We seem to have lost the capability of
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Speaker 1: having an honest disagreement with one another. News broadcasts and
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Speaker 1: talk shows are making a living out of teaching us
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Speaker 1: how to be tacky, disrespectful, arrogant and mean. I believe
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Speaker 1: that our society is hungry for a quorum of people
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Speaker 1: who will believe what God teaches and that is every
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Speaker 1: person even the person with whom you disagree is a
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Speaker 1: person worthy of dignity and respect. Would you be that person?
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Speaker 1: Would you be the person who this week refuses to
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Speaker 1: put people in pigeon holes? The person who checks you
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Speaker 1: out at the grocery store is a human being. The
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Speaker 1: person who gives you your paycheck is not a source
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Speaker 1: of income. That's a human being. The kid who sits
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Speaker 1: next to you in the class is not just a kid.
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Speaker 1: That's a human being. God's idea Can you imagine the
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Speaker 1: impact that this promise from Genesis 1 would have upon
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Speaker 1: the society that believed it? Can you imagine the impact
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Speaker 1: this promise would have upon the people who believed that
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Speaker 1: every single person within the boundaries of their borders was
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Speaker 1: shaped by God, dreamed up by God, and is asked
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Speaker 1: to be the image of God? What civility it would engender.
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Speaker 1: What kindness it would foster. Racism will not flourish when
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Speaker 1: people believe that their neighbor bears the image of God.
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Speaker 1: The fire of feuds will have no fuel when people
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Speaker 1: believe that, yes, even their adversaries are God's idea. Will
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Speaker 1: a man abuse a woman? Not if he believes that
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Speaker 1: she bears a divine spark. Will a boss neglect an employee?
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Speaker 1: Not if she believes that every human being deserves to
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Speaker 1: be heard and deserves respect. Will society write off the pre-born,
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Speaker 1: the indigent, the mentally ill, the elderly, the inmate on
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Speaker 1: death row, the refugee. No, not if we believe, truly
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Speaker 1: believe that every human being is God's idea and he
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Speaker 1: has no bad ideas. Steve Goudier tells a great story
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Speaker 1: about a boy named Kevin. He struggled with schoolwork, and
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Speaker 1: what came easier for others came very difficult for him.
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Speaker 1: He had trouble learning his ABCs. He couldn't compete in
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Speaker 1: schoolyard races. But Kevin had a way with people. He
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Speaker 1: had a bright smile and a big heart, and he
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Speaker 1: had a lot of friends. Gouthier tells about the time
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Speaker 1: that Kevin's pastor decided that their church should have a
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Speaker 1: kids' or a boys' basketball team and joined the church league. Well,
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Speaker 1: Kevin signed up, and he soon became a favorite player
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Speaker 1: on the team, but he had trouble playing basketball. He
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Speaker 1: practiced hard, and while the other boys worked at dribbling
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Speaker 1: and shooting leg-ups, well, Kevin's, all he could do was
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Speaker 1: lunge the ball at the basket. He had a special
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Speaker 1: spot in near the free throw line that was reserved
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Speaker 1: just for him. And practice after practice, he threw and threw.
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Speaker 1: And on occasion, the ball would go in and Kevin
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Speaker 1: would raise both of his arms in triumph and he
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Speaker 1: would shout and all the other players would applaud. Can
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Speaker 1: I read just about three paragraphs in the way Gouthier
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Speaker 1: describes the final game of the season? At the end
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Speaker 1: of the season, the boys played in the church's league's tournament,
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Speaker 1: the church league's tournament. They hadn't won a game all year.
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Speaker 1: As the last place team, they drew the unfortunate spot
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Speaker 1: of playing against the best team, a team that hadn't
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Speaker 1: lost all year. Game day arrived and both teams played
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Speaker 1: their best, but the game went as expected. Near the
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Speaker 1: end of the last quarter, Kevin's team stood nearly 30
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Speaker 1: points behind. It was then that one of the boys
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Speaker 1: called a timeout. Coach, he said, this is our last
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Speaker 1: game and Kevin has never made a basket in a game.
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Speaker 1: I think we should let him make a basket. The
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Speaker 1: team agreed. Kevin was instructed to stand at his place
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Speaker 1: near the free throw line and wait. He was told
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Speaker 1: that he would be given the ball and when he was,
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Speaker 1: he should shoot. Kevin was ecstatic. He ran to the
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Speaker 1: floor and waited. When the ball was passed to him,
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Speaker 1: he shot and missed. Number 17 from the other team
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Speaker 1: snatched the rebound, dribbled down the court, and made an
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Speaker 1: easy basket. But a moment later, Kevin got the ball again.
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Speaker 1: He shot and missed again. Number 17 repeated his performance,
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Speaker 1: scoring two more points. Kevin shot a third and a
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Speaker 1: fourth time with the same result. But slowly, the other
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Speaker 1: team seemed to figure out what was going on. And
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Speaker 1: the next time they snatched the rebound, a boy threw
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Speaker 1: the ball to Kevin. He shot and missed. Now every
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Speaker 1: rebound came to him, and he threw and threw toward
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Speaker 1: the basket. Time was running down, and Kevin still had
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Speaker 1: not scored. Both teams circled the boy by this time,
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Speaker 1: and all of the players were shouting, Kevin, Kevin. The
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Speaker 1: crowd took up the chant. Soon after, everyone in the
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Speaker 1: gym was shouting Kevin's name. The coach was sure that
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Speaker 1: time must have run out. The game had to be over.
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Speaker 1: He glanced at the official clock. It stopped, and it
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Speaker 1: was stopped at 4.3 seconds. Even the timekeepers joined the
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Speaker 1: mania and stood by the table shouting with the crowd, Kevin, Kevin.
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Speaker 1: Kevin shot and shot, and finally, The ball went in.
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Speaker 1: His arms sprang up in the air and he shouted,
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Speaker 1: I won! I won! He had scored. His team escorted
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Speaker 1: him off the court. The clock ticked down and the
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Speaker 1: game was over. That day an undefeated team retained their
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Speaker 1: perfect record. But everybody won. Everybody. Everybody. every person, without exception,
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Speaker 1: is valuable in the eyes of our blessed creator. We
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Speaker 1: parents and grandparents get this, don't we? Did you know
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Speaker 1: that my daughter Jenna is expecting our second grandchild? I
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Speaker 1: do not know the child's gender, But I already love
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Speaker 1: him her. He she has done nothing for me. Not
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Speaker 1: brought me coffee. Not called me papa. Not done anything.
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Speaker 1: But I already love him her. There's nothing I wouldn't
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Speaker 1: do for him her. And that is not hyperbole. Why?
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Speaker 1: Because he she. has a tiny bit of me within him, her.
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Speaker 1: Not much, I know that. But just a tiny bit.
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Speaker 1: And because of who he, she is, I cherish the
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Speaker 1: child already. God loves you with an inexpressible and inextinguishable
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Speaker 1: love why not because of what you have done but
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Speaker 1: because of who because of whose you are you were
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Speaker 1: made in the image of God someone called you a
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Speaker 1: failure wrong someone wrote you off as a lost cause
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Speaker 1: wrong Someone told you that you out-send the love of God. Wrong.
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Speaker 1: Someone told you that you're not worthy to be a
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Speaker 1: human being. You let them take that lie back to
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Speaker 1: hell where it came. Because the truth of the matter is,
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Speaker 1: you were made by God. You are loved by God.
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Speaker 1: And that promise has not been rescinded. And that plan
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Speaker 1: has not changed. Heavenly Father, grant, please, That we could
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Speaker 1: receive this truth down deep in our heart. And that
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Speaker 1: this truth would offset the mistreatment, the abuse, the neglect,
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Speaker 1: the anger, the hostility. Whatever we've endured that would dare
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Speaker 1: to suggest to us that we're anything but your masterpieces.
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Speaker 1: And Father, we pray that you would help us to
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Speaker 1: see people the way you see people. as cherished children
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Speaker 1: of God, who, like all of us, are struggling to
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Speaker 1: find their way, grant that we can treat every human
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Speaker 1: being with dignity and respect. Through Christ we pray. And
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Speaker 1: all the church said.