“We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” (Rom 8:28-29)

The God Made Man

Have you ever stopped to think about what God is doing in your life 24/7/365? Understanding this question will be our focus this year as we look at 20 of the over 3000 men named in the Bible and what the Lord did to and through them to impact history. Our theme will be The Making Of A Man answering the key question, “How exactly does God make a man? Hey, any guy can be a male but only God can make him a man. As we look at the lives of these men we will ask…

• How did God get his attention getting his eyes off his circumstances and onto God’s character?

• What did He use to carve, chisel, make and mould this man into His masterpiece?

• What aspects of His character (i.e. grace, power, wisdom, love, sovereign control, forgiveness, glory, faithfulness, holiness, etc.) did God reveal to this man and how did it transform him forever?

• How does this man’s story (experience) intersect with your story and what positive contribution did he make?

• How does God use this man’s story to point you toward Jesus and the Cross making you more desperate and hungry for His grace?

Creation

To understand what God is doing in our lives 24/7/365 we need to start with the first man to get the big picture. God made Adam in His image…sinless, perfect fellowship and in unbroken relationship with his Creator designed to last for eternity. Imagine being Adam. Try describing what this would have been like! Why would God create Adam “in His own image”?

“God said, ‘Let Us MAKE (asah= squeeze/fashion/ produce) man in Our IMAGE (tselem= shadow/semblance/ representative), according to Our LIKENESS’ (dema= resemble/model/shape)”… “God CREATED (bara= shape/form/chisel/cut out) man in His own IMAGE, in the IMAGE of God He CREATED him; male and female He CREATED them. God BLESSED (barak= kneel/adore) them…. Then the LORD God FORMED (yatsar= squeeze into shape as does a potter/fashion/frame/) man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Gen 1:26-28; 2:7)

What do these truths say about your life, value, purpose, potential, future, relationships? How can you identify with this stone artist video?

Fall

God’s plan for His man was going well until one day Adam and his bride started to listen to the lies of satan. Leveraging Adam’s passive spiritual leadership (Gen 2:16-17; 3:7), the deceiver convinced them to doubt, reject and disobey their Holy Creator. He duped them into thinking that they could become their own god (3:6), calling their own shots, living their own way, being their own sovereign masters. They would no longer be under the loving authority of their gracious Father and Lord (Gen 3). Ever since this fall men have had a sinful heart both by birth and by choice (Rom 3:10-24; Psalm 51:5; Eph 2:1-9). The result was broken fellowship with their Father God (Is 59:2; Gal 5:4; Eph 2;12), broken relationships (Rom 1:18-25; 3:10-23; Gal 5:16-23; II Tim 3:1-5; Gen 3:6- 24; 6:5) with each other, physical and spiritual death (Rom 6:23; Eph 2:1- 4; I Cor 15:22; Heb 9:27), loss of direction in life (Is 53:6), a shattered world filled with suffering, disease, adversity (Gen 3:16-19), and destined for eternal damnation (Mt 25:46; Rev 21:8). Where do you see evidence that we are still living in a broken world?

Recreation: Redemption and Restoration

Where do you see the Lord in mercy, love and grace working 24/7 to restore your relationship with the Father? (Luke 19:10; Mark 10:45; II Peter 3:8-9; I Tim 2:3-6; II Corinthians 5:17; Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26-27)

According to Romans 8:28-29 which is our theme verse below, if you are a FOLLOWER what is God doing 24/7/365 in your life?

“And we know that God CAUSES (syn/together + ergo/work) all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He FOREKNEW, He also PREDESTINED (pro/before + tithemi/determine/make according to design) to become CONFORMED (sym/with + morphos/chisel/ fashion/mold/carve) to the IMAGE (ikon/image/likeness) of His Son.”

TAG Teams

The following are some of God’s favorite ‘chisels’ you can expect Him to use this year to “conform you into the image of Jesus.” What comes to mind as you picture this stone being chiseled into a statue of David or this video of a craftsman at work? Which of these chisel(s) has God used recently? How did His gracious grinding, merciful molding and sovereign sanding draw your heart to His? How are you more like Christ in character?

• The Gospel: heart-felt repentance & faith in Jesus (Is 30:15; Rom 1:16-17; 16:25-27)

• His Love, Grace, Forgiveness, Mercy (Rom 8:28-34; Eph 3:14-21)

• The truth of His Word (Jer 23:29; Heb 4:12-13; Isaiah 55:11)

• Brothers/accountability (Prov 27:17; Heb 10:23-24; I Thess 5:11)

• Holy Spirit (John 16:7-13; Rom 8:26-27)

• Suffering/adversity/circumstance (James 1:2-8; Job 1-2)

• Prayer (Col 1:9-12)

• Discipline as a from a father (Hebrews 12:5-11)

• Spiritual disciplines (Psalm 119:11; II Tim 2:15; 3:16-17)

• Endurance (Hebrews 12:1-3)

• Decisions (I Kings 18:21; Josh 24:14-16; Jer 17:5-10)

• Your sin and the conviction that leads to repentance (Heb 6:1-6)

A Rap for Broken Men Like Us

Author unknown

When God wants to drill a man, and thrill a man, and skill a man;
When God wants to mold a man to play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart to create so great and bold a man;
That all the world might be amazed;
Watch His methods, watch His ways.
How He ruthlessly perfects whom He royally elects.
How He hammers and hurts him, and with mighty blows converts him,
Into trial shapes of clay which only God understands,
While his tortured heart is crying and he lifts beseeching hands.
Yet he bends but never breaks, when his good He undertakes.
How He uses whom He chooses and with every purpose fuses him,
With mighty acts induces him to try His splendor out…
God knows what He’s about.

So, what is God doing 24/7/365? What is His ultimate end game? Where is all of history and your story going? He is redeeming and restoring our lives back into a relationship with Him by conforming us into the image of Jesus. What encouragement does God give to us right after our theme verse from Romans 8:30-39 to help us endure His chiseling in our lives?

"Kintsugi!”

No, it’s not a Japanese word after someone sneezes. It is a powerful word meaning "to patch with gold." It involves restoring broken vessels making them far more beautiful and valuable than the original. Jesus is the King of Kintsugi because He is the Master of restoring, redeeming, reconciling, reuniting, rebuilding, recovering and repairing that which is broken. And He does it all not with gold but with grace (II Cor 5:17; I Pt 1:18- 19; Rev 21:5). By grace, our Father can restore anything that is broken….. provided He has all the pieces and parts! What broken part of your life do you need to bring to the Father and work with Him in faith to restore? For any man with less than the character of Jesus is less than what God originally designed us as men to be!

God Chisels

How did you relate to this video? Where is it hard at present to trust God as He does His work of chiseling in your life? What can you expect for God your Father to be doing each and every day in your life this year? Are you ready?

Write out a prayer for this coming year asking for courage, endurance and patience as the Lord carves, chisels, makes and moulds you more into the image of Christ.