Good morning everyone!
Are we ready to hear what God has to say to us this morning?
Well, God's not finished yet, telling us all, We All Matter!
I want everyone to turn to the person sitting next to you, and say:
"You Matter To God, You Matter To Me!"
The world is watching Christians, to see if our selfless actions and attitudes align with our words. Waiting for our hypocrisy. If we follow Christ we must all practice what we preach.
People aren’t interested in how much Bible we know.
hey aren’t interested in whether we believe that the KJV or NIV is a more literal translation.
They are interested in knowing whether or not we are living out what we say we believe, that care about them.
How many of you believe that Christ was crucified, buried and rose on the third day for you?
For me?
For them?
We need to realize the worth of others.
Our pasts do not define us.
Nor their pasts do not define them!
If all you do is look at all that’s gone wrong in their life, you’ll never see what could go right!
You can’t value them if you are judging them.
When you look at others, we must learn to look at them with hope, see them with possibility!
Stop looking at their past.
Stop limiting their potential.
Stop limiting their worth!
The Word says:
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another "
John 13:35
There's an old saying:
“People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
Do the people in our lives know how we care, how valuable they are to us?
How are we ever going to reach the people in the world, if we haven't reached the people in our own homes?
"And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him."
Matthew 4:18-22
Peter, Andrew, James and John were fisherman.
Their fathers were fisherman, and probably their grandfathers were fishermen.
In those days, who you were and what you did with your life usually was defined by what family you were born into.
Maybe these four guys loved fishing, a lot of people do.
How many of you here today, love to fish? Raise your hand..
Quite a few of you..
Maybe they loved waking up way before the sun came up, I do.
Maybe they enjoyed the small wages that came with being a fisherman..
and maybe they enjoyed, sometimes going out all-night or day long and catching absolutely nothing.
But I doubt it!
How many of you like your job? Raise your hand..
How many of you absolutely love your job? Raise your hand..
I do, I absolutely love my job!
But in 2017 a Gallup poll, they found that 70 percent of American workers are disengaged from their jobs.
Of the 100 million people surveyed, who hold jobs in America, they found
that 30 million are actively engaged, 50 million are not engaged and 20
million are actively disengaged.
In other words, 30 percent like their job, 70 percent don’t like their job.
And of those, 20 percent absolutely hate their job
What percentage do you think Peter, Andrew, James and John were in?
The 30 percent? The 70 percent? The 20 percent?
I kind of think they were likely in the 70 percent, who didn't like their job.
I also, think that it's very likely that at least one of them were in the 20 percent!
After all, it didn’t take a whole lot of convincing from Jesus to get them to drop their nets,
to walk away from the family business, leave their fathers with the task of doing the job all by themselves!
Let's take a look at Matthew 4:19-20 again
"Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
These four guys didn't bat an eye, they gave no resignation, they didn't even say "good-bye"
I believe these four guys couldn’t wait to get off the boat and leave their fishing nets behind!
So why would the guys be so willing to leave their jobs, their families?
They understood and realized a better opportunity when they saw it and
they weren’t going to let anything stand in the way of that opportunity.
They realized that their life had a higher purpose.
Remember, that Jesus told them, “I’m going to make you into fishers of MEN!
Jesus said, your life is about to change.
Everything they said you would be is about to be erased, your past is no longer is going to determine your future.
Who and what you were before is not who you’re going to be!
Jesus was saying "I BELIEVE IN YOU, YOU HAVE VALUE, YOU MATTER!"
Jesus was saying "I’m going to cause your life to have meaning!"
How many of you know where I’m going with this?
How many have figured out that I'm not really talking about jobs here?
You guys are good!
That's right, I'm talking about people.. and what we are really looking at is the life we live!
It's amazing to me what people can get used to and even comfortable with they do not understand their worth, their value!
When they believe that no one cares...
I've got a word from God for you today:
Each and every one of you here today, have within YOU, the power in our lives to change all that!
God is saying "“I’m going to elevate your status,
"I’m going to use your life to do something that no one in this world would have ever imagined from you!"
God is asking each of us, to go out into the world and say to someone:
"You may not matter to them right now, but because you matter to God, you matter to me, and the
world going find out what your greatest potential really is.
Just as Jesus' call to Peter, Andrew, James and John was two simple words "Follow Me."
Just as Jesus' call to you and I was "Follow Me"
Because Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father, We are the Jesus the world sees today!
So if we are following Jesus, is it not our role in the world, to invite others to follow us?
That we may lead them to Christ..
I hear some of you saying, "but I don't want to be a role model to anyone."
Well, whether you like it or not, someone, somewhere, is watching YOU!
They're paying attention to how you live your life, how you act, react!
The fact is you are a role model for your children, they're watching to see you if you practice what you preach in your homes.
The world is watching to see if our lives reflect what we profess and claim we believe!
Or as my grandmother used to say "Don't talk the talk, if you don't walk the walk!"
The world is silently watching us to see if we're "just talking the talk, but not walking the walk"
As followers of Christ, we profess that Jesus is our "ROCK!"
But you see a rock doesn’t mean too much to the rest of the world.
But it means a lot if you’re going to be involved in ministry.
It means a whole lot if you’re going to be a cornerstone in His church.
It means a lot if you want God to use your life and give you some purpose, focus and direction.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
2 Corinthians 5:17
I hope you understand that what I am saying is not that Jesus wants all of you to quit your jobs and become preachers, but part of our appreciating that we matter to Him is understanding that He has a plan for our lives.
He has a purpose for each of us.
That in spite of our pasts, our current circumstances, that we are not defined by them!
"They" are not to be defined by them either...
Just as God has a higher purpose for your life and what you are or where you are right now,
He has a higher purpose for their life, because they matter too!
"Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began."
2 Timothy 1:9
Long before you showed up on this planet, Jesus had a purpose for your life.
Long before you ever made a decision to follow Him, He had His eyes on you.
Long before you ever committed your life to Him, gave your heart to Him, His Grace was at work to bring salvation and a new life to you.
You might be miserable or unhappy in your life or circumstances right now, but understand this,
You Matter To Him
You might feel worthless,insignificant and that your life has no real value or meaning but He has purpose for your life, and even a higher calling!
"But you are
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special
people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
1 Peter 2:9
God has called each and every one of here today, here’s the purpose He has given to us…
“To show others the goodness of God.”
Because He has called us out of the darkness and into His wonderful light. Your life has meaning, it has a purpose!
Because you are special, your life can make a difference.
Because we’ve been blessed with salvation.
We’ve been blessed with His Holy Spirit in our lives
Because You Matter to Him, God wants to use you!
God wants you to tell others about His Mercy.
God wants you to tell others that they Matter to Him!
Because you are God's chosen, your past doesn’t define you.
It's no longer about what you've done, or where you've been, now it's about who you are, who He is created you to be and where you're going!
#IMatterYouMatterTheyMatter
YOU MATTER TO HIM
Brian Monzon Ministries