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[0:00] People matter. Luke 12 is where we're going to take this from. Luke 12 from verse 6. Our Lord says, Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? And not one of them is forgotten before God?

[0:20] But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

[0:32] What is your value? How much are you worth? Someone has reckoned what the components of the human body are worth. It amounts to about $2 in American dollars.

[0:45] You're made of 65% oxygen, 18% carbon, 10% hydrogen, 3% nitrogen, 1.5% calcium, 1% phosphorus, 0.35% potassium, 0.25% sulfur, 0.15% sodium, 0.15% chlorine, 0.05% magnesium, 0.0004% iron, 0.0004% iodine, with trace qualities of silicon, fluorine, manganese, zinc, copper, arsenic, and aluminium.

[1:30] It depends on where you live and what you eat, but some of us may be more valuable than others, but we're just talking naturally about the chemical components of a body. Someone's reckoned it's worth about $1.98 in a 1985 American dollars.

[1:45] More recently, though, a biochemist recalculated man's worth based on the marketable chemical elements in the average body and arrived at a figure of about $6 million.

[1:57] Still more recently, an expert in nuclear power figured the atoms in the human body, if they could be harnessed, would be sufficient to produce 11.4 million kilowatts of energy, worth more than $85 billion.

[2:13] Of course, the real worth of people cannot be measured in terms of money, not just the material components that make up our physical bodies. What matters really is of what value we are in God's economy.

[2:27] How much value do you have to God? An artist came across a beggar sitting by the roadside. He painted the man, thinking of God's handiwork in every human being.

[2:38] And the perceptive artist painted the man, picturing in his imagination as to what he potentially could become. Then he called the beggar over to see the painting.

[2:52] Is that me? the beggar asked. That is the you I see in you, replied the artist. If that is the man you see in me, the beggar stated with a new purpose in his eyes, then that's the man I shall be.

[3:08] Some people don't see themselves as being of much value. They feel they don't measure up. They feel that they're not important, that they don't matter. Yet God sees you as a person with value.

[3:22] Beyond your guilt and unworthiness, he sees what you can be. You have great worth and value to God. Think about why we matter. Creation says that you matter.

[3:34] We know people matter because of God's creation itself. When God made man and woman, it was the crowning glory of his universe.

[3:44] In Genesis 1, from verse 26, it says, And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

[4:06] So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him. Male and female created he them.

[4:17] Wow. Creation says that you matter. The Bible says you are God's workmanship. And you have been created in Christ Jesus with a wonderful potential.

[4:29] There's no one else just like you. You're unique and special. Your DNA is particular to you. Your fingerprints are unique. Your voice. God has created you.

[4:41] And Satan wants you to think that you are worthless. Friends, you and I matter to God. Because we are God's creation. And we are unique.

[4:54] People matter. People count. It doesn't matter who they are, what their background, their colour, their family, what they've done.

[5:06] God at creation shows how valuable you are. You are made in God's own image. God could have created the world without you, but he didn't.

[5:17] He chose you. He made a deliberate decision to bring you into existence. He chose the time and the place of your birth. Your parents. He gave you some characteristics of your own.

[5:31] He gave you the gifts and abilities that he wanted you to have. We are spiritual beings living in a body that God has given to us for our time on earth.

[5:43] Psalm 139 verses 13 through 18 says, For thou hast possessed my reins, Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

[5:53] I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well.

[6:06] My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect.

[6:19] And in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

[6:30] How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee.

[6:41] We were not created by chance. We were designed. We exist as a result of the conscious, deliberate decision of our Creator God, the Almighty God.

[6:55] Creation says you matter. Secondly, Calvary says that you matter. We know people matter because of the great gift God has given us at the cross. You measure the value of something by the price someone is prepared to pay for it.

[7:09] In 1 Timothy 1 verse 5 it says, This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.

[7:24] Consider the great purchase gift God has paid for you. You are of great value and worth in the eyes of the Father. God has graciously chosen you.

[7:36] Although hopelessly wrecked and damaged by sin, God has chosen you to restore you, to include you in His family, for you to especially belong to Him, to change you into His likeness.

[7:49] By the price He paid, God has shown your value. He has established your worth. God extends His redeeming love towards you through spending that very precious price, the awesome cost, the love gift.

[8:04] Romans 5 verse 6, For when we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5 verse 8 says, But God commendeth His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

[8:20] The Lord Jesus says to the searching soul, like He said to the Samaritan woman, longing for acceptance and a sense of belonging, I am what you really need. I will satisfy your longing soul.

[8:33] There is a fulfilment that you can find. You are important. You have a place in God's heart. The Creator says you count. You are of value.

[8:45] Jesus paid His incredible price for your soul. God's love says that you matter. We know people matter because of creation, because of the purchase price paid at Calvary, and we know that people matter because of the incredible love of God.

[9:02] Are you saved? You can find the Father's love. You can offer God the faith and love that no other creature can give.

[9:13] Look in the mirror. Do you see a child of God? A person made in the image and likeness of God? A person saved, heaven bound, filled with living hope?

[9:25] When we do that, we especially belong to God. He is responsible for your life. He cares for us. You are loved completely and valued in His eyes.

[9:38] God is not a respecter of persons. God has a purpose for your life. Your life. You have meaning. Your life means something. No matter what, you matter to God.

[9:51] There is a place for you. You have significance. You are made in the image of God. You are somebody. You are a person of value. God says you're important.

[10:03] You're important because you are the child of God. His love is unconditional love. It's absolute, overwhelming love. Love without love in return.

[10:15] We can't fully grasp that. What that means, that immense, that sacrificial love, Calvary love, this is God's measureless love. It's beyond all bounds.

[10:28] Love without conditions, without reservations, without measure. God's love is a binding love, a covenant, a contract, a promise that can never be cancelled.

[10:41] This love lasts forever. Not earned by the one to whom it is given, it is a free gift. You are loved unconditionally.

[10:52] You need not fear that this love will be taken away. God loves you totally, fully, completely, unconditionally. You're important to Him.

[11:03] Unconditional, unsolicited, unmerited, undeserved. God's love for us is not based on anything that we do or have done. His love is always there.

[11:14] it's a gift, a commitment. He is preparing a place for you that know Him in His kingdom and that fact makes you very, very important too.

[11:28] God's unconditional love for you makes you important. It gives you great value. People matter. You can see that because of creation, because of the gift of Calvary, because of God's incredible love, you matter.

[11:43] So, live like it. Live like it. You matter. So what are you going to make of the rest of your life? Do something with your life. You've been given a mix of abilities, of talents, of gifts and a potential that nobody else has.

[12:00] You've been given your own interests and desires and qualities and dreams. God has given you opportunities for you to develop your gifts. Consider how wonderful God is with his wonderful choosing of you, his creation of you, his love of you, that he would love you unconditionally and make you such a unique individual.

[12:23] You have a purpose, a reason for being here. Why did God make you? To get to know, to love, to serve him in the now and in the forever.

[12:34] Why are we here? What is our purpose? What are we supposed to do? Every person has different talents and abilities. The Lord shows this in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 from verse 14 through 30.

[12:49] A man set off on a trip, he gave property for his servants to take care of. He gave each according to their own ability. One got five talents, the second two, and the third just one talent.

[13:01] The first two doubled their talents, but the third servant just buried his. When the master got back, he was pleased at the efforts of the first two servants and he rewarded them, but he was angry at the third servant.

[13:17] He took his talent and had him thrown out of his house telling the servant that he was wicked and lazy. God, like the master in the parable, has given each of us certain unique talents and abilities.

[13:30] Use them well and do what you can to develop them. Each of us has a purpose or a mission for life. No one has your exact mission. If you do not complete your assigned task, no one can step in and complete it for you.

[13:45] It's unique for you and only you can do it. So do the best you can with what you have and where you are. The Bible shows us what we must do. Find God's will and do it.

[13:58] It is our mission, our purpose that makes our lives very important, doesn't it? Do not waste your life. You have an impact on everyone around you with whom you come into contact.

[14:10] Use your gift in the world. Invest in the lives of others. Care about people. No matter where we are, we can all do something to give to the lives of those around us.

[14:22] This is something that is right before us in our everyday. See the potential. See the positive. Create hope. What are you going to do with your life?

[14:33] How will you use the very valuable life that you have? Do you use it wisely? It's all about choosing. To make your life count. Choosing what really matters.

[14:46] What counts? What counts? People matter. People matter. People matter. God showed it at creation. He showed it at the cross and He shows it by His immense love.

[15:00] You've got the chance to make your life count. Show others that they matter. What can I do to show that people matter?

[15:11] Everyone has talents. Find yours and start developing them. Learn from your setbacks and failures. Apply the lessons you learn. See people in positive ways.

[15:23] People matter. desde desde Thank you.