Your Craft For His Glory // Exodus 31:1–11

In Exodus 31:1–11, Pastor Josh Thompson teaches how God called Bezalel by name and filled him with the Spirit for skilled artistic work in the tabernacle. This sermon reminds us that God values creativity, craftsmanship, wisdom, and the ordinary work of our hands when it is offered to Him. Our gifts are not accidental, our calling is not wasted, and our work can display the glory of Christ.

Series: Leaving the Darkness - Legacy City Church

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good morning, church. Has everybody doing okay? It's kind of fun to sit front row out here and outside, especially. Let's give it a hand for the team that set all this up and made it all happen, huh? The gym is under construction, as you know, and they're already done. So we will be back in this next Sunday, back inside. And so, and many are like, you know, it's like nervous last week, like we're outside. What are we doing outside? And then all of a sudden it's like, I kind of like outside. This is kind of nice. And then when Southern California gives you like nice overcasts with potential sun coming through here, maybe a high of 74 today, uh, it's not bad outside, huh? This is kind of nice. And uh, I was just thinking, again, here we are in Studio City, LA, worshiping outside and just seeking the Lord, blessing him, and uh just again, reflecting on what a beautiful moment that these things, these things are, you know, to be outside, to look to the heavens as you worship. Um, you don't get to do it very often, especially with the church. And so uh, hope you're blessed by it, hope you're encouraged by it. Uh, I was loving it, that's for sure. But we are in Exodus chapter 31 in our Bibles. If you want to turn there, Exodus chapter 31. Thank you to Pastor Aaron for filling in for me last week and doing a great job uh preaching and teaching. Grateful for him. And um we were in Yosemite for uh for the week, and uh it was a great time, took the kids, and uh it is just the best. There's nothing we got to got to fish this time. Uh we got got out there going after the trout, trying to have some fun and uh riding bikes and just a great time, a great time of reflection and slowing down. The best part about it is there is no reception, and so you're completely uh kind of out there, out in the middle of nowhere. And uh again, reminded how important it is just to get outside and get away from all the stuff. Just get out, get away from the stuff, and uh it really does lower all of the stress and refresh the heart and mind and how important it is to focus on the family, focus on your marriage, focus on your kids, focus on the relationships that matter. Anyways, that's not part of the sermon, just a little bonus today, okay? Uh Exodus chapter 31 in our Bibles, sermon number 78 through the book of Exodus. And we have been working verse by verse, chapter by chapter, through Exodus, and we will cover verses 1 through 11 and chapter 31. I've titled this series Leaving the Darkness as we watch Moses usher the people out of Egypt, out of slavery, out from under the hand of Pharaoh, into the promised land, into the light, into a relationship with God, into the promised land, into heaven. Ultimately, uh, it's been a beautiful walk verse by verse through Exodus. We will continue chipping away at it. The title of the message today, if you're taking notes, is your craft for his glory. Your craft for his glory. You know, I remember reflecting on this probably 20 years ago, uh, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do with my life and how I was supposed to bring God glory. I think a lot of people are trying to figure out what they're supposed to be doing. I think our first initial is I got to figure out how to make money, you know, so I can buy that house, so I can get married, so I can uh take care of that family, so I can uh figure out what I want to do in life, right? We ask every little kid, what are you gonna do when you grow up, right? We have these goals and aspirations of ultimately crafts and things that we want to pursue, businesses we want to build, things that we want to attain, succeed to, and ultimately be able to produce some type of income so we can set up a nice life for ourselves, uh right? Get married, buy the house, 2.5 kids, you know, retire, and then we're on our way, right? The American dream. Um, but I remember asking myself this early on, like, but what is the point? What's the point of these little tokens uh in our account? Is it just so that I can get some food and have a nice place? And like, what is the point in the end of it all? Like, what are we supposed to be doing? And I think oftentimes we don't start asking these questions until our bank account is a little bit full and we kind of have some of the things that we sought out and wanted to achieve and get to, then we start contemplating what in the world is this whole game about? Like, what are we doing? Why are we doing this? Uh, running around trying to take from each other so we can get ahead. Like, that's not what this is about. There's got to be something more. And um I remember thinking, even as a young person, trying to figure out like, do I have to become a missionary? Do I have to go and like give up my life, you know, sail across, you know, to the other side of the earth to help people? Is that like the meaning of this whole God thing and trying to walk with Jesus? How do I give up my life for Him? Um, and I think a lot of people question this and sometimes feel inadequate because they're not doing the bigger things per se spiritually. Uh, have you ever wondered, really wondered whether what you do with your hands really matters to God? Maybe you're a carpenter, uh, maybe you teach kindergartners, uh, maybe you arrange flowers, maybe you fix cars, you write code, maybe you're a musician, an artist, creator, maybe you run a business, um, maybe you build products, um, maybe you sing harmony in a choir loft, you know, and somewhere along the way, somebody makes you feel like the real spiritual work belongs to preachers and missionaries. Like Pastor Josh, that guy's really doing the work of the Lord. And sometimes you feel like you're not doing it. Well, I'm here to tell you that there are a lot of different ways this looks. Everything else can just feel like a filler sometimes. And if that's where you've been living, I wonder have wonderful news for you because in Exodus 31, God Almighty stops the whole narrative of Moses on the mountain. He stops the giving of the law itself to do something he's never done before in all of Scripture. Right here is the first mention. Um, he calls a man by name and he fills him with his Holy Spirit for what? To preach? No. To prophesy? No. To lead an army? No. He fills him with the Spirit of God to be an artist. The word artist is sitting in the text. He fills him with the Spirit of God to be an artist. Unbelievable. The God of the Bible has far higher view of your hands, your talents, your daily work than you have ever dared to imagine. We're gonna stand for the reading of God's word as we always do. Exodus chapter 31. It's hidden here in the text. We're gonna read verses 1 through 11. It's fascinating, it's amazing to see. We always stand for the reading of God's word to pay honor to him. Remember whose word or reading, not my words, they truly belong to him, not my opinion, not my story, not my ways. I'm a delivery boy, I'm the mail carrier. I'm trying to tell you what God has said. Exodus chapter 31, take a look at verse 1. It says, And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, See, I've called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in discernment, in knowledge, in all kinds of craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs for work in gold and silver and bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and the carving of wood, in order for him to work in all kinds of craftsmanship. Behold, I myself have appointed with him Oliab, the son of Ashemach, the tribe of Dan, and the hearts of all who are wise at heart, I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded you. The tent of meeting, the ark of testimony, the mercy seat upon it, all the furniture of the tent, the table also and its utensils, the pure gold lampstands, all with utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offerings also with its utensils, and the laver and its stand, the woven garments as well, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, with which to minister as priests, the anointing oil also, the fragrant incense for the holy place, they shall make them according to all that I have commanded you. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this story, and God, we ask that you would reveal its truth to us, the hidden meanings, the things sitting right there in the text. Would you open our hearts? Would you open our minds to see your truth? Would you reveal your plan? Would you reveal your nature? Would you reveal your ideas? Would you help us to see that these ordinary things that we do with our natural talents, these abilities you've given us, can be used for great purpose to bring you great glory. Bless us as we study your word now by the power of your Holy Spirit. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. You can be seated. Let's set the stage. Moses is on top of Mount Sinai. He's been up there for weeks. Remember, the mountain is shrouded in smoke, the thunder is rolling, the fire of God's holiness is burning at the seventh. And from Exodus 25 to chapter 30, God has been giving Moses the most detailed blueprints you've ever read about the tabernacle. The Ark of the Covenant to a cubit, the lampstand, almond blossoms by almond blossom, the priestly robes, remember blue, purple, scarlet, six chapters of architecture and specifications straight from the throne room of God of how he wants the tabernacle to look and feel. And then we get to chapter 31, and just when you expect God to say, now Moses, go down and build it. He doesn't. Instead, he says, in effect, Moses, you can't do this. Moses, this is not your craft. You're not the man for the job. I have called two other men. And then for the first time in the entire Bible, God says the words, I have filled him with the Spirit of God. The first time in Scripture we read those words. And it's not about a prophet, it's not about a king, it's not a priest, it's an artist, a guy named Bezalel. Isn't that interesting? And his partner, Oilob, Oholob. These guys, three points this morning for you. Point number one, God calls his workers by name. Verse 1 and 2, Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of her, the tribe of Judah. Look again at verse 2. See, I have called my name Bezalel. Called by name. God says his name. You know that God knows your name. He knows my name. He knows my every thought. He sees each tear that falls. And he hears me when I call. God knows your name. God gave you your name. That amazing. It's important. Don't forget that. In the ancient world, names carried freight, gave carried a lot of weights. Bezalel literally means in the shadow of God. His name means that he is in the shadow of the Almighty. A man whose very name reminds us that the artistic works under the watchful care of the Almighty. Ohab, the name, his name means my father is my tent. Tabernacle. My father is my tabernacle. I hide in him. He is my shelter. He is my tent, my father. A tent for God to dwell with his people. His name was a sermon. It's so beautiful. Who picked these men? Not Moses, not Aaron, not a committee. God himself reached down out of heaven and pointed his finger at one man from the tribe of Judah and said, That one, that's my guy, that's my man. There's no such thing as an accidental calling in the kingdom of God. You weren't an afterthought. Your gifts weren't a leftover. The Lord didn't run out of preachers and have to make do by giving you a knack for accounting. A tender hand with children, a strong back, or a mind that loves numbers, an artistic pen, a creative that maybe you're made fun of when you were young. But supernatural abilities that come forth in your life. No, he called you by name before time began. He had a Bezalel sized plan for your life. This guy. Each piece of yarn, each string, weaving together your life. Saying that all of your days were ordained before you even had one in your mother's womb. That's wild, huh? But God knew. God not only knew who you were going to be, he knit you together and fashioned you a specific way that He wanted you to be. Now, some of us look at the knitting and say, I don't like that string, right? I don't like that thread. And those ones are probably tainted by sin, right? And we need to be redeemed. But you need to know that God made you exactly as He wanted to. He doesn't make mistakes. He's not upset at the outcome of the peace. He likes it. He not only likes it, he loves it. God wrote the script of your days before you lived, even one of them. He created you for a specific purpose with a specific craft. In Ephesians 2.10, Paul tells us, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. The word workmanship is poema. It is where we get our word poem. You are God's poem. You are his handiwork. You are his art piece. He created you for his workmanship. And here's the application. It's a big one. We got to stop apologizing for who God made us to be. You need to stop apologizing for God, who God made you to be. You need to be who God has made you to be. Read a story not long ago that gripped me, a senior student at Wheaton College, a Christian young woman with a gift for paint and canvas, said in her testimony that God made me to be an artist. That's my response to him. But in her sophomore year, she was worn out. Her classmates kept making fun of her and making her feel like art was a waste of time. And she wrote in her journal, I felt I had to justify myself. That's a terrible thing. I'm a child of God. He gave me the urge to create and to paint. Some of you have been justifying your calling for years. You gotta stop it. If God called uh Bezalel by name to cut stones and to pour bronze, he's called you by name to do whatever it is he's gifted you to do. And you are all very naturally gifted at something. You do have a superpower. Don't bend away from it, bend into it. Why wouldn't you? It's your thing, it's what you're good at. You naturally can do it. Everybody's in awe of it. It may be simple in our society or something that you know uh everybody doesn't applaud for, but at the end of the day, it is what you are gifted at. Erwin Lutzer said, God has given you a fingerprint that no one else has, so you can leave an imprint, leave an imprint that no one else can. You have a fingerprint that no one else has, and you can leave an imprint that no one else can. We're in a performance-driven society, so sadly, when our imprint doesn't make as big of a splash in the water as others, we feel less then, don't we? We feel like we're not meeting the quota. And I mean, it's it's kind of sad what's happening. If you don't make five million bucks by the time you're 20, like you're a loser these days, you know. It's like, what's happened? But you it takes a long time to figure this out, and sometimes many don't figure it out until they're old. But that the most important imprint in your life oftentimes is not the giant splash that hits the world, it's those closest to you. It's the closest relationships to you that matter the most to you in the end. You don't see men gripping their trophies at the end of their life. They are not gripping their trophies and their rewards or their cash, they are gripping their loved ones, and that is the greatest impact that we can make. The generations after us, the people closest to us, the greatest, the highest of value. I know it's contrary to what is being said in this day and age, but I'm telling you, the value of the relationships closest to me outweighs everything else in life in these days. I hear it from the old men. I watch people die, I hear it from old people all the time. The world tries to keep convincing you the opposite way. Like this year 40s, man, this is a time to take the world by storm. And trust me, if I can, I will. But I'm not going to do it at the loss of the memories and the opportunities sitting right in front of me, because that is what people regret. The imprint that you are making with your finger is on those closest to you, and you want to make a great imprint, for your voice will go into the generations after you. I believe that that also makes our minds and our hearts healthier. When we have healthy relationships and imprints taking place closely around us and the people that we care about the most, we then can do great work for the kingdom. Our craft goes a thousand percent up. We're able to do way more and way better. If everything around us is burning down, it destroys the back of our minds and our hearts. And then we can't perform, and we can't do the craft well. God called you by name. Point number two, God equips those he calls. Verses three to six says, And I have filled him with the Spirit of God and wisdom and discernment and knowledge and all kinds of craftsmanship. And behold, I myself have appointed him with a hoylob. In the hearts of all who are wise at heart, I have put wisdom that they may make all that I command have commanded you. Look at verse 3. I have filled him with the spirit of God. It's again the very first time in the Bible we read those words. What does the spirit fill him with? Four things. Number one, wisdom. Wisdom, the Hebrew word kokma. It is deep, settled, god-rooted understanding of how the world really works. I like to call street smarts, intuition, gut. This is essential. Wisdom. Number two, we see discernment, the ability to look at a tangled, frustrating problem and see your way through it. Number three, we see knowledge, the practical, hands-on, learned it by doing it know-how. Knowledge. Number four, we see craftsmanship, the actual ability of the hands to execute what the head and the heart can see. This craftsmanship, this working with the hands. It's beautiful. Mind, heart, hands, the whole man, filled with the Spirit of God for the work of building furniture and weaving fabric, casting bronze. Look at verse six. It says, In the hearts of all who are wise at heart, I have put wisdom. God says this God didn't just gift leaders, He gifted the team, every weaver, every metal worker, every stonecutter, every man. Man and woman in that camp who had the skill and God added his Holy Spirit to their ability. Talk about being supercharged. Amazing. All who are wise at heart, all who are wise in their heart, the text says God has placed that. Anyone who is wise at heart, God has placed that. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, the beginning of wisdom. Step one to knowledge and wisdom in the whole universe. A of the alphabet. Step one, fear the Lord. Fear Almighty God. Step one. You put that cornerstone in place, you put that brick in place, you're building an amazing house. That castle is going to withstand anything. You miss that first block. You do not fear God. Men will do crazy things when they don't fear God. You fear God, it sets everything in the right direction. Wisdom. I know there's a God. I'm going to stand before Him. What does that do to our lives immediately? In the secret place to the public. Immediately sets our life. Not perfect. We're all messed up. We're all figuring it out. But it sets a trajectory, no doubt. I know where I'm going. All who are wise at heart, God has placed it in them. James 1, 5 says, But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. Does anybody lack wisdom? You say, Oh yeah. What is the instruction? Ask God. Pastor, you ask him for me. No. No. I gotta ask him for me. You gotta ask God. You gotta go to him. You gotta say, God, you gotta give me wisdom. And is he stingy with it? What does the text say? He gives generously to anyone who asks. Well, why isn't the earth full of wisdom? Because no one asks. It's that simple. You have not because you ask not, James says. You do not have wisdom because you don't ask. I'm telling you, if you want wisdom in your heart, if you want wisdom in your craft, one have you taken your business? When have you taken your craft? When have you taken your artistry? One have you taken whatever it is that you do, and you go to God and say, Would you made this? Would you give me wisdom on how to do this? What made Solomon the wisest man to ever walk the earth? Do you remember? Yes, God. Give me wisdom to govern your people. And he said, Because you didn't ask for riches, because you didn't ask for power, because you didn't ask for all of these things, knowledge, I will give it all to you because you ask for wisdom. When God calls you to a work, he never sends you out empty-handed. Hudson Taylor said, the great, this Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China, he said it best, he said, God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply. Maybe the Lord has been tugging on your heart about something, starting a ministry, adopting a child, going back to school, quitting that job that pays well, but slowly suffocates your soul, maybe stepping out into something he's been whispering about for years. And the voice in your head says, But I'm not gifted enough, I'm not smart enough, I'm not brave enough. Neither was Bezalel until God feeled him, neither was Moses until God called him, neither was David until God anointed him, neither was Mary until the angel showed up. The Lord never asks anyone what he has not already promised to supply for them. He's not gonna ask you to part a Red Sea if he hasn't already put it into place. You will part that Red Sea. What? I can't do that. You're gonna go to Pharaoh and you're gonna tell him to let my people go. He's the most powerful king on the earth. I can't do that. He's gonna off my head go in there and tell him to let my people go. I am with you. I am the king of the universe. He will bow to me. You as an instrument in God's hands to prove his glory to Moses and to everyone else on the earth. 2 Corinthians 9, 8 says, And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency and everything, you may have an abundance for every good need. All, always, everything, every God is able to make all grace abound to you anytime he wants to. The math of heaven is staggering. Don't you know? The math equations of heaven don't make sense. You bring your five loaves and two fish. You go into you go do a deal with God. You walk up with God, you want to do a deal? He's like, What do you got? I got chapstick, I got some lint, and I got a paper clip. He's like, That's all right, I got everything. Let's do the deal. You bring your five loaves and two fish, and he will feed five thousand. You bring as many pots as you can, and he will fill every single one of them with oil to the brim. As many as you will bring, he will fill them. It's up to you. To the measure of faith, which you believe. How far do you believe that God can work? This world traps the mind. Sin. John Coruson, I was telling my wife on the way up today, you know, we he taught us this mindset, this phrase, think outside the box inside the book, outside the box inside the Bible, outside the box inside the Bible. I love that. Breaking, breaking the way church is done, breaking the way religion is done, breaking the way we get so locked up in these patterns. Some of them are great, some of them are absolutely terrible. We just keep doing them over and over and over again in the wrong direction. Every generation there's a fresh work of the Spirit happening that God is working in new ways. And we must seek him to see how he might use us. Here's the application. We've got to stop measuring the call by our bank accounts. We've got to stop measuring it by our resume, we've got to stop measuring it by what your second cousin told you at Thanksgiving. Yes. Measure the call by the Creator. What has he called you to do? If God called you to it and you've prayed it through, you've talked about it with those you respect and love, the Spirit witnesses to your spirit, and the scripture doesn't contradict it, then He will equip you for it. He has never broken that promise. Just go for it, send it. Take your craft and send it. It's so you know, Christians used to dominate art. Did you know that? Christians used to dominate art, they used to dominate music, they used to dominate everything in the arts. They're kind of like pushed over into the corner. And Christians don't know how to produce beautiful things anymore with excellence to the highest degree. You go through Rome, you just look at, I mean, the stuff is amazing. It's done by the church. The churches are amazing. It's like we we've we've gone backwards, we've letten the the earth take it over, and now the art of today is so depraved, and the music and all the things, like it doesn't have to be overtly Christian. Handel's Messiah, my gosh, the greatest pieces ever written. Handel's Messiah, he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah, right? This is written in seven days. Did you know that? The greatest piece of music ever written is about the Messiah, and it was a miracle. He did he said he didn't even know what happened, he just started writing, it just took off. He only requires that we should be faithful with the gifts he has given. Faithfulness is the metric, not size, not flash, and not numbers. We want to be proven faithful at the end of time. Amen. Point number three. God receives glory through skilled work. Skilled, excellent work, not sloppy stuff. Skilled, excellent craft. Verses 7 to 11, that they may, that they may make all that I have commanded you, the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the mercy seat, the table, the pure gold lampstand, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering, the lever, and its stand, the woven garments, the anointing oil also, the fragrant incense for the holy place. They shall make them according to all that I have commanded you. And God gave them a perfect blueprint. Look at this list. It's an inventory from the throne room of heaven. The tent of meeting, all of these things that He has given, every single item, every one of them must be done with excellence, put together by the best craftsmen in town. We want this thing to work, and God's going to fill these craftsmen with this Holy Spirit to make them perfect. Every single item we know, as we've been looking at, every single one of them, a picture of the Lord Jesus. They all pointed to the Lord. It's been so fun to walk through the tabernacle, all the different furniture, and see how they point to Christ. The ark, Christ our atonement, the mercy seat, Christ where He meets uh He meets us, meets justice, the lampstand, Christ being the light of the world, the bread, Christ is the bread of life, the altar, burnt offering, Christ the sacrifice, the labor, Christ who washes us, the fragrant incense, Christ our intercessor, praise for us. Bezalel didn't know it. Ohlab didn't know it. They were just hammering bronze and weaving threads. But every chisel stroke, every stitch, every pour of molten metal was preaching the gospel a thousand years before the cross. They didn't know that their craft was building the gospel. They couldn't see, they're just weaving away. You know, they're pouring metal. They don't realize the implications that thousands of years from now there's a group in Studio City who's going to be studying this and reflect on Christ because of it. No clue. He's just doing his craft. Notice the last words of the verse, they shall make them according to all of I have commanded you. Not most of it, not the easy parts, all of it. Our work matters because it points to something, to someone bigger than yourself. Paul Brand, a missionary doctor who served the poor in India, said it like this: When God touches a life of ordinary skill, he makes it extraordinary for his purposes. Your work, when it is offered up to God in obedience and excellence, becomes part of the great mosaic that displays the glory of Christ to the watching world. You doing your craft unbelievably well says something magical. I love this song in the animation movie David. There's a song where David and his moms sing this song called Tapestry. The lyrics are amazing. Tapestry, you know, the the woven-together, you know, piece of cloth. The lyrics go like this: the sheep, they do not know where they're going, but they follow the shepherd where he leads. The flowers, the flower does not know how it is growing, but the rain still falls and gives it what it needs. There's a reason for the colors in your story. There's a picture, though you cannot see it yet. Every thread has a purpose, and soon you'll see you're part of this tapestry. When you feel like nothing's connected and you're searching for an answer you can't find, just remember that each strand is intersecting to reveal what the creator has designed. Any masterpiece is gonna take some time. There's a reason for the colors in your story. There's a picture, though you cannot see it yet. Every thread has a purpose, but I don't see, he says, your part in this tapestry. So lift your eyes above the hills, higher up and higher still, if you could see from heaven's view all the plans drawn out for you. Like the way we work the loom. He knits you from inside the womb. Every string is used in his design. I lift my eyes above the hills. Though it's not clear, I know I will catch the view that heaven sees and leap into his plans for me. I'll find out where the story goes. I'm not there yet, but now I know the one who brought this world to life has seen it all before its time. So you're ready or not, come what may, I'll face whatever may come my way. Because everything is used in his design. There's a reason for the colors in your story. Every thread has its purpose, and I believe I'm part of this tapestry. You're part of this tapestry. Every color, every thread, every piece woven together ultimately for the glory of God. I think people forget this because a piece of string feels so ordinary and so simple and not very impressive. But you never know what God is up to. Your ordinary craft, your superpower, your ability to do something well, whatever it may be, has been given to you by God, and you must use it for his glory. It's part of his tapestry. It's part of what he's weaving together on this earth. Listen to Colossians 3 23. Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. First Corinthians 10 31, you've heard me say it many times whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. Do all for the glory of God. Johann Sebastian Bach, you know, the great composer, signed every piece of music he wrote with three little letters, SDG. Soli Deo Gloria. To God alone be the glory. He didn't just put it on sacred music. He wrote uh concertos and cantatas for nobles and kings, and he signed them all SDG because Bach understood what Bezalel understood. Every honest skill, every exercise in faith is a sermon. Everything is a sermon. Every bit of our craft, what we do. Here's the application. Do your work, whatever your work is, as though Jesus Christ Himself is your client, your boss, your audience of one. If you're a mechanic, fix that car like the Lord is driving at home. If you're a teacher, prepare that lesson like the Lord is in front row. If you're a mother, changing the ninth diaper of the day at three in the morning, do it like you're tending to the Christ child himself. Matthew 25, Jesus said, As much as you did it to the least of these, you did it to me. We have opportunity to serve the Lord Jesus in everything that we do in the craft. If you're a carpenter, every nail you drive. You know, whatever it is that you do, the way you lead in your business, the way you lead in your sphere, the way you treat other employees and volunteers, whatever you do, do it unto the glory of God. Amen. Martin Luther, that great reformer with the booming voice, said like this the Christian shoemaker doesn't the Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes. Because God is interested in good craftsmanship. So whatever product you make, make it under the glory of God. Whatever thing you do, do it under the glory of God with the greatest excellence, and you are bringing him glory in your craft. So many think that they have to abandon their craft and become a preacher or go do something else. You don't. You just need to take what you do and do it to the best of your ability under the glory of God. And you have done your ministry, John. Be the chef under God's glory. And you have done your ministry. Let me pull it all together. Never forget that God receives glory through skilled work. God calls his workers by name. And he has called you by name with intention, with purpose. Remember, God equips those he calls, he fills them with wisdom, discernment, knowledge, and craftsmanship. He will not send you out one inch ahead of his provision. If God is pressing the brakes on something that you're doing, it's time to seek him. It's time to ask for wisdom. It's time to grow. Amen. Remember, God receives glory through skilled work, whether bronze in the tabernacle, bread in the oven, a balance sheet and a cubicle, when it's offered to him, it will bring him glory. All these things God could have brought with the very first filling of the Holy Spirit in history. He could have done it in many different ways, but he chooses to fill an artist with his spirit. He chose to consecrate ordinary skill as work to his glory. He chooses to say that gold and silver, thread and stone, and calloused hands of working men and women, these are mine, this is what I will fill my spirit with. They're sacred, they're my delights. I think we forget this. Exodus 31 teaches us that our God is an artist. And the greatest masterpiece he ever made was not the tabernacle, it was not the temple, it was not even the universe with its billion galaxies. The greatest piece woven together was the cross. The cross was ugly, crude, Roman instrument of torture, two beams of wood lashed together by soldiers who didn't even know what they were building. There was nothing artistic about it. People wear it around their necks still to this day. Wild. Isaiah 53 says of the suffering servant, He had no former majesty that we should look at him, but he was pierced through our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastising for our well-being fell upon him, and by his stripes, his scourging, we are healed. It is his masterpiece. Why? The ugliest thing in history became the most beautiful thing in history because on that cross, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit took everything ugly about us, our sin, our shame, our rebellion, our pride, and transformed it. On the third day, the master craftsman raised his son from the dead. Matthew Bridges said it so beautifully, rich wounds, yet visible above, and beauty glorified. The God who fills the artists with his spirit longs to fill you with his spirit. The God who made the tabernacle beautiful longs to take your sin scarred life and make it into a thing of glory. And the question I leave you with today is will you come to him? Turn to the creator, turn to the artist of all artists in the city of artistry, my gosh. Man, the city of angels. Only if they would worship the God who created them, what magnificent things could come out of this place. The light that could shine into the earth from this place. If every single one of us just take our craft, who cares what the world thinks about it? It's your craft, it's your fingerprint. And you leave the imprint on the earth, you'd be the best at what you can do for the glory of God. Ask him to fill you with his spirit. Ask him to give you wisdom. The way that it happens is through the cross. We got to go to Jesus. We got to turn away from our sin, all this stuff destroying us and messing us up and ruining our relationship with God. Turn to him with all our hearts and watch him restore and renew. Amen. That's the message. Your craft for his glory. Let's pray. Father, we love you, we worship you, we bless you. And we thank you, God. For revealing these things to us once again. That our lives are not a waste in the mundane and the ordinary. Maybe the thing that we're naturally good at, that we just lean into, and that's what we do, and that's what we want to do. Augustine said, Love God, do whatever you want. And I pray, God, that we would lean in to exactly how you have made us, our craft. And if it's been sin-filled, Lord, that we would turn away from our sin and we would bring it to you and you would perfect it and you make it right. You bring glory to yourself through it. Use us for your glory, Lord. Even as the sun shines on us now, God, would you shine into our hearts, shine into our lives? Thank you for the masterpiece of the cross. Thank you that you took the darkest thing in all of history and you turned it beautiful. I pray, God, that you would ignite artistry in us like never before. We would create and build and establish your kingdom here on earth for your glory. Use this church to bring light into this city. Use us, Lord, to minister and imprint on those closest to us. We turn to you now. We turn to you with all of our hearts. We do it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Let's all stand up. Thank you for worshiping with us today. What a great text, huh?

unknown 46:25

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 46:27

Sitting right there, the artist filled with the Spirit of God. You would have passed over it, me too. But because we studied the text, we found it. Thank you for worshiping with us today. Over here to my left, your right is Chris. We'd love to give you a Bible today. We'd love to pray for you. We'd love to answer any questions you might have. And of course, we want to give you a Bible if you need one. Please don't leave without receiving one. I'll be hanging out up here after the service for a while. Love to answer any questions you might have. Love to pray for you. But I want to encourage you, church, again, again, sometimes we can feel like we're working so hard on our craft or things aren't working. And I want you to know that you should really look closely at the fingerprint that God's designed in you. Figure out what you're naturally gifted at. What you're what you you thrive at. You just take one step and everything just works. Like you definitely should do those things well. And everything else, all the other things that you're excited about, maybe at the best step at, that's okay. Do those things too, you know? But I'm telling you, we sometimes we miss we miss the mark, we're missing the aim because the world doesn't cheer us on in our ordinary, in our mundane. But if you go after it hard, I believe that God can fill you with his spirit, fill you with wisdom, and really allow you to walk into eternity saying, you know what? I did what I was supposed to do. I did my thing, I did it for God's glory, and that's enough. And maybe the earth isn't applauding, but who really cares? Because God is. And that's all that matters. Amen?