Use it, or Lose it!

Opening

Today we will continue with our Series for October entitled iShape

Shape is an acrostic that I borrowed from Pastor Rick Warren and they stand for:

Spiritual Gifts - 9 Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Wisdom

Knowledge

Faith

Healing

Miracles

Prophecy

Discernment

Speaking in Tongues

Interpretation

Heart - our passion

Abilities - Things that we are good at

Personality - Our distinctive character

Experiences - Our personal encounters

When we do what God Shaped us to do:

We enjoy it!

We are good at it!

When you know what you’re good at, then you’ll know what God wants you to do

When you’re truly happy with what you are doing, then you’re doing what God wants you to do

Text: Open your Bible to

(BREATHE)

Exodus is the second book in the first five books of the Bible, otherwise called as pentateuch or Torah

It is believed that it was written by Moses himself from 1600 to 1440 BC

Firstly, It contains the accounts of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt

Secondly, Her constitution as people through covenant law, the first covenant, the 10 commandments, the law of Moses

The Teacher’s Commentary 13: Ex. 25–40—Access for Sinners

the Law was never viewed as a way of salvation. The Law was given first to bring Israel awareness of sin

The Teacher’s Commentary 13: Ex. 25–40—Access for Sinners

the Law was never viewed as a way of salvation. The Law was given first to bring Israel awareness of sin

The Law was never viewed as a way of salvation

The Law was given first to bring Israel to become aware of sin

Sinful human was given permission to approach a holy God through the offering of sacrifices

Those believers who had fallen asleep, in other words, died before the death and resurrection of Christ was held in Abraham’s bosom

And Jesus had taken them when He ascended to heaven ()

And thirdly, the Instructions for the construction of the tabernacle

(BREATHE)

Exodus 31:1–11 ESV

1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 6 And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, 8 the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, 9 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, 10 and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”

What?

Where:

When:

(BREATHE)

God commissioned/chosen Bezalel and Oholiab to do the task of constructing the tabernacle and the things in it

SHOW IMAGES

Who?

Tent of Meeting

Ark of the Covenant

Gold Lampstand

The Altar

Basis with its stand

Bezalel son of Uri, who is a son of Hur, son of Caleb, who is a son of Hezron is from the tribe of Judah

His name Bezalel, means “overshadowed by God”

His skills are inspired by God

Remember that they were enslaved by the Egyptians and the only thing they know doing was to make bricks out of clay

It is divine enablement… In verse 3 it says,

Exodus 31:3 ESV

3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,

The abilities came from God

(BREATHE)

Oholiab son of Ahisamach, is from the tribe of Dan

Though the tribe of Dan is one of the least influential and honorable tribe among the twelve, God picked Oholiab

What does this means to us?

It means that there’s no “no talent” people

Even if we think that we belong to the weakest family, God has given us abilities

And we have to discover, develop and deploy those abilities for His glory

On the other hand, Bezalel belongs to the superior tribe of Judah, the tribe of Jesus

But in spite of that, God has partnered Bezalel with Oholiab

Two is better than one according to king Solomon

When Jesus sent out His disciples, He sent them out in two’s

Nobody is good at everything, in other words, we need each other

That’s why we need our Life Groups

Everybody.. and I mean “everybody” has something to contribute

We must team up with people that compliments us

(BREATHE)

God has given abilities to all “able men” to accomplish His purpose

Exodus 31:6 ESV

6 And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you:

God distributes “abilities” to all of us to accomplish His great purpose

In other translations of the Bible, the words skill & wisdom were used instead of “ability”

The Hebrew word for these is ḥāḵ·mā(h) (pronounce as hok-mah)

Which means, technical skill, to act wisely, wisdom

(BREATHE)

God has given each of us the ability to do certain things

Did you know that the average human has about 500-800 different abilities?

Maybe you don’t know it because instead of thinking where or what you’re good at, you keep on thinking of things that you’re not good at

Instead of thinking of the things you can do, you focus more on the things that you can not do

A key to success is: Build on your strength so that your weaknesses will become irrelevant

(BREATHE)

Our abilities matches our calling

God led me to many different learning experiences in my past that made me who I am now

Led me to politics for me to discover, develop and deploy my ability to speak publicly

Led me to become a disc jockey to earn my technical abilities that I now use for the church audio visuals

Led me to become a computer instructor that honed my abilities to serve the church as a teacher using technology

Led me to become a business owner that taught me my administrative abilities

(BREATHE)

In , Paul spoke about Unity and Diversity in the Body of Christ

He said in verse 22, that those parts of the body that seemed weaker, are actually indispensable

Illustration: The way next olympics will be in Tokyo in 2020.. Can you imagine Animals also having Olympics?

Running - Cheetah. Can run 61 mph

Cycling

Swimming - Sail Fish. Can swim 30.4 mts/sec. (World Champ Michael Phelps can only swim 2.1 mts./sec.)

High Jump - Grasshoppers can jump 20 times their own body length. That’s the equivalent of a person being able jump as long as basketball court!

Long Jump - Kangaroo. can jump up to 40 feet

We all have different “abilities”

Turn to you neighbor and ask… What is you Ability?

We all have different shapes… Look at around you and see for yourself.

Turn to you neighbor and ask… What is you Ability?

(BREATHE)

Use it, or Lose it!

When Jesus was at the house of Zaccheus the tax collector, he said a parable because they were near Jerusalem, and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once

The Parable of the Ten Minas

Mina is equivalent to 100 Denarii which is approximately valued today at $2,500

So if you have 10 of those, then that’s about $25,000

First servant came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned 10 more’

Second servant came and said, ‘Sir, you mina has earned 5 more’

Third servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina, I kept it and laid it away’. It earned nothing.

In verse 26 Jesus goes, to those who have, more will be given, but for those who has nothing, whatever they have will be taken away

Use it, or Lose it!

Abilities are like our muscles, if we don’t use it, we lose it

(BREATHE)

God has made incredible investment on your life:

He created you

He SHAPED you

He gave His only son for you

5 Things Why God Wants Us to Use our Abilities

Uplift God

Colossians 3:17 NIV

17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Serve Others

1 Peter 4:10 ESV

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:

Example to Others

Titus 2:7 CEV

7 Always set a good example for others. Be sincere and serious when you teach.

Titus 2:7 ESV

7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity,

Income Generation

Deuteronomy 8:18 CEV

18 Instead, remember that the Lord your God gives you the strength to make a living. That’s how he keeps the promise he made to your ancestors.

To Build up the Church

Ephesians 4:12 NIV

12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

Ephesians 4:12 CEV

12 so that his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong.

(BREATHE)

PRAYER

Romans 12:3 CEV

3 I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you.

Romans 12:3 NIV

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Lord, Help us to Estimate our Abilities with sober judgment

Inspire us to Dedicate our Abilities for your glory

Teach us how to Cultivate our Abilities to bring You honor

Reveal to us how you have specially SHAPED each and everyone of us