What's Next?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
A flurry of tassels will be hung from rear-view mirrors over the upcoming weeks.
The dynamic that you hang there whatever represents your biggest achievement.
College tassel (red for theology, but bleached it out to where people would assume that my degree was in public health). Before that was an all-state medallion. A high school tassel.
Some people’s biggest accomplishment is represented by a green pine tree.
In coming days, you will go through your graduation exercises. At the end, you will change your tassel from one side of your mortar board to the other. And, in many ways, you will enter into the next stage of your life.
These past 13 years of education have prepared you for what is next. Some of those ways are obvious. Education and training that will be built upon in the next steps. Maybe some things that are not so obvious: Practical lessons learned in the social structure of high school.
God, in His infinite wisdom and infinite love for you, has been preparing you for what is next.
You Have A Calling.
You Have A Calling.
v. 2
During the process of God giving direction to Moses about building the tabernacle and all the furniture that would fill it. This was for the place of worship! And Moses, who was raised in the palace of the Pharaoh of Egypt and then spent time out in the wilderness, he had no skills to build these things.
When Moses was possibly beginning to question, or wonder, or stress about how he was going to be able to accomplish the vision that God was laying out for them. But, God lays it out to Moses, He has already appointed men who have the skills and abilities.
Bezalel and Oholiab (vv. 2, 6).
These guys who had no idea what God had planned for them. Yet, they were being discussed by God and Moses without them knowing.
They had a calling before they knew they had a calling.
The reality is that...
Every believer has a calling.
Not a few, or some, or even many.
You may not be aware that you do or even what it is yet.
But, you have a calling.
And God has already been talking about you.
Your potential. Your gifts. How amazing you are!
One of the fun things as a pastor is when He lets me into those conversations.
“Keep an eye on them. They are going to be incredible at...”
Your Calling Is Empowered.
Your Calling Is Empowered.
v. 3
God didn’t just pick Bezalel and Oholiab, setting them up for failure.
Instead, we see that God had not only equipped them, but He empowered them.
This is where God’s gifting is valuable.
10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
Each = Each Christian.
Sometimes people try to do things on their own power.
Imagine receiving your dream car…
Every feature you’d ever want.
But, there’s no gas…not even a gas tank.
When we try to get by on our own ability, intelligence, knowledge, or craftsmanship.
We are like a car without any fuel!
Rely upon God’s Spirit to give you power.
God will use what you’ve already been doing and empower it.
Your Empowerment Is Unique.
Your Empowerment Is Unique.
v. 4-5
All of these items that needed to be built, tabernacle and the table for bread and incense and lampstand. The ark of the covenant with the cherubim with wings arching over the mercy seat, the lid of the ark.
Essential to their worship of God!
Not many people would have these abilities. Many of the men had been working in making bricks out of mud and straw and then assembling those bricks into large storage buildings and palaces.
Not a lot of experience crafting what would be used for these items.
But there were these couple of guys who were not just able, but who were very, very skilled at these exact things!
God blesses who you are as an individual.
Those strange interests or unusual abilities that you have can be used for God’s glory!
I was in a meeting again this last week where we were talking about the Baptist Mission Center and how they wish they could meet more medical needs, but they are short on dentists and optometrists and medical doctors and pharmacists. And I couldn’t help but to wonder how God might raise up for Himself people who could pursue careers that would overlap with Kingdom work.
Brag on Vanessa. Her work as a speech-pathologist, practical help but also building relationships and giving hope to her clients. But also as she’s been able to travel to Uganda and help with the organization Hope Speaks. Her love of her career in speech pathology overlaps with Kingdom work.
So the same with you.
Your Uniqueness Is For God.
Your Uniqueness Is For God.
vv. 6, 11
The end results that we find in these verses:
v. 6: “that they may make all that I have commanded you.”
v. 11: “According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”
You may not be able to predict how God is preparing you to serve His calling on your life.
In my own life, a shy kid who had weird interests in Greek and Roman mythology.
But, for some reason, when I was early in high school I thought I’d try out to be on the speech team. And then audition for our competitive drama team. Meanwhile, I found myself nominated for a couple of leadership camps. For the quiet, nerdy kid, this was not expected. So God began to bring these two opportunities into my life: leadership and speaking to a crowd. I had no idea what God wanted me to do…ministry was no where on my radar. I had a whole other plan for my own life.
Yet...
God shapes lives to make an impact.
He has begun a work in your life. Your life has a purpose.
Conclusion
Conclusion
God has a plan for you life.
And as you continue to grow and serve and be faithful to Jesus, there will be an additional calling:
God has called you to influence others.
Bezalel and Oholiab’s role was not just as craftsmen, but also as teachers to others:
30 Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan.
2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.
Even today, there are those younger than you that you influence.
How will you use that gift to point others to Jesus?