WHAT'S YOUR SPECIALTY?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, 24 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. Then use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.”

"Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve Me as priests. Say to the Israelites, 'This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. Do not pour it on men's bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.'”

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from his people."

Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have chosen Bezalel, son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you: the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent-the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand-and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you."

Exodus 30:22-38, 31:1-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the closing verses of Exodus, chapter 30, and the beginning of Chapter 31, we find God giving Moses yet more direction regarding the production of materials that will support His future worship. This included anointing oil, incense, and all the items He commanded be built for the tabernacle. As we have seen in previous messages, every tabernacle component had a specific purpose and function within the worship process. As so as we see in today’s passage, God doesn’t rehash what He has already said but rather spends time getting into the ingredients that were to be used to make items and which people were responsible for their making.

For example, we see where God gives Moses painstaking details as to how the anointing oil and incense were to be created.

The scriptures tell us that the anointing oil would consist of "500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, 24 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil". As for the incense, it would be made up from "fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts."

Both recipes were thoroughly explained by God so that they could be replicated throughout all future generations, just as the parts of the tabernacle had been if reconstruction would be needed. In other words, God left behind a blueprint for everything He wanted done.

The other important matter we need to glean from today’s verses involves God specifically assigning duties as to who would make these items. We read where the anointing oil and incense were to be manufactured by a "perfumer" and only for God’s purpose, never for personal use.

Likewise, God blessed men like Bezalel, Oholiab, and others with special abilities to build the items for the tabernacle. God’s word tells us they were blessed with the "skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship" so to make "the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent-the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand-and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place."

Through this, we see that God equips those who He purposes to carry out His will and way. In the case of these craftsmen, He would ensure they would have the special talents to make everything God wanted, skilled workers who could take His blueprints and create things per His specifications.

Friends, we need to remember that God has given every believer a gift or gifts, providing them with the abilities they need to fulfill His plans for them. This should lead us all to seek our specialties that He has given us and then seek to use them to His honor and glory.

And with this, we should never rule out that God is giving us a new gift to carry out something we may have never done before. Given this truth, we shouldn’t respond to God’s call by saying, “I can’t” because with His support and power, we can do all things, even things we never dreamed we could do.

Further, I would like us all to consider that we may have abilities within us that are lying dormant and unused. We will never realize we have them unless we see the Lord’s guidance as to what He wants us to do and how He wants us to do it. It’s paramount that we never make the mistake of allowing a gift that God has provided to go unused. We only need to see what happened to the third servant in Jesus’ Parable of the Talents to see where we never want to be like Him and face the same fate (Matthew 25:14-30).

While I am on the subject of seeking, finding, and then using the gifts God has given, we should look at these words found in 2 Corinthians:

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines." 2 Corinthians 12:4-11

Ultimately, all believers need to know and trust that God can do whatever He desires with any one person through His promised manifestation of the Spirit. The Lord’s Word is truth and if He wants for you to do something in His name, He will give you the ability and strength to carry it out.

So while we might say “I can’t, or maybe Satan is whispering in our ear, “You can’t”, the Lord is saying, "Through Me you can do any and all things. Just trust in Me."

In the end translation, only His voice matters, right?

And so let’s all renew our commitment to step back, pray over the Lord’s will for our lives, and ask Him to reveal the special gifts He has given for each of us to do our part in His Kingdom work here on earth. For when we all do this, carrying out our part as God intends, then we can see how the community of believers can come together for the common good of all through a life of service to the Lord that is more exciting and fulfilling than anything we could ever hope for.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.