City Life Starter

I. The Word: Exodus 31:1-11

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,^a 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.”

Usually when we think about God filling us with the Holy Spirit we think of all spiritual or abstract things. We think of going to church and worshipping through singing. Maybe you think about someone highly charasmatic on the front row awkwardly dancing at a church service. Have you ever considered though that God wants to fill you with His Spirit to lead you in ability, intellegence, knowledge and even craftsmanship? (Vs. 3 above)

Don’t forget, it is God who created the heavens and the earth. No material ever used to create anything was not already in place at creation. The raw material to create a motor for a vehicle as well as the substance to run it (oil) has been in our earth since the beginning. We are merely stewards of what God has already manufactured and given the responsibility to use creation for His glory. Why do we then so often relegate God’s work to simply spiritual things? Shouldn’t we see He cares greatly about all aspects of our lives.

He wants to fill you with His Spirit not just for your character or godliness, but also for your work and wisdom so you can bring application to all manner of events. When we compartmentalize our lives in categories (my family-life, work-life, spiritual-life, etc.) we easily dismiss God in every area except our “spiritual-life”. We do this as if God is on the outside looking in saying, “I’ll help you pray and do church work, but don’t ask me anything about your work or business life. That’s out of my league.” How absurd! We wouldn’t say this out loud, but we live it loudly everyday. We do this every time we wake up and forget to acknowlege Him or make decisions without Him only to ask Him afterwards to “bless” those decisions.

God is very interested in all of your life. Not like a parent who calls you to catch up and hear how your life is going because they care. Much more like someone who has a plan for you today and is interested in filling you with His Spirit in order to move His plan for you forward according to His purposes. He wants to give you knowledge on what to say to your boss and how to say it. He wants to give you wisdom on which direction you should go. He desires to fill you with His creativity in your workplace. The kingdom of God is bigger than just going to church. His kingdom should be advanced in ALL area of our lives, so we need Him to fill us, guide us, and empower us in ALL areas.

When was the last time you had a deadline at work due and asked the Holy Spirit to fill you and empower you to create and complete that which He has gifted you for? When was the last time you asked the Holy Spirit to fill you and empower you to love your spouse and give you the ability to love him/her in a unique way? When was the last time you prayed and asked God to fill you and empower you to know what to do to encourage your children to love Him and one another?

Let’s not relegate God to the kid table in our lives. Let’s worship Him and ask Him to lead every area and submit them daily to Him as if He is actually GOD.

Psalm 127:1-2

1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.