Pastor Brian Welcome
1. As much as we wanted to be downstairs this morning, personally for me, as I have been on about a ten-year quest to change our seats, We finally got our new chairs, we worked hard to get them in there, and I guess the Lord decided, ‘You’re not ready for that much excitement yet.’ If the power comes on later, you may go downstairs to see them.
2. But here’s the thought that came to me when the power went out. And we were sitting at the back of the room with Lars and George, with Victor and Fanis, and Cecilia, and I sat there thinking, how blessed are we to have this facility, where we can just come back upstairs and to enjoy our day.
3. Those of you from outside Greece, you may experience church very differently, physically. But I just I’d like to remind you that in terms of Greece we have been blessed in many ways. Not only do we have this space, which is quite unusual, but we also got it at a price which could not be possible on today’s time. So, God has blessed us. And I want to remind us to always be thankful. So, with the chairs out, as the morning goes on, us and the deacons, we may have to pull some more in, but what I do know, is that we have the opportunity to be here together, we can look at one another face-to-face, we can rejoice in the presence of God, and we can enjoy the presence of one another.
4. So, this morning has to be a relaxed morning, if you need coffee early, I suggest you get it while it’s still hot, because we don’t know when that power is going to come back online. So, if you want to get up to get a cup of coffee, we won’t be offended. Let’s just take this morning to relax and enjoy the Lord. We don’t need to have handouts for the songs, we cannot project them for you. The most important thing is, that if you know the words, or you don’t know the words, worship the Lord, He’s with us. Amen.
Pastor Brian – Announcements
1. You can go and sit right down for a moment.
Please follow the video for the rest of the announcements.
Pastor Brian – Main Message (Message begins at 23:45 in the video)
1. So, we move on in our series on being gifted. We talked last week that everyone of us is gifted, naturally, but you’re also gifted supernaturally. And it’s important to find the way to operate in and use those spiritual gifts.
2. I want to say another thank you this morning, because this whole series, with only a few suggestions from pastor Gail and myself, has been arranged by Anton. And I know that he has put in a lot of thought and prayer as to how we can bring this to the church. I say that for this reason, we’re not just talking about something, because we feel like it’s good to talk about.
3. There are times when sermons are just sermons. They can encourage us, they can affect us, and then we go home. But there are times when we really try hard in this church, that can ask and answer the question, ‘What is the Lord saying to this church? What does He want us to hear? As individual people and as a community of people. What page does He want us to be on?’ Because, we’re stronger, when we’re there together. And writing these sermons over the next few months, because we believe it is the voice of God to the Glyfada Christian Center.
4. Different preachers will preach the sermons. You get me this week and me next week. You’ll hear Anton. You’ll hear pastor Gail. You’ll hear Leto, You’ll hear Louka and Artemis. I think we have something planned for Billy and Eva-Lena. So, the voices will be different physically. But we believe wholeheartedly, that it’s actually one voice. It is what the Spirit says to the church. And as the Lord spoke to us in the book of Revelation, “Let him who hears, hear what the Spirit says to the church.” (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29)
5. So, we want to zone in on that in a brand-new way. Over the next few weeks, we’ll speak from the Old Testament. I personally love preaching from the Old Testament, even though I’m a New Testament Christian. Thank God. I don’t know that I would have done well in the Old Covenant. Because, I don’t know if you noticed, but nobody did well, under the Old Covenant. That’s why the Father gave us Jesus, to make a New Covenant.
6. But we told in the New Covenant, as Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is God breathed.” (2 Timothy 3:16). Now remember, Paul and Timothy did not have the New Testament. So, the Scripture he was talking about was not Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, It was Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, etc.… All Scripture is God breathed, and it is given to us, and I’m going to use more modern words, Paul says, ‘It is given for our correction, for our instruction, and so that we can be trained in righteousness.’
7. So, we’re going to look at some Old Testament Scriptures and people, so that we can learn from them. Because, especially in churches like ours, we use the Spirit and power, and maybe you grow up with words like ‘Pentecostal’ or ‘Charismatic,’ we don’t fit into any category very well. Sometimes I say we’re, ‘Bapticostal,’ maybe ‘Bapticostalmethodist.’ We’ve got a little bit of many things. We’re just trying to find the Word of God and His will for us, flavor doesn’t matter, but in a lot of our churches, we don’t pay a lot of attention to the Old Testament, and especially when we talk about the Holy Spirit, which we’re talking about in terms of being gifted. Because, He is the One who gifts us.
8. So, sometimes we think that the Holy Spirit only arrived on the earth on Pentecost Day, in the book of Acts. When in fact, the first passages in the book of Genesis, tell us that the Spirit of God was hovering over the earth in creation. Nothing in the realm of God’s domain, has ever been done without the activity of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, we call Him the third person of the Trinity. I rather like to say that there are three number one persons in the Trinity. “Hear oh God’s people, the Lord our God, He is One.” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Three personalities, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God. The Holy Spirit is not less than Jesus, and He is not less than the Father. He carries out the will of the Father, as it is set by the Son. But it is one God. They don’t have three minds. They are of one mind. The are of one Spirit. They are of one substance. So, anywhere in the Scriptures, you see Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are at work. Everybody with me on this. I want you to understand that we believe in the Trinity. But we believe they’re three as one and not one as three.
9. So, today we’re going to start to look at the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of some powerfully enabled people in the Old Testament. Now, there’s a phrase that I’ve often used, the theologians in the room, might find ways to argue with me. But I kind of tend to think simplistically like this, in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came on people, and empowered them to do specific things. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit came in. He made His home in us. So, we’re not waiting for the Holy Spirit to fall on us to do anything.
10. Sometimes we sing like that and we talk like that. From the time I was a little boy, we sang, ‘Come oh Holy Spirit.’ Sometimes, we sing, ‘Come upon us.’ And that’s OK, there are times we feel the Holy Spirit kind of enter the room in a special way. But I’d rather think of it like this, He’s not coming on us, He’s exercising in us. Because, when we’re born again, He fully came into our lives. Now, we also believe, that the Holy Spirit empowers us in special ways, beyond salvation. People use phrases like, ‘Baptized in the Holy Spirit,’ ‘Filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Which are fine, use the language, ‘Empowered by the Holy Spirit,’ because, just that I believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it actually doesn’t make me anymore filled than somebody who is born again but doesn’t believe in the same way.
11. When we’re born again, the Holy Spirit doesn’t say, ‘Oh, I’ve just come to your building and maybe some other day you’ll get the full. We’ve got to stop believing that way. What we can say, is that there is a different experience in walking in everything the Holy Spirit does and makes available to you. I do believe that there is an experience that people have, just as in the book of Acts, where we find that people who had been born again, they had seen Jesus, they had been baptized, and yet the apostles asked them, ‘Have you received the Holy Spirit?’ Well, the answer was, ‘Yes, we’re born again,’ but there was another answer which was, ‘No, we haven’t heard what this is all about.’
12. So, last week we went through some lists of different gifts that the Holy Spirit places in us, or sometimes just places on us, for a specific task, and as we grow, we learn to operate with the Holy Spirit more and more. And we want everybody to walk in that fullness. Because it is the power of God to do the work of God. And if I rely on my natural power and gifts to do the work of God, I’m in trouble. Because, His ways are not our ways. His ways are higher and surpass all understanding. You don’t discover these things on your own. You grow into them in your life with the Holy Spirit. So, that’s why we have to be seeking it.
13. And that’s a long introduction to get to my point today, so now we’ll move fast. Anton pulled out a name out of the Old Testament that I had not thought about in many years. I tried to look up the pronunciation in Hebrew, so that I could get it right, because we say it differently. I’m probably still wrong. A man called by the name Bezalel (Hebrew: בְּצַלְאֵל, Bəṣalʼēl, Exodus 31:1-6). How many of you know the story of Bezalel? I saw three hands. Because this person, was hugely significant in the life of the Old Testament, and yet, most of us don’t even know his name, and none of us can say it right. But he was a beautiful example of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a man.
14. He wasn’t a preacher. He wasn’t a prophet. He wasn’t a judge. He wasn’t a king. He was a man chosen by God, because he was a craftsman, and God wanted to build His tabernacle. And his story is found in Exodus 31:1-5, turn there with me, because we’re going to see importantly, how God does not just empower leaders, or prophets or teachers, but empowers artists, builders, skilled workers, for the state of His Kingdom.
15. On a Sunday, I may be down in the pulpit, preaching, but I’m no more significant than Lars at the sound system, or Victor on the guitar. I’m no more significant than Cecilia, who got here early, to make sure that the things were clean and in order. Anything that anyone of us does for the sake of God, has the opportunity, not to just be a task, but it is an opportunity to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do that task in a significant and a unique way.
16. So, the Scripture says, “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 wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills — 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 crafts.’”
17. Highlight these phrases, the voice of the Lord, “I have chosen Bezalel”, wasn’t just there just to do a job, “I have chosen Bezalel and I have filled him with the Spirit of God.” This passage is remarkable, because it is the first time in Scripture, that anybody is described as ‘Filled with the Spirit of God.’ All of you Bible students, you know, ‘the law of first instance.’ Anytime you see something in Scripture that is the first time, set your ears up. The first person named by God, the first person to be described in this way, whatever it might be. But this man is specifically described as being filled with the Spirit, and he is unlike the other ones that we will hear about, like Samson, or Joshua, or David, who were often the Scripture says, were filled by the Spirit for battle or for leadership.
18. I like Bezalel, because he was filled to be a craftsman. This shows that God is not only concerned with spiritual leadership, but He is concerned about all who are able to build for the beauty of His glory. God loves artisans. He loves builders. He loves painters. He even condones musicians. God is an artistic person, and He loves creating beauty for His glory. Which then leads me to understand, if you read the whole story, God basically tells him what to do, but He doesn’t only tell us, how He does it. Sometimes when we read that in Scripture, we think that a voice came out of heaven, ‘Build, ‘this many meters. Use these products. Build this high and use these people.’ I don’t think that’s at all how it happens.
19. God said, “I have filled him with wisdom, and understanding, and with knowledge of all kinds of skills.” I would bet you this guy sat down, and basically said, ‘God help me’ and the Spirit of God guided him exactly where he needed to be. This tells me that God enjoys excellence. Bezalel was constructing the tabernacle, in other words, the place we sang about in our first song. The place where Your glory dwells. God said, ‘You’re not the leader of the nation, and you’re not a preacher to the nation, but I chose you to construct where my glory dwells.’ Every detail of the tabernacle, you study, was meant to reflect the holiness of God, and to create a place where God’s people could meet with Him.
20. So, the fact that Bezalel was chosen for this, tells me three things I want you to hear this morning. Because there may be some of you who think that you really don’t have anything to offer, and you have to get rid of that lie of the devil. You are gifted. And you are gifted by God. And you are gifted by God for His purpose. I told you last week, that I would tell you that, often. So, three things today:
a. God values creativity and craftsmanship. We’re not a church with a lot of resources. And sometimes I would question about making changes, or we would question. But I believe wholeheartedly, that within the context that God provides us, this should be an attractive place. Not because God lives in it, but when we gather in it, He is here with us. It is still His house, even though we are His house. So, I believe that God wants excellence, to the extend that we can do it. Victor, I am a terrible guitar player, but I do it to the best of my ability. If I think I can’t do it, I’ll set it down. Whether it’s music, whether it’s coffee; Evy how many times do we have to discuss how we can have better coffee. Our coffee is fine. But we want it to be the best coffee. We can’t afford the best on the market, because none of you are paying for it. But we’re doing the best we can. To fix and paint the walls. To put new chairs downstairs. And since the power is back on, go and see them downstairs. But God enjoys beauty and excellence. Not just in a physical place like this, but in you. Now, I don’t dress in my finest clothes every Sunday. I don’t always have my hair fixed just right. There are ways to achieve perfection. But I care about how I take care of myself. I do care how I look. Not because I have to be the best-looking man in the room. So, we have Fernando for it. But because, I want to represent God, my God, to the extent that I can. Because I’m made in His image and likeness, and I want people when they look at me, at least to say this, ‘That person cares.’ And we care because of the God we serve. He likes beauty and excellence. His definition of that might different than ours, because I guarantee you there’s not a person in this room that God has ever looked at and said, ‘You’re not attractive.’ There’s not one person in this room that God has ever said, ‘You’re not enough.’ But there is not one person, who shouldn’t hear, ‘I’m the Lord your God and I enjoy excellence.’ Just give your heart, and give Him your best. And we’ll welcome that, because we don’t have a tabernacle as the dwelling place of God, we have ourselves and each other as the dwelling place of God.
b. Number two. The Holy Spirit enables them to fulfil their calling. I’m going to say it again, Bezalel, was not just naturally talented, he was supernaturally empowered. Michael is working on a building right now. I don’t know how much of a technician he is. I’ve never seen work that way. But I believe this, what he is working on, is for God and God will empower you to a level you otherwise could not have done it yourself. Because when God calls, He equips. Amen.
c. Number three. Every work we do, the Bible says, ‘If you do it do it as unto the Lord, every-one.’ I don’t care if you’re sweeping your neighbor’s sidewalk. It’s a little difficult, but if we could see everything we do, as unto the Lord, how does that change life? Every work done by a believer, should be done unto the Lord. And everything done unto the Lord, is sacred. Sometimes in church we use these words and we say, there’s sacred and there’s separate. That’s a lie. There is sacred, and sinful. Everything in creation, is created by God for His glory. And it is only corrupted creation that is the alternative and that is sinful. So, if you’re an accountant, you’re a sacred accountant or a sinful one. If you’re a house cleaner, you’re a sacred house cleaner, or a sinful one. If you tell Scripture around the world, you either tell it as sacred or sinful. We have to get this idea out, because it’s either church or other. You are the body of Christ everywhere and at all times. You’re either performing that unto God, or you’re falling short; missing the mark, whatever phrase you want to use, and that’s just the definition of sin. So, I’m either living sacredly, or sinfully. And when we get into the mix of that, that’s when we really have to go to our knees, because that’s the definition of what the Lord said to the church in Laodicea. He said, ‘I can deal with you, if you’re hot and I can deal with you if you’re cold, but if you’re in the middle, I’ll spit you out of My mouth.’ I can’t tell you, how many times that phrase goes through my mind during the week. Seeing as though I don’t want to be lukewarm. Sacred or sinful.
21. So, God identifies to us, through the Spirit-filled person of Bezalel, that every work done is sacred. Now, we’re going to give you three practical things to go out there with. How do we take these things and challenge ourselves to work through this lens of the Holy Spirit.
22. In this room we have artists; we have teachers, we have engineers, we have pastors, we have ship-men, we have businessmen, we have disciples, we have everything. God desires to fill us to do our skills for His glory. So, how do we do this?
a. Step One: Ask Him. Remember this is the year of prayer, for Glyfada Christian Center. Keep praying, and we pray first. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.
b. Number Two: Then, as we said, recognize for yourself, that all of your work can be worship. That when Stavros cuts his head on a couple of nails on the palettes, he can stop and say, ‘Lord for Your glory,’ instead of cursing under his breath.
c. Number three: It’s very simple, you’ve all heard of, ‘Let’s pursue excellence.’ We may not as believers will ever achieve excellence, and maybe in God’s vision, He’s got a certain level in mind for us, so, we do not complain at what God does es or does not do.
23. But I will tell you this, ‘If as a people, we aim here (at chest level), we’ll achieve here (lower). But if we aim here (above our heads), we’ll achieve here (just below that, still above our heads).’ And when we put that in the context, ‘that it’s not for us, but it’s for God, how great do you want His name to be?’ People ask, ‘How do you do this, ‘You say, it’s for the glory of the Lord.’ How great do you want them to envision Him, because of you?
24. We sing songs, ‘Your name is the highest, Your name is the greatest, Your name stands above them all’. It’s so easy to do. But when I walk out these doors, and I encounter the rest of the world, and people see me, how high is His name?
25. We are His people, made for His glory and just like a man called Bezalel, God gifted him to build a portable building, so that they could stop and set it up and have a place to meet with God, just as He gifted then, He will gift you to do what He has purposed you to do. Amen. Let us pray.
26. Lord, we recognize You today, and we rejoice again, in the knowledge, we rejoice in the Word, that You are with us, You are in us, You come upon us and that we can do the works in the world. So, Lord, if it is what we do in out jobs, whether it is who we are in our families, and yes Lord, if it is what we do inside the church, the body of Christ, Lord, raise us up in our giftings; make us aware of who we are, assure us by Your Holy Spirit, that You are walking with us, and that Lord, the very power that raised Jesus from the dead, dwells inside of us. Help us to understand that, Lord, and help us to walk into it, and help us to overcome in everything, that we can reflect the greatness of Your name. And we thank You for that partnership. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
27. You are gifted. You are gifted by God and you are gifted by God for His purpose.