Good evening and welcome once again to our Bible study here at Cornerstone Church in Singapore. This evening we want to look at two men, and focus on one in particular, Biza Lial and Kholiab. men from the Old Testament. We're going to read a portion of God's Word, Exodus chapter 31, verse 1 to 11, as we reflect on the lives of these men. It says in verse 1, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaliel, the son of Uriah, the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones to set them, and in carving of timber to work in all manner of workmanship. And I behold, I have given with him a holy ab, the son of Ahish Amak of the tribe of Dan. And in the hearts of all that are wise hearted, I have put wisdom that they may make all that I have commanded thee. The tabernacle of the congregation and the ark of the testimony and the mercy seat that is thereupon and all the furniture of the tabernacle. and the table and his furniture, the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot, and the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons to minister in the priest's office. and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place, according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do. Amen. And God will bless the reading of his own inspired and infallible word. Let us pray. Now, Father, we thank thee once again for the blessed privilege of hearing from thy word. This evening as we look at the lives of these two men, Bezaliel and a holy hub, we pray, Lord, that we would learn from them, learn from how they surrendered their talents to God, how they answered the call of God, were filled by the power of God to fulfill these duties. We pray that these men will teach us to have the heart of a servant, to be humble, to be usable, to be malleable by the Spirit of God. For we ask these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Now this evening, we're looking at the story of these two men. And the Bible is replete with names of individuals like these two men, unsung heroes. Men that most Christians don't know much about, if in many cases don't know anything about. And although they are unknown, they are not insignificant. Now, God willing, when you get to heaven, you'll run into a holy ab and biza leal, and you'll be able to say, well, I know something about you because I heard in a particular service at a particular day about your lives and it touched me, your example and what you achieved for the Lord. Now, of the two men, the leading one or the more prominent one in this story is this one called Biza Leal. His name means in the shadow. of God. You see the little L at the end for the contraction of the name Jehovah or God, L in the Hebrew. His name was given to him obviously by his parents. They wanted their son to grow up in the shadow of God, under God's shadow. What a wonderful name. And their son certainly lived up to it. And he became a man that lived in the will of God for his life and was responsive to the call of God. Now, Bizaliel was clearly a very gifted artist and workman in his own right. But he also was a very gifted manager of men. He was one who could guide and direct and make sure that everything was done properly. He was someone who could recognize talent in others, and where there wasn't talent in some cases, in others. He was a man who ensured that things were done in a disciplined, orderly way, and done on time. He showed great skill in engraving precious metals, stones, wood carving. A man of great talent, something he achieved these skills working down in Egypt. That could well be true. And he stood out from all the other Hebrews in that he wasn't just making the bricks, but the Egyptians must have used him to be a great craftsman in their great buildings and pyramids that they erected at that time. Clearly, he had a reputation. People knew him. People could see that he's a man of great ability. Now, God not only raised him up as a great craftsman in his generation, but he had skills that not all great craftsmen have. He had the skills to manage other great craftsmen. And he's a man who was given this great task not just to erect the tabernacle, but to oversee its erection, not just in the grand picture, but he was in charge of following God's pattern that was given to Moses, the furniture, the garments of the priest, the oil, the incense, all of these things that were given in a very detailed, technical way by God. Bezaliel was responsible for being the great foreman or great overseer. in charge of all the other workers. Now, verse 2 of Exodus chapter 31 tells us the first significant thing about this man. And it says, God spoke concerning him. It wasn't Moses' idea. It wasn't Aaron's idea. It wasn't Joyce's idea. It wasn't even the Guild of Craftsmen's idea. It was God's idea. And God came to Moses, and he said this, see. In other words, just listen, Moses. You just take this. from me. It's not a debate. He says, see, I have called by name Biza Leal, the son of Uri, the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah. So the first thing that we discover about this man is that God called him. to this particular role in life. In the right century, in the right continent, in the right moment of his life, God called him for a very specific purpose. And not only called him, God says specifically, I've called him by name. And we have a list of his ancestry and his tribal connections. Now all of those things are significant because what God is saying is that I know this man. I know his family. I know all about him. I know where he lives amongst the 12 tribes of Israel. And what God is emphasizing by that very personal statement of his background and his pedigree is that all these things God cares about, who we are, where we're from. You know, we live in a world where particularly in city environments like this one, where people are past one another like ships in the night. Some people live for decades beside neighbors, and they don't even know their names, never even speak to one another. They go to schools, and they almost know nobody in the school. And they graduate from university and schools and go in and out of workplaces. And really, our connections with others are very, very limited. Skin deep. And we feel sometimes like nobody cares. Nobody knows us. Nobody's interested in us. Well, this verse just tells us right up front that there is someone who knows all about you. In fact, someone who knows more about you than you know about you. And it's God. And he understands everything about who you are, where you are. And he has a special calling. for your life. Now, there is this thought in many Christian circles, and maybe you're one of them this evening, who has this idea that God only calls pastors and missionaries, maybe Sunday school teachers or elders, but that's about it. There are some people who say, well, maybe God calls people to serve in a ministry in the church. I'll accept that, but that's the extent of his call. in the life of a Christian. I've had people say to me, oh, it's very different for you in Cornerstone Church. You have a calling on your life. But the rest of the members, they're almost free to pick and mix whatever way they want to live and how they pursue various career paths. Well, this verse is telling us nothing could be further from the truth. God has a calling. God has a role. God has a plan for each and every one of us. And we often like to use this term, the secular and the sacred, and divide the society between those involved in what's called sacred work, religious work, the pastors, the missionaries, and those that we say are in secular employment, the non-church-related activities. Well, again, the Bible makes no such distinction. It's an artificial one created by man. The Bible is very clear that every area of life God has an insight to, God wants to be part of in your life, and God has a purpose and plan for you in your life. Now, when we talk about the call of God, it's a very big subject. with many different aspects. But there are two main areas of the call of God. There is what we would call the general call of God for his people that applies to every Christian. But then there is this specific area of calling that applies only to that individual. It's personal to that individual. So what do we mean by general? Let me just deal with that first. Well, every Christian, every child of God, is called to salvation. There's that general call to become a child of God. We're called to holiness. We're called to a walk with God. We're called to worship the Lord. We're called to come to the house of God as the people of God and lift up our voices in prayer and praise and song and in the reading of the word of God. All of those things are part of God's general call to all of his people. Every child of God has that general call. But then there's this specific call. that God applies to your life, but not to other lives. And that call is a calling to be, for example, a husband of a particular wife, or a wife to a particular husband, or a father to a particular son or daughter, or a grandson, or a grandfather. And then God has very specific callings to particular career paths, maybe particular schools, universities. and in particular job environments. And God has specific plans and purposes for your life in all those areas. Now what he calls you to is not what he calls the person beside you to. It's for you and you alone. And Bezaliel here in verse two of Exodus 31, is revealed that God has a specific call for him. It's not a call to be a prophet. It's not a call to be a priest. He's from the tribe of Judah. But he's called to use his craftsmanship, the talents that God gave him, to be surrendered to the leading of the Holy Spirit and used by God to be a blessing in the area of managing others and craftsmanship. And it's very interesting. And I emphasize once again, God called him to this. We would almost expect it to say, Moses went around the camp and looked for the best craftsman. And he appointed the one who's the leader of all the craftsmen, Bezaliel, to be in charge of the building of the tabernacle. But it doesn't say that. It's very specific. God called him. God chose him. And God knew all about him. And let me emphasize once again, God is the one who calls us to specific roles. That's why they're so important. If God calls you to be a husband, that's a specific calling. That's a very important role, or a wife, or a mother, or a father. If God calls you to be a member of a particular church, that's a very specific calling. Or a deacon, or an elder, or a pastor. Again, very specific callings. But then the second thing we learn about this man, Biza Leal, he wasn't just a man that God knew and God called. But secondly, and just as importantly, He was a man who had the power of God in his life. You see, whom God calls, he always equips. God never calls a person that God doesn't give the ability to do the calling. God is not like you and I. He doesn't get confused. He doesn't make mistakes. He doesn't call the wrong person to the wrong job. He never puts a square peg in the round hole. It's not God. And it says in verse three, And I, notice the pronoun again, I, I've done this. Verse two, I have called him. Verse three, I have filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom and in faith. and in understanding and in knowledge and in all manner of workmanship to devise cunning works, that means beautifully crafted things. God gave him this gift, this ability, this talent to work with gold, silver, brass, cut stones, to set them, carve them in timber, carving of timber, to work in all manner of... I mean, this is a man with great talent and great ability, but don't miss the connection. I have given him this, God says. The power, the gifts are all given by God. And Bezalel would have been aware like no one else that all the great gifts and talents he had, the artistic gifts, the managerial gifts, The discernment gifts and what talent he had were all ultimately God's gift to him. He didn't earn these. He didn't do something to achieve all of these things. They were God's sovereign, gracious gift to him. And let me make this very clear. All gifts in life, all talents in life are from God. There, we like to talk about these very capable people, these creative people. Well, they're not really creative. It's God who's creating through them. And the greatest creative force in this universe is not the big tech engineers, or the great artists, or the Ivy League scholars, the greatest talents. and the greatest manifestation of those talents is God and God alone working through them. And if you want to see just this evening of how talented God is, just look up at the stars. Just go to the garden centers tomorrow. Go to botanic gardens and places like that and marvel at the colors and the design and the craftsmanship of God. And this man, Biza Leal, yes he had great talents, great gifts, but all were given to him from God. And he only was able to use them because God gave him the right to use them. And he was only able to use them for the time that he lived on Earth because God gave him the time to use them on Earth. You know, you often meet with people who have talents, great intelligence, great abilities, but they have no opportunities to use them. And God has to give not just the talents, but he has to give the time, the moments. And he filled him with the Spirit of God. And I find this very interesting, what it says in verse 3. It says, I have filled him. And we could accept if it just said, I have filled him with talents. Because if you look at the skill of this man, it's very evident. He has great talents that God has given and bestowed upon him. But look at the language. And notice it carefully. It says, I have filled him with the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. In other words, what God is letting you and I know is this. We need the power of the Spirit of God, not just on a Sunday to preach a sermon, not just in witnessing to an unbeliever or to sing in the choir. But we need the power of God in every area of our lives, the so-called secular areas. You need God just as much when you eat with your friends and your neighbors and your family. You need God just as much as you do in the church, as you do in the school, or in the college, or in the university. You need God just as much when you're sitting in your home, and his power in your life when you're sitting in your home, when you're sitting in the office, when you're sitting in the factory, when you're making decisions, you need God's power. That's what that verse is telling you. And the secret and why Bezalel became such a success was because the spirit of God was upon him in his day-to-day life, not just when he was worshiping in the temple or the tabernacle with all the rest of them. Of course, lest we get carried away with the focus on one individual. Verse six extends it, because in verse six it says, behold, I have given with him a holy ab. It's another one. Not just this man was given gifts by God, not just this man was empowered by God, but this other man, a holy ab. And then not just him, but he says, in the hearts of all that are wise hearted, I have put wisdom that they may make all that I have commanded thee. God is just letting them know, but he's also letting you know this evening that he gives gifts to you. He gives talents to you. And he wants you to surrender those under the power of God, under the spirit of God, and let him use you where he will. Acknowledge it. Seek his guidance in your life, and then God Not just leads this man, but he uses this man. And if you let God lead your life, you'll be amazed at where he will bring you. You'll be amazed at what he will let you do for him. And as I said earlier, he'll never make a mistake. He'll never put the square peg in the round hole. He will find the right place of the right position with the right power at the right time. to do that particular task. I grew up in Northern Ireland, not far from where I grew up. There grew, many years before I lived there, there was a little girl born called Amy. And Amy, like many Irish girls, she wanted to have green eyes or blue eyes. like some of her relatives and some of her friends at school. But when she looked in the mirror, unfortunately, she had brown eyes. And she had this desire, and she would pray, Lord, give me blue eyes. And she'd get up the next day, look in the mirror, and guess what? The eyes were still brown. And she became very frustrated. that God wouldn't answer her prayer. But many years later, Amy became an adult, and God not only saved her, but God called her to be a missionary. She made her way to the other side of the world, to India. And there she served, working amongst particularly women who were in trouble. Women who were involved in the worship in the temples there. Some of them even had been forced, kidnapped and made into prostitutes. One of the burdens she had was for little girls who were sold off into slavery. And she would go around with her shawl on her and she would try to rescue them. Sometimes she succeeded. Sometimes she failed. Sometimes she had to pay for them. Sometimes she was able to grab them and take them away from the kidnappers. But many years later, after she reflected, she had a home full of these poor girls and women. She fed and took care of. She realized a wonderful thing, that if God had made her with blue eyes or created her with another green eyes, that she wouldn't have been able to do the ministry that she did. That when she would go out to look for these girls and try to rescue them, that she would stand out from the local population if she had blue eyes or green eyes. And she said to the Lord, Lord, now I know, many years later, that you chose the right look for me. because you had the right ministry for me, planned even before I was born. And she was right. Her name was Amy Carmichael. And what a missionary she became, and how she touched so many lives, all because she was able to recognize that God knows what he's doing better than we know. God calls and God empowers. But then the third thing I really want you to see and the final thing this evening about this man, Bezalel, is that God used him in partnership with others. If you go back to verse 6 again, God says, and I, again, notice the pronoun, I. So in verse two, I have called him. Verse three, I have filled him. I give him all these talents, filled him with the spirit of God. But then he says, I have given with him a holy ab. Now, who is he? God gives his pedigree, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of that, a different tribe, a rival tribe, different family. A man with different talents, different abilities, not the same, but to complement the talents of this man, Biza Leal. And then not just a holy ab, he says, I have given in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted, I have put wisdom that they may make all that I have commanded. So he says, God says here to Moses, I've not just chosen this man, Bezalel, I have not just called him and empowered him and given him, poured out all these gifts and talents upon him, but he says, I have made partners to work with him, co-laborers. And you know, Bezalel, was a man of great talents, sure. But he couldn't do everything. He couldn't make everything in the time available. And there were others who had different talents, maybe not just as much as he had, but they had others that would complement his talent and would work with his talent. And you know, Biza Leal was put over them, not a holy man. or the others. He was put there. And then Moses, of course, was put in a different role over them all. Now, let me pause and make this point. Each of us have a role to play in the work of God. It's not unity in uniformity. We're not all meant to be the same. It's unity in diversity. That's always God's way. That's always God's plan, to give different talents and gifts and opportunities to different people and to all work together. Moses couldn't do this. He wasn't given the talent. He certainly wasn't called by God to do this. Bezalel was. But then likewise, Bezalel couldn't do everything that a holyhab was given to do or the others. They all had to learn that they had to work together. that in order to do something for the Lord in a successful way, in the most efficient way, they all had to pull together. Some of them had to lead, others had to follow. Some had to do one duty, others had to do completely different duties. And Bezalel and Aholihab and Moses all were from different tribes. but all learn to work together for the glory of God. And let me make this very simple point. The Christian life is not one that we're called to live in isolation. We're called to work together. And that's not just true in the church. It's true in the home. Often people make the statement, marriage is a partnership. A family is a partnership. Each one has his or her role. And each one must do his or her role. And if you try to do another person's role, the home becomes unbalanced. The church becomes unbalanced. And you can't improve God's perfect pattern for the home, for the church, for the society. And any time you try to Add your own wisdom to God's wisdom. What do you do? You make the perfect imperfect when you try to change God's way. And Moses, Bezalel, Aholihab, and all the rest of them, they learned this lesson and learned it well, that the way to success is for all to work together. God has an individual plan for each of us as part of his great plan. And you do your job. And I have to do my job. And it may be a different job. It may require different talents, different energies. But that's my calling. That's my role. That's my talent. And you know, Biza Leal, he wasn't a warrior like Joshua. He wasn't a prophet like Moses. He wasn't a king like David. He wasn't a player of music, a poet like David, a psalmist. He wasn't a man who had great philosophical skills like Solomon, scientific skills like Solomon. He didn't have those gifts and talents that we read of. He was different. He wasn't meant to be the same. He was meant to use his talents and his gifts for the calling God had for him and the highest Use of gifts and talents and opportunities is to take them and give them to the Lord and surrender everything to Him for His servants. You know, there have been many talented, capable people throughout the centuries, but their names are forgotten. Their legacy is either destroyed or ignored. because they didn't take the talents they had and surrendered them to the Lord. That's why nobody cares about them. That's why it's dissolved. It's all become wood and hay and stubble and burns up, hopeless. And each of us have our role, but each of us must be very careful that we fulfill the role, not in a perfunctory formal way, but in a way that we say, Lord, this is my calling. This is my role. And I'm satisfied with it. And I need your power to do it. I need your enablement. I need to be like Beezalel. I need to be filled with God so that I can do it well. And if you do that, you will attract the blessing of God. And you know, here's the thing as we close. After this all was constructed, this tabernacle, and began to function as a tabernacle, we don't read anywhere of Beezaliel or Holyhab basking in the praise of the people. They didn't use it as an opportunity to market their skills. to hand out their cards, their business cards to others. We don't read of them ever taking the glory of God and using Him to do this. And that's why their names are here. That's why these ordinary people were used in this extraordinary way by God. Many, many years ago, a young boy grew up in a home. His parents died young. And he had a great interest in music. His older brother was an organist in a church. And in those days, in the 18th century, music, particularly written music and instruments of music, were very expensive. And the brother didn't want his younger brother, who was just a boy, touching his things. And he would lock them away. And at nighttime, the younger brother would get up and play on the organ quietly. And he would study the music quietly with the candle. As he grew older, he realized that God had given him a talent for music. And God wanted to use him as a musician. And he would compose music. And before he would compose any new piece of music, he always would bow his head and he would say, Jesus, help me to show your glory through the music that I write. May it bring joy to you, even as it brings joy to others. And when he would finish composing a new piece of music after praying that and then doing the composition, he would always write three initials at the end of the piece of music. S-D-G. Stands for solo or solae deo gloria. Latin for to the glory of God alone. Not just to God's glory, but to the glory of God alone. That boy who became a man, his name was Johann Sebastian Bach. You know, Bach wasn't very famous in his lifetime. Although he wrote these great pieces of music and dedicated them to the glory of God, when he died in 1750, his music was just considered old-fashioned. And it wasn't really until Almost a century later, when a man called Felix Mendelssohn found some of his obscure compositions, particularly St. Matthew's Passion, the story of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, and he began to publish and play the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. And as he began to publish and play it, people said, wow, this is amazing. musical compositions. And today, all around the world, centuries later, people listen, play, are edified, and bless the legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach. And it's safe to say now that what he prayed all those years ago, and what he wrote at the end of each piece of music, to God alone be the glory, has come true because Bach used his talents and his opportunities that God had given him to bring glory to God, and so must you, and so must I. Let us pray. Father, we thank Thee for this Thy Word that we have heard this evening, that how all of us have a calling from God, all of us have talents from God, All of us need the power of God to use those talents well. All of us are called to work with others in partnership. All of us are called to take all the time and talents and opportunities that we have, surrender them to Thee, and let the Spirit of God empower them and use them, that it all may be for the glory of God. Remind us of all these things, but even more importantly, burn it into our hearts and into our souls that we may live this way. We ask these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen.