So in the story, Ivan was really looking forward to his hat day, right? The day when his father, the hatmaker, would give him the hat that was made just for him. But before that day came, other people in Hatville kept trying to give him their hats, didn't they? Okay, first question. Why they think that he should like their hat? Go ahead, Jordan. Because they liked it, go get yourself a present. Next question. But what happened every time someone put their hat on Ivan? Bella? It didn't fit. You can get one. So that story reminds us of something very important. God makes each of us with our own gifts, our own passions, our own skills. We don't all wear the same hat. I'm going to ask you another question, and this is out there just generally. What's something that you love to do, something that comes naturally, maybe, or that you could spend hours doing just because you enjoyed it? Holler out, Danielle. Reading and acting. Reading and acting. Awesome. Anybody else? You already answered a question. Naomi? Writing. Writing? Awesome. Yes, Joanna. Art. I think we can tell. For me, that thing is dance. I started when I was five years old, and I pretty much never stopped.
Through sore muscles, bleeding feet, injuries, and having absolutely no social life side of the studio, I never gave up. Because it would have felt like there was a big hole in my life if I had. There was something about dance that made me feel alive. In later years, it was more choreographing dance than actually doing the dance, but it was still dance. If I was having a bad day or if life was just particularly sucking at that time, I could go into the studio, focus on the music and my technique, and block out the rest of the world. I loved it so much that I even wondered, When I became a Christian, God, what are you going to do with Is dance just something that I'll have to leave behind if you're calling me into ministry? And I thought maybe the answer would be yes. After all, I was becoming a Baptist pastor, and everyone knows the joke that pastors or that Baptists don't dance. But I kept praying and I kept saying, God, if you want me to let this go, I'll let it go. But if you want me to use it, you're going to have to show me how.
So then one One day, I was reading Psalm 139. I had just been flipping through the Bible, trying to decide what to read that day. And I came to Psalm 139, and something made me say, Read this. So I was reading it, and I was listening to music while I was reading the scripture. And then all of a sudden, a whole dance was put in my head. It was complete. It was clear. It was just all there. Now, normally, I work on choreography a bit at I can obsess over four counts for weeks. But this was like God had just placed this whole thing in my head. And that moment began something new. God used my love of dance in ways that I had never imagined. He opened doors for ministry through dance, sharing the gospel in competitions, helping churches to worship in new ways, and even teaching unchurched dancers about the Bible. And some of those dancers came to love God through their passion for dance. All of it was just so much bigger and took such a different path than I had imagined. But that's what God can do. He can take the things that we love, the gifts and the passions that he put inside us, and through his spirit, he multiples them.
Ensuring serving God doesn't have to simply feel like duty or obligation. It can feel joyous, it can feel creative, and it can feel like community. And that's not just true from my experience. And God also doesn't only use the arts. He can use building, cooking, teaching, organising, encouraging, sports, anything. So just think on this for a moment. What's something that you love doing that you could imagine God using? Or another way to think of it is what's a skill or a passion that you've seen God use in your life? Either yours for yourself or for someone else. So just think on that for a minute. Because today, as we turn to scripture, we're going to see that this isn't a new idea. From very early on, even in the building of the tabernacle, God poured out his spirit on people, not just to preach or to pray, but to create, to design, build, and serve. But before we look at the scripture, Here's another question for you. Do you think that there's a difference between a talent and a spiritual gift? Who says yes? Yes, there's a difference. Who says no? There's a lot of people sitting on the fence and not making a decision here.
Pick aside, people. God does give us both talents and spiritual gifts. They're not the same, but they do have some things in common. Both are from God. Both grow stronger the more we use them. Both are meant to help other people, not just ourselves. Jesus said, The most important commands are to love God and to love others, so that means that we should use both our talents and our spiritual gifts to show that love. But a talent is something that you're naturally good at or something that you've learned through practise. Some people are good at drawing, some are great at math. Some can run super fast. You're good at math? Are you super good at math? That's awesome. Just don't talk math to me because I won't understand. Some can run really, really fast, and some love to sing. Sometimes we're born with these abilities, like being really tall. I know you're not born tall, but you're born with the possibility of being coming really tall and being really good at basketball. Sometimes we grow our talents by being around people who do the same thing, like learning music in a musical family. The spiritual gifts are different in that they are special abilities that the Holy spirit gives to every Christian when they accept Jesus as Lord.
These gifts are given so that we can add to the kingdom by building up the church and helping people come to know Jesus. And the Bible gives us different lists of spiritual gifts. In Romans 12, it lists serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, and showing mercy. In 1 Corinthians 12, it lists wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning spirit, speaking in languages you've never studied, interpreting in those languages. Now, notice that they aren't the same lists. So it's generally understood that there are actually more spiritual gifts than just the ones that are found in the so-called gifts passages. So now, what would you say is the main difference between a talent and a spiritual gift? Bethany. I think talent is when everybody's spiritual gift comes in, then he will have a spiritual gift. Very good. Get yourself present. So as I said, it's generally accepted that there are more spiritual gifts than are just listed in the gifts passages in the Bible. Now, assuming that that's the case, do you think that creativity could be a spiritual gift, even though it's not listed in the Bible's gift passages? Yes?. Yes. Stop jumping ahead into my sermon, Patricia.
But yes. Well done. That's okay. That's all right. You can go get a present. So I believe that creativity and artistry ministry, which are not necessarily the same thing, can indeed be spiritual gifts. So just to clarify what I mean by that, I had a professor at the time. He was my evangelism prof. And so he would claim that he was the least creative person on the planet. And yet he was the most out-of-the-box thinker when it came to ministry. And so I said to him, I think what you mean is that you're not artistic, but you're definitely creative. So you can be creative not be artistic. So I think that creativity and artistry can indeed be spiritual gifts. And I believe the scripture that we're looking at today, thank you Patricia, will support this idea. Because every creative gift is a divine opportunity to glorify God and to serve others. Whether you're a painter, a musician, writer, craftsperson, your talents can become powerful tools for ministry, for spiritual growth, and for evangelism. So throughout scripture, we find beautiful examples of God's mission creativity that showcase how artistic expression can honour and glorify. The construction of the tabernacle stands as one of the most detailed accounts of divine highly inspired artistry.
God specifically chose, I always trip over his name, Baisalel, and filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding and ability of every craft. And this master craftsman, along with a Holiab and other skilled workers, created intricate designs of gold and silver and bronze and fabric. Now, scripture tells it much better than I do. So I'm going to read it directly from Exodus, chapter 31, and we're reading verses 1-11, and I use the NLT this time. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Look, I have specifically chosen Baisalel, son of Uri, grandson of her, in the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft. And I have personally appointed 'Oholiab' son of Iisamah, I actually can say that one, of the tribe of Dan to be his istent. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make.
The tabernacle, the tabernacle, the tabernacle, the tabernacle, the tabernacle, the tabernacle, the tabernacle, the tabernacle, the tabernacle, the tabernacle, the the covenant, the ark's cover, the place of atonement, all the furnishings of the tabernacle, the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstead with all its accessories, the incense altar, the altar of burnt offerings with all its utensils, the wash basin with its stand, the beautifully stitched garments, the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear as they minister his priest, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense for the holy place, the craftsman Must make everything as I have commanded you. So as we just heard, the passage begins with God telling Moses that he has chosen Basalel to carry out the work of constructing the tabernacle. God tells us that he has filled him with the spirit of God, that he is giving him great wisdom and ability and expertise in all kinds of crafts. And he also gives him an assistant who is another skilled worker that God had empowered through the Holy spirit to help with the construction of not just the tabernacle itself, but also all of its furnishings.
And God had also empowered both of them to teach other skilled workers so they could accomplish the tasks that had been set out for them. But here's the question, perk up, present at stake. Basilel and Oholiab were already skilled craftsmen. It stated that, Could they have done the job on their own? Without the spirit's help. Call it out. Come on. Could they do it? Who said no? There's somebody over here. There you go. Do you know why? Okay, you still get your gift. When you think about the task that had been set for them, the tabernacle, all of those furnishings and everything that was going in it, all that design work. Do you think that they had ever done a task like that in their experience, if they had ever done that before? No. Now, they were master craftsmen, and they had done really great work. So God took those people with those gifts that he had already given his talents, and then he supercharged them with his spirit so that they could do this a massive work, exactly the way that God wanted for his glory. And here's the really exciting part, that the creative spirit who filled Basilel lives in us today.
Just think about creation itself. Like, God created from nothing, and yet he came up with sunsets and snowflakes and bird songs. So God didn't just make things that worked, right? He made them beautiful. Why? Because creativity flows directly from his heart. And because we're made in God's image, he's placed that same spark of creativity in in us. But what that looks like is going to be different in each one of us because each one of us is unique from it. I'm not talking about just making art for the sake of making art. This is about joining God in the big work that he's still doing, making things new, fixing what's broken, and bringing beauty and hope into this world, whether through music or writing or visual arts or innovative creative ministry approaches, our creative expressions become powerful tools for sharing God's truth and drawing others into his presence. Like Baisalel, we're equipped and called to use our creative gifts for Kingdom purposes. Now, not every creative gift or creative idea, I should say, sorry, not every creative idea comes from the Holy spirit. So not all creativity is a spiritual gift, and not all spiritual gifts are artistic or creative.
But every gift from the spirit has the same purpose, to give us the power and the ability to do the work God has called us to, and to do it in the way that he has designed. I thought it was mine. Question. Who gives us our gifts so that we can serve God? Shout it out. Holy spirit, you are the next winner down for a prize. And when we use those spirit-given gifts, something amazing happens. We find joy, we find fulfilment in serving, even in the tough times. And whose life do we see this happen in? We see it in Paul's life, right? In Philippians 4: 4, he writes, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, Rejoice. And where was he when he wrote that? He was in prison. Hardly exactly the place that we think of as rejoicing from, right? And if anyone knew what it meant to suffer for their faith, it was Paul. Yet even in the hardest of times, Paul found joy in serving God's Kingdom by serving the church. And he didn't do it because he had to. He did it because he loved Jesus, was thankful for all that Jesus had done for him.
Do you question, do you think it would be easy or hard to sing and rejoice if you were in prison? Come on, Dee. I can see it would be a struggle At times, you're better than I am. But that's why it's so amazing. Paul shows us that joy comes from Jesus, not from our situation. Paul served with joy even when life was really hard. Now, today, we don't face the persecution that Paul faced. Yet some find it difficult to find joy. They expect to find joy if they come to church, but yet they struggle to find it. So could it be that the struggle they're having is coming from treating the church like it's about what they can get from it instead instead of how they can give? Because the truth is, Jesus has already given us everything that we need through the cross. He has served us, and now we get to serve his church, willingly, sacrificially, and with love, just as he did. And Paul is a great example of how serving with the gifts that God gives brings strength, courage, and joy. Question. Matthew's head popped up. What happens when you use a gift or talent God gave you, like singing, drawing, building, whatever it is, to make someone else happy and to show God's love?
It gives you joy. It gives you joy, and? Does it just give you joy? You don't get to answer anymore. It brings joy to others. It brings joy to others and to us, right? So sometimes God asks us to spin and help in ways outside of our usual gifts, and he gives us what we need in those moments. And I'm going to be talking about that in a lot more detail over the next few weeks. But most of the time, he wants us to serve in the areas where he has specially gifted us. And that's why I encourage you to take, fill out one of the spiritual gift surveys. Has everybody got one? I must admit that I am I'm very impressed with you guys because so many of you have come up to admit that you forgot to bring it, but that you had filled it out. Impressive. I'm used to having to track people down for months to get these done. So well done, you. Because there's something amazing that we're going to do with those. But when you fill it out, it is a helpful tool to help discover how God has made you so that you can then serve with joy.
So how do we begin? We start with prayer. Ask God, Where is it that you want me to serve? And then keep your heart open and listen, because God often points us to serve in places that match the passions that he has already put inside us. So think about what you really love to do, something that you don't have to be dragged to, something that you don't have to be about doing. Think about those things in your life because those might be a clue of how God could use you. Just as Ivan's father asked questions before making each person's hat, we can ask ourselves, what do I really love to do? And that passion may be God's clue to where he's leading you to serve. And when we use the gifts the Holy spirit has given us, we step into the joy and the strength that comes from serving God in the way that he designed. But each of us was made for a different hat. And it's time for us to find out what our hat looks like so that we may know best how to serve. So remember I talked about the spiritual gifts tree, or maybe I didn't mention that it was a tree.
I think I left it as a surprise. So it's a tree. As you can see, Joanna has designed this for us. Isn't that amazing? Round of applause for Joanna. So what comes with the tree? Leaves. We have three different coloured leaves. You don't have to put your name on them. The green leaf is for your top spiritual gift, so the one that you rated highest at. The yellow is your second highest, and the orange is your third. So when you've done your spiritual assessment and you know your top three spiritual gifts, you get your three leaves and you stick them on the appropriate tree branch because they're labelled with the spiritual gifts. Does that make sense? And then We'll see the full tree and see how we as a church are gifted. I would like my dream. No, I'm not going to say dream because that makes it sound like it's not doable. My hour goal is to have the tree filled by the Sunday before our anniversary service. Okay, so that gives you some time, but not too much time. So your takeaway challenge for next couple of weeks. That slide. Each person here is to think and pray about their passions and their talents.
Think about what it is you love to do and think about how God may be leading you to serve in a way that incorporates those things that you love to do. Then, next slide. We are each going to take a page out of our hat for Ivan's story, and each of us will make a hat that will allow others to see what it is that we love to do. There's actually two parts to this challenge, but I'm not telling you the second half. You get to design your own hat. We don't have a hat maker that's going to make your hat for you. You get to design your own. We'll all have them, and then we can see what it is that each of us loves to do, buy our hats. I picked that one because it looks the most like dog. So do we know our challenge? Now I have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 gifts left. So I'm going to do a quick quiz. And if you get the answer right, you can get a present. Which Book of the Bible was our scripture from today? Who said Exodus back there? There you go.
Wrong, Matthew. Of course, he's working on the slides. Okay, what was the name of the guy that God gifted? Not the one that was to be his assistant, but the main one. What was his name? It did start with a B. What did you say? Basalel. Basalel. Present for you. Yes. Okay. Then, what else shall I ask? What are you? I already asked that question. Let me think of some. Oh, who knows the chapter and verse? Not back there that are on slides, chapter and verses of the scripture today? You have the 1 to 11, right? But the wrong chapter. Go for it. No? Oh, Matthew's quickly googling it. You're doing your spiritual gift test. You're not supposed to be showing the answer back there. What is it? What chapter? 31. 31. Verses? Yeah. You get a gift. Okay. What are the two... Name one of the two passages that the spiritual gifts are listed in that I mentioned today. Romans. Romans. Do you remember what chapter? You can still get your present. I was just wondering. Anybody know the other one? You can't answer more than once.. Oh, it must be one of her spiritual gifts.
Oh, because Patricia, you already got one. Is that why you're not saying it out loud? Okay. You're trying to convince somebody else to say it? Lynn, be a little more subtle. Anybody know it? We got two more presents before we can open them and find out the point of them. That's what you're trying to do? Come on, speak up. Shout it out. I know somebody knows it in here. You guys know. Not you. I know you guys know your Bible. Matthew, certainly you can Google faster than that. Which there There's two passages that I mentioned that listed spiritual gifts. Scott already said Romans. He already said that one. Where did the other one come from? Patricia said it right in front of you. If you weren't on your phone, you would have heard. 1 Corinthians. You can go get it. Pardon? It is like pulling teeth. Are you guys like this at Christmas and never want to get a present? Are you afraid that I put things that are going to jump out at you or something in there? Even when you bribe them? Wow. If the present was different from the present. How do you know that it's not?
You were supposed to. Okay, last question for the last present. Where did I move from? Not you. You can't answer now. Nova Scotia. It was the middle of- It was, but... It really was. Okay. Oh, wait. Once everybody's got their gift, when I give you the cue, I'm going to say, Open them. Okay, go ahead and open them. I don't know. Okay, can you stand up? If you have a gift in your hand, can you stand up? You win. Okay. Now, stand up. Everybody can see the gifts. By looking at the outside packages, could you tell what was inside? No. Even though they were all different shapes and sizes and they came in different wrappings, they're all different sizes. But what I can tell you is each one costs the same. So they're all of equal value, even though they're different shapes and sizes and came in different wrappings. Now, some of them are fun, some of them are boring, some of them are useful, some are entertaining, but all of them have a purpose. Now, if it's not what you were hoping to open, some of you may feel disappointed or even ripped off.
But that same gift may be used to help someone else, or it It may seem more to your liking later on. But I will, for the sake of today, if you feel like you didn't like your gift and somebody wants to swap, you can do that. But that wasn't the point of this. Do you understand the point of the gifts? Okay, Okay, so they are for keepsies, but you can trade around if there's something that... But not right this minute. Okay, sit back down. We have to pray. Okay. Let's pray. Creator God, you dreamed galaxies into being. You painted sunsets just because you could. And we thank you not just for making our world that is functional, but that is also beautiful. God, you made us in your image not as copies, but as co-creators. You sculpt helped it us from dust, brought your spirit into us, and then handed us crayons, clay, and callings. Forgive us, God, when we tuck our gifts away and think, Maybe I'll use them later. Help us to unwrap our gifts boldly, to use them with our words, our hands, our ideas, our imaginations, to build up your church and bless the world around us.
God, when we create, may it point others to your goodness, and when we serve, may it show your love. God, you are the spirit of inspiration. Stir up the gifts within us. Every brush stroke, every song, every idea waiting to take flight. Let our creativity not be for applause, but for purpose, not for our glory, but for yours. And the church become a canvas that splashed with grace, laughter, and holy imagination. Create a desire within us not only to unwrap our gifts, but also to use them for your glory. In the name of Jesus, the one who makes all things new, we pray. Amen.
