Making Disciples

“He has filled him with the Spirit of God—with skill, with understanding, 

with knowledge, and in all kinds of work,” 

(Exodus 35:30–31, NET)

There are times we don’t feel we are contributing to God’s Kingdom work. We are not on the front line teaching or discipling others as we once were. After all, Jesus commanded: “Make disciples by going, teaching and baptizing …” (Matt 28-19-20). 

It was Paul who wrote that “It was he [Jesus] who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,…” (Ephesians 4:11, NET). These are the front-line workers fulfilling Jesus’ command to “make disciples.”

But, is everyone a front-line worker? Are there gifts other than apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers? If we concentrate on only the New Testament we might miss an important fact. The first individual recorded as being filled with the Holy Spirit is in the Old Testament!

The author of Exodus wrote: “Moses said to the Israelites, ‘See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. He has filled him with the Spirit of God—with skill, with understanding, with knowledge, and in all kinds of work,…’” (Exodus 35:30–31, NET)

Bezalel was filled with the Holy Spirit for the purpose of craftsmanship and art. His contribution was behind the scenes building and shaping the Tabernacle to provide a location and focus of worship for the Israelites. 

The SOWER ministry, of which we are missionaries, has over 500 active individuals working on Kingdom goals and Jesus’ command to make disciples by contributing their giftedness and experience behind the scenes just as Bezalel did. This past month we provided vacation relief for the SOWER office staff and helped with a few maintenance items, including mounting the new SOWER Ministry sign on the front of the building. 

There are times we must remind ourselves that we are still missionaries in His service to do whatever, whenever, and wherever He leads us, and it doesn’t have to be on the front lines! 🤠🤗

(This week’s Blessings, Prayer Requests, and Schedule are here).

(Don’t forget to check out more of our pictures here.)