{Godly Gain} Got skillz_ What are the special skills God has given you (Exodus 31)

Welcome to the Author Audience show, the podcast that helps you reach more people with your message. Create a book, connect with your audience, change lives. Here's your host, Shelly Hitz.

Hey, guys got skills. I'm CJ Hitz. This is my wife, Shelly Hitz. And we're excited just to share a quick little encouragement from God's Word here today. And it's going to be kind of short and sweet, but it's just kind of fun to share some little nuggets that pop out, you know, as you're reading through the Bible. And this actually comes from Exodus, chapter 31 and some of my reading that I was doing this last week.

Yeah. So C.J. was, he's reading through the Bible and I know many of you probably do that, but he was sharing about this little nugget, this part of the Scripture, and I thought this would be a great godly gain segment, a segment where we just really are aiming to keep Christ at the center and really just encourage you. We're going to try to be doing these live on Facebook on Sundays, maybe not every week, but, you know, as we can, because we really know that the encouragement to really keep our eyes on Christ is so important as we're writing our books.

So again, you know, I've been going through the Bible. My goal is to read through the whole Bible in less than six months. So that's about. Boy, I just did, you know, we just did an actual segment on this here three hours or something couple weeks ago, but I believe it's a nine to 12 chapters a day. So that's, it's a good chunk of reading. But if you really think about it, you can read through that at a fairly moderate pace in like an hour. It really doesn't take a whole, whole long time. And some of you are speed readers and you can actually grasp what you're reading. And so you're really good. I'm a slower reader. I kind of digest things, maybe ponder, pause. And so it kind of takes a little while. But again, this is Exodus, chapter 31, verses 2 through 6. And just a little backdrop. God has been giving Moses all of the different details about the tabernacle, all of the things inside the tabernacle, the tools and the altar and the curtains and just all those things. He's just downloading this stuff into Moses and here's what he said specifically regarding a lot of, of this stuff and who was actually going to build it and who's actually going to put all this stuff together. And I love this. Here's what it says, Exodus, chapter 31, verses 2 through 6. It says, Look. And he's talking to Moses here. I have specifically chosen Bezalel, son of Yuri, grandson of Hur, of 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. Sounds like a talented guy. And then verse six. And I have personally appointed Aholiab, son of Ahisamuch. This is kind of big words here.

Gotta love the.

You gotta practice with some of these words. So this is just kind of off the cuff, as I'm reading these right now, of the tribe of Dan to be his assistant. Moreover, and I love this, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make. And what popped out at me is there in verse six, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen. Why? So they can make all the things I've commanded you to make. And what that really says to me, Shelley, is that God has really given us all some kind of skill. Whether you want to call it a special skill, some sort of special gifting. Of course, we could go to the New Testament and read about the gifts of God and gifts of the Holy Spirit that he's poured out on his church in order to build up one another and build up the church edify. But here, tucked away in Exodus, regarding all of the things that God has told Moses to do, he said, by the way, here's a couple men along with a whole bunch of craftsmen that I've given really special skill to. And it's really important to note that God gives the special skills and he's given us special skills. And we're talking to a lot of you. A lot of you are authors and your painters and your creators and your musicians, and my goodness, we could just go on and on regarding the skill sets that you have. That's why in the beginning we asked got skills? Because you need to ask yourself, what is it that God has specially gifted me to do and why? Because he has a special work that he's commanded me to fulfill. And so just good stuff regarding gifts and using those things. And God is basically saying to Moses, I got you covered. How's all this going to get done? Don't worry, we've got a whole bunch of people ready to chip in here. No Pun intended.

Yeah. And you know, just to add in there, like, we are the body of Christ as believers. If you're a Christian author, you know, and so sometimes you feel, you may feel overwhelmed. If you're independently publishing, like I recommend, or self publishing, you may be feeling overwhelmed with everything that has to get done. Well, guess what? God has given skills to different people that can help you. Book cover designers, editors, formatters, we hire people like that. We work with people that have those skills. So don't feel like you have to do everything. You can work together, have a team of people, and everyone has their skills. But also just know that many times God uses the weak things of the world to bring him glory. I never thought I was going to write a book. I never dreamed of being an author. Actually, English was my worst subject in school. I mean, I still got a B, but I got straight A's and everything else. And yet I've authored over 40 books. And so there are skills that can be learned. I have become a much better writer since I published my first book in 2008. It's actually going through a revision right now because it needed it.

But.

But I've learned skills too. So there are times that you can also, you can delegate skills, but you can learn skills. And then there's. Sometimes God just wants to bring glory to himself by using you in the way that you are. Like, where do you feel like God is working in your life? And, you know, how has he gifted you, what skills has he given you to help others? And then how are you delegating? And then how is he using you sometimes even through your weakness?

Yeah. So I just encourage you too, as you're, as you're reading through the Bible, you know, just to pull out these nuggets and see how God is weaving his pattern throughout the Old and New Testament and ultimately calling his people to glorify him here on the earth, you know, whether it's, you know, 3,000 years ago or today in 2016. And so, you know, I'm excited for the rest of this year. I'm excited to, you know, continue to work on skills I feel like the Lord's given me and just continue to, I guess, as the word, you know, hone those skills and continue to sharpen them and to be around others who can also sharpen me and help pull some of those things out. And so you can be a huge encouragement to others around you as you even see some giftings and skills that they have. They just may be waiting for someone like you to Come along and say, hey, I noticed this in you, and it's not by coincidence. It's a special skill that God's given you. And so keep that in mind.

Yeah. And I've been doing that this year. And one of the things I just really have noticed God helping me to see is, like, what am I gifted to do? Like, what has God really just gifted me to do? And one of the things that I've been telling C.J. this year, he's a master storyteller. Like, he just has a gift of storytelling. I'm like, you're so good at that. And sometimes you do need somebody outside yourself to, like, actually see. Like, oh, wow. Yeah, that is one of my gifts. That is something that God has gifted me at because it comes so easily sometimes to us.

So let's pray for these special skills and that God would pull those out of us and point them out to us. So, Lord, I just want to pray for all those who are on live as well as those who are going to catch the recording later. And Lord, we ask that you would.

Point the special skills out to us that we have. Maybe some of us have allowed some skills to kind of lie dormant, not really be used. Lord, I pray that you'd remind us of those things and that those are special skills to be used for your glory and the projects that you have here on this earth. I pray, Lord, that those of us that know others that we can see special skills in. I pray that you'd give us the words to give to them, that we would be encouragements to them, that we would be able to help sharpen them and that they would be encouraged and know, you know, that they can put those things to practice that they have, that you've gifted them in. So I thank you for every single person that's on here right now and then those again who are going to watch the recording, I pray that you just encourage them along the way. And we thank you for this nugget in scripture, Lord. We. We see very clearly that it's you. You give us these special skills and it's for your purpose. We thank you, Lord, and we ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. Well, thank you so much for joining us. We do have a free group for Christian authors and entrepreneurs. It's@godlygain.com we'd love for you to join us. It's a group just to have additional support, prayer and just other people that kind of get where you're at and where you're coming from. So we'd love for you to join us. And we are going to try to do these on Sundays from Facebook and do them live. So hopefully you can join us next week and as we continue just to share what God's teaching us and just encouragement to to you along the journey. So thank you guys so much for joining us and we'll see you next time.

God bless.

Bye bye.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Author Audience Show. Connect with us online@authoraudience.com where you'll find all the resources mentioned in today's episode. While you're there, grab Shelley's free video training on how to write and publish your book using her Six Step Ascent method. Join us again next week to learn how to reach your audience with your message.