WORK, WORK, WORK

InSpired

GOD'S WORK, OUR WORK, MY WORK!

A statement   like "we must do God' work' is common and rightly so, we must do Christ work". Christ made a similar statement which is one of my favourite scrptures in the Bible " I must do the work of Him who sent me.. ... John 4:34.  

Though Christ was God, He knew at that point in His life that He was representing the Father. But at  another time,  Christ told Thomas, ' if you have seen me, you have seen the father,' in this instance, our LORD  was assuring  Thomas- 

'this kingdom business am operating, is not just my Father's business but mine as well.

Jesus Christ; The LORD was emphasing  one of the truths for effective  minstry,  which is ' l am  a stakeholder in the kingdom of God. l am  not just working for God to enrich myself, get famous, build a dynasty, rather there is a  divine agenda which must be fully establish on earth;  and as l faithfully execute this  agenda: Wealth, renown and everlasting legacy is mine.

In Matt 28: 18,  The LORD said 'All power in heaven and earth has been given  to me." At this point, He was not just an observer in kingdom; He was not just a participant in the kingdom; rather  the kingdom had become His kingdom, because he paid the price of a stakeholder, when  He said ' Not my will but your will.' 

Many  Believers start the  Pilgrims progress on the basis of 'its God work, let us do it'. You realised God has called you nto His vineyard as a Co- labourer with His Son and you must help him do this work. The key word here is ' Help God'

 At such time, my motive for helping God with His kingdom business is  for the hope of a  reward. God said He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Jesus Christ said whosoever leaves father, mother for the sake of the kingdom  will be rewarded hundred fold in this world and the world beyond. 

Therefore l labour in the vineyard in the hope that l will become very rich  and famous. Motivation by reward is one of the best incentive for working- the promise of reward fires the passion and heighten the zeal to go the extra mile for a task.

 

Indeed, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. So I labour for his kingdom diligently knowing he will reward me. But at other times l may neglect God' work when l get seeming better reward from other labour and businesses. . l stil attend church,  am a  worker in His vineyard but my love for the kingdom dwindles.

 l am a   child of God, saved, heaven bound but  spend more of my  time and energy on other businesses and only   give my spare and convenient  time to kingdom business.

Some believers graduate from this phase to  a better one where God' s work become their work and God" s kingdom becomes their Kingdom. At this point, they no longer work for God, but work with God. 

This is a place  of deeper walk with God. A time  when we begin to realise our authority in Christ and exercise it. At this point, we understand the truth  that faith in Christ with the Spirit living in us makes you  a  joint -heir with Him. and stakeholder in His kingdom  

Now, you don't just see Christ as our Ransome, benefactor, master, teacher, friend instead you come to know  him as The Brother who made you a Child of God through sacrifice

At this phase, you can use your authority more effectively. You enforce the victory of Christ vehemently, knowing you can not fail. You present yourself as an Ambassador of Christ with the assurance that nothing can harm you  Why?  Heaven has an obligation to protect you 

You pray more confidently to your Father about kingdom issues and He answers you speedily because you are working with Him and the prayer points are intiated by the Holy Spirit.

Now, He is not just our Father but my Father. He  is not just the God of a great Man of God but also my God. Your confidant at this point heighten because you understand if God be for you  who can be against you.

But there is a better state of relationship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit that can be called ' The State of absolute Surrender.' 

It is no longer you but Him. At this point, you can  boldly declare  with Apostle Paul:

" to live is Christ, to die is gain".

 You can confidently say as Apostle John the beloved:

 "about the Word of life, Him who existed from the begining, Whom we have heard, Whom we have seen with our eyes, Whom we have gazed upon and have touched with our hands....Amplified version.

From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in- we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Message Bible.

And can say as Ruth:

" wherever you die I will die. (A position of  absolute commitment to the kingdom of God.

The Apostles were first observers, then they became participants and finally became foundational stones.

The life of Apostle Peter adequately illustrates the various phases of your  walk and work with God. 

1. Peter was a   struggling fisherman.

2. Overnight he became a prosperous fisherman

3 Then he left his fishing business to follow Christ when he saw the miracle of boats full of fishes. He continued with this enthusiasm when he saw other miracles. 

5.  He became a panticipant when he partook in casting out demons. 'Wow, I have arrived, he thought after this phase, I will stay with Jesus all the way, he proclaimed( and he did eventually) 

6. But alas his bragging was too early. Fear of pains and persecution halt his lofty ambition  and he began to follow Christ from a distance, though he was still Christ disciple and  did not returned to Judaism;  he went back to his fishing  and lead others to join in and left the vision of fishing for  the souls of men. And because he was a leader of the church, other disciples followed him in his steps.. (Leaders in the Body  of Christ need to be careful because their followers easily follow them without questions.) 

 

7. Halleluyah, check out Apostle Peter in Acts of the Apostle- this book was named after some of his acts. He stayed  in prison without blinking an eye,  he was commissioned to died the same way Christ died but refused out of reverence for Christ preferring to die upside down on a cross because he counted  himself not  worth.

LORD, may we enter this phase  in our  Christian journey. This state is not a function of:

#  how much money you have in your account, 

# how many hours you speak in tongues, 

# how many followers you have or  how big your congregation. Though these  indices are good to measure how a believer utilized the Word of God promises  but they are not accurate measurement of the  degree of his walk with God.  The Book of Matthew  buttress this point.

You attain this state in your Christian walk  by revelation and desire. Our generation is plagued with men who have ministerial success on earth but are weighed light by Heaven. 

God said of the Isrealities and Moses: He revealed His ways to Moses and His deeds to the children of Israel. Question is can a man enjoy the miracles of God without knowing God' ways?  My answer is Yes, because  we serve a mighty and merciful God.

We can access this beautifil phase of ' to live is Christ to die is gain by our ardent desire to please God and this  opens you to revelations about Him and His ways. 

Apostle  Paul prayed that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. I pray the Holy Spirit will help me become my BEST in HIM and for HIM.

A.L. Hephzibah