Spirited Word - "What Work? And Who's Work?"

If a question is to be asked; who works for God? Most minds would most definitely run to Church, because what most will actually hear is, ‘who works in the Church?’ But is it only everyone that works in a Church that is really working for God? Definitely not!

The work of God is actually done first and more 'inside' the believer, than outwardly. The outside work has no value when the inside work has not been done, no matter how 'actively' and 'dedicatedly' the outside work is being done;

God cannot be ‘bribed’ with 'Church-work' into blessing a person; and no amount of sweeping or sleeping in the Church or even giving to the Church can substitute the place of complete faith and obedience to God's Word; moreover, God's blessings to us are strictly because of His love, mercy and grace; not payments for any good-works we’ve done for Him. If He freely gave His only Son to die for the sins of the world and never asks anyone to pay to receive salvation; then certainly, the good-works that cannot purchase the salvation of a soul cannot be used as a means to purchase God’s blessings. If He freely gave His Son, then He can freely give us all things as well, as long as we ask Him with the right motives in our hearts and according to His will.

But however, there’s surely a place for serving or working in God's temple, and there are rewards for such; but that is not the most important work; worst still, when the work is motivated by selfishness (because of what one stands to gain from doing the work of God) and not by one’s true love of God and His work.

Today, we tend to have a lot of Church 'Marthas' (who would rather remain very busy ‘working’ while forgetting the one thing that is most needful); and only a few 'Marys' (who will just sit, hear, believe and do the Word). More emphasis is often laid on the work than the Word; then many end up working out of fear (so as not to offend God and maybe go to hell, or to escape poverty or to gain one blessing or the other from God). We could only but imagine how few the labourers in the Lord’s vineyard would be, if there were no promises of ‘blessings and miracles’ (payments) attached to the work.

Christ told those folks who wanted to work for God, "This is the work of God; that you believe..." The real  works done for God are those done from a heart which has absolute faith and trust in God’s Word  and so obedience to those words flow out from the heart naturally; not for the sake of the greater expected reward but works built on a strong foundation of love; As the Word says, “Faith without works is dead!”. The proof that you have a living faith is that you work and walk by faith; it goes beyond confessions to also affects your actions. It’s quite a pity that many would rather work for God than to learn from Him. The foundation of a lot of works many think they are doing for God is fear and not faith; because the inside heart-work has been left undone while the outside-work is receiving all the attention. Works done only for public recognition and approval are simply not works done for God too; such gets no reward from God, only from the people.

Also! Doing God's work never ends in the Church as many may believe. Actually, the most rewards come from what was done outside the Church, than what was done inside. One's daily life, job, business, and so on, are equally God's work. Example: A civil servant who had prayed to God for a job and God gave him one and he testified of it in Church; same man now believes that the job is 'government' job, not God's job and so he treats it carelessly that way; then in time, he's praying to that same God for promotion in the same job he believes is not God's, but government's. Then he quotes “Promotion cometh not...but from God...” forgetting the same Word says “Whatever your hands find to do, do it as unto the LORD...”.God is definitely not mocked!

For the believer; any job, career, business, or endeavour is a ministry work and it is God's work, for the believer to reflect Christ’s nature, image and glory in it, notwithstanding the earthly owner of it; that’s if one must be rewarded by God. Salary/Wage is not the reward; it is the payment for work done; the favour of God and His blessings in any area of need in life is the reward, because the believer worked well by God’s judgement, not by man’s view.

Yes! God knows the desires of our hearts, but no one can dictate or predict God's reward for a particular good work.  A deliverance from untimely death may be the reward one gets for working in God's temple; the reward for giving an old car to a pastor may not always be a new car; a new car may be the reward for a prayer of intercession offered or faithfulness in one's job or business; and for the barren woman, her reward of a child may be because of some poor street kid she helped years ago; not really because of the big ‘offerings’ she has been giving  to her Church or her many prayers and fasting; that is why a believer's life is a life of continuous good-works; not because of some selfish rewards, but because of the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Spirit in Him.

Actually, Church is often the last place God considers when looking to reward a person, because He already knows how everyone will behave in Church; instead God looks at the behaviour outside the Church walls. If you are the most faithful worker in the Church, also be the most faithful worker in every other work outside the Church.

"Church work is not just God's work; every work is God's work!"

Nice Day Friends!  
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