Do the work - June 17, 2014

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 25-29

9 “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”
20 Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly. 21 The various divisions of priests and Levites will serve in the Temple of God. Others with skills of every kind will volunteer, and the officials and the entire nation are at your command.” 

-1 Chronicles 28

18 “O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. 19 Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.” - 1 Chronicles 29
Message:
Be strong and courageous and do the work.

Observation:
God has called us for a specific purpose. Many times it is laid before us by the family that GOD has given us, other times, GOD calls us out of our families like David was called from being a shepherd to be a king. Whatever that GOD has called us to do, we ought to remind ourselves and be faithful to do it.

Application:

Be faithful to the calling of GOD in your life. Many times we forget, we get busy with the mundane things instead of what we were called to be, remember GOD's purpose and plan for your life and do it with all your heart for there is nothing more satisfying and fulfilling than being able to do what GOD has created you to do.

The Blessing from GOD - April 16, 2014

Scripture: Genesis 8-11Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. 2 All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power.3 I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. 4 But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.

8 Then God told Noah and his sons, 9 “I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants, 10 and with all the animals that were on the boat with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals—every living creature on earth. 11 Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

Message:

Be Fruitful and Multiply. 

Observation/Promise:

GOD has put power within us humans so that the animals of this world may fear us. HE has given different kinds of animals for food and the plants, grain and vegetables. He wants us to live by providing us the things that enable us to live. More than that, GOD has blessed us with a blessing to multiply and fill the earth to be fruitful with everything we do. We cannot be stagnant being idle, we need to do something which GOD has called us to do. GOD has confirmed His covenant with us to bless us and not to harm us with HIs raging flood of anger and judgement. How wonderful it is to hear and receive the blessing of GOD for humanity in the morning when you just woke up.
Application/Command:

Be Fruitful spiritually and physically, multiply your good works. 

Do not eat animals that still has blood on it. 

Eat your fill in the land which the Lord our GOD has given us.

The Missionary Tentmaker

9 Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. 10 You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers.

2 Thessalonians 2


Observation:
When we work to support ourselves, we are able to preach and not be held guilty of being paid to work for GOD. There is high respect for ministers who do not rely or depend on the ones they are ministering to for food or shelter because in this way, they make it clear that they are working for GOD because they are willing to do it without an exchange for anything. When ministers pay their own food, rent, travel and other expenses, people who hear them have the tendency to believe them more because they see that these servants of GOD are willing to serve them out of their own expenses.

Application:
To work for our living and to serve GOD at the same time without being a financial burden to others will give laborers of GOD's kingdom more results and greater harvests because of their faith and trust in GOD to provide for them and not on the trust in man who will help them.  To make it a life long goal to be like Paul, to work as a servant or missionary sent by GOD. 
To be a tentmaker, one who works in GOD's kingdom and at the same time working for himself to supply his own needs.

Prayer: 
Abba Dearest, May you give me the grace to work hard for myself to earn a living and enable me the strength to persevere and to have the heart to work for You in your Kingdom, in service to others. So that others may not think that I am working for the pay but because I am working from a sincere heart out of my own hard work and expense, many will be own to Christ and belong to YOU - Creator of all Heavens and the Earth. In Yeshua, AMen!

Mind Your Work - Your Life

4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9
- Galatians 6


We all are working for something in our lives. We work to achieve our goals and make efforts to pursue our dreams. But what is our inner motive? Are we really doing it for ourselves? Are we doing it for the praise and honor of others? Are we doing it to get ahead of others out of a prideful heart? Whatever we do in life should be for GOD and for ourselves. When we understand what GOD wants us to do, then we pursue it, we don't have to keep looking backwards. We can't keep looking sideways, minding what others are doing because each of us have different assignments from GOD, all have a unique purpose ordained by GOD to each one. We can only look forward and eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness that GOD has promised us - Galatians 4:5 Which means to say, we cannot attain righteousness on our own only by faith. 

We only have to focus and pay attention to what GOD has called us to do. There's much to work on because it is very easy to go the wrong path and already be nurturing the wrong things if we do not watch out and guard the vineyard of our minds and hearts. Are sowing and nurturing on His word? Or are we harboring hatred towards our enemies? Are we truly walking in the spirit or walking in carnal ways? There's many out there thinking they are faithful and devoted to GOD but most of the time the things that occupy their minds are hatred, anger and seeking to please themselves. People may seem "godly" because they not only go to church but serve in church. But one day GOD will reveal His true children and they will harvest eternal life because they have been sowing in His Spirit. So pay close attention to mind your work that GOD has called you to do in your life.

Works of Faith bring Life

18 “So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.”
The True Family of Jesus19 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn’t get to him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they want to see you.”
21 Jesus replied, “My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it.”

- Luke 8

Pay attention to how you hear. What does this mean? Pay attention to what you listen to, what you watch, for these are the things you feed your spirit. Are you listening to the radio more than to GOD's still small voice? Are you watching worldliness more than reading His word and watching for His return? It is very crucial that everyday we take into account the things that we put into our hearts for these are the things that will reap into fruits in the future. If we listen to GOD's word, we gain faith, for faith comes from hearing and hearing the word of GOD. Without listening to His word, how can faith grow? But if you are not even paying attention to what you hear, or listen to, if you don't screen what you allow to come into your thoughts and dwell in your mind, then it is possible that all you ever feed yourself of is all trash. To know and love GOD is intentional. You don't just wake up one day full of GOD's Spirit, wisdom and peace. You have to work at it for faith without works is dead -James 2:26 

Whoever is seeking GOD and listening to His words by reading the word of GOD will gain even more understanding. When we seek GOD and His righteousness we feed our spirit. This is where faith begins. But when we only hear GOD and not do what HE says we should do, that counts as nothing. No matter how much we listen to GOD yet not put His words into our hearts that results in action, faith is useless. Therefore, listening without doing is void and whatever faith you think you may have will be taken away from you, faith alone is nothing without actions. It is works based on faith that bring true life.

Blessed to be a Blessing

33 “I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. 34 You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. 35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
- Acts 20:33-35

To covet is to want somebody else's things, possesions, people in their lives or life. To covet is to be ungrateful because what you have is not enough. It is wise to live with gratefulness and contentment it is the key to a happy and satisfying life. It is good to have ambitions and goals but it should not be caused by envy or covet. Covetiousness leads to discontentment. Discontent can be used to drive you to do your best because you wish to have the life of another by working hard to get have that same life. But discontent as a result of covetiousness will cause one to be envious and will not drive you to work your best but will drive you to put others down or steal from others what you have coveted from them. It is good to work because you want to have your needs met and it is very good to work not just for yourself but to work to meet the needs of others by sharing what you have. 

We are respected by others when we are able to provide for our needs and by not being dependent on others. When we work, GOD will bless us when we do all these for HIS glory. We are blessed even more when we work to share our blessings because GOD honors the cheerful giver and the generous HE will give even more. If you are trustworthy then HE will entrust you with more because you can be trusted with HIS wealth by distributing them with a happy heart, the way GOD wants every child of HIS to do. When we work, we should always keep in my mind that it is not only for our own benefit but for the benefit of others especially the needy ones that surround us. So let us work for GOD's glory and GOD will bless the work of our hands so we can be a blessing!



Related verses:
11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 12 Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others. 

- 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

Like a Nehemiah

The city officials did not know I had been out there or what I was doing, for I had not yet said anything to anyone about my plans. I had not yet spoken to the Jewish leaders—the priests, the nobles, the officials, or anyone else in the administration. 17 But now I said to them, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!”18 Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king.
They replied at once, “Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!” So they began the good work.

- Nehemiah 2:16-18

Nehemiah had so much faith about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem he didn't even speak to his countrymen yet about his plan to rebuild the wall. He just started to inspect the walls by himself at night and then told his fellow Jews his plans. But he would never have gotten there if it wasn't for the faith he had to rebuild the walls. His fellowmen could see that his story was not ordinary and that his journey to get to Jerusalem took a lot of faith and prayer from being the King's cupbearer to coming there with the King's help and blessing. GOD's favor and grace in Nehemiah's life had so much to do with them being convinced that it was indeed GOD's will that they should rebuild the walls.

But these walls would never be rebuild if it didn't start with one man who had a burden to do so. And the rebuilding of the walls took such hard work because their enemies were threatening them day and night, and they didn't have enough workers. The people were starting to complain because they couldn't use all the men to rebuild, some had to stand guard to protect the workers. There was not only threats but so much pressure and the people were starting to complain. But by GOD's gracious hand and favor, the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt all because one man repsonded to the burden and call of GOD in his life. We all have work to do, we have regular routines in our busy days but only a man of GOD could take time to get out of his job to do GOD's work wherever there is a need to do so. Are we Nehemiah's of our time? Where we consider GOD's work more important than our earthly toil? Do we have the heart of GOD where we not only feel the burden HE placed in our hearts but chose to act on it because we can do something about it? We have a choice, would we rather please ourselves or do we want to please GOD like a Nehemiah? Search your heart, what is the burden GOD has placed on you, pray and have faith to do it for GOD's favor and grace are waiting to be poured on you.

Work

‘Does anyone remember this house—this Temple—in its former splendor? How, in comparison, does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all!
But now the Lord says: Be strong, Zerubbabel. Be strong, Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people still left in the land. And now get to work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.
- Haggai 2:3-5

Many of us want to live our lives to the full. Some of us more ambitious than others. We want the best cars, the best houses, the best career and everything we should have the best. But life does not compose of things alone. Our lives are created when we are formed first in the wombs of our mother. The first thing we aquire when we are born are our bodies. We have 3 aspects: Soul, Spirt and Body. Our bodies are a physical aspect of who we are. Just as people live in a house. A house or temple is our body, that GOD can come into and reside in. For GOD is Spirit and His Spirit longs to be one with our spirits. We can let Him reside in our body when our spirits are willing to welcome another Spirit, stronger and more powerful than our spirit to host our lives. 

There are many times when we are unsure of ourselves, unsure what we are supposed to do. We don't know our purpose, we don't know why we are here for. But GOD who created your whole being, soul, spirit and body, knows exactly why HE created you and for what purpose. The "why" HE created you is for HIS pleasure. HE wants to enjoy you. He wants to be in an intimate relationship with you. The "what is my purpose?" is your role or function within the people that GOD has raised you in. It is the relationships that you have in your life. It is also the gifts which GOD has given you that enables you to bless others, work and produce wonderful things. When you are unsure of your purpose, you can always ask the LORD Your Maker and HE will reveal great things you have never known before. We are created for glory because we are made in GOD's image. And it's only natural for us to be the best that we can be because GOD has arrayed us with His glory from the time we were born and as we grow, we change from glory to glory. Even with old age, it is GOD's will that we become better, improving, becoming wiser, happier, and just be more than what we were. So if you want to know what GOD has created you for, look around you and ponder, reflect and think with GOD. First of all you are a child of GOD created in His image. What can you give GOD back? Second GOD has given you your family. If you are a father your role is to provide, love and protect your family. If you have the passion and gift to build, then you can be a Civil Engineer and your work is to build the best structures for every building that has been assigned to you. Understand the design that GOD has created you for and when you do, work your best! Work your hardest because the LORD is with you. There are many more things that you can do and there are many people that need your gifts, your time, your love and even more that only you can give. Each of us are created so uniquely by GOD. There's not one that we are similar to, not one person that we have the same thumbmark. All your gifts are a combination of just how uniquely created you are by GOD. So do your best in all that you do, for GOD promised that HIS Spirit is with you. When you work, work with all your heart, for whatever that GOD has placed in your hands will only be for a short time and time can pass by so quickly and we only have one house, one life so let's do the best that we can for HIS glory because HE is with us. 

Work

 Unless the Lord builds a house,
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.
It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.
- Psalm 127:1-2


No matter how much we try, we can never do anything without GOD's help or GOD allowing it to happen. It all comes back once again to the Sovereignity of GOD. Do you believe that you are in control of your life? Do you believe that you are in control of this world? Believe it or not, you are not in control of your life as much as you are not in control of this world. For it is GOD alone who allows us to achieve what we are working so hard to achieve, it is with HIS power that we are able to succeed in what we intend to do. Yet when we succeed in our endeavors, we usually think it is because of our hard work. Yes GOD rewards hard work, HE rewards people with success but it is HIS doing. But how many of us work hard and enjoy the fruits of our work, and better yet enjoy rest from work.

We can work hard all day yet it can all come to nothing. We can store up riches for ourselves yet some of us can't really enjoy what we've worked hard for because we don't have the time to enjoy it. Work blessed by GOD is not so much hard rigid dull work. Work blessed by GOD is work that you enjoy and love doing. It is work that results to greater things than the work that one has to put into. GOD has set everything in order, HE has already planned for everything. GOD has a plan for your life, and HE has a plan to bless you. HE also created you for a specific purpose, task, or assingment. If you do not follow through HIS plan for you, you won't be able to reap the fruits that you are supposed to reap because you are not in the plan. But when you are in GOD's path, walking in HIS plan, you will be fulfilled, you will feel that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. It won't even feel like work but play, because you yourself love doing it. You will feel that you are in the right time and place, even when things are hard or impossible, you will always find strength, you will always have hope and a ray of light to keep your faith going. You just know you are in the right track because you will feel GOD's hand upon you, backing you up, supporting you and most of all you will have peace. The best thing with walking out GOD's work plan for you is that you will see tremedous fruits and results with the work that you do when you work with that which GOD has intended for you to do at that specific place and time. But unless it was GOD's plan, it will not work out. So before you decide to do anything in your life, consider GOD's thoughts, and ask. HE will surely direct you. For we never want to do anything in our life that's only put to waste and there's no any other way to live but to enjoy the rest from the fruitful labor that GOD will place in our hands.

Meaningful

24 There’s nothing better for human beings than to eat, drink, and experience pleasure in their hard work. I also saw that this is from God’s hand— 25 Who can eat and find enjoyment otherwise?— 26 because God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please God. But to those who are offensive, God gives the task of hoarding and accumulating, but only so as to give it all to those who do please God. This too is pointless and a chasing after wind.

- Ecclesiastes 2: 24-26

What makes life worth while? The book of Ecclsiastes is filled with the wise words of King Solomon, the richest and wisest King that ever lived. Yet in this book, he found out that many things in life are meaningless. In fact, this book is filled with complaints of the King saying "what's the use for all the hard work if we just pass it on to someone who will lose everything we ever worked ahrd for?" He has accounted for the many things he has achieved and the wisdom and knowledge he has, all his great works, yet still all leads to meaninglessness. How do we live that makes life worthwhile? For our life are short and our days are numbered. How do we make the most of our time? 

King Solomon concluded in this verse that to make our time worth while, we have to enjoy the simple things we do on earth like eating, drinking and being satisfied and happy with what we do in life. There are very little people that find that their jobs satisfy them. Not everyone is loving what they do and this is a very sad thing. If you don't enjoy the work that you do, everyday is a dread. How do you get out of bed in the morning? When you know that you will do the same thing you don't want to do? It is therefore very important to love what you do in life, whether it be as simple as cleaning as a janitor, or as complicated as operating surgery as a doctor to his patient, work should be enjoyable. If not then, it is a sad thing to be alive when you don't enjoy the work that you do. And this is not all. Even after successful people achieve great things because they love what they do but if they have lived their lives selfishly for themselves and ignored the great GOD who gives wealth and breathe to all things, then all their work comes to nothing. For it says GOD gives the wealth of a sinner to the one that pleases GOD. So even if you love your work and achieve great success for it and do not love GOD, you can say bye bye to your hard work because GOD will surely give them to the ones that love and please HIM. So now do you see why everything on earth seems meaningless? It will not have to be so if you chose to listen to the words of the great wise king, who understands that without GOD we are nothing. Life is meaningful if you live for the One who gave existence, purpose and meaning to all living things.