By Steven J. Hogan
~ Saturday Morning Post #375 ~
We live in the end-times! We know that because the Jews have returned to their land just as God predicted (Ezek. 37:21-23). I’ve written extensively on what the Bible says will take place in these last years leading up to Christ’s return to rapture the church. But what is the work God has planned out for you? How does He want you to use the life He has given you? As you desire to do His will, as you are filled with His Word and Spirit, as you are sanctified, as you say, “Here I am, send me!” (Is. 6:8), as you pray, “Make me know Your ways” (Ps. 25:4), then God will show you the work He has for you.
All believers, including the last generation, have special plans God wants them to fulfill on this earth in these end-times. These plans can be found by looking at specific categories God has identified in His word. They all speak of what every Christian is to be and do, but some also relate to a person’s spiritual gift. Today, I will be focusing on these categories.
A Worshiper – You are to worship God, to be praising, exalting, honoring, and thanking Him, and singing to Him too. Worship is one of the primary ways you love God, which is the most important thing you are to do. You worship God for who He is, for what He does, and for His character. Worship is the spiritual activity that is at the center of all you do for Him, and it results in a godly, God-glorifying life. All that you do should spring from worshiping God. In fact, all you do for God is worship (Rom. 12:1-2). “Worship the Lord with gladness” (Ps. 100:2). “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength.” (Mk. 12:30). “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion, forever and ever.” Rev. 5:13
A Child of God – God adopted you into His family, and so He is you Father, you are His child, and Jesus is your brother. Before the foundation of the world, God chose you to be His child, and planned out your entire life on earth and your eternal future in heaven. Your Father is perfectly holy, powerful, good, kind, wise, just, faithful, omniscient, omnipresent, unchanging, and sovereign. And He is always working all things together for your good and His glory. Rom. 8:28-30
Your Father loves you, forgives you, cares for you, and has compassion on you. He always sees you, and knows everything you think, say, or do. You please Him by being an obedient child, by doing all He asks you to do. He has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, and wants you to know that you are His heir, that He greatly rewards you in heaven for what you do on earth, and that you are to serve Him now and forever, during this life and in the coming ages. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come.” Matt. 6:5-6, 9-10
A Believer – God has placed you in the universal church and in a specific church. The church is a spiritual family, filled with believers, with brothers and sisters, with those who are older and those who are younger. A believer believes, he trusts God and Jesus Christ for his salvation and his day-to-day life. A believer is to be humble, to “regard one another as more important than himself” (Phil. 2:3). He is to be loving, forgiving, kind, giving, gentle, encouraging, and compassionate. He is to care for those who are sick or hurting, whether that’s physically or spiritually. And he is to carry out his role, he is to do his part in the church family. “Believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly being added to their number” (Acts 5:14). “We have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” 1 Tim. 4:10
* A Servant – Jesus, God in the flesh, is the #1 servant, for He lived and died for us (“taking the form of a bond-servant” – Ph. 2:5-8). God has called you to be a servant. Being a faithful servant results and flows from knowing and worshiping God. Jesus is your Lord, a perfect Master, the best Master, and you are to serve Him, to do all the work He wants you to do. Jesus said, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” (Matt. 4:10). Knowing that God loves you, forgives you, is good to you, is wise in His dealings towards you, motivates you to serve Him. And it’s by the grace and gifts of God that you do serve Him. Jesus said, “I am among you as one who serves” (Lk. 22:27). “… the equipping of the saints for the works of service.” (Eph. 4:12). “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another.” 1 Peter 4:10
* A Worker – The worker is a servant of God. This word conveys the idea of using your mind, time, talents, and energy to do His work. Jesus said “My Father is always at His work, and I too am working” (John 5:17). Working for God and Jesus means you are joining in Their work, helping Them fulfill Their purpose. Working for God is an eternal, most satisfying and rewarding work, and so take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Jesus. Paul stated, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men” (Col. 3:24). You are to work for God in all you do, whether it’s yardwork, housework, homework, your job, praying, or sharing the gospel. “The people had a mind to work” (Neh. 4:6). “Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you” (Rom. 16:6). “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58). “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Eph. 2:10
* A Disciple – A disciple is a student of God, and knows that God has all the answers. He learns from God and learns about Him. He loves God and wants to live for Jesus. He learns from His word truths to know commands to obey, and promises to believe. A disciple is changing, growing, and becoming more godly. By his life and conduct, he disciples others, teaching them what they need to know about God, Jesus, and the Christian life. “He (Jesus) said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful’” (Matt. 9:37). Jesus commanded us, “Make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19-20). “The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of disciples was greatly increasing.” Acts 6:7
A Prophet, A Preacher – In the past, God used prophets to give new revelation and predict the future. When God’s word was completed in the years following the start of the church, this kind of prophet was no longer needed. The prophet is now one who interprets God’s word and speaks forth, proclaiming it to His people. The gift of prophecy is for those who are God’s spokesman, who speak on His behalf. Prophets and preachers are to instruct, comfort, correct, warn, challenge, and encourage. Prophecy is for “edification and exhortation and consolation.” (1 Cor. 14:3). “Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message” (Acts 15:32). “In view of His appearing and His kingdom… preach the Word.” 2 Tim. 4:1-2
A Teacher – God teaches us what we and others need to know. We teach by what we say and do, by words and actions. God wants all believers to teach, whether that’s a pastor, husband, father, mother, or others. Some believers have the gift to teach, the ability to learn His word and teach it in a clear, coherent way. In these end-times, it is essential that teachers understand prophetic truth and share it with their church. “Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes” (Ezra 7:10). “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). In the context of the last days, Jesus asks: “Who is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?” (Matt. 24:45). Now, as much as ever, we need good teachers who are faithfully doing this.
A Warrior – The Christian life is a spiritual battle, and you need to be a warrior, a fighter for God, truth, and people. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, against what we see, but against the rulers, the powers, the forces of darkness and evil (Eph. 6:10-12). This is a huge battle! That’s because our chief enemy is the devil – and he’s lawless, a liar, a deceiver, a murderer, a hater of God and of all that is good. You fight the enemy by using God’s word, by trusting and obeying Him, and by joining with others. When there are battles, obstacles, and conflicts, you must pray, be filled with the Spirit, resist the enemy, be courageous, overcome, and persevere. “Blessed be the Lord… who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle” (Ps. 149:1). “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God” (Eph. 6:10-11). “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jms. 4:7). “They overcame him (the devil) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” Rev. 12:11
A Leader – Jesus is the leader of the church, and will soon be King of this world. But God, for the good of the country, church, and family, has given certain people the authority to lead, direct, inspire, and influence. In the government, there are presidents. In the church, there are elders and deacons. In the family, there is the husband, the “the head of the wife” (Eph. 5:23), and with his wife, leaders of their children. Not everyone is recognized as a leader, but a believer may be called upon to lead. It may be discipling a believer, taking a stand at work, or stepping up in the end-times, when the church is under greater attack. All Christians should be willing and ready to lead out and take action. Deborah – Judges 4, Jehoshaphat – 2 Chron. 20, Nehemiah – Neh. 4, Joseph – Matt. 1-2, Peter – Acts 2-5, Paul – Acts 13-28
An Evangelist – Sharing the gospel with the lost is what God wants you to do. Billions of people are on a path leading to hell (Matt. 7:13-14), and Christians should tell them that they need to repent of their sins and believe that Christ died to pay for their sins, was raised from the dead – and by repenting and believing, they will be forgiven, have eternal life, and be a child of God (Jn. 3:16; Mk. 1:15; Rom. 5:8, 6:23; 1 Pet. 3:18). Some Christians have the gift of evangelism, are motivated and skilled in sharing this good news, whether this is publicly or privately, to a large group or to individuals. “Philip the evangelist” (Acts 21:8). “He gave some as… evangelists.” (Eph 4:11). “Conduct yourself with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace… so that you will know how to respond to each person” (Col. 4:5-6). “Do the work of an evangelist.” 2 Tim. 4:5
A Watchman – A watchman knows what God’s word says with regard to the end-times, sees it being fulfilled in the world around him, and tells others. He is godly, wise, sober, awake, alert, ready, waiting, and watching. (Matt. 24:42-44, Lk. 12:35-40, Rom. 13:11-14, 1 Th. 5:4-11, 1 Pet. 3:13-16). He realizes that the events listed in Matt. 24 are coming to pass, and is convinced that the day of Christ is getting closer. More than any time in history, these watchmen will be necessary for the church.
In the end-times, these “intelligence officers” will be a great blessing to believers. The men of Issachar “understood the times, and knew what they should do” (1 Chr. 12:32). “Son of man (Ezekiel), I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; hear the word I speak, and give them warning from me” (Ezek. 3:17). “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds… encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Heb. 10:25
We live in the end-times! And God knows where everything is headed, and that we are rapidly moving toward that climactic day when He sends His Son back to earth to rapture the church. God is orchestrating the events of this world and organizing and mobilizing the church to carry out His plans at this time in history. He is putting every believer in the right place, commissioning them to fulfill His purpose, to do His work.
Be excited that you can serve God in the last years of this age, especially if He has selected you to be part of that last generation! In the context of the end-times, Jesus tells us, “It is like a man away on a journey who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.” (Mk. 13:34). Know that God has good work for you to do!
Look to the Lord, pray, and be willing to do whatever He wants you to do, whether it’s small things or big things, day-to-day details or your life work. And always remember that you are what you are by the will of God and the grace of God, and all that you do is for the purposes, the pleasure, and the glory of God. “Whether then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31, Eph. 1:9-12
P.S. Do you believe that we are in the end-times? Most people don’t, and that includes a lot of Christians. You must be faithful to tell others what God has told you. I encourage you to read this relevant post – “Do Business Until I Come Back.”