Article 50

By Steven J. Hogan

In these end-times, we are to work for God while we wait for Christ. And God has much work that He wants to do and that He wants us to do (with Him) before He sends His Son back to earth. What a privilege, what a blessing to work for God in these last years of the church age. Jesus told us, “Do business with this until I come” (Luke 19:13), and “Take heed, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It’s like a man going away. He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task.” Mark 13:33-34

God gives us hundreds of stories about people doing His work. There’s Noah building the ark, Moses leading the Israelites, Joshua commanding the army, Hannah being a mother, David being a king, Jeremiah warning the Israelites, Nehemiah building the wall, Jesus being a Savior and Teacher, Mary being a mother, Paul being a preacher and writer, etc. They all did work God wanted them to do. Now that we’re getting close to the end of this age, we should be extremely motivated to do the work God wants us to do before Christ comes back to earth.

Today, we will look at several Bible passages that speak about work:
Luke 17:7-10. This is about a slave doing work in his master’s field. When he finished that work, he didn’t go into the house and call it a day – he worked even more, for he cooked a meal for his master. The slave did everything his master wanted him to do. As Jesus said, “He did the things which were commanded.”

How does this apply to you? “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’” (Luke 17:19). Your work isn’t doing whatever you want whenever you want. God is your Master, and you are His slave, and you are to work for God all the time – and He gives you all the time you need to do what He wants you to do. And you are not to expect God to thank you – you’re His slave, and when you work for Him, you’re only doing what you ought, what God Himself chose you to do.

Colossians 3:22-24. “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” This talks about working for earthly employees, which I’m sure you have all done. But ultimately and most importantly, you are working for God, for He is your supreme and perfect Master, and you are His slave. And unlike a job where your employer occasionally sees you work, God watches you all the time.

A key phrase in this passage is “whatever you do.” This makes it clear that work isn’t just an 8-4 or 9-5 job – it’s working for God all the time, and in “whatever you do.” It can be physical work – you are mowing the yard or doing dishes. It can be mental work – you are working in an office or paying your bills. It can be spiritualwork – you are praying or sharing the gospel. All this and much more is work for God.

We also learn that working for God when you are on earth results in heavenly and eternal rewards. “From the Lord you will receive the reward of your inheritance” (Col. 3:24). What an incredibly powerful truth, for “each will receive his own reward for his own labor” (1 Cor. 3:8). You are to wholeheartedly work for God, for it pleases Him, blesses others, and results in you being richly rewarded, in receiving great treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:6). “Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to render to everyone according to what he has done.” Rev. 22:12

Luke 12:13-21. You’re to think about work from a godly, eternal perspective, and not be like unbelievers who work from a fleshly, temporal perspective.
1. An unbeliever is selfish. He works for himself, makes money for himself, and buys things for himself.

2. An unbeliever invests money for his retirement, and he stores up possessions. But he seems to forget that he can’t take anything with him when he dies. “Their inner thought is that their houses are forever” (Ps. 49:10-12). Not only that, but the unbeliever doesn’t think about the state of his sinful soul, and that if he doesn’t repent while he’s on earth, then he will be punished forever in hell.

3. Believers are to work for God and earn money for His purposes. Yes, we make
money to meet our needs, but we are to also make money for His purposes, and for the needs of others. “By working hard in this manner, you must help the weak… ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:33-35

4. It’s prudent to save money for that time when you aren’t working at some job and making money. But never put your hope in money or in a retirement account (Pr. 23:5). Put your hope in God and keep using the money you have for the lives of others and for His glory. Indeed, using your money for God’s purposes is your best investment, and the returns, the rewards are out of this world.

5. Don’t retire like unbelievers, who think there comes a point in time when they are done working at some job, and then “take it easy, eat, drink, and be merry” – they sit around, relax, have fun, travel, and do things on their bucket list. (Luke 12:19). And yes, you may retire from a job where you’re making money, but you are to never retire from working for God, from fulfilling His purpose for your life. Deut. 34:5-7; John 5:17; Acts 13:36, 20:24, 28:30-31; Eph. 6:18

Ephesians 2:8-10. “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” What does God want you to learn about work from these verses?
1. You are not saved by your “good” works, but you are saved by God’s grace, and one reason you are saved is so that, by God’s grace, you can do good works.
2. You are created in Christ Jesus. Therefore, you are a new person in Christ. You are not like an unbeliever working at a job for your own good and your own glory, but you are a Christian, and you are working for God and His glory. 1 Cor. 10:31 – “Whether then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

3. You are God’s workmanship. God made you just the way He wants you to be, giving you abilities when you were born, spiritual gifts when you were born again, and the godly character you need so you can do all the work He wants you to do. “May the God of peace… that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to Him be the glory forever and ever.” Heb. 13:20-21
4. The work you do for God is good work. It’s work that is needed, beneficial, and important, whether it’s for your family, the church, society, or the world. You may be a mother, a cook, a repairman, a nurse, a salesman, a realtor, a cleaning lady, a builder, a pastor, a policeman, a plumber, etc. And all these are needed services.  

5. God planned these good works in eternity past. He knew everything He wanted you to do. Not only that, but Jesus Christ is building the church, and He assigned you and every believer specific tasks so that, by the end of this age, all His work will be completely finished. 
6. Christians are to walk in these good works. As you go through life, you are to walk with the Lord, and as you do, you will discover and do the work He planned for you. And the work you do on any given day is not usually just one thing – it’s typically all kinds of things. Pray to God, “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground” (Ps. 143:10); trust God, for He will lead you in all the good works He designed for you to do; and be flexible (Pr. 16:9).

Here are several other important principles about work:
* Serve the Lord with gladness. You are not to complain or grumble, but you are to be gladly working for God. Ps. 100:1
* Work by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Working for God isn’t always a feel-good experience. You will get tired, you may work long hours, and there may be opposition (Neh. 4). As you work for God, look to Him, and trust Him to give you all the strength you need to do all the work He wants you to do. 2 Cor 9:8, Phil. 4:13

* Work hard. Work for God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength (Mark 12:30). Don’t be lazy, daydreaming, or take lots of breaks. Be diligent, engaged, conscientious, and focused (Pr. 10:4-5). Be like a hard-working farmer who works from dawn to dusk (2 Tim 2:6). Be like Paul – “I worked harder than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” 1 Cor. 15:10, 2 Chron. 31:20-21
* Have a mind to work (Neh. 4:6). In our culture, many people don’t want to work, but rather want to relax, play, and have lots of leisure activity. Pr. 21:17

* You need to be holy to do the work of God. 2 Tim. 2:20-21
* Doing God’s work is a primary reason for living. Ps. 40:8, John 17:4
* The work God wants you to do is unique. No one in the world has the exact same work that you do, work that is part of God’s end-time plans. Ps. 139:13-16
* Working with other people is better than working alone. Eccl. 4:9, Col. 3:7-19
* God wants you to be satisfied with the results, the fruit of your work, whether this work is prayer, speaking to people, or doing for people. Prov. 12:14

* You need to persevere, to endure, to keep doing all that God wants you to do. Only as work day to day, week to week, month to monthy, and year to year, will you be able to finish God’s work and be truly successful. John 4:34, Col. 1:9-12
* God wants you to rest, for you need to be physically, emotionally, and spiritually recharged. Jesus rested, and you need to rest too. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed” (Mark 1:35). Rest comes from being with the Lord, from reading His word, from praying, from fellowship, and from sleeping.

* Finish the work God wants you to do. Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” 2 Tim. 4:7, Acts 13:36
* Glorify God by doing the work He wants you to do. Jesus said to His Father – “I brought You glory by completing the work You gave me to do” (John 17:4). Jesus finished the work God wanted Him to, resulting in God receiving great glory.

It’s so amazing and encouraging that you can work for God the Father, and for your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Be excited and thankful that you can do just the work He wants you to do, work that has eternal value, and work that relates directly to the coming of Christ. “You turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven.” 1 Thess. 1:9-10