Doing the Work of God

Submitted by Sam Nobles
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 ESV

The Bible says that we were created for good works in Christ Jesus. Those works that we were created for is only known by God, and He reveals them to His people and church in the proper time. When God’s work is revealed there are a few things that we as Christians and we as a congregation must take note.

First, WHAT GOD WANTS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT I WANT. A mother and her child were hiking in a national park when they suddenly confronted a huge bear on a narrow trail. The mother had recently been influenced by the teachings of a sect that believed that if you exercised enough faith no harm could come to you. So, looking at the bear she told her son, “Now you realize that the bear can’t hurt us, don’t you?” The small boy replied dutifully, “Yes Mother, I know the bear can’t hurt us and you know the bear can’t hurt us. But what does the bear know?” In such a situation the opinions of mother and child were irrelevant—only the bear’s opinion mattered! Today more than ever,  people have well-formed opinions on any given issue.   They share their opinions with their friends and co-workers and take great comfort in finding agreement. There’s only one problem: What really matters is not what I think or what my friends think about any given set of circumstances. The crucial question is what does God think about it? Everything else is fundamentally irrelevant. It's not about what I can do for God; it's about what God wants me to do. It's not about the person I can be for God; it's about the person God wants me to be. Only what God thinks matters, not what others think, not even what I think.

Second, THE EASY WAY IS NOT ALWAYS THE BEST WAY. Jesus compares His way and the way of the world to a narrow and a broad path (Matthew 7:13-14). The narrow path is God’s way; it requires faith, discipline, and endurance. Choosing to take the narrow  path is difficult, but this difficult life is the only life worth living. The broad path is the world’s way. It’s easy to travel and Jesus said that many choose this path.  If you choose the easy way, the broad path, you will have plenty of company, but you will miss God's best for you.

Third, OBEDIENCE WILL ALWAYS FURTHER OPPORTUNITY. When the gospel message was being spread over the area of Jerusalem and Samaria, an angel of God instructed a man named Philip to go down to Gaza (Acts 8:26). Philip had no other instruction besides, “Go!” When Philip made it down to Gaza, he encountered an Ethiopian official of Candace, Queen of Ethiopia. Then Philip received word from the Spirit to go and join up with his chariot (Acts 8:29). After approaching the chariot Philip was able to lead this man to Salvation through the Scriptures he was reading (Acts 8:35). Had Philip obeyed step one, but not step two, this Ethiopian would not come to know Jesus, and Philip would have wondered what God wanted him out in the desert for. Every step of obedience led Phillip into greater opportunity to join into God’s work.

Scripture to Claim:

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
John 17:4 ESV