Doing The Stuff

It's time to get busy working for Jesus.

 

Video: Doing the Stuff 

There are too many people in the church that are very content to be consumers, they come and take in the show and enjoy the music and preaching but they never contribute to the work of the church.

Many of us talk about the work and train to do the work but we never actually get to work, in the Bible there are plenty of examples of God's people working for him and very little discussion or training about the work, it makes me wonder how we got off course.

Jesus saw how desperate the world around him was and it moved him deeply and his heart was broken that there were so few workers for such a large amount of work that needs to be done. Jesus saw the field that needed to be harvested and asked his disciples to pray for more workers.

Work

Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 9:37-38 He said to His disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields." John 17:4 I brought glory to You here on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. 1 Corinthians 15:58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. Colossians 3:23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Contents

The idea of working for God for the rest of your days on this planet is talked about all over the Bible and especially the New Testament.

Jesus has asked us to join in the work of helping with the harvest and praying for other people to join us in the work. What an honor and privilege to be chosen for such a highly important work.

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Do Something

It's not enough to do nothing, It's time for us to do something.

"Do Something" by Matthew West
Matthew shares the real-life story of a girl who asked, "If I don't do something, who will?

God's children can long for heaven so much that the trials and the injustice of this sinful world will get us down. Instead of getting depressed about everything that we see wrong in the world we need to see these difficulties in life as opportunities to "do something."

Since we have experienced God's ultimate love, love so big that he had to "do something" for us, we should be compelled to love our neighbor and "do something" for them.

I woke up this morning Saw a world full of trouble now Thought, how'd we ever get so far down How's it ever gonna turn around So I turned my eyes to Heaven I thought, "God, why don't You do something?" Well, I just couldn't bear the thought of People living in poverty Children sold into slavery The thought disgusted me So, I shook my fist at Heaven Said, "God, why don't You do something?" He said, "I did, I created you" If not us, then who If not me and you Right now, it's time for us to do something If not now, then when Will we see an end To all this pain It's not enough to do nothing It's time for us to do something I'm so tired of talking About how we are God's hands and feet But it's easier to say than to be Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves It's alright, "somebody else will do something" Well, I don't know about you But I'm sick and tired of life with no desire I don't want a flame, I want a fire I wanna be the one who stands up and says, "I'm gonna do something" We are the salt of the earth We are a city on a hill But we're never gonna change the world By standing still

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Everybody Is So Busy

Are we busy doing anything that matters?

Colossians 1:24-29  I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.

26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

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Have you ever thought about how the gospel message got out of the small geographic area that Jesus worked in to become know all across the globe? After his three years of ministry, Jesus hadn't traveled very far from home, the events of his life would have been on the local nightly news but the major networks would have never covered him.

The only reason that the gospel got away from Jerusalem and spread around the world is the result of men that could say that they were glad to work for Jesus and his church despite having to suffer a lot of hardships and physical abuse. The Apostle Paul was such a man, he went through a lot, yet he tells us that he is happy to serve and to participate in the suffering that has come his way.

We are busy people and we are probably seldom as thrilled to serve as Paul was. All of our work and our pursuits are usually focused on ourselves. Paul tells us that we have a job that is way more important, we have a responsibility to warn everyone so that they will have the opportunity to be ready for Christ return.

We are powerful people

Ephesians 1:19-20 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

We have a job to do and we have an incredible power source to help us, a source that goes virtually untapped by the average believer today. The early believers and the apostles used the power to get awesome results despite their persecution.

As a Christ follower in the United States with all of the freedoms and protection that goes along with it I must admit that I do not use the mighty power that God provides to do his work. I also must admit that I do not work as much or with the passion that the early believers did. If the early believers worked as hard as I do then the message of Jesus would have never gotten out of Jerusalem to reach the uttermost parts of the earth.

Lord, I want to be busy doing things that really matter, I am too comfortable and I need a passion to rise up in me to do your work.

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Keep God's Will In Focus

SCRIPTURE

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Acts 20:22-24  "And now I am going to Jerusalem, drawn there irresistibly by the Holy Spirit, not knowing what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit has told me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about God's mighty kindness and love.

Acts 21:10-15  During our stay of several days, a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea 11 and visited us. He took Paul's belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, "The Holy Spirit declares, 'So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem and turned over to the Romans.' " 12 Hearing this, all of us--the local believers and his traveling companions--begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 13 But he said, "Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! For I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but also to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus." 14 When it was clear that he wouldn't be dissuaded, we gave up and said, "The will of the Lord be done." 15 So shortly afterwards we packed our things and left for Jerusalem.

OBSERVATION

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Paul lived his life with a single purpose that he must work to tell others the Good News of the gospel, what a bold statement. There are so many things that get in the way of what we are here to accomplish on this planet, the cares of this life press us and distract us everyday and the devil is pleased.

He is pleased that we are sticking up for our own interest, that we are protecting our self-esteem and our pursuit of worldly treasure. He loves it that we are bogged down in debt and trying to pay the bills but can’t get ahead meanwhile we are distracted from our God given task. What a delight for him that we are fighting each other even our spouses, family members and our fellow Christians.

Paul says it again elsewhere:

That is the plan I follow, too. I try to please everyone in everything I do, not doing what I like or what is best for me but what is best for them, so that they may be saved. 1 Cor 10:33 (Living)

And Christ said:

Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for me shall find it again. Matt 16:24-25 (Living)

Would I be willing to be thrown in jail or to die for Christ purpose? What a difficult concept, totally contrary to the plan that Satan gets us trapped in, as we buy into his lies.

APPLICATION

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I am here as a pilgrim just passing through and I need to travel light and stay on task, working to tell others the good news.

PRAYER

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Lord help me to live each day from your perspective of my life and my purpose for being here. Keep me from the cares of this world and help me to please you by doing your kingdom work.

Need Some Help

Scripture

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Acts 1:8  But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power to testify about me with great effect, to the people in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, about my death and resurrection."

2 Timothy 1:6-10  This being so, I want to remind you to stir into flame the strength and boldness that is in you, that entered into you when I laid my hands upon your head and blessed you. 7 For the Holy Spirit, God's gift does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them.

8 If you will stir up this inner power, you will never be afraid to tell others about our Lord or to let them know that I am your friend even though I am here in jail for Christ's sake. You will be ready to suffer with me for the Lord, for he will give you strength in suffering.

9 It is he who saved us and chose us for his holy work not because we deserved it but because that was his plan long before the world began--to show his love and kindness to us through Christ. 10 And now he has made all of this plain to us by the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, who broke the power of death and showed us the way of everlasting life through trusting him.

Observation

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Jesus told us in Matthew to “go and make disciples in all the nations” and now just before he leaves his disciples to return to heaven he tells us the power source for the “going and making disciples” is the Holy Spirit. He gave us a job to do and every time God tells us to do something he provides a way for us to do it. God will never tell us to do something that we are not capable of doing and so Jesus told us that we would receive power from the Holy Spirit to do this job of telling the world about him. That is the power that transformed the disciples from fearful cowards to a mighty powerful witness willing to take a stand and tell the whole world.

I did a word search on Holy Spirit this morning in my Bible software and in the search I found out that the Holy Spirit does so many wonderful things for us. With this kind of help I should be able to do anything that God has asked me to do with bold confidence.

Paul tells Timothy that as we are fulfilling the great commission, we must remember that Christ saved us for the work of telling others and that my fear of what they will think, and what to say or how to say it did not come from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is here to give us power and boldness, wisdom and strength.

That doesn’t mean that there won’t be opposition, remember how much opposition that Jesus dealt with, up to the point of death. Nevertheless we will “suffer for doing good” (1 Peter 3:17) but we will have the strength to fulfill the work of “going and making disciples.”

Application

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I will rely on the Holy Spirit to give me the boldness and the words to say to those around me. I will remember how many awesome things the Holy Spirit does for me.

Prayer

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I pray that I will take the Acts 1:8 challenge everyday.