WILL.WORK.FOR.GOD
BREAD
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to
go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever
you ask in my name.
John 15:16 (NIV)
10 For we
are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
23 Whatever
you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will
receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are
serving. 25 Anyone
who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.
Colossians 3:23-25 (NIV)
12 Therefore,
my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now
much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and
trembling, 13 for it
is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)
9 Let us
not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up. 10 Therefore,
as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who
belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:9-10 (NIV)
BUTTER
Our motivation
behind our works is to please the Lord – to do His will from our hearts –“doing the
will of God from your heart.” Ephesians
6:6 (NIV) as one expositor states: “Mark
how this motive sweetens, sanctifies, ennobles our earthly work. It then becomes a part of our worship. Animated by such a thought, the school boy
diligently, joyfully applies himself to his task. The clerk needs no other master’s eye over
him to keep him to his work. The
tradesman carefully executes his orders to the last stitch, when he feels that he
works not merely for men, but for Christ.
The merchant no longer sells spurious or adulterated goods, when he
feels that he sells, not to men, but to the Lord Himself. The minister, the physician, the lawyer, are
no longer content with a formal or perfunctory discharge of duty. The creditor, presenting his account, asks no
more than is really due, and the debtor faithfully pays it.” W. Grant
“The same thought appears again in
Philippians 2:12, where Paul writes, ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling.’ Notice that the verse does not say to work for salvation, but to
work out salvation. As believers we work
out the salvation we possess; that is, we manifest it, we prove it to
others. We do all that with the attitude
that we do not want to fail our Lord.” J. D. Watson
“Let us work as if success depended upon ourselves alone, but with
heartfelt conviction that we are doing nothing, and God everything.” St. Ignatius Loyola
“There must be a practical outworking of our
faith here in this present world, or it will never endure in the world to
come. We need fewer words and more charitable works; less palaver and
more pity; less repetition of creed and more compassion.” Billy Graham
“The work of a
true convert is not done. He (and she) finds a great work to do and great wants
to be supplied. He (and she) still sees himself/herself to be a poor, empty,
helpless creature who still stands in great and continual need of God’s
help. He/she well knows that without God
he/she can do nothing. After a true conversion, the soul is increasingly aware
of its own impotence and emptiness. It is still aware of its universal
dependence on God for everything. A true convert is aware that his grace is
very imperfect and that he/she is very far from having all that he/she
desires. Through conversion, new desires
are produced in him/her that he/she never had before…So he/she still has plenty
of business at the throne of grace: if fact, his/her business there increases
rather than diminishes.” Jonathan Edwards
HEART SAVOR
·
I am
appointed to bear fruit – fruit that will last.
·
I am
created to do good works which God has prepared for me to do.
·
I am to work
for the Lord not man.
