Focus: Get Busy With God! (Pt.1)

Text: Num.32:6

"Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?"

The church is a body made up of individual members, and every member is designed and required to play a part for the good of the whole body. Every member has a job to do and a supply to deliver to ensuring that our destiny on earth as a body is fulfilled. Every part of the body has a contribution to make for the welfare and wellbeing of the body. Every part of the body is given something to do that shows who God is. No part lacks the ability to be useful.

God has designed every member of Christ's body to fulfill a role in the body, and none should be idle. It is an act of irresponsibility for some of us to leave the whole work for the rest of us to do. We seem to have today many loafers and few laborers.

Let me tell you straight up that there is no space for idling around in Christ's church or body. Paul issues a divine order, saying, Be "not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord" (Rom.12:11).

From our text, Moses is confronting the two and half tribes of Israel that decided to settle down in the portion of the land already captured and occupied by Israel on one side of the Jordan. They felt like they had arrived, seeing that the area was good for the kind of business they do - a fertile pastureland, they chose the whole area for themselves, though not without the permission of Moses. It did seem like they were not ready to go over to the other side of Jordan to help their brothers settle down in their own portion of the land. So Moses in effect said to them, 'No! You have not even started. There is still work to be done. You must join your brothers in the task of capturing their own territory on the other side of Jordan. You must help them to settle down. Every hand must get busy until the whole territory is possessed and shared just as the Lord had promised. Every one would settle down only when or after the job had been done.

This is no time to sit on the fence or be on the sidelines. Duty calls. The Lord is beckoning on us to join the workforce and get busy. The work of the church is for all of us. No one is exempted. It is time for us to roll up our sleeves and get to work. No one should lag behind or be a layback. 

The Spirit is saying, 'Be dutiful; get involved!' Get busy for the Lord your God! Find your place in the body! You fit right where the Lord has fixed you. Fulfill your role in the house of God!

Ask yourself, 'Why should I sit by and watch my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ go to war or do all the work? Have I no shame or sense of responsibility?' Amos declares, "Woe to them that are at EASE in Zion, and TRUST in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!" (Ams.6:1). 

There is no room for complacency in the house of God. Every one has a beam to bring in order to extend the tentacles of Christ's kingdom. The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence EVERY MAN A BEAM, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye" (2Kgs.6:1,2). Mark the word, EVERY. Every man, not some of the men. Every man means all of the men without exception. 

We read of the army of Gideon, that "they STOOD EVERY MAN in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled" (Judg.7:21). 

The enemy will turn tail and run away when every believer in Christ stands in his own place in the battlefield.

I want us to understand that we are constantly at war with the enemy of our souls, and right in front of the church are the gates of hell. Hell is not far from where our churches are located.

Jesus Christ says to his church, " I know… where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is… where Satan dwelleth" (Rev.2:13). The word 'seat' means 'throne.' In essence, Jesus says, 'I know you are dwelling right where Satan has his throne, and right where he has his dwelling.' That is like saying, Satan is in your neighborhood and he lives right in your vicinity. Be aware that what you have is a next door enemy, not a next door neighbor! Don't be taken unawares! Don't be naive! Sleep with your two eyes open; never let Satan have his way nor hold his sway in your locality! Neutralize his powers and stifle his operations! Put him out of business in your area and indeed everywhere! Be his utter ruin! Overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony!

Let us stop ignoring the fact that the believer in Christ is living in a demon-infested world! We live not in a nice world but in a hostile space. The snake of Eden is still here.

The prince of this world is still here. The prince of the power of the air is still here, and the devil, like a roaring lion, is roaming the whole place in search of a prey to devour. Don't be that prey! Jesus Christ also says to His people who live in proximity to Satan's apartment, "Thou holdest fast MY NAME, and hast not denied MY FAITH…"

The believer in Christ wins every battle in the name of Jesus Christ and overcomes the forces of Satan by the faith of Jesus Christ. One more thing: Satan's principle is, 'If you can't beat them, then join them.' He knows how to turn a foothold into a stronghold. He conquers by infiltration. He wears the garb of religion and speaks its language. 

John says, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us" (IJh.2:19). 

Satan's agents have infiltrated our camp. They speak like us. They pray like us. They do virtually everything like we do, except that they are phony and plastic - very unreal. They operate by a familiar spirit.

They have been among our rank and file for a long time. They have familiarized themselves with our ways. They have become used to us and how we do things. A lot of us are being deceived and falling prey to enemies within. Peter says, "And many shall follow their pernicious ways…" (2Pet.2:2). Pernicious ways mean ruinous ways or ways that ruin our faith.

Every believer in Christ needs a great deal of divine intelligence and spiritual sensitivity. We must not be ignorant of the devil's devices or trickeries! Deception is his stock-in-trade. Beware! And at the same time, be not afraid. Satan is a defeated foe already. You have been fully and adequately equipped by Christ to undo him. You have the Spirit residing in you, His power flowing through you, and His presence with you. You have been given the authority to function in Christ's name. No weapon formed against you shall prosper and hell's gates shall never prevail against you.

I am aware that the Spirit has shifted me a bit from the subject that I started with, but it is fine. I believe He is reaching someone.

Stand in your place and fight the Lord's battles! Get involved in the Lord's business! Don't be an idle Christian! It is senseless detaching yourself from the rest of the body or family. Recover your passion for kingdom enterprise! Do your bit and be your best!

Expect part two tomorrow!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter