Focus: Get Busy With God! (Pt.2)

Text: Num.32:6

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

The work of God requires the participation of all of God's people. The work of the church must not suffer or be left undone because of our indolence, indifference or irresponsibility.

Don't let stones replace you before God. John the Baptizer said, "And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these STONES to raise up children unto Abraham" (Mt.3:9). Remember that God used animals in the Bible. He threatened to wipe out all Israel and start afresh with Moses. Let us not fold our hands and watch others do the work of the kingdom! We must take God's work personal. 

Jesus Christ says, "I must be about my Father's business." Make no excuses; see reasons for getting involved. Nehemiah says, "And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I AM DOING a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" (Neh.6:3). While Jesus Christ says, "I must be about," Nehemiah says, "I am doing…" That is the spirit. That is the way to go. In the work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, there were those who after completing their given tasks took up another, and continued until the walls were fully restored. 

Know this: our reward in heaven depends on our work on earth. We are most blessed when we let God use us.

David says to Solomon and the congregation of Israel, "Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and BE DOING, and the LORD be with thee" (1Chron.22:16). That is like Paul saying, "Thou art inexcusable, O man!" 

Tell me, what resources have God not provided for the church? What are we still lacking with all that God has made available for us? 

• We have the blood of Jesus Christ. We have the word of God. 
• We have the authority and the backing of God. 
• We have the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in us. 
• We have abundance of grace. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ. 
• The power of God works in us. God works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. 
• The greater one lives in us. 

John says, "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things" (1Jh.2:20). So what is keeping us from doing the work of God? What do you need that God can't supply? You can do something for God. 

Whatever you do for God is an investment. Your obedience speaks for you in heaven. Your commitment speaks for you in heaven. Your dedication and consecration speak for you in heaven. God is a rewarder of diligence and industry.

Don't be like the nobles of Tekoa, for it is said of them, "And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord" (Neh.3:5). That is most unfortunate! But on the other hand, we read of another in the New Testament, "I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)" (1Cor.16:15). 

Can it be said of you that you have addicted yourself to kingdom purpose? Where are you making your presence felt in the vineyard of the Lord? What impact are you making on God? What role are you filling and fulfilling in the body of Christ? Are you handling or executing any project for God? 

Abraham Lincoln said to America, "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God! Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us." Is it not the same about the church of Jesus Christ on earth? We have grown so fat with God's bounty and have become muzzle-bound by our physical and material prosperity, that spiritual laziness has become our lot and our own greatest undoing.

Consider what God says of Moab: "Moab hath been at EASE from his youth, and he hath SETTLED on his lees, and hath not been EMPTIED from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his TASTE remained in him, and his SCENT is not changed" (Jer.48:11). How can we have a great spiritual experience with God if we don't let Him use us to the fullest? How can people smell the our sweet fragrance if we refuse to be broken by God? 

It is said of Mary, Martha's sister, "Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment" (Jh.12:3). Remember that she had to break it before the scent could flow out! Paul testifies of Philemon, "For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother" (Philm.1:7).

I conclude with these Scriptures:

"As the servants of Christ, DOING the will of God from the heart; With good will DOING service, as to the Lord, and not to men" (Eph.6:6,7).

"Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find SO DOING" (Mt.24:46).

Just let God use you! Roll up your sleeves and join in what God is doing! Someone prayed, 'O Lord, whatever you do, don't do it without me.' Make it your spiritual motto to always get involved in the Lord's business in words and in deeds. Let's get busy with God! Blessings!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter