A Mind To Work

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. – Colossians 3: 17

And whatsoever ye do, do it [work] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; -- Colossians 3: 23

To work is an honorable privilege. It doesn’t matter to God whether you work in a restaurant or manage a large company. According to the Word’s way, work should always be a blessing, and not something we dislike and hate to do. But many of us know that this is often not the case. Why?

Basically, we do not work according to God’s standards such as is mentioned in the Scriptures above. You need to acquire a certain mind set to be able to work and the first thing you need to do is to do a job as if God Almighty were your supervisor or boss. You should work heartily from the innermost part of your being, not unto men, but unto God in the name of Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God.

The more you renew your mind to God’s Word, the more you will understand this and be able to apply it. You know that if we seek something and not give up, we will find it. I will admit that it took me some time to finally have a mind to work. There is no degree to sin in God’s eyes, but I bet if there was, the greatest sin would be to waste time. Remember the teaching There Is Great Freedom In Discipline? You should study this teaching. It will be a great stepping stone that will make you look forward to work.

Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; -- Romans 12: 11

‘Slothful’ here means slow or tardy/late. In the dictionary of my mind, IT MEANS LAZY! We get lazy because we have not renewed our mind according to a Divine pattern.

Example: If reaching goal 1 is the greatest renewed mind achievement available in this life, you may have to begin at goal 100. Now let us say that you are studying for many, many years and realize that goal 12 allows you to acquire a mind to work. [Please follow along with this illustration. I have proved this to myself in my own life.] You have recently acquired goal 14 which is a great renewed mind achievement. However, you become anxious to reach goal 12 AND you decide to skip goal 13 !! God says to reach goal 14, then 13, then 12. You decide, by your own free will, not to listen to God. You jump from goal 14 to 12.

What happens? You cannot seem to master goal 12 no matter how hard you try. You cannot acquire a mind to work. You see, the answer is very simple. Goal 13 would have prepared you to master goal 12. EVERYTHING IS ACCORDING TO GOD’S TIMETABLE, not ours. Once you realize this, you will have the patience to wait and to persevere – KNOWING that God will deliver you when He knows you can handle it. You get the desired results when you need them. Remember, you just mastered goal 14, NOW MAKE SURE YOU GO AND MASTER GOAL 13, then you will be ready for goal 12. God’s timing is perfect – don’t mess with it.

Be careful [anxious or distracted] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication [be specific] with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. – Philippians 4: 6

After you develop a mind to work, God will then teach you HOW to work. Let’s take a look at how the world works and then see what God’s Word has to say about it.

When you worked on a job, have you ever heard the statement from a fellow-worker "Look alive"? Usually, this is a warning that the boss is approaching and that everyone should assume their best behavior. If anyone is not doing their work at the time, they quickly get back to work in order to stand approved before their supervisor. This is wrong and God refers to it as eyeservice. You should be working at your full capacity whether the boss is around or not. Why? Because you should be working for God and not for man. ‘Looking alive’ just when the supervisor is around is deception and deception is from the counterfeit god of this world. You want to imitate the true God and be an example for Him.

Servants [employees], be obedient to them that are your masters [employers] according to the flesh, with fear and trembling [reverence and obedience], in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but 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: -- Ephesians 6: 5 – 7

It is not God’s Will that you work with eyeservice or just to please men, but to work as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. You should have respect for your employer and he should treat you fairly. When God says something twice, it is established. In only three (3) verses, twice God says not to work to please men. Remember two keys so far – work for God and ignore distractions. Distractions are not from God. You will find out in time that ignoring distractions is an art – it must be developed.

At this point, I feel it is necessary that I help you to distinguish from two types of work. One is God’s Will and the other is not. I’m believing that the rightly divided Word will bless you tremendously when you learn this. I remember the first time God revealed this to me – it was extremely helpful pertaining to the renewed mind area.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful [living and energetic], and sharper than [above] any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner [critic] of the thoughts [emotions] and intents [ideas] of the heart. – Hebrews 4: 12

God’s Word living and applied in the mind of a disciplined believer will cut out the old man thoughts. Those are the thoughts that captivate and enslave us. And then God will show you how you are supposed to be living and what you should be doing with your life that benefits you and God the most.

For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. – II Thessalonians 3: 10

So it is obvious that everyone must work. Now Hebrews 4: 12 tell you that God will help you find the exact type of work that suits you. In my case, this is the most important part of my work along with quite a variety of other work, but teaching God’s Word is my priority. Now there is a counterfeit type of work and anyone can be tricked in this area. This type of work is a waste of God’s time and yours.

For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. – II Thessalonians 3: 11

The word ‘busybodies’ provides a most interesting concept. Let me give you a more clearer definition.

Busybody – to do with pains what is not worth doing; overdoing but accomplishing nothing.

Isn’t that something? This means that you can be busy, but NOT accomplishing or doing God’s Will. Very many people live their life this way such as all God-rejectors who do not study and live by God’s revealed Word! Be careful you do not fall into this category which is a trap. JUST KEEP GOD FIRST and you won’t.

It should be obvious that if you are to have a mind to work, one of the conditions is to not be distracted - you must be at peace.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. – Isaiah 26: 3

Stay put on God and you will experience perfect peace. How do we think on God all day? Let’s say we are in a difficult situation such as we are experiencing fear. We repeat II Timothy 1: 7 in our mind. Later on in the day, we are experiencing anxiety. We repeat Philippians 4: 6 in our mind. Scripture retemory is the best way to stay your mind on God. Also, as much as possible, you should be praying in the Spirit all day. There are 12 benefits to praying in the Spirit and one of them is rest. It’s tough to have a mind to work when you are angry or full of anxiety or fear. If you stay your mind on God, He will keep you in perfect peace. As you may know, I am a long-distance walker. For years I used to learn Scripture by heart as I walked. Often I would pray and talk to God as I walked. Often I speak in tongues for hours at a time. The walk goes by quickly and there is great profit for God and myself at the same time. I taught a room full of believers this at a fellowship and many were rather impressed at the idea. My point is – how many of those believers actually APPLIED the teaching in their own lives? It hurts to see how we can be tricked and become a bunch of "yes" people.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. – James 1: 22

Will you be a doer of the Word you read throughout this website? Or will you be just a hearer and deceive yourself? I only care that you be a hearer AND A DOER. I don’t want any glory. Give the glory to God. He gives me the teachings. What am I going to do with glory – put it in the bank?! Don’t budge from the Word of God Almighty -- that’s what matters. Hear it and do it.

But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. – James 1: 25

Do you want to be blessed? Let me tell you something. When God blesses you, YOU ARE BLESSED. God is reaching out to you and calling your name. He needs people who are strong and this website will make you strong. The Word of God is rightly divided – it’s not guesswork. God needs believers with a mind to work – especially to work for Him.

I knew a believer who had a mind to work. His boss approached me once and said that this person was the best worker he had ever seen. The details may surprise you. The owner of this type of establishment was a restaurant and the believer was a dishwasher. It doesn’t matter what type of work you do, you can blow people’s minds if you have a mind to work. You keep God first and work for Him. You learn how to handle distractions. You stay your mind on God and are in perfect peace because you know the Word by heart. You manifest the love of God and you are humble and respect your boss. It’s a great feeling when your boss compliments your work. Praise is one of the greatest motivators and is a blessing from God.

Acquiring a mind to work may take some time and effort, but always remember you can always do what the Word says you can do or God would never have written it in the first place.

I can do all things through Christ which [who] strengtheneth me. – Philippians 4: 13

Literal: I am ready for everything and equal to anything through him who infuses inner strength into me.

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