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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~