THE PHYSICAL CREATION:
| Psalm 8: | 3: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers!”
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| Psalm 102: | 25: “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.” |
THE SALVATION OF MANKIND:
| John 9: | 3: “Jesus answered: Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
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| Psalm 46: | 8: “Come behold the works of the Lord, what desolations He hath made in the earth.” (From this chaos) |
PEACE IN THE HUMAN HEART:
He maketh wars to cease. (He brings peace)
Be still and know that I am God. (He brings salvation)
I will be exalted among the heathen. (Mission activity)
The Lord of Hosts is with us. (Invincibility/insurance)
NOTE:
In Jesus we are given a perfect view of Yahweh working in the vineyard of salvation.
. Man’s Work
Yahweh has placed mankind over His great work of creation. In the physical and spiritual world, Yahweh's Church has a duty to perform.
Yes, an awesome responsibility rests upon every adult believer.
| Psalm 8: | 6: “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thine hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.” (Thou madest him: meaning mankind)
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| Hebrews 2: | 7: “Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:” (Thou madest him: meaning mankind)
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| Mark 13: | 34:“ For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.” |
TOP PRIORITY:
Every job has priority levels. In other words, a worker must put first things first. It is the same with our spiritual employment: there are priority levels.
There is one work which must come - and stay - first in sequence and importance always. Here it is.
| John 6: | 28:“Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29:Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” |
In other words: Faith in Jesus Christ is the first and most important work you can ever do. All else follows from that starting point. Or rather, all else rests on that sure foundation.
A JOB OFFER:
| Matthew 21: | 28: “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29: He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 30: And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 31: Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.”
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| Philippians 2: | 12: “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” |
NOTE:
When we in A Voice In The Wilderness say works, we do not mean ‘acts of penance’ or ‘payment for prayers for the dead’ etc.
We mean the Works of the Holy Spirit in a true believer’s life: holiness, righteousness, obedience, honesty, chastity,
purity, goodness, meekness, temperance, patience etc.
YAHWEH’S WORK IS URGENT:
| 1 Samuel 21: | 8: “And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.” |
BE DILIGENT:
| Proverbs 22: | 29: “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” |
BE DEDICATED:
| Nehemiah 4: | 6: “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.”
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| Ecclesiastes 9: | 10: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” |
BE HONEST:
| Jeremiah 48: | 10: “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.” |
| Revelation 3: | 1: “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 2: Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God... 6: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 8: I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name... 13: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches... 15: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16: So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth... 19: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent... 22: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” |
| Proverbs 24: | 12: “If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?”
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| Revelation 20: | 13: “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
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| Revelation 22: | 12: “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” |
This reprove and rebuke is coming from the very same Jesus, (Yeshua) who came as a babe in a manger the first time. Are we prepared for His second coming? All we can say is, woe to you modern day Pharisee’s, so called prophets, priests, ministers, etc. not fogetting the doctors of modern day contemporary theology...
This question made us smile as we mused on how the prophets, patriarchs and apostles of old would have answered it: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, Gideon, King David, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Matthew, Mark, Peter, James, John and the other disciples, not forgetting the Savior himself. How would they have answered the question: “What theological training do you have?” The words of the prophet Amos also came to mind:
| Amos 7: | 14: “Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:” |
We are not impliedly decrying theological training: it is important, but not as much as some think. For the fact is, the Almighty raises up believers according to His own standards. Educational qualifications, wealth, fame, talent, social standing, outward appearance etc. are useful; but they are secondary in His sight. Qualities like faith, obedience, holiness, humility, honesty, absolute loyalty to one’s spouse, the ability to raise one’s family to fear God and keep His commandments etc.; these are the things the Most High values.
| 1 Samuel 16: | 7: “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” |
Only on the Day of Judgment will it be known how truly educated, weighty and effective we have been. That is why we had to smile when the question came in.
The vanity of the
question is only matched by the foolishness of our answer.
As the wise man wrote:
| Ecclesiastes 1: | 2: “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” |
The apostle Paul commented in the following when rattling off a long list of impressive qualifications.
| 2 Corinthians 11: | 16: I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little. 17: That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting. 18: Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. 19: For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. 20: For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face. 21: I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also. 22: Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. 23: Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24: Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25: Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26: In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27: In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28: Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29: Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? 30: If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.” (I speak as a fool) |
| 2 Corinthians 13: | 5: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
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| Romans 14: | 10: “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” |
Here are three examples of personal assessment.
KING SOLOMON:
| Ecclesiastes 2: | 4: “I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: 5: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: 6: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: 7: I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: 8: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. 9: So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. 10: And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. 11: Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” |
Great achievements, but mostly vanity.
THE APOSTLE PAUL:
| 2 Timothy 4: | 6: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” |
YESHUA, (JESUS) OUR SAVIOR:
| John 17: | 4: “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”
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| Verse: | 8: “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.”
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| Verse: | 14: “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
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| Verse: | 26:“And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
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| John 19: | 30:“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” |
| Luke 2: | 49: “And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?” (Learning/saving)
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| John 9: | 4: “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” |
| John 4: | 23: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
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| Luke 6: | 46: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47: Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49: But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.” |
