The Kingdom of God Is Furthered by Work

The Kingdom of God Is Furthered by Work

“My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” John 5:17.

God’s will is to make us His co-workers. If Satan can discourage a believer and make him passive, he is well on the way to making him an opposer of God’s work. A believer who works is the worst enemy of the powers of darkness. God’s work is a direct assault against the enemy’s army. Therefore, the first thing Satan tries to do is to stop this work. If he succeeds, he makes further progress.

Some might ask: “How should I work? With whom should I start? Where should I travel? Who should send me?” You should work with whatever is close at hand and begin with the people you meet in your daily life. Everything will happen quite naturally. A worker who is willing and able to work is successful everywhere—and wherever he goes, he works. He feels compelled to work. A person who has a strong desire to work will not wait for someone to send him. His desire to work will drive him forward.

People wait for someone to send them because they want to have someone to fall back on financially and someone to take the blame in case they make mistakes. Workers who are driven by an inner desire do not need to be sent by man. That is the perfect way. But not everyone has that driving force within him. Some have to be driven out in order to become active.

Paul speaks about himself, “I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Cor. 15:10.

Far too many Christians are merely spectators; they are the ones who become critics and judges according to the flesh. Those who work become more and more skilled in the work. They discover better and more effective ways of working, so that they increase their talents and their resources.

Some people have a wrong understanding. They say that we are to sit still until God works in us to will and to do. God has been busy for years working in you “to will,” but you are not willing, and therefore this “to do” never gets done. God does not make us workers without our consent. If He worked that way, He might as well use sticks and stones. If He were to use me “without my consent,” then I would be a robot and would gain no fruit from it.

The goal of Satan’s work is to take away our will so that he can get a body in which to dwell. God, on the other hand, seeks to strengthen our will so that it becomes triumphant over Satan in the flesh. This is the seed of the woman that will crush the serpent’s head. So work as long as it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.

The friends on the west coast of Norway must work. Begin with what lies at hand. Be a burden to no one. In this way, you will exclude the deceitful workers. The fields are white for the harvest. The friends in the south and east of Norway must work; the dough must be thoroughly leavened. The wonderful thing is that God is working together with us.

Satan is actively working everywhere, trying to paralyze people and make them passive. He has made many people into religious spectators and critics. Our work, together with Christ, is to destroy the works of the devil by going on the offensive. The wicked and lazy worker buries his pound in the ground, but the willing servant is used often, precisely because he is willing.

Some people sit around for years waiting for God to lift them from their slumber with a mighty rushing wind and drive them into the labor. This expectation comes from Satan. While you sit and wait, the work is already underway.

“My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” And we are His co-workers.

“For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” 2 Thess. 3:10.

First the natural, then the spiritual.