Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who
have been called according to His purpose.
John 5:17
Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too,
am working."
(The Y2K dilemma sent panic throughout the world---people everywhere thought that
all computer-controlled support systems would shut down and society would face
severe setbacks)
Perhaps it was good that Y2K actually came around with all the drama and dread
that surrounded it. It taught the world how dependent the man on the street is on
the support systems that are at work to make his life safe and comfortable.
Irrespective of what you and I are doing--whether we are working, sleeping,
entertaining friends, exercising, on vacation, or studying for a test--these
support systems are at work. Irrespective of what we are doing, the power company
provides power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
(Power Stations provide electricity for us to keep warm, operate our appliances,
have light and perform the many tasks at home and at work that keep our society
functioning efficiently)
So too, the Water Purification Works are at work to supply water to every single
home. The Natural Gas Company also supplies gas, the Telephone Companies supply
essential contact between people, and many food stores are open to supply food and
basic essentials. The Police Department, the Fire Department and the Hospitals are
staffed around the clock in case of an emergency. Yes, irrespective of what you
and I are doing, millions of people are at work to keep the support systems in
place in order to keep our world functioning in a productive and protected manner.
We Need More Than Societies Support Systems to Work For Us
With the Y2K ordeal now far behind us, it is good to pause and appreciate the
presence of all the support systems that are at work, '24-7,' that each one of us
benefit from. It is good to feel secure in a society that is committed to the
funding and the functioning of these support systems. But my dear friend, the
support systems that society put in place for our safety can only serve us up to a
point. They cannot serve us in every regard. Where are the support systems that we
need to help us in our intimate personal needs? Where is the help we need with
personal addictions, loneliness, financial problems, broken relationships, loss of
a loved one, spiritual confusion, emotional upsets, family disputes, divorce,
betrayal, facing terminal illness, and the list goes on and on. Yes, in a world
that has been infected with evil, there are so many personal needs that each one
of us have. You and I are caught in the middle of a titanic struggle between good
and evil. Evil has infested every area of our lives and we feel it's sting no
matter where we turn. Whether we realize it not, we are part of this global war
between good and evil. The forces of evil would annihilate every living creature
from the face of our planet if they could. All around us we see the effects of
their efforts--they seem to be in control and far too effective in their work. As
a result, each of us have needs that we haven't found answers for from any source
or any support system. We have been brain washed and mill about totally
disorientated and confused about where to turn and how to go about finding the
correct answers to the dilemmas we face amid the onslaughts from the unseen forces
of evil.
(Can the support systems that society provide answer the intricate and intimate
problems we face from time to time? Problems like loneliness, poverty, low self-
esteem, doubting God, fear, feelings of abandoment, addictions, guilt and on and
on)
The Ultimate Support System is 'At Work' so We Can Rest Amid Turmoil
What are you and I facing today, this very moment, that we need desperate help
for--the kind of help that the 911 emergency cannot even to give us. Is there
something in your life that no family member, no friend, no church pastor, or
counselor can help you with? Do you need a support system that is 'at work' to
help you with something so personal and so private that no-one else can help you
with? If so, I have wonderful news for you. The same God that is 'at work' in
controlling the infinite universe with all it countless stars and planets, is 'at
work' to control every small detail of our lives--yours and mine. By the same word
that 'made the heavens' and the same breath of His mouth that created the 'starry
host,' (See Psalms 33:6) God says in His Word that, 'He works for the good of
those who love Him." (See Romans 8:28). He goes even further to say that He who
watches over you 'will neither slumber nor sleep.' (See Psalms 121:3, 4). Wow,
what amazing encouragement! What positive hope! What reassuring comfort! No matter
what I am going through, or what I have to face, an All-Powerful, All-Wise, All-
Knowing God is 'at work' night and day on my behalf. I forget this, and so I am
stressed out to 'the max,' as people these days say. No, no, no! I cannot be. I
look up to the sky at night, or at the blinding sun during the day, or at the
beauties of nature around me and I remind myself that a wonderful and mighty God
is 'at work,' with all this under His control. I ask myself, "What is more
difficult to do--keeping the universe and the cycles of nature in control, or
solving the dilemma I have to face in my personal life?" Of course my personal
dilemma is nothing in comparison to the massive tasks of controlling all that God
controls. So, I can rest in peace knowing that God will act in His perfect timing
to bring meaning and purpose to my apparent disaster. Note the following beautiful
promises that God spoke for His servants to record:
Psalms 16:7,8
I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not
be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will
rest secure.
Psalms 62:1, 2, 5, 6
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock
and my salvation; He is my fortress, I shall never be shaken. Find rest, O my
soul, in God alone; my hope come from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I shall not be shaken.
Let's go back to the Y2K dilemma again. When the support systems that we depend on
for our survival were threatened, many of us could not rest. When they are back is
place, we are all at rest and carry on with our normal day to day lives. Why can't
we do the same with God. Why can't we rest in the secure knowledge that it is God
who makes it possible for our County's and our City Works to provide the
electricity, water, gas, transport systems, garbage and sewage disposal, etc, to
function? Why can we be at rest with the fact that our planet is in it's fixed
orbit and that it is safe from collisions with asteroids and other planets, but we
cannot rest due to the seemingly insurmountable problems in our personal lives?
God's Word plainly states that He is 'at work' and never rests.
Ephesians 3:20
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us.
Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on
to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 2:12, 13
Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who
works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Hebrews 13:20, 21
May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back
from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with
everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us, what is pleasing to
him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever and every. Amen.
(Satan is 'at work' with one goal and one goal only---to destroy every part of
God's Ingenious and Incredible Creation . . .)
This is Satan's work. He has no rules or fair plans in his game. He goes straight
for the jugular--eternal death and destruction is his determined desire. Take the
lives of people, whether they have been deceived by him or not--people who found
fame and lost their lives due to the destroyer being 'at work.' Jimmy Hendriks, a
world famous rock guitarist----dead from a drug overdose. Andy Gibb, younger
brother to the Bee Gees, an Australian founded Pop Band--dead from alcohol
overdose. Marilyn Monroe, a beautiful movie star--dead by an apparent self induced
drug overdose. Karen Carpenter, a singer with an angelic voice, talented beyond
expectation--dead from eating disorders. Elvis Presley, a singer catapulted into
stardom at an early age--dead from alcohol and drug abuse. John Denver and Jim
Croche, both talented singers and songwriters--dead in airplane accidents. So the
list goes on and on. Whoever people choose to follow makes no difference to Satan,
he wants them dead anyway. Those people who have found the precious truth of
knowing God personally, Satan presses against with a lot more persistence. This
fact is good enough reason to find out how allow God to be at work in each one of
our lives.
1. God is 'At Work' Through the Holy Spirit - Before Jesus left His disciples He
gave them a detailed explanation of how His work with them would continue.
Wow, from the time we accept God unconditionally into our lives, we have a
guarantee that 'works' constantly until our day of redemption. Can it be? Oh yes
it can! Listen to this! Ellen White, an anointed servant of God writes:
"The Holy Spirit never leaves unassisted the soul who is looking unto Jesus. He
take the things of Christ and show them unto him. If the eye is kept fixed on
Christ, the work of the Spirit ceases not until the soul is conformed to His
image" E.G. White, Desire of Ages, page 302.
2. God is 'At Work' Through His Word - To illustrate how the Word of God is to
'work' in us, God compares His Word to food.
(As food feeds and nourishes our bodies, so the Word of God nourishes our souls,
our minds and our spiritual fortitude)
Deuteronomy 8:3
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which
neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on
bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."
John 6:51, 53-57
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If a man eats of this bread, he
will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the
world . . . Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh
and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him us at the last day. For
my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks
my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live
because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
As food is broken down, and each nutrient enters the living cells of the body, so
the Word God enters our minds and works to fortify and nourish our thoughts and
decisions. The 'Spirit of Truth' makes the Word of God alive and active so that it
can 'work' in us to bring tangible renewal and reform into our actions. Note what
God's own word says about how His Word is 'at work' in our lives:
1 Thessalonians 1:13
When you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as
the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you
who believe.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Now go through and read these texts again. A miracle happens when an unspiritual
human builds his or her life around spending time alone with God, through His
Word, before their day starts. When the Word of God is opened with a true hunger
for God, God promises not only to satisfy that hunger but to make His Words
'living and active' in that persons life, allowing God's power to be 'at work'
constantly. The bible contains overwhelming evidences of how God was 'at work' in
the lives of people. The stories that are recorded there clearly outline how God
worked to make their lives a success. When the people chose to submit to God's
work in their lives, they were successful--people like Joseph and Daniel. When
people chose not to submit to God's work in their lives, they were lost--people
like Saul and Judas.
3. God is 'At Work' Through His Creation - Psalms 19:1, 2 tell us that "the
heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day
after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge." Why
does the sky above and all of our surroundings shout that there is a God? Because
the universe and all of the cycles of nature would fall apart if there wasn't a
Genius Creator and Controller constantly 'at work' to synchronize all of the
functions that are necessary. Any person who has the ability to grasp that the
universe is not within man's capabilities to explore or understand, is convinced
that God is the only one who can operate in such inconceivable vastness.
Man cannot create life, and the miracle of new life amongst humans and animals is
truly God's miraculous work. The precision of the seasons and the balance in
nature is evidence of God being 'at work' from one day to the next. Even in a
world where evil is present, God still works to lavish man with unspeakable beauty
and grandeur in nature.
Paul says quite bluntly in Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world God's
invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen,
being understood from what has been made, so that men are without any excuse."
God made provision for man to be reminded of Him being the Creator of everything
and being constantly 'at work' in nature and the universe. He gave man a day of
rest every week, dedicated to restore man's confidence in Him as not only being
able to create the universe and all of nature, but being able to create solutions
to any and every dilemma in all aspects of his life.
4. God is 'At Work' Through Small Insignificant Details - A quote from 'My Utmost
for His Highest,' by Oswald Chambers in his devotion for February 7, is the best
way to explain this point:
"We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God's power.
Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize
that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around
us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we
will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn
that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of
Jesus Christ."
All I can say is "WOW!" God is not only 'at work' in the titanic tasks of
controlling the universe and all of the cycles of nature, but He is 'at work' in
the smallest detail of my life every day, no matter how insignificant they may
seem. When I have given my life to God, He works through any and every
circumstance for my good. Let me ask you this. If God advises us in Luke 16:10 to
be faithful in the smallest details of our lives, would God Himself not be super
faithful in every small detail of each of our lives? Of course He will be. God is
constantly 'at work' in every situation, no matter how insignificant and
irrelevant it may seem to us.
What Happens When I'm At Work?
Oh, how hard it is for us to stop being at work to solve our problems and find
security and happiness in our own lives! Our natural tendency is to be in control
of every aspect of our lives and determining the outcome of our futures. It is
such a part of our makeup that it is practically impossible for us to just 'let
go' and let God be at work in our lives--to let Him work out our problems, to let
Him work out who our marriage partner will be or be at work in changing certain
things in our marriages, to let Him work out which would be the best job for us,
to let Him work out how to run our finances, and most importantly, to let Him make
us into better people--to be more like Him. When we are 'at work' we crowd God out
and tie His Hands from being 'at work' on our behalf. When we fail to submit and
be like a child, He fails at being able to be our Father. When we fail to submit
and be like a sheep, He fails at being able to be our Good Shepherd. When fail to
submit and be soft clay, He fails at being able to be the Master Potter. Our work
cancels out His work. When we are at work there will always be terrible mistakes,
but when God is at work there will always be awesome precision.
(Even though God has given us incredible abilities to achieve and prosper, when we
work without Him we always 'mess up')
When I try and be at work when it come to being a better person and overcoming
weakness and bad habits, there will always be repeated failures and frustration.
Then to top it off, many of us try not only to be at work in every part of our own
lives, but also in every part of other peoples lives. How often don't we try and
correct others when it comes to the way they dress, or to the type of music they
listen to, or to the places they go. We even go as far as trying to correct the
spirituality in the lives of others. How absolutely senseless when God says that
He is 'at work' in each persons life. Who are we to try and be 'at work' in
anyone's life? What am I to do? What is my work when it comes to the lives of
others? I need to be 'at work' on my knees petitioning God to initiate and
continue being 'at work' in the life of that other person. I need to be 'at work'
loving and supporting those who are struggling along with me in the battle against
our mutual enemy who is trying to destroy all of us. My work is to unconditionally
love my fellow combatants as they suffer casualties along with me.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Allow me to paraphrase it in the context of what we are talking about here today:
"Come to me, all you who are 'at work' trying to make sense of your lives. You can
just sit back and rest and allow me to be 'at work' for you. Your work is to learn
of me, for I made you, and I know that when you learn of me you will be humble and
gentle like me, and only when you are like this, then you will find complete
happiness and contentment."
The word 'come' demands a decision to stop what we are doing and to go in a
specific direction. We need to make a conscious decision to stop being 'at work'
in our own lives and to go to Jesus. When we come to Jesus we rest because He told
us that He would be 'at work' on our behalf. The word 'learn' calls for discipline
to build our lives around doing just that--learning. We need to be 'at work,'
learning of Christ--constant, and continuous. This alone will give us the ability
to rest and to 'let go' in order for God to be 'at work.' Before each day starts,
like a student studying for a degree, we need to come to Jesus to learn of Him.
More and more of Him. The more we learn of Him, the more we will rest. The more we
will let go of being 'at work' in our own life, the more room He has to be 'at
work' on our behalf. When we come to Jesus, He can work through the four main
channels that we discussed earlier. As Mary came and sat at the feet of Jesus,
hungering to learn more of Him, so we are to build our lives around coming to Him
daily and hungering to learn more of Him. The sophisticated, hurried lives we live
tend to crowd Jesus out. There is just no time for quiet 'togetherness' with Him,
no time to bathe in His word, no time for the still small voice of the Spirit to
whisper His guidance and instruction to us. How life changing it will be when we
take God's offer seriously to be 'at work' on our behalf as we keep learning of
Him.
Fourteen years ago I started working as a trainee manager and fitness instructor
in a fitness center, situated in a small coastal town on the east coast of South
Africa. I felt called by God to this work as I had such strong convictions about
healthful living, and I loved working with, and helping people. I was fortunate
enough to take ownership of this fitness center a year or so after beginning my
work there, and I directed this fitness center for twelve years successfully,
thanks to God's continued blessings.
Over the twelve years the center prospered and it developed to a fairly high
standard as for a privately owned center. Then it happened. The dreaded bomb that
I had feared throughout my whole business career, was dumped on me. "What could be
so devastating?" you may ask. Well, news began rippling through the small coastal
town that a brand new branch of a massive national chain of fitness centers was
opening up across the road from my little fitness center. It just couldn't be. How
could a massive chain come to a small coastal town? How could they dare to open up
across the road and deliberately put us out of business? Well, to cut a long story
short, they were coming and would be opening their doors in about ten months!
Unbelievable! My stomach turned as I thought of the prospects of closing down,
sitting with many unpaid debts, and losing the twelve years of blood, sweat and
tears that I had investing in this project. I prayed earnestly about this dilemma
that I was facing and pled with God to show me a possible way out of this dead end
street.
(After two years in the premises shown in the photo above, God blessed me to where
I was able to buy out my competition and move into their premises. I gained a
massive amount of equipment for relatively little money)
A Glimmer of Hope
I was stressed, I was restless, and I was in turmoil. How could this be? Why would
God allow me to start and run this center if He knew that I would just close down
at this point. "Oh well, it must just be another lesson in humility," I thought.
The countdown began. Newspaper advertisements appeared, massive display boards
were erected and sales offices were opened to begin selling the new "upmarket
memberships." The spirit in our center changed, as staff and management
anticipated the approaching defeat. "Oh God, let your will be done in this
situation," I prayed everyday. Then one day something happened. In retrospect it
was the turning point of this whole dilemma. Get this. One of our members, a very
friendly, redheaded, outspoken kind of fellow by the name of Roger, was standing
talking out loud about the current events in town. "I don't need no Health and
Racquet," he blurted out, "I have everything I need at this fitness center and at
the country club where I'm a member--and at half the price! I have the aerobic
classes, weight training and cardiovascular equipment here, and I have the
swimming pool, tennis and squash courts at the country club." Enough said. This
was enough to send my mind was racing at the speed of sound. "Do you think there
is room for a fitness center on the country club grounds?" I asked. "Sure," he
said, "I know that they're having problems with renting out their community hall.
People are just trashing the place when they rent it on the weekends. I'm sure
they'll be interested in a permanent tenant. Here, let me give you the chairman's
telephone number." Well needless to say, an idea was born that was just too
amazing for words. What better way to make a comeback at Health and Racquet. The
country club had all the facilities that Health and Racquet had to offer, and
more. Another plus would be that my rent would be minimal in comparison to what I
was paying at the moment. In the following weeks I met with the country club
committee, and to summarize a few months into a sentence, soon after Health and
Racquet opened, I negotiated a lease for the community hall. I had one major
problem. Money. The community hall was forty three years old, and very run down.
How was I going to keep my fitness center running, pay to renovate the new
premises, and then move my members over to the new facility? I was cash strapped
"big time." I had overspent on improving many aspects of my fitness center and in
advertising for new members. A big obstacle indeed, in spite of the marvelous way
out of this insurmountable dilemma.