Working for God and the reward

Topic:  Working for God and the reward  

 Bible Text: ( Bible text: John 15: 16, Mark 16: 15-18)

Copyright© Femi .S. Olomola 2016 [All rights reserved!]

Publish by: Wefos Project Int'l Limited

Email: [email protected]

First Published [Summary Edition] June 2016

ISBN: 978-978-953-658-0

Recap of last week sermon: 

We have learnt from the previous week sermon (The enemy of man) that man as an independent entity (Proverbs 16: 9) has some great enemy which is beneficial to them but also corruptible and leading them to destruction by going against God's will, who is their creator and these are: 

1. The flesh (Galatians 5:17-21), 

2. The Acquaintances (Matthew 10: 34-37), 3. Money (1Timothy 6: 9-10, Matthew 6: 25-34 ) and we study in details all the stronghold or the things that gives them power to manifest and have the ability to overcome man, we also look at the consequences and solution to each. 

We shall be looking into all the indices involved in our new topic for this week which is "Working for God and the reward" because we believed that a believer who has satisfied all the requirement stated in the previous week sermon need this great knowledge to live a glorious life that will be fulfilled in God and so buckle up and get along with me as we proceed for this week. 

Introduction:

Working for God is synonymous to working for man but has one big difference which is that God is a spirit while man is a visible being. Working for man which entails man to man relationship is an easy task because the two parties can physically touch, feel, and speak to themselves in a clear manner. 

We have learnt from the previous week sermon that, Man also is a spirit and a subject to the creation power of God by reason of the breath of life which God had breathed into their nostril (Genesis 2: 7) and that God created them in his image and likeness (Genesis 1: 26-27). God is a spirit and they that must worship him must do it in spirirt and in truth (John 4: 24). Rendering services to God is an act of worship and which must be done in truth by his spirit if it is to be acceptable to God.

Having known this, then your first desire should be how to give God the best service or worship that will be acceptable to him and thereby bringing down his compassion over you that will come with great power and grace because not all services or worship is acceptable by God.

A believer that want to fulfil his dream and live a glorious life must learn as a matter of urgency, how to work for God and render services that will be acceptable to him in other to draw him nearer to you, because when you are rendering an acceptable service to God, then be rest assured that he will also look after your own business and all that concern you. So many believer today are not only rendering a service that is not acceptable by God but has also turned themselve unknowingly to be an instrument in the hand of the devil thereby working for him. 

The fact remains that if you are not working for God, then you will be working for the devil, you cannot hide in-between because there is no such space. The book of (Galatians 5: 17) makes us to understand that the flesh and the spirit is constantly in conflict over your soul which determine your action, then this means that since they are always in constant conflict, any moment you deviate from God's principles or decide not to work for God or doing it in a wrong way, the flesh will automatically dominate and you will begin to work for him, and remember our scripture in last sermon (Galatians 5: 19-21) tells us the desire or the works of the flesh, (Please read it).

A believer who is working for God could end up working for man, if he/ she lack the proper understanding and knowledge of God and so we shall be looking at the two at a glance so that you will know how best to render your service to God that will bring down his glory over you.

Working for God:   Mark 16: 15-18, John 15: 16, Colossian 3: 23-24,

We have learnt from above that God is a spirit and therefore, those that worship or serve him must do it spirit and in truth (John 4: 24). To worship God in spirit and in truth requires a passionate knowledge of God which can only be achieved through his word (John 1: 1-5, 2 Timothy 2: 15) and one of the first criteria above all that will validate your service to God is your obedience and love for him (Proverb 3: 3-4), without this, your service might be void of God's blessing and it will just be done to men. 

The love of God in you will give you the require passion to render your service to him at your peak without any stress or complain attached (Colossian 3: 23-24) and it will also be the prerequisite for God to have compassion over you and all that concern you because his compassion comes with great power that breaks yokes, set captive free, and deliver the oppressed (Deuteronomy 30: 3-5, Isiaha 49: 25-26, Psalm 145: 8, Psalm 103: 13-14).

Our bible text (John 15: 16,) above, gives us a command by our lord Jesus Christ that we should go and bear fruit, and that the fruit should remain then whatever we ask from the father by his name shall be granted. According to the instruction in the verse above, for the fruit to remain as the basic requirement stated in the verse involves series of commitment and work to be done in the area of follow up and fellowship together to make their feet balance in the race and to help them to carry on and this is where the church or fellowship of brethren comes in because all activities done in the church or along with such fellowship is to help every believer stand firm in the race and also help them carry on since iron sharpeneth iron (Proverb 27: 17), and so we are require to fellowship with each other (1 Thessalonians 5: 11, Hebrew 10: 25), therefore wherever you find yourself fit-in, either in the church or any gathering of Saint to fellowship and deliberate on the word of God for edification, know it now that you are fulfilling the requirement stated in our bible text (John 15: 16, Mark 16: 15-18) and the promise that follow shall be your gain.

God's power is not for idle people that will refuse to share the light of God they have received to those around them. God expect you as a son and a friend who are carrier of his annoiting, glory, and power to share that light to people so that they might also be saved. Our last sermon scripture (Matthew 5: 14-16) make us to understand that, a city built on a hill cannot be hidden (and you are the city because you are carrying God's power and annoiting once you have repented of all your sins and genuinely accept Christ as your lord and saviour and also walking with him in holiness) or can a man light up a candle and put it under a bowl? instead he will put it on a table stand so that it can give light to everybody around, and so therefore we should let our light shine so that it can minister grace to those around you, for them to see and give glory to your father who is in heaven and also bring them into salvation. Except a believer who believe strongly in God start living up to this standard, he will still be fishing from the mud and doing greater exploit will just be a mirage.

As we have learnt from above, working for God has to be done with great passion, seal and obedience and the internal driving force is the love of God which should never ceased within you and should always be refreshed through his word and encounter. Though to love God is not in your power because he is the one that can make you to love him but he want to see your submission and obedience first (2 chronicles 7: 14, 1 Corinthians 15: 58), so he can begin to give you an encounter that will build your love for him. If a believer have not had any encounter that will give him/ her testimony since he/ she give his/ her life to Christ then something is wrong somewhere, do not let anyone deceive you because people are just interested in population but the truth is not being told and the true God whom i know cannot comprise his standard because it is written, narrow is the way that leads to life and eternity (Mathew 7: 13-14) and many are also called but few are chosen (Matthew 22: 14). 

The truth is that, not that God is not interested in population but he can never compromise his standard (Holiness and the total love for him above all things, 1 Peter 1: 15-16, Leveticus 20: 26, Mark 12: 30-32) like i said above, and that standard becomes the hardest thing for man because of the sweet things in the world and the flesh which has been corruptible and so, many are led by the world which is the flesh and all this will automatically reduce the once that will be finally choosen, even many of the so called believer or christian are still living by the world because they have refuse to finally give up the flesh, especially in the area of dressing because when the spirit of the lord is genuinely dwelling in you, its becomes the product of your outlook and outcome of your existence and relationship even with others. Yes, there is no magic because you cannot give what you dont have. And so, I will advice that, you follow God diligently by his word and finally endure to the end so that you will not be a cast away on the day of judgement. Encounter with God will be the salt in your relationship with him and thereby building your love for him to the apex.

God is a real father and a father indeed, just like i said above, he knows how best to relate with his children, just the way your earthly father will relate with you and so he is watching you, putting you under probation to see your commitment and obedience before he will begin to release encounter that will perfect your relationship with him because without these encounter, you might not be able to meet up and so, i pray for someone reading this my sermon, that the grace you need for God to perfect all that concern you and make you to love him passionately, may he grant unto you in Jesus Name.

In summary and to be specific, lets consider the work to be doing for God that bring down his compasson:

1. Share the light (Matthew 5: 14-16):

You can only share the light to bring people to christ through the following:

i. Preaching the word or Evangelism (That is, to testify about christ and the vessel that will be testifying must have a testimony in Christ Jesus)

ii. Your altitude and behaviour to people because Christ now dwell in you and it will become the outlook or outcome of your real self.

iii. Your dressing so that you will not be an instrument in the hand of the devil, using dressing that causes immorality to seduce men to fall

iv. Your judgement and being merciful

v. Showing love and easily forgive.

2. Follow up and let the fruit abide (John 15: 16):

For the fruit to abide require your finacial and moral commitment in other to make their feet balance in the race as stated in the verse above and this is also where the church comes in to play and it can be achieved through the following:

i. Fellowship together to share the word of God for edification

ii. Pray and interceed for them and each other

iii. Teach them how to carry on in the lord.

Note: Sharing the light and having the light around you is power and there is more spiritual justification to this because as all of you are walking together in the lord, you are building up a good defense chain which is even stronger when there is love among all the parties involved.

Please check my previous publish book written on "why do people suffer and why does God allow it" as i have detailed all this in it. May the lord bless you as you do. 

Requirement for an accepted service:

Apart from the basic requirement stated above for you to render to God an offer of acceptable service like the love of God which will generate the inner burning passion or desire for his work, there are other two major requirement that needs to be greatly consider for you to tender a fulfilled and glorious service to God which are the following:

1. Holiness:   John 15: 1-9, 1 peter 1: 16, Leveticus 20: 26

Offering an acceptable service to God must required him to dwell in you because without him you cannot succeed (John 15: 4-5). The scripture above (John 15: 4-5) makes us to understand that Jesus Christ is the vine and you are the branches, and except you abide in him, and he abide in you. you can do nothing because he is the perfecter and not you, and one simple truth is that, for you to abide in him you must be holy because he is holy and that is the nature of God and also two cannot walk together except they aggree

(Amos 3: 3).

Holiness is one of the great requirement for an offer of acceptable service to God (Leveticus 20: 26, 1 peter 1: 16). Though achieving this could seems to be a mirage sometimes for many people because of the impection of the human nature but the quest or submission toward making this a reality is what God is looking for most time (James 4: 6) becuase he knows our weekness and area where we are short of ability and therefore give grace and make it up for us as a fatherly responsibility (James 4: 6) so that you can even do more than expected according to the book of (John 15: 2) which says every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away but every branch that bearest fruit, he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit.

So now you see that you will need God to be able to offer an acceptable service to him because not all service are acceptable to him and so i will admonish you to strive to live to God's standard and remain holy, just as he is holy.

2. The Knowledge of God: John 1: 1-5, 2 Timothy 2 : 15. 

To succeed in your quest to offer an acceptable service to God greatly require a knowledge of him which can only come by his words because the words of God does all things and through him all things were made (John 1: 1-5). To know God by his words is the apex of your sonship to him because you can only get the right direction by his words. 

Offering an acceptable service to God has some rules and regulations attach to it, which can only be known through his words and when you are not rooted in his words, you might end up offering service that will not be accepted and thereby receiving curse instead of blessing. Take for instance, a lady that love to dress Immorally, having the urge to dress captivating and always reveal part of her lovely breast or sweet butt or figure for men to admire (1 Timothy 2 : 9-10,  1 peter 3: 3-5), will be causing men to fall for the sin of fornication by putting an immoral thought in their heart (Matthew 5: 28) because men are not stone that can never be moved again and even if she is doing some work for God, she will be leading men to sin and satan will be using her as an instrument in his hand and God will not be happy for such fellow because she is only working for the devil and not God since that urge to dress Immoral is not of God but of the devil. Woman are carrier of God's glory and they can even egage it to bring down strong men, and so they are expected to cover themselves up properly and be reserved for their husband only but the reverse case is what we see everywhere today. The bible verse above (1 Timothy 2 : 9-10,  1 peter 3: 3-5) tells us how a lady should present herself before the lord and even in all the service of the lord.

It is of great necessity to urgently be rooted in the word of God, which will be a light unto your path and therefore increase your knowledge in God which will be the bases of your success in all sphere of life.

Working for Man:  Colossian 3: 23-24, Deuteronomy 18: 17-20

We have been talking about working for God, now let us cast some light into working for man so you can really know all the intrigue involved in these two phenomenon and have a detailed concise knowledge into this course because there are some people whom their faith or level of God's knowledge cannot connect directly to God and so they will need a man of God whom the spirit of God is fully dominating to help them connect to God and also help them balance on the race to carry on. Like i said above, Man is a spirit and a subject to the creation power of God. Man is also a subject to the two spiritual power available to them that is trying to claim superiority over them, the book of (Galatians 5: 17) proves that the spirit of God and the flesh are always in constant conflict over your soul so that you might not be able to do whatever you want and this qualification confirmed the dual nature of man, please you can always look out for one of my book to be out soon written on "(The dual nature of Man and the effect of Godliness)" where i have a detailed knowledge on this subject.

Man as a spririt and a subject to higher spiritual power which will be dominating his soul and determining his action and decision just as we have read in (Galatians 5: 17) gives his best service to satisfy the desire of the one taking dominion over him and this justify the two forms of services which should be expected from man, that is, the one from the flesh and the one from the spirit of God.

i. Serving the man who is fully dominated by the spirit of God:    Deuteronomy 18: 17-20, Colossian 3: 23-24, Mark 16: 15-18

This is one good way of connecting to God through the level of annoiting on the one being dominated and the rewards of your service shall come with God's compassion that will perfect all that concern you and deliver your blessing, as we have learnt above (Deuteronomy 18: 17-20, Colossian 3: 23-24, Mark 16: 15-18).

One simple truth that need to be known for the purpose of those that their faith or level of God's knowledge cannot connect directly to God is that, you must develop some level of likeness and love for the man of God whom you are serving to connect to God for the annoiting to flow easily over you because annoiting flow well with love but you must be cautioned not to love any man above God and this is why God himself give us the first and greatest commandment above all other that we should love him first with the whole of our heart, soul and body (Matthew 22 : 37-40). To love God and deeply connect to him is not a sudden phenomenon, infact you would have gotten to a resonable level of friendship with God which would have come with trial, persecution, and encounter (Please see one of my recent article with title "The Enemy of Man" for more detailed explanation on this).

Another truth that need to be known is that the way and manner the man of God will be relating with you is exactly the way God himself will be relating with you because the spirit of God is fully dwelling in him and you must also let the light you are receiving from him shine to others, if not, your reward might not be at it peak because the purpose of God's annoiting is to allow it to shine to others as well by winning soul and ministering grace to those around you. There are so many believer who are just contempted with what they do and refuse to allow the light whom they have received shine and this will not make the annoiting working in them be in active state since they are not using it because it is not for decoration and they will only be left with grace. Our lord Jesus Christ speaking in the book of (Mathew 5: 14-16) that you are the light of the world and a city set on a hill can never be hidden, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bowl but on a candle stick so it can give light unto everyone in the house, so therefore let your light shine before men so they can see the good work and glorify your father who is in heaven. 

Beloved, this is practically what christianity is all about and if you have not been fulfilling this area of allowing your light to shine, your reward will not be at its peak because to allow the light shine has so many spiritual advantages which will even add to your strength and empowerment (Mark 16: 15-18, John 15: 16). I have given a more detailed explanation to this effect on chapter six (the arena of the power of God) of my previous book with tittle " Why do people suffer and why does God allow it" and i pray that may the lord gives you the grace for a deeper understanding into this in Jesus Name.

Serving the man who is fully dominated by the spirit of God with the whole of your heart will enable God give it best in rewarding you but when the service is void of this will only receive a human reward.

ii. Serving the man who is fully dominated by the flesh: Galatians 5: 19-21, Colossian 3: 22-25, Galatians 5: 16-18.

Serving the one who is dominated by the flesh will only give a human reward or the gain of the flesh desire to satisfy the one that dwells within but when the service being render is always in reference to God and void of sin, then God will breath life into it and grace will abound which will also compel the flesh dominated master to deliver blessing according to God wishes even without his understanding (Colossian 3: 22-25). 

This made us to understand that the only way you can serve a man who is dominated by the desire of the flesh and still have a reward from God for your service is to give your best always with reference to obedience in God as it was stated in the scripture above, without minding of his reaction or respond or reward, then the mercy and compassion of God the almighty shall find you because you have done well in his sight.

Moreover, great causion should be taken in serving or dealing with such man who is dominated by the flesh because the act of the flesh stated in (Galatians 5: 19-21) could be contageous if the relationship is going intimately (2 Corinthians 6: 14-18, Psalm 1: 1-6) and the devil also uses this medium to bring down many strong believer. So watch out and beware of the type of relationship you would engage with your boss not to entangles you and become a prey of the devil.

The blessing or reward of working for God:

We have learnt above that working for God requires your burning passion, seal and obedience with the love of God as the internal driving force which should never cease and which should always be refreshed or renew through the word of God and by his encounter and that fulfilling all these requirements will validate your service to God and thereby inducing his compassion that usually come with great and mighty power that will unleashes his blessing over you and all that concern you ( Deuteronomy 30: 3-5, Isiaha 49: 25-26, Psalm 145: 8, Psalm 103: 13-14 ).

As we have seen above that the success of your service whether to God or to man actually depend on your effort, will and obedience. let us now look at some blessing attached to serving God which the compassion of God will bring as we have narrated above:

i. Miracle worker:  Matthew 15: 32-39, John 11: 32-44

One of the grestest achievements done with God's compassion is the working of miracle. The scripture above shows some of the greatest miracle performed by our lord Jesus Christ to be burned out of compassion. The bible verse above (John 11: 32-44) make us to understand that when Jesus saw lazarus in the cave and saw how marry whom he love was weeping, he was deeply moved and troubled then he wept and call the dead to wake up and he woke up, this can only be love which is the root of compassion. Compassion comes with love and that love is not of men but of God and this is the driving power behind every God's compassion. 

The bible verse above (Matthew 15: 32-39) also makes us to understand that Jesus had deep feeling and compassion on the crowd that was with him with no food and so he was moved in his spirit and he turned just seven loaf of bread and few fishes to feed four thousand people with still some left over.

ii. Deliverance and Restoration:  Deuteronomy 30 : 3-5,  Joel 2: 25-26, Hosea 1: 7, Isiaha 49: 25-26

God's compassion is so mighty and powerful and is able to break all yoke, delivers the oppressed, and restore all that has been lost. When God shows compassion over you, even all the contrary forces beneath the earth and on the earth will corporate with you because demon also tremble at the presence of God, and so when God is ready to save you, or deliver you, no demon or devil can stand. (Please you read more to detail on my previous book on chapter six, the arena of the power of God).

Conclusion:

We have seen that service to God, done with the love of God, seal and burning passion, holiness and the knowledge of God has greater reward than any other and so the ball is in your court and the way you play it will determine your result. Every man shall receive the reward of their deed, therefore i will always advice you to do good so that you will always be justified.

Prayer Point:

Before you go into this prayer session, if you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and saviour and you are convinced that you need him to come into your life so you can also tap into the grace available through shedding of his blood, and be sure you are ready to repent from all those sin of fornication, adultery, lying, sexual immorality, pride, jealousy, hatred, idolatry, selfish ambition, witchcraft, impurity and debauchery, dissensions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and the likes, then locate a quiet place and be sober and made this little confession: 

Lord Jesus, I come with total humbleness of heart to ask for forgiveness of my sins and accept you as my lord and saviour, please forgive me of all my sin (you can begin to name them if you know them) i surrender my life to you and i want you to come and take full charge over my life, please cleanse me with your blood and make me a new man leaving old things behind, i promise to serve you and do your will at all time and i ask for the strenght to carry on. Thank you Lord Jesus for saving me.

Congratulation,  you have made a step forward in tapping into his grace, now for you not to fall back, you must look out for a good holyspirt filled church to worship and begin to study the word of God, if you have just done this, you can also contact me to get a free copy of my book and publications to strenghten your faith. May the lord give you the grace to carry on in Jesus name.

Now you can go into this prayer session:

We have seen that the only thing require in offering an acceptable service to God is the love of God, holiness and the knowledge of God as explained above, so you are going to pray that:

1. Father, by your words in John 3: 16, and by the reason of your love and mercy over me, lead me through an encounter with you that will boost your love in me Jesus name.

2. Father, by your words in John 3: 16, and by the reason of your love over me, give the grace that will cause me to walk in holiness with you in Jesus ame.

3. Father, by your words in Jeremiah 33: 3, i ask for grace for a deeper knowledge in knowing you in Jesus name.

Please note: If you are bless by this ministration and you refuse to share it with other to minister grace to them, you are committing a sin in God's sight. (James 4 : 17).

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Preacher's Note:

It is my greatest desire that this sermon minister grace unto your soul but this is not enough, to be a friend of God as we have learnt above require deep knowledge of God, because it is until you have this knowledge that you can take your place and do exploit for God and yourself, and so i will urgently ugre you to be rooted and grounded in the word of God, in other to deepen your faith, knowledge and relationship with God. 

you can also look out for one of my book or publication written on "why do people surffer and why does God allow it"  This will go a long way to minister grace to you as i have compiled series of eye opener in the book about human existence and the relationship towards knowing the true GOD, which will be the bases of your success in all sphere of life, and if you are bless by this ministration, then do not hesitate to like our page on facebook (Youth and Single Empowerment Club, YASEC), where we come together as a movement in all strategic part of the country, hold mighty crussde and revival session, and edify ourself by his word and above all sing deep long hour praises to God. Like our page where you will be getting my online free publications of touching God message and your experience will never remain the same.

May the lord bless you as you do.

Personal Contact:

WhatsApp: 07010795629

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Copyright© Femi .S. Olomola 2016

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electronically, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the express written consent of the copyright owner.

Publish by

Wefos Project Int'l Limited 

Elelewon, Port Harcourt Rivers State, Nigeria. 

Tel: 07010795629 

Email: [email protected]

First Published [summary Edition] 2016

ISBN: 978-978-953-658-0