OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: TUESDAY AUGUST 27TH 2024

TOPIC: WORKING FOR GOD

MEMORISE:
“Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” - (John 6:28)

READ: HEBREWS 6:9-14 (KJV)

9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:

12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,

14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.

MESSAGE:
When I got born again in The Redeemed Christian Church of God, those that served in the church were not called workers, they were called Children of God. There was a reason behind that. When a child gets to his father’s house and sees that things are not placed where they should be, he or she naturally starts putting things right. However, when a visitor comes into that same house, he or she will simply find a place to sit and remain there. If you see God as your father, whenever you get to His house, you will do whatever you can to make things work smoothly. You wouldn’t go to your father’s house and not care about the outlook and advancement of the place.

There are many benefits of being a worker in God’s house. One of them is stated in (2 Timothy 2:6):

The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.

Because you are a husbandman, one who is cultivating the land to produce fruits for everyone, you will be the first partaker of those fruits. In other words, when you work to make services run smoothly, you will be the first partaker of the blessings and miracles that happen in those services. No one works for God without getting a reward. Hebrews 6:10 says it clearly:

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

God will never forget whatever labour you do out of love for Him. God decreed in Leviticus 19:13 that no labourer must be denied his or her wages. Do you think He will not reward you for working directly with Him? Your wages when you work for Him include protection, provision, a sound mind, deliverance, speedy answers to prayers, and a whole lot more. While it is fine for a church to employ or pay professionals for some services, I always tell church members who are adamant about charging a fee for rendering any service without being employed by the church that they shouldn't expect anything from God again, as they cannot get paid twice for the same service. As a worker in a church, once you insist on getting paid money for any service you render in the church, you have made yourself a hireling in His house and not a child.

REFLECTION:
Are you really a child of God or just a visitor in His house?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: EZEKIEL 16-17

AUTHOR PASTOR E A ADEBOYE

HYMNAL: 4 - TO THE WORK! TO THE WORK! WE ARE SERVANTS OF GOD

1 To the work! to the work! we are servants of God,
Let us follow the path that our Master has trod;
With the balm of His counsel our strength to renew,
Let us do with our might what our hands find to do.
Refrain:
Toiling on, toiling on,
Toiling on, toiling on:
Let us hope, let us watch,
And labor till the Master comes.

2 To the work! to the work! let the hungry be fed;
To the fountain of life let the weary be led;
In the cross and its banner our glory shall be,
While we herald the tidings, "Salvation is free!" [Refrain]

3 To the work! to the work! there is labor for all;
For the kingdom of darkness and error shall fall;
And the name of Jehovah exalted shall be,
In the loud-swelling chorus, "Salvation is free!" [Refrain]

4 To the work! to the work! in the strength of the Lord,
And a robe and a crown shall our labor reward;
When the home of the faithful our dwelling shall be,
And we shout with the ransomed, "Salvation is free!" [Refrain]