Work on Purpose
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Definition: Workmanship is the degree of skill with which a product is made or a job done.
What was God’s original intent?
What a good way to start with a new creation scripture as to why God created man. We see in the story of creation that God says, “Let us make man in our own image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” In this, we see God’s purpose for creating man. God so to say infused a part of Himself in man, thereby giving man the ability to carry out God’s mandate on the earth.
This mandate had to do with dominion over God’s creation. To govern, to rule, to dominate, to care for, to multiply and to organise according to God’s design and purpose. Earth was to become a mirror of heaven in many aspects. All this depended on man being very intentional about the instructions that God had given him. So Genesis 2:15 tells us that “LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
The words used here are to dress or organise and to keep. In otherwards God had set in motion a system of management that would ensure that the garden thrives for generations to come.
This was God’s original intent. The fall of man, however unfortunate it was, did not alter God’s purpose for man. This is where our focus scripture in Ephesians 2:10 comes in. When God sent Jesus to redeem man, everything had to be redeemed, including God’s original intent for man. It is therefore important to note that work existed before the fall of man; therefore, work is not a punishment meted out after the fall. And work exists in the regeneration after Christ returns. We will have assignments for the master.
Revelations 5:10 says, “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” You can see that God has territory on earth that must be well managed.
What did Christ accomplish in the regeneration?
Ephesians therefore, says we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good work. He is talking about a tool that has been purposefully created with the ability to accomplish special assignments. The Psalmist in 139:14 says, “we are fearfully and wonderfully made”. He is referring to Genesis 1:26, where God says, “Let us make man in our own image and after our likeness.” It means that each one of us must come to the understanding that we are special in God’s eyes.
No one is a nobody at the foot of the cross. We are here because God has paid the price for us to be here, and we are here to fulfil a special calling or assignment.
This means that one then has to critically think about his/her unique assignment on earth. God crafted or thought about our lives on earth before we ever showed up. The Psalmist again asserts in “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:16). Think about this. Every single day you live on earth has a unique assignment from God and an expectation to be accomplished.
“The two most important days in our lives are the day you were born and the day you discover why!” – Myles Munroe.
Have you asked yourself the question: Why am I here? You can not effectively draw out a navigation plan for your life without first discovering where you want to go and why you want to go there. Once you have discovered where and what, then you will begin to have control over the fruit you want to see. This is the perfect recipe for success.
The bible admonishes us in the book of Ephesians 5:14-17, Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
In other words, do not settle for an average life when God has called you with a unique calling. Wake up and smell the coffee, your youthfulness is failing, and soon or late, your evening will set in. Reflect on what Moses wrote in Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” And further in Psalm 90:16 “Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.” God wants our prayer to be that we discover our work early. It is important that you discover your lot early, prepare and train for it and get to do it while in your most productive years.
The curse has been broken!
Remember what Paul writes to the Galatians in Galatians Gal 3:13-14, he says “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
In Abraham, God was looking for a propagator of the blessing to all nations. In Christ, we have been joined to this root of Abraham and therein become channels of blessing to the nations. In other words, the fruit of our work is going to be seen in the nations and lands where God has planted us. The curse of work as labour was broken so that the fruit of work as a blessing may begin to be seen. This is so important that this truth sinks deep into our souls. The Bible says you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). This is how Abraham, Isaac and Jacob completely dominated every facet of life in the land God led them to. And this was accomplished through the work of their hands and their trade. Work to them was therefore a means to an end.
Clearly, you can now see that God intended for us to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28) through the work of our hands. That being said, our work will require skill and creativity to stand out, which in turn means we must sharpen our skills for maximum output.
Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, “If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.” We must think about what we want to accomplish and how best to go about it. We can therefore see that all profit requires us to work hard and more so work hard at what we are best at.
How do nations rise?
Work starts with the individual, but does not stop there, because we see that every nation whose attitude towards work changes begins to rise. Look at the history of Europe, the Americas and most recently the Asian tigers. Many of these nations serve foreign gods but have honoured God’s principles concerning work, and they have not remained under.
Proverbs 22:29 says, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” Remember, the bible says all work is profitable. Proverbs 14:23 “In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.”
When we consider Joseph’s rise in Egypt, we see a country that was in trouble and doomed to destruction, yet saved by the mercy of God. When Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret, God sent Joseph. This young man understood how to work a miracle to save Egypt and the known world at that time. The miracle was built on what the Egyptians were doing with their hands, combined with the wisdom to preserve it.
Proverbs 12:27 says, “The slothful man roasted not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.” In so doing he set in motion financial wisdom and principles still at work in many prosperous nations today.
Why celebrate Labour Day?
As someone has said that ‘work makes things to work’. Wherever you see things that are working, roads without potholes, trenches that have stone walls, street lights working to elongate our work hours, then know that there is someone behind it all managing well or focusing on their assignment. This is the attitude we ought to be having as a nation.
The bible says in Romans 12:2, “ And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” It takes a renewed mind to see the good God has prepared for us.
This is what we ought to promote as a nation. This is what Nehemiah demonstrated for his fellow countrymen. He had cried about the state of his nation and his people, but crying alone was not enough. Nehemiah 2:17 “Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.” They had to rise and build!
God has ordained work as a divine principle for fruitfulness. He has promised to bless the work of our hands.
Deuteronomy 28:12 says, “The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.”
This is how we stop being borrowers and become lenders. This is how we move from a 3rd world nation to a 1st world nation.
Think about it.
(All scripture quoted from the KJV of the bible)
Written by Pastor Michael Kintu – Senior Pastor, House Of Revival Church