D. L. Moody says, “What! you say. What the world is perishing and men dying! Shall I wait? Do what God tells you. There is no use in running before you are sent; there is no use in attempting to do God's work without God's power.” It is important to remember that we are dependent upon God for his power and strength to do his work. Andrew Murray suggests that “Christ actually meant prayer to be the great power by which His church should do its work, and that neglect of prayer is the great reason the Church has not greater power over the masses in Christian and heathen countries. Time spent in prayer will yield more than that given to work.” I believe with my whole being that if we would take time to worship God and seek him we will yield more than those who are working apart from God. Too many Christians today become so focused on the work that they lose focus on God and the work becomes sinful for them because it has distracted them from God. We must fix our eyes on Christ (Heb 12:2) and not the needs of the lost. Oswald Chambers says it perfectly, “The key to the missionary's work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. I must take time to worship the One whose name I bear.” One of the main problems I see, are Christians so focused on the work that they neglect prayer altogether. The work becomes more important than a relationship with God and they do not believe they have time for it. Andrew Murray once again reminds us that, “When the pressure of work for Christ is allowed to be the excuse for our not finding time to seek and secure His own presence and power in it, as our chief need, it surely proves that there is no right sense of our absolute dependency upon God.” If you believe that you can do something, anything, apart from Christ, check your bible again. Jesus tells us in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” So why do we think we can work apart from God? Why do we believe it will be fruitful?
But let’s go a step further. Not only can we do nothing apart from Christ, but also if we do not act in faith we sin. Paul tells us in Romans 14:23, “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” This is a hard statement to swallow. Who wants to believe that everything an unbeliever does, no matter how good the external consequences are, is sin? It doesn’t matter though how we feel about it, because that’s what Paul teaches us. This should scare us, since Paul is especially talking to believers. If we are working for God but apart from God- not in faith, then we are sinning. It is incredibly important that we have the right heart when working for God. We see in many places in the Old Testament where God was displeased with his people, despite them doing the right thing. For example in Isaiah 1:11 God says, “The multitude of your sacrifices-- what are they to me?” Why? Because his people had forsaken him and turned to worship idols. We must not forget or forsake our Lord because of our work.
The last thing I want to briefly address is the message of the gospel. The message of the gospel is that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of the elect on the cross. We are all sinners in need of a savior. This message however, seems to be getting lost in the midst of all the focus on social justice, but this is the heart of the gospel. This is the reason that Jesus came. D. A. Carson says, “It will not do to argue, though some have tried, that whereas they may be weak on the cross, they are closer to what the New Testament says about ethics.” We cannot afford to be weak on the cross and must always remember to boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel (Eph 6:19). J. Gresham Machen reminds us that, “Paul was not interested merely in the ethical principles of Jesus; he was not interested merely in general principles of religion or of ethics.” Ethics are good and right, but they must be coupled with the gospel- namely the death and resurrection of Christ and our need for a Savior.
Let God’s infinitude sink in, the best it can, so that you might know that he is all-powerful and capable of doing the impossible. Recognize his sovereignty and your dependency upon him and your work will produce far more then you ever thought possible.
"In spite of tears and pain and death we believe that the God who made us all is infinitely wise and good." - Tozer