“I don’t
want to be doing ‘church work’. I want to be doing the work of the church.”
(Reverend Ronald Benjamin)
“Many will say to me on
that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive
out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never
knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
As we read in the Matthew 7
passage above, there is the warning that many people who are doing church work
will not enter into heaven. Pastor Ronald Benjamin noted that people sometimes make the
error of doing church work (working very hard at self-appointed tasks) rather than doing the work of the church (seeking
God’s counsel on what He wants them
to do, so that His name will be glorified in and through His church). Today, let us consider two questions.
1. How do
we fall into such error?
We respond to what we
see instead of relying on what God has said. Joshua learned a hard lesson in his
encounter with the Gibeonites. As Joshua’s colleagues focused on the feigned
poverty and distress of the Gibeonite representatives, they took what they saw
at face value and failed to ask God for guidance. As a result, the Israelites
became bound by their own words and were unable to destroy their enemies. (See
Joshua chapter 9)
We side-step necessary conflict
and seek comfort.
Scripture tells us that in the season where kings were expected to engage in
warfare, King David sent others to battle in his stead while he stayed at home.
As a result, David became entangled in adultery and murder. In David’s later
years, his home became a battlefield as his children fought with each other and
schemed to take his throne. (See Second Samuel 11, Second Samuel 13, Second Samuel 15, and FirstKings 1)
2. What is
the work of the church?
The work of the church
is to express the love of God. First Corinthians 13, in the original Greek,
indicates that this love is akin to the love God intended for marital
relationships. It is intimate. It seeks the good of the other. It is consistent.
It seeks nothing in return. When the love of God is expressed through us with
the intensity and intimacy God modeled for us, then our daily tasks will bring
glory to His name.
The work of the church
is to obey God. It
sounds simple, and it should be simple, but sometimes we are reluctant to do the simple things. God tells us something, and we ask Him to qualify His word with
explanations and reassurances. We tell Him we’re not ready to move. We point at
graphs, charts, and reports to support our choice to disobey. However, we have
been warned: if our initiatives have not been born from the heart of God, then
all of our hard work will be in vain.
It’s
an interesting time to consider these things. Jews all over the world are now
in their high holy days, moving from the celebratory Rosh Hashanah to the
contemplative Yom Kippur. Perhaps we at Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene
can take a page from their notebook. As we are celebrating our fiftieth
anniversary, it would also be useful for us to contemplate our role in the work
of the church.
What have we been doing?
What would God have us
do in the months and years to come?
Are there areas of
disobedience that God is calling us to repudiate, with repentant hearts?
Scripture
references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright
© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica,
Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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