04/05/25 HOW TO DO THE WORK OF GOD 3

Today we will move on to the third part of our teaching which is how to do the work of God. We said
there are three levels of doing the work of God

1. Doing the work of God by working on your own believing

2. Doing the work of God by working in the church or the body of Christ

3. Doing the work of God by working in the world.

All work can be ministry work. For the child of God there is nothing called secular work. For the child of
God, every work is spiritual. Through our work be it as a professional or a self employed artisan or a
business man, we are supposed to shine as lights in the midst of a sinful world.

Philippians 2:15 KJV

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and
perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

It is not the will of God for every one of us to be in church 24/7 praying and worshipping. His goal is that
we work in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. In describing those of us who believe in Him,
Jesus calls us salt and light

Matthew 5:13-14 KJV

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is
thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. [14] Ye are the
light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Salt is a powerful agent of change but it will remain powerless until it is applied. Same as light. Light is
powerful but only in darkness. Every child of God can work for God in this world through their daily
occupation and endeavors. Your vocation is a part and parcel of your ministry.

The plan of God is not the spread of the local church. Jesus did not rise from the dead to birth
denominations and local churches. He rose from the dead and sent gifts to equip His people to spread
the kingdom of God across the earth through their personal ministry

Ephesians 4:10-12 KJV

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
[11] And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; [12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ:
The complete domination of the kingdom of God over the kingdoms of this earth will eventually happen
in the millennium when Jesus comes but in the meantime, we by faith, are to subdue kingdoms and
wrought righteousness

Revelation 11:15 KJV

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this
world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Hebrews 11:32-33 KJV

And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson,
and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: [33] Who through faith subdued
kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

So every child of God has a mission in the world to birth righteousness in the area of His work. Now
there are three dimensions to this. We will list the three of them but focus on one.

HOW TO WORK FOR GOD IN THE MARKETPLACE

1. Through living out the Gospel and preaching the gospel in your professional world.

This is a daily commitment to living a life that witnesses and also being ready so should the Lord open a
door to share your faith, you can. This is the first way to work for God in the marketplace. First you have
to be an example of the believer in your conduct or way of life

1 Timothy 4:12 KJV

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in
charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

In your place of business, in your office, in your classroom, you have a ministry and that is to be an
example. Do not be one person in church and another person outside church. This is how to be a worker
with God.

Secondly, you should be always ready to share a Word when a good opportunity presents itself.
Companies are not religious organizations. Please don’t try to turn your office into a church or your
school into a church. This is what has been done in a lot of Nigerian schools that has hindered academic
progress for so many people. The purpose of an organization is to do business. The purpose of a school
is learning. There is a time for everything. But the Lord will open doors to minister to people even in
your office or your school, especially if you have been living an exemplary life. When such a door opens,
go through it politely and plant the seed of Gods Word in the heart of that willing person.

1 Peter 3:15 KJV

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that
asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Please observe the text. He doesn’t say be confrontational or go to your boss’s office or to your
colleague to preach to them. He just says be always ready to give an answer. Take note of the Word
answer. Before you can give an answer, there must be a question. When you live in an exemplary way,
those observing you will ask questions. Why are you working this hard when you are not paid much?
Why don’t you accept bribes? Why don’t you join in when we criticize the boss? Why don’t you talk to
others when writing exams and yet you score higher than everyone? Why don’t you charge as high as
others and yet you deliver a better job always? When you live an exemplary life, people will ask
questions and as they ask questions you must be always ready to give an answer.

Also notice how he says you will give an answer. With fear and meekness. This just means you minister
respectfully. Never be brash or condescending when you minister to others, especially in the market
place. I know your colleagues may be provoking you with unrighteousness but you can’t save them by
being rude to them. Always minister with meekness. Ask for a persons permission before you go all
spiritual on them. Be a real person not a phony over spiritual actor. Real conversations can lead to
genuine conversions. Share real stories. Keep the conversation on relevant issues and by all means be
brief. You are not in that place to hold a church service, you are there for business. Be brief and maybe
later, after work hours, you can go deeper.

2. Through your labor to bring righteousness into the practice of your profession.

The second way to serve God in the marketplace is through your labour to bring righteousness into the
practice of your profession.

The political sphere of Egypt and Babylon were deeply involved with the occult until the rise of Joseph in
the Book of Genesis and Daniel in the Book of Daniel. Today, different people groups have a spiritual
inclination based on who the leaders of such groups are or have been. God’s will is for the knowledge of
the glory of God to cover the earth as the water covers the sea. This includes the knowledge or
principles of God covering the field where you work or study. You can work for God by labouring to bring
in the practice of God’s principles in your area of endeavor.

Take for instance, those who are business people. One of God’s principles include Fairness

Leviticus 19:35-36 Voice

In business dealings, be fair and do not cheat. Measure accurately length, weight, and volume. [36] Your
scales are to be accurate, your weights true, and your containers standard. I am the Eternal your God,
who led you out of Egypt.

This scripture contains Gods principle of fairness. When you set your price as a business person, be fair
to all involved. Be fair to yourself (take the profit due) but also be fair to those who purchase from you
(don’t inflate prices to make extra). Don’t cheat people. If believers all over this nation do this, we will
reverse the trend going on in this country. Don’t be afraid of losing out. The man with a lower price and
higher quality will not lose out rather he will soon take over the market. As a believer, you can labour to
redeem you sphere in the business world through the principles of the Kingdom like fairness, excellence,
honesty, quality, purity etc. This is applicable not just to businesses but to every other area.

You must search and inquire on how to bring the principles of God into what you do. This is one of the
reasons for coming to church. There is an interesting discourse along this line in the book of Luke

Luke 3:1-3,10-14 KJV

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and
Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of
Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, [2] Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the
word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. [3] And he came into all the country
about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

[10] And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? [11] He answereth and saith unto them,
He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do
likewise. [12] Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
[13] And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. [14] And the soldiers
likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no
man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

Take note after the people received the message of repentance, the next question they began to ask
was how do we apply what we have received to our lives and work and each group got a different
answer. To the general group, he explained how to bring God’s principle into daily life. To the tax
collectors, the application of kingdom principles was different. Then to the soldiers, the application of
kingdom principles was unique to them.

Like these early believers in the kingdom message preached by John, we all must begin to ask, what
must we do? What must we do to bring the rule of God into our own work and daily endeavors? When
we find our answer, we must labour in prayer and practice to bring these principles into our sphere of
influence in the marketplace. This is how to work for God in the marketplace.

But like our scriptural role models Joseph and Daniel, we need to understand that working for God in
the marketplace is not for the lazy. It is for the diligent. From the lives of Joseph and Daniel we can see
that those who will work for God in the marketplace must be diligent to

1. Develop their personal relationship with God to a point where they know how to hear from Him

2. Get educated or trained and to continue learning all the days of your life.

3. Be the best

4. Learn to be faithful in small things. No one gets promoted overnight.

5.Endure hardship without quitting

7. Stand up for what is right even at great personal cost

I pray that you will not waste your life working to make ends meet, rather your work will be your
ministry in the Name of Jesus.

Someone asks, What if I don’t have a job that can be my ministry? The only job that can’t be a ministry is
one that is obviously sinful. Do you know some things we even consider sinful today were started by
believers? They got sinful because unbelievers took over.

I read the other day of a Christian man in the 1700s who decided to produce an alcoholic drink that
would contain more herbs than alcohol just to deliver the men of his generation from drinking whiskey.
Whiskey contains 40-50% alcohol and that created alcoholics all over his nation but he came up with a
drink containing mostly herbs with only 4.2 % alcohol. The man’s name is Arthur Guinness and that is
how the famous Guinness stout came about. Even some lady friendly wine today does not contain 4.2 %
alcohol. Arthur Guinness did it to encourage temperance and moderation which are both scriptural
principles.

You can serve God in the marketplace through labouring to bring Gods principles into your field and into
society through your work.

So don’t think you must become a pastor or evangelist before you serve God. You can serve God in the
marketplace

Finally, another way to serve God in the marketplace is

3. Through faithful giving to the work of the church and other ministry gifts.

The Lord has chosen a few people to serve the many in the body of Christ. These few people are called
the five fold ministry gifts. They are apostles, evangelists, prophets, pastors and teachers and one of the
key things the Lord has ordained is that these ministers are to be supported through the faithful giving
of every believer they minister to.

So should every apostle, evangelists, prophet, pastor and teacher focus full time on the assignment?
Yes. But for practical reasons, that sometimes is not possible. This is why even though all the apostles of
Jesus were full time, Paul, because of the nature of his audience was part time a major part of his
ministry. But the ordination of the Lord is full time ministry for the five fold.

1 Corinthians 9:13-14 KJV

Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they
which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? [14] Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which
preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
This is what the Lord ordained. But note that Paul who wrote this was not full time but that was because
it wasn’t possible for him to be at that time. In the same way today, our pastors can be part time but
that is not God’s best. It’s acceptable but not perfect.

So if pastors are full time, how do they get paid? That is part of your ministry in the marketplace. Giving
for the support of God’s servants and for the purchase of the needed facilities and equipment to preach
the Gospel. This is part of your ministry. In the time of Jesus, we see that some persons made it their
ministry to give to the Master

Luke 8:1-3 ERV

The next day, Jesus traveled through some cities and small towns. Jesus told the people a message from
God, the Good News about God's kingdom. The twelve apostles were with him. [2] There were also
some women with him. Jesus had healed these women of sicknesses and evil spirits. One of them was
Mary, who was called Magdalene. Seven demons had come out of her. [3] Also with these women were
Joanna, the wife of Chuza (the manager of Herod's property), Susanna, and many other women. These
women used their own money to help Jesus and his apostles.

Using your money to help God’s servant who is ministering to you is your ministry. It’s one of the ways
to serve God in the marketplace. This is the real reason for tithes. Tithes are not a matter of religiosity.
Abraham paid his tithes to support Melchizedek in his ministry. Today Jesus is our Melchizedek and
when we tithe, it’s for the support of His servants and the logistics of His house. Those who don’t tithe
are failing in an area of their ministry. You will not fail in the Name of Jesus.

So it’s okay to believe God for promotions and expansion so you can give bigger. The more money the
ministry has, the stronger our work in winning people and bringing them to perfection will be. In your
life time, the work of God will never be stranded in the Name of Jesus.

When you give faithfully, you are serving God in the marketplace.