THE LORD GOD WILL NOT FORGET OUR GOOD WORKS

PROCLAMATION

“God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them.  We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.  We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”  Hebrews 6:10-12 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written by an unknown human author under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God to the Hebrew believers and indirectly to all believers.  In this sixth chapter the author urges the people of God to move on “from milk to meat,” from the elementary teachings of God to the more mature doctrine. (Hebrews 6:1-3)  He then begins to discuss those who have been enlightened by The Word of God and then fallen away. (Hebrews 6:4-8)  Although The Bible makes it clear that once we are saved, we cannot lose our salvation.  We cannot be taken out of the hand of God. (John 10:27-29)  We may fall out of fellowship with Him, but we will not lose the relationship.  Then he goes on to say that The Lord God will not forget their good works. (Hebrews 6:10)  He concludes the chapter by encouraging them to persevere in faith because of the certainty of God’s promise. (Hebrews 6:13-20)

 

APPLICATION

The Lord God knows everything about everything, and He remembers all that we do.  We are encouraged to do good so that men can see our good works and give God glory. (Matthew 5:16)  Our good works will not save us.  Our salvation is based upon our belief in Christ.  It is an unearned gift from God. (Ephesians 2:8-9)  However, we will be rewarded for doing good works when we have to give an account of our stewardship. (Luke 16:2 and Matthew 25: 21 and 23)  The Lord considers the good that we do to those who are in need as if we had done it unto Him. (Matthew 25:35-40)  So, keep on doing good works and helping God’s people and we will receive God’s promise.

 

DOING GOOD CAN CAUSE YOU TO BE DISLIKED

Proclamation:

“Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?’  But they remained silent.  He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’  He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.  Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.”  Mark 3:4-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by John Mark, a nephew of Barnabas but not an apostle.  This is the gospel as he received it from Simon Peter.  He began the third chapter by recounting the events surrounding the healing of a man with a shriveled hand while He was in the synagogue on the Sabbath. (Mark 3:1-5)  For doing this, the Pharisees wanted to kill Him. (Mark 3:6)  Mark then discussed the large crowd that followed Jesus (Mark 3:7-12) and His appointment of His twelve disciples. (Mark 3:13-19)  Then he discussed the relationship that Jesus had with His family (Mark 3:20-21 and 31-35) and how Jesus defended Himself to those who accused Him of being possessed by the devil. (Mark 3:22-30)

Application:

The Sabbath day, or Sunday, is to be a day of rest and worship. (Exodus 20:8-11)  However, Jesus, The Christ, reveals that it is okay to do that which is good on that day.  It is always okay to save a life or to help save a lost soul.  Sometimes in order to do that which is good and right one must break one of man’s rules.  At times even our family members may not understand why we do the things that we do.  However, if what we are doing is for The Lord and we are doing God’s will to give Him glory, then we are part of His family.  A right relationship with The Lord God is more important than our blood relationship with our family.

DO THAT WHICH IS GOOD AND AVOID THAT WHICH IS EVIL

Proclamation:

“Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.  Anyone who does what is good is from God.  Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.”  3 John 1:11 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the apostle John, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to his friend and fellow believer, Gaius.  This single chapter letter focuses on John’s pastoral joy in the Christian walk of one of his spiritual children. (3 John 1:3-4)  He has heard about what Gaius was doing for the brothers and sisters, and even for strangers, and he encouraged him to continue to show them Christian hospitality. (3 John 1:5-8)  Then he urged him to do that which is good and not to imitate the evil which was being done by some in the church. (3 John 1:9-10)

Application:

Unfortunately, not every member of a congregation is a child of God.  There are some who are only interested in promoting themselves.  They cause or stir up confusion, spread malicious rumors, and mistreat the believers and visitors. (3 John 1:9-10)  Those who intentionally do evil within the church, and outside of it, are not from God but are under the influence of another spirit. (1 John 3:10 and 3 John 1:11)  We should be careful not to imitate all that we see in church.  We should also examine ourselves to make sure that we are doing whatever we do to serve God and not seeking self glory.  Do only that which is good, Christ-like, and that which gives God glory.

DO THE RIGHT THING

Proclamation:

"Do not fret because of those who do evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.  Trust in The Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.”  Psalm 37:1-3 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  He admonishes the people of God not to be upset because of the prosperity of those who do wrong.  The Good Lord will deal with them.  David encouraged them to trust in The Lord and to do that which is good and right.  For by doing so, they will be blessed.

Application:

It is hard to do the right thing when those around you are doing wrong and seem to be getting ahead.  It is all too easy to go along with the crowd and do what they are doing without realizing that they are going the wrong way.  We must remember that we are in this world but not of it.  We must answer to a higher authority.  We are to do the right thing and not worry about those that do wrong.  They will get what is coming to them.  Let us be careful and watch our steps to make sure that we are on the right path. (Psalm 37:23)  The right way and the right path is usually less traveled. (Matthew 7:13-14)  Let's make sure that we are following The Lord and going His way.

DO YOUR BEST AT WHATEVER YOU DO

Proclamation:

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."  Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV)

Explanation:

The wisest man to ever live, King Solomon, (2 Chronicles 1:7-12 and 1 Kings 4:29-34) the son of King David, wrote these words under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God to warn the young people, and all of the other people of God, to avoid just going through life relying on human wisdom and doing just enough to get by.  He encouraged them to do their very best at whatever they do.

Application:

I was taught that one should do their very best to be the best at whatever it is that they do.  The Bible teaches us that we should do our best, and that we should work as if what we are doing is for The Lord. (Colossians 3:23)  We are also taught that we should get busy and not procrastinate because this life is short. (John 9:4)  Whatever we do, and in all that we do, we should do our best to do it to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)  Nothing that we do should be done in a half-hearted manner.  Every thing that we do should be done to the best of our ability.  “Anything that is worth doing is worth doing right.” (Author unknown)  If it is worth doing then it is worthy of our best effort.  This life is short.  When we come to the end of this life and look back over our life, it will be much more rewarding and enjoyable when we have done the best that we could do in all that we have done.  We should do our best so that God will be glorified in our efforts.

Deny The World And Follow Christ

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good."  Titus 2:11-14 (NIV)

These words were part of a letter written by the Apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, for his protege, Titus, and the people that he pastors.  Paul's point was that the people of God practice self-denial.  They should deny themselves the worldly pleasures and anything that is ungodly.  They should live in a godly manner while they await the return of Christ, who died and paid the price for their sins so they could be with Him.

Salvation brings about a personal transformation, believers are changed and become new creatures. (2 Corinthians 5:17)  We are no longer to walk worldly, we are to deny worldly lusts, and take up our cross daily and follow Christ. (Matthew 16:24)  We are to do good during our earthly lives, while we await His glorious return.  We are to live holy lives because He is within us and He is holy. (1 Peter 1:16)  We should be eager to do that which is good because our good works are our way of showing Him that we appreciate His gift of salvation. (James 2:14-26)  By our good works we give God glory. (Matthew 5:16)

Keep The Tongue From Evil And Lies

"Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.  Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.  The eyes of The LORD are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry;"  Psalms 34:13-16 (NIV)

These are the words of King David, inspired by The Holy Spirit of God, as he exhorted believers to avoid lying and speaking evil of others.  He also told them that they should do that which is good, and to avoid doing that which is evil.  He warned them that The Lord God sees all that they do, and He hears all that they say, especially their prayers.  

As believers, we need to watch what we say, and what we do.  We need to avoid all gossiping, backbiting, speaking evil, as well as lying on, to, or about anyone. (Exodus 20:16, Matthew 19:18, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, and Romans 13:9)  Lying lips are an abomination to The Lord God, (Proverbs 12:22), and there is a special place in hell for liars. (Revelation 21:8)  Not only are we to do that which is good, to turn from our evil ways and seek His ways, (2 Chronicles 7:14), we are also to avoid even the appearance of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:22)  Our behavior should not cause another to stumble into sin. (Malachi 2:8)  Our Christian walk should be such that we can show and tell others to walk ,Christ-like, as we walk. (2 John 1:6)  As believers, we should always be mindful of the fact that The Lord God sees all, and He hears all.

Created To Do Good Works For God's Glory

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

These divinely inspired words were written by the Apostle Paul to the believers in The Church at Ephesus.  Paul told them that they were created by The Lord God, to do the good works which He had planned and prepared in advance for them to do.

It is not always easy to do that which we know is the right thing to do.  Our human flesh nature and our spiritual nature are frequently at war as we decide what to do.  We can come up with plenty of excuses for not doing that which we know that we should do.  It is possible that we were created for such a time as this, to do the right thing. (Esther 4:14)  "Sometimes God will call you to do a work – a work that He has planned for you to do (Ephesians 2:10). You may not want to do it. You may feel that you are not smart enough, talented enough, strong enough, or bold enough. You may even argue with God like Moses did (Exodus 3-4). You may laugh at God like Sarah did (Genesis 18:12). But if you obey God and depend on Him to work through you, amazing things will happen. People will be blessed. You will be blessed.  You may never know the people who are changed by your obedience (to God) to speak a word, to lend a hand, or to give a hug. You may never know the lives that are impacted by your obedience to do what God has called you to do. But know this. There will be abundant fruit with your name on it – if you choose to obey." (Sharon Jaynes, author of When Saying "Yes" To God Seems Too Hard)