Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
I am always amused by a younger generation who has built nothing advising that you don't have to work hard to please God or build something. My fear is that we have a younger generation who wants to play more than they want to work, and at the end of their lives they will find they have built nothing and destroyed nearly everything that was given to them.
One of the main complaints about working too much is towards the ministry. However, why is it that these same people who criticize those who push God’s people to work hard never criticize business people who work tireless hours to build a business? Why is it that pastors who criticize other pastors who push God’s people to work hard never admonish the business person in their church who pays big tithes about how much they work? The answer is that these complaints are a revelation of their worldly heart that does not want to put effort into serving God.
Anything that has ever been built has always taken hard work and tireless hours a week to make it happen. The great businesses in history were not built by people who worked forty hours a week, but they were built by people who worked eighty to ninety hours a week, if not more, to build a successful business. The great churches throughout history were not built by pastors or believers who played their way through life; they were built by people who lived the work of God and worked with God to see something great built for His glory.
Jesus says, Take my yoke upon you… You cannot please God without working with Him. A close relationship with God is never kindled by sitting or playing; it is developed by working with Him. You don't get to know someone by playing with them; you get to know them by working with them. I dare say that the pastors who are closest to God are the pastors who work tireless hours to build a church. When I say build a church, I am not just talking about the size in numbers, but a strong church that is growing in its community. No pastor is going to build a church by going soul winning once a week. No church will grow that has more social activities than soul winning opportunities. Churches grow because God’s people get in the yoke with God 24/7. I know this may not be a popular thought, but God always blesses those who work.
Christian, do you want to have a close relationship with God? If you do, then build something by getting in the yoke with Him and working many hours to build it. Sunday school teacher, you will not build your class by visiting or soul winning an hour a week. Great Sunday school classes are built by Sunday school teachers who treat their class like they are starting a church; they give many hours to see it grow. Bus captain, you will never build a large route by only visiting one or two hours a week; they are built by people who give their lives for their route. Pastor, you can go to all the preaching conferences to learn how to grow a church, but I have learned that you grow a church by soul winning many hours a week and working many hours a week.
My friend, you cannot get in the yoke with Christ and not see God do something mighty with you. Remember that Jesus said we can do greater works than He, but those greater works are done by working many hours with Him.
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