Pastor Sunday Adelaja

THE MONTH OF WORK AND CREATIVITY (Anointing service, June, 2010)

Today we are going to talk about the influence of work and creativity on our lives.

Reading the book of Genesis Chapter 1 Verse 27, we can see that God created humans in His image. As the Lord Himself is a Creator, it means that humans are created to build and create.

Have you ever thought about the fact that God never does anything under compulsion, but always takes pleasure in His work? You can see it clearly in the book of Genesis, Chapter 1. When God was finishing creating the heaven, the earth, His work on the plants, animals, and humans, He looked at the works of His hands and He liked what He saw. In other words the Lord took pleasure in His work.

Labor is an important constituent of our lives. It is a guarantee of development, progress, and survival. If one does not work, then sooner or later they will come to degradation and even self-destruction.

God is clear in His Word: "Whoever does not work, shall not eat". Therefore whoever you are, a child or an adult, it is necessary to work. And even if you are a rich man, it does not mean that you have the right to waste your life at various parties, hangouts, and go to resorts, for all of that is dissipation.

When we talk about work we do not mean that only 8-hour working day should be the sense of your life. When the Bible mentions work, it is not only about the process of earning money. It encompasses any effort to bring about a benefit, including any creative activity, studying, self-perfection, fulfilling your calling, ministry in the family, in church, and charity and social activity. All this is work.

In John 5:17 it is written: "But Jesus answered them, My Father works until now, and I work". Jesus Himself emphasizes that in order to live a full-fledged life it is important to work all the time.

Solomon, one of the wisest men on earth said: "Behold that which I have seen. It is good and right for one to eat and to drink, and to see good in all his labor that he labors under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him; for it is his portion", Ecclesiastes 5:17.

Let us look at 3 main levels of work.

Level 1 is physical labor. Construction, cleaning, cooking, equipment maintenance, agricultural works, tending the animals, etc. In general everything that has to do with a trade is physical labor.

Creative or mental labor is level 2. "The heart of the prudent gets knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge", Proverbs 18:15. Scientists, philosophers, mathematicians, arts, writers – all people of art and intellectual work, and everyone who has a hobby or is engaged in self-education and self-perfection, carries out creative or mental work.

However, the highest level of work is spiritual work. Spiritual labor is characterized in John 5:19, where Jesus says: "The Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do…" Spiritual labor includes prayer, fast, meditation over the Word of God, strengthening in faith, fulfilling commandments – all of this allows us to see what God sees and then implement it in order to fulfill our calling.

In order to fulfill God’s will, it is important to know how to work on all the three levels. And if God works until now, i.e. constantly (John 5:17), then we have no excuses not to work.

"Also he who is slack in his work is brother to a great destroyer", Proverbs 18:9. We should not work for the sake of work, but we should love to work. Only through work can we use the opportunities given to us and realize our potential.

Here are the reasons, for which God established labor:

1. Paid labor gives the opportunity to have primary necessities. Food, place to live, clothes – all these need to be paid for, therefore we need to work.

2. Labor supports active physical and mental activities. Without activities muscles atrophy, and the level of intellect drops abruptly and you degrade.

3. Works keeps you from many troubles and problems. Whenever you can’t find what to do, you get into troubles. People say about such people: he was in the wrong place. Without work people waste their time, fall into depression, or lead a dissipated life, or get under the influence of problem companions. Idleness is one of the main reasons of forming bad habits.

4. Work allows you to reveal your potential: your gifts, abilities, and opportunities. Working we get to know ourselves better, our hidden abilities put into us by God.

5. Work is one of God’s ways to bless us. Only in work we find pleasure and satisfaction, and happiness, which only working people can feel.

6. Work allows you to realize your dreams, ideas, and achieve your goals. Everyone has many ideas, , purposes, and pursuits; and only through labor can we achieve all that.

7. Work allows you to create together with God. When we work we become co-creators with God, we implement God’s ideas. We see that God wants to act through us on earth, and therefore we become the instrument to fulfill His will.

8. Work allows you to be a blessing together with God. Thanks to the finances you earn; you can support your family, relatives, and bless people.

9. Work allows you to acquire new skills and reveal new abilities. For instance, 10 years ago there were few who could work on a PC, but thanks to the applied efforts; it has become possible. Now many people have mastered computer skills.

So, work reveals more and more sides of life to us and favors self-cognition. And also work has a point only when it is done from the whole heart.

Ecclesiastes 9:10: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no work, nor plan, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave where you go". One of the common problems we have is that we are used to working on the superficial level. Ecclesiastes says that there is no point in such work. Therefore it is vital to learn to focus on your work and carry it out diligently, as only this kind of work brings result.

Proverbs 12:11: "He who tills his land shall be satisfied with bread; but he who follows vanities lacks heart". Thanks to work; we can have bread, provision, prosperity, and blessings. In order to have an effective life, you will need to work and love to work. You need to learn to take pleasure in work and turn labor into a habit.

Work must become our lifestyle; for that we need to develop the habit to work everywhere and always, wherever we are: at work, at home, or in vacation. There is this saying: a good work it is when you leave home gladly in the morning and go to work, and in the evening gladly return home. Of course, there are many home duties, which you need to do within a weekend, which is why it is important to combine both rest and work at the same time. Moreover, I believe that you need to live in such a way that you would look forward to the end of a day-off or vacation to continue to work.

Idleness is one of the main dangers, which we need to beware of. We must avoid idle pastime, empty talks, gossips, etc. It is necessary to remember that there are two fruitful kinds of communication: either I give something to others, in other words, I am a blessing; or I receive something, I learn things. That is why it is important to learn to benefit from everything! Think! What do you receive from communication or what do you give to others, and what seed do you sow during that time?

Especially now, at summer time, I urge you to be careful. Vanity always comes when there is idleness of mind. Many people go for a vacation and do not return to church, because they relax and lose self-control, and their life priorities get mixed up and their values change.

Therefore, it is so important to turn rest into creative process, which is one of the kinds of work. Use the time of rest to build yourself and do something valuable. If we are driven by eternal values, we will think of how we can rest so that God would be pleased with us.

You have a chance to have rest in interesting, and not idle way. The apostolic council of the Embassy of God made a decision to help our church members to rest creatively. From now on every summer all the Embassy of God members from the whole world can participate in the festival "South Wind", the purpose of which is to help believers and their families to have a fruitful rest and grow spiritually at the same time. South Wind Festival will be held from the 21st to the 30th of June in Crimea in a picturesque place – Kanakska Gully. Hurry and register by the phone numbers (+38)067-654-23-87; (+38)095-834-01-01.

I pray that this sermon would help you become even more like our Heavenly Father, Who always works: yesterday, today and forever!