Working Together with God
God works through man on the earth because He gave man authority over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 115:16) and He has never revoked it. Most people pray under a false assumption that God does everything on the earth sovereignly. The Scriptures below demonstrate otherwise.
2 Corinthians 6:1:
We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
1 Corinthians 3:9:
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
Mark 16:20:
And they went forth and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Acts 11:21:
And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
1 Corinthians 3:7:
So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
2 Corinthians 5:20 teaches that God beseeches people by us to be reconciled to God.
God doesn’t preach the plan of salvation directly. If He did, Jesus would never have commanded us to go everywhere preaching it. When we are faithful to do our part – preaching to the lost – we can expect God to do His part – bearing witness of His Word with signs and wonders.
We can’t do it without God and God can’t do it without us. Yes, I said He CAN’T. That is because He cannot break His Word, in which He states that He has given authority here to men. He has explicitly delegated His “ministry of reconciliation” to us.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20:
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
We have a right to use heaven’s keys by forbidding and permitting things on the earth, knowing that God will back us by forbidding and permitting those things. But if we don’t use those keys, God won’t use them for us.
Too many churches have their plan and ask God to bless it. That isn’t how to work with God! Working with God involves finding out first what His plan IS and then cooperating with His plan. This plan will be different for every church just as it is different for every individual. Going to a church growth seminar and copying what someone else did is not the same as getting God’s plan. God has already prepared good works for you to do (Ephesians 2:10). It is senseless to come up with your own good works when you could ask Him what good works He wants you to do and do them. There are good things and then there are God things. God things are always good things, but not all good things are God things. People wear themselves out doing good things that are not God things. Jesus’ yoke is easy (Matthew 11:30), so doing God things (and avoiding the “good” things that God never told you to do) never leads to burnout.
This is true not only in general but in individual church services. It is better to seek what the Holy Spirit wants done than to just whip up a nice plan with a nice song list and a nice message and ask the Holy Spirit to bless your plan.
You do the work God commands, and God gives the increase, as we saw above. You cannot make the increase happen yourself. Trying to make it happen yourself is a recipe for burnout. You can rest while doing the works He wants, knowing that He is the one who will give the increase. Pastors, Jesus never commanded you to build your church. That is HIS job. Your job is to obey Him.
Matthew 16:18:
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Doing ministry FOR God is burdensome. Doing ministry WITH God is a joy.