Has anyone ever heard this old saying? It’s fairly common among the ‘full-gospel’ or ‘spirit-filled’ denominations. It means, in essence, that some people are so consumed with high and lofty spiritual behaviors and ideals that they can’t come down to earth long enough to take care of necessary practical matters.
Do you remember in Acts 1 where in verse 11 the angel of the Lord asked, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? It is referring to one focusing just on going to heaven instead of doing the work of heaven. It is saying why are you looking for heaven to come when there is work to be done? It does not ridicule spiritualism, in fact, the opposite. We must work until Jesus comes, but too many have the cart before the horse. Too many sit on the pews of churches week after week and never do anything for the sake of Christ’s Kingdom. They are led to believe that because they have stated that they are believers, and maybe they do mentally accept that Jesus is the Son of God, and have done all that the Bible claims, but never live their faith, believing that they are saved.
Faith is the tool of God by which we carry out what we believe. Faith without works is dead! People are not being taught the right way to worship God, and prepare for the coming events. We need to stir people up with the love of Jesus that they will share His love with a lost world. Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work.”
I found out long ago that you will never be able to minister to anybody’s spirit until you have fed their hungry stomachs. If they need clothes, you need to clothe them. If they need a bed, you need to help them find one!
Most believe that work is something that can be overlooked. If Jesus said, “HE MUST WORK,” then I believe that we must as well. Is a servant greater than his master? Not many mind saying, “I must be born again,” thinking once born again, God cannot deny them. Born again means to become spiritually born making one spiritual. And if you are truly spiritual, you are not satisfied with only your own salvation. You take seriously the great commission to “go ye into all the world and make disciples”. That commission requires more than just spirituality, it requires work.
