Divine Collaboration: Our Efforts and God's Work

And that happens also in our lives. Sometimes God has to prune us, sometimes God has to cut down a few things. And we have to get rid of a few things, some attitudes, some behaviors, some mindsets and so on. And God shows it to us And he's doing it in a loving way, but he's doing it intentionally and he says you need to get rid of that because he wants us to become better and even to produce more fruit.

Ladies and gents, welcome to Voices of Life, the podcast with topics related to the apostolic faith in the 21st century. Let's talk about what interests you here on Voices of Life.

Welcome back to Voices of Life. It's great to have you here. In today's episode we want to talk about the question, what is the connection between our effort and God's work? And I think it should be clear to every 1 of us that God also gives us tasks and doesn't just do everything by Himself. And let's take a closer look at this connection between our efforts and God's work. So, right in the beginning, in my opinion, we see that the Lord has made man for a task and expected certain things of Him. I don't think that

He just created us human beings just to sit around and do nothing. Maybe in a future episode, I'm pretty sure we will talk also about that God gave man a purpose. So we will talk about it closer. As my colleagues may remember, we had a big guest here talking about the purpose. So I do think that we were made to do something, that we have a job to do, a task to do. In Genesis, the first chapter, 28, it says, And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth,

and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And also, Genesis 2, chapter 15, it says, And the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to trust it and to keep it. So God did a thing that man could not do. For example, he created man. We could not create ourselves. Well, that's very deep. And then he also created an environment, well he actually created first the environment for that human being

to survive and to live. He also planted the garden and everything was ready and he then created the human being and said well here you are, it's all yours, Just subdue it, take care of it and work with it. And we see also in the first Bible verse that we just read, it says that he says, be fruitful. So He wants us to be fruitful. So He gives everything that we need to be fruitful and to survive and to replenish the earth and so on, and also to do the things that God wants us to do

in this case, to take care of the garden. And I think that is 1 important message for all of us. We are not just here to do nothing.

It sure is and for me it's a very nice thing that we see how Adam was put in a garden And that was his purpose and things that he was supposed to take care of were in the garden because I also have a garden and I like garden work. Right.

Yeah. I forgot that. Our gardener here.

Yeah. I do admit sometimes there is a lack of time and then you can see that in the garden when you look at it. But in general, it's a wonderful thing for me to see the different plants that God created. Of course, there are plants like vegetables that you can eat, which is very cool. It's tomato that you plant yourself, tastes very different to 1 that you get from the supermarket.

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah. Better

or worse? That's the question.

Oh, much better. Much better.

You will

agree. You will agree when you come.

I would also say they are more juicy, they taste not like water or not like an artificial thing.

Aromatic, very nice. But also flowers. And you know, It's fascinating for me to see how God is so wonderful and creative and we can see it in His creation that He is that way.

And so, yeah. Just an idea came into my mind. It's God creates the things that we need And some other things He creates that we can enjoy. Like flowers. Of course, when you think about the whole pictures, I guess flowers do have a purpose also that helps us. But some things, I believe, is also just for our enjoyment.

Yeah, I believe so too. And this whole concept of working in a garden and doing something, and putting seeds in there, and then the seeds grow up, this reminds me also of another picture that is used in the Bible, because the Bible also talks how someone is putting a seed into the earth, another 1 is watering the seed and taking care of the plant, but the growth comes from God, just like it is in the real world, you know, the life and that everything works, it was given by God. And so also in the spiritual sense

that we talk about now, we can do things and it's good for us to do things, but in the end, God deserves the glory, because God gives the growth. Without Him, none of this would be working, even with the highest efforts that we could give into something. And so, this is 1 of the pictures about this topic that I wanted to throw in, and also, in general, the concept of sowing and of reaping, because the Bible talks about that you will reap what you sow, and if you sow evil things, you will get bad things, and

so on. So, it's clear that if we have effort and put it into something, something will come out of it.

Amen. Amen.

And if we do what God wants us to do, if we don't just sow anything, but, you know, do what he is saying, then I believe his work will join it and he will come and do something in it as well. And it will not be only our doing.

And the verse that you brought up is about testifying, about investing into people and growing them up spiritually. So, like both of your examples, because it was both about trees and it says also, I don't remember the verse exactly where it is written, but it says that we should not only be fruitful in a physical sense, but also spiritually, that every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut off. So also spiritually, we will bring forth fruit, and the only way a tree can bring forth fruit is first by having the right environment, which

God creates, which God makes, but then also the tree has to do its part and produce that fruit. Because there was a fig tree when Jesus was walking, and he was hungry, and the fig tree didn't have any fruit. So it did not produce the fruit at the right time. And so the same is with us. If we don't produce the fruit at the right time, there is a possibility that even though God did everything He could, that our efforts were not enough or not focused enough on the right things, that it would, in the end,

not be enough.

How do you focus on the right things? I mean, we can't just only work, work, work our butts off to do God's work, we also have to be spiritual minded and really listen to what He has for us or what He has as a task for us. And that we also really, really listen to His word and be sensitive to His voice. And that's important. And that's how we also can produce really spiritual fruit.

Yeah, actually we do not have an excuse not to produce fruits, because everything that is needed is created by God already. And so God can expect us to produce spiritual fruits also. And I think that's what we are mainly talking about when we talk about producing fruits. We are not just talking about having a nice cherry tree or apple tree and see to it that we get some cherries and apples later on to eat. Anyway, those trees, but they sometimes need to be pruned and taken care of so that they can give more fruit even. And

that happens also in our lives. Sometimes God has to prune us, sometimes God has to cut down a few things and we have to get rid of a few things, some attitudes, some behaviors, some mindsets and so on. And God shows it to us and he's doing it in a loving way, but he's doing it intentionally and he says you need to get rid of that because he wants us to become better and even to produce more fruit. So it's the same way when we have a garden and I'm not a gardener, Sebastian is the gardener

anyway and I think he knows also about it that you have to take care of those plants so you get more fruit.

I mean, as you were talking about it, for example with my apple tree... You got to have to say it, no doubt. Yeah, there are usually so many small apples on there in the beginning that I have to cut off some of them because if I wouldn't do that, they would later on just drag the energy from the big apples but never become big themselves. They would just suck energy out but never become a useful fruit at all. So instead I cut those off in the beginning and then the energy can go into the bit less

ones and they take it up and get even better fruits because of that. And 1 time I forgot to water a kiwi tree and then all the leaves fell off. And it was really not good. I felt so sorry for the tree. But yeah I confirm it's really like you're saying it.

So we are grateful that God is watering the earth right? It's not Sebastian doing it. Hell, the tree is full. I wouldn't have any leaves on it anymore. And if I would do it, oh my goodness, the earth would be destroyed already, because I'm really not good to plants, I guess. So I think we talked enough about garden and gardening and plants, so I think you guys got the idea. Well, throughout the whole Bible you find the connection or the cooperation between God and people. You find it everywhere. There are so many stories in the Bible.

Just, you know, Noah, to save the humankind and also the animal, there was a boat needed and God did not build a boat. He said, you have to build a boat. Of course, his family helped him. And it took a long time till they finished that boat. And so there you see, they had to do their part to get saved. And God did the rest. God eventually closed the door. Of course, first of all, God gave them instruction how to build the boat. If they would have built it differently with different wood, in a different way,

then they would all have drowned. But they did it exactly to the instructions God gave them. And that's their job and they did it. We are grateful they did it. And then God just locked the door and he took care that the boat is safe throughout the whole flood. And I think it was a rough ride on that boat. It's hard for me to imagine, you know, when those big waves came and the elephants went to 1 side and then those animals on the other side and squeezed some other animals. I don't know. It's just my

crazy fantasy. But still God preserved them and kept them. And it was not human ingenuity that helped them. It was inspired by God to do that.

Same thing with Paul as well. He had to also travel to all around the earth to really give out the word. And that was also a lot of work because back then they didn't have jets that fly you over to a place for an hour or 2. So you have to travel for days, weeks, or even months to really get to the point where he has supposed to go. And even there, he got persecuted by the people or by the Kings or by the people. And still he had to do the work and give out the

word and even there the Lord blessed and so that is a lot of work.

Amen, God blessed. But also he had 3 times shipwreck.

Yeah, true. Even though

he worked for God, sometimes bad things happen even though we do our part and work for God. But nevertheless, God's protection is still on us. He's always taking care of us. He will not let us perish. We may have to endure some hardships, but He eventually will take us.

And getting back to that being safe part, because that was something I often think about or had thought about is that the salvation in itself, we can never earn it in any way, We can never work for it enough that we can be saved. So that first initial being saved, that's what God did at the cross. He paid the price, He did the work, and that's what we find in Ephesians 2 and 8. It says, "...for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God." And verse 9,

"...not of works, lest any man should boast." So we can never earn our salvation, but like you said, Pastor, we have to do the right things that are ordered by God in order to attain what God has already paid for. Just like Noah built the boat, he had to build the boat, but God in the end closed it and saved him. And the same is with us. We have to repent, be baptized in Jesus' name, and then our sins will be washed away because of what God has done for us, and then He will fill us

with the Holy Ghost, and the work of salvation for the beginning will be perfect and fulfilled.

So we see a pattern in the Bible that when it comes to being saved, being saved from a flood, or getting delivered out of Egypt and so on, there was also things that people had to do. Because God did the miracles, God did the saving, and like you just said, God, he did the saving work at the cross, nobody else could do that. And it's not our works that we are safe, of course, but it is somehow, I don't know if it's a privilege, maybe it's a privilege that we are incorporated within the saving process or

redemption process. You know, we have to be obedient, we have to repent. And there are some things to do. It's not like we are not doing anything to be saved. We are automatically saved just because you went to the cross and that's it. Everybody is saved, happy, do your life whatever you like to. So there are some things required of us, but the saving itself and becoming holy, becoming sinless and so on, this is a thing that God is doing, it's not done by us and it's not

done by our works of Christ. So maybe the connection between what we do and what God does really is, are we listening, are we obeying, are we following what He wants us to do? Are we in His will? We find other verses about that. 1 which is very famous also in our church and in general is in 2 Chronicles 7, 14, and there it says, "...if My people which are called by My name shall humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways. Then I will hear from heaven and will forgive

their sin and will heal their land." So he's saying, I'm going to work on you. I'm going to change things. I'm going to heal your land. And before that, however, comes that You are humbling Yourselves and that You pray and that You seek Me. And so that's again just another verse where we see, if we do our part and there is a part for us to do, then God does His. And so we have to make sure that we do the things that He wants us to do. And just like Nineveh also, we see it. The

whole city was supposed to be destroyed completely, but they knew that God likes if we repent. They knew if we're going to humble ourselves, maybe He will somehow change what He has planned to let come upon us. And once they did that and they did a fasting and humbling themselves, then God was keeping His promise and He did work there. And so I think those things, prayer, fasting, and reading His word, right?

Reading the Bible, yeah. I think

they are a very important connection or thing that we can do, part that we can do so that God does his part then.

Getting back to Nineveh, just came to my mind, it says Nineveh was evil and God was about to destroy the city of Nineveh. And I don't think Nineveh would have fasted and repented if Jonah or somebody else that God sent would have gone to the city and told them about the upcoming judgment that God is planning to perform if they are not repenting. So there was somebody needed to tell them, because at that time they had not really a God consciousness. Towards the right God, of course. Maybe at that time they had many different idols that

they worshipped, but we are talking about the 1 true God. And I think that's the same with a lot of people in this world. They are not conscious that they are living wrong. And they don't know why should I repent, everything is fine. Of course, if they killed somebody or so, then they know, well, it's pretty wrong, yeah, okay, I may have to repent of that. But other things, people don't see it necessary to repent. Only if somebody goes out and tells them, and says, there is a God that wants to save you, there is a

God for you that wants to help you, that wants to renew your whole life and just forgive your sins, but you have to ask for forgiveness. And if people listen then and do it, then God does His work. And that's the same that happened with Nineveh. They listened, they did, they obeyed. Jonah was angry about it. That's a different story. It's crazy. Anyway, God forgave and he did not destroy the city.

Yeah, That's wonderful. And I just thought of another example where it's not so wonderful. What happened? Because they did the opposite of waiting for God and obeying God. And that is, I was thinking of Abraham and – can someone help me? The mother… Hagar. Hagar, thank you. The name just fell out of my head. Abraham and Hagar, because they also knew God wants something, okay. But they did not trust that God is going to do it. So they decided, okay, we're going to do it ourselves.

You mean his wife? I mean, no, no, no,

no, no, no. No, I mean, Hagar, sorry. So I, yeah, I'm talking a bit confusing. What I mean is Sarah and Abraham knew there's a child, supposed there's a child promised to them too. Okay. But they did not trust. And the Lord that He's going to give them that child. Not really, at least. So they decided, okay, we're just going to do it with Hagar. She's going to give us that child. Okay. Now we got the wives right. And so there we see something where they did not the will of God to achieve something, but just

human efforts. And I believe we can sometimes just put human efforts into something, which maybe looks good from the outside. For example, I want our church to have, and now a specific number, let's say 350 people by the end of this year, and we're gonna do these and these programs. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's good to have a vision or maybe formulate goals like this, but we are not like in a company where we produce pieces and we want to produce so many pieces a day and a month and this is our goal and

we have to make more revenue and everything, And we need to just not try to make it our own work, this work of God. Because He's promising that He's going to give revival and that He is going to do a work and we should not try to do it ourselves without His work in it.

Except the Spirit of God draws them to the church, to Him. They cannot come. And if we just have, like you said, human efforts, and we try to get a lot of people in, we may get 350 people or whatever you said, we get them in, but it's maybe not the will of God that we have them that fast because the foundation is not strong enough to keep them because there are no discipleship systems in place that are really needed to grow them and keep them, not just to have them 1 service or 2 services and

then they are gone. So, that's why we should always wait on the Lord and should always do it according to His will, not just to our will.

Yeah, for example, you could have the idea, we're just going to make the teaching more easy on people, you know, we're not going to give them all those hard things to follow, preach a bit more feel-good messages and stuff, and this way we're going to get more people.

And just shorten the sermons to 20 minutes only. Oh, I'm sorry. Hopefully I did not offend any pastor listening to it or any church members. Here we are used to have preachings that are at least an hour or so.

So I'm sorry. But that's why it's so important to really keep your focus on the Lord, keep your focus on the Word and on fasting and on prayer, because if you don't keep your focus on the Lord, you get easier to do compromising ways because you don't have the Lord in your workflow, I would say. And that's why it's so important to always keep your mind on Him and read His Word and keep that fasting motor going. Because like I said, the flesh comes very fast and then suddenly like, oh, like you said, oh, we have

a better idea to get 300 people in. We just, you know, preach 20 minutes instead of an hour or let's have a movie, a movie Sunday or whatever, you know? And that's, yeah. Yeah.

Let's get a DJ. Let's get the crowd excited for us and so on.

Well, let's have a Christian club. Oh, and I just said something there. But that's why it's so important to always get back to the word and back to his voice or listen for his voice. And that's also my opinion, a working progress for each and every 1 of us.

But since we are at that subject now, just looking at it from the other perspective, doesn't mean that we should not be prepared for those things. Because if we never prepare for those things to happen—for example, we just stay with the 350 people now—if we never prepare, okay, let's get these discipleship classes in place, that when they come, that we are ready to accept and to receive them and to have that foundation built. If we've never built on that foundation and start building it out—I don't know if that's an English term, but building it—then we'll never

be able to have it, and God will never be able to bless with those people and we'll never be able to put on it because we're like, well, we're just happy with where we are right now. So have it in accordance with God's word and God's plan. And of course, doing the right things at the right time to be prepared

for what He wants to do. And I think that's where the connection comes in play here, because if God sees that we are really ready for these 350 people, we would say, He will see how we fast or how we prepare ourselves while we have these discipleship programs and such and such. But I can also imagine that like our pastor here, he probably prayed for, well, what is the plan for this year? And God sees that and God works with that. And then he will give, he gives then our pastor or 1 of the leaders the

vision, what is the vision for the next or the coming years. And that's how I think the connection comes in play. And that's how you start work. You work with the Lord. That's my point.

Yeah, something is rattling. Yeah, I don't know if you can hear it in the recording. Anyway, there was a pastor once that told me that God gives the increase according to our resources. And some people want to have a revival of 100 people at once, or 350 people at once, but we wouldn't be able to sustain that to have the resources to take care of that. So that's why the revival or the increase will maybe gradually get bigger and bigger. Because the more people we got and they are discipled, then they are ready for a bigger

crowd that can come in and take care of. And it's also like, You can compare it, I guess, with going out to fish. You know, people, the fishermen, they go out, they throw out their nets, and then they catch a lot of fish, and then they have to clean those fish. Some fishes they throw back in, some fishes are not good, and some fish they keep and stay. And then they have to draw it out again and some more come in and some get out again. Usually that is the process that also happens in churches. Unfortunately,

not all people that come to our churches stay in our church. But what we need to do is we need to pray that God helps us so that we have a better, let's put the word out, retention rate, that the people stay in the church. So whatever we can do to improve that, we should do. And the rest has, you know, it's done by God, of course.

Yes. I think it's also to work in us as not, I mean, yeah, of course, like we said, discipleship programs and programs in the church are good and we should do that, but we also have to work in us, like we said before, cut the fruits that are bad for us, like having a bad attitude or having a very bad temper or don't having a loving tone to 1 another. That's things that we have to work on to really keep also these people into the church, because there are a lot of clubs or a lot of

groups out there who have people around them And if we don't change or it really don't work in us, there won't be a difference between the other groups who are not in truth. So that's also, I think, a very important thing that we have to work on.

Yeah, and you just can't say, you know, if people are really hungry, it doesn't matter where they are, doesn't matter how people treat them, and so on, they will stay with God. Yeah, that is somewhat true, but on the other hand, we shouldn't be ugly towards other people. Why should we make it hard for people to stay with us, to stay among us? Why couldn't we be more friendly, more loving, more caring? And that helps those people. Not compromising. Not Seeker-friendly in a way that we start to compromise, of course. No, that would be wrong. But

on the other hand, if we can improve our behavior, if we can improve the way we treat our first-time guests and so on, and not just call them visitors, but call them guests. So, those little things that count. And we can work on that, and I think God also expects us to work on that. As soon as He makes us aware of those things, we are supposed to work on that.

Yeah. Since we're talking about disciples, what you said, John also writes about that, where he says in John 13, 35, by this all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love to 1 another. Amen. So putting those attitudes away and reaching out to those other people, reaching out to 1 another, but also to those that come in, because they will come in with different problems, with different backgrounds, with different stories that they have. And if we are judgy, so to say, and like, Oh, look at those people. I think, yeah, you preached about

that, well, yesterday. When you hear that it's probably not yesterday anymore, but today it's yesterday, and you talked about that if we want a revival church, it will not be a clean church, but it will be an ugly church. And I thought that was so wonderful how you said that and put that. Because when we have a clean church, and well, everybody's, so to say, perfect, we all know we cannot achieve being perfect, but having people there that may not dress as everybody else or may not behave like everybody else, and then you need that loving

attitude, because if you're offended right away, like, oh, look at that person, or they said this and that, or I can't greet them anymore, then those people will be pushed away instead of drawn in by this love. So I really like what you said there.

A clean church will become a stagnant church and then later on a dying church. Because if there's no more increase, eventually people will die off. Of course they're getting older and they die. If there's nobody else added to that church, then it was a nice church, but it's a non-existing church anymore after a while. And the thing is, well, I name it now, it's Pastor Wayne Huntley, he told that. And he talked about that, and he told a story, And I would like to share that story now, because I think it's so funny. He said while

he was still pastoring at his church, 1 day they had new converts, and 1 of those new converts, they came to a Wednesday Bible study evening, And during the evening, all of a sudden, a pizza delivery boy from Domino's just came into the building because somebody from those new converts just ordered a pizza during Wednesday Bible study. See, he didn't know how to behave in a Wednesday Bible study. And that's what he meant. Sometimes it's messy, it's crazy, it is strange and funny, I think, in this case. And so the guy wanted to eat pizza during

Bible study. And see, that's what you get when you have a revival church. You will have people in the church that act strange, and then we have to correct them in a loving way. Of course, some of them just don't do it in a bad attitude or bad intention. They just don't know better. I don't know, maybe that guy wanted to share the pizza with somebody else. I have no idea.

I would like pizza as well now.

Can I order 1? Macarita or you like it with...

I like the vegetarian. Oh, yes.

Okay, well, you get a little piece of that and we get a real pizza. Exactly. Yes. So everybody that is listening now wants to eat pizza. Isn't that

nice? Yeah.

But, excuse me, I would say that there's another verse in the Bible, and we call it the Great Commission. And that's something that we really have to do. And if you guys don't mind, I would wrap up this episode with the Great Commission. It is also written in Mark 16, 15-18, and it says, And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, everyone. He that believe it and is baptized shall be saved." So this is what God is doing. "'But he that believe it not shall be damned.

And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." In those few verses we see a lot of things that we are supposed to do, and then we also read a lot of things that only God can do. If you would drink something deadly, probably you would die, because it says it's deadly, it's lethal. You would die, but

if you do it accidentally, I just want to emphasize it again, accidentally, while doing the will of God, then God protects you, which only He can do. And also when people are sick, what we are supposed to do is believe that God heals them, so we put our hands on them, we pray for them. And it does not say only pastors pray for sick people. So we can do that everywhere we are, if people are sick and they ask for prayers, we can pray with them. You don't necessarily have to lay your hands on their heads

all the time, but you can just help them, lay your hands on their shoulder or whatever, and pray with them, but you have to do it in faith. And God will do it. Because we are not healing anybody. Here in our church, or in our churches in general, there are no healers running around. Self-proclaimed healers. And I got the healing energy and the healing energy flows through me and all that nonsense. So it's God that is healing. And he's just using our faith and also the faith of the people, of the 1 that is sick. So,

here we see a lot of things that we have to do. We have to go out, proclaim the gospel, winning the people actually for Christ, and the saving part is done by him, and all those miracles and signs that He says here, they will follow. And this is a thing that God does because it's a miracle. Miracles are supernatural things and miracles cannot be done by human beings, only by God. So we see there are things that we have to do and there are things God will do. If we are faithful to the will of God

and to His instructions, then God will also be faithful and He will help us, He will be with us, He will not forsake us, and He will give Everything that we need. Anything else you may want to add?

No. That's probably too long. Sounds good.

That's probably too long.

It's like with any topic we could always find something else to talk about, but I think That's a good ending for today's episode.

Yeah, like with all of our episodes, right? We are usually not done with an episode because we don't have the time to do it. Anyway, well, we hope you guys liked this episode. We hope we were able to inspire you to think more about it. You know you just don't have to stop thinking about it when this episode is done. Talk with your friends about it and write a comment, give us some ideas, topics that you would like us to talk about. Just subscribe to our channel if you haven't. You can follow us on Facebook. You

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Until next time. Goodbye. See

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