God has given “to every man. . . ‘his work’ (Mark 13:34), the work for which his capabilities adapt him, the work which will result in the greatest good to himself and to his fellow men, and in greatest honour to God. Thus our business or calling is a part of God’s great plan, and so long as it is conducted in accordance with His will, He Himself is responsible for the results.” –Education, p. 138

The Spirit of Prophecy says:

“In every period of this earth’s history, God has had His men of opportunity, to whom He has said, ‘Ye are My witnesses.’ In every age there have been devout men, who gathered up the rays of light as they flashed upon their pathway, and who spoke to the people the words of God. Enoch, Noah, Moses, Daniel, and the long roll of patriarchs and prophets,–these were ministers of righteousness. They were not infallible; they were weak, erring men; but the Lord wrought through them as they gave themselves to His service.

“Since His ascension, Christ the great Head of the church, has carried forward His work in the world by chosen ambassadors, through whom He speaks to the children of men, and ministers to their needs. The position of those who have been called of God to labour in word and doctrine for the up building of His church, is one of grave responsibility. In Christ’s stead they are to beseech men and women to be reconciled to God; and they can fulfil their mission only as they receive wisdom and power from above.”  –Gospel Workers, 1915 ed., p. 13

Called with a Holy Calling

That is one of the most thrilling thoughts that has ever come to me: every man’s life, every person’s life—a plan of God! If this is really so, it changes our outlook on everything; it makes life worth living.
Does God have a plan for every life? Does He have a blueprint, as it were, for every one of us? Friends, I believe He has. “For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left His house, and gave authority to His servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.” Mark 13:34. The word “house” often means family. Our Saviour here represents Himself as going away, leaving His household, the church, assigning to the apostles and all His servants their duty, and leaving it uncertain when He would return. As His return was a matter of vast consequence, and as the affairs of His kingdom are entrusted to the servants when the Master is absent—so it was of vast importance that they should be faithful at their post, defending the house from danger, and being ready for His return.  As to both, our duty is to watch and pray.

Our Lord Jesus, when He ascended on high, left something for all of His servants to do. We ought to be always upon our watch, in expectation of His return. We know not whether our Master will come in the days of youth, or middle age, or old age; but, as soon as we are born, we begin to die, and therefore we must expect death. Our great care must be that, whenever our Lord comes, He may not find us secure, indulging in ease and sloth, mindless of our work and duty. He says to all, “watch; that you may be found in peace, without spot, and blameless.” The reason why so many of our lives are unsatisfactory to us is that we do not follow God’s plan for our lives. We have so much heart hunger, so much frustration, so much sadness. Why? One reason is that so many of us either neglect or reject God’s plan for us.

Let us have a look at some Biblical examples. Look at the prophets and apostles of the Bible. There was Jeremiah—he was a humble, unknown priest, very retiring in his nature; but the word of the Lord came to him and he was plainly told that before he was born God had planned his life. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV)

Moses’ life was a plan of God. He tried to change God’s plan, but finally when he made his full surrender, God’s plan worked out for him. “But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?  So He said, I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. Then Moses said to God, Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is His name? what shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:11–14

The apostle Paul’s life was planned by God, but Paul had other plans. He was a member of the Sanhedrin and a great opposer of God without realizing it. But contrary to all his dreams, his ideas, and plans, when he surrendered his life to Christ, he had a new vision; and after a long life of service, he stood before a great king.  “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.” Acts 26:19.  And there was the apostle Peter. God had a plan for his life also. Peter certainly made a great failure at first. But, later on, a great change came and he submitted to God’s plan. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.” John 21:18–19.

We are all stewards of God, but how many are failing to act that way? God has given “to every man ‘his work’ (Mark 13:34), the work for which his capabilities adapt him, the work which will result in the greatest good to himself and to his fellow men, and in greatest honour to God. Thus our business or calling is a part of God’s great plan; and so long as it is conducted in accordance with His will, He Himself is responsible for the results.” –Education, p. 128. “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3:9

A Plan for Everyone

What about God’s plan for our lives? Have we tried to find out what it is? Have we been willing to follow the plan as God has led us step by step? Remember, we are responsible for all the talents God has loaned to us. “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” 1 Corinthians 12:8–11

It is said that Michelangelo, the famous Italian sculptor, once stood staring straight ahead at a great block of marble. A friend approached and asked him what he was looking at. “An angel,” he said. He saw what the mallet, the chisel, and patient skill could do with that rejected stone. He set to work and produced a masterpiece.

So God sees possibilities in every human heart that is dedicated to Him. He sees how beautiful the life will be if His plan is carried out. Your work may be in one place, mine in another, but “to every man his work.” When Gideon with his three hundred men won the tremendous victory over thousands of enemies, “Every man in his place” was his motto. Every man had a task assigned to him, and everything depended upon each man being loyal and true in his place.

When Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, every man was to build a part of the wall next to his own house—verse after verse tells us about people who did the work right where they were (Nehemiah 3).

Accepting God’s Plan

How many of us will volunteer today to accept God’s plan? How many will say: “I am willing, Lord, to follow in Thy way wherever it may lead. Whatever Thy plan for my life may be, show it to me step by step. I do not ask to see the full plan to the end of the journey. Let me see it each day as duty comes, as opportunity comes, as privilege comes.” May God help each one of us to make that kind of consecration!

God is willing to reveal His plan for us, but there are two requirements He asks of us if we would know what that plan is. First, there must be the sympathy of trust; and, secondly, the faithfulness of obedience. There must be sympathetic trust or we will never have spiritual insight. God reveals Himself to the trustful, loving heart, and He makes His ways clear to those who obey Him. Each of us, then, has his work; and how important are those individual peculiarities which God has given to each of us for the accomplishment of that task! Our service to God is not a by-product of life; it is life itself. So, working and watching, happy will be the servant whom the Lord will find so doing; that is, doing the work that is in God’s plan for him; not merely idly looking for Christ, but doing His will here and now, knowing that every man’s life is a plan of God. “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” 2 Peter 3:11–12

“It is to the honour of Christ that He makes His ministers a greater blessing to the church, through the working of the Holy Spirit, than are the stars to the world. The Saviour is to be their efficiency. If they will look to Him as He looked to His Father, they will do His works. As they make God their dependence, He will give them His brightness to reflect to the world.  –Gospel Workers, 1915 ed., p. 14

Called with a Holy Calling

If, as a church, we are working together to do what we can to seek revival, we as stewardship leaders must bring these principles to the attention of the people. It is a matter of education and awareness, encouragement and invitation. Some of our long-experienced leaders have noted that when a good stewardship program is in place, other facets of the work of the church, such as evangelism, revival, and involvement, will also be healthy. There will be less conflict and greater unity. There is something about this phenomenon that we must not miss. Our task is to creatively and attractively place these spiritual and practical principles before the people with the right balance of theology and just enough specific instruction so that they will know the God-revealed practices to follow without our conveying an insensitive and unspiritual grasping of material resources. Then the Holy Spirit will be able to advance even further the work of revival among each one of us as a person and member of the body which is Christ’s church.

Though our church’s cry for revival and reformation is a corporate one, one that is calling our whole church to renew its commitment to our Lord and to the message He has given us, nothing will happen until something happens in each of us, individually.   We each, as individuals—regardless of what anyone else does or does not do—have to make the choice to surrender to the Lord, to be open to His Holy Spirit, and to act upon His leading in our life.

“What the church needs in these days of peril is an army of workers who, like Paul, have educated themselves for usefulness, who have a deep experience in the things of God, and who are filled with earnestness and zeal. Sanctified, self-sacrificing men are needed; men who will not shun trial and responsibility; men who are brave and true; men in whose hearts Christ is formed ‘the hope of glory,’ and who, with lips touched with holy fire, will ‘preach the word.’ For want of such workers the cause of God languishes, and fatal errors, like a deadly poison, taint the morals and blight the hopes of a large part of the human race.”  –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 507

I am praying that God may grant us His Holy Spirit in order to accomplish the work He has entrusted us with and that we may be found working and watching, much more now as we approach the end of time. I believe that there is power in prayer and fasting, so let us ask the Lord to give us a full heart service and completely surrender in His vineyard. This is my wish and prayer.  Amen!

Nicholas Anca