God’s end-time Church has been given the commission to “prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings” (Revelation 10:11). We must warn the entire world—and we must also give them the hope of the gospel (Matthew 24:14). We are a small remnant, but we have a huge Work to do. You are a part of that Work today. How much does that mean to you? Is your heart really in it? Jesus Christ sets us a wonderful example of the type of attitude that we must have toward the Work of God.

In John 4, John records an encounter that Jesus Christ had with a Samaritan woman at a well. In John’s Gospel—The Love of God, Mr. Gerald Flurry writes about what happens next and the lesson that it can teach us:

“After the episode at the well, the disciples tried to get Christ to eat something. He responded, ‘I have meat to eat that ye know not of’ (John 4:32).

“This confused the disciples. They were so concerned about Him eating. Jesus Christ told them something here that we all need to learn deeply.

“‘Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work’ (verse 34). That’s my food, Christ said. My way of life is just to do the Work of God with all the passion I possess. That is all I’m here for! That is my main delight—to finish the Work the Father has given me to do!

“This is the key to having passion and high spirits! The Work of God has a built-in vision of joy! It always keeps us looking beyond the difficulties of the present and seeing where this is all leading! What difference does it make to miss a meal? Christ wasn’t even thinking about physical food. His mind was on why He—the Word—was made flesh.

“If you get your heart into God’s Work and give it everything you have, it will give you all the exuberance and joy God has to give us on Earth!”

As God’s young people, you have the privilege to understand God’s truth before the rest of the world. That gives you part of the awesome responsibility we all have to finish God’s Work. Because of this chance, the Work of God must come first in your life. This means that you will be willing to give up a meal or two for the Work’s sake. That is what Christ was willing to do, and He is our perfect example.

Putting the Work first also means that you love God and His Work more than you love your own physical family, as Luke 14:26 brings out. “Hate” in verse 26 means “to love less by comparison.” God’s Work must come before everything—even before your father and mother, your future spouse and your future children.

In order to really put the Work of God first in your life, you must make God’s Work the way in your life. You must live the way of the Work. That is what Jesus Christ did! And if you do, as that quote from John’s Gospel—The Love of God brings out, it will keep you inspired! The Work of God has a built-in vision, and if you are living the way of the Work, you will be continually inspired and motivated to push through the trials you encounter in your life.

If you are going God’s way, it means that you cannot go any other way. Walking in the way of the Work means that you must not walk in the way of the world. 1 John 2:15-16 makes this clear: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

Ask yourself: How close am I to the world? Measure how much time you spend with interests and friends in the world. Don’t allow yourself to develop an emotional connection to worldly entertainment or fashions. Set limits on how much you allow yourself to take in. Strive to be stylish in a good way, but don’t make it your life. Find balance. As soon as any material possession or thing starts to consume too much of your mental bandwidth, cut it out.

God’s Work is a place of safety for you. If your heart is truly in the Work, you won’t have time to spend out in the world. You’ll be sheltered from the evil influences that Satan tries to throw at you through worldly entertainment and interests.

Here are seven steps you can take to build the habit of walking in the way of the Work.

1. Learn to practice intercessory prayer.

Learn to pray for God’s Work thoughtfully and in detail. Make it a habit to pray for Mr. Flurry, the ministry and the brethren. Pray for headquarters, Edstone and the various departments and employees at both. Pray for the new G-450 and how we use it. Pray for God to open the door to the Jerusalem dig. If you are detailed in your prayers for the Work, you’ll never have trouble finding things to pray about—and you will have your mind focused on the Work more than anything else.

2. Attend every activity and function—and do it joyfully.

Participate in the activities of the Work whether you like them or not. If you are doing something you want to do, are you truly serving? Train yourself to sacrifice for the Work of God. Take part in Church-sponsored activities.

3. Closely follow Church news.

Pcog.org is a great tool for this. Once you’ve logged in, you can click on the News tab and have access to a variety of articles about what the brethren and congregations of the Philadelphia Church of God do year-round. You can also seek out your local minister and ask him for news of the Work.

4. Don’t cultivate another way.

Don’t make it easy for Satan to take your mind off the Work by focusing too much on worldly entertainment or trends; strive to make sure that your closest friends are in the Church rather than the ones you see at school or work.

5. Ask to serve in the congregation.

Living the way of the Work means that you are focused on serving God’s brethren. Be a living sacrifice as God asks of us in Romans 12:1.

6. Immerse yourself in God’s Family.

The more connections to God’s Family you have, the harder it is to break loose. When you love the people you will see each week at Sabbath services as much as you love your own flesh-and-blood family, you won’t be as tempted by the relationships that Satan will throw at you from the world.

7. Study the need for the Work of God.

If you take even a brief look at world news headlines, you quickly see how miserable the world is. This Work is the world’s only hope. If you truly understand that, you will see the value of the Work of God in your life. In Ezekiel: The End-Time Prophet, Mr. Flurry says: “This is the most important work on Earth—perhaps even the most important work in history, because we get to introduce Christ to this world!” And this world needs Christ more than ever before.

If we really understand how important this Work is, we will all be excited to be a part of it. Don’t allow yourself to take for the granted the fact that you have been given the opportunity to walk in the way of the Work. You are a part of the most important Work on Earth!

The key to walking in the way of the Work is to be like Christ. His meat was to do the Work of God. When He was only 12 years old, He said to His parents, “[Know] ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49). Make that a mantra in your life: I must be about my Father’s business.

Jesus Christ’s main goal was to finish the Work of God. That is the Philadelphia Church of God’s main goal today. You can have an active role in accomplishing that goal—if you live the way of the Work.