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AGAPE LESSON 23
TENDING VERSUS TOILING
Put together by Bongie Kuzwayo
[Isaiah 61v1—4] The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach
good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison doors to those who are bound; (2) to proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord, a day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, (3) to console those who
mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that
He may be glorified. (4) And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former
desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolation of many generations.
[Genesis 2v15] Then the Lord took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
• Tend (dress) [Abad in Hebrew] – to work, serve, — to serve God
• Keep [shamar in Hebrew] – to guard – have charge of – to hedge about as with thorns – to
protect – to attend to – beware – be circumspect.
[Genesis 2v17—19] – – – -: Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of
your life. (18) Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the
field. (19) In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you
were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.
• Toil (sorrow) [itstsabon I Hebrew] – pain, hardship, sorrow. [From atsab] – to hurt, be
grieved, torture, to cause pain.
• Sweat [ze ah in Hebrew] – to agitate as with fear, quiver, to shake violently.
This mandate, to tend and keep the garden, is given to every son of God. As you know, we are all in
fulltime ministry. Wherever God has placed you, that is your garden to tend and keep. That is your
sphere of influence where you deputize on His behalf. Adam was given a helper comparable to him.
We, the church have been given the Holy Spirit as our Helper.
[John14v26] But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you
all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
The very first words of Jesus recorded in Scripture: [Luke2v49] “Why did you seek Me” Did you not
know that I must be about My Father’s business?
He testified to His disciples, saying: “I have food to eat of which you do not know. My food is to do
the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. (John4v32 and 34).
You will notice that there is a sense of urgency about Jesus’ words. Both His confessions above should
be our confession. We have an assignment, to tend and keep the garden. Jesus did His assignment
and finished it. We are to take over from where He stopped and run with the baton to hand over to
the next generation.
[Matthew11v12] And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers
violence, and the violent take it by force.
Jesus never laboured in isolation. He was always yoked together with the Father: [John5v19—21]
Most assuredly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do, for
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whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. (20) For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him
all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater things than these that you may marvel.
(21) For the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
Jesus was interface between heaven and earth: [John3v13] No one has ascended to heaven but He
who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. Jesus, the High Priest here
was standing on the earth and talking to Nicodemus. Now we, as priests on the earth, are interface
between heaven and earth.
Elijah’s operational system:
[1Kings 17v1] And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of
heaven lives before whom I stand, there shall be no dew nor rain these years except at my word.”
[1Kings18v36—37] And it came to pass, at the time of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet
came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that you are
God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. (37) hear me,
O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that I have turned their
hearts back to You.”
We realize that Elijah was standing on the earth, but operating in the heavenly realm. He was not
alone, but equally yoked with the Almighty God. He was not doing things at his own discretion; he
had assumed his position as interface between heaven and earth.
Joshua’s operational system:
[Joshua10v12—13a, 14] Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the lord delivered up the
Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
and moon in the valley of Aijalon.” (13) So, the sun stood still and the moon stopped, till the people
had revenge upon their enemies. (14) And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that
the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.
Joshua and Israel were working jointly with the lord, fighting the Amorites.
David’s operational system:
[1Samuel 17v45] Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and
and javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom
you have defiled.
[1Samuel 30v7—9] Then David said to Abiathar the priest, “Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod
here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. So, David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I
pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, ‘Pursue, for you shall surely
overtake them and without fail recover all.” (9) So, David went, he and the six hundred men who
were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind.
Here David positioned himself in the position of a priest; as interface between heaven and earth, and
inquired of the Lord. David here was prefiguring our position as New Testament priesthood. We
realize that David depended entirely on the Lord, and did nothing at his own discretion.
[Genesis3v17b—19] Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your
life. (18) Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.
(19) In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were
taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return.
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This was the plan of survival that was given to Adam. He was now an orphan, without a covering.
Adam was now independent having to depend on his own scruples. If you operate within this bracket,
it means you do not know who you are and whose you are. It means, by choice you have chosen to
give up your position as son of God. It means you are carnally minded and not subject to the law of
the Spirit of God.
[Romans8v6–8] For to be carnally minded is death, but to be Spiritually minded is life and peace. (7)
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can
be. (8) So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
[Matthew 11v28—30] Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
(29) Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. (30) For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
• Labour (phortizo in Greek) – to place a burden upon – to grow weary, to be exhausted with
burden and grief – to labour with wearisome effort, to toil – intense labour united with
trouble and toil.
• Give rest (anapauo in Greek) – to give rest, to refresh – to cause one or permit one to cease
from any movement or labour in order to recover and collect his strength.
• My yoke is easy (chrestos in Greek) – fit for use, manageable, mild and pleasant.
• Take My yoke upon you = take My position and be equally yoked with the Father.
• Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me = learn how to do the Father’s business.
We realize from the above Scripture that there is rest that is given, and a rest that is found.
[John5v17] – – -,” My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.
[Hebrew4v2, 9—10] For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which
they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith by those who heard it. (9) There remains
therefore a rest for the people of God. (10) For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased
from his works as God did from His.
This is where the problem begins – we have heard the word, we know it, but when it is not mixed
with faith, we don’t believe it, and therefore doubt God. When thinking of doing it, we feel paralysed.
Questions like, “What if/if”? We therefore put the word aside, removing God from the equation.
Alone, we shelve it, hoping to do it some other time when we feel things are better. The result is,
things get worse. Some actually test God; they will do it a few months, expecting God to do some
miracle. And not getting expected results, they go back to working alone.
[Hebrews 11v6] But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for He who comes to God must
believe that He is (God), and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
[John 15v4—7] Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in
the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (5) I am the Vine, and you are the branches. He
who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; but without Me you can do nothing. (6) If anyone
does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw
them into the fire, and they are burned. (7) If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will
ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
Taking Jesus’ position and responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit is the only way we can
tend and keep the garden assigned to us.
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