Laborers in the Harvest

October 7, 2024

Mission Conference

Germany

Laborers in the Harvest

I Corinthians 3:4-10

Theme: God is teaching three truths regarding serving Him.

Introduction:

Howard Hendricks once described the local church as a football game: “Twenty-two people on the field, badly in need of a rest, and sixty thousand in the stands, badly in need of exercise.” There is a misconception quite often regarding serving the Lord.

I am so often reminded of the passage in Matt. 11.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)

A yoke is a two-sided instrument used for farming. Oxen would be yoked in twos. The illustration is we are yoked with God in the work and He makes our yoke easy because of His power and His strength.

Jesus talked about service in “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37–38) He is telling us that there too many loafers and not enough laborers.

In the passage here, Jesus is teaching us about laboring for the Lord and He is there with us in the labor. There are three truths here:

I. The fact of labor

A. The Biblical principle

1. Adam was given the responsibility to work in the Garden of Eden prior to the Fall Gen. 2:15

2. Work is a normal way of life, it is not a part of the curse—the curse of work is the difficulty Gen.3:19

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:19)

3. The principle of being a servant for Christ throughout the Bible teaches us that we are to work for Him—Paul commended the Thess for their labor “ I Thess. 1:3 “Remembering without ceasing of your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father.”

4. Labor is the way to glorify God. We glorify at work by our work ethic, our honesty, and our witness.

B. The Biblical proclamation

1. Paul uses the image of agriculture in comparison to the church which should bear fruit-the task of the ministry is sowing seed, cultivating the soil, watering of the plants, and harvesting of the fruit.”

2. God is the source of growth but he uses laborers to accomplish the necessary steps for growth.

3. Mtt. 9:37 “Then saith he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. . .” I Cor. 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I but the grace of God which was with me.” Phil. 4:3 “And I entreat thee also, true yoke-fellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel.”

4. Woven throughout the Scripture is the importance of being a laborer.

5. As a church family we are to labor with and for the Lord while we are here.

“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” (John 9:4)

II. The progress of labor

A. Partners with God

1. This means the work we do for Him is never accomplished without Him.

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

2. When you have Jesus next to you, you are able to do the work of God.

3. God is always there through every difficulty and circumstance.

4. When we stand before others for Him, He stands with us.

5. Since the ministry is a spiritual work, we need God’s presence leading us into the future-for reaching the world with the gospel.

B. Empowered by God

1. When choosing teams, we always want to pick someone stronger than us.

2. God will never ask us to do anything He will not empower us to do.

3. This divine empowerment is when God moves into our life with His power and takes over our life, where we can accomplish whatever He asks us to do.

4. This means we must be empty of self and of the world-so He can fill us.

“For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:” (Isaiah 44:3)

5. A divine empowerment enables us to do the work of the ministry. To many times do we operate without the power of the Holy Spirit.

III. The purpose of labor

A. Win souls Mk. 16:15

B. Expand God’s Kingdom

C. Glorify God I Cor. 10:31

Conclusion: Three Lessons These Verses Teach:

1. Diversity of ministry—One laborer plows the soil, another sows the seed, a third waters the see. As time passes, the plants grow, the fruit appears, and other laborers enjoy reaping the harvest. We are a part of the labor force.

2. Unity of purpose—No matter what a work a person is doing for the Lord, he is still part of the harvest.

3. Humility of spirit—it is not human laborers that produce the harvest, but the Lord of the harvest---God gives the increase.