His Part, Our Part

War! Pray!

Pot of Soil / Seed

How many of you really enjoy growing things? Developing things? Making things better? Maybe it’s the vegetable garden, a lush green lawn, it could be a business, or crop fields on the colorful flowers in your landscape beds. It could be feeding and raising up a deer to watch it grow to be a big old deer. Like me I want to see the church grow and bloom. Whether it is plants, animals, or the church there are calouses involved.

To grow anything there are a few basic things you need before they will grow and flourish. You need a seed. The seed needs to be planted in good soil and cultivated. Then the right amount of water needs to be added, and the soil needs sunshine. These actions require you to do YOUR part. The seed and soil and nutrients and sun and water come from God.

Without God nothing will grow. But if someone doesn’t plant and cultivating the seed, then it won’t grow either. The bible calls this a partnership or a cooperation or a co-laboring. theres your part and there’s God’s part.

[30 second recap.] Paul uses the truth about partnerships in growing plants to illustrate ultimately that the whole church needs to realize it’s need for God. Paul wrote a letter to the church in the city of Corinth to address a problem that had arisen. Paul had the planted that church, but left a minister by the name of Apollos in charge. Some people liked Apollos style, but some preferred Paul style. This difference began to fracture the unity. Some grumbled for one or the other leader. Others grumbled against the style of one or the other. This news of division reached Paul, and he writes the letter. He writes the following:

1 Corinthians 3:6–9 (ESV) 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

People became divided in their preferences as to who the leader was. From coaches, to pastors, to teachers to __________…we all have our opinions of leaders. And their methods.

Paul’s correction was to show the value of differing leaders. And that he and Apollos were nothing compared to God who gets the ultimate credit for the success. This verse is not to encourage self depreciation. It is not to tell people that they don’t matter. It is really meant to be an encouragement to appreciate Godly leaders though they are different from one another. And to trust God when a different kind of leader steps into the role.

Though the ministers are nothing, and God is everything, in comparison. God works by people. So Paul doesn’t mean that there is no value in what we do. Otherwise, why would he also say we earn wages.

He wants us to realize that when we are criticizing our leaders for their different temperaments, styles, and gift sets, we are forgetting that the gift sets, styles, and so on are not the thing to remember. We are to remember that without God, none of this will grow! So we need to appreciate the differences, understanding that the differences in Christian leaders has nothing to do with what makes things grow.

I was talking to family the other day who was very close with our former Pastor Gary Mimbs. Pastor Gary is a great man, friend, and pastor. God used him. Gary was very present in this families life as they walked through a difficult season of life. When He was called elsewhere it was hard on this family. But they aren’t sitting around comparing me to Gary or Gary to me. They grieved the leaving of their pastor. And this family and I have a good relationship as we trust God to help us all grow and the church grow the way God wants it to.

In the church, we don’t blame or credit the pastor for growth or decline. We do our part and we trust God! We are co-laborers with God. If the growth was contingent on the pastors personality or public speaking ability or motivational ability or administration skills, then any great actor or administrator could lead a church.

It is so good that God is who grows the church. It isn’t that great communicator. It isn’t the great administrator. It is so good that it isn’t a shepherd. It is so good that some plant. Some water. Some do this. Some do that. But God makes it grow. So we can boast on GOD!

There’s your part and there’s God’s part.

One of the great things about all of the way God’s works is there is your part of ministry and there is God’s part. The way God has decided to work has been as co-laborers with us. The Scripture above refers to us as fellow workers. You could even say co-workers. Co-workers doesn’t quite do it justice because we aren’t equal to God, but you get the idea. God works with us to accomplish His will.

1. God designed us and we are to fulfill our designed purpose.

His part and our part.

This should make us realize how valued, empowered, and purposeful our lives are. Some may have asked, why does God have us here? What is my purpose? Why does God have me on this earth? The reason God doesn’t just accomplish His will by snapping his fingers is because He desires to work WITH us.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Workmanship/created for good works: Crafted for good works. Designed. Refined. Shaped.

Prepared beforehand: All of your life there have been opportunities, obstacles, challenges, and circumstances that were prepared before hand for you to do.

Should walk: We should walk in them. Walk in the good works God made us for and for us to do.

2. We plant and we water and we work the fields.

A comedian once joked, 'I told God I wanted to grow, and He gave me a garden! I didn't expect all those weeds!' But isn’t that how faith works? We grow amidst challenges and trials. It may not be the path we anticipated, but God cultivates us in amazing ways!

Following Jesus comes with challenges and trials. It may not always like we imagined. But God cultivates us in amazing ways.

Our purpose is not to sit on our hands. It is to invest, strategize, self critique, reevaluate, serve, and go to people where they are and invite them to see Jesus or better yet pick them up and bring them to Jesus. Or if it works out load Jesus up in your car and bring Jesus to them.

We invite and bring people to Jesus. Even when they say no the first time. Or 10th time. We invite them, because they may not know how out on limb you felt when you invited them, but when they finally surrender all to Jesus it will be worth it that you put yourself out there.

There are people in this room that I have been inviting, and waiting for it. Waiting for it. Waiting for it. And then when God made it grow. Amazing. There are people in this room that you have been inviting and inviting and waiting. Waiting and inviting. And then when God made it grow. Amazing.

That’s what this whole series is about…Bringing people to Jesus series…1. We throw parties and use our home to lead people to Jesus. 2. We are invited to come and see so we could be changed to go and tell. 3. We invite all and let time do the changing on people. 4. We try out of the box ideas. 5. We see our family relationships as an opportunity to represent Jesus 6.

941Preaching is sowing, prayer is watering, but praise is the harvest.—17.717

Charles Spurgeon

3. God makes it grow.

We wait. We anticipate. We watch. We expect. We work. We continue planting and watering and cultivating. We keep looking around and doing the good word God made us and made for us to do. Students your mission field is your school and your home. Parents your mission field is your kids and your workplace or the grocery/hardware store. Retired folks your mission field is your descendants and to be an example and encourager to those coming after you. Pass that baton. Watch and recognize and celebrate the growth that IS happening. And don’t miss this amazing reality. You aren’t in the thick of it anymore, so you have the great opportunity to be freed up to do MORE for God’s kingdom. Pray, Encourage, Coach Up, Write Cards, Make Phone Calls, and more.

Right now I am in the thick of raising four kids, three back to back to back 9, 10, 11. And one is 3. Three rapidly approaching teenage angst. Pray for us. Pray for them. But there have been folks do stuff for us that have been amazing. Some have invited us over for dinner, some have encouraged and thanked us, some have invited my kids over to pick corn and potatoes. And while we were there they loved on our whole family! You can do this too. These things are amazing ways that God helps people grow.

You may not know it’s growing or how it is growing. But if God says he will make it grow. He will make it grow.

And then when it does grow. We harvest…

4. We pray for the Lord to send people and then when the Lord calls, we will say send me!

Matthew 9:37–38 (ESV) 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Imagine a field of golden wheat, ready to harvest at sunrise. It would be breathtaking. The endless possibilities that could come from a field of wheat when harvested. Bread, Pasta, Desserts, and so on and so on. If the wheat is left unharvested, the field will simply wither and die. All possibilities lost. The loss is huge. The stakes are high. To leave harvest unharvested means profits loss, hunger, waste, and work thrown down the drain. This metaphor helps us understand our part.

The potential loss in this case is lost souls, eternal life or eternal death for the people we know and love. And the people we don’t know and love. We MUST heed this call to prayer. But we must also take the obvious cue to make sure we do OUR PART.

We plant, we water, we cultivate. (What does that look like?)

In the world of gardening, there are skilled gardeners who work in their patches, but imagine the fun when siblings join in the effort! They each pick a corner, and somehow they turn weeding into a playful competition. The results may be a bit chaotic, but together they cultivate a vibrant garden. Similarly, God invites us into His garden as fellow workers, reminding us that it’s not just about the harvest, but the laughter and love shared in the process.

We pray for it and we also harvest. When the fruit is there we get it. We don’t let it go to waste.

[Walk to the Plant]

Pot and Soil: God made the tools and the instruments. Designed the soil, the seed, the ecosystem.

Designed the instruments: ME! YOU! Our hands. Our minds. Our effort.

Our part: Plant and Water: Dig hole place seed. Water. Prune. Talk. God designed me to do this work. If I don’t do this. I have no part at all in the process. I don’t make it grow, but God made me to work with him in this process. When Paul says we aren’t anything, he does not mean that our part in worthless. He does mean that when it comes to making things grow it isn’t up to us our our skills and talents.

(Bulletin, Tomato, Learning Guitar, Building something, Saying No to a child once)

God makes it grow: While we are anticipating God to make it grow. We continue to plant and water and Pray for the harvest and for workers to reap the harvest. Someone was praying for you 50 years ago someone was praying for you and I to reap the harvest so that the fruit doesn’t rot on the vine. While we wait, we pray for God to send workers to harvest the fruit planted. Which connects with generations past and generations future.

Harvest: When God whom shall I send. We say send me! I’ll go.

Action Steps:

Who needs to stop seeing people as the reason things grow? (Change to dependence upon the Lord)

Who needs to start seeing themselves as the instrument God wants to use to build his kingdom? (Send me, Work, Work Together, Pray, Salvation)