“Waiting on the Harvest”
Evangelism: How to Grow the Church
1 Corinthians 3:5-9
Introduction:
There is a story about two men from New York City who had never been out of the city. They decided they had enough of city life and so they would head out west and try to live off the land like their ancestors did. As they arrived in the mid-west they decided they would need a mule to help them with the plowing. So they found the local general store and asked the owner if he had any mules for sale. The owner of the store told them, “No, I’m afraid not, boys.” The two men then noticed a stack of honeydew melons against the wall. They asked the storeowner, “What are those things there?” The store owner decided to have a little fun with these two city boys, and he told them, that they were mule eggs, and they were welcome to take a couple with them. He said, You just take those eggs home and wait for them to hatch, and you’ll have yourself a couple of mules. The two men from New York thanked the storeowner kindly and set two of the honeydew melons in the back of their pickup truck. As the two men were driving down the road they hit a big bump, which caused one of the melons to bounce out and bust open on the road. Looking back they saw that they had lost one of their mule eggs and they immediately stopped the truck and got out to take a look and see what had become of it. As they were getting out of the truck a long eared rabbit crossed the road, and seeing the melon busted on the ground hopped right in the middle of it and began eating the melon. As the two men came around the truck, the one exclaimed, “Hey, our mule egg has hatched! Let’s get our mule.” The two men moved toward the rabbit, but it took off hopping. The chased it this way, then that trying to corner it somehow. Finally after about what seemed like an hour of chasing that rabbit the two men gave up. They both collapsed on the ground. The one man said, “Well I guess we lost our mule.” The other man nodded grimly. Yes, but you know,” he said, “I’m not sure I wanted to plow that fast anyway.”
We all want to see Church of Christ grow, we all want to reach the lost for Christ, but often, like the two city boys, our expectations differ from reality. We try to grow the church in our own manner without the proper understanding of how God brings growth to a congregation. This morning I want to share with you the steps needed to grow Church of Christ as well as our own relationships with one another.
(Read 1 Corinthians 3:5-9)
I. Planting
A. Having the right kind of seed.
*I had an opportunity to help Farmer Brown pick up seed for his crop. I was amazed at how many varieties of seed there were. Some seed as most of you well know only work with certain kinds of herbicides. Each seed also differs in the yield as well as many other factors. Then the price on some of that seed was simply unbelievable.
-It is important to plant the right kind of seed to get a good harvest.
-The apostle Paul describes himself as a planter of seeds. (v6)
-What was this seed that Paul sought to plant in the lives of people?
“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (Eph. 6:19,20 NIV)
-It was the gospel, the good news that we can have our relationship restored with the creator of the universe, through the actions of Jesus Christ upon the cross.
“For God so loved the World that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (JN 3:16 NIV)
-We have the best seed to plant and what more, it is free.
B. Sowing the seed with Love
-in order to plant a seed you have put it in the ground.
*My girls dig into the dirt until they are covered in dirt then drop the seed in and throw a little dirt on top. My dad always taught me to poke your finger in the soil and drop the seed in and cover it up.
-too often however our method of seed planting does more harm then good
1. When we gossip or speak ill of our brother and sisters in Christ we cause those seeking the gospel to be soured on Christ, or we end up sowing the seeds of division within our church.
2. In our marriages and relationships in the church we may speak harshly of one another, regularly putting the other person down and instead of sharing the gospel we sow resentment which leads to divorce and broken friendships.
3. We may argue over doctrine in front of those seeking Christ, and create great rifts in the body of Christ over hair splitting issues that often don’t matter that much in the big scheme of things.
4. We divide ourselves over carpet colors, programs, and all other manner of inconsequential issues, just so our personal agenda is followed.
-when those seeking to join our fellowship or seeking answers to the problems of life find us in disunity,
-then the seed we plant,
-the life saving message of Christ is rejected
-or we as a church are rejected.
-The way in which we present the gospel message effects the way in which our listeners will receive it.
-We most sow the seed of Christ in Love
C. Preparing the soil for planting.
(Read Mathew 13:3-8)
-In Mathew 13:3-8 Jesus identifies four types of soil we find in the lives of those we sow the seed of the gospel among
1. Types of Soil/Lives
a. The open path where the seed is eaten by birds
–these people lack understanding or the desire to learn about God and the devil snatches away God’s Word from their lives.
- Sometimes people are not ready to accept God’s Word and the only thing we can do for them is keep sowing seed and seek out the Lord in prayer.
b. The rocky soil where the seed grows but quickly dies
–these people are open to God’s Word, but do not hold on to it.
- Sometimes people act as though they want to know Jesus. They may attend church off and on, but what they really are looking for is something else to fill the void in their lives. Their hearts are still hardened to the gospel message. God has to do some breaking up and erosion in their lives before they can accept Him into their lives. Sometimes God uses us as the pickaxe or maybe the gentle stream to break apart or melt their hardened heart.
c. Among the thorns where the seeds are choked out
–these people are open to God’s Word, but worldly concerns take priority.
- Sometimes people want to know Jesus, but their lives are so cluttered they can’t find Him or have a hard time following Him. This clutter may be sin, other priorities in our life, or just being overwhelmed by material goods and the demands on our time. We can often help people to simplify their lives and put their priorities into perspective. I find the more I let God and His goals be a part of my life, the more clarity I have to deal with this busy world we live in.
d. Good soil where the seed grows strong
–these people are open to God’s Word and ready to build a firm foundation on Christ.
- Sometimes the ground is just ready, waiting for us to plant the seed.
II. Helping the Seed to Grow
-In more arid regions of the country watering is important to help the seed to grow.
-In this part of Iowa there is often too much water.
-In our text it is Apollos is credited with the job of watering.
-Apollos, a native of Alexandria and a very well educated Jew, came into the ministry through the kindness of Pricilla and Aquila. (Acts 18:18ff)
-Apollos served the church in Corinth nurturing and maturing the body of believers there through the preaching of God’s Word.
-If we are to build up the body of Christ at Park Church of Christ, we too must nurture those in our fellowship.
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:23-25)
-Like watering, nurturing requires just the right amount for growth; too much or too little can be harmful.
A. Over Watering
-we can sometimes over nurture someone by programming the church to death. Having so many activities that people lose time for their family or personal devotion. People get burnt out on church.
-sometimes we can push a person to the point they pull away from the church and God.
-sometimes we can seem shallow, when we give much encouragement or prayer without commitment to the lives seek to reach.
(Read James 2:14-16)
-Our words must match our deeds.
B. Under Watering
-in an attempt to make our church pleasing to all, we can water down the message and dry up the people.
-we can put so much responsibility on members, that they are too busy to get watered themselves with the Word of God.
*80/20 rule; 80% or the work is done by 20% of the church
-how often do you thank those in the church for what they are doing
-how often do we encourage those who come to church
-the primary purpose of our fellowship is not what we can get out of it, but what we can give to others.
III. Harvest Time
-After the gospel seed has been planted and nurtured by our ministry we look forward to the time of harvest when we can reap the blessings of our work.
A. We want the Harvest NOW.
*In one of the ministries I served at, I had about 30 street kids coming to the church to skate board in the parking lot. The price of admission was listening to a Bible lesson I had prepared for them. The Senior Minister came to me and wanted to set a time limit of 6 months to convert these heathens to Christianity, otherwise we would remove them from the program.
-In a fast passed society we want results NOW. We want fast conversions, quick memberships, and church growth right now.
*When a farmer prepares for harvest, the farmer starts early in the year researching and ordering the right seed, the farmer prepares the ground, then waits for the right time to plant, followed by fertilizing, watering, and cultivating. For entire year they labor for just a short time of harvest.
-As the farmer waits for his harvest we too must wait on the Lord for growth.
-For it is God who brings the increase.
B. We want the credit for the Harvest.
*Some years ago, a study was done by an agricultural school in Iowa. It reported that production of a hundred bushels of corn from one acre of land required
4 million pounds of water, 6,800 lbs. of oxygen, 5,200 lbs. of carbon
160 pounds of nitrogen, 125 pounds of potassium, 75 pound of yellow sulfur
In addition to these ingredients are required rain and sunshine at the right times. The source also reported that although many hours of labor from the farmer are required, only 5% of the produce could be attributed to the efforts of the farmer.
-We think by our own hands we can reap what we have sown, therefore we pat ourselves or our minister on the back for the growth we have experienced.
-Yet all the credit for the harvest belongs to God for without His grace there would be no harvest.
-Without the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross, and without the work of the Holy Spirit through God’s Word, all would perish.
-We have life because Jesus gave us life.
-It is God who brings the increase, who changes lives, yet we serve as His tools and must make ourselves ready to be put to work.
If we are faithful in sharing the Word of God with others and nurturing and encouraging them to grow in the faith. Then God will be faithful in bring about a harvest of growth in Church of Christ.
Illustrations taken from Illustrations Resource Database online.
