WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.360 Well, tonight we are continuing a short series that we're looking at in the month of August, 00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:09.540 which is called The Church in Pictures. 00:00:09.540 --> 00:00:15.200 The reason behind this title is that the New Testament uses various images for the church 00:00:15.200 --> 00:00:20.039 in order for us to help, in order to help us understand what the church is and what 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:22.879 the church should be doing. 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:25.160 Here's the five images that we're going to look at. 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:28.080 The church is a pillar, which we explored last week. 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:32.479 Tonight, we're going to look at the church as a farm, and over the next three weeks, 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:37.759 we'll look at the church as a body, a mother, and a bride. 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:41.560 Let's turn back together to 1 Corinthians chapter three. 00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:45.039 I'm going to just read the first few verses again there. 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:50.359 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:51.840 as infants in Christ. 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:57.079 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:00.839 And even now you're not yet ready for your still of the flesh. 00:01:00.839 --> 00:01:05.120 For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:07.239 only in a human way? 00:01:07.239 --> 00:01:12.000 For when one says I follow Paul and another I follow Apollos, are you not being merely 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:13.159 human? 00:01:13.159 --> 00:01:14.799 What then is Apollos? 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:16.719 What is Paul? 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:20.980 Servants through whom you believed as the Lord assigned to each. 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:26.599 I planted Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:31.079 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:35.959 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his 00:01:35.959 --> 00:01:36.959 labor. 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:40.119 For we are God's fellow workers. 00:01:40.119 --> 00:01:45.959 You are God's field, God's building. 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:55.099 In writing this letter to the church in Corinth, Paul has two great concerns, unity and growth. 00:01:55.099 --> 00:01:59.359 You can see that this letter, part of the reason it was written was to address divisions 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:01.679 within this congregation. 00:02:01.679 --> 00:02:05.039 This was partly caused by people following certain individuals. 00:02:05.039 --> 00:02:10.840 I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Derrick, I follow Thomas. 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:15.159 Well, there won't be many of them, but that kind of thing. 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:20.639 And these divisions were unsettling the congregation and causing trouble. 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:31.479 And Paul writes in absolutely uncompromising terms to say that that is utterly unacceptable. 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:36.719 And it's a great reminder, 1 Corinthians is a brilliant reminder that the unity of the 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:44.519 church was one of the most pressing and important issues in the minds of the apostles. 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:52.100 And for some strange and tragic reason, the church today has long forgotten that. 00:02:52.100 --> 00:02:58.719 To us, church unity is something that in an ideal world we would like, but in many ways 00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:01.360 it's just a token gesture. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:07.200 For Paul, church unity was his burning passion. 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:20.479 To us, division is inevitable, to Paul, division was unthinkable. 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:25.159 Part of the reason that this congregation had become divisive was because they were 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:28.280 immature and they needed to grow. 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:32.239 We can see that in the passage that we just read there, verses 1 to 3, Paul says, you 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:39.520 can't go on to rich food because you can't even get the basics like Christian unity, 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:40.760 correct? 00:03:40.760 --> 00:03:46.159 And that's an important reminder for us because sometimes we can think that as we grow in 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:54.719 knowledge, as we feel like we're becoming at a kind of better level, theologically, 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:59.760 we can tend to think that that justifies us separating from others. 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:04.120 So we can think to ourselves, well, all these people aren't really getting it and I'm understanding 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:05.239 things better. 00:04:05.239 --> 00:04:09.519 I've got a clear, a grasp of things. 00:04:09.519 --> 00:04:12.879 I should distance myself from these people who aren't thinking in the same way. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:14.000 I should do my own thing. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:22.039 I should leave because other people, they're not really getting it in the way I am. 00:04:22.039 --> 00:04:26.759 If you were thinking like that, what do you think Paul would say to you? 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:33.480 I think he would say, you need to go back to milk. 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:38.639 You're not ready for solid food. 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:42.839 Division is rarely a sign of maturity. 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:49.399 It's usually a sign of childishness. 00:04:49.399 --> 00:04:55.800 The Corinthian church needed to be taught about unity and growth. 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.199 And we are exactly the same. 00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:06.360 And so in order to address these two concerns that Paul has, he uses agricultural imagery. 00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:10.439 He describes the church as a farm. 00:05:10.439 --> 00:05:15.560 And this actually echoes many other examples of this kind of language in the New Testament. 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:17.240 Jesus does it. 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:22.600 So the greatest example, I suppose, is the parable of the sower where he talks about 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:26.000 the word being scattered like seed in a similar way. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.160 He calls for laborers for the harvest. 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:31.760 It's all agricultural farming language. 00:05:31.760 --> 00:05:33.120 Paul does it here in Corinthians. 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:35.240 He does it in other places as well. 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:42.280 Second Timothy 2, he talks about the hardworking farmer as an example for Timothy to follow. 00:05:42.280 --> 00:05:43.480 James does it. 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:47.720 He talks about the farmer being an example of patience in chapter 5 of his letter. 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:53.520 John and Peter both use seed imagery in their letters, and in Revelation 14, you have very 00:05:53.520 --> 00:05:58.560 vivid imagery of a sickle and a harvest. 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:08.400 The image of a farm is a picture of what the church is meant to be like. 00:06:08.400 --> 00:06:13.440 So that just gives us a wonderful excuse to make a picture, which is exactly what we're 00:06:13.440 --> 00:06:15.040 going to do just now. 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:19.640 So as Paul says, the church is a field there. 00:06:19.640 --> 00:06:22.480 That's a field as you could instantly tell. 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:25.960 There's a field. 00:06:25.960 --> 00:06:30.240 And so as Paul says, within that field, there's planting. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:34.080 He says there in verse 6, I planted. 00:06:34.080 --> 00:06:36.720 So step one, planting. 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.000 He then talks about labor. 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:41.800 In particular, he talks about watering. 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:44.800 A polys watered again in verse 6. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:51.840 The result of these things is growth, as he again, he mentions in the same verse. 00:06:51.840 --> 00:06:58.240 The next step is a harvest, which Paul doesn't explicitly say in this passage, but it's clearly 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:01.840 implied and it's explicitly stated in many other passages. 00:07:01.840 --> 00:07:08.920 Now, I know you didn't get combine harvesters in Paul's day, but it's a combine harvester. 00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:12.400 I mean, it's just cool. 00:07:12.400 --> 00:07:18.080 And then last of all, there's wages. 00:07:18.080 --> 00:07:25.000 Paul speaks about wages in verse 8. 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:30.400 These are all the stages of farming from planting through to wages. 00:07:30.400 --> 00:07:34.879 And I want us to look at each one of these in a little bit more detail in order to see 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:39.199 what it's teaching us about the life and work of the church. 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:44.319 I want to do that under two headings, micro and macro. 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:49.079 Now, I'm sure you'll be familiar with these terms. 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:52.360 Micro is just basically talking about a specific example. 00:07:52.360 --> 00:07:54.159 Macro is talking about the big picture. 00:07:54.159 --> 00:07:56.839 And we use this language in lots of different areas. 00:07:56.839 --> 00:07:57.839 Economics is a good example. 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:02.680 You talk about microeconomics, where you look at maybe a particular company or a particular 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:07.519 location or a particular industry, macroeconomics would look at the whole nation or the whole 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:10.759 continent or a whole century. 00:08:10.759 --> 00:08:17.160 We need, in terms of the church, to think about a micro church farm. 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:21.439 In other words, us as a congregation. 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:29.160 And we need to think about the macro church farm, which is the whole church of Jesus Christ. 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:33.759 So first of all, the micro, and we'll spend more time looking at this. 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:37.440 And the macro we'll just look at very briefly at the end. 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:42.360 So the church farm begins with planting, as you can see. 00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:46.639 Now, what's the one thing that you need in order to plant? 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:48.320 A seed. 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:49.960 You need a seed. 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:56.320 And the whole emergence of the Christian church is dependent on the existence of a very specific 00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:58.000 seed. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:00.320 What's that seed? 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:03.120 It's the message of the gospel. 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:08.399 If you look back at chapter two, Paul recounts for us how he planted the Corinthian church. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:10.159 How was it that Paul planted the church? 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:11.159 What did he use? 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:13.279 He used a message. 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:17.919 As we read at the very beginning, he came not with lofty speech or wisdom, but he just 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:22.559 came there to proclaim Jesus Christ and him crucified. 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:26.600 It was a simple, specific message. 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:32.279 It's the news that Jesus has been crucified and that through that crucifixion, you and 00:09:32.279 --> 00:09:33.759 I can be saved. 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:35.639 Our sins can be forgiven. 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:38.200 Our relationship with God can be restored. 00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:42.519 Our lives can be transformed forever. 00:09:42.519 --> 00:09:43.960 That's what the gospel is. 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:46.320 A message of good news. 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:53.320 The seed in God's church farm is a collection of words. 00:09:53.320 --> 00:10:02.600 And every Christian in here tonight is a Christian because of the transforming power of that 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:05.520 message. 00:10:05.520 --> 00:10:08.320 As we said, Jesus uses exactly the same imagery. 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:12.960 In the parable of the sower, he speaks about the message, his message, his word, like a 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:17.040 seed that's sown and planted. 00:10:17.040 --> 00:10:21.560 That's where the church comes from. 00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:26.239 And in thinking about that, there's two important words that come to mind and that I want to 00:10:26.239 --> 00:10:27.519 mention. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:31.879 The first word is investment. 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:35.839 A seed is an investment. 00:10:35.839 --> 00:10:40.039 And I think that is a brilliant picture of how the gospel works. 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:44.079 I want you to imagine that you met a gardener who came out to you and said, now, I want 00:10:44.079 --> 00:10:47.719 to show you this packet of seeds that I have. 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:54.560 These seeds are rare and precious and valuable, and they are the seeds of an extraordinary 00:10:54.560 --> 00:10:56.200 beautiful plant. 00:10:56.200 --> 00:11:00.279 These seeds are every gardener's dream. 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:02.800 And you said, wow, what are you going to do with them? 00:11:02.800 --> 00:11:12.920 Oh, I'm going to put them in this drawer and keep them there because they're so precious. 00:11:12.919 --> 00:11:19.360 And 30 years later, he takes his precious seeds out of the drawer and what does he find? 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:22.599 Just a rotten mess. 00:11:22.599 --> 00:11:26.039 A seed cannot be kept. 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:29.679 It has to be invested. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:35.839 And that's exactly how the church, the gospel message works. 00:11:35.839 --> 00:11:42.799 Because by making that investment, there is the potential for an amazing return. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:44.639 Jesus himself spoke in those terms. 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:49.279 He says, truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:51.240 dies, it remains alone. 00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:56.079 But if it dies, it bears much fruit. 00:11:56.079 --> 00:12:02.599 Now like any investment, there's no guarantee it will work, but it is guaranteed not to 00:12:02.599 --> 00:12:07.159 work if we keep it tucked away. 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:17.559 If Paul had kept his mouth closed in Corinth, the church would never have been planted. 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:20.480 So we have to keep that word investment in mind. 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:25.679 The second important word that comes to mind is throwing. 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:32.360 Now when we think of planting today, we can tend to think of big agricultural machines 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:35.959 that drill the seed into the ground. 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:39.920 Or even in our garden, we can think of working away with a trowel and making sure that the 00:12:39.920 --> 00:12:44.720 seed is planted in the pot or in the tub or the tray or whatever it is you do. 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:50.720 We tend to think of planting as this quite precise, intricate process. 00:12:50.720 --> 00:13:00.440 But for a farmer in the days of the New Testament, sowing a seed meant throwing. 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:03.240 You took the seed and you threw it on the ground. 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:06.519 Jesus describes that brilliantly in the parable of the sower. 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:09.399 And there's not a huge amount of control as to where it lands. 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:14.759 In that parable, some falls on rocky ground, some falls among thorns, some get snatched 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:19.799 away, but some falls on good soil and it takes root. 00:13:19.799 --> 00:13:27.360 And the key point I want us to take from that is the fact that planting seed involves throwing. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:36.480 And I think that that is a very helpful image for evangelism. 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:40.759 We can tend to think that evangelism is like an art. 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:48.600 And you hear people talk about perfect conversations and kind of deep intentionality and being 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:53.120 able to give a really confident, robust defense of the gospel. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:58.080 People with inspiring personalities and people who almost just have to look at somebody and 00:13:58.080 --> 00:13:59.480 they're converted. 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:01.580 And some people are able to do that, which is great. 00:14:01.580 --> 00:14:06.120 Some people maybe kind of come across almost like they boast in that. 00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:07.120 That's not so good. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:13.960 But for most of us, when we think of evangelism like this kind of specialist art, we feel 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:21.600 like total failure because none of us can do it like that. 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:26.800 And I think maybe, and I'm talking to myself more than anybody else here, I think I need 00:14:26.800 --> 00:14:35.960 to return to the New Testament model of evangelism, which is simply to throw it out there. 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:39.560 Just throw out a text message. 00:14:39.560 --> 00:14:41.600 Throw out an invitation to your neighbor. 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:45.920 Throw out a comment of how you enjoyed church or how God has helped you at work or with 00:14:45.920 --> 00:14:47.320 something that you're doing. 00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:49.960 Throw out a demonstration that you care. 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:55.240 When we can be so crippled by uncertainty or fear or inadequacy, Paul was exactly the 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:56.240 same. 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:58.120 He came to court and scared, weak, trembling. 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:03.960 He didn't have all the answers, but he just went and threw out the seed. 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:10.240 And maybe when it comes to engaging with our unbelieving friends, whether it's colleagues, 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:15.600 neighbors, family, I find I stress so much about what I'm going to say or that opportunity 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:17.879 that I'm just crippled by it. 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:24.559 Maybe we just need to say, ah, stuff it and just throw it out. 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:31.240 And if you throw it out, God can do the rest. 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:34.679 And the likelihood is that most of it won't take root. 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:40.240 If the parable of the sower is a paradigm, then three-quarters of it won't work. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:47.960 But some of it definitely will, even if you never see it for yourself. 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:56.159 As Paul says in 2 Corinthians, the point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap 00:15:56.159 --> 00:16:02.759 sparingly and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:09.200 Let's make that investment by just chucking it out in the week ahead. 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:11.440 The church involves planting. 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:15.759 It also involves labour. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:20.120 Paul gives a specific example of that in verse 60, talks about watering. 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:25.400 And that is an aspect of the many different areas of labour that are required in growing 00:16:25.400 --> 00:16:26.400 crops. 00:16:26.400 --> 00:16:31.840 You want to farm something, you need to cultivate, you need to water, you need to weed, you need 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:33.680 to fertilize, you need to prune. 00:16:33.680 --> 00:16:35.800 There's lots and lots involved. 00:16:35.799 --> 00:16:43.719 The key point is that as a seed begins to grow, there's a lot of hard work needed. 00:16:43.719 --> 00:16:49.039 And watering is a great example of something that's absolutely essential for a plant water 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:51.839 is life-giving. 00:16:51.839 --> 00:16:59.279 My wife left me alone for a few days this summer, and I think every houseplant is pretty 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:05.319 much dead because I didn't water them. 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:10.599 Water is watering is essential, but watering is also hard work. 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:15.240 It's time-consuming, it's heavy, and it's something that you have to do again and again 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:17.559 and again and again. 00:17:17.559 --> 00:17:19.879 And all the other aspects of farming are the same. 00:17:19.879 --> 00:17:24.159 Paul recognizes that in 2 Timothy when he talks about the hard-working farmer. 00:17:24.159 --> 00:17:29.079 One thing that's definitely true of farmers is that they have to work really hard. 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:33.919 There's two important points here that I really want us to think about. 00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:39.200 Number one is the hard work needs to come with the shoots. 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:46.840 In other words, when the seeds start to germinate, a lot of work then needs to be done in order 00:17:46.840 --> 00:17:48.680 to nurture it. 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:57.000 And I think that one of the biggest mistakes that the Free Church has made in the past 00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:07.599 thirty years is that we have tended to think that the work stops when the seed sprouts. 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:14.559 In other words, once somebody becomes a Christian, once they become a member of the church, 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:21.680 we tended to think, Phew, job done. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:29.720 The truth is, the work is just beginning, and we need to work just as hard to disciple 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:35.360 our believers as we do to reach out to those who are still lost. 00:18:35.360 --> 00:18:40.080 And so please, if someone you know becomes a Christian, if someone in your city becomes 00:18:40.080 --> 00:18:44.279 a Christian, someone in this congregation becomes a Christian, never ever think job 00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:45.279 done. 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:51.039 Instead, roll up your sleeves and water them. 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:54.920 The hard work comes with the shoots. 00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:59.440 The second thing that's said before us very powerfully by Paul is that this hard work 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:02.319 is all about teamwork. 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:06.960 So yes, we need to reach out, yes, we need to work to nurture new believers, but we do 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:08.240 not do that on our own. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:10.079 We do that as a team. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:11.440 Paul makes that beautifully clear. 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:18.559 He says, he who plants and he who waters are one, for we are God's fellow workers. 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:21.879 As members of this church, we're all members of the same team. 00:19:21.879 --> 00:19:23.359 We're in it together. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:30.879 And it's for that reason that competitiveness between churches is appalling. 00:19:30.879 --> 00:19:32.559 We are not competing. 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:33.879 We're a team. 00:19:33.879 --> 00:19:39.399 And as a result, we all share in the success of one another's contributions. 00:19:39.399 --> 00:19:40.559 Jesus himself spoke about this. 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:45.519 He says, the saying holds true, one sows, another reaps. 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:49.440 I sent you to reap for that which you did not labor. 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:53.400 Others have labored and you have entered into their labor. 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:59.519 That's a principle that has been true of the Christian church throughout its entire history. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:05.879 And that's why we should be as thrilled about church growth, whether it's in Campbelltown 00:20:05.879 --> 00:20:11.639 or Cornerstone, whether it's Helmsdale or Haddington, wherever it may be, we are all 00:20:11.639 --> 00:20:12.920 in it together. 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:19.240 We need to work hard together, we need to serve together, we need to rejoice together. 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:27.240 Labor is a big part of life in God's church farm. 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:30.000 Third step is growth. 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:35.200 Paul says, I planted a polis watered, but God gave the growth. 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:42.640 Like any farm, there needs to be two types of growth, quantity and quality. 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:47.160 In terms of quantity, the church farm is always aiming to get bigger. 00:20:47.160 --> 00:20:51.759 We must never forget that the biblical view of the church is big. 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:55.060 Lots of people, lots of numbers, lots of nations. 00:20:55.060 --> 00:20:57.680 The church farm is to grow and grow and grow. 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:01.160 We're to stretch out the boundaries of it all the time. 00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:05.400 Our constant prayer should be that we get bigger because that means that more people 00:21:05.400 --> 00:21:09.720 are hearing the good news of Jesus and more people are being saved. 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:14.360 And it should be our constant prayer for us and for other congregations that there will 00:21:14.360 --> 00:21:17.519 be growth in terms of quantity. 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:22.440 But that growth in terms of quantity is not growth at any cost. 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:26.039 It's not just get people in any which way you can. 00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:32.200 It's not to do, I mean, I think there's been things in the news recently of some quite 00:21:32.200 --> 00:21:38.079 unusual ideas to get people into church with helters, skelters and stuff. 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:42.480 I don't know, anyway, I shouldn't be talking about other people like that. 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:45.039 It's not growth at all costs. 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:47.480 There needs to be quality as well. 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:51.559 Now, when I say that, I don't mean that we need to get better people through the door. 00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:53.839 That's complete nonsense. 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:57.759 It means growth in terms of maturity. 00:21:57.759 --> 00:22:00.799 So just like a tree, we start off as a seed. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:02.439 We sprout into a sapling. 00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:10.920 We grow into a young tree, but the goal is to reach full maturity of strength and competence. 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:12.720 And we see that emphasising the New Testament. 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:18.400 There's a clear example when Paul talks about people who can become elders in the church. 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:23.400 He says they must not be recent converts in 1 Timothy chapter 3. 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:26.519 And the term he uses for recent converts is a really interesting word. 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:32.080 It's the word neophyte, which literally means newly planted. 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:43.480 And it's conveying the idea that a new Christian is just a fragile sapling that needs to grow 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:46.279 and grow and grow. 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:51.000 And it is amazing to see new growth in that way. 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:55.079 It's amazing to see people come to faith, but we're reminded that that's not the end 00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:56.079 of the story. 00:22:56.079 --> 00:23:01.480 There's still a long way to go, and we want to help each other grow further and further 00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:04.360 into maturity. 00:23:04.360 --> 00:23:16.000 Now it's very important to remember that in order to grow, you need something very specific. 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:17.519 What is it that you need to grow? 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:24.400 If you think in terms of growing into maturity, what is it you need? 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:26.519 You need the basics. 00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:34.799 If you look at a child, a baby, they need the basics of food and warmth and sleep and 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:36.359 protection. 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:40.879 In terms of our Christian growth, we need the basics, because if you look at the Corinthians, 00:23:40.879 --> 00:23:47.960 they had stunted in their growth, and Paul says you need milk, not solid food. 00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:53.839 And it's really interesting to grow as Christians, we need to keep coming back to the basics. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:24:01.639 Life for God, love for one another, coming to church, praying, reading our Bibles, repenting, 00:24:01.639 --> 00:24:05.599 having fellowship together, rejoicing. 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:15.199 I've been so guilty of forgetting the basics in my Christian life, and every time I do, 00:24:15.199 --> 00:24:17.919 I stunt my growth. 00:24:17.919 --> 00:24:23.619 These two aspects of growth, quality and quantity, remind us that mission and discipleship always 00:24:23.619 --> 00:24:25.359 go hand in hand. 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:31.519 As we reach out to bring people in, we need to nurture one another in order to reach maturity. 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:38.199 Now, for all of that growth to happen, the New Testament makes it clear that a particular 00:24:38.199 --> 00:24:40.199 mindset is needed. 00:24:40.199 --> 00:24:47.039 There's a particular attitude and way of thinking that needs to be at the forefront of this. 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:49.679 What do you think it is? 00:24:49.679 --> 00:24:52.519 Is it courage? 00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:54.639 Is it intentionality? 00:24:54.639 --> 00:24:56.359 Is it vision? 00:24:56.359 --> 00:24:57.359 Is it zeal? 00:24:57.359 --> 00:25:00.440 Is it passion? 00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:07.680 These are all good things, but they are not, I don't think, the mindset that the New Testament 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:11.480 attaches to farming. 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:15.759 Do you know what mindset the New Testament attaches to farming? 00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:21.639 Patience. 00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:29.520 It does not grow weary of doing good, for in due season, we will reap if we do not give 00:25:29.520 --> 00:25:31.000 up. 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:33.759 And that makes perfect sense. 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:37.120 When a farmer sows a seed, it's out of his hands then. 00:25:37.120 --> 00:25:40.400 He has to patiently wait for it to grow. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:45.880 In the church, growth is not our work, it's God's work. 00:25:45.880 --> 00:25:52.120 And so the mindset for us is to be patient, to keep sowing, to keep laboring, and to patiently 00:25:52.120 --> 00:25:54.960 wait for God to give the increase. 00:25:54.960 --> 00:26:00.660 And equally, it's reminding us that as we nurture one another towards growth, we must 00:26:00.660 --> 00:26:06.440 remain patient with one another. 00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:11.200 The Gospels say something very beautiful about Jesus. 00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:18.120 They say that He did, will not break a bruised reed. 00:26:18.120 --> 00:26:23.539 And that's a brilliant picture of how you and I need to look after one another. 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:32.799 We need to be patient and gentle and supportive as we seek to grow together. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:35.039 Step four is harvest. 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:37.960 In the church farm, there is a harvest. 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:43.200 That's reminding us quite simply that everything that we're doing has a goal. 00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:48.720 For the farmer, he plants his seed, all of that is aiming towards the goal of the harvest. 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:53.039 And it's reminding us that working in the church farm is incredibly exciting. 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:55.840 We're working towards that harvest. 00:26:55.840 --> 00:27:02.319 And it's very easy in Scotland in 2019 to be discouraged and to think that the harvest 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:06.519 is pure. 00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:10.319 Rubbish, that is theological rubbish. 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:12.240 The harvest is plentiful. 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:14.119 It's all around us. 00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:17.879 Scotland is a massive harvest field for us to work in. 00:27:17.879 --> 00:27:18.879 That's our goal. 00:27:18.879 --> 00:27:20.079 That's our purpose. 00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:22.119 That's our mission. 00:27:22.119 --> 00:27:26.619 We are working for a great harvest. 00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:31.119 And then finally in the church farm, there are wages. 00:27:31.119 --> 00:27:35.279 Paul says in verse eight, he who plants and he who waters are one. 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:40.559 Each will receive his wages according to his labor. 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:43.519 Now, what on earth does that mean? 00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:46.079 What's Paul talking about there? 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:51.240 Is he implying some kind of sort of a work-based salvation? 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:57.599 Is he implying the idea that you have to kind of work your way up to a better place in heaven? 00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:02.599 Is he implying that there's a sort of legalism hidden inside the Gospel? 00:28:02.599 --> 00:28:03.599 No. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:05.839 What does he mean then? 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:16.719 Well, I think what he means is that serving in God's farm is rewarding. 00:28:16.719 --> 00:28:21.199 In other words, it's worth it. 00:28:21.199 --> 00:28:24.559 And that's a crucial point for us to remember. 00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:27.159 Think about a farm for a moment. 00:28:27.159 --> 00:28:30.319 A farm smells bad. 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:31.419 Farms are messy. 00:28:31.419 --> 00:28:32.879 Farms are dirty. 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:34.880 Farms can be heartbreaking. 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:36.640 Farms are exhausting. 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:39.680 But farming is rewarding. 00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:45.200 All of that sweat and muck and toil is worth it. 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:59.880 A church should be smelly, dirty, messy, exhausting, and heartbreaking. 00:28:59.880 --> 00:29:06.040 Not in the sense of being kind of casual and flippant and just not bothered, but in the 00:29:06.040 --> 00:29:10.840 sense of being a gathering of broken people. 00:29:10.840 --> 00:29:15.400 People who've mucked up their lives, people who've tried and failed, people who are at 00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:20.400 the end of their strength, people whose hearts and lives have been broken. 00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:25.040 The church of Jesus Christ is for people like that. 00:29:25.039 --> 00:29:31.680 And if you work away at sharing the hope of the gospel with people whose lives are in 00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:41.559 that mess, and if you see their lives transformed by the power of the cross, boy, is it worth 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:45.519 it. 00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:53.319 And the whole idea of wages also means that what you are doing in the church is worth 00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:55.399 something. 00:29:55.399 --> 00:29:59.240 The image of wages tells you that God values what you are doing. 00:29:59.240 --> 00:30:04.000 It's a great reminder that you are a crucial part of God's church farm, whether you're 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:10.799 doing Cres or money counting or GDPR or PVG or door duty or fixing a leaking window or 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:14.919 kids church or having someone to stay with you for a few days or doing tea after the 00:30:14.919 --> 00:30:21.439 service no matter what you are doing, God values that work. 00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:25.720 We can so easily devote our time and energy to stuff that will prove worthless. 00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:29.880 Paul speaks about that in the second half of the chapter that sometimes we can be standing 00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:33.600 on the foundation of Jesus Christ but then do all sorts of pointless stuff that doesn't 00:30:33.600 --> 00:30:34.799 matter. 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:40.240 But if we do the things that God asks us to do, if we are working on His farm, then what 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:43.000 we are doing is worth it. 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:46.000 What we are doing is so valuable. 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:50.720 And that should be a great motivation for us. 00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:56.720 So in this farm, in this congregation farm that we are in, we have a message that we 00:30:56.720 --> 00:30:57.720 plant. 00:30:57.720 --> 00:31:00.600 We have members who are here together as laborers. 00:31:00.600 --> 00:31:04.160 We need to do that with a mindset of patience as we look for growth. 00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:11.640 We have a mission to bring in a harvest and we are motivated because serving is rewarding. 00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:21.040 And all of that is because we have one master, as Paul said, you are God's field. 00:31:21.040 --> 00:31:26.520 And the fact that you are God's field is reminding you that our micro church farm here at St. 00:31:26.520 --> 00:31:30.680 Columbus is part of something much, much bigger. 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:34.240 There's a macro church farm as well. 00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:40.560 And the unity and growth that we seek is not just about being united and growing as a congregation, 00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:41.879 although that's important. 00:31:41.879 --> 00:31:47.440 It's about us being part of God's big farm, about being part of the whole church of Jesus 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:48.440 Christ. 00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:52.799 And this pattern that we have set before us here doesn't just remind us what we need 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:54.599 to be doing as a congregation. 00:31:54.599 --> 00:32:01.000 It actually conveys to us the theological truth about God's plan for His church. 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:06.839 If you think about, if you want to summarize God's plan for redemptive history in the post-apostolic 00:32:06.839 --> 00:32:12.039 era, in other words, the story of the church since it was founded by Jesus Christ, that's 00:32:12.039 --> 00:32:16.720 telling us what the story of the church is going to be. 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:21.919 It begins with planting a message sown from the New Testament onwards. 00:32:21.919 --> 00:32:23.779 It grows through labor. 00:32:23.779 --> 00:32:29.039 People are raising it up to serve, working together across history, across the nations. 00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:31.839 Growth takes place and the church is still growing. 00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:36.759 In quantity, we go from 120 people at the beginning of Acts to millions and millions 00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:38.199 and millions today. 00:32:38.199 --> 00:32:43.559 We grow in quality as we all start with a simple childlike faith growing up into theological 00:32:43.559 --> 00:32:44.559 giants. 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:50.199 There's a harvest as many people have come in and many people are still to come in, and 00:32:50.199 --> 00:32:56.879 there's a reward at the end of it when Jesus returns and we are brought into the new creation. 00:32:56.880 --> 00:33:03.240 Then the farm will no longer be battling in a wilderness, then the farm will be flourishing 00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:06.800 in paradise. 00:33:06.800 --> 00:33:12.520 The final point that I want to set before you tonight is that every single one of those 00:33:12.520 --> 00:33:17.400 steps is all about Jesus. 00:33:17.400 --> 00:33:21.160 It's not about Paul or Apollos. 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:24.080 It's not about St. Columbus or the free church. 00:33:24.079 --> 00:33:26.960 The story of the church is all about Jesus. 00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:30.399 In other words, the macro is far more important than the micro. 00:33:30.399 --> 00:33:33.599 We're not here to be a successful church farm ourselves. 00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:39.279 We're here to be one of the many, many fields in Jesus' giant church farm. 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:45.240 That's because every single step in this process is completely centered on Jesus. 00:33:45.240 --> 00:33:49.799 The seed is the truth revealed in Jesus. 00:33:49.799 --> 00:33:50.839 He is the Word. 00:33:50.839 --> 00:33:55.559 He is the wisdom from God, as Paul writes in his letters to the Corinthians. 00:33:55.559 --> 00:33:56.559 He is the mind. 00:33:56.559 --> 00:33:58.519 His is the mind that we seek to have. 00:33:58.519 --> 00:34:01.720 The message we proclaim is all about him. 00:34:01.720 --> 00:34:07.199 The labor is a team assembled by Jesus and empowered by Jesus. 00:34:07.199 --> 00:34:10.480 He sends the Holy Spirit to equip us to serve him. 00:34:10.480 --> 00:34:15.599 As Paul said, as we read, what we do does not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power 00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:17.239 of God. 00:34:17.239 --> 00:34:20.559 Growth is growth into Jesus. 00:34:20.559 --> 00:34:24.119 When we talk about sanctification, we are simply talking about a process whereby we 00:34:24.119 --> 00:34:26.960 become more like him. 00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:31.519 Maturity in the faith simply means to be more like Jesus. 00:34:31.519 --> 00:34:34.079 The growth is growth into him. 00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:37.400 The harvest is a gift to Jesus. 00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:39.279 He sends out the laborers. 00:34:39.279 --> 00:34:43.320 We bring the harvest to him. 00:34:43.320 --> 00:34:54.720 And the reward, the wages, is an eternity with Jesus. 00:34:54.720 --> 00:34:59.680 And if you like, we can sum up that story like this. 00:34:59.680 --> 00:35:02.400 In the Old Testament, it says it's coming. 00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:04.600 At the cross, Jesus said it's finished. 00:35:04.600 --> 00:35:08.920 In the New Testament church, they said it's just beginning. 00:35:08.920 --> 00:35:13.280 In the last days that we're living in now, the messages, it's not done yet. 00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:19.119 And at the new creation, it will never end. 00:35:19.119 --> 00:35:25.119 God is building a big farm. 00:35:25.119 --> 00:35:32.599 And being on that farm and working in that farm is brilliant. 00:35:32.599 --> 00:35:36.720 So in the week ahead, let's go for it. 00:35:36.720 --> 00:35:37.720 Amen. 00:35:37.719 --> 00:35:39.199 Amen. 00:35:39.199 --> 00:35:49.679 Father, we thank you for the work that you're doing in building your church. 00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:57.199 And we know, Lord, that we are full of weakness, fear, and trembling. 00:35:57.199 --> 00:36:01.839 But we so want to work for you and to work well for you. 00:36:01.839 --> 00:36:06.959 Help us to be those who will sow the seed of the gospel in the lives of the people around 00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:08.400 us. 00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:13.599 Help us to nurture one another as we work and strive together. 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:17.320 Please in your mercy, bring growth. 00:36:17.320 --> 00:36:23.000 And may the people in our family, the people we work with, the people we know around us, 00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:27.039 may they become the harvest who are gathered in. 00:36:27.039 --> 00:36:34.000 And in all of that, we look for the amazing reward of being with you forever. 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:36.199 Please have mercy on us. 00:36:36.199 --> 00:36:43.039 And pray, Lord, that as one, we would work together for you. 00:36:43.039 --> 00:37:10.599 In Jesus' name, amen.