WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.500 So that's 1 Corinthians chapter 3. 00:00:02.859 --> 00:00:04.179 Now we'll read the whole chapter. 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:07.360 Let's hear God's word together. 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:13.880 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly. 00:00:14.700 --> 00:00:16.179 Mere infants in Christ. 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:20.839 I give you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:22.660 Indeed, you are still not ready. 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:24.679 You are still worldly. 00:00:25.539 --> 00:00:29.539 For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? 00:00:30.500 --> 00:00:32.520 Are you not acting like mere men? 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:40.079 For when one says, I follow Paul, and another, I follow Apollos, are you not mere men? 00:00:40.340 --> 00:00:42.399 What, after all, is Apollos? 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:44.320 And what is Paul? 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:50.799 Only servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 00:00:51.400 --> 00:00:56.200 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 00:00:56.200 --> 00:01:03.000 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. 00:01:03.800 --> 00:01:10.299 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:12.820 For we are God's fellow workers. 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:15.780 You are God's field, God's building. 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:23.519 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. 00:01:24.340 --> 00:01:26.640 But each one should be careful how he builds. 00:01:27.379 --> 00:01:33.099 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 00:01:33.099 --> 00:01:40.199 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, 00:01:40.859 --> 00:01:45.439 his work will be shown for what it is, because the day will bring it to light. 00:01:46.179 --> 00:01:51.379 It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 00:01:52.139 --> 00:01:55.979 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 00:01:56.639 --> 00:01:59.259 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. 00:01:59.260 --> 00:02:04.700 He himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 00:02:05.620 --> 00:02:11.219 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's Spirit lives in you? 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:16.400 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. 00:02:16.939 --> 00:02:20.860 For God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple. 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:23.219 Do not deceive yourselves. 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:27.159 If anyone of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:30.599 he should become a fool, so that he may become wise. 00:02:31.020 --> 00:02:34.599 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:39.240 As it is written, he catches the wise in their craftiness. 00:02:39.740 --> 00:02:43.819 And again, the Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile. 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:47.479 So then, no more boasting about men. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:53.519 All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:56.920 or the present or the future, all are yours. 00:02:57.480 --> 00:03:02.780 And you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. 00:03:03.060 --> 00:03:05.780 It's a huge privilege to be here with you today. 00:03:05.879 --> 00:03:11.020 And I have to say that it's just fantastic to see you having these Mission Sundays. 00:03:11.020 --> 00:03:17.160 It's a brilliant way to spend the first day of a week and to do it from time to time, 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:21.939 just take the time to hear more about what God is doing across the world. 00:03:22.040 --> 00:03:23.640 So it's brilliant to be part of that. 00:03:23.939 --> 00:03:27.080 And I thank you very much for your warm welcome. 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:31.439 On behalf of my wife and children, they want to apologize for not being with you today. 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:35.719 My wife's on Sunday school duty, and my son's on screens duty at St. Columbus today. 00:03:35.719 --> 00:03:39.280 So they were conscripted to participate there. 00:03:39.340 --> 00:03:43.419 But otherwise, they would have loved to have been here with you today. 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:47.360 Well, I'd like us to turn back together to 1 Corinthians chapter 3, 00:03:47.500 --> 00:03:49.780 which James so kindly read for us. 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:53.560 If you read through the New Testament, 00:03:54.000 --> 00:04:01.360 you'll see that often images are used to describe the church. 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:05.219 There's various examples of these, and they're all very helpful. 00:04:05.219 --> 00:04:11.039 Perhaps the most profound of all is the image of the church as a bride, 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:16.019 Jesus coming to take his bride to himself. 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:19.519 You also have the image of the church as a body, many different parts. 00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:22.180 Each part is essential. 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:24.899 There's several images like this. 00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:27.120 In the second half of the chapter we read, 00:04:27.220 --> 00:04:29.480 we have the image of the church as a building. 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:33.279 And again, that's a very helpful way to understand the church. 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:40.879 But I want us to focus today in particular on an image that we maybe don't always associate 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:45.459 with the church, but one that nevertheless is very important. 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:50.359 We are going to think about the church as a farm. 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:59.160 And the church farm is a crucial part of God's great mission. 00:04:59.819 --> 00:05:02.340 And that's what I want us to think about together today. 00:05:02.420 --> 00:05:07.600 Let me read verses 1 to 9 again, where we see this image being set before us. 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:34.879 If we move on to the next slide. 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:36.100 What then is Apollos? 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:37.100 What is Paul? 00:05:37.779 --> 00:05:40.680 Servants to whom you believed as the Lord assigned to each. 00:05:41.100 --> 00:05:44.899 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:50.899 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:56.639 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 00:05:57.199 --> 00:05:59.139 For we are God's fellow workers. 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:02.819 You are God's field, God's building. 00:06:03.539 --> 00:06:11.279 I should perhaps have said that I prepared these slides using the ESV, which is ever so slightly different to the NIV, which you use. 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:14.319 So my apologies that I didn't think of that in advance. 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:20.920 As you may know, Paul in writing to the Corinthian church has two great concerns. 00:06:21.659 --> 00:06:24.279 These are unity and growth. 00:06:25.159 --> 00:06:30.219 The letter was written to address divisions that had arisen in the church. 00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:37.100 As you can see, that division partly revolves around allegiance to particular people. 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:39.000 So some say, I follow Paul. 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:42.100 Others, I follow Apollos. 00:06:42.100 --> 00:06:53.560 And Paul writes to them in absolutely uncompromising terms to say that that kind of division is totally unacceptable. 00:06:54.780 --> 00:07:10.200 And 1 Corinthians, like many other parts of Paul's writings, is a great reminder that the unity of the church was one of the most pressing and important issues in the mind of the apostles. 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:18.439 Now, we live in a day when the church has in many ways long forgotten that. 00:07:19.719 --> 00:07:31.639 To us, church unity can often be almost like a token gesture and something that in theory we value, but in reality we've given up on. 00:07:31.639 --> 00:07:39.279 To Paul, church unity was a burning passion. 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:43.360 To us, division is inevitable. 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:49.159 To Paul, division was unthinkable. 00:07:49.160 --> 00:08:01.580 And part of the reason this congregation was divisive was because they were immature and they needed to grow. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:05.600 These two great concerns of Paul, unity and growth. 00:08:05.840 --> 00:08:08.400 You can see that in the first three verses of the chapter. 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:16.720 Paul's saying you can't go on to the rich food of the gospel because you can't even get the basics of Christian unity right. 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:29.060 And I think that raises a very important point because sometimes we can think that as we grow in our knowledge, it justifies us separating from others. 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:35.820 So we think to ourselves, well, we've got a better grasp of the Bible than these other Christians. 00:08:36.180 --> 00:08:40.300 I've got a better framework of theology than the people around me. 00:08:40.299 --> 00:08:42.439 I need to leave. 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:49.319 And I need to do my own thing because these other people aren't getting it. 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:53.639 What would Paul say to you? 00:08:55.399 --> 00:09:01.219 I think he would say, you need to go back to milk, not solid food. 00:09:02.779 --> 00:09:06.419 Division is rarely a sign of maturity. 00:09:06.419 --> 00:09:10.539 It's usually a sign of childishness. 00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:15.299 The Corinthian church needed unity and growth. 00:09:16.039 --> 00:09:18.099 And we, of course, need exactly the same. 00:09:19.500 --> 00:09:25.740 So in order to address these issues, Paul uses agricultural imagery. 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:29.219 He describes the church as a farm. 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:34.000 And we might think, well, that seems a bit unusual, but it's actually something that's quite common in the New Testament. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.559 Jesus himself does it. 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:39.860 The parable of the sower, the call for laborers to the harvest. 00:09:40.019 --> 00:09:41.720 It's all farm language. 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:44.679 Paul does it here and in several other places. 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:49.779 Second Timothy chapter 2, he again refers to the farmer imagery, for example. 00:09:50.620 --> 00:09:51.519 James does it. 00:09:51.860 --> 00:09:55.159 He speaks about the farmer as an example of patience for us to follow. 00:09:55.620 --> 00:10:03.340 John and Peter both talk about seed sowing as part of their imagery to describe the life and work of the church. 00:10:03.340 --> 00:10:10.440 And Revelation chapter 14 uses very vivid imagery of a sickle and a harvest. 00:10:10.740 --> 00:10:17.860 So the image of a farm is a picture of what the church is meant to be like. 00:10:19.100 --> 00:10:26.840 So in the same way as Paul tries to paint a picture in our minds, I have a picture for you here that I'm going to just run through very quickly. 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:32.960 Paul sets before us five key aspects of this image. 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:39.100 Planting, labor, growth, harvest, and wages. 00:10:39.940 --> 00:10:44.480 Now I acknowledge that they didn't have combine harvesters in the first century. 00:10:46.040 --> 00:10:49.019 But I just like combine harvesters. 00:10:49.259 --> 00:10:51.560 So it's just an image. 00:10:51.800 --> 00:10:53.340 It's not to be taken literally. 00:10:53.340 --> 00:10:59.759 So I want us just to look at these in a little bit more detail. 00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:05.980 Because these are the key aspects, I think, of what it means for the church to be a farm. 00:11:06.460 --> 00:11:10.580 And these truths apply to you here as a congregation. 00:11:11.540 --> 00:11:13.879 And I want us to think that through in a little bit more detail. 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:23.980 And then at the end, I want us just to touch briefly on the fact that this also applies to the whole church of Jesus Christ. 00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:26.419 So let's go through these one by one. 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:28.620 First of all, we have planting. 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:32.080 The church farm begins with planting. 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:35.120 In order for planting to happen, what do you need? 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:37.159 You need a seed. 00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:44.120 And the whole emergence of the Christian church, whether it's in Corinth or wherever it has grown, 00:11:44.459 --> 00:11:49.539 is dependent on the existence of a very specific seed. 00:11:50.319 --> 00:11:51.360 What is that seed? 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:54.600 It is the message of the gospel. 00:11:55.379 --> 00:11:58.579 If you were to go back and look at the previous chapter, 00:11:59.059 --> 00:12:03.139 Paul recounts to these Corinthians how he planted that church. 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:04.419 And how did he do that? 00:12:04.419 --> 00:12:07.000 He did it with a message. 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:10.159 Let me put Corinthians 2.1 on the screen. 00:12:10.539 --> 00:12:15.919 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom, 00:12:16.019 --> 00:12:21.419 for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:25.159 It was a simple, specific message. 00:12:25.379 --> 00:12:27.779 It was the news that Jesus has been crucified, 00:12:28.099 --> 00:12:32.079 and that through that crucifixion, you and I can be saved. 00:12:32.079 --> 00:12:33.500 Our sins can be forgiven. 00:12:33.500 --> 00:12:36.120 Our relationship with God can be restored, 00:12:36.460 --> 00:12:40.120 and our lives can be transformed forever. 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:44.980 And that's what the gospel is, a message of good news. 00:12:45.419 --> 00:12:49.659 The seed in God's church farm is words. 00:12:49.659 --> 00:13:01.740 And every Christian in here today and every Christian around the world today is a Christian because of the transforming power of that message. 00:13:02.459 --> 00:13:05.959 Jesus uses exactly the same imagery in the parable of the sower. 00:13:06.079 --> 00:13:09.419 The word is a seed that is sown and planted. 00:13:09.819 --> 00:13:11.559 That's where the church comes from. 00:13:11.819 --> 00:13:15.839 Step one is the seed message of the gospel. 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:23.600 Now, in relation to that imagery of planting a seed, there's two key words that I want us to think about. 00:13:24.259 --> 00:13:27.540 The first key word is investment. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:31.420 A seed is an investment. 00:13:32.139 --> 00:13:36.180 And I think that's a brilliant picture of how the gospel works. 00:13:36.179 --> 00:13:46.179 I don't know if any of you here are keen gardeners, but imagine that one of you was a really keen expert gardener. 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:50.620 And you came in here to talk about gardening, and you said, 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:54.659 I have this packet of very valuable seeds. 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:57.080 These seeds are rare. 00:13:57.539 --> 00:13:58.519 They are precious. 00:13:58.779 --> 00:14:03.679 And if you sow them, they will grow a plant that's just absolutely stunning. 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:05.299 They are so safe. 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:10.620 In fact, they are so safe, I have kept them for the last 30 years. 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:17.820 Now, if you were to open that packet of 30-year-old seeds, what would you find? 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:23.299 You'd find something that's rotten and useless. 00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:29.259 A seed cannot be kept. 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:32.200 It has to be invested. 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:37.879 And by making that investment, the potential return is amazing. 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:39.600 Jesus spoke in those terms. 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:42.439 Let me put John 12 on the screen for you. 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:47.360 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. 00:14:47.460 --> 00:14:50.659 But if it dies, it bears much fruit. 00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:54.659 Like any investment, there is no guarantee it will work. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:15:00.000 But it's guaranteed not to work if we keep it tucked away. 00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:07.179 If Paul had kept his mouth closed in Corinth, there would have been no church planted there. 00:15:08.659 --> 00:15:11.600 The second key word is throwing. 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:17.279 Now, when we think of planting seeds, we can tend to think of doing it very carefully. 00:15:17.460 --> 00:15:23.840 So those of you who maybe have greenhouses will maybe get a seed tray, put some compost in, and you'll carefully position the seeds. 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:36.500 Even at a big agricultural level, sometimes you can see tractors pulling these enormous cedars that drill directly into the ground that's very specific and focused and targeted. 00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:42.039 But all of these are not really how seed was sown in the days of the New Testament. 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:49.399 For a farmer in the days of the New Testament, sowing seed meant throwing. 00:15:49.399 --> 00:16:03.059 And as Jesus describes in the parable of the sower, some seed will fall on rocky ground, some will fall among thorns, some get snatched away, but some will fall on good soil and take root. 00:16:03.059 --> 00:16:07.779 And the key thing I want to emphasize from that is that planting involves throwing. 00:16:08.839 --> 00:16:15.359 And I think that's a very helpful image when we think about mission and when we think about evangelism. 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:27.279 We can tend to think that mission and evangelism is an art, that it's all about having perfect conversations, about having deep intentionality in terms of the way you live your life, 00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:33.980 and being able to give a very competent, reasoned defense of the gospel and an explanation of theology. 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:39.159 We tend to think of people who've got inspiring personalities that just draw people to them. 00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:41.860 Now, all of that is true, and that can come into it. 00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:45.960 But some people are very successful. 00:16:46.180 --> 00:16:53.500 Most people think of evangelism in those terms and feel like complete failures because most of us aren't like that. 00:16:55.340 --> 00:17:03.259 And I think we need to return to the New Testament model of evangelism, which is just to throw the seed out. 00:17:06.819 --> 00:17:09.360 Throw out an invitation to a friend. 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:13.359 Throw out a text message to tell someone that you care for them. 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:15.779 Throw out a comment to someone. 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:18.759 Throw out a demonstration that you care. 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:22.919 Often we can be so crippled by a fear of inadequacy or uncertainty. 00:17:23.099 --> 00:17:24.379 Paul was exactly the same. 00:17:24.740 --> 00:17:26.379 He was scared, weak, trembling. 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:30.839 He didn't have all the answers, but he went to Corinth and he threw out the gospel seed. 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:41.299 And maybe in our lives as missionaries in our work, among our friends, among our families, maybe we just have to say, 00:17:42.139 --> 00:17:42.579 Stuff it. 00:17:43.859 --> 00:17:45.259 I'm going to throw it out. 00:17:46.699 --> 00:17:48.939 I'm going to throw out an invitation to church. 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:53.339 I'm going to throw out a comment that I'm going to pray for somebody. 00:17:53.339 --> 00:17:58.879 Now, most of it probably won't take root. 00:18:00.959 --> 00:18:03.299 Probably three quarters of it won't take root. 00:18:03.899 --> 00:18:10.959 Because if you look at the parable of the sower as a paradigm for evangelism, three out of four seeds don't work. 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:14.720 But some of it will. 00:18:15.420 --> 00:18:17.620 Some of it definitely will. 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:21.039 Even if you never see it for ourselves. 00:18:21.579 --> 00:18:23.480 Paul later on goes on to say, 00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:26.740 Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly. 00:18:27.100 --> 00:18:31.079 Whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully. 00:18:31.779 --> 00:18:34.160 The church farm needs to plant seed. 00:18:35.360 --> 00:18:39.559 The next step is labor, as you can see on our screen. 00:18:39.559 --> 00:18:43.019 And the example Paul gives in terms of labor is watering. 00:18:43.679 --> 00:18:49.000 And that's an aspect of the many areas of labor required in growing crops. 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:53.379 There needs to be watering, weeding, pruning, fertilizing, all of these things. 00:18:53.460 --> 00:19:00.440 The key point is that as a seed begins to grow, there is still a lot of hard work needed. 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:03.759 Watering is absolutely essential. 00:19:04.339 --> 00:19:07.539 For a plant, water is life-giving. 00:19:07.539 --> 00:19:10.799 But watering is also hard work. 00:19:11.659 --> 00:19:18.059 Now we probably struggle to sometimes see that because we get more than enough natural watering from the skies. 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:21.099 But if we were to go weeks without rain, 00:19:21.099 --> 00:19:28.419 If you had to fill watering cans and carry them down to your allotment or take them around your garden, 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:33.679 or if you had to water an entire field, it would be a huge amount of work. 00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:38.219 It's time-consuming, it's heavy, and you have to keep on doing it. 00:19:38.339 --> 00:19:41.480 And all the other aspects of farming are the same. 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:46.819 Paul emphasizes that in 2 Timothy when he talks about the hard-working farmer. 00:19:47.339 --> 00:19:52.579 One thing that's definitely true of farmers is that they have to work very hard. 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:56.579 And there's two very important points I want to highlight here. 00:19:56.579 --> 00:20:02.559 Number one, the hard work needs to come with the shoots. 00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:06.079 The hard work needs to come with the shoots. 00:20:06.299 --> 00:20:12.899 When the seed begins to grow, then there needs to be a lot of work to nurture that plant. 00:20:12.900 --> 00:20:24.780 And I think that possibly one of the biggest mistakes that the church in Scotland has made, 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:27.400 and I include the free church in that, 00:20:27.500 --> 00:20:32.040 I think one of the biggest mistakes that we've made in the last 30 years 00:20:32.040 --> 00:20:39.160 is that we have tended to think that the work stops once the seed germinates. 00:20:39.160 --> 00:20:43.040 In other words, once someone becomes a Christian, 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:46.980 once they become a member of the church, we tend to think, 00:20:47.560 --> 00:20:49.240 phew, job done. 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:54.880 But the truth is, the work is just beginning. 00:20:56.040 --> 00:21:01.019 And we need to work hard to help build up and disciple new believers, 00:21:01.320 --> 00:21:04.779 just as much as we need to work to reach out to the lost. 00:21:04.779 --> 00:21:08.240 So when you see someone become a Christian, 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:10.859 never think, oh, job done. 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:15.640 Instead, roll up your sleeves and water them. 00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:22.779 The second thing is that this hard work is all about teamwork. 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:26.180 So yes, we need to work hard to reach out. 00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:29.339 We need to work hard to nurture new believers. 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:30.920 But we don't do that on our own. 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:32.420 We do that as a team. 00:21:32.759 --> 00:21:34.220 Paul makes that beautifully clear. 00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:36.299 Let me bring verse 8 up for you. 00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:40.899 He who plants and he who waters are one, for we are God's fellow workers. 00:21:41.639 --> 00:21:46.119 And that's a vital aspect of mission, that as a church, 00:21:46.159 --> 00:21:48.359 we are all members of the same team. 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:49.779 We are all in it together. 00:21:49.919 --> 00:21:52.099 We are all pulling in the same direction. 00:21:52.460 --> 00:21:56.399 That's why competitiveness between churches is appalling. 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.880 We are not competing. 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:01.759 We are a team. 00:22:02.320 --> 00:22:07.340 And as a result, we all share in the success of each other's contribution. 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:08.480 Jesus speaks about that. 00:22:08.560 --> 00:22:10.259 Let me put John 4 on the screen. 00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:11.580 Here the saying holds true. 00:22:12.120 --> 00:22:13.900 One sows and another reaps. 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:16.880 I sent you to reap for that which you did not labor. 00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:21.320 Others have labored and you have entered into their labor. 00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:27.960 That's why we should be as thrilled about church growth in Buclew or in Barvis, 00:22:28.539 --> 00:22:32.179 in Scotland, in Singapore, wherever it may be. 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:34.639 We need to work really hard together. 00:22:34.819 --> 00:22:36.079 We need to serve together. 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:39.099 We need to rejoice together. 00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:44.599 The third aspect of our picture, our image, is growth. 00:22:44.879 --> 00:22:48.179 In the church farm, there's planting, labor, and there's growth. 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:53.500 Paul says, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 00:22:54.339 --> 00:23:00.339 Like any farm, there's two types of growth needed, quantity and quality. 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:05.539 In terms of quantity, the church farm is always aiming to get bigger. 00:23:05.539 --> 00:23:09.279 Never forget that the biblical vision for the church is big. 00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:13.619 Lots of numbers, lots of nations, lots of people. 00:23:14.059 --> 00:23:17.779 And the church farm is here to grow bigger and bigger. 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:22.399 Our constant prayer should be that we would get bigger because that means that more people 00:23:22.399 --> 00:23:23.319 are here in the gospel. 00:23:23.619 --> 00:23:24.859 More people are being saved. 00:23:25.180 --> 00:23:27.700 It should be the constant prayer for the congregation here. 00:23:27.940 --> 00:23:31.480 It should be our constant prayer for other congregations as well. 00:23:31.480 --> 00:23:36.579 But the growth in quantity is not quantity at any cost. 00:23:37.980 --> 00:23:40.640 There also needs to be quality. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:46.360 Now by that, we don't mean getting better people through the door. 00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:48.279 That's just nonsense. 00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:54.140 What we mean is that we want to see growth in terms of our maturity. 00:23:55.319 --> 00:24:00.059 So just like a tree, we start off as a seed and then we grow into a sapling. 00:24:00.059 --> 00:24:04.899 But our goal is to reach maturity as Christians, to be a fully grown tree. 00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:11.720 And it's interesting that when Paul sets out the qualifications for leadership in the church, 00:24:11.819 --> 00:24:17.259 particularly for elders, he says that elders must not be recent converts. 00:24:17.980 --> 00:24:22.980 And the word he uses is neophyte, which literally means newly planted. 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:28.819 A new Christian is like a new plant just sprouting out of the ground, 00:24:28.920 --> 00:24:30.640 which is an amazing thing to see. 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:34.200 But it also means that there's a good way still to go. 00:24:35.339 --> 00:24:40.960 And all of us should strive to grow and strive to help each other grow as well. 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:50.299 And the key thing to remember is that the thing you need to grow is the basics. 00:24:51.460 --> 00:24:58.000 The Corinthians had stunted in their growth, so they needed milk, not solid food. 00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:04.340 And for us to grow as Christians, we always need to come back to the basics. 00:25:04.339 --> 00:25:12.419 The basics of love for God, love for other people, coming to church, praying, reading your Bible, 00:25:12.740 --> 00:25:15.819 repenting, fellowship together, rejoicing. 00:25:16.619 --> 00:25:20.019 And these two aspects of growth, quantity and quality, 00:25:20.119 --> 00:25:24.220 remind us that mission and discipleship always go hand in hand. 00:25:24.339 --> 00:25:27.059 We need to reach out to bring people in. 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:31.779 We need to nurture one another in order to reach maturity. 00:25:31.779 --> 00:25:41.720 And in that work of growth that's essential to the church farm, a key mindset is needed. 00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:44.180 What is that mindset? 00:25:45.779 --> 00:25:47.720 Is it intentionality? 00:25:48.779 --> 00:25:50.339 Is it vision? 00:25:51.379 --> 00:25:52.539 Is it zeal? 00:25:53.299 --> 00:25:54.420 Is it courage? 00:25:56.139 --> 00:25:59.559 These are all good things, but they are not the mindset 00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:03.079 that the New Testament attaches to the image of farming. 00:26:03.079 --> 00:26:08.679 What mindset does the New Testament attach to farming? 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:13.539 Patience. 00:26:16.519 --> 00:26:18.919 As Galatians 6 says, 00:26:19.339 --> 00:26:22.460 let us not grow weary of doing good, 00:26:22.839 --> 00:26:26.919 for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:31.420 And that makes perfect sense because when it comes to growth in the church, 00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:33.960 only God can do it. 00:26:34.660 --> 00:26:37.080 Our job is simply to keep sowing, 00:26:37.539 --> 00:26:38.420 to keep laboring, 00:26:38.779 --> 00:26:42.320 and to patiently wait for God to increase, 00:26:42.539 --> 00:26:44.060 to bring the increase. 00:26:44.300 --> 00:26:45.480 Patience is essential. 00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:47.060 Patience for God to work, 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:52.100 and patience with one another as we seek to serve. 00:26:52.099 --> 00:26:56.759 Our fourth aspect of our image is a harvest. 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:59.199 In the church farm, there is a harvest. 00:26:59.339 --> 00:27:01.539 It's a reminder that in everything we do, 00:27:01.819 --> 00:27:03.019 there is a goal. 00:27:03.659 --> 00:27:07.139 And that makes working in the church farm incredibly exciting. 00:27:07.319 --> 00:27:10.699 We're working towards a great harvest. 00:27:11.339 --> 00:27:13.139 And as we seek to do that, 00:27:13.219 --> 00:27:14.399 especially as we live in Scotland, 00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:16.420 it's easy to think, 00:27:17.060 --> 00:27:18.500 it's easy to be discouraged, 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:21.519 and to think the harvest is poor. 00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:25.600 But it's not. 00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:28.600 The harvest is plentiful. 00:27:28.780 --> 00:27:29.960 It's all around us. 00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:34.259 Scotland is a massive harvest field for us to work in, 00:27:34.460 --> 00:27:37.300 and so are all the other nations of the world. 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:38.820 That's our goal. 00:27:39.060 --> 00:27:39.980 That's our purpose. 00:27:40.180 --> 00:27:41.120 That's our mission. 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:45.500 We are working together for a great harvest. 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:50.559 Finally, in our church farm image, 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:52.379 there are wages. 00:27:53.619 --> 00:27:55.019 Paul says in verse 8, 00:27:55.479 --> 00:27:58.539 he who plants and he who waters are one. 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:04.859 Each will receive his wages according to his labor. 00:28:05.379 --> 00:28:06.599 Now, what does that mean? 00:28:06.599 --> 00:28:11.339 Does it imply that there's a kind of salvation by works? 00:28:11.459 --> 00:28:15.119 Does it imply that you need to earn a better place in heaven? 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:17.759 No, I don't think it means that. 00:28:17.919 --> 00:28:27.339 What it means is that mission in God's church farm is rewarding. 00:28:28.919 --> 00:28:33.079 In other words, it's worth it. 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:36.319 And that's a crucial point to remember. 00:28:36.619 --> 00:28:39.779 If you think about a farm, farms smell bad. 00:28:40.220 --> 00:28:41.259 Farms are messy. 00:28:41.659 --> 00:28:42.659 Farms are dirty. 00:28:42.899 --> 00:28:44.519 Farms can be heartbreaking. 00:28:44.939 --> 00:28:47.939 But farming is rewarding. 00:28:49.079 --> 00:28:53.779 All of that sweat and muck and toil is worth it. 00:28:53.779 --> 00:29:01.639 And it's a reminder that church should be dirty, messy, smelly, and heartbreaking. 00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:05.440 Not in the sense of being all kind of casual and flippant. 00:29:05.619 --> 00:29:06.960 I don't mean in that sense at all. 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:10.819 But I mean in the sense of being a gathering of broken people. 00:29:12.799 --> 00:29:14.799 People who have mucked up their lives. 00:29:16.139 --> 00:29:17.759 People who have tried and failed. 00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:19.639 People who are at the end of their strength. 00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:22.379 People whose hearts have been broken. 00:29:22.380 --> 00:29:26.700 The church of Jesus Christ is for people like that. 00:29:27.660 --> 00:29:35.320 And if you work away at sharing the gospel with people like that, you will see their lives transformed by the cross. 00:29:35.500 --> 00:29:39.580 And boy, when you see that, it is rewarding. 00:29:41.340 --> 00:29:43.100 It is so worth it. 00:29:43.099 --> 00:29:50.319 And it also means that what you do in the church is worth something. 00:29:50.719 --> 00:29:55.439 The image of wages tells you that God values what you do. 00:29:56.139 --> 00:30:00.179 And it's a great reminder that you are so important in God's church farm. 00:30:00.379 --> 00:30:06.019 Whether you're involved in creche or money counting or door duty or fixing leaks or windows in the church. 00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:12.519 Whatever it may be, no matter what you are doing for God, he values that work. 00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:18.420 We can so easily devote our time and energy to stuff that will ultimately prove worthless. 00:30:18.579 --> 00:30:22.200 Paul talks about that later on in this chapter. 00:30:22.339 --> 00:30:28.460 But working for God on his farm is so rewarding and so valuable. 00:30:28.460 --> 00:30:33.240 And it should be a huge motivation for us. 00:30:34.660 --> 00:30:37.420 So the church is a farm. 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:38.660 You are a farm. 00:30:39.519 --> 00:30:41.480 We have a message that we want to plant. 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:44.279 We have members who labor together. 00:30:44.700 --> 00:30:48.019 We do so with a mindset of patience as we look for growth. 00:30:48.019 --> 00:30:50.500 We've got a mission to bring in a harvest. 00:30:50.759 --> 00:30:56.279 And we are motivated because serving Jesus on his farm is rewarding. 00:30:56.859 --> 00:31:00.039 And it is all for our one master. 00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:03.940 As Paul says, you are God's field. 00:31:05.160 --> 00:31:13.139 But I want to close by highlighting the fact that this is not just true of you as a congregation here at a local level. 00:31:13.140 --> 00:31:20.320 This image of the church farm is also true of the whole church of Jesus Christ. 00:31:20.820 --> 00:31:25.900 Unity and growth is not just about us being united and growing as a congregation, although that's important. 00:31:26.200 --> 00:31:33.520 It's about being part of God's worldwide church farm, the whole church of Jesus Christ. 00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:40.440 And the pattern that we have before us here in the church farm image isn't just setting out for us lessons as a church. 00:31:40.440 --> 00:31:47.200 It's actually conveying to us the theological truth of God's great plan for his church. 00:31:47.900 --> 00:31:57.460 If you look at that image, there's a sense in which it's a great summary of redemptive history of God's work in the post-apostolic era. 00:31:57.720 --> 00:32:03.160 In other words, in everything that God has done in the days since Jesus died and rose again. 00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:04.160 There's planting. 00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:06.240 The church is planting a message. 00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:10.000 It's done that across the world since the days of the New Testament. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:10.839 There's labor. 00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:16.640 God has raised up generation after generation across history, across the nations. 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:17.740 There's growth. 00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:20.039 The church is growing, and it's still growing. 00:32:20.299 --> 00:32:21.500 It's growing in quantity. 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:24.319 There were 120 people in Acts chapter 1. 00:32:24.660 --> 00:32:26.740 There is about 2 billion today. 00:32:28.839 --> 00:32:31.259 And it's grown in quality as well. 00:32:31.259 --> 00:32:43.660 Beginning with simple childlike faith in the apostles, in their early days as disciples when they seemed to struggle to understand so much. 00:32:44.039 --> 00:32:47.900 Yet they grew, and many others have grown into theological giants. 00:32:47.900 --> 00:32:53.140 There's a harvest, and we're still taking it in, and there's a reward. 00:32:53.900 --> 00:32:59.640 A reward when Jesus returns, and we enter into his new creation. 00:32:59.640 --> 00:33:04.000 Then the farm will no longer be battling in a wilderness. 00:33:04.700 --> 00:33:07.660 It'll be flourishing in a paradise. 00:33:07.660 --> 00:33:22.220 And the key point I want to emphasize, and I want us just to finish with this, is that every step of that process is about Jesus Christ. 00:33:22.220 --> 00:33:24.700 It's not about Paul. 00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:26.059 It's not about Apollos. 00:33:26.180 --> 00:33:27.299 It's not about Bucleus. 00:33:27.400 --> 00:33:28.380 It's not about St. Columbus. 00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:29.600 It's not about the free church. 00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:30.779 It's not about Scotland. 00:33:31.140 --> 00:33:34.660 The story is all about Jesus. 00:33:36.019 --> 00:33:40.600 Every single step of this farming process is centered on him. 00:33:40.900 --> 00:33:43.960 The seed is the truth revealed in Jesus. 00:33:44.420 --> 00:33:45.220 He is the word. 00:33:45.360 --> 00:33:46.539 He is the wisdom of God. 00:33:46.900 --> 00:33:49.600 His is the mind that we seek to have. 00:33:49.599 --> 00:33:52.699 His is the message that we seek to proclaim. 00:33:53.480 --> 00:33:57.899 The labor is a team assembled and empowered by Jesus. 00:33:58.139 --> 00:34:00.379 It's in his strength that we serve. 00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:05.199 Our work does not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:12.199 Our growth is growth into Jesus, the process of sanctification whereby we become more and more like him. 00:34:12.480 --> 00:34:16.539 Maturity in the faith simply means being more like Jesus. 00:34:16.539 --> 00:34:19.840 The harvest is a gift to Jesus. 00:34:20.239 --> 00:34:21.599 He sends out the laborers. 00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:23.440 We bring the harvest back to him. 00:34:23.659 --> 00:34:28.059 And the reward is an eternity with Jesus. 00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:32.400 It is all centered on him. 00:34:34.820 --> 00:34:37.639 And it is all so exciting. 00:34:37.639 --> 00:34:46.379 Jesus' church farm has done incredible things over the past 2,000 years. 00:34:47.239 --> 00:34:56.639 He's raised up team after team after team after team of farmers who've done amazing things through his spirit working in him. 00:34:56.980 --> 00:35:04.819 Now, in the year 2020, he's raised up yet another team of farmers to do his work. 00:35:05.819 --> 00:35:06.900 Do you know who they are? 00:35:06.900 --> 00:35:10.440 You. 00:35:10.440 --> 00:35:10.500 You. 00:35:10.500 --> 00:35:10.539 You.