2 TIMOTHY 2:6-72008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Timothy 2:6-7

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. And so you and I, like Timothy, are called to make disciples, to look at the faithful people around us, to find those that God has placed in our life, because every Christian is called to make disciples. And so every Christian has someone in their life that they're called to build up.

To teach how to walk with Jesus Christ. You're called to make disciples. Who are you discipling? Who are you really strengthening in a relationship with Jesus Christ? Who is it that you're building up and teaching how to walk with God? Who are you passing the things that you're learning from God onto the relationship with God that you have? Who are you teaching how to have that same relationship? The way that God has applied his word to your life

Who is it that you're teaching to apply those same things to their own life? Who are you discipling? Who are you investing in? Who are you cultivating? Now, this is not an easy task. And so we need to receive the strength that is in Christ Jesus. It's also one that doesn't happen by accident, but it's something that is purposeful. It's something that's thought through. It's something that happens as we are obedient to Jesus Christ.

He gives the illustration in regards to this task. Hey, making disciples is like being a soldier. A good soldier endures hardship. Timothy, there's going to be hardship for you to make a stand, for you to be a good witness, for you to make disciples. There's going to be hard things that you will have to endure. Persecution from without. You'll need to minister to people and meet their needs, even if you're hurting and you're going through difficulties.

Even when things are tough in your life, then you're going to need to put other people's needs before your own. Hey, Timothy, in order to make disciples, you're going to have to endure hardship. You're not going to make disciples if you're always complaining about the weather and your job and the mortgage industry and the rent. And if you're always grumbling, complaining and not enduring hardship.

Well, who wants that kind of relationship with God? Yeah, I want to be whiny and complaining all the time. I want to learn what it means to walk with your God. No, it means we have to endure hardship. There's things in life everybody goes through. We need to endure them. Well, it's hard. It's difficult. Yeah, I know. That's why we need to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Another thing we learned from the soldier is that we need to stay focused, not getting caught up in this life, not all tangled up.

A good soldier doesn't get entangled in the affairs of this life that he may please the one who enlisted him, Paul said. And so as Christians, as those who are called to make disciples, we must not get tangled up in the things of this life. There's a great danger, especially for us here in America, for materialistic hearts and thinking and attitudes. And we get caught up in this life is more important than anything else to us. And when that happens, we're not pleasing God.

to our master, to the one who enlisted us any longer. Remember Hebrews 11 says, without faith it's impossible to please God. We need to be living by faith, looking to the things of God in obedience to God that we might be pleasing to him. And so Paul gives us the illustration of a good soldier. Again, much more that we could go into there. I encourage you, meditate and consider those things. What does it mean to be a good soldier and how does that compare? How does that relate to making disciples? But we also saw the athlete.

With the athlete, we saw the competition, the crown and the rules. There's a competition, a reality to that. We're not competing against one another, but the competition, like a true athlete, the competition for you and I is against ourselves. It's our flesh that we're competing against. Our sinful desires, our cravings to be carnal and be involved in sin and be lazy and not run to win.

But competition is against ourselves. We're our greatest adversary in the race that God has set before us. We also have the crowns, though. There's rewards in store for those who will run the race with endurance. We have need of perseverance, the author of Hebrews says, that we would press on, that we would keep on going. And there's a reward for those who do. There's a reward for all who love the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Who live to see him and to be with him. But there's also rules in this race that we're running and we can't just do whatever we want and expect to receive the crown. No, there needs to be obedience in our life. It's hard. It's hard to be obedient, Jerry. I've got this this person in my life or I've got this situation and I know what God says, but you need to be strong. Yes, it's hard to be obedient. It's hard to run the race. It's hard to compete against yourself.

It's hard to deny yourself and follow Jesus Christ. But you have everything you need. Again, there's so much more that we could look at with the athlete. Let's look at verse 6. Paul points us now to the third illustration. He says, The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. The third illustration he gives, the last he gives on this subject, Timothy, being a disciple maker is like being a farmer. Right?

Now, he says the hardworking farmer. So we have a clue there about what he's talking about. First of all, it's hard work to farm. But he also says must be first to partake of the crops. Now, there's some discussion between scholars about what the word first should be applied to.

Some say that it should be translated that the farmer must work hard first in order to partake of the crops. In other words, in order to get crops, you have to work hard first. And that is definitely true about farming. But another group says the way it's translated here in the New King James Version, the hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. That means the hardworking farmer has first right to the crops. They get to receive the blessing from the crops first.

And it would seem that that is true as well. And so I'm not going to try to figure out which one is right, but let's kind of look at both as we go through our study this morning. How is discipleship like farming? How is making disciples a lot like being a farmer? Now, I must share with you, and many of you know this already, when it comes to things like this, I'm no expert. When I was working at Walmart many years ago, 10 years ago or so,

I was starting out in the toy department and that was pretty easy. No problem. Just put stuff back on the shelf. But after a few months in the toy department, they transferred me to the garden center. Now, they didn't transfer me there because they saw, hey, look, he's got green thumbs. We should put him in the garden center. No, they needed an extra person and someone who would work hard. And so they said, hey, you can lift manure bags. Why don't you go to the garden center and you can you can be serving there or working there in the garden center.

So I went to the garden center. Now, a word of caution for all of you who shop at the garden center in Walmart. They put toy department people in the garden center because what happens is, yeah, I'm there primarily to lift things and move things. And because of that, but because I wear a Walmart vest and I'm there in the garden center. Well, you know what happens? People come up. Hey, will this seed work in my yard? I've got this and this and this situation. So what would I do?

Works great. Yeah, I think so. Someone would say, well, how much do I need to water it? Well, then you just kind of get very vague. Well, you want to make sure that you give enough water, but don't water it too much, you know, because watering it too much is just as bad as not watering it enough. And so you just talk in circles, right? And then they walk away going, oh, thanks, you know. Be very careful. So I don't know. I'm not an expert in these things. So I had to do a lot of reading and looking at, and what does it mean to be a farmer, and what does it take?

So I found an article, How to Become a Farmer Without Experience. Now, there's lots of things. I'm not going to go into all of them, but a couple that really stood out to me. They said, first of all, you must be physically fit. If you want to be a farmer and you have no experience, you need to be physically fit. They go on to say, if you think you can farm without crouching, bending, lifting or pulling, you're being unrealistic.

It says only farm managers who've paid their dues can skip some physical labor. But even they often must push their bodies close to the limit for the job. Here's what they say. Look, if you want to become a farmer, it's going to be hard work. If you think you can be a farmer and, you know, just ride around on a tractor all day, you're being unrealistic. It's not going to happen that way. You're going to be working. They said, and this is what really stuck out.

Even the farm managers, they've worked all their lives. They've kind of paid their dues so they can slack off a little bit. They say even they must push their body close to the limit for the job. They're working as hard as they can. It's very labor intensive work. The other thing that they said, if you want to be a farmer, not only do you need to be physically fit, but you need to be flexible physically.

It says,

And they said, farming isn't just rainbows and butterflies, you know, if there's something you're not willing to do. Well, you're probably not going to make a good farmer. You have to be flexible, willing to do whatever in order to be a farmer. So if you want to become a farmer and you have no experience, here's what you need to do. Well, how does that relate? And what does that mean for us as we're called to make disciples? And Paul says, hey, that's a lot like being a farmer. Well, turn with me to First Corinthians, chapter three.

First Corinthians chapter three, Paul is there. He's talking about and answering a discussion in a really a debate that's going on within the Corinthian church about who they follow. Well, one says, I follow Paul and another says, I follow Apollos. And and they have these disputes and and and segregations within the church.

Verse five of First Corinthians, chapter three, Paul says, Who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed as the Lord gave to each one? Verse six, I planted Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

Now, he who plants and he who waters are one and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers and you are God's field. You are God's building. And then he goes on to talk about the building building illustration with the Corinthian church. But here he's talking about growing. What do farmers do? They farm, they grow things. And Paul in saying, look.

You guys, you're separating yourselves and dividing yourselves about, well, I, you know, I was converted under Paul's ministry and I was converted under Paul's ministry. Or, you know, first I heard Paul, but Apollos was better. And so, you know, I listen to Apollos and subscribe to his method of ministry and what he says. And there's these divisions within you. But Paul says, guys, that's carnal. That's foolish. That's silly. Here's the deal.

Hey, one plants, one waters, and it's God who gives the increase. So don't be divided about who planted and who watered and which one had the effect in your life. Hey, be united in the fact that God is giving the increase in your life. He's the one doing the work. He's the one working the miracles. He's the one to follow and that deserves your loyalty for what he has done.

But Paul here talks about and breaks down. And this is why I turn to this portion. He breaks it down into these different parts. He says, I planted later on. Apollos came and he watered. But it's God who gave the increase. Now, in this cup here, I have this item. Anybody recognize this? What is this?

It's an avocado. Okay, it's actually a Hass avocado or a Hass avocado, however you pronounce it. Now, if I take this avocado, Cisco said the knife isn't very sharp, so let's see if we can cut this up here. If I take this avocado and I cut it up, what am I going to find inside? Guacamole, yes. Very good. That seed. Now, what does that seed do? It just sits there, right? Until, pull it out. I'm trying not to get my hands too dirty here. I'm no expert, okay? Larry can do this much better, but...

Okay, so we have this avocado seed. Now, I could plant this and get an apple tree, right? No, probably not. So I have this avocado seed. Now, do you guys ever do that experiment in school? You take the avocado seed and you put the toothpicks in the side. This one's slippery. I'm not going to try it. I'm just going to put the avocado seed in the cup. How's that? Because it's going to fall out of my hand. It's going to shoot out of my hand and hit ice in the forehead, and we'll be in trouble then.

But I have this avocado seed in the cup and pretend there's toothpicks in it, holding it up just like you're supposed to have. Now, I also have a little bit of water. So if I pour water on this avocado seed, Paul says I planted, Apollos watered. OK, so I got water on the seed now. So afterwards, that should produce enough fruit for us to have guacamole, right? Why not? Doesn't need water and then it'll grow.

It needs sunshine, needs soil. It also needs a little bit of time. Well, maybe not just a little bit of time, but it needs quite a bit of time. Now, in talking about making disciples, we are called to sow seed. We are called to, like the avocado seed, we're to plant that in people's lives. Paul says, I planted. When I came through you guys, Corinth, I planted. I put the seed in your life. What is the seed?

Well, to answer that, you don't have to turn there, but I encourage you to consider it, meditate on it. Matthew chapter 13, verses one through nine. Jesus gives the parable of the sower. Sower went out to sow. And as he sowed the seed, some of it fell on the wayside. Some of it fell on the thorny soil. Some of it fell on the rocky soil and some of it fell on the good soil.

If you know the parable, you know the good soil is the only one that actually produced. The others didn't last. Now, Jesus in verse 19 goes on to explain the parable. And he says, look, the seed is the word of God.

The seed that is sown by the farmer, the sower, the seed that is sown by you and I in people's lives is the word of God. It's the gospel message, the truth about Jesus Christ and who he is. Now, remember, in chapter one of Second Timothy, Paul is telling Timothy, do not be ashamed of the gospel. Why? Because it's the seed. It's what's necessary in a person's life.

for there to be real growth, for there to be conversion, for there to be salvation, for them to become disciples. So the seed, he says, make sure you sow the seed. The seed is the word of God. And so in teaching this morning, I'm sowing out the seed. I'm sharing the word of God. What are you sowing in the lives of the people around you? Again, those that you're called to disciple.

How much of the word of God are you sowing? Are you sowing good seed or are you sowing bad seed? Are you sowing the things of this world or your own thoughts or your own opinions? Or are you sowing sin?

The word of God. What are you planting in people's lives? What are you placing in their hearts? What are you delivering to them? Is it good seed? And so it's necessary for us to share the word of God, to be unashamed of the gospel and to share God's word with the people around us that there might be good fruit. Now, here's the thing. We have control. We are able to

So good seed or bad seed, the choice is ours. We can show share the word of God or we can share our own thoughts and opinions. But the thing that we cannot control is the soil on which the seed falls as we are sharing with others. Now, as we are receiving the word, that's a different thing. Then we need to prepare our hearts. We need to make sure that we have good soil, that we're ready to receive good

The word of God that is being sowed and it's so important for us to come to church prepared to come ready to receive, ready to hear. Or when we have Bible studies or discussions amongst one another that we make sure and take the time to have good soil ready to receive and hear what God wants to speak to us.

But as we're sowing the seed, as you are sharing God's word, look at what God shared with me this week. Or this is what the Bible has to say about this. Look, this is what you must do to be saved. The seed is we are sowing it in people's lives around us. We don't have control about the type of soil that it falls upon. And so you can put good seed in bad soil and it won't produce fruit.

The rocky soil, because it was shallow, he received it immediately with joy. But anytime there was persecution, as soon as there was a difficulty, it withered away. The thorny, it was sown, grew up. But because there was thorns, it got caught up. Jesus said, it's the person who receives the word. But the cares of this world pull him away and kill that good seed that was sown.

The path is the one that it doesn't even really get sown. It just kind of bounces off. The birds eat it right away. It doesn't get planted. It doesn't grow at all. But the good soil is the soil that produces greatly. We're called to make disciples. It's often been pointed out. Jesus said, go into all the world and make disciples, not go into all the world and make converts. Because there's a big difference. A conversion, bringing someone to the point that they...

agree that they need God and that they say the sinner's prayer, they're converted at that point. They're born again. But that is not the extent of what God has called us to. And here's where we pick up again with the farmer. The farmer doesn't just throw out seed. He doesn't just throw out seed. OK, boom, boom. OK, my work's done here. I'm off for the rest of the year. The farmer has to work hard throughout the year.

Because there's a lot more in farming. There's a lot more in making disciples than just throwing out seed. And so we can't just say, well, you know, hey, I quoted the right amount of scriptures, my quota for the week to people. So I've sown the seed and that's it. I'm done. There's a lot more in making disciples than just bringing someone to repeat or share the sinner's prayer.

Discipling is something that, well, it's going to take, again, hard work. It's going to take time. It's going to take investment. It's going to take being personally involved in a person's life. Paul says, I planted. He was there in Corinth. He planted the seed. He spent some time there. And then the Lord led him out. So what happened then to the church at Corinth? Well, God brought someone else, another farmer, to care for that plot of land that he had been plowing and planting in.

And so he says, I planted and then Apollo watered. So I've put the avocado seed in water. It's essential and necessary for this avocado seed to sprout and to begin to grow. What does it mean to water? Well, Isaiah chapter 55 is another great picture for us. Verses 10 and 11. God says, for as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven falls.

And do not return there, but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I have sent it. We have a couple of things here that we can look at. God says, look at the picture. Rain comes down and you'll notice all the hills around us right now. They're all green.

Are they always green? No, the majority of the year they're brown and dead and not really that attractive. But the foothills around here right now, they're all green because the rain came down and watered and the hills are producing grass and weeds and other things that make it look green and pretty. Fulfilling exactly what God said. As the rain comes down and does not return there but waters the earth and makes it bring forth and bud, that's what happened. The rain came down, it's bringing forth and it's budding and now it's green.

And God says, that's exactly like my word. As it goes forth from my mouth, it won't return to me void. It's going to produce. It's going to abode. It's going to accomplish what I please, God says. And so watering, again, is the word. Planting the seed, that's the word. Watering, again, is the word. So here's what God's saying with the illustration of the farmer. Here's what Paul's saying. Look, Timothy, we're not just throwing seeds at people.

Okay, I'm done. I sowed my seed. No, we're planting the seed. There's a lot to be said about the preparation that takes place and the care that is placed by farmers when they plant the seed and all of the things that they do to make sure that it's in the right conditions and proper environment and all that. We're not going to go into that, but there's a lot of illustrations and parallels we could pull from that. But we're not just throwing seeds at people. We're not just planting a seed. Okay, we're done. But we're also called to water.

That means you need to go back to that same tree, that same plant, that same seed, and pour some water on it. Now, avocado trees vary in how much water they require, determined by their age and maturity. When they're newly planted, during irrigation season, it's said that they require a gallon three times a week, a gallon of water three times a week for a newly planted avocado tree. But,

For a full-grown tree, in order to produce good fruit, it's going to need up to 20 gallons of water in order for it to really thrive and produce fruit. According to what I've read, Larry could tell you different after the service. You've got to go back to that tree and water it. You've got to go back and make sure it gets what it needs. Now, there's a lot more that we could talk about in cultivating a tree today.

As far as pruning it and and making sure that it's not infected with insects and that there's no animals coming in and eating the fruit before it's ready and and all of that, there's there's a lot that we could talk about. But again, we're just looking at the basics because I'm not an expert. So watering.

Sharing the word. I think we could include with this praying for those that were called to disciple. Those that were praying would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Also, I think we could include with this living as a witness in front of them. We're sharing the word with them. We're praying for them. We're living the Christian life, demonstrating the life of Christ before them. And we're watering that seed that was sown. See, it's not just a do one thing and that's it and you're done.

And I think that's where we go wrong sometimes as Christians. You know, you look at this cup. It's not doing anything. Well, I'm not going to farm then. Forget about that. Toss out that seed. One article that I was reading about planting avocado trees, it said, wait two months. If you don't have any kind of sprouts or roots or anything after two months, then give up and start over.

It's like two months. I remember doing it for one time. It was like a week. And I was like, well, forget that. It's not doing anything. I must have done it wrong. Sometimes it takes a while for there to be evidence that something's happening, for there to be movement or growth. As Christians, as those who are called to make disciples, we need to be patient. We plant what we give out the word we water. OK, we water.

Now, if you were to seriously want to grow this, you would need to change the water every one to two days. You're going to be constantly going back. OK, how's it doing? Putting more water in. OK, let me dump out the old stuff. Put in the new stuff. Let me make sure it's OK. Is it getting enough sunlight? You'd be constantly going back. And in the same way as Christians who are called to make disciples, we need to be cultivating the lives of the people around us that God has given us to make disciples of.

You don't just set it and forget it. Whatever. I know that's a phrase from somewhere, but I don't know where it's from. But set it and forget it. OK, boom, done it. No, it's a continual going back. Are you investing yourself? Are you taking the time? Are you watering? Are you going back and sharing more scriptures? Are you really discipling the people around you? Making disciples is a lot like farming. You got a plant and you got a water.

And the encouraging thing is what God says about his word there in Isaiah 55, 11. He says, hey, my word is going to do what I sent it for it to accomplish. It's not going to return back void. It's not going to come back empty. It's not going to do nothing. You share the word of God and something is going to happen. Now, they may reject it again. You have no control of the soil, but it will accomplish something.

Paul says, I planted, Apollos watered. We're both involved. We're caring for you. We're sharing with you. We're discipling you, teaching you how to walk with God, teaching you what God wants in your life. But it's God who gave the increase there in verse 7. So that neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now again, Paul is saying, look, there's no need to divide over us. We're nothing. We're not worth dividing over. It's God who gives the increase. That's the important part. In the same way,

It happens in farming. This is what we do. We put the seed, we put the water. Now what? Do I got to wind something to make the sprout come out? No, it's God who gives the increase. Still to this day, even with all our modern technology, you know, it's God who gives the increase with all of our, you know, brilliant chemicals and stuff that gives us cancer and all those things. It's still God who gives the increase. We do our best to try to do it. And we have all these techniques and things, but it's still God who causes it to grow.

We can't make anything grow. All we can do is kind of do the preparation and then wait for God to do it. In the same way in making disciples, it's God who gives the increase. That's why we can't take the knife and make disciples. That's not God giving the increase. That's us forcing it. What we do is we share the word.

We love. We live the life. We pray. We share the word again. We continue to revisit. We continue to love. We continue to care for. We continue to pour ourselves in. But there's the point through all of it that we say, I can't make anything happen. I can't make you follow Christ. I'm not your Lord. I can't command your life and tell you everything that you're supposed to do.

But what I can do is share with you what God has said and how much he loves you and what he wants to do in your life. I can share with you all of those things. I can give all the preparation. And then you have to leave the rest to the Lord. You have to leave it to God. Let him bring the increase. And how does he bring the increase? Again, is this going to produce enough fruit that we could all have guacamole after service? No. Now, my mother-in-law...

did this same science experiment. Took the cup, got the seed, put the toothpicks in it, put it in water. The same year that my wife was born, my mother-in-law did this experiment 27 years ago. Today, it's a big tree in grandma's backyard that produces avocado fruit. But it's 27 years later. It's as old as my wife is. And it produces good fruit. Now they say...

From seed to the first time it produces fruit and the first time it produces fruit is often not yet good fruit. It takes a couple of seasons, but they say from from seed to the first time it produces fruit can take five to 13 years on average, sometimes up to 20 years. Now, that blew my mind.

Can you imagine waiting 20 years for a tree to produce fruit? So if you want to do something cool for your grandchildren, plant an avocado tree in your yard and make sure your kids inherit the house. And then your grandchildren will get avocados because it's going to take five or 13 years or sometimes up to 20 years in order to produce fruit. Now, again, this is a lot like making disciples, right?

I think that we live in a society and maybe it's just me because I'm younger and I've grown up in this generation and maybe some of you don't feel that way, but we've forgotten all about what it means to work hard and get something and enjoy it because we're just about to do it now. We've got microwave mentality. How come I can't microwave the seed and get an avocado? I mean, that would be awesome. All the ads tell me on TV I can enjoy that couch today and pay for it later.

We get it now and then work hard for it later. But God's way, much like a farmer, you work hard for five years, 10 years, 20 years, and you'll get good avocados. And we're just talking about one plant. I mean, an orchard. Can you imagine an avocado grove? There's a lot of work involved. We're talking about intensity here.

You have in your life at least one person God wants you to pour yourself into. He wants you to share with them, make a disciple with them. But you also need to know that, hey, he's going to give the increase. It's going to be in his time and it's not going to happen overnight necessarily. Now, he may do that. But understand, even if he does that, hey, you share with someone. Boom, they become born again. They go on. They go out. They reach the gospel. They go on the mission field. Understand that.

Paul says, you know, I planted, Apollos watered.

It's God who gives the increase. Jesus said, pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send workers into the field. So there's the planting, there's the watering, there's the harvesting. You just got the harvest. You missed out on the planting and the watering, all the preparation that's been going on. And you shared with them and they got saved and boom, they go out and change the world. Yeah, you just experienced the harvest. And so you could think, well, that was easy. No problem. But you missed the, you know, 27 years of preparation ahead of that.

Of Christians in person's life, planting and watering and planting and watering and cultivating and taking care of and removing pests and attending to and caring for this person, being a good witness in front of them, sharing the word of God with them, praying for them. And then at some point someone shares with them and there's a harvest that takes place. There's fruit that's produced, whether it be salvation.

Or service to the Lord. Or salvation of others. That they go out and they become farmers. Being disciple makers. Sharing the gospel with the people around them. So Paul says, I planted. Hey, Apollos watered. God gave the increase. But again, look at verse 8. Now he who plants and he who waters are one. And each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

Now, again, in Second Timothy two six, the hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Paul says, hey, I planted. Apollos watered. It's not really important which of us did what. That's not important. It's God who gave the increase. And yet at the same time, God is going to reward each one for his labor.

And so for the planting that I did and the watering that Apollos did and the investing that you have done in a person's life, God will reward you for that labor. You'll get to partake of the crop. What does that mean? Oh, man, there's so much that we can look. There's a crop that's received immediately.

And the joy that takes place when someone comes to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I mean, there's a harvest there for sure. There's a crop. There's a reward to partake of. But ultimately, the rewards that we look for are not in this life, but they're in eternity. And that's to be the focus of our mind. Because discipling, discipleship, making disciples is hard work. Planting, it's not easy. It's tough. Watering, praying for, patiently waiting.

For God to produce the fruit in their life and the increase to take place, it's hard work. It's difficult. It's hurtful sometimes. And so we need to keep in mind, God will reward us for our labor. We're sowing good seed. We're watering. We're planting. We're cultivating. We're doing what God has told us to do. And we're doing it for the reward that God will give to us. The crop or the harvest that will be received. Harvey shared a little bit about his farm experience with me.

He talked about driving on a farm during thrashing time. It's the harvesting time, I think, of the grain when he was 13 years old. And he says, I remember starting at 5 a.m. and working until dark or 10 p.m. Gets dark late in North Dakota in the summertime.

So from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., they're working. He said the farmers, my dad and my uncles, were governed by the crops themselves and the weather conditions. No thought was given to personal feelings during that time. Hey, when it's harvest time or when it's planting time, no thought is given. Well, you know, but my show's on. I wanted to watch that show. Well, so what? There's a lot of work to be done. This is hard. I'm tired. Hey, you're not going to survive as a farmer.

You're going to work long hours. It's going to be difficult. No thoughts given, he says, to personal feelings. I don't really feel like working today. I'm going to call in sick. You're a farmer. You're going to go out of business quick. You're not going to survive. He says the crop themselves and weather conditions govern the farmers. The work needs to be done. That means I got to do it. It's not the other way around. I'm ready to do the work, so I'm going to do the work. No.

You don't tell the crops what to do and when and how that's going to happen. No, the crops, they're ripe. It's ripe. It's got to be harvested now. If it's not harvested now, it's lost. In the same way, in making disciples, the crop governs the disciple maker. So the call comes at two in the morning. I'm tired. Pray about it and call me in the morning. Take these two verses and call me later. But my show is on. I can't go share with you and meet you for dinner and share with you in this time that you're going through.

I don't feel like being rejected again and sharing with you these scripture verses. I'm tired of praying for you. I don't even care. It's not being a difference. It doesn't make a difference if I live like Christ in front of you. You haven't changed. We can't have the attitude like, well, I'm ready, you know, when I'm willing to, when I want to, then I'll be a disciple maker. No, the crop governs. Hey, there's fields around you. The harvest is plentiful, Jesus said. The laborers are few.

Because many times as Christians, we don't go into the labor field because we're, well, going back to the warfare. We're entangled in the affairs of this life. We've lost the competition against self. And so we're satisfying ourself and feeding our flesh and resting our flesh and enjoying our flesh instead of getting out in the field and doing the work. We need to make disciples. It's hard work. It's governed by the crop, not by what we think or believe.

What we want to do. Harvey went on to say, we worked as long and as hard as we could with great excitement, thinking about the good crop that we were putting into the storage bins or selling to make a profit from the years of labor. The anticipation of what we were doing was a great motivator. Their thought was, this is going to produce great fruit. And that was the motivation. That was what they were running for. That was what they were working from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. for.

In the same way, Paul says, each will receive a reward for their own labor. Work hard. Farm. Disciple. Plant. Water. Cultivate the people around you. Live your life to do that. A farmer isn't going to survive part-time, as you'll notice by the hours, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., Harvey said. Now, that's seasonal. It doesn't mean that every day is that long, but every day is hard work for a farmer. And there's seasons where it gets harder.

There's seasons where it requires more. Work hard. Give of yourself. Invest yourself in your spouse, in your children, in your neighbors, in your coworkers, in the people that God has brought to you. I would ask you, really, how much work have you put into sowing into your neighbor's life? See, we don't think of it that way oftentimes. We think of it, okay, all right, God, if it just so happens that they knock on my door and ask me a question about heaven, then I'll be glad to share with them.

How much work have you put into sowing into your neighbor's life? How much work have you toiled endlessly and tirelessly to sow into your children's lives, to plant and to water? How about your coworkers, your family? How much work are you working to plant the seed and to water the crop? Do you get up early and read so that you have something to share with those that you disciple at your workplace?

Are you willing to study and to find answers for the skeptic and deal with the tough issues and the questions that they have? Or, we're all guilty of this one, I think. Do you avoid sharing altogether because you know it might be hard work? You ever been at a restaurant?

And you run into someone that you haven't seen for a long time. Or someone asks a question. You're at a situation and you're like, oh, man, it's an open door. It's an opportunity. But my food's here. Do I share with them? Do I continue? I don't know if I want to start this conversation because my food's getting cold. It's after service on Wednesday night. It's 930. I don't know if I want to start this conversation. I've got to get home. The kid's got to get to bed. I don't know if I want to start this conversation.

I don't know if I want to get involved in this conversation, get involved in this discipling. It's kind of tough, you know. How much work? Are you avoiding sharing altogether sometimes because you know it's going to take some sacrifice? It's going to be some hard work. You need to be making disciples. Now, in making disciples, in bringing someone to the point of conversion, something that's interesting about avocados is they're one of those fruits that you pick them. They're harvested before they're ripe. Right?

And I thought that was interesting. They're harvested before they're ripe. And sometimes that works out in making disciples as well. How does that work out? Before they're ripe, before they're ready, you harvest them. You take them to the harvest crusade.

They're not ripe at the moment, as you're sharing with that. You're not quite ripe yet, but but you're almost there. I'm going to harvest you. Come on to the harvest crusade and and hear the gospel message. And sometimes they ripen on the way as the avocado ripens on the way to the grocery store. And and there they give their heart to the Lord or you harvest them and say, hey, come to church or come to this service. Come to this outreach. Come to this event. And so there's the appropriateness. And it's a valid thing that some fruit is harvested before it's ripe.

But there's also fruit that you don't harvest it until it's ripe. And as Christians, we need to be willing to harvest that fruit as well. Sometimes we think all fruits like avocado. Yeah, well, here's what the Bible says, John 3, 16. You want to come to church and get saved? Well, hey, you as a Christian, you're called to make disciples. You need to be willing to harvest some fruit yourself and say, hey.

Do you want to accept Jesus Christ right now? You want to be born again? You want to let God change your life right now? We can pray right now and God will do it. Pray this prayer with me. We need to be willing. We need to be discerning. We need to have the skill of farmers to know which fruit needs to be harvested, which time. Now, some in thinking about these things will say, you know, I know I need to make disciples. I know it's hard work and I know...

But I'm really busy right now and I've got the kids or I've got school. I've got this situation. And once once I'm through that and once that's done, then then I'll really get involved in doing what God has called me to do. Now, for one thing, it's highly doubtful that when that time comes, you'll actually be willing. But I'm not going to get into that. Here's the other side of that equation. God wants to produce much more fruit than you can handle all at once later on.

In one article I was reading about farming, actually this was about vegetable gardening. So if you want to grow vegetables on your own for food to eat, they say this. Harvesting is labor-intensive operation, and as you become experienced in growing, you'll find that you need to reduce the production of some plants so that harvesting can be managed.

Here's what they say. Look, you're out there vegetable gardening and you've got, you know, your your your crop that's coming and harvesting is hard work. It's labor intensive. And so you'll find that, well, I need to stunt the growth of some of these or or not water them so much, not let them be so productive because I can't manage the harvest. I can't get them all off the vine or off of the plant in time before they go bad. I don't have enough to be able to consume this and do all of this work.

In the same way, look, if you wait until later to try to produce all the fruit that God wants you to produce, well, you're not going to be able to do it. You can't handle it all. God wants to produce much fruit, abundant fruit in your life as you water and sow and plant and harvest. And so you need to be involved now, spreading it out so that you can handle all of the fruit that God wants to produce in your life.

He wants much more fruit than you can handle all at once. Paul says each one will be rewarded according to his own labor. So again, as we close, I ask you, how much work are you putting into sowing into your neighbor's life? Are you really investing? Are you working hard to share the gospel, to share the word, to be a witness? Are you praying fervently, laboring fervently in prayer? Are you giving of yourself that others might be made disciples?

There's a need for us guys to make disciples. Paul says, this is the task. The things you've heard from me among many witnesses, teach them to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Jesus said, go into the world and make disciples. Are you making disciples? Are you producing fruit? Now, we're at the conclusion of our time together. And so the worship team is going to come up. The ushers are going to come up. We're going to partake of communion.

And I know if God's speaking to you, hey, hold on to that thought and allow God to do the work in you that he needs to do. But there's another thing that I want us to close with, to consider as we prepare our hearts for communion. In John chapter 15, Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. Because a mature avocado tree is

requires up to 20 gallons of water three times a week. Now, it's abiding in that water. It's abiding in the soil because of the quantity that's required in order for it to be productive. And so as we partake of communion this morning, I want to encourage you to also examine your heart. Are you abiding in Jesus Christ? Just immersing yourself in Jesus Christ. Saturating yourself in Jesus Christ. He says...

He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. Bears much fruit. You're going to be planting much, watering much, harvesting much if you abide, if you immerse yourself in Jesus Christ. And as we partake of communion, that's what we're doing. We're going back to the cross.

immersing ourselves in Jesus Christ saying, I remember the cross. It's by your death, your burial, your body that was broken, your blood that was shed, that I'm washed clean, being immersed, cleansed. It's by you, Jesus, a relationship with you that I'm able to accomplish the things that you've called me to accomplish. Are you abiding in Jesus Christ? If you find that it's hard and difficult and you don't have what it takes,

to make disciples, I would challenge you. Are you abiding in the vine? And so let's take this time of communion as we reflect on these things and the task that God has given us to make disciples. And let's go back. Let's get plugged into the vine. If we've been unplugged, if we've been distant or separated or a little bit dry, let's get plugged into Jesus Christ. It's all about relationship with him.

Amen.